Meant to Be Together

Writers: Eimi, Yvonne
Date Posted: 21st November 2005

Characters: K'far, Nineba
Description: K'far has unwelcome company in the bathing pool
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 8, day 10 of Turn 3

K'far waved goodbye absently to the bluerider that had been his lone company in the bathing pool. He was loathe to leave, loathe to move.
The brownrider hadn't even found the initiative to wash himself yet, despite then fact that he was in desperate need of a good scrubbing after drills. Finally, he was _warm_! He sighed contentedly, leaning his head back against the ledge of the bathing pool and closed his eyes. A nice long soak. That's just what he needed.

The bathing room door opened and closed, and there was the soft hiss of cloth against flesh as someone disrobed by the edge. They didn't speak, obviously respecing K'far's unspoken need for solitude, as they got in. The water rippled around them as they settled, and then slim fingers slid up the inside of K'far's thighs. "_Shards_!" he yelped, grabbing at the hand, springing awake in an instant at the feel of very friendly fingers. His eyes met those of the woman grinning next to him. "Nineba! What in Faranth's name..."

She grinned cheekily and slid onto the bench beside him, close enough so that their hips touched. "It took me a while to figure out where you'd gone, since this isn't your usual bathing place. But it's very _alone_..."

"It's _not_ that alone," he said quickly, "a bluerider just left before you came in. People come in and out of here all the time."

Her lips twitched. "But we're alone _now_. We've always had fun...
_alone_."

Always? Their alone time had lost all it's fun when she had turned obsessed! "Nineba, I thought we had talked about this before. I think you are a... very _nice_ woman... but I am just not ready for the kind of... intense relationship you want from me." How many times did he have to put it nicely before she would get the hint? Or was that the problem? Was he being _too_ nice about it all?

"I'm not asking for an 'intense' relationship at all, K'far." Nineba sighed and looked at her knees. "I'm just asking for a relationship.
We were in love, and you brought me all the way here. I _followed_
you all the way here, and left everything behind. Don't make me lose you too. I don't-" she sniffed, and raised her hand to brush away an errant tear. "I just want another chance."

Shards he hated making a woman cry! But it was for both their own good. "Nineba, I never miss-led you. It was only supposed to be one night," and what a mistake _that_ night turned out to be!

She shook her head. "It doesn't work like that. What can I do to make things right? I'll do anything." She left the bench to kneel in the water before him, and her hands began to wander again. "_Anything_."

K'far quickly grabbed her hands and held them fast before she could make things harder than they already were. "Nineba, that _won't_
change things. I brought you here to get you away from your husband when you thought were pregnant. I promised to support you and the child you said was mine. But you were _not_ pregnant. I am not responsible for you any more."

"What's _wrong_, K'far?" Nineba blinked, and a pair of tears slipped down her cheeks. "You told me I was beautiful. I love you. Why do you keep pushing me away?"

The brownrider wanted to reach out and shake her until she finally got it through her head. "You were beautiful. You still _are_
beautiful. But that doesn't mean I have to be in _love_ with you. I never said I was in love with you. Move on, Nineba."

"Yes, you did."

"What? No!" K'far couldn't believe it. That was a blantant lie.
"No, I never said I loved you. I said I would take care of you. I said I would support you. But _you_ said you were pregnant with my child and your husband would have nothing to do with you! I _never_
said that I _loved_ you."

"Yes, K'far, you-" *sniff* "-did. That night. And you _swore_... you don't need to be like this." She looked him in the eye and bit her lip winsomely. "I know you're scared, but you don't need to lie."

K'far dug his fingers into his temples to keep from screaming in his frustration. "_I.never.swore.I.loved.you_" he growled through clenched teeth. Taking a couple deep breaths he says a little calmer, "I'm sorry if you thought I did, but I am not scared of you, and I don't love you."

"You don't need to lie to me. I _know_!" Nineba was beginning to sound a little desperate. She wiped her eyes with her fingertips and hoped that her nose wasn't turning red. Her nose always went red when she cried.

"This is impossble," K'far sighed as he slipped along the wall so he could stand up without touching her. "I never promised. I never swore. I was never in love with you. Find someone to love, Nineba.
For_both_ our sakes."

She watched him silently as he got out of the water, picked up his things, and left. Her big brown eyes glittered with tears and she dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands so that she wouldn't cry.
**You might not remember,** she thought as the door swung shut, **But I do. And I'm not going to give up on you, K'far, even if you think you've given up on me. We're meant to be together, and you just need to be reminded.**

Last updated on the November 21st 2005

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Meant to Be Together