If You Lose, You Still Win

Writers: Bree, Yvonne
Date Posted: 22nd June 2006

Characters: J'nus, Kenza
Description: J'nus makes a clever wager with Kenza that he really can't loose.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 5 of Turn 3

Kenza grinned up at J'nus when he opened his door, leaning against the doorframe. "Are you busy?"

The bronzerider summoned up a boyish grin and opened the door wider. "Never for you. Unless it's Wing business. I _just_ set that aside for the evening."

She gave a dramatic shudder and slipped past him. "Please, no. I'm having enough trouble sleeping without getting myself worked up over that sort of thing."

"Trouble sleeping again?" J'nus shut the door and went to clear off a chair by the fireplace. It had accumulated a lot of- stuff, again. "Maybe you should see a healer."

"It's nothing that won't go away on its own," Kenza replied, waving a hand.
"At least I'm dealing with it by raiding your weyr for books instead of raiding the kitchen for wine, though. I'm behaving myself."

He dumped the pile of papers and knick-knacks from the chair to the floor.
"Thank the Egg for small mercies. And you never told me what you thought of the last book I leant you. Come to think of it, I don't think you've returned it, either."

Shards... Kenza had forgotten the last book. Not just forgotten to bring it, but forgotten to _read_ it. "Ahhh, yes. Left it back in my weyr. But it was... fascinating."

He didn't believe her for a moment. "What was your favourite part?"

Kenza gave him a suspicious look, trying to decide if she was being tested or if he was honestly curious. Since she couldn't even remember what the book had been on, she decided to bluff. "I rather liked the twist at the end." It _had_ been a novel, hadn't it? Or maybe not... she might have actually read it if it had looked interesting...

The bronzerider fought to hide a smile. "Which twist? The one where Lilya's revealed to be his cousin, or that Orval's machine works? Wait, did I lend you 'Two Holds', or was it 'Over the Ocean'?"

"Uhhm..." Kenza tried to picture the book in her mind, but she'd hardly glanced at it. She could hardly be blamed though... it wasn't as if J'nus hadn't distracted her within moments after giving her the sharding book.
"'Over the Ocean'?"

"You mean, this book here?" J'nus reached over to a side table and plucked the book off the surface. "Or this one?" 'Two Holds' was produced from the stack of books and hides he'd recently cleared from his chair. A grin began curling its way along his lips; he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Kenza rolled her eyes, her cheeks taking on the slightest hint of pink.
"Fine, I walked into that one. I don't have the slightest clue what book it is."

"Didn't think so. It's too bad, though - a little literature never did anything except improve one's character." He shrugged, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Ah well. You're obviously here to give books another go..."

"I _was_ considering ravishing you," Kenza retorted, settling back in the chair. "But if you're going to be like _that_ I think I'll just take a book."

"Well, you _do_ know I like my women educated," he said, grinning. Maybe tonight wouldn't be quite so lonely after all! "And I also know you can't keep your hands off me. I bet you couldn't spend ten minutes reading before you get fed up and jump me."

Kenza gave him a considering look, stretching her legs out until her feet were next to his. "And what do I get if I win?" "What do you want?"

She slid one foot partway up his leg. "You're a big boy. You can figure it out."

Sounded like a good bargain to him. "And if you lose?"

Kenza snorted. "If I lose, won't that mean that I'm jumping you? Or were you looking for a different sort of prize?"

He grinned. "So, if you lose, you still win? What's to keep you in the challenge then, hmm? No... if you lose, you'll owe me... uh," his mind went blank. Kenza's expression was distracting. He picked up 'Over the Ocean' and handed it to her. "I'll figure out what you owe me later. Here's a book."

She leaned forward and lifted the book out of his hands, wondering if she even wanted to bother wasting time pretending to read. It wasn't like she had an overabundence of pride to protect, and she had never been too fond of the idea of reading when there was something more entertaining to be done.

Still, she should at least _try_ to make an effort. So she flipped the book open and peered down at the first page, though more of her attention was on seeing how far up his leg she could slide her foot before he stopped her. J'nus cleared his throat. "I do have some self control, you know. Also?
You're lousy at pretending to read. At least move your eyes a little."

"Mmmmhmmm..." She read the first sentence, which seemed to go on for quite a bit longer than a sentence had any right to. Then she had to go back and read it again, because she really was having a hard time coming up with a good reason to continue this absurd bet. The bronzerider picked up his own book and did exactly what Kenza had been doing - pretending to read. He watched her over the edge of the cover and wished he had some way of preserving the moment. Nobody would ever believe Kenza had ever done anything with a book besides throw it, use it as a door wedge, or rip out the paper as a fire starter. Another few moments passed, with Kenza's frown growing more and more pronounced as she waded through words that seemed entirely unnecessary to conveying whatever point the author was trying to convey. Her third time starting the first paragraph over brought a mighty sigh and a glare over the top of the book. "How long has it been?"

"Two minutes."

Kenza dropped the book and crossed the space between them in the space of a heartbeat, her knees digging into the couch on either side of his legs. "By the time I'm done with you, you're going to be _far_ too tired to gloat."

J'nus struggled to keep the smirk off his face and kissed her instead. **Not a bad evening's bet,** he thought to himself, **but it's always great to be able to bet on a sure thing!**

Last updated on the June 22nd 2006

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

If You Lose, You Still Win