Alias- Forever And Always

68) Best Days Now

When Lena arrived home, Irina caught her on the stairs trying to sneak back in before anyone saw her in the middle of the day and said nothing, only grabbed onto her holding her ferociously in a hug with raging tears in silent streams coming from her eyes for a long few minutes and then kissed her face all over, cupping it and holding her dark intense blurry eyes with her own and telling her how much she loved her before letting her hands drop and Lena looked at her only a second before launching her arms around her mother again with new tears.

That night, when Arman went to bed by himself he looked up at the moon with a soft smile and a nod, knowing that she had been there and remembering the photograph of Antony she'd placed in the window to look down on her and his eyes filled with tears speaking to her man on the moon, "She loved you very much…loves you still and always will…but I love her too." He whispered holding the shirt of his that she'd worn and still smelled like her in his hands with tears falling silently from his eyes and sniffled with a surge of new tears as he looked down and then back up,

"I'll make a deal with you, Antony…if you take care of, and look after my love, Angelina up there with you…I'll do the same for your love, Lena down here…because I love her, too…and I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to make her happy. She deserves to be happy…and so much more." He reached up and wiped at his eyes, "I love her." He whispered again saying it aloud now that he admitted it to himself felt better and better.

As the days and weeks went by, they spent more and more time together, just being with one another, laughing, talking, crying and going out in public or to family functions together never explaining their relationship to anyone and from the outsiders view who didn't want to assume anything, they looked like they were two people of similar tragic backgrounds that had found a great friendship with each other and enjoyed spending time together.

When Irina's birthday rolled around in mid-December and Lara's, a massive ball was held at the Winter Palace to honor the occasions. It was the first time, that Lena had asked Arman to be her Official Escort having not had one to any ball or event since Antony's death and the murmurs of how close she and Arman were becoming began to bubble through Russia and the world when they heard the news. The two never showed any public displays of affection at all, not even holding hands and thus, very difficult for the Press to bite onto anything but just that, rumors.

With the sensitivity of the situation, and with their love for their Tsarevicha and knowing what she'd been through, the Russian Press had backed off the story while still listening to the murmurs saying quietly behind the lines that they wouldn't print or report on anything until it was concrete in its nature and not just rumors.

"Abra-ca-dabra," Arman whispered with a smile next to Lena's ear when they watched her mother rising from her throne at the head of the massive ballroom to accept her father's hand for the traditional waltz and Lena instantly burst into laughter trying to stifle it and swatted at him.

*Uf dem Anger, No. 7*

"You're terrible!" She whispered back with a smile, "You do look very handsome though, this evening, Sailor." Her hand brushed down his arm while eyes raked in his official officer's ball uniform, "I like your saber." She smiled wickedly making him choke on air when she brushed her hip against his formal military weapon at his side. "Show time." She whispered before he had a chance to respond when the first cue for their entrance into the waltz rang out, being invited in as members of the Imperial family to join her parents who had always begun the dance with everyone else joining in after and after a few moments, everyone joined in numbering well over a thousand in attendance for such a big party and celebration.