Having always assumed that Mariya was a Muscovite Russian and not any of the other various ethnicities that inhabited the USSR, Vitali was always grateful that she did treat him as well as she had. Exhaling gently, he hadn't wanted to think too much about the past, but at times it could be difficult not too considering how much it weighed on him from time to time.<br/><br/>That was the first thing that made Vitali suspect something was up. The fact that she had taken a long duration ship, which very well may have been registered for cargo, but then planned only to stay a short while certainly seemed a bit unusual. Nevertheless, this sort of sat only at the back of his mind for the time being.<br/><br/>"Do you mind if the bathroom were shared, or would you prefer a private one?" Apparently he didn't mind having to pay a lot for her. He hadn't seen Mariya in quite some time, so that might have explained his ease with which he would have proposed to do that. Sighing a bit once more, he seemed just happy to have her back again.<br/><br/>One other thing had made him mildly suspicious. She had asked him a second time if nothing had changed between him.<br/><br/>If she had only asked it once, then he would have figured that it was really something that she was concerned about. Now, however, she was making it look as though she were up to something.<br/><br/>Leaning forward slowly, he exhaled and winced for a moment or two. He then finally frowned for the first time since seeing her.<br/><br/>"Is everything alright; I only ask because you had already asked me if anything had changed between us. Tell me, Mariya, has it or has it not?"<br/><br/>He certainly honestly hoped that nothing had. If she had found someone to be with, then he wouldn't have been worried. He never looked at her in that light. Vitali had considered her to be his sister. On the other hand, though, he was afraid that something a little more serious was going on.