Summary:

“But…” Ilya stalls out. He conjures his sun’s face: the soft curve of skin where the corner of his eye becomes the sweep of his cheekbone, the stubble that clings to the soft end of his chin, the strong and even line of his eyebrows. “Solnyshko,” Ilya says. “It means sun, yes, but… it’s like a pet name. Sunshine. Honey. I’m calling you my sun.”

This is mortifying in English. Christ, he should never have started this conversation. He should have shaken Shane off when he had the chance. Even as Ilya thinks this, he knows he could not have done it. He cannot deny Shanyshko anything. That has always been the problem between them. What a terrifying, awesome, horrible problem to have. Ilya would like to have this problem for the rest of his life.

-x-
or, Ilya and Shane talk about their love, their lives.