Until Then

Writers: Anaria, JR
Date Posted: 8th April 2011

Characters: J'nor, O'ryn
Description: J'nor attempts to make up with O'ryn - and finds something he doesn't
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 20 of Turn 6

Despite the fact that J'nor didn't agree with everything that G'wen had to say, he decided that trying to talk to O'ryn was likely the best course of action. He could understand the other boy being anxious about his flight, and if there was ever a time that he needed a friend, it was now. When Zoranaith attempted to contact Lyriath, the green was asleep, so J'nor decided just to walk up to O'ryn's weyr. He was likewise not surprised when O'ryn didn't answer the door when he knocked, so he just let himself in. The greenrider couldn't avoid him forever, that was for certain!

The glows in the main living area were dimmed, and J'nor paused a moment as his eyes adjusted. Clothes were tossed about carelessly in a fashion that was atypical of O'ryn. He wasn't the neatest guy in the world, but he was generally good about at least putting his dirty clothes in one place. Concerned, J'nor burst into O'ryn's bedroom, only to be thoroughly dismayed by what he found.

O'ryn's blue eyes peered up at him, blinking sleepily in the light angling in past J'nor. Another man's arms were wrapped around the greenrider, a body spooned in behind as he sprawled in his bed. When it finally clicked that J'nor was in his doorway, he frowned and fought to keep his expression and voice even. "J'nor. Did you... need something?" Inside, his heart sank. He'd done everything he could to not let on to the bluerider that he was doing what he was supposed to and getting experience prior to Lyriath's flight. "Never mind. You wouldn't be up here if you didn't have a reason. Can you, uh, close the door? Give me a few minutes?"

J'nor was too stunned to speak, and only nodded weakly, closing the door as he walked away. He paced around in the living area, trying to assemble what he had seen in a way that made sense. Had O'ryn pushed him away to pursue another man? That was what it seemed like, as he knew this wasn't the aftermath of Lyriath's flight. But why on Pern would he do something like that? He forced himself not to jump down his throat the second that O'ryn came out of the room, and at least give him a chance to explain.

Inside the room, O'ryn made his apologies to his new friend, who only chuckled and shook his head, "Better you than me. Let me grab my things and I'll get out of your way."

Relieved, O'ryn tugged his pants back on and his shirt, leaving the latter only half buttoned as he slipped out into the other room, leaving his bedmate to finish grabbing his own things. Once in the living area though, he stood silently, watching J'nor pace.

The older man stepped out of the bedroom behind him and curled an arm around O'ryn's waist, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "No worries, darling, but if you want another round you know how to reach me. This was fun." A moment later, he was gone, booted footsteps echoing off the stairs down toward the weyrbowl and O'ryn's attention returned to J'nor, "Sooooo, what's up?"

"G'wen told me I should come see you," J'nor said softly, refusing to look at anything except for the spot of floor two feet in front of him. "He said that you might have pushed me away because you were afraid of what would happen when Lyriath rose, and that you didn't really mean it." J'nor forced himself to keep his tone as steady as possible, but he frowned when his voice cracked near the end.

_G'wen._ O'ryn fought back a rush of anger at the other greenrider's meddling. First that stunt during the water fight, with his insinuating little comments and now he'd done something to push J'nor into coming up here unexpectedly, without sending a message through Lyriath. "Well, I suppose there's not much I can say right now that's going to make you feel better, is there?" The young man's voice held a note of bitterness, his blue eyes glancing back toward his bedroom. "I can honestly say it wasn't what you think, but I doubt you'd believe me."

J'nor shook his head, "I don't think there's anything that you could say that'd make me feel better about the situation, no. I'm Holdbred. I was raised conservatively. And it has taken me months to come to terms with the fact that you'd be with someone else for Lyriath's first mating flight. I have been trying so hard to just keep things friendly with you, but I can't deny any more that I like you as far more than just a friend," he said, raising his head for the first time, his eyes dead.

The other man's jaw went loose and nearly gaped before he caught himself. "At least it's not just me, then. J'nor... I haven't said anything because you're a junior weyrling. I didn't think it was fair to tease you with the idea of something that you'd have to wait months to have."

O'ryn's words stunned J'nor, and for a moment he just stopped, jaw dropped, feeling foolish. "Well then, that is why all this came about?!" J'nor said. "You did this... to protect me?" On the one hand, the gesture was definitely sweet. On the other... "I appreciate the gesture, but I really wish you would have saved me a lot of heartache and just told the truth."

"Yes, but I was trying to help myself, too. Do you know exactly how difficult it is to be told you can finally be involved with someone again and have the one person you _want_ be completely off limits? And know that if you _don't_ find _someone_, that you're going to have a very unpleasant mating flight to look forward to?" The greenrider sat heavily on the edge of his couch with his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"I'm sorry," J'nor said softly, not knowing what else to say. It wasn't his fault that Zoranaith was still too young. It was no one's fault, it was just poor timing. "The last thing that I want is for you to have a bad experience. Does that mean that there's no chance of us being together though?" J'nor asked, trying to clarify O'ryn's meaning. The way he spoke, J'nor thought he wanted to find someone to be seriously involved with to try and sway Lyriath's preferences.

The greenrider's head shot up. "Of course not! Unless that's not what yo--" He broke off, getting back to his feet. "Okay, let me make this clear. I want you whatever way I can get you, although I'd prefer a relationship. I don't play well with others." O'ryn jerked his chin toward his bedroom. "_That_ had nothing to do with you or how I feel about you, and everything to do with not feeling like I've been raped after Lyri rises."

"I know that this mating flight is not going to be easy on you. It's not going to be easy for either of us. Right now, I understand I can't be there for you in all the ways that you need me to. I don't care if you're with other men until Zoranaith is old enough for us to be together. What matters to me is that I'm the only man that you want to be with outside of the bedroom. And I swear on Zoranaith's shell that if whoever wins Lyr's flight hurts you, I'll knock him senseless."

O'ryn smiled, but it was faint and somewhat apprehensive at the reminder, "What happens during a flight happens." They both knew that a rider could get away with a lot and blame it on flight lust, especially when their dragon had won. "If you go after him, you'll be the one on punishment. Maybe even held back a class. You do that and end up spending another several months unable to be involved with anyone and I will be extremely unhappy."

"You're a weyrling, it's Lyriath's first flight. They should still try to restrain themselves somewhat," J'nor said, although he didn't entirely believe it. "But I won't do anything that will jeopardize my promotion to Sr. Weyrling or my graduation," he conceded. "I care about you a lot, O'ryn, more than I've ever cared about anyone. It kills me that there's nothing that I can do to make this easier on you."

"If you really want to make things easier on me, ignore anything obnoxious that Lyriath or I say or do from now until she goes up. She doesn't understand what those hormones are doing, but what I'm getting from her is making me grumpy and horny by turns. If I hadn't pushed you away the other night, I'd have hauled you off and gotten us both into trouble," O'ryn said, completely seriously.

"Yeah... I actually had a dream to that effect later in the evening," J'nor admitted. "It made me wish that I had some privacy rather than living in the barracks with the other boys, that's for certain."

The greenrider blinked in surprise, even as his brows pulled together. "Really?" It wasn't as if he hadn't been having the occasional dream of his own after spending time with the bluerider, but that wasn't the point. He'd hardly considered that J'nor would even think about returning his feelings, much less to that point.

J'nor nodded, "Weyrlinghood feels like it's gone on forever. And this is all so weird to me, because I've been with tons of women before, and I've never cared for them in this way. You're very special to me, O'ryn. And if that means I have to deal with some grumpiness because Lyriath's going to rise soon, then so be it."

O'ryn felt like his entire body went limp with relief. "Look, if you really want to make this easier, don't act any differently towards me. Once you're cleared by the Weyrlingmasters," his expression went fierce and his tone a bit possessive, "We're going to see where this goes. You have my word on that. Until then..."

J'nor nodded, and despite himself, pulled O'ryn towards him in a tight hug. "I'm glad we got past all this," he murmured softly. "You mean too much for me to lose you without a fight."

It was the first time he'd been quite this close to the other weyrling, and O'ryn was oddly pleased. "Same here. I'll be glad to stop tip-toeing around the subject." For a brief, tempting moment, he returned the hug tightly before stepping back.

"Alright, well, I uh guess I should let you go get cleaned up," J'nor said, flushing brightly as he stepped away from the other weyrling. And my curfew is soon anyhow," he added with some reluctance. "So I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Where's Zoranaith?" O'ryn asked suddenly.

"He's asleep. He hunted by himself a few candlemarks ago, and the weyrling classes have been a lot more demanding as of recent. He seems to be asleep before me every night recently," J'nor explained.

That was all O'ryn needed to know. Curling a hand into J'nor's tunic, he stepped back in and leaned up to brush his lips against the bluerider's for a brief moment. "You tell anyone I did this, and you'll regret it," he murmured.

"I promise not to tell, if you promise to do it again once we get promoted," J'nor bargained.

That earned him a grin, one of the genuine ones that O'ryn rarely gave, with a flash of dimple in his left cheek. "Oh, I can definitely do that." He backed off, putting space between the two of them. "Now get out of here before you get in trouble for missing curfew."

J'nor smiled back before heading out to the doorway. "Will do. I don't want to do anything to risk graduation!" He said with enthusiasm. The knowledge that more kisses awaited him in just a few short sevendays was all the encouragement he needed.

Last updated on the April 27th 2011

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Until Then