He meant everything to her. Three years later and she'd still do anything to keep him safe, sacrifice everything to protect him- even if that meant keeping him at an arm's length.
She was the one person who truly knew him. The one person he'd choos...
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— — —
Kai had no belongings to bring with him to his new, temporary home. What he did have was a duffel bag full of clothes he'd attained from either Finnick or from what Rhett had brought to District 13. He hated the fact that he had his brother's clothes, but he had nothing else. His dad hadn't exactly been planning on bringing his dead son a few pairs of clothes when they'd fled their home.
He swung his small bag onto the grandiose, scarlett bedding, not giving it another glance as he slowly took in the rest of his new living quarters. There were at least four, maybe five, lamps set on any and every visible surface. And everything was lined with either mahogany or gold accents. Whether it was the walls or the chairs or the decorative picture frames, nothing in the room was abstemious. It was all palatial in its exhausting Capitol fashion, more than he could even wrap his mind around.
"Holy..." He didn't even finish his sentence.
"Nice, right?" Johanna acknowledged, setting her bag down on the floor.
"I think I like this side of the Capitol a lot better." Kai admitted, gaze settling on her.
"Hey, at least you got a bed." She pointed out.
Kai chuckled, closing the distance between them. He laced his hands through hers as he peered down at her. "And now we've got the whole damn thing—" He waved their hands around. "Capitol and all."
Johanna smiled. "How did we get here?"
"A very long jet ride—"
"No, you idiot. I meant here. This." She enunciated.
"Well," Kai began, lifting her hands up to his neck before dropping his to her waist. "I saw a girl I felt like I could trust. We became fast friends, skip to four years later, and now we're here. I'm just really glad she didn't throw that ax at me."
Johanna rolled her eyes with a laugh. "I'm sure she's glad, too."
The humor in his tone became soft as he affectionately rubbed the small of her back with his thumbs. "Hey, I, uh, have that meeting with Coin. I'll be back soon though, okay?"
"Okay." She echoed, pressing her lips to his.
Kai reluctantly pulled away from her, both of them dropping their hands as he made his way to the door. He turned back as he reached it, locking back onto her gaze. "I love you."
"Love you, too."
He let his gaze linger on her for a few more moments before he stepped out into the hallway. As he started down it, he couldn't help but smile. How had they gotten there? Everything they'd been through, all the hell they'd endured— it had a purpose. And despite all of it, he knew he'd take that knife all over again if it meant finding his way back to her.
