“Little one, I do not think that this is such a good idea…” your dragon called down to you, flying high within the few clouds above.
“It’s fine, (D/N),” you replied with a mischievous smile, continuing to crawl through the green calf to knee-high grass toward your target of interest.
It was a pleasant day thus far, not a raincloud in sight. The dragons were flying around enjoying the freshness and ease of a day off from studying and training.
There have been a small number of Dragon Riders since Eragon, Saphira, and a handful of elves had landed outside due east of Alagaësia. You were a little nervous when one of the eggs had hatched for you, your future still uncertain, but it definitely made you excited as well.
Everyday held something new; new words and phrases in the Ancient Language to learn, friends, weapons to wield, and so much more that at times it did overwhelm you. Today, however was different; Eragon thought it best and suggested for a day to not have any major training sessions, though some did study-up for the sake of remembering.
The grass was soft to the touch, and the soil was not as wet as it had been two days prior from the rain. For that reason, Murtagh was comfortably lying on his back in the open field as Thorn flew lazily through the sky above. The cool gentle breeze flittered against his tan skin and ruffled up his dark hair; he breathed it in and sighed as the warmth of the midday sun warmed his skin, though not nearly as much as a certain someone warmed his heart and soul.
After a few years of ridding both himself and Thorn of their anger, Murtagh was not so sure about visiting his brother, much less end up living with him and the other dragons and their Riders, but he was slowly convinced otherwise. Yes, you had unwittingly stolen his heart some time ago when you were allowed to venture up north beyond the Riders’ new settlement, as per established by your teacher and friend, Eragon.
Being stealthy had not always come easy to you, but over time with experience, you had taken to it in stride. You never actually got the chance to put that skill to use, but seeing an opportunity, one specifically lying unknowingly in the grassy field just ahead, was just too hard to resist.
Staying low to the ground, the shirt over your stomach sliding against the bent grass as you crawled ahead. At last, your moment had come, your prey lying just a few feet beyond the next layers of greenery. Tucking your legs snug up against your stomach, you tensed your muscles for your attack. Within a second, you pounced forward, roaring out your prey’s name as your hands landed firmly on either side of his head.
“(Y/N)?!” Murtagh jumped in-place, shrinking into himself as if he could merge into the earth beneath him. He looked up at you perturbed, being that you both appeared upside down in view of each other, all the while you were giggling wholeheartedly. “What was that for? I could’ve hurt you!”
“Oh, have some fun, will you?” you continued to laugh, letting strands of your hair dangle down to his face, “and besides…I already figured that as a possible outcome, except I was willing to take that risk.”
“Well, you should be more careful,” he furrowed his brows a little by your sudden recklessness, “and I do have fun…I was having fun until…you attacked me.”
“Murtagh, listen,” you smirked, “if I were to attack you, I would have done it properly and pinned you down without a way out.”
Though his serious face remained, his gray eyes began to sparkle, “You mean…like this?”
A glow of ruby red distracted you just long enough for his magic to pick you up and flip you over onto him.
“Oof…maybe I should be more aware of what I say out-loud,” you wondered, adjusting to fold your arms over his chest to rest your chin upon them.
“Yes,” he gave a bright smile, making him look all the more handsome, “I think that would be most wise of you.”
“You mock me, Murtagh?” you teased, looking offended.
“No, (Y/N),” his voice lower than a whisper, delicately draping his strong arms around your back, “that would be rude of me to do such a thing to a kindhearted, witty, and brilliant person such as yourself.”
You faintly shook your head, remembering how closed off he was with his feelings when you two had first met. Then again, he and Thorn were also more surprised than anything to see a dragon and Rider wandering about, specifically ones that wanted to be befriend them.
“You, sir, are ridiculous,” you smiled, smothering another round of giggles as you lent up to peck the tip of his nose with your lips.
“Heh, and you, my dear (Y/N),” he smiled kindly, his thumbs lightly rubbing your back, “missed your mark.”
Murtagh’s lips enveloped yours sweetly with a known passionate fire being kept at bay. You could not resist but to smile as he did this, you kissing back of course. After a minute, the two of you equally parted and always took a moment to gaze into one another’s eyes, witnessing a multitude of emotions and words spoken and others still unsaid.
“Care to stay with me for a while?” Murtagh asked, his arms cradling you a little tighter.
You smiled, giving him another kiss, “I’d love to.”
The both of you remained lying amongst the grass, listening to the other’s smooth breathing and the sounds of the dragons playing around in the sky. You nestled your head beside Murtagh’s neck, nudging your nose playfully against him every so often. Humming radiated from his chest as you combed your fingers through his hair, twirling a few strands when you just could not refrain from doing so.
Murtagh was unable to hide the smile that crossed his lips whenever he spent time with you now. He did not feel the constant sense of danger as he often did when Galbatorix reigned over Alagaësia. You gave him something that had been unreachable to him since birth: comfort and reassurance. He held you at the most highest regard, your importance slipping past his own brother some short time ago, not that he cared any less for Eragon.
After a collective of minutes, Murtagh huffed following a recent comment from Thorn, catching your immediate attention.
“What’s the matter?” you murmured, your brisk breath sending a few chills to prickle up on Murtagh’s skin.
“Thorn,” he shook his head, “he said that I’ve become soft as the underbelly of a cow.”
“Nice metaphor,” you giggled, “I’ll give him that. And besides…you are very sweet…like a fresh berry.” With that, you felt a nudge against your consciousness. The light and sense of it being ever more familiar.
“Thank you, (Y/N)-Murtagh’s-heart-thief,” he chuckled amusingly, causing for your laughter as well.
“That’s a statement if I’ve ever heard one,” Murtagh mumbled until you spontaneously nipped at his neck, making him jerk his head away from yours.
Sitting up, you smacked his firm chest. “Be nice to Thorn,” you scolded, leaning in close to face him with a smug look, “especially when you know he’s right.”
Murtagh reclined his head back with a small bark of laughter, “I know. And it’s not the first time that he’s phrased it like that.” He brought his head back over to view you better, a grand smile gracing his lips. “You know,” he paused, entranced by the ever loving look in your eyes, “even if a hundred fortunetellers had told me that I would find peace and happiness…I would have never believed them.”
“I know,” you replied solemnly, keeping in mind the past traumas that he had recounted to you. Forcing yourself to think beyond those thoughts, you rose a mischievous eyebrow up at him, “Ever wonder why I keep you on your toes?”
“Because you love to drive me mad?” he chuckled, hearing an echo of Thorn’s as well in the background of your mind; your own dragon perhaps laughing a little too much in knowledge of this.
You tilted your head to the side momentarily, “That too, but it’s also because I love you, silly,” you admitted, your fingers curling around the loose fabric of his tunic.
Murtagh’s eyes brimmed with tears against his will, and his breath caught like he had gotten the wind knocked out of him by a sparring dragon’s tail. It was not as if you had not said this to him before, like when you would hug him or give him a chaste kiss before running off to go for a training lesson; no, this time you meant it with such an earnest look in your eyes and no hint of rebuttal in your tone of voice. He was very swift to state his love for Thorn, but with you, he was hesitant. It was not that he did not care, quite the contrary, he adored you so much that he feared the loss of you from his past deeds. But, with every coming day, Murtagh was shown such affection from you that he squandered all aspects of his past negativity.
“(Y/N), if not for you, I might have built a castle far from here,” Murtagh shook his head in thought, his gray eyes never leaving your own, “it likely would have taken us an entire century before ever visiting this place; …a land of dragons and Riders once more. You believed in us when we still had remnants of our anger, but you were too stubborn to leave without us.” He paused again, his breath visibly a little shaky to you, “(Y/N)…for once, and now every single day, you make me feel like the happiest man who ever lived. I could only hope that I can return the favor in such a magnitude that you devote. For that and so much more, I love you, (Y/N).”
“Are you trying to make me cry?” you gawk at him, not giving him the chance to respond since you ultimately crushed his lips with yours, the unexpected reaction making him wide-eyed before coming to his senses.
It was a much more of a sentimental kiss that the two of you shared. Though with a couple of months behind you in a relationship, Murtagh was only a little less hesitant with you; such a courtly gentleman. He had one of his arms laced around your back as per usual, while with the other he tucked his hand up in your hair to cradle your head as his thumb massaged the base of your skull.
You were not quite sure how this would have ended on its own, not that you were paying any attention to the world around you. Your fingers danced around in his locks of hair and traced the contours of his face. However intimate it was, neither of you could have expected what you heard next.
“Murtagh!” Eragon called from nearby, just out of sight from your low position in the grass, his voice friendly and curious as ever.
The two of you froze, eyes as wide as a full moon, until you did the one thing that made Murtagh shake his head; you started to quake with laughter, your lips slipping away from his. He shushed you lightly, pecking your lips in an attempt to keep you quiet and remain unheard from his brother, but it only made you giggle all the more when you heard Eragon call out again.
Murtagh could only sigh, but smiled all the same
“Heheh, busted…” you giggled continuously.
