The day after Charles’ hangover fiasco was one of those rare days where the palace felt relatively peaceful. No grand royal events, no meetings with foreign dignitaries—just a day where Charles could relax and pretend, for a moment, that he was a regular guy.
Of course, Charles never really got to be a regular guy.
“Are you still hiding from Max?” Pierre asked, lounging on Charles’ sofa, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. He had been watching Charles pace back and forth in his room for the past 15 minutes.
“I am not hiding,” Charles shot back, glancing nervously at the door. “I’m just… giving him space. After, you know, the whole dance floor thing.”
Pierre burst out laughing. “Dude, Max doesn’t care. He’s dealt with way worse. You’re acting like you confessed your undying love to him.”
Charles stopped mid-pace, his face turning slightly pink. “I did not confess anything. I just… said he was handsome. And tried to dance with him. That’s not a big deal.”
Pierre raised an eyebrow. “You called him Maxxy, man. You’ve crossed a line.”
Charles groaned and threw himself onto the sofa, burying his face in a cushion. “I’m going to die. Max is never going to take me seriously again.”
Pierre gave him a playful nudge with his foot. “Or, he’ll think you’re adorable and secretly be into it. Ever think of that?”
Charles lifted his head just enough to glare at Pierre. “Why do you always do this?”
“Do what?” Pierre asked, feigning innocence.
“You know exactly what,” Charles said, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. “You keep making it sound like Max and I are… I don’t know, something.”
“Well, you’re something,” Pierre teased. “Don’t act like I haven’t noticed the way you two look at each other. You’re practically married.”
“Married?!” Charles spluttered, nearly knocking over a lamp as he flailed in disbelief. “We’re not even friends!”
Pierre chuckled, sitting up. “Okay, sure. Keep telling yourself that. But Max is the only person who can handle your royal tantrums, and you don’t trust anyone else the way you trust him. Seems like friendship to me.”
Charles opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. Pierre had a point. Max was annoyingly good at keeping him in check, but he also made Charles feel safe—like he didn’t have to constantly perform or pretend to be the perfect prince. Around Max, he could just… be himself.
Still, Charles wasn’t about to admit that to Pierre.
“Well, whatever it is, it’s not that,” Charles said, crossing his arms defensively. “Max doesn’t even like me half the time. He’s always rolling his eyes at me.”
“That’s because you’re a disaster,” Pierre said bluntly. “But he’s a disaster with you, so it works.”
Charles groaned again, throwing a pillow at Pierre, who easily dodged it with a laugh. “I am not a disaster!”
“Really?” Pierre said, grinning. “Because you literally tripped over your own feet last night and nearly face-planted into Max’s chest.”
Charles flushed at the memory. “I was drunk!”
Pierre just snickered. “And totally smitten.”
Before Charles could come up with a decent comeback, there was a knock at the door. His heart immediately jumped into his throat, and he shot Pierre a panicked look.
“If that’s Max, I’m going out the window,” Charles whispered.
Pierre, never one to miss an opportunity for chaos, smirked. “Go ahead, but we’re on the second floor, so maybe don’t.”
Before Charles could make his escape plan, Max stepped into the room, looking as composed as ever, like he hadn’t just walked in on Charles in the middle of a minor meltdown.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” Max said, his expression neutral as always, though Charles swore he saw a hint of amusement flicker across his face. “Pierre.”
“Maxxy,” Pierre greeted, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
Charles turned beet red. “Pierre!”
Max’s eyebrow twitched. “Please don’t call me that.”
Pierre just laughed, standing up and giving Charles a friendly pat on the back. “Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it.”
Before Charles could retaliate, Pierre was already halfway out the door, leaving Charles and Max in an awkward silence. Charles stared at the floor, unsure of what to say.
Max, thankfully, broke the silence. “I see you’ve recovered from last night.”
Charles groaned internally. “Yeah. About that… I’m really sorry for—well, everything.”
Max tilted his head slightly. “You don’t need to apologize. You had a few drinks. It happens.”
Charles frowned. “But I—” He hesitated, then lowered his voice. “I called you handsome.”
Max’s lips quirked, just slightly. “It wasn’t the worst thing you could’ve said.”
Charles blinked, caught off guard by Max’s calm response. “You… don’t mind?”
Max shrugged. “People have said worse about me.”
Charles found himself staring at Max for a moment, trying to figure out how this man could be so unshakable. Here he was, still mortified from last night, and Max was acting like it was just another Tuesday.
“You’re really hard to rattle, you know that?” Charles muttered.
Max gave him a small smile—rare, but genuine. “I’ve had practice.”
The two of them stood there for a moment, and for the first time, the silence didn’t feel awkward. It felt… comfortable.
“So, are we good?” Charles asked, biting his lip nervously.
Max nodded. “Yeah, we’re good. Just… maybe give me a heads-up next time before you decide to drag me onto a dance floor.”
Charles laughed, the tension finally breaking. “Deal. I’ll keep the dancing to a minimum.”
Max turned to leave but paused at the door, glancing back over his shoulder. “Oh, and by the way, Charles?”
Charles tilted his head. “Yeah?”
Max smirked, his eyes glinting with humor. “You’re not a bad dancer. For a prince.”
With that, he left, leaving Charles standing there with a dumbstruck smile on his face.
“Oh my God,” Charles muttered to himself as the door clicked shut. “I am smitten.”
Pierre, who had been eavesdropping from the hallway, popped his head back in, grinning ear to ear. “Called it.”
Charles threw another pillow.
YOU ARE READING
𝑅𝑂𝑌𝐴𝐿 𝑆𝑇𝐴𝑁𝐷𝐴𝑅𝐷𝑆 ~𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛
Fanfiction(A Lestappen story) A royal prince and a former f1 driver who now is a bodyguard. What could happen ~ -English is not my first language,so ignore the errors♡
