These Inconvenient Fireworks
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Risali's Room


It's nightfall and cold but not as bad as some of the northern lands. Most folk are smart enough to stay indoors and K'vir was among them but now he's stepping out of the tavern and shivering a bit against the sudden chill. Pulling his jacket tighter around himself, he'll begin to slowly trudge back towards his temporary weyr as he remains in Xanadu. Head bowed, eyes forward or on his path, he doesn't appear drunk or in any sort of foul mood. Quiet, for certain and not walking with the usual bounce to his step but there's no brooding air about him. Just a lone bronzerider, making his way home. Nothing to see here, nothing special. Boots crunch against the ground where a thin layer of snow has fallen and when he finally does reach the door to his place he was to work at the latch a bit to get it to work. That results in some muffled swearing and then a chuckled note of triumph. HA! TAKE THAT, door! He's just so single mindedly focused on GETTING home that he may not be aware of his surroundings; even as he starts to take his first step inside.

But there will be no 'first step inside' for K'vir; Risali's ready. She's faced down internal demons and come to terms with the fact that maybe she's not what K'vir wants, even if he's what she wants - and she does want him - and that's okay. It's okay, even if it hurts, but the thought of K'vir being absent hurts so much worse and she's felt bereft of him for a fortnight and — no. No more. Risali doesn't have to do much in the way of finding K'vir, because fate always seems to have this uncanny way of drawing her to him, and so she's there when he leaves the tavern, and she's there as he makes his way home through a dusting of snow, and she's there when he fights with his door and pushes it open and - "WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, BRONZERIDER." Risali's hand comes down on the bronzerider's elbow, and while it might not be as cold in Xanadu as it is in more northern territories, Risa is from Half Moon Bay: she's freezing. She's bundled up in a thick coat and a scarf with a red nose and her hair pulled up behind her in a bun. The tips of her ears are red, her cheeks are pink, and the bruises on Risali's face are still blooming with color, but less color (those fading yellows and browns that hint, but are not nearly so vicious), and any swollen hurts have long since gone to be a distant memory. Even the cut of her lip and the cut above her brow are healing nicely, scabbed but distant. And whether the bronzerider wants her to or not, Risali is inserting herself between K'vir and the entrance of his home with one hand on her hip and a stern look. "Your mother clearly didn't beat you enough." But she smiles, even if it is slow, even if it is a little uncharacteristically shy, even if she's unsure of what she's doing here and why now. And then the admission comes suddenly, softly, on a little white-puff of air as her smile falters: "I missed you."

K'vir doesn't watch his mouth when Risali startles him and there's more cursing, followed by a shaky laugh that sort of awkwardly-fades mid note when she rests a hand on his elbow and moves to step between him and the entranceway. He gazes down at her in mixed surprise and wariness, though there's some concern lingering as he notes her still healing injuries. "She was more for verbal threats," he fires back quietly and with an amused quirk to his mouth. The little puffed admission catches him WELL off guard (Risali is so good for that!) and he blinks at her for a moment; stunned for a heartbeat to silence before getting a grip and managing to speak. He'll just ignore the way his heart skipped too and a whole slew of things beginning to wake to the idea that SHE MISSED HIM! HIM! Suddenly, he finds himself forgiving her for whatever caused her to run off on him. It's done. Whatever. Don't mention it, you stupid oaf. "Missed you too," he murmurs just as softly, gesturing for her to continue stepping inside as he allows the door to close behind them. "Worried, too. You look to be healing… if not freezing. Are — you staying, for a bit? You're welcome to make yourself comfortable." LOOK AT HIM BEING SO SWEET! Even if inside he is so uncertain and trying not to be wary of her or wary of the situation!

But that's why she's here, isn't it? Risali is here because she ran away and, in her running, she discovered things that brought her right back to K'vir. They brought her here, and he missed her too, and Risali has to force herself to breathe because her heart is pounding too fast and her chest feels too tight and — oh. She laughs. "Liar." Risali's through the door, looking more uncertain than she did when she interjected herself between him and his way in and then grey eyes blink up. She catches K'vir's gaze and holds it as he takes in her healing bruises, and tentative fingers apply themselves to the fading damage around her eye. Really, some of those bruises have faded altogether and those that remain will surely fade into non-existence given a day or three more. But that's not why she's here, and drops her hands to fish under her long coat when Kyzen asks her if she's going to stay for a while, pulling his folded shirt free as she shakes her head. "No, but I… I am working up my courage. I wanted to talk to you about… About what we did." There's a moment of hesitation, Risali's eyes on the shirt she's just pulled free, that's warm with the heat of her body and probably smells like her now instead of him as she extends it to him. She's shaking, but it's not the cold. "And I was hoping you would come somewhere with me so that I could do that."

"What makes you think I'm a liar?" K'vir fires back but there's no real heat behind it or a challenge. If anything? It sounds like he nearly laughed along with the statement though quickly clamped down on it. He just begun to unfasten the buckles to his jacket when she shakes her head to his inquiry of her staying and he has to struggle to keep from looking crestfallen. Still, being how KEEN Risali is, she may pick up on the disappointment lurking there, despite his effort in keeping a small smile in place. "You're always welcome, you know." Ahh, right. The subject he was going to avoid talking about surfaces anyways and he will lift a hand up to rub along his neck. "You do? I mean… Alright. Maybe it's good that we do talk." He slowly reaches for that shirt of his, the one that now smells of HER and will likely be cherished for such reasons. It's held between his hands and his eyes will leave hers to look down at the fabric and though his answer is for her, it's spoken, to start with, to the cloth itself. "Where do you want to go?" He'll take her there! The moment he is told where it is she desires to go.

And oh, does Risali pick up on it, but it's stifled so surely by the awkwardness of coming home and facing K'vir and not knowing what to say but needing to say so many things that she just does it. Risali closes the distance separating them from each other, and she goes up on her tip-toes while grabbing the lapels of the bronzerider's jacket in both of her hands to pull him down to her height. And if he obeys, Risali will press her lips into his, tentative at first, inquiring, hesitant and unsure and please don't reject me; and if K'vir doesn't pull away, then she kisses him again with heated pressure and her body pressing into his as fingers curl in the fabric of his jacket against his chest and — and then a soft sound of, "We do. Need to talk, I mean," breathed against his lips. And then Risali draws back, lowering herself to the balls of her feet as she fixates grey eyes on her own hand and trails it down K'vir's arm, knuckles scabbed over. The tips of her fingers trace the back of his hand before she interdigitates his fingers with hers and finally, finally, she looks up at him again. "I owe you an explanation, if nothing else." And then she's turning for the door. Where is she going? Home; she is going home but she doesn't tell him that because home isn't far. Home is only a little ways down, in the Resident's Hall, where she leads him from his safe space to hers and only lets go of him so that she can deal with her own door, and shoulder it open, and wait for him to go inside. It's clear that Risali hasn't been here for long, given that most of her things are stacked in boxes. Her living space is tiny, reasonable for one person, but not two. There's a piano eating up a chunk of space where a living room and a kitchen and a table are all clamoring for dominance - in the process of being setup, but not quite finished. There's a small back section as well, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Very tiny. Still, Risali stands just in the doorway with her back pressed against the door and her arm extended in a way that says, 'You first.' "Do you want a drink, or… or anything?" She will have to dig though boxes for cups, but she's totally got this. And then she's motioning towards the piano bench. "Sit there though, okay? That's… that's what I want to show you." HER PIANO? SURE.

She moves so suddenly that K'vir can't move away (and doesn't want to, oh no!) and she'll succeed in grabbing the lapels of his jacket and bring him down. There's no struggle or abrupt pulling away. The moment she kisses him, he's kissing back after that one tentative moment that has his heart skipping and leaving him feeling light headed by the rush of emotions that almost send him reeling. She's kissing him again, however and he feels his body lean towards hers and his arm slip around her to hold her firmly as he kisses back; savouring it and even the soft sound of her words breathed as they are. His eyes are slow to blink open and heavily lidded when he looks down at her; this is not how he expected their reunion to go. He expected screaming and misunderstandings and HEAPS of AWKWARDNESS! There's still awkwardness… but he also would never have hoped for this! Not with his track record of late in being a disappointment to everyone; even himself. He finds himself leaning subtly into her touch, already wanting more of her closeness but not wanting to push so much, so soon. He's probably half convinced this is a dream! "And I owe you an apology, I think." he replies, before setting his returned shirt aside and following her back out the door. Once in the resident hall and then her room, he'll peer curiously about it and not make a single comment about the unpacked boxes. It's the piano that grabs his attention. "You own one of these?" he blurts out, even grins!, for a moment before that falters and he clears his throat. "I mean. I didn't know you played? And no… no, I'm fine." No drinks. No food. ONLY RISALI! That's what K'vir's craving right now. Admitting that is likely to get him slapped so he doesn't even make a joke on it. When she gestures to the piano bench, he gives her a curious look but obeys, settling himself there carefully. Show him what?

And don't you think for even a second that Risali's body doesn't sing the minute K'vir's leaning into her and wrapping his arms around her and encompassing her in him; it's a struggle for the woman not to push him down, and crawl over him again, only to press his hands against her — BREATHE. Flickers of her embarrassment and the crazy heat that was there when she was pressed against L'or during a flight but thinking of K'vir flitters through her mind, giving high definition reminders of shirts used as bindings and blindfolds, of a taste she can't get off of her tongue and noises and words that she can't get out of her head and — if Risali looks dizzy when she pulls back from K'vir, it's because she is. Half of her hurry to get to her place is because she needs to breathe, and half of it truly is impatience to have these terrifying but no less true truths out in the open. So that he knows, so that she can say it and draw lines in the sand because she won't be one of his girls but she will always be at his side to listen, to lo— no, not that word, not yet - to accept him and yell at him and be there when he needs her; there's heartache, and hope, and something she doesn't quite understand trying to suffocate her and so she forces a smile and nods her head when he asks after her piano. "My Dad bought it for me. Well, and my Mom too, of course. I guess it pays off to be the daughter of a Junior and a Weyrleader, when I became a senior apprentice." And then once K'vir is settled, Risali hesitates only a moment before she joins him. She settles herself beside him on the bench with a gentle hip-check if necessary, folding the cover to the keys back as she breathes, "This song, I…" Risali pushes hair from her face and then locks grey with blue because she has to convey this right and she's going to mess it up. "You can ask me questions after, but… I think this will explain a lot." And then there's the shaky inhale of somebody putting themselves on display, opening themselves to criticism and ridicule and summoning the strength to proceed. "Oh no, not now…" And so it goes. The piano playing is quick, staccato movements that have her brushing her arm with K'vir's given her proximity to him, her leg rubbing against his every time she hits a foot pedal to affect the right resonance, and there's every now and again when she looks up from her hands to K'vir and sings: But you had to come along, didn't you? If only you knew just what a fool you have made me, so what do I do with this? Risali punctuates certain parts: This feeling calls for everything that I am not. I'm not that kind… But it ends. The tiny harper who was so lost in her music and explaining to him with song what should couldn't with words finishes with her hands glued to the keys and then slowly, slowly they fall away. One, two, three. "You still don't want a drink? I have rum." Breathily, said with embarrassment, underlining her DESIRE TO RUN.

For K'vir, there are just so many unanswered questions and a fair deal of turmoil when it concerns Risali; their beginnings have been tumultuous for certain and it's a wonder he just hasn't washed his hands of her given they did not get along at all at the beginning. Yet even then? Something snagged him, tugged at him. He found himself wanting to pursue her and not stray. It confused him, greatly, because she'd hardly given him a hint (until recently) that she wanted ANYTHING to do with him. Of course he's a little too new and rough around the edges when it comes to relationships to pick up on the subtlety going on here. He has a feeling that something is going on beneath those masks and layers Risali carries but he cannot put his finger on it. Yet even here, on the piano bench beside her, he simply looks at her expectantly and in a way that he hopes is encouraging. Curiosity is there too, some mild surprise for the mention of the song but he doesn't breathe a single word and waits for her to begin. He'll watch her and listen, expression shifting to one of shocked understanding when she sings; he doesn't even clue in to her arm rubbing against his, so intense is his focus. He can't say anything at first or doesn't trust himself too, but he will hesitantly reach with his hand for one of hers when they fall away. If she allows it, it will be gently gathered in his and held firmly. "Did you write that?" he asks, lamely but it's the only thing that comes to mind that was neutral enough to offer while his mind spins and he attempts to grasp the whole situation. "… yeah, maybe I'll go for a glass. Only if you have one with me?" NO RUNNING.

Truth be told, Risali couldn't tell you when irritation started to blend with excitement; she couldn't tell you when scathing dislike turned into missing him, and wanting to be closer, and then not being able to be close enough and — but it did, and here they are, and Risali's feeling breathless and giddy and please, ground, just swallow me whole because K'vir is still here with her even after she's put more of herself on display for him than she would have ever thought possible. It changed into whatever this is now, and when K'vir gathers her hands in his and asks that question, there's something anxious and excited and too much too much writhing in the pit of her stomach; he'll be able to feel that she is shaking with nervousness, with unspent adrenaline, with being near to him. Grey eyes drop to where skin is touching skin, lingering on his fingers, trailing along his knuckles and up to his wrists, before slowly, slowly, she lifts her gaze back to his and forces herself to breathe. "I didn't," she admits, softly. The bronzerider gets a gentle squeeze then, followed by a half-felt, nervous laugh. "A glass? You have no imagination, Kyzenviro. I was going to drink from the bottle." And Risa is pulling her trembling fingers free from K'vir's grip, so that she can get to her feet and make her way into the kitchen. As promised, there is a bottle of rum, unopened and RIPE FOR THE DRINKING. She opens it up, cradling it to her chest as she makes her way back to K'vir and, after taking a swig for herself, settles herself right beside him and places the bottle on the piano before him. This time, she is mindful not to touch him as she summons up her courage and her strength and - Risali's eyes are on her feet, toes of her boots tapping together until she exhales, "I just want to be close to you. I don't… we don't have to…" A pause, Risa's feet still, and again, the harper is looking up at K'vir with her brow furrowed as she tries her best to explain. "I don't know how to explain the way I feel about you except that the way I feel about you is like a heartbeat - soft and persistent, underlying everything. And I know you don't want to commit to anything, and Faranth, please understand that I'm not asking you to. Please. What I want is to be here, beside you. And I will smile when you do fall in love, and I will call myself auntie to your children even if you don't want me to, and I will smile even when it hurts if you just let me stay. I'm sorry I walked away from you after… after I… but if I didn't walk away then, I would have given you everything. Everything, Kyzenviro, and I can't be like Skydancer or any of the other girls that you call friends. And you already have too much of me." And then silence, as Risa closes her eyes and waits, for whatever comes next, with her breath held and her chest feeling like it's going to cave.

K'vir will exult in the simple pleasure of holding her hand for as long as the moment lasts but when she draws away, he will let her go, and with minimal disappointment shown. Truthfully? He'd rather gather her up in a tight, fierce hug and then do further things with her that grows ever more complex and erotic the more he allows himself to think along those lines; so he doesn't, and promptly shuts down those thoughts and focuses on the NOW. "You know I don't have a preference, either way," he mutters back in return, a slow grin curving his lips for a few seconds before that too, falters. He'll reach for the bottle and lift it to his lips to take quite the healthy swig of it himself. It's doing to be ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS. She may be looking down at her boots, but K'vir is looking at her for the most part until the conversation starts to delve into high emotions. DIFFICULT emotions. Ones that even he, usually not troubled by these things, finds himself hopelessly tangled. Really, he should have sought out a friend to talk to but he's been hiding, which is unusual for him. "I'd… I'd like it a lot, Risali, if you were close to me. Without — you don't have to feel pressured to want anything more from me." he assures her, only to grimace and have his confidence waiver. This is NOT EASY. "I'm only afraid to commit because I don't know if I'm any good, Risali. At a relationship? But that's no excuse. It's a lame, one really. Up until now… I thought I'd be happy that way but…" Wait, what? "I dunno. Since I've met you, even if we don't always," Ever? "See eye to eye, I've really started to enjoy what time we've had together. All of it. Even the days we did nothing but yell at each other…. Damn it, I'm rambling." He sighs, stopping long enough to give her an apologetic look. Is anything of what he said making sense?

And oh, wouldn't Risali love that more than anything, to crush herself in tight against K'vir and breathe in him — and only him; she wants to be dizzy and drunk on him, to feel him against her, and under her; she wants him under her nails, and under her skin, on her tongue, and in her hair, and under her clothes. Faranth, but she wants him in her blood, to taste him again and - Risali wills the thoughts away so that she can be present for the here and now, centering herself with a smile over her shoulder that scrunches her nose in playful disbelief. "I ain't buying it, pretty boy," she teases, breathlessly, because it's all she can do, and then she's all focus. She anchors herself with the technicalities of getting that damn bottle of rum open, she focuses on how it tastes and feels going down her throat, and she focuses when she missed K'vir looking at her before because he's speaking now. He's speaking, and she doesn't understand, but it doesn't sound like he wants her to leave and that still hurts too — but? Grey eyes blink as they find blue and hold, waiting for him to finish, forgetting how to breathe, trembling again because something in her has snapped but feels so good, so good, so good and before she can stop herself from doing it, she's framing the bronzerider's face in her hands and running the pads of her thumbs along his jaw and his lower lip. Risali is not one to cry - not normally, but there are tears in her eyes now that she tries to suppress as she struggles for words, focuses on his mouth instead of his eyes, and then breathes a shaky, "It's okay; I like your voice." Because she doesn't know what else to say. She doesn't. She's arguably less experienced that K'vir is in all of this. She's never wanted anybody, in any way until K'vir walked into her life, and she got stuck in a flight with L'or, and she realized through dizzying madness that all she really wanted was for it to be K'vir anchoring her to sanity and holding her against him; she realized it too when she was being beaten and fighting back and could only think of K'vir - not her father, not her brothers, or her uncles. K'vir. "So what do we do now?" she whispers, without letting him go.

K'vir would love all of that too and he is tempted, SO TEMPTED, to just give in then and there and take her into a fierce embrace on that bench… but he refrains. He's even wary of the thought of kissing her, in case that would further muddle things or, worse, damage whatever fragile thread is being rewoven between them. The playful teasing helps him relax a fraction and he'll laugh, a touch nervously, in reply. After he's begun to speak and not made an entire mess of it, K'vir will meet her gaze again and reach for that bottle of rum if she hasn't already grabbed it from him. There's another shaky laugh, "You do? You don't find it unreasonably annoying?" he teases her in return and clearly that was the RIGHT thing to say because it allows him to relax just a fraction more. Right before she's framing his face between her hands and he has to avoid the temptation just to sweep her up again or to drown the rest of this conversation in a kiss. It'll show in his eyes, how much just that little touch affects him. "Talk. We should talk. Even if it's awkward… even if it hurts. I don't know if I can stand having you run again; I really had thought I'd hurt you or asked too much of you."

And Risali sees it there, feels it in her bones, responds to it on a primal level that even she doesn't fully comprehend but certainly cannot dismiss. "Everything about you annoys me, you stupid bronzerider," she breathes. "I hate your smile, and the way you tie your stupid boots. I hate the way you smell, and the way you do your hair." Risali's hands draw away from K'vir's face, grey eyes fixating on the movement as fingers push through aforementioned thick strands in a manner as gentle as her voice, contradicting every word even as she breathes it into the space between them. "I hate the color of your eyes, and the way it gives me goosebumps whenever you look at me. I hate your hands, and the way they feel on my body — like I'm hot, too hot. And I hate the way looking at you makes my heart race and my throat too tight, and how I really wish you would just kiss me because I want to kiss you too." Risali's kinetic energy, following the forward motions of her hands until she has one knee up on the bench, the other on the floor, body turned towards K'vir with not enough space between them. It's almost a hug, except that Risali's arms are not around the bronzerider to complete the embrace, even if her eyes are back to his saying holdmetouchmekeepmeclose. "But mostly I hate how I don't hate you even a little bit; not at all." And then she does it; Risali is the one that tests the tenacity of fraying threads by pushing forward that last half an inch it requires to press her body into his, arms around his shoulders as her face finds its way into his neck and she holds still, as if afraid those weaving threads will snap should she move. One, two, three, and there's a breathy, muffled word of, "You didn't ask anything of me, Kyzen. I gave myself freely, and that's what terrified me. But I'm here now - forever, and we can talk. Just let me hold on a little longer, before you make me let you go." Because maybe it will be the last time she gets to embrace him like this, like everything depends on his body pressed against hers and life and air and her very existence mean nothing if he isn't there to share them. "But you talk first because… because I don't know what I'm going to say." And she's already said a lot.

"I would really like nothing more to be kissing you right now," K'vir abruptly spills forth that confession while his eyes remained locked with hers and he follows both her movements and the sound of her voice; drawn to both and drawn to her like a moth is to flame. He laughs, shaky and quiet, "Only we'd not get anywhere with talking because I don't know if I'd ever be able to stop. I don't want to stop." Something new to him, that strange concept of wanting someone so bad that it's starting to drown out any other. He finds himself looking at other women and thinking of Risali; he's flirted a few times but it's not the same. It's become harmless, empty almost and all he can think of is her. Her, her, HER. It's maddening and he isn't sure if this is the aftereffect of the guilt he's held on to, concerning her and everything that's passed between them but he's truly beginning to think it's far more than that. He won't allow himself to think of the 'L-word', it's FAR too early for that and he's twitchy in thinking it can happen so soon; he does not want to risk heartbreak… more for her than for himself. Then she's pressing into him, breaking his thoughts and there's not even a moment of hesitation in him leaning back and gathering her into his arms to hold her, holding her tight and firm against his body. It remains that way for a long time, just him hugging and holding her as his head rests by hers and he listens to her muffled words and still doesn't say anything right away. No, he'll leave the silence to settle between them comfortably for a few minutes as he just savors this quiet little moment incase things go so bad in the next few. At least he'll have this memory to counter any bad fallout; it's the only way K'vir finds the courage to speak up again. "I don't want to let you go, Risali. I'm here, too, forever or however long you want me to be. I think…" He starts to ease back a bit, just a little bit, enough to bring his head back to look down at her fondly with a sort of half crooked smile that makes him look both charming and goofy in the same instant. He exhales softly, eyes lowering as his head does too but only to gently rest his forehead to hers; the hug remains but has now taken a little more of an intimate note. "I think we're both dancing around the same thing, neither of us wanting to make the next move. So…" Here goes? "… are you wanting more? I don't mean, uh, the sex part… we don't even have to do that. I mean more in the emotional sense. Maybe consider this as — just us?"

Risali wisely keeps her mouth shut because opening it would mean telling K'vir to shut up and Kiss Me and Don't stop, don't stop, don't you EVER stop. She doesn't want to talk, she wants to drown; she wants to be consumed, and not think about anything but the way he tastes, and the way he feels, and the way she feels pressed against him; Risali wants to think about what that means and what they should - are willing — do about it later. But she's an adult (albeit, a very young and inexperienced one) - she lets him go; Risali lets K'vir go, and is rewarded with a smile that makes her smile despite the fact that she's shaking and, when he rests his forehead against hers, she closes her eyes, and tightens her hold, and simply listens to him speak. Her breath catches, grey eyes flutter open, and she jerks backwards and away from him when he asks if she wants more, if she wants 'us', so that she can capture his gaze with her own and hold it. She wasn't expecting that. Risali truly was not expecting that. "I…" ARE THOSE TEARS? Risali reaches up to touch them suddenly, blinking down to her fingers as she rubs the unexpected moisture between them and then laughs. "You must think I am ridiculous," she breathes, and then she's surging forward. If K'vir does not brace them, then she's going to tackle him right off of the bench and onto the ground with that momentum; either way, she's crushing herself back against him, pressing her lips to his for a kiss that's chaste and brief and ending when she whispers, "Yes please," against his mouth, and then she kisses him again. Harder, a little longer, but still chaste. And then she's drawing back, to wipe at her stupid treacherous eyes that are leaking because she's so inexplicably happy now (DAMN YOU, K'VIR), and then kissing him again - this time until she's breathless. "But only if you want to. I don't want you to… I wasn't doing this so you… you would feel obligated. I just needed you to know how I felt, so I didn't spend the rest of my life regretting never telling you. And we can… We can set rules. Or whatever we need." Faranth, now she's the one rambling. Where's the rum when she needs it? "I'm sorry. I can't stop talking. I'm…" And then she PUNCHES HIM. IN THE ARM (not hard, she's not that vicious. …okay she totally is but STILL NOT HARD). With her still-ruined knuckles. And Risa hisses pain and then laughs because she is CRAZY K'VIR RUN. "Okay. I think this is real. Don't let it go to your head that you do this to me, bronzerider. I still hate you." It's all breathy, half-laughed words though; clearly she doesn't mean it. She's just trying to find something normal in so much this.

K'vir's expression falls a bit when there are tears (definitely tears!) in her eyes and while he doesn't exactly laugh or chuckle, his breath is still a little shaky. "No, you're not." Not the least bit ridiculous; sure, she's caught him off guard a lot and some of her behaviours still throw him off (all that shrieking!) but ridiculous? Never. Maybe just a teeny bit — not enough to worth mentioning! Bracing at the last possible moment, they almost end up toppling off the bench but he'll save them that awkward (and painful) fall by throwing out his hand onto the piano and likely striking some of the keys as he does. Not that he cares! He's kept them from tumbling down and breaking those kisses; he'll smile at her words and into that next kiss, returning it with the same energy as she though keeping it (so torturously) chaste and when they finally part, she may not be the only one a little breathless. "I want to. This is my choice…" he murmurs. SHE IS HIS CHOICE! Stop questioning it, Risali! K'vir's taking that oh so terrifying step forwards into making this A THING. Where IS THAT RUM? Oh, there it is. He'll reach for it and hand it to her as though he KNEW she'd need a sip. Or maybe he's just trying to be nice? Before he downs half the bottle himself. "It's alright. It — Hey!" He exclaims, with a bit of a laugh for the punch to his arm and he'll try to grab at that hand that SO RUDELY attacked! He examines those ruined knuckles with the pad of this thumb; or maybe it's just an excuse not to meet her eyes for a moment. "I don't want to call them 'rules'. We're not in negotiations here…" he muses, only to sigh softly. "… and I've no idea what I'm doing. I'll just be honest with you. You — sure you don't want someone, I dunno… experienced?" It's meant partially as a joke and yet there's some sincerity too. He really isn't sure if he's the *right* guy for Risali; normally he feels confident around women but this…? This is different.

It's not like K'vir doesn't knock Risali off kilter by simply existing; she may not have experience with the more intimate aspects of what a man and a woman can do together, but she certainly has been up against her fair share of men - and not one of them (dangerous, edgy, handsome, kind) has had the same effect on Risali that K'vir does. Some people are magic, and others are just an illusion of it. K'vir is magic. He's maddening even while he's invigorating; he's exciting, and terrifying and strong and better than good; K'vir makes her feel alive even when everything in her world is wrong, and all he has to do is simply be. The discordant sound of hands striking keys to keep them both from falling does something to Risa that she cannot explain, but that her entire being trembles in response to. K'vir's words expand on it, until she needs the drink to numb herself and quiet her thoughts, because she's feeling too much and too good and it terrifies her to think that she wants to do nothing more than laugh, and dance, and sing, and kiss, and fuck and — magic. K'vir is magic. So magic that Risali doesn't protest when he grabs her hand and brushes his thumb over the scabs on her knuckles - it gives rise to goosebumps instead, making it even more difficult to focus on not only his words, but forming her own. So for now, grey eyes fixate where his eyes are: on her hand; more specifically, Risali's attention remains riveted to the spots where K'vir's touch leaves a titillating fire in its wake. "Shut up, Kyzenviro," she finally breathes, blinking slowly as she looks up and, with her good hand, runs her fingers along his chin and forces him to look back to her. "I want you in every way there is to want a person — you. Just you. There isn't one person in this world that I want more than I want you. And I'm going to kiss you now, until I forget how to breathe, so that I can prove it." And oh, but does she. She's climbing into his lap even if he's leveled precariously on the bench because she trusts him to keep her safe, and then she's bringing her arms around his neck, and losing her fingers in his hair, and giving him a kiss that's tentative at first but changes abruptly to wantneedtouchmetouchmetouchme; she's like she always is: teeth, and tongue, and lips with soft sounds as her body arches into his, pressing to be closer, biting. When she finally pulls away, she's brushing her nose against his and then pressing her forehead to his. "Tell me what you want from me, Kyzen, and then dance with me." Because the only other alternative to burning off that energy is sex and… well… sorry bronzerider. She's not giving that up to you yet. Talk about wanting somebody more experienced!

Magic. If Pern even had the concept, K'vir would agree that that would be the perfect way to describe the connection, only SHE is magic to him. She has brought something out of him that he wasn't even aware was lurking there; probably didn't believe in until now. He has his reservations and yet she crashes through ALL OF THEM. Where he hesitated before, he doesn't with her (well, okay he does but NOT the same reasons!). He would have been happy to keep that moment forever, with her hand in his and his thumb rubbing over her knuckles; just capture that in his mind and never let the memory go. No matter what happens, it will likely fall among the first of the 'fond' moments. There's a breathy laugh when she tells him to shut up and he'll comply, for now and mostly because of the touch of her fingers, not wishing to disrupt that moment either in his foolishness. He might have laughed again and ends up doing so, but against her lips and lower in his throat when she does act on her words and kisses him and he will shift to draw her closer as she makes the move to crawl into his lap. Welcoming her, as though she was always meant to be pressed against him and he will keep her safe. It requires some movement on his part to get their balance more evenly set on that bench but he'll manage and never let her part from him during it. He kisses back, following her lead and then boldly pushing it a little further, testing and teasing a few insignificant boundaries while his hands grip her firm when they do not seek to wander in what could be both a gentle and maddening caress. At her bite, he makes another low, quiet sound and he will try to follow her when she draws back but restrains himself. "Everything," he murmurs gruffly. "However much you want to give me now. Just you, Risali." Does he need to spell it out any clearer? "Only you." If he's expecting something out of this? He doesn't push it or try to pick her up and carry her again to his bed (SO TEMPTING)! Instead her request for dancing has him laughing again and giving her a look. "Dance here? If I'd known you wanted to, I'd have suggested we go somewhere…" Just not THAT BAR from that ONE NIGHT.

This moment. Risali wants to keep this moment forever; she wants to remember K'vir's careful restraint as he tests boundaries but never pushes them; she wants to remember his breathy laugh, and the way he chases her when she pulls away from their kiss, and the way her body breaks out in gooseflesh whenever he speaks to her like that and says words that make her feel like that. She wants to remember all of this, now, forever, even if he ends up hating her in the end and really does find another woman to love and start a family with. WOE BE UNTO K'VIR ON THAT DAY. AND POSSIBLY THAT WOMAN (JK she will just cry into her Klah.). "Okay," she breathes, because she can do that. She can give him all of her, even if she can't give herself all at once, and then she's kissing him again when he laughs and gives her a look and she breathes, "Not here. Though you can stay here after, if you want. Any every time you're in Xanadu." But there's no pressure; Risali is expecting nothing from the bronzerider as she untangles herself (with much regret) from the bronzer and then gives him a look from over her shoulder as she starts for the door. It's all sultry and wicked and FARANTH but DECEIVING. BECAUSE SHE IS TAKING HIM TO DO THE HEEL TOE POLKA. There will be a lot of hand clapping, and do-si-do swinging, and heel-toe-heel-toe, lean and hophophop towards a group of participants in his future. WHEREVER THEY GO. And it will be a night of laughter and rum and dance and secret kisses. This is good too, this is another good memory, and FIGHT HER but she dances with every person she can until she's swung right back to K'vir and pulling him in for a kiss and getting CATCALLS AND HOOTS AND WHISTLES and dancing all over again. Okay, so maybe not so secret kisses. BUT. IT IS A THING. And when it's done, Risa will let K'vir go his separate way or come home with her (or go home with him), but either way. She's too exhausted for much else (which was the plan). She will either curl up on him and sleep or curl up by herself and sleep, but it will be the first time in a very long time that curling up hasn't been preceded by crying herself into exhaustion. What a nice change of pace.


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