Chapter 4:

Riven stood in front of the Du Couteau mansion, waiting for someone to answer the door. She was weary from travel, having just spent three months on the Demacian front leading her men but Katarina had sent someone after her as soon as she returned to the barracks, requesting her to come to the estate. Hopefully Katarina planned to let her sleep as Riven was exhausted.

Someone finally responded to Riven's knocking, Talon peering out from behind the door at the soldier before wordlessly letting her enter. He didn't bother leading her to Katarina's quarters; she knew the mansion well enough. Whenever she wasn't away on missions, she basically lived here as Katarina couldn't stand Riven's small living quarters back at the barracks. Riven reached Katarina's door and pushed it open without knocking, they had been together for so long at this point she didn't feel it was necessary any more.

Katarina was sat at her desk at the end of the room, her attention caught up in piles of paperwork in front of her; she hadn't heard Riven enter so the soldier took the moment to just watch. It wasn't often that one caught an assassin off guard. Katarina finally looked up from her paperwork and jumped slightly in her seat at the sight of Riven watching her.

"Fuck. How'd you get in here without me noticing? That's my thing." She said, eyebrow raised.

"You must have been so focused on that paperwork you didn't hear me enter." The assassin pushed the papers to the side of the desk and rose from her chair, sauntering over to Riven who stood by the door. Katarina's quick and clever fingers unclasped her sword from her back and her pieces of armour, thudding as they hit the floor around her. Once she was only in her clothes, Katarina wrapped her arms around the soldier, pulling her into a tight embrace. Over the years, Riven had learned to take these vulnerable moments with Katarina whenever she could get them and extend them for as long as possible.

"Kat, is it alright if we go to bed? I'm exhausted." The assassin pulled back slightly, her arms still around Riven before she nodded and began removing her boots. Even though Katarina wasn't tired, she wasn't going to miss the chance to be able to hold her, she hadn't seen Riven in over three months and she didn't know how long Riven would be staying before she would be gone again.

The pair stripped down to their undergarments and then climbed into Katarina's bed together, it was basically their bed at this point but Riven didn't want to put that kind of pressure on her. Riven rest her head on Katarina's chest and let the assassin run her nimble fingers through her hair.

"Did you miss me?" Riven murmured into Katarina's chest, already falling in and out of consciousness. She felt Katarina's hands pause in her hair for a moment before slowly returning to carding through her hair.

"Yes, I did. Maybe I should speak to Darius or someone, get you promoted so you can stay." Riven laughed slightly.

"I'd love to be promoted, not so much the talk that would go with having my girlfriend using her status to get me there though." Riven saw Katarina smirk slightly in the corner of her eye. The soldier pressed her lips against Katarina's chest before going back to resting on it.

"Don't do stuff like that, you might get me all riled up now." Riven chuckled slightly.

"Sorry, Kat, I'm so tired."

"Go to sleep." She said, sighing into the embrace she had around Riven. Only minutes later was Riven snoring away on top of her chest, causing Katarina to smile.

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The next morning Riven woke up still in the same position, head on Katarina's chest, as she had fallen asleep in the night prior. The assassin was still asleep under her, causing a smile to play on her lips. Riven sat up slightly causing the assassin to stir but not wake, she pressed her lips to Katarina's neck, running her fingers along the other side of her jaw.

"Katarina, wake up." She growled lightly in between the kisses she placed on Katarina's neck. The assassin began to wake slightly, feeling Riven's hands drift down her body.

"Katarina, are you awake?" She murmured before kissing down her chest, Katarina's eyes starting to flutter open at the contact.

"I am now," She growled with a smirk, "You know how to wake up a girl, Riven." Katarina rolled them over so she was straddling Riven's waist, smiling down at her. Katarina pulled her tank top over her head, exposing her chest to Riven before Cassiopeia pushed through the door without knocking.

"Fucking hell Cass! Do you not know how to fucking knock?" Katarina shouted before yanking the covers over herself and Riven, glaring over her shoulder at her sister.

"Sorry, I just came to say that breakfast was ready and father asked for you two to come join us." Riven swallowed hard at those words, she had seen General Du Couteau multiple times when visiting but they had never exchanged words, only knowing nods in the halls as they passed each other.

"Alright, alright. Give us a damn minute and we'll be there." She waited for Cassiopeia to exit her quarters and close the door behind her before exiting the sheets, stepping off of Riven and the bed before heading to her closet. Riven sat up onto the edge of the bed, watching her girlfriend get dressed in front of her. She smiled when Katarina turned to her, joining her as they headed down to the dining room with her. "Don't be so nervous and stiff, Riven." Katarina whispered under her breath before entering the room where the Du Couteau family sat at breakfast.

She sat at the table with Katarina sitting on her left, Riven was as stiff as a board throughout the entire meal as Katarina took food served herself and then put food on Riven's plate. She picked at it nervously, hoping to fade into the background. She didn't know anything about Katarina's father other than he didn't really approve of them. Riven avoided eye contact with the General as she listened to the usual bickering between Katarina and Cassiopeia.

"Is there something wrong with the food, Commander?" Riven looked up at the General who sat across from her, shocked at the use of her rank to address her.

"No, sir. It's good." She smiled politely and forced herself to take a bite. There really was nothing wrong with it, she was just nervous about the chance of this very situation taking place.

"Is something else bothering you?" He questioned, eyes locked on her.

"I'm just nervous, sir." The General's serious expression broke; he chuckled at the idea of Riven being scared of him.

"Do I scare you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He returned to the food in front of him, leaving the conversation at that. Riven quickly inhaled the rest of the food on her plate and when she and Katarina returned upstairs to her private quarters, Katarina let out a loud laugh.

"You looked like you were going to shit yourself."

"I thought I was going to," Riven let out a breath of relief, rubbing her temples to release some of her tension, "We need to get our own place."

"Agreed." The assassin said with a smile.