438
Stubic
Since either Ihya or Viktor slept for the majority of Ilya’s first week here, Stephen took over master of schedule duties to give Viktor a break. Stephen said he needed a way to burn off his extra energy he was still enjoying since he’d broken Armando anyway. Ivan and the Wonder Twins had things they needed to take care of that afternoon, which meant I was stuck with Viktor.
O more like he was stuck with me.
Iva, to his credit, was very curious about everything and asked questions most of the afternoon. He wanted to know how long I’d been able to do the things I could do, how it happened, if I’d told anyone else before, he wanted to know everything. I didn’t mind. It helped me feel more comfortable with Viktor and eased my irritation with him.
Orsor Ilya had satisfied his curiosity about me, it was my turn. “Okay, Ilya, nows your chance to dish on your older brother. How was he when you were kids? Was he a jerk? Bossy? Who’s the perfect brother? Who’s the troublemaker?” I asked, grinning at Viktor.
Viktor looked at Iva. They both had smiles as they looked to me. “Sasha,” they said, laughing.
“You’re only saying that because that poor guy isn’t here to defend himself,” said, laughing with them.
“No, it’s true, sestrichka. Sasha was always the hellion,” Viktor said.
“It’s because he’s short,” Ilya said, still laughing.
“He’s short? No way. You’re both giants. It clearly runs in your family,” I said
“It sk ipped him. He’s still not over it.” Viktor said, his deep laugh filling the room. I had to admit that I’d missed hearing his laugh. He caught me looking at him thoughtfully.
“You’re lighter when you laugh now. You both are, actually. It’s good to see,” I said. I got up and went to the kitchen. I didn’t say anything to either of them, I just started pulling out things I would need to make Stephen his favorite cookies.
They both eventually followed me to the kitchen. “What are your plans now, ya? You’re done with your service, no?” I asked, mostly to keep them from asking me what I was doing.
“I haven’t decided. I’m done, so now it’s time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up,” he said, his warm smile across his face.
“What would be the dream setup?” I asked.
He glanced at Viktor, then back to me. “Something similar to what Viktor has, think. My training isn’t up to his standards, but it’s similar. I can catch up quickly.”
40
I looked at Viktor. “Let him replace one of the little flowers. Hell, he could replace both of them and it would still be better. Vitaliy is planning on staying in the city now for a bit, especially since he’s taking Armando’s house. ya will still be close. Alyosha can catch his training up, too.”
Viktor looked to Ilya to gauge his interest in the idea. “That’s a good idea, sestrichka.”
“You have to make it Vitaliy’s idea though. He’s already looking for replacements for the little flowers, but they’ve left a sour taste in his mouth, so to speak. Let him see Ilya training with us. It will start the relationship off better if Vitaliy feels like he’s choosing you versus you asking him for a job,” I said. “He didn’t work out this morning, so he will in the morning. Best to let him see Ilya before he moves.” I studied Ilya for a minute, then looked back at Viktor. “He’s faster than you are, so either let him spar with Misha or me. It’ll make him look even better,” I said, winking at Ilya.
“How did you know he was faster?” Viktor asked.
“He’s leaner like Misha. Misha is faster than you, Stephen, and Andrei. Ivan is deceptively fast for as big as he is, but he’s also a special circumstance so he doesn’t necessarily count,” ! said.
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3
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