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Part 39 - The Extrication of Alexei Korolev

(Alexei)

Cooking, cleaning and another stint of gardening: they all kept Alexei busy around the house the day after his difficult discussion with Nate. A decent night's sleep helped to ease his stress, but the shadow of the night before never ventured too far away from his thinking.

'Things did not go well,' he considered to himself, yanking another clump of weeds from the flowerbed lining his grandfather's front path. The afternoon sun beat down hard on his back, making for hard, thirsty work, even in just shorts and a t-shirt. 'Perhaps I should try to talk more with Nate this evening. Discuss his plan.'

Alexei continued along the stone path, plucking weed after weed to give the rainbow of flowers left behind room to breathe. Sadly, it couldn't offer him the same freedom from his thoughts.

'His plan is to leave for Bolstrovo... you can't do that.'

'Still, I hate the way I have left things with him. I hate that I have upset him so much.'

'And? What would you do to stop this?'

He tossed the limp bundle of vines he'd collected into a waiting basket at the end of the path; resting at the base of the porch's wooden steps. 'I will remind him that just because I cannot move now, it does not mean I cannot forever. I hope that he understands this... accepts this.'

"Alexei!" Turning to grumbling cry's source, he found his grandfather standing in the open front doorway of the house. "I have cooked up the Kotlety you prepared earlier. Come."

Alexei nodded silently, waiting until Maxim had returned inside before snatching up the weed basket. "He has been upset all day," he sighed to himself, starting up the old wooden steps. "After all I have done, he should be happy."

With one last whining creak from underfoot, Alexei took a moment to glance over his shoulder from atop the porch. The sundrenched skyline of Kremensk's city centre rose from the horizon; modern skyscrapers staggered between older stone buildings, with the river Kremen meandering through them.

'It would be so perfect...' Another, gentler sigh left his muzzle. 'Me and Nate, together here in the city.' He gave a sad, wistful smile, turning to carry both himself and the basket into the old townhouse. 'If only.'

The aroma of seasoned, breaded meatballs wafted around the dining room; Alexei's Kotlety fried to perfection. From the window at the back of the adjoining kitchen, bright sunshine beat in from the lush green rear garden. Sitting down to his food, he would have been more than happy to kick back and relax, if not for the distant, irritable attitude of his grandfather.

"Thank you for finishing the cooking, Grandpa," Alexei stated, reaching out to spoon a large helping of coleslaw onto his plate.

"You are welcome," the elder wolf gruffed in return, scooping up a side of roasted potatoes from the main serving dish.

Their conversation faltered to a halt there and then, with barely two words shared between them for the remainder of their meal. The warm sun shined on and the delightful scent of their hearty meal lingered, yet all Alexei could do was sit huddled in his seat, wondering what he'd said or done to upset his grandfather. It'd have been simple to dismiss and forget about it; to just get up, walk away and leave the tension behind. He couldn't though, at least not without asking, "Is everything okay?"

"Why would it not be?" Maxim finished one final forkful of meat, dropping his cutlery to the plate with a noisy clatter.

Alexei paused, letting the moment pass. "You seem... unhappy." The elder wolf grabbed his plate and heaved himself from his seat without reply, padding over to the sink in the time it took his grandson to speak up again. "I... am just curious to know if there is a problem."

Maxim quickly rinsed his dish off and dropped it to soak with the dirty pots and pans. He kept his back to Alexei the entire time, peering at the bright greenery outside while his ears began to dip.

"Is it about the meeting with the insurer? ...My lack of input--?"

"I heard you speaking yesterday," he grunted. "I heard what you spoke of."

"What? I... don't understand."

Maxim twisted sharply, his stormy expression a sharp contrast to the view beyond him. "The Polcian." Alexei's ears perked, the lump forming in his throat cutting off a response before it even came. "Still, you speak of these silly ideas... A _relationship_with the tiny dog."

"Why is it so silly?" The younger wolf's brow furrowed to meet his grandfather's dismissive tone. "Just because you think this, because you don't understand, does not make it so."

"I understand perfectly," Maxim growled, stamping back to loom over the dining table. "You are being childish, living in a dreamworld. For almost two months, you have put your life on hold. Each time I speak to you of what we shall do about the new shop--"

"Stop," Alexei snapped, holding out a paw as he began to stand from the table. "I do not wish to speak of this now--"

"Yes!" Maxim grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him fast. "Exactly like this!" He released his grasp, the intensity in those green-yellow eyes unwavering as he jabbed a finger into his grandson's chest. "It is as if you have given up, and for what reason? The Polcian!?" He spat that word as if it were poison. "Look at what happened in the three weeks he was here. Look at what he has caused!"

"He caused!?" Alexei tried to push the elder's paw aside. "He has caused nothing--"

Maxim merely shook off the attempt, keeping his finger firmly pressed. "And now, instead of rebuilding your life, you listen to his talk of leaving for Bolstrovo. It is madness."

"Did you not listen to what I told him? I told him I cannot leave here!" Alexei's second attempt at relieving the grinding finger from his chest proved more successful, pushing it back with a growl. "Even so, just why is it madness?"

"You would leave behind everything you have here? Friends, family, for him!?"

"I..." Alexei's ears flicked, focus straying from the piercing glare of his grandfather's eyes. "It is not that I wish to leave you--"

"But still, you speak of a relationship!"

"Yes, because while I do not wish to leave you... I do not wish to lose him." He paused, regaining the rebellious glint in his gaze. "Grandpa, I love Nate!"

A snide, scoffed laughter flooded the tense atmosphere. Maxim turned away, batting a nonchalant paw at the air. "You are young. You do not know of love."

"I am too young for love?" The hostility returned to Alexei's voice, lips curling and muzzle slowly creasing. "What was your age when you married Grandma?"

"That was different."

"How?"

"It was different time," Maxim barked. "To be married with children by your age was normal in those days."

"I am thinking it is you who is living in a dreamworld." Alexei grumbled, folding his arms defiantly. "To you, I am still a cub who needs to be fended for."

"You will always be a cub to me. You are my grandson, I am here to protect you--"

"I do not need--!"

"Your parents would have wanted this--"

"You cannot know what my parents would have wanted!" Alexei's yell reverberated through the kitchen, rattling the windows and knocking his grandfather back a step. He expected his elder's look of surprise to turn back to rage, so the expression of genuine, crushing hurt that followed caught him off guard. Still, that'd not be enough to stop him taking a stand, even if his own anger faded. "They are gone... as is the little cub they left behind. I have grown... Tell me why you do not understand this."

They remained standing there, eyes locked together with magnetic intensity. The happy sounds of birds singing and children playing nearby crept into their world, but it couldn't defuse its tension. Alexei's eyes remained steadfast in his resistance to Maxim, arms still folded tight. His trembling paws and gradually tucking tail did however expose his regret for the direction their argument had taken, regardless of the fact he'd meant every word he'd said. It had gone far beyond any they'd had in recent memory, save perhaps for that which followed his kiss here with Nathan. While he'd have never admitted it, for a moment, Alexei wished he could have jumped back in time to avoid this confrontation altogether.

Without warning, Maxim's eyes flashed wider, as if something behind them had sparked. He quickly shifted on his paws, marching off out of the kitchen with a low, rumbling growl.

"Grandpa?" Alexei muttered, fearful of the sudden departure. He rushed out into the hallway, following his grandfather into the living room. "Where are you going?" He stopped at the doorway, watching him carry on past his armchair and towards the brickwork fireplace on the opposite side of the room. "What are you doing?"

His elder reached out to the old wooden clock resting upon the mantelpiece. Little did he know it then, but the time it read, five-thirtyfive, would sear itself into Alexei's mind forever.

Maxim tipped the timepiece towards himself, gathering up a pair of envelopes stashed against the wall behind it. All throughout, his grandson waited, trying to fathom the nature of the gears turning inside the elder's head.

Finally, he replaced the clock, spun around and marched back towards the doorway. "If this is how it is... If you insist on turning your back, on having a relationship with this Polcian..."

"What?" Alexei cocked his head, face twisting with complete bemusement. "What are you saying--?"

"Here." Maxim thrusted one of the brown envelopes into his chest, looking away the entire time.

He lifted open the fold, finding one of the insurance cheques stowed inside. "But... what?"

"If you wish to go through with this... stupidity, you will need it."

"I told you..." Alexei shook his head, wincing at the insane speed that this had all come about. "I-I said I cannot leave you to go to Bolstrovo. I told Nate this, also!"

"But you wish to live with him! It is all you have thought about while refusing to do the correct thing and move on with your life here. Tell me I am wrong!"

"I... wish to be with him... but--"

"It would have been yours anyway!" Maxim pushed the cheque at Alexei all over again, forcefully enough this time to make his marginally taller grandson stumble back. "I thought it would be invested in a new shop, along with my half... It seems I have thought wrong all along."

"G-Grandpa... What are you saying?"

"Is this not what you want!?"

"I said..." Alexei's ears dipped with the power of his grandfather's cry. He retreated back again, lips quivering as he struggled to finish his response. "I don't want to lose you. I--"

Maxim stomped forward, snarling intensely. "You have told me you are no longer a cub, yes!? If this is so, you will have to make the decisions of a man! You will have to choose."

"...Choose?" Alexei didn't require an answer to know what choice he'd referred to. Was this really the case? Was he really going to have to choose between Nate and his grandfather? He began to well up, heart thumping ever faster in his chest. His trembling paws grew into an uncontrollable shaking. Here he stood, all alone as he faced the biggest, toughest decision of his young life. "I..." He whimpered and whined, dipping his muzzle as the tears began to form.

In the end, Maxim went some way towards ending the torture, if only to thrust forth with the most startling of utterances. "It seems you have made your choice... In the morning, I wish for you to leave."

"What!?" Sadness poured from Alexei's wet eyes. "What are you saying?"

"This is not your home, and it has not been for a long time," Maxim rumbled with contempt. "If you insist on entertaining this stupid, immature idea... I wish for you to leave."

"You... what are...?" The young wolf's defiance had long gone, replaced by a bone-chilling horror that stole away his fierce words and left only timid, terrified squeals behind. "Y-You're crazy." His grandfather merely huffed in reply, shoving past and storming out into the hallway.

He threw a paw to his head with an anxious yelp, gripping the brown tufts of fur atop it. The cheque in his grasp, Maxim's ultimatum and the entire series of events that had led to this; it all felt like some bizarre fiction, a bad dream that he'd awake from at any moment. As time went on, as more and more creaks sounded from the old staircase, Alexei understood this to be the here and now. There'd be no escape from this cruel reality, no sudden flash to his bedroom on a gentle summer's morning. He'd have to react, and do so swiftly.

"Grandpa, stop!" He raced out into the hallway, bounding up the first three steps of the staircase in a single leap. His elder kept on climbing, reaching the top before Alexei had got even halfway. "Please, wait."

Maxim made it across the landing to his bedroom door, opening it and starting inside by the time his grandson could stop him. Alexei reached out and clasped his shoulder from behind, prompting him to turn with the most scornful snarl he'd ever seen.

"Grandpa..." He shirked back, unknowing of what to expect. "Can we not--?"

"Is this not what you want!?" Maxim roared, tearing his shoulder free. "To be with him!?"

"No... yes..." Alexei grasped for words, ambivalence paralysing his mind with both anger and anxiety. "I don't want to lose you--"

"So you keep saying, but a real man knows he cannot have all that he wants!" The booming rage carried throughout the upstairs hallway, an unmistakable whine of sadness beneath it cutting Alexei deeply. "Deep down, you have made your choice. Leave."

"Please..." He started towards his grandfather again, only to have the bedroom door slammed violently in his face. A heavy thump followed from the locking mechanism, leaving him to stand all alone upon the landing.

Alexei reached out a paw, meekly placing it on the cold, wooden door while his tail curled between his legs. "Grandpa?" he whimpered, waiting there, desperately hoping for a response that never came.

Alexei barely slept that night, wondering if his grandfather truly meant the terrible things that had been said that afternoon. He tossing and turned, getting no closer to an answer as the hours dragged on without pause. By the time 4am came and went, tiredness finally began to overwhelm his worry, allowing for one final, hopeful thought to cross his mind. 'He will be calm in the morning. That was emotion talking, not his brain. Everything will be okay... I am sure of this.'

He awoke groggily the next morning, somehow feeling even more exhausted than when he settled in the night before. The alarm clock upon his computer desk read '09:58', giving at least a partial answer to the reasons for his tired dejection. Of course, he knew only too well where the remainder of the answer lied.

Heaving himself from his bed, Alexei threw on a shirt and some loose, knee-length shorts, shuffling off out of his room a short time later.

He padded quietly along the wood-panelled corridor, towards the landing where his grandfather's bedroom door remained closed. All the while, he wondered what he could possibly say to help make amends for yesterday. Still, despite the sincerity and emotion of their argument, Alexei just couldn't fathom the idea that he'd be cast out onto the street, never to return. 'There is no way he meant this... surely?'

The solid knock on wood echoed through the otherwise silent house; a silence that persisted as Alexei waited patiently for Maxim to open up.

"Grandpa?" He rapped the door with his paw again, but still won no response. His focus shifted to the doorknob, a gentle twist allowing him to push the door ajar. "Are you in here?"

The room sat dark and empty, curtains still drawn with the double bed made up perfectly. It made little sense to Alexei, but for some reason the sight of his grandfather's bedroom like this, lifeless and abandoned, so soon after their confrontation filled him with gut-panging regret.

He closed the door with a whimper, turning to the staircase behind him. As he made his descent, Alexei called out for his elder, ending his search with a fruitless scan of the living room and kitchen.

'Perhaps he went into town early,' he thought to himself, standing alone in the sunlit hallway. 'Perhaps he has calmed... returned to his normal routine?'

Alexei allowed that optimism to take hold, to keep his spirits up. Even so, staying here alone in this empty house wasn't an option. Not with the memories of that argument still lingering unresolved. "It is a nice day... Perhaps a walk will help."

A sunny Saturday morning brought with it a hive of activity in leafy, hillside suburbia. Dozens of children, ranging from young cubs to teenagers, roamed the otherwise peaceful streets.

In the weeks he'd been back staying with his grandfather, Alexei had often found himself cutting a familiar, winding path through the neighbourhood he grew up in, doing what he could to pass the time. On this particular summer's morning, with the local children filling the air with their bright, jovial voices, Alexei almost felt like a cub again himself.

He took in the sights; the homes where his small circle of childhood friends used to live, the dated swing park where they'd often played and even the school they used to attend. Very little of it had changed since his early youth, only aiding him to drift off into and indulge in the past. So many happy memories came to the fore, previously stored in the depths of his mind and otherwise forgotten.

After almost an hour of slow, aimless wandering, Alexei stopped off at a small patch of green on the corner of a crossroad. He watched on as a group of pre-teens; three foxes, a wolf and two otters, frantically dashed about, kicking a ball between themselves. The thought of the fun he'd had on these streets over the years warmed his heart, just as much as the sun did his fur. "It would be so good to go back."

'Would it?' Alexei frowned at that thought, rebelling against his happy nostalgia. 'There were fun times, but how often did you go with Grandpa to the workshop, instead of coming out here with friends like you wished to? How many times did you feel the need to keep him happy, to let him know you were safe and to stop him worrying? Helping him work back then was fun, yes, but not all the time. Not on days like this.'

Just like that, Alexei's mind shifted away from the happy memories of his youth, all the way back to his grandfather and the strife of the present.

He walked along to a bench set at the edge of the grass area, sitting upon it with an desperate groan. The painted wood homes lining the quiet intersection blurred as he lost track of the world, falling deeper into his inner musing. 'From hardly being able to move without permission... to now having him ask me to leave, to make it sound as if I am no longer welcome... It goes against his overprotectiveness, does it not?'

'He is just angry. It is not like that is uncommon.'

"I have never seen him this angry... Never has he told me to leave." Alexei groaned to himself, rubbing his head with a grimace. The happy, shouting voices and the sound of boot on leather coming from the green had all but faded. "If he really does want me gone... This is something else... it is frightening."

'He will calm. You will have another argument about Nate and about not wishing to open a new shop, but after this, all will then be as it was.'

"I have to find this out for sure." He jumped to his feet, padding hurriedly back to the pavement. "I have to speak with him."

In his urgent mission to return to the house, Alexei weaved a far more direct path through the neighbourhood. Perhaps owing to this new route, or through pure coincidence, the number of children playing in the streets and yards appeared to have reduced dramatically.

He scanned the scene, finding a number of those from the older generations employing themselves with a variety of handiwork. A middle-aged vixen stood in a garden of the other side of the road, dutifully trimming the rose bushes lining the front path. Meanwhile, a heavy set lion heaved a large box of tools from the garage of the house Alexei walked beside, evidently preparing for a spot of home improving.

In contrast to the unbridled joy of the neighbourhood's youngsters, the weight of responsibility pressing upon those possessing greater years sat visibly clear. Even so, none of those Alexei passed looked unhappy. If anything, the pride they took in their work, and the achievements that came with it, shone brightly in their earnest work-ethic.

"It should work now!" cried a grease-covered, stocky black bear, lifting himself from the hood of an old-fashioned, bright red sports car parked in a driveway. "The connections look good to me."

"After three weeks spent on this old thing, it better!" An impatient-looking wolf poked his head from the driver's side window, his brown fur also matted with car grime.

"Trust me, with these new parts, it will run better than it ever has before." The bear dropped the hood with a clank, gesturing to his friend. "Start it up!"

A rousing cheer went out, almost as loud as the teeth-chattering roar of the two-seater sparking to life. The stocky motorhead punched the air with a grin, shuffling around to clasp the paw of the equally delighted wolf. "I told you! Just wait until we get this thing out on the highway!"

For a moment, Alexei saw a little of himself in the bear's face; the joy of finishing a tough piece of work and having something wonderful to show for it. It was that joy that made the whole process, no matter how taxing, completely worthwhile.

He continued on along the street, leaving the two friends to their new toy. With each passing step, Alexei began to realise that despite his hesitancy after the fire, he wanted to open another shop, he wanted to be working and feeling that same sense of achievement again. What he didn't want however was that overprotective shadow from his youth, something that had been creeping slowly but surely back into his life in recent weeks and months.

'Maybe this is your chance to break away from that?'

Alexei recalled Nathan's words from their conversation two nights ago, when he revealed his ideas for moving away together. He gave a weak grunt, his conflicting thoughts tearing him up even further. Regardless of the merits of the Bolstrovan plan, the impossibility of having his husky here with him, getting kicked out and losing his grandfather altogether was far from what he wanted either. Surely there could be a balance? Surely there'd be a way for this to all work out?

"I have to get back." Alexei's stroll gathered pace, fast becoming a brisk walk back towards home and, perhaps, a make-or-break discussion with his grandfather.

The temperature seemed to drop several degrees as Alexei closed the front door behind him, his shallow breathing all to be heard in the silent hallway. "Grandpa, are you home?" He padded over to the foot of the staircase, perking his ears and sniffing the air in the hopes of finding any trace of his elder. On both counts, he came up short.

"Damn it," Alexei muttered, batting at the wooden bannister in annoyance. "I rush home, get worked up, and he is not even--" He turned back towards the front door, only now seeing what had been there waiting for his return. "I... No!"

The three lurching steps away from the stairway barely registered in Alexei's mind, an old leather suitcase sitting unassumingly in the hall all that he could focus on. His breathing quickened, the tips of his ears beginning to burn by the heat of unreserved panic. He grabbed the metal fastenings with shaking paws, flicking them to allow the case to fall open. What few clothes he possessed spilled out onto the floor, his personal documents visible within the fabric sea. Not only that, but the cheque for his half of the insurance nestled there along with it. Everything Alexei now owned in this world sat heaped upon the plush green carpeting, the teal-painted walls of his grandfather's home constricting around him while he fought hard to catch his erratic breath. "Grandpa!?"

Alexei spun so rapidly that he came close to falling, catching himself just in time to begin scaling the staircase two steps at a time. He reached the top in a near instant, fear taking hold fleetingly to stop him in his tracks before the closed door of his grandfather's bedroom. The criticality of the moment soon pushed that out, carrying him the final steps to begin thumping frantically at the door.

"Grandpa, are you in there!?" Alexei reached for the handle and twisted it, only to have the lock resist him. "Open the door! You cannot be serious." The hammering and yelling went on, with no response forthcoming from beyond the wooden barricade. In the end, his fists slowed to a stop, his roaring cries dying into a meek, solitary, "Please."

Quiet returned to the house, with only the young wolf's gentle whimpering rising to disperse unanswered into nothing. The seconds passed agonisingly, until the dull thump of the lock sounded. Alexei removed his paw from the handle, clasping it with the other before taking a frightened step back. The silence persisted, save for the soft creak of the opening door.

"G-Grandpa... Can we not talk about this?" The elder's right eye peered back from beyond the tiny gap between door and frame. Its intense green-yellow colouring gave a familiar sight to Alexei, though the puffy redness surrounding it came as something very new. "Let us talk... Please?"

Maxim's breathing quivered, a pained yelp escaping under the guise of a low rumble. The strong, obstinate old wolf that Alexei had grown used to wasn't here, replaced instead by someone whose pain clearly rivalled his own. "This is silly... Open the door. We must talk."

"We have done this already... you have made your decision." Maxim's words were powerful, uncompromising, but came with a delivery that was anything but. "Leave."

"No," Alexei whined back, the sensation of his eyes burning an all too familiar one. "I am not leaving."

"This is not your home, Alexei. Your place is with the Polcian. You must leave, it is the only way--"

"Grandpa, please!" He tried to force the door, hoping to outmuscle his grandfather. "This is stupid! I... can't do this."

"Alexei, go! Leave!" The rage returned to Maxim's visible eye, the door barely budging by Alexei's strength. "Do you not hear me!? I want you to leave my home! Get out!"

A thunderous smash shook the very foundations of the old house, the bedroom door slamming closed with enough force to send Alexei staggering two steps back. Shock came first, followed by disbelief. He stood there for a few moments, waiting for his grandfather to open the door and to scold him for his disrespect before everything returned to normal. That proved to be wishful thinking.

Disbelief turned to despair as reality slowly dawned. His grandfather meant this. He wanted him gone. There was no longer a place for him here.

Despair brought with it pain, distress, which in turn brought tears and sorrow. This sorrow cut through the silent house, while the tears rained down to drench it in his emotion. Regardless, none of this would open that door, and none of this would fix that which had just shattered beyond repair. All that was left for Alexei was to turn around within the aftermath and start his descent of the staircase.

Each lurching step came hard, heavy enough that it felt as if they could smash straight through the creaking stairs beneath, sending Alexei plummeting to even further depths. Despite this, the old woodwork would hold firm. It would support him.

He eventually reached the bottom under his own power, shuffling on through the confused silence, gathering his life up into his grandfather's final gift to him before trembling paws opened the front door. The world outside stood before him, continuing on as if what had just transpired within these walls hadn't happened at all.

Alexei looked off into the distance, staring at the city skyline rising up beyond the quiet, unassuming hillside houses. "What am I to do now?"