Closed Personal Questions

[Monty Pendleton]

"I do miss her," Monty said, chuckling. He had just been telling Matt about the time Cyndi had asked him to dance at the yule ball. Every year since he had practised in advance, just in case she asked him again. "Still, she'll be back soon." The common room was empty but for Monty and Matt, and a stray ginger cat dozing in a nearby armchair. Monty had never much liked cats on account of being allergic to them, but at a distance they were tolerable. He sighed gently and took a sip of tea. There was something on his mind - something he'd wanted to ask Matt for a while now - but he didn't know where to begin, or if he should. He just wanted some answers. He wanted to understand himself. And Matt wasn't going to judge him, was he? "I've been meaning to ask you a question, but it is of rather a personal nature. Nothing bad, of course. Do you mind?"

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt chuckled at the story told about him and Cyndi. "It sounds wonderful. I admit, I wouldn't quickly dance in front of all those students." He said with a smile. "Either you're a braver man than me, or Cyndi is hard to say no to." He suspected it was a bit of both. It had been nice to talk to Monty a little, and Matt enjoyed this moment in the near empty common room. A comfortable silence fell between them, one that was broken by Monty asking if he could ask a personal question. Matt sat up a little, clearly curious. He didn't think his personal life was all that interesting, not interesting enough to warrant questioning like this. "Sure, I don't mind. What is it?" He asked, putting his teacup down to give this his full attention.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

"Definitely the latter," Monty said with a chuckle. The moment he started, he wished he'd never opened his mouth. You couldn't just ask a colleague about these things, could you? But it was too late - he'd passed the point of no return. He briefly considered making something up to spare his dignity, but he couldn't think quickly enough. "Well." He tried and failed to start his next sentence several times. "Sorry. I'm not sure how to put this. I just thought - you know - since you and Kyle... er... I thought you might be able to tell me... how you knew, I suppose, that you liked him." By this point, Monty's cheeks had turned bright red. "More than a friend. I'm probably not making myself very clear, am I? I'm sorry."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt laughed softly at Monty's words. They were pretty similar, which was why he liked Monty so much. It was nice to catch up with him like this. But the question Monty was about to ask him felt like something different, something infinitely more serious. Matt was actually worried for a moment as Monty struggled to begin speaking. Was it something bad? But then the actual question came out, and Matt realized slowly what Monty was asking him. He gave his friend a reassuring smile, though he felt a little awkward. He had never been that great about talking about his feelings. "You're clear, no worries." He said with a quick nod. "I don't know if you know this, but I used to be married before Kyle. To a muggle woman named Adelia, she's April's mother." He chuckled. "So me liking Kyle was... different. He wasn't the first man I had dated, but when I was young I didn't really know. In hindsight, I realized I always had crushes on guys, I just didn't always recognize them as such." He shrugged. "It felt to be expected to like girls, so I had an easier time recognizing those feelings back when I was young. I didn't realize it until my last few years at Hogwarts, but looking back, there were plenty of guys I had a crush on." He scratched his neck a little awkwardly. "It's going to sound cliched, but I realized I liked Kyle when my thoughts started drifting to him more and more, even while working. First he was just another dad at the ballet studio picking up his kid, but the more we talked, the more I found myself looking forward to seeing him again." He chuckled at the memory. "I remember when April was feeling a little sick and I was trying to talk her into going to dance anyway. That's when it hit me that I wanted to go because I'd see him there." He shook his head. "It happened pretty naturally after that. It's mostly on Kyle that anything happened at all, I was way too nervous to make a move." He admitted. "I.. don't know if that really answered your question. Sorry."