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Whee! indeed!

It's about freaking time, Kibeth grumbled to Malcarreth. She's been stupid about the whole thing.

The wide silly smile echoed on her own face, the glass crafter near squirming in her seat from the twist of happiness in her chest. She tried to scowl at his statement and fell rather short, a smile still twitching at the corners.

"How long?" Rochelle didn't care how demanding she sounded, tone verging on grumpy. She reached out to fluff his hair, gentle fingers at odds with the huff. C'tis could deal with a little grump. She was okay with that. Her fingers curled in the soft spikes for a pet. "And if you forget this when you wake up, I will end you."

Kibeth fell silent for a moment, skinny frame still. Then she stretched, beanpole that she grew into, and flopped her head onto an uninjured bit of Malcarreth. Some things she does, she doesn't do out of malice. No more details but... just keep that in mind, the both of you. The crimson knew of her riders penchant for running when scared of her own feelings. This talk with C'tis, well, Kibeth felt almost proud of her for using her words as well as her actions.

Mostly, anyway. Her grump flagged and fingers still in his hair, dark blue eyes searching his face for any sign of lying. She didn't think he'd lie about how he felt but for the time frame, over a turn when she'd still been in the friend frame of mind. Cuddly friend, but friend. Possible friend with benefits but still friend.

"Very interested," she rubbed at the back of his neck, corner of her mouth hitching up again. Her stomach turned, sick with talking about something as terrifying as owning up to her feelings. Telling made her feel ill and she spoke anyway. "I don't kiss someone like that because I'm not. Just - I'm not good with... with feelings really. I've felt something for a while but tried not to think about it. I'm not good at thinking about it. Kibeth's Flight is when it kicked me in the face an then I had a good long month to think about it."

Rochelle shrugged, her eyes dropping to his hands. "But they'd been there for a while. Dunno how long. Long enough." Then she paused, gaze snapping back up to his face with a wide stare, apprehension curled in her tone as it tightened her stomach. "We're talking about feelings, right? Not just sex?"

It had happened before. Months of courtship, pretty words, sex, and that's all he wanted. If C'tis meant he wanted a regular tumble between the furs - he'd said hot, nothing about her outside of her body - Rochelle felt confident she'd likely melt into a puddle and never return. The answer wouldn't be 'yes' if that was what he wanted, she couldn't after essentially dumping her feelings onto him. Friends with benefits were one thing but with one sided feelings... no.

He didn't mean just sex. He couldn't. Not to her, not this far in, not after everything. She felt sick. C'tis wouldn't, but he might, he could, he only talked about her body and wanting to kiss her.

"Ages ago, I probably would've said yes," Rochelle muttered, crushing her paranoia underfoot. Her stomach churned, hot and tight and threatening to overwhelm her. The instinct to run and hide away in her workshop almost wonn the young womans hand twitching. She reached out instead to run the tips of her fingers across his knuckles, eyebrows furrowed in an attempt to figure out what to say. "I liked you before. Didn't want to, I tried not to but the idea of going out with other people made me feel... feel slimy. Morning after the Flight, though, I thought that maybe you had. There was no reason not to."

She continued to touch, eyes locked on their hands. Nasuea threatened. She swallowed hard, the corners of her mouth kicking up. "...I thought you just tolerated my hanging on. You never said anything or did anything except commenting on ample tracts of land a long while back. I tried to refile you, uninterested, friend only, but it didn't work." Rochelle shrugged, finally looking back up at him. "You're super spiky. It's almost charming. Sokay, though, I can be too."

It worked, didn't it? It worked out? She didn't move her hand. "What now?"

I can see this ending infight- screaming and kissing at some point. Then starting over again. At least they'll never be boring. Kibeth snorted, her head comfortable on him despite the bump.

Hee. They'd hugged before, leaned, cuddled some late at night when one or the other was too tired from drink or work or practice and had to simply sleep. Rochelle usually initiated. She couldn't remember the last time C'tis had - did he ever? A bit foggy with a scant bit of fellis herself, she shrugged it off and concentrated on the fact that he did today. Twice. She squeezed the hand on hers, unwilling to letgo of the human contact.

She snickered anyway. "You said 'crack'. And we're both ridiculously mature. I'm glad you noticed. How about we just..." Rochelle shrugged. "Keep doing what we're doing but act on things when we want to. 'Cause I've wanted to for a while and i'd like to be able to kiss you when I want to without worrying about wrecking things."

The glass crafter leaned in and dropped a soft, quick kiss to his mouth, scarred eyebrows hitched up when she pulled back just enough to look at him. As awkward as it felt, there was also happy. Quite a bit of it in fact.

Bring that up while he's practically in traction, Kibeth sniffed. Although you aren't wrong.

Rochelle leaned into the touch, hedonist to the end. She almost the kiss because of it but turned her head at the last second for him to hit skin rather than empty air. Affection appeared o be a thing he was okay with. Emboldened by that idea, she moved her hand to intertwine their fingers and squeezed again. They'd probably crash and burn this entire relationship to the ground, end it all in fights and screaming, him saying horrible things, her saying them right back, perhaps things being thrown. In the end, she'd probably cry and they'd never see each other again. ..For the moment, she couldn't care. She felt happy, elated, and secure for the first time in a long while.

"Our own pace then," she announced, the corners of her mouth quirked into an slight smile. "Although since you're wounded and have been sitting on your arse for the last year and a half not making a move, it's going to be your call in the beginning. I'm warning you now. You can't say I didn't warn you." rochelle tugged at his hand, gently, mindful of his hurts. "Are you thinking again? You should stop. I can smell burning."

"Oh haha. You just think you're cute. News flash all up in here," rochelle rolled her eyes, no longer bothering to try and hide the smile. She looked down at their hands, out of pleased curiousity instead of upset. They looked odd - big and small, rough and work-bitten, wide and slim. Interesting and odd and wonderful. Her smile widened, brighter then before, and she snorted. "Like the hug I gave Aleck when he was sad? That sort of thing? I like... touching, I guess. Not in a naked sense - that too but not always. Just people. Not being alone. Hugs help more than a pat on the back."

She shrugged, nonplussed. Then Natai came up. Her eyebrows rose again, studying him for a long moment. "Wait. How drugged are you? If you go on some rant about how awesome golds are I am calling you a fraud. Since when did you want to follow a, and I quote, 'shiny arsed elitist'?"

At first all she heard boiled down to 'something like color equality'. It sounded wonderful for those few sentences; somewhere C'tis and the others didn't have to be bitter, maybe be something when they worked or it. Status despite color. It could happen, maybe, if someone with 'inborn' power brought it to light rather than start a revolution. Then the other bit sunk in: another Weyr, another Weyrhold, another home to build and fight for with no garauntees of aything.

C'tis didn't want to be at Trine anymore. He wanted literally to follow this goldrider to a new location. Rochelle didn't squeeze back. She stared for a moment and furrowed her eyebrows before she thought of anything to say.

"You want to leave?"