not very likely tbh!!

i think the thing with ivan is, you know, he’s insecurely attached. purely approaching from a canon perspective, you have this whole narrative of human pets (e.g. slavery), plus ivan is a kid who grew up with nothing. his first taste of “something” came with being adopted, but i like to think his small appetite is a holdover from times when he wasn’t sure where his next meal would come from; he’s scared to overindulge.

and that point leads into the second one. he’s scared. till is brilliant to him—a noted genius in their field, blazing bright and kind of off-putting to the masses (segyeins). his spirit is rebellious, but his heart is kind, and it’s the sort of mess of contradictions ivan can never ever get bored of.

in captivity especially, under the duress of all the trauma they endure, they all need something to cling to and although ivan would grimace to have it put like this, for him, that “something” is till. it’s warped obsession more than it is pure love to me anyways, and obsessive people are always going to obsess. impossible to avoid. not to mention options are limited. obviously we only get to see a very small chunk of the kids ivan interacts with, but in canon? yeah, no. ain’t happening lol.

outside of canon…hm. i think ivan could certainly try. i honestly headcanon non-captivity ivan as having a much better grip on his psyche and a better format of self-actualization. he’s aware that he’s a freak, but it’s not the end of the world. he’s been socialized well enough to know that plenty of people like him freak or no.

in canon, he’s not afraid to take risks or particularly afraid of death (always a constant threat. never know when the segyeins are suddenly going to snap and get tired of them, after all.) so, in AUs, i similarly give him a sort of “damn the consequences” moral grayness lol.

all of that is to say: i think ivan is very much an “if it happens, it happens” person when it comes to falling in love (or neurosis centering around 1 person lol.) could i see ivan hyperfixating on someone and “getting over” till so to speak? sure. but they would always have the tinges of till written all over them, and ivan’s insecure attachment brain would always find some way to compare them, assuming till came into his life first.

i do, however, think that ivan is wayyyy way WAY better at masking his lowkey misery about forcing himself to move on so that he can still remain in till’s life in some format, haha. till wears his emotions on his sleeve, you know? if (AU) ivan didn’t die but voluntarily chose to walk out of till’s life, i think till would realize he was insecurely attached as well. and also ivan is till’s best friend! (despite the odds 😂) it always sucks to lose someone so close in your life. a cauterized wound that never heals quite right.

that was a lot of words to say “no, i don’t thinks so. maybe on the surface, but deep down? yearner ass idiot”

thanks for asking!