A/N: Another short chapter. Sorry, everyone. I've been sick all week and only just picking away at my writing, but I'm almost better now. Can't wait to get back into the swing of things! Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter Twenty-one

Dinner with Rune

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Irina was determined to lose her doleful mood come evening, as she had a dinner date with Rune and she didn't want to spoil it. So she spent some time browsing the market and the shops, looking for something special for the occasion. An hour or so later she knocked on Lydia's door in the Bee and Barb, a package tucked under her arm and nervous lump forming in her throat. The door opened and Lydia smiled, gesturing for her to enter.

"A pleasure to see you again so soon, my Thane. Are you doing well after last night?"

Irina tossed the package onto the bed and turned to face her housecarl. "Better," she said. "I had a good talk with one of my friends in the guild and he gave me a lot to think about."

"That was Brynjolf?" Lydia asked.

Irina shook her head. "No. I decided to follow your advice and try to forget about Brynjolf, and to pursue one of the other men. That's why I'm here right now, actually."

Lydia frowned in slight bewilderment. "You need…more advice, or…"

"No, not advice. Well, not really." Irina let out a breath and turned to open the package. "I'm going out to dinner with Rune. He asked me to, and since I really like him I agreed. It's just… this is the first time I've ever gone to dinner with a man, Lydia. I want it to be nice and I don't want to muck it up."

"You bought yourself a dress?" Lydia said as she moved closer to the bed to see what was in the package Irina opened.

"No, two dresses. I couldn't decide which one, so I took them both. I need your opinion on which one I should wear. Rune's going to meet me here in less than an hour."

Lydia arched her eyebrows. "You're not leaving yourself very much time, my Thane."

"Maybe not, but it's what I have to work with." She began to unbuckle her leather armor and set the pieces aside, then she slipped into the first dress and turned around so Lydia could help her lace up the back.

"I've never seen you wear a dress, my Thane."

Irina laughed lightly. "I can't even remember the last time I wore one. It's been a few years at least." She turned around when Lydia was finished and spread her arms slightly to show off the garment. "Well? What do you think? Is is hideous?"

"Not at all," Lydia replied truthfully.

The skirt was light green with a darker green and brown bodice and sleeves that flared out slightly at the elbows. It was a simple gown, but to Irina it was quite fancy.

"You have a figure that compliments a dress more than others," Lydia remarked. "The colors of this one work well with the color of your hair."

Irina let out a breath and turned around. "All right, let's try the other one now." Lydia helped her thane out of the green dress and into one that was a deep chestnut brown with red and orange embroidery on the bodice in the shape of leaves and vines.

"Ooh, I like this one better," Lydia said with a smile as she gazed at the gown. "It matches your hair even more."

"Really?" Irina looked down at the skirt, moving the fabric back and forth as she swayed slightly. "I'll take your word for it. I'm certainly no expert."

Lydia chuckled. "Neither am I, my Thane. I haven't worn a dress since I was thirteen."

"Well, at least you can see what this one looks like on me," Irina said. "So, think I'm ready?"

"Well, you didn't buy shoes to go with the dress, did you?"

Irina pulled up the hem of the dress, revealing her brown Thieves Guild boots with their many buckles, scuffed and dirty. "Uh…at least the color matches the dress?"

Lydia put her hand over her mouth and chuckled lightly. "Maybe Rune won't mind, and hopefully no one else notices. But you really should do something else with your hair."

Irina frowned and pulled her hair over her shoulder. "What do you mean? I always wear it like this."

"Which is exactly why you should do something else with it. Why not braid it?"

"I don't know how."

"I'll do it for you," Lydia offered. She directed Irina to sit on the edge of the bed and began to carefully finger comb her thane's long, honey-colored hair. "You seem nervous," she remarked after a moment.

Irina let out a slow breath before answering. "I am, a little. First time jitters I guess. Have you ever gone out with a man, Lydia?"

"A few times. But it's been a few years. Ever since I came into the Jarl's employ I've been too busy for that sort of thing."

"Have any advice for a tenderfoot like me?" Irina asked hopefully.

"I would say just be yourself, my Thane. This man Rune, he must like you to have asked you out. He likes you for who you are every day, so there's no reason to change anything about you."

"Yes, you're right," Irina agreed. "But…what if he wants more than…dinner?"

"I'm assuming you don't mean apple pie."

"Right."

Lydia drew a deep sigh and let it out as she tied off the end of Irina's braid. "My Thane, I can't give you advice on such things, it's not my place. You have to decide for yourself what you're comfortable with and then stick to your convictions."

"I'm sorry, Lydia, you're right. Thank you, though. I'm glad you're here." She gave her housecarl a smile. "So now how do I look?"

Lydia grinned. "Beautiful, my Thane. You look beautiful."

Before Irina could reply there was a knock at the door.

"Oh, that would be him." She smoothed her dress nervously and gave Lydia a tight smile before pulling the door open.

Rune stood there and she barely recognized him. He was freshly shaved, and the front part of his usually loose hair was tied back in a short tail behind his head, leaving the rest free. Instead of his usual Thieves Guild armor he wore a simple dark green linen shirt and brown pants. His eyes widened when he saw Irina and his lips spread into a broad smile.

"Irina… you're…" he seemed at a loss for words.

Irina giggled. "You look very nice yourself, Rune."

"You look more than nice, Irina. Sweet Divines." He took her hand in his and kissed it lightly. "You're stunning."

Irina felt heat rush across her cheeks, not used to genuine compliments from men, but she grinned and shared a quick glance with Lydia, who returned the grin.

"Shall we?" Rune asked, keeping hold of Irina's hand. "I had Talen-Jei reserve the table in the corner for us."

"Let's go, I'm starving," Irina agreed with a short laugh.

Rune led her downstairs, playing the perfect gentleman as he pulled a chair out for her, waiting for her to sit down before taking his own seat. Irina couldn't help but giggle.

"What's so funny?" he asked, grinning.

"It's all so formal and proper. I never imagined something like that from a thief."

"Gods, Irina, I'm just a regular guy. Besides, you deserve the fine treatment for once."

"That's sweet, Rune. But you probably do this for all your lady friends."

Rune shook his head. "First time."

"What? Seriously you don't mean I'm your first lady friend?" Irina asked in shock.

He laughed and shook his head. "No, no. This is my first dinner date with a lady friend, though."

Irina frowned. "You never took the others out? Why not?"

He shrugged. "It wasn't like this with them. They were all just…well, entertainment really. I didn't care about any of them beyond what they could give me."

Irina glanced down at her hands as she played with a napkin. "You…you care about me, Rune?" She glanced up just in time to see him nod.

"I don't know what it is, Irina, but… you're different from all those other women. I…" He rubbed his hand across his face nervously. "I find myself wanting to be with you for the simple reason that it's easier than being apart. What I mean is…I mean you're…" He shook his head in frustration. "Blast, I'm mucking this up," he muttered.

Irina reached out and took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "No you're not, Rune. I loved every word of it."

He looked up at her and let out a breath, and with it some of the tension in his posture. He seemed to relax more and he smiled.

"If you'd like to know, this is my very first dinner date with a man," she said. "So at least we're on the same page, right?"

He laughed at that and nodded as Talen-Jei approached to take their orders. The evening passed in a blur of conversation, food, wine, and laughs. It didn't take long for the temporary ice to break, and soon they were chatting like old friends, just as they had from day one. They shared a little bit more about their childhoods, gossiped about their fellow guild members, and touched on the current political climate in Skyrim.

Rune held no strong personal opinions about the war, since his father had died a long time ago and had never had the chance to influence him much, though he thought the man would probably have sided with the Empire had he lived to see the day. Irina hesitantly admitted her devotion to Talos and braced herself for Rune's reaction. He didn't seem to mind, though. He said he wasn't particularly religious anymore, even though he grew up knowing about the Nine from his father. As far as he was concerned there were still Nine if she wanted to believe so.

She thanked him for that, feeling something rare and missed. Something she hadn't felt with anyone in many, many years. It was trust. Only a tiny seed yet, but it was already sprouting.

After dinner Rune took her out onto the waterfront so they could stroll along the docks in the moonlight to wrap up the evening. Fog hung low over the lake but the stars twinkled brightly overhead. Irina held onto Rune's arm as they walked, pressing close to him for warmth. She shivered lightly and laughed at herself.

"I should have brought a cloak. It didn't occur to me it would be dark and chilly out after dinner."

"And I invited you to dinner in a nice warm inn," Rune added. He took off his own cloak and laid it across her shoulders. "Would you like to go back?" he asked.

Irina shook her head immediately, pulling the warm fabric around her. "No, not yet. This is nice. It's such a pretty night, and I've had so much fun, I don't want it to end."

He smiled softly. "Neither do I."

They came to the end of the dock and leaned their elbows on the rail, looking down at the blurry reflection of the moon on the dark water.

"We should do this again," Irina decided. "It's nice to get out and enjoy ourselves for once."

"Irina, I would love that," Rune agreed. He turned to face her and she grinned up at him, but his fingertips lightly brushing her cheek caused her smile to fade into a serious expression. He gazed at her for a moment, the intensity in his amber eyes compelling. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers lightly. A tender first kiss that made Irina's heart do a flip flop in her chest. When he pulled back he looked at her expectantly, obviously hoping he wasn't moving too fast.

Irina gave him a smile that told him he wasn't.

"Irina," he whispered, his fingers brushing back loose strands of hair that had come undone from her braid. "I know you have lines you're afraid to let people cross. And I sure don't want to be the one to cross them without permission, but…" He glanced down, and in the moonlight she could see a blush color his cheeks. "I'm used to just taking what I want from women, when I want it. But… I care about you too much. I can't do that to you. I just wanted you to know that."

Irina cupped her hand over Rune's cheek and gave him a grateful smile. "You're the sweetest man I've ever met, Rune. Thank you for saying that. And since you brought it up, I would like to take this slow, for now, if you don't mind."

She could see a faint look of disappointment pass through his eyes, but he smiled to hide it. "No, of course not."

"It's just…to be honest with you, I'm not sure what to think about a romantic relationship with someone in the guild—or with anyone for that matter. I need to take it slow so I can know what I'm feeling and know where this is going and not end up with regrets. I imagine that sounds silly to someone like you."

He shook his head. "Not at all, Irina. Unheard of where I come from perhaps, but not silly." He paused and then looked into her eyes. "Do you regret anything about tonight?" he asked softly.

Irina shook her head with a smile. "No. Not one second of it."

He returned her smile upon hearing that, and then leaned in for another kiss, only marginally deeper than the first one. This time Irina kissed him back, bringing her hands up to lightly rest against his chest. They lingered in the kiss for a few seconds before Irina pulled away. Then they continued their evening stroll, hand in hand under the moonlight.