*Sephie*
Viktor and I talked for a little longer, but I eventually started to shiver so we decided to head back to the house. We’d been gone for a few hours anyway. He stood up, helping me do the same. He turned around and stood in front of me. “Get on, princess. Can’t have you walking back to the house on your own, now can we?”
I giggled as I readily hopped on his back. “This is called enabling. I might love you a little more for it, too,” I said, hugging his neck a little tighter as he walked us back to the house.
I had to admit that I felt much better after our talk. He assured me that he was feeling more comfortable around everyone already. He promised me that he would ask Stephen to help him again while we were at the house, so he didn’t have to worry about so much.
“You know there’s a chance that it won’t be just me, Adrik, and Ivan for much longer, right?” I said as we got closer to the house.
“I know. That’s partly why I want to ask Stephen to help me now. Everything seems to be speeding up. It wouldn’t surprise me if Misha, Andrei and Stephen figured out how to do it soon, too. Some part of me is happy to see it. The more we find out about Ricardo, the worse it seems. Same for Martin. There’s still that part of me that’s scared of it, though. I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m still struggling to not focus on the demons.”
“You realize this is the same thing that Ivan went through when he had to go to a hospital, right? He could never see you when you were trying to help him just like you couldn’t see us when we were trying to help you.” Viktor stopped walking. I had to hold on a little tighter, even. I thought he was going to drop me as his hands fell to his sides. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “That irritation that you used to feel with Ivan in that situation is the same way we’ve all felt lately.”
He craned his neck around to try and look at me. “I never would’ve put that together. I owe him another apology, it seems.”
“Eh, I think they all understand. You show your love by making sure people you care about are taken care of. Same as me. The fact that Ivan couldn’t see you in that situation made you feel somewhat rejected. Same as me. The fact that you couldn’t see past my demon made me feel rejected. The fact that you had yours removed made my demon feel rejected. I was doubly irritated,” I said, laughing.
“That makes so much more sense. I was never really sure why you were so irritated with me. I just knew I was an asshole and that wasn’t helping,” Viktor said.
“I would’ve told you sooner, but somebody has been avoiding me for quite some time,” I said, tightening my grip around his neck.
He laughed, apologizing yet again as we walked toward the back door.
“Don’t worry. I forgive you,” I said. “As long as we’re good again.”
“We’re good again, sestrichka. Promise,” he said. The back room was empty when we walked in. He stopped to put me down.
“Good,” I said. Ivan walked in on his way to the kitchen.
“Princess, your goddamn prince will be happy you’re back. He’s cranky when he has to be away from you for very long,” he said, grinning at me.
“That was my fault,” Viktor said, apologetically.
“It was no one’s fault. We’re very needy lately,” I said, unable to hide the fact that I missed him just as much as he did me. “Is he upstairs?” I asked.
“Yeah, he just got done in the gym. He decided to take it out on a punching bag instead of sitting around and waiting on you two to get back,” Ivan said.
My eyes went wide in surprise. “Cranky indeed,” I said, walking quickly toward the back stairs. *“Viktor now knows how we’ve been feeling. I found a way to tell him so he’d understand. He’s likely going to apologize. Be nice,”* I said to Ivan, laughing as I ran up the stairs.
I could hear the shower running as I walked into the bedroom. I quickly got undressed, hoping to make it into the bathroom before he turned the water off. He turned to the door just as I walked in, his wide smile across his face as his eyes landed on mine. I practically ran into the shower, jumping into his arms.
“I missed you,” he said, pressing his lips to mine.
“So I heard. You’re cranky?” I asked, leaning back far enough that I could see him, but not wanting any unnecessary space between us.
He chuckled. “You must’ve seen Ivan.”
I nodded. “He told me you were cranky from having to be away from me,” I said, somewhat concerned that he was unhappy with me for being gone too long.
“He’s not wrong. He might’ve overexaggerated. You needed time with Viktor. But I did miss you,” he said, leaning down to kiss me once more.
I looked at him, searching his eyes for a moment. A small grin spread across my face as I found the answer to my question. “It’s not you that’s cranky. Your demon is still mad at Viktor. It got worse when we stayed gone so long.”
He chuckled. “That seems accurate. I started out fine, but as the hours passed and you still weren’t back, Ivan finally forced me to go to the gym.”
I stood on my toes, pressing my body to his as I kissed him again. This time, with more passion. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, answering my passion with more of his own. It was him that needed air this time, as he broke the kiss. I leaned my head against his chest, enjoying being in his arms and warm once more.
“How did it go?”
“I think it’ll be fine. I found a way to explain everything so he’d understand. He opened up about why he made the decision he did. I told him it was never about the decision and that we supported him no matter what.”
“How did you explain it?”
“I told him it was exactly like how he felt when Ivan couldn’t see him anytime he was in the hospital before I came along. Viktor used to get so irritated that Ivan couldn’t see him, but that’s exactly what he was doing. He couldn’t see any of us because of our demons. He said seeing what happened last night at the fundraiser with that girl in the kitchen helped him realize just how much of an asshole he’d been,” I said. I looked up to see Adrik’s expression as I explained everything to him. His sly smile turned up one side of his mouth.
“I wouldn’t have thought of that, but you’re absolutely right. The bigger question is how comfortable does he feel around us now?”
“That’s getting better. He said he was going to ask Stephen to help him again. He recognizes how much it helped the first time. I asked him if Kostya had fixed him again and he said he was going to ask Stephen to help him again. He’s trying. That’s all we can ask of him,” I said.
“Maybe Stephen should help him while we’re still here. That way he doesn’t have anything extra to worry about and he can focus more on letting things go,” he said, his hands gently running up and down my back.
“I said the same thing. I think he’ll ask him. I think he was going to apologize to Ivan when we got back, too. I know you guys want to make him suffer a little longer, but I told Ivan to be nice,” I said, grinning at him.
He laughed. “Ivan said that very thing when you guys left earlier. I can’t say I disagreed with him, either.”
“I know. I also know it’s more your demons feeling that way than you two. It’s understandable, but Viktor told me he didn’t feel like he was ready to be able to handle his demon. He said there was still too much of a chance that the demon would’ve won. He said he has a tendency to focus too much on the negative, so it worried him. Honestly, I can’t argue with his logic. He made the decision that he felt was right for him and I agree with him. He knows himself better than any of us do.” I sighed. “It was not an easy decision for him to make, but ultimately, I think he chose wisely for where he’s at in this lifetime.”
Adrik was quiet for a few minutes. “What happens to his demon though?”
“That, I don’t know. He made the comment that it wasn’t gone for good. I’m not sure what that means. I didn’t ask for specifics about that. I didn’t want to steer the conversation in that direction,” I said quietly.
He kissed my forehead. “Yours is still sad about all this. I can feel your sadness, but it’s not all yours. I can tell the difference now.”
“How?”