━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━

He tasted of pomegranates, ecstasy, bliss and home.

Caelum let out a soft noise from the back of his throat as Daphne's lips gently folded onto his. Carefully, at first, testing the uncharted waters. In the back of her mind, a chorus of worries echoed through the haze. Will he pull back? Did he change his mind? Are my lips chapped? Does my breath smell weird? Am I not a good kisser?

It all melted to oblivion the moment his arms went around her waist, pulling her close. She could feel his thundering heartbeat, pounding in sync with rapid rhythm in hers.

The kiss quickly deepened, fueled by the years and years of hopeless pining and repressed desire. Caelum had sunken down to his elbows, pulling Daphne atop him. Sparks burst within Daphne's gut as their bodies pressed together, her hands finding themselves woven in his dark hair. Heat streaked through her body, piercing deep into her core.

Daphne felt the bandages beneath his clothes as her legs straddled his waist. She suddenly lifted her weight. "Oh- is your wound okay? After the Cortexes and everything-"

Caelum simply pulled her back down, his lips finding hers once again. "I ripped my stitches, but it was an easy fix," he murmured in between kisses. "It's still quite numb from the ointment. I can't feel anything there."

Daphne chuckled against his lips. "Whatever you say."

Daphne had imagined how it would feel to kiss Caelum Caflisch for the past six years. Although she hadn't expected it to happen when they were dressed in old, dusty, bloodstained clothes, to actually do it felt almost unreal. His petal-soft lips were locked against hers, his hands were exploring the planes of her back, his body was firm and warm beneath her. This is real. Yet she couldn't quite convince herself that it wasn't all a dream.

Caelum suddenly stumbled beneath her, and Daphne let out an alarmed squeak. The floorboard beneath his left elbow had been jostled loose, falling through and landing with a clatter on the ground floor.

"Not to worry," Caelum said, moving in to graze his lips against her jaw, his voice coming out low and breathy. "With luck, maybe we won't fall through the floor."

Daphne puffed a breathless laugh, her entire body feeling like she'd just consumed six cups of coffee. It was hard to find words when Caelum was currently trailing kisses down the curve of her throat. "Well, good thing I'm feeling quite lucky."

Caelum bumped her nose with his, smiling mischievously against her lips. He wrapped Daphne in a tight hug, maneuvering her onto her back and positioning himself above her. Daphne let out a delighted gasp, hooking her legs around his waist. Shivers gripped her spine as his hands traced along her thighs, then slipped beneath her shirt.

Daphne's foot then caught against a pile of crumpled wood that probably used to be part of the roof. The wood dislodged, sending a cascade of broken panels toppling over and rattling more floorboards loose. There were a couple more crashing noises downstairs as debris fell through the gaps.

Daphne turned back to Caelum after watching the whole thing in stunned silence. Caelum's green eyes were as wide as her own. Daphne noticed with a twinge of satisfaction that his cheeks were flushed redder than she'd ever seen.

"On second thought, maybe we should go downstairs." He chuckled.

"Good idea."

Off they went, stumbling down the stairs hand in hand, drunk on something better than alcohol. Daphne thought her heart would implode at any minute by how hard it was hammering. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face, couldn't repress the giggles that kept escaping her lips.

She was aware that all the cameras were probably trained on them at the moment, that all of Panem was enjoying the show. Everyone from school, Lysa and Tobe, Caelum's parents, her parents...

Her thoughts once again turned to mush as Caelum gently pushed her against the wall. His eyes were luminous green moons, hooded with desire as he brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. Daphne smiled. He returned it, and she reached up to trace the small dimples on the sides of his lips that she had always loved.

"You're beautiful," he said, the moonlight filtering through the holes in the upstairs floor turning the edges of his hair to silver.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Says you."

She hooked her arms around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss. Everything became hazy, dizzy with dopamine. The circumstances, the trauma, the tears and heartbreak of the last few days melted away with her surroundings. It was just her and Caelum.

He was hers at last.

***

Daphne slept like a rock. An adorable rock.

Caelum had no idea how late it was, but he'd been lying awake for hours. How could he possibly fall asleep when his heart still raced, giddiness still flooded his veins and Daphne Feng was laying his arms?

She'd fallen asleep with one hand holding his and the other cupped around her plum blossom pendant. She reached for that pendant a lot, Caelum noticed. He wasn't sure if she was aware she was doing it. Whenever she was deep in thought, her hand would always close around the small, ivory flower.

Caelum's arms tightened around her torso. She didn't stir. He wanted to hold her here and never let her go, never let any of the other four tributes come near and hurt her. It didn't feel real to him, how they were in the endgame now. They had a real shot of making it out alive.

Both of them. Because Caelum couldn't bear the thought of a world without Daphne in it. He himself could not afford to die either. There was no way he'd put Ara through all that again, and without him to support her, who knows what she might do to herself.

Somehow, they will find a way. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark did it once, the famous star-crossed lovers who'd outwitted the Gamemakers. Only to be struck down the year after, in the seventy-fifth Hunger Games, was what his brain refused to acknowledge.

But for now, he would enjoy it. He squeezed Daphne tighter, then reluctantly loosened up the slightest bit after realizing that suffocating her in her sleep went against everything he'd just thought about. He couldn't quite believe that she was here, wrapped up in his arms, and he was free to love her like he'd longed to do since he was thirteen years old.

And after they make it out of this hellhole, he'd continue to love her to his heart's desire. No more suppressing his feelings. He would live his life with her, free from the shadow of the Games, holding each other and never letting go.

Caelum smiled to himself, alas letting his eyelids fall. He rested his chin atop Daphne's head, feeling truly content for the first time in a long while.

***

Daphne shrieked, her pulse hammering as she bolted upright. Her hands clasped her blossom by her throat, trembling violently. Cold sweat coated the back of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut as her brain struggled to snap back to reality.

"Hey," A soothing voice sounded by her ear. A pair of arms went around her, and she felt a warm presence by her side. "Hey, it's alright."

Daphne exhaled, counting her breaths in an effort to calm herself. She opened her eyes to find a pair of green ones staring back.

"Sorry," she rasped. "Nightmare."

She leaned her head against Caelum's chest until her hands stopped shaking and the gruesome images of death and bloody weapons cleared from her mind. She smiled up at him, giggling as the memory of his hands in her hair last night replaced those of her nightmare.

Caelum pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before getting up to grab the water bottle. It was only half-filled now, which probably meant they'd have to stop by the canal soon. He tossed her the bottle after taking a sip for himself.

"Drink some water," he said.

"Thanks," Daphne chuckled. "I always forget to hydrate. It's probably not healthy."

He snorted. "Remember that one time in sixth grade gym class when you fainted on Jayce Suarez after running the mile because you barely drank any water the entire day?"

"Oh, don't remind me. I still cringe about that sometimes. At the time, Lysa had the biggest crush on Jayce, so in hopes of passing out on him one day too, she followed in my footsteps and 'forgot' to drink water the next time we ran the mile."

Caelum's eyes widened, an amused smile spreading across his face. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Daphne began to laugh, then searched around for an invisible camera. "Sorry Lysa, I realize I just exposed you on national television."

Caelum choked on his own spit, leading Daphne to as well. Soon they were both sputtering and coughing, which only made them laugh harder.

"It was then that I began to notice that you had a bad habit of forgetting to drink water," Caelum said once he'd cleared his throat. "That's why I left you a glass every night in your room after the Reaping. You would always forget to take one."

Daphne paused. Her mind flashed back to hazy mornings in the Tribute Center, wondering whether an Avox had pitied her enough to leave her water every night. So it hadn't been an Avox after all.

"That was you?"

Caelum blushed, his eyes trailing shyly to the side. "Perhaps."

A small smile involuntarily crept onto her face. Daphne glanced away, at first to hide her own flushed face before realizing she had no reason to anymore. Still, her eyes caught on the view outside the window. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, turning the inky black sky to shades of dark purples and pinks.

"Hey," Caelum nodded towards the door. "I have an idea."

He extended a hand, which Daphne gladly accepted. He led her out the door and down the path by the sea, walking hand in hand like a normal teenage couple on a hot summer morning. If normal teenage couples had cuts and bruises on their faces and bloodstains on their worn clothes. Still, the thought of her and Caelum as a 'couple' sent butterflies flouncing around in Daphne's stomach. That was what they technically were now, wasn't it?

There was a small wooden dock that stuck out over the sea a block or two down the path. They hadn't stopped to check it out when they'd passed by the other day looking for a stable house to stay in. Now, Caelum smiled rather seductively as he led Daphne onto the dock, the wooden boards creaking beneath their feet. The sun was slightly more awake now, staining the sky with hints of orange.

"Remember our dance during the Banquet?" He asked quietly.

"The one you pretended not to enjoy?" Daphne teased, scrunching her nose playfully.

Caelum scoffed, though there was an undertone of pain in his laugh. Daphne immediately regretted mentioning it, but Caelum quickly swooped her into an embrace. A familiar embrace, with one of their hands linked, Daphne's other on his shoulder and Caelum's at her waist. It was just like the Tribute Dance, but now, something was different.

There was no pressure of not messing up the steps. Not when it was just Caelum. He himself was changed; no longer hiding behind a stone wall, his body soft and relaxed against hers.

They began to sway to invisible music only the two of them could hear. Daphne remembered back at the Banquet, she'd been so nervous on figuring out how to perform the dance. Now, nobody was watching. Nobody was judging. She could fumble all she needed and Caelum would be there to support her.

"I've always wanted to dance with someone beneath the sunrise," he whispered softly, twirling and catching her against his chest.

Daphne chuckled. "Caelum?"

"Hm?"

"I think you've read one too many romance books."

Caelum smirked, lowering her into a dip. "Are you complaining?"

Daphne cupped his face in her hands. Color blossomed along his cheekbones as she grinned up at him.

"No. No I am not."

━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━