Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Uh---" She wasn't sure what to do with Mama Vetrov praising her. Her cheeks burned a bit red. "It's nothing really---uh---I'm only special because I have her---them---" Them? "---As my friends. Er---" She blinked at the woman as she took her chin and looked her over, and then asked one of the worst questions ever. Olga's brain broke. Yeah...she joked about it, to Nadia (and secretly entertained the thought) but saying it out loud...?

With Sergei there none the less. Staring at her. Olga had a look of her own.

So...make Sergei really mad or....offend his mom...uuuuuuuuugh. Olga lifted a hand to block her view of Sergei's face over his mom's shoulder, making it look like she had raised it as a gesture as she spoke. Why. "Um---" She swallowed. What did Sergei say about her when he claimed her as a friend?

"Well---any gi---woman---would be very lucky and fortunate to be his bride because he's an amazing person---but, um, for right now, I'm just happy and grateful that he's my....friend." She hoped her voice carried strong for that, but after she had said it, she felt like she'd been nudged in the gut with a boot. She really wanted to be his friend.

When Sergei left the kitchen, the tension considerably eased for her. Well, that, and it had appeared she hadn't upset anyone, which she was really happy about. That happiness was a bit short lived, as Lyuba spoke after he left. "...Oh." No, of course he wouldn't have...but she'd gotten kind of excited to think maybe he had, even if it had been just to appease his mom.

"...Oh...gosh, Mrs. Vetrov---I think you're giving me too much credit---" She shot the older woman a somewhat sheepish fox eyed grin, reaching to rub the back of her neck. "I think he just brought me over because you told him to." She laughed a bit at that. "Y-yeah...!" To both being stubborn, and to cooking. "I do---um, not much lately, because I'm in college, but I do! I made chicken pot pie for Sergei's home warming when he moved to his new apartment and he showed me how to make coffee roast! I asked because he told me about it after he talked about yours! Y-yeah!" She nodded. "Nadia and I became pen pals through a program in high school---" Hopefully Nadia didn't show her any letters where they were pretty much playing match maker and shipping. Oh gosh.

Olga choked, but was flattered to be told, repeatedly, that she should marry in. "Uh---I haven't met the older two, yet! I'd really like to, though!" But she knew all about them and seen pictures, because they were number 2 and 3 runner ups in her list of Russian Future Ex-Husbands. "Nadia's told me a bit---" A LOT "---about them, and I've seen a few---" MANY "---pictures!"

Who was really testing whose patience though.

"Writing!" Olga answered promptly. "I want to be a novelist, so I'm in the writing program." She beamed at the mention of Nadia. "I haven't seen any of her performances yet, but I've seen pictures! She's dazzling! That's her passion!" She laughed a bit, awkwardly at that. Oh, yeah. Nadia showed her indeed. Indeed. "Uh---" Suddenly spoon. Olga tried a little bit, and hummed loudly in approval. "That's so good---Ah!" She grinned at the other woman. "Because it's his birthday, yeah? Oh, no, ma'am---" Olga blinked and looked down at her hands as well. "Thank you! I'll gladly help with whatever you need! Just say the word!"

Needless to say, Olga was falling in line to Lyuba's orders just fine and eagerly at that.

Dinner at the Vetrov household was the complete opposite of her family dinners---bar when her entire family got together for the big holidays. It was something else, and she had immensely enjoyed it---and she couldn't help herself. She'd been staring at Sergei a lot too. Smiling and relaxed.

Ushered into the living room, Olga looked around curiously before she found her hands occupied. She sat near Lyuba, folding her long legs underneath her crossed legged, and took to being engrossed in the knitting project she was handed. Her thumbs ran lightly over the knitted thread, and despite being obviously occupied in looking at the project, picked up the conversation with ease where Sergei struggled, without skipping a beat.

"I have something on the back burner! A big romance novel idea! I was struggling for a bit, but being here in Destiny City has really inspired me---ma'am? What's this going to be?" She side tracked her own self in favor of easing her curiosity about this project she was holding.

Olga giggled---not because Sergei got popped by his mother (though that was humorous), but because of what he said. She wrote with fantasy of Outlander...

"I think more like---I write romance because of Outlander---oh!" She looked at the project in her hands with a new appreciation. "It's very soft!" Nadia was so lucky! Granted, she actually hadn't seen her friend sleep a lot---only that Nadia talked about it often in her letters. Napping and sleeping---Oh. Olga gasped, and stared at Lyuba with wide and bright eyes. She could practically be sparkling. "Really? I'd love one! So much! Yes, please! Oh---" She brows then furrowed. "What can I do for you in return...?" Because it was such a time consuming gift, and it only felt fair to her that she return the favor somehow...but hrm...what should she offer to Lyuba? What could she...?

Actually, that reminded her. Olga briefly snapped out of her thoughts to look over at Sergei. "Did you open my present yet...?"

Olga couldn't hear Sergei's 'no' (it was also debatable what exactly Sergei could be no-ing---his mom more or less welcoming her to the family, or the present question, or both) over how happy and gushing she was at Lyuba welcoming her to the family. She just felt---really happy. A deep contentment, and some peace she hadn't felt since she'd been kidnapped by the Negaverse some time ago. She was just so happy, she really couldn't do anything but give her trademark fox eyed grin, and just bask in the warm fuzzies before her cheeks finally loosened enough to let her speak.

"Um---I like dark red, maroon---and....blues...and....plaid!" Plaid was a color, right? It was a color made up of multiple colors. "Does that help...?"

She looked back at Sergei, eyes a bit wide before her expression relaxed, and she beamed at him. "Is it here? If it is---I'd like to see you open it! Please?" Yeah, he took the envelope....but what he did with it after that, she had no idea.

"Thank you so much!" Olga exclaimed, just honestly over the moon. She was nothing short of ecstatic. "I'm really excited!"

In addition to the vintage Wyoming stamp in the small plastic sleeve, she had written him a small note as well. It was on a small sheet of lined paper, neatly folded in half once in Olga's handwriting:



She tried not to stare----okay that was a lie. She didn't try very hard not to stare, but she was watching his expression. Earlier she didn't even want to be around when he opened it, but now, with this drastic lift of her spirits, she found that she, more or less for a lack of better words, wanted to bite the bullet and just see. Especially after all this talk of gifts, and also just to get the suspense out of the way. He wasn't scowling though...so that was already a great improvement!

"...Is it okay?"