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Visits (Grishaverse, Alina/Nikolai)
Title: Visits
Fandom: Grishaverse (Shadow & Bone Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo)
Characters: Nikolai Lantsov/Alina Starkov
Rating: General Audiences
Word Count: 966
Additional Tags: Hair Braiding, Banter, Domestic Fluff
Challenge: Written for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
no_true_pair's 2023 Eight-Character Challenge
Prompt: September One - Alina & Nikolai - when the cat's away…
Summary: Nikolai doesn't get around to visiting the orphanage as often as he'd like. Alina is mostly forgiving.
Notes: Set post-Shadow and Bone trilogy. Implied Alina/Mal/Nikolai, though only Alina and Nikolai appear in the fic.
Read on AO3.
The orphanage is quiet when Nikolai arrives late one summer afternoon, laden with packages as he slips in through the side door. He would have expected the place to be noisy with the sound of children getting ready for dinner, but there isn’t a child in sight.
“You’re early,” a voice behind him says in surprise, and Nikolai turns to see Alina in the doorway, surprisingly without Mal attached at the hip.
“I thought I’d make it in time for dinner,” he says, shifting the boxes in his arms, “but it seems I needn’t have bothered.”
“Mal’s taken the children out to learn how to fish,” Alina tells him, taking several of the packages from the top of the pile. “They should be back soon.”
Even after all this time, there’s a lilt to Alina’s voice when she talks about Mal. Nikolai smiles warmly at her, leaning in to kiss her on the temple. Her long, white hair is tied up in a messy bun, and Nikolai longs to undo the knot and smooth out the tangles for her.
“I’ve brought gifts,” he says unnecessarily, indicating the packages.
Alina takes him to one of the cozy sitting rooms, and Nikolai deposits the boxes onto an end table before shedding his jacket, the summer air too warm for such formalities.
“Do you want something to drink?” Alina asks. “Tea? Coffee?” Nikolai shakes his head and she changes tracks. “Lemonade?”
“If you’d be so kind,” he says, smiling, and sits heavily on one end of the old couch. “It’s still strange to see you acting so matronly.”
Alina rolls her eyes. “Hardly,” she says, but she drops a kiss to the top of Nikolai’s head as she passes by, leaving the room to go fetch drinks from the kitchen. She returns soon with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses on a tray, which she places on the low table in front of the couch.
“Let me,” Nikolai says, nudging her away from the tray. He fills both glasses while Alina takes a seat on the couch beside him, then hands her one.
She takes the glass and says, “All right, tell me your excuses for why you haven’t visited this time.”
“Can’t we wait? I’ll have to share them all over again once Mal returns.” He sips at his lemonade; it’s a little too tart for his tastes, but he’s certainly not about to complain to Alina. She’ll make it worse next time.
“He’s disappointed in you, you know.”
“For being busy? He’s welcome to take over as king.”
Alina snorts and sets aside her lemonade, glass still partially full. “I think he’d like you to write more. He misses you.”
“Ha! And what sort of tortures did you have to inflict upon him to get him to admit that?”
“None,” she says, scratching the back of her neck. Her fingers catch on some loose hair, pulling it free of her bun. “I can get him to admit anything.”
Unable to take it anymore, Nikolai sets his glass back on the tray beside Alina’s, then shifts to sit facing her. “Turn around, you’re killing me.”
“What–?” Alina asks, frowning at him, and he takes her by the shoulders and turns her in the direction he wants. She doesn’t resist, putting her back to him, and when he reaches up to untie her hair she huffs softly. “You don’t visit for almost a month and when you finally do it’s to critique my hair?”
“I’d have thought all that time spent with Genya would have rubbed off on you even a little,” Nikolai remarks. “Even Zoya brushes her hair.”
“‘Even’ Zoya? I’ll have to tell her you said that.”
“I meant,” Nikolai says, combing his fingers through Alina’s tangled hair, “that contrary to popular belief, Zoya doesn’t just wake up looking like that.”
“I’ll tell her you said that too,” Alina retorts. “How do you know what Zoya looks like when she wakes up?”
Nikolai tugs lightly at a lock of Alina’s hair. “Be quiet while I’m working.”
“Ah, of course. I’d hate to ruin your intense concentration.”
Surprisingly, Alina does fall quiet, and Nikolai finishes smoothing out the tangles in her hair the best he can without a brush. It’s rather soothing, and when he finishes he forgoes putting it back into a bun, loosely braiding it before tying it off at the end.
“Satisfied?” Alina asks, looking back at him over her shoulder. Her braid tumbles down over her shoulder, baring the side of her neck to him.
“For now,” he replies, and wraps his arms around her middle to pull her toward him. He presses a kiss to her exposed neck, holding her to his chest as he hugs her. It’s strange still, after all this time, to see her neck bare, no antlered collar around it.
“The kids will be back soon,” Alina reminds him, her fingers rubbing a soothing circle over the back of his hand. “You can help get ready for dinner.”
“You’d make a king set the table?” Nikolai asks, unable to let her go just yet.
“And then some.” She twists around in his arms, pecks a kiss to his lips, then wriggles free of his hold. “We’ll catch up after dinner, once the children have been put to bed.”
“Mal may be too impatient to wait that long,” Nikolai says, a gleam in his eye.
Alina flips her newly arranged braid back over her shoulder. “You don’t want me to be the only one left doing the cooking, trust me.”
“Point taken.” Nikolai stands and offers a hand to Alina to help her up. They could hurry up, have some fun now, but Alina and Mal have certainly taught him the value of patience. And the fun of it.
Fandom: Grishaverse (Shadow & Bone Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo)
Characters: Nikolai Lantsov/Alina Starkov
Rating: General Audiences
Word Count: 966
Additional Tags: Hair Braiding, Banter, Domestic Fluff
Challenge: Written for
no_true_pair's 2023 Eight-Character ChallengePrompt: September One - Alina & Nikolai - when the cat's away…
Summary: Nikolai doesn't get around to visiting the orphanage as often as he'd like. Alina is mostly forgiving.
Notes: Set post-Shadow and Bone trilogy. Implied Alina/Mal/Nikolai, though only Alina and Nikolai appear in the fic.
Read on AO3.
The orphanage is quiet when Nikolai arrives late one summer afternoon, laden with packages as he slips in through the side door. He would have expected the place to be noisy with the sound of children getting ready for dinner, but there isn’t a child in sight.
“You’re early,” a voice behind him says in surprise, and Nikolai turns to see Alina in the doorway, surprisingly without Mal attached at the hip.
“I thought I’d make it in time for dinner,” he says, shifting the boxes in his arms, “but it seems I needn’t have bothered.”
“Mal’s taken the children out to learn how to fish,” Alina tells him, taking several of the packages from the top of the pile. “They should be back soon.”
Even after all this time, there’s a lilt to Alina’s voice when she talks about Mal. Nikolai smiles warmly at her, leaning in to kiss her on the temple. Her long, white hair is tied up in a messy bun, and Nikolai longs to undo the knot and smooth out the tangles for her.
“I’ve brought gifts,” he says unnecessarily, indicating the packages.
Alina takes him to one of the cozy sitting rooms, and Nikolai deposits the boxes onto an end table before shedding his jacket, the summer air too warm for such formalities.
“Do you want something to drink?” Alina asks. “Tea? Coffee?” Nikolai shakes his head and she changes tracks. “Lemonade?”
“If you’d be so kind,” he says, smiling, and sits heavily on one end of the old couch. “It’s still strange to see you acting so matronly.”
Alina rolls her eyes. “Hardly,” she says, but she drops a kiss to the top of Nikolai’s head as she passes by, leaving the room to go fetch drinks from the kitchen. She returns soon with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses on a tray, which she places on the low table in front of the couch.
“Let me,” Nikolai says, nudging her away from the tray. He fills both glasses while Alina takes a seat on the couch beside him, then hands her one.
She takes the glass and says, “All right, tell me your excuses for why you haven’t visited this time.”
“Can’t we wait? I’ll have to share them all over again once Mal returns.” He sips at his lemonade; it’s a little too tart for his tastes, but he’s certainly not about to complain to Alina. She’ll make it worse next time.
“He’s disappointed in you, you know.”
“For being busy? He’s welcome to take over as king.”
Alina snorts and sets aside her lemonade, glass still partially full. “I think he’d like you to write more. He misses you.”
“Ha! And what sort of tortures did you have to inflict upon him to get him to admit that?”
“None,” she says, scratching the back of her neck. Her fingers catch on some loose hair, pulling it free of her bun. “I can get him to admit anything.”
Unable to take it anymore, Nikolai sets his glass back on the tray beside Alina’s, then shifts to sit facing her. “Turn around, you’re killing me.”
“What–?” Alina asks, frowning at him, and he takes her by the shoulders and turns her in the direction he wants. She doesn’t resist, putting her back to him, and when he reaches up to untie her hair she huffs softly. “You don’t visit for almost a month and when you finally do it’s to critique my hair?”
“I’d have thought all that time spent with Genya would have rubbed off on you even a little,” Nikolai remarks. “Even Zoya brushes her hair.”
“‘Even’ Zoya? I’ll have to tell her you said that.”
“I meant,” Nikolai says, combing his fingers through Alina’s tangled hair, “that contrary to popular belief, Zoya doesn’t just wake up looking like that.”
“I’ll tell her you said that too,” Alina retorts. “How do you know what Zoya looks like when she wakes up?”
Nikolai tugs lightly at a lock of Alina’s hair. “Be quiet while I’m working.”
“Ah, of course. I’d hate to ruin your intense concentration.”
Surprisingly, Alina does fall quiet, and Nikolai finishes smoothing out the tangles in her hair the best he can without a brush. It’s rather soothing, and when he finishes he forgoes putting it back into a bun, loosely braiding it before tying it off at the end.
“Satisfied?” Alina asks, looking back at him over her shoulder. Her braid tumbles down over her shoulder, baring the side of her neck to him.
“For now,” he replies, and wraps his arms around her middle to pull her toward him. He presses a kiss to her exposed neck, holding her to his chest as he hugs her. It’s strange still, after all this time, to see her neck bare, no antlered collar around it.
“The kids will be back soon,” Alina reminds him, her fingers rubbing a soothing circle over the back of his hand. “You can help get ready for dinner.”
“You’d make a king set the table?” Nikolai asks, unable to let her go just yet.
“And then some.” She twists around in his arms, pecks a kiss to his lips, then wriggles free of his hold. “We’ll catch up after dinner, once the children have been put to bed.”
“Mal may be too impatient to wait that long,” Nikolai says, a gleam in his eye.
Alina flips her newly arranged braid back over her shoulder. “You don’t want me to be the only one left doing the cooking, trust me.”
“Point taken.” Nikolai stands and offers a hand to Alina to help her up. They could hurry up, have some fun now, but Alina and Mal have certainly taught him the value of patience. And the fun of it.