I walked around Riverwood, looking around the little town. I saw a mill, a dog, a Wood Elf, and a Nord and Imperial. I was new to Riverwood, at the moment. I've just moved there a day ago, and I don't know much about the place, nor the jobs or people. I walked to my house, a simple wooden structure near the back of the town, next to the Wood Elf's home, if I recall correctly. I sat down on the stairs leading to my door. I looked up at the scarlet sky above me, seeing the birds fly freely. I let out a soft sigh, folding my hands together in boredom.

"Excuse me? Miss?" I looked down from the sky to the male in front of me. He was my neighbor. The Wood Elf.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I zoned out. What did you need?" I asked. He smiled.

"Oh, no worries. My name is Faendal. I think you're new around here?" I nodded my head, confirming.

"I'm Y/n. I just moved here a day ago. I...heh, I hate to admit it, but I don't know anything about this place." I felt myself blush in embarrassment. Faendal chuckled at this.

"Hey, no worries. Everyone was new here once, too. If you want, I could show you around tomorrow?" I smiled.

"Yeah, that'd be lovely! Thank you." I got up and waved a goodbye to Faendal. Faendal waved also, and we both headed to our houses for the night.

~

In the morning, I was woken up by someone knocking on my front door. I groaned and fell out of bed. I rubbed my eyes, stretched, and then went to my door. I opened it and saw Faendal.

"Oh- right! Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I forgot you were going to show me around. Give me one second to change, okay?" I said, face palming. Faendal chuckled and nodded. He waited for a good fifteen minutes, questioning if I just ditched him. I finally opened the door, seeing Faendal smile at my presence.

"Finally. How long does it take a girl to get ready? Goodness." I playfully punched his arm, chuckling. We walked from my house to the beginning of the town.

"So, we have the mill, which is where I work. I gather lumber and place them there, next to the blacksmith area. Which, by the way, you can buy armor, weapons, utilities, you name it." I nodded and followed him to the middle of town.

"And here, we have the trader, which is also where the sweetest girl lives. Camilla. Too bad that idiot, Sven, got her first." He sighed sadly. I patted his back and he smiled sweetly at me.

"What's over there?" I asked. "Oh! That's the inn, where Sven works as a bard. Trust me, he sucks, but the inn's service is great." I nodded and suddenly had a dog run up to me and tackle me down. He started to lick my face, barking happily. I laughed and tried getting the dog off of me. I wiped the slobber off my face and perked my head up when I heard a kid.

"Stump! Bad boy! You know you shouldn't attack strangers. Especially wasting your energy and strength on this weakling." I glared.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Frodnar. Stump's my dog, whom shouldn't even have attacked you." I suddenly burst out laughing, making Faendal lean down to my level.

"Frodnar, Stump wasn't attacking me. He was licking my face like a good dog." Frodnar stared at me, then crossed his arms and huffed.

"Whatever, stranger. Come on, Stump. Let's not waste another second with her." Stump got up from on top of me and walked off with his owner. Faendal stood up and held out his hand. I took it and shivered in disgust when I realized there was a lot more drool on me than I thought. Faendal smiled and made me look at him. He got out a handkerchief and wiped the drool off of me.

"Th-thank you...bleh....I don't ever want a dog if that happens all the time."

"Of course, Y/n. What? You are telling me that you don't like dogs now?" He asked. I nodded a little.

"Yeah, I suppose." Faendal froze. He didn't talk for a minute. I was starting to think I said something wrong when...

"Y/n, we can't be friends anymore." I gasped.

"W-what? Why? Did I do something wrong?!" I tried to say, but I kept stuttering in surprise.

"Yes, you did..." He sighed and stared at the ground sadly.  I don't know why, but hearing him say we couldn't be friends hurt me, even if we've known each other for two days. I felt myself tear up, then Faendal gasped softly.

"Please, don't cry, I was kidding. I was only saying that because you said you don't like dogs! I'm joking... please..we're friends... please..don't cry." He wrapped his arms around me, and I was suddenly stunned.

"You...were joking..." I whispered in shock. Faendal rubbed my back.

"I was...I'm sorry." I nodded and hugged him back, sighing deeply. He shuddered a little at my touch. We stayed like that for a while before pulling away. We went into the inn for some food and to cool off and relax.

"Hello, what can I do for you two today?" The inn keeper said.

"A room for two and an apple pie, please." The keeper nodded and showed us to our room. He gave us the pie and walked away.

"Uh- why did you get a room? We live right next to.."

"We can relax." I cut him off. He nodded and sat down on his bed. I sat on mine and then gradually laid back on the blankets and pillows.

"Goodnight, Faendal." I whispered tiredly. Faendal said good night back, blowing out the candle and we both fell asleep.

~

The peace and quiet didn't last long, as I woke up gasping. Tears were spilling out of my eyes, and I kept shaking. Faendal woke up due to me crying, and went over to me.

"Are you okay? What happened." He asked. I frowned and didn't reply. He realized I had a nightmare. He went over to my bed.

"It's okay... you're safe." He reassured. I just wrapped my arms around him. He hugged back rather quickly, sighing.

"You're safe..." he whispered. I closed my eyes and laid him down, falling asleep in his arms.

~

In the morning, I woke up to see Faendal hugging me.

"Faendal? Hey, wake up, you shank" I hit him. He woke up and hit me weakly.

"But I want to rest... and what's a shank?" I smacked him.

"Up. Now!" He sighed and sat up, bringing me close.

"Um...." I felt a blush rise to my cheeks.

"You told me to get up. I'm up." I slowly rested my head on his chest, a smile threatening to show. I accidentally let out a giggle, and Faendal smirked.

"What?" He asked with a smile.

"I guess I'm just happy." He pulled me closer, relaxing almost instantly.

"You're right. This is relaxing." I blushed and got in a more comfy position.

~

TIME SKIP ------ A YEAR LATER

I was sitting on Faendal's bed, bored out of my mind. Faendal was humming softly, making me also tired. I laid down and fell asleep, inhaling the scent of his home, which was a mix of pine and pumpkin spice. I felt the bed slump down and opened my eyes to see Faendal. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. Memories of the inn flooded my thoughts.

"Faendal?" I whispered in a soft tone. He hummed and cuddled closer. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"Stay with me." He cuddled closer, as close as he can, bringing me to his chest.

"Don't worry. I don't think you'll have that nightmare again... with me holding you..." he whispered in my ear tiredly. He gently nibbled on my ear, making me blush.

"F-Faendal....?"

"Hm?" He started to kiss my jaw.

"W-What are you doing?" I asked him while a shudder ran through me. He replied by pressing his lips to mine in a passionate kiss.

"Showing you that I'm here for you, I care about you, and will do anything to make you smile..." I smiled at the semi-cheesy reply and pressed my lips to his.

"Thank you."
~~
art is mine
1426 words :)