Her fingers are nice. He lets that thought distract him until he lifts his gaze to watch her in the mirror. How much does he want off? He'd cause a stir within the Grand Palace if he asked for all of it. It might be fun to ride out the reactions, but he feels Genya won't be so pliable to follow his request.
She's so sensible. Always has been.
"This much," he says, lifting his hand to show his index and thumb almost pressed together. "It's getting a little long around my ears. Did you know I had a woman call my ears the most delicate things she's ever seen?" Nikolai exhales softly through his nose before he shakes his head. "People say a lot of bullshit when they want to impress you. I bet you've heard your fair share."
Some from Nikolai. He prides himself in earning a nice eye roll from her. It always sees her shoulders loosen, and the stiffness in her spine let her go.
"Yes, often from you, moy tsar," Genya replies dryly. She makes note of the distance between his fingers though it's not truly helpful. The distance is arbitrary. She knows he wants to cut short though to take off around his ears, so she keeps that in mind as she starts combing and trimming. For a bit, there's only the soft sounds of the scissors snipping. His hair falls to marble floor around them.
"Your ears aren't what I would call delicate, but I suppose they're lovely enough," she teases. She combs his hair upwards to check the length and continued trimming to that length. She's in her zone which means she's soften and more relaxed.
He watches her openly, liking how she takes to his hair like he's not the King of Ravka. He's seen her tend to many people this way. Genya is kind and generous with her gentleness, although he knows she isn't so giving with her affections.
Not that he thinks she feels affection for him. Exasperation, yes.
"What else do you find lovely? And I'm not asking about me." Although that would always be grand to hear, Nikolai doesn't press. There are a few people in the Grand Palace whose opinions mean a little too much to him. "I remember you once liked a duck." It's out of his mouth before he can help himself. Best to keep on with it. Nikolai's managed to navigate tumultuous waters; he's swum his way through speaking out of turn many times before.
"I think it chased me once. Or was that the grumpy goose no one believed existed when I told them about it?"
His words make her pause. They loosen a memory lodged deep within the annals of her brain. It's been so long since she'd thought of that duck, but now that he's brought it up, it all comes back to her. There had been a duck she'd been rather fond of in the lake. When she'd first come into the Queen's service, she'd escaped to the lake during her free time for solace. She'd watched them fondly, liking the way they glided along the lake. There'd been one in particular that had taken to her.
"You remember that?" she asks in surprise. She looks at him in the mirror, eyes slightly wide. She laughs a little because she remembers the rest of it. "No, the duck did chase you. You came upon us so suddenly that you upset it, so it chased you away."
She remembered laughing brightly then feeling so terribly for laughing at the young prince. She'd also been disappointed he hadn't come out to talk to her again.
"It was a ferocious duck! I was afraid to go out by the lake for months after."
By the time he could return to the lake without trembling in fear, he was setting off for the army. He never did think about that duck after. He's not quite sure why he associates that with Genya when there are more obvious things to link her to.
The colour red, for one. Green. Pretty things. Steel.
"That duck did a lot more for you than any Lantsov," he says, peering at her in the mirror. Perhaps it's too deep to offer. There's always a line he doesn't cross with Genya, and it's often the one that leads to the past.
But the duck did what no one else had for her, and he thinks that duck deserves all the honours in the country.
"Did you ever name it?" he asks to steer them into lighter territory.
"No, I don't think I did," Genya answers with a faint smile. Naming it meant having some sort of claim to it that she didn't feel she had at the time. She'd simply admired the duck and watched as it swam around the lake. Her free time to do that had diminished as the years passed. Tatiana became more demanding for her services to fight against the passage of time. When she did have free time, she'd tried to escape back to the Little Palace to get away from it all.
"I hope the duck lived a good and happy life," she murmurs. The sound of her snipping fills the silence between words. She isn't sure how long ducks lived, but she likes to think that perhaps it's still out there with ducklings of its own. She checks the length of his hair by holding it out between two of her fingers and comparing it. She follows that length and continues her work.
"Perhaps we should take a walk to the lake one day," she suggests lightly. Her eyes meet his in the mirror briefly before returns her focus to his hair.
Nikolai watches her as she works. Perhaps he should look away, but… He's seen Genya subtly manipulate the appearances of others with a mere glide of her fingertips and the parting of her lips, so seeing her take to such mundane tools as scissors is different.
Not unusual. He doesn't think Genya is entirely without her humanity that a silly pair of scissors wouldn't look right in her hands.
He doesn't look away when she lifts her gaze to his. He lifts the corner of his lips upward instead.
"Are you plotting to push me in? The east side's the better side. Much deeper. The walk of shame is longer on that side."
When she sees Nikolai looking back at her in the mirror, she feels a rush of something that she can't quite put a word to. It makes her breath hitch in her throat a little. She smiles back at him. There's a subtle shift between them. It's a step forward from her incessant nagging at him to tend to his duties or his exasperating tendency to rebuff things with his charm and humor.
"Perhaps. We'll see how well you behave on the walk," she retorts playfully. She isn't going to push him in. She's not Zoya. Zoya wouldn't hesitate to do it. Genya is a little more discerning though she prefers to keep her retaliation in the way of words.
She finishes the haircut by ensuring that it's even all over with no hair tickling his ears. Once she's satisfied, she combs out his hair and dusts off any loose hair that might be hanging around. She begins styling it to his usual style with the swoop to one side.
Resuming observing her, Nikolai doesn't realise he's sporting a small smile. When he has the opportunity to watch her work, often gently swiping her fingertips across someone's face and leaving an impeccable patch of skin in her wake, he's never been able to look away. What she can do with her power is remarkable, but he supposes that's even more true with what she can do without it.
She's normal, like him, in the bland ways many take for granted.
He's disappointed that it's over.
It's not like he can't simply ask her to stay—or ask for her presence. But Nikolai feels he needs a reason. Even though he's the King of Ravka, he can't simply say, 'I want you to be in the same room as me for no reason at all.'
Dropping his gaze to his reflection in the mirror, his smile grows crooked. "Much. You can see my handsome face now."
She has no reason to, but she does nonetheless. She likes these rare moments between them. They're so rarely one on one like this. Usually, there's Alina and Zoya around as well. They get more chances one on one. Alina is the Sun Summoner and Zoya had held a command in the Second Army. Genya is a spy at best. She leads the Corporalki Order now despite that. It feels strange to lead, but she handles it as gracefully as she can.
"Mm, and who are you hoping will see it?" she asks teasingly. She doesn't simply cut his hair. She styles it too. She makes sure it sits the way he likes it. She knows because she pays attention.
Nikolai is a King, one without a Queen. Other countries have been sending ambassadors and princesses and eligible daughters with fine breeding and pedigree to win his favor and get a leg up in this new world Alina has made. So far, he hasn't shown any preference for any particular lady.
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no subject
Her fingers are nice. He lets that thought distract him until he lifts his gaze to watch her in the mirror. How much does he want off? He'd cause a stir within the Grand Palace if he asked for all of it. It might be fun to ride out the reactions, but he feels Genya won't be so pliable to follow his request.
She's so sensible. Always has been.
"This much," he says, lifting his hand to show his index and thumb almost pressed together. "It's getting a little long around my ears. Did you know I had a woman call my ears the most delicate things she's ever seen?" Nikolai exhales softly through his nose before he shakes his head. "People say a lot of bullshit when they want to impress you. I bet you've heard your fair share."
Some from Nikolai. He prides himself in earning a nice eye roll from her. It always sees her shoulders loosen, and the stiffness in her spine let her go.
no subject
"Your ears aren't what I would call delicate, but I suppose they're lovely enough," she teases. She combs his hair upwards to check the length and continued trimming to that length. She's in her zone which means she's soften and more relaxed.
"Don't let it go to your head."
no subject
He watches her openly, liking how she takes to his hair like he's not the King of Ravka. He's seen her tend to many people this way. Genya is kind and generous with her gentleness, although he knows she isn't so giving with her affections.
Not that he thinks she feels affection for him. Exasperation, yes.
"What else do you find lovely? And I'm not asking about me." Although that would always be grand to hear, Nikolai doesn't press. There are a few people in the Grand Palace whose opinions mean a little too much to him. "I remember you once liked a duck." It's out of his mouth before he can help himself. Best to keep on with it. Nikolai's managed to navigate tumultuous waters; he's swum his way through speaking out of turn many times before.
"I think it chased me once. Or was that the grumpy goose no one believed existed when I told them about it?"
no subject
"You remember that?" she asks in surprise. She looks at him in the mirror, eyes slightly wide. She laughs a little because she remembers the rest of it. "No, the duck did chase you. You came upon us so suddenly that you upset it, so it chased you away."
She remembered laughing brightly then feeling so terribly for laughing at the young prince. She'd also been disappointed he hadn't come out to talk to her again.
no subject
"It was a ferocious duck! I was afraid to go out by the lake for months after."
By the time he could return to the lake without trembling in fear, he was setting off for the army. He never did think about that duck after. He's not quite sure why he associates that with Genya when there are more obvious things to link her to.
The colour red, for one. Green. Pretty things. Steel.
"That duck did a lot more for you than any Lantsov," he says, peering at her in the mirror. Perhaps it's too deep to offer. There's always a line he doesn't cross with Genya, and it's often the one that leads to the past.
But the duck did what no one else had for her, and he thinks that duck deserves all the honours in the country.
"Did you ever name it?" he asks to steer them into lighter territory.
no subject
"I hope the duck lived a good and happy life," she murmurs. The sound of her snipping fills the silence between words. She isn't sure how long ducks lived, but she likes to think that perhaps it's still out there with ducklings of its own. She checks the length of his hair by holding it out between two of her fingers and comparing it. She follows that length and continues her work.
"Perhaps we should take a walk to the lake one day," she suggests lightly. Her eyes meet his in the mirror briefly before returns her focus to his hair.
no subject
Not unusual. He doesn't think Genya is entirely without her humanity that a silly pair of scissors wouldn't look right in her hands.
He doesn't look away when she lifts her gaze to his. He lifts the corner of his lips upward instead.
"Are you plotting to push me in? The east side's the better side. Much deeper. The walk of shame is longer on that side."
no subject
"Perhaps. We'll see how well you behave on the walk," she retorts playfully. She isn't going to push him in. She's not Zoya. Zoya wouldn't hesitate to do it. Genya is a little more discerning though she prefers to keep her retaliation in the way of words.
She finishes the haircut by ensuring that it's even all over with no hair tickling his ears. Once she's satisfied, she combs out his hair and dusts off any loose hair that might be hanging around. She begins styling it to his usual style with the swoop to one side.
"Better?"
no subject
She's normal, like him, in the bland ways many take for granted.
He's disappointed that it's over.
It's not like he can't simply ask her to stay—or ask for her presence. But Nikolai feels he needs a reason. Even though he's the King of Ravka, he can't simply say, 'I want you to be in the same room as me for no reason at all.'
Dropping his gaze to his reflection in the mirror, his smile grows crooked. "Much. You can see my handsome face now."
no subject
She has no reason to, but she does nonetheless. She likes these rare moments between them. They're so rarely one on one like this. Usually, there's Alina and Zoya around as well. They get more chances one on one. Alina is the Sun Summoner and Zoya had held a command in the Second Army. Genya is a spy at best. She leads the Corporalki Order now despite that. It feels strange to lead, but she handles it as gracefully as she can.
"Mm, and who are you hoping will see it?" she asks teasingly. She doesn't simply cut his hair. She styles it too. She makes sure it sits the way he likes it. She knows because she pays attention.
Nikolai is a King, one without a Queen. Other countries have been sending ambassadors and princesses and eligible daughters with fine breeding and pedigree to win his favor and get a leg up in this new world Alina has made. So far, he hasn't shown any preference for any particular lady.