thecapitol | [closed] I'm On My Way

[closed] I'm On My Way

Who| Leonidas and China
What| A reunion between a Districter and a Capitolite
Where| Sorrow's Library
When| A few days after end of war
Warnings/Notes| None other than language and references to torture and violence

When Leonidas was captured as a Rebel sympathizer, he wasn't that surprised. He'd been assisting the Rebellion since Jet Link approached him to help with the destruction of the Tribute Tower and kept an eye on the battlefield. A once-proud patriot, to shed that skin took many losses and a need to make the universe right again. At his core, Leo and likeminded Careers celebrated death because, in his eyes greatness, existed in the legends that were born from mortality. To see Snow evade the final journey in a desperate bid for power was disgusting to his every fiber...but not all Capitolites fit in that mold. Case in point, China Sorrows.

Leo made a promise to China before the war came to the Capitol, that he would keep her library safe. In retrospect, his promise was stirred in part by his still-fledgling curiosity, unearthed with Merlyn's passing. He had to see what the past held in those books, but they would be useless without the proper librarian. He endured torture at the hands of Peacekeepers, reopening old wounds from his past, and captivity to come back to this place, to make sure neither side destroyed the priceless antiques and the pages they held.

As he made his way to the deceivingly small building with every limping step, Cora found some measure of relief to see it standing. And maybe...just maybe there would be a friendly face to say hello to.

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China had laid low during the fighting, quickly shedding her valuables and baubles to join the flood of Capitolites and Districters fleeing the fighting. Her return to the rubble of the Capitol is the first break she's had in a while. Not from the backbreaking labor of war, but from the draining process of acting the gracious former Capitolite and currying favor with her fellow Panem residents.

She strolled through the library, freezing when she heard someone's footsteps. Carefully, she stepped out from behind a bookshelf, a salvaged sword in her grasp.

Her Capitol finery was gone, but a close look would reveal that her clothes were still cleaner and more flatteringly tailored than one would expect from a Districter's garb. She was only going to make so many concessions.

When she saw Leo, her smile grew a touch brighter. Only a touch, as if he had simply left for a short coffee break instead of being separated from her by a war. That change still meant something for China, though.

"And here I had thought my collection was missing a valuable installment. Hello, Leo."

Leonidas made no attempt to hide the relief and even joy at seeing China again, smiling as best he could through the bruises given to him by Peacekeepers trying to extract information. He wished he could say he'd been out for a quick coffee run and come back with something other than his spear now turned into his walking cane.

"If it is missing a book, I'll just have to track the idiot who took it. Proper library protocols as it were," Leo joked around. He wanted to do more than just stare, so he offered his hand to shake. He's...not the best when it comes to affection, even friendliness.

She grasped his hand for a firm shake. "I appreciate your vigilance. I trust you'll have the culprit brought to justice promptly."

Instead of releasing his hand after she was done, she instead moved in closer and reached out to press both hands to his face. "Now, let me look at you. Just what did they do to you, dear?"

"They did what they thought was needed to get me to crack," Leonidas explained, flinching slightly a bit at the sudden touch mostly out of a recent reflex. "They didn't."

The war was over but there were still doubts about their loyalties. Leo had kept his aggressive patriot act up to the last week all the while helping the Rebellion advance further into the Capitol. China was part of that system and, like his Career family and friends, would suffer the most in the new regime should Everdeen's fire finally destroy Snow.

"It's...It's complicated to explain. Are you all right?" he finally relented in his pride and allowed her to see the bruises and soreness that come with fists slammed into his head.

"I'm not surprised." Despite the flinch, she let her hands linger. "But perhaps I am proud."

She eyed him quietly for a moment. They had much to talk about, and she wasn't going to let him slither out of that.

"Shockingly, I've found myself without many hobbies in this new world of ours. So no matter how complicated your tale, I have time to listen to it. Come this way. The window seat escaped most of the carnage."

She reached for his hand, and, whether he accepted it or not, started walking for a mostly un-destroyed bench between the bookshelves.

The endless fights softened Leo's demeanor when it came to his allies, even those he actively rebelled against. China presented a conundrum: she was a Capitolite, someone who in some way agreed with the aberration of Snow's immortality and breaking reality. On the other hand, she was a selfish, preserving woman who Cora suspected to have no qualms throwing others under the bus to ensure her survival.

And that was the most comforting truth: he could trust her to be that selfish. It's why he took her hand and let himself be guided to the bench.

"It all depends if you're willing to hear some unpleasant truths," he tested the waters, and in a way, offered her a resource he had that she didn't: alliance with the rebels and now the new government. He could offer her one last gift: being spared from punishment with his word.

She raised one eyebrow, almost surprised he even bothered to ask that. "I think I'll soon tire of unpleasantness, but I suppose I'll simply have to put up with it. I'd rather not have the truth sweetened, Leo."

China may have managed to avoid her gilded cage, but she fed on information; to ignore it simply because it wasn't pleasant would be foolish. She didn't have the patience for such things.

To confess to being a rebel shouldn't have to be this hard but Leo struggled to find the words to best portray this fact. But why did he do something so asinine after the war? The Capitol has fallen and whatever power China had over him was dismantled by his actions.

"I was actively helping the rebellion and took part in the destruction of the Tribute Center," he said it in the only way he knew: bluntly and to the point. China's room had been cleared out as were others but he was still part of the organization that destroyed one of Snow's landmarks of power.

"I tell you this because..." The same monosyllable question arose in his mind: why? Why would he offer this information? Why would he protect her from the incoming maelstrom? "Because I found you to be more than just an ally. I trust you."

China nodded to the confession. He had looked out for his own interests, and that was what she knew to expect from him. It was what she would have done, had she the power. Strange, to think of herself as powerless.

"You made the gamble where I didn't. I would be lying if I said I didn't envy you right now."

Part of why she'd restrained her hand was that she thought it likely the Rebellion had little use for one such as her. Watching the Capitol repeatedly shoot itself in the foot and being unable to do much had been maddening--she was almost glad it was over.

Trust? Even China, as composed as she was, was taken aback. She raised one eyebrow, but there was a hint of melancholy in her smile. "That's a sweet declaration, Leo, even if I can't say if it's an entirely wise one. Do you truly?"

It must've been a blue moon in Panem tonight because Leo is temporarily speechless. Yes, it started as a gambit, to try and gain favor with the Rebels, but the desire to reform the nation had come long before the first agreement. Merlyn's books had provided a new vision that over time, weren't so backwards as the Capitol made him out to be. Cora wasn't blinded by the Rebels' hatred of the Capitol either: not all Capitolites were anything like Snow or the Reagans (and even then Stephen proved there was decency in that line).

China was different and he had to admit it: he held her dearly. He might've been a stunted man child at times, but he had a lion's heart beating in that ribcage.

"I'm sure. I trusted you to be the person that you are and you have yet to betray that notion." Was there affection in his words, as sharp as they were? Maybe.

Half of her mouth curled in a smile. Dryly, "I do try."

She didn't miss that there was more going on in those words. Touching, in a way, and she allowed her heart to be touched by it. It wasn't as if she could fall much farther than she already had, so why not allow herself to feel a little warmth?

Not too much, though.

"What does this mean now? The war's behind us. Will you take vengeance on those who didn't stand with you? I wouldn't have figured you'd be the type to keep me waiting, if so."

So if he had a hit list of former Capitolites, she would have thought he'd already have taken her out by now. Besides, it didn't match with his words yet.

"I'm not one to simply give into revenge," This was a bold-faced lie, Leonidas was a man who would go for the jugular if he had a grudge. And Panem be damned, he took the chance to maim those officials that dared give him a fight. "And you were never someone I couldn't trust."

In every sense of the word. If China was as self-serving as Leo was, he knew what to expect from her. He couldn't blame or hold any actions against her because he would've done them himself. If he couldn't trust her to be her, he couldn't trust himself.

"I'd rather make sure you're still alive to read all the books we've salvaged. I'm...good on war for a little while."

To have him give up the holy duties of fighting to his last breath was a sign that he was here on a peaceful task. He extended his hand to her, "If you will let me."

"I'll need to think a moment. Fortunately for you, I think very fast." Her lips curved upward as she took his hand. "I'd be delighted to read with you. I'll even let you choose where we start."

She gestured to the remains of the library with her free hand. She had a few scraps of future, and Leo had just given her a few more. It might not be as rich and peaceful as she'd prefer, but China would hold onto any future she had. Sharing it with someone she genuinely liked was a bonus.

Leo allowed himself to smile as he would in the privacy of his own home, before the world went to shit and the Cora estate became an armament. That thought sobered him up quite well and he merely looked at his not-prisoner in the eye,

"Did your family get out? Why did you remain in the Capitol when shit hit the fan?" In part he was curious as to what were China's plans at all. Would she ride on her name alone as many others did?

"I expect they did. They were always dreadfully difficult to squash." She smiled wryly. Her remark was something of a joke. Mostly.

Her smile slipped away at his questions. "By the time our dear leader started making his terrible strategic choices, well... I didn't think I was an appealing recruit for the resistance. So I couldn't jump ship--there was no lifeboat.

"I'd do anything to stay alive, of course, but I wasn't going to beg on my knees when I knew it would be of no use."

I'd do anything to stay alive, any other person would've called China a coward. Hell, Leo would've called her a coward, if he didn't know her so well that any other answer was a lie.

"If only I kept in contact...but you know why I couldn't just tell you of my alliances," there in lies the problem with being part of the Rebellion when most of your important allies were in the Capitol.

China flashes a smile at him. "Of course, Leo. I wasn't waiting for you to sweep in and rescue me; we both had to do what was necessary for ourselves. You know that I wouldn't have risked myself to help you either, if our roles were reversed.

"Those facts will never change, even with that dreadful war over."

And that's the honest cruelty of their strange relationship. It's then that Leo had to make the concession, "Do tell me this: if you had discovered my true alliance, now that the point's moot, would you have executed?"

It was a question that Cora wondered on a daily basis during the war. Not that he minded dying for his district's liberation but he wanted some semblance of dignity in the meantime. Their political game was, for all intents and purposes, over.

The question actually surprises China, but she makes no move to show it. "You know my first loyalty is always to myself."

"It depends. I find your company enjoyable, and the Capitol wouldn't do much for me either way. So more likely than not, I would see no benefit to having you killed."

Half of her mouth rises in a smile that's more rueful than her typical mask. "If someone else had discovered you, though, of course I'd renounce any friendship that might be perceived between us. I believe that answers your question."

The last sentence is a statement, but she raises one eyebrow as she says it. The implied question: why do you ask? Why do you care, when you know just what kind of a person I am?

Leo's response to the question is a laugh. It wasn't his usual cynical sound, something genuine and even vulnerable.

"You might be one of the lucky few who could be ruthless enough, who could help the new regime not be made of sunshine, rainbows, and saccharine dreams," he stated outright, "I'll definitely put in the word for you. Make you worth keeping around for them."

He cared because he has no idea how else to show affection in any way that wasn't a power play for their survival.

The words were simple, unadorned with any of the emotion China might feign if she were trying to get something, "Thank you."

"And your plans for yourself? Will you settle down and set yourself to sculpting fine works of art, like your family?"

That question earned China a rare sight: an unsure Leonidas, if for a second. What was he going to do after the reconstruction of Panem? He lived and breathed the Hunger Games, prepared cadets into tributes worthy of carrying on District 2's pride. Hell, would there even be a District 2 at this point?

"My hands weren't made to sculpt art, Miss Sorrows, we both know that," he stated quite frankly, "I can only provide so much security. Maybe I could set up something with rehabilitation, but I cannot see myself making something new out of the earth as my father did."

Old man must've fought the Capitol, knowing his devotion to their home.

"Rehabilitation?"

In the aftermath of the war, the word seems almost loaded with meaning. China assumes he may be referring to injuries similar to his own--she wouldn't expect the idealism of "rehabilitating" their world from Leo.

"You know, physical rehabilitation," Leo tried to mask the probability that he'd have to restructure some manner of Capitolite thinking. That his new commanders would force him to "rehabilitate" those from the old order that he got along well.

"I walked away from all this with an aggravated injury. There are plenty of others who'd wish this fate a thousand times over. Someone in this rebellion state has to get them back to functioning order." He couldn't help the distancing between himself and the rebels, his loyalty was still so ingrained.

"These books need a caretaker." And that was a distraction.

"The books have no need to worry." She'll take care of them, she supposes, though she realizes she may have to learn to tolerate a different clientele.

She sends a pointed look his way, showing that she hasn't entirely swallowed the change of topic. "Very charitable of you, to think of healing others."

"Is it charity when it's the only thing I could do that could be allowed in the new world?" Leonidas didn't parse words, "In any other situation, had I had no leverage, I wouldn't be so lucky. I enabled the Games, I participated and celebrated them along the Capitol's side."

It's the gravity of that situation that sinks into Leo's flesh like an airborne germ, changing everything it came into contact in an irrevocable manner. He hated it, he hated having his eyes opened like this. That he enabled the Capitol's greed for his and his District's pride.

China smiled at the practicality of it all. "I'm glad to see you haven't entirely lost your head, then.

"Why did the rebellion take you, despite all that?"

The question was one that even Leo had issues reconciling with. The only thing that could make sense was that…

"I was useful in some way, to them. I had my reasons, they had theirs. They probably wouldn't appreciate the rebels I killed to keep my appearances," he answered as best he could, "But they knew what they were getting into. I proved my loyalty, but I'm pretty sure I'll be processed by those losses."

"Useful, I have no doubt."

She pursed her lips at the thought of loyalty. "To whom--or to what cause--are you loyal now?"

That question was probably the easiest one Leonidas could answer. "I'm loyal to District 2, to their people and in this strange, saccharine way...you."

He didn't know what could happen when he finally showed back up to the Rebels with a Capitolite. He didn't know if they would be friendly or punishing towards her for being herself. China was unapologetic in her ways and that's what drew him to her.

"I can't say what will happen when we leave this library. I can't promise anything. I can only say what I need to say."

"I'll permit you to be loyal, but please don't be 'saccharine' with me, dear." No worries, Leo; she's just joking. But her next words are very true: "I wouldn't have come to enjoy you so much if you weren't your overly blunt self."

Leo's mind needed to catch up on what was being said and for a second, he almost believed it to be a lie. Did she...she did.

He felt a chuckle leave his lungs, trying his best to keep his composure. The irony wasn't lost on him, that it took the world to fall apart to admit that he had these sorts of feelings for a Capitolite of all people.

"Panem had to collapse for us to even acknowledge these things. I figure it just needs to burn all down to consider a venue for our next meeting." It was looking like that was the pattern.

She watched him react with a faint smile. "You wouldn't dare. The flames might spread to my library, and I already see myself having enough trouble salvaging its current state.

"You could simply ask me on a date instead."

"You think I'm not capable of razing the land just so I could get a date from you? I thought you knew me better than that," Leo joked around, allowing himself to be happy for once and not someone die because of it.

"Would you like to go on a date in this destroyed land? I have provisions and I saved a Capitolite's wine for the victory lap. It's a better use for such a commodity now."

To emphasize his point, Leo rummaged between some books to find such a bottle, still uncorked and unconsumed.

She shook her head delicately. "I think you're perfectly capable. I simply don't recommend it."

Her smile brightened even more when he produced the wine--normally she wouldn't be one for picnics, but they had to make do with what they had in post-war time. "You didn't even open it yet. How gentlemanly."

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[closed] I'm On My Way

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Oh man, sorry for the lateness :( I've been on hiatus

I'M SO SORRY

NEVER BE SORRY <3

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What a cute smile

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I'm so sorry for how late this is :(

I'm sorry too!

<3

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