A/N: Happy Valentine's Day!

Chapter 2

Unable to sleep, Linka slipped out of the room she was sharing with her youngest cousin and made her way down the stairs to the living room.

[Yankee?]

The response was almost immediate, as if he'd been waiting for her message.

[Here]

[Sorry about earlier]

[Me too, I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable]

Linka smiled and relaxed into the sofa.

[I know. You did not.]

[What did I miss after you stopped texting?]

She chuckled.

[Just more girl talk]

[Oh yeah? Any more questions you want me to answer?]

Linka thought for a moment, immediately discarding some of the suggestions Zoya had made about the honeymoon.

[Do you break wind in bed?]

[Yes]

She laughed and typed out her response, but hesitated a few moments before sending it, suddenly unsure whether she wanted the answer. Finally she decided to go for it.

[Even when you are sharing it with someone?]

[Love me, love my farts.] That made her laugh again, in spite of the answer because she found Wheeler's sense of humour infectious, though she rarely admitted it. It wasn't an entirely comfortable thought however but his follow up text helped soothe the rest of her reaction. [I've never shared a bed with anyone Babe, too personal]

[Not even Trish?]

[Nope. Sofa, fire escape and someones bathroom at a party.] Then, [Before I met you]

He didn't need to explain further, she understood perfectly and it wasn't really anything he hadn't hinted at before. She decided to change the subject.

[How do you feel about feminine products in the bathroom?]

[I could live with it]

[What about buying them?]

[An act of true love]

That set her off into a fit of the giggles which she had to stifle against the cushions in case she woke her family members.

[Anything else?]

She thought for a moment.

[Would you go out with someone, knowing that there was no future in it, just so you would not be alone?]

It was a long pause for what turned out to be a short answer.

[Eventually]

[I am not sure that makes sense?] She replied, thinking of her cousin's situation.

[If I cant have the future I want, Id eventually go out with someone to not be alone]

She swallowed and went to the kitchen for some water, wanting to flush the remaining wine from her system though she hadn't had more than the one glass.

[Youre not going to ask?]

Linka took a deep breath and replied.

[What is the future you want?]

[You]

She couldn't help the smile that crept over her lips any more than she could prevent the warmth and comfort she felt from any form of contact with him.

[Care to elaborate?]

[Will you consider it if I do?]

Looking around the moonlit room in the comfortable home her cousin shared with her fiancé, Linka suddenly wished very strongly that Wheeler were there with her. In the silence of the night it felt like they were the only two beings alive on the planet and it seemed wrong that they were on different continents joined only by a piece of technology.

[Yes]

Her phone rang and she scrambled to answer it before the too loud tone woke the house's occupants, still she couldn't find it in her to be angry.

"You mean that?"

His voice relaxed her and he could hear the smile in hers, "Da."

"You had to wait until you were all the way over there to say that?" he complained but he was obviously as happy as she felt.

"Listening to my cousins complain about the men they love gave me a new perspective." She told him.

In her mind's eye she could see him grinning, "Oh yeah? So none of that stuff was a deal breaker for you?"

She shook her head, though he couldn't see her, "My only deal breaker would be cheating and I do not believe you would break a promise."

"You're right, I don't cheat." He paused, "Actually I don't usually make promises, but it's different with you, I swear!"

"I know." Returning to the other room and snuggling down on the sofa again, with her phone to her ear, "You were going to tell me about the future?"

Again Wheeler hesitated, "I don't want to do that, I want us to decide what it's going to be together. But I do want…"

"Da?"

"I want you to say something, I need you to say something. Something more than maybe." He sighed, "I'm pushing my luck, I know it."

Linka was nervously biting her lower lip. She understood what he was saying and he was right, he deserved more than being kept dangling on a string of her making.

Just when he thought she wasn't going to reply, "We have a lot of preparations to make tomorrow, and the wedding is the day after."

He thought she was changing the subject and she heard the hurt in his voice though his response was barely there, "Oh."

"What I mean is, I cannot leave so," she took a breath, "will you come here? Please?"

"Really?" He asked in surprise but with renewed hope.

"Da, you will have to stay at the hotel because there is no room here but we would be together?"

There was a pause and then, "Babe, are you sure you aren't drinking?"

Her face flushed with mortification and she answered indignantly. "I had one glass of wine after the last time you asked, but I am not drunk. If it is not what you want just say so, I do not play games!"

"Woah, Linka calm down, that's not what I meant!" He sounded genuinely alarmed and it reassured her somewhat, so she remained silent, letting him continue. "It's just that you're not normally so open about how you feel, it seems too good to be true."

"But it is what you want?" She asked shyly.

"Of course it's what I want!" Exasperation evident in his tone, "I've been telling you that for years, I don't know how I could make it plainer."

Linka rolled her eyes at that, but she didn't sound angry. "Oh I do not know, maybe by not flirting with every passably pretty girl that comes in your way, or you could even have tried telling me you wanted more than my body."

There was silence but at last he asked, "That's really how you see me?"

The Russian sighed, "It is not how I see you, it is how you behaved as a teenager. Even now sometimes, although I have learnt that it is just habit and there is much more going on behind the jokes and attitude."

"There always was," he said quietly, "At least where you're concerned."

Her voice had warmed again and she yawned as she relaxed. "So will you come here?"

Wheeler too sounded much happier, "Yeah, if you promise you won't change your mind?"

"I promise Yankee." She yawned again.

"You in bed?"

Linka sighed, "Nyet, I am sharing a room. I wanted to be alone with you."

The affection in his voice embraced her, "Go back to bed, we can text on silent and you can hide under the covers. I want to tuck you in."

"Give me a minute." She chuckled and hung up.

[Ok Yankee, I am back in bed with the blanket over my head.] She watched the screen which made its own light, [I have not done this since I was a child with a book I could not put down.]

It was only a short delay before a reply popped up, [So that was every night till you joined the Planeteers then?]

Linka rolled her eyes, [Haha]

[Oh yeah? Who do you think puts your book on the side and turns your light off when you fall asleep reading?]

She grinned, [I knew.][Like I know you suddenly get a craving for hot chocolate when I am too disturbed by a mission to go to bed.][Or get Ma-Ti to demand you make pasta when I am too tired to cook.]

[Not fooling you, huh?] The Russian imagined his smile and the way he would shake his head in pretend disbelief when she impressed him.

[Not for some time.]

[Cool][You gonna let me tuck you in? I have somewhere to be ;)]

Linka didn't think her smile could get any wider, but his silliness mixed with his evident desire to close the distance between them made her happy in a way she'd never felt before. [Go on then]

[Pull the blankets tight around you, you gotta imagine that I'm there with you, cuddling up behind you.]

Doing as she was told, it took her a few moments before she had the courage to respond honestly, [I do that a lot.]

[WHY?!] his response surprised and dismayed her until she received the rest, [I'm like, right next door! normally You could just come in!]

She rolled her eyes, [Da, 'Move over Yankee, do not get any ideas I just want your arms around me']

In her mind she heard his laughter, [Hey I want my arms around you too, you think I'd argue when we finally agreed on something?]

[I think it would have started a conversation I was not ready for]

[So what's changed?] Another text followed quickly, [that's not a complaint] [I'm just still having trouble believing you won't have second thoughts]

She thought for so long she half expected another message but he was clearly determined to wait for her this time. [I sat through hours of comparisons tonight, it was not just their current partners my cousins were talking about, and all the time I wanted to say 'My Yankee is not like that' or 'Jason knows when I am not happy'.] [He is always gentle. He never tries to make me feel small for knowing something he does not. He makes me feel safe.] her cheeks flushed red. [You have never been my boyfriend but it is always you in my head.]

[I wish you'd told me, we could have been together for sooo long.][And you always know more than me, I'm proud of your genius!]

Sighing with contentment, Linka was considering telling him goodnight when another message followed, [I love you]

Her eyes opened wide and she gave a gasp, not quite believing her eyes.

Evidently she took too long to answer because another message came through. [Too much?]

[Did you mean it?]

[Yeah, but don't freak over it, it's not like it's a new thing]

Typical Yankee, she thought but though his text made her heart beat faster, she found it also comforted her.

[Our new toys make it easier to talk, da?]

[Da… I hope the phone company isn't monitoring this though, they could sell it to the papers for a fortune!]

[Stop trying to freak me out and say goodnight, I do not want you to fly tired.]

[I'm fine Babe, I'll see you soon.][Sweet dreams]

[Good night Yankee] She took a deep breath. [Jason?]

There was no pause, [Yeah?]

[I love you too]

The End