Chapter 2 January 16th, 1943

The week passed by rather quickly, with Peter attending classes, completing home assignments, and finding refuge and reprieve with Tanya. They exchanged stories of days in Stalingrad frequently, and Tanya had just as much if not more to share than Peter. One episode stood out to him in particular, one that had stayed with her since the early days of the siege that still dragged on...

September 23rd, 1942

Stalingrad, USSR

She had just returned from the rations warehouse with the month's supplies and was on her way home when she heard scattered gunfire from a nearby street block. She tried to ignore it, as her brothers had told her time and again to always stay out of the fray as much as possible. But the further on she walked, the gunfire seemed to grow louder rather than fainter. How strange that the altercation happening somewhere in her own neighborhood seemed to follow her, tempting her into picking up a weapon, any weapon, and join the fight her countrymen took part in day after day.

Curiosity eventually got the better of her and she followed the sound of gunfire to where it was loudest, walking two blocks before running into an intense firefight. A stray shell lobbed from the German side of this skirmish quickly prompted her to take cover behind a mound of debris, and play the audience of this tragic play.

On a three-way intersection about three blocks away from where she stood was a four-story grey office building, where the large volume of fire was coming from. It looked as if the Germans had occupied that building. Two blocks behind her behind a tall heap of debris sat a small group of Red Army officers with a Maxim machine gun, loaded and waiting. For what? She could not tell. It was at that moment when she heard the blowing of a whistle, and a large column of soldiers rushed by the officers at full speed like an express train racing through the night, cheering and yelling in a great chorus to take on the fight. She could barely make out what the officers were yelling to the men as they passed, but it sounded like the old order Stalin had given to the entire Army: Not One Step Back.

She watched in quiet agony as her Russian brothers charged towards the apartment building like an unruly disorganized mob, all with a solid determination to drive away the hated enemy.

Just as she had predicted, the men began to fall in groups. Cries and screams of those who had misfortune to receive a shot through the heart or the head filled the air mixing with the cacophony of gunfire, with the Germans clearly having the advantage in this fight. Those who were unluckier were not graced with death's embrace but received atrocious wounds in myriad of places, leaving them unable to walk or to fire their rifles. Death abounded everywhere and innocence and mercy was nowhere to be found. The mob of Russian soldiers had not gotten a street block away from the building that they began to waver in the face of horrendous enemy fire.

She heard a young soldier, a few years older than her, call out to all of them in a broken and despairing cry,

"It's hopeless, comrades! We're getting murdered! Fall back!"

Soon, all in the attacking formation turned and ran or limped back towards where they originally started, crying for an appeal to sanity and calling for a withdrawal in light of the appalling casualties sustained. The officers behind the rubble pile however had other ideas.

"Turn around, comrades!" Shouted one burly goateed officer, wielding a semiautomatic revolver. "Keep going forward!"

"We're getting killed out there! Get back!"

"Pick up your gun and shoot!" Commanded another officer, carrying a lofty crimson banner that was the flag of their nation, the symbol of the motherland they had sworn to protect.

Alas, the soldiers were caught between two sides with neither truly supporting those carrying the rifles; one side was out for domination and the other a tool of a murderous and cruel dictator. Caught on both sides by bullets, what can one do but fall?

"In the name of the Soviet Union!" yelled an officer wielding a submachine gun, pointed towards the retreating soldiers. "Not a step back or we shoot!"

"No retreat!" reiterated the burly officer. "Not one step backwards!"

"No mercy for cowards!"

"FIRE!"

Soon the officers and the machine gun opened up with their own rain of lead, ripping the retreating soldiers to shreds. Betrayed by their own leaders, the soldiers had no other choice but to keep running and hope not to die. Sadly, for many of them that hope would not be fulfilled. Tanya watched in horror as she saw Russian kill Russian in cold blood, and leaving the Germans in possession of the ground. It was a battle that could have been won easily, but victory was sacrificed for something much less. She turned away and ran as far away from the scene of carnage and searched for her way home.

She would encounter another group of Red Army soldiers rushing to the same position, and from the sound of battle in the 20 minutes that passed, the battle seemed to be of a more favorable outcome than previous. But even with the light of that retrospective victory, the horrifying spectacle was now burned into her eyes, the episode would remain in her memories for the remainder of the siege, and would not leave even after Peter had found her at last.

This was the story that struck at Peter the most, never before knowing that the soldiers of her own country were capable of or willing to perform such brutality. They at least took comfort in the fact that now they would never have to bear witness to such cruelty again, or at least that was what they hoped.

Despite that, coming home did not have its array of excitement each week other than chatting with her about stories of home and comfort in her safety, but she was growing increasingly tired of Peter's overprotection to the point of not letting her even go outside. Peter always said that he feared agents may have followed them home, but she was not as paranoid as he.

That day she awoke to find she was the only one awake in the house; Peter was fast asleep and his brother had gone off again to work at the shipyards, so she was more or less on her own. The house was silent and the window shades were down as if to ward off potential unwanted visitors. She found Peter asleep on the sofa wrapped in his blanket. He looked so peaceful and childlike when he was asleep that just the sight of him made her giggle in amusement. He stirred, and quietly groaned as he adjusted his position. She smiled and knelt down next to him, running her fingers through his unkempt ash blonde hair, to which he chuckled softly in contentment. She closed her actions with a gentle kiss on his forehead, as a mother would give to her child upon tucking in.

She looked on with fondness to the boy closest to her heart as she slipped out of the house with no notice from him.

"Sleep well...my darling."

What struck her about the outside was that the sky was covered in clouds and she could feel a slight patter of rain falling from the sky, snow's less dangerous cousin. She always thought his home town would be a sunny and cheerful place, but it seemed to give as much gloom and darkness as the home she had just left. No matter, she thought. Perhaps his town will be of cheerful nature...

She strolled into town keeping an eye on her home so she knew which way to go back. It was akin to a dog venturing for the first time out of its doghouse and exploring the world around it, so getting lost easily was a dangerous prospect that was omnipresent in her mind. That did not sway her, however, as she contently and happily walked along the sidewalks, almost skipping like a merry schoolgirl in love for the first time. The thing that immediately struck her about the town was how empty it seemed, the streets being deserted except for a few cars that quietly drove by her, and only scattered lone individuals traversed sidewalks. She passed by shop windows displaying quiet merchandise...

A record store with a phonograph for sale.

A toy shop with a wooden train strung together with thin twine.

A furniture store with a new cloth armchair complete with a matching ottoman.

One thing that made her turn bright red was the lingerie shop, seeing all unmentionables and special things used by the fairer sex to charm and to tease on display in a window. In her lifetime spent in Stalingrad, she never thought that such a place existed. Peter must have passed by this shop many times, she mused, giggling at the thought of seeing an embarrassed Peter turn crimson from each passing.

"Is it so strange?" said someone from nearby her.

Tanya jumped in surprise and turned to her left to find a fiery red-haired girl with eyes of lapis lazuli. She seemed to be the kind of soul found running through the open steppes of Russia, picking flowers and blowing dandelions, but the strange eyes betrayed a hot-blooded spirit dwelling within her. She wore a long white dress with two thick orange stripes near the hemline with red high-heeled shoes. In her hair she had two gold banana style hairclips keeping the long seemingly infinite strands out of her face.

Tanya was of course nervous. She had learned some English from Peter and it was enough to get her by, but it had not been until now when she had the need to use it. She hesitated and slowly formed a basic sentence.

"Err...is what?"

"The lingerie shop," said the girl laughing, pointing to the shop that seemed intent on making her hide in shame.

"Mozhet byt," she said, forgetting the correct English word for the situation.

The girl tilted her head in confusion, never hearing her language spoken before.

"Are you Russian?"

"Da...er, yes."

The girl smiled, appearing contrite.

"We have a lot of Russian immigrants around here, but I never met one before. Where are you from?"

"Stalingrad."

The girl's eyes widened at the mention of that martyred city's name.

"You mean...THE Stalingrad?"

"I don't know of any other Stalingrad."

The girl chuckled, but instantly corrected herself for fear of offending her.

"I don't suppose you know of Peter Daniels, do you?"

Tanya's eyes widened upon hearing his name. Peter always gave the impression that he wasn't much of a standout in his town and a rather ordinary citizen rather than the extraordinary hero so many others made him out to be.

"Petroshka? You know him?"

"We go to school together. There isn't a single person in this town who hasn't heard of that boy, especially after he came back from Stalingrad. Did you know him?"

"He...he my friend."

The girl narrowed her eyes and smiled slyly.

"Ooh, so he came back to rescue his lover, huh? I didn't think Peter could be so romantic."

Tanya blushed in embarrassment and tried to disprove her notion.

"N-Nyet! W-we're not like that!"

She looked away, wondering whether that was true or not. So many thoughts came to mind when Peter's name was mentioned, and she longed for him for those four years, so it was not unfair to say there was not some semblance of attachment between them.

"...at least not yet."

The girl looked into the windows of the lingerie shop and a light bulb seemed to turn on in her head as she grinned wide and turned to Tanya again.

"I know the perfect way to change that..."

Tanya's eyes seem to brighten at the prospect of becoming closer to Peter than she already was. If this girl had a good idea for such an endeavor she was willing to try it.

"What is it?"

"Come with me."

She took her by the hand and led her into the lingerie shop, despite her protests. The girl however was strong in her grip, and all attempts to break free were in vain.

"N-nyet! This is not what I-!"

"Trust me, girl, this is what a man likes!"

She refused to open her eyes lest she die from embarrassment, but she felt herself pushed into a room. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a dressing room, facing a mirror with the red-haired girl by her side. In her reflection, the thing that struck her was that she still wore her old clothes from Russia: a long baby blue dress with frilled sleeves, a patched bodice and torn hemline, remnants from the siege that her former home was still in. Over her fragile shoulders hung a cream colored shawl, also tattered around the edges. She could not deny she was in desperate need of some new clothes. Even if this was not the place she would have gone first, it was better than not going anywhere.

The girl was grinning from ear to ear, her light hands on Tanya's delicate shoulders, her lapis lazuli eyes bright with anticipation. She seemed like this was something normal that she did with her friends or significant others many a day. Tanya was still nervous, and understandably so.

"Listen, I don't even know who you are!" Tanya spluttered, her face turning red. "Shouldn't we introduce ourselves first?"

"Sure," the girl said, still bearing a wide grin. "My name's Peggy Doolittle. What's yours?"

"Tatiana Petrovna Koslova. Everyone calls me Tanya."

"Listen, Tanya, you have to trust me on this," said Peggy, her eyes shining deviously, "Guys love it when girls wear something sexy."

Tanya's face was now a vibrant bright red.

"Sexy? A-are you sure, Peggy?"

"Sure, I'm sure! I do it for my boyfriend all the time!"

Tanya felt an irrepressible urge to leave and return home, and maybe ask Peter what on earth all of this meant. However she looked at herself again in the mirror, and felt the questions she kept asking repeating in her head. How long? How long before she could actually be honest with him? How long before she could come out and say everything she felt in her heart right now?

In the mirror an innocent looking girl wearing rags stared back at her. Her old clothes didn't hide her gentle feminine grace, but at the same time she felt lowered by them. Perhaps what Peggy was saying had some validity to it; if she wanted to finally be honest with Peter and tell him what she felt, perhaps the first step was to get Peter's attention with a new look. This isn't exactly where she had intended to start, but it was better than no start at all.

She quickly took off her shawl and untied the ribbon around the waist of her dress, watching as her two petticoats fell from under her and around her feet. Finally she slowly pulled her old dress over her head and let it hit the floor, leaving her in only her underclothes which were archaic compared to what she was surrounded with: a simple bleached camisole and short bloomers. Now she couldn't deny it; she needed a new image for herself. Peggy concurred.

"Yeah, definitely outdated. You need a new look, Tanya."

"I suppose I do," Tanya said with a chuckle. "I never could get anything new when the Germans attacked. I lived off the same old clothes until Peter came."

"Oh you poor dear! Please tell me that you are joking!"

"I only wish I was."

"Well me and you are going to work on that right now, okay? By the time we're done, Peter isn't going to recognize you."

She giggled through a wide smile that definitely showed Tanya that she could be trusted.

"And that I can promise."

"Thank you, Peggy."

She looked to a chair upon which sat a stack of undergarments for which the term risqué was being generous. Her throat dried from the feeling of embarrassment again, but Peggy's promise to her was enough to pick out the top one and quickly examine it.

It was baby blue, the color of her dress, with embroidered lace and a frilly waistband. On the center was a small bow tied with a white ribbon.

"That one there," Peggy said smirking at the embarrassed Tanya, "Is saying, 'I may be cute and innocent on the outside but I'm naughty on the inside.'"

Tanya chuckled, wondering what Peter's reaction to it would be if something ever happened that he got a chance viewing. Peter was very shy and reserved from such matters, so it made her giggle in amusement.

"Peter would probably faint if he saw these."

"That's the point!" she said boisterously. "It'll be good for him to live and learn a bit instead of being reclusive all the time."

Tanya laughed, knowing that fact about Peter all too well. She remembered the time when she dared him to kiss her back in the tree house that late summer day, which succeeded in earning a heated blush from his countenance.

"It's true. He was very shy and quiet when I first met him. Like he was afraid of the city he was in. The last he came, it seemed like he grew up. Is he like that here at home too?"

"Well, it's hard to tell with him unfortunately," she sighed sitting down on a chair next to the changing rooms. "Each day is different and new when it comes to learning how he is. We still don't know how he is on the inside as he doesn't open up to people very well."

Tanya sighed with thought as she tried on the underwear, knowing that distinctive aloofness that made Peter a hard character to reach, but she knew him to be the sweet and caring soul underneath the silent and distant exterior.

"I know he's kind and caring underneath all of that, but it's quite hard to talk to him on some days," she said as she pulled up the garment by the waistband. "I get the feeling he's deeply troubled by something."

"Yes, but he doesn't tell any of us what it is. I guess that's why we find him hiding in the library or at home most of the time. He doesn't go out usually unless needed. We can get him to come out with us as a group on certain occasions but that's usually as far as things progress."

Tanya was stunned by this, as during his first visit in Stalingrad, he was never afraid to journey out with her, her family or their friends upon invitation, but when none had anything in mind to do, Peter always kept to himself or, more often, turned to her for company. She fondly reminisced about those happier days as she slid the underwear over her nether regions and examined herself in the mirror. She chuckled, finding it a perfect fit and charming on her.

"He was like that sometimes when I first met him, but he was still eager to play with all of us and journey out. Doesn't he have friends here, too, though? I'd hate to think I'm the only one supporting him here."

"He does," she responded looking up and into Tanya's worried expressions. "But something in him snapped one day and he turned into the person he is now. I know you say you have known him since you were both children, but would you know anything about this?"

Tanya searched through her memories and the day when he had to leave with his father stood out to her. He seemed saddened, more so than anyone would be upon bidding newfound friends goodbye. He talked to her for what felt like an eternity before finally bidding her goodbye and promising he would return one day, but despite his promises and admissions of cherishing the time they spent, something weighed on him as if a piece of his very own heart was taken away from him. She could tell in how he slinked up the steps to his passenger car and waved farewell to all of them, standing on the station platform.

"I think when he had to leave us," Tanya remembered. "Something was weighing him down terribly that day. Perhaps he felt he wasn't going to see me or any of us again. He was very depressed and quiet the whole day. He talked to me for what seemed like hours before he finally moved onto the train and bid us all goodbye."

"So do you perhaps think it was because he believed he had lost your friendship?"

Tanya shook her head.

"He had our friendship from the day he entered our city. I think...nyet, I know it was something with me. He looked as if he had left a part of himself with me, standing there at the train station. I want to believe he felt he lost...he lost..."

Suddenly she felt tears well up in her eyes. She laughed as she wiped away her tears, thinking to herself how silly it was that she was crying when she knew she should be happy, happy and with her Peter at last after four long years.

"Oh, look at me. Here I am, crying when I should be laughing! Crying as if I lost him when I just got him back!"

"He lost a piece of himself within you," Peggy said smiling at her. "The day he left a part of him remained with you. You, my dear Russkie friend, had someone who loved you but was a bit too young to understand that yet."

Tanya looked to her, and knew she was right. And she left a piece of herself with him as he left them all that day. He didn't come back for four years, and that loneliness both of them felt was from loss of a soul mate, a true friend...no, far more than that now. The loss of her first love...her only love.

"I know. And I know now that he's back and with me, he can heal. It will be a long time before he's his old self, but he will overcome it. I know because I'm the only one who can heal him now."

"And I can already tell you why that is Tanya," Peggy said assuredly. "It's as easy as reading a book."

Tanya nodded, and she saw one last obstacle for them both: finally being honest. They had gone through so much in the past month, but that one last enemy in the long campaign that was their relationship remained to be vanquished before achieving lasting and sweet victory.

"All I wish now is the day to come for him to finally say what I've been hoping for him to say for so long," she said longingly as she examined herself from behind in the mirror.

"I see you have already figured your feelings out. I do have to say I'm impressed. Now if you can just get him to open up to that he'll be a whole new person."

"I figured out my feelings for him a long time ago, Peggy. All that remains is just him to figure it out as well."

She ran her hand up her backside seeing how the underwear showed off her assets with flirtatious and seductive intent. She giggled, wondering if Peter ever thought of her as such, not as a friend...but as a woman, with a blossoming figure for a 15-year-old. Peggy laughed, seeing her enthusiasm taking hold now.

"If you think that set looks good, wait until you see the other sets I've chosen for you. I do believe he'll be quite impressed if he ever gets a peek at them, if not totally embarrassed."

Tanya chuckled playfully, fancying how Peter would react if she came home with her new garments.

"Knowing him," she said as she examined the next pair, "He'll be the latter, if not passed out on the floor!"

"Just the reaction we want to see! So let's get busy okay?" she responded giggling. "And no more of this frumpy old stuff for you, understand?"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Tanya said with a wide smile. "Besides, I was in need of something new anyway."

"Yes I can see that. I guess it's a good thing we ran into each other today. Otherwise this would not have happened."

Tanya smiled at her new friend, seeing that she could easily trust her; she listened to her pour her soul out and confiding her thoughts about the one boy closest to her heart. She had not spoken one ill word since they made contact, and it was proof enough she was a kindhearted soul.

They spent what seemed like a day and a half in the shop, trying on and examining different garments that would serve to entice and lure Tanya's closest friend out from the seemingly impenetrable fortress he had built around keeping all the world out. In the times they spent comparing clothes and trading tips, Tanya made a friend of Peggy Doolittle, a small step in adjusting to life in America.

She could see in her a empathetic character like Peter with a fiery passion and unstoppable ambition and drive, as well as a kindred spirit and confidant to whom she can turn to for advice in this new and strange land.

They left the shop, and bid goodbye to each other, with Peggy wishing her the best between her and Peter. In Peggy's own words,

"Knock him dead, Tanya!"

She returned home with a bag of unmentionables clutched in her hand, all with the purpose of seducing, teasing, enticing, alluring the boy who resided in the little bungalow on the hill that was her new home. She had a small sensation of fear, however, of what Peter might say or do when he found out she had gone outside without permission. But Peggy had advised her about what to do if such a thing were to occur:

"Don't let him walk over you, Tanya. You might love him, but you have to set some boundaries with him as well. And if that doesn't work, just do that move I told you to do; it'll knock him out totally."

She walked up the steps and came to the door, pressing her ear against the wood in the hope that she would hear him sleeping.

All she heard was silence. It was good enough for her.

She carefully and deliberately turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open, determined to make as little noise as possible. She stepped into the house, hoping to see Peter still fast asleep on the sofa, unmoved and unchanged from when she left the house earlier this day.

She was to be disappointed, however.

There in the easy chair in the corner of the living room, with his legs crossed, fully dressed and ready to go out, sat Peter Ivanovich Daniels, looking obviously displeased. The signs of his irritation were evident: his sock-encased foot was tapping with displeasure on the carpet, his arms spread across the arms of the chair as a member of royalty's delicate hands spread across the arms of his throne, and the grimace found in a father disappointed with his offspring.

"H-Hello, Petroshka," Tanya greeted, smiling nervously, knowing she was caught. "So you finally got up."

"And just where have you been this whole day?" he returned, his piercing green eyes unflinching.

Tanya remembered Peggy's words; she needed to be firm, and set down the fact that she was not a child.

"Just out," she said nonchalantly.

"Out where?"

"In town. I wanted to see what it looked like."

"By yourself?" he asked, still not satisfied.

Tanya frowned slightly.

"Peter, I can manage outside just perfectly."

"You could have gotten lost!" he protested, obviously not backing down easily. "And God only knows what awful people you could have run into while out by yourself. What if a Soviet agent had found you?"

"Don't you think you're being a bit silly, Petroshka? There are no agents here; we lost them when we left Vladivostok. We're safe now."

"How do you know that?" Peter pressed, his overprotection of her fast growing exhausting. "For all we know there might have been one on the ship, following us and watching us this whole time."

"You're being ridiculous, Peter!" Tanya responded, the fire in her growing stronger. "I didn't even meet anyone like that in town today."

"Who did you meet?" Peter inquired, obviously intrigued.

"A girl named Peggy Doolittle. She told me you know her."

Peter sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, troubled.

"She's right; I do. I know her and her boyfriend."

"Well, she's not a distrustful person."

"No she isn't," he relented. "She's a very nice girl."

"Yes she is, and you shouldn't be so quick to judge."

"I just fear for you Tanya," Peter said, trying to reason with her and make her understand. "I would hate for someone to find you again and take you back."

"Well that won't happen, Peter. That's all over now. And I'm not a child anymore; I should be able to go outside if I want to see what your home is like."

Peter laid his head back, sighing. Of course she wasn't a child; she was a young woman ready to blossom now, but at the same time a delicate fragile flower. And now that she was here, she had to do what she could to fit into the new home, and meeting a friend from school and exploring the town was a good place to start. In that moment, he quickly found his tinge of hypocrisy. He brought her here to bring her out of suffering and take her away from the cruelty of the world, but now, blinded by his need to protect, he was making her suffer.

"Very well. You can go out, but please tell me first?"

"Of course, Peter."

"So what did you do with Peggy?"

"She took me shopping for some new...clothes," she said, adding some emphasis to the last word, indicating to Peter it wasn't just any kind of clothes she bought with her.

Peter raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of clothes?"

Tanya smirked, with a glint in her grey eyes that Peter had never seen before. There was an opportunity to be had, here, and she was not intent on wasting it.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know..."

"Yes, I would," Peter said matter-of-factly. "I'm curious."

Tanya cheered inside her head, seeing an opportunity for something Peggy taught her to do in the last few hours. She brought one of the shopping bags to her chest and started to rummage through it, searching for something to aid her in her purpose.

"I'm actually glad you asked," Tanya said, "because I wanted to get your opinion on some of these..."

"Sure, Tanya," Peter answered with a friendly smile. "I'd be happy to help."

"Good..."

She found what she was looking for in her bag and fished it out. Needless to say, it was not what Peter was expecting to see...and it was not something he was looking to give an opinion on.

She held in her hands one of the piece of lingerie that she bought with Peggy: a pair of underwear, blue and seductive. It was embroidered with lace and trimmed with frills along the waistband, topped with a white bow on the front. It managed to combine innocence and sexuality perfectly...and it was not something Peter was used to seeing.

He immediately averted his eyes as he felt blood rushing to his face. Tanya pushed her lingerie forward, trying to get his attention.

"I want to know what you think of these. Peggy said all the girls in town are wearing things like this now, but I feel like it's too showy. What do you think?"

"T...t...Tanya, what are you doing!?"

"Hmm?" she asked, appearing confused. "I'm just showing you one of the things I bought. You said you'd help me, right?"

"Yeah, but...I didn't think you'd buy...those kinds of clothes..."

"Peggy said that...boys like it when girls wear these..."

Tanya blushed slightly at that statement, as she was still uncertain if any of what Peggy said would actually help her or just push Peter further away. Peter closed his eyes and sighed, his cheeks still bright red.

"I obviously have a lot to say to Peggy next time I see her, then."

"About what?"

"Never you mind..."

"Why are you acting like this, Peter? All I'm asking for is some advice on this..."

Peter opened his eyes, and immediately wished he didn't. She still was holding onto the underwear she so desperately wanted him to comment on.

"Tanya, it's not really normal for a girl to be asking a boy about...those. That's more something girls talk about amongst themselves..."

"Really?" Tanya said in surprise at this new revelation. "Peggy didn't tell me that..."

"I get the sense Peggy didn't tell you a lot of things, and perhaps with some deliberate intention."

"What do you mean by that, Peter? Peggy doesn't seem like that kind of person at all."

Peter cleared his throat and pushed her hands down gently, so the lingerie was out of his view.

"That's not what concerns me. What I find more odd is that you chose clothes like these to buy with her, and not something else. And besides which..."

He gently took her hands in his, trying with all of his might to not gaze at her newly bought undergarments.

"...I doubt seriously that all the girls dress like how Peggy says they do. Peggy just happens to have...extravagant taste."

"What would you have me buy instead?" Tanya asked with just a trace of a smirk on her lips.

"I wouldn't have you buy anything, Tanyusha. I like you the way you are. You don't have to change anything about yourself to please me. It wouldn't be you, then."

Tanya was, naturally, deflated by that comment of his. Yet at the same time, it was exactly who he was in those years past. Reserved, conservative, and a stickler for consistency. In the same way he traveled across the Pacific and back in an attempt to have things the way they were, so too did he desire to have Tanya as she was. Tanya was not such a person to have things stay the same between them, as she made it clear on the ship back home. Thus, she made it clear now.

"Aren't you a stick in the mud?" Tanya giggled, stuffing her underwear back into her bag. "You know, you actually gave me just what I was looking for."

"Nu shto ty?" he asked in her native tongue, obliviously perplexed.

Tanya tapped him on the nose with her delicate finger.

"It'd be a very boring existence if us girls never changed how we looked from time to time, my dear Petroshka. Sometimes, it's necessary for us to have nice things like that...so we can get a surprise on a boy."

Peter blushed and realized just how close she was to him, her face a hair's breadth away. The only thing he could see was her cindering grey eyes, sparking with a fire he had seen in their youths. It was a glint in the eyes that meant mischief, that called to adventure, and always heralded trouble for the both of them. It was intimidating and yet inviting, as it was something he had missed in her all these years.

"Is there a boy who you have in mind for all of this?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"I'm not giving myself away just yet. But you'll know...in time."

With another laugh she skipped off to the bedroom and went to the business of filing away her new garments, reveling in this small victory in a campaign of the heart.