Meant For Another (1): In The Dark

Writers: Devin, Bree
Date Posted: 5th January 2007
Series: Saving Each Other

Characters: N'vanik, Abrei
Description: A fight between N'vanik & Abrei takes a turn for the surreal when Abrei gives him the chance to pretend he's with Talryne.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 26 of Turn 4

N'vanik

Abrei

Abrei didn't spare N'vanik's door any of her frustration, thumping on it hard enough to make her hand sting a little. His door seemed to have strange habit of not opening when she knocked on it, however... and since Talryne reportedly almost never left, she found that more than a little suspicious.

Grudgingly opening the door, N'vanik was surprised to see who it was. Well, she _was_ Tal's cousin. He glanced at the outer side of the door. "I think you should knock harder. You haven't made a dent yet."

"Nor am I likely to," Abrei retorted, her voice annoyed. "Apparently your door is so thick, you can't hear knocking from the other side. I'm amazed I didn't have to kick it."

"I could hear you knocking just fine. I just didn't think it was important enough to answer." His tone implied that he still didn't think it was important.

Abrei was completely undaunted. "I want to see my cousin."

"She doesn't want to see anyone," he told her.

She'd half expected that answer, and had come prepared for it. "Fine. Then you come out here and talk to _me_." She was going to get the truth of why Talryne was holed up in N'vanik's weyr one way or another.

"Fine." He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door, careful not to slam it -- for Talryne's sake.

Abrei watched him for a moment and then jerked her head towards the end of the hallway. If she was going to pick a fight with him, she was at least going to do it far enough away that Talryne wasn't likely to hear. "Let's go somewhere quiet where we can talk."

N'vanik rolled his eyes and walked to the end of the hall. Couldn't she just say whatever she wanted to and get it over with? He crossed his arms over his chest. "So?"

"So, why are you keeping my cousin locked up in your weyr?" she demanded, turning to face him.

"Oh, please! I'm not keeping her locked up." Of course she would think that. "She doesn't want to come out."

Abrei raked her eyes up and down N'vanik's body rudely. "You're tolerable enough to look at. Don't tell me you're so desperate for female company that you decided to take advantage of someone who barely knows _what_ she wants."

"I am _not_ taking advantage of her!" he growled.

"So you just let her move in with you out of the goodness of your heart?" Maybe he'd fooled Talrian with that idiocy, but Abrei remembered her first encounter with N'vanik all too well. He'd made it perfectly clear that his interest in Talryne had started and stopped with sex. The goodness of his heart . . . that just sounded too noble. "I wasn't planning on her staying this long."

"And what changed your mind?" Abrei asked in a dangerously sweet voice. "What was it you told me the first time we met? That you had better things to do with Talryne than talk to her?"

"She lost her dragon," he said, as if Abrei needed to be reminded of that.
"That changed a lot of things."

Abrei's eyes narrowed. "It hurt her. And I know what she does when she gets hurt. She finds men who will use her, and lets them do it. You may not think it's taking advantage of her if she's encouraging it, but it is."

"Looks like she picked the wrong guy this time," N'vanik said, returning the glare. "Not that it's your business, but we haven't had sex since the accident." That stopped Abrei short for a moment, leaving her staring at N'vanik suspiciously. "I don't understand. Why is she sleeping in your weyr, then?"

He shrugged. "She doesn't want to be alone."

Abrei studied N'vanik for a moment, looking more thoughtful than aggressive for the first time. The words that she spoke next, however, were not well thought out at all. "Are you in love with my cousin?" N'vanik flinched. "What?! Of course not!" His tone was less sure than his words, though. **No. No way. I care about her, that's all.**

"You're not in love with her, you're not having sex with her..." Abrei tilted her head to the side and watched him intently. "Do you want to be?" She looked so much like Talryne, even if the differences were much more clear to him now. And the way she tilted her head was such a sharp reminder of Tal.
Maybe that's what made him say it. "Yes."

"Yes?" She'd been expecting another hasty denial, so she hadn't thought to phrase her question carefully. "Yes to which one? Love or sex?" "The sex," he replied quickly.

"Oh." The conversation had certainly taken a turn she hadn't expected, leaving Abrei feeling somewhat out of her depth. Yelling at N'vanik she'd been prepared for. Condemning him for taking advantage of Talryne would have been easy. This... she didn't know what to say. Her voice turned a little hesitant. "I think I misjudged your self-control."

"Yeah. Well. You done interrogating me yet?" He wanted to get away from Abrei and her disturbing questions as soon as possible.

"Almost." She moved in a little closer to him, that vaguely aggressive expression back on her face. "What happens when that self-control runs out?"

N'vanik stared down at her. "I go find someone else." Something rebellious rose up in Abrei as she stared back at him without realizing that her every thought was clear on her face. She knew that her thoughts had strayed into dangerous territory, but she brushed the warning aside and gave him a challenging look. "How's your self-control doing now, bronzerider?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you kidding me?" he asked, even as he felt his heartrate speed up. "No. Not really." She was close enough that she could have leaned in and touched him, but she didn't do it. That tiny warning voice inside her was still begging her not to make this mistake. She ignored it and shifted just the tiniest bit closer. "But I'm not going to offer twice."

She really did look so much like Tal . . . "There's an empty weyr we can use."
He felt awful thinking it, and even more awful saying it, but N'vanik was very good at hurting himself.

Refusing to examine her own motives too closely, Abrei waved a hand. "Lead the way."
**Tell Tal I'll be with someone for a while, but don't tell her who. Or where,** he told Loseth. N'vanik went down a few halls and flights of stairs and stopped in front of Talryne's unused weyr.

Abrei stared at the door for a moment, recognizing it. **This is very, very wrong.** And still, she followed N'vanik inside without a word of protest. She closed the door behind them and leaned back against it, feeling that twisted mix of defiance and satisfaction that she always got from doing something that she knew would hurt her.

The weyr was dark, and N'vanik partially uncovered a glow basket so they wouldn't run into things. But he kept the lighting dim. He stepped over to Abrei, standing so they were barely touching, waiting for a moment to see if she would change her mind and leave. Then he leaned to kiss her.

**Wrong...* She ignored the inner voice and slid her arms around N'vanik, pulling his body tightly against hers. She'd accepted that she was going to make this mistake, now she wanted to drown the guilt and reservations in sensation.

N'vanik had planned on this being fast, like his other recent encounters, maybe rough too. His kisses were demanding as he pulled her toward the sleeping room. Pulling back for a moment to pull off his shirt when they reached the bed, N'vanik took a good look at Abrei in the dim light. It was harder to pick out distinct features, harder to see the differences. When he kissed her again it was softer.

The sudden gentleness of his kiss told Abrei everything she needed to know about why he was here. Without releasing his lips, she lifted a hand and pulled the pins from her hair, letting it tumble down around her body. Talryne liked to wear her hair down, after all. Her hands returned to N'vanik's shoulders, and she let herself pretend that the tenderness in his kiss was meant for her.

He trailed light kisses down her neck and shoulder and slid off her shirt with slow, gentle hands. His fingers brushed through her hair and he caught himself before he could whisper something. Anything he said might be too much, but otherwise he let himself go. In the dark, it was so easy to pretend.

It was nothing like she'd expected, but somehow everything that she wanted. N'vanik's slow caresses filled a void she hadn't known was there. But the feelings behind his touches didn't belong to her... she'd stolen something that belonged to Talryne. It was that bitter knowledge that made her coax him onto the bed, half hoping he'd resume his rough, frantic pace. She hadn't earned his tenderness.

Joining her on the bed, he kept up his gentle touches even as he worked at the fastenings of Abrei's pants. When their clothing had been removed, he laid on top of her. He let out a small sign, enjoying the feel of skin on skin. He didn't need to hold back this time. He could have what he wanted, even if it was a lie.

Last updated on the January 6th 2007

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Meant For Another (1): In The Dark