Things Left Unsaid

Writers: Devin, Bree
Date Posted: 2nd January 2007
Series: Saving Each Other

Characters: N'vanik, Talryne
Description: N'vanik has to coax Talryne out of bed on a day when depression seems to have gotten the best of her.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 15 of Turn 4

N'vanik

Talryne

Talryne was in bed when N'vanik left the weyr in the morning. That wasn't particularly unusual... she'd always been a late sleeper and had no reason to force herself to get up anymore.

What was unusual was that she was still in bed when he returned from drills. Not just in bed again, but still in bed. Her hair was a wild mess around her face where it had worked its way free from its braid while she'd slept, and her cheeks held red marks from the pillows. She barely stirred when he walked into the room, her eyes drifting open long enough to acknowledge him and then sliding shut again as she tugged the blanket up under her chin.

"Hey, what's wrong?" N'vanik asked as he walked closer to the bed.

Talryne rolled over, rubbing at the side of her face sleepily. "Nothing's wrong," she mumbled, pulling another of the pillows close and hugging it to her body as her eyes started to drift shut again. "I'm just tired."

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Usually when I tell someone nothing's wrong, I'm lying."

"Not lying," she mumbled. One of her hands snuck out from the blankets to brush his. "I promise. I'm... tired."

"Uh-huh," N'vanik didn't sound convinced. "Well, if you just want to rest maybe we could take a bath and then I'll read you something. How's that sound?"

"Mmm. You go." Her hand snuck back under the covers. "I'll come out in a little bit..."

"Nooo . . . you're coming now," he said gently as he started to pull the blanket off her.

For a moment it looked like she was going to argue, but she seemed incapable of even summoning the energy to do that. Instead she slipped her legs over the side of the bed and sat up, blinking sleepily for a moment. "I don't know where my robe is."

"We can look for your robe later." N'vanik took her hand.

Her fingers wrapped around his tightly, using him for balance as she rose to wobbly legs. She gave the bed one last longing look before turning in the direction of the bathing chamber with a sigh, letting N'vanik lead her in the direction of the bathing pool. She supposed it _would_ feel nice, and she certainly would feel better with clean hair. But she couldn't seem to summon the energy to do anything today.

N'vanik helped her into the bath before getting in himself. The warm water felt quite nice and he sighed as he settled in. Looking across the bath at Talryne his lips twitched and then he chuckled.

She blinked back at him in confusion. "What's funny?"

"You look like you lost a fight with a pillow."

For the first time, a tiny smile curled her lips. "I think that happens when you sleep all day. Getting my hair out of its braid isn't going to be fun."

**I should try to get at least one smile out of her every day,** N'vanik thought. "Need help?" he offered.

Talryne wordlessly shifted around to present her back and her tangled hair. Pieces were sticking out in all directions from a sloppy looking braid that disappeared into the water. "It's a mess," she admitted. "I should probably have someone cut my hair." While she'd been a rider, she'd resisted the gentle and not-so-gentle suggestions that she cut her hair to a reasonable length. It seemed like a terribly long time ago, and such a silly thing to argue about now.

"Nah, don't cut it." N'vanik reached out and began gently pulling at strands, not sure if he would be able to untangle the mess. "I like it long."

"Oh." It was a little thing, but it made her feel better for a few moments. Little enough had broken through the day's haze of tired numbness so far that she clung to it. "Maybe we need a comb."

"Yeah, I think so." He thought about asking her to get it, just to make her move around some, but she really did seem tired. "Hang on." Getting out of the bath, N'vanik retrieved a comb from a nearby shelf and then slid back into the water.

"Thank you." She shifted sleepily back against him, not really thinking that it would make it harder to comb her hair. The water was warm and soothing and that gentle exhaustion was creeping over her again.

N'vnaik paused in his combing and swallowed. He had a sudden urge to . . . well, why not? Sweeping some of her errant hair out of the way, he bent and kissed her temple.

Her lips curled into that faint smile again as she gave a soft sigh and let her head rest on N'vanik's shoulder. "That feels nice."

He kissed her again and said, "We should probably get your hair combed before you get too relaxed."

She leaned forward wordlessly, trying to suppress a shiver. The water was still just as warm, but she'd grown accustomed to taking comfort from the gentle heat of N'vanik's body. It was strangely nonsexual considering their history, but then, very little had seemed sexual lately. Even kissing had seemed more comforting than arousing. Sometimes it made her worry.

N'vanik went back to untangling her hair and tried to untangle his thoughts as well. The limited sexual feelings between them was not without some effort on his part. At the first hints of arousal he would change the subject, or move away, or force the thoughts back. As he had done now, at the first flicker of wanting to do more than kiss her. But the first impulse had had nothing to do with sex -- he'd just wanted to touch her, to feel her skin against his lips. It was . . . troubling.

Talryne's hair was soon floating around her in the water, and she ducked her head back to get the rest of it wet. "Thank you, N'vanik." And she meant for more than just combing her hair. Feeling clean was going to make her feel quite a bit better, she imagined.

"No problem," he said. "But if you're feeling generous, you can scrub my back." The bronzerider smiled.

"I won't even make you do mine in return." She turned around and gestured for him to do the same, wondering if it was a good idea. It was all too easy to remember a time when a teasing offer to scrub N'vanik's back would have meant so much more... and with her wild mood swings, she didn't always trust herself.

"You better not. I already combed your hair, and that wasn't easy," he teased as he turned around.

Talryne lingered over his back perhaps longer than necessary, enjoying the feeling of skin stretched over muscle. It seemed mildly unfair to let her fingers linger over his shoulders or smooth down his arms when she _knew_ she wasn't thinking about sex, but the comfort of simple touch made it hard to stop. Besides, she trusted him. If it was too much, he'd find someone else to take care of his need and he'd come back to her. A strange thing to be comforted by, but she was.

The muscles in his back relaxed, easing tension he hadn't even realized was there. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift. The twisting and turning of his thoughts led him to the many regrets in his life, all the mistakes he'd made. The botched relationship with Trae. All the things that he'd let go unsaid. "Hey Tal," he said, his eyes still closed. "I just want you to know, I care about you."

Her movements stilled for a moment before her hands slipped around his body in a gentle hug. "I know. And I..." She had so little of herself to offer in return. So much of what she had been was broken or damaged, all of it missing pieces that had been torn away by the death of half of her. So she said the only thing that was true. "I trust you, N'vanik. With everything." And in the end, it was a gift she'd never given to any man, not even the ones she loved.

N'vanik found it hard to swallow around the lump in his throat. He laid his hands over hers and thought, **please Faranth, let me be worth her trust.**

Last updated on the January 2nd 2007

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Things Left Unsaid