For Sinthia

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Illya was still a bit confused about the living arrangements with Sinthia and Sam. Rather than taking his frustrations out on furniture or people, he was currently pounding away at a heavy punching bag at Delflorio's. It was an old fashioned gym a couple of blocks from his apartment. Old fashioned in that there was no fancy equipment, no stair steppers, no treadmills, or ellipticals. No women looking for Zumba classes or whatever. No women were allowed. There was a boxing ring, punching bags, a couple of sets of well used weights, an ancient yet usable rowing machine. He didn't feel as if he had to impress anyone. They were used to seeing the big Russian there. He'd had a membership ever since he moved to the United States. He didn't usually draw stares at Delflorio's, unless someone new came in. He didn't have to hide the tattoos as much as if he'd gone to a fancier place. He'd been working out for over an hour now. Illya had started with warming up, jumping rope, and then working at the punching bag. Still after nearly an hour, he was pounding on the bag as if he meant to kill someone.

After his conversation with Sam and learning that the guy was roommates with his girlfriend in a studio apartment with only one bed, he was a little confused and insecure. At first, he had wondered if he had done something wrong. Perhaps this arrangement with Sam was her way of telling him to bugger off. But then Sam had said he had his own girlfriend. Still, Illya felt like he had committed some sort of faux pas.

How did that work? Did Sam sleep at his girlfriend's place? Either way, if he'd known there was a roommate involved, he probably would not have been making out on the couch in the living room with Sinthia if there was the possibility that someone might walk in on them. He was a very private person when it came to it. Especially in romantic relationships. He had tried calling Sinthia to talk about his concerns with her, but he got her answering machine. Which he didn't want to talk to. After a couple of times, he gave up. Perhaps she was busy at her job. Or maybe she did not want to talk to him.

Delflorio wandered by at one point and watched him for a few minutes. "Good form. You training for a boxing match?" The old man asked. He must have been in his nineties. His hair was white and his face showed his age. But anyone who knew the old man, knew that the owner was a former boxer who could still throw a punch. Illya answered with a curt, "No." The old man warned, "You know, kid, if you break it, you bought it." "Da. I know," he replied, continuing to wail on the bag with his fists.

Comments

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"No. Aren't they like for little girls? With those Disney Princesses?" Illya unlocked the car. He'd seen quite enough of those when he had to be with Ivan while he went to his boss's little granddaughters birthday parties. If he heard that stupid Frozen song one more time, he thought he would go insane.

"What does your car have to do with anything?" he slid into the driver's seat and pushed the button that adjusted it to accommodate his long legs. He knew what she as saying. "I trust you. Just don't make me watch Frozen again. I have already seen it hundred times." He started the car, "Maybe two hundred."

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"Not all of them," she laughed. "I have better cartoons, ones I remember." Chuck Jones was her favorite; she enjoyed the inside humor.

"I haven't seen it. I know the ice princess story well enough without the animation."

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"Let's wait until we get there and pick out movie together?" he pulled out into traffic. Sinthia's Audi was a nice car. "Do you have popcorn?"

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"I do," she answered, laying her hand over his thigh; she would have held onto the gearshift, but they were sequential paddles behind the rim of the steering wheel. "I have popcorn and beer to go with dinner," she chuckled.

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"Good," he gave her a genuine smile. They could both use a distraction from the troubles. And he wanted to spend as much pleasant time with her as possible. The drive itself was nice. The car was fun to drive and he wished the ride could last. It wasn't long before they reached her apartment building and he was lucky to find a parking space within a block of her building.

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Sinthia unfastened her seat belt, but didn't open the door just yet, instead shifting to look at Illya, waiting a moment before she got out.

"I got a job offer today," she said, with the tone that made it clear she was referring to the illegal kind. "It's in Ibiza. You could come with me if you want, and we could just...stay." She'd rather that than have Illya's death be less faked and more real.

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He had unfastened his seatbelt and was reaching for the door handle when she told him of the job offer. He stopped and turned towards her, "Ibiza. I have never been to Spain," he said wistfully.

"I would love to go with you..." he started, looking into her eyes. "More than anything. But I have to see this through. When do you go?"

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"If I take it, two weeks. It's not an...involved job, really," she says.

"I'll take you to Spain someday," she murmurs, smiling and reaching over for the door latch on her side. "It's pretty, sunny and hot and all. I assume you have a passport?"

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"I would like that," he said softly, smiling. "I have passport." Not a legal one, but he did have one. His smile widened,
"Well I never been to Spain,
But I kinda like the music
Say the ladies are insane there
And they sure know how to use it
They don't abuse it
Never gonna lose it
I can't refuse it," he sang softly as he got out of the car.

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When she picked up on the song he was singing, Sinthia began to laugh, and once she came around the car she nudged him lightly with her elbow. "You're such a goofball," she laughed.

"Ibiza Town is a little more crazy than anywhere else, but it's a party town. The rest of the island is much calmer."

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"That is me. Big Russian goofball," he grinned and put his arm around her as they went inside. "I love to make you laugh. When this is over, you take me to Ibiza. And we will party."

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Sinthia leaned into his side as she unlocked the door and came up the stairs, kneeling right past the door to greet Avi, ruffling his fur and looking up at Illya.

"You will have all the women after you," she chuckled. "I know you. That voice will get everyone."

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"I already have the only woman I want," he smiled as they were greeted by the big dog. "You think my voice is nice?"

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"I do, I like your voice," she says, standing up and crossing to him. "Why wouldn't I? Deep, and accented, and very sensual."

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"You think so?" He had never thought that much about the sound of his voice. Illya slipped his arms around her when she came near. And Avi head butted him in the knee by way of greeting. He reached down with one hand to pet the dog. "Huh."

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"I do think so," she said, smiling up at him as the dog came to them both, headbutting their legs to get attention. "I like the way your voice sounds when you speak Russian to me. And when you hum in my ear in bed."

Sinthia slipped her hands into his back pockets easily, tilting her head way back with a soft smile. "Or any other time. You've never thought about how you sound, have you?"

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"I hum in your ear in bed?" It wasn't something he did consciously. Though if she liked it, Illya supposed it was Ok. "No I haven't really thought of how my voice sounds. But I am glad you like it." He leaned down to kiss her lightly.

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"When you come up against my back in your sleep, yes," she chuckled. "It's funny." She liked it.

She kissed him back, though even with Illya bent down to her she had to stand on her toes to reach him; he was extraordinarily tall, though his size simply suited him. Perhaps it was the way he moved, like he knew how to confidently move without being bullish. "Did your other girlfriends never mention anything they liked about you?"

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Illya could bend down a bit more, but she always rose up on her toes to meet him. "I did not know that."

"Sometimes, but I have not had that many long term girlfriends," he admitted.

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"The women in Russia must have all been blind," she murmured, lips only a fraction of an inch away from Illya's when she spoke.

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"Thank you," Illya bent down to kiss her more deeply this time, his hands moving to her waist and abandoning the scratching of Avi's ears for the moment.

The women of Russia had not been entirely blind, but once Illya was in the army, he did not have time to date. He spent most of his time pushing himself to excel. Then he went from the regular army to Spetsnaz and from them to FSB fairly quickly. He had not been with the intelligence agency for very long when this mission came up. He'd been at this for seven years if you counted the two years he'd spent in military prison and in Siberian prison to earn his tattoos. Dates had been few and far between and mostly with women that did not appeal to him. Certainly, he had never been in love like this before. Illya had never been in love with anyone like he was with Sinthia.

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Sinthia let out a soft sigh into that kiss and gently feathered her fingers over his shoulders as she relaxed into it, still balanced perfectly on her toes to reach him. She knew that to get where he was in life so early he couldn't have lingered in many dates to give second chances, but the idea that nobody had ever made Illya want to stay enough to actually do so was boggling to her. He was incredibly intelligent--playing chess once or twice with him had proved that beyond a doubt--and funny and yes, handsome, but he wasn't just a showoff.

"Mmm. You're welcome."

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"None of the men were ever serious relationships either," he shrugged. "It was more of rebellious experiment. Once I was in Vor v Zakone, I could not continue." They didn't tolerate homosexuality or even the slightest hint of it.

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At that she blinked, pulling back just a little bit, head cocked. "Men?" she echoed.

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"I did not mention it before?" By the look of surprise, perhaps he hadn't. Well, Illya had certainly dropped his pants now. He cleared his throat, "Oh. I like men as well as women. But I have not been with man in very long time. Is this problem for you?"