A Drink with an Old Friend

Brynjar answered Noel's grin with a delicate smile and tapped his finger against the pint a couple of times.
"I...just speak the truth. You deserve...that praise."
Brynjar rubbed his neck a bit and took a sip from his drink. He had a lot of words going through his head, a lot of things he wished to voice. But Brynjar usually just voiced the most simple words with simple meanings. That way Brynjar could avoid hurting anyone.

Brynjar rarely talked this much. In one-on-one conversations he usually ended up being the one listening and answering with short sentences, and in group situations Brynjar blended to the background. And that was fine, it fit the part he had casted himself into. But Noel was doing something to him. Not just getting to talk about himself, but also...making Brynjar want to talk. He wanted Noel to know about him. It was strange, and though it was very hard for Brynjar to get drunk his head felt light like he was getting slightly tipsy.

Brynjar almost flinched, almost, when Noel set his hand near his, not touching but it was close. Brynjar glanced at it quickly, very quickly, but soon looked back at Noel's face. Well, more like his beard or nose, somehow Brynjar couldn't find the courage to look into his eyes.
His head felt a bit light again, when Noel spoke, and Brynjar swiped his hand through his hair again. He was doing it without even noticing at this point, and his hair was getting that messy look again. It didn't look bad though. In fact, it fit right in with his lumberjack-ish outfit.
"Um, me...I...yes."
Had Noel always had such a warm voice?
"In...all honesty, I...have never really had friends before. Much less...close friends. So..."
Brynjar was able to look into Noel's eyes for a split second but just that made Brynjar's face feel warm. What was happening?
Somehow Noel's hand looked very small next to Brynjar's.
"I-if you'd have me...I'll be...in your care..."
Why was it so hard to voice your wish to be friends with someone??

Brynjar could feel breath escape his lungs when Noel said the words my gentle warrior. He had not, in any situation or time, expected or imagined anyone ever to say those words to him. Brynjar was completely out of his depth and for a moment all he could do was stare at Noel in shock as blush slowly crept to his face. Brynjar's cheeks weren't all that red, but his ears under the platinum blonde hair were red as tomatoes.
Brynjar opened his mouth a couple of times only to close it again, not really knowing how to respond at all. Brynjar looked down at his drink, trying to ignore the warmth in his stomach and chest. It must've been something else from what he was starting to suspect.

The way Noel was looking at Brynjar made him very confused, along with his words. Brynjar felt the urge to cover his face or run away but that would've been horribly rude. And...he didn't want to leave Noel's company. Not quite yet.
"I...you're...too good to me."
Brynjar said quietly, still just looking down at his drink without taking a sip.

Brynjar could somehow feel that Noel's words were full of different meanings Brynjar could grasp if he wished to. But he took them at face value, because he was afraid of crossing any boundaries. Although...when Noel inched his hand yet closer but not touching Brynjar let his gaze rest on their hands, imagining how it would be like for them to be intertwined.
Brynjar got scared by his own thoughts and forced his eyes off of their hands and back onto the pint.
"I would...I appreciate that. I...I truly do."
Finally Brynjar lifted the pint and took a careful sip. The stout tasted the same as before, but somehow...it tasted better.
"I think...I can use some help...getting around."

Brynjar was usually not that good at reading a general mood of a room, as he tended to be in his own thoughts more often than not. But this time, in this situation, he could've sworn he had been able to see the space around him and Noel shrink and then grow again during this conversation. And as the space grew Brynjar could feel the slight pressure in his chest and stomach withdraw. This had never happened to Brynjar before, but if he had to compare it to something he would say it reminded him of the pressure he felt on a battlefield, as the enemy slowly surrounded them. Though this feeling was million times more pleasant and...Brynjar wasn't sure he hated it.

As Noel pulled his hand back to have a drink Brynjar did the same, his hand having a strange sensation. But it wasn't shaking or such as Brynjar lifted his pint and drank. But even though he was holding his drink on it Brynjar's hand felt...empty.
"As I came here I noticed that the layout or the city has changed considerably. I would like to avoid getting lost from now on."
There was a hint of a smile on Brynjar's face as he set the pint back on the table.

Brynjar considered seriously about a place he wanted to visit on the island, but he could only think of one place.
"...I would like to visit...a cliff by the sea...But I can find one on my own. You don't need to bother yourself."

Brynjar imagined exploring the island with Noel could be very enjoyable. Brynjar felt at ease with him, aside from the nervousness and strange fluttering that had taken place in his abdomen. But even those sensations weren't exactly unpleasant, though Brynjar did not dare give them extra thought, fearing what he might find.
"I was not that familiar with the island in the first place. 20 years ago...I spent most of my time in the library."
Brynjar lowered his head a bit and rubbed his neck. 20 years ago, when he had spent 5 years on the island, most Brynjar did was read books in the darker corners of the library or go to cultural classes while being a nervous wreck. And if not for Noel he might still be that way.

When Noel said the words "perfect cliff" Brynjar imagined it. The perfect cliff.
What Brynjar missed the most about his home country was the fjords, and the majestic views that opened from the cliffs above them. So wherever Brynjar went in the world he wanted to find something similar, a cliff that stood above the ocean. In his childhood Brynjar had spent many days on those cliffs, gazing down, and even during his warrior days Brynjar had made time to visit fjords. And he had cried upon those cliffs.
But he had never shared the experience with anyone aside from his closest family. So he felt a bit hesitant about going with Noel. But he was in debt to the man. And somehow Brynjar wanted to make this trip with the man. So he nodded a bit unsurely.
"Thank you, Noel. I'm...I...would gladly..explore with you."

Noel seemed almost more excited about discovering cliffs than Brynjar, judging from the grin he had on his face. Brynjar couldn't help but answer Noel's grin with a small smile, somehow the man's excitement was contagious. Brynjar bet that a normal person would be grinning right alongside Noel.
Yes, a normal person would.
Brynjar nodded, still smiling slightly.
"That sounds like a good idea."

As Noel described the cliffs at the Northern part of the island there was a distant and happy but still sorrowful look in Brynjar's eyes, as he imagined them. Yes, they sounded like Brynjar would like them. Very much.
"Thank you. I'm...looking forward to it."
Brynjar sent Noel a slight shy smile, genuine and yet again, for a moment, void of sadness.