My Random Skyrim Stories

Green Bottles (Vilkas) 8

It was sometime in the middle of the night, a few days after they'd returned... Vilkas was woken by another intruder in his room, but this time, he didn't recognize any scents...
Reflexively he grabbed the hand that had been reaching for him and grabbed his sword with his other hand. In a matter of moments he was out of bed and had the intruder pinned with their back to his chest and his sword at their throat...
He was at least a head taller than the intruder and easily got his arms around the figure to hold them firmly... rough leather armor  pressed against his bare chest and long hair brushed against his cheek and nose...
He was about to demand the intruder identify themselves before he slit their throat but then he suddenly realized —now that he was holding the intruder so close— that he did recognize the slightly smoky scent...
"Vilkas!" Lillia's startled voice accompanied that realization as Vilkas froze, slowly waking up more fully as he realized exactly who he had pinned against him...
He hadn't recognized her scent sooner because he couldn't smell things like he used to anymore... by Ysmir, that could have been bad...
"S-sorry Harbinger," he sputtered, quickly lowering his sword and loosening his grip. "I didn't realize..." Vilkas blinked, as she stepped away and he realized he couldn't see in the dark like he used to either. "What are you doing in here?" He asked scoldingly as he moved to light his lamp, "I could have slit your throat!"
"I would have stopped you," she replied in a calm tone, but her accent was thick, and as the light illuminated the room Vilkas saw that her face had gone rather dark pink. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to give you such a start," she continued sheepishly, "though I am glad to know you're so well prepared for dispatching intruders..."
"I'm sorry," Vilkas shook his head again... he couldn't believe how close he'd come to harming her... that he hadn't recognized her... the thought nearly made him sick.
His heart was still racing from the adrenaline rush... and he couldn't hear her heartbeat, but she looked to be trying to calm down and compose herself as well... she looked flustered. He also noticed she seemed to be intentionally averting her eyes from his bare chest...
Vilkas suddenly found himself trying not to think about the feeling of her body pressing against his chest like she had been... it was probably a good thing she was wearing her armor, but even that didn't seem to be keeping his imagination from running away with the idea...
"How would you have stopped me?" He asked in a low tone.
She looked up at him with wide eyes, looking a little startled before she smirked confidently at him. "I am the Dragonborn, Vilkas, I'm pretty sure I can take you..."
Vilkas's heart jumped at her smirk...
In a fight, he told himself firmly... obviously she meant she could take him in a fight... but the way she smirked had taken his damned imagination somewhere very different with those words...
...and then she cocked an eyebrow curiously at him and regarded him with a more suspicious smirk and a very faint chuckle escaped her lips...
Vilkas felt his face flush with shame as he suspected she could tell where his mind was...
"Of course," he nodded with his mouth feeling dry, "apologies, Harbinger," he added, averting his eyes from her lovely face. "Did you need anything?"
"Aela said you looked for me when you returned," she replied quietly, and Vilkas thought he heard her step toward him but he didn't dare look up to see, "I wanted to see that you were ok, and resting well."
"Aye," he replied, "I am—"
His voice caught in his throat as her hand gently came up to cup his cheek. He took in a sharp breath... he was no longer a beast, but he still appreciated scents that intrigued him... he finally placed the underlying sweetness to her scent; she washed with a milk and honey soap... that combined with the smoky smell reminded him of a cozy hearth fire... the kind he wanted to curl up beside with a good book and just relax after a long day... it was a comforting, relaxing scent... by Ysmir, Vilkas loved it...
Her thumb gently stroked the side of his cheek, and Vilkas realized, to his embarrassment, that he had leaned slightly into her touch, and had just been enjoying the moment with his eyes closed and his lips nearly touching her palm as he breathed in her scent.
He looked up at her then to find her smirk replaced by a simple, genuinely sweet smile.
"Do you need anything?" She asked quietly, meeting his eyes with a warm, sincere gaze as her hand fell away.
... 'You,' Vilkas wanted to say...
...'a kiss'...
...'to spend the night in your bed'...
A dozen possible responses ran through his mind before Vilkas finally took a deep breath...
"I'm alright," he replied instead, giving her an appreciative smile, "but I admit, I would be glad of your company more often," he added hopefully.
Her face lit with a happier smile at that and it made Vilkas's heart jump again.
"Alright," she nodded, looking happy, "I'll be sure to see you before I take my next job, and..." she suddenly looked a little uncertain... "I'll leave you to your rest now," she said with another smile as she turned to leave.
Without really thinking Vilkas reached out and caught her hand. He didn't want her to go... but he thought better of asking her to stay as she turned back to him looking a little startled.
"Thank you, Lillia," Vilkas said with a gentle smile instead, "I'll see you in the morning." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting her pull away.
"Of course," she smiled back beautifully at him, "goodnight Vilkas."

Once his door shut again Vilkas put out his lamp and let himself fall back on his bed, wondering what in Oblivion had just happened... and feeling like his room was somehow colder since she'd left.