Amadith settled, more gently than usual, on the ledge and Tair'n slid off, 
somewhat gracelessly as he tried to favour his side.  He stepped into the 
apartment and smiled as he saw R'ven asleep in his chair, papers scattered 
here and there in organised confusion.  Wing schedules and reports, Tair'n 
realised.

He walked quietly across the floor and kissed R'ven.  He could feel his 
mate awake and return the kiss.  Tair'n broke off before it could get too 
passionate.  Gods, between Jayleigh and R'ven he was nothing but a 
quivering, aching mess.

"Hi, lover."  R'ven smiled after they broke apart.  "I thought you'd be 
with Jayleigh."

Tair'n chuckled then winced.  R'ven was on his feet as he watched pain show 
on his mate's face.

"You should have got Amadith to bespeak Zen.  I would have come for you," 
the older man said as he lead him to their sofa.  "Here sit down.  Can I 
get you anything?"

"Ven, sit down and stop fussing," Tair'n said as he pulled R'ven next to 
him.  "What I really could do with is a bath and to wash my hair.  Calette 
said a bath was out of the question for a couple of days.  So I guess that 
bed baths are in order."  The mock disappointment on his face developed 
into an enormous grin.

R'ven chcukled.  "I see that they left your humour intact."  In a more 
serious tone he added, "You had me worried, Tai.  I thought that I was 
going to lose you, too."

Tair'n took hold of R'ven's hand and squeezed it hard.  "What, and let you 
have all the women falling over themselves giving you comfort and solace?"

"So you decided to be the brave hero and have our lovely, firey Warrenlady 
fawning all over you instead?" R'ven teased.

Tai worried that R'ven would think he was leaving him for her.  "Ven, I 
told her she has to accept me as I am.  There is no point in us being 
together if she can't come to grips with that."

The older man stood up.  "We'll discuss it later, love.  But for now, let's 
get that mop of rat tails you call hair washed."

******

R'ven's hands slowly washing him had about driven him crazy.  Even the feel 
of his mate's fingers through his hair was almost too much, but R'ven had 
insisted that Tair'n was still too injured.

He had to admit the older man was right.

R'ven left him curled up in bed as he went out down to the kitchens to get 
something for their lunch.

He drifted off for a moment, then heard footsteps and looked up, expecting 
R'ven.

It was Jayleigh, looking worried.

"What's wrong 'Leigh?"

"I just had a talk with Gerald," she told him as she joined him on the bed.

"And you told him about me?" 

"I didn't have to," she said, turning to cuddle against his good side with 
her head on his shoulder.  Her fingers moved to draw lazy circles in the 
soft hair on his chest.  "Troy had already told Random that I was with you 
last night.  He didn't take it very well."

"Because you were with me, or because you were with another man?" Tair'n 
asked as his lips kissed her forehead.  "What did he think, that we were 
making love?"

"We would have been, if you were able," she admitted, then went on.  "He 
came after me when I left the Warren unescorted yesterday morning after I 
had run out on you when..."

"Hush... Don't think about that."  His hand began to do some lazy searching 
of its own as his fingers found the buttons going down the front of her 
shirt.  He felt her tense in anticipation as his hands found each button 
and undid it.  "Take your shirt off for me," he asked, his voice husky.  
Gods, why was he doing this to himself?  "Now, go on and finish what you 
were saying about Gerald-- he came after you..."

He paused as she slipped the shirt off, exposing her breasts.  "Gods, 
'Leigh, you're beautiful," he whispered and brought his hand up to cup her 
breast.  His thumb moved slowly back and forth over the sensitive nipple, 
causing it to harden more with each pass.

When she tried to move closer to his touch, he backed off.  "You were 
telling me about Gerald," he said, though he couldn't resist returning to 
his carresses.

"He saw me with Zert, the new school teacher for the older... kids... and 
he had his arms around... me...  Gerald thought that I... we had... that I 
...  Gods, Tair'n... don't make me... I can't think... when you..."

"Kiss me, 'Leigh," he said softly.

She didn't need to be asked twice, but moved until her lips were pressed 
against his, opening to allow his tongue to tease her with its thrusting 
movements.

He broke the kiss, allowing his eyes to roam over her body before returning 
to the subject at hand.  "Did you enjoy making love to Gerald?"

"Yes," she replied, simply.

He wished in some ways that she were more like Velara, accepting that she 
could love and make love to more than one man.  He found it arousing to 
think of her with the tall bard.  Speaking of sharing...  "Did you think 
about what I asked you this morning?  Have you decided whether or not you'd 
have a problem with R'ven and I still being lovers?"

"I already told you, I wouldn't ask you to give him up," she said softly, 
knowing that wasn't what he meant.  "Beyond that, I really don't know how 
I'd feel.  I guess I'm going to have to learn to deal with the 
possibilities of it happening at some point.  But don't ask me to do what 
Velara did, Tai.  I'm not her and never could be, I just know I need you to 
be my friend, my lover and to help me learn how to deal with things I don't 
how to that will come up around the Warren.  But mostly I need you as my 
friend and my lover."

"Oh, I'll be that soon enough," he said, grinning, all ready to make that a 
fact, if it weren't for those damned stitches.  He reached for the 
fastening of her pants, and then slipped inside to caress the warm skin of 
her belly.  "Finish undressing for me, 'Leigh.  I want to lay here with you 
and feel your body pressing against mine, just for a little while, until 
I'm asleep."  If he could manage to get to sleep with what she did to 
him...

She did as he asked, quickly.  He moaned in need as he saw her, felt her 
naked skin against his.  Well, he could use his hands without hurting his 
stitches, at least.

He began exploring her, slowly-- her hair, her face, her arms, her breasts, 
her belly, her thighs.  Her hands followed suit and they lay, just 
revelling in the feel of the other.  Finally, his hand wandered to the 
prize he wanted so much to claim and slipped inside her, doing with his 
fingers what he wanted to do with his manhood.  He gasped as her fingers 
curled around his manhood.

Their hands pleasured and explored the other for what seemed an eternity, 
till her breath began coming in ragged gasps.  He continued till she pulled 
his hand away, too sensitive now for such an intimate touch.

She smiled down at him, kissing him thoroughly, then trailed kisses down 
his throat and torso till her mouth came to where her hand still grasped 
him.  He watched through a curtain of her hair as she took him, then closed 
his eyes, giving himself over to the sensations of her warm mouth.

He wanted so badly to join the rhythm of her mouth and she had to hold down 
his hips.  Her efforts didn't take long before he shuddered and cried out 
as the universe became merely one point of white hot pleasure and relief, 
followed by a grey haze.

"Tai?  Are you all right?"  Her voice seemed to come from a long distance.

"Are you kidding?" he asked.  "If I were any more all right, I'd be dead 
from sheer ecstasy."

She chuckled and then slid back up the bed to lay next to him, her mouth 
covering his, the taste of his own bitter muskiness on her lips.  He held 
her close, his eyes closed, letting his breath return to something 
approaching normal.

"I suppose we should have lunch," she said.

"Hm.  I suppose so.  But only if we can eat it in bed."

She removed herself from his embrace and slid out of the bed, returning 
moments later with a basket.  She helped him sit up somewhat, propped by 
pillows and they ate quietly and quickly, then she set aside the food and 
looked at the pill bottle beside the bed.

"Are you supposed to take this soon?"

"Yes, actually, I was beginning to notice it was wearing off," he said.

"How many?"

"Just one."  He took the proffered pill and water.  "Would you help me lay 
back down?  When this stuff hits, I'm dead to the world for a while."

She helped him down, then snuggled next to him.  He knew they had only a 
few minutes to talk.  There had been so much he wanted to say...

"'Leigh, have you thought about us beyond the present moment?  Are we just 
going to be friends and lovers, or are you thinking mates?  Mates seems 
such a horribly complicated arrangement right now.  You've got Jadain's 
feelings to think about and I've got R'ven's, so I didn't know where you 
thought this was all going."

She lay still for a moment.  "I don't know, Tai.  Just being lovers seems 
so complicated right now... I'll have to think about it."

He nodded, feeling the fuzzy warmth of the painkiller kick in.  "I'd love 
to talk more, 'Leigh, but I don't think this stuff is going to let me.  Sorry."

"It's okay," she answered, kissing him.

As he drifted to sleep, he thought about how nice it felt to have her 
beside him.

******

He awoke alone, at the sound of the apartment door shutting.  He stood up 
slowly, wrapping the blanket around himself against the slight chill.

"The things I do for this warren," R'ven was muttering.

Tair'n stopped in the doorway and watched as R'ven dropped the fur cloak and 
fancy hat he was wearing.

"Hi," Tair'n said, his voice still sleepy.  "How did it go?"

R'ven sat down in a chair opposite his lover and prised off his leather boots.

"Okay, I think.  You know what Gossimer's like."

"Rude, brash, uncouth, loud.  He still got that sweet little serving wench? 
What was her name?  Shilar... no, Shelar?"

"Shellir.  Yes, but she isn't so little anymore."  R'ven getstured with his 
hands making a large bump in front of his body.

"That man must have more bastards than you can shake a stick at!"

R'ven let out a low chuckle, as he stood and made his way over to Tair'n.

"Don't s'pose you'd care to rephrase that would you?"  R'ven slipped his 
arm around Tair'n as he kissed him.  "Mmmmm, you taste good."

"And you taste and smell of beer!  Go have a bath, 'Ven, I'll get you 
something to eat."  He glanced at the table where there was a sack of food. 
Ah, yes, R'ven had been getting lunch when Jayleigh had come.  Tair'n 
wondered idly what R'ven had seen or heard.  "There's the food from lunch 
if you want it."

"I'd rather wait till I've seen 'Leigh.  I want to make sure she doesn't 
rip Gerald to shreds over this afternoon.  Now you should be in bed."  
R'ven turned Tair'n round and pushed him gently back into the bedroom.

"I'm bored with staying in bed."  Tair'n pouted, knowing R'ven had trouble 
resisting it.

R'ven chuckled.  "Don't do that, Love. I just might forget that you are 
injured and take advantage of you!"

"Well, that would break the boredom!"  He sighed as he crawled back into 
bed, watching R'ven walk towards the bathroom.

Soon enough, R'ven left and Tair'n was alone with his pain and his boredom.

<Amadith, can you see-- >

< --if anyone would like to come visit.  I'll ask around.>

Tair'n sighed.  One of these days he'd get a sentence completed with his 
dragon.  <Thanks.>

Respectfully submitted,
 Lynette R. F. Cowper
  Tair'n and Amadith

NRPG: Okay, anyone want to come visit a poor, sick, bored invalid?

---
|   Lynette R. F. Cowper  *  Official INWO Rules NetRep & Goddess    |
| http://www.io.com/~lcowper  *  lcowper@io.com  *  lcowper@indy.net |
|  "If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever |
|                   get done."  -- L. Wittgenstein                   |