"I Would Stand At Her Back, That The World Might Never Overtake Us..."

Someone to Adventure With

Farkas was just starting to doze off when he heard a chattering sound begin coming from Aylin's bedroll.
"You sure you'd a Nord?" He chuckled, he reached his arm above his head and found Aylin's shivering form in her bedroll.
"Shut up," she grumbled.
"Come here," Farkas chuckled, "neither of us 'll get any sleep with you chattering like that."
Farkas's heart pounded nervously as she seemed to consider his offer for a moment. Then, he heard her shuffle out of her bedroll, and he raised the side of his own bedroll for her to crawl in. She dragged her bedroll along with her and draped it over both of them as she laid down in his arms. The darkness was the only hope Farkas had to hide his grin. She had her back to him, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. He couldn't hear her heart or smell her blood pumping like he used to, but with her held so close to him, he could feel her heartbeat, and it was picking up as much as his was.
"Better?" He asked in a low voice. He felt goosebumps form across her arms as his breath fell on the back of her neck.
"Much better," she said quietly, and Farkas thought it sounded like she was smiling. He carefully shifted to make her less likely to end up pressed against his lap because that would definitely give away where his mind was.
Farkas was afraid he'd never fall asleep as aroused as he was... he was also afraid he'd do something stupid in his sleep as aroused as he was... but Aylin drifted off and the exhaustion finally took Farkas as well. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so well. There was no restless urge to hunt, no dreams of tearing things apart with his teeth. It was wonderful.

When Farkas awoke, his face was nuzzled into the back of Aylin's neck, and his arms were wrapped possessively around her midsection. Aylin was still asleep, clutching his forearms as if they were a blanket, keeping him pinned to her. Farkas smiled. This was how he wanted to wake up every morning... well, with the exception of his painfully throbbing arousal... and the hard ground... he tried to get his arousal under control... that was going to be uncomfortable later, he thought... but aside from that he felt rested, he felt good.
He resisted the urge to kiss the back of Aylin's neck as he shifted, trying to make his lower half more comfortable. As soon as he moved Aylin woke with a start. She immediately let go of his arms and spun around to face him, bringing a knee to his chest, preparing to kick away. Farkas released his grip on her hastily and sat up as well, thankful her swords were with her armor, and not within reach.
"Aylin?" he said in his low even tone. To his relief, she relaxed as soon as she heard his voice.
"Farkas!" She gasped, "I'm sorry!" She brought her knee back down and instead of kicking away from him, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Farkas was propped up on one arm, but he wrapped his other firmly around her. He could feel her pulse pounding.
"I'm sorry I scared you," he said guiltily.
"No, I'm sorry," she shook her head and leaned back to look at him in the dim light. "I thought you were Torvar for a second," she explained with an embarrassed laugh. That made Farkas's brow furrow.
"Torvar?" He asked, narrowing his eyes, "What's Torvar done to make you react like that?"
"Nothing serious," Aylin shook her head, "he's just gotten drunk more than once and tried to come cuddle. Pretty sure he's never remembered it by morning, and it hasn't happened since I moved out of the whelp room."
"He's getting a bludgeoning when we get home," Farkas said angrily.
"Don't worry, he's gotten several already," Aylin laughed. She looked like she was about to say something else, but then seemed to suddenly realize the position they were in. She was wearing her sleeping tunic and leaned up against his bare chest. Farkas tried to hide his disappointment when she pulled back, he couldn't tell in the dim light, but he thought she was blushing.
"We should get moving," she said.
"Alright then," Farkas sighed as she climbed out of his bedroll.

Aylin seemed lost in thought the entire morning as they packed up their things. It was late morning by the time they left the tomb. The snow storm had past, but it was still freezing.
"Let's hurry up and get south of this frozen nonsense," Aylin grumbled. Farkas laughed.
"This is gonna be your first winter in Skyrim, isn't it?" He asked as they walked side-by-side across the snow.
"Yes," she replied flatly.
"You're probably gonna need some warmer sleeping clothes..." Farkas told her mater-of-factly, and then, feeling brave he added, "unless you plan to have me warm your bed every night..." he smirked flirtatiously down at her and watched as a bright pink blush spread across her cheeks.
"Are you saying that's an option?" She asked looking up at him with a smirk of her own. Farkas felt like his heart had jumped into his throat, and his face flushed. He was expecting her usual, adorable, flustered reaction, and now he was the one flustered instead.
"I mean... if you want it to be..." he half mumbled. Aylin stopped and looked up at him, she rested her hands at the collar of her armor and appeared to consider him thoughtfully.
After several moments she spoke quietly, sounding nervous,
"Farkas, I'm the Dragonborn, and I don't know exactly what that's going to entail, but... I mean, you've heard the songs," she looked down at her feet and then back up at him, "I'm supposed to be the hero of Skyrim... 'the end of all Skyrim's foes'... the dragons, the war, and who knows what comes next..."
Farkas glanced down at the shield of Ysgramor and then back up at Aylin as she continued.
"I'll probably be an adventuring warrior my entire life... I'm never going to have time to..." she trailed off for a moment and looked down at her feet again, her hands still resting at the collar of her armor. "I don't think I'll ever have time to settle down and... get married."
She paused for a moment and Farkas processed what she was saying. He wondered if this was what had been bothering her since she found that amulet of Mara.
"Companions don't settle down, anyway," he shrugged. "I'm just happy to have someone to adventure with," he added quietly.
She looked up at him in surprise, "you... you don't mind never settling down?" Aylin asked in a nervous whisper.
"Nah, I don't like sitting still," he replied quietly. She stared at him for another moment before she shakily said,
"Well then..." she trailed off and Farkas watched as her trembling fingers pulled the amulet of Mara out from under her armor. Farkas stared in shock. He thought she was leading up to turning him down, not offering marriage.
"The amulet of Mara..." he heard himself say stupidly, "So you want to get married then?"
"If you're actually interested in me..." she shrugged, blushing and looking down at the snow now. Farkas took a deep breath as he processed this turn of events.
"Won't lie," he said with a grin, "I am." He watched the smile spread across her pink face. Farkas already knew what her response would be, but he needed to hear her say it. "And you?" He asked.
"Won't lie," she smirked up at him, "I am."
Farkas closed the distance between them, dropped his shield in the snow, wrapped her in his arms and kissed her like he'd wanted to for months. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It was clumsy at first, as Farkas had never actually kissed anyone before, but if that bothered Aylin she gave no indication.
"Then it's settled," he smiled when they finally separated, "you and me."
"You're sure?" She asked, "I have to figure out how to save the world from the dragons..."
"And I will stand at your back while you do it," Farkas nodded confidently.
"We'll probably share a bedroll on the ground more often than a proper bed..." she added.
"So I'll keep you warm," Farkas smiled.
"I might be eaten by a dragon tomorrow..."
"Then I'll go with you to Sovengarde."
"Then I guess we better make time to go to Riften before we go to Ustengrav." Aylin smiled and pulled him into another kiss and Farkas obliged happily.

They definitely spent a little more time than they should have kissing in the snow, but they did eventually start heading toward home again. They discussed plans for what to do next, obviously Riften was high on the list, but they needed to figure out what if anything had to come first. After a while they shifted to less pressing matters and Aylin asked,
"So, how many hearts will I be breaking in Whiterun when I walk in the city gates holding your hand?"
Farkas laughed. "No idea," he shrugged, "no one's ever had any kind of claim on me."
"Lydia's told me your reputation..." Aylin said raising an eyebrow at him suspiciously.
"And what's that?" Farkas chuckled.
"You never have to buy your own drinks because you make all the barmaids swoon," she replied with a slightly accusing tone.
Farkas laughed and shook his head. "I've enjoyed getting free drinks on occasion," he admitted, "but a wolf mates for life. I've never taken any of them to bed. You'll be my first, and only."
"Oh..." Aylin said, sounding surprised. "With how you flirted back at Dustman's Cairn, I'd been thinking there was more to those rumors."
"Nope," Farkas laughed, "you're the first woman I've ever even had just laying in my bedroll."
"Oh," Aylin said again, still looking surprised as she processed that information.
"What about you?" Farkas asked looking down at her with a gentle smile. "Anybody I should know about?"
"No," she said with a small laugh, "Most wood-elves aren't interested in Nords, and I was never impressed with the ones that were, so I've kind of just always been a loner," she shrugged. "I guess maybe there's Torvar..."
"Torvar?" Farkas's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I mean, if we're strictly talking people you should know might be upset," she clarified quickly, "I let him buy me a drink at the Bannered Mare once, the second or third night I was in Whiterun, because I was broke and he offered. Then suddenly I've been his 'favorite drinking buddy' ever since, even though that was the only drink I've had with him, and all we did was sit at the bar while he talked."
"Stupid whelp," Farkas rolled his eyes, "and how many times did he try to get in your bed?"
"Two or three," Aylin shrugged. Farkas growled quietly, and Aylin put a hand on his arm. "And he got a proper beating each time," she added. Farkas thought back to that morning and how quickly she'd been about to kick him in the chest... he imagined Torvar being launched out of her bed and then kicked and punched by Aylin... he knew how hard she could hit, and it made him smile.
"I bet he did," Farkas chuckled. "I thought you were gonna bludgeon me good this morning."
"I almost did," Aylin laughed, "you're lucky you said something, I was about to shout you into the wall."
Farkas just nodded, he hadn't thought about her dragon shouts.
"Guess I got lucky twice today," he chuckled. He reached down and took her hand, and they continued their hike through the snow.