:| However Long It Takes |: {one-shot}

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

You sat there on the steps of metal, the path leading to a gate that was manned by two. They were there to welcome you, to open their arms and invite you to join the many others who had died before you. Past those gates were people you had met if only for a quick second, people you had known on a deeper level, and people you had watched fight on screen many years before. This was not Heaven, this was not Hell. They had told you this was the final resting place for everyone, for those who had been struck down at an untimely event.

But you didn’t make your way through those doors. You weren’t quite ready to join the others so you stayed in limbo with your back to those gates, to the place where you could finally rest. Even as more familiar faces joined you and beckoned you to go with them, you shook your head and explained that you were waiting for someone. They looked at you in puzzlement, wondering how you didn’t immediately accept the good graces of this beautiful place, but you only smiled at them before looking out into the vast distance.

You didn’t care how long you had to wait. You would have waited for 10, 20, 50, 100 years, but you were willing to wait, forever as your 18 year old self. All that mattered was that you didn’t enter that space by yourself, not when your conscious remained hindered and dark. Because your last act did not absolve you of your sins. You were not pure. You had attacked your friend, you had knowingly tried to kill your mother but she was just an imagination!, you weren’t ready to move on just yet.

A kitty purred as he walked right past you, giving you a gentle cuddle before he joined the rest of them in the gates. And soon after, the girl with the mesmerizing eyes, the girl who had helped keep you alive, walked past you, a glance at your pitiful form still sitting there. She didn’t ask you questions, didn’t demand to know why you’re still out here, but her eyes seemed to know as they left you and looked toward the space behind you. Finally, a hand rests on your shoulder and you look up to see a young man smiling down at you. “Are you waiting for someone?” he asks you, his voice gentle and understanding.

You give him a small smile before looking back out to the distance. “Yes, but I hope that it will be a long time before I see him again.”

Noah Vau - D2 (Cato)

This post had been bugging me for some time so bam, it is now written. Also, I just wanted to use this beautiful table one last time. xD

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

You notice another wave of tributes have gone through, though this group is particularly large. Most of them give you a smile, a confused look, but proceed onward to join family and friends and tributes they had seen on their screens when they were much younger or had only heard about from their parents. You know it will be nice in there, but you made a promise, a promise that is tethered by the lifespan of your friend, a lifespan that you hope will be long.

And long it would be as Harbinger had made it back home and married a girl from District 11. You only know this because you had met his cousin Weaver as he made his way through the gates. He had asked if you would like to join him, but you politely declined. “It would be wrong to enter without Harbinger,” you told him, providing no extra explanation. It was too difficult to explain the pain that you felt from your last moments. Had we really been so angry at each other that we were able to fight each other? But you know that you had lost your mind, thinking it was your dead mother.

You don’t know his excuse.

A few years have passed since you were separated, and it has given you a lot of time to think. Whatever pain you once felt has melted away with the realization that your time in the arena had been somewhat tolerable because you had the district 11 boy by your side. Just two lower districts, the giant and the sick girl, trying to survive their way through the strangely green and grey arena. Even after you lost the Queen of Bones and your Kitty, you and Harbinger had managed to survive until something came to pass between the two of you and your together was no more.

It may have been pointless to wait for Harbinger, but a pleasant surprise is standing in front of you, a smile on his face. “You—you’re Chloë, aren’t you?” His features look similar to you, but you have trouble pinpointing why he looks so familiar. He notices your confusion and stretches out his hand. “The name is Tamron. Tamron Rhodes.” A soft gasp escapes from your lips as you realize that his brother has now joined the ranks of fallen tributes. Did Harbinger allow this? There was no way he could have.

Tamron smiles at you as you take his hand, a gentle shake cementing the meeting. “You’re the one who made the koala carving, aren’t you?” You can only nod your head, speechless as you examine his features. Now that he has said his name, you can see the hooded eyes and the strong jawline you had seen with Harbinger, but his features are darker with a nose more similar to Weaver. “I didn’t realize he had it,” you whisper to Tamron, remembering only that the koala had been sitting in your room when you were reaped. “Your father and brother gave it to Harbinger when he visited District 12. He hasn’t let go of it since. The last I saw of it, Harbinger was putting it in a lockbox.”

Your heart bursts as you realize that the koala has a good home, in the hands of someone you trust. “The koala, it helped me with my ally, Fallon. I don’t know if you saw her, but I used it to keep her strong. She—she protected me, saved me even.” His eyes fill with sadness as he lowers his head. You feel bad for keeping him here—you want to know more about how Harbinger is doing—when he could be inside and reunited with his friends and brothers. You place a hand on his arm—even though he is shorter than Harbinger, he is still quite tall—and look back toward the gates. “I shouldn’t be keeping you here. This isn’t where happiness is; inside is where you can finally rest in peace.”

He looks up over your shoulder before looking back at you with unsure eyes. Caring, just like his brother. “You won’t come inside with me?” he asks you earnestly. “No,” you respond resolutely, your hair brushing against your face as you shake your head. “I said I would wait for Harbinger.” Tamron looks between the gates and you before pulling you into a hug. “It kills him inside, what he did to you,” he whispers into your ear, even though there is no one else nearby. “I know if he could, he would trade places with you in an instant.” Tears start to fall down your face, but you manage a weak smile as you hold Tamron close to you. “And I wouldn’t trade places if it meant that he wouldn’t be able to live and have a family.”

Tamron breaks from the hug first but keeps you close. “He has a daughter, Weavera. And I’m pretty sure Navya is pregnant again which means he’s about to have his hands full.” He chuckles but all you can think about is little Weavera, named after their fallen brother. Perhaps the next little one will bear Tamron’s name. “Thank you.” For telling me. For letting me know. It was strange to receive updates this way, but you appreciate it all the same. You take Tamron’s hand, giving it a squeeze before pulling him towards the gates. “This is where you belong, Tamron. Go find Crusader and Weaver. Go find Fallon. And someday, we’ll meet again.” Tamron gives you a look before breaking into a smile. “That better be a promise.”

You smile back at him.

“I promise.”