If At First You Don't Succeed

Writers: Aaron, Iluva
Date Posted: 27th May 2024
Series: Lemhask in Love

Characters: H'lem, T'mhas
Description: Not having received the answer he wanted from M'thos, Lemhask naturally asks T'mhas next.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 5 of Turn 11

T'mhas

- - -

Lemhask had always intended to ask both dads. (It never even occurred
to him to ask his mother.) But now it was even more important.
Everyone knew that when one dad did not tell you what you wanted to
hear, you asked the other one.

"Hey, Dad? Are you busy?"

"Depends on who you ask." T'mhas replied with a nod to his dragon. A
huge whirling eye flooded with vibrant green at the appearance of
Lemhask, the first of the inner eyelids closing as Ghraisath gave a
soft rumble in greeting against the big hands scratching trails along
his pale red bronze hide. He almost looked like he was smiling, with
the pleasure currently concentrated on his jaw.

Tam motioned for Lemhask to join, grinning at both the arrival of one
of his sons and the rare fact that this one had the manners to even
ask. As far as Ghraisath was concerned, there was nothing to interrupt
as long as he kept scratching. With a shake of his head, he said,
"Nah, not so busy I can't do two things at once. What're ya up to,
Lem?"

Lemhask smiled at the invitation and eagerly joined in giving
scratchies to Ghraisath.

"I just needed to ask for your advice. There's this boy." He had
learned from his talk with M'thos that he should lead with that bit.
"You know how to get people to like you. ... So how do I get him to
like me?"

Ah, cutting right to the chase. He was only slightly surprised at the
question -- after all this was his son, who was already a catch, and
not having a holder childhood to war with meant the kid could have
gone to anyone. Tam struck a slick balance of smug and touched,
amplified slightly by his bronze's enjoyment. It didn't hurt that he
had some experience with the topic-- understood the _concern_ about
liking another guy, since he'd been almost ten Turns older than Lem
when he'd been saddled with the same question. The only person _he_'d
felt comfortable asking was also the person he liked, and he'd been
distinctly _uncomfortable_ with _how much_ he liked him.

As his hand lingered on a particularly itchy spot, T'mhas levelled a
brief look at him. Lem must like one an awful lot to be asking. "A
boy, huh?" A brow arching, "Well, that's a fair question. Got anythin'
in common?"

"Well, we're both Candidates. And we've done chores together. I tried
to... you know..." Lemhask flexed as if to say, look how strong I am.
"But we never really talked because I didn't want to say something
stupid and then he wouldn't like me."

"And that didn't work?" Tam asked incredulously. "Well, if he don't
notice that, you sure he's worth all your attention?" He was only
joking, because this boy must have had something that sparked his
kid's interest and, while it did amuse him, he was trying to take the
matter fairly seriously. Though whether Lem's interest went deeper
than a flex of muscle was unclear. So young, and yet, growing and
changing before his eyes.

"Nah, unfortunately it might take more than that to get 'em
interested. Maybe it should." He paused thoughtfully, "And it _should_
take more than somethin' stupid to turn someone off. That's a problem,
not a crush, kid. Candidates together is good, see each other a lot.
But y'might need to be patient. Get to know each other. And, he could
be intimidated by your-" T'mhas gave a quick flex of his own for
emphasis, his hand pausing in its scratch.

"You mean I'm making him scared of me!?" This was the worst news ever.
He was doing the stupid thing he was trying to avoid. "Balls, balls,
balls!"

"No. That ain't what I said." The bronzerider replied, blinking. "I'm
sayin' he could be, y'know, shy or somethin'. I dunno him though."

Ghraisath exhaled sharply and Tam's hand roamed to the eyeridges
without even looking. "So what do you know about him? Why do you like
him?"

"I... I dunno, I just do! He's... nice. And I want to hug him."
Lemhask blushed. "I know he gives good hugs." How could he not?

"That is always a plus." His father nodded encouragingly, noting the
blush. "Well if he's shy, it ain't a good idea to come at him like a
rogue runner, y'know? And it ain't like having the right key to a
lock. It takes time for someone to wanna... hug you."

}: Why not bring him a gift? Something he likes. :{ Ghraisath said
warmly to the boy. }: Many greens like a fresh wherry or herdbeast. A
potential partner wants to know you're thinking about them and paying
attention. :{

**We ain't gotta worry about the last part.**

Lemhask blinked. No matter how many times he heard a dragon's voice in
his head, it was still special every single time. He laid his head
onto Ghaisrath for a moment and scratched him again.

"I don't know what he likes... There's just so many ways for me to
mess this up."

Ghraisath rumbled gently, eyes closing fully.

"Nah, you won't." T'mhas sat back and planted an elbow into his bent
knee. Warmth flew up into and across his chest at that sight, his free
hand stilling to a seamless caress against his dragon's hide. "Why
dontcha just start with that? Ask him what he likes during Candidate
lessons. Ask him what he likes about the lesson, even. Tell 'em yours.
No need to over think and jump right to the, ahem, huggin'." Oh boy.
"Just keep it simple, Lem. The first step's just talking to him. Most
people like talking about what they like... Or what they don't like.
Either's good, 'cause it's still talking, right?"

While Lemhask did enjoy the sound of Tannock's voice, he would rather
just jump right to the huggin'.

"Yeah... That's what Pops said..." He should have figured they would
basically both say the same thing.

"Oh yeah? Almost sounds like we know what we're talkin' about, then."
T'mhas said with a fond smile, gently nudging Lemhask's shoulder.
"Keep your head up, kid. You got way more muscle than Rhas, he ain't
too happy about it, either. You got lots on your side. You gotta look
at those good things first, then his, yeah? And not _those_ things."
He swore here, inappropriately, and highly punishable had M'thos been
here. "You know what I mean." Sweet Faranth please not those things.
Not yet.

}: You have a kind heart. Don't hide it. :{ Ghraisath said knowingly.

Lemhask stared at T'mhas bewildered for a few moments, trying his
level best to figure out what he had said that would make him do a
swear, but to no avail.

"Uh... yeah," he lied. "I understand. So. I guess I gotta just... talk
to him, then." The possibility of failure terrified him. But... he
would definitely never get to hug Tannock if he did not start the ball
rolling.

"Shit," the lesser of T'mhas' favorite swears, "it ain't easy, though,
I know. Talking ain't exactly my favorite thing either. Pretty sure
M'thos was born talking. Some people just don't wanna shut up." Just
like some people didn't always want them to shut up, maybe enjoyed
watching him and listening just as much. "Maybe once this boy gets
talking he'll do it all. He could be one of them fancy social... bug
things."

"He can talk all he wants," said Lemhask with a dreamy look in his
eyes. "How do I get him to start talking, then?"

T'mhas snorted, amazed at what he was hearing. "Lem, didja listen to a
single thing I said?" He wasn't too proud to admit that if M'thos'
advice hadn't been sufficient, maybe there was nothing he could say to
reach the kid. He touched a long finger to Lemhask's forehead. "You're
thinkin' about this waaaay too much. Nothin' good ever comes from
being in your head like this. Should ask this boy to take you for a
good long walk."

Lemhask blushed deep red. He did not like feeling like he was being a
dimglow, but... well, if he was not getting this with both dads trying
to explain it, there was a strong possibility he was, in fact, a
dimglow. He had better hope that Tannock thought big, dumb idiots were
cute.

"I'll ask," he said. "Thanks for trying to help."

"Look, it ain't easy." Tam repeated, knowing from personal experience
that big, dumb idiots were in fact some of the most attractive
specimens on Pern. "Can help you with one thing, though." He patted
his bronze, moving to stand up. "Someone needs a bath and you gotta
get outta your head. Answer'll probably come when you're not chasing
after it."

"Who, me?" Lemhask sniffed himself, then he laughed. "Oh. Oh, you mean
Ghraisath."

"Didn't say who, did I?" T'mhas laughed as well, a big hand ruffling
the kid's hair. "I'm _joking_, Lem. Ghraisath's overdue. And knowing
Ghraisath we're all getting baths. C'mon.”

Last updated on the June 1st 2024

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If At First You Don't Succeed