For The Kiss Ask Game, 13 And Dalinar/Navani!

For the kiss ask game, 13 and Dalinar/Navani!

For #13—"discreetly". This fic practically wrote itself during my morning commute. I hope you enjoy it!

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Brightness Navani strolled through the grounds of her family estate. She held Dalinar Kholin’s arm lightly. The young brightlord had come to call on her again, and her mother had suggested that the two of them take a walk through the gardens. It wasn’t proper for an unmarried Alethi woman to be in the company of a man unchaperoned, and so the two of them were trailed by Eili, Navani’s senior ladies’ maid.

The weather had been hot and humid for the past few days, and Navani held a seasilk fan in her safehand, rapidly fanning her face. The embroidered skirts of her formal havah were long and heavy, uncomfortably warm in the direct sunlight along the walkway.

“Let’s sit a moment,” Navani suggested, tugging at Dalinar’s elbow before steering him towards a stone bench nestled in a shaded alcove of shalebark. Her maid looked momentarily aggrieved to be left standing out in the sun. The older woman huffed and turned away, pretending to admire a nearby cluster of pale pink vinebuds.

Dalinar had arrived at the estate alone today. As she settled onto the cool stone bench, Navani absently wondered if his brother Gavilar knew where he was.

It had been her uncle’s idea to play the two brothers against each other. He had discussed the matter with her parents, who had agreed. Competition made for a highly favorable marriage contract, they had told her. That left Navani in the awkward position of juggling the attentions of two very determined Kholins.

Navani was well aware of which match her family favored. Gavilar was the one with the influence, the lands, the title.

But Dalinar….

Unlike his older brother, Dalinar Kholin didn’t talk much. Stiff and formal, he seemed content to listen as she spoke about the engineering book she was reading and her latest fabrial tinkering project. It was very different from her conversations with Gavilar or her past suitors. Navani found it a novelty.

Navani knew that the Kholins would gain wealth and status from marrying into her noble house. Gavilar spoke of it often, attempting to appeal to her logic by describing the benefits of a union between their families. Suddenly, Navani needed to know if that was all she was to the younger brother who currently sat on the bench beside her—a prize… a means to an end.

“Dalinar,” Navani said softly, “I have a question.” She lifted her fan, tilting it up to shield her face from the prying eyes of the maid. Then she leaned forward, as if to whisper something in his ear. He shifted and leaned towards her obligingly—which was good, because he was so storming tall. She wouldn’t have been able to reach him, otherwise.

Navani raised her freehand, thrilled by her own daring. Letting her fingers slide along his strong jawline, his skin rough with a dusting of stubble. She turned his face towards her own, and visibly puzzled, he allowed it. Then she stretched past the last few inches that separated them and pressed her lips to his.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the flicker of shockspren. He was far, far stronger than she, and could have broken off the kiss easily. But he didn’t. After barely a heartbeat of hesitation, he answered in kind. Leaning towards her like a parched vinebud reaching out for the first drops of rain.

Oh, she thought, taken aback by the depth of her own response to him. Oh. Yes.

The intensity of it drew her in, utterly intoxicating. Like a man wearing shardplate, there was incredible strength to him, but also a supreme precision and gentleness.

Dalinar Kholin, Navani thought, growing breathless as the kiss stretched on. I think I might be falling for you.

Navani began to feel the heat of her maid’s stare beyond the barrier of the fan. Before the woman could invent an excuse to interrupt them, Navani reluctantly broke away.

Dalinar sat back on the bench. A boyish grin slowly spread across his face, not quite hiding his bemused expression. It was utterly endearing.

“That was… quite a question.”

Navani cleared her throat, folding up the fan and blushing. “Yes. Thank you. You’ve answered it quite eloquently.”

Navani glanced up at him again and felt a sudden pang of sadness. She knew which of the two brothers her family favored. Knew that she should let Dalinar go now. Before she hurt them both.

She knew she should--but found that she just couldn’t do it. The human heart was not so easily convinced. Instead, she forced a smile and rose to her feet, and together they resumed their walk through the garden.

For The Kiss Ask Game, 13 And Dalinar/Navani!

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