Author Notes: (Man I hate this title) Who likes slash shippings? If you raised your hand, boy, do I have a story for you! No seriously, I don't even want to talk about the shipping craziness that happens in this fic. This chapter only touches upon it, but even then. So, this started out as a Himi/Matthew friendship fic, nearly turned into a Himi/Matthew ship, then turned into… well, at the onset of the story, a Zephyr Ship (drools) which is Sveta/Karis, and Matthew stuck in the awkward position of liking both of the girls. I'll actually shut up, and let the fic speak for itself. More of my ramblings after the break.
More Than Just a Third Eye
Chapter 1: He Likes it Windy
It was part of being a leader, knowing when someone in your group wanted something. Knowing that whatever said person(s) wanted was something you didn't want was a more refined skill, but Matthew had been doing this party-leader gig for a good number of months (not to mention the knack for leading he had picked up from his old man), and there was a distinct waft of "we've got a problem, and we need you to fix it" in the air.
It was a very Karis-y odor; as much as Matthew loved Karis, she had – as she was naturally one of the more vocal members of the group – become the messenger of complaints, and he was not a fan of complaints. Especially as nearly all of them were directed toward him, as for better or worse he was their leader. As such, he was moving around the ship stealthily, avoiding places he figured she would check is she was looking for him.
There was a slight whiff of Sveta in there as well, most likely because ever since Sveta had officially joined the party, she and Karis had become inseparable. Very inseparable. Holding-hands inseparable. Getting-caught-kissing-on-the-bow-in-front-of-the-rest-of-the-party inseparable. It had been subtle, how close they had grown in such a short time, but Matthew had noticed. They were rarely seen apart: either they were together, or they were both absent, presumably in their room.
Every time Karis so much as glanced in Sveta's direction, her eyebrows would perk up and a warm smile would come to her face (an expression he had long wished she would make when glancing at him).
Sveta's attraction was more subdued, but it was there. At meals, she would steal quick looks at Karis, before turning red and looking down at her food with a smile on her lips, her precious fangs barely visible and her ears raised high with delight.
She sometimes stole looks at him too, and would look away as soon as he noticed; he believed this was her trying to figure out why he was watching her in the first place. It's not like he was a stalker, he just noticed these things. It was part of being a leader: developing strong observational skills. He couldn't very well turn them off when he felt like it, they were a natural instinct.
He had been surprised to discover that Sveta favored girls, but he had figured after multiple failed attempts at winning Karis's affections that she swung the other way, and he was fine with them being together. Or, at least he was trying to convince himself he was.
It was hard, though. Painful even. It had taken him a long time to realize he actually had feelings for the green-haired Jupiter Adept. She had long been his friend, and he had actually preferred spending time with her to Tyrell when he was younger, as he had been very timid, and Tyrell had been even more loud and boisterous than he was now.
Their dads, being the embarrassing parents they were (as if getting referred to by your parents exploits wasn't bad enough), had found no shortage of jokes and quips to make about Karis and him falling in love, getting married, and having lots and lots of grandchildren.
He couldn't count the number of times Isaac had nudged Ivan and fake-whispered, "Man, Ivan, we can't let Karis and Matthew hang out alone too much longer. They're getting near that age where Jenna and I discovered exactly what girls and boys do with each other when they reach puberty. Lucky Vale had so many secluded spots, even though I'm pretty sure the moans and screams traveled fairly well in that wind." Ivan would simply chuckle and shake his head as his Dad would wink with an amused grin at the pair of young teenagers, both of their faces beet red, their hands finding some clever motion to distract themselves from the awkward comments, and their eyes refusing to meet.
That hadn't really held a candle though to when Isaac had given him his first condom for his 16th birthday. Thank Venus it hadn't been in front of all the guests; Matthew would have collapsed. No, his Dad had at least found the decency to wait until Matthew was about to enter his room to sleep before handing him the small package, saying, "This is a condom. I know you've heard about them, and I thought that since you're sixteen, it's about time you carry one around. You never know when you're going to find yourself about to have the time of your life. I'd wait for Karis, if I were you; it's nice to have the first time be special. Your mom certainly appreciated the gesture." He had walked away then, thankfully, as Matthew hadn't known how much more teasing he could have stood.
That night had been full of awkward (but fantastic) dreams, Karis featured in many of them. Somehow, before that night, even with all of the constant teasing, he hadn't considered her as a girl. Boy, did that change. It had dawned on him fairly quickly that he had deep feelings for her, and had for a while. He had assumed them to be friendship, until the dreams where he ended up doing very… er… unfriendly… no, that's not it… things that friends don't do together. Even with their parents teasing them left and right, they flirted fairly heavily. Nothing serious, or so it seemed at the time; he would call her his dashing lady, she would call him her gallant knight.
He had tried to hold these feelings in, but one day he couldn't do so any longer, and he figured that, with all of the urging of their parents (if it was urging, he still didn't understand why parents found the need to make teenage romance more awkward than it already was) and their flirting, she must feel the same way.
That had come crashing down in six words: "I don't feel the same way." He recalled a good deal of, "I'm sorry Matthew"s, and "You're a very special friend"s, and "This is my fault for flirting with you"s, but none of that really mattered. It had been a while since then, and he had tried every now and again, with no luck. He had prayed that it was just a phase, that he would at least get a chance. And then, Sveta joined the party. And it wasn't too long until her and Karis's lips were throwing a grand ole' party in plain view on the deck of the ship.
The reactions of the rest of the party when they had been discovered kissing had been interesting: Kraden had chuckled, no doubt having seen two girls romantically involved before at some point in his century long stay on Weyard; Amiti had adjourned a look of absolute confusion that had not quite faded until the next morning; Eoleo had laughed and whistled; Himi had gone red in the face and suddenly became very interested in her sandals; Tyrell had fallen over in laughter, and had subsequently spent the rest of the day nursing very large bruises dealt by Karis's fist (there was a reason Matthew stayed on her good side. He often wondered if she might be the daughter of Feizhi – a girl that, according to Isaac, Ivan had developed feelings for over their travels – as she was a master of hand to hand combat); Rief had turned away, muttering something along the lines of, "And here I thought my mother was the only one"; and Matthew had simply stared, embarrassed to say he found the spectacle quite… spectacular.
In fact, he might have found them cute as a couple if not for the fact that he had also developed a small crush on Sveta and was thus out of luck completely. At least he knew how he felt about Karis and her about him: he was still unsure about his feelings for Sveta, let alone how she viewed him.
She was definitely pretty, and while at first he had (expectedly) been turned off by her more animalistic features, he now found them adorable. When she smiled, her pointed teeth would just barely jut into view, and it was impossible for him to look at her when she did and not smile himself (not to mention when she yawned, which was ever cuter). The same thing was true with her ears: they really got around. When she yawned they would fold down, when she laughed or smiled they would perk up, and when she was thinking they would stretch out horizontally.
Physically, he knew the attraction was there. Mentally and emotionally, he wasn't sure. He certainly thought she was nice, and knew she was caring, smart, and slightly shy, at least until you got to know her. And therein lay the problem: he just hadn't gotten many chances to actually talk with or get to know her. He had tried, to be certain, but it was odd: she always seemed… off around him. Half the time she would look away awkwardly, and often in the middle of a conversation she would suddenly remember something she had to go to do and would rush off, leaving him in the middle of a sentence. It hadn't taken him long to realize she either didn't like him or felt awkward around him. He had vowed he would find out why, but at that point talking to Sveta had become something he had begun to avoid, as that was the point Karis and her had started seeing each other.
Not like he had a problem with that. He was open-minded, he had just been confused at first. No one had told him girls could like other girls, so when it happened he had been naturally a little shocked. Karis hadn't taken it as shock, though, she thought he was bitter, jealous, angry, and a whole bunch of other unpleasant emotions.
This had put a strain on their friendship, which had managed to stay strong even after the awkwardness his feelings had brought to it. Whenever she noticed him, she would send a glare his way and often simply walk out of the room. It broke his heart a little bit more each time she did so, her eyes narrowly glinting with sparks before she whipped her green pony tail the other direction and refuse to give him a second glance.
He had no idea what to do. What to say. It had only gone on for a week, but it felt like a month, and it was beginning to affect him. No matter what happened, Karis had been his rock, not only on this journey, but his entire childhood. Hell, probably most of his life. Without that positive and stable influence, he was starting to lose it a bit. He was thankful that they were at sea, so he didn't need to make any important decisions. His mind was so cluttered he didn't want to think about what he would do in a life or death battle, which they ran into plenty of on land, especially since he was the one who directed everyone. Of course there were monsters in the sea as well, but they had stopped proving a threat after a month of sailing.
He hated to admit it, but he was just acting plain off. So far it was only little things, meaning Tyrell had only really picked up on it, as he, despite his apparently obliviousness, knew Matthew inside and out as well, and could read him like a book. Tyrell, being the loyal friend he was, had offered to talk to Karis for him, but Matthew knew it was a problem he needed to solve.
He just didn't want to. Not solve it, of course he wanted to solve it. He just didn't want to try, because what in Weyard would happen if he COULDN'T. The thought scared him to death. Losing any chance of being with Karis the way he had dreamed was bad enough. Losing her friendship? He couldn't stand it. Even beyond how he felt and Karis and his argument, there were still a lot of awkward loose ends involving Karis and Sveta.
He still didn't know how he felt about them sharing a room, but that was their business. Er, was their business until Himi moved in with them. Matthew came to a halt by the railing of the ship, leaning onto it and staring out into the quiet sea. It took a true leader to know what the problem was before it was brought up, and he was fairly positive that Himi was it.
There was nothing wrong with the native Yamatain; it was just that she was more or less a stranger to all of them. Normally, this would be fine, as of course there had been awkward bonding periods with every new member of the group. But, within a week, they had become generally accepted and a part of everyday activities and conversation. It had been two weeks, and Himi rarely left her room, rarely spoke unless spoken to (Matthew could sympathize), and in general seemed detached.
Karis had certain ideas of how the party should function, and Himi not assimilating well went against those. He considered that perhaps he should just man up and find Himi himself. Avoiding an awkward talk with Karis by just doing what she wanted before she could ask sounded like a solid plan.
Before he could act on these thoughts, he heard a pair of footsteps behind him, and a triumphant, "Ah, there he is! Good nose, Sveta." He silently cursed: he should have remembered that Sveta's Track Psynergy made it quite easy for her to locate him.
Matthew turned to see Karis and Sveta walking toward him. Hand in hand, he dully noted, a slightly amused smirk on his face. Perhaps he could get used to the two of them dating. At his smirk, Sveta blushed and retracted her hand, causing Karis to frown and give Matthew a glare. He responded my flashing a nervous smile and rubbing the back of his head.
"So, Himi. She's not part of the group, and we need to fix it," Matthew started, turning his gaze back out toward the sea, hoping to change the subject before Karis reprimanded him for his smirk.
Thankfully, she complied, and said, "So you've noticed. I'm worried about her; she seems really nice, but she just doesn't speak to anyone at all." Matthew nodded.
"Maybe she's just shy, or nervous? She is a princess you know, which could have something to do with it. She could also be feeling a little awkward with certain… recent developments," Matthew said.
"And what developments would those be, pray tell?" Karis questioned, earning a nervous look from Matthew as well as a small cough and head nod toward her and Sveta. Karis rolled her eyes, and yelled, "For the love of Jupiter, are you all STILL on that? YES, we're in a relationship. It's not that odd, Dad told me all kinds of stories about Mia and Jenna and Sheba and how they used to 'experiment' on their quest. Get over it!" At the conclusion of her rant, Sveta was a deep shade of crimson, her hands covering her face so only a small bit of her eyes were visible.
Matthew sighed. "Karis, I already told you that I'm fine with your relationship. And before you go down THAT road," he put emphasis on the that, silencing the retort Karis had already opened her mouth to give, "I'm not mad because you rejected me and moved on. I've moved on too. I'm just saying that it might be hard for her to live in a room with two girls that are romantically involved, especially if she's never even heard of that occurring before."
Karis pursed her lips for several seconds, no doubt letting her anger simmer slightly, before letting it out in a sigh and replying, "I'm sorry Matthew, that was uncalled for. It's just, it's a new thing for both Sveta and I, and I don't want to be judged. You're right, it could be our relationship that's bugging her, I hadn't thought of that. Either way, it's clear that the only way we're going to get to the bottom of this is if one of use actually talks to her." Karis flashed one of her trademark smiles, and Matthew frowned. He had never been able to say no to one of those smiles.
"Me, huh?" He stated bluntly. Always a man of few words; probably one of the reasons they wouldn't have worked out. She beamed and nodded, before her smile turned into a slight frown at his reaction. "Okay, I'll go talk to her about it. Hopefully it's nothing much and I can clear it up."
"Thank you Matt," Karis said, flashing another smile. "That's very sweet of you. Well, Sveta and I are going to fix up some lunch, so we'll—"
"I thought we were going to go down in the ship's cargo hold and show each other our—" Sveta froze as she realized what she was saying, and buried her tomato red blush deep in her hands. Karis's face also grew red, though not as much.
Matthew chuckled, shaking his head, and muttered, "By Venus you two are adorable. You could use my room if you want, as I'll be in yours. Better than the cargo hold, at the least. Last thing we need is Eoleo's crew interrupting you."
Karis's blush subsided slightly, and after a quick glance at Sveta, whispered, "Thank you." She turned to leave, but spun around and said, "And let us know how it goes; if you need any help, you'll know where to find us. Knock though, of course." She gave him a sly smile, and Sveta's eyes peeked out in shock from behind her hands before disappearing once more.
Karis walked up to Matthew, and before he could even begin to wonder what she was doing, her lips had already pressed themselves swiftly but firmly on his cheek. They were gone quicker than lighting, as was she, walking away from him and pulling one of Sveta's hands down from her face as she walked by. Sveta spared a glance at Matthew, which quickly turned into a look of puzzlement at the look of utter bewilderment plastered across his face, before turning and following Karis, who with a wave of her free hand said, "Thanks again, Matty." With that, they rounded a corner and were gone.
Matthew stood with his mouth open for several seconds, finally slowly moving his hand to his cheek and touching it gently. Matty? Had that actually happened? The small patch of skin her lips had graced still tingled with an electricity he could only imagine she had provided on purpose. His lips fell flat; he didn't know whether or not to scowl or smile. He couldn't tell if she was serious, teasing the hell out of him, or both.
He sighed, and began to walk toward Himi's room. Fate was a cruel mistress. What he wouldn't give to actually have her lips touch his own; but she played for the other team, he had to accept that. The kiss had been an act of mercy, nothing less, nothing more. Maybe a little cruel, but he felt like she had possessed good intentions. Even if he couldn't have her, he would always have that kiss – and perhaps a small tingling feeling whenever he touched his right cheek.
And then, there was Sveta. He sighed, and stopped in the middle of the hallway. His bad luck was amazing: the girl he had a crush on liked girls, and she had fallen for the other girl on the ship he had developed feelings for. He held a small hope that Sveta was just experimenting, and it was nothing serious, but they had been together for nearly a week, and both seemed to be enjoying the relationship (er, well, Sveta appeared to be when no one mentioned it and when she wasn't blushing. He couldn't blame her for being a little embarrassed about the whole situation).
Things would be so much easier if he just liked boys. Matthew snapped his head up at that thought. "Sweet Cybelle, I'm really losing it, aren't I? I like girls, I know that. The issue is all of them on this ship seem to like each other," he whispered, continuing his walk, now fairly close to Himi's room.
"Wait a minute… Himi!" He said, realizing he had completely forgotten there was one girl on the ship he hadn't given any thought to romantically.
Before he could further his thoughts, a voice in front of him said, "Yes?"Matthew stopped walking, and looked in front of him in confusion. There was nothing there. "Umm… Matthew? Are you feeling alright? You're standing slightly… close." It took all the restraint Matthew had to not jump backwards and let loose a string of profanities, as he looked down and realized he was mere inches away from Himi, who was now staring up at him with her head tilted, her pit tails hanging at an amusing angle. Matthew closed his eyes and breathed deeply, before taking a step backwards.
"Hey, Himi. To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of having an off day," Matthew replied, still slightly spooked.
She tilted her head back so it was normal, and responded, "I could tell. You seem to be stressed. Would you like to talk?" Matthew raised an eyebrow. Two birds with one stone, he could deal with that.
"Sure, that would be nice," He said, grinning.
"Wonderful, let's go into my room, as it is right here." With that, the younger Venus Adept opened her door and, after waving and waiting for Matthew to enter first, walked in and closed it.
Aha! Well, this still confuses me, and I have no real way to describe it. Um… I guess I'm pretty much worried about a lot of things with this fic, the biggest being the characterization and the second biggest being the pacing. In particular, I don't want to make Karis seem bitchy (especially since I love Karis), I don't want Matthew to seem whiny (even though he's kind of supposed to be), Sveta is a little underdeveloped, but will be more developed in future chapters.
This fic is supposed to be a good amount humor and a good amount stupid teen romance. I don't think this is too unlikely: a bunch of teenagers who have previously been under parental supervision are now able to have relationships and explore their sexuality as they are on a ship and have periods of days with nothing to do. Don't worry, things get less fluffy and romance driven as the plot goes on, but keep in mind it doesn't exactly last very long (I wouldn't put this fic past 15 chapters, and probably more likely around 10). Anyway, I'm feeling less ranty than usual, so I'll leave off here. Hope you enjoyed it, the second part is due out soon!