Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed the detour into some else's perspective. Speaking of, for those of you interested, yesterday I have also finished posting the side story I had mentioned before. So if you're interested in an angsty ride, check it out in First Book Extras (chapters three to six).

But things are not angsty everywhere :) The following chapter will be a bit of a respite after the important conversations are done. And then it's gonna be all fluffy and lemony :D

I hope you'll enjoy :3

Chapter XXXVII – Celebrations

After a rather restless night and a brief amount of sleep, Aeyrin left Ivarstead to hurry back to Riften with Karnwyr at her heels.

She needed to take care of Sibbi in some way. If only she knew how. Talking to him seemed like a moot point. He had already tricked her once – she could never believe anything that he may have promised her. Maybe she could talk to Maven? She was obviously not thrilled about Sibbi's schemes. Maybe she would actually put a stop to this? Maybe she would throw him back into prison?

It was probably the best thing that Aeyrin could do right then. She didn't have any better ideas anyway.

Karnwyr suddenly let out an excited bark and he instantly ran off into the woods. He must have spotted some prey that he couldn't resist chasing just then. She was determined to leave him in the forests anyway, in case Mercer was planning something unscrupulous. If he didn't return to her before she reached Riften, he would hopefully get the message when she didn't wait for him. Although… Bishop had said that he was used to waiting for him at the docks. That would have been even worse than having their eyes on him.

She didn't pay attention to the sounds of the forests around her as she walked onwards, lost in her thoughts. It was not as if the forests weren't rustling all the time anyway.

She didn't even notice when a particularly loud rustle of leaves echoed behind her back and a second later, she could feel a presence behind her.

There wasn't even a time to scream when a strong arm curled around her stomach and pressed her back to the person behind her.

Now she let out a loud yelp.

"You should really be more careful, ladyship. There are wolves all over the woods, just waiting to pounce on you," a familiar malicious chuckle sent a hot breath against her ear.

"Bishop!" she gasped in surprise and he managed to gently bite the new tip of her deformed ear before she disentangled herself from him sharply.

She turned to him with an accusing look. He scared the Oblivion out of her! But before she managed to chastise him, she noticed his rather haggard looks. He had circles under his eyes, which meant that he definitely hadn't slept all night. And there was a strange expression on his face. He was smirking at her victoriously, but there was something in his eyes – a measure of panic.

What was that about? Did he come to see if she was alright? On her pathetically uneventful journey to Ivarstead and back? Did he not think that she would handle this on her own? They travelled separately for months before! She deserved a little credit and trust, didn't she?

"What are you doing here? Are you… checking up on me? I was just heading back to Riften," she narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

"No… nothing like that," his expression turned much more morose suddenly. "Just… Riften… probably not a good idea right now," he cleared his throat uncomfortably. This… was going to be hard to tell her. But she would understand, wouldn't she? Once she learned the whole truth. There was no other way.

"What do you mean? Did something happen? Did Mercer do something?" she gaped at him in obvious panic.

"No… not Mercer," he sighed. "But first, sweetness, did you give the message to Lynly?" he looked at her with concern. He had no idea whether this 'meeting' that Sibbi had requested with Lynly was supposed to involve the man himself or some hired thugs who were already planning on being there and taking care of Lynly. Sibbi's current state might not prevent her death if she were to go to that meeting.

Aeyrin looked at him in surprise. Since when was he so invested in this?

"Ah… yes… and no. I did give her the message but… she won't be coming to the meeting. You'll never believe what Sibbi…"

"He wanted her dead," Bishop interrupted her knowingly.

How did he know? She gave him an utterly confused look instead of responding.

"I overheard him talking about it. I know that he tricked you into this. But… there's more," he said somberly. "After that, he talked about how he needs some funds to break away from under Maven's bootheel and… well…"

"The bounty," she finished the thought for him. It occurred to her instantly. If Sibbi didn't care about Maven's opinions and rules, he would hardly have any qualms about claiming the bounty behind her back, right? And Mercer wouldn't care who did the deed as long as it was done. "So… he is planning on some ambush for me too?" She looked back at Bishop worriedly.

"No… not exactly. He used you because he thought that Lynly would trust you. He didn't want to miss that opportunity. And after you confirmed that Lynly took the bait… he said that he planned to send… the Brotherhood."

"What?! No… what?! But… I can't have actual assassins after me! And wouldn't they need money too?" She desperately tried to find a plothole in this plan. She couldn't let this happen! She couldn't live like that! Bandits and ambushes were one thing, but assassins?! She would have to watch her back constantly. Even in the cities! She still had her sleep plagued by nightmares at times, even though that was slowly getting better, and now she would have to actually worry about someone trying to slit her throat while she slept too! But if she didn't go back to Sibbi now to report on Lynly, he might just call on them anyway.

"Apparently they owe Black-Briars some favors so they would do this without pay… I don't know, it's not important anyway," Bishop waved his hand dismissively.

"'Not important'?! He could call on them any time! Even if I don't come back to him because of Lynly! How are you so calm about this?!" she felt the panic starting to slowly overwhelm her.

Bishop instantly gripped her upper arms, below her pauldrons, in a reassuring gesture. "Sweetness, it's alright. He… he won't be calling on anyone… ever," he gave her a meaningful look.

What? What did that mean? Did he…? Oh Gods!

"Bishop… what did you do?" she gave him a panicked look.

"What do you think? What else was there to do? You said it yourself, he could have done that any time! And we can't have the Brotherhood after you," he scowled determinedly.

"But… what if someone saw you?! Or what if someone finds out?! This… this isn't just some bandit, he's a Black-Briar! They will investigate! And… and… if Maven finds out, she could send the Brotherhood after you herself!" Aeyrin couldn't help it. This was in no way easing her panic. Now she was worried for an entirely different reason.

For some reason, Bishop gave her an affectionate smile instead of rationalizing this.

"What?" she shook her head desperately at him in confusion.

"Nothing just… that's what you're worried about? Not that I… murdered someone," he chuckled a little in a strange mixture of exasperation and relief.

"Well… I… I don't know! What else was there to do?! I just… Bishop, if someone finds out…" she tried to get the conversation back on track again. It didn't even occur to her to chastise him for this action. She honestly couldn't imagine any other alternative herself. She may have done the same thing in panic, if she were in his place. That would definitely not end well. At least Bishop knew how to do this covertly, didn't he? But it was still so risky and there would definitely be an investigation.

"No one will know. I am sure that no one saw me. And… I… I kind of… buried him in Mercer's garden," Bishop let out a strained chuckle.

"What?!" she stared at him in surprise. In Mercer's garden? That… that would likely put the blame on Mercer entirely once they inevitably found Sibbi's corpse. Maven would be livid. Maybe she would even try to exact vengeance for her son. This was… this was… good. "S-so… Mercer will likely get blamed for this?"

"Uh-huh," Bishop smirked again. He looked somewhat proud, but there was still that strange vague panic in his eyes. It was understandable. If something didn't go as they imagined, this would end up very badly for them.

"Oh… w-well… that's… good, I guess. As long as nothing goes wrong…" she shrugged uncertainly. She still couldn't help but worry incessantly. This would likely only pass after Maven had actually found the body and pinned this on Mercer. Hopefully. Who was to say that the truth wouldn't come out eventually?

"It's gonna be alright, sweetness, I promise," Bishop pulled her into a comforting embrace and he gently started to stroke over her hair to soothe her. "I was really fucking careful. There's nothing to worry about now."

"But… what do we do now?" she raised her head from his chest to look up at him. "Should we go to Karliah and tell her?"

"I… I'm not actually so sure about that, sweetness. She wants to work with Maven. And… if she hears about how much I risked the alliance, she might be kinda… pissed. And… I don't know… the less people that know, the better, right?" he gave her an uncertain look. He wasn't sure what to do now himself. His instincts told him to keep his mouth shut at all costs, in front of everyone. Karliah may have been helpful in covering this shit up, but… he hoped that there was really no need for that. And he really wasn't sure if she would help, since he had jeopardized her alliance like this.

"Well… what… what would you usually do?" Aeyrin asked nervously. She didn't mean to dredge up his ugly past, but he must have been used to this, no?

Bishop gave her a brief disgruntled look and she instantly shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's fine, love," he sighed, interrupting her. "But… this is… different. This wasn't exactly something I used to do. Not like this. We were still bandits, not assassins. I… took out people on the road. Ambushes or those that strayed from the cities. And… I was supposed to kill these people. It's not like this time it was a job where someone expected me to do this. I don't know who I can tell. Before… well… no one would bat an eye in the bandit clans at people getting killed."

"You don't know if Karliah would have your back like they did?" she asked curiously. She understood the difference. This was going against Karliah's plan – it was not something that he had been asked to do. They may have been all alone in this.

"Hah! 'Have my back'? Like fuck they did!" he scoffed derisively. "Believe me, if something went wrong, I would have been thrown to the wolves like that," he snapped his fingers to punctuate the point. "But no one investigates bandit ambushes. Not even for nobles. This is… different."

"Yeah… I guess it is..." she sighed. As disturbing as it was, it would have probably calmed her down to know that he had some more experience with this. It was good that he didn't, but… well… he had experience with a lot of other gruesome things. But none of it mattered now anyway.

"Let's just keep this to ourselves and see what happens. No hints, no insinuations. We know nothing about Sibbi, alright?" he gave her a meaningful look.

"Yeah. No… oh! Oh Gods!" her eyes widened in realization suddenly.

"What is it?" the panic in his voice was palpable in an instant as he gave her a sharp look.

"I… I told Lynly that I would… that I would 'take care' of Sibbi. I didn't mean it like that, but now…" she gave him a guilty look and bit her lower lip in concern. Gods, has she ruined everything by those stupid words?

"Oh… ah… alright. That's… alright," he let out a long sigh, likely to calm his own panic down. She could practically see his mind working, trying to come up with something to reassure the both of them. "It's gonna be fine. We still know nothing. The rumors will get out about his death and… after that… you can contact Lynly. Tell her that he actually disappeared before you even got back to Riften. We should… really probably see if Maven will even want the murder to be public knowledge. She would likely want to exact her own revenge instead of involving the authorities. People will likely not know what actually happened to him, so… we just go with that. We will act like we don't know anything either. Besides, he wanted Lynly dead. I don't think that she would be eager to investigate her good fortune anyway," he gave her a weak reassuring smile.

He had a point. It was still worrisome, but a little less so now.

"Look, we stay away for a few days. We shouldn't be around to be investigated, right? We can go back to report to Karliah after that and, hopefully, we will learn more from her sources on this. After that… we should probably go back to Riften. We still need to make everything believable and we were there for that house. They said that the repairs and shit will take about a week, right? It would be credible if we returned around that time to check on our house, right? We will know more then," Bishop reiterated his impromptu plan to her.

Aeyrin nodded at him. It sounded good. Staying away for now would definitely be a good choice. And if, by any chance, there was some suspicion on either of them, Karliah would tell them when they reported their findings to her.

Ugh… she wanted to stop thinking about this already and calm down. She desperately tried to think of something else and, after a second, she realized what Bishop had just said.

"'Our house'?" she smirked at him teasingly. It seemed like he hadn't fully realized his own words before now either as he instantly got uncomfortably fidgety. She would have considered it uncharacteristic, but by now, she already knew that he always got like that whenever he accidently voiced some kind of commitment.

"… Your house…" he cleared his throat briefly.

"No, no. I kinda like it. Our house," she smiled at him with a slight giggle as she squeezed herself tighter into his arms, despite their armors.

"Really?" he gave her a surprised and very affectionate look, before he seemed to rile himself up from his mushy state and his usual smirk appeared back on his face. "Well, don't get too used to it, love. Soon enough, it will likely be ours and some random stranger's too."

"Oh… that's right! I'll likely get another housecarl," she pondered. "Well… the last one turned out alright, I guess," she chuckled.

"Yeah. I should have waited a few days before I killed Sibbi. I could have ensured another life-long friendship based on a mutually destructive secret," Bishop let out a little exasperated laugh. What else was there than to laugh at their current predicament.

"Is this like a tradition now? I get a title and you murder someone in that city?" she snorted at him in somewhat disturbed amusement.

"Didn't they tell you? You get a house, an unwanted busybody, and one murder in your name, along with your title."

She punched into his chest teasingly with a smile still etched on her face. It was definitely not an entirely genuine smile, but it was definitely making her more at ease when they joked about this.

"Well then… now that my title is officially cemented, where to?" she chuckled a little.

"To clear our heads, preferably," Bishop sighed tiredly. "You know… your birthday is in two days. We might as well keep our minds off things. You wanna write to Lydia and Saadia and disappear somewhere into the wilderness?" he gave her a hopeful look.

That sounded perfect just then.

…

They returned to Ivarstead briefly to send out the letter to Breezehome before they traveled along the mountains across the Whiterun Hold borders, all the way towards the point bordering Whiterun, the Reach and Hjaalmarch. It took them the entire day, with only brief stops, and they reached their destination in the middle of the next night, exhausted. They were all too eager to finally reach some peaceful place however and the brisk pace kept their mind off their troubles.

Finally, they've reached a small clearing by a small stream north of Rorikstead.

They didn't even have the energy to do anything but eat some rations and fall into a bedroll for some sleep. They could enjoy the next day together fully, with good food and all the time in the world for some respite.

If the message found them soon enough, Lydia and Saadia should arrive the day after that.

…

The two of them had spent the late morning in a rather calm atmosphere, just eating a proper and actually tasty meal made by Bishop.

They have decided to clear the air a little, to talk more about Sibbi and to go over their plan again. Even though their plan mostly consisted of a lot of 'wait and see'. Bishop was still a little concerned that Aeyrin would judge him for what he had done, but to reassure him, she told him about what had transpired with the last Alik'r who was threatening Saadia's safety.

It was a little comforting to know that Aeyrin had found out for herself just how little time there was to think in situations like these and just how few alternatives there were– if any. And these people deserved nothing more than a blade to their throat anyway.

He had a little bit of a hard time believing that she would actually murder that Alik'r man, especially with the guards around, but she promptly explained that they had solicited Raven's help for the deed.

"So… Raven again, huh?" he scoffed a little. He was glad that she didn't have to go through it herself, for both her safety and her conscience, but he still hated hearing about how much she relied on Raven or about the two of them spending any time together whatsoever. He knew that they did and he knew that Raven was trustworthy when it came to helping Aeyrin, but still… he couldn't help himself. There was nothing rational about this.

"This again?" she chuckled at him. "I didn't even look for him specifically. I just went to the meadery. Karliah could have been there just the same. Or no one…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he grumbled. "I was just…"

"Jealous," she smirked at him. Bishop gave her a disgruntled look, but he didn't really protest. He couldn't. She was right after all.

"You know… while we're on the subject…" Aeyrin bit her lower lip nervously as she moved closer to him to nuzzle against him by the fire. She had been curious about this for a long time now, but she didn't really know how to ask. "Just how many of your new… acquaintances should I be jealous of?"

Bishop's brows shot up at her in surprise, but, a second later, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why? How many should I be jealous of?"

"What? None! I mean… just Raven. Well… you really shouldn't even be jealous of Raven," she scoffed slightly.

Easier said than done.

"Well why do you think that I would give you a different answer?" he asked instead of answering. She could have sworn that he even sounded offended.

"I… I don't know. Shouldn't I? I mean… we were apart for a long time… I just… assumed," she shrugged her shoulders uncertainly. She definitely thought that he had spent at least some nights with somebody else, considering his… interests… in the past.

"Princess, I wanted you. I don't see how I could be content with anything else," he sighed a little dejectedly. "And it's not like I can't control myself," he scoffed.

"Sure… then again… considering how you get when you're drunk…" she giggled slightly. She couldn't imagine him having much restraint in those situations. Not with her and, quite frankly, not with anyone else if they weren't together in any way at that time.

"Yeah, well… guess even the drinks couldn't make me forget about you," he said somewhat morosely. After a little while, he turned his eyes to her with a surprisingly sincere look. "I want only you, love. No matter how long we were apart."

She gave him back an affectionate look and she quickly leaned in to give him a deep loving kiss. She had promised herself that she wouldn't be bothered by anything that he may have done with anyone else during their separation, but deep down, she knew that she would still be a little sad hearing about it. But now a pleasant warmth of relief was spreading through her whole body after his words.

Bishop wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulled her into his lap to make her straddle his thighs. Soon enough, his hands moved down to her backside as he prolonged the kiss, sliding his tongue along hers teasingly.

"Yeah, now think of all the frustration you put me through, sweetness," he chuckled when their lips parted for a brief while. "All that pent up energy… we still have a lot of catching up to do. You know… making up for the lost time."

Aeyrin giggled at him while he squeezed her buttocks hungrily. "Well… we better… get to it… then," she whispered in between the hungry kisses that she planted all over his jaw and neck.

With a low growl, Bishop wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and moved to flip her onto her back on the ground with his weight pinning her down. She let out a surprised yelp at the swift action as she clung to him with her legs around his waist and her hands behind his neck.

The ground was freezing, as it always was, but it was definitely something worth enduring. And it wouldn't take much longer before her whole body was searing with heat anyway.

Bishop kept kissing her wildly, never stopping, save for a few brief moments to catch their breaths. After a while, he moved his arms from her waist and grabbed her hands instead. He pulled them away from his neck and pinned each of her wrists down onto the ground, pressing her even more firmly into the cold soil underneath. His kisses traveled from her mouth to her jaw, then to her neck. He instantly settled on his favorite spot to nibble and suck onto her skin.

Aeyrin tilted her head back, pressing into the ground, as a loud moan escaped her lips. Her hands were still pinned down, but she couldn't help rubbing the rest of her body against his as much as her position allowed. Her thighs kept squeezing around his waist, pulling his hips against hers.

After he was done renewing the mark on her neck, he slowly licked along her skin, down to her collarbone. He released her hands at last, but before he managed to grip her shirt, she grabbed the hems of his faster and she draped it over his head quickly. Her hands enveloped his back and, while he continued to lick and bite at her skin, she raked her fingernails under his shoulder blades teasingly.

That only served to spur him on – he grabbed her shirt again and yanked it off her almost violently. She barely had enough time to accommodate him by raising herself up from the ground a little and raising her arms above her head. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around him right after to press herself as tightly to his torso as possible. It wasn't just so that she'd be touching him – at least while she clung to him like that, she didn't have to feel the freezing ground on her bare back.

Bishop seemed to catch on, however, and he quickly flipped them both over. He lay on the ground himself while she ended up straddling his upper thighs. The cold really didn't bother him, but he still didn't stay with his back on the ground for long. He sat up a few seconds later and ushered her to turn around.

Aeyrin did so readily, already eager to find out in what position he would direct her, and he quickly worked on unfastening his trousers while she positioned herself above him, still straddling his thighs but now with her back pressed to his chest. She hovered just slightly above his lap on her knees when he finally managed to open his trousers enough to take out his cock. He stroked himself for a moment while his other hand wrapped around her torso to start playing with her bare breasts. She had goose bumps all over her skin from the cold air coursing around them and he gently traced his fingers along the tiny bumps, warming her skin wherever he touched.

She let out a moan when Bishop's gentle touch on her breasts got more eager and the soft tracings of his fingers turned into alternating hungry squeezes. She promptly pressed herself even closer to his back and reached down in between her thighs to start teasing his cock with gentle touches herself. Bishop couldn't take this much longer though – he was all too ready for way more than some tantalizing touches. He never stopped squeezing and kneading her breasts while his other hand snaked around her waist instead. He moved it down beneath her clothes to rub his fingers through her slit eagerly, eliciting an excited gasp from her lips. Luckily, she was just as ready to move things along as he was – he was getting really overeager and impatient all too quickly. He needed to be inside her already.

He didn't take all her clothes off. There was really no reason to and he could spare her the cold ground beneath them. They could have moved to the bedroll nearby but being right by the fire was much more pleasant. He quickly hooked his fingers under her trousers and undergarments and slid them down her thighs in a fluid motion.

There was a brief strange moment of tenderness in between his impatient motions as they both stopped teasing each other for a while. With heavy breaths, he lined himself with her entrance and pressed only the head of his cock inside her wetness slowly. His hand kept kneading her breasts, now much more gently, the other one moved to her long locks and brushed the mass of her hair from her back and neck to let it fall over her shoulder in the front. His lips started to move along her the uncovered back of her neck and shoulders in surprisingly tender motions, but she could feel the profuse need in his touch, barely contained as the head of his cock twitched in her wet entrance.

As sweet as the anticipation was, Aeyrin was getting a bit too frustrated herself. She sank down on him slowly, letting him enter her inch by inch until she sat herself firmly onto his hips. Bishop let out a moan even louder than hers, surprisingly enough, and his kisses on her shoulder turned into strained hungry bites.

Aeyrin started to rise and fall on him a little faster than he had anticipated while her deep pants and moans echoed across the clearing. He instantly started to buck his hips against her to meet her movements. Fuck, how he loved how tightly she kept squeezing him. He snaked his hand to her front again to rub her clit hurriedly while his other one still kept playing with her breasts and pinching her nipples with teasing squeezes. He wanted her to come first. He wanted to hear her cry of pleasure and he needed to feel her squeeze him deep inside herself until he couldn't take it anymore.

Her breaths turned high-pitched with every thrust and her back arched in constant strain. He could already feel her get close, and with the sights and sounds filling his senses, he wouldn't be far behind. He watched intently over her shoulder how the soft flesh of her breast molded under his fingers. And he watched his fingers disappear from sight below her body between her folds as they got coated instantly in the wetness between them.

She quickened her pace instantly when he started teasing her nub on top of their previous ministrations. She could feel him hit a special spot deep inside her each time she lowered herself on him and she needed to feel that more and more often. His fingers were undoing her quickly and her back remained constantly arched against his chest with her head dipped back on his shoulder. He wasn't kissing her anymore, but his hot breath kept caressing her skin and she couldn't help but notice how intently he watched her body writhe under his hands.

She couldn't take more. Her whole body was on fire and there was a knot in her stomach that begged to be untied in a burst of pleasure.

"Gods… gods… ah! Bishop!" she cried out as she finally stopped her frantic movements and remained seated on his lap with his hard cock buried deep inside her.

Fuck he loved it so much when she called out his name in the throes of passion. Her walls kept squeezing him hungrily in her climax and he needed desperately to reach his own. He quickly removed his fingers from her slit and he pressed them to her lips first. It looked like it was mostly an instinctive reaction when she wrapped her panting lips around his digits and sucked on them briefly.

The whole thing didn't take more than a second, but even that felt like too long to him without his release. Both of his hands darted to her waist and he gripped her firmly before he started to move her up and down on himself on his own. She let out another loud gasp, but she tried to move along with him as he guided her. He could still feel the last vestiges of her peak, pulsating her walls around him when he sheathed himself as deep inside her as he could with a long groan.

His mouth returned to her shoulder, but he didn't bite her this time. He merely pressed his lips into her skin weakly while he spent himself inside her.

It would probably take them a while to calm down.

…

They lay together on the bedroll, naked and exhausted after hours of 'making up for the lost time'.

Aeyrin was snuggled close to him, running her hand over his chest idly and eliciting low hums of approval from him. It was late afternoon already and they had been so absorbed in finally letting themselves relax in each other's embrace after Riften that they haven't even found time to eat since their late breakfast.

After a while, Aeyrin's stomach growled awkwardly, which earned a brief chuckle from Bishop. He was too lazy to start cooking though and instead, he promptly reached back to grab his backpack from near the bedroll. One of his arms was still trapped under Aeyrin's resting head, but he managed to locate what he wanted with the other one after some fishing around.

He pulled out a small leather pouch and placed it onto his chest. Still maneuvering with one arm, he untangled the string that was holding it shut, but he didn't reach inside yet.

"Close your eyes sweetness," he smirked at her teasingly.

She let out a slight giggle, but she obliged without a question. By now, she already knew from experience that whatever he was going to do would be good. She closed her eyes and she waited with bated breath. She could only hear a loft rustle of the leather pouch before she could feel something move very close to her lips.

"Open up, love," his words carried a predictably suggestive tone which she couldn't help but giggle at as her cheeks flushed.

She parted her lips for him and waited until he placed something oddly… fluffy on her tongue. An overwhelmingly sweet taste assaulted her senses and she instinctively closed her mouth to suck on the treat on her tongue. It melted instantly – the taste was so sweet at first, but then it started tingling the inside of her mouth strangely with a spicy sting. A deep moan of satisfaction vibrated through her throat right away.

The treat was gone all too soon, but the taste still lingered pleasantly on her tongue. Before she opened her eyes, she felt Bishop's lips brush against her gently and his breath tickled her face right after when he spoke in a low voice: "Happy birthday, love."

She opened her eyes and kissed him in return instantly. She didn't prolong it much though – she was kind of eager to have another treat right away.

"You got me a gift!" she gasped at him. "That's so sweet. Literally," she giggled. She reached out for the leather pouch, but before she could take another one, Bishop reached for it himself and took a treat out to hover it in front of her lips again. She opened her mouth, but when he placed the treat on her tongue, she instantly closed it around his fingers, suckling on them gently before she let him withdraw.

"Yeah… was kind of a slim pick in Riften, but still," he smirked at her. He was definitely not going to mention those strange ideas that had popped into his head regarding her gift. That was still kind of disturbing. This was much better. And her expression was so irresistibly cute when she tasted that treat. "I got it from Brand-Shei. He sells some goods from Morrowind. He said that this was a delicacy there. Never heard of it, but it tasted pretty damn good."

"So good," she practically moaned and instead of saying anything, she pointedly closed her eyes and parted her lips again. Bishop obligingly placed another treat on her tongue and followed by brushing his lips against hers when she closed them again.

He listened to her satisfied moan with a chuckle before he started to run his fingers through her hair. "You know… we should have celebrated like that a year ago. Why didn't we?" he pondered. They had already been travelling together since last summer. She never mentioned her birthday back then though, not until later.

"Well… let's see… I think that back then I was too busy not talking to you after the whole… High Hrothgar and Ivarstead thing… before I joined the Companions," she sighed slightly. Then again, back then, she didn't even notice the exact day of her birthday with how preoccupied she had been with their situation. It was probably for the best – it was the first birthday that she had been spending without her friends at the temple and that thought would have only made her even more morose.

"Ah… right… not a great opportunity for celebrations, I guess…" he sighed too. He kind of fucked things up back then. But he did that a lot… not just that one time. It made him wary even now, but he couldn't just spend his time with her by worrying that he would ruin things again. He wouldn't. He wouldn't allow himself to lose her ever again.

"Yeah. It was my first birthday away from home. Not how I imagined it…" she didn't sound resentful when she said it, surprisingly enough, just somewhat wistful.

"You used to celebrate back in Chorrol?" Bishop wondered. He wasn't sure if the priests did stuff like that.

"Yeah, every year," she smiled before a slight scowl appeared on her face. "Well… at the temple. Not before, obviously. I didn't even know when I was born exactly. I knew the year… Ri'zhassa remembered that, if not my father. He was always quick to remind me: 'Ten years with you and nothing good comes out of that', that sort of thing," she rolled her eyes bitterly. "But the rest was a mystery. The priests did some… test. They had these stone tablets with the constellations carved into them. The stone with the Lady reacted to my touch and that was it. Master Therien then picked a random date for the specific day."

"I didn't get it." A small smile appeared on her lips as she continued. "I didn't understand why it was important, but then there was the celebration. I think they just wanted to make me feel better by doing this. I don't know… to make me a person… like everyone else at the temple. I… I know that it doesn't really matter… it's just some dates and stuff. And the signs… they don't really matter that much either. Unless you want to pinpoint someone that some prophecy talks about," she snorted. "Well… in my case, I guess that might mean something. But… I don't think that the one with the 'Last Dragonborn' talks about a sign. If it did… maybe I would at least know if I'm the one that…" she paused her rambling for a while, but then she shook her head briskly. "Never mind. I don't want to talk about that. The point is… I just… even though it's not that important, I kind of liked the celebrations. It was a nice gesture."

"Yeah… it is," Bishop smiled at her. She always talked about the temple with such fondness. Maybe they could travel back to Cyrodiil together one day. Although he did kind of worry that the priests from her past wouldn't really approve of him, especially Therien, but… it would still be nice to see her in her element like that. And it was not like he worried about anyone talking her out of their relationship. Many have tried before and she never let anyone make that decision for her or influence her on that.

"What about you? Did you ever celebrate?" she asked after a while of contemplative silence.

"Hah! Yeah right. My family was not really the celebrating type unless it involved Torban getting plastered and even more aggressive and obnoxious after a successful raid. And the bandits after that were hardly different," Bishop scoffed.

"Well… we should definitely fix that," she gave him a brief peck on his cheek. "When is your birthday anyway? You never said," she peered at him curiously. She knew that he was born under the Serpent, but that could have been literally any day of the year. But they have been travelling together for over a year already. It must have already passed once at least and he didn't tell her. Then again, neither did she tell him the last time.

"Thirteenth of Second Seed," he shrugged somewhat disinterestedly.

That was when they were still apart after Falkreath. No wonder that she didn't know that then. She suddenly felt a little guilty about that, but that was ridiculous. They needed that time apart… she did at least. And the birthday was just a date anyway.

"Well… it's a long time away now, but… next year, we're gonna celebrate it together," she gave him an affectionate smile and raised her head to give him a deep long kiss. "In style," she giggled.

"'In style'? I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by that," Bishop laughed. He certainly hoped that she didn't mean some fancy celebration with balls and dressing up and shit like that. Although… it usually wasn't so bad either with her. Every annoying thing was somehow fun with her around.

"That's the best part, of course," she winked at him. "It's whatever you want it to be."

"Careful, sweetness. You're giving me ideas already," he grinned and he quickly leaned back to kiss her again. He quickly removed the pouch with the treats from his torso as his body shifted. Yet again he pinned her down below himself, kissing her eagerly while his hands caressed the skin of her arms, then her flanks and hips.

He definitely wasn't tired enough not to get excited about a prospect like that.