(no subject)

[red_lazarus]

She lives in the same building he'd been assigned.

Jason doesn't sleep there. And apart from the first time he'd entered his supposed apartment in the dead of night, Jason's not been back. So far no harm has befallen the people who have chosen to accept their home, but that's no reason to trust that will always be the case.

Parking her bike in the alley, Jason frowns.

She only lives on the second floor. Jason wonders if she likes that. Himself, he'd have chosen higher. The more removed from the streets she is, the safer she'll be, but then, she seems like the kind of girl to figure that out.

He doesn't need a batline to reach the fire escape outside her window, and Jason jumps neatly up, crouched in silence and peering into her empty living room. He knows he saw her go inside...

Hand raised, Jason knocks against the glass.

Comments

[notliketherest]

In the Capitol, gifts are never really gifts. Not even the ones we get in the Arena most of the time. They all come with price tags you just don't know about until later. With interest due.

But we're not in the Capitol anymore (I don't think; sometimes I can still go either way on that) and this isn't a gift. This is his payment to me.

My eyes are drawn to the scar on his neck as he touches it. Looks like it's healing okay and I mentally congratulate myself on a job well done. Prim would be proud.

"Well, maybe if you ever took that stupid mask off, you would. Or do you go for boys?"

[red_lazarus]

Taking her meaning all at once, Jason gapes at her beneath his domino. "I - " he says and stops, because he's never had room for it, had time for it between all his plotting and goals. The one night he'd spent with Talia had been because she made him slow down just long enough, gave him a new mission and then she -

She did things Jason doesn't like to think about. However much he'd enjoyed them at the time, remembering always leaves him aching and confused, wanting something he has no idea how to get.

"I don't know," he says, beginning to color before he flips right off of the railing. Landing next to her bike, he calls, "I need to show you a few things."

[notliketherest]

The way his mouth drops open and his eyes go wide behind that mask is fucking priceless and I can't help grinning at his stuttered, fumbling response.

I watch him jump to the ground like a damn acrobat before shoving the window open the rest of the way and peering down. "Hey!" I call down to him. "You gonna catch me if I jump?"

[red_lazarus]

It's like that movie, Jason thinks, looking up from below. Except it's a bike, not a horse, and she's not in a white dress and has a weapon.

"Only if you lose the ax," he calls back.

[notliketherest]

I actually consider it for half a second, estimating the distance between my window and the ground below. If he misses, I'll probably only break a bone or two, but I'm not giving up my axe.

Stairs it is.

"One minute," I yell down at him before I grab the keys to the apartment and head out, jogging down the few stairs to the main level and then outside. "Okay, hot shot. Show me," I say when I find him still standing below my window like a stalker.

[red_lazarus]

Producing the keys from his belt, Jason looks between them and Johanna. "You ever ridden before?" he asks, wondering how many of the basics he can skip. "A bike like this, or one you pedal?"

[notliketherest]

"Not like this," I tell him, remembering the few machines I handled before becoming a tribute. They weren't bikes, but I'm betting the idea is pretty similar.

Reaching out, I run my hand along the seat, testing the give of the leather. It's nice. And I still can't really believe it's mine.

[red_lazarus]

"It's a balance thing," says Jason. "It'd be easier if you'd've ridden a pedal bike," he adds, frowning. "You should probably take a ride with me, get used to the way you shift your weight so you don't fall over. And always wear pants, leather if you can find them. Road rash fucking sucks."

[notliketherest]

"So I shouldn't ride naked," I say, fighting a smirk. "Well then, what's the point?"

I'm kidding - mostly - but after seeing his reaction to my earlier remarks, I'm eager to see how he responds. I've always enjoyed fucking with people, and he just makes it so easy.

[red_lazarus]

"Getting places faster?" Jason ventures, but it comes out high and a little distracted, Jason's brain going places with that image before he has the presence of mind to stop it.

He shakes his head, trying to ignore the way the heat soaks up from his collar, and swings a leg over her bike. "C'mon."

[notliketherest]

Oh, well that is just adorable. Definitely worth it.

I don't miss the way his neck is a little pink as he climbs onto the bike and, for a second, I hesitate in joining him. He probably could've killed me that first night, even with blood pouring from his neck. But he didn't.

And I still have my axe.

Eying him warily for a second longer, I tuck the weapon into a pocket along my leg and then climb on behind him. "Well, isn't this intimate," I murmur, ignoring my own genuine anxiety as I settle my hands on his sides.

[red_lazarus]

It's strange to feel her settle behind him. Jason rides alone, he always has, but for a few short trips with Talia. The body at his back is unnerving, and for a moment, Jason wishes she'd left the ax.

The hum of the bike when he turns the ignition helps to steady him, the rumble of it soothing, and not nearly as loud as most. "Muffler's what took so long," he says, plucking the helmet that dangles from the handlebars and handing it to her. "I'll start slow. You want to lean into the turns, but not too much. Trust the bike. It wants to stay upright as much as you do."

[notliketherest]

The bike grumbles to life beneath us and I tense instinctively, gripping him a little tighter even if we're not going anywhere yet. I only let go to take the helmet he hands me, frowning at it for a second before putting it on. I'd ask if he needs one too, but I figure if we're going to crash, I rather it be his head that bursts like a melon than mine.

(I would feel bad, though. Might even miss him. A little.)

"Okay," I tell him, still more than a little unsure as I rest my hands on his sides again. It's an awkward position and I'm not entirely sure I like it, but it's better than him being behind me, at least. "Trust and lean. Got it."

[red_lazarus]

"It's only scary the first time," says Jason in a sudden burst of reassurance. "Promise. You, uh." He looks forward again, uncomfortable. "You probably want to hang on tighter, just for the first run. When you get used to it, you can ease up."

[notliketherest]

Somehow the uneasiness I can hear in his tone makes me feel a little better. Which is probably fucking stupid given that he's the one driving this damn thing, but I have the feeling it's not the bike that makes him nervous.

Doing as instructed, I lean in to wind my arms tighter around him, basically hugging him from behind. I can't remember the last time I hugged anyone much less someone who's basically a stranger.

"I'm not scared," I tell him and... well, it's mostly the truth.

[red_lazarus]

He feels better, too, for the squeeze of her arms around him. Now he can be certain that she won't fall off, and Jason waits for the engine to warm up and then wastes no more time, taking off in a tight arc to direct them out of the alley and into the open street.

"It can do eighty," he shouts over the wind, revving them close to forty, "but don't go that fast unless you're sure you know what the fuck you're doing."

[notliketherest]

There's nothing keeping me on but my hold around his waist and the clench of my thighs. It's terrifying but, as we start to go a little faster on the open road, it becomes exhilarating, too.

I still don't let go.

"And how will I know that?" I ask, shouting over the rush of the wind.

[red_lazarus]

"You'll know!" shouts Jason, throttling them even faster, taking a hairpin turn at a speed at which most would wipeout. For some reason, he wants to see if it makes her scream. "When the bike feels like a part of you, when it's just another bodypart, then you can do crazy things!"

[notliketherest]

He takes a turn and I feel my stomach nearly jump into my throat as I hold on tighter. I don't scream, but I kind of want to kick him in the kidneys for it.

But we haven't hit anything. And we're both still alive.

"Crazy things like what!" I ask, because... hell, I don't know. Because apparently this city makes me stupid.

[red_lazarus]

"Like wheelies," Jason yells back, and he's never been remotely moved to do one, but he pops one now, front wheel lifting high off the ground like a rearing horse. "And ramps!" Setting the bike back on a straight course, Jason grins over his shoulder. "Wanna do one?"

[notliketherest]

I'm about to ask what the hell a wheelie is when suddenly the front end of the bike is off the fucking ground and I'm clinging tighter.

And, okay, maybe I scream a little but it melts into a laugh when both wheels are safely on the ground again. "Fuck yes!" I yell, a familiar rush of adrenaline running through my veins.

[red_lazarus]

Jason laughs outloud, taking another corner so hard he has to put a boot down to keep them upright, and then they're off again, hurtling towards a street where Jason knows he saw construction.

He takes a turn and suddenly they're flying past orange cones and straight for an unfinished bit of road, a portion of it raised and arching to the sky. "Here we go," Jason murmurs, and it's the only warning he gives before pulling the throttle all the way down, volleying them up the makeshift ramp and right into the air.

[notliketherest]

I feel wild like this, wind roaring as Jason pushes the back faster. I've come close to dying more than a few times, but it's never felt like this.

With my head tucked over his shoulder, I can see where we're going, what he's headed for, and every muscle in my body goes tight with anticipation, a mix of fear and pure, unadulterated excitement making me clutch tighter as we soar through the air. We could die as soon as we hit the ground and I don't even care. This feels amazing.

[red_lazarus]

They hit the ground with the screech of tires and the crunch of metal, and Jason swiftly wrestles the bike back under control, zigzagging them through the last of the orange cones before he turns hard, swinging them to a stop.

"Crazy stuff like that," he exhales, breathless and grinning.

[notliketherest]

The landing is rough, loud and hard and I cling tight as the bike tilts and zigzags to a stop.

Leaning away from him, I pull the helmet off, my smile nearly breaking my face. "I'm going to end up killing myself on this thing," I tell him, laughing. "But it'll be worth it."