thecapitol | it's where my heart was made

Who| Beck and Emily
What| Time for backstooorrrrryyyyy!
Where| Starting at Emily's, moving to Beck's house and around the Capitol
When| Mid-January (backdated, obvs)
Warnings/Notes| TBD

The conversation they had on the night of the propo has stuck with Beck. It had never occurred to her that Emily might not know about her past, that anyone might not. Now the thought had been handed to her, she can't shake it. Nor can she shake the feeling that it isn't fair - that Emily doesn't just know less than she'd assumed, she knows less than most of the Capitol.

They've been dating for months. Beck might be no relationship expert, but she's pretty sure that's not how it ought to work.

So she ends up on Emily's doorstep one morning, having just made up her mind what she needs to do. The Capitol knows all the facts of the story - but she's the only one who knows the whole story. There have to be parts of her life she can share with Emily that the world doesn't know. She just has to find them.

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Emily answers the door in her bathrobe, toothbrush hanging from one side of her mouth. It had been another long night plagued by dreams and memories, but though she looks tired and pale, her eyes light up when she sees Beck stood there. She waves her inside, disappearing briefly back to the bathroom and looking a good deal more human when she emerges.

"You're up early," she teases. It was a sign that maybe Beck really was settling down after all; she couldn't imagine she'd be able to drag herself over here after being up partying all night.

That change in Emily's expression when she sees Beck, the way her eyes light up, is enough to make Beck's heart thud. Is that strange? She isn't sure. All she knows is that, even more than most people, it matters that Emily's happy to see her. She comes inside gladly, pushing the door to behind her, and leans up against the wall as she waits for Emily to come back.

"You're up late," she counters, smiling, and moves in to kiss her on the cheek. "Are you free today? There's something I want to show you."

"Sure, I didn't have anything planned for today." Now that there are no Arenas, she's found herself with an abundance of free time, and she's found it difficult to fill. She's left with far too much time to dwell on things she'd been able to push to one side when she had work to focus on - something she finds rather ironic given the very nature of that work. "That sounds both exciting and mysterious."

"Excitement and mystery are my specialities. Just be glad I didn't go with plan A," Beck teases, smiling. "Blindfolding you and leading you all the way across town just didn't seem practical, you know? Although I could have gotten you the world's most fashionable blindfold."

She hadn't seriously considered that, of course. That was for surprises in the next room, not for trips half a mile across town.

Her expression softens a little, becoming gentler. More genuine. "I wanted to show you where I grew up," she explains. Mystery has a time and place, but... but not with something she's so unsure of already.

Emily brightens, longing to know more of Beck's life but feeling as though she'd be intruding if she pushed the subject herself. "That's a wonderful idea. I'd love to see places that are important to you."

That's a reassuring reaction. Beck's posture loosens a little, and she lets out a long, low breath. "Good. I was worried it was a stupid idea." Which was saying something, because she usually didn't worry at all about her ideas. She smiles, reaching for Emily's hand. "Have you had breakfast? There's a cafe on the way, if you haven't."

She squeezes Beck's hand encouragingly. "It's not stupid. You're important to me, so of course I want to know." She feels her stomach growl and adds, "Breakfast sounds like a good idea too, though."

She laughs, leaning in to kiss the corner of Emily's mouth, then tugging her towards the door. "Breakfast it is, then! You'll love this place. It's very intimate. I used to go there every afternoon, when I was working downtown."

The idea of Beck having frequented a little, intimate place rather than somewhere in right in the middle of the action surprises her a little. As she slips on her shoes and follows her out the door, Emily can't help remarking, "Every afternoon? Sounds about right for breakfast time for you."

"Hey!" Beck slaps her playfully on the arm, pulling a face. "You try working until 5am and getting up at ten, some time. Even party animals need to sleep, you know."

"But that means you miss the best part of the day!" She links her arm through Beck's as they walk. "I love the world at around 6 or 7, just when everything's beginning to wake up. Everything feels more peaceful then."

"That's when I go running," Beck informs her, with a little smile. "Six o'clock sharp. Three times around the park and home by six-thirty. You surprised?" She laughs, nudging her shoulder against Emily's and tossing her hair back.

"A little," Emily admits. "It makes me wonder that you get any sleep at all."

Beck laughs. "I used to sleep during the day," she says, and shrugs one shoulder. "Now I just live on coffee and the exercising high. Sometimes I still sleep in the afternoons, but now I have an actual day job, well..."

Emily squeezes her hand. "Perhaps I ought to check in on you before bed, make sure you're getting enough sleep."

Beck laughs, stroking her thumb against Emily's hand. "Perhaps you ought to," she agrees, and raises one eyebrow. "And after, and maybe during." Another laugh, and she lifts their joined hands, kissing Emily's knuckles as if to reassure her she's only kidding. "Here, the cafe's just down this street."

For the Capitol, the shop she's pointing to is pretty subdued - which is to say that the brightly-coloured lights and glittering mirrors are all on the inside, at least. "I haven't been here in aaaages," Beck comments, lengthening her stride a little as she heads for the door. "Months. Wow."

It's not subdued enough to keep Emily from squinting a little as the glint of the mirrors hits her straight on when they enter. "Is it the same as you remember?"

"Of course not." Beck laughs at the thought. Fashions change so fast in the Capitol that even here, in a place that's fairly unfashionable by the city's standards, the décor must have undergone ten or twenty total changes since last time she was here. "Same people, though. Hey, Lavinia!" She waves to the girl behind the counter, whose dark skin glitters with inlaid gemstones, and draws Emily with her as she strides over. "You still do those quail omelettes? I'll have one, and a cappuccino. What do you want, love?" This to Emily, of course.

Emily hesitates, forcing down the panic she always feels at being put on the spot, even over something so trivial. "I'll take a vanilla latte and one of those almond pastries you have in the window."

Beck squeezes Emily's hand absent-mindedly, and turns to find a table as Lavinia goes to pass the order on to the Avoxes in the kitchen. "Here," she says, after a moment, and leads Emily to a couch in the far corner. "This is a good place to sit. You can see everyone, and no-one looks at you. Used to be a lifesaver if I came here straight from work. Nobody wants to see a dancer offstage. Kills the mystique if you get close enough to see her hair's all tangled and she needs a shower."

it's where my heart was made

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