Original prompt: I'd like an argument between Martin and his Hero (M or F) that leads to the Hero sleeping on the metaphoric couch (or the Barracks in the basement, whichever), and then the Making Up and Having of the Make Up Sex. Why do they argue? Maybe the Mysterium Xarxes is messing with Martin's head, maybe the Hero produces the Sanguine Rose and Martin has a RAGE. I don't know, I don't really mind, writeAnons, I just need this in my life like burning.
"Heads up, your Majesty." Baurus muttered under his breath to Martin as the Hero of Kvatch stormed into the Great hall, making sure to slam every door hard enough to make the ground shake. Martin lifted up his head from the Xarxes just in time to see her throw open the door to the east wing and disappear. They both shared a look before Martin sighed and stood up from his chair.
"Where are you going?" Baurus hoped he wasn't going where he thought he was going. Following her would be suicide.
"Where do you think?" Martin said as he headed over to the door. Baurus caught up to him in under three steps, placing blocking the door with his body.
"Sire, did you not just witness that? Everything about her screamed 'leave me alone'. The last thing I would want is for the Emperor to meet his demise at the hands of an angry woman."
He laughed and patted the young Blade's shoulder reassuringly. "It will be alright, Baurus."
Baurus' arms folded over his chest in an unconvinced manner. "Your Majesty, If I may say, if you get singed by a passing flame, the last thing you should do is go after it. Wait for it to die down."
Martin shook his head as he stepped around Baurus to open the door. "Let me at least try to figure out what the problem is. I'll try my best to not stoke the fire."
Baurus sighed reluctantly and stepped back, allowing for Martin to enter the east wing. "May Talos have mercy on your soul." He muttered inaudibly. Martin ignored the warning and entered the barracks. Sure enough, she was there. Her sky-blue eyes burned with anger as she sat on the table with her arms crossed and her brow the lowest he had ever seen it. The weapons that had rested on the table before now lay scattered on the floor carelessly, leaving Martin to visualize her sweeping them all off with one arm in a blinded rage. She looked up for a split second and quickly averted her gaze when she saw him.
Martin walked over to the young Redguard and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. He had known her for well over a year now, but this episode was entirely new to him. Granted, she got angry once in awhile, but not on this scale. She was impatient, yes, but violent anger wasn't like her at all. When someone jested at her, she would brush it off with a jest of her own. If someone got rough with her, she'd defend herself in good nature. Martin had to wonder what could have possibly pushed her to this level of anger.
"Azure," He brushed her jet-black hair away from her face. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"
Azure whipped her head out of her hands and avoided his eyes. "Nothing." She said sharply. Martin remained silent for a few seconds, reasoning that it would be better to listen than to talk. She finally sighed irritably and spoke. "I just got pissed off, is all."
"By what, if you don't mind me asking?"
She stood up off the table and leaned against it, keeping her eyes locked on the floor. "I've just had a whole bunch of shit just piling up on me. Why is it that all of a sudden, I'm Tamriel's guardian and errand girl? Why is it that even though I am Tamriel's errand girl, people still look down on me and jeer? I never asked for all of this riding on my shoulders! I'm sick of defending the ungrateful!" She snapped her mouth shut as she noticed her voice rising.
"Is that all?"
Azure's eyes found his and bored into them. "Excuse me?" He didn't just say what she thought he said, did he? Is that all? Is that ALL?
"Azure, it seems to me that your motives are impure. If you're just going about asking for rewards and fame, maybe you need to rethink-"
"Rethink what, Martin?" Her voice came dangerously low. "Is it too much to ask for a 'thank you' now and again?"
"I suppose not, but in time, I'm sure that people will come to recognize-"
"After a year? Pray tell, how long shall I wait?"
"Azure…" Martin sighed and rubbed his temples. "Look, let's just think about the big picture. Just for a moment. Who needs praises and gratitude? Is saving Tamriel not a reward in itself? I cannot imagine anyone thinking any differently."
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one risking her life closing Oblivion Gates or going into ruins infested with the undead to retrieve artifacts of all things."
Martin had to wince at her uncharacteristic harshness. "True, but-"
"And furthermore," She interjected, "How dare you come in here to try to talk down to me like I'm a child. I don't need to be coddled, Martin."
His brow knit. "Well, I apologize for trying to help a friend."
She scoffed. "Well, you're doing a fine job, now aren't you? If anything, your arrogance is making me more irate."
"Arrogance?" He echoed.
"You strut down here and talk down to me, thinking it would make me feel better. It hasn't."
"I came down here to just talk to you, but apparently, that is not working."
"Damn right it's not."
"Let's try this next time, shall we? If you find yourself angry again and refuse to talk about it, then don't make such a show about it. Maybe then people will stop treating you like the child you are!"
Azure reeled back as if she'd been slapped. She balled her fists and set her jaw.
"If I'm such a child, what does that make you for bedding me?" She muttered under her breath.
"It makes me a generous man." He shot back, " For I am sure with that attitude of yours, no intelligent man would bed you!"
Both of their mouths dropped open at Martin's remark. Azure couldn't believe he could deal such a low blow, and Martin couldn't believe such an immature insult would pass his lips. Azure wasn't the emotional type, but to have the first person she could truly care about in a long time say such a thing made her eyes sting with unshed tears. A fist shot out and caught Martin's arm with an audible blow. Martin staggered back in surprise as she pushed past him and darted out of the barracks in the blink of an eye. Martin could only stand in the middle of the barracks, dumbfounded as to what just occurred. His arm hurt, his mind was tired, and his heart was sore.
News of the tiff between Martin and Azure spread like wildfire around Cloud Ruler. Baurus obviously knew it was coming, so he warned his fellow Blades not to interfere nor try to prod him on the situation. The Blades didn't have to be warned, they could tell that the future Emperor's atmosphere was more heavy and tense than usual. The ambiance at Cloud Ruler had quickly turned into that of an uncomfortably awkward one. Baurus could only watch from afar as Martin listlessly flipped through the Xarxes, not focusing on one specific page. It was almost pathetic, watching Martin belittle and berate himself over an argument, but whatever was said had to have been pretty damn unforgiving for Azure to take the half-hour trip to her home in Bruma each night to avoid sleeping in Cloud Ruler Temple. She took the liberty of only coming up in the ungodly hours in the morning asking for errands and tasks just to avoid Martin. And Martin seemed to all but vanish when she would arrive, usually retreating to the library or his quarters. Even Azure's usually cheery disposition turned gray. Her blue eyes didn't have that glint of smugness anymore, and her shoulders drooped ever so slightly as she neared Cloud Ruler.
The Blades didn't even attempt to comfort him. They were his bodyguards, not his counselors. That task had fallen to Azure and now with her absent, Martin was pretty much dead to the world.
And if he was dead to the world, then Tamriel was doomed.
It was nearly midnight when Martin suddenly shut the Xarxes and stood up from his table with the slightest look of resolve on his face. "Baurus. I'm retiring for the night."
Baurus was taken aback. Martin pulled all-nighters when it came to the Xarxes. Going to bed at this hour was early for him. "Sire?"
"I'll see you in the morning. I promise." Martin made his way to his bedroom and pulled a cloak from his wardrobe and threw it on hastily.
"Your Majesty, where are you planning on going?"
Martin fastened the cloak around his shoulders tightly. "Baurus, this isn't right. She's given me more than what most people have given me in a lifetime. I need her, Baurus. I'm not going to let a foolish argument destroy what we have."
"When did you decide all this?"
"Ever since the moment she left me in the barracks after what I had said." Martin stepped around Baurus and made his way through the Great Hall.
"Sire, you can't leave Cloud Ruler Temple!"
"I'll be in Azure's care. She's a Blade, and you know you can trust her."
"Maybe so, but you don't know who's down in Bruma!"
"Baurus." Martin patted his shoulder briefly. "I'll be back. You have my word." With that, he pushed past Baurus and sprinted out into the night.
A desperate sounding knock from the door upstairs stirred Azure from her dreamless sleep. She cursed whomever decided to bother her at such an hour, and she cursed the gods for not smiting this person. She made her way upstairs, drowsily stumbling all the way. The desperate knock came again, and Azure resentfully turned the doorknob. Her half-closed eyes widened when she saw Martin in the door, his brown hair adorned with flecks of snow and his cheeks red from the bitter cold of Bruma's winds. Her hand involuntarily shot out and grabbed the front of his priest robes. "Get in here, you!" She hissed as she slammed the door behind him and locked it. Immediately she pounced on him. "What the hell are you doing here?! You're supposed to be up at Cloud Ruler! Did you travel by yourself?! Were you attacked? Followed? Hurt? Gods, Martin! I thought I was reckless!" She chided, dropping her head into a palm.
"Azure," He began, "I-"
"Nevermind. Go and sit by the fire and warm yourself up, alright? I'll be right back." She disappeared downstairs as Martin obediently sat next to the fireplace. He shed his cloak and laid it across the table. He had come all this way to apologize to her, yet when he saw her again and thought back to the horrid things that he had said, his apology died trying to escape his mouth. He was amazed that she had even granted him access into her home. Azure returned with a spare blanket and tossed it to Martin.
"It's not much, but hopefully this will get some of the cold out."
Martin nodded and wrapped the blanket around himself. Azure stood awkwardly across from him, staring into the dancing orange flames. Martin briefly unwrapped the blanket and extended his hand towards her. She look questioningly at it before tentatively placing her hand in it. He gently tugged her forward and situated her legs to where she sat in his lap. Martin then re-wrapped the blanket, enveloping them both.
Despite their bodies being pressed tightly together, Azure remained silent and tried her best to avoid his gaze, instead looking deep into the flames as if she was searching for something. Martin began to worry if her forgiveness was unobtainable at this point. They both stared into the fire, their minds and hearts racing.
"Aren't you curious as to why I'm here?" Martin broke the silence first, and Azure jumped noticeably at the sound of his voice.
"I probably have a good idea." She said softly. He had come here to demand an apology, and she had fully intended to give it.
"I've come here to apologize, Azure."
She jumped up from his lap and pulled herself out of the blanket. "No. No! This isn't right!" She stumbled frantically over her words in an attempt to explain herself. "Martin, you were only trying to help me, but I had to go and be so foolish as to refuse your help! Your help! You're the first person I can truly rely on and trust, and I let my pride get in the way of that. I had to go and blow things out of proportion just because I didn't want to be proved wrong." She paused to catch her breath and her shoulders drooped. "You don't have to apologize for a word you said. I received my comeuppance. What I mean to say is that-" She tried her best to swallow the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry. And you deserve the right to be mad."
"No. Never." Martin stood up and crushed her in a tight embrace. He refused to have her belittle herself over his horribly offensive retort. He picked her up in his arms and carried her bridal style down the steps and into her bedchamber. He gently placed her on the bed and positioned himself over her, using his hands and knees for support.
"Azure, do you think me an intelligent man?"
Her eyes blinked in confusion at his suddenly outlandish question. "Yes. Very much so. Why do you ask?"
"I am about to contravene what I said on no intelligent man wanting to bed you."
Azure couldn't stop an incredulous laugh from escaping her lips as she covered her face with her hands. Martin could only stare down at her, nervous that he had offended her. She caught sight of his worried face and placed a hand on his cheek, lightly brushing the skin with her thumb.
"You were deprived, is that it?" She jested.
Martin lay down next to her in the bed and pressed his lips against hers briefly. "Of course I was."
She paused, worrying that the only reason he had come all the way down to Bruma was for quick fix of pleasure. She then caught a glimpse of a teasing smile flash across his face for a split second, and she found herself smiling as well. Martin took her lips up again, this time sliding his hand under her nightshirt to gently fondle one of her ample breasts. She pulled away from the kiss and sighed.
"Grandmaster's going to kill us both." She murmured lazily.
Martin's skilled hands began working off her shirt. "To blazes with him. Think of it as punishment for sending you out on all these quests."
"He's not the only one sending me on these quests…" She added with a smirk.
"I try to protest, but that stubborn man won't listen. I think he does it on purpose to keep us apart." Azure's shirt came off and he dropped it off the side of the bed. He dropped his head and began kissing a trail below her navel, up her stomach, between her breasts, and finally met her lips.
"It would seem that the poor Grandmaster has failed tonight."
Martin had to laugh at how light his heart had grown in the past few minutes. The only time his heart didn't feel like a millstone in his chest was when he was around her. Azure was the only person whom he could truly cherish and love, and he had been so dangerously close to losing her entirely because of an idle retort. His heart ached dully when he realized he hadn't even apologized to her yet.
"Azure, I...really didn't get a chance to say it properly, but I'm-"
Azure cut him off with a deep kiss, her arms wrapped around his neck and a hand buried deep in his brown hair, massaging his scalp with a hand. She knew. She probably had known, but for now, all they both wanted was each other, and they wanted each other now.
She dropped her arms from around his neck and trailed her fingers down to the clasp of his priest robes, unfastening it and working his arms free of them. Martin stood up briefly to kick off his shoes and pull the robes off from over his body, leaving him in his smalls. He had just readied to rejoin her in bed when her hands grabbed his hips. She flashed him a sultry smile when she saw his erection pushing against his smalls, signifying his want for her.
"You weren't joking when you said you were deprived." She purred as she undid the smalls almost tauntingly.
"I was. Very much so. I couldn't recall one moment where I did not daydream about doing what we are doing now."
Her hands froze and her bronze complexion colored to a deep red. He took this opportunity to gently push her back onto the bed. Azure remained still as her night pants came off, shortly followed by her underwear. Martin then lay on top of her, the contact of bare skin sending an electric current throughout both of them. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips tickling his ear as she spoke.
"Show me how your daydreams go."
Martin was more than happy to oblige her, cupping his hands around her hips to hold her in place. He took it slow, allowing for his tip to ease in. Azure's legs tightened around his waist, urging him in. He drew in a shuddering breath when she completely engulfed him. He began moving right away, and her hips bucked against his almost violently. She had taken an arm from around his neck and bit down on her finger in an attempt to keep her voice down as he continued to drive into her. Martin pulled her hand from her mouth and pinned it against the mattress.
"There is no need to keep our voices down. No one can hear us here."
Azure's eyes seemed to widen in revelation. Martin was right. At Cloud Ruler Temple, they had been reduced to smothering their faces in pillows and sheets to keep their cries of pleasure hidden from the others. But they were here in Bruma, whose winds could drown out the loudest sounds; in her house, which had a bedroom built partially underground; and they were alone; no risk of any unwanted Blades or meddling Grandmasters to interrupt them. Martin reached between her legs and began to rub that bundle of nerves as he continued his thrusts. Azure couldn't help but cry out and be satisfied that she could verbally express her pleasure to her lover without worry of discovery.
"Scream as loud as you want." He whispered hoarsely into her ear.
Her eyes clamped shut as he drove into her. His thrusts were slow, but impassioned. She allowed for herself to be completely taken by him, for she wanted nothing but the best for him after all the trials he had gone through for the sake of Tamriel- for the sake of her.
Her deft legs shot up to hook over his shoulders to allow him the deepest penetration yet. A moan poured from deep within his chest and he balled the sheets under them in a tight fist as her tight walls viced around his sensitive shaft. The combination of his throbbing girth buried inside her and his fingers rubbing her erratically caused her to fall over the edge, screaming Martin's name all the way, her hands clasping his shoulders tightly. Martin followed soon after, filling her with his heated release. He withdrew himself and flopped on the bed next to her, completely drained and breathing heavily. She crawled on top of him and lay her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart as it struggled to slow to a normal pace. Martin grabbed the blankets and haphazardly tossed them over their naked bodies, not caring that their feet and arms were uncovered. He let his fingers skim over her back, idly tracing the scars she had received from her treks and past thieving days. She scooted up on his body to meet his lips in a gentle but passionate kiss.
"If this is what happens when we argue, we should do it more often." She muttered lazily.
"No. I never want to have to repeat that ordeal again. The argument, I mean." Azure's eyes met his and bored into them with a curious look. His arm wrapped around her back to pull her body closer to his. "I had never been so frightened before. I was afraid I was going to lose you because of a childish argument."
She kissed his forehead gently. "I was afraid, too. You're the first person in a long time I can truly love and care about and I-" She swallowed loudly. "-I guess I had begun to take you for granted. It was my fault that we had gotten into this predicament, Martin. I was being a child, storming about and begging for attention. When you came to comfort me, I had something like a set script in my head on what you would say to make me feel better." She looked away, shamefaced. "And I got mad because you didn't say what I wanted you to say. How could you even know if I didn't tell you?" She ran a hand through her jet-black hair and sighed. "Gods damn it…"
"What is it?"
"The more I think about it, the more I realize how right you were. I am a child." She scoffed softly and dropped her head down on his chest. "You would've thought at 20, I'd have at least an ounce of maturity…"
"It's pretty mature to admit that you were in the wrong. Azure, I've met people three times your age who would rather go to their grave early than admit that they were wrong."
She looked up at him with a relieved smile. "You think so?"
He returned the smile. "I know so."
She slipped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his. "That was one hell of an apology."
"I meant it when I said I would contravene my statement on no intelligent man wanting to bed you."
She massaged his scalp and tugged at it lightly. "I want another apology." She said softly.
He laughed as he reached over to the night table to put out the flame. "I'm prepared to deal out as many apologies as it takes, my love."
A/N: By Dibella's boobies! Smut?! With Martin in it?! But SixthSeason! You said before that you saw Martin as a fluffy character only!
Yeah, well, that was before I discovered the Kink memes. And then I got inspired. And then I went full hypocrite.