Drago's Story

Drago's Distance

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : 2018

Time× 5:11 am

"You sure you don't need me to make you anything before you go?" Natalie asked as she sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Viktor put on some fresh new gym wear. She was worried about him, he barely slept through the night. He kept tossing and turning. She could tell that something was bothering him, most likely the fight he had with Ivar.

Viktor shook his head, trying his best to avoid speaking. He only had two things on his mind right now; which was excelling in training and releasing his anger. He feared that if he spoke to Natalie, he'd lash out on her, which was something he really didn't want to do. She did nothing to him.

Natalie bit down on her lip, taking in his silence. "Alrighty." She mumbled, moving back towards the headboard. She decided to just give him his space. Once Viktor finished getting dressed and putting on his Nike sneakers, he grabbed his gym bag and without a word, he walked out of the hotel room, leaving Natalie to herself. "Well goodbye to you too," Natalie said out loud. She sighed before deciding to get up and go for a run. "Was it really so hard to say goodbye?" She mumbled to herself. "That asshole didn't even kiss me."

Standing up, she walked to the front door and locked. Walking back, she went straight to Viktor's suitcase to grab one of his oversized white shirts. She liked the way his clothes smelled, it gave her a homey feeling. After tying the shirt over her hips, she went inside her suitcase to grab some leggings. It took everything in her not to cry out loud, there was intense pain in her legs every time she pressed them together or even squatted down. Viktor was to blame for this, he was rough last night, more rough than usual. She even had some bruises on her butt, but she didn't mind. It felt good, she just hated the aftermath.

While she was pulling up her leggings, her phone rang which scared the living crap out of her. It was so quiet in the room, it kinda creeped her out being alone all by herself. "Hello." She said answering the phone.

"Baby girl." She heard her father call on the other end of the line. A smile instantly formed on her face. "You were supposed to call me when you landed. I was worried about you a bit."

"папа." She said, happily. "I'm sorry, I've just been all caught up. Everything's so different here and the people are weird."

Her father chuckled. "I'm sure they think you're weird too, hell your accent might even scare them away." He cleared his throat. "How was your flight? What'd you do so far? Did you get any women's number for me? What's Viktor up too, he treating you well?" He asked, bombarding her with questions.

Natalie chuckled at her father's questions. She licked her lips and began putting on her jogging shoes. "First off, dad no I didn't get you any women's number. The only woman you need in your life is me." She meant that even if it did come off as a joke. She didn't see why her father wanted to date so bad, he had her. That should be enough, even though she knew it was selfish of her. "Second, my flight was okay. It could've been better, but I still enjoyed it. So far, I've done nothing, but I am going for a run and after that, I'm going to go sightseeing. Viktor went to the gym, he starts training today."

"Mmh." Her father mumbled. "But is he treating you right?"

Natalie cleared her throat. "He is dad... it's just today he left without saying goodbye. He was so silent, I think it has to do with what happened yesterday."

Her father's eyebrows raised in worry. "And what happened yesterday?"

"Well." She started off. "When me and Viktor got to our hotel room yesterday, Ivar and his manager were already here. Ivar said some pretty hurtful things and even put his hands on him." She explained. "Viktor hasn't been the same since."

Her father sighed, he didn't like what Ivar did. He believed that no parent should ever hit their child, besides when disciplining. "Damn." He found himself saying. "He just needs some space. I mean if my father puts his hands on me in front of my girl and manager, I'd be embarrassed. Hell, it would make me feel less of a man too. It would also mess with me mentally."

Natalie nodded. "You're right папа."

"I always am right." He responded. "And he just needs some time to himself, don't overcrowd him or be pushy. You always do that. When the time is right, he'll express himself to you."

"Alright." She mumbled. "I don't know how you're so good at speaking guy."

Her father chuckled. "Just because I'm old, doesn't mean I'm not a guy baby girl."

Natalie chuckled. "Yeah right. You think I should get him something? Like a gift to cheer him up?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure he'd appreciate that." Her father paused for a brief moment. "Baby girl, I'll call you back later the golf tournament is starting."

Natalie rolled her eyes, he loved his damn golf so much. She laughed, thinking about how he must've looked right now. "Okay, папа. Talk to you later, khoroshego dnya."

"Yeah, mmh." Her father mumbled before hanging up the phone. Natalie grabbed her Fanny pack and walked out of the room, to start her run. Her mind clouded with what to get Viktor.

-

"More," Ivar commanded watching as Viktor did pushups. He wanted to punish him for bringing Nat into the United States. So he decided that he was going to work him, hard to the point where Viktor would barely even recognize himself when he was done. "Put your back into it Viktor!" He yelled walking over to him. "You're at a hundred, only ten more to go. If you lose focus, you'll be doing a hundred more!" He sneered.

Viktor ignored his father and continued to do his pushups. His arm muscles were so sore, that he was sure they would give up on him soon. He continued to push through, not paying any mind to the beads of sweat dripping down his face, nor the amount of pain/pressure he felt in his body. He braced his core and squeezed his glutes as he moved up and down. Just when he was about to do his last set of pushups, Ivar's foot came crashing down onto his back, causing him to land hard on the ground. He hit his chin in the process, which caused him to bite his tongue. "f**k!" Viktor cursed in pain, he quickly reached up to grab his chin.

"You lost focus." His father said, glaring down at him. "Give me a hundred more pushups!"

Viktor's heart was pounding so hard in his chest, that it almost hurt to breathe. "No." He said, sternly looking up at Ivar from the ground. "You're the one who caused me to lose focus, therefore I'm not doing another hundred set of pushups."

"What the f**k did you just say?!" Ivar asked angrily.

Viktor stood up, shooting daggers at his father. "You f*****g heard me Ivar. I said what I said and I meant it." He laughed on the inside, hearing how much he sounded like Natalie right now. It was cute to him how she was impacting the way he spoke. "I'm not doing another set."

Ivar's eyes never left his. "Who's your trainer?" Ivar asked. "I am, therefore when I tell you to do something... you do it. No, it's or buts about it, you just f*****g do it!" Ivar poked Viktor's sweaty chest. "Maybe if you weren't caught up with that tramp you have in your hotel room, you'd remember that."

"Call her a tramp again," Viktor said angrily. "I promise you won't like what happens next," Viktor said, standing his ground. His eyes danced around the packed gym. "There are thousands of trainers in this room, I'm sure they won't mind training me."

Ivar chuckled in amusement. "Is that supposed to be a threat?" He questioned with pure amusement. "Because if it was, it was a weak one. We're on a contract i***t, you can't fire me. As long as you're signed to Buddy, I'll be here."

Viktor frowned. "You son of a bitch." He said in realization.

"Business is business," Ivar said smirking.

Someone cleared their throat, interrupting them. "Viktor." A cheery voice calls. "Hi, my name is Sofia. Your secondary trainer. Buddy hired me to make sure that you were set for your next match." She said.

Ivar's eyes widen. "He did what?!"

Sofia's lips twitched up into a smile. "You must be Ivar, Viktor's father. Buddy said that he'd like to talk to you in his office. It's right a—"

"I know where his damn office is." Ivar snapped, before glaring at Viktor. With a huff, he walked away leaving Sofia and Viktor alone.

"Your dad, he's very... interesting," Sofia stated, not really having any other words to describe Ivar. She heard what he was saying to Viktor and decided that it would be best to introduce herself now.

Viktor looked down at the petite woman. Besides her being short, she was very slim. She had wavy dark brown hair that stopped just above her shoulders. Her eyes were a light shade of brown and her lips were a pale pink. She was a pretty woman, that had a nice Spanish accent to go with her. "That's a nice way of putting it." Viktor finally said. He grabbed his water bottle and took a big gulp. "So, what do you have planned for me to do?" Viktor asked in a bored tone. Truth be told he was exhausted and it wasn't even ten in the morning yet.

Sofia cleared her throat. "Well, I was thinking we start you off with some Burpees. This will increase your strength and endurance. Plus, all that getting up and down is helpful in the ring if you ever get knocked down."

Viktor nodded, before squatting down with his hands on the floor. He took a deep breath and then kicked his feet back into a push-up position. Lowering his body to the floor, he returned his feet back to the squat position as fast as possible before immediately jumping up into the air as high as he could. "How much of these do you want me to do?" Viktor asked, doing everything over again.

She smiled at him. "Fifty." She said, watching him move. Viktor nodded and fell silent, trying his best to concentrate. "So, is this your first tournament?" Sofia asked, breaking the silence.

"Nope," Viktor grunted, jumping up into the air. "I've had about three in Russia. This is my first American tournament." He glanced over at her. "Aren't you supposed to know that already?"

Sofia chuckled. "I did, I just wanted to make conversation. From the look on your face, you look like you're going through something. And I hate to tell you this, but having so much on the mind gets in the way of you're training. And training is very important."

Viktor's eyebrows raised as he got back down onto the floor. "So what are you suggesting? That I vent out my problems to you?" He asked. "I don't even know you."

"Valid point, but strangers are the best people you can tell things to. We don't judge and it's easier to vent to us, than the people you know." She stated crossing her arms. "So tell me, Mr. Drago, what's got your mind all clouded."

Viktor looked down, thinking if it was a good idea to tell her what's been going on. He decided to only tell her, part of his problems. "My father," Viktor said, continuing to do his set of Burpees. "He doesn't respect, nor does he ever listens to me."

"Hmm," Sofia said looking at him. "That sounds pretty frustrating."

"It is," Viktor grumbled. "You'd think I'd learn to live with it by now."

Sofia frowned. "That's not something you learn to live with. If anything, it's the complete opposite. As sad as it is, parents are always toxic and expect you to just take their toxicity because you're their child. You have to put your foot down, and let him now that you are your own person and he has no control over you. Because if you don't, it'll only get worse."

"I get all that, but how do I get him to respect me?" Viktor asked.

Sofia stayed quiet for a minute, processing his question. "This is gonna sound harsh, but f**k trying to get him to respect you. Honestly, you are his son if he doesn't respect you then that's his problem. As long as you respect yourself then that's all that matters."

Viktor nodded at her words, Natalie had said something similar to him before. "You a psychologist or something?"

"Nope," Sofia said with a chuckle. "Just a good advice giver." She cleared her throat. "You leave training after six right?"

Viktor's eyebrows raised. "Yeah, how'd you know?" He asked confused. Only his father knew what time he left the gym.

Sofia's eyes widen as she sent him a fake smile. "Umm." She said stuttering. "I'm... I'm your trainer remember, it's my job to know these things."

"Umm... yeah," Viktor said, suspiciously.

Sofia cleared her throat again. "Yeah." She looked down at her watch as an awkward silence fell between them. "You wanna go on a walk after you're done with training? You know to clear your mind and stuff. It'll be good for you. We could probably even grab some coffee."

"You don't think that's a little unprofessional?"

She shook her head, her face turning slightly pink. "Nope, not all. I'm your trainer, we're bound to get to know one another. And what better way to do that than going on a walk and maybe even grabbing some coffee."

Viktor paused, sweat dripping down his face. "Alright." He said, giving in. He didn't see the harm in just going out, it's not like it was a crime or anything. It was just walking around and some coffee, maybe.

Sofia smiled like she just won a trophy. "Perfect." She said, pushing her hair out of her face. "Now that you're done with the Burpees, I want you to do a set of walking Lunges. This will help you build strength in your legs, glutes and core muscles. It'll also help with balance and flexibility, which as you know, are the main things a fighter needs."

Viktor nodded and did what Sofia instructed.

-

After Natalie finished with her run, she hopped into the shower and as soon as she was done, she got dressed to go sightseeing. Everywhere she went, she made sure to get as many pictures as possible to show them off to Viktor.

It was five in the afternoon once she decided what store she wanted to go into. It was a small sports shop, located inside the Suburban Square mall. It had a collection of things that caught her interest. Inside the store had a new shoe smell and it wasn't as packed as all the other stores. She had gone inside Victoria Secret and it took her a total of two hours to get out of the store, they were having a sale and everyone was going crazy. The same for Urban Outfitters.

She had brought some perfume and a new lingerie set at Victoria's Secret and at Urban Outfitters, she bought her and Viktor some matching pairs of Nike Zoom sneakers. Everything came up to a total of two hundred dollars and she decided that with the rest of the money her father gave her, that she'd spend it on Viktor.

"Can I help you with anything sweetie?" An elderly black man asked, walking into Natalie's line of vision.

Natalie smiled brightly at the man. "Umm yes, I'm trying to find my boyfriend a gift. But I have no idea what to get him." She stated.

The dark-skinned man smiled at her. "Does he play any sports? If so, which one? And if you don't mind me asking, is that a Russian accent I hear?"

Natalie nodded, chuckling a bit. "He's a boxer and yes, you are correct. I do have a Russian accent, I'm from Russia."

The old man's smile widened. "A boxer huh, that's a great sport. It's also a good quality in a man, you can get him to beat up anyone you like. I use to box in the old days, but nothing too advanced or anything." He placed his hands on his hips. "It's nice to know that there are people like us in other parts of the world. I visited when I was in my late twenties. Me and my wife adopted our very first child there."

"Yeah, we're all over the place. Soon we'll probably even be taking over." She commented. "That's good to hear, it must've been a beautiful moment for you."

"Amen to that." He nodded. "It was, my baby girl, is in her thirties now, even finally pregnant. She's due in April, I'm hoping she's having twins." He cleared his throat. "I think I have something in mind for your boyfriend. Walk with me." He says, moving forward. Natalie followed along. "In boxing, time management was always a big problem with me, that and knowing my heart rate. But you see, now in this new generation, technology has taken over. So anything is possible." He licks his lips. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling now. What I'm trying to say is, there's this watch called Fitbit." He explains stopping at the electronic isle. "The watch basically does everything for you, health-wise of course. It has twenty-four-seven Heart rate tracking, Fitness, and Sleep tracking, along with Apps and Notifications. It's even waterproof and the battery life is great." He picked up the watch box and passed it to Natalie. "If your boyfriend is forgetful about taking care of himself, I'm sure this would be a great gift for him."

Viktor was forgetful about his health sometimes, he didn't even like hospitals or anything associated with hospitals for that matter. Natalie took the box and began reading it. "Motivating sidekick. Personal assistant. Versa Lite Edition helps you tackle each day—and conquer it." She read, before looking at the old man. "Does it come in another color besides white?"

"Yes." He answered quickly. "We have black, purple and blue."

"How much is it worth?"

"One hundred and fifty-nine dollars, plus ninety-five cents." He smiles at her. "But for you, I'll throw in a discount."

"Thank you," Natalie said shyly. She took a moment to think about it, before saying, "I'll take it, but in the color blue."

The old man clapped his hands together in excitement. "Great. Come with me, I'll ring you up so you can be on your way." He said, putting back the watch box, before getting the blue one. He began walking back to checkout and Natalie followed behind him.

"How long have you been married?" Natalie asked, wanting to make small talk.

"Twenty-five years." He answered. "It wasn't easy in the beginning, but we made it work. Now she can't get enough of me, even when I forget to take the trash out."

Natalie laughed. "And you only have one child."

The old man scoffed. "Hell no. See, when my wife and I were at least married for two years we tried to conceive but unfortunately, we had zero luck in trying. So on, we decided to adopt. My oldest is from Russia, my middle child he's from Ethiopia and my youngest..." he sighed. "He's from America, I think that's why he's my most problematic child. He's not that bad, but he has some growing up to do. Now, my first son, he's my favorite. Don't tell anyone that though, I think my other kids will kill me if they find out." He scanned the watch and placed it into s bag. "Anyways, if you're ever looking for a new boyfriend he's single. Your total is one hundred and twenty dollars."

Natalie's laughter sounded throughout the room. "I'll be sure to keep him in mind." She pulled out her wallet and handed him the cash. "Here ya go."

Taking the money, he handed her the bag and her change. "There you go, have a nice day. And if you ever need anything, just stop by. I'm here the majority of the time and if I'm not, then my sons will be in."

She smiled at him kindly. "Thank you, Mr?"

"Jonathan, Jonathan Morrison."

She nodded. "Morrison, Got it." She gathered her things and walked out of the store. As she walked towards the crowded center, she made sure to hold onto her things tightly, not wanting to take any chances of being mugged. America was a nice place indeed, but she didn't underestimate the country nor the people in it. She heard about the things that happened here and how people treated one another, it was kinda like Russia but she had to admit... Russia was better.

The hotel wasn't too far from the mall, so instead of calling a Taxi, Natalie just walked to her destination.

It took thirty minutes for her to reach the hotel. Natalie inserted the room key into the door and unlocked it. She stepped in, hoping to see Viktor but was only met with disappointment when she saw that he wasn't here. She sighed, before fully stepping in and shutting the door. It was six forty now, "Maybe he's running late." She thought out loud.

Placing the gifts on the desk, Natalie took off her shoes and then her tights. She walked around the room in only her underwear and of course Viktor's shirt. Grabbing hold of her suitcase, she unzipped it and took out one of her books. The title of the book was called, "Lovely Bones," which was written by Alice Sebold, one of her favorite writers.

She sat down on the bed and got comfortable before she read the words in the book. In the back of her mind, she thought of what Viktor's reaction would be when he saw the gifts. She hoped he liked them.

A couple of minutes had gone by before she felt her eyelids start to feel heavy. Seconds later, she fell asleep.

-

"This place serves nasty coffee,"  Viktor commented, watching as people walked in and out of Starbucks. Back at home, the coffee tasted organic and here in America, it felt like the coffee had been laced.

"What? They do not!" Sofia objected, before taking a sip of her Latte macchiato. "Their coffee is the best, everyone in the states loves them. Just like they love Chick-fil-A."

Viktor frowned. "Chick-fil-A?"

Sofia's eyes widen as she gasped. "Oh my gosh, you don't know about Chick-fil-A?!" She asked. "That's crazy, they're like the best fast food place to ever exist. Them and Zaxby's."

Viktor scoffed. "Zaxby's?" He asked. "What kind of name is Zaxby's?"

Sofia shrugged. "I don't know why they chose that name, but they do serve the best wings."

"I'm sure they do," Viktor said. He looked around the room before his eyes finally landed on a clock. His eyes widen. "Is that seriously the time?" He asked, looking at Sofia.

She looked down at her phone, before looking back up at him. "Yup, it's 7:15" She answered, putting her phone away. Viktor's face harden. "What's wrong, you got someplace to be?"

"Nat's going to kill me." He mumbled to himself. He quickly stood up and grabbed his gym bag. "I have to go." He told Sofia before standing up.

"Wait!" Sofia yelled, catching the eyes of others. "Where ya headed?" She asked. "I can give you a ride." She offered.

Viktor shook his head. He didn't trust Sofia enough to let her know where he was staying. "I'm fine, I can walk. Thanks for today though, it was nice hanging out with someone... new."

She nodded. "No problem, I'm glad I can be of help." She said. "I'll walk you out."

"You don't have too."

She smiled. "I want too." She said, before walking towards the entrance. She held the door open for him as he walked out. Letting go of the door, she wiped her hands on her jeans. "Alrighty, I'll leave you to it. Just remember practice starts at ten in the morning tomorrow."

"I thought it was at five?"

"I changed it." She said. "You've worked hard enough for today. Now you get to rest until tomorrow."

"Ivar won't like that," Viktor stated.

"I know, but he'll just have to live with it. He can also take it up with me."

Viktor chuckled, shaking his head. "You are something else."

Sofia smirked, before licking her lips. "I know." He nodded. "You better get going, I don't want Nat to kill you." Viktor frowned. He never told her about Natalie, nor even mentioned her. "I heard you mention her today." She lied.

Viktor cleared his throat, obvious to her lie. "Oh okay." He said, pretending to be cool about it. "See ya." He quickly walked away not even bothering to look back at her. It was clear that Sofia was hiding something, and he vowed to himself in that moment to keep his distance. He already had too much on his plate, he didn't need any more trouble.

Viktor's eyes glanced up at the sky and he felt a familiar warmth in his heart. The sun was just setting, which caused the sky to turn a mixture of red and pink. The beautiful scenery reminded him of the times Natalie and him used to walk home from school together. During their walk, they spoke about everything. Neither one of them held anything back. They got to learn things about one another, things that other people didn't know. Viktor still remembered the way the sky reflected off of Natalie's chocolate brown eyes when he made her laugh. It was honestly the most sweetest thing.

At eight o' three, Viktor walked through the front door of the hotel room. He was met with silence as he shut and locked the door behind him. His eyes quickly landed on the bed, where he found Natalie sleeping with the light on. She snored lightly as her favorite book moved up and down on her chest, because of the rhythm of her breathing. He smiled small, loving how cute she looked. Throwing his gym bag on the ground, he walked forward.

The bags on the small desk caught his attention.

He decided to take a look.

The first thing he peeked into was the Victory Secret bag. He pulled out the three bottles of perfume and smelled them to see if they were good fragrance. Satisfied, he put the perfume down and pulled out the next in the bag. His eyes widen at the new lingerie set Natalie had bought. It was so revealing and cute, he couldn't wait to see her wear it. "So damn sexy." He mumbled, before moving onto the Urban Outfitters bag. His lips twitched up at the matching pair of Nike Zoom sneakers. He rolled his eyes, now smirking. "She really would be the one to get this." Shaking his head, he looked inside the next bag. Once again he felt the familiar warmth in his heart when he read the words, "Fitbit Watch." His smile widened. She cared, not like she didn't before. But it was as if it was a reminder that she did.

Slowly stepping away, Viktor walked towards the bed. He took off his shirt and got into bed, not even bothering to take a shower. His long arms wrapped around Natalie's waist. He looked down at her and pecked her forehead, before placing a small kiss on her lips. "You stink." Is the first thing Natalie said as she placed her head on his chest and hugged his body.

Viktor chuckled. "Yeah? Well now you stink too, so hush."

Natalie pinched his stomach lightly. "You hush." She mumbled. "Did you see your gifts."

Viktor nodded. "I did. Thanks for getting me them." He picked up his hand and let it fall down on Nat's ass, causing a big smacking sound. "Out of all of them, I like the lingerie more... even if it's not a gift for me."

Natalie chuckled. "Really, if I knew you'd liked it, I would've gotten you one in your size." She said, causing both of them to burst out laughing. "What? I'm serious."

"Oh I know you are," Viktor said, keeping his hands firm on her ass as he palmed it. "I'm sorry about this morning." He said, suddenly sounding serious. "I should've at least gave you a goodbye kiss or something. Instead of just leaving like that."

"It's fine. You just needed your space... I get that now. Just don't make it a habit... I don't want to cut off your dick."

Viktor shook his head, knowing that she was serious. "Mmh I won't." His eyebrows knitted together. "Where'd you get the money to pay for those things."

"Papa gave it to me before we got here," Natalie confessed.

"Why? He doesn't think I can take care of you or something?"

Natalie shook her head. "Nope, it's not that. You know my father Vik. If he had any worries when it came down to you taking care of me, he'd tell you straight to your face. He only gave me the money as a gift. You know, kinda like a house warming gift."

Viktor nodded in understanding. "I get it." He said, placing a kiss on her head. "I'm just worried, your father's opinion matters to me."

Natalie lifted her head off his chest and stared up at him. "My father loves you, I love you. That's all that matters, Vik." She placed a small kiss on his lips, before pulling away. "Now go to bed, you have practice in the morning." She said laying back down. Viktor complied and turned off the lamp on the nightstand.

"I love you." He said out into the darkness.

"I love you too."