Chapter Forty-Eight: Allies (pt 2)
This time when Maize arrived at her apartment in the early morning, Odair was already at her door-his hand paused in its raised position to knock.
This time Maize was almost unbearably coherent.
This time she could see that he was not.
She could see his slumped shoulders and harrowed expression, the way his eyes were both infinitely alert as they bounced around the hall but also held endless amounts of exhaustion... a certain blankness that seeped in and out of him. As if he were there, but not. She could see smudged lipstick littering his neck and collarbone, his messy hair as if someone had been running their fingers through it nonstop for hours, the indent of teeth in his lower lip, and the small amount of crusted blood going down his chin. His shirt was barely closed, buttons misdone and allotted in the wrong places, the skin she could see was covered in hickeys... battle wounds from his own encounter with his opponent- client.
Maize had moved quietly out of the elevator, so very aware of his piercing eyes as she moved towards him. Her bare feet barely made a sound on the carpeted floor as the heels she'd worn swung in her hand, she shot the older teen an understanding grimace smile before opening her apartment door and inviting him inside wordlessly. Finnick followed her into the living room, it was automatic-as if his feet moved on its own accord without consulting his head. Neither of them paid any mind to the door closing behind them, and headed towards the surprisingly comfortable red leather couch Goldie had picked out. Maize tossed the heels onto the floor and plopped onto the couch, letting her eyes close briefly in exhaustion-her legs curled underneath her as she leaned against the armrest. She could feel the older Victor quietly join her as the couch indented with his weight and heard the bone-tired sigh escape from his lips unwittingly.
She rolled her neck, trying to alleviate some of the tension that had seeped onto her shoulders, before eyeing him from underneath her eyelashes. Odair was leaning his head back, staring almost blankly up at the ceiling as his chest rose and fell with each deep breath. From this angle, his shirt revealed a more savage-looking bite over his nipple that looked red and unbelievably sore enough that it made Maize's own pulse in sympathy.
Maize rubbed her face tiredly before quietly standing back up, ignoring the slightly questioning look that the other Victor shot her as she headed for her bedroom with a quiet, "Wait here."
It only took her a few seconds to reappear in the living room with the care package that the nurse had put together. She sat down once more, though much closer to him this time, as she rifled through the bag and pulled out the jar of vanishing cream. It didn't smell like anything, something that Maize was infinitely grateful for since she already had a headache from having to inhale the copious amount of cologne that her client had bathed himself in, but it was definitely the same one she'd used last time. She scooped up some of the neon orange substance with her fingertips before turning to inspect Finnick-
He was watching her, eyebrows somewhat scrunched up in concentration as he observed her. Traces of disbelief bleeding onto his features as it warred with his practiced nonchalance. He looked a little more awake now.
"It helps with bruises." Maize whispered, breaking the silence that had enveloped them, "And some cuts. Your lip- It should help."
A small humming sound escaped from his throat, but he didn't protest as she carefully leaned in and lightly dabbed it onto his torn lip. A small pained hiss escaped from his clenched lips, but Maize only moved onto a dark purpling bruise on the junction between his neck and shoulder. She gently rubbed the cream, and couldn't help but admire the effects of the substance as the once vicious bruise receded. What she wouldn't give to be able to bring giant tubs of this stuff back to her district. Her fingers itched, wanting to reach for the injury she'd glimpsed underneath his shirt, but Maize held firm as she locked gazes with him once more.
"Do you have any more injuries?" Maize knew he did, but if he didn't want her hands on him, she would leave it alone. No matter how much the idea of not aiding someone in need chaffed her. Maybe she could just give him the jar so that he could apply it on himself, yeah, he'd probably like that better than Maize's intervention-
"Yes." he whispered as he clumsily unbuttoned his shirt. Maize could smell the alcohol wafting from his breath, but he must not have drunk so much that he'd been left unaware of his surroundings. No his eyes were clear now, no hint of inebriation in his intense gaze. Maize hissed in sympathy at the oozing bite that'd been left a few paces below his swollen nipple. Fucking animal.
She scooped more of the cream, rubbing it between her fingers to warm it up before eyeing him once more, silently asking for permission to reach out and touch-once he nodded slightly, Maize carefully dabbed the mark. Maize tried to ignore the pained hitch in his chest when she gently applied the cream onto his abused nipple, but she couldn't help but let out a low rhythmic hum under her breath to distract him. Under his steady gaze, her hands carefully rubbed away the aches that'd been left on his torso, and the long trail of nails on his back that he revealed with the cream until she'd run out of visible hurts to soothe.
Fingers gently rubbed her collarbone, snapping Maize out of her reverie as she looked at the hickey that Overman had disgustingly sucked on her flesh earlier vanish under Finnick's ministrations. Huh, she'd forgotten that the Capitolite pig had even placed his greedy lips on her skin as he'd chased after his own release.
"Thank you." Maize mumbled as she closed the jar and dropped it onto the carpeted floor. Her eyes were drawn in once more by Finnick's, his gaze was warmer than it had been at the start as more green seemingly bled into them than blue.
He shook his head softly, "Thank you."
Maize shrugged as she averted her eyes, silently cursing her cheeks as they warmed under his gaze.
A small snort escaped from his lips, "And Seeder wanted me to look after you."
"You did." Maize hummed as she looked back up at him, "Last time." she hesitated for a moment before confidently stating, "I can look after you this time."
After all, that was what allies did. And... well, she knew that there would be more times to come for both of them.
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(...And so it begins, and I'm not talking about my anxiety over the interactions between the main pairing. LOL. am actually so nervous about Maize and Finnick interacting that I'm trembling a little... so thoughts, please? But also... here's all the comfort that the last chapter robbed you of.)