Loving You The Way I do // [Navya/Harb]

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

NAVYA RHODES

"... and the prince and princess lived happily ever after."

Navya spoke the words so quietly, they were barely a whisper. Vera had long ago fallen asleep in her arms, the book tilted over her like an extra blanket. Navya didn't need to see the words, so many times had they read this story together. And she didn't need to whisper; like most toddlers, when Weavera slipped into dreamland, she was immune to the noise of the world. Navya whispered, not just for her daughter, but to hold the words gently. When she spoke them, she said a sort of prayer.

It took another few minutes of manuevering to put Vera in her crib - she was almost ready for a big girl's bed but not quite. Then, Navya turned down the golden lamp, pulled the door closed so that only a sliver of a crack remained and then paused in front of the mirror in the hallway. She looked alright, better, at least than last year. Harbinger had been home a night already but she hadn't wanted to push him. Something was different - something was always different after his time in the Capitol. Maybe she expected too much of him. They hadn't lost a family member this year, but surely he'd come to know Drake and Desimae in the week of training. Perhaps he was grieving for them. Or perhaps something else had happened, something the cameras hadn't captured. She couldn't begin to guess but she felt her heart ache for his.

She swept her hair back, tying it in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. She pinched her cheeks, rolled her lips, and then quietly slipped into their bedroom. "Are you still awake?" she whispered into the dark and heard him stir. Soft footfalls brought her to his side of the bed. There, she fumbled, her fingertips reaching through the moonless night for him. She found his shoulder first, and then his face. She sighed at the bristly feeling of his hair. "Oh, there you are."

table coding (c) ghosty

[Cato]

Harbinger Rhodes Twenty One| Male | District Eleven

It doesn't seem right, sleeping at home without the Capitol lights flickering above my head. It's something I'll never get used to, yet I force myself to relax. I miss out on so much every summer when the games happen. So many milestones of my daughter. So much of my family. And I hate it, but I am alive. Desimae, and Drake? They aren't. Weaver and Iona? They aren't. Iain and Carrita? They aren't. Annora? Levi? None of them are alive. And here I am moving through the world like nothing matters. It constantly echoes through my mind. Every second of every single day. I try not to let it get to me, I tell myself I don't care, but knowing that I am the reason two more are dead rests heavily on my shoulders, and it always makes me wonder what it's doing to my relationship with my beautiful wife, Navya.

She spends a lot of time tucking our daughter away. Sometimes it's hard to look at Vera knowing she's named after Weaver. I missed her birth, I wasn't here when she came into the world, but I love her more than anyone can imagine. I'll protect her with my life. It's a promise I made, and I'll protect Navya with my life, and I'll stay by her side until one of us leaves the face of the earth forever. I know she's just down the hall, but I feel so alone, like nobody cares. I hope the Capitol didn't tear us apart. I can't imagine my life without her. The bed feels empty, and it's nothing compared to the loneliness I feel at the Capitol, but this is different. "Are you still awake?"

Her voice is enough to make me smile, and I feel my heart racing inside my chest. I've gone so long without hearing it, and now I can hear her, and I can see her. It means the world to me knowing she agreed to marry me, and that we share a bond. We created a daughter. A perfect little girl, and I hope nothing can steal us away. I don't want Vera to grow up with only one parent. I want us to stay together forever for her. I can hear her feet shuffling across the floor, and I try not to move because I don't want to trip her, then her hand touches my shoulder, then my face. This is perfect, and I wouldn't have this any other way. "Hey, beautiful. I love you."

[googlefont="Nothing You Could Do:400"]

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

NAVYA RHODES

"I love you too," she said through a sigh. It was as simple as that for them, sometimes. I love you, the salve to heal all wounds. She had wondered, since his return, if it would be enough - if anything after Katelyn's disappearance would ever be enough. She felt her absence as much as everyone in Eleven, but not the same way the Victors did. If anything, she felt a small amount of relief; she could finally stop comparing herself to Katelyn Persimmon. She could finally let herself be the wife of Harbinger Rhodes, the mother of Weavera Rhodes, the daughter of the Sachdevas and most of all just Navya.

In the quiet dark, she let her fingers roam. Navya moved from the stubble on his chin to the wiry curls lining the back of his neck. "Vera's finally asleep," she whispered. Gently she tugged on his hair, forcing his head back. She kissed him gently, the way they first kissed, years ago. "And I've missed you so much. I wish you could always be here, Harbinger."

The sadness that sat on her chest threatened to suffocate her. She reached to him for comfort, wrapping her arms around him and not quite kissing him, their lips a millimeter apart. "Tell me what you want, my love."

table coding (c) ghosty