A/N: Thanks so much for the fast responses... and special thanks to Becks for Svetlana's new nickname ;)
I hope you enjoy this next installment!
Chapter Eleven
Seeing people in distress always took its toll on Linka, though instead of crying and becoming useless in her empathy she tended to be practical, if somewhat withdrawn. With her present worries on top, the Wind Planeteer threw herself into her work with everything she had, hoping it would keep her thoughts at bay for a while. By the time they were done for the day and had trudged up to the higher ground with the other helpers, she was nearly dead on her feet but so silent and grave that those that didn't know her were already wondering if she was as unfeeling as she seemed.
Wheeler brought their makeshift dinners over to where she'd sat by the fire, sitting close and when they'd eaten, placed a comforting arm around her. "You want me to put your tent up for you Babe?"
There was a teasing note to his voice and she knew it was because it was one of the few things she struggled with even when she wasn't about to fall asleep. She wasn't in the mood for banter however and it made her more direct than usual, "Can I not just share with you?"
"Yeah, of course." He looked surprised but clearly meant it when he added, "I'd prefer it for sure."
She gave him a tired smile, "Spasiba, then you had better do it now or you will have to carry me to bed too."
He chuckled and kissed her forehead, "I will if you need me to Babe."
When he'd gone, Gi moved closer and said in a hushed voice, "So things went well then?"
Linka shook her head, "Mischka is making the biggest mistake of his life and I can do nothing about it."
Her friend bit her lip, "I'm sorry to hear that, but I actually meant you and Wheeler."
"Oh." Linka's expression thawed a little and her cheeks gained a faint blush, "Da, that is going fine, no thanks to Mischka and that…" she pressed her lips together and sighed, "I am a bit pre-occupied at the moment."
"I can tell." Gi agreed sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do to help"?
Linka smiled and shook her head, "Thank you for offering but there is nothing anyone can do. I will feel better after a few hours in my Yankee's arms."
Gi's eyes widened, "Did you mean to say that out loud?"
Laughing now, Linka said, "Da, you wanted to know how things were between us?" Gi nodded, an amused expression creeping over her face. "It is difficult to describe, he is definitely better at it than I am."
"'It' being…"
Linka rolled her eyes, "Being in a relationship. He always seems to know when there is something bothering me and I am so comfortable with him it does not always occur to me that he might sometimes need me to tell him how I am feeling. When everything is going smoothly it is perfect but we have hurt each other a lot over the years and whenever we hit the slightest bump he worries that I am going to turn my back on him."
"You might just have to live with that for a while," Gi said honestly, "But um, other than that you're happy?"
Linka yawned. "Da, what do you want me to say?"
Gi shrugged, "I don't know, something more than 'comfortable'."
"I meant that in a good way," Linka chuckled, "How about, every time he touches me I want to purr like a kitten? When he kisses me my insides turn to molten lava and when I wake in his arms I want to stay there forever."
"Better." Gi grinned, "Definitely better."
They both dissolved into giggles, which is how Wheeler found them. Gi didn't miss the way he looked at Linka, like his world just fell into place, and it made her a little bit envious.
"Tent's up," The American knelt beside his girlfriend and leant over her, resting his hands on either side of her hips, "Do you want me to carry you?"
She raised her lips to his briefly and when they parted Gi realised that she had exactly the same look in her eyes. "Nyet, I can make it. Pull me up?"
He did and they wished the others good night as they made their way hand in hand, to their sleeping bags.
Linka sighed and stretched under the restoring influence of a warm shower. She was very pleased to be home again, though she'd been equally glad not to return immediately since it had prevented any more conversations between Wheeler and herself regarding her family.
It wasn't that she didn't value his support but she'd needed that time to come to terms with what happened and he saw through her too quickly, compelling her to be open when she would rather hide her feelings away. At the same time, spending the last five days working at his side before falling asleep in his arms and sharing a few tired kisses at the start or end of each day, had made her feel closer to him than any amount of dates ever could.
Finally feeling human again, the wind planeteer changed into a clean uniform and headed to the kitchen correctly assuming she would find her boyfriend there. Wheeler, his hair still wet from his own shower, was making a sandwich of epic proportions and she smiled at the familiar sight, but when he turned around he looked unusually serious. "Is something wrong Jason?"
"I don't know. Kwame collected our mail…" He indicated the table and a stack of letters that had been left there. The top one had been sent from Russia.
Linka frowned and picked it up, "I do not recognise the writing, and it is not from my home town."
Wheeler brightened up, "Oh, I guess it helps if you can read Russian. The others went down to the beach but I thought I'd get something to eat first, want a sandwich?"
"Nyet, spasiba," she was eyeing the snack he'd prepared for himself as she spoke and he didn't miss the implication.
"Are you dissing my lunch?" he teased.
Linka beamed at him and sat at the table, beginning to open her letter, "I would not dream of it… is there any orange squash left?"
He shook his head in amusement, "I just put a new carton in the refrigerator, it won't be cold yet, give it a couple of minutes." He brought his plate over to the table and sat next to her. "Who is your letter from?"
She sat staring at it without answering, her expression somewhere between surprise and concern.
"Babe?" the gentle brush of his fingers as he cupped her cheek made her start, but she smiled enquiringly prompting him to ask again, "Who's it from?"
"Susichka, er she is an old friend…"
"The one you told me about? The one that Slutlana chased away?" Linka nodded, laughing as she was caught by surprise by the nickname, "That's a bit of a coincidence isn't it?"
Sobering at once she held up the note, intending to read from it, "Apparently not; 'I am not sure if contacting you is the best thing to do, but I heard that your brother is engaged to someone whom I know it to be impossible for him to have become involved with, and yet I do believe it. There are things I need to tell you…' here are instructions for contacting her and then 'However you feel about me, for Mischa's sake, please come. Susi."
Wheeler rested a gentle hand on her arm as she lowered the paper to her lap, "When do we leave?"
"You will come with me then?" she asked hopefully.
"Well duh!" he rolled his eyes.
Linka leant forward to kiss his lips, "I did not want to take you for granted, you have been through one ordeal with my family already and you have been working hard ever since, your deserve your rest… but I want you with me very much so, we will go in a few days if that is ok?"
Knowing that she had no idea how good it made him feel to hear her admit to wanting him with her, he shook his head, "Anything could happen in a few days, we'll go tomorrow."
"…Are you sure?" She was trying not to sound too eager but the possibilities were already nagging at her.
"I'm sure." He pulled her up and over into his lap, wrapping his arms comfortably about her. "I want to know what's really going on too. I'd do anything for you, you know that, but I care about your family as well, they deserve better."
"They have better." The lovely Russian told him pointedly, kissing him again.
Pleased Wheeler still joked, "I don't think your brother would find me an adequate substitute."
She laughed, "He will when he stops thinking with his…" he silenced her with his lips and kept her there until the orange juice was just the right temperature.
Wheeler had wanted to join the others on the beach and though she'd gone for a little while, Linka had slipped quietly away when he'd decided to go wind surfing. The Russian had always been very independent and was feeling the need for some time alone, choosing to curl up with a book in the common room.
A few hours later Gi had stuck her head through the window, "Want a drink or anything?"
Linka didn't look up from her novel, "Da, spasiba."
When the Water Planeteer returned, this time entering the room to set down a glass before sitting down with her own, Linka correctly interpreted the signs of an imminent girly chat and forced herself to stop reading.
"Everything ok?" Gi began.
"Da. Thank you for the drink." Linka picked it up and took a sip.
The Asian tasted her own and said, "I pointed out to Wheeler that you'd come back up here alone but he seemed convinced you were fine, I just wanted to be sure."
Linka smiled. She guessed that Gi, as happy for them as she was, was having a hard time accepting the fact that she might confide in the Fire Planeteer now instead of her best friend. "I am fine Gi, honestly, but thank you for checking on me."
"Well if you're sure you'd rather be here reading than having fun with your friends, I should take the rest of the drinks down to the beach." She stood.
"Da… oh but I do have a favour to ask, if you do not mind," Trying not to worry at her bottom lip she said, "I know it is something of a cheek but would you and the boys mind if Wheeler and I had the common room to ourselves for the evening? We have not had much time alone since we have been together and we will be gone for the next couple of days… trying to sort out my family problems again."
Gi smiled, "And you want to show him that you want to spend time with him? It's fine Linka, I'm sure the others won't mind either. I was just going to put some pizzas on, do you want to cook something special?"
"Not this time, pizza is fine, I want it to be relaxed." Linka gave her a glowing look, "Call me when you start dinner anyway and I will help."
"Linka?" Wheeler asked, turning as his girlfriend entered the common room carrying a large pizza, "What's going on? Gi insisted I come in here and I'm starving."
She put her burden down on the coffee table which had already been cleared except for two glasses and a pitcher of fizzy lemonade, "I thought we could eat in here tonight, there will be more pizza later and we can put a film on?"
The scene beginning to sink in to his hunger crazed brain, Wheeler grinned, "Just us?"
She nodded and he walked over to pull her against him for a kiss, "So what'll we watch?"
"I thought an action movie while we eat and maybe a romantic comedy afterwards? Nothing too mushy." She held a couple of video cases up.
"Something to cuddle up to?" he approved, realising that she'd picked things she thought he'd enjoy rather than just assuming he'd watch whatever she wanted, which would also have been the truth.
Pleased, Linka told him to go ahead and start on dinner while she sorted out the film and then returned to sit on the floor beside him, following his lead by taking a slice of pizza with her fingers.
Wheeler gave her an amused look, she normally used a knife and fork and sat at the table for everything so this had obviously been planned for his benefit. As the opening credits began he said, "So, this is our third date huh?"
The Russian stiffened slightly, "I suppose so."
"What did I say?" he asked, confused.
"I understand the significance of the third date in your culture, I just was not expecting you to bring it up like that." She poured a glass of lemonade and didn't meet his eyes.
"You might understand but I'm sure I don't." he shrugged.
Linka's cheeks turned red, and she paused the video. "In your television shows they always say that the third date is when… that it is expected that… that the relationship should progress. Physically."
The lightbulb finally went on and Wheeler snorted in amusement, "You actually thought I'd try that on with you?"
She finally looked at him then, her eyes wary, "What does that mean?"
"It means it's just a line… so yeah maybe that's how it works some places with some people, but it's not like it's an American rule. I would never try to push you into anything that way anyway, I thought you knew me better than that."
She nodded, "I do… I was not suggesting that you would make it a… what was the term you used? Deal-breaker?"
"Yeah… but I wasn't even thinking of that, I was just counting. Like, we've made it to date three and we're doing ok, sort of thing." He shrugged.
Linka laughed, "Da we are… mostly. Actually we are probably lucky that we have not had more misunderstandings yet."
Wheeler rolled his eyes, "We have, seven years of them!"
"Good point." She put the film on again smiling into her slice of pizza as his hand found hers and wove their fingers together.
They both got into the film very quickly, sharing their thoughts on it and laughing over the near misses and subtle humour. When it finished they fetched some more drinks and some popcorn and put the second film on, moving to the sofa with Linka leaning back against Wheeler's chest, his arms wound around her while he held their snack for both of them.
After a particularly deep belly laugh from the Fire Planeteer, Linka looked up at him, her eyes brimming with amusement, "You see we do have tastes in common, you just do not like to admit that you are a softy at heart."
"Only where you're concerned," He put the popcorn down on the table and encouraged her to turn towards him, "But yeah, and not just this, I've enjoyed everything we've done together. I'm feeling a lot better about our differences now than I was at first."
"Me too." The film was already forgotten in the warmth of each other's eyes.
Their gentle exploration didn't go any farther than it had previously, but then it didn't occur to either of them to take it there. It was just about being together and they were getting very good at that. At last however they admitted that they needed to get some sleep if they were going to make the trip the next day, and after tidying up they said a lingering goodnight and headed for their cabins.
It was about an hour later that Wheeler, annoyed with himself for not being able to sleep, headed for the kitchen in search of a distraction. He found it in the form of his girlfriend, looking lost and alone on one of the chairs.
"Yankee! You cannot possibly be hungry." She said in surprise.
"I'm not, I came for some water," He crossed to her chair and knelt beside her, "What's wrong?"
"I could not sleep," She shrugged.
He rubbed her arms, slightly chilled in the night air, "Are you worrying about tomorrow?"
Linka smiled and stroked his hair from his face as she often did now, "Nyet Jason, I just missed my big Yankee hot water bottle. Is it not ridiculous? I have spent all my life sleeping alone and a few nights with you has spoilt me."
"You knew where I was, you could have just come in?" he suggested.
"It is different here… perhaps it should not be but it is. I was arguing with myself."
He sighed, "I couldn't sleep either, we parted on good terms but it still felt like it does when we argue. Every time I started to fall asleep I'd reach for you and this pit opened in my stomach like something terrible had happened."
She nodded in agreement.
"Would it really be so terrible for us to share here?" he asked tentatively, "I promise not to try anything."
"It is not that," she assured him quickly, "I trust you completely. Perhaps I am just reading too much into it…"
He rose, lifting Linka into his arms and took her place in her chair, seating her in his lap, "Such as?"
The lovely Russian rested her head on his shoulder and sighed in contentment, "Is it not a commitment? Sharing a bed when we are away is just sharing, it is temporary. Here it has to mean something or it will never mean anything."
"You definitely think about these things more than I do." He kissed her cheek, "I guess it does mean something though, it means we're ready to start sharing our lives instead of just spending some time together."
"Is it not too soon?" she asked warily, "I mean, I am fine with that but I could not make the decision for both of us and that is what I would have been doing if I had just gone to your room."
Wheeler suspected that she might have thought it was offering more than someone to cuddle while they slept too, but he chose not to call her on it. "I'm in this for the long hall Babe. I might be worried about things going wrong and I'm not in any rush, but I don't have any doubts about wanting it to go the distance."
Linka sighed happily, "Will you carry me?"
He laughed and stood, cradling her in his arms, "My place or yours?"
They went to the Wind Planeteer's cabin and fell straight to sleep.
To be continued…