[G] [C] 742.02.07 | Sweet Valentine

They’re home, Larrikith told B’jin quietly, before greeting Ayyonth with a croon and a nuzzle against his neck. She sat back so R’nd could remove the riding straps, and then curled up snugly against her mate with another soft croon of satisfaction. The blue pair had been gone for most of the evening, and Larrikith had been put on watch for when they returned so she could alert B’jin. Which she had done, and which resulted in the man coming bouncing out of the weyr proper, and throw himself at R’nd with a bright smile.

“I have a surprise for you,” B’jin said mysteriously, leaning up to press a warm kiss to R’nd’s lips, nipping softly as he pulled away. For once, his breath wasn’t rich with the smell of alcohol, and his eyes were bright and clear as he grinned impishly. He’d been too busy to drink, and he trembled with excitement as R’nd finished putting away Ayyonth’s straps and came back. B’jin took both his hands, and squeezed them. “Close your eyes, and no peeking!”

Once R’nd had complied, and B’jin was content that his mate wasn’t peeking, he walked backwards, leading R’nd by both hands into their weyr. His breathing was shallow and full of excitement, biting his bottom lip as he turned to glance around the weyr one more time, making sure everything was just right – it was – before turning back to R’nd and leading him a little further, before gently forcing him to stop. “Okay,” he whispered, sliding his arms around R’nd’s waist and leaning in and flush against the bluerider, nuzzling at his neck. “You can open your eyes.”

B’jin had been busy since R’nd had told him he’d be away for most the day. The greenrider had cleaned their already tidy weyr, making sure it was immaculate before he sought out every lightstone they had, and carefully set them all around the weyr, filling it with soft warm light. It was lit further by a low burning fire, and an assortment of candles placed strategically around the weyr (B’jin had moved them and moved them again multiple times before he was happy with the way they looked). Like everything else B’jin collected, the candles were scented with lavender, but there were some vanilla thrown in as well.

Before the fire, B’jin had set out a pile of their blankets, spread out with a quilt on top to make a warm and inviting fireside bed. There was a bottle of frosted Benden wine on the far side, with two glasses beside it but the bottle was unopened and – shockingly – opening it wasn’t at the top of B’jin’s todo list as he peered up at R’nd adoringly, watching him take in the scene. He leaned up again, and pressed a warm and lingering kiss to R’nd’s cheek. “I love you,” he said softly but firmly, hugging R’nd tightly for a few seconds before loosening his grip. It had been a while since he’d done something to show R’nd how much he meant to him. Especially after their last fight and B’jin’s misunderstanding of everything and making a mess.

It was belated, but R’nd hadn’t given B’jin a lot of time to work on his surprise before that day.