Home is where you make it

by Sylindara

With the destruction of Teikou weyr, Kaijou weyr is getting their new Queen early. Too early. Kasamatsu has the responsibility of the entire weyr on his shoulders; he would have preferred not having the responsibility of the new queen and her rider too. Written for Team Battle and Character Battle 2014 on basketballpoetsociety Tumblr [Pern AU]

2. Chapter 2

It's not the end of the world being chosen by a Queen, Akashi had said quietly to Kise after the Hatching. Queen Riders get more choices than you think.

Kise didn't have the heart to tell him that, as a Harper Hall apprentice, Kise had no idea what kind of freedom Queen Riders did or didn't get in the first place. Except that, from Akashi words, there weren't much.

But then, Kise had never thought he would be Chosen by a Queen. It's true that he hadn't really considered what he was doing, barging into a Hatching when he had originally refused the Searching for the Harper Hall. But then he saw Aomine on his dragon. The way they had danced through the sky, even just as a practice run, how could Kise not join the Hatching after that?

It's too late for regrets now. Kise tightens his hold on the harness wrapped around the one woman who's managed to take hold in his heart – even if she's a dragon. He looks back, he can't help himself, even though they are too far away now to see the damage – a series of jumps in Between that has left them closer to the Kaijou Weyr Kise has been sent to than the ruins of what once was Teikou Weyr. Akashi may only be a new Weyr Leader, his Queen on her first Hatching, but he didn't deserve that. Kise does not blame him for Teikou's destruction. He might be the only one.

Akashi was kind to him, when he didn't need to be. Teaching him what it means to be a Queen Rider, what it means to lie with a Bronze for the good of the Weyr. Queen riders get more choices than you would think, but that didn't mean they get to choose their partner. A Queen's partner is a Weyr Leader's partner, what's important isn't personal feelings but being able to consider the best course for the Weyr.

At least Kise knows Kasamatsu – currently the highest positioned Bronze rider at Kaijou Weyr. He remembers a Gather at Teikou Weyr that Kasamatsu had participated in, back when Kise had still been a Harper apprentice, helping out the party. Of average height, he was a head shorter than Kise, but had the kind of natural dignity that made you listen and defer to him. Unless you are a woman, then he freezes up and turns into a piece of wood. But he would be a good choice for Weyr Leader; Kise knows he won't have a problem sleeping with Kasamatsu, he's a good man. The question is what Kasamatsu thinks of him – a Harper's apprentice turned Queen rider who knows nothing about dragonriders and their lives, whose Queen has barely reached adulthood. They weren't meant to join Kaijou Weyr until much later, once both Kise and his Queen has had time to grow.

"We'll just have to do our best," Kise says out loud determinedly, one hand brushing gently at the warm scales under him. They have no other choice. Kaijou is their home now. They need to make this work.