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.

[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."

[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?"

[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."

[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."

[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.

[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.

[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.

[mediumdrip]

Keeping Kurt safe and sane is also Blaine's goal so he doesn't have any qualms about that. He nods.

"Indignant? Did anyone important notice?" How much danger did Kurt put himself in just by being himself, unable to tolerate injustice without offering his own take on it?

[vissernone]

"Probably, but I wouldn't worry about it. They'd run out of Tributes entirely if they punished everyone who snapped at them after a resurrection. They'll chastise him, and he'll feel a little better knowing not everyone in this City agrees with the powers that be." She blinks. "You still haven't told me your name, by the way."

[mediumdrip]

"Oh right. I'm sorry. I'm Blaine. I know Kurt from back home." He seems a little embarrassed by this oversight. He had just be so focused on Kurt. He realizes he isn't sure if this woman watched him and Kurt make out in the Arena, but he hopes that her asking his name means that he's spared that embarrassment.

[vissernone]

"A pleasure, Blaine. You two are close, aren't you?" Eva shoots that hope down. "Your display in the last Arena made you some fans. It could pay off for you if you play your cards right."

Eva doesn't exactly approve, but she has just enough tact to keep from sounding judgmental. She can't help but associate homosexuality with Sponsors; it's been her only encounter with it.

[mediumdrip]

"My relationship with him isn't something I want to exploit for sponsors," Blaine says without thinking about it. Then, after a moment. "Unless it's for his benefit," he adds, frowning a bit. Then he moves a little closer. "Maybe we can work together? If enough people like him, he could win."

[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?"

[vissernone]

Eva pauses. A sour look crosses her face, one not directed at Blaine but towards something else, something she can't see. "It can be for his benefit, but if you care about him you may not want him to win."