Ivan was allowed outside for an hour every day. He used this time to simply admire the forest greenery and re-live memories of his childhood. He had grown up next to a forest, and when he and his brothers were young, they used to practically live outside. They spent their days climbing trees and wrestling in the mud, coming home absolutely covered in dirt. Now, as an adult, it was so much different. After all he'd been through, even though he was only 23 years old, all he wanted to do was just sit down and be alone. Of course, he wouldn't be truly alone while there: a guard was positioned nearby to make sure he didn't try anything funny.
A rustle in the nearby greenery came, and Ivan and the guard both snapped to attention. The man drew his gun, and pointed it at the place where he'd heard the noise. It was too big to be a rabbit or a squirrel, so it must have been…
Ivan's heart began to pound furiously. He didn't want to believe it was who he had been praying it was, but… He couldn't help but hope.
Suddenly, Ivan saw something out of the corner of his eye; something that was out of the guard's field of vision. The silhouette of a man stood there, dark camouflage hiding him from immediate detection. The man opened one eye, and raised a finger to his lips, motioning for Ivan to keep quiet. The boy nodded and let his eyes widen. Something about this person seemed almost familiar… He couldn't place it quite yet, but-
"Hey, get inside, kid!" The guard snapped, motioning with his gun for Ivan to go with the other guard there. Ivan nodded, and was escorted away, eyes focusing on that one person hiding among the trees. As he walked past, and the man smiled, the angle shifted and a beam of light illuminated the man's face. All Ivan had time to process was an eyepatch.
No… It couldn't be…
Could it?
"I want to drive!" Katya protested as soon as they were in the hotel's parking lot.
"What? No! Do you even have a license?"
"Yeah, moron. Of course I do. See?" She pulled her wallet out of her bag and removed her license with a flourish, holding it right in Volgin's face.
"Katya Bisognin… You're only 22?" He read skeptically.
"Doesn't mean I can't drive. Now get in the passenger seat, Old Man! I'm driving!" She said triumphantly, opening the driver side door and hopping in. Volgin sighed and walked around to get in the passenger seat. The drive, although short, would clearly feel eternal.
"So, Bisognin. What kind of last name is that?" Volgin asked, desperate to break the silence even though he had never been one for small talk.
"It's mine." Katya responded, eyes never leaving the road.
"No, I mean, what nationality?" Volgin sighed, searching her face.
"Italian. My dad's side was from Italy." She huffed, looking at him as they hit a red light. "Are you always this nosy?"
"N-no, I was just-!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just stop trying."
Volgin was completely bewildered by this girl and how she could render someone like him speechless so easily. The only other woman who had been able to do that was The Boss, and that was for obvious reasons. He had always prided himself on remaining cool and unfazed in most situations, even if he did have a temper. Still, this girl was an enigma. Loud and determined one moment, and then the next… Volgin couldn't help but recall her crawling into bed with him, and how calm and happy she looked when she slept…
Not that he had watched her sleep! She had just happened to be sleeping when he wasn't, and what was he supposed to do? Stare at the wall until he got tired? Admittedly, he had admired her sleeping, but not for long. He had simply taken note of her mouth slightly curled up into a tiny smile, and how her pajamas made her look so comfortable and adorable it should be a crime, and-
"Hey, I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"Sorry I snapped at you for asking questions. It was kind of an asshole thing of me to do. So… Sorry."
"Oh. It's fine. There's nothing to apologize for." After this, there was another bout of silence before Volgin broke it.
"You know, you're only about a year younger than Ivan."
"Yeah, I guess I am. Wait, he's twenty-three?"
"I suppose he is… Yes, it's past February 14th, so he's twenty-three. Why?"
"Nothing, I just never would have guessed it. He looked… older somehow. At least when I met him he did. I don't know. Maybe it was my imagination. But his birthday is Valentine's Day?"
"Yes, I thought it was funny too when I first met him. But fitting. He's very much a romantic, not to mention he loves sweets."
"I can tell," Katya chuckled, stopping as she parked. "We're here. The airport."
"So we are."
A pause again.
"Let's go bring Ivan home."
