Teldryn had not come out for breakfast and Vanya was not surprised. If he felt anything like she did, he was probably passed out. Surely he would be hungry and it was for that reason she was loading up a tray to bring him a kwama egg- fried how he liked it, bread with scrib jelly, sujamma, and tea.

She yawned mightily as she rubbed her eyes, blinking away the black spots that clouded her vision afterward. Could she really do this right now? She had to. Things had been weird between them for days now and she had started it. After last night he must think she hated him.

She went to her room to retrieve her stamina potion. If she was going to make Teldryn accept an apology for once she was going to need it. She downed the whole bottle, a shiver running down her spine as the magic spread. Her eyelids felt less like sandpaper, her limbs lighter, the dull droning in her mind lessening. Feeling more herself, she headed back out, picked up the tray and made her way to his room.


He awoke with a start from a light rapping on the door.

"Damn it," he said roughly, feeling as if he'd swallowed rocks. He swung his legs over the bed and got up, groaning all the while. He cleared his throat as he approached the door, pausing with his hand on the key. "Who is it?"

"It's me."

Vanya.

He leaned his head against the door. However long he'd slept was not long enough, yet he wished he hadn't. What was he going to say? He couldn't leave her in the hallway while he figured it out so he turned the key to let her in, perplexed when he saw the unexpected grin on her face.

"Hey, sleepy-head," she said as she walked into the room with a tray full of food and drink.

He closed the door and blinked at nothing, suddenly wary. Last he'd seen her she was beside herself with fury, and now she came to him as if nothing had happened. He turned to watch her as she set the tray on the table, then hopped up to sit on the edge, her legs swinging as she picked up a teacup.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What does it look like? You didn't come out for breakfast so I brought it to you. Come, sit."

He crossed the room, sighing loudly as he sat in the chair. He looked up at her suspiciously and she met his gaze, her teacup at her lips. She had some motive but he did not have the energy to figure it out, not to mention the smell of the food on the table was breaking what little concentration he had. He gave in and reached for the bread, opting to simply dip it in the jelly rather than use the knife. Once he had taken a bite, she spoke.

"Now hopefully, your mother taught you not to speak with your mouth full because I have something I want to say."

So it was a trap. At least he knew his intuition was still keen even in his fatigued state. He slid his eyes up to her as he chewed, only to be surprised again as her expression turned sincere, her fingers worrying the teacup in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked down into the cup. "For the way I acted last night. What I said to you, the way I said it. You didn't deserve that." Dark, glistening eyes raised to his. "It wasn't meant for you."

It was an unnecessary apology and he would have told her so but he found he couldn't speak, and not because of the bread in his mouth. That tender look, the one he had so coveted, was now paralyzing him, stealing his breath. He managed to grind his teeth together, chewing as if it were a novel activity.

She continued, "I took Nathala's comment too personally and just lost my head. You mean so much to me, Teldryn, I don't ever want you to feel otherwise."

He swallowed as the weight of her words settled on him. Still, he held his tongue, refraining from giving his opinion that Nathala had deserved Vanya's anger. He'd only interfered on reflex upon seeing the herding girl's staff tilt threateningly. He gazed up at the mystery of a woman before him who held so many secrets, most that he may never know for she guarded them as if she'd lose them upon their utterance. Any that she deigned to share with him, he would keep.

Her expression changed to a more familiar one of gentle chiding. "It also means that you can't just leave like you did. I almost thought I scared you off."

"There's ah...," he began, finally finding his voice as he tossed the bread back onto the plate. "an element of truth to that." He looked down as he dusted crumbs from his fingers, trying to string together the right words. The more he tried the simpler they became. He put his hand out on the table, palm open as he brought his eyes up to her.

She looked at his outstretched hand for a moment before setting down her cup. The warmth of her fingers as they settled into his echoed in his chest and he ran his thumb over her joints.

"I'm sorry, Vanya. I was not thinking clearly."

She squeezed his hand as a smile spread over her lips, lifting the heavy veil in the room as she giggled silently.

"Was that so hard?" she asked.

He smirked. "Yes, actually." He'd rather fight a camp of bandits than relive the last half a day but the way she laughed at his response was quickly making him forget it. She pulled her hand from his to pick up her tea and he hid his disappointment by returning his attention to his meal. He took a bite of the egg, pushing it to the side of his mouth to purposefully talk with his mouth full.

"Do all Earthlings apologize for things they had no fault in?"


Vanya scoffed, "Do all Dunmer refuse to accept an apology?"

Stubborn, stubborn man. She watched him, shaking her head as he shrugged and continued eating, glancing up at her in amusement. At least he'd let her say everything she wanted without argument. When he had spoken his words were few, but the gentle touch of his roughened fingers and the sincerity in those crimson eyes had been more than enough.

"Speaking of which," he said. "If you're thinking of apologizing to Nathala..." He pointed his fork at her. "Don't."

"Believe it or not, I wasn't." If she never spoke to that girl again, it would be too soon.

"Good."

She sipped her tea, wishing it was hotter to jolt her senses. The stamina potion was wearing off. She started swinging her legs lightly. Teldryn pushed his empty plate away and took a sip of his own tea, his eyes resting on her moving legs for a moment before sliding up to her face. She took a breath to calm the fluttering in her stomach as she prepared to ask the question that had been floating in her mind all morning.

"How old are you?" He looked like he was no more than thirty-five.

"One-hundred twenty-three," he answered, the corner of his mouth curling up. "How old are you?"

Holy shit. It was still a shock when she learned an elf's age. Even Dreyla was eighty-nine and she was considered very young.

"Twenty-six," Vanya replied feebly. "Wait!" She sat up, slapping her hand to her forehead. "Twenty-seven! I completely missed my birthday. It was months ago. The twenty-ninth of September-" She thought for a moment. "I think that would be during Hearth Fire."

A wide grin spread on his face as he laughed to himself, ending with a sigh. "I should have known."

"Should have known what?" she asked, squinting at him suspiciously.

"Your constellation is The Lady."

"And what, pray tell, does that mean?"

"It means..." He downed the remainder of his tea and set the cup on the tray. "You have an innate ability to get what you want."

She snorted derisively. "Well, then I know I can put about as much faith in that as my Zodiac."

"Zodiac?" he repeated, his eyes lighting with interest.

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Star signs that correspond with the timing of your birth. That's what you mean by my constellation right?"

He sat up straighter, leaning an elbow on the table. "Yes, so what is your Zodiac?"

"Libra. The sign is a set of scales. I hate to disappoint, but I don't really know that much about what it means. I do know it's an air sign."

"Hmmmm." He relaxed into his chair again and reached for the mug of sujamma to take a sip. She could see the wheels turning in his head as he mulled over the information and she wished she knew more to satisfy the curious glow in his eyes. Apparently, the star signs really meant something on Nirn which sparked a little curiosity of her own.

Feeling cheeky, she set her cooled tea down and pulled the mug from his hand. "So what's your sign, Teldryn?" she asked before taking a sip.

He clearly did not understand the undercurrent of the question as he looked at her in outrage for her theft.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," she said, feeling a sudden mirth that she suspected was due to her lack of sleep. "I don't have cooties."

"Cooties?" She was already laughing by the time he said it but hearing it from his lips and the way he squinted his eyes tipped her into hysterics. She had to set the mug down, putting her hands over her face as she fell over on the table.


He smiled as he watched her shake with laughter at her personal inside joke, the sight causing him to laugh along despite not understanding. He pulled the tray from the table to give her room, depositing it on the floor. She calmed after a few moments and sat back up, taking deep breaths that ended in sighs and the occasional stray giggle.

She looked at him as she wiped her eyes, her voice cracking as she held back another outburst. "Say it again."

"Absolutely not," he said with a chuckle. He didn't mind playing along with her but he wasn't a jester. Besides, judging by the shade of her cheeks she might actually faint if she laughed like that again.

"Sorry," she said as she patted her face, trying to cool off. "I didn't sleep last night."

His expression fell. "Vanya, what are you still doing here? Go sleep."

She shook her head, hands still on her cheeks. "I couldn't sleep until I talked to you."

"We've talked. Now stop wasting time." He got up and held out his hand to help her off the table. "You need to go to bed." She took his hand and got to her feet, swaying ever so slightly, a mystifying little smile spreading on her face. She lifted her eyes to his, darker than he'd ever seen, his pulse jumping rapidly as she gazed up through her lashes.

"I don't have to go."

"Don't say such things," he said, his voice suddenly hoarse. If she did not mean it, he did not want to hear it. His teasing could make her blush, her teasing could nearly unmake him.

"Why?" Her hand that he still held began moving up his arm, a light touch that commandeered his senses. "You don't like it?" she purred as she stepped closer, her head tilted back in undeniable invitation.

There was no conscious thought when he took her mouth, its softness matching that of her body as he pulled her to himself. She clung to him, arms around his neck, her lips parting easily for his eager tongue as he wound a hand in her hair, cradling her head as he leaned further into her. She tasted of sujamma. Her kiss was glorious.

He needed more.

She beat him to it, snaking a leg around his, the press of her hips making him groan into her mouth. He pushed her back to the table and she brought her legs up to circle his waist as he nipped the corner of her mouth before trailing down her chin, the regret of leaving her lips soothed by the soft pants she emitted as he worried the tender flesh of her neck. Her nails drew over his scalp, the grind of his hips driven harder by her heels digging at the back of his thighs.

Clothing. Get rid of the clothing.

He stepped away from her embrace for just long enough to tear his shirt over his head and then his lips were on hers again, her fingers roaming up his back while his own found the edges of her tunic and dove underneath only to be teased by the thin fabric of the smock she wore. His greedy hands drew up the curve of her waist toward her shoulders, her tunic crumpling over his wrists. She raised her arms as he grasped the fabric and lifted it from her. He would have made for her mouth again but he stopped short, entranced by the peaks of her breasts under the thin smock that left little to the imagination. Imagination he had no need for because as he stood there she pushed the straps down her shoulders, letting the smock slide down to pool around her hips.

"So beautiful," he breathed as he took her in his arms, laying her back on the table to continue his assault on her neck, a roaming hand finding her breasts, his ministrations eliciting soft moans that could drive him to madness.

He straightened back up as he reached for the laces of her breeches, tugging roughly, stepping away as he slid them down.

"Mephala..." Her legs were so smooth. He ran his hands down her calves, then back up over her thighs as he took his place between her legs, noticing even the hair of her sex was cropped neatly. "For fuck's sake, Vanya, do you shit gold, too?" he quipped as he tugged at his own laces, making quick work of relieving himself of his breeches.

Her head fell back against the table as she laughed and she tightened her legs around him to pull him closer. He obliged, positioning himself at her wet entrance as she pulled his shoulders down, catching his mouth in a fervent kiss that ended with a cry as he thrust inside her and the world fell away.


The hard surface of the table grated against her spine as he rocked into her again and again, her breaths shallow from his superior weight and the flourishing heat in her core. She hung onto his shoulders as she locked her legs around his hips to pull herself up to meet him and he caught her waist, holding her suspended while continuing his driving pace.

"Ah! Teldryn!" she whined as he pushed her nearer to her peak in mounting waves. His movements became more erratic, her body responding in kind, growing desperate for release. He shuddered, arching hard into her with a low growl and she came apart, moaning helplessly as she rode out each thrust as he spent himself inside her.

She was listless as he lowered her hips back to the table, running his hand up her side before propping himself up on his elbows over her, their heavy breaths intermingling in the small space between their lips. Her exhaustion would be put off no longer and she could barely keep her eyelids open as he pressed his forehead to hers, laughing softly.

"Will you go to bed now?"

"Mmhmm." She ran her hands blindly up his arms to rest on his shoulders as her mind dove in and out of consciousness, anchoring herself to the firmness beneath her fingers, the caress of his lips on her cheek, the smell of sujamma and smoke, the sound of his voice in her ear as she obeyed his command.

"Sleep."

A/N: Oh, they done it now. I hope ya'll are here for it because we are entering what I've affectionately dubbed the Lemon Meringue arc. *cackles nervously*