"And I'm somewhere in between what is real and just a dream"

[markofthebrave]

Who: generalflirt and markofthebrave
What: "What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way."
When: December 23rd
Where: undetermined
Summary: A mistletoe-induced confession leads to two friends having The Talk.
Rating: PG?
So. That was actually... a little longer than Katara had meant to go without talking to Masaomi. This wasn't the sort of conversation she felt they could have over the journals, and then with the blizzard... it was getting to be a long time. And the longer she waited, the less Katara wanted to have this conversation. She'd come to the conclusion that there wasn't anything she could do but hurt him, and she really didn't want to hurt him. But she couldn't see any way around it...

That is, of course, when she wasn't busy building up excuses for her not to take the whole thing seriously at all. She didn't want things to change. So it was only natural that she was looking for reasons or ways in which she'd misunderstood, or read to much into what he said, or even turned the whole thing into a mean joke.

But there wasn't really any way to talk herself around the way he'd held her. And she couldn't forget the way he smiled just before he kissed her. That seemed all-too-real, and as if it was every bit as serious as her heart told her to take this, despite logic. So, she had to talk to him. She couldn't imagine just passing him on the street and having not talked to him, leaving this unresolved between them... although the more she thought of it, the more tempting it became. But it wasn't as though he'd stolen a kiss. She'd let him, and she'd kissed him back, and she said they would talk.

So she sets out to find him.

Comments

[generalflirt]

[A light sigh and a nod. Yeah, that would be for the best]

A walk might be good, yeah.

[markofthebrave]

Do you want me to wait here while you go get your jacket? It's not that bad out if you wear layers.

[generalflirt]

Oh... Oh, right! Please do!

[And with a solute he runs back to his apartment to go inside and get a coat (not just his hoodie), a different ring (he's vain, okay), and the scarf she made him. He'll be back out quite enough]

[markofthebrave]

[So she waits, which is... awkward. She still doesn't know how to say what she has to say, and she runs through several permutations in her mind in the time while he's gone.

He reappears and she looks up at him and gives him a quick smile.]

Hey. [A quick inspection, her gaze snagging on that scarf again.] That looks warm enough. Ready to go?

[generalflirt]

[And Masaomi, being uncomfortable, falls back on one of his two crutches: shamelessness. He laughs and puts on a skeevy grin that doesn't match the minor terror in his eyes]

A walk with the prettiest girl in town? Babe, I was born ready.

1/2

[markofthebrave]

[He did not just say that. And like that.]

[markofthebrave]

[And she pauses right before loosing an indignant rant because - she doesn't even know how to deal with this anymore, and if he thinks this is going to appeal to her, he's got another think coming and -

- oh. He probably knows that. And this has got to be hard for him too, so... he's just hiking up the ridiculousness.]

"Babe?" [She shakes her head and starts towards him.] I don't think so.

[generalflirt]

A-ah... too much? Of course.

[He shifts, a little awkwardly, but then makes a resolute nod and takes a wide step ahead of her towards the stairs, trying not to make eye contact]

[markofthebrave]

[Yeah, but she's not going to let that fly. She makes a point of bumping his shoulder with hers and smiling at him.]

Yeah, but you knew that.

[Come on, it'll be okay. Somehow, it has to be okay.

And then she moves past him, heading towards the outside.]

[generalflirt]

True, true~ If I say prettiest like that it makes it sound a lot more false than the truth of the matter. [A little sigh. He lets her go ahead, forcing a smile and folding his arms behind his back as they make their way down the steps and towards the outside]

[markofthebrave]

[...is he really going to jump into it just like that? She glances back at him. He's smiling, but...

Hmm.

Opening the door, Katara steps outside. The clear, crisp air is a welcome change. Hopefully, it will clear her head too. Because as much as she'd like to avoid it, even now... they've gone too far to go back.]

...and what is the truth of the matter?

[generalflirt]

That depends which truth? If you mean prettiest girl, I'd go top ten.

[He said as he walks outside. He shakes his head, still smiling. He's evading the topic. He's being jovial. He's... not- no, he's as ready as he's ever going to be but he still doesn't feel worked up to it]

[markofthebrave]

[She can flow with giving them some space to work up to it. It's the first time she's seen him since they... yeah. And it's a little... distracting.

She sends him a lightly skeptical look.]

Do I want to know who the top ten are?

[generalflirt]

Ah, do you? It might be a bit of a surprise, riiiight?

[WINK]

[markofthebrave]

[If I'm on it, it's already a surprise.]

I'm not sure. This sounds like it might be something best kept private.

[She's not sure she'd want to share her top ten with him, after all.]

[generalflirt]

Ah. Ah~ True, true. I wouldn't want to make you jealous, all things considered. It might make everything a bit more messy?

[He laughs, snickers, really, and then starts aimlessly down some path for their walk]

1/2

[markofthebrave]

[When he puts it like that, she really wants to ask him.]

[markofthebrave]

[Vanity wrestles with common sense as she starts after him.

She reaches an uneasy compromise.]

You put it like that, you make me wonder why you'd bother having me on the list at all, if I'm so far down it.

[...an uneasy compromise which strikes a bit closer to the truth of one of her questions for him than she meant it to.]

[generalflirt]

Never said you were far down, Ka~tara. [A beat, and he laughs to himself, shaking his head and folding his arms behind hid head] Not far at all, like I think I've said before, you're a lot prettier than you'd think. Eh hm...

How shall I put this...

Even not being the prettiest, you still have a glow?

[markofthebrave]

[This really makes her so uncomfortable, on a very general level, of being evaluated over something that she can't control.

On a more personal level, the connotations of his assertion mixed with her own insecurities make it so that Katara just... really isn't sure how to handle this. Even though part of her really thinks that she should know - that she should try to find out - what made him feel this way about her... in all fairness she shouldn't ask. She should be trying to make it better by ignoring it and making it small, somehow.]

Thank you.

[She needs to make that sound like a statement - something sure, something that closes the topic of conversation and hides any way that this opinion might be affecting her.

...at least she succeeds in making it not sound like a question.]

[generalflirt]

[...Thank you? That's not working. He sighs. He stops walking and inclines his head]

Katara... honestly, you're very pretty. Cute? Hot? I'm not sure what word to use because, I think you and I have some differing values. But that doesn't mean you thank me for seeing something I think is... [The truth? No, he trails off there, sighs]

[This is said with odd mixture of moroseness and... well, resignation. It is the truth, but it's also hard for him to put it like this. But that... said...]

You don't trust me, do you?

[markofthebrave]

[That's true. It's not something she'd given much thought too, that maybe some of this confusion came about because their worlds were different... their times were different. Even their understanding of daily life, of what was normal, was radically different. With Chouji there had been some similarity of expectations that their culture placed on them, but...

...she tries, for a moment, to imagine Masaomi hunting, or ice fishing, or working to skin tiger seals. He'd do it, she thinks. But... it's not what's natural to him.

Maybe... she'd been misunderstanding his behavior towards her this whole time because she hadn't been taking his culture into consideration? But then that train of thought is driven out of her head completely with his next question. She stops short and stares at him.]

What do you mean? Why would you say that - of course I trust you.

[generalflirt]

[ A pause. His face falls flat, and he turns. There's no expression in his body or his voice in this next part, but it is important to him]

Really?

[markofthebrave]

[She lifts one shoulder in almost a shrug and meets his gaze a little helplessly. How do you convince someone you trust them? Why would he even think that she didn't?]

Yes.

[She knew that there were parts of him that she had to watch out for - parts of him that she didn't fully understand. But that was just like anyone else. She had to watch out for Zuko's temper and Sokka's cynicism and Toph's blindness - she had to watch out for Shikamaru's laziness and secrecy and Trafalgar and Nami and Suki and Sanji's with his chivalry - and she had to watch out for Masaomi when he got blank and when he fought. But that was all part of caring for someone, knowing their strengths and weaknesses so you knew when you could rely on them, and when you had to pick up the slack for them, defend them. That was just part of knowing where the lines were. That didn't have anything to do with trust.]

[generalflirt]

[ . . . His face remains impassive here. He'd been operating under the assumption she didn't. Under the assumption that she was guarded because Masaomi has a stupid vision of trust and that's why she never took him seriously. A lot of assumptions like that. This makes him reel back, make him re-focus and wonder how to take things. Where to go with this... but.]

Then, will you believe what I say next?