OPEN Valentine's Day Plot

[thebiddingbaron]

WHO | Everyone
WHAT | Baron sends Valentine's Day gifts to Tribute Tower.
WHEN | Valentine's Day!
WHERE | Tribute Tower
WARNINGS / NOTES | Warnings for drug use and all of the things that go with that. Possibly also sexual themes. The OOC post for this is here.




On the morning of February 14th when the Tributes come down for breakfast they're greeted by an impressive holiday themed spread. Pink and red baked goods, chocolates shaped like hearts, beautiful red and pink flowers, adorable stuffed animals all line the table.

On the table is also a sign in cursive that reads:

To our beloved Tributes, Victors, Mentors, Escorts and Stylists. Enjoy your holiday. -- Bartlett Industries

Most of the sweets are completely harmless, but if the Tributes taste the chocolate covered cherries or caramels they find themselves suddenly acting very strangely...

Comments

[itswhoyouare]

She looks shocked, then relieved to hear it meant something. Rationally, she knows this, but her heart needs some convincing. She's got so many walls around her to keep out these sorts of things but here comes Eliot, crashing right through them. "I-- This wasn't just some sort of one-night stand fueled by desperation on Valentine's Day?"

Yep. This is what you get with Anna. Optimism buried beneath layers upon layers of sarcasm and shallow pessimism.

[retrieverchef]

He wraps his arms around her again, shaking his head. "Had nothin' to do with Valentine's Day," he murmurs. "Has everythin' to do with you."

He sighs contentedly. "Can we just stay here forever, let them go fuck themselves?"

[itswhoyouare]

Anna gets comfortable in his arms, head resting against his shoulder as she sighs. He's warm and strong and oddly safe and she just wants to freeze the moment forever.

She lifts her head when she thinks she hears footsteps, sitting up slowly. "I think a bed is a lot more comfortable than a blanket on the concrete. How about my place?" She wiggles her brows playfully, gathering her clothes as she starts getting dressed.

[retrieverchef]

He actually pouts at that suggestion. "And get walked in on."

Really, it apparently hasn't occurred to him that that's even more likely here. "Wish I could take ya back to my place." And he doesn't mean his room on the third floor.

[itswhoyouare]

"That's way less likely to happen there than up here. I don't have very intrusive roommates," she points out with a wink, arching to pull her jeans up and button them.

With her back turned to Eliot, scar and the edge of the tattoo on her lower back fully visible now, she reaches for her bra and slips it on. She struggles with securing the hooks for a brief second, wincing as the pain in her shoulder from where Neeshka shot her with an arrow flares up.

"Where is home for you?" She asks gently, glancing back at him over her shoulder briefly. There's very little that she knows about Eliot, after all.

[retrieverchef]

"Boston." His voice is quiet as he reaches to trace her scar. "How'd that happen, darlin'?"

[itswhoyouare]

Anna flinches briefly upon contact, exhaling sharply as her entire body stiffens and she makes it a point to avoid looking back at Eliot at all. She's been hoping he wouldn't ask, but considering their circumstances...

"I was 17, on my way home from a volunteer event on my birthday and I didn't realize I was bein' followed. I got struck upside the head and knocked to the ground. There was a man on my back, pinnin' me to the ground with a knife under my shirt and he just... carved into me. He flipped me over, cut my shirt and bra open, ripped my shorts off and he--" Her eyes close as she tries to block out the flashes of memories that threaten to send her into an episode of PTSD.

"Raped me. He beat me within an inch of my life and had the audacity to call an ambulance after he left. I'm fourth of eight total with the scar. And the only one who ever fought back."

[retrieverchef]

"I... Anna..." He trails off for a moment before hugging her again, not tightly, just enough to shield her from the man who's not there anymore. It brings him back to his own, much more recent memories, even though they're mercifully less violent. "I'm so sorry. I... I wish I could go back an' stop him before he got to ya. I won't... I won't let anythin' like that happen here. I promise."

[itswhoyouare]

The hug jolts her out of the flashbacks and she buries her face in his neck, clinging to him tightly for a moment until her body stops trembling in remembrance. His words mean a lot, especially in his current predicament but when he promises to protect her from it here she lifts her head, shaking it. "Shouldn't make promises like that, when neither of us have any control over that."

Lifting a hand, she tucks some hair behind Eliot's ear and offers a grateful half-smile. "I should be the one makin' that promise to you. And besides... you keep talkin' like that and you could make a girl fall for you."

[retrieverchef]

He shakes his head. "I mean it, Anna. I'll do what I gotta do to keep ya safe. Whatever it takes."

He kisses her forehead before tracing the scar again. "It's not your job to protect me. And ya shouldn't have to be this strong again."

[itswhoyouare]

The thought is appreciated, of course, but Anna isn't used to being this protected by someone and just the thought of Eliot fending for himself all alone in the Capitol makes her sick. "And what about you?"

Her eyes flutter shut at the kiss to her forehead and she doesn't tense up nearly as much as last time he traced her spine. "Actually, it is." Anna opens her eyes to gaze up at Eliot with a slight smile tugging at her lips. "It's what I do."

[retrieverchef]

"Well, this is what I do," he says. "I keep my team, my family safe. And I make the choices they can't."

[itswhoyouare]

"I make sure my team and family are safe too. So you're just gonna have to deal with me lookin' out for you," she replies firmly and steals a quick kiss. Anna pulls away to put her shirt back on and clean up their picnic, handing Eliot his clothes.

[retrieverchef]

Eliot pulls his pants up and the slides the shirt on. "Just don't get yourself hurt over what's already a done deal."

[itswhoyouare]

Anna simply nods as she gets to her feet, the picnic basket hanging from her arm as she offers Eliot a hand to get to his feet. "Would you like to escort me to my room?" She asks with a playful smile, almost flirty in her approach.

[retrieverchef]

He smiles as he stands and kisses her cheek. He takes her free hand in his. "I think I'd lie that a lot, darlin'."

[itswhoyouare]

Anna's cheeks flush with color at the kiss and she laces her fingers with his on the walk to the elevator. "You said home was Boston, but your accent suggests Tennessee or Oklahoma, that area."

[retrieverchef]

"I grew up outside of Oklahoma City. Left to join the army and haven't been back since. My team works out of Boston now."

He presses the button for the elevator and wraps his other arm around her waist. "Your carriage awaits."

[itswhoyouare]

She looks pleased to have guessed his home area correctly, grinning when the elevator doors open and she feels Eliot's arm around her waist.

"I've been meanin' to ask what your team does exactly."

[retrieverchef]

"We take out the assholes who use the law to hide their crimes and we do what we can for their victims," he says, ushering her into the elevator. "And we make sure it lasts, whatever it takes."

[itswhoyouare]

"A modern day Robin Hood and the Merry Men," she says with a smile. "Pickin' up where the law leaves off, it's very noble." Anna presses the button for the fourth floor and watches Eliot for a moment, just gazing pleasantly at him. She's being silent for now in case he wants to talk or ask anything.

[retrieverchef]

He bites his lip. "I ain't exactly Robin Hood, Anna," he says quietly. "I'm not near that good of a man. Our boss is but..." He sighs.

[itswhoyouare]

Her smile fades, replaced by a confused frown as she steps in front of Eliot to look up at him. "But what, Eliot?"

[retrieverchef]

"But I'm not half the man he is. I... After what I did for Moreau... I'm no hero, Anna."

[itswhoyouare]

"Who is Moreau? I don't understand." She chews her lip and raises a hand to cup the side of his face gently.