thecapitol | Sit back down were you were sitting

Who| Dale Barbara and Jessica Wakefield
What| Jessica gets her less-than-golden boy back
Where| Tribute Tower, District 3's suite to start
When| After Barbie's released from prison, just as the arena is starting
Warnings| None right now

He was expecting worse than a glorified slap on the wrist. His assets were frozen, he had the biggest black mark on his shiny golden record and all he really had to show for it was the silver bracelet that marked him a traitor.

At least, he was fairly certain that was the case, he had a certain someone he had to check in on first. He was hoping they'd left her alone and (rightfully) assumed she had nothing to do with it, but he and Garak had been missing for nearly a week so who knew what the capitol might have resorted to.

Once he got to the tower, he didn't stop anywhere until his feet were on the third floor, not even his own room to change clothes first. He went right up to Jessica's room and knocked on the door, looking disheveled, unshaven, dirty and generally worse for wear, but uninjured. Which was a lot more than could be said for some of those who'd been with him.

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It had been a week of emotional torture. She was already a mess, but factoring in Barbie's sudden disappearance utterly scared the crap out of her. She'd been listless, frightened, and basically in fear for his life and the lives of everyone else right up until the start of the Games. And that didn't bring any sort of relief at all. The evidence of torture was clear as day and the Tribute center was no devoid of anyone she could even talk to.

So imagine her shock when he showed up at her door. For her part she was tidy and looking physically better than she had in months. But the lack of sleep and increase in worry showed a bit on her face as she opened her bedroom door.

"Oh my god!" Jessica cried, throwing herself at him with gusto. "Thank god, you're alive!"

The fact she looked better than she had in a while didn't escape his notice, in fact it put him more at ease than anything else. Well, maybe not quite as at ease as holding her did.

"Sorry to just show up like some stray on your doorstep. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

No explanation for his disappearance was immediately offered, instead he was overcome with the sudden need to kiss her and make sure she was still his Jess and unharmed. Barbie leaned down, arms cradling her as his lips gently found hers.

Jessica melted into his arms like a pad of butter on toast. He was here. He was safe. He wasn't even mutilated or damaged like Eva or Eponine. She could be 100% grateful for that. Tears welling up in her eyes, she kissed him furiously.

"I've missed you. Fuck, I've missed you!" She had to catch her breath a moment, pulling him into her bedroom and shutting the door behind them. "What happened? They wouldn't even tell me where you were!"

He took a moment to just touch her and hold her before answering. "I was in jail. I tried to break out one of the tributes because what was happening to them was wrong, that's why I couldn't contact you, we were hiding. In the end, we were found and I've been there since. I'm sorry, I couldn't risk telling you what I was doing and having it come back on you."

The fear that something would happen to her because of him was stronger than he'd guessed it would be and it made some of those days nearly unbearable, but now that he could see she was fine and had her in his arms, he was hesitant to let go again.

Her eyes went wide, hand on her lips to mask the look of shock on her face. "In jail? I don't understand! How could you do something so incredibly stupid! Barbie! You could've gotten everyone killed!"

Was she angry? Hell yeah she was. But she was also doubled over with concern, clinging to him again, like he might get torn away from her again at any minute.

He knew she was just scared for him and obviously angry, so he didn't try to argue his point. Besides, what was done was done. He pulled her close, one hand coming up to brush through that beautiful blonde hair of hers as his voice lowered to try and calm her.

"I'm sorry, Jess, I know." He's silent a second, listening to her breathe, feeling her warmth, just taking solace in the fact she was there and all right..even if she was pissed at him. "I missed you."

It wasn't even her fears for her friends or the other Tributes that got to her just then. It was a sudden, overwhelming sense that she had very nearly lost Barbie, and the thought terrified her to the core. Shaking, she pressed her head to his chest, ear to his heart. As she did, it started to sink in that she really did love him, that everything she'd said to him before had been true. She loved him. She was lost without him. And in a strange way, it almost sucked to come to that realization.

"I could've lost you forever." Jessica closed her eyes, pulling back from him quickly. Her palm made contact with his cheek before she could even stop herself. "Don't you dare do that again. You can't leave me behind. If you're going, I'm going with you, got it?"

He held her for as long as she let him, content to comfort and care for as much as he could-he hadn't meant to leave her alone so long, he needed to make it up to her. Not to mention his blacklisting might affect her status now--

Any further thought along that line fell away as she slapped him. He didn't argue with it or seem affronted, he'd deserved that. If he'd pissed off the right people enough, he could have bought himself a quiet disappearance instead of a blacklisting. He'd have left her alone just like he'd promised not to.

He reached out to her again in an attempt to pull her close and rain kisses on her face.

A kiss to her cheek. "I hear you."

A kiss to her chin. "We'll stay together, Jess."

A kiss to her nose. "A team."

A kiss to her lips. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

Mad as she was, she couldn't help but let out a soft, giddy sound as his lips brushed against hers. Scared as she was by what he'd done and by her own reaction to it, she felt utterly content in his arms, like his kisses might take away all the worry and all the pain. It was nice to imagine that, at least. So nice. So sweet.

"I'll have to work double for you," she said at last, sighing as she laid her head on his shoulder. Slowly, she looked up at him, blue eyes batting a little. "If you're in trouble still, you can't get any sponsors you know. And what'll happen to your tributes then, hmm?"

Sit back down were you were sitting

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i am literally the worst. do not feel bad if you wanna drop this.

Don't worry bb <3

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