To Make It Official

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 18th November 2017

Characters: Talwynn, D'kere
Description: Talwynn speaks to D'kere about a very important matter.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 6 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Saibra, G'nir, Yanley

Talwynn sat on the bed in her weyr, surveying it. She had told D'kere
that she was going over to his weyr tonight, and she knew he'd be
expecting her fairly soon, but she was putting off going over to see
him until she was absolutely sure she knew what she was going to do
and how she was going to handle it.

Because Talwynn had something big to talk about with him.

Her weyr hadn't exactly been feeling like home the past few months.
Maybe because she hadn't really been _using_ it as often in the past
few months. She'd been spending enough nights in D'kere's weyr that
she was coming back here less and less.

When they'd first become involved, she'd preferred to head back to her
own weyr afterwards, no matter how late the candlemark. It was her way
of retaining her independence in the face of the intimacy of physical
relationships. After around four months, she'd started spending the
night on occasion, maybe once a sevenday or so, a sign of how
comfortable with him she was becoming.

At some point - maybe around ten months in - she'd noticed she was
spending more than one night a sevenday. Now she was at his weyr often
enough that it had been convenient to move some of her things over.
Not a lot of them, but a few changes of clothing, a couple of her
bathing things, even her first astrolabe and hand scope, had crept
their way into his weyr.

It was the first time in her life she'd ever done that with someone.
When she'd really recognized that, she'd started to consider what that
meant about how she was treating their relationship. She had always
assumed that he was more invested in something exclusive, stable, and
permanent than she was. For her to start leaving items with him
implied that she was beginning to treat it as more permanent on her
side.

To D'kere's credit, he had never pressured her to make it more - he
respected her independent nature and offered quiet support rather than
pushing and and that was what she loved best about him.

Loved. Yes. It was something she'd been thinking about for some time.
Something that was pushing her into planning this next step. If she
could just find the words for how to bring it up to him in a way which
he'd say yes...

If D'kere said yes to her offer, well,everything would be good. If he
said no, then he wasn't as serious about them as she had thought he
was. But maybe she had misread things - maybe she'd waited too long,
maybe he had liked her when she was retired and had a lot of time and
things would change between them now that she was going to be a real,
flying rider.

But she wasn't going to know unless she asked him, and she wasn't
going to be able to ask him sitting here. Talwynn got off the bed,
squared her shoulders, steeled herself, and walked out of her weyr to
D'kere's.

The moment Talwynn walked into his weyr D'kere could tell there was
something on her mind. She had that slight lift of her chin and set of
the mouth that said she was mentally chewing on something. He had
learned it was best in times like these not to try and pry it out of
Talwynn, she would tell her when she was ready and not a minute
sooner.

"Good day?" He asked.

"Drills went very well. Riveth's been keeping up with all of the other
greens and providing good support for the last sevenday. It's got me
optimistic," she said.

"Has Saibra said yet if you'll be flying with the Wing in 'fall?"

"She hasn't given me a direct date yet. But I have this feeling that
she will at some point," Talwynn said.

She settled down onto his couch and looked at D'kere. "I have a
question for you," she said abruptly.

D'kere sat beside her, "Shoot."

She'd been spending her time working up the courage to talk about it
with him, but not directly practicing how to introduce it. So now that
it was time, she opened her mouth and hoped she wouldn't freeze.
Instead of freezing, she just began to ramble.

"We've been seeing each other for some time. I mean, it's been over a
Turn now." It must be at least. They'd started seeing each other in
month 8 or 9 - she didn't quite remember - and now it had been a whole
Turn plus some months.

"And that's a pretty long time. I mean - don't know about this for
you. Maybe you don't think that's a long amount of time. But it's a
long amount of time for me. Longer than I've ever stayed with anyone.
And that's a lot of time. To be seeing any one person."

D'kere wasn't sure where this was going, or how it was leading up to a
question. Generally when a woman started using phrases like, "it's a
long amount of time for me" or "a lot of time... to be seeing any one
person" things were headed for the line, "It's time to see other
people."

Not knowing what to say, the bronzerider nodded slowly and said,
"Right," encouraging her to continue.

Talwynn was so caught up in trying to corral her racing thoughts into
a semblence of order so she could ask a question that she hadn't
realized how this was going to sound to D'kere.

"I was thinking that because it's been so long, that really says that
we've gotten close. That we're really comfortable together. I mean,
I've been staying over nights, several times a month even. And I was
thinking about that. How I thought I would never be okay with
something like that. That I would run away if I ever felt myself
getting settled, because I didn't want to be tied down to someone. I
didn't want to get comfortable because I thought I'd become soft and
stop being able to do anything I wanted to do."

"And? Has it made you soft?" D'kere asked, trying to sift through the
mixed messages.

"No. I realized last sevenday that I wouldn't be getting as far as I
am without you. Oh, maybe I would have still tried to train with the
weyrlings, maybe G'nir would have let me, maybe Saibra would still let
me drill with them. But you've been here with me that whole time.
Since before then, even. Noticing my practices, checking in to make
sure I'm not hurting myself, massaging me when I hurt, supporting me
when I feel exhausted or despairing."

Talwynn took a deep breath and said the words. It felt like one of the
falling drills in weyrlinghood, unclipping from your straps and
letting go, free-falling and trusting someone would catch you.

"I think I've been doing so well at this because of having you here
with me, beside me. You've helped me get stronger and do better. And
that's why I was thinking... I'd like to become weyrmates.
Officially."

A smile broke across D'kere's face, and his head dropped back, a hand
reaching out to grab Talwynn's arm, "That's what you want? Faranth, I
thought you were leading up to a 'let's just be friends." He sat up,
"In my heart we have been weyrmates for a long time."

A feeling of relief washed through her at his words. She was glad for
the confirmation he felt the same way about her, that she hadn't been
making the mistake of thinking he was more invested then he was.

"I just realized, I don't really know what to do next," Talwynn
admitted. "I got so worked up just trying to get the courage to say
what I'd been feeling. Is your weyr going to be big enough for both of
us full-time?"

D'kere looked around, "What do you think?" It was a standard weyr for
a Weyrlingmaster's Second, ground-level for foot traffic, and with a
small office and bathing pool attached.

"I think I've never kept too much in the way of things and it could
work out. Kenirath doesn't mind Riveth obnoxiously sprawling, does
he?" Because the green had a habit of it.

"I just know there are some family weyrs with bigger ledges. But then
you'd have to move everything you own as well."

"He hasn't seemed bothered by it before, but it is a rather small
ledge." D'kere conceded. "Do you think we should look into something a
little larger?"

She'd only lived in two weyrs since Impressing, her first one up
higher and the one for retirees. Yanley would probably be glad to see
her out of it to free it up for someone else.

"I have to tell the Headwoman I'm moving out of my weyr anyway, right?
We could see what she has available that's family-sized and on the
ground and if nothing fits we can stay here. But there's no harm in
asking," she reasoned.

Even if they didn't do anything, it might be nice to just look at a
new weyr together and think about it. Moving in together. It was
really going to happen. She didn't feel any of the nerves she'd felt
before she said it. Now it was just excitement and a little relief.

D'kere couldn't contain his smile. He'd known very early in their
relationship that he wanted to weyrmate with Talwynn, but he'd known
he would have to wait for her. He respected that she was independent
and driven, he wouldn't change that at all, so he had been prepared to
never weyrmate if that was what she had wanted.

Catching her face between his hands, the bronzerider stroked his
thumbs across her cheeks, "I love you, Talwynn."

She rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes and blinking
away the suspicious moisture gathering in them, stemming from
happiness. "I love you too."

Last updated on the November 27th 2017

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To Make It Official