AU: Typical Love Story Pt. 1
“I’m just saying, that he’s totally into you. I mean honestly, you could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife.” My best friend Elektra states matter-of-factly as she picks up her knife and slices at the air.
I roll my eyes, my cheeks flushing slightly as I refuse to look at her head on, choosing instead to push the cafeteria food around on my plate. “That’s impossible, he’s like, I don’t know. He’s Morse, that’s weird. We’re just good friends, I mean he’s Mag’s older brother for fuck’s sake, Elektra.” My words hushed as I scan the cafeteria for the subject of our discussion.
“Well so is Huxley, and he’s a fine ass piece of meat if you ask me.” She takes a bite out of her chicken, her fork making a harsh noise against her teeth, as though to send the point home.
I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks at her words, shaking my head I try not to imagine the two brothers naked. “They’re my friends, Elektra, not pieces of meat.”
“Who aren’t pieces of meat?” I jump as I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder, the familiar voice causing my face to turn an even darker shade of red as I look up to see Morse Keight, the very last person that I want to see.
Swallowing, I turn away, trying to find out from the wolfish grin on Elektra’s face how long said man has been standing there, she reveals nothing. Taking a long drink of water, I watch him as he sits down, the coy smile on his handsome face making me feel like he knows something, and seeing as how it’s Mo, he probably does. “O-oh, no one in particular, not anyone you would know at least.” I stutter out, my throat suddenly very dry as I can’t help but notice how his collared shirt is unbuttoned slightly to expose a part of his sternum, his skin is pale and perfect and I have to force myself to tear my eyes away. Curse Elektra for putting these thoughts in my mind.
He looks over to Elektra, and it could just be my slight paranoia acting up but I feel like they’re sharing a joke, laughing at me, calmly he looks over to me, the same coy smile on his face as before. “Try me, I know loads of people.”
I look around, trying to think of anyone, a single male that I know that he doesn’t, and I honestly can’t think of anyone, lying having never been a strong suit of mine I resort to simply shouting out two names. “Bohr and Watson, yeah, they run in a few different circles than you.” I quickly take a drink of my water to try and hide my face, I already know without looking that Elektra is having a hard time not bursting into laughter.
I can feel him staring, in a way that shows how much he knows me, how much he knows that I’m simply not telling the truth, he’s known me for long enough, and I’ve lied to him enough times. “Bohr down in accounting? I didn’t know you two talked.” He pauses, taking a seemingly planned dramatic bite from his sandwich, “Are you into him? I’m quite good friends with him, I could spread the word along. Didn’t know you were into gingers, Echo.” He gently punches my arm winking, and it’s at that moment that I know he knows who we were talking about. He sits there, staring at me, that damn smile on his fucking face, as he patiently waits for my reply.
He never gets one. As a sudden bout of nausea overcomes me, I stand up and rush out of the cafeteria, leaving my food for Elektra to take care of, this is all her fault anyways.
AU: Something He Didn’t Already Know
I’m shoving the food around on my plate, as I often do when I’m without words. He’s made me breakfast, it isn’t really a habit of his, but I don’t mind, it makes the times that he does all the sweeter. We don’t often have bacon, beans, and eggs. It’s not that we can’t afford it, no with our combined income we’re quite set. It was just we don’t often have breakfast. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of it, unless it’s made for me by someone else, and we both would often prefer to spend the little time we had in the morning doing something else. I use it for sleep, and after a year or so of marriage I still don’t know what he does in the mornings. But he’s always awake before me, walking around shirtless in a pair of slacks with a kiss good morning ready for me. Often times I get up just long enough to pull him back into bed with me, falling back asleep and he wakes me back up just in time to get ready to leave.
The only days that I don’t go back to sleep are the days that I wake up to the smell of bacon wafting through our house, up from the kitchen. On these days, such as today, I stumble out of bed, and usually wearing nothing more than one of his dirty shirts, I practically fall down the stairs into my chair in the kitchen. He doesn’t always say things on these mornings, they’re simply subtle ways to show that he loves me. Besides, he knows I’m not really a morning person until I reach a certain point, when all I do is talk, because that’s the only way I can stay awake.
This morning he’s already dressed, and I can’t help but watch the way his shoulders move as he’s cleaning the dishes, he’s silent, but I know he’s thinking. He’s always thinking. At this point, I only try to guess what’s going on in his mind when I’m bored and need a game to keep me entertained. I’m the first to speak this morning, and it takes me a while to get up the courage. I can’t help but think that perhaps I shouldn’t tell him this way. Me wearing nothing more than the shirt he wore yesterday, and him cleaning the dishes. It’s not much of an eventful morning, nothing memorable is happening. But that could be why it feels right. I mean, why do it on a day that’s different from all the others. That’s not what we’re like. Our love, while passionate, is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever experienced. It fills me with warmth, being with him is like crawling into a toasty bed on a snowy day. We fit together perfectly, physically and mentally. It’s perfect.
Sometimes, when I describe our marriage to people that way I fear that I make our relationship sound boring, when really it’s anything but, we constantly laugh and he’s always surprising me, like how when we’re brainstorming ideas sometimes he’ll randomly cut me off mid-sentence with a breathtaking kiss. He’s my soulmate and sometimes I find myself wondering how I could have ever thought that Magnus was the one for me when Morse was there the entire time.
Shaking my head, I snap myself out of my own rambling thoughts, taking a deep breath I think back to what Elektra said as we left the doctor’s office. “You need to fucking tell him, Echo. Honestly, not just for practicality sake, but so you can, for once, wipe that knowing smirk off his face.”
Coughing out a laugh at the memory, I slowly gather the courage as I put the fork down. “Mo, can I tell you something?” I inquire, my heart beating out of control as he turns to look at me, a sly grin on his face.
“Are you sure I don’t already know?” He asks, clearly teasing me.
I frown, shaking my head. “You’re so full of it, Mo, you don’t know everything.” I spit out, slightly annoyed that he’s ruining this, and also slightly concerned that perhaps, he does already know.
Putting up one finger he silences me, a sickeningly pompous look on his face. “If I’ll remind you, my dear, every single time you’ve started a conversation with ‘Mo, can I tell you something?’ I’ve already known the information you were going to tell me.”
Setting the dishcloth down he holds up his hands, listing out such occasions and counting them off on his long fingers. “Like when you told me you got a job working with me, when you told me your brother and his girlfriend were breaking up, when you told me that you actually didn’t like how I did that one thing in bed. Even though you always acted like you loved it -“
I try to cut him off, his smug voice already getting on my nerves. “Mo-“
Ignoring me, he continues. “How about when you told me how many guys you’d been with. Or should I say how few guys?” He chuckles at that, pissing me off even more. “Oh! My personal favorite is when you told me you liked me, or how you told me that your brother would kill me -“
“MORSE!” I scream catching his attention, his shock clearly displayed on his face. “I’m fucking pregnant okay?! Did you know that?”
His face tells me everything, and honestly it makes it worth it. That one facial expression of pure surprise will be worth the months of carrying the thing, it’ll be worth the labor, and the giving birth, it will make it all worth it. I suppose the child will be nice too, but the complete look of shock on his face is priceless. The fact that for once, I knew something that he didn’t would make the possible hours of labor and probable vaginal tearing worth it. I only wish that Elektra and Magnus could see it.
It starts out with his beautiful blue eyes going as wide as saucers as the cocky grin on his face slowly vanishes. Stepping (or I suppose, stumbling) back he holds his hands up, swallowing as he looks me up and down, the information seeming to take forever to seep in. His hands fall over his heart and I know that it’s hit him. Morse’s eyes now fill up with a look of what I can only describe as pure love (there is no way to describe ‘pure love’ in detail, you just need to see it yourself), and he chokes out a laugh as he swallows, wordlessly asking me if I’m fucking with him. Shaking my head, I smile happily at him. “Yup, you knocked me up, Morse. Too bad we’re not married or nothin’” He chokes out another laugh as a warm happiness starts to radiate off of him, twirling around he runs his hands through his hair, the smile never leaving his face as he finally turns to face me. “Your brother’s going to kill me.”
Grinning, giving him the knowing smirk he always gives me, I simply shrug. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Laughing he rushes up to me, pulling me out of the chair before he kisses me gently. It’s a short kiss, a chaste kiss, but the pure emotion involved leaves me aching and breathless from the amount of love I know he feels for me. His hand comes down to rest on my stomach as he kneels down. I notice a single tear fall down his cheek, leaning in he kisses my stomach, and I realize something else I do know. Morse is going to be an amazing dad.
61st Hunger Games: 5 Minutes in 5 Districts: THREE
Magnus ran through the door at quarter past six, shouting out the door, “see you tomorrow!”
He closed it to face his two older brothers, both ready for dinner already. “Who’s that, your girlfriend?”
Magnus glared at Morse. “I don’t have a girlfriend, you know that. It’s just Echo.”
Morse…
YOLO: Five Times Echo Gets A Hold of Alcohol (Club Mix Edition)
Captain Cabinet, Trapped in Cabinets:
“C’mon, Morse!” I plead, batting my eyelashes at Magnus’ older brother. “You can trust me! You know that you can!”
Morse sighs, appearing to already be exhausted with my cries, he runs a hand through his curly hair, playing with the glass bottle in his hand. His cheeks were red and I could tell that he’d been drinking for sometime before I’d gotten there. “Echo, do you know what Sonar would do to me if I gave you some?” his blue eyes still refusing to meet mine directly.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” I say before flashing him a coy smile and reaching out to grab for the bottle, he quickly pulls it back though, shaking his finger at me. Scolding me as though I’m a child that’d been naughty.
“Echo, you’re young…I really shouldn’t…” He takes another drink from the bottle, practically taunting me with the amber colored fluid. I can tell he’s breaking, he’s never really been able to hold out against me for as long as Huxley or Sonar was able to, even Magnus didn’t cave as easily as he did.
Groaning I take a step forward, I can smell the booze on his breath, and it just makes me want it that much more. “I’m not that young, Mo, I’m seventeen, practically a full grown woman.” I reach for the bottle once more, and he holds it up high and out of my reach, leaving me jumping and grasping at air.
He shakes his head, a smirking down at me with a knowing look. “Actually, Echo, you’re sixteen. Don’t try to fool someone whose invited to your birthday party this weekend.” Leaning down he pokes me on the nose, before stepping back and moving around me. Taking the chance, though, I grab the bottle from him and sprint to the other side of the room.
“Well then, Mo, consider it a birthday present.” I smartly remark before opening the bottle and tossing my head back to take a long drink, acting quickly so he cannot get to me in time.
“Echo!” He goes to grab for the bottle, and I move it behind me as I back up into a wall, stubbornly refusing to give it to him.
“Calm yo’ tits, Mo! You won’t let anything happen to me, and they won’t be back until much later. Relax, just have some fun with me okay?” I hold my breath as I look into his eyes, waiting for his response.
Sighing he finally relents, a smile appearing on his face. “Fine. You win.” I laugh, leaning into give him a peck on the cheek, then take another drink.
“Any surprise there, Mo? You’ve never been able to resist my charms.” I take yet another drink before handing the bottle back to him, laughing loudly.
He chuckles, taking a step back to let me go by as he takes a drink of his own. “Don’t make me regret this, Echo. Stay with me and no going outside.”
——————————————————————————————————————————————
I soon find myself dancing with Morse in The Keight’s backyard, a radio practically blasting the latest song to hit District 3, our bodies moving in time to the rhythmic beeps, our own drunken singing voices accompanying the distorted metallic voices. Jumping up and down together, laughing, our faces flushed. I watch as Morse brings the nearly half-empty bottle up to his lips for a drink before he moves to place it down on the table next to the now completely empty first bottle.
Grabbing me around the neck with the crook of his arm, Mo rests his cheek on my head, his laughter subsiding. “You and Magnus are getting so old.” I look up at him, giving him a goofy looking grin, I had never realized that Mo was so nostalgic. “I’m getting so old.”
“Yup, but we’re not going anywhere, so don’t you worry you old geezer.” I giggle as I lean up to kiss his nose, he smiles happily nodding just before collapsing to the ground, taking me with him.
Figuring he’s just passed out, I groan, clumsily moving to get out from under his arm, when I suddenly feel the other one wrap around me. Startled, I let out a squeal as I’m tightly clutched. “Oh no you don’t.”
Mo stands up, and with a strength that I wasn’t even aware the scientist possessed, swoops me up into his arms. Running into the house he kicks open a rather large kitchen cabinet and tosses me in there. Drunkenly, I scramble to try and get out only to find that Mo’s sitting on the ground in front of it, successfully trapping me. “Let me out, Morse!” I scream, pounding on the door, thankful for the fact that I’m actually really small.
“Not until you become a baby again.” I hear him say, groaning through the effort of fighting to keep me in the cabinet.
Sighing, I collapse to the floor, deciding that I’d just wait it out. “No can do, Morse, the technology hasn’t been invented yet.” groaning I shove some of the items in the cabinet around. After a few minutes pass with no response I try the door again, still feeling his weight against it, I realize that he’s actually managed to pass out in front of the door.
Kicking it the door harshly, I try to wake him up. Sadly, I have no such luck, and fall back into a wall, curling up into myself. “Fuck me.”
A half a hour later I’m woken up by the sound of people out in the kitchen, footsteps soon accompanied by a woman gasping and a few male chuckles. “Oh, Morse.” the woman whose voice I recognize to be Plasma, Magnus’ mom, says as she nears the cabinet. “Help me with him, Huxley.”
The laughter subsides slightly as I hear Plasma and Huxley move Morse away from the door, quickly, taking my opportunity, I burst out of the cabinet, my hand slipping out from under me, causing me to fall into a heap on the floor. “Echo!?” Huxley shouts.
Looking up through the mess of my hair, I giggle loudly, nodding as I flip over onto my back, unable to stop laughing. “Thanks for letting me out, guys.” I slur, attempting to stand up, I fail, partly tired though mostly drunk I find myself laughing again. I see Plasma set Morse down in a chair as she motions for Huxley to get me. “Put her up in Magnus’ bed, I’ll make a bed for him on the floor for when he gets back home from his friend’s.”
Huxley comes and picks me up in his arms and I immediately rest my head against his chest. “Hey…Broxley.” I laugh again, having a hard time keeping my eyes open.
The last thing I hear before I fall asleep in his arms is Huxley teasing Plasma about how he didn’t know if Magnus and I could be trusted to sleep in the same room together.
61st Hunger Games: Sitka, Magnus, Echo, and stairs
“The ground isn’t safe,” I say, looking at my new allies seriously from my perch on the first landing of the stairwell labelled ‘Fire Escape’. They’re both looking at me somewhat sceptically, but I know I’m right. “A couple of floors,” I push, and Magnus takes the first couple…
61st Hunger Games: Magnus finds Echo
There was a flash of blond hair around the only street corner that his hiding place could see onto, and Magnus’s heart leapt into his throat. Was it Echo? Being by himself was making him paranoid and overly optimistic, but this time he thought it might really be her.
He shoved the feeling of…
61st Hunger Games: Glitz Meets Whistler
He was quiet. That’s what Glitz noticed the most about him. While he seemed at least competent with basic weapons training it was apparent that he was from an outlying district. He wasn’t timid in his movements, just unskilled and lacked finesse, but with the help of the Capitol trainers he was…
Slipping
Echo: The Games, After Perennial and Caspian’s deaths
district 3 | 17 | tribute
tales of a tribute in the 61st hunger games.
