Vodka Misadventure (Part 1 of 2) (Patreon)

Hey guys 👋 Here's the side story for this month! Last month, the idea that won the poll was the vodka incident that MC and Ash talked about in Chapter 2 😆 It really turns out far longer than I first planned or expected, reaching a total of 6.5K words in total which is around 16 pages in Google Docs.

Because of the really long length, I'll be dividing the story into two parts released at the same time 😄 

Link to the second part here! 

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“I won’t probably be back until around 9 tonight…” your uncle says distractedly as he stares at the mirror to tie and adjust his black tie. “So, I’ll need you both to behave and not cause any problems while I’m gone, alright?” He turns around to face you and Ash with a serious expression on his face. The house butler, Sebastian, approaches with a black coat held out in his hands before helping your uncle put it on.

“Okay, Uncle Luka,” the two of you say simultaneously.

Uncle Luka nods in satisfaction. “Good, good. If you guys are hungry, just let Sebastian know what you want to eat.” He checks his watch and sighs. “Well, I gotta go now. Be good, okay?” He pats both of your heads fondly before striding away.

As soon as he steps out of the window, you and Ash grin at each other before running back toward your bedroom. It’s only around 2 PM and the summer holiday has just started; you’ll have so much time to hang around with Ash.

As soon as you enter your room, Ash makes themself comfortable on the edge of your bed and you bend down in front of the TV to boot up your Ybox console. Grabbing one of the controllers, you march up to where Ash is sitting and plop down beside them.

You launch ‘Duty Calls: Futuristic Warfare’ and enter the multiplayer matchmaking. The next couple of hours or so are spent with you and Ash alternating, playing the PvP matches against other players. You giggle as Ash once again trash-talks the enemy team once the match is over.

Sometimes, little moments like these make you feel as if you’re still in that time before all the bad things happened and that if you walk out of your room right now, you’ll be able to see your dad working in his office space.

Your smile disappears almost instantly and you feel your heart clenches painfully. You try to blink the building tears away. Today is supposed to be a happy day, you should be celebrating the start of the Summer holiday, not bawling your eyes out…

“Sasha? Are you okay?” Ash asks you, voice soft from concern.

“I—I was just thinking about—” you choke on your words as you feel your throat constrict. You shake your head vigorously. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories.”

“Hey… There’s nothing to apologize about. I also miss my mom… and your dad too,” they mutter quietly, patting your back comfortingly. The both of you sit together in silence for a minute or so before the somber moment is broken by the rumbling of your stomach. You look down and rub your stomach while Ash snickers beside you.

“C’mon! Let’s go ask Sebastian to cook something!” Ash exclaims, grabbing your hand and pulling you up from the bed and towards the door. Both of your feet thump on the cool black marble floor as you skip down the long hallway, passing by the luxurious living room and its plush sofa and modern fireplace, before slowing down once you step foot on the big dining room.

“Sebastian?” you call out, taking a peek into the kitchen area. Huh, he’s nowhere to be seen.

“Well, let’s see what we have lying around instead, then,” Ash groans dejectedly before making their way to the kitchen counters; you trail behind them.

The countertops are spotless and all the stuff on top of them is arranged neatly. You pout as you don’t see any snacks. You’re about to go raid the pantry or something when Ash suddenly makes a noise of triumph.

You turn and see them approaching you with an opened box of Cheez-It, their hand already inside, taking a handful, before offering the box to you. You take it and start grabbing and munching on some pieces, the saltiness exploding on your tongue.

The both of you spent twenty minutes sitting at the kitchen counter and just hanging out and talking about a lot of stuff. After decimating the whole box, both of you jump off the high stools and wash your hands on the sink.

“You know, Sasha. I wanna show you something cool, but first, we gotta go to the office wing,” Ash says as they dry their hand and lead you toward the door leading outside the private quarters and to the rest of the mansion.

Ash slowly opens one of the large double doors before you and Ash stick out your heads gingerly to see down the hallway. Suddenly, you hear a cough from your right and the two of you jolt in surprise before turning toward the source of the cough. You look up to see one of your uncle’s most trusted guards, Ivan, standing guard to the right of the double door and looking down at you and Ash with an eyebrow cocked.

“Master Morozov, Master Flynn. May I know what the two of you are up to?” he asks in a gruff voice, arms crossed.

“Ivan! Sasha and I just want to go to the library,” Ash chuckles nervously.

“Please… We promise we won’t go outside or to the basement level,” you plead, giving him one of your infamous puppy eyes.

Ivan stares at the two of you, eyebrows slightly furrowed and eyes filled with conflicting emotions. Finally, after a few more seconds, he sighs and relents. “Fine… No going out of the building and no going down to the basement floor, okay?” he says sternly, repeating what you just promised.

“Pinky promise,” you reassure him, wiggling your little right pinky finger and smiling beatifically at him.

“Thank you, Ivan!” Ash exclaims giddily before taking your hand in theirs and begins walking with you toward the office wing.

But before you completely get out of range, you hear Ivan speaking Russian into the walkie-talkie. Even though you are still far from being fluent in Russian, you know enough to understand that he’s ordering the guards to not let you and Ash get to the basement floor or outside.

You have been slowly learning Russian for around two years now, mostly by exposure, but you often ask Uncle Luka to teach you too whenever he has time. Sometimes, you also go around talking with the other Russian-speaking members and they teach you some words, terms, and phrases.

The corridors, rooms, and halls that you walk through are expansive and luxurious just like the rest of the modern-styled mansion, but you can’t help but get the feeling of emptiness and loneliness underneath all the exquisite veneer.

It lacks the warmth that your old, far smaller apartment has; where you could peek out of your bedroom door and immediately see your dad working in his office just across from your room or listen to whatever he’s watching on TV in the living room.

You miss your dad… and your old home. It’s not that you’re ungrateful to your uncle, far from it. He takes in both you and Ash, buys you everything you could’ve ever wanted, and always makes sure to actually spend time with you both whenever he can. You’re not sure where to even start repaying his kindness.

You know that Uncle Luka still keeps your old apartment untouched since you last packed your things. Maybe one day, you will be brave enough to step foot there again and confront the old ghosts. But for now, you don’t think you’d be able to do it without immediately breaking down.

The guards greet you and Ash respectfully as you pass them on your way. There are way more people spread here than what your old apartment can probably even fit, but they are all mostly distant and are here on duty, constantly patrolling and guarding. Well, at least you, Ash, and Uncle Luka will never be truly alone in this big house. You wonder how lonely Grandpa and Grandma are currently in New York. It makes you a bit sad and you hope you’ll be able to visit them again soon.

The mansion has a lot of wide, panoramic windows, and looking out the ones on your right, you can see almost the entirety of Elysium City’s downtown and commercial districts sprawled out like stacks of Lego bricks. Like a lot of big family mansions in the city, the family compound is also located in the most affluent and exclusive Olympia Hills district. It’s away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but also, it takes some time to get there from here.

“Sasha, Ash. What are you two doing here?” You hear a familiar voice and turn your head to see Ivan’s twin brother, Boris, standing by the big double door leading to the office wing. Unlike his more serious and strict brother, Boris is more playful and friendly—although both can look equally intimidating and scary when needed.

“Hey, Boris!” you greet him cheerily.

“Hey, Boris, do you know where Sebastian went?” Ash asks him.

“Uh… Yeah, I think I heard they were saying that he went out to buy groceries or something,” he gestures at the walkie-talkie on his shoulder. “Why?”

“We’re hungry.” You pout, rubbing your stomach sadly. Yup, you’re definitely still hungry. “We ended up only eating some Cheez-It lying around.”

“Oh… I can try calling him or something to let him know so he can come home quickly,” Boris offers.

Ash perks up. “You have your phone with you right now?”

“Yeah, always. What do you have in mind?”

“Can you order us some pizza, please?” Ash pleads.

“Ooh! Yes! I’d kill for some pepperoni pizza right now.” Your mouth waters. “Please, Boris?” you plead to him too, once again resorting to your puppy eyes.

Boris groans. “That puppy eyes are too dangerous, you know? I bet even the big old man is also not immune to them.” And indeed, your grandpa is not, and yes, you’ve tried it before.

He reaches inside his suit jacket and pulls out his phone. “Alright, I think I have Pizza House and Dominic’s numbers saved. Don’t ask why,” he mutters as he scrolls through his phone. “Well, which one do you guys want?”

You and Ash discuss a bit before easily reaching the same conclusion. “Pizza House!” the both of you answer.

Boris taps on his phone before bringing it to his ear, waiting for a few seconds before starts relaying your order.

“Don’t forget, extra pepperoni!” you whisper-shout at him and he repeats it to the Pizza House staff.

“Can you please try delivering it fast? My two kids are whining already. Alright, thanks,” he sighs before hanging up the phone and turning to the two of you. “I don’t think you’ve answered my very first question: what are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be in your room playing games or whatever?”

“We were bored, okay? And we’re just going to the library,” Ash answers before adding, “Your brother approved our request earlier, by the way.”

Boris’ eyebrows are raised in surprise. “Huh, Ivan did? Impressive. Although… Let me guess, he also fell victim to Sasha’s puppy eyes?” He nods understandingly before chuckling, “I swear, that must be your third ability or something, Sasha.”

“So, can we?” you ask. “We’re going to the library to read some educational books. Surely, Uncle Luka is okay with that?” You’re actually not sure about that since Ash first planned to bring you to the library to show you something cool.

“Well, your uncle doesn’t really like anyone else stepping near his office area,” he sighs before relenting. “But I think you guys are okay.”

“Yay! You’re the best, Boris!” you giggle.

He preens. “Of course! I’m the better twin, right? Ash, come on, say it.”

“I’m gonna say that if you let us play games on your phone while we wait for our pizza,” Ash negotiates.

“Whaat? C’mon, I’ve ordered pizza for you guys, with extra pepperoni!” he exclaims but Ash is steadfast in their terms. “Ugh… Fine, until the pizza arrives, okay?” He hands the unlocked phone to Ash and you quickly peek at the screen as well as they swipe until they find the ‘Subway Skateboarders’ game and tap on it.

For the next twenty minutes, you and Ash alternatively play a run. One time, you even came pretty close to beating Boris’ high score, but you lost before you could do so, which made Boris cackle like an evil witch. Ash is in the middle of playing their run when Boris’ walkie-talkie crackle to life. You hear someone talking in Russian, asking who the heck just ordered pizza. Boris answers, telling them to bring it here and that you’re the one who ordered it.

A few minutes later, a pair of footsteps ring down the hallway, and the three of you turn your attention to the source. It’s another guard carrying a box of pizza in her hands. You can smell the delicious aroma from where you’re standing and you feel your stomach rumbling quietly.

When she reaches you, she bends down a bit and hands you the pizza box. “There you go, Young Master Morozov.”

“Thank you!” You take it and quickly open it. Mmhh, the pizza looks so good. You grab a slice before offering the box to Ash, who also immediately pounces on it.

“Huh, it seems you’re not lying this time, Boris. I actually thought you were the one who ordered the pizza,” the guard says amusedly, handing him the receipt.

“Fair enough,” Boris chuckles as he pulls out his wallet and hands her some bills, which she takes. “But not this time.”

“Well, I’m going to leave them to you, then. I gotta go back to my station.” She waves the three of you goodbye before striding back the way she came.

You and Ash are about to get past Boris and open one of the double doors when he stops you. “Hey, hey! Are you forgetting something?” he asks.

You look confusedly at Ash. “Uhm… No?” Ash says, mouth half-full with a bite of the pizza in their hand.

“Well, since I was the one who ordered, I’ll get my share, which is a slice of that delicious pepperoni pizza,” he says, holding out his hand.

“Fine. Pick your choice,” Ash sighs as they hold out the open box.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Boris mutters, wiggling his fingers before picking one slice up and pushing the door open for the two of you. “Have fun in the library. Just… Please, don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

“No promises,” Ash says at the same time you said okay. He just sighs before munching on the pizza.

Ash and you walk down the hallway towards the door to the library. Holding it open, Ash gestures for you to come in. The library is not that big, but it’s certainly cozy, with black and white leather sofas draped with fuzzy blankets and little pillows. You don’t think Uncle Luka often spends time here; it’s mostly used by Grandpa whenever he comes to visit. He even sometimes reads you some storybooks or just straight up tell you stories.

There are two tall bookcases covering the sides of the library and at the far wall is a panoramic window with a view of the patches of the forest behind the family compound. The window has blinds that can be pulled down automatically with a remote whenever the user wants to, but right now, it’s pulled up, revealing the relaxing view of the lush greeneries.

Ash grabs your hand and leads you to a section of the bookcase on the right wall. “Remember when I told you that I wanna show you something cool? Well, check this out,” they say quietly as they scan the spine of the books before stopping on one and pulling it out a bit. There’s a soft click and Ash pushes the bookcase in, revealing a secret doorway.

“C’mon,” Ash whispers conspiratorially as they step inside, and you join them. Turns out, it’s some sort of tunnel made out of smooth, grey concrete. You see a door to the left, but it seems like it’s not your destination as Ash immediately tests the sections of the wall in front of you, before pushing in on one. Another soft click rings out, revealing another hidden doorway that leads to… Uncle Luka’s office?

Click here for the second part!