Chapter Text
Oliva was dead on her feet. She and Kaidan were covered in ash and soaked with sweat from looking for survivors in the wreckage of Helgen. Like the hundreds of times before that Olivia had gone through this stage, there were no survivors. Except for Hadvar and Ralof. The moment they were clear of the cave they seemed intent on taking each other prisoner.
“You Imperial dog! You betray your countrymen!” Ralof roared, drawing his sword just outside the entrance to the hidden cave beneath Helgen.
“Betrayal? You are traitors to the Empire!” Havdor also reached for his weapon.
“Knock it off both of you! You each have about five seconds to unfuck yourselves before I ensure you find your way back into that fucking cave in the exact condition we found you in.” Olivia snarled. The two men paused and stared at her for a moment.
“Oh aye? What’s a Lass like you going to do about it?” Ralof laughed until Kaidan punched him in the nose. Blood spurt forth, dripping from his face onto the white snow. Hadvar started to chuckle but ceased at a look from Olivia.
“Now, we’re all headed to Riverwood yes?” She crossed her arms over her chest. No one spoke, now afraid to answer. “I said we’re all headed to Riverwood, yes?”
“It’s bad manners to not answer the Lady, and I’ll not be havin’ anyone disrespectin’ her on my watch.” Kaidan cracked his knuckles for effect, and it seemed to work as intended. Both men rushed to answer.
“Yes, my sister Gerdur-” Ralof’s voice was nasally and rough.
“My uncle Alvor, he’s the-” Hadvar cut Ralof off in an effort to not have his nose broken next.
“She owns the mill. I’m sure she’ll let us stay.” Ralof shot Hadvar a nasty look.
“Food, supplies, a place to rest.” Hadvar’s lip started to lift into a snarl.
“BOYS.” Olivia snapped. They both looked at her quickly shutting their mouths.
“Since we are all headed to Riverwood, and Riverwood is in Whiterun hold, which is neutral territory; no one will be attacking the other. Understood?” Olivia looked between the two men who suddenly found other things to look at. Olivia sighed deeply, “Understood?” She repeated as Kaidan clapped his hand on the shoulder of each man and squeezed hard.
“Yes-Yes.” Hadvar nodded quickly.
“Understood.” Ralof whimpered under Kaidan’s grip.
“Good. In that case, please lead the way.” Olivia gestured for the two men to walk in front while she and Kaidan followed behind. She glanced over to Kaidan whose brow was bent in irritation. “Thank you.” She said softly, and he snapped to her, his wrathful expression fading almost instantly.
“Think nothin’ of it Lass.” He smiled before looking ahead once again. Olivia’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before she made herself look away.
Once in Riverwood, Ralof went to his sister's house, and Hadvar went to his uncle’s after a few choice words with one another which again, Kaidan and Olivia broke up. They stumbled into the Sleeping Giant Inn after watching each of the two men go their separate ways. They garnered a few strange looks from Sven, Faendal, Orgnar, and Embry, the Riverwood regulars. Fair enough as far as Olivia was concerned. They looked and felt worse for wear. However, the moment Olivia had been dreading since it was clear that they were going to have to stop for the evening was upon them. Delphine was staring her down with a suspicious look on her face.
“You’re not from around here.” Delphine sniffed. Olivia fought the eyeroll and snarky comment that threatened to complicate the conversation.
“Oh? What gave us away?” She smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side. Delphine shot her an impatient look.
“What’s your story then?” Delphine crossed her arms over her chest.
“Oh, just passing through. We need a room for the night.” Olivia kept her polite smile welded in place. Delphine looked them both over, not buying it in the least, but thankfully obliged.
“Right. Should’ve guessed. Well, we’ve only got one room available. It’s downstairs next to the bath.” Delphine held out her hand for their payment. Olivia dropped ten gold coins into her hand, and for the first time, she saw Delphine smile. “I’ll show you to your room.” She said in a much lighter tone.
Once inside the room, Kaidan closed the door and waited for Delphine’s footsteps to recede up the stairs. Olivia went to one side of the double bed and flopped face forward, while Kaidan set down his gear, and then fell backward onto the bed from the other side.
“What. The. Fuck.” Kaidan punctuated every word as he stared at the ceiling.
“I tried to tell you,” Olivia spoke into the blanket.
“Y’know, the worst part, the part that really got to me today? Wasn’t even the horror and destruction of Helgen. It was fucking Ralof and Hadvar. Almost a hundred people had just died, and a creature from legend levels a fucking town, and those two dipshits immediately start goin’ after each other.” Kaidan exhaled deeply, “I still can’t fucking believe it.”
“Well, start getting flexible, because there’s a lot more stupidity where that came from” Olivia pushed herself up, and turned around to sit on the edge of the bed. Kaidan looked up from where he was lying to watch her.
“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Kaidan also sat up and began unstrapping his armor.
“Hmmm.” Olivia pulled let her hair down and began to separate it into sections, combing her fingers through to detangle the knots that had formed. Kaidan looked over his shoulder at her.
“How do you feel about a bath?” He smirked, pulling a bar of soap out of his pack. Olivia whipped around to face him.
“Is that soap?” She asked sounding a little breathless. Olivia could smell it, its floral and sweet scent wafting toward her.
“Aye, Lass, it is.” Kaidan showed it to her, she went to snatch it and he pulled it away just in time. “Ah-ah-ah. Y’think I’m just offerin’ this for free?” Olivia frowned at him.
“Kaidan, I didn’t realize you were so sly.” She went to grab for the soap again as Kaidan scooted back and held it just out of her reach.
“Hmmm well, you should know now that I’m not a good man, Olivia.” The way her name sounded on his lips made her stomach do a little flip. “Turns out, I’m a greedy bastard.”
“Is that so?” Olivia sat back, eyeing him suspiciously. She wasn’t sure what to expect from him, he kept acting outside of what she had learned to anticipate. Was it because she wasn’t like the Dragonborn in the game? Was it because she didn’t respond in curated lines? Was there some force trying to shoehorn the plot at her?
“Aye, it is. So, I’ll be askin’ for somethin’ in return.” Kaidan leaned toward her. Olivia started mentally going through what she was willing to trade for soap. It was a long list.
“Alright, out with it. What do you want?” She lifted her chin, giving him a discerning look. He grinned.
“Have a drink with me later.” Kaidan’s eyes dropped to her lips for a moment before he met her eyes. Olivia raised a brow.
“Just a drink?” She needed clarification. This version of Kaidan was slicker than she had initially thought.
“Aye.” He tried not to smirk, and Olivia internally cursed at how he could use that face to manipulate her.
“No tricks.” She narrowed her eyes at him as he tried not to laugh.
“On my honor.” He pressed a hand to his heart. Olivia sighed and held out her hand for the soap. Kaidan grinned and pressed it into her palm.
The bath was just around the corner, adjacent to their room. It wasn’t lost on Olivia that she and Kaidan would be sharing the room that night. She supposed it wasn’t any worse than camping, and he’d held her all night the evening before. She felt her face heat thinking about it. It had been a very long time since she’d slept next to anyone. She’d tried to clear her head as she entered the bath.
There were fresh towels, and the water was heated by a wood stove and held in an insulated tank to regulate the temperature. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief; she had feared Skyrim wouldn’t have heated water. There was a stool next to a water pump with a bucket on the far side of the room, she assumed that was where she would clean up before getting into the bath. While the tub filled, she went over to the water pump and began to scrub the ash and sweat from her skin.
Her skin was pink by the time she felt some semblance of cleanness. Kaidan had come through with the soap. A true hero. Olivia slipped into the tub, exhaling, letting the heat of the water soak into her bones. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her mind began to wander. Kaidan was doing an excellent job of distracting her from the real task, she needed to keep reminding herself not to lose focus. She needed to find a way home and stop wondering how soft his lips might have felt if she’d let him kiss her the night before.
Yet, there, alone in the bath, it was hard to not let her imagination chase after the feeling she’d had to fight the night prior. It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about it, he was a part of almost every play-through she’d done of Skyrim. The number of times she’d completed his romance arc had to be in the triple digits at that point. Faced with the real deal actively flirting with her, the tight feeling in her tummy she got when he was too close, and the heat of his body next to her, she was a goner already. Olivia pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes and breathed deeply, she needed to put it out of her mind. She couldn’t allow herself to get caught up in any of that. Her brain succeeded in a complete spiral of possibilities that all supported her non-involvement stance. Everything from accidental pregnancies to heartbreak and death went through her mind until she had well and truly talked herself out of it. She hoped.