"I grew up constantly being called the son of a Chukchi, being seen that way. Just because people wanted things from you and avoided me doesn't mean it's not the same thing - it's looking at us as the products of our parents and not as ourselves. How could I look at people that way when being looked at through that filter is what I hate most?"

He gives him a soft kiss to the neck, just because it seems to be a soft spot for Dolemeck and he doesn't know how to offer up comfort for this. The one fortunate and wonderful thing about Ilya's life had been his family, in spite of all the bad things that happened later in life.

"I'm sorry. But I promise, no one will ever hurt you again. I'll protect you, and I may not be the smartest or most successful person, but I'll be right here when you need me. Always." Ilya holds him closer, instinctively. "And I know you will never, ever be anything like your father."