Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Day 6 Part 2

"We're getting out?! Is--is there some kind of rebellion...?! Why did neither of us know about this?!"

Faqir paced restlessly along the walls of their chosen room as he whispered harshly to himself, running his hands through his hair. Haruka stood in the corner, thinking.

"The--the necklace!" he exclaimed softly. "That girl's necklace, I've seen that symbol...! It's on Serena's eyepatch!"

Faqir spluttered, whirling on him. "And she didn't think explaining it to you would be helpful?! How many people already knew about this?!"

"Shh," Haruka hissed. "They--th-they don't know we're here. W-we need to stay quiet, okay? Should we tell them we're friends? No, no, they won't believe us because we don't have that symbol anywhere..."

"Then we just...pray for the best?" Faqir asked. "That sounds like a terrible idea! We're gay! God doesn't like us!"

"That is...true!" Haruka admitted. "I-I don't know, maybe we can give them some kind of general token of goodwill? As long as we stay close to people we know understand what's going on, maybe we'll be okay! Do you think Clare is in on it?"

"Definitely not," Faqir replied. "She's for sure assuming only one Victor. W-what if those other guys figure out we're here? Do you think they'll leave us alone?"

"They're the ones watching the youngest tributes, right?" Haruka confirmed. "I bet they just want to be left alone. So long as we pose no threat to the little ones, w-we should be okay. And I'm great with kids!"

"Okay," Faqir sighed, resuming his pacing with a bit less urgency. "Okay...! So we just...sit here and hope for the best?"

"...Maybe we can find some food to share with them to prove we have good intentions just in case," Haruka suggested, clinging to Faqir's arm as he paced past. "Let's go look for food! Like--like a peace offering!"

"Good plan!" Faqir patted Haruka's hand fondly, pointing in the direction of the far left side of the mountain. "Let's go find some edible plants!"

"I remember those for once!" Haruka said.

"Where would I be without you?" Faqir leaned down to affectionately kiss Haruka's head, squeezing his hand. "The answer is dead. I would be dead. Probably from dehydrating."

Admittedly, Haruka couldn't help the warmth that spread to his cheeks at the feeling of Faqir's lips. As much as his ally was...impish, to say the least, it was clear to Haruka that Faqir genuinely, earnestly cared about him. Flimsy though their reasoning was, they had chosen to stick together. By this point, Haruka was growing outright fond of the District 12 boy.

"Was that too much? Should I not have done that? I'm bad at socializing," Faqir said suddenly. "Faqir, you useless bisexual. At least I'm amusing to keep around."

"You're not useless," Haruka chastised. "I didn't mind. It's not like you did anything creepy like other guys tend to try."

"I didn't even remember how to make clean water," Faqir pointed out. "I think literally the only useful thing I've done all Games is physically remove you from the Bloodbath. You're kinda carrying our team right now."

"No...I-I'm a klutz and a ditz," Haruka admitted, snuggling Faqir's arm. "I-I would have died to those mutts immediately if you hadn't been there to protect me until we stumbled into Clare. Plus you coaxed me out of my horrible depression. And you're warm. And good at cuddling."

"I'll accept that," Faqir decided. "So long as you accept responsibility for knowing survival skills so my dumb a*s doesn't get us killed via poison."

Haruka puffed out his chest. "I guess I do know things about poison..."

Yes...despite everything, this was a good alliance. Haruka couldn't deny the immense relief he had felt upon learning there was a way to take Faqir home with him.

All they had to do now was survive long enough to find it.