This War of Mine Apocalypse Season 4
Chapter 12 of my crossover story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead, This War of Mine or its characters.
Episode 3 – Part 4
At Mara's house that night, Ivano and Misha shared a hopeful look as they sat having dinner, with Roman as a guest, Mara was at least being polite to him.
'This will work, it has to work.' Ivano thought to himself.
Misha meanwhile was thinking. 'Please mom, I know you were upset, but please don't be angry with Roman anymore.'
Finally dinner was finished and Mara stood up, addressing her boys.
"Okay boys, I'll take your plates, go wash up." She said.
Misha nodded "Kay."
Ivano smiled and nodded too and the two of them began to leave, sharing a significant look. It was just Mara and Roman now and while pleasant enough, there was an undercurrent of tension in the room. Mara watched them go then turned to Roman, who had been silent for most of the dinner.
She hesitated a moment before offering "I can take yours too if you want."
Roman shook his head, standing up. "It's fine, I'll help out."
Accepting this Mara made her way to the sink and Roman joined her. The two then begin cleaning the dishes in silence.
Mara was lost in thought. 'God, why did I agree to this, just being around Roman right now is tense after what happened...Oh wait, I know why.'
She hadn't even noticed it at the time but when her boys had pleaded with her to have Roman over for dinner, undoubtedly now to try and mend the gap that had appeared, Misha had been using his innocent doe eyed look to full effect. She just couldn't say no when he used his eyes like that.
Finally deciding she needed to say something and to get her point across, Mara spoke.
"They're just a boys, Roman."
Roman sighed. "Mara..."
She cut him off. "Can't you imagine how I felt? To see my little boys with guns in their hands."
"He asked me to teach him, all the kids did!" Roman defended himself angrily.
"But did you ask me? No. You went behind my back." Mara protested. "You know how sensitive Misha is, Roman. Ivano, he's not mature enough. They're not ready."
Roman shook his head. "Ivano was rather mature, I'll have you know. Also the target Misha shot begs to differ, he was the best out of all of them!"
"A target doesn't move, and keep your voice down, they're right inside the bathroom…" Mara hissed back.
"They can't be little boys forever Mara, no matter how much you want to you can't always defend them, they need to be able to protect themselves." Roman countered.
"Don't you think I know that? You think I want them to be defenceless?" Mara choked out, tears stinging her eyes. "I want them to be stronger, I don't want them to be hurt, or bit, or, like Misha, taken again. But going behind my back and putting a gun in their hands is not going to help. They're not like you. They're not like Eli."
Roman scowled at that name, he growled venomously. "Nobody is like that b…"
He stopped himself barely in time, regulating his language as he remembered, there were children present.
So he contented himself with a simple change. "Creep."
It was then Mara realized what she had said and grimaced.
She softened, realizing how that had come out.
"No…no you're right. Nobody's like him. You're not like him…" She said softly.
Roman nodded, also calming down. "No, I'm not..."
They both then realised that during the argument, they had somehow ended up much closer. Mara can feel Roman's breath on her, and she flushed, looking down to avoid his gaze.
Finally she spoke again. "I...I just want them to be safe...I can't take any more chances..."
Her body trembled. She'd never been this close to a man in this way since Eli. She noted however how much more comforting Roman's presence felt, even towering over her. Deep down, she knew he had a good heart and cared about Misha and Ivano just as much as she does.
"I know, so do I…" Roman said, confirming her thoughts.
Hearing this, Mara brought her gaze back up to him. She could feel her heart pounding."
"I…" She whispered.
"I…" Roman echoed, biting his lip.
Her gaze instinctively flickered to his lips and her breath quickened. Images of Eli flashed through her mind. Roman noted her tensing and when he finally acted, he did so slowly, gently, kissing her softly. Mara breathed in sharply for a moment, startled. It had been a while since she'd felt a touch like this. However, she then melted into the kiss, placing a hand against Roman's cheek, liking the way his skin felt against hers. This kiss had been a long time coming for the two. The kiss continued, both of them lost in it, until they heard giggling nearby.
Mara broke apart from him instantly, turning to where she heard the source of the giggling. Roman turned too, eyes wide. Sure enough, it was Misha and Ivano.
"Misha, Ivano!"
"Mom." They chorused, all too innocently.
"I…" She tried to think of an excuse but realized quickly it was pointless. "Go get ready for bed please, I'll be there in a second."
The boys smiled and exited, Roman shook his head.
"Well, this just got...interesting."
Mara blushed at that.
"You're still not out of the doghouse." She warned him. "I wanna be there the next time you take them shooting. We can teach them, together."
Roman nodded. "That's fair enough, I'll...see you tomorrow."
Mara gently took his hand and rubbed her thumb over it before he left, a sign of reassurance.
"See you tomorrow."
He nodded, smiling slightly and left while Mara headed up to see Misha and Ivano who sat on their beds, waiting for her. She observed them both closely.
"How much did you see?" She asked.
Misha smiled. "We just, came in and saw you and Roman kissing."
Mara nodded slowly, trying not to react to Ivano giggling again. "Oh...and... how do you feel about that?"
Both boys smiled and Misha replied. "I felt happy, I've been wondering how long it would take."
"Me too." Ivano confirmed.
Mara blushed furiously at that, but kept her composure.
Laughing she replied. "Good. I want you to be ok with it."
She then paused, remembering.
She recalled Misha's stricken expression when she snapped after the incident and bit her lip.
Guiltily she turned to him. "I'm sorry I snapped at you back then, Misha, about the shooting. I was just scared."
Misha just smiled and hugged her, reassuring her that everything was alright. Mara kissed the top of his head, then held out her arm, inviting Ivano to join the hug which he did.
She then revealed. "From now on, both Roman and I will be teaching you boys, the others too I think, starting tomorrow. Now come on, let's get some sleep. It's been...an interesting day."
Both boys smiled, they couldn't agree more.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.
