Author's Note:

Another smut chapter warning O:) And there's gonna be a few more of them than usual in the near future, so be ready for that :D If you want to skip the smut, start with the second section (after the first '…' marker)

I hope you all enjoy the chapter. It's another step forward and we'll see soon enough if it pays off :)

Thank you for reading :3

Chapter XXI – A Shelter in a Storm

It didn't take long for Bishop and Aeyrin to finish their food and toss their dishes aside.

They ended up cuddling comfortably by the fire along with Karnwyr, but that did not last very long either.

Soon enough, Aeyrin started to idly brush her hand over the fabric of Bishop's trousers on his thigh with her head nuzzling more and more firmly into the side of his neck. It was all too obvious what she was after.

And it was not as if he would complain either.

Bishop squeezed her tighter to himself and pressed his lips to her temple. He knew that this would probably all end up the same way as it always did – with her leaving. And it would be painful, again. But that was going to happen anyway and there was no reason not to enjoy the night to the fullest before it came to that. And… he couldn't pretend like her affections didn't always make him blissfully hopeful for a better outcome. It was a nice feeling. Until it got crushed again.

He leaned into her touch and grabbed her by the hips with his free hand, pulling her into an embrace. Karnwyr roused himself up morosely at the sudden movement of her body and gave Bishop a somewhat disgruntled look as he stood up on his legs.

Aeyrin only chuckled briefly and squeezed herself close into Bishop's arms. She turned her head to the wolf with an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, Karnwyr." She didn't sound very sorry though.

Karnwyr huffed and turned his tail to them just as Bishop dragged her over to his lap and eagerly kissed her, sliding his tongue into her mouth and twining it with hers. The wolf let out one more dejected whine, likely just to spite them, before he ran off into the thicket of the forest.

Aeyrin's tunic came off instantly and Bishop almost managed to throw it haphazardly straight into the fire. Luckily, in the end, it landed just a stone's throw away from the rocks surrounding the flames. She tried to begin undressing him too, but he began to distract her from it, constantly squeezing her to him and burying his face between her bare breasts along with planting teasing kisses and nipping into her soft flesh.

When she finally managed to drape his shirt over his head, she threw it towards the bedroll somewhere further away from them. Only a second later, she started to run her hands down his chest, feeling up his tautening muscles. She moved her eager kissing over his jaw and down his neck while her hands continued to travel lower over his torso and down his abs.

Bishop squeezed her buttocks hungrily while she continued to move lower. Her hands teased over his lower abdomen, sending tingling jolts of anticipation through his body, before she determinedly started to untangle the fastenings of his trousers. Bishop weaved his hand through her hair and brought her head back to his level again in order to continue kissing her. But she did not let that distract her from her goal – she freed his cock from his clothes while they continued to kiss passionately and promptly started to tease him, gripping him in her hand and slowly stroking him.

Bishop let out a heavy puff of breath against her face as she continued to stroke him. Her mouth started to move down his neck again in slow languid kisses and his grip in her hair became even firmer. He used his other hand to knead her breast, but after a while, she stopped him. She disentangled herself from his grasp and slid off of his lap again, kneeling down on the ground.

She lowered herself, placing one of her hands on his thigh and the other around his girth, before she sank even lower and enveloped her mouth over the tip of his cock. She began teasing him with her tongue at first, sucking in gently for a while, then she moved him deeper in and started to bop her head against him.

Bishop's hand returned to grip her hair again in an instant while he groaned in pleasure. She continued to suck him eagerly, pressing her tongue firmly against his cock and letting out muffled hums on occasion. After a while, she began to engulf more and more of him and her pace was gradually getting faster. He had to control himself not to encourage her movements with his hand in her hair even more as he could feel the buildup already while his cock twitched inside her mouth.

She quickened the pace again and contracted her throat muscles around him. He wasn't sure if she did that on purpose, but fuck did that work. He groaned loudly and his free hand snapped back to dig into the ground by his side, grabbing at the grass and a clump of dirt firmly. He came a second later and his other hand gripped her hair tightly once more. He didn't even realize that he did that, but she didn't seem to mind. She stayed bent down to his crotch and swallowed as best as she could.

When his grip on her hair finally eased, she straightened back up at last. She sat in front of him with flushed cheeks, ruffled hair and heavy pants escaping her mouth.

Fuck, how he loved that sight.

Bishop let her attempt to catch her breath only for a few seconds while he enjoyed the sight of her like that, before he dragged her into his embrace again and wound his arms tightly around her back. His own breathing was still a bit labored, but he started to passionately kiss and suck on her neck nonetheless. His teeth were nipping into her flesh from time to time, sending thrilling stings of mild pain through her skin.

Aeyrin ran her hands through his hair affectionately for a spell while she still tried to steady her breaths. He certainly wasn't making it easy with these ministrations – they were only making her breathing heavier. He continued to press hungry open-mouthed kisses onto the skin of her neck and collarbone, hands grabbing at her back and ass constantly, before he lowered her down onto the ground by the fire.

"Ah! Cold!" she hissed with a slight giggle in her voice. The ground below her was freezing on her bare back and the dew on the grass did not help the situation in the slightest.

"I'll warm you up right away, love," Bishop smirked and moved his head lower to nip at her hard nipples gently. His hands traveled down to her trousers in the meantime before he slid those, along with her undergarments, off in one swift motion.

Gods, now even her ass was freezing from the ground. This did not help. But she didn't even have it in her to complain anymore. She mewled under his treatment as one of his hands yanked her boot off while the other gently ran over her mound with an incredibly frustrating lightness.

Bishop managed to dispose of all her clothes fully in a few seconds and then slid his hands below her buttcheeks. He quickly started to kiss his way down her stomach and towards her slit until he was comfortably nestled between her thighs. With his hands still supporting her cheeks, he lifted her towards his mouth before he let his tongue travel through her folds teasingly, only stopping to play with her clit.

He was right about warming her up – she could feel the intense heat spread throughout her entire body as her heart began racing and breaths started getting shallower again. She couldn't help but squeeze her thighs around his head firmly while he teased her with his tongue. He sucked on her nub for a while, making her arch her back and moan loudly, before he slid his tongue inside her, probing her.

After a while of that relentless treatment, she couldn't take much more. She let out a high-pitched gasp and gripped his hair almost violently when she quivered below him in her release.

Bishop continued to tease her for a while after that, but he withdrew before she could get too close to the edge again. Instead, he gripped her by her hips and urged her to wrap her legs around his waist. When she complied, he straightened up to his knees along with her enveloped around him, and he gave her a pleased smirk. She was so light like that without all that armor.

He tried to rise up on his feet with her still in his arms and wrapped around him, but that actually proved more difficult than he had originally thought. Aeyrin only giggled at his efforts and stayed put for three or four attempts of his, before she disentangled herself from him. He gave her a disgruntled look in response, though he was mostly disappointed at himself for not being able to pull them both up. But there were more pressing matters on his mind anyway. He stood up on his feet and she instantly jumped back at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. It was much easier this way.

Bishop pressed her tightly to himself as he started to move with her a few steps towards a nearby tree. In a matter of seconds, she was pressed with her back against the rough trunk of the tree. It wasn't as cold as the ground, but it was scratchy and somewhat sticky with resin. But she wasn't exactly concerned about it as Bishop started to kiss her passionately without a moment's respite.

His cock was already hard again and he eagerly started to rub its tip against her wet entrance, pressing her more and more firmly onto the bark with his body. She let out an encouraging moan and he didn't wait any longer to thrust deep inside her wetness with a loud groan followed by another insistent kiss.

Aeyrin could only cling close to him as he moved her up and down against the tree in his embrace, thrusting into her slowly at first before he started to pick up the pace. Her back pressed into the bark firmly and the movements gradually got more fast and frantic, leaving her back burning with intensity against the rough surface. She definitely felt her skin get scratched, but she was beyond caring at that point. It was barely even noticeable under the assault of pleasurable sensations coursing through her body with every motion. He was hitting just the right spot inside her with every thrust, and the close embrace had their skins constantly rubbing against each other in all the right places. Soon, she wasn't sure if the burning on her back was from the harsh bark or from the heat of arousal coursing through her body.

Bishop worked himself in and out of her roughly with heavy grunts while she squeezed his cock with her inner walls, moaning loudly. Finally she didn't have to worry about being too noisy. Karnwyr would surely alert them if anyone or anything was in the area – they could be as loud as they wanted. And she definitely appreciated the freedom of it. She wouldn't be able to stay quiet even if she had to. Every motion was sharp, rough and fast as Bishop picked up the pace of his thrusts even more. She felt like she was moving more and more onto him, letting herself sink lower and his cock to fill her even more with each thrust. It was overwhelmingly intense in the best way possible. Her own grip got strained and almost desperate in his hair and her legs were squeezing around his waist as much as they possibly could. She couldn't help the loud moans and gasps escaping her as the pressure built inside her more and more.

Bishop continued to thrust into her at a frantic pace for some time yet. Their panting and moaning echoed through the forest, completely drowning out the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind. Aeyrin was the first to be brought over the edge by the relentless motions. The pressure became overwhelming before the heat of release finally claimed her. She squeezed her legs around Bishop even tighter while her walls clenched his cock, pulsing wildly. That served to bring him to his peak right alongside her soon enough. All they could do for a while was strain against each other's sweat-covered bodies while they continued panting heavily.

Aeyrin let her legs fall from his waist heavily and stumbled as she landed back onto her feet. Her back dislodged only somewhat painfully from the tree bark in the process – she was sure that she had a lot of dirt and sap stuck to a myriad of scratch-wounds.

It hardly mattered though.

She collapsed into Bishop's arms with a satisfied sigh.

Hopefully that wasn't the end of that night.

…

Bishop slowly ran his hand over her back, spreading the healing poultice around the shallow scratches.

It didn't really look that bad, just scratched up and a little burnt. She couldn't reach there to heal herself, but the poultice would get rid of the wounds soon enough. That was to be expected after being pinned to a rough bark and grinding over it again and again and again… and again…

Stop it.

Dammit, he needed to at least heal her before he got all worked up once more.

He kept running his hands over her back as she sighed contentedly under him. She was lying on her stomach up on her bedroll which they had moved right next to the fire to keep it near the warm flames. Her lower half was covered in the fur blanket of the bedroll while she rested the side of her face on the sawn-in pillow.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Bishop asked after a while. He knew that the poultice could sting on open wounds, but she didn't even flinch once. In fact, she almost purred under his touch.

"Worth it," she murmured at him with a subdued groan. His rough hands felt so good on her skin. The cold wind was still present in the air, despite the proximity of the fire, but as his hands traveled up and down her back, occasionally drawing circles between her shoulder-blades, she could barely remember ever being cold or in even the slightest pain.

It was as if the whole world disappeared when they were like this. It was just the two of them, just as content as comfortable in each other's company as they used to be in the midst of all their problems. It was like the perfect shelter in a vicious storm.

Leaving it was always the hardest part, but it was better than letting it crumble around her.

Bishop's hand no longer contained any trace of the poultice but he continued to stroke over her back and press his fingers into it. He kneaded her flesh, continuing lower and lower, before he spread out on the bedroll right next to her, propped up on his side and continuously running one of his hands over her skin. Soon enough, he started to plant gentle kisses along her spine as he slowly uncovered her backside and upper thighs from the fur blanket and moved his hand down to stroke over her lower back and buttocks.

"Gods… I could stay like this forever," Aeyrin sighed and a light moan escaped her lips a second later.

But just as the words left her lips, Bishop stopped abruptly. She could feel him withdraw from her – his breath no longer warmed her skin and his hand stopped touching her.

That… was probably not the best thing to say just then.

She turned to her side to face him. He wore a rather solemn expression and with a heavy sigh, his eyes fell down to stare at the furs below them instead of at her.

"You're gonna leave again, aren't you?" he mumbled almost incoherently. He wasn't sure why he even asked, he had suspected this from the start. But he couldn't help but hope against it yet again. He was so fucking stupid to keep doing that. He knew better by now.

Aeyrin reached out with her hand to cup his cheek gently. It was heartbreaking to see that pained expression on his face, but… at least it was better than forcing things, right? This was… good, for now, they could see each other, they could talk and they could lose themselves in each other's arms. There wasn't enough time together to fight or to overthink every word they said to each other, to cast blame for the past.

This way, they could still cling onto what they had and what might be in the future.

"I'm sorry, Bish. I have to. I just… you know how things are. If I don't leave, things are going to turn bad again… and… I don't want to risk ruining things for good," she sighed, still stroking over his cheek affectionately.

"But that will always be a possibility. Things can turn to shit any time, preventing it by being apart… what fucking good does that do?" he looked at her desperately, almost pleadingly.

"We're not really apart, are we? We… we still have this," she whispered. They could just have these moments to look forward to until… until she could figure things out. It was comforting. And she needed it – to be with him, to be reminded that he was still there, in her life. Things would be so much worse if she didn't believe that anymore.

Bishop scoffed at her. It wasn't as if he didn't appreciate the time he got to spend with her, if they weren't fighting that was, but… it wasn't enough.

"What are you waiting for, princess? Do you expect things to be like this for good, just to avoid having too much time to actually deal with shit?"

"No… just… not 'for good'. Bishop, there are things I… I just… I can't force myself to… 'deal with shit'. I don't want things to be like this forever, but… for now, maybe? We could just… be together when either of us needs that. We would just… be there for each other until… until things get better," she gave him a hopeful look.

"Ah, sweetness, you make the casual sex sound so romantic," he scoffed at her with a mocking undertone in his voice. Not that he was a stranger to these arrangements, but it was definitely not something he wanted to have with her. He needed her. He needed to be with her without worrying every night that it was the last.

"There's nothing 'casual' about it! And I wasn't talking about sex! Not… not just sex," she sighed dejectedly. "I just… I just meant that… we could be there for each other, whatever happens, for now," she wasn't sure how to better explain it. She just knew that she wasn't ready to go back to the way things were. She would ruin everything if they did that, she just knew it. But… this helped. Being with him like this was so comforting. She would go insane if she didn't have that from time to time.

"Princess," Bishop sighed deeply. It was not like this wouldn't be better than nothing, but… still. It felt like they were still both stuck in that same place. "You know that I'm not gonna say no to that. But… you need to know that I want more. I want you back. Whatever shit happened, we need to get through it. If it's more time you need… fine. But… watching you leave it the hardest thing I have to do. I really don't feel like going through that indefinitely."

"I-I know. Leaving you is the hardest thing I have to do too. But… if I don't, I'm scared that it will make everything worse. We'll get through this, I promise. Just… for now, let's at least stay like this," she looked at him pleadingly and leaned in to gently kiss him upon his lips.

He took a lot longer to respond and to her kiss back than she had expected, but he did reciprocate in the end. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to himself tightly, either in affection or despair. She wasn't sure which.

Bishop let out a heavy sigh against her hair when they parted from each other after a long kiss. Whatever would happen, she was right. It was better than nothing.

It was better than not having her at all.

…

The night has passed all too quickly.

Aeyrin and Bishop woke up cuddled up in the bedroll by the now extinguished fire, entangled in each other's arms. It was a comforting feeling for the both of them, but soon it got replaced by the already anticipated somber mood.

Aeyrin quickly crawled out of the bedroll and rushed to grab her clothes from the various spots around their campsite before the morning wind made her shiver with cold. She quickly ran back the bedroll to at least have any residual heat from it warm her up while she clothed herself hastily.

Bishop used the time while she was dressing to somewhat hinder her efforts. He constantly dragged her back down to lie next to him or he roamed his hands under the clothes that she had just put on, rumpling them. He wasn't even sure why he did that – her leaving was inevitable. But he couldn't help trying to prolong their time together.

It took her a lot longer to get dressed and ready for the road with his constant interruptions, but eventually, she managed.

With a heavy sigh, Bishop got up from the bedroll as well and hastily dressed himself too, leaving her time to pack up the camping supplies scattered all around. After the small clearing in the middle of the forest was at last back to its serene natural state, they stood face to face with forlorn expressions.

Karnwyr hasn't returned yet and Aeyrin felt a bit guilty about not being able to say goodbye to him, but she comforted herself quickly with the knowledge that they would all see each other again. Hopefully soon.

"So… where are you headed?" Bishop asked with a bit of an edge in his tone. He felt himself constantly on the verge of throwing himself at her and begging her to stay with him. He didn't understand her reasoning at all. True, their relationship was a bit more volatile than before, but there had always been the threat of everything turning into a disaster. At least for him.

Maybe it was different for her. He knew how fragile everything was for a while now – all his secrets could have been revealed at any moment and he struggled with that knowledge constantly. She, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on until a few months ago.

He was willing to give her some space, especially if it meant that she actually returned to him for good this time. But that didn't make this moment any less painful for some reason.

"I'm not sure… Whiterun… I think," she sighed. She should probably go see Lydia at last. And maybe Aela, if there was time and if the Companions weren't being strange again.

Bishop wondered for a brief moment if she chose that place simply because he could be nowhere near there, but he dismissed those thoughts quickly. It was not helpful to agonize over such things.

"You?" she asked a little absentmindedly after a while.

"Probably gonna track down Karliah and see what the progress is," he shrugged. He didn't have much more to do lately. It was technically nothing new – before he met Aeyrin, he spent a lot of time just wandering around, hunting or occasionally raiding some small dungeons. It was comfortable at that time. But now it suddenly felt so… empty. Maybe he got too used to their fast-paced life, always with some plan ahead of them, always with some destination.

Or it was simply because she was gone.

He wasn't sure which option was worse.

"Alright… just… be careful out there," Aeyrin gave him a weak smile. She wasn't sure what else to say at that moment. It was suddenly so awkward, in contrast to the comfortable atmosphere of last night.

"You too, sweetness."

She stepped on her tiptoes briefly and gave him a quick kiss. She felt tempted to stay, but she knew that it was a bad idea. So she merely sighed wistfully when she parted from him and turned on her heel, back towards where the nearby road lay.

"We'll see each other soon, alright?"