better together . charade

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cass
Retired Staff

4,822 POSTS

last seen Oct 24, 2021 18:11:43 GMT -5

better together . charade Jan 27, 2021 22:22:21 GMT -5

Post by cass on Jan 27, 2021 22:22:21 GMT -5

o p a l .

"Mmm, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together"

"Katelyn, you are the light that holds me together. You beat back the darkness and make me believe that beneath every cruel thing I have done- I can be a good-“

Opal frowned, cursing under her breath as she screwed the paper into a tight ball before tossing it at the bin by her desk. It missed, landing beside several other pieces of screwed up paper. She turned her gaze back to the now blank notepad, pen hovering just millimeters above the page as she chewed on her lip. Nothing felt right, nothing she wrote felt worthy of the woman she was going to spend the rest of her life with. The words she had just tossed aside felt fake, and even though she meant them they didn’t have that edge of genuineness that leaked from the heart in the moment.

Katelyn deserved the best, a speech that would bring her to tears and wrap her in the warmth of the words she spoke. She wanted to convey the depths of her love for her future wife, wanted her to melt into the words and understand- from the bottom of her heart that Opal loved her with every essence of her being. She rested her head in her hands, eyes staring unfocused at the page as she breathed heavily- frustration clawed at her insides, the words she was so desperate to spill across the page locked away in a place she couldn’t reach.

“Katelyn,” she began once again, only to catch herself on the next words. After a moment she threw the pen down, leaning back into the chair with a loud huff as she threw her head back. The room was darker, and with a start, she realised she had been sitting there for hours, the sun was disappearing behind the backyard fence, throwing her home into darkness.

Opal stretched, standing up and feeling the dull ache in her back respond appreciatively to the movement. The house was quiet as she moved from her study and towards the kitchen. Ky didn’t seem to be around- which wasn’t surprising, and soon she found herself standing in front of the fridge, tummy rumbling as she pulled the door open to find the shelves empty. She sighed, running a hand through her hair as she pushed the door closed.

She often forgot to go shopping, no, it was more that she never seemed to have enough time. What free time she found herself with couldn’t be wasted on a grocery run, she wanted to spend that time within the freedom of her garden or talking to Ky and asking him about his day. The gentle hum of the refrigerator followed her all the way to the lounge room as she planted herself on the sofa. The material swallowed her, wrapping her in its embrace as she tugged at the blanket, pulling it onto her lap.

The phone by her side drew her attention and Opal reached for it, pushing in the numbers that would speak to her heart. The ring of the phone as it sought her partner felt jarring, yelling out to the entire house as Opal held her breath. Then finally, the ring was cut off by a voice that set her lungs on fire and stole her next words from her lips. She fished for them as Katelyn called out a hello.

“Katelyn,” she breathed, words falling from her lips. “I’ve missed you so much.” Opal paused, fingers curling around the phone cord as she simply enjoyed this moment of comfort.

“I’ve been trying to write my vows today,” she chuckled a finger digging into her palm, “I think I’ve thrown away about twenty pieces of paper.”

elegant

charade
Retired Staff

3,811 POSTS

last seen Jan 6, 2024 4:36:58 GMT -5

Thinking

better together . charade Jan 28, 2021 7:33:09 GMT -5

Post by charade on Jan 28, 2021 7:33:09 GMT -5

k a t e l y n .

"I wish I was just as strong
as I make myself out to be"

Despite her own misgivings, despite the burdens laying heavily on her shoulders, Katelyn still found ways to breathe. Tending to the herb garden, baking ever increasing amounts of pie and of course planning for that special day. She couldn’t wait to tell Vasco, even If she had to spy on him in the process.

At least he was aware of that and could choose which information was fed back to the Capitol. To Olivia. Katelyn stopped squeezing the piping bag full of vanilla buttercream for a moment and chewed her bottom lip. It was terrible how quickly she’d gotten used to that being a part of her life, wasn’t it?

Was it smart? Was it right? Her heart said no, but her brain reminded her that this was the best option in a pile of terrible ones. Even if it wasn’t a good option either.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to ruminate on it for too long, because the phone rang and according to the speed dial it was the most important person in her life.

“Katelyn,” the voice on the other end of the line said.

“Opal,” she replied warmly.

“I’ve been trying to write my vows today,” Opal said, “I think I’ve thrown away about twenty pieces of paper.”

Katelyn chuckled softly. Her own vows had been hard to get out as well. Even though she had tried to be straight and to the point. It was difficult, describing to someone how wonderful they were when all they could see was their own scars. Difficult because they had trouble believing it or because they weren’t used to someone being able to see past it.

They understood each other like that.

Finding the happy balance between a stoic exterior and being a puddle of emotions was hard for Katelyn. There was rarely a middle ground between the Katelyn that could let it all out and the Katelyn that kept it all in for the cameras and her superiors.

Or at least it felt like that most days. More so since the latest fuckery that that horrid secretary had tasked her with. Then there was that peacekeeper to consider…

But one issue at a time. Over the years she had learned it was better not to overload herself. Trying to do too much at once had always resulted in spreading herself too thin, and then came the inevitable breaking point. So she shut that out of her mind and focused on the woman on the other end of the phone.

Did she even need vows to tell Opal how she felt? It was simple really. Some things didn’t require extravagant bells and whistles to get the meaning across.

“I love you,” she said simply, quietly. “Whatever you decide to say in your vows, I know you love me too.” Katelyn went back to frosting the cake and held the phone between her shoulder and her ear. So many potential questions to ask. About Ky, about district one. Another games was coming up but somehow it didn’t feel that important. None of it did. Not as long as she had Opal.

“You’re strong and kindhearted, you know that right?” she continued, forming tiny flowers on the cake. “I think you forget that sometimes. I don’t.” Katelyn could compliment Opal for hours and mean every word.

Few things in life were more precious to her than Opal’s smile.

elegant

16 Jul 12, 23:43
GB: I bet you just sit at your computer with a tea cup and a monocle

cass
Retired Staff

4,822 POSTS

last seen Oct 24, 2021 18:11:43 GMT -5

better together . charade Feb 4, 2021 18:08:34 GMT -5

Post by cass on Feb 4, 2021 18:08:34 GMT -5

o p a l .

"Mmm, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together"

The reply was comforting, the warmth leaking between their phone call was enough to make her toes curl and her stomach set itself on fire. She leaned back into the cushions, head resting against the couch as she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the moment. The days weighed heavily on her and it was growing fewer and far between where she could simply exist within the compass of her lover’s presence.

Ky rested in the back of her mind like a ball of darkness, she pushed it back day after day, the guilt creeping further into her thoughts and winding itself around her heart. She’d seen a few of the looks he’d given her, and at first, she’d brushed them aside, Ky simply being his moody self. But after a little, while they’d buried themselves within her like spears, prodding and poking at old wounds as she watched her wounded child deal with reality.

Her life had been wrapped in helping him, raising him, being better for him. She had abandoned her job and duties to protect him, to save him from the brutality of the Capitol. She’d only returned after being threatened after they had promised Ky would suffer for her choices. He’d been born through selfishness, a desperate and depressed nineteen year old clinging to the one last thing she had of her husband.

Perhaps he resented her for that- she knew he probably did. With everything he had suffered, with the pain of losing a loved one, of having their memory tainted and splattered all over the Capitol. She didn’t blame him. It would be impossible to not hate her- better yet, blame her for it all. Everyone needed someone to point the finger at, to take the blame and Opal would carry it, allow him to layer her up with it and punish her as much as he needed. She didn’t know what else to do, she’d never been a very good mother.

Opal sighed into the phone, her concerns melting away as Katelyn spoke, easing the tightness in her chest with just a few words. “Ripred, you’re so good at that, Katelyn.” She mumbled, opening her eyes to a dark room as she drew her free hand to her lap.

“You know exactly what to say to ease my mind and make my heart flutter,” the smile was evident in her words, her voice light, radiant as she pushed aside her perilous thoughts of Ky. “I think I know exactly what I want to say- well, I know how much I love you and how incredible you are, but I don’t think words even do it justice. I don’t think I can paint a picture of how you look in my eyes with just my words.”

She pushed herself up, sitting up straighter as she spoke. It was completely true, the image of Katelyn she saw was beyond breathtaking, it was beyond comprehension and her own emotions. Katelyn was her everything, the pinnacle of desire, love, safety, comfort and passion that stretched beyond the limitations of spoken language.

“But that’s okay, because whatever I can’t say I know you will feel,” she said with the utmost confidence. “Enough about me, what are you doing? How have you been? I can’t wait to see you again.” She fired the questions off, wanting to fill her lonely world with Katelyn’s voice.