This is my first Skyrim fanfic, so please… be gentle with me?
Made due to my frustration that Brynjolf is not marriageable on Xbox… Or Mercer… or Ralof… or Etienne Rarnis :P
I do hope my writing skills are better than they usually are. I try not to be but I'm a very sloppy writer…
UPDATE 3/20/16: I've read back on this story, and fixed most of the grammar mistakes to try to make reading it a bit more bearable XD.
Sorry Lass
Biting the inside of his cheek, Brynjolf watched with jealousy at the two sitting side by side on the cistern floor. They were unconsciously leaning towards each other, exploding into gales of laughter every ten minutes.
Ever since Mercer Frey had died at Irkingthand, Brynjolf had had his hands full. Most of it was trying to earn back the gold Mercer had stolen, part of it trying to get over the grief and betrayal he'd felt when he'd figured out that Mercer had betrayed them. Mercer had been his best friend ever since he'd joined the Guild at the age thirteen when Mercer had taken him under his wing. Brynjolf had even seen Mercer as a brother, or even a father figure. (Though he never mentioned the father figure one to him or else Mercer would accuse him of calling him old and calling Mercer old didn't go well.)
But five months after that the Guild was back on track, but when Brynjolf was ready to talk to her after unknowingly pushing her away during those months, she'd suddenly became too busy for him, hanging out with Etienne Rarnis instead, disappearing several nights a week with Etienne in tow, never speaking one word to Brynjolf.
Brynjolf internally sighed. Her. Katerina. The thief that'd stolen his heart the first time he'd seen her in Riften, pickpocketing Maven Black-Briar without, surprisingly, getting caught. He'd known at once that the Guild needed talent like hers, and what an asset she'd been! Bringing in more gold a month than the entire Guild earned in a year. Even Mercer Frey had been impressed with her abilities.
When she wasn't off doing things for Maven Black-Briar or Mercer, she spent time with him, going out on heists or getting drunk and causing ruckus throughout Riften, barely escaping guards. He'd never had such fun in his thirty-three years. And it was during these things that he realized that he was utterly smitten with her. That he loved the way her honey blond hair fell to her waist in waves, begging to have fingers run through them or how her blue eyes would sparkle with mischief. The Breton had completely stolen his heart without mercy.
His eyes narrowed when they began to laugh again, this time causing Katerina to clutch Etienne to prevent herself from falling into the water. Turning away, he stomped into the Ragged Flagon, taking a seat next to Delvin Mallory. The balding Breton chuckled when he saw the look on Brynjolf's face.
"Ya really have it bad."
Brynjolf groaned, downing the drink Vekel had given him. When he didn't respond, Delvin continued. "Can't same I blame ya. The lass is a firecracker."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Delvin snorted. "Oh come off it Bryn. The whole Guild knows you fancy her, well except for Etienne and the lass but I don't doubt that they're too interested in each other to notice."
Brynjolf growled, making Delvin smile. "She was hurt that you weren't talking to her anymore so she went to Etienne."
"I was busy!"
Delvin's tone became gentler, though there was still a touch of amusement there. "I know. But you should've known that she would've been glad to help too." Something about the way he said it told Brynjolf that he didn't just mean handling the Guild. He then wondered what Katerina's relationship with Mercer had been like. The former Guild master had a grudging respect for the girl but there always could've been something more. Mercer was discreet in those kinds of relationships and Katerina had always been eager to impress him, only leaving for the wealthiest of houses in Skyrim and picking out the finest and priceless of items.
"And I think she only went to Etienne because you kept pushing her away."
Brynjolf put his elbow on the bar, resting his cheek of his fist. "What do I do then? Since I 'pushed her away'?"
"Apologize."
A muscle jumped in Brynjolf's jaw. Thieves don't apologize and the word 'sorry' had never left his lips before but for Katerina he would do it. Anything to not lose her to Etienne.
TOH
He waited until the Ragged Flagon was empty, which was usually when Katerina came out. Why, he never found out but he guessed it was because of Dirge's impolite attitude. He spotted her at the bar, speaking with Vekel as she downed her mead. His throat suddenly went dry as he stared at the tiny Breton. She was wearing her hair loose, as always and her feet were propped up on the seat next to her. Thankfully her back was to him and Vekel wasn't paying attention to the door so he could compose himself.
He only waited there for ten minutes but it felt like ten hours to him. Finally, Vekel yawned and left for his room, leaving Katerina alone. Brynjolf let out a deep breath, then walked out. Her head instantly snapped towards him, her face weary.
"Lass-"he began,
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You've told me a million times: you're busy." she snapped.
Feeling a little hurt, Brynjolf tried again. "Actually, I'm not busy. I wanted to talk to you since we haven't really done that in a long time." He took a seat next to her, pretending to not notice her moving away from him a bit.
"Really? That's a surprise," she muttered.
He gulped. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ignoring you for months and pushing you away when I should've let you in. It was wrong of me."
"Damn right you should've left me in!" Katerina barked, turning to face him. "Do you know how fucking much that hurt me? Dammit Brynjolf!"
Bryn hung his head. "I know lass, I-"
"Don't you trust me?"
Brynjolf's head shot up, his eyes narrowing. "Of course I trust you! I just didn't want you to be burdened with the guild. That and you and Etienne-" he broke off, his face twisting in what could only be described as jealousy.
Katerina laughed, interpreting the look on his face quickly. "Are you seriously jealous about Etienne? C'mon Brynjolf, are you really that much of an idiot?!"
She would've screamed with laughter if it meant she wouldn't have woken up the entire Thieves Guild. Controlling her silent screams of laughter, she began to giggle again when she saw that Brynjolf's ears were pink with embarrassment. "Honestly Bryn, I'm starting to think you have as much brains as Farkas from the Companions."
His face contorted in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"It means I love you, Ice-Brain," Katerina giggled when he went slack jawed. "I only hung out with Etienne so much because I was hurt and because he wanted revenge on the Thalmor."
"Y-y-you love me lass?"
She rolled her eyes. "I just said that didn't I?" Leaning forward, she placed a light kiss on the redhead's lips, pulling away gently to see his reaction. "Where do you think you're going?" he growled, pulling her flush against his muscular, lean body. She giggled as he pulled her to his room.
"Come on. I had several nights to make up with you," and with that last thought, he pushed her onto his bed.
Well, I hope you liked!
