[ the thing about banquets and parties of any size, is that they are never fun for the staff. which, despite the fact that nikolai treats him more like a pet dog that follows along willingly, malyen oretsev is. he's paid to keep watch, to remain close but out of the way while people who wear earrings worth more than mal's life talk about how the black caviar provided with the second course of dinner wasn't aged properly. he hates listening to it, but he has a job to do.
at least in this moment.
nikolai floats around the palace with practiced ease and his shadow follows at a distance, room to room.
he snorts as he sees the prince pilfer a bottle of wine but mal's paid to be neither seen nor heard unless he's ensuring nikolai's safety, so he doesn't say anything. no one will miss the wine and if they do, well, a ruined night for a rich asshole isn't the worst thing in his book.
he follows, brows furrowed as he tries to figure out what exactly is the plan for the night. there's a chance that nikolai is as tired as he told his mother, but it's slim.
and ah. there it is. ] Highness. [ he answers because that's not what he's sure nikolai wants but outside of nikolai's rooms or mal's apartment, he's not letting him pull any fondness or nicknames from his lips. still, there's an upward curl to the corner of his mouth. ]
If I wanted to stay? How much wine have you had already? [ he shakes his head, reaches out to swipe the bottle because even playing hard to get, mal oretsev is a moth drawn to the flame. or simply poor at strategy. ]
Is this any good? [ he wouldn't know, of course. ] Continue? I have been working so haven't started.
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i'm late but i brought starbucks
at least in this moment.
nikolai floats around the palace with practiced ease and his shadow follows at a distance, room to room.
he snorts as he sees the prince pilfer a bottle of wine but mal's paid to be neither seen nor heard unless he's ensuring nikolai's safety, so he doesn't say anything. no one will miss the wine and if they do, well, a ruined night for a rich asshole isn't the worst thing in his book.
he follows, brows furrowed as he tries to figure out what exactly is the plan for the night. there's a chance that nikolai is as tired as he told his mother, but it's slim.
and ah. there it is. ] Highness. [ he answers because that's not what he's sure nikolai wants but outside of nikolai's rooms or mal's apartment, he's not letting him pull any fondness or nicknames from his lips. still, there's an upward curl to the corner of his mouth. ]
If I wanted to stay? How much wine have you had already? [ he shakes his head, reaches out to swipe the bottle because even playing hard to get, mal oretsev is a moth drawn to the flame. or simply poor at strategy. ]
Is this any good? [ he wouldn't know, of course. ] Continue? I have been working so haven't started.