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"Flight today," he counters. Nikolai tries not to react to the feel of her bare leg slung over his thigh and wonders how, exactly, he's going to manage to keep his hands off her. He thinks a few kisses are all right. He's a safe enough object of affection, considering he'd never do anything to hurt her, but pushing beyond the boundary of kissing is something he doesn't know that either of them are ready for or should be ready for. As much as he wants it, he's at war with himself.

"We're flying to Malta so we can lay on the warm sand and feel the sun on our skins," he murmurs. Nikolai slides one big hand down to cup her ass and hold her up against him.

"The sooner you wake up, the sooner we can be on our way," he rumbles in rough French, trying to see if that will wake her up.

He was murmuring words at her ear in that wonderfully sexy rumble, almost a lullaby all on its own. Natalia sighed happily, but jolted into full wakefulness with a muted squeal when she felt a large hand settle on her rear, boldly cupping her and hoisting her right up against her Nikolai's hard thick frame.

"--Nikki!" But his name ended on a wanton moan as the princess all but melted against him, shivering as that rough voice flowed down her spine, the words leaving silken kisses mapped over her skin. "Mmmmm, moya zvezda..." Natalia eased up to tease her mouth against his, once more yearning for the taste of his kisses, but a mild flurry of commotion out in the corridor gave pause.

Apparently life was moving on beyond her bedroom door, for the palace was coming alive with the impending journeys of its ruling monarchy. Muttering a sour curse, the Grand Duchess of Russia reluctantly untangled herself from her personal bodyguard and fumbled out of bed, huffing at the timely interruption.

Nikolai is grateful for the interruption. He needs to slow whatever this is way down and being interrupted is a damned good way to do it without hurting the printsessa's feelings. He leans back in the bed and watches her as she gets up and starts moving around.

"I think it's a good time to go have a smoke, personally, but I don't know how they'd feel about it out there."

Everyone is bustling to get them ready to fly and he doesn't know how they'd feel to see him casually in the Grand Duchess's bed having a cigarette. He gets up and stretches enough that his tank top slides up his abs a little and then goes hunting for said cigarettes.

Thankfully, her back was turned when Nikolai ambled out of bed himself, else the princess might have had to duck into her large closet for a moment to regain her composure. But a knock sounded on her door a minute or so later, and the housekeeper opened it and stepped inside, turning on the overhead lights as she did so.

"Good morning, your Highness!" she sang, far too cheery for this ungodly hour of the day. Natalia just gave her a teenaged glower and continued rooting about in her dresser for suitable traveling clothes. Miss Donya had presided over the Tsar's domestic staff since the Grand Duchess had been but a babe, therefore she wasn't too surprised to see the princess's dark shadow emerge from the adjoining room, appearing just as tousled as the princess herself.

"Err, good morning, Nikolai," Miss Donya told him, bobbing her head respectfully. "The car will be ready in half an hour, are we almost packed, then?"

Edited 2020-11-29 16:45 (UTC)

"Da. I'll have her ready. Most of it was packed yesterday," he assures Donya. They're a good team, himself and the rest of the staff, and while Nikolai feels other and foreign sometimes he can let that drop and see them as friends, of a sort. Donya is the easiest one to do that with.

He goes to find Natalia and touches her shoulder lightly with his left hand. "Donya wants you up and at it. You need to become a soldier like me, printsessa. Do you think you can be ready to board the plane soon or am I going to have to pick out your underwear and carry you on?"

She was almost finished brushing her teeth, and she gave Nikolai a look through the bathroom mirror. "I am 'up and at it'," she muttered around her toothbrush, rinsing her mouth and washing off the brush. "Even at this miserable hour of the morning, I'm awake." Natalia shoved past the large assassin, still grouchy and out of sorts. "Be thankful."

Coming back into her bedroom, she eyed the housekeeper with a sour look. "Da, Donya, I'm getting ready, leave me alone." The older lady just raised an amused eyebrow at the cranky little princess, then swept over to the closet and fetched a white linen traveling dress, holding it out with matronly aplomb. "Here, dear. This one should do just fine."

Natalia took it, still grumbling, and shuffled behind the screen to dress. She didn't bother to pin up her curls, or even put on any makeup, since she planned to go right back to sleep once they left the airport.

Nikolai goes to dress as well. As much as he never wears color, there is a cream suit in his closet and he decides to wear it as a treat for Natalia, an extension of their joke the day before. He smooths his hair and doesn't bother shaving, figuring he can do that once they land. It's not a bad look even if it isn't his look.

When he comes back, Natalia is still dressing. He has on cologne again, a rarity, and when he speaks it's in French.

"Hurry up, Talia," he says, laughing as he does. "You don't want to be late, do you? Hold us all up? I'm ready to tan and be lazy."

Still grumbling, the Princess wiggled into the dress the housekeeper had given her; thankfully it was long enough to reach her ankles and had long sleeves, perfect for early spring weather in Russia, as well as the lovely tropical climate of Malta. Miss Donya brought a warm wrap while Natalia pulled on her shoes, and tried, tried very hard, to ignore the clean, masculine scent of Nikolai's cologne when he ambled back into her bedroom.

It was the housekeeper who commented, saying, "Why, you look very fine indeed, Nikolai." She lifted an eyebrow. "And are you two playing the language game again?" Natalia took the offered wrap with a surly look at her gorgeous guardian. "He thinks it's amusing," she muttered. But had to admit that Miss Donya was absolutely right, and it was going to be a long flight to Malta.

"All right," she said finally. "Let's get going, before the day wastes entirely."

When Natalia stumbles back into the bedroom, Nikolai offers her his arm. He doesn't need sleep, really, so he's alert in a way that his printsessa is absolutely not. That's fine. He's the one who has to be constantly aware, not her, and he can keep eyes out for the both of them.

"Am I going to have to carry you into the jet? Or are you going to manage walking on your own as long as you have a little support?" His mouth curves in a smirk as he says it and he knows there's a dimple in his cheek.

Natalia glowered, but took the offered arm as they went from her bedroom into the corridor. She was more than happy to let Nikolai lead her to the car, open the door and usher her inside. It wasn't a long drive to the nearby airport, but the small princess had already leaned her head over on her soldier's shoulder even before the car left the circle driveway.

Though she was bundled against the early morning chill, she nevertheless had her small hands tucked beneath Nikolai's arm, and she snuggled against him for more than just his inherent warmth. She didn't want to come out of her comfortable doze when the car rolled to a stop at the airstrip, and it took Nikolai a good deal of coaxing to rouse his Sleeping Beauty to she could kiss her father farewell.

Nikolai says his own, more formal goodbyes to the Tsar and it doesn't take long before they're piled into the jet and wheels up. The interior is comfortable, more of a personal sitting room than an airplane, and once they're at cruising altitude, there's no sense in sitting where they have to be belted and he moves to sit alongside Natalia in a more private couch area.

"Do you want to sleep some more?" he asks, soft so he doesn't fully rouse her. "You can lay on me if you want to. I don't know how good a pillow I am but I do seem to be your favorite."

She'd sleepily kissed her father goodbye, hugged him fondly, and let Nikolai usher her into the Tsar's private jet. The princess yawned and snuggled into her coat as Nikolai buckled her in, went through pre-flight checks with the pilot, and when he came back to her once they'd taken off and made it to their cruising altitude, she yawned again, blinking blearily eyes halfway open to see her beloved's handsome face.

"The best pillow," she murmured, languidly draping arms around his neck and leaving both her coat and shoes behind. "'m so sleepy still." Natalia nestled her head on Nikolai's shoulder, her nose buried beneath his ear, and sighed softly, more than content to drift back into a doze. "Mmmm, my pillow..." A brief purse of her lips against his skin was evidence of her kiss, and the little redhead cuddled comfortably in her soldier's arms, not quite ready to greet the world.

Perhaps when breakfast came around, she'd be a little more awake.

Nikolai has them leave breakfast when they come with the cart, thinking Natalia probably needs a little more time to sleep. They'd gone through a rather enthusiastic round of kissing the night before that neither had been prepared for and he's certain she didn't sleep well even if she made an attempt at it.

He settles her in against his lap and strokes her hair while she sleeps, occasionally kissing her crown. This is normal enough behavior for them so the staff doesn't blink an eye; they both know the only significant relationship for the Winter Soldier is the girl he protects and that she treats him special.

The scent of spiced sausage and hot tea was enough to rouse her, this time, and Natalia stirred in Nikolai's arms. "Mmmm, malyshka," she purred as he stroked her, arching gently into his hand. "G'morning, moya zvezda." But she didn't really open her eyes or move from her comfortable nest.

"Must be breakfast. I'd recognize the burnt sausage anywhere." A giggle followed her observation, and the princess finally lifted her head, warm eyes gazing at her handsome soldier, in whose lap she was currently cradled. She delicately covered her small yawn, then inquired, "How long have we been in the air?"

"A hour, two maybe," Nikolai says. Truthfully, he's lost track of time a bit because this is a secure place and he could finally let his guard down and just enjoy time with her. Everywhere else, especially in public, he is always vigilant for threats.

"Go ahead, eat your breakfast mon ange," he says grinning wide at her. "We have to come up with my French name, you know. Your French bounty hunter or whatever I am."

His French endearment warmed her all the way through, and Natalia gently took Nikolai's face in her little hands and pressed her lips to his, definitely more seriously than she ever had before. And her "lessons" from the previous night served her well, as she delicately stroked the tip of her tongue along Nikki's lower lip before pulling away and sliding out of his lap.

"I'm not really hungry, but the tea is good." She did nibble on a biscuit and eggs while she sipped her tea. And thought over the French names for me that she knew. "Hmm, what about...Jacques? Albert? Julien?" She stirred more cream into her tea. "Any of those strike your fancy?"

"I actually do not like any of those," Nikolai says, laughing as he takes his tea. He hadn't had preferences when he came to serve the Tsar and the fact that he has his own mind and his own wants and needs again is something he'll always treasure.

"What about Nicolas? It's just my name in French. Of course, that's really not in the spirit of the game at all. There's Jean-Paul. Or Philippe. Or Louis...I think I'm getting into kings of France now."

Natalia stuck out her tongue, mockingly miffed that he'd rejected all of her suggestions. But she sipped her tea thoughtfully, considering his recommendations with serious aplomb. Lowering her teacup slightly, the princess narrowed her eyes at Nikolai, then said, "What about Jean-Marc?" The cut of that cream colored suit and those tan leather loafers went nicely with that moniker, she thought.

"And what about a haircut, later this week?" But then she shook her head. "Mmnmm, nyet, I prefer you with this look. And Frenchmen also tend to have the shaggies, although you could comb it more often, moya zvezda."

"I could comb it," Nikolai agrees. He drains his teacup and looks at her, considering Jean-Marc with some seriousness. "I think I like Jean-Marc. Do you think you could walk around Malta with Jean-Marc instead of stone cold Nikolai? I think the Frenchman will be more fun."

Nikolai puts his palm on Natalia's thigh, pressing it flat there before giving her a warm smile. "Je m'appelle Jean-Marc, mon ange," he rattles off in low French. "Does it work?"

Oh, it definitely worked. The moment she felt and saw that large hand come to rest on her linen-covered thigh, Natalia felt a burst of heat explode between them, and she had to twist her napkin in her hand to keep from squirming.

The change in his entire demeanor was astonishing. Gone was the cold, granite Soldier she'd come to know better than herself and love unconditionally, and in its place was a bright-eyed, coyly warm Frenchman, with a crooked smile, beautiful blue eyes, and charm just oozing from every perfect pore.

She took a sip of too-hot tea to buy herself a moment, then cleared her throat, feeling heat also flood her cheeks. "Ahem. Oui, it works. It, uh, it works really well." Dropping her napkin unheeded, the princess put down her teacup and endeavored a return smile, covering his hand on her thigh with one of her own.

"I like this you, Nikki--or, Jean-Marc."

Nikolai laughs a little more and turns his hand palm up so their palms are pressed together. He links their fingers together and squeezes her hand, giving her a smile. Perhaps he is different now than he has been before but everyone knows he's happier when he's around Natalia regardless.

"This me? Am I different because I'm pretending to be a stylish Frenchman instead of a surly soldier?"

"Maybe a little," she smiled back, feeling herself blush even harder. But she linked their fingers together anyway, shifting over so she could snuggle against his right side, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I think you could be anyone you wanted to be, Nikki," the girl said quietly, covertly tugging his hand into her lap and covering their joined fingers with her other. "And would fool anyone else who saw you, too." He was just that good.

"But I like you, no matter who you're pretending to be." Natalia lifted up and kissed his cheek, shifting slightly to peck his lips, and nuzzled his nose with hers. "'cause no matter who you are, you're mine."

"I sort of like being yours." They're cuddling an awful lot in the open but the staff of the palace and by extension, the plane, really don't care. Ever since the Grand Duchess was a little girl, he'd been her safe harbor and cuddling had just come with it. He'd been stiff at first, being the object of a little girl's affection, but now it feels natural enough.

"You need to go back to sleep so you can actually enjoy yourself in Malta. Don't worry. I'll make sure everything goes all right while you're out. I always do, don't I?"

"Da," she replied, smiling a little sleepily. "You always do." But she wasn't really all that tired anymore, although Natalia felt she could probably nap, if given the chance. But as usual, that particular chance only came if Nikolai was right beside her, snuggled close and holding her tight.

"Will you come lie with me after your flight checks?" She always asked, because she always wanted him to know that he was wanted, that she cherished his attention and his presence. "You know I never sleep well if you're not with me."

"I can," Nikolai promises. Speaking of those flight checks, he slips from her arms to do just that and when he's done, he settles back in his seat so that Natalia can sprawl across his chest. She seems like both a woman and a little girl at the same time and his feelings, for the first time, are Complicated.

"C'mere. Sleep for a little while, Natalia, and I'll keep you safe. You'll be all right, I promise."

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