Author's Note:

And of course, we have to have one last proper full-smut chapter in the last arc :D While those are often easily skippable, if you prefer, I do recommend at least familiarizing yourselves with the setting for this one to know what's going on in the next ;)

Other than that, I hope you enjoy the lemons :)

Thank you for reading!

Chapter CXLIII – Down Memory Lane

"Will you tell me where we're going already?"

Aeyrin prodded Bishop eagerly. They had been on the road for a while now and she still had no idea what Bishop had 'planned' for today.

They set off right after breakfast, eager to get away from all the drama with the Imperial Legion. The soldiers' presence in town was unnerving enough on its own without them barging into stores and taverns to harass people. A break away from all that was more than welcome.

Bishop took her east of town, still unwilling to divulge their ultimate destination. After a while though, she started to suspect that it wasn't the fastest route he could have chosen. More likely it was the least upsetting one.

They never entered the forests. They did pass an intersection in the road from which they could see a burned down cabin in the distance. Bishop noted that it was 'Pinewatch' – apparently one of three Thorn's bases in Falkreath that had been cleared out and destroyed in Karliah's attacks. It just made Aeyrin shiver at how much was Falkreath at that creep's mercy. He had the town completely surrounded by his bandits. At least she assumed as much. She didn't even remember where the last base was in the Hold. She didn't even remember where Thorn's main cavern was. The forests were so confusing. Once someone got off the road, even places relatively near could take hours to get to. The forests led people wherever they chose. Nature was in charge here. And those that knew it well enough were the only ones who could use that to their advantage.

But Bishop made sure not to take shortcuts and stick to the road. That included the direction. Aeyrin realized soon enough that after they had traveled to the north a bit, they turned west again. She was sure that the western road out of Falkreath would have been faster. But she also knew that Bishop likely didn't want to stir those memories on this day, whatever he was planning. It wasn't as if they hadn't walked those roads plenty of times before after it all happened. But this felt a little different. This was their choice, not just the quickest or, ironically, safest route. This was their attempt to actually enjoy the surroundings.

"Not yet. I told you, it's a surprise. You'll find out when we get there," Bishop smirked at her teasingly. He was frustratingly tight-lipped. But then again, she did get more and more giddy at that. She did love surprises. If only there weren't so many things here that worried her.

"Can you at least tell me if we're going to go through the forests?" she prodded again. She was the most worried about that part of their adventures. She doubted that there were enough lucrative places for them to explore around here that had a road leading to it.

"Not today," he shook his head adamantly. "No forests. No fighting."

'No fighting'? He wasn't planning some venture into an interesting dungeon? That only intrigued her more.

She didn't ask anything more. She wasn't sure what to ask. And soon enough, the answers became a little more clear on their own.

The White River followed their steps for a while, but eventually, it spread into the wide waters of Lake Ilinalta. She was starting to get a suspicion about where they were headed.

And when Bishop finally stopped on the shore of the widest part of the lake, the sight in the distance made it all too clear. She would never forget this place, not in a million Eras. Though she did kind of forget that it was in Falkreath Hold. She never thought about that fact much.

"I thought it might be good to remind ourselves that there were some actually happy memories in this place too," Bishop smiled softly as he looked on the small island in the middle of the lake.

"Yeah, you're right," Aeyrin only stepped closer and squeezed his hand. This was a wonderful idea. And it instantly made her stop worrying about those forests and any lingering unpleasant memories she held of them.

"Here's our 'full circle'," he smirked at her. "This is worth recreating, don't you think? And I know we wanted to sleep in the city to be safe, but… it's not like anyone can get to us on that island. At least for the night."

That was very true and a very tempting idea. Who in their right mind would swim across the lake to get to them? They could risk staying for one night. This was definitely a memory that she was eager to relive.

"You know where a boat is?" she giggled. "Because I don't think I can swim there with all my stuff."

"We'll find one," Bishop outstretched his hand to her, offering to take it in his as they walked the shore of the lake. "Come on. There's gotta be one around here."

…

The small island with the Lady Stone on it was as serene and beautiful as ever.

The small skiff they had located by what was clearly a fisherman's setup was bopping idly on the dark water of the lake, with the sun brightly glittering up on the soft waves of the surface. The island itself practically had a full carpet of mountain flowers on it, playing with various bright colors and emanating a pleasant scent.

It was just as perfect now as it had been back then, a year and a half ago, when they spent their first properly intimate night here. And then a few more nights after that, blissfully cut off from the outside world. This time they needed the respite no less.

Aeyrin ran her hand slowly over the stars on the standing stone lit with magical lights and emanating a pleasant warmth. The motion and the sensation made her remember their first night here all the more vividly. Though it was not as if she could ever forget that.

It was even more pleasant when Bishop's hands touched her hips, nudging her a bit to lean against his back.

"We've been through a lot since then, haven't we?" she mused idly as she dipped her head back to rest on his shoulder and watched the expression on his face. His brows did crease a little at the note, but she quickly clarified. "I didn't mean bad things. Just… we've seen a lot. Together. Sometimes it's still a little hard to believe."

"True," one of his hands moved onto hers on the stone, stroking over the gems of her engagement ring as he often did these days. He knew exactly what she meant. It was still all hard to believe. That he even ever found someone he could feel this strongly about. That he even wanted to spend the rest of his life with anyone. That he was lucky enough that she wanted that too. But even though all that was still a little hard to wrap his head around, he wouldn't change how it all happened for anything in the world. The good and the bad. "I can't wait for so much more, love."

"Me too," she chuckled affectionately. This was the perfect place to celebrate what lay before them now. Though it felt like they had celebrated their engagement several times already, it never seemed like enough.

Bishop's lips brushed against the side of her neck teasingly. Sometimes these soft touches were even more effective than when they hungrily lunged at each other. Aeyrin's whole body shivered as chills went down her spine from that, and the gentle stroking over her hip only enhanced the experience.

"Come, sweetness, let's set up that camp so we can finally recreate some memories," he whispered into her ear lasciviously.

"Hmm, forget the camp," Aeyrin groaned when he made the same motion again – his lips gliding across the side of her throat with barely a touch, his warm breath tickling her and his stubble scratching her softly whenever he brushed against her. "We'll do that later." She didn't care about the cold when she knew he would warm her up better than anything. And she kind of just wanted to lie down in the flowers, enveloped by their scent while the rest of her senses got overwhelmed by pleasure.

Bishop didn't need to be told twice. Instead of brushing over her hand, he took it in his and he led her away from the stone, in the middle of the island. There was the perfect clearing there – the one they had settled on before as well. They left their packs by the standing stones and their armor had already been discarded back when they left the skiff – they were both eager to get out of that after all. Now their bare feet traipsed through the small field of flowers unobstructed. Mountain flowers could bloom all year round, but they were always most lush and vibrant in the spring. It couldn't have been a more perfect time for them to return here.

When they stopped in the clearing, Bishop turned towards Aeyrin and enveloped her in his arms. Her own hands folded against his chest and she posed herself on her tiptoes to catch his lips in hers.

The kiss turned more passionate within barely a second. Aeyrin gripped the hems of his new shirt he got in Markarth and pulled him in even more. Her tongue slipped inside his mouth almost instantly, toying with his own, while Bishop's hands moved lower to her buttocks to squeeze her hungrily.

Aeyrin's hand moved to his neck, gripping at the nape of it as if to pull him into the kiss even further. As if that was even possible. She alternated between nipping at his lower lip, getting nipped in return, and playing with his tongue with her own, but more than anything, the exchanges that tended to leave her breathless were much more prevalent than any other. She was starting to feel a bit light-headed. And it seemed to get even more intense when one of Bishop's hands slid even lower on her buttocks, practically between her thighs, teasing her through her clothes.

She shuddered, forced to part from his lips for a moment as she let out a soft moan. His fingers kept prodding her from behind her thighs, sending shivers and jolts of heat through her at the same time. And as pleasant as it was, she wanted to do everything without clothes already. Her hands moved down to hook under the hems of his shirt and she pulled it over his head, hoping that he would follow suit with the undressing.

It didn't take long at all, even though Bishop seemed reluctant to take his hands off her buttocks, her own shirt eventually ended up tossed onto the flowers, just as his had. Aeyrin was the first one then to move things along properly as she dropped to her knees and started to untangle the fastening of his trousers. Bishop did let out a grumble about her being further away from him like that, without him being able to touch her wherever he wanted and undress her entirely, but he would get placated about that very soon.

Aeyrin only pulled down his trousers to his knees before her hand started to slowly, almost frustratingly so, stroke his hardening cock. Bishop's hand tangled in her hair almost automatically, but he did nothing but play with her tresses while she started to kiss the tip teasingly, occasionally flicking her tongue over him. Bishop's groans of pleasure only seemed to spur her on as she repositioned herself a little, rising up on her knees and nudging him to accommodate the new position a bit himself as she moved her hands to her own breasts and squeezed them together.

Bishop's hand kept stroking her hair, tangling in her tresses, while his other one grabbed a hold of his cock and he positioned it between her breasts. Aeyrin squeezed them again, enveloping him in her soft flesh and letting it slide through, slowly at first. She dipped her head down when his tip came into view from the current sheath, although she wasn't sure if she did that on her own or if Bishop tugged at her hair to do so. She was planning on it anyway, but she could definitely tell that his grip in her hair tightened considerably. Still, it hardly mattered. She squeezed her breasts tighter and sucked a bit on the head of his cock, eliciting a deep and very satisfying groan from him. She always loved that sound.

Aeyrin continued that treatment for a while as he moved between her breasts. He could feel his grip in her hair tightening with every motion as his body felt more and more tense. A pleasurable heat coursed through him incessantly, and as this went on for a few more minutes, every single time with her sucking on him and squeezing him like that, he felt like he was getting dangerously close to the edge. Especially when she snuck her hand below his cock to cup his balls and fondle them gently on top of all that. She was getting too fucking good at this stuff. It didn't matter that they had as much time as they wanted to indulge themselves over and over again, he didn't want this round to end already. Definitely not this fucking soon. That was kind of a matter of pride too.

"Ah, fuck, shit, hang on a second, love." He tugged at her hair again, but this time it was to pull her off him. She did obey, though she seemed a little reluctant to do so. She almost looked startled that something was wrong, but the hungry look he couldn't help but give her seemed to reassure her a little. "Lie down." He huffed. It was a little difficult to talk too coherently with how on edge he was, but the feeling was slowly easing a bit when she was no longer touching him. The sight of her there on her knees with her shirt off though wasn't helping matters.

She did obey instantly, eager for whatever was to come. She plopped down onto her back, letting a slow sigh escape her lips as the flowers flattened underneath her, creating an oddly comfortable bed, and the cold of the ground cooled her heated skin. Bishop shook off his trousers completely before he knelt down between her spread knees. He hooked his fingers under her trousers and undergarments as well, all too eager to get rid of the last vestiges of clothing in between them, and he pulled them all off as well. Aeyrin shivered as the cold of the ground spread onto her buttocks and thighs too, but no more than a few seconds later, Bishop's breath warming her damp slit made the shivers gain on intensity from a whole another impulse.

She quickly tapped his flank with her foot though in order to stop him. She wasn't done with him yet.

"Uh-uh," she tapped him again, this time leaving her foot on his flank before she slid it down across his side, over his hips and then his thigh. Bishop did raise himself up at that and he gave her a questioning look. Her answer was only a somewhat complicated spinning gesture of her hands, but Bishop did seem to get the gist.

"Princess, I'm barely recovering after what you were doing a minute ago," he chuckled at her. He was pretty sure he wouldn't last long even now after he had the chance to cool off a little bit.

"I don't care. Come on," she almost groaned as she arched her back and dug her hands into the ground below – as a display of impatience and arousal both. He couldn't really argue with that.

He stood up on his feet and walked around her before he knelt by her head instead. Aeyrin instantly arched her back again and dipped her head back. The flowers were very much in the way like that, but she did plop her hand down above her head several times to flatten those too.

In the meantime, one of Bishop's hands moved down to cup and squeeze her breast. They looked so fucking perfect when she arched herself like this. They looked fucking perfect all the time, but still, he couldn't get enough of this view. The second he grabbed his cock in his hand again and shuffled a little closer to her, Aeyrin parted her lips eagerly. When he was close enough, she instantly enveloped him with her lips, sucking on him once more and making him tense up all over again. He couldn't really control himself like this. Her hands reached back and gripped his buttocks, pulling him closer and sliding his cock deeper into her mouth in the process. Her tongue was pressing so firmly against his cock in this inverted position. Fuck, he didn't think it would get even harder to hold himself back then before.

He had to focus a lot away from the pleasure and the feeling of her soft tits under his hands before he finally managed to lower himself onto her body properly. The only thing he could manage for a while was to send a few shaky breaths against the damp skin between her legs, but soon, he managed to recover enough composure. He leaned himself on his elbows, flattening her against the ground a bit more than he had anticipated, but he kept his hips raised enough not to actually suffocate her as he kept moving how her hands on his ass urged him. He slid his hands under the backs of her thighs in turn and pulled her legs closer to his lips and further apart. The way she was treating him, he was determined not to give her a second of respite in retaliation.

Aeyrin kept running her tongue over his cock as best as she could while she urged him to thrust in and out of her mouth. Her body was already tense with arousal just from the acts alone, but when she suddenly felt Bishop's tongue between her folds, then almost instantly his lips sucking on her there, she couldn't help but let out a muffled yelp of surprise at the sudden shock that went through her body. She wasn't sure why she wouldn't expect this – she knew he was going to reciprocate the treatment – but she got so absorbed in his tense motions and his low groans that she completely forgot about everything else. Now it was hard to concentrate on anything but the feelings coiling in her core as he worked her body, digging his fingers firmly into the flesh of her thighs and sucking and kissing her there more and more intensely.

Bishop was much more on edge though. She continued to urge his thrusts and soon, he started to ignore the pace she was setting – in favor of a much faster and wilder one. She dipped her head a bit more, trying to accommodate him. It was always a bit more challenging when he took charge, but she certainly didn't mind. The overwhelming feelings made her even more excited when she could barely perceive what was happening anymore, barely able to distinguish one powerful sensation from another. She did note when he buried himself deep in her mouth and finally stopped moving, throbbing between her lips intently. She wasn't very sure if she would be able to swallow properly in this position though with her head like this. She instantly got nervous about that and that wasn't a good sign for staying calm through it. She opted to push on his thighs instead and, while it was a little distracting that he was still sliding his tongue between her folds through it, he did get the message and quickly pulled out of her mouth himself.

Bishop let out a muffled groan as he came over the edge, just as he was withdrawing from her. His face got buried between her legs and his fingers dug even deeper into her thighs as Aeyrin closed her eyes, letting him spend himself over her skin. There wasn't really much other choice anyway as last minute as this was. Her body kept twitching, jerking as he kept huffing into her damp flesh, nipping at her every now and then. She was getting close too.

She only let herself take a breath or two before she took his slowly softening cock into her mouth again, this time a bit less frantically. But she did continue to run her tongue around him and hollowing her cheeks occasionally to entice him again.

He was fully concentrated on getting her over the edge too now. He kept focusing on her clit, running his tongue around it in circles while one of his hands readjusted his grip so that he could drive two fingers deep inside her wet entrance so suddenly that her whole body jerked and she groaned against his cock. He couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle at her reaction, which only seemed to make her even more tense.

Soon enough, her thighs were starting to press against his head. He could always tell when she was close as she was getting more and more squirmy. Her hips kept shuffling under him, pressing herself against his tongue and fingers. He continued the treatment mercilessly for some time, getting her more and more tense, until finally, a long moan reverberated against his cock, which was already getting hard again under her ministrations. Her depths started to pulsate against his fingers and her thighs squeezed his head almost too much. But he loved nothing more than when he could feel her release so vividly.

It took a while for her body to calm, but Bishop continued to lick her lazily, much like she did with him. They were far from done, not just for the day, but at this very moment, it seemed like they would need another release all too soon.

They continued to tease each other for a while longer before Bishop finally managed to pull himself off her on somewhat shaky arms. He was starting to get too stiff in the same position anyway. In more ways than one…

He sat back down onto the ground with a satisfied sigh leaving her lips. He looked at Aeyrin promptly as she lay on the ground, still panting a bit with her face all red and messy from their previous exploits. He couldn't help but chuckle affectionately at the sight. Something he would never get tired of, for the rest of his life. Which was going to actually be a reality now, if nothing tragic happened. But he didn't really want to think about that.

Aeyrin didn't seem to be in any rush to clean herself off in the lake or something. She did manage to collect herself off the ground and sit as well. She only allowed herself a moment to breathe out before she crawled over to him eagerly. She turned herself away when she reached him, her back to his chest, and she pressed herself closer with her legs on each side of him. As she hovered like that above his hard cock, he quickly caught on – there was no more energy in either of them for more teasing. They were both more than ready to indulge themselves again.

He grabbed his cock again and positioned it towards her entrance. The second she felt it, she lowered herself on him, impaling herself down on him in one smooth motion. A soft whimper escaped her lips, accompanying his groan, as she pressed her back against his chest firmly.

Bishop bit into her shoulder when she started to move up and down on him and one of his hands promptly palmed her breast again. The other one didn't give her a moment of respite. He snuck it down between her legs and began to tease her clit once more while she moved on him eagerly.

Laziness and idle teasing turned into passion threatening to burst all too quickly. Soon enough, Aeyrin's motions got harder, faster, as the soft skin of her back rubbed against his hairy chest, creating even more heat between them than there already had been. They couldn't keep this pace up for too long.

Bishop leaned back a bit, taking her with him, so that he could see better as she moved against him while his cock kept sliding in and out of her and his hand kept rubbing her between her folds. Her whole body was flushed and her moans echoed in his ears so pleasantly. He could lose himself in this forever. And he kept thinking about how much and at the same time how little had changed from way back when they had done this here together for the first time. Well, not exactly this, not in this position, but that hardly mattered.

He still remembered her moans, how her eyes looked at him, how her body felt, enveloping him for the first time. None of that changed. All of it still filled him with that same overwhelming thrill.

What did change was that, back then, no matter how much he cared about her and liked her, he couldn't even begin to imagine something like this – actually loving someone, wanting to spend the rest of his life with her. None of that was even on his mind back then.

A lot has changed, but the good stayed the same. It was comforting. He was really glad they came here. It was the perfect place to overcome any bad ghosts that tended to follow them through Falkreath.

Aeyrin's body shuddered again and she let out another loud moan. Her walls squeezed him inside, pulsing and twitching around him. That only served to bring him over the edge as well. His head dipped down to her neck, sucking on his favorite spot there with eagerness as he spilled himself inside her. No feeling in the world compared to that.

They both stayed like that, spent, satisfied. Aeyrin leaned back against his chest tiredly and he had to make a lot of effort not to just fall over onto the ground.

Then again… why shouldn't he?

He lowered himself slowly, still with her pressed to him, until they were both lying down contently.

Nothing on Nirn could mar this day for them.

And there was a lot more of it left to enjoy.