Another Option for Stress Relief (PG-17)

Writers: Devin, Halyonix
Date Posted: 7th January 2025
Series: Bronze and Blue Entwined

Characters: K'mai, I'serin
Description: I'serin goes cliff diving and K'mai ditches his plans to show the Weyrleader another way to relieve stress.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 4, day 11 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: H'run, E'kavas, M'kayre
**PG-17** Version
Rating: PG-17

K'mai

I'serin

I'serin felt like pulling his hair out today.

Even with a successful, if unconventional Hatching, I'serin still felt as though there were far too many hardships elsewhere. The firestone shipment for that sevenday was delayed again. Unexpected snows had delayed one of the tithe trains. It seemed as though the list of injured riders never went down, only up. Or was that just his perception of it? His father had tried to give him more "advice" about something else -- two times last sevenday as well.

He raked his hands through his hair as he stared at the neverending paperwork on his desk. Would he never overcome it? Or at least get it to a manageable level?

}: You need a day away, :{ Aluneth remarked.

"I do not have _time_ to take a day away," I'serin growled back. "These problems will not solve themselves. They fall to me."

}: I did not suggest that you abandon your duties permanently. I said a day away. Or, if nothing else, a few hours away. You have been mired in these things for too long. Fresh air elsewhere will do you well. :{ Aluneth's tail flicked in emphasis. I'serin suddenly had an idea about where his dragon intended that they go. Somewhere where he could leave all of his worries behind for a few moments in a rushing, long dive into the empty sky.

Aluneth was taking off a few minutes later. }: Sebeth, have your rider meet us here. I'serin needs someone to speak with, :{ the bronze said privately to the blue, sending the image of the top of a tall seaside cliff.

When Sebeth relayed the message, K'mai was on his feet before he remembered he was supposed to meet H'run in half a candlemark. **Oh shards.** But I'serin wanted to talk, and he was leaving the Weyr. K'mai had begged I'serin to lean on him if he needed to, and he couldn't say no. **Please give H'run my deepest apologies but tell him a friend needs me. I'll make it up to him.** Then after a pause. **Do _not_ tell him who it is or where we're going.** H'run was pretty much the _last_ person he wanted finding out about this.

Guilt ate at him as he mounted Sebeth, but K'mai shook it off. I'serin wanted to keep his secret, so K'mai would protect it all costs.

They came out over cliffs that dropped sharply into the sea, and as K'mai looked down, he saw I'serin falling. His heart plunged into his stomach and Sebeth moved, using all his speed and skill to dive toward the bronzerider.

}: Wait, :{ Aluneth said sharply, moving to physically block Sebeth. The blue backwinged, instantly obeying his leader, and jolted his rider. Sebeth was confused, but Aluneth would never let his rider be hurt. He rumbled a wordless query to the bronze. After a long moment, Aluneth said, }: Go look over the edge, :{ and moved out of Sebeth's way.

K'mai's heart was still clenched tight. With a few quick wingbeats, Sebeth carried them in view of the ocean. I'serin wasn't falling, or jumping, he was _diving_, his body in a neat line as he cut through the surface of the water. K'mai let out a shaky sigh and a moment later I'serin surfaced, swimming easily. **Shards and shells.**

I'serin resurfaced a moment later, instinctively looking up for Aluneth. He was surprised to see a familiar dark blue dragon hovering nearby though. Confusion rose within him until Aluneth said, }: I summoned them. You need someone to vent to and K'mai cares. :{ To Sebeth, Aluneth said, }: You can ferry him back up if you desire. Else I will. He enjoys jumping a few times to relieve his stress. :{

When Sebeth passed the bronze's words on, K'mai said, **We'll take him.** The blue notified Aluneth before he descended, much more gracefully than his earlier panicked dive.

Sebeth landed neatly, then lashed his tail, sending a spray toward the bronzerider. "You ass!" K'mai shouted, but he was smiling. "Warn me next time!"

"Blame Aluneth!" I'serin called back as he began to swim over. He was grinning though. The freefall had felt great. Aluneth had been wise to come here. "I did not know that he had called you," he told K'mai as he climbed aboard Sebeth.

Oh. So I'serin hadn't asked for him. The sting of it made K'mai's smile waver, but he recovered. "Cliff diving?" He pulled I'serin in for a kiss that tasted of salt water. "You really are full of surprises."

I'serin disagreed but was not about to start that argument. He caught K'mai's chin between thumb and finger so that he could chase another salty kiss. "Aluneth called you?" he asked, surprised still that K'mai was here.

"Apparently he took the initiative." He strapped I'serin in so Sebeth could take them back up. Water take offs were not the most graceful.

Settled behind K'mai, I'serin did not resist the impulse to playfully bite K'mai's shoulder. Was there something in K'mai's tone that I'serin had missed? He thought back quickly on the ride back up. Aluneth had taken the initiative -- I'serin hadn't. Had not K'mai offered to be a confidante for I'serin? Again, his mind sought back. Had he taken K'mai up on that offer?

Disappointment rising, I'serin realized that he had not. He had, per usual, taken on all things without asking for help, thinking that the weight of the Weyr rested on solely on his shoulders, aside from the few things he delegated to his Weyrsecond and Wingsecond. Which was probably why Aluneth had intervened.

The bronzerider let out a groan as he rested his head against K'mai's back. "I am such a fool," he said.

And just like that, K'mai melted. He reached a hand back to dig into I'serin's wet hair. "No you're not." Sebeth landed carefully, barely jostling rider and passenger. K'mai turned to kiss I'serin. Of course he didn't know how to reach out for others. I'serin had never had a lover before, he barely even had friends.

The bronzerider sank into that kiss like it held redemption. Atonement. "I owe you another apology it seems. Twice in less than an hour today. One for scaring you, one for disregarding your sincere offer," he said. He would have to try better, at least at the latter thing. K'mai had been so patient and understanding so far. I'serin had no desire to lose that badly needed connection. "Command me," he said as a way of apology, hoping that K'mai would forgive him.

Faranth, the way those two little words shot through him. K'mai unstrapped himself and I'serin, then guided the bronzerider down. He pressed I'serin against his dragon's dark blue hide, Sebeth regarding them with amusement as K'mai gave I'serin a thorough kiss. With one final, gentle nip at the bronzerider's lips, K'mai drew back. "But first, I want to you tell me what's wrong."

I'serin leaned his head against Sebeth's flank with a low groan of exasperation, both at K'mai for teasing him (although he did deserve it) and for the impending answer to that question. "I would say everything but that is not categorically true," he replied. He settled his arms around K'mai's middle in a loose embrace. "There seems to be an unending queue of _problems_ to solve and I must be the only one fit to solve them, according to the ones who are knocking down my door." Over the next few moments, I'serin neatly outlined how many things he was being conscripted to handle around the Weyr, yet as he reached the end of the list, he found that, numerically, there were not _that_ many things to fix -- it was just the overwhelmed feeling that those things added to in his mind.

"As much as I would like to speak with one of the other Weyrleaders about this, I fear I already know the answer," he concluded. "That this is simply part of the rank and that I will learn how to better handle it with time." He exhaled and leaned his head against Sebeth's flank again. "It is a steep learning curve," he remarked sourly. "Even with all of the studying I did beforehand."

"I don't envy you all that responsibility." K'mai's hand moved soothingly up and down I'serin's drying back. "But surely _some_ of that can be handled by other people? You have a Weyrsecond, and a Wingsecond, and a 'Third." He knew better than to offer help himself, at least in that area. K'mai had never had any inclination or aptitude for leadership.

"It...could," I'serin slowly agreed. While he let K'mai's hand soothe some of the stress away, he began slicing up some of the tasks into somewhat delegatable ones. If he could give responsibility of those things to E'kavas or M'kayre while keeping the final say...

Eventually, he hummed, "That feels good."

K'mai smiled. He couldn't solve a Weyrleader's problems but _this_ he could help with. A calming touch, an ear to listen. He bent to lick a drop of salt water from I'serin's collar bone. "Make a list, see what you can hand off." His lips brushed the spot where his tongue had been and he began to trail soft kisses up I'serin's neck.

I'serin moaned. There was no way he was going to be able to make a list while K'mai distracted him like that! He needed to remember the details on the...the what was it...he was going to have E'kavas take on...

The Weyrleader swore succinctly. Forget the list.

"Mmm." K'mai smiled against his skin and kissed a little harder, the hand on his back sliding down. Usually I'serin didn't curse like that until he was close to coming. "We did the talking part. Good boy. Should I give you a reward?" I'serin let out a breathy laugh, distracted by kisses.

A hand slid under the waistband of I'serin's shorts and K'mai's finger traced the cleft of his ass. "Do you want me to take you? Or maybe you could take me . . . on my hands and knees while I enjoy the view." Then K'mai realized something, and his head dropped against I'serin's shoulder. Laughter bubbled out of him, mingled frustration and amusement. "I didn't bring oil."

The laughter sidelined all of the wicked thoughts that I'serin was having after K'mai's suggestions. It took his mind a moment to realize _why_ that was a bit important. Awkwardly, I'serin cleared his throat. "We...ah...could try other positions." Except now he was _thinking_ about all of them and which one should they go with and what if someone else came to the cliff and spotted them and...

Lifting his head, K'mai wiggled his eyebrows. "Lucky you, I'm full of ideas. How about instead, you suck me off while I take in this beautiful ocean view." Hearing K'mai say that sent a wicked, thrilling bolt of lust through I'serin for a moment, until his mind began racing with positions, technique, nuance, and...

What if he did it _wrong_?

In an effort to turn off his mind from overthinking it all, I'serin roughly kissed K'mai.

"Like that?" K'mai murmured between kisses, mouth curved in a wide smile. By now he was getting familiar with how I'serin's expression went from desire to worry, so he said, "I'll tell you what to do." They kissed a while longer before K'mai led I'serin away from his dragon, closer to the cliff edge. Not _too_ close, but where he got a gorgeous view of the ocean waves stretching way out to the horizon. "Take off my shirt."

Having someone else give I'serin a command was a jarring shift in the usual roles but it gave his mind something to focus on while his hands complied. Flutters rippled up in his chest. What if...he handed over all of that control he always had, submitted to K'mai in a sexual role reversal? What would that be like?

"Now my boots," K'mai said, anticipation rising. "And then the rest."

As I'serin complied, in that precise order, the bronzerider's breath came in shorter intervals, his eyes focused on one very important part of K'mai's body, equal parts excitement and panic colliding within him.

"Take off your shorts." K'mai felt a little giddy, pulse throbbing in his ears . . . and other places. "And get on your knees."

~*~ fade to black~*~

He gave I'serin a moment to catch his breath, then he tipped back, pulling the bronzerider on top of him and kissing, kissing, kissing like he couldn't get enough. I'serin let him, mostly because he felt like a puddle of languid pleasure just then and his limbs refused to move with any sort of urgency.

Eventually K'mai's kissing slowed, but his arms stayed around I'serin, holding him close. "When we can move again, how about we go for a dive? I've never jumped from this high before." The thought was both frightening and thrilling.

I'serin hummed, sated. They did indeed need to clean up but for now, he was content to snuggle against K'mai with the sun warming their salt-sprinkled skin. "There is nothing like it," he said. "Especially if your dragon does it with you." It occurred to him that now, perhaps, he had more than just diving to relieve to some of the stress he felt, if he was willing to continue being so bold with K'mai. That thought...felt good. Like he was less alone in the world.

"Do you come here a lot?" K'mai laughed at the unintentional joke. "I mean . . . you know." He trailed his fingers up and down I'serin's spine.

"Not since I became Weyrleader," I'serin admitted. "I...should amend that." Add another item to his unending lists.

"Is this what you do instead of having sex? Fling yourself into the ocean?" K'mai smiled in amusement.

I'serin opened his mouth and then closed it. It _did_ sound rather...brash...when K'mai said it like that. But it was the truth. "_Diving_," he corrected but with a gentle kiss. "It was an option I felt safe doing."

"And now you have another option." K'mai kissed him. "I hope you feel safe doing me."

The bronzerider chuckled. He knew better than to voice his fears about that. "You are a good option to have," he said. He gave K'mai a kiss and then pulled him up. "Come. Let me show you how to cliff-dive."

Last updated on the January 11th 2025

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Another Option for Stress Relief (PG-17)