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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"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?"

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The way he reacted to her surprise made her chuckle and shake her head, shaking off the surprise. "No, it's not a problem," she said, amused.

"You just hadn't mentioned it and it had never been obvious. It surprised me a little," Sinthia murmured. "I don't mind if you're attracted to men. I am," she admitted frankly.

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"Oh, good," he grinned. "I hope so. At this point I am not having sex change operation."

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She had to laugh.

"You'd make an interesting woman," she supposed aloud, rocking back on her heels. "But I would rather keep you as a man, yes. I like you that way."

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"I would make very scary woman," he mused. "I like me this way too. Really, that is one of things I have never wanted to change."

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"Then don't," she said simply, decisively as she kissed him once more, closing her teeth gently around his lip.

"Let me make you dinner. It's warm in the sun, we can eat outside. And then watch a movie." Sometime, she thought, if they were going to spend much more time in her apartment they'd have to arrange clothing for Illya that wasn't his suit being laundered.

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He smiled into that kiss, "I won't." When she let him go, he slipped off his jacket and hung it over a chair. "If you want I will take Avi for a walk while you cook."

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"If you want to," she agreed. "It won't take me long. Don't run away with someone else," she murmured as she stepped back, hands lingering around his waist affectionately.

"You like fish?" she asked. "Just in case."

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"I like fish. We won't," Illya promised as he got the dog's leash and hooked it onto his collar. Avi danced at the door excitedly. Illya put a plastic bag in his pocket. "We will be back shortly."

[abyssum_invocat]

"Okay," she murmured, watching him hook the leash to Avi's collar; the white dog wore a gold and black collar with two gold leather tassels that muffled his tags' noise. The thickly padded wide ribbon band was strong enough to hold up to his tugging.

In the time they were gone, Sinthia kicked off her shoes and jacket and most of her jewelry to cook, setting a paella dish on the stove and putting on the heat to brown the rice it would need. The food would be simple: rice, peas, red peppers and several varieties of seafood later, it was nearly done, and as she waited for the timer to go off had put on music, which she was dancing around to.

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When he and the dog returned about thirty minutes later, it was to the house smelling fragrant of saffron and Sinthia dancing in the kitchen to a tango as she cooked. Illya shut the door quietly and hung up Avi's leash. He took off his shoes and his tie, unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and rolled them up.

Then moved up behind her. "May I have this dance?"

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Sinthia whirled around when his voice surprised her; she'd had the music turned up too loud, since the doors were open to the balcony and she wanted to cover up the noise of muffled traffic.

"I didn't know you knew how," she murmured, lifting her hand to take his.

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"I do. My mother taught me," smiling, Illya tangoed her around the small kitchen. He dipped her carefully because of the limited space.

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"She must have been a talented woman," Sinthia said, bending back gracefully as he dipped her; the dance was informal compared to most, and their steps were smaller given the size of her kitchen, but it was intimate.

"You made me think about this music when you started singing," she teased, looking up at him as she stood.

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"She was an amazing woman." When he brought her back up, he drew her into a kiss. "Three Dog Night makes you think of Tango and Paella?" Illya laughed. "I am glad it did."

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"Spain makes me think of tango and paella," she replied laughingly, giving him a little twirl as she came back into his arms. "Three Dog Night makes me think of snow."

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"We must go dancing sometime," he said, holding her and swaying. "Especially when we go to Spain," Illya said as the music came to an end.

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"We must," she murmured in agreement, dropping her head to his chest as the timer went off with a buzzing bell sound, making her sigh. "It's beautiful overlooking the ocean from the cliffs. You've really never been?"