trans_9 | Finally some roomie tim-whoops.

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Finally some roomie tim-whoops.

It had been an arduous few days. Between the situation with people losing memories and then the people coming back from the Ohm attack, Kaya had been pretty busy. She hadn't even left the med bay, preferring to sleep here instead of back at the Outsider's hotel. She knew she had already missed quite a bit due to this: sessions with Chase, the upkeep of the hotel, and general having fun time, but priorities were priorities. Now that she had some time to herself though, she was hoping to spent some time helping her roommate decorate and at least have some general fun: Alex, after all, had brought all of those interesting black light things, why not put them to good use?

She walked up the stairs of the hotel, making a beeline straight for the hotel suite. It was one of the good things about not having to be alone: it didn't matter that Alex was a boy, at least he was SOMEONE she could talk to on a daily basis. Besides, she had those sliding doors now, so they could respect each others privacy.

But then she reached the room and opened the door, and saw all of his things were gone, specifically the laptop he prized so much, and she knew he had been podded. She closed her eyes a moment, slowly counting to ten, tears springing to her eyes.
Of course.
She took a breath, then wiped her eyes and closed the door, going back down the steps, and quietly closing the door behind her. She wanted to scream, or cry, or throw a fit at least, but none of these things would bring Alex back. So she just wandered the city park for the moment, looking tired.

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Come to think of it, his engineer had been rather quiet. Billy's face fell---another good friend gone, unknown if he'd ever return or when. It seemed that uncertainty consumed their entire lives.

"I remember. I...wow, it happened that quickly."

It was taking the sadness for his good friend a little while to sink in. He sat beside her, staring into space while he shifted close to her. As if to say he was still there.

She nodded quietly. She knew, because of where Alex worked, that Billy would be sad too: Alex had considered the two of them as close as siblings. Kaya had to admit to herself that it had felt good to have that kind of relationship, now that she essentially realized she was an only child.

"Yes, while the both of us were busy. I'm going to miss him. I'm still a little blown by it."

And she took his hand and held it tightly. Thank you, Billy, for being here.

Billy wasn't fond of imparting hope that could so easily be false, so he simply threaded their fingers together and squeezed. That much he could do without straining the muscles, at least.

"I'm really proud of him. It seemed that things were finally starting to go well...he was succeeding as head programmer, we were developing ways to help him cope with his eating habits more effectively, and he was finally somewhat open around us. To lose him now is..."

He bowed his head, just left to wonder at the whole avia issue. How unfair, how sad to lose yet another close friend. Maybe it wouldn't be forever, he thought, but he didn't dare hope. Kaya's memory had been a special case, and that wasn't something he wished on anyone anyway.

Kaya had remembered all too well that he was still smarting, so she tried to be as gentle as she could. She wanted him to get better, after all.

"Yes, he certainly was making strides than when he was first podded. I remember, he was such a nervous, scared thing. He struck me as being a lot like a kid, in some ways. But I still treated him like an older boy anyway, with the exception of him staying with me. Besides you, he would be the only guy I would do that with."

She looked down again, sighing. "I don't know how I'm going to stay by myself in that hotel now. I was so excited to have a roommate."

Billy nodded, definitely understanding that sense of loss. He tilted his head toward hers, sharing warmth that way.

"I would've stayed with him too. I did for a few nights. We had great rapport that I'm really going to miss."

As for her roommate question? That would take a fair bit of thinking. He ran through a mental list of the people she knew, wondering who might help.

"You can move until you find a roommate," Billy thought aloud. "There's nothing wrong with staying by yourself, but I want you to be comfortable if a roommate's what you want. I'm not a very fun option right now, or I'd offer. Do you know anyone who's lonely?"

"I know you would have," Kaya said, smiling. "You and I were good constants for him, and I was sorry when Luna left the first time, and then Tavros left him too. He was just starting to come around, and I knew he was happy hadn't left for good."

She sniffed. "I think I'm going to ask if I can stay with the W.I.T.C.H. bus. I miss Negi, and I'd like to spend some time with Matt. He must be so busy nowadays."

She laughed. "You have Ronnae. I'm definitely not going to think about staying with you and overhearing something I shouldn't!"

That seemed to make the most sense. Billy gave his nod of approval. "I think you'll enjoy it there. From what I hear, they take care of their own very well."

Her last sentence caused his face to turn scarlet, head jerking away with a small hiss of pain. "I---no, of course not," he blushed, "but the next week or so is a fine time to visit. There won't be any embarrassing sounds."

Oh why oh why were they talking about this?

She nodded. "I know people on the bus. I care about all of them, to be honest. But I still have to ask, and they can still say no, after all. In that case, I'll just go back to the hotel and deal."

Which was depressing, but what was she going to do?

"I'm just teasing you Billy!" Kaya said, laughing. "Don't you know by now that its just all in good fun? You guys are at a level in your relationship where you can share everything, nurture that! It's precious and beautiful."

Billy leaned as close to her as he dared to, sharing a little warm nudge. "I don't think they will. You're loved, Kaya. You'll have people beside you, I promise."

His blush didn't quite fade. "I think I'm starting to get the picture. But I'm serious about this. You can spend a night with me if you need to, and I promise nothing of that nature will happen. It can't." Not when he's like this.

She didn't mind the nudge: if anything, she leaned more toward it, happy at least that her Bonded was still here, with her, after all of this time.

"It's why a part of me is trying to look past this. I cared about Alex very much, and losing him hurts, but I still have so many of you guys around, especially you. Alex was just...one of those people I know would accept me, as Katara or Kaya, and there was so much more I wanted to experience with him."

In a platonic sense, not that Billy would miss that.

She smiled. "I would never want to take away the time you and Ronnae have, but I truly appreciate the offer, and might take you up on it one night. Honestly, I don't really want to be by myself in that hotel now."

"Alex and I understood each other," Billy added, remembering their conversations fondly. "He was the only male friend I had who understood what it meant to be withdrawn and on the outside, but his problems were far worse than mine ever became. Somehow, he overcame all of that to be our friend."

Billy closed his eyes, drawing up the memory of some of their more serious times together. One memory in particular stood out.

"He saved us from being consumed by despair at losing Renne back there. I won't ever forget that." He recalled the three of them standing together, finally healed---not perfect, never perfect, but functional.

He returned her smile gently, digging his toes into the grass underneath them. Suddenly, he had the oddest urge to take his shoes off and rest his bare feet on the grass. Where did that come from? Was it...hmm...Alex liked the park, maybe that was something he would do.

In lieu of a hug, he left a warm kiss on Kaya's cheek. "Remind me that I owe you a hug when I'm cleared to do so, all right?"

Kaya nodded. "For someone who was very quiet and to himself, he taught me a lot of things. When he was that way, even before Ronnae came, I found myself wanting to protect him, a feeling that was mind even when I still thought I was Katara. And then the day we lost Renne and Aang came back, I was a wreck. We both were, and he was there for us. You're right: that's something that neither of us can forget. And I knew then I was willing to do anything to help him, to make sure he would be able to stand tall and brave. But he was brave in a lot of ways."

Kaya smiled when she saw what Billy was doing. If you want to, just do it Billy. I will too, just so you feel better, ok?

"I'll do that," she said, grinning. "Now go and recover some, will you? I don't want to have to heal you all over again."

Billy did just that, pulling his things off his feet and feeling the little blades of grass between his toes. It was a pleasant distraction from the soreness elsewhere.

"I guess I have to find a new head programmer," Billy said sadly, slowly shifting to lie face down in the grass. "Maybe...someday, after the war, if I see him and Renne as well---I'll have to remember what to say to them."

At her worries over his condition, he let out a soft sigh and shifted his arms just enough to lift his shirt, exposing his back to her. "You can check the progress again if you'd like. Do you have any therapeutic recommendations for the muscle?"

It was coming along about as well as he could expect it to. Freedom to walk was an under-appreciated ability.

Kaya followed suit, smiling sadly. "It almost feels like the real thing, doesn't it? But its not, sad to say. Still, its good to be a little carefree like this, isn't it? To feel free."

She smiled. "They'll just be happy to see you, of course. But we're still here, we have to keep hanging on, the best that we can, you know. I hope you get a new head programmer soon."

Kaya looked at him a moment, checking his back. "Try to have a soak at the baths every day if you can, that should help. Heck, I could use a good therapy day there myself."

"Yet the situation keeps reminding us that we're not truly free," he sighed beside her. "But I'll take whatever peace I can get."

The medic's advice prompted a smile as he readjusted his clothes. That wasn't a bad idea, and if need be he could simultaneously recover and observe the bathhouse's upgrades for himself.

"We're not too far from there, actually, if you think that would help us. We might even be able to secure the waterfall bath if we're lucky."

Kaya nodded. "I think at this point we sorta have to: it isn't as if we're going to have the time to enjoy peace when we want anyway. Besides, I like this. It's simple, sweet even."

She smiled. "Sounds wonderful. You can even invite Ronnae if you like."

Billy agreed to that silently, carefully wrapping an arm around her waist. If they handled his shoulders, maybe it wouldn't be so sore.

"She doesn't like the bathhouse," he explained, "it's too public and there's a risk of being seen. I'm sure she'd open up our private tub for us, though, if you want to spend time with her too."

Kaya looked confused. Was there really such an aversion to a bathhouse? She couldn't see the purpose in it, but shrugged. The touch wasn't unwanted, and she understood why.

"That would be fine! I'm sure we'd have a lot to talk about!"

That would be fun. Convincing Ronnie to join them would be even more of an adventure. Mind made up, he started getting ready to leave.

"Luckily for us, our house isn't far. I might move more slowly than usual, but we should make it there."

((Ray said we can move to the house and Ronnie will join in after you.))

"Then just lean on me, I'll steady you," Kaya said, putting an arm around Billy's shoulder. "I've missed her!"

Ronnae had been worried that Billy had been taking a long time. But she had promised herself not to rush out and crash into him so she did her best to relax and sit at her balcony as she waited.

Once she saw them in view, she rushed down and opened the door, a look of utmost concern on her face.

"Are you alright?! I... I was worried sick...." Yeah good job staying calm Ronnie...

"We're fine, love," Billy assured her, his eyes lighting up as they always did when she came into view. He extended a hand to briefly squeeze hers, tugging her toward him for a brief but firm and reassuring kiss.

"I'm sorry. I stopped to discuss things and receive medical advice from Kaya. We found out that another one of our good friends has been repodded, and...well, we were hoping to use the bath upstairs and relax."

He'd let Kaya extend the rest of the invitation.

Kaya respected that Ronnae would naturally be worrying abut Billy. A lot had happened since the two of them were together, and she normally would have no wish to infringe on the time they spent together.

"And we would like you to join us," Kaya said, taking a breath. "He's doing fine, but I definitely recommend soaking his muscles once a day, hence the bath. Also, I thought it was pretty obvious, but I really miss you!"

It took a moment between the embrace, the kiss, the news and the overwhelming emotion of seeing them both safe before realizing what was said completely.

Her face grew her tell-tale reddish blush that was worn more often than not as she looked between the two.

"I... ah... y-yeah if... if you'd l-like me to... I j-just finished c-cleaning it not long ago actually..."

Billy loved her sweet face, especially when that little blush appeared. He carefully leaned forward to offer another kiss, speaking hopefully when that was done.

"I'll be good about soaking, I promise. So...hot water with bubbles will be good for us?"

He started to edge toward the stairs one step a a time, pleased that the pain wasn't quite as bad as before. Billy could make it up there, and then the talking would begin in earnest.

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