Charles had been pacing the grand foyer of the palace for at least an hour, much to the amusement of the staff. Every few minutes, he’d stop, glance at the massive clock on the wall, then continue his frantic loop. It wasn’t exactly princely behavior, but Charles had long since abandoned any attempt to look dignified. Not when Max was coming back.
Well, coming back in a “non-bodyguard capacity,” whatever that meant. Charles hadn’t bothered to ask for clarification from his father. At this point, Max could come back as the palace gardener, and Charles wouldn’t care as long as he was there.
Finally, the palace doors creaked open, and Charles spun around so fast he almost tripped over his own feet. Max stepped inside, his usual stoic expression in place, but there was something different—something softer. Or maybe Charles was just imagining things. Either way, his heart skipped a beat.
“Max!” Charles called out, louder than necessary, causing a few nearby staff members to raise their eyebrows. He didn’t care. He practically jogged over to where Max was standing, unsure of whether he should shake his hand, hug him, or do something wildly inappropriate, like tackle him.
Max gave him a small, awkward smile. “Hey, Charles.”
The sound of his voice, the casual way he said Charles—not Your Highness, not sir, just Charles—made Charles’ stomach flip in a way he wasn’t entirely prepared for. He cleared his throat, trying to play it cool.
“I—uh—I wasn’t sure if you were actually going to come back,” Charles said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not after everything.”
Max shrugged, his smile fading into something more serious. “I almost didn’t.”
Charles’ heart sank a little at that, but before he could say anything, Max continued.
“But I thought about it. And… well, I missed you too.”
Missed me too. Those words still sent a rush of warmth through Charles’ chest. He felt like a teenage girl with a crush, and it was both exhilarating and incredibly embarrassing.
“Well, I’m glad you’re back,” Charles said, trying to suppress the grin threatening to take over his face. “Even if you’re not my bodyguard anymore.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “Your dad made it very clear that I won’t be anywhere near the security team. Apparently, I’m a ‘bad influence’ on you.”
Charles snorted. “A bad influence? You? That’s rich coming from a guy who has, like, an entire wine cellar just for himself.”
Max chuckled, and for a brief moment, it felt like everything was back to normal. Like they hadn’t spent the past few weeks in emotional turmoil. But then the awkward silence crept back in, and Charles wasn’t sure what to say next.
“So,” Max said, glancing around the foyer, “if I’m not your bodyguard, what exactly am I doing here?”
Charles blinked. Right. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. He had spent all his energy convincing his father to let Max come back, but now that he was actually here, he had no idea what role Max was supposed to play. He probably should’ve asked for more details when his father gave him the green light.
“Uh,” Charles stalled, scratching his chin. “Good question. We could, um… figure that out together?”
Max looked at him, unimpressed. “You have no idea, do you?”
“Nope!” Charles said, with an exaggerated grin. “But it’s fine! We’ll—uh—improvise.”
Max shook his head, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. “That’s reassuring.”
Before Charles could respond, Pierre burst into the room, looking like he had been waiting for this exact moment to make an entrance. He was practically beaming, his eyes darting between Charles and Max with barely contained excitement.
“Ah, Max is back! Fantastic!” Pierre exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “I knew you couldn’t stay away for long.”
Max gave Pierre a cautious nod. “Hey, Pierre.”
“Oh, don’t be so formal! We’re all friends here, aren’t we?” Pierre said, throwing an arm around Charles’ shoulders and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Especially now that Max is… not your bodyguard anymore. Very convenient, isn’t it, Charles?”
Charles’s face immediately turned crimson. “Pierre, shut up.”
Pierre ignored him, turning his attention back to Max with a devilish grin. “So, now that you’re free from all those pesky royal duties, what’s the plan? Romantic moonlit walks around the palace grounds? Candlelit dinners? A little—”
“Pierre,” Charles groaned, cutting him off. “This is not—”
“Look,” Pierre interrupted, holding up a finger, “I’m just saying, this is the perfect setup. No job obligations, no rules. You’re basically coworkers now. And we all know what happens when two coworkers—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Max said, his face turning a shade of red that almost matched Charles’. “We’re not—this isn’t—”
Pierre raised an eyebrow. “Really? Because the way you two are blushing right now, it seems like there’s something going on.”
Charles buried his face in his hands, his voice muffled by his palms. “Why are you like this?”
Pierre leaned closer to Max and whispered, loud enough for Charles to hear. “He only gets this flustered when it’s you. Just saying.”
Max let out an exasperated sigh, but he couldn’t completely hide the smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “You’re not helping, Pierre.”
Pierre winked at him. “I never claimed to be helpful.”
Charles peeked through his fingers, giving Max an apologetic look. “Please ignore him. He’s just… Pierre.”
Max chuckled softly. “I’ll try my best.”
There was another brief silence, but this time, it wasn’t awkward. It was almost comfortable. Pierre, sensing that he had done enough damage, gave them both a sly smile and made his exit, leaving Charles and Max standing in the foyer, alone again.
Charles shifted on his feet, unsure of what to say now that the teasing had stopped. He glanced at Max, who seemed equally unsure, though there was a softness in his expression that Charles hadn’t seen in a long time.
“So… now what?” Max asked, breaking the silence.
Charles looked around the palace, then back at Max, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t know. Maybe we could… hang out? Like normal people?”
Max raised an eyebrow. “Hang out?”
“Yeah, you know,” Charles said, shrugging awkwardly. “Go for a walk, have a chat, do something that doesn’t involve palace drama or my father glaring at us.”
Max thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. That sounds… nice.”
Charles’s smile grew wider. “Yeah. It does.”
And so, for the first time in what felt like forever, Charles and Max walked out of the palace together, side by side, with no titles, no roles, and no pressure. Just two people figuring out whatever this was between them.
And for the first time, it felt like they were finally on the same page.
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♡
