#vasily beloi

[helix-enterprises117]

Halo Reloaded: Испуганный

In the low hum of the barracks' common room, Vaz Beloi was nursing a glass of vodka that had seen more refills than he cared to count. The room, lit by the flickering lights that struggled against the ever-present gloom of military life, provided a backdrop more fitting for confessions than celebrations. Across from him, a fellow ODST, Jenkins, was pretending to be more interested in his drink than the conversation, a tactful witness to Vaz's unraveling.

"You know," Vaz started, his Russian accent thickening with each sip of the alcohol, "I love her. God knows, I do. But man, there's this part of me that's just... pissing its pants, you know?" He chuckled, but it was hollow, the sound of a man trying to make light of his own dread.

Jenkins, a burly man with a scar running down the side of his face like a misplaced seam, raised an eyebrow. "Naomi, right? Your Spartan?" he ventured, already knowing the answer.

"Da, Naomi. She's not just any Spartan. She's a damn one-woman army," Vaz sighed, swirling the vodka in his glass as if it held the answers. "I've seen her in action, man. It's like watching death dance. And at night, when she's lying next to me, all I can think about is how those hands, the very ones I hold, have snuffed out so many lives."

Jenkins nodded, silent. What was there to say? Everyone knew the legends of the Spartans, but hearing it from someone who shared a bed with one was different, more real.

"It's like being in love with a hurricane, you know? She's beautiful, powerful, but damn if there isn't a part of you that's terrified of being swept away," Vaz continued, the words spilling out with an honesty born of desperation.

Unbeknownst to both men, Naomi had entered the common area, intending to surprise Vaz. But instead of a warm greeting, she was met with his fears laid bare. She paused in the doorway, a silent specter, as Vaz's words struck her like physical blows. The tears came then, unbidden, a testament to the raw pain that sliced through her heart.

Back at the table, Vaz was oblivious to the storm he had unwittingly unleashed. It wasn't until he turned, seeking another bottle, that he caught a glimpse of Naomi's retreating form. Panic, sharp and sudden, cut through the haze of alcohol. "Naomi!" he called, but she was already gone, her departure as silent as her arrival.

He found her later, in the small, Spartan (in more ways than one) room they shared. Naomi was sitting on the edge of their bed, her posture defeated, her body racked with sobs. The sight of such vulnerability in someone so powerful struck Vaz to his core.

"Naomi, I... Shit, I didn't mean for you to hear that," he stammered, the words clumsy in his mouth.

"You're right, though," she managed between sobs, her voice raw. "I am a monster."

"Hey, no. Look at me, Nomi," Vaz urged, sitting beside her and tilting her chin up so their eyes met. "I was being an ass, okay? Drunk and stupid. You're not just some... some war machine to me. You're this incredible, terrifying force, sure. But you're also the woman who laughs at my shitty jokes, who gets teary-eyed over old movies. I screwed up, malishka. I'm sorry."

Naomi's gaze held his, searching, vulnerable. "Do you really mean that?" she asked, her voice a whisper of hope and hurt.

"Yeah, I do. God, Naomi, I'm scared because I love you so damn much. Not because of what you can do to others, but because of what losing you would do to me," Vaz confessed, his heart laid bare in the dim light of their room.

They embraced then, a tangle of arms and whispered promises, as the fears and doubts receded into the background. It was a moment of raw honesty, of two people grappling with the complexities of love in a world that was anything but simple. For Vaz and Naomi, it wasn't just about weathering the storm; it was about finding the courage to dance in the rain.

@makowrites, @ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask, @empresskadia.

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

Aside from Forward Unto Dawn, I think I’d have to say that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is my favorite Halo movie. (It’s a Cold-War AU about Mal, Vaz, and Naomi.)

[eschatonjudge]

Naomi: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the items you have lost throughout your life.

Vasily: Self-esteem, haven't seen you in years!

Malcom: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this!

Lian: I knew I lost that potential somewhere!

Serin: My moral code, is that you?

Naomi: I was just gonna show you this cool trunk my father left me but do you guys need a hug?

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

Definitely Mal and Vaz.

Mal definitely dared Vaz to kick it.

[bloodgulchblog]

Glasslands, Pt 2

Before we return to my irregularly unscheduled yelling of jokes about how I want to fight authors, let me tell you what Halo: Glasslands is about. I know some of y’all are definitely following me for the experience of Zita Reads Halo So You Don’t Have To, and I have been neglectful of this duty for this book so far.

So.

Glasslands has three major plot threads, which converge as it goes. The first one introduced picks up right where Eric Nylund left us at the end of Ghosts of Onyx: Halsey, Mendez, Fred, Kelly, Linda, Tom, Lucy, Ash, Mark, and Olivia are inside the Forerunner shield world that used to be the planet Onyx. This takes place inside a slipspace bubble, so a matter of days for these characters is a matter of months for the outside world.

This plot thread is about exploring the inside of the Dyson sphere, trying to find important things like food and a way out, and seeing if there’s any cool Forerunner technology in this thing that is apparently a Forerunner fallout shelter. In the meantime, Lucy (who has been mute since a traumatic mission she survived one time) gets separated from the group and manages to start communicating with a group of Huragok she finds. While the group looks for her, Halsey and Mendez argue a lot about the morality of what they did in the past and it’s Very Awkward for the Spartans.

The second major plot thread (and the central one of the whole book) is about the assembly of a top secret ONI team called Kilo-Five. Their mission? To cause strife among the Sangheili and keep them from stabilizing (and becoming a threat again) now that the war is over.

The leader of the team is Captain Serin Osman, a former Spartan-II who washed out when her body started rejecting things during augmentation. She recovered from that and was given work in ONI, where she grew up to become the protege of Admiral Margaret Parangosky. Parangosky, whom we briefly saw in a flashback in Ghosts of Onyx, is the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. She is an exceptionally terrifying lady. She is also 92 years old and lowkey dying, and Osman is being groomed to replace her.

The members of Osman’s new team are:

Professor Evan Phillips, probably the single most knowledgable human person about Sangheili. Huge nerd, very earnestly excited about his specialty, but also adapting terrifyingly fast to ONI spook work.

Staff Sergeant Mal Geffen and Corporal Vasily Beloi, two ODSTs who served in the same unit. Mal is more genial and steady. Vaz is coping with pain a little worse and has more anger, and Mal worries about him a bit.

Sergeant Devereaux, their pilot, also ODST. (There’s not a lot about her, but I’m assuming she gets more established in the later two stories.)

Petty Officer Naomi-010, a Spartan-II. Naomi’s not complicated: She’s big, stoic, serious, and good at her job, but with that flicker of telltale Spartan-II social vulnerability.

Black Box, or BB. Formerly Parangosky’s personal smart AI, BB is a highly capable and sardonic little dude. His chosen avatar is a blue cube, he considers it embarrassingly needy for an AI to pretend at being human.

The third plot thread is about Jul ‘Mdama. You remember Jul ‘Mdama from Halo 4/5? Good, because I barely do.

Jul is unhappy with how things are on Sanghelios: His people are disorganized and shaken by the loss of the Covenant support structure, and he strongly disagrees with the Arbiter about how they should stop fighting with the humans. Jul winds up getting involved in a plot to assassinate the Arbiter.

HOW DOES THIS PLAY OUT?

I wanted to do a more detailed plot summary, but the last quarter of this book kind of overcame my tolerance. I’ll do my best.

Kilo Five comes together and is doing regularly scheduled weapons deals with a Sangheili monk named Avu Med ‘Telcam, meeting on a glassed planet (New Llanelli). They are giving ‘Telcam weapons to use in his rebellion against the Arbiter, so long as he agrees not to fuck with humanity after he succeeds. (The weapons, of course, have hidden tracers on them so ONI can figure out where they are going and who ends up with hands on them.)

They are also on call in case anything comes of the Onyx situation (ONI doesn’t know what the fuck is going on over there or how to get people out of it, but they’re monitoring the situation), and they are also also on call to go with Admiral Hood to a diplomatic meeting with the Arbiter on Sanghelios.

Some things that Kilo Five deals with include:

Extracting an ONI agent from his listening post on a glassed world, during which they end up in a fight with his Jackal contacts.

Being on scene when the rebel-filled colony world Venezia refuses to let a UNSC ship in distress dock, and the ship explodes and people die. They also fire shots at another UNSC ship for coming close trying to recover survivors.

Capturing a small ship with some Jiralhanae on it that have a Huragok, so now the UNSC has a Huragok.

Jul ‘Mdama.

During these adventures, Osman tells the gang all about the bad business of the Spartan program. This is pretty upsetting for Naomi. Osman also gives Naomi access to the Spartan program’s file on her, which contains a detailed record of what she was like as a kid and the fucked up details of what happened to her birth family due to the grief. Osman has never read her own record, even though she could have. Naomi, who is becoming friends with Vasily, asks Vaz to read her file first and tell her if he thinks she should. (I actually really liked that, it was very human and I am (as established) weak as paper for whenever someone tries to show care for a Spartan.) This is Osman deliberately trying to prepare the team for having to encounter Dr. Halsey later, and especially Naomi.

MEANWHILE, in the Dyson sphere, the Onyx gang is just trying to survive. Lucy gets separated from the group and finds a bunch of Huragok that have been maintaining the shield world since Forerunner times. It’s hard for her to communicate with them because she can’t speak, and even making her brain form words to write is a challenge for her, but she manages and makes friends with one in particular (Prone to Drift.) Lucy is kind of weirdly handled, she’s 20 years old at this point but Traviss writes her like a young teenager tbh. Traviss also implies that the Huragok can repair living organisms (they are confused about why Lucy is silent when she’s physically fine) which is not actually a thing they can do.

I don’t have it in me to lay out the details of Halsey’s arguments with Mendez right now, but Traviss decides that Mendez will be her Onyx gang mouthpiece for calling Halsey a monster. She has Mendez suddenly 180 on how he feels about the Spartan program and drags in a bunch of totally incorrect lore to make Halsey look worse, and characterizes her as a petulant and spoiled bitch. The Spartans just kind of look at each other awkwardly and go “uh” during all this.

The Huragok don’t want to contact the ships outside the Dyson sphere because they are afraid they might be a threat. Traviss has Halsey threaten the Huragok with a gun about this, so that Lucy can magically recover her ability to speak in order to scream at her for it. Also, Lucy punches Halsey as hard as she can (she can feel the vibration of it up her arm.) Somehow, being punched in the face at full strength by a fully augmented Spartan-III doesn’t kill her (because Lucy is a precious vulnerable baby in Traviss’s head I guess.)

ALSO, MEANWHILE ON SANGHELIOS, Jul ‘Mdama is unhappy with the Arbiter’s decisions re: not shooting at humans all the time anymore. His wife’s eyes could not possibly roll any harder about it. She has real problems to deal with because Sangheili apparently don’t even know how to do basic societal infrastructure tasks like farming anymore (???) and have to consult ancient records in order to learn how again now that the Covenant is gone.

It’s kind of weird. On the one hand, it’s interesting and fun to me that the Sangheili don’t know what to do when they’re not being warriors, they lack technical expertise because of overreliance on the Huragok, and Shipmasters are just…. Essentially just taking their ships and parking them in their yards because who will stop them. The Prophets are also just gone (but that makes a kind of sense because the Prophets as we know them have no home world, they only had High Charity, but none of that story is over here.) But on the other, the implication that Sangheili civllization just literally does not support itself in any way without the Covenant is kind of insane. If they aren’t feeding themselves, then who was doing it?????

ANYWAY, our boy Jul ends up falling in with Avu Med ‘Telcam’s religious extremists. He doesn’t believe what they’re laying down, but he does want to support their upcoming attempt to assassinate the Arbiter. However, as they secure a stolen frigate and ‘Telcam’s weapon stockpile grows, he starts to get suspicious about where these guns are coming from.

Jul stows away on ‘Telcam’s ship the next time he goes to pick up weapons from Osman, and spies on him. Unfortunately for Jul, he gets caught by Naomi, Mal, and Vaz. They keep him restrained and quiet so ‘Telcam is none the wiser, then take him prisoner aboard Kilo Five’s prowler. He spends the rest of his sections in the book there, though at the end he gets handed off to ONI scientists. He is a miserable boy and is worried about his wife.

This also enables a pretty odious bit where, after Hood and the Arbiter have had an astonishingly straightforward and peaceful agreement re:ceasefire and the Arbiter agreeing to release any POWs if they still have any, Hood wonders if ONI still has any Sangheili prisoners. Osman is just like lol haha who even knows :) about it while there’s currently a shipmaster punching the walls in her ship’s brig. (It’s a shame because Hood inviting the Arbiter to the memorial at Voi, the cutscene we see at the end of Halo 3, is kind of cool. Also, Phillips gets to fanboy the Arbiter so sincerely that the Arbiter is kind of touched and invites him to come visit Sanghelios and see the sights sometime.)

THE FINAL PART OF THE BOOK sees the Huragok persuaded to return the Dyson sphere to normal space. Kilo Five rolls up and arrests Halsey while ONI scientists get to start oohing and aahing over the Forerunner technology. Parangosky, who has had Halsey declared dead, disappears Halsey to a top secret research station where she will be forced to work and gives her a big monologue. Traviss 1) implies that Halsey cannot speak Italian (which we know she can, it’s a tiny detail but I’m including it because it’s so weirdly petty) and 2) lays out reasons for why Parangosky hates Halsey so much that are based on Traviss completely misrepresenting Halo canon. Again. Here she decides that Parangosky didn’t know about the flash cloned children and she takes exception to that over all the other evil ONI does because ???reasons???. I also think this is the first place in Halo canon where an author seems to have decided that Halsey flash cloned a whole human in order to get an AI brain for Cortana instead of just… flash cloning the brain, which. You know. Flash cloning single organs is medically routine in the Halo universe.

This scene makes me feel like I’m having a fucking stroke because Parangosky as the head of ONI is responsible for everything Halsey did AND WORSE, and yet it’s clear that we as the audience are supposed to be so satisfied by Parangosky finally punishing the bad bad satan woman.

Anyway.

Parangosky lets Osman in on a secret: a huge super cool spaceship called the UNSC Infinity is being built.

The situation on Venezia is getting really unstable.

Phillips gets to visit Sanghelios, and while he’s there he gets kidnapped because IT’S TIME FOR THE SEQUEL HOOK. (....At least I’m pretty sure, I still have not been able to force myself to read the last couple pages again.)

The end.

WHAT’S THE VERDICT?

The way I feel about this book is fucking complicated, because it’s got better writing than most Halo books. A lot of scenes are fun to read. It gives us a lot of lore about Sanghelios that we never had before. HOWEVER, Karen Traviss has a weird goddamn agenda and the rancid vibes are off the charts in here. I literally cannot motivate myself to share fun parts because of how fired up I am over the ideas that crystalize near the end.

What’s fucked up to me is that when I first read this book, I really liked it but never revisited it. This is the second time I’ve read it, and the fact I am much older and know more things (and much more recently reviewed prior canon) means this time was very different.

Glasslands contains important lore that informs a lot of what’s going on as we move forward into the 343 era, but also I hate it and the way I hate it is different from how I hate a lot of other Halo content.

I don’t just hate Karen Traviss’s Halo for making dumb decisions, getting details wrong, or other dumb nerdmad reasons. (Though I am not remotely above being nerdmad.)

I hate it because she is an asshole with bad IRL opinions about IRL things, and the whole work has this weird fucking authoritarian bent to it that bothers the shit out of me.

Stay tuned for Part 3: Why I Have Problems With Karen Traviss. (With bonus Star Wars Bullshit brought to you with love by all my Star Wars EU nerds who brought forth their own dirt when they heard me complaining.)

[greenreticule]

In the "Finding Myself in Fiction" series, I explore how stories reflect and affect me, in ways both good and bad. 

This time, things are getting ugly, because it's just me, my hatred, and Vaz Beloi.

[authortobenamedlater]

@makowrites Vaz and Naomi?

we need more height desperging between partners, Smol Girls being used as teddy bears when you sleep together, and tall girls using YOU as a teddy bear

Height differences are some of the best tropes in a romance story and you are damn right about needing more explicit examples of height differences in all forms of media off the top of my head some of the best Ive seen recently in Anime and Manga specifically are:

Hitomi-chan is shy with strangers: Hitomi is consistantly shown to be a full head height taller than Yuu

Even when they sit together their eyes do not even come close to meeting

Yuu isnt shown to be overly short either and when we see his classmates he is roughtly as tall as them so Hitomi is just really really tall

I think Senpai ga Uzai has my current favorite Massive lad x smol lass couple

Anyways great taste as always my friend, hope ya staying happy and safe

[helix-enterprises117]

Halo Reloaded: You Remembered?

Naomi had always prided herself on her strength, both physical and emotional. As one of the most formidable Spartans in the United Nations Star Council, her resilience in the face of adversity was legendary....Yet, today, of all days, she found herself wrestling with a vulnerability she seldom acknowledged. It was her birthday, a day that she didn't usually celebrate with much fervor, but this year was different. This year, she had hoped to spend it with Vaz Beloi, the hell-jumping rusky who had won her heart against all odds.

The day had dragged on, each hour a reminder of Vaz's absence. Naomi had managed a smile for every comrade who had come by with well-wishes, their gestures sincere but unable to fill the void left by Vaz's absence. As the base's clock chimed the approach of evening, Naomi's hope dwindled, her heart sinking with the setting sun....When Vaz finally returned to their shared quarters, he was met with an eerie silence. The darkness seemed to swallow him whole, a stark contrast to the usual warmth of their home. As he fumbled for the light switch, a sudden collision with Naomi sent his heart racing.

"Ебена мать!!"

He took a breath. The momentary scare, however, paled in comparison to the sight of her standing in the dark, her usual stoic demeanor replaced by a palpable sadness.

"Naomi?" Vaz's voice was laced with concern, his eyes struggling to adjust to the dim light.

Naomi remained silent for a moment, her eyes betraying the turmoil within. "Sorry. I-I thought... I thought you might have forgotten," she finally whimpered, the words heavy with unshed tears.

Vaz's heart clenched at her words. He had never intended for her to feel this way, especially not today. He gently rests his calloused hand on her cheek, "I'm sorry I was gone all day, malishka. I was out looking for something... for you."

The skepticism in Naomi's eyes slowly gave way to curiosity. "You remembered?" she asked, a glimmer of hope breaking through her sadness.Vaz nodded, his next actions deliberate. He knelt before her, an act so vulnerable that it caught Naomi off guard. From his pocket, he produced a small, velvety box, opening it to reveal a ring that sparkled even in the low light.

"Naomi Sentzke, you've fought by my side, you've held me through storms, and you've shown me what it means to be truly brave," Vaz said, his voice steady despite the emotion threatening to overwhelm him. "I don't want to spend another day without you by my side. Will you marry me?"

The question hung in the air, a testament to their journey together. Naomi looked at Vaz, seeing the man who had become her world, her partner in every sense. Tears welled up in her eyes, not from sadness, but from sheer joy. With a choked sob, she nodded, words failing her.

"Yes, Vaz. Yes, I will marry you."

@makowrites

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

For my friend @makowrites, and for the world because there isn't enough Vaz/Naomi in it.

[ao3feed-mfmm]

Silence in the Summer Night

read it on the AO3 at http://unicorn_feeds_back/works/13728918

by Dendritic_Trees

Detective Inspector Jack Robinson has enough on his plate coping with the upheaval of the end of the Earth-Covenant war and the existence of Miss Phryne Fisher without what looks like a terrorist attack in the middle of Mindoro.

He really, desperately didn't need an erratic ONI admiral and a pack of Spartans on top of one.

Its just that he has no way of getting rid of them.

Words: 2748, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen

Characters: Jack Robinson, Hugh Collins, Serin Osman, Naomi-010, Vasily Beloi

Relationships: Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Halo Fusion, Crime Fighting

read it on the AO3 at http://unicorn_feeds_back/works/13728918

[oni-official]

Oh, not at all.

That would hardly be productive.

I've been cooking lowkey, that Naomi fic from earlier like weeks ago I was chatting about, is in development.

Naomi: "I'm fast boi, I got them sketchers on" 🏃‍♀️💨

[dr-dendritic-trees]

Care to elaborate on your thoughts about Vaz and Naomi as individuals?

So, um, here’s the thing.

I wrote a whole thing about this (which you are in no way pressured to read), but I have a very large number of Very Big Feelings about Vasya, Naomi and Serin, and those are a bit about the characters as individuals, but they’re a lot about the weird personal feelings I have about the books and what was happening in my life when I read the books the first time. Which is all to say this may be a bit weird.

I love Naomi so much, because she’s so weird, and I am also so weird, and there are aspects of how I do intimacy that she also does (the thing where she shows she loves you by divulging weird squishy personal secrets), that isn’t something that shows up in fiction very much (although I am also the most tactile person ever and she is not), and she’s also just delightful, she’s a huge nerd, she secretly just wants to share about her armour, and about astronomy.

And Vasya is... he’s 22. He’s so full of shouting. And I actually disagree with Vasya about just about everything (other than the sort of basics that kidnapping children is wrong). I think that if we met in real life I’d probably not get on with him, to be honest. But he’s incredibly cathartic to read about.  

[estevnys]

Drabble - BB Loses a Bet

Because the world needs more Kilo-Five Fanfic. Inspire by: x

Osman wakes with a yawn, stretching out her arms and legs, the newest Rear Admiral of ONI glanced at the beeping data pad lying beside her. A message was left, and with half-asleep fingers she clenched the small device,

  /SECURED CHANNEL/ /. . . EXCAVATING DATA . . . / / . . . . / / . . PROCESSING COMPLETE . . / // CINCONI LINE: R-ADMIRAL OSMAN . . CONNECTION ESTABLISHED //

Yeah I know what you’re thinking right now. ‘BB! What are you doing? It’s late and I’m trying to sleep!’ Stupid meatbags and their stupid sleep cycles.

But anyway- I lost a bet. For the first time since my creation I actually lost a bet to these buffoons you call soldiers, so let’s get this over with shall we?

I love you Osman.

I think you’re an fantastic commander. An incredible one, even. You’re smart and strong and a quick thinker and I’m sorry this sounds amazingly cheesy and human like but I have researched every definition of the word ‘bet’ and almost all of them imply I must complete the agreed upon task if I lose.

So, I love you Osman. You’re the greatest. Thanks.

Now please throw Vaz and Mal out of the airlock.

// SIGNED // ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ENTITLED: BLACK BOX

/ . . MESSAGE WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN 3 . . . / /  . . 2 . . / / . 1 . / / . . MESSAGE DELETED . . /

Osman shook her head, rubbing her forefingers between her eyes. I’m going to throw all three of them out of the airlock, damnit.

But a smile crept it’s way up her lips anyway, and stayed there for a most of her waking hours on the Port Stanley. No one asked why.

[lunaticstar]

I am in love with Halo Glasslands for so many reasons, including all things Lucy and Mal and Osman and the various huragok... but mostly Naomi and Vaz, how even though Vaz and Mal have The Extreme Bromance, these two have formed a quick relationship.  They both displace their guilt on one another, it manifests in a weird way, a sort of mix of brotherly protection and deep desire to connect, but the inability to find the words.

Sigh.

[omega-greed]

They used to say a good SAS man could speak twenty languages while disguised as a bottle of Guinness, and don't ask me what Guinness was, Devereaux. I think it was beer.

Vasily "Vaz" Beloi

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

Naomi had always prided herself on her strength, both physical and emotional. As one of the most formidable Spartans in the United Nations Star Council, her resilience in the face of adversity was legendary.

...Yet, today, of all days, she found herself wrestling with a vulnerability she seldom acknowledged. It was her birthday, a day that she didn't usually celebrate with much fervor, but this year was different. This year, she had hoped to spend it with Vaz Beloi, the hell-jumping rusky who had won her heart against all odds.

The day had dragged on, each hour a reminder of Vaz's absence. Naomi had managed a smile for every comrade who had come by with well-wishes, their gestures sincere but unable to fill the void left by Vaz's absence. As the base's clock chimed the approach of evening, Naomi's hope dwindled, her heart sinking with the setting sun.

...When Vaz finally returned to their shared quarters, he was met with an eerie silence. The darkness seemed to swallow him whole, a stark contrast to the usual warmth of their home. As he fumbled for the light switch, a sudden collision with Naomi sent his heart racing.

"Ебена мать!!"

He took a breath. The momentary scare, however, paled in comparison to the sight of her standing in the dark, her usual stoic demeanor replaced by a palpable sadness.

"Naomi?" Vaz's voice was laced with concern, his eyes struggling to adjust to the dim light.

Naomi remained silent for a moment, her eyes betraying the turmoil within. "Sorry. I-I thought... I thought you might have forgotten," she finally whimpered, the words heavy with unshed tears.

Vaz's heart clenched at her words. He had never intended for her to feel this way, especially not today. He gently rests his calloused hand on her cheek, "I'm sorry I was gone all day, malishka. I was out looking for something... for you."

The skepticism in Naomi's eyes slowly gave way to curiosity. "You remembered?" she asked, a glimmer of hope breaking through her sadness.

Vaz nodded, his next actions deliberate. He knelt before her, an act so vulnerable that it caught Naomi off guard. From his pocket, he produced a small, velvety box, opening it to reveal a ring that sparkled even in the low light.

"Naomi Sentzke, you've fought by my side, you've held me through storms, and you've shown me what it means to be truly brave," Vaz said, his voice steady despite the emotion threatening to overwhelm him. "I don't want to spend another day without you by my side. Will you marry me?"

The question hung in the air, a testament to their journey together. Naomi looked at Vaz, seeing the man who had become her world, her partner in every sense. Tears welled up in her eyes, not from sadness, but from sheer joy. With a choked sob, she nodded, words failing her.

"Yes, Vaz. Yes, I will marry you."

This is adorable! I love it.

Vaz does need to learn to buy things before the birthday though 🤣