Dragon update. (14/15)
Title: Greta (and Spencer)
Rating: Not Intended for Children (Adult Language)
Fandom: Bandom/Dragonriders of Pern crossover (posted for bandom_pern)
Pairing: offscreen Bob/Spencer
Warnings: discussion of potential poly ship
Words: 2916
Summary: It is time for a check up with the Healer.
Previous Ficlets in the Series: 1. Bob, 2. Spencer, 3. Brendon, 4. Brian, 5. Bob Again, 6. Greta, 7. Spencer Again, 8. Miloth, 9. Bob Once More, 10. Brendon Visits, 11. Spencer and Bob, 12. Greta and Brian, 13. Bob and Spencer.
Greta (and Spencer)
“Good afternoon, Healer Morgan.”
Greta smiled and turned to face Spencer as he ran lightly down the stone steps toward her. He held his good arm out to balance himself and took the last few steps a couple at a time. She slowed her steps to let him catch up with her.
“Dragonrider Smith. How's my favourite patient?”
Spencer grinned at her. “I bet you say that to all the injured Dragonriders.”
“Of all the Dragonriders I have ever treated, you are definitely my favourite.”
“How many has that been, then?”
“You're it.”
Things had been more relaxed between them in the last sevenday or so, since Spencer had arrived at his check-up covered in mysterious grazes (and a line of fresh bruises on his shoulder and neck that really didn’t look as though they’d been produced by a fall against a hard surface) and tried to glare his way out of explaining them to Greta. It had been fun - in the nicest way - to coax him into spilling the beans on what she already suspected to be true.
When she had finally gotten him talking, it had been difficult for him to stop, as though he’d been holding himself back all that time. He really wasn’t aloof and reserved. Actually he was good company once he let down his defences. He had a sharp wit and keen eye for the ridiculous and was a lot of fun to tease.
Are you headed my way?”
“I am. Miloth is asleep, and I can't find Bob, so I figured--” he lifted his palm up, waving his hand about in an airy gesture, “--why not be early?”
“Walk with me,” said, Greta. “I need to stop in and see Brian on the way, but you can keep me company. If you like?”
“I like.” He fell into step beside her. “How has your day been so far?”
“Full of ridiculous injuries to distracted apprentices who should know better. You?”
“Miloth and I took a walk. The Weyr Healer comes tomorrow to say when we should be able to fly home.”
"Are you excited about going home?”
“Kinda,” he sighed.
“Only 'kinda'?”
“Well, yeah. Miloth misses the other dragons. It's lonely for her here.”
“And you?”
He tried for a laugh, but ended up sounding tired instead of amused. “Most people will be happy to see me go.”
“Oh hush. Every Hall has a few dim glows. They don't speak for us all.”
His shoulders dropped. He shook the hair out of his eyes and sighed.
“I guess. I'm just... bored, really. I'm used to being pretty busy.”
She could appreciate that. A little time off would be great, but a month of just waiting to get better without some sort of occupation would be draining.
“Well, I’m in no hurry to get rid of you.” She leant into his side for a moment as they walked, bumping his arm with her shoulder.
“How’s your arm feeling today? Any soreness?”
“Not when I keep it still. Is the bone still broken?” Spencer asked lots of questions about his progress. He definitely liked knowing what was going on.
“Fractures generally take between four and twelve sevendays to heal. We can't tell you exactly when it's fused into position. It's not as though we can actually look inside your body to see the bones!”
Greta winked as she made the observation. He just raised an eyebrow at her teasing. “Oh, very funny.”
She looked up at him. He was relaxed and comfortable. She wondered if it would be pushing too far to try and bring the conversation back around to Bob. She caught a shift in his expression a moment before hearing Miloth warble.
“Not asleep any longer, then? Do you need to go to her?” She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a dragon speak to you.
“No. She says I should find Bob, though.” He frowned slightly, but kept walking by her side. “He’s in the Hall.”
“Bob is going to miss Miloth,” she said, throwing caution to the wind.
Spencer flushed and looked away. “Yeah. She is going to miss him, too. She likes him.”
“She has good taste.”
“Ha,” Spencer snorted. They continued walking, turning a corner and starting up the stairs to the inner rooms of the Hall.
“She likes you, too.”
It was her turn to blush. “Does she even know who I am?” The idea that an actual dragon liked her was amazing and a bit thrilling.
“Of course she does!” Spencer insisted. “You helped her and you helped me. And you are Bob's friend.” His expression turned exaggeratedly unimpressed. “She has a bit of a crush on Bob I think.”
“Oh, she does, does she?”
His glare was hilarious and she couldn't help but chuckle back at him.
They are good together.
She stopped in her tracks. “Oh!” She was too startled to hold her reaction back.
It is not wrong for you to know that. They are good for each other in many ways.
So that was what it was like to be spoken to by a dragon. Greta could hear the words, but also feel the intent and sense of calm imbuing the dragon’s thoughts toward her as she spoke.
Spencer glanced down at her. He seemed to know immediately what had happened.
“Did she-- What did she-- Miloth, what did you say?” he demanded into the air.
I was letting the Healer know that it is good that you and the other one have been together. It has been good for you both.
“She spoke to me. I heard her.” Greta was still rather caught up on that point, even more than what the dragon was saying. “I can still hear her!”
I am happy for you to Hear me, Healer. I grow stronger and soon will fly Between and then to the Weyr. You will help this other one when my Penth has come home with me.
She spoke with such certainty and confidence about the future. Greta could feel herself feeling more hopeful.
And the master, the fierce one who wants him too, he is your friend and he will help. Everyone will have love and be well.
Greta still couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. Watching Spencer’s face, she could see that he had heard it all. He looked straight back at her. For a moment he seemed to struggle with what to say.
“You’ll be good for him. Both of you.”
Obviously he felt that now there no reason to pretend that anything was other than it was, but it was taking her a moment to get her head around that.
“Are we going to see you again? Once you get away from here?”
“I… hope so.” He paused. “How would you feel about that?”
She smiled. “I would think it was as it should be.”
They were approaching the Mastersmith's rooms. They could hear voices. Brian was definitely not happy.
“Sounds like someone is in trouble.”
As they got closer they could hear another voice raising against Brian's.
Spencer and Greta slowed their steps and then stopped.
"Every time I fucking turn around!”
They looked at each other uneasily. Greta instinctively dropped her voice, almost to a whisper. “Is that... Bob?”
The volume lowered from the shout and Greta and Spencer both stepped closer to the door to listen.
“I thought you were happy with how things have been going. You certainly looked happy enough.”
Greta bit her lip, hoping that she was the only one who heard the trace of hurt in his voice.
“I was being stupid. Shards, why didn’t you stop me making such a fucking fool of myself!”
“No one is making a fool of themselves. Not yet anyway. Now calm down, Bob. Maybe you could talk him into staying a bit longer.”
"No Schechter. I should never have hooked up with him in the first place.”
“Didn’t look like you were just hooking up, to me.”
“What does it matter? I wish it had never happened. It's good that he's leaving. Then he won't be around all the time, being all...”
"Slinky," supplied Brian.
Spencer stood frozen in place, starting to flush around his hair line. He looked down at his feet and put his hand on his hip, mouth a thin line, expression shuttered.
“It's not what it--”
“Miloth is awake now,” interrupted Spencer. Greta could hear someone walking toward the door. “I should go check on her. I hope you don't mind if I miss our session today. Things are mostly healed anyway like you say.”
“Spencer.” She put a hand out to him. He stepped back out of her reach.
She held his eye for a moment and then heard Miloth warble in the distance. The door opened, and Spencer turned on his heel and walked for a few steps before his pace sped up and he started to run.
~
Spencer could hear someone running after him. It wasn't the Healer. They called his name.
It was the Mastersmith. Great. The guy who would be there with Bob. Probably what Bob had wanted all along.
He didn't slow down, but he was out of breath and couldn't stay ahead.
A hand reached out and grabbed his elbow. He pulled away and stumbled, cursing his broken arm when he couldn't support himself on the wall from that side.
“Hey! Careful.”
Brian made sure he was steady and then stepped back, holding his hands up away from him.
“That wasn't what you think.”
That really wasn't what Spencer expected him to say. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Shells he was such an idiot.
“It's fine. I'm leaving soon. It's for the best. Whatever. Thank you for your hospitality, Master Schechter.”
Brian narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. He was shorter than Spencer, but was still a Craftmaster, and he looked fierce enough to make Spencer regret his rude tone.
“Look. It’s just....” Brian rubbed his forehead and seemed to be searching for words. It was an awkward moment of silence before he spoke. Spencer shifted his weight to his other leg and tried not to look like a twitchy kid.
“So, I know you heard some of that. Not sure how much.” He paused.
Spencer didn’t really have anything to say, so he just waited for him to continue.
“You nearly walked in on the middle of a Bob Bryar freak out. I haven't seen one of them for a while now, but they happen. Bob can... he can say some stupid shit. When he's scared he says really stupid shit. If you take what you just heard at face value then you don't deserve the trust he's given you so far, and you certainly don't deserve my explanation.”
Spencer felt sick in his stomach. That stung. He thought of the previous night. The way Bob had let him sit, straddling his hips, and run his fingertips gently over his chest, circling his nipples, stroking over the wispy hair under his arms. He had rubbed his palms over the scarred skin and Bob had let him. They had looked each other in the eye and Bob had let him look and touch. He knew it had been something special. Something real.
“If you think that's bad,” Brian continued, “you should have known him before he went to the Weyr. Man could be a jerk. I can say that as a very old friend.” He frowned.
Spencer nodded quickly, as if to acknowledge that he wouldn't take that liberty.
“We’ve known each other since we were kids. And he’s always had this way of just saying stuff, just to piss you off. He had a lot to say about riders too, you know, before he went to the Weyr and learnt how wrong he'd been.”
And then he lost that too, thought Spencer, the sick feeling settling into something heavy and hot in his stomach.
Penth? Miloth touched his mind with her concern.
“He wants me to leave.”
“He doesn't want you to leave and it's making him crazy.” Brian talked over him. “Is that seriously all it’s going to take for you to just walk away? Just because the guy doesn’t know how to put it into words?”
Spencer felt the air woosh out of him.
“I don't want to leave. Him. But... the Weyr...”
“He can't go there.” Brian didn't look so fierce any more. Just really sad. “Maybe one day. Who knows.”
“And Miloth is lonely. I can't make her stay here just because I... ” Spencer trailed off, not really knowing how to finish that sentence. Because he was having great sex? Because he was going to miss Bob so much and had not expected any of this to happen?
“It's okay, Spencer. I understand. He understands. He just really sucks at saying it.”
“He's going to miss me?” Spencer hadn't meant to make that a question.
Brian frowned. “The fuck? Have you being paying attention at all? Of course he is.”
Miloth's reassurance was washing through Spencer's gut, helping him to breathe. And to think.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
“Don't tell me. Tell him.”
“No, I'm sorry to you, as well. You … care about him.” Things sort of made sense, if Spencer thought about it that way. Brian was a good guy, but he wasn't weyr-bred. Spencer wasn't sure how many lines he was crossing by even hinting at what Miloth and Greta had revealed to him.
Brian flushed and dropped his arms to his sides.
“Well. Yes. I've known him for a long time.”
“And you’ve wanted him for a long time, too.” Brian’s eyes widened. Spencer kept speaking before he could interrupt. “I think he wants you, too. It's good to know you're here. He might miss me, but he doesn't need to be lonely. Or alone.”
For a moment, Spencer felt like the older one. He watched Brian struggle with how to respond. He wondered if the difference between Hold, Hall, and Weyr was going to make this easier or harder.
“I'm a dragonrider, Brian. A green dragonrider. I have to look after my dragon. She's going to rise to mate. And I will be there with her. That’s the way it is. But just because I’m sleeping with other riders, it doesn't mean that I don't care about Bob.”
Brian squirmed.
“Well, I'm sure he understands all that stuff better than I do.”
“Yeah, but it also helps me understand him. If he needs someone. I won't be here. I get that.”
Spencer had no idea how to discuss this. He was talking to a Craft Master: someone who out ranked him by so much Spencer couldn’t even get his head around it.
He is a man first, a Master after that, Miloth reminded him.
He tried one more time to say it as simply as he could. “I won’t be here, but you will be.”
Brian was silent for a few moments, staring over Spencer’s shoulder until he seemed to find the words he was looking for.
“Things have never been like that with us.”
“You’ve never had reason to act on it. But you know him. And you know he's... changed,” Spencer tried to explain. “Things might be different. I want you to know that I'm okay with, you know, things. If you were worried about what I felt, or whatever.”
There was more silence, and Spencer wondered if he had just alienated his one ally in all of this, the man who really did have the power to decide if he and Bob would see each other again.
Brian turned back the way he'd come. He looked over his shoulder at Spencer. He smiled, a little ruefully, and shrugged. It was probably the closest thing to an agreement they were going to reach right now. “Come on. He's going to be losing his shit, wondering what you heard. I don't want to talk him down on my own.”
Spencer was sure that Greta would have stayed. He had pretty much missed his check up appointment, so she had nowhere else to be. But now that the his stomach was settling and his brain had caught up with what was going on, Spencer really wanted to see Bob.
He wants to see you, too. The Healer is there.
Miloth wouldn't lie to him, Spencer knew that.
He wants you and the small Master. And the Healer.
That was quite a list. “He wants all of us, huh?”
Yes. All of you. Her tone was full of apparent innocence as she continued, and it didn’t fool Spencer for a second. He does want all of you, but possibly not all at once.
Spencer had to choke down laughter as he turned and followed Brian back to his room.
~
next
Thankyou to maple_mahogany and reni_days for the read throughs and to barmy_bunk for the beta.
Disclaimer: The Pern universe and the world, creatures and customs that belong to it remain the intellectual property of Anne McCaffrey, and the characters referenced in this piece are fictional representations of real people. No offense or infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.
Rating: Not Intended for Children (Adult Language)
Fandom: Bandom/Dragonriders of Pern crossover (posted for bandom_pern)
Pairing: offscreen Bob/Spencer
Warnings: discussion of potential poly ship
Words: 2916
Summary: It is time for a check up with the Healer.
Previous Ficlets in the Series: 1. Bob, 2. Spencer, 3. Brendon, 4. Brian, 5. Bob Again, 6. Greta, 7. Spencer Again, 8. Miloth, 9. Bob Once More, 10. Brendon Visits, 11. Spencer and Bob, 12. Greta and Brian, 13. Bob and Spencer.
Greta (and Spencer)
“Good afternoon, Healer Morgan.”
Greta smiled and turned to face Spencer as he ran lightly down the stone steps toward her. He held his good arm out to balance himself and took the last few steps a couple at a time. She slowed her steps to let him catch up with her.
“Dragonrider Smith. How's my favourite patient?”
Spencer grinned at her. “I bet you say that to all the injured Dragonriders.”
“Of all the Dragonriders I have ever treated, you are definitely my favourite.”
“How many has that been, then?”
“You're it.”
Things had been more relaxed between them in the last sevenday or so, since Spencer had arrived at his check-up covered in mysterious grazes (and a line of fresh bruises on his shoulder and neck that really didn’t look as though they’d been produced by a fall against a hard surface) and tried to glare his way out of explaining them to Greta. It had been fun - in the nicest way - to coax him into spilling the beans on what she already suspected to be true.
When she had finally gotten him talking, it had been difficult for him to stop, as though he’d been holding himself back all that time. He really wasn’t aloof and reserved. Actually he was good company once he let down his defences. He had a sharp wit and keen eye for the ridiculous and was a lot of fun to tease.
Are you headed my way?”
“I am. Miloth is asleep, and I can't find Bob, so I figured--” he lifted his palm up, waving his hand about in an airy gesture, “--why not be early?”
“Walk with me,” said, Greta. “I need to stop in and see Brian on the way, but you can keep me company. If you like?”
“I like.” He fell into step beside her. “How has your day been so far?”
“Full of ridiculous injuries to distracted apprentices who should know better. You?”
“Miloth and I took a walk. The Weyr Healer comes tomorrow to say when we should be able to fly home.”
"Are you excited about going home?”
“Kinda,” he sighed.
“Only 'kinda'?”
“Well, yeah. Miloth misses the other dragons. It's lonely for her here.”
“And you?”
He tried for a laugh, but ended up sounding tired instead of amused. “Most people will be happy to see me go.”
“Oh hush. Every Hall has a few dim glows. They don't speak for us all.”
His shoulders dropped. He shook the hair out of his eyes and sighed.
“I guess. I'm just... bored, really. I'm used to being pretty busy.”
She could appreciate that. A little time off would be great, but a month of just waiting to get better without some sort of occupation would be draining.
“Well, I’m in no hurry to get rid of you.” She leant into his side for a moment as they walked, bumping his arm with her shoulder.
“How’s your arm feeling today? Any soreness?”
“Not when I keep it still. Is the bone still broken?” Spencer asked lots of questions about his progress. He definitely liked knowing what was going on.
“Fractures generally take between four and twelve sevendays to heal. We can't tell you exactly when it's fused into position. It's not as though we can actually look inside your body to see the bones!”
Greta winked as she made the observation. He just raised an eyebrow at her teasing. “Oh, very funny.”
She looked up at him. He was relaxed and comfortable. She wondered if it would be pushing too far to try and bring the conversation back around to Bob. She caught a shift in his expression a moment before hearing Miloth warble.
“Not asleep any longer, then? Do you need to go to her?” She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a dragon speak to you.
“No. She says I should find Bob, though.” He frowned slightly, but kept walking by her side. “He’s in the Hall.”
“Bob is going to miss Miloth,” she said, throwing caution to the wind.
Spencer flushed and looked away. “Yeah. She is going to miss him, too. She likes him.”
“She has good taste.”
“Ha,” Spencer snorted. They continued walking, turning a corner and starting up the stairs to the inner rooms of the Hall.
“She likes you, too.”
It was her turn to blush. “Does she even know who I am?” The idea that an actual dragon liked her was amazing and a bit thrilling.
“Of course she does!” Spencer insisted. “You helped her and you helped me. And you are Bob's friend.” His expression turned exaggeratedly unimpressed. “She has a bit of a crush on Bob I think.”
“Oh, she does, does she?”
His glare was hilarious and she couldn't help but chuckle back at him.
They are good together.
She stopped in her tracks. “Oh!” She was too startled to hold her reaction back.
It is not wrong for you to know that. They are good for each other in many ways.
So that was what it was like to be spoken to by a dragon. Greta could hear the words, but also feel the intent and sense of calm imbuing the dragon’s thoughts toward her as she spoke.
Spencer glanced down at her. He seemed to know immediately what had happened.
“Did she-- What did she-- Miloth, what did you say?” he demanded into the air.
I was letting the Healer know that it is good that you and the other one have been together. It has been good for you both.
“She spoke to me. I heard her.” Greta was still rather caught up on that point, even more than what the dragon was saying. “I can still hear her!”
I am happy for you to Hear me, Healer. I grow stronger and soon will fly Between and then to the Weyr. You will help this other one when my Penth has come home with me.
She spoke with such certainty and confidence about the future. Greta could feel herself feeling more hopeful.
And the master, the fierce one who wants him too, he is your friend and he will help. Everyone will have love and be well.
Greta still couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. Watching Spencer’s face, she could see that he had heard it all. He looked straight back at her. For a moment he seemed to struggle with what to say.
“You’ll be good for him. Both of you.”
Obviously he felt that now there no reason to pretend that anything was other than it was, but it was taking her a moment to get her head around that.
“Are we going to see you again? Once you get away from here?”
“I… hope so.” He paused. “How would you feel about that?”
She smiled. “I would think it was as it should be.”
They were approaching the Mastersmith's rooms. They could hear voices. Brian was definitely not happy.
“Sounds like someone is in trouble.”
As they got closer they could hear another voice raising against Brian's.
Spencer and Greta slowed their steps and then stopped.
"Every time I fucking turn around!”
They looked at each other uneasily. Greta instinctively dropped her voice, almost to a whisper. “Is that... Bob?”
The volume lowered from the shout and Greta and Spencer both stepped closer to the door to listen.
“I thought you were happy with how things have been going. You certainly looked happy enough.”
Greta bit her lip, hoping that she was the only one who heard the trace of hurt in his voice.
“I was being stupid. Shards, why didn’t you stop me making such a fucking fool of myself!”
“No one is making a fool of themselves. Not yet anyway. Now calm down, Bob. Maybe you could talk him into staying a bit longer.”
"No Schechter. I should never have hooked up with him in the first place.”
“Didn’t look like you were just hooking up, to me.”
“What does it matter? I wish it had never happened. It's good that he's leaving. Then he won't be around all the time, being all...”
"Slinky," supplied Brian.
Spencer stood frozen in place, starting to flush around his hair line. He looked down at his feet and put his hand on his hip, mouth a thin line, expression shuttered.
“It's not what it--”
“Miloth is awake now,” interrupted Spencer. Greta could hear someone walking toward the door. “I should go check on her. I hope you don't mind if I miss our session today. Things are mostly healed anyway like you say.”
“Spencer.” She put a hand out to him. He stepped back out of her reach.
She held his eye for a moment and then heard Miloth warble in the distance. The door opened, and Spencer turned on his heel and walked for a few steps before his pace sped up and he started to run.
~
Spencer could hear someone running after him. It wasn't the Healer. They called his name.
It was the Mastersmith. Great. The guy who would be there with Bob. Probably what Bob had wanted all along.
He didn't slow down, but he was out of breath and couldn't stay ahead.
A hand reached out and grabbed his elbow. He pulled away and stumbled, cursing his broken arm when he couldn't support himself on the wall from that side.
“Hey! Careful.”
Brian made sure he was steady and then stepped back, holding his hands up away from him.
“That wasn't what you think.”
That really wasn't what Spencer expected him to say. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Shells he was such an idiot.
“It's fine. I'm leaving soon. It's for the best. Whatever. Thank you for your hospitality, Master Schechter.”
Brian narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. He was shorter than Spencer, but was still a Craftmaster, and he looked fierce enough to make Spencer regret his rude tone.
“Look. It’s just....” Brian rubbed his forehead and seemed to be searching for words. It was an awkward moment of silence before he spoke. Spencer shifted his weight to his other leg and tried not to look like a twitchy kid.
“So, I know you heard some of that. Not sure how much.” He paused.
Spencer didn’t really have anything to say, so he just waited for him to continue.
“You nearly walked in on the middle of a Bob Bryar freak out. I haven't seen one of them for a while now, but they happen. Bob can... he can say some stupid shit. When he's scared he says really stupid shit. If you take what you just heard at face value then you don't deserve the trust he's given you so far, and you certainly don't deserve my explanation.”
Spencer felt sick in his stomach. That stung. He thought of the previous night. The way Bob had let him sit, straddling his hips, and run his fingertips gently over his chest, circling his nipples, stroking over the wispy hair under his arms. He had rubbed his palms over the scarred skin and Bob had let him. They had looked each other in the eye and Bob had let him look and touch. He knew it had been something special. Something real.
“If you think that's bad,” Brian continued, “you should have known him before he went to the Weyr. Man could be a jerk. I can say that as a very old friend.” He frowned.
Spencer nodded quickly, as if to acknowledge that he wouldn't take that liberty.
“We’ve known each other since we were kids. And he’s always had this way of just saying stuff, just to piss you off. He had a lot to say about riders too, you know, before he went to the Weyr and learnt how wrong he'd been.”
And then he lost that too, thought Spencer, the sick feeling settling into something heavy and hot in his stomach.
Penth? Miloth touched his mind with her concern.
“He wants me to leave.”
“He doesn't want you to leave and it's making him crazy.” Brian talked over him. “Is that seriously all it’s going to take for you to just walk away? Just because the guy doesn’t know how to put it into words?”
Spencer felt the air woosh out of him.
“I don't want to leave. Him. But... the Weyr...”
“He can't go there.” Brian didn't look so fierce any more. Just really sad. “Maybe one day. Who knows.”
“And Miloth is lonely. I can't make her stay here just because I... ” Spencer trailed off, not really knowing how to finish that sentence. Because he was having great sex? Because he was going to miss Bob so much and had not expected any of this to happen?
“It's okay, Spencer. I understand. He understands. He just really sucks at saying it.”
“He's going to miss me?” Spencer hadn't meant to make that a question.
Brian frowned. “The fuck? Have you being paying attention at all? Of course he is.”
Miloth's reassurance was washing through Spencer's gut, helping him to breathe. And to think.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
“Don't tell me. Tell him.”
“No, I'm sorry to you, as well. You … care about him.” Things sort of made sense, if Spencer thought about it that way. Brian was a good guy, but he wasn't weyr-bred. Spencer wasn't sure how many lines he was crossing by even hinting at what Miloth and Greta had revealed to him.
Brian flushed and dropped his arms to his sides.
“Well. Yes. I've known him for a long time.”
“And you’ve wanted him for a long time, too.” Brian’s eyes widened. Spencer kept speaking before he could interrupt. “I think he wants you, too. It's good to know you're here. He might miss me, but he doesn't need to be lonely. Or alone.”
For a moment, Spencer felt like the older one. He watched Brian struggle with how to respond. He wondered if the difference between Hold, Hall, and Weyr was going to make this easier or harder.
“I'm a dragonrider, Brian. A green dragonrider. I have to look after my dragon. She's going to rise to mate. And I will be there with her. That’s the way it is. But just because I’m sleeping with other riders, it doesn't mean that I don't care about Bob.”
Brian squirmed.
“Well, I'm sure he understands all that stuff better than I do.”
“Yeah, but it also helps me understand him. If he needs someone. I won't be here. I get that.”
Spencer had no idea how to discuss this. He was talking to a Craft Master: someone who out ranked him by so much Spencer couldn’t even get his head around it.
He is a man first, a Master after that, Miloth reminded him.
He tried one more time to say it as simply as he could. “I won’t be here, but you will be.”
Brian was silent for a few moments, staring over Spencer’s shoulder until he seemed to find the words he was looking for.
“Things have never been like that with us.”
“You’ve never had reason to act on it. But you know him. And you know he's... changed,” Spencer tried to explain. “Things might be different. I want you to know that I'm okay with, you know, things. If you were worried about what I felt, or whatever.”
There was more silence, and Spencer wondered if he had just alienated his one ally in all of this, the man who really did have the power to decide if he and Bob would see each other again.
Brian turned back the way he'd come. He looked over his shoulder at Spencer. He smiled, a little ruefully, and shrugged. It was probably the closest thing to an agreement they were going to reach right now. “Come on. He's going to be losing his shit, wondering what you heard. I don't want to talk him down on my own.”
Spencer was sure that Greta would have stayed. He had pretty much missed his check up appointment, so she had nowhere else to be. But now that the his stomach was settling and his brain had caught up with what was going on, Spencer really wanted to see Bob.
He wants to see you, too. The Healer is there.
Miloth wouldn't lie to him, Spencer knew that.
He wants you and the small Master. And the Healer.
That was quite a list. “He wants all of us, huh?”
Yes. All of you. Her tone was full of apparent innocence as she continued, and it didn’t fool Spencer for a second. He does want all of you, but possibly not all at once.
Spencer had to choke down laughter as he turned and followed Brian back to his room.
~
next
Thankyou to maple_mahogany and reni_days for the read throughs and to barmy_bunk for the beta.
Disclaimer: The Pern universe and the world, creatures and customs that belong to it remain the intellectual property of Anne McCaffrey, and the characters referenced in this piece are fictional representations of real people. No offense or infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.