𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬

[ Paarthurnax x Reader ]

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　Cold　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

ᵇᵘᶜᵏˡᵉ ᵘᵖ ʷᵉ'ʳᵉ ˢᵐᵒᵒᶜʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ᵈʳᵃᵍᵒⁿ

You have walked this path a thousand times. The blizzard wasn't something new to you and neither were the cold or the thousands of steps you had to hike in order to reach the Throat of the World.

But this time it was different. The Blades had spoken, and they wanted him dead. It left a great pit on your stomach, a sour taste in your tongue; even when you reached High Hrothgar your couldn't even look at Arngeir in the eye when he looked at you with a warmth that suddenly disappeared. It was not uncommon for you to arrive with blood in your hands but this time it felt foreboding. He felt the darkness inside you, too. He debated wether he should stop you, keep you from walking to see their leader, but could he, really? When you were supposed to stop the end of the world.

And so you walked up, your shouts a stern whisper that dissipated the snow from your way.

The old Dovah saw you coming from above, landing to greet you as a thousand times he had done. If his lips could muster a smile he would be sporting the biggest grin in the universe; you constantly came to appease his loneliness, you two talked for hours to no end and the only thing that kept you away was your quest, and the fact that your human body couldn't resist the cold as well as he did.

He saw the dark, menacing look in your eyes and his semblance of giddiness faded. He knew this day was coming.

"Ah. Drem Yol Lok... Dovahkiin. Welcome back" His booming voice made the mountains tremble, making some of the peaceful snow fall towards you. You kept your head down, weapon still in your hand.

"The blades. They want me to kill you. They say you deserve to die" directly to the point. This was the first time in this day when your eyes met his, and he swore he saw tears behind that serious, pouty look. "They told me you committed atrocities in the Dragon War. That you could not be trusted, that you'd kill me at any moment"

"The Blades are wise not to trust me. Onikaan ni ov. I would not trust another dovah." He gazed into your eyes, and you braved the severity of the look he was giving you. Was he going to attack first?... He spoke again, easing some of your nerves "It would be wise of you to... Strike me"

You sighed, your hands clutching the handle of your weapon until your knuckles were paper white. You felt numb, cold and rather disturbed, your gave shifted from side to side, unblinking and unable to focus in anything, anything that wasn't him.

"I will not" Your gaze shifted to your bloodied hands. One drop fell on the snow and it for there, crimson blemish on the purity of this place. "I already did, to someone else. Not to you. Never you. I could never forgive myself if I did that to you"

His head tilted to the side, taking in what you just said.

"You spilled faal sus do aan zah... The blood of a mortal. Just to not spill mine?" He asked, eyes fixated on you the whole time. You nodded. "Why?"

"You uhm" you paused, looking down once again. The predicament that Delphine and Esbern had put you in had made you realize a lot of things about yourself, about the importance of the dragon you were talking to. "I... Listen. Maybe your uhm.- dragon nature makes in impossible to be reciprocate but I... I deeply care about you, Paarthurnax." you met his eyes and put a gloved hand on his snout. "You're way more important to me than they will ever be. I couldn't let them threaten your life"

He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes and relaxing under your touch. You smiled and pecked the place where your hand was before, sighing before walking back. Your heart was still heavy, but at least you shed away a great weight off your shoulders. You nodded towards him, smiling politely before making your way towards the path you firstly came from. Before you could, however, the tail of the old Dovah blocked your path in a calm manner.

"You have no idea how wrong you are, Dovahkiin. I deeply care about you, too. My Dovah sus... Dragon blood will not keep me from doing it" He took off towards the sky and landed closer to the top, still looking at you "Now, come rest with me. Let's gaze at the stars"

You walked towards him and sat close, laying your head on him, sighing when his wing came to ward you from the cold winds.