munebox | A New Life

She thought he meant the words in jest. Yet, somehow, they stung. As much as he liked having a stick in his eye? Would he prefer that stick in an eye? Or would he prefer she abandon him here in Rohan, leave and strike out on her own elsewhere? She could survive just find without him.

Scowling, Katniss shoved him and then stalked away from him. Her arms crossed over her chest and she blinked back unexpected tears.

"I could arrange that, you know." Anger was so, so much easier than hurt. "A stick in your eye when you're not looking."

He didn't realize he'd been hurtful. He said worst things to Merlin on an hourly basis back in Camelot. In a lot of ways, Katniss occupied that place that Merlin did, as someone he trusted deeply but also liked to taunt whenever he could. Lately, she'd been moving into other parts he reserved for other people. So he took the shove to be more playfulness, though more than he was accustomed to dealing with. He straightened himself up again and rolled his eyes.

"Unlikely, Katniss. No offense, but I've had plenty try to do much worse and they were a bit more fearsome than you."

Edited 2013-03-25 03:12 (UTC)

Katniss could easily be as tough as any boy. As thick skinned, ans violent, and determined to survive. But whether she liked it or not, she easily let her emotions get the better of her. And not just with Arthur. Were she to truly reflect on her past, she'd notice just how often her decisions were made based on a feeling instead of a rationality. She hated that. Hated that so very much.

Especially now.

She whirls back around to face him, glowering. "Oh yeah?"

"Well of course. You are a girl, after all."

Even all that time in Luceti hadn't quite beaten out that classical line of reasoning for him. Oh, sure, there was exceptions. But that was all magic. Resorting to magic for power was nothing to be impressed by. However, even as he finished saying that, he noticed that around her eyes were damp. That maybe what he'd just said had upset her. It certainly took a lot of the fire out of the banter.

For a moment she stood there simply speechless. A girl? That's what it came down to? She couldn't best him because she was a girl? So much of her past she had shared with him since Peeta left, at first reluctant but eventually feeling surprisingly comfortable. Especially since their arrival in Rohan. And still, despite that, he considered her weaker because she was a girl?

Katniss didn't think. Instead, she charged at him in an attempt to tackle Arthur to the ground.

He expected a lot of things at that moment. Some protest. Maybe some yelling. Possibly a challenge to prove herself. She was more capable than any woman he knew, but he felt quite confident that he held the advantage. Simple line of thinking, really. But no, he hadn't expected her to charge. And he didn't have any sort of defense ready, which is why he ended up on his back, with her on top of him.

"Hey! Careful, if I had my wings still, you'd have smashed them!"

But he didn't have those wings anymore, her eyes seemed to say. He didn't and neither did she, so tackles to the ground were more than permitted. Besides, it did prove on thing, didn't it? That girl or not, she could still best him?

"A girl," she gloated, pressing palms against his shoulders as she straddled his lower abdomen, "who still caught you off guard."

Edited 2013-03-25 03:47 (UTC)

It was somehow a position that he in his entire life had never found himself in, man or woman. Usually people had the decency to just point a sword at his neck when he lost. Not keep him pinned down with their own weight. It was a but humiliating.

"Anyone can do a surprise attack. It's hardly fair." He was pouting, just a bit. Trying not to.

Her braid hung over her right shoulder as she stared down at him, smirk quickly growing at his pout. Considering how he had made her feel just minutes ago - be it inadvertent or not - she felt as if he deserved this little bit of humiliation.

"Can just anyone keep you pinned like this?"

"No," he admitted. "If it was anyone else, I'd likely to have to give them a very hard knock to the head for it."

If it was anyone else. But this was Katniss. His only friend in this entire world. The only one he had a history with. Could actually trust. And could, apparently, surprise him by pinning him down. Not that he much intended to stay like this for long. He was already ascertaining a counter attack. His thought process was merely how rough it would be.

"Hah!" She laughed loudly, her smug smile growing broader as she continued to stare down at him. So a girl could best the great Arthur Pendragon, even when other combatants couldn't. Served him right, she refrained from saying a loud. Some king he was, not keeping his defenses up around her, knowing full well what Panem had been like. The role Katniss played in Coin's death.

She squirmed a little, attempting to get a better grip on his legs so he couldn't use them to flip them both over. She slinks downward a little, hips now off his stomach and down to his groin. "There's nothing keeping you from giving me a very hard knock in the head right now. It'd certainly be one way to get me off you."

At least he had his hands free. Though for a moment his eyes widen when she pushed herself even further down. It was possible at this point she'd gone a bit too far. And he felt like he really ought to knock her off and give her that hard knock about the head that she deserved. On the other hand? Girl. You don't harm girls unless your life is in peril. That's how he was taught and he still believed in it.

"You bring this upon yourself, you know."

He then tried to raise himself up. In moving herself to cover his legs, she left his torso free to move about. Which meant he could sit up and abruptly wrap his arms around her, attempting to pin her arms under his. It left his head pressed up against her chest, but that was the sort of thing you had to deal with in a battle. It was just so he could try and pull her off.

She scowled at him, a scowl she thought was more than well deserved. Though this time, the words were not nearly as hurtful as his earlier ones, he was, in her opinion, exaggerating. If anyone caused this fight, it was clearly him. "I did n-"

She didn't have a chance to finish that sentence before he sat up -- and more. She had been more than ready to struggle, to fight his encroaching arms and push him back down again so that the odds were much more in her favor. But struggling, she quickly realized, only brought his face in closer contact to a part of her body his face ought not to be anywhere near.

Now her eyes widened as she stilled, looking down to search his own expression for... for some sign that he knew what he was doing right now. That... that what? That he meant to do this? Is that what she wanted? Or did she want that reassurance that it was all by complete accident.

She swallowed hard. "Oh."

He had certainly expected more resistance. A good scramble before he had her on his back. But as he tightened his arms a bit further, he felt her go still. Her simple verbal response was all the clue he needed. He hadn't quite realized how precarious his position was, but he did now. Stunned, he stayed there for a moment longer. Then he quickly pushed himself.

"God. I'm. Very, very sorry. Just now, that, it was absolutely out of line."

He let himself fall back with a not so gentle thud to his head. He winced a bit, but didn't complain. He'd crossed a line and sullied her dignity.

Before she had a chance to resume any sort of cognitive thought, before she could formulate and enact necessary actions to push Arthur away, he did so himself. And she remained sitting on top of him for a second or two more, still stunned by the prior nearness, before finally scrambling off his lap to collapse on the ground next to him. Her cheeks stained a bright red as she stared straight at the sky, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"You, um." Why was she so bad at saying these words? It was Arthur. Arthur, who had gotten her through so much. Especially recently. "You don't have to apologize. I'm the one who... well... Don't be sorry."

Arthur wasn't one to blush, but he certainly was completely out of his depth. Women always managed to befuddle him, especially the ones he got closer and closer to. Somehow, Katniss had managed to draw this reaction for him. He was grateful to have her roll off of him, but he distracted himself by immediately looking in the opposite direction.

"No. I have to apologize. I- you- I've offended you. In more than one way."

In Katniss' eyes, men - boys - could be just as equally confusing. From Darius wanting to buy her kisses to Gale never even telling her once that he had been interested in her as something more than a friend. At least, not until everything grew so complicated thanks to the Hunger Games. And then there had been Peeta. Damn Peeta Mellark.

And now?

Now Arthur had her just as confused as the others.

"It... it wasn't bad. That. Just now. I... I wasn't offended. Surprised but not... not by that. Not..." she hesitated and then, when she continued, words quickly trailed off. "...not in the way you might think..."

When she began constructing her sentences, badly, Arthur was compelled to turn and watch. He'd been tripping over his words moment before, but now she was talking in a manner that had him entirely confused. His expression went from a wrinkled brow and bewildered staring to a tad condescending.

"... Katniss, what on earth are you babbling about?"

Even as she heard him rustle beside her, most likely turning his head to look at her, she continued to stare straight up at the sky. What was she saying? Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut? She was normally so good at that. At being the silent friend while all those around her opted to talk instead. Why wasn't she doing that now?

Her cheeks felt horribly aflame. Did he notice that? Did he notice the way she was blushing right this very moment? He certainly seemed to notice the babbling.

Damn it. Damn, damn, damn.

"Just... Just forget it, Arthur."

It hadn't gone without notice. He could see the way her cheeks reddened, the way she wouldn't look him in the eye, and how she didn't want to outright say anything. They were all signs of one clear thing and he wasn't too stupid to see what it was.

She was embarrassed because she'd just realized she'd tackled a king and didn't quite know how to make amends. It was a good thing he was gracious. Smiling, he stood back up, then, without offering a hand, he crouched down to grab her hands to pull her up, willing or not.

"Well if you're done rolling about in the mud, I'd actually like to eat today."

He really was a stupid boy, wasn't he? When she finally turned to finally look at him, it quickly became clear what that smile meant. They'd been stuck together for over a month now, with no other person they could remotely communicate with. She had learned how to anticipate his responses, how to read some of his behaviors. It had been crucial for their shared survival.

And right now? He didn't have even a clue, did he? A clue as to just what she had been implying, that maybe... Oh, stupid, stupid self important king.

When he attempted to pull her up, she quickly pulled her hands away after sitting and used them instead to shove him hard.

"You're a real idiot, you know that, right?"

She was full of surprises this morning. He stumbled back and very nearly fell over again. If he'd been in his armor, he probably would have. Virtue of never going to war was being a bit more steady on his feet. Once his footing was sure, he stood up straight, arms crossed, and a mild agitated.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said before. You're a very capable girl- woman. Easily among the best I've seen in a fight. I'll even admit you managed to get the better of me just now."

Are you happy now?

She felt a slight surge of pleasure as Arthur lost his balance and nearly tipped back again. Served him right, she thought as she stood without his help. For being so dumb. For making her even consider these things.

Her own arms crossed over her chest as she glared up at him despite his apology. Given his normal apologies, it wasn't so bad. It was actually sort of, well, good. But that implied giving him the benefit of the doubt. Not blaming him for the war of feelings currently going on inside of her. All because he had to stick his head where it didn't belong and remind her of things that she had become good at denying.

She hadn't been free with her kisses in a very, very long time. But in that moment, she gave into impulse. If her cheeks were to remain heated, well, damn them. She'd at least give her body a reason to betray her. She placed hands on his upper arms to hold him still and the quickly stood on her toes and pressed a fast kiss to his lips.

"Idiot," she repeated under her breath as she walked away, starting the trek to the woods without him. "Let's go catch dinner."

Generously, he was going to allow her to shove him again. He figured that's what she wanted. A chance to prove herself to be tough and useful and he'd been an awful prat up until this moment, so the least he could do was accept it like a man. Even when she grabbed his arms, he was bracing himself for whatever she had in mind.

Or so he thought. His eyes widened as he felt her lips on his and he looked helplessly out of place as he was on the receiving end. Had he any sense, he would have done something to reciprocate, but instead he was left standing there, mouth agape, watching her walk away. As far as he could tell, this had come absolutely out of nowhere. Well. Maybe not nowhere. His mind was racing as he made sense of it.

She was already quite a bit a way when he suddenly made a single step forward.

"Hold on. Wait a moment." He began following her, picking up the pace. "Just now, with you and I. What was that?"

She didn't hear footsteps behind her. Not till minutes seemed to pass. Katniss pretended not to care. He'd either catch up eventually or decide that it would be easier to obtain a meal at the town tavern, having had enough of ruckus-causing girls. Still feeling conflicted inside, she tried her best not to think about which would be the better decision. It didn't work.

It was easiest to just continue to walk the familiar path towards the woods' edge, muttering not so nice things about Arthur under her breath. Even when she heard him start to move, that familiar sound of boots crunching grass, she kept walking. Didn't stop. Not even when he called out.

She didn't answer, either. Let him figure matters out for a change.

Oh, wonderful. Now she wasn't talking to him. Apparently, he was starting to realize, she liked him. A bit more than he'd ever suspected. Which left him wondering to himself how he felt about her. Certainly he liked her. She was a close friend, among the closest he'd ever had. But he hadn't thought of her like that. He wasn't supposed to think of her like that. He had Gwen to think about. His kingdom. Camelot. A sister to defeat.

Of course, none of that mattered here. He quickened his pace until he was running, so he could grab her by the shoulder. Spin her around. Try and make sense of all this.

"Katniss."

She kept walking until she had absolutely no choice but to stop. His arm on her shoulder effectively did that and she scowled almost the moment she felt his hand on her shoulder. What did he want? Clearly, she had butchered the whole moment. Took her frustrations out on him and then made a complete and utter fool of herself.

Clearly, the placement of his head against her chest had been by utter accident. The way he had lingered a moment too necessary, frozen in the same shock that she had felt.

When he turned her around, she crossed her arms back over her chest and just stared at him, eyes asking everything she couldn't say aloud.

Arthur stared at her, trying to think of what he ought to say. Her eyes seemed to be telling him to hurry it up, which made it difficult to choose the appropriate words. So he took a moment to consider the rest of her. Katniss Everdeen. That girl from Luceti who gave him guff for wanting his servant back. Who'd been crushed when her boyfriend had left. Who he'd tried to cheer up, but more or less fumbled completely in his attempts to cheer up. The girl who made him carve up his own animals to put them on the dinner plate.

She was prettier than he realized, now that he was able to stop and think about her outside the context of just being this person that he knew. No words were coming to him.

So he leaned forward, placed his hands on either side of her face, and planted a kiss before she could protest.

Edited 2013-03-27 01:15 (UTC)

She continued to stare up at him as he stared back, stubborn and unflinching. If Arthur expected her to say the first word, well then. He'd have another thing coming. She wasn't going to give in. She had already done more than enough damage, hadn't she?

When hands are placed on her face, her breath catches in her throat. She barely has enough time to question his intentions before she finds lips on her own again. Lips that aren't Peeta's. Aren't even Gale's. But lips she finds herself relaxing into all the same.

Her hands unfold from her chest and she hesitantly places them on his hips as she returns the kiss. A second later, she moves her hands to his rib cage before moving them back to his hips. Awkward and unsure as how he might want her to hold him - if he even wants her to hold him. But her kiss belays nothing but excitement.

In truth, he'd kissed her for a lack of a better response and because he was, selfishly, wanting to gauge how he felt about her. For a moment his eyes widened as she took to the kiss with an unexpected passion. Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised.

But then, he didn't mind. This was good. He moved his hands from her cheeks and lowered them to her waist so he could keep her close and embrace the moment, for however long they could make the moment last. Hesitant as he was at first, he's bold in his intentions by the time their lips part.

When he broke the kiss, she laughed shakily. Her whole body felt shaky and she gripped his waist a little tighter for reassurance. It has been a long, long time since she's kissed a boy like that. A long time. And only really one boy.

But as nice of a diversion as it is, it still was not an answer. What if he wass only kissing her to make her feel better? To make her feel like less of an idiot for kissing him in the first place? What if he was just like Zevran, willing to take sex where he can find it?

She shakes her head, licking her lips and trying her best not to think any further thoughts that might make her blush. "That was... that was nice."

For him, it had been over a year, not counting the trouble that came with Valentine's shenanigans. It had only been one woman. A woman he had exiled, despite being in love with. A woman he hadn't stopped thinking about it all his time in Luceti.

A part of him felt like he was betraying her, even though he knew he would never see her again. But there was a part of him that needed this. A realization that maybe he liked Katniss as more than just a friend and that he'd been too bullheaded to let himself see it.

He looked a little lost as he stared back at her, mouth still open. He wasn't sure what to say, but he became aware that she was saying something. He quickly nodded. "Yes, of course. It was... very nice." He stopped himself from being even stupider. "You have very nice lips." He failed.

His words hadn't sounded stupid to her. If anything, they made her smile and blush. She decided then that she didn't seem to mind the way her body reddened in response to the compliment. To the memory of that kiss they had just shared. Maybe he'd like that, too. Maybe he'd think it nice like Peeta once had. And it sort of surprised her, just how much she wanted to please Arthur in that respect.

"So do you," she murmured in reply, taking the moment to glance up at those lips. Her heart felt as if it was beating far too rapidly within her chest. Those were lips she had just kissed. Her smile broadened and she began to babble without fully realizing what she was saying. "You're... good with them. With kissing. ...have you kissed many other lips?"

It was a good job that they were alone, as the pair of them would look rather ridiculous to an outside observer. Arthur felt like quite the fool to just give into the moment like that. It wasn't that he hadn't done this sort of thing before, it was just that it had managed to come after not being tackled to the ground. Remembering that, he moved his hands behind him to dust off his back and bottom.

"Well, I have had a lot of practice. Gwen and I used to all over one another." It occurred to him immediately after that talking about his former fiancee was not quite the most tactful approach.

Gwen. Right. How could she have forgotten about her? Hadn't Arthur shared stories of his former love, much like she had shared stories of Peeta? How could she be so stupid as to forget that?

Feeling rather embarassed and obtuse, she immediately took a sudden interest in her boots. They were a little more scuffed than normal from the prior tussle on the ground. But she didn't care. She didn't think Arthur would care much either. At least, she hoped not.

"Of course," she finally muttered, still not daring to look up. "Of course. That makes a lot of sense."

A New Life

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