Visiting the Bartons (for @streetlevel )

[hawk_shot]

Honestly, Kate figured that flying with a pony would have been way harder than it turned out to be. But between Matt's first class charm put to full power and everyone at the airport being captivated by Frodo? Despite of how their trip to Ohio had started at an ungodly early hour, it also seemed to be the beginning of one of the most pleasant of adventures.

It was a short flight, one in which Kate shamelessly claimed Matt's shoulder as her own personal pillow. Obviously, they were on first class, but domestic flight seats were definitely not as roomy as international were. But it was comfortable enough for Kate to still feel pretty refreshed once they made it back down to land. In Ohio, a car with a trailer to carry Frodo was already waiting, taking him for a drive that took at least another hours before they made it to Clint's farm. 

On their way, Kate described Matt everything that she saw. The crops, so tall they would probably be completely lost in them if they decided to make their way through them byt feet. A land full of greens on all kinds of shades. Horses grazing afar, sheep with  their growing lambs. The sun was bright and Kate could tell it would become even warmer as hours passed.

She was so excited to finally see Clint and his family again. 

The green land was interrupted by a path of dirth that lead to Clint's house, a three-stories home of that looked like something straight out of the fantasies of anyone who might have ever dreamed about living in the countryside. As they approeached, Kate leaned over Matt to see better through his window, spotting the tractor and Clint's van in the distance. The ducks near the pond.. You could tell this was a family home, as on their way to the house there was toys scattered all around. Bikes, footballs, dolls and a swing made with a tire.

Finally, by the house, Kate spotted Laura. She was filling some buckets of water with a hose, looking in their direction as she held a hand over her eyes, shielded the sun off her face. Squinting now, she held her hand well above her head to wave in their directon as the car and trailer finally reached the house.

With a heavy step that clearly said it all about how she had a start just as early as the one they had, Laura aproached the car as it came to a stop, Kate almost instantly hopping off. Running towards the older woman, they captured each other in a tight hug as they shared words about how glad they were to see each other again. 

While the driver got out and quietly greeted Laura, he headed back to take care of the trailer. Still holding Kate by the shoulders, Laura went straight to their other guest. "You must be Matt."  

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[hawk_shot]

It was a leap of faith, Kate knew.

Diving into some deep water. Letting it surround you, losing your sense of orientation. But trusting, trusting that you'll come up for a breath. Enjoying the moment, feeling weightless as you trust yourself upon this force of nature.

As Kate's nose bumped against Matt's, she came up for that breath.

Like him, she huffed a quiet laugh, her smile widening and reaching her eyes as Matt delivered a sweet kiss to her nose. "Can't say I'd mind practicing a lot more of this," she admitted with antother laugh as Matt guided her hand to his chest. His heart. The message was clear.

"Really?" Kate's head tipped up at the confession. The message might have been clear, but that didn't mean it couldn't be a little surprising too.

"I mean, I thought..." Flexing her fingers, they closed around his shirt, holding onto Matt. "Like, I'm not gonna deny there was moments when I thought it could happen." That time on her couch, when Matt had allowed her to touch his face? She had touched hers in return and they were so close to each other. They had shared a perfect day together. And how he had told her he'd protect her life with his own? Something had been going on, she knew.

Kate licked her lips, then sucked the lower one into her mouth. She allowed herself to backtrack for a moment.

Matt had imagined this before.

"For the longest time I thought -- Like, that I wasn't your type or whatever." For so many reasons.

[streetlevel]

"I don't know that I have a type. Except maybe complicated." A beat. "Or maybe that's just how all relationships are." There was never going to be a situation where everything was perfect, he knew that much. He gave a small shrug, admitting, "I didn't know if I'd be good for you. History shows I haven't been for those with me in the past. Plus we're partners and friends." There was a lot at risk and on the table to be lost, should things turn sour. Kate had become an integral part of his life, someone he talked to every day. To risk losing that was terrifying. It was much easier to take a chance when his heart wasn't yet really involved.

Though, at the same time, it also made this moment all the more exhilarating because of how he felt about her.

Reaching up, he let his thumb lightly run against her lower lip, then had his fingers cup her cheek. "I didn't want to risk losing you. In the moment though, I just... it felt... right." He tried the word out, finding it truthful as it slips through his lips. His head tilted towards her, a silent question on how she felt about it. He could tell from her heart that her physical reaction was the same as his, but her thoughts? He knew those two things didn't always align. "How did it... how does it feel for you?"

[hawk_shot]

"You're a great partner and friend," Kate was quick to point out, feeling deeply protective of what they already had, but also over what they had the potential to be. "I don't know why that should change if we..." What? Add sex to the mix? More? She wasn't exactly sure of what Matt wanted here, it's not like he was spelling it outloud. And he did mention having friends with benefits before.

But, would he be this nervous about risking things only for sex?

No. You don't kiss someone around donkeys if you only want to seduce them. You're just too nervous, Kate. Second-guessing the obvious because it feels too good to be true.

Kate shook her head. "You won't lose me." The hand still on his waist reached over to his lower back, holding onto him more firmly as the one over his head slid it's way up to the side of his neck, finding another source to his pulse. God, he had so much game. How come a gesture as simple as touching her lip could send shivers through her body?

"It's - It's weird," she admitted. But, quickly, with a little amusement, Kate clarified. "Not in a bad way! No, it's just..." She shook her head, shrugging. "It feels like a lot changed but at the same time nothing did? Like... I'm finally able to be more honest with you."

That hand on his neck moved up, cupping his cheek and stroking it with her thumb.

"But, you're the same Matt. And I've been feeling this way about you for a while now."

[streetlevel]

Matt's body responded to Kate's touch. His back arched when her hand found his lower back, and his head tilted into her fingers when they cupped his cheek. Matt wasn't starved for touch from his loved ones, but he always craved that contact. It was definitely one of his love languages along with acts of service. Her skin felt soft against his own hand as he lightly brushed her cheek. He could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin, the faint stray hairs that had escaped being pulled back. It was a face he'd memorized by now but one he didn't think he could ever get sick of sensing.

"No, I understand. It is different in some ways. One less thing to hold back." They had danced around these feelings for months. At first he hadn't wanted to admit to having them, and then he hadn't been certain what the right thing was to do about them. He licked his lips and gave her a small smile. A confident once that, despite his nerves, he managed, because he did know that this moment right now didn't feel wrong. "You're right, though. In the ways that matter, nothing's changed." She was still his partner and friend. He just couldn't mess this up.

A beat, his head suddenly raised and tilted. He let out a small sigh and said, "Dinner's about to be ready, they're calling the kids to finish setting the table. ... I'm gonna guess that this isn't appropriate dinner conversation. What just happened." Clint was gonna kill him when he found out.

[hawk_shot]

It was strange. Like some sort of veil had been lifted, a barried had definitely pushed down to the ground. Kate was never shy of touching Matt. She had taken his arm like it was some natural claim, as they walked towards the donkeys. Kate had leaned into him for a nap as he worked on the plane.

Now, as she touched him, Kate could feel him seeking for that contact, leaning into it. Leaning into her hands, just as his lips had chased after hers.

"Have you been holding back then?" Like lifting a vail indeed. All those things Kate had wondered about? She'd taken those small signs, twisting them to make herself wonder: were they all in her head? Was Matt perhaps naturally kind and touchy towards everyone in his life? Subtext seemed writen in scrambled words in Kate's head at times.

Right now, she felt as if those truths had been spelled out in the most simple of words.

As Matt perked up in a way she had learned to recognise, she naturally shoot a glance down the path they had taken to meet the donkeys, the house sticking out in the distance. If they weren't careful, Lila, Nate or maybe even Clint would come out there seeking for them. Maybe? They could always just text. And why was Kate nervous about them being caught in each other's arms?

It was all too new to figure how to handle it.

All too exciting to simply ignore it for the rest of the day, too. God, that was going to take some strenght on her behalf.

Kate found herself cupping both of Matt's cheeks, guiding him down for their lips to meet in several, excited pecks. "Some for the road," she pointed out cheerfully.