army of two. [tag; ivan]

don't ever change and I'll stay the same.

Mmm.

This bed was much softer than her own. Wrinkling her nose, she shifted a little, pressing her face a little further into her plush and plump soft pillow. It was a little after eight o'clock in the morning and Elitza had no idea the last time she'd been awarded such a luxury. A sleep-in was precious but with Milen now up at the crack of dawn, wanting to explore, wanting to learn, this felt just lovely. The little boy had also developed a nasty habit of asking "why?" to everything she did.

She took him grocery shopping earlier in the week and he continually asked why. Why was she buying sweet corn, why did he have to brush his teeth, why didn't they have a dog, why do ducks quack, why was the sky blue, why did his Aunt Rosa have a moustache, why wasn't Daddy living with them.

The last question got her thinking; why weren't she and Ivan living together? The main reason was that it was highly likely she might end up killing him. They'd been through a lot but moving in together was a pretty huge deal and she certainly was not going to be the one to suggest it. Elitza grunted, the tip of her nose wrinkling in distaste to the squawking of birds somewhere outside of the bedroom window. In actual fact, they were singing a rather lovely dawn chorus but anything before ten in the morning was just noise.

She didn't often stay over at Ivan's home but it was date night. She didn't really like how his home was decorated. There was too much clutter, everything was a bit dark and he had a real issue with picking up after himself. In school, he'd always been a bit of a hoarder. Even after all this years, she still didn't find it all that endearing.

Her clothes were strewn all around his bedroom. Her slinky little black dress lay in a sequined heap by the door, one shoe was under his bed and she had no idea where the other one was and her bra was hanging from the lampshade. Elitza stretched out, sliding her hands up the mattress before letting her arms pop out from the top of the duvet. As she stretched, she arched her back, letting out a soft little grumble. It was very rare that she got the amount of sleep she required but she'd slept like a baby.

With a yawn, she rolled over and instinctively closer to the warm body next to her. She wasn't overly cuddly, she never had been. She didn't really like people touching her. She carried a bottle of antiseptic potion with her in her handbag everywhere she went but she had to admit, Ivan wasn't that bad. And he had told her he loved her a few weeks ago. Did that meant that they were dating again? Urgh. It was like they were teenagers all over again. It was getting a bit pathetic now.

The tall woman slid closer, draping a long arm over his waist as she snuggled up, placing her cheek on his chest and letting her long dark hair spread out over the pillows, the sun streaming through the window making it shine. She didn't want to wake him, she wasn't ready to get out of bed just yet. "Hmpgh," came the nonsensical mumble as she wiggled a little, letting the side of her body mould to his. "Go and get me a cup of coffee," Elitza stated lazily, eyes still closed as she lifted her head just a little to kiss his collarbone. His mouth was too far away.

It was very rare for the house to be so quiet and still so late in the morning. While there was an alarm clock on the nightstand, it was there for aesthetic quality more than anything, as Ivan had long since reached the point that his body woke itself up within fifteen minutes of seven or so. For an hour, he had been in a state of half-consciousness, facing his ceiling, eyes closed in a predictably unsuccessful attempt at a second slumber. The majority of his days after Durmstrang had started much earlier than this one was going to, and he was very aware that Elitza was just as accustomed to seeing the early hours of the day as he was; since Milen had yet to attempt to find the couple in bed, the door locked for obvious reasons, he found himself in no rush to get the day started.

While his eyes occasionally wondered to the figure beside him, shadowed by morning light peeking through curtains halfheartedly drawn the night before, the goosebumps of the unexpected arm across his torso are what brought the young Bulgarian into a somewhat full state of consciousness. Ivan shifted a little, and moved his pillow to prop up his head to accommodate hers taking over half of his chest. It wasn't often that the two spent the night together, hesitation coming much more from her side than his. He had always been more impulsive when it came to their relationship, and often found himself jealous of her more methodical and rational approach. The natural conflict from the two continued to be a roller coaster for the two, despite having been involved in some form for the better half of a decade. However, the relationship had lately hit one of the highest points it had seen in a long time, so the past few weeks had been a true test of his self-control and patience.

Feigning drowsiness, Ivan waited a few moments before responding to her request. It took only a moment to realize that laying there for the past hour had made it incredibly unappealing to get out of his bed, but he knew that she was probably more than ready for some caffeine. While he had never been one to drink coffee on a frequent basis, after the first couple of times she had spent the night, he realized that he should find some room for a small supply in his cupboards. The small kiss only made a better argument against getting out of bed, and by this point his arm had found its way around her body, hand resting just above her hip bone. “Five more minutes,” he replied jokingly with a smile spreading across his face, though in a tone much deeper and rougher than what he normally spoke in, his vocal chords finally being used for the first time that day. He kissed the top of her head before extracting his body from hers, groaning as his feet hit the cold floor as they crossed the room to a dresser to find a pair of shorts before exiting the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

As quietly as he could, he made his way down the stairs into his kitchen, lazily gesturing across the kitchen with his wand to prepare the coffee for his companion upstairs. He had peeked into Milen's room, and their son must have been worn out by Elitza's brother while the two had been at dinner last night, because he was still fast asleep. Since his mother had yet to put on clothes, Ivan figured it would be best to let him stay asleep as long as possible before he would inevitably want to join the two in bed. Soon, the smell of coffee filled the kitchen and he was climbing the stairs back to his room, returning with a small plate of toast and a steaming mug on a tray. He slid back into bed, charming the tray to float out in front of the two. A soft, “Good morning,” came in a still groggy tone, cuddling back up to her and admiring the contrast of dark locks against his pale skin.

This was nice. The duvet was soft and she was thoroughly relaxed and toasty warm. As long as Milen was sleeping, she was not going to leave this bed. She had no idea when the next sleep in opportunity would come but she was going to grab this one with both hands and cherish it. She did feel like a bit of a bad mother when she passed her son to Rosen but she was assured that he was having a ball with Milen and the little boy always came home with a big beaming smile. There was not a snowball's chance in Hell she was leaving him alone with Viktor. Nope.

At his response, she grunted. The tip of her nose wrinkled up in distaste at effectively being told to wait. She didn't want to wait. Lifting a hand, she playfully pushed his chest. The action was half-hearted, her brain still in a foggy haze of tiredness. She had never been overly affectionate but before she really woke up, she was actually a rather nice person. And she hated it.

Her slender body curled closer as his hand snaked around her, curling her legs up a little into a more comfortable side sleeping position. She smiled at the kiss and she didn't make any effort for Ivan to stop leaving the bed, purely because she wanted the coffee more than she wanted his cuddles. Her head hit the pillow again without his chest to support it and she peeked out from under the duvet to watch him. Her big dark brown eyes scanned him, feeling a stab of disappointment when she saw him redressing. Elitza liked him a lot more when he was naked.

Once the bed was free, she let out a groan as she stretched, like a cat unfurling from a long sleep in front of a fire. Soft pops cut through the silence of the bedroom as she clicked all of her joints, flopping backwards and spreading herself out like a starfish. She smiled to herself as she looked around the place, relieved to know that she could improve his home. She loved Ivan, she did but he'd always sort of be her pet project.

The smell of coffee perked her up. Like a bloodhound, Elitza sprung to life, eagerly sniffing the air as the door opened. Was that…toast, too? What a good little bed buddy he was. When wished a good morning, she simply tutted. "What's good about it?" she grunted, frowning again as she pulled the coffee towards her and took a short sip of the hot, sweet black liquid. Instantly, she relaxed. Her shoulders slumped as she reclined against the plush pillows, letting out a little groan of satisfaction as she took another sip. "That's the stuff," she mumbled, holding the mug delicately between her two pale hands, warming her palms on the hot china.

"Good morning," she finally replied with a soft smile, wiggling as she gently eased herself back down off the headboard and back into the bed, not spilling a drop of her precious coffee as she cradled it close to her chest. With her free hand, she reached out to pluck a piece of toast from the plate and take a small bite, chewing neatly before placing it back on the tray along with her cup.

Turning to face him, she reached out to take his face between her hands and kiss him. She slid one hand from his face down the back of his neck to his shoulder blades, carefully manoeuvring him a little closer as she leant back, threatening to pull him on top of her before she stopped. "Sleep well?" She asked brightly with a smile, letting him go before going back to her coffee and taking another sip. She'd really like to read the paper right about now.

Just as he had crawled back into bed and began to get comfortable, there was an almost inaudible pecking noise at the window; had the mail owl not cast a shadow across the room, Ivan may have even ignored it altogether. Without a word but with much annoyance, he once again extracted himself from Elitza. He fumbled through a coat pocket until he found a knut and traded the owl for a copy of the newspaper and the rest of the post. He quickly thumbed through the letters addressed to him before tossing them onto a nightstand and returning to bed with the paper; the man almost never received personal mail, and his priorities at the moment were not the least bit related to business.

After returning to the warmth under the covers, he gave the paper a quick scan, making sure nothing particularly monumental was changing the wizarding world that morning; ever since the war in England had ended, the news had been rather tame, nothing yet managing to match the defeat of an evil wizard several decades older than himself. He discarded it to the foot of the bed, just in case Elitza decided to give it a look. He took a piece of toast for himself and took a couple of bites, just enough to ease his grumbling stomach for a moment.

This kiss came before he expected it, but was returned. What shocked him more was her hands signaling that she appeared to want Ivan in a much closer proximity than he was at the moment. Just as his body began to find itself hovering over her own, the momentum stopped and found himself sitting beside her as he was before. A smile crossed his face, shaking his head only slightly at her; he enjoyed her playfulness in the morning, much better than waking up to an empty house. As she questioned about his sleep, he lifted up the covers to expose her body to the open air as he smiled and responded, "Like a baby. How was your night? You didn't have too much of a problem sleeping; we were out of the shower for all of two minutes and you were out like a light."

She wasn't sure if she liked Autumn. The seasons passed so quickly, she soon realised that she didn't really have any decent clothes at Ivan's home. All she had was a jumper and a pair of jeans, no coat and no scarf to wrap up against the decidedly cold Bulgarian weather. She let out a grunt of displeasure to both the owl who was tapping at the window pane and also the weather. It was cold. She didn't want to leave the bed even though she knew eventually she'd have to go home. Elitza was not a snuggly person but this bed was so big and so soft and so utterly lovely.

As Ivan discarded the paper, she shifted to pick it up before reclining against her plump pillows. She turned the page, her pretty face showing her indifference to the headlines. Usually, she just tended to read the gossip pages towards the back. Who was wearing what, who had snuck out of which establishment and she was sure there would be a lot about the British Ministry fundraiser.

As he shifted to pull back the covers, Elitza let out a gasp as the cold air hit her bare skin. Letting out a squeak of surprise and annoyance, she hastily threw her half eaten slice of toast at him. "What are you doing?" She hissed, her onyx coloured eyes wide as she hastily grabbed the sheets back and made a show out of tucking them in around her, effectively creating a blanket cocoon. Still irked, she moved a slender leg and kicked him.

"Fine, thank you," she grunted, shooting him a look as she pulled the duvet right up to under her chin and proceeded to snuggle back down again. She snorted, rolling her eyes swiftly.

"Can you blame me?" She asked as she blinked at him placidly. "You wore me out," she said as she exhaled a sigh, blowing at her deeply brown hair that fell across one of her eyes. She didn't like to think of Ivan sleeping with any other girl other than her, even though she was sure he had after one of their numerous break ups. Elitza, not to be big headed, always knew he'd come back to her. Ivan was like a lost little puppy who needed a master or an owner to look up to and besides, she was sure he knew he wouldn't find anyone better than her.

Where had they done stuff last night? The living room (floor and sofa), the hallway, the bedroom, the bathroom and he was making fun of her for sleeping through the night? The only place they hadn't done stuff was his back garden but there was no way she was going out side in just her underwear.

Elitza shrugged one of her bare shoulders gently, rolling over to face him. Quietly, she extended a slim index finger to gently run it up and down the arm Ivan had closest to her lazily, back and forth, tracing slow, intricate and invisible patterns on the warm skin. "You know," she remarked softly. "We didn't have sex in the kitchen last night," she drawled, her eyes watching her finger as she slid closer to kiss his shoulder blade, sliding her lips over to his collarbone before kissing up the side of his neck to his ear lobe.

"It's a lovely kitchen," she purred. "Very big. Spacious. Clean. Did you have marble or granite counter tops?" Elitza asked gently, entertaining the idea of having a clandestine meeting in the kitchen. The fact that Pietro could wander in at any moment was hilarious to her. She and Ivan's father had never seen eye to eye, even when they were dating in school. She thought he was a geriatric lunatic with a penchant for younger women and he thought she was a money grabbing psychopath. In actual fact, they weren't wrong about each other.

"How long do you think we have before Milen wakes up?" The brunette asked, placing soft kisses down his throat and stopping when she came to his chest and she flashed him a smile. She'd always been a terrible influence on him.

The kick under the sheets earned an over dramatic, "Ow," though not a very convincing one. It came through a smile, though the tone alone was probably enough to convey the lack of sincerity. Ivan's eyes continued to drift lazily across the familiar features of Elitza's face, admiring them in the early morning light attempting to illuminate the room. Without a word, his hand moved from his side to push a strange of hair behind her ear. It had just barely resumed its position when it fell back. Had it not been so early, he may have looked to secure it more effectively, but he simply shrugged and accepted defeat.

The Bulgarian laughed at her mention of the previous night, looking back on the events himself. He mentally traced their steps from the time the arrived back at the house to when they collapsed in a heap on the bed. While he liked to think that his sexual appetite wasn't outrageous, the woman laying in bed beside him certainly brought it out in him like no one else he had ever slept with. Elitza had a way of bringing out many sides of Ivan that not many other people could, and he spent most of the time trying to figure out if that was something he liked or something that scared him.

His hips rose as he shifted slightly, the movement uncontrolled. Her fingers across his skin had come as a surprise, and caused him to jump slightly. As they continued, small goosebumps rose along the path they followed. His skin was still relatively cold, but compared to the air surrounding them, above the comforter, was almost frightening in comparison. Just the thought had him wedging himself further down just a bit.

The smile on his face brightened at her suggestion. She was very right - the two, indeed, had somehow missed the kitchen somehow. Maybe she had suggested it and he passed it up for another go on the couch? "Hm," he crooned. Ivan was considering it very seriously. While at the moment he felt as though he did not have nearly the energy that he would need to not only make it down the stairs, but do the deed as well, that sounded like quite a way to wake up. Like many of the things Elitza did, this immediately had his mind drifting back to Durmstrang. While he was not typically one to reminisce and relive school days, sometimes he wished to go back just to spend the time over with her again. Without the pressures of parenthood and adulthood, those had easily been their best years, at least the ones they had gotten along the best. At the moment he was recalling a very specific night in Klyk Vampira when she had convinced him to have sex in the common room. Was she possibly trying to coerce him into becoming an exhibitionist?

"Milen was still sound asleep when I walked by, so I think for the moment, our son is a nonissue." At the moment, his father was not even remotely on his mind. The older Sonia was a habitual late sleeper, but even if he woke up it might not phase him too much. While he liked to keep his private life discreet, his relationship with Elitza had never been a secret to his father. And in complete honesty, it would not be the first time he had interrupted the two during an intimate moment.

As he took in the sight of Elitza nearly ready to sew the sheets of the bed together to trap her body from the cold air, Ivan wondered if she was simply bluffing. While he couldn't think of much she might gain from it, he knew her too well to know that she rarely revealed all of her cards. But he thought they had gotten past that; the two had been doing very well the past year or so, easily the best since leaving Durmstrang. "I'll tell you what," he started, a mischievous grin distorting his normal smile. "If you can handle the cold air without squealing loud enough to wake Milen up, then yes, we can mark the kitchen off our list." He waited just a brief moment after he finished, allowing the words to sink in, before tearing the covers way from her, throwing them toward the foot of the bed, effectively releasing all the warm air built up under them.