A kiss isn't always just a kiss

Writers: Ang, Miriah
Date Posted: 3rd April 2013

Characters: D'ret, Paetri
Description: Daret chats with Paetri about a certain fellow candidate
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 20 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: Jykri

Daret always knew that Jykri wasn't the type of boy he'd be comfortable
weyrmating with later in life. They were too much alike and it was just a
lot of fun they were having as Daret introduced him to the love of a Weyr.

So it wasn't much of a surprise when Jykri spoke of his growing affection
for Paetri. Shy, pretty Paetri and her little blue flit, Marli. Daret
could see them together for their own bit of fun and he was happy for them.
Searching her out, he spotted her leaving her lessons and called out to
her. "Paetri! Can we talk?"

Paetri spun on her hell as she heard her name called and waved at Daret,
giving him a warm smile. As he approached, she nodded. "Of course.
Anytime." She stroked her braid slowly and tilted her head. "Is everything
okay?"

Watching her stroke her braid caused him to slow his step and when he met
up with her he was frowning slightly. Jykri was attracted to her? He just
couldn't see it even though they were friends. "What? Oh, yes,
everything's okay but I wanted to talk about ... well, about Jykri," he
said, watching her reaction carefully. If she seemed the slightest bit put
off about his best friend, he was going to be upset. And that surprised him!

At his frown, Paetri blinked and then as he continued, she sucked in her
lower lip. "Is something wrong with Jykri?" Her hand tightened only
slightly on her braid as worry crept into her eyes.

Her reaction was exactly as he expected and he instantly relaxed. In fact,
he grinned and reached over to tweak the end of her braid. "He's fine,
silly. I just wanted to ... well, I wanted to be sure that you were going
to be good for him. I care about him, very much," he said, his voice
lowering a bit as he grinned wickedly at her.

At the grin, she relaxed her grip on the braid and began to smile, but then
at his next words, her smile faltered. She gnawed on her lower lip as she
tried to not let his words sting a little. It wasn't the first time someone
had assumed she wasn't good enough, but she hadn't expected that here.
"Oh..I see." She took a deep breath and spoke softly. "I like Jyrki. Very
much. But I understand what you mean."

Slipping his arm through hers, he steered them down the hallway. "Do you?
Do you, really? Paetri ... you are so not understanding! You do realize
that I am totally into boys, right? Jykri ... is not," he said then
chuckled. "Well, he is but he's not, if that makes sense."

Following Daret, Paetri had to blink a few times, trying to follow his
train of thought. "Well, yes, I know that you are but..." Her brow
furrowed. "And I know that he likes both." She was a little confused as she
allowed him to steer her the way he wanted. "But you don't think I'm good
enough?" Her voice was soft as she tried to hurry along. "I've gotten
better, you know. I've even gained a little weight! Well, not much, but..."

"Shells and shards, Paetri! You're perfect for Jykri and he for you! I
just needed to be sure you understand that he may not be exclusive with
you," Daret said with exasperation. "As for you putting on weight, doesn't
matter in the least to me as you're not my type. You will be good to him
though, right?"

Normally Paetri considered herself at least a little intelligent, but Daret
had her completely thrown for a loop. First she wasn't good enough and now
she was perfect for him? She tugged back, trying to stop Daret before they
continued. "Wait, Daret." She shook her head. "Huh?" She blinked rapidly.
"What are you talking about?"

It took everything in him to keep from rolling his eyes as he was dragged
to a halt. "Paetri ... has he kissed you yet?" he asked, crossing his arms
over his chest and staring into her eyes. "I know he wants to and I want
*you* to know that he kisses me, too. And you have to be okay with that.
If you're not ... " He shrugged, leaving the options open to her.

At that, Paetri sputtered a bit and her cheeks flushed a bright pink.
"Well..yes, he has and it was nice..." Her voice trailed off at the memory
before staring at Daret. "I know he does, Daret. I have eyes and I notice
things." She looked away. "Look, I know men don't really stick to one
person. It's not expected of them. I know that. I have to be okay with it."
She shrugged her shoulders, her pragmatic nature rearing its head and
looked back at him. "And I'm at the Weyr and things will be different than
at home." Instead of another girl, she'd have to deal with another boy.
Different...strange...but something she'd have to accept. At least she
liked Daret.

Eyebrows rose at her words and he couldn't help but stare a bit longer.
"Shells, you are so different than the other girls I've known. When I
tell them they'd have to share, they moan, cry and want to hit me but you
... you are quite the gem," he finally said with a grin. "We're going to
have so much fun if we Impress! But ... you also need to know that Jykri
is my best friend and although I love him to pieces, we aren't ... well,
we're not a couple. So you don't have to feel threatened."

"It was just a kiss, Daret." Paetri sighed softly. "I'm not really
expecting anything. We're not a couple either." She shifted on her feet,
her voice wistful. "It was..it was nice though. " She looked up and offered
a slight smile. "Why wouldn't I share? I'm lucky enough that he's even
interested." She took a deep breath, as though steadying herself and
lifted her chin. " I hope we do Impress. This time time around."

"Nothing is ever just a kiss at the Weyr, Paetri," Daret replied as he
winked to a passing bluerider then turned back to scoff at her. "No luck
involved! Why wouldn't he be interested in you? Wait ... do *you* think
you're unworthy of interest?" He'd have to talk with Jykri about drawing
her out of her shell.

She wanted to shrink a little at the shift in conversation and her fingers
found her braid once again, giving it a slight tug. "What do you mean?
People kiss here all the time." Her face flushed. "And...other things...
without being couples. You don't have to be wed or even betrothed. "
Winding her fingers in her braid a little bit further as she looked down
and gave a tiny shrug. No one had really been interested in her at home and
while the weyr was different, she didn't figure it was _that_ different. A
sudden thought occurred to her. Maybe Jykri was interested in her because
she had the body of a boy? She was mostly flat and...not curvy. "Do we have
to talk about that?"

Had he any idea what she was thinking, Daret would have flung his hands up
and given up. Instead he pulled her hands away from her braid and looked
her in the eyes. "A kiss between you two is significant because of the way
you were both raised. Don't discount it because you're now at the Weyr. I
know he likes you ..." he said and grinned then shrugged. "But no, we
don't have to talk about *that*."

Turning, he led her away again whether she wanted to go or not. "I think
you should cut your hair," he said, completely out of the blue since she
seemed to always want to hide behind it.

Paetri let Daret take her hands away and offered him a smile. She liked
Jykri too...but then the comment about her hair had her grasping at her
braid again. "Cut my hair?" She shook her head, still following his lead.
"No. No way. " It was her one true beauty and that she didn't want to part
with. She refused to look more like a boy!

Last updated on the May 1st 2013

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A kiss isn't always just a kiss