Worst Kept Secret

Writers: Curious, Sia
Date Posted: 14th June 2024

Characters: J'ine, Aleriand
Description: Aleriand and J'ine have a secret celebration
Location: Printer Hall
Date: month 11, day 11 of Turn 11

Aleriand

J'ine did not tell Aleriand that he was visiting today. There was no need. It was the anniversary of a particular date, involving quite a bit of wine and honesty, and his presence was always a given. Similarly, Iyoth's dark form had become a familiar presence around the Printer Hall. Young apprentices were surrounding him the instant he touched down, the awe and splendor of a bronze dragon having long since given way to something far more warm.

Iyoth did not hesitate to reach out to Aleriand, the one human apart from his rider who got to hear his voice. :} Tell the young ones to get washcloths. I am in the mood to be pampered, :{ he rumbled. He paused before, as an afterthought, adding, }: J'ine is here as well. He brought wine. :{

The man in question snorted as he dismounted. _He _ was being all but totally ignored by the apprentices, the forgettable human attached to a lovely dragon. An arrangement that was perfectly fine by him. Cradling the bottle of Benden red in his arm, he started toward the hall.

It was amazing how many acts of intimacy the public would dismiss when they were between two men, _ especially_ when one was a bronzerider.

**You two need to relax.** Aleriand straightened from his scrunched-up position over one of the presses, the muscles in his back protesting the extended time in the pose and the sudden movement. They weren't at Dolphin Cove anymore, and there was only so far their casual nonchalance would take them.

He met them at the entrance to the hall, looking ruffled and only slightly grease-stained. "Bronzerider." He said calmer than his eyes gave away. "I knew you'd be back from Barrier Lake sooner rather than later."

“Huh,” J’ine said, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a smirk. “Sounds like I’ll need to keep you waiting longer next time then, prove you wrong for once.”

"Doubtful. You love the Hall too much." Aleriand answered easily, waving him in. "Tell Iyoth he's not to Search any apprentices while he's here. I get too few as it is. Although, I guess that'd also mean you'd be _poaching_, wouldn't it?"

“Well, shards, ‘Master,” J’ine said, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. He would have looked positively sheepish if not for the shaffit-eating grin on his face. “What am I supposed to do if I can’t steal any of your apprentices? Poaching is what we riders _do _. I’ll lose my knots if I don’t steal _something _ while I’m here.”

"I'll let you steal a meatroll off my plate and we'll call it even." Aleriand said. The cacophony coming from the presses echoed throughout the main building, leaving their conversation mostly unheard as they less-than-casually retreated back to the master printer's quarters.

“_Deal_,” J’ine said, with feeling. He went quiet as he followed Aleriand to his quarters, stayed all polite and innocent, truly the pinnacle of a perfect, well-behaved bronzerider. Then the _second_ they were alone, he clasped his hands behind his back, rocked back onto his heels, and put on his best shaffit-eating grin. “Soooo,” he said with a slight whistle. “Do I owe you an apology?”

Aleriand paused at the door, turning to shoot J'ine a disgruntled look. "I'd like to remind you that this isn't the Weyr." He grumbled. "We can't act like besotted apprentices around here. My Master's knots and Iyoth's hide can only do so much."

_Ah_. J’ine fell forward to stand on flat feet, his smile fading from his face. “Right,” he said, suddenly sounding dead serious. “Sorry. Sometimes I…” Forget? No, that was too weak, too empty, too already-very-obvious. With a weary sigh, he shook his head and muttered, “Sometimes I wish the world was a better place.”

"If wishes were dragons." Aleriand said. "It is what it is. I'm sorry you have to be less…you." He took a few more steps forward into the room, reaching for J'ine's hand and intertwining their fingers.

“I know,” J’ine said with a heavy sigh. “It must be hard for you to see me forced to be anything other than my beautiful, brilliant self.” Hammish words, but with genuine feeling behind them; there could be no mistaking the appreciation and adoration in the bronzerider’s eyes. He allowed his and Aleriand’s fingers to intertwine and took the opportunity to lift his hand, pressing a gentle kiss onto his lover’s knuckles.

"Do the greenriders at Barrier Lake _like_ how much of a ham you are?" Aleriand asked. He gently took the wine bottle that the bronzerider still held, setting it aside gently on the table. "Or do you have it all for me?"

“I save it for you, of course. I'm all business with the Weyr folk.” J'ine winked and smirked, which somehow did absolutely nothing to convey how much of what he was saying was the truth and how much was utter wherry dung. However, the likelihood of wherry dung faded significantly as he softly asked, “How have you been? I know it hasn't been long, but…”

A lot could happen in a short while.

"Fine. We're almost ready for the Turn's End Gather. There's a special edition of The Journal we're printing that needs to be proofed, and my illustrator won't finalize the art for that or the printed cards we're making on the day, and I need to choose a Hallsecond," Aleriand said. His tone started offhand, even as his hand squeezed the bronzerider's shoulder before moving to his neck, his jaw. "It's…surreal. I'll officially be a Hallmaster next month."

“Hallmaster,” J’ine said, reverent. He placed his hand over Aleriand’s, and his smile softened into something unspeakably tender. “I know it’s cliche to say that I’m proud of you, but… know that I’d be bragging about you to all of Pern if I could.”

"Faranth, no. I'd hate that." Aleriand said with a shake of his head. "I'm already starting to see why Vestian dumps all his work on Jayala. I didn't realize how much shit I'd have to put up with. And we're just getting started." He leaned in to kiss J'ine then, an almost-chaste brush of lips that grew hungry. "It's only..what, mid-afternoon at Barrier Lake? You don't want dinner yet."

J’ine chuckled. He almost said ‘imagine what’s to come’, but then Aleriand’s lips were on his, and suddenly, he didn’t feel like he had anything that was particularly worth saying at all. Not until his lover spoke, at which point he couldn’t help but respond, “I don’t know, you look good enough to eat at any time of day.”

"That's what I thought." Aleriand said lowly as he pulled J'ine close again, the wine and dinner quickly forgotten.

Last updated on the June 23rd 2024

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Worst Kept Secret