Deinha is heading down from somewhere in the upper tunnels, steps slow and on the deliberate side.  As the entrance to her own weyr comes into view, one hand is lifted to her mouth to stifle a rather extended yawn.  There are faint shadows beneath her eyes, too, but she's smiling just slightly -- a bit expectantly.

Meanwhile, O'kano's headed in the opposite direction, trekking up from the caverns below on the way to the weyr he's claimed as his own.  With his gaze upon where he sets his feet -- he's sleepy, and it wouldn't do to trip -- it takes a moment for the bronzerider to notice Deinha's presence.  And once his regard his flickered upwards, it stays there as the young man comes to abrupt halt, hesitating in his hike. Finally, Puo musters up a smile that edges on eager-to-please and greets, "Hey, Dei."

Expectations were not, as quickly becomes evident, for a meeting with O'kano.  And well can she understand sleepiness causing a failure to notice the presence of another, for she looks quite startled at the sound, having apparently remained oblivious to bronzerider until that point.  Greeting is processed fairly quickly, though, as her expression shifts from surprise, to a short flash of pleasure, to a rather unnatural (for Dei) guardedness.  "Hello, O'kano," she responds, voice low and even -- just shy of monotone, really.  She does, however, pause as well.  That much, at least, is a good sign.

O'kano pays close attention to Deinha's facial expressions, worrying his lower lip in an unconscious gesture of uneasy nervousness. The bronzerider takes a couple steps forward, continuing his approach little by little and, presumably, continuing on his way. Or maybe it's just a way of lessening the distance between himself and Deinha. After all, she can't really flee if he stops to talk with her, can she? "I haven't seen you much," he begins cautiously, "in...awhile." Again, Puo tries out a brief smile. "How've you been?"

"No," answers the goldrider, tone matter-of-fact, "You haven't." She sighs, though, hearing her own voice, and rubs her hand down her face. "Sorry, I'm tired." He's trying, she must admit. In all meanings of the word, perhaps, but even so... "Rue..ona doesn't sleep through the night very well. Things've been stressful." Things, yes. Deinha's been heartsick, angry, any number of other emotions, too, but she's not bothering to share that just now. There's something of a pause before she drops, lightly, "But, then, you've been rather busy yourself, haven't you?"

O'kano hesitates to shuffle guiltily, shifting his weight from one leg to the other as he listens, gaze drifting downwards momentarily before sliding back to Deinha. "I'm sorry to hear," he offers, making a sympathetic face at the mention of the child and her sleeping habits. "I can help out, y'know, sometime." Then, as Puo hears the last question, he starts slightly, flustered and grabbing for the right words. "What -- you mean.../no./" Finally, the bronzerider interjects a fierce headshake before mumbling miserably, "You've probably heard lots of things."

Deinha dismisses the sympathy, and looks just a bit surprised at the offer. Pleasure, which would be evident under other circumstances, is suppressed by other thoughts. She shivers a bit, arms wrapping protectively around herself, just beneath her chest, then tilts her head to the side and attempts calm as she echoes, "No?" She manages 'restrained' moreso than 'calm,' but it's a nice attempt. "I have heard...yes, a lot of .. things." She glances behind her up the ramp, then back to the bronzerider, then presses her lips together a moment, as if debating something. "None of it straight from you, no, but...there's plenty being said." Is that a subtle invitation for him to make his explanations? Likely. It's clear enough, from stature and tone of voice, and the way she's covered normally soft expression with a more bland one, that she doesn't like what she's heard thus far.

"No," O'kano repeats firmly, nose wrinkling at the implications. "Definitely a no." The bronzerider fidgits some more, shifting again as fingers unconciously pluck at his shirt's hem. "Yeah. Well. Um." For once, Puo's at a loss for words, and his usual self-confidence -- or perhaps that's better termed as self-importance -- dissapates. "Um. I kind of went off to an island down by Ista for awhile...afterwards." He makes an excuse for his scarcity, but that sojourn surely can't stretch over the last few sevendays. An attempt at explaining as made, considerably vague; Puo doesn't exactly like the subject matter, and that much is plain from his tone. "There was a flight -- it's /not/ my fault."

Deinha's not very responsive to that, realizing well enough how much time would have been spent near Ista. The next comment earns a swift narrowing of eyes. "What isn't your fault? Kaeralla? T'ela? Someone else?" Clamping her mouth shut again, Deinha flicks another gaze up the ramp before sighing. "This probably isn't the place to talk about those things, though." Under her breath, she adds, "If anywhere even is." But that's not the generous, open Dei we all know and (were once thought to perhaps) love, now is it?

O'kano winces, then, expression sliding into uncomfortable displeasure as he stuffs hands into the pockets of his jacket and looks anywhere but Deinha. When the bronzerider finally does respond, it's an unwilling affirmation. "Both -- but /not/ my fault." Here, Puo does return his regard to the goldrider while he tacks on, "If you want to blame someone, blame Jharzeth. Not me. I'm /sorry./ I don't like it anymore than you do." He breaks off the apologies and explanations long enough to nod once. "Yeah. Probably not." The last part is missed, unheard.

Deinha starts to lose that vague control over her reactions as Puo denies responsibility, then finds what she considers a lousy scapegoat. She bites the insides of her cheeks, giving her expression a severe look -- one which softens again as he apologizes. /She/ softens, though for only long enough to remind herself that he's /not/ necessarily blameless, by the first set of rumors. Swallowing, she rocks back a little, nervous, and asks quietly, "Are you going to tell me what you did or did not do? Exactly?" She pauses a moment, then continues, "If you're going to do that, we have to find somewhere to talk, and I don't want anything interrupting; I don't care if thirty greens fly right by Jharzeth, or half the weyr falls apart." Those being his failures and her responsibilities. She's going to be demanding more than a brief 'I'm sorry. Blame the dragon,' it would seem, though the last is probably a considerable exaggeration, and either's lifemate could easily interrupt at will.

O'kano never heard the first set -- he was too busy hiding away down in Ista -- but has heard plenty since that batch to have a fairly good idea of what's been said. "Did--did you want to hear it?" The question is countered with one of his own; it's more out of reluctance than defensiveness, though, that prompts Puo to his primary response. After a small sigh, the bronzerider nods once and affirms. "Yeah. If you'll listen." Embarrassment appears in the form of reddened cheeks, and awkwardly, he agrees, "Right. Jharzeth's not going anywhere." For real, this time. Even if O'kano has to threaten to inflict bodily harm to himself as a way of restraining the bronze.

Of course Deinha didn't want to hear it the first time. But that's not what he's asking, is it? "I might as well hear it from you, rather than solely dragged across half the weyr three times over and embellished into thirty different tales." She's heard any number of things, though some from more reliable sources, to be certain. The truth, she must hope, is best. She, too, nods once: "Right, then." And..it looks like she'll have to suggest a location. A brief, measuring glance is cast toward her weyr and followed by a frown. She doesn't want /this/ tainting her home, but..she sure doesn't care to go into Puo's -- ugh. "My weyr, unless you've got a better idea?" A pause, then, "Rue's with Ken." So no fear of disturbing the youngling. She doesn't respond to the last; she's made her point, slightly low jab that it was, and isn't going to press it further.

"Uh huh." But don't think that O'kano's looking forward to giving his version of the story -- from the look on his face, he'd rather be almost anywhere else. "That's fine," he states meekly, shooting one last longing look up the tunnel; if he'd only happened along a minute later, he'd been safely ensconced in his own weyr and avoiding this particular confrontation, just like he's been doing for the last month. Puo does, however, pull a small face at the mention of the child. Or, more likely, the mention of the brownrider.

Deinha and Sebayeth's Weyr - SMW(#3894RJh)
 Spacious, with arching bubble-dome roofs and a floor of stone flattened out by chipping away at the edges, this conjoined pair of half-spheres serves nicely as home and weyr for Deinha and Sebayeth, both. The increasingly prominent colors would be creamed whites, fine-spun golds, splashes of a dusky rose, and hints of a pale, pale pink -- all offset by the light aqua base and glittering swirls of gilded paint lightening the naturally gray walls.
 The less-flattened dish of the dragon weyr has been thickly padded with luxurious blankets of hues alternating between the frothy champagne-gold and a creamy rose. Although still rather sparsely decorated, the weyr evidences the beginnings of a personal, tasteful touch. At the foot of the bed is a rather huge trunk -- the top covered in pale white, gold, and pink pillows -- which doubles as a couch for two.
 A sizeable table stretches along one rough-hewn wall, and chairs can be found scattered throughout the weyr in varying stages of woodpolish and upholstery.
 The outer stone curtain, where the weyr bubbles out toward the open air, is pierced by tunnel-windows in two rows, upper and lower, angled to Bowl and sky levels. (+view)

Deinha tries to ignore any and all looks crossing the bronzerider's face just now. Besides, she's still trying to keep her own expression guarded, and this takes a lot of effort. She flicks her wrist toward her weyr, and, with hardly a pause, turns and walks in. Once inside, she again gestures briefly around her. "Sit where you like. Or stand." Or pace, if that's preferable. Without looking over her shoulder, she strides to a rather plush chair and whirls to drop heavily to a seat. Legs crossed, she leans back and watches O'kano, fingers settling on the ends of armrests in a calmly regal pose that belies the nerves racing through her system. She's not going to make this easy for him.

O'kano, likewise, does his best to ignore the fact that Deinha's invitation is less than welcoming as he follows after the goldrider. He waits a moment after entering, glancing around the weyr before he takes the first option and finds his own chair to settle in: a hard-backed, scarcely upholstered thing. Sitting in it certainly won't make things much more comfortable. He crosses his own arms over his chest in a semblence of composure; really, it's the only way he's able to keep his fingers from drumming against the wood of his seat or playing with his hems. "So. Where did you want me to start?"

Deinha is upset, drat it all, and quickly loses regal posture to the short display of nerves that does have her fingertips starting to tap along the chair's arms. She glances down at her hand, a small, tight frown on her lips, and the tattoo abruptly stops, fingers tightening instead. Knuckles white, frown replaced by the brief tuggings of a wry smile, she suggests, "Start with the end of the first Flight. /What/ happened, since I know Jharzeth wasn't chasing Shepoth, and you claim that the Flight caused .. caused the.." She swallows, finishing faintly, "Well, that's the question, isn't it?"

O'kano takes his time to form the response, frowning down at his feet as he shifts uncomfortably. When he does begin, it comes out slowly, carefully; Puo attempts to get the phrasing perfect. "Jharzeth lost. And that was okay. But I didn't really like that much at the time, y'know." The bronzerider risks a swift glance up, continuing, "An' someone in Azov suggested...drinking." Here, his nose wrinkles with distaste: alcohol is relegated into the category of "only for flights," and so bodes bad memories. "Sounded like a good idea at time. But I...ran out, so I had to go get more." Puo's first big mistake. "And /she/ was down there. And somehow ended up coming back with me." Mistake number two. "And..." He loses his poise, finally, and hands fly up and out in a gesture of frustrated exasperation. "And things fell apart."

"Things..fell apart?" repeats Deinha, voice carefully controlled, with just a hint of incredulousness, all the same. "Because you lost a Flight? Got drunk? Brought her back to your weyr with you?" Yes, her voice is getting higher, and louder, as she goes. She takes note of this, though, and presses her lips together firmly. "You just couldn't control yourself?" She leans forward to ask this last, voice hissing out.

"Yes, they did!" Defensive, O'kano scowls over at the goldrider before, belatedly, organizing his expression into something that's less challenging, although plenty unhappy. "You're lucky that Sebayeth's female," he informs icily. "You don't have to deal with it. You don't -- can't -- know what it's like. So don't try to tell me that you know what I should or shouldn't be able to do. I wasn't exactly thinking straight at the time." He pauses, gathering his thoughts, and when he speaks next, it comes out forcibly. "But I am now, and I don't like it any more than you do."

Said goldrider looks disbelieving a moment, then stiffens anew, back straightening slowly. "I'm lucky?! I don't have to /deal/ with things?" She removes both hands from the chair, fingers clenching. "/I/ have the wonderful 'security' of knowing that every single time Sebayeth goes proddy, I'm going to be .. to be /mated/ right along with her!" The anger that starts her voice raising is rapidly fading into more of an anguished sound as Deinha continues, "And by /anybody/. I can't say 'Sebayeth, stop being proddy' just because I don't like the lead chaser. Obviously, I can't even cont--" She stops abruptly, that thought curiously kept to herself at the last minute. After the last words, she brings one hand to her forehead, eyes shutting briefly. "I sure /don't/ like it, Puo. Of all the things--" Again, she stops, sliding her fingers through her hair and this time starting quickly on another thought, "I can ..I can understand with Kaeralla." She doesn't want to, but she can. "Just like I understood with Myca. I may not like what happened, but...goodness, I /do/ have to deal with that, myself. Take Ken, for example." Oblivious to the unintended blunder she might have made, in mentioning a Flight from long before she and Puo were remotely linked, Dei pauses faintly to consider whether or not to say her next words, and then speaks. "He's a sweet man, and a dear friend, but I don't /like/ him that way." She even wrinkles her nose a little, "He's like a .. a brother to me." Giving her head a quick shake she gets back on topic, "Anyway, I understand what you ..what happened with Kaeralla. It's .. not in your control. But T'ela...? She wasn't even riding the..." Deinha pauses again, words trailing off, face going from hurt and upset to slack in a slow procession as something else suddenly crosses her mind. "Oh," she murmurs very softly. "Oh, no." And, biting her lip, Dei looks rather hopelessly over at the bronzerider.

"Like it's any better for me?" O'kano quickly responds with an embittered rebuttal, dropping the discomfiture aside long enough to get his point across; enmity, directed at the situation and flights in general, makes his words blunt, even brutally so. "At least Sebayeth only rises every two Turns, maybe. At least you're not constantly besieged with proddiness and flights. At least /you're/ always going to end up 'winning.' Even if you don't like it so much afterwards, you don't lose. And you never will." The cut-off phrase isn't noticed or commented upon in Puo's acerbity, and he grimaces once at the mention of both greenriders and only mutters, mostly to himself, "Yeah, well, now you know what it was like for me when you were with that brownrider." That brownrider is, undoubtably, R'ken, but Puo doesn't deign to awknowledge him by name: such is the dislike on his part. Instead, the bronzerider glances away from Deinha, glowering darkly at the far wall and half-listening to the description of the other two's relationship -- it's not the sort of information he wants to hear about. O'kano's full attention returns when the goldrider moves on, and he begins his defense, stating, "It's not like I was...myself. /She/ took advantage of /me./ She even admitted that it was her own fault...afterwards." Then, suspiciously, the bronzerider looks askance of Deinha and prompts, "What?"

"Well, Faranth forbid you turn to..." Deinha gasps off her own words. Was she actually going to suggest..? Blushing, the woman just shakes her head faintly. "No, I won't," is her eventual, quiet response. She certainly doesn't know how (much) Puo felt. Or perhaps /why/ he felt it. That's the problem. She swallows, though, as the newer thought emerges. And, at promptings, face fallen, she glances down again and mutters, "Maybe I'm just being stupid, feeling upset. Maybe I'm not any more than /they/ are to you." Blue eyes flick back to Puo, wide and bright, firelight glittering on the moisture gathering there. "You..you..slept" she forces the word past unwilling lips, voice thicker than normal, "With T'ela because..of a flight." She's pausing to take slower breaths, to lick her lips, generally to stall and fidget. "And you say that's all, but.." Another pause, this one a bit longer, before Dei manages, "You'd never have ..if I hadn't been on that beach that day, at Azov, hadn't..oh, shells." Shutting her eyes, Deinha slumps, hiding her face in her hands for the space of a few heartbeats before she looks up again, voice trembling, "I .. took advantage of you, too -- I mean, didn't I? You would've just gotten drunk, swam, I don't /know/ what, but I ../threw/ myself on you, and now here I am trying to grouch at you because of ... what? Some imagined feelings? I don't even have any real claims on you, or anything, do I?" She chokes out the last, tears spilling over now, "You never said anything, never even started to promise anything, and I just /assumed/..just because last time it was the other way around, that maybe this time you felt something and just weren't going to say anything. I waited, and nothing happened, and then I had to go out and do no better than .. than /her/, and here I am expecting you to hold to things you never pretended to offer." It's a rather garbled, confused, speech, with possibly unclear references to her betrothal thrown into the mix.

And it's thus clear that Dei's either /very/ tired, or /very/ upset, or likely a formidable combination of both.

"What?" The vexation fades away as O'kano regards the goldrider with a mixture of surprise and guilt -- surprise, at Deinha's conclusion, and guilt, that his actions have prompted this line of thought. "You don't really think that, do you?" He hesitates, astonishment robbing him of a ready response. The bronzerider casts his gaze upwards while searching for the proper response, falling silent both to listen in shock, stealing glances at Dei every few minutes, and to grasp at the elusive words. Finally, Puo fastens his gaze upon the goldrider as he haltingly begins. "You have always been more, Dei. Always. I'm sorry that I didn't say things. I thought you knew -- maybe I thought that I didn't /need/ to say anything." He falters and eyes his finger, picking at a nail that he perceives to be overly long. Abashed, he eventually finishes, "It wasn't...isn't...very easy for me to tell you those things. I probably should've." O'kano, unnerved, addresses the flight last of all, lifting his eyes to look over Deinha. "Maybe it would've have happened like it did, but...but it would've have happened at all if I hadn't felt something for you. Shards, Dei -- you're the only person that ever really cared, back when we were weyrlings."

Deinha pauses, too, though not for as long, before answering, "I--I don't know, Puo. Sometimes it seems like that's all it can be." She subsides into silence, too, wiping at the short-lived tears and resting heavily against the cushioned chairback. Her gaze, her expression softens as he begins speaking -- first a slightly pouty disbelief that wants to believe, then a further softening as the words really sink in.. "You really care," she whispers, tone still tinged with undeniable questioning and hesitance. There's a flicker of something more negative, again, as he says things wouldn't have happened -- something made it work for T'ela, after all -- but she doesn't voice the sulkier thought, and really doesn't concentrate on it long. She's too stunned by the reassurances the bronzerider offers. She blinks a bit more at the very last comment, though, and manages, "I couldn't be..?" It just doesn't make sense to her. "I mean, I know a lot of people didn't" don't "Like you much, but ... I can't be everybody..?"

That something happened to be large doses of alcohol, for even a flight doesn't lower O'kano's holdbred inhibitions /that/ much. "Yeah. Well..." The young man subsides into embarrassed silence, previous verbosity dissapating and leaving him fidgeting. Puo shifts in his seat, both from the uncomfortable hardness and disconcertment. "Well. Maybe it's changed some since then--" Puo isn't /quite/ as mean as he was when he first arrived at the Weyr, most of the time, and people don't threaten to chop him into wherrymeat anymore. Those are changes. "--but..." The bronzerider trails off, leaving his sentence unfinished, and just fidgets instead.

Dei blinks a little more, then offers innocently, "I always liked you, though." She even offers a trace of a smile, slightly rueful, "You can be pretty ..surly, sometimes, sure, but.." Deinha shrugs. "You're -- you're you." She looks puzzled, even, which would well be comical without the previous span of emotions. She gestures faintly with one hand, then colors a bit and sweeps her gaze away from O'kano, settling it somewhere on the floor. "I've done more than /like/ you for a long time, though, so maybe I'm biased," she admits softly. She hasn't altogether forgotten the original subject, though, and after a moment of quiet the goldrider adds, "That's why it .. hurts so much, when you ..." She trails off again, not feeling the need to finish /that/. A half-beat later, she seeks out Puo's gaze. "Is that .. you really felt all that, when I..?" Again, she doesn't finish.

O'kano doesn't quite know what to make of that or how he's supposed to reply, and so holds his silence briefly before tentatively volunteering, "I always liked you, too." Even if he had funny ways of showing it, sometimes. Puo, likewise, studies a spot near his foot in favor of keeping his scrutiny upon Deinha, and only speaks up again to affirm the last fragmented query. "Yeah," he mutters, chagrined, risking a swift look upwards. "Yeah, pretty much."

A faint sigh greets the returned words -- still, perhaps, not quite /the/ words, but... they're something. Deinha smiles again, just faintly but not insincerely, as he admits sharing the other feelings, too. "We're a mess, aren't we...?" It's not really that much of a question. She shakes her head again before asking, simply, "What're we going to do, Puo?"

And something's got to be better than nothing, especially coming from O'kano. O'kano who has problems expressing any sort of feelings other than dislike, be it directed at person, situation, or weather. "Uh huh," he agrees ruefully, hints of a similar smile flickering across his expression. Then, after contemplating the final inquiry, the bronzerider admits, "I don't know, really. What..." He pauses, switches wording, and continues, "well, do you have any ideas?"

Something is ... far better. And, good or no, Dei's used to taking what she can get. She takes a breath, expression sober, at the start of Puo's question, then pauses -- not breathing -- as he rephrases. An audible exhale follows, as she discards her own initial response (or protest, be that as it may), to take her own turn at considering. "Well..I don't suppose we can control things like...like K..gr..Flights." She stumbles a bit over the last, looking for the wording easiest for her own tongue to manage, then hurries on, "And, I mean, I hate that, but...what can we do? They told us that at the beginning." That horrible, horrible lesson. Her eyes narrow in memory, before she forcibly shakes off that train of thought to move to things more productive. "But...Puo, I can't.. I can't ... the thing with ..T'ela," she swallows before continuing, "That really .. hurt. Hurts." She blinks away the innate response to that - more tears - and shakes her head faintly, "I can't deal with that..happening again. Not and think there's anything more between /us/." She sighs, dropping her gaze to the floor. "That's never been something I could stand, Puo. Not with Valien, and I didn't even ca--" She cuts herself off, again seeking bronzerider's gaze. "But I'm not offering solutions, wallowing in that. What would help? What would keep you from doing that again, just because Jharzeth lost a flight?" A touch of frustration, but mostly blank questioning coats the goldrider's voice as she asks this, quieting for a moment.

"Yeah." That's O'kano's only response to the mention of flights -- the only spoken one, at least. He grimaces, loathing for those apparent in his facial expression. And, if old maxims hold true, expressions speak much louder than words. Puo likes the next subject even less, however, and sits in stony silence as the goldrider voices her feelings on that, reluctant add in his own comments on that. But he does, eventually, after nudging the floor with his booted toe and tapping at the armrests of his chair with fingernails. "I know," he says simply. "I never thought of what would happen...after." Regret edges his tone, and self-contempt follows shortly after Puo is, inadvertantly or otherwise, compared to Valien. "I'm not going to," the bronzerider states firmly, finally looking up to meet Dei's gaze. "Not after I've seen what can happen."

Dei sighs faintly, watching the bronzerider with enough care that she's certain to catch even the more subtle expressions. Confusion lights her own gaze momentarily -- he didn't know? Didn't think about it? But...he looks sincere, and she lets it pass. Deinha still stays quiet for some time, before she finally clears her throat and murmurs, "Well, there's one solution..." She sounds a little too business-like, until she blushes and falters on the next words, "I don't.. you could've just tried it before, and I wouldn't have .. have minded." Minded? Quite the opposite. "But..ah..you could always look for me, when..you know..." She hopes he knows, anyway. Blushing further still, the goldrider busies herself with tugging at her shirt -- sure, it wasn't actually wrinkled, but...it's plausible. She eventually glances back up, "That still wouldn't solve everything, though." 'Your turn' suggests her following look. Maybe /he/ can come up with some good ideas.

O'kano looks rather embarrassed -- not so much at the idea, but at the mention of it. "Yeah, well..." Now it's Puo's turn to falter a little, not quite certain how to phrase it. "I didn't know if that'd be...okay." A pause. "And I didn't want that sort of pressure, whenever Jharzeth takes a liking to some green." And there's always the bit that there were plenty of times when the two weren't speaking much, but O'kano chooses to leave that out. His turn at thinking up solutions is unsuccessful, and he eyes a spot over Deinha's head for a moment before grumbling, mostly to himself, "How does everyone /else/ do this sort of thing?" Lots of people aren't as hidebound and holdbred as Puo, though.

Deinha certainly isn't going to fault Puo for his phrasing or embarrassment -- not when she was just as guilty moments earlier. She does frown a bit at mention of 'pressure,' even going so far as to shoot a briefly quizzical glance bronzerider's way, as if she's not quite sure what he meant by that. Again, though, she doesn't speak up with any questions. "Everyone else?" she echoes, after he speaks again. "Well, I imagine they either don't worry about it, or ..." She trails off, looking a little uncertain, and a flush again tints her cheeks. Far be it for her to sound like she's suggesting anything, but a thought does come to mind. "Or they move in together," she continues after a pause, trying for nonchalance. After all, she's speaking of 'they,' isn't she? Not Puo and herself, surely. Completely disregarding the holdbred ideas of monogamy and the innate jealousy sure to follow...doesn't seem so likely. But..'commit or quit?' Maybe they'll come up with another idea, and quickly.

O'kano doesn't exactly feel inclined to clarify his wording; it's hard enough for him to even awknowledge it aloud. He manages to miss the puzzled look, too, averting his gaze to one of the far corners of the room. Or if he sees it, he chooses not to admit it. Instead, Puo moves on, listening to Deinha as she speaks up. "Oh." The bronzerider attempts at imperturbability, too, leaning against the not-quite-comfortable back of his chair and risking a brief glance at Deinha. "Oh. Yeah." Puo doesn't have any more suggestions to throw into the ring, so opts for silence. He's still trying to divine if there's any subtle hints behind the goldrider's comments -- and if he wants there to be.

"Mmm," murmurs the goldrider. What, must she offer all the ideas? ... Apparently so. And, as the woman sees this matter simply, she takes a while to come up with anything else worth saying to stop this impasse. "Well, we couldn't do that. Move in together, I mean," Deinha babbles. "Because of Rue." Because of a child that might be his..? "You wouldn't want to live with a baby." Sure, that explains it. "Right?"

"Because I mean, if you didn't mind that...and you said you wanted to help, and she's the sweetest thing, really..." Deinha stops once again, looking confused and a tad embarrassed. She'd meant to leave it at the last, not to start sounding like she meant to persuade him otherwise.

"Because of Rue?" O'kano repeats at first, not quite certain how she entered the discussion. His query is answered as Deinha continues, and he nods once, acceding -- although maybe a bit reluctantly -- to the goldrider's primary verdict. Puo hesitates before responding, then cautiously states, "Rue's not so bad." Puo's plan of disliking the child backfired from the first time he had the opportunity to hold her, but he's loathe to admit that. He looks askance of Dei, deferring to her in favor of coming up with a yes or no answer: too risky. "Is that what you want?" He doesn't say which he's asking after -- moving in or staying out -- ands leaves his question ambigious. He does his best not to twitch restlessly while he carefully watches the woman seated across from him and waits for her response.

Ah, but it'd help Puo out if he'd admit more of those non-peeved feelings once in awhile. At bronzerider's look, Deinha blushes further, perhaps misinterpreting his avoidance of an answer for controlled distaste, instead -- in which case she should probably know better by now. "What I want?" she repeats, buying time. And where O'kano tries not to move, Dei shifts quite uncomfortably, despite the plush cushioning of her chair. "I.." She starts rather breathlessly, no doubt ready to demur, but she abruptly straightens in the chair, gaze - which has been a bit hesitant hitherto - becoming much more direct. "I like you ... a lot, Puo." Any ideas of blushes fading can be tossed away for good. "I never denied that, though I sometimes wonder if you weren't" aren't? "completely oblivious." She may not have baldly stated it, and she might still be refraining from using words to match strength of emotions, though. Defensive measures? "Rue seems to like you." Another kind of liking, from her tone. The first was definitely not familial. Granted, babies aren't the most discriminating sorts, but.. they've got some sense of things. "I enjoy just talking to you, you know?" She finally does drop her gaze, 'lashes lowering as she looks down at her hands, folded in her lap. "That night..I liked that, too." Oh dear. No, there will be no end to the flushed cheeks. She lifts one hand to brush at the strands of hair that've fallen in her face, pushing them a bit impatiently behind her ear as her eyes lift again to Puo's level. "But.." Ah, it had to come, right? "I don't know that I trust things between us. It seems like every time we start to head one way, ../something/ comes along and shakes things up again. One step forward, two steps back." She sighs faintly, uncrossing and recrossing her legs as she gathers her words. "I /do/ want things to work. I do. And moving in together, that'd be great. But not just because I say it sounds nice, or because it'd make helping out with o..with Rue any more convenient for you, or because it might solve things between us. Just...because it's the natural thing to do and we both want it." She shakes her head, "Do you want that? I don't even know, Puo. Maybe I'm just worrying too much, after things that have happened in the past, but I can't tell whether you're in it for /you/, or just because I was nice to you, just because ..." She trails off, shaking her head again with a look of frustration. "What do /you/ want?"

O'kano has learned, over the Turns, to hide things that might end up hurting him, right or wrong, and change doesn't come easily. Deinha's admission is met with hesitation, but Puo does, after an uncomfortable pause, state softly, "I like you a lot, too." The bronzerider flushes faintly at the mention of obliviousness, then admits, "Maybe at first, I was. I didn't expect..." Here, he trails off and quickly shakes his head, negating some unspoken statement and choosing to leave it unfinished. He moves on, brightening a little. "You think?" Too late, he remembers his supposed not-liking-much of Ruona and lapses into quiet. When Puo finally speaks up once more, it's only to softly agree, slightly nonplused. "Yeah. Me too." At first, he fails to look at Deinha, studying some object at the other end of the room instead; O'kano does, eventually, glance back towards the goldrider. "Maybe...maybe that's my fault," he confesses. "I'm not exactly the best..." Again, he doesn't complete the phrase, switching to another line of thought. "I don't know what I want." That piece of truth is stated self-consciously, and Puo drops his gaze once more. "I always expected that I'd end up handfasting someone and bringing her to Boll and /then/ having kids. But it's a little different from that, now." He allows a slightly bitter smile to grace his lips. "Not bad-different, but different. And I don't know what I'm supposed to do, anymore." Again, Puo balks for a minute, but adds on, "But I do like you -- I know that."

Not that Dei's very likely to be hurting the man anytime soon -- intentionally, at the least.  She pauses long enough to enjoy the words that are, once again, returned, smile softening, and then shakes her head quickly as he starts to respond to the question of awareness - or lack thereof.  "Well, now you know.  That's what counts.  And...maybe I didn't realize, myself, for a while."  Even if it was certainly rather clear, at times, that she's been rather 'fond' of the bronzerider.  Why else would any woman tolerate some of his pricklier defenses?  Deinha, too, brightens -- in response to Puo's reaction.  "I do think so," she affirms gently, voice lowering faintly.  She's thrilled - and touched - at his own pleasure.  Which perhaps makes it easier to deal with necessary embarrassment over the next admission.  As with O'kano earlier, goldrider is uncomfortable with the conversation -- not one discussed quite so openly at Holds -- rather than with the sentiments behind it.  On the other hand, she relaxes further in her chair with his agreement; while unusual, such words have their merit, too.  Once her somewhat awkward explanation of her thoughts on living together is complete, Dei captures her lower lip between her teeth in a gesture of nervous habit and just watches him for a reaction, uncertain whether he'll take her words as she meant them.  Then she shakes her head, once, fingers of one hand half-raised in protest.  "Puo, darling, you don't have to apologize for.."  She trails off a bit, distracted by the sudden understanding of her own words immediately preceding: 'darling'?  But then she realizes she has quieted, and tries to slip back into what she was saying, finishing a bit lamely, "For that.  For whatever.  I know that it's ...hard for you to be.. That you're not used to just being open and easy and .. that's okay.  I like /you/, don't I?"  Not so much a question as a point she is making.  At his next words -- confession as it were -- she nods faintly.  This, she understands, on some level or another.   Not-knowing.  "But now you'll never do that," she murmurs quietly, a bit sympathetically perhaps.  "Well, we all know what I came to Starmount for, and that's obviously...changed a lot, too.  But maybe some of my..my basic ideas of what's good and right and desirable in life...those aren't all that different, you know?  What handfasting, what's weyrmating?  Home has changed.  Rue is...was unexpected, yes.  I believe we all see that, but... she's really a wonderful kid, you know?"  Her expression softens entirely at this, love for her daughter clearly shining in her eyes.  And whether he /does/ know or not, she'd very much like him to do so.  That, too, is pretty clear -- for one whose defenses aren't constantly keeping him some amount of 'apart' from others.  Perhaps he'll see that soon, if he hasn't yet.  Drawing herself back to the topic at hand, Deinha smiles a bit wistfully.  "Maybe," she suggests softly, "You need to stop worrying about what you're supposed to do and just think about what you want to do, for a change."  She flicks her wrist out, indicating the weyr around them, "Given the situation at hand."  Leave it to him to consider /which/ circumstances, general or specific or what.  "Surely some part of you knows, deep inside.  Or at least there's a leaning, some way or another.  Go with that. ..instinct.  Please yourself -- and sometimes making one decision will do that."  Yea or nea.  Goldrider even manages to look deceptively at ease with this comment, as though she's not worrying inside over just what he /will/ decide, once he does.  If he does.  The last, though...that's reassuring.  Gives her some hope.

A face is pulled briefly in response to some weyrlinghood memory that's inadvertantly triggered with the talk of past obliviousness -- from the expression that flickers, probably one of those instances in which O'kano was less than nice. "Better sooner than later, right?" The bronzerider finally quips with a faint, rueful smile. But, then, as the discussion slides into the present, his thoughts, too, follow, and once more a little pleased quirk of the lips is the reaction given to the mention of Ruona; Puo doesn't seem to realize that betrayal of his facial features, though, else it would have been hidden sooner behind an impassive mask. The unexpected slip of the tongue receives another small, barely-there smile, but Puo does his best to not let Deinha know that he caught it, especially after she pauses. After she's finished with that thought, he ponders a moment before allowing a short, meek note of concession. "Oh." He leaves that alone to respond to Deinha's following words. "Yeah. But, really, it's not something I'd give up, now -- Jharzeth for Boll?" That idea sends O'kano rolling his eyes. "It'd be nice to have both, maybe, but that won't happen. And even though there's lots about Starmount that's awful, there's some that isn't, too." And although he may not say it very distinctly, Deinha is certainly grouped in that latter category. "It wouldn't be so easy to leave anymore," he adds, coloring a little at that admission and glancing away. The young man falls silent to listen, then, gaze sliding back to the goldrider as she resumes. "Maybe," he asserts, "that's a good idea." A good one, yes, but not exactly one of the easiest for Puo when applied to everyday life; after growing up in the limelight and having every action weighed, it takes time to adjust. Puo hesitates before fully answering that final advice, but answer it he does after considering the implications for a split-second. "I'd like," he states, "to be with you." After another small pause, he bravely pushes on and continues, "I don't like it when I don't get to see you for a few days at a time because maybe our schedules don't match, or because we're in different areas of the Weyr. And I'm tired of not being sure about us...I mean, before all this --" He gestures with one hand to indicate the circumstances culminating in this confrontation and discussion. "-- I didn't know what to think. Or how to act. And that can get annoying after awhile." To say the least. "And...and I /missed/ you."

"Infinitely," agrees Dei -- with some mixed degree of amusement and gravity. Ah, but she's watching the bronzerider very closely and catches all these subtle nuances, fleeting or no, that constitute his overall expression. The first, again for Rue, coaxes a similar smile from her own lips -- hers being perhaps wider, though. The second evokes surprise, which only adds to Dei's subsequent distraction and hesitation. He didn't mind that? Liked it, maybe? But this display of surprise and vague happiness proves short-lived, as she, now, tries to mask /her/ feelings somewhat. Puo's not the only one to retain a certain sense of self-preservation, now and then. Of course, Deinha's not so good at it. She can't quite knock that pleased softness from her visage, for all that she can soothe the smile into a more casual relaxation of lips. A hopeful look from Dei follows quickly on the heels of O'kano's next admissions, and perhaps a glimmer of understanding and appreciation. "Good," she notes, however needlessly such may be. "I'd hate to see you go." Curiosity lights upon her features as he glances away, and then a smile that's slipped past hopeful and into some new ground. Dawning contentment, perhaps? And then her smile is rearranged again, lips parting this time with surprise as she blinks rather dumbly at the man before a fluttery, gradually expanding smile reappears. And this after only a split-second pause? She barely avoids tossing the words right back at O'kano in questioning, knowing fully well that hearing them once was rare enough. She swallows, then just /smiles/ at him, entire face lighting as disbelief and uncertainty and even hope yield to true belief. "I hate that, too," she hastens to agree. "All of that. Not seeing you, not knowing what to say, what to think.." She stops, realizing that, yet again, she's just repeating Puo, and flashes another bright smile at him instead. "I always miss you when you're gone." Now, suddenly, goldrider seems to find her chair quite inhibiting, for she leans forward and only barely refrains from actually hopping out -- to pace? To move towards bronzerider? "So...what?" She frowns a bit, brow furrowing in thought. "Or...where?" Something, anyway. Now that interests are verified, it seems she doesn't have a clue what to do with this new affirmation.

So much for keeping things hidden. Puo must be losing his knack. Likewise, the bronzerider studies Deinha for reactions, noticing each expression in much the same way that she catches his. Indeed, after finishing with his divulgences, O'kano watches almost anxiously, uncertain of the reaction he'll receive. The tension eases, though, upon those last smiles, and it's with considerable relief and satisfication that he returns them with one of his own -- not the little skimpy ones, either, but the real thing. It's no secret that his own chair is incredibly uncomfortable, straight-backed, and scantily covered with any sort of padding, so it can't be that much of a surprise that the bronzerider follows Deinha's lead and scoots to the edge of his seat. The questions, though, bring a pause in action; he puzzles over that, finally admitting, "I hadn't thought of that." Coming this far was a feat itself; Puo hadn't even begun to consider the questions Deinha poses.

Deinha laughs softly, the sound a bit husky from either relieved tension or disuse or whatever other possible explanation. "No, I don't guess I had, either. I had hardly hoped..." She shakes her head, smile turning briefly wry, "We'd reach this point." Well, yes, technically she'd more /wished/ than dared hope. "Well..." She pauses, considering, glancing reflectively around her weyr. "I was thinking I'd redecorate my weyr soon," she murmurs slowly. Then she flicks her gaze back to O'kano, chagrined, "This scheme...it's tasteful. My parents would approve, if maybe they'd also consider some parts too frivolous. But.." She winces, "It gets to seem a little too .. I don't know. Bland? Delicate?" Sickening? "At times. Especially with a baby soon to be toddling around and getting sticky fingers into things." Her smile falters a bit. "That's something you'll have to deal with, too, you know..unless you change your mind." Not liking the sound of that, she grimaces, then rushes on, "Ruona's not just a cute little bubble-blower. She cries, she makes messes, she's ... a baby. Helpless." And Deinha was just telling him about her lack of sleep lately, was she not? She clears her throat, "Anyway, assuming you think it's worth that -- as I most certainly will tell you it is. Rue's a darling, and you really can't fault her for being a baby. It's like...like with Jharzeth and Sebayeth, when they were young. But..I'm wandering off on a tangent again. My /point/ was ... we could do that for mine, if you like, and you could ...move in here." This last in a rush. "And it's certainly big enough. Or..we could go to yours. I don't know whether you'd want to go about child-safing it or risking all your nice things to baby accidents, though." Or flat having Dei, herself, 'intrude' upon it, though she does her best to leave that thought out of her commentary.

Hardly hoping -- that's something that O'kano can identify with, and so he quirks a small, understanding grin as his response. Then, a glance is swept around the weyr, scrutinizing the surroundings. "Yeah?" That idea is met with approval, and Puo bobs his head in absent agreement. "Yeah." Boring? Girly? The bronzerider wisely keeps those possible descriptions to himself, and switches his attention back to Deinha. "So try something else," comes his simple suggestion. The baby-part of the conversation snags his focus, then, and he nods once with slow acquiescence. "I know. My foster-mum had a couple babies when I was at Ista -- I remember 'em, a little." Puo, however, never had to take care of them. He just got to complain about the noise. The assurance that Ruona's worth it lessens the faintly doubtful edge to the bronzerider's tone, anyhow, and after a brief hesitation -- considering -- he doesn't contradict Deinha or repudiate the offer. Instead, he simply says, "Your weyr's bigger than mine."

It probably /is/ a wise decision not to add his own criticisms, though Deinha appears not to notice the options she'd left dangling for just such a thing. A breath she'd scarcely noticed being held is released at Puo's casual acknowledgement of baby difficulties. Even if there's some uncertainty in the way he says it, it rates far better than sheer terror or disgust. And, where anything else is concerned... Dei was an only child. She's managing this okay, though; Puo should certainly be able to adjust. So she'll hope, anyway. His last words, however lacking in enthusiasm, are greeted with a brilliant smile. "I guess that just leaves...when? I mean," she tips her head to the side, "There'll be a lot of hassle in redecorating -- I don't know what you'll want us to do in the meantime. Could we maybe just start out in your weyr and stay until those changes are finished? Anything with too much of a mess would be bad for Rue, anyway." And the alternative to Puo's, for Rue, would be the nursery -- which Dei resists -- or R'ken's place -- which bronzerider wouldn't be too likely to appreciate.

O'kano does have some tact, once in awhile. It may not surface very often, but this is one of those rare times when Puo thinks to hold his tongue and not voice his disparaging comments. And while he might not relish the idea of midnight feedings, diaper changes, and squalling babies at ungodly hours of night, he keeps those doubts to himself. "Oh -- oh. Yeah. That'd be fine, of course," he assures. "Ugh. I can't imagine sleeping somewhere where there's paint drying and equipment strewn around -- doesn't make sense to me." The bronzerider has a penchant for cleanliness, and that includes redecorating. Then, repeating himself, Puo nods agreeably. "Yeah. That's fine."

Deinha offers another here, not-here, back-again smile at that. "Great." She frowns just /slightly/, probably unintentionally, after a moment, though. It's actually less a frown, even, than a wrinkling of nose. Something's wrong here: they've just had this difficult, if ultimately happy, conversation, all while seated relatively across from each other in their own separate chairs. Separate. Across. Moving in together, sure. Sitting together, touching, anything like that, no. Most puzzling. But how to remedy that? Hence the sudden look of vague discomfiture. She mutters something quietly -- probably something indicative of cowardice -- to herself, then stands. "Well, I don't think this is something you shake on, but.."

O'kano catches the faint not-happy expression, and a shadow of puzzled inquiry passes across his own countenance, but instead of questioning after the source of the indistinct frown, he only sends a look towards Deinha, brows furrowed a little in obvious perplexion. Puo is quite happy to leave his chair, however, and shoots a pained look after him at the hard piece of furniture as he comments, "In /my/ opinion, we should get rid of that thing. It's hard." The 'we' is used unconciously, adopted already; Puo doesn't notice the small slip, though, if that's what it is. Then, glancing back towards the goldrider, he only repeats with bemusement, "Shake on?"

And that quizzical glance provokes a look of ... chagrin, it appears, goldrider's cheeks flushing just faintly once more. Neither can Dei control the swift smile that follows his words, joy shooting over her so transparent features as he eyes the chair and then not quite being stifled as he looks back. He /did/ say we; what's more, he's ... making plans, suggestions, actively participating. His question thus gets a blank look for all of a split-second as Deinha tries to remember what she was saying, then: "Oh, ah, you know, you normally shake on arrangements..." Having absently brought her hands forward as she pushed up from the chair, she now fidgets nervously, fingers interlocking and unlacing again at her waist as she offers an oddly shy smile. "But this isn't just some impersonal agreement, so that hardly seems appropriate." Gaze skittered away somewhere near the end, but now returns again. "I'm really glad you want to do this, Puo."

Puo kicks lightly at his chair, inconspiciously pushing it back -- awful thing, that. "Oh." O'kano can't keep that note of mild disappointment from his tone, although he does his best to hide it behind a faint, nonchalant smile. The next words warrant a brighter, less impersonal one, though, and he agrees swiftly, softly. "Yeah. I'd say not." The bronzerider is characteristically hesitant, though, to make any sort of first move, and instead forms his response to Deinha's final statement. "Likewise," Puo replies simply. "It's not just me, here -- it's you, too." That last bit doesn't exactly make sense, even to Puo, and he pauses, attempting to straighten out his twisted phrasing. "Er. I mean, I'm glad you also want it."

Deinha's not intending to make any bold moves, herself, though she does step forward to close the gap between them. To her credit, she doesn't give him any funny looks at the original wording; after that, she just smiles agreement, letting the subject rest for the time being. Standing a bit to the front and side of Puo, ostensibly to peer critically at the chair, she murmurs, "No, I don't suppose I'll miss that thing very much." She reaches up to lightly touch his arm -- after only one furtive glance to check for warning signs -- and asks, "We could check with Cor about replacing it. She has ... relatives that do that sort of thing, if I remember correctly. An aunt, it seems." Dropping her hand again in as casual a manner as she can manage, Dei shrugs faintly and asks, "Do you want to bring some of your things down here, once we're finished with the messiest work, or just start an entirely new collection of furniture and-" There's just the faintest of hesitations here, as she catches her breath and forges onward. "-linens and such?"

"It'd be good to get rid of any like it, too," Puo advises with a hint of bemusement. "Anything /mildly/ like it. Awful. Ugh. It's...hard." He leaves off the bit that it might be rather uncomfortable for him to be sitting on anything that's less than incredibly padded for the next day or so. The bronzerider falters before responding to the next bit; he doesn't exactly like Cor much. But, then, he doesn't like most people very much. "Eh. Yeah. We could do that." Puo, too, inches a little bit closer, then pauses to ponder the question, lifting a hand to unconciously run fingers through his hair. "Well -- maybe a few things?" he decides. "But maybe it'd be nice to get some new things, too." New weyr, new things, new start? Something like that.

"I never sat in it," Deinha confesses. "It's just for firelizards or stacking things or..." She trails off grimacing a bit, "I got it from one of those riders who...ah, who has interests other than 'charity' in mind." A rider after the weyrwoman -- for one part of the title or another. "Anyway," she rushes on, "I was all set to seek a subtle way to ... 'lose' it when Chutzpah took a liking to it. Not that I can say /why/ he would." Again, she shrugs. Blue eyes tracking his movement - also unconsciously - she blinks a few times before nodding and drawing her gaze back to his. "I'm sure we'll find something new that we both like..."

"Firelizards. Ew." Nevermind that O'kano's somehow managed to get five of them -- lucky for him, the majority don't bother him too much and have learned to find their own food. He grins faintly at the explanation, despite the attempt to school his expression. "Really." Puo managed to avoid all of those sorts of situations, despite riding bronze; no one in their right mind would provide such a predominantly unpleasant person with such 'charity' items. "Probably just to annoy you," he suggests, oh so sweet. "They do that." Then, nodding, Puo concedes, "There's got to be things that we can agree on out there."

Soft laughter follows the bronzerider's initial reaction, as Deinha is well aware of Puo's opinions on firelizards -- and of his possession of several more than her own single brown. Bronzerider's reaction to the background of said chair doesn't particularly disturb the woman; in fact, it coaxes a grin of her own. For her part, people generally have enough fear for her position not to assert themselves too aggressively, on the amorous side of things. And she's likely oblivious to some efforts, besides. This second time, Puo's annoyance with firelizards elicits a low chuckle as she just shakes her head. "You have so little faith in other creatures, Puo. /Maybe/ he just likes the chair." As soon as the thought crosses her mind that he might take offense at her teasing, she hastens to reassure him that her intentions were quite the contrary. "Not that it's such a bad thing." She glances down and admits quietly, "I think I'm too much the opposite sometimes." Returning to a lighter note, she tilts her head to the side and grins at the man. "Of course, you're entirely correct about that little mischief-maker, though."

O'kano has experience with firelizards only doing things to annoy him, so he speaks with the full assurance of one who knows. "Horrid things -- if people were smart, they'd toss all the eggs off a ledge." Which is probably the reason Puo's two greens haven't laid anything in his weyr, despite the fact that it's a warm place. Grudgingly, the bronzerider admits, "Maybe. Maybe not, too." He doesn't follow, though, when Deinha switches her opinion, and awards her a mystified look. "What?" After a moment's consideration, he puzzles it out and ruefully wrinkles his nose. "You're right, though, you know." That admission is followed by a small quirk of paled lips as he addresses the final statement. "Of course I am." Egotistical? Never.

With something of a wince, Deinha ventures, "That's a bit extreme...They do make excellent messengers, after all." Some of them, sometimes. Realizing she's just been rather incoherent has Deinha frowning, and she opens her mouth to attempt an explanation right around the time Puo finally gains understanding. A brief wrinkling of brow indicates her own confusion - or, more accurately, curiosity - over /his/ subsequent words: she's right about him? her? Both of them? She echoes his own expression at the last, bemused. "We--" Whatever she has in mind is interrupted by a yawn that has Dei belatedly lifting one hand to cover her mouth. She was tired before this talk began, so it should hardly be unexpected, yet she looks a touch surprised.

"Yours, maybe." O'kano's are a different story. But he refrains from further commentary upon the firelizards and, after noticing Deinha's expressive brow furrowing, hastens to clarify, "About me." It's one of the few times that Puo's critical of himself, and cheeks flush a little. He glances away, briefly, to collect his thoughts, and when his gaze returns to Deinha, he makes to change the subject before he, too, is brought up short by the goldrider's yawn. Then, consternation sets in, and the bronzerider apologizes quickly, "I've kept you up -- sorry. I should probably be going."

Deinha nods faintly at the clarification, but certainly doesn't appear to take on an attitude of scorn. Then, she doesn't expect perfection from people. Life's easier that way. Reading his own discomfort with that admission, she instinctively moves just a little bit closer. Then: "No!" Don't go... Blush. "I mean, it's not your fault. This conversation has certainly been worth it." Dei glances down to find -- she hadn't meant to move -- her hand on his arm again, fingers resting there in a manner that could well be detainment or comfort, really. The blush deepens.

Relieved at the response to his awknowledgement, O'kano allows his features and unconciously stiffened posture to relax. Eyebrows rise a little at the vehemence attached to the goldrider's word, and he echoes mildly, "No?" Puo stays put, not moving away towards the exit, and instead looks down at Dei with a half-smile tugging impishly at his rather serious expression. "No -- then, I won't." The smile grows, little by little, and the bronzerider agrees with her conclusion. "Yeah, it has." Following Deinha's gaze, he too spares a glance down, gazing at those fingers before his regard moves back to the woman's face and he carefully inquires, "Did you want me to stay?"

Deinha /would/ be a bit anxious, likely, but...he's smiling down at her like that, intentionally or no, and it's just plain distracting. Still, her flash of alarm at his announcement of departure, coupled with the sense of surprise brought on by her own protest and by his pause and expression, prevents Dei from quite returning that smile. Hers, then, is more a look of quietly growing wonder, with the final, sudden bloom of a smile waiting until his agreement is actually voiced. And then that newly-bright smile weakens a bit, self-consciously, as she looks down to their point of contact. When her gaze is lifted again and the bronzerider's met, Dei captures her lower lip between her teeth, hesitating just a moment. And then her smile returns full-force, dampened next only to invest a certain sobreity into her soft words. "I do. Please.. Stay." A gentle squeeze of her fingers -- this time fully deliberate -- accompanies her request, a physical assurance that she wants him not to leave. Voice still soft, careful, she repeats, "Stay with me tonight, Puo." And although the words are not formed as a question, lack that upwards tilt in pitch that indicates a classical request, there is certainly a modicum of uncertainty in her speech.

"Okay." O'kano doesn't need to be encouraged further to stay the night and voices his concession without faltering first, for once -- progress. "I'd much rather stay here, with you, than go." He admits this freely, leaving out the earlier embarrassment and hesitation, and permits his smile to broaden further. A glance is flickered down at her fingers and his arm, again, and without taking the time to think through his action beforehand, Puo slips the opposite arm around Deinha's waist in an attempt to draw her closer, carefully watching for her reaction in the hopes that he's not overstepped his bounds. "There's absolutely no where else I'd rather be right now," he informs the goldrider in a tone that unwittingly nears a whisper, words bringing a soft smile to his lips and easing the final lines of tension from his visage. "I hope that's okay." He doesn't doubt it, really, but feels the need to add that phrase on at the last nonetheless.

Resisting the urge to verify bronzerider's words -- You would? You're sure? -- proves easier than Deinha might have expected, as that all-absorbing, half-enchanted way she's been looking at the man begins the final transition into simple contentment, satisfaction, and over-riding pleasure. Taking his lead in discarding what she can of those mannerisms of hesitation that have become almost customary as secondary defense in her relations with the bronzerider, she reverts to the casual openness that is ever lingering in her behavior -- a nature bruised, perhaps, by a few painful encounters with those who would - and did - take advantage of it, but never yet destroyed. "Good," she murmurs, moving willingly nearer at the not altogether subtle physical suggestion, smile curving her lips upward slightly at the corners. She again contracts her fingers gently on his arm and lifts her other hand to the side of Puo's neck, thumb skimming once over the line of his jaw, in reaction to the quiet admission. "It's very okay -- I wouldn't want you anywhere but here, with me." Her own voice softens, a trace of huskiness lacing the next words, "I've missed you so much, ever since..." She shakes her head just a little. It's not important. "I'm just really glad we're doing this, moving in together."

O'kano appreciates the openness, even if he doesn't say so; although he's used to guarding himself through characteristic pauses and carefully considered words and doesn't make a practice of candidness, Puo can certainly identify when others are or aren't being fully honest with him. Another quirk of his lips is awarded to the goldrider as he gazes down upon her, quiet. This time, however, the silence isn't that of awkwardness or an unwillingness to be forthright -- rather, Puo is simply content to be in Deinha's presence. When he does eventually -- almost reluctantly -- break his self-imposed silence, it's to echo her own word: "Good." After all, what's the point in changing the phrasing when the sentiment transmitted through the simple reply is essentially the same? Involuntarily, the arm casually slung around Deinha's waist tightens briefly in response to her own reactions, before a faintly bemused expression steals across the bronzerider's countenance. He nods agreement, motion only a slight dipping, a negligible movement that accomplishes little more than bringing his head minutely closer to Dei's, purposefully or otherwise. "Yeah. Me, too."