kralsachu:
A resigned look pasted itself upon Emil’s face as he watched Milena open her mouth, change her mind, scrub and stare at him, then ultimately turn away once more when German guards strutted by in their filthy boots like they owned the place (ha). He broke his gaze with her to work himself, but felt a mild disappointment in her fear to speak to another around (what he liked to refer to them as) her “oppressors”. He could still remember their short and brief meetings when they were younger, and the bravery she had expressed. Back then she had no fear to speak out to him amongst other men, had no fear to level those blue eyes to him and distinguish the fire in his own.
Alas, his train of thought was disturbed as a German guard spat at the floor beside him as he passed, inches from hitting his hand. For a brief moment, Emil envisioned himself quickly standing to his knees and tripping the bastard and knocking the wind out of him as the other guard would stare in shock—He would have been so satisfied just to show them up. Instead, knowing the punishment for such acts, he grunted and let their insults and laughter pass him by. One day, the Slovak thought, One day I will be the one laughing. Furiously, he scrubbed at the saliva, intent on ridding the insult from not only the floor but from his mind. For a brief moment, nothing but the sound of their boots on the rocks outside and the sound of cloth against marble filled his ears.
Eventually the other spoke, her strained voice catching in his ears, and Emil glanced over his shoulder at Milena quietly as he cleaned. ‘Bastards’. A smirk plastered over his face at her curse, and he breathed in amusement through his nose before sitting back on his knees. He reached past her, dipping the rag in her water bucket once more and leveled their gazes.
”Doing my job as an eternal servant. ” The sarcasm dripped from his tongue into a tight smile. But Emil’s voice continued to stay calm, reserved, before he moved on the the next spot ahead of her with the cloth.
“…You don’t need to do this, go elsewhere. I can handle this on my own.”
Milena watched as he reached past her with his rag, though her eyes soon went to his face, realizing how close he suddenly got to her. She observed him carefully, examining his sharp features. At his sarcastic quip, the Czech couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, hand going up to her lips as she tried to contain it. Dropping her hand, she flashed a smirk at him only to then blink in surprise at his next words. Go elsewhere? He can do it on his own? What did he take her for? Some princess who couldn’t handle the task given to her?
Sure, she hated doing this. She hated how much they were treated like barbarians, as the others so often called them. Milena could just agree, get up and leave to do something else. On the other hand…
“…Why? Trying to be prince charming or are you just always such a gentleman?” Her tone was cool and teasing, but her eyes held a mischievous glint to them. She dumped her rag in the bucket before taking it out again, whipping it around once before scrubbing again at the floor. “I am not going anywhere. If you, however, would like to leave, you may.” Her seagreen eyes looked back up into his dark hues, her next words purposely low and slow, the smirk once more on her lips.
“I can handle this on my own.“
She brushed back her hair again before going back to cleaning the floors. Noticing that the guards who had passed had, once more, tracked in more dirt. Milena huffed as she shifted over to clean it up. Another glance at the Slovak, and she allowed herself to think out loud, quietly but just loud enough so she knew he would hear. “After all, someone needs to teach these men a lesson…”
The ‘prince charming’ comment made the Slovak lift his head towards her, eyebrows raised in soft surprise. Apparently she had taken his words the wrong way. True, he was being a gentleman. He knew she worked all day long just like he, but today she seemed like she could use a break. So he thought it the nice thing to do and let her go have some time for herself. Instead she met his violet gaze with ice, and Emil couldn’t help but find himself hopelessly attracted to her and that devilish gaze as she uttered those words. Saucy.
Emil smirked back at her after he realized he had begun to stare, and turned away to another spot to be washed. He was silent for the moment as she carried on, huffing and glancing back at him as if he couldn’t tell. He only spoke again, lightly and with amusement, when she mentioned the guards again,
“Ah. So you are a mind reader.” He snorted and fixed a sleeve, rolling it back up to his elbow as he glanced back over to her. Her hair was highlighted brilliantly by some sunlight catching it from a window.
“I was only suggesting you go enjoy yourself, free of work. Not all of us are lucky to get peace during the day, so when the opportunity springs up, it’s thoughtful share it.”
