What Are We?

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 8th December 2020

Characters: T'ner, F'aen
Description: T'ner and F'aen try to figure out what is going on between them
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 20 of Turn 10

T'ner was likely in a better mood than he had been... well, ever. Things had already been going amazingly well for him, and since Scarleth's flight, they just seemed to be getting better.

"How are classes going?" he asked F'aen as he sat across from him at lunch.

"Fine," F'aen answered as he munched down on a fingerroot. "The Searchriders have been out lately, so we've got some new Candidates coming into the Weyr." New Candidates always meant orientation lessons about life at the Weyr, which was something F'aen enjoyed teaching. "How is transportation duty going?"

"I thought it would be a drag," said T'ner between bites of mashed tubers, "but Leh likes to sort of make a story out of every run, like were on some kind of quest out of a Harper's tale. And, I dunno, it sounds kind of silly when I say it out loud, but it's just a lot of fun listening to him." He smiled and took another bite.

And then, a sandy-blond-haired man walked by. He wore a shirt that seemed practically see-through, like a curtain that let in the sunlight. It left little to the imagination from the waist up, and T'ner's eyebrows rose. He turned instinctively to glance after him to see that his shorts might not have been translucent, but they certainly accentuated the man's backside. He must have been a runner. He had the physique for it.

"Whoa," he whispered to F'aen with a conspiratorial grin. "Did you see that guy?"

F'aen, who also had a book on the table, looked up from his reading to glance at the man in question. "Yeah, what about him?" he asked.

T'ner shrank at that response, hunching over and lowering his shoulders. And his smile faded to a worry.

"I-I..." He had never had a moment like this. Of course, he had his moments of commenting on beautiful women with his friends at the Hold. But he never would have entertained the thought of making such comments about a man – until then. He had begun to feel safe and comfortable with F'aen to be himself, his whole self.

But now. Perhaps he had made a mistake.

"I just thought... he was kinda sexy?" he lowered his voice again at that part, but where he had been conspiratorial before, now he was merely unsure. "I thought maybe you'd think so, too." He looked at his plate and scraped up another bite to eat.

F'aen did a doubletake to look at the man again before he left the Dining Cavern, now looking at him through a different lense. "Yes, he was. Especially that butt, didn't you think?" A little smirk now played along the greenrider's lips.

T'ner relaxed a bit, seeing F'aen smile and agree. Thank Faranth, he really thought he had stepped in it there for a moment.

"I know, right? Faranth. I need a pair of shorts like that, and so do you." He grinned back.

"Yes, _you_ do," F'aen agreed. The greenrider was neither a prude nor an exhibitionist, but he didn't mind looking if someone else wanted to show off.

T'ner let out another breath of both relief and good humor through his nose.

"I guess I'll just have to track him down and ask him where he got them," he said mischievously.

They had never really talked about it, what the exact details of their 'relationship' were.... They certainly enjoyed each others company in the bedroom, and F'aen was happy to help T'ner find his footing as he explored a side of himself that had never been allowed at the Hold but... Was there more between them than just that? The thought drew F'aen up short. Maybe T'ner only viewed him as a friend who was helping him find his way, but was that all F'aen wanted to be?

F'aen glanced sideways at T'ner, finding himself slightly annoyed that he found himself feeling a little attached to the bluerider.

"So are you looking for your next conquest?" F'aen asked.

T'ner shrank again, feeling as though he had been tricked. Trapped.

"What?" he answered. Of course, he knew what F'aen meant, but the implications of it seemed to overload his thoughts. Is that how F'aen saw him? A conqueror? Was this because he had messed up thinking F'aen might reject him? Was this because he had accepted F'aen's offer to have sex immediately after they had reconciled? Could this have something to do with Scarleth's flight?

There must have been something T'ner had done wrong to give F'aen this impression, but he could not decide what it was, not for certain.

"I'm just asking," F'aen shrugged. "You seem eager to explore."

"I'm not planning to go after him," said T'ner plainly. "I just... I don't know. Thought we could have a– a moment or something." He tried to keep his tone from becoming defensive, but he very much did not want F'aen to think he was just about to jump into someone's furs after following him home from the dining hall.

"D-did... Did I make you feel that way? That I just wanted to conquer you?"

"No, of course not," F'aen replied. "I guess I just thought... now that you know what it's like with men, you might be looking to see what else is out there."

"I like what I have right here," said T'ner. He had never even thought about looking for anything else. His interest in F'aen had developed as he got to know him. And now, he wanted to maintain that, not start all over.

"And what is it exactly that you have?" the greenrider wished to know.

"I have– I mean, I thought *we* had... something? Something special? Don't we?" T'ner asked, worry in his tone. He did not want to replace Ayressa, that much was sure. But he did not want to lose what he had with F'aen, either. Being with him had been like a dream come true.

Some of F'aen's worries were alleviated by T'ner's answer, even though it had caused the bluerider some panic. "I think we do. I just wasn't sure about your intentions." He reached up and placed his hand over top of T'ner's on the table. "I wasn't trying to worry you."

T'ner relaxed visibly at F'aen's touch.

"I'm sorry I made you have to wonder," he said. "I'm not looking for anything else. And I want to be with you." He had felt comfortable saying that before. Or... maybe he had said, 'I want to be *around* you.' "Is that OK?" He laid his other hand atop F'aen's.

F'aen's expression softened, not realizing what he had wanted to hear until T'ner said it. There was just something about the bluerider that had gotten under his skin, and F'aen wasn't ready to share that with anyone else. "That's more than okay." He swiped his blonde bangs out of his eyes. "I'm sorry for sounding like a clingy woman," he grumped playfully.

T'ner laughed softly.

"I'm glad we got it worked out," he said. "If this is all going to work... you know, you and me, me and my weyrmate, we're going to have to be able to talk to each other about everything."

"You can," F'aen assured him,"talk to me about anything. Even if it's another man's butt."

"Same goes for you," T'ner answered as he squeezed F'aen's hand, then let it go.

Last updated on the January 13th 2021

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