Morning came too soon. It always did.
Unlike other mornings in recent memory, though, she was warm and comfortable. Roliand was sprawled on his back beside her, half-off the blanket they'd slept on. One arm was flung out, the other curled around her waist, holding her against him. She'd draped herself half across him, so her cheek pressed into his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. She snuggled closer, reaching out and running her finger along his nose. He snorted and swatted at it, waking slightly.
"Good morning, sunshine," she whispered. He squinted at her for a moment, and for a heartbeat she thought he'd fallen back asleep. That was when his hand began sliding along her body, until he was grabbing her butt and sliding her on top of him. He watched her through squinty eyes as he touched her.
She smiled, and kissed him before disentangling herself from him.
"No, I think it's time for that talk we postponed from last night." She informed him. He sighed, but let her go.
"Alright," He agreed. It was clear that he had hoped she would forget about their conversation. He rose, tugged on some pants, then sat and began poking their fire, preparing it to cook breakfast on. "Where do you want to start?"
"Why did you leave me?" It was hard for her to keep the hurt out of her voice when she asked. She'd thought of so many terrible answers to this question in their months apart. The worst one, the one that made her feel queasy whenever she thought of it was that he had a wife, and she needed him.
"I had to." He frowned, looking away.
"No, you didn't."
"Kat," He sighed, captured her hand in his own, ran his fingers along the sensitive skin on her inner wrist, the gesture one for comfort, rather than something calculated. "I had to take care of something for my family. I've done a lot of things in my life that I'm not proud of, but I've always been there for them."
"Your family?" Her heart sunk. This was the part where he told her he was married.
"My sister," He paused, his gaze going distant, his brows knitting low on his forehead. "She married this... fool. He took their money and ran off to "invest" it or some nonsense like that. One of the neighbors paid for a courier so she could send me a letter..." She saw the anger flash in his eyes. She didn't think she'd ever seen him genuinely angry before. "She works on one of the farms in The Rift," He was deliberately vague, she expected. Didn't want the Dragonborn using her clout against some innocent farmer if things went south. It was endearing and insulting, but she loved him for thinking of his sister. "And with her husband gone with their money, she was starving."
"So you gave her money?"
"Yeah, I gave her every septim I had, and then I went and found that useless mumper and I gave him the beating he deserved for leaving his wife and baby to starve while he chased some fool's dream."
"Why didn't you tell me?" She was still a little hurt, wanting to know why he hadn't felt he could trust her with something so simple.
"Because, Kat, I didn't think you needed to know how terrible my family is." He looked at her then, so earnest. "I didn't want to drag you into a family as disastrous as mine."
She sat there for a moment before his words sank in. He'd thought about her joining his family. He'd thought about marryingher before. And he'd fled?
"I don't understand."
"I love you Kat, I've loved you, I think, since that first night." He kissed her hand then, his eyes holding hers. "I wanted to be with you, but you could do so much better than me, and I was trying to do the right thing, and step aside so you could be with someone worthy of you."
Tears welled up in her eyes as emotion overwhelmed her. She was furious at him for trying to make her decisions for her. Flattered that he thought she could do so much better. Indignant that he somehow thought he was unworthy. And happy that she'd come back and forced this conversation.
"Well," Kathryn reached over into her pack, and pulled out an amulet of Mara. "I think this means something to you Nords, doesn't it?"
"The... Mara?" His eyes went wide. "I was..." He stammered.
She kissed him gently.
"Try that again, perhaps?"
He cleared his throat.
"Is that an Amulet of Mara around your neck?" He overacted it, his voice dropping down an octave. She laughed, and he continued. "How is a strapping young lady like you unmarried at this point in her life?"
"Interested in me, are you?" She spoke in a falsetto, teasing him the way he was teasing her.
"Indeed, my fine maiden. I would troth myself to you through Sovngarde and beyond." He laughed then, his face cracking into a grin. All playing aside, he continued. "Truly though, Kathryn, I cannot explain how pleased I would be to become your husband."
She threw herself into his arms, and covered his face with kisses.
"I'm so glad to hear that. My life was so much less interesting without you by my side." She looked to the sky, then glanced around the clearing. "I'll bet we can make Riften by nightfall."
Roliand's grin widened as he hastily stuffed things into his bag, breakfast forgotten.
"I'd certainly like to try."
A/N: I'd like to take this time to thank you all for the lovely reviews. I've got one chapter left, and then we're done with Kathryn and Roliand... for now, at least.