run boy run.

“I can see that, you’ve just bet against the wrong person.” She shot back, placing her hand on her hip as she looked him over once, nodding her head. “I think as far as everyone could know, yes you’re like my protector. Little do they know I don’t need it at all. Besides, I think that everyone knows that you and I joined the group together, so they know you know me and I know you.” She said with a shrug, biting her lip slightly. Sure, it’d crossed her mind that maybe she should have roomed with someone else to make her act seem a little bit more believable, but there were other girls the roomed with guys too so what really was the harm? Especially since she did know him, it wasn’t like she was shacking up with some random stranger that she’d just met. It didn’t even really matter to her if the group found out who she really was, not when it really came down to it, but playing the ‘innocent’ type was sort of like a game for her at the moment and she was determined to win this round. She wasn’t expecting him to change his ways around her, in fact, she would probably look at him like he had three heads if he did. “I think us hooking up a pair from this group needs and deserves more celebration than just a high-five, but it’s a start.” She replied with a grin of her own. “Yeah, something like that. It’s not the thought process of an angel in the slightest but you and I both know I can’t ever be one, not after the things I’ve done and the fact that I’m just too kick ass to ever fall back into that category.” She mused, shrugging her shoulders slightly as she placed her hand under his chin. “You and I both are extremely fond of the less saintly version of me, so you’ve got nothing to worry about, she’s here to stay.” She replied, giving him a genuine smile. Her words were so true, so heavy but she always played them off as if they were nothing – a mere thought tossed out into the wind even though there was so much truth to them it was almost scary. His reply had her lips curled up into a grin, dropping her gaze to her feet for a moment. “I don’t know about that, you’re a pretty close second.” She replied, chewing on her bottom lip before she gave him a scoff, rolling her eyes playfully. “Apollo Keenan, there are mirrors out the ass here, you can’t tell me you haven’t looked at them since we’ve been here. This 'pretty face’ of mine has some serious competition.” She told him, her tone serious and this time she didn’t try to cover it up with a smile or anything like that. He was someone she didn’t deserve to have, but yet, he stuck around anyways and she didn’t understand it.. but damn, she was so glad he did. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad.. maybe me stealing your clothes was.. but the rest of the time it was fun.” She said with a giggle, placing her hand over her heart in mock offence. “You have none off the top of your head because there are none, you can search that brain of yours all you want but I can promise you that you’re not gonna find anything.” She joked, knowing that there would indeed be a few things he could list of because there were a few times things had not gone as planned. “I guess it is, which means there’s gonna be more than one round. Think you can handle that?” She questioned, unable to keep the serious face she wanted to at his next words. “No, I don’t think you’ll do it. However, that being said, if you want to prove me wrong.. just make sure your marks aren’t visible.. I have a reputation to uphold.” She told him, a grin pulling on her lips as she raised a brow in slight curiosity. “I guess we will.” She replied, dropping her gaze to the cards she was finishing up dealing before looking back up at him with a grin. “There’s only one rule to this game: petty items of clothing do not count.”

“so i’m the guardian angel to a supposed saint? weirdest fucking cover story ever, but i’ll roll with it,” he chuckles, though he takes note of the points she makes. it does make sense, he supposes, for her to room with him, seeing as they’d taken root with the group together. he flashes her a smirk, “are you saying we should celebrate their hook up with a hook up of our own, or...? because i may or may not be very amenable to that idea.” at the words cora follows up with, apollo arches a brow, playing against her words with a grin, “there aren’t any angels here, love. this world won’t let them stay. but, true - i wouldn’t have it any other way; and even if you aren’t, you can sure as hell look like one.” and here he gives her a wink, laughing, easily lifting his head to meet her eyes when she puts her head underneath his chin. “here to stay? that supposed to be a promise? you’ll mess with this poor little heart of mine, like that,” he snickers, grasping at his chest with his fist, as though it’s in pain. again, his words are spoken as a joke; it’s easy to hide the tiny bits of truth he lets slip in between all these playful quips and retorts. at her reply to him being a close second to the best, he smiles, giving her a teasing look. he doesn’t know quite what to say in response to that, so he doesn’t say anything at all, instead laughing when cora continues on with a roll of her eyes. “i have looked at them, actually. quite a lot of them, and quite often. dashing fellow, aren’t i?” he ends up joking in the face of her serious tone, raising his chin and trying to play off a smouldering look - it’s not quite there, and it falls within seconds, anyway. when he speaks again, it’s still with a playful lilt, but with something suggestive lying between each syllable. “i guess we’re just a pair of pretty faces sharing a room, then. what could go wrong?” then he smiles at her, half-playful, half-soft. on his end, too, he’s never believed himself to be deserving of cora; of her body or of her heart. he wonders, sometimes, if they’d never met through eli (if they’d never shared a past with her brother and his sister), what would be of them now? had they met under different circumstances, would she allow him as close as he is, at this day? he fears the answer, regardless of how pointless it is to worry over such impossible what ifs. “stealing my clothes was awful. i had to chase you down! while naked! that part was horrifying,” he complains, voice light with laughter; even in his whining, however, he knows nothing bad came of that day. it had been fun, even the parts that left him... visually exposed. “oh, i can find things. but maybe i’ll preserve your pride and not say anything,” he answers. there are various times where plans didn’t go the way they’d hoped, of course, but if apollo’s being completely honest, he doubts he could view one as a genuinely terrible idea. “i can handle as many rounds as you throw at me, darling,” he answers, though he snorts out a laugh at what she says next, regarding bite marks. “alright - i’ll only leave them in places no one else should be seeing.” he raises his brow at her teasingly, his shamelessly suggestive words only slightly cooled by his decidedly comical tone. he settles down comfortable as she finishes dealing the cards, carefully pulling his side of them closer without flipping them over just yet. at her grin, he chuckles, “obviously. i’m not playing for your shoes, cora.” his grin is challenging, arching a brow as he says, “but, alright. what are our starting bets? i think i’ll toss my shirt in the pot. it’s pretty much fucking ruined already, anyway.”

She hadn’t even really meant her words, but it was fun to tease him nonetheless – even knowing that she might not be able to follow up on them herself. “You’re just in the mood for betting on things tonight, aren’t you?” She asked, brow raised in a playful fashion as she looked over at him. They’d always kind of been like this, they were close to each other because they had both lost siblings and it was just easy to become each other’s rocks in times like that. But there was more to them than just a friendly aspect anymore, especially when the doors were closed and it was just the two of them. But just like him, she had no idea what it really was, or what to even call it. Maybe it was just them blowing off steam, de-stressing from the extremely long days.. whatever. She didn’t know but she really didn’t want to think about it because none of that mattered, she liked where she was and she didn’t want to change it for the world. “It would have happened even if you didn’t want it to, so yes, it’s guaranteed. You’re right, we could have asked for one bed, but that would have ruined my innocent facade. Remember? Trying to play it off like I’m the most innocent angel in the world, would have looked a bit funny for us to ask for a single bed. They’ll get over it, for all we know, we just became cupids for them.” She replied, a nonchalant shrug leaving her shoulders as the corners of her lips turned upright once more at the look on Apollo’s face. “I was going to say let’s agree to disagree but then that would just make it sound like I think you’re right, and Lord knows you don’t need me to do that. Is it now? Hmm, I’ll have to find a way to make sure it gets bruised, just so I can kiss it better. Good, that’s kind of my job, gotta make sure you don’t realize you deserve better than my company.” She told him, her tone teasing even though she sort of meant her words. “Okay, maybe the skinny dipping idea was a bad one, but I can’t recall other ones right now.” She shot back, rolling her eyes slightly because she knew he had her on that one. But they’d always fared fine from either of their ideas so – no harm, no foul. “Oh sweetheart, you know not what you ask. I haven’t been able to fight in days, I’m itching for some kind of battle, and if it just so happens to be poker - so be it.” She shrugged, running a hand through her hair as she looked at him, her grinning returning to it’s home on her lips as he raised a brow at her. However, she was backing away shortly after that look to grab the cards and she couldn’t help but to laugh at his next comment. “You know, I wouldn’t be opposed. Don’t really think you have that in you, though.” She challenged with a devilish smirk, crossing her legs before her as she started to shuffle the deck. “You talk a mighty big game, what happens when I end up kicking your ass?” She asked as she delt the cards before them, her brow raised slightly.

“i’m in a gambling mood, i guess,” apollo answers simply, matching her playful look with his own. he chuckles, shaking his head, “right. forgot about the sweet little cora you’ve got to keep up in everyone’s minds. am i just meant to be some kind of bodyguard, then?” the second the number of usable rooms is counted and everyone learns they’ll have to share, poe thinks of rooming with cora - to him, there’s no obvious alternative. he wonders, though, if her act would pass better if she’d chosen to room with a girl; not that he’s complaining, certainly. he supposes he can always just pass it off as him being a really close friend who looked after her; he hasn’t noticed, until now, that perhaps his attitude will also determine how the group sees cora. it frightens him a little when he realises he wouldn’t mind adapting if it’s for her. “but then i guess if we hear about anyone hooking up, we can give ourselves a high-five, yeah?” he huffs out a laugh at her following words, saying, “you’d hurt me just so you can make me feel better later? i’m sure that’s not the thought process of an angel.” he leans forward, playfully quirking his head to one side as he meets her eyes, “not that i’d want you to be that, anyway. i’m pretty fond of the less saintly version.” he arches a brow, listening to her teasing tone. the words she says are heavier than she implies, he thinks, and he’s never been fond of dissecting a sentence to read into it, but he can’t help himself when he says, “darling, there’s no ‘better’ than you, remember?” and here he pointedly nods in her direction, grin wide to counter the weight of his sentence, “and i probably couldn’t deserve that pretty face of yours in a hundred years.” i’ll want you, still, but i doubt i’ll ever deserve you, he thinks, in the back of his head, too quiet a thought for him to even consider saying. “the skinny dipping was pretty bad,” he agrees, half-heartedly glaring at her as he recalls the incident; it soon dissolves into a chuckle, “i’ve got none off the top of my head, but ask me again later and i’m sure i’ll have lists.” lists of ideas that turned out not to be as great as first imagined, but that never came to be actual problems. “this is a poker battle now, is it?” he smiles, watching her brush her hand through her hair. “you don’t think i have the guts to use my teeth a little more harshly? because i might just take you up on that challenge,” he tells her, voice teasing, though there’s a little bit of genuine curiosity in his tone. he watches idly as she shuffles the deck, eyes following the action with a relaxed laziness. “well, i guess we’ll just have to see,” he responds, eyes flicking between her and the cards being placed face down between them.

She’d known for a long time that places like this were a thing, she had heard the stories that he and a few other people from the sectors had told. But never in her life did she think she’d be seeing something like this with her own two eyes. It made her so curious about everything, made her eyes light up whenever she saw something she’d never seen before. Almost like a kind in the candy store with her at some points. But she knew that even though she’d never been in this environment, he had, and she hoped that because of it he felt as safe as she did. “Maybe, maybe not. Guess we’ll see how long you can keep your hands off of me, huh?” She asked, her tone still teasing as she wiggled her brow at him in a suggestive manor. Things between them might not have been all that ‘personal’, but he knew her better than everyone else – aside from Eli. “I’m not surprised. Knew you wouldn’t be so horrible as to leave me sleeping on the shitty mattress, but you should have thought about that one before now.” She told his with a cheeky grin. “It was a good idea, I’ll give you that one. However, you should have known one of the beds wasn’t going to be used.” She shrugged in a nonchalant fashion, raising her brow as she watched him scoot towards the edge of the bed. “I normally am right, just make sure your ego doesn’t inflate you to the size of a hot air balloon and we should be fine.” She shot back, a playful roll of her eyes sent in his general direction, her lips pulled together in thought for a moment. “Don’t act like you’re surprised I said it.. It’s obviously not a bad idea, I came up with it.” She said, placing her hand over her heart as if she was offended before she took one more step towards him, shaking her head at the fact he used a pet hame on her. “Poe, you flatter me.” She told him, taking his chin in her hand before she raised a brow. “But do you think that I’ll go easy on you? Because you’re dead wrong, babe.” She told him in a low tone, leaning her face down so it was level with his. “Besides, look at you. I’m playing for something that’ll be well worth it too.” She continued, a grin on her lips as she patted his cheek softly before standing back up to walk over to her bag, pulling out the cards she had with her at all times. She was decent at poker, sure, but around him it was so damn hard to keep a straight face that she didn’t know if she had a chance in hell, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try. Rolling her eyes once more she sat herself on the bed opposite to him, patting it gently before she pulled the cards from their cold metal tin. “Shut up and come put your clothes where your mouth is, Poe.. because as of right now, you’re all bark and no bite.”

guess we’ll see how long you can keep your hands off of me, huh? she asks, and poe raises a brow. “not very long, i’ll bet,” he smirks. things between them have been like this, he thinks, since the years after they’d both lost their siblings. they’re friends, he knows that much - and he’d never deny that they’re close in that way. but this? this ‘behind closed doors’ routine they had of flirting and more, he doesn’t know what this is. they never involve personal feelings into the matter; it’s always a distraction from the day or just a way to blow off steam. he’s never known any other way with her, but he supposes that’s alright. he counters her cheeky grin with a lopsided one of his own, shrugging, “i should have known, is it? so it’s guaranteed? we might as well have just taken a room with one bed, then. i’m sure somewhere there’s a duo not pleased about sharing.” he peers up at her from his spot on the bed, eyes intent on her playful expression. he pretends to snarl, his smile shining through the show of teeth, “i’m pretty damn sure i’m right a whole fucking lot of the time, actually, and my ego’s holding up perfectly fine. hang around you long enough and something’s sure to bruise it; you always take me down a peg.” he says this teasingly, one brow raised at her. “and all the ideas you come up with are good ones?” he questions, voice playfully sarcastic. neither of them have ever gotten each other into any situations they couldn’t easily get out of, of course, but he still can’t help prodding her a little. “go easy on me? hell no. i’m counting on the opposite. give me a real challenge, love,” he laughs, levelled with her as she leans down, his eyes easily meeting hers. he arches a brow suggestively at her as she pats his cheek, giving her a wink as she moves over to fetch the cards. when she goes to sit on the other, comfier bed, apollo gets up from his spot and sits near where she pats, chuckling, “you looking for a little bite there, cora? i’m happy to oblige.” he makes himself comfortable, settling down opposite her, watching as she pulls the cards out from the tin where she keeps them. “how about you just deal, sweetheart, and we’ll see what happens.”

She hadn’t even closed the curtains because it was getting to be nighttime, hadn’t locked the door because she was afraid that someone or something would just barge in. She did both of those things because the second she knew she was safe and didn’t have to pretend to be someone she wasn’t, and that made every single muscle in her body relax because now it was just her with someone who knew exactly who she was, away from the public eye and she couldn’t help but to sigh in relief, rubbing the back of her best for a moment as she looked around the dimly lit room. It wasn’t the best hotel in the world, but then again, a nuclear bomb was bound to have some effect on everything. But the place was still standing and this was the first time she’d had an actual roof over her head – which was a weird thing to think about because she figured she’d feel boxed in, trapped.. but she didn’t, she felt safe. His comment caused a brow to raise, running a hand through her hair. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Just know that I like to wiggle my butt a lot.. but you’re not allowed to act on it because I’m innocent.” She retorted, trying to keep a serious tone to her words, but failing miserably as a laugh passed her lips. “You’re a horrible person, I hope you know that. Trying to call dibs before I even stepped foot in here, you should be ashamed!” She said in a teasing tone, wagging her finger at him with a grin. The Idea of poker wasn’t a bad one, she always had cards on her anyways, boredom constantly striking her at the worst time. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” She asked with a smirk, tilting her head to the side as she thought about what he said. “I hate admitting your right because I know it’ll just go to your head, but you’re correct. Not got a dime to my name either, so give me a moment to think.” She said, placing her hand on her hip as she paced for a few steps, stopping at his next words as she noticed the mischievous grin pulling on his features. “Are you suggesting that little, innocent me bets my clothes against yours?” She asked, taking a step towards him. “Because if so, you’re on. Prepare to be naked because you know I don’t like losing.”

he himself hasn’t been within walls like these since his days in sector ten. the last night he’d slept in a bed like this, he’d practically been a different person. and the next morning comes, and he finds himself running through the knotted woods, his sister’s hand in his, with his life askew and his old glasses knocked in confusion - disappearing between the brambles and leaving the sector behind. it’s a familiar comfort, he muses, just being in a closed room again, despite the time he’s spent in the wide open woods. “now you’re just trying to tempt me,” he answers in regards to her retort, smirk splitting wider into a grin as she laughs; it’s another cosy familiarity, by now, that sound. “well, clearly my decision to call dibs wasn’t done properly, because i’m still the one sitting on this fucking uncomfortable lump,” he snickers, “and i bear no shame for smart choices. poor execution, but it was a good idea.” apollo scoots over on the bed so that he’s sitting near the edge, still with his legs crossed beneath him, leaning forward with a grin as she admits he’s right. “you’re right, that did go straight to my head,” he quips. his voice is low in a soft chuckle, which grows a tiny bit louder as she stops her pacing and turns to face him. “you said it, not me,” he deflects, palms facing forward in feigned innocence. “but it’s not an awful idea, is it?” she takes a step toward him, and he counters with a smug look, arching a brow over one eye as he looks up at her - seated on the bed, he has to crane his neck a little to meet her eye when she’s this close. “honey,” he calls, using the pet name in the same tone she’d used to call him dear when she’d entered the room, “when i’ve got something this lovely to play for?” here, he jerks his head slightly to gesture at her with his chin, “i don’t think i’ll fare too badly.” truth be told, he’s unsurprisingly good at poker - he’s already apt at providing impassive, neutral expressions on a daily basis - but with cora? with cora, it’s a little harder. she always manages to read him so easily, he feels, though tonight he’s set on making it much, much more difficult for her. he does, after all, have worthy stakes to play for. “ready to deal, then? i’m feeling up for indulging in a bit of risk tonight.”

The whole act of her being innocent was taking a toll on her more than she thought it ever would. Sure, she’d played it off like she was someone else before, but nothing like this. She hadn’t touched her knifes in days (unless you counted when she pulled one on Inez, but in her mind, that didn’t come close to counting), She hadn’t been able to really physically be around anyone, because that would mean putting on this fake smile and innocent act around everyone in the group because she knew eyes were on her always, because she was always watching everyone too. But then they found the town that the random strangers had told them about and she couldn’t have been more happy because the hotel had beds, real beds. That and her and Poe instantly looked at each other and knew they’d been rooming together, but that was a different story for a different time. She was a few seconds behind him in entering the room, someone had asked her a question about how long she thought they’d be staying there – to which she had no answer to. But she was going to make the best out of the time she did have. She couldn’t help but to give him a small grin, shaking her head slightly. “Yes, dear?” She asked in a sarcastic tone as she pulled the door closed behind her, locking it before she pulled the curtains as well. “You’ve already tested both of the beds? You word quickly. Or is this just a ruse to let you sleep with me? Because you know you don’t have to make up an excuse for that to happen.” She told him, pulling off her bag to set it in one of the chairs, a smirk playing at her lips. “On second thought, let’s play a little game of poker. Not only is there money involved, but whoever looses sleeps on the shitty mattress.”

apollo glances at her idly as she locks the door and closes the curtains. the evening already hangs low in the trees, so there’s not much left in the way of daylight - but the room still becomes darker once the windows are blocked off. he arches his brow, but he doesn’t say anything; he figures she’s just tired of having to play a part when she’s watched. he’d be too, putting up a facade twenty-four seven around all these people. he still can’t really fathom the need of it, but he’s never needed cora to explain herself to him - he’s just followed along, trusting in her choices. he smirks a little at the sarcastic pet name she throws at him, quickly answering, “pssh, you saying that sweet, innocent little cora will be perfectly happy to cuddle with me?” he says the word ‘cuddle’ with one brow quirked, as though they both know it’s not what he really means. “but no, it’s not a ruse. i wasting quick to test both beds so i could call dibs on the comfier one, but once i moved over here i was too lazy to get up.” he shrugs, shifting around so that he sat up with his legs crossed underneath him, leaning back. “poker?” he repeats, his surprise quickly shifting into a smirk. “you know i haven’t got any money on me, love. and playing for just the mattress is a little sad.” he moves around until his elbows rest on his knees, chin propped up in his palm. he smirks, playfully, casting a pointed look toward the door she’s locked before asking, eyes levelled to hers, “willing to up the stakes a bit?” he doesn’t quite elaborate on what he means, but there’s a playful smile on his lops; a small, distracted twist tugging at the corners of his mouth, laced with an air of mischief.