After the Fight

AN: Hi everyone! This is my first published work, so if you have any constructive criticism I would love to hear it so that I can be better. I wrote this because I felt that Viktor did not get enough love in the movie. This takes place directly after the ending fight between Adonis Creed and Viktor Drago. Hopefully, Viktor doesn't seem too out of character. I don't own anything except for my own character. Thank you for reading!

Olena Markov took the long walk through the cement hallway on the way to her boyfriend's locker room. Following the loss, Olena knew that Viktor wouldn't have wanted her to come into the ring and console him. Instead, she waited until the crowds cleared and everyone had left the building in the hopes that she could have a moment alone with Viktor.

After all of her waiting, Olena still didn't know what to say. She couldn't even imagine what he'd be feeling since he grew up and trained his entire life for this fight, only to have come up short. On top of losing the battle in the ring, Viktor lost much more than his pride. Olena watched as Viktor's mother left when he was not fighting up to her standards.

Olena saw the look on Viktor's face when he took notice of his mother's absence and knew that his devastation would ensure his defeat. Olena was furious and almost went to follow Ludmilla out of the arena and give her own interpretation of the Drago family business, but she would not abandon her Viktor.

Slowly, Olena approached the locker room with the bold letters spelling out Viktor's last name on the door. She became increasingly more nervous after each step and felt her hands sweat, but took a deep breath and walked in the oversized room, prepared for any outcome. What Olena did not expect to see was Adonis Creed sitting in the stall next to Viktor. Adonis looked up to see her dumbfounded face, stood and began to limp out of the room, but not before sending Olena a soft smile.

When Creed finally left the room, Olena came out of her daze. She stood on the opposite side of the room and took a glance at Viktor. He sat on a bench looking miserable and exhausted. In all of Olena's time with Viktor, she had never seen him so damaged after a fight. Olena almost didn't know how to react to Viktor's distraught form, but she continued to stare at him until he met her gaze. It took a moment but he eventually looked up for a second and almost immediately avoided her eyes.

Olena wouldn't accept this and sauntered over to Viktor. When she reached him, she grabbed a nearby stool that his trainer used before the fight to tape his hands, and took a seat. Viktor still towered over her even when they were sitting down. Olena gently placed her hands on his knees but was interrupted when his father, Ivan Drago appeared.

"May we please have a minute Ivan?" Olena asked politely in Russian, her native tongue. He nodded wordlessly in response and shut the door behind him as he left the room.

Viktor had yet to look up from the floor since he and Olena shared a brief glance several minutes ago. Olena brought a soft hand under his chin and raised it so that he would be forced to look at her. When he finally met her green orbs, Olena saw all of the pain and sadness in his eyes. She took her time before speaking and chose her words carefully, not sure how Viktor would react.

"I'm proud of you," Olena stated confidently. Viktor appeared stunned by her statement. How could she be proud of him when he just lost the biggest fight in his career?

"How can you be proud? I lost." He said quietly in his deep voice.

"It's not all about winning, you know. You fought your absolute hardest with everything you had, anyone would have been proud to watch you."

"Then why'd she leave?" Viktor pulled away from her hand and looked down at the floor again, starting to shed silent tears. Olena wasted no time tenderly wiping his tears with her thumbs, only to have him wince slightly as she got near his bruised eye.

"Your mother is a cold and selfish and cruel woman. She does not deserve to have a child as wonderful as you," she saw his frown deepen and Olena tried to lighten the mood "it took everything in my power not to knock her ass out." Viktor slightly looked up and gave Olena a small smile, a rare but welcomed sight.

Olena started again "I'm so sorry that she hurt you, but I'll make sure it never happens again. You have gone through your whole life without her and you've grown up to be kind, strong, and independent with her not around. Babe, you're so much better off without her." She spoke slowly hoping that all of her words would sink in and Viktor would understand their power.

There was a long pause in the conversation until Viktor spoke up "You're right. I just feel…" he tried to express. Feelings were never Viktor's strong suit, but he always tried to communicate them accurately. "I've just always wanted her to love me." He spoke.

Olena stood up in anger and responded almost immediately with so much passion in her voice that she sounded like a preacher on Sunday morning. "Look at me and listen well Viktor Drago." Viktor looked up, almost fearful of Olena. "You do not need that woman's love because… because I love you and so does your father." Now it was Olena's turn to avoid eye contact.

Viktor stared at Olena in pure disbelief. In the several months since they had finally made their relationship official after years of friendship, neither party had given any verbal confirmation of love.

"You love me?" Viktor whispered incredulously.

"Why do you sound so surprised? I have loved you and will continue to do so. I will never abandon you or leave you when you need me, and I promise I will always be there for you whether you win or lose." No words were shared for several moments and Olena began to feel self-conscious that Viktor reciprocate her affection.

With a pained moan, Viktor rose to his feet to meet her. He didn't even take the time to look at her, but instead, he wrapped his arms around her. It always surprised Olena how gentle Viktor actually is and how his arms could do so much destruction yet be so warm and inviting. Olena returned the hug ever so slightly as to not aggravate his injuries.

After several moments, Viktor slightly broke away from the embrace and placed his forehead on Olena's.

"I love you too." She smiled and kissed him deeply, engulfing him in another hug. Viktor winced and tensed up and Olena immediately pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I got a little carried away there." Olena blushed. Viktor gave a short chuckle and gave her a short kiss. After they broke apart, she clapped her hands together twice "Alright, let's get going. We need to go back to our hotel so you can get some rest."

"Who said I wanted to rest?" Viktor asked playfully.

Olena laughed and smiled at him. "Honey, you wouldn't be able to handle me in your condition." Now it was Viktor's turn to laugh. His laughter was one of Olena's favorite sounds on earth and was always excited to hear it.

As Viktor walked over to his locker to collect his things, he had an overwhelming thought. "Olena, what are we going to do after this is all over?" He blurted, suddenly nervous about the couple's future.

Olena collected her thoughts and spoke "I have a lot of money saved up, we can take some time, explore the world a little. Maybe, we could even find you something new that you enjoy doing."

He looked at her and smiled "I'd like that very much. As long as you're there with me."

Olena walked over to him and placed her hands on his cheeks and responded with the only word that came to mind "always."

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment and give constructive criticism.