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Ivar sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his hands over his thighs, and watched the rain outside his window. He'd actually been looking forward to this day until he woke up to the thunder. Lightening lit up the sky, and the clouds were dark, but Ivar's mood was slowly growing even darker.

After much discussion with his brother, Hvitserk, Ivar had finally, reluctantly agreed to go on a blind date with a friend of Hvitserk's. However, that had been before he saw the nasty weather. With the cold and rain, he was sure to need his crutches to prevent any unnecessary slips or falls, not to mention how his bones were already aching. For once, he'd like to meet someone without his crutches being the first thing they noticed.

Snarling to himself, he grabbed his phone off of the nightstand beside the bed and quickly dialed Hvitserk's number. As soon as Hvitserk answered, Ivar growled into the phone, "Call her and cancel it all. Fuck this. I'm not going."

"Ivar, come on. She's already looking forward to meeting you."

"Yeah, sure, until she meets the cripple who can't even walk in the rain without fucking crutches. I'm not doing it, Hvits."

Sighing, Hvitserk tried again, "Man, she already knows about your crutches, and she doesn't care. I told you, she's new to town and hardly knows anyone."

"Then what difference does it make? I wanted to meet her on a good day when I could walk on my own," Ivar hated when he was this grouchy, but he knew he couldn't control it, so he no longer even tried.

"Ok, fine. The only other person I know who will be available tonight at such short notice is Sigurd, so don't come crying to me the next time he comes to a family event with a fucking steaming hot blonde on his arm," Hvitserk grinned to himself, knowing Ivar would cave with that little piece of information.

"Damn you, Hvitserk. I hate you," Ivar sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll be there, but I promise you, if she so much as blinks twice at my fucking crutches, I'm leaving her where she is and coming right back to my warm, dry apartment."

Ivar didn't usually go on blind dates. They felt like a pity party of some sort to him. He preferred to date on his own terms but, recently, he'd had no luck.

Hvitserk had been bothering him for weeks about this new girl, Liza, who had started working with him. She was apparently smoking hot and was a real smart ass. Ivar had been more intrigued by the stories Hvitserk had told him about her snapping on some guys at his job than about how Hvitserk went on and on about her looks. He'd declared that, "Come on, man. Since I can't touch her because I'm already in a relationship, at least my favorite little brother should get the opportunity to tap that."

"Something tells me if you keep talking like that, you'll soon be single again. I don't know what Thora sees in you," Ivar had said to him, laughing.

Ivar grumbled to himself as he put his leg braces on and then pulled his crutches out from under the edge of his bed. He'd been lucky. He hadn't had to use them in a couple of weeks, but he always hated needing to pull them back out.

Begrudgingly, he walked to his dresser and pulled out his pain pills to take one before he was even more uncomfortable than he already was. Making his way to the kitchen, he decided to make some breakfast since his date wasn't until the evening.

Of course, nothing was going his way. He'd put coffee on, but realized he'd forgotten to stop at the store the night before for sugar and milk. He could drink his coffee black but not without sugar. "Just great!" he mumbled. Deciding on juice instead, he began making himself an omelet. He hoped his mood would lighten up once he finally got some food in his stomach. He tried to ignore the extra work the crutches caused him in his tight kitchen. He really hated when he had to use them. They once had been his life line, making it possible for him to finally walk after years of only being able to use a wheelchair, but once he'd been able to get his updated leg braces that finally allowed him to walk on his own without the crutches at all, he despised days like today. He tried to remind himself how lucky he was to be able to stand and walk at all, but sometimes, that was just really difficult.

After getting a plate down from the cabinet, Ivar grabbed the pan to slide the omelet onto it and instantly jerked his hand back yelling in pain. The pan and omlet both dropped to the floor just barely missing his legs and feet. "FUCK!" he growled. Somehow, the pan's handle had been over the heat causing him to burn his hand. Could this day get any fucking worse?

He dug around in his cabinet until he found cream for the burn. Luckily, he'd only burned the edge of two fingers, but it hurt like hell.

His hand treated and wrapped, he tried to decide if he should bother with cooking something else or not. He thought of ordering take out, but he really had his heart set on that omelet. Huffing in annoyance, he got more eggs from the refrigerator after cleaning up the mess in the floor.

Just as he turned the stove on again, he heard the loudest thunder that felt like it shaked his entire apartment. "Looks like I'm in for one hell of a storm," he said to himself, and at that very moment, his power went out. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he growled. "I quit. What the actual fuck?"

Walking to the door, he grabbed his keys from the counter and his jacket from the hook. He knew he'd have to be out in this weather later anyway, so he figured, what was a few hours earlier?

He drove to a cafe not too far from his place, hoping they actually still had power. They had the best coffee and he knew he could at least get the omelet he now had his mind set on. As he drove, the hard rain finally slowed to a mist. Maybe he could at least make it to the door without getting drenched.

Ivar smiled as he pulled up in front of the cafe and saw their lights were on and they, indeed, had customers inside. His stomach growled as he got out of the car.

Thinking about his date with Liza as he walked to the door, he finally kind of looked forward to meeting her. Maybe she'd be as interesting and pretty as Hvitserk had described her, and his luck would finally turn around. He hoped the cafe having power was the beginning of just that.

Finally, getting the cafe door open, Ivar stopped to look back and be sure he'd locked his car doors. A young lady was walking out of the cafe at the same time and looked back to her friend who'd called her name. She and Ivar turned around facing each other just in time to completely slam into one another.

"What the fuck!" the girl yelled as hers and Ivar's heads smacked into each other, causing her coffee to spill a little on the both of them, and his crutch somehow got tangled in her purse strap, causing him to lose his balance and fall into her. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she snapped, as she thankfully caught him and shoved him back off of her.

"Fuck you! Watch where the hell you're going!" Ivar snapped back at her, grabbing the door to catch his balance.

"Fuck me? Fuck you! Who the hell do you think you are?" she growled back, "You're the one who can't even fucking walk!" It was then that she noticed he had crutches and was struggling to keep his balance. Quickly giving what was left of her coffee to her friend, who stood in shock at their hostel exchange, her hands instantly went to Ivar's sides in an attempt to help him and prevent him from falling in the other direction. "I-I'm sorry. I, uh, I didn't mean. Umm, I didn't see that you are..."

"A fucking cripple. Yes, you fucking bitch!" he yelled back at her. "Don't fucking touch me. I'm fine!"

"Damn you!" she said, her hands instantly falling back to her sides. "I was just trying to help you."

Straightening himself, an attempt at composure, Ivar replied, "And I don't need your damn help." He looked her up and down, "Or your fucking pity." He then pushed passed her and her friend and headed to a table.

The girl watched him in shock before turning back to her friend, "Let's get out of here."

He debated on just standing her up, but honestly, that wasn't his style. He knew his shitty day wasn't her fault, and he really hoped to just be able to reschedule the date to a better day.

-------------------------------------------------------Ivar had spent most of the afternoon trying to get in touch with Hvitserk to cancel his date. After his unpleasant interaction with the girl at the cafe and just everything else that had happened during the day as a whole, he knew he was in no shape to be in anyone's company, especially not some innocent girl who was just trying to meet new people. However, he could never get Hvitserk to answer his phone.

He laid on his bed, both arms under his head, trying to will himself into a better mood. As he thought of meeting Hvitserk's friend, he couldn't prevent himself from thinking of the girl at the cafe.

He hadn't missed how pretty the girl had been, even if she was cussing him like a sailor. He smiled to himself. If he was being honest, that had actually turned him on a little. He had always been attracted to the more sassy girls who could stand up for themselves. Nothing annoyed him more about someone he was dating than for them to act helpless and play the damsel in distress.

He looked down at himself and rubbed his hand over his jeans where his dick was beginning to harden at just the thought of the girl in the cafe. Then he thought of how she had made fun of him for not being able to walk, and his growing erection instantly ceased to exist.

That was the deciding factor. It had been entirely too long. He would go on the date. If it had been so long since he'd had a female companion that he was getting excited over some bitch who nearly pushed him over in the cafe, it was definitely time to meet someone new.

Finally getting out of bed, he went to take a shower. Maybe the warm water would help his legs as well.

Once he was dressed: dark, well fitting jeans, a nice, black shirt that fit snug across his chest to accentuate his muscular build that he was proud to show off, and a dark grey blazer, he decided to pull his hair back into a slick, low ponytail. He didn't want to take the time to dry it properly and make it look nice, only for the rain to ruin it as soon as he stepped outside.

Aside from the crutches, that he thought threw his entire look off, he thought he looked good enough to leave. As he walked out of his room, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

On the way to meet Liza, he really wished she'd let him pick her up and take her on a proper first date. She'd chosen to meet him at a pub downtown where they could still have dinner, but was way more noisy and less elegant than he'd prefer when he was meeting a female for the first time that he could potentially be interested in going on a second date with. Although, he understood her reasoning, he was a complete stranger after all, what, exactly, did she expect from him? She worked with his brother for Christ sake!

As he parked in the closest parking space he could find, which happened to not be that close at all, across the street in a parking deck, he couldn't even be relieved that the rain had subsided for the time being because he still had to walk what looked like a mile. He was glad, though, that he had at least taken another pain pill to ease his legs that were beginning to ache a little again.

As Ivar's luck would have it, when he was a little more than halfway to the pub door, it began to drizzle rain again. Although, glad it wasn't heavy rain, he still felt the anger course through his veins like the hot summer sun. Why had he let Hvitserk talk him into going through with this date when they could have done the exact same thing the following week?

To his surprise, he wasn't too incredibly wet when he entered the pub and stood by the door, looking around. He was thankful for that.

After scanning the room, his eyes landed on the back of a blonde sitting at the bar in a red dress. She'd told Hvitserk that she'd have on a red shirt, but after a double take of everyone in the room, the girl at the bar was the only blonde wearing red that Ivar could see.

He took a deep breath and began walking her way. He noticed how her hair fell down around her just below her shoulders, laying in loose curls, and almost bounced with her movements. The dress hugged her curves perfectly and was open to the middle of her back. He swallowed loudly, trying to calm himself, wondering if she'd be just as attractive from the front as she was from behind.

As he approached her, he heard her telling the man she was speaking to that she was sorry, but she was meeting someone. He smiled, despite himself. "Eat your heart out, buddy, she's with me tonight," he thought to himself as his smirk grew wider.

Another step, and he reached the bar. As she began to turn away from the other man, Ivar said, "Liza?"

Her head snapped around to him, and they locked eyes. At the exact same time they both spoke.

"Oh, fuck me!"

"You're not Ivar. Hvitserk's brother?"

They stared in silence for a moment. Of all people, Liza had to be the girl Ivar had literally ran into that morning. What were the chances?

"I am. And I am also leaving, don't worry."

He turned to walk away, and she quickly placed her hand over his, "Wait."

Startled, he looked back at her, "What? Don't want to miss the opportunity to throw some more insults my way? Go ahead, let me have it. Give me all you've got. I bet you, I've heard them all."

Shocked at his words, but surprisenly appearing hurt, she answered, dropping her head, "Umm, no. About that," she looked up and into his eyes again, "I'm truly sorry for what I said this morning."

Ivar huffed a sigh, but she continued, "I'm serious. I said that before I'd even noticed you, umm. I hadn't been looking at you. Obviously, I mean that's why I ran into you," she rambled on. "But I. I didn't mean anything about your condition. I was just being a smart ass, and honestly, had no clue until I actually looked at you. I didn't. I didn't mean it like that. It's bothered me all day, and I'm glad that I at least have the opportunity to tell you how truly sorry I am."

Ivar was stunned into silence. He usually had a come back to practically anything and everything, but as she spoke, he looked at her eyes and expression closely, watched her fidgeting with her hands. He knew she was telling the truth. If she was lying, she was a damn good liar, because he believed every word.

When he didn't say anything, she said, "I understand if you still want to leave, and I honestly couldn't blame you. I'm so ashamed of myself, but I promise you, I'm telling you the truth."

She removed her hand from the top of his, still rested on the bar in front of them, and turned back to facing the bar.

Ivar stood there and thought for a moment. As he was about to finally speak to her, the man who was sitting on the other side of her that she'd been talking to earlier, leaned toward her. "If you're finished with your charity case here," he motioned toward Ivar, "I'd love to show you a good time tonight."

Ivar was about to give the guy a piece of his mind when, to his surprise, Liza turned around to the guy. "Excuse me, but what the fuck did you just say?"

The man was taken back by her response. "Oh, I was just saying, you don't need to worry. I'll treat you to a nice evening if you're finished with the cripple. I can only imagine your surprise when you were sitting here, waiting for your date, and then, in walks," he motioned to Ivar again in disgust, "This."

As Ivar practically lunged toward him, Liza pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face. Hard. Ivar stopped dead in his tracks, completely shocked.

The man, instantly bringing his hand to his face, said, "You, you bitch! What was that for?"

Ivar felt every bit of his anger from all the shitty things that had happened that day, that he'd tried so hard to push deep down inside of him, surface, and before he even knew what he was doing, he grabbed the man, pulling him off of his bar stool, and punched him right in the gut. The man doubled over, groaning. "I'm not so crippled now, am I? Now, fucking apologize to the lady."

The man, still doubled over, holding his stomach, looked up at Ivar with surprise. Ivar pulled his head up by his hair. "Did I fucking studder? I said, apologize to the lady. Now."

The man, bright red face with what appeared to be a mixture of shock and disgust in his eyes, looked to Liza and said, "I-I'm sorry."

"For what?" Ivar asked him.

"I'm, I'm sorry for calling your friend a cripple."

"Not about me, you fucking moron. I don't care what the hell you think of me. Apologize for what you called her!"

Looking between them, he said to Liza, "Oh, umm, I'm sorry for calling you a bitch."

Liza watched in amazement. Ivar may be using crutches, but he was certainly anything but crippled. She smiled at the guy as Ivar pulled him back up to a standing position.

"Now, get the fuck out of here, and learn some fucking manners and how to speak to a lady." Ivar let the man go. He looked like he wanted to object to Ivar making him leave, but Ivar added, "Or we can take this outside. I really need a punching bag today."

"No. No, it's fine. I'm leaving," the man answered Ivar as he began walking to the door.

Once the guy was out of sight, Ivar turned to Liza. "You have a good evening, and umm, thank you for standing up for me. That doesn't usually happen unless it's one of my brothers."

He took a step away from her, and she said, "Do you really have to go? You came all the way here. We could at least still have dinner. Or a drink?" She smiled warmly at him. "I mean, umm, if that's something you're still interested in."

Ivar placed his hand on the bar to steady himself and reached inside his jacket pocket, pulling out a pen. He was about to speak, but she interrupted him, placing her hand over his right hand, "Oh my God, what happened to your hand?"

"Umm, well. Cooking accident," he chuckled. "It was stupid, but I'm fine." She looked at him with concern in her big, brown eyes, and Ivar nearly melted right there in front of her. Hvitserk hadn't exaggerated in the least. She was absolutely gorgeous.

"So, umm, well, as you can see," he held his bandaged hand up and then motioned to his damp clothes from the rain, "Today has been shit. I don't even usually have to use these," he pushed one of the crutches forward so she could see, "But unfortunately, the rain usually makes them necessary."

She nodded, waiting to see what he was going to tell her. "I think it would be best if I just call it a day, and I go back home, crawl into my warm bed, and start over tomorrow."

She dropped her head, her voice small, "Oh, umm, ok. I understand."

He smiled at her obvious disappointment. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to leave you my number," he smiled again at her when she grinned. "Let this day be forgotten. If you wake up tomorrow, and you think you're still interested, give me a call or shoot me a text, and we can make plans for a proper first date. None of," he looked around the pub, smoke filling the air, loud, obnoxious people talking and laughing, "This."

She smiled widely at him, taking the number he'd written down on the cocktail napkin. "Sounds like a plan," her cheeks flushed.

As he straightened up and returned his pen to his pocket, he said, "And thank you for your apology for earlier today. I, too, am sorry for how rude I was to you. I don't usually talk that way to pretty, young women." He grinned when her cheeks turned even brighter red. "Especially when they're holding me up so intimately by my sides." He winked at her as he turned and walked away, leaving her stunned. Turned out, Mr. Ivar Lothbrok had some major charisma that she hadn't expected.

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Once home and settled in his bed for the night, Ivar couldn't stop thinking about Liza. He would have never dreamed that the hot girl he'd ran into in the morning, that he'd sworn to hate, would be the same one that Hvitserk had set him up with. For once in his life, Hvitserk had actually done a good job trying to play Cupid. Now, he just hoped she'd actually call him.

As he laid in his bed thinking of what he'd say if she did actually call, he could just kick himself for not getting her number, too. Why had he only left her with his?

Well, at least this way, he'd definitely know if she was interested or not, but it hadn't even been two hours since he left the pub, and not hearing from her was already driving him mad. How, on Earth, would he be able to wait until the next day or possibly even longer? He wouldn't allow himself to even consider the possibility that she wouldn't call. He'd be crushed, and he'd had a bad enough day already without that negative thought lurking, so he pushed it out of his mind.

Just as he was finally dozing off to sleep, his phone rang. He sat straight up in the bed. "Down, boy," he chuckled to himself. He would've been embarrassed if anyone would have been there to see him react in such a way because of simply hoping the call was Liza.

He quickly answered, not looking at who was calling. "Hello?"

"What the fuck you mean leaving Liza in the pub by herself?"

"Oh," Ivar sighed, "Hvitserk. Just great."

"What's wrong with you?" Hvitserk asked. "Were you not happy with her once you met her?"

"You've spoken to her, I see. What did she say about me? Was she mad? Did she say if she was interested in me?" Ivar asked, instantly worried he'd ruined everything.

Hvitserk laughed, "Sucker! That was me just testing you. So, you do like her? I knew it!"

"Oh, shut up! What the fuck? It's late for this, brother. Just tell me. What did she say?"

"Well, I was going to tease you a little longer, but she told me you'd had a day, so I guess I'll spare you just this once. She told me everything, the guy in the pub, your hand, the cafe this morning. And nice one, man. What a way to impress a woman! Nothing like cussing her out and calling her names." Hvitserk laughed again.

Ivar's patience was growing thin, not that he had an abundance of it to begin with. "Hvits, did you have a reason for calling me after midnight, or did you just want to make fun of me? I was nearly asleep. I seriously don't need this right now."

"You were sleeping at midnight on a Saturday night? How fucking old are you? I thought I was the older brother!"

"I'm hanging up now," Ivar growled.

"Ok, ok. I'll stop," Hvitserk tried to stop laughing. "I just called to tell you that I don't know what you did or how, especially considering you literally called her a bitch within the first five minutes of meeting her, but she is definitely into you."

Ivar's mouth dropped. He'd thought he'd seen interest in her, but for some reason, he was surprised to actually hear it. "Ivar? Are you still there?"

Trying to sound calm, Ivar answered, "What? Oh. Um, yeah. I'm here."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"How'd you manage to turn things around? That's not usually your strong suit." Hvitserk asked, genuinely curious. "She even said that you threw some guy out?"

Feeling proud that Liza was actually interested, Ivar's mood instantly improved, and he told Hvitserk about the day. "How were you able to leave her, though? That's what surprises me."

"It was difficult; I have to admit. You weren't kidding about how pretty she is. Something about her intrigues me, too, though. She's way more than just a pretty face. But I didn't want to stay and take the chance of my foul mood ruining everything or worse," he swallowed thickly, "Umm, not knowing if she had dinner with me out of guilt for what she'd said or because she really wanted to. So, it was better this way. I think."

"Humm," Hvitserk thought for a second, "Are you telling me my little brother is finally growing up?"

"Fuck you, Hvitserk."

Laughing, Hvitserk told him, "Well, I didn't tell you this, but she's supposed to call you sometime tomorrow. In fact, you and I didn't even talk at all, ok?"

His smile spreading widely across his face, Ivar answered, "If I say ok, does that mean you'll let me go so I can finally get some sleep?"

"Yes, gramps. Goodnight."

Rolling his eyes, Ivar ended the call and laid back on the bed. As excitement filled him, his mind went into overdrive. Before he could get too carried away, he took a deep breath and said to himself, "Snap out of it, Idiot. She's just a girl like any other girl you've met before." But somehow, he knew that wasn't exactly true. There was just something about her that captured him wholly. "Yeah, I'm totally fucked."

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The next morning, Ivar woke up to the sun shining in his face. Any other time, that would annoy him to no end, but considering how the day before had kicked his ass, he was actually relieved.

Using one crutch until he would be able to assess if pain would remain in his legs or not, he went about his daily routines and proceeded to get showered and dressed. He'd hoped that Liza would've called first thing in the morning, but of course, she hadn't. She wouldn't want to seem too eager. Was it possible that he'd actually met someone so like himself?

As the day passed, Ivar tried to stay busy, trying to ignore how anxious he was becoming that he still hadn't heard anything from Liza. He'd cleaned his apartment from top to bottom, cooked, eaten, and cleaned again, played his Playstation, put together a puzzle, and tried reading a book.

Turning page after page, not actually processing the words he was reading, he sighed and sat the book aside, looking at the clock. He then realized he'd wasted the day away just waiting on a phone call that, apparently, wasn't going to happen afterall. He could kick himself at the thought and probably would if it was physically possible.

Feeling like an idiot, he got up and went to the kitchen to grab himself a cold beer and call it a night. He turned the lights out as he headed to his room.

Sitting down on his bed and taking a big gulp of his beer, he thought of everything. He couldn't really be mad at Liza. She was definitely out of his league, and most likely, when she'd thought of having to deal with a cripple who had a chip on his shoulder everytime the weather was bad, it was just more than she'd bargained for. It had been a nice thought while it had lasted.

Sighing, he sat his beer on the nightstand and took his shirt off, preparing to lay back, get comfortable, and try to read some of the book he couldn't a bit earlier. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd fall asleep in the middle of it and not wake up until the next day.

After, maybe, ten or fifteen minutes of reading, he heard something off in the distance. He laid the book down and listened closely. That's when he recognized the sound to be his cellphone. "Damn it," he grumbled, realizing he'd left his phone in the living room.

Annoyed and in no hurry to get to his phone, he knew it wasn't Liza, he dragged himself out of bed and went to the living room to grab it. He put it in his pocket, not even looking at it, and headed back to his room.

The phone began ringing again, just as he entered his bedroom. Grabbing it out of his pocket, he sat down on his bed, and answered, "Hvitserk, this better be something good. I'm in no mood to put up with your shit tonight."

A small, sweet voice answered, "Umm, Ivar? Sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't Hvitserk. I know it's late. I'm sorry. I can call you back tomorrow if you'd like."

Astonished, Ivar answered, "Liza?"

"Umm, yes. It's me. I'm sorry for calling so late, but you have no idea what I've been through just to finally make this call."

Ivar was so relieved and surprised. He'd already accepted that it just wasn't in the cards for him and Liza, but now, here she was on the line, talking to him. "I, umm, I'll just call you back later," she said when he didn't respond. "I should have thought better of the hour."

Startled out of his deep thoughts, Ivar answered, "What? Umm. Wait. No. I, umm, I'm sorry. I'm awake. It's definitely not too late. I was just surprised is all. I'd assumed you weren't going to call."

Liza sighed a breath of relief, "About that, I, umm. Like an idiot, I lost your number. I still can't believe I lost it. And I have been literally trying to reach Hvitserk all day long so he could give it to me again." Ivar chuckled and she added, "And you know the kind of ass your brother is. That little shit wouldn't give it to me before the chance to tease the hell out of me. How do you put up with him?"

They both laughed, and Ivar told her how he understood first hand. They ended up talking on the phone for a little over two hours. They spoke about everything and anything, really getting to know each other. Ivar was so pleased at how easy the conversation flowed and how well they seemed to get along.

"So, before we end this call, would you like to go on an official first date with me, Liza?"

Her heart racing, she answered, "Yes, absolutely. Well, on second thought, as long as it's not raining," she laughed.

"Oh, so you've got jokes, humm?" Ivar laughed. "Going by my weather app, next Saturday is supposed to be clear skies. Would that evening work for you?"

"Yes, it will."

"Great. If you don't mind, send me your address, and I'll pick you up. Is 6:00 ok?"

"It is."

"Then, it's a date. I look forward to seeing you. Oh, and Liza?"

"Yes?"

"Umm, could you wear that red dress again? Umm, or at least something similar?"

Caught off guard, she said, "Are you serious?"

Ivar hesitated. Maybe he'd felt too comfortable and should have kept his mouth closed. It was too late now, so he decided to own it and tell her the truth. "Well, umm, it's just that, uh, you looked damn good in it, and I feel like I didn't have the opportunity to properly appreciate seeing you in it. I, umm, I didn't mean you any disrespect. I'm sorry if I offended you or if that was too forward."

Liza was happy he couldn't see her face and how red she could feel it was. "No, umm, it's ok. It's just that uh, I just wasn't sure how the dress actually looked on me and definitely wasn't expecting you to be so honest."

Licking his lips, Ivar said, "Well, trust me, you have nothing to worry about. It looked amazing on you." His heart skipped a beat just remembering how perfectly the dress accentuated her smoking hot body. "Oh, and Liza?"

"Yeah?"

"Save my number this time so you don't have to deal with Hvitserk again," he laughed.

"Ok," she giggled, "Goodnight, Ivar. "

They ended the call, and Ivar hadn't even laid his phone down yet before he already received a text from her with her address. He quickly sent a message back telling her thanks, and she replied, thanking him for giving her a chance after the way things had started out.

Ivar wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not, but it certainly felt like it to him. He'd never hit it off with another female so quickly or so easily. -------------------------------------------------------

Over the next week, Ivar and Liza had messaged each other throughout each day and talked on the phone for hours each evening. Hvitserk had given each one of them hell, telling Ivar how he owed him for knowing him well enough to know he and Liza would be a great match.

The day of their date had finally arrived, and Ivar was a complete mess. They'd hit it off well over the phone, but he couldn't prevent himself from worrying about how it would go in person. He pulled up at her apartment and got out of the car, preparing to go to her door, when she came out. He walked around to open the car door for her.

As she got closer, it was all he could do to prevent his mouth from gaping open. She was so stunning that she absolutely knocked him off of his feet. Her hair fell loosely onto her shoulders, blowing softly with the wind as she walked. She wore a tight, black dress that hugged her curves much like the red one had. It had thin spaghetti straps, was cut low in the front between her perfectly plump breasts, and was long enough to reach just above her knees. She had black heels to match, and Ivar thought it was cute how she was so petite that she still barely came to his shoulders in height.

As she reached the car, he said, "Wow! You look incredible!"

"Umm, hi. Thank you," she blushed, "You, too," she smiled as she looked him up and down. He was wearing a nice black suit with a white shirt underneath and his long hair pulled back.

Once they were in the car and pulling away from her apartment, Liza said, nervously, "I-I'm sorry. I have a roommate, and she's home. I didn't want you to have to answer a million questions."

"It would've been fine. I don't have my crutches with me tonight," Ivar rolled his eyes, a bit annoyed.

"Umm, no, that's not what I meant. She's super overprotective of me because we've been friends since we were kids. She would've asked you what your intentions are, where you're taking me, when we'll be home, if you know how to treat a lady. I just figured I'd spare us both the uncomfortable questions, ya know?"

Ivar laughed, relieved he'd misunderstood at first. "Yeah, guess I should be thanking you, then. Sounds more like your mother than your friend," they both laughed.

-------------------------------------------------------

The ride to the restaurant was a bit tense and awkward. Ivar tried talking to make things more comfortable, but each time he mentioned something, Liza responded with a short comment or answer and didn't elaborate. Ivar began wondering if she was having second thoughts. He prepared himself just in case she made up an excuse to end the date early. He knew he could handle it if he was looking for it to happen.

Unbeknownst to Ivar, Liza was watching him out of the corner of her eyes. She found him so incredibly attractive that she'd made herself nervous, afraid he could see it written across her face. When he spoke to her, it was even difficult for her to focus long enough to make a coherent response. She didn't know what was wrong with her. It had been quite some time since anyone had that kind of effect on her.

When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Liza gasped. "You ok?" Ivar asked.

"Umm, yes. I just. I hadn't expected for us to be coming here." The restaurant was an elegant one, one of the nicest in town, and it was extremely difficult to get reservations because they filled up so quickly. "I've been wanting to come here for months, but I couldn't ever get any reservations. You've impressed me, Ivar."

"Well, I'm happy you're pleased. It's got to be better than that little pub you chose," he teased, smiling.

"Hey!" she laughed.

"Wait here." Ivar grinned to himself as he got out of the car and walked around. He decided now wasn't the time to tell her that he was the owner of the restaurant. He didn't want to show off, and he also knew he'd be sure to get her true opinion of the place if she didn't know.

He opened the car door for her and held his hand out to help her out of the car. Looking up at him with surprise, she placed her hand in his and got out. Just as she was about to comment on what a gentleman he was, the valet approached them.

"Good evening, Mr. Lothbrok. Shall I park it in your regular spot?"

"Yes, please," Ivar answered, placing a bill in the man's hand along with the keys. "Thank you."

Once inside, Ivar grabbed Liza's hand, "Come with me." He led her to the line at the hostess podium, where there were at least six other couples in front of them.

When the hostess saw him, she immediately called him to the front of the line. "Oh, good evening, Mr. Lothbrok. Will it be just the two of you this evening?" He nodded, and she asked, "Would you like your usual table?"

"Umm, no, not tonight, Samantha. Could we have a more secluded spot? Like maybe a table at the back of the restaurant?" He gave her a warm smile before adding, "I'd like for us to be able to hear each other when we talk, you know?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Lothbrok. This way."

Ivar looked to Liza, still holding her hand, "Shall we?"

She looked back to the people in line, concerned, and then, back to him, "But, Ivar? What about all of those people? We just cut in line."

Thinking quickly, he answered, "No, we didn't. I have a reservation, and they must not. Don't worry, Darling." Her eyes widened at the sweet name he called her. That was a first for her.

As they walked through the restaurant, Liza noticed several of the employees looking at them, a few turning to whisper, and even a few customers watched them as well. She wondered just how often Ivar brought his dates there.

The hostess stopped in front of a round table in the back corner, with a bench that stretched all the way around it. There was a giant water fountain in front of it, blocking most of the crowd from their view except for the table in the opposite corner of them. "Will this work, Sir?"

"Yes, it's perfect. Thanks, Samantha," Ivar smiled at her and then motioned for Liza to have a seat. "After you, Beautiful."

Blushing, she sat down and slid around to the middle of the seat, and then Ivar did the same so that he was sitting to her side. As he handed her a menu, she gave him a grin.

"What?"

"Well, I was just wondering how many of your dates you've brought here," her cheeks flushed red. "Everyone seems to know you so well."

Was that jealousy Ivar saw? "Actually," Ivar smirked, "You're the first." She looked at him, surprised. "Seriously," he added.

She felt heat fill her face and tried her best to ignore it, hoping he would, too. "Umm, what's good here?" They looked over the menu, and Ivar gave her several suggestions of what he thought was some of the restaurant's best meals.

When the server came, they told him their selections, and he looked to Ivar, "Would you prefer your regular drink, Mr. Lothbrok?"

"Yes, please, but can we have a full bottle instead of just two glasses?"

"Certainly. I'll have it right out."

As the waiter walked away, Liza looked at Ivar, smiling widely again. Ivar gave her a quizzical stare, to which she answered, "Well, aren't you just the charmer! Is there anyone here who doesn't know you?"

He debated on telling her it was his restaurant, but instead, he smiled and said, "I hope you like wine. I guess I should have asked before I told him to bring a whole bottle."

"No, it's great. I love wine, actually."

"Then, we should hit it off perfectly," Ivar winked. "I love it, too."

The server came back with the wine bottle in a bucket of ice and poured their drinks. "Your food should be out soon. Do you need anything else?"

"No. Thank you."

When he left their table, Liza looked at the fine wine that Ivar had chosen and then to Ivar. "Ivar, we don't have to drink such expensive wine. That's definitely not necessary. I'm ok with drinking something cheaper."

Chuckling, he replied, "Not when you're out with me. Only the best for you, Gorgeous," he winked. "And besides, this is my favorite wine."

She couldn't hide her red face. "Why do you say things like that? You enjoy catching me off guard, don't you?"

He leaned in closer to her and softly said, "Aside from it being true, because it's how I gage if you're truly interested in me or not." The air between them was charged with a mixture of nerves and desire that Ivar couldn't deny.

Surprised he'd answered so honestly, she batted her eyes at him and said, "So, what does my bright, red face say to you?"

He thought for a moment, then answered, "That, despite your hesitance in the car, which actually made me think you were only going out with me out of pity, by the way, actually, you think I'm hot, and a gentleman, and you can't wait for a second date."

He smirked at her as he licked his lips. He knew he'd taken a chance by being so forward, but something about her made him want to push his limits to see her reaction.

Her face grew even redder, and she looked down to her lap. His heart stopped, thinking he'd went too far. Then, she looked him straight in the eyes, "Am I that transparent? I was really trying to hide how hot I think you are. I didn't want you thinking I'm some sort of pervert or something." She grinned widely at him.

Now, it was his turn to blush. "You're fucking with me, now, aren't you? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said..."

"No," she placed her hand on his thigh, causing him to shiver, and leaned in closer, "I'm actually being dead serious." Their faces were close enough that he could feel her breath fanning across his face, causing him to forget how to speak.

She looked up to him, then to his mouth and back up before she leaned in closer and softly kissed him, her hand moving up and down his thigh.

Ivar's heart was pounding and his hands were becoming sweaty, excitement burning from within. What had just happened? He'd tried to make her nervous, but for the first time, the tables had been turned, and she'd made him nervous.

She pulled away, ending the kiss, and it was all Ivar could do not to chase her lips. He had to remember they were in a public place.

Studying his face, Liza said, "Was that not ok?"

"Umm," he tried catching his breath,"Yeah. Uh, yes. Yes, it's was fantastic. It's just. You just surprised me, that's all."

She smiled and was about to respond when the server came with the food. He placed their food in front of them and asked if they needed anything else. When Ivar told him no, and he left them to their meal, Ivar asked her, "Well, are you?"

"Am I what?"

"A pervert?"

She grinned. "That depends," she leaned in closer again, and softly whispered in his ear, "On whether you want me to be or not."

Ivar nearly choked, "Fuck!" His heart rate sped up, and he suddenly wanted to skip dinner and get straight to dessert.

Smiling seductively at him, Liza added, "Perhaps, we should have our dinner first?"

"Oh, umm," he cleared his throat, "Yeah, umm, yes, I guess so." He tried playing it cool but knew he'd failed miserably. Was she being serious?Looking, at his plate, he tried ignoring the effect she was having on him and prevent his body from reacting. He took the first bite of his food and attempted to change the subject. "So, what was with you in the car?"

Liza told Ivar, "Umm, I'm sorry you thought I was having second thoughts." She looked down at her plate. "This looks delicious."

She looked to Ivar, who was staring at her. "Yes, it definitely does," he bit his bottom lip causing her to shyly look away.

As they began eating, she told him, "I was just nervous in the car."

"And now?" Ivar asked, flirtatiously.

"Umm, now, it seems like you're looking at me the same way I was trying to hide that I was looking at you," she grinned.

"Touché," he smiled as he held up his glass to toast with her.

They sat and ate their meal, flirting, talking, and laughing about everything. Ivar was happy at how easily the conversation began to flow like it had on the phone the week before. It seemed they had a lot in common, and he was impressed with how intelligent she was. It felt like they'd known each other forever, and that made Ivar smile inside as well as out. He just hoped she felt the same way.

As they were close to the end of the meal, their server returned and asked if they wanted dessert. Ivar ordered the chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream.

"How did you know I really wanted to try that?" Liza asked.

"I saw the way you were looking at it on the menu."

"Observant. I like it."

They were finally finished with their meals and waiting for the dessert, and she placed her hand on the table. Ivar took her hand into his, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back of it. "Thank you for coming to dinner with me. I'm so happy our first encounter wasn't our last."

Smiling back at him, she answered, "Me, too, and I hope this isn't our last date."

"Definitely not."

When their cake was brought to the table, Liza's eyes widened, "Geez, I didn't know it was going to be so huge!"

Ivar laughed out loud, and Liza dropped her face to her hands, "Oh, God, I can't believe I said that!" She smacked him, playfully, on his arm. "And you're terrible."

He held his hands up in defense, "Hey, I didn't say anything!" She just shook her head.

He got the first spoonful of cake and ice cream and held it out to her. Not taking her eyes off of him, she opened her mouth. He fed it to her and once she was finished, she slowly licked her lips, staring him down.

"Damn it, girl," Ivar breathed heavily, "You really know how to drive a man wild." He took a deep breath, "But you missed a spot." He leaned over to her, placed his left hand on her right cheek, and held her as he slowly stuck his tongue out and licked the corner of her mouth. "Delicious," he smirked.

Her eyes widened and her heart did summersaults. His touch, alone, sent shivers down her spine, but when he licked her mouth, she thought she'd completely melt right there at the table.

Grinning devilishly, he asked, "Are you ok?"

"You're a cocky son of a bitch, aren't you?" she giggled.

"Oh, you have no idea." He placed his right hand on her back, rubbing it, sending chills down her spine, then placed his arm around her waist and suddenly yanked her into his side causing her to gasp. "But you could find out." His lips bushed over hers, slowly at first, testing the waters, then instantly moving in rhythm until they had to pull away for air.

"Well, you're certainly a different man than the one I met in the rain. Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"

"Then, let's get out of here," Ivar responded a little too quickly, looking her up and down as if it were the first time he'd seen her all night. She was so beautiful and incredibly sexy.

"I think that will take too long," she said, scooting away from him and out of the seat.

Not quite getting what she was implying, he watched her as she slowly walked away, down the darker hallway toward the restrooms. Then, she suddenly stopped and turned her head back toward him. Grinning, she held her hand up and raised her index finger and curled it, motioning for him to follow her. "Don't keep me waiting," she said, grinning.

Ivar's mouth gaped open. Was this girl for real? He quickly stumbled out of his seat, ready to practically chase her, nearly running into the server who came to the table to check on them. "Fuck!" he grumbled under his breath. Ivar hurriedly told him Liza had to take an important call, and he was going to the restroom, so to please not clear their table.

Once the server finally left, his heart pounding, Ivar looked back down the hall where he saw Liza standing in the doorway of the ladies' restroom, with only her head poking out. She held her hand out toward him, waving for him to join her, and then disappeared into the restroom.

Ivar walked down the hall toward her, heart racing wild, as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself. Just as he got to the door, two women came out. He backed up against the wall across from the door and waited, for what, he wasn't quite sure yet, but he knew he wasn't leaving that spot until he saw her.

He waited a few more minutes before she finally darted her head out of the restroom door. Looking to her left, then to her right, she lunged forward, grabbed Ivar by his wrist, and pulled him into the ladies room with her.

She closed the door behind them, locked it, and then turned to Ivar, who was clearly stunned.

------------------------------------------------------

She rushed him. Grabbing him on either side of his face, she pulled his head toward hers and began passionately kissing him. As they kissed, his back slammed into the wall behind him, where she held her body tightly against his as they continued kissing.

As if his mind was finally catching up to what was happening, Ivar's hands came up behind Liza, landing on her ass, where he squeezed, moaning into the kiss. Suddenly, his hands were frantically roaming her clothed body, feeling every curve, every muscle, every smooth, exposed bit of her skin.

She slid her hands under his jacket and pulled it open, then, off of his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, where she kicked it away. Yanking his shirt out of his pants, she put her hands underneath and rubbed them across his washboard chest. She then pulled his shirt up, "Take this off. I need to see you."

"Yes, ma'am," Ivar smirked, liking how demanding she was. He pulled his shirt over his head, dropped it to the floor, and kicked it out of the way with his jacket.

"Damn!" she bit her bottom lip, "It's even better than I imagined." Ivar didn't even bother with trying to hide how he was blushing as he watched her in amazement.

She lightly traced his bulging muscles with her finger tips, in awe, as Ivar panted in anticipation, before removing her hands and replacing them with her mouth. Ivar gasped as she kissed across his chest, tracing his large chest tattoo with her tongue.

Looking up at him, her voice just above a whisper, she said, "I want you to fuck me hard and slow. And I want the lights to stay on so I can see your face while you do."

His eyes widened and his breath hitched, completely shocked by her words. Studdering, he said, "Da-damn, woman, you, you're gonna be the death of me."

Breathing heavily, he leaned forward, grabbing her by her hips, and turned them around so that she was now against the wall. He pressed his body against hers and began kissing down her neck to her shoulder. The warm, wet feel of his soft, plump lips on her hot flesh was making her sweat as she moaned out his name. He pulled the dress straps off of her shoulders, her putting her arms through, the only thing holding her dress up being her perky breasts.

In a frenzy, his hands were suddenly everywhere at once, grabbing, pulling, rubbing, caressing, wanting to explore every inch of her, not able to get enough. Placing his hands at the top of her dress, he never took his eyes off of hers as he slowly pulled the dress down, exposing both of her bare breasts.

He smiled, devilishly, as he dove in, mouth first, and sucked one nipple into his mouth while he massaged the other with his hand. Hissing, Liza said, "Bite me." Ivar looked up at her to be sure he heard her right, and she repeated, "Suck my nipple back into your mouth, and bite me."

All too eagerly, Ivar did just as she commanded, and she squealed in delight. With her hand tangled in his hair, she pulled him back and pushed his head toward her other breast, "Now, again. Harder." He did it again, only harder, as she'd instructed, his heart rate speeding up. He could get used to how bossy she was. He found it oddly arousing.

He then, licked around her nipple, sucking and kissing, as she began rubbing lightly down his chest toward his stomach rewarding herself with a moan from Ivar. He raised up, and his mouth crashed into hers, their tongues playing chase, as he reveled in the feel of his bare chest against hers.

Her hands instantly went to his waist, quickly unbuckling his belt and opening his pants causing him to moan again. She slipped her hand into his pants and palmed his dick over his boxers, her mouth dropping open mid kiss.

"What?" Ivar chuckled.

"Damn!" Liza whined. "I need you. Now."

Smirking, Ivar bent down a little, trailing his hands from her breasts down her sides until he reached the end of her dress. Looking up at her for reassurance, he slipped his hands under her dress and put his hands on her panties. Tucking his fingers inside the band of them, he yanked them down in one, quick motion until they fell down her legs. As she stepped out of them, he pulled the dress up over her thighs and then her ass until she was completely bare in front of him except for her dress that was now, only around her waist.

Ivar stepped back, staring at her, admiring the view in front of him. He was in complete awe of her.

She said nothing but watched him as he began licking his lips and pulling his pants down. She couldn't remember ever being looked at with such intensity, such lust and desire as Ivar's expression held at that very moment. She felt warm all over and could barely contain her excitement. "What are you waiting for? Get over here," she commanded.

Smiling, he took a step to her, and she grabbed him, pulling him closer and jerking his boxers down, his hard dick springing forward. His pants and boxers pooled at his feet, and he didn't bother fighting to kick them away. She licked her lips, grabbed him in her hand and began stroking him, and said, "Your dick is beautiful, Ivar. Later, I've got to have it in my mouth, and I promise you, I will, but right now, I need you inside me."

He felt weak, and his heart skipped a few beats. She really had a way with words. He could just see her on her knees in front of him, taking him like a pro, his dick disappearing into her mouth, and he groaned. "Fuck! You're so damn hot!"

He leaned into her, grabbing a handful of her breast with one hand and sticking his other in her mouth. She sucked his fingers, licking around them one at a time, causing him to hiss. He then, took the same hand and without warning, plunged two fingers into her wet opening. He began pumping his fingers in and out of her as his thumb found her clit and circled it. Exhaling sharply, she murmured, "Harder. Faster," and he complied. As he worked her, he kissed up her neck and softly bit her in the bend causing her to wail in pleasure.

Suddenly, he removed his fingers, ignoring her whining, and bent down, locked his elbows behind her knees, spreading her legs open, and then stood up with her in his arms as she slid up the wall. She whimpered with surprise.

"I won't be able to stand like this for too long, but it should be great while it lasts," he said, softly.

Panting with anticipation, Liza placed her arm between them and grabbed his pulsating dick. She pumped him a few times before lining him up with herself. "I'm ready. Give it to me," she encouraged him.

Holding onto her legs tightly, Ivar thrusted forward into her, gasping when her walls clinched around him, completely claiming her. "Holy hell," he gritted his teeth, trying to control himself. He didn't want to finish before it even began.

She wrapped one arm around him, holding him close as her nails dug into his back, and her other hand tangled in his hair, pulling his head up to face her. "Fuck me slow and hard, Ivar. Make me come, screaming your name."

"Oh, fuck!" he practically whined as his hips slowly pulled back and then slammed into her again. He did this several times, both of their breathing speeding up.

As Ivar found his rhythm, he dropped his head to her shoulder, sucking in air, trying to catch his breath. Him pounding into her, fiercely, she moaned and whimpered, sounds of sweaty skin slapping filling the air, as her legs locked behind him.

He thrusted into her relentlessly, causing her to call out his name over and over. She pulled his head back up, facing her, looking deeply into his eyes. He stared for a moment longer, before leaning forward and consuming her lips with his, still keeping his steady pace all the while.

He then, slowly pulled back, trying to catch his breath, and heaving heavily, Ivar said, "I-I'm sorry. I need to set you down."

Trying not to whine at the emptiness she felt when he pulled out of her, she said, "It's fine. Just don't stop now."

After standing her in front of him, he then pulled away from her a little, spun her around, and slammed her into the wall, her cheek flushed with it. Gasping from the cold wall against her hot skin, she whimpered, "I want you to ruin me, Ivar."

Pressing his body against her back, he bit her earlobe before saying into her ear, "And that I shall."

Before she even had time to register his words, he grabbed her on each side of her hips and jerked her ass back toward him. Grabbing himself, he leaned down just enough that the tip of his dick could feel her wetness. He pulled it back and forth on her first, teasing her, causing her to squirm, and then straightened up and slammed into her again. Gulping, she yelled out, "Ivar!"

"That's it. Say my name. Show me you can take it. Show me you want it." He practically growled in her ear as he found his rhythm again.

He held one hand on the wall in front of them for support, and the other still had a death grip on her hip as he began fucking up into her brutally, just like she liked it. His chest on her back, he bent his head down and grazed his teeth over her shoulder, causing her to wail, before he bit the top of it. She squealed in delight, her eyes rolling in the back of her head. His hand left her hip and wrapped around to her front where he began circling her clit again, matching his hip movements.

From this angle, he hit just the exact right spot, and she knew it wouldn't take her much longer. "Ivar! I want to see you. I'm close, oh, so damn close, and I need to see your face."

Grinning widely, he panted, "Then, you're going to have to ride me, Beautiful." Taking deep breaths, he reluctantly slid out of her and took a couple of steps backwards, careful not to trip over his pants, still at his feet.

She turned around and grabbed him, pulling herself flesh with his skin, taking slow steps with him. "Are you sure you can handle that, Big Boy?"

With a cocky smirk, he answered, "Well, if not, you'll know rather quickly, humm?" He grabbed a handful of her hair and kissed her. "But I'm damn sure gonna enjoy trying."

At that moment, the back of his legs bumped into the bench behind them. She let go of him so he could sit down. Noticing his grimace, she asked, "Shit! You really overdid it, didn't you? Do you need to remove your braces? Is there anything I can do?"

Looking up at her and smiling warmly at her concern, he answered, "You can get over here and take your seat." He winked at her as he licked his lips, "And let me enjoy you distracting me."

"Your wish is my command," she stepped closer to him. Standing in front of him, between his legs, she grabbed his head and pressed his face into her chest where he immediately took a nipple into his mouth again and began massaging her breast with his mouth.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer as his other hand grabbed his throbbing cock. Lining himself up with her as she straddled him, he slowly guided her down onto himself. He gritted his teeth, sharply inhaling, as her warm, wet, tight walls fluttered around him. "You're so fucking delicious," he moaned into her ear as he began kissing her neck, both of his arms now wrapped tightly around her and caressing her back.

Liza's head fell forward, her loose hair all around him, as she began bouncing up and down on him. Her movements speeding up, she moved her hips in a circular motion with each downward fall.

Ivar's breath hitched as he pushed her wet hair out of her face, pulled her to him, and began sloppily kissing her. She continued pouncing on him as he frantically grabbed at her with urgency, pulling her, anything to be even closer, deeper inside of her. He thrusted up into her, and her head fell backwards, her back arching, pressing her breasts into his face. She whined, "Do that again," as he sucked one breast into his mouth.

He thrusted his hips upward again, fucking up into her as she whined and moaned, "Ivar!"

Liza's movements became sloppy, as did Ivar's last couple of thrusts. She plunged down onto him, hard, and her entire body stiffened and shivered, completely falling apart, as she finally came all over him, the bench, and floor beneath them, holding him tightly to herself.

Wheezing, Ivar jolted upward into her one last time, and he came, hard, as his entire body quivered and jerked from his exertion. He was completely wrecked. He continued holding her against him as his breathing finally slowed along with hers.

She leaned back, looking at him, smiling widely, "Guess you could handle it, huh?" She pushed his hair back that was stuck to the side of his face and leaned down and kissed him. "That was amazing," she whispered. "We've got to do it again."

Smiling devilishly, he laughed, "But not here. At my place."

Pulling herself up and off of him, she answered, "Absolutely."

They spent the next few minutes cleaning themselves up and getting dressed. They stood at the door and looked back at the mess they'd left behind. "Shouldn't we get that?" Liza asked.

"I'll take care of it," Ivar grinned.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Well, ok." Ivar chuckled as they snuck out of the bathroom together.

As they turned to walk down the hall, they ran into one of the gentlemen who worked there. He looked at Liza's disheveled hair and smeared makeup and then to Ivar's red lips and wrinkled suit. He began grinning from ear to ear.

Before he had a chance to say anything in front of Liza, Ivar looked to her and placed his hand on the small of her back, pulling her to him. He leaned down and gently gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he said, "I'll meet you back at the table, ok?"

"Of course," she answered, ever so sweetly, and she walked away.

Ivar then turned to his employee, and reaching his hand into his pocket, pulled out three large bills, and placed it in the man's hand. The man looked down and then back to Ivar, confused. "For your discretion," Ivar said softly, "And for the umm, slight mess we've left behind. I do apologize. You know that's not typically my style."

The man's eyes widened, "Yes, Sir. Consider it taken care of."

"Thank you," Ivar then turned and walked toward the table with a wide smile plastered across his face. When he saw Liza, he stretched his hand out to her, "To my place, now, was it?"

Taking his hand, she giggled, "Only if there's more, umm," she looked back to the table and then to him, "Dessert to be had at your place?"

"Oh, there most definitely is," Ivar chuckled, "But I get to "eat" mine first."

Well, that escalated really quickly. You hadn't expected it all to go down like that, but you had had enough of Ivar's attitude toward you. You weren't sure what had ever happened that made him so angry and so over you, but before the conference, your arguments had always been extremely more light hearted.

Now, he had looked at you as if he could've ripped your heart out of your chest single handedly and danced on it as he spat in your face. It would be a well kept secret, between you and Liv only, that he had practically done just that.

You took a deep breath as you sat down at your desk. You saw Liv about to come to you, and you held your hand up, signaling for her to give you a minute. You needed to calm down and pull yourself together before you spoke. You refused to break down at your job again. You wouldn't be working here much longer, and you would not let Ivar see that he'd gotten the best of you. No, you could save the emotions for home where they belonged.

Ivar stood in his office, gripping your resignation letter in his hands. How had his well thought out plan to talk to you and finally come clean with his feelings for you turned into such a shitshow?

He was not pleased with how he'd handled things, but the thought of you quitting and him possibly no longer seeing you had taken over and quickly turned to the fear of losing you for good, causing him to become the mad man who'd lashed out at you. He was ashamed of himself. He hadn't wanted to hurt you even more, but somehow, that seemed to be all he was capable of.

As he thought of your angry expression directed at him, he felt enraged at himself. Turning to the table in the middle of his office that was covered with books and papers for the next buisness deal, he placed his hands on it, and in one swift jerk of his arms, he completely cleared everything off of the table and into the floor as he yelled in what could only be described as excruciating pain, sounding like a dying animal.

He heard a low chatter from outside his office, and still deep in thought, he noticed you hadn't closed his office door completely. He walked over to close it himself, not wanting to hear what anyone outside his doors was saying about him.

As he approached the door and began to pull it closed, he couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Liv. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he stood at the cracked door and listened.

Liv, now standing at your desk and trying her best to ignore the sounds escaping Ivar's office, asked, hopefully, "So, did you tell him?"

"Tell him what, Liv?" you asked dryly.

She sighed. "Duh! That you're in love with him!" she said, like it was the most obvious thing.

Ivar gasped and covered his mouth, hoping the two of you hadn't heard him.

Your mouth dropped open, "Liv! Why, on Earth, would I tell him something like that? And be quiet. Someone could hear you!"

"Gee, I don't know, because it's true!" she smiled.

"Don't be ridiculous. It is not!" you protested.

"Yes, it is, and you know it!" she stuck her tongue out at you, not quite knowing how rough things had just went between you and Ivar.

"What are you? Five? No, I gave him my resignation," you rolled your eyes at her.

"You did what?" she asked, face turning serious now. "You, you can't leave me here, Y/N."

"Oh, you'll be fine," you looked down, trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"But, Y/N, he's, obviously, in love with you, too! You should've still told him."

"Really? And just how do you know that? By the way he lovenly calls my name, or let me guess, by the way he brings his skank girlfriend to the office to fuck where he can be sure I overhear it all?" You were growing annoyed and no longer wanting to disguss this. You couldn't show how badly you were hurting. You refused to let Ivar win.

"Ok, you do have a point there, but it's still incredible to me how oblivious the two of you are. Have you not seen the way he looks at you, how he watches you when he thinks noone else is looking? Why do you not believe me?"

"Because HE HURT ME, LIV! BADLY! That's not love. Geez, we've been over this. He kissed me, for whatever unknown reason, I guess to cure some morbid curiosity of his, and wiìhen he realized I'm not what he wanted, he turned and walked out. He left me standing in the middle of that room. Alone. And closed the door behind him."

You tried steadying your voice, "Then my stupid ass let him do it a second time! Can you believe I'm that dumb? And we ended up with the same results. He does not want me, he damn sure isn't in love with me, and to top it all off, the icing on the cake, then he goes back to that bitch who doesn't give a damn about him and has the audacity to bring her here and flaunt her around in my face like that!"

"Well, when you put it like that," Liv began, but you obviously, weren't finished.

"You have no idea how humiliating all of that was, how much I actually cried. Me! I fucking cried! Do you know how long it's been since I cried over some damn guy? So, what do you want me to do? Go confess my feelings to him like some dumb, love sick school girl and hope he'll suddenly see the error of his ways? Or even worse, that he'll give me some pity fuck because he feels guilty for breaking my heart? No. It's better like this. I don't want to hate him. I just need to get away from him so I can get over him." You dropped your head and sighed. "Who would've ever thought I'd fall for Ivar Lothbrok of all people?"

"Ok. Ok. I get it. Don't tell him anything. He doesn't deserve you. You gotta take care of you. Fuck him! Let's go out tonight! Let's have a girls' night and get stupidly drunk and have to call an Uber to get back home. You know Babe is out of town. Let's make the best of it. Yes?" Liv looked at you expectantly.

You thought about it for a minute. Sitting at home alone on a Friday night after the week you'd had didn't sound fun at all. "Ok, fine. Let's do it," you agreed, hoping to cheer up your mood. "But not one word about Ivar Lothbrok or work the whole night, ok?"  

"Deal," Liv said, giving you a hug. "I'm sorry, Y/N." 

--------

Ivar softly pushed his door closed, practically falling into it. He absolutely could not believe what he'd just overheard. He turned around with his hands covering his mouth and slid to the floor against the door. You were in love with him, too? How did he not know this? He should be ecstatic, but instead, he was worried. 

He thought of everything that had happened over the last two weeks. The last two days were even worse, but their confrontation in his office this morning took the cake. How was he going to make any of it up to you and explain himself? He knew you well enough to know that you wouldn't forgive him easily. Once you'd made a decision, it would be extremely difficult to get you to see things in a different way. 

He was scared to be happy about what he'd learned. Until he had the opportunity to talk to you and hear you say the words to his face, it was too hard to believe. It just couldn't be real. He only hoped you'd give him an opportunity to explain himself.

He knew he couldn't talk with you now, though. All of the hurt feelings and angry words were still too fresh in the air. And since he'd heard that you would be out tonight, it seemed that the earliest chance he'd have to talk to you would be Saturday morning.

As he sat in his floor against his office door, he made plans to drive to your apartment the next morning and hope to hell you'd at least hear him out before slamming the door in his face. He dropped his head to his hands as he thought of everything. It was surely going to be a long 24 hours.

-------------------------------------------------------

Ivar had been home long enough to shower and have dinner alone when his brother called him and informed him he was on his way over. He was apparently in town until the morning and wanted to spend some time with his baby brother, as he had put it. Just great. So much for time to pull himself together.

Ivar knew that Hvitserk would immediately know something was wrong, and he was already dreading the conversation. Hvitserk had always enjoyed teasing him about you.

Sure enough, the minute Hvitserk took a seat on Ivar's sofa, he asked, "What's eating you?"

"Umm, nothing. It's just been a really long week at work," Ivar tried, hoping it would be enough.

No such luck. "So, I've heard. Freydis and Y/N, huh?" Hvitserk gave him a shit eating grin that Ivar wanted to smack off of his face.

"I see you've already spoken with father. No need for me to repeat everything." Ivar hoped he'd drop it, and tried to change the subject, "So, where are you headed out to tomorrow?"

"Spain. They've given me a small surveillance job there for the next few weeks," Hvitserk answered, watching Ivar's fidgeting hands. "It was real, wasn't it?"

"What was?"

"Y/N. You really loved her. Umm, love her?"

"Hvits, don't start your shit," Ivar stood and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. "Want one?"

"Got anything harder? And I'm not starting anything. I'm serious. Does she know?"

Ivar dropped his head, not really wanting to have this conversation. "It's. It's complicated, man."

"Only because you're making it complicated. As always. All these years, and you're still in love with her. Just tell her, man. What's the worst that could happen? She'll tell you she doesn't feel the same way, which I seriously doubt is the case, and at least then, you'll know and you can finally breathe."

Ivar huffed out a sigh, walking back to the sofa, handing Hvitserk a beer. "I, umm, I think I'm finally gonna go talk to her tomorrow."

Excited, Hvitserk set up on the edge of the sofa, "Seriously? Fuck yeah! Let's go out and celebrate, Baby Brother!"

Ivar sighed again, "There's nothing to celebrate. You're just using that as an excuse to get me to go out with you tonight."

"Damn right I am! Is it working?" Hvitserk laughed.

Ivar thought about it for a moment before finally answering, "Sure! What the hell! I'll just be leaving without you, anyway, when you finally find some girl gullible enough to take you up on one of your stupid pick up lines."

"Don't hate the player. Hate the game," Hvitserk grinned, and Ivar rolled his eyes.

"You're pathetic. I can't believe you actually just said that." Hvitserk just laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

--------

While you were waiting for Liv, you took one final look in the mirror at yourself. You may not feel your best, but you wanted to at least try to look your best. Fake it until you make it was your philosophy for the night.

You had chosen tight jeans and a black, low cut blouse. You slipped on your black heels to match, fluffed your hair that you'd decided to leave hanging down, and walked from your room to wait for Liv.

You hoped she'd be there soon, because you were already having second thoughts about going out. You really just weren't in the mood to deal with people, but you had agreed to go, so if anything, you would just leave early.

When she finally arrived, you grabbed your purse and keys and out the door you went, hoping the night would be even half as great as Liv's optimistic mind had assured you it would be.

The two of you had decided to go to an upscale club, one you'd both typically be against because of the ridiculous marked up drink prices, but she was taken and you really had no desire to deal with men hitting on you, and that particular club was known for men keeping their paws to themselves. That's what you both preferred. It was going to be a girls' night.

When you finally made it through the line at the door, you both went straight to the bar for drinks and then directly to the dance floor. To your surprise, the DJ was really good, and you had begun to actually enjoy yourself. The two of you danced your hearts away until Liv told you she was going for more drinks. It being her turn, you continued dancing where you were as she made her way to the bar.

As Liv waited for the bartender to come over, she heard a voice from behind her that sounded vaguely familiar, "Liv? No way! Is that you? After all these years? How the fuck are you?"

She turned around to be met with Hvitserk's opened arms. Hesitantly, she hugged him. "Wow! Talk about blast from the past! Last I heard, you were in Switzerland. I'm great. I'm here with Y/N, actually," she pointed to you out on the dance floor. "How are you? What brings you home? Thought you said hell would freeze over before you'd ever come back?" She dropped her head for a moment at the memory of why things hadn't lasted between her and Ivar's older brother.

Hvitserk tried to ignore the sting of the memory her words brought with them, "Well, I'm just passing through, actually. Stopped to visit the baby brother. I'm headed for Spain tomorrow. And I'm doing well, thanks. Still never settled down, though," he swallowed thickly. "I'm, umm, well, you know, married to the job. And you?"

"Umm, no, I'm not married, but I have a really wonderful boyfriend. We're planning on moving in together next month."

He smiled warmly at her and said, sincerely, "I'm happy for you, Liv, truly. You deserve a good man. Why, umm, why don't you and Y/N come join us back there?" he turned and pointed to the VIP area. "It's just Ivar and I and a couple other people on the other side. Not so crowed. And you guys won't have to worry about the drinks for the rest of the night. You know they come with the seats."

"Umm, I don't know. I'd have to ask Y/N, and I'm not so sure she'll feel quite up to that. You know, hanging out with the boss after work hours and all," Liv tried.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Her and Ivar. Why haven't they just hooked up already? It's ridiculous at this point. Well, let me talk to her, then." He headed in the direction where you were dancing with Liv shortly behind him.

"Hey! Hvitserk! No! Let me! Hey!" She tried to stop him before he could reach you, but he was already standing in front of you by the time she caught up to him.

Wrapping his arms around your waist tightly, picking you up into a big bear hug, and spinning you around, Hvitserk laughed, "Hey, you little shit! Where, on Earth, have you been all of my life?"

You squealed as he caught you off guard, head falling back, laughing, "Oh my God, Hvitserk! What the hell are you doing here? It's been years!"

Sitting you back down, he answered you, telling you the same as he had Liv. You hugged him tightly again and told him how you'd missed him. With him and Liv dating as long as they had, Hvitserk and you had once been really close friends. That was, until he moved away for work, leaving her your senior year of high school, and broke her heart.

"I was just telling Liv how the two of you should join us in the VIP so we can catch up. More space, less crowd, and free drinks for the rest of the night," he winked.

"Umm, who is us?" you asked skeptically.

"Well, about that. I'm here with Ivar," he answered hesitantly.

"Absolutely not! I'm sorry, Hvits, but you have no idea the week I've had with that man. I, umm, no. I-I can't," you refused.

"I, actually, think maybe I can imagine," he smirked. "C'mon, Y/N. Please. I promise he'll be on his best behavior. Please. Like you said, it's been years, and there's so much I'd like to tell you guys. Not to mention how I want to know all about the two of you. Please," he looked at you with puppy dog eyes as you rolled yours. "C'mon, Y/N, please."

You looked to Liv, and she shrugged her shoulders, "It's completely up to you. I'm good either way."

"Well, he umm. I'm sure he doesn't want to see me right now," you began. "I kind of gave him my resignation today," you blushed.

"You did not!" he was shocked.

"I did."

"Damn!" he smiled widely at you, and you laughed despite yourself. "But you're just gonna leave father's company high and dry like that?"

"I have to, Hvitserk. I feel bad for your dad, but I just can't stay any longer."

"Then, Ivar will probably leave you alone completely. So you'll come over? Please."

Looking between him and Liv, you finally sighed, "Fine! But I promise you, he says one cross word to me, and I'll crack a beer bottle over his head. Your brother or not."

Laughing, Hvitserk answered you, "Now, I'd like to see that!"

Ignoring him, you and Liv followed Hvitserk over to where Ivar sat with his back to you. "Are you sure you're ok with this? We don't have to join them. We can leave, even, if you want. You know I'm completely over Hvitserk, now," Liv said where only you could hear.

"I know you are, and it's fine. I actually really would like to talk more with Hvitserk. It's been too long." That's what you told yourself, at least. You knew that deep down inside, you just wanted to see how Ivar would act with you there. Would he still be the asshole he was in the office today?

As the three of you approached Ivar, you saw him sitting with a half full beer in one hand, rested on his thigh, and his other arm propped on the back of the sofa, bent and pinching the bridge of his nose with his hand.

"Brother, look who I...," Hvitserk began, but Ivar interrupted as soon as he heard his voice, not looking up.

"Hvits, I don't think this was a good idea afterall. I know you're looking to have a good time, so you can stay if you want, but I'm going to...," his voice trailed off as he looked up and saw you and Liv standing there with Hvitserk, who was now grinning like a mad man. Ivar appeared stunned.

Hvitserk began again, "That's what I was trying to tell you. Look who I found out on the dance floor. They're going to join us."

Ivar looked between you and Liv, and you said, "That is, umm, if you don't mind." He stared blankly at you, completely at a loss for words, so you quickly added, "Well, umm, it's ok. We, umm, we don't have to stay," you said as you grabbed Liv's hand and turned to begin to walk away. "Was nice seeing you, Hvits."

Ivar was immediately to his feet and standing in front of you before you'd even noticed he moved. "No. Umm, please stay. I-I'm sorry. I was just umm, surprised, that's all. Stay. Have some drinks with us. Please." He motioned toward the small ice bucket that was full of drinks.

Looking him in the eyes for anything resembling anger or disgust, you answered, seemingly seeing nothing to concern you, "Umm, oh. Ok."

You and Liv sat down with Ivar and Hvitserk as Ivar handed each of you a bottle from the ice bucket. Hvitserk grinned, "What was that you were saying, Little Brother?" If looks could kill, Hvitserk would have dropped dead right there by the look Ivar shot him, and Hvitserk just gave his manical laugh.

Liv and Hvitserk began talking, and you chimed in here and there. However, you couldn't help how your heart hurt at the thought of everything that had happened, but especially at knowing Ivar was with Freydis, now. You wondered where she was and hoped she wouldn't be making an appearance there tonight. You knew you wouldn't be as nice in a nightclub.

Ivar didn't really speak a lot and not to you at all, which made you feel even more awkward. He left to go to the restroom, and you practically let out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding. Just as Liv was about to suggest that the two of you went to dance, her cellphone rang, and she told you and Hvitserk she'd be right back.

Once it was just the two of you, Hvitserk gave you a serious look, and you tried to avert his stare. Squirming under his scrutiny, you finally asked, "What?"

"Why?"

You sat your beer, that you'd hardly touched, down on the table. "Why what, Hvits? Just say whatever it is you're thinking."

"Why haven't you and my brother ever just, well," he tried to think of the best way to put it that wouldn't result in you slapping him, "Gotten together?"

You were surprised that was his question. Wasn't the answer obvious? "Well, for starters, I'm pretty sure his little girlfriend wouldn't approve of him having a side piece, and I, for damn sure, wouldn't be a side piece anyway. I'm the main course or nothing at all!" You were surprised at your own words, but you knew you meant them, so you simply waited for his reply.

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend, Y/N?"

"Oh, come on, Hvitserk. You don't have to cover for him. I already know. Geez, she came into the office the other day for a quickie for fuck's sake," you felt disgusted just thinking about it, and Hvitserk laughed. "What could possibly be funny?" you snarled, becoming more annoyed with him and the entire conversation.

"Freydis? That's who's supposed to be his girlfriend? Are you fucking with me right now?"

"I'm obviously missing the humor. I think I'm going to go find Liv," you stood, and then he stood with you.

"No, wait. I'm sorry. It's just that, Y/N, Ivar can't stand Freydis."

You looked at him, confused, "Ha! Sure didn't sound like it! I, umm, I know what I saw and what I heard, Hvitserk," you blinked away a tear that was trying to escape.

"No, Y/N, you saw and heard what she wanted you to see and hear," he said in the most serious tone you thought you'd ever heard him speak in. "She was threatened by you, and you got caught up right in her web." You were taken back. What was he telling you?

Suddenly, someone tapped you on the shoulder from behind. You turned around to see a tall, handsome man who asked, "Excuse me, Miss, but umm, would you like to dance with me?"

So caught off guard by the guy, you began to nervously laugh. You were about to say no, but you looked over and noticed Ivar on his way back to join you and Hvitserk again. You grabbed your beer, quickly turning it up, drinking as much of it as you could, before sitting the bottle back down and looking at the hopeful man. "Sure. What the hell! Let's go!"

He smiled and held his hand out to you to guide you down the few stairs to the dance floor. What a gentleman!

Ivar joined Hvitserk, not saying a word, but just watching you as you danced with the other guy. His blood boiled as he watched how you smiled at him and how he pulled your body close to his. Maybe that's what you needed, a man like that who you could dance with and laugh with, who knew how to treat you and talk to you instead of someone like him who only pissed you off everyday.

"Don't sweat it, man," Hvitserk patted Ivar on the back.

"What?" Ivar asked, still watching you.

"She doesn't like that guy. She was just complaining about how you have a girlfriend."

Ivar's head snapped around to Hvitserk. "What? But, but. I don't. What the? Why does she think that?"

"Freydis."

Ivar's face contorted into a snarl, almost involuntarily, as he thought about what had happened to make you think that awful lie. "Fuck!" he growled.

"Yeah. Guess you should talk to her soon, man."

Just as Liv finally came back up to them, a girl on the dance floor caught Hvitserk's eye. "I'm sorry, little brother. Duty calls." He pointed to a pretty blonde standing alone at the bar. "Don't wait up for me," he laughed.

Liv looked to Ivar, "Is he serious? How does he even know she'll be interested?"

Ivar half laughed, still watching your every move, "He doesn't care. If she's not, he'll stay out there on the dance floor until he finds someone who is." Ivar looked at you as your mouth dropped, "Well, that's what we came here for, and I'm guessing you already informed him that you're already taken, so?" He shrugged.

"How shallow! God, I dodged that bullet, huh?" Liv laughed, then asked,

"So, where's Y/N?"

Leaning on the railing around the VIP section, above the dance floor, Ivar motioned toward you with his head, "Apparently, that guy knows what she wants."

"Am I sensing a bit of jealousy?" she teased him.

He finally looked away from you and to Liv. With a more serious tone than Liv expected, he said, "Liv, what do I do? How do I fix this?"

She smiled at him, "Have you thought of just saying you're sorry?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "That easy, humm?"

"She might surprise you." Liv was distracted by her phone. "Oh, umm, sorry." She picked it up and sent a quick text message before placing it back down.

"Everything ok? You seem preocupied," Ivar asked curiously.

"Well, umm, it's just. You see, my boyfriend. He has been gone the last two weeks for a training, and he was supposed to be back tomorrow." She looked frustrated.

"But?" Ivar asked, genuinely hoping everything was ok.

"Well, he called to let me know he'll actually be home in about 15 minutes."

"That's a good thing. So, you're leaving, then, right?"

"No, I can't. I mean, Y/N, she needs this, you know?" He dropped his head to his hands, thinking how he was to blame. "We were supposed to have fun tonight. I can't just leave. I'm her ride. Look at her."

You were laughing and smiling as you danced around. The guy who had been with you was now making out with some other girl right behind you, but you were oblivious. Ivar smiled at that new development.

"Why don't you just go? Go home to your boyfriend, and I'll see to it that she gets home safely."

Liv looked him straight in his eyes, seeing that he wasn't playing, "I couldn't ask that of you."

"You didn't. I offered. I think she'll understand given the circumstances. I'll take the blame and explain it all to her. If she gets pissed at anyone, it'll be me."

"But, Ivar..."

"Liv," he looked at her, exasperated, surprising her, "Please. Go. Do me this one favor." He dropped his head.

"What do you," she looked more closely at him, noticing his red cheeks, "Wait. Oh my God! It's true! I was right, wasn't I?" He turned away from her, trying to avoid eye contact. "Look at me! I was right. You do love her!"

"Shhh," Ivar grumbled under his breath, "Someone might hear you." He nervously looked around.

Smiling from ear to ear, Liv teased,

"Someone or Y/N? You really should tell her already, you know. You've made such a mess of things, she'll never believe it from anyone but you."

He huffed out a sigh, "Well, that's the plan. That is, if you will finally leave." His cheeks reddened more.

Excitedly, she answered, "Well, when she's ready to kill me for leaving her with you, you better save me, Mr. Ivar Lothbrok."

He looked at her, smiling with a nervous gleam in his eyes, "Oh, trust me, she's going to be thanking you." He laughed as she covered her mouth in shock.

"You know it won't be that easy, right? And you're lucky I know what I do, or I think I'd smack you," Liv grinned back at him, "Boss or not." And she then, turned from him to walk away.

He immediately turned toward her, heart stopping, "Wait. What? What do you mean?"

"Oh, no, you've got this, remember? You better make my best friend happy, or I promise you, I'll personally kick your ass," she smiled. "Oh, and Ivar?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," and she quickly rushed toward the door.

At that moment, Hvitserk walked back by Ivar with a girl on his arm. "I'll catch you later, little brother," he called out, grinning, as he winked at Ivar, and Ivar nodded his head at him. Some things never changed.

Ivar turned back to watch you still dancing. He smiled despite himself, mesmerized by your movements. He was happy to see you with a smile on your face. It felt like it had been weeks since he'd seen you smile.

As you moved, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful you were. Not that he didn't already know, but the way the light hit your soft skin and sparkled in your eyes as you smiled made him want to shout it from the rooftops.

And then, oh fuck! He hadn't realized it, but you were looking straight back at him while he'd been lost in his trance. He immediately turned his head away, hoping you'd let it pass without saying anything about it. How embarrassing!

But no, of course he couldn't be that lucky. In a matter of seconds, he heard footsteps from behind him approaching. He turned to confirm who it was, and of course, it was you. "You see something you like, you creeper?" you half smiled.

"It. It's not like that, Y/N."

Ignoring him, you asked, "Where is everybody anyway?" Briefly, your conversation with Hvitserk about Freydis entered your mind. You hadn't figured out what he'd been trying to tell you, so you hoped to continue your discussion now.

"Well, umm, Hvitserk just left with some girl," he stalled, hoping to gain the courage to handle your response about Liv leaving.

"Great," so much for that idea. You looked around, "And Liv? Surely, she's not still on the phone?"

"Well, no, she's not, but umm, that was her boyfriend that called."

"Oh, shit! Is everything ok?" you asked, worried.

Ivar proceeded to tell you where Liv went and why. He explained that he'd told her he'd give you a ride home, and you gave him a look of disbelief. "You told her you'd take me home, and she actually thought that was a good idea?" He nodded. "Nah, it's ok. I'll just call an Uber."

You pulled your phone from your back pocket, and as you opened it, Ivar placed his hand over it, and looked at you sincerely. "C'mon, Y/N. Don't be like that. You know I'm perfectly capable of getting you home safely tonight. Just, please let me."

You looked at him, trying to decide what to say. It wasn't a matter of thinking you wouldn't be safe with him. It was a matter of if you thought you were capable of being in such a tight spot with him and it not breaking your heart even more. You wanted nothing more than for things to be different between the two of you than they were.

"What do you say? I promise I won't be an asshole," he smiled.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Lothbrok!" you crossed your arms over your chest, trying to hold back the smile that was on the edge of your lips. Damn, you wanted to hate that man!

"Cheeky, aren't you? So?" he waited.

The longer you thought about it, the more you knew you would still be more comfortable with him than you would be in the backseat of some complete stranger's car. "Ok, fine, but only because I don't really trust strangers."

"I know," he smiled. "Are you ready now, or did you want to dance some more?" He looked back to the dance floor, "I'm sure that guy is still there and would love to give you another spin."

"Oh, fuck off!" you growled. "Let's go!" and you followed him toward the door. Then, you thought for another minute and stopped him, "Ivar?" He turned around to you, raising his eyebrows. "Umm, should you be driving, though, after drinking?"

Grinning at your concern, he pointed to his still half full beer bottle sitting on the table, "That's all I've had all night. I was actually only here because Hvitserk dragged me along."

"Oh," you were surprised but relieved there was nothing to worry about.

When you finally got to his car, he opened the door and held it for you while you got in, and then he closed it for you. You tried hard not to roll your eyes at him, even though you thought it was a sweet gesture. He didn't need to know that.

As he drove around the parking deck to the exit, the two of you sat in silence, music softly playing in the background. You thought of just closing your eyes and faking sleep until you made it to your place, but you knew this was as good of a time as any to ask him what Hvitserk had meant. Wasn't like he could run away from you. Thus time.

Just as you were about to ask him, he spoke first. "Umm, Y/N, I really think we should talk. Umm, there's some things I, umm, I need to say."

"Yeah? I think I may know about some of it."

You'd stopped at a red-light, and he looked over to you. "What? You know?"

"Umm, yeah. Hvitserk kind of told me a little, but I'm not, umm, I'm not really sure, exactly, what he meant."

Ivar tried to control his anger. How could his brother tell you something so personal? "Umm, just what, exactly did he tell you, Y/N?" He looked back to the road, and pulled away from the light.

You took a deep breath and said, "Umm, he said that you can't stand umm, damn it." You hated even saying her name. "That you can't stand Freydis."

He glanced at you, confused, but relieved Hvitserk hadn't actually told you everything. "Yeah? And you already know that, Y/N. I told you about all of that when we were at the conference."

"Yes, but, umm, then she started calling you, leaving those messages, and umm," you looked out the window so he couldn't see how badly the next part hurt you, "She came to see you at work, Ivar! How can you deny that? I saw what she was wearing, or actually, what she wasn't. And not to mention, I heard, umm. You know what? Nevermind! It's none of my buisness! I don't give a fuck what you do!"

Ivar was taken back. He hadn't expected you to get so emotional so quickly. This was not how he wanted this conversation to go. He needed to reel it back in. He pulled over on the side of the road and turned toward you.

"Wait. What are you doing? Take me home, Ivar!"

He placed his hand over yours, and you looked up at him, completely caught off guard. "Can I please just speak for a moment? Tell you my side?"

You weren't expecting any of this, and you couldn't let yourself cry in front of him, but for some reason, every muscle in your body was screaming that you were about to. Avoiding eye contact, you simply nodded your head, afraid to actually speak.

"Y/N, I told you that she's crazy, and she is. Until that day she showed up in the office this week, I hadn't spoken to her since we saw her at the conference." You turned to him, searching his eyes for any hint that he was lying. "And when she barged into my office, I was just as surprised to see her as you were. I promise you, we're not together. She's not my girlfriend, and umm, she hasn't been in years. I'll never be that desperate again."

Taking a deep breath, still not sure you believed him, you said, "But Ivar, we could see her against your office window and oh my God," you made a look of disgust, "We heard her." You dropped your head.

"Yes, but she did all of that just for you to hear, Y/N. And you left. You weren't there to see security take her out in handcuffs."

"What?" you looked to him, wide eyed. "Why didn't Liv tell me?"

"Yes, she's banned from there, remember? She was arrested, and my father is pressing charges. I actually have a court date next week for the restraining order. And I asked Liv to let me tell you, Y/N. I, umm, I wanted to be the one to tell you."

"Ivar," you gasped, covering your mouth with your hands, "I've been so pissed at you. You could've saved us so much hostility at work."

He dropped his head, sighing, "I umm, I didn't say I was smart. I just said that I didn't do what she tried to make you believe I did."

You sat in silence for a few minutes while Ivar pulled back into the road to take you home. Since he was being so honest, you wanted to ask him about everything that had happened between the two of you at the conference, but no matter how many times you opened your mouth to speak, you somehow couldn't manage to actually ask him. All you were finally able to say was, "I'm sorry, Ivar. I, umm, I guess I completely read that wrong."

As he drove through town, the two of you were silent again. You weren't sure what to say to him, so you just sat with your thoughts about everything. Why had he made such an effort to explain himself to you? Especially if he'd already determined that you weren't his type back in that hotel room a few weeks back. You honestly had no idea. Maybe you could ask him about it, but the more you thought of that option, the more scared to mention it you were, so you continued to say nothing.

As Ivar drove, he thought of ways to bring up the rest of the conversation he needed to have with you. He was just having a difficult time finding the words. His hands were sweating, and his heart was racing. Why was he so intimidated by you?

Before he even realized it, he pulled up in front of your apartment. He wished the ride had been longer. There was still so much to be said. The two of you sat there for a couple more minutes in awkward silence.

Then, the two of you spoke at the same time.

"Ivar?"

"Y/N?"

Giving you a warm smile, Ivar said, "Ladies first."

Gripping your keys tightly and taking a deep breath, you softly said, "Umm, thank you for driving me home. And uh, I-I'm sorry again for believing Freydis." Then, batting your eyes nervously and looking down, you hesitantly added, "Ivar? Umm, would you like to uh, come up with me? Umm, just for a drink?" There! You said it! You let out a deep breath, anxious to hear his response.

Ivar looked at you, completely surprised, his eyes widened and his heart pounding. He was about to tell you yes. Fuck knows he wanted to say yes, but then, he thought about how the two of you had just came from a nightclub. He hadn't drank, but you certainly had, and that had to be why you had invited him up. Otherwise, it was so unlike you to do so. He thought for another moment, because you sure seemed coherent, but he knew he had to be responsible. He wondered if he'd ever be able to get over what Freydis had done to him, how she'd made it seem so convincing that he'd taken advantage of her. He wouldn't do anything that could possibly be considered taking advantage of you, no matter the cost. You were just too important to him.

He placed his hands on yours and held them, gently rubbing the back of them with his thumbs, causing your heart to race. He then looked you straight in your eyes, and said, "Umm, Y/N, umm, I don't think that's a good idea."

Gulping, your heart flopping to your stomach, you yanked your hands out of his and quickly wiped away the single tear that fell.

Trying to keep some grace about yourself, you said, "Oh, umm, ok, I umm. Damn, I really read that wrong. I think..."

Ivar interrupted, "Y/N, no that's not..."

"Umm, it's ok. I've got to go." You opened the door to get out.

Trying to stop you, Ivar said, "We can still..."

Feeling yourself getting angry because you'd made a complete fool out of yourself, you harshly said, "No, we can't. Look, Ivar. It's whatever at this point. And I don't like to be involved after a certain point, and I believe I've had my fill. Thanks again for the ride." And you got out and slammed the car door behind you, not bothering to look back when you heard him calling your name. You knew if you did, you'd completely loose it.

You rushed up the stairs and to your door, anxious to get inside before you fell apart. Yanking the front door open, you practically fell inside. You slammed it shut behind you, back against it, standing there for what you knew was way too long by the way your feet were killing you. You finally went to the sofa and slumped over into it with your knees drawn and your head in your hands, where you stayed for you didn't know how much longer. How could you have been such an idiot?

Then,thinking of Liv, you grabbed your phone out and quickly sent a message to Liv.

HEY, JUST LETTING YOU KNOW I MADE IT HOME SAFELY AND NOT TO CALL OR TEXT ME BECAUSE I'M TURNING MY PHONE OFF. DIDN'T WANT YOU TO WORRY. I JUST REALLY NEED SLEEP AND DON'T WANT TO BE DISTURBED. I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER THIS WEEKEND.

❤️

She didn't have to know everything right now. You didn't want to ruin her night with her man either. At least, she had a good one. You also knew you were in no mood to talk about anything, so it was best this way for now.

You dragged yourself off of the sofa after wallowing in self pitty for long enough and went to your room to change. As you headed back to the living room, you grabbed your laptop from your nightstand. If you'd learned nothing else that evening, you'd learned that you most definitely needed a new job.

In nothing but your oversized t-shirt and panties with your hair yanked back in a messy bun, you flopped back down on your sofa, put some soft, calming music on to fill the silence, and powered on your laptop to check your email for job offers.

You had decided if you had any job offer for any position with one of the companies you'd applied for, you were going to accept it. You had to get away from Ivar Lothbrok before you lost your mind.

As soon as you opened your email, you noticed responses from two out of the three companies you'd applied for. The first email you opened said they would be in touch with you by the end of the following week. Not exactly the response you were hoping for, but certainly better than no response at all.

The second email you opened caught you completely by surprise. It was from the company's HR department, and they'd added an attachment. They offered you a position as their Chief Buisness Consultant with a salary that nearly doubled yours working for the Lothbroks. Your heart nearly stopped upon seeing all of the zeros.

As you read the details of the email, you read that the reason for the offer of such a high paying, high status position was because of the outstanding recommendation they'd received on your behalf from your current supervisor.

Apparently, he'd given you an immaculate reference and recommendation, so you were certain it was Ragnar. They'd attached it for your records, so you wasted no time opening it to read, still not believing that such an opportunity had fallen into your lap. At least something seemed to be going your way that night.

As you opened the attachment and had only read the first line which stated what a fantastic worker you were and how they hated to see you leave, you thought you heard something outside your door. You looked up and waited, but then continued reading when you heard nothing more.

The letter went on to call you extremely intelligent and mentioned how you had been one of the best assets to the Lothbrok company that they'd seen in years. You couldn't prevent your mouth from gaping open in shock.

As you skimmed the rest of it, you were completely shocked nearly every other line. It was written so well and certainly painted you in the absolute best light. That's when you saw that it had been signed by no other than one Mr. Ivar Lothbrok. You were absolutely speechless and couldn't prevent your mouth from gaping open in shock. What happened to his, "I won't give you a good reference for one of our competitors?"

You sat in silence for a few more moments, trying to just understand him. He really was a walking contradiction.

You decided not to dwell on it, because you knew you couldn't really afford to think about him too much right now. You were trying to deal with his rejection of you. Again. Not to mention, the embarrassment of it. And the last thing you needed was to get yourself upset over something you couldn't change. You knew you needed to forget about him, and accepting that job offer was your first step in that direction.

As you began typing out your response email to accept the job, you heard something outside your door again. Only this time, you knew for sure you heard something. You waited for them to knock, but they still hadn't. Who would be outside your apartment at this time in the morning?

Sitting your laptop down on the coffee table, you jumped up and grabbed the bat that was shoved in the back of your closet. That's when you realized it had to be Liv. You'd forgotten that you'd turned your phone off, so she was probably coming to check on you. Typical.

At that moment, whoever it was knocked on the door. You walked over to it, the bat still in your hand, hanging at your side. You looked through the peephole and could only see the top of their head, as they had it dropped down. It was Liv's hair color, though, so you knew it was her.

You opened the door, as you said, "Girl, I told you that I'd call...." Whatever you were saying was completely lost when you were met with Ivar standing in front of you, both hands gripping the the door facing, head dropped toward the floor, breathing as if he was out of breath. You desperately tried not to show how shocked you were, putting on your best poker face. "Umm, Ivar? What the hell are you doing here?"

He raised his head, slowly looking at you, and his gaze then dropped down to the bat. Smiling, he asked, "What? Are you going to beat me with that thing?"

Not amused, you answered flatly, "Possibly. What do you want, Ivar?" You then sat the bat down against the wall and backed up from the door a bit, crossing both arms over your chest.

"Umm, I umm, I just drove around the block several times, and I was thinking, uh, you didn't, umm, you're still sober aren't you?"

That was a strange question for him to come back to ask. "Yes. I barely only had one drink. I don't see why that even matters." You rolled your eyes at his ridiculousness.

"There you go, rolling your eyes at me again."

"And?"

"You don't know what that does to me, how I simply cannot handle it when you roll your eyes. It, umm, it drives me mad."

Without even realizing it, you rolled your eyes at him again. He was being really strange. "Ivar, it's nearly 3 am. What the hell do you?..."

Moving so quickly you almost didn't even see his hands coming toward you, he cupped both of your cheeks, and leaned in. He looked you in your eyes, searching for something you weren't sure he found, and your heart began racing at his proximity. Before you knew what was happening, his lips grazed yours, tentatively waiting for you to pull away.

When you didn't, his lips completely consumed yours in a slow, tender kiss. As he deepened the kiss, you began kissing him back, the two of you quickly in sync with the other, quenching a thirst you both clearly had. Your back slammed into the wall behind you, and as if breaking you from the foggy haze you were in, you pushed him off of you and raised your hand to slap him.

He caught your hand, wrapping his own around your wrist, and roughly pressed it against the wall just above the side of your head. He pressed his entire body against you again as he began kissing you passionately, hunger taking over. Just as quickly as his plump lips began to massage yours in the most delicious way, he slowly pulled a mere inch away from your face. "If you can tell me that you honestly feel nothing, I'll stop, and I'll leave you alone. For good."

Breathing heavily, nearly panting, you tried to make your voice sound strong. Severly failing, you angrily said to him, "You can not bring your, 'kiss me, kiss me not,' madness to my home, Lothbrok! I can't take it anymore!"

Ivar smiled at you, and it infuriated you. "I said tell me you felt nothing."

"No, I can't do this. You want to kiss me, you don't. You want me, you don't. You want to be nice to me, you're a complete ass to me. You want to talk to me, you don't want to talk to me. You want to give me a ride home, then you clearly wish you didn't. You don't know what you want," you said, crossing your arms again, "So, I've made the choice easier by deciding for you. I'm no longer an option."

Looking you directly in your eyes and making you squirm nervously, he said, "You."

Your eyes widened, "Wh-what?"

"You. It's you. It's always been you. Since we were kids, Y/N. I want you." As pissed as you were at him, your body betrayed you. Your heart began to flutter, and your hands were becoming sweaty as you struggled to keep the tears at bay. You weren't sure you heard him right, "Wh-what?" you repeated.

"I want you. I-I always have. I, umm, I was just scared. I want you in every way humanly possible, Y/N. For now, for tomorrow, for when we're old and grey, for always," he looked at you, hesitantly, but sure of himself. "That is, umm, if you'll have me."

He took a deep breath and continued, "Just as I'd finally accepted that we'd went our separate ways and that you'd never be mine, the universe found a way to bring you back into my life, and I know I've done so much to fuck that up, but now, I can't just let you go again, not now that you're just right within my reach."

"To you, I'm just an asshole who doesn't know what he wants, but to me, you're my everything, Y/N. The sun sets and rises on you. You're the very reason I wake up in the morning, my reason for breathing, Y/N. My world just isn't complete without you in it. I, uh, I love you. I-I'm in love with you, Y/N, and I always have been."

You were completely stunned into silence. He reached forward and wiped a tear from your cheek with his thumb that you didn't even know had fallen. He held his hand on your cheek, gazing lovenly into your eyes. Was this the same Ivar Lothbrok that you knew?

You blinked a couple of times. Was this really happening? Finally, you answered, "Well, umm, I guess, as far as apologies go, that actually wasn't too bad." He smiled widely at you as you added, "But umm, are, are you sure, Ivar? Are you sure it's me that you want? I can't do this back and forth with you again."

You dropped your gaze to the small space between the two of you, too nervous to continue looking him in his beautiful eyes.

He gently placed his finger under your chin and lifted your head back up to look at him again. "There's never been a back and forth for me. I've never been more sure of anything else in my life." He smiled warmly at you.

"But, Ivar," you began, but he cut you off with a kiss, his arm wrapping tightly around your waist, yanking you to him.

As he held you, his lips covered yours, slowly, deeply devouring you. His tongue gently parted your lips and entered your mouth to explore as his other hand held you at the nape of your neck.

All the while, your head was spinning, your heart was pounding, and your hands were trembling as you brought them up to grab his shoulders in a small attempt to ground yourself as this felt like a dream.

He pulled slightly away to catch his breath and rested his forehead on yours, his eyes still closed with a blissful smile across his face.

You gently placed your hand on his cheek. "Ivar?" your voice was nearly a whisper. He opened his eyes and raised his head a little so he could see you. Looking into his bright, nervously hopeful eyes, you softly said, "I, umm, I love you, too. I have for quite some time. I-I'm so in love with you."

Grinning from ear to ear, he snatched you up off the floor against him and spun around in a circle with you in his arms, smiling widely. "You don't know how long I've dreamed of this, Y/N," he said, letting you slowly slide down the frame of his body until you were standing in front of him again, his eyes never leaving yours.

His arms still wrapped around you, he began kissing you again like a man starved. He held you tightly, and one of your hands grabbed at his collar, the other tangling in his hair, a frantic dance between two lovers denied access of the other for far too long.

As the kiss grew wilder, hands roaming and squeezing, you'd slowly moved to the sofa without notice until you both toppled over, Ivar landing on top of you with a grunt. Jerking up quickly, he panicked, "Oh, fuck! I-Im sorry!"

You sat up, facing him, "It's ok," and began kissing him again.

He melted into you as he pulled you closer and then into his lap, straddling him. "Is this ok?" he asked, voice small and unsure.

"Umm-hum," you grinned shyly.

He leaned up and began kissing your jawline down to your neck where he nibbled softly and then licked, causing you to jolt forward. His hands gripping the outside of your bare thighs, he looked up at you for reassurance and then continued, pulling your shirt off of your shoulder, and brushing his lips across it, giving small, wet kisses, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

Your head fell backwards and he reached up, tugging the hair tie until your hair fell down all around him as he smiled widely. His hand fisted into your hair, pulling your head forward as his lips softly brushed over yours.

Panting, you quietly said, "Bedroom."

He looked up at you, surprised, "Are, are you sure? You know, that's not the reason I came back."

"Unless you're saying you don't want to, umm..."

"Yes! Absolutely! Yes," he grinned devilishly.

He then slid forward on the sofa, and with you still in his lap, he stood up, grabbing you tightly on your thighs and ass so you wouldn't slip. Giggling, you wrapped your legs around him, "Well, I wasn't expecting that."

He took a few steps before looking up to you, "How did I know your ass was going to feel so amazing in my hands?"

Blushing, you said, "Oh, Lothbrok, what am I going to do with you?"

"Anything you want," he grinned.

He began walking to the stairs where he sat you down and crawled over you. He trailed his fingers up your legs and then up your arms. He pulled your head back, exposing your neck, where he softly kissed, licking your skin, causing you to shiver.

Giggling again, you turned away from him and quickly crawled up the last few steps. When you reached the top, you turned to look back at him where he was still in the same spot. You raised an eyebrow at him.

"I, umm. Sorry, it's just that, umm, I couldn't stop looking at your ass," he blushed.

"And it's still covered. So, are you coming or not, Lothbrok?" you teased.

Smiling up at you, he answered, "No, not yet, but oh, I know I'm going to!"

You laughed, and he began to run up the stairs after you. You squealed as you turned to run to your room.

-------------------------------------------------------

Ivar caught up to you standing in your room with your back to the door. As he caught his breath, he spun you around, seeing the more serious look across your face. He panicked, "We don't have to...."

"I want to," you said in a near whisper, smiling and walking toward him. "It's just, do you know how long it's been since I was with someone that I truly loved?"

"No, but, umm," Ivar's cheeks flushed, "If it makes you feel any better, I umm, I never have. I mean, sure, I thought I was in love before, but umm, I wasn't." He dropped his head.

Surprised, you placed your hand over his heart and tilted his head back to you with your other. "How lucky am I to be the first! I promise you, Ivar, I will guard this," you tapped his chest where your hand laid, "With my life."

With that, his lips engulfed yours. Your hands slid under his shirt, rubbing up his muscular chest. You pulled away just far enough to pull his shirt over his head, dropping it behind him. Mesmerized by the sight before you, your lips were instantly on his skin, kissing his rock hard chest, worshipping his toned body, as your hands gently caressed him, causing him to softly moan.

He scooped you up into his arms again, your legs instinctively wrapping around him, and he sat you down on the bed. Scooting to the middle, your heart raced as he followed you, crawling onto the bed, as he kicked his shoes off.

(Not my picture, found on Ig)

He sat in front of you, watching you fidget until he held your hands in his, pulling them up to his lips. He kissed each knuckle, never looking away from your eyes. Although, it was a simple gesture, you weren't sure you'd ever felt anything else more erotic in your entire life.

He stretched his legs out and pulled you closer to him, your legs draping over his. His lips quickly brushed over yours and then to your jaw, behind your ear, and down your neck to your pulse point. He could feel your pulse quickening on his lips, and he smiled into you before lightly biting you.

As you let out a soft moan, he began kissing and gently biting your shoulder, pulling your shirt down over it. His hands grabbed the bottom of your shirt, and he quickly pulled it over your head, revealing your bare breasts. "Oh, fuck!" he gasped, not prepared for the view before him. "You're, umm, you, you're beautiful," he stumbled over his words causing you to blush.

Watching you intently, his hand traveled up your side, to your chest, and cupped your breast, beginning to gently massage it. In his large hand, your breast was completely covered as he grabbed your nipple between his fingers and squeezed causing you to sharply suck in your breath.

His other hand trailed up and down your spine with feather light touches, sending chills all over your body, as he moved your hair over your left shoulder and began kissing your right one again. He held you as snug to his body as he could, trying to regulate his breathing.

You raised your head up and looked Ivar in his eyes. He cupped your cheek, heart racing out of control, and leaned closer until his lips met yours again.

(Not my picture, found on Ig)

As the kiss grew more heated, the two of you fell to the bed, arms still wrapped around each other. He rolled you to your back where he hovered over you, caging you in, looking down at you and biting his bottom lip, causing your cheeks to redden.

He slowly lowered his head and began kissing you along your collarbone, chills continuing to spread over you. As he reached the middle of your chest, he looked up at you as if asking for permission. Your chest rising and falling rapidly in anticipation, you shyly smiled at him.

He then lowered his head again, trailing kisses down to your breasts, his lips scorching your skin, where he sucked one into his mouth. His tongue swirled around your nipple causing your breath to hitch, as his hand began sensually caressing your other one. To finally have a taste of you, your sweet, salty skin on his lips, his heart fluttered in delight.

He had barely done anything, yet your heart was threatening to pound out of your chest, and your breathing was uneven. You looked down at him, watching in awe as he continued his kisses lower. As he reached the top of your white, lace panties, he sucked your skin along the panty line, causing you to moan, before grabbing them in his mouth. You gasped in surprise as he began yanking them down with his mouth, locked tightly in his teeth.

You lifted your hips to assist him as he got to the fullness of your ass. Leaning up a bit and releasing your panties from his mouth, he sat up on his knees, tucked his fingers in, and yanked them the rest of the way off. Looking down at your naked body for the first time, smiling, he softly said, "It was well worth the wait. I knew you were going to be gorgeous, Y/N." Your eyes widened and cheeks reddened, feeling warmth spread throughout your body, at his words.

Holding your leg and never loosing his eye contact with you, he began kissing down the inside of it. As he got to your inner thigh, you let out a gasp when he lightly bit it and then licked and kissed over where he'd bitten. He kissed lower, still, until he reached your center.

He lifted his head a little, looking up at you. "You're still sure?"

"Umm-hum," was all you said, not trusting you were capable of words. He leaned back into you and slowly licked up your middle, groaning into you. You gasped and wrapped your hands into the sheets. Spreading your lips open with his fingers, he did it again, only this time stopping at your bundle of nerves, where he began circling his tongue.

You were already panting, and your hips jolted upward. He grabbed your hips and pulled you back into his face, laying one arm over you to hold you in place. He then licked up and down your slit before sucking your clit into his mouth, his tongue circling frantically. You whined and moaned as his name rolled off of your lips time and time again while he lapped you up like a thirsty dog.

The room was filled with obscene noises of him sucking and licking you and you panting and moaning unintelligible words. Just as you didn't think you could handle more, Ivar slipped two fingers inside you and curled them as he pressed them into you and continued with his tongue flicking over you.

He began moving his fingers in and out of you at a rapid pace in rhythm with his tongue's movements, driving you absolutely mad. You tangled one hand in the sheets and the other in his hair causing him to moan into you, sending vibrations throughout your core. You screamed out, "Ivar! I'm, I'm com..." and you came in his face, him lapping up your juices with a smile.

You instantly sat up on your elbows, looking down at him, "Oh, shit! I'm sorry! I couldn't...." Ignoring you, he continued licking you as you fell back onto the bed, riding out your high. As your breathing became slower, so did his mouth until he stopped and looked up at you with a smile.

Looking back at him, blushing, you said again, "I'm sorry, Ivar. I didn't mean to do that in your face."

He chuckled, "I'm pretty sure that's supposed to happen. Well, I mean, if I do it right."

"Oh, you definitely did it right. That was amazing!" you said, still trying to catch your breath.

Ivar slowly crawled up over you, caging you under his body again, face glistening, staring down at you like you were his prey. You looked up at him, "I'm still sorry. What can I do for you? I didn't mean to..."

"Oh, don't worry about me. We're not finished, yet. We're just getting started, Love," he grinned. Your eyes widened, and he asked, "Unless you've had a change of heart?"

"Oh, no, uh, it's just that, umm, I've never. I've never had multiple orgasms before or even went more than once." Your face flushed bright red. "It's just always been kind of one and done, you know? Until the guy would finish. And umm, I was expecting you to uh, be upset that I already finished." You covered your face.

He removed your hand from your face and leaned down to kiss you before saying, "Damn! What kind of assholes have you been with? Well, tonight is gonna be completely different than that. My goal is to see to it that umm, that you're satisfied. Fuck the assholes who only think of themselves."

You reached up and pulled him down on top of you, kissing him madly.

"Guess that means you approve?" he grinned.

"Umm-hum," you answered, sliding your hands down his chest to his waist, grabbing his belt. "So, these need to come off." You began unbuckling his belt as he lifted himself up. You had a difficult time opening his pants because you were so distracted at his muscles flexing while he held his body up. He simply laughed at you.

When you finally got his pants open, you tugged at them until he leaned up and helped you get them the rest of the way off. Through his boxers, you could see his hardness already, and you gasped. "See something you like?" he smirked. Why was he always so cocky?

You blushed but didn't answer him as you sat up in front of him. You traced your fingers lightly over his tattoos, like you'd yearned to do for so long, and then began kissing and nibbling down his smoothe, hard, muscular chest to his rock hard stomach.

His eyes widened and his breath hitched as he placed his hands behind himself on the bed to continue to hold himself up. You glanced up at him, "Oh, did I do something you like?" You could be cocky, too.

He chuckled as you pushed him backwards onto the bed, and in feline like movements, crawled over him, continuing to kiss his chest. He shivered, and you smiled as you reached the band of his boxers. You palmed him over them, causing him to gulp as you gently squeezed. You then slipped your fingers under the band and began tugging them off of him, him raising his hips to assist you.

Once you had them off and dropped them to the floor, you were immediately drawn to his erection that stood firmly on his stomach, waiting for your attention. You'd always imagined he was a big guy, but the sheer length and width of him still caught you by surprise. You hadn't realized you'd been staring, but him clearing his throat with a giggle made you painfully aware.

Before he had the opportunity to say something that would surely embarrass you, you quickly decided to do something to catch him off guard.

His eyes never leaving you, you raised up on your knees where he'd have a good view, and reached your hand between your legs. His eyes widened as you swiped your hand through your juices that still remained, being sure to get your palm and fingers generously wet.

His mouth fell open as you then grabbed him with the same wet hand and began stroking him. "Oh, fucking hell, Y/N!" he panted, licking his lips.

You leaned just above him. Still stroking up and down his length, you slowly licked him from base to tip causing him to squirm and whine. Smiling, you opened your mouth and breathed your hot air on him before you looked up at him and licked around the head of his pulsating penis as if it was a lollipop.

Gripping the sheets, Ivar moaned, "Y/N, pl-please."

You loved the sound of him begging in such a way. After twirling your tongue around him one more time, you took him into your hot mouth, sucking as you took him deeper to the back of your throat. He tugged on the sheets as you continued stroking him with your hand and began bobbing up and down on him. You twisted your hand around him back and forth and up and down as your mouth and tongue began to work in unison. His hips jerked up in response, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Your movements grew quicker as his hand wrapped in your hair, him desperately trying to control his moaning. He was breathing heavily, chest rapidly moving up and down, with a slight sheen of sweat forming over his body.

As you continued your relentless onslaught of his twitching member, he abruptly sat up, pushing you back away and off of him. You looked at him, eyes full of concern, as he panted. "No, it's ok. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about," he grinned. "It's just. Fuck, Y/N, I can't. I can't take anymore. I need. Umm, I need you. I don't want to finish in your mouth." He breathed heavily, trying to gain control of himself. "And if you keep that up, I'm definitely going to."

You smiled, body warming with pride. You were about to speak when he suddenly shoved you backwards onto the bed. You giggled as he quickly hovered over you again. "Humm, you really weren't kidding, were you?"

"You have no idea. I've never wanted another living being more than I want you right now." Your heart skipped a beat. "You still sure about this?" he asked one last time, needing to be positive you'd have no regrets.

Placing your hands on his shoulders and gently squeezing, you said, with a wide smile, "Absolutely."

His stare turned serious as he lowered himself to meet your lips. He began kissing you as his hand trailed down your chest and found your right breast. He squeezed and massaged it causing your nipple to harden which he then squeezed between his fingers. You gasped, his hand slowly, sensually sliding down over your curves, causing your breathing to speed up. "Ivar," you moaned breathlessly, clinching your eyes shut. He kissed down your jaw to your neck where he lightly bit just as his hand slid between the two of you and his fingers into you. Your back arched, pressing your chest into him as he began pumping his fingers in and out of you.

After a couple of minutes of driving you wild this way, he leaned his head up from your neck and looked down at you. He removed his hand from you and brought his fingers to his mouth. Never looking away from you, he licked his fingers and then put them in his mouth, wetting them with his saliva. "Fuck!" you groaned at the sight.

Ivar then grabbed himself in his hand and stroked a couple of times before bringing his tip to your slit, sliding up and down between your folds, teasing you. You rolled your hips forward, and he chuckled.

Lining up with your opening, he asked, "You ready?"

"Umm-hum," was all you could say. The anticipation was getting the best of you.

He leaned back just a bit, and then he slowly pushed just his tip into you, causing you to gasp as your eyes opened wide.

"You ok?" he asked. You weren't used to this Ivar who was so caring. You nodded and he, agonizingly slowly pushed the rest of the way into you, bottoming out. Then, he gasped as he smiled widely. "I knew you'd feel amazing," he said, cheekily, causing you to blush.

He didn't move for a moment, giving you time to adjust to the sheer girth of him. Your walls fluttered around him, not used to feeling so very full. You were sure he'd reached your back, and you nearly giggled at the thought.

Then, he slowly rocked his hips into you before pulling back a little and then slamming right back into you. You moaned out his name in pleasure, and he did it again.

He grabbed your hands, interlocking his fingers with yours, and held them on the bed just above your head. He began with very deep, very slow movements, his eyes never leaving yours, wanting to watch you, causing you to release a strained moan.

Ivar leaned down and kissed you again, practically giving you a massage with his mouth, his tongue darting into your mouth to circle around your own. The kiss was slow and passionate, matching his hips' movements.

Your entire body shivered and your toes curled. You tried to pull your hand from his, desperate to touch his chest, his back, run your fingers through his hair that was brushing lightly over your face, but he tightened his grip. When you whined, he whispered, "Not yet."

He continued his slow, steady thrusts into you, savoring it, as if he wanted to take his time and enjoy every second of being inside you. As you looked at his loving stare and his expression of what could only be described as emense pleasure, you thought that must be exactly what he was doing. The passion he held in his stare and expression could be felt in his movements.

You'd never had anyone look at you the way he was at that very moment, so intensely, as if you were perfect and he couldn't get enough of you, and suddenly, you were consumed with emotions, trying to swallow the lump in your throat. You broke his stare, looking away, feeling stupid and fearing he'd see it written all over your face.

He let go of your left hand and gently turned you back to facing him. When he saw your face, his movements immediately stopped. "Oh, no! What's wrong, Y/N? I can stop. Did I hurt you? Are you ok?"

He was so sweet and caring, and you knew if you'd seen this side to him before, you would have fallen in love with him long before now. "No, umm, it's ok. I'm just being stupid. I've never experienced anything this intense before and umm, I-I'm ok. My emotions just got the best of me," you sighed, blushing with embarrassment.

He warmly smiled at you as he brushed his hand over your head and cupped your cheek. Looking you deeply in your eyes, he said, "You're not stupid. When I said I love you, I meant it with every fiber of my being, Y/N. And umm, this is what that looks like. If you prefer, we can stop and give you some time. I won't be upset. I promise."

You shyly smiled, "Where have you been all my life?"

"Waiting on you to love me back," he grinned.

You placed your hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down to where you could feel his hot breath fanning over your face, "No, please don't stop. Just. I love you so much, Ivar Lothbrok."

He smiled as you tangled your hand in his hair and pulled him to your lips beginning to kiss him again. With that, his movements began again, slowly thrusting into you, only this time, he slipped his hand between the two of you and found your sweet spot. He began circling his fingers over it, causing you to stop kissing and cry out, "Oh, Ivar!"

"That's it, let go. Scream my name in pleasure. Let me know what you like!" His thrusts picked up speed, and he finally let go of your other hand.

Wrapping both arms around him tightly, you pulled him onto you, his chest, covered in sweat against your own. He rolled his hips into you languidly, his fingers remaining diligent on your clit as best they could in this position.

You moaned as your nails dug into his back, and you bit his shoulder hungrily. He gasped, completely intoxicated with you, relishing in the pleasurable pain your nails and mouth brought him.

Skin slapping on skin, grasping at each other anywhere you could, chests rising and falling violently, hearts racing, tongues wrestling, more obscene noises filling the room, the heat between the two of you was definitely elevated as Ivar began thrusting into you even harder. You sucked air in sharply and then released an intense groan as the pleasure swept over you, Ivar practically growling in response.

In that moment, completely dominating you, Ivar quickly pulled out of you and flipped you over to your stomach before you'd even realized what was happening. He pulled a pillow down and placed it under ypur pelvis. You gasped, and your eyes widened, beginning to panic as he lowered his head to your ear. "Shh, it's not what you think. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." And you instantly relaxed.

Leaning over you, his hot breath fanning the back of your shoulder, he spread your legs open a bit more with his knees and grabbed himself, lining up with your soaking wet entrance. In one, fluid motion, he plunged into you again, filling you completely and hissing as his back arched and head fell backward.

He pulled back and then slammed into you, then repeated the motion until he had a steady pace, the new angle making you squeal in ecstasy as you clenched the sheets in your hands.

His head falling forward, he breathed hot air onto your skin as he slowly kissed across your shoulders and down what he could reach of your spine. Your mouth fell open, and your eyes closed tightly as you enjoyed the sensual touch of his lips.

As his hips continued rolling into you, his hand trailed up your side, leaving chills in it's wake, and to your hand where he covered it with his, fingers lacing with yours. For such a simple act, it felt extremely intimate, your heart skipping a beat. He trailed his hot, wet kisses to your neck, scorching your skin, and then behind your ear. You whimpered, "Iv-Ivar!"

As Ivar rolled into you again, you whined, "Ivar, I, I need to see you. Please, I want to see your face."

With that, he pulled out of you and sat up on the bed, breathing hard. When you sat up as well, facing him, he grabbed your legs and yanked you to him, placing them over his. Squeezing your hips, he lifted you up, you immediately understanding his intentions, as you wrapped your legs around his hips tightly and grabbed his rock-hard erection. You held him in place as he carefully lowered you onto him, heat coursing through your veins as if you were in a sauna.

Once you were seated completely on him, he hissed, his left arm wrapping tightly around you, pulling you even closer to him. His right hand grabbed a handful of your hair, yanking your lips to his where he devoured them.

You began moving up and down on him, grinding into him, as he released your mouth and began sucking and kissing on your neck and the top of your breasts. He licked up your neck as his arms tightened around you even more, desperate to feel you even closer, pure desire emanating from his very being.

He began to pant, trying to catch his breath. "I-I'm close."

"Me too," you moaned.

Ivar held you tightly as he reluctantly pulled out of you again, raised up, leaned forward, and laid you on your back onto the bed. Breathing heavily, he eased back into you and went back to his deep thrusting. You both were panting, completely out of breath, your nails digging into his back, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He moaned out your name breathlessly, pleasure consuming your entire body, and he never took his eyes off of you. You clawed at the bed sheets, arched your back, and shaking all over, you finally came, like a tsunami crashing onto land, all over Ivar.

Stammering, his thrusts became more sloppy as he sped up, slamming into you harder and harder, causing you to wail out his name. This continued until you felt how he emptied himself deep inside you, your walls clenching tightly around him, milking him to the very last drop. You could hear him moaning and groaning into your ear as you felt his entire body trembling.

He collapsed on top of you, trying to catch his breath, you both completely drenched in sweat. He laid there on you, head buried in your neck, inhaling your sweet scent, while you both came down from your high.

Raising up to give you a quick peck on the lips, he softly said, "That was fucking amazing!" Lifting his hand to move a strand of hair that was stuck to your face, he watched you blush and then added, "But I've always known it would be." You rolled your eyes, and he kissed you again.

After laying there in comfortable silence for a while, your hand gently running through his hair, the two of you dozed off to sleep, wrapped up in each other's arms, Ivar's head lying on your chest. You were both completely spent.

-------------------------------------------------------

You were awakened the next morning by the sun shining through the corner of your bedroom curtains right into your face. As you stretched, you almost had a heart attack when you felt strong arms wrapping tighter around you and pulling you closer from behind. Looking down at yourself, you saw that you were completely naked.

That's when the memories from the night before flooded your mind, and you gasped. That certainly explained the sticky film you felt all over yourself. Panicking, you quickly brought your armpit to your nose to be sure you didn't stink. Relieved and smiling at yourself, you lowered your arm and placed it over Ivar's, putting your hand in his, him instinctively gripping it.

You laid there in the silence, thinking of the night before, how amazing it all had been, how surprised you were by Ivar's actions, how you'd never experienced sex quite like that before. There had been such intimacy between the two of you, and you loved it. You still couldn't believe it had truly happened. Then, you suddenly began to panic. What if he regretted it?

As if sensing your panic, Ivar sat up a little, rubbing his eyes, and softly kissed your shoulder, looking down at you. "Well, good morning, Sunshine," he grinned into you.

He then turned you over to your back so he could see your face and softly kissed your lips. "I could get used to this," he said, brushing your hair away from your face and staring into your eyes. "Do you even know how beautiful you are?"

"Ivar," you scolded him, but you were relieved that you obviously had no reason to panic.

"What? It's true." And you rolled your eyes and began to blush. "Especially, when you do that." He kissed you again, and you pulled slightly away from him before it could get heated. You had some questions you needed answered.

His eyebrows furrowed in question, and you began to speak. "Ivar, umm, I need to, umm. What's next?"

Grinning devilishly, he said, cupping your cheek, "Well, first," he gave you a quick peck on the lips, "I thought that," he kissed you again, "We could maybe," he kissed your cheek, "Do, again, what we did last night." He kissed your collarbone, smiling widely. "Then, I thought, after a shower, together, of course, where I'm sure we'll do even more of last night's delicious activities," he giggled, "I'd cook us some breakfast. How's pancakes sound?" His stomach growled at that very moment, and you both chuckled.

Still smiling, you said, "No, I mean, umm, between us. Like, at work, do we go back to pretending like we hate each other? Like, what happens with us now?"

"Well," he sat up, suddenly becoming serious, "I'm all yours, Y/N. Heart, body, mind, and soul, to do whatever you choose. For today, tomorrow, next month, until the end of days," he dropped his head as his heart began to race. "That is, umm," he shyly looked you straight in your eyes, his voice smaller, "If you'll have me."

Your eyes widened, and you felt yourself trying to get emotional. You pushed it away as you answered, "Of course!" you practically yelled out, then, "You're serious?"

Grabbing your hands in his and kissing them, he answered, "I told you, I'm not really a one night stand kind of guy. I'm in it for the long hawl. I figure I'll look very nice with you on my arm as my girlfriend, and then, of course, you'll move in with me and eventually become my wife, and then, we can populate the town with our children," he laughed. "I love you, Y/N."

You raised up and hugged him tightly, kissing the top of his head. "I love you so much," your heart pounded in your chest as you both were consumed with emotions, "But we'll have to discuss that populating the town with our children. That's my uterus you're talking about, you know?"

Leaning up to kiss you again, he said, "Ok, fine, but we can still practice," and you both laughed hysterically.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later: "Oh, and Ivar?" you said as he raised up from hugging you to look you in the eyes.

"Yes?"

"If I ever need to take a break from your ass again, don't go tracking me down at my mom's," you laughed.

He answered, "Well, umm, you know, I can't make any promises," and you both laughed again.

The next day, you slept in. You felt no need to get out of bed before you had to leave for your flight. You slowly opened your eyes and looked around the room, your head pounding. As you thought of getting out of bed, memories of the night before flashed through your mind; the ballroom, Freydis, the awards you and Ivar had won, talking and drinking on the sofa with Ivar, kissing Ivar. Wait. You sat straight up in the bed. Kissing Ivar?

"Oh shit!" you said out loud to yourself. That's when the memory hit you and hard. You placed your fingers over your lips and your other hand at the nape of your neck, gently rubbing with both where his hands and mouth had been. Your cheeks burned at the memory, and you were glad he wasn't there to see you.

Then, you remembered him stopping everything. Why? Is he really that indecisive? What was his reason for stopping? As you thought hard, you remembered something about how you two had drank too much. Had you? Aside from the headache, you couldn't even tell you'd drank anything. Was he using that as an excuse to not take things any futher with you? But that kiss. That kiss was like no other you'd ever had before. It lingered on your lips, with your memory. You were thankful you remembered it. Maybe he simply rethought the situation, him being your boss and all. And you could understand that. Couldn't you? But why did it hurt so much?

Not really having the time to dissect everything any futher, you heard a loud knock at your door, "Y/N! Hey! Wake up! We're running super late! We need to be at the airport by 12 and it's already 11:30 am! PLEASE hurry!"

You looked at the clock, because it didn't feel that late. Surely, you hadn't slept that long. "Hey! Y/N! You ok in there?"

You stared blankly at the clock when you saw he was right, and it was actually that late. Just as you turned your head toward the door again, Ivar knocked again, "Ok, fine, I'm coming in, Y/N," he said opening your bedroom door and walking a step inside.

When he saw you laying in the bed and yanking the covers to your chin, he gulped, "I-I'm uh, I'm sorry. I thought you were still asleep. We, umm. We need to go."

"As you've said," you answered him dryly.

"I, umm. We. I'm..." he stumbled over his words.

"Yes, I get it. If you'll kindly leave my room and close the door behind you, I'll get up and get ready," you answered him coldly. It was then that you noticed he was still wearing his sweats from the night before and had only slipped on a shirt and sunglasses. "Shouldn't you get ready as well?"

He looked down at himself and then back to you, "I am ready."

"Oh," you glared at him, and he finally got the message and stepped out, closing the door as he did.

You quickly jumped out of bed, and threw on some clothes as you rushed to the bathroom to freshen up. As you thought of quickly putting on make up, you decided against it. What was the point anyway? You obviously had noone to impress. And since Ivar had his sunglasses on, you assumed it was sunny out, so you could just wear yours as well and hide your face if you felt the need.

Once your hair was combed and pulled up into a bun, you threw all of your stuff into your suitcase and opened your door. There Ivar stood, waiting for you, with his things. "You've got everything?" he asked, taking a quick look at you.

"Yeah."

He stared at you for another moment as if he was about to say something, but then he never did. He finally averted his eyes, nervously, and opened the door, motioning for you to walk through first. The two of you headed out and to the elevator. You thought it was odd that he didn't take his glasses off, but you didn't say anything.

The elevator ride was quiet. Ivar didn't say a word so neither did you. Once downstairs, you followed him to the front desk where he checked you both out of the hotel. "Your car will be here momentarily, Mr. Lothbrok. You may wait in the lobby since it's raining outside."

Your head snapped to the doors behind you. You hadn't noticed the rain until the lady had mentioned it. As the two of you stood waiting at the doors in the lobby, you looked over to him, "Guess you didn't know it was raining, hum?"

He glanced at you and then turned his gaze back to the doors, "No, I knew."

"Then why the sunglasses?"

He simply shrugged his shoulders and provided you with no answer. When the car was finally there, surprisenly, he held the door for you again to exit first. You almost made a snarky remark because you'd somewhat expected him to let the door close in your face after your one sided, brief exchange, but you decided against it, and simply walked out into the rain, gave your things to the driver, and quickly climbed into the car, Ivar following suit.

The ride to the airport was just as the elevator ride had been, quiet. It was quiet and even a bit awkward. You realized that he must have really regretted that kiss. He wouldn't even speak to your now. Two could play that game. You knew you could be just as stubborn as he could be, and you'd remind him.

When you finally arrived at the airport, the rain had picked up. The both of you jumped out quickly and ran up to the doors, waiting for the driver to bring you your things. You had yours first, so you turned without a word and walked inside with them, leaving Ivar standing outside alone, even though you knew you couldn't really leave him altogether. He had the tickets.

When he finally joined you inside, you expected him to say something to you, but he didn't udder a word and simply continued to the line with you following behind.

Wow! He really was pissed, and you were confused as to why. Shouldn't you be the one who was upset? He's the one who'd basically led you on, not once, but twice, and then changed his mind right in the middle of it all. And if his problem was that you'd left him standing alone in the living room, well, he deserved it. After all, he'd done the same thing to you first.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I need you to remove your glasses so I can verify your identity matches your ID," you heard the lady behind the counter say, jerking you out of your thoughts.

"I really don't think that's necessary. It's obvious that I'm the one pictured on the ID," Ivar snapped at her to your surprise. Why was he making such a big deal out of it? It was a simple request.

"My apologies, Sir, but it's our policy," she insisted, and you looked over to him. Surely, he'd comply.

He snatched his glasses off of his face with a huff and a snarl, and you were not prepared for what you saw. His eyes were blood shot and very puffy. They appeared as if he had been, you must be crazy for even thinking, crying?

"Is that sufficient? Can we go now?" he snapped.

"Umm, yeah. Uh, yes, Sir. Thank you," the poor lady said with a weak smile.

The two of you walked to have your bags checked and he still remained silent. You desperately wanted to ask if he was ok, but with the snarl still across his face, you didn't dare.

Thankfully, the flight was on time, and you didn't have to wait together. Once you were both settled in your seats, and the plane had taken off, you admitted your defeat to yourself and tried to talk to Ivar.

"Ivar, umm, are you, umm ok?" you asked hesitantly.

He tilted his head in your direction, his sunglasses, oddly, still on, and said, "Oh, so now, it's Ivar again, humm?"

You were taken back by his words, but you ignored it, and tried again. "I just. Well, you're so silent, and your eyes look so red. I just wanted to. I don't know. Make sure you're ok?"

"Look, Y/N, I'm fine. I just. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, ok? This is a long flight, and I'm going to try to get some rest now, and don't feel like chatting it up with you after, umm, well. What was it you said last night? 'You change your mind so often, you make me dizzy.' So, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you let me try to get some sleep." He put ear buds in and turned the miniature tv on to some kind of music, and you could see from the side of his glasses that he'd closed his eyes.

You tried not to gasp at his coldness. The two of you used to always argue with each other all the time. This was no different. But was it? There was deep meaning and anger behind his words now. And you felt a pang in your heart. It actually felt like he'd squashed it in his bare hands.

You finally turned your head away from him and looked out the window, wiping a tear before it had the chance to roll down your cheek. You scoffed at yourself for letting his words get to you. You were stronger than that, and you'd make sure it didn't happen again, at least not until you were safe at home by yourself.

Propping your head on the window and your palm, you closed your eyes, hoping for sleep as well. Yes, this was definitely going to be a long flight.

-------------------------------------------------------

You were finally home, dumped out at the curb like unwanted trash. It had seemed that Ivar couldn't get rid of you fast enough, and you tried to ignore how badly that hurt you.

You sat in your bubble bath, that you were convinced would help you feel better, with your knees drawn up to your chest, arms snug around them tightly, thinking about everything. The drive home from the airport had been just as quiet, cold, and awkward as the rest of the day had been.

You were surprised Ivar had such a chip on his shoulders. You remembered the night before, mostly, and again, he was the one who didn't know what he wanted. You had already made your mind up about him before you'd found him with Freydis, and now, that cold, hard truth was haunting you. Of all people to fall for, why did it have to be Ivar Lothbrok?

You rolled your eyes at yourself, thinking how pathetic you were being, and did your best to push it all the way down deep inside of you. These were emotions you didn't need in your life. You didn't have time for such things. This was the exact reason you hadn't had a boyfriend in forever.

So you decided you would put on your big girl panties and go to work the next morning with your head held high. You'd done your job and done it well, and that's what mattered. If things got too difficult, you'd just have to follow through with your previous plans on finding another job. You made a mental note to check the next day on the places you'd sent your Resumé just to have a backup plan. Incase.

---------

You didn't really sleep well, tossing and turning all night. You refused to let yourself believe it had anything to do with Ivar. Ivar Lothbrok did not have that kind of control over you. You almost called in, but you'd never done that before, and you didn't want to appear weak. He did not get to you, definitely not enough to prevent you from doing your job.

With that, you rolled out of bed and rushed around getting ready. Just as you grabbed your keys and headed to the door, the doorbell rang. You looked at the clock. Who would be at your door at this hour?

You opened the door and found an older gentleman dressed in a suit, "Miss Y/L/N?"

"Umm, maybe. Who is asking?"

He bowed and answered, "I'm Mr. Lothbrok's personal driver, Mike. He instructed me to drive you to and from the office everyday this week."

You had forgotten all about that, but you were sure that arrangement was different now. "Oh, umm, I think that was umm, previous plans. Things have changed since he, umm, since Mr. Lothbrok made those arrangements. I will no longer be requiring your assistance, Sir. I'm sorry he didn't inform you."

Smiling widely, he said, "Ma'am, he told me you may say something just like that and wanted me to inform you that he made these arrangements this morning."

You were shocked. "He what? This morning? Are you sure? I still don't think it's necessary. I'll be fine to drive myself."

"Miss Y/L//N, I have very strict instructions from Mr. Lothbrok that I am, in no way, to let you drive alone. I am to drive you to and from work all week. Please, assist me in doing my job. I'd hate to anger Mr. Lothbrok. Have you ever seen him when he's mad? He can be well, ruthless."

You sighed in defeat as pictures flashed through your mind of a mad Ivar. You couldn't be the reason that this gentleman suffered from that anger. "Fine. Just let me lock my door, and will you tell him that I don't like this situation at all?"

"He said you'd say something like that as well."

You rolled your eyes, still annoyed at how well he knew you. At least this may mean your work environment with him shouldn't be too hostile. He wouldn't have still sent the driver if he hadn't slept off some of his anger. Right? You hoped, at least.

You arrived at work, and Liv was the first person you spoke to. Of course, she was curious about your weekend and full of questions. You didn't really tell her anything other than about the work related things.

"Yeah, and? You know that's not what I'm talking about. I mean with you and the boss?" she winked. "Anything happen there?'

You huffed a sigh, "Not here, Liv." Of course, you'd tell her everything. She was your best friend, but this wasn't the place or time.

"Then we have a lot to discuss over lunch," Liv smiled, and you rolled your eyes.

The morning seemed to fly by as you spent most of your time returning emails and phone calls. Finally, it was lunch time, although, you did dread recounting the events of your weekend with Liv. As you and Liv were preparing to leave for lunch, Ivar's father approached you. You were surprised, because he rarely left his office. "Hello, Y/N. How are you? Are you leaving?"

"Umm, yes, Sir, we're headed to lunch, and I'm great, thanks," you responded nervously.

"Could I have a quick word with you before you go?"

"Sure, Mr. Lothbrok," you answered, looking at Liv and shrugging your shoulders.

He then looked over to her and said, "I promise, she will only be a moment. Sorry for delaying your lunch." Liv stared at him without words and simply smiled.

Once you were in his office, he graciously thanked you for all of your hard work and congratulated you on the awards you and Ivar had won for the company.

Then, he quickly got to the point. "I think I should also thank you for, umm, what's a good word? 'Dealing' with my son. I know he can be an angry man, and he doesn't always use his anger wisely, but you have seemed to tame the wild beast," he chuckled. "These last few months, I have seen him happier than I can actually ever remember seeing him before. He's even had genuine smiles on his face, and I think all of that can be contributed to you, Y/N."

"Me, Sir? I highly doubt that," you swallowed thickly.

"Please, call me Ragnar. And forgive me for crossing lines that, perhaps, I shouldn't, but did something happen during the trip?" Your face turned bright red, and he immediately realized what you thought he was implying. "No, no, Y/N. I don't mean THAT. I'm not quite that rude," he smiled. "I just meant, did the two of you get along? Did you have some kind of argument or such?"

"Wh-why? What happened?" you asked, confused.

"Well, he didn't come to work today. He didn't even call. I realize he's my son and all, but a simple call or text would've been adequate. It wasn't until I called him that he said he's sick and couldn't make it in today."

You were shocked. You couldn't remember Ivar ever missing work. He loved his job. "Umm, no. Uh, no, Sir. I mean, Ragnar. I-I'm, shocked. Maybe he got some kind of food poisoning?" you lied.

He stared at you as if reading your mind. You stared back with your best poker face. "Of all the years he's worked here, he's never missed a single day of work. Not one. He told me the same thing, that maybe it was food poisoning. But you? You're fine? I assume you ate together while you were away," he asked, scrutinizing your every move.

You felt as if he could see straight through you, like you were in school and had gotten called into the principal's office. "Umm, yes, Sir."

"Ragnar," he corrected.

"Yes, umm, Ragnar. We did eat together, but we ate different things. Maybe something just didn't agree with him?" you answered quickly, before he had a chance to say more. "Is there something you needed him to do today that, perhaps, I can do in his absence? I really don't mind, especially if he's not feeling his best," you tried.

"Umm," he stroked his goatee, thinking. "I do believe so. Can I put the paperwork on your desk for the merger tomorrow, and you look it over, and be sure there's no detail left out? You can start on it after your lunch, of course."

"Of course, umm, Ragnar. Will that be all?"

"Yes, Dear. Thanks for your, umm, honesty," he grinned at you, and you could see where Ivar had gotten his mischievous smirk. You knew at that very moment, he knew you were lying through your teeth, the cheeky bastard. You left his office, feeling like a complete idiot.

"What was that about?" Liv asked before you even made it all the way back to your desk.

"Come on. I'll tell you everything at lunch."

To say you were surprised about speaking with Ivar's father was an understatement, but you were even more surprised that Ivar hadn't come to work. You felt worried and then you felt mad at yourself for feeling worried. He was a big boy. He could take care of himself. Right? But you had this nagging feeling that you should call him just to see if he needed anything. What if he really was sick? He'd have to be in pretty bad shape to not come to work.

It didn't help that Liv was there pressuring you to call him either. After you'd informed her of every detail of your trip, she was convinced that you were brain dead and that Ivar was in love with you. You laughed at her, even if you secretly hoped she was right, because he'd given you no such indication.

Finally, after a long back in forth with Liv, you decided to send Ivar a quick text message. You weren't sure you were actually capable of talking to him.

Hi. Heard you were sick. Are you ok? Just wanted to see if you needed anything. I know you never miss work.

Within seconds, you received his reply:

I'm fine, thanks. Don't need anything.

And that was all he said. Speechless, you showed Liv your phone. "You still think he's in love with me, now, Smarty Pants?"

She snatched your phone from your hand, "I do. He's just butt hurt." And she began typing away.

"No! Liv! What are you saying? Do not send that without me reading it first!"

"Too late," she said, handing your phone back to you. You looked at the message she sent, and you were mortified.

OK. Sorry for caring. I just assumed you were feeling as crappy as I am, but you know what they say about assuming. Guess you just beat me to making an ass out of you.

"Oh my God! Liv! What? Why did you send that? Fuck!"

She laughed at you, "Damn girl, you really do love him, don't you?"

"Don't start, Liv. This is ridiculous. He's my boss! Why would you send something like that to him?"

"Oh, relax. He's in love with you, too. He'll probably even laugh. He knows he's being a dick, and any other time, you'd call him out on it, but now that you've got feelings involved, you can't, so I did it for you," she smiled.

"You cunt!"

"You love me."

You rolled your eyes at her.

The rest of the day was uneventful. You looked over the paperwork that Ivar's father had left for you and only had to add one minor detail. You informed him that everything was set for the next morning, and he graciously thanked you. That was probably the most interaction you'd had with Ragnar Lothbrok since you started the job.

You rolled your eyes at Liv when she giggled when Ivar's driver came for you at the end of the work day. "See you tomorrow, you cunt," you grinned and said under your breath to her. "And you better not say anything to him if he actually comes to work tomorrow."

"I can't make any promises."

"Liv!"

"Ok, ok, I'm kidding. Bye!"

-------------------------------------------------------

The next day came too fast. You had another restless night and had to hide the dark circles under your eyes with makeup. Ivar had never replied to Liv's text message, and even though you tried to pretend as if you were unbothered by it, it actually struck a nerve with you. It wasn't like him not to go back and forth with you. The silence was deafening, and you knew that's why you didn't sleep well, but you'd never admit that to another living soul.

Before you even realized it was time, your doorbell rang. Grabbing your purse and keys, you rushed to the door. "Good morning, Ms. Y/L/N. Are you ready?"

"You really don't need to come to my door every morning, Mike. I can just come out, you know?"

"More strict orders from Mr. Lothbrok, ma'am. I just do as he says."

Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, you replied, closing the door, "Well, I hope he pays you well. It must be difficult with him bossing you around all the time."

"Umm, no, ma'am. I gather that your safety is well worth every bit of it. He seems to take the matter very seriously, in which case, so do I," he warmly smiled at you.

You were taken back. If he cared, he had a fucked up way of showing it. "Nah, I really don't think he cares that much. I know him. I think he just likes having even this little bit of control over me."

Opening the car door for you, Mike answered, "Are you sure you know him well, ma'am?"

As he closed the door, you let his words sink in. What did he mean? Of course, you knew Ivar Lothbrok. He's a cold hearted asshole.

Wasn't he?

You hadn't realized you'd already reached the office and that the car had stopped until the driver was standing in the open car door. "Ms. Y/L/N? We're here. Are you ok? Should I go get someone?"

"No, no. Don't worry. I'm fine. I-I'm sorry. I must have dozed off," you lied, "I'm coming." You grabbed your things and got out of the car. "And please, call me Y/N. Ms. Y/L/N is what everyone calls my mom."

He smiled at you, "Ok. Have a nice day, Y/N." He smiled again, "I'll see you this afternoon."

"Thank you."

You took everything to the conference room for the meeting once you had put your things away. This was the big buisness deal you and Ivar had made happen the first night of the conference, so you wanted everything to be perfect.

Liv had helped you bring pastries, juice, and water and set them out on the table in preparation. You sat at the table and looked around. Everything was ready. Now, you just needed Ivar to show up. You hadn't heard anything from him, of course, but you wondered if he would be there or not. This was a very important deal for the company, and you knew if he didn't come, it would have to mean he was actually sick and not faking it like you'd previously thought.

You quickly flipped through the papers in front of you one last time, making sure you could handle everything if Ivar was, in fact, a no show. You looked at the clock. The reps from the other company should be arriving any moment, and it appeared as if it was going to be only you.

"You've got this," you said out loud to yourself.

"Just be careful not to make an ass out of you," you heard the familiar voice coming from behind you. "Wasn't that what you said yesterday?"

You whipped around, shocked. "Iv-Ivar?"

"And she still knows my name," Ivar said sarcastically, and you rolled your eyes. He was definitely back at it. Then you looked at him.

"Umm, wh-what are you wearing?" You looked him up and down. He was in jeans, a grey t-shirt, and a jean jacket. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were dark. While you found him extremely attractive, you weren't sure why he'd dress that way for such an important meeting. Had he been with someone? Was that why he didn't work the day before and looked like this today?

"I'm sure you're intelligent enough, Ms. Y/L/N, to answer that question for yourself. As you know, I haven't been feeling too well. I've only come in for this meeting, then, I'll be leaving. I have some other things I must attend to."

Wait. What? He just called you by your last name? That was strangely new. "Wha..."

"Are these the forms for me?" you heard him ask, but you were still processing. "Ms. Y/L/N, are these mine?"

"What the hell is up with you calling me...."

Liv opened the door and popped her head in, "The reps from the other company are here. Should I have them wait?"

"No. Please send them in," Ivar answered her before you could tell her to have them wait.

You side eyed him, "Yes, those are your forms." Trying not to sigh, you added, "Mr. Lothbrok." Two could play this game.

As the reps entered, Ivar greeted them, shaking their hands, and asked for their forgiveness for his appearance, stating he was under the weather. Of course, they didn't mind. He definitely was a smooth talker. The meeting went well. You'd almost even forgotten how odd things were, at the moment, between you and Ivar. The gentleman were very pleased with your work and excited about the changes that were going to be taking place with their company. Ivar even took the time to compliment your hard work and dedication to the project as well, which surprised you. At least he knew how to fake it in front of people.

It wasn't until after all the paperwork was signed, the deal was complete, and the gentleman left the conference room that Ivar addressed you directly.

"Ms. Y/L/N, will you be able to hold down the office for the rest of day while I'm away?"

Picking up the last bit of paperwork from the table, you glared at him, "What?"

"You didn't hear me? I'm going to be out of the office for the..."

"Yes, I heard you. Why do you keep calling me Ms. Y/L/N?"

Turning to look you straight in the face, he answered coldly, "That's your name, is it not?"

You huffed, rolling your eyes at him, and turned to walk away. Before you reached the door, he was standing in front of you. Placing both hands on your forearms, he seemed to have dropped the act for a moment. "Y/N. I-I'm sorry. Don't you understand that I..?"

At that moment, Liv opened the door, "Umm, I'm uh, sorry to interrupt." Ivar's arms immediately dropped from your arms to his side. "But, Mr. Lothbrok, a woman has been calling for you. She said that she's been waiting for your call since yesterday and demanded that I inform you because you'd be upset if I didn't deliver the message."

"Wait. What?" he asked, confused. "Did she leave a name?"

"No, Sir. She did, however, leave her number."

"Umm, ok. I have no idea who that would be. Will you place it on my desk in my office, please? I don't have time for that right now."

When Liv stepped out and closed the door behind her, Ivar turned back to you. "Yes," you said to his confused stare. "Yes, I can hold the office down while you're out." You opened the door, and standing in the doorway, you turned back and looked at him, "Since you're 'so under the weather.'" Then, giving a dry smile, you added again, "Mr. Lothbrok," and let the door slam behind you.

He stood there, stunned, and just stared at the door.

As Ivar left, he stopped at Liv's desk. "Could you please try to get a name if that lady calls for me again? I'm not sure who it is and don't recognize the number. You can just send me an email if you get any information."

"Yes, Sir. No problem.

You rolled your eyes. It really annoyed you how he tried to play so innocent in front of you. You hoped he'd talk to whoever the woman was. You were sure you couldn't handle his model type women coming to see him in the office, not after that kiss. Oh, that kiss! That was one thing you couldn't afford to think about while you were at work, so you pushed it far back in your mind and tried to concentrate.

The rest of the afternoon had went pretty smoothly. You took a couple of calls from a few other businesses that you and Ivar made deals with and took messages for Ivar. You even scheduled one meeting for the following Monday. You certainly hoped that Ivar would be himself by then.

Liv interrupted your thoughts, "Y/N? This call is for you. It's that same woman, and she refuses to give me her name. She asked for you since Mr. Lothbrok isn't here."

"What? Did she ask for me by name?"

"She did," Liv shrugged. "First and last name."

That was strange. Could it be Emilie? But Emilie wouldn't be so rude as to not give her name. You answered and asked how you could help. On the other line, a voice answered, "You can help by telling Ivar I need him to call me back. I've been waiting, and I'm terribly lonely without him back in my bed, keeping me warm. He should have been back here by now. Could you please tell me where he went?"

You were completely shocked. You'd recognize that whiney voice anywhere. Freydis.

You were too stunned to answer, mouth gaping open, and she continued, "Ms. Y/L/N? Y/N, if I may, can you please inform me where my love has gone? As I said, I miss him terribly, and I really need..."

Before she could continue, you hung up the phone on her. You sat quietly, completely at a loss for words. You must have had a look mixed of disgust and surprise, because Liv was immediately at your desk. "Y/N? Who was that? What did she say?" You didn't answer. "Y/N? Are you ok?"

Then, you stood, grabbing your things, "Liv, we have thirty minutes left. Can you please take care of the office? I, umm, I've got to go. I can't do this." You headed toward the door.

"Y/N, wait! What happened? Who was that? You know Mr. Lothbrok will be pissed if he finds out you left me to close up."

"Let him fire me then. I don't give a fuck!" and you left.

You'd never been so happy to see Mike waiting for you. "Good evening, Ms., umm, I mean, Y/N. How are you this evening?"

"Honestly, Mike," you began as he held the door open for you, "I could really use a drink. I know it's technically not part of your job, but could you maybe just drop me off at a bar. I don't care which one. I can catch an Uber home later."

He looked at you concerned, "My wish is your command," he attempted to lighten the mood, "And actually, my orders were to take you wherever you ask." He closed the door and the two of you drove off.

-------------------------------------------------------

Mike refused to leave you at the bar alone, even though you'd told him you didn't know how long you'd be. He left you as you had asked, but he waited in the car. After a little over an hour, you saw him inside looking for you.

You waved at him, and he came over to you, on the other side of the bar. "Why don't you join me, Mike? I can get you a drink, too."

"Umm, Ms. Y/L/N, I'm driving. I'll just have a soda."

"Oh, not you, too, Mike."

He looked at you confused, "I'm sorry, I couldn't possibly drink anything else and put you in danger when I drive you home."

"No, I mean calling me by my last name, too." You placed your hand on his shoulder, "Please. Call me Y/N. Mr. Lothbrok has been calling me by my last name, and I honestly just can't stand it." You turned your drink up and asked for another. He simply smiled at you.

"How long have you been his driver, Mike?"

"As long as I can remember," he grinned. "He used to hate it, and probably me too, but he eventually got used to it."

"That must be a hard job. He's such an asshole. I'm sorry," you took a big sip of your drink.

"Actually, he isn't. He's kind of like a son to me. He confides in me, and I do the same with him. Sometimes, his anger gets the best of him, but I think he's come a long way from how he used to be when he was younger, when the two of you went to school together."

You snapped your head around to him, surprised, "What? You know about us going to school together?"

"Yes, ma'am. You used to be all he'd talk about with me. Well, actually, he'd complain about you," he smiled, turning up his drink. "I always told him he needed to learn how to be patient. He was so surprised when you came to work for his father."

You were shocked. Ivar had told Mike about you? Why? He was always so bitter, and now, he was with Freydis again. Guess he'd be finished talking about you, now. "Well, I'm sure he won't talk about me anymore. Not now that he's finally found someone else to," you wanted to throw your glass, "Keep him busy."

Mike looked at you, scratching his head, "Someone else? I find that hard to believe. Who?" Mike seemed genuinely surprised.

"Well, he's probably keeping it quiet because he doesn't want to have to deal with everyone else's opinions. Umm, I think I should keep my mouth shut and let you talk to him, Mike. I'm sorry," you said, trying to stand.

Mike was instantly on his feet with his arm around you, "Maybe you've had enough to drink, Y/N. Should I take you home now?"

"Umm, yeah. Sure," you answered. You hadn't realized how much you'd had to drink until you tried walking to the car. Thankfully, Mike helped you. "I-I'm sorry, Mike. I've made a fool of myself. Thank you for your help."

"It's not a problem. Let's get out of here."

Once you were home, Mike helped you inside as well, "Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave? And you won't be attempting to drive tonight, right?"

"No, I'm here for the night," you smiled. "Thanks, Mike. See you tomorrow morning?"

"Absolutely," he answered and closed the front door behind him.

You thought of your brief conversation with Mike. You wished you hadn't drank as much as you had. You would have liked to have asked him a few more questions about Ivar. Why would he have talked to Mike about you anyway?

Then, you thought of Freydis' phone call. Apparently, Ivar hadn't mentioned that to Mike. Why was he embarrassed that they were together again? If he was dumb enough to take her back, he should at least stand up for it. Or maybe he only hooked up with her, and now she was being clingy with him again.

Either way, it made you feel sick just thinking about it. And now, to understand that she was obviously the reason he'd missed work? You rushed to your bathroom where you actually threw up in the toilet. You weren't sure if you were sick from drinking too much or if it was from thinking of Ivar with Freydis, but whichever it was, you felt horrible. Why was this happening?

You finally made your way back to your sofa where you practically fell down on it. Trying to push everything out of your mind, you closed your eyes, and before long, dozed off to sleep.

Dreaming, you tossed and turned. You tried to wake yourself up, but your eyes were just too heavy, so you continued in your restless slumber where you heard your doorbell ring. In your fog, you heard the hammering on your door, from what sounded like the pounding of a fist, followed by a familiar voice. "Y/N! Answer the door! Y/N? Come on, are you in there? Are you ok? Y/N! Please!"

You groaned in response. Why couldn't you get some rest from Ivar Lothbrok? Even in your dreams, he tormented you. You could still hear his faint voice, "Y/N, please! Open the door. At least let me know if you're ok. I'm sorry. Please. Y/N."

Finally, his voice faded back into the silence of your dreams followed by the soft sound of your phone ringing somewhere in the darkness. Even while dreaming, you had no desire to talk to him. There was no excuse good enough to explain choosing Freydis.

You squinted your eyes together tighter, barely conscious, pulling the throw blanket from the back of the sofa half hazardly over you, and soon fell into an even deeper sleep where you were finally no longer plagued by the haunting of Ivar's voice, not even in your dreams.

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"Ms. Y/L/N! Hello! Y/N! Can you hear me? Y/N," you rolled over and nearly off the sofa at the loud voice coming from the outside of your front door followed by loud banging.

"Ugh!" You raised up on the sofa holding your head and stretching. Your entire body ached. How had you fallen asleep on your sofa?

As you groaned again, you recognized the voice outside to be coming from Mike. "Ms. Y/L/N! I'm afraid I'm going to have to break your door down if you don't answer me. Y/N?"

You somehow managed to drag yourself off the sofa and to your front door, unlatching it. "Ok, ok. I'm here. Shhhh. Must you be so loud?" You jerked your door open. "What's the big fuss all about? Can you keep it down some, Mike?" you asked, still holding your head.

"It's time for work, Ms. Y/L/N, or will you not be going in today?" Mike asked you as you turned around and found your clock on the wall.

"Fuck! How did I oversleep? Come in. It's going to be a minute."

It was then that the other movement outside your front door caught your eyes. You saw Ivar getting up from the ground by your door. Once on his feet, he grabbed Mike on the shoulder, squeezing, and mumbled something to him that you weren't quite sure of but thought it could have been a, "Thank you." That was strange. Why was Ivar sitting outside your front door?

You watched Ivar walk to his car that was parked in front of Mike, get in, and pull away. Mike stepped into your doorway, "How much time will you need," he askef, " Umm, Y/N? Should I wait in the car?"

"What? You're gonna act like I didn't just see Ivar pulling himself up off the ground by my door? What was that all about?"

"Umm. Well," he hesitated.

"Out with it, Mike. Had he planned to come in but changed his mind? I really wouldn't be surprised."

"Well, actually, he dropped by last night. He asked me about driving you home, and umm, I may have mentioned the pitstop at the bar."

"Oh God, Mike! Why?" you asked, ushering him in and closing your door as you rushed around your apartment, trying to get dressed.

"Y/N, don't you remember? I had to help you inside once we arrived here. I was concerned about you, and umm, I wasn't the only one," he smirked.

"Oh, please," you rolled your eyes, "I was fine. I pretty much didn't leave the sofa since you left me. My body can vouch for that," you groaned. "Wait. Are you saying Ivar sat outside my door all night? Why? And why didn't he knock?" Then, you remembered your dream. Had it actually been real?"

"He did. He said you never answered. He was worried, and he didn't know if you'd try to leave, so he stayed just to be sure you didn't."

You stared at him in disbelief. Raising an eyebrow, you asked, "He did what? No way!"

"I asked you already, Y/N. Are you sure you know Mr. Lothbrok so well?"

You stared at him, confused. "But he. He's so. But why?" It didn't make sense to you. Why was he so cold to you if he actually gave a damn about you driving drunk? Bad for buisness, maybe?

"Well, umm, I'll be right back. I've got to finish getting dressed. Please, have a seat."

You couldn't believe you overslept. You freshened up, brushing your teeth as you got dressed, and finally, you were, at least what you thought, was presentable enough for work. You ran back to Mike and told him you were finally ready.

In the car ride over, you tried pushing the thoughts of Ivar outside your door all night out of your head. However, you didn't really succeed. It was just frustrating, the entire thing.

When you walked in, to your dismay, you were greeted by Ivar. "Oh, good morning, Ms. Y/L/N. How nice of you to join us," he said teasingly.

But you were not in the mood. Looking at the clock behind him, you said, "I'm three minutes late, Mr. Lothbrok," you mocked him. "If that's a problem, feel free to write me up." You walked passed him and put your things at your desk, avoiding Liv's questioning stare.

"We have a meeting in twenty minutes." He walked past your desk and to his office door. He then, turned back toward you. Before walking into his office and slamming the door behind himself, he added, "And please don't be late, Ms. Y/L/N."

You hadn't been there for 5 minutes and already, your blood was boiling with anger. As you stood up, about to give him a piece of your mind, you were met with Liv standing in front of you. "Don't. Whatever it is you're about to say, just don't. You'll regret it. Calm down before you go to that meeting, even."

You looked at her and tried taking a deep breath. "He. Ugh. He just pisses me off."

"I know, I know. Just more proof of how in love with him you are," Liv grinned, and you gave her the most serious look you could.

"Not now, Liv," you practically growled at her.

"Fine, but will you tell me what all that was about yesterday afternoon when you left? And you didn't answer my calls last night either. Are you ok?"

"Damn," you mumbled under your breath, "I'm fine," and stepped to you desk, grabbing a note off of it. You placed the note in Liv's hands, "This."

She read it. It was the message from the phone call you took from Freydis. It simply said,

"MR. LOTHBROK,

FREYDIS HAS BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU. SHE SAYS SHE'S LONELY AND WAITING FOR YOUR RETURN BECAUSE HER BED HAS BECOME COLD WITHOUT YOU. PLEASE RETURN HER CALL IMMEDIATELY.

-MS. Y/L/N"

Liv gasped, covering her mouth, "Is this? Oh shit! It's that bitch from the conference. Are they back..."

You cut her off, "It's would appear so. That's why she asked for me, to be sure I know he's hers."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. Well, besides give him the message. It is what it is."

"But Y/N," Liv began.

"But what? I'm just here to do my job," you said flatly, taking the note back from her and sitting down at your desk. Liv stood there, watching you, bewildered. You looked up and shrugged at her, so she dropped it and returned to her desk as well.

It was time for the meeting in Ivar's office. You honestly dreaded it and weren't sure what it was even about. After you saw his father enter the office, knowing that meant the two of you wouldn't be alone, you went in. Turned out, Ragnar just wanted to go over the details of the few buisness deals the two of you had left and to find out the schedule. Ivar looked lost, but you dug in your things and pulled out your calendar that had all the meeting times on it. "I can go make a copy of it for the two of you, Mr. Lothbrok," you began to stand.

"Nonsense. You've done all of this work in my son's absence. I'll do it myself. I need to go get my coffee from my office anyway," Ragnar smiled. "I'll be right back."

He left, and you and Ivar sat quietly at the table in his office. You felt awkward, but you tried not to let it show. The last thing you wanted was for him to comment on it. It felt like Ragnar had been gone for days when Ivar finally spoke. "Y/N, look. It has gotten a little,"

"Make up your mind. Am I Y/N or Ms. Y/L/N? You're really beginning to give me whiplash. Why don't you just stick to Ms. Y/L/N? Humm? That should be best for the both of us. Keep it professional, don't you think?"

He looked at you with surprise. "I just. We need to talk," he tried.

"Yes, we do. I need to give you this." You grabbed the note with the message from Freydis from your things and slid it across the table to him. "She's the one who has been calling for you. I spoke to her yesterday. If you need to leave again, I can take care of things here. I, umm, I understand that you have 'things to take care of.'" You held your hands up making quotation marks in the air, mocking his words from the day before.

He took the note, looking at you with a complete confused look across his face. "What? I don't know who you're talking about," he looked down. "I haven't been expecting a call from anyone."

Before he had the chance to lie any futher, you added, "And there's no reason for you to be sitting outside my door at night. I'm a big girl and can handle myself. I don't think she'd appreciate that, and if you're still so worried of what she's capable of doing, that's definitely not a way of keeping her calm."

His eyes widened at you as he opened the note. As he read it, he snarled, "You've got to be kidding me. She actually called here and left this message?" He wanted to laugh, but he then saw your serious stare. "Oh. You're saying you honestly believe this shit? Y/N, please. You have to know that..."

At that moment, Ragnar opened the door and entered the office. He sat his coffee down followed by the paperwork he was holding in his hands, passing half of it to Ivar. Ivar looked at you for any sign that you were just joking with him, but he knew by your very matter of a fact tone and the look across your face that you were dead serious, and it infuriated him.

The two of you sat quietly while Ragnar spoke, you answering whatever questions he had. He seemed pleased with your answers. "Son, it would do you some good to take notes from Y/N. She's saved your ass in more ways than one." He stood from his seat and grabbed his things, signaling that the meeting was over.

"And whatever is going on here," he motioned between the two of you, "I suggest you fix it. And quickly. This tension is not good for buisness." He pushed his chair under and looked to you, "Y/N, whatever he's done, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him. You know, lo..."

Ivar quickly stood and interrupted Ragnar before he could continue, "Father, we get your point. Thank you for your concern. We've got it from here."

Ragnar cleared his throat, "Thank you again, Y/N. I trust that if I am needed, you will call into my office."

"Certainly, Sir," you said, standing to follow him out.

"Ms. Y/L/N, could I have a word with you before you leave?" Ivar asked.

You turned to him, hesitation obvious in your stance, and gave him a grimacing look, "Yes?"

Once his father was out of his office, his look at you softened. "Y/N, please. Can we talk?"

"I don't think there's anything else to say," you answered coldly. You had to protect your heart. You'd had enough of this back and forth.

"But there is so much to say, Y/N. Can we meet after work?"

Walking closer to the door, you said, firmly, "Umm, Mr. Lothbrok, after a certain point, I have to draw the line, and I believe Freydis is definitely that line. Thank you for sending Mike. He's lovely. I'll continue to accept his rides through the end of this week, but after that, I'll no longer require his assistance either." You turned and left his office without giving him a chance to respond.

When Liv saw your face, she was instantly worried, but you gave her that look so she knew now wasn't the time. You'd have to catch up after work.

You dove head first into your work, trying not to give yourself time to think about anything. You knew you'd done the right thing. Freydis was next level, and you weren't about to compete for Ivar's attention with a psychopath like her.

The rest of that day and the next few went the same way, into the next week. You and Ivar had quickly fallen into a routine. You only spoke to each other when necessary, and even then, it was strictly professional. An outsider would have never known that the two of you had once practically been friends. It was a little unnerving, though, because unlike before, the two of you didn't even argue. There was absolutely no emotion, whatsoever, in your interactions.

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You and Liv had just returned from lunch, and her phone was ringing off the hook. Answering before she even had a chance to sit down, her face went pale. She motioned to you, and you instantly knew who it was. "One moment, ma'am," Liv put the call on hold and looked to you.

"She wants to speak to you," Liv said hesitantly.

"Absolutely not. Tell her I'm out of the office, away from my desk, hell, tell her I died. I don't care, but I refuse to speak to her."

You heard Liv tell her you were out of the office, and then she practically fell to her chair, covering her mouth and staring at you. "Oh, well, ma'am, I'm not sure. I just know that she isn't at her desk. Can I take a message?" Then, Liv just stared at her phone. "She hung up."

"What happened?"

Liv still looked frazzled, "I, umm. I told her you were out of the office, and she told me she knew that was a lie because she'd just seen you walking in. Holy shit, this broad is crazy!"

You were stunned. "Shouldn't we tell Mr. Lothbrok? I'm sure he'd want to know. What if she comes inside?" Liv asked, worried.

"No, she can't come in. She's banned from here. All of security knows who she is," you said, trying to sound confident.

"Well, don't you think Mr. Lothbrok would have spoken to security by now and changed all of that if they're back together?"

"No. Definitely not. He knows his father hates Freydis, and he wouldn't want him knowing he's back with her. I think it'll be fine. If she calls back, transfer her directly to him. Don't even listen to her."

She didn't seem convinced, but she listened to you. The two of you began working, and you tried to ignore your gut instinct to rush to Ivar's office and tell him how threatened you felt. What was he going to do? Suddenly change how he felt and pretend like he cared more for you than his girlfriend? No, you wouldn't make a fool out of yourself.

Eventually, things calmed down. It had been at least two hours, and Freydis hadn't called again. You were sure that she had left. You weren't sure, however, why Ivar would be attracted to such a person. The sex must be amazing. Then you face planted, disgusted that you'd even thought such a thing. What else could it be, though?

Interrupting your thoughts, you saw a tall, thin, brunette woman wearing a large hat and sunglasses headed toward your desk. You didn't know of any appointments scheduled so you waited for her to speak. "Good afternoon, Ma'am. Can I please meet with Mr. Ivar Lothbrok?"

Surprised and not looking her fully in the face, you asked, "Do you have an appointment, Ma'am? I know he's extremely busy at the moment. I can call him, and see if he has a minute to...."

She placed her hand on your desk and leaned down and bit, removing her sunglasses. That's when you realized who she was. Freydis. Fuck!

"That won't be necessary, Dear. What I need to see him about will surely take more than a minute," she grinned at you as you gulped, "I'll just walk on back and surprise him."

You weren't sure what to say. This woman had balls. She took a step away from your desk, and you stood up. "Umm, I-I should still call his office first. He likes his visitors to be announced. I wouldn't want him to get angry."

She stepped back to your desk, and looked you up and down before saying, "Precisely. I wouldn't want him to get angry. And what, exactly, do you think he will be if he finds out I went through all of this trouble," she motioned at herself and her pitiful excuse of a "disguise," pulling her jacket open a little so you could see her black, lacy bra, "And his little secretary wanted to call him to make sure it's ok if I enter his office? I think it's in your best interest to just let me go."

You were speechless. You blinked, trying to find the words to tell her to fuck off, but you simply motioned for her to continue to Ivar's office, at a complete loss for what the actual protocol was.

"That's what I thought," she said dismissively in a nasty tone.

That's when you noticed Liv standing in front of you with the same shocked and mortified expression across her face that you had. "Did she just? Who the hell does she think she is? And what is wrong with that man? What on Earth could he possibly see in her?"

You and Liv watched her open Ivar's office door, head down with her hat and sunglasses still on, slowly, seductively stepping into the doorway of his offfice. You could faintly hear Ivar's voice, knowing he wasn't expecting anyone, "Umm, excuse me, Ma'am? I'm sorry, but who are you here to see? Who let you in here? You can't be..."

As if knowing she had an audience, Freydis turned back to look at you and Liv, smiling devilishly, before turning toward Ivar again, slowly lifting her head and removing her sunglasses, "It's me, Darling. Haven't you missed me?" and she stepped the rest of the way in, closing the door behind her.

You looked at Liv, trying your hardest to keep it together. There were not words for how deeply that simple, little exchange gutted you. What kinds of kinky games those two must play! But why did you have to witness it all here at your job? You were completely disgusted.

At that moment, both your's and Liv's attention was drawn to the frosted glass window of Ivar's office. You saw a hand sprawl out across it, followed by what sounded like a desk being cleared of its contents and falling to the floor. Liv covered her mouth, and you watched in horror as you heard Freydis' voice, "Oh, Ivar!"

"That's it!" You turned and grabbed your purse, "I'm out of here!"

"But Y/N. You can't just leave. What about..."

"Watch me." You couldn't stand around and be subjected to such idiocy. You didn't know if you were going to vomit or cry or maybe both, but you knew you weren't staying around for another moment.

As you reached the front doors, you saw Mike waiting in his car. He instantly got out and rushed to you, "Y/N? What is it? Are you ok? What happened?"

Though, it hadn't been your plan, you practically fell into his arms before you'd even realized it, sobbing. "Y/N? What can I do? Please, what's wrong?"

"Just. Can you? Can you please take me home?" you mumbled between sobs. "I don't want to talk about it. I-I'm. I don't know. I just need to get out of here."

"Certainly," Mike opened the car door and helped you inside.

---------

Once you'd left the office, Liv stood in shock. She wasn't sure what she should do, but she was shocked with Ivar's actions. She couldn't believe he'd stooped so low. She just hoped you'd would be ok.

As she went back to her desk and tried to find some work to focus on, anything to take her mind off what she knew was happening behind those closed doors, she could hear Freydis' voice calling out Ivar's name, still.

Just as she'd had enough and decided she was leaving, too, to go after you, security bursted through the doors. Liv watched in shock as they rushed to Ivar's office and slung open the doors. She could only hear lots of commotion and Freydis' whiney voice still calling out Ivar's name.

Within minutes, security was hauling Freydis out of Ivar's office in handcuffs, her jacket open, revealing herself in only underwear, her black wig falling from her blonde hair, as she kicked and yelled, "Ivar! Please! I still love you! Please don't do this. I know you don't really love that bitch and that you still love me! Ivar! Please! You still love me! Stop pretending that you don't! Tell them! Oh, Ivar!"

Liv was shocked by Freydis' words. She was talking about you, was she not? Before having even a moment to think, Liv noticed Ragnar approaching security. "I want to press charges to the fullest extent of the law. My son has a restraining order against her, and she just violated it. She's not even supposed to be on this property at all, but definitely not inside harassing my son and employees. I also want to file charges for indecent exposure," he snarled. "Get her out of here." Security dragged Freydis out of the office as she continued kicking and screaming.

Ragnar turned to Liv, "Are you ok?" She simply nodded, still too stunned to speak, and then he walked over to Ivar. "Son, are you alright?"

Ivar looked completely distraught as he had Ragnar walk into his office with him and closed the door behind them.

Liv sat in silence for a moment. What the hell had just happened? It was like something straight out of a movie. The first thing she knew she needed to do was call you. She knew you were absolutely not going to believe any of this.

She quickly dialed your number, but there was no answer. She wasn't about to leave a message, so she quickly sent you a text to call her as soon as possible.

When Liv looked up, she saw Ivar and Ragnar coming out of his office. Ivar's jaw was tight, his eyes were narrowed with his brows furrowed, and his lips were pressed tightly as if he were to open them, they'd let a ruthless world of nasty words escape. In all of her years, Liv had never seen him like that before, and frankly, it kind of frightened her.

She looked on as Ragnar placed his hand on Ivar's shoulder and quietly said, "Why don't you head on home, Son? I can handle things here. Just call it a day. I think you've earned that." Ivar simply glared at him. "Ok, suit yourself, but I won't be looking for you. And stop worrying. It will all work itself out. It always does." Ragnar turned and headed for his office.

Ivar stood there for a moment, visibaly trying to gain his bearings, before turning to Liv. Taking a deep breath, he asked, between gritted teeth, "Liv, umm, will you please have Y/N come to my office? It's due time the two of us had a conversation."

Nervously, Liv answered, "Umm, Sir?" He glared at her in the same way he had his father, so she quickly blurted out, "Umm, about that. You, she, umm Y/N. Well, you see, she left."

Eyes widening, he growled, "She what?"

"Well, umm, you see, well. She didn't. She couldn't. She had to get out of here, Sir. She left after your umm," he stared in a way that she knew she best choose her next words carefully so as not to set him off, "Friend?" she said slowly, "Went into your office and umm, began calling umm." She dropped her head, unable to continue eye contact, "Your name, Sir. She. We were surprised." Liv's heart was pounding the sides of her ribcage, not sure if she'd done the right thing by telling him the truth.

To her surprise, she saw him soften a bit, hardened snarl shaping into what could only be described as heartbreak. "You mean she thinks? She wasn't here to see Freydis get taken out in handcuffs?"

"No, Sir. She wasn't here for any of it. That's the last way she would've assumed handcuffs to be used," Liv tried making a joke to lighten the mood and failed miserably. When she saw Ivar's sinister stare, she quickly added, "I-I'm sorry, Sir. It was just getting too serious, here. It was inappropriate. I sincerely apologize."

"Extremely inappropriate," he half smiled.

Liv quickly continued, "But there's no need to worry, Sir. I'll talk to her tonight and clue her in on everything. She'll be happy to learn it was all a big, ridiculous misunderstanding."

Ivar instantly straightened his stance, "Absolutely not! You'll do no such a thing! Do not speak a word of any of this to her."

"But what? Sir? Y/N is my best friend. I have to..."

Ivar cut her off, "And this is your job. It is quite literally at stake here. You will say nothing. Call her, check on her, whatever you must, but this information stays here between us. Are we clear?"

"But, Sir, that isn't fair. I have to tell..."

"You tell her nothing," he harshly began, but then added, in a softer tone, "Please, Liv. Give me a chance to make things right myself. Let me talk to her, and that's if she even cares at all."

Liv stared at him for a moment. There was obviously something there. Gathering her nerves, she said, "Ok, fine, but you better talk to her. Job or not, that's my girl, and I won't keep the truth from her for long. Not if I have to watch her suffer in any way. You can have this job. I was looking for one when I found this one," she smirked.

"Deal," he stuck his hand out to Liv, and she hesitantly shook it, not sure if agreeing to his terms was a good idea or not. She hoped Y/N wouldn't be angry with her later.

"I just have one question," Ivar looked at Liv seriously.

"Ok?" Liv answered hesitantly.

"Why did you guys let her back to my office anyway? Y/N knows how I hate surprise guests, and she always announces my visitors.

"About that," Liv began, "Y/N tried. She told her she needed to call you. She told her she didn't want you upset with her, but your friend was quite nasty to her. She insulted her, she flashed Y/N her half naked body, and she basically threatened her job." Liv watched as Ivar took a moment, trying to steady himself. "We believed she was your girlfriend, Mr. Lothbrok. Y/N was trying not to piss you off at her any futher." She dropped her head, worried of Ivar's response.

Ivar looked up at Liv, "She. She did what? Freydis exposed herself to Y/N? Fuck! Y/N had to see all of that?" Liv nodded as he pulled his hair out of the bun he had it in and ran his hand through it. "Jesus. She's worse off than even I realized." He was beside himself with anger. No wonder Y/N left. She must have thought he was so unprofessional. "I guess Y/N was really, pissed, huh?"

It was then that Liv remembered how there was a tiny bit of information that Ivar was unaware of. "Umm, yeah, I guess so." She didn't even know what else to say to him.

"I will certainly talk to her." He couldn't believe that Freydis had managed to toy with his life again. He wondered if he'd ever get away from her completely.

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That evening, both Ivar and Liv had tried calling you, to no avail. Ivar had driven to your apartment as well, but it appeared as if you weren't home even though your car was in the driveway. Feeling embarrassed that he didn't know the answer himself, he decided to call Mike to see if he had given you a ride today.

When Mike answered the call, he didn't sound pleased when Ivar informed him where he was. "I'm sorry, Son, but you really need to figure out what the hell you want. Dangling that sweet girl from your yo-yo just isn't right, and it pains me dearly to see her in such a shape because of you."

Confused, Ivar asked, "Wh-what do you mean, Mike? How do you know anything was because of me? I haven't even spoken to her. I just wanted to know if you gave her a ride home today." Ivar suddenly felt ashamed and even more worried for you.

"That's just it. She wouldn't tell me. She said she didn't want to talk about it. And there, in your question, is the problem. How do you not know how she went to work this morning? Yes, I gave her a ride. She's right there with you all day, and you don't show her the attention she deserves. She's a strong one, Son, and I'm afraid if you don't stop with whatever games you're playing, you're going to loose her. She doesn't seem like the type to hang around and wait. She's all you've talked to me about for years, and now that you finally have the opportunity, you're just going to piss it away? "

Ivar was at a loss for words. Mike had always kept things straight forward with him, and he appreciated him for that, but his heart cracked at his words. He knew Mike was right, but it just wasn't quite that easy. He definitely needed to talk to Y/N and just lay everything out on the table for her. It's just that he was so worried she didn't feel the same way. He'd rather have her around to fight with than not at all. He couldn't loose her.

Frustrated, he asked, "Well, since you obviously gave her a ride, did you bring her back home? Is she here?"

"No, Sir, she's not."

"Then where did you take her?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to say."

Trying to control his sudden surge of anger, Ivar snapped, "And just what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Sir, I can't betray her trust. She asked me not to tell anyone where she is, not even her best friend."

"Damn it, Mike. She doesn't sign your check, though, does she? Stop talking in riddles, and just tell me where you took her," he growled through the phone.

"I'm sorry, Sir," Mike's voice was firm, and Ivar knew he only called him sir when he meant buisness, "Do what you must, but you know I can't break a promise. Would you really want me to upset her?"

"Fine," Ivar snarled, "I'll just go find her myself!"

"If you must," Mike smirked.

"Will you at least tell me if she's ok, Mike? Please?"

"She will be, yes," was all Mike answered. "Good luck, Son. When you find her, please just finally tell her the truth. She deserves to know."

Ivar ended the call. He leaned against your door, deep in thought, playing with the idea of just having a seat and waiting for you to return home, but that felt too hopeless. He needed to take action.

He got in his car and decided to go to every place he could think of that you might possibly be, hoping he'd get lucky and find you. He went to the public library first, but to his surprise, you were nowhere to be found.

For the next hour or so, he drove to the few places he knew you frequented. He drove by the park in town, a few coffee shops, almost every bar and nightclub in town that was open, a couple of your favorite bookstores, and he didn't see a trace of you anywhere.

He even went to your preferred grocery store, inconveniently located on the other side of town. He smiled despite himself, remembering how he'd teased you for wasting so much gas and energy by always driving that far just because you swore that their produce was the best in town. Too bad you weren't there either.

He finally assumed you must be with someone. He knew you had a sister who lived just on the outside of town somewhere, but he cursed himself for not ever learning anything about her. He didn't even have a name.

He briefly thought you could be with some guy. Maybe you'd met someone while he'd been busy playing stupid games, as Mike had put it, but he couldn't allow himself to think that way. Jealousy was already eating him alive just from thinking of it being a slight possibility. He wanted to track down said hypothetical guy and snap his neck.

He then wondered about your mother. He wasn't sure if she still lived in town or not, but before he'd even made a conscious thought, he found himself driving in the direction of the home you'd grown up in.

When he arrived, he quickly noticed your last name still on the mailbox and smiled to himself, feeling like he'd at least accomplished something. Now, the only question was, what did he do?

Looking at his watch and deciding 8 pm wasn't too late, he decided to go to the door. He figured the worst that could happen was she'd call the cops. He could handle that.

After ringing the doorbell, he waited, thinking of all the times he'd ridden his bike by that very front door as a teen just hoping to get a glance at you. He'd never forget the time your dad had chased him and his brother, Hvitserk, off your property in the middle of the night after they'd had way too many drinks at such a young age and had came to peep through your window in hopes of seeing you sleeping.

"Hello? Excuse me. I said how can I help you, Sir.?" Snapped out of his reminiscing, Ivar realized that your mom was standing in front of him.

"Umm, I-I'm sorry, Mrs. Y/L/N." He stuck his hand out to shake your mom's, "Maybe you remember me. I'm Ivar Lothbrok. I went to school with Y/N, and now we work together."

"I know who you are. What brings you by here to my door at night after all these years, Dear?"

He smiled sweetly at her, remembering how kind she'd always been to him. "Well, I was wondering if Y/N might happen to be here. We. I, uh I've been trying to find her because umm," he dropped his head, blushing at the reason he needed to talk to her so desperately, "Well, I need to talk to her. We had umm, a misunderstanding, and I need to straighten things out. It can't wait for tomorrow."

"Well, Dear, she hasn't lived here in years. Don't you know where her apartment is?" she asked, innocently enough.

"Umm, yes ma'am. But. I went. Umm, she. Well, she wasn't home. I was hoping I might find her here. Or at least, have you heard from her? Is she ok?"

She looked him over, noticing his fidgeting and how he seemed to tremble when he spoke, obviously nervous. He ran his hand through his hair and huffed out an anxious sigh, ready to bolt, she could only assume, the moment she would say that Y/N wasn't there, as he was clearly not getting the answers he'd hoped to get by appearing on her doorstep out of nowhere.

"Well, Sweetheart," she leaned in a little closer to him, and in a near whisper, continued, "If my daughter was upset with you and came here to me as an escape so she could clear her mind, I couldn't really tell you, now, could I?"

Ivar yanked his head up, completely shocked. Was she saying what he thought she was? "So, you...."

"Don't know anything, Dear," she seemed to be trying to suppress a smile, "Except that I'd be extremely worried about her if she wasn't ok and I knew you were to blame."

Ivar wasn't sure how to respond to that. He stared at her, thinking what a jewel she was for sharing what she could in such a sweet, discrete way. He at least knew you were ok, or that's how your mom was making it seem.

As he was about to say one last thing, she interrupted, "Now, I suggest you leave at once. Whatever you need to discuss with my sweet daughter should be taken care of tomorrow. Ok?" She glared at Ivar, making sure he was paying attention. "You shouldn't prolong such important conversations any longer." She looked him straight in his eyes. "Anything could happen, you know?"

Was she also warning him? How did she even know the conversation he needed to have with you was important? "Do you mean that..."

"That you should leave here and not worry your pretty little head about my Y/N. I'm sure, wherever she is, she's fine. She's a tough young lady. But if you drove all the way out here, now, after all these years, when you were always too scared to step foot on this doorstep when Y/N actually lived here, just to talk to her, it's my suggestion that you should still talk to her when you see her tomorrow." She smiled warmly at him.

"I'm sorry I was unable to help you further. It was nice seeing you after all these years, Sweetheart. Don't be a stranger." She winked, and with that, she closed the door.

Ivar stood there for a moment, replaying your mom's words over in his head. He would have felt a lot better if he could have seen you and spoken to you himself, but he could at least breathe knowing you were safe and hopefully not too incredibly pissed with him. He just knew he had to talk to you first thing tomorrow morning.

As he got back in his car to drive home, he decided to call Liv. When she answered, he asked, "Liv, have you spoken to Y/N since we left the office?"

"No, but I did get a text from her. I was about to ask you the same thing. She turned her phone off."

"Did she say where she was?"

"You know I wouldn't tell you if she did," Liv laughed, "But no, she didn't. She just said not to worry about her, and she'd talk to me tomorrow."

He debated on telling her what he'd done, but then he thought, fuck it. What did he have to loose? "Well, I'm pretty sure she's at her mom's, and she's ok."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Umm, I may have driven over there," he sheepishly said, voice quivering through the phone.

"To Mrs. Y/L/N's house?" Liv couldn't believe her ears. "Oh, Y/N is gonna be pissed with you!"

"You think so?" Ivar suddenly felt concerned.

"I know so! She doesn't like bringing her mother into her personal life. She tends to meddle."

"Well, if she is at her mom's, didn't she kind of already involve her mother herself?"

"Semantics," Liv answered. "But thanks for letting me know. I was worried."

Ivar didn't sleep well once he finally made it home. He wasn't sure what you thought about everything that had happened at the office that day, if you were mad with him, disappointed, disgusted, but he couldn't stop himself from hoping you were jealous. Not that he'd wanted to make you jealous or wanted you to hurt, but if you had been jealous, wouldn't that also mean that you cared?

He knew he'd let things go on entirely too long this way, and he had to tell you, once and for all, how he actually felt about you, but the more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. What if you didn't feel the same way? Worse, what if you laughed at him?

He tried to push everything out of his mind so that he might get some resemblance of sleep before the next day. Regardless how scared he was, he knew tomorrow was the day he was going to finally share his secret with you that he'd carried with him all these years.

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The morning came all too soon. You hadn't slept as well as you did the night before in quite some time. Your mother, of course, had attributed it to there being nothing like sleeping in your childhood home.

You hated going to her with your problems like some little child, but sometimes, nothing kissed the pain away like your mother. Anyway, you hadn't really told her any major details. She already knew that you worked with Ivar, and you only told her that lately, he'd been an ass, and you just needed a break from everything.

Her solution had been simple. She'd told you, "Oh, Y/N, why don't you just tell that boy you're in love with him already? I swear, it's been ridiculous watching you pine after him for so long and trying to pass it off as if you're hating him."

When you'd gasped, "Mom! I do no such a thing!" she'd just laughed at you and then let you have the time alone to think that you'd asked for. She knew you knew Ivar had stopped by the night before, but she decided that if you didn't mention it, she wouldn't either. And anyway, she also knew that if Ivar actually spoke to you today, like he said he would, he'd tell you about his trip to her house himself.

On your way out the door, you hugged your mom, "Thank you for everything, Mom. I'll talk to you sometime over the weekend."

Mike picked you up, per usual, and to your relief, didn't mention anything from the day before. On your ride to work, you'd made your decision and knew exactly what it was you had to do. You couldn't continue things with Ivar as they were.

You were happy it was finally Friday. At least you could get a break from Ivar over the weekend. It had been the longest work week you could remember.

When you walked in, Liv rushed to you. "Oh my God, Y/N, where have you been? Are you ok? I've been trying to call you all night."

"Yes, yes. I'm fine, Liv. Stop with all the fuss. We can talk at lunch, ok?" you said, silently pleading with her.

Liv stepped back from you, noting the cold edge to your words and even your posture. As she started to say something else, she saw you blink your eyes quickly several times. You looked away from her, quickly, before saying, "Do you know if Mr. Lothbrok is here yet? I, umm, I need to talk to him. I have something I need to give him."

Liv stared at you for another moment, and then answered, "He arrived just a few minutes before you did. I think he's in his office."

"Perfect. As soon as I get settled, I'll go talk to him."

Liv didn't ask anything else. She knew you were trying to stay strong, and she could only imagine what kind of night you must have had. Ivar had best talk to you soon, or she'd have to tell you everything herself. She couldn't stand watching you put on such an act just to be able to work.

After about thirty minutes or so, Liv's desk phone rang and she answered it. When she hung up, she told you, "Umm, Y/N, Mr. Lothbrok would like to see you in his office for a moment." Liv hoped it would soothe you once Ivar told you about everything with Freydis. Maybe, at least, then, you'd be more like yourself.

"Perfect, I need to talk to him as well," you half smiled. Opening your laptop bag, you checked that the envelope you needed was still inside and stood beside your desk with the bag in hand. Straightening your pantsuit and buttoning your jacket, you took a deep breath.

Just as you took a step away from your desk, Ragnar rushed passed you, almost running into you. He'd stopped and turned to you, "Oh, good morning, Y/N. I'm sorry. Please excuse me. I must speak with my son immediately." He rushed on passed you into Ivar's office.

You weren't sure if you should wait for him to come out or go on in as well. Had Ivar meant for you to meet with the both of them? You looked to Liv, and she shrugged, so you waited a few more minutes.

After what felt like hours, even though you knew it was only mere minutes, you decided to go on into Ivar's office. You just wanted this done and over with, and maybe he and his father were actually waiting for you.

Taking a deep breath, you knocked on the door, but neither of them answered even though you could hear their muffled voices. When you tried again, and they still didn't answer, you decided what the hell and opened the door.

Ivar was sitting at his desk with Ragnar standing over him, pointing at his computer. Ragnar's face was contorted into a snarl, and you instantly saw where Ivar got making the same face from. "Umm, should I come back? Mr. Lothbrok asked for me. My apologies. I can wait for the two of...."

"No, no, it's fine," Ragnar answered, "I was just leaving." He stood and smiled at you. Before taking a step toward you, he looked back at Ivar, "Fix this! Do you understand me, Son? Immediately!"

Ragnar walked to you and placed his hand on your shoulder, "Sorry for holding the two of you up. Please forgive me," and he left the room.

You stood in your spot for a moment, glancing around the office. You quickly noticed some things piled in the floor by the desk that was in front of Ivar's office window. You swallowed audibly, realizing it had to be from Freydis' visit the day before. You tried not to show your disgust that he hadn't even bothered to clean it all up.

You then looked to him as he stood, "Umm, Mr. Lothbrok? You asked for me to come to your office?"

He stared at you for a moment before answering, "Umm, yes, I did. I wanted to discuss some things with you." He swallowed thickly, "But umm, that was before Father barged in here and shared some information with me." That's when you noticed his jaw was clinched, and he was gripping his pen tightly in his hand.

"Umm, I can come back. I mean, if you need to tend to whatever information he shared with you?" You took a step backwards, and he took a step forward.

"That's just it, Y/N," he stepped around his desk, practically growling at you, "The information he shared with me was about you!"

You were taken back. There was no way he had the audacity to snap at you about anything after the afternoon he had the day before. "Excuse me?" you growled right back at him.

He turned to his computer and twisted it around facing you. Gesturing to it, he said, "When were you going to tell me about this? Humm? How could you, Y/N? Do we not treat you well here? Is your pay not enough? What can we do?"

You looked at his computer and saw three different emails requesting references about you from three different companies that you had completed applications for the night before at your mom's. They were the same ones you had sent your Resumé to when you were at the conference a couple of weeks back.

"And with our competitors at that! Really, Y/N? Why?" His expression was a mixture between anger and what appeared to be pain.

"I, umm. Mr. Lothbrok, I," you began and he interrupted you.

"Oh, cut the shit, Y/N! Stop with all the," he air quoted with his hands, "'Mr. Lothbrok,' bullshit, already. Fucking call me Ivar! Now, what can we do to keep you?" He saw your shocked face, and his expression softened immediately, but it was too late. He'd already succeeded in pissing you off. Who did he think he was?

He reached to you, about to cup your cheek, but you jerked away from him. "C'mon, Y/N, we, umm, I, I can't lose you."

You grabbed the envelope from your computer bag and slammed it down on his desk. "Oh, yeah? Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you spent the last couple of weeks treating me like I was the plague! What did you think? I was just going to stay around here and put up with you treating me like shit and then bringing your bitches here to rub in my face? You didn't learn after all those years that you wouldn't get a rise out of me over one of your flavors of the week, Lothbrok?"

He stared at you in shock, completely not believing you'd just said all of that to him. He then looked at what you had put on his desk. You stepped back as he picked up the envelope. "What is this?"

"You're a smart boy. Open it, and see for yourself!" you snapped, taking another step toward the door.

He gasped, as he opened the envelope, "Your resignation?" He looked at you with a murderous stare. "You're going to turn in your resignation without even having another job yet? I won't give you a good reference to one of our fucking competitors, Y/N. I refuse to."

You placed your hand on the door, "Do whatever you've got to do. I'll manage. I was actually dreading turning that resignation into you, but you've made it so much easier. Thank you for that!"

"I'm serious, Y/N. I won't do it," he snarled.

You looked back at him as you opened the door and simply shrugged your shoulders as you walked out of his office.

Emilie and Chase had promised Ivar they wouldn't leave him alone once they got to the Gala. He knew he would feel extremely out of place without you with him, and he didn't want to end up at the bar, possibly making an ass of himself.

Aside from your expertise with the company buisness, on a more personal note, he'd been relieved you'd agreed to attend with him because he was sure there would be some not so friendly people from his past there tonight, and one in particular, he was absolutely dreading running into. He'd planned to tell you all about that today, but that was before he'd ended up drowning himself in sorrow.

He wasn't one for a pity party, and he knew this wasn't the end of the world, but he'd outdone himself these last 24 hours. Other than having a massive headache, though, he luckily, felt pretty good for someone who had drank as much as he had and spent the last few hours trying to sober up. Chase had told him he'd never seen anything like it.

Now, that he'd fucked everything up with you, he had really leaned on Emilie, and he was beyond grateful for all of her help. "Thank you guys so much for putting up with me. I know you all hadn't planned on babysitting during your stay here."

"Stop it, Love. You know I love you, and that's what I'm here for," Emile told him, smiling. "But you better talk to her. Do you hear me?" She grabbed his hand and squeezed as he shrugged his shoulders. "I mean it!"

They mingled with the crowd, and after being there a little over an hour, Ivar was even able to close a deal. It wasn't a big company, but it was one that was rapidly growing, and he knew there was great potential. If he accomplished nothing else the rest of the evening, he was satisfied knowing he'd made that happen.

As Ivar and the gentleman discussed details, Emile asked him if he'd be ok while she and Chase went to speak with someone she'd just noticed. "Sure, I'll be right here."

Ivar continued talking with the gentleman until he had to also go speak with some other buisnessmen. They shook hands, and he was left in the middle of the room.

To his relief, he didn't feel as uncomfortable as he'd thought he would be. Smiling at himself and his earlier panic, which he chopped up to probably still having some alcohol in his system, he decided to walk over to the bar.

His spirits finally being higher, he had no desire to order alcohol and end up right back in the same mess he'd worked on getting out of for half of the day, so he got a bottle of water instead. As he stood, waiting for the bartender, he felt an arm snake around his waist under his tux jacket. He instantly reached to be sure his wallet was still there before he jerked away from whoever it was and turned to the side to see.

"Oh, Sweetheart, you're here alone this year, too? Can't you get anyone to tag along with you? Not even if you paid them? You should've told me. I could've Googled the number to a sweet little escort service."

Ivar gritted his teeth as he burned with anger, but he refused to give her the satisfaction. "And where would that be? Your new job? No thanks," he said, stepping back and looking her up and down, "I've seen their products and I'm not impressed."

Freydis, the exact person Ivar had hoped to avoid during this event, especially without you by his side, gasped. "Well, I never!"

Interrupting her, he confidently said, "And you never will again."

"Well, aren't we snappy this evening! That's why you need someone to relieve all of your pent-up hostilities." She took a deep breath and began again, "You know what, let's start over, Sweetheart. Let me apologize for bringing up the touchy subject. I know how it hurts you to always come to these social events all by yourself." He dropped his head. "You know, all you have to do is ask, and I'll join you. How have you been? Have you missed me?"

Ignoring her, Ivar looked around for Emilie and Chase. Surely, he wouldn't be reduced to entertaining this nightmare of a human any longer. He looked to see if the bartender was returning anytime soon. He may just have to leave without his drink.

As he turned to look over Freydis' shoulder, his heart nearly stopped. It was as if everything else in the room ceased to exist, no sound, no other people, no conversations, and certainly, no Freydis standing in front of him still running her mouth.

There you were, in that gorgeous blue dress, that somehow, looked even more amazing on you now than it had in the dressing room a few days before. Your hair was pulled up in a fancy updo with sparkling silver stones shining in it that matched your silver necklace and high heels. Ivar couldn't remember the last time he'd seen you in heels. The dress clung to your curves with every move as you slowly walked his direction, and he swore you were something right out of a magazine.

He tried not to gawk, but it was extremely difficult as your voluptuous breasts lightly bounced with each step toward him. He'd never wanted to touch them so badly in all the years he'd known you, and he suddenly felt ashamed for having such thoughts. He casually shifted his stance, trying not to look too obvious.

He looked around and noticed how every head turned as you made your way to him. As you got closer, he saw how your makeup was done nicely, not too much, but just enough to accent your beautiful face, lovely smile, and soft eyes, a direct contrast to how Freydis had her makeup caked on.

That's when he realized that Freydis was still talking, "Ivar, I asked if you missed me? Aren't you going to be the gentleman that you always are, and answer me?"

From behind her, she heard you say, "I'm sorry, but how has he had time to miss anyone, especially you, when the two of us have been so extremely busy with each other?"

You held your hand out toward Ivar, and he looked at you and then your hand like you were from outer space. You motioned at him, and he hesitantly took your hand in his, eyes widened with astonishment. He had been sure you were still angry and wouldn't be making an appearance tonight.

Freydis yanked her head around, mouth gaping open, "And just who are you?" She looked you up and down and then back to Ivar in complete disbelief. "There's no way you two are here together."

"I'm Y/N, and if you'd excuse me, I need to talk with Ivar and apologize to him for being late," you dismissed her. "Ivar, Dear?" He looked at you with a loss of words but a slight sparkle in his eyes, "Will you forgive my tardiness? I promise to make it up to you later," you laughed mockingly at Freydis and winked at him.

"Oh, umm," he struggled to pull it together, but his quick wits snapped into gear, "Oh, you naughty, little thing, you." He gave you a devilish smile. "I can't wait for you to make it up to me. Yes, of course, I forgive you. As long as you do that thing that you know I love." Freydis nearly choked on thin air.

Trying not to smile, you resisted the urge to roll your eyes and, instead, pulled him to the dance floor away from Freydis, who was still watching in shock. Locking your arms around his neck, you looked up to him, smiling from ear to ear.

"Umm, why did? How? Umm, how did you even know?" Ivar stumbled over his words as the two of you swayed to the music.

Grinning, you answered, "Emilie. I saw her first when I was looking for you."

His heart warmed. "That bitch is just as nasty as she looks. She's lucky that we're here and not out at some club. That would've went down way differently."

Ivar chuckled, "And that's what I love about you the most." Your heart rate sped up at his words. Did that mean he loved more things about you? "I think you handled it very well," he looked over to where Freydis still stood, staring at the two of you in disbelief, anger obviousin her expression. "Nobody has ever done anything like that for me before. Thank you so much, Y/N. You just don't understand what that means to me."

"Actually, I do. I wish I didn't understand, but unfortunately, I do. That's why I couldn't just stand there and let her berate you like that. You don't have to thank me."

You looked away, and for a minute, he wondered what some asshole had done to you. Deciding to lighten the mood, he added, "Maybe we should seal the deal with a kiss while she's watching."

Looking at him curiously, you answered, "Don't even think about it, Lothbrok." Did he have amnesia? The two of you had already tried that, and it didn't end so nicely. "Don't think I'm not still pissed at you for disappearing on me last night and all day, and whatever else has been going on. I'm just mature enough to help an asshole when he needs it."

He dropped his head back, bellowing out laughter. "And there she is. I've missed you."

You couldn't help it, laughing too, you rolled your eyes at him. "Let's go find Emilie and Chase, shall we?"

As the two of you walked away, you looked back and saw Freydis still looking your direction. "That heifer is still watching us."

"It's because she's blown away by your beauty, Y/N. Well, that and how you politely put her in her place. I've never seen anyone disregard her like that before."

You looked to him, quizzically. "It's true. You look absolutely exquisite tonight. I was blown away when I saw you as well."

Blushing, you said, "Well, for what it's worth, you don't look so bad yourself," and then tucked the compliment away to pick apart later. He was way too confusing for you to try to figure out now.

--What "you don't look so bad" looks like:

When you found Emilie and Chase, she looked curiously at you both but didn't ask anything. Ivar bragged about your encounter with Freydis, and Emilie gave you a warm, approving smile. "She's had it coming for a long time. I'm happy you were the one to do it. I'm sure that just burned her up."

You smiled nervously at her as you noticed Ivar was looking at you. You could see his wheels turning and that he wanted to say something, but he never did.

As you thought about everything, you wondered just what this Freydis had done to him. He had looked like a deer caught in headlights when you first approached him.

She, obviously, made him feel small somehow, and even worse, seemed to get off on it, and the thought of it made you feel the need to walk back to her and smack that teasing grin of hers right off her face. Whatever it was, you were sure she wasn't worth even half of his distress. Even her smiles toward him had seemed as though she was only mocking him. Now, you could only wonder what prevented him from seeing straight through her act.

As the evening went on, Emilie had the opportunity to see you and Ivar in action, as she watched the two of you close a deal with another small company. They'd almost declined Ivar's offer, but when you followed up with additional information for them and ironed out the small details of how things would operate, they finally came to an agreement and shook both of your hands.

Emilie, watching in awe of you, said, once the deal was complete, "Oh, Ivar, she's good. I see why you want her. Umm, I mean, with you. I see why you want her with you when you're working." Ivar glared at her, and she mouthed the words, "I'm sorry," without you noticing. He just shook his head.

The evening was winding down to an end, and the only thing left was for the announcer to give out this year's awards for the greatest buisness accomplishments. Apparently, it was a big deal as you noticed all the CEOs and some of the nore important people you'd met gathering around at the front of the crowd.

To your surprise, Ivar asked you if you'd stand there with him along with them. You hesitantly said yes, not sure how any of it would play out for The Lothbrok company.

As they called company names, the crowd applauded for them, and you smiled at the grown adults' excitement. The last award was for the year's largest gains and fastest growing company of them all, an apparently, greatly sought after award.

You realized, then, why Ivar had wanted to stand at the front with everyone else. You knew his company actually had a great chance at winning. Just the big deal, alone, that the two of you had made the first night of the conference would be enough to at least put Ivar in the running.

You found yourself holding your breath as you waited beside Ivar, hoping he'd get this moment after all the hard work he'd done. Without even looking at you, Ivar's hand reached down and grabbed yours in his, as if involuntarily, gently squeezing in anticipation. You could practically feel his nervousness vibrating through his tux sleeve.

Finally, the announcer said who the winner was, and the crowd erupted with cheers and applause. The spotlight shone around the room and then suddenly stopped on you and Ivar. That's when you realized that not only had the announcer called out Ivar's name and buisness, but he had also called yours along with his. Your eyes widened, your heart stopped, and you froze in your spot.

As if Ivar was experiencing the exact same shock as you were, he looked at you in disbelief and said, "Us? Did he say us?"

The announcer said your names again, and Ivar picked you up in both of his strong arms, hugging you tightly, "You! I could have never done this without you!" Sitting you back down, he kissed your cheek, "Thank you, Y/N! So much!"

And then, Ivar was leading you through the crowd to the stage as the announcer was recounting all of the buisness deals you and Ivar had made just while there over the weekend.

Once the two of you were on the stage, Ivar placed his arm around your waist, holding you close. The announcer then said, "Without futher ado, Ivar Lothbrok and Y/N Y/L/N, ladies and gentlemen." Then, he turned to you guys with a large, golden plaque and a smaller trophy in his hands.

Ivar guided you to the announcer with his hand, nearly possessively, on the small of your back. He didn't miss the warm, softness of your bare skin that your dress revealed or your shivers at his touch, and it caused his heart to skip a beat.

The gentleman gave the awards to the two of you, as you stood in shock. Ivar accepted it, and the crowd began to yell, "Speech, speeach, speech."

You pulled Ivar to you and whispered in his ear, "Not on your life will I say a word."

He grinned and told you, "Just hold this, and don't worry."

Turns out, Ivar was extremely good at working a crowd. He had them clapping and laughing the entire time he spoke, telling them about the hard work the two of you had put in and how important this award was to him as he'd wanted this type of accomplishement for his family business as long as he could remember.

"We graciously accept these awards, but I'd like to take this time to thank my partner, here, Y/N Y/L/N. None of these great accomplishments would have been possible without her, her assistance, or her expertise. She has literally helped me every step of the way to build what this company has become. Please, join me in giving her a round of applause."

If you could have disappeared right then and there, you would have. The spotlight moved to shine on you, and it took everything in your body not to bolt off the stage and hide. Glaring at him for putting you in such an embarrassing situation, you took a quick bow, grabbing his hand and squeezing tightly.

As you rose back up, you saw Freydis in the crowd, make a face of disgust and storm out of the room, slamming the door behind her. You smiled to yourself, suddenly thinking your embarrassment was worth every second just to witness her temper tantrum.

Finally, Ivar placed his hand on the small of your back again and guided you back off the stage. Once the two of you made it through the crowd to Emilie and Chase, who were still congratulatin you, the four of you left and went to the small diner that was on the other side of the hotel at the convention.

Ivar was clearly on cloud nine, and his excitement seemed to be infectious. The four of you had drinks and talked for quite some time before Emilie mentioned Freydis. "Oh, I meant to ask, did you notice your favorite ex make her dramatic exit?"

Ivar looked at you and back to her. "I don't have a favorite ex, Emilie. You know this."

Emilie dropped her head as you and Chase laughed. "You don't have to take things so literal, Ivar, you know? I'm talking about Freydis."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't pay her any attention. She left? That's fine by me."

You added, "I saw it. She seemed quite upset when we got our award. What's her deal?"

Ivar looked at you surprisenly, and Emilie answered, "Well, I may or may not have poured a tiny bit of gasoline on the fire."

"That's just great, Emilie. What did you do?" Ivar asked disapprovingly, and you realized, he must still have feelings for her.

"Well, she was standing behind me when you were talking about Y/N and all of the good she's helped you do with the company. She groaned and made some remark implying that it was all a front just to make you look good. It pissed me off, so I turned and told her how great you'd been doing since Y/N and you have been together." She laughed, "Then, she had the balls to ask me how long the two of you have been together, so I told her that it's been almost a year already."

Your mouth fell open with your surprise as Ivar looked at her with what you thought could only be worry. "What?" she asked, feigning innocence, "It's true, is it not? Y/N has been working with you for almost a year now."

Ivar looked over to you and then back to her again, "But Emilie, you know what you were doing. She had to think you meant that we we're together, together."

"And?" Emilie asked.

Just as you started to get up and retreat to the hotel room from the embarrassment of Ivar obviously hating the idea of someone thinking the two of you were together, especially his ex girlfriend, you heard him answer Emilie.

"And what about Y/N? Humm? Don't you realize that leading some psycho like Freydis to believe that we're together could possibly put Y/N in danger? You know what that bitch is capable of. I don't want anything to happen to Y/N because of me, Emilie. I'd never forgive myself."

He looked back at you again and placed his hand over yours. "Anyone care to explain what's going on to me?" you asked, confused.

Ivar looked deeply into your eyes and asked, "Is there any way you can wait until we're back in the room for this conversation? It's not really something I'd like to discuss right here."

Annoyed, you answered, "Yeah, sure," and just as he was about to begin speaking again, you added, "So, I think I'm ready to go to our room, now then, Ivar."

"Of course, you are," Ivar dropped his head and shook it, smiling.

"See? You guys are two of a kind," Emilie giggled, and Ivar glared at her. Changing the subject, Emilie said, "Look, Ivar. I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any problems. You know Freydis just makes me sick, and I finally had a chance to get to her, so I took it. I'm sure Y/N will be fine." She looked to you and said, "I'm sorry, Dear, for any problems I may have caused. You two go on up. We need to be going anyway. We have an early flight home."

She stood and hugged Ivar and he told her he wasn't mad which she seemed really relieved to hear. When she hugged you, she said, in your ear, "Ok, this will be the perfect time for you to talk to him. Ok?" You only smiled in response.

"Let me know when you two land. Be safe," Ivar told her as you guys walked away.

----------------------------------------------------

Once you and Ivar were finally back in the room, you were worried things would be weird again. Luckily, in the elevator ride up, there was another couple who made small talk with you guys.

Ivar held the door for you, and you thanked him and entered. You turned to him, not sure what to expect, but he said, "Come with me to the sofa? I'll tell you whatever you want to know about Freydis." He made a face when he said her name which you surprisenly found that you liked.

Relieved it wasn't weird, you followed him and had a seat, facing him, on the sofa. He already had his jacket off and was removing the tie. You thought he was going to remove his shirt as well, so you braced yourself for the view. Instead, he only unbuttoned the top three or four buttons. You would have been disappointed, but to your surprise, he still looked incredibly attractive with the white shirt open hallway down, revealing his bare chest, part of his tattoos, and his hair resting on his shoulders.

Before you even realized what you were saying, the words rolled off your tongue, "You should wear your hair down more often, Ivar. It looks really nice on you how your hair frames your face." Your eyes instantly widened, shocked at yourself. You could have smacked yourself.

You were surprised to see Ivar's cheeks flushed as he said, "Well, Father says that nobody will take a buisnessman seriously with long hair and that it makes me look like a child. He even offered to pay me a substantial amount of money to cut it off. That's why I always have it in a bun at the office."

"You better not!" He laughed at you, and you covered your mouth, surprised at yourself. "Well, I umm, I think you've proven him wrong here this weekend, don't you?" you smiled.

"Yeah, umm, I guess you're right," he answered, running his hand through his hair to which you averted your eyes.

"So?" he began.

"I'm going to get some wine. You want a glass?" you interrupted him.

"Umm, sure," he answered, kicking his shoes off.

As you stood, you did the same thing, and went to retrieve two glasses and a bottle, returning quickly and sitting it all on the coffee table.

He popped the bottle open and poured you each a glass. "Take it easy, though. I don't know the trick to sobering you up before our flight," you half smiled at him.

He looked at you and then dropped his head. "Ivar?"

Looking back at you, he answered, "Yeah?"

"Why did you leave here last night and all day today?" you just had to know, and you thought if he got upset about it, you really didn't have anything to loose.

You could see the wheels turning as his eyes bounced around the room, apparently trying to focus on anything but you. "I, umm. Well. I couldn't. I needed," he sighed, "It's just complicated, ok?"

Turning your glass up, you answered, "I'm pretty sure I can keep up. I've been told I'm a pretty smart girl," you grinned. "Humor me."

Looking at you, seemingly searching for something in your expression, he finally said, "I, umm, I just needed to clear my head. Emilie is a really great friend, and I just felt like I needed to talk to her."

"But in the middle of the night?"

"Well, Y/N," he looked frustrated, "You hadn't spoken to me, not really, since yesterday morning," he coughed, "And I had already been drinking, so actually, before I even realized it, I was already downstairs."

You knew he wasn't going to give you a straight answer more than that, so, before the two of you got too annoyed, you decided to just drop it, and talk about Freydis since that's why you were here, supposedly. "So, Freydis? Not that you owe me any explanation, but you did seem oddly concerned about me? What's the deal there?"

He gulped down his glass and sat it on the table, and you tried not to smile. "Well, she's my ex."

"I gathered. She's the one you were in love with, then? That you never told?" You figured there was no reason in dancing around the subject.

He looked at you, almost amused, a smile playing at his lips. "No, not even close. That's the thing. We weren't even all that serious. We dated for a few months. At first, she was so sweet, and you saw, she's really pretty," you tried not to snarl, even if he was correct, "But she's the prime example that looks aren't everything."

Both of your glasses were now empty, and at the same time, you both reached for the bottle, his hand grazing the top of yours. You both instantly looked at each other, and he jerked his hand back nervously. You looked at him out of the corner of your eyes and then poured each of you more and didn't make a comment of his urgency not to touch you.

He quickly continued, "She became a bit obsessive, always looking through my phone, searching my social media, and asking me who any females were. She was great at belittling me. She still is, actually. And for a while, I couldn't see her bad intent." He dropped his head as if embarrassed as he said, "I think I was just umm, lonely, maybe, and I liked the attention she gave me. At first. Then, she met Emilie, and she accused me of sleeping with her."

You covered your mouth with your hand, "Oh my God. I'm sure Emilie put her in her place?"

"Well, she probably would have. I didn't tell Emilie about it, because that's just embarrassing," he trailed off as if he was remembering something.

"Ivar?"

"Oh, umm, that turned out to be absolutely a mistake. She ended up following Emilie from work one day to the apartments she lived in back then. She managed to follow her inside without Emilie even noticing until she was in the elevator with her."

"She made all kinds of ridiculous threats, telling her she'd best stay away from me or she'd," he held his hands up, making quotations in the air, 'End her.'"

You gasped. "Yeah, Emilie thought she wasn't going to let her off the elevator, but when she did, she practically ran to her door with crazy Freydis right behind her. We don't know what, exactly, she was planning on doing, but she grabbed a handful of Emilie's hair from behind while Emilie was frantically beating on the door. Thankfully, Chase was home and opened the door. When Freydis saw him, she let go of Emilie and just simply walked away like nothing had even happened. Emilie, as you can imagine, was absolutely shook."

"She called me, and told me everything, and I tried to get her to call the police, but she wouldn't."

"Why not?" you asked, completely in shock with this information.

"She said she knew her type, and it would've only made things worse. She just wanted to be done with her. When she came to my place after that, I ended it with her. She lost her mind, crying, screaming at me, and calling me names. I had to threaten to call the police just to get her to leave, but she finally did. She called me and sent insane messages to me constantly after that, so I got my number changed."

"Then she started sending flowers to the office with these long apology notes, sending delivery lunches, and calling there like15-20 times a day for me. She even showed up at the office a couple times back before you worked there and umm, once, with the police with her."

"The police? What? Why?"

"That's a whole other story. Umm, let's just say she accused me of some things that I absolutely didn't do, and the police actually arrested me, but she finally came clean to them, and then, they arrested her for falsely accusing me and wasting their time, but of course, that didn't change the fact that I had to spend the night in jail for no reason. I was not happy." He looked hurt at the memory, and poured another glass of wine which he downed all at once, looking at you as if he was worried what you'd say.

You covered your mouth in surprise, "Oh my God! She really is crazy! I'm sorry that happened to you, Ivar. It didn't go on your record, though, did it?" You hoped you eased his concern and held your glass out for more wine as well. So much for the two of you only having a couple of drinks. He poured you both more as he simply watched you, making you a bit nervous.

"No, umm, it didn't. Thanks. Father had her banned from the property. Security knows to always be on the lookout. I can't remember another time being that angry at a female."

"Geez, Ivar, am I in some kind of danger? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard."

He took another big drink from his glass, steadying himself, before saying, "I honestly don't think so, but I'm sure you could tell, she's a bit unstable. Maybe for our first week back, I should send my driver for you to bring you to work." He saw your unpleased expression. "Please, Y/N. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you. Just long enough for me to know that you're not being followed or anything like that. Ok? Humor me?"

Rolling your eyes, you said, "Fine. But only for a week. And if I see her, I will call the police. I'm not as nice as Emilie."

A huge grin spreading across his face, he said, "And that's another thing I love about you." Then he coughed, cheeks burning, turning to the wine and pouring more. He gestured to your glass.

"Umm, yeah, but I'm going to go get out of this dress first. I love it, but I want to get comfortable."

He stared at you for a long moment, and you thought he was going to say something, but he never did.

You stood and walked toward the hall as he called out, "I'm gonna go change, too."

You hadn't been in your room for a mere second when you opened the door again, finding Ivar across the hall at his door. Sighing you asked, "Umm, Ivar?"

"Yeah?" he turned to look at you.

Your cheeks burned bright red, "Umm, can you, uh, can you help me? I can not get this button unfastened."

He smiled at your frustration, "Sure." As he walked up to you, he was almost mesmerized just by the look of the back of your neck and how the dress fit so perfectly on your body. Resisting the urge to trail his fingers down your back, he mumbled, almost to himself, "You looked really beautiful tonight, by the way."

You were relieved you were facing away from him so he couldn't see your face. "Umm, thank you, Ivar. You, uh, you looked really umm, you clean up nicely," you tried to make a joke and failed. Chills spread all over your body at the feel of his fingers gently brushing over your skin, and you tried to concentrate on the pattern in the carpet.

He grinned and said, "There. It's done. That was way more difficult than it should've been."

And you thought to yourself, "Oh, if you only knew." You turned and thanked him, avoiding his intense eyes, and entered your room.

You knew you needed to pull it together. He'd already made it clear that he wasn't interested in you like that. Once you were changed, you stood in the middle of the room and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm yourself. You were friends, only friends, coworkers, he was your boss for Christ sake! You finally left the room to return to him, knowing you should have just gone to bed. This was probably a very bad idea, especially with drinking involved. You ignored how you felt a bit tipsy already and headed to him.

Then, you saw him, standing with his back to you at the stereo, trying to adjust the volume, his broad, bare shoulders on display with his thick, long hair hiding the top of his tattoos. You never knew a person could have such defined back muscles, and you also never knew just how much you'd appreciate seeing them. Your cheeks burning now, you knew you couldn't afford thinking about touching those muscles. Though, it proved to be extremely difficult.

At that moment, Ivar turned around and caught you in your haze. "Oh, I didn't even hear you come in. There was nuts and pretzels at the bar. I didn't know which you preferred, so I opened them both and brought a bowl of each over to the table," he gestured to the table.

You couldn't piece together a single thought, well, not one you'd actually dare to say out loud. You simply stared blankly at him. "Y/N? You ok?" He stopped in his tracks. "Shit! You're not allergic to nuts, are you?"

"What?" you finally responded. "Huh? Oh, no. Nuts? I umm, I can have them. I mean, I can eat them."

He stared at you, trying to be sure you were ok. "Do you need some water? Everything alright?"

"Oh, umm yeah. I-I'm good."

He turned back toward the music, "Is it too loud? I can turn it down or change the channel."

You shook your head. "Oh, no, it's fine. What is this? Oldies?" you finally said, walking to the sofa and sitting halfway on your knees.

"Yeah. I really enjoy 70s music. Hope that's ok?" he joined you on the sofa.

"It's is. I actually really like it, too." Realizing that you forgot to take your hair down, you grumbled, "No wonder my head is beginning to kind of hurt. I forgot to take my hair down."

Ivar watched in awe as you slowly pulled the pins out of your hair and set them on the table, your hair falling softly to your shoulders as you shook it and ran your fingers through it. He hadn't expected for such a simple action to catch him so off guard, blinking rapidly several times as if to wake himself up. He already knew you were beautiful, but something about that moment made his breath hitch as he swallowed thickly.

Finding his eyes fixed on you, you shook your head again, "What? It's better, no?"

"Umm, yeah. I mean. Well, it looked very nice up. But umm, your hair is definitely very pretty loose as well. Especially with those curls. How do you girls do that?" He averted his eyes and grabbed a handful of pretzels, shoving them into his mouth to prevent himself from saying more than he felt he should.

"It takes a lot of time, trust me, but the end result is usually worth it," you smiled.

"I'd say so."

The two of you talked and drank for a while. You asked him about his friendship with Emilie, and he told you some funny stories of the mischief they used to get into together. "I swear, I think my parents hated her."

"Oh, yeah, because surely she was the bad influence in this friendship, not you."

"Well, of course. What? You don't think I could be the innocent one?" Ivar laughed, taking a drink of his wine.

"Not if you're comparing yourself to Emilie," you giggled.

"And you've known her for all of what?" he sat his glass down on the table for a moment, "Five minutes? How could you possibly know enough to say that?"

It seemed like a challenge for you, and you were definitely up for a challenge. Laughing to yourself, you said, "I know you, Ivar Lothbrok, you forget, and it only took about five minutes after meeting Emilie to know she's really sweet."

"Oh? So, now, I'm not sweet?" Ivar raised his brow.

"That's not what I mean. I could just see that she's way less mischievous than you are."

"And what says that I'm mischievous at all, hum?" he said as he grabbed the bottle of wine and filled both of your glasses before sitting back on the sofa facing you.

"Remember that girlfriend you had our senior year? What was her name? Umm..."

"Maya," he interjected.

"Yes, Maya. You were always super mischievous with her. I heard all the rumors, you know."

He laughed, "Most of which were just rumors, though, I'm sure."

"Really? What about," your cheeks burned, but you continued, "That night under the bleachers at the football game?"

Now it was time for his cheeks to burn, "Damn, you remember that?"

"Ivar, the whole school remembers that. You guys were so lucky that security didn't catch you in the act."

Blushing more he added, "They almost did!" His head fell back, bellowing out laughter.

"So, you admit it! It wasn't a rumor!" you pointed at him like you'd won something.

Then he sat up, looking at you, "Ok, so maybe I'm not all that innocent afterall."

"Shocking," you drank from your glass, "But Ivar?"

"Yes?" he answered, noticing your, now, serious tone.

"I always wondered, why Maya? You could've practically had any girl in that school, but you chose her. Was it her reputation?"

"Did we go to the same school?" he laughed. "I couldn't have had any girl I wanted. If that were true, I would have," he trailed off, and you leaned in, waiting for him to finish. "No. I didn't really know anything about her reputation until after we were already together. That's actually part of the reason I broke up with her."

"Then why? She was so nasty to everyone. Always."

"Honestly?"

"No, please lie to me, Ivar. Nothing pleases me more."

He dropped his head, repressing a laugh, "Well, didn't you hate her?"

"Well, hate is a strong word. It was more like just extreme dislike."

Looking up to you, he softly answered, "That's why."

"Wait. What?"

"I dated her because I knew you strongly disliked her." He made quotations in the air.

"But wh- What did my feelings toward her have to do with who you dated?" Then, realization spread across your face. "You were trying to make me jealous?" He simply stared at you like he didn't know how to answer. "But why?"

Then, his mind quickly shifted into gear, and he half lied, "Well, you were my only competition. No one else in our graduating class was even as close to as smart as I am."

"Cocky," you interjected.

"But true," he grinned. "So, I thought, since you also seemed to be almost, not quite, but almost as hot headed as I am, if I could come up with a way of distracting you, maybe I could get ahead somehow," Ivar lied.

Stunned, you studdered out, "But, umm. That didn't. I wouldn't. Umm, just how would that have distracted me?"

"You seemed so very obsessed with everything she did, and I just thought if maybe she was..."

"If she was doing YOU, I'd be obsessed with that as well?"

His head shot up, eyes scanning your face for sincere anger, and he let out a breath of relief as soon as he saw a smile playing at your lips. Laughing, he answered, "No, not that. I didn't mean it like that. I just thought. Umm, I meant. You know what? Nevermind."

"Oh,no, sir. Do tell."

"I guess I just. I wanted to see if you'd care, if I could possibly, umm, yes, make you jealous, even a little," he blurted out and then ran his hand through his hair, looking down, seemingly upset? "If it mattered to you at all. I hoped. I mean, I wanted." He looked at you nervously, silence falling between the two of you.

You concentrated not to let your mouth fall open. Then, slowly, in barely a whisper, you said, "Ivar. I umm. Are you? Are you saying?" And you were interrupted by his phone ringing.

The two of you continued staring at each other as his phone continued ringing, your heart threatening to pound out of your chest. He swallowed thickly, and you scooted closer to him. Reluctantly, he glanced over to his phone on the table.

Ragnar.

"I. I should probably answer that," he said, looking back at you, almost shyly.

"Umm-hum." You didn't trust your voice to remain calm if you actually spoke.

You were close enough to hear Ragnar congratulating Ivar. "I'm sorry for the late hour, Son, but I just learned of you and Y/N winning tonight. Just like you've always dreamed of. And I figured you'd still be out celebrating. Congratulations, Boy! I'm so proud of you, the both of you. I told you that you could do anything you set your mind to."

They continued to talk for a few more minutes. Well, more like Ragnar was doing all the talking, and Ivar seemed to only be agreeing and answering his questions about the conference.

You weren't sure if you should stay and wait for them to finish talking or if you should return to your room for the night. Your head was spinning, and a million thoughts a minute were flashing through your mind. What had Ivar meant? You didn't want to jump to conclusions. You stood, trying not to stumble, to see if he'd react. If he wanted you to wait for him to end the call, he'd tell you so, right? Surely, he would.

You stretched, catching Ivar's eye as his father continued talking on the other end of the line. He stood, facing you, staring you straight in your eyes. "Dad, I'm going to have to call you back," and he ended the call and dropped the phone to the sofa.

You swallowed audibly, eyes widened, heart pounding. He stepped closer to you, seemingly unsure of himself, as he hesitantly raised his hand toward you. When you didn't flinch, but watched him in awe, he took another step toward you, his arm snaking around your waist and pulling you to him roughly, your hand landing palm down on his chest, gently caressing him before you stared into his, now, darkened eyes.

His other hand brushed your hair off of your shoulder and then cupped your cheek as you nuzzled into it, lost in his eyes. His thumb rubbed across your bottom lip, watching it pop back into place, your breath hitching, and before the pounding of your heart could stop ringing in your ears, he leaned down and his lips crashed into yours, moving slowly at first, testing your reaction. When your lips began moving with his, he gripped your waist tighter and deepened the kiss, fully taking your breath away.

Your hands trailed up his smooth chest, as if they had a mind of their own, exploring the rock hard softness that was his skin over his defined muscles, and somehow avoiding the strong urge to stop kissing him and explore futher with your mouth.

He held you tenderly, his large hand covering nearly the spand of your back, sending chills down your spine. His other hand, now at the nape of your neck, gently caressed you as you thoroughly enjoyed the sensations it sent all over your body.

His lips softly sucked at your bottom lip, causing you to pant, opening your mouth futher, where his tongue, then, passed across the opening of your mouth, as if tasting the sweetest flavor, before slowly entering your mouth to futher explore. You intertwined your tongue with his as they wrestled around, grabbing his shoulders and gripping tightly to better ground yourself.

As he held you tighter to himself, pressing your body against his own, and kissing you more passionately than, perhaps, you'd ever been kissed before, your heart hammered in your chest.

He reluctantly pulled a bit away, just far enough to catch his breath. Resting his forehead on yours with his eyes still closed as you panted, trying to catch your breath as well, he whispered, "Th-that... Was well worth the wait."

You were still in a daze, not sure you believed what had just happened. Trying to put your thoughts into words, all you managed to say was, "Wow!" You may have even been embarrassed at yourself if you were able to think straight.

Smiling, Ivar answered, "Yeah, you, too."

You barley had a moment to recover from blushing, when Ivar placed his fingers just under your chin and tilted your head up to him. He looked you deeply in the eyes, as if searching for something, and smiling to himself, bent down and began kissing you again.

You hadn't realized it, but as he'd been kissing you, the two of you had been taking small steps with your movements, and now, you found yourself slamming into the wall. You grunted, and he asked, his lips still moving against yours, "You ok?"

"Umm-humm."

His hand slammed into the wall beside your head, and he slowly began kissing down your jawline to your neck, making you shiver, him smiling into you as you did. He gently pulled your oversized t-shirt down a little over your shoulder and continued kissing, nibbling softly, then licking over it, driving you absolutely mad.

You softly moaned out his name, "Iv-Ivar," and he suddenly pulled away, his entire body going stiff instantly.

Your eyes widened in concern, "Ivar?" you said, trying not to pant.

Looking at you stupidly, he stumbled over his next words, "Wh-why can't this ever happen when we're both sober?" seemingly to himself rather than you, but you heard him all the same.

"What?"

He sighed, taking a deep breath, and then answered, "You. Umm, we, we've been drinking."

Not understanding, you said, "Yes. And?"

"And I know better, Y/N. I don't want to take advantage of you. I don't want to fuck this up by doing anything you may regret." He dropped his hands beside himself, his chest still heaving, cheeks still flushed, and stood in front of you with a look of embarrassment and something that resembled torment, but you couldn't be sure.

"And if I can promise you, I will not regret this?"

"Neither of us can know that. Look," he turned and pointed to the nearly empty bottle of wine, "Before this goes any further, I umm, I think we should wait." He was surprised, even, at his own moment of clarity.

You stared at him, dumbfounded, "You. You don't want...?" You felt embarrassed and hurt, your arms crossing over your chest.

He stepped to you, as you tried to move away, and placed his hands over yours. "Y/N, please don't think that I don't want you. I do. Fuck, you have no idea how badly I want you right now." Breathing hard, he leaned closer to you, and you turned your head away, emotions everywhere. He cupped your cheek anyway, turning you to face him,"I just. We shouldn't do anything right now. I want to, umm, remember everything. And, umm, I, I couldn't live with myself if you regretted anything. I don't want to hurt you."

"It's too late for that," you abruptly pulled away from him, stumbling forward and he caught you.

"See?"

You huffed a fake smile, "Don't touch me." The room was spinning, and though you may have realized you'd had more to drink than you initially thought, you were still upset and needed to get to your room before he could see you. "You change your mind so often, you make me dizzy." You weren't going to cry in front of him. No. You couldn't be ridiculous. Rejection sucked in so many ways, but how did you even let it get this far to begin with?

"Y/N! Wait! You-you misunderstood me!" He stood in shock. Hadn't he done the right thing? He watched you stumble away to your room and slam the door behind you as his world came crashing down around him.

The next morning, you walked into the sitting area to find Ivar on his laptop, apparently working. "Do you have any Tylenol? My head is killing me," you groaned.

He leaned forward and grabbed a pill bottle from the table and tossed it to you. "I figured as much," he smiled.

"You, too, humm?"

He nodded.

As you walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water, you suddenly remembered parts of the night before. You sleeping on Ivar, him laying you in bed. Wait. Did he carry you? Oh hell. Then, it hit you. You asked him to stay with you. Holy shit. What was his answer? What did he say to you? Of all things for you to forget, you needed to know what he said.

Well, he obviously, said no. He wasn't in bed with you. Shit, you came on to you boss. When you were drunk. Like some skanky college girl. He must have been disgusted. You felt humiliated. How the hell could you do something like that? You knew this was a buisness trip. It was supposed to be professional.

No wonder he turned you down. You're obviously not his type. Again, your mind flashed to the memory of all the model type girls that used to visit him at work. You wished the floor would open up and swallow you whole. Could you just go home now? Could you fake some sickness and have to leave early? No, of course he'd be too worried to let you leave alone. How did you get yourself into this situation? And more importantly, how did you get yourself out?

You knew you wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes. You humiliated yourself by even thinking he'd want you. Then you felt it. Rejection. It burned. Deeply. You looked over at him, typing away on his laptop. His hair still draping his bare shoulders, and you wanted to smack him! You weren't sure where it came from, but now you felt rage. You were so angry, you wanted to cuss him out.

But you wouldn't give him the satisfaction. You took the Tylenol and gulped the water down. As you passed behind him, still sitting and working, you tossed the bottle on the sofa beside him. "I'm going for a shower, and them I'm going out."

He looked back, "Wait. What?"

"You heard me. I want to see the city before we have to work tonight."

"Well, someone's got their panties in a wod," he chuckled.

"Don't think, for one second, you know anything about me or my panties." You went into the room and slammed the door shut behind you.

His eyes widened. He wasn't expecting such hostility. Did that have anything to do with the night before? Did you remember him carrying you? Maybe you were mad about it. He wasn't sure if he should address it or act as if nothing had happened at all. He decided he'd see how you acted when you came back and play it by ear from there. He went to shower as well. You two had a lot to do this afternoon before the first evening at the conference.

When you walked through, headed to the door to leave, you saw Ivar with his back to you, looking out the window to the city below. There he stood in dark jeans, tight fit in all the right places. You'd forgotten how good he looked in jeans. It had been so long since you'd seen him in anything other than a suit and a tie. He was also wearing a dark blue, snug fit t-shirt. What was it with this guy and shirts too small for him? As you looked closer at how you could see his every muscle movement through his shirt as he reached up and ran his hand through his hair, you understood why he wore his shirts tighter than necessary. You were at a loss for words, and he seemed to be in deep thought. So, you thought to just slip out, and not bother him.

But of course, as you turned toward the door, you tripped over the rug and stumbled, barely catching yourself on the wall. He was instantly at your side. "Are you ok, Y/N?" He looked you over, "Wait. Where are you going?"

You pulled away from him, grabbing your purse back up over your shoulder, "I'm fine, and I told you. I want to see the city before tonight's conference."

He stepped back, holding his hands up. Obviously, you were still in a mood. Ok, different approach. "Ok, just hear me out. I've been looking at places on my laptop. There's several nice shops really close to some major landmarks. I thought we could visit a few shops to get our attire for this evening and do some sight seeing in-between?"

You just stared at him. It wasn't a terrible idea, and besides, you really had no idea where you were headed. You just knew you had to get out of this hotel room. Maybe he didn't even remember your embarrassing proposition. But shopping with Ivar Lothbrok? You still weren't sold on buying new dresses.

He rushed back to the table and grabbed his laptop. "See? Look at these places? Aren't they just gorgeous?"

He flipped through the saved pages, and you saw so many beautiful things your mind couldn't keep up. "Ok. Fine, but I'm not promising I'm gonna let you buy anything for me. I brought some nice things with me."

"I'm sure you did, but let's just see what they have to offer, shall we?" He grinned as he grabbed his wallet and the room key and followed you to the door.

-------------------------------------------------------

When you arrived at the first shop, you couldn't hide your amazement at all the beautiful dresses. "These are way too fancy, aren't they?"

"Well, tonight is the opening ball, and you actually need a ballgown. Then, the last night is the biggest event. We'll both need to be, what did you say, 'fancy' that night. I'll even need a tux."

You dropped your head to your hands, "Just great."

"What? I think any of these designers should be honored to have you represent their brand," he said nonchalantly as you felt your cheeks blush. "This one. Try this one on."

"Oh, fuck no. I'm not modeling them for you, too. You can just pick one, and I'll wear it."

"Aww, come on. I know ladies better than that. You have to make sure it fits you right and looks as good on you as it does on the hanger," he smiled. "Plus, there's still time to have it altered if it needs to be, but you have to try it on for that."

"Geez, you're persistent."

"But right," he smirked.

"Damn you. You know I owe you for this. Hand it over."

You took it and disappeared into the dressing room. Then you looked at the dress. Blue. That must be his favorite color.

"I'm not coming out, Lothbrok! I look like a teenager going to prom."

"Oh. Come on."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"I'm not buying anything I don't see first."

"Good. I can go back to the room and wear my own clothes."

He stood and walked over to the dressing room door. "If you don't come out, I'm gonna yank the door open and make you come out."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, but wouldn't I?"

"Damn you, Lothbrok."

Smiling, he turned and sat back down, impatiently awaiting your entrance. Huffing and puffing, you stormed out the dressing room door. He gasped when he saw you, and your head snapped to his direction.

Nervously, he coughed as he looked you up and down. The dress was a deep, ocean blue that shimmered in the light. It fit tightly, perfectly hugging your curves all the way down to your knees where it then fell loosely to your heels, short in the front, revealing your legs from your knees down, and long in the back.

"Wow," he softly said, not sure if it was aloud or to himself. He felt warmth crawling up his neck and to his face from his stomach. He desperately tried to think of anything but the stunning sight before him, praying to not give himself away. "Turn ar... I mean. Umm, let's see the back." At least, then, you couldn't see his face.

He nearly choked on thin air. He wasn't prepared for the back to be even more appealing than the front. The neck of the dress fastened with a silver button. The rest of the dress was open, revealing your bare back with the fabric coming to a point at your waistline, just above your tailbone. He realized that was the most of your body he had ever seen, and he gulped, his hands twitching with the desire to touch your soft skin.

"Well? Say something," you looked over your shoulder at him as best you could. "How bad is it?"

He cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice even but failing, "What kind of proms did you go to?"

"Wh-what?"

"You said you looked like a teenager going to prom. I've never seen a prom dress look this nice on any girl at prom. It's perfect."

You dropped your arms, not sure why you had them straight out to your sides to begin with, and turned back around facing him. "You're serious?"

"Absolutely."

"You don't think I'll be overdressed? I feel like if I walk in wearing this, all eyes will be on me."

"They will be," he swallowed, rubbing his sweaty hands down the legs of his jeans, "But not for the reasons you're worried about. You look stunning, Y/N. I think you should wear this one on the last evening."

Now, it was your turn to blush. He really surprised you with such compliments. You sighed, "If you say so. Let me get out of it for now, though. And umm, thank you, Ivar."

His breath hitched at you calling him by his first name again. Why did it affect him like that?

The rest of the afternoon went by smoothly. Nothing to do Ivar but for you to try on a million more dresses, but after he'd finally purchased the ones you needed for the conference and suits and a tux for himself, the two of you were finally free to enjoy yourselves.

You had lunch by the river at a well known restaurant you'd always wanted to try, did plenty of sight seeing at several different attractions, and had endless conversations. The two of you had crammed as much into one afternoon as you possibly could, and you'd quickly forgotten all about being mad at him and the morning's awkwardness.

"We should get going. We still have to get ready for tonight."

"I'd thought you were doing too much by having our new things delivered back to the hotel room, but now, not having to carry all those bags, I have to give it you, Lothbrok. You've got smooth moves," you giggled.

"Oh, if only she knew," Ivar laughed, thinking to himself.

"What was that? What's so funny?" you asked.

"Oh. Umm. Nothing. Let's go."

-------------------------------------------------------

The evening was off to a good start. Ivar had introduced you to several other buisness owners, and only one of them had assumed you were his girlfriend, which he was quick to correct. You surprisenly found pride in hearing him say you were colleagues and talk about how you'd helped him with so many buisness deals. You were especially happy when several of them asked you for your opinion on various topics.

Ivar had began discussions with a big whig that he was trying to make a deal with, and you offered to go to the bar to get drinks for the three of you. While you waited for the bartender, a man approached you. "Hi, little lady. You sure look out of place here," a raspy voice said, a little too close for your liking.

You took a step away from him and replied, "Oh? And why is that? Because I'm female? And the name is Y/N."

Taking the space you'd left between the two of you, he leaned in, "No, because you're too beautiful for such boring surroundings."

Ivar happened to glance your direction and was suddenly more interested in the man's interaction with you than with the conversation he was having. He felt some animalistic desire to be protective of you, for whatever reason, so he continued watching.

"So? You wanna get out of here?" The guy was still there and still in your face, to your annoyance.

"Umm, thanks, but no thanks. I have a job to do tonight." And you pointed over to Ivar who you'd noticed was watching.

At that moment, the bartender brought you your drinks which you happily went to grab, ready to return to Ivar. "Oh, I am sure I have a 'job' you can do for me tonight, too," the guy put his hand around your wrist as you almost had the drink in your hand and attempted to pull it to his crotch.

You gasped with surprise and disgust, yanking your arm out of his hand. Before you even realized what you'd done, you pulled your arm as far back as you could, and you slapped him! You knew it had to hurt him because your hand sure stung.

As you grabbed the drinks, he yelled out at you, "You bitch!"

As if by instinct, you dumped your drink on him and turned with the other two drinks in your hands. To your surprise, Ivar was standing in front of you. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he growled in the mans face.

He grabbed the man by the collar and held him as he looked around the room. He quickly motioned for someone to come over as he leaned down to the guy, "You are lucky we're here and not out somewhere in public. I would pumble you!"

As the man appeared that Ivar had summoned over, Ivar practically threw the guy at him. "Please, take out the trash. And I don't want to see him back here for the rest of the weekend."

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Lothbrok."

The man looked to Ivar, realization coming over him, "Lothbrok? Ivar Lothbrok? Oh my God, Mr. Lothbrok. I'm so sorry. I didn't know she was with you. I promise. I meant no disrespect. I didn't know she was yours. I didn't know she was yours, I promise!"

Between gritted teeth, Ivar growled at him, "She's! Not! Property! She doesn't belong to anyone! That seems to be the problem. You don't seem to understand that! If I see you back here, I'll personally break your neck!" He looked at the security guard and waved the guy off, and he dragged him out of the building.

To your surprise, only the people that were directly in the area seemed to even notice anything had happened at all. Ivar turned to you, noticing your stunned expression. "Are you ok?" He then saw your expression change, and before you had a chance to say anything, he added, "I know you can handle yourself. I saw that you did, and it made me proud," he smiled, "But it is absolutely unacceptable that he did that!"

You dropped your head to your hands, "You saw that, too?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry I intervened, but I couldn't just..."

"It's not that," you looked up at him, "I know you were working on that deal, and now I've ruined it. I am so sorry, Ivar."

Ivar. It seriously did something to him everytime you said his name. You looked at him, noticing something behind his eyes, but you couldn't quite read it. "Ok, focus," he told himself. "Actually, you have nothing to worry about. He told me to come to you. Not that I needed his permission or anything, but umm, he said for me to, 'take care of that guy,' and he'd wait for us to return." He gave you an awkward smile.

You were shocked, but relieved. "Yeah, what was that about, exactly? The way you just ordered that security guard around."

"Umm. About that."

"I'm all ears," you said as you turned to get the other two drinks, and Ivar ordered a replacement for the one the perve was now wearing.

"Well, this conference happens every year. Has been for a while now, and umm,"

"Out with it, Lothbrok."

"Umm, well. My father's company is the one who hosts it." He looked away, sure you'd be upset with him.

Your mouth dropped, "Are you serious?" He only nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Umm, lot's of reasons, actually. I didn't want it to look like I was trying to impress you, or worse, run you off," he grinned. "I also didn't want you to feel like I was only bringing you because, 'daddy said to,'" he held his hands up in quotations, "Because I'd look good with arm candy." Just then, he was saved by the bartender who brought the third drink. Ignoring the shocked look across you face, he quickly said, "We, umm, we should get back to the deal. That guy is still waiting on us."

You grabbed his arm and wrapped yours in his as the two of you walked back. "Arm candy, huh?" You felt like he'd be the arm candy in this scenario, but you'd take it.

"Oh, shut up!"

"So sorry, we kept you waiting, Sir. We know your time is valuable," you said to him as you handed him the drink in your hand. "And I apologize for that ridiculous display you had to witness over there."

The gentleman took the drink from you and looked at you and Ivar, standing with arms locked. "It's quite alright, ma'am." He looked to Ivar, "And I've already made my decision. You don't have to continue with your pitch, Son."

Great. Here it was. You'd officially ruined Ivar's great opportunity to help his father's buisness grow.

"I know you told me that the two of you aren't an item, and I respect that, but any man who leaves such an important buisness deal, to protect a woman, one that isn't with him, none the less," you gulped and closed your eyes, "Is a man that I'd be honored to do buisness with."

You stared blankly, and Ivar nearly spit his drink out. "Wh-what?" Ivar asked, not quite believing his ears.

"Well, I'll be honest with you. I've heard about you, none of it too nice," Ivar blushed with embarrassment. "So I honestly wasn't looking forward to meeting you this weekend, but Mr. Lothbrok, you have surprised and impressed me. You're nothing like I expected, and I think you and this young lady will be a pleasure to work with." He held his hand out to shake yours and Ivar's. "I'll have my secretary get the paperwork ready Monday morning and let the two of you look over everything before we meet with our lawyers for the signing."

Smiling from ear to ear, Ivar shook his hand again and said, "Sounds like a great plan. Thank you so much."

"And Mr. Lothbrok?"

"Yes, sir?" Ivar asked.

"If I may offer a bit of advice?"

"Sure," Ivar nodded.

"If I were you, I'd change my status of only colleagues with this beautiful, young lady before it's too late and someone else steps in and sweeps her off her feet right in front of you."

You gasped, nearly choking on your drink. Ivar was stunned into being speechless as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. "Sorry to be so frank with you, Son. We'll talk on Monday," the gentleman smiled, patting Ivar on the shoulder as he walked away.

Ivar looked over to you, still obviously shocked. Before you knew what was happening, he leaned down, wrapped his arms around your waist, and stood up with you, spinning you around in a circle. You were caught off guard and could only laugh. "You know what this means, Y/N? We can be here the rest of the weekend with no pressure at all. With closing that deal, if we walk away with absolutely nobody else, we've still come out ahead."

He'd stopped spinning you and was just holding you up, looking into your eyes as you smiled down at him. "And I-I'm sorry for that. For umm, what he said." The two of you just stared at each other with no words. You stayed like that for a couple more heartbeats, before you both realized it. He coughed nervously and sat you back down. You pressed your dress back down and looked up at him. At the same time, you both began to speak.

"I'm gonna go to..."

"I could use another..."

"Ok," you both said, and you went to the bathroom as he went to the bar for more drinks. He rubbed his hands together nervously, looking down, as he waited for the bartender. How could he be so daft?

In the bathroom, you were happy to have a few minutes to yourself to get your thoughts together, even happier that there was a family bathroom that you ducked into where you could look in the mirror with no one else around. You stared at your reflection as if you didn't recognize the person staring back at you. "You're fucked, you know that, stupid? Completely screwed," you said to yourself, dropping your head and inhaling deeply.

When you finally went back out, you saw Ivar at the bar. Taking a deep breath, you walked over to him, determined to hide anything he could possibly read across your face.

As you approached him, he turned to you and handed you another drink. "Oh, hi, Y/N. I'd like you to meet Emilie." He turned to the woman standing beside him with striking beauty, long, blonde, lose curls, bright, sparkling, emerald green eyes, and a body with the most voluptuous curves that you suddenly felt insignificant. You crossed your arms over yourself, suddenly feeling a bit self conscious of your more simple dress. Why hadn't you worn the beautiful, blue one tonight? "Emilie, this is my colleague I was telling you about. She's pretty much saved my ass ever since I got the promotion. I make no deals unless she's by my side."

He continued to explain to you that he and Emilie went way back as their parents were once close friends. Seemed that now, she was one of the executives of another buisness Ivar had had his eyes on for a while. What a coincidence to learn it was now where she was working! Just great. She put her hand out to shake yours and you did the same. "It's nice to meet you, Y/N. I've heard a lot about you in the last few minutes. Seems like you're the one to have around if you want to make great profits for your company," she gave you a genuine smile.

You wanted to hate her instantly. You weren't exactly sure why, but you did. However, as much as you wanted her compliments to be insincere and her attitude to be nasty, you could immediately tell she was serious with her words. "Come, let's go to an area a little more quiet so we can discuss buisness futher. I can't hardly think straight in here."

She lead the way, practically gliding across the ballroom floor. You'd never seen a woman move with such elegance. Your eyes then shifted back to Ivar, walking behind you both. You were sure he'd be googly-eyed over her, trying not to trip over his own tongue, but to your unsettling surprise, his eyes were fixed on you. When they met yours, he immediately looked away.

Strange. Had he looked at you because you turned around, and he didn't want to be caught drooling? Surely, he was interested in the gorgeous blonde.

When you entered the small dinning area off the back side of the ballroom, you were relieved to finally find a spot to take a seat. The three of you sat down, and Emilie immediately got to the point, asking you and Ivar about your buisness stats, your profit margins, and who else you'd made deals with recently.

When Ivar told her about the deal the two of you had just made with the guy a bit earlier, her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Are you serious? We've been trying to set something up with him for a few weeks now to no avail."

Ivar smiled proudly making you smile as well. After a few more minutes of discussing buisness, he excused himself to step away to the restroom and left you at the table with Emilie. You nervously looked at her and then quickly to the beer in your hands, suddenly finding the label extremely interesting.

"I'm so excited to hear about the changes you guys have made with Ragnar's business. Ivar used to always talk about his aspirations if he was ever in charge, and it's extremely inspiring to see it become a reality for him. With your help, obviously."

The way she casually mentioned a bit of the history she shared with Ivar made you uneasy to say the least, but you weren't sure why. "And I haven't seen him this happy in a long time. It's nice to see."

You looked up at her, "Umm, what do you mean?"

She smiled widely, "Oh, surely, you can't be that oblivious."

You blushed, struggling to keep your voice even, "Of what, exactly?"

Looking at you seriously, she said, "That man is crazy about you, Y/N. Surely, you know that."

"I. Umm," you were taken back at her words. This was the last thing you'd expected her to say to you. "I thought that you. Umm. I." You couldn't seem to get the words out.

"You thought I was his ex or umm," she coughed, "His soon to be?" She grinned as you nodded. "Oh, many have thought that as well, but, no. He's like a brother to me, honestly. He was a friend to me when I had none, and I've always trusted him a great deal. And besides that, I'm a happily married woman." She turned her hand around, showing you the huge rock on her hand, and you sighed in relief, not even sure why it mattered.

"Forgive me for being so bold, but I just wanted you to know. It may not be obvious to you, but it certainly is to me."

You stared at her without words to respond, so she simply said, "No worries, Dear. I wouldn't dare say a word to him. This is just girls' talk between us two, ok?"

At that very moment, Ivar returned and sat back down at the table. He looked between the two of you, sensing he'd missed something but didn't dare to ask. The three of you talked a while longer, discussing a little bit of everything, and you saw why she and Ivar had been such good friends. She definitely had a sharp mind, and to your surprise, a witty mouth that didn't hesitate to say exactly what she thought, and you liked that.

You all finally came to an agreement that she would discuss things with her buisness partners and call the office the following week. She assured you that the deal would happen, but she still needed to share the details with her partners before giving the final word.

As the three of you shook hands and Emilie said her goodbyes to you both, you and Ivar headed back to the ballroom. Ivar grabbed your hand and squeezed it excitedly. "Oh my God, Y/N! We've done so great here tonight, and it's just the first night! I can't wait to tell Father!" As if he'd only just realized he was still holding your hand, he quickly dropped it, and looked at you. "Umm, unless you prefer to stay longer, I thought we could have one more drink at the bar and then head back up to the room."

"That sounds great, actually. I'm kind of ready to get out of this dress," you answered him.

He tried to push the thoughts out of his head of how he'd like to get you out of that dress as well as he ordered two more drinks. The two of you had your drinks, talked, laughed, and ended up having a couple more drinks before you both were more than ready to call it a night.

The elevator ride was bubbling over with both of your excitement, smiles, and laughter. When you bursted into the hotel room, you both flopped down on the sofa, still laughing. About what, you weren't even sure anymore, but it was nice.

As you slowly caught your breath, you looked over to him, taking his suit jacket and tie off and beginning to unbutton his shirt. You tried not to stare as you remembered Emilie's words of how he was apparently, 'crazy about you.' Was she right? You honestly couldn't tell, but you sure were enjoying the view.

He must have felt you glaring at him, because he looked at you and quickly stopped unbuttoning his shirt. "Oh, fuck! I'm sorry, Y/N. I, umm. Force of habit. Told you, shirts get on my nerves, but I won't, umm,"

You interrupted him, "It's ok, Lothbrok. I really don't mind. I, umm, I should head to bed anyway. It's late," you told him even though you actually weren't sleepy yet.

"Aww. I was hoping you'd join me for a movie," he said sincerely. "Are you really sleepy already?"

You could not lie to him with his fierce eyes locked on you, "Umm, well, honestly, no. I just. I need to change so I'm comfortable, and I know once I'm comfy, I'll fall asleep quickly, especially after all those drinks we've had." You looked at his disappointed expression, and you weren't sure exactly what made you say what you said next, "But, if you promise me you won't take this the wrong way, you can totally come to my room, and watch a movie with me on my bed once I've changed out of this dress."

His eyes widened, and he didn't know quite what to say. His mouth was suddenly dry as he opened it, but no words came out. "Or not. It's ok. I'm sorry. I'll see you in the morning," you said, standing, ready to go to your room and drown yourself in the bathtub.

"No. Umm. Wait. That sounds perfect, actually. I-I'm, I was just surprised, that's all," he studdered.

Feeling a little better that he wasn't turning you down, again, you said, "Well, umm, ok. I didn't umm, mean to give you the wrong idea, though, or make you uncomfortable." You took a deep breath and continued before he had a chance to say anything. "Give me a few minutes, then join me," you turned and pointed your finger at him, "But no funny buisness, mister. I just really want to be lazy the rest of the night, and watching a movie alone sounds really boring." You nervously laughed and disappeared into your room.

What were you doing? Had you lost your damn mind? Everything had happened so fast that you'd asked him to join you before your brain even had a chance to catch up to what you were sayng. You sincerely hoped he didn't get the wrong idea. The last thing you needed was for him to think you were coming on to him.

You hurried to change into your large t-shirt and freshen up before he came to join you. You weren't sure what you expected, but you knew you wanted to still look and smell good. You laughed to yourself at how ridiculous you knew you were being.

You finally got changed and tied your hair up on top of your head in a bun. One last look in the mirror, after smelling your pits just to be sure, and you headed to the bed. You weren't quite to the bed yet when you heard a light tap on the door. "Y/N? Is it ok for me to come in now?"

You panicked, and sprinted across the room, jumping onto the bed, and quickly fumbling for the tv control. You flipped the tv on, and then called back to him, "Yeah, sure. Come in."

"Hi. Umm, are you sure this is ok?" he asked nervously, and you couldn't help but notice how cute he was being all shy like that.

"Yes, of course. What's more pathetic than watching a movie alone, right? We're both adults here, Lothbrok. I think we got this."

Smiling with what you could have sworn was a breath of relief, he walked to the bed and sat down on the foot of it. "What are we gonna watch?" he turned to look back at you.

You rolled your eyes and said, "Wasn't the idea of watching something in here for us to be more comfortable?"

"Yeah," he looked confused.

"Then why are you sitting on the edge of the bed?" You patted the bed beside you, "I assure you, it's more comfortable up here, leaning back on pillows and the headboard."

"Oh, umm. I was just. Ok." and he moved up the bed beside you and propped himself up. "Thanks. I didn't know if..." and he completely lost what he was going to say when he saw you roll your eyes again.

You flipped through the channels until you found something you both agreed on, and you sat the control on the bedside table. You looked over to him and said, "Ivar, it's ok if you want to take your shirt off. I know it's not comfortable for you."

He grinned from ear to ear, sitting up and pulling his shirt up and finally over his head. "Oh thank God. I was seriously beginning to rethink coming in here," he laughed jokingly.

You discreetly watched as he folded his shirt and placed it on the nightstand beside the bed. Damn, that man had an inviting chest. You swallowed and looked away as he turned back around, silently praying he hadn't noticed your drooling.

Neither of you had noticed just how tired you were until you laid back on the headboard. Before you knew it, you'd both slouched down from the original straight up position.

Ivar had a grin on him a mile long when you looked over to him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about all the deals we made tonight."

"Well, technically, it was just one," you reminded him.

"No, it'll be two. Emilie's a sure thing," he said confidently.

"You probably shouldn't word it like that," you corrected him. "That doesn't sound very nice."

Grinning, he said, "Oh, it's not like that with her. We're just..."

"Friends. I know." He looked at you curiously, so you continued without really telling him the whole truth. "Oh, she showed me that rock on her hand, and said how happy she was with her husband."

"Yeah, Chase is a really good guy. You should see them together. It's absolutely disgusting," he laughed.

"Oh, I don't know. I think a love like that would probably be nice to experience."

"You, umm, you've never been in love before?"

"No, I don't think so. Or, at least, they've never loved me back."

"What? You're kidding. Why not?"

"Who knows? Because I don't, 'play well with others,'" you made quotations in the air with your hands, half laughing. "What about you, Lothbrok? You ever been in love before?"

"Umm, just once," his face flushed bright red, "I think."

"You mean you don't know? What happened?" you were suddenly really curious.

"Well, umm, to be fair, she never knew. I umm, I couldn't. I never told her." He dropped his head.

"Why didn't you? She would have been lucky to have you," you said, honestly, before you had the chance to catch the words, and your hands instantly covered your mouth.

Smiling, he answered, "Well, what was it you said? I guess I don't play well with others either."

You saw that he wasn't going to offer anything else, but you were too nosey, so you pressed, "Humm. Who was it? Anyone I know?"

"Maybe," was all he said, refusing to look at you.

"Lothbrok! Are you serious right now? Oh my God! Who?"

"Nope. I'm done."

"Oh, c'mon. Who?" The suspense was killing you.

"Anyway, we've missed a whole part of the movie. We should..."

He tried to change the subject, but you weren't having it. "Oh, no sir. Spill it, Lothbrok. Give me a name."

"Absolutely not."

"That's not fair! Please?" you whined, batting your eyes at him.

He looked up at you, all smiles completely dropped from his face. You suddenly felt bad for teasing him and trying to pressure him into telling you something he, obviously, didn't want you to know. With the most serious look on his face, he said, "I could tell you," your heart stopped. "But then," he looked away then quickly back to you, his eyes piercing into yours, "I would have to kill you."

"Oh my God!" your fist punched the bed between the two of you, "You asshole!"

He laughed hysterically. "Not funny!" you pouted and crossed your arms in a mocked temper tantrum.

"It's hilarious," he continued laughing.

You flipped him a bird and decided to just drop it. You knew he wasn't going to give in.

After a few more minutes, the two of you settled back into the bed, watching the movie. At the end of the movie, you asked him if he liked it as much as you did, but he didn't answer. "Oh, are you still pouting because I was teasing you? I won't bring it up again. Ok?"

He still didn't answer, so you sat up and looked over at him. He was asleep. This asshole was actually laying in your bed, fast asleep. To be sure he wasn't just messing with you, you leaned a little closer to him, sure he'd open his eyes from your proximity, but nothing. You could hear his steady, rhythmic breathing and nearly even a soft snore here and there. "Ivar?" you softly said, and still, nothing.

To your surprise, he really was sleeping, and before you could lean back away from his peaceful face, you got a whiff of his cologne. How had you missed how delicious he smelled all this time? You took in a deep breath, savoring the scent, something like a warm ocean breeze and sweet berries, which you assumed must be the smell of his thick hair, too. It was delightful as you closed your eyes and imagined him over you, hair brushing your face, muscles flexing with his movements, and, "Oh dear God! What the fuck am I doing?"

You jerked back quickly, terrified he would wake up with your outburst and sudden jolt on the bed and discover what a creep you were, but as you watched, he only sighed and repositioned himself to his side, now facing you. "Perfect. Just fucking perfect," you said softly to yourself. You weren't sure what you should do.

You spent a few more minutes panicking and trying to catch your breath. Damn this man. You were incredibly embarrassed, but even more shocked at your own actions. Yes, he smelled so good, and it didn't help that he looked even better with his bare chest slowly moving up and down with his breathing, causing his intricate tattoos to dance along what you were sure was the softest skin, but it didn't justify you creeping over him like a pervert, while he innocently slept, imagining despicable things you obviously wanted him to do to you.

Then, it hit you. You wanted Ivar Lothbrok. In more ways than one. Badly. He was your boss, though. How more inappropriate and unprofessional could you be? He obviously didn't want you. Wouldn't he have made a move by now? He'd had ample opportunity. Disgusted in yourself, you dropped your head to your hands. "Impossible relationships. Story of my life," you said quietly.

Then, you held your head up. No more of this. The two of you had a platonic relationship, and that's how it would remain. Sure, he was fast asleep in your bed looking like an angel, but he was obviously tired. The two of you had had a busy day. You decided it was only a big deal if you made it one, and you definitely weren't going to do that and get turned down again. It would be ten times worse with you sober and awake. This was a king sized bed, plenty of space for you both. You both were adults. You could do this.

You grabbed the remote and flipped the tv off, then leaned up and turned off the lamp. You laid back on the bed and pulled the covers over you, then figured you'd be polite and reached over and covered Ivar as well. Sighing and annoyed at yourself, you turned away from him, onto your side, pushing all fantasies out of your head. This was not an option.

-------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, you slowly stirred awake. As your sleep fog became clearer, your entire body tensed. Then, you noticed a warm weight on your waist. Looking down, you saw a defined, muscular arm wrapped around you. Holy shit! Ivar's arm was holding you! That's when you noticed the soft, hot air on the back of your neck, sending shivers down your spine, and realized it was Ivar breathing. What the hell were you going to do now? How would this not be awkward?

You laid there for a few more moments, frozen with worry, trying to ignore how amazing it felt to be wrapped in his strong arms. Shit, shit, shit! How could you get up without waking him?

As you squirmed, trying to remove yourself from his hold, he stretched, grumbling, "Umm, good morning, beautiful."

You both sat straight up in the bed, eyes wide, mouths gaping open, and staring at each other. "What? I. Umm. How did? Did I? Are you? Oh fuck!" Ivar couldn't even put his words into a coherent thought.

You jumped off the bed, pacing in front of it. Pointing your finger toward him, you said, "You just. It was. How can I? Damn! You said," you apparently weren't doing much better than he was.

Taking a deep breath, you finally quickly blurted out, "You fell asleep during the movie last night, and you looked too peaceful for me to wake up, and I tried, but," you half lied, "You were really out, and so, I figured, we're both adults, the bed is plenty big enough for us both, and I just let you sleep." You stopped in front of the bed, looking at him in sheer panic. "I-I'm sorry. I should've tried harder."

He stared, blankly. "For fucks sake! Say something, Lothbrok!"

"So we didn't?" he motioned between the two of you.

"Oh God, no! What do you think I am? We had been drinking!" you answered, slightly offended.

Rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands, he said, "Oh, thank fuck! I didn't think I was that drunk!"

Your mouth dropped, "What? Fuck you, Lothbrok! You know what? Get the fuck out of my room!"

Realizing his words didn't sound how he meant them, he jumped out of the bed and to your side. "Wait! No, that's not what I meant! I didn't mean it like that, Y/N. I promise! I just meant that I didn't want to take advantage of you when we were drunk."

You pointed to the door, "Out!"

Not sure you'd even heard him, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." He placed his hands on your shoulders, looking deeply into your, now, glistening eyes, and continued, "I was just relieved that we didn't do something together, and I didn't even remember it."

He leaned in closer, glancing at your lips and then back to your eyes. You tensed all over, heart racing a mile a minute. What was he doing?

Finally, his lips ghosted over yours, his arms encircling you. Before your brain had time to catch up, his mouth engulfed yours, tender lips moving slowly over yours, the sweet scent of berries flooding your nose, heat flowing through all your senses. This wasn't real. You grabbed at his chest for a shirt that wasn't there, trying to ground yourself. He couldn't. This couldn't.

You slowly pulled away, "Ivar, I..." your eyes looked down, and he immediately released you. "Maybe you, umm, you should probably..."

"I'm sorry," he softly said, face flushed bright red, turning to the door, not waiting for you to finish. He knew rejection when he saw it. When he reached the door, he stood in it for a moment, looking back at you, still frozen in the spot he left you, your fingers on your lips. Absolute perfection. He turned and walked out, gently closing the door behind him, and you sunk down into the floor in front of the bed.

------------

Hours had passed before you knew it. You still sat in the same spot, now, with your arms stretched out on the bed and your head laying on them. You hadn't even realized that you'd fallen asleep that way.

You sat up, sore from being in the same position for so long, and before you had time to concentrate on anything else, your mind began replaying everything that had happened.

Why had he left? You'd just wanted to be sure he was thinking clearly and that he was doing what he wanted. You hadn't seen anything before that to indicate he wanted you like that, and the last thing you wanted was his pity after he'd said he hadn't thought he was drunk enough to have sex with you.

So, why had he even kissed you to begin with? Just to test the waters? Well, he obviously, didn't like it, because he left you standing there.

You felt humiliated. How could you face him, now? And working with him? How could you do that any longer? You should have just stayed home. Things would've been so much easier if you had.

Crawling up onto the bed, you grabbed your computer bag that was propped against the bedside table. You opened it and waited for it to power on. You always had a resume handy just incase you needed to provide it in any of your buisness deals with Ivar.

You quickly read over it to make sure it had everything it needed before doing a quick search for jobs in your area. Without waiting another minute to have a chance to second guess yourself, you submitted it to several open positions in other businesses where Ivar Lothbrok was not the executive director, associate, or anything to do with the businesses at all.

You closed your laptop, reassuring yourself you'd done the right thing. It wouldn't be a good idea to continue working so closely like this with someone who you knew didn't want you the way you wanted them. And the fact that you'd finally admitted to yourself that you did, in fact, want him just hurt even worse.

You decided to go take a shower and maybe wash away some of your pathetic self pity when you noticed papers under your door. You walked over and picked them up.

One said, "Breakfast is on the dinning room table if you'd like it. -Ivar." You smiled, despite yourself. The second one was crumpled up, and you wondered if he'd thrown it away before deciding to slip it under your door. It read, "Y/N, I'm sorry. I obviously misread things. You can hate me if you like, but you've got to eat. Your breakfast is cold, so I had Room Service bring you lunch. It's still on the cart in the dinning room. With your breakfast. Please eat. I'm leaving so you won't have to see me when you come out. I'll be back for tonight's conference. Hope to see you there. -Ivar."

What kind of weirdo was he? He expected everything to just go back to how it was before? Before he'd entertained the idea of being with you, but quickly changed his mind after a fucking kiss? You sighed as you tossed the notes in the trash. You stood there for another moment. You could definitely eat. You felt hungry.

You slipped your head outside the door and listened for him. There was no sound. Again, you hated how well he knew you. You'd stay holled up in that room the rest of the day, no matter how hungry, if you knew he was out there. "Ivar!" you called. When he didn't answer, you finally went out to the dinning room to check out the food.

You quickly warmed it up in the microwave and debated on returning to your room or eating there at the table. His note said he'd be out until the conference, so you figured you had time. You sat down and began eating. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't get Ivar off of your mind. You couldn't figure out how you'd gotten yourself into such an uncomfortable situation. You were usually smarter than that. What was it about him?

As you finished your food, you began thinking about the conference that was quickly arriving and if you should even go. You knew he was depending on you, and it was technically, your job to go, but you weren't so sure you were up to it. The events from the morning had really done a number on you. Worse than you cared to think about or even admit.

Years ago, you had promised yourself that you'd never waste another tear on another man. Life had too much to offer, and you weren't going to throw it away spending time letting some man make you cry ever again.

And now, here you were, wasting the whole day away doing the exact thing that was against the very fiber of your existence. Should you go and show you were stronger than that, that nothing could get you down? Or should you sit the night out and give yourself the time to prepare to fake it until you make it? A little grace had been earned, no?

You dropped your head to your arm on the table, sighing in annoyance. You had no idea how to get yourself out of this one. You just sat there like that for a few more moments, trying to give yourself a pep talk and severely failing. Despite how you wanted to push it all aside like you typically did with all of your other feelings, this actually hurt. You sat there until your arm was wet, and then you quickly sat up, drying your face with your shirt. This was bullshit! You decided to finally go take that shower. Surely, you'd feel better afterwards.

You stood and put the dishes back on the cart, preparing to roll it back to the hallway. At that very moment, you heard the door open behind you. Fuck! You didn't turn around, hoping he'd just go to his room. Of course, that was wishful thinking.

"Y/N? Hey," you heard him close the door behind him. "I'm happy to see you came out to eat. I was worried that.."

"Don't," your voice cracked.

"Don't what?" Was he really that daft?

"Don't come back and pretend like you give a fuck!" you answered, coldly.

"What? I don't understand. I, umm.."

"Save it," you turned around, facing him to head back to the bedroom, trying to avoid eye contact.

He saw your red, puffy eyes and your spotted wet t-shirt and was instantly at your side. "Oh my God, Y/N. What's wrong? Are you ok?" He went to place his hands on your shoulders, and in an instant reflex, you held your arms up, blocking him.

He looked at you, confused, then, it suddenly clicked. He knew he was an idiot. "Fuck, Y/N. I'm so sorry for earlier. I, uh, I didn't..."

"And of course, the ever perfect Ivar Lothbrok immediately sees me with what he thinks is an upset face, and of course, your first conclusion is that it definitely has something to do with you. Conceit doesn't run in your family. You've got it all."

He was taken back. "What the? What's wrong then?"

Pushing past him, and thinking on your feet, you figured you should take another approach. If he was going to act like he had no idea what was wrong, then so were you. Quickly making your decision about the conference for the night, you answered, "I must be coming down with something, or either, it's something I ate yesterday. I'm not feeling so well." You grabbed your stomach.

"Oh shit! What can I do for you? What do you need?"

"I, uh, I just need rest. I think." You felt bad for lying, but there was no turning back now. "I'm so sorry, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it tonight." You stood at the door to the bedroom, looking back at him. "Think you can handle it alone just this once?"

He ran his hand through his hair, clearly stunned. "Umm, yeah. I, uh, yes. Sure. You sure you don't need anything? Water? Crackers?"

"Umm, no thanks. I can't really hold much of anything on my stomach right now. I'm sorry again," you half smiled and went into the room.

Ivar stood there in the middle of the hallway at a complete loss for words. What was that all about? He finally went to get the room service cart to roll it out into the hallway, trying to distract himself from that very strange interaction.

That's when he noticed the empty plates. He looked at them curiously then back to your bedroom door. He placed his hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it as he tried to think. Had you lied to him? Why?

It had been a really strange day for him, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Overwhelmed and exhausted of it all, he just decided to take the cart out to the hall and forget about it.

Trying to push everything out of his mind, he decided to take a shower. Standing there as the hot water washed over him, he was completely baffled. Why were you so hot and cold with him? He could usually read a woman within the first five minutes of meeting her, but not you. No, he'd known you for years, and you still never ceased to amaze him. That was part of the reason he was so fascinated by you. And he always had been, to his annoyance. He'd also never met another woman who got under his skin the way you could either.

He smiled despite himself, and finally got out and dressed for the evening. He hated that he would have to attend the conference alone, but he accepted that, for whatever reason, you didn't want to go.

Before he left, he lightly tapped on your bedroom door, "Y/N? I'm leaving now. Do you need anything before I go?" Why did he have to be such a damn gentleman?

"No! Thanks, though," you grumbled back at him, trying to sound half asleep.

"Alright, then. I'll have my cell if you need me, ok?"

"'Kay!" You wrapped your arms around your knees and began rocking, trying to soothe yourself. It was going to be a long night.

Once Ivar was at the conference, he immediately went to the bar. He felt a tad bit less confident without you, and that definitely drove him mad.

After a while, he decided to mingle in the crowd. A pretty woman asked him if he'd like to dance, and he politely turned her down. That was so completely unlike him that he had to laugh at it, but he simply was not interested in her.

He made a few negotiations over the course of the night, nothing big, but enough that he felt like his time wasn't completely wasted. It annoyed him a great deal that he felt so out of sorts without you by his side. He was certainly happy that the two of you had made the big deals the night before, or he'd feel like a complete failure.

After a couple more drinks at the bar and nothing big happening, he decided to call it a night. What was the point? He could drink alone back in the hotel room, and at least there, he could sit comfortably on the sofa in his sweats.

He returned to the room to find all the lights out. Apparently, you'd called it a night as well. He went to his room and changed clothes first thing, then went to your door after grabbing a beer from the bar in the room. He wanted to check on you and just be sure you were ok in case you really were under the weather and not just sick of his company, but he didn't want to wake you if you were already sleeping.

He paced back and forth in the hallway in front of your door for a few minutes before finally deciding to give it a shot. What did he have to loose anyway? He was sure you were already pissed at him.

He lightly tapped on your door before softly asking, "Y/N? Are you still awake? Are you ok? Do you need anything?" He listened for any sound from you, but heard nothing but what he guessed was the tv playing softly.

He decided to continue whether you were awake to hear him or not. He had things he needed to get off his chest, and what better way than literally talking to a brick wall?

"Y/N, I know you're upset with me, and I am truly, truly sorry. I didn't mean to say anything rude this morning, and I definitely didn't mean to hurt your feelings in any way." There was still no sound from the other side of the door as he placed his open hand in the middle of it as if it helped him to feel you.

"I hate to see you hurting, even if it is because of something you ate or because you're getting sick. I'd take it away from you if I could. But I'd really hate to see you hurting if it's because of something I said or did." He slid down to the floor in front of your door, feeling defeated.

"It's never been my intentions to hurt you, not even back when we were in school together. When you hurt, it hurts me, too, Y/N, believe it or not. And I just want to apologize for the part I had in hurting you, if, in fact, I have. See? That's the thing. I'm not sure. I just want our friendship back, ok? Today has been a long ass day without you with me."

He sat against the door and listened. He heard nothing, still. He reached up to the small hallway table by the door and grabbed his beer and turned it up. It definitely wasn't the comfortable sofa he'd thought of a bit earlier, but at least this way, he'd be sure to catch you if you woke up anytime soon.

--------

You stood at your bedroom door with your hand on it and you head dropped as you heard the end of Ivar talking. Was he talking to you? You'd stirred awake to him having some kind of monolog from what seemed right outside your door. All you heard was something about him hurting and missing your friendship. Was he apologizing? If he was, you hated that you didn't hear more of it. Why the hell didn't he wake you up first?

You were so frustrated. You leaned against the door, desperately wishing it was his chest, and closed your eyes. You waited to see if he was going to say anything else. When he didn't, you assumed he'd went to his room. Pressing your ear against the door to be sure, you listened for another few minutes. When you still heard nothing, you decided to walk out to get a glass of water before heading back to bed for the night.

To your surprise, when you opened the door, there sat Ivar against it, and he fell backwards, onto the floor behind him.

You looked down at him in total shock. He opened his eyes, and looking up at you, said, "Y/N? Hey, Y/N, am I dreaming?"

Concerned, you bent down to his side. You didn't know if you should laugh or be worried. "Ivar, what are you doing out here? Are you ok?"

"I, umm," he slowly sat up, grabbing the back of his head, "I was waiting on you. I wanted to talk to you about this morning."

You instantly tensed up. You didn't want to relive everything after spending most of the day trying to forget it. "No, I don't want to talk about it, Lothbrok," you said, sternly, and started to get up.

He gently grabbed your wrist, "Please. Don't leave. Y/N. We can change the subject. Just please, talk to me."

"Lothbrok, I, uh, I don't know what to say."

He looked into your eyes and lost all train of thought. "I, umm, we can," he cleared his throat, and you were more confused. "I mean, umm, Y/N?" Then he looked away, letting go of your wrist, and grabbed his drink from the floor and turned it up again.

Still bent down at his side, you stared, waiting for him to continue, but he simply continued guzzling his half empty beer. He glanced at you out of the corner of his eyes but said nothing.

"Really? Nothing? Then what was the point of all this?" you motioned to him sitting in the floor.

Crickets.

"Fine. Have it your way. I don't care if you sit out here all night." You stood and went to get your water. You tried to figure out what was up with him, but you were completely at a loss.

When you walked back around the corner, headed back to your room, you decided you'd ask him one more time what was wrong and see if you could get him to talk. However, when you reached your door, he wasn't sitting there anymore. You looked across the hall to his closed door.

Silence.

Frustrated, you stood there for a moment, not really knowing what to think, before you finally just gave up trying. As you closed your door, you softly said to yourself, "Perfectly fucked up ending to a perfectly fucked up day."

-------------------------------------------

The next morning, you woke up feeling like you hadn't really slept at all. You had a restless night. Just great.

Once you were showered, dressed, and had covered the dark circles under your eyes as best you could with makeup, you realized just how hungry you were. You didn't wait to listen for Ivar. You assumed he was there somewhere because he hadn't told you he was leaving or left a note like the day before, but you didn't care. You were finished hiding and pouting. You knew you could face him, now. You had your moment of weakness, and now you were over it. You were here because you had a job to do, and you were going to do it.

As you walked through the hotel room, it appeared that Ivar hadn't been out of his room yet. Nothing had been moved, and there was no sign that he'd had anything to eat.

You wondered if you should order room service for him, too, when you were about to call down for it, but realized he could have eaten in his room. You decided to go ask him.

You knocked on his bedroom door and waited. There was no answer. "Lothbrok! I'm about to call down and order room service," you called out from the closed door. "Do you want anything?" He didn't answer. You leaned closer and listened but still didn't hear anything. He must have still been sleeping, so you decided to give him the same respect he'd given you the day before and let him sleep. You planned to knock again after you ate.

After a delicious meal and about an hour later, you realized you didn't even know what time it was. When you looked at the clock on your phone, you were completely surprised to see that it was 3:00 in the afternoon. Shocked, you dropped your bottle of water.

You hadn't realized that you'd slept as long as you had, but when you thought about how Ivar was still sleeping, you decided you'd should check on him. If he got mad because you woke him up, you'd just deal with it.

Taking a deep breath, you went back to his door and knocked. "Lothbrok! Hey! Did you know it was already 3 pm?" He didn't respond. "Come on. I'm just wanting to check on you and make sure you're ok. Please answer me." He still didn't answer you. "Lothbrok! We are still going tonight, arent we? Ivar?"

When he still didn't answer, you said, "Oh, fuck it!" and opened the door. As you walked in, you saw that the bed was still made. Did he not sleep in the bed last night? You walked around it to see if he was on the other side in the floor, and to your surprise, he wasn't there either. Had he actually slept in the bed and made it himself instead of waiting on the maid service to come?

You turned around and saw that the bathroom door was closed. Duh, why hadn't you figured that he'd be in there? "Hey, Lothbrok? You ok in there?" When he still didn't answer, you'd had enough. "Ivar Lothbrok! I don't know what exactly is going on with you, but at least be a man about it, and answer me!" You stormed over to the bathroom door and yanked it open, preparing to close you eyes if you needed to.

But. Your mouth dropped. The bathroom lights were off, and he wasn't in there. You were completely shocked to your core. Had he left last night? You snooped in the closet to see if his things were still there, and you were relieved to find that they were. At least he hadn't completely left you.

You left his room and closed the door behind you, standing against it, stunned. Damn, he really was not happy with you. You had no idea why he would have left the night before and not even have came back at all unless he didn't want to be around you. You were crushed.

You thought about calling him, but knew you wouldn't know what to say. He knew where he was supposed to be this evening, and if he didn't go to the final night, then that was on him.

You walked over to the sofa and sat down, staring blankly at the wall. You sat there for a while before you heard someone at the door. You felt relieved that Ivar was finally back, but if he'd been gone since the night before because he didn't want to be around you, you sure weren't going to make him run into you now.

You jumped up from the sofa and made a mad dash for your bedroom door. Just as you had your hand on the doorknob, the front door opened. Great! Could you never get a break? You didn't turn around, and just opened your door.

But from behind you, to your astonishment, you heard a female voice, "Y/N?"

Your head flipped around so fast, you nearly snapped your neck. You had to consciously think to prevent your mouth from dropping wide open. "Emile, umm, hi. Uh, wh-what are you doing here?"

She smiled nervously, closing the door behind her. "Umm, is Ivar not with you?" you asked, trying to sound casual.

"Umm, Y/N, he's. Well, he's with Chase. Chase is trying to sober him up so he can attend the Gala tonight. You know the last night is the most important." You nodded as your mind was running through a zillion scenarios of why he was drunk with Chase. You hadn't realized they were that close as well.

"What is? I mean, why is he so?" you studdered and then tried again. "I'm sorry. Why is he that drunk with Chase? Tonight is so important to him. I don't. I don't understand why he'd risk it by partying all night." You tried not to sound so hurt, but you knew you were failing miserably.

"Y/N, listen. I'm just here to get his tux and shoes and all for tonight. Chase is pretty good in these kinds of situations, and Ivar was already awake, at least, when I left, and coherent enough to ask me to get his things. I expect him to be ok when I get back. Don't worry." She looked at you nervously. "Umm, which room is his?"

You pointed to the opposite door from where the two of you were standing. Following her into the room like a lost puppy, you asked, "Yes, but uh, wh-why did he drink that much in the first place? That just sounds really irresponsible for him. I know him better than that. Well, I thought I did, at least."

"Look. I've already said too much as it is. I'm not really as good of a friend as I claim to be if I keep betraying his trust like this."

"Wait. What? What do you mean 'betraying his trust?' How is telling me what's going on betraying his trust? Please, you can't imagine how lost I am right now."

She almost laughed, but caught it, and only smiled. "And that's just the problem, Y/N. You both are completely oblivious. I've never met two other people who have misunderstood each other the way the two of you have."

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him, and then, I'm sorry, Y/N, I can say no more. The two of you need to sit down and talk to each other."

You looked extremely surprised at her tone, so she sat her purse down on the bed and grabbed your hands in hers. "Please, take my advice. For yourself, for Ivar. Just do it. You need to sit down and truly talk. And I mean, listen to each other, too. Hear each other out, and stop jumping to conclusions about what the other one means. Listen to him, Y/N. Truly listen."

You stood, staring at her, completely frozen. What was she saying to you? It was like she was speaking in a riddle that only she knew the answer to, and she was determined not to share it with you.

She finally pulled you into a hug, and to your surprise, you actually liked it, apparently, even needed it. You fought to hold back tears. Why did you feel like you needed to cry? "It's ok, Y/N. I understand. I really do."

As she pulled away, you asked, "You understand? Understand what?"

She smiled, "You're in love with him, sweetheart. Just talk to him. Tell him, ok?"

"Wh-WHAT? Why would you say that?" You couldn't believe she told you that!

She didn't even know you. "Emilie! Oh my God, you didn't tell Ivar that, too, did you?"

She opened the closet and gathered Ivar's things. "Of course not, Y/N. That's not my place. That's your place. You need to tell him. And before it's too late."

And with that, she put her purse on her arm, threw the tux over her back, and walked around you, still standing with your mouth gaping open.

You turned to follow her, and she was already at the door, "Will we see you tonight?"

"Wh... Umm. Wait."

"You know I must go, Dear." She opened the door and turned back to you one last time, "Remember to talk to him. Hope to see you tonight." And she let herself out.

-------------------

You didn't know how long you'd stood in that same spot you'd been standing in when Emilie had left, but your body told you it had been for too long.

Mindlessly, you wandered over to the sofa and fell backward onto it, grunting when your body hit the leather. And there you sat, stunned into silence, lost in thought, terrified of rejection.

You and Ivar had known each other for several years now. You both graduated with honors from the same high school, him being your only competition for staking your claim as the top of your class. So needless to say, you were anything but thrilled when you had been informed that the both of you would be the Valedictorian.

After you had ended up working at his father's company, unbeknownst to you until it was already too late, the two of you had worked somewhat as a team on project after project together, and you'd learned how to deal with the asshole he truly was. You tried not to show how he got under your skin, but sometimes, you just couldn't hold it inside and would give him a piece of your mind. He thought so highly of himself and, despite his striking good looks, you wanted to be sure he was aware of just what an asshole you thought him to be.

Now that he'd gotten the long awaited promotio he'd been wanting, he was sure to make your life a living hell. "How did that mother fucker become my boss anyway? Wait. Why am I even surprised? Of course, he got the job. I mean, daddy is the owner. Does that mean I'll have to fetch his coffee in the mornings and go out to buy shit for his mistresses on my lunchbreeaks? I'm doomed. I have got to find a new job before any of that bullshit!" You had complained to your best friend, Liv, who happened to also work with you.

"Now, in his defense, you know he worked hard to get that position, Y/N, so be nice. You could have had it yourself, remember? It has nothing to do with Ragnar, and you know it. And you can't go find another job. What would I do here without you?"

You rolled your eyes, "Thanks for the support, you cow!" was all you offered her in return.

Even though you'd expected the absolute worst from Ivar as your new boss, he'd actually surprised you. The very first time he called you into his office, you opened the doors and immediately rolled your eyes when you saw the incredible city view from the window, the massive desk he sat at, and the sheer size of the office itself.

He stood when you entered, "Please, close the doors behind you." You huffed as you turned and did so, thinking he'd better not use his power to come onto you.

As you approached, he motioned to the chairs, "Please, have a seat." No matter how much you tried, you couldn't exactly hide your annoyance for the situation.

"Before we start, I can't help but notice your hostility. Did I miss something?"

Slightly embarrassed, you answered, "No, I-I'm sorry. It's just, well, I can only imagine what you've called me in here to do for you. Don't forget, I know you, Lothbrok. Just because you're my boss now, doesn't mean I suddenly have amnesia." You didnt care if he fired you. You had savings. He smiled at your antics. You seriously weren't going to make this easy for him.

"Well, actually, that's exactly the reason I asked for you to join me. I wanted to go over a few things." You sighed, and he tried to ignore it as he continued. "You will be my Administrative Assistant, as you know, but unlike how most of the people around here seem to run things, that, in no way, implies that you'll be my personal servant. I can get my own coffee, if I choose to have any, I'll go out for my own lunch, the cleaning people who clean the offices at night will do my cleaning as well. I'm no fool, Y/N. I know if you had tried for this position, you would be the one sitting behind this desk, and I do not intend to rub that in your face. You're here to do a job, and I plan to make it as pleasant of one as I can."

You were stunned. You'd never had a conversation with Ivar Lothbrok that hadn't ended in the two of you insulting each other in one way or another. "Does that sound to your liking?" he asked, bringing you back to the conversation at hand.

"Oh, umm, yeah, I mean, yes. Yes, of course."

"Then what's wrong?" he looked genuinely concerned, and you hated how well he knew you.

"Well, umm. I just. I mean. I'd expected that..."

"I'd be the same asshole that I've always been?"

You sighed, "Well, yes."

He laughed, "You really don't get it, do you? I was sure you were going to try for this position, too, and like I said, I knew you'd get it if you did. What came so effortlessly easy for you, I've had to study for, practice, and be on my toes for."

"The whole while, you breeze in here, talking about the drinks you went out for the night before and had only had a couple of hours of sleep, then blow everybody away in the meeting with your knowledge and perfect answers. You didn't know I'd been up the night before, going over everything two and sometimes, even three times just to be sure I didn't fuck up the next day."

"So, you were just jealous all this time, Lothbrok? That's what it's all been about? You're incredibly intelligent, too, you know?"

"Was that a compliment I just heard?" he grinned, and you rolled your eyes. "Not jealousy. I was just, umm, worried I wouldn't get what I've been working so hard for. Why didn't you try for the job?"

"Too much responsibility. I make well, live comfortably, and I've been in management positions before. I'm just tired of that stress."

"Honesty. I like it. Well, I'd say I owe you a thank you. I'm only here because you didn't want to be, and contrary to popular belief, I have no problem admitting that. So. We're on the same page now?"

You nodded, and that was the end of the meeting. You walked out with the look of complete shock across your face. When Liv saw you, all she could ask was, "You're not quitting, are you? What happened?"

"We'll talk over lunch."

----------‐--------------------------------------------

The next few months as Ivar's assistant turned out to be absolutely nothing like you'd expected. He regarded your opinion as highly as his own. He had only one meeting without you and told you after it that he'd like you present for all the other ones. He said he knew you'd have an insight that maybe he'd overlook, and he wanted you to have his back.

At the first one you attended, one of the other men from a competing company had made a remark to you to pour him and his men more drinks. When you rolled your eyes, he called you a bitch and told you to do as you're told. Ivar had stood up immediately and called security to escort him and his men out. "I thought you were a serious buisness man and wanted to make huge profits for your company, not some pussy whipped asshole who'd put pleasure before buisness," the man said to Ivar as security was escorting them out of the conference room.

You'd never seen Ivar move so fast. He was standing in front of the man, before he'd had time to blink, with his hand clutching the man's jaw. "I don't do buisness with anyone who can't respect women. She is my equal and will be treated as such. From my understanding, your buisness really needed this deal, not mine, so I believe it will be you who will be hurting from the loss of profits, not us." He released the man and said to security, "See to it that they are all escorted completely off of the property, and make sure they know downstairs that no one from their company should be allowed to enter beyond the front lobby."

"Yes, sir."

When he turned back to you, he saw your bright red face. "Are you ok? What is it?" He rushed to your side.

"I, umm. I'm speechless. You didn't have to do that. I can stand up for myself."

"I know you can, but you shouldn't have to in a place like this. That was uncalled for." He sat back down as if nothing had happened and begin to type on his laptop. Looking back up at your still shocked face, he asked, "What?"

"I. Umm. I'm sorry. That was a big deal for the company. I'm so sorry. Maybe I shouldn't attend...."

"Stop apologizing. It's not your fault, and it would've been a bigger deal for them than it would have been for us. I'm sending an email to my father about it right now. It'll be fine. I'll still want you to attend that other meeting with me tomorrow, though, ok?"

"Umm, ok. Hope it goes better than this one," and you gently closed the doors behind you and headed back to your desk.

You felt confused. Ivar Lothbrok had been the target of your hate for so long that you weren't sure how to feel about him defending you like that. And even more confusing, you realized that, even though it had been an extremely simple act, you'd, surprisenly, liked it.

The next few weeks passed quickly. You'd attended every meeting you'd put on Ivar's calendar. You'd helped him when he asked for it, and gave suggestions even when he didn't. He really seemed to appreciate your expertise, and had completely changed a few of his pitches to other companies based on your ideas.

He liked your sharp mind and how you thought out of the box. He'd never met another person who was so similar to himself, especially not a female, and one who challenged him and the way even he thought. It was fascinating to him. And it drove him crazy. No one had ever matched his intelligence or his wit. He even found himself looking forward to the challenge each day, and that was when he knew he was in trouble.

-------------------------------------------------------

You'd gotten used to the meetings and negotiations. Ivar had given you free reign to negotiate on his behalf. He knew the company was always your priority. To your surprise, the two of you made a great, strong team, and had made the company some significant gains. Ivar never shied away from giving you the credit you deserved when discussing the deals the two of you had made. He'd gained respect from you that you'd never expected to want to give him.

He'd asked you to attend an out of state conference with him. It was a very important one, and all the who's who of the business would be there. You'd meet many important people, and his hope was that the two of you would make a nice impression on most of them, and they'd agree to do business with you guys. "But me? Why? Shouldn't your father be the one to attend with you? Or I don't know, anyone but me. I'm just..."

"My right hand woman. You have helped me make the necessary changes in this company that I've always dreamed about making. I won't lie, I know I could have done it without you," you snarled at him, "But it would've taken me twice as long. It would have been way more difficult to close some of those big whigs, and I think once you're there at the conference, you'll enjoy it and help me put our best foot forward. Due to several of our choices and deals that we've made, the company is thriving now, more than ever. It's only right that you should go as well, and father agrees."

"But I, I don't know how to act at those kinds of fancy things. What if I get nervous, and freeze and forget what to say?"

"I'll be right by your side, and we'll manage it together. Please. It would mean a great deal to me," he coughed, "To the company."

You pretended like you didn't notice his last words as you rolled it over in your mind. He could see your wheels turning, and he smiled. "Look, you won't pay for anything while we're gone. I'll have the company card, so all expenses are covered one hundred percent: flight, room and board, cocktails, dresses, everything."

You looked up at him quizzically, "Dresses?"

Smiling, he answered, "Well, yes. There will be some very formal evenings. I know you have nice things; don't get me wrong, but I'll be getting a new suit or two myself and probably even a tux, so I think it's only fair to take the lady on the shopping spree with me." He dropped his head a little, trying to hide his face that he knew was now flushed bright red.

"Well, I don't think that will be necessary. There's just one thing, if I say yes, I will have my own..."

"Room? Yes, absolutely. We'll have separate rooms that are hopefully, close by so we can discuss things before we meet everyone. And you can say the shopping isn't necessary, but just wait until you see some of those gorgeous dresses," he grinned.

"Fine, Lothbrok," you rolled your eyes at him, "I'll go with you."

"Just one more thing."

You turned back to him as you were headed out of his office, "What now?"

"Can you at least try not to roll your eyes at me while we're there? It seems to be ypur favorite thing. Sure, it's cute and all, but I don't want to be made a fool of in front of those people."

You gulped, face turning bright red, "Umm, yeah, sure. I'm sorry. Uh, I didn't mean..."

Smiling back at you, he cut you off, "It's fine, Y/N."

Walking back to your desk, all you could think of was how he said you rolling your eyes was cute. What was happening here? Why had that make you feel butterflies, feel anything at all? This entire trip was probably a bad idea. A very bad idea. You were certainly happy Liv wasn't at her desk. You couldn't talk to her just yet. You had to pull it together first.

-----------------------------------------------------

Refusing to accept Ivar's offer for a car to pick you up, you met him at the airport. He helped you with your bags, ignoring your protests, and you only heard Liv's words in your head, "That man wants you something fierce. It's obvious." She had to be wrong. She had to be. He was one of the most eligible bachelors in town. He could have any woman he wanted, and had, as you'd seen for yourself with all the different gorgeous women who used to come in and out of the office back before he was your boss. No, Liv was definitely projecting her own wishes onto you. She'd always thought Ivar was hot, but she had a wonderful boyfriend.

As the two of you boarded the plane, you pushed the thoughts of Liv out of your mind. Why had you even entertained any of it to begin with? She's crazy.

You headed to the left as Ivar called after you, "Y/N, where are you going?"

"To our seats?" you answered, confused.

"We're in first class, Dear," he laughed. "This way."

Dear.

You were pleasantly surprised during the flight. Ivar and you talked about everything you could think of, the ridiculous new rules in the airport, work, the convention, and to your amazement, his family and yours. He was genuinely curious about you, where you grew up, your relationship with you family and parents. You really enjoyed that he was actually attentive and listening. He really wanted to know more about you. Imagine that!

After a tiring flight and long ride, you finally arrived at the hotel. You stood with Ivar as he checked you in. To your horror, you heard the attendant say, "Oh, good evening, Mr. And Mrs. Lothbrok. Your room is on the 6th floor."

Before you had a chance to protest, he answered, "Excuse me? You mean rooms, correct? And this is not Mrs. Lothbrok. This is Y/F/N Y/L/N. There should be two reservations."

Looking worried, she typed away on the computer. After a long moment, she finally said, "I'm terribly sorry, Sir. There's only one reservation under your name, and nothing under hers at all. If it helps, the room is a suite with two separate bedrooms. I'm sure you'll find the accommodations to your liking."

Her face was red  and she was visibaly shaking when Ivar responded. "That's not the point! This is a buisness trip! We are here for the conference! Not on a vacation. Y/N is my colleague, not my fucking wife!" You felt embarrassed. You certainly knew, now, how very wrong Liv had been.

"I need you to give us a second room! Immediately! I ensured my colleague here that she'd have her own room. Imagine how uncomfortable she'll be sharing a room with me! You know what? Let me speak to your supervisor!"

This was the Ivar you knew. You'd nearly forgotten how rude he could be. "Lothbrok." He didn't look at you. You placed your hand on his arm, "Ivar. It's ok. She said there are separate bedrooms. We can manage."

He turned to you, "No! That's unacceptable. I don't want to put you in any compromising situations, make you uncomfortable in any way. This is not what I reserved. I promise."

"Ivar, I..."

The manager approached. After speaking with Ivar for a long time, he finally agreed to accept the room they had for the two of you together. Because of the conference, there wasn't any others available, and there was no way he'd have you stay in a completely different hotel. The manager had agreed to discount the room and apologized profusely for the mistake. Ivar told you he'd only finally accepted it because you reassured him that you were ok with it.

As the two of you finally got to the room, he opened the door, "Ladies first."

You gasped when you saw how incredibly nice the room was. Black leather furniture, a full, stocked bar, blue, thick, velvet curtains, a beautiful chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. "Ivar, there's no way I would have let you pay for two of the suites. Are you kidding me right now?" He stood behind you, watching and smiling.

When you opened the door to the bedroom, it took your breath away. There was a king size bed decorated beautifully with pillows you wanted to jump into. As you walked in futher, you saw the bathroom. "Oh my God! This thing is massive!"

"That's what she said," Ivar said from behind you.

"You," you grinned, shaking your head, "Of course, you'd never change just because you're the one in charge."

"Oh? I'm in charge now, am I?"

"C'mon, you know what I mean. And seriously, look at this tub! I could swim in there! It's big enough for us both!" You turned and pointed your finger at him,"Don't even say it, Lothbrok!" He only laughed.

When you went back to the main room, Ivar flopped down on the sofa, his large body covering nearly all of it. "I'm starving. What about you?"

Sitting in the chair across from him, you answered, "Yeah, I could eat."

"How do you feel about Room Service? We could go out to dinner somewhere if you really prefer, but I'm seriously exhausted. It's been such a long day."

You thought about it for a moment. The two of you had never had a meal together, and you hoped it wouldn't be awkward.

Looking at you thinking, he said, "Or, of course, you can go out somewhere by yourself. I just figured since we're..."

"Oh, it's fine, Lothbrok. I'm actually pretty tired, too. Room Service sounds amazing."

"I liked it when you called me Ivar downstairs" he said, clearly before he'd realized it, because the look across his face told you everything.

Smiling, you only said, "Do you mind calling and placing the order? I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh, a shower sounds delightful. I'll probably do the same after I make the order. What do you want?"

Walking toward your room, rolling your suitcase behind you, you said, "Umm, I pretty much like everything except for stewed vegetables. And I like my meat well done."

Ivar smirked, "Noted."

Ugh, what was with him being so flirty now? "Ivar Lothbrok!" You gave him your best disapproving look.

"What?" he asked with feigning innocence. When he looked at you, he sat straight up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I really meant nothing by it. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Laughing as you entered your room, "You wish you had that affect on me."

"Well, in that case, say my first and last name again," he teased.

"You're pathetic, Lothbrok. Order our food!" and you disappeared into your room.

-----------------------‐-------------------------------

When you returned from your shower, you walked around the corner to find Ivar at the bar searching for something. You were taken back by what you saw. He was standing in a pair of grey sweats with no shirt. His thick, damp, brown hair was hanging loose, resting just below his broad shoulders, and he had intricate tattoos tracing down every inch of the muscles on his back. As he raised his arms to open the cabinet door above him, you also noticed the defined muscles of his arms. Your breath caught in your throat as you tried to speak.

He turned around with two glasses in his hands, "I've been looking for at least five minutes for damn glasses, and of course, they'd be in the last spot I...." he completely stopped speaking when his eyes landed on yours.

You realized you were blushing and quickly shifted your gaze to the floor. "I, umm. I didn't expect to be sharing a room, so umm, I. Well, I only have oversized t-shirts for sleeping," you coughed, looking away again, nervously. "I don't. I'm not sure..."

Sitting the glasses on the counter, he quickly walked toward his room, completely avoiding eye contact with you. "Oh, it's, umm. It's fine. I'm sure I have an extra pair of sweats you can borrow if you'd like. I need to go get my shirt anyway. I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be finished showering so soon."

He disappeared into the room, giving you a couple of minutes to collect your thoughts. You were kind of saddened at the thought of him covering his gorgeous back. You hadn't gotten a chance to fully see his chest, but you were sure if his back was any indication of how his chest must look, it had to be delightful. How you yearned to just touch it, trace the tattoos with your fingertips, feel his skin beneath your hands! Wait. What were you doing? He's your boss. You needed to snap out of it. And quickly. That was not professional. At all.

He came back through, t-shirt snug around his torso, and tossed you a pair of sweat pants.

"Thanks," you scurried off to put them on. Of course, they were huge on you. You anxiously pulled the drawstring as tight as it would go and even tried folding them around the waistline to make them stay up to no avail. You'd just have to make do.

Holding onto the waist of the sweats, you returned to the dining area where he was placing your food. "Just in time. They just delivered our meals."

"Thank God. I'm famished," you replied, sitting down.

"Humm, they're a little big on you, huh?" he grinned, placing your food in front of you. "I thought as much. We can go shopping tomorrow before the first part of the conference begins if you want. I want you to be comfortable while we're here."

"That's really not necessary. I can make do. It's only, what? Three nights, right?" He nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Suit yourself," he grabbed the glasses from the counter, "But those things are enormous on you. Wine ok to go along with dinner?"

"Definitely."

Once you looked at what he'd ordered you, you looked up at him, "Lothbrok, what is this? Like an 8 ounce steak? Geez, it's huge!"

"Umm, 10 actually." Your mouth dropped. "Well, I ordered the same for you as I did for myself. I wasn't going to get a huge steak for me and just a tiny one for you. That's not right. We're equals."

"Actually, we're not. You're my boss. It baffles me how you seem to forget that so often."

"Y/N, you obviously work just as hard as I do, and the only difference between us is the stupid title." Your face flushed red, and he didn't miss it. "No reason to feel embarrassed. It's true, and I've been thinking. It's not right that we do all the work together, but you don't get paid quite as much for your part of it. I plan on giving you a raise when we get back."

"But," you began before he cut you off.

"No buts, it's already been decided and in the works. And before you even ask, Father agrees with me."

You really hated how well he knew you. "Fine, but please remember I don't want to be a boss. I don't want to run the office with you."

He grinned, "Semantics."

"Ugh," you grumbled.

Over dinner, the two of you talked as if you'd known each other for your entire lives. It was strange how comfortable you felt with him. The conversation flowed easily, the wine, even more easy than that. It wasn't until you stood that you realized just how many glasses you'd had. "Sit. Let me help you with that," Ivar stood.

"Let me at least attempt to earn my keep," you said, grabbing your plates and placing them back on the room service cart. "Actually, I think I'll keep the half of my steak that I didn't eat. It'll be great warmed up when I get hungry again."

As you turned to walk to the kitchen for something to put your leftover steak on, Ivar's sweats that you were wearing slipped down your hips and fell to the floor. "Fuck!" you yelled as you tripped. Just as you thought you were going to hit the floor, Ivar was at you side, catching you.

"Drank too much, did we?"

"No!" you exclaimed, "I just tripped over your huge pants!"

"Looks like you forgot to hold them up," he laughed.

"Oh, shut up!" Holding onto his arms, you stepped out of the sweats and kicked them out of the way. "Looks like you're going to just have to deal with these long ass legs," you grinned, looking up at him.

"I don't mind," he swallowed audibly.

You stared into his eyes a little too long for the situation. His gaze dropped to your lips and then quickly back to your eyes again. You were suddenly all too aware of the feel of his hard, muscular arms, under your hands, holding you up. You resisted the urge to rub ypur hands along them. You stood for another moment too long before you reluctantly pulled away, "Oh, umm, the steak. I should get something before they come for the cart."

As you went to the kitchen, he stood there in the same spot for another minute, a bit dazed. Shaking his head as if to wake himself up, finally, he went back to the table and proceeded to clean everything else up.

After you got your steak, he took the cart just outside the door and left it in the hallway as he had been instructed.

He joined you on the sofa as you flipped through the channels. Leaning back and stretching, he just watched you. Feeling his eyes on you, you looked over at him, "What?"

"Oh, uh nothing," he lied. You raised your eyebrow at him. "Well, I was just thinking, the big t-shirt suits you way better than my big sweats. You're completely covered, and as long as you're comfortable, I see no reason you should torture yourself the rest of this weekend trying to hold up my pants just so you can walk," he laughed.

"It's not funny," you whined.

"Yes. Yes, it is," he bellowed out laughter, and you rolled your eyes. He did his best to contain it as he said, "Well, do you mind if I get comfortable, too, then?"

Your mouth was suddenly dry, "Umm, no. Not at all." To everything holy, you prayed he was going to take his shirt off. You were dying to see what his chest looked like after seeing his fantastic back. You felt your face getting hot so you turned your head back to the tv quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed.

"Have you seen this movie before? It's really good," you asked him, not turning to look at him.

"No. Let's watch it." And that's when you made the mistake of looking back at him just in time to see him take his shirt off. Dear Lord, what a sight!

Suddenly a bit nervous, he asked, "Is this ok with you? I can put it back on if you,"

"N-no. It's perfectly fine," you answered probably a bit too fast.

"Great, because it's just not comfortable to lay around in. That's the first thing I take off everyday when I get home, even before my shoes."

"Probably because it's like two sizes too small for you," you said before you realized the words had escaped your lips. "Fuck! I'm sorry. I-I'm. I mean, I'm not complaining. Shit. Umm. Nevermind."

He laughed at you and you shot him a bird. "Real mature, Y/N."

"Just watch the movie," you grumbled. "You know I've been drinking. I don't know what I'm saying."

"Sure," he giggled, and you rolled your eyes at him again. "You've got to stop that!"

You looked at him but didn't say anything, and he turned his attention to the movie. Before you knew it, you'd both fallen asleep, you laying your head on his chest and his arm around your waist.

As he went to stretch, he realized you were laying with him, well actually, on him. And then, he realized he liked it, the warmth of your body snuggled up to him, the light air he felt as you slowly breathed in and out, softly fanning across his chest, sending goosebumps down his spine, the feel of your hand stretched out over his stomach, and the feel of soft skin on his fingertips at the small of your back as he held you at your waist, it was all too nice, too sweet, too much.

How had the two of you ended up like this? Had you really had that much to drink? He glanced over to the coffee table and saw the nearly empty bottle of wine. Guess that was his answer. He really wasn't as big of a drinker as he used to be since he'd gotten the promotion, no time to spend doing such things when there was work to be done, and he saw, now, it had caught up to him.

He really didn't want to move; he preferred to lay like this the rest of the night with you, and he would, but his damn bladder had other plans. Once he thought more about it, he figured you'd be mortified as is, so he reluctantly decided to wake you up.

"Y/N, hey, I think it's time for bed," he said softly. He rubbed your back, and oh, how he loved it, in an attempt to gently wake you. "Hey, Y/N, c'mon. Time for bed." You only mumbled something unintelligible, so he decided he'd get up to go to the bathroom. Surely, that would wake you.

How he hated moving out from under your body! He instantly felt the emptiness and the chill of no longer having your warmth wrapped around him as he stood. He hated it. "Get a grip, man," he softly said to himself as he looked down at you, still on the sofa, seemingly unbothered by his absence. He was sure you'd wake up in a few minutes, so he went on to the bathroom.

He stood in the mirror, looking at himself. What was his problem? He'd had many female friends in his life. Why was this one becoming such a challenge? He splashed water on his face, and took a deep breath. He was sure you'd have plenty to say when he went back to you. "You got this," he said to himself, not believing a word of it.

As he entered the sitting room where he'd left you in, he didn't see you sitting on the sofa. Good, you took yourself to bed. He walked closer to grab the control and turn the tv off so he could go to bed as well, and then he saw you, still laying on the sofa, completely knocked out, only now, snuggled up to one of the pillows. It was the cutest thing ever, but now, what should he do?

He thought about just leaving you there to sleep the rest of the night, but there were no blankets, and he knew the bed would be much more comfortable. So he bent down and moved the hair out of your face, "Y/N. Hey, Y/N. You should really go to bed now.'

You didn't move or say a word. He thought for another moment, and finally decided he'd just carry you himself. It would be rude to leave you out there all night when there was such a nice, big bed waiting for you, and apparently, you'd had way too much to drink to wake up and make it on your own.

"So, fuck it. Let's do this," he mumbled to himself. He leaned down and effortlessly scooped you up into his arms. You instinctively settled your head onto his shoulder. He tried his best to ignore your breath on his neck as he began walking with you. When he entered your room, it smelled of you, sweet like strawberries, and he held his breath for as long as he possibly could.

He gently laid you on the bed and covered you with the blankets. The soft light from the bedside lamp danced across your beautiful face, highlighting your near smile. He sighed as he looked at you. Despite his better judgment, he leaned down and kissed you on your head, "Goodnight, Y/N."

As he pulled away, you softly said, "Stay."

His eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat, and he nearly choked. "What?" His heart pounded as he stared at you, waiting for any sign of a coherent thought. "Y/N?"

Nothing.

He turned the lights out and turned to leave your room. Maybe he was already dreaming. As he reached the door, he turned back to look at you one last time. "Stay, Ivar," you mumbled softly.

He nearly crumbled to the floor. "Y/N, I. Umm. I can't. I shouldn't. I mean, I'd love to. But," he struggled to get the words out. "We've had too much to drink. I-I'm, I can't." He couldn't see your face with only the hallway lighting. He wasn't sure if you were even awake. "Goodnight, Y/N," and he gently closed the door behind him.

He turned with his hand still on the doorknob. His other hand stretched out widely on the door, he leaned his forehead on it. "Oh hell," he practically panted.

He banged his head on his hand several times. He wanted nothing more than to open that door back up, sprint across the room, crawl into the bed beside you, and lay down with you. He didn't even need anything to happen, just holding you in his arms for the rest of the night would suffice. And with that, he knew. He was fucked.

Alex sat in the chair beside Ivar's hospital bed, his hand in Ivar's as he gripped it, a sign showing him he would not leave his side. His other hand lovenly rubbed his cheek, "Close your eyes, and get some rest, Ivar. You need it. You've been through a lot today. I'll be right here when you wake up. I'm not going anywhere."

Ivar's eyes watered again, as he wet his lips, attempting to speak to him, but Alex stopped him. "Shhh. Save your voice. I know it's difficult for you to speak." Ivar's eyes widened at Alex in an obvious panic.

Alex placed his hand over Ivar's heart and gently rubbed, feeling it pound as if it was going to jump out of his chest, as he said, "You heard the doctor. You'll slowly get your voice back without pain."

When he glared at Alex again, Alex then understood his nervousness. "You're going to be fine. It's totally safe for you to sleep. Look at your oxygen levels, and listen to your heartbeat," he pointed to the monitors. "They're both very strong. I promise it's safe. I wouldn't let you sleep otherwise, and you need to rest. Ok? And I'll be right here by your side. I promise."

Squeezing Alex's hand a little tighter, Ivar slowly nodded, knowing he was in safe hands with Alex at his side. As he closed his eyes, he weakly made kissing lips at Alex. Alex grinned. Even in a hospital bed, Ivar still thought of such things. Alex leaned forward and gave him a gentle peck on his lips. "Now, sleep."

As Ivar finally dozed off, Alex's mind wandered back to the day's events. It had truly been fate that Ivar had woken up on his own when he did. He didn't even want to think of what the alternative had been, how they'd planned to take him off life support. He was thankful that Ivar was a defiant little shit, even when he wasn't conscious.

He couldn't prevent himself from reliving the intense moments after Ivar had opened his eyes. In what had actually only been a minute or even less, it had felt as if Katia had been gone from the room for an eternity to get a nurse. Alex had been helplessly looking at the love of his life, trying to calm him and wipe his tears, when Katia finally busted back into the room with doctors and nurses.

Alex jerked around to them in urgency, "He's awake! He's awake! He needs you to remove the tube!"

Within seconds, the doctors cleared the room, telling them to wait outside so they could do their job. Alex saw Ivar's panic stricken face, "I'm not leaving you. I'll be right outside the door. I'll be back in as soon as they give the word."

Once in the hallway, at Alex's request, Katia hurried off to tell Ivar's family the news. He impatiently waited at the door like he said he would, but he did not like what he heard.

Loud voices were all talking at once in Ivar's room. Alex heard clatter, what sounded like something falling to the floor and shattering, before he heard Ivar's strained voice groaning in what could only be described as excruciating pain.

At that very moment, Katia, a historical Aslaug, and Ivar's three brothers all rushed to his side. In pretty much unison, they all asked what was happening.

As Alex was about to answer, they heard another loud groan from Ivar followed by the sound of chairs squeaking across the floor. "What the fuck?" leave it to Hvitserk to state the obvious.

As Aslaug began to speak between her tears, "I'm going in there! That's my son!" the door opened.

A familiar nurse to Alex, as he'd been there in the hospital with Ivar just as long as Ivar had been, stood in the doorway. Quickly scanning the small crowd that had gathered, her eyes landed on Alex. "Alex, umm, Mr. Lothbrok, please. Can you help us? He won't let us touch him, and he's asking for you."

Aslaug quickly responded, "He's talking? I'm his mother. I'll go."

The nurse stepped in front of her, blocking her, as she took a step toward the entrance. "No, he's not talking yet. He won't let us take the tube out, and I'm sorry, ma'am, but we need Alex."

Alex stepped to her, "Is he ok?"

"Well, yes, but we tried to remove the tube and he went crazy, shoving and pushing us all. He's got some strength on him to be in the condition he's in. He ripped the IVs out of his arms and every other cord he could reach. He keeps pushing us away and pointing to the door. I asked if he meant you, and he moved his eyes up and down. Can you try to calm him for us?"

A bit taken back, and feeling the weight of Aslaug's shocked stare, Alex answered, "Of course," and entered the room with the nurse closing the door behind them.

As they entered the room, Alex was surprised at what he saw. He may have even laughed if not for the seriousness of the situation. The bedside table was laying on its side in the floor, all the contents that had been on it, scattered across the floor with some of it broken. The two chairs were moved across the room, one on its side, and then he saw Ivar. His hand and arm was bleeding where he'd yanked the IVs out, the blood pressure cuff was ripped and in the floor, the heart monitor was beeping a high pitched sound with only one of the connections still attached to Ivar's chest, and Ivar held both of his hands up in defense to ward off the doctors and nurses from him. Everyone was talking, practically yelling, at the same time, and Ivar clinched his eyes shut. Alex could only imagine the headache he must have.

He quickly rushed to Ivar's side, holding his hands up to everyone trying to talk. Ivar's eyes popped open as he heard Alex softly ask, "Ok, what do you need me to do?"

A doctor motioned his hands toward Ivar, "Convince your husband that he needs to lay as still as possible so we can get this overwith already and he can rest."

Alex spoke softly to Ivar as he grabbed his hand, "Look, I'll be right here with you. I'm not going anywhere, but you've got to let them do this. You'll feel so much better afterwards."

Alex looked back to the doctor, "Is there at least something you can give him to numb the discomfort? I won't be responsible if he punches any of you guys."

"Sir, we already did, directly into one of the IVs, but as you can see, he's ripped them out, so I'm not sure how much of it he actually got."

Alex looked to Ivar, and Ivar moved his eyes back and forth. "Well, can you give him something now? Directly in his vein or something local on his throat, maybe?"

The two doctors spoke under their breath to each other, and finally, one answered, "Yes, we can do that. If he's going to let us touch him."

Alex assured them that he would as he held Ivar's hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of it, attempting to calm him as much as he could. He looked at Ivar lovenly, "You're going to be ok. I'm right here."

Ivar's heartbeat sped up as the doctor got closer to him. "Son, we're going to do what we can to make this as quick and painless as possible, but please understand, you're young and in good shape. You have toned muscle and membrane. Your body is going to try to resist this." Alex gulped. "I need you to concentrate, and relax as much as possible. If you tense up, it's going to make it more difficult, and I don't want to hurt you." He squeezed Alex's hand a bit tighter. "So, you understand?" Ivar gave him a weak thumbs up. He hadn't noticed, but the doctor had given him a shot in his arm. He was thankful for the distraction.

On the doctor's say, one nurse went to the side of Ivar opposite Alex. She grabbed his hand. The other nurse pressed buttons on the bed to lay him straight on his back before coming around to his head. She pulled out something that looked like a belt and told him what she was doing as she did. She placed it on his forehead and pulled it tightly around the back of the bed and fastened it. Ivar's eyes grew wide and Alex began rubbing his arm. "We're almost finished," the nurse said softly to him.

The two doctors went to either side of the bed after putting on gloves. One worked on pulling the tape lose while the other said, "You've got you a good one here, Mr. Lothbrok. He hasn't left this hospital the entire time you've been here. Day in and day out, he's been right here by your side." Ivar looked at Alex, more emotion coming from a single stare than Alex could have ever expected.

The doctors readied themselves as the one continued talking. "You know, I thought he was going to put our nurses out of a job. He's the one who shaved you. He bathed you and washed your hair." The other doctor nodded his head as he turned the life support machine off. The one talking took ahold of the tubing. "He sat right here with you the whole time, never leaving your side, talking to you, and reading you books. He even set up camp in the room next door to you to be sure we did right by you. I'd say this man loves you dearly, Son." And with that, he jerked the tube in one fluid motion. Ivar's eyes widened as he groaned and began to cough. The nurse at his head placed her hands on his cheeks, attempting to prevent him from turning his head. Ivar gripped Alex's and the other nurse's hands. Just as he felt like he was going to come up off of the bed, the doctor said, "And we're done."

Alex couldn't believe what he'd just seen. He was impressed that Ivar hadn't broken lose and punched the doctor right in the face. He knew it hurt. Ivar's face told him just how much.

Only seconds had passed, and suddenly, Ivar leaned over and threw up into the floor, looking at Alex apologetically. "That's perfectly normal, Mr. Lothbrok," the doctor reassured him.

As the nurses busied themselves cleaning him and the floor up and removing everything, the doctor told Alex, "He's going to need to rest now. His voice will be hoarse for a while. He can have ice chips or sip on water, but he doesn't need to have too much or he'll be sick again."

"We'll run some tests on him tomorrow and let you all know where we stand. A nurse will come back in to reconnect the heart monitor to his chest, the oxygen reader to his finger, and a new blood pressure cuff. Right now, I understand family is waiting and anxious to see him, but please keep it quick. He really does need his rest." The other doctor and nurses left the room as the one speaking said, "I'll give you two some time and tell your family you'll let them know when they can come in."

As he stepped away from the bed, Alex told him, "Doctor, thank you. Umm, thank you for your help."

"Certainly. And thank you for helping us with taming the wild beast," he winked and grinned as he left the room.

The moment the door closed, all of Alex's attention was turned to Ivar. "Oh my God, Ivar." He leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before he went into action, wiping Ivar's face, moving his hair out of his eyes, pulling the blankets up over him. "What do you need? Ice? Water? Would you like me to step out so you can rest?" His mind was jumping around at all the things he needed to do for Ivar.

Ivar weakly raised his left hand and grabbed Alex's, stopping him. He pulled it to his chest and held it there tightly. As he took a deep breath, he began to cough, and Alex grabbed kleenex from the box and held it to his mouth, helping him wipe it.

"Water?"

Ivar slowly nodded, clearly still in pain. Alex grabbed the water bottle from the sink and brought it over, holding it to Ivar's lips. "Slowly, just sip. Don't want you getting choked." Ivar did just that, coughing again. Alex was about to remove the bottle, but Ivar took it in his hand and sipped a little more, wetting his lips.

When Alex placed it back on the sink and came back to Ivar's side, grabbing his hand again, Ivar softly whispered, with a groggy voice, "Th-thank you, Love." The corner of his eyes were wet, and Alex used every ounce of strength he had left not to cry like a baby.

"You don't have to thank me. I'd do anything for you. You know that. I'm just so happy you're ok." He could see the protest across Ivar's face. "Save it. Don't strain yourself. Your mom and brothers are outside, waiting to see you."

Ivar held his arms out in front of him in a motion to hug Alex, as his arms shook from under use. Alex couldn't believe those were the same arms that had pushed the nurses and doctors away, causing such a mess in the room. He smiled as he happily accepted Ivar's invitation and bent down to finally hug his love, his everything, his very reason for breathing.

Nothing had ever felt more right to either one of them. Ivar snuggled into the nape of Alex's neck, burying his face there as Alex sighed with relief. Ivar's entire body trembled, and he tightened his arms as best he could, holding Alex as close to him as possible.

It wasn't until Alex felt the wetness on his neck that he realized Ivar wasn't trembling because of any weakness. It was then that he heard a light mumble, "I-I'm," Ivar coughed, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Love."

Alex placed one hand behind Ivar's neck and the other still wrapped around his waist and back, holding him firmly. "Shhh. You have nothing to be sorry for." He brushed his hand through Ivar's hair as Ivar's tense body slowly dissolved into him, clearly worn out from all he'd been through.

Alex slowly guided him to lay back onto the bed, hoping for him to finally find some rest, when suddenly, the door to Ivar's room sprang open.

Alex looked to find Aslaug standing in front of Hvitserk, who was looking at him with apologetic eyes. "I'm so sorry, but I couldn't wait to see my son any longer. I need to see that he's ok." She rushed to Ivar's side, swooping down to hug and kiss him. "Oh my God. Dear, are you ok?"

He weakly smiled at her, happy to see her as his eyes watered more. Feeling protective of Ivar, Alex told her, "He did great, but his throat is a little sore. He can't really talk all that well just yet. The doctor said he needs to rest." Alex held his breath, not sure how Aslaug would respond to him.

She looked up to Alex, "Oh, of course, Sweetheart. I just had to see him first." She reached over and grabbed Alex's hand. "Thank you. Thank you for being here for my baby." Ivar smiled lovenly at the two of them, as Alex breathed a sigh of relief and shock.

Looking back to Ivar, she said, "Dear, I can't tell you how happy I, well, we are to see you. You really gave us a scare." Rubbing his cheek, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'm going to go back out to the waiting room so you can get some rest, but please have Alex come get me if you need me for anything, anything at all. Ok?"

Ivar mouthed the words, "Ok. I love you," as he gently smiled.

Giving him a quick kiss on his cheek, she said, "I love you, too, Dear. So much." She turned away from him as she began to cry again, and he reached out and grabbed her hand. She turned back around him, and he winked at her, making her smile through her tears. Alex came around the bed and hugged her, so relieved she'd made this easier than he'd expected.

As she went out, Ivar's brothers came in together. He smiled widely at them. "Always determined to be the hardheaded one of us, right, little brother? Anything for just a little bit of attention," Hvitserk teased him.

He walked over and patted his shoulder with a cheesy grin. "Damn glad to see you, man. I knew you were too stubborn to let this get you and that you'd pull through it," he smiled as Ubbe and Sigurd came over and joined them. They exchanged their hellos and well wishes, and all three of them left almost as quickly as they'd came in, deciding ahead of time that they'd discuss what had landed Ivar in there to begin with a bit later.

Alex had felt a bit relieved that they'd told him Katia had already left for a doctor appointment she had. He wasn't sure if that was stress Ivar needed at the moment, although, he was disappointed that he hadn't been able to see Ivy.

Now, Alex sat watching Ivar finally sleep. He was still holding his hand, the reassurance Ivar needed to actually close his eyes and give in to his exhaustion. It wasn't until he placed his other hand over Ivar's heart and felt the steady rhythm of his, now, strong heartbeat, that he realized just how tired he was, too. He laid his forehead down on his arm just beside Ivar and before he knew it, he was sleeping, too.

--------

A bit later, the nurse came in to check on Ivar and reconnect everything he'd ripped off of himself earlier. "Hey, guys, I'll be quick, but I have..." her voice trailed off as she looked over to Ivar's bed. There, she saw Alex laying in the bed with him, snuggled up to him at his left side. His head laid on Ivar's shoulder with Ivar's left arm wrapped tightly around him and Alex's left arm draped over Ivar, his hand resting over Ivar's chest.

She stopped in her tracks for a moment, admiring the sweet, peaceful scene before her, before deciding everything she needed to do could wait. She couldn't bring herself to disturb them knowing everything they'd been though these last few weeks. She leaned down and gently pulled the blanket up over them, Ivar seemingly snuggling into it, and lowered the lights as she turned on her heels to head out of the room.

As she nearly reached the door, it opened, and Aslaug walked in. Before the nurse could warn her, Aslaug was already talking, "Boys, I just came to let you know that I'm going to head out and," she then saw them and looked back at the nurse who simply shrugged and darted out the door. Her heart warmed at the perfect scene of love displayed before her, as if painted on the most beautiful canvas.

Having heard his mom's voice, Ivar stirred awake a little, his eyes fluttering open, sleep still very evident in his expression. Aslaug leaned over to him, kissing his forehead, "Shhh, I didn't mean to disturb you, Dear," she whispered. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm leaving and will be back in the morning." She lovenly brushed hair from his face as she looked over to Alex and smiled. "He really does love you, you know?"

Ivar grinned sleepily at her. "I'm happy you have him. You deserve this, Dear." Ivar squeezed him and kissed him on top of his head before nodding to her, noticing her wet eyes. After she was sure they didn't need anything, she left them to their much needed rest.

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The morning seemed to come quicker than Ivar and Alex would have preferred. As the sun peeped through the hospital room blinds, Alex lazily rubbed his eyes. It was a minute before he realized where he was, looking up to see Ivar smiling at him, already awake, watching his every move. Since when did Ivar wake up before him?

His voice and throat still a little scratchy, Ivar wet his lips with his tongue and softly mumbled, "Good morning, sunshine."

Alex quickly raised straight up, "Oh shit! I'm sorry! How did I get here in the bed with you? Oh my God! Are you ok?"

He started to get up, but Ivar grabbed him by the arm, "No," and pulled him back to his side. "You were sleeping with your head laying on," he began coughing, and Alex quickly reached back and grabbed the water bottle for him and held it for him to sip some water through the straw. He swallowed audibly and then said, "Thanks, Love. Your head was laying on the side of the bed, and I needed you up here with me. Besides, you looked really uncomfortable." Alex's cheeks flushed. "So, don't get up. Don't leave me."

Alex gave him a quick kiss and hugged him tightly, relieved that he hadn't hurt him.

The day was a long one. There were several tests to be done to see what the plan of action would be for Ivar and where he was on his way to recovery. Just as soon as Alex had gotten comfortable with Ivar again, nurses came to take him for the first test.

After everything was done, it turned out that he would need at least one, possibly two, more skin graft surgeries on his right leg and some intense physical therapy if he wanted to be able to walk again. Infection had also set up in his leg, to make matters worse, and they planned to start him on very strong medication for it immediately.

Ivar was not thrilled with what he'd learned. Still with a hoarse voice, he took a deep breath and asked, "So, what, exactly, are you saying, Doctor? Are you saying I will never be able to walk again?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying," the doctor rubbed his head. "Well, actually, there's no guarantee, Son, if I'm being honest." Alex gasped. "You've suffered some serious injuries and quite frankly, you're lucky to still be alive at all. Everything depends on how well you respond to your therapy, how hard you work, and how quickly the medication turns this nasty infection around for you."

Ivar was trembling at his words. With gritted teeth and his jaw clinched shut, Ivar asked, "Ho-how bad is the infection?"

The doctor looked away from him, and Ivar growled, "How bad?"

Placing his hand on Ivar's shoulder, the doctor softly said, "Son, I'm sorry to tell you this, but if the medication doesn't do it's job, and fast, umm," he glanced at Alex, who was holding Ivar's hand and looking down at the floor, "Well, it could be possible we'd have to amputate your leg up to your thigh."

Ivar shook his his head as the tears flowed silently from his eyes uncontrollably. "Nu-no! NO!"

The doctor continued, "That's the worst case scenario right now, though, ok? There's nothing that indicates that will be the case, but I just can't lie to you. You need to know all of the possibilities."

"Right now, let's just focus on getting the physical therapy stared, and once we know that the medication is doing it's job, we'll release you and let you continue physical therapy from home. I've seen your determination, Son, refusing to stop breathing, and I believe you can still turn this whole thing around."

Ivar was stunned as he looked at Alex, who was obviously feeling the exact same way. "When," he began coughing, and Alex quickly handed him the water bottle to drink from, "Wh-when will I begin with everything?"

"The nurse is getting the medication ready as we speak, and physical therapy will begin tomorrow afternoon. If everything seems to go well with the medication over night, we'll do the first skin graft first thing tomorrow morning."

Ivar gulped and dropped his head. The doctor turned toward the door, "I know I've unloaded a lot of information on you. My apologies. I'll give you time, because I know you need to process. I'll leave you to it and see you tomorrow."

He left the two of them lost in their thoughts. It was several minutes before Alex finally placed his hand on Ivar's shoulder. "Ivar, don't worry. I'm sure you're going to be fine. You're strong and," he began.

Ivar pulled away from his touch, "Don't."

Alex looked at him, surprised, "Wh-what?"

"Just don't. You can't always save me, Alex. You heard the man. Shit sounds pretty grim for me," Ivar coughed.

Alex tried to understand Ivar's anger as he took a deep breath. "Come on. Don't give up already, Ivar. We don't know..."

"Yes, we do. Anytime anything begins to go my way, it ends badly. It's just my luck. I've accepted it."

Alex frowned and just decided he wouldn't say anything else. He didn't want to be the focus of Ivar's anger. Afterall, he did understand his discouragement, and he knew he was just worried. He sat down, and simply waited for the nurse to bring the medication, trying his best to conceal his own worry and concern. He was still relieved that Ivar had awoken from a coma and hadn't quite swallowed, yet, all of the complications that was ahead of him.

The nurse finally came in. "For the first round of medication, I need to inject it directly into your IV and give you pills as well. And Mr. Lothbrok," she hesitated, looking nervous, "Umm, you need a very aggressive form of treatment for this infection so umm, I, umm..."

"Oh, get on with it already!" Ivar growled, trying to ignore his sore throat.

She continued, "I'm sorry to tell you, but the injection is strong. It will hurt and burn, but it's necessary. I would never intentionally hurt you." She swallowed nervously. She gave him the pills first, and he grumpily took them with water. Looking at Alex apologetically, she then injected the medication. Alex leaned up and grabbed Ivar's hand.

Ivar looked at her angrily and waved her out of the room dismissively. He knew it wasn't her fault and didn't want to lash out at her, but he also knew how fed up he already was with everything.

He took a deep breath and looked over to Alex. In those deep blue eyes, he saw the patience to move mountains, love unwavering, his life, his everything, but he also saw great worry and concern. He knew Alex was worried for him, and he felt guilty for putting him through this. Alex deserved better.

And what if he never regained his ability to walk again or even worse, if he had to have his leg amputated? That was a tremendous burden to put on anyone. He knew it was too much to ask of Alex. He'd rather end things with him than let him waste his life taking care of the cripple. He didn't want Alex to grow to resent him, and decided right then and there that should it come to that, he'd end it all, no matter how it broke his own heart. He absolutely would not let Alex play his live in nurse.

He suddenly felt a burning sensation climbing up his arm. It was as if his veins were on fire and were cooking him inside out. He squeezed Alex's hand and the sheets of the bed as his head bent back on the pillow. He closed his eyes tightly. That nurse wasn't kidding, his entire body hurt as the medication spread!

He finally let out a deep breath and released Alex's hand. He sat for a moment, realizing this wasn't the worst pain he'd felt in his life even though it was certainly one of the top five, at least, and took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

Just as he was about to apologize to Alex for being an ass, another nurse came in and told him that the very first dose of medication was actually in two separate injections since it's so strong, but the first nurse hadn't known that and was now too worried to come back in.

He felt a wave of guilt, but he didn't have time to process it before the nurse was already at the side of his bed preparing the second injection. Hesitating, she said, "Let me look at you. I need to be sure you haven't had any kind of reaction before I give you the second round. I'm sorry, Mr. Loth..."

"Spare me the fucking sympathy, and just give me the damn injection. You guys are torturing me," Ivar growled at her, coughing uncontrollably. She tried to give him aome water, but he batted her hand away.

Ignoring his anger and attitude, and after she was sure the first round hadn't disagreed with him other than the pain, which Ivar was sure to remind her of, she began the second injection. Alex instantly went to grab Ivar's hand, but he pushed him back and wrapped his hand in the sheets instead. He gritted his teeth together as he felt the medication begin it's slow crawl through his veins.

Ivar leaned forward, and with a loud growl, he swiped his hand over the bedside table and cleared it with one sweep, everything shattering to the floor, "FUCK!" The nurse's eyes widened, and Alex jumped to his feet.

"Ivar, she's just doing her job. Come on. She's trying to help you," Alex said, rushing to the other side of the bed to begin picking stuff up from the floor with the nurse. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled to her.

"It's ok. I'm used to it. It kinda comes with the job, ya know?" she gently smiled at him.

She explained to Alex that Ivar would probably sleep for most of the rest of the day. "That's how the medicine can do it's job best, so don't worry, but call if you need anything, ok?" He nodded to her as she left the room.

When Alex turned back to Ivar, he instantly knew he was trying his best to deal with the pain without lashing out. Again. Alex felt helpless. He hated seeing him like this, but he knew he couldn't do anything but be there with him.

He walked back over to his chair and sat down without saying a word, trying not to give Ivar any reason to act on the pain and anger he was very obviously feeling. Ivar turned to him quizzically. "What?" Alex asked, mentally preparing himself for the next battle.

"Why? Why have you always stayed by my side, Alex?" Ivar asked almost in a whisper. "Even when we were kids, you were always there for me, most of the time, when I didn't even deserve it." He cleared his throat. "Kind of like right now."

"You seriously have to ask?" Alex wasn't sure what he was getting at, but his tone made him nervous.

"Yes. I want to hear it."

"Because I love you, Ivar." Alex dropped his head as he continued, "And I guess, in one way or another, I always have."

Ivar reached his hand out for Alex's, and Alex hesitantly gave it to him. Pulling his hand to his lips, he kissed his knuckles. "I can't keep saying I'm sorry and just expect you to keep staying," he took a deep breath, "But I also know that when my anger takes ahold of me, there's no telling what I might do or say. And I don't want you to be the one catching it all, Alex. It's not right. You, you don't deserve to be treated like this, especially when you're the one who has always been here for me."

He dropped Alex's hand and covered his face in shame. How could he continue to be so awful and yet, Alex continued to remain there with him? He couldn't believe he hadn't already left.

Alex rolled his eyes. "I refuse to listen to you right now, Ivar. We're not making major decisions about our relationship while you're laying there in bed in such pain. So you may as well just drop it," he sighed. "And you haven't really treated me any kind of bad way, Ivar. You just have a lot on you right now. I know we'll probably have this conversation again, and everytime we do, I'm going to tell you the same thing. I'm not leaving. Period. You need your rest. Tomorrow is a big day, so just stop worrying about it."

Ivar was taken back by Alex's assertiveness and refusal to listen to him. Had he not been in the shape he was, he would have put up a fight, but as much as he hated to admit it, Alex was right about one thing. He needed to rest. He felt sleep creeping into his body, and even though he wanted to fight it, his eyes grew too heavy.

He held his hand open toward Alex and Alex placed his hand in it, gripping it tightly. As Ivar began to apologize, the medication took control, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Alex smiled, despite himself, and sat back down. He knew the exact reason Ivar was so angry was because he was worried, not because he was actually angry, and he understood. During the last day, he had been through a lot. He knew he was going to be on this roller-coaster for a while, and he knew he'd still be there for it all.

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The next morning was already there before Alex had realized he'd, too, fallen asleep. As he got up from the chair he'd slept in, his body knew he'd been sleeping, though. Looking at Ivar sleeping, he thought of the calm before the storm for he knew they'd be in for him within minutes to take him to surgery.

Reluctantly, he leaned over and gently tapped Ivar's shoulder, "Ivar, hey. It's time to wake up. They'll be here to take you to surgery soon."

Stretching, it took Ivar a minute to realize where he was. For what it was worth, the medicine he'd been given at least helped him sleep well. He looked at the clock and then said, "Damn it."

"Good morning to you, too," Alex smiled.

Ivar asked for a drink of water, but Alex reminded him that he was about to go for the skin grafting and couldn't eat or drink. He watched as the snarl returned to Ivar's face. "Hey, this is going to help you. Please let them do their job."

At that moment, the door opened, and nurses came in to take him for surgery. Surprisenly, Ivar didn't say a word. As they began to roll him out, he asked them to stop and looked back at Alex. "Umm, will you, uh, are you leaving now?" He dropped his head. He knew that's exactly what he deserved, to come back to find that Alex had finally left the room or even the hospital.

Alex rushed over to him and leaned down to kiss him on his forehead. "No. I'm not going anywhere, Ivar. Not, umm," he gulped, "Not unless you want me to?"

Ivar immediately felt relieved. "No. I'd really appreciate it if you would still be here. I'm sorry," he sighed, "For everything."

"Shhh," Alex kissed him on top of the head again and let the nurses take him. It was difficult to remember the other times he'd seen Ivar just like this. Ivar had always been one to react with anger anytime he was scared or hurt. It was his immediate go to defense. He didn't like showing vulnerability like this. Alex knew he shouldn't take it personally, but it sure was easier said than done sometimes.

While Ivar was gone to surgery, Alex spoke with Aslaug, who had come to check on him. She informed Alex that they'd been having problems with Ivy at home. Apparently, she'd been crying uncontrollably for Ivar. They decided that it would be best to bring her to visit Ivar just as soon as he was able to visit with her.

As she prepared to leave, she told Alex, "Please let me know how he is as soon as he's out of surgery. I'm actually going to watch Ivy so that Katia can go to the doctor herself."

"Is she ok?" Alex asked, concerned.

"She said it's just a follow up on how she's doing with her therapy. No need to worry. You have enough on your plate right now, Dear."

Alex nodded as she stood and hugged him. "Let Ivar know I stopped by."

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Over the course of the next few weeks, Ivar had been nearly unbearable. He was angry and upset with anyone and everyone. So much so that Alex had resorted to either sitting in the room with Ivar and not saying a word to him or watching afar from his own room and out of Ivar's line of fire.

The skin graft surgery had went well and luckily, they hadn't had to do more than one. Ivar was still taking strong medication for infection and to help him heal. He had learned he'd need one of those strong injections once a week for the next month. No doubt, those days were the worst.

His family had come to visit, but he usually didn't talk much to any of them, thinking it better to be quiet. He wasn't trying to find himself completely alone.

Knowing the extra, unneeded stress it would cause, his brothers had decided to hold the information about the Finehair brothers being responsible for everything until he was home and things were a little more close to his normal instead of their previous intentions of telling him much sooner.

The couple of times Katia had brought Ivy were the better days. Although, he hadn't had much to say to Katia, he'd work extra hard not to scare Ivy by being his angry self, but it proved to be extremely difficult for him, asking more than once for Alex to remove her from the room. The hardest part was always seeing Ivy cry uncontrollably each time she had to leave. Ivar was only able to calm her by saying he'd see her again the next day. Each time, after she left, Ivar was more distant but but a bit sweeter. Alex held onto those sweet moments with Ivy, though, because it was nearly the only time he'd see the loving man he knew Ivar to be.

They had started with physical therapy and brought Ivar a wheelchair to get to and from the physical therapy room. He'd immediately refused to use it and threw his breakfast plate at the wall the first morning they brought it in. It wasn't until the doctor reminded him that if he didn't get to physical therapy, he'd surely remain bedridden for the rest of his life, that he gave in and decided to use it, grumbling the entire time and each time after.

It was only in the late nights, when Ivar was spent and actually had the time to think of his own actions from the day, that he would try talking to Alex, an attempt to apologize, and was more like himself. "Alex, umm, I-I'm ashamed of how I've been treating you, how I've been acting. I don't know why you stay with me."

Alex slid his chair closer to the side of Ivar's bed and gently grabbed his hand. "I understand why you get so upset, Ivar. I know how incredibly difficult it is for you to need to depend on everyone around you. It's ok."

Ivar dropped his head back on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. "No, Alex, it's not. It's not okay. You deserve better. You're the one who has always been there for me, you've never left me, and this is how I treat you? No, it's not right."

Leaning forward, Alex became nervous, "We've discussed this. I'm not letting you push me away. What are you saying, Ivar? Wh-what do you mean?"

Ivar closed his eyes, "That you should leave. You should leave me, Alex. I'm not going to get any better. I am a miserable person to be around, and I know that, but I can't control my anger." He took a deep breath, "I don't want to take it all out on you, and I'm afraid I will. For fuck's sake, I have been already. I can't walk. Fuck knows what else I can't do, and you don't deserve to sit around and wait when you could be out there, living your life. How long has it even been since you've been to class? You need to just leave." He pulled his hand out of Alex's and wrapped it around his own chest, an attempt at holding himself together, and sighed in defeat.

Ivar's words gripped Alex's heart and squeezed so tightly that he thought it would split and gape open. He took a deep breath as he stared at Ivar, trying to assess if he really desired to be left alone and single again, or if he was just trying to be selfless. Did he really want him to leave?

Bracing himself for backlash, Alex took another deep breath and asked, "Ivar, do you still love me?"

Ivar's eyes spang open, "What? You know the answer to that."

"I need to hear you answer me."

Sighing, Ivar said with a small voice, "Yes, of course I do."

Alex felt a wave of relief as he said, "Then fuck you!"

"What?"

"You heard me. Fuck you! Fuck you for trying to push me away. Fuck you for trying to make this have anything, at all, to do with my classes. I'm taking them online! Fuck you for giving up on us. Fuck you for thinking I could ever be better off without you and that I'd just simply walk away that easily just because you said so," Alex wiped his eyes.

"After all this time sitting with you, hoping and praying you'd come back to me, I finally get you, and then you're just going to quit? No! I refuse to let you just give up. On yourself, on me, on us. No! You can do this! I know you can. And if it turns out that I'm wrong and you can't, then so be it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and we'll find our way to make it work. Together."

"My love for you isn't contingent on whether or not you can walk. Sure, I want you to, because you want to, but Ivar," Alex cupped Ivar's cheek, "I love you for the man you are, regardless of how your legs do or don't work. Now, stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop being an ass to all of these nurses who are just trying to help you, and try your best in therapy so you'll get better. No more pitty parties!"

Ivar was overcome with emotions, and as Alex started to say more, Ivar caught his words on his mouth, lips covering Alex's in a soft, passionate kiss, threatening to steal Alex's last breath. As he attempted to pull Alex closer to him, Alex fell onto the bed, on top of Ivar with a thud. They both gulped.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, Ivar. Are you ok? I-I'm so sor..."

Ivar kissed him again as his arms wrapped tightly around Alex's waist. As they pulled slightly away from each other for air, Ivar whispered, "I-I'm so sorry, Love. I, umm, I just realized how much I've missed you." He pulled Alex closer, still, and deepened the kiss.

Their lips were moving in familiar movements in no time, muscle memory taking over, as they both seemed to forget about anything and everything happening around them. Alex's hand tangled in Ivar's hair, and Ivar groaned.

As the kiss grew even more heated, so did Ivar's desire. Feeling Alex's growing buldge against his own hip, he involuntarily bucked his hips. Alex's eyes sprung open as he pulled away from their delicious kiss again. Breathlessly, he said, "Oh shit, Ivar! I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," he blushed. "I know you're in pain and I, umm, shit! I just can't help it. You're just still so hot."

To Alex's surprise, Ivar laughed. "Shhh. Come here." He pulled Alex back to him and began kissing the life out of him. They quickly began panting, hands roaming all over each other as if they were exploring new territory, chests heaving, and desire becoming overwhelming. Ivar reached his hand between them, palming Alex's buldge over his sweats. He slipped his hand inside the waist band, and as he reached Alex's pulsating member, Alex gulped, "Ivar! Wh, uh no! We can't."

Ivar smiled at him, "Yes! Tell me you don't want it, too." Alex couldn't deny Ivar's words. He quickly dissolved into Ivar as Ivar wrapped his hand around Alex's shaft and began to slowly move it along his length. Alex thought the hospital room was probably not the best setting for such intimate acts, but he couldn't bring himself to stop Ivar and pull away.

As Alex's hands began to roam over Ivar's body, he slowly let his left hand find Ivar's waist line of his hospital pants. Without warning, he dipped his hand inside them to grab Ivar as well. To both of their surprise, Ivar wasn't even hard. He quickly pulled away from Alex and looked down at himself. "Wh-what is happening? I am. I mean, I know it's just. What's wrong with me?" He stumbled over his words, "I, umm, I want you so badly. I do. I just can't. I can't explain this." He instantly removed his hand from Alex's pants and planted his face in his hands as his cheeks flushed bright red.

Alex placed his hand over Ivar's as he softly spoke, "Ivar, it's ok. Look at me. That's not important right now."

Ivar jerked his hand away from Alex's as he turned his head away from him. "I wish I would have just died," he mumbled.

The mood of the room totally shifting, Alex got off of the bed and stood beside it. "What did you just say?" he asked in disbelief. "Because I know I didn't just hear you correctly."

Ivar glanced back at him, the snarl across his face softening as he saw Alex's hurt expression. "I, uh. Nothing works. I'm broken. I'm not," he exhaled heavily, "I'm not a complete man, Alex. I should have just..."

"Don't you dare say it!" Alex growled through a clinched jaw. "How dare you wish such a terrible thing when you have so much to live for. What about Ivy? What about your mom or you brothers? What about me? Am I not worth you living?"

Ivar started to answer him, but he interrupted him, "Wait! I'm not finished. I know this hurts you, Ivar. I get that you feel less of a man, but I'm sure it's just a combination of everything your body is going through. You're way too stressed. You need to rest. You're on a lot of medication. All of these things play a part in how your body works. There's no reason to get so upset about it that you say such ridiculous things."

"I'm tired of it, Ivar, and I refuse to let you give up on yourself and expect me to do the same and just let you push me away. We can talk to the doctor tomorrow and see what he says. Until then, I don't want to hear anything else even remotely close to your angry, self loathing comments. Do you understand? Are we clear?"

Ivar stared blankly at Alex with a loss for words. Alex hadn't spoken to him that way in years. "I said, are we clear?"

"But I can't. How do I? I mean. It just keeps getting worse," Ivar hung his head down in shame.

Taking a moment to breathe, Alex finally placed his hand under Ivar's chin and pulled it up to look him in the eyes. Locking his gaze with Ivar's, Alex softly said, "These things don't matter right now, Ivar. I'll tell you what would have been worse, Ivar. Losing you. Waking up everyday for the rest of my life without you here with me, not having someone to share the beautiful things in life with, watching Ivy grow up without her wonderful father. That would have been worse. I don't know what it's going to take for you to snap out of it and realize what you still have, but this is definitely not the worst that could have been."

He sat back down and lowered his gaze to the floor, fighting tears he was tired of shedding. He was worried for Ivar, but he was also hurt. He didn't like seeing him so unhappy with himself. Underneath all the anger and fear, he knew there was a gentle, loving soul, and he was determined to find him again, because he knew if he didn't soon, all that would be left was a lonely, miserable shell of a man, and he couldn't stand the thought of that as a reality.

Ivar didn't have a response. Alex had left him speechless. He hadn't stopped to think about what his condition was doing to him and the others he loved. And he knew his attitude wasn't making it any better. Could he do better? He knew Alex certainly deserved for him to try. He decided not to say anything, because he didn't want to break any promises, but he knew he had to try to find the positive and focus on that. He also knew that meant he had a lot of work to do.

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While Ivar had definitely done better with lashing out at everyone, he'd still had his moments when he just felt he could take no more and was in mid fight or flight mode before he'd even realize it. No matter how hard he tried, he could not see a valid reason for Alex to remain with him. The more he tried with therapy and failed, the more he felt useless and had become to hate himself. If he hated himself so much, how could Alex love him? He felt completely hopeless.

When doctors and nurses weren't in his room, a solemn silence had settled in between he and Alex, something he never thought he'd have to endure with him. They weren't cold or angry with each other, but more distant than he could ever remember them being before. He missed his love, his best friend, but he just didn't feel worthy of any of it.

He would watch Alex move around in the room, intentionally avoiding eye contact or anything that he thought may cause any conflict to arise. He'd noticed how Alex pretty much only spoke when he was spoken to or to offer his assistance when he was certain it was needed. They hadn't had a real conversation since that night when Ivar had discovered his issue, and they certainly hadn't spoken about that again.

He'd see Alex do his school work on his laptop in the room next door to his and how quiet he was for it, an exact opposite of when he used to always discuss what he was working on, having such a love for history that he'd always share, hoping to spark an interest in Ivar as well.

He saw it all, how drastically their relationship had changed, how he'd ruined their vibrant love, and what was left of his already breaking heart practically crumbled. How horrible that he'd managed to dim Alex's bright light! It wasn't healthy for him to be so overly cautious just to prevent problems. That was how abusive relationships were. Was he abusive? It hadn't been his intentions to have such an effect on Alex, but now he wasn't sure how to make things right. How could he take away the sadness that Alex obviously felt when he, too, felt the same way?

He'd, at least, finally been doing better with the physical therapy, and he had even gained movement in his toes. The doctor had said that was promising news, but he hadn't even told Alex about it because he was sure Alex wasn't in the mood to celebrate something so small. Plus, he didn't want to give him false hope of him getting to complete recovery when he, himself, felt sure that was never going to be the case. He wasn't sure how much longer he could let Alex waste his time by being with him. He ached at the realization of what had now become his reality.

All he really wanted was to just hold Alex, to feel his arms wrapped tightly around him, but he knew that wasn't possible at the moment. As he growled in frustration, Alex looked up from his book. Hesitantly, Alex asked, "Do you need something for pain? I can call the..."

"No! Everything isn't about my fucking leg, you know," Ivar automatically snapped before he'd even realized what he'd done. Once he saw the immense sadness creep into Alex's expression, he began, "Oh, Alex, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Standing up and dropping his book in the seat, feeling completely defeated, Alex said, "Save it."

"But I.."

Alex held his hand up toward Ivar, palm facing him, a sign for him to stop as he walked past the foot of the bed and toward the door.

Ivar's heart officially broke from his chest and slid to the floor. What had he done?

As Alex approached the door, it swung open, "Well, if it isn't my two favorite fruit cakes! How the hell are you, boys? Or? It's not girls now, is it?" he laughed.

"Floki!" Alex exclaimed, rolling his eyes and crashing into his arms.

Ivar actually smiled a genuine smile as he said, "You dirty, old bastard. Where have you been?" He hoped Floki hadn't heard his and Alex's unpleasant exchange.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been here, guys. You know me, I've been out exploring the world. I was living in a tent in the mountains for the last few months, completely off the grid, until I finally decided to come home for a change of scenery. I came as quickly as I could after hearing all the desperate voicemails your family has left me." He walked to Ivar's bedside and bent down to hug him, "At the risk of sounding too sentimental, I sure am happy you pulled through your frightening coma, boy. I don't know what I would have done if we would have lost you."

"Hell, you wouldn't have known any difference. You're never here to know if I'm alive or dead anyway." Floki was about to tease Ivar futher, but upon looking at his snarl, he realized he was serious, and there was a clear bile to his statement.

He looked back to Alex who only shrugged his shoulders in defeat, dropping his head, and said, "I need some air. I'll leave you two alone to catch up, and I'll be back in a bit." Not waiting for either to reply, he left the room.

Floki turned back to Ivar, "You'd best get to talking, boy. What the hell was that about?"

Rolling his eyes, Ivar answered, "Who knows? I guess you better ask him if you really wanna know."

Floki pulled one of the chairs up beside the bed and sat down in it. "No, I'd really like to hear it from you, you miserable ass. What did you do to that boy? He loves you, and what I just saw was a very defeated and broken young man full of pain."

Ivar huffed and answered sarcastically, "Yeah, sure. He's the fucking broken one who's feeling all the pain. Ok, whatever. And I'm so sure you can tell from one sentence what his feelings are for me."

Knowing Ivar as well as the back of his own hand, it only took a minute to understand what was going on here. He'd been the closest thing to an uncle that Ivar had known growing up, and he'd spent a lot of time with him over the years, which also meant he'd spent a lot of time with Alex as well, since they had practically been inseparable when they were younger. "Ivar, that boy has loved you since you guys were just kids. It's a shame, actually, that it took you so long to figure it out. He'd take a damn bullet for you. Don't you know that?"

Ivar hesitated, his eyes widening, and ran his hand down his face, sighing deeply, before he finally asked, "How, umm, how could you possibly know that?"

"Well, for starters, I'm not blind, but don't you remember all those times the two of you came over and spent so much time at the house with my Helga and I?" Floki placed his hand over his heart as he mentioned Helga. "I sure do miss her."

"Me too," Ivar held his hand out to Floki and placed it in his.

"You two practically spent the entire summers with us. Well, she first brought it to my attention, and I, of course, laughed at her, but as I began to pay more attention, I realized she was right. Even Ragnar knew it, boy." Ivar gasped, and Floki laughed his signature giggle. "But it wasn't until your father's death that I realized that you loved him as well."

"What? How? I didn't. Umm, I mean. I never even."

"You always have been the hard headed one of the family." Floki smiled. "It sure did take you long enough to finally accept it, and stop fighting it. I only wished your father could have seen it, too. He always hoped you'd come to terms with it and if not end up with Alex, at least end up with someone who loves you like he does."

Surprised, Ivar asked, "He didn't have a problem with the thought of me being with another man?"

"On the contrary. He just wanted you to finally find someone who'd do right by you and who'd love you the way you deserved." Ivar couldn't believe what he'd was hearing.

"He'd be so proud, but look at you, now. Having this second chance at life and this opportunity to experience the kind of great love that only comes around once in a lifetime, and here you are, just pissing it all away like it's some luxury that everyone gets to partake in."

Not saying a word, Ivar seemed to be taking everything Floki had said to heart. He really did feel bad, but how could he fix that now?

Floki continued, "I was so overjoyed when I heard that you and Alex were finally giving it a go. He's the type that won't leave your side, even when he should, and I can tell from the tension in this room, that now is a time when he should. Talk to me, boy. What's going on?"

"I've, I, umm, I'm afraid I've fucked it all up, Floki." Ivar explained everything to Floki. For some reason, he'd always felt comfortable telling Floki anything. He was the one person he knew that wouldn't go anywhere after whatever madness he'd share with him. Then, he suddenly realized that he had that same thing with Alex, and he felt so ashamed. "How'd we get here, Floki?"

"It's not too late, boy. You only have to swallow your pride, and talk to him. He'll listen. Do you know what I'd give to be able to still talk to Helga, to tell her how much she means to me, how much she's always meant to me? Don't waste the time you have, the second chance you've been given. Talk to him, you idiot!"

Ivar then thought of what had truly become an issue for him and made him so hateful and angry, and truth be told, what made him the most embarrassed and loathe himself like never before. Could he tell Floki something that personal? Could he tell him he was not capable of the simplest act, the one thing that he used to do so well, that he wasn't even a real man anymore?

Leaning forward to Floki and placing his head on his chest, he began to fall apart. "Floki, I, uh, can't, I, my heart is broken. Fuck! I am broken."

Floki silently placed his arm around Ivar and waited for him to explain himself. He held Ivar as he spilled his heart out to him.

Never looking up into Floki's eyes, ashamed of himself for his incapabilities and how he'd been acting, he told Floki everything. "I've never hurt so badly, Floki, and it doesn't even have anything to do with my damn leg. That's just the icing on the cake. I can handle the physical pain. It's the torture of knowing I can't satisfy Alex anymore, of watching him hang around here everyday and knowing he's just wasting his time with me. I've done things, said things that I'm not proud of, that I know he can never forgive me for. I'm just a miserable, useless fuck up who can't walk and who can't fuck. What good am I at all to him or to anyone?"

Floki rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. When Ivar finally sat up and looked at him, Floki asked, "Have you asked him to forgive you, Ivar? How can you be so sure he won't? He wouldn't still be here if believed you weren't worth it, if he didn't truly love you. How can you decide for him, humm? Don't you think that's his decision?"

Wiping his face with the back of his hands, Ivar said, "Why would he?"

"Let me ask you this, would you forgive him if the tables were turned? Would you suddenly think he was a loser because he couldn't walk or because he couldn't get hard here in the middle of a damn hospital?" Smiling, Floki shook his head at the thought of them being so hot for each other that they were making out during the current situation.

"Of course, not. And of course, I'd forgive him."

"Then what makes you think he doesn't feel the same? Why would you think your love is so superior to his? You're missing the point. You just need to tell him how you feel and what's been bothering you. Talk to him. Simple as that."

"And if he's super mad, still?"

* "Well, if you want peace, first, you must prepare for war," * Floki smiled. "And as far as your other issue goes, what did the doctor say?"

Turning bright red, Ivar dropped his head and only shrugged.

Floki looked at him in disbelief, "You did talk to the doctor, didn't you?"

"Umm, well, not exactly. That's embarrassing. I'm surprised I even told you."

"And I take it Alex didn't either?"

"Not if he knows what's good for him," Ivar snarled.

Rolling his eyes, Floki said, "You know what? You're both idiots! You're here worrying yourself sick over something, that may not even be permanent, to the point that the two of you aren't speaking to each other, when all you had to do was talk to the doctor and get some solid information. I just can't even believe you." Floki dropped his head to his hands. "Do I have to do everything around here? How have you even survived this far without me?"

Floki stood up. "Wait. What are you doing? Where are you going?" Ivar asked him in a panic.

"To find your doctor and get to the bottom of this," Floki answered as if it was the most obvious thing.

Ivar sat up in bed, staring him down, and practically growled at him, "Don't you fucking dare!'

Floki took a step back, just out of Ivar's reach. "Yeah? And what is the cripple going to do to stop me? Humm? Floki smirked. "Are you going to stand and chase after me?"

"Fuck you, crazy old man!"

Floki giggled, "You can't! Remember?" he laughed and then added, "Save that for you lover boy." And before Ivar could say another word, Floki turned and ran into Alex as he was coming back into the room.

As Floki left, Alex came in and sat in the chair he'd been reading in earlier. Not speaking to Ivar or even looking at him, he opened his book again. They sat like that, avoiding eye contact, in uncomfortable silence for a while before Ivar finally sighed and asked, "How much of that conversation did you hear?"

Slowly looking up from his book, Alex softly answered, "Umm, just the end of it."

"So?"

Alex shrugged, "So what?"

Ivar ran his hand through his hair, trying not to get aggravated, "So, what umm, what do you... You know what, nevermind."

Alex closed his book, placed it in his lap, and then looked sincerely into Ivar's eyes. He waited for a moment, seemingly in thought, before he finally said, "Talk to me, Ivar." Alex huffed and took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever argument this was going to cause, but he knew they needed to talk. This hurt him way too much. "Please."

Ivar stared at him with an unreadable expression that made Alex nervous, but still, he persisted, "Please, Ivar. If we can't talk to each other, then who can we talk to? I don't, I mean, umm, I, I miss you." He dropped his head and stared at the floor. He knew it was useless. He wasn't even sure why he'd even tried. Ivar had made it clear he didn't want to talk. Maybe what he really wanted was for Alex to seriously leave.

With that thought burning in his mind, he made one more final attempt. If Ivar wanted him gone, he'd leave him. He would no longer stay there against Ivar's wishes. His voice small and quiet, Alex said, "Ivar, I, umm. I won't bother you by staying here anymore if that's what you want. For the record, I don't want to leave, but I know when I'm not wanted. Can you please talk to me? Just tell me what's on your mind. Please." He turned away from Ivar and wiped away his tears.

Ivar felt horrible. How could he have been so cruel that he'd made the one person he loved more than anything feel unwanted. He hated himself for it. So much so that part of him wanted to actually let Alex go. And maybe he would have had he not talked with Floki. Floki had always had a way of putting things into prospective.

"Alex," Ivar's voiced cracked. He swallowed audibly, "I-I'm, uh. Please. Please don't. Don't leave me." He hung his head in shame.

To Ivar's surprise, Alex actually stood and walked up to the side of Ivar's bed. With hesitation still in his voice, he said, "I won't. Not if you don't want me to. But Ivar?"

Ivar looked up at him with clear worry in his eyes. "Yes?"

"If I'm going to stay here, and with you, we have to stop the frighting. I hate it when you're mad with me. I-I'm sorry for everything."

Ivar reached his arms out for Alex and Alex, breathing a sigh of relief, practically fell into them. Ivar held him like that as he began finally saying everything he'd been holding in. "I'm not mad at you, Love. I've been mad with myself. I can't. I'm not able. Umm, well, you know, I'm not whole. And I, umm, I feel like I can't make you happy any longer, and that upsets me for you. It's not fair to you. Not to mention, on top of all of that, I also can't walk. What good am I to you? I don't want to be a burden. I don't want you to resent me. I-I'd rather, ugh. You know me, all of it comes out in anger. I know I've said it before, so many times, but I am truly sorry. You haven't deserved my wrath."

Shocked, Alex raised up and placed his hand on Ivar's cheek. Wiping his wet eyes, he said, "Oh, Ivar, you know, you really are the most stubborn man I know. I'm not concerned with what works or doesn't with your body. I just want you to be ok. There's more to life than just sex, you know. You don't know how terrible it was when I thought I'd lost you for good. I never want to feel like that again. What is important is that you're still alive, you still have your life, you're still here. What you make of it, is up to you, but if you're willing, I am, too. We can get through this and anything else as long as we're together."

Breathing a sigh of relief, breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Ivar pulled him back into another tight hug and pulled so tightly that Alex lost his footing, causing him to topple over onto the bed. "Ivar, you've got to stop making me do this!" Alex laughed. "What if I hurt you?"

Ignoring him, Ivar pulled him into the bed beside him. "Just where I wanted you. This is where you belong." He kissed Alex on the head as warmth filled them both. This is what he'd longed for, Alex at his side, his arms wrapped tightly around him. Now, that he had it, he wasn't letting go. He'd been so stupid, and he knew he was truly lucky. He just didn't know what he'd done to deserve it.

Alex nuzzled into the nape of his neck, happy to finally be close to him again. Ivar had been right, this was definitely where he belonged.

A few moments later, Floki came through the door with the doctor shortly behind him. Alex sat up, looking between them and Ivar, confused. Floki grinned at the display in front of him.

Glaring at Floki, Ivar's face turned beight red. Angrily, he said, between gritted teeth, "You didn't really..."

Cutting him off, Floki said, "No, I didn't. You're going to, boy. I found the doctor and asked him if he'd come back to your room with me because you have something important you'd like to discuss with him."

"Is everything ok, Mr. Lothbrok? You're not in too much pain, are you? I can get a nurse to..."

"No," he said curtly, eyes boring into Floki, "I'm fine." Ivar rolled his eyes as he answered, confusing the doctor even more.

That was when Alex grasped what was happening. Instinctively, he grabbed Ivar's hand and gently squeezed. He was worried how Ivar was going to handle the uncomfortable situation that Floki had thrown him into. His body grew tense as he felt the tension in the room grow as well, and he waited for Ivar's backlash.

"I can't believe that you," he started at Floki, as he glanced over to an obviously very anxious Alex. Pausing, he took a deep breath and then looked back to Floki. He knew his intentions were good and that his heart was in the right place, but he couldn't help the overwhelming urge to smack that smirk right off of his face regardless of the slight possibility that he could actually be right.

Even still, for the first time since the night that he and Alex had found that his body had an additional problem, he seemed to feel a bit of hope. What if Floki was right, and it was only temporary? Could he possibly be that lucky? He knew having hope was a dangerous thing, but after just having spoken with Alex and not wanting to hurt him even more, he decided to at least talk to the doctor. He didn't expect to hear good news, but he thought it was at least worth a conversation.

Swallowing his pride and doing his best to ignore the embarrassment that came along with the sensitive subject, he attempted to mention his erection problem to the doctor. His cheeks immediately flushing bright red and his heartrate quickening, he cleared his throat as he looked down and began. "Umm, I, uh, well, we have discovered that umm, well," Ivar felt beads of sweat roll down his forehead as he looked to his hand in Alex's and squeezed. "So, Alex and I. Umm, you know that Alex and I are. We're together. And umm," he truly struggled to get his words out, feeling ashamed of his incapabilities.

The doctor listened intently, trying to understand what, exactly, Ivar was trying to say. "Well," Ivar finally continued, "It seems that. Well, my. Fuck!" He took a deep breath, and then, he suddenly blurted everything out, all at once, as quickly as he could. "It's not just that my damn leg doesn't work. Other parts of my body don't work either, and Floki, here, suggested it may just be temporary because of stress or medication or I don't know what. And he ran to get you to force me to ask you. So, I just wanted to know, is it normal that I can't get an erection?" He breathed out heavily and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He couldn't believe he'd just said all of that, but he was thankful it was over.

The doctor looked around the room, and trying to be as sensitive as he could, he said, "My apologies, Son. Unfortunately, that is one of the side effects of the very strong medication that you are on, not to mention all of the stress that your body has been under."

He placed his hand on Ivar's shoulder, an attempt to ease his concern. "I'm sorry I didn't mention it to you before, but," he looked between him and Alex, clearing his throat, "I assumed that it wouldn't be necessary during your stay here in the hospital," he coughed, trying not to grin at the now, very red Ivar. "Hopefully, by the time you're released, the injections will be finished, and it will be something the two of you won't have to even worry about at all."

Ivar nodded, not sure he felt relieved just yet. He glanced at Alex and then looked back to the doctor. His cheeks flushing bright red again, he asked, "So, you mean umm, I-I'm not broken? I mean, umm. This is just temporary? Are you sure?"

He stepped back and looked at Ivar's stiff posture and obvious worried expression. "Mr. Lothbrok?" Ivar sheepishly looked up to him. "I can assure you that this is just a normal side effect from your injections. It will soon be a thing of the past. And if, for any reason, your problem persists longer than two weeks once you're released to go home, call us, and we'll see what adjustments need to be made to your other medications. Ok?"

Finally breathing a bit eaaier, Ivar answered, his voice small, "Umm, thank you." The doctor patted him on the shoulder, and he said again, "Thank you, really."

Smiling warmly at Ivar, with his hand still on his shoulder, he softly squeezed and said, "You're welcome, Son. I understand this can make things, umm, well, a bit difficult for the time being, but it is only temporary. My apologies again for not disclosing the side effects with you before we started you on this treatment plan."

Once the doctor left the room, the mood in the room shifted. What had been dark and gloomy for days, weeks even, felt lighter, brighter.

Alex looked to Ivar who was fidgeting with his hands, cheeks still red, and head hanging down. He was visibaly embarrassed and maybe Alex saw a twinge of regret in his eyes as they finally looked up and caught his own. "I'm truly sorry, Love. I've been such an ass. I should've listened to you."

Alex squeezed his hand, wrapped his arms around Ivar, and leaned over, kissing his cheek. "Shhh. Now, you have something to look forward to," Alex grinned.

"And that's my que to leave," Floki giggled.

"Oh, Floki," Ivar began, "I suppose I owe you a huge thank you."

"Put it on my tab, boy. If I charged you for everytime I saved your ass, I'd be rich by now." Floki grinned, happy to see the two of them smiling. He motioned between the two of them, "I like this. This looks really good on you."

Ivar looked at Alex and back to Floki, brow raising, "What does?"

"Love, stupid. I'm happy you finally found true love. I was worried you'd end up married to someone who'd spend their life taking advantage of you, and I'm so thankful that you only gave her a child and not your name," he chuckled.

Ivar grinned, heart warming, at the thought of such a precious child coming from the broken relationship he'd had with Katia and how it became a good thing. He, too, was happy he didn't give Katia his name, but now, as he looked beside him, he wondered if Alex would ever want to take it.

He could see their future so clearly, should he decide to take that next serious step, filled with nothing but love and happiness, spending their time doting on their precious princess and one another, a life dedicated to each other. His heart warmed.

He glanced to Alex again, his eyes filled with love and his head in another place, and he pulled his hand up to his mouth and gently kissed it.

"Speaking of which," Floki interrupted Ivar's train of thought, "I'm on my way to Ubbe's to meet little Ivy, now. That's why I must leave you two." He stepped to the side of Ivar's bed. "How is it even possible that you have a little girl whom I've never met?"

"Good question, old man. Don't stay away so long," Ivar answered him.

"Oh, I plan to be here for a while, now. You'll be sick of me. You'll see." He leaned down and hugged Ivar, whispering in his ear, "Take good care of him. He's a keeper." He giggled and rubbed the top of Ivar's head as if he was still a little boy, Ivar rolling his eyes.

"Alex, whip his ass if he misbehaves. And umm," he looked down to Ivar as he grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed in an appreciative way, "Officially, welcome to the family. Finally." And with that he headed to the door.

"Hey," Ivar called behind him. Floki turned around. "Thank you, and don't scare my little girl." Smiling from ear to ear, feigning innocence, Floki waved his fingers to say goodbye and practically skipped out of the hospital room.

Silence settled in between Alex and Ivar, both lost in their own thoughts. It had truly been an eventful day, a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, leaving them both exhausted.

Snuggling into Ivar's side, Alex finally broke the silence. "So, Floki approves, humm?"

Ivar smiled, voice filled with pride, "He does." He pulled Alex closer to his side and pulled the blanket over them both. "And apparently, father did as well."

Alex looked up to him, "What? How?"

"Well, according to Floki, you've been in love with me since we were kids, just teens." He grinned his typical devilish grin at Alex. "And father didn't miss it, so he says."

Alex lowered his head to Ivar's shoulder. "Oh, shut up. You're so cocky."

"And you love it," Ivar kissed the top of his head, his smile not fading until they both drifted away into a deep sleep.

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The next couple of weeks proved to be difficult ones for Ivar, but he handled them better than before, with a determined end in sight. He'd finally decided to give his all with physical therapy and was even actually able to stand on his own for a few moments at a time.

With that information, his doctor had told him he was well on his way to walking again, and it also meant no amputation, providing blood tests agreed, but for the time being, he needed to continue with the hard work.

After consistent work from Ivar, he was given a brace for his leg and crutches to walk with. He was finally able to walk short distances on his own. With the encouragement from Alex and his therapist, he was determined to accomplish his goal of walking again without help and getting out of the hospital.

Today was the day Ivar was going to have blood tests and exams of his legs to check how he was healing and if he would finally be able to go home. He had been on edge the entire morning, and Alex had been silently praying to everything holy that he wouldn't result to his typical angry outbursts. When they came to take him to the exam room with the wheelchair, he refused to use it. Just as Alex held his breath and waited for Ivar's wrath, he said to the nurse, "I think I can actually walk there. Can you just push the chair alongside me just in case I were to tire and need it?"

Alex snapped his head around to Ivar. He had been expecting anything but a pleasant, calm response from him. As a proud grin spread across Alex's face, Ivar innocently smiled back at him. "What?"

"Nothing. Let's get you down the hall to the exam room."

Ivar would have been lying had he said the tests weren't a bit painful. He had to place his right leg in very uncomfortable positions for the doctors to get proper readings of his muscles, tissue, and bones. They needed him to stretch it and hold it tightly in the needed positions. He was becoming frustrated and irritable as the tests went on. He gritted his teeth and began dreading the results. He was sure, now, that he'd be staying in the hospital for a while longer. All the confidence he'd felt walking to the exam room from his room had completely left him, and he now felt defeated. Again.

"We're all done, Mr. Lothbrok. You may return to your room now. The doctor will be in to see you soon with the results," one of the nurses said.

He slipped his brace back on, trying not to make a sound at the additional pain it caused, and stood up. He wobbled a bit and lost his balance, falling back to the exam table. "Woah, woah, Mr. Lothbrok. Not so fast. Take it easy. Are you ok?" the nurse asked, rushing to his side.

"I'm fine," he growled, determined to get up and try it again, and stood once more. This time, he caught himself on the table and managed to continue standing, though the pain certainly didn't seem to be helping.

The nurse motioned for the other nurse to bring the wheelchair over, and she turned facing Ivar. "I think we've put you through too much this morning. Why don't you let me push you back to your room so you can give your leg some rest and time to recuperate?"

She saw his look of desperation as she locked the wheels on the chair and then quickly added, "This is just for your comfort, Mr. Lothbrok. Using this wheelchair isn't what will determine you getting to leave us. The results of those tests will. It's too be expected that you'll be in a bit of pain after all the stretches, pulls, and twists we've put you through. I'm sorry for that, by the way. I'm actually quite impressed you still want to walk, but here," she offered him her arm for support, "Let me give you some relief, just this once, and assist you back to your room for now. You can have some pain pills if you require them once we get you settled."

At first, Ivar looked at her like she had horns growing from her head, but once he tried to remove one of his hands from the table that he was using to support himself, he quickly realized he should take her up on her offer even despite his feelings of immense failure. "Umm, ok. I guess," he said, refusing to look her in the eyes.

She stepped closer to him, "Let me help. Grab my arm." Ivar did as instructed, and before he knew it, she'd wheeled him back to his room and was helping him sit down on the bed. "The doctor will be in shortly."

Alex, who had been impatiently waiting in the room, stood up immediately and went to Ivar, who dropped his head. "Ivar?" he hesitated, "Do you need some meds?"

"No! I'm fine!"

Alex knew he wasn't, and he wasn't sure if he should push or not. The last thing he wanted was an argument, but he hated seeing Ivar in pain when he knew there was relief available. So he tried once more. "Ivar," and Ivar glared at him, "You don't have to take anything too strong. You could just take something to help the pain ease up some. You know it doesn't show a sign of weakness."

Ivar sighed, giving Alex a look of despair, "No, it shows that I'm not getting out of here today. I just really thought I was ready."

Alex grabbed his hand, "Oh, we knew the tests were going to be a bit rough, Ivar. Of course, you're going to have some pain from time to time, but what's important is if the infection is gone and that you can actually walk now. Don't give up now. If you don't get to go home today, they'll test you again in a few days. Whatever happens, you just have to know it's for the best." He leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.

"How can you always stay so positive?" Ivar said, finally looking up to meet Alex's caring eyes.

"Because one of has to be," he smiled. "If the two of us are mad, what could we ever accomplish?" He placed his hand on Ivar's cheek. "Let me get a nurse for you, ok?"

Ivar nodded, giving in to the fight. He knew Alex was right, but he couldn't prevent all the negative thoughts going through his mind. He knew if he didn't have Alex by his side, everything about his current situation would be very different. He sent a silent prayer above, thanking the powers that be for bringing Alex into his life.

Once a nurse came in and gave Ivar some medication, he finally laid his head back to relax. Within minutes, he dozed off to sleep with Alex at his side, rubbing his arm in an effort to calm him. Before he knew it, Alex had rested his head on the side of the bed and fell asleep as well.

After some time, the doctor finally came into Ivar's room. Ivar and Alex both stirred awake. "Sorry to disrupt your sleep, guys. Should I return a little later?" he teased.

Annoyed, Ivar groggily answered, "Please just deliver the bad news so we can rest."

The doctor grinned, "Well, I thought you may prefer to rest at home in your own bed."

Ivar sat straight up in the bed, "Wh-what? Did you just say?"

"Yes, Son. You are cleared to go home. The nurse is getting the paperwork together as we speak."

Alex gasped as Ivar turned to him and then back to the doctor, completely shocked. "But I. I couldn't walk back. It was. Damn. The tests caused a lot of pain. Are you sure? You're not messing with me, are you?"

The doctor stood at the foot of Ivar's bed and gave him a serious look, "I would never do such a cruel thing, but there are conditions. You still need to follow up with your therapy, and you must continue with your medication at home, but you don't need the injections anymore. The infection has cleared up quite nicely. I'm so pleased there's no worry of amputation. The nurse will schedule a two week follow up appointment with you to see me in the office. Between now and then, if you have any problems or questions arise, do not hesitate to call my office."

Ivar eyes glimmered with hope and excitement, "I was sure. I mean. I just knew I'd have to stay longer. I can't believe it. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Mr. Lothbrok, you may still have some tough days ahead of you. You've been through a lot. Promise me you'll remember that, and forgive yourself when you need a break. And this is why you must also take the wheelchair with you. There may be a day here or there that you'll be happy to have it."

Ivar grimaced but said, "If it means I get to finally go home, I'll roll all the way there in it!" They chuckled.

When the doctor left, a very emotional Ivar looked over to Alex. "I, I can't believe it."

Alex quickly jumped into action. "Well, you rest while I get all of our things together. Let's be ready once the nurse comes." Ivar watched him rushing around, throwing things into bags, gathering items together, pulling get well cards off the walls, and he just smiled. He was thoroughly pleased with the news. He'd seriously began to believe he'd be in that hospital from now on.

His mind drifted to being home, seeing Ivy, finally, and feeling a little normal again. He wondered how long it would be before he could return to their club, when he'd be able to drive again, when he'd be able to bend over and pick Ivy up into his arms on his own, when he could do the normal things that he used to take for granted such as standing in the shower, running, or yes, making love to his ever patient, loving Alex.

Before he knew it, Alex was gently tapping him on the shoulder. "Ivar?" Alex said softly, "Are you ready? The nurse is here with papers for you to sign."

Ivar rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands. "Huh? Umm. Was I sleeping?"

Alex smiled, "Yes. Apparently, your excitement wore you out."

The nurse went over everything with them and had him sign her paperwork. She gave copies to Alex as she headed to the door. "And congratulations, Mr. Lothbrok. I'm really happy for you."

When the door closed, Alex told him, "We're all packed up and ready to go. Who do you want to pick us up?"

Without hesitation, Ivar answered, "Hvitserk. I could use some of his nonsense right now." Ivar's smile grew widely across his face as Alex called.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

*= phrase from the character, Winston, in the movie, John Wick