Oho! We're back! You can thank the reviewers for my actually posting this…finally. Hope you like =D

78. Drink

Harsh smells were something Anna had grown used to in her past imprisonment. The stench of unclean humans living in too close quarters was something she doubted she could ever forget. The mere memory of the rank smell of the Asgard Human Ranch easily eclipsed the stink of the pub where she and Kratos had stopped for a quick warm meal as they made their way out of Palmacosta, after spending a week in the southern city. The bitter smell of dry old sweat and the sickly sweet smell of fermented alcohol caused Anna's nose to wrinkle despite her tough constitution. She was huddled over a small round table – her hood pulled over her head as she shook off the small drops of rain from her cloak. Autumn in Sylvarant could be volatile, swinging from sunny and warm one day to chilly and storming the next.

She shivered deeply, running her hands across her stomach from inside her cloak. The chilled air that was blowing in the sudden storm had a way of seeping into everything. Anna couldn't seem to get it out of her bones despite how she was tucked away in the warmest corner Kratos could find, huddled under layers of cotton, linen, and slightly water resistant leather.

Her eyes closed against the noise and the dim lights of the pub as she titled her head and rested her aching bones on the polished wood paneled wall next to their table. It smelled clean, like fresh cut wood, and she sighed against it. She would have never imagined her life like this before, not even in the ranch where the most wild of daydreams held a glimmer of hope could she picture something like this; being looked after by a complete stranger. Kratos Aurion was, as far as she could tell, more of an enigma than a man. He had, when she'd found the cognizance to ask, curtly introduced himself and later his pet 'dog' and informed her that he was some sort of wandering swordsman, a man of truly few words. He was curt, stoic and effortless in almost everything he did; Anna bit her lip as she absently drummed the stubs of her nails on the table, the slight thrumming sound relaxing her somewhat. A good many of the instincts that had kept her alive in the ranch were telling her that no one does anything for nothing and this man who shared so little of himself had to have some deeper reason for harboring a sick refugee.

The loud sound of heavy ceramic on wood caused Anna to jerk up into a sitting position, heart thrumming in her chest, hazel eyes wide as she searched her vision to find a steaming mug set before her. She followed the line of the sweater covered arm to find Kratos watching her from beneath his bangs, his visible brow creased slightly in concern and Anna felt a smile on her lips before she realized it. A little warmth spread through her before she even took a sip, perhaps this was why she hadn't run from him yet – his small random acts of kindness that he was loathe to take credit for.

"Thanks," she titled her head over the coffee, inhaling a deep breath from the steam swirling from the pale brown liquid; its rich bitter sweet smell filling her nose. Just wrapping her cold fingers around the warm mug was bliss; her fingers had burned for a moment as her hands came in contact with the warm surface for how cold they were. She titled the mug up shyly to her lips before she took a small sip, barely enough to wash across her tongue. She almost jumped at the taste; it had been years since she'd had anything warm to drink, let alone coffee. The bitterness was nearly missing for the sweetness and crème that swirled at the surface.

"I hope you don't mind it sweet." He nodded to her as he took a sip of water for himself. "I noticed you favored sweet foods."

She could only nod as she took another quick sip. She could feel the warmth spread all the way down her throat and into her chest and she sighed deeply, it was wonderful.

"You're wonderful." Came from her lips instead and Anna felt herself tremble slightly in embarrassed horror. She forced her gaze up to Kratos' and she felt her cheeks burn as she noted the plain look of surprise on his face, and she quickly ducked her head again. "I-I mean, what-what I meant to say is, 'it's wonderful'." She took another drink from her mug, silently hoping to drown in its pale cocoa colored depths.

His breath came out in a cough of amusement and she glared up at him without a thought to how embarrassing it was to look at him. She felt the flush settle in her cheeks as she hunkered down into her seat, her lips curling into a faint smile over the rim of her mug.

Kratos crossed his legs as he leaned forward, elbows on the table, tilting his head to the side as he watched her take more frequent sips from the coffee mug. He felt his lips fight back a smile and he ducked his head, wiping the urge to smile from his mind as he watched her pull her cape off and drape it over the back out of her chair. He studied her green eyes with a reserved curiosity, she seemed convinced that they were hazel but when they had first met and she had been so covered from head to toe in the brown of dirt and the red of the blood that their brightness had startled him. In his many years he had known very few people in either world to have green eyes. Martel and Yuan were the only two that he could think of, but their eyes held the vibrancy of the magic in their blood. Anna's eyes had an earthy tone them, the flecks of brown and green mingled around her large pupils.

Thinking of his old friends reminded him of something the young half-elven woman had told him centuries ago, that he was kind and understanding. He banished the thought as he heard the loud clank of her mug hitting the table.

"You finished?" Her gaze slipped from his face as he spoke but she refocused on him, shaking her head slightly, clearing her mind before she nodded at him.

"Yeah," her smile was lopsided before it bloomed into a grin that stretched her chapped lips. Kratos watched as she pushed herself out of her chair and teetered slightly on her feet. He stepped around the table and steadied her, his hand on her lower arm. She glanced up sharply at him and his hand flinched away, she grinned cheekily up at him and Kratos felt his face warm slightly at her amusement at his discomfort.

This only fueled his embarrassment causing him to frown and blush again; she then burst into a fit of giggles as she stumbled into his side, which was not helping the awkward flush on his cheeks.

"..." His eyes narrowed as she smiled an embarrassedly crooked smile at him and he put a hand on her shoulder and led her towards the bar.

"You two need a room?" The bartender leered at them as he as he absently dried and shelved the glasses behind the bar. Kratos glared at the man before giving him a curt nod. The graying middle aged man shrank slightly as he skulked the distance of the bar and tossing them a key, his eyes never straying far from his work at the bar.

Kratos dropped the key into his pocket as he readjusted his sword under his coat, inwardly pleased when the bartender took a hesitant step back and bowed his head mutely as they walked along the bar to the doorway at the far right of the room.

Anna stumbled slightly at his side and Kratos glanced down at her from under his bangs, his brow creasing slightly in worry as he led her across the barroom floor. Her dark bistre hair flew slightly around her face as she shook her head and skipped a few steps ahead of him, grabbing the door and flinging it open for him. He raised an eyebrow in a simple questioning glance and she smiled up at him, her fingers subconsciously tracing the healing scrapes along her arms.

"Anna..." He trailed behind her as she glanced over her shoulder at him, her hazel eyes wide as she stared at him in confusion, his worry falling, for once, upon deaf ears. Kratos felt his heart beat harder for one pulse as he trailed her up the steps. Generally she brushed off his guilt and worry with a roll of her eyes or more recently a small grin – but for her to not pick on his microexpressions made him uneasy.

Anna felt near giddy when they finally made it to their room. Kratos almost always insisted on one room so he could keep an eye on her. She hadn't quite figured out when exactly he slept, but he always seemed the more rested of the two of them so she deduced he must find some time. She half tripped, half skipped her way to the bed before she fell face first into the comforter, snuggling her face into the soft cotton. She would never take a bed for granted again.

"Are you feeling alright, Anna?" Kratos had sat down near the head of the bed, his sword propped against the wall but still within easy reach.

"Mmmmmm," she hummed as she rolled onto her back and twisted around so she could see him. "Yep!"

She felt tingles run along her arm as his hand gripped her near her elbow and she curved her neck up to look at him, and was surprised to find him staring back down at her, his garnet eyes focused intently on hers and she felt her cheeks warm slightly. He was never one to be known for making voluntary eye contact, he gave a soft gasp of surprise and amusement and she raised her eyebrows in question.

"You," he paused as she situated herself so she was sitting cross legged next to him on the bed. "Are drunk."

Anna felt her cheeks warm again and she laughed softly before she pointed a finger at him, slightly unstable on the soft surface.

"You got me drunk, you sneaky man."

He snorted slightly before responding grimly, "not on purpose."

"Mmmm," her smile widened into a grin and Kratos stood from the bed and moved a step away. Anna grinned and grabbed him around the waist and he froze, looking back down at her, startled.

"What are you doing?" He was looking down at her from over his shoulder but she couldn't see his face from behind his bangs she pouted her bottom lip.

"I'm drunk."

"Not that drunk. Tipsy at best."

She released him as she sat back down, legs crossing as she leaned back on her hands, grinning up at him.

"I've never been drunk before, you know." Her head twitched to side and Kratos furrowed his eyebrows. "I'll remember this."

"You might," he acknowledged with a small nod as he strode away from her and took his seat at the desk in their room.

"Mmmm, thanks," she sighed and he glanced over at her, an eyebrow raised, "for saving me."

"Don't thank me," he cut crudely across her words and Anna squinted at him through the haze of her drowsiness and the alcohol in her system. Thoughts seemed to slide slowly together as she half watched him over the edge of her pillow. Her mouth was dry with anxiety as she closed her sore and tired eyes, clarity and sobriety came to her sharply, like being dunked in a cold bath.

"You did something." Her tone was even, despite being muffled by the pillow she had burrowed half her face into.

"Yes," he responded just as evenly and Anna felt her eyes squeeze even tighter shut as she winced against the words.

"Is that why those guards were giving you mean looks?"

"Perhaps."

Anna sighed before rolling over to face away from him, pulling the covers up over her shoulders, frost settling in her stomach as she shivered slightly against the cold dread that settled on her.

"I don't suppose you want to talk about it."

"No," his tone had lost all the warmth she had noticed it sometimes held when he spoke to her or was slightly amused with something and she burrowed her face deeper into the pillow. She knew from her childhood before the ranch that when someone's upset and doesn't want to talk, and it isn't your place to ask it's best to let them work it out themselves and talk to them another day.

She rolled onto her back and allowed herself to be lulled into an alcohol induced slumber, happy enough to forget the troubles that loomed in their future and the shadows of their pasts.

I wrote the majority of this months ago but I never really liked it very much (still don't really) so I didn't feel like editing it OTL. Anna is suspicious, now the fun begins! =D

Any thoughts on the speed of their relationship would be nice; I don't want to go too fast or too slow!