𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔫'𝔰 𝔇𝔬𝔩𝔩

Bonus No. 3

"I love that word. Forever. I love that forever doesn't exist, but we have a word for it anyway, and use it all the time. It's beautiful and doomed."

- Viv Albertine

Kate and Fyodor sat on a park bench with стаканчик in their hands. (*~Stakanchik is Russian ice cream and consists of a cup-shaped wafer cone filled with vanilla or fruit flavoured ice cream or sorbet and is sometimes sold topped with a layer of sweet milk chocolate*) They had decided to stop for a sweet and refreshing treat while on their walk. Thankfully they had found a bench under the shade of a tree so that their treats wouldn't melt quickly. Fyodor had gotten a lime flavoured стаканчик, while Kate stuck with traditional vanilla.

As Kate sat on the bench with her ice cream covered spoon entering her mouth, she realised that no matter how much she tried, she just could never stay mad at Fyodor. She liked the way he made her feel much more than anger. She liked feeling wanted and seen for more than her ability. She felt normal when she was with him; well, as normal as she could ever manage.

Fyodor too had realised that the woman beside him brought out the best of his personality despite the fact that he tried to hide this. She made him care at least a little bit more than he normally would have. He loved playing God so the feeling of protecting her and making her happy did wonders for this complex of his. He liked when she made him feel like he could conquer the world with a few words. She made it seem so easy for him to accomplish.

"Fyodor, please pardon me for asking, but... might I be able to try some of your lime стаканчик?" She asked, looking at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"Of course." He smiled, feeding her a small spoonful of the lime flavoured treat. She closed her eyes and smiled as she processed the taste.

"Lime is my favourite flavour, it just reminds me of summers. When I was a child, this was my favourite treat. I would save for weeks just to be able to splurge on one lime стаканчик." He smiled softly, a faraway nostalgic look in his eyes. Kate wanted to know more, she wished to know Fyodor as a child.

"What else did you eat as a kid?" She asked carefully as she scraped the melted confection off the top. He frowned slightly.

"I didn't always get to eat a lot, in fact, I was starving all the time, but nothing beats a fresh, hot bowl of borscht from бабушка." He smiled again.

"I can just imagine a cute little Fyodor walking around." Kate smiled, a faraway look in her eyes.

"I wasn't a good child." He smiled guiltily.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked

"I was so poor growing up, I always looked forward to seeing my бабушка because she fed me and gave me things so that I would die. Without her, I would have died without a doubt." He shook his head softly.

"So many people that I loved left me. I was just so... alone." He shook his head bitterly.

"I won't leave you, I wouldn't dream of it." She placed a hand over his. He looked at her in shock before it melted into pure happiness. She loved the way his face contorted into that expression, if she could take a picture she would but even that wouldn't do him any justice.

Kate experienced joy in bringing it to others. Nothing was more rewarding than seeing that sparkle in the eyes and pureness in the smile.

"Kate, could we... stay like this forever?" He asked, his smile so hopeful that it could only cause her sorrow.

"Forever is an awfully long time." She remarked softly, staring into his eyes. She didn't want to let him down despite its inevitability.

"But we deserve our forever, don't we? You and I have endured the hellfire that led to this moment, it's fair that we're blessed with our eternal heaven." He furrowed his brows slightly, praying his words were true.

"Eternal heaven? That isn't possible for people like us... like you and I. The wicked must be punished, for that is God's will. We don't get forever, but we can pretend." She smiled sadly, her words consoling him ever so slightly.

"The wicked shall not go unpunished." He echoed, staring into her eyes.

What could this angel have possibly done to think she is unworthy of God's divine mercy-- of Fyodor's divine mercy? She was more perfect than anything, why would she face the hellfire even longer? Perhaps this was simply her being humble, humility has always been a big part of the bible after all. Yet, Fyodor knew better, he knew that Kate was a truthful person and her words always held some other meaning that revealed far more if you actually looked into them. He knew Kate truthfully couldn't have been worthy of his divine praise, especially since he no longer felt divine himself.