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Nikolaj stared at the cell phone in his hand, the "call finished" screen still lit up. He'd just gotten off a call with his father, Evgeni, a rare incident. Evgeni never called — he knew better than to bother his son — but made an exception this time to check in on saskia volosenkova. The girl had just returned home a few days ago, and contrary to Nikolaj's personal experience, Evgeni wanted to check in on her and make sure she was settling in without issue.[break][break]

"She's doing just fine, Dad," Nikolaj had said, trying not to let the irritation come through in his voice.[break][break]

The news Evgeni shared after, however, had blown away all annoyance. Even after the phone call ended, Nikolaj found himself unable to do anything but stare as he processed the words his father had said.[break][break]

So absorbed was Nikolaj in the new revelation that he didn't hear his wife, Camila, enter the kitchen where he stood.

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Maybe Camila was right. Maybe he could speak with the Boss and try to plead a case. Doubts plagued Nikolaj's mind, but he had to give his best effort for his future wife and child. They deserved nothing less than his best.[break][break]

Suppressing a sigh, Nikolaj wrapped his arms around Camila and pulled her as close to his body as he could. Intoxicating warmth radiated from her, but all he could think about was how he could possibly make her dreams come true.[break][break]

"Okay," he finally said, his tone soft. "I'll come up with a plan. We'll find a way to leave."[break][break]

With a hand, he tilted her face up toward his as he craned his neck down. Their lips met in a tender kiss.[break][break]

"I promise."

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Nikolaj scratched Kirin's neck before unlatching the bags from the Wyrdeer's back and lowering them to the ground. He looked up at the sound of Saskia's voice and found her leaning against the porch's railing.[break][break]

"A Pokémon battle?" That was the only thing the girl could mean. Nikolaj grinned, his teeth flashing with a particular eagerness. "Sure, but we'll do it a little ways from the house."[break][break]

His Pokémon were far too large; their mere bodies, let alone their attacks, could cause lasting damage to the building.[break][break]

After depositing Saskia's belongings onto the front porch and finally putting out the cigar that had smoldered into a stub, Nikolaj trekked down the path leading away from their house. A natural clearing nearby had been set up for battling Pokémon. Nikolaj glanced around, noting how littered it was with debris. They hadn't used it in a long time.[break][break]

"Kirin's up first?" he asked his daughter. "In that case…"[break][break]

He fished into a pocket of his jeans for a Pokéball. A tap of the front button expanded it, and with a flick of his wrist, it released its contents. Nikolaj's Aggron emerged in a flash of light and roared a greeting upon seeing Saskia and Kirin.[break][break]

However, the Iron Armor Pokémon recognized the battlefield for what it was. Lowering his massive head and aiming his horns at the Wyrdeer, he snorted, ready for an attack.

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"Run away?" Nikolaj frowned, knowing from the tone of Camila's voice that she wasn't joking.[break][break]

The idea was tempting. If they could leave not just Jubilife City but also Sinnoh, that meant a clean slate. No crime. No familiar faces who could use Nikolaj's child as leverage. No exposure to the piece of shit he called a father.[break][break]

"Where would we go?" Nikolaj wondered. But that mattered less than the second question that tumbled out of his mouth: "How would we even get away? You know what I do for work, Cami. Who I work for."[break][break]

Team Rocket's grasp on Sinnoh was not as iron-fisted as in other regions, but Nikolaj had sworn allegiance to their Boss. His long history with the crime syndicate meant he'd proven that loyalty time and time again. Would the Boss really let him leave?[break][break]

Once a Rocket, always a Rocket — or so everyone claimed.

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Sure enough, the second figurine was much more roughshod than the first. Despite the lack of fine details, however, Nikolaj could make out the shape of it, and it was Comfey-like enough.[break][break]

"Mine looked like shit when I started," he replied matter-of-factly, the self-deprecation enough to commiserate with his daughter despite the current gap in their skill. "Cut myself up more than enough times, too."[break][break]

Truth be told, it didn't matter to Nikolaj that the Comfey was less than perfect. A father's pride filled his chest at the sight of Saskia's creations. He'd kept her crayon drawings from when she was five; he'd love whatever her hands produced, simply because she'd made them.[break][break]

After gulping down some oran berry juice, Nikolaj started back toward the front door, intent on unloading his daughter's other possessions from her Wyrdeer's back.[break][break]

"Why don't you head on upstairs and relax? Your room's the same as it was. I'll bring your stuff up."

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Nikolaj chuckled, unaware of his daughter's thoughts, unaware of the knowledge she'd recently gained while living on Sinnoh's snowy slopes. Though he had not trusted Evgeni to be a good father, the old man was a doting and protective grandfather. At the very least, Nikolaj had counted on him to keep Saskia in the dark about his sordid past.[break][break]

That did not mean it was entirely buried.[break][break]

The wood carving brought a delighted smile to Nikolaj's lips. His single blue eye sparkled with obvious joy as he picked up the carved wooden replica of his Aggron.[break][break]

"Wow, this is pretty good," he marveled, delicately holding the miniature as he turned it this way and that.[break][break]

As a carpenter himself, he knew wood like the back of his hand. He hadn't imagined Saskia would ever take to the craft, so it pleased him beyond words to know she had taken a liking to woodcarving. Maybe she'd take over his woodworking shop one day.[break][break]

"Can I see the Comfey?" Nikolaj asked as he set the Aggron back onto the table.

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The way Camila pressed herself against his body set Nikolaj's nerves ablaze. Her warm tongue against his lips spurred him on, prompting him to turn his wrist so he could grab a fistful of her hair. The sharp motion pulled her head back, exposing her throat. He knew she relished the roughness, knew exactly how she would react as his teeth nipped the sensitive skin of her neck in increasingly harder bites.[break][break]

It didn't take Nikolaj long to relinquish all control he had over his sudden hunger for his girlfriend — no, his bride. He tipped them both onto the bed, his large hands pushing at Camila's thin slip to expose her gorgeous body underneath. In one smooth movement, he removed his shirt. The pants he'd slept in soon joined it on the floor.[break][break]

Every moment in bed with Camila exhilarated Nikolaj. Her every glance she gave him, every sound she uttered made him want to see and hear it again and again. More than that: he wanted to be the only man to ever make her feel so loved and wanted. He wanted to give her everything and provide for everything she'd ever need. Every time he made love to her, he made that promise with his body.[break][break]

After some time, the two lay tangled up in bed, sweat cooling on their bodies. Nikolaj embraced Camila from behind, his nose buried in her hair. One hand idly stroked her lower abdomen, as if to touch the new life growing there.[break][break]

Gently, languidly, he placed a kiss on her shoulder before settling back against the pillows, utterly content.

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By then, Nikolaj had heard the teasing tone in Camila's voice so many times that he knew it by heart. As she eased herself onto his lap, his rough hands seized her hips, pulling her fast against him. It was a possessive grip, not unlike the way he grabbed her during more passionate moments between them.[break][break]

Camila's confession filled Nikolaj with such an intense love that his body seemed ready to burst with it. "I love you too," he said, voice thick with emotion.[break][break]

Then, unable to contain it anymore, he vanquished the small space between them, his lips pressing against hers with a feverish passion. His arms wrapped around her body in a tight embrace, one hand snaking beneath her hair to rest against the back of her neck.[break][break]

She was such a small thing, yet her heart was expansive, her spirit tremendous in its strength.[break][break]

And she was his.[break][break]

She was his, she was his, she was his.

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As soon as Camila pointed to the ring finger on her left hand, the meaning behind her words hit Nikolaj like a ton of bricks. Inwardly, he reeled at their situation. In the span of half an hour, he was confronted with the very serious reality that he was going to be a father. Adding the responsibility of being a husband on top of that was enough to floor the man.[break][break]

Nikolaj knew, deep in his bones, that he loved Camila. Ever since he'd stumbled into her clinic, bleeding from his eye socket, and subjected himself to her care, he'd loved her. But was he ready for marriage?[break][break]

Truth be told, he wasn't ready for fatherhood, either. But he had no choice now, not after seeing the fear and anxiety in his girlfriend's eyes. The reminder of his resolve strengthened him, and Nikolaj sat down beside Camila to caress her cheek.[break][break]

"This probably isn't how you imagined it, huh?" he murmured, looking apologetic. His blue eye stared deeply into hers, full of genuine affection. "I don't have a ring to put on your finger yet, but will you marry me anyway, Camila?"

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Between his doctor of a wife and his very intelligent little girl, Nikolaj had spent the last twenty years being heckled on all sides for his smoking habit. He'd tried to quit a few times, but it was one addiction he never did shake. Eventually, their nagging had reduced to occasional teasing, which he took in better stride.[break][break]

"I'm healthy enough," he merely grumbled. And it was true: despite his age, Nikolaj maintained an active lifestyle, cross-country skiing on the Silent Icelands, chopping wood, hiking for miles on Ranger patrol, and lifting weights at the gym in Oldale. Living near so many farms meant his family had better access to local produce and meat, too, which meant a healthier diet.[break][break]

Nikolaj dropped Saskia's backpack on the couch before making his way into the kitchen to root through the refrigerator for a drink. "Want anything?" he asked his daughter.[break][break]

He grabbed a carton of oran berry juice for himself, pouring a glass as he listened to Saskia chatter on. "You're right, not many of the young folk care to work out here in Oldale. They'd rather be assigned to a big city like Slateport or Mauville. A bunch of your old school friends moved out to the cities recently, you know."[break][break]

In fact, he'd been somewhat surprised to learn that his daughter had wanted to return home. People her age tended to gravitate away from their hometowns, seeking opportunities elsewhere. He wouldn't have blamed Saskia for doing the same.[break][break]

Reaching out, Nikolaj ruffled her hair. "You'd been living in a dumpy apartment on your own for years already. Your mom wants you close now."[break][break]

Except that Saskia had not been living alone, not technically. Though it hurt Nikolaj to know his father had only discovered parental instincts when Saskia was born, he also felt relief knowing Evgeni Volosenkov was not the complete piece of shit Nikolaj thought he was.

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Camila's concerns were too valid and serious for Nikolaj to refute. She was right: between her attitude and his work for Team Rocket, they had more than enough enemies. Both of them had been forced to grow up quickly, abandoning happy and carefree childhoods for a maturity beyond their years. Nikolaj would not let that happen to their own baby.[break][break]

"We need to get out of here. Maybe we can move up to Snowpoint City, or at least into the countryside. Then no one would know where we are," he suggested, not aware that Camila had no desire to stay in Sinnoh.[break][break]

Rising from the bed, Nikolaj pried away a couple of loose floorboards to access the lock box where he kept their reserve cash. Though he had several bank accounts to facilitate money laundering, he always kept a sum of money for emergencies. Rifling through the bills, he began to count them.[break][break]

But then Camila raised a question he had not expected: What about us?[break][break]

Pausing, he looked over at her, brow furrowing slightly in confusion. "What do you mean, 'what about us'? We stay together, of course." It seemed obvious to him.[break][break]

For a man as frightening and dangerous as the fabled Chernobog, Nikolaj was sometimes dumb when it came to romance, relationships, and women.

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