#they are! they're a comedic duo with random angst thrown in the middle lol

[4lexnilsen]

“abilene hoover!   what is it,  hm?   did someone just tickle you?   could never be me,”   he playfully teases,  feigning innocence even if they’re the only people in the room and there’s no one else to put the blame on.   his eyes twinkling with mischief as he leans against the shower wall,  the last of the pink suds swirling around his feet as warm water continues to rain down on his skin.    abilene’s laughter ringing in his ears,  her voice so light and free,  it makes him forget where they are.   for a fleeting second,  it’s just them —   no arena,  no capitol,  no ticking clock counting down the days until everything changes.   he desperately wants the moment to last,  pestering fingers trying to bother her sides some more even as she threatens him.  

“hey,  that’s so…   oh,  the punishment doesn’t fit the crime!   why don’t you just send me to timeout?   no need to be so harsh and take my boobie privileges away,”   he dramatically protests,  not that he would have the courage to look at her chest even if she asked him to.   “but fine,  fine…   i’m turning around.”   exhaling loudly,  he faces the wall and even covers his eyes with his hands so that she doesn’t accuse him of peeking.   he gives her a moment,  not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable while she’s drying off.   

eventually,  he turns the water off and steps out of the shower as well,  snatching the other towel and wrapping it around his waist.   he’s reaching for his toothbrush,  but the intensity of her words still hangs in the air,  and for a moment,  all the fear,  and guilt,  and love —   it’s all too much.   “brandy and silas…   don’t think i’ll ever forget their names or faces.   i see them in my dreams sometimes,  always wake up wishing i’d done more.”   he couldn’t have,  but that’s the thing about guilt —   it’s not always reasonable.   in less than a week,  they’ll be thrown into the chaos of the arena again,  but this time,  he’ll do everything right.   he won’t let alone hurt the person he cares about.   trying not to dwell on the negative feelings,  his eyes find the boxers still on the counter and he shoots abilene a humored look.   his cheeks heating up,  toothbrush forgotten.   “you leaving them for me or…?   it’s not my last pair,  you know?   we don’t have to share,”   he teases,  pursing his lips together to keep from grinning like a love-struck idiot.

“i can’t believe i cracked your secret code,”   he muses with a laugh,  using a smaller towel to shake water out of his sandy curls,  his grin matching hers as their eyes meet in the large mirror.   “ticklish, huh?   who’d have thought that abilene hoover,  of all people,  had such a simple weakness?”   wrapped in his black shirt,  her locks already curling as they begin to dry…   god,  she’s beautiful.   effortlessly so.   his hand finds hers,  his fingers entwining with hers in a desperate,  almost instinctive need to hold onto her as he admires her,  trying to think about anything other than how she’s wearing nothing underneath.   “you should wear my clothes more often.   they look much better on you.”   the playful banter between them is still hanging in the air.   she’s pretending to be upset about the tickling,  sticking her tongue out at him,  but her eyes are sparkling with that mischievous light that he’s come to love.   it feels so painfully normal,  so real,  that he almost lets himself believe they have more time than they do.   

❛ alexander nilsen ! ❜

abilene squealed when his fingers found her sides . her hands , covered in suds , left his hair instantly to try to push away his hands from her ticklish skin . even though he had only tickled her for a moment laughter and giggles had slipped past her lips and if her cheeks were not already flushed and red they surely would have flushed more . she was ticklish , horribly , horribly ticklish , and she always had been .

❛ just for that i'm gonna make you turn around when i get my towel on . ❜ she joked , hands plastered at her sides to try to ward off any additional ticklish touches from him . ❛ and you're gonna wash that out of your own hair . ❜ she gestured to the pink-tinged suds in his sandy locks with her chin , though her smile was still plastered on her face .

abilene smiled , watching pink suds run down his own shoulders as he spoke about being in love with her from the moment he saw her . they were meant for each other , two souls meeting in the kind of cosmic collision that only happened once a century . ❛ we all did what we had to do , alex . ❜ abilene tried to console him , ignoring the slight sting in her palms from the soap in her cuts . ❛ you're a survivor . brandy and silas . . . ❜ there was a deep pang in her belly when she mentioned those two tributes' names . they were so little . . . it wasn't fair . ❛ that's when i knew that you were a good man . nothing could change that . ❜

once they were both clean , abilene was the first to leave the shower , though not without protectively clutching at her sides . she dried herself off as alex washed the suds from his hair and wrapped her hair up in a towel to dry . she pulled the black shirt he'd given her over her head and eyed the boxers he'd left her on the counter and the pants . before she could decide if she should put them on or not she heard the water shut off .

abilene took her hair down and squeezed out as much water as she could from her dark locks . they were already beginning to curl when abilene began to comb through her hair . ❛ i can't believe you discovered my one true weakness . ❜ abilene teased , sticking her tongue out at alex . it was nice to not think about how close they were to the end , how fast time was ticking on . for this moment it was just her and alex in his capitol apartments and time had stopped . ❛ i've never felt so betrayed ! ❜