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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Once Billy's abdomen and a bed had had enough bonding time for his back to continue healing, he was carefully setting out and about once more. His gait was still tentative, but nothing would keep him from walking about. The freshly mended muscles needed to slowly adjust to exercise, right?

He was setting out on that slow walk when his eyes (and bond) found Kaya nearby, looking awfully tired and pained. Determined to see what was up, he strode toward her with a concerned expression.

"Are you still worn out, or is something else wrong?"

Kaya sighed. "I just got back to the hotel. Alex was staying with me, remember? But his things are gone now, so I know now that he was podded. I haven't had a roommate in a long time, and I knew Alex for a long time. I'll miss him...and he's one less person I have here."

She put her head to her knees. "And he had just gotten his black light and posters and everything too. I was looking forward to having a friend in the same space, you know?"

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?

In a tree the Night Elf sat, blowing notes on his instrument but not really playing. Every day in the city seemed to be a slow, lazy day; not that he minded too much despite his never-changing love for the exciting. It had its bonuses. As barren as the place often times seemed, there was always the random person traveling through the city at one time or another.

Like the one he spotted now.

Tucking the instrument firmly between the sash around his waist, he climbed down a few branches and dropped from the bough he was relaxing on. With a quick sprint he caught up to Kaya and began leisurely walking alongside her as if he'd been there the entire time.

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."

"Pretty girls shouldn't look so depressed!" the paladin said, a moment after his relatively loud plate armor had announced that his wanderings had brought him closer. "But I bet it's not a problem that can be solved by a random crusader distracting some horrible beast from attacking you while you blast it, is it."

Of all of the people in the city, the last person she expected to see was Nokosi, especially when he seemed to come out of nowhere. She was so startled she actually tripped, and righted herself, looking flustered.

"Oh, hello Nokosi," she greeted. "How are you?"

"Who-" Well that took her by surprise, and the last thing she expected was being called pretty, not after days in the med bay and nodding off there.

"My problems are a little more involved, yes," Kaya replied. "Who might you be?"

"Maridian, Blood Knight, Crusader, many other titles, the most important of which seems to be 'at your service'," he said, with a grand bow. Which was reasonably impressive in that armor.

"Shameless flirtation as far aside as it ever gets," he said more seriously as he rose, "you look rather forlorn, so, lack of monsters to help you slay aside, I thought you could use a shoulder. Or at least a distraction. I can do either, especially if you like dancing."

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.

"Good!" he exclaimed, a smile tugging at his lips. "I have certainly been better but as they say, 'I cannot complain'."

He folded his arms behind his back as they walked, eyes focused on the path ahead. "I already know your answer will be much different but for courtesy's sake-"

"'And how are you, Kaya?'"

Which, as someone who has had to see others march in armor to begin with, Kaya noted, nodding politely. He looked, at least, to resemble someone from Ronnae's world, and if he were anything like Nokosi, she was happy to meet.

The flirtation wasn't entirely unwanted (Nima would have approved) but for the moment, it was not foremost in her mind, as was dancing. If anything, the dancing made her remember, only a few days ago, she and Alex in Engineering.

"I lost someone," she said, "not to death but to podding, and it is far from the first time, but he was special, a friend. I will miss him very much, and it just reminds me how a lone I feel on this ship sometimes."

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."

She gave him a brave smile, brave in the way that she was willing to engage him in conversation to forget her own loss for the moment. As it stood, Nokosi was choosing to focus on her, and that was sweet, no matter what was said.

"I've been better too. I had a friend podded, and I didn't know it with all the things happening on the ship. I would at least have liked to have hung out one more time. He was supposed to be my roommate."

And she said this in a way that Nokosi knew that was what he would have been, a roommate, a friend.

"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."

"Roommate?" he questioned, eyes turned to the sky in thought. "That is unfortunate," he finally said, tilting his head to look at her.

"Were you close?"

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.

"Yes," she said, looking sad, "It's been a long time since I had one. Usually it didn't matter, since I had so much work to do, but I got lonely, and Alex definitely was after he lost his roommate."

She nodded. "I looked after him, and he helped me once during a pretty bad time. We decided to be roommates after he was melancholy about losing Tavros, his last roomie. He was so excited: we were going to do the room really well and everything. Black lights and posters and all..."

She stopped here, on the verge of a sob. "I just hate people I care about still being taken away from me."

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Finally some roomie tim-whoops.

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