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Anatoly had thought it had been terrible enough when Lex had left him before but it was absolutely nothing compared to what he was feeling now. At least before, Lex had done it because he had believed it was the best way he could protect him. Now, thanks to the island's inveterate sense of cruelty, Lex did not remember him or the life they had built together and so he had hurried away as soon as he could. As far as Anatoly was concerned in his eyes, he was just another one night stand.

There was the possibility that this amnesia was only temporary and Lex would soon have his memories back but Anatoly did not want to spend his days hoping for something that might never happen. The best thing to do was to go on, as he had done so many times before and feel grateful that he did not have to do this alone. He had adopted children, he had dear friends who he loved and trusted and they would all be willing to help and support him if he asked. It was more than he ever had in Moscow, he had to keep reminding himself. All things considered, he was lucky.

Even so, going about his day was an effort and he found that keeping in constant motion was the best thing he could for his state of mind. This generally meant a lot of walking all around the island. Today, he found himself along the path to Sookie's hut. Hoping that she would be in, he knocked on her door and waited.

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Anatoly could have wept at her kindness and indeed, he had to take a few moments to compose himself before answering. She had Mitchell to look after and here she was offering her help. Truly he was lucky that in the middle of all of this chaos, he could find a safe haven with Sookie.

"Distraction would be lovely," he answered. His stomach rumbled loudly at that moment and he ducked his head ruefully. "I admit that I would love something to eat if you are certain that it would not be too much trouble."

"Not at all," Sookie replied, tone placating as she laughed lightly at the rumble of his stomach. It wasn't too surprising— one of the first things that happened in moments of crisis, as far as Sookie had observed, was that the person in the center of it would stop taking care of him or herself. Particularly those who weren't inclined to be selfish to begin with, such as Anatoly himself.

"Actually, I find that cooking in the midst of stress is quite satisfying," Sookie went on to say. "Cleaning, too. We could probably work together in the kitchen, keep your hands busy. I've lived close to it since arriving for a reason. 3 AM pies have definitely happened before."

"I would like that very much," Anatoly said. Cooking and working in the kitchen were not his strong suits at all but that was probably for the best in this particular case. He would be forced to pay attention to what he was doing and so he wouldn't have time to worry and brood as he was doing now. "This might even be, what is that phrase? The silver lining to all of this. I can perhaps learn how to cook something more than a grilled cheese sandwich."

"Oh, but a good grilled cheese sandwich is nothing to sneeze at," Sookie said in turn, grinning as she reached for Anatoly's hand and tried to tug him along to the door, a pleased flare rising at the accent that his words still took, making the mundane sound a touch foreign and exotic. "If you can get, like, truffle oil to fry that in? It's incredibly addictive. 'Course, there are some people who'd get on my case about using truffles for something like that, and I don't think we've got any manner of truffle oil on the island, but... even the simplest of foods can taste as though they've been prepared by a master chef."