The Awkward Silence

Writers: Bree, Dana
Date Posted: 5th September 2006

Characters: Isaline, R'alt
Description: Isaline succeeds in destroying her childhood fantasies, but not exactly in the way R'alt hoped.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 17 of Turn 3
Notes: Follows "Killing the Childhood Crush"

Isaline tugged a quilt up to her chin in silence, wondering if she'd be able
to find her shirt before she needed to leave. The rest of her clothing
seemed to be strewn in an erratic path between R'alt's couch and his
sleeping chamber, tangled with his in places. Their halting, bickering
progress to the bed had ended up being far more frustrating than satisfying,
and had left Isaline with enough shattered illusions to last her a lifetime.

And she didn't even want to know what R'alt was thinking as he stared up at
the ceiling and let the miserable, awkward silence drag on and on...

He frowned up at the ceiling. Scorching shards. Why couldn't she have just
taken his advice and kept her mouth shut? Of course, he'd argued with women
during sex before, but that coy stuff was meant to fuel on the passion, not
sharding make him lose his sharding concentration! Sharding women and their
opinions... He sighed. "Next time, let's make a _real_ effort--not a
half-assed one--to keep our mouths shut," R'alt muttered, turning his head
to look at her.

Isaline refused to look at him. "I didn't know you were so easily...
distracted," she snapped. Shards, she'd wasted far too much time dreaming of
R'alt and his so-called skills.

"I didn't know you were either," he snapped back. "And I didn't know you
were pushy, either, Isaline. Well, I knew you _were_, but I didn't know you
brought that to the bed too."

That stung, especially with how sensitive she'd felt about not having as
much experience as he did. "Well, no one told _me_ that your reputation was
so exaggerated! Maybe _that's_ why you have to keep switching women!"

"You go ahead and think that, Isie, if it makes you feel better," he
growled, jerking his head back to glare up at the ceiling.

Annoyed, Isaline swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up, her
back to R'alt. "Well, at least I'm not counting on _you_ to make me feel
better! Not any more."

His eyes closed briefly, jaw tightening. Scorch this. It sharding wasn't
worth driving her off for sevendays on end. If the sex had been good, then
_maybe_--but then, if it _had_ been good, they wouldn't be in this sharding
predicament, would they?

With a sigh R'alt sat up, moved behind her and quickly wrapped a strong arm
around her before she could protest his proximity. "Look, I'm sorry, all
right? I'm sorry."

Isaline's shoulders slumped unhappily. "It was supposed to be fun. And I
know you think it's all my fault. But it's not!"

It figured. "All right. Then what did I do?"

She spent a moment trying to squirm away from him, but his hold was a lot
stronger than she'd expected. "I don't know, you're supposed to be the
expert! You tell me!" All she knew for sure was that the fire hadn't been
there. That slightly out of control feeling that burned through the body and
made even the clumsiest fumbling touch somehow feel electric.

He snorted, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Look, Isie. I know it
wasn't....great. But you know what I'd be willing to do if _you're_
willing?"

"Never talk about this again?" she asked hopefully. If she could never
_think_ about it again, it wouldn't be bad, either.

"No." R'alt slowly wrapped his other arm around her, lips drifting from her
ear to the side of her neck. "I was thinking maybe we could try again."

Isaline steeled herself, pretending that his lips didn't feel very nice. Of
course they felt nice _now_, but she knew how wrong it could all go now. "I
don't think our friendship is going to survive trying again," she protested,
poking him in the side with her elbow.

He chuckled, using that poke as an excuse to shift closer against her back,
bare skin pressing against bare skin. "Are you kidding? After all we've
been through together? All the fights and slaps and runner races both won
and lost? I think you even full on punched my jaw one time, and look, we're
still friends." One hand slid down her hip to rest against her thigh.
"Come on, sweetheart... What's one more trial round of sex compared to
Turns of fighting, hmm?"

She squirmed free this time, escaping the circle of his arms before he could
lure her back into his bad for more awkward sex. "Maybe we're just not
compatible. And I really don't want any more bad sex."

"And you think _I_ do?"

"I don't know," she muttered, her voice muffled as she pulled her shirt back
on. "But I'm not feeling as confident as _you_ obviously are."

R'alt watched her for a moment, running a rather frustrated hand through his
thick hair. He was determined not to let it show, though. Not right now.
"Remember what I used to tell you when you fell off Opal all those times?
When you were first starting to learn how to ride?"

Isaline snorted. "Is _that_ the comparison you want to use? Why are you so
sharding _determined_ to get me back in bed? I thought it wasn't any fun."

He ground his teeth. Shard it--he didn't even _know_ why he was so
insistent. If she wanted to go, then fine. She should go. But the thought
of her leaving unsatisfied nagged at him. Maybe it was the burn to his
ego... "When you fell off Opal, I told you to pick your sharding ass up
from the sand and sit it right back on her sharding back. You didn't run
then..." He left the rest of that sentence hanging. Because that _was_
what she was doing, he realized. Running. Just because of _one_ bad round
of sex? And he thought she hadn't lived in that scorched fantasy world
where sex was perfect all the time. So much for that thought.

"I'm not running," she retorted, untangling her pants from his and pulling
them on. "I'm leaving while both of us have a little dignity! Go find some
friendly greenrider to play with!"

"Fine!" he snarled, rising from the bed. "I will."

"Fine!" Isaline snapped back, finding her boots. And since the door leading
into the weyr was closer, she stormed through it, slamming it with a
satisfying thud behind her. Thanatath would be able to find her own way back
to their ledge... storming through the hallways seemed like a good way to
burn off her frustration.

Last updated on the September 5th 2006

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

The Awkward Silence