No matter what, Anatoly could always find a way to get through to Svetlana, to find a way to reach through the ice and need for self-preservation. It had been a skill that had taken him a while to learn and longer to master, but now it came to him as easily as breathing. He knew Svetlana so well that he had multiple ways of reaching her, of pulling her back from the brink. And that was certainly something that came in use here. Where he could normally find words that would get through to Svetlana, now had proved to be a situation where he needed to use action to accomplish his goal. He wasn't about to lose Svetlana, not after everything they had gone through in their lives.
There had been the various trials back in Moscow presented by Katya, his parents, their diverse backgrounds. But despite all the odds and everything and everyone that stood against them, they had still found their way to each other, still found love. Then had come Molokov, perhaps those five years were their true test, the test to see whether they could survive despite anything. Anatoly had changed much during those five years, had become someone he had never dreamed he would be, but despite the machine that Molokov had fashioned him into, he had once again found his heart, found his way back to Svetlana because she completed him. She was his heart and soul, and she was his true love.
Even in this world they had suffered much, and not just in their trying to work through five years of his betrayal, abandonment and pain he had caused Svetlana and their daughters. There had been other obstacles they had gone through, dealt with supernatural things they had never even fathomed they would have to deal with. Lucifer, demons, magic. And now with the latest villain doing her part to hurt people, Anatoly wasn't about to let some simple spell tear Svetlana away from him. He'd be damned if the witch would succeed where everyone else had failed. Anatoly was going to prove the witch wrong, prove that no matter what he would always save Svetlana.
Once Svetlana had stopped struggling and was obviously trying to get her mind to comprehend what was happening, Anatoly took the opening. With her eyes closed, she wasn't watching him, wasn't seeing what he was doing, couldn't see it until it would be too late for her to push him away. So with the opportunity seized, he leaned in and kissed her.