#they toss a knife into the nearby river as a russian tradition but they both know hehe

[wafflesandkruge]

the old guard au (zoyalai) (epilogue)

i’m really not sorry about the last cliffhanger

Part 1 //  Part 2

Zoya woke in a hospital room, the beeping of machines irritating her the longer they went on. Despite waking from what felt like a death, she hurt all over and it wasn’t going away. That was new.

She turns her head and finds Nikolai asleep in a chair next to her bed

She licked her dry lips, wincing at the sharp pain in her throat. “Hey.”

He bolts awake, hand going for a weapon in his pocket

When he sees it’s just him and Zoya, the tension drains out of his shoulders

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

She frowns, lets her eyes trail over all the machines she’s hooked up to. “This is new.”

He takes her hand, absentmindedly rubs circles on the back of it with his thumb. “You’ve always wanted to spice up our relationship”

She laughs, then regrets it when her chest aches. “Don’t make me laugh. Where are the others?”

He hesitates. “I don’t know.”

Zoya tenses. “What do you mean? Are they okay?”

“They’re fine. Inej thought it best if they left us to ourselves so we wouldn’t be...tempted. They said to only contact them in an emergency”

Zoya sighs. “Betrayed by our own friends.”

They’re silent, both contemplating the new lives they’re going to lead

“What if we can’t–” Zoya stops, not sure what she’s asking.

Nikolai brushes a kiss against her knuckles. “As long as we’re together, lyubov moya.”

Her face softens. “Alright.”

He smiles, his face filled with the same light as centuries ago when he’d first spotted her among the group of ancient mercenaries. “I believe we were talking about Madrid?”