#Nikolai lantsov x y/n

[atlabeth]

come on back to me - nikolai lantsov

summary: five times you save nikolai and one time he saves you.

a/n: if you've seen my thoughts as i read through siege and storm and ruin and rising then you know that i am deeply in love with nikolai lantsov and since ive finally finished the trilogy i finally feel qualified to write about him lmao. i actually don’t think i’ve written a 5+1 which is crazy so here you go. i wrote this in like 2 days in a spurt of inspiration and im absolutely in love with it, so i hope you all are too!!

title from you’re the one by greta van fleet

wc: 7.3k

warning(s): fem!reader, canon typical violence, siege and storm & ruin and rising book spoilers (i have not watched the show), medical inaccuracies, nikolai's volcra era, hurt/comfort and a happy ending (as usual)

Os Alta

It all happened rather quickly. 

One moment, you were in the infirmary mending a poor soldier’s broken arm. The next, screams were erupting everywhere. 

You and the soldier locked eyes, and you did a final bit of healing on his arm before you nodded at each other and darted off. 

The soldier grabbed his gun and went further into the palace, no doubt to find the royal family, and you adjusted the collar of your kefta before you ran out into the fray. 

Nichevo’ya had surrounded everything, attacking anyone they could find, and their shadowy bodies were like a void’s blight on the land. You knew the sight would be forever burned into your mind.

You knew the Darkling was going to march on Os Alta, that he would have to do it directly to use his shadow soldiers, but this was so much earlier, so much worse than you’d expected. Enforcements were meant to come from Poliznaya. You guessed that was off the table. 

You were fine at fighting—alright with a pistol and better with a dagger—but you were a Healer. You spent more time dealing with the aftermaths of battles, more skilled at setting broken bones and mending bullet wounds than inflicting them. 

Times like these were the ones when you normally questioned your decision to not hone your abilities into a Heartrender, but now you would at least be a dead man either way. Nichevo’ya didn’t exactly have hearts to stop and organs to manipulate. 

You had to get to the other Grisha. You had to make sure the Sun Summoner made it through this attack, even if it meant you wouldn’t. 

You broke into a sprint, trying your best to ignore the crippled and broken bodies in the carnage. Your instincts tugged against you, but you knew there was nothing to be done. If you stopped to help a dead man, you would soon join them. 

You nearly battered into a group of people from your speed and lack of attention, and you reeled to the side seconds before a head-on collision. When you looked up, drawing in ragged breaths in the one second of rest you’d gotten, your eyes widened. 

You were face to face with the royal family. The King, the Queen, and Nikolai Lantsov. The absence was glaring. 

“Grisha,” Nikolai breathed, and he grabbed onto your shoulders like a madman as his fingers ran over the embroidery. He might as well have been one, the way wildfire flickered in his eyes. “You’re a Healer? One of Alina’s?”  

You nodded rapidly. “Are you—” 

“I’m getting them to safety on the Kingfisher,” he cut off, “and she wants me to get that old woman as well.”

“Baghra—?”

“You’re a Healer?” the King interrupted harshly. Your heart stuttered—you’d never been directly addressed by the King, but you supposed circumstances like these called for different standards. 

“Yes,” you nodded. “Are you hurt?” 

“My wife,” he said, and your attention turned to the Queen. Genya’s absence had taken a toll on her, and the shards of glass sticking out of her side weren’t doing her pallid frame any favors. 

“Madraya,” Nikolai whispered, his eyes wide, “I didn’t even notice.” 

“Alexander—” her voice was ragged, her entire appearance pallid— “we’ve much bigger concerns.” 

“Nonsense.” The King’s gaze bore into you. “We have time. Heal her.” 

You screwed your eyes shut, your hands closing into fists for a moment before both opened and you nodded. “Keep an eye out, moi tsarevich,” you huffed, and you moved to the Queen’s side. Nikolai’s head perked up for a moment at your words, but it disappeared just as quickly as he adjusted his grip on his pistol. 

“Of course,” he said wryly. “Not that I don’t trust your work, and not that I don’t trust my abilities, but it would be grand if you could do this quickly.” 

“Working as fast as I can,” you muttered, ignoring the noises the Queen made as you pulled the shards of glass out with little care. Your mentors would be rolling in their graves if they could see you. 

“Vasily is dead, by the way,” Nikolai said, attention focused on the nichevo’ya all around. Thankfully, you’d run into each other in a spot relatively hidden from view. Hopefully it extended to shadow creatures. “I know you were wondering.” 

Your hands faltered for a moment, but it was hardly noticeable as you continued to work. He wasn’t wrong. “I’m so sorry.” 

The Queen choked back a sob, and the King’s face betrayed the slightest bit of emotion. 

“An awful way to go,” Nikolai muttered, more to himself than anything. “But fitting that he brought about his own end.” 

His parents said nothing to your surprise, but you stood up from your knees and nodded at the King and Queen. “She’s healed enough. No internal bleeding, at least.” 

“Healed enough?” the King repeated. “That is not—” 

“It’s the best we can hope for,” Nikolai interrupted sharply. “We’ve already wasted too much time out here.” 

He then nodded, grasping your hands with fierce desperation. “The crown thanks you, darling.” You’d never seen him like this—you’d never seen him fear anything. The Darkling and his creations were a good start. “I thank you, truly.” 

“Just doing my duty,” you assured, and you pulled a small container out of the pocket of your kefta, leftover from your work in the infirmary before it all went to hell, and pressed it into his hand. “She should be alright, but I’ve been slightly rushed. Rub this salve on her wounds when you’re out of danger just to be sure.” 

Nikolai nodded again, slipping it into his own pocket. “Keep our Sun Summoner safe,” he said. “Or else this’ll have all been for nothing.” 

You nodded. “With my life.” 

Nikolai’s eyes met yours, and something unsaid passed between you. Then his hands slipped off of yours, and he continued to herd his parents away from the chaos. You muttered a quick prayer to any Saints that would listen for their safety, and then you head off on your own way. 

2. The Pelican 

You thought either the bones in your hands or the wood was going to crack with how tight you were holding onto the side of the ship. Your heart was still hammering away in your chest—the adrenaline from the battle and Nikolai Lantsov’s sudden appearance and being shot at a thousand different times by a thousand different militiamen still had you quite shaken. 

You knew the sort of chaos you were in for when you made the decision to travel with Alina Starkov rather than stay in the White Cathedral, but you think you hated being in the air like this even more than you hated being trapped underground with those zealots. 

Someone called your name, and you turned to see Adrik a while away with wide eyes. You huffed a sigh as you reluctantly let go and hastened your pace to catch up with him. If he was sent to fetch you, then someone needed healing, and you couldn’t exactly hold off on the one thing you were good at. 

Adrik led you over to a corner of the Pelican where a large portion of your group of Grisha were gathered. Tamar was kneeling next to whoever was injured, one hand splayed above their chest, and you took a deep breath as you forced calmness to wash over your mind. 

“What are we dealing with?” you asked Tamar, but it was clear enough when he spoke up. 

“I’m telling you, it’s fine,” he insisted. “Just a flesh wound.” 

“He was shot,” Tamar said dryly, “and he refuses to accept its severity.” 

“So we meet again,” you said placidly. 

Nikolai seemed to perk up when he saw you, any prior frustration absent from his face as he grinned at you and said your name. “If you’re the Healer here, then I guess I’m not so fine.” 

“Am I ever going to be around you when you’re doing important princely things,” you said as you crouched on the other side of him, Tamar continuing to keep his heart rate steady, “or only when you’re injured?” 

“This is a very important princely thing,” Nikolai said. “I’m showing my soon to be subjects that I’m just like them.” 

“You were shot and you thought you were fine?” You let out a loose sigh and shook your head—it wasn’t worth getting into it. “Keep it steady, Tamar.” 

She nodded, and you reached out to begin unbuttoning his outer coat. He wouldn’t stop shifting around, and it made it infinitely harder. 

“Will you sit still?” you snapped. 

“I am,” Nikolai said. 

“You are not,” you asserted, and you undid the final button on his coat after a struggle, “and you are making this much more difficult.” 

“My apologies,” he said. “Usually women that are taking off my clothes aren’t this angry with me.” 

You scowled, only making his smile grow. 

“You do it yourself if you want to be like that,” you said, letting your hands fall back to your side. “I’m sure the rest of your soldiers will listen to a Healer.” 

“Ah, but none of them bravely threw themselves into danger for you,” Nikolai remarked. “I’m sure that earns me a few points.” 

“Points that you’ve immediately lost by being this difficult with me.” You crossed your arms. “And you did not throw yourself into danger for me—you were in the battle and you got shot.” 

“We came to save you all, and you are a part of it,” Nikolai said. “I’d say I definitely threw myself into danger for you.” 

“You’re impossible.” 

He raised his eyebrows. “Will you not even allow a dying man some honor?”

“You are not dying,” you said, “but you will be if you continue talking. Now take off your clothes and stop being so difficult so I can fix this up before you do die.” 

He tutted as he shed his jacket and worked on the rest of his clothing. Princes were apparently fond of multiple layers. “For a Healer, your bedside manner is remarkably poor.”

“Don’t worry,” Nadia piped in, “she’s always been like this.” 

“I have very fond memories of you healing my broken ribs,” Alina said dryly. 

“All of you are still alive,” you said tartly with a glance back at your fellow Grisha, “aren’t you?” 

“I think you made me wish I wasn’t,” Harshaw mused. 

You scowled again and Nikolai laughed. “That bodes very well for me, considering how much I seem to irritate you.” 

“You’re going to be fine,” you grumbled. When you turned back to him, he’d gotten down to his undershirt and unbuttoned it. Blood had spread across the white fabric, but apart from being shot, the wound wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. It’d had the chance to fester for a bit, but with Tamar’s aid it hopefully wouldn’t be a problem.  

You took a deep breath as you placed your hands on his chest—lucky as always, you could sense the bullet missed all his major organs—but Nikolai grimaced before you could even do anything. 

“Are you alright?”

“Your hands are very cold,” he said and you just shook your head. 

“How no one has wrung you by the neck is beyond me.” 

“Many have tried.” He flashed that smile again. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t add your name to the list.” 

You ignored him, taking another deep breath before you closed your eyes. You felt your power within you, the tug you’d grown accustomed to over the years, and you focused it into a single point. 

You slowly worked on healing Nikolai, making sure you went from the inside out to stop any internal bleeding before you carefully wedged the bullet out with your knife. Surprisingly, he managed to keep his mouth shut for the most part. He watched you the entire time though, wholly unyielding, and it was unnerving. 

Nikolai covered up his pain remarkably well, but you still caught the slightest grimace when you practically stuck a dagger inside him.

“Do you always try to injure your patients more when you’re healing them?” he asked innocently. 

“You typically don’t make fun of the person fixing you up,” you said, and you held up the knife, “or the one holding the blade.”

“Surely you could’ve used David to get it out,” Zoya offered lazily. “Better than practically stabbing the King of Ravka.”

“I’m not the king,” Nikolai said. “Not yet, at least.” 

“And I’m not stabbing him.” You held up the bullet with your other hand, then let it fall to the floor. “I just didn’t feel like digging around inside him.” 

Nikolai picked up the bullet, and you frowned in question. He just shrugged. “To hold onto the fond memories of this battle and the kindest, prettiest Healer I’ve ever laid eyes on.” 

Someone snickered behind you, and you turned to see all of them just standing around—Zoya, Harshaw with Oncat perched on his shoulder, Adrik ignoring his sister to watch, even Alina and Mal were still there. At least Tamar had enough sense to stay quiet while she helped you. 

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” you snapped. “It’s hard to focus with you all watching me.”

Alina blinked, seeming to come back to her senses. You almost didn’t blame her—she had so much on her shoulders, it made sense to just want to stand and stare for a minute.

“Right,” she nodded, and she gestured at Zoya and the Squaller siblings as she started walking across the ship, “Adrik, Nadia, I need you all over…”

Alina's words trailed off as she got farther away, and the small crowd dissipated to find duties to carry out without their Sun Summoner to indulge their whims. 

“Thank you for your help, Tamar,” you mumbled. “I can take it from here.” 

She nodded and went off to join the others—the controlled state Nikolai had been in dissolved as she let go of the hold she had on his heart, and the slight daze in his eye went away. 

“Are you always this mean?” Nikolai asked. You turned back to find him with that same unshakable confidence, same lazy smile even in the face of it all. It was no wonder noble and commoner girls alike tripped over themselves when he returned to Ravka. 

It was no wonder Alina fell for his charms despite the tracker by her side—he always knew the right thing to say to make you feel like everything would be okay, and in the midst of Ravka’s endless war, that was a valuable quality indeed.

“I save it for irritating princes,” you remarked. With a final flourish, his wound was sewed up, and Nikolai raised his eyebrows as he touched the newly healed skin.

There was another slight wince, but he still smiled up at you. “Excellent job.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” you said.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to Grisha handiwork,” Nikolai said as he pulled himself up from the side of the ship. “Especially the healing kind.”

“It would do you good not to get used to it,” you said. “You may not be king yet, but Zoya is right. I’d appreciate it if you tried to stay out of my infirmary.”

“Do you not enjoy my company?” he asked. 

“I don’t enjoy bringing Ravka’s only heir back from the brink after every battle,” you corrected. “You’ve got a lot more weight on your shoulders now, moi tsarevich.”

His eyebrows furrowed slightly at your Ravkan. “Say that again.”

You frowned, wondering if you’d heard him correctly. Nikolai continued staring at you, so you sighed. “Moi tsarevich?”

He laughed, and that only soured your mood further. “What are you laughing about?” 

“I recognized it back during the attack but I didn’t fully think about it,” he said. “It comes out the most with your R’s. You’re not Ravkan, are you?”

You paused at his sudden subject change. “You were focusing on my accent when everyone was dying around us?” 

“Answer the question.” 

Your frown deepened. “I am in most senses of the word.”

Nikolai’s eyes narrowed. “You’re Kerch.”

Your lips twitched. “Yes, but I don’t—”

“You still haven’t lost the accent somehow,” he continued. “At least, in how you speak certain Ravkan words. Is it Ketterdam?”

“Don’t you have better things to do than quiz your Healer on her childhood?”

“Perhaps,” Nikolai said, eyes twinkling, “but if you’re really my Healer, as you said yourself, I’m surely allowed to ask as many questions as my heart desires.”

“Your heart desires no more,” you said wryly. “I have other injured to attend to. Call if you find yourself actively dying.”

To his credit, he didn’t try to fight it. Just offered that same smile that weakened knees from the Kaelish to the Shu. “I’ll be sure to ring before I’m dead and buried.”

“Put your clothes back on before you do,” you said.

“Ah, but isn’t this your reward for putting up with the irritating prince?” Nikolai asked with a slight gesture at his chest. “I’d imagine you’d want to keep an eye on your handiwork.”

That sparked a rare smile of your own, and you bowed your head. “Moi tsarevich,” you said before you walked off.

You felt Nikolai’s eyes on you even as you approached an injured First Army soldier, and after the first few preliminary questions you couldn’t help but look back. 

When you did, he was gone. 

3. Monastery of Sankt Demyan

You sat on the Spinning Wheel, off to the corner so you wouldn’t be disturbing anyone, staring at your hands as you tried to ignore the thousands of things bumping around in your mind. You’d been on the run with the Sun Summoner and a smattering of other Grisha for longer than you would have liked, but you had to accept that this was what life would be like until the Darkling was either defeated or destroyed you all. 

It was a damning sort of fate, knowing what awaited you unless the impossible was done. At least it would be quick if the nichevo’ya tore you apart. 

You grimaced. That was one thought that would do you no good—if you’d made it this far, from Os Alta under the Darkling’s control to Os Alta under Lantsov control to the White Cathedral and now to Fjerda of all places, what was one more piece of the puzzle? 

A very big piece of the puzzle, of course, and there was still the intrinsic distrust that some soldiers—and even Alina at moments, flickers of it you could see in her eyes against her will—had towards you. You, like the rest of the Grisha here that hailed from the Second Army, served the Darkling until you’d switched sides. You wanted nothing more than to see the Darkling to his grave, for Ravka to be restored and for all of this to be over. 

But you had switched sides in the first place, and you knew enough from the looks of those soldiers—they still believed that if you could betray the Darkling, you could always still betray the Sun Summoner if given enough cause. 

You didn’t try to dissuade their views through words; it wouldn’t do any good. You just hoped the long hours you spent holed up in the infirmary healing the injured would. You missed Maxim if only so you wouldn’t have to do it all alone. 

“Vlachka for your thoughts?” 

You looked up, surprised to see Nikolai Lantsov of all people. You hadn’t held a true conversation with him since you healed him after his bullet wound. He’d been busy with princely things like banishing his parents and saving Genya’s livelihood. 

You were thankful for that, at least. She’d suffered too much at the hands of the Darkling and the King. 

“You’d need a lot more than that,” you said. 

He smiled. “I’ve got quite a bit. Have you seen this place?” 

You chuckled and shrugged. “Just thinking. About our next move, about the Darkling, about what will be after this.” 

“You certainly aren’t the only one,” Nikolai said. “Lately it seems to be all anyone can think about.”

“I’m sure you’d much rather have them thinking of you,” you said wryly. 

“Oh, there’s plenty of that going on as well.” Nikolai smiled. “An even balance, I’d say.”

You chuckled again. “What brings you here, Nikolai?” 

He shrugged. “I wanted to get to know my Healer.” 

You huffed a sigh and looked away. “Why do you call me that?” 

He was awfully good at feigning innocence. “Call you what?” 

“My Healer,” you repeated. “Your Healer. I don’t understand it.” 

“I like the sound of it,” he said. “I’ll stop if you don’t like it.” 

You felt your cheeks heat and you felt his eyes on you. “It’s not that. It’s just—” 

“Because I can,” he continued. “Would you prefer lapushka? Milaya? Perhaps babya.”

You scowled as you turned back to him, and you hit him lightly on the shoulder. “You should stick to the seas and the throne, moi tsarevich. Comedy is not your strong suit.” 

“I like it when you call me that,” he mused. “I like your accent, your voice.” He sat down next to you, mildly unexpected, and you hoped you did better at hiding your surprise than it felt. “There’s something soothing about it.” 

“I am from Ketterdam,” you said after a moment. “You guessed right. Born and raised. When my abilities started showing, my parents put me on a ship to Ravka with a map, some vlachki, and the clothes on my back. I made my way to the Little Palace, pleaded my case to the Darkling, and I haven’t seen them since.”

Nikolai was silent, and you fully turned to look at him. “You wanted to know more about me. That’s who I am. A girl from Ketterdam in over her head.”

“Give yourself some credit,” Nikolai said. “You’re a woman from Ketterdam in over your head.” 

You huffed a laugh, and Nikolai’s expression softened a bit. “Why did they send you away? If that’s alright to ask, of course.” 

You shrugged. “Being a young girl in the Barrel is bad enough. If anyone figured out I was Grisha, I would either be dead in the streets, indentured before I could blink, or worse.”  

“They thought it would be safer in Ravka,” he guessed. “In the Second Army.” 

You nodded. “They couldn’t have known any of this would happen,” you said dryly. 

“Do you miss your parents?” he asked. 

“Every day,” you said quietly. “We sent letters when we could, but it was never enough. And those stopped after Alina left the Little Palace, obviously.” 

You didn’t need to recount the months of the Darkling’s madness as he searched for his Sun Summoner. Nikolai might have been Sturmhond at the time, but you didn’t doubt that he had contacts in the Little Palace. You didn’t exactly want to remember it either. 

“How about this?” Nikolai adjusted his position so he could look right at you, those smart hazel eyes enough to get lost in. You forced yourself not to. “On the slim chance that we make it through these next few weeks, when the dust has settled and I’m officially King, I’ll charter a ship for you back to Ketterdam.” 

Your head whirled back to look at him, eyes widening. There was no sign in his eyes of a false promise, only that soft smile, charming as ever. You had the sudden, misplaced urge to wind your fingers into those blonde curls and kiss him. 

“You’d do that for me?” 

He nodded. “Of course. Only the best for my Healer, right?” 

That got a laugh out of you, but the heat rose to your cheeks all the same. “That would be incredible, Nikolai. Thank you.” 

“Of course.” 

He looked—gazed— at you for a touch longer than usual before he spoke again. 

“There’s going to be a meteor shower later tonight,” Nikolai said. “One of my crew figured it out—he’s very fond of the sky, and he told me it would be… quite the sight.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed. Was he—

“I’d like to watch it with you,” Nikolai continued. “Of course, I have to put on a display with Alina, but after that,” he looked over at you, hazel eyes gleaming, “I’d like to spend the night with you.” 

It took a moment for your brain to fully process his words. “Moi tsarevich, are… you asking me on a— a date?” 

“Just Nikolai, please,” he said with a grin. “And yes, I am.” 

It seemed so trivial in the scheme of things. You were leading an impossible battle against the Darkling, and as a traitor to his throne, you would end up dead or worse if he caught you. The near entirety of the Second Army was dead, friends you’d grown up and honed your power alongside with ripped apart by nichevo’ya. Your chances for victory relied on the firebird, and no one knew a damn thing about it. 

It was trivial. It was frankly ridiculous, for the prince— the King of Ravka—to be asking you on a date, especially when it was imperative for him to present a certain image with Alina. 

But for all the triviality and ridiculousness and idiocy, you found that you’d never wanted to accept something so badly. 

So you did. You nodded, smiled, brighter than usual. Nikolai seemed to have that effect on you. 

“I’d love to.” 

“Wonderful.” Somehow, impossibly, his grin grew bigger. Nikolai took your hand and pressed a delicate kiss to it before he stood back up—you’d never been so thankful for his confidence, because you found yourself at a loss for words. “I’ll see you tonight, darling. Try not to get into too much trouble without me.” 

You nodded again, and you knew you looked like a dazed idiot. The better half of a decade spent training as a Grisha and all it took was a kiss to your hand for your brain to stop working. You really had been at war for far too long. 

Nikolai could tell every thought—or lack thereof—in your head by the overly pleased expression he wore as he walked away, and your entire face burned as you bit back your smile. 

He knew exactly what he did to you. 

4. The Bittern 

Sergei sold you out. 

That son of bitch had betrayed you all to the Darkling the first chance he got, and he’d been rewarded with a quicker death than any of you would get. 

You’d been left fighting for your lives against the Darkling’s oprichniki, Grisha, and nichevo’ya alike, and as usual, you were hopelessly outnumbered. You knelt over Adrik as Zoya, Nadia, Harshaw, and David kept the crowd of enemies back, doing your damnedest to keep him from bleeding out from his nichevo’ya bite. 

His arm hung at a bizarre angle, and you didn’t know how you would tell him and his sister you didn’t think you could save it. You were sure Genya’s whispered words were the only thing keeping him even slightly calm.

By the time the Bittern was in the air, precarious but afloat, you were about ready to collapse. It had all been too damn much, with the Darkling and Baghra and Nevsky, and now the poor schoolboy lying beneath you with an arm you couldn’t save. 

“He’ll be okay,” you murmured to nobody but yourself, wiping beads of sweat from your forehead as you laid against the side of the ship. As okay as any boy who lost his arm to a shadow monster and went through what he just did. 

Thank the Saints for Tolya keeping both Adrik’s and your heart steady during that ordeal, because you were sure your panic would have won over. 

Everyone in your motley crew was injured in some way or another, and you were the only Healer. Soon you were back on your feet, pushing the horrors of the night out of your mind as you mended lacerations and fixed up bullet wounds. 

Every so often, your eyes would drift over to Adrik. You’d healed him the best you could, but it wasn’t enough. 

And then your mind went to Nikolai. 

Nikolai. 

In the chaos of the battle and the subsequent healing haze, you hadn’t even realized he wasn’t with your group. The Pelican had taken off before you all got to the Bittern, but Nikolai wouldn’t have left Alina on her own after all he’d done to ensure her safety. 

You were almost too scared to ask, but you did anyway. 

“Alina,” you asked, slightly surprised at the sound of your voice in the silence of the night, “where’s Nikolai?” 

Her eyes were unfocused, arms crossed around her midsection for warmth despite the light that glowed beneath her skin. “The Darkling,” she murmured. 

“Wh— what did he do to him?” you continued. “What in the Saints’ name happened to him, Alina?” 

“He ruined him,” she whispered. “He turned him into a monster.” The look on Alina’s face broke you into even smaller pieces. “He turned him into a monster all because Nikolai dared to stand against him. He’s gone.” 

Your grip tightened on the side of the ship as she explained what she had to watch, and your knees threatened to buckle. 

Maybe it was stupid, but you hadn’t even realized you cared this much about the prince. The king, you had to keep reminding yourself. But the thought of him hurt—a hurt that you couldn’t heal—it tore your heart to shreds. 

Only last night you were laying on a blanket next to him, staring up at the meteor shower through the glass dome. He’d never looked more beautiful than he did then, with the streaks of light illuminating his handsome features and those hazel eyes you’d grown to appreciate. 

Few words had passed between the two of you, but once Nikolai had taken your hand in his, neither of you let go for the remainder of the night. That urge to kiss him came back in spades, but you never acted on it. 

Saints, you wished you had. 

“Do you think you can heal him?” Your voice sounded oddly foreign, but you didn’t even feel like you were in your body. Like you were watching it all happen from above, because this couldn’t have been happening. Not to Nikolai— to your Nikolai. 

You were his Healer, and he was your Nikolai. That was how it was supposed to be. 

“I don’t know,” Alina admitted, her tone strained. “My light might be able to help, but… but whenever I’ve used it against the nichevo’ya, against the volcra, I— it kills them.” 

Her voice broke on the last few words, and you wanted to hug her. Alina didn’t love him, you knew that much, but anyone could tell she’d grown close to Nikolai over the months. She was hurting just as much as you. 

You didn’t. You found that you couldn’t do much but stare into the night sky.

He was all alone. Forced into a monster, and now he was all alone. 

It felt like ages before the Bittern finally landed, everyone’s teeth stained rust-orange and bones run deep with exhaustion. Everyone was still alive when you woke up the next morning, and after another check-up on Adrik, you went off into the woods under the guise of searching for kindling. 

Really, you needed some time to yourself. After what had happened—Sergei’s betrayal, losing even more Grisha when you had little to start with, Baghra’s sacrifice, Adrik and his arm, and— and Nikolai—

It was too much. It was just too damn much. 

You’d never gotten close like this to anyone before, never moved further than some useless flirtations and a few stolen kisses with various Grisha when you were bored back at the Little Palace, and when you finally did, with the damned future King of Ravka, this is what happened. 

Guilt tore away at you as you plodded through the woods, and you let the tears you’d been holding back all night fall. You wished you’d been there for him. You wished you’d kissed him. You wished you were strong enough to take the Darkling down on your own for what he’d done. 

The hairs stood up on the back of your neck, and you heard the rustling of branches. You whirled around to the source of the sound, taking a few steps to peer through the trees, and that was when you saw it. 

Your eyes widened and your heart cracked all at once. 

“Nikolai,” you whispered. 

You’d have recognized him anywhere. Despite the shadowy veins splintering across his chest, the wings furled behind his back, claws and fangs in place of fingers and teeth—he was still your Nikolai. His blonde curls remained, his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw, even his clever eyes—even if they were black instead of hazel. 

The smear of blood around his mouth was a sharp contrast to it all. You wondered what—or who—had become his unlucky victim when he could no longer control his hunger. 

Nikolai didn’t move as you stepped closer. His dark gaze was unreadable and you wanted to sob for what the Darkling had done to him. 

“It’s me.” You continued to speak softly as you moved closer, saying your name in hopes of even a spark of recognition. “Your Healer.” 

His eyes followed your movements, his gaze falling down to your hands. He pointed at them with a clawed talon.

You held them up. “My hands?” 

You realized the blood around his mouth wasn’t the only bit of it on his body as your eyes trailed across his bare chest. There were cuts all across his arms and chest, most small but some deeper. He pointed at a thin scar near his abdomen, the only sign of the bullet wound you’d stitched up. 

He wanted you to heal him. He knew who you were. 

This time, a small sob escaped you, and your hand flew up almost on instinct to cover it. You brushed the tears brimming in your eyes as you moved closer to him, and you gently placed your hand on his arm. You felt his limb stiffen for a moment before they relaxed, and you couldn’t help your small smile. Your Nikolai was still there. 

The thin cut vanished as you healed it, and you continued to do the same for the myriad of other injuries on his body. You felt his gaze on you the entire time, and some part of it was comforting. Nikolai was still there—his humanity was still there. This was the least you could do to make him feel the part. 

Once you’d healed up the last of his wounds, you felt the glow of Grisha power inside of you. Nikolai grabbed onto your hand the moment you’d finished, and you looked up into his dark eyes as your fingers clasped around his talons.

“We’ll figure this out, Nikolai,” you whispered. “I promise.”

The corner of his lips curled up ever so slightly, the barest sign of the old smile you’d grown to love.

And then he let go of your hand, and he shot up into the air. It took only seconds for him to disappear, but your gaze remained stuck in place. 

All you could think of was Nikolai’s dark eyes and the shattered shadows beneath his skin, the feel of his taloned hand in yours.  

You would find a way to bring him back. You knew that much. 

5. The Shadow Fold 

“For Saint’s sake— catch him, Zoya!” 

“You screeching at me isn’t helping,” she snarled, her hands held out above her as she summoned wind to break Nikolai’s fall. 

It was almost laughable, how Alina ended it all with a bit of stabbing. First Mal, then the Darkling—now Soldat Sol and oprichniki alike were glowing like human lamps around the Fold. The nichevo’ya dissolved with the Darkling’s power, the same thing that created Nikolai’s monster—you screamed in general when you first saw him falling, and then you screamed at Zoya. It was a credit to her growth that she didn’t slap you first. 

Thankfully, the updraft did its job, and he only landed in the sand at concerning speeds rather than very concerning. 

You ran for him without thinking, not even feeling the jolt in your ankles as you lept from the skiff onto the sands. You no longer had to fear the Fold—the various Sun Soldiers that had gotten Alina’s powers had done away with the remainder in no time—and even if you did, you would brave a thousand volcra for Nikolai. 

He looked so small, so vulnerable laying there in the sand, only clad in torn pants and a myriad of bruises. The last of the shadows receded when you finally reached him, and you didn’t try to stop the tears as they flowed freely down your cheeks. 

“Nikolai,” you whispered, falling to your knees in the sand next to him, “Nikolai, can you hear me?” 

You cradled his head in your hands, tears splattering in the sand around you, and then his eyes opened. 

His beautiful hazel eyes opened and looked right at you, his lips tugging into a smirk as he said your name. 

“Would you say this is an important princely thing?” His voice was husky, damaged from whatever dark thing that had taken a hold of him, but the usual lilt was there. “Or just another injury?” 

You broke into full on sobs, unabashedly and unashamed as you wrapped your arms around him and pulled him into a hug. You felt his arms around you as well, and he rubbed circles on your back. 

“I had time to think,” Nikolai murmured, “and I think I’ll settle on lapushka.” 

Darling. 

You couldn’t help but laugh, and you moved away from him just so you could look at him, gaze at him, never forget his beautiful features. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” 

“I knew I would be,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “I had you looking out for me.” 

“Stop,” you said, your voice watery. “I can’t keep crying in front of you.” 

“I think you’ve more than earned it, lapushka.” 

You laughed again as you shook your head. “How do you feel? Can you still move all your limbs?” 

Nikolai took his hand in yours, fingers intertwining with yours. His gaze didn’t move from you. “Limbs are fine.” 

You let your smile shine unabashed as you squeezed his hand, thankful for the lack of talons. “Can you sit up?” 

Nikolai visibly winced at the effort, but he managed with your help. “My chest hurts quite a bit.” 

“You’ve definitely broken some ribs,” you murmured, “but it’s nothing I can’t fix up.” 

“There’s nothing you can’t fix,” Nikolai said. 

“Careful with all the praise. I might get used to it.” 

“Good.” 

You glanced over to see Tolya and Zoya moving across the sand towards you and you looked back at Nikolai. 

“We’re going to get you back on the skiff, Nikolai,” you said. “I’ll get you healed up and then we’ll get you some clothes. Alright?” 

“I told you,” Nikolai said, “this is your reward for putting up with the irritating prince.” 

“That was for the prince,” you said, running a hand through his blonde curls to untangle them. “My reward for putting up with irritating kings is to make sure they’re clothed and healed.” 

His smile shone brighter than anything Alina could conjure up. 

The Darkling’s Skiff 

You ended up below deck with Nikolai, Tolya, an unconscious Alina and Mal, and the Darkling’s body. It normally wouldn’t have been a cheery atmosphere, but you were just thankful to be alive after all you’d done. Thankful that Nikolai was alive and himself and that the Darkling was dead. 

A First Army uniform was folded next to Nikolai’s makeshift cot where you sat next to him, and Tolya’s companionable silence was appreciated as he stayed by Alina and Mal to ensure they stayed alive. 

“You broke a few ribs in your fall,” you murmured, your hands placed on his chest, “but overall, I’d say you made out pretty well.” 

“Yes,” Nikolai said wryly, looking at his hands. Faint black lines ran across each of his fingers, where claws had torn through his skin. Though the other shadowy marks had faded, these appeared to be permanent. “Pretty well.” 

“You know what I mean, Nikolai.” You moved your hand over his ribs and focused your power—by the slight grimace on his face, the itch that came along with Grisha healing, you knew they were mending back together. “You’re still alive. You’re you again. That means everything.” 

“And your hands are still freakishly cold,” he mused. You smiled. 

A moment passed before he spoke again. 

“You know,” Nikolai said, and you felt his eyes on you again, “I remember everything. Everything that I did when I was that… that thing.” 

Your throat bobbed, but you nodded, encouraging him on. 

“I went to you,” he said, “and… you helped me. You weren’t afraid—you understood what I meant, and you healed me.” 

“Of course I did,” you said softly. A smile tugged at your lips. “I am your Healer, after all.” 

Nikolai placed his hand over one of yours, and your power wavered for a moment as your heart stuttered. 

“One of your ribs is still broken, Nikolai,” you said. “I have to—” 

“I love you,” he interrupted. Your eyes snapped to him, and you thought you misheard him. 

“What?” 

“I love you,” he repeated, as if it came as easily to him as breathing. “Forgive me for the lack of ballads and sonnets on how to express it—I plan to remedy that as soon as we’re back in Os Alta. But I love you, and it’s the one thing I’m sure of at this moment.” 

You continued to stare at him, as if you’d suddenly forgotten how to speak. Nikolai was no Corporalnik, but you were sure he could hear how loudly your heart was beating. 

“It’s alright if you don’t feel the same,” Nikolai said, “or if you’re not ready. I’m a very patient man.” 

It was like your limbs had suddenly regained the ability to move, because something clicked in your mind. You took his face in your hands and you kissed him with a brazen fierceness you didn’t even know you had. 

For a man with two bruised ribs and one broken one, he kissed you back with the same intensity, if not more. You poured all your fear, all your anxiety, all your worries about him into the kiss, reveling in the warmth of his lips and his hands and—

Tolya cleared his throat. “We’re nearly out of the Fold.” 

You pulled away as quickly as it had started, Nikolai looking very pleased with himself as you fixed the collar of your kefta and looked over at him with eyes that were surely more pupil than iris. 

“Thank you, Tolya,” you said, and you cleared your throat as well. Good of him to ignore the two of you. Embarrassing of you to nearly forget about your surroundings when you looked at Nikolai. 

“Yes,” Nikolai said, mirth in his voice, “thank you, Tolya.”

You rolled your eyes as you turned back to him, your lips still burning from his kiss, and you settled your hands back on Nikolai’s chest. 

“No more interruptions,” you said. “I’ve got to get you healed and dressed before we’re off the sand.” 

His eyes twinkled. “Whatever you say, lapushka.” 

You had no idea what was next. The Sun Summoner died on the Fold, the Darkling’s reign of terror was finally over, and Nikolai was to be King. You didn’t know where you would fit in, though you were sure he would find a place. 

But you loved Nikolai, and by the Saints, Nikolai loved you. 

And for now, that was more than enough. 

#nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov fic #nikolai lantsov fluff #nikolai lantsov angst #nikolai lantsov the love of my life #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fic #grishaverse x reader #sadie writes

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

Sobachka

pairing: nikolai lantsov x reader

genre: fluff

el's thoughts: just some cute fluff really nothing too it haha no real plot with this one and the gif has nothing to do with this... i just like it bahahaha

The heels on her boots clicked as Y/N walked through the halls and rounded the corner. Alina, Mal, Genya, Zoya, Tolya, Tamar, and Nikolai all turned to face her as she walked in. “Don’t mind me, sorry. Please continue.” She found her seat next to Nikolai and quickly caught onto what was being discussed.

“I’ve missed you.” 

Y/N felt the corners of her lips curl into a small smile, “I saw you this morning.” His hand rested on her thigh making her throw him a stern glace and move his hand. “Pay attention, sobachka.” She noticed his cheeks turn a light pink at her words causing her to smile a bit wider and Genya next to her to snicker into her hand.

After the meeting, Y/N and Nikolai walked down to the infirmary to make their rounds.

“Sobachka.” He scoffed making her laugh loudly. “What? How is it wrong? And it’s not like you haven’t been called it before.” She didn’t have to look at him to know he rolled his eyes, “Yes, by my mother or the elders. Literally anyone much older than me.”

“Genya calls you that sometimes.”

“Well… Yes, but that’s Genya.”

“So I can’t call you by that name but she can?” 

He sighed, “You can call me whatever you’d like, Darling.” He gave her a smirk and dodged her hand as she raised it to slap his arm. 

“What am I supposed to call you then? Nikolai is so… boring and I would like to have a cute nickname for you.” 

“So nice that you find my name boring. You call me, your love. No one else calls me their love.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his side to kiss her head.

She scoffed, “Well I sure hope so!” She gave him a faux side-eye. “And it’s not that I find your name boring. You know I love your name, Nik. Just, everyone calls you that and I want to call you something else. Something special. Am I making any sense?” 

He nodded and chuckled, “Yes I understand, but know that anything you call me is already ten times more special just because it came from your lips.”

Y/N felt her cheeks heat up, “You’re a flirt, you know that.”

“For you and you alone, Darling.”

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n #shadow and bone #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone imagines #ellora.writes

[thesuntomyshadows]

Y/N: *Tending to Nikolai's injuries* Take off your shirt.

Nikolai: *Raises his eyebrows*

Y/N: Unlike some people, I can take the sight of your naked chest without swooning.

Nikolai: Are you sure? Because viewing my naked chest has caused many people to seriously injure themselves stampeding to get to me.

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov x y/n #incorrect six of crows quotes #incorrect six of crows #six of crows imagine #six of crows #incorrect soc quotes #incorrect soc #soc imagine #incorrect shadow and bone quotes #incorrect shadow and bone #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone #incorrect grishaverse quotes #incorrect grishaverse #grishaverse imagine

[euphoniumpets]

Against the wall | Nikolai Lantsov x reader

Summary: being risky was the word that nikolai never cared about, especially when it came to you.

A/N: i need more smut for my husband nik <3

Warnings: smut, fingering, public sex, p in v, just smut with no plot.

i can't stop looking at him like, look at him he's so prettyyyyy

Nikolai presses you against the wall with his mouth on yours while he tries to cover up your mouth. It has been several days and you two were busy to rebuild Ravka. Almost everybody interrutpted the two of you and both of you were growing frusterated.

So, when Nikolai had finished his late meeting and everybody was asleep, he saw you walking through the corridors after your Queen duties and didn't waste a second to grab you by your wrist and place you against the wall.

He roughly kisses you on the mouth before going down on your neck and licked a stripe along your neck, making you whimper and moan at the touch. Nikolai roughly places his hand over your mouth while he continued to kiss you before his hand trail down lower to your stomach.

You are utterly embarrassment because of the sudden act and knowing that anyone could walk through the corridors at any moment. But you are too busy to try and keeping quiet while you felt his fingers play with your wet folds.

''Nik-'' You whimpered through his hand. He just huses you and kept fingering while rubbing your clit. ''Be quiet, love,'' You heard him whisper into your ear. Nik almost has a heart attack when he feels that you are tightening through his fingers and felt you orgasm and scream into his hand.

He didn't stop there when he drifted his fingers away and ubuttoned the buttons on his pants before taking his hard cock out. You moaned when you felt him lift your right leg and place it around his waist before rubbing his cock around your folds before entering.

You heard him moan into your ear and it was the hottest sound you've heard when he leaned into you. He began to thrust roughly in and out and your legs began to shake. Nikolai had to steady you against the wall so that you wouldn't collapse in front of you when you reached your orgasm.

Nikolai placed his hand onto your mouth and you couldn't hold it in anymore as you felt your orgasm releasing, letting out a small scream into his mouth when you felt the hot liquid entering.

You and Nikolai didn't move for a while as he still kept his cock inside of you. You let out a heavy breath before letting out a small laugh. ''Next time, warn me when this happens,'' You replied as you saw Nikolai grin at you.

Nikolai leaned to your face and rubbed his nose against you. ''But where's the fun in that?''

#nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai lantsov smut #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n #shadow and bone #shadow and bone x reader

[jahayla-parker]

Royal Comfort : Nikolai Lantsov x Reader

Description: 2.1k wc sick!reader fic where reader is Nikolai’s wife and becomes sick after not heeding advice to rest her voice.

Warnings: illness/sickness, mentions of eating and drinking/soup and tea, mentions of Nikolai being shirtless (just fluff though, I promise), Nikolai bring a protective!simp for reader. 🖤

Note: full disclosure this wasn’t a WIP but rather to help my little sis @ell0ra-br3kk3r feel better 💜

“I thought you agreed to take it easy today” Nikolai sighed, walking into his office and seeing his wife y/n tidying up.

She turned to him with a guilty smile.

“How’s your throat?” He questioned, stepping to her.

“It’s gr-“ she coughed, “great”.

Nikolai gave her an incredulous look.

“Milaya, I heard you singing to yourself again” He informed her, reaching for her hand.

“Habit” she mumbled, shuffling her feet against the wood floor.

He grinned softly, “I know. And it’s precious, truly. But, you have to rest your voice”.

“Are you telling me to sh-“ She coughed again and groaned, “to shut up?”

Nikolai smirked, “If that’s what gets you to rest your throat, then, yes”.

She gave him a weak glare before spinning around to resume her cleaning.

“My beloved wife, we have people who can do that, you mustn’t fuss over it” He reminded her.

“You want them going through your documents?” She questioned softly, holding up one of his more confidential notes.

Nikolai hummed and took it from her, “Fair point Darling. I’ll handle this, you should see if Genya or someone can aid your throat”.

Y/n shook her head and took the paper back from Nikolai before setting it on the desk.

Nikolai watched her silently as she guided him to the lounge chair across the room.

She popped down and signaled for him to join her.

Once he sat down beside her, he moved to pull her to his chest and placed a tender kiss on the top of her head.

—— Time Skip 1 Day ——

“Darling” Nikolai scolded, arms crossed as he stared down his wife.

She winced slightly and covered her mouth.

He signed and walked to her before lowering her hand with his.

“I’m just worried you’ll make yourself worse” Nikolai explained.

She nodded, “I’m not trying to be difficult, it’s just so routine”.

Nikolai pulled her to him, resting his chin on her head, “perhaps you should stay in bed where you don’t have a reason to sing?”

Y/n looked around the room she’d been painting in and frowned.

As she turned back to Nikolai she shook her head with a pout.

He chuckled softly, “alright, but then the signing has to be put on hold hmm?”

She sighed but nodded reluctantly.

—— Time Skip 1 Day ——

“Your highness?” Sentinel Ivanov whispered, standing behind the King as Nikolai attended yet another boring meeting.

Nikolai nodded in response to his wife’s personal guard member, but respectfully kept his eyes on the meeting’s current speaker.

“It’s the Queen,” Sentinel Ivanov began, stepping back when Nikolai’s head whipped around instantly.

“What is it? Where is she?” Nikolai questioned, diregarding the meeting he was in.

“She’s fallen ill, she hasn’t left your shared chambers but has requested your-“ Sentinel Ivanov explained cautiously.

Nikolai stood from his seat and quickly walked to the exit.

“I have a family matter to attend to. General Nazyalensky will take over” he breathily rushed out before exiting the meeting room.

Nikolai ignored the way his staff in the hall turned to watch him speed down the hallway.

Upon reaching their bedroom door, he impatiently waited for the guards to part from their blocking of the entrance and then dashed inside.

Nikolai frowned so deeply his forehead wrinkled as he saw the state his wife was in.

Y/n lay there wrapped up in the comforter in the middle of their bed, tissues scattered across the sheets, head slightly hung, and sad eyes.

He nearly choked when she glanced over to give him a weak smile.

Her nose was red and stuffy and the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Moya tsaritsa” he whined, rushing to her bedside.

She pointed wordlessly to her neck and frowned.

Nikolai sighed as he took her hand in his, “your sore throat worsened?”

She nodded and then paused as a shiver took over her body.

Nikolai felt her forehead with the back of his hand and let out a sigh of relief.

“No fever, let’s keep it that way, hmm?” He advised, scanning the room.

“It’s just a stuffy nose and re-“ y/N’s voice cracked, “really bad sore throat”.

Nikolai nodded and gently moved the pillows behind her before scooping her up in his arms.

He delicately placed her back down on the bed, closer to the head of it this time.

“Let me change and then we’ll cuddle and get some rest okay?” Nikolai offered.

“You could get sick Kolya” she whined followed by a small coughing fit.

He raised an accusatory eyebrow, “you expect me to care about that?! Especially when you’re ill?”

Y/n smiled softly at him but nodded.

Nikolai chuckled softly as he removed his uniform top.

“Your guard informed me that you requested my presence “ Nikolai grinned, although he was inferring that information as he hadn’t let Sentinel Ivanov finish before he rushed to come to her aid.

Y/n coughed loudly, making Nikolai’s head whip around to look over her.

As she lowered her arm from her mouth she sighed, “I’m okay”.

He shook his head and resumed changing his clothes.

“I didn’t think about it when I asked for you” she mumbled, “but I don’t want you to get-“

“Enough of that y/n,” he warned, “I won’t have it. You are my one true love and I’m not leaving your side until you’re well”.

“Bu-but you don’t have time to-“ she argued weakly.

Nikolai turned to her, his robe hanging open around his torso as he stared at her.

“Y/n/n, I always have time for you. I love you” he cooed as he made his way back to her.

“Even when I’m sick?” Y/n questioned, followed by another cough.

Nikolai pouted and softly pulled her arm away from her face after she finished coughing, “especially when you're sick. Sick people need even more love and time than usual, you know."

Y/n whimpered quietly as she reached to her husband, “…… I love you immensely”.

He smiled and slid into the bed beside her, his arms instantly closing around her frame.

“I love you too moya tsaritsa, now how can I help?” He questioned, kissing her forehead.

She shrugged, desperately clinging onto him, “don’t know. I’m fine”.

Nikolai sighed, moving one hand from her back to her chin and tilting her face upwards, “what’s the matter?”

“This is humiliating” she pouted, eyes darting anywhere but his face.

“There's nothing humiliating about needing help once in a while, my love” he promised, smiling tenderly at her.

She finally made eye contact with him and sniffled, “but you have more important-“.

“No” Nikolai stated, his hand placed over her mouth.

She gasped and then giggled against his hand, making him smile as he pulled his hand back.

“Don’t make me risk you having to cough because I had to cover your mouth. You’re not permitted to finish that sentence” Nikolai alerted her.

“Per-permitted?” She coughed and rose her eyebrow at him.

“You know I’d never restrict you milaya, but this is one exception. I will not stand for you insinuating that there’s anything in this world I would find more important than you” he affirmed, holding her closer to his bare chest.

Y/n laid her head against his torso with a smile on her lips.

“You’re sitting though” she teased quietly.

Nikolai chuckled loudly and tickled her sides.

As her laughter turned into coughs, he abruptly stopped and held her still as his eyes scanned her face.

“I’m terribly sorry love, that was a bad idea” he apologized frantically.

“Moi tsar, Moi Kolya, it isn’t y-your fault” y/n assured him, her voice cracking slightly.

Nikolai bent his head down to place a kiss to her stuffy nose.

“Shhh y/n/n, you don’t need to talk love” he advised, shifting so she could rest on his chest again.

A few calm moments passed before y/n pulled back to glance up at her husband again.

Nikolai smirked at her inability to stay still and nodded for her to explain what was on her mind.

“You’re not mad at me?” She questioned in a breathy whisper.

Nikolai’s eyes nearly crossed as he tried to figure out where she’d get such an idea from.

“Course not, why would I be?” He wondered, staring deeply into her eyes for an answer.

“I..” she sniffled and rubbed the tip of her swollen nose with the side of her palm, “I didn’t listen when you said to stop singing”.

Nikolai let out a gust of air as he broke into a smile, “it’s okay milaya, I love your singing. Just didn’t want you to hurt is all”.

“You love my singing?” She whispered.

He cupped her cheek and guided her head back to his chest, “I am in love with your singing, y/n”.

She hummed softly but stopped as she rubbed her throat in pain.

Nikolai pursed his lips before he began to slowly moving out from behind her so he could set her against the pillows.

“I’m going to get you some tea” he informed her when she frowned at his movement.

She pouted and shook her head as she tightened her grip on the edges of his robe to try and hold him down.

Despite the fact he could very easily escape her grip, he didn’t want to; and she clearly didn’t want him to either.

So, he placed a tender kiss to the top of his wife’s head.

“Sentinel Ivanov” Nikolai called out, his hands placed over y/n’s ears.

There was a firm knock on the doors of their bed chambers as Sentinel Ivanov responded, “Korol Lantsov?”

“You may enter” Nikolai confirmed, lowering his hands from his wife’s ears.

“Korol, Koroleva” Sentinel Ivanov bowed as he reached the end of the couple’s bed.

“Ilya, please rise” Nikolai said at the same time y/n said, “you don’t need to do bow”.

Ilya smiled and nodded at them as he waited to hear why he’d been called.

“Would you please have the kitchen fetch some warm tea, and perhaps honey if there’s any, for my loving wife?” Nikolai requested, rubbing y/n’s shoulder that wasn’t pressed against his chest.

“Of course moi tsar, anything else for Koroleva Lantsov?” Ilya replied with a nod.

Nikolai glanced down lovingly at his wife, “anything else you think will help, darling?”

She shook her head and then pulled her shirt over her nose as she coughed again.

Nikolai frowned, glancing between his wife and Sentinel Ivanov.

Ilya gave Nikolai a sympathetic look, knowing full well how much y/n’s discomfort was impacting the King.

“Has anyone brought her food today?” Nikolai questioned Ilya upon remembering it was nearly noon.

Ilya shook his head, “no one other than yourself has left nor entered these chambers today. Well, and now myself”.

Nikolai nodded, sighing as he looked back at his wife.

Y/n lifted her head to make eye contact with Nikolai as she felt his gaze.

“It hurts too much” she whispered.

Nikolai pressed his lips into a fine line as he thought of how to make sure she still ate.

“Perhaps there’s some soup or broth in the kitchen?” Nikolai asked as his eyes snapped to Ilya.

“I can certainly check sir” Ilya agreed.

Nikolai hummed and nodded, “that’ll be all. Thank you”.

—— Short Time Skip ——

“You must love me a lot” y/n croaked a Nikolai lowered the spoon back to the bowl of soup.

“Obviously, you idiot” Nikolai smirked, bringing up another spoonful of warm broth.

She squinted at him but sipped the broth from the spoon in his hand.

“Now you’re insulting a sick person?” Y/n huffed.

He chuckled, “only when you say such obvious things”.

She smiled and softly pushed his hand back down to the dish has he brought up another spoonful.

“You’re full?” He questioned warily.

She nodded and he grinned as she let out a yawn.

“Fair enough, but you’re going to have some more tea before we go to sleep” he ordered as he set the bowl on the bedside table.

—— Short Time Skip ——

“Don’t” y/n whispered, eyelids blinking slowly.

She yawned and snuggled into Nikolai’s embrace even more, “don’t stop.. your fingers…”

Nikolai hummed tenderly, his fingers still moving through her hair.

“Your fingers” she repeated lowly, “feel so nice in my hair”.

He smirked to himself before lowering his head to press a kiss to her head.

“So cozy Kolya” y/n mumbled, her eyelids closing.

Nikolai watched her closely until he saw the rise and fall of her chest.

Once he noticed her eyelids and facial features relaxed, he let out a satisfied sigh.

“Rest well my dear Koroleva” Nikolai hummed, letting his own eyes close.

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[typingfool]

𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒 ;; nikolai lantsov

pairing ; Nikolai Lantsov x fem!Reader platonic / mentions ; tamar yul-bataar, tolya yul-bataar

outline —; Nikolai isn’t the only royal member in the Sturmhond Crew. 

WARNINGS —: none.

Word Count —; 621

A/N —; just wanted to write something again, i've been stuck in a writer's rut. NOT BOOK ACCURATE. THIS IS BASED ON THE SHOW; SHADOW AND BONE. so sorry if it's short, i'll expand on this later. for now, enjoy !!

“You’re whom?” 

His tired question echoes, voice bouncing across the room, making Nikolai slightly bite his inner cheek. He shook his head, blonde hair messily falling over the edge of his brows. You sat with your back against the headboard, the weight of your knees covering your chest. He carefully repeated his question; “Who are you?” 

You lay your cheek against your knee, a familiar smile broadly appearing across your face. A sleepy expression carried your next words, as though you weren’t thinking about what you were saying. “Secondborn Princess of Novyi Zem.” You replied with a yawn. 

Nikolai sat on the edge of the bed, the fabric of the tunic fit his body perfectly, and you forced yourself not to stare. Peaking your gaze towards your clothes. He scoffed, his hand extending to your face. His fingers found their way to your chin, forcing you to look at him. With amusement evident in his voice, he said; “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Your fingers curled around his wrist, pulling it away, the absence of his touch lingered across the skin of your chin. Rolling your eyes, your head fell back against the bed’s headboard. “Sure, of course, I would tell you, Prince Nikolai.” You teased, shaking your head, arms wrapping around your legs. “You didn’t think you were the only royal one on board, did you?” 

Nikolai plopped himself on the bed, with his palm on his forehead, scoffing. 

No wonder you were so enticing. So polite and kind. Your posture told your status, you held your head high, shoulders on-alert, hands crossed or over each other (because, who would hold your hands if it grew cold?). Your choices were impulsive, for sure, but that was only due to the fact that the luxury of choice isn’t a right to a Princess, especially a Secondborn. The attention is with the Firstborn, the first light, the first star, the responsible, the role model. 

How could Nikolai miss all those traits? The traits that made him love you deeply. In secret. With the doors locked, he would hold his aching heart, wishing that Sturmhond is his real name. 

Then again, you adopted an alias. One that felt so uneasy leaving his tongue. He felt the need to say your real name, if you so kindly give him the permission to. “What is your name?” Nikolai asked, peeking down on your tired figure. 

You left your spot and settled beside him, elbows touching. You said your name without looking at him, carrying the bitterness of your title alongside your identity. 

“Princess…” He started slowly, maybe sleepily. His whispery voice stopped, before he turned to face you. Your gaze was still fixed on the ceiling, ignoring the Prince’s tracing eyes over your profile. “No,” He stopped, then said your name. 

The weight of your responsibilities came tumbling down. And Saints didn’t matter to you anymore, the ongoing war of Ravka, destroying the Fold, Kirigan’s return… nothing mattered. Nothing. Your name never sounded so common, yet so rare. Your parents named you after a Queen, and as the saying goes, ‘Name her after a Queen and expect her to act like one.’ 

For a moment, you were so thankful that you were in a foreign land. One that didn’t recognize your name in its meaning. Thankful for your impulsive and rash decision that one midnight. The one night you fled, met Tamar and Tolya, and joined Sturmhond’s Crew. 

The one night that changed your view in a world so cruel. That, perhaps, a stranger’s name could belong to you. But he proved you wrong. Your name belongs to you. 

“Out there, Princess” Nikolai pointed to the walls, eyes closed. “In here, No titles,” Nikolai smiled. 

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[flightlessangelwings]

Ktober Day 4- Sex Pollen

Nikolai Lantsov x gn!Corporalki!reader

Word count- 1.9k

Warnings- s.mut (18+ ONLY!), mutual pining, multiple orgasms, no use of y/n

Notes- Nikolai my beloved I can't believe I've never written anything for him before! What a way to start writing for him, huh lol?! Prompt list made by me! Enjoy!

@flightlessangelwings-updates is myupdate blog so please follow that too and turn on post notifs to stay up to date on my new fics!

~

“Captain?” you knocked at the door to his quarters, “Is everything alright?” you called through the door as you tested the handle. Finding it unlocked, you slowly opened it and peeked inside, “Tamar wanted me to check on you.”

“Everything’s alright, love,” Nikolai quickly put himself together as you entered his room. He felt his brow dampen as it lined with sweat, and he adjusted his pants uncharacteristically awkwardly as he laid his eyes on you. He always found you attractive, but suddenly, he couldn’t stop the thoughts that barraged his mind.

“Nikolai,” you breathed his true name as you closed the door behind you, “I can feel your heart… It’s…” pounding erratically, beating faster than you had ever felt before, about to explode, “What happened?” you asked as you rushed over to him and looked him over. He was bright red and you saw the way beads of sweat dripped down his face. He looked like he had lost his composure as he covered his mouth, something you had never seen before.

“It’s… nothing…” he breathed heavily as he tried to hide the way his pants tightened between his legs.

Nikolai and the twins had just returned to the ship from an excursion. Everything went fine, until the Captain got separated from the others and didn’t seem himself when he returned. He refused to say anything, but every Corporalki could sense that something was off, including you. It worried you, but Nikolai didn’t want to worry you.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” you said sternly yet softly, “Now please, let me help you,” you reached out to try and touch his forehead to assess what was wrong.

But the moment the tips of your fingers made the briefest contact with his heated skin, Nikolai grabbed your wrist and looked at you with a fire behind his eyes that you had never seen before. He hissed your name as his hands trembled, “Leave,” his voice was strained as he fought against his own mind. If he gave in to whatever he had pulsing through his veins, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from ravaging you. And Nikolai could never forgive himself if he hurt you at all.

“Nikolai,” you whispered, “I’m not leaving you. Not when you’re like this.”

Nikolai let out a low groan that made your breath hitch in your throat. You felt his agony as his hand clenched tightly around your wrist. But there was something else that weighed heavily in your heart. You hated seeing him like this, helpless to do anything for him. And you would do anything for him. You had been hopefully in love with him from practically your first meeting, but you kept those feelings buried deep down. 

“Listen to me,” Nikolai strained as he hovered closer to you, “I don’t have time to explain,” he forced a half a smile, “And I wouldn’t want anything to come between us if I can’t stop myself right now… Especially before I got the chance to wine and dine you first.”

At that moment, you felt your own face heat up, “What?”

He cursed under his breath as his body shook, “I don’t know what happened out there, I can’t remember, but whatever it is, everything in me is screaming to fuck you senseless right now or else I feel like I’ll explode.” His memory was hazy, but in his time apart from the others, something must have attacked him and poisoned him with… something. It wasn’t like any other poison, though, nothing Nikolai knew of had effects like… this.

Your mouth dropped open as you processed the weight of his words and what they meant. You felt your own heart flutter in your chest as Nikolai’s gaze bore into your soul. You felt the fire behind his eyes and it lit your body aflame. You had wanted this… wanted him… for so long. But you never in your wildest dreams could have imagined this.

“Let me help,” your voice was so hushed you barely even heard your words. But, from the way Nikolai’s expression changed, you knew he heard you. Swallowing your nerves, you closed the small gap between your bodies and cupped his face, “You can use me.”

“Darling,” his voice didn’t even sound like him as he immediately grabbed you and yanked you so that your chest was flush with his. Then, Nikolai looked surprised, as if his body moved on his own at your words, “I couldn't…”

You whimpered as you felt his hard cock against your body, “You need to,” your own voice trembled, “I…” you sighed as you rested your forehead against his, “I can’t lose you,” your confession was a soft whisper, but it held all the emotions that you kept hidden from everyone, especially him.

In a flash, Nikolai’s lips were on yours in a heated kiss. He swallowed the moan you let out as his hands roamed over your body, ripping at your clothes with abandon as he did so. You clung to him and you heard his heartbeat through your ears; it sounded like the way your ears rang when you were too close to cannon fire. You heard the blood rushing through his veins at incredible speed… or was it your own pulse in your ears?

The room spun in a tizzy as you suddenly found yourself naked on Nikolai’s desk, your legs spread open on their own, as if you felt the effects of whatever infected him as well. But, it didn’t matter. All you could think about was the way he bared his own body before you. Quickly, Nikolai stripped himself of his own clothes, and cock springing free as if it guided his body towards yours the moment it was exposed.

You bit your lip and whimpered as he cupped you between your legs.

“Darling,” Nikolai’s voice was low as he fought to hold himself back momentarily, “Do not let me hurt you.”

Seeing the conviction in his eyes made your heart skip a beat and your inner muscles clenched around nothing, “I trust you,” was your reply. It wasn’t a lie, and you wouldn’t have offered yourself to him if you didn’t.

He groaned as he pumped his cock a few times and lined himself up with your entrance. Pausing only for a fraction of a moment, Nikolai met your eyes before he thrust himself into you.

You threw your head back and screamed as his cock stretched you out. Without any preparation, you felt the sting at first, but it quickly turned to pleasure as he rocked himself in and out of you at a fast and harsh pace. You moaned as you clung to him, and Nikolai wrapped his arms around you in response.

The moment he entered you, Nikolai felt an instant relief, but he knew it would take more than that to fully rid himself of whatever plagued him. He never wanted it to be like this with you. He wanted you, of course, he had since you first joined his crew. But Nikolai wanted to court you properly, to earn your love, your trust, your body. He wasn’t even sure you felt the same way about him that he had about you. But, from the moment he got hit with whatever it was, you were the only person on his mind. 

“Saints,” Nikolai murmured as he bit your shoulder to stifle his own moans, “You feel better than I ever imagined.”

You gasped as he hit that sweet spot inside you at the same time his words left his mouth. Tears filled your eyes and emotions took over. All you could do was cling to him as he pounded into you. Moans filled the room as you felt your climax quickly approach.

“Nikolai… I’m…”

He just groaned as he picked up his pace until you came hard. Nikolai wanted to pull back and watch you cum, but at the same time he couldn’t break away from you even by an inch. Instead, he held you tightly as you gushed between your bodies and trembled in his arms.

“Darling…” he growled as he felt his own climax follow yours. And with just a few more pumps of his cock, he came deep inside you as he groaned your name and clutched you tightly. 

Relief washed over him like a cool rain on a hot summer day. Nikolai still felt the aftershocks of his orgasm, and his cock still remained hard inside you, but the urgency was gone. But, just as he was about to pull out of you, you wrapped your legs around his waist.

“You can keep going,” you whispered, feeling his hardness as well, “I’m ok.”

“But…”

“I trust you,” your voice was more firm as you pulled back enough to look in his eyes, “Do you trust me?”

“I do,” his reply came without hesitation.

The way you looked at him so sincerely made Nikolai’s cock twitch inside you, and before he knew it, he was thrusting in and out of you again. Your mouth dropped open in a loud moan, but he reeled forward and captured your lips with his one in another deep, heated kiss. As he locked lips with you, Nikolai felt his second climax quickly approach, and without pulling away once more, he came inside you.

You whimpered into his mouth as you felt Nikolai fill you up to the point where his cum dripped down your bodies, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was him.

Breaking away for air with a gasp, Nikolai finally got to look in your eyes as you were lost in pleasure. Lost in pleasure on his cock. Saints, you were beautiful like this. Once more, the need overtook him, and Nikolai pounded into you again until he came for the third time. But this time, he watched your every expression as you moaned and cried out his name.

Your eyes stayed shut as he continued to thrust into you, hitting your sweet spot over and over and over again until you couldn’t take it anymore. And just as Nikolai came for the third time, you did as well, crying out his name and clenching around his cock. This time was different though, for both of you. It felt less urgent, yet just as needy.

“Beautiful,” Nikolai murmured as he watched you fall apart in his arms.

With a gasp, your eyes shot open and your heart skipped a beat as you saw the expression of pure adoration on his face, “Nikolai,” you breathed as you cupped his face.

He gave you a weak smile as he mirrored your action, “I think I’m alright now,” he said softly as he slowly pulled out of you, “Thank you,” he hovered his lips over your, but stopped.

You had whined when he pulled out of you, but the disappointment quickly vanished when you felt his breath on your lips. Blinking your eyes open, you studied his face close up, closer than you ever had before. “Don’t tell me you’re shy now, Nikolai,” you quipped in a hushed, exhausted voice.

“I just…” he sighed, “I owe you.”

You smiled, “What about the wining and dining me then?” you asked with an amused huff.

That made Nikolai’s face light up, “I love it when you quote me,” his tone dropped as he finally kissed you, “And yes,” he murmured with a smirk.

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[holden-caulfield]

𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒, 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓?

━ 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐌.𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 - 𝐍.𝐋. 𝐌.𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

━ 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: as prince of Ravka, Nikolai had many privileges, one of these being having a personal servant. But as much as the reader can't resist the prince's charms, he doesn't seem to be immune either...

━ 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: nikolai lantsov x servant!reader

━ 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃: yes

━ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: flashback are in italics

━ 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 2013

━ 𝐀/𝐍: i'm not sure this is exactly what the request asked for, but i don't (and can't for the life of me) write smut so i hope this is okay anyway :')

Queen Tatiana had been very kind, for her standards, gifting Nikolai one of his numerous servants. She had one for every single step of her routine and she liked to change them once she learned their names a little too well. Once a servant was done working for the queen, they usually stayed in the palace, taking care of what needed to be taken care of.

It wasn't all the times that the queen personally decided to assign one of her old servants to their new job, and it was even rarer that said job was to be the prince's personal servant. But you couldn't complain.

You weren't too sad to be leaving the queen's side and experiencing more of the palace, especially if it was to work right beside the prince. You found your new job to be even better once you realized the prince didn't have as many needs as the queen: he liked company, mostly. Someone to join him wherever he needed to go, someone that would bear his constant banter; and you didn't mind it.

You made sure to greet him in the morning when he woke up, follow him throughout the day unless told differently, and greet him goodnight so that you could finally sleep too. It was easier than following every single one of the queen's instructions, and it was much more entertaining too. Not to talk about the prince, lighting every room he walked into with the simplest of smiles.

"Good morning, your highness." You greeted the prince as he opened the door of his rooms, meeting you already up and waiting. "Any plans for today?"

"I was thinking breakfast to start," he said with all the seriousness of a war strategist.

"Excellent choice, your highness, but i believe the cooks already had such a brilliant idea."

The two of you started walking together towards the kitchens, side by side, like you always did. It wasn't common for servants to walk as freely as you did, but Nikolai had requested it and you couldn't go against the prince's orders.

"These cooks, they're getting better and better every day," he said, still serious. "If i were king, they'd be on the first line beside the first and second army."

"And i would agree," you said, matching his tone. "I would never mess with a cook, especially around noon."

He let a chuckle escape. A brief look down at you, which you couldn't acknowledge or you would have become redder than an inferni's coat.

The conversation died there but it didn't feel uneasy, it didn't feel uncomfortable; silence with Nikolai felt relieving. As if in those moments he could hear all the words you weren't saying, all the feelings you couldn't externalize. You hoped he actually didn't, or you would have been in great trouble: falling in love with a member of the royal family was embarrassing other than stupid.

A cliché, really. The servant falling in love with the prince. You swore you'd read some book about it and yet it didn't stop you from dreaming about the possibility of it all. And yet that was exactly what it was; a possibility.

The day went by like it always did: you followed Nikolai around, even when he had no particular event to attend to. You talked freely around him, making comments about certain situations like how unappealing the tie his brother had chosen that day looked. And he would answer, a whisper so as to not be heard, that he was pretty sure his brother had decided to dress by himself, 'like a big boy', that day and that it was an unfortunate decision for everyone that had to see him.

You would have never dared such a topic with the queen, but Nikolai made it easy. He had established since the first day that he didn't want a servant, rather a friend.

"I can perfectly dress by myself and, even if it might not always look like it, comb my hair all alone," he said letting his hand run through his blonde hair, as to prove a point. "I don't need that and i have no interest in that."

He started roaming the room while you remained at the center of it, composed and looking down, because that's what a servant is supposed to do when a royal member is speaking.

"I want something more... genuine," he continued. "A friend, a funny one if possible but i can always make up for both if that were not the case."

You didn't say anything, confused about the whole conversation. The idea that it was all a test of the queen roamed your mind so you preferred to not say anything.

You heard his footsteps approaching you until he was right in front of you. He lifted your chin so that you were looking at him and found him with his eyebrows corrugated, a small smile on his lips. "That's exactly what i don't want. I like talking to people and if the people only listen and don't answer, my ego just gets too big." He paused a moment, his smile widening. "And that's a problem, some would say."

You still didn't utter a word but at least now you were looking at him. He let a sigh escape his lips as he distanced himself from you and you finally felt like you could breathe again.

You grasped every ounce of courage you had and hoped it was not a test. "I was just wondering how desperate one must be to want a servant to be their friend."

You immediately regretted your words, but Nikolai seemed to love it. He turned around with the biggest grin on his face, running towards you to grasp your shoulders and shake you, maybe a little too vigorously. "She speaks! And she's funny! Not more than me, but she's funny!"

Since then, you and Nikolai had been more friends, as he wanted, than prince and personal servant and yet you wanted more. It was already unreal to be so close to him despite your social status and yet you wanted more.

But you couldn't have that, and so you settled with what you had: a dubious friendship with the most handsome prince you'd ever seen.

It was getting late and, as always, you left your room to bid the prince goodnight. Normally, the queen would have at least a dozen more things for you to do before bed but Nikolai never asked anything of you if not to have a good night and wake up a little later than usual. You never did: you had to be there when he woke up because, after all, it was your job.

You closed the door behind you and went up to Nikolai's, knocking twice. It took slightly longer than usual for him to open it, which never happened, but the state in which he was in solved all your doubts: in front of you was your prince, an immaculate bathrobe the only thing separating you from seeing what you hadn't already peeked at.

You immediately averted your eyes, looking down, but the image was engraved in your mind: his blond hair slightly wet and clinging to his forehead, beads of water stubbornly stuck to his skin, running down to meet the white fabric and end their run. In all the time you'd worked for Nikolai, you'd never seen him in that divine state and now you didn't know how to act.

Words escaped you, leaving you a mess in front of the prince, not even able to look him in the eye. You couldn't tell if it was respect because you'd already seen too much or shame because you would have loved to see more.

"You caught me in the middle of a shower, Y/n," he said, so non-chalantly, as if he hadn't just destroyed your ability to speak normally ever again. "Hope i don't look too handsome for you."

You opened your mouth to speak, even just a word to show him and yourself that you could, in fact, still formulate a sentence, but nothing. It wasn't until he let out a small chuckle that you found the strength to talk back, only to just shut his mouth and tone down his ego. "Don't worry about that, i was just coming to ask if you needed anything, before i go to bed."

"As always, you can go," he spoke. "Actually, there is one thing."

You couldn't resist anymore and lifted your head to look him in the eyes, letting your own scan his half covered body once more. You nodded your head, only once, brief and quick because you didn't trust your voice that much.

"I was wondering that maybe," he trailed off, looking away. It wasn't like Nikolai to look so vulnerable when speaking, to look almost afraid to finish the sentence. He was always too eager, if anything. "Forget it, it's late, i should let you go to sleep."

"No!" You responded, a little too fervently. "Anything i can help with."

He looked right into your eyes, so honest you'd never seen him like that. You swore that if only you'd wanted you could have read his entire soul right then and there, but it felt too personal, too intimate to look at him like that. To have him look at you like that.

"I was just thinking that maybe you could come inside."

Your eyes must have doubled in size because he immediately felt the need to explain himself further. "I don't know if you've noticed, but a servant is the last thing that i wanted and from the moment i met you i knew a friendship would've been impossible too."

"Why?" Was the only thing you managed to ask. You couldn't believe your eyes, your ears, your whole body. You couldn't believe Nikolai, your prince, was telling you exactly what you'd wanted to hear in such a long time.

"Because i found out it can be quite challenging to be just friends with someone you love." He declared and you knew he was honest: no mockery was concealed in his tone. He flashed you an infamous Nikolai smile. "That is if you love me too because if you don't, forget about it. Just forget i just declared my love to you with a bathrobe on my threshold. That would be ridiculous, right?"

"Right," you said, letting a giggle escape your lips. You looked down a brief moment then back up at him, resolution settled in your body. "Nikolai, i-"

You stopped, your face darkening. What would have everyone thought? What would happen if people, if the queen saw the two of you together? You looked down again. "Moi tsarevich, that would be unprofessional, what would the queen think and-"

He closed the distance between the two of you, gently wrapping his hand around your neck and pulling you in for a kiss. You could have stopped him at any moment. Anyone could have seen you as you let yourself melt into his embrace, as you let your fingers spread on the plain of his chest, as you let his tongue roam past your lips. You could have told him you wanted to change positions, to work for the queen again, to change job completely.

But you didn't. All you wanted was Nikolai's lips, Nikolai's embrace, Nikolai's hands all over your body. All you wanted and always wanted was him.

The queen and all the opinions people could have formed about you disappeared as he brought you closer to him, inside his room.

He grasped the door but before he could close it, he interrupted the kiss, holding your chin in his hand as he locked eyes with you. "I promise you one thing, lovely: you will never be just a servant again."

He kissed you again, this once soft. A kiss that contained a thousand words and even more emotions, and yet he chose to voice what was already clear from his lips: "I will make you my wife."

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[aysegust]

My Light In the Dark. - N.L

A/N: Okay, so this was a request and let me give you a warning... I haven't read Nikolai based books and stuff. I only read SoC and Crooked Kingdom due to something else... I want to read all of the books but It would be probably slowly in time. So this is based on S&B season 2... I hope you'll like my version of him. Have a nice reading! Request: you are having a nightmare in middle of night, you walks as you knock the door, you hear unlock it was nikolai, he was half naked, he seem concern about you, he might be worried as he comfort you as well. *fluffiness* Warnings: A bit angst at start but fluff in the end :) sobachka... Word Count: 1,6K

You were running. As the moonlight caressed your cheek, you were running so fast like your whole life depended on it. 

 What you felt was so strong. You felt cold sweated fear so deeply as you ran to find him. You were too caught up in the idea that he was just laying on the ground with pale skin, and eyes that shine so brightly went just blank looking at the sky.  You were scared about the idea of losing him. 

So you ran, you ran to find him to help him. But you couldn’t find him in that damned forest of Ravka as you searched for him. Suddenly, you found yourself in the Little Palace. As you looked at your sides, you saw lights slowly numbed. You didn’t know that you held your breath. You’ve never felt that much fear before. As you searched through Little Palace, you instantly stopped by the dining hall.  

You held the doorknob as you pushed it aside as you entered the door. You saw floors covered in bloody footsteps. As you walked quickly inside, you saw a man laying on the floor. You felt your dry throat as you looked at him. 

 You were in pure shock as you froze at your place. You tried to go to him but something was blocking your way. Darkness flooded into the room, and as you turned behind, you saw Kirigan. “You…” You whispered with such full of rage. “You did this to him!” You yelled as you stepped closer to the boy you adored secretly, laying on the floor, without moving, without consciously. “He is not dead, but will be.” You heard Kirigan’s low but sharp voice. 

“As I told you earlier, you should’ve followed my order.” He sighed. “Instead, you betrayed me, to what?” He smirked. “To take sides with the Sun Summoner?” 

 You looked at him with disgust. “I’ll never follow you. You are the reason why all of us feel pain in this country!” You yelled at him. “You used Grisha’s! You used us.” You felt rage in your veins as you held your hands up to move them in a. sync way, you felt paralyzed. 

“You can’t kill me.” He said, then you hear a soft whimper. You turned your gaze to the floor as you saw him. Nikolai. Whispering your name sweetly but with pain. “No!” You screamed. 

 You wake up in a cold sweat. You looked around and you saw nothing but your room surrounding you. Nothing about darkness, just a soft candle lighting the room. You got up from the bed and you looked at yourself in the mirror. 

 It was just a dream. You thought. However, when you looked in the mirror in front of you, you felt pathetic. You slowly walked to your restroom to wash your face, you felt the uneasy feeling didn’t go away. So, you exited your room to wander into the palace to find him. 

 Nikolai and your relationship weren’t exclusive. Well, you weren’t a thing. You were under his command so many years as you knew him as Sturmhond first. You were a Grisha with Corporalki powers. When you were young, they came and took you from your parents. They tested you and found out as you were a Heartrender. You didn’t want to be apart from your parents but they took you away.

 Your parents didn’t want you to be tested. However, they were late to figure out your powers. They wanted to hide you from ruthless people, from demanding Grisha’s… But when you grew enough to find a way to escape the Little Palace you took it and then your journey to earning money and finding a place to stay was on his side. He accepted you, into his crew as you found yourself in his ship, improving your skills with Tamar and Tolya, and felt accepted by him. 

 He wasn’t demanding, or he wasn’t cruel and greedy to you. He was anything opposite what your parents told you about the Lantsov family. He was genuine, sweet, boyishly handsome, and brave but so flirtatious. 

 In the meantime, as you were in his crew, you liked him through the years as you get to know him. However, you learned he has a flirtatious side, of course. So you didn’t let loose him over your misunderstanding crush on him. So, you stayed silent. 

 The rest was history. 

 As you felt yourself deep in thought, you didn’t encounter the idea that you were standing in front of his bedroom door. It was the middle of the night, so if someone would see you it would be probably some servant or guard. 

 You lightly knocked on the door, with shaky hands. When you didn’t hear something from the inside, you slowly turned away as you sighed. 

 When you heard a click from the door, you instantly turned around and saw him. He was confused to see you, and when you looked at him, you saw his shirtless body. You immediately turned your gaze onto the floor embarrassed about not respecting his privacy in the middle of the night. 

 Nikolai sweetly, smirked at you when you lowered your gaze and your blushed cheeks in the dim light. He broke the silence as you looked at him again. “Are you okay?” He asked. Finally, seeing circles under your eyes and when he looked at your eyes, he saw it was glossy and red. 

 He felt scared as he saw you like that. He immediately held your wrist as you were frightened. “Hey, hey… Y/N look at me.” He whispered and he was slowly pulling you inside his room to not be seen on the outside. You didn’t speak as he talked. “What happened? Are you hurt?” He checked you for a visible wound but he couldn’t find any. “No, I’m okay.” Your voice came out weaker than you expected. 

 You felt his warm and soft hand stroke your cheek, as you slowly closed your eyes. You felt his worried gaze towards you. “I,” you sighed. “I was having a nightmare.” You finally admitted as you opened your eyes and met with his caring eyes. You felt so safe around him.  

“It’s okay, you are safe now.” He said as he leaned forward to you. “Nothing can harm you, I’m here.” You suddenly hugged him as he whispered those words to you. He smiled to himself. “Of course, you don’t need someone to protect you, you are the strongest person that I’ve ever seen, darling.” He said with a genuine concern for you. 

 You stayed still in his arms, feeling better and loved because of him. His presence always calmed your chaos. And he was the light of your life. He was shinier than the Sun Summoner. 

 But it wasn’t only you, he thought about it like that too. Nikolai always adored you. In his eyes, you were shining so bright than Alina. You were his light, his sun as you always made him feel appreciated, alright, and safe. He deeply knew he felt something more about you. 

 You were always in his mind. Sometimes you were whispering sweet things to him or you were bickering about a silly plan he made and well, he enjoyed thinking about you. More than that, he was glad that he found you. With you, he could be himself, more than just a boyishly handsome ‘sobachka’ prince of Ravka. or brave Sturmhond. He could be himself around you… He was in love with you. 

 He slowly caressed your hair to calm you. “Do you feel better, milaya?” You nodded your head onto his neck. You leaned away from him as you met his gaze. “I saw you.” You paused. “In my nightmare.” You looked deeply into his confused glances. “You were… You were bleeding and,” You closed your eyes as you relived the nightmare. 

 He held your hands immediately. “Y/N, it’s not real, I’m here.” You didn’t open your eyes. However, you heard his heartbeats. It was calming your nerves. You continued without opening your eyes. “You were laying on the floor and I tried to help you, but… I saw Darkling.” As you opened your eyes to meet his gaze you saw his confused gaze turn into anger. “Did he- come to you? Like how?” He was pissed off about hearing Kirigan destroying your night. 

“No, he can’t… I don’t know.” You looked at him again. “We don’t have any connection.” He felt relieved. “I’m here and I’m not interested in going away anywhere from you.” He smiled at you. You looked at him in disbelief. 

 He smirked at your shocked glances. “You know, I am not this intense with anyone, right?” He asked you as you gave him a confused glance. He put the hair that was touching your face with his hand behind your ear. “I adore you, Y/N.” He said with a precious smile. “And I want my days to be filled with you.” He paused. “You are the reason that I’m still fighting. You are my hope to be a better king. My heart to be a better person and I…” You squeezed his hand. “I love you.” He said as he leaned toward you. 

“Nikolai…” You smiled into his mouth. “I have always loved you, and I always will.” He kissed you then. With a kiss that held so much passion and love. You heard his quickened heartbeat as he kissed you so deeply, so sweetly and so gorgeously. 

Oh, you love Nikolai Lantsov. You love every little detail about him. His fragile but strong nature… His amazing heart and his gorgeous soul… You adore his jokes and his braveness. 

 Nikolai meant everything to you. He meant home, he meant you. 

#shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n #sobachka #nikolai lantsov and reader #six of crows #shadow and bone series #alina starkov #darkling #general kirigan #nikolai lantsov x heartrender! reader #nikolai lantsov x grisha! reader

[writing-havoc]

ok, my request is: nikolai lantsov x reader where they are married for convenience but are friends and support each other. they secretly love each other and that's why they kiss when they don't have to and sleep together, really adoring each other, and that's where spicy comes in, although it's completely optional if you don't feel comfortable doing it. oh, and i imagine that after zoya becomes queen, nikolai and reader finally declare themselves to each other, assuring that they love each other with or without a crown. like, angst/comfort and fluff at the end? if you can't include spicy it's ok! you write wonderfully well ♡♡♡

An Exhausted Smile

♡ Summary: You consider your position as the Ravkan King's spouse. It doesn't feel as fulfilling as you'd like it to be, and he surprises you by feeling the same.

♡ Pairing: Nikolai Lantsov x Reader

♡ Fandom: King of Scars, Grishaverse

♡ Warning(s): 18+, says cock once, mentions nausea

♡ WC: 5.5k

Hi hi! Tysm for this request!

I didn't know what gender you wanted reader to be. However after writing the whole thing I feel it's obvious that you may have wanted a fem reader, but this is what I came up with!

It doesn't get completely smutty, but it does reach a point that I'd consider adult. So I hope it's still to your liking <3

Please ignore any spelling and grammar mistakes, the beginning of this before the bedroom scene was written with a massive headache so I do apologize if it seems a bit rough around the edges there.

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The ballroom is filled to the brim with people. Each one varying in their level of importance and showcasing as such by either vastly overdressing or being a bit more modest, but still wanting to put on their best for their King.

And you, by proxy.

Your clothes match your husband's in their own right. He wore the standard garb that fits a King, white base and gold accents, matching gold aiguillette wrapped around his shoulder. While you lacked the fancy rope, Genya compensated with a few select ribbons and even jewelry where she felt it needed.

The rings on Nikolais gloved fingers made your decorated wrist feel less alone.

"Just have to get through this and then we can retreat back to our room." He whispers, working on his smile in a silver vase.

The way he says "our" still makes your heart flutter, even close to a year after your marriage was sanctioned.

You give him a glare, despite him being unable to see it. "You act like this is only going to last an hour or two. You know just as well as I do that this is going to be an all night endeavor." A sigh nearly deflates your entire being. "Especially with the representatives from Kerch. They always get everyone riled up."

He chuckles. "You speak of them as if they're just regulars at the tavern and not government officials."

You pick off a piece of hair that managed to dislodge itself from your scalp and wrap around your fingers. Genya's going to be mad when she sees you.

She hadn't done much with your hair aside from the occasional color correction, but she did make a point to get any kinks out and help it move in one solid direction in contrast to your usual bedhead.

You feel a little bad for messing it up, smiling when you imagine her reaction.

It's not as if you weren't royalty before your engagement. You were simply second born. So it's not like anybody particularly cared so long as you appeared to be put together and well behaved. Your hair was allowed to be a bit messy if you were extra respectful and made an effort to engage when spoken to. You were allowed to have your clothes a little rumpled so long as you came in late, apologized profusely, and fixed them while doing so.

Exceptions were allowed to be made. But now...

Nikolai is in front of you, boots oddly quiet on the tiled floor. His fingers card through your hair, fixing it and moving strands that wandered one way or another.

You weren't meant to accomplish much in your life. Until Nikolai offered his hand in marriage.

"Keep doing that and you'll go bald."

You swat at his hands, no real anger behind it, an uncontrollable grin pulling at the corners of your mouth. He smiles too, and it's a pretty little thing. Teeth poking out and lips shiny with a gloss you know Genya made clear and taste like berries.

You know because he kisses you now, hands pulling you close.

And it hurts.

It makes your heart ache in all the wrong ways.

But you can't help but lean into it, hand pulling at his neck to make him come just that little shuffle closer.

A throat clears from behind him, which he promptly ignores and chases after you when you go to pull away, a chuckle spilling from both of your throats.

"As lovely as it is to see you both happy," Genya marches forward, inserting herself between you both, "you are messing with everything I have spent the last several hours crafting. Hands off until after your guests leave."

She quickly begins fixing your hair, drawing color from swatches she keeps around her wrist and fixing your cheekbones, smiling when you wet your lips and taste the gloss.

It takes everything in your power to not let your eyes nervously flicker around the room, instead letting them settle on Nikolai, who looks just moments away from gently pushing Genya to the side.

"If Ravka and it's neighboring countries have a problem with a King who openly loves his partner, then that's their business."

A plethora of feelings cascade over your mind and heart, seeping into your essence.

It feels... complicated.

And you feel like one of those annoying novel protagonists for saying so, but really you can't find a word in any of the languages you know that could give someone, anyone, some sort of insight into your internal dilemma.

Nikolai is your best friend. Has been since you were eleven.

But you have also loved him since you were fourteen, the feelings slowly moving through your veins like a poison, obvious to you from the very beginning and only becoming stronger as the days pass.

And as far as you can tell, Nikolai does not feel the same.

You remember the day he proposed you get married, and the exhausted and pained expression he wore when he presented you with a ring, smile completely and utterly fake.

You know all of his smiles by heart. And you know on that day, in that moment, he was grieving.

No matter how many times he kisses you behind closed doors, you cannot be rid of the fact that this marriage is for convenience and convenience only.

Love is not shared between you two. Not in the way you want, anyway.

But you take what you can get. Every fruit flavored kiss. Every hand perfectly slotting into your own. Every night filled with hushed sighs and names whispered behind the shell of your ear because he knows you hate the feeling of hot breath no matter who is speaking into it.

You take it, and you put a cold rag over your sad, swollen eyes when you feel like you can't.

Once Genya is done fixing you up, she moves onto Nikolai, who now looks more concerned than anything.

You flick invisible dust off your shoulders, giving yourself a moment to compose yourself when you turn to the silver vase Nikolai was using earlier.

Everything is warped on the surface. Parts of you look bigger than they should when you turn one way or another. You don't know how he could make himself look as good as he does while using it.

"I know you aren't over there poking around at everything again."

"I'm not." You say. "Just admiring your work."

She hums. "As you should."

Nikolai is still looking at you as you turn around, a silent question flickering across his face.

You give him your answer by walking up to him, looping your arm through his and offering a small smile.

He's not convinced. But the doors are opening, and you both have to step through with smiles on your faces and hands outstretched, taking on Ravka's problems and hoping there's enough favors in the world for what's coming.

There's music playing in the corner, people are mingling but still trying to stay in tightly knit groups, and a few refuse to stray farther than a few feet from the table which held a constantly refilling onslaught of finger foods.

For the next few hours you're approached by various people, most of whom you remember from your wedding.

But there's a few who make snide comments, with very thinly veiled insults.

It bothers you a lot more than it should, having thought most of them during your darker hours.

"Will you remain after the war?" Someone from the Kerch council asks.

You chuckle, feeling nauseous. "Of course I will. The war being over doesn't null our marriage."

They just smile and say 'Of course' before walking off, whispering lowly to each other.

After the third time, everything feels a little too much.

"Excuse me." You don't wait for whoever approaches you to nod or protest.

Navigating out of the ballroom feels a little too much like an act of survival. You think a few people try and talk to you, but you're not sure, exiting out a side door and standing in the middle of the hall.

What the is going on with you?

You wipe your clammy and shaking hands on your clothes, dusting off invisible dirt and grime from your hips and chest.

It feels like you're going to buzz out of your skin. You tighten your ears, making a rumble in your eardrums to drown out the music and idle chatter from inside.

The guards that stand outside the ballroom doors give you the side eye. No matter how long you've been conventionally married to a King, you will never get used to having eyes and ears on you at all times. It feels like you can't even breathe without them judging or assuming something is going to happen.

You get it. You really do. After the bloodbath that was Nikolai's birthday, security had been upped. It'd be a political nightmare for something such as that to happen twice. It'd prove that Ravka was as weak as everyone thinks it is. That it lacks the means to protect itself, that it's an open buffet for everyone to take a piece of.

But did they have to have such probing glances? Legs so ready to spring and hands itching to take hold in the face of the slightest danger?

Sometimes your body doesn't feel like your own.

And maybe it's not.

Not when your marriage is founded on a lie.

You exist as an arm piece. Your presense only has one use: to provide the illusion that should Nikolai perish, the country will remain strong.

"Are you alright, my love?"

Nikolai puts a hand on your back, leaning forward to look you in the eye.

Guilt immediately eats at your gut.

"Ill be fine in a few minutes." You manage, relaxing your ears. The rumbling seizes and your head teeters backwards as you whisper, "Just too much pretending."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, eyes roaming over your face with what looks like disappointment flashing over his features. "Do you need to head to bed for the night?"

You chuckle. "Good luck explaining that one to Zoya. The ministers and ambassadors and whatever other important persons there are, are expecting both of us tonight. We cannot disappoint."

'I cannot disappoint.' Is something you keep to yourself.

"You forget that I'm the King, not Zoya." The way he rubs at your back with his gentle fingers makes your heart stutter. "If my partner is feeling ill and wishes to retreat to their room, then they shall do so."

You only sigh, not having anything to say to that.

The bed did sound particularly comforting about now.

For a long moment the world becomes dark as you imagined yourself out of these formal clothes, dressed in your worn out shirt and wide flowy pants that didn't feel like they were castrating your legs. You imagined crawling into your plush bed, tightly packed wool sewn into soft silk.

It was a mistake.

"Nikolai?" You hum, eyes opening to stare at him with heavy lids.

"Yes?"

"One more hour. Then I'll head to bed."

It was a compromise, one he didn't usually entertain. He would much prefer you laying down when you got like this than have you force yourself to stay until the party ends.

But you lean into him a little, wrapping your own arm around his waist, and he becomes a bit more pliable.

"One hour," He agrees. "But I get to check in on you every quarter to ask if you're alright."

You chuckle. "I wouldn't except anything less, Sobachka."

You do not miss the way his eyes go just a bit thinner, a black well forming in each of his multicolored irises.

Just because you feel poorly for your situation doesn't mean you have to make him feel miserable as well.

Especially since you know he's really trying.

Guilt continues to eat at your gut throughout the night, because even if being just an arm piece is your role, Nikolai hasn't done anything to make you feel that way.

He has only ever treated you with the utmost respect and affection. Triumvirate meetings always include you should you wish to go, and your opinion is never overshadowed by him, always taken into consideration even if playfully mocked by the others. He knows every little ick you have made known to him and ones you have not, and has done his best to purge those things from your daily routine.

If what he's craving for that night doesn't suit your tastes or contains a texture you find reprehensible, he makes sure the palace chefs make something that you're craving too.

'It's only fair' he says.

At night, in the dark of your shared bedroom, he'll talk and talk about the things he loves most and rope you into them, dumping any information he has right into your lap for you to pick apart and inspect, and he'll watch as the cogs turn in your brain and find the right questions.

There's never a rush to get the conversation over with. It doesn't feel like just a nicety, because he's still your best friend at the end of it all and he still cares.

He has only ever done his absolute best to make you feel adored.

But it doesn't feel like enough.

Even as he does his last and final check in, not missing the other three by even a minute, you see the way his shoulders are squared and his attention is half elsewhere.

He is a King. He is a performer. And you're part of the act.

"You ready for bed?" He asks, voice low with a flute of undrunken champagne in his jeweled fingers.

You take a look around, and sigh deeply. "Yeah."

His face morphs into a wide smile, immediately finding a server and handing them the beverage to deal with as he ushers you out of the room and towards your shared chambers, flashing that changed expression to the people he was just talking to and giving them some sort of excuse about your health.

The buzzing has lessened, now that you're promised a nice rest. Nikolai nudges you along, but walks at your own pace as you undo ribbons and clasps and buttons.

There's an urge somewhere, to scream. It creates a feeling of anxiety that attacks your backside, feeling as if someone is behind you.

But Nikolai continues to rub your back when he feels you begin to stiffen, sees your hair stand on end, and the feeling dissipates, albeit slowly.

As he opens the door for you, he begins giving some long winded instructions towards the guards that stand outside the doors, everything you were feeling before is replaced with longing and grief.

It's taken you a year, but you're finally realizing that this is your life now.

You won't ever be going back to your home except as a guest. You love your husband. And everything feels too hot and tight.

You shed your outer layers, tossing them over the chair at his desk and undoing your shoes. All that weight feels like a blessing to be shed so easily.

The cool air sends goosebumps trailing up your arms, and Nikolai is there to rub them away.

"I've told the guards to not bother you unless the word comes directly from me." He presses a long, lingering kiss to your temple. "Ill be back in a few hours, hopefully with some leftover snacks from the tab-"

He doesnt get another word in before you turn and capture his lips in yours. Surprise holds his mouth still, but it doesnt last long before he's pressing back into you.

For saints sake (you almost cringe when you remember they're real, according to your husband), if this is your life now, why can't you be a little selfish with it?

You swear you have this oh moment once every few months, but it sinks in a little deeper every time.

It hurts, you think, as you part for only a moment, lips coming back together.

But it feels worth it for now. Right here. Where you can kiss him and kiss him and use the married excuse.

His hands cradle each side of your head, his body pushing into yours. You can hardly feel anything through that damned coat but you'd be hard pressed not to try, fingers feeling the silhouette of his ribs and the way they flow to his hips.

You want that coat off, and pop just one button before you're rudely interrupted by Nikolai walking backwards, taking you with him.

He sits on the plush bed you fantasized about crawling into, and you climb on top, feeling powerful in the way you're able to look down at him.

His mouth opens to speak, but you kiss the space between his brows, trailing down his imperfect nose and finally catching the corner of his still open lips as you undo even more buttons.

Your shoulders feel like they're on fire, a sort of fog clouding anything besides the link between your mind and core desires.

But you'll still take this slow, loving on him and edging him towards the side of staying rather than gaining his senses and walking out that door.

The door that closes behind you.

That, is enough for you to take a squallors power to the fog that covers your brain.

He has a party to go to, you think, turning around and looking at the door, watching a shadow retreat off to the side. He has people to entertain and people to ask favors of.

"Are you alright?" Nikolai asks for what seems to be the hundredth time today.

You feel a little embarrassed, about wanting to ravage him and nearly succeeding with the door wide open for the guards to hear, to see.

And now that you really think about it, the feeling gets so much worse.

"Um- yeah." You decide after much deliberation. "Just wasn't aware the door was still... open."

You move to get off of him, but he hooks his arm around your back and flips you over. You meet the bed with a little 'oof', and in the span of only a few seconds he's got you pinned down.

No real weight is applied to you, but you have no where to shimmy off to should you desire.

One of his legs are between your own, much to your dismay, a hand pressed into the bed beside your head, and a hand gripping anything he can grab of your hip.

His vest is wide open, a loose white shirt the only thing between you and the warmth you crave.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

It almost feels like he's trying to seduce you into honesty.

You release a shaky breath, silently fighting with yourself if this is the moment you want to potentially ruin.

"I love you."

It's really a shame that the seduction works, and that you're just too damn tired of pretending anymore.

His hand tightens around your hip then, the tips of his fingers beginning to dig into your skin. It makes you take a deep breath, almost unable to pass the lump in your throat that was left after your confession.

A horrible parting gift of sorts.

A reward for your idiocity.

But then he leans down, hand coming away from your hip as he slowly sinks down.

His fingers trail up the side of your torso, hips pushing into yours as the rest of him trails behind, stomach meeting stomach and chest touching chest, and if they could you think your ribs would slot together just perfectly with his until your hearts could meet.

He presses a kiss to the corner of your open mouth, hand finding yours and lacing your fingers together.

"Promise?" He asks, heavy eyes and blond lashes fluttering as they look into your own.

Moments like these almost convince you that he loves you too. That he lays awake at night thinking about where to go from here. That he doesn't on some level completely regret getting on one knee and asking for your hand.

"I promise."

He smiles, so genuine and soft.

You feel your heartbeat spread throughout your body, blood pumping harshly through your veins, and you know he feels it too when he has to shut his eyes and compose himself.

You want to move, want to feel him.

So of course that's when he decides to parrot back at you the words that constantly play on loop in your head.

"I love you too."

You look at him then, really really look at him, and watch has his eyes fall open, pupils blown and red waves flowing over his cheeks and nose.

It's a sight to behold.

You want to believe the words that spill out of his mouth, and there isn't anything about him that gives him away as a liar.

But you just can't believe him.

And he sees that.

Because just as well as you can read him, he can read you too.

"I love you." He says, leaning down and kissing just beneath your eyes.

The gloss makes his lips soft, a stark contrast to their usually chapped texture. But he's also just plain gentle, kissing you and whispering small 'I love you's between each one as he moves to your jaw and then to your lips.

"Nikolai." You whisper. Nothing comes to mind anymore.

"I love you." He says again. "And ill do anything to make you believe it."

The lump in your throat returns. "Nikolai."

"I'll whisper it in the morning when you wake up. I'll yell it at you from across the courtyard. I'll scream it from the top of my lungs everytime we—fuck." A moan spills out of him like thick candy, your own gasp surprising you despite it being your fault that your hips came up to press into his.

He takes a moment to think, to wrangle in the words he wants to say before they escape him. "I'll declare it before all of Ravka all over again. I'll eat the little things you hate because I love you more than I hate anything."

It can't be real.

He leans down, his nose brushing against yours till your foreheads meet. You can feel his lips barely brush your own. "What do I need to do to make you believe me?"

"Stay?" You say without thinking. "For starters? Just for a while."

He kisses you, the taste of blueberries welcomed by your tongue.

"With the way you were talking to me, I won't even make it half a bell."

That makes you chuckle, which is completely replaced with a low moan as his cock presses into you. It makes your fingers twitch shut around his gloved hand, the rings digging into your bones.

The pants he's wearing are too tight for your liking. You can't really feel him. Just a vague idea.

And right now, vague ideas are not going to cut it.

He seems to have the same idea as he leans back, climbing off the bed. His coat slips off his body, and his fingers tease under his shirt, well within your line of sight from where you sit up, missing the warmth and friction he was graciously giving you.

"You'll have to wait until I get all this off, darling." He sheds the shirt and moves to his hands, slowly plucking off the rings. The gloves come off after, and you nearly whimper at the sight of his blackened fingers. "It could take a while."

You shuffle to the edge of the bed, not giving him the opportunity to back away as your legs hook behind his own and bring him back to you.

He stills as he watches you reach forward, the tips of your fingers feeling the edge of his pants and barely touch the skin of his lower torso, veins teasing your eyes. You feel like you're floating, the littlest sparks popping around your neck and exploding below your naval.

"We can't have that, can we?" You croon, finding the clasp of his belt and undoing it. "You still have a party to get back to."

He groans the moment his belt slackens, pants falling soon after you unzip the little zipper that held everything together.

You almost wish he would have worn his first army outfit for tonight.

"That I do." He gets out, the sound of various metals falling to the floor. "We should make this quick."

You should be worried about the rings, you think. Either you or him will step on them later and hurt your feet.

But as he leans down again, pressing his lips to your neck and starts sucking that little patch of skin he's mapped out so well, you can't bother to think about it.

You have a King on top of you. You'd be a fool to think about anything else.

-----

The moment Nikolai relinquished his throne in front of the four present nations, your heart sunk.

He didn't look at you for a while, focusing his attention on Zoya, and you were almost thankful for it as you did everything in your power to keep your expression even, forcing a smile on your lips as Zoya began to take charge, addressing those around her for her place as Queen.

You wanted to smack Nikolai for not giving you some sort of warning, but it seems Zoya didn't know either as she gave him the occasional glare when the crowd seemed too focused on gossiping with eachother.

But more importantly you wanted answers.

After that night where you told him you loved him, pouring every bit of meaning into those little words, things were looking up for your relationship.

Little by little you allowed yourself to believe him. He did everything he proposed to you and then some. You unwrapped more of him than you could have ever accessed before and you found yourself allowing him to do the same.

But if he loves you like he says he does, has loved you for just as long as you have, why the hell did he look so damn sad when he proposed to you?

Would he still love you now? Now that he's not King and there truly is no more use for you?

Because despite everything that he's done within the last few weeks, fighting for his country on the front lines and somehow still finding some way to tell you he loves you, staying up into the dead hours of night writing letters and just thinking while holding your hand, you still have your doubts.

He came to you out of obligation. You werent his first choice but he came to you anyway when it seemed the other options were no longer there.

Now that he wasn't King, would he still try?

The Darkling came out from the shadows, challenging the authority of The Apparat.

Nikolai stood beside you, shoulder just slightly between you and the little spat.

Now that he was just Nikolai, would he still find worth in your presence?

He can have anybody now. He doesn't have to worry about the political nightmare it might cause for him to take on a partner with a less than desirable upbringing. He could go for the seamstress at that little hat shop he likes to eye or a baker from the heart of Novyi Zem.

The Apparat is surrounded by Royal Guards and Sun Soldiers nearly leap from where they stand in pursuit of the Darkling. Zoya talks with Nina and the young prince of Fjerda, and Nikolai stays put, a giddy almost childish smile barely contained on his face as he stares at you.

You look at him, begging him to explain as Zoya is roped into conversation with various Ravkan officials, but it seems he's just absolutely overcome with joy.

It makes you smile too, despite the dread and confusion building up in your gut.

"Would you care to explain what just happened?"

He chuckles. "I, just set us free."

"What?"

It's so... surreal.

He looks nervous now, looking around as Ravkan officials slowly peel themselves away from Zoya, the masses still chanting their approval for a Grisha Queen. The seats around the hall are completely empty, and the longer he waits to explain to you what he means the more you feel like you're going to burst out if your skin.

Finally, the last of them leave, and Zoya turns her angry gaze at Nikolai once more.

Wind whirls around the hall, windows shutting. "I," she points a finger at Nikolai, "am going to choke you."

"You'll have to wait in line for that." He takes your hand and squeezes it.

She looks at him then, and scoffs. "We will discuss this after you're done here."

"Depending on how this goes that would be either my greatest pleasure or worst nightmare."

She's already out the door, probably not having even heard a word Nikolai said.

Once the door is shut he turns back to you, a steady breath exiting his lungs.

"Nikolai Lantsov you had better tell me what in saints name you were talking about before I have Zoya throw you so far into the sky you'll touch the stars."

He's still smiling, and giving you that look he always does right before he says the sappiest things.

"It became clear to me a long while ago that no matter what I did I would not be accepted as the Ravkan ruler everyone wants." He takes both of your hands in his now, giving them another squeeze. "And, not so strangely at all, the more I thought about it the lighter I felt. The crown has to go to someone, and as lovely as you are, it brings me great sorrow that those around here wouldnt have found solace in you being crowned ruler either."

And it's true. You were a topic of conversation for no more than two minutes before everyone moved on. You didn't want the crown, and Nikolai was right that the age of the Lantsov's had to come to an end.

"So, I gave the crown to Zoya, because it wasn't all that improbable that they'd accept her after her little display on the battlefield." He chuckles, and you follow along, heart beating hard and fast. "But I would be deemed a liar if I said I didn't have some doubt about it, since it might have meant losing you."

Your blood runs cold. "What?" You want to ask how he could think that, but you were just thinking the same not minutes before. "Nikolai-"

"I am no longer a King. Meaning any marriage I had before means nothing to the people... but it means everything to me." He gets down on one knee, smiling up at you. "I was hesitant asking for your hand in marriage last year because I didn't want to trap you in an arrangement that you found no joy in. But these last few weeks with you where you said you loved me and I've had the joy of showing you I felt the same, have made me feel so grateful that I eventually did."

You could swear your heart was about to explode. You half want to look around the room for a heartrender, convinced someone else is doing this to you.

But it feels so genuine, and it hits you like a pile of rocks why he looked to utterly exhausted that day he proposed.

His lips greet your knuckles, his lashes shiny with what you can only assume are tears. "I will continue to love you, for as long as I shall live, if you will let me and wish for the same."

And suddenly you can't see, because you're squeezing your eyes shut, relief nearly sending your entire system into shock.

You fall to your knees, dirtying your expensive clothes you have absolutely no care for, and grip him into a hug.

"You- You utter buffoon." You sob, tightening your grip on him just as his arms come and wrap around your waist. "Of course I want the same."

That's all he needs to squeeze you against him. You can feel his eyebrows squish together against your neck as he tightens his hold.

If he could completely envelope you into himself, merging your bodies together, you think he would.

If he could hold you so tight that your hearts could kiss, you know he would.

It's a long time before you eventually pull apart, and humor is not lost from him when he does.

"What are you going to do now?" You ask.

He sighs, helping you wipe your tears. "Well considering youre my spouse, I feel like there's an obvious answer here."

You scoff, taking his hand away from your face. "Animal."

He laughs, catching your hand and lacing your fingers together.

"How would you feel about becoming a privateer?"

You look around the room, pretending to think about it.

How would you feel about a life on the seas with your husband? Sailing in nearly any direction you please with goofy hats and guns strapped at your side? Walking the decks with a crew you'd trust with your life and fish and brandy for dinner?

What is there not to love? "I think that'd be pretty fun."

There's hardly anything you can do to make him wait to get back to the palace before stripping your clothes off, the word "captain" coming out of your mouth and sending you both into a fit of giggles.

∘₊✧──────────────────✧₊∘

Tags:

@xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx

#ask #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai lantsov fanfic #grishaverse fanfic #grishaverse x reader #grishaverse x you #grishaverse x y/n #fanfic #anon

[thearchvillain]

gardenias. | nikolai

part I

nikolai lantsov x reader

summary: the setting is a grand event hosted at os alta with the intention of finding a future queen for crown prince vasily. the reader is a merchant's daughter trying to keep a low profile after her parents had dragged her there (against her will) with the hopes that she might catch the prince's attention. she, on the other hand, has different plans. plans that get entirely upheaved by none other than the younger prince nikolai who interrupts her illicit late-night meeting in the winter garden. now she's caught attention of one of the two people whose scrutiny she'd been trying so hard to avoid for the last few days of the event and she's not entirely sure she actually minds it.

preview: Irritated, she spun around and came up so close she could feel the wool of his uniform brush against her bodice as she glared up at him. "What now?"  "Now I'm thinking I should escort you to your room, just to make sure you don't accidentally commit some act of treason on your way to it." "Is that what you think? That I'm planning some grand act of treason with Zaitsev?" "You do have that look about you. A bit insolent, a bit treasonous."  She twisted her wrist in his hand as if to draw attention to it, jutting her chin out defiantly as she looked up at him. When she spoke she did her best to sound as smug and irritating as he did. "You like that, don't you?" He made a soft tutting sound, looking deeply amused. "I do like you. That doesn't mean I trust you."  "That's--" she stuttered, torn between irritation and being caught off-guard by the matter-of-factness colouring his voice, "That's not what I meant."  "You're blushing again."

word count: 5k (i know. don't @ me)

tropes/warnings: not cannon, vasily's still alive, nikolai's kinda suspicious that y/n is about to commit some kind of treason and it's reflected in the way he acts, there is tension and innuendos though sljdf, y/n does get a bit upset/frustrated at one point, nikolai does apologise but does not back down from his plan to uncover her secrets bc where would the fun be in that, there is physical touch

a/n: i'm not going to lie to you, this is absolutely going to be a multi-part. i'm enjoying writing nikolai being a teasing menace far too much not to explore it further, and i think nikolai would be far too curious and fascinated by y/n to just let it go (and a bit worried about what she's up to). note that while this is their first time meeting there's still a lot of tension that will only continue to grow, so i hope you enjoy it!

The air inside the palace winter garden was laden with the scent of jasmine. There was an oppressiveness to it that stood in stark contrast with the fresh night air she'd come in from, leaving her heady and wondering if she might suffocate from it by the time the lieutenant arrived. That would be quite the sight - a page ripped out of a book of fairytales and brought to life, a pretty young thing laid peacefully amongst the blossoming flowers, caught in the last moment before the colour had drained out of her cheeks. She would lay out her arm like so, blue petals spilling out of her still fingers and... Ghezen. This place had a way of bringing out the morbid in her. Must be something about all the death imagery she'd sifted through earlier that day in the royal library - Ravkan stories certainly had a proclivity for martyred girls and their lovely, tragic endings. It did nothing but fortify her belief that breaking into the winter garden and hiding out had been a good idea. Y/N had no interest in actually experiencing martyrdom or tragic endings, thank you very much.

That is if one ignored the fact she was tempting fate by agreeing to an illicit meeting with a man her parents had most definitely not had in mind when they'd dragged her all the way to Ravka with them. A man who was distinctly late to said meeting. Y/N twisted the leaf she'd plucked from one of the bushes, her fingers sticky from where she'd crushed it and unsteady with the nervous sort of energy that accompanied late nights and ill-advised impulses. She'd already stood up and sat back down several times when the sound of a door opening interrupted her mid-movement and she slipped behind one of the stone columns that obscured her from view. The silence stretched for a long moment before the door clicked closed once more. The stone roses of the column were biting into the skin between Y/N's shoulderblades where she pressed herself against it as if she might blend into it by the sheer force of will. Another stretch of silence before the sound of a key turning in the lock made her start, her chest tightening. Silence. Whoever was there must've just noticed the door was left unlocked and decided to close it. Good. Y/N fingered the silver hairpin she'd used to break into the garden before pushing herself away from the column and slipping towards the glass door that led onto the palace grounds. She didn't want to risk anyone seeing her going back through the door that had just been locked.

"What's the rush?" A voice came from somewhere behind her. "You're missing all the flowers. Or is the collection not exotic enough for the refined tastes of a merchling princess?" 

Y/N halted mid-step, her shoulders drawn taut as she went very, very still. This was not the lieutenant's voice - it was just a bit too silvery, too playful, too... refined in its accent. Not a native speaker, but a very well-educated one. 

"I... the smell - it's overpowering." 

A soft chuckle. "Perhaps the lady would find it less offensive if she came to visit the gardens during the day." There was a slight pause. She swore she could almost hear him smirk in the way his voice trailed off. "As most people do."

She still had her back turned to him, her head tipped slightly back to look up towards the glass ceiling as if she expected to find a solution or at least strength to deal with this up there. "You are here too, are you not?" 

"Touche." He moved then, his steps loud against the marble floor but slow and languid, as if he were a predator stalking a fear-frozen doe in some rather exotic forest. He was much closer when he spoke this time. "But I like the smell. It's jasmine. Night-blooming jasmine to be specific. My mother's favourite." 

Y/N did not see what was the relevance of his confession but she assumed he might be slightly more compliant with the whole keeping quiet about this business if she played along. "Does she garden?"

This made him laugh. It was a nice sort of laugh - the kind that belonged to someone intimately familiar with the sound, whose mouth had been made for laughing and who found her question infinitely amusing. "Saints, no. That would be quite the sight though - my mother with dirt-stained hands, taking care of a living thing."

Y/N did not respond. This sounded like a confession too, one she was not privy to. She felt like she was missing a puzzle piece. He waited in silence for a moment, and when she didn't answer she heard the rustle of fabric as he must have leaned against the column behind her. "Are you not going to turn around?" 

"I was escaping, remember? It would be silly to show my face now when I still have a chance of getting away."

He made a noncommittal sound. "I didn't realise you were fleeing. Women don't tend to run away from me very often. How... thrilling." 

Y/N almost snorted at this display of ego. She resigned herself to a sort of small, vague sound that could be left up to interpretation. "Are you going to stop me?" 

"Would you like me to?" His voice had gone low and goading, but he never moved from his spot. It had occurred to her that it might be advisable to be more nervous about this strange man standing behind her, but this felt more like a game than a threat and Y/N couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. 

"A thrilling proposition, but one I will have to refuse. Allegedly I'm a sensible creature, and none of this sounds very sensible."

"Neither does meeting Lieutenant Zaitsev in a winter garden at three in the morning, but here we are. Minus Zaitsev, unfortunately." He said unfortunately in a way people did when they found nothing unfortunate about a situation at all. 

Y/N spun around, suddenly very aware of the sound of rushing blood and her own quickened heartbeat that rang in her ears. Prince Nikolai looked as pleased by this reaction as she imagined a cat would as it dug its claws into some poor, unsuspecting thing or got a big plate of full-fat cream. At least now the gardening thing made complete sense. 

He was in his full regalia, as polished as he'd been when she'd seen him earlier this evening, all shiny medals and sharp lines and the sort of lazy indifference that came with inherited importance and disarming good looks. She'd half expected the illusion of grandeur to disappear once she saw him up close, but the prince remained as impeccable as he'd been from afar, almost to an irritating degree. Y/N lowered her eyes. 

"My apologies, your Highness. I didn't recognise your voice."

"How could you? We've never had the pleasure of speaking to each other." Y/N thought she might have been imagining the subtle note of accusation in his voice. He tipped his head to the side, eyes fixed on Y/N with the sort of intense curiosity that she could feel burning against her skin. "Don't apologise. I've had enough of performative politeness to last me a year."

Y/N raised an eyebrow at that, her eyes flitting up to his face for a brief moment of offence. "Are you implying my apology is performative?" 

Nikolai caught her eyes and smiled at that. She had been right - he had the sort of mouth that lent itself to charming, easy smiles and was hard to look away from. "You don't seem the type to be sorry about any of this. Except maybe getting caught."

Y/N didn't deign answer that, there was no point in pretending when he hardly appeared open to changing his mind if the knowing smirk on his lips was anything to go by. She took a slight step backwards when he pushed himself away from the column and moved towards her. He side-stepped her, though there was still an undue amount of proximity between them as he passed by her side, eyes trailing along her features before he focused on something behind her. 

"You know who I am, don't you?" she asked. He'd called her a merchling princess, he'd known exactly why she was here and who she'd intended to meet. Something was unsettling about the casual way in which he considered her question as if he were toying with her the same way he was toying with the leaves of some unnamed bush he'd stopped to observe. 

He was quiet for a while, the only sound a low chuckle that rumbled in his chest as he plucked a pretty, pink flower from its stem. "It's in my job description," he said simply as if that might explain the overabundance of information on her. 

"Is it? I've heard princes have people for that. To whisper over your shoulder whenever they see someone coming your way."

A laugh this time. "You're not wrong, but I find those quite overbearing and tough to get rid of when one wishes to slip away unnoticed. I'm sure you can relate." 

She hummed in response, eyes narrowed. "Where's the lieutenant?"

"Am I boring you that much? You wound me, Miss Braam." 

Y/N barely held back a frustrated sound that she felt building in her chest. He was infuriating on purpose, she was sure. She'd seen him interact with people tonight and he went about it with such elegance and ease that there was no doubt Nikolai Lantsov had a way with both words and people. 

"I would do no such thing. You're a delight," she said dryly. And it wasn't a lie - Nikolai did seem delightful in a precarious sort of way, but Y/N felt far too on edge to appreciate it. "He promised..."

Nikolai interrupted her, one gloved hand raised as if he were placating a startled wild animal. "I sent him away," he said, turning to face her, "I must say, if I were in his place and meeting you in such a lovely place at a such late hour I would've personally put up much more of a fight. Alas, he obeyed - so you're stuck with me instead." 

Y/N felt the frustration rising, choking out the words in her throat even as she pushed it down to try and appear forlorn rather than annoyed. "Oh," was all she said, turning her face away so that the shadowy darkness offered some cover. 

She saw him shift in the periphery of her vision and then there were fingers on the edges of her jaw, the material soft and runny against her skin. Not cotton, silk. Of course it would be silk. She didn't fight him as he guided her chin so that she was looking at him once again, determined to appear deeply hurt by Zaitsev's abandonment rather than irritated by the fact she would now have to come up with another plan to get the materials from him. Nikolai's eyes trailed along her face as if he were drinking her in, so gentle and sympathetic she almost believed it. Almost.

"As lovely as you look in all your teary-eyed, heartbroken glory," Nikolai said, sounding amused, "I sincerely doubt you are anything of the sort. It's that Ketterdam blood in your veins. Pragmatism above all else, no?"

She tried to free her chin from his fingers, but as she did the grip suddenly became less gentle, holding her firmly in place. He smiled when he saw the flash of irritation cross her features. 

"That's more like it." He sounded almost satisfied to see the facade crack, amused by her reaction. What in Ghezen's name was his problem? 

She jerked her chin against his grip in a display of defiance before staring him down. "And is pragmatism an unfamiliar concept here in Ravka? Quit playing, your Highness. We could've been done with this much quicker if you'd just asked your questions at the start."

He only hummed in response, still looking at her as if he were observing a particularly riveting piece of art, one that might reveal some secret symbolism hiding beneath the surface. "Maybe I didn't want it to be quick?"

"I also sincerely doubt that." 

He chuckled and Y/N felt his warm breath brush against her flushed cheeks. His grip had loosened, but she still felt the warmth of his fingers seeping into her skin. "Why? You're a curious thing. Brought here to be paraded about for the Court in hopes of securing a fruitful marriage, no? But then you very adamantly avoid both my brother and me. It's a bit strange... I suppose I wanted to take my time with you."

"Maybe that was the ploy all along, the whole avoidance thing. It got you curious, didn't it?" She leaned into his touch very intentionally then, overly aware of the way he shifted them to accommodate her, her eyebrow raised in an attempt at mirroring his playfulness.

"I admire your talent for improvisation, Miss Braam. Really, it's quite charming..."

"But...?" She'd sensed he was going in that direction and interrupted him before he could say it. Nikolai chuckled. 

"But, I'm not buying it. It would've been far too risky of a plan. And unless you are more arrogant than I am - which I doubt - I don't think you expected or wanted anyone to come looking. Aside from Zaitsev, of course."

Y/N sneered at him then, finally irritated enough that she reached up to grab his wrist and pull his hand away from her jaw. The wool of his uniform was rough beneath her fingers, golden buttons digging into her palm where she gripped it. She hated how aware of him she was as she let go. Nikolai let her, grinning delightedly at this sudden display of insolence. 

"Not particularly gentle. I like that."

"Stop pretending to flirt with me, your Highness." Because that's what it was - make-believe. She thought she could see something more sinister lurking beneath it. If he didn't believe her she was meeting Zaitsev for a moonlight tryst between two lovers - which in all fairness was an entirely correct assumption - then he must've thought she had more insidious intentions. So why wasn't he dragging her back to the party, demanding answers? Perhaps making a spectacle of it was his way of intimidation, it certainly fit the aura of aloof confidence he was displaying.

"Who says I'm pretending?"

She shot him a dry look in lieu of an answer. "If you're not going to ask what my real reason was for meeting Zaistev then I'm going to ask how in Ghezen's name did you know we were meeting in the first place?" 

He watched her for a moment, head bent to look down at her and a smirk playing on his lips, then he turned and went around her to stroll between the lush flowers. She watched the moonlight glint off the golden details of his uniform, his hands clasped behind his back, something languorous and insolent about the way he moved. "Now, that would be telling," he said, "And I like to keep an air of mystery about me. It adds to the charm I think." 

"Fine. Why care to find out about it at all?" 

He halted for a second as if considering his answer. "I told you. You never bothered to introduce yourself, and the whole charade has been going on for three nights and days now. I was already suspicious on the second day as to what exactly you were doing here."

Realising they weren't going anywhere any time soon Y/N made her way over to the fountain, the soft rush of water behind her back soothing her nerves as she sat down. "So your explanation is that your ego made you do it?"

"My ego makes me do a lot of things, Miss Braam. A character fault, I know, but no one's perfect." He didn't sound sorry about it at all. 

"I have a perfectly sensible explanation for that, if you'd like to hear it?"

He was picking apart another flower, like a gardener's worst nightmare when he looked back towards her and smirked. "Another one? Are we dropping the playing hard-to-get ploy?"

Y/N ignored the jab, leaning back on her hands and tilting her head as she watched him lean in to smell some unremarkable bush. "My parents are tentatively hopeful, but I know better..."

"Of course you do."

"Would you stop that, you menace." 

Nikolai started laughing and Y/N realised that all the other times he'd laughed or chuckled at her words it had been only a good mimicry of amusement. This was the real thing. She snorted and looked up towards the glass ceiling in faux exasperation, hiding her smile.

"Anyway. It's the crown prince's hand in marriage that's on the table, right? You said it yourself - us merchling princesses are a pragmatic bunch. As nice as it sounds, I'm no royalty, so why waste my breath? Your kingdom needs political alliances, not money. Nothing's going to come of it." She shrugged. "And if I'm debasing myself like I'm a dairy cow on a cattle fair, I'd prefer not to do it in vain. I too have an ego, you know."

When she dropped her head back down she realised Nikolai was watching her from where he stood, head tipped to the side, his fingers absentmindedly plucking the petals off a rose he was holding. He seemed to be considering saying something but decided against it. 

"From what I've been told, your father is a very rich man," he said eventually, "And I find that sort of thing makes a woman rather attractive. Political alliances can be bought, you know." 

"Is that why you keep not-pretending to flirt? Does my father's money make me so irresistible?"

"Well that, and the insolence." He smirked. "But mostly insolence. Us Ravkans, we're just not as pragmatic." 

Y/N rolled her eyes, though without malice. "I can tell." She sighed, watching her fingers where they dipped into the cold water. "And besides, I'm not too keen on being shipped off to a foreign kingdom. Much to my mother's dismay."

"Not even for a crown?"

Her gaze shifted back to Nikolai who was now strolling over to her, appearing genuinely curious this time. He looked like something out of a children's book, like he might be the one to discover the fair, dead girl she'd imagined in a field of flowers and mourn over her body, impressive even in tragedy. She supposed she understood why all the girls when they were done with Vasily swarmed to try and get Nikolai's attention instead.

"I have no interest in crowns. They seem heavy."

He stopped a few paces away, watching her for a moment before a small, knowing smile bloomed across his lips. "What is it that interests you then?"

Y/N was glad he'd asked if only so she could grin insolently at him and repeat what he'd said to her before, "Now, that would be telling, your Highness. And I like to keep an air of mystery about myself too." 

He was standing over her now, looking down at where she was sprawled back on the cold stone of the fountain, a playful glint in his eyes. "Fair. I suppose I should've seen that one coming from a mile away."

"You really should have." She agreed with amusement, head tipped back to look up at him. For a moment they stared at each other, him standing so close she could feel the fabric of his pants brush against her knee, and her leaning back on her hands, aware that she could but didn't want to shift away. She'd almost forgotten she was supposed to be rather annoyed about her failed meeting and when the thought appeared uninvited at the forefront of her mind she couldn't help breaking eye contact and looking at the dark corners of the winter garden behind Nikolai. 

"Why were you meeting him?" he asked then, his voice more serious than it had ever been since they started talking. Y/N didn't look at him right away, worrying at her lip as she thought about what she would say. Playful avoidance didn't seem like a good choice here, but neither did the truth, at least not the whole truth. 

She sighed. "He has something I want." 

When she pulled herself up to stand Nikolai shifted slightly to the side so that he was right by her side, not really blocking her path but close enough to stop her if he decided to. He was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. 

Y/N looked up at him, a determined look in her eyes. "I'm not telling." 

Nikolai raised an eyebrow. "I assume you can see how that might seem rather worrisome to me."

Y/N dipped her chin in a small nod of acknowledgement. 

"And I also assume you know I won't just let it go."

"You? Unrelenting? I never would've guessed." 

He smiled at that, though it was a bit strained. "I could drag you back to your parents now. Demand an explanation." 

Y/N appeared to consider his words for a moment. "Yes. I suppose you could." She dropped her eyes down to his hands where he had them shoved into the pockets of his uniform. Her skin remembered the grip he'd had on her chin earlier that evening, prickling at the thought of those silk gloves wrapped around her arm. Was this fear she felt in the pit of her stomach? 

Nikolai must have noticed because he followed her gaze down and let out a soft chuckle when he saw the prickled skin on her bare arms and the uncertain look on her face. "I didn't mean it literally. Though I could, if that's your preference?"

Y/N felt the blood rush to her face, hot and burning, certain the blush was already spreading from her chest up to her neck. She closed her eyes and let out a frustrated breath. Collect yourself, you frivolous fool. "You just can't help yourself, can you?" she said, voice biting. 

Nikolai chuckled. She couldn't see him with her eyes shut, but she could imagine he was looking at her, thoroughly amused. "I can, I just don't want to. I was wondering how much it would take to make you blush." 

She opened her eyes to glare at him. "Satisfied?"

"Very much so." 

"Great, now that we've pleased you, let's get this over with. -- I am warning you though, my mother is prone to fainting when startled." 

She tried to side-step him to head for the door, assuming he'd follow her, but Nikolai deftly held out his hand to catch her wrist and pull her back to where she had been standing. There was no harshness to it, he was careful not to grip too hard or pull too strongly, but Y/N still gasped when she felt stopped in her path. 

Irritated, she spun around and came up so close she could feel the wool of his uniform brush against her bodice as she glared up at him. "What now?" 

"Now I'm thinking I should escort you to your room, just to make sure you don't accidentally commit some act of treason on your way to it."

"Is that what you think? That I'm planning some grand act of treason with Zaitsev?"

"You do have that look about you. A bit insolent, a bit treasonous." 

She twisted her wrist in his hand as if to draw attention to it, jutting her chin out defiantly as she looked up at him. When she spoke she did her best to sound as smug and irritating as he did. "You like that, don't you?"

He made a soft tutting sound, looking deeply amused. "I do like you. That doesn't mean I trust you." 

"That's--" she stuttered, torn between irritation and being caught off-guard by the matter-of-factness colouring his voice, "That's not what I meant." 

"You're blushing again."

She reached up to smack him on his arm with her free hand. For a moment he looked genuinely caught off guard and Y/N couldn't help the smug self-satisfaction that swelled in her chest at the startled look he gave her. She just hit a prince. A real, very gilded, very irritating prince. 

"You are the most infuriating man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting." Her chest rose and fell on quickened breath and she could hear her pulse thrumming against her ribcage like some caged bird startled by the way her voice rose in irritation. 

Then Nikolai started laughing and it was Y/N's turn to look alarmed by the display. She stared at him as he tried to collect himself several times, running his hand through his hair and leaving it charmingly tousled as he tipped his head back and took a deep breath to calm himself. 

"Like I said. You do have a tendency for treason - like hitting a prince." 

"I barely touched you, and you had it coming," she said, then shook her head and looked up above his head, "Sorry. I lost my temper." 

"No, no - it's fine. I did have it coming." 

She felt his thumb brush against the inner side of her wrist, suddenly aware that he'd never let go of it. His fingers stilled for a moment before he spoke, "Breathe. Your heart's beating like you just outran a bear. I'm not going to tell anyone about tonight." 

She did not think anything good would come of admitting the current state of her pulse had very little to do with the fear of her parents and everything to do with the way every sense in her body was heightened by his proximity. She hardly wanted to admit that silly reaction of her body to herself, much less him. She let out a shaky breath. "Okay." 

"Okay?" He was watching her when she opened her eyes again. "Do you want to go back to your parents or your room?"

She stared at him for a moment, uncertain. Had she really appeared distressed enough for him to so suddenly switch gears? She searched his face for anything suspicious as if she half-expected this sudden calmness in his voice to be a trap. 

"I'm suspicious. Not cruel," he said when she failed to answer. She felt him release her wrist as if finally satisfied enough with her pulse going down to let go. "I crossed the line and upset you. It wasn't my intention."

"Wasn't it?" There was an accusation in her voice, one she didn't realise was there until it slipped out without her permission. When had they switched roles of the accuser and the accused?

Nikolai looked away, looking almost repentant. "I don't know. I got carried away - I guess I didn't expect you to be... like that." 

She wasn't sure what like that meant and was half-afraid of asking. Maybe he'd say something ridiculous and then she'd be blushing again. No, that was a ridiculous thought. This entire exchange was ridiculous. She almost expected to wake up tomorrow and fully believe it was a fever dream. 

"So what I just... leave now? No consequences?" she said, sounding deeply doubtful. 

"Yes and no. I said I wouldn't tell." He finally looked back at her, his gaze scouring her face. "I didn't say I wouldn't keep trying to find out what you're hiding." 

"It's nothing bad if that's what you're worried about." 

"You've tried to lie to me several times tonight. Do you expect me to just believe you?" 

He did have a point there. Y/N pursed her lips. "What then?"

Nikolai seemed to consider her then. Under scrutiny, Y/N suddenly became very aware of their proximity, which in all fairness had been entirely her fault. She stepped away uneasily, worrying at her lip. Ghezen, he really was deeply infuriating, for more than one reason. 

"You'll see tomorrow."

Y/N's head shot up. "Tomorrow?"

"Save me a dance."

She was certain she looked like there were rusted cogs inside her head grinding against each other as she tried to process his words. There was clearly a double meaning in there, there always seemed to be with him, but it wasn't immediately obvious to her. 

Nikolai smirked as he watched her work it out. "Don't overheat that pretty little head of yours. I like the way it works." 

She made a face at him. "Why would you... oh."

"Oh," he repeated, smug. 

Save me a dance. It was a threat, not a request. He would approach her tomorrow in the middle of the after-dinner ball, in front of everyone. She would know it was for show, but to everyone else, it would appear as if he'd singled her out and shown her his favour. Out of the blue at that. 

She shot him a dirty look. "That's low."

"I don't consider myself a particularly immoral person, but I will do what I have to."

She would find herself dragged out of her carefully-crafted obscurity and thrust under scrutiny. Her parents would be delighted, no doubt, a welcome reprieve from the frustration her disobedience was causing them currently. She couldn't think of a worse thing. 

"Unless, of course, you decide to tell me about it beforehand." At some point, he'd strolled away from her and plucked another one of those poor flowers. "I'll still ask, of course, but more subtly." 

She stared at him, disbelieving. Did he just threaten her and then proceed to imply he'd still ask her to dance with him?

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Very well, we can play that game. I will warn you though, I tend to bite when cornered."

"I was hoping you would."

"You... you are just the worst," she said, irritation colouring her voice higher than normal, before turning around to head for the door. In the smallest, most meagre act of defiance, she decided not to tell him goodnight and instead storm out without a word. 

He was not having it. "Y/N?"

She produced some indeterminate sound of frustration. "What now, your Highness?" 

"Call me Nikolai."

"I will not." 

A chuckle. Then the sound of his steps as he approached her from the back. "I do wish we'd met on some less... dramatic terms. Honestly." 

She couldn't ignore him when he went around her to stand in her field of vision, but she did shoot him a dirty look. There was a flower in his hands now, so delicate and white that it almost blended into the whiteness of his gloves, only the leaves visible in the darkness. He hadn't yet dismembered this one. 

"Since you don't like the smell of jasmine," he said, as if that explained everything, and held it out to her.

Y/N considered not taking it, but curiosity got the better of her and she reached out her hand tentatively to pluck the flower from his fingers. "What is it?"

"Gardenia. A personal favourite, at least scent-wise." He stared at the flower in her hand for a moment, then smiled. "Goodnight, Miss Braam."

She watched him stroll back towards the door that led into the palace, unhurried, languid and infuriatingly prepossessing. For a moment she stood there, reeling, before she headed for the other door, the one that led out into the gardens, desperate for a breath of fresh air. It was only once she was outside that she realised he hadn't lied about the flower, its fragrance a sweet, charming thing. Later that night, when she returned to her room she would put it in a small crystal glass and place it next to her bed so that when she fell asleep her mind was still full of that fragrance and the memory of Nikolai's thumb pressed against her pulse point. 

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov x reader #grishaverse x reader #nikolai lantsov imagines #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov fanfic #nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai x you #nikolai x reader #nikolai x y/n #shadow and bone #sob #shadow and bone imagine #nikolai lantsov my beloved #tbh nikolai drives me insane every time i write him #this is a monstrosity of a fic and i have zero regrets #gardenias

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

Jealous

pairing: nikolai lantsov x fem!reader

genre: fluff

el's thoughts: requested by @jahayla-parker. i hope you like itttt!! it may be a lil rough 'cause i'm climbing over my writers block, but here you go!!

main masterlist

Nikolai wasn’t a naturally jealous person. Okay, maybe he was but when it came to Y/N it was different. The feeling in his chest tightened and threatened to choke him. It was a feeling that he had grown accustomed to, but he had learned that if he zoned out for long enough the familiar ache faded into a subtle feeling settled in his chest. And the young king played this to his advantage as much as possible.

The music of the party was nothing but a light buzzing in Nikolai’s ears as he looked around the ballroom.  He was religiously avoiding the couple spinning around on the dance floor. ‘Why wouldn’t she have told me she was coming with a date?’ The ache in his chest returned almost as an instant response to his thoughts. To see her in the arms of another man sent a cold chill down his spine and his mind racing. ‘Hadn’t I been obvious with my intentions? How could she not know that I’ve been interested in her for years now?’

“Because you’ve never told her that you’ve fancied her for years now.”

Nikolai nearly jumped at Zoya’s voice beside him. “Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes,” she scoffed. “And you should be glad it was only me who heard and not anyone else.”

“Suppose I should be…” He trailed off with gritted teeth as the laughing couple caught his eye again. 

“I should tell you that you wouldn’t be in this position if you would’ve talked to her.”

“Thank you for that observation, Zoya. Don’t you have someone else to go bother?”

Nikolai could feel her roll her eyes beside him but ignored her. Y/N placed her hand on her date's arm and leaned closer to him while he laughed. Anger and frustration with himself boiled in the pit of his stomach at the sight. 

Zoya sighed to herself, feeling the smallest bit of pity for the young king. “You should walk around and socialize with your guests.”

“You’re right,” he sighed. 

~

Y/N walked down the hall that led to Nikolai’s personal quarters, clad only in her night gown and robe. She slipped through the door without knocking or making her presence known. Nikolai was sat on one of the chairs by the fire place, his dress clothes long forgotten now replaced by his own silk night clothes. 

“Didn’t see much of you tonight.”

Her voice caught him off guard but he composed himself quickly. “I’ll be honest, I’m surprised you noticed.”

She placed a dramatic hand over her heart as she fell into the seat beside him. “You wound me.”

Her actions pulled a small smile out of him but only for a minute before his face fell slack again. “How was your date?” His voice carried a bitterness that would’ve caught Y/N off guard had she not expected it.

“Well, I wouldn’t consider it a date, but it was good.”

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself plenty.”

“Yes, well I happen to miss my family and it was nice to be able to catch up with my older cousin.”

Nikolai coughed and tried to hide the heat crawling up his neck. “Cousin?”

“Yes, Nikolai, I invited my cousin tonight.”

“Oh…” Guilt slowly crept up on the king as he brought his gaze back to the fire. 

“Why?” she asked with a smirk. “Were you jealous?”

He scoffed playfully, “Me? Jealous? Of you dancing with another man. Never.”

Y/N hummed with a chuckle. “Of course not.”

They sat in silence for a few moments before Nikolai spoke up again. “You are important to me. You know that right?”

She smiled softly at him, “Of course, Nik. You’re important to me too.”

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. “No, I mean…” He inhaled sharply and leaned forward, enough to reach across and hold her hands in his. 

“I love you. Have for years now, and you must’ve been blind not to see it, but I’m sorry. For not telling you earlier. I’m sorry I get like this sometimes… Zoya said it’s really my fault I get jealous, and she’s right. I should’ve told you a long time ago.”

He looked up at her almost timidly and with hesitance but was only met with a proud smirk upon her lips. 

“I knew.”

His eyes widened and he dropped her hands. “You knew this whole time?”

“Like you said, I’d have to have been blind not to see it.”

“Then… then why have you-”

Y/N laughed, “I’ll be honest, I like messing with you a bit. But I was also waiting for you to tell me yourself. You needed to pluck up the courage to tell me and I just kept giving you little nudges.”

Nikolai watched her with nothing but admiration in his eyes, “You’re sneaky.”

“But you love me.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai lantsov x you #shadow and bone #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone imagines #ellora.writes

[thesuntomyshadows]

Y/N: How is he?

Healer: I've done what I can but if the fever doesn't break by tonight...

Y/N: ...He could die?

Nikolai: *Opening his eyes* You're scaring the poor thing. Where's your chivelry?

Y/N: Oh, Nikolai. How are you feeling?

Nikolai: Close to death, apparently.

Healer: You need to rest.

Nikolai: What I need is some water and prehaps a little bit more of that lovely worried frown.

Y/N: I think I can manage that.

#nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov #incorrect shadow and bone #incorrect shadow and bone quotes #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone #shadow and bone reader insert

[euphoniumpets]

Second in command | Nikolai Lantsov x Starkov! Reader

Summary: After being tested in Keramzin, you found yourself in the little palace and after joining the second army, you got captured by the grisha hunters that led you into a terrible fate. However, after getting rescued by the hands of dirtyhands of himself, Kaz Brekker saw you as an great investment for his team. After reuniting with Alina and Mal throughout the kidnapping and going on your seperating your ways, you meet the prince himself and joins him on his ship and as the third charm, Alina and Mal joins your ship after running away.

Requested? yes: I was wondering if i could req a Nikolai lantsov x Starkov! reader? Where she (as alina's older sister) and Alina somehow got separated after getting captured by grisha hunters, but she escaped and eventually went on to become a crow. They finally reunite when Alina & Mal running away from Bohdan, unexpectedly sees her in Sturmhond's crew, and especially how close Sturmhond seems to be with Reader.

A/N: lol, my goal is to fill tumblr with Nikolai Lantsov fics.

Warnings: ptsd, violence, blood and gore, mentions of scars.

he seriously taking my breath away in this gif

You could remember when you were a child, your life got taken away abruptly. You never had a choice to taking care of your younger sister back at the orphange and had to have your head straight. That all changed when the Grisha people came to test you.

You had hoped that Alina would come with you and as well Mal. You could remember the screams that left your lips as they dragged you away to the little palace.

It was then you hated the place. You hated how the people looked at you because you were an outsider. At first, you had a hard time fitting into the place. You couldn't control your powers, let alone to use your power to create a wave with your powers.

It took time and when you finally mastered your powers, the general had assigned you to the second army. You had made a few friends there, back at the little palace and Zoya was one of them.

Zoya was a popular girl there and you didn't knew why the two of you matched so well. Zoya thought that you were an odd, quiet girl who stood out in the background and often thought to herself why she tried hard to befriend you.

You had asked the same questions for years and the two of you befriended each other. The two of you got assigned by the general since the two of you were a trusted companion during the sea and since Zoya was an excellent squaller.

The general had assigned the two of you to rescue some Grisha that had been caught by grisha hunters, however, you got seperated at the sea with yoru crew, losing Zoya in the process and then getting captured by the Grisha hunters that they considered themselves as the drüskelles.

You met a heartrender there at the same ship, lovely woman that one and the one thing you liked Nina Zenik was with her quick wits. You couldn't use your powers since they were being tied up, your hands were no use.

The ship settled down in Ketterdam and somehow, you got lucky when you could escape from the ship. You was about to move toward Nina to help her out of her chains, but she shook her head. ''Go,'' Nina replied, making you frown at her.

''What about you?'' You asked her. ''I'll be fine, go when you have the chance,''

''I will to leave you behind,'' You argued. ''But you have to,'' Nina replied. ''Go before they come back,''

''How will I ever repay you?'' You asked. ''Spare me a waffle if I survive,'' Nina responded with a smile. You shook your head before you sprinted out of the ship.

You could hear one of the Drüskelle shouting in Fjerdan as you ran through the city of Ketterdam. Upon stumbling, you saw a crow in front of you before you saw the Grisha hunters coming towards you.

They approached you as they tried to fight you, however, you waved your hands in motion as the water from the fountains moved towards them, knocking them down.

One of them stood up from the ground and was about to attack you again before a knife was thrown into their chest. You looked at the man in shock before turning around and saw a female and two males behind you.

''I suggest you will leave this place before we do something that you will regret,'' The man in the hat spoke with a dangerous low tone and looked at the Grisha hunters.

''She belongs to us, she's a witch that has escaped,'' One of the Grisha hunters sneered and looked at you wiht disgust. ''She does no longer belong to you, leave, or we will do something that you will regret,''

''Literally,'' The man next to the hat replied and showed the guns in his hands. The Grisha hunters huffed and didn't say a word before they left the place.

And now, three years later, here you were with the dangerous criminals in Ketterdam as a crow. Looking back, you often thought to yourself if you missed your old home, and it had changed over the years since the crows was your family.

You were lucky that day after Kaz and the others had set you free from the Grisha hunters. However, you wanted to do something so much more than running in a club with gangs. You longed for the adventure and after hearing a rumor about a pirate named Sturmhond and his crew being in Ketterdam for contacts and recruiting vaulable asset to his crew.

After saying goodbye to the crows and making your way to contact Sturmhond, you were overjoyed that he recieved it and arranged a meeting.

Upon first glance, you never expected him to be soo... young for being a pirate. It was an odd thing, that he was a little too young and almost too handsome, you wanted to think that.

Most pirates that you've seen when you got captured and during your time at the sea, however Sturmhond was different. You didn't thought much of it.

''So, Y/N,'' Sturmhond replied and looked at the letter in his hand where you had wrote him the message that you were interested of joining his crew.

''What makes you so valuable to be with our crew?'' He questioned, leaned into the chair and sent you a flirtatious grin. ''I'm a tidemaker, a powerful one,'' You spoke, ignoring the comment he made. The only downside was that he was a flirtatious pirate.

You watched him as he looked at you with a thoughtful look before shrugging his shoulders. ''Alright, you are accepted into our crew, Tamar will show your room,'' He spoke and you looked at him with a deadpanned expression.

''I'm sorry, is that just it? No other questions or...?'' You trailed off as he chuckled. ''No, I trust you enough with your beauty,'' Sturmhond remarked.

And that's how it has been ever since you met Sturmhond. He was reckless, funny, caring, and most of all, he was very flirty with you.

Only you and you noticed it. The whole crew noticed it that Sturmhond had fallen in love with you and he was sure that he would make it that everybody will know it.

It bothered you, in fact, you were annoyed by his comments but deep down, it made your heart warm.

After hearing that you got new arrivals when your crew had prepared for your next journey during the night, you were shocked to see your sister and Mal again after so many years.

You didn't spoke much of your family and Sturmhond knew that was a sensitive spot for you. You spoke so highly of your sister sometimes throwing in comments like: ''Alina would've like this'' or that ''Mal was the protective one over you'' and he finally got to see how they acted and know.

You two didn't got the time to speak or catching up since Alina and Mal would drag you with them and catch everything up, but they didn't miss the longing eyes in Sturmhond. They had always a suspicion that Sturmhond had feelings for you, but never spoke it about it.

After crossing the Fold and Alina's attempt to getting it down, you never expected to find about who Sturmhond really was. After knowing in for four years and trusting him, you got your answers right when he revealed to be the prince of Ravka.

You thought all of it was a joke when Alina had punched him in the face and wanted to confront him. Alina had walked away after that and cooled off somewhere with Mal as you walked inside of his tent.

''Can we speak?'' You asked as he turned around. It all was so different now when he wasn't wearing his regular clothes.

''Yeah, I think we need to,'' Sturmhond - or Nikolai replied. ''What do I call you now? Sturmhond or Moi Tsar?'' You asked uncertianly as you heard him chuckle.

''Just call me Nikolai,'' He responded with a soft smile. ''I know I haven't been truthful about my identity and I understand that you don't want to be in my second anymore,''

''You still want me to be it? Your second?'' You asked him with wide eyes.

''Of course? You've always been my second, Y/N,'' Nikolai replied and began to step closer to you. ''You're the one who belongs to my heart,''

''So, how much this change, about us?'' You asked quietly and looked down. You felt him lift up your chin to meet his eyes.

''Nothing,'' He replied and flickered down at your lips. ''Really?'' You questioned with wide eyes.

''Really, really,'' He responded as a small smile formed on his lips and then leaned down to meet yours.

#nikolai lantsov #shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov x reader #alina starkov #shadow and bone x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai lantsov fanfiction

[jahayla-parker]

I have a request for Nikolai

Basically, every summer since the prince and the princess were little their families would visit each other and stay until summer was over, each summer the twos hatred grew. When they are older and more beautiful the parents agree to a arranged marriage, Nikolai realised he’s falling in love with her when he first watched her dance ballet. After watching her secretly for weeks he finally joins in the dance and at the end they kiss

Mwhahaha really hope u can do this as ur my favourite writer <3

Announcement!!! Nikolai Series info!

Update: find series here

Im turning this into a mini series! I’ve got a lot of it done so far, but will post the schedule once I’ve finished it & am onto the editing stage.

There will be a few things changed / added from the request, but it shows the general theme and prompt of enemies to lovers trope and ballet / royalty aesthetics!

Until then, please lmk if you want to be on this mini series Taglist 👑

#nikolai x reader #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai lanstov x reader #king nikolai #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai x you #prince nikolai #nikolai imagines #nikolai lanstov #nikolai lantsov fluff #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov grishaverse #Nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lanstov x y/n #Nikolai lantsov imagines #Nikolai lantsov fanfic #Nikolai lantsov fan fiction #Nikolai lanstov x Yn #Nikolai lanstov x you #Nikolai lanstov Grishaverse #grishaverse x Reader #grishaverse x you #grishaverse masterlist #sturmhond #privateer sturmhond #Nikolai lanstov imagine #original post #KoMH #KoMH Series

[beautysamour]

Wrong destination | chapter two.

Pairing: Nikolai Lantsov x reader

Summary: After running into Alina and Mal, the three of you try to get out of Noyvi Zem before getting caught. This leads you to another encounter that you’re sure will mess up the time line.

warning/s: none

taglist: @spellsofavalon @vera0124

enjoy!

“Only two ships in a harbor town? Something’s not right.”

The three of you were currently hiding between some barrels, the current plan was to escape by ship.

“Maybe Bohdan ordered them away,” suggested Alina, “But the first army doesn’t have jurisdiction here,” Mal replied quickly.

You’ve read some books about the first army but you weren’t a hundred percent educated on them. You found the first grisha queen’s story a lot more interesting, and inspiring.

You didn’t speak up at all during the conversation between the two and felt especially awkward when Mal leaned his forehead against hers, you felt like you weren’t supposed to be there.

Which you weren’t, but whatever.

The three of you stepped away from the barrels and began to walk towards the people in front of the ship. You clenched your fists on the walk down; Alina suggested bribing them with 20 million kruge, but you were still on edge from the fight from earlier.

When you reached the people at the ship, Alina outstretched an arm to them handing them a piece of gold, “It’s gold,” she says.

The girl who Alina handed the gold to, took it and- bit it.

“That’ll do,” she said before turning back to a young man behind her, handing him the piece of gold. The young man examined the piece of gold on his own before fully confirming to himself that it was real gold.

“Come on then, hurry up. I’ll take you to the captain.”

Apart of you was actually excited, you were going to be traveling with pirates, not everyone from your time can say they’ve done that. You tried to contain your excitement though, you didn’t want anyone to think you were suspicious.

You were about to say thank you and enter the ship before someone called out for you-“You! Stop!”

The fucking guards.

The girl you first met at the ship immediately stepped towards them, edging them on.

“You want to fight Ravka?”

Still on edge, you took your other shoe off and threw it at the group of men then immediately made a run for it onto the ship, followed by Alina, Mal, and the young man; leaving the young woman alone to humble the group of men.

—

“Let’s be clear about two things. I don’t take orders on my own ship. And we’re already underway, I’m glad you’ve joined us.”

The captain, you assumed, had his arms on the table in front of him, resting his weight on the table and leaning forward.

He had ginger hair and green muddy eyes. Although he wasn’t standing up straight, you could tell that he was tall. His nose was crooked, it looked as if he got it handed to him multiple times.

“Now, maybe if you’d be so kind as to give the room a little light,” he continued,” after all you are Alina Starkov. A 20 million kurge saint.”

He pulled out a gun from his jacket and set it on the table, voicing out a silent threat, “dead or alive.”

No wonder his nose was crooked, if you felt a little more confident in your fighting abilities you probably also would’ve decked him in the face.

“Before you continue with the threats,” you begin to say honestly not caring about what’s happening. You knew that at the end of this conversation, he would let Alina and Mal out, might as well leave the room as soon as possible, “could I leave the room? I don’t think I’m needed here.”

Tolya, whose name you learned on the way to the captain, let out a deep exhale.

The captain looked at you slightly confused beige nodding and gesturing Tolya to walk you out the room.

“Wait outside the door though, I have to speak with you too,” said the captain before Tolya came up to you and gestured you out the room.

You were hoping to have some quiet outside the room, but you throwing a shoe out of everything at military personnel amused Tolya to no ends, enough for him to stay talking about it for 10 minutes.

“Do you always throw shoes at people?”

“No-“

“Where are you from? You don’t seem like a Ravka girl.”

“Gee, thanks-“

“What brought you here-“

The door abruptly opening cut Tolya off mid sentence.

“Can you give them a small tour around the ship? Then bring them to the fancy quarters,” the captain said before turning his gaze to you and walking back into his office, implying for you to follow, and you did.

“Close the door on your way in,” he said.

You stood awkwardly in the middle of the room when you finished closing the door. The captain went around his desk and resumed the same position he was in when you first walked into his office.

“Now who are you?”

“Y/N.”

“No last name?”

“Who are you?”

“The name’s Sturmhond.”

“Is that your last name?”

“It’d be a terrible first.”

He leaned further on the table, quickly getting irritated at your distancing, “Alright, love, if you came any other day you’d probably be in luck for me to indulge in your little back and forth momentum, but you coincidentally came in the same time as the sun summoner. Not everyone just regularly travels with a saint.”

You looked away from him, afraid that he’ll somehow expose you to be a time traveler.

“So I’ll ask again, and only once again, who are you.”

“I just want a place to sleep at until we reach shore again.”

“That’s utter bull, love, and you know it.”

You look back at him, your emotional and physical tiredness catching up with you, “I just had the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with them, that’s all. You can use a heartrender,” you clear your throat, the memory of Elijah popping up in your head, “to make sure I’m telling the truth when I say I don’t have any ill agenda.”

“But you have one,” he challenges.

“When does someone not?”

He seemed to not have any remarks to that. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, he just kept his eyes on you.

“Very well,” he finally says. “You seem tired, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

He gave you a small grin, looking strangely familiar to Elijah’ grin whenever he teased you.

—

“May not look like the fanciest, but I swear, it’ll feel as such. Well actually that’s a lie, but what can you expect from a hammock at sea? Enjoy your stay, love.”

You let out a breath you’ve been holding since you walked on to the ship once Sturmhond was far away for you to feel slightly relaxed.

Your area was small and was set in between two other hammocks that belonged to complete strangers. Fortunately you didn’t have any luggage with you so you didn’t have to worry about anything getting stolen. You didn’t even have any shoes.

Wow so classy.

You put one of your legs up on the hammock, attempting to get on it. You failed. Then you tiptoed and set your lower behind on the hammock, trying to get on it once again. This time it worked.

You slowly recline your body, leaning on your side, before turning on your back, now looking up at the ceiling of this sleeping area.

“You would’ve loved this place, eli, you always wanted to be a pirate,” you laugh softly, remembering a childhood moment.

“Arrrr matey, give me your money!”

Elijah, a seven year old, threatened with his weirdly bent fork that was taped onto his pointer finger.

“Eli,” you exclaimed, “that didn’t even rhyme!”

“Arrr matey, pirates don’t have to rhyme my lady,” replied Elijah, pronouncing the end of lady like “ty” to make it rhyme with matey.

“Ew, don’t call me that,” you scrunched your face, cringing at the pet name.

Elijah dropped his shoulders as a pout formed on his face, “Y/N! Can you please play along? You know this is important for me, I have to pass my pirate audition!”

“Pirate audition?” You ask back, “Those exist?”

“Of course they do! How else would pirates become pirates?”

“I guess… ok I’m sorry, I’ll take this more seriously.”

A smile now showed on Elijah’ face, “Ok, from the beginning. Arrrr matey, give me your money!”

You smile, finding the entire thing childishly funny. Then the memory quickly becomes sour when you remember the scene of his head disconnected from the rest of his body. The feeling of having to throw up rapidly makes an appearance, but it stops before it’s too hard to control.

You close your eyes and try to leave the memory, forcing yourself to focus on your surroundings as you try to fall asleep.

—

“Look lively, topside now!”

You jerk your head up at the sound of a loud voice and push yourself up. You looked around for a few seconds before pushing yourself up completely and brushing any dirt that ended up on your clothes.

“Of course I wake up on the floor,” you mumble to yourself before heading to the ladder at the far end of the department, and climbing up to the deck.

“Hey,” you hear as soon as you get on the deck, “I meant to ask yesterday but it didn’t seem like the right time. Where’d you get your clothes from?”

Sturmhond walked towards you as he asked the question, seemingly waiting for you to show up.

“Where would you get yours,” you asked back as you started to walk away from him, not sure what he wanted. “Where’s Alina and Mal,” you ask before he could answer your rhetorical question.

“Haven’t came up yet. Why? Need the sun summoner for something?”

Of course he was weary of you, it’s not common for someone to genuinely help someone in this time period without wanting anything in return.

“It’s that rare to want to know how the well-being of someone who has previously helped you? Saints, that’s sad.”

Sturmhond snickered from behind you, “Yeah, pretty rare.”

You walked to a side railing, looking over it to watch the water sway beneath you. The ocean was always something that fascinated you; the fact that it makes up so much of the world yet very little is known about it.

Just like your very own power within you.

“Don’t touch that,” you heard from behind you. You quickly turned your head, the feeling of panic striking you, but relief flooded that feeling away when you saw that Sturmhond was talking to Mal and Alina; leaving you alone with the sea beneath your feet.

—

The sun set just as quickly as it raised. A few members of the ships crew, including its captain and Alina and Mal, embarked on a mission they had once the ship reached a rather mysterious looking island.

When they came back on the ship, it was announced that Alina received her second amplifier and the entire crew was able to watch as she attached it to her body.

Now everyone was asleep, except for you. Not being able to use your power and being stuck in an era that isn’t yours quickly made itself a reoccurring thought. What if you were never able to go home? You still had a family, still had other friends, you still wanted to save Elijah- but how? If you didn’t have your power then what.

Was there an amplifier you could use?

You momentarily stop thinking about these issues once you get to the deck of the ship, the stars in the sky immediately demanding for your attention. A memory of your mother telling you stories about the stars flood your mind.

You feel the soft breeze that always accompanies the ocean as you walk to the middle of the deck and sit down.

“Mom,” you whisper out, “the sea at night is just as you said.”

“Hey,” you hear from behind you, again. The same voice.

“Good evening,” you reply back, starting to get up as you turn towards him.

“It’s late out. Crews not allowed up here after sundown,” he walks towards you, offering you the jacket that was rested on his arm as he gets closer. You glance down at the jacket before looking back up at him, slightly taken off guard at how the moonlight seemed to perfectly light his face.

He’s definitely not bad looking.

“With all due respect, I’m not really apart of the crew,” you reply back, “I’m just here until we reach somewhere safe.” He stands for a few seconds, his hand still holding the jacket out to you.

Taking your words as a rejection, he pulls the hand holding his jacket back to him. He doesn’t say anything to you, he only walks to a side railing on the deck and looks up at the night sky. A comfortable silence rests between you two.

Assuming he wasn’t going to say anything else, you start to walk back to the ladder that led to the hammocks.

“Feel free to stay out, then.”

You stop mid step, mentally weighing the cons and pros of staying out here alone with a man who has made it clear that he does not trust you.

The sky is pretty anyways. You decide to use that as you reason to stay.

You walk towards the same side railing Sturmhond was leaning on, leaving a few inches between you two as you rest your weight on it.

“Why were you out here,” he asked, keeping his eyes straight down, watching the moons reflection of the waters surface.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh wow,” he chuckles while speaking, “you actually gave me a direct answer. Didn’t know you could do that.”

“And I regret doing so,” you say; more on the playful side however, indulging in some sarcastic remarks might be good for your sanity.

From your peripheral, you saw Sturmhond push himself off of the railing, you assumed he was going to walk back inside but he only did so to straighten his back.

“Even though you aren’t apart of my crew permanently, you still eat, sleep, and spend time on my ship. You’re still under my supervision, which means you’re in my crew,” he turns misled towards you, leaning on his side against the railing this time, “and I like to know my crew.”

Mirroring his body movement, you also turn yourself towards him. Maybe telling this stranger, who you’ll never meet again and who you don’t remember in any history books, a few things about you wouldn’t do you any harm. It might be good to make some friends for the mean time.

“Down for a few questions?”

“Alright, my name is Y/N.”

“Still no last name?”

“Still no last name.”

“Ok…,” he chuckled again. “If I can’t know your last name, then can I know how you met the sun summoner? Like I said, that’s not just some regular encounter. Why are you on my ship?”

“I want to go home,” you said; ignoring the first part of his question. “I got lost and I just want to go back.”

“Where’s your home?”

“Ravka.”

You heard a sound come from him, something akin to a laugh, “You’re from Ravka?”

“Yeah,” you said, a little confused as to why he asked again.

He turned his body away from you, looking off into the distance as the smell of sea water and the cool evening breeze took over your senses.

“What do you think about the prince,” he suddenly asks, still looking off into the distance.

The prince? Who was the prince at this time…

You tried to remember all the history books you read and cursed yourself for only really caring about the grisha queen- but then you remember a name that was commonly brought up alongside her and who was once king.

“The puppy prince?”

Sturmhond suddenly turned his head towards you, his expression mixed with surprise and annoyance.

Maybe he knew the prince…?

“Puppy prince?” He repeats, his tone unidentifiable.

You nod slowly, a little worried that you might’ve offended him, “I don’t know him personally and I don’t have an opinion on him, but I’ve heard people call him that.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his shoulder lowering as he rested his forearms on the railing; a sigh escaping his mouth.

He mumbles a few things under his breath that you were unable to catch on to.

“How’d you get away from home?”

“I,” you trailed off, not sure if you wanted to tell him that, “I’m trying to find a cure, for a friends sickness. He’s already in dire need of help, so I’d like to reach shore as soon as possible.”

He didn’t say anything. It was silent again; the sound of the waves and the breeze being the only audible thing at this time of day.

You push yourself off the railing, realizing how late it is; “Well, sturmhond, thank you for the company. I’ll be going back inside now.”

You began to walk away from him, looking up at the sky while doing so.

“Y/N,” Sturmhond says, causing you to stop walking before you could reach the ladder, “We’ll get you home. Promise.”

“Ok,” you respond with a small smile, not looking back at him, “I’ll keep you to it.”

—

“Come with us, it’s the fastest way to get you to shore.”

After your talk with Sturmhond on the deck, he’s been very persistent on updating you on how close you guys were to shore.

You were surprised that he seemed to care that much, about someone who wasn’t truly apart of his crew. You weren’t going to take that for granted though.

“When do you leave?”

“In an hours time, so pack quickly.”

“I-“ you began to say but he walked away before you could even finish, “…I didn’t even give you an answer yet.”

You sighed as you turned back to your hammock, that had nothing on it, since you had nothing with you. You decided to walk around the ship to make the hour go by quicker.

—

“Y/N!”

Alina, who you haven’t spoken too for some days, ran to you immediately at seeing you.

“Alina-“ she ran up to you quicker that you expected and pulled you into a massive bear hug, cutting your air circulation. “You’re coming with us?” She asked when she finally pulled away.

You nodded, “Don’t get my wrong, your shoe throwing is a very unique tactic but I don’t think that’ll affect the monsters in the fold that much.”

You froze at her words and just stared at her, dumbfounded.

You’re going into the fold?

“How’s it feel, ready to take on the fold?”

Mal asked while walking up to you two, specifically to Alina.

As Alina averted her attention for you to Mal, you took it as your chance to give them space. You still felt as if you shouldn’t be apart of any of their conversations since they’ve already had it without you; you didn’t want to mess up the timeline anymore than you assumed you already have.

Nervousness began to bubble in the pit of your stomach. In modern Ravka, there is no fold, you didn’t have to worry about any shadow monsters. You’re in the past though, you remind yourself. Of course your luck would lead you here.

“There you are, I was about to go looking for you,”to your right was Sturmhond who was currently walking towards you, “Excited?”

“Of course n-“ you stop yourself mid sentence. Yes, apart of you was upset that he was throwing you into the equivalent of hell, but he was also the reason why you’d reach Ravka sooner than most. So you didn’t really have any room to complain.

You inhale before restarting your sentence, “To get to Ravka? Yes. To travel through the Fold? No.”

He smirked at your words, “Aw don’t worry, we’ve got a saint with us- you two ready?” He asked Alina and Mal. They nodded, “Might want to hold on to something,” Sturmhond told you as he walked to the middle of his ship, where a lever was rested at.

“Prepare to decouple,” he yelled out. The twins, Tolya and Tamar jumped on the ship; surprising you as they seemed to have come from thin air. Sturmhond yelled out to someone on the other side of the ship before pulling the lever. Just on cue, Kovu, who Sturmhond yelled out to just a few moments ago, moved his arms in a precise motion, pushing air up and towards the sails.

You felt the part of the ship you were on began to lift into the air, you quickly grabbed on to the ledge and jerked your body back so you didn’t see the ground.

This is just like an airplane, you tell yourself in an attempt to slow down your rapidly increasing heartbeat. In front of you, Alina threw herself onto a bench; seemingly afraid. Mal entered your sight of vision as he came up to Alina trying to get her to get up.

You laughed at the view, not because you were making fun of her, but because of how common it is to fly in your time. You wonder how Alina would react to being on an actual airplane.

Still, even though your use to flying in the air, a creation like this-that you’ve studied in school before and is now on- it was fascinating. You slowly turn your body back towards the ledge, looking over it now and overseeing the view.

“This is amazing,” you meant to whisper out but it came out a lot louder than intended.

“Did you expect any less,” Sturmhond questioned as he stood next to you while leaning against the same ledge, “It’s like you haven’t even met me,” he joked. “Years and years of designs,” he continued, “and several dozen crashed prototypes.” He winced out the last part of his sentence, not the proudest at that fact, but it was expected.

You looked at him surprised, “You made this?” He nodded. “…you’re an inventor?” He nodded again. Of course he’s an inventor.

“I know,” he said with a smirk, “smart and handsome, gotta leave something for the rest of you all.”

You rolled your eyes at his cockiness; averting your gaze from him to watch the ground as you fly above it. You didn’t have a view like this on an airplane.

“Captain,” a crew member yelled out, “The Fold’s in sight.”

“Wonderful. Next stop,” he yelled so Alina and Mal could hear, “Destiny.”

—

It was all a blur, the time in the fold.

All you remember is Alina attempting to take down the Fold, then something happened which caused her to fail her attempt. Then suddenly it was all dark, and there were monsters, and gun shots, and screeches- it was horrific. Everything the history books said it was like.

And now it was dark again. You couldn’t see or feel, maybe you were dead. Then suddenly you hear voices.

“One, two, three,-“

And suddenly you saw light again.

Your body jerked up at the feeling of oxygen rushing into your lungs. Around you, you heard sighs of reliefs and thanks being given to the saints as someone aggressively patted your back and you coughed up the remaining water that was in your lungs.

You turned to look at the person patting your back and was met with someone completely unfamiliar, but attractive.

“Almost lost you there,” said the stranger as he wiped his mouth with the back of his palm.

“Who the hell are you-“ the sound of horns blaring and soldiers marching drained out your voice.

“You’ve crossed illegally onto Ravkan soil. Identify yourselves,” asked who you assume to be the commander of the group of soldiers as they came to a stop.

The blonde stranger next to you gave you another pat on the back before getting up from his current position on his knees, “I’ll handle this.”

“Have I really changed that much,” he asked as he jumped down from the wrecked ship, “I knows it’s been a number of years but people swear I remain boyishly handsome.”

You snort at his words. He may look unfamiliar but he definitely acts like someone you know.

Speaking of which, where is…

“It can’t be,” said the commander

“Yes it is,” replied the stranger as he took off his jacket.

“Moi tsarevich.”

As soon as the commander mumbled out those words, he and the rest of his troops immediately got down on one knee.

Tsarevich… prince…

“Alina,” you call out, “where’s Sturmhond?”

Alina looked back at you with widened eyes, as if she came to the same conclusion that you have.

Oh.

He was definitely someone you remembered in those history books.

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