･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.
･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.
Never before had something in the Capital felt quite this small. Especially not outside. People were pooling around them, cameras trying their best to filter through the people and get the mentors in the shot. It hadn't bothered her before, but Odette found herself turning her head away from them, afraid they'd see something she didn't want them to.
This part had always come easy; she was good with people. Knew what they wanted to hear and what they wanted to see. She was just playing a role, something she'd learned to excel at. This time shouldn't be different, but it was.
She wouldn't be talking about a child she only knew by name. Of course, that still saddened her, but this was different. This was Miles. Her family. "I don't think I can do this," she whispered to Cecelia, her hands twisting the fabric of her dress, vanishing between the folds. She knew she had to.
Cecelia turned to her, a warm hand on her arm. She was grounding, Odette knew she wished Odette didn't have to. "You can, Odette," she said softly. The unspoken words were clear; she had to. It was mandatory. "You're good at this, don't let them break you."
Odette turned her head forward again, looking over the people and the cameras and trying to drown out the noise. They hadn't broken her before, they wouldn't now. Cecelia's hand stayed on her arm even when the woman began conversation with someone else.
The sun was warm, Odette found herself sweating and wishing for some shade. Her dress was long and thick, leaving little room for her body to breathe. It couldn't be much longer now before the questions began.
The Capitol liked neatness, but these interviews were always messy. They had to fit twelve districts in less than an hour so they simply dumped a bunch of interviewers and the mentors before the training building. It seemed to be the only place where there were no large screens to follow the Games.
Even after all those years, all those interviews, the shrill whistle still surprised her. Odette's heart rate sped up, her breath caught in her throat. She scrunched the blue fabric between her fingers. "You got this," Cecelia whispered, squeezing her arm before letting go.
She didn't want her to let go. Wanted to be reminded of the fact that she didn't have to do this alone, that she wasn't alone. Her eyes moved to follow Cecelia's movements, mouth already beginning to beg her to stay near, to protect her. She didn't. She couldn't.
Instead, Odette smiled at the interviewer moving towards her. Neil had met his own but stood close enough she could hear the deep hum of his voice. That had to be enough. "Hello, Miss Byrne," the man said, a camera trailing behind him. "Let's get right to it, shall we? You lost a tribute in the bloodbath."
She took a deep breath while nodding slowly. Just a tribute. Any tribute. She could do this. "Unfortunately, we did. We advised him to leave the scene instead of fighting. I suppose that's easy to forget when you think the ticket to survival is a few feet away."
The words flowed easily. It was distant, impersonal. Not so different from previous years after all. "Was it a shock, him going against your advice?"
"It happens," she shrugged. "We try to prepare and help them, but we can't predict or judge what they do in such a stressful and high-stakes situation."
The man nodded, pausing for a moment. "How was it, mentoring this year?"
That took her off guard. She'd never been asked that before. She tilted her head with a short chuckle. "Not very different than any other year, structure and routine are what I've come to expect here."
He licked his lips, speaking fast after hesitating. He seemed very aware of the camera next to him. "Of course, of course. I meant with the male tribute being family."
And just like that, it wasn't distant anymore. Just like that, the smile fell from her face. She'd wanted to keep this from them. Give them nothing else to torture her with, to pressure her with. Odette had been careful, in all those years she'd never mentioned her family. How did he find out? "What?"
It slipped, she hadn't meant to say it. Her composure was falling apart. They were getting too close and all she wanted to do was run. "Well, there have been some rumors that he's related to you. Is he?"
"I-" she didn't find the words, tripped over syllables and letters.
The man didn't let that discourage him and went on to the next question. "I'll take that as a yes, we heard that did influence your mentorship. Do you think that has anything to do with why he disregarded your advice?"
Was he blaming her? He was talking too fast, she didn't understand what he was asking. What he was implying. "Did it cause you to abandon the female tribute?"
"What?" She said again, struggling to breathe. He was blaming her for something. Maybe he just wanted her to feel guilty.
"Did it?" He urged, taking a step closer. "It's only natural to have favorites. Or maybe you just wanted to get rid of the boy? Was he leeching off your victory?"
Her mouth dropped open, tears welling in her eyes. This she did understand. A hand clasped before her mouth as she shook her head. It was too much, she shouldn't have come here. Now everyone would think that's what she did.
"Back off, asshole," he'd been too close, but then someone was between them. Johanna shoved the man back, his back hitting the camera stand. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
The man straightened himself, shaking his head. "Miss Mason, I think you have your own interview-"
"You call this a fucking interview?" She laughed dryly, and Odette had never been so happy to see her. To hear her anger. "No one's born this fucking stupid."
"There's no need to make it personal, I was just asking some-"
Johanna stepped closer to him again, giving him another shove. "I'm getting personal? You're the invasive asshole here!"
Odette was still shaking, aware of every eye on her and Johanna. Johanna was still yelling at the man. Odette didn't want to stop her. Didn't want to do anything. With shaking hands, she smoothed her hair backward, taking a small step forward. "Johanna," it was barely a puff of air, her voice cracking. She didn't want to speak, but if she didn't stop her it wouldn't be good for either of them.
That whisper was all it took, Johanna spun around, anger all over her face, her balled fists the only thing stopping her from hitting the man. She was thankful it wasn't directed at her. "It's okay, thank you, but we have to-"
"It's not okay and we don't have to do shit," she snapped, stepping closer to her.
"Actually," the interviewer tried one last time. "It's mandatory to be-"
"Eat shit, we're leaving," Johanna grabbed Odette's arm, tugging her through the crowd. No one tried to stop them. Maybe they were too shocked. This was to be expected of the rowdy people from the districts, not the Capitol victors. Nothing like this has ever happened. At least not to Odette's knowledge.
She was shaking and terrified of the consequences, but then they were inside, and it was cool and silent and Johanna was talking but Odette didn't understand the words just yet, her breathing too loud in her ears. Her arm was hurting, she realized. She looked down at it, the skin red where Johanna's fingers were still clutching her arm. "Johanna," she said as soft as she had outside. This time she didn't hear it. "Johanna, you're squeezing." She tried again, still too startled to pull her own arm back.
Her rambling stopped, the brunette looked down at her own hand, releasing Odette quickly. "Those fucking assholes," she said. Odette could only guess it wasn't the first time. "I can't believe he'd speak to you like that. Actually, I can. That's almost worse."
Johanna was still worked up. She'd begun pacing, her hands moving as she spoke. "Thank you," Odette said instead of letting her go on. She still felt shaky and unsteady but calmer now that she was away from the interviewer. Away from all those eyes and with it, the Games. Johanna halted. "Thank you for stopping him."
"That excuse of a man needed to be put in his place," she huffed as she crossed her arms. The white hallways were empty, as was the rest of the building for at least twenty more minutes. Odette rested her back against the cold wall. Her dress was low cut and the cold seeped through her instantly. "He shouldn't have been asking that. You shouldn't have been put there in the first place."
Except that was the way things went. They told them to do something, they did it. Odette had always played by their rules. It was unpleasant but safe. This was the first time she'd been out of line. It hadn't even been her.
The thought came suddenly and wrapped tightly around her heart. "Maybe you shouldn't have done that," she whispered. "They... They're going to be so angry with you for disturbing the interviews-"
Johanna cut her off with a hollow laugh. "What are they going to do?" She asked, shaking her head. "Not let me come here again? Put me in the arena again? There's nothing they can do to me anymore."
Odette pursed her lips together. It was easy to forget Johanna had lost everything even when everything about her screamed 'nothing to lose'. Odette found it hard to understand. She'd lost her most important person, but she still had plenty to lose. "Right, I'm sorry," she looked down at the floor. There was dirt on the white tiles, spotting it in a way that seemed off. Johanna gave her that same empty laugh before she started pacing again.
Odette needed a moment to collect herself. She'd almost fallen apart out there and needed the pieces to be stuck together. The sponsor parties would start tonight, she had to be there. After that interview, she'd probably be forced to. The Capitol loved their sweethearts and they wouldn't let Odette ruin that reputation.
"Well, I can't keep standing here," Johanna said at last. "I need a drink." It wasn't even ten o'clock. Odette didn't complain, she could use one too.
***
Her feet were pressed over one another, trying to ease the tension from the shoes out of them as she leaned back against the pillows. The silence was strange; there was no television, no Neil or Cecelia, no tributes, no Rory. Only her own presence and Johanna's soft footsteps returning.
The glasses of whiskey were too full, but she was thankful for it. As soon as she accepted the glass, she took a big sip. She'd never liked the drink much but was thankful for the burn. It was a rare moment of calmth Odette wasn't going to waste.
"I'm sorry I didn't come back," she said, tracing her finger over the smooth edge of the glass. "I really did mean to, but..."
"You're seriously apologizing for that?" Johanna chuckled, taking a sip from her drink. "You're crazy." Her legs were stretched out across the floor, feet pushing against the little table. It was a sharp contrast from a few minutes ago.
Odette shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I promised to come back and I didn't. I didn't mean to make you wait," she hesitated, unsure if this was something she wanted to share. Afraid it would be too much. "He asked me to stay."
Johanna looked back over at her, her attention on her. It was strange to talk about it. Especially to Johanna. "He asked me to read him a story," she looked away with a fond smile, memories from when he'd been little coming back. "I spent most of my time after the Games with him. He was too young to grasp it, which was nice. We just played and at night I'd read him a story. I don't know if he knew I slept on the floor afterward."
"Why didn't you go home?"
Odette sighed, pleasant memories mixing with the bad ones. "It wasn't home anymore," there was more to it. Her father was dying and her mother wasn't her mother anymore. The house was too big, not even all the useless things she bought could fill that up. It already felt like death in there. "And then I couldn't anymore."
Johanna didn't need to ask what she meant. She pursed her lips, fingers clenching around her glass. "I'll kill him, one day." She sucked in her breath, couldn't help her eyes from going over the room, already expecting someone to run in and take Johanna. "Don't be so dramatic, they can't do shit to me."
"They can put you in a cell and torture you until you die," Odette hissed, moving closer so they could keep their voice down. In the districts, no one dared to talk like that. In the Capitol, no one should be able to.
Johanna laughed shortly before she leaned closer. As if to share a secret. "I'd like to see them try."
They'd already defied the Capitol once that day, and doom had yet to enter the room. Johanna was grinning; effortlessly and without worry. It was contagious. Odette felt her own lips click into a smile. Not one practiced to perfection, folded in all the right ways.
Johanna's eyes flicked down to her lips. Obviously and long, her own smile growing with something Odette didn't understand. She didn't want to. She didn't need to, because she knew what would happen next. Johanna's hand closed the distance between their bodies, landing on where her knee sprouted from the split in her dress, eyes traveling down with her fingers.
Odette was buzzing with anticipation, she wanted to be kissed, wanted to be touched and held. She placed her hand over Johanna's, using her free one to tip Johanna's gaze back up. Odette's smile had faded, making room for a gentle focus as she bent the last few inches forward to kiss Johanna.
For a moment, she forgot everything except the sensation of Johanna's skin against her own. The warmth of her, the way she instantly shifted to move closer and let Odette stay in her comfortable position. Enchanted by their moving lips she almost forgot how to breathe.
Johanna's hand slid to the back of her knee, pulling her leg from under her. She sat higher now, Odette had to stretch to reach her. The other woman had different plans, tugging at her legs so Odette was propped up only by her elbow, her other hand clinging to the back of Johanna's neck, begging her to keep kissing her.
The woman lowered herself again, their whole bodies in extravagant dresses and too much glitter pressed together. Johanna's hand stayed on her hip, massaging her flesh as Odette sighed against her. It had been little more than a day and she'd missed her already. Missed this.
She was breathless, even with her eyes closed her head was spinning from the kiss and lack of air. She pulled back, fingers playing with the shortest strands of Johanna's hair. She was flushed and breathing hard, unable to speak for a moment. "Cecelia and Neil will be back soon."
"So what? I can finish what I start," Johanna teased, the hand on her hip moving behind her back, searching for the zipper.
Odette would have chuckled, agreed, rolled her eyes. She was too flustered, wanted Johanna to start, damn everyone else. She bit her lip and closed her eyes as Johanna leaned back down, her breath warm on her cheek and neck as she began to suck the skin, her hand moving up and down her side, sending shivers through her even though fabric still separated them.
She couldn't stop her. Didn't want to. She pulled her closer, allowing herself to get lost in the feeling. Gasping when Johanna reached a sensitive spot. Neither heard the elevator arrive.
"I told you she'd be fine," Neil chuckled when Cecelia came to a halt not too far from the couch. Odette's cheeks were burning with embarrassment as she pushed Johanna away from her. "No need to be shy, I'm sure we can find somewhere else to stay for a while."
"On the couch?!" Cecelia said, shaking her head as she brushed past them. "On the couch. I am so happy I don't have kids."
･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.