splix: (viggo nikolai/kirill)
splix ([personal profile] splix) wrote2010-11-08 02:21 pm

FIC: Khalva

[livejournal.com profile] tsarina, here is your Trick-or-Treat treat. Hope you enjoy!


Title: Khalva
Author: Alex
Fandom: Eastern Promises
Pairing/Character(s): Nikolai/Kirill
Rating: PG
Warning: None.
Word count: 300
Notes: Written as a Halloween treat for [livejournal.com profile] tsarina.





*

Make yourself useful, Kolya, Kirill says, but his voice is free of rancor. Semyon is away, and he is free; there is no need for brutal posturing. The kitchen hums smoothly, the staff laughs and chatters, and the air is redolent with the fragrances of borscht and blini and pirozhki.

What do you want me to do?

Kirill throws a generous lump of butter onto a hot cast-iron skillet, where it sizzles enticingly. When it’s melted, throw those in -- he hands Nikolai a wooden spoon and points to a pile of chopped walnuts -- and stir them. Don’t let them burn.

The combination of browning butter and the subtle, smoky aroma of toasting walnuts drifts upward, tantalizing, mouth-watering. Smells good, Nikolai murmurs.

Keep stirring. Turn them over. Kirill’s hand briefly closes over Nikolai’s. It’s all in the wrist, Kolya. That’s it. Nikolai learns quickly. He rolls up a sleeve and stirs with quiet competence. His shoulder blade shifts beneath the thin material of his shirt. When the nuts are toasted, he spreads them in a shallow pan. Good. Kirill takes a bowl of milk and sugar, thickened with cornstarch, and hands it to Nikolai. Now cover them.

As Nikolai works, Kirill moves closer, inhaling the scent of starched cotton, bare skin, expensive cologne. Nikolai wears Penhaligon, Opus 1870; Kirill bought it for him at Christmas. Don’t say anything to Papa, he’d said. He doesn’t get it, you know? Old-fashioned.

Nikolai permits it, Kirill’s closeness, the press of their bodies, this cruel, exquisite temptation. Later, when Semyon returns, Kirill will slap Nikolai’s shoulder and make crude jests. For now, they stand together, in perfect solidarity and the sublime accord of butter, sugar, milk, and toasted walnuts.

Aching, Kirill lifts a spoon to Nikolai’s lips. Taste it, Kolya. Taste it.


End.

Photobucket

[identity profile] kimberlite.livejournal.com 2010-11-08 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, so sensual -- a treat indeed. :)
eve_n_furter: (Eastern Promises - tattoo)

[personal profile] eve_n_furter 2010-11-08 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
A tactile delight. Yummy!

[identity profile] tsarina.livejournal.com 2010-11-08 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
This is delicious! How sensual and lovely - it is making me want to go out and buy some walnuts though I don't have any awesome bodyguards to help me in the kitchen. :D

Thank you!

[identity profile] colonel-bastard.livejournal.com 2010-11-09 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
A sublime sensory experience! Loved the subtle eroticism of the activity, and especially enjoyed a glimpse of Kirill's true competence! I always knew he was an excellent cook. I can practically smell that kitchen. Favorite bit: the movement of Nikolai's shoulder blade as he stirs. A tantalizing detail.

The last sentence is perfectly heartbreaking.

Fantastic, thanks so much for sharing!

[identity profile] mrkinch.livejournal.com 2010-11-09 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
This is a gem. I love how you reveal Kirill's pain gradually so that the last few sentences hit hard. And "the sublime accord of butter, sugar, milk, and toasted walnuts" is a wonderful phrase.

[identity profile] govi20.livejournal.com 2010-11-09 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
What a lovely, tasty treat. Sensual and beautifully bitter-sweet.

[identity profile] mooms.livejournal.com 2010-11-09 09:17 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yes, just lovely! I can taste that sublime accord of butter, sugar, milk, and toasted walnuts and smell that kitchen. This is so sensual and so full of longing on Kirill's part.

[identity profile] redminerva17.livejournal.com 2010-11-09 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow. I can smell the aroma, hear the sizzle of the butter, and feel the warmth of Kirill's body pressing.... This is amazing. I've never read such a sympathetic treatment of Kirill -- a surprise, though it shouldn't be. We saw Kirill's tender side with the children, with the baby. Thank you so much for sharing this -- I love it!

[identity profile] noctuabunda.livejournal.com 2010-11-10 10:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, yum. All around.
Somehow, I loved the image of Nikolai's shoulderblades against his shirt, and the last line was just so perfect - thank you for sharing!

[identity profile] foxrafer.livejournal.com 2010-11-19 06:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow. This is just amazing. A missing scene I wish we'd been able to see.