Title: Good-will Draught
Author: angelita26
Rating: PG-13
Characters and/or Pairing: As fictional characters: Matt/Tim, Sharif, Joe
Warning: Permanent injury of a main character. This story contains discussion of the events of September 11th.
Word Count: ~1000
Summary: Bookstore AU. On New Year's Eve, Matt decides it's finally time to talk to Sharif.

Notes: Banner by the wonderful kanarek13 and icon by the lovely aragarna. Title from the translated poem/song Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns. More info and the translation can be found on Wikipedia. Written for kanarek13's fandom stocking.





Reb's was crowded with happy patrons on New Year's Eve, drinking and reveling in the end of a tough year and the unknown of a new beginning. Matt and Tim had found seats at the bar but were facing the masses, talking with Joe and some of the other firefighters from their old house.

"You should bring Tim by," Joe said, grinning broadly. "Let him take a slide down the pole."

"I don't think that's necessary." Tim laughed nervously and took a long swallow of his beer.

Matt laughed and patted him on the back. "Don't worry. He's yanking your chain. There aren't poles in the houses anymore."

"There aren't?" Tim looked disappointed despite his obvious fear a moment ago, and Matt had to laugh again. He took a sip of his own beer and looked toward the door when it opened and let in a burst of cold air.

Sharif walked inside and hung his coat up with the others along the wall next to the entrance. The hooks were overflowing, but it was better than dragging a winter coat around with you all over the place.

Matt watched while he made his way to the bar, greeting many of the people he passed along the way, and ordered a drink. He'd been thinking about Sharif a lot lately, and he hated that they'd avoided each other – and their issues – for so long. With the help of Tim, Matt was working through a lot of the things he'd been carrying since September 11th, and he wanted to try to patch things up with Sharif too.

Without giving himself a chance to second-guess his next actions, he got to his feet, grabbed his crutches and made his way to the other side of the bar. He patted Sharif on the shoulder and smiled when the other man turned to face him. "Hey. Can we talk?"

"Now?" Sharif pointed around at all the people inside the bar. "Isn't it a little loud and busy tonight?"

Matt nodded and motioned for Sharif to follow him. He led the way down the back hallway, past the restrooms and into the storeroom. Once the door was closed, much of the crowd noise was muted.

"I'm sorry to be blindsiding you with this tonight, but I think we need to talk."

Sharif sighed and looked away. "I've said all that I need to say, Matt. We're never going to see eye to eye on this."

"Maybe not, but I don't like this avoidance thing we've been doing for the past twelve years. We used to be best friends, man."

"Isn't that the heart of it? We were best friends, and then I-"

Matt lifted his crutches and then slammed them back down on the concrete. "This wasn't your fault. It could have happened to anybody."

"I should have been there, Matt. We shouldn't have split up. It was the wrong thing to do, and I regret it to this day."

"There was no right or wrong thing to do. There was no precedent for what happened in the Towers, and I promise you that I don't blame you. Yes, it sucks that I was hurt, but I don't dwell on it. I had to move on with my life, and I'm pretty damn happy now."

"Whether or not you blame me is irrelevant."

"The hell it is!"

Sharif stepped into his space and grabbed him by the open halves of his flannel button-down. "You can't possibly understand what it was like to stand outside and watch the building come down knowing that you and the others were still inside. I'm sympathetic to your side of things Matt, but you need to understand that my side was pretty bad too."

Matt took a breath and raised shaking hands to rest lightly over Sharif's. "Tell me about it," he said quietly.

Sharif haltingly described the events from outside the building. He'd never talked about it with Matt before, always deferring to Matt's own experiences. By the end, they were both sitting on the floor, shoulder-to-shoulder, crying.

"I'm sorry," Matt said, putting his arm around Sharif's shoulders. "I had no idea, and I'm sorry that it took twelve years for us to sit down and talk it out."

"I'm sorry too." Sharif slipped an arm around Matt's back. "I should have told you. It just didn't seem right when you were in the hospital or even afterwards."

Matt just frowned and shook his head. "Anything you want to talk about, just tell me. Please."

"I will," Sharif promised.

"Now, I think it's time that we go and have a beer. It's probably about time for the ball to drop, and I have a guy out there waiting for his kiss."

Sharif chuckled. "I heard about you and... Tim, is it? He sounds like a good guy."

"He's amazing." Matt pulled his arm away and started working himself into a position to stand. "I can't even tell you. You should come over for dinner this week."

"I don't want to impose."

"No, no. I want you to come and meet Tim."

Sharif stood and shifted from foot to foot. "Can I… Do you need help?"

Matt looked up at his outstretched hand and thought it over. There was no easy way to stand when all he had were his crutches and the wall behind him, but it could be done.

"Matt?"

Finally, he nodded and grabbed Sharif's hand, letting his friend – he grinned at the thought – help him to his feet. They made their way back to the bar where James raised his eyebrows at them but didn't ask any questions. He merely handed them both bottles of beer and smiled when they toasted and drank.

After that, Matt lost track of Sharif. He rejoined Tim, Joe and the others with about fifteen minutes left to spare before the countdown began. At midnight, they counted down with the whole bar and Matt pulled Tim into a deep kiss. The last year had been tough, but he was proud to have found a partner in Tim and for mending things with Sharif, and he was looking forward to what the new year would bring.

~End

Thanks for reading!


Crossposted to wc_rps and AO3