trans_9 | Pieces

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It was barely living right now, and for Katara, that was never a choice she made willingly. That had alwasy been something that was thrust upon her, and in this case it was reliving Sokka being taken away again, only now it was like old wounds were reopening and new ones were appearing.

The moment she felt Renne leave it had been like a part of her had been ripped. She'd stayed in the Outsiders hotel, locked up her door and cried the whole day. She couldn't be around people then: it would have been too heart wrenching, even attempting to act as if things would get better, and she would have just burst into tears. More and more, family just seemed to be taken away from her. She didn't even have the heart to get angry, blame Stacy, rage like she had when Sokka was taken. It hurt too much, it felt like it happened too soon.

And the day after that she'd left the hotel to wander. That was all she was doing now, just sort of walking, not taking in anything anymore. Life on the ship seemed like it was a curse, and far as Katara could tell, acting like it wasn't would only make her break. So she just walked, her eyes bloodshot and her hair a mess. Her face was unreadable: it was somewhere between completely uncaring and defeated.

There was nothing to smile about, nothing to put on an act for. Family was gone, extended family was gone...was she just grasping for small, barely fulfilling pieces of happiness, until that was finallly taken away?

What then?

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Katara looked down for a minute, as if concentrated on the ground, and then let out a soft, quiet laugh. "The only thing I can think of myself now is that I'm lucky. I could have been haunted by the things I've lost, but I'm not. I have people here."

And here, she pulled him closer. "And you. But you know that, when you look in my eyes, what I'm saying to you, that you;re just as special. Because you're you and I..."

"And that's what matters." said Matt as he hugged her close. "There is a old saying back in my world, that you live each day to the fullest." Deliberately mangling the statement since it really said "live like you were dying" since it wasn't quite the most motivational statement ever, he smiled at her.

"Never ever stop being yourself Katara, don't lose yourself in the pain."

"And I should always do that," she said, her voice sounding soft. There was still a lingering pain there, but all the same, she could feel him igniting that hope she'd been finding hard to see after losing Renne. Through him, she could see Renne, calling for his Bonded not to suffer needlessly.

"I won't," she said. "I'll always miss him until the day I find him again. But I will never change. And you...you don't change either. I love you just the way you are."

And she reddened here, realizing what she'd said.

Matt blushed as well, rubbing his head. "Well I guess we shouldn't change then huh?"

He chuckled lightly as he tugged her along. "C'mon, I parked the bus nearby. I'll get you some nice tea."

"I hope not," Katara said, able to manage a smile now.

She nodded and, without a word, took his hand and lay her head on his shoulder. "I'd like that."

Smiling, Matt brought her to the bus, holding her hand as he walked slowly. "Seems like though it's been a long day. Maybe even a nap would be good too later on."

"It has been a long day," Katara said, and honestly, she did feel pretty exhausted. She held his hand, and smiled. "I think I like you looking after me, Matt. It's sweet."

"Well I've always been good at the whole support staff thing," admitted Matt as he opened the door with a chirp and the door swung open, the stairs extending out for easier walking.

"After you," he offered. "I'm thinking a nice Persimmon tea."

"I've noticed," Katara said, following him down the stairs, and heard the suggestion of Matt's, remembering Zuko's temporary tea shop.

"I'll give it a try," she said. "It sounds pleasant. What about you?"

"I've been thinking about Raspberry for myself," said Matt as he escorted her into the main room and pulled out a chair for her. "I'll get the water ready."

"That sounds nice," she said, curling up in the chair. she really should have been attending to the way she looked right now, but she was a little tired. Besides this, Matt was seeing a part of her people rarely got to see, at least if she could help it.

She drew her legs up to her chest. She hadn't expected to say that to him, to practically say that she loved him. Even Matt had seemed surprised. Was she overstepping herself, frightening him away? She hadn't wanted to say that, she had just looked at him and saw the good there, the warmth. It was a comfort to her, and when she had tried to say that to him, that had come out.

She sighed, pulling herself in tighter. It was all so confusing. Maybe some tea would help.

Steeping the tea, he murmured words that brewed it quicker, bringing the full power of Earth to bear as a rich smell filled the room.

Pouring two cups, he brought one to Katara and sat down in the other, cupping his hands around the second mug. "You know, it's not a bad thing to be vulnerable. In a way, it really says that we need to rely on people that we trust and love."

Sipping his tea, he looked up at her. "In a way, this makes us more complete than we've ever been, being able to love one another." At this, his cheeks pinked a little.

Katara had seldom every seen Matt practice his magic, and to do so now was pretty jaw dropping. The smell also mystified her: it smelled homey, almost as if she were back in the earth Kingdom again.

She brought her hands around the cup, happy to have a nice, warm cup to soothe her. She took a sip, and swallowed, taking in the full taste, and smiled. "I've been vulnerable to my Bonded, Billy and Renne, when I lost Sokka. I try not to lose my composure if I can, but I'm not perfect. Things can hurt me, and I cry, and only the people I really care about can see it."

But at his words there, Katara also blushed. She was so sure she'd frightened him away when she said that, she was already getting ready for him to tell her she was out of line. Her heart beat a little faster, and she swallowed the drink quickly, wincing as the hot liquid scalded her throat.

"Y-you mean that?"

Matt nodded, letting his fingers rest lightly against the edges of the cup. "I do mean it," he said, answering her question before responding to her statements. "I guess it's something that I like to do, give my heart so freely. And frankly, I can't think of anyone else I'd give it to."

He blushed just a little, reaching out and running his fingers across her hand before withdrawing so that she wouldn't get burnt from the heat of the drink. "And yes, I could tell. Bonds are incredibly powerful things. I am not surprised you feel so terrible."

She had to actually look down a bit at this. Her heart was definitely beating faster, but she also felt something else pretty powerfully: happy. She could see he meant it all right, and she could see that she hadn't been wrong to go after him. He'd always had that light, that way of making her feel happy just to talk to him.

Will had been right, about everything.

But that touch she hadn't been expecting, and she jumped a little and, not knowing what to do, her hands found his, causing the tea cup to fall to the ground with a crash.

"Oh, um," she said, positively burning. "I'm sorry! Here, let me get that!"

When did she get so clumsy?!

Matt chuckled as he stooped down. "I'll help. Hold on."

picking up pieces of the cup, he gathered it all into the middle of the table and clapped his hands. Electric-blue light played across it and slowly the cup mended, much more slowly than Ed would have done. "I'm playing it by ear," he admitted as he began to put the cup back together.

"Sorry if I startled you."

She hadn't been expecting that. Sure, she'd seen Ed do it before, but that had been Ed, after all. He was an alchemist. To see that Matt had acquired this skill was definitely something that wasn't his magic was somehow...well, to be frank, fitting.

Matt was the type of person who helped broken things, who fixed things. It was like her in a way, but a little different. Without thinking about it, she rushed over to him and took his hand. She matched it up with hers and held it, palms out. To an onlooker, it might have been silly, but she knew Matt would understand why she did it. She took her other hand and had it at her heart, then, smiling, she put her hands down.

"Thank you."

Smiling, Matt nodded as the cup mended. "Not as good as Ed's alchemy, but I duplicated the appearance a little so that it looks the same. It's still magic to the core."

He flushed a little, ducking his head a bit. "I just thought you needed something like this, to be loved."

"Ed's alchemy is amazing because he is an alchemist. He's good at what he does. Yours I know was different, I could feel it. The way Ed described it once, the way it actually feels when he dies it: you can feel the particles in the air shifting around, in away. With yours its more like a flowing thing an essence all around everything."

She was able to restrain herself pretty well, but here she reached over and gently pulled him into a kiss. She could feel the tension between them building, but mostly she wanted just to be near him, to touch him right now. Of course she missed Renne, and if course she was sad, but even still, Matt had this way of bringing her a quiet joy, and that slowly blossomed when she was around him, when she saw how he cared for things.

It was just one of the first times she initiated their contact in this way.

Matt was surprised at first but then relaxed, cupping her cheek as he drank in the taste of her lips. They had only kissed a handful of times but every time they did so, it feel more natural, more right. It was getting to the point that he really looked forward to anything like this.

His other hand came down and wrapped around her hand, lacing his fingers into hers.

She could taste the lingering raspberry on their lips, and Matt's was soft and had an almost musky scent to it. She couldn't place the smell (probably because Matt was from another world), but it was familiar and inviting to her. She pressed herself closer to him, her hands twisting against his, her body rising a little at his touch.

It felt right, that was definitely the word for it. She felt like she was almost going to melt, she was so breathless.

Katara tasted like water as usual, but her lips had the taste of the tea she had sipped previously. She was soft and inviting as usual, but also had the hard tension of a trim toned athletic body even in her hands.

Everything about her seemed heavenly to him, and he drank in her lips as he leaned across the table.

If she could have, she would have kissed Matt all day, but she had to break. She had a vague memory of what had happened once on Stacy when she'd gotten hot and heavy, although why she couldn't remember the person bothered her. In any case, despite breaking the kiss, she still leaned up beside him, her arms around him.

"More and more, I don't think I can keep my distance from you," Katara confessed. "You're...amazing."

Matt ducked his head a little and blushed. "I would say it's just me being myself but I think that's a forgone conclusion."

He squeezed her hand and let her lean against him. "I'm just glad it's so easy to understand one another."

She didn't say anything for a moment: even she had times where she thought words weren't needed, and only wanted to be with him like this, taking all of this in. She'd never realized it, but in all these months by herself, even with friends, that feeling of being alone had been there, just quietly festering. But now, here, she could see that all of that waiting had been worth it.

She'd wanted it to be Aang, just like Matt had been lucky enough to have Will. But the way things would happen, they were here, like this. And after such a long time, she felt at peace.

She looked up at him, a look of warmth and love in her eyes. "Me too," she managed, her hands wrapping around him.

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