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“Why did you save me?” The boy looks no older than sixteen when he sits up, rubbing his eyes.
“Because you saved me first,” Kyuhyun answers. The boy blinks and a flash of recognition crosses his face.
“Ah. District 2,” the boy says absently. “Cho Kyuhyun.”
Kyuhyun blinks.
“You know my name?”
“I remember everyone’s names,” the boy says and the declaration strikes guilt like a knife into Kyuhyun’s chest for no reason.
“Why?” he asks and the boy blinks again.
“Because if I don’t remember them, who will?”
“But they won’t remember you,” Kyuhyun argues; he does not even know the boy’s name.
“That’s okay,” the boy says. “I’m Ryeowook, by the way.”
“Ryeowook.” Kyuhyun turns the name over and over on his tongue like a new fruit. He likes it, and it suits him. “I remember you now. You volunteered, didn’t you?”
Ryeowook nods, peering down at the bandage around his chest.
“Changminnie has a family,” he says quietly. “He has more to lose.”
“And you don’t?”
Ryeowook smiles, but it is bleak and it cuts like winter into Kyuhyun’s bones.
“No. I’m too old for the orphanage.”
Kyuhyun does not know what to say to that, so he offers him the rest of his jerky and Ryeowook stares at it. He is hungry; Kyuhyun can tell from the way he licks his lips and swallows.
“Eat,” he says, shoving the jerky into Ryeowook’s hand. “I have more.”
Ryeowook eats like a rabbit, nibbling delicately at the dried meat like he is afraid Kyuhyun will change his mind and ask for it back.
Kyuhyun did notice while he was bandaging him up that he is mostly skin and bones. He offers him water and crouches to check on the bandage while Ryeowook drinks.
“You shouldn’t have saved me,” Ryeowook says conversationally. “I’m a liability.”
“That’s not true,” Kyuhyun says at once. It is instinctual, but Ryeowook is clever and small enough to hide in the trees. He has watched him with a bow and he is a good shot. He has also seen the replays of his attempts to save others, himself included. The Capitol seems to find it amusing, how hard he tries to save everyone from their inevitable deaths.
“What if you lose sponsors?” Ryeowook retorts. “Once they see that you’re allying with me, they know that you’re doomed.”
“I am not doomed,” Kyuhyun sighs. “Stop catastrophizing. Everyone has a chance at dying in here.”
Ryeowook hesitates.
“What if I kill you?” he asks and Kyuhyun snorts.
“You? You tried to save a Career’s ass. Actually, you did save mine. If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead so thank you.”
Ryeowook frowns.
“Well, maybe I’ve changed my mind. Maybe I want to kill you now.”
“Do you?” Kyuhyun smiles and he pulls out his knife, offering the hilt to Ryeowook. Ryeowook stares at him, wide eyed.
“Do you have no sense of self-preservation?”
“I owe you my life,” Kyuhyun says. “If anyone deserves to take it to live, it would be you.”
He shakes the knife. Ryeowook does not take it, as he expects, so he sheathes it, poking at the bandage around Ryeowook’s ribs.
“C’mon. Let’s go before the Peacekeepers decide to come up with something to trap us here.”
Kyuhyun was right about Ryeowook. The innocence is all a front to hide just how clever he is. The days melt together as they run through the arena, dodging the remaining Careers, who drop like flies and day by day, Kyuhyun grows ever more enamoured. Ryeowook is more than a pretty face, the one thing that had won him the Capitol’s favour. He is kind, gentle with the creatures they have to kill for food and wastes nothing. He can tell about the most difficult poison berries from edible ones and he mourns when a tribute dies eating the wrong ones.
“Jeon Jiwoo,” he murmurs as Kyuhyun nibbles on a rabbit leg on the branch beside him. “District 8.”
He runs through the entire tribute replay that way, murmuring names and districts under his breath.
Kyuhyun stares, awe ballooning in his chest at the reverence in Ryeowook’s tone whenever he says a name.
“You really do remember them all,” he says.
Ryeowook nods, settling close to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun leans over, and hides a smile when Ryeowook freezes under him.
“Will you remember me?” he asks quietly and Ryeowook’s body relaxes. The back of his hand brushes against Kyuhyun’s like he wants to take it, but is too afraid to.
“Of course,” Ryeowook answers. “But I won’t have to remember you.”
“Don’t say that,” Kyuhyun says at once. “We don’t know for sure.”
“You’re the cleverest out of all of us,” Ryeowook tells him earnestly. “Your chances are the best.”
“And yet, I needed you to save me,” Kyuhyun reasons. “We’ll get out together, Ryeowook ah.”
He speaks of impossibilities, he knows. There will come a day where he will have to kill Ryeowook to live, but Kyuhyun refuses to think of it now. And evidently, so does Ryeowook.
“I’ve never seen the stars,” Ryeowook says, changing the subject. “It’s always too smoky where I live and the sky’s always too cloudy.”
“I’ll take you,” Kyuhyun says decisively, as if it is his choice to make. “When we get out of here, I’ll take you to District 2 and we’ll look at the stars together.”
He melts into Ryeowook’s smile, though he knows it is indulgent and turns his hand over. Ryeowook’s fingers brush against his palm and Ryeowook looks down at him. Slowly, Kyuhyun tangles their fingers together, giving Ryeowook a chance to pull back. Ryeowook watches him, his hand shaking slightly when Kyuhyun squeezes.
“Okay,” he murmurs, squeezing back and Kyuhyun’s heart soars.
There are many more moments like that, quiet nights hidden up in the tree branches. They stare up at the artificial sky with their hands tangled with each other’s and one night, Kyuhyun leans in and Ryeowook closes the gap.