Wiress waited in agony as the third Quarter Quell card was opened. She kept thinking of horrible things that could be on it, absolutely hellish things that would crush the spirit of every person in the districts. Perhaps it had been a mistake to insist that she needed to watch it alone, but there were some aspects of herself that she didn't want the other victors to see. Not even Beetee, who had twenty years of distance fogging his memory of when he mentored her. Wiress chewed her bottom lip and refocused her attention on the television screen, on President Snow's hateful face as he opened the envelope.
"…the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors."
She fought against the tide of emotion welling inside her, panic beating down at her thoughts, pain pressing against her vision until she wanted to scream. She fought it as hard as she could, all through Beetee pounding on the door, all through him finally using his key, all through him bundling her into his arms and whispering calming words. Thinking of him and knowing he was there pushed back the fear. Beetee. Her friend. Her partner. Her life. Those thoughts won in the end, and she came to herself, sitting on the floor and weeping into Beetee's sweater. He held her so tightly, his fingers curved into her flesh as if he would never let her go. The fear in his eyes showed that he knew the odds as well as she did. Two male and two female victors. It wasn't even difficult math. They wouldn't be safe. "Bee," she whispered. He nodded, listening. "I thought we were done…thought we were safe…" He squeezed her tighter. It wasn't supposed to happen. "I don't want to go back in, Bee."
"You won't," he said. It wasn't a promise he could make.
"I will." Wiress looked into his eyes. She was very serious, having one of her intuitive moments. "I'll go in and I'll die." She closed her eyes, trying to stay calm, calm for Beetee who always tried so hard to take care of her. She wondered if there were other victors doing this exact same thing right now, holding each other and crying.
"Don't say anything like that," Beetee said, his voice full of grief. "You can't die. What would I do without you?" He kissed her eyelids, and they fluttered open at his touch. They touched a lot, she liked that, Beetee's touch always calmed her, but they really didn't kiss. That felt like crossing a line, somehow. As though they could irrevocably intertwine their lives, but it would be safe if they weren't lovers. In the end, it hadn't mattered, had it? They were being punished again; they were losing all pretense of safety. She could admit to herself that she would do anything for this man.
"Could you kiss me again?" She asked, softly. He looked startled, but willing. He leaned in and kissed her eyelids again. "No, my lips," she murmured. He paused, but left his hands on her face. His breath was warm against her cheek. He was moving so slowly, leaving her tense and wanting. His forehead met hers, lips so near. "Yes…" she goaded him. "Kiss me." He smiled slightly, tilted his face to hers. She met him more than halfway, eager to touch him, eager to feel what she had been missing all these years. They had such a connection, such a deep emotional tie to each other that connecting physically just made sense; it just clicked into place and worked immediately, skipping the awkward fumbling of most first kisses. Wiress tugged at his sweater to move him closer, fisting her hands in the soft material. Beetee. Her friend. Her partner. Her life. She began to laugh, almost out of nowhere, just expressing her joy in the face of sadness. She buried her head in Beetee's shoulder, laughing into his sweater, ignoring his bemused expression.
"Wasn't that bad of a kiss," he murmured, causing her to laugh harder. He stroked his hands up her back and into her hair, running his fingers through her dark locks. He nuzzled his face into her hair, waiting patiently for her to get back to her senses. He was used to this, everything except the kiss. He knew how he and Wiress worked together. He had often thought about sleeping together, but he felt so vulnerable, wasn't sure if he could handle that with her, not sure if he could risk his most precious relationship in that way. He truly couldn't lose her, not to death and not to regret. He realized he would regret not having this at least once. This intimacy. So he held her tighter and kissed her hair and neck, ran his lips smoothly over her jaw line. She stopped laughing, going silent at his touch.
"…Beetee?" He kissed the base of her neck, sucked gently where it connected to her shoulder. She sighed in pleasure. "Oh…" He wanted to hear her make that sound again, he wanted that forever. "I love you, Bee." Wiress said softly, cradling his face so their eyes could meet. "Did you know? I don't remember if I said…" she drifted off, eyes looking at nothing outside of her own mind. Beetee smoothed his hand to the base of her head and pulled her mouth to his. Wiress fought through the fog of her bad thoughts, she tried to think only of happiness, only of Beetee, but it was difficult. "Don't die."
He lifted his head. "What?" She stroked his face with a shaking hand. "Don't be reaped, don't die. I can't lose you." He turned his face slightly to kiss her hand.
"I don't want to, Wire. I don't want to leave you at all." Her eyes were very serious.
"I mean it. I can't live without you." Her voice was firm, she needed him to know. "There would be nothing good in this world for me, without you." Her other hand was pressing into her leg, clenched so that the nails were digging into her skin. Beetee held it before she could manage to break her skin. He tenderly opened her hand and kissed the palm. Wiress closed her eyes and sighed. "I can't live without you," she repeated in a whisper. Beetee kissed her, hard this time, his tongue in her mouth. He led her hands to his shoulders and slid his around her waist. He kissed her as if he could push out the pain through the sheer intensity of his passion. It did a pretty good job. Wiress kissed back, pulling his shoulders to her, leaning back and eventually lying on the carpet with him pulled over her. She grabbed his hair, which made him moan in pleasure. "Yes?" she murmured into his mouth. He nodded. She gently pulled at his hair again.
"Wiress, yes!" he moaned, between kisses. He rubbed his hands up and down her sides, thumbs brushing her breasts over and over. She made a frustrated sound and pushed him enough off her so that she could remove her clothes. She practically ripped them off, then helped him tug his sweater over his head, unbutton the shirt beneath. Wiress ran her hands over his warm chest, pressed a kiss to his sternum.
"You're so handsome, Beetee," she said as she fumbled with his zipper. "So, so handsome. Love." Beetee seemed to come to his senses when they were down to just underwear.
"Right here, on the rug?" He scooped her small form in his arms, lifting her to her feet. "Let's get upstairs." Wiress smiled and pulled him by the hand. They abandoned their clothes and raced to her bedroom.
Wiress didn't feel like they needed a bed to make love, she didn't need anything but him. Still, it was much more comfortable to climb onto the soft mattress than it had been on her living room floor. Beetee joined her, kissing her neck and shoulders as she reached for his underwear. She slid them down, making appreciative sounds. "Oh, Bee," she murmured, getting to her hands and knees on the bed. She took him in her mouth immediately, too far gone for any teasing.
Beetee moaned. He hadn't felt this good in…well, ever, probably. "Wiress," he whispered between harried breaths. "Wire, please…I want you…" She removed her mouth and gave him one last lick, smirking up at him. He couldn't stop the little joyful bubble of laughter that erupted. She was so sexy, so wonderful, and his. He slid his hands down her body, removing the last bits of cotton covering her. She straddled his body, letting him look and touch his fill. He touched every place he had ever wanted, the line of her neck just behind her ear, traced her clavicle to where it met her shoulder, cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples. He kept his eyes on her face, watched her expression change with every sensation. He had often wondered why people thought she was difficult to understand, when he was able to read her like a book. She rarely hid her emotions; in fact, she felt everything so strongly that she probably couldn't if she tried.
"Beetee, I'm rather desperate now…" she smiled at him and guided his hands down her sides to settle at her hips. "Please?" He nodded. She could do anything she liked with him. Wiress kissed the side of his face and adjusted their bodies. It was slightly awkward, but neither of them felt embarrassed. She sank down onto his lap as he entered her, Beetee's breath dragging in his throat as he felt her surrounding him. "Oh. Oh, sparks…" she said softly. Her eyes shut halfway and her hands clenched at his hips and stomach. She paused her movement when he was fully inside her, just getting used to the connection, a moment to breathe and just realize what they were doing.
"Wiress." Beetee's voice was soft, unwilling to break much of the peaceful silence. "I've wanted you, loved you…" His thumbs rubbed circles on her hips, just enjoying the feel of skin that was not normally exposed. She smiled back and bit her lower lip as she arched her back, holding him even deeper. He couldn't fight that, he began to move his hips and encourage her to move hers. Wiress sat up, riding his motions smoothly, turning slightly so that every thrust brought her in contact with his pubic bone and perfect friction on her clit. Beetee shifted his hands slightly, fingers caressing her butt. Watching her above him was a dream come true, his own private heaven with the woman he loved. Her breath changed to panting as she sped up, her thrusts more erratic. "Come for me, love," he coaxed, "please come on me." She gasped for air and hummed her pleasure as she shook, limbs tense.
Every sound she made was wordless; it wasn't until she finished and she leaned her weight forward onto his body, limbs loose and languid, that she was able to say his name. "Beetee." She stroked her hand across his chest. "More." He laughed, then. Beetee kissed her face, neck, shoulders, everywhere he could reach. His hands cradled her waist and turned them so he was now pressing her into the mattress. He reentered her smoothly and eagerly, close to desperate for the bliss she could give him. He loved her like this, bodies aligned and pressed together. This was the sort of position Capitol "dates" didn't get. Not this intimacy, not gazing into each others' eyes. Not the kisses and not feeling the small puff of air that escaped her lips with every thrust. He had never felt so close to another human being. Wiress broke eye contact by turning away slightly, shutting her eyes. "I love you so much, Bee…" Her breath hitched as he moved against her.
"More like that?" he asked softly. She nodded, biting her lip. He smiled to himself, very pleased that, even at his age, he could hold off for her to come twice. This masculine pride kept him focused on her, kept him moving his hips in shallow circles and deep thrusts, kept him kissing her neck and touching her breasts until she completely lost herself again. Even if he had had grand delusions of being able to manage a third, he couldn't bear denying himself any longer. She was pulsing around him, moaning his name, digging her fingernails into his arms; everything about the moment was absolutely perfect and his body knew it. He came hard, almost shockingly so, shuddering into Wiress' welcoming body. Behind the haze of pleasure, he heard her soft laughter. A purely happy sound that made him glow inside. He did that. He made her that happy. He had a vague remembrance of the card, the awful reality, but right now he felt fully focused on life and happiness and Wiress' lips as she ran them along his jaw line. "I love you. I really, really love you." He cupped her face gently as he spoke, making sure she heard him.
"I know. I do, too." They lay there, lightly running hands over each other's bodies for a while. It was as though reality couldn't hurt them if they stayed wrapped up in bed. Beetee flattened his palm over Wiress' thigh, feeling how smooth and lovely she was, Wiress looped her arms around Beetee's neck to gaze at his face. "I'll protect you, you know," Wiress murmured, eventually. "If it comes down to it." Beetee shut his eyes, trying to ignore that it would, very likely, come down to it. Wiress brought her mouth close to his ear. "You need to live, my dearest," she whispered. She trailed kisses over his cheek to meet his mouth. She kissed him desperately.
"Let's just stay like this, for now," he responded. She nodded and he held her tightly.