Summary:

“Hi Milana,” he murmured, voice gentle. “I’m Ilya, your father’s brother. Did your mama tell you I was coming over?”

Milana nodded and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, gaze contemplative as Ilya held out a hand to her. He didn’t touch her, didn’t broach the barrier of the doorframe, just held his palm out, a gesture of vulnerability, exposing soft skin. When he’d been a child, listening out for the sound of his father’s footfalls down the hall, trying to guess at what mood the man was in that day, if today was a day he would likely be hit, those gestures of vulnerability–upturned palms, tears on cheeks–had been the only thing he’d trusted. The wounded animal in his sternum reaching out for comfort, seeking safety in the fragility of others. Proof that he wasn’t the weakest one.

Or: After spending Christmas with the Hollanders Ilya realises he has unfinished business in Moscow; namely, saying goodbye to his mother's grave and recovering the pieces of his history. Before meeting Shane at the cottage for their second summer together - and before upending his life and moving to another country once again - Ilya decides to return to his home city and attempt to lay his past to rest.