That’s the only warning Ilya gets before a white medical looking mask is thrown at him. His quick instincts are the only thing to prevent it from hitting him in the face.
“Wear that if you go outside for the next few days.” Shane says it so casually as he continues on his path towards the kitchen, oblivious to the expression of bewilderment that Ilya is currently sending him.
“Are you telling me my breath stinks this bad?” Ilya asks, turning the mask over in his hands. N-95 is stamped on it but it does nothing to alleviate the confusion circling Ilya’s mind.
“No,” Shane scoffs from by the fridge. But he still doesn’t over any explanation.
Rolling his eyes, Ilya pulls his feet up onto the couch so he can jump over the back, ignoring the noise of complaint from his boyfriend. Ilya waves the mask at Shane, “What is this?”
“And you call me an asshole.” Ilya mutters, dropping the item onto the counter and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know it is a mask, Shane. What I don’t know is why you threw it at me and demanded I wear it.”
“It’s fire season.” Shane shrugs, sipping his juice with nonchalance that is both incredibly arteries and incredibly frustrating.
“Not everyone grew up in woods in Canada, Shane. You need to explain.” Ilya should get an award for his patience towards the love of his life. Truly.
Shane gestures at the bay of windows in the cabin and Ilya’s eyes following, looking outside. “Those aren’t grey weather clouds, Ilya. That’s smoke.”
Ilya’s mouth drops, “What?”
He had woken up this morning and saw the overcast sky and thought it was simply a summer storm trying to make its way over. The smell of campfire he’d gotten a whiff of earlier hadn’t been anything suspicious because Canadian’s are notorious for campfires. Nevermind that Shane had no neighbours nearby for there to be anything to smell.
“Yeah. They said air quality is taking a turn for the worse, so best to wear a mask when you’re outside. Also, don’t open any windows or doors for too long. I’ve got good air purifiers in here so we should be okay.”
Shane sounds so calm when he says that. Ilya gapes at him.
“What?” Shane asks, shifting from one foot to the other. “It’s normal to have air purifiers!”
“The world is on fire and you are so calm!”
“Oh,” Shane huffs out a soft laugh, “Canada gets bad wildfires every summer. We got lucky last year — the fires started after you left to go back to Boston. They’re nasty this year though.”
“We are surrounded by trees!”
Shane shakes his head at Ilya’s outburst, “None are near us. I check the fire map daily. And we’d get a notification on our phones if we had to evacuate.”
Ilya actually thinks he’s going to pass out.
“Why the fuck do you people like living out here?!”
Shane smiles and walks over to Ilya, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, “Canadians aren’t so weak now, are they?”
He pats Ilya on the chest and leaves him standing there in the kitchen, questioning every campfire Shane has lit.
amandla
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