Open RP post!

[hominidae]

? Pick one of my characters (see below) OR drop any character of yours in and get a random choice.
? Use RNG and enter 1-14 for a scene; roll again for specifics.
? Or cheat and just pick something.
? You can also just throw a picture, quote, or whatever kind of prompt you want.
? OPTIONAL: combine a bunch of memes and scenarios and go nuts.
? NOT optional: HAVE ALL THE FUN OR ELSE.


MUSE LIST


I. BED INVADERS

A. Decide you know this person! (Cast mate, previous CR, etc.)

1. WAKE THEM UP. You don't care how friendly you are to the person in your bed; they need to get up.
2. PRANK! Oh, this has just got to stop. They need to be punished. But how?
3. CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM. Push 'em over & snuggle up. You're too tired to deal with this craziness right now. Or sleep on your couch.
4. LET THEM SLEEP. Whatever. It's noon. They're asleep and you've got things to do. Regard them or disregard them.

B. Decide you have NO CLUE who is person is! (No CR, cast mates who have never met, cross-canon, etc.)

5. SCREAM 'OMGWTFBBQ GET UP!' Really. Default action going on here.
6. PRANK! What a better way for you to remember this moment of meeting than by painting a mustachio on your new 'friend's' face? (Remember, it's your bed. Be wise what you do.)
7. GENTLY AWAKEN THEM. Oh, the poor dears! They must be exhausted, but they can't stay here. Be nice, even if it isn't IC for your character. This is what you get for rolling. Shake them up quietly. Or re-roll.
8. GET TO KNOW THEM NON-BIBLICALLY. Well, they're asleep. But they left their wallet, important work, or identification out (no matter how OOC it may be)! Let's see who's REALLY sleeping in your bed. (Use your own judgment on what you find. AS a suggestion, have the most they find is the sleeper's name and maybe place of work.)
9. TIE 'EM UP. FUNCTIONAL typing up. Not kinky, no matter what the other party might think. Let them continue their blissful moment of rest. They'll answer questions later and you'll be safe and sound.

C. Decide - I do what I want

II. ROAD TRIP

1. BREAK DOWN. Oh snap. Your car decided to break down out in the middle of nowhere. WHAT DO? Is that Leather-face? Will this be "Children of the Corn"?
2. HITCHHIKERS? Is this even a good idea? Threads may also have a third participant. Go wild.
3. WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST HIT? Dude, I hear deer mess up cars... Or I think that was a deer...
4. DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND. Alas. You're the parent or disgruntled friend who has had it up to here with all the fighting in the back. This thread may also have a third or even fourth participant, if you can wing it.
5. OMG, I WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS LANDMARK! No, no, and no. You tell that person that they're going to be driven around and they're going to like it.
6. THE GREAT ESCAPE. Either dinosaurs or the moth-man is chasing you. Don't stop now.
7. MAKE OUT. For whatever reason, the person you're traveling with in the car. You would love to make out with them and then some.

III. CUDDLES

1. SWEET DREAMS. It's been a long day and all you want to do is sleep or just rest your eyes for a bit. Hopefully whoever is close by doesn't mind if you use them as a blanket.
2. STORMY WEATHER. The heavy rain, thunder, and lightning won't be letting up anytime soon. Luckily, it's the perfect weather to stay indoors and snuggle up close and keep warm.
3. SLOW DANCE. It's the end of a party, or maybe it's only the two of you, but the tempo is slow and the lights are low. Let your dance partner take the weight and just sway.
4. SURPRISE ATTACK. Time to invade someone's personal space. Are they working too much and need a distraction? Maybe you just wanted to brighten their day. Either way, they won't see it coming.
5. MOVIE NIGHT. It can be on the sofa or in a darkened theater, but you've got your popcorn and someone to settle against during your favorite movie.
6. I LOVE YOU, MAN. It's totally platonic, really. You're just very good friends, no matter what people like to think. But you just love your friend so much you want to hug them, whether they like it or not.
7. JEEPERS CREEPERS. Welp. You were just frightened. Was it a spider in the washroom, a ghost in the attic, a bad dream? Either way, you're looking for someone to cling to right now, and who better than that person right there?
8. HURT AND COMFORT. Whether you're sick in bed, just been dumped, or suffered a traumatic event, you need someone to wrap their arms around you and make everything go away.
9. SUNDAY MORNING. Maybe you just had a wild night. Maybe there's just not enough space at your place and you need to share your bed. Or maybe you just got really tired and someone else happened to be there. Doesn't matter because now the person with you looks way more comfortable than any blanket or pillow. Drape to your heart's content.
10. MOMENT AFTER. You just had incredible, vigorous sex and if you weren't a cuddler before, you are now. You're probably too exhausted to do anything else anyway. Just enjoy the moment.
11. PLAYER'S CHOICE. Pick one or make up your own!

IV. HURT/COMFORT

1. INJURY. You've been injured. Broken bones or bleeding out or maybe just a tiny little paper-cut. The choice is yours.
2. SICKNESS. You're sick and laid up in bed, at home or in a hospital. The severity is up to you.
3. FEAR/ANXIETY. Something is happening and you're scared beyond belief.
4. LOSS OF SENSES. Sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell, etc. You've lost some important sense or ability and now you're left to deal with it.
5. DESPAIR. Nothing is good or right anymore and you can't shake the depression. Maybe that friend of yours can help though.
6. MAKE UP. Fight or break up, it's time to make up.
7. RESCUED. You've just been held captive and/or tortured for however long and finally, someone has come to the rescue.
8. BAD ROMANCE. Fight, cheat on, abuse, whatever the case is, someone else can clearly see you need comfort from someone who isn't your terrible lover tonight.
9. LOSS. You've experienced a loss of some kind and need help getting through it.

V. FIGHT

1. FISTFIGHT. Straight-up, unfussy, no-holds-barred face punching. Clearly you're emotionally invested in this argument. Or maybe you want some stress relief.
2. BAR FIGHT. Someone's had one too many drinks. Curses are being slurred, bottles are being smashed. Just don't be surprised if you get thrown out.
3. VERBAL. A caustic, intellectual battle of wits? Or just immature playground insults? Either way, the fighting here isn't physical; sticks and stones can break your bones, but we'll see if words can hurt you...
4. WEAPONRY. Fencing practice or a real sword fight? Paintball or battlefield gunfight? The only limits are your imagination (and the extents of human military engineering, of course)!
5. SPARRING. Maybe you're a streetwise punk teaching the new kid on the block the ropes of self-defense. Or perhaps you just want to get some practice in before your karate exam.
6. SEXY. That collar-grabbing led to a kiss, that knee stayed in a place a little too long, those gazes got a little intense... There's heavy breathing here, but it might not be because you've been exerting yourself.
7. DUEL. You insulted the wrong person. Or got caught cheating at cards. A duel, sir, a duel! The glvoes are off (and slapping you) and it's pistols at dawn.
8. COMPETITIVE. Boxing, wrestling, martial arts, the possibilities are endless. Just remember: the first rule of Fight Club...
9. OTHER. Combine any of the above, or make up your own!

VI. BODY HORROR

1. WATER-DWELLING. You've grown gills, or your skin is turning translucent, or you're sprouting fins, or maybe you're outright turning into some form of sea life. It doesn't matter what you're turning into - what does matter is taht you're slowly losing the ability to breathe air, and there's no water in sight.
2. ANIMAL. Something bit you, and you're turning into an animal. Your bones lengthen or perhaps shrink, break, twist, and reform. Your teeth lengthen or shorten. And above all, you feel your instincts being overridden. Your senses sharpen; you notice smells you never did before. Your vision becomes more sensitive to movement. If you're a predator? Man, these people look mighty tasty. Prey? OH GOD. EVERYTHING IS TERRIFYING. Lizard? Enjoy your new inability to regulate body temperature. Bird? Have fun with the whole beak and hollowing bones. And don't get us started on insects and arachnids.
3. PARASITIC. Something's inside you, and it's changing you from within, chewing up your insides and altering your thoughts. You're not sure how much longer you're going to be you, and when the parasite's going to take over completely...
4. DEMONIC. You've been meddling with dark powers beyond the ken of mortal man, and it seems you've accidentally sold your soul. Will you be the traditional kind of demon, horns and hooves, or something far more terrifying and ineffable?
5. UNDEAD. No doubt about it, you're dying. But as you are, something's been altered in you. Maybe you're becoming a vampire - and not the fun kind either; we're talking ugly, ravenous, and mad. Maybe you're a zombie, or a ghoul, and human flesh looks mighty tasty. Or maybe you're just turning into a ghost bent on vengeance. In any case, death is never fun.
6. CYBERNETIC. Get captured by the Borg? Strapped to an operating table? Injected with nanites? Whatever happened to you, you're slowly turning into something half-human, half-machine, and your squishy bits are being replaced by mechanical components.
7. LOVECRAFTIAN. You've heard their song, the terrors from beyond the stars, and even no they sing in your blood as your flesh transmutes into something ineffable and unknowable. You revel in the pain. You feel even as you seek to spread it, to herald the end of all things... Or maybe worse. You're aware of the transition as your mind becomes not your own.
8. FUSION/HIVEMIND. You've begun to fuse with the first person who tagged you - physically, mental, or both. Soon, you can't tell who is who, which one of you is the real you, as your thoughts become one. Join in the flesh song, mortal.
9. INANIMATE. Your body slowly petrifies and hardens, tuning to stone, wood, glass, or something stranger still. Or perhaps you liquefy or maybe you dissolve into the air itself.
10. WILDCARD. Pick whatever you like, combine a few options, or make up your own.

VII. HIGH SCHOOL AU

1. CLASS TIME. Pick your class, pick your seat. Whether you're paying attention or goofing off, you're interacting constantly with someone else.
2. BREAK TIME. Those precious minutes that aren't lunch, usually half an hour if you're lucky. Are you hanging out on the grass, rushing to get homework finished, or bunking off school early?
3. LUNCH TIME. Food, glorious food! ... As long as you're not eating the school lunches. What sort of chaos will you get up to in the endless queue that is the lunch line?
4. FOOD FIGHT. The natural reaction to being served school lunches: throwing them as far away from you as possible. You're caught in the middle, or maybe you're instigating it. Who knows? No one can tell.
5. STUDY PERIOD. Yeah. "Studying." They mean catching up on gossip, right? Or watching that crappy TV in the common room? Or maybe you really want to study. I'm not judging.
6. SKIPPING SCHOOL. Did you even get to school before you bunked off somewhere? Or did you just take the bus five stops further and in to town? Hope you don't get caught, either way.
7. EXAM WEEK. You're going into an exam, or just cramming every last bit of knowledge into your head. Either way, good luck! You're going to need it.
8. DETENTION. What did you do? Or were you innocent and wrapped up in your friend's scheme, and now you both have detention? I do not envy you at any rate.
9. SUMMER HOLIDAY. SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! Burn your books, burn your uniforms. Everything is over for another 6 weeks (or however long you get off).
10. FACULTY. Oh, hello miss/sir. No, we weren't talking about bunking. Yep, you're the teacher. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you get this option, you or your partner can do a second roll for the scenario.
11. TAKE YOUR PICK. Free for you. Whether you want to pick something from the list, or make up your own scenario, this option allows that. (Of course, you could just bypass the rolling entirely.)

VIII. APOCALYPSE HOW

1. LAST ACTION HERO. You tried your best to save the world, but despite the superpowers, the teamwork, and the sacrifice of many good friends, you couldn't quite pull it off. Now you're left with your guilt and a universe where half the people left are depending on you to help them, while the rest are trying to hunt you down for your failures. Good luck with that, hero.
2. SCIENCE SAVIOR. They said it was impossible, they said it was futile, but you know that if you just got a little bit of support you could fix all of the world's troubles. Maybe your experiments are a bit on the unethical side, but the survival of humanity is depending on you! You can't let the world down. Time to grab those test-tubes and get yourself a lab assistant that doesn't mind getting their hands dirty.
3. THE LAST PERSON ON EARTH. Well, it's finally happened. A virus or disease or genetic mutation has all but wiped out members of the opposite sex and humanity is doomed. But what's this? A lone survivor? As the savior of the species, they'll be glad to lend a hand (or reproductive organ) to help restore the population, right? Maybe a little bit of persuasion is in order.
4. SO LONELY. You haven't talked to another person in days and you're starved for conversation. So when you finally meet another lone traveler it makes total sense to stick together, right? Maybe share some food, some companionship, some ammo. . . . Better hope you both get along.
5. MUTATION STATION. The bomb dropped and some people weren't fortunate enough to go in the blast. Now those left behind have to deal with nuclear winter, a dwindling food supply, and some strange additions to the human gene code. Maybe these super-humans are friendly and misunderstood. Then again, maybe they just want to eat your brains.
6. LAST DANCE. The world is ending. You know it, everyone knows it, so the only thing left to do is party like it's 1999. Complete your bucket list, do the things you never got the chance to do before, and maybe screw up the courage to do the things you were too scared to even think about doing. Oh, and watch out for looters.
7. FREEBIE SCENARIO. Anything you can think of that isn't already mentioned can go here.

IX. PARANOIA

1. EROTOMANIA. That person loves you. They belong to you. They might deny it and be with someone else but they're ridiculous. You know better here.
2. DISTRUST. Simple as it sounds, you're being lied to. You can't prove it but you're not falling for their tricks anymore.
3. HALLUCINATIONS. A vague classic. Those sounds, those sights, your senses are screwed up and the world is upside down. There's plenty of senses to screw.
4. TAINTED. You're completely wrong. Is it in your family's blood? Is it parasites? A disease? Aliens? A sin? But it's consuming you, whatever it is.
5. CONSPIRACY. Why are they after you? Who knows. Maybe you know. But everyone is in on it and you're the only one left fighting against it.
6. CONTROL. Your actions aren't your own, even if others insist they are. Somehow, either drugs or magic or something, someone is making you their puppet.
7. FIXATION. Either it's in you or someone else or a thing but this imperfection is clawing at your mind. Just fix it. Fix it and you can rest.
8. FOLIE A DEUX. The more either you or the other person talks, the more you feed into this unease and the more real it sounds. What can you two alone do?
9. REPLACEMENTS. Is it just this person or is everyone being replaced with a fake? You're not a fake, though. You won't let them replace you.
10. REAL. Is any of this real? Maybe you're dreaming or drugged. Maybe you're dead. But you need to prove that this is really happening, whatever it takes.

X. Texts From Last Night

1. Pick a character or leave that up to me
2. Go here (or make something up, insert a tfln gif whatever)
3. Comment.
4. See where it takes us!

XI. RANDOM LOCATION

1. LOST. Oh shit, how did you even get here.
2. ON THE RUN. Getting away from someone or something that's after you.
3. TREASURE HUNTING. Something you desire is here. Maybe it's being guarded or you're competing for it.
4. TRAVELLING. You turned up here on purpose. Why is up to you.
5. ESCAPE. Things have gone wrong and you need to get out of this place.
6. DISASTER. Something awful has happened whether you're the cause, a witness or there to help.
7. INVASION. It's a siege! Are you defending or attacking?
8. HOME. It's actually where you live.
9. DUEL. The predetermined location to end a feud.
10. WHATEVER. Just make something up, whatever.

XII. STOP! SOMEONE IS NAKED IN YOUR...

1. BED. Waking up after a wild night or just getting ready for bed?
2. OFFICE. Getting a leg up at work? Caught in a moment of indiscretion?
3. YARD. Someone's been communing with nature...
4. CAR. The warmth of a heater during snowfall... or the air conditioner during a melting summer.
5. BEACH. Oh look, there's a floating swimsuit... and there's its owner.
6. RIVER. God, can't even fish without hooking the wrong species.
7. BATTLEFIELD. Oops, someone looted the wrong corpse... who isn't actually a corpse.
8. SCHOOL. All right, who's been raiding the locker room?
9. BATHROOM. . . . Oh, hey, who needs a shower, right?
10. PARK. Sun and grass and lots of people to . . . watch . . . oh my.
11. . . . CLOTHES?? Okay, technically they are clothed, but it's not their clothes dammit.
12. OTHER. Because there are way, way too many more places than I can think of)

XIII. INTIMACY

1. PHYSICAL INTIMACY. It might just be innocent touches or it might be foreplay.
2. LONG CONVERSATIONS. Honest words can be more intimate than touch.
3. DRUNK. You're over-sharing or simply maudlin.
4. FORCED INTIMACY. Magic. A truth serum, whatever - you didn't mean to bare your soul, but that is precisely what you're doing right now.
5. SLOW-DANCING. There is something inherently intimate about trusting someone else to lead you, and someone trust you to lead them.
6. OTHER. Intimacy can come in many forms. Pick your poison.

XIV. OTHER

1. BOUNTY HUNTERS. You're wanted. And someone is chasing you. Maybe it isn't your fault? But maybe you did rob that bank. Either way, there's someone after that price on your head. Confront them, or run? Specify hunter or hunted.
2. TRUTH. You can't tell a lie. Maybe both of you can't, or only one of you, but now is the time to ask those embarrassing questions.
3. OBEDIENCE. The person posting is compelled to obey, no matter what. (Un)Fortunately the person commenting is compelled to give orders. All orders given must be obeyed.
4. LOTUS EATERS. The person posting is trapped in their own dream of personal paradise. The person commenting is trapped with them. Help free them, or fall into paradise?
5. PLANTS OF DEATH. Plants are trying to kill you. (Something's . . . happening.)
6. INSOMNIA. One or both of you can't sleep, and that sucks. Be awake together.
7. DREAMWALKING. One of you is trapped in the other's dream - or nightmare.
8. SOULMATES. You are meant to be, whether the relationship is functional or . . . less so. Maybe you've just met and yet you know this person (previous lives okay here).
9. PICTURE/QUOTE PROMPT. Throw a bunch of pictures and/or quotes around and see what happens, free-form style! Try RP Visualosities or A Sea Of Quotes.
10. OTHER-WORLDLY. Go to the Other-Wordly blog and hit 'Random' until you get a word. Use the word as a prompt to write up an RP scenario. Do this several times if you like. Mix & match.

Comments

[stillplaying]

That most people don't? Katniss wouldn't (and hasn't) hesitated to tell him that the advantages Matt have go beyond what most people have. As far as she's concerned, he might as well be up there with Captain America when it comes to possessing abilities that most people lack. But he's so much better than the Captain in her opinion. He's the one who saved her.

Living. It's still strange to think that she can actually live again. Even prior to being tricked into the underground arena, she hadn't been living. She had just been surviving, working insane hours instead of enjoying being a teenager. Living is something new. Katniss has accepted that she'll never get those years back, nor does she really want them. She would have been an awkward teen anyway. Making up a new life, even if it means letting Matt push her out of her comfort zone, seems like the best approach.

It does help when he places his hand on her arm. Katniss expects him to continue to pull away from her, especially when she brings up the fights and her previous sexual experience. He should pull away from her if he has any common sense. Instead he starts to play with her hair and the gesture makes her smile even though she also feels like she's on the verge of tears. He shouldn't want her. He shouldn't keep touching her so fondly.

Katniss stays quiet for a few seconds, studying his face before reaching for the top of the blankets. She wriggles her way under them but still maintains a distance between their bodies. Finally she breaks the silence with a barely audible whisper that she doesn't doubt Matt will still hear. "I'm a killer and a prostitute, Matt. Why would you still want me?"

[preemptiveforgiveness]

He'll appreciate that she thinks he's better than Captain America. Those advantages are the major reason that Matt believes he's the one that has to help out. He can be the one.

Matt isn't one of those people that believe the best years of your life are your teenage years or even your childhood. After his father had been killed, his existence had been a miserable one for the most part. It hadn't gotten better until he'd gone to Columbia. In his experience, getting out of your comfort zone is where living really starts, but then his experience isn't exactly normal either.

He's not going to pull away from her. He's got his own battles and sexual experiences in his past. The past is exactly that: past. He likes to think he's got a good deal of common sense and he's generally acknowledged as a smart guy. He touches her fondly because he's fond of her. He was even before tonight and the shift in their relationship.

While she's wriggling, he gets up properly to get into bed, leaving the blankets gathered about halfway down his torso. He scoots close enough that he can reach out to touch her easily enough, but he doesn't, not at first. He lays on his side facing her with a hand under his head. He's listening to her, trying to gauge her reaction and what she's thinking. Of course, he still hears that whisper. At her words, he moves closer, moving one hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb sliding tenderly along her jaw.

"Those are things that you were and you're not anymore." He presses a kiss to her forehead, resting his lips there a moment. "I want you because you are strong. You are loyal. You're incredibly stubborn and independent. I strongly suspect that when you put your mind to it there is nothing you can't do. You're a survivor and a fight. You're beautiful and funny. You care so much about the people you do choose to love that it takes my breath away."

[stillplaying]

From the little he's revealed, she knows that Matt's childhood hadn't been normal either. Selfishly, she's thankful for that. It makes her feel less alone in the world. She never met anyone in the Games that she could relate to in that way. Almost everyone was too frightened or too determined to survive. Friendship just wasn't an option. Matt had been her first friend in a long time. That had been the first push out of what had become her comfort zone. Everything after has just contributed.

He makes it seem so easy to separate the past from the present. But she doesn't know how to. Not yet. The past is still too recent and too raw for her. She needs to focus on the present. Especially now. Matt is so much better than anything else she could imagine for herself. She just wants to be good enough for him. Worth this kind of touch and affection, especially given this sudden shift in their relationship.

It's impossible to miss the way he moves closer to her in the bed. His movements are much more graceful than her own and his body is like a magnet calling to her. Laying on her side to watch him, she wraps her arms back around herself in another hug. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. Maybe reality is finally sinking in. How many seconds will it take for Matt to realize he should leave her here? Or, smarter, send her away.

But he doesn't. And as soon as he places his hand on her cheek, she closes the distance between them and hugs Matt tightly instead. His body is hard, almost all muscle, but warm and welcoming against her own. A tear finally slips when he kisses her forehead. More tears follow as he talks. Matt's a lawyer. He has to be good with his words. But these are perfect. "You might be one of the best things to ever happen to me."

[preemptiveforgiveness]

Even when his father was still alive his childhood wasn't normal. He'd had his first drink of whiskey at nine so that his hands would be steady when he was sewing up a gash on his father's face. His mother hadn't been in the picture for as long as he could remember. It does help him relate to her, to understand the life she'd led. He hadn't had many friends in the orphanage because people were always moving out. There had been Stick, but eventually he'd left as well. He'd been so very lucky in getting Foggy as a room mate. His friendship with Katniss is something that Matt enjoys and needs as much as Katniss does. It's something he wants to maintain even as their relationship evolves.

It's not easy at all. He knows that, but it's something that she needs to do in order to move on. The more she gets settled and the more she adjusts to her life now, the further behind all the horrors of her past will be. She'll be able to put it behind her and focus on her new life. It'll probably always haunt her in some way. The horrible things in life tend to do that, but it won't be her whole life. She's already good enough for him and worthy of love and affection, but that too will probably take some time. Really, time is the name of the game right now.

He's trained for a very long time to be graceful and fluid. She's letting her imagination run away with her and it's conjuring up nothing but bad thoughts when there's no reason for them. He's not going to send her away or leave her here.

He wraps his arms tightly around her when she closes the distance between them. He knows she's crying, but he also knows that they're not bad tears. Yes, he does have to be good with his words, but he wasn't saying those things because they sounded good. He was saying them because they're true. Even in his law career, he tries not to say things that aren't true. "Good. I like being one of those things," he whispers to her. "You deserve more good things, Katniss."

[stillplaying]

At least she had about twelve years of normality. They might have been poor but wasn't half of New York anyway? While her father had been alive, she had gotten to go to school. Sure she had to babysit her sister more often than not as soon as she was old enough to be responsible for them both but that hadn't ever bothered her. And she hadn't had many friends (mostly because she wasn't all that good at making them to begin with) but she had a couple. It had been a good life with a loving family. Very different than the life Matt had his whole life. But that good part of her life has felt much more like a dream for the past however many years. Anyway, she had been the one to leave them in the end. It's not something she intends on doing again. She needs his friendship, too. And his love.

It's something that she's at least working on. Keeping the past in the past and not letting the Games define who she is anymore. She doesn't want to be that girl. She never wants to be that girl again. Katniss knows that it's naïve to think that she might be the girl she would have been if her father hadn't died. Having that life is impossible. But she wants to be someone. Someone that she thinks is worthy of Matt, regardless of whether he already thinks so. She wants to be a girl who doesn't have to play games but that might never be a reality.

She is letting her imagination run wild. Katniss just can't help it. For the first time, she's with someone that she doesn't want to leave. In her mind, it only makes the most sense if he does leave her.

But she can at least acknowledge that she is being ridiculous when he wraps his arms around her in return. A man planning to leave her wouldn't do that. At least she hopes not. Katniss swallows hard at his words and buries her head against his chest. She can hear his heartbeat clearly like this. It's a soothing sound, almost like a lullaby. "So do you, Matt," she replies. Katniss sniffs a little as the tears start to subside. Then, as a side thought, she adds in, "I'll still be here in the morning."

[preemptiveforgiveness]

True enough, but Matt isn't complaining about his childhood while his father was alive. He'd been a good father, just an unconventional one and yes, they'd been poor but his father had always provided what he'd needed. Ultimately, Matt thinks they'd both had good enough childhoods until everything went wrong. Sometimes staying is hard because if you're the one to leave it seems to hurt less. Matt understands that, but he's glad that she wants to stay now.

That's all she can do: work on it. Matt will definitely try to help Katniss stay the person she wants to be and become the person she wants to be. He doesn't want her to have to be that girl ever again either. She's got the rest of her life to become someone she wants to be, to become whatever she wants to be.

No, a man planning to leave her wouldn't do that, at least Matt wouldn't. He bows his head to rest his lips against the top of Katniss' head. "So will I," he promises her in a whisper. "You can sleep if you want to," he tells her.

[stillplaying]

Neither of them had much to complain about before losing their fathers. Their lives had been good for the most part. His less normal than hers but nothing either of them regrets. Too bad things couldn’t stay the way they wanted it. Too bad they both had to lose their fathers. She’d like to think that her own would like Matt. Approve of someone with his morals and standards despite the age gap between them. She has absolutely no intention of leaving. Not anytime soon. Not ever if she can help it. Having a home again (which is what the apartment had become after only a month of residing within) is n intoxicating feeling.

Sharing that home with someone who loves her? Even more so. Maybe all of this will be enough to keep her from ever being someone she never wanted to be. There’s so much opportunity in her life now. Given so many gifts she never should have had. The rest of her life is suddenly so much longer than it had seemed a year ago. And much more worthwhile to live.

Katniss sighs happily when he presses his lips against her head. Unlike the kisses they had shared just a little while ago, this one soothes rather than ignites. But she can sense the love behind the gesture nonetheless. Closing her eyes, she loosens her grip around him a little and wriggles up against him until half her body seems to cover his. One arm cradles her head against his chest while the other stretches downward across his stomach. She tangles a leg between his and when she yawns again, doesn’t bother to stifle it. She’s exhausted but sated and content, emotionally and physically. “Push me off if I get too uncomfortable,” she mumbles sleepily, remembering at the last second how sensitive Matt’s sense of touch is. “Won’t mind.”

[preemptiveforgiveness]

Sometimes Matt wonders how different his life would be if his father had survived at least through his childhood; he wonders how different he would be. He likes to think the same thing about his father. He would be able to see through the walls that Katniss puts up, and that he'd like her. He'd probably give him a speech about how young she is, about how Matt needs to take care of her because of that, don't break her heart. These are all things that Matt has told himself, things that he'd sometimes heard in his father's voice. He's very glad that she's got no intention of leaving, though if she wanted her own place, wanted to assert her independence, he would understand. He would simply hope that they could continue dating while she did that.

He'd like to hear that. He does worry that she'll want to explore and discover who she is on her own. He worries that she'll regret that she never experienced some things like moving into her own place. Opportunity is the biggest thing that Matt has wanted to give her. She doesn't yet realize that she should have all of this and more, that she would have if the Games hadn't taken it away from her, if her life had been kinder.

He runs his fingers idly and tenderly through her hair, also a movement designed to soothe, but also to make her feel loved. He can't help but smile when she wriggles up against him, draping herself over him. He's exhausted and sated as well, though it may take him a little while to fall asleep simply because he doesn't often sleep well. He suspects that might change though. He shakes his head at her words. "Trust me. That's not going to be a problem."