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Riven dipped the stale bread in the oily sauce until it swelled like a sponge, waited a moment for the bread to soften, then, famished, put it into her mouth and tore at it with her teeth.
Yasuo heard the noise of the now richly tasting bread as it broke. Riven was so hungry, had been so hungry, she didn't even notice he had yet to start eating his meal, busy staring at her and not believing she was in front of him and they were in Ionia, both safe and sound.
Her chewing was loud, big mouthful, grease rippled down on the side of her chin and Yasuo blinked back to reality. "How is it?" he asked gently.
Riven finally raised her eyes from her steaming bowl, looked at him with bright eyes he hadn't seen in months. She chewed some more on the hard bread, cleaned her chin with a finger and put said finger in her mouth, not leaving out even a drop of sauce. "It's delicious. Maybe a bit too salty" she admitted.
Yasuo nodded, pleased, and dipped his head in his own bowl, a rich and oily fish soup. He could hardly taste it, distracted as he was by the woman in front of him. With chagrin, he at first had to admit he was missing her quite enough to lose sleep over it. He thought the whole ordeal was over; finally they could have gone on with their own separate lives. Still, from time to time he couldn't resist the urge to ask subtle informations about a certain white-haired, foreigner woman and how she was doing. And every time people would tell him, he would tell himself that was the last time he asked. Every time was a lie, obviously. He ended up asking one time too many and the news of a woman with a foreign name and a big sword had been deported back to her country reached him. It had been so unexpected, Yasuo had later on given out many coins to sought out from the most unprying mouths any small amount of information involving her. When the novelty passed and nothing was left to discover, he embarked to reach her. Unbelievably, now they were here.
As Yasuo started eating, Riven was chewing the last of the chicken and gathering the remaining spoonfuls of gravy with the heel of the bread. Seeing her so lively, finally, made Yasuo's pulse quicken for a few heartbeats. He wanted to ask her if she wanted a second portion but at the same time didn't want to break the cozy silence that had formed between them after they'd entered the inn. It felt beyond familiar, what they were having.
They had landed on the shore the evening before and decided unanimously to put as many miles between them and the docks as possible. They had avoided sleep for the night and walked the whole day making only a few short breaks during that time. Enduring that had not been a problem for either of them, as trained as they were, but during their march he observed Riven carefully, trying to see if she was about to give up or faint due to exhaustion. Thankfully she looked healthy enough to toil up the mountains despite having almost starved in Noxus and on the ship. He had no mean to interrupt her and prod her with questions, she was an adult; but checking couldn't have hurt anyone.
In the late evening of that second day, they opted enough land was put between them and the menacious port, so they could stop to take some rest and possibly some food. On a hill was a tavern, working but not crowded, most likely viable only for the lumberjacks and the shepherds and perfect for Yasuo and Riven who were looking for a warm place to sit in and some quiet. Money was not as much a problem as anonymity.
"Do you want to stop for the night?" he asked after a while and after a few spoonfuls of soup.
Riven, who was watching out of the window up until that moment, turned her whole attention towards Yasuo and saw he had yet to finish eating. Remorse showed up on her face as she looked down at her own emptied out bowl. They looked at each other. Riven blinked, her lips parted, and Yasuo really shouldn't have noticed how red and lucid they were. He moved his attention on the white fringe on the side of her forehead.
"I'm sorry, I acted like an animal. I should have waited you" she excused herself.
He stopped eating, his focus entirely on her. He noticed her shoulders tense and raise, until she couldn't bear to look at him and instead started to look at the almost empty inn as if it were far more interesting, discovering it was not and ending up fixing their swords resting against the wooden wall, hidden both by their frames and their cloacks lay over them.
He let her try out this excuse, knowing she had never needed to feign an attitude she didn't have which now made her look awkward and wished to know the old warmonger Riven, albeit dangerous. During this time, he wolfed down what was left of the fish broth.
She was still looking at the swords resting close together, barely a glint hinting at what was under the wool. She was visibly lost in thought and Yasuo could almost guess the topics. It would do her no good as did him no good. He pushed the now empty bowl away from him, the sliding noise loud on the table. "Riven" he began, leaning on his elbow in the freed space. "You don't have to feel sorry."
She nodded, then quickly looked away again. She scratched at the table's surface with her fingernail, feigning boredom, then ended up pushing her bowl away and resting in the same pose he'd taken earlier. "Would you" she started asking, toying with the slick edge of the bowl "like to stay for the night? Are you tired?"
Yasuo had to take a deep breath as his chest swelled with warmth, sadness and something very close to adoration. He wanted to tell her, that anything would have suited him just fine, even a muddy field, as long as she stayed longer with him, before they had to go back to their own lives. "I asked you first" he said, with a barely contained smile.
Riven was apparently unaffected by it and he felt his heart drop down, trying to ignore the mild pain it caused him, until she leaned forward, her shoulders and whole torso bent over the table, all of her closer to him. In the warm and dry room, she smelled of mist and pitfire smoke.
"You have done so much for me, I don't want to decide for you too" she murmured, her dark eyes clouded.
Instead of telling her he would have done this and much more to help save her, an exhale is all Yasuo could reply with. If only she would stop feeling like a burden and let herself be helped by others. "I want you to know, Riven, that I'm doing this because I want to."
She hummed, not convinced. She looked around one moment, pensive. The light outside had disappeared completely and one could not see a few paces over due to the mist. It was creepy and depressing and if he could have he would not have wanted to wade through it with Riven, rather give the both of them a comforting evening, one to count on just one of their hand. Riven looked once more at him; she was tired and her liquid eyes showed it clearly in the dimming light. He himself was tired, but could have walked for days to come if she asked. "Decide for me, please. I don't know what I'll do" she said. It sounded like a whisper to his ears. It sounded like Stay with me until I can walk on my own again. The more they were together, the more he wanted to stay longer. However, no excuse could be made for that; he couldn't reward himself with closure, especially with Riven.
"I suppose we can slow down for one night" he conceded.
Visibly elated, Riven relaxed her posture, her face taking up on softening features. Yasuo could only wonder if she had hoped for that decision from the start but discarded it due to feeling selfish. None voiced the similar sentiment, let that slide away like oil in a bowl instead; there was no need to share meaningful looks or further words either, so they just turned towards the window and looked at the mist approaching.
The rocky road outside was wet with nocturnal moist. It arose from the hills and the rice fields all around, it swirled and mingled with the wind coming down from the mountain cliffs. By the sea, it was warm enough not to need a cape, but past the cities and outskirts everything changed. It was late summer and the population worked every remaining day of it to gather storage for the winter, which up the mountains started earlier and ended later. The highest passes were still viable by foot and cart; Yasuo reckoned they were in no rush to reach her adoptive parents' place. Usually she would have hurried off to get there sooner so she could help them stocking the provisions, but as of lately she was being even more quiet than when he'd met her and even more sulking.
"I'm scared of going home. I'm scared of what I'll find, or not" Riven wispered, eyes glazed as she looked at the white wall just beyond the tavern.
Were it not for the softness in her voice, he would have winced, so lost in thoughts as he was. He could only try to imagine how full of doubts and fears she was after returning. Last time he'd checked, the elder couple was fine; but almost an entire year since her capture had passed, and the suffering of the heart is one of the easiest way to make a life wither. He was tired of seeing people suffering. He reached for her hand. She started, looked at him, softly wrapped her fingers around his. They intertwined. The mist could not block the way, not to them.
"I wish I could delay it forever. And I wish we parted never again" she said softly.
His breath hitched at her confession. She fixed him and he did the same; it required so much courage to hold her gaze. Hope was a parasite so resilient and almost impossible to fight off. He had it once; he wondered if it was Riven's first time having it.
"I won't leave you until you're home. What awaits you there, you won't face alone" he closed in, the table separating them, their hands still joined on the surface. "And in the meantime we can take the longest route."
It was all he could promise.