Left and Right, Forward and Back

Disclaimer: Oblivion, and any characters you recognize belong to Bethesda Softworks
Summary: AU interpretation of the relationship between Martin and my PC character.

When she meets him she thinks him ordinary, just your average priest. As time goes on, she realises he's so much more than that. He's so much more than a man - he's a Septim; the last of a line of demigods. And she loves him. Only she can never tell him. Just go on one suicidal mission after another, if only for the smile he gives her when she returns.

In the beginning, he thinks she goes out of duty. Duty to Jauffre, duty to the Emperor – him! Later, when she returns from Miscarcand, coated in bonemeal, drenched in zombie fluid, and smelling of goblin, he sees her eyes light up when he smiles at her. Maybe it's not for duty, but for love?

She will never forget the first time he kissed her. She had left the main hall of Cloud Ruler Temple, and was jogging towards the main gate. He called her name, and she turned, only to be swept up into his arms in front of the cheering Blades. When he eventually released her, she looked him in the eye, and asked just what he was doing.
"I thought I was supposed to go to Bruma and speak to the Countess immediately?"
"Well, yes. But then I decided that you hadn't been rewarded for your efforts thus far."
And he kissed her again, and she relaxed, entwining her hands in his hair. When they broke apart, breathless, and she turned to go, he grabbed her wrist, and whispered,
"When all this is over, there will be more."

When she staggers out from beneath the daedric siege engine, with an arrow protruding from her shoulder, bruised and singed, he doesn't care for a moment that she must have the sigil stone. All that matters is that she's somehow still alive. He runs to her, and catches her as she collapses. She looks up at him with an exhausted smile.
"I've got the stone," she begins.
"I know," he replies. "But for now, I've got you."

They ride back to Cloud Ruler together. When they arrive, he refuses to let anyone else tend to her wounds. When she asks why he's going to all this effort just for her, he looks surprised.
"I would have thought it was obvious," he says, leaning forwards and kissing her forehead. Tucking a loose strand of copper hair behind her pointed ear, he whispers, "I love you."

When she wakes up, she wonders why she feels so content. Rolling onto her side, she smiles when she sees Martin kneeling on the floor, head resting on her bed, soundly asleep. And then she realises where she is. Not in her bed in Chorrol, but in Martin's bed at Cloud Ruler. She wakes him quickly.
"Sire," she whispers, "This is your bed, you can't sleep on the floor...''
"I believe I just did," he replies. "And I will never be 'Sire' to you. Just Martin. But I believe we can rectify the bed situation. Move over a bit."
She shuffles over, and he climbs into bed beside her. They spend the next three hours before dawn asleep in each others arms. It brings a rare smile to Jauffre's face when he finds them.

When she goes through the portal, he worries. When two days pass, and she doesn't return, he worries more. He tries to sleep the first night, only to wake up with a yell, drenched in sweat, the image of her in a cage being lowered into a pool of lava eternally burned into his mind. He doesn't try to sleep again. He stays in the main hall, seated by the fire, staring at the blackened area on the stone floor that marked the portal. Eventually Baurus hands him the Emperor's robes, and he goes and puts them on. Gazing at his reflection, he muses. What is an Emperor, without an Empress? If, no, when the Dragonfires are relit, the first thing he will do is marry her. It almost amuses him. He's only known her for a matter of weeks, but he's never been more certain about anything else in his life. Then his heightened conjuration ability senses a ripple in the firmament, and he sprints back to the main hall in time to see her appear out of thin air, clutching a large red pendant in one hand, and Mankar Camoran's staff in the other. He lets her place the amulet around his neck, and pulls her to him when she makes to kneel with the other Blades.
"Your place is at my side," he whispers. "Will you always be there?"
He can tell she thinks he means in an advisory capacity, and he decides to let her think that, for a little while anyway.

They start for the Imperial City immediately. When they arrive, and Chancellor Ocato acknowledges him as the new Emperor, she looks on proudly. When the guardsmen burst through the door, yelling in panic about the daedra inside the walls, she draws her enchanted katana and throws herself into the fray. In a brief moment of quiet, she catches his eye. He smiles back grimly, and grasps her hand tightly. When her blast of frost magic sends Dagon toppling away from the door of the temple, he grabs her and kisses her hard, before running into the temple. When he shatters the amulet, is consumed by the avatar of Akatosh, and banishes Dagon back to Oblivion, she is locked in place, a single tear sliding down her cheek as she realises he can't come back...

From the plane of the Gods, he stands next to his ancestor Talos, and looks down at the Imperial City. His shoulders sag as he sees her drop to her knees next to foot of the stone avatar. Talos gently places a hand on his shoulder, and turns him to face him.
"The biggest mistake I made," he tells him, "Was killing Barenziah's child. If I hadn't made my healer abort it, there would still be a Septim to ascend the throne. My actions that day have helped to end the Imperial line."
Martin looks at him astonished. Talos smiled at him.
"You have saved Tamriel, but at the expense of your own heart. Do you wish to return?"
"Yes," he replies without hesitation. Suddenly, everything turns black, and he's pulled away, before falling unconscious.

She's kneeling beside the dragon's foot, when Chancellor Ocato runs up to her and asks where Martin is. She barely manages to choke out that he's gone. He rests a hand gently on her head, and she pulls away. It reminds her too much of Martin. He smiles sadly, and bestows upon her the honour of the Champion of Cyrodiil. She quietly accepts, and he turns to go.
She's sinking back into her little ball of misery when a quiet pop catches her attention. Looking up, she blushes furiously when she sees Martin lying unconscious in front of her, stark naked. She quickly throws one of her spare robes across him, both to keep him warm and protect his modesty, as well as her own. She can't keep the smile off her face as she strokes his cheek, rewarded with his eyes opening, and suddenly somehow she's pinned to the ground being thoroughly kissed. And she doesn't mind in the slightest, even if Jauffre's standing there clearing his throat, and Baurus is quickly sketching the scene, laughing out loud.

At the Coronation Ball the following night, he goes to find her. After half an hour of searching, he finds her on the top of White Gold Tower leaning against the battlements, green velvet gown flapping in the wind. He whispers her name, and she turns to face him. He doesn't say anything, just holds out his arms, and she steps into his embrace, burying her face into his chest. He strokes her hair, and then grinning, he gently pulls the sticks from it, allowing it to fall down around her shoulders in soft ringlets. She looks up at him, a small smile on her face, and he smiles back gently, pocketing the sticks. She reaches up, and cups his cheek. Standing on tiptoes, she kisses him, and then gasps, as he picks her up and spins her around. Setting her back down on her feet, he takes her hand, and drops to one knee.
"When you were in Camoran's Paradise," he begins, never taking his eyes from her green ones, "I couldn't sleep without seeing you, I didn't eat, and I barely drank. I sat in the main hall, staring at the spot where the portal was, wondering if I'd sent you to your death. When you returned, I told you your place was beside me."
She opened her mouth to speak, and he cut her off.
"I didn't mean as an advisor. I love you, and I know you love me too. It was evident in your reaction to me, well, dying yesterday. You're the only reason I was returned from Aetherius. Tamriel has an Emperor now, but I would be nothing without you. Marry me?"
At her stunned nod, he grins widely, and fishes an ebony and diamond ring from his pocket, and slides it gently onto her finger. Standing up, he wraps his arms around her waist as she wraps hers around his neck. He's leaning down to kiss her when he feels her whisper more than he hears it.
"I love you Martin."

R&R