trans_9 | Absent Friends [Closed]

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Absent Friends [Closed]

She'd been going to the W.I.T.C.H. bus the last few days, catching up with Negi, and was starting to feel pretty good. There was no potential awkwardness, mostly because she hadn't seen Will yet and saw Matt only a few times. Recently though, she noticed that Zuko wasn't around now, and after several inquiries, she realized he'd been repodded, along WITH Goliath. She had stayed in her room, making sure to put up a barrier: she knew the guys would be feeling her pain otherwise, and she wanted to keep this to herself.

And then she saw Matt's post and knew that as much as she was hurting, Matt was probably worse off. She set for the bus immediately, hoping that he was okay, trying to ensure she was feeling a little better herself, and had brought a small tray of snacks and hot tea.

She arrived, entering the bus and knocked on his door. "Matt? It's Katara. Can I come in?"

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Matt who had been paging through an album looked up, and set it to the side as he went to the door, keying in the lock. With a swish it slid open and he blinked. "Oh hi Katara, come on in."

Katar walked in, observing Matt. He didn't seem to look too torn up, but looks could be deceiving. For all she knew,he was just keeping is feelings inside. She would be here for him, as she said she would.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah..." And here's where he admitted it as he ran his hand across the album. "I was looking at pictures taken, left here from earlier times."

Before the ship he implied as he picked it up and opened it up to the first page, showing off a group of girls, six in all. Will, Irma and Hay Lin were easily recognizable, and there were three others: a blonde with long straight blonde hair, another blonde, paler with her hair in long braids to either side, and a dark skinned girl, darker than Katara with her hair cut short with a braid down the side.

"It was taken on the first night the girls met," said Matt, remembering those days when he was just a normal guy. "At the Halloween festival. The night the girls came into their powers."

So that's what he was looking at. Well it made sense, considering Irma and hay Lin were still on the ship. She did feel bad that the rest hadn't shown up though: she was sure they would be the people Matt would want to see right now, since Will was a friend of theirs since before coming to the ship.

"They all look really nice," Katara said, trying to be supportive. "Would you mind telling me about them?"

"Sure," said Matt, holding out a chair for her to sit in while he sat down across her, spreading the album. Turning a page, he showed a picture of Will and the dark haired girl hanging over each other. It seemed to be a recent picture and the girls looked much older. Both were in a friendly looking hug and holding ice creams. ~~A little too friendly but lets not get into the les yay Tara and Will have currently.~~

"Taranee Cook. Straight A student and resident of Heatherfield. She makes the T in W.I.T.C.H. She was the first one who befriended Will when she moved in from Fadden Hills and has been her major support especially when I was gone on tour."

"Her power is the power of Fire, and it lends itself to energy, motion, knowledge and technology. She's got a temper but she is also kind and gentle." He tapped another picture of a guy giving Matt a noogie, his hair in dreadlocks with a thin beard. "Peter, her brother. He and I played a lot of sports together and we were in the same classes for a while. He's in college now actually. Or would have been."

It was a pretty cute picture, although Katara thought the way they were hugging reminder her of Nanoha and Fate ~~ha ha!~~. It was good to hear more about Taranee, and how even though her affiliation was fire, she was still smart and intelligent: it actually reminded her quite a bit of Billy.

She'd always been curious about Tara's room anyway.

She smiled, looking at the pictures. "We can't take pictures in my world: everything is drawn. I'd like to have memories like these though, to take with you wherever you want. They must be really precious to you."

"They are," said Matt, tracing a finger across a picture of Irma hitting Cornelia with a pie. "They capture the best about us in an instant, and the worst of course."

He flipped the next page and showed off a glamor shot, taken in a glade that looked familiar, and it was: it was Cornelia's classroom. "Cornelia Hale. Pretty, athletic, good friend. Controls earth and various plant life as well."

"She's got a sister Lillian," he added, tapping a picture where Cornelia was covered in makeup and Lillian as well. It seemed that the pair had been in a fight. "She's been the girl's friend for a long time. Her best friend is Elyon Brown."

She tapped a picture of the girl with long braids leaning against Cornelia as the pair wore oversized headphones with peaceful expressions on their faces. "Elyon's the Queen of Meridian, and arguably even more powerful than the girls combined. She's known as the Light of Meridian, and last I heard, she's in a relationship with Caleb, her captain of the guard."

He seemed to be taking this all better than Katara would have thought, or was he just avoiding talking about Will? Katara couldn't be sure, but she was definitely getting to know a little more about the world he came from than she had before. That was a good thing: she still wanted to know about Hay Linn and Irma. Maybe they would even be able to be friends.

She cleared her throat. "And you and Will? How did you two meet?"

Edited 2010-11-16 23:07 (UTC)

Matt jumped as if stung, brought out of his reverie, but he cleared his throat. But one could see the slight shake and pause as he turned the page to show a candid shot of him and Will, curled up while he was pointing something out in a book. "Funny story really," said Matt.

"We first encountered each other at the school party. I was playing music with my band Cobalt Blue. But our real meeting would be later when she hit me on the foot with a rock."

Oh, she was wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Matt was trying to feel better, and she appeared to had shaken that out of him. Without thinking about it, she took his hand and gave him a genuine apologetic look. She felt pretty lousy for doing that.

The picture made her feel a little worse, but she put that feeling aside for a moment to hear the story. "Hit you with a rock? How did that happen? And whatever happened with that band?"

When in doubt...distractions were your friend.

"It was a misunderstanding," said Matt. "Uriah and his group of punks were bullying a Dormouse and Will came and broke it up. She thought I was one of them when I went over and inquired and she didn't look up, just grabbed a rock and slammed me in the foot with it." he squeezed Katara's hand in memory, chuckling softly.

"After that, I bundled it up, kept it warm and handed it to Will to keep as a pet. As for my band, we kept together until I went on tour. After that, I went and reunited most of them and we played for the most part." He sighed a little, ducking his head. "Will and I went through a really rough patch when I returned. I knew everything about her, and it made her feel like I was a totally different person." He chuckled bitterly. "I kind of was. Dark, broody..."

She smiled. That was definitely the kind of man she knew Matt to be: kind, gentle and attentive to people (and animals now) in need. The situation made her laugh lightly too, as she had an idea it might totally be something she would have done if she hadn't known better too.

Dark? Broody? That didn't sound like Matt. "What made you that way?" She asked. "And what ever happened to that mouse?"

"The mission," answered Matt seriously. "I had to guide Will and the girls through their new powers and I guess I let itself overwhelm me a little. Since then, I had mellowed back to normal."

He sighed. "It was kind of like a switch being thrown really."

Katara was definitely familiar with that scenario. "Yeah, I used to be pretty hard on the guys about necessities and things too. I think it was when we got Toph on the team that I mellowed out. I kinda needed another girl on the team the complete opposite of me."

She paused. "I always wanted to know something Matt. When exactly did you get your powers? Were you born into them and didn't know how to use them like me, or was it just given to you? It sounds like you might have had them for awhile."

Him guiding them sounded exactly like the type of thing he would do.

"To be really honest, it's mostly a blur." admitted Matt as he held up his hands and magic danced across his fingertips. "One moment I was a normal guy, and then I was brought to Kandrakar. Told I was a great general who looked over Will and I had sealed my memory and powers away. And so, I got a crash course in them, and I discovered I was a powerful mage who could, well, do anything I suppose. I just had to think about it."

He shrugged. "It seems kind of out of place really."

A general who looked over Will. Katara had not known that, and now she could see Matt was doing his best to keep his feelings at bay. It must be something that a powerful mage could do, because Katara remembered only barely being able to keep her missing of Aang at bay. Now she saw clearly that Matt was hurting, and it bothered her, more than anything. He had done this to help the girls, and now Will was gone.

"You can talk about it, you know," Katara said gently. "How you feel. That's why I'm here."

Losing Zuko had felt far more numbing than she had thought. Had she not lost Sokka only a week ago, she would be a wreck.

Matt exhaled and squeezed her hand. "I feel numb," admitted Matt. "I try to keep it in and yet, well... she's my everything and I feel like now that I woke for her, she felt safe enough to rest."

"Somehow that's comforting and yet, it isn't you know?"

"There was a lot about her I admired," Katara admitted. "It was actually sad when I saw her less and forgot about her. She had this way of bringing light to a room, like you couldn't be sad around her no matter how you tried."

So she could only imagine how Matt must have been feeling, to lose someone like that. And she knew one other thing too.

"Of course it isn't. She's repodded, and you're still here. It isn't fair for you to be without her. I know exactly what that feels like. I just don't think you should be here by yourself when you had her here."

She hadn't forgotten how happy the two of them were...and quietly, what she thought about Matt being without someone caring about him.

"That's what drew me to her," said Matt. "Not my duty, but the way she smiled, her nervous insecurity, her pure... Will-ness."

He coughed and sighed. "You know, you shouldn't sell yourself short either. You look like you have something on your mind as well."

She nodded. "She spoke well of you too, and she was right. I guess that was why I thought you two worked so well with each other."

She looked down. "Zuko's repodded, and I never really get to see Toph anymore. It feels like I'm the last one from my world left. It was easier to deal with Aang not being here with the others, but now they're gone. I just wonder if I'm going to be repodded next. What's to stop that from happening?"

"I won't let that happen," said Matt, determined. "I can't... I can't lose anyone just to something like that. If your soul is falling out, then I'll research how to stabilize it, even if it's here in the bus for a while."

He trembled as he exhaled and rubbed his forehead. "This is a mess..."

Katara's heart leapt a little at hearing this, and she had to calm herself down, taking a small breath. "Would you really do that? No one's ever come back from being repodded...well, except for Luna, but that was different."

She moved toward Matt and settled down next to him, gently rubbing his head. "Is that better? Are you getting a headache?"

"I'd find a way," admitted Matt, biting his lip as Katara's fingers played across his forehead. Her hands felt warm, soft but strong. Like they had been working since they were little.

He raised a hand up to hers and rested his fingertips on her hand. "I don't have a headache Katara..." He took a deep shuddering breath and turned his head to look into her worried blue eyes. "Is it wrong... for me to feel affection when I'm at my worst?"

He way he said it, so insecure in his own beliefs and thoughts, he was biting his lip as his hand rested lightly on hers.

Katara was pretty sure her heart did a few leaps in her chest, and she exhaled, trying to make sure that he felt better, the flush creeping up her skin.

"You...miss..." She tried to say her but she couldn't do it, no matter what, she couldn't say it. It was too much of a moment for her to say something she knew wasn't true, and too invested for her not to know what he was saying.

"Will's friends are going to be here to help you," she barely managed to choke out. "And they're going to be wondering what you're thinking."

She stopped, and said the most honest thing she could, her hands tightening around his. "I can't answer your question because I'm biased. Part of me wants you to throw me out for being here, for acting like I wanted to console you about Will's disappearance when the truth is no matter how much I care about Will, its you I want to make sure is ok. I couldn't bear to know you were suffering."

"You're right," said Matt after turning over the things Katara said in his head. "I... I can't worry, well, I mean I can but there's so much stuff I want to say and do but... now's not the time for it."

He reached out and pulled her into a hug, resting his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for being so indecisive and I'm sorry we had to rebound like this. You miss your friends and family, I miss Will and my family and it just..."

He took a breath. "Katara... it is there. It grew and... I admit I have feelings for you. Real feelings, not fleeting ones. But I don't want both of us to rush it after we're hurting so badly. So for now... what do you think we should do?"

Oh, there were a heck of a lot of things to say, no denying that. For starters, Katara knew there was a risk in coming here, that it would have been better to just let Matt's friends help him through. But she had been thinking for herself, she knew that too. She knew she wanted to help Matt, wanted to watch over him and take care of him.

More than just some "I'll take care of you and nurse you to health then do my own thing" kind of way.

"Don't apologize," she said. "I'm as much at fault as you. I understand why you've been feeling confused and guilty. You've looked into my eyes Matt: I haven't been trying hard to get away from you and I should have been. For that, I'm sorry. It was wrong and probably poor judgment, but I didn't want to ignore it either."

She took a breath. "Then we go out: I mean, as friends. We walk around the ship, we talk, we have a picnic. If we're not compatible, we'll know it was just hormones and grief and what ifs, that's all."

And here was the gamble. "Bur if it isn't and its something, I'm not forcing myself away from you anymore. I respect your friends and I loved Will, but I know what I feel."

"That sounds wonderful," admitted Matt as he pulled away, holding her hands. His smile was relaxed, more true than had been seen in weeks recently. "Once we, y'know, calm down and don't do anything crazy, lets go out together?"

She took a big exhale, "I'm really glad you said that. I don't know about you, but I've been tiptoeing about this so bad that I had to actually ask some advice. the vibe I got was this: follow your heart and do what makes you happy."

She couldn't help but bring a hand to his face. "Now that look is more like the Matt I know."

"Well... maybe then one for the road, if we're going to try things that make us happy."

And he took her chin in his and drew close. Matt could feel his heart thumping. To anyone else this would feel like betraying Will.

For the moment, and he knew it would be okay, this felt okay. No, more than okay. It was all right.

It was like time stopped, and for a moment, Katara didn't believe Matt would do it, but there he was, his hands on her chin and moving closer to her. She needed to stop him: one for the road could be just bad, and she had already said...

...And then her lips met his. At that moment, a surge of feeling went through Katara, like the butterflies in her stomach had all decided to take flight all at the same time. She didn't realize it but her hands had sought his shoulders and found them, and for a minute, a good long minute, Katara felt like she was dancing on air. When she finally released, she opened her eyes slowly, and couldn't hide the shy smile that told Matt exactly how Katara felt about his "one for the road."

"That was...nice," she said softly. ""Beyond nice. There's not a word for what that was, but its somewhere between super happy and great, but better."

Looks like she'd been hanging with Beastboy too long.

"Yeah it really was," said Matt as he pulled away just a little. That kiss had felt... right. He couldn't quite explain it, but for some reason, he knew that it wouldn't matter if he was betraying anyone or being true to himself. For the moment, it was just him and her. And it was giving him nothing but smiles.

"I guess we'll have time to figure out a word for it then," offered Matt as he squeezed her hands and brushed a thumb across her cheek.

"You better believe it," Katara replied, then flushed at her own brazenness. That was a kiss Katara was going to be reliving in memory until their next meeting. Of course, then she remembered Billy and Renne, and realized she was going to have to make sure she put up enough barriers to hide her thoughts.

It would be worth it though.

"You still owe me a dance, don't you forget!" Katara admonished, smiling and bringing a hand through his hair slowly. "I'm really glad I saw you today."

"I'll remember to do that for you," chuckled Matt as he smiled that relaxed smile of his. "Just remember to smile a little for yourself too. And if you can't, just come and see me, okay?"

"That's the best advice you had all day," Katara said, starting to get up. "I'll do that."

But not before she stopped, reached over and pulled Matt into a tight embrace. "Thank you..for everything. Today was feelilng so horrible, and now its wonderful."

Matt grinned as he hugged her back, rubbing Katara's back gently. "It's what I do. Really. I think we both deserve this after today."

She nodded. "See you soon," she said. "You pick our outing, okay?"

"Of course. See you soon." He smiled as he closed the album and got up to escort her to the door. He knew in his heart, it would be okay.

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Absent Friends [Closed]

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