This was not supposed to happen. It was one thing to see Johanna at HeavensBeans. It was safe. It was cozy. It was also a.. thing.. to see Johanna in her room, on her bed. That was not as safe but it was pretty cozy. Waking up with the knowledge that Johanna had tucked her in and left her a note had been confidence-boosting. She had seen Johanna at the open mic nights enough, out of her typical black shirt attire. That was okay. That was safe.
But this was not supposed to happen.
Madge had practically begged Katniss to take her to the Training Center in the middle of campus where the athletes or other fitness-minded alums would make use of the swimming pool, track, gymnastics and other fitness machines. Rows of treadmills against the wall next to stationary bikes and other contraptions that looked to Katniss like medieval torture devices. Donning her ill-fitting sweatpants rolled below her knee and long high school t-shirt, she and Madge had walked the cold distance between their dorm to the center. It was fairly late at night, around 8pm, so they had assumed the place would be deserted.
It wasn't.
Johanna was there. Not only was Johanna there, Katniss thought as she stood dumbly in the doorway, but she was ...fighting. She stood in the center of a boxing ring, clad in some tiny shorts that just had to be illegal and a sports bra that criss-crossed behind her back. Her hair was tied up messily behind her, her boxing gloves held tightly to her face. Katniss didn't recognize the man in the ring with her, but he didn't matter. She gulped as she watched Johanna bounce back and forth on the balls of her feet, dodging swipes by her opponent.
"C'mon, lightweight. Actually try to hit me. God, it's like sparring with my grandfather." Johanna's swing made contact with the man's jaw and he stumbled back toward the ropes. "Scratch that. My grandfather would've seen that right hook coming and he went blind in his left eye sixty fucking years ago."
The man stumbled toward the corner of the ring, smacking his glove against the bell. Evidently that meant the match was over because Johanna pouted and dropped her gloves to her sides. The guy grabbed a towel, wiping his face and around the back of his neck. He had auburn hair to match an auburn beard, looking around the same age as Johanna. "You win, Jesus H. Christ."
"You're damn right I won." Johanna grabbed her own towel and wrapped it around her neck, crawling out from between the ropes and hopping down from the ring. She grabbed a nearby water bottle and shot the liquid into her mouth, then some along her face. She wiped it off with the towel and began shaking out her arms. Madge had long moved on to the treadmills, but Katniss stood firmly in the doorway. Johanna's body was ...incredible. Slim legs with muscles that Katniss could practically feel pulsing. An abdomen with just the faintest hint of defined muscles. Katniss saw the peek of a tattoo just above the rolled waistband of her shorts. Another small tattoo was partially obscured by her bra.
She turned around and stretched to her toes, giving Katniss a spectacular view that dried her throat. There was a small tattoo on the back of her thigh that Katniss could just make out the design. It was a set of dates and two atoms. Even if she was up close she wouldn't be able to tell those atoms from any other. How was this even fair? Johanna couldn't be kind of nerdy and hot and witty and sweaty and fit. You don't get to be all of those things. Nobody actually gets to be Alex Vause.
Indignant about her own staring she wandered off toward the sections of the center. Everything was fairly high tech, what with Panem's collegiate athletic record being what it was, so it was no surprise that the money from the school got funneled here instead of, say, her prison-like dorm. Giddily she saw that were was an archery range. Gale had told her that Panem had an archery team but Katniss had refused to participate. Archery was something she hadn't done since her father died.
She grabbed an appropriately sized bow and set up obstacles for herself with the small glass computer monitor. The doors closed behind her and she took her stance in the middle of the room. It had been a long time since she had hit any targets with an arrow, but it was sort of like riding a bicycle. The targets began falling from the ceiling, moving up and down like a shotgun practice range.
With deliberate precision she fired off the arrows and hit the targets one by one. With one arrow she hit two of the targets, the arrow having sailed through the first one. The targets changed, morphing into orange cube animals that began coming at her. She moved around the room with ease, rolling on her shoulder and taking down what looked like an 8-bit bengal tiger.
She lost track of time in there. When the machine finally powered down, sweat was dripping from her forehead and making her forearms glisten. She returned the bow to the stand and as she got to the glass sliding doors, saw Johanna standing there, arms crossed over her chest. The doors opened for her and she stepped out toward Johanna, who didn't move out of her way.
"Nice shootin' there Robin Hood."
Katniss blushed and smiled shyly, giving a glance back to the glass-enclosed space. Her eyes returned to Johanna, whose hands were still wrapped from her boxing. Her body still glistened with sweat, making the ink of her tattoos appear like fresh pen on paper. "Thanks. I used to go hunting with my dad as a kid."
Johanna made an impressed gesture with her mouth and then returned her lips to their usual smirk. Even here, face devoid of make-up and sweating, she was incredibly sexy. Not that women needed make-up to be sexy, but Johanna's darkened eyelids always added to her femme fatale look, but evidently she didn't need it. "You gotta come on laser tag night. I think it's Wednesday nights? They even have a bow. You can do your little Merida routine there."
"Merida?"
"You never saw Brave?" Katniss shook her head. "Oh my God! Katniss, Merida is like your spirit animal. I can't believe you've never watched it."
Katniss blushed and looked up from beneath hooded lids. "Maybe you can fix that for me, then."
"Is that so?" Johanna stepped forward, tilting her head to the side. A little droplet of sweat fell from her forehead and Katniss watched it fall to the floor, very slowly bringing her eyes to meet the intense brown gaze that was being leveled at her. "Will do, Mockingjay. Will do."
Katniss ducked her gaze and took a tiny step back. "So tell me how do you have the stamina for all this when you smoke?"
Johanna rolled her eyes. "Still on about my smoking?"
"Yes I'm still on about it. You're killing yourself." Katniss had made mention of Johanna's smoking once or twice since the day they had walked to her dorm. It's not that it made Johanna less attractive, it simply hurt Katniss's feelings that she would want to harm herself. She perked up and smirked at Johanna. "How about this. If you start to quit smoking, I will sing at one of the open mic nights when we get back to school next semester."
Johanna raised an eyebrow and mused upon Katniss's offer. She licked along her lips and nodded. "Okay, you've got a deal." She held out her hand and the two women exchanged a firm handshake. Johanna used that as leverage to pull Katniss forward and lean into her ear. "I can't wait to make you sing, Mockingjay." She pulled back, her face close as she winked at Katniss before turning and walking away.
Katniss expelled a breath she had been holding, then broke it into a wide smile.
"So let me get this straight."
"Yes."
"You come here nearly every other day and get a drink."
"Yes."
"You talk to her like every day."
"Yes."
"And yet, neither one of you has had the confidence to ask the other out? What are you waiting for, a rolled out red carpet and a bunch of bright lights leading you to her pants?"
Katniss slapped Gale's arm returned her hands to clasp around her latte. Having gone through all the regular menu items, she was now on to ordering what the specials were for the day. Today's was "Peppermint Butler" - complete with a drawing on the board of the Adventure Time character. It was a peppermint latte with a small drizzle of chocolate and a few white chocolate shavings on the top.
"It's not..." Gale rolled his eyes and Katniss sighed. "I'm waiting for her to make a move! She's so much better at words than me. I have that problem where she looks at me and I just... with words..." Katniss's voice trailed off as she caught Johanna's gaze from across the shop, and the other girl winked in her direction.
"Yeah, I've noticed." Gale smiled at his friend and shook his head with a soft chuckle. "Look, you both clearly like each other. Just ask her out. What's the worst that could happen?"
Katniss's gray eyes enlarged as she looked back to Gale. Surely he was kidding. "The worst that could happen? She could say no!" Gale didn't react. Guys could be so unbearably dense. Especially handsome guys like Gale who never got turned down. "And then I can't come here anymore. And..and she'll date someone else and I'll die alone with Buttercup."
Gale ran his fingers through his hair, taking a long sip of his tea. "First of all, you won't die alone. Second of all, Buttercup doesn't like you." Katniss frowned sourly as Gale shifted his weight in the seat. "And she won't say no. She's done nothing but stare at you for the," he glanced down at his phone, "three hours we've been here."
"Okay but obviously she thinks I'm some kind of weirdo since she hasn't asked me out and I've been stalking her at her job for four months." Katniss heaved a dramatic sigh and sat back in her chair. Johanna was chatting up some girl at the bar. Katniss's eyes narrowed considerably as she watched the girl giggle nervously. What was Johanna saying? Was she flirting with her?
"Listen." Katniss wasn't listening. She was trying to hear the conversation over the din of the shop, which was an impossibility. "Katniss." Katniss begrudgingly turned her attention to Gale, who looked more than exasperated at her dramatics. "The BKP frat is holding a party this weekend. I happen to know for a fact that Johanna will be there. Why don't we go? Bring Madge if you want."
"How do you know she'll be there?"
"Because everyone who is anyone will be there. It's a big deal on campus." Katniss didn't know Johanna was an "anyone" but she was interested in this party. Maybe the flow of alcohol would bring one of them the confidence they needed to ask out the other. Maybe it would be like in all those college movies where they would dance and the sexual tension would be too much and they'd stumble into an unused bedroom. She'd press Johanna against the door, kissing her madly and tasting the alcohol the faint cigarette taste of her mouth. Johanna would take the lead, grabbing Katniss under her ass and wrapping her legs around her waist, leading them both to the bed. She'd grin wickedly as she shrugged off her leather jacket and bit her lip.
"I literally don't even want to know what you're thinking about because you just went beet red." Gale flipped the hood up on his sweatshirt and grabbed his backpack, hefting it over his shoulder and shaking his head with disdain. "It's at the BKP frat house over on Maple Street. Eleven on Saturday night. I'll see you there, Catnip."
Katniss watched as Johanna bit her lip in the same manner we had just imagined, but at something the girl had said. What did this girl have that Katniss didn't have? Clearly she could hold a conversation. Her hair and make-up looked professionally done, but she was probably just one of those girls that knew how to do her make-up. Unlike Katniss who had to watch YouTube tutorials and had been wearing the same braid since she was six years old. Her shirt was low-cut, more than necessary in the cold December weather.
December had creeped up slowly. Finals were winding down and the campus would be deserted soon, everyone going home for break. Katniss was looking forward to spending the extended holiday with her family, but she was nervous about Johanna. They wouldn't see each other for weeks. What if Johanna forgot all about her? What if she hooked up with this cleavagey slut bomb with her cute face and her social graces? Katniss stared miserably down at her drink, feeling more out of her league than before.
Madge had been so thrilled that Katniss wanted to go to a party. Katniss never wanted to go to parties and she was thrilled to finally be able to accompany her. She deliberated what to wear for about three hours before they went to the party. Maple Street was very close to their dorm so they opted for light jackets over their sweaters. Katniss had decided on a very dark wash of blue jeans with heels, a dangling belt to match the long mockingjay necklace she had on.
The party was louder than Katniss had imagined. The music could be heard clearly a block away, a pounding house beat that Katniss could feel in her heart. Madge seemed to be excited by the noise and began jumping up and down as they neared the front door. Katniss already began regretting her decision to come to the party. Two couples were making out on the porch, loudly slobbering all over each other.
Katniss grimaced as they entered the front door. A burly frat guy in a sweater approached them drunkenly. "Ladies! Welcome to ..the party! The keg is over here, help yourselves." He smelled sour like stale beer and milk. Madge nodded and got them both cups from the tap, handing the red solo cup to Katniss.
"I know you wanna find Johanna," Madge yelled into Katniss's ear, "I'm gonna go find Gale. Have fun!" She quickly hugged Katniss, who did not return the hug, and weaved her small form through the pulsing throng of bodies in the main room of the converted home. Katniss sighed and sipped the beer, grimacing at the taste. So much for getting drunk tonight; the beer tasted like cold urine.
She heard some commotion in the kitchen so she made her way there. It also seemed to be the farthest from the speakers that felt like they were going to shake the picture frames from the walls. When she arrived in the oddly quaint looking kitchen, she was surprised to see Johanna, surrounded by a group of people. On the table was a bizarre pile of things all being balanced on their edges. A solo cup, two forks, a toothpick, a knife, someone's smart phone, two shot glasses and she was currently trying to place a salt shaker at the very top. It was like kitchen accessories jenga, but all very precise. Everyone in the room became quiet as she finally found the right location.
"All about weight distribution..." Finally she let her hands go and everything balanced perfectly. The group around her all clapped and cheered wildly; someone handed Johanna a shot. "Physics, bitch!" she cheered as she raised up the shot and knocked it back. Through the excited coeds she caught Katniss's eye and looked incredibly surprised to see her. But happy.
Before Katniss could approach a large guy stepped into her view. He was sort of classically attractive in the face with dusty blond hair and bright green eyes, chiseled cheekbones. He was overly muscled in just about every area, his biceps seeming to look for escape from his shirt. "What's up?"
Katniss flared her nostrils in response. "Nothing."
"Oh yeah? That's cool, that's cool." He took a sip from his cup, furthering the stinking beer breath he had working for him that nearly made Katniss vomit. "Haven't seen you at these parties before. You a Frosh?"
Frosh. Katniss groaned and rolled her eyes. "Can we not? This," she motioned between them with her cup, "is not going anywhere. I am not interested. I'm sure there's some drunk girl you can chat up with your crazy nice bone structure and huge muscles."
The boy smirked, flexing his arm as he took another sip from his cup. "You uh, noticed my muscles?" He took a step into Katniss's personal bubble and she gripped her drink tightly. "People think it's about the gains, you know. The proteins. I tell 'em it's just about liftin' a lot of weight. I could probably lift you up with one arm. Wanna see?"
"Gloss, how about you go try to find a couple of your brain cells somewhere, hm?" Johanna asked from the right side of the boy, canting her head to the side. Her black and red streaked hair fell over her face as she stared up at the imposing figure. She came around to Katniss's side, throwing her arm over Katniss's shoulder. The taller girl looked briefly toward Johanna whose intense gaze was settled on Gloss. Katniss got lost in the scent of Johanna's sweat and her body wash. It smelled kinda masculine like pine. Maybe Irish Spring or something.
Gloss rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Shouldda figured she was a dyke."
Katniss felt Johanna's entire body go rigid. Something told her that those words were not okay to be spoken in front of Johanna. "What did you say?" Johanna asked in the lowest, raspiest, most threatening tone Katniss thought she had ever heard. It perversely turned her on. Great.
"You heard me." He tilted his head for emphasis. "Dyke."
"Katniss, do you mind?" Johanna handed Katniss her drink and the girl took it without question. "For the record?" Johanna slid her palms up Gloss's chest, pressing against his pectorals. "I'm fucking bisexual you dumb fucking inbred douchecanoe." Her fist shot back and forth with such quickness Katniss could barely blink before Gloss stumbled backwards and the sound of bone cracking was heard even over the music.
"Hey Cash. Why don't you get your brother an ice pack? And maybe a new fucking brain because his isn't working so well tonight." An equally attractive blonde girl with long curly hair scrambled over toward the boy, physically restraining him from retaliating. Johanna laughed in his face and took her drink from Katniss. "C'mon kid. Join me outside for a second."
Katniss followed her instructions, going outside through a side door she hadn't seen through the many people admiring Johanna's physics feat in the kitchen. The cold night air hit her like a slap in the face. Her decision to wear a light jacket was pretty stupid. Johanna opened her pocket and removed a piece of gum from a packet, popping it in her mouth.
"You didn't have to do that, you know. I'm capable of handling a drunken dude hitting on me."
Johanna raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms, hugging herself from the cold. "I know you can. I just..." Her voice trailed off as she stared down at her boots. "I didn't like it, is all." She took another piece of gum out and faced the white and red packaging toward Katniss. "See? Quitting." The gum was not even nicotine-based. It was a cinnamon gum. Katniss smiled. "Well I've gotta do something with my mouth. This makes me irritable as fuck."
I can think of about one thousands things you can do with that mouth. As she pocketed the gum Katniss's eyes went down toward her hand. She grasped it from Johanna with a gasp. "Oh no. You're bleeding." Her fingers brushed over the reddened wounds on Johanna's hand and the girl jerked her hand but Katniss held firmly on to her palm. "You should clean this up. Put some ice on it." Her sisterly instincts took over. "Come on."
She practically dragged Johanna back inside the house, ignoring the people who called Johanna's name. No, this was her time. Her night. Her last chance to do something, say something to Johanna to make sure they didn't forget each other over break. She wandered around until she found a bathroom. They waited patiently outside the door. "This isn't necessary, Katniss. I'm fine."
Katniss flicked her eyes toward Johanna with a short-tempered glare. "Your hand is bleeding because of me. At least let me help you." Johanna huffed and Katniss squeezed her palm. "Please? It'll make me feel better."
She pouted her lips a little and it seemed to win Johanna over, clearly to her annoyance. "Fine." The girl in the bathroom finally emerged and Katniss shot her a look of disdain before pulling Johanna in behind her. The older girl locked the door and as she turned around, saw Katniss holding up some antibiotic cream and some white gauze. Her face flashed surprise. "Wow, you were serious."
"Of course I was serious. Why else would I have pulled you in here?" Katniss rolled her gray eyes and took Johanna's hand, running it under the faucet. She dabbed it with a nearby towel, wiping the excess blood. Johanna had amazing hands - strong, but feminine. A little roughness to her fingertips and palm but still soft enough to be pliable under pressure. "Doesn't look too bad."
"Thanks, Dr. Katniss Everdeen." Katniss shot her a look and began applying the salve. Johanna's hand tensed under the touch but to her credit, she didn't wince. Katniss slowly wrapped her hand in the white gauze, using her teeth to pull it apart and tucked it underneath the wrapping. Without any tape or pins, that would have to do. Besides, it was just a scrape. "Good as new."
Katniss sighed and put the things she had taken out back inside the medicine cabinet. "At least you'll have something to remember me by," she mumbled under her breath, unable to face the other girl. Johanna's gauzed hand came up to her chin and gently moved her head to the side so they were facing each other. She moved her body in accordance, seeing the smirk on Johanna's face.
"And what should I give you to remember me by? Other than a fairly impressive stack of cups?" Katniss blushed and darted her gaze to the ugly yellow shower curtain to the right. What a putrid color. Johanna's fingers squeezed her chin a little and she brought her attention back. "Oh I know." Katniss could've sworn it was a dream. Though it was a dream, they wouldn't be in the vaguely vomit-smelling bathroom of a crowded frat house. But that didn't matter. As Johanna leaned her face in close and very tenderly placed her lips on Katniss's, all she could hear and smell was Johanna. The taste of cinnamon on her lips as they moved against her own, the smell of pine coming from within her shirt, the faint smell of vanilla and alcohol in her hair.
The hand that was on her chin snaked around her neck, deepening the kiss with a swipe of her cinnamon tongue. The other hand slowly traced down her back until she got to Katniss's backside, squeezing it and pulling their bodies flush. Katniss groaned wantonly into the kiss, running both her hands through Johanna's hair and then gripping her shoulders. Like magic Johanna's hands were underneath her knees, grabbing her and lifting her off the ground until she sat on the edge of the porcelain sink. Johanna's fingernails dragged under the back of her shirt, grazing her skin as her lips moved down her jaw to her neck.
It was only then that Katniss realized what Johanna was going to give her. Not just this amazing kiss. She felt teeth on her neck and the pressure of lips just where her neck met her shoulders. Johanna sucked hard, then gently ran her tongue over the small wound in an attempt to appease the enflamed skin. Then she gripped the back of Katniss's neck and sucked hard once more, pushing a rather unladylike moan from Katniss's throat. Who knew something so painful could feel so good?
Johanna kissed the bruise - the hickey - and then brought her magical lips back to Katniss's, kissing her again slowly with a less frenzied purpose. Instead the kisses were long and passionate, punctuating with small licks and the tugging of teeth. Katniss heard Johanna breathe her name in between kisses, her voice somewhere between a whisper and a moan. It was beautiful.
Johanna moved away from her, still standing between Katniss's thigh on the sink. "Think you'll remember me now, Mockingjay?"
Katniss panted out a short laugh and nodded. "I think so. But I might need a reminder when we get back."
Johanna cocked an eyebrow and leaned in close. Katniss's breath hitched in her throat in anticipation of another kiss. "Count on it." There was no kiss. Just a licking of her lips and a breeze out the door. Katniss sighed happily and rested her head against the mirror. She already wanted the winter break to be over.
Author's Note: Yay thanks for all the love for this AU! Keep it comin'! It feeds the ego. :3
To the anon guest: Yes, Dum Spiro Spero is fairly common. It happens to actually be on the Mason crest. It's common for those with Anglo-Saxon heritage, like from England and Ireland.
I'm glad y'all enjoyed my little OITNB thing in there. I love me some Vause. To the person who's never seen it - Season 1 is on DVD which means you can probably get it online somewhere fo' free. OR, out of context, someone has all of the Alex/Piper (the main lez OTP) moments on YouTube from the past 2 seasons.