Castles Crumble | Belle/Coach | Liesure

After killing that girl, Coach still feels a sense of accomplishment as they leave the area, but tries not to say anything to Belle about it. She hasn't had the chance to kill anyone yet, after all, and he doesn't want to rub in the fact that he has, if by some chance she wants to do it too. He doesn't want to become that kill for her.

"Thank you," Belle whispers to him, "That other girl might have killed both of us."

Maybe she wouldn't be mad about it if the topic came up about how he felt after the kill.

He nods in response to her with a small smile on his face. He's not quite sure whether he's smiling at Belle, or the fact that he'd now gotten a second kill in the arena and he loved the way it felt. That didn't really matter, though. The two smiles probably didn't look all that different from one another.

-----

Belle seems to be feeling fine, judging by her mannerisms. She's staring at Coach as he sits there quietly, thinking to himself about what had just happened. He felt good about it, but still wasn't sure if he should bring it up, despite his thoughts of 'maybe I should say something and she won't be mad' earlier.

"I want to see Adam again." She says this to Coach and then takes a long pause.

"I understand. I'm sure you miss him, and that he misses you, too." Coach responds. Coach had never really experienced love. He just had a one-night-stand threesome with two other career guys when they were locked in the training center in District One after hours last year.

How were they doing now? He hadn't thought about them much recently and they probably haven't thought about him. There'd been no real connection there, he supposed.

"But if I don't. I hope you make it home to your sister." Belle said this to Coach, and it took him a little off guard. She actually seemed to care about Coach, and had listened to what he'd said about his sister before- about fighting to get home to her. She hadn't just ignored him or not cared about it.

He was about to say something in response, but she didn't give him the chance.

"I'm here with you. I trust you to protect me. And you can trust me to have your back. I'm glad we're alone." She's staring him in the eyes, and he gives her a somewhat gentler look back. He doesn't want to seem like he's trying to intimidate her, like she seems to be doing to him, but eye contact seems to still be important in this situation.

She continues, "I have to be clear about my standings. You're my ally. But if we somehow find Syd and Bene again. They're my enemy. And I hope you'll stand by me."

He doesn't want to agree. He didn't have a problem with Syd and Bene, but he knew better than to say that. Belle was being very clear right now, and Coach didn't want to be against her when it came down to it. He knew they might become enemies in the very end, but he didn't want that right now. Not that he really ever wanted that.

Nevertheless, he agreed with her. He had to, but the way he spoke didn't make it sound like an obligation. It sounded like he genuinely felt that way. Perhaps he was good at faking emotions and had never really noticed it before.

"Of course," he said to her. "If they're enemies to you, they're enemies to me."

He had a serious look on his face. Even if that wasn't how he felt, he wasn't going to completely lie to her. He'd fight by her side, against them, when it came down to it.

~


"Don't wanna live as an untold story
Rather go out in a blaze of glory
I can't hear you, I don't fear you
I'll live now 'cause the bad die last"