Can you feel this heart beating in time?

[peeta_bread]

Date & Time: Backdated to the 1st
Location: Unit 301
Characters: Katniss Everdeen (accidentalrebellion), Korra (highlyspirited), and Peeta Mellark
Summary: Peeta and Katniss try to have a serious chat... then Korra happens
Warnings: Possible talk of violence?

He knew that things had happened with Katniss that he didn't know about, at home and here. He was worried Katniss wasn't opening up to him about how she felt, and they really did need to have a chat about their feelings, since they weren't in Panem. It changed things.

So when he asked Katniss to come sit on the sofa next to him, he smiled, trying not to scare her away from the conversation that they desperately needed to have. It was hard, with Rue gone, to see the brightness of being here. But maybe Peeta could cheer her up at the same time.

"Hey," he says, an arm slung over the back of the couch. He's dressed pretty casually, wearing some brown slacks and a soft red shirt, his blond hair slightly messy. "I think we should talk."

Comments

[accidentalrebellion]

Since the bombing stopped, her routine has been the same.

Wake up after somehow managing to drift off to sleep for a short period of time. Slip out. Find some air, or whatever can pass for it in Exsilium, before the ceiling and her nightmares close in on her. (Although it's never a success, not really, because three days underground with shaking walls and constant threat of collapse have brought back some of her oldest, ones that have long been eclipsed by the Games but now return with a vengeance. Night after night, she's doomed to scream for her father to run, and never be heard.)

Avoid having to speak to others as much as possible.

Today, though, she isn't fast enough. Today, she's been cornered. Even if she physically could open the door and walk out, there's a part of her that knows it's too late.

To say that this, the distinct feeling of being trapped, is something she doesn't like would be an understatement. It's evident in the way she doesn't move at all from her standing position not terribly far from the door, in the way she folds her arms across her chest and glares daggers across the room.

Her response is only a single (and very terse) word. "Why?"

[peeta_bread]

He knew this would happen. That she would get uncomfortable and feel trapped and that it would be his fault. He hated that, but he had to stand up for himself now and then, didn't he? He's been walking on eggshells the whole time she's been here.

He sighs. "Look, I know you don't exactly like to sit around and talk, and I'm never going to force you, but at least let me say what I want to say."

Peeta gets up, pacing slowly and running a hand through his hair, making it messier.

"I'm doing my best to make you comfortable. We never... talked much after Rue disappeared. I didn't get to tell you I was sorry, that I knew how much she meant to you. And I'm sorry that you're only here with someone you're mad at and... me. I know you'd rather have a million other people here with you. I know you must think the world is forcing us together. All we've ever been is forced and I don't want that. I've never wanted that."

He's kind of confused himself, so he stops pacing, glancing at Katniss to make sure she's still there.

"I don't want you to be pressured. But it is different here. You don't have to pretend here. And... we're okay here. Neither of us will die... permanently. The option is there now. But no matter what, I want to be your friend."

[braavado]

Whatever Katniss' response is, Peeta might never find out, because at that moment, the door to the apartment opens. In walks Korra, a bag of stuff she'd pilfered from the storage and newbie stalls draped over her shoulder. It makes a dull clack sound against the floor as she drops it unceremoniously and rolls her shoulders.

"Oh hey!" Realizing she's not alone in the room, Korra forces some cheer onto her face, though it ends up looking more like a grimace than a smile. Even her friends, and heck, Tenzin don't get the privilege of seeing her insecurities. Korra dislikes strangers seeing her vulnerable even more.

"Guess what, it looks like I'm your new roommate!"