#playboths

his saint valentine's day surprise is coming later that evening . . . oh goodness, not like that! ( though, she wouldn't mind if, perhaps, it does end up like that . . . ) when she asked the staff to help her prepare for it, they'd told her to wait. when she protested, they told her to calm down. she never expected to be mistress over a staff who treated her as if she were family, including the requests to simply calm herself. but when johanna realizes where her husband is guiding her to, she understands the why. his surprise for her and she's already grinning.

none of them are caged. they are free to spread their wings, but tender enough to stay put. as johanna looks closer, she begins to wonder if they can fly at all. perhaps, they are the birds left behind by their mothers. they need a home. art didn't really give her the birds. he's giving her the opportunity to love them and give them everything they need.

❝ they'll fly around everywhere, ❞ she whispers, gentle hands slowly reaching out for the robin. it's hardly a complaint with all of the joy stuck in her throat. they'll get to fly around everywhere, unlike her childhood larks. if she is free, they deserve to be, too. safe. taken care of. when the robin reluctantly and wobbly steps onto her palm, she lets out a slight giggle. johanna looks over her shoulder, careful not to disturb the bird. a thank you is perched on her lips, yet she's speechless. ❝ how could you think i could possibly choose a favorite? ❞ the tease falls out instead. she doesn't think art will mind.

there was no net. no salt water. no song about voyages. and their wedding is perfect. pearls are strewn throughout her hair and her fingers are intertwined in his as they listen to a few words by the officiant. johanna never heard of anyone eloping in panem, nor was she aware that it was an option. she'd barely known what the word meant. ( elopement: the act of running away from home to secretly get married. ) well, this is the closest that they have to running away: a secret ceremony preformed by a government official. she's never been happier.

elopement: the act of running away secretly to become the woman she's always wanted to be with the love of her life.

eyelids flicker open as they part from their kiss. she giggles at his complaint. johanna doesn't know how pretty she looks in green or the lighting of the justice building, but art looks practically angelic ( another word that she doesn't know the meaning to, yet she thinks she knows what it means now ).

"It's not your year, mate."

Life has a funny way of denying you the one thing that you want so badly, doesn't it? Tennis occupies a very distant second on the list of Dave's priorities these days— with partying being the first one, obviously— but here he still finds himself, in the men's locker room at the US Open. Dave's still at that level where he can easily dispatch the lower-ranked players in the first few rounds if the draw is favorable, but it's been a long while since he was counted among, and able to, challenge the truly elites. (He could, if he cared more. The thing is, he's so obviously past caring.)

gentle fingers run through his hair, measuring out every strand, massaging his scalp. a pile of soft blankets encapsulates them as the girls play around where they're seated. sometimes ( often ), johanna worries that laura might accidentally say something about spending their time across the bay. reminding herself that the judge hardly acknowledges her daughter as it is and he couldn't possibly hold a conversation long enough with her for laura to admit something like that. but for now, she lets her shoulders relax and she kisses art's crown. for now, all that matters is that art is going to love her forever.

wet hair sticks to her bare shoulders, bare back, but she only moves the few curls stuck to her cheeks out of her way. she'll complain to herself later about not fixing her crowning glory, for now, she's focused on art. this is where they had their first kiss. away from the partygoers inside, a young girl whose heart was fluttering to the point she feared it might send her into some frenzy and a young boy who was too handsome and too sweet for his own good. she thought for a moment there that she would be able to run away with him. that young girl had no idea the hardships that were waiting for her to grow up.

if they couldn't run away, being here, like this, with art is what she deserves. if god couldn't let her escape, she deserves this moment with him. johanna feels more like that girl again: happy enough to laugh without covering her face and relaxed against the rain pounding on the gazebo. she could escape if she needed to here, but laying right next to art, she feels like she's escaped. even if she's only a pond away from the looming mansion on the other side.

body half-covered in sand, she wants to draw art in even closer. when he asked her what she wanted to do once the tour was over, she had an answer without a second thought: the beach. sometimes, she hates the little beach that is reserved for the victors. victor's beach doesn't exactly have a ring to it and she hates the gates guarding it from other people's use. but for now, johanna relaxes into the privacy of it. when art kisses her, she still feels herself smiling. the sun is setting and in the moment, she doesn't care if it burns her fair skin. let her remember this moment, even if stings.

being able to close the door behind her and leave the world---if only for a moment---sends a wave of relief through her still. she breathes easier now. as incredible as it is to see panem rebuilding itself, johanna adores her family even more. she left the house silent and asleep. now that mavis is asleep, she'd expected to be able to lay her down before rejoining art in bed. what she's found instead is both of the elder girls stacking a row a pillows while her husband helps to straighten them as they move along. she'd raised a brow. lily shrieked in the act of getting caught. canary, being too young to fully grasp what was happening, continued her attempt to unfold a blanket.