reach down your hand in your pocket

[mediumdrip]

Who| Blaine and OPEN
What| Back in Tribute Tower
Where| Common Areas
When| After his death.
Warnings/Notes| Blaine is looking for Kurt in particular, but he won't be opposed to stopping to talk to friends. He's just going to be a little antsy until he sees Kurt.



It was tempting to stay in his room and never, ever leave. After what had happened in the Arena he was almost hoping for that option, but he couldn't. He couldn't just hide without knowing what Kurt was doing. If he was back...

He had to be. If Kurt had turned out to be one of the few who never returned Blaine didn't know what he'd do with himself. That was why when he finally got up and got dressed went straight down to look through common areas of the Tower, searching for Kurt.

He still didn't look completely okay. While his clothes were put together and his hair was perfect, there was something a little wild in his eyes. The impulsiveness that drove him to Alpha's line of sight still lingered in the back of his mind. The sense of having nothing at all to lose had settled in him after watching Kurt die and he wasn't sure when it would start to fade.

Comments

[vissernone]

Eva's sitting in the common room, scratching nail polish off of her thumb. Normally it keeps her from chewing, but unfortunately it's hit that stage where it's chipping naturally, and her tendency to pick and fidget overwhelms her.

She's in loose silk robes. There's no one she needs to impress today so her outfit, while pristine, is subdued. Her head jerks up as she hears Blaine pass.

"Hello?" Her eyebrows furrow a bit. She knows this boy. She hasn't met him, but one of her Tributes knows him well.

[mediumdrip]

Blaine stops when he hears the greeting. "Hello," he says. "You're a mentor, right? Can you tell me what District Kurt Hummel is in?" He knows that he could find out on his own, but he hasn't had time to stop and do the research.

[vissernone]

"He's in my District. District 9." She holds a hand out. "Eva Salazar, at your service."

[mediumdrip]

Blaine moves to shake her hand. "Thank you," he says politely before pulling his hand back. "Do you know where he is?"

[vissernone]

"In his bedroom. I imagine he's recuperating. He's putting up a brave face, but I'm sure you recall that the first resurrection is never easy." She shakes. Her grip is firm and confident.

[mediumdrip]

Blaine frowns at that. "Can you tell me a little about how he's been handling being back?"

[vissernone]

"Well, he made an indignant post on the network, and then I brought him some food because he mentioned he hadn't eaten." Her eyes are kind and warm, but it's clear her goal isn't helping Blaine so much as keeping her Tribute safe.

[luckofthedevil]

Alex was passing through the Central Commons when he noticed Blaine. He'd made a point of being able to recognize the other Tributes to some extent, at least enough to know which District to associate with the face. This one was from Two (though there was that guy in One who looked awfully similar, except for the hair). Alex only tuned into the Games sporadically, mostly to check up on Tributes he was familiar with. If there was a death though, he tended to watch, not out of any grisly morbid fascination, but out of a sense of respect.

Alex altered his course so that he'd pass the other Tribute. Blaine's death had bothered him, the hopeless way he'd let himself be killed. There'd been a time he'd worn a similar expression himself. And as he looked at the other man, Alex realized the expression was still there. He put himself in Blaine's path.

"Hell of a way to leave an Arena," he said, far too aware of how public this room was.

[mediumdrip]

Blaine stopped as Alex spoke to him. He looked up at the blonde, uncertain what the comment was meant to mean. Was he complimenting Blaine? Commenting on the brutality of the Games? Asking Blaine is he was okay?

Blaine wasn't sure, so he crossed his arms over his chest and spoke with a closed off voice.

"Yeah. I guess it was."

[luckofthedevil]

Alex doesn't make it easy for Blaine to read him. His speech is somewhat vague but his body language almost seems relaxed with the way his hands are casually tucked into his pockets. Except for his eyes, which are sharp and alert as he looks at Blaine.

"It's a tricky tactic, exiting passively. People generally don't like it; they like a fighter. But some of them are real suckers for emotion. They love seeing some good old-fashioned soap opera drama."

[mediumdrip]

"I don't really care what they think," Blaine said. He hated how defensive he sounded, but he hated how people would assume his reaction to Kurt's death was for the cameras.

[luckofthedevil]

"You don't have to," Alex said, trying to think of how to convey what he wanted to say without outright saying it. Walking the line between pandering to the Capitol and visibly resisting the Games was proving more difficult than Alex liked. He didn't want to appear to be a troublemaker, but he still had his pride. "But it's good to know what your... 'fans' like. And to make the most of that."

[mediumdrip]

Blaine nodded at that, considering it seriously. "Yeah. I wouldn't want to disappoint them." Only a little bit of bitterness was in his voice.

[cowardfacinghappiness]

Momoko hadn't been keeping up with the Games as well as she should have been, most of the people she was at all invested in already dead by now, but she recognized the boy walking past as one of the latest casualties.

He'd died after Draco, yet he was here and Draco wasn't. She didn't like that line of thought, and to distract herself from it she moved to walk with him, taking in his expression. "You don't look entirely well," she remarked, and then her eyes went up to his hair and she added, "And you should avoid open flames."

[mediumdrip]

Blaine blinked for a moment as it took him a while to realize she was making a joke at the expensive of his hair gel. Having something so ridiculously normal to latch onto was a welcome distraction.

"I assure you I'm an expert when it comes to hair gel," he said quietly. "I make sure to keep up on all proper safety concerns."

[cowardfacinghappiness]

"It looks like that on purpose?" she asked, sounding more curious than disdainful. The Capitol had desensitized her to the horrors fashion could wrought, Blaine's overabundance of gel wasn't even enough to make her flinch anymore.

[mediumdrip]

"Of course," he said. "Hair gel can be a very important accessory."

[cowardfacinghappiness]

Momoko wrinkled her nose. "Hairspray's always been enough for me." And too much gel put into mind that unicorn hair man Ichigo had fallen for, although she wasn't sure there was enough gel in the world to keep that hairstyle in place. "Does it melt in the sun? Or do you have one of these?" She held up her parasol. She'd been intending to take a walk, something to do while there was a lull in her Mentoring responsibilities.

[mediumdrip]

"It doesn't," Blaine admitted. "It might be a really good idea for me to get one though. Gel doesn't really melt if you get a good brand. I used to work at theme parks during the summer so I spent a lot of time outside. I learned which ones were the best for that and tricks I could do to limit dripping."

[showbizpanache]

Kurt tended not to wander far, especially after his network broadcast. It was like this place was closing in around him, inch by inch--the gravity of it all, oppressive and unyielding, and he was struggling under the weight of it. He had to think. He had to think long and hard about just what he'd have to do to survive this, formulate some kind of strategy.

It was just like playing a part, Harley had said, and yet he didn't want to link his passion to something like this. It was starting to feel more and more inevitable, though, and he considered this as he walked down a corridor alone--

--and promptly ran into Blaine.

It was remarkable how quickly all that calculation thought slipped away. He gasped and moved forward, his hands falling on Blaine's shoulders as he examined him carefully.

"Oh Blaine-- Blaine, are you all right?"

[mediumdrip]

"Kurt!" Blaine cried out. When Kurt came to him he pressed forward and pressed Kurt into his arms, clinging to him for a moment. He pressed his face into Kurt's shoulder.

"I am now," he said carefully. All of the pain and tension inside of him finally disappeared. It was like being in Kurt's presence again made everything okay again. Kurt wasn't gone for good. They were back together. The Capitol may have taken Kurt away, but it gave him back again.

Blaine's eyes filled with tears again, but this time he was able to keep them at bay. He held onto Kurt, not wanting to let go.

[showbizpanache]

"O-oh--"

Kurt gasped when Blaine pulled him forward, stiffening for a moment before slowly relaxing into his ex-boyfriend's arms. He wrapped an arm around Blaine's shoulders and patted him soothingly.

"Hey... It's okay. I'm okay." That's what he kept telling himself, anyway.

[mediumdrip]

Blaine didn't move right away. He didn't care that they were in the middle of the hallway and that anyone could see them. He just held onto Kurt for a while, felt his warmth and the way his body moved when he breathed. He felt Kurt being alive and in one piece.

He didn't buy 'okay.' Neither of them were okay, but they were alive and alive was what really mattered to him.

[showbizpanache]

"Blaine..."

Kurt couldn't stop thinking of the warnings Cinna and the others gave him. If the spectators latched on to Kurt and Blaine together... He squirmed a bit, indicating he wanted to pull away.

[mediumdrip]

Blaine let go then, not wanting to make Kurt even more comfortable. Slowly, he completely pulled his arms away and looked over Kurt's body. "How are you?" he asked. "Really?"