Keanu didn't like to be touched, but Ilya was determined to hug him.
At this moment, she didn't care how uncomfortable he might get. Because it would be, in all indications, the last moment they would ever have together. One last show of solidarity to him, and boost of confidence to herself. And she didn't care how much or how little he understood. This is it.
Even so, she had trouble meeting his eyes. It was easier to glance at herself, at her green hooded sweatshirt and jeans. After the Capitol finery, it was such humble garb for such an important day. He wore a grey sweater and khakis, which made his face look even more sallow than it usually was. Finally, she allowed her eyes to train up to his face... his perpetually sullen frown and his almost-as-perpetually downcast eyes. His dark bangs hung limply over his forehead.
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said, as if preempting him from doing whatever was on his mind. Closing the distance, she caught him in her arms. As expected, she felt his body stiffen. "I'm sorry," she repeated, burying her face in his shoulder.
"... Why?" said Keanu after what seemed like forever.
"Because it's goodbye," she said. She tightened her hold on him. "This may be the last time we ever hug."
Or see each other again, at all. You won't last five minutes.
He heart then leapt. Was he actually relaxing?
"I know you don't like hugs," she said, still keeping her face to his shoulder, trying to put that last unkind thought out of her mind. "But I want to. I'm going to... miss you."
She didn't trust herself to move, either. She couldn't run, or she might scream. Or shatter into blubbering pieces. Or drop to the floor, just like that.
He made no attempt to break away. After about ninety seconds, they eased apart. And Ilya caught, out of the corner of her eye, a dark spot on her sweatshirt. She reached over and touched it... wetness.
Keanu snorted in that exact moment.
Ilya's heart leapt again. I may be the first person outside his family to see him cry.
... And the last.
YOU ARE READING
Where It Never Rains
FanfictionFrom the heat and dust of the former California and Arizona desert-- also known as District Five-- we take a deeper look at the life of Foxface, the clever and intelligent District Five tribute who, it turns out, should never have been reaped. Why w...
