you're my home (lucy gray baird x fem!reader)
info: cussing, ever so slight angst, mutual pining, confession, reader is running from district twelve with lucy gray
a/n: it's not weird to have a crush on someone with the first name as you !! taylor swift and taylor lautner did it leave me alone
you stirred from your rest at the bright sunbeams pouring through the trees. and maybe also lucy gray's insistent tugging and repetition of your name.
"holy shit," she grumbles, clearly dismayed. "wake up! we're almost there. gotta get moving."
you heaved a sigh and arched your back, a tight line of pops rushing down your spine. you took a deep inhale, eyes shutting again as you ran a hand along your fucked up, greasy hair.
traveling on foot for a week isn't the most flattering look.
when you peeled your eyes open, you were met with lucy gray's judging stare beating down on you. considering the way the corners of her lips twitched, though, you knew she couldn't stay annoyed at your heavy sleeping for too long.
"gimme a break, lucy gray. i'm not used to this," you rasped. you rolled out of your tent and lay dramatically on the forest floor. what's a little more dirt, anyway?
she scoffed and her radiance peeked through her exasperated face. the wide smile woke you up a little more.
"should've hung out with the covey more while we were still around the district," she scolds, grabbing your soft hands and wrapping them in hers to pull you to your feet. "might've taught you how to not be a baby."
"maybe. but i ran away with you, didn't i?" you retorted. "i think that makes me pretty grown."
lucy gray's playful smile faded into a more serene one. she simply gave a nod and stepped away, picking up her backpack.
"look what i found while you were asleep," she murmured. she pulled out eggs (poor mother bird), and a bundle of herbs for tea later. your mouth watered.
"no salt and pepper?" you teased, taking an egg and inspecting it. it was heavy. you were hit with homesickness as you remembered your kitchen, which sometimes struggled to stay stocked, but at least you had the chance for butter.
you both decided on soft-boiling the eggs in the tiny pot you begged lucy gray to pack before you ventured off. you sat and ate, peeling away the crackling shell and talking about the journey and whatever else before packing up and hiking through another day.
things were natural with her. hell, everything about her was natural. her beauty was untouched by the standards of the capitol and instead flourished freely. it was evident in the lively bounce of her dark waves and her sunkissed olive skin. you wondered when the last time was you looked in the mirror without picking everything apart, envying lucy gray's outward confidence.
"i still can't believe we're doing this," you spoke up, the silence becoming insufferable.
lucy gray turns her head to meet your eyes, her expression neutral. sweat pooled on her hairline and dripped down her temples. you knew if you reached out to touch her, her skin would be blazing with the power of the sun. good thing she doesn't burn.
"like, running away and all that. i thought i'd rot away in twelve for the rest of my life."
till i met you, you added on silently.
"a woman like you? naw, i had to steal you away. couldn't let such a beauty go to work in those damned mines."
"you really think i'm that much of a priss?" you sighed, batting your eyelashes at her sarcastically.
"oh, honey, i never said that. sometimes a girl just wants a treat for herself. so i got my treat."
you blamed the high noon for your feverish cheeks.
the minutes turned into hours, and the shadows stretched across the grass. laughter rang across the fields.
"your first kiss was billy taupe? he's so fucking boring, i'm sorry," you cackled, eyes shut tight from hysteria. "sadly for the rest of us, though...next to you, anyone is boring."
"what? first kisses aren't exactly known to be glamorous," lucy gray defended. "besides, i got the real deal after him."
"oh?" you perked up, voice stabilizing. "this mystery guy must be the reason your head was in the clouds...at least, according to maude."
suddenly, the happiness drained from her face. "for a while, i guess. wasn't worth it." you averted your eyes to the front of the scenery. your grip tightened around the straps of your backpack.
"you deserve better. you'll find someone. a hot guy from district four, maybe," you teased, nudging her arm with your elbow.
"oh, perfect, a fisher! don't even need to buy cologne for his birthday; it'd be useless against that rank," she remarks sourly.
you giggled as her teasing gaze met yours. your grin was mirrored, and you memorized the crevices of her smile lines. her eyes fluttered down to your lips for a brief moment before she cleared her throat and unraveled her map.
you let out a deep breath and looked around. you remembered when you first met lucy gray, frozen and terrified to see somebody else outside the limits of twelve. she eyed you warily from the lake, her lips parted and brow furrowed.
you realized you should probably say something to the girl in the lake, but you didn't know what. she waded toward you and began a less-than-friendly warning before you interrupted her.
"we don't have food. i'm just out here to gather some things."
the girl's voice halted and her shoulders reluctantly dropped from their defensive position.
"what are you doing in there? aren't you gonna get caught?" you inquired nervously, eyes flitting everywhere. the girl laughed brightly.
"those joke 'peacekeepers' don't care about anything that goes on past the fences. not even a covey girl swimming. scandalous, i know."
you stared as the sun washed over her soaked hair.
"lucy gray baird," she offered up her name. "but you can call me lucy gray. that's what all my friends call me."
"i'm..." you started, walking to the edge of the dock to meet her at the water.
she muttered something quietly, bringing you back to the present.
"ah, just that we should stop here for the night. it's not a good idea to go through the forest in the dark. so easy to get lost," lucy gray corrects herself. you nodded and looked around for a spot.
"there looks good," you suggested, pointing to a spot under a lone cluster of trees. lucy gray hums in agreement before starting towards the spot, taking your hand in hers. your heart skipped.
the sky wept deep indigo, bleeding down into the horizon as the sun sank. insects chirped and buzzed, their calls flowing through the tree leaves and across the grassy plains. the fire was warm; the smell of roasted game and pungent tea carried away in the wind. lucy gray's wavy voice split the thick summer air pleasantly. your eyes stayed fixed on her. her dainty fingers held her tea. a sly smile painted her face.
"you stare a lot," she remarked. "you know that, right?"
your eyebrows raised a bit. you kept looking, wondering how she'd noticed and still hadn't even looked up to meet your gaze. until she did.
god, you loved the way her eyes looked like a cup of black coffee. the way your grandma used to make it. or maybe the tree bark you peeled away from a rotting trunk as a kid. the soil embedded between your fingers after a long day of work.
"i do know that," you responded a second too late. awkward delivery. you swallowed and looked into the towering coniferous forest. shadows crept from beneath the canopy and raised the hairs on the back of your neck.
"we should probably wrap it up soon," you insisted. "put out the fire, get to bed, all that." you picked at a scab till it flaked off.
lucy gray scoffed, setting her tea beside your backpacks.
"the sun is barely gone. just 'cause the birds are sleepin' don't mean we are."
you said nothing in return, still wary of the woods nearby. your fingers pressed firmly into the skin of your arms, which were rested on your knees. you sighed and put your head down.
you felt lucy gray's gaze burning into you. you felt the former scab swelling and the droplet of blood spilling down your arm.
"you messed with it too much. might get infected if we don't clean it," she asserted. you smiled with your head on your knees. lucy gray was making an excuse to touch you. you wondered silently if she felt the same intense heartrate, the same jolt of electricity every time your arms brushed as you hiked through the countryside.
you lifted your head and saw lucy gray hurrying back with a damp towel and honey. your brow furrowed.
she chuckled as she kneeled down to wipe away the blood and dirt with the towel.
"it'll keep that cut clean. antibacterial properties an' all. trust me."
your breath hitched as the towel made contact with your cut. the gentle sting of raw honey being spread across the wound is what snapped your drooping eyelids back open.
definitely not lucy gray's lips so close to you.
"hi?" you responded, smiling a bit.
"it's alright if you're homesick. you can talk to me about it, if you'd like."
you breathed out a long sigh and pressed your forehead to hers. she hesitated before bringing her left hand to rest on the side of your face.
"lucy gray," you began, but struggled to finish. you pulled back slightly to make eye contact.
"i'm not that homesick. i have you," you whispered softly.
you were met with a tense silence. you wanted to turn and run, because how could you be so stupid to tell her that, and you ruined the moment, and-
suddenly her lips are pressing gently into yours. your eyes widened. the taste of the tea she was drinking lingered on your tongue as she shuffled back.
"fuck! fuck, i'm sorry, i wasn't thinkin'," she apologized, voice shaking as she stared at you. she fiddled with her hands anxiously. you'd never seen her so flustered.
all you did was make your way back to her, cupping her face in a heavy kiss. you smiled against her, feeling her body relax into yours. her hands rested on top of yours before sliding comfortably onto your waist. she pulled back, jet black eyes bright with starlight and exhilaration.
"coming with you, getting away from twelve...it's been the best decision i ever made," you confessed, dropping your hands from her face and instead rubbing her arms. "i've wanted nothing except you for like, a year now."
"we've known each other for almost three years. i'm wounded," lucy gray teased, her fingers unsuccessfully smoothing the top layer of your hair.
"well, was i better than billy taupe?"