A/N: Thank you so much for the response, I hope this holds up to the expectations!
Peeta groaned and stretched his tired limbs, his back arching from the stiff mattress before meeting resistance. He opened his eyes curiously and spotted the restraints. Oh right, that.
He still couldn't believe he had been outwitted by her.
"There's nothing in the water"
What had he been thinking. Of course there was something in the water. Why else would she be pointedly drinking it? He had been so eager to get her into bed that he hadn't seen the most obvious indicator. He balled his fists in frustration and pounded them against the mattress as roughly as his restraints would allow. How could he have been so stupid?
He glared down towards his crotch. Yep. That was why.
Something had changed in the tension on the wrist bands, and Peeta noted that they weren't secured with buckles, like the one across his chest, rather elaborate looking knots. He wasn't an expert in knots, but he recognized this one. It was one of the more complex variations, one that was nearly impossible to unravel, with a series of twists and loops that only tightened to more one tried to loosen them. That was, if they were tied correctly.
Peeta flexed his wrist enough to untuck the tail of the knot, which allowed for him to adjust the tension freely without much suspicion. He worked the strap halfway down his hand, certain that he would be able to slip free when necessary, then secured the bindings.
The door to his cell creaked open and Katniss slipped inside. "Feeling better?" she asked, barely able to contain her amusement. She'd changed out of the tight red dress she had worn on their date, in favor of dark jeans and shirt. Her intricate braid that was tucked at the nape of her neck now dangled down her back. "You took quite the tumble out there."
He couldn't remember falling, in fact he couldn't remember much of anything once they exited the restaurant. He was a little sore on his left side, and when he inspected the exposed length of skin up his arm, he noticed a few new scrapes, probably from hitting the pavement.
His eyes narrowed to slits. "What was in the water?" he said, but it was less of a question and more of a demand.
"I didn't tell you?" she said, feigning shock. "I take a little sweetener in mine. Some like sugar but I prefer this serum from berries. Makes most tired, apparently, I must have worked up a tolerance for it. I'm actually surprised you were so susceptible, or do they skip that poison at the academy?"
Sleep serum, he lifted his head and dropped it roughly against the limp pillow behind him at his stupidity. "Most of our threats didn't grow up eating twigs and berries off the forest floor," he said with an annoyed groan.
"Shame for you, isn't it?"
"Okay," he said. Sitting up on his elbows as far as his chest restraint would allow, he looked at her tiredly. "You've had your fun, what do you want?"
Katniss crossed the room so that she stood at the foot of his bed. "I want to know who you work for," she said, folding her arms over her chest.
He looked at her dumbly, as if he were missing the punchline to a joke. "I thought that was already established."
"I don't believe that you work for the Capitol." She stepped closer until her hip rocked against the mattress. "Who do you work for?"
"You're going to have to do a little more than that to get me to talk, sweetheart," Peeta said, shaking his head with mild amusement until suddenly, Katniss's fist connected with his crotch. His arms and legs retracted in pain, but the leather straps held them firmly in place. He winced, his eyes tightly shut and he could see stars behind his lids.
"Don't call me sweetheart, Goldilocks" she said, her finger pointing roughly into his chest.
Peeta coughed, still gasping for air. Tears were burning the corners of his eyes, but he refused to relent. Instead he fixed his steady gaze on her.
"You're not particularly pretty," he said. Katniss set her jaw into a scowl and narrowed her eyes. "Honestly I don't know what I was thinking. You spend your adolescence building up a fantasy, jerking off to some image, but then in the light of day, you realize just how wrong you were."
"Well that's unfortunate for you." She reached for the strap securing his wrist and pulled on it until his fingers turned red. Peeta held his hand perfectly still, hoping she wouldn't realize how loose the knot was when she let go. "Too bad you don't have time to mull that over, you seem to be a bit tied up right now."
He grunted, his hand balling in an out of a fist enough to stretch the band out and maintain circulation. "When do I get a real agent?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Amateur hour has been fun and all, but I'm getting a bit impatient here."
"If I'm not a real agent, what does that make you? Because if we're ranking based off current positions I think I'd come out on top."
He smirked. "By all means then, come aboard," he said, opening up his palms as a beckoning gesture into his lap. Katniss merely glared at him, and Peeta let out a genuine chuckle. "I wouldn't be so arrogant, Agent Everdeen. Have you ever considered that the only reason I'm stuck here right now is because I want to be."
"Shackled and degraded?" she arched an intrigued eyebrow. "That's disconcerting. What? Did your mother not hug you enough?"
"You have no idea," he mumbled, letting out a sharp breath as if he had been punched. Quickly, he regained his confidence and grinned at her. "I meant, alone in a dark room with you. The handcuffs were optional, but definitely preferable."
Unamused Katniss rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Wait," Peeta called out, still chuckling. "I haven't even propositioned you yet."
"You've propositioned me plenty," she snapped over her shoulder.
"And that didn't leave you the least bit curious?" he said. Back at the restaurant he had seen her change in posture. The way she leaned into his touch, her tongue wetting her lips at his advances. She was attracted to him, he could work with that.
Her fingertips lingered on the handle, and her chin turned towards him just enough for him to see her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks. "All right," she finally said. "Enlighten me. How does a real spy operate?"
Peeta's lips turned up into a satisfied grin. "I can appreciate the setup," he said, nodding towards the restraints. "But I'd at least have the decency to undress them first. The key is to make your subject feel comfortable. They have to be able to trust you. How could I possibly trust you after all you've put me through?"
"And having sex with you will earn that?" she asked, unconvinced.
"From some people, maybe," he mused. "Intimacy is like a drug. It provokes a false feeling of security – to be so vulnerable. But if you want to make that connection, there has to be some sort of emotion behind it."
"Which you're immune to," she said, the interest in her tone surprising to him. "It's your sleep serum."
He considered this for a moment and shrugged his shoulder smugly. "Sorry sweetheart, guess you're going to have to think up your own strategy then."
"Not necessarily," she said, and she crossed the cell in a few strides, her eyes lighting up suddenly in a way that made him nervous. "I don't think you're as strong willed as you think. You said you had feelings for me."
"I thought I did," he said carefully, his body tightening in anticipation as she glided around the cot, just out of his reach. "But the allure is quickly fading."
She arched a curious eyebrow, her fingers ghosting along the fly of his slacks without warning. His cock betrayed him, twitching eagerly to meet her hand, and she grinned, satisfied. "You sure about that?" She cupped him more firmly and his erection swelled into her palm.
"I'm still not talking," he said, but he shuddered when she began to stroke him through his pants, his eyes twisting shut. He could feel the heat of her body hovering over him. Her scent was intoxicating. Sugar and pine. Suddenly he really liked the smell of sugar and pine, it was his new favorite thing.
"I wasn't asking you to." she murmured into his ear, eliciting a groan from deep in the back of his throat. Her nimble fingers moved deliberately slow as they unfastened the button on his pants, and it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted when she released him from his boxer briefs.
His eyes felt glazed over as he watched her look him over. She chewed her bottom lip between her teeth, before her gray eyes looked up at him from beneath her lashes. "Is this where I gape at the stature of your endowment?" she said, her voice so languid it sounded like she was purring.
He could remember saying something like this to him before, in the haze of his prepubescent fantasies, when she stared in his dreams often. His lips felt incredibly dry, and his tongue darted out to wet them before he laughed uneasily. "You wouldn't be the first."
"Do you want me to touch you?" she whispered into his ear.
"Yes," he said, his hips lifting off the mattress in anticipation.
"Who do you work for?"
The air deflated from his chest and he collapsed against the mattress. "Really?" he asked, incredulous. "Is that all I get?"
"You get what your information warrants," she reasoned.
"No, no, no," he said shaking his head. "That's not how the game works. You give me what I want, and then I return the favor."
"I've decided to adjust my strategy. How does torture sound?" she said, her fingers stroking along his abdomen, teasingly close to his cock.
"It certainly doesn't feel good," he groaned.
"Just give me the information I'm looking for." Her lips were grazing along his earlobe, and he could feel her teeth nip at the sensitive flesh as she spoke. "And I'll be happy to give you a hand."
She was so cocky in her coupe, he nearly let her revel in her victory. But his ego wouldn't allow it. "Fine," he said.
She smiled, and nodded for him to continue.
"If you're not going to take care of this, then I will."
Her eyes widened as he shifted his hips to tuck himself back into his boxer briefs. He thrusted against the elastic waistband to pump along his length, increasing in speed. This hadn't been the first time he'd found himself in this situation. It wasn't something that they had taught at the academy, but he wasn't the only student who had learned the technique of getting off while in a bind. It was practically an initiation in the dormitory.
"Stop, what are you doing?" she said, rushing to still his movements.
"Foiling your power play," he said, his hips lifting off the mattress, despite her protest.
She scowled with disgust and moved back for the door. "I don't have time for this."
"I was just teasing," he laughed, scooting himself down the mattress to tuck himself back into his pants. "I don't mean to give you a hard time, really. I want to help you. I'm serious Katniss," his voice grew somber. "These answers that you're looking for. They're bigger than both of us, and I need for you to trust me. You asked a question before, I'm willing to give you an answer. With some provisions."
"I'm listening," she said.
Her people were listening, that much was obvious - they'd be foolish not to. Peeta's eyes scanned the cell, which seemed to be entirely metal, most likely to interfere with any tracking devices he could be wearing . If the room were bugged, they'd need some sort of receiver to get the signal out. "How's the service in here?" he asked, his eyebrow quirking in case she hadn't caught the hint.
"Why?" she said carefully. "Do you need to make a phone call?"
"No, I'm fine just talking with you, but I'd prefer if we weren't on the party line."
Her eyes flitted towards a control panel beside the door, and she chewed on her lip thoughtfully. After a moment she shook her head.
"Come on, Katniss, we've already established that you can handle me just fine," he said, wiggling his fingers and toes to emphasize his incapacitation. "Do you really need a babysitter for your interrogation?"
Her gaze met his challengingly, and she flipped open the panel. "Authorized," she said into the wall before killing the lights on the device.
"Clip the antennas too," Peeta insisted. She fussed over the wires before displaying both disconnected wires as confirmation. She moved to his cot and adjusted the metal joints underneath, so that he was sitting up facing her, instead of laying on his back, staring at the ceiling.
She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him expectantly, ready for him to talk.
"Now strip," he said.
"Pardon me?" she said, her eyebrows lifting curiously. "Who's giving orders here?"
"You're wearing a wire," he said. "I'm not talking to wires."
"I turned off the transmitter," she argued. "Nobody can hear you but me."
He laughed. "I wasn't born yesterday, I know you're still recording it. If you want my statement, it'll have to be off record. I'm sure you can keep pretty good enough mental notes to cover the important details."
She pressed her lips together, shaking her head in disbelief, before she lifted her shirt - only to her ribcage, and peeled away the wire that was taped to her stomach. She loosened the receiver from the inside of her belt and presented them to him.
"Not good enough," he said, unsatisfied. "Anything with buttons I want gone." She shook her head adamantly at the request. "Aren't you the least bit curious? I tell a really compelling story."
She trained her eyes on him, weighing her options before she began to unfasten each tiny button on her shirt. She slipped the black material from her shoulders and tossed it at his face, obscuring his view. Peeta struggled against his restraints to push the fabric away, and greedily watched her breasts bounce in the lacy demi-cut bra that was barely hidden behind the dress she wore earlier that night.
"Satisfied?" she said impatiently, once her jeans had been removed.
It was difficult to inspect her clothing with his arms tied, all he could really do was flick at each button with his thumb, which didn't really tell him much. The fact that Katniss was bending over backwards to accommodate him made him pretty certain that she wasn't trying to pull another one over on him. He wasn't quite convinced yet, though.
"Come here, I'm going to check you for ticks."
Her eyes clouded with something unfamiliar. She looked nervous, suspicious, intrigued. She looked like she was thinking too much. She stepped to the edge of his cot, barely outside of his reach. "Turn around," he said. Slowly, she obliged, spinning until her back was to him. He stretched against the leather strap, loosening it just far enough to graze the curve of her ass, and upon the contact she drifted another step towards him. Peeta smoothed his fingers over the rough lace. Dipping between her legs to capture the heat that was pooling there.
He chanced a quick glance at her. Her neck stretched to watch him, while her face struggled to hide her pleasure. Peeta grinned. "Can you come a bit closer? I think I need to take a better look."
"Why would I have a wire in my underwear?" she said, but turned to face him, closing the distance between them so that her legs brushed the edge of his bed.
"Considering my original offer, I wouldn't put it passed you." He slipped his hand between her thighs, stroking up the sensitive flesh before rubbing against her underwear. Her knees buckled, and she braced herself against him. He applied more pressure, his finger tracing along her slit through the fabric, and he smirked at the moisture that had collected there. "I'm glad you're enjoying this as much as I am."
She scowled at him, but her hips rocked against his palm when his thumb grazed her tight bundle of nerves. "What are you doing?" she breathed.
He used his fingers to spread her folds and offer him better access. He pressed his thumb firmly against her and drew tight circles against her clit. "Seeing how loud you're willing to get before you think somebody will hear." She sighed loudly, her fingers wrapping his forearm to keep her grounded. "That's how I know nobody is listening, because I'm pretty sure regardless of the outcome, this part will be omitted from your debriefing."
She hissed when the speed of his ministration increased. "I've got nothing to hide," she whimpered.
"Believe me," his eyes traced every one of her toned, olive curves. "I can see that." His pace slowed, and he switched to long even strokes, teasing her from the edge of her orgasm. She bucked against his hand eagerly before restraining herself, trying to regain her composure.
"You hate that you're attracted to me," he said with a smirk. "It must be driving you crazy that I'm getting under your skin. To you sexuality is a weakness, and because you can usually resist the temptations, you think you're stronger than the rest of us. But avoiding the things that you want doesn't make you better, Katniss, it makes you too pure to play this game."
"I'm not pure," she said, nearly scoffing at the suggestion.
"Show me then," he said, withdrawing his hand. "I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong."
She seemed to consider the challenge for a moment. Her lips pursed thoughtfully, but her eyes were too heavy with lust to resist the temptation. Her lips crashed against his, slanting to mold her mouth against his, kissing him hungrily. She sank onto the cot, framing his waist with her knees to hover above him.
Peeta struggled against his restraints, wanting more than anything to pin her beneath his weight and take control. He gripped at the ties around his wrists and arched his back as far as it would go against his chest strap to meet her lips. The knot around his wrist went lip, and his mouth froze against hers.
It was then that he decided to free his other hand as well. He bunched the binding in his hand, drawing it slowly to her waist. He dragged his fingers up her sides, brushing her breasts for entirely selfish purposes before he grasped her wrists. It took a moment for Katniss to realize what was happening, and by the time she could react, her hands were bound above her head.
"I like this position a bit better," he said, tying off the ends of the straps until they firmly secured her hands into place. Katniss struggled against the bindings and kicked her legs frantically to free herself until Peeta gripped her hips tightly to still her struggle.
"Here's the deal," he began calmly, lifting his head and craning his neck to maintain eye contact with her. "I'm going to pass along a piece of sensitive information to you that will be somewhat beneficial to your organization - strategically, however, it won't be of any major significance. That's going to be our cover story for this exchange because, obviously, I wouldn't want anything incriminating pointing back to me."
Her face was like stone - eyes on fire from his betrayal and her jaw set, as she stared him down like a wild animal that had been contained.
"Understood," she said, the edge on her voice softening.
"Once the tip I give you is confirmed by your superiors, you're going to release me, so that I can get back to my hotel before people start to notice I'm missing."
"We're not just going to let you go," she said, shaking her head adamantly.
He chuckled at her protest. "You can either let me go, or I'll leave on my own," he said. She was no longer fighting to get away, so he released one hand from her hip to pluck at her bra strap. "But you're going to be stuck in here, shackled and in your underwear for your partners to find you. I'm sure that's a sight that won't be easily forgotten."
"Fine," she said, her face hardening with a scowl. "I let you go. Then what?"
"You come with me," he said, as if it were the obvious conclusion.
Her eyes widened, incredulous. "No way."
He sighed, and began to unbuckle the restraint across his chest. "That's because I haven't convinced you yet. Ask me again."
She watched his hands carefully as he worked to free himself, her expression unreadable as she considered her next move.
"Ask you what?" she said, slightly distracted.
He rolled his eyes, growing impatient. "Who do I work for?" She nodded her head prompting for him to continue. "The Capitol, right?"
"You're not loyal at least," she said, more curious than combative now. Shifting her legs, she adjusted herself so that she was sitting beside him while he went to free the rest of his ties. "And if you don't work for the Capitol, then you work for Thirteen, but I'm finding that hard to believe since we've put up an awfully hard effort to sabotage one another."
"I don't work for any of those organizations," he said. The last knot around his ankle was actually done correctly, and it took him longer to untangle it than he cared for her to notice. Finally he worked the strap free, and let out a content sigh. "I work for my self. And I look out for the people I take interest in."
"Like Delly?"
With all his limbs free, he slipped off the cot and stretched the stiffness from his joints.
"She's on my list," he said with a nod. "Yes."
"Why are you trying to stop Thirteen then? Shouldn't you be helping?"
"What do you think will happen when you guys go off on your suicide mission? It's going to be a war, Katniss, and neither side is going to come out a winner."
"I don't believe that," she said.
"Who do you work for?" Peeta moved to the box in the corner that held his personal affects, and began to slip his things back into his pants pockets.
"I don't have to tell you that," Katniss said, her eyes narrowing at him.
"General Coin, right?" he said, and didn't bother to wait for her confirmation before he continued. "She and Snow? Different sides of the same coin, pun unavoidable. You think the tyranny and oppression will magically be resolved once she's at the helm? You'll just be a soldier instead of a slave, either way you'll be nothing more than a pawn. And all of your efforts for liberty and freedom will be a waste of time. I don't think you want that," he said. He crossed the cell to stand before her before he made his offer. "Which is why I want you to work for me."
Her laugh was playful for once. "I thought I was an amateur."
"You are," he agreed. "But you have potential. In the short time I've been in your esteem, you've built up quite the impressive resume - present incapacitation excluded, of course." He tugged on the strap that bound her wrists and winked.
"There's a movement that's building. The Mockingjay Initiative." Peeta reached into his pocket to retrieve a round golden pin, with a mockinjay perched in the ring. He lifted Katniss's chin with his finger and traced it along her jaw before tucking the pin into her braid. "Panem's too weak to survive the revolution that Coin is orchestrating, but it's not doing too well under the current regime either. Both sides have too much backing to avoid the scales from tipping. Unless we take them down from the inside."
"And you think you can do that?"
"I have been doing that," he said with a slightly exasperated scoff. "As you've failed to notice, neither side has made much movement in crushing the other."
"This isn't some sort of crusade that two people pull off, I'm not insane like you."
"There are others. Some are closer to you than you think. You just haven't earned the information yet," he said. He straightened the pin in her hair, and cocked his head. "So sweetheart, what do you say?"
She looked away, her face clouded with confusion as she considered what he had to say. She met his gaze briefly, before her eyes flitted away. But then she looked at him again, as if she were thinking it over again.
"That you're crazier than I thought," she finally said.
Peeta untied her from the restraints and gave her the tip he had promised. Less than an hour later, she returned, he expression still guarded as she escorted him from the cell. The golden mockinjay pin caught the sterile white light that illuminated the corridor, and shimmered with each step that she took. They were silent on the ride from the headquarters to his hotel, and Peeta had allowed for the blindfold to be placed over his eyes without objection. When the car pulled up to a stop, and the door unlocked, allowing for his exit, he offered her one last nod, before slipping out of the vehicle. He didn't look back as he stepped into the lobby, but he heard the second slam of the door, followed by her footsteps following behind him.
Mission accomplished.
A/N: Okay, I know that I suck and that there are more places that this story could go, but this was sort of a sudden plot bunny, and I haven't really mapped out any details. I wouldn't be opposed to returning to this universe in the future, but for now this is it... I think. Thanks for reading!
I'm on tumblr (absnow) if you ever want to drop by and say hello. Oh and thanks to essie for lending out hands free masturbation. We're making it a thing.