I Will Be Your Knight

Epilogue

You stretch on the couch as you wake up from your nap. You must have fallen asleep while reading your book. You place a ribbon in the book to mark your spot and set it on a little table next to the couch. It accidentally nudges a picture frame, and it falls over. You pick it up and look at it closely. You smile when you remember when the picture was taken.

The picture is of Gilbert and Elizabeta on their wedding day. You stand next to Elizabeta, and Francis stands next to Gilbert. He had been the best man at the wedding. Gil and Elizabeta had been very understanding of your situation, and planned the wedding on a day you could attend. They kept telling you they owed you, and the least they could do was make sure you make it to the ceremony. You had cried like a baby along with many of the other women there. 

You set the picture down fondly. It had been over a year since the picture had been taken. You turn to look at the top shelf of the bookcase in your living room. It has several different pictures your friends have sent you over the year.

There's one from Alfred with him and a large group of kids from the school he councils at. Just as everyone thought, the modeling thing didn't work out. He actually did get a contract for a while, but he didn't enjoy it as much as he thought he would. You had been excited when you saw a picture of him in a magazine modeling jeans. He had sent it to you because he knew you'd get a kick out of it. Now he hangs out with kids at an elementary school and teaches them to solve problems and express themselves. 

The next picture on the shelf is one of Feli and Romano in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Feli has his usual spacey grin on his face, and Romano is actually smiling. Kind of. Feli sends you all sorts of postcards from the places they visit. You have received cards from Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples, and Pompeii. Feli is going to be coming home soon because he got a contract with a company to design their new corporate headquarters. You remember the excited phone call you had received from him when he found out.

There's a larger picture behind those two pictures of Arthur, Francis, and Antonio on stage during one of their concerts. They had gotten together and started a band just for the heck of it, and next thing you know, they're one of the biggest music sensations in the country. Arthur sings and plays a guitar that looks like a British flag. Francis plays the bass and is a back up singer. Antonio plays the drums and sings sometimes too. You were one of the first people they had performed for, and you thought they were great. Their fame only took off from there.

Your gaze moves to the smallest picture on the shelf. It's one of Lili and Vash at Lili's graduation. She had graduated a year after you and your friends had. You didn't get to make the ceremony, but Lili, being the thoughtful one, sent you this picture. You had laughed when you looked at it carefully because you can see Matthew in the background. 

You look at another one of the larger pictures you have displayed. This one is of you, Ivan, and the Baltics standing in front of your café on the day it opened. You smile when you think about how it came into existence. Ivan had proposed to you that night of graduation, and you left for home a few days later. It wasn't easy to leave your fiancé, but you knew you had to. He surprised you a week later when he and the Baltics showed up at your door. They had a plan for a new business. The more they told you about it, the more excited you got. After that, almost every spare moment was put into making this idea a reality.

The plan was to open a café instead of a construction company. The building you rented was not far from your hometown, so you can do what you love and be near your parents. You would do the cooking, the Baltics would handle the paperwork, and Ivan would manage the business. You had loved the idea the minute you heard it. You wouldn't get to do a whole lot of cooking, but baking is something you also love doing, so you didn't mind. You bake fresh pastries, breads, and cookies every morning to stock the glass display case next to the register. Toris sometimes helps in the kitchen or at the register if he's not doing paperwork. Eduard also helps at the register. He's also in charge of the wireless in the café. Ravis helps with a lot of cleaning when he's there too. All three of them can agree that they enjoy this much more than they would've ever enjoyed construction.

You smile at all the memories before picking up the last, and largest, picture. It's a photo of you and Ivan on your wedding day. The two of you are standing in front of an arch covering in creeping vines and sunflowers. He has his arm around your waist, and you have one hand on his chest. The other is holding a your pretty bouquet, which Lili had caught. You and Ivan are both beaming happily at the camera. You remember how happy you were that day.

The wedding was planned for the end of the summer after Ivan proposed. Your mother had already recovered enough to be able to attend. The wedding ceremony was on the beach next to Ivan's beach house. It was close to sunset, and you could see fireflies beginning to light up here and there. Your guests admired the sun making the sky red and gold. You had invited all of your close friends, Ivan's sisters, and your parents. Natalya had followed you around while you were getting ready, and wouldn't let anyone other than Katyusha, Elizabeta, and Lili to come near you.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it was time to start. You can still remember how handsome Ivan had looked in his black tux. He says you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen when walking down the aisle. The whole wedding had a sunflower theme, so there were sunflower petals in the aisle, sunflowers tied to the benches, and a couple in your bouquet. It had been a truly magical night there on that beach.

You set the large picture down. The items on the next shelf catch your eye. You take a step to your right to look at them closely. Ivan's three matryoshka dolls stand in a row on the shelf. They're the same that they've always been, except Belarus doesn't look as creepy to you anymore. Standing next to those dolls is another group of matryoshka. The largest doll looks like Ivan, and the next smallest looks like you. Katyusha had gotten you this set of dolls for a wedding present, and you immediately loved it. It came with a third tiny doll, which had confused you at first. Now you understand. You had put the doll up earlier in the day in the hopes that Ivan would see it. It's a doll of a little baby wrapped in a blanket. You gently lay a hand on your stomach and smile.

Your thoughts are interrupted by Ivan coming through the door. He and the Baltics had to get paperwork for the café done all day. You had gotten the day off since the café is closed. You're surprised Ivan is home so early, but you only live a few blocks away from the café, so it's not too surprising.

"Hello подсолнечник (sunflower)," Ivan calls. He sees you standing by the bookcase. "What are you doing over there?"

"Just reminiscing," you tell him.

He walks over by you and wraps an arm around your waist. He looks at all of the pictures and the dolls. His eyes land on one particular matryoshka that wasn't there before.

"(Y/n)?"

"Yes? What is it?" you ask as you turn to him. You can barely contain your excitement.

"Why is there a third doll in our family?" he asks and points.

You break into a big smile. "Because we have three people in our family."

Ivan looks at you with wide eyes. "You mean you're-" He doesn't finish his sentence, but you nod anyway. "And we're-" You nod again. "How long?"

"I'm about a month in," you inform him. "You're going to be a daddy."

He hugs you tightly, and begins to laugh against your neck. "We're going to be parents!" he says excitedly. You laugh with him and nod some more. Ivan gets down on one knee and carefully places a hand on your stomach. There's no noticeable bump yet, but that'll come soon enough. "привет (hello) little one," he says. "Вам очень повезло иметь мать, как (y/n) (you are very lucky to have a mother like (y/n))."

You have been picking up a little Russian from Ivan in the year you've been married, but you have no idea what he said. "What are you telling our baby?"

"That he is very lucky to have you for a mother, sunflower," he says as he looks up.

"It could be a she," you tell him. "And why do it in Russian?"

"You have to start them when they're young," Ivan says. He wraps you in his strong arms again. "я тебя люблю (I love you)."

"Da," you say softly. "я тебя люблю слишком (I love you too)."