Please Be Gentle With My Nose

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 30th September 2005

Characters: Zanie, D'cal
Description: Zanie brings D'cal a gift for his new weyr, and gets more than she expected in return.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 3 of Turn 3

Zanie and D'cal had barely settled onto his couch when she thrust the poorly wrapped package at him. "Okay, just go ahead and open it up and get it over with. I'm excited!"

D'cal could glimps a peek of sky blue under the paper before he untied the strings holding the package together. Moving the paper aside he found a beautifully made light-weight quilt, perfectly matched to the color of Aosorath's hide. "Zanie, it's... wherever did you find it? It's perfect!"

She beamed at him. "I found the fabric from one of the weavers... I was going to make something out of it myself, but the seamstress at the Hall got a little distressed at the idea and kind of took over. Which is probably a good idea because at least this way you can use it."

D'cal grinned as he admired it again. "Well, it's great. But what's the occasion?"

"You having your own weyr!" she replied, as if it should be obvious. She tactfully didn't mention the fact that his weyr was still painfully underdecorated as far as _she_ was concerned. She'd just have to keep bringing him presents. "Okay, so it's a _little_ late... but I didn't know you'd get your own weyr so quickly!"

"So quickly?" he chuckled. "I have been living in the weyrling barracks for _months_."

Zanie rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't complain. Tell me you weren't in the apprentice barracks for longer than that!"

"I was on _ships_ for longer than that too." Somehow, though, this time just _seemed_ like it took so long. Perhaps it was because he had something to look forward to when he had graduated to senior weyrling. But that was before...

"See? Then it was nothing to worry about!" Zanie poked him in the side.
"Stop looking so glum. You have your own space now, and it's wonderful!"

Her teasing brought the smile back to his lips. "This is a beautiful blanket, Zanie. Where should we put it?"

"Wherever you need it most, I suppose..." She glanced around the room.
"You could use some color in here, but maybe it might be more useful on your bed."

He spread out the blanket across their two laps so he could admire the work a bit better. "It's too beautiful to hide. No one will ever see it if it's on my bed."

"Then leave it out here," Zanie replied, pleased with how much he liked it. She'd never been that good at giving gifts, but it seemed that this time, at least, she'd gotten it right!

"Don't worry. I'll find the perfect spot for it. Thank you, Zanie. It's great." D'cal leaned over and in a moment of impulsive gratitude gave her an kiss on the cheek.

She grinned at him in genuine delight, but was unable to resist teasing him. One hand flew to her nose and she felt at it with mock gratitude.
"Thank goodness! Looks like my nose survived this time!" The weyrling smiled a bit shyly as he said, "Well, it should have. I stayed far away from it that time." The last two words were emphasized ever so slightly and spoken with an almost hopeful tone.

As was her habit, Zanie completely missed the subtle hint. "What do you mean that time? Are you going to try to break my nose again? That would be terribly rude after I gave you such a pretty gift!"

D'cal blinked at her a couple times trying to form a reply. Was it only _seacraft_ bred girls that knew how to flirt? "What I meant, Zanie, was that _that_ time I didn't kiss you on your lips so your nose was safe, but I would really like to try to kiss you on the _lips_ next time. Without nearly breaking your nose, I should probably add."

"Oh." The cheerful, friendly girl disappeared for a moment as Zanie studied him as if seeing him for the first time. The silence stretched out just long enough to be uncomfortable before Zanie suddenly grinned.
"Well, what did you expect? I _told_ you that you traumatized me for life!" Her tone had become teasing, and there was a glint in her eyes that had never been there before--a look that was both curious and excited. "Did I traumatize you from kissing forever?" D'cal asked, no teasing intended. He might as well just ask it straight. "Or is it just from kissing _me_?"

"That depends," Zanie replied, her voice still light. "Do you think you've gotten better at it?"

"I haven't broken any girl's nose yet," he replied, a bit of light returning to his voice as well. "Though I have made a girl or two a bit weak in the knees. But that is a good thing."

Zanie could feel the slight warmth in her cheeks... she could remember all too clearly what that weak-kneed feeling felt like. "What about your knees? Do they ever get weak?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "I suppose so. But mostly my heart just beats really fast. Does your heart beat fast when someone kisses you?"

"Mmmmhmmm... And sometimes, if it's a _really_ good kiss, I feel light headed." She'd gotten enough practice with H'jim to know that flirting could sometimes be almost as much fun as kissing... if it was done right. Talking with D'cal had been fun. Flirting with him was even more fun, and she was wishing it had occurred to her before. "Yes, I feel light headed a lot," he said with a slightly cocky grin. "And when I'm with a girl I really like I kind of get tingles up the back of my spine and up my neck. Right here," his fingers reached up to lightly caress the skin at the back of her neck.

Her breath caught on a gasp, and Zanie conceeded defeat without hesitation. "You win..." Maybe in a few turns when she'd gotten some experience under her belt, she'd be able to do the sort of things to a man's body that D'cal had done to hers with just a few words and a touch. Practice made perfect, after all... But with his fingers still tickling the back of her neck, Zanie thought she'd had enough of teasing. So she leaned over and kissed him, figuring if nothing else she could see how much he'd improved over the turns.

D'cal was pleasantly surprised, and excited, at Zanie's unexpected move.
He hadn't kissed anyone since the Hatching, and he was happy Zanie was the first. His fingers traced up her neck and into her hair as he gently encouraged her to allow him in.

She was shy and a little hesitent, one hand resting gently on his chest as the other curled around his neck. It was different than kissing H'jim--and a _lot_ different than their first kiss had been! A familiar warmth uncurled inside her as she shifted closer, her lips parting under his. He moved slowly, careful not to repeat the disaster that their first attempt had been so many turns before. Too soon in his own mind, he pulled back, not wanting to push her or scare her in any away. "So, did I improve at all?"

Zanie tilted her head to the side and pretended to consider the question, though her flushed cheeks and somewhat irregular breathing answered the question well enough. "I might have to try again to be sure," she replied finally, with a mischevious grin. "Though, uhhm... I know you're a dragonrider now, and all, but I'm not..." Her grin hadn't faltered, but her eyes looked the slightest bit uncertain. "What I mean is, I'm not really thinking I need to be doing much more than kissing at the moment. I'm still getting used to all of this... freedom." He nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Good. So I'm going to kiss you again..." She wrinkled her nose at him.
"And then I might run away. Because I _am_ still getting used to all of this, but you're awfully tempting."

"All right. I will let you kiss me. But please, be gentle with my nose."

Last updated on the September 30th 2005

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Please Be Gentle With My Nose