Oh gosh, I'm so sick right now. My allergies, combined with the seasons about to change and the weather has given me a horrendous head cold. Ugh...
Thank you Usagi323 for co-writing this with me. You know the rest, dear. XD
In this chapter, the group hops aboard the Trans-Siberian Express and an old enemy shows his face again.
About an hour later, after collecting materials, waiting on their clothes to wash and dry, and changing back into their now clean clothes, Ivan and Alfred were doubling back to meet up with the others. After some strict chastising by Ludwig for taking advantage of his sleepy state so early in the morning and some worried and slightly annoyed looks from the others, they were on their way to the train station where their ride to St. Petersburg was waiting. Ludwig had stressed it to everyone to stick together, that way if any of them got caught, they would stand a better chance at defending themselves. They waited for the loud speaker to announce that their train was arriving, standing in the holding booth of the train station. Ivan watched as Alfred kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other, looking awfully nervous. He grabbed the blonde's hand, giving it a firm squeeze and smiling down at him to reassure the American. They were so close now, what else could go wrong? Freedom was just at the end of the tunnel, and they didn't have much further to go.
What they didn't know was that there was a shadowed figure that had been trailing them since they arrived at the station. The figure kept a safe distance away so as not to be recognized and wore rather ordinary clothing. So if they did scan the area, he would be over looked.
It'd been easy enough for General Winter to follow them onto the train. He just waited at the station from the time of the first boarding calls till now for them to appear. Once he saw them board the train, he quickly flashed the ticket takers his Government and Military cards, granting him unquestioned access for the train. From there, he just stole someone's seat and watched them from afar, anger rising as he witnessed his Snowflake comfort his Alfred. His possessive feelings for Ivan transferred over to Alfred as well only because he wanted to possess ALL of Ivan; his mind, body, soul, and his heart. He knew he needed to possess the sunshine blonde to even come close to possessing Ivan's heart.
As Ivan stared out the window with Alfred, watching as the dark city morphed into a snowy countryside, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. He tried to push his paranoia away, telling himself that it was merely his imagination at work, conjuring up images of things that weren't there. Yet, it didn't matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise. His heart felt heavy and wrong, like it knew that something bad was coming their way. Reflexively, he pulled Alfred closer, the blonde having already fell asleep in his seat. Alfred's head lolled over, resting on Ivan's shoulder. He began to absentmindedly pet the blonde's sunshine hair, staring with barely concealed worry out the window.
The Brit who was sitting in the seats across from them with Francis noticed the change in Ivan's demeanor. He saw how the Russian's pale brows were furrowed slightly, his eyes betraying the usual calmness that he usually had. Although he didn't really care much for the, in his opinion, monster, he couldn't sit comfortable across from him without knowing what was the matter. "What's bothering you, chap?" Arthur stared him down with his emerald eyes, noticing how Ivan's violet ones snapped to him in surprise.
"Nothing." Came the simple – too simple – reply from Ivan. It didn't do much to sate Arthur's curiosity.
Raising an eyebrow but frowning slightly, Arthur continued to press the issues. "Come on now, we are all a team and if you're withholding something from us, no matter how minuscule, it can still greatly affect us." He tried to come off as being a supportive teammate, but felt his brow twitch in disdain as he witnessed Alfred snuggle closer into Ivan as he slept. He had no idea what the daft idiot saw in such a psychotic man, and it greatly annoyed him how much closer the American seemed too be to Ivan.
Ivan pursed his lips, remaining quiet for a few moments. Eventually, he finally gave in with a weary sigh. "I do not feel right." He admitted, staring hard out the train's window. "I do not know how to explain it, but I…I feel like something bad is coming." It was the only way he could put it into words. He didn't know how to explain the feeling any more than that. He was just getting some really bad "vibes" lately, especially since they had boarded the train. He couldn't help but feel like the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees…but he blamed that mostly on the weather. They were traveling northward, so it would only make sense for the temperature to drop a bit.
Lips forming a sharp grimace and eyebrows furrowing , Arthur sized up the Russian with skeptical eyes. He gave a heavy sigh through his nose and looked forward, weighing Ivan's words. "I...understand in a sense. I myself can be quite cynical and mistrusting. Hell, parts of me still are skeptical that this escape will work, even though we are so close. But I trust Alfred, and the people he chose for this. He's a moron, but he isn't stupid like he acts to be and has a good judge in character. I believe our little group will be able to handle anything that blasted foundation can throw at us." He scowled and continued, not caring if Ivan was even paying attention or not. "Whatever you feel is coming, I'm sure you can handle. Though I think your psychotic and wish Alfred would come to his senses and dump your sorry arse, I do trust your abilities to handle whatever comes either of your ways. I-I trust you to be able to care for Alfred, even if I don't like it." Because lord knew that even though Alfred was able to hold his own in a fight, he was a trouble magnet and would need all the help he could get to get out of the messes he gets into. He was blushing and scowling heavily by the end of his confession.
"I know you do not like me being with him. But…if you could just trust me with this…I am not the greatest person in the world, or maybe not even the sanest, but I could never hurt Alfred. I could never dream of it." He normally wouldn't have given damn about how Arthur felt about his personal business, but the Brit was obviously something akin to 'family' to Alfred. So if he was going to be forced to put up with Arthur's overly protective habits, he may as well try to get the Brit to like him. However, if Arthur was going to prove to be difficult, then to hell with him. Alfred belonged to Ivan, and he'd prove it if it meant fucking the blonde senseless right before the Englishman's eyes. Well….maybe that wouldn't be the most delicate way of doing it, but it was certainly appealing to Ivan's darker side.
Arthur spoke through gritted teeth, "Well at least you admit it. Like I said before, I don't like you, but I trust you to care for him." Not wishing to discuss the issue further, he turned away to lean on the eavesdropping French man to try and get some rest. Once his breathing leveled out, Francis let out a chuckle.
"Believe it or not Ivan, he was trying to ease your previous fears. He may say that though he doesn't support your relationship, but he does accept it. I can assure you he won't interfere with your relationship so long as Alfred's happy, so you can rid yourself of such...naughty thoughts. Honhonhon~" He stated, giving him a knowing smirk. "I'd also suggest you cease your worrying and try to get some sleep with your lover, who is by the way drooling on your shoulder."
Ivan's eyes trailed down, noticing the line of drool trailing from Alfred's mouth that was forming a damp spot on his coat. He groaned quietly, rolling his eyes. "Alfred…" Dabbing at the line of drool going down his chin, he forced the blonde's mouth shut. He craned his head to the side, resting it partially on top of Alfred's. The soothing sound of the train working itself on the rails soon lulled Ivan to sleep.
"Can't believe we're stuck on guard duty." Alfred mumbled and kicked gravel as he and Ivan walked out of the giant storage shed behind them. Earlier that morning, they had trekked from the train station to the other side of St. Petersburg, meeting up with Lovino and Antonio at a small dock just at the end of the Canal their boat would be taking out into the ocean. Antonio had informed them that they'd be taking a slight detour in their journey across the Atlantic to instead the United Kingdom. Apparently, none of the boats Lovino and Antonio were able to procure were big enough to provide somewhat comfortable travel to New York. They did promise, however, that they did get a boat in the UK that could make the journey. While they were there, their little group could retrieve the fake visas they needed. Arthur's parents had some pretty good money while they were alive from some shady business they invested in and these people owed them big time. Arthur refused to elaborate past that point, saying that was all the group needed to know.
Now, currently everyone else was discussing and finalizing plans, or in Ludwig's case, running from an enraged Lovino. They'd decided Ivan and Alfred would go and scout the perimeter to make sure no one found them. Alfred didn't like the fact he was being left out, but it was better than listening to boring plans or Feli crying about how Lovino needed to leave Ludwig alone.
"Alfred?" Ivan asked suddenly, stopping in the snow. He watched as the blonde lifted his head slightly to accommodate Ivan's tall height. As much as he hated what he was about to do, he knew that he needed to start treating Alfred like an adult instead of a defenseless child. His protective instincts were already screaming at him. "I was…thinking that maybe we should split up so we can cover some more ground? Only if you want to, though. You do not have to unless you want to." He watched Alfred's face, hoping that the blonde would reject the idea.
Alfred's eyes widened in shock for a second. He usually had to run off on his own, get someone else to consent to tell Ivan as well, or fight with Ivan to let him go alone to scout. Alfred loved how endearingly protective Ivan could be for his loved ones; his sisters, Alfred, and a little bird him and Ivan found when they were 13 and took care off until a trainer found it and killed it. But it was very overbearing and smothering at times. So to encourage this behavior Alfred figured positive reinforcement was in order. Grinning, Alfred stood on his toes a bit and leaned up to give Ivan a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you dude for finally putting more faith in me! How about both of us circle the perimeter in opposite directions." This will make it so they'll cross paths every so often, just so Ivan can see he can handle things on his own and give him some peace of mind. He'll use this to show Ivan that yes, Alfred is a big boy now and doesn't need Ivan to babysit him.
Sighing in disdain, Ivan lowered his eyes to the ground. "Just…if you run into any trouble at all, please do not hesitate to scream. I know you are strong Alfred, but it never helps to have someone else there." He was banking on the blond refusing his proposal. Obviously, that backfired in his face. Reciprocating the kiss to the cheek, he took off in the opposite direction of Alfred, beginning to slowly traverse the perimeter of the property. He doubted that they'd run into much trouble all the way out here. They hadn't seen any agents scouting for them since their time in the Siberian forests. Ivan convinced himself that by now, General Winter should have lost their track, any evidence of their whereabouts running cold by this time.
It was a lot lonelier than he would have liked, being forced to walk the snowy woods by himself. Now he was wishing more than Alfred would have declined, not because he was worried, but now because he wanted the warmth that the blonde always brought him. He curled his fingers in, wishing there was a soft hand beside him that he could grab onto.
Alfred just smiled at Ivan's retreating back, knowing he was reluctant to let Alfred do this, but appreciating the trust. He himself turned and then began his trek around the grounds. Hopefully he'll find a flower or two even with this abnormally chilly summer day, he could pick them and give them to Ivan. He just knew they'd cheer the Russian up. Ivan loved flowers. He told Alfred they bring color to even the dreariest of places. Alfred blushed lightly as he recalled many a time when Ivan compared him to a flower. Without knowing it, Alfred was slowly letting his guard down, believing them to be so close now that not much could possibly go wrong.
The General had thought about the best way to go about confronting his two rebellious possessions all throughout the train ride and trek to the docks. He had called his team in once he figured they were heading towards the docks. It would take them several hours to reach this place, but the General was confident they'd be able to stop them in time. Winter was a confident man, pretty much to the point of arrogance, but he wasn't stupid. He recognized his two pet's fighting abilities, and he would be foolish and suicidal to even contemplate taking both of them on at once or fight them one after the other. What he needed to do was take one down as easily as possible and use them as bait for the other to come willingly. After much consideration, he came to the conclusion he'd use Alfred as bait. Though equal to Ivan physically, Alfred would be easier to catch off guard. Alfred also had the sort of mentality that if he used Ivan as bait, he'd charge straight foreword to rescue him anyway. Ivan on the other hand would hesitate more and bend to his will, not wanting the other to be harmed. This plan was what led him here, waiting for the best moment to spring from the tree he was behind. After hearing they'd circle the perimeter, Winter hid in the shadows of the surrounding forest. He'd let them make a few rounds undisturbed, wanting for Ivan's guard to drop a bit as well. The General pulled out a drugged rag he'd prepared moments ago as he saw the more upbeat blonde approach and then pass his tree. Then, as silent as death, the General emerged from the shadows. Just as Alfred turned, sensing his presence, he pressed the cloth over the younger's mouth and nose, gripping Alfred's arm with his free hand. To Alfred's credit, before he went limp in the General's arms, he was able to deliver a mean punch to his face. As Winter hoisted the American over his shoulder, he clenched his bleeding nose. Maybe he'll give the fiery man a bit of an early punishment for that punch. The thought made the General smirk a wicked and perverse smirk as he hauled Alfred through the forest, leaving behind the other's baseball bat on the ground where he dropped it.
Alfred's mind was foggy and sluggish as he slowly registered what had happened. He did, however hear a voice that sent dread through his spine and disgust at the physical attention he was receiving. "Ah, your awake, подсолнечник. You'll be able to open your eyes in a second. The drug was only supposed to knock you out for a few minutes. Unfortunately, you won't be able to move properly for at least several more, plenty of time to punish you for touching what's mine and letting yourself be touched by anyone but me, as well as enough time to tie you up again." General Winter purred as he unzipped Alfred's pants with one hand, pulling them off and leaving him in his jacket, shirt, and boxers. He then attacked the helpless blonde's neck, biting and sucking harshly. Alfred was only able to make a scratchy whine in protest as his mind went into overdrive. 'Oh, God please not again! We were so close!' his mind screamed in agony as the General's bruising touch wandered all over him. Just as Winter promised, his eyes soon fluttered open, and saw they were in a clearing. Just then, the General's administrations stopped, and Alfred understood why as he felt a dark and deadly aura not too far from behind the General. In response, Winter just gave a malicious and smug grin as he turned to face the new presence. "Здравствуйте, снежинки. Приходите посмотреть шоу?"
Ivan stood at the edge of the clearing, mouth parted slightly in horror and eyes narrowed in both disbelief and disgust. There, looming over his little sunflower, was that disgusting pig of a man, his mouth and hands sliding against Alfred's skin. The blonde was missing his pants, his naked legs wet and cold with the snow. Alfred sent Ivan a pleading look, his blue eyes foggy and wide in fear. He saw the blonde's lips move, recognizing the words. Help me. He heard the General bark out an arrogant laugh.
It was enough to push the platinum haired Russian over the edge. He literally saw red as he stomped over –or ran? He couldn't tell. Everything was such a hazy blur – over to the General. Winter reached into his pocket, pulling out a pistol and firing. It managed to catch Ivan in his top left arm, but the fiery red pain didn't register in his mind as he continued walking forward. Ivan brought out his pipe and clocked the old man over the head with it, causing the pistol to fly out of the General's grip. Obviously, Winter must have not been expecting Ivan to react to quickly or violently, thinking he would have the upper hand in the fight. He thought Ivan would hesitate, seeing Alfred underneath him like that. He apparently hadn't been expecting the other to snap and come at him like a wild animal. With all caution thrown to the wind and his blood literally boiling in his veins, Ivan continued his assault with his pipe, a foggy cloud of red flooding his vision as he felt droplets of blood splashing up on him. He gripped his pipe hard, his fingers pressed uncomfortably tight against it and burning with the need to kill. Not feeling as though the pipe was enough, oh no, it would never be enough. He need to feel the man's bones snapping in his hands, Ivan tossed it aside, clocking Winter across the face with a hard punch. The pain in his arm was nothing compared to his need to see the other suffer. One hand held the aging man's shoulder down while the other continuously rained punch after punch down on him. He dug his nails in, satisfied whenever he felt the crimson liquid seeping out from the General's shoulder. Ivan's pale lips pulled into a maniacal smile as a peel of insane laughter left him. He wanted this, he needed this. He needed to see the person who had caused him so much pain writhe in agony beneath him. For good measure, he spat in the General's face, enjoying the disgusted and pained look that crossed Winter's features. Another string of high pitched laughter rang out from him as he grabbed the General's left arm. Using his knee as a weight to hold the older man down, he yanked hard, feeling giddy as the sound of the bone cracking and dislocating from its socket. But Ivan wasn't done. Not yet, not yet…he was going to take his sweet time killing the other. He would make sure that the man was begging him for death by time he was finished with him.
Alfred was only able to watch in horror, slowly able to move and think properly. This was bad. Alfred only ever saw Ivan go black and snap once. He never wanted to see that again. Not only had the sight of his best friend at the time turning into a blood thirsty monster made him fear for his own life, but witnessing the guilt, regret, and terror at what he had done was even more horrifying. This wasn't Alfred's Vanya; Alfred's Ivan was intimidating, sweet, both endearingly and frustratingly protective, awkward, quiet, thoughtful, cold, sexy, caring, a giant fluffy teddy bear at heart and yet a big mama grizzly. No, this was an ugly black creature that was created from that place.Alfred couldn't let Ivan kill Winter like this, not in this state. He'd never forgive himself and would fear himself. He'd be too scared he'd hurt someone to ever open up again. Maybe not even to Alfred, maybe especially not to Alfred. No, Alfred wouldn't let that happen.
With at first shaky legs, Alfred hoisted himself off the ground and slowly, but gaining speed ran to where Ivan and Winter were. Alfred clenched his teeth and braced himself as he rammed into the Russian, forcing him to stumble sideways and drop the broken man in his grasp. With a hoarse wheeze from a voice that felt like it was unused for a while, he cried "Ivan!", hoping it would help the ashen blonde man to snap out of his enraged trance. Unfortunately, the Russian only responded by coming at him with a punch after shaking off the shock of being rammed into. Alfred stumbled back from the blow a bit, but stood his ground. "Ivan, listen to my voic-shit!" He cursed as dodged another punch and caught the other. "HEY, I said listen-" He was cut off again by another swing by Ivan's free wrist, which Alfred captured in his strong grip as well. As Ivan struggled to free his wrists from Alfred's grip, Alfred growled out. "LISTEN TO ME YOU FUCKING RUSKI!" He was only met with a knee to the stomach for his efforts, but he didn't let his grip falter as he doubled over slightly in pain. As he glared up at Ivan with pained eyes, all he saw in the Russian's was dark and hazed over violet and an animalistic snarl on his lover's lips. Alfred froze, eyes wide in shock, and then blue orbs filled with panic, not knowing what to do to snap Ivan out of it. In blind panic and desperation at seeing Ivan so far gone he did the first thing that came to mind. He let go and as fast as lightening re-curled his fingers in Ivan's scarf, pulling him down into hard and desperate kiss. After a second of tense shock from Ivan, he felt his arms drop and go limp. He pulled back to find wide, confused, yet blank amethyst eyes stare back at him. Alfred almost let out a relieved and hysterical laugh at Ivan's return of sanity when he heard a gurgling cough behind him. Steeling himself from what was to come, he turned. He saw Winter pitifully reaching for the long abandoned gun, thinking this was his opportunity to strike again.
Alfred knew what he had to do. He'd have to be Ivan's hero right now. He had to kill Winter so he and Ivan could move on with their lives, because he was sure the disturbed General would never give them up. Even if he did, they'd never feel secure knowing he could show up any minute. Somewhere deep inside Alfred, a deep dark part that he tried to hide, he felt a pinch of joy at the General's pained cry as he stomped his boots onto the arm reaching for the gun. Slowly, he bent down and picked up the weapon, cocking it. He then pointed it at his, Ivan's, and probably many other's tormentor. With cold, detached, and hard eyes Alfred whispered, "Goodbye Winter." BANG! Some blood spattered on Alfred's cheeks, staining him forever.
After several calming breaths to try and stabilize himself, he dropped the gun and turned back to Ivan. He approached the still frozen man at a slow and cautious pace. When he was only inches away from Ivan's bowed head, he gently took Ivan's bloody face in both hands and raised it up to look into his warmer and gentler blue hues. He then pressed their foreheads together, "Shhh, everything is okay Vanya. You're safe now, I'm safe now." He breathed out soothingly.
Ivan was unable to process the words. They sounded distant and faint, as if he was trying to listen to a conversation underwater. His amethyst eyes darted around a bit, trying to take in his surroundings. Where was he? Why was he covered in blood? Why was there blood on Alfred's face? Why did his arm hurt so damn bad? The pain of the bullet wound finally catching up to him, Ivan immediately clutched his arm and hissed. He instantly regretted the decision, the pain from his grip only succeeding in doubling the pain. Dropping flat onto his bottom, his winced and hissed as hot, white pain coursed through his arm. On instinct, he began to dig into the wound, trying to procure the bullet from it. It was damn painful and resulted in a couple of loud, pained groans, but he finally managed to fit 2 fingers around the bullet. Yanking it out, he tossed the bloody fragment of lead to the snow.
After a couple seconds of trying to gather his wits, he returned his slightly confused gaze back to Alfred, struggling for the rights words. Peering behind the blonde, he saw the mangled, bloody body of Winter, a gory bullet hole planted in his skull. Ivan gazed back down at his hands, his body. Blood. It was everywhere. His clothes were drenched in it, his knuckles skinned and cut from beating something. Panic beginning to overwhelm him again, he managed to whisper out. "A-Alfred…w-w-what did I…"
Alfred quickly turned Ivan's gaze back to his. With a gentle, but determined look, he stared into Ivan's almost panicky eyes. "Listen to me Vanya, do not look away from me. No, you didn't kill him...you almost did, but you didn't. I was the one who killed him. But that or anything else you did doesn't matter, because you're ok." He said in a hard voice, commanding the Russian to listen to him. He then hesitantly leaned up and kissed him on the forehead, mumbling against his head. "He'll never hurt us again Vanya, never again."
Hesitantly, Ivan closed his eyes again Alfred's lips. He felt arms wrap around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Ignoring the now throbbing pain in his arm, he relaxed against Alfred, trying to calm his breathing. So Winter was dead? It was the end of him, right? He almost wanted to check again, just to make sure, but the bullet hole he saw in the older man's forehead was proof enough. Yet, Alfred had to be the one to kill him. A part of him felt almost jealous, wanting to be the one to end the man's disgusting life. Another part of him felt horrible over Alfred having to be the one to kill him. Alfred never killed anyone…he'd have to live with this for the rest of his life. Even if it was the General of all people, talking a life is not an easy thing. Ivan can honestly say that.
"We are safe…" He caught himself mumbling, voice barely a whisper. Opening his eyes he, he tightened his blood-sticky hands on Alfred's jacket. "We are safe." He repeated again, slightly louder. It earned Alfred's attention, making the blonde peer down at him and flash a weary smile. He nodded, and Ivan felt a small smile pulling at his life. He reached up, cupping Alfred's face, the blood from his hands smearing a bit onto the blonde's tan skin. "Did I hurt you?" Ivan murmured, fingers tenderly brushing Alfred's temple.
Alfred felt relieved that Ivan wouldn't freak out on him, but his relieved smile melted a bit at the corners as he debated telling Ivan about their little scuffle. On one hand, he deserved to know the truth, on the other he might not forgive himself that easily. After about a moment of debate, he sighed. Ivan would probably find out anyway. Alfred has always had troubling lying to the Russian. Somehow, Ivan always knew when he was hiding something. Besides he only had a couple of bruises and he'd received a lot worse from the trainers than with Ivan. He smiled sheepishly up at Ivan, "Not in the way you think big guy. Only a couple of bruises from when we scuffled a bit. But you snapped out of it after kissed you, so I guess that makes it like Sleeping Beauty?" Alfred's voice took on a lighter tone, downplaying the fight and trying to comfort him by taking his hand and skimming his lips over Ivan's finger tips.
Ivan had hurt Alfred? The platinum haired Russian felt tears prick uncomfortably at his eyes. He stared up into the sky, trying to blink them away, but the glistening of his amethyst eyes failed to hide them. He opened his mouth, ready to spill out his heart and soul and apologize whenever he felt a soft kiss to his nose. Looking up, he saw that Alfred was still smiling down at him, but was also sending him a look that was daring him to try and apologize. Giving in to the other's demands, he sighed, trying to push away his guilt and confusion at the moment. There would be plenty of time to survey the damage later and apologize. For now, though, he was content with simply absorbing the fact that Winter was dead and he and Alfred were okay. "I love you." He mumbled against the blonde, his eyes drooping from exhaustion. It had been the same all those years ago. Blacking out always made Ivan feel drained of his strength, which made sense considering how dangerous and unstoppable it usually made him. "Can we go back?" He found himself asking sleepily. His arm was now nothing but a dull throb, but they would have to treat that right away whenever they arrived back. Not to mention, with Winter dead, his lackeys would most likely be looking for him now. So the group would have to leave a lot earlier than planned.
Alfred nodded and gave Ivan a warm hug as he mumbled back, "I love you too, Vanya." He smiled up at Ivan warmly, happy to have his Vanya back. He knew the man still felt guilty, and there was no doubt that Ivan needed to seek professional help once their new lives in the States began. For now, though, Alfred was content with just having Ivan sane again and getting the fuck out of here considering the other agents could arrive any minute. "Yeah, we need to get back ASAP. The General's goonies could arrive anytime now. Besides, we need to get that nasty bullet wound checked out." He didn't snap Ivan out of insanity only to have him die of blood loss or infection. Noticing how Ivan's amethyst eyes drooped in drowsiness, he smirked up at Ivan deviously, "Heeey Ivan, if you're tired I could carry you!" He saw Ivan give him look between surprised and disbelief, but before Ivan could say a word, Alfred scooped him up with a grunt. Ivan wasn't the lightest thing in the world, that was for sure. Alfred could carry him fairly easily for a short period of time. And with that, he began the trek back to the docks, knowing that the others probably heard the gunshot and might be looking for them. So, as he figured out what parts of the story to opt out on telling everyone, he pushed his shaky emotions on having killed someone, as well as partially enjoying it, away. These were things he'd have to think about later, preferably alone if he did indeed have a bit of a breakdown. Heroes don't have breakdowns and he had to be strong for everyone else.
Здравствуйте, снежинки. Приходите посмотреть шоу?: Hello, Snowflake. Come to watch the show?