"You love him, don't you?"
Kyle's question was casual, like he had asked if it would rain tomorrow. Nikolai wasn't sure if it was the soft smile on his lips as he watched John throw darts with the lieutenant or the fact he had been leaning on his hand like a swooning maiden for the past ten minutes that clued the sergeant in.
He sighed. "Of course I do. He is an easy man to love."
The sergeant hummed, lifting the half-empty pint glass to his lips. "You should tell him," Kyle suggested as he licked leftover foam from the corner of his mouth.
John let out a loud whoop as he hit the center of the dart board. Nikolai chuckled, soft and gentle warmth spreading in his chest. "Da. I should."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "...Are you gonna?"
"No. Of course not."
The sergeant groaned, scrubbing a hand roughly over his face. "Jesus fuckin' Christ," he huffed. "I'd lock you two in a closet and throw the key away if I knew Price wouldn't kill me."
"A wise choice, my friend," Nikolai said, reaching over to pat Kyle's arm. He knew that particular course of action would only end up with a busted door and a sergeant gone missing under mysterious circumstances.
He had foolishly hoped Kyle would drop the subject when he fell silent, but not such luck.
"But why not?" the sergeant asked. "You two don't exactly have the time for all the pining. No offense."
"None taken," Nikolai said. He glanced at the younger man, his eyes still bright and unburdened in a way John's and his hadn't been in a long time.
He tapped the rim of his glass as his eyes sought out the object of his unreturned affections once again. Like the needle of a compass finding its true north.
"When you truly love someone," he began quietly, keeping his gaze on John's lopsided smile even when he saw Kyle sit up straighter from the corner of his eye, "you would do anything to see them happy, da?"
He exhaled heavily, turning his head slightly to meet Kyle's eyes. "Even if it comes with the expense of your own."
"You're a goddamn fool, Nikolai," Kyle huffed after a moment of incredulous silence.
"Hm. Believe it or not, you are not the first to say that." Kate had had quite a few choice words for him too in a similar conversation a long time ago. "And you are right. I am a fool. A foolish man with a foolish heart."
Kyle snorted. "Are you sure someone didn't slip something a bit stronger into your glass?" he teased. "You're not usually this...poetic."
"Must be the vodka," Nikolai agreed and knocked back the rest of his drink with a small grimace.
Kyle clicked his tongue. "I still think you're a right idiot, Nik."
"Worry not, sergeant," Nikolai said. "You will understand when you are older."
Before Kyle could voice the retort that clearly had been on his tongue, a warm weight dropped onto the seat beside Nikolai.
"Understand what?" John asked, reaching over the table to steal the salted peanuts Kyle had been hoarding for himself.
"Nothing, captain," Nikolai said with an easy smile. He was met with a suspicious squint of blue eyes.
"Right..." John drawled and shook his head. "I leave you two alone for two minutes and yer already plottin' against me, is that it?"
"Wouldn't dream of it, sir," Kyle said, lifting his pint in a toast. "Just havin' a little heart to heart with our resident Russian."
Nikolai shot him a warning glare and slowly shook his head, mentally cursing the shithead tendencies the younger members of the task force seemed to share.
If anything, that statement made John's expression turn puzzled as he looked between the smirk on Kyle's lips and the glare that furrowed Nikolai's brow.
John cleared his throat awkwardly and stood up. "Right then," he said. "I'll just...leave you to it, I suppose."
When John had made his swift escape outside of hearing range Nikolai sighed and leaned back in the booth. "Not a word of this to him, understand?"
"Loud and clear, Nik."
Nikolai wasn't convinced. He made a mental note to look out for stray sergeants and conveniently placed closets with locking doors in the near future.
