Heart's Desire- For Anatoly

[capable_of]

If he could, Lex would have spent every waking moment in the fog, with the most perfect child he'd ever seen. Lena was beautiful and intelligent, a true Luthor in all the ways that could be considered positive. But he knew better, he had responsibilities on the island and he didn't want to worry Anatoly so he made himself leave when he absolutely had too. He knew he should probably tell Anatoly about this...but for the moment, he just wanted to keep Lena to himself.

He was spending time in the fog with Lena now, reading together while curled up in a clearing, when another small girl ran up to them. "Hello Lex!" She said brightly, obviously happy to see her.

Lex cocked his head as he looked at her, suddenly recognizing her with a clenched heart. "Ilona? What are you going here?"

Comments

[capable_of]

They walked for a few minutes through the woods before Lex spotted a pretty straight branch by the side of the path. He grinned to himself before he bent over to pick it up, testing the balance. "Say, Dimitri...Did you ever want to learn how to fence?"

[chesspolitik]

Dmitri lit up at the question and nodded enthusiastically. His dream was to be a cosmonaut but there was absolutely no reason at all that he couldn't be a fencing cosmonaut.

"Can you teach me?" he asked, looking up at Lex hopefully. "Please?"

[capable_of]

Lex looked about before he found another branch that would work in the place of another foil. He tossed one of them to Dimitri. "Of course I can. I've been fencing since I was younger then you." He stretched a little before starting Dimitri into some forms with the promise of some sparring later.

[chesspolitik]

"You have?" Dmitri looked at Lex in wonder. Learning how to fence seemed much more important then going to school or learning to play chess.

"You must be wonderful at it!"

[capable_of]

Lex chuckled as he corrected one of his forms and demonstrated another. "My father thought it was character building. And not in any good way you may think." Chess has been the same way but he wasn't about to speak ill of Anatoly's game to his son.

[chesspolitik]

As far as Dmitri was concerned, chess was the worst thing that was ever invented but he wasn't about to say that to his father's lover.

"I think parents say lots of awful things are for your character," he said, making a face as he tried hard to copy the forms Lex was showing him.

[capable_of]

Lex couldn't help himself as he laughed rather hard at what Dmitir said. He lightly ruffled the boy's hair as he corrected his stance again lightly. "I think that is very true."

[chesspolitik]

Dmitri bit his lip then stopped what he was doing and tugged at Lex's hand to make sure he had his attention. He was afraid to ask this question but it was one that had been bothering him this whole time and he had to know.

"Will you and Papa stay with us now? You won't go? Because.... because Ilona wants to know."

[capable_of]

The tug on his hand got his attention and knelt down so he was on Dimitri's level, something his father never would have done, put himself on the same level as a child.

The question, innocently asked and with so much riding on it, brought a lump to Lex's throat. This fog was the cruelest thing the island had ever devised, that much he knew.

His first instinct was to lie, to tell Dmitri that everything would be alright, but he could not lie to this child, even if he was an apparition.

"We will stay until the island rips us away. But know that if we could, we would never leave you again. I swear it."

[chesspolitik]

Dmitri nodded solemnly, squeezing Lex's hand as tightly as he could. It wasn't the answer he had hoped for, exactly, but it was an answer and more than that, it was the truth.

"We'll wait for you to come back then," he said earnestly. "And I'll take care of Ilona and Lena. I will."

[capable_of]

It was then Lex vowed to himself, then and there. He would never lie to this child and any child he and Anatoly had. Ever.

The fact that he was even thinking about having children was a very large step that he wasn't going to think about.

"I know you will. They couldn't ask for a better big brother." When the fog disappeared, there was a good chance Lex would never see these children again and it was that thought that made him draw Dimitri in for a big, firm hug.