Summary:

Through the haze of his fear, Ilya tried desperately to remember the last time he had kissed Shane. The last time he had said I love you to him. He let himself live in the memory as a tear slid down his face. Ilya didn’t even have a photo of Shane that he could look at because they always delete them. For a brief moment, he thought about googling Shane just to look at him one last time. Then, just as quickly as their descent had started, the plane leveled out. Distantly, Ilya heard an announcement echoing throughout the cabin. He could barely translate it through the panic, catching words like “engine,” “emergency landing,” and “brace for a rough impact.” Or: What if the plane incident in The Long Game was more serious and Ilya got hurt?