A Romantic Gesture - A Valentines Sidestory (KittyEmpress)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
A Romantic Gesture - A Valentines Omake
Abjorn Bearbreaker awoke before dawn, as he was wont to do most days, facing towards his lovely wife. The Bearbreaker was perhaps not the most expressive man, his words few - but it drew a smile on his face each morn. Only half of the gaggle of children he called his own had crawled over him and his wife as the cold dew air came through the open air, and so with great patience he'd managed to maneuver each of the oversized (and yet still small to the massive man) cubs onto his wife's side, and slid out of bed. A small idle thought had turned into something the bear felt he should do.
There wasn't any specific reason for it, but as Abjorn stepped through the house he kept... quiet. There were so many who had joined his family since he had met his wife, and he felt no need to awaken them for his idle thoughts. Instead he worked in the quiet, as he brought together all of what he would need for his small desires. Soon enough, a flame was lit below the great pot, one that could provide for so many. But Abjorn had no such goals on this morn - there was just one in mind as he set himself to the work, the flame providing the only light under the cloudy 'night' sky.
The next to enter the room was not one of the brave men Abjorn would fight beside, nor one of the children he would heft into the air as if they weighed nothing. It was the fragile Slav his wife had shown kindness to - Lata's eyes were still blurry as she wiped at them - and shivered visibly, "Are we beginning breakfast already Ve-" It took hafway through the sentence for the girl to realize who stood in front of the cook's fire in these early hours. The massive, bear of a man of the house, whom she had heard stories of ripping a bear in half with just a flex of his muscles. All color drained from Lata's face.
To other men, it might be shameful - to cook was a woman's job, at least when women were available. And yet she had walked in on the man in the midst of preparing a meal. Some Norsemen might have lashed out, might have sought to silence her - she knew enough of Norsemen to fear that. "I-I promise I-I-I-I iddind'tseeanything." She tried to keep her voice under control as she stuttered and searched for a way to right her wrongs.
But Abjorn looked unphased as he stared at the woman for a long moment, his only words saying, "Join me." His eyes were not trained on her fear, on her panic, and he showed none of his own even as he did the unmanly task. Instead, he saw a cold girl whilst he had a source of fire right in front of me, "You can assist." There was no fear to Abjorn Bearbreaker, he was a man who could face down flaming bear-owls and think to tackle it for a suplex. But there was also no bravado - he was a man who knew when he was outmatched.
And cooking was not his domain, as the woman could see quite clearly as she looked at the... large chunk of meat he had 'prepared' and fired, "Oh. I..." She still looked scared, but something in her woke up as she saw the drying, unflavored meat sitting with... nothing else to join it, "Mutton for breakfast...?" The words escaped her lips as she thought it, and she eeped and covered her mouth, sending herself into a small panick again, "I-I mean there's nothing wrongwith Mutton I love Mutton! It's uhm, it's great."
"It is Halla's favorite." Was the only explanation Abjorn felt like he needed to give, as he reached into and flipped the meat by hand. The scalding heat of fire did nothing to dissuade him, as he'd failed to find the suite of cooking utensils the women most often used to prepare meals. There was simply too much to look through, and he was not rude enough to awaken others with banging through searching the household.
"A-ah you're gonna! Burn yourself...?" Lata looked embarassed as Abjorn's arm retracted without even signs of discomfort on it, "Or... not. But, ah, let me uh, we can uhm, use these instead." The girl scurried in a manner consistent with an ermine through to gather the tools she'd worked with nearly every day since joining Abjornsby. The layout of the cooking tools was something Lata could find even if she was entirely blindfolded, most likely! "U-uhm, what... veggies does she like? We should uh... make sure she has something besides just... Mutton."
A hard question, for once. Abjorn should know this. It was a simple question. And yet whenever he pictured Halla's beautiful, messy face as she ate... she had such a smile for the Mutton, and such a passive expression for everything else. The man could remember dozens of meals with his wife, even from before they were wed... and yet had she ever exclaimed joy for something other than Mutton? "...She likes Mutton." Halla was far from a picky eater, but could Abjorn imagine her being excited for a vegetable? He could not.
"...Right..." Lata let the silence sit for just a moment, before she started to move, "Well, we can focus on the Mutton then. But some potatoes will accompany it well, and we can use the mutton's juices as a sauce to flavor it to her liking. And maybe some carrots too, their taste isn't... too powerful." Picky eaters were not abnormal, in a household of children. Or even amongst some of the grown men...
"I trust you." Abjorn's words were soft but firm, and the bits of anxiety were washing away from Lata as she joined the man in tending the food. He had eyes only for the food, and did not even glance towards her - but each time she tried to act, he instead took the lead, following direction instead. For Abjorn had intended to make this meal, and make it he would - even if he needed a little assistance.
-----
With the meal placed onto the plate - Lata assisting with making the array appealing to the eyes and not just the stomach - Abjorn gave a nod to the woman. "Thank you." His simple rumbling words came. He looked quite pleased with what he held in his hands.
"It's... it's nothing. I'm glad I could... help. I uhm. I promise I wont... I wont tell anyone." The girl had lost most of her nervousness, but something still made her scared - Abjorn was huge, towering over her in both size and power. And though she had seen him be gentle, the fear was still real.
"I am not ashamed." The bear shook his head as he turned back, "I love Halla, more than I'd ever fear the words of cowards."
----
The Bear had not even reached the room when he heard a familiar voice saying, "Do I smell mutton?"
And the dawn felt right.
Abjorn Bearbreaker awoke before dawn, as he was wont to do most days, facing towards his lovely wife. The Bearbreaker was perhaps not the most expressive man, his words few - but it drew a smile on his face each morn. Only half of the gaggle of children he called his own had crawled over him and his wife as the cold dew air came through the open air, and so with great patience he'd managed to maneuver each of the oversized (and yet still small to the massive man) cubs onto his wife's side, and slid out of bed. A small idle thought had turned into something the bear felt he should do.
There wasn't any specific reason for it, but as Abjorn stepped through the house he kept... quiet. There were so many who had joined his family since he had met his wife, and he felt no need to awaken them for his idle thoughts. Instead he worked in the quiet, as he brought together all of what he would need for his small desires. Soon enough, a flame was lit below the great pot, one that could provide for so many. But Abjorn had no such goals on this morn - there was just one in mind as he set himself to the work, the flame providing the only light under the cloudy 'night' sky.
The next to enter the room was not one of the brave men Abjorn would fight beside, nor one of the children he would heft into the air as if they weighed nothing. It was the fragile Slav his wife had shown kindness to - Lata's eyes were still blurry as she wiped at them - and shivered visibly, "Are we beginning breakfast already Ve-" It took hafway through the sentence for the girl to realize who stood in front of the cook's fire in these early hours. The massive, bear of a man of the house, whom she had heard stories of ripping a bear in half with just a flex of his muscles. All color drained from Lata's face.
To other men, it might be shameful - to cook was a woman's job, at least when women were available. And yet she had walked in on the man in the midst of preparing a meal. Some Norsemen might have lashed out, might have sought to silence her - she knew enough of Norsemen to fear that. "I-I promise I-I-I-I iddind'tseeanything." She tried to keep her voice under control as she stuttered and searched for a way to right her wrongs.
But Abjorn looked unphased as he stared at the woman for a long moment, his only words saying, "Join me." His eyes were not trained on her fear, on her panic, and he showed none of his own even as he did the unmanly task. Instead, he saw a cold girl whilst he had a source of fire right in front of me, "You can assist." There was no fear to Abjorn Bearbreaker, he was a man who could face down flaming bear-owls and think to tackle it for a suplex. But there was also no bravado - he was a man who knew when he was outmatched.
And cooking was not his domain, as the woman could see quite clearly as she looked at the... large chunk of meat he had 'prepared' and fired, "Oh. I..." She still looked scared, but something in her woke up as she saw the drying, unflavored meat sitting with... nothing else to join it, "Mutton for breakfast...?" The words escaped her lips as she thought it, and she eeped and covered her mouth, sending herself into a small panick again, "I-I mean there's nothing wrongwith Mutton I love Mutton! It's uhm, it's great."
"It is Halla's favorite." Was the only explanation Abjorn felt like he needed to give, as he reached into and flipped the meat by hand. The scalding heat of fire did nothing to dissuade him, as he'd failed to find the suite of cooking utensils the women most often used to prepare meals. There was simply too much to look through, and he was not rude enough to awaken others with banging through searching the household.
"A-ah you're gonna! Burn yourself...?" Lata looked embarassed as Abjorn's arm retracted without even signs of discomfort on it, "Or... not. But, ah, let me uh, we can uhm, use these instead." The girl scurried in a manner consistent with an ermine through to gather the tools she'd worked with nearly every day since joining Abjornsby. The layout of the cooking tools was something Lata could find even if she was entirely blindfolded, most likely! "U-uhm, what... veggies does she like? We should uh... make sure she has something besides just... Mutton."
A hard question, for once. Abjorn should know this. It was a simple question. And yet whenever he pictured Halla's beautiful, messy face as she ate... she had such a smile for the Mutton, and such a passive expression for everything else. The man could remember dozens of meals with his wife, even from before they were wed... and yet had she ever exclaimed joy for something other than Mutton? "...She likes Mutton." Halla was far from a picky eater, but could Abjorn imagine her being excited for a vegetable? He could not.
"...Right..." Lata let the silence sit for just a moment, before she started to move, "Well, we can focus on the Mutton then. But some potatoes will accompany it well, and we can use the mutton's juices as a sauce to flavor it to her liking. And maybe some carrots too, their taste isn't... too powerful." Picky eaters were not abnormal, in a household of children. Or even amongst some of the grown men...
"I trust you." Abjorn's words were soft but firm, and the bits of anxiety were washing away from Lata as she joined the man in tending the food. He had eyes only for the food, and did not even glance towards her - but each time she tried to act, he instead took the lead, following direction instead. For Abjorn had intended to make this meal, and make it he would - even if he needed a little assistance.
-----
With the meal placed onto the plate - Lata assisting with making the array appealing to the eyes and not just the stomach - Abjorn gave a nod to the woman. "Thank you." His simple rumbling words came. He looked quite pleased with what he held in his hands.
"It's... it's nothing. I'm glad I could... help. I uhm. I promise I wont... I wont tell anyone." The girl had lost most of her nervousness, but something still made her scared - Abjorn was huge, towering over her in both size and power. And though she had seen him be gentle, the fear was still real.
"I am not ashamed." The bear shook his head as he turned back, "I love Halla, more than I'd ever fear the words of cowards."
----
The Bear had not even reached the room when he heard a familiar voice saying, "Do I smell mutton?"
And the dawn felt right.