Author's Note: Hey, I'm back after a few weeks' absence and ready to give you all another tortall100 drabble. August 1's (I think) subject is firsts, which I suggested with this idea already in mind. Set during SQUIRE, and it also sort of fits in to my fanfic Romantic Notions, before Joren's parents barge in. I think the mood of this ficlet is a bit different from RN, which comes from the fact that I wrote the latter almost a year ago, and my views of the couple may have changed a bit since then. Length: I tried for 500 words, but my Raoul/Buri love (because they are my Tortall OTP) forced me to go on to 733.

Friends and Lovers

By Trisana McGraw

Buri blinked against the darkness and shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable so she could go back to sleep. Warm blankets were twisted around her legs, but the upper part of her body was exposed to the cool breeze coming in through a window. She pulled the blanket up, but as she did she felt the brush of skin against hers. Looking up, she could make out Raoul's outline in the darkness. He appeared to be leaning on one arm; she could tell he wasn't asleep.

"Hi," she whispered, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say. Her mind hadn't yet quite grasped that she was lying naked in her best friend's bed.

"Hi." His voice came in a quiet rumble, sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine. She scooted closer, the blanket slipping as she did so. She saw Raoul's eyes drop to her exposed body, and her heart flipped over at the intensity with which he was staring at her.

"You've been awake for a while?" she asked, surprised at the breathless sound of her voice.

"A little," was his soft reply. She could tell that he was smiling. "I was watching you."

She couldn't help but smile back. Gods, he was so sweet that she wondered why she hadn't realized sooner that all the good qualities in her friend would be even stronger as a lover. "And?"

There was a note of puzzlement in his voice. "And what?"

"Are you thinking that this was a good decision?"

"Buri . . ." Now he sounded shocked, and he sat up. She propped herself up and matched his gaze steadily; she was completely serious.

Raoul was silent for several long moments before gently pulling her over to him and kissing her firmly. "Yes," he answered when they pulled back. He traced a finger softly over her cheek and said, "You're beautiful."

Despite herself, she blushed. Pressing a kiss to his hand, she replied, "You're such a gentleman."

He laughed softly and stroked her hair. "I'm not sure about that; I bedded you on the first date."

She laughed too and snuggled closer to his warm body. "Face it, Raoul, we've had twenty years of foreplay."

"You may be right about that." They fell into a comfortable, companionable silence, the kind they'd shared as both fellow servants of the crown and friends, and now as lovers. Buri was drifting off back into sleep when she heard him say, "Did you ever think we would end up like this?"

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Maybe, but this is nothing how I imagined it."

"You imagined it, hmm?" He sounded amused as he idly stroked her thigh. "Tell me more."

"It was nothing, Raoul. I didn't know you as well as I do now." She fumbled for the words. "It was just a silly daydream with no sense."

"When did you think all this that I never knew about?"

She sighed, unable to keep from smiling at the same time. He wouldn't let up. "It was when I first met you."

"I can't believe that I had no idea of this."

"Well, I was sixteen, I'd just entered a new country, and you were this tall, dark, handsome" -- she heard him chuckling quietly, so she gave him a playful smack on the arm -- "knight who was actually a decent fellow. It was a juvenile crush. Besides, you were always being set up with wealthy, dignified ladies of the court; I didn't think you'd care at all for a dagger-wielding foreigner."

"But you knew that Alanna was one of my best friends. She was never one of those 'dignified court ladies.'"

Buri shrugged again. "I just never really realized it." After a pause, she added, "Though, if I'd known back then that you were such a good lover, I surely would have made a move in the first few months."

Raoul laughed and tilted her face upwards for another kiss. Several more followed, until Buri gave a small yawn, which made him laugh again.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I'm just a bit worn out."

"Me too," he said, kissing the top of her head. He lay back down, pulling her with him. Buri wriggled for a moment, finding a comfortable position between him and the blankets. Another kiss, whispered "good night"s, and she dozed off, wrapped in warmth and security.