To what Katerina said, Ivan was in agreement. This was definitely not a place they were supposed to be, and there was something which felt distinctly wrong about, being exposed to things that wouldn't of come along until after they were long dead. Earlier, he had seen Mikhail slip a couple things in his pocket when he thought no one was looking-- Ivan, not being his keeper, had nothing to say about that-- but he would never think to do something like that himself for that very reason. Because whatever came from this time belonged here, just like they belonged back where they had come from. When she spoke of her knowing that he understood her, he met her eyes once more, the look expressing that indeed he did. He knew well that when she was courteous, it was sincere, that she was the type to always find a good word to say about someone. Part of that was from how she was raised to be perfectly poised, to know the value and importance of manners, but there was a little naivety there too, and overall she was better for it, Ivan thought. There was only a gap of two years between them, but sometimes he felt like he was a good deal older than her because he didn't possess that quality himself, because he much easier saw the ugly in people than he did the good, a trait that usually showed up later in life. In fact, it was only when he realized his feelings for her, that for the first time he reflected and thought: I'm still young. That came from him also realizing the nature of their relationship. Yes, it was in the note that she never seemed to pick up in that look he had given her several times before: that he didn't know her as well as he wished he did, in the way that he wanted to, and that he never would. But, by now he'd grown accustomed to that was the way things were between them. That she could walk into his room, alone, dressed as she was and speak with him casually only further reminded him of that. Ivan valued that friendship she had given him, but if things hadn't turned out like this, they wouldn't still be talking-- it was difficult for him, to continue like this. Now that they were in such an unbelievable situation though, he felt he was back to how he was in the beginning, that it was important he stay at Katerina's side for her sake, to be someone she could talk to. No one else had that sort of effect on him -- no one else could make him change his mind like that.
He didn't initially say anything to what she told him, though that didn't mean he had nothing to say about it. He did nod once, and gave something of a soft sigh, to suggest he wouldn't of argued with her. However, he decided to answer her question she asked next, as a place to start. "No, you didn't interrupt," Ivan replied, turning his attention over to the desk as well. "I was writing about some of things we have discovered here ... Purely for my own reference." He added that last part in case it gave the impression he was embracing this change much more fully than she was; he didn't sound particularly excited about it either, but his tone was usually removed of such emotion. There were a few things he had open there, besides the dictionary: a world book encyclopedia, an atlas of world history, and he'd even found a couple of political theory books on the shelves that he was skimming through. All of these texts were full of new and different things, but judging from what Katerina had said last, she probably would not be intrigued by them in the way he was. At least not now. There was one other though, that he'd pulled from the shelf on a whim, and that was the one he picked up then. He thought that, rather than commenting on how much of this was uncomfortably alien, that he could show her something which might interest her and still showcase that. "I found this on one of the shelves, while I was looking for a dictionary."