T-34 || Can't Let Go

vi.

As the cold began to uncomfortably crawl over his skin, Ivushkin rubbed his hands together and decided to head back inside. There would be no use in staying awake all night. He, too, needed a goodnight's rest to function properly as a leader.

Closing the door, Ivushkin imagined what a member of the crew could think if they woke up and heard the front door open and close. How they would panic, confusing him for Jäger or Rebekka, maybe even striking him down with something hard to prevent the 'hostage' from escaping. He swallowed at the thought, proceeding to climb the stairs to return to his bed.

When Ivushkin stood by the door however and was about to head into the room, at last, he perceived silent, but all the same painful panting.

His brows furrowed in bewilderment as he listened to the heavy breaths, trying to figure out where it came from. It took a moment, but once he walked down the hallway and the pants grew louder, he realized they must've come from Jäger.

Rushing into the room, Ivushkin switched on the floor lamp, flooding the room with a soft light. Jäger laid in the bed, still tucked in, both hands on top of the blanket and firmly pressed against his sides. A pain clouded expression adorned his face, eyes squeezed shut and jaw clenched tightly. Sweat trickled down the side of his head and small pearls were located on his hairline.

Ivushkin hurried to get the bucket from the bathroom and filled it with cold water, then placed it next to the bed. Taking a folded piece of cloth, he drenched it in water, wrung it out and laid it across Jäger's forehead.

As the cold cloth touched his skin, it didn't take two seconds until he visibly relaxed. His hard breaths became more controlled and although he seemed to still be somewhat in pain, it helped at least a bit.

Slowly, Jäger's lids moved upwards, revealing his blue orbs that lacked their usual spark and sass. It took him a few moments until he could properly focus on him and even then Ivushkin wasn't sure if Jäger was really aware of his presence.

He continued to stare at the Russian, unblinking and unresponsive.

Reduced to such a mess by a fever.

Ivushkin was the one who broke the stare first, as he stood up to open the window. Although he didn't want Jäger to catch a cold, a bit of fresh air would surely do him some good.

Afterwards, he grabbed the first aid kit that was still located by the table and pulled out some new bandages and another compress. Whilst pushing the blanket aside and pulling the chair over to position himself, he suddenly heard Jäger ask with raspy voice, "Ivushkin, weißt du überhaupt was du da machst?"

The Russian lowered the equipment he held in hand and glanced towards Jäger. A low growl left his lips, his hackles starting to rise.

There was still this. . stupid language barrier between them and honestly, it was beginning to piss Ivushkin off. Except for the few swearwords he acquired and picked up, he knew basically nothing about the foreign language he found himself so often confronted with. And always needing Anya besides him to talk to Jäger was- not what he wanted.

He decided to test something he should've done way earlier. Carefully, in case Jäger didn't understand a thing, he began speaking in--

English?

"Jäger, you know I can't understand a word?"

The German blinked a couple of times, his gaze still hazy given his current state. Once worked past the initial shock however, he answered- in fluent English.

"Yeah. I thought that was our gimmick."

Now it was Ivushkin who froze in surprise, his mouth opening so wide, he feared his jaw might collide with the floor. As he noticed the slowly forming grin on Jäger's face, Ivushkin did his best to compose himself and instead glared at the bandaged leg.