Closed Past Comes Back

[William Kaimarama]

William had spent so much time in the bush since graduation that being around people felt weird. When he was younger his bush hikes had at least involved his family, but he had been working largely solitary for the last few years. Obsidian Harbour had been almost unbearably crowded, and St. Mungos wasn't much better. The sound of chatters, beds rolling around, healing charms sizzling and sparking around, it was all... a lot. William kept his head down as he waited for his Healer, already wishing he was back in the bush. He had picked up plenty of first aid magic over the years, needing to be able to tend to his own wounds when he was isolated from society, but the gash in his thigh was definitely too deep for his own skills. He'd done the best he could to seal the wound himself, and strapped it with bandages for the trip to St. Mungos, but he would need a Healer to treat the wound properly. He waited on the bed they had assigned him, fidgeting and trying to tune out the sounds of a busy hospital.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian had never expected to enjoy healer training as much as he did. All his life, he'd rather hated going to school. It turned out that learning something practical and something he cared about was entirely different to listening to a lecture in a stuffy classroom. Abian usually had a smile on his face during his workdays, even when they were long and tough. Today, he was called to deal with a fairly straightforward wound. It was the sort of thing he was allowed to do by himself now, after a few years of being a trainee. Abian opened the door to the room with his patient, his bright smile faltering a little in confusion as he realized he knew the patient. Abian lowered his clipboard. "William?"

 

[William Kaimarama]

William looked over when the door opened, relieved that his leg would hopefully stop hurting soon. All worries about his injury quickly rushed out of his head though as he took in the face in the doorway. It had been years now since he had seen Abian, and this felt like something out of a dream. The former Hufflepuff had only gotten more handsome in the years since graduation, and William was suddenly conscious that he was muddy and grubby, still wearing his clothes from the bush, where he hadn't had a proper shower in days. And he was reminded abruptly of the way the two of them had ended things - or hadn't. While they technically hadn't been a couple, there had been... something going on between them, and then William had left. Immediately, after graduation. They had never even broken up technically, if there was anything to break... "Hey..." He managed weakly, giving Abian an awkward smile. "... Busted up my leg, aye."

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian couldn't entirely stop himself from staring a bit at William, as he looked different. More rugged, and definitely more handsome as well. Abian stared at him for a moment unblinkingly, remembering the last time they had talked and kissed. Contact between them had just sort of died after they both got busy, but seeing him brought all the memories right back to the surface. Abian's cheeks heated up, he shouldn't be thinking about that. He cleared his throat, forcing himself to be professional. "Alright, let me see." He said, moving over to William, inspecting the leg for a moment. "What happened?" He asked, leaning over him. He looked up to meet his eyes, then drew back slightly.

 

[William Kaimarama]

If there was any thought in William's mind that the last few years had served to dull the way he used to feel about Abian, that thought was quickly erased by the way he felt as the Healer drew closer, glancing up at Abian's face for a moment before looking down at his leg, grateful to it for once for the distraction. Judging by the blush on Abian's face though, William wasn't the only one thinking of their past. "Uh... yeah." He said awkwardly as Abian inspected the wound, trying not to wince as it stung and throbbed. "Thought a rock was stable but it gave out under me, and I fell on a nasty branch. I patched up the bruises and stuff, but this one's a bit beyond me." He gave an awkward shrug, feeling his face heat up as Abian met his eyes for a moment. "... Sorry for the mud." He added, trying to cover the awkwardness and remember how to talk after so long on his own. "Been in the bush for a few days."

 

[Abian Hunter]

There was a moment where Abian seriously considered getting another healer to deal with this. It wasn't like William was in serious danger, and maybe there was some sort of code of ethics that went against treating your sort-of-ex? But he didn't know how to explain the situation to anyone without sounding dramatic. Besides, he had gotten started. It would be weird and unprofessional to leave now. He nodded as William explained what had happened, carefully exploring the gash in his leg. "You don't have to apologize." He said softly, putting a hand on his knee before thinking better of it and withdrawing it. "I'll clean up before proceeding." He said, waving his wand and making the mud disappear. He frowned a bit. "So you're certain the wound wasn't caused by animals or any magical mishaps?" He asked, just to be sure.

 

[William Kaimarama]

William bit his lip as Abian examined the wound, determined not to make any sounds of pain. That could only make things worse. He relaxed a little as Abian cleaned the mud off, though now that he could actually see how gnarly the wound was, he almost wished he hadn't. He rolled his eyes slightly at Abian's question, nodding. "I'm sure, mate. I fell on a Macrocarpa branch that had snapped sharp. Tore me up pretty bad, but there was nothing magical about it."

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian bit back a sigh when William looked straight at his wound, he should have tried a bit harder to distract him. Though William didn't seem the type to faint at the sight of a bit of blood, thankfully. "Right." He said before he cast a few specific cleaning charms on the wound rapidly. He muttered them under his breath, as he had quite mastered nonverbal magic. "I'm just making sure, there are different ways to treat different kinds of wounds. If I used these spells on a wound that still had magical residue in it, it could end badly." He said, stepping away to open a cupboard, rummaging through it for the potion he needed. "Were you.. working?" He asked curiously, not entirely sure what William did for a living.

 

[William Kaimarama]

William watched Abian cleaning the wound, relieved that this hurt a lot less than trying to clean it the muggle way would have. "Ah yeah, makes sense." He nodded in agreement, trying hard not to think about how close Abian was. The weight of the history between them made the air feel thick, and he was relieved to have other things to talk about. "Yeah, I'd been out in the bush a few days, got wind someone was growing Devils Snare in a protected area. Could have just been Flitterbloom, but still can't have magical plants in muggle areas. And if it was Devils Snare that's a huge danger to Kākāpō in the area, so..." He shrugged slightly, trying not to think abut the smell of Abian's shampoo, and how rank he must be in comparison, after days in the bush without a shower.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian smiled at William as he worked, glancing at him. He felt his breath stutter as he suddenly met his gaze, realizing all at once how close they were to each other. Even though they had lost contact after graduating, there was still something there. Abian was fairly sure William felt it too. "Oh, wow." Abian said, eyebrows raising slightly. "And was it Devils Snare?" He asked, leaning in slightly out of interest as he worked on putting drops of the potion on the wound.

 

[William Kaimarama]

William's breath caught as Abian met his eye, and all the years of desperately pining for his best friend came rushing back at once. He had run away from their connection along with everything else after school, but being around Abian brought everything back at once. It was hard to stay focused on the conversation, between Abian's closeness and the strange sensation of potions working through his wound. "Dunno." He answered with a small shrug. "Didn't make it that far yet. It's risky to apparate in the bush, too easy to get impaled on a branch or something. I was about three days hike in, I should be able to apparate back to my campsite now I know where it is."

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian was a little disappointed to hear William didn't know the answer yet, it was an exciting story and his imagination had already run wild imagining William heroically saving someone from the plant. But he supposed it made sense. Abian watched as the wound started to close up, glancing up at William's face. "I see." He said softly. "So that's your job, then?" He asked, remembering his parents used to do something similar. "Conver.. conservationist?" He said, stumbling slightly over the word.

 

[William Kaimarama]

Skin sealing itself was always an odd feeling and William did his best to ignore it, meeting Abian's eyes despite the familiar electricity he still felt at the contact. "Yeah, magiconservation. Keeping introduced magic stuff from ruining the native ecosystem." He struggled not to squirm at the tightness of his skin over the wound. "I've been working with my parents sometimes, but I've done a few solo jobs like this too." He hesitated, giving a small smile. "Guess I don't have to ask what you've been doing. Congrats on making it as a Healer."

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian monitored the wound closing, though it was hard to keep his gaze away from William's face. He nodded as he listened to him describe his job. He smiled a bit. "Sounds amazing." He said quietly. "You're like... a nature hero." He said, unable to think of a better way to describe it. He laughed softly as William congratulated him. "I'm still in training." He said, putting away the potion bottle. "Technically. I'm in my final week of training now." He admitted. "It's been years, it's kind of wild I'll be a real healer in about a week's time." He added, shaking his head. "Unless I mess something up royally in the next few days."

 

[William Kaimarama]

Being this near Abian after so long had already been an odd feeling, but William hadn't expected the warmth that would bloom in his chest at being complimented by his long-term crush. "Thanks." He laughed awkwardly, no idea what else to say. He nodded as Abian explained his training schedule. "Better not cut my leg off by accident, then." He joked, raising his eyebrows.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian laughed at William’s joke, pausing for a moment. “Well, it would mean you stick around here for a bit longer.” He found himself saying, a slight grin appearing on his face. Was he flirting? Maybe a little. “Would mean I get to see you more...” He glanced at his leg and rubbed his chin, as if he was really considering cutting it off.

 

[William Kaimarama]

Though his leg was the part that was injured, William could swear his ears weren't working properly. Either he had been in the bush long enough that he had forgotten how to socialise, or Abian was flirting with him. "Well, uh... once I'm finished on this project I won't be going into the bush for a bit." He said slowly, turning the situation over in his head as he spoke. Last time they saw each other, he and Abian had still been.... whatever they had been. It wasn't out of the question that Abian would still be interested. It hit William abruptly that he definitely still was. "We could get a cuppa or something. Catch up properly, with less blood involved." He added, throwing caution to the wind. If he'd misread things, a regular friendly catchup with Abian would still be a good thing.