*Sephie*
Since either Ilya or Viktor slept for the majority of Ilya’s first week here, Stephen took over master of schedule duties to give Viktor a break. Stephen said he needed a way to burn off his extra energy he was still enjoying since he’d broken Armando anyway. Ivan and the Wonder Twins had things they needed to take care of that afternoon, which meant I was stuck with Viktor.
Or more like he was stuck with me.
Ilya, to his credit, was very curious about everything and asked questions most of the afternoon. He wanted to know how long I’d been able to do the things I could do, how it happened, if I’d told anyone else before, he wanted to know everything. I didn’t mind. It helped me feel more comfortable with Viktor and eased my irritation with him.
Once Ilya had satisfied his curiosity about me, it was my turn. “Okay, Ilya, now’s your chance to dish on your older brother. How was he when you were kids? Was he a jerk? Bossy? Who’s the perfect brother? Who’s the troublemaker?” I asked, grinning at Viktor.
Viktor looked at Ilya. They both had smiles as they looked to me. “Sasha,” they said, laughing.
“You’re only saying that because that poor guy isn’t here to defend himself,” I said, laughing with them.
“No, it’s true, sestrichka. Sasha was always the hellion,” Viktor said.
“It’s because he’s short,” Ilya said, still laughing.
“He’s short? No way. You’re both giants. It clearly runs in your family,” I said.
“It skipped him. He’s still not over it,” Viktor said, his deep laugh filling the room. I had to admit that I’d missed hearing his laugh. He caught me looking at him thoughtfully.
“You’re lighter when you laugh now. You both are, actually. It’s good to see,” I said. I got up and went to the kitchen. I didn’t say anything to either of them, I just started pulling out things I would need to make Stephen his favorite cookies.
They both eventually followed me to the kitchen. “What are your plans now, Ilya? You’re done with your service, no?” I asked, mostly to keep them from asking me what I was doing.
“I haven’t decided. I’m done, so now it’s time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up,” he said, his warm smile across his face.
“What would be the dream setup?” I asked.
He glanced at Viktor, then back to me. “Something similar to what Viktor has, I think. My training isn’t up to his standards, but it’s similar. I can catch up quickly.”
I looked at Viktor. “Let him replace one of the little flowers. Hell, he could replace both of them and it would still be better. Vitaliy is planning on staying in the city now for a bit, especially since he’s taking Armando’s house. Ilya will still be close. Alyosha can catch his training up, too.”
Viktor looked to Ilya to gauge his interest in the idea. “That’s a good idea, sestrichka.”
“You have to make it Vitaliy’s idea though. He’s already looking for replacements for the little flowers, but they’ve left a sour taste in his mouth, so to speak. Let him see Ilya training with us. It will start the relationship off better if Vitaliy feels like he’s choosing you versus you asking him for a job,” I said. “He didn’t work out this morning, so he will in the morning. Best to let him see Ilya before he moves.” I studied Ilya for a minute, then looked back at Viktor. “He’s faster than you are, so either let him spar with Misha or me. It’ll make him look even better,” I said, winking at Ilya.
“How did you know he was faster?” Viktor asked.
“He’s leaner like Misha. Misha is faster than you, Stephen, and Andrei. Ivan is deceptively fast for as big as he is, but he’s also a special circumstance so he doesn’t necessarily count,” I said.
“Apparently, it’s settled,” Viktor said, smiling at Ilya.
As Viktor and Ilya continued talking, I suddenly had a thought pop in my head. I knew Viktor likely wasn’t going to like me bringing it up, but I couldn’t help myself. I did it anyway. During a lull in their conversation, I asked Viktor, “Kostya is coming to you almost every night now, isn’t he?”
Viktor looked surprised for a moment, but then he smiled. “He is. It’s still strange, because it feels like you and I talking right now.”
“He only came occasionally before because it was too difficult for you to handle. Now that you’ve allowed him to fix you, it’s easier for you to handle. He’s been waiting,” I said.
“How did you know?” Viktor asked, surprised. “Were you in my head just now?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I just know. I didn’t need to look. Sometimes information just comes to me, whether I’m looking for it or not.”
Viktor was thinking about something else, but he was unsure whether he should say anything. Since he’d spent so much time avoiding me for this very reason, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Instead, I looked at Ilya and said quietly, “this is why he’s been avoiding me for so long.”
I continued on with my little project while the two of them talked to each other. Ivan walked into the penthouse soon after. I freed up my hands and went to hug him. *“I’m very happy to see you. I made it awkward. Why can I not keep my mouth shut?”* I said to him silently.
*“It’s one of your best qualities, princess. Please never stop,”* he responded as he put me down.
“What are you working on?” he asked, looking at the bowl of cookie dough.
I grinned at him. “Stephen is still enjoying the extra energy he got, so I’m giving him a sugar rush to go with it.”
“You’re a little bit evil, princess. I fully support this,” he said. He asked Viktor a question and as he was pretending to listen to his answer, he asked me, *“is it just the awkwardness? You’re a little all over the place. It’s why I came up here.”*
*“Mostly, yes. I feel like there’s a connection somewhere that I’m missing. Viktor still feels different than the rest of you and I don’t know why, but it’s keeping me irritated.”*
*“He feels different to me too, princess. It’s not just you. Same for the Wonder Twins. We talked about it earlier.”*
It was at the point in the conversation where Ivan would respond to Viktor. He effortlessly responded correctly to what Viktor had just said, like he’d only been listening to Viktor that entire time and not talking to me as well.
*“That was fucking impressive,”* I said when Viktor started talking again. I could hear Ivan laugh in his head, but he never even hinted at a smile on his face. I went back to working on Stephen’s cookies, smiling to myself.