WHO: Johanna Mason, Annie Odair, and Katniss Everdeen. (featuring: Magda and Tristan). WHEN: Sometime before Atlantis but after this log. WHERE: The pool on board the cruise ship. WHAT: Johanna joins her friends at the pool and they chit-chat. It's fluffy, mostly. WARNINGS: Maybe not? Hunger Games, so maybe. STATUS: gdoc, complete!
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It had been a few days since Murphy introduced her to the pool. She could swim just fine before she was captured by the Capitol and actually enjoyed it-- even if it didn’t get too hot in District 7. Johanna was looking to spend some time with Annie, because she’d been radio silent for a few days, so she went to the pool. It would be a nice surprise for Annie, and a step in the direction of being a normal fucking human being. She even bought a bathing suit from the gift shop.
Sure enough, Annie was there. Tristan and Magda splashed in the shallow end of the pool, Magda outfitted with little arm floaties. Johanna smiled to herself as she opened the doors to the area and walked over to the edge of the pool. “Hey, Annie, kids!!” She waved-- oh lord, Katniss was there too. Johanna felt weird about her lately, and hadn’t talked to her for a bit now-- they just kept missing each other. “And Katniss,” she said calmly.
--
Annie saw her first. She was pushing Magda around gently in the water in her floaties, but raised one hand to wave back at Johanna. Tristan had gotten a ball from somewhere and was throwing it for himself and then swimming to get it; he was already a natural in the water, but still hovered near his mother and sister anyway.
“Hello!” she said brightly. “Come sit by the side and join us.”
She would have invited Johanna into the pool, but she knew that wasn’t something Johanna would want to do. Annie could understand the fear of water, even though she could not imagine ever giving up the water herself.
--
Katniss had come to the pool with Annie and the kids just for something to do; the ship bored her immensely. She was grateful to still have classes, because they occupied the majority of her mornings, but afternoons still left her pretty bored once she had finished her homework. She often allowed Annie or Finnick to drag her to wherever they were going, and she liked the pool as much as she liked anything else.
She had been swimming laps, but paused when she reached the end that Annie and the kids were on and let her feet drift to the bottom, giving Johanna a slight wave. “Hey.”
--
Johanna really wanted to be near the water for Annie. Maybe Finnick too, but Annie was really the one who brought her out of her shell. No beach puns intended. She walked to the edge of the pool and sat down, letting her legs drop down into the water. The whole pool area was a bit warmer than the rest of the boat and the water felt nice. Legs in the water was enough.
“Annie, what are those things on Magda, holy shit they look funny. I need some of those.” She sat with her knees apart, with her hands twisted together between them. “Katniss, where you been?” Alert, alert, Katniss in a bathing suit. It was a distraction from being calf-deep in water.
“I might get in…” She added cautiously.
--
“Floaties,” Annie said proudly, as Magda splashed her arms in Johanna’s direction to show off. “Aren’t they great? She almost doesn’t need them anymore, but she likes them, and I get to swim a little bit more freely when she’s wearing them.”
She tugged Magda closer to where Johanna was sitting. “Hers might be a little too small for you, but you could put them around your wrists, maybe, if you want to try them?”
--
Katniss ducked her head as Tristan threw the ball near her, and moved more slowly over towards the side of the pool. She hadn’t really talked to Johanna since they’d talked about Murphy, although she hadn’t been intentionally ignoring the other girl. It was just a little awkward to initiate conversations or doing anything together when she knew how Johanna felt about her; part of her felt that maybe Johanna could use a little space, just to get over her, or… whatever she needed to do.
“I’ve been on the ship, same as you,” she answered. “Going to school, using the climbing wall, hanging out with the kids.” She stopped when she was close to them, bending her knees so she was underwater up to her shoulders, just because it felt nice. “What about you?”
--
“Floaties,” Johanna repeated with a laugh. “No, I don’t want to put them on my wrists. This is as far as I go.” She held her hands up in defense, as if Annie were mugging her. She did lean forward a little bit to poke one of Magda’s floaties. A lopsided smile appeared on Johanna’s face at that movement. “Too bad they don’t make some for someone my size.”
Johanna hadn’t tried to initiate conversation with Katniss, so they were kind of in a holding pattern. It was weird to be around her again, in Tumbleweed. They were something like friends by the time the war ended, and Johanna missed her. Even though she felt strongly for Murphy, she still had lingering feelings for Katniss. But she had no idea that Murphy had told Katniss that. “You go to classes?” She had forgotten that Katniss was from another time than she was-- and younger than her as well. “Me? I’ve been hanging out with ol’ what’s his name, you know.”
--
Annie grinned. “They’d look good on you, even if you weren’t going to use them in the water. It could be a new style. Floatie bracelets.”
Magda, meanwhile, made a grab for Johanna’s hand when she was touching the floatie, and when Magda didn’t manage to make contact, her hand splashed into the water. “Jo Jo,” she said, looking up at Johanna.
--
“Yeah,” Katniss answered, when there was a beat in between Annie and Magda talking to Johanna. “I’m too old, but I’m way behind the kind of education they have here, so…”
She shrugged. She had started taking classes when she’d first arrived, even though she’d been 19, and now she was 20, but she still hadn’t technically earned enough credits to graduate from high school by this world’s standards, and she liked taking classes, so she didn’t really mind continuing.
--
“A new style,” she said in the fancy Capitol accent. There was a grin accompanying it, so there was no harm done hopefully.
Magda melted Johanna’s cold heart. Even though Tristan was cute, Magda was smaller and chubby. “Yeah, Jo Jo!” Even though she told Bucky she’d kill anyone who called her Jojo. Magda got a pass. She held up a hand to try and stop any water from splashing onto her.
Looking over at Katniss, Johanna shrugged. “I stopped going to school at 12. Maybe I should go to school too. Would you let me copy your homework?” In District 7, only certain people kept going to school. Everyone else cut down trees or went into woodworking. Johanna became an apprentice instead of learning about anything beyond seventh grade. Lucky number seven.
--
Annie rolled her eyes, but she was laughing too. She helped Magda over to the wall beside Johanna, and Magda put her hands on the wall of the pool. She seemed content for the moment to float there, holding onto the wall and looking up at Johanna.
“School,” she said after a moment, as if joining in the conversation.
--
Katniss hid a smile. “I won’t let you copy my homework, but you can have my notes from my old classes,” she said. “And I could help you study.”
She had made the same offer to Cassie, and planned to follow through on it. It reminded her of helping Prim with her homework back in Panem, except Prim had always been smarter than her and the fact that she’d turned out to be a doctor only proved that to the entire world.
“They have a shop class, too. Working with wood and metal and clay and stuff. You’d be good at that.”
--
Johanna grinned down at Magda, agreeing with her about school. “You got that right, Lil’ Mags.” She made eye contact with Annie and continued to smile. It was nice to be around these people, why didn’t she do it more?
“I don’t think I’ll go to school, it’s no big thing. I can measure and tell time, and Amadeus showed me how to use the internet, I think I’m set. If we go back to Tumbleweed, Annie and I are going into business for ourselves.” She leaned back now, away from Magda, resting her weight on her hands behind her.
Johanna slowly pumped her legs so that there was a small wave, hoping to get Magda to sway a little bit.
--
“Yes we are,” Annie agreed, grinning. “I’m really excited for that. We should start brainstorming ideas!”
She worked mostly on inspiration, but bouncing ideas back and forth would get that started for her. She didn’t necessarily mean that they had to do it now, although she also figured that hanging out at the pool was as good a place as any, if Johanna wanted to get started.
--
Katniss shrugged. “If you don’t want to go to school, you don’t have to.”
She looked over at Tristan, still happily playing with his ball, and then back at Annie and Magda and Johanna. She felt a little awkward in this conversation, unsure of where she stood in it, since her friendship with both of them was still new and their friendship with each other went back awhile. Eventually, she said, “I think I’m going to finish up my laps, I’ll come back when I’m done.”
--
Johanna rubbed her hands together and cackled, “Yessss, we should. Just make sure we write them down because I won’t remember anything.” It would be something to do in this place that wasn’t a show or eating.
She saw Katniss look around (as she was paying close attention to her, even when she spoke to Annie). That look on her face made Johanna realize Katniss felt like she didn’t fit? She seemed to think that about everything.
“Bye Katniss, and by the way, I like your suit.” Johanna smirked.
--
“I’ll probably remember,” Annie said. “But we probably should write it down, just to be safe.” She couldn’t write anything down in the water, though. She tried to think of what they might be able to do. “Do you have your tablet with you? Otherwise I guess it’ll have to wait.”
To Katniss, she offered a smile and a nod, a little sad to see her leave the conversation, but not wanting to interrupt her swimming by trying to convince her to stay. If anyone understood the desire to swim, it was Annie.
--
Katniss was already half-turned away, starting to move her arms into the position to start a breaststroke, but she looked back at Johanna and raised her eyebrows.
“Thanks?” she answered, more like a question than a statement. And then, because she really didn’t know what else to say to that, she dove under the water and started to swim away.
--
Johanna waggled her eyebrows at Annie. “It’s a nice suit.” She pumped her legs under the water a few more times, trying to get used to the feeling of the water. “Come close, I’ll get in the water…” She wanted to lean on Annie a little bit, afraid the bottom of the pool would disappear and she’d be dunk. Irrational, sure.
“We can brainstorm in the library, I go there a lot anyway.”
--
“It is,” Annie agreed. “And it suits her.”
She did not intend the pun, nor did she notice it. She was distracted by Johanna proposing that she get in the water. She looked up at Johanna, and then released Magda-- who, after a few moments of indecision and hovering beside her mother, decided to go off and try to steal her brother’s ball -- and then moved closer to Johanna.
She held her hands out, to help her into the water, but then asked, “Do you want me to ride on my shoulders or my back so you don’t have to get all the way in?”
Under normal circumstances it would have been hard for Annie to carry her, since Annie was smaller and not nearly as strong, but the water would help to keep her upright and, depending on how much of Johanna went into the water, would also help to carry some of her weight.
--
“That’s how Murphy did it, when he brought me here, so yeah,” she said waving Annie over. Johanna put one hand on Annie’s shoulder and pushed her so she would turn. Then Johanna slipped off the edge of the pool into the water. It felt nice, yeah, she could do this.
She wrapped her legs around Annie and held onto her shoulders. She started laughing hysterically. “If you would have told me 6 years ago I’d be riding around on the crazy girl’s back in the pool, I’d… well…” Johanna squeezed Annie’s shoulders. “You’re not crazy.” Johanna was talking to distract herself. She wanted to have control over the situation.
--
Annie turned around willingly and tried to brace herself for it. She had carried her kids on her shoulders multiple times, but she was usually smaller than fully grown adults so she had not yet tried to carry anyone. But Johanna put her legs around Annie’s waist, and her arms around Annie’s shoulders, which was the much easier way to carry her, with the water supporting Johanna as well. She put her hands on Johanna’s thighs to help support her, although between the water and Johanna’s strength there didn’t seem to be a lot of strength required on Annie’s part.
She laughed, because the word crazy coming from Johanna didn’t sting. Johanna understood how Annie’s mind worked (or didn’t work) and didn’t think less of her for it. She understood, too, that Johanna was nervous and needed to talk. “I didn’t think I’d be giving you a piggyback ride around a pool anytime soon, either.”
She started to move, walking slowly in the shallows, keeping her eye on her kids, who were now tossing the ball back and forth. She also kept an eye out for Katniss, who had reached the far end of the pool and was starting to turn back. It was a big pool, so Katniss wasn’t going to be an obstacle for a while. Thankfully that also meant that the shallow end had a decent amount of space for Annie to walk around in before it got too deep for her feet to touch the ground.
“I could probably swim with you on my back, too, if you wanted to try that,” she added. It would go slowly - just as the walking was going slowly - but Annie was a strong swimmer. With the water’s help she was fairly sure she could keep both their heads above the water.
--
Johanna was still grinning stupidly, hanging onto Annie. Not too tight, she didn’t want to pull them under or anything. Annie would save her if she did go under-- but the fallout from that would probably keep her from the pool for awhile. A reset button on the facing of fears.
“First time for everything, right?” She wished Finnick was here to see she was in the pool. He’d give her that smile that made everyone swoon. When asked about swimming, Johanna shook her head, “No… no, let’s go back to the shallow part, this is too far.” Her voice had a certain urgency to it. “Thanks, but this is only the second time in a long time, Annie-girl.”
Johanna’s hair was swept up in a tiny little ponytail so it wouldn’t get wet. She was prepared for this, she knew she was going to get in, she promised herself she would. “Murphy showed me you taught him to float,” she quickly added. “He wanted to show me and then I got in the pool. And now you got me in the pool. So … you guys are doing pretty good with his basketcase.”
--
“Okay,” Annie said, injecting a little bit of a soothing tone into her voice. She hadn’t really led them out of the shallow end yet - she wasn’t moving very quickly at all - but she turned to head more purposefully back towards the stairs in the shallow end. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to go any farther than I can stand.”
She got back close to the stairs and slowed, unsure if she should go all the way back to the wall. She was hopeful, for Johanna’s sake, that she was still comfortable enough to stay in for a bit. She was glad Johanna was still talking. “Yes! I’m going to teach him to swim, but first just getting him comfortable floating. But in this case, Jo, I think you got yourself into the pool.”
--
Johanna made a loud kissy noise and pecked Annie’s ear and then Johanna slowly let go of her shoulders. She untangled her legs, pushing herself up to the stairs. She sat on the middle one, so she was still halfway in.
She moved her arms back and forth under the water. “This feels nice. I’ve been a big baby.” She didn’t agree with Annie, but knew that if the other woman wasn’t here, she wouldn’t be in the water. “I’m brave as hell now, Odair.” She still felt nervous and found herself gnawing on one fingernail while her other hand swayed in the water.
--
“I’m so proud of you,” Annie said, grinning at her. She could tell that Johanna was still nervous, so she moved to sit on the step beside her and wrapped her arms around Johanna from the side. “You’ve come so far.”
--
Johanna allowed herself to be hugged, putting one hand over Annie’s arm in front of her. “Yeah, yeah.” Behind her mean mug was someone jumping for joy. To have a weakness that was so easy for everyone else bothered Johanna immensely.
She laid her head against Annie’s and watched the water sway around them.