by me
Disclaimer: Fake.
Series: Part whatever of the collection of Ilya/Dany stories.
Summary: Lots of dialogue. About language.
Notes: This is what happens when you learn things. You want to
show them off. So you write fiction and insert the things you
learn. Like the Russian alphabet.
"There. Deh-ah-n-ee."
"That looks like D-A-H-U to me."
"That's because you have strange alphabet."
"No, you have a strange alphabet."
"It is Cyrillic, not strange."
"And ours is Roman, not strange." Dany stuck out his tongue at the
Russian, still staring at his name."
"You have girl's name."
Dany looked up again. "WHAT?"
"Girl names end in vowel. Boys names end in consonant."
"Your name ends in a vowel!"
"My name ends in `ya' which is different."
"'Ah' is a vowel!"
"Not `ah', `ya'. Is it's own letter." He drew the letter, which
resembled a backwards `R' and Dany groaned.
"Why can't you just use NORMAL letters?"
Ilya wrote his own name. "Because your alphabet is dumb. Why
put `s' and `h' together to make one sound instead of having letter
for that sound?"
"Uh...I don't know."
"Exactly. See, this says Ilya."
"It looks like U...uh, I dunno, that's kinda a screwy R, a tiny B,
and that backwards R thing."
"U is ee sound," Ilya said patiently, curling his leg around Dany's
as the older man concentrated.
"So that U looks like a backwards N when you print it?"
"Yes!"
"Ok�so, then the thing with the little hook is L?"
"Right."
"What's the little b?"
"It is a mark. It changes sound of `L'. From Ilya to Ilya. You
hear difference?"
"No, but it doesn't matter. And the backwards R is `ya'?"
"Right."
"Ok, write Kovalchuk."
Ilya wrote it clearly and carefully in cursive, and Dany leaned over
the paper, brushing his hair from his eyes. "K-O-B-A-little r
thingy-something with a tail-Y-K?
Ilya laughed at the Americanizing of the letters. "Yes, now sound it
out."
Biting his lip, Dany whispered the letter sounds, blending them
together before looking up at Ilya. "It makes sense!"
The Russian nodded, unable to help his own smile. "It does."
"Ok, so, write Heatley."
Ilya scribbled something and showed it to his lover. "It is not
perfect. Sounds are different, like the H."
"But it's close?"
"Yes, close."
"Can you write...um...Calgary?"
"Of course." He wrote it out and Dany looked at the words a little
longer.
"So I really have a girl's name?"
Ilya giggled a little and added a mark above the "ee" at the end of
Dany. "There. Now it is boy name."
"What'd you do?"
"There is `ee' and there is `ee kratkoye'."
"And ee krat-thing is male?"
"Something like that, yes."
"This is a really confusing language."
"English is ten times worse, believe me."
"You seem to do ok."
"Well, maybe I am smarter than you, yes?"
Dany elbowed him in the side, and Ilya mock-scowled at him.
Smiling, Dany leaned over for a kiss, which was eagerly returned.
Ilya moved a little closer, snaking his arm around the Canadian's
shoulders, and Dany pushed him away. "We can't."
Ilya sighed. "How thin are the walls again?"
"Very thin. I'm sorry, Kovy, I love you, but I'm not having sex
with you with my parents in the next room."
"It would be exciting."
"It would be stupid. So you'll just have to wait until tomorrow
night when we're back in Atlanta."
Sighing, the Russian settled himself back in his previous position.
They were both on their stomachs on Dany's bed in Calgary, and
spiral bound notebook between them, currently covered in cryptic �
and Cyrillic � scribbles. "Fine, whatever."
"See, now you're brooding."
Ilya didn't look at him. "I am not."
"You are. Write something else."
Ilya obliged him. "Can you read it?"
"Da," Dany said decisively, peering at the page. "Ya...that's what
the backwards R is?"
"Yes."
"Ok. Ya. L...youb...lyou?"
"Da, lublyu."
"Ya lublyu...tebya?"
"Da, ochen corosho!"
"Hey! I know what that means!"
"You do, yes."
"I love you, too."
"What time is it?"
"After 3."
"So we should go to bed."
"Da."
"You can quit with the Russian, now."
Ilya laughed and rolled over with Dany, cuddling closer to him and
sighing. "Nyet, mnye priyatno pa-russki."
"What's 'priyatno'?"
"Like. I like Russian."
"You are Russian."
"Ya znayou, Dany."
"But I can't understand what you're saying!"
"Ya lublyu tebya."
"That I understand." Pressing his lips to Ilya's neck, he flipped
off the light. "Good night, Kovy."
"Dobrey nochi, Dan."