#I THINK WE'RE A L L THIRSTY DIB

[periwinckles]

THE TRAIN BACK TO TWELVE - CHAPTER 17

(please note the rating for this pic has changed to M)

WEEK 7/9 - Thom

“So the rumors are true?”

Cyrus is standing outside his tent and I can only see his legs, but I can picture the smug look on his face.

“Depends on what the rumors say.”

I can’t stop a grin from splitting my face as I step outside. If that’s not enough giveaway I guess the fact that l have all of my possessions shoved inside a duffel bag, and my sleeping bag rolled under my arm should be a clear indication of the day’s events.

“So you’re finally moving out?”

I silently gesture to the duffel bag and he envelopes me in a hug. “Man, I could just kiss you right now.”

“Please don’t.”

“No, I’ll leave it to her.” He says with a nod to my left, and when I turn I see Delly approaching us. Cyrus takes off, probably to come up with a way to discreetly let Fern know I’m out of his tent for good.

“Hi!”

She gives this cute little bounce when she reaches me and I think it’s the most adorable thing I have ever seen. I drop my bag on the ground as she takes my hands and holds them behind her back, pulling me to a close embrace.

“You sure you want to do that? I’m kind of smelly right now.”

“I don’t mind.” She tells me as she leans in for a kiss. It’s warm and gentle and full of excitement, just like her. I could hardly focus during the rest of the afternoon, as I kept replaying her kisses over and over again in my head, and I swear I’ll never get enough of this.

“I wanted to take my things back to the tent, before heading for the showers.” I explain.

“I can deal with it if you want. Go, I’ll get your things organized in our tent.”

I throw my head backwards in elation. I still can't believe this is happening. I pull her closer, our hands still connected behind her back, and I kiss her again. “I love hearing you say that.” I say, my lips still brushing hers.

“What? Our tent?”

We stare at each other for a few seconds, before we both give in to wide smiles.

“I spent all afternoon wondering if this was really happening or if I was just out in the sun too much.” I tell her “But it’s real, right?”

She moves her hands to my shoulders and gives that happy little jump again.

“Well I really hope so, because I've been calling you my boyfriend all afternoon. I’ve been casually dropping hints around every girl in camp.” I laugh out loud at this and it earns me another quick kiss. “What?” she asks me “I’m not taking any chances, these girls are kind of thirsty.”

There's a lot of new girls in camp, but they're still the minority, and for every new girl, there's about five different guys calling dibs on her. I couldn't care less.

“I really need to head to the shower, before I miss my time slot.”

“Go! I’ll take this!” She says taking my things and giving me a soft lingering kiss.

We're teased mercilessly during dinner time. I'm not used to being the center of gossip, but Delly finds it amusing and she makes a point to hold my hand in clear sight the entire time.

Our relationship triggers discussion about the former Seam-Merchant divide, and we end up dinner with an unplanned brainstorming about what the new town setup should be like, and how to prevent social feuds. Sae has a lot on her mind about this, and we end up making a few changes to our original plans.

"We're not divided now, but what happens in a generation or two? We need to make sure everyone is treated equally when splitting the land and the new houses." One of the newcomers says, and everyone nods in approval.

We expect the construction materials to start arriving in the next few weeks, and we'll be starting on the first houses as soon as we have everything we need. We end up taking a vote regarding the construction, and I'll be taking charge of the construction crew. Zac Steiner will take over the suppliers team, but he still reports to me and I'm still the one to contact the government. Delly is officially out of the suppliers and she's the head of a team of five women that tend to the garden.

"I say we build houses for the families first. I know everyone is dying to move to a house, and hopefully we all will have a roof over our heads before winter, but we need to make choices, and I say families with kids are top priority. Then families without kids. Then single folks."

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I'm glad to find out everyone else agrees. Soon the fire starts to die out and we end our impromptu meeting. I linger a bit by the firepit, to make sure the fire is out, Saul right beside me, while Delly has her privacy on the tent. After a while, we join her inside.

The tent is not huge, but it can fit the three of us quite nicely. Our sleeping bags are all lined up, Delly in the middle, Saul to the right and me to the left. Our clothes are neatly folded into three piles on the far side from the door. She is wearing my gray hoodie again.

“So I’m losing that again, uh?”

She doesn't answer me but makes a point to roll over facing Saul so I can undress myself.

"So you're giving Thom privacy but not me?" Saul complaints. I think he's not serious though, as he shows no qualms in changing clothes in front of her.

"I've seen you naked before." She tells him.

"Yeah, but I have chest hair now."

"Oh Saul, trust me, we'll be back in a house before you have chest hair."

We all settle down for sleep. I’m still not sure exactly on her stance for physical affection inside the tent, so I take my time to lay down, but once I do she laces her fingers around mine.

Saul's voice is the last thing I hear, before falling asleep.

"Just for the record, I want my own room when we get a house, Delly."

—-

Saul is an early riser, and he's not quiet either. I feel like a herd of elephants is shaking the whole tent as he gets up and gets dressed. Delly's head is resting on my arm and I can feel her sighing against my shoulder. She's awake for sure, and I hope the smile that lurks in my lips doesn't alert Saul to my state of consciousness too.

"Saul, you're up?"

Danny Thompson waits for him outside, and someone needs to teach these kids how to be quiet. What they need to do at six a.m. is beyond me, but since it's working to my advantage I'm not complaining.

"Coming!" Saul tells him in an attempted whisper.

As soon as we hear the tent zipper close again her breath is in my ear.

"If you're sleeping through this Thom, I swear I'll slap you."

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#the hunger games #delly cartwright #thelly #thg fanfiction #everlark #Thom x Delly #peeta x katniss #The rebuilding of district twelve