From Russia With Love

Dominika was the first to wake in the morning, and as she stirred she became acutely aware of how close she was to Gerard's body. The temperature must have really dipped during the night as the two of them were pressed together side by side, his arm wrapped around her back, holding her close. Her arm was sprawled over him and he took deep, even breaths, his chest moving up and down. She’d never been so close to him in her life and her face prickled with heat as she realized she didn’t mind the feeling. Cheeks flushed, she removed her arm and inched her body backwards carefully, trying not to wake him. His eyes flew open and darted around the space before he relaxed and looked down at her, smirking.

“Well hello there”

She shifted all the way back from him quickly, running her fingers through her hair and trying to act natural.

“Morning” she replied.

“Was that a dream or did I just wake up to you clinging to me like a limpet?”

He chuckled and her face burned red, betraying her.

“You had your arm around me!” she protested. He sat up and touched her pink cheek, feeling the heat radiating off her skin.

“I don’t think so” he said softly. She reached up to touch his hand on her face and looked down, shy. He’d never touched her in such an intimate way before, and the feeling was both thrilling and scary. His fingers threaded through her hers and he dropped their hands, squeezing hers gently before letting go. He looked at her with a knowing smile.

“So today is important” he began, converting back to military-mode, “we’re going to be crossing through the city and we’re going to be on high alert, okay?” She nodded at him “just stay close to me, be my shadow, and we’ll get through without a problem, I promise”

“Isn’t there a way to walk around it?” she asked desperately.

“Sure, but we’ll be walking for days, kid, this is much safer in the long run, trust me”

“I do”

They came to another thinning of the trees, and this time instead of a clearing they broke out into the open industrial area of the city that backed onto the woods. If Gerard had been on high alert in the woods, he was off the charts now. Every time she drifted even a step ahead of him, he pushed her gently back behind him with one arm. His eyes were wide and filled with trepidation as he navigated his way through the back streets and alley ways of the city.

Dominika was horrified at the scale of devastation the invasion had swept over the city. The usually busy streets were eerily quiet, shop fronts dim and abandoned. There seemed to be no one, anywhere as they made their way across, and instead of making her feel safer, it filled her with a horrible sense of unease.

“Where is everyone?” she hissed to Gerard, half jogging to meet his steps. He nudged her gently behind him again.

“Stay put like I told you, kid” he replied, turning slightly to frown at her “My guess is the army has evacuated them, that’s a good thing”

Evacuated them? Where? She was frightened for the people, chased out of their homes by soldiers. He sensed the uncertainty in her silence and tried to reassure her.

“You don’t have to worry, the military will take care of them, my guys and your guys fight together like brothers”

“Really?” She asked. The thought was comforting, maybe their little friendship all these years had done something to forge the bonds between the two nations.

“Sure, you bet”

She continued to analyze that thought, turning it round and round in her head as they walked. It was the first time she’d considered that if she and Gerard did marry, it would be a literal union between Russia and America, as Gerard would now technically be considered Russian royalty too, being married to the only surviving royal. Prince Gerard, ha!

Just as she opened her mouth to repeat it to him, he pulled her by the arm sharply into a narrow gap between two buildings.

“Ow, you’re hurting me!” she cried. He released her hand and put his over her mouth.

“Sh” he whispered in her ear “I saw someone up ahead, I don’t think they saw us yet though”

He removed his hand and she remained silent, listening. He cocked his head to one side, eyes narrowed. It was quiet for a moment till they both heard heavy footfall in the distance, drawing closer. His eyes scanned the space around them quickly, and he pulled her to a window on the far wall. He laced his fingers together and held them out to her.

“Up you go” he said.

“What?!”

“Through the window, come on!”

She stepped on his hand and he pushed her up till she was able to push the pane of glass open. She scrambled through the opening and managed to land with at least some degree of grace and dignity on the floor inside.

“Be careful!” she hissed up at him. She looked behind her and realized they’d ended up in a warehouse of some kind, rows and rows of shelves as tall as the ceiling were arranged symmetrically around the large room, stacked with boxes of different sizes. Gerard landed next to her with a gentle thud.

“That was a little too close for comfort” he said, dusting off his knees. In the distance they could hear glass smashing and heavy footsteps.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“I don’t know, some storage place, I didn’t look at the sign on the front. It’s all locked up though, we’re pretty safe in here for now”

“When can we move on?”

“When it quietens down out there I’ll go check it out, if it’s safe I’ll come back and get you and we can go”

“Good” she replied, rubbing her arms “this place gives me the creeps”

They’d been sitting on the floor of the warehouse for so long darkness had started to fall outside, visible from the high windows that ran along the walls. Gerard had disappeared somewhere as usual and told her to wait where she was. The noises had died down outside, but the silence was still punctuated with the odd shrill of a gunshot now further off in the distance. It was even colder in the warehouse than it had been in the woods thanks to the concrete floors and tin roof and she shivered in her little dress. He returned to their little hideout behind a shelving unit with a smile on his face.

“Well there's good news and bad news” he said happily “We're stuck here for another night, but I found a kitchen back there with this stuff” he offered his hand from behind his back which was filled with handfuls of tea biscuits in plastic wrapping.

“And this” he said, a devious look darkening his face for a moment as he shook a half-empty glass bottle of clear liquid in his hand.

“What is that?”

“Vodka. What kind of Russian are you, Dominika? This stuff is supposed to run through your blood”

“I’m not much of a drinker” she said. He shook the bottle again.

“When in Russia, kid”

Notes

Hope you're all enjoying, spasibo! :)