Author's Note:

So, since the last main fic chapter (chapter LXXVI, 76, for those of you who are not there yet), I can actually post this little extra story I wrote for the SRMC Valentine's fic event. I didn't want to share this for everyone before I shared the main fic chapter to avoid even tiny spoilers, but still, this short story is not canon. It wouldn't make sense with the main fic timeline and some of the events (like Bishop's bounty in Whiterun Hold and the White Phial quests – none of these happen the way they portrayed or ignored in this short), but the sentiment is kind of applicable to the overall story anyway ;)

That's that, I hope you enjoy this little story and I'm excited to share more of the main fic soon as well.

Thank you for reading.

Missed Opportunities

Bishop slowly twisted the ring between his fingers, watching it glimmer in the early morning light.

He wasn't sure what prompted him to fish it out of its hiding place again in order to look at it. He had been doing that more and more often lately. Yesterday he did that again in the middle of the night when he went looking for his waterskin. And a few days ago too, just when he was rummaging through his shit in the middle of a Gods-damned dungeon.

It'd been on his mind constantly. He wanted to just ask already, but barrows filled with undead and filthy caves didn't feel like the best of places to do this. It should be something special, right? He would be able to tell, wouldn't he? He would be able to find a good opportunity soon.

Maybe he was just overthinking this.

He could just do that anytime, couldn't he? What was the big deal? The place didn't matter, the whole 'right moment' shit didn't matter.

He could just do it right now.

That thought filled him with a strange anticipation.

Could he? Should he?

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

He could just…

"Are you ready to go?" Aeyrin's voice suddenly interrupted his pondering.

He didn't even think about it – he clutched the ring inside his fist in an uncontrollable bout of panic, desperate to hide it. Why? He was just about to do it, wasn't he? This was just ridiculous!

"Yeah. Sure. Yeah," he nodded a little more frantically than he ordinarily would have, but fortunately, Aeyrin didn't seem to notice his poorly hidden nervousness just then.

Shit. Why did he just get so nervous anyway?

When Aeyrin turned on her heel to head out at last, he quickly stashed the ring back and slung his pack onto his shoulder.

One of these days, he would do it.

There had to be an opportunity eventually.

…

The whole city of Whiterun was covered in a light fresh layer of powdery snow, but it was still as bustling as ever. People were parading around the marketplace, perusing the countless cheap trinkets that the peddlers were yelling about, while a few children kept constantly running around, playing their own games.

Aeyrin and Bishop weren't there to stay long – they only briefly visited Lydia and Saadia and then purchased some supplies for the road. Now they were heading toward Jorrvaskr for a while to see if the Companions had any profitable contracts they could spare. Money was getting tight again after getting the necessities for the road.

They ascended the steps leading away from the marketplace briskly and turned toward the large longhouse. But before they made their way over there, Aeyrin changed direction and instead walked a few steps towards the growing sapling in the middle of the square there.

It had been well over a year since they brought it here.

The sapling didn't grow much in that time, but there was a noticeable difference. The thin branches were littered with tiny pink leaves, despite the season and the weather, and the whole thing now stood taller than Bishop. It could not compare to the majestic ancient tree that had been there before, but it was alive and thriving.

Aeyrin stepped closer to the tree and she gently brushed her hand over the leaves of one of the branches, letting the small cover of snow fall from it. A slight smile formed on her face as she watched the frail sapling weathering the elements.

That look on her face reminded Bishop instantly of that day back at that 'Sanctuary' place where they got this sapling in the first place. It was so long ago, they'd been through so much together since then – through the good and through the very bad – but somehow, right now, it felt like it was just yesterday that he watched her standing there below that grand tree with the small pink leaves falling around her.

It was so long ago – the first steps of their relationship. Looking at her right now, he couldn't believe that he hadn't fallen for her hopelessly right then and there in that Sanctuary.

Then again, maybe he had. Maybe he just wasn't willing to admit it to himself yet back then.

He stepped towards her as if he couldn't even help himself. Not that he would want to. He couldn't help himself back then at the Sanctuary either.

Her attention got promptly diverted from the sapling when he nudged her into his arms and enveloped her in his embrace. He leaned his head down right away and he could already feel her shift onto her tiptoes a bit and crane her neck before his lips captured hers in a languid but insistent kiss.

Even this simple and perhaps mundane act still felt just as exciting as it did a year ago.

When they finally parted, he couldn't help but get lost for a moment in that affectionate smile of hers.

She looked perfect just then. This whole moment was perfect.

In fact… should he?

It felt right. It felt like a good moment. And despite all those people scurrying around, it still felt like they were the only ones there, together.

He had to do it. He couldn't wait anymore.

"Princess, I… I have something to…"

"Love!" a loud exclamation suddenly interrupted him and Aeyrin and Bishop both tore their gazes from each other and towards the source – there was some priest nearby with his attention firmly fixed on them. That was kinda creepy.

"Aye, love!" he continued to exclaim. "As all of you people love each other, so does the great Talos love each one of you. Even as a man, great Talos cherished us. For he saw in us, in each of us, the future of Skyrim! The future of Tamriel!"

Bishop let out a loud groan of frustration as the man continued to spew his shit while everyone passing by tried their best to ignore him. As much as it felt that they were all alone in the world in that perfect moment, they weren't.

"Is he… preaching about Talos in public?" Aeyrin's eyes widened as she stared at the priest. "They don't even do that in Windhelm." She promptly disentangled herself from Bishop's embrace and turned towards the preacher fully. "I think I wanna ask him some questions."

Bishop only sighed in response. He had a question to ask too, but the moment got ruined anyway.

He would just have to wait for another opportunity.

…

The cold wind howled across the skies and tiny shards of ice assaulted Bishop's face every now and then.

It was always like this at the Throat of the World. Aeyrin's Shout helped, but only for a little while. Once they got up to the peak, it was pointless to have her exhaust herself every five minutes by trying to improve the weather conditions – it was enough that it helped them get up to the summit.

Bishop didn't really mind the cold or the weather. It was a bit chilly, enough to make him don his cloak over his armor, but it wasn't bad. The air was crisp and he always liked the cold. The ice stabbing his face a bit was a little annoying, but he'd been through worse.

He watched as Aeyrin struggled up on the rocky outcropping covered in deep snow. Quintus asked for the 'unmelting snow' – whatever shit that was. Bishop wasn't exactly listening to his legends about a patch of snow that could ignore the sun. But they kind of owed Quintus so they agreed to get him some from the top of the mountain. Besides, nobody else could get it for him. Unless he somehow managed to convince the Greybeards to do it.

Bishop had offered to collect the snow. He didn't mind climbing a bit higher out of the relative peace of the plateau at the summit, but Aeyrin was insistent on taking care of it instead – apparently she was less concerned about climbing even higher than about standing idly in the snow, waiting and freezing. This way she would at least warm up a bit with the activity.

He waited for a while longer, watching her fuss around with her pack to store her findings safely. He was holding her white fur cloak ready until she would come back down – it could have caught on some rock otherwise, it wasn't very safe for climbing, but he knew she would want it again when she could. Not that it would help much. She had been shivering since they left Ivarstead.

When she was finally done, she descended down towards him as quickly as possible. He could already see that her lips were a bit bluer but always moving with the constant shivers. He could have sworn that he could hear her teeth chatter as well.

He met her half way and instantly wrapped her cloak around her – even around the pack on her back. He knew that it wouldn't help much – she had her full armor on and even that didn't warm her up enough – so he enveloped her in his arms too, pressing her against him to transfer some of his warmth to her.

That always made things a little better.

He wasn't sure why he always loved the sight of her like this. She was so cute with her cheeks flushed from the frost and she always clung to him so tightly to warm herself up. Over a year in Skyrim and she still couldn't get used to the cold.

Then again, he liked that. He was always more than willing to warm her up properly.

After she spent a moment with her face buried in his chest, she looked up at him with a grateful smile.

"Thank you," she whispered almost silently as she tried to stop herself from shivering by sheer force of will.

He squeezed her closer, and when she pressed her cheek to his chest again, he planted a kiss into her hair and lingered with his face resting on top of her head.

It was nice. They could have just left already, but somehow, neither of them showed any indication of trying to move. It was definitely more pleasant to stay like this in each other's arms than to descend back to the monastery through those harsh winds again.

"Hmm, I could have you warm me up like this forever," Aeyrin murmured into his chest after a while.

"I know even better ways to warm you up," Bishop chuckled, but his thoughts still lingered on her words.

'Forever'. He was definitely planning on it. He couldn't even imagine the rest of his life any other way than with her.

He remembered the lingering question again and, as always, the urge to ask right then and there was overwhelming. It was probably not the right time. She was freezing and she was never really excited to be on this mountain – even though she liked the resident, the grueling journey always put her in a bit of a sour mood.

But he wanted to ask. He had wanted to ask for so long already.

He should just do it now.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words left him. He still wasn't entirely sure if the moment was right, but he wanted to ask so badly.

With another deep breath he readied himself, but before he could speak the words, a loud rumble interrupted him.

It sounded like a storm, or a small avalanche from the highest peaks, he wasn't really sure. Only after a few seconds the source revealed itself.

"Dovahkiin, Joor," a familiar gray dragon glided across the skies as he appeared from behind the mountain, his voice booming all around them. "Drem Yol Lok."

Paarthurnax circled around them for a while until he finally descended, settling himself on the plateau next to them. "What news do you bring to my Strunmah? My mountain."

Aeyrin disentangled herself from Bishop's embrace again in order to answer the dragon.

Well, that was that. Again. Bishop was definitely not going to ask in front of Paarthurnax. That dragon would just have thousands of philosophical questions about that without a doubt.

He would just have to be patient.

…

The morning rays of sun stung into Bishop's eyes, forcing him to wake up a bit earlier than he had originally planned.

He never liked to wake up too early on days like this. Days with no pressing plans, no constant looming danger around and really no reason to stay out of their bedroll.

The clearing they had chosen for their camp was calm and serene with nothing but a few birds chirping in the distance. For once, they could just relax and enjoy the lazy morning together.

Aeyrin was still asleep, nestled in his embrace comfortably, curled into a ball and pressed into his side. He didn't have the heart to wake her up yet, even if he wanted to. It felt like she finally got a good night's sleep without any nightmares or ambushes interrupting her rest. And it was a nice enough day to actually camp out in the open – that always lifted their spirits. There was nothing quite like the Skyrim wilderness. When it wasn't attacking them.

He turned onto his side to face her, watching the calm expression on her face for a while. He brushed some hair away from her eyes gently and tucked it behind the pointed tip of her ear. He loved moments like these. He didn't have to think about anything else but her.

She let out a soft murmur at his touch and nudged herself a bit closer into his arms. He could tell that she was already starting to wake up. She wriggled for a little while until her eyes finally fluttered open, trying to adjust to the direct sunrays. He wasn't sure if it was the light that woke her up or if it was the movement he had made, but he didn't particularly care. They had a bit more time to enjoy each other's company now.

"Morning, love," he spoke quietly, not to rile her up too much from her half-slumber, and he leaned in to plant a brief kiss on her lips. She responded to the kiss instantly, even though she was barely awake – it seemed more like an instinct now.

She pressed her head into the crook of his shoulder more firmly and snuggled herself closer as if to warm up. It was winter, but southern Rift always felt a bit warmer than anywhere else, no matter the time of year, so at least they could still allow themselves to camp outside without freezing.

"Too early, Bish," she mumbled, muffled by his skin.

Heh, it was too early, probably. Still, he had no intention of letting her sleep now. She could do that later. He wrapped his arms around her promptly and squeezed her to his body a bit more than she could have anticipated. Her muffled yelp got instantly accompanied by a quiet groan when he began kissing her up along her exposed shoulder, across her jaw and towards her ear.

She tried to ignore his antics for a while, but she was failing miserably, always squirming and alternating between trying to lean into his kisses or to lean away. In the end, she finally pushed him from herself with a firm nudge, but her expression was merry as she giggled at him.

"You are relentless," she chuckled, though she didn't seem to mind one bit as she leaned in to kiss him again, properly now that she was fully awake.

Damn, she was perfect. Waking up with her like this was always perfect.

He couldn't wait to do that for the rest of his life.

In fact, why was he always waiting for some good moment to ask her to marry him? Every moment with her was perfect. He could ask anytime and it wouldn't be any less special.

He could ask right now.

He wanted to. He really did. It would be quite a shock right now when she was barely awake, but it would probably be a shock anytime regardless. Who would ever think that he of all people would be having these strange thoughts for so long? Shit like this always seemed meant for other people. Never him.

But it was different with her.

Everything in his life was different with her.

And he never wanted anything to go back to the way it was without her.

"Sweetness," he reached out to cup her cheek, stroking over it gently. He was gonna do it. He was finally gonna do it.

He didn't.

It was like some Daedra was messing with him or something. Just as he was about to say it, a loud howl interrupted them.

But he couldn't really concern himself with the marred proposal for long. That howl was all too familiar and very concerning. Karnwyr only ever howled if something was very wrong. He must have been wounded.

Aeyrin came to the same conclusion instantly and it didn't take long before they both practically jumped out of their bedroll and threw the bare minimum of clothing on.

Everything else had to wait. Karnwyr needed help.

There would be other opportunities for anything else some other time.

…

The sights and sounds of the city were overwhelming that day.

Solitude was always prone to getting swept up in every stupid thing. Parades, celebrations, public performances or… well public executions. The people of Solitude loved their spectacles.

It was no wonder to see the city in this state, today of all days.

Sixteenth of Sun's Dawn. Heart's Day.

The whole city was opulently decorated. There were ropes littered with small heart-shaped flags hanging in between the houses above everyone's heads, there were banners dangling from every window, some depicting the young couple that this pointless holiday was celebrated for – Bishop absolutely did not remember their names or anything about them. There were flowers decorating every windowsill like they were in the middle of a damned meadow and there were also traveling peddlers from all over, joining the usual Solitude merchant crowd in forcing their wares onto everyone passing by.

Bishop really hated these kinds of public celebrations and if he had realized what day it would be when they arrived in Solitude, he would have definitely tried to stall their journey.

Then again… Aeyrin did seem to be enjoying herself.

She got all giddy, running from one stall to another, sampling some free spiced wine or some treats that the merchants were offering. She even kept admiring the decorations or the flowers everywhere.

She got so excited about shit like that. He may not have understood it at all, but he did love seeing her like that. Why he enjoyed seeing her so enthusiastic about shit that only annoyed him, he may never know. But he was way past being concerned about that. He could just easily forget everything around and concentrate only on the constant smile on her face.

She stuffed a little cream-boiled treat into her mouth and, before she could even finish chewing, she was already making her way towards another stall. Bishop let out a chuckle at her behavior as he decided to approach and enjoy this stupid holiday with her for a change. It was just free food and drinks, at least until the merchants would cut them off from the 'free samples' – there was nothing wrong with that.

And it was always fun doing anything with her. Even the stuff he usually hated, somehow she made it tolerable. Even enjoyable.

He passed a few stands in order to get to her, but then one of them caught his attention instead. A young Nord was selling jewelry there – and of course on this day, it was littered with all manner of expensive-looking rings.

Bishop's mind went instantly to the one he was still keeping hidden. For so damn long.

And why? He should just do it now.

She looked so happy, so giddy. It would be nice to lift her spirits even more.

If it did lift her spirits, though he refused to think about that now – he had agonized over that particular issue too much already before he had even gotten the ring.

Was it too cheesy though? Today of all days? Everything was so over the top and it felt like it would be too… obvious to do it now.

Dammit, why was he still overthinking this so much?

He should just get out of his own damn head and do it.

Now.

He stepped towards her on purposeful feet and when she heard him approach, she promptly turned around with a wide grin on her face. She was holding a cup of mead and she offered it to him without hesitation.

"Remember? We drank this in Ivarstead that night we had that… archery contest," she giggled. She had lost that contest of course, but with the memorable evening they had, there were certainly no hard feelings about that.

With an affectionate smile, he nodded, but he put the mead back onto the counter of one of the stands instead. He needed to ask first.

He briskly looked around, but it looked like everyone was preoccupied with their celebrations – nobody was paying any attention to them. Good. He didn't need an audience. Maybe he should have waited until they were truly alone though…

No! No more postponing!

"Princess, I wanted to… I have something…" he was uncharacteristically stammery and he didn't like it, but he had to get through this.

Aeyrin's eyes lit up at his words even more than they had been until now. And before he could force another word out, she began spinning her own theory.

"You do?!" she gasped. Bishop got worried that she figured it all out instantly, though her next words really came as a shock. "Did you get me a sweetroll?"

"What?" Bishop stared at her slack-jawed. He did not expect her to ask that of all things.

"Well that lady over there," she pointed to one of the merchants, "she said that it's a Skyrim tradition to get the people you love a sweetroll on Heart's Day. I realize that she's selling sweetrolls and that it was probably a lie, but I still think that we should make it a tradition anyway."

Bishop continued staring at her, completely caught off guard. He didn't know what to think for a minute, but soon enough, her words sunk in and he dismissed the important question he was about to ask.

He burst out into genuine laughter at the ridiculousness of it all. He was just going to ask her to marry him and she wanted a sweetroll instead.

"Hey! Don't stall!" Aeyrin chuckled at him in return as she tried to conjure up a fake pout on her face. "Do I get a sweetroll or not?"

"As many as you want, love," he snorted and draped his arm around her shoulders, ushering her towards the sweetroll stand.

He was done worrying about perfect moments or obsessing about when and how he would do this. He was done constantly pondering if the time was right.

One day he would ask.

Right now, he had a whole lifetime of opportunities ahead of him.