Bad Men

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 18th March 2006

Characters: U'kaiah, Abrei
Description: U'kaiah takes Abrei out of the Weyr for an evening of relaxation.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 10, day 19 of Turn 3

Abrei

"Well, hello Master Abrei. I recieved this note a few days ago asking me to come for a visit." U'kaiah grinned as he slipped through her office door and held up a basket. "I wasn't able to come before, but I am hoping I can steal you away for a little picnic dinner. There's even wine in here."

Abrei looked up from the tangle of work she'd spread out in front of her, looking more than a little exhasperated. "U'kaiah, it's the middle of the day! I can't just leave!"

"No, Master Abrei," the bronzerider chuckled. "It's well past dinner and I have been informed that you have not yet eaten."

"That's impossible," Abrei protested, looking for the time candle she'd lit when she started reviewing her reports. She couldn't find the time candle.
She did, however, find the base of where it had been before it had burned through six candlemarks. "Oh." "Come on now. Kalamath is loaded and waiting. Your hides will wait until the morning. I promise." He knew only too well how hides used to wait on his desk, taunting him with their infinite patience.

"I suppose..." It might be nice to get out of the Weyr, after all. Standing, she pulled her rumpled, dirty tunic over her head and tossed it on top of a growing pile on a chair pushed against her wall. The thin shirt she had on underneath wasn't the sort of thing she usually wore on its own, mostly because R'han's eyes had always lit up when he'd seen her in it. Still, it was _U'kaiah_, who had seen her naked enough that it shouldn't matter. "Am I going to be warm enough in this? Or do I need a flight jacket?"

"Well, if you get cold you can borrow mine," U'kaiah grinned. He decided he rather liked that shirt as well.

Abrei looked around the office for a moment, hesitating. She hadn't left much over the past month, with the exception of her rare visits to U'kaiah.
There was always plenty of work to be done, and though U'val occasionally nagged, even he didn't order her out of her office. But as safe as she'd felt holed up in here, she hadn't exactly been happy. Taking a deep breath, she turned to U'kaiah. "All right. So where did you leave Kalamath?" "Outside," he replied with a triumphant grin. "He really didn't fit in your infirmary."

Abrei wrinkled her nose at him. "Very cute. Is he in the Weyrbowl?" "Uh huh." He opened the door and bowed deeply. "After you, Master Weyrhealer."

Sweeping out of her office, Abrei ignored the speculative looks that followed them out of the infirmary. She'd been maybe a _little_ short tempered lately, and she imagined the journeymen would be hoping that an evening out with a man would mellow her a bit. As long as they didn't say as much where she could hear them, she'd let them hope. "Do you want to wear my jacket?" he asked as he swung up on Kalamath in front of the healer. "We'll fly straight, but my body may not block all the wind."

"I'm fine," Abrei replied, letting him help her up behind him. After all, when she ended up clinging to him out of fear, she could pretend she'd just been cold. There was something terribly unnatural about being that high up in the air, and even a lifetime of riding behind various riders hadn't gotten her used to it. They followed the river south, gliding over treetops until they reached a break in the trees, a clearing that had at some ancient time been a valley lake-bed, but now was covered in thick soft grass and wildflowers. "I figured you would have had enough of beaches," he called back to the healer as Kalamath backwinged to come to a soft landing. "I hope it's all right."

She took a moment to unclench her hands from his jacket before looking around. "It's perfect. I can't remember the last time I came some place like this without having to spend the entire time looking for plants to harvest."

"Well, you can look for plants to harvest if you really _want_ to." He slid down off the bronze's neck and reached up to help her, "Just make sure and eat something first."

Abrei slid an arm around U'kaiah's waist once they were both on the ground, giving him a fond kiss. "Thank you for dragging me out of my infirmary. When I'm there I never seem to want to leave... but when I'm gone, I realize how badly I need to escape." "You're welcome," he said pulling her head over to place a kiss on the top of her head. "All right, we have food, we have wine, and we have blankets.
And if we can find some way to entertain ourselves," he said with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle, "in a couple candlemarks we'll have stars."

"Wine first," she said firmly, thinking it at least might relax her. "I think I'll be far more entertaining after I relax a little." U'kaiah chuckled. "Don't worry, I brought a full skin for each of us."

A half a flask later, Abrei was feeling far more relaxed and had every intention of becoming more so before the evening was over. "I probably should have eaten first. I'm going to end up terribly drunk. Of course, that might not be a bad thing..." "Well, it's never too late to eat," the bronzerider smiled as he stuffed a piece of cheese and a piece of herdbeast between two sices of bread and handed it to her. "There you go. Ready made, and no excuses."

"Why thank you!" Abrei took a genrous bite before rolling onto her back, staring up at the sky as it darkened slowly overhead. She had always loved the outdoors, but had found herself inside more and more in recent months.
The faint feel of the wind over her skin, the smells and sounds around her... she felt more free than she had in months. U'kaiah took another swig before flopping down next to her. "Gorgeous evening, don't you think?" He hadn't been oblivious to the fact that she looked happier than he had seen her in a long time. That fact alone made him feel more at ease himself. They had been having a fun time, laughing about past fights and some of the pranks he'd pulled on her when they were young.

"It's beautiful. And just warm enough..." She stretched her arms up over her head and closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. "You're a bad man, U'kaiah.
Now I don't want to go back at all." The bronzerider chuckled. "You need more bad men in your life."

Abrei snorted and leaned over to steal his wine skin. "I have _more_ than enough bad men in my life. You just happen to be the only one that doesn't make me angry." She took a generous swig from the flask, then another for good measure. The thought of M'galec was enough to spoil her mood, but she had no intention of letting it. She tossed the flask back at him and stretched out again. "Maybe I should start sleeping with the rest of them, too. You think it would help?" "No. I've spoiled you for life, I'm sure." He conjured up one of his old saucy bronzerider grins.

"I didn't mean help _me_," she retorted, poking his side with her foot. She was fairly sure he'd forgive her since the movement made her skirt slide most of the way up her leg. "But _you_ certainly got easier to deal with once I started stripping. Of course, if I tried to sleep with _all_ of the men who were annoying me, I wouldn't have any time left over to sleep. Or eat. Or work..." "Hey, I would not have denied you if you had wanted to strip for me long ago." After all she had done it enough in his adolescent fantasies.... He couldn't resist running a finger along the exposed leg. "Its not my fault you were too busy beating up on me."

Abrei turned onto her side, propping her head up on her hand as she looked at him. "That's because I did't know what I was missing back then. Z'mais was... well, that wasn't his fault. But now I do know what I was missing, which of course means I don't like going without it." "Well, that's the nice thing about living in a Weyr. You don't _have_ to go without it. And you don't have to just do it with me."

"Yes I do," Abrei replied firmly, rolling onto her back again. Wine had loosend her tongue enough that she didn't have any problem saying exactly what she felt. "I don't feel comfortable with many people, U'kaiah... and I'm still not even that comfortable with you when it comes to sex. I mean, I trust you and everything, but I did things with R'han that I can't even think about with anyone else without blushing like a sharding virgin." U'kaiah craned his neck to look her in the eye. "You don't think it would work with someone else?"

She glanced over at him, imagining what she'd have done if R'han had been there instead. Color flooded her cheeks, and not all of it embarassment. Oh, she could imagine how very nice it would be to explore such possiblities with someone as skilled as U'kaiah. Her body certainly didn't object to the idea. Trying to imagine actually doing it, though... she groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Not unless I get a _lot_ drunker." The bronzerider considered that thought a moment. It seemed Abrei had incredible hang-ups that she needed to work though. If he really was one of the only people she felt she could trust, it would only be the right thing to do...

U'kaiah pushed himself up on his elbow and began kissing along the skin peaking above the low slung collar of her shirt. "Why don't you just _tell_
me one of the things you did?"

Abrei made an amused noise. "I think describing them might be even worse."
But she _was_ a little tipsy, so she tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his ear to her lips. The suggestion she whispered was starkly clinical and by no means the most exotic thing he'd ever heard, but it was fairly adventurous for someone who blushed even talking about sex in a non-medical situation. The bronzerider nodded, turned his head and kissed her softly. "I can do that," he smiled, and went to work.

Last updated on the March 19th 2006

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Bad Men