Nikolai stood at the bottom of the stairs, Viktoria was alive. After three weeks of thinking he had lost her, he got on the first fight to Russia when he heard the news. But she didn’t rember him at least that’s what Yelena and Ivan had told him, anyway.
Yelena touched his arm gently, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Nikolai," she said softly, "you’ll have to be patient with her. She’s... different now. She’s still Viktoria, but she’s not the sa. Don’t expect too much from her, alright?"
"I know," Nikolai said, his voice tight. "I just... I need to see her."
Ivan crossed his arms, his face as serious as ever. "Don’t overwhelm her. She’s been through enough."
"I won’t," Nikolai promised. He looked at Yelena, then at Ivan, before nodding once and heading up the stairs.
When he reached her door, he hesitated. Her parents had already told her he was coming, but it still felt a bit awkward. He raised his hand and knocked.
"Co in," Viktoria’s voice called out.
Nikolai pushed the door open and stepped inside. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a soft blanket. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes—those sa striking eyes he rembered—looked up at him.
For a mont, neither of them spoke. Nikolai just stood there, taking her in, while Viktoria stared at him, her expression unreadable.
"You’re Nikolai," she said finally. Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of curiosity in it.
He nodded, stepping closer. "Yeah," he said. "That’s ."
She looked at him for a mont longer, then gestured to the chair by the window. "You can sit."
Nikolai sat down, his hands resting on his knees. Viktoria didn’t say anything, but he could feel her eyes on him, studying him. He didn’t bla her, she didn’t rember him, after all. To her, he was just a stranger.
"You’re... my boyfriend?" she asked after a mont.
"Yeah," Nikolai said, smiling faintly. "For two years."
Viktoria nodded slowly, looking down at her hands. "What were we like?" she asked. "I an... us. What did we do? Where did we et?"
Nikolai leaned back in the chair, his smile growing a little. "Well," he said, "we t at a bookstore. You were sitting by the window, reading so old Russian novel I’d never heard of. I accidentally knocked over a stack of books, and you laughed at ."
She looked up at him, her brow furrowing slightly. "I laughed at you?"
"Yeah," Nikolai said, chuckling. "You said I looked like I didn’t belong in a bookstore. And then you made buy the book I knocked over."
Viktoria’s lips twitched, like she wanted to smile but wasn’t sure if she should. "What book was it?"
"So poetry collection," Nikolai said. "I still have it. You used to make read it out loud to you."
She tilted her head, her curiosity growing. "And what else? What did we do together?"
Nikolai shrugged, his smile softening. "We used to go for walks in the park. You loved feeding the ducks, even though I told you they were an. And you always wanted to go to that little café on the corner, the one with the terrible coffee but the best pastries
Viktoria nodded slowly, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. "It sounds... nice," she said quietly.
"It was," Nikolai said. "You were always dragging out of the house, making try new things. You hated sitting still."
Viktoria looked at him, her eyes searching his face. "You talk about like you really loved ."
Nikolai’s smile faded slightly. "I do love you," he said softly. "I still do."
She looked away, her cheeks turning pink. "I don’t understand why," she admitted. "I don’t even rember you."
"That doesn’t matter," Nikolai said. "I rember you. That’s enough for ."
Viktoria didn’t say anything. She kept her gaze on the blanket, her fingers still fidgeting. Nikolai could tell she was trying to process everything, so he stayed quiet, giving her ti.
After a few monts, she looked up at him again. "You haven’t said anything about us... you know, kissing or anything," she said hesitantly. "Didn’t we do that?"
Nikolai blinked, caught off guard by the question. He scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "Well... yeah, we never did."
She frowned, clearly confused. "Why not?"
"You said it was embarrassing," Nikolai said, laughing softly. "Every ti I brought it up or got close, you’d turn red and tell to stop or back away."
Viktoria’s face was full of surprise, and she quickly looked away. "That doesn’t sound like ," she mumbled.
"It was definitely you," Nikolai said, still smiling. "You’d always act all tough, but the second I got too close, you’d get shy."
She didn’t respond, but Nikolai could see the small smile playing on her lips.
For a while, they just sat there in silence. Nikolai didn’t mind. He was just happy to be near her again, even if she didn’t rember him. He could see the way she was looking at him, though—like she was trying to figure him out. Her eyes kept flicking to his face, then to his shoulders, and then back to her hands.
"You’re really handso," she said suddenly, her voice so quiet he almost didn’t hear her.
Nikolai’s eyebrows raised a little, and he felt his cheeks heat up. "Uh... thanks," he said awkwardly.
Viktoria looked away quickly, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry," she muttered. "I didn’t an to say that out loud."
"It’s okay," Nikolai said, chuckling. "I don’t mind."
She glanced at him again, her expression a mix of curiosity and hesitation. "Do you think I’ll ever rember?" she asked softly.
Nikolai’s smile faded, and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I don’t know," he admitted. "But even if you don’t, that’s okay. We can start over."
Viktoria studied him for a mont, her eyes searching his face. "You really an that?" she asked.
"I do," Nikolai said firmly. "I’m not going anywhere, Viktoria. No matter what."
She nodded slowly, her fingers still playing with the edge of the blanket. "Okay," she said quietly. "Thank you."
Nikolai smiled, his chest feeling lighter than it had in weeks. "Always," he said.
"So," he said, trying to sound casual. "How are you feeling?"
Viktoria shrugged. "I’m okay, I guess. I don’t really feel anything. It’s all just...blank."
Nikolai nodded. "That’s to be expected," he said. "It’ll take ti."
They sat in silence for a mont. Nikolai didn’t know what to say. He just looked at her, taking in the sight of her face.
Viktoria was looking at him again, her eyes were fixed on his chest. It was then he realized that his shirt was open a bit, showing a bit of his chest.
He felt a bit embarrassed and quickly buttoned up his shirt, trying to act nonchalant.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I didn’t an to..."
Viktoria looked up at him. Her cheeks were flushed. "It’s okay," she said quickly. "I wasn’t...I wasn’t looking."
Nikolai smiled. "It’s okay," he said. "I don’t mind." He admitted
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