Chapter Text
Nastya leaned her head back against the wall of Mr. Cole’s classroom.
Jonny laid on the floor, fingers gripping the area around his heart.
“Shit, shit, shit, Jonny, wake up, shit-”
He coughed, no, his chest rattled and exhaled, shit-
“Mom! Scuzz! Someone, help!”
Nastya wept over his still body, numb to anything around her as her brother lay dead and-
“Miss Rasputina?” Mr. Cole sneered.
“Huh? Oh. Sorry, I, uh, zoned out.”
“I noticed. So, tell me, what was part of the novelty of Hamurabbi’s Code?”
Nastya wrinkled her nose. Surely they were further in history than that…
“Specific and equal punishments were assigned to specific crimes. ‘An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg’ and all that.”
“Okay, good. And what innovations in technology and learning did the Babylonians develop?”
Nastya laughed. “They developed metal carving tools for art and an advanced form of trigonometry.”
Mr. Cole rolled his eyes. “Okay, smart-aleck.”
Nastya narrowed her eyes at him and Tim took issue with that comment.
“Tim, don’t-”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Do not get into an argument with a teacher on my behalf,” Nastya whispered, wincing as Mr. Cole steadied a glare at Tim.
“It means, Tim, that she knows things that she clearly wasn’t paying attention to.”
“And? It’s not like it’s odd information to know.”
Nastya felt her breath catch in her chest and her words in her throat. She kicked Tim under the table and dug her nails into his arm. Her quiet hum was enough to get him to back off and turn his attention to her.
you good? He wrote in the margin of her notes.
not really, but ty for sticking up for me :) she wrote back.
no problem nas anything to make jonny stop calling me a pushover lol
She laughed under her breath and rolled her eyes at him.
do u want to know how to write my name in russian he has no idea what he’s saying ehl oh ehl
uh absolutely i dooooo
>:)
She pulled out a separate sheet of paper and handed Tim a pen.
watch this lol
She carefully wrote her name, Настя Распутина , and left enough space that he could easily copy it.
He did, and though it was messy and unrefined, he was proud of himself, and Nastya was proud of him.
good job timberlands
THAT’S NOT MY NAME I HATE IT HERE
Nastya grinned at him, quickly moving her hands to make it look like she was taking notes as Mr. Cole’s attention turned her direction again.
The announcement bell rang right as he opened his mouth to speak, though, saving her from any potential embarrassment.
“Happy birthday to… Marius von Raum!” Nastya heard, digging in her backpack.
“What are you looking for?” Tim asked.
“Jonny got me to make a gift from him but also a gift from me for Marius. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, but I’m unsure how much he needs his boyfriend’s little sister to make him a vanity plate to hang in his room. Man can’t even drive.”
Tim laughed. “Well, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. He does care a lot and even if not, I think all of us really enjoy gifts, no matter who gives them. I know for damn sure I do.”
Nastya handed him something with a small smile.
Tim looked down at it.
“You… why?” He curled his fingers around the small bullet, pressing his short nails into the engraving.
“Jonny told me that you were looking into getting one when you got a job. I have fun making things and so does Lyf. I wanted to.”
He smiled, small at first, but it grew as she pulled him into a hug.
“Thank you, Nastya. I love it.”
The bell rang, and the two departed, but not without a smile.
Nastya carried the grin through the rest of the day and into the afternoon. Carmilla picked the group up from practice again and they met Marius’ family at the restaurant.
Marius’ younger brother instantly latched onto Lyf, who simply blinked at him in surprise before the instinct of conversation kicked in. Marius’ parents were very surprised to find out that Marius was dating almost everyone there, but fortunately made no comment. Everyone was thankfully on their best behavior, unlike the last group dinner. The night ended with Marius, Raphaella, Brian, Tim, Lyf, and the Toy Soldier heading home and Ashes and Ivy crashing at Carmilla’s house as usual.
“Goodnight, Marius. Happy birthday,” Jonny murmured, kissing him softly.
“Ew. Gross,” Nastya joked.
Nastya smoothed out the dress over her legs as she watched Tim and Jonny try (and fail) to play band football.
Brian certainly would enjoy playing, but his joints weren’t any good for it.
“Raph, Милая Моя, are you good?” she asked, noticing Raphaella’s nervousness.
“I’m… fine. I’m just…” she sighed. “It’s the first time I’ve worn a dress and I feel weird. I don’t know. It just…”
“Do you think something to eat might help?” Ivy asked, digging in her tote bag.
“Maybe.”
Nastya pulled Raphaella closer and Ivy handed her a bag of M&Ms out of her bag. Brian reached down from the row above the girls to ruffle Raphaella’s hair.
“If it makes you feel better, I think the dress looks really pretty on you,” Ivy murmured, fingers tracing little shapes on Raphaella’s calves. “Everything does, but this especially. Still, though, don’t feel any pressure to wear dresses. You don’t have to wear dresses when we do if you don’t want to.”
“I… thank you, Bellissima . I want to wear dresses, I really do, but… this feels weird.”
“I get it. That’s how I feel sometimes, too. It… takes some getting used to,” Nastya reassured.
Brian smoothed out his own skirt and pressed a kiss to the top of Raphaella’s head.
“Are you ready for tomorrow? For the second away game in a row?” he asked teasingly.
“Hell yeah, I am,” the three chorused.
“And Nastya, are you ready to stop giving Lyf heart attacks because you don’t eat enough meat?”
“Never.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”