When in Russia (Noah, Cam)

[Ravyn Rozanova]

(Set forward to December)

The date had finally arrived! After several weeks waiting for Winter Break to come, it was here, and Ravyn, Cam, and Noah had spent the last several hours on their way to Ravyn's hometown of Shebekino, Russia. They flew into Moscow, and were picked up and driven a few more hours to their destination; as such, they were exhausted when they finally arrived.

Ravyn was already sort of half-asleep in the back of the car, slumped against the back seat as they watched the landscapes go past. "We should almost be there," she murmured tiredly as the land became familiar.

Sure enough, her house came into sight a little while longer, and she was immediately awake, jumping out of the car into the snow with enthusiasm and running up to the front door. There was a good amount of the white stuff on the ground, and she had told the boys to be prepared for it - she was all bundled up, too, as she met her mother at the door, who had seen the car pull up. "Mama!" she cried, tackling the older woman with only the passion of a daughter could. "<I missed you so much!>" she said in her native language as she pulled back, happiness clear on her face.

"<I missed you too, sweetie.>" After a few moments of chatter, Alyna glanced at the boys. "<Are these your friends?>" she asked.

She turned to nod over her shoulder at the two blonde boys. "<Yeah, that's Noah and Cam,>" she told her. She motioned to them to come closer. "Guys, meet my mom," she told them, beaming.

"It is... A pleasure, to meet you," Alyna said, her English broken and slow. She dipped her head politely. "I made pirozhki for your arrival," she added, smiling and motioning inside. "Please, come in."

[Cameron Osiris]

It wasn’t easy to save the money for this trip, especially since Cam had also wanted to buy a guitar. But Chester had seemed eager to fix up Cam’s dilemma, and Cam was always grateful for whatever Chester offered. It gave turning an inch into a mile a whole new meaning. Cam hadn’t been on this kind of airplane before, and so, had his face pressed against the window for most of the time in flight. He was feeling pretty jet lagged once they landed, but he was also ready to rock.

Cam was smiling ear to ear as he took shots of the landscape Ravyn seemed uninterested in. “Dec’s gonna love these,” he mused, his eyes sparkling at the prospects of everything new around him. It had been well worth the airfare, though it wasn’t fair at all.

Snow wasn’t a usual occurrence for Cam, it only happened once in a while at Hammel and hardly ever back home. He got out from the car and smiled at Ravyn as she ran towards the house. While Ravyn became reacquainted with her mom, Cam went to get their things from the trunk. He looked over at Noah and smiled. Hopefully they had gotten past whatever drama was going on.

“Hi mom!” Cam said, waving as he made his way over to the front of the house. Cam dipped his head in return, but also gave Ravyn’s mom a big hug without much hesitation. “Thank you for having us,” he said, smiling gratefully and stepping away from her to give her space. “Ravyn, she totally has your eyes,” Cam said, pointing at his own, you know, just in case Ravyn didn’t understand him.

[Noah Washington]

Noah had to actually borrow some of the money from his grandmother. It sucked to ask, and he felt bad about it but she reasoned with him to the point where he basically had to take it. So the trip better be worth it. Especially since he'd never been overseas before.

Noah couldn't sleep in the car. He'd slept on the plane for a bit, because flying made him a little nervous for some reason. But when in the car he wanted to see as much of the place as he could. He felt overwhelmed when they were in Moscow just because it was a big place and he wasn't used to another country in general. Getting out of the car, Noah moved to the trunk to help draw the luggage out. He smiled back at Cam; "It's our first trip away together, sweetheart." He joked.

He followed along, watching and laughing as Cam hugged her point blank. "Nice to meet you." Noah added, raising a hand and waving.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn laughed at the bewildered expression on her mother's face as Cam gave her a hug without much warning. "<Sorry mom, he's really affectionate,>" she explained quickly to her as he pulled away, before beaming at all of them. "Oh, yeah, we get that a lot," she smiled, her eyes creasing into a smile. They did look really similar, which Ravyn was glad for - she had met her dad only a couple times, and he was a very cold, harsh man, and it showed in his features. Dom looked more like him than she did.

After the introductions were finished, Ravyn let out an excited sigh. "Ohmygod mom, you are the best," she told her as they went inside. She took an eager breath in, getting a strong whiff of what she had been making. "That smells amazing." Her mom's cooking was, in her opinion, the best. "You guys are gonna love it," she added, glancing at her friends with a smile.

The house wasn't huge, but there was enough room for them to settle at the dining room table. Alyna went back to finish what she was working on, and Ravyn sat between the two guys, running her fingers in contentment over the familiar rough surface of the wooden table. "Well, what do you guys think so far?" she asked. She was sure it was probably a little overwhelming for them. "There's so much I want to show you," she added. "Once, you know, the jet lag is gone." Because she still felt it, even though she was used to this trip, and she couldn't imagine how the boys felt.

[Cameron Osiris]

"Oh Noah, you sure know how to make a boy's heart flip," he said as sarcastically as possible, his hand to his heart before he was preoccupied with lugging the... luggage. "You know I can always kiss you again if you can't take it anymore," he said with a wink as he glanced back at Noah. Oddly, Cam felt nothing but friendship towards Noah. It was so so refreshing to not have a crush on someone. So good.

All smiles, Cam felt his stomach grumble at smelling the deliciousness and not tasting it. "It does smell good," he said, parking his bag. "Uh, where can we put our stuff?"

After that, Cam sat next to Ray and put his head on her shoulder, giving out a little sigh. "It's really amazing here Ray, you've got an awesome family." He sighed again, blinking a few times. "There's gotta be energy drinks in Russia," he mused. And with that, he rolled over Ravyn and onto Noah's lap, you know, so that he didn't feel left out of the affections.

[Noah Washington]

Walking through the house, Noah let himself take in the atmosphere of the place. It wasn't a huge place but that didn't really matter anyway. Dragging the luggage along, he parked it wherever it was supposed to go.

"Yeah, your mom seems really nice." Noah added, sitting down at the dining table. In truth, it was overwhelming. The whole aspect of being in another country was overwhelming for him, and he almost wasn't sure what to do with himself. So for the most part he was content to just follow along with the others until he got his bearings. "What do you want to show us first?" He asked curiously.

He gave an audiable oof! when Cam landed in his lap. His arms went around the guy instantly. "Also Ray, you need to tell us where we should go for our first date." He affectionately leaned his head in Cam's direction.

"Oh and hey, what's your mom's name?" Noah asked, leaning inward. He wanted to be polite and all that, after all.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn motioned over to where they could put their stuff. "We can lug it all upstairs to our room later," she told them. Yes, they only had one other bedroom, but that wouldn't be a problem for the three of them. They were close enough now that that stuff didn't even make her feel weird anymore. She loved her boys.

She smiled as they spoke, dipping her head in agreement. "My mom is the best," she replied. "You'll like my grandparents too - they'll probably be over later. Just watch out for my grandpa, he's..." She grinned, tilting her head back as she remembered some fond memories. "He's got a lot of spunk. Grandma's the sweetest person you'll ever meet, though. Oh, and they don't speak English, so I'll have to translate for you guys." It shouldn't be too hard, she'd done it before.

She patted Cam's head affectionately before he laid down over her and onto Noah. Smirking, she let out a small chuckle before looking back up at Noah. "I'll probably take you to my old school first, or something. We can just walk around in the snow, if you want. Build an igloo, whatever." She grinned. "Oh, we have a pretty awesome mall, too. We can go buy some stuff, my treat." Or really, her grandparents' treat - around this time of the year, they always gave her a very generous monetary gift for her birthday and Christmas. "Whatever you guys want to see or do, just let me know." The scenery alone they might want to just take in for a while. It was a gorgeous place to live.

She blinked and let out a burst of laughter at the two of them. So adorable. "I know this awesome bar a few miles away, you could go there," she snickered. Oh goodness, them. She was glad they had become such good friends.

"Oh, her name's Alyna," she replied, just as the woman named reappeared with dishes of food. Most of it was unfamiliar-looking, but far from unpleasant. Ravyn took in another deep breath. "I missed this so much. Thanks, mom," she said, quickly grabbing a plate and dishing up.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam was so excited to meet the rest of Ray’s family. He giggled at hearing that her grandpa had spunk. “Oh, I bet plenty will be communicated through body language alone.” Cam was one to talk with his hands and be all over the place all at the same time. Exhibit A...

Cam nodded once and let his eyes grow wide. “This guy thinks he’s getting a date.”

“Yeah, what do you want to show us first Ray Beam?” Cam asked perched in Noah’s lap. He didn’t have a problem making any place feel like home. So long as friends were with him, it wasn’t such a hard feat to accomplish. But as soon as Ray’s mom came back, he’d be sure to stay in his own chair.

Even if drinking was involved, Cam would have a few. Besides, they were all friends, right?

Once the food was set out, Cam got off of Noah, but not before sending him a wink. “Your mom speaks English right?” Cam asked, and before it could be confirmed or denied, he found Ray’s mom and pointed at her while smiling. “You have to let me help wash dishes after we eat.”

[Noah Washington]

Noah nodded when she was talking about her grandparents. It made him miss his grandmother, but that was beside the point. He made note that she would have to translate for the boys though. Noah idly wondered how she got so good at English if so many of her family members struggled with the language, but he supposed it wasn't that imperative to think on.

"This is pretty much our honeymoon, Cam." Noah pointed out with a smirk.

He didn't mind what they ended up doing, but he couldn't stop himself from yawning. The jetlag was ridiculous for a first time traveler, so he was tired. Noah took in the information about her mother's name. He just wanted to be polite, after all. He started reaching out for the food. The boy was hungry.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"Right, because you're like, the expert on body language," Ravyn agreed with Cam, rolling her eyes and smirking. He was, indeed, very expressive with his hands, among other things. Heh. She was lucky she had been practically forced to learn English starting at a young age in school - everyone these days had to be at least bilingual to get a decent job, it seemed.

"You guys are ridiculous," she laughed, darting her hand down to grab her phone and take a quick picture of Cam perched on Noah's lap before they could say anything. "These'll go in my scrapbook," she promised them, slipping the device back into her pocket just as her mom came around the corner.

Alyna rose her eyebrows at the boys, a small smile crossing her face as she looked over at Ravyn. "<Are they together?>" she asked curiously. Ravyn laughed and shook her head, shooting a grin at the blondes. "<No, they're just.... Affectionate,>" she responded as Alyna set out the food. She was glad her mom was so open-minded - she knew a lot of people in town that weren't. "She asked if you guys were an item," she whispered to the boys.

Ravyn nodded at Cam, beaming at him as he offered to help do the dishes afterwards. Alyna apparently understood most of what he said, because she gave him a warm smile and a nod as she sat. "That would be... Most welcome. Thank you."

As they continued to eat, Ravyn couldn't help but notice how tired Noah looked. It was impossible, in her opinion, for him to look terrible, but he definitely didn't seem like his bright, cheerful self. She gave him a nudge, murmuring,"Jetlag's rough, huh? I can show you the room after you're done, if you want. We can call it an early night." She knew as soon as her stomach was full, she would probably be out pretty soon afterwards, too.

[Cameron Osiris]

"Damn right I am," he said to Ravyn, giving her a wink. They all knew it too.

"And you dare bring a lady? For shame," he said, smacking Noah upside the head. And here he thought he'd be like a third wheel - poor Ravyn. Cam smiled and gave a thumbs up for the sake of the picture, trying to look as corny as possible. "Yay honeymoon pictures! I'm sure everyone would look at them if you called them that." Yeah, lots of horny people would look at those.

Cameron smiled pleasantly at Ray's mom, completely oblivious to what was being said about him and Noah. If he could understand though, he'd probably go along with it. Cam leaned in closer to Ray's explanation and he grinned mischievously. "You said yes, right?"

"No problemo," he said, taking his first few bites. While Ravyn and Noah spoke to each other, Cam ate like he hadn't eaten in days. "This is amazing!" He stated, beaming at Alyna. "You've gotta teach me how to make this."

[Noah Washington]

"I want a copy of those pictures!" Noah called out, twinging his head at the sudden hit from Cam. He feigned a look of total dismay, as if the hit hurt a lot and damn near broke his heart. He did really want to remember this trip, and those pictures were the perfect way to do that.

Noah leaned inward when she mentioned that her mother thought they were together. He looked at Cam for his reaction and grinned profusely, nodding along as if the other blonde had spoken some wise, influential statement. "You can tell her that it is an American custom to treat thy bro like thy wife." Noah recited, adding his very best posh accent to make it sound like he was being legitimate.

"I've just never been overseas before, y'know?" Noah asked, hoping she'd understand it all just by that statement. "I'll be fine, I bet. Just a little tired, that's all. Besides, we have plenty of time to do all that awesome stuff." Two weeks went a long way, after all.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn continued to laugh at the two of them. "I'll make sure to make copies." she assured them with a wink. "But c'mon guys, you can't leave me ooout," she pretended to whine. "I'm lonely all over here by myself." She motioned to her empty lap, before breaking into a snicker again. In reality, she was just glad they were such great friends. There would be plenty of time for snuggling later.

"Of course I did," she lied, smirking profusely. Poor Alyna, she probably would have believed it. The woman just smiled pleasantly and continued to make sure they had all that they wanted. "I'll have to teach you guys how to say things in Russian. It'd be fun." Hah, she could totally make them learn embarrassing things and have them say it in public. Add that to the list of things to do.

At Cam's exclamation, Alyna gave him a wide, pleased smile. She obviously understood what he had said. Either that, or she just understood from the way he was eating. "I would be happy to teach you," she replied, eating at a much slower pace. "I'm sure Ravyn would love to have... A Russian cook at Hammel."

"I can't cook to save my life," Ravyn admitted at the mention of her name, before turning her attention back to Noah. She nodded sympathetically; her first trip to the United States had been far from pleasant. Air travel could be rough on people. "Okay. If you feel sick or anything, let me know. It should wear off by tomorrow or the next day at the latest." She gave his arm a squeeze before turning back to the food.

The meal was as amazing as Ravyn had hoped it would be, and soon enough they were putting their plates away. Letting out a yawn, Ravyn said,"I'm gonna go ahead and take my stuff upstairs. If I'm not back down in ten, I probably fell asleep." As she had predicted, now that her stomach was full, she was starting to feel drowsy. She went out and grabbed her belongings, before lugging them up to her room. It was pretty bare, but the bed was folded neatly with fresh bedding, and she let out a content sigh as she dropped her stuff on the ground and flopped onto it. Another bed had been put in for when her grandparents visited, so there was enough room for them all to sleep... Together, really, if they pushed the beds together. Ravyn mused over the thought. The boys would probably be up for that.

[Cameron Osiris]

"Me too!" Chimed in Cam. "Was thinking about making a scrapbook before the wedding." He smiled loving at Noah, as if the other blonde should expect being hit in the head by now. They were, after all, getting married.

"I'm not the wife in this, you are," Cam said, because that's the only part he had paid any attention to. It didn't take any more mentioning from Ravyn for Cam to pounce back into her lap and make himself comfy. He had plenty of love to share.

Cam smiled fittingly for Ray's mom, obviously eager and interested in learning new recipes. "And I could teach you how to make, uh, tacos or something." A recipe for a recipe, that's how it usually worked anyways.

As promised, Cam went to help with dishes. They had taken more than ten minutes to do, not because there were so many, but because he didn't stop talking with Alyna. "See you tomorrow!" He said to her, giving her a wave after she insisted that he go and see Ravyn and Noah, wherever they had ran off to.

"What a great day," Cam said to no one in particular, poking his head into each of the rooms upstairs until he found Rayvn. "Ohh, so it's a cuddle party?" He asked, heading for his luggage, pulling out his pajamas. That's all he would need for now. "Ugh," he said, putting a hand to his face, the other on his waist, "I am sooo bushed." He had all intentions of changing right there. What? It wasn't like he was going to be naked, just standing in his boxers momentarily before the pajama pants went on. He wanted plenty of rest for tomorrow's shenanigans.

[Noah Washington]

"Yeah, yeah." Noah replied. Of course he'd end up as the wife in all this. Cam was too pushy to be laid back enough. He wouldn't say that out loud though. Not yet, anyway. Because this would probably come up later on anyway. Beyond that he was just eating. The flight had made him ridiculously hungry. And while he normally never tried to ingest something he didn't understand, he would make an exception for this moment.

Noah grabbed his bags and hauled them over to the room where they were staying. While Cam was doing the dishes, he brought his in too. He figured it was the least he could do since Cam was doing the dishes.

"Exhausted, yeah." Noah tacked on when Cam came back and started looking for what to wear to sleep. That was a pretty good idea, actually. Noah went to his bags and started looking for some pajama pants to change into. He didn't really want to bother changing his shirt. "How're we doing this?" He asked, motioning to the sleeping arrangement.