Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 2018

Time× 6:52 am

"You're late." Is the first thing Viktor heard once he walked through the gym's locker room. Sofia stood up against his locker, with her arms crossed. She looked at him closely, as he slowly walked towards her.

"I know," Viktor said, annoyance laced in his tone. "You're in my way."

Sofia moved to the side, somewhat thrown off about how angry he sounded. And even though she could tell he wasn't his normal self, she still wanted to push him... only to see how far he'd go... anger wise. "Showing up late to practice is unacceptable Viktor. Especially when you're this far into the season."

Viktor ignored what she said, and opened up his locker. He could care less about practice. The only thing that was on his mind right now was Natalie.

She was all that mattered and if she'd pick up her phone when he called, it would've made him feel good to know that she was safe.

"Look Viktor, I don't wanna overstep. But if your girlfriend is the reason why you're late to practice, then that's a red flag to a toxic relationship. I get it. You think you're in love and as your girlfriend, she is your top priority. But you gotta see that she's holding you back. Especially if she's letting you come into practice this late. It's very selfish and inconsiderate of her if you ask me."

Viktor got what he needed from his locker and slammed it shut, causing Sofia to jump back. He glared at her, pointing his pointer finger in her direction. "I didn't fucking ask you!" He snapped. "And you're right, you did overstep. Stay out my relationship and keep your opinion to yourself, it isn't that fucking hard to do so. If I hear you ever speak badly about Nat again or even mention her name in a fucking sentence, I'll make sure to ruin your fucking career! Do your job and coach me. That's it! That's your only priority!"

Sofia gaped at him, her eyes wide and her body slightly turned on. She liked how commanding he sounded and even made a mental note, to try getting under his skin as often as she could. She also liked how, even though he was mad at her, he didn't call her out her name. "I'm sorry." She uttered, trying to sound innocent but Viktor saw right through her shit.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are." He scoffed.

"Viktor!" Ivan shouted, coming into the locker room. The sound of his voice made Viktor want to punch a hole in the wall. "Is this shit fucking true?!" He asked, storming up to him.

Viktor sighed at the phone that was pushed against his line of vision. He didn't even have to look at the phone to know what this was about. "Would you please calm down, Ivan. I can explain."

Sofia's eyebrows knitted together, as she took the phone away from Ivan to see what all the fuss was about. Her eyes nearly budged out of their socket as she read the news article. "Qué carajo?" (What the fuck?) She cursed in Spanish. "She's pregnant?!" She screeched.

Ivar didn't even acknowledge her presence, his eyes stayed trained on his son. "Is it true?!" He asked again, this time more calmly.

This caused Viktor to frown. For the first time in a very long time, his dad displayed an emotion that wasn't exactly anger or disappointment... it was worry. "She's not pregnant." Said Viktor, and both Ivan and Sofia let out a breath in relief. "Nat wasn't feeling well during our run, so I carried her the rest of the way. That's it, that's all that is. She isn't pregnant."

"Thank goodness," Sofia mumbled, under her breath.

Ivan continued to look at his son, his worry demeanor slowly disappearing. "Okay." He responded, nodding his head and scratching the back of his head. Ivan backed up a little. Viktor was confused by his dad's reaction. With a thing like this, he was expecting Ivan to yell at him, call him stupid, throw something at him... call Natalie out her name. But it was the complete opposite... it was almost as though he was stuck. "Go start practice... since you were late, Sofia will give you your punishment." And with that, Ivan walked away.

"What the fuck was that?" Viktor asked himself, his face frowning hard as his dad walked out of the locker room.

He didn't understand what the hell just happened.

Sofia shrugged. "Who knows. Your father is a weird guy." Her hands found themselves on Viktor's chin as she invaded his personal face.

Viktor quickly pushed her back, causing her to slam up against one of the lockers. "What the hell is your problem?! You don't just come up to someone like that! And you sure as hell don't touch anyone, without their permission."

"You had something on your face, I was trying to get it off." Sofia lied, as she glared at him. "You need to calm down."

"No, you need to back off!"

"You know what, whatever. Since you showed up late today, you can leave late today. And I'm talking about an hour after the gym closes. And while we're at it, I'm doubling your sets." She said, before storming out of the room.

Viktor watched as she left before he sighed heavily, and leaned against the locker, running a hand through his hair. Today was starting to become a shitty day for him... he hated shitty days... It made him feel shitty. His dad was acting strange, Sofia was being creepy, and to top it off Natalie was mad at him.

He could take anyone being mad at him, but sure as hell, not Natalie.

She was his girl... his heart.

It hurt him when she was mad at him.

Pulling his phone out from his pocket, he clicked on Nat's location, only to see the bold words, "LOCATION UNKNOWN," appear. "Leave it to her, to turn off her phone while she's in a city, she barely knows," Viktor muttered, shaking his head. He decided to text her, hoping that whenever she was ready to turn on her phone again, she'd actually read it.

MESSAGE TO:  NaTtY The NuTeLlA

-I know you're mad at me right now, but can you please just let me know if you're alright. I miss you and I'm worried sick. We've got to talk about this morning... and figure this whole thing out. Whenever you're ready of course. Also, I'll be home late tonight, because I was late to practice this morning. I'll be waiting to hear from you. Love you, be safe.

Delivered

Viktor slipped his phone back into his pocket, before making his way out of the locker room to start his daily workout routine. Thoughts of Natalie invaded his mind, which fueled him to work harder.

__________

Natalie sat at the park bench, watching as the kids who were there, chased each other around as they giggled. Her left leg bounced up and down as she sniffled a little, trying her best not to cry.

There were several emotions coursing through her body right now, and the one that wanted to latch out most was anger. She was angry at Viktor and didn't understand why he would keep something like this from her, especially something this important.

"How could he." She mumbled, under her breath.

For as long as she could remember, she'd always wanted kids. She loved them and always wanted a family, outside of her and her father. She was good with children and that was a fact. When she'd babysit them back in Russia, she'd only receive good reviews from the parents. They would always rave to her about how much of a lifesaver she was.

Children loved her and she loved them. They were the reason why she wanted to be an actress so bad. So she could inspire little boys and girls that looked just like her, to be their best...

Having kids, kinda felt like it was her destiny. She knew it sounded crazy, but that's just what she thought. She wanted to prove to the universe that she could have kids... that she could in fact be a mother.

She sniffled again, this time not able to control the tear that slid down her cheek. Her eyes shut as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She picked up her phone from her lap, before turning it on. Once the iPhone cut on, she typed in her password and called her father.

The phone rang four times before her father picked up. "I've been calling you like crazy, Natalie!" Is the first thing he said. "Viktor called here over an hour ago, asking if I heard from you. You had me worried sick, I thought something bad happened to you!"

"Dad... I'm okay."

Her father scoffed. "Really? You might want to relay that to your boyfriend. Because if anyone calls my line again, in the middle of the night, I'm gonna g—"

"Dad." She said, lowly, which caused his rant to stop.

At that moment, he realized something was wrong. "What happened?" He asked worriedly.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. "Viktor doesn't want kids." She uttered, as she began to cry.

"Hold on now, calm down. How do you know he doesn't want any kids, is that what he told you?"

"Yeah, and I was too stupid to see it."

Her father sighed. "You're not stupid Natalie, don't call yourself that. Calm down for a moment and talk me through how the conversation went." Natalie took in a deep breath and explained to her father everything. "You know, your mother and I went through the same thing. She got pregnant unexpectedly, which was around the same time she was at the height of her career."

Natalie frowned. "She didn't want me?"

"Not at first, no." He confessed. "You know back in those days, a woman running a business was pretty nonexistent, especially a black woman at that. And having a baby while she was at the top, would surely mess that up. When she told me she didn't want any children, I was devastated at first. Truthfully, I felt offended. But when she sat down and explained it to me, I got to see it from her point of view. And then I was left with a decision. Did I want to be with someone that didn't want what I wanted?" He explained. "The answer was obviously, yes. Because as crazy as it sounds, I loved your mom and if she didn't want any children, it was fine by me because I was willing to sacrifice everything to be with her. And with me staying with her, it eventually worked out. Because before she got sick she changed her mind and you were born."

"So I'm supposed to wait it out? And what if he doesn't change his mind?"

"Then you live with it... because that's what people do when they really love one another. They make crazy sacrifices." Her father explained. "Do you love Viktor?"

She scoffed, tears sliding down her face. "Of course I do dad, I love the tall bastard more than I love myself."

"I know that Natalie, but do you love him enough to give up the thing you want most in life?"

Natalie paused. "I — I don't know dad." She answered him, her tears clouded her vision.

"I think you do know." He told her. "You've already made up your mind about the matter, you've just got to speak with Viktor about it. Because that's what you do when you're in a relationship baby girl, you talk things through. Not run away from one another."

"Я понимаю, папа." (I understand, dad.)

"Правда, Натали?" (Do you really, Natalie?)

"I do." She whispered.

The two of them spoke on the phone, for a couple of more minutes before Natalie let him go, so he could finally get some sleep.

Natalie wiped at her eyes and stood up, slowly walking away from the park. Her head hung low as she walked, her eyes glued on her phone as she read the message she got from Viktor almost two hours ago.

MESSAGE From: ViCsTeR The ViCkSrUb

-I know you're mad at me right now, but can you please just let me know if you're alright. I miss you and I'm worried sick. We've got to talk about this morning... and figure this whole thing out. Whenever you're ready of course. Also, I'll be home late tonight, because I was late to practice this morning. I'll be waiting to hear from you. Love you, be safe.

Delivered

She bit her lips, trying to figure out the best way to respond back to him.

MESSAGE To: ViCsTeR The ViCkSrUb

-I'm safe. We'll talk later on then when you get home... Love you too.

Sent

Putting her phone up, she watched her surroundings as she crossed the road. Her stomach grumbled, signaling that it was time to eat, but she didn't feel like eating for some odd reason. The feeling of hunger was there, but the thought of actually putting food in her mouth just didn't sit right with her.

Little by little, her body felt like it was rejecting her.

"I'm fine." She whispered to herself, as she continued to walk through the crowds of people.

The city was starting to grow on her. The people here didn't seem so nosey and the weather was decent. Sure, there was more traffic than she was used to, but besides that, it was a pretty cool place to live.

Ever since this morning, she's been wondering how much longer she could walk down the street without someone noticing her, or snapping a picture. She knew that dating someone famous wasn't easy, fame had a way of corrupting people and she hoped that it wouldn't corrupt either Viktor or her.

Natalie caught sight of a target and decided to stop inside to get herself a bottle of water. She couldn't live without water, it was one of her favorite things in the world and it sure as hell tasted a lot better than juice. On her way inside the store, she saw a group of black teenage boys outside trying to sell some candy for their football team.

She smiled at the scene, as she walked inside the store.

Goosebumps formed on her arms as she moved around, searching for the small refrigerators that contained single cans of drinks.

Once she found one, she pulled out two bottles of water and walked over to the self-checkout area. She had to wait in line for a little bit, but as soon as it was her turn, she walked over to the machine and swiped her drinks. Looking down at the total, she bent down and fished out fifty dollars from the inside of her Adidas sneakers.

She got the habit of putting money in her shoes from her dad. The money was there, just in case they forgot their wallets. They'd place money in their shoes, hats, jackets and basically forget about it until they needed it. The money would always be a fifty dollar bill or a hundred dollar bill... nothing more and nothing less.

Natalie paid for her stuff, before allowing the store Clerk to look at her receipt. Once she got the okay, she walked out of the store, going about her day.

"You can't sell candy here! You don't have a permit!"

"Ms, can you please just leave us alone. We aren't doing anything to anyone, we're just trying to get some cash to pay for our football equipment."

Natalie turned around at the sound of that. Her eyebrows knitted together, watching as some brown-haired white woman kept bothering the boys she saw, selling candy earlier.

"You guys are illegally selling candy without a permit!" She yelled, getting in the face of one of the teenage boys.

Natalie frowned, as people came out of the store and did nothing but watch and walk away. "What is wrong with the people in this country?" She asked herself, shaking her head.

"Lady get out my face!"

"No! All you people do is break the law, without a care in the world. You can't sell candy here!"

Natalie pursed her lips together, officially over the whole situation. Her foot marched right up to the group of boys and she glared hard at the white woman as she crossed her arms together. The plastic store bag dangled in her right hand. "First off lady, you are an adult. Act like it and remove yourself from this child's face. Second, last time I checked no one needed a permit to sell candy in America. These kids aren't breaking any laws, they're just trying to make money. What's the big problem?!"

"They need a permit!" She screamed, getting into Natalie's personal bubble.

Natalie stood her ground and put her hand in the white woman's face. "Lady, I'm not the one. Back up, or I'll make you back up." When she saw that Natalie was being serious, she slowly backed away. "You are not the manager here, you don't own this place, nor do you own this sidewalk. You have no right to tell these kids, where they can sell candy at. Get over yourself and walk away."

The woman glared at her. "Fuck you!" The woman sneered. "Go back to where you came from!"

The people that stopped to watch the scene unfold, gasp.

Natalie didn't say anything for a moment. It wasn't because she was shocked... she was used to all these racist white folks saying this line. She paused because she was trying to keep her composure. No racist was ever gonna make her lose her cool again. "Okay, I'll go back... but not before you travel back to whatever European Country you came from."

"How dare you?!"

"No, how dare you." One of the boys piped up. "Get out of here now, while you still have the chance to recover from all of this."

The woman took her defeat and walked away, her glare still plastered on her face with each step she took. "You guys okay?" Natalie asked, turning to look at the teenage boys.

"Yeah, we're good." The tallest boy said, fixing the candy back in its box. He had the same skin complexion as Natalie and a nice pair of chocolate brown eyes. "Thank you for intervening. I think she would've called the cops on us if you didn't."

"I'm glad I could help." She said, looking at them all. There were seven boys all together.

"White people always tripping." Another one said, helping the tallboy fixed the candy. "They always wanna start shit and then play the victim when shit gets heated. That shit is so annoying. They asses get on my nerves. Like bro, it's 2018 why are you still racist? And then they claim that racism isn't a thing... while continuing to be racist. That shit is just backward."

"Ouu imma tell momma you cursing, Efrem." His little brother said, teasing him.

"Shut up, Justus. I'm annoyed right now. That racist bitch had the nerve to get up in my face. Her spit fucking touched me!"

The tall boy stopped fixing the candy and placed a hand on Efrem's shoulder. "Don't let them get the best of you, Efrem. Calm down."

"You know what, Urick. I'm tired of hearing that bullshit. Don't let them get the best of you, don't backtalk, don't walk with your hoodie on, don't have your hands in your pocket, don't act smart, don't show them any fear, don't be outside when it's dark, don't play with your nerf gun, don't act suspicious." He raged. "What's next? Huh? Don't breathe?! Don't be black?!"

From the way he spoke, Natalie could tell that this situation really hurt him.

"If it was white kids out here trying to raise money for their football team, she would've brought all this shit! No question asked! I'm tired of waking up every damn day, thinking that being black is a crime! When it's not!"

"Efrem we are too, we feel you bruh." Urick stood up and embraced his teammate, in a hug. It didn't take long for the rest of the team to join in on the hug.

Natalie cleared her throat. "How much is the candy?"

Urick turned to look at her. "It's a dollar each."

Natalie nodded. "And how much money are you guys trying to raise?"

"Six-hundred dollars." They all said, together.

She clasped her hands together and reached into the plastic bag. "Okay, cool. I'd like to buy the remaining candy in the box and I'd also like to give you guys the rest of the money to help get your equipment."

"What?" They all ask, staring at her with wide eyes. "You for real?"

"I am."

"Oh my god! Yes!" Justus yelled, jumping up and down in excitement. "Y'all see that! International women putting in work! Imma get me an international chick!

Natalie chuckled, watching as the boys around her laughed among each other. Seeing them with smiles on their face, made her feel good.

"Wait, hold up, how do you plan on getting us the money? Because if it's sketchy, I'm telling you this right now. My momma will beat all our asses... including yours too lady."

Her smile widened. "I hear you loud and clear. Anyone here into boxing?"

_________

Night had fallen upon the city of Philadelphia about a couple of hours ago.

Viktor wiped the sweat off his face and closed his eyes, feeling his blood pumping through his body. He had been working out, nonstop today and it felt good. Was he tired? Of course, but being able to take out his pent up anger in a workout, felt like heaven to him. And being alone in the gym, made it ten times better.

He was used to being alone.

As the person in the Russian rap song rapped, Viktor's head bopped to the beat of the music. He muttered the words and bit his lip, trying to catch his breath.

In just about thirty minutes, he'd be able to go home and that worried him deeply. He didn't know what he'd walk into, once he was there.

Would Natalie be packing, getting ready to leave him?

Would she hate him?

Would they get into another argument?

His thoughts were endless, always creating a different scenario that ate at his mind.

"Good workout?" Sofia asked, from behind, making his skin crawl.

Viktor's eyes snapped open and he stared at her, mentally cursing her out. He didn't understand what was wrong with the woman, but he did know that she obviously needed help. She was starting to become an ich, that wouldn't stop scratching and it annoyed him a lot. He didn't like being annoyed.

"It was." He answered hesitantly, not really wanting to talk to her. "I thought you left?"

Sofia walked forward but kept her distance. Her hands stayed in her sweatpants as she rotated from her toes to the heel of her feet. "Nope. I was in the camera room making sure you didn't leave as soon as you were alone. But now that I see you stayed, I'm gonna head out."

"Cool..."

"Are you always this quiet?"

Viktor shrugged, lowering the music. "Depends on who I'm around." He answered. "When I'm around other people yes, but when I'm around my girlfriend, no. I'm never this quiet." He made sure to emphasize the word girlfriend.

Sofia clenched her fist from the inside of her pockets. She didn't get why Viktor was playing so hard to get. "You are one difficult man, Viktor Drago." She voiced. "But that's okay. Because men don't tend to realize what they have in front of them until it's gone."

"I'm honestly confused about what you're talking about Sofia."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "You need me, Drago. A woman that knows you, a woman that'll fight for you, a woman that knows how to love and appreciate you!" She snapped.

Viktor's eyes widened, taken back by what she was saying. It was clear that she was delusional.

"Well thank God I'm that woman." Viktor's head snapped towards the direction he heard Natalie's voice and his heart raced. He was scared as hell right now and it wasn't for himself, but for Sofia. Even though fighting wasn't Natalie's cup of tea... she could still fight... she could fight real good. "Could you imagine me not being in his life." She asked, walking through the walkway. "He'd probably end up with a skank of a woman that didn't know when to mind her business or better yet one that would try to steal someone else's man. And probably one that had a very big mouth and didn't know how to keep her legs closed." When Natalie was close to Viktor, she bent down from where he sat and placed a longing kiss on his lips. They stayed like that for a couple of more seconds before Natalie pulled away. She used her thumb to wipe off her lip gloss from the corner of Viktor's mouth. "Aren't you so glad to have me, my love?"

Viktor smiled at her, showing off his white teeth. She was the only one that could get him to smile like that. "Absolutely. There's no one else I could imagine to be my woman."

They smiled at each other, before looking back at an angered Sofia. "Thank you, Sofia, for pointing out my characteristics. That's so kind of you." Natalie looked down at her watch. "You should get going, it's dark outside and you wouldn't want anyone to get you confused with the prostitutes. That would be really embarrassing."

Sofia looked at them with a scowl on her face. "You should watch what you say, Natalie. I wouldn't want anything to happen to that mouth of yours."

Natalie tilted her head to the side, accepting Sofia's little threat. "I could say the same for you, Sofia Jade Lòpez." She threatened back.

One thing you could count on Natalie to do was her research.

Without another word, Sofia stormed out the gym, losing this round of the fight.

Natalie two, Sofia zero.

"She was so nice," Natalie said sarcastically.

Viktor laughed. "You don't say." He stood up and rolled his shoulders. "What are you doing here, I thought you were waiting for me at home?"

Natalie shrugged, kicking off her Nike slides. "I was, but then I got anxious and decided to meet you here." She took off her jacket, before setting it aside. She adjusted her wife beater and picked up some gloves she saw laying around.

As she put them on, Viktor watched her intently. He was confused as hell. "Nat, what are you doing?"

"Join me in the ring, Drago. We've got things we need to hash out." She said, getting into the ring. She rolled her shoulders back and then proceeded to stretch.

Viktor picked up his gloves, before striding towards the ring. "Did you smoke or something?"

Natalie chuckled at Viktor's expression. "Of course not Viktor, I'm just... high off life. Today was a good day, despite it having a bumpy start." Natalie jumped up and down, readying herself. When she was done, she walked up to Viktor and took her stance. "I was hurt when you told me you didn't want any kids." She threw a punch, but Viktor quickly dogged it. "But I think I'm more hurt about the fact that you prolonged telling me."

"I know and I'm completely sorry about that."

She threw another punch, this time getting him in the chest. "Don't apologize." She paused. "We're a couple. I tell you things, no matter how big or small and you're supposed to do the exact same thing. No, it's or buts about it Viktor!" She threw another punch, getting him in the arm. "Communication is key and without it, we're just two people sleeping with one another. I don't want to be two people, sleeping with one another."

Viktor blocked her next hit and continued to watch her nervously. "You're not breaking up with me are you?"

Natalie shook her head. "I was getting to that." She breathes. "I spoke with my father today and he basically told me that when two people are in a relationship together... they make sacrifices." She looked him in the eyes. "I want kids Viktor, I really do... but I also happen to really love you. And when I say love, I mean like, love, love you Viktor. And because my love for you is so strong... I'm willing to give up having children to spend the rest of my life with you."

Tears glazed over her eyes and it caused Viktor's heart to ache. Her crying has always been one of his weaknesses. "Nat——." He started off, but she cut him off.

"I know you hate when I cry, but these aren't sad tears. These tears... they're just pouring because I love you and I don't ever want to lose you."

He took off his gloves and walked over to her. "I love you too, Nat." He confessed, cupping the back of her neck. His thumbs grazed over her cheeks as he stared down at her. "Are you sure, this is really what you want? This is a huge thing that you're giving up and I don't want you to look down the road several years from now, regretting your choice or... regretting ever being with me. I don't want this decision to cause you, to resent me... I can't live with myself if you did."

"It's my choice, Vik." She whispered, looking into his eyes. "I won't resent you because of it."

"Really?" He asked, leaning his head down, his eyes trained on her lips.

"Really." She said, truthfully. Getting on her tippy toes, she placed her arms on his shoulders and kissed him. Their lips moved against one another, as a familiar spark is initiated between them. Viktor sucked on her lips like, like his life depended on it. His tongue traced across the bottom of Natalie's lip, making her moan.

Natalie opened her mouth a bit, allowing him to slip his wet tongue inside.

Her body felt like it was on fire as Viktor's lips trailed down to her neck and onto her chest. "No sex." She reminded him, softly.

"Mmh." He moaned, sucking on her collarbone. He didn't want to pull away, but eventually, he did. "You're so fucking beautiful." He muttered, resting his forehead on hers as their breathing relaxed. "The heavyweight championship tournament begins a week from now and if I win my first fight, I swear I'm all yours."

Natalie poked his bellybutton, she liked doing that. "You mean when you win that fight. You're all mine."

Viktor nodded. "Именно, детка." (Exactly, Baby.)

Natalie grinned at him, before slipping away from his grasp.  ("Тогда мы убедимся, что ты выиграешь этот бой, чтобы получить награду»." (We'll then, let's make sure you win that fight so you can get your reward.) She flirted, punching him lightly in the back.

Viktor turned around, playfully glaring at her. "Oh, that's what we're doing now? Okay, fine." Viktor started chasing Natalie around the ring and Natalie ran for her life, giggling while doing it.

They both spent the rest of their night, enjoying each other's company. Their laughter echoed throughout the entire gym as they practiced fighting with each other... well they at least tried too.

Their lips and hands kept getting in the way.

Black lives will forever matter!

Be safe out here guys❤️