gay russians go shopping

[08:11 PM] Pavel Morozov ! is going! to take artyom! shopping!!!

Once he figures out where the hell he's going, anyway, but he figures it out, and then gets Artyom, and drags him off to go buy! clothes! with the money Tori gave him clipped together in his pocket and a spring in his step, and a hat planted firmly on his head. He has also found one for Artyom, and they can buy! sunglasses! when they get to the mall!
[08:12 PM] Artyom Alexovich is apparently being dragged off to go shopping! Thankfully Pavel has given Artyom a hat, but even then, if the sun isn't down yet when they go, the poor thing is all sorts of squinty in the painfully bright sunlight. But yes. Sunglasses at the mall. hell yes.
[08:15 PM] Pavel Morozov is, unfortunately, taking him during the day, because he doesn't know when malls close around here but... he remembers daylight hours being shopping hours? But, anyhow, it takes them a while to get there, walking, but Pavel keeps Artyom's hand in his, and reminds him of how, like, fucking-- traffic lights and shit work, yeah? Since he's pretty sure Artyom is too young to remember them.
[08:17 PM] Artyom Alexovich is absolutely too young to remember. He does his best to look while Pavel points and explains and things, but most of the time he keeps his head down, eyes shaded in the brim of his hat, hiding them from the way-too-bright sunlight.

Thankfully, Pavel has a firm hold on his hand, so even if Artyom can't see well, he doesn't really need to. He trusts Pavel to show him the way.
[08:19 PM] Pavel Morozov's vision is kind of blurred by tears from the too-bright sky, too, but he's handling it a little better, and they manage to get to the mall and its relative dimness without dying, hand still in hand and into the cool air conditioning.

"Ahhhh," Pavel sighs, happily, and kisses Artyom's cheek, and looks around-- fuck, it's so big and bright and shiny, and there's so many stores, all with big signs and windows... "Underwear first, I think!" he says, cheerfully, and looks around. "The-- the ends of the wings should have the really big stores, right? I think that's what I remember. Let's go look in one of those!"
[08:22 PM] Artyom Alexovich breathes a sigh of relief as they move into the mall which, while brightly lit, is so much less harsh on his eyes than the bright summer sun. It's kinda like Polis, actually. It makes Artyom almost feel at home, and he smiles- and smiles wider at the kiss to his cheek.

He glad that Pavel seems to have quickly gotten over some of his fears about... the two of them. Enough to hold his hand and kiss him, public be damned. They're just a couple of gay hobo-lookin' dudes, don't mind them.

He nods along with Pavel's suggestion, knowing little about malls, but trusting Pavel's memory. He gives the other man's hand a squeeze, all smiles, before picking a direction to head down one of the mall wings. God, he can't wait for fresh underthings...
[08:22 PM] Pavel Morozov knows! God, it's gonna be so good, right?
[08:23 PM] Pavel Morozov follows along, happy to be led instead of leading for a while, all the way down to one of the anchor stores, and will flag down a worker to ask, "Hey, chuvak, where can a fellow find underwear to buy?"
[08:26 PM] Artyom Alexovich is gonna let Pavel do all the talking. Because. Artyom can't. He lets go of the man's hand, though, to wander a few yards further into the store, because... wow. Wow. He's never seen so much... [b]stuff[/b] in one place, discounting D6, but does a two decade old forgotten stockpile of weaponry really count? There's more aisles of clothing and accessories and knick knacks than he can count, and in the distance he thinks he can see an escalator... meaning there's even more. And it just hits him that this is a [b]mall[/b], theres more stores just like this, and even more stores, if smaller, between them, all selling more things, all shiny and new and fresh, than he can count.

It's a little overwhelming.
[08:30 PM] Pavel Morozov has memories of these things, and navigates interacting with the worker-- who looks a little strained, but friendly-- with relative ease, his accent and scattered foreign words and easy lopsided smile apparently helping her read him as "recently moved" and not "filthy hobo here to kill me". Then he gathers Artyom, and leads him towards the back of the store with an arm around his waist. "This way, she said. Maybe we can buy you something cute, too, eh? Not that you wouldn't look cute in anything!" he chatters, and kisses Artyom's cheekbone, and escorts him right into the underwear section, which is filled with aisles filled with pegs filled with packages of clean, fresh, unused underwear, in more styles than Pavel would have expected-- briefs and boxers, yeah, but also boxer-briefs, and, in one brand, also bikinis and manthongs.

Laughing, he pulls a thong package off the peg, and holds it up, and asks Artyom, "What do you think, is it my style?" He is not so slim as the man on the packaging, but, hey, if Artyom nods, he'll get it anyway!
[08:35 PM] Artyom Alexovich doesn't quite notice Pavel's approach, until the man has an arm around his waist, leading him toward the back of the store. Artyom gives a soft, surprised noise, only to smile, and then smile more and flush at Pavel's flirting because GOSH.

And then they're in the underwear section and holy shit. Artyom can't remember the last time he's seen such clean, white clothing, without any dinginess. He runs his fingers over packages as he looks them over, only to be distracted by Pavel- he snorts, and laughs a bit loudly, shoving at Pavel's shoulder playfully. You dork!

Anyways, he's just gonna ponder what his size probably is (it's small), before grabbing a package of briefs, and another of boxers, and another of boxer-briefs because apparently he wants some of everything, and then- oh! He finds a package of undershirts, too! Yoink. All in a nice, clean white because he can't resist how pristine it looks.
[08:41 PM] Pavel Morozov grins at Artyom, and adds, hmm-- yeah, some boxer-briefs, and since they're both four-packs, that should do for now! Though his are in colors and patterns, hell yeah, colors that are bright and solid and not splotched with stains or blood or anything... "Maybe we should have gotten a basket," he says, cheerfully, and grabs some undershirts too, then wanders off, to look at other clothes. "I need new shirts," he murmurs, loudly, "someone ruined my old one."
[08:44 PM] Artyom Alexovich looks down at his arms full of underwear packages and... yeah, they probably should've grabbed a basket. Artyom follows after Pavel, only to pause when he hears that (loud) murmuring, pouting... jeeze! He got hit by a few bullets in that whole fight too, y'know!! And he still had to go on to fight an even bigger battle! Punk.

Artyom sighs, rolling his eyes, and bumping past Pavel as he heads back to the front of the store, where he'd seen- yep, baskets. He dumps the packages in his arms into a basket, and hefts it up, before going back to Pavel. Lookit him, he's helpful.
[08:45 PM] Pavel Morozov has a good Artyom! And likewise dumps his undies in the basket, and kisses Artyom on the lips, casually and in passing, before holding up a tee in bright red with lines of stars across the front. "Too Communist?" he asks, a bright light in his eyes-- how communist is a shopping mall? Not at all.
[08:48 PM] Artyom Alexovich melts a little bit at the smooch, God, he loves it when Pavel kisses him.

At the shirt, though, he stifles a snicker behind his hand, grinning. Oh yes, Pavel, this t-shirt you're buying at an American shopping mall is far too communist. "Ehehe!"

But then Artyom moves aside, to start rifling through the various shirts as well, and then it hits him that he has no idea what he'd even like to wear! He doesn't really have favorite colors, and 'style' was just 'whatever is given to you' in the Metro... He glances over his shoulder at Pavel, and then back to the shirts...
[08:51 PM] Pavel Morozov looks at Artyom, and looks at the shirts, and-- ahhh, love...

"... You're too young to have ever gone shopping, eh?" he says, softly, and moves to Artyom's side, to wrap an arm around his waist and brush a kiss against his cheek. "Do you want me to pick things out for you to try on?"
[08:53 PM] Artyom Alexovich flushes slightly, looking a bit embarrassed, not exactly at his lack of pre-war experience, but just... at needing help just picking out fucking clothes because he's got no idea where to start. Pavel's suggestion comforts him, though, and he smiles again, turning his head to peck at the corner of Pavel's mouth, before he nods eagerly. Yes! Please pick out clothes for him!

(Dear Pavel: pick out things that will look rly cute on his twinky frame)
[08:57 PM] Pavel Morozov grins and kisses him again, and then lets him go, and starts wandering through the racks, picking off things that he thinks are interesting, or would look nice on Artyom, or look comfortable-- lots of tees and v-necked light sweaters and henleys, mostly in green like his eyes, or warm coppery colors, or bright eye-catching patterns that Pavel really likes, and hangs them over his arm as he shops, humming to himself. He also grabs a few things for himself-- damn, he really likes these bright colors...

Pavel may have one arm covered in a wide array of styles when he comes back, and the other mostly covered in tropical hawaiian prints, with big leaves and flowers and bright colors. "Here, these are for you to try on, there should be fitting rooms around here somewhere--" he says, offering Artyom the taller stack and smiling at him. "Let's go find them so you can try things on, eh?"
[09:04 PM] Artyom Alexovich stays put where he is, as Pavel wanders off, and Artyom busies himself with just... looking around, marveling at how many clean, unworn clothes there are here, how... alien it all is, really. By the time Pavel comes back, it feels like no time at all, because Artyom's completely spaced out, staring into space off at the massiveness of the department store...

And then Pavel's back, and Artyom's shaken back to reality, and he smiles- wow! That's... a lot of shirts! Artyom accepts the stack, holding it against his chest, with the basket still in his other hand. Fitting rooms... Where are those? Artyom supposes they'd be close- since this is where the clothes are, but... well, it doesn't really help when you can't read the signs in a store, huh?
[09:07 PM] Pavel Morozov peers around, and spots a likely alcove-- yeah, over there, he thinks, and he waves for Artyom to follow him.

His eyesight does not fail him, and he ushers them into the same little room without even thinking about it, latching the door behind them and hanging the clothes on the pegs, and starting to take off his own shirts to try on his new ones.
[09:10 PM] Artyom Alexovich follows Pavel into the fitting room, setting aside his stack of shirts and the basket, and he doesn't seem to mind too terribly much, seeing Pavel pull his shirt off. In fact, maybe he even... pauses a moment, to take a longer look? And then Artyom realizes that he needs to take his shirts off, too. Uh. Oh.

He turns very red, and distracts himself by opening the package of clean undershirts- they're buying them anyways, it should be fine- and then... then pointedly facing away from Pavel as he unbuttons and slips out of his overshirt, and then hesitating, before he pulls off his grimy old undershirt...

But even should Pavel turn around, he'd only get an eyeful of Artyom's bare back for a second, before he's hurriedly pulling on the fresh new undershirt. And hey, lookit that! He guessed his size right, it fits great. Now to actually try on the new shirts...
[09:12 PM] Pavel Morozov does glance over his shoulder-- oh, haha, man, what a cute bare back, though, and he casually slots up behind Artyom and kisses the back of his neck. Hiiiii! "Fits you nice," he murmurs, and goes to try on his own new undershirts, clearly not giving a fuck if Artyom watches him. GO FOR IT, ARTYOM, STARE AT THIS HOT BOD.
[09:14 PM] Artyom Alexovich shivers slightly at the kiss to his neck, mostly because he was startled, and his cheeks go terribly rosy. He clears his throat, and grabs one of the shirts Pavel picked out for him at random, pulling it on... Maybe it's something slim-fitting, that shows off his collarbones a little without showing too much of his undershirt, or at all.

He turns around, then, to maybe get Pavel's opinion, only to get an eyeful of shirtless Pavel, helloooo cute tummy he kinda wants to put his hands all over??? Augh, but not here, not yet, now Artyom's getting even redder, and his clears his throat.
[09:17 PM] Pavel Morozov is pulling on some awful tee shirt in bright aqua blue with a pink and yellow slpattery floral print, that's loud enough to be seen from space, and he looks at Artyom-- in a cute little unbuttoned henley that's the same green as his eyes-- and practically swoons, clutching his hands over his heart and declaring, "Ahh! Artyom! You look so nice I might die!"
[09:17 PM] Pavel Morozov: (*splattery
[09:18 PM] Artyom Alexovich is getting sweet compliments that flatter and fluster him, and he- well, all he can respond with his a snickering behind a hand, because... wow. Pavel looks... uh, 'loud'. Loud is one word for it. The snickering even goes on to just outright laughter, if a bit on the quiet side, because he looks so goofy and dorky! "Ahahahah!"
[09:19 PM] Pavel Morozov grins, and does a little turn, and asks, "What do you think? Is it me? I like it, it hurts my eyes a little." Let Pavel Wear Neon 2k16.
[09:20 PM] Artyom Alexovich laughs a bit louder because, to be perfectly honest, he's right, and that makes it all the more hilarious. Artyom nods and laughs at the same time because yes, Pavel, it is very You.
[09:27 PM] Pavel Morozov grins, and shucks the shirt off, and pulls on a neon mess of colors all splattered and blending into each other in a weird, loud galaxy print, in the shape of a tank top. "How about this one? It's-- blin, it's disgustingly colorful, right? I love it." He looks at himself in the mirror, and poses, flexing his bare arms to show off his gunshow. "Fuck, yeah, I'm getting it," he says, blissfully, and picks out more shirts from his pile to try on.
[09:29 PM] Artyom Alexovich almost has to avert his eyes at all this fucking neon bright bullshit happening to his retinas. Holy shit, Pavel! Artyom just laughs and nods along, all giggles and rosy cheeks, especially when the other man pauses to flex. Grinning, Artyom steps forward while Pavel is digging in his pile, and wraps his arms around the man's middle, to pull him into a tight hug, muffling his giggling against Pavel's shoulder.
[09:31 PM] Pavel Morozov is like OH HEY but he's fine with it, he laughs and lets Artyom giggle against him, even as he scolds, laughingly, "You have more clothes to try on than I do, Tyoma! C'mon, we haven't even looked at pants yet. Or shoes! Or, fuck, socks, we could get socks without holes in them, can you fucking imagine?"
[09:35 PM] Artyom Alexovich is still grinning and giggling softly, and he shakes his head because God, no, he really can't imagine socks without holes. He'd kinda accepted that socks and holes went hand-in-hand.

Filled with excitement, Artyom pulls away, to get back to trying on his shirts. He's a bit quicker about it that Pavel, no posing in front of the mirror, though he does occasionally pause to twist and move about, testing the fit. He and Pavel are both apparently good at guesstimating his size, because pretty much everything he tries on goes into the 'buy' pile!
[09:41 PM] Pavel Morozov EVEN THE LOUD AWFUL THINGS THAT ARE CLEARLY MORE PAVEL'S THING THAN HIS OWN? Because Pavel might love that, and spend some time just looking at Artyom in cute clothes...

He works his way through his own pile, not all of which is to his taste, but winds up with a reasonable stack of delightful bullshit, covered in bright colors and dumb images and starry things and-- fuck, it's all so colorful, it's gonna be so great, he loves it.

When he's through with his stuff, he kisses Artyom, and mentions, "We have plenty of money, but we do have to walk this all home-- wait, no, I fucking bet you that there's fucking taxis, what am I talking about? We'll, like, fucking call a taxi to take us home, get whatever the hell you want!" and kisses Artyom again and then again and then tells him, "I'm gonna start looking for pants, love," and drops his entire pile in the basket.
[09:46 PM] Artyom Alexovich doesn't really know his taste yet, though he knows that loud shit isn't It, but... well, if it makes Pavel happy, why not? Might as well.

And then they're both done trying on shirts, changed back to their older things (for now), Artyom having stuffed the new undershirt back into the package and... Pavel makes a good point, they're going to have to take all these things home themselves- wait, taxi? What's- wait, no, Artyom's heard of taxis before, he'd just forgotten, the idea of them... Wow. Artyom pauses a moment to marvel at the idea, with a little daydreamy look on his face. And then he's given a kiss! Wow! And Pavel's talking about pants...

Artyom hefts up the basket, only to grunt because, shit, this got fucking heavy fast... He can handle it, though, and he goes to follow after Pavel. Pants time!!
[09:50 PM] Pavel Morozov hasn't ever taken a taxi before, himself, but how fucking hard can it be? He'll do fine! And, shit, he'll find pants for Artyom, though the sizing is, uh, a little more complicated than it is for shirts-- he pulls out a couple pairs of pants, and tells Artyom, "Eh, come over here, let me see--" before holding them up to his body. Mmmm, no, these look too long through the leg, how about-- yeah, those look better, and Pavel finds a couple more pairs in sizes close to what looked about right, and tells Artyom, "Go try these on, tell me what fits best, okay?"
[09:53 PM] Artyom Alexovich is maybe a little hard to buy pants for, being so short and thin, but there's a few pairs that seem to manage it as Artyom holds still, letting Pavel hold them against him as he guesstimates Artyom's size! Though, there's a good chance they're probably slimfit pants, too...

Artyom accepts the pairs Pavel's picked out, and scurries back to the fitting room to try them on! He's got to admit, he's slightly relieved he's trying them on alone... he's not sure he would've been able to take his pants off with Pavel right there, not... not yet. Not just yet, maybe... maybe some other time.
[09:54 PM] Pavel Morozov definitely picked out slim jeans for Artyom, and is now looking for something for himself-- AH, YES, DEFINITELY CARGO SHORTS. HE WILL WEAR CARGO SHORTS WITH HIS NEON SHIRTS. IT IS, AFTER ALL, SUMMER.
[09:55 PM] Artyom Alexovich PAVEL [b]NO[/b].....
[09:55 PM] Pavel Morozov WHY NOT? THEY ARE, AFTER ALL... COMFY AND EASY TO WEAR!!
[09:56 PM] Artyom Alexovich eventually comes back to Pavel, with some of the pants picked out in the basket, the rest left behind on some reshelf rack for not fitting quite right. He taps Pavel on the shoulder, and then gestures to the pants he's decided do fit rather comfortably.
[09:59 PM] Pavel Morozov investigates those, and then gives Artyom a kiss, and then goes and finds him the same size in some other styles, as well as a few pairs of NORMAL, NOT RIDICULOUS shorts, both loose, comfortable board shorts that tie with a string in dark blue and some khaki and dark twill shorts that'll go with anything, probably.
[10:01 PM] Artyom Alexovich is just gonna trail after Pavel, now, holding onto the handles of the basket with both hands as he just... follows his boyfriend around, all smiles and eagerness, occasionally glancing about in wonder at the sheer size and inventory of this place, he's still not really used to it...
[10:06 PM] Pavel Morozov may be drawing on twenty-year-old memories of shopping for clothes with his mom, shopping to get ready for school, Pavel outgrowing his pants and his mom dragging him off to buy new ones as he sprouted like a weed from ten to eleven to twelve to thirteen...

He winds up with a stack of five pairs of pants on one arm and three shorts on the other, and says, "Here, trade you for the basket, Artyomuchka," offering them to him and setting off on his own pants-buying exploration.
[10:09 PM] Artyom Alexovich grins brightly as he's offered more clothes to try on, gladly trading the increasingly heavy basket, before running off to the fitting rooms. There's a lot more success this time around, after the first trial with figuring out what his size might be. So when he comes trotting back, there's only one or two things missing from the stacks Pavel had handed him, and the new bottoms are stuffed into the basket Pavel's carrying, Artyom looking pleased as punch. He can't remember every having so many clothes to choose from, it's so exciting! And then they're gonna get socks! And SHOES!!! He likes these boots he wears, but damn, it'll be nice to just have something comfortable and simple.
[10:14 PM] Pavel Morozov grins, and kisses his hair as he adds pants to the basket, and tells him, "All right, I said we can get a taxi, but this is the first store we've been to. Blin, maybe we should pick out our favorites and then, maybe, like, come back later if there's something we really wanna add? Just so our arms don't fall off while we walk around the store--" and then he kisses Artyom again, laughing. "Not that I don't want you to have everything," he murmurs, "but I don't really fucking want to carry it all at once, yeah?"
[10:16 PM] Artyom Alexovich pouts!! But they've already picked out all these things! He even points at his feet to indicate SOCKS? SHOES?? Maybe they can just... be done with this after they get some footwear, just some socks and maybe a pair of shoes each, and then they can go? Maybe stop in another store if they see something really important? C'mon, Pavel, let him keep all this stuff, look at that pouty faaaaace.
[10:17 PM] Pavel Morozov AWWW, WELL.... WELL...
[10:18 PM] Pavel Morozov sighs, and says, "Well, then, you're carrying half this shit, all right? It's mostly fucking yours now, anyways. And! I get to pick out a couple things for you myself." Conditions! Not that he'll put up much of a fight if Artyom wants to make his own demands.
[10:19 PM] Artyom Alexovich nods, eagerly! He's more than happy to share the load! And then Pavel adds that condition, and Artyom nods again, smiling brightly, because WHERE COULD THIS GO WRONG?
[10:20 PM] Pavel Morozov will let you know how it could go wrong later!! "Here, why don't you go find shoes and socks while I get some pants for myself?" he suggests, partially so he can have some time to find some things to Artyomuchka. "You can look for things you think I'd like, eh?"
[10:20 PM] Pavel Morozov: (*to put on
[10:24 PM] Artyom Alexovich nods eagerly again, and, helpfully, he takes the basket, so Pavel only has to carry a few things. And then there he goes, scampering off to find where the shoes and socks are. It doesn't take long, though he did get a little lost, and he wasn't exacting there to be?? this many shoes???? Holy shit.

Artyom ends up wandering from aisle to aisle, looking at the different kinds of shoes and sandals, just taking in his options, before he narrows down what he'd like. He winds up picking out several pairs of hiking boots and sneakers to try on, and, after much trial and error of figuring out his size and what interests him, Artyom eventually ends up putting a shoebox with a pair of excessively squishy and comfy sneakers into the basket, along with a package of socks.
[10:27 PM] Pavel Morozov eventually finds Artyom, with some pants slung over his arm that conveniently hide the cute, tiny red dress he picked out, which has a plunging neckline that pretends to lace up but has this gap underneath the laces that he thinks might let his hands slip inside... the red is fairly obvious, but the shape of the dress is hidden by the pants, and he also distracts Artyom by giving him a hug and his neck a nuzzle when they reunite, dropping the things into the basket and asking, "Find shoes you like, love?" And anything you'd think Pavel would like?
[10:30 PM] Artyom Alexovich was still browsing the shoes when Pavel showed up, and Artyom glances over at his approach- his eyes catch on something bright and red, but he's promptly distracted by a hug and a nuzzle, and the red thing is forgotten entirely. Artyom gives a soft laugh, and a kiss to Pavel's jaw, before nodding and then-

He points to one of the nearby shelves, on top of which is a display pair of sneakers that are... excessively colored, much like the shirts Pavel apparently likes. Artyom can't help but chuckle a bit as he points them out.
[10:38 PM] Pavel Morozov LOVES THEM, HOT DAMN. He practically coos, and kisses Artyom's cheek absently as he goes to try and find his size in the awful neon orange sports shoe. It's ridiculous, and it warms Pavel's heart to see it, and he takes his own shoes off and matches soles against his filthy hole-y socks until he finds some that seem to fit-- and those he tries on, and decides they're fucking perfect, and adds them to the overflowing basket. "All right!" he says, cheerfully, "I'll go haul this up to pay for-- unless there's more that you want?"
[10:41 PM] Artyom Alexovich fondly watches Pavel pick out a shoe size, all smiles. Sure the colors are [b]fucking hideous[/b], but Pavel just looks so absolutely pleased, and that's more than enough for Artyom. He can put up with the other man wearing disgustingly ugly and bright clothes if it makes him that happy. Artyom... likes it when Pavel is happy, he really, really does. Even moreso when he's the one making him happy.

At the question, Artyom shakes his head- he's good! He's got shoes, socks, undies, shirts, and pants. All he could ever need! (at least until Pavel goes out to shop alone to buy Artyom the things he doesn't realize he needs, like tiny little skimpy things...)
[10:48 PM] Pavel Morozov grins, and says, "Priyatel, has anyone ever told you that you're cute as hell?" and bumps noses with him, and then takes the clothes away and up and off to a register, where they cut their fat stack of cash down by a mere quarter. Shit, how fucking much money does Tori have? But it all gets squared away, and they're left with two heavy bags each, and Pavel is grinning to himself as he asks about how to get a taxi home.

The cashier is incredibly helpful-- they just spent several hundred dollars, after all-- and actually calls the taxi for them, letting them know it should be at the front doors in a quarter hour, at most.