For many years, Nikolai had been with you, loving and loyal, guarding you from the ugliness of the world, protected in his home, safe from any and all enemies he had. He'd let you in on many of his secrets, let you see deeper into his mind and soul than anyone else had in a very long time.

And yet, despite all that, he still didn't know enough about you himself. It was a bit unfair, no? You at least owed him some secrets of your own. You were his, your secrets, your past, were his to keep and hide as well.

But he's respected your privacy, catching the hints of something in your gaze, your demeanour, your voice when you avoided or changed the topic; he could tell your past wasn't something you could just talk about so easily.

But Nikolai was selfish. He wanted to know. And he was just mean enough to you to keep asking.

So one morning as he lays in bed with you, Nikolai decides it's time to learn all about you, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Sliding a hand over your hair to cradle the back of your head, he hums quietly, pressing a kiss to your left eyebrow. “Мой милый, ленивый партнер... up you get.” He says, pulling you closer under the covers. “I think it's time we have a long overdue talk.”

He at least wanted to know why you avoided the topic so thoroughly. He respected you enough to leave it be if you just told him why.

Fingers playing with your hair, he watched your face, waiting for you to wake up, ready to get you to open up.