Time Is Never Found Again... Or Is It? - blahblahblah1703 - Hunger Games Series (2025)

Chapter 1: Chapter I

Chapter Text

I wake up with my heart pounding and blood rushing through my ears, scarcely able to breathe but somehow managing through my panic. The last thing I remember is leaving Snow in his greenhouse, the sickly sweet smell of roses making me sick to my stomach, and that was before the revelation. Snow didn’t send those parachutes, the ones that killed my little sister, my little duck. I know he has every reason to lie to me but as he said, we agreed not to lie to each other. No matter how sociopathic, delusional, and deranged he is, he has never lied to me that I know of, which leads me to the conclusion that Coin killed my little sister after placing her there in the first place. The grief, rage, and panic that floods my bloodstream causes me to flee what I can’t fight, the truth. As I slowly succumb to my new reality I feel more than hear somebody come up beside me before they start quietly talking to me, rubbing my back to help soothe me. It’s a woman but my brain is already overloaded and can’t process her words. I can only try to grip onto the sound of her voice but I can feel it slowly fading away as I shut down. The final thing I remember is a pinch in the crook of my elbow, a sedative, the only thing that can calm me down now. Once I would have had Prim and Peeta around to calm me down, however Peeta is almost as lost to me as Prim is. His hijacking still affects him in ways that we may not ever know and thus never fix, so I may never get my boy with the bread back.

I expect to wake up in the hospital, or even my assigned room in the mansion. What I am not expecting is for a head of blonde hair to be the first thing I see when I wake up. The threadbare sheets slightly scratchy against my legs. My head rested on an almost completely flat pillow, once again shared with the head of blonde hair. I know I must be losing it now. Stuck in some kind of medically induced coma or something similar. This old bed, in this old house, still bursting with memories of my father and a time when I still had a mother, not to mention the images of Prim, twirling around the living room, hugging Buttercup, milking Lady in the backyard. The smell of mint tea, herbal remedies, and the always present smell of coal dust and despair evenly distributed across the Seam. Because that’s where my panic induced hallucination has put me, right back into the small coal infused house that is the home of my childhood.

I quickly realize the blonde hair, braided into two long braids, belongs to my little sister, or my delusion of her. Either way I am not one to pass up on an opportunity like this, I quickly wrap her up in my arms, dragging her back into my chest, making the most of having her with me and for just this moment I can pretend this is real. My hallucination isn’t helping, my subconscious must have an amazing memory because in my everyday life I do not think I remember this many details about my old home. The little things. Like the exact way Buttercup had scratched up the bedpost of our bed, the way our old pillow case had little holes in the seams, or the way the window panes were slightly off put, leaving a drafty breeze to rush into our shared room. I just soak it all in, every little reminder of a simpler life, one not focused on politics or the power struggle between two dictators, just one keeping my little sister alive and happy, as best as I was able.

I keep my arm wrapped around her as I slowly drift off, expecting to awake alone in a fluorescent lighted hospital with the smell of bleach and the sound of a heart monitor. Instead, I once again wake in my childhood bedroom, this time with Prim shaking me awake, a smile on her face.

“Katniss! Finally! I’ve been trying to wake you up for ages… why aren’t you hunting with Gale? I thought you always met up with him at dawn on New Year's Day.” Prim asks, confused but not unhappy.

I just look at her confused, New Year’s Day? I thought New Year’s was in a month or so, why would my subconscious change the date?

“New Years?” I grumble tiredly, not quite awake yet.

“Yeah, New Years. First day of the 74th year after the Dark Days… The year you turn sixteen and I turn twelve…” Prim lists off, unknowingly confusing me even more. 74th year after the Dark Days? Also known as the year of the 74th annual Hunger Games.
I remember this day. Waking up at dawn, meeting Gale in the woods to go through the snare line, and then making our way through the freezing cold wind to get a few rabbits. An unusually good haul for this time a year, something both of our families desperately needed. I jump up quickly. Even though I am so confused, I barely know which way is up, I know I need to see Gale. Whether it is to help get food for my little duck or to see if I can see the man Gale becomes in my seemingly very real delusion of his past self. If Coin is responsible for killing Prim, I know who gave her the means to do so. The hummingbird trap. The ill regard for human life. The lack of decency and restraint shown by my once best friend. The Gale I met in the woods at age twelve is not the man who used humanity's innate goodness as a weapon against them. I just need to know when he changed into the man he became, at what point did he decide vengeance was worth more than my little sister’s life? Was it before this point or after I volunteered? Was it due to his overwhelming jealousy of Peeta, who I know is the only person I have ever loved outside of my small family.

I slip into my hunting clothes and my father’s jacket. I grab my canteen and fill it with the steaming mint tea sitting on our wood stove, a staple in the Everdeen abode. Bundled up so that you can barely see my face I kiss Prim’s forehead, telling her I will be back in a few hours, adding ‘if I don't wake up from my coma before then’ in my head, unable to tell my little sister anything that could cause her to worry about me, and head toward the hole in the fence right behind our house. I barely fit through it anymore, even with my small stature, one of the many reasons I prefer the hole in the meadow. Not to mention I keep my favorite and most used bow there. My father had multiple hidden throughout the woods, I doubt I have even found them all, I know there are more arrow stashes out there, along with more supplies, including the spiles for the few maple trees we have in the surrounding woods.

Eventually, I make it to the rocky overhang that is our usual meet up spot. I saw two of our snares, empty, on the way here. I can only hope Gale has already done the loop and we have the same haul as last time, two squirrels and a fat groundhog. Not the best haul, but we can sell the groundhog to Greasy Sae for her “mystery meat” stew and the hide as material for hats or gloves or whatever the buyer wants it for, with all the snow on the ground and the freezing wind, the furry hide, even if it is not the softest, can still get us a pretty penny in the Hob. As I look around the overlook I see Gale coming from the far side of our snare loop, a half full game bag slung over his shoulder. He smiles as he sees me but I can tell he is a little upset by my tardiness.

“Catnip!” He says quietly, not wanting to scare off any close game. “Where were you this morning? We were supposed to meet at dawn right?” The question comes out slightly snappy but not biting like my real Gale would have said it.

“I overslept.” I say simply, preoccupied with trying to figure out his mood and temperament. Is this the same man who made it possible for Coin to kill my little sister?

“O-kay.” He says, not upset but definitely confused, knowing I never sleep in, my body conditioned to waking up before the sun slips out from over the mountains. “Should we look around for a bit? The snare line did pretty well, not like in the summer but the best haul we’ve got since September at least.” He says, slightly perked up from his morose mood and excited to get a little bit more food into his family, his mother and his three little siblings, eleven, almost twelve, year old Rory, Ten year old Vick, and four year old Posy.

I just nod and start walking deeper in the woods. My woods. The ones burnt to a crisp by the firebombs Snow dropped on my district after the Quell. I take a deep breath, inhaling the sharp and fresh air, so unlike the coal and smoke heavy air inside the district or the stale air of District Thirteen, even the slightly sweet and vaguely artificial air in the Capitol is nothing compared to my woods.

I barely hear Gale's tread as he follows me, but two sets of Hunger Games and over a year of war has honed my senses even more than they were when I lived through this time. We thankfully don’t talk as we hunt, too scared to scare away the game when there is so little to begin with. I hit two rabbits and Gales gets a third within two hours. Those kills along with the squirrels and the groundhog, and somehow a fourth rabbit, which I cannot explain as to why my subconscious added, can feed our families for today, with left over to trade to get coins or candles or soap. Not to mention the fattest squirrel we take to the bakery in order to trade for two very stale loaves, normally we would get a better trade for two squirrels, two barely stale loaves or one fresh one, but the single squirrel, while fat, doesn’t give us the best trade. Meat is meat however and in this place, you take every morsel you can get. The entire time we are standing at the back door of the cinnamon and dill smelling building, I try to crane my neck to take a look at Peeta, to see if my lover is in this delusion or if it is the mutt the capitol, Snow, made him into. However, I can't see more than a foot to either side of the door from my position so I quickly give up. Content to believe my boy with the bread is inside baking, not chained up in a hospital bed back in the capitol or in Thirteen.

We quickly complete our trade, each taking a loaf home along with a half handful of coins, mine barely larger due to my need to take home less meat for my smaller family. I take home two rabbits and Gale takes back the other two and the remaining squirrel. We had sold the groundhog meat to Greasy Sae, getting a few coins each and we sold the hide for a few more to the tanner in the Hob. Who was grateful for the new material, especially a furry one in the middle of winter when most people break down and buy his wares, hoping to avoid frostbite during the coldest months.

Neither of us need anything desperately and we are excited to take home our little batch of coins.

I split with Gale as soon as I can, still not sure what I am thinking about his part in killing Prim, but also I know I will wake up from this dream at some point and I need to spend as much time with my sister as possible, not her killer.

I walk in the door, place the meat in the ice box for our mother to prepare later, or for me to make soup with if she can’t get out of bed, one of the only things I am capable of making taste even slightly okay. I put the coins in my hidden collection underneath the loose floorboard in our room, a hiding place known only to me. I count how many there are, not remembering the exact number and I see that there are less than I want, something not unusual during this time of my life, however it’s still concerning and I vow to head out extra early tomorrow, if i even wake up here, in order to get more hunting time in, to make up for my late start today.

I head back out the door and walk around our shack of a home to see Prim sitting on a damp log and milking Lady, getting less than usual, however that's not surprising considering the time of year, Lady usually gives more in the summer. Prim stands up after deciding that was all she is gonna get, slightly jumping when she sees me due to my soft tread, she was unable to hear me sneaking up on her. I just laugh softly, I have missed her so much these last two weeks. I haven’t started losing my memories of her scent or her slightly crooked teeth, I know she is still waiting for two of her molars to fall out, but they will be out by the time the games roll around. She smiles her shy and slightly embarrassed smile at me, her little cheeks red and not nearly chubby enough for my liking. She pokes my arm in reproach and complains about me sneaking up on her, telling me I almost made her spill the milk. I don’t even care, I just pull her into my side, easing the bucket from her hands as we walk into the house and remove our shoes and coats. I set the bucket on the table and whip back towards her, tickling her armpits and stomach, and that special spot behind her knee that makes her giggle like nothing else. Both of our cheeks flushed from the cold as well as our laughter. I eventually stop and let her catch her breath, basking in her residual giggles. I watch her with a smile on my face, when she finally stops giggling she looks at my questioningly. I just shake my head at her and tell her I love her, barely holding back my tears, surprised when my voice comes out steady and unwavering. She responds in kind and gives me a Prim patented rib breaking hug that causes me to fall back but allows me to wrap my arms around her, keeping her warm and safe within my embrace, my little duck.

I spent the rest of the day with her. Talking, doing our homework, even though I know it’s pointless, we end up making dinner, our mother too wrapped up in herself to get out of bed, of course I understand her more now. The only thing allowing me to even slightly function when Peeta was in the Capitol was my anger and the fact that my cooperation is the only thing that would get him rescued. I can’t forgive her for leaving her daughters to fend for themselves, for leaving me to raise Prim by myself at age eleven but I can understand it now, allowing me to just let her be instead of screaming at her to get up like I had during my real time through this. By the time it is time to slide into our shared bed, under the slightly scratchy sheets. Our heads rested on the same almost completely flat pillow, one blonde and one dark haired. The old mattress on the even older bed frame, scratched up by my sister's devil cat. The same ever present smell of mint tea and herbal remedies mixed with the coal and smoke ever present in the Seam. All of this a comforting blanket on my obviously delirious mind, a nice send off back to my real world. I go to bed knowing I will wake up in the hospital room to the smell of bleach and the beeping of my heart monitor, back to the real world where my little sister will not be curled up beside me but rather six feet underground. I have to consciously make a decision to not think about it, I just pull Prim that much closer, leaning down to press a kiss to her braided blonde baby hair, wishing that I was actually back in this time rather than completely alone.

Chapter 2: Chapter II

Chapter Text

I wake up, or at least I think I do. I am warm and my dream or hallucination has left me feeling warm on the inside too, the memory of my little sister has melted some of the ice surrounding my heart, put there by both Snow and Coin. I know this will not last forever, however I am loath to make it go any faster by actually opening my eyes and ending my self imposed deception. Finally, I know I need to and I am interested as to where I am because I do not hear the beeping of a heart monitor as I expected.

Open my eyes to see… a blonde head of hair. The threadbare sheets slightly scratchy against my legs. My head rested on an almost completely flat pillow, once again shared with that head of blonde hair.

I’m still here. Okay, I know I can be stubborn to a fault and I am very good at deluding myself into believing falsities and ignoring my own feelings, however, if there is one thing I can do is tell when something is wrong, my gut instincts have never steered me wrong there. Those same instincts are blaring loudly, flashing red, a giant warning that something is wrong.

Why am I still stuck in this dream? Did I seriously injure myself or did they finally decide to just keep me unconscious, not a leader or figurehead anymore for the rebellion we already won? I can’t help thinking these things but it doesn’t make any sense as to why I am in the same dream when I usually have multiple different nightmares every night, never stuck in the same dream for long. No, this is something else. My last thought just before falling asleep comes back to me. Maybe I am no longer alone, if I am stuck here then I have Prim back and Peeta! My Peeta. The loving boy who would do anything to keep me safe and happy. Maybe this can be my chance to love him from the beginning, no will they won't they, no questioning of truth due to the Capitol’s influence, no annoying love triangle cultivated by my need for no debts and well meaning family expectations.

Of course as soon as I reach this conclusion I remember that during this time I have never talked to Peeta, barely acknowledged his existence outside of my own guilt over an unpaid debt and vague following of his life, mostly through watching his wrestling matches with Madge. Not to mention the little problem of the reaping ball pulling his and my sister’s name out in a few months. I’m gonna have to figure something out for that, if I am even truly back in time.

Before I do that I need to get into the woods. IF I really am stuck here and this all isn’t some illusion I need to get a good haul today, a rare commodity in the middle of winter. We have some leftover rabbit and drop biscuit soup from yesterday. However, we go back to school tomorrow and I will have less time to hunt, especially if I need to start preparing for the games.

I quickly re-braid my hair and jump into my hunting boots along with my dads old jacket. Slipping out the door and making my way to the meadow entrance to the woods. Quickly entering after looking around and pulling my bow and quiver out of the hollow log it is kept in.

I have at least five hours before I need to be back at home, so I decide to start heading towards the lake, my favorite place in this world. I haven't shown Gale this place yet, I had taken him to it after my first games but until then I had kept it as a safe haven for myself, the last place that still feels like my father is with me. It is at least a two hour hike from here but I should be able to get one or two kills on the way there. I could probably find some walnuts from the trees out that way, a nice treat roasted over the fire, especially during the cold season. I know I can get many pine needles for tea, for home and to trade, as well as some Juniper berries for flavor for the Hob, trying to stock up on coins for the upcoming February winter which will be even harsher. Maybe I can find some other edibles I learned about during my training from my different games. They had a few I had never heard of before, but I know at least the ones from the 74th could grow here, the similar climates allowing for it.

On the way toward the lake I hit a singular squirrel and a very skinny rabbit, however meat is meat and they both fall into my game bag. I also find a patch of dock seed, something I know will spread in this area quickly come spring. A valuable food source during the winter as if you grind the seeds up you get a flour, it is best used in conjunction with actual flour, kind of like our tesserae ration, however it makes fine dense bread if that is all that is available and to many in twelve, it is. So, I gather as much as I can. Memorizing where this is so that I can have a constant supply all year around, and grateful that I know about this food source now, as I had not the first time around. I also find a handful of crabapples, they had been frozen by the weather and were still good to eat. I definitely remember my theorizing earlier and make sure to grab quite a few pine needles, most likely to sell or trade at the Hob, in addition to the plentiful juniper berries. I find quite a few walnuts on the ground and I know by this point they will be slightly bitter however once we roast them, they will taste plenty fine and we aren’t picky anyway, food is food especially during the winter. At this time, I am finally coming around the bend and I see a frozen winter wonderland.

The lake had frozen on the edges and along with the ice and snow hanging from the branches of the surrounding trees it was beautifully reflecting rainbows of light around the area, the early morning sun allowing for the beauty to really shine through. I can only imagine how Peeta would react to seeing this, how wonderfully he could capture it using his paints. I smile, promising myself to take him out here as soon as possible so that he could have the opportunity to see it.

With my already slightly heavy game bag I make my way to the little cabin on the edge of the lake. Finding a smattering of snow just under the busted out window however the little pile of firewood is still kept nice and dry in the center of the cabin by the fireplace. I would love nothing more than to sit in front of the fire and warm up, however I know I have right around an hour here before I need to start heading back, and I have many things I want to do during that time.

I set up the fishing line I keep hidden in the cabin, knowing it won't get a bite quite yet, I head straight for the Rosehip bush across the way. I gather a few cups of the berries, knowing they make great jam, something Prim loves to eat with her goat cheese. The same with the chokeberry plant just a little further down, though we will likely use these as flavoring for the game I bring home. The jams keep for a while in the icebox and I do not know when I will be able to make this trip next, so I stock up while I can. I quickly head back to the fishing line and after a few minutes I reel in a trout, it isn’t the largest however if I can get one more of a similar size or bigger, then we will have a very filling and tasty dinner tonight. I throw my line back out, once more hooked with a worm, and sit on a slightly damp log to wait. Thinking of what else I could possibly bring back, especially when most of our usual foraging is dead or buried under the layer of snow on the ground. I wish I knew where my father’s spiles were, maple sap could turn even the most tasteless bread into a special treat, but I don't. I just make a mental note to see if I can find one at the hob, or try to figure out how to make one.

I finally get another pull on the line and pull up a pretty large trout, one big enough to almost feed all three members of my small family, along with the smaller trout we will be able to make a good dinner tonight. So, while I wish I had enough time to catch one more, I put the line back in the cabin and start to make my way back towards the fence line. I take a slightly different route back, hoping to find more game or other patches of plants or mushrooms I can gather. I end up hitting one more squirrel and I find a decent patch of oyster mushrooms as well as some burdock roots, enough to make root mash along with our fish tonight and possibly have leftovers to take to school tomorrow for Prim and I. I am pleasantly surprised by my haul. My game bag is full and even if most of it will be going to trading at the Hob, we will not have to worry about dinner for the next few days. Between leftover soup from last night, and these trouts, we are set for a bit.

I quickly get back under the fence, pushing my overstuffed game bag through the hole in the fence first. I walked back home and set about putting the fish in the ice box next to the leftovers from yesterday, something Prim and I will eat for lunch today, along with my mother if she gets up. I put the walnuts, roots, a few handfuls of the pine needles, a singular handful of the juniper berries, most of the dock seed, and half of the rose buds and chokeberries away in our mostly empty kitchen. This is the fullest our kitchen has looked in months I know. We never had a stocked kitchen during the winter season, I am excited to show Prim later, knowing she will be very excited.

With a bounce in my step, I head towards the Hob, my game bag no longer bulging but obviously more than halfway full of berries, dock seeds, pine needles, and mushrooms. The rabbit sitting on top of the rest. The two squirrels as well, waiting to be traded at the bakery, or maybe the miller depending on what I need after my trip to the Hob.

I quickly jump into trading as I walk through the doors of the old coal warehouse. Trading handfuls of berries or pine needles for a few coins here and there, giving the rabbit to Sae in exchange for a few more. I trade away the dock seed to a man trading soap scraps, explaining how to roast it and grind it into flour. The man is obviously thankful, I know he has a daughter too young to take out tesserae yet and this would allow him to make bread, he gives my hand a squeeze as he passes over the soap. I just give him a half smile, straining to remember if he is one of the 915 people who made it out of the bombing alive, but I can’t place him either way. I trade the rest of the pine needles along with the mushrooms to get a few candle sticks, knowing we would need some in a week or so but unknowing if I would have the goods to trade then.

I take off after completing my trading, heading towards town but I stop in my tracks as I am crossing the town line. Standing on the steps of the bakery is a blonde boy, his ashy blond curls falling in waves over his forehead. I can’t see them from here but from memory I know his eyelashes will be as long as they always were, still confusing me as to how they don’t tangle together with every blink. My breath gets stuck in my throat. He’s here, just sweeping the sidewalk in front of the bakery as if I am not struggling to even breathe right now. He quickly finishes his chore as I hear his name called from inside the bakery. He doesn’t look my way as he hurries back inside, ready to help his father with whatever he called him in for. As the door shuts behind him I can finally move again. I can’t believe I froze when all I wanted to do was walk up to him and wrap my arms around him, shielding him from this world that has done nothing but beat him down over and over again, transforming him against his will into just another piece of their game. I duck my head in order to hide my red cheeks and disappointed face.

I wish I had been able to trade for flour at the Hob, because then I would be able to make sure Peeta got some meat tonight for dinner, however I need flour to bring home to mix with the Dockseed, plus as cowardly as it is, I am not sure I would be able to go to the bakery right now without blowing my cover. Peeta doesn’t know me yet, and while he might be in love with me at this point, we are not together, or even friends. He has no idea that I love him just as much as he loves me, something painful to even think about. Is this my Peeta? The Peeta who will hold me at night and fend off all the nightmares? I don’t think so. He hasn't lived through the games, either of them. He doesn’t have the same trauma impacted coping mechanisms I run through on a minute by minute basis. Sure, he is no longer hijacked, tortured in the Capitol at the hands of the sadist we call President, but I am not sure if he will ever be the same Peeta I fell in love with. Even so, I would trade my happiness, my ability to sleep soundly at night, in order for him to be away from that, to be in his right mind and to give him his dying wish, to not be a piece in someone else’s games.

After completing my trade with the miller, I got a four pound bag of flour in exchange for my squirrels. I head back home just as it hits lunch time. Prim should be on her way back from the Hawthornes. She went over there in order to finish her partner project with Rory, the differences and similarities between the four different types of coal. I quickly put away the flour bag and I start laying out the burdock seeds on our very old sheet pan, ready to roast in our wood stove to dry out. As I slip that into the oven I hear Prim come bouncing through the door, her blonde braids flying behind her and she half skips over to me, trying to see what I am putting in the oven.

“Whatcha making?” She asks curiously. I just pull on one of her braids gently, teasingly.

“You’ll see, Little Duck,” I tell her. Smiling a big toothy grin when she quacks back at me, turning around to head towards the kitchen, presumably to see what we can scrounge up for lunch. I follow, excited to see her reaction to the not bare cabinets.

“Woah!” She exclaims, seeing the fish in the ice box next to the leftovers. She turns to me excitedly, it’s apparently been a while since we had fish, something I make a note of. She turns to me all excited but before she can get a word out I interrupt.

“See what else is in the cabinets yeah?” I tease. She doesn’t say anything else, just turns on her heel causing her braids to fly out around her once again. Bouncing towards the cabinets, pulling them open one by one until she is able to see into all of them from her position. She is so excited she can barely stand still, already reaching out to make sure the berries are what she thinks they are. However once she gets to the burdock root and the walnuts she is almost jumping with joy. Her eyes land on the crabapples and she jumps to wrap her skinny arms around my waist, so happy is she to see this much food in the middle of winter.

“Katniss! Oh! There's so much! What time did you go out this morning?! How did you find so much?” She grins happily. So overjoyed at the prospect of having food fill the cabinets, knowing she will go to bed with a full belly for the next couple days. I am in the same state, however my joy is knowing that I gave her that happiness, the security of a filling meal even if my mood is tempered by the fact that she needs to worry about this at all.

“I went out around five this morning but I got lucky.” I grin, wrapping my arms around her to give her a little squeeze. “You are gonna help me right? I need some help making the jam and with my surprise in the stove.” I tell her cheekily, my grin still on my face, something at this point is only brought out by the girl in front of me. She whips back towards me.

“There’s more?!” She exclaims, bouncing on her toes, reminding me so much of Rue, always ready to fly through the branches. My heart hurts at the reminder and my grin dies down a little but seeing Prim so happy doesn’t allow it to melt completely off my face.

“Nothing so exciting as the berries, fish, or walnuts, but if we mix it with that flour there,” I point to the bag sitting beside the pine needles, “we should be able to have fresh and decent bread for the next month if we ration,” I tell her.

She jumps up to see what’s in the stove, confused when she sees the burdock seeds, not knowing what they are. I jump in to explain.

“If we grind them up and mix it with that flour, it should stretch it super far, more than double what that bag would originally do.” I tell her patiently. She grins at me, so excited to get started.

She gathers her bucket, going to milk Lady as I turn to pull the seeds out of the wood stove. We have the leftover rabbit stew for lunch and spend the entire afternoon preparing Rosehip jam, grinding down the dried and roasted dock seed by hand, taking turns using our old mortar and pestle, and we make a feast out of the trout and burdock root. Our mother leaves her bed to sit with us at the table to eat her share of dinner. She is mostly stuck in her head the whole time but you could tell the minute she walked in the kitchen that she was surprised by the amount of food presently in the house. Once dinner is over, mom heads in the kitchen in order to check her supply of medical remedies and probably leave me a note as to things she needs to see if I can gather them on my next trip. Prim and I gather a few walnuts each, cracking them and setting them to roast in the fire, a small dessert, a rarity in our lives but that just makes this moment that much sweeter.

We both take a bath right after, a tub of cold water with a single pot of boiling water thrown in at the very last second, creating a barely lukewarm bath for each of us, but it gets us clean along with the unscented soap I traded for in the Hob. We get into a fresh pair of pajamas and Prim lays out our school outfits for us to wear tomorrow. She knows if she doesn’t make me lay out an outfit the night before, I would just show up to school in whatever pair of pants and shirt I pull out first.

As we finish getting ready for bed I can’t help but get nervously excited. Tomorrow I will have two classes with Peeta. I will be in the same room as him and I can’t decide whether or not to try to talk to him. On one hand, he is not the Peeta I know, on the other I cannot imagine my life without him, no matter what version he is. In all honesty, as much as I can’t imagine my life without him, I can’t predict how he would react to me just randomly talking to him out of nowhere, I can’t picture he would be upset but if in actuality he doesn’t want me to, I couldn’t take that rejection, the only thing holding me together at the moment is taking care of and spending time with Prim and the knowledge, or assumption, that Peeta is okay. So, as I wrap Prim up, once more in my arms, I hope for the chance to talk to Peeta in a no pressure situation so that I could possibly gather my courage to talk to him. My last conscious thought is of the two blondes that I love more than anything and the hope that when I wake up, I once again wake up in this time, in this place, and with my people.

Chapter 3: Chapter III

Chapter Text

As I am walking up to my ‘History of Panem’ class, my hands are sweating and I can barely ignore the urge to turn around and run out of the building. I am about to sit through a 90 minute class with the only boy I have ever loved. I don’t know how to act or what to expect, even as I think about the possibility my hands start to shake and my knees get weak, so I just take a deep breath and try to clear my mind, taking one step in front of the other.

I can barely believe I am really back, let alone think of any of the long term consequences or how my actions will change the future. As much as I would love to grab everyone I care about and run into my woods, never to be seen again, I can’t. As awful as the rebellion was, and how much I, and my loved ones, personally suffered, we need to be free. We need to get out from under this dictatorship and we need to do it differently this time around and not just get stuck under another tyrant, one who just sat around while we were suffering for over seventy years. So, I know while many things need to change, some things need to stay the same, like going into the games and the berries for example. Just how we get there could maybe change, or maybe not? I am not sure. I am not the brains out of our little group, Haymitch, or sometimes Peeta, was always the one with the plan and I was the one who did the exact opposite of it.

I am lost in thought as I mechanically enter the room and sit at my assigned desk, right next to Madge. Someone else who is back alive during this time and dead during mine. Someone else I never thought I would see again. She gives me a shy smile as I sit next to her, grabbing my textbook, notebook, and pencil out of my bag and placing it under the desk in front of me by my feet. Her well loved textbook with her name blazed across the front is a stark contrast to mine, this textbook has been passed through many hands in the seam, probably for generations as the curriculum hasn’t changed since before the dark days. Even though my textbook is obviously older, it is in almost perfect condition, or as perfect as it can be after so many years. I have continued to keep it as perfect as I could in order to pass it down to Prim in a few years, to share it with Rory before he passes it to Vick, considering Gale was the one who passed it to me in the first place. I ended up getting Prim her own new textbooks after I won last time, but I know Gale would never accept that, so I will continue to do my best for Rory and Vick, probably even Posy, though I hope they never need this pure propaganda. With that, I do not begrudge Madge her doodling. This class is just Capitol brainwashing and everyone knows it, it makes for a good nap time if you're sitting in the back, however this year I am in the second row from the front, and obviously so is Madge. If you can’t sleep the next best option is to distract yourself and doodling gets the job done.

As I am thinking over how many things will need to change after we win again, with this stupid class being the first to go, the classroom door opens and a group of students walk in, all blonde hair and blue eyes. Their clothes are in slightly better condition than the dark haired students, no coal stains or visible patching in sight. However, and this is something I had not noticed the last time I was in this classroom, there is still the feeling of dread and hopelessness that clouds around them, the same as the seam kids, sure the Merchies, or the children of the Merchants, will never have to go into the deathtrap we call the mines, however they are still too thin, even the most well fed obviously aren’t getting enough, their eyes not as shiny as they should be but are instead dull with shared pain and loss, utter hopelessness. Right at the back of this group is one baker's son, the cobbler's daughter, Delly, chattering away at him happily, much too happily for a Monday morning in my opinion.

I can’t help my sharp intake of breath when I see him, his eyes no longer sunken in, his cheeks no longer gaunt, two legs, and no visible scars, so unlike the Peeta I saw in District Thirteen, so unlike the Peeta I left back in the Capitol. More like the Peeta who declared his lifelong love for me in front of the entire country, just to give me a greater chance of survival, the Peeta who kissed me on the beach during the quarter quell, prepared but not resigned to dying so that I could live, the Peeta I am in love with, the Peeta I was prepared to kill and die for, the Peeta who snuck up on me. I had never given too much thought to how Finnick had phrased that statement back in the underground depths of hell known as District Thirteen, but he was right. Peeta snuck up on me, I was already in love with him before I had even thought to consider it.

He also stops just inside the door, his gaze locked onto mine. We just stare at each other for a minute. My eyes betray me as they always do, they show my excitement, hope, anxiety, need and most of all my love for the boy across the room. Peeta, on the surface, has always been more guarded than me though. I cannot tell you exactly what his eyes show, however I am able to make out the pure and genuine surprise and love that floats through them, something that gives me a boost, however that surprise shows me that he isn’t my Peeta, he hasn’t traveled back with me, that surprise is probably just surprise that I even looked up or acknowledged him, because I will be honest, I had never done that before today, and I hadn’t until the reaping the last time.

At that thought I quickly look down, breaking eye contact. I still had hope that maybe he would remember, but maybe it is better that he doesn’t. He no longer thinks I am a danger, a Capitol mutt designed to kill him. He just sees the little girl with two dark braids who sang the Valley Song on the first day of school, someone he loves, and I can’t help but feel, along with my disappointment about him not remembering, a happiness and gratefulness that he will never see me that way this time around.
I turn back towards the front but out of the corner of my eye I see him start walking again, looking down at his shoes with a confused and disappointed look on his face. I feel my heart clench looking at it, is that how he felt for all those years? Every time he saw me but never spoke a word? I would love nothing more than to go to him and never let go, but he doesn’t know me yet. We will get there, I promise myself, but not yet. I watch him walk until I can’t see him without turning my head. I just sit and contemplate how to approach him, how can I do it without it seeming weird? I could go and thank him for the bread but that happened so long ago and it would seem weird to him if I just came up and blurted it out, so how can I-

My thought process is interrupted by Madge. I look around quickly, we are already halfway through class, I must’ve been more lost in thought than I had realized. She lightly elbows me and pushes a slip of paper under my open textbook cover. Madge and I usually would just sit together in silence, we would talk about a few things sometimes, but never to the point where we would pass notes back and forth. It makes me happy that it could change this time. I enjoyed her presence before the Victory Tour and I missed her in Thirteen, so maybe we could be closer before the 74th as well. She just continues to pay attention when I look at her slightly confused, so I just slip the paper onto my notebook and unfold it carefully, making sure I'm not caught. My breath catches when I see it, I know that handwriting, carefully scratched onto the paper, not a stroke out of place.

MEET ME IN THE MEADOW TONIGHT? 5 PM?

That's it. No signature or anything, even if I know who it is from. It takes everything in me not to look back at him. Am I wrong? Does he remember? If he does… does he still see me as a threat? I quickly scribble down my answer before refolding the note and passing it to Madge.

YES.

I can’t think of a reason as to why he would want to meet unless he remembered. Hope floods me and I move through the rest of the school day in a daze. We have a shared math class in the afternoon in which he sits two rows in front of me and I cannot help but stare at him the whole time. Until finally school lets out at half past two in the afternoon. I am still so preoccupied I almost forget to meet Prim at the flagpole to walk home.

The next two hours go by incredibly slowly. Snails pace. I help Prim with her homework, we roast a few walnuts as an after school snack and we decide to finish the stew and the bread from two days ago for dinner after I get back. Finally it’s time to walk over to the meadow, well I have about half an hour until five but I can’t wait any longer. Plus they just brought mom a broken arm to deal with and I need to get out of the house.

I turn around the corner house to see the meadow and notice Peeta isn’t there yet. I head towards the big oak tree in the middle of the meadow climbing a little ways up to sit on a branch, the ground too wet for me to sit on comfortably while I wait. Once I get situated that's what I do; wait.

I wait.
And wait.
And wait.

Finally at fifteen past five I am done waiting and go to hop down from the tree, ready to slap Peeta a new one, whether he remembered or not, just for standing me up. I turn around to do exactly that when I see an out of breath Peeta running towards the meadow. His backpack swinging behind him. When he sees me he grins and slows down, making his way towards me and obviously trying to catch his breath.

“I'm so sorry,” he says, “my shift ran late.”

I immediately understand and my anger drains from me. I am honestly just too happy he is here and not trying to kill me, he could've given me any reason and as long as he had one I wouldn't have been mad.

“That's okay.” I say kind of awkwardly, looking for any hint of recognition or remembering, too scared to mention anything if he didn’t actually remember.

He nods with a smile, watching me closely. He slowly pulls his backpack around and unzips it to get out an old but fluffy and clean towel.

“Wanna sit with me?” He throws it down under the tree, close enough that we can lean against it. I just nod and smile shyly at him, sitting on the offered spot. We are so close our shoulders and hips are pressed together, both of us trying not to sit on the slightly wet ground, but at least for myself, and probably for him as well, I would have sat this close anyway.

It is silent for a minute after we get situated. There are so many questions I want to ask him, so many things I need answered, but I can’t make myself. What if he doesn't remember? What if he does and is still working through his hijacking. What if, what if, what if.

“So…” I look over at him, only to see his face super close to mine. “Your favorite color is green right?” He asks.

My heart drops. He doesn’t remember. The get to know you questions all over again, it's even the exact same one he asked on the train during our tour. Wait. No it's not. He asked me WHAT my favorite color was then…

Chapter 4: Chapter IV

Chapter Text

“So…” I look over at him, only to see his face super close to mine. “Your favorite color is green right?” He asks.

My heart drops. He doesn’t remember. The get to know you questions all over again, it's even the exact same one he asked on the train during our tour. Wait. No it's not. He asked me WHAT my favorite color was then…

“Peeta… do you remember?” I ask quietly, prepared for him to be super confused at my question.

Instead he kisses me full on the lips. Our first kiss with both of us present, attentive and completely consenting since our kiss under the lightning tree during the quell. The now familiar hunger in my stomach that only Peeta can bring out is once again present and I know without a doubt that this is my Peeta. My boy with the bread. My dandelion in the spring. My hope.

When we pull back he looks at me relieved and I am sure I look the same.

He almost starts crying. “You remember! Katniss, do you know what's going on? I can’t believe we are back. We are back right? I’m so glad you're here and okay.” He pulls me into his lap, his arms wrapping around me, his tears finally falling.

I just put my face into his neck, breathing him in, the smell of cinnamon and dill and something else I have never figured out what it is, only calling it ‘Peeta’ in my head.

“Peeta. Peeta. Peeta.” I repeat his name, finally falling apart and crying also, unable to believe my Peeta is back and I am not alone anymore, sure I had Prim back but if Peeta didn’t have his memories too… I think I would’ve felt even more lonely here than I did back in the Capitol after I lost Prim.

“Shhhh. Katniss. It’s okay. I'm here, It's alright.” He soothes, rubbing his hand up and down my back to calm me down, perfectly knowing what exactly I need from him at this moment.

We just sit and cling to each other for a few long minutes, both of us overwhelmed at the thought of being back together. When we finally calm down slightly we both pull back out of the hug at the same time. Grinning at each other happily, unbothered by each other's red faces and puffy eyes.

“I am so happy to see you.” He whispers, bringing his hand up to wipe gently at my wet cheeks, wiping off the tear tracks with his steady hand.

“You have no idea Peeta. I thought you wouldn’t remember or if you did…” I trail off not knowing what to say and unsure if I would cause him to have a flashback like he has been having.

I see the minute his face falls.

“Katniss. I am so sorry. I will never forgive myself. For the things I said, the things I did! I tried to kill you Katniss!” He whimpers, unable to look me in the eye.

“Peeta. That wasn't you!” I whisper to him, kissing his forehead from my perch in his lap. “That was the Capitol. I just need to know what can set you off and how I can help. Are you still affected by the venom since we came back?” I question him softly. Pleasantly surprised when he shakes his head.

“I can tell the difference now. The fake implanted memories from the real ones. It- It’s like… okay, close your eyes,” he tells me softly. I do what he tells me to, so surprised by his surety of no longer being affected by the Tracker Jacker venom, but also completely trusting him that it isn’t a problem. He would never put me in danger again if he has any say. He gently pulls my hand up and positions it in front of me, palm up.

“Okay. Imagine a mini Prim or a mini me, so small you could put them in your pocket… or in the palm of your hand” I can immediately do it. I imagine the both of them, so tiny they can walk up each of my fingers.

“You see it?” I just nod at him again. “Now open your eyes.”

I open my eyes, turning to look into the clear ocean color of his, finding peace, acceptance, and an overwhelming love reflected back at me.

“Look at your hand. There's no mini Prim or Peeta. There's emptiness, you can imagine them so clearly, but you know they were never there. It wasn’t real.” I immediately understand what he is trying to say.

“You can remember everything they tried to make you believe but you know it wasn't real, that when you open your eyes it was never there in the first place.” I repeat back to him, making sure the point was accurately gathered on my end. He just nods at me with a big smile, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

I let out a little laugh of pure joy and relief, before I catch myself looking at his lips. Unable to stop myself I lean in to kiss him once again, and him being Peeta he is unable to stop me, or unwilling to deny me, is more accurate. When we finally part for the second time I reluctantly get off his lap, sliding back on to the towel, but I have his hand in a steady grip and I still throw my legs over his. It reminds me of the interviews after the games, where I kicked off my heels and just allowed myself to rely on Peeta, trusting him to get us through them.

“Peeta, we need to talk about what is going on and what's gonna happen.” I tell him seriously, and I watch as his face becomes serious also. All of the laughter and light evaporating, the innocence I usually associate with him disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“You're right. Do you know how we are here? I just remember having an episode in the Capitol where they were keeping me and a woman trying to calm me down, though I don’t remember her face, and then all of a sudden I am in my room above the bakery, the one I shared with Rye, and it’s New Years Day.” He shares with me. Looking at me hopeful that I have the answers, and I am sorry to disappoint him.

I shake my head at him slowly, digesting what he said still.

“That's almost my exact story too,” I tell him. “I was panicking after just talking to Snow-” he cuts me off.

“Katniss! You went to talk to him?! Were you alone? Please tell me Gale or a bodyguard went with you!” He begs, obviously distressed about me being alone with the sociopath we call President. I squeeze his hand to calm him down, rubbing my hand soothingly up and down his bicep.

“Peeta, he was being kept prisoner in his greenhouse, he didn't have any weapons or anything to hurt me, there were guards stationed right outside the door, I was safe,” I tell him. “However, he did get in my head, but I think he was telling the truth,” I finish in a small voice, reliving the moment.

He just wraps his arm around me, tucking me more into his side for comfort. “What did he say Kat?” He asks.

“He said that he didn’t drop the bombs that killed Prim,” I whisper, unsure if he even heard me until he stiffens at my side, pulling me sideways into his lap once more and tipping my chin towards him with his hand so he can see my face.

“Prim?” He questions me sadly, obviously upset at the thought. Of course he didn’t know, he was still being treated and any bad news like that would have set him back dramatically. I just nod at him, the lump in my throat hindering me from speaking as a lone tear falls down my cheek. He wipes it away and kisses the same cheek, rubbing his hand down the back of my head and my braid, providing comfort in the best way he knows how.

“Coin and Thirteen dropped them,” I tell him, watching as his face turns murderous, somehow I am nervous to tell him the next bit of information, scared of what he will do but also knowing everything will be alright because it’s Peeta. “Gale designed the trap,” I whisper, “target innocents and wait for responders to jump into help, prey on their weaknesses of compassion and empathy, their desire to help others…” I trail off.

Peeta literally growls he is so angry, it is almost completely involuntary because I can tell it surprises him too, and when I look at him questioningly he explains.

“You are the type of person that idea targets. You are the first volunteer EVER in Twelve in order to save your sister, you ran into unknown danger the second you heard Rue calling for you, you went to a feast to get me my medicine, and that was only in our first games.” He tells me, passionate as I’ve ever heard him. “Katniss, you are one of the most loving, compassionate, and caring people I have ever met, everything you do, you do for someone else, every single thing, it’s one of the things I love most about you,” he proclaims. I can’t help myself, I lean over to kiss him again. My sweet sweet Peeta, I will never let them turn you into something you're not again.

When we part I tell him.

“I love you too.”

He smiles the biggest smile I have ever seen come from him.

“You mean that?” He asks with wonder in this voice.

I nod, “Yes, Peeta. I mean that.”

He pulls me in for a deep kiss, one that brings back the hunger from earlier. We pull apart after one final peck and I snuggle back down in his lap, burying my face once more in his neck. After a few minutes of sitting like this, pure joy radiating from both of us, I once more vacated his lap, knowing neither of us would talk about anything else important while I sit there.

I just jump right back into it. He knows tact isn’t my strong suit and this is something we really do need to talk about today. “After we talked, I was obviously panicking,” I give him a small sad smile, “I slid down the side of greenhouse and I heard a woman come up to me, talking to me, I thought she was trying to calm me down, I felt a sharp needle prick in my arm and when I woke up I was back with Prim in the Seam,” I finish.

He nods. “So, what do we do? I am not going to pretend we don’t love each other. Let's start there. I want to scream it from the rooftops that you love me,” he smiles his goofy, slightly crooked smile.

“I agree, plus there's no way I’d be able to keep it a secret anyway so there's no point in trying, but are you okay with what's going to happen? You’ll likely lose some friends,” I tell him nervously, “you're a Merchie and I’m from the Seam, last time it didn’t matter because we were victors but now? It is going to be bad Peeta, are you okay with that?” I ask him nervously, scared he is going to change his mind.

He just kisses my forehead, “Katniss, I have loved you since we were five, I don’t care how anyone else sees us, if we both weren’t destined to go into the games I would have gone into the mines for you, left town for good, I would have done anything to be with you, you have to know that by now.” He looks at me, his crystal blue eyes looking so similar to the half frozen lake two hours north into the woods.

I just nod, slightly choked up. Wow, we really are sentimental tonight aren’t we? I think.

“So, no hiding.” I nod my head with a smile. “We just need to figure out how we are both going to survive these games… again, how we are going to overthrow Snow.. again, and preferably without Coin or Thirteen, all while not getting anybody we love, or ourselves killed in the meantime.” I list off, overwhelmed by the task ahead of us.

“Katniss, breathe. We made it happen the first time.. mostly… and this time we are better prepared, not kept in the dark or focused on the wrong things. We just need to take it a step at a time right now, plan for the biggest and closest threats.” He says soothingly. See, this is why I leave all of this up to Peeta and Haymitch, I either panic or just end up throwing it all away anyway.

“Okay, so obviously the first big obstacle we need to figure out is the 74th games.” I theorize. “We both need to get out, but considering the last time we were able to survive is because of our romance, if this time we are actually together it should be the same right?” I look at him for reassurance.

He nods, “It was a little bit more complicated than that but essentially yes… The berry thing might happen again this time though, and honestly I think it needs to, it is the big push people needed to revolt, it was two kids from Twelve, two tributes even, and they outsmarted the Capitol so I think we need to do it again.”

“I agree, along with what I did for Rue,” I say quietly, still upset over her death, the girl so much like my little sister.

Peeta winces, “Kat, we need to be prepared for that to happen again… We are going to save so many people, including Rue’s little siblings but to do that we both need to survive and we know if that happens then Rue can’t.” I just tear up once again and nod.

“As a big sister myself I know that's the option she would want, for her sisters and brother, even if it breaks my heart that I can’t save her.” I whimper, almost unable to get my sentence out.

“I know, nobody decent would ever feel differently,” he tells me softly.

“So, if our game strategy hasn’t changed, the biggest thing is going to be whether or not you go with the careers… I would really prefer it if you didn’t,” I tell him, borderline begging.

“I won’t, not this time, I know they don’t find you until after the fire and there was nothing I could do to help when they did, so this time I will be right beside you the whole time, we can camp out in our cave or you can teach me to climb trees and we will just do our best. Anything can change once we are in there, we have to remember that,” he tells me seriously, making sure I understand that he isn’t leaving me and that even if we are together we will still need to be super super super careful.

“I think we need to train again,” I tell him, “just like before the quell, I can take you into the woods, we can do sprints and I can show you even more plants and we can do sit ups and push ups and all the exercises you know. You were so good at the snares Gale showed you so I don’t think I could help you there anymore but I can teach you to swim and this time I could maybe get you at least decent with a bow.”

He nods, agreeing, “I obviously still remember a lot of the plants from the book we did while you were injured, but a few more can’t hurt, especially the medicinals, and learning to swim sounds good, not just the small lesson you gave me in the quell. I also think you should hang around your house a little more when people are brought to your mom. I would do it if I could but I need to be at the bakery and at least one of us needs to know how to heal.”

I agree with him even if I wish I didn’t, all that stuff still freaks me out, his injured leg is still one of the most horrible things I’ve seen even after two arenas and so many months of actual war. However, he’s right. One of us needs to know what to do just in case and even if we don’t need to use it for his leg, one of us will probably be injured at some point during the games, it’s pretty much impossible not to be.

“So, I try to learn everything I can from Mom. Okay, I can do that.” I nod at him. “You need to do your best at wrestling, I know the season is about to start and this time you can’t let Brio win like you did last time.” I scold him.

He just grins at me, “you knew I let him win?”

I blush, nodding, unaware why I am embarrassed about knowing that little tidbit of information.

“Okay Baby, I won't let him win this time.” He says smugly, though I am not sure why.

“Baby? Peeta Ryan Mellark, I am NOT a baby.” I scowl at him, not at all enthused by his nickname choice.

“Oh come on Katniss, I know you aren’t a baby, but you're MY baby.” He says with a goofy smile, “plus I’ve loved you since we were basically babies…” he trails off.

I still scowl at him but I don't say anything else, he makes a decent point even if I don’t love the nickname, I can tell he’s thought a lot about using it though, he looks so proud of himself and genuinely likes the name. I want to tell him not to use it but I can’t bring myself to tell him off for it.

“Not in front of anybody else,” I say firmly, my finger pointed directly at his face, trying my best to make my point heard, “especially Haymitch.”

He just nods, his goofy grin widening even more at my acceptance.

“Okay! We keep getting distracted…” I trail off, trying to figure out how much time has passed based on where the sun is in the sky, it must be almost seven or so, the sky has darkened a lot and we only have a little bit til the sun is fully down.

Peeta must also figure this out because he stands up and reaches out his hand to help me also. Once we're both standing he picks up the towel, shaking it off to rid it of the grass stuck to it, and folds it carefully putting it back into his blue backpack. He reaches for my hand and starts walking towards the Seam.

“I need to make sure you're home before dark but what time should we meet for training? Wrestling starts this week and I won’t be available after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We don’t get out until 6 and that's too late to go into the woods. Should we go Wednesdays and Fridays after school, say 3? I’ll be free those days as I only work Mondays after school. Rye is learning to take over from dad so he has after school shifts Tuesdays through Fridays. I will have a shift on Saturdays but I could switch with Dad for the afternoon shift, he is used to getting up early and might like free afternoons…” Peeta trails off, finishing his thought and talking to himself trying to work it out. I just smile, used to him having to talk through things to understand them.

“Sure Peeta. Ask your dad and we can definitely meet after school Wednesday. I need to go hunting tomorrow morning before school, hopefully I can get some fresh meat…” I answer as we turn into the Seam from the meadow, well aware we are attracting looks with our entwined hands, not to mention the smile on my face probably looks very out of place to my neighbors since, odds are, they haven't seen me smile since my dad was alive.

He stops suddenly, pulling me with him and causing me to look up towards him after a quick but thorough scan of our surroundings, trying to see what's wrong.

He lowers his voice before speaking, “You have enough food right?” He looks so concerned with a furrowed brow and a small frown, very clearly concerned for my and my family's well being.

I just give his hand a quick squeeze. “I got a really good haul yesterday,” I whisper back, “I used some of the knowledge from the training center to help me find some flour substitutes and I got quite a few berries for jam and tea and I even found some walnuts. We are out of fresh meat but we have enough to last us.” I stand on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek, his 5 '8 is a pretty big difference to my 5' 3, though I know with the better and constant food source after the 74th, he would get to be 5 '11 to my final 5' 4.

He smiles and squeezes my hand this time, “good. Please please please let me know if that changes, especially with February coming up, the weathers going to get even worse. Plus we will need to be eating a lot and good stuff, like your mom had us on before the quell, training is going to suck.” He leans over to kiss the top of my head.

I know this news will be all over the Seam before the first bell tomorrow, a Merchie and a Seam girl? Not just any Seam girl but fiery Katniss Aila Everdeen. It is very funny that Cinna, another person who is back alive now, came up with the Girl on Fire thing. I was already known to be quite fiery back home, blazing through anybody who tried to mess with Prim and quietly burning with poorly concealed rage. It really does make me curious as to how my neighbors will react to us being together, something I’ll definitely figure out in the next few days

We walk up to my shack of a house, but honestly I am not embarrassed, I love my home, it has some of the best memories of my father, him getting back from his shift in the mines and swirling me around the room, him presenting a perfect orange to me on New Years one year as a treat, even him singing me to sleep when I was little and later us singing together. Peeta and I stop on my tiny front porch and he leans down, asking me permission with just one look and I quickly grant it. The kiss isn’t passionate, not like on the beach and it isn’t forced like most of our kisses were, neither of us are injured or faking or under scrutiny, instead it's perfect. It is sweet and soft and gentle and all the good things, it is pure love and joy. When we pull back he has another goofy grin on his face, I just roll my eyes with fondness and give him one last small peck before opening my door.

“I’ll see you at school, meet me by the flagpole before class?” I ask him, for some reason slightly shy and unsure.

He just keeps that grin on his face, nodding almost like a bobble head, “I’ll be there, goodnight Katniss.”

I grin at him in response, mouthing, I love you , and my grin drops to an indulgent smile when he mouths the words back before turning to walk back to the bakery, stopping right at the edge of our road and turning back towards me, happy to see me watching him walk away. With a final big wave he turns the corner and disappears from sight.

Chapter 5: Chapter V

Chapter Text

“I’ll see you at school, meet me by the flagpole before class?” I ask him, for some reason slightly shy and unsure.

He just keeps that grin on his face, nodding almost like a bobble head, “I’ll be there, goodnight Katniss.”

I grin at him in response, mouthing, I love you , and my grin drops to an indulgent smile when he mouths the words back before turning to walk back to the bakery, stopping right at the edge of our road and turning back towards me, happy to see me watching him walk away. With a final big wave he turns the corner and disappears from sight.

Prim and I had gotten to school a little early so that I could meet up with Peeta, not that she knew that. She had asked me a dozen times why we were here so early but I didn’t give her a satisfying answer, I should've expected that she knew I was lying, I had never been good at keeping secrets. Though even keeping her in the dark didn’t work out well for me.

As soon as Peeta saw me and Prim at the flagpole he was quickly excusing himself from the group of Merchies he walked to school with and made his way over with a large grin on his face and a sparkle in his eye. I knew what was going to happen before he did it, and I didn’t even attempt to stop it.

He swept me up and laid one on me right in front of everyone, the gasps were still echoing across the school yard when we separated. I could feel everyone's stares like they were needles, poking into me from all directions. It was like they hadn’t seen people kiss before.

“Good morning,” he greeted me after our little show for the entire school, all nonchalant like he didn’t just step on a proverbial landmine. I told him a Merchie and a Seam kid wouldn’t go over well but he also told me that he didn’t care, something he definitely proved without a doubt just now.

“Good morning Peeta,” I roll my eyes at him, with love.

“Good morning Peeta!” Prim chirps, the biggest smile I have ever seen stretched across her face, and for Prim that is saying something.

“Good morning Prim.” Peeta greets, tugging good-naturedly on one of her long braids.

“So… wanna tell me-” I cut Prim off with my hand over her mouth, not even flinching when she licks my hand trying to get me to let go.

I lean down towards her to whisper in her ear, “not now Little Duck, I’ll tell you later… maybe.” I finally let her go and she just giggles, looking between the two of us.

“So… ready for History of Panem?” Peeta makes a face at me, obviously not wanting to go to this class. He takes my book bag from me without asking, throwing it over his shoulder along with his blue one.

“As ready as I can be I guess.” I smile at him, happy for the new topic of conversion. I turn towards Prim.

“Alright, you better get to class, good luck on your presentation and don’t forget to tuck in your tail Little Duck,” she is wearing her reaping outfit, wanting to look her best for her presentation with Rory today, thankfully she doesn’t notice how much I despise that outfit, the sight of it bringing back horrible memories. Ones that are sure to come true all over again.

She quacks at me, causing Peeta and I to erupt with laughter, before turning on her heel and heading towards the middle school building, right across the school yard from the high school.

Peeta takes my hand and starts leading me in the opposite direction, “I talked to my dad yesterday, he is good with switching shifts with me on Saturday, so I’ll be free until 1 o’clock when the afternoon shift starts.”

I squeeze his hand, “good, meet me by the tree in the meadow at five that morning, I’ll show you the hole in the fence and we can train. Starting with how to walk in the woods quietly and a refresher on snares.” I whisper back, making sure not to be overheard by the dozens of kids in the quickly silencing hallway.

I know we both take notice of the stares and whispers following us around, but neither of us reacts to them or says anything, both of us used to being watched in one way or another. Behaving differently wouldn’t help our situation so what’s the point? I am even ninety percent sure that when the reaping rolls around in June, we will be the horror story that parents tell their kids about, trying to make them stick to their side of the town line, at least until we both come out of the arena together, who knows how these people will react to us then.

We get to our classroom quickly, the building small enough to get from one side to the other in less than four minutes, even taking your time. Madge just smirks at me when we walk in, her eyes immediately finding our linked hands. Peeta doesn’t seem to notice as he walks me to my seat, putting my bag down by my chair.

“Hey Peeta,” Madge giggles, obviously enjoying this new development .

“Hi Madge, how are you?” He asks right back, honestly looking for her answer, he knows how close we were before the Victory Tour and he's obviously looking to get closer to my closest, and only, female friend. It is such a Peeta action that I’m not even surprised. Happy? Yes. Surprised? No.

“I am doing pretty well, but obviously,” she looks back and forth between the two of us smugly, “you’re doing even better.”

My jaw drops slightly at her statement, I can’t remember Madge being that facetious.

Peeta just smirks, and I do know he can be facetious, our time together has proven that ten fold, “I would have to say you're right about that Madge, and help me remind Kat will you, that we’re in love so it’s alright for her to kiss me any time she feels like it.” Peeta then has the nerve to WINK at me. I just lightly push him, not even hard enough to move his sturdy frame. Of course he’d use that old joke, he’s probably been saving it for the first time he could work it into a conversation. It's cheesy and annoying and utterly charming.

He laughs at my reaction and leans down to kiss the top of my head, still chuckling as he walks back to his seat. The rest of the Merchies file in as he sits down, shooting him questioning and slightly confused looks and glaring at me with all of their might, but it honestly almost makes me laugh, I have dealt with so much more than their nasty looks. Peeta and I share one last look before I sit down, trusting him to have my back.

I am aware that that is slightly irrational, however I have been through two arenas and a war before the age of eighteen, I think I am allowed to be slightly irrational. At least that's what Prim and Mom kept drilling into my head when I got out of the quell.

The rest of the school day goes by in a flash but also lasts forever.

Lunch is by far my favorite part of today, even with the heckling on the way there. Peeta ditches his Merchie friends and comes to sit by Madge and I. We spend the entire lunch talking, laughing, and flirting with one another. Madge giggling at our antics and joining in on the good natured teasing and conversation. She seemed super happy to add somebody new to our dynamic and was genuinely surprised by my attitude. Surprised but happy. Peeta and I shared our lunch. I had got a squirrel that morning and luckily Mom had been up and preparing it so Prim and I could split it for lunch that day, along with some of the goat cheese Prim made and a little bit of the rosehip jam. Peeta brought his usual bread, but this one wasn’t stale, he had said that Rye had accidentally burnt the bottom half of the loaf but the top was perfectly cooked and he got to take the top while Rye was stuck with the usual stale bread for the rest of the week. We both ended up with really good sandwiches once we put all of our food together. I make a note of it so that I can introduce it to Prim, another easy dinner that I can make on nights when Mom is out of it, though those are coming less often now and I know after the upcoming games, Mom will be almost completely snapped out of it.

The heckling I experienced on the way to lunch didn’t happen when Peeta walked me to my class after it. His presence warding off the Merchies, and I know my presence would be warding off the well meaning but ill informed Seam Big Brothers. The Seam Big Brothers are a group of seam boys aged 16 to 18 who try to look out for the girls, they are well meaning and certainly have their hearts in the right place but their methods are sometimes a little extreme. I haven’t had time to talk to Gale since yesterday because he had run through the snare line earlier that morning as he needs to get Posy to kindergarten earlier than we need to be at school. I need to go back out this afternoon, trying to get meat for dinner tonight and tomorrow, and I know Gale will be there too, once again running the snare line and probably doing some foraging, waiting to see if I show up so we can hunt together. Gale would be able to call the SBB gang off, I just need to convince him that Peeta isn’t taking advantage. I really hope he hasn’t started to like me yet because that would be HIGHLY annoying and a major obstacle. I'd just have to search out Thom and tell him to call the rest of the boys off. Having a back up plan makes me feel slightly better but I do hope Gale just does it, instead of me having to go around him.

Finally, we have our last class of the day, math. Peeta was already in class by the time I made it there and he just smiled and crossed his eyes at me as I walked past him to get to my seat. Just like yesterday, I can't make myself not stare at him. I am in awe of how this man loves me, I know I’ll never be the perfect girlfriend but I can't help but think that Peeta won’t let me fail. He will be there for every screw up and miscommunication and bad moment, even when I don't deserve it because Haymitch is right, I could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve my boy, but I’ll never stop trying. These thoughts take me straight through the period, finally ending when I realize the bell has rung. I hurry to pack my stuff up, not wanting Peeta to be late for wrestling today and I was planning to walk him there. I should have realized he wouldn’t let me though, no, to Peeta it is only gentlemanly to walk me to meet Prim at the flagpole so that’s what he does. Leading me gently out of the school, talking and laughing all the while, ignoring all the looks and whispers as we have all day long.

Prim gives Peeta a beaming smile as we walk towards her and in response he just affectionately chucks her chin with a matching smile. Seeing them together brings all the best thoughts into my head, a future of happy moments all filtering through at once, mostly featuring these two in front of me. Happy and together.

After another quick and very public kiss, Peeta rushes off to wrestling practice and I walk home with Prim. I get her set up with a cup of pine needle and juniper berry tea and her homework when we get back, then I get on my hunting clothes and grab my game bag to get into the woods, hoping for a good game day.

I am just getting my gear from the hollowed out stump when I sense, more than hear, Gale walk up behind me.

“Hey Gale.” I greet him, still unsure as to how I feel about his presence now, but wanting to salvage a relationship with the kind hearted fourteen year old I originally met in these very woods. However, I am not putting Peeta or Prim at risk to do that, so all of my conflicting emotions have caused me to feel awkward and unsure around my once best friend.

“Hey, Catnip!” He greets me happily. His gray seam eyes sweep around, clocking the two snares he can see from here, both empty.

We move swiftly through the woods, talking about school and our families. I shoot a squirrel and we both gather another round of juniper berries as well as pine needles, just for a few simple trades. I even find some elecampane roots and a few thistles for my mother, staples that she was running low on.

She uses elecampane to treat coughing and respiratory issues, miners with black lung come to mind, and if you eat it, it can treat worms and other gut problems, something that is common in twelve from eating anything and everything you can get your hands on that's even a little bit edible. Thistle is used to treat joints and many miners, if they live to the age and have enough money saved to retire, have awful arthritis and achy joints so thistle is always a welcome addition to Mom’s stores.

Gale’s snares get a raccoon and a squirrel. By this time we are coming up on our rock shelf, and we decide to take a little break, having only been out for around half an hour, we still have a few hours of daylight left and maybe we can get a rabbit or two or something.

“Oh, also, you’ll never guess the rumor people were spreading about you today,” Gale laughs. He is completely unaware of how I tense up, here it comes…

“They were saying you were with the baker’s boy, Peter, they were even saying you were kissing and holding hands and the whole deal.” He says still amused, finding it funny and unbelievable.

“His name is Peeta.” I say, trying to get a read on him and ease him in gently, hoping that'll help his eventual reaction and pout be kept to a minimum.

“Whatever, close enough,” he waves the correction off, “but can you believe that? It’s not like you or your family needs the food desperately and you have never mentioned him even once so it’s not like you guys are friends, and he’s a Merchie! You’d never cross that line.” He spouts off confidently.

“Uh Gale, I don’t actually know what rumor you heard but some of it may be true, I am actually dating Peeta, I just haven’t had a chance to tell you yet.” I say, I am not ashamed or embarrassed by my relationship with Peeta, if anything I am proud, proud that I am dating such a good guy, one who loves me unconditionally.

Gale’s joking smile and confident demeanor drops immediately.

“You’re dating a Merchie?” He asks me incredulously. “He’s just gonna take advantage of you! He will drop you immediately after he gets what he wants from you Katniss! That's what they do!”

“Gale, you don’t know Peeta. I would normally agree with you, but not Peeta.” I say calmly.

“Katniss, what happened to never wanting to get married or have kids. You swore off boys for years! What changed?” He asks, changing tactics once he sees I will not agree with him. He knows I can out stubborn him, I’ve done it a thousand times.

“Gale, I still don’t want kids, could you imagine sending them off into the square for a reaping? I can’t even handle the fact that Rory is up this summer, let alone Prim. I am allowed to change my mind though, especially about marriage, being married doesn't automatically mean you have to have kids.” I say firmly, aware he doesn’t get where I am coming from.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that he’s going to drop you, sooner rather than later!” Gale spouts, his jaw set.

“Gale. How many girls have you brought to the slag heap?” I ask him with a little bit of sharpness.

He looks at me like I just wounded him.

“I’m not judging you, I’m just asking how that is different from what you're accusing Peeta of, plus we aren’t sneaking off to the slag heap! You know me better than that.” I roll my eyes, knowing well how Gale is oblivious to his own faults.

“Fine. Don’t come running to me when you get your heart broken, I'll just say I told you so.” He snarks back, completely ignoring my earlier point.

He’s already pouting just like I knew he would.

“Fine Gale, but I’m not worried about that.” I tell him, hopping off the rock ledge and wiping my pants free of pine needles and dirt. “Oh! Can you call off the Big Brothers? I can search out Thom if you won’t see them before school tomorrow but I’d really appreciate it.”

Gale just nods at me, still not happy with how this conversation turned out. I make a mental note to see if Thom is around tomorrow morning, just to make sure the SBB was told to back off.

We go back to hunting after that. I end up finding another patch of dock seed and I gather a bunch of it, sharing with Gale how to dry and use it. I can tell he wants to thank me, this is huge for both of our families, but his mood is still soured by our earlier tiff. Gale finds a few more walnuts while I shoot a rabbit.

That’s when we see them surrounding us, a pack of coyotes, we must have wandered close to their den.

This didn’t happen last time.

Chapter 6: Chapter VI

Chapter Text

We go back to hunting after that. I end up finding another patch of dock seed and I gather a bunch of it, sharing with Gale how to dry and use it. I can tell he wants to thank me, this is huge for both of our families, but his mood is still soured by our earlier tiff. Gale finds a few more walnuts while I shoot a rabbit.

That’s when we see them surrounding us, a pack of coyotes, we must have wandered close to their den.

This didn’t happen last time.

Gale runs to the closest big tree, trying to get up before they charge at us, but I don’t even bother, after being chased by mutts regular coyotes don’t scare me. I shoot, and shoot and shoot. I end up taking out six of them, the other two turn tail and run, probably heading back to their den.

Gale gets out of the tree and looks at me in disbelief.

“Catnip. I’ve never seen you shoot like that…” he says, almost breathlessly.

“Gale, when was the last time I was surrounded like that?” I ask him with a cheeky smile, trying to downplay what just happened.

“That's true but, damn Catnip. Damn. I’m glad you're okay.” He says with a smile, his previous morose mood forgotten.

We decided to call it quits then. We have more meat now than anything, both of us splitting the huge haul. These coyotes were probably hungry and they probably have cubs somewhere around here, we will have to get rid of that den someday soon but not today. Today we are bringing back three coyotes each. We butcher them there, not having enough strength or time to take them elsewhere. The hides and fur will give us a pretty penny when sold and that doesn’t include the meat or the bones.

We both have full game bags after we take apart our first coyote, we know this will have to be taken in stages to trade.

We hurry out of the woods and to our respective houses to drop off our stuff, planning to meet outside the hob so we can see where to sell.

I drop off the thistles and elecampane with my mom’s stash, put down a single hand of juniper berries in our stash, along with a single handful of Pine needles. We don’t really need more of either but I figured it couldn’t hurt to restock what we had used in the last few days. I also put down a large chunk of the coyote meat I got from the first coyote, it will last us probably a week, especially if I make jerky so it’ll keep longer.

After that I head to the Hob to meet with Gale. He is already there waiting for me when I come around the corner. He is smiling like a goon, so happy to get some extra coin and provide more meat for his family.

We walk into the old coal warehouse, bustling as always with vendors. We hurry over to trade the hide with the tanner. He made sure there were no nicks or anything and then gave both of us a good handful of coins. We ask him how long he will be open today and after he raises his eyebrow, looking at us and trying to see what we are playing at, he says he will be here for a few more hours if we need him. We nod and move away swiftly. Heading around to sell our wares. I get a bag of sugar and some chicken eggs in exchange for my juniper berries and pine needles while Gale gets soap for his mom’s business and a few candles. He gets a good handful of coins in exchange for the raccoon, pelt and everything included. I then got a good trade for more coins through Rooba who, in exchange, got the rabbit.

We then leave the hob, ready to come back in and trade the next round of coyotes once we get our loot from the woods.

I tell Gale I will meet him back out there, telling him I had one more trade to do in town. He says he will start breaking down the next one while he waits for me, after he drops off his haul of course, both of us aware we will need to make at least two more trips before night falls and we don’t have time to waste.

I head towards the bakery with the two squirrels. I don’t really need any bread, we have quite a bit of flour and dock seed flour, but I want to make sure that Peeta has a decent dinner tonight and some protein after wrestling practice. I am well aware that both of us need to gain weight before June rolls around. I knock on the back door and the baker answers with a smile on his face.

“Hey Katniss!” He greets me, wiping his hands on his apron.

“Hello. I have a couple of squirrels for you if you're interested.” I smile back at him. Pulling them out of my game bag so that he can examine them. One shot straight through the eye and the other caught in a snare, neither of them have deformities and both are decently fat.

He takes the first one, and then the second, nodding to himself before he turns around, holding up a single finger for me to wait. He turns around with a smile, offering me a fresh loaf of bread… and a single iced cookie. I look up at him in surprise, wondering why he would offer me such a thing. He just smiles at me, his blue eyes sparkling almost with laughter.

“Sir-” I start, only to get cut off.

“Katniss, I have never seen my son as happy as he was yesterday, do you happen to know why he came home last night after sunset with a grin stretched all the way across his face, asking me to take his morning shift on Saturday?” He questions.

My face burns with heat. I know my blush must be epic but I do not offer an explanation. He just nods at me, still smiling.

Reaching out to offer me the trade again, “that’s what I thought, and I can’t say this will become a regular thing but I do have something to thank you for, so I think this is fair.”

I slowly reach forward for the wrapped goodies.

“Thank you, Prim will be so excited and that is more thanks than I need, but that being said I don’t need a thank you at all…” I want to thank him for his son but I can’t make myself get the words out, I just look up at him with a small smile and a look of gratefulness in my eyes.

He just nods at that, taking the squirrels presumably to put them in the fridge until dinner time. I take my trades and start walking back to my house, trying to decide where to hide this cookie until I can present it to Prim after dinner as a treat. I can’t wait to see her face.

I pass Mom and Prim on the way there, they are headed over to the Johnson’s house, Mrs. Johnson is having contractions, and as she has had three kids already, they aren’t wasting time heading over. I did ask them around what time they’d be back and they said it would probably be a few hours as they had some appointments on that side of the seam after and that they wouldn’t be home until at least after dark. That saves me the trouble of having to hide this cookie, so I just put it out of the way. I hide my coins under the floorboard and put the rest where it belongs. I also grab an extra bag on the way out, hoping it will help with some of the extra carrying so we can take fewer trips.

I run to the hole in the fence behind my house, it is closer to the coyotes but we will have to leave out of the meadow hole, Gale can’t fit through this one anymore.

I eventually make my way to where Gale is skinning the second coyote. He is about halfway through getting it all broken down so I quickly get another one hanging and start there. I've had more practice skinning big game with my father so I am faster than he is. By the time he has completely gotten his all broken down, I am three fourths of the way through mine. He hangs the fourth one and gets the pelt off by the time I’m finished. We can barely carry the two coyotes and the extra pelt but we manage with the help of the extra bag I brought along.

Walking back into the hob after our first round is much simpler, we had already scoped out who was trading today and who is mostly likely to want our wares, though you'd be hard pressed to find somebody in twelve who didn’t want fresh meat. We make our way around. I get another handful of coins, some oil, and some fabric, knowing we need to patch some things at home. Gale gets more coin and oil as well but he also gets a few eggs. We leave and once more drop our things off at home before heading back out to get our next round. Gale takes the already skinned coyote and starts breaking it down while I move on to the next one. I am loath to leave just one behind but there's absolutely no way we can carry all three to trade so we will have to make one more trip after this one.

On our next trip I get more coin, salt, two pairs of shoe laces and some yarn for my mother to knit with. Gale gets some salt, more coin, and three pairs of socks. His little siblings go through socks like they do air.

Finally we are breaking down our last coyote, and the sun is starting to set so I need to hurry back home, luckily with both of us working on it, the break down process is much quicker.

We have already sold to all of our regulars, Sae, Rooba, the tanner, and a few others, so we need to branch out a little more to see who would want and who we would trust to trade with. That’s when I see it. A spile, sitting on the corner of a booth with other knick knacks. I slowly walk up to the old lady running it, picking it up with a curious look on my face, as if I didn’t know what it was.

“Can I help you sweetheart?” She asks me.

“Hi!” I say with a smile, “I was just looking, can you tell me what this is?” I ask her, hoping she doesn’t know what it does and how much people would pay for it. I don’t need her to up-charge me.

“You know what sweetheart, my brother owned that when we were kids, but I haven’t ever been able to make heads or tails of it. He died about twenty years ago now and nobody has picked it up to look at it since he passed.” She explains.

I nod at her sadly, “it looks like something my father had at one point, but he died in a mining accident about four, almost five, years ago now, I don’t have any coin to trade but I have some meat…” I explain to her.

Her eyes light up. “Oh! That is okay. Meat is always welcome, can I ask what it is?”

‘It’s coyote ma’am, is that alright? I know not everybody likes it but…” I trail off, hopeful she would still be willing to trade.

“Oh that's fine! I can just make it into a stew for my nephew and his family, it’s his daughter's birthday next week and we can have a good early birthday dinner for her!” She says happily, unbothered by the type of meat.

I give her a fair trade, even if she doesn’t know the value of the find, I do. I give her a good chunk of meat and two of the larger bones for the stew stock. She is happy with the trade and I am ecstatic. I cannot wait to go out and get some maple sap.

Prim will be so excited because we have not had it since dad died, and I know it will be a great trade for me. Nobody here has syrup often or at all. Not unless you can afford it at the grocers and I can’t think of a single person who could except for the mayor.

Gale just trades his meat for more coin and then we are finally done for the day, the sun had set while we were in the hob and I hope that Prim hasn’t found the cookie waiting on her at home yet.

I know I need to do my homework before class tomorrow but I am exhausted. Running around the district and the woods all day has tired my body out. I am underfed, I know, but hopefully if I keep having luck like this I will be able to get my body up into fighting shape before the games come this summer. I don’t count on it though, we haven’t had our big snow storm yet this year and I know it is coming up in February, I don’t remember exactly when it is but I think it was towards the beginning. We were stuck inside for three days, snowed in. The mines closed for a week and so did the school, it was a nightmare, half of twelve were starving by the time the drifts melted.

I make a note to get more than my usual in the few days leading up to February, maybe I'll have Peeta help me gather some stuff on our training sessions, in addition to our training.

All of these thoughts last until I walk in the front door. Prim and Mom are back and Mom is cooking some of the coyote and chokeberries in a stew, thickened by some tesserae. The fresh bakery bread is sitting on the table next to a small amount of butter that I know came from Lady. A good dinner anywhere, something filling and warm after running around all afternoon in the cold January air.

“Katniss!” I hear as I am setting down my trades on the kitchen table, my game bag hung by the door, hunting boots abandoned by the welcome mat.

“Hey Prim! Did you get your homework done?” I question as I walk by her towards our bedroom, ready to shed my hunting clothes.

“Yes! I had some trouble with my math assignment but I eventually got it figured out.” She tells me, nodding along with her words.

I quickly change into my pjs, an old pair of soft pants and a threadbare tee shirt, knowing there's no point in getting another pair of clothes dirty today.

“That's good!” I tell her, walking back into the main area of the house. “If you need me to look over it let me know.” I smile at her.

“Thanks Katniss!” She says with a smile, “so… why were you so late tonight?” She questions with a smirk on her face, obviously thinking I was with Peeta.

“Oh!” I say with a smile, knowing she is wrong, “Gale and I were hunting and we might’ve gotten surrounded by coyotes.” I say nonchalantly, well aware they won't take that well.

“Katniss!” My mom turns from the stove.

“Are you okay?!” Prim questions already standing up from our old rocking chair to walk over to me.

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.” I say, waving them off, “we actually got six of them.” I tell them proudly.

“Six?!” Prim asks excitedly. My mom just raises her eyebrows, surprised but happy.

“Yep. We had to take multiple trips back and forth from the woods to the Hob so I am exhausted, not to mention we had to butcher them down and then trade everything. It really was a lot.” I say, smiling.

“No wonder there was so much meat, we will have to make jerky tomorrow, I can do that while you girls are at school,” my mom says happily.

Prim and I share a grin, excited for the meat.

“Sounds good mom. I also got a few medicinals for your stores, I didn’t know if you noticed.” I tell her.

She walks over to the cabinet storing her stock, seeing the thistles and elecampane.

“Thanks Katniss.” She tells me seriously.

I wave her off, “no problem. I was gonna get you some more willow branches but we got caught up so I’ll get those another day.”

“Yeah, I am running slightly low on those but I think I have enough until you head out again, so don’t go out just for medicinals.” She tells me.

I give her a nod.

“I haven’t checked yet, Katniss! What else did you get?” Prim asks me excitedly.

“Well, I traded most of what we got in the woods because we don’t need too much from there. I did trade for some more fabric and yarn for you mom,” I tell her. “Then I got some stuff we were running low on, oil, salt, eggs, sugar. I also got a fresh loaf of bread,” I skip over quickly, hoping Prim doesn’t catch what I said. By the look on her face I did not succeed. “Then I got some new laces for my hunting boots and Prim’s shoes, and a good amount of coinage.” I keep the spile a secret, hoping to surprise Prim with sap later.

“Oh!” I say, “I almost forgot, I also have a surprise for after dinner.”

“A surprise?” Prim asks with an adorable confused look on her face. I gently pull on one of her braids affectionately.

“Yes Prim, a surprise, so we better eat dinner so you can figure out what it is.” I say, slightly teasing.

We all sit down to dinner, talking and laughing. Thankfully Prim doesn’t bring up Peeta in front of Mom, at least not yet. She only does that after I pull out the iced cookie.

“I got this from the baker today, he was feeling extra kind…” I say, presenting Prim the cookie with a smile.

She gasps!

“Katniss!! This is amazing!” She jumps up and down excitedly, before she stops, looking up at me with a grin on her face. “You sure Peeta didn’t give you this?” She questions cheekily as she gently breaks the cookie into three equal pieces.

I blush. “Priiim,” I moan at her. “Yes, I’m sure. Peeta is about thirty years younger than his father, I’m pretty sure I can tell them apart.” I roll my eyes, taking my piece from her.

“So… Which one of you want to tell me about Peeta,” mom questions with a teasing smile on her lips, an expression that makes her look years younger, biting off a little bit of her share of the cookie.

Prim jumps in before I have time to come up with something.

“He’s Katniss’ boyfriend!” Prim announces. “He met us at the flagpole this morning and kissed her, and she didn’t punch him! It was the most insane thing I’ve ever seen.” Prim says, fully meaning every word. She then takes a bite of her cookie, some of the frosting getting on her upper lip, but she quickly licks it off.

Mom raises her eyebrow at me, obviously wanting to ask a few questions but not try to undermine my judgment. She knows I don’t need her advice or her help, but she is still my mom.

“Okay, yes, he is my boyfriend.” I say with a smile, not commenting on the second half of Prim’s announcement.

“So… are you gonna tell us when that happened or?” Mom asks, this time with a smile.

“Yesterday.” I say, “but I’ve known him since I was eleven so…” I trail off, not wanting to talk about the bread.

They both just grin at me, obviously hoping I will continue, but they should know better. I am not saying anything, but honestly my face tells everything anyway, I never was good at keeping secrets.

“Okay.” I say, standing up from the table after finishing my piece of the cookie, “I am going to do a little bit of homework and then I am going to bed. I’m so tired after everything today.” I tell them.

“Prim, I’ll see you in a bit, no more than an hour,” I look at her, making sure she understands I’m serious about her being in bed by then. I yawn loudly. “Sorry… I am really tired… Goodnight Mom.”

I walk into our room with a smile on my face, a full stomach, and heavy eyelids. Today was a good day all things considered, hopefully tomorrow is just as good.

Chapter 7: Chapter VII

Chapter Text

I walk into our room with a smile on my face, a full stomach, and heavy eyelids. Today was a good day all things considered, hopefully tomorrow is just as good.

~ Feb 1~

School is so boring. I can’t make myself focus on things that I will never need after this summer. As victors we were allowed to drop out of school to “focus on our talents,” code words for “be manipulated by our President” and “try not to let ourselves go crazy.” Even in Thirteen the only lessons were on battle strategies and other necessary skills for war. However, as useful as those classes were in Thirteen, these ones are either propaganda, about coal, or just something I will never use in my day to day life after this school year, so I rate their usefulness right below rainbows, rainbows at least tell you the weather outside.

I just spent most of today either focused on Peeta or thinking about Prim. That includes the future which all ties into the upcoming games, so I guess you could say I was thinking about those too. Definitely not my classes though, I think the only time I was actually present all day was during lunch when Peeta once again sat with Madge and I.

In the past month not a lot has changed, Peeta is still slightly outcasted by his Merchie friends, Gale still doesn’t approve of Peeta, even if he has kept quiet about it, game is still as scarce as ever in winter, after the coyote debacle, as Prim calls it, I’ve only shot squirrels and rabbits, with the occasional crow.

There are the differences. Peeta and I are training for one, we’ve both gotten faster, stronger, and Peeta has gotten a lot better with throwing knives, his shooting still isn’t great but his wrestling is as good as ever so he’ll be as good as he can be by June. Peeta has also learned, finally, how to walk in the woods without making noise, he says it is a lot easier with two legs, something I believe wholeheartedly.

Our relationship is also thriving, Peeta can make me feel things I never thought I would, and as much as I love his kisses and our time together every moment alone I just want more. Every time we make out we go a little further. I am not ready to go all the way yet, and I probably won’t be until I know that any consequences from it would be safe, but the want is still there. The need I feel to be closer to him, in every way possible.

I just keep focusing on our mission during those times, to snap myself out of it. We both need to survive these games and I don’t want Peeta to lose his leg during them either. So that's where we are now, in the woods training. Peeta is currently throwing knives at a distant tree, and I am a little ways away hunting. I have already gotten two squirrels today and a crow. Peeta even got a kill today when he hit a squirrel that ran up his tree at the wrong moment. He felt so bad about it but I could also tell he was a little bit proud of himself. He knows that life isn’t going to waste and that the squirrel died instantly, in no pain at all, even if he hates the thought of taking its life.

We have been out for a few hours, it is now about six o’clock, the sun sets around 8. So we only have a few more hours to train.

“Hey Peeta!” I call out, after making sure he wasn’t in the middle of a throw.

“Yeah Baby?” He calls back, starting to walk towards me.

“Do you want to do a little foraging before we have to go back?” I ask him with a smile, so happy to be in my favorite place with my favorite person.

“Sure! The snow should come in the next few days so I want to make sure you and your family are set up, do you need more dock seeds?” He asks with a smile.

“We could maybe use a little bit more, just in case, but we have enough pine needles and juniper berries so don’t get any of those, I’m gonna look around for a few other things. Oh! Also if you see any thistle grab some of that too please!” I tell him, giving him a quick peck when he gets close enough before we move in separate directions, trying to get a good haul.

~ March 1 ~

Two months have now passed since Peeta and I came back.

February went by so slowly. Game was so scarce and foraging got even worse. I can tell Prim and I have lost a little bit of weight and Peeta has been so concerned. He tries to give me all of his lunch every day and even sometimes brings extra so that I can bring home food for Prim. I usually take it when he brings extra but I never take his lunch. Peeta needs food also, especially with his wrestling and our training.

Thankfully towards the end of the month more small game started to come out again. I got a bobcat a few days ago and I’ve been getting more rabbits and squirrels again. I’ve had to trade also so a lot of that game has gone towards that.

Things at school have calmed down as well. The Merchies no longer harass me in the hallways, even if the glares and whispers are still around. This is the longest Seam and Merchie relationship anyone in the district has seen since my parents. I think there are bets as to how long it will go on and how it will end, but I think most people are just gonna “let it run its course,” trying to see how long it will last without interference. Peeta and I honestly find it funny, with what we have been through so far, it’s laughable some of the things they think will break us up.

We were laughing about how none of them had bet on us going into the games together, as we were walking through the woods today.

I finally decided it was thawed enough to take him to see the lake. We came to the meadow immediately after school and started the two hour hike, walking in comfortable silence. I hit two squirrels and Peeta got a rabbit with one of his knives. He really has improved so much with his aim and ability since we’ve been training. As we come around the bend to get to the lake I look up at him excitedly, looking forward to seeing his reaction.

It was exactly as I had imagined it. His jaw dropped and his eyes started to sparkle, jumping from one beautiful image to another, stopping long enough to get a really good look at it but overwhelmed by the view in front of him.

He whips his head towards me with a huge smile on his face.

“Kat! This is beautiful, Baby.” He says.

“My father showed me this place and you're one of the only people I have brought here, and the only other one who knows about it in this time.” I say, leaning up to give him a kiss, something he gladly reciprocates.

“I wish I had brought my notebook, I really want to draw this. Maybe I’ll wait until next winter and I can bring colored pencils or maybe even pastels.” He says, excitedly, almost bouncing from foot to foot like I’ve seen Prim do. His pure and honest joy brings me so much happiness in turn.

“Okay Lover,” I say with a smile, “let's do some fishing and gather some stuff, I can show you plants that are edible near water… just in case.”

He smiles even bigger at the nickname, I had been calling him Lover Boy but it never felt quite right, that term had been used in a derogatory way one too many times for me to change it around, so I just shortened it to Lover one day, something that made him smile so wide I thought his cheeks would give out. It just stuck, now I hardly call him anything else. It is either ‘Peeta’ or ‘Lover,’ just like I am either ‘Kat,’ ‘Katniss,’ or ‘Baby.’ One time he tried to call me honey and I drew a line in the sand. I'm used to baby now and that'll be it for the extent of nicknames for me.

I know Haymitch will probably fall right back into calling me sweetheart, but I am used to that from him so it doesn’t really bother me, at least it will turn into a term of exasperated endearment-instead of the sarcastic nature it started out as-after we win our first games.

So, Peeta and I spend the next hour at the lake. We get more rose hips and chokeberries, I get two ducks as well and Peeta gets another, expensive and good kills for us both. I teach Peeta how to fish, and between the two of us, we get three decently sized trout.

We also get a few willow branches as well as some Primroses, good medicinals for Mom and Prim’s stores. I then get Peeta to use his long reach, and a decently sized stick, to pull a few pond lilies towards us to get their roots, something that can make a good mash.

By this point our time is running out and we pack up to head back home, we will need to hurry to get back because the sun says it is about 5:30 or so and the sun is gonna set right around seven.

I tell Peeta this and we take off, practicing our long distance running, something we have been trying to improve for part of our training. This is the longest distance we will run yet so it should be fun to see how this goes.

We are both tired when we finally reach the fence, out of breath and sweaty. Both of us chugging from our water bottles, but we didn’t stop once and our pacing seemed like it stayed constant. We will have to do that trip again sometime soon and especially when the days start getting longer again, because it was helpful for our training, not to mention we got a really good haul.

I try to make Peeta take the squirrels and the rabbit but he only takes the squirrels. Saying it was his fathers favorite so he didn’t need the rabbit. My stupid stupid Lover, always putting me before himself.

I just give him one final kiss on my front porch and watch him walk back towards the bakery. I don’t have time to go to the Hob tonight, so I think I’ll skip hunting tomorrow morning and just head there then. I am excited to see Prim’s reaction to all the food and I’ll let her decide what to keep. We are stocked up right now on candles and soap, our clothes are patched and we have enough oil and grain and sugar, so the only thing I would really trade for right now would be eggs, seasonings, and coin, so it’ll be alright if she wants to keep more than I usually would.

~ April 1st ~

Finally it feels like spring. The flowers are starting to bloom, dandelions popping up around the meadow and everywhere in the woods. It’s my favorite time of year, it reminds me of the boy standing right beside me. My boy with the bread, my dandelion in the spring, my promise of hope and life.

It's a Saturday so Peeta and I have been in the woods for hours now, and it’s only nearing 8 in the morning. Peeta can now throw knives like he was born to do it, I wouldn’t say he is as good as Clove is-that girl is scary-but he is better than most people, especially because he hasn’t been doing it long at all, he’s still not a great shot though. His snares also haven’t lessened either. Gale finally started hanging around Peeta for a few hours Saturday mornings. I am not sure if Gale is coming around or if he just realized I wouldn’t ditch Peeta for him and he wanted to hang out anyway or what finally clicked but Gale is around for a few hours on Saturday mornings. Peeta got him talking one Saturday about snares and since then Gale has taught Peeta every snare he knows, including new ones that he didn't teach us before the quell, I knew a few of them, but snares aren’t really my forte.

It’s nice to see Gale actually smile at Peeta, I am not sure if he is jealous or anything but even if he is still slightly frosty to Peeta, Saturday mornings are reserved for conversations about snares, something he doesn’t get often and doesn’t want to pass up apparently.

Prim has started helping me collect dandelions and clover, staples in our house come spring. She goes out around the Meadow with a bucket and collects every single one she can find, blowing the seeds off of the white dandelions to spread around for more buds in the future.

Peeta and I are still going strong. I go to all of his wrestling matches, he calls me his good luck charm, and Madge aww’s at us. The rest of the district is still making bets but I am pretty sure the betting pool has been pushed back at least three times from the initial bets, because none of them came true. Something Peeta and I still laugh at. Peeta also flirts with me anywhere and everywhere, the more inappropriate the better. Not suggestive, Peeta wouldn’t ever try to suggest anything more than a kiss, it's just the timing is always the worst and he seems to find so much joy in messing with me like that, making my brain stop to make me look like an idiot. I can’t even find it in myself to be mad because he hasn’t crossed any line with it, like doing it in front of my Mom or Prim, so I just let him continue, seeing his mischievous smirk is so nice, I would take that any day over the crazed look caused by the Tracker Jacker venom.

That's another thing that almost made me lose my mind, we came upon a nest last week and Peeta got stung. I almost passed out. I was so nervous, but I got him back to my house and my mom put some of the tracker leaves on his stings to flush out the toxins and he barely was affected. He assured me many many times that the only affects he got from the venom were the normal hallucinations, nothing having to do with me killing him or being a threat.

We skipped the next training session to just sit in a tall tree and talk. We hadn’t actually talked about the hijacking since the first time we reconnected back in January, it was long overdue.

I am getting more and more nervous as the months go by. I want to live in these moments forever, with all of my loved ones safe and happy. I know that's impossible but I can’t help but wish we could stay here. July fourth is coming up so fast. Way too fast.

~ May 13th ~

I have never been so happy. All of my favorite people, well that I know in this timeline, are here today. It is the Saturday after mine and Prim’s birthday. We usually have dinner with our little family and the Hawthornes but this year we have one more guest, Peeta was able to take the morning shift so he could be here for dinner. He brought with him a cookie for both Prim and I and a fresh loaf of bread, perfectly fitting into our potluck.

The Hawthornes brought dandelion and clover salad topped with the few ripe strawberries from the crop we trapped and a salty oil vinaigrette, along with a burdock root and thistle root mash flavored with wild garlic and onions. Then Prim and Mom and I prepared a stew made of rabbit and squirrel, but the star of the show is the five big trout and the two catfish I caught this morning. I was even able to trade enough to buy a lemon to season the fish with, something I remember from having in the Capitol and it makes the fish taste amazing.

After we all stuffed ourselves with one of the best meals any of us have ever had, we are all sitting around our small living room. Talking, laughing, telling stories. I am sitting on our old couch, tucked into Peeta’s side as he runs his hand up and down my arm. Prim is sitting on the ground with Rory, talking quietly. Posy and Vick are playing hand games at the table and Mom and Hazelle are also talking. It is so relaxed, nobody is looking at us or whispering or taking bets, even Gale has been friendly with Peeta today.

I know Peeta and I need to focus on the upcoming games but for today we can relax and spend time together. Basking in the very thing we are fighting to keep.

~ June 2nd ~

Peeta and I are definitely in better shape this time. We have been fighting to get good food in us and keep our strength up. It is amazing what motivation knowing you are going into the games is. It has certainly helped us, this time and before the quell.

No matter how hard our training is, how tired we are, or how hungry, we can't stop. If we stop, we die. End of story. That is not something either of us are prepared to accept so here we are. Peeta is practicing laps around the lake and I am digging up katniss tubers.

The lake is so plentiful this time of the year. Fish are more prone to biting, berries are in prime picking season, edibles are ready to be collected, and game is out in droves. It really is almost easy pickings for someone used to foraging and hunting all year around, someone who depends on themselves to find food, knowing that's the ONLY way it’ll be on the table.

Peeta has trained harder than ever, knowing that I love him back, truly love him the way he loves me, has given him an edge even he didn’t expect. He hasn’t complained even a single time either, not when he has bruises everywhere from wrestling practice, or when his hands are raw from practicing with the snare wire and he has to go to work, not when he is out of breath from sprints and long distance runs, nothing has made him crack.

I cannot describe my pride in him, just like I know he is proud of me for the work I’ve put in in the last few months. We have almost exactly one month until the reaping and we will both be ready, as ready as we can be.

~ July 2nd ~

Friday was our final day of school, thankfully, so Peeta is working this Sunday afternoon, in order to be off tomorrow all day, so I am in the woods alone with Gale, probably for the last time before the reaping in two days.

We meet at our rock ledge, prepared to get a huge haul, something we do every year in preparation, just in case. I am the only one who knows that it is not just a ‘just in case’ measure this year. I have been collecting and trading so much in the last week. Peeta has been helping me also during our training time. We have just been hunting and foraging, running sprints and long distance runs in between. I’ve collected so much dock seed, a lot of katniss tubers down at the lake as I was watching Peeta swim, and so many berries. Strawberries, blackberries, mulberries, and I’ve either traded them or Prim helped me make jam, something that keeps and flavors so well. The only thing I could do now is get a deer or other low fat game that would allow jerky to be made and stored at home. I know there is a deer running around here so hopefully we can track that today or tomorrow, Peeta could maybe use the practice tracking.

Gale and I hunt and between the two of us we get three turkeys and two squirrels, within an hour, a great haul for any day, but especially good for trading right before the games roll around.

We take a break in the meadow overlooking the valley.

“Gale,” I start, “can we talk about Tuesday?”

“Catnip, what is there to talk about? How many times our names are in the balls? That it’s our siblings first reapings? I really don't want to talk about it.” he says gruffly, not quite rude but definitely frosty.

“Okay, I’ll stop but I need to say, IF one of us is called, the other cannot volunteer.” I say to him firmly. “Gale, I’m serious, one of us has to be here for our families, how are they going to survive if we aren’t here?” I look him straight in the eye.

“Okay Katniss,” and I know he is being serious because he is using my real name, “if you are going in I won’t volunteer, and you promise me the same, take care of my family, with 42 slips…” he trails off, the only sign of his nerves in the slight quiver of his voice.

I just nod at him. We are in agreement.

We both want to move after the deep talk, something rare between the two of us. So we go back to hunting and gathering. We get more strawberries, likely to trade at the Mayor’s. Then we find a patch of wild garlic. We get a good few handfuls of stinging nettle and chicory. Then while Gale gets a rabbit, I find a few oyster mushrooms and a wineberry bush. I strip the bush of its ripe fruit, knowing it grows back like crazy and that will be a constant berry source during the warmer months, making sure to show Gale the bush’s location.

We hunt and gather for a few more hours, the warm weather helping to bring out better goods and more plentiful hauls.

When we are finally done we have one of the biggest hauls we’ve ever had. Between the two of us we have four squirrels, two rabbits, three wild turkeys, two geese, many different berries, a bunch of medicinals, and a whole separate bag of dock seed I brought because I knew we would want to collect a lot of it because we likely wouldn’t get another haul of it until late fall. This is in addition to a few handfuls of oyster mushrooms and our wild garlic and onion collection. A great haul, and one we can barely carry, the geese and turkeys hanging over our shoulders instead of in our bags.

We tried to track the deer as well and found a few tracks but we lost them a little while later. I hope to go out in the morning and get it tomorrow before reaping day, but I don’t have much hope for that so I’m just trying to focus on other things.

We drop off what we want to keep at home before we meet back at the hob, giving the geese to Sae and Rooba gets the leftover turkey that neither of us took. We have half of the dock seed left to trade which we get a good load of coinage for, spreading it around the hob. The strawberries are kept in order to sell to the Mayor but half the blackberries and mulberries are traded for pepper and oil. Gale kept the rabbits and I obviously kept the medicinals for mom. The wild garlic and onion were split between the two of us, something that helps our food taste so much better. The oyster mushrooms are traded for chicken eggs and split between both of us. Gale heads towards the Undersee’s to trade the Strawberries as we exit the Hob. I walked with him to the town line but I split off to go toward the shops.

Knocking on the back door of the bakery. My baker’s boy opens it with a cheeky smile, his blue eyes sparkling down at me. He is still on a high from winning his wrestling tournament on Friday. He grabs me around the waist and gives me a quick kiss, stepping back and wiping his hands on his apron, something that makes me roll my eyes because I am now well aware I have two white flour handprints printed onto my waist.

“That’s a caveman move Mellark.” I tell him with fake exasperation.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Baby.” He says cheekily, an obvious lie.

“Okay Lover, we will go with that.” I roll my eyes at him. “Is your dad here?” I ask.

“Ouch.” He says wincing, his hand coming up to rest on his chest like I physically wounded him.

“Oh get over it, unless you don’t want a good dinner…” I trail off.

He just laughs, giving me one more quick peck before calling for his dad. I hear the baker coming down the stairs from the apartment above the bakery. I quickly swipe my hands over my abdomen, getting all the flour off of me before his dad can see.

Peeta just moves back towards the oven, pulling fresh fluffy bread out of it, and then moving back towards the kneading counter, sprinkling fresh flour over it.

“Hey Katniss! How many do you have for me today?” The baker greets me happily.

“Well, I got a pretty big haul today but you don’t have to take them all if you don’t want them.” I tell him, pulling out the squirrels by their tails.

He whistles appreciatively at the four fat squirrels I reveal out of my bag. I just grin at him happily.

“I think I’ll take these two, I don’t need the other two but I know the miller was looking for some fresh meat so you might want to head there,” he winks at me moving to get two fresh loaves, not the ones that just came out of the oven but definitely loaves from earlier that day.

“That sounds good actually, thanks for the tip.” I tell the baker. “And thank you for these,” I hold up the wrapped loaves before I put them in my bag. He smiles at me and goes to put the squirrels in the ice box, leaving the door open. I am not sure if he was colluding with Peeta or if Peeta just took advantage but Peeta immediately stepped back towards me and pushes me up against the open door, pressing his lips to mine, hard. His once again flour covered hands on my waist. I just kiss him back, knowing with our strategy, after the reaping it might not happen again before we are in our games. I want to spend all the time I can with Peeta before that happens.

Eventually we do separate and he just beams at me, obviously pleased with himself. I give him a smirk and one last peck before I hurry towards the miller, knowing he is watching me walk away.

Chapter 8: Chapter VIII

Chapter Text

Eventually we do separate and he just beams at me, obviously pleased with himself. I give him a smirk and one last peck before I hurry towards the miller, knowing he is watching me walk away.

It's the duck tail. I stand there like a dumbass, once again as my little sister gets surrounded by peacekeepers on her walk towards the tribute stage, her little skinny arm reaching around herself as she tucks in her tail formed by the ill fitting reaping outfit. Just like last time, I am suddenly unfrozen.

This time I don’t yell in panic. I calmly push my way through the crowd, but honestly I don’t have to push my way through more than two people before the rest part. Split in half like somebody took a giant knife and sliced a path right through it.

“I volunteer,” my voice coming out strong and firm, “I volunteer as tribute.”

I lock eyes with Gale, tilting my head sharply towards Prim, knowing he will get her the hell out of here and to our mothers, waiting in the crowd and audibly crying. He nods at me, immediately understanding, before he starts moving towards us.

Prim wraps her arms around me again, crying and telling me not to go. It's all I can do not to cry once again. Finally Gale gets to us, just as Prim turns hysterical, lifting her up in his arms and walking away from the stage. I am sure Gale said something to me, probably the same thing as last time, but I don’t hear it. I hear the rush of my breath, slightly unsteady, and the pounding of my heart. My hands aren’t shaking like they were last time though, I guess knowing you're going into the games for the third time makes you a little bit desensitized, who would’ve thought.

“Lovely!” says Effie Trinket. “But I believe there’s a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth then we, um . . . ” she trails off, unsure herself.

“ What does it matter?” says the mayor.

“Exactly, you have your tribute,” Haymitch slurs from his chair on stage, “just let her come up.” He burps, another disgusting demonstration from Twelve’s biggest celebrity. Bravo.

I just climb up the steps in front of me, once again feeling like I am being led to the electric chair, only I haven't committed a crime… or at least been convicted of one.

“Well, bravo!” gushes Effie Trinket. “That’s the spirit of the Games!” She’s pleased to finally have a district with a little action going on in it. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Katniss Everdeen,” I say, my voice clear and low, it would be obvious to people who knew me that I was trying not to cry, but not to anybody else… hopefully.

“I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don’t want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let’s give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!” trills Effie Trinket.

I wasn’t sure I would get this send off again, but every left hand in the square is currently giving me our three fingered salute.

The one that means thanks, that means admiration, that means good-bye to someone you love.

I guess they forgive me for crossing town lines. I am still not sure why I am awarded this honor, Peeta would say it was something to do with my “effect on people,” I still say it is because everyone in this godforsaken district loves Prim. Whatever the reason, it is still the biggest act of dissent ever taken in Twelve and I guess that is why I kiss my fingers and give it back, looking out over all of my people. The ones I have bled for, the ones I have sacrificed for, and I will do it all again, for them, for me, for Prim and Peeta. For every single child killed in the last seventy four years, and the ones who would be murdered in the future.

I can see Peeta, his strong jaw, stronger arms, and his golden hair shining in the sunlight. His left arm raised and pointed towards me, his face set in grim determination but for the small upturn at the left corner of his lips.

Cue Haymitch falling off the stage. I’m not sure what made him fall this time but he’s sprawled on the ground, unconscious. The interruption didn’t even faze the crowd, we in Twelve are used to our only mentor’s antics. Plus there are other things to be thinking about.

“What an exciting day!” Effie tries to get the crowd excited again, obviously feeling the anger, hatred, and turmoil festering around the square. “But more excitement to come! It’s time to choose our boy tribute!”

I take a deep breath, I need to be prepared for this.

“Peeta Mellark.”

The crowd gasps.

I don’t think there is a single person in Twelve who doesn’t know about Peeta and I. Everyone is whispering to their neighbor or watching as Peeta steps determinedly towards me on stage, every step bringing him closer to me. Our eyes have not left each other once. We are well aware the games have begun, every single move from today on has to be calculated and exact. Let’s hope I can actually stick to the plan.

“Any volunteers?” Effie asks.

Silence.

I can see Peeta looking at Rye, who looks panicked but he doesn’t volunteer for his younger brother. I am not sure if Peeta specifically told him he can’t volunteer for him, or if their family ties just didn’t run that deep, either way it is decided that my boy with the bread will be going into the games.

The mayor begins to read the long, dull Treaty of Treason as he does every year at this point — it’s required — but I’m not listening to a word.

I am thinking about the next step in our plan, the one about to be implemented in a few seconds.

The mayor finishes the dreary Treaty of Treason and motions for Peeta and me to shake hands.

His hands are still warm and soft, a known comfort to me this time instead of a vague unknown but possible threat. He gives my hand the same squeeze, definitely not a muscle spasm. We don’t let go. We stand there after our hand shake is over, our hands dropped from their position but still linked. Yep, we are holding hands on the tribute stage, I can’t wait to hear what Cesear has to say about this one.

We turn back to face the crowd as the anthem of Panem plays. Still linked together.

We are shuffled into the justice building, only splitting apart when we are led in two separate directions and our arms can't stretch any further towards each other.

I am once again sitting on this velvet couch, waiting for my loved ones to come say goodbye to me.

My sister and my mother come first, the same as last time. I reach out to Prim and she climbs on my lap, her arms around my neck, head on my shoulder, just like she did when she was a toddler. My mother sits beside me and wraps her arms around us.

I say nothing for a few seconds and then I start my demands again, not wasting any time on goodbye when I know I will see them again. I tell Prim not to take out any tesserae and I make mom promise not to check out, I believe her this time when she says she won’t, but just in case I am still firm and direct with her. Telling her she CANNOT do that to Prim, not when I’m not around to help this time. I tell them about Gale’s help and how to repay him, though I doubt he will take anything.

“I’ll be alright, Katniss,” says Prim, clasping my face in her hands. “But you have to take care, too. You’re so fast and brave. Maybe you can win.” It's the exact same thing she said last time, the words burned into my memory even more than two years later.

“Prim…” I trail off, not knowing what to say.

“You will try, won’t you? Really, really try?” asks Prim.

“Yes, Prim. I will try.” I say quietly.

She looks at me sadly. “Peeta is going in too.” She whispers, her eyes once again tearing up thinking of the boy she has gotten to know in the last few months.

“I know,” I say, my voice once again thick as I think of my kind and sweet lover up against Cato once again.

“Katniss.” Prim says quietly. “I really want you to win but I know you won't be the same without Peeta.”

Mom looks at me too, a knowing look in her eye.

“Guys, make sure everyone knows, we weren’t dating before this. Tell everyone we were skirting around each other, get the stories in line okay?” I tell them seriously, but under my breath, trying to be as quiet as possible.

They look at me confused, they know this is a weird request.

“Promise me okay? I promise to try to come back but this is part of it. No. One. Can. Know.” I say seriously.

They nod at me with wide eyes, the peacekeeper bursting in the door behind them.

“Time’s up,” he says gruffly, he’s not one of my regulars.

Prim rushes to hug me one more time, Mom following suit before they’re both grabbed by their arms and dragged towards the door, all of us exclaiming our love and promises as they are pushed through it.

It takes everything in me not to cry, my hormones are once again that of my sixteen year old self and I didn’t realize how big a difference two years makes on them.

I sit in silence as I wait for my next visitor. I am not sure if the baker will come see me this time.

It turns out he will.

“Katniss…” he starts but I cut him off.

“Sir.” I begin. “Peeta means a lot to me, I can’t, I won’t abandon him.” I say firmly.

He looks at me with tears in his eyes.

“I know you won’t. You are your father’s daughter after all, loyal and caring.” He chokes out, obviously emotional.

I can’t speak, he didn’t say that last time, and it’s obvious that he had a great respect for my father, something I really appreciate.

He hands me the bag I know is filled with cookies. I shake my head.

“Please give them to Prim.” I say pleadingly.

He nods, “I’ll make sure she’s okay too.” He tells me.

“Mr. Mellark… Thank you. For everything.” I say with emotion. He looks at me with a look in his eye I can’t identify but if I had to guess I would say he is sizing me up. I seem to come up strong because he nods at me, a knowing look in his eye. I think he understands I am saying thank you for Peeta.

The peacekeeper summons him out of the room and he goes quietly, telling me good luck and sorry one last time.

Madge marches in almost immediately, I haven’t even had time to sit down again.

She gives me a sharp look, but to me it just shows her determination and anger at this situation, her two best friends are heading into the games… together.

“Take it,” she grits out between her clenched teeth. Her arm extended with the pin gripped in her hand.

The pin that made Rue trust me, the pin that undermined the Capitol, became a symbol of the rebellion, the symbol of me, The Mockingjay.

She doesn't wait for me to grab it from her. She just pins it straight to my blue dress.

“Promise me you’ll wear it as your token. It was my aunts, and… just promise me.” She says at a whisper, her heat, her own fire dying down almost immediately. Her eyes welled up with tears.

“Thank you Madge.” I say, not crying but my voice is still choked up, I know I will end up sobbing into Peeta’s chest later on the train, but I have to keep it together now. These goodbyes were supposed to be easier, I know I can come back. The odds are actually in my favor this time, so why is this so difficult?

She kisses me on the cheek once again and sweeps out of the room, her curly blonde hair swishing, her bright white lace dress moving rhythmically behind her as she walks out, I assume to go see Peeta this time.

Gale slips in the room quietly next, his hunters tread even softer on the carpeted floor. He sweeps me up in his arms immediately. His smell of woodsmoke and fresh laundry soap, a familiar scent after all these years.

“Listen,” he says. “Getting a knife should be pretty easy, but you’ve got to get your hands on a bow. That’s your best chance.”

I know he feels helpless and the only way to take back at least a little bit of the control would be to comfort me, help me how to survive as we’ve been doing for each other for four years now. So I let him.

“They don’t always have bows,” I say.

“Then make one,” says Gale. “Even a weak bow is better than no bow at all.”

“I don’t even know if there’ll be wood,” I say . Of course I know our arena will be perfect for me, especially now that I know my way around slightly, it’ll be even easier.

“There’s almost always some wood,” Gale says. “Since that year half of them died of cold. Not much entertainment in that.”

“Yes, there’s usually some,” I say.

“Katniss, it’s just hunting. You’re the best hunter I know,”says Gale.

Is this the start? The moment he decided human life doesn’t matter, just a means to an end.

I can’t respond the same way as I did last time.

“Gale. That kind of thinking led to these games. The disregard for human life.” I look at him harshly. “I can’t. I won’t think of them like animals to hunt, that wouldn’t make me any better than them.”

Gale looks pissed. I glare back at him, daring him to correct me.

“Okay, Katniss,” he says cooly. “Just remember Prim and everyone else here waiting for you. You have to come back.” He says, a little softer.

“Yes, Gale. Just… keep her safe for me. She's your responsibility now.” I say sternly. “She’s your little sister. Just like Posy.” I say, hoping he knows I’m serious, and that he remembers this. “Even if I do come back, she will still be your little sister, just like you’re my brother.” I say, making sure he doesn’t get the wrong idea.

His face sours at the mention of being my brother but he doesn’t say anything, likely thinking I’ll change my mind if I come back, without Peeta around to block him. Too bad , I think, not going to happen.

The peacekeeper comes barreling in, Gale begs for more time. Something he is denied.

“Don’t let them starve!” I cry out. Just like I did last time.

“I won’t! You know I won’t! Katniss-” Gale gets cut off even earlier, now I really won’t ever know what he meant to say.

It’s a short ride from the Justice Building to the train station.

This time I have been in a car before, but I still look around in amazement like I haven't. Peeta is doing the same beside me, this time his eyes aren’t puffy and lined with red, though I can tell he wants to cry again. Effie is weirdly sitting in the front seat this time next to the driver, so I scoot over, holding his hand in my lap and leaning against him, providing as well as receiving comfort.

The station is swarming with reporters with their insect like cameras trained directly on our faces. I can tell though, the minute the cameramen see our joined hands, the cameras fall directly to them, capturing the moment to be shown across the country. Once again, I am interested to see what Caesar has to say about our obvious closeness.

Peeta and I keep our heads up, letting people see our faces. The different emotions painted across them, I definitely do not look bored this time. I look sad but focused. Like I am on a mission, and I am.

Peeta looks strikingly similar, he just looks extra protective. His right shoulder slightly in front of my body, his larger hand completely covering mine. The perfect picture of an overprotective boyfriend… which he is, I guess, not that they know that.

We push through the cameras after allowing them a few pictures of us, huddled together. The ice cold air conditioning on the train is a stark contrast to the blistering heat outside, one that is very welcome. Peeta leads me into the dining cart where a table is set up on the side with all sorts of snacks and drinks, while we wait for our actual meals. He pours me an ice cold sweet lemonade, something we have only had in the Capitol or on this very train, and gets both of us a finger sandwich, cucumber and something creamy, like a sweet cheese of some kind. I take both from him with a smile, which he returns as we sit on the couch area in the car.

Effie is looking at us excitedly but also like she is trying to decipher something about us. It’s not hard to imagine what she is curious about, which is the entire point.

“Okay!” Effie chirps excitedly, “I see you have already found the refreshment table, there will be meals here as well that are outlined on your schedules in your rooms, if you want to follow me to your quarters I can show you where they are and all of the amenities available to you. Only the best for my tributes, of course!” She beckons us along, her heels clicking on the floor as she strides towards the door.

Peeta and I take one last sip of our drinks and stuff our last bite of our sandwiches in our mouth, before following her to our rooms.

They are exactly the same as they were last time. The very confusing shower that I know Peeta still hasn’t quite figured out how to work properly, the hot and ice cold running water instead of the slightly less than lukewarm well water that we are used to, the piles of clothes there for us to use, in every color, style, and size imaginable, not to mention the huge bed with soft sheets and huge fluffy pillows and blankets soft as clouds. She tells us it is ours to do what we want with, whatever we see is for us to use. She points out our schedules, posted to the back of our doors, and bids us goodbye with a reminder to not be late for dinner.

After she turns her back on Peeta and I, Peeta quickly closes his door and crosses the hall, into my room, making sure he isn’t seen. I quickly shut my door after him, hiding him and I from sight.

We pretend to be looking around a little more and make our way into the bathroom, he examines the shower, turning it on full blast on “accident” and I do the same with the sink, completely drowning out all listening devices.

I turn around to face him only to find him right behind me, he pushes me up against the closed bathroom door, his lips finding mine like a heat seeking missile.

When we eventually part we are both breathing heavily.

“So, how do you think we did?” I ask him with a cheeky smile.

He rolls his eyes at me.

“I think we did exactly what we needed to do, now on to part two.” He says.

I groan. “Do we have to?” I ask him, not looking forward to this at all.

He nods empathetically, “I know this is gonna suck a lot more for you than for me but just think of the pain it will save us in the long run.” He says.

“Fine,” I sigh out, moving back into my actual room, leaving him to turn off the shower and the sink, well aware we are back to being listened to once again.

I go straight for the closet, as Peeta sneaks back across the hall, it has a touch pad built in with all the different clothing options, something I did not bother with last time.

I pick different clothes than I had two years ago. I pick out white flowing pants that cut off right above my ankle, and are tight fitted to my rear, something I know Peeta will love. Then I find a tight fitting green shirt that has huge puffy sleeves that puff out at my shoulders and then cinch back right at my wrists. I should probably pick out something more exciting but I can’t make myself do it, so this will have to work. I find a pair of heeled black leather boots as well. They aren't tall, coming to rest just an inch above my ankle, but the three inches it adds to my height is very welcome, as is how comfortable they are. I finish with a hair clip with a metal flower attached to it, as well as a few bracelets on my left wrist and I layer three different necklaces, all simple in design but when put together it looks good, simple but way better than the tee shirt and cargo pants I decided on last time.

I take my chosen items and I lay them on my bed. Now for the part I am dreading.

I prep.

I scrub myself down, using the gritty paste-like stuff that leaves my skin red and raw but soft as a baby, and then I do it again. I wash my hair twice with a shampoo that smells like honeysuckles and then I use the accompanying things that I honestly don’t even know what they do. There's like one I leave on for five minutes, that leaves my hair like silk, and there's another one that I put on my scalp that tingles and does something, and then there's one that I put on the ends of my hair that makes all the split ends go away, I think. I couldn’t tell you what they are called but I hate every second of it.

I even found a setting with this goo that removes all my hair where ever I put it. Why my prep team demanded I be waxed is a mystery because this stuff is so much easier and it doesn’t hurt! I am never getting waxed again.

I then scrub myself down one more time before getting out of the shower, smelling like my usual summer in the woods, with all the honeysuckles.

I use the electrical box to flash dry my hair and fix it, one press of a button and tada! Then I find the lotions and things. I apply the one scented like oranges, along with the leave in hair goo that also smells like oranges.

I put myself through the torture of tweezing my eyebrows, knowing I would rather that than wax, and I cut about half an inch off of my hair, something most Seam residents are good at doing for themselves.

I finish my preparation by cutting and cleaning my nails, hands and feet. I think that is all I can do by myself and I don’t even know if I’ve done everything else right, but I guess anything is better than nothing so I am not too worried about it.

I quickly slip into my chosen outfit and jewelry, including my mockingjay pin, clip the front pieces of my hair back, and walk out of my bathroom, only to find Peeta laying back in my bed, his hands resting behind his head with his eyes shut lazily, looking perfectly content and comfortable.

He looks good. A white collar shirt with a cream sweater over it and with a long black jacket on top of pressed brown pants, that make his behind look amazing, a pair of bright white socks that wrap around his ankle, and a shining pair of brown shoes that have obviously been shined just for this one look. A silver watch and a thumb ring completes his look. His hair falling in his natural curls over his forehead, just the way I like it.

He must hear the bathroom door open because he opens his eyes as I walk out.

He whistles. “Woah. You look beautiful,” he says, his eyes wide as they run over me.

I give him a little twirl, just for his viewing pleasure, a smirk on my face.

He gawks at me as I walk up to him, I reach up to push his bangs off his forehead giving him a little smile as I do.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” I say cheekily.

He holds his arm out for me to take. “Shall we?” He asks.

I take his arm and a deep breath.

“Lead the way.”

Chapter 9: Chapter IX

Chapter Text

He holds his arm out for me to take. “Shall we?” He asks.

I take his arm and a deep breath.

“Lead the way.”

Walking into the dining cart is always a joy and a misery, at the same time. Enough food to feed the entire district for multiple days, all for the four of us. IF we didn’t need to gain as much weight as possible, it would definitely be making me mad but as of right now I am just grateful it is here.

Dinner is supposed to start in the next hour, but Effie isn’t here yet, probably having something else in her schedule until then. Haymitch is probably getting piss drunk again, trying to forget our names before he even learns them. Because as he once said, “if I name tributes, I get attached.” Something I never really understood because he named me sweetheart immediately.

Peeta spots an attendant standing near the food table, obviously there for orders from the tributes for the kitchen.

“Hello,” Peeta greets with a smile.

The attendant nods back stoically.

“Could you please get both of us a protein shake or smoothie with peanut butter and maybe some oats and other proteins and healthy carbs?” Peeta asks politely.

The attendant's eyes widen at the request, obviously never having had one like it before. He just nods and moves out of the cabin, looking back at Peeta with a strange look as he leaves.

Peeta just smiles his lopsided goofy grin at me, and unknowingly makes my heart want to beat out of my chest.

“What?” He questions me, “I figured we need all the protein and carbs and things we could get while we are here, and to do that we are going to need to drink a lot of them.” He says, as if I didn’t already know our plan.

“Oh, I’m not mad, it’s just entertaining to see how other people react to your unparalleled sunshine,” I say with a teasing smile.

Peeta just rolls his eyes, though I see his grin go up slightly at the corners of his mouth even more. He then reaches out and grabs a plate from the buffet table, filling it with hummus and bread crisps, avocado mash and chips, and banana chips. All healthy and high caloric foods.

We share the plate as we wait for our protein drinks, well aware the two attendants at either end of the cabin are watching us closely, obviously confused and intrigued by our behavior towards each other.

The attendant brings our drinks a few minutes later and Peeta and I choke them down. Whatever they put in here doesn’t taste horrible but it isn’t necessarily good either, plus the texture is horrible. It is a thick paste that is difficult to suck up the straw but gritty and almost powdery once it hits your tongue, a weird combination for sure, but I know we need to get used to them now, we are going to be drinking them a lot before the games start.

Once we finish our drinks, we have forty five minutes until dinner. A time we spend just silently watching out of the windows as the world flies by, our knees pressed against one another and our pinkies linked between us on the couch, fully holding each other's hand would be too obvious.

Effie comes waltzing into the cabin exactly two minutes before dinner time.

“Oh! There you two are. I had looked for you in your rooms to make sure you are on time but I see you have enough manners to do that yourselves.” She chirps, obviously pleased and perfectly ignorant to how her comment actually sounded to us.

Peeta and I share a look, struggling to not laugh at having this version of Effie back.

Peeta stands up and offers me his hand to help me up as well, something that will both please Effie and plant another little seed into her head.

“Hello Ms. Trinket,” Peeta greets, “should we move over to the table or should we wait for Mr. Abernathy.”

Effie crinkles her nose, obviously not inclined to wait for our mentor.

“Oh, no need to wait for Haymitch, he should be on his way soon, and dear boy, there is no need for such formalities!” She walks over to the table, waving us with her. “I am here to help you, and I would prefer you call me Effie, just as I would prefer to call you both by your first names too, if you would also like that of course,” she goes on.

I smile at her, the perfect picture of politeness. “Thank you Effie, we would both like that as well.” I say as I sit down. Peeta had gestured to a chair for me but didn’t pull it out, that would've been too far.

“Wonderful,” she claps, “it’s decided then. Now, should we get started on dinner?” She snaps her fingers and attendants flood into the room with trays and drinks.

Each of us is presented with an appetizer and it is immediately apparent that Effie will get a different meal than us, something she looks confused by.

“You.” She points to an attendant, who immediately hurries over to see what is the matter, it is the same one that took our protein drink order earlier. “Why is my plate different from theirs? Mine looks correct as to the menu I was provided with earlier but theirs does not.” She looks at him for the answer, obviously not happy.

“I am sorry ma’am, we were given a request for a protein filled snack earlier by Mr. Mellark, we thought we would take the liberty to provide him, and in the interest of equality, Ms. Everdeen, a meal full of high protein and healthy fats, as per the request earlier.” He explains, looking at us as well during his answer.

“Oh!” Effie exclaims, looking at Peeta with a questioning glance, obviously wanting him to decide if he is mad or not.

“Sir,” Peeta begins, “thank you for taking that liberty and it is something I, and I believe Katniss,” he looks at me, and I just nod along with him, “really appreciates and is grateful for.” he finishes.

The attendant nods, “certainly, would you like all of your meals catered that way? Just so we can pass that along to the Tribute chef at the center.”

“Yes please,” I speak up, “I know I would like that and I know Peeta would as well.” I nod at the attendant.

The attendant looks surprised but bows slightly at the waist as he moves back into this position.

“Well, that is enlightening, tell me please what you two think of your dishes and why you specifically asked for this cuisine,” she takes a dainty bite of her food. The crunchy bread snapping as she bites though the thinly sliced meat, the creamy cheese, and the charred tomato on top.

Peeta and I take a bite of our food. We have crispy potatoes with some meat on them, then a layer of melted cheese with a dollop of what looks like cream on top and some chives.

We each take a bite and I almost make an inappropriate sound. This is really good, okay?! Don’t blame me.

We quickly swallow our food and I go in for another bite.

“This is really good,” Peeta says earnestly.

I nod along, feeling the meat practically fall apart in my mouth as the crispy potato crunches and the cream smooths everything out, a very good plate. Which both Peeta and I finished fully, not that it was super large anyway. We finished after Effie did, however both Peeta and I know that we need to take our time. Eating slowly and methodically should allow us to finish our food without throwing it all back up later.

Our next serving was soup, this time we all had the same one. It was very familiar and almost caused Peeta to laugh immediately as he saw my eyes light up. Yep, they had served us my favorite lamb stew.

If I thought the last meat was falling apart in my mouth, this one wouldn't even make it there before it fell apart.

It is easily still my favorite meal of all time.

The third course is a salad, a welcome refreshment after the heavy meal so far.

Mine and Peeta’s is mostly leafy greens, we have eggs crumbled on top, as well as some walnuts and some seeds of some sort. It is topped with cheese and then little cubes of ham and an oily but flavorful dressing. It is really good.

Effie’s looks completely different, her’s is different greens with cut up strawberries and almonds on top. It also has a darker dressing that she called Balsamic and another dressing that looked like pure olive oil.

Our main course is up next.

We all have almost the same main course, just slightly different for Effie.

We all have a chunk of pink fish, Salmon, with lemon circles baked with it and some green herbs.

Mine and Peeta’s is laying on whole wheat noodles with a green sauce, called pesto apparently, while Effie’s is laying on a grain she called quinoa. Effie also has a side of green beans while Peeta and I have roasted carrots, potatoes, and asparagus.

Peeta and I eat every bite of our food, though both of us are obviously slowing down even more, filling up on this wonderful and healthy food.

Thankfully all that is left is dessert, it is also something I am looking forward to and definitely don’t want to skip.

We all have pieces of rich cake. Effie has ice cream on top, obviously something light and whipped. Peeta and I’s ice cream almost has the same powdery taste as the drink from earlier so I know there is added protein in it. Something I need even if I don’t want it at this exact minute.

Once we finish every bite, it is time to watch the reapings.

I pay even closer attention this time, and I would like to say I have definitely improved my ability to read people over the last two years. I guess working with psychopaths one can never fully trust is actually good for something.

I can see the way Marvel raised his fist in the air in triumph at having been the volunteer though when he thought the camera wasn’t focused on him, he looked slightly nervous and unsure of himself. And I see the way Glimmer winks flirtily towards the cameras but she just looks young to me, even though she is the same age I should be.

I can see that Clove, for all her admittedly real and psychopathic energy, is also shaking slightly and looks tiny in her thin fifteen year old body next to the hulking Cato who is as arrogant as ever. So not resembling the young man crying as he accepted his fate, death for brainwashed glory, that he was on the top of the cornucopia that night, as mutt’s howled in the background and night surrounded us like a shroud. This Cato is viscous and ready, his muscles and size still as intimidating as they were the first time around, not to mention what I know is his berserker temper.

Almost every single tribute, other than the careers, looks panicked and resigned, like they have no hope left.

Foxface, or Finch, as I now know her name is, has a whirling behind her eyes that I can immediately recognize but even she doesn’t have much hope, for all her smarts is nothing against a trained career.

Rue’s mother and little siblings can be seen in the background crying. Her father obviously angry, his fists clenched beside him with another man holding his shoulder, likely holding him back from getting himself killed.

Thresh looks intimidating as hell and he knows it. His large frame is even bigger than Cato’s and next to Rue, it looks almost comical how large he is. His biceps are almost the size of her torso. I can see it though, the rage simpering underneath and as he looks at Rue I can see his eyes soften, he isn’t going to leave her behind.

I can see all of these things but the only thing I can think about tis he fact that all of these kids will be dead within the next three weeks, just like last time.

Finally District Twelve is up. They play it in full, with barely any cuts.

I see Prim’s face drain of all color, her blue eyes wide with obvious terror. Which is something Caesar comments on also.

I then see myself step through the pathway made by the other sixteen year old girls. I look calm, composed even, though you can see I am determined. I am on a mission to save Prim.

As Caesar puts it, I “look like a mama bear ready to protect her cub.” He has no idea how right he is.

As Prim is picked up and taken away by Gale they comment on his likeness to me and speculate on our family connection, whether he is a brother or a cousin. Usually I would be surprised by the Capitolites not automatically assuming boyfriends but I know Caesar will have seen these before, and will know what is coming up.

He skims over the salute, unsure why nobody is clapping, but can obviously tell it isn’t a good thing and doesn’t want to draw attention to the undertone of rebellion wound through the recording.

Peeta gets called and they split the screen in half, something they haven’t done for any of the other districts.

Peeta looks determined, just like I did when I volunteered, and I look broken. I thought I had done enough to hide how upset I was, but apparently everyone still knows my feelings before I do. It is clearly written across my face how much agony I am in.

Peeta looks at me, and I look at him, and that’s it. We don’t take our eyes off each other once. Something that is obvious and pointed out immediately by everyone’s favorite, and only, host.

They show our handshake, and zoom in on how we stay linked all the way into the justice building. Then after a few comments, they cut to us walking into the train, something they didn’t show for anybody else either.

They comment on how Peeta is slightly in front of me, our hands once again clasped together, how both of our faces are determined but both of us obviously in pain as well.

Caesar wonders out loud exactly what our relationship is, whether we are together or not. They really are setting up the star crossed lover’s thing again, something that can only work for Peeta and I.

I can see Effie look at us from her perch on her chair, but I just ignore it, not wanting to miss a minute of the reapings.

They spend a few more moments making comments about Peeta and I, but nothing more than speculation, and then Caesar proclaims that this should be “the best Hunger Games ever!”

When Effie goes to open her mouth after the HoloTV shuts off, she doesn’t even get to start her comment or ask her question.

Haymitch comes stumbling out of the door, “did I miss dinner?” Right on time. He once again falls right into his own puke.

I am definitely not helping clean him up. Peeta can do it again, and he does.

My boy with the bread is still too good for this hell of a world.

Chapter 10: Chapter X

Chapter Text

Haymitch comes stumbling out of the door, “did I miss dinner?” Right on time. He once again falls right into his own puke.

I am definitely not helping clean him up. Peeta can do it.

My boy with the bread is still too good for this hell of a world.

“So, what’s with y’all two?” Haymitch asks us at breakfast.

Peeta and I share a glance. Here we go.

Peeta is the one to take the lead, he was always the better liar.

“Nothing.” He says, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Haymitch looks at me, not believing the bullshit Peeta is feeding him.

“No, really,” I say, not sure how to chime in without looking super suspicious.

“Okay… I don’t believe you.” He points at Peeta. “You looked like you were going to punch somebody on the walk up to the train” he says confidently, “and you were holding his hand like you have been since you were born.” He looks at me.

“I can tell by lookin’ at ya that you're not from the same part of town so tell me for real. How do you know each other, and what are y’all? Because I know damn well there isn’t Seam and Merchie friends like that. Not without a reason anyway…” he trails off, looking at us appraisingly.

“Haymitch.” Peeta says seriously. “If you are trying to insinuate something, I wouldn’t.”

Haymitch outright laughs. “Are you threatening me boy?”

“No.” Peeta says, but he isn’t even trying to be convincing.

Haymitch raises an eyebrow, leaning forward in his chair like he is actually interested in us.

I wasn’t aware that Haymitch could move that fast but in the blink of an eye Haymitch is pulling his hand back to backhand Peeta.

I borrow my old trick. I pick up the knife next to my plate, this time I don’t slam it between his fingers. No, this time I turn my wrist and have it situated on the upper part of his arm. Peeta saw the back hand coming anyway and dodged the hit but I wasn’t about to sit there and let Peeta deal with it, plus I need Haymitch to actually try, just like last time.

“Woah ho ho,” Haymitch spits out sarcastically, “I have fighters this year huh?” He looks at me disparagingly, “though next time Sweetheart, go for the throat. The arm? Not gonna stop anybody in the games.”

This time it’s me who laughs without any humor, not moving the knife an inch.

“Why would I do that when I’m right over your brachial artery? A deep enough slice and you could bleed out in ninety seconds, or at least be unconscious in twenty or less.” I say condescendingly.

He looks at me in shock, his eyes flitting down to his arm in disbelief before turning to me with a raised eyebrow and an unvoiced question.

“My mom is Brigid or Bri Everdeen, the Seam’s best healer.” I say with a smirk, “you learn a few things.”

“I guess you do sweetheart. I guess you do, but can you do anything else with that knife?” He questions.

I just flip the knife in my hand, handing it handle first to Peeta with a smile. He takes the unweighted cutlery knife with barely contained glee. Weighing it up in his hands to get the weight distribution figured out.

Quick as a flash he turns and throws the knife across the train car. It hits smack dab in the middle of the far wall, in between two wooden panels, but he meant to put it there this time.

Haymitch looks between both of us in disbelief. I smile at him, picking up his knife and licking the sweet orange marmalade off the blade before once again handing it to Peeta. Who takes it with a cocky grin.

“Over or under?” Peeta asks our mentor.

“What the hell,” Haymitch throws his hands up, “over.”

Peeta throws the knife once again with startling accuracy, the blade embedding in between the panels an inch above the last knife.

Haymitch looks at us like we are mythical creatures.

“Okay.” He shakes his head to rid him of his stupor. “What do you do then Sweetheart? If he is the knife thrower.”

I laugh.

“Nothing I can show you here, and I’d really rather it not get out,” I consider him for a second. “Did you know my father? Arden Everdeen?” I raise my eyebrow, most people in Twelve knew my father. Especially somebody from the Seam and is around the same age that he would have been.

Haymitch stops suddenly and his Seam gray eyes grow wide.

“Arden Everdeen? Could out sing the wind?” he says with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s him,” I say.

“Let me guess…” Haymitch drawls, “singing isn’t the only talent you’ve learned from him?”

I grin. “Nope.” I pop the ‘P.’

“Okay.” Haymitch runs his hand over his face tiredly. “Here’s what's gonna happen. You don’t interfere with my drinking, and I’ll stay sober enough to help you,” says Haymitch. “But you have to do exactly what I say.”

Peeta and I nod. Haymitch does his full evaluation, looking surprised at the shape we were in, it is obvious both of us aren’t ‘one day away from dying’ thin, a common occurrence in Twelve, and that we both have decent musculature, Peeta better than me though, obviously. Plus as he says “once the stylists get hold of you, you’ll be attractive enough.” Overall, the best evaluation we could have gotten from our gruff mentor.

“Now, back to the original question, don’t think I forgot,” even with a debilitating hangover, Haymitch is still sharp as a tack, “what is going on between y’all two?” He is getting exasperated now.

“Haymitch, we are telling the truth, nothing is going on between us,” I say, rolling my eyes, a little dramatic but I am sixteen, or eighteen depending how you look at it, but either way it is appropriate in this instance.

Haymitch looks at me, “Okay Sweetheart,” there it is, “I don’t believe you but if that’s the story you guys want to push, I’ll bite.”

All of a sudden the room goes dark. We are in the tunnel on the way into the Capitol. Peeta and I share a look. Showtime.

He reaches his left hand out towards me, and I grab it immediately, something that causes Haymitch to roll his eyes and mutter under his breath… “nothing my ass.”

Peeta guides me away from our grumbling mentor and towards the windows. The train platform filled to the brim with Capitolites in bright outfits and crazy wigs. All the different colors nearly blinding just emerging from out of the tunnel.

They scream when they see us and point at our interlocked hands. Nearly crying from emotion and overstimulation.

We finally pull into the station and Effie drags us towards the doors, fussing over our outfits for a minute or so, though I see her giving us strange looks as she takes them in.

Yep. We’re matching.

Peeta is in pressed khaki pants, and his ass looks amazing in them might I add, with a white button down. His watch and thumb ring once more in place. However with this blonde tousled hair, his clear blue eyes, and the way the shirt is buttoned, or isn’t buttoned I should say, he looks the perfect combination of poised and mischievous. It is made better by the fact that resting on his head is a dark pair of sunglasses, obviously expensive ones that match his black belt. He looks like he is on vacation to visit Finnick in District Four or something. It will definitely make the Capitol girls drool all over him.

I meanwhile am in a long white skirt, with a large slit up the side, allowing you to see the shorts built into the skirt, that both make my legs look longer and cling tight to my ass. My black belt matches Peeta’s exactly. On top I have a plain black long sleeve shirt but it is skin tight and clings to everything, so much so I couldn’t even wear a bra with it. My hair is in loose waves over my shoulders and I have on minimal jewelry, but enough that the Capitolites will be satisfied. My makeup isn’t heavy either, the only thing standing out is my bold red lip, something that makes my teeth look insanely white and balances nicely against my olive toned skin. Another pair of hideously expensive sunglasses rest on my head.

We look like a couple, especially with me on his arm, which is entirely the point. We smile and wave on our short walk to the car, the barricades in place barely doing their job against the surges of the crowd but they make it until we reach the car. Peeta opens the door for me and helps me in, something which causes many “aww’s” to ring out across the terminal.

I slip in quickly and scoot to the middle seat to make room for Peeta. Once we get in the car we are quickly leaving the platform and on our way to the remake center.

When we arrive we amaze our prep teams.

They chatter excitedly about our fashion sense. Peeta decides to give all the credit to me, something which is definitely not true but I can’t say that unless we want to wreck our plan so I just make a mental note to return the favor at a later point.

When one of Peeta’s team leans over to smell him, which… weird, he trills even higher, talking about how Peeta smells like vanilla and some type of wood. Then when Flavius leans over to smell me I know he gets hit with honeysuckles and oranges, something that has him twittering back at his colleague, his bright orange hair lighting him up like a mine lamp because of the hot summer sun shining through it and his purple lipstick covered lips pulled tight with the size of his smile.

They quickly lead us into our separate rooms, causing us to let go of each other’s hands, drawing attention to the fact we were linked together at all in the first place. Let’s just say that the two teams were gobsmacked and had many questions for us, questions that were left unanswered.

Our time spent in the remake center was easily cut by more than half.

They questioned me excessively about the lack of body hair and I told them about the goop I used on the train, something they praised me for, apparently it lasts longer than even the torture that is waxxing so I am all for the easier painless method. Why I need to get rid of my hair in the first place is a mystery to me but if I have to get rid of it, I am not going to sit in pain for multiple hours while they do it.

They took tweezers to my eyebrows, apparently I hadn’t done enough, but I think they assumed my eyebrows were naturally like this because when I walked in they praised me for it, something I still don't understand either. Why are they complimenting me for the way my body naturally grows hair? It's not even true, I just didn't tell them I had already plucked them on the train.

The longest part of getting me to beauty base zero was my hair and nails. Something I can actually put up with. I am so used to Prim braiding my hair in crazy ways that I barely even notice when they start on it. My fingernails are annoying because I can’t use my hands but my feet are fine, because I am sitting down anyway.

So all in all, getting to beauty base zero had taken MUCH less time than it had the first time around and now I am sitting to “meet” Cinna.

I am sitting on the table in my paper robe, I had immediately put it on when my team dropped me off, and waiting for Cinna to walk in the door. I don’t know how I’ll react to seeing him but I know I need to act naturally, I can’t act too sad or excited. So I decide on what I do best, slightly cynical and very guarded.

The sight of Cinna’s signature gold eyeliner is a healing salve on my soul. It really is him, back alive once again.

“Hello, Katniss. I’m Cinna, your stylist,” his half Capitol accent soothing me immediately.

“Hello.” I answer him, not unfriendly but definitely guarded. Not because I don’t trust him, but because I don’t trust myself not to give anything away.

“I am so sorry to ask this, I know you’re probably overwhelmed, but will you please take off your robe and let me focus for a bit?” He asks with an apologetic smile.

I nod at him, untying the weird paper like belt and laying the robe on the table behind me.

He says a quiet thank you and then goes off in his own head. I have been around him as he is designing enough to know he is memorizing measurements off the top of his head and seeing a vision nobody else can. It actually is amazing how he works.

He returns to the front of me and looks me in the eyes as he talks to me, something rare for Capitol people from my experience.

“Can I ask you who did your hair for the reaping? It was perfectly lined up for your face and very symmetrical, beautiful work.” He gestures around my face, framing it with his fingers.

I give him a small smile. “My mother did. My family is known for braids at home,” I tell him before I look at him with a false confused expression, “you’re new, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” I say.

“Yes, this is my first year in the Games, ” says Cinna.

“So they gave you District Twelve, ” I say.

“I asked for District Twelve, ” he says without further explanation. “Why don’t you put on your robe and we’ll have a chat.”

He leads me into the sitting room attached to the remake room. It isn’t sunny enough in the room for it to be lunch time but Cinna doesn’t hesitate as he sits down and presses the button on the table.

A feast comes from the table. I remember last time thinking how difficult it would be to remake this meal at home. It would be impossible now. There are two feasts on the table, my protein heavy weight gaining meal and Cinna’s indulgent not-quite-lunch.

I am offered another protein drink, this time it isn’t peanut butter but a chocolate one with a nutty flavor. I much prefer this one, even if it still has the powdery gritty texture.

Along with my drink, I am offered two different beverages, a tall cold glass of water and some kind of juice, the card leaning against it says it is strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, something called raspberries, and cranberries, with added vitamin C and other supplements. I take a tentative sip and I have to stop myself from chugging the glass, it is so good. Sweet and refreshing.

For my food I am offered pasta. They are shaped in little pockets filled with cheese and meat, I think it is beef. It is in a green cream sauce, it tastes somewhat like the pesto that was on the noodles last night, but a lot creamier, something I enjoy. There is a green leafy vegetable in the sauce along with my noodles that has been cooked down, I think it is called spinach, along with popped tomatoes. There is a salad to the side on another plate that is simple, just greens, cheese, a white dressing that I don’t know the name of, and croutons.

There is a large serving of fancy rolls, shaped like flowers, in the middle of the table that I assume are for Cinna and I to share.

Cinna has the meal I remember from last time, chicken and oranges in a cream sauce with an unnaturally white grain, as well as peas and onions.

We both have a single serving of pudding, but I can already imagine mine will have more protein in it than his will. If his serving has any at all anyway.

Cinna looks at me with a questioning look, obviously wondering why our meals are different.

“Oh. Peeta and I are trying to gain weight before the games, so on the train we asked for a protein drink and then we were asked if we would like all of our meals to be altered for that goal, we accepted.” I say as I lay my napkin over my lap and gather my utensils. My mother taught Prim and I formal dining etiquette when we were little, something that has definitely come in handy, even if I hated every second of it back then.

Cinna looks at me surprised but nods his head at me in understanding. We each eat a few bites before Cinna wipes his mouth and looks at me once again.

“So, Katniss, about your costume for the opening ceremonies. My partner, Portia, is the stylist for your fellow tribute, Peeta. And our current thought is to dress you in complementary costumes, ” says Cinna. “As you know, it’s customary to reflect the flavor of the district.”

Here it comes… I smirk to myself but outwardly keep my face slightly disappointed.

“So, I’ll be in a coal miner outfit?” I ask.

“Not exactly. You see, Portia and I think that coal miner thing’s very overdone. No one will remember you in that. And we both see it as our job to make the District Twelve tributes unforgettable, ” says Cinna.

At least I know I won't be naked and covered in black glitter.

“So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we’re going to focus on the coal,” says Cinna. “And what do we do with coal? We burn it.”

I look at him with a raised eyebrow, my lips barely turned up at the corners as I know what he is about to say…

“You’re not afraid of fire, are you, Katniss?” He sees my expression and grins.

Chapter 11: Chapter XI

Chapter Text

“So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we’re going to focus on the coal,” says Cinna. “And what do we do with coal? We burn it.”

I look at him with a raised eyebrow, my lips barely turned up at the corners as I know what he is about to say…

“You’re not afraid of fire, are you, Katniss?” He sees my expression and grins.

I’m in a simple black unitard that covers me from ankle to neck. Shiny leather boots lace up to my knees. But it’s the fluttering cape made of streams of orange, yellow, and red and the matching headpiece that define this costume.

I am, once again, about to be the Girl on Fire.

I still believe Cinna is a complete madman, my time with him has just proven that ten fold. Though that madness is perfectly mixed with his genius, or maybe his genius comes from the madness I’m not sure but I do know that he has once again made me into the girl on fire, someone to never be forgotten.

Cinna leads me to the chariot and I see Peeta coming towards me, his eyes roaming up my body with a smirk as he walks towards me. When he finally reaches my face I give him an eye roll, he just grins at me.

“What do you think about the fire?” He whispers, obviously aware we are being listened to.

“I’ll rip off your cape if you rip off mine.” I say back teasingly.

“Deal,” he moves a stray braid behind my ear, “I care more about you anyway.”

I feel my breath leave me, even after all this time I still can’t believe how much this man loves me. I’m just happy that I can say I love him back the same way.

“Yeah? Well, you matter more to me so that works out.” I answer back cheekily but truthfully.

He grins at me.

He chances a quick look around and we can both see a few people looking at us interested. In how close we are standing together, in what we are saying, in why we are laughing and smiling. It is definitely a big difference to all of the scared kids surrounding us, or the careers who are so focused they almost look mad.

He looks at me cheekily, “so… should we avoid Haymitch?”

I narrow my eyes at him, I know exactly where he is going with this, “definitely. He should never be around an open flame.”

Once again we can feel people staring due to our laughter.

Just like last time, the music drowns out our laughter and all the whispering around us. All the tributes hop into their chariots and the designers and prep teams twitter around and do last minute touch ups. A bit of lip stick there, an adjustment of a strap there, Rue gets her hair fluffed, Thresh gets more body oil rubbed on his giant arm.

Eventually, District Ten is pulling out into the circle and Peeta and I are rapidly coming up on our turn.

Rue and Thresh are just pulling out when Cinna comes up to Peeta and I with a lit torch. The fire twinkling brightly but without any heat.

“Here we go then,” he says, and before we can react he sets our capes on fire.

Peeta and I grin at each other as we feel the slight tingle of the fake fire on our backs.

Cinna climbs up before us and ignites our headdresses. He lets out a sigh of relief. “It works.” Then he gently tucks a hand under my chin.

“Remember, heads high. Smiles. They’re going to love you!” Cinna jumps off the chariot, and before he can tell us to hold hands, we already are.

He gives us one final grin upon seeing our hands clasped and turns around to go to his seat, ready for his moment on the big screen as we are sent out into the circle.

The crowd’s initial alarm at our appearance quickly changes to cheers and shouts of “District Twelve!” Every head is turned our way, pulling the focus from the chariots ahead of us.

I know that will make us targets, but both of us can deal with that, what we need though is sponsors so it’s time to play it up.

We blow kisses and send smiles across the way, we catch roses and we never let go of the other for even a second.

Peeta adjusts his grip halfway through and raises our hands high above our heads, I just smile at him as he looks down at me and for just a moment all of this disappears. I am just looking into his blue eyes, sparkling with mischief and fun. The glow of the fire causes his blonde hair to look like a halo around his head. It takes everything in me not to kiss him but I manage to hold myself together well, but I definitely look at his lips for too long, trying to control the urge.

We are pulling up to the end of the tribute parade and Peeta and I lower our hands, but we do not let go of the other.

Here comes the moment I’ve been dreading. The first time I see our President since our return. He was revolting before this, but coming back after everything has doubled the disgust and loathing I feel since coming back, since seeing my little sister once again starved, once again panicked and white faced as her name is called from the reaping ball.

His snake eyes and his puffy lips, his low and slow voice that grates on every single nerve in my body. I don’t listen to a single word he says, I don’t particularly care what he says.

His speech takes us past sunset and Peeta and I are once again the center of attention. Our glowing costumes drawing everyone’s eye in the low light, both sponsors and other tributes alike. Finally the anthem ends, The Gem of Panem, and we are once more taken around the city center and led into the tribute center.

The doors have only just shut behind us when we’re engulfed by the prep teams, who are nearly unintelligible as they babble out praise. Then Cinna and Portia are there, helping us down from the chariot, carefully removing our flaming capes and headdresses. Portia extinguishes them with some kind of spray from a canister.

Everyone is still staring at us and at Cinna and Portia, jealousy written plainly across their faces.

Peeta and I let go of one another's hands just for him to sweep me into a hug, both of our faces alight, not with fire but with happiness and pride. He wraps his arms completely around me and lifts me off the ground, spinning me in a circle. We did it again, we are once again the only ones that people will remember.

When he lets me down I just stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. He gives me a kiss on the forehead in return and offers me his arm, something I take as we make our way to the elevators.

Cinna and Portia, along with our prep teams, break off from us before we get to the elevator, leaving us walking with Effie. Haymitch is either talking to sponsors or passed out drunk in his room, there is no in between.

The only problem I have with Cinna and Portia leaving is that we are left with this Effie. This Effie is a world away from our Effie. Our Effie cared about us as people, and helped us even with tremendous danger and loss to herself, but this Effie is not her. This Effie sees us as a career advancement opportunity, she sees us as entertainment. She doesn’t see us as ”her kids” anymore. She sees us as tributes.

“Of course, Haymitch hasn’t bothered to tell me your strategies. But I’ve done my best with what I had to work with. How Katniss sacrificed herself for her sister. How you’ve both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your district.” Exhibit one.

“Everyone has their reservations, naturally. You being from the coal district. But I said, and this was very clever of me, I said, ‘Well, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls!’” Exhibit two.

“Unfortunately, I can’t seal the sponsor deals for you. Only Haymitch can do that, ” says Effie grimly. “But don’t worry, I’ll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary.” This is the only part of this conversation that reminds me of our Effie, while our Effie would do that for us, this Effie is doing it for herself, but either way the determination is exactly the same, so it is a comforting balm anyway.

Another comfort is how our floor in the original tribute center is exactly the same. It is significantly less fancy than our one for the quell, because of how they built it especially for the event, but I prefer this one. This one is where Peeta and I first started to get to know each other, plus Peeta was never held captive here.

Our rooms are exactly the same, the furniture is set up identically, it is much more comforting having already been here than it was the first time. The first time I was so overwhelmed with all of the technology and how fancy it was. Even the unnecessarily complicated shower brings comfort as well as lasting confusion. Seriously, I don’t think either Peeta or I will ever figure it out completely.

I wash myself clean of all of the makeup and everything and I slip into comfortable clothes, a little nicer than I would normally go for but still comfortable.

I hurry along because I don’t want to be separated from Peeta more than I have to, especially in the Capitol.

We end up coming out of our rooms at the same time.

I am dressed in comfortable and soft but tight fitting black plants, and a brown long sleeve tee shirt that hugs my form, a sweater thrown over it in a cream color, my hair left loose in waves around my face which is free of makeup. My feet in comfortable shoes and plain black socks.

Peeta comes out in gray pants and a blue long sleeve shirt that makes his eyes shine a brilliant bright blue. His feet in comfortable shoes and I see a peek of white socks on his feet, a watch once again on his wrist. His curly hair falls over his forehead, just the way I like it, and he looks so soft and comfortable.

He gives me his crooked smile that he reserves only for me and offers me his arm, something I take with a relish as he walks towards the dining room, hungry and ready for supper.

All of our team is sitting at the table when we walk in. They turn to look at us as we walk in, obviously talking about us and I’m assuming our strategies.

Dinner is amazingly normal. Haymitch is hungover and grouchy, Effie is in raptures over one thing or another, Cinna is a strong and steady presence, calming in his effects, and Portia is excited about our showing earlier and has a constant smile on her face.

Peeta and I’s meal, according to the cards set up when they are delivered, is a red pepper and tomato soup with cheesy croutons, a chicken caesar salad, steak with mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts, and Peeta and I split something called a chocolate chip cookie skillet with protein ice cream. Our dessert is one of my favorite things I have ever had. I am going to get Peeta to make me them once we get home, along with his cheese buns. Mmm.

Everyone else has a different meal, mushroom soup, bitter greens with tomatoes the size of

peas, rare roast beef sliced as thin as paper, cheese that melts on your tongue served with sweet blue grapes.

The adults are all drinking wine but Peeta and I stick with water and coconut water.

Lavinia serves the group the fiery dessert once again and this time I can see in her eyes that she knows who I am. I don’t speak up this time and alert anyone to my knowing of her, but I do send her a few looks throughout the meal that I know she picks up on. My apologies and sadness at what happened. She sends me reassuring looks and they're almost dismissive in nature. At least I know she holds me no ill will.

The fire burns off the spirits and even though Peeta and I have a separate dessert, we both take a few bites of the crystallized sweet.

After we finish our second dessert, we move into the screening room to watch the replay of the opening ceremonies. A few of the other couples make a nice impression, but none of them

can hold a candle to us. Even our own party lets out an “Ahh!” as they show us coming out of the Remake Center.

There are so many comments about our linked hands once again. Especially compared to the other couples, standing stiffly apart, never touching or acknowledging each other, as if their fellow tribute did not exist, as if the Games had already begun.

All of our party looks over to us and I know we aren’t getting away with not explaining more tonight. We are gonna have to come forward about some aspect of our relationship, lets just hope this goes as smoothly as planned.

“So,” Cinna starts, “I think we made a splash, or a spark as it were.” Everyone laughs but nobody is fooled by the joke, there are questions and everyone wants answers.

“I agree,” Haymitch says gruffly as he leans back against the couch, “so, I told you I wouldn’t pry on the train. I still won't but we need to go over strategies and I don’t think you'll just follow along with what I tell you,” he specifically looks at me, “so I’m not even going to try, just tell me how we’re playing it and I’ll do my best to make it workable.”

Peeta and I share a look, communicating effectively without saying a word. I nod, his hand flicks subtly and both of our eyes narrow and widen as we figure out what to say exactly, our eyebrows moving along with our unspoken words. Eventually Peeta and I tear our eyes from one another just to see that everyone else is either staring at us or exchanging glances.

“Haymitch,” Peeta starts, “have you ever told everyone the differences between Merchies and Seam?”

We obviously startled Haymitch with the question.

“No boy,” he says, “I’ve never had the need to.”

Peeta nods, looking at the confused face of our escort and our stylists.

“In Twelve there are Merchies, or children of the Merchants, or Seam kids, children of the miners.” He explains to nods from the room. “Let’s just say that nobody crosses town lines. It is actually so looked down upon that when Katniss’ mother married a miner, she was disowned and outcast. Nobody from town would ever even acknowledge her existence if she wasn’t the best healer in Twelve.”

I can see their confusion.

“So, everyone here knows I am obviously not from town if my mother was disowned, and Peeta is the baker’s son so obviously he is from town.” I say. “You could see how we could never be friends or interact or anything because of that.”

They look even more confused.

“You two are obviously comfortable with one another though, so…” Cinna trails off.

Peeta and I laugh

“Yes, we are.” I say.

“I know it doesn’t make sense but I have known her since we were five, on the first day of school.” Peeta smiles at me, imagining mini-me with two braids and a red plaid dress.

“Then I have known Peeta since we were eleven.” I say to even more confused looks.

“We had never interacted until age eleven and nobody knew about our interaction then, hell nobody else besides us two know, but even then we were never seen together until about seven months ago.” I say, hoping they will gloss over and not ask for more details.

“So, why do you know each other and how does this help your strategies?” Effie asks, truly confused but obviously interested.

“Well, our strategy is going to depend on what we want the outcome to be,” he looks at me, “something we can’t agree on.”

I roll my eyes.

“I want to save her, and she wants to save me,” Peeta says to nods, they were already expecting that answer.

“So, I say the best luck we will have is if we help one another to the end, and circumstances are obviously going to play a major role in deciding who will come home,” I say.

They nod.

“So, both of you together? Do you want to be trained together or separately? I’m assuming together but I’m required to ask.” Haymitch says.

“We will train and do everything together, we don’t have any secrets to keep,” Peeta answers.

“I agree, we couldn’t interact much so just being aware of the other is something both of us are incredibly good at, I know most of his strengths and he knows mine.” I say decisively.

They nod, still not understanding fully but we were vague on purpose, at least they know we are a team now.

“Okay kids, go to bed. We will discuss this more in the morning but you have training tomorrow and need to sleep.” Haymitch waves us away. “Go on, get.”

Peeta and I take each other's hand and walk towards our rooms, getting around the corner before we stop and turn around.

“Haymitch,” Portia starts, “they’re both dead set on getting the other home, that's not good. If one comes back without the other, they’ll not be okay.” She finishes at a whisper.

It's silent for a second. I can imagine Effie tearing up and Haymitch running his hand down his face.

“I know. There’s nothing we can do about that though, if we can get one out then that's the goal.” He answers.

“Oh, poor darlings!” Effie cries out. “I wish there was a way both of them could be together, but sadly that's not possible.”

Peeta and I share a look, we need Haymitch to step in for this to work.

“You're right, there’s never been two victors before…” Haymitch trails off and it’s like I can hear him thinking out loud.

“The gamemakers would never allow that to happen.” Cinna points out.

“Not unless it would make great television and help the Games sponsorship and get the Capitolites excited…. Increased viewership, more money, higher ratings…'' Haymitch says quietly, so quiet we almost can't hear him from where we are eavesdropping.

It’s silent for a minute as they all take in his words.

“So that's what we do right, even if it doesn’t get them both out, it’ll increase the likelihood of sponsors and money.” Cinna says.

“Okay. So from here on out we play up the love card. Those two kids can’t be let in on it though, this will have to be subtle. I don’t think either of them could lie worth a damn, maybe the boy but not when it comes to his feelings for that girl. The girl is just hopeless anyway.” Haymitch says.

I have to hold back my offended scoff, Peeta just has to hold back his laughter.

They start to quietly plan between themselves, Portia and Cinna discussing outfits and other tactics. Effie offers input as to how things would come across but Haymitch is the brains behind this, almost every single good idea comes out of his mouth.

Peeta and I don’t stay for too long after that, they bought our lies, take that Haymitch, and they already have the seeds planted for a double extraction from the arena. I don’t think that could have gone better.

Peeta and I thought about going up to the roof, but it’s late and today has taken a lot out of both of us. Instead he looks both ways in the hallway to make sure we're alone, gives me a quick peck, and goes into his room, closing the door with a silent “I love you” passing through his lips.

I slip into my room, finish my nightly routine, and get into the massive bed with the satin sheets, a smile on my face the whole time. I hope to have a good night’s sleep because I know tomorrow is going to be rough, but I’ll have my Peeta with me so I know we’ll get through it. Together.

Chapter 12: Chapter XII

Chapter Text

I slip into my room, finish my nightly routine, and get into the massive bed with the satin sheets, a smile on my face the whole time. I hope to have a good night’s sleep because I know tomorrow is going to be rough, but I’ll have my Peeta with me so I know we’ll get through it.

Together.

Nightmares have haunted me ever since my father died in the mines, and they only got worse after Prim’s name was drawn from the reaping ball. Every subsequent hardship has added more and more into my subconscious and has been repeated on a cycle in my dreams since. Today, I woke up drenched in sweat with a scream right on the tip of my tongue, but it hadn't been let out. I don’t remember what this particular nightmare was, but it puts me in a bad mood before I even get out of bed.

I wish Peeta could hold me through them just like those nights on the victory tour, those were the best nights of sleep I’ve had since I was eleven. Somehow his presence silences my subconscious and allows me to get a full night’s rest, something that I desperately need before, once again, entering the arena to fight for my life.

I just sigh and head to take a long hot shower, one of the only luxuries from the Capitol I fully embrace at all times, not just out of necessity and circumstance. The warm rain feels like it washes all of my fears and distress. I need to be focused. Today is the first day of tribute training and Peeta and I need to be prepared for anything.

So I get dressed into the training clothes, tight black pants, a long-sleeved burgundy tunic, and leather shoes, the same as last time and I also know I will be matching with Peeta, and I head towards breakfast after putting my hair in its signature braid.

Peeta, Haymitch, and Cinna are already at the table and I see Portia coming from around the opposite corner.

Haymitch is eating potato hash and Cinna has a cup of black coffee along with a plate of fruit and sausages.

Peeta has a large breakfast. Three eggs, four strips of bacon, two sausages, 2 pieces of toast with avocado mash and caramelized onions on top, then he has a smaller bowl filled with a white goop, apparently called greek yogurt, with bananas, strawberries, and some hard oat clusters. Beside him sits a glass of juice and a protein drink.

I quickly claim the seat next to him and almost immediately an identical breakfast is laid before me by an avox.

I quickly jump into breakfast as I know as soon as Effie gets here, it will be time to head down to the gym.

I just finished my eggs and as I am about to start on my yogurt, Haymitch finishes his meal with a long pull of his drink, which I am assuming has spirits in it based on the way he relishes it.

“Okay kids.” He starts, “here is how I want today to go.”

Peeta and I look at him expectantly.

“You two are not to leave each other's side,” he says before continuing at a mumble, “not that I expect you too anyway.”

Peeta and I both have to hide our smirks, yeah fat chance of that.

“You are going to go to ALL, and I do mean ALL of the stations,” he says seriously. “However, and this is important so get it through your thick skulls, you are NOT to go to the stations that can showcase your talents.”

He looks at Peeta.

“No knives, and watch yourself on the weights also.” He points straight at him, making sure he knows to follow the instructions.

He looks at me next.

“You already know what to stay away from sweetheart, and trust me I will be plenty pissed if you disobey instructions.” He sneers.

“Noted.” I retort dryly.

He rolls his eyes.

“Learn to tie some knots, throw a spear, climb a rope, hell I don't care what you do, just learn something useful, don’t give anything away, and stay together.” He finishes strongly.

Effie comes waltzing in at that moment and I abandon my table manners to stuff the last three bites of yogurt in my mouth.

Peeta offers me his arm as we walk to the elevators. During the ride I switch to holding his hand and he gives mine a reassuring squeeze as the door opens to the training center, once again set up for all the stations.

The first station I see is the ropes course, it is huge and takes up most of the ceiling as well as one of the walls and a corner.

The second is the archery, knife throwing, spear throwing, slingshots and trident throwing station set up with multiple dummies and different lines set at different distances.

Third is the weights, set up just beside the ropes course, there are a bunch of different equipment and weights that range many different sizes and shapes.

Four, hand to hand combat and group training area. For hand to hand a large mat set in the center of the room, where I know trainers will be placed in case anybody wants to wrestle, box, or just try something out. The group training area is set up right now as extra hand to hand, however it will change each day for our group training session depending on what they plan to do.

Then in the far back right hand corner are the food stations, edible plants and edible insects.

To the right in the front are the survival stations, namely fire starting, shelter building, hammock and basket weaving, camouflage, and knots or snares depending on your skill level.

Then finally in the front left are the close up or melee weapons, swords, daggers and knives, tridents, maces, axes, scythes, clubs, and spears.

So all in all, especially to someone who hasn’t seen it before, this place is intimidating and downright terrifying. Truly a nightmare and an eye opener for most tributes.

I finish taking everything in and I once again notice that we are the last one here, even though we were even earlier than last time.

Everyone is looking at us, because we are last, yes, but mostly because we are the only pair dressed alike, and we are once again holding hands even as we get our district numbers pinned to our shirts.

As soon as we join the circle, the head trainer, a tall, athletic woman named Atala steps up and begins to explain the training schedule. I tune her out though, focused on the reactions of the people around us.

Cato is flexing and focusing on the boy from Seven, frightening him beyond reason. Clove is staring at Atala with rapt attention, while Glimmer picks at her nails and adjusts her hair. Marvel is checking out the girl from District Ten in a frankly disgusting manner. Rue is listening to Atala also but she looks overwhelmed even if she keeps looking up at the ropes course on the ceiling, obviously excited to get up there. Thresh is just brooding, his large arms crossed as he looks almost bored. Foxface is looking at all the stations contemplating, I'm not sure what but I can almost see her brain running behind her intelligent amber eyes. So, all in all, not a huge surprise but still I feel the need to be aware of everybody else, just to make sure Peeta and I aren’t ambushed somehow.

The careers once again pull the intimidation act when we are released. Clove heading straight for the knife throwing, Marvel moves to the spears, Glimmer goes to the archery station - wow that girl can't shoot worth a damn - Cato heads straight for the sword trainer.

Everyone else kinda scatters like the wind. Rue heads towards the ropes course, Thresh goes towards the fire station. Everyone else converges on either the weights, the edibles, or the melee weapons.

Peeta starts leading me towards the knot station.

The instructor once again looks surprised to see us.

“Hi!” He says almost excitedly.

“Hello,” Peeta greets back, “so what can you show us?” He gives the instructor one of his sunshine smiles.

“We can start with some basic knots or if you already have some knowledge you can tell me what you already know and we can take it from there…” he trails off.

Peeta looks at me with a raised eyebrow and we both turn to the snare wire in front of us. The trainer looks surprised but he doesn't stop us.

Peeta demonstrates a squirrel snare and I show him one I generally use for rabbits. He looks at us with wide eyes. Peeta and I just dismantle our snares and show one more each. I show the one I ironically learned from him, the one that causes your enemies to dangle by their ankle, and Peeta shows him a double spring snare trap. Peeta is better at snares than I am, his artistic view and nimble fingers, used to working with sticky dough, are far superior compared to my small hands, even if I can do a lot of the little detail work required for the more difficult snares.

The instructor barely knows what to do with us. He decides to show us a few knots that would be good to review or go over. Basic ones that everybody should know, and one or two pretty complicated ones but otherwise I think we were a bit out of his wheelhouse so we swiftly moved on to the next station. Fire making.

Thresh had thankfully left while we were tying knots, so we have the station to ourselves for the moment. The instructor comes over with a box of matches, obviously thinking of starting easy when Peeta and I move in sync. He collects the large wood pieces, while I gather kindling and a good stick.

We move with practiced ease and quickly start a fire with just the wood.

The instructor can’t believe her eyes, she’s rubbed them three or four times, obviously thinking herself hallucinating. There's no way we should have been able to start a fire this quickly and get it burning this well. She’s not wrong, but it is funny how our previous experience is baffling the trainers, it is really taking a lot out of me not to laugh at them. Their preconceived notions about District Twelve are being sorely tested today and I can only imagine what they're thinking.

She quickly moves on to the girl from District Three and leaves us to dump water over our roaring fire.

Our next stop is edible plants. It’s crazy how many hints are offered at training about where we are headed. All of the berries and insects are common in temperate forests, just like the surroundings in Twelve. Needless to say Peeta and I pass with flying colors. I just barely managed to beat Peeta but honestly he did so much better than he had the first time, I just have more practice. Lots more practice. The trainer waves us off after we take the exam, not seeing a need to talk to us about it but Peeta and I head towards her anyway. We have a few questions.

“Hello,” she greets us curiously. “Can I help you? You seem proficient, more than even…” she trails off.

“Yes, actually,” I say with a smile I don’t totally feel but I know looks genuine enough. “Can you tell us medical properties of the different flora and edibles? My mom is a healer and has used some herbal remedies, I was just wondering what you could tell us?” I finish at a whisper, not wanting to be overheard even if we are the only ones here at the moment.

The instructor looks surprised and genuinely delighted to be asked.

“Yes actually, it’s not my expertise but I could tell you quite a few. Is there anything in particular you would like to know?” She asks politely.

“I was mostly wondering about battling infection and anti-inflammatories, maybe even fevers or the like.” Peeta jumps in, all smiles, as if this isn’t life or death, just a friendly chat.

“Echinacea is a good thing to look for and it grows wild, it can help infections of small scrapes and in the past different groups have even used it to treat poisonous snake bites,” my skin crawls at the thought of snakes, too much like our dear old president, “not to mention yarrow is amazing for bruising and inflammation, as well as bug bites and stings.” She says as she walks towards the table showcasing all the different edibles, pointing out each thing she is talking about.”

“Both are good options but what you are really asking me for are these,” she points to an almost baby pink berry, so light some could argue the berry wasn’t pink at all, rather a white color. “These are perfect for infections if you can find them, they are the main ingredient in some of the finest Capitol medicines. In its raw form it is not as potent, obviously, but if you just use the juices almost immediately after an injury, the infection rate is likely to drop by about 80%” she finishes leaving Peeta and I in awe. Yes, we will definitely be on the lookout for those in the arena.

I can’t remember seeing them, in either arena, but I also wasn’t on the lookout for them.

“Remember, it has to be almost immediately after injury so I would recommend you collect them when you see them, instead of just knowing where they are located.” The trainer assures us.

Peeta and I nod at the trainer and ask a few more questions about the medicinal properties of this or that but we quickly make our way to another station.

We go to the edible insect station, which we both do okay on, it's definitely not either of our strongest suits.

Then the ropes course, something both of us are more than good at, my small stature and light weight perfect for climbing and while Peeta might be bulky and heavy, he is nimble and smart about where and how he climbs.

After that we go to the hand to hand combat station. Peeta excels, pinning the instructor many times, in many different ways. I do pretty well. Peeta taught me how to use my opponents own body weight against them, and multiple moves that while not fair in a fight or match at school, are likely to save my life in the arena so I definitely utilize those, leaving the male trainer very aggravated with me.

Peeta is above and beyond me at melee weapons, which was our next stop, his choice is a double edged sword that comes to a sharp point, perfect for both slashing and stabbing. I prefer the daggers, while I am not ambidextrous, I do have good control over my right hand so I am able to use it efficiently for this. Plus my small size and good reflexes help me get close enough to use them.

While I then try my hand at knife throwing, something I am much less proficient at compared to Peeta, he is at the weight sets, at much below his actual ability but still he wanted to do some work on it. He is pressing around 250 right now, much more than I could do, but I could bet that he could press 330 or 340 if he was really trying.

We then meet back up for lunch.

There is a buffet style set up so Peeta and I don’t have a ready made protein filled lunch waiting for us but as we walk up to get served and point out what we want, the avoxes either shake their head or nod to indicate which things we should take. It really is amazing how much everyone is helping us with this, I didn’t expect it when we asked on the train but I think it might be done as a middle finger to the Capitol.

It is well known District Twelve is the worst district usually when it comes to the games, I can’t remember the last time even one of our tributes made it out of the bloodbath, let alone both of them. I think all of these avoxes and the kitchen staff, who are definitely overworked and are probably even avoxes as well, would want to make the Capitol look like fools. What a better way to do that than to work within their admittedly very tight limits and help us out, the least favored tributes.

If that's not the reason, I would be surprised but either way I am very grateful for their help and I know Peeta is too. So, we take their recommendations ending up with a meal consisting of, a rice with pieces of egg and vegetables, a chicken dish that was declared orange chicken on the sign sitting on top, a cup of egg soup, broccoli in a brown sauce with carrots and little baby corn cobs, and these little pockets full of fatty pork, they aren't pasta and I am not sure what they are but they are salty, slightly spicy, and very very good, especially with the sauce that came with them.

Peeta and I just drink water with our meals, knowing we need to hydrate with all of our exercising and exertion during training.

We joke and laugh all throughout lunch, but we also talk a little bit about the other tributes in whispers.

Peeta mentions how District Ten, the girl, is crazy fast and very good with knives, not throwing but close up handling. He overheard the girl saying that she had been on the cows her whole life, and the boy hadn’t been on the large livestock usually because of his bum leg but he also picked up shifts killing the pigs. Which means neither of them are bothered by blood or death, or being the one to do it.

I tell him how, when I was throwing knives, District Eight was talking between themselves. Apparently in that district they use a lot of poison for the rats in the textile factories. The main derivative is nightlock and other poisons and that they have extensive practice handling and using it.

We both talk about the career tributes also. Though we already know what each of them are good at, maybe the girl from Four is the one we have the least amount of knowledge on but we do know her favored weapon, nets and a serrated sword, though she is very practiced with tridents also, even if she isn’t as good as Finnick. So neither of us are worried about focusing on her, even if we agree that a little more knowledge is good to have.

By the end of lunch we had completely caught up, though we were only apart during the one station anyway so it was pretty easy.

Lunch comes to a swift end with Atala coming to collect us and we all head for group training.

We walk out to a very intimidating sight.

And I don't mean the careers showing off.

The game makers are high up near the ceiling watching us filter in and already assessing us.

But that's not the scary part either.

It’s what they intend for group training that stops me in my tracks.

Chapter 13: Chapter XIII

Chapter Text

We walk out to a very intimidating sight.

And I don't mean the careers showing off.

The game makers are high up near the ceiling watching us filter in and already assessing us.

But that's not the scary part either.

It’s what they intend for group training that stops me in my tracks.

The gauntlet.

This is one of our group training exercises, designed to test our speed, agility, and smarts.

It consists of moving platforms that shake, tilt, oscillate, bob, seesaw, and spin. In between platforms are some of the trainers with foam bats. They move around and swing the batons at you, from the side, front, or behind, it doesn’t matter. All while you try to get through the course that also has tunnels, jumps, and stairs. It is absolutely just as terrifying the second time as the first time. This had been one of our last group training exercises so seeing it today really threw me for a moment.

We line up in order of district, putting Peeta and I last though I am going before him.

Marvel gets through it with only a couple of hits because his long arms and legs make it difficult for him to balance, find his center of gravity, and keep it.

Glimmer gets through it pretty well, she is slightly slower but only gets hit twice with the foam bats.

Clove speeds through it, avoiding all but one of the trainers. She is much faster than Glimmer and squeaks through due to her small size and good balance.

Cato has some of the fastest reaction speeds of anybody I have ever seen. He almost anticipates where the trainers are coming from and ducks without even looking, which is impressive. However, he also gets it wrong sometimes, ducking and diving without reason because he thinks something is coming and it isn’t, which slows him down. Not to mention the one time he did get hit, his temper flared and I swear he was about to break the trainer's neck.

Everybody else is pretty average. Decently fast for the District Four tributes as well as District Seven and the girl from District Ten. Rue also did very well. Everybody else either failed miserably, like both from District Three and both from District Five, as well as the boy from Ten or got through with difficulty. Thresh was interesting though, he got pounded, but it barely moved him off course. He finished fast but just took each of the bats, not even attempting to dodge them, which was both impressive and stupid.

Then it was my turn.

I had paid attention to where the trainers were likely to show up during everybody else’s turns. So I booked it. It was like I was flying, honestly I really did feel like a mockingjay. I was sure footed and quick, my small size helping to keep me light on my feet and my hunter’s senses kicked in. I could either spot the bat swinging early enough to react or I heard the woosh sound it made and acted accordingly. I was definitely the fastest time so far and I didn’t get hit once. All of the outlying districts were looking at me with disbelief but the careers were looking at me with contempt, they do NOT like that I showed them up… oops. I had to do well though, the gamemakers watch the training days and every single one of them were watching this exercise intently, I couldn’t be bad otherwise that might have affected my score. I intend to get another eleven because that helped so much with sponsors last time.

Peeta's up now and I can see him beaming at me from across the course. His dimpled cheek broadcasting his unparalleled sunshine through the whole room.

Peeta does almost as well. He is quick on his feet although is hit by one of the bats, but then he does something nobody else did. He grabbed it from the trainer, literally ripped it out of the man’s hand and continued on. He blocked two other bats with it before he reached the end but I knew he could have dodged them, he just wanted to show off and likely get the heat off of my performance.

Even the careers and Cato specifically have visible surprise and anger across their faces, I chance a quick glance up at the game makers walking above us and find them either talking among themselves, obviously about Peeta if the looks they give him are any indication, or staring at Peeta in surprise, exactly the same as the other tributes.

Peeta comes straight to me after his run with a guilty smile, he knew exactly what he was doing. I just laugh at him, shaking my head, and he presents me the baton, like it was a prize he had won and decided to gift to me. I take it with a smile and then we turn to find Atala to give us our next instruction. Every other tribute just stares at us, though the careers have made a huddle and are obviously talking about what just happened.

The trainers quickly get their act together and I hand the man back his baton as he walks past. He takes it gingerly, careful not to make any sudden movements, though it’s not like I was going to hit him with it. I am highly positive it is against the rules and I don’t just injure things or people for no reason so I wouldn’t have done it anyway.

Once everybody gets their bearings we have two hours left to go back through a few stations.

Peeta and I hit up the fishhook making station and the hammock weaving station. Then while I go to shelter making, Peeta parks at the camouflage station and stays there for the rest of the time, waiting for me to join him.

He once again paints his arm into a tree and then he takes mine and makes a flower field. My entire left arm is covered with primroses and katniss flowers. I almost kiss him for it before I remember where we are, so instead I praise him in front of the instructor at the station, making sure she knows what the flowers are and what they stand for. I can see her eyes widen when I mention it and she looks between us with an indulgent smile, even if after a second, it drops into a sad one.

Eventually our time comes to a close and we make our way back up to the penthouse.

Effie, Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia are all waiting for us when we get out of the elevator. They look shocked at the state of our arms.

“Who the hell did that?” Haymitch gestures to them.

“Peeta did.” I say.

Everybody looks at him in surprise.

He just shrugs. “I decorated the cakes back home and I like to draw.” He says, like his talent isn’t awe-inspiring.

Cinna raises his eyebrow. “That is mighty impressive for somebody who had never done camouflage before… and are those-” he cuts himself off as he picks up my arm gently, turning it this way and that.

“Primroses. “ I answer his unfinished question, causing everyone to look at me with sympathy.

“Don’t forget the katniss flowers.” Peeta interjects, pointing to one of the white buds.

Effie clasps her hands together tightly, her eyes welling up. “Oh you sweet boy. It is beautiful work.” She says.

Portia has tears streaming down her face but she has a broad almost motherly smile full of pride aimed at the boy beside me.

Peeta flushes at the attention and mumbles an excuse about a shower as he walks away. He never was good with compliments, especially from Portia or Effie. I think he always compared them to his mother, whether it was consciously or unconsciously I don’t know but I know he did it either way.

Everyone looks at me once he rounds the corner.

“I need one too. We can talk about training when I come out?” I turn my statement into a question at the last second, looking at Haymitch for an answer.

He nods and gestures me away.

I run to my room, throwing a quick look at Peeta’s door as I pass it but I decide to let him have a moment to himself.

I sit in the hot shower and use my usual setting to wash off. The wind bathmat thing and electric box dry me and fix my hair for me almost immediately.

I slip into comfortable clothes. I chose a burnt orange jumpsuit and a white long sleeve shirt. I braid the top half of my hair into an intricate crown but leave the rest hanging down my back in waves. I put on minimal jewelry, a watch, a simple necklace and a few rings. Of course I also clip on my mockingjay pin. I slip my feet into white socks and decide to forgo shoes, we shouldn’t need to leave the apartment so what’s the point?

I open the door and hear laughter and talking in the living room.

I follow the sound out to find everybody, including Peeta and Lavinia, eating snacks and drinking drinks. Though Lavinia is obviously not eating and is instead just standing on the side waiting for orders.

I catch her gaze and give her another apologetic smile as I gesture towards Peeta’s plate. She gives me a quick nod and moves out of the room with a quiet tread.

I park myself on the couch beside Peeta and lift my feet so they are under me. Peeta slings a comfortable arm across the back of the couch and I lean into him slightly, not so much that we are cuddling but we are obviously sitting together.

He offers me a carrot with a light brown spread on it, hummus, and I quickly crunch down half of it and he dips it again in the spread before he finishes it off.

I notice the laughter has stopped and I see everybody looking at us.

Haymitch with barely concealed amusement and slight disgust. Portia with an indulgent smile that has a slightly sad undertone. Cinna with a smile and a raised eyebrow aimed at me once he saw me looking at him. Then Effie is looking at us with so much curiosity and an almost tangible need to know, though I know Haymitch will have told her not to ask.

I just roll my eyes and look at Haymitch.

“So. Training?” I ask.

He nods at me, taking a sip of his drink before he puts it down on the table beside his chair.

“Tell me everything.”

So we do. Everything about the careers, what their weapons of choice were, how strong they each looked and demonstrated, what it seems like their plan was, whether district four was in the alliance, who were close and who weren't, what their personalities were, etc. etc. We tell him every little thing.

We mentioned a little bit about each of the other tributes, but if we knew more that's what we said.

We told him of District Eight’s poison knowledge and District Ten’s ability and their practice killing animals.

We go on about Rue’s ability in the trees and ropes, but her disadvantage on the ground. I also mention her knowledge of plants and her skill with a slingshot, a deadly weapon if the skin is broken and the projectile is poison coated. That causes everybody to look at me with varying levels of surprise.

“What? You have to think of all possibilities. This is life or death and even if Rue doesn’t seem like the type to do that, somebody else might and you have to be prepared.” I defend myself.

They just continue looking at me weird so I switch the topic to Thresh.

His size and ability, but also his tendency to take hits and not avoid anything, whether that was just because he knew the bats wouldn’t mortally wound him is to be determined, either way it says a lot. He also is likely to know exactly what plants are edible, whether that be grain or berries or whatever.

We mention a few more tidbits that we saw during group training, such as everybody’s speed and agility level, and everything else we picked up at the different stations.

Haymitch isn’t taking notes but you can tell his brain is whirling a mile a minute. He is obviously thinking about everything we’ve told him and how that could possibly affect us, whether that be through actual threats or threats to sponsors or anything else.

We answer a few more questions the team has for us before dinner is announced by a server.

Peeta and I eat a lot at dinner, knowing we used a lot of calories today during training.

We had a nice meal of steaks with a green sauce on top. Then we have a purple baked potato with multiple toppings on top. We also each have a side of vegetables, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, and some kind of white broccoli.

Eventually, after a very long day of training and questions and strategy meetings with everybody, Peeta and I are finally told to get lost so that they can finalize everything with our plans.

So, we head to the roof.

Peeta stops by his room to get a jacket and a blanket and pillow and I do the same.

I come out as well with two hot chocolates I ordered from the microphone stationed in our rooms and he comes out with a platter of chocolate covered strawberries and warm gooey chocolate chip cookies.

We laugh at our similar ideas and I carry the food and drink tray as he struggles with the arm load of pillows and blankets.

He ends up making a comfy place to lay down with the fluffiest blanket and we sit down on the pillows with the lighter blanket over the both of us.

We talk in quiet voices about the day and the games, not anything incriminating because of the bugs hidden up here, but we both read between the lines or leave things unsaid but implied.

As we talk we work our way through the cookies and berries. The cookies obviously have extra protein in them, but the chalky taste is easily covered by the warm chocolate so that I barely even taste it, I only do when Peeta points it out to me. The strawberries are sweet and fresh, the chocolate coating them giving them an extra layer that I greatly appreciate. Our hot chocolates, with a scoop of protein in them but still delicious, wash everything down nicely and warm me through my stomach. I feel better than I have in days by the time we finish our conversation and our snack.

I then decide to lay down and Peeta follows my lead. My head finds the crook of his shoulder and I tangle our legs together.

We lay there and breathe together in the mostly quiet air.

The distant sounds of the Capitol, a city that never sleeps, and the sound of wind whipping over us with the chimes tinkling over in the corner over the flower garden are the only sounds to be heard other than Peeta’s heartbeat and our combined breathing.

The mostly fresh, but slightly artificial smelling, air is a comfort on a night like tonight, where the day had been so hectic and full.

Just us together under the moon. Our view of the stars is obstructed by the pollution in the air but the sky is still beautiful. Full and expansive. It is almost freeing to think how small you are comparatively.

Peeta leans over to kiss my head, letting out a sigh of contentment that makes my heart rate slow down.

Every time I heard girls at school describe their crushes or their boyfriends or whatever, they had always mentioned how the boy gave them butterflies. How he made their heart race.

Peeta does none of that for me and that honestly might have been a factor as to why it took so long for me to accept my feelings for him.

Peeta makes my heart beat slow down, makes my muscles unclench, makes the blood in my veins thaw from their frozen state or cool from the fire coursing through them. He makes me feel safe. He makes me feel accepted. He makes me feel loved. Not nervous or tense or hyper-vigilant.

My body, now at peace knowing Peeta is here with me, cannot fight the comfort I feel. I am drifting off and the only thing I can do before I fall asleep is mumble to Peeta, “stay with me?”

Then I hear him reply.

“Always.”

Chapter 14: Chapter XIV

Chapter Text

My body, now at peace knowing Peeta is here with me, cannot fight the comfort I feel. I am drifting off and the only thing I can do before I fall asleep is mumble to Peeta, “stay with me?”

Then I hear him reply.

“Always.”

I am just as nervous as I was last time. One by one every other tribute has been called into the training center for their individual assessment. Rue just left through the double doors, and Peeta is up next.

We are currently sitting on the last bench and our hands are intertwined while my head lays on his shoulder.

No words have been exchanged for the last three hours. There hasn’t been a need. We know what each other’s plans are for our sessions and they're going to turn out how they will turn out.

So, instead we sit and we bask in the other’s closeness, drawing courage and comfort from one another.

Eventually Peeta is called and he walks to the double doors.

He turns around to look at me, a strained but still charming smile on his lips.

“Shoot straight.” He says as he walks through the doors.

I want to roll my eyes but now that Peeta is gone my nerves take hold of me, leaving me no room for the forged annoyance I would normally feel or for any other emotion.

I can only think about what Peeta is doing, how he is faring. Is he throwing knives now or has he moved on to weights? Is he doing camouflage or setting snares? I don’t know and it’s putting me on edge.

Well, maybe that’s not what has me on edge. This is the first time we are really separated since we’ve been in the Capitol, not including getting ready for the tribute parade.

Eventually, after about twenty minutes, which is slightly longer than last time, I am called in for my session.

Nobody is paying me any attention. They're all talking loudly about Peeta, it sounds like he impressed them.

I do not announce myself this time. Instead I walk over to the archery station and grab a bow, pulling back on the string to test the draw. I sling the accompanying quiver over my shoulder and duck behind one of the weight racks.

By this time a few of the gamemakers realize I should be here and are looking around for me and trying to get the other’s attention.

I smirk to myself before I put my plan into action.

Thankfully I am used to these bows now so I don’t need to practice like I did last time, so I am ready to start. Now.

I shoot straight across the entire gym at the boxing bags.

Three fall and spill open immediately.

Next I shoot up at the lights, two bulbs break after my silver arrows shatter the glass.

I sneak a peek at the gamemakers and this time 90% of them are paying attention to my session, but not Crane, the one I really need to impress.

So, I do what got me noticed the first time.

I spring out from behind the dummy, drawing gasps as they see where I was and where I was shooting from.

I roll forward, ending up on my knee and I shoot towards the high and mighty gamemakers. They still disgust me, and that is why I change my mind at the last second. I don’t shoot at the apple.

I hit their drinks. My favorite is when I hit the red wine bottles, but I am not specifically aiming for them. By the time I have hit six of the alcohol bottles, every single gamemaker is covered in some form of liquid. Plutarch is once again in the punch bowl.

My final arrow goes into the apple, pinning it once more against the wall.

Everyone is looking at me in fear but a few of them have realized I have no intention of hitting them so they are looking at me in surprise, wide eyed and slightly impressed. Seneca has one eyebrow raised and I can almost see his eyes twinkling in mischief even from where I am standing.

I just walk back over to the archery rack and hang up my empty quiver and place my bow back gently.

Nobody has moved or spoken so I just bow and once again dismiss myself with a callow, “thanks you for your consideration,” thrown over my shoulder.

I am not scared out of my mind like I was the last time but I am still not looking forward to Effie's reaction.

When I get up to our apartment I don’t see anybody waiting for me so I just head into my room to take a shower before I find Peeta.

I spend probably too long in the shower, prolonging the time until I have to tell Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna what I did.

I let the water run over me and I scrub myself clean. Eventually I know I need to get out, even if just to show Peeta I am okay, so I reluctantly get out of the hot rain.

I put on a pair of dark denim jeans and a plain tight white shirt. My jewelry is once again kept minimal and I braid my hair into its usual braid. A pair of black boots that only go up to my ankle are on my feet and I call myself good enough.

I slip out into the living room to find Haymitch sitting in his usual chair, a drink in his hand.

“So, Sweetheart…” He begins. “How’d you do?”

He looks at me suspiciously. I don’t even know why, there's no way he could know what I did in my private session.

“I think I got my point across.” I say, crossing my arms defensively.

“What the hell does that mean?” He asks, suddenly interested and sitting up in his chair.

“Can we just wait til dinner? I don’t wanna have to explain it more than once,” I say almost at a whine.

“Fine. We can wait but don’t think you’ll get out of telling me.” He tells me.

“I wasn’t trying to Haymitch,” I roll my eyes at him, “I just didn’t wanna have to explain it multiple times.”

He raises his eyebrow at me, “what could you have possibly done in fifteen minutes that could take so long to explain?” He grumbles under his breath.

I just smile at him and take my leave, heading back towards Peeta’s room to see if he is in there. I’m surprised he hasn't sought me out yet.

I knock on his door but he doesn't answer. So, either he is in the shower, which he should have already been done with by now, or he isn’t in there.

There's only one other place I could think of where he could be. The roof.

I turn around to start heading up the steps and I get halfway up before I almost run straight into him. He catches me around my waist to keep me from falling. I am pressed up against his chest and he smiles down at me goofily.

“Hello there,” he says.

“Hi.” I said back quietly.

“Were you looking for me or did you need some fresh air?” He asks.

“Well, I would tell you but I don’t want you to get a big head.” I snark back at him.

“Oh? Well I can feel my head inflating just from the insinuation I am what you are looking for.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me teasingly.

I almost laugh at the double meaning behind his words. I always knew Peeta could be a flirt but this is the first time I am really appreciating that fact.

“Don’t let it explode, yeah? I’m fixin’ to go get a snack, wanna come with?” I ask him.

He laughs at me and my very Twelve way of asking. Everybody in the districts has a slightly different accent, some closer than others, but every district also has their own little sayings or phrases that are common. It definitely brings comfort when you're not at home to hear something from there. I know in Thirteen, we Twelves used to bring out our accents and phrases a lot when talking to each other, trying to keep up morale and bring us all together, instead of getting lost in the massive underground.

“Sure, Kat, let's go get a snack before the cows come home.” He answers back cheekily, using another phrase from home.

I give him a big smile before I grab his hand and pull him back down the steps with me.

We end up getting a protein drink and a bowl of yogurt, with added protein of course, and it has chocolate pieces, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, and those oat clusters, which are apparently called granola.

We sit and enjoy our snack, laughing and talking about home, something which gives us both a happy feeling of belonging and a not so happy feeling of homesickness.

Haymitch joins in after a while, using the worst of the sayings in the craziest of sentences, but all of them are technically used correctly. I know better and I am finding that even I am falling into the trap of his drunkenness. He really is a snake in the grass. Everybody overlooks him and his dirty disgusting self but if you really pay attention you can see the intelligent gleam behind his eye, the calculating movements, and the mental wherewithal he has even after all these years.

So, we eat our protein snack and talk about home until Effie, Cinna, and Portia eventually wander in before dinner starts.

They don’t contribute much to the conversation, but Effie makes a few comments about the incorrect grammar and Cinna and Portia both ask what a few of the phrases mean but everybody is still having a good time, laughing and enjoying themselves. It really feels like the Victory Tour, only this time I am not under an insane amount of pressure from our dear President and Peeta and I are actually getting along because we aren't avoiding each other. So, all in all, it really is a nice afternoon.

Eventually we do eat dinner but most of the conversation is still having to do with Twelve. Peeta and I both teach our stylists a few Twelve sayings and try to get them to use them correctly, creating a lot of entertainment for us Twelves. They are still puzzled over the saying “don't piss on my leg and tell me it’s rainin’” which is endless amusement for us and a horror for Effie, but eventually we wrap up dinner and it’s time to watch our scores on the holoTV.

I almost laugh to myself at how put out Haymitch looks because I don’t have enough time to describe my session before the show starts. He tells me that I’m “not leavin’ til you tell me girl.” So, I guess I’ll have to let him know after the program but hopefully I’ll get my eleven again and he and Effie won’t have a reason to be mad, and Cinna won't have a chance to be disappointed.

We go through the show and Caesar says a few words about each of the tributes, and announces our scores.

Marvel gets a 9.

Glimmer a 9.

Cato scores his 10.

Clove is the same as her district partner, a 10.

The boy from Four gets an 8.

Marina from Four gets an 8.

Foxface's partner gets a 4.

Foxface: a 5.

Both Six’s get a 2.

Seven’s Boy gets a 4.

The girl: a 3.

Eight’s girl gets a 6.

The boy: a 5.

The girl from District Nine gets a 4.

The boy from Nine gets a 6.

The boy from Ten gets a 2.

The girl gets a 7.

Thresh scores his 10.

Rue gets her 7.

Finally our group sits on the edge of their seats.

“Peeta Mellark,” Flickerman says dramatically. “A ten.”

Peeta and I share a look… that is much higher than last time.

Everybody in our group gasps with excitement. Portia pulls Peeta into a side hug and Effie has a beaming smile on her face. Haymitch just raises an eyebrow at him in both an encouraging and questioning way, obviously looking to hear the story behind the score once we learn mine.

I hole my breath as Caesar announces my name. My picture up on the screen.

I grip Peeta’s hand, hoping once again for my...

“Eleven.”

I almost collapse in relief. I did it.

Peeta squeezes my hand in encouragement.

Everybody gasps. Cinna raises his glass to make a toast.

“To two amazing scores,” he says with a wide smile.

We all copy his movement, me and Peeta with our berry juices and everybody else with their alcoholic beverage of choice.

“Okay. Okay. Okay” Haymitch waves everybody down as Effie flitters about, beside herself with happiness, and Portia and Cinna are talking excitedly with wide smiles.

“Kids. What the hell?” Haymitch starts. He gets a slap on the arm from Effie. “No, but seriously, what did you two do? Sweetheart you got the highest score today and Peeta tied for second with both tributes from Two and that hulking boy from Eleven. So seriously, I repeat, what the hell?” Haymitch looks at us expectantly.

Peeta and I share a look and decide Peeta should talk first.

So he does.

He explains how he walked in and hardly anybody was paying attention, too busy singing drinking songs and ignoring him. So, he used it to his advantage.

When he got to that point I almost died laughing at how similar we both started.

He wanted to show off his strength as well as his knife throwing.

Something which surprises both Cinna and Portia but they quickly collect themselves, though I bet Haymitch will be telling them the story from the train later.

He goes on to say how he collected his stuff and made his way back a good distance and then threw a giant weight, startling the gamemakers with the loud noise of it knocking down three of the target dummies. He then started throwing knife after knife towards all the different dummies, whether they be for the knife throwing and long distance weapons or the ones set up for the melee station. So at all different distances and angles.

He did that for a few minutes and then decided he wanted to showcase his snares so he did the one that ties an opponent up by the ankle and hung a dummy from the ropes course on the ceiling, only he chose a moving part. So he went over to the wall to program that part and it flung the dummy around as a moving target, allowing Peeta to show his skill that way too.

He says that was the last thing he could show them because they dismissed him.

I almost smirk at him. This boy is very different to the one that was here the last time ‘round.

Effie is staring at Peeta like she is seeing him for the first time. Portia once again looks proud but still slightly shocked. Cinna looks at him with an eyebrow raised and Haymitch looks like he is going to bust a gut from holding in his laughter. I think he is laughing at Effie’s reaction.

Eventually everybody settles down and it’s my turn.

“Well,” I start. “It was really similar to Peeta in the beginning only they were only talking about him, I heard his name thrown around a lot.” I say with a smile, one last little bit of attention heading his way before it’s once again actually about me.

Portia once again smiles at Peeta, as if he was her son, and Effie almost preens as if they were praising her instead of Peeta.

“So, I used their distraction too.” I say. “I got my bow and arrows,” but I pause after that. The only ones who knew about my archery were Haymitch and Peeta.

Effie looks so shocked and Portia and Cinna’s eyebrows are almost in their hairlines. It is so funny that I have to stop myself from laughing at their reactions.

“I then hid so they couldn't see me, even if they were looking at me in the first place.” I tell everybody. “By that time a few of the gamemakers realized I should have been in the room, so they started looking around for me but obviously they didn’t find me.”

Everybody is looking at me and I can see Haymitch getting fed up with my slow storytelling.

“So, I surprised them. I shot from my spot and hit three of the punching bags down by cutting their ropes, from across the room, and then I hit two of the light bulbs, completely shattering them.” I say with a smirk, they have no idea what is coming.

“At this point about 90% of them were looking around for me but I got mad when I realized the rest of them, including Crane, were more interested in their drinks…” I trail off.

“Katniss.” Peeta says, “what did you do?”

Now everybody looks nervous.

“I might’ve sprung out from my spot and gotten rid of the problem.”

“Kat. What. Did. You. Do?” He asks slowly.

“I hit a few of their liquor bottles. I didn’t hit any of the gamemakers before any of you freak but I did shatter a few bottles.” I say defensively.

“Katniss. Is that all?” Peeta asks seriously, I can see it’s a front for his amusement though I doubt anybody else in the room can tell.

“I might have also shot an apple out of their roast pig's mouth before bowing and excusing myself.” I answer honestly.

His eyes sparkle.

“What did you say to them? I know you didn’t leave it there?”

“Oh I just thanked them for their consideration and then I left, that's all I swear.” I answer him, making sure I am not smiling.

Haymitch falls off his chair, he is laughing so hard.

“Oh my god. Oh my god.” He coughs. “I’m dying. You're gonna kill me.”

Effie looks fit to burst in sheer terror and anger at me, though I bet some of her anger is for the gamemakers as well, Cinna looks stunned. He is the one who saw the fire in me first so I don’t know why he is so surprised. Portia on the other hand I did expect surprise from, the slight amusement behind her eyes is also welcome though.

Haymitch finally rights himself back in his seat.

“Sweetheart. That is priceless and I would have paid ANYTHING to see that. What were their reactions?” He still laughs, obviously very interested.

“Well, they were obviously all very startled but they were also very wet. I got every single one of them at least a little bit wet with the liquor but one of them even fell into the punch bowl…” I trial off and this time Peeta joins Haymitch in his hysterical laughter and even Cinna and Portia join in slightly. Effie cracks a smile but she quickly tries to smother in with a look of disapproval, even though it doesn’t work very well.

We talk about our sessions for a little while longer but eventually we all break away, knowing tomorrow is the interview prep day and all of us are going to be running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

And yes that is another saying from Twelve.

Chapter 15: Chapter XV

Chapter Text

We talk about our sessions for a little while longer but eventually we all break away, knowing tomorrow is the interview prep day and all of us are going to be running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

And yes that is another saying from Twelve.

I wake up to a knock on my door.

“Today is a big big big day!” Effie shrieks from behind my closed door, likely trying to get both Peeta and myself up at the same time.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I find myself seated beside Peeta once again with a healthy and filling breakfast.

Scrambled eggs, protein pancakes, fruit, and sausage.

I also get myself a bowl of stew, letting the lamb melt in my mouth and the rice soaks up all the liquid to make it taste divine. It is definitely still my favorite meal here.

“Alright.” Haymitch starts. “Tomorrow is interview day so that means prep is happening today. You guys are going to have to split up, just because it’ll be easier, Peeta doesn’t need to learn all the different rules that you do, Sweetheart.” He says with absolutely no sympathy.

Sorry , Peeta mouths to me.

I just roll my eyes and stuff another bite of stew in my mouth.

“So, Sweetheart you go with Effie in a few and Boy you’ll be with me.” He finishes.

Peeta and I both nod, not even making an attempt to argue, we know he will never change his mind anyway.

The second I finish my last bite of food, Effie is standing and about ready to drag me to go with her.

It does not take long for me to discover this “training” is just as bad as last time around.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely know more than I did back then, however this is not my strong suit and I don’t particularly care to get better so the entire thing is a waste of time and energy. Effie finally seems to come to the same conclusion because she gives up after about two hours. Instead of the five it took the last time. She just calls me “as good as it’s gonna get,” and lets me go.

Something I am more than grateful for.

Peeta is still supposed to be with Haymitch for the next two hours, so I ask Lavinia for a snack, which she provides and I decide to do something nice for Peeta before the interviews tomorrow.

I run back to my room after I finish my food and gather a bunch of pillows and blankets. I get two big fluffy blankets, a white one that is so soft it feels like a cloud, and a gray knitted one. Then I got two large rectangle pillows and two regular sized ones. I struggle to climb the stairs with all of them but eventually I make it up to the roof.

I chose a spot towards the right side on the roof and I spread the two big fluffy blankets down first and then lay down the pillows on top of them. Then, finally, I spread the soft white one down with the knit one on top.

Then, I run back down to my room, on the way I find two fake candles and I grab those to take back up with me. Once I get back to my room, I grab the little wooden step stool that is sitting next to the chair in my room.

I carry all of my finds back up and I set the candles on the stool until later.

Then I put on my final touch, or well, I asked Lavinia to.

“Once Peeta and I are done with our training sessions, could you bring a bunch of food and snacks up to the roof? You’ll know where to put it when you see it.” I ask her, with apologies in my eyes once again for everything, as well as gratitude.

She gives me a nod and a slight smile.

By that time I only have about forty minutes until Peeta and Haymitch are done so I go ahead and just sit on the couch, my feet reclined up and my head laid back, eyes closed.

I must end up drifting off because it only seems like a few minutes before I feel a hand run through my hair from behind me.

I open my eyes to see blue ones looking at me with pure adoration and devotion. It is actually breathtaking to see those emotions in the eyes of my Lover.

“Hi.” I say with a smile.

“Hi,” he says back with a matching smile, though he really does look funny from my upside down vantage point.

“Alright, Love Birds, come eat lunch and then it’s your turn Sweetheart.” Haymitch calls out.

Peeta and I roll our eyes at the collective name but we both move towards the table.

We are served our lunch which is cheese stuffed pork loin with glazed yellow carrots and roasted blue potatoes. Then we both have cornbread on the side along with water to drink.

It is a very good lunch.

We make small talk as we eat and I complain about Effie endlessly which I can see entertains the boys and their reactions annoy me but it also brightens my mood slightly because it really does feel like we are all back together again, sitting in District Twelve and having dinner. Plus they keep calling Effie “wet hen” and I can't control my laughter.

Effie eventually walks in as we are just finishing lunch, likely needing the time to calm down from my stubbornness.

“Okay, Peeta, you're gonna come with me and we can work out the last little bits of barbarism from you.” Effie says with a smile.

The boys and I share a look, she really has no idea how that sounded, she genuinely thought that was an okay thing to say and didn’t think it was offensive at all.

“Okay, Effie,” Peeta answers. “Let's get started.” He wipes his mouth on his napkin, takes one last sip of his water and walks to his doom.

They walk off and Haymitch just stands up and starts to walk out. I guess I’m supposed to follow.

I walk after him and when I get into the room, he is just sitting in his chair. I sit in the chair across from him and he stares at me. I know exactly what he’s doing this time so instead of getting annoyed I just recline back in my chair and wait him out.

Eventually, he lets out an annoyed sigh.

“Sweetheart, I have no idea what to do with you.” He says.

“Lovely, that’s exactly what I want to hear.” I snark back.

“Look, hold your goddamn horses, let's just try some stuff and go from there.” He suggests.

I just shrug and gesture for him to start, so he does.

We go through all the same fronts as last time.

Charming, aloof, sexy, brutal, arrogant, witty, mysterious, funny, all the different things that I am not.

Eventually he once again gives up but then he actually gives me some good advice.

“Look. Obviously this isn't working,” he sneers at me. “Just be like you are when you are with Peeta.”

I look at him confused, this is very different advice than last time.

“Or with your sister, I’ve never seen you with her but I think it would be similar. Just be the protective one. Be humble about it, so that you aren’t coming across as superior or cocky but focus on that. They all love you for volunteering for her and how you and Peeta are so close so just stick with that.” He gives up.

“Okay. You figure out how to do that, I’m done, and I’m going to get a drink.” He stands up to walk out of the room when he mumbles, “that girl is going to kill me.”

I sit there for a few more minutes going over that angle and it fits really well into our strategy so I guess that's what I'm doing.

I just get up and follow Haymitch out. Although, he had disappeared after raiding the drink cart. Luckily, I don’t have to spend more than five minutes alone before Peeta and Effie are finished.

Peeta comes over to sit by me but I see Lavinia come back in the room and give me a subtle thumbs up. I instead stand up and grab his hand before I pull him towards the steps.

He follows with a smile, I think he would honestly follow me anywhere.

When I push open the door to the roof I am instantly amazed. Lavinia did a lot more than just bring food out. She hung sparkling string lights around my little set up and brought out a few more little wooden stools and low tables and put so many flowers and candles on them, one of them even has a little music player, we will see if we can make that work later.

There's also a giant picnic basket and an ice bucket with bottles in it.

Peeta looks around in awe before he turns to me with a grin. He sweeps me up in his arms and spins me around once before he places me down with a firm kiss on the top of my head.

“Did you set this up Kat?” He asks me with wonder in his voice.

“Well, I did a little bit but I had some help also.” I tell him truthfully.

He just grins at me and this time it is him pulling me towards the blankets.

He plops down and pulls me with him and I end up sitting right beside him.

He reaches out to arrange the pillows behind us and grabs one of the little trays that are sitting beside us and empty, obviously for us to eat off of.

Then he starts to look through everything and pull out the food.

In the ice bucket there are jugs of water, juice, protein drinks, and a weird brown drink that has so many little bubbles in it. Along with multiple cups for both of us to try each drink.

The picnic basket actually has another two bags in it. Both are insulated.

In the left bag is the cold stuff. Sweet blue grapes, mini tomatoes in different colors, cut up veggies with multiple dips, a cold pasta salad, apples, melon balls, and a bunch of different berries.

In the hot bag is a thermos of hot chocolate, warm chocolate chip cookies, warm pastries that are filled with beef, pork, and chicken, french fries and so many different dips, and two very large sandwiches. On the sandwiches were cut slices of tomato, pesto, big chunks of a soft white melty cheese, and huge slices of chicken. They also had garlic butter on top of the bread.

Once it is all laid out we have a verifiable feast.

“There is no way I am leaving here for dinner, they're just gonna have to miss us for tonight,” Peeta tells me cheekily.

I don't argue and instead just kiss his cheek in agreement.

We both don't even make a plate, we just pick from the communal ones and eat our sandwiches over the paper they were wrapped in.

We throw grapes for the other to catch in their mouth and make a game of trying to guess which dip is which for both the fries and the veggies.

We eat on and off for hours and talk and laugh and flirt. At one point he asks me if I want to cut a shine with him… but we can’t figure out how to turn the music player on. Something we both just laugh about.

At some point, I am sure somebody came up to look for us, and based on the fact that we were not interrupted I would guess it was Cinna or Portia who came to look. We didn’t show up for dinner and I’m sure Effie will have something to say but I don’t even care.

When the sun starts to go down, I have my head in his lap as he plays with my hair and I am making a flower crown out of the beautiful flowers surrounding us.

We turn what was a horrific day to start out with, into one of the best days of my life which is likely why I say, “I wish I could freeze this moment right now and live in it forever.”

Peeta obviously freezes when I say it before a grin takes over his face and he looks at me like I hung the moon and presented him with a star.

“Okay.” He says.

“You’ll allow it?” I continue.

“Yeah, I’ll allow it.” He finishes.

I settle back in his lap and he continues playing with my hair.

It's perfect.

Chapter 16: Chapter XVI

Chapter Text

“You’ll allow it?” I continue.

“Yeah, I’ll allow it.” He finishes.

I settle back in his lap and he continues playing with my hair.

It's perfect.

I am woken up by my prep team standing over me. This is not a new development but it is still very disconcerting to wake up to three multi colored beings in your face.

They spend ALL DAY making me up for the interviews, and I don’t even get five minutes to sneak away to see Peeta.

All of their hard work pays off though. I am once again the girl on fire. My skin is glowing, but there are also little bits of ash placed in specific spots that I assume will make sense when I put my dress on. My body is once again covered in glitter except for the ash areas that actually have black dust on them. My nails are also again painted in flames. The top portion of my hair is in a braided crown with the rest hanging down. In my hair are streamers of red, yellow, and orange, and even a few very slim and mostly hidden black or blue ones.

My makeup looks like I walked out of a fire. My skin looks dewey and my eyes are in dark makeup. Looking like ash from a fire but my eyelashes move like flames when I blink. My lips are a dark red and my teeth look so white they could almost be called blinding against the dark makeup.

I look dangerous, like an out of control fire. But when I turn certain ways I am controlled, it very much presents the truth in that I am the only one who can control my own fire. A bold statement for someone about to go into the games, where almost every single aspect is out of your control.

Cinna enters the room with the black dress bag.

“Close your eyes.” So, I do.

The weight of the dress tells me that it is the same as last time. I swear this dress is forty pounds or more.

I step into my shoes and Cinna adjusts a few things before telling me to open my eyes.

I open them to see myself in the mirror.

With all of my makeup and my dress, I look like a walking fire goddess or like I crawled straight out of a campfire or a hearth.

The jewels on my dress are beautifully sewn into a burning flame. Red, orange, yellow, white, even a few blue stones that highlight the design.

“Thank you Cinna.” I say.

He gives me a smile. “Twirl for me,” he requests.

I do and as I hear my prep team oohing and ahhing, I am highly aware that I will once again have the best dress tonight.

Cinna has me walk around a little bit but I am much better in heels than I once was so there are no problems.

“Are you nervous?” He asks me.

“I am nervous, but not scared, I just don’t really know what to expect or anything. Plus it’s gonna be a lot of people and making friends isn’t exactly my strong suit,” and it isn't. Even after all this time making friends is still very difficult for me. The rest of it is a bold faced lie, I know exactly what to expect.

“I think you're a lot better at it than you think you are.” He tells me seriously. “I like you, you’ve got your prep team in raptures, and the other Capitol citizens wrapped around your finger. They wouldn’t be this attracted to somebody if there wasn't a reason. No one can help but admire your spirit.”

He sounds like Peeta.

Cinna grabs my hands in his.

“Just imagine talking to a friend, somebody who already knows and loves you.” He tells me.

I give him a small smile and a nod.

He gives me a single nod back and then it is time to go.

Cinna leads me out of the room. Effie gasps when she sees me, Portia gives me a beaming smile, Haymitch raises his eyebrows and Peeta looks awestruck.

I run my eyes over Peeta and am surprised to see a few changes to his outfit.

He still has on the coal black suit but there are more flames than last time, it seems less like he caught fire, and more like he came out of it, like I do. We are once more matching and together we look amazing. His hair has streaks of black in it, and it is tousled like he fought through the flames before he surrendered and became them. His jawline is also smudged with ash and it brings out the blue in his eyes, the blue that is the exact color of the hottest part of a flame.

We all gather in the elevator and it takes us down to the front of the training center where the stage is set up. When the doors open, all of the other tributes are lined up, ready and waiting to be led on stage for their interview.

I am second to last, as usual for the District Twelve girl.

Eventually, the national anthem, The Gem of Panem, is played through the speakers and we are led on stage. Peeta grabs my hand as we walk up the steps and as soon as we step out the crowd gets even louder, their screams echoing off the tall buildings surrounding us.

When we sit down, both Peeta and I subtly scoot our chairs slightly closer to the other. Yes this helps our strategy, but honestly we just wanted to.

Just as all the tributes get settled, Caesar Flickerman bounces onto the stage. His midnight blue suit turned on and shining for the crowd. His hair this year is powder blue, still much preferred to his blood red look from a while back, or maybe last year? This time travel thing is highly confusing.

After a few jokes, it is time to officially begin.

Glimmer is called down first, her strategy is exactly the same as last time, and Caesar once more plays his part perfectly. It is absolutely nauseating to watch a grown man flirt with an 18 year old girl, though. I can't help but think about Finnick and the hell he has been put through, does she even know what would be waiting for her if she came back out?

I pay even less attention than I did last time. I already know pretty much all the questions and answers for each of the tributes, plus in less than two weeks almost everyone on this stage will be dead. I can't let myself know more about them because I will just be tortured in my dreams by the information. Also, hearing Cato brag on makes me want to vomit.

Rue is just as adorable as last time. Her curly hair and sweet face make for a beautiful but sad picture when you imagine that this time tomorrow she will be in the arena. Thresh is just as somber and quiet as he was last time, though he seems even more on edge, it brings a disquiet to the audience and I know they feel unsettled by the large tribute and his surly attitude. I honestly say more power to him, I wish I could be as uncooperative but that’s not an option for me.

Finally, they call my name.

“Please welcome to the stage, The Girl On Fire! Katniss Everdeen!” Caesar says into the microphone, gaining loud screams of approval from the crowd. I give the crowd a humble and grateful smile, already falling into my role.

“So, Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What’s impressed you most since you arrived here?” asks Caesar.

“Honestly Caesar, everything is just so different I don’t know if I could pick one thing.” I tell him with a smile.

“Oh come on now,” he says, “you gotta give me something, how about one thing you wish you had at home?”

I give a slight laugh and a mischievous smile, “the lamb stew, the one with the plums, it’s probably been one of my favorite things here and I would love for my little sister to be able to taste it.” I tell him, trying to bring up Prim so we can skip a few questions.

“Oh yes! I eat it by the bucket full!” He laughs at my answer, prompting the crowd to laugh as well, “it doesn't show does it?” He asks jokingly. The crowd yells out denials and reassurance for Caesar.

“Now, Katniss, you mentioned your little sister.” He begins.

I nod giving him a small smile that is underlined with melancholy.

“Can you tell me about her? I think we were all very moved when you volunteered for her at the reaping.” He says somberly.

“Well, her name is Primrose, though everyone just calls her Prim, and she is just twelve years old.” I say.

“What was going through your head when you volunteered for her?” He asks.

“Honestly, I was thinking about her cat.” I say, Caesar looks confused and so does the audience so I explain.

“She found this cat one day, I’m not even sure where. It was tiny, half starved, and full of fleas and downright nasty to everyone, but she was determined that this was her cat and would do anything to save it, that's the kind of girl Prim is and I couldn’t let her go into the games, not somebody that inherently good.” I say truthfully.

I can hear sniffles from the audience and when I look out I see tear tracks and wet faces. They were obviously very moved by my sentiment.

“Well, Katniss, that was beautiful, and I think we all agree that you are a great big sister.” He tells me.

The crowd suddenly livens up and screams in agreement.

“Now, I would be remiss to not ask you about your dress as well.” Not his greatest transition but nobody here will care, they definitely want to know about my dress as well based upon their noise levels at the very mention of it.

“Well, Cinna once again designed it and it is beautiful!” I say with a smile.

“Yes, it is!” Caesar agrees. “You must give us a spin!”

I almost smirk but I manage to control myself at the last second.

“Well, if I must,” I say cheekily.

I spin in a little circle and my dress flames up, almost fully encasing me in the realistic looking flames.

The crowd gasps in unison before the cheering begins.

“Oh my!” Caesar exclaims, “do it again!”

So, I twirl around twice more before I move to take my seat again.

“Wow!” Caesar says as he also reclaims his seat, “I almost didn’t want you to stop!”

I just laugh at his comment, knowing I am running out of time but wanting to get a few more questions in.

“So! Girl on Fire,” he uses my nickname, “your training score! An eleven!”

The crowd cheers loudly.

“Tell us, how did that happen?” He questions.

“Well, I don’t think I am allowed to tell you exactly what happened but I can promise that it was a first.” I look up with a sheepish smile towards the gamemakers box to find most of them laughing and nodding their heads.

“I guess you're right, we aren’t supposed to know but I, and everyone else of course, can't wait to see what you do in the arena! Right folks!?” He gets loud applause and cheers for his inquiry.

My time is almost up, but I want him to ask me one last question. Thankfully we seem to be on the same page.

“So, Katniss, our time is almost up but I wanted to ask you one last thing.” He says seriously.

“Ask away Caesar.” I say.

“I couldn’t help but notice from the very beginning how close you were to your fellow tribute.” He says with a cheeky smile.

The crowd roars their approval. They obviously noticed too. Good.

“Well, Caesar, I guess you’d be right Peeta and I have known each other for a long time.” I say.

The crowd is obviously sympathetic but also so caught up in the drama that they can barely show it. I’m surprised I could pick up on it at all.

“Can you tell us how you know one another?” He asks me with a raised eyebrow.

I look back at Peeta in order to waste a little time and I see his face is pretty red but he has a smile stretched across his lips.

“Well, I’ve known him since we were eleven but he likes to brag and say that he's known me since we were five.” I tell him, very aware that my non-answer to his question will set up Peeta perfectly.

Just as Caesar once again opens his mouth to ask another question the timer rings, signaling the end of my three minutes.

The crowd is obviously upset that my time ended but when Caesar once again announces me as The Girl on Fire the screams once again radiate and fill the area.

I retake my seat and I can almost feel the glares coming from the career tributes. My interview just completely overshadowed theirs. Well, that's too bad for them, Peeta's about to knock mine out of the water anyway and with that he is going to completely bury theirs.

When Peeta is announced, the screams don’t die down a bit. They just continue from my exit and Caesar has to wave them down after they both sit. After a few jokes and pleasantries, the actual interview begins.

“So, Peeta.” Caesar starts. “I was going to start a little differently but I know I, and everyone else here, want you to finish what Katniss started telling us before her buzzer went off.”

Peeta gives Caesar an easy going smile.

“Well, Caesar, that's actually a very good story.” He says.

“All the better!” Caesar laughs.

“Well, to start you have to go back a few years. Imagine a little blue eyed baker's son holding his dad’s hand on the way to his first day of school, nervous as anything. Then, you have to imagine a little girl with dark hair, braided in two braids that hang down her back, wearing a red plaid dress and jumping up and down with her hand clutched in her own father’s in front of the school. Is everybody with me so far?” he asks the crowd, already pulling everyone in with his personable nature and his storytelling.

The crowd collectively answers in the positive.

“Well, this little boy goes through the day very much aware of this little girl, he is mesmerized by her hair, which is so different to his own, and how she smiles at and talks to everyone she meets.” That is very different to how I behave now but I do know I was a very different person before my father died.

“Now, the little girl had no clue who the boy was but he didn’t mind. Until it got towards the end of the day in music class. The teacher asked the five year olds who knew the valley song and her hand shot straight up!” He says with a laugh.

“So, the teacher stood her on a stool and asked her to sing it in front of the class. She did it without a single complaint or any hesitation. And, I swear, when she started to sing every single bird outside stopped to listen. Just like her father. Then ever since that day the little blue eyed baker’s son was aware of the little girl with the dark braids and the magic voice that made all the birds go quiet.” He finishes softly with a smile.

The crowd goes wild. They're screaming, crying, laughing.

I can see my face reflected across multiple screens around us. I have a few tears falling down from my eyes but they aren’t of sadness. The tender smile on my face proves that.

“Well, Peeta,” Caesar wipes his eyes with his white handkerchief. “That was beautiful.” He says, still slightly choked up.

Peeta gives a strained smile, with an undertone of sadness.

“Why the glum look?” Caesar notices.

“Well, that little boy never gathered the courage to talk to the girl, not for many many years, and after only a few months where they knew each other, for truth, they ended up here,” he gestures around. “Only a few hours from entering the arena. The place where only one comes out.” He says.

The crowd wails. Full on sobs and genuine distress coming from them.

“Well, that's too bad.” Caesar exclaims, unsure what else to do.

Peeta nods slowly. “Yeah it is.”

“Well, I can’t imagine that little boy giving up on the girl with the voice, so we'll just have to see how tomorrow goes.” Caesar says.

“I can guarantee that Caesar. Even if the boy never gets a real chance with the girl, he hasn’t given up on her in eleven years, he’s not about to start now.” Peeta declares.

“What do you mean a real chance? Are you not together?” Caesar says with complete surprise, matching the crowd.

Peeta’s face takes on a dark red blush, I am not sure how he does that so convincingly.

“Well, before tonight we had never crossed that line. I had never really told her that full story, especially the last bit, how he fell for her and her magic voice just like her own mother fell for her father’s.” He says.

The crowd gasps and I can once more feel the cameras burning on me.

I let my mouth fall open slightly like I am shocked, but I quickly give up on that and instead look at Peeta with love, something that comes naturally to me now.

“Well, Peeta, even a little time is better than none, and though we all enjoyed your story, we do wish you could have been able to tell this story one day to your kids.” Caesar says seriously.

At this point my blush is very real, bringing up kids was a low blow. It worked in our favor though because the Capitol citizens got even louder in their distress at this announcement.

“Thank you Caesar. I wish that too.” he says right as his buzzer rings.

I cannot believe he spent the entire interview talking about me. I shouldn't be surprised, it is such a Peeta thing to do, but I do wish he had gotten in more about himself.

“Well, Peeta, we wish you the best of luck.” He shakes Peeta's hand.

“Thank you Caesar,” Peeta answers.

“Peeta Mellark everyone!”

The crowd cheers through their tears as Peeta walks back towards his seat. When he reaches it the Anthem starts playing and when I stand up, I reach for his hand. We stand through the anthem holding onto one another tightly and drawing looks from the crowds as we do.

We file off the stage in a single line and Peeta and I head straight for the elevator, getting to our floor in record time and without running into anybody from our team and completely ignoring the looks we were getting from the other tributes. Peeta and I separate to go take separate showers but once we are both done he knocks on my door and we sit on my bed in our pajamas and order food through the microphone in my room, stuffing ourselves full and then a little bit more for good measure, we will need everything we can possible get before tomorrow. We both chug a huge glass of water, and get another one to keep by the bed tonight.

Peeta doesn’t leave me alone tonight. Both of us know we need to sleep as much as possible and the only way either of us are going to get any is if we are together. So, that's what we do, as I fall asleep to his steady breathing and his strong heartbeat in my ear, I can only hope that we have done enough. That we’ve provided enough of an incentive for the Capitol citizens to want to keep both of us around, that we’ve shown Snow how I’ve loved him from the beginning.

Now, the only thing left to do is survive.

Something much easier said than done.

Chapter 17: Chapter XVII

Chapter Text

Now, the only thing left to do is survive.

Something much easier said than done.

Today is the day. Both Peeta and I are woken up by our stylists. They give both of us sad looks but get us up and moving anyway. Before Portia and Peeta leave, Portia gives me a hug and a small “good luck.” Peeta gives me a much longer hug and a kiss on the head. My bottom lip is quivering as he leans closer to put a strand of hair behind my ear and to cup my face.

“I’ll see you in a bit okay?” He says.

I can't make my voice work so I just give him a nod. He nods back once, gives me another kiss on the forehead and moves towards the door to go across the hall to his room.

Cinna gives me a small sad smile as he gestures towards the bathroom.

I jump in the shower, making it as hot as I can stand. I scrub myself twice just to get myself clean before I can’t bathe again for however long these games last.

When I step out, I am instantly dried and the electrical box once again makes my hair fall perfectly into place.

I brush my teeth twice and then put on unscented lotion and I find a can of bug spray, 100% DEET to be specific, that I spray on as well. I don't think it’ll last very long but even if it helps a little I’ll take it.

Cinna presents me a plain slip dress and I pull it on. He quickly but tightly braids my hair in my signature braid and we get up and move towards the roof where we will be picked up in a hovercraft to be taken to the arena.

Haymitch is waiting up there and pulls me into a hug.

“Good luck Sweetheart.” He tells me.

“Any last advice?” I ask him, already knowing what he will say.

“Stay alive.”

I give him a nod and another short hug before I walk towards the rope ladder that will take me up.

I am kept frozen by the electrical current as I reach the top. The freezing current doesn’t stop me from feeling the tracker going in though.

Once I am unfrozen, Cinna is lifted in and we are off to the stockyard.

I eat a piece of avocado toast and slurp down a protein drink but that is all I can make myself eat before. I do drink as much water as possible, however.

Finally, we are landing and Cinna leads me to the brand new launch room. I will be the only one to ever use it.

“Okay. Let's get you into your clothes.” Cinna tells me.

The very familiar outfit almost makes me more nauseous. The plain undergarments, simple tawny pants, light green blouse, sturdy brown belt, and thin, hooded black jacket that falls to my thighs. Cinna once more pins the mockingjay pin onto my chest and I quietly thank him.

I then head to the bathroom and brush my teeth one more time and put on a layer of bug spray, 100% DEET, and deodorant.

Cinna re-braids my hair, just for something to do. Eventually we are just sitting side by side on the couch. My hand in both of his.

Eventually that, once pleasant but now nightmare haunting, voice calls out that it is time to launch.

Still clenching one of Cinna’s hands, I walk over and stand on the circular metal plate. “Remember what Haymitch said. Run, find water. The rest will follow,” he says. I nod. “And

remember this. I’m not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you.”

“Truly?” I whisper, feeling just the same as I did the first time around.

“Truly, ” says Cinna. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. “Good luck, Girl on Fire.”

I step into the launch tube and the glass closes behind me. Cinna pats once under his chin and I feel myself automatically dropping and pushing back my shoulders as I lift my chin. A much more confident stance.

He nods at me once and that is when the cylinder starts moving.

I close my eyes so as to not be blinded as I enter the brightly lit arena.

As the cylinder clicks into place, I can once again look around the arena.

It is exactly the same. A flat, open stretch of ground. A plain of hard packed dirt. Behind the tributes across from me, I can see nothing, but I know there is a grain field over there. To my right lies the lake. To my left and back, my woods.

As soon as I register that I am once again back in this same hell, Cladius Templesmith’s voice comes over the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!”

The sixty second counter starts immediately.

I take in where everything is in the cornucopia.

The bow is even further from me than last time. However, it is much closer to Peeta.

Then closer to me, and closer to Clove, is a large vest packed with throwing knives. Serrated, pointed, curved, and even a few more in the large selection.

I see the familiar orange backpack across the way but there are plenty of packs closer to the mouth, and I know they'll have much better supplies. Packs meant as ready ones for the careers, the only ones who should be able to go to them and get away with them safely.

Peeta catches my eye and I give him a little hand signal we had agreed on before we were even reaped. He gives me a nod in return and we turn our attention back to the cornucopia.

We have ten seconds.

Nine.

I don't take my eyes off of the cornucopia at all, completely focused.

Seven.

Peeta better be okay. I swear if he gets hurt… I have to almost shake myself out of that train of thought.

Four.

Time to focus, Katniss.

Three.

I let out a long and low pitched whistle, startling the careers and other tributes who all look over at me in confusion and surprise.

The timer runs out and I am off.

After all of our sprint training, Peeta and I are so much faster, fast enough that we are already more than halfway to our respective targets before the careers, let alone any of the other tributes, are even off their pedestals.

I barely even slow down as I snatch the knife vest off the ground, way before Clove can reach it.

I quickly make my way to the mouth of the cornucopia and I am grabbing a large dark green backpack that is obviously very full.

I don't stop as I run past the opening. I grab one more small pack in my reach, this one made to go around my waist. And I run straight into the woods across from me. I hear a knife whizzing by my face and automatically move slightly, as much as I can while keeping up my pace. I see it hit the tree just to my left, the entire blade stuck in the trunk so just the handle is showing.

I don’t stop. I don’t turn around. I just keep running. I run and run and run. Eventually I start slowing down but I don't stop. I run for about two hours at a solid pace before I need to stop completely.

I stop crouching behind a bush and I listen carefully for anybody moving. I don't hear anything which is why I startle when there is a slight whistle to the left of me. As soon as I recognize it I am almost beaming. I whistle back and Peeta’s blonde curls poke out from behind a tree about thirty feet away. A quiver thrown over his shoulder and my bow clutched in his right hand.

I run straight towards him and he lifts my feet off the ground in our hug. I just bury my face in the crook of his neck, completely disregarding the sweat, uncaring of anything except him and his safety.

Eventually, we have to separate and he kisses my forehead.

We are both still breathing heavily but our wide smiles say more than anything else does.

I gesture to our right and he nods, handing me my bow and quiver as I hand him the knife vest I was carrying. We walk for the next half an hour just quietly, both hyper aware of our surroundings.

I eventually see a large tree with big sturdy branches and a lot of leaves to hide us well. I poke Peeta on the shoulder and gesture towards it. He nods and we both walk up to the trunk before I scramble up the branches, eventually picking a high up fork that can easily hold both of our weights.

Peeta follows me and when we settle I once more lean into his side as he wraps an arm around my shoulder.

I look up at him only to find him already looking at me.

He brushes a stray hair out of my face. “I’m so happy you're okay. I saw Clove's knife just miss and I thought…” he trails off.

I just cup his face. “I’m okay. It hit the tree to my left and by the time she was chasing after me to throw another I was long gone.” I kiss his cheek.

He nods, pulling me into a hug and breathing in my hair. When he pulls back he gives me a cheeky smile and pulls his backpack and sling bag around to the front and I pull my two bags out as well.

“Well, didn’t we make out like bandits.” I joke.

He laughs and shakes his head.

“We definitely did well, but we still need to see what’s in them.” Peeta reminds me.

I give him a nod and gesture for him to go first.

He opens the sling bag first. It is kinda a weird texture and honestly I am almost 100% certain it is waterproof, something that might be incredibly helpful in the future, plus the string straps could be used if needed.

In the bag, he finds two packs of dried fruit, and an empty 16 oz water bottle. As well as a pair of sunglasses that look very familiar.

“No way.” I say excitedly.

I can tell Peeta is faking ignorance but I doubt anybody else can.

“What? Why are you so happy about some sunglasses?” he asks.

“Just try them on and tell me what you see,” I tell him, already unfolding the arms to put them on his face.

“They don't work. I can't see anything.” He says, still faking confusion.

“That’s because they aren’t sunglasses. They're for night time, they help you see in the dark.” I tell him exasperated.

“Ohhhhh. Nice. That's actually so helpful for watches and stuff.” he says with a smile.

I roll my eyes and gesture for him to continue. Before he can though, the cannons start. Nine shots ring out, echoing through the whole arena. Peeta and I confirm with the other on the amount of shots and both of us nod, raising our fingers in our district salute. I don’t know if they'll even show this but it feels wrong to just keep going without offering some sort of goodbye. We sit in silence for another minute, during which both Peeta and I are clutching the other’s hand and he rubs the back of mine over and over with his thumb, calming me down. Eventually we keep going, we have to.

He pulls out a folded piece of fabric. It isn’t a blanket but it's a black tarp like fabric. It will be so nice if it rains for a makeshift shelter or to put on the ground if we end up back in our cave.

He then gives me a cheeky grin before he pulls out the last thing from the bag, a decent sized bar of chocolate. I laugh at his expression, he looks like a kid on Christmas.

He quickly puts everything back in the bag, closing it before handing it to me to hold as he goes to the next bag. He looks so proud of it and it isn’t difficult to figure out why. Hanging off the front is a little frying pan attached to a carabiner. I laugh out loud at his expression which causes him to give me an exaggerated pout but that just makes me laugh harder. Eventually I gather myself enough that he can open the bag.

He opens the little pockets first.

In the first side pocket he finds a Swiss Army Knife. It has a knife, a file, a screwdriver, a tiny pair of scissors, a can opener, and a few other things.

In the other side pocket are two bundles of snare wire, something that makes both of us smile wide. That is going to be so helpful in terms of getting food, even if both of us can hunt with our respective weapons.

In the front pocket is a bunch of cooking tools. It makes him let out a little laugh and I roll my eyes at the irony. After a few jokes about him getting the cooking tools, he shows me what he got. There is a pair of tongs, a fork, a knife, and a spoon.

He puts everything back in their places before he opens the large pocket.

The first thing on top is a large bundle of black rope, it is thick and sturdy. Then right below that is a knit hat with an extra pair of socks balled up in it along with a pair of mittens. Something that will be so nice once the sun goes down, I definitely remember how cold it gets at night in the arena. There are also two packs of dried meat, and a pack of crackers with a tiny little thing of peanut butter. Next is another reusable water bottle, this one is pretty large though, it is plastic and probably 64 oz.

That took up a considerable amount of room in the backpack but there is still enough space for a folded up fleece blanket, a bar of soap, and a toothbrush with little toothpaste capsules, something that makes both of us smile.

When he puts everything back in the bag he turns towards me.

“Now, I showed you mine, you show me yours.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

I raise my eyebrows at him and playfully push him, he pretends to almost fall off the branch and pouts at me.

Eventually we both laugh and I hand him back his sling bag, and pull my two bags around. He gets his bags settled on the branch and turns to face me.

I open the belt bag first. It is a tiny little bag but it is stuffed full. There is a bag of mixed nuts and a bag of raisins right on top. I take those out and hand them to Peeta, who takes them with a grin.

Right below that is a box of matches, something we don't necessarily need to start a fire but it will be very helpful and allow us to do it a lot quicker. I hand those to him as well and he slips them in his sling bag.

There are two more things in this little bag. A little bundle of string that I unravel to produce a fishing line complete with two hooks, along with another toothbrush and toothpaste capsules.

I shove everything back in my little bag, besides the matches, and zip it back up, handing it to Peeta so that he can put it with his bags. He does so with a goofy smile.

“Okay, last bag,” I say with a smile. He gives me one back and a small nod.

I have a few more pockets on my bag because it is larger than his was. There is one on the left side and two on the right.

The left side holds a pair of mittens and a few hair ties, something I really appreciate because last time I was worried mine was going to break the whole time.

The right side has another bundle of snare wire in the top pocket, and in the bottom pocket there is a tiny thing of bug spray, thankfully 100% DEET, and deodorant. Peeta laughs and so do I, this will be very helpful in the next few days.

I put everything back and turn the bag so that it is facing towards me. There is one pretty large pocket on the front of the bag.

In the pocket is a decent size bottle of iodide, a small thing of salt and other spices, something that very much excites Peeta, a small thing of hand sanitizer, a few empty plastic baggies, and another bar of soap.

Finally there is the big pocket left, along with a small pocket right at the top that I barely noticed, something I decided to leave for last.

The large pocket is so stuffed full I am surprised the zipper is able to work. This was definitely meant for a career.

Right on top is a folded up black thing that is very familiar. I unroll it slightly to find an identical black sleeping bag to what I had the first time.

Right below that is a good sized water bottle, it is between the two sizes that Peeta got. The next thing I pull out is a good size first aid kit. Peeta and I smile wide as soon as we see it.

I hurry to open it, almost dropping it as I do in my excitement but luckily I don’t actually drop anything.

There are a bunch of bandages and different sized bandaids. A few wipes and a tube of topical antibiotic. A few aspirin pills and other pain killers. Fever reducers and an instant ice pack, that I think can be reused. There are little swabs to put on the ointment along with a pair of blue rubber gloves. There are also two tiny little packets of burn cream. I don’t know if it’s the Capitol stuff that works magic or if it’s more like the stuff we have at home, but either way I am thankful for it, my burn last time sucked. There is also a wire splint, safety pins, and a syringe, with no needle.

I pack everything back up neatly and hand the kit off to Peeta to hold, I definitely don't want that to fall as we finish going through the pack. There are only a few items left anyway. There is a rolled up thin plastic poncho raincoat thing. I put out another bag of dried meat and two cans. One of tuna, and the other a can of chicken soup. Finally, there are two carabiners clipped together that I pull out from the very bottom.

Finally the last place left is the little pocket. There is only one thing in it. Another pair of night vision glasses, something that brings a smile to both of our faces.

We both talk about our hauls for a little bit. We really did come out on top. These packs were obviously meant for the Careers, nobody else could get out alive for them to use anything in one of them, let alone all four packs.

We spend a little bit more time in the tree, splitting our supplies up, just in case.

Peeta takes my larger backpack and I take his smaller one due to my quiver and also he’s just stronger than me anyway. I clip the belt bag around my waist, full of the essentials we desperately don't want to lose, and Peeta has the waterproof sling with the things we want to keep dry.

We decide to get out of the tree and do some gathering and hunting before we find a place to sleep tonight. We talked about going back to our cave when we were training back in twelve but we decided to save that until just in case we get separated or if we need to go somewhere else in a hurry.

So, when we gather ourselves, climbing down and starting our hunt we are also looking around for water. I know the river is a good two hour walk away and the lake is even further, plus way too close to the Careers, so we are hoping to stumble on an offshoot of the river or another little water source, something that seems less and less likely as we move along.

I shoot a rabbit, and Peeta finds a wineberry bush along with a few edible mushrooms. Then I found a few wild onions.

We decide that's enough for today and decide to “look for water.” Peeta gives his hand a flick and I know he wants to make the trip towards the river, because we aren’t having any luck with water otherwise. Before we start moving that way though, we start a quick fire and cook the rabbit, using a little bit of the seasoning to flavor the meat.

We don't stick around after we light the fire and finish our cooking. We quickly stomp the fire out and leave quickly and quietly. Leaving no trace of which way we were going.

Peeta and I walk in silence most of the way, both of us eating a rabbit leg and handfuls of berries. We put the rest of the berries and the mushrooms in our packs for later.

We eventually make our way towards the river and along the way both Peeta and I pretend to be looking for water, just trying to make it seem like we don’t know where we are going.

We touch moss and feel the dirt. I look for animal tracks and Peeta looks around at all the different geographical hints, as “water runs downwards.” We both push each other towards the river, and when we first hear the water rushing we both smile at the other and make our way towards it. We are as silent as possible and completely aware of our surroundings. If anybody is going to be near us, it will be around water and sound travels near it anyway.

Peeta runs to fill our bottles while I keep my bow loaded and watch his back. He reaches up to my hip pack, unzipping it, and pulls out the iodide bottle and puts the correct number of drops in each bottle before he stands up and we retreat back into the woods.

We head away from the river but also away from where we were earlier. We walk for about an hour before the sun starts to set. It’s time to find a place to sleep for the night, it looks more and more like that'll be in a tree, which is something I’m not complaining about. I actually recognize where we are and I almost gawk at the coincidence. It's the willow tree. The one I hid the first night last time around, where the district eight girl set up her fire. It’s too late to pick somewhere else and the willow will provide the best coverage for us, so we agree to head there. I just hope the girl picks somewhere else or that she doesn’t light the fire, we should have changed enough that it is a possibility.

Once again, I climb up first and find a sturdy branch. While I am doing this, Peeta sets up a few snares a little bit away, and he hides them perfectly, there's no way anybody will find them, something which is only good for us.

This tree is obviously old and the branches got the gamemaker treatment, making them even more sturdy than they should be. Peeta eventually joins me and we both climb in the sleeping bag. We slip on the mittens as well and Peeta pulls on his hat, he tries to push it on me but I eventually get him to wear it.

We decided to not use the blanket right now, it would be more difficult to make sure it doesn't fall and we are both warm in the sleeping bag.

I tie us in using the rope and lay my head in the crook of Peeta’s shoulder.

“Go to sleep Kat.” Peeta whispers, running his hand over my braided hair. “I’ll take first watch.” He grabs his night vision glasses, ready to put them on once the sun completely sets.

“Okay, but you actually have to wake me up when you get tired.” I tell him, trying to be stern but I am already half asleep. His heartbeat lulling me to sleep along with his gentle caresses of my hair.

“Okay, Kat, I will,” he kisses my head and sits back. I just let myself drift off. Knowing that even if I am in an arena with 13 people trying to kill me, I have only ever been safe in Peeta’s arms.

Chapter 18: Chapter XVIII

Chapter Text

“Okay, Kat, I will,” he kisses my head and sits back.

I just let myself drift off.

Knowing that even if I am in an arena with 13 people trying to kill me, I have only ever been safe in Peeta’s arms.

I wake up to the snapping of branches, not under someone's feet but being pulled down from the very willow we are in.

I thought this might have been avoided. Isn’t there some kind of effect that when one thing changes, many things should change in response? Like why is this girl still snapping off branches to build a fire… in the middle of the night in The Hunger Games. It’s a sure fire way to get killed and I find myself as annoyed with her as I was the first time around.

Peeta pulls me even closer to him and when I look up at him, he is looking at me nervously, with questions in his eyes and a pale tint to his face, visible even in the darkness surrounding us.

I shake my head. He gives me a nod. He settles, pushing himself, and me, back against the trunk as much as possible, trying to meld into the tree and become unnoticeable.

So, as the same as last time, we wait in the tree while the girl gets the fire going and eventually falls asleep beside it until close to dawn. Another huge mistake.

The girl must not have slept the night before the games because she doesn't wake until the careers are right on her. How she didn’t hear them crashing through the forest is a mystery to me but she didn’t even have a chance to run.

Peeta and I sit there and have to listen as the girl begs for her life, only to scream and cry as they play around with her life. Eventually her scream gets cut off right in the middle, a cannon blaring in the distance. I just press my face into Peeta’s chest, hiding away from what is going on below us.

The careers eventually come towards us and Peeta and I subconsciously hold our breaths. Wide eyed and terrified. Peeta has two knives in his hand and I subtly shift and grab another from his vest, my bow too obvious to load.

They once again stop right on the outside of the weeping branches, they don't even think to look under them or through them, and definitely not upwards, so they don’t see us but we have a perfect view of them.

“I can’t lie and say I feel bad about killing her, but I so wish it was that District Twelve bitch and her little boy toy.” Glimmer spits out.

“I know,” Cato growls.

“I want to know if she can actually use those knives.” Clove pipes in jealously. I smirk at how upset she is that her vest was taken. I can see she is wearing arm and thigh holsters as well as a belt with a few knives but they aren't as numerous as the vest is.

“Lover Boy too with that bow.” Marvel joins in. “I never saw him once at that station and I know for a fact they don't use bows down in those mines or in a bakery.”

I raise my eyebrow. Do they think we work down in the mines now? I guess that would make sense because every single other district uses kids for their output. District One through Eleven, every single one of those kids has training and hands on experience in their different specialties.

Just another way District twelve fucks over their kids in preparation for these heinous games.

“I bet we can find them if we really try,” Marina gets in on the debate too, “they seem more inclined to focus on each other than the rest of the world so it'll probably be easy.” She makes a thinking face. “Though with their scores we can’t be too careful. I have no idea how they got those scores, especially her,” she spits out that last word with more than a little bit of venom, “so until we do we still need to be cautious.” She nods.

Wow. Okay. The rest of them might be vicious killers with no remorse or hesitation but she's the only one with common sense. Common sense in a place like this is dangerous, so many of the kids in here are running on pure instinct and guesswork. Keeping your head could be the difference between dying and surviving and she's got her head screwed on tight.

The rest of the careers voice their reluctant agreement before moving back towards the field, likely going to get some sleep after a night full of hunting.

Peeta and I wait until we can’t hear them anymore before climbing down from our spot. Our bags packed tight. Peeta has a knife in each hand and my bow is loaded with my full quiver slung over my shoulder. After making sure the coast is clear, Peeta and I separate to go check our snares and dismantle them, ready to move to the next location and get the hell out of here. We still have half the rabbit from yesterday but between the two of us that can easily be gone within the next hour, which is why both of us are excited that we caught two more, as well as a squirrel last night.

I motion him over to the still hot coals from District Eight and we both make quick work of skinning and gutting the animals. Roasting them over the coals and putting them in the same baggie as the rabbit from yesterday. Although we both pull out the rest of the rabbit and make quick work of our breakfast, staying right here because we know the careers won't be coming back anytime soon. We also eat the rest of our wineberries from yesterday. A great and filling breakfast anywhere, let alone in the middle of the Hunger Games.

When we finally do decide to move, we quickly come to the conclusion we need to head in the direction of the river to refill our water bottles. We have three fourths of the biggest bottle left but between both of us, that won't last too long with hiking and the hot sun glaring down on us.

We make quick work of the walk and eventually decide to wade through the river to get to the other side. It is shallow enough for us to walk but we do need to hold our packs above our heads, except for the waterproof one of course. When we make it to the other side, Peeta fills our bottles, while I keep watch, and we take off immediately after he is done.

We move quietly but quickly through the familiar terrain. We don't go out as far as I did last time, not wanting to tempt another wildfire from the gamemakers by not being in range of conflict, but we move far enough out to feel comfortable.

Peeta and I are collecting dandelions and clover, laughing and joking with each other all the while, when another cannon is heard overhead. I don’t remember every single kill and when they happened during these games, but I don’t believe this happened last time. I might be wrong though and it’s not like I can ask Peeta, we are constantly on camera and monitored, so I guess I’ll just have to wait until tonight to see who is in the sky.

Peeta and I share a look and go back to our foraging. If I close my eyes and ignore the slightly different, slightly fake, smell, it is almost exactly like being back in the woods at home. We aren’t chasing each other through the trees and trying to tickle the other like at home, or having fun at the lake, but we are together and that is the most important thing.

For the rest of the day, Peeta and I gather and hunt and look for another water source besides the river or the lake. I know there are little ponds dotted here and there but I can’t seem to remember where they are, so we are just hoping to stumble upon one.

I shoot a groosling and Peeta attaches it to the side of his pack, it swings with every step but we can’t cook it yet and alert the careers to our location.

Along with our clover and dandelions, Peeta and I find more wineberries, a tiny pack of strawberries, and some paw paws. We collect everything, splitting it up between both of our packs. We eat a nice lunch of another rabbit split between both of us, a handful of dandelions and clover with some of our wild onions for extra flavor. Finally we each have one paw paw and a single handful of wineberries. A filling lunch, rarely ever, besides the careers, do tributes get two meals a day let alone three. I just hope Peeta and I can keep it up, but I doubt between the two of us we will have any problems. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if there might be a few less things around us now that the gamemakers know our ability to feed ourselves. Although, if the entire Capitol population still loves us, they should want to take us to the end, so maybe it won't. I can’t decide one way or the other.

Throughout the entire day, Peeta and I flirt and laugh and just are together. Whenever we are around one another we can’t help it. Whether it is a shy smile or a wide grin, a sweeping hug or a small hand squeeze, booming belly laughs or eyebrows raised in good natured humor and teasing. We don’t kiss or cross any boundaries but you can see how comfortable we are with each other, how much we trust one another and how we instinctively know what the other wants or needs to do.

Eventually, Peeta and I do find a tiny little pond, it barely would be bigger than my house at home in the seam, so I am not sure pond is the best description, maybe a very very large puddle would be more apt.

We drink our fill, completely draining the medium bottle, before we refill it and get moving. We move about an hour away from the pond, and make a fire at dusk. The smoke should be mostly covered by the hour and I doubt the careers will be looking right at this moment anyway, they are too busy eating and getting ready to go hunting tonight.

So, we quickly cook the groosling, char the mushrooms, and stomp out the fire.

We decided to eat the squirrel tonight and chow down on the mushrooms as well. We eat the last two paw paws and the strawberries. A filling dinner, once again.

After we have our fill, we move to go to bed. Once again sliding into the same sleeping bag, high up in a tree. Peeta forces me to have the hat tonight and I take the first watch, because Peeta didn’t get any sleep last night because of the fire fiasco. I can’t believe he is still on his feet after everything yesterday and today, he really needs sleep.

This time it is him who rests his head on my chest. I run my hand through his hair and caress his face. I run the back of my index finger down his nose. It is something my father always did to put me to sleep and it works like a charm. Peeta’s eyes fall closed and his breathing evens out.

“Goodnight Peeta,” I whisper, only just loud enough for the cameras to pick up but I don’t do it for them anyway. I lean down to kiss his forehead and give him an indulgent smile before I turn my attention outward.

There were two deaths today, the District Ten boy and the District Eight girl according to the anthem to which I offer the salute, so that should be ample enough for the bloodthirsty Capitolites, at least for the night. Peeta and I should be relatively safe between our banter today and our sweet moments. We still haven't kissed on camera for them but I know we are going to have to wait for the right time to do it.

Either way though, we should be relatively safe.

Right?

Chapter 19: Chapter XIV

Chapter Text

There were two deaths today, the District Ten boy and the District Eight girl according to the anthem to which I offer the salute, so that should be ample enough for the bloodthirsty Capitolites, at least for the night. Peeta and I should be relatively safe between our banter today and our sweet moments. We still haven't kissed on camera for them but I know we are going to have to wait for the right time to do it.

Either way though, we should be relatively safe.

Right?

I wasn’t wrong.

We were relatively safe for the night.

Come morning though, that was a different story.

At some point both Peeta and I fell asleep, I don’t know if it was mine or his watch that was messed up but either way I woke up to a wave of heat and the sound of rushing animals.

The fire.

How is this happening again?!?!

Are they that desperate to make fun of the “Girl on Fire” tag I’ve been stuck with?!?!

I shake Peeta awake and as soon as he sees the fire he doesn’t even untie the rope keeping us trapped, just cutting it with the knife gripped in his hand and we pull on our packs. I pour half my water bottle onto the hat and hold it over my face, stopping the worst of the smoke from being inhaled.

Peeta sees what I’m doing, wrenches the bottle out of my hand and douses his shirt, pulling the bottom up and over his nose.

We get down the tree fast enough and Peeta just bundles up the sleeping bag and then…we sprint.

I know exactly where they want us to go so I yell to Peeta.

“GET TO A POND OR EVEN THE LAKE!” I tell him loudly over the crackling of the fire and the sound of falling trees.

He doesn’t give any indication that he heard me other than changing his course slightly. I follow him with ease, my breathing heavier than it should be but that’s due to the smoke and not the exertion.

Once we get closer to the pond though I notice something. There are no fire balls being shot at us. The fire is also not as strong as it was last time around. I look around in confusion, slowly down slightly during my scan.

The fire is moving in the opposite direction. Yes, it is pushing us too, likely just for entertainment, but this isn’t specifically for us. We're just in addition to the target.

I quickly get Peeta’s attention and we change course once again. We are no longer going straight for the lake by the cornucopia, and instead we are headed towards it but going around to come from the other direction, hiding our arrival from the targets, likely the careers and another unfortunate tribute.

We take our time and by the time we get to the lake, we see the entire career pack staring up at a tree.

Peeta comes up by my back, wrapping his arms around me from behind for comfort, this scene too familiar to both of us for comfort.

That's when I see it. Bushy brown hair and a small ruffle of the leaves.

Rue.

I pull away from Peeta abruptly as I try to see it again and I know from his look of confusion that he didn’t see it.

“Peeta,” I whisper. “It’s Rue.”

Peeta's face hardens immediately. No longer the soft baker’s boy, this is the Hunger Games victor and war torn veteran that Peeta hides behind his sweet disposition and natural empathy.

He gives me a sharp nod and we are on the move. We move in towards the confrontation, hearing them tease Rue and trying to goad one another into climbing to go get her. Glimmer doesn’t have the bow this time, instead she has a sharp sword, so at least that’s an avenue that is closed to them, even if they weren’t good with it in the first place.

We slow down once we get closer, not wanting to alert them to our presence. I see a very large tree right next to the one Rue is in, the same one I was stuck in that night.

I gesture Peeta towards it and we climb and climb and climb until we get high enough we can’t be seen from the career’s current position but Rue will be able to see us if she is looking.

I can see her huddled against the trunk, trying to stay as small as possible. Her eyes closed tightly, tears streaking down her face, her nose running from her tears.

My heart clenches painfully. Oh Rue.

Peeta looks at me and then whistles a tune, not Rue’s and it sounds similar to what a bird would do, but I know and he knows Rue will look around for the sound.

Sure enough we are correct, two big brown eyes open slowly, still leaking tears.

She catches sight of us and her eyes go even wider at the sight. Obviously surprised but not necessarily scared, to be fair it would be hard to be scared of us when there are five blood thirsty teenagers waiting for you at the bottom of the tree.

She looks at us with her head cocked.

I shoot her a concerned look and point upwards. She cranes her neck to see but I can tell she doesn’t see what I’m pointing at. She moves up to the next branch and can see through the leaves now. The giant hanging nest of the tracker jackers, subdued by the smoke and hibernating, for now.

She looks at me now with a twinkle in her eye. She nods but I can tell she doesn't have anything to cut it down with. I look at Peeta who is watching the interplay with concern but he also has a small smile. I can tell he is watching our interaction and is reminded of Prim. I give him a small smile back and he nods, already reaching in his vest and pulling out a serrated knife. This is a considerable distance and we have to make sure that the careers don’t see the knife but I know he can get the knife stuck in the tree high enough for Rue to get it and cut down the branch.

He holds the knife up to show Rue what it is and she cocks her head to the side once again, confused about how that will help her.

I mime throwing it and her eyes widen, looking down at the careers who have decided to wait her out, on Marina’s suggestion this time instead of Peeta’s.

They spread apart, going to find wood or something, I’m not sure.

She looks back at us and nods her head, moving to the other side of the tree to make sure she isn’t hit just in case. Smart girl.

Peeta looks at me and nods, gaining a nod in return before he looks at the careers. Cato and Marvel are filling their water bottles a little ways away at the lake. Clove is currently throwing knives at a tree, facing away from the tree. Glimmer is picking at her nails, completely unconcerned with the happenings around her. The only one paying attention to the tree is Marina. Her eyes narrowed in thought and concentration.

Peeta and I share a look, we are gonna have to wait for her attention to be drawn away or we have to chance it. Neither Peeta and I are prepared for the latter so we decide to wait. Eventually Marina loses interest in the tree, content that Rue cannot jump to another one or get down without alerting them and goes to collect some nearby firewood.

Peeta doesn’t miss his chance. He throws the knife hard. It flies straight and true, embedding itself deep into the tree trunk.

Rue peeks her head around the tree, obviously hearing the thunk. I check down on the ground and the only thing I see that changed is Cato and Marvel coming back from their lake trip.

Rue must agree and moves back towards the knife, attempting to wiggle it out of the tree. It was stuck in there really good but she should have plenty of time before sun down and the anthem to get it out. Peeta and I set up camp in this tree, eating a quick dinner of rabbit and berries, along with the rest of the clover, dandelions, and wild onion. We have plenty of water so we aren’t worried about that.

When the anthem comes on eventually, Peeta and I are already tucked into the sleeping bag. The hat stuck firmly on his head. I don’t look up at the empty sky, no deaths today, instead I look across the way. Rue did eventually get the knife out and she is sawing the branch, back and forth, back and forth. She has to stop before it is over, and her obviously discouraged face almost breaks my heart. She shoots a quick look towards us and waves, I wave back and we communicate through mostly understood hand gestures. She is going to go to sleep in the tree until the morning when she is going to finish cutting it down. I give her confirmation for her plan and settle back against a sleeping Peeta.

Eventually, I wake Peeta in order to switch watch shifts and as I cuddle up to him I can’t help but feel safe, even with a hoard of crazy bees across the way and a pack of killers sleeping right below us.

I drift off to sleep, warm and comfortable.

I only wake up a few hours later to the sound of screams and buzzing.

Peeta grabs my waist, stopping us from falling out of the tree or alerting the tracker jackers to our close by position.

Instead, we sit almost completely still and watch the chaos.

Marina and Glimmer once again flailing on the ground trying to slap off the homing bees. Everybody else is running straight towards the pond, hoping to lose the bees there. Rue stumbles down the tree, not moving nearly as fast or as easily down through the trees as she usually would and when she gets to the bottom, she almost immediately passes out.

Peeta and I share a look, quickly getting our stuff together and racing down the tree. I rush towards Rue, seeing a giant swollen sting on her left hand but no other visible stings or bumps. Hopefully, that is the only sting she got.

I quickly pull out the stinger and grimace as I start to squeeze the bump, trying to get all the venom out before it can get into her bloodstream fully. Peeta gently pushes my hands away and takes over. A good idea if I have anything to say about it.

About ten drops of bright green liquid pour out of the wound. I quickly wipe it away and Peeta gently picks up Rue in his arms. I hear someone stumbling through the woods and Peeta must as well because we are both rushing away at the same moment. Long gone before anybody can stumble in and see us.

Peeta and I ran for a good while before we both shared a look and a nod, immediately adjusting our direction to head towards the river, making our way towards a familiar cave, somewhere we both know is safe while Rue is incapacitated.

It takes another hour, an hour of Rue whimpering and shattering both of our hearts with her obvious distress. Both Peeta and I are visibly anguished by the time we reach the cave.

I point it out to him and he nods, both of us could make our way here with our eyes closed and knew exactly where it was, however we needed to at least attempt to be looking for somewhere, not just head straight towards it.

Eventually, we get in and I sit down on the ground, gesturing for Peeta to set Rue in my lap. He sets her down gently and I wrap her in my arms, shushing her gently, trying to ease her through the worst of it.

Peeta rips off his packs and I take mine off too, handing them to him, trusting him to get us set up while I help Rue.

He pulls out multiple things.

First, he lays down the tarp, protecting the blanket that is laid down next from the dirt floor of the cave.

He lays down the sleeping bag as well, completely unzipping it and laying it out like another blanket. I can’t move myself and Rue to the blankets without putting her down so I nod my head towards Rue for Peeta to take her but instead he reaches down and lifts both of us. Together we can’t weigh more than 200 pounds, we are probably considerably less, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he did it.

He places us down gently onto the pile of blankets and I cradle Rue. Peeta hands me a water bottle and I take a few sips before I try to coax some into Rue. It takes a while but eventually, in between one of her hallucinations, I get a little bit in her, enough to satisfy me for the moment.

Peeta sets up our packs in the corner, before he sits right beside us. He pushes Rue’s hair off of her sweaty forehead and then sighs as he puts his arm behind me, allowing me to lean against it.

I lay my head on his shoulder, the adrenaline of what just happened seeping out of my body, making me tired but I know I need to do one more thing before I can collapse.

“Peeta,” I whisper.

He looks at me from his place by my side.

“I need to go collect something to help Rue.” I tell him.

“Okay, I’ll keep watch of her. Please please please be careful. The careers might be incapacitated from their stings but there are others around too.” He tells me seriously.

I don’t give him an answer, I just kiss his cheek and pass him Rue. Watching him cradle her in his arms.

I grab my bow, my quiver still on my back, and I empty pretty much everything out of my hip pack, hoping to get enough of the Tracker Jacker leaves to fill it.

I give them one last glance as I slip out of the cave, seeing Peeta take care of Rue almost takes my breath away. How protective and loving and caring he is towards the small girl.

I shake my head to rid it of the thought, that's not what I need to focus on. I need to remember where Rue and I found the tracker jacker leaves.

It takes me longer than I thought it would.

I had to hunt for over two hours before I found them. They aren’t the same ones that Rue and I found last time, these are much further out but I am just grateful I could find them. Thankfully, while I was out I was able to shoot another groosling and gather some more mushrooms, I even found some edible roots that Rue showed me last time.

I built a fire all the way out here, not wanting to lead anybody to our camp. Quickly de-feathering and gutting the groosling, charring the mushrooms and roots and roasting the bird, before completely stomping out the flames and covering the ashes.

I haul my load and prepare to head back towards the cave, ready for the two hour hike back.

Peeta will definitely be worried when I get back, but when I show him what I've got I think he’ll understand and be fine.

It isn’t until a few minutes later when I hear it.

A branch cracks.

I whip my head around, trying to find where the sound came from but I don’t see anyone.

My focus is now total.

There is someone here.

Chapter 20: Chapter XX

Chapter Text

A branch cracks.

I whip my head around, trying to find where the sound came from but I don’t see anyone.

My focus is now total.

There is someone here.

I am completely on edge. I know someone is here, I just don’t know who. I can’t remember who I am missing in my count. Marvel, Cato, Clove. The three remaining Careers. I assume the boy from District Three is also with them, like last time. Then there is Foxface, Rue and Thresh. Obviously, Peeta and I. There are two more.

It doesn’t matter who is here. It isn’t Peeta and it isn’t Rue. That means they are dangerous and I can’t lead them to the cave and put us all in danger. I am going to have to either get away or take care of it. I haven’t killed anyone this time around, and I really hope I can keep that going until the end.

I keep walking, hoping the other person will get clumsy with their steps again. It is obvious this person is pretty light on their feet but they aren’t practiced like Peeta and I are.

Eventually, it all comes to a head.

I am just about to walk past a large tree and the girl from District Ten jumps out at me.

She looks almost deranged. Her hair is tangled and has leaves and sticks sticking out of it, her pigtails she started with are nowhere to be seen. Her jacket is half burnt, I guess she must have been caught in the gamemaker fire as well. The manic look in her eye is what makes me say deranged though.

I can see that starvation has taken its toll also. She was already pretty small to begin with, even if she was bigger than most of the other girls, she still wasn’t large, but now she has barely any fat on her.

I feel so much pity that it almost overwhelms me. She must have smelled me cooking and been unable to resist.

She has a gleaming knife in her hand and a small pack on her back.

She runs at me wildly.

I have to jump out of the way, but even then she slices the top of my arm slightly. Even half starved this girl is fast.

She swirls around and I am firing before I even think about it, it really is just a trigger reaction.

She barely dodges out of the way. Then, she is running at me again, still waving her knife around wildly, this time she slices pretty deep in my side. It doesn’t hit anything vital but it is bleeding heavily and hurts like hell.

She goes to take another swing and I don’t even load my bow, I just use the arrow in my hand.

She stops immediately. She looks at me in shock before she pulls out the arrow from her chest, something that will make her die even quicker. However, because of where I stabbed her, when her knees buckle, she is dead before she even hits the ground.

I close my eyes as the cannon goes off.

I did it.

I killed somebody once again.

I shake myself off and go to search her. I roll her over to grab her pack, and I take the knife from her hand, as well as pick up my arrows, the one from when I fired and the one covered in her blood.

When I stand up, I close her eyes and set her up to look like she is sleeping. I give her the district salute and then I am off, running back to the cave. I know Peeta will be going out of his mind because of that cannon. Showing up two hours later would just put him in a tailspin. So I run, turning my two hour hike into a twenty minute run. It would have been shorter but my side is slowing me down. I am breathing heavily when I reach the river but I have to slow down and be quiet so that I don’t alert anyone to our position. My wound is now bleeding super heavily. I keep my hand pressed against it, trying to stop the bleeding, but I can feel it making its way down my side, my shirt and jacket sleeve completely soaked with it.

I slip in the cave quietly and am met by Rue sleeping fitfully on the blanket bed and Peeta pacing, back and forth across the back of the cave, it’s only a few steps and he has to duck mostly but it is obvious he couldn't sit still if he tried.

“Peeta.” I whisper.

He almost jumps, whipping a round to face me.

He doesn’t say anything, just marches straight towards me and grabs me in his arms, the embrace tighter than usual, not that I blame him.

“Katniss,” he whispers into my hair, over and over again.

I shush him quietly, trying to get him to calm down, but my adrenaline from today is also fading. With everything that happened with Rue this morning and now this. Today hasn’t been great.

Eventually, Peeta stops shaking and is able to pull back slightly, but he still keeps his arms wrapped around my waist. That’s when he sees the new pack on my back.

His eyes lock on it. “Katniss…” he trails off.

I turn my head to the side, unable to look at him. Yes, both of us have killed before but that does not make this any easier.

I can hear when he sees my wound. His sharp intake of breath tells me everything I have to know.

He quickly lets me go and almost falls over trying to get the first aid kit from the pack.

Eventually he succeeds and he brings it over to where I am still standing.

He ushers me to lay down on my uninjured side and helps me get my jacket off. He starts to lift my shirt but stops himself and whips off his own jacket, his face bright red as he hands it to me. I take it and cover myself as I slip my shirt up and over my head.

“Now, you know you're supposed to be the healer,” he tells me, both frantically worried but also trying to lighten the mood.

“No, that's my mom and my sister. I usually run in the opposite direction,” I tell him truthfully, wincing at the water being poured over my wound. I can only imagine how everyone back home is reacting. Every single person who has been to see my mom, or gone with someone to see my mom, knows my tendency to leave as soon as somebody comes in the door. I’ve gotten better these last few months, trying to learn everything I could for the games, but I still hate it.

“You know more than your fair share, don’t be so humble now, because you're gonna have to walk me through this.” He tells me seriously.

I turn my head to look at my wound, seeing where he had rinsed it off while we were talking.

“It’s pretty deep, might need stitches.” I tell him. Causing absolute panic to build in his eyes.

“Calm down, look in the med kit and see if there are paper stitches otherwise you're gonna have to sew me up.'' I tell him, getting more and more tired by the minute.

He nods his head and rummages through the kit, becoming more and more panicked as he can’t find any.

“There isn’t any, there's also no needle or thread,” he says.

“Take a deep breath, you're panicking. It’s okay, I’m okay,” I tell him in the most soothing voice I can muster up.

He nods and closes his eyes for a minute, after a few seconds his breaths calm down slightly and his hands stop shaking, something I am grateful for because he is gonna have to sew me up.

“Peeta,” I whisper. “You need to get the fishing line and hook.” I tell him, thankful we haven't used it yet.

He looks at me wide eyed but determined and nods his head. He gathers the items we need and goes to put the gloves on.

At that moment we hear the beeping. A parachute is coming down near us.

Peeta looks at me, once again wide eyed, but this time he is also hopeful.

He jumps up and rushes outside to grab the parachute.

Coming back in before he opens it.

Once he does, he deflates slightly, it’s not paper stitches which would be so much easier. Instead it is an actual needle and thread, with a bottle of rubbing alcohol, probably for disinfecting the needle. I’m prepared to use it on myself also.

Peeta gathers himself and puts the gloves on.

I tell him what to do step by step.

Disinfect the needle with the rubbing alcohol. Disinfect my wound with the rubbing alcohol, but before that give me something to bite down on. Curse Haymitch for not sending sleep syrup or something similar.

Once he is all set up, I still have the extra sock in my mouth to bite on, as tears roll down my face. He looks at me so concerned but I just nod at him once. He nods back and starts my stitches. I can feel every single time he pokes through my skin and every time he pulls the thread through it. It hurts so bad, but I grit my teeth around the sock and bare it.

“I’m done! I’m done. You’re okay.” Peeta tells me, quickly cutting the thread with his swiss army knife scissors and making a decent knot to finish it off. He then puts a quick bandage on it, keeping it secure with the medical tape.

I just lay back, breathing heavily. He leans over and kisses my forehead. He then leans his forehead against mine and both of our eyes close.

“It’s okay. You're okay. I’m glad you're safe.” Is all he says. That's all he can say.

I tuck my head under his chin and just lean against him for a minute, needing the reassurance and the feeling of safety he brings me.

He then moves and hands me a water bottle.

I take a few sips as I relax back into the blankets. He hands me a groosling leg and a few of the roots and mushrooms, which I don’t eat, my stomach rolling from both the blood and the pain. “I’ll eat when I wake up,” I tell him sleepily, something he doesn’t look super convinced of but nods his head anyway.

He then starts, jumping up and grabs a few of the leaves, putting them in his mouth and chewing them up. I watch him make quick work of putting it on Rue’s sting and then he slides up next to me. Pulling me into his side, very carefully, and resting my head on his lap. He quickly unbraids my hair and runs his fingers through it, gently getting all the knots out but mostly just doing it to comfort me, and I can admit it is working.

“Go to sleep, Kat.” He says.

“I’ll be right here when you wake up. You're safe. I got you.” He continues.

“Stay with me?” I ask him as I am already mostly asleep.

The last thing I hear before I am fully out…

“Always.”

Chapter 21: Chapter XXI

Chapter Text

“Stay with me?” I ask him as I am already mostly asleep.

The last thing I hear before I am fully out…

“Always.”

The next day and a half is pretty boring. Peeta and I gather a few more things, we take turns staying with Rue. My side slows me down when hunting but we have managed to keep it clean and uninfected. We both wash off in the river with our soap. Or I don’t soak my side, not wanting to risk infection so I just use the river water everywhere else. We found a little hidden pocket in between some of the rocks to build fires in so we don’t need to go anywhere else to build a fire which saves us a lot of time and effort every day.

Eventually though, Rue wakes up.

I am the one with her when she does, Peeta is out refilling our water bottles by the river.

Rue looks around so confused and disoriented but when she sees me she gets shy all of a sudden and slightly nervous. Not that I can blame her. The last thing she remembers is probably being surrounded by bloodthirsty Careers and an army of tracker jackers, not exactly a comforting image.

“Hey, Rue,” I say quietly.

“Hi.” She squeaks out.

“Are you hungry? We have some food and if you're thirsty Peeta just went to get more water and he will be back in a minute,” I offer.

She gives me a small nod.

I give her a smile and move to grab the food.

I hand her a few mushrooms, some berries, and a groosling leg.

She looks at the food in awe.

“Is this all for me?” She asks with wide eyes. “I’ve never had my own leg before…”

“Yes, Rue, and if you're still hungry a little bit later we have some more, I just don’t know how much you can handle right now so let’s just start with that.” I tell her.

She nods and starts eating.

Peeta chooses that moment to walk in.

“Oh!” He says with a smile. “Hi, Rue, it’s good to see you awake.”

She quickly wipes her mouth with her sleeve.

“Hi, Peeta,” she says smiling before taking another bite of her groosling leg.

Peeta hands her a clean and full water bottle, the medium sized one, and she gulps down half of it immediately, barely taking a breath.

We then sit mostly in silence while she finishes her food.

“Thank you,” she tells us with a sheepish smile.

“No problem Rue,” we say together.

“Um. How long was I out?” She asks.

“About two days,” Peeta tells her gently.

She nods and then looks up at us with so much guilt and remorse.

“Did- Did anyone-” she cuts herself off, unable to finish the sentence.

I can’t take it and I scoot over to her, lifting her into my lap to comfort her, it pulls my stitches but I don't care, I just smooth down her bushy hair to comfort her.

“Rue, before I tell you anything I need you to understand that you had no other option and you did exactly the right thing.” I say firmly.

She nods into my chest where her face is hidden.

“Rue. Glimmer and Marina, District One and Four, they died from their stings.” I tell her straightforwardly. She didn’t need me to work around the words, she needed honesty and acceptance and, goddamn it, that is exactly what I am going to give her.

I can feel my shirt getting wet from her tears, so I just rock her back and forth and continue stroking her hair, hoping to soothe her as she releases everything.

Peeta joins in and runs his hand up and down her back gently trying to help anyway he can.

Eventually, she gets herself together and Peeta hands her the water bottle, prompting her to take a few more sips to calm herself down completely.

She doesn’t look either of us in the eye when she speaks again.

“Okay. Thank you for telling me. I can get out of your hair soon…” she trails off.

“Rue,” Peeta says, “we aren’t kicking you out. You don’t need to go anywhere.”

She looks up at him in shock.

“But, after what I did…” she genuinely thinks we don’t want her around at all, oh how wrong she is.

“Rue. You did what you had to. Any other person would make the exact same choice you did and you didn’t even mean for either of those girls to die.” I tell her.

“Yeah but, I mean… still! I’m a monster!” She starts crying slightly again, her voice breaking on her last word.

“Rue. Do you think I’m a monster?” I ask her.

She looks at me confused, wondering why I would ask her that.

“Those two weren’t the only ones who were in the sky while you were out. District Ten, Dixie, attacked me the same day as the bees. I am not proud of the decision I made or my actions but I had no other choice,” I loft up my shirt slightly to show her my stitches. “You didn’t hunt them down trying to kill them, you only defended yourself. That’s all.” I told her gently.

She looks at me wide eyed, obviously thinking over everything I said.

I nod my head at her, glad she is finally thinking it through.

She gives me a little nod back. Good enough for now.

“So, don’t think for a second that you're going anywhere okay? At least not without us. Now, let's get some more leaves on your sting.” I say with a small smile.

Peeta jumps up to grab some more and offers them to Rue. She gives us both a smile before shoving a few in her mouth and chewing them into a paste before slathering it onto her singular sting.

We spend the rest of the day just stocking up supplies, resting, laughing, and talking. We find a very very small bush of the pink berries, but Peeta almost cries because we didn’t have them when I got injured, so they wouldn’t be any help now for me. He does understand how they could be helpful in the future but he was very upset about not having them for me.

Rue asks us a few questions about District Twelve, in order to take his mind off of it, and we ask her some questions about Eleven. Both Peeta and I are able to understand what she means, mostly at least, because we’ve both been there on our victory tour.

Rue cracks up laughing at a few of the sayings from District Twelve, and then tells us a few of the District Eleven ones in return.

We eat a filling dinner of rabbit and roots, saving the rest of the berries for breakfast. Tomorrow, I definitely have to go hunting because the only meat we have left after tonight is a little bit of groosling.

When we lay down to sleep, Rue insists that she only wants the blanket. Though we make her take a pair of gloves and the hat. She finally gives in, saying she’ll “wear them for tonight but tomorrow is a different day.”

Peeta and I climb in the sleeping bag, once again cuddled up together and we both take one of the gloves, our uncovered hands gripped tightly together.

I fell asleep peacefully, knowing that even if today wasn’t exciting, Rue waking up and our banter would have entertained the Capitol, but as Rue says, tomorrow is a different day.

Chapter 22: Chapter XXII

Chapter Text

Peeta and I climb in the sleeping bag, once again cuddled up together and we both take one of the gloves, our uncovered hands gripped tightly together.

I fell asleep peacefully, knowing that even if today wasn’t exciting, Rue waking up and our banter would have entertained the Capitol, but as Rue says, tomorrow is a different day.

“Today is the day.” I announce when all of us have woken up.

Rue looks at me confused but Peeta shoots me a mischievous grin.

“What do you mean?” She asks cutely, her head cocked slightly to the left.

“Okay. While District One and Two, and sometimes Four, win a lot of the time, they don’t win every time. So, Peeta and I have a plan.” I tell her with a smirk.

I can just imagine the Capitolites holding their breath, waiting to see where I am going with this their attention completely focused on the screen.

“Almost every single time someone else, not a career, has won, it’s because they didn’t have enough supplies. Think about it,” I say to Rue’s confused little face, “that one game with the mudslide took out everything from the cornucopia and District Five ended up the victor. Same with Annie Cresta, she might've been from Four but she won because the flood wiped out everything and she was the last one swimming." I tell her.

“So, you want to get rid of the supplies and make the careers have an even playing field…” Rue works out correctly.

I give her a nod and a borderline manic grin. Which she returns with gusto.

“I’m in.” She says excited, obviously looking forward to the adventure.

Peeta doesn't miss a beat. “Okay, we have been around the careers a little bit but we haven’t been back to the cornucopia since the beginning of the games, do you have any insight as to how they’ve set it up?”

Rue grins, glad she is contributing to the plotting.

“They have everything piled up in this great big pyramid.” She tells us.

Peeta and I share a look. Bingo. Landmines.

“That's weird, it’s out of the cornucopia? Why would they move everything just to have it all stacked together again…” I trail off acting like I am thinking it over.

Rue nods, “that’s what I thought too. They don’t even have multiple people guarding it, Just the boy from Three.” She says.

“Three?” Peeta pipes in, “does he have a weapon? I can't remember what he did from training.”

“He didn’t really do much in training that I remember either,” I chime in.

“He carries a spear but I don’t know how good he is with it.” Rue shrugs. “So, how are we going to destroy it?” She asks the real question.

“Does it matter? Set it on fire, throw it in the lake, eat it!” I tickle her tummy, causing her to erupt with laughter. “It’ll depend on circumstance once we get there but I am pretty good at destroying stuff…” I trail off causing her to look at me with curiosity.

“I guess it doesn’t matter if I tell you now, I might’ve busted open some punching bags and broken a few lightbulbs in my training session…” I tell her, leaving out the liquor bottles.

She giggles before it turns into full on laughs. Peeta shakes his head and chuckles as well.

Eventually, all of us get it together and we have a plan.

One that Peeta is not happy with.

“I still don’t get it…” he whines.

I give him a glare. He knows exactly why.

“Look. I know okay? I don’t want to be separated either, especially after what happened last time we weren't together, but this is how it has to be and you know it.” I tell him, almost at my limit.

He gives me a sheepish look and nods his head, obviously recognizing the end of my rope. I give his hand a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, he returns the affection with a long hug and a kiss on the forehead.

I give Rue a small hug and a high five before I head off towards the career camp. He and Rue headed in the opposite direction to go start the first fire.

Rue whistles her Mockingjay tune as they leave, something we once again agreed to as a signal.

I can only hope that the explosion destroys everything just as well as last time, though I would prefer to keep my hearing, and that Rue and Peeta stay safe.

I would have taken Peeta with me but Rue needs him and his protection more than I do at the moment, that doesn’t mean I am not terrified of something happening to either of them though.

After about two hours, I am finally coming up on the open field.

I quickly find Rue’s little hidey hole and get under cover so that I can see what’s going on with the career camp.

Quickly, I am able to determine a few things.

One: The careers have mostly recovered from their brush with the Tracker Jackers.

Two: The supplies are definitely protected by the reburied landmines.

Three: They’ve seen the first fire.

At that last realization, my head whips to see the smoke signal. It is at least a three hour hike out from here.

“Look! Look!” Marvel points his spear at the sky, or more specifically the smoke from the fire.

The rest of the careers all jump up, weapons at the ready.

“Let’s go.” Clove says, spinning a knife around her fingers.

“Stay here, watch the pile.” Cato orders District Three

The boy from Three plops back down onto the crate he was sitting on as the rest of the group runs off towards the woods.

Please please please don't let anything happen to Peeta or Rue. Please.

At that moment, Foxface runs out of the woods towards the pile, on the opposite side of the supply pyramid to the lookout.

She does her hop, skip, and jump routine to get to the pyramid and steals two apples, a pack of crackers and something else in a food package, just enough to survive and not be caught. Well, I hope she can find another food source, because this one is about to be wiped out.

I wait until she leaves, drawing the District Three boy to her slight disturbance when she runs back to the woods.

I think about trying to get close to the pyramid and stealing a bunch of stuff before I blow it up but I don’t trust myself not to step on a landmine, so I discard that idea almost immediately, plus I have limited time until the guard comes back, so I need to take it.

Stepping out slightly into the open, I draw my first arrow. I once again limit myself to three arrows, knowing I can do it.

I let the first one fly and it rips a big hole in the apple bag. Bigger than last time. I take another deep breath before shooting my second arrow.

As soon as the arrow leaves the bow, I know it’s gonna hit exactly where I want it to, ripping the burlap open completely. I quickly slap my hands over my ears, just in time to be thrown back by the first explosion.

I landed hard on the ground, knocking the breath out of me and causing immense pain to my wound but I didn’t need to move closer to the pyramid before my second shot, so I wasn’t knocked unconscious by the blast, thankfully.

I do find myself disoriented though, I must have hit my head when I hit the ground. Eventually, I get myself together, as much as possible, grab my bow, and quickly get into Rue’s hideout.

It takes a few minutes before the careers come crashing back through the tree line. They must've already been on the way back, figuring out the plan was a trap after they saw the first fire.

I can’t hear anything due to my ears ringing from the blast, but I am not bleeding from them so I hope it is just temporary.

I don’t have anywhere to go, nor am I able to move quite yet so I just get myself comfortable in the briars and hope they don’t see me, though they didn’t even look last time so I am not overly concerned.

Cato storms straight towards District Three and wraps his arms around his head from behind, breaking his neck in one smooth movement.

The rest of the careers take a collective step back, not wanting to be the one who he takes his anger out on next.

I just sit and wait. I can’t move from here without alerting them to my presence and I am still slightly disoriented. Both of my ears are ringing, a good sign that I didn’t destroy my ear drum again, and my side is killing me.

Moving slightly in order to look, I peel my shirt away from the cut which is now bleeding again. Some of the stitches ripped, and my side is going to be heavily bruised in the next few hours, it is tender to the touch already.

I just get comfortable in this little patch. I take a few drinks of water, to calm myself down, and watch the careers argue. Clove and Marvel are gesturing towards the sky, obviously making the case for the culprit being blown to bits, but Cato just shakes his head and grabs his discarded sword.

Clove and Marvel share a look but scurry after their leader. They sort through the rubbage for a while, and throughout this entire time my hearing is slowly returning to normal. By the time midday hits, they have finished their searching, not coming away with anything of value. Once again, the landmines pulverized everything.

Cato is still steaming mad, you can tell by how red his ears are and his angry childish stomping. Marvel and Clove just stay mostly out of his way and let him throw his tantrum. Eventually, I see both their heads pop up and they both gather their things to head to Cato’s side. They exchange words that I can’t make out and head off into the woods. Not in the opposite direction of the original fire but perpendicular to it.

I wait until they are a good forty minutes away from me before I crawl out of the hiding place. I need to start heading back to the cave, our designated meeting spot. So, I shoulder my pack and head off, stopping to quickly refill my water bottle at the lake before leaving.

It takes me a few hours but finally I am coming up on the cave, I am the first one in so I take my time setting things up, I want to go out and get some roots or berries or see if i can shoot something for dinner but I have no idea where the careers are by now and I know Peeta would not want me to risk it. I am debating doing it anyways when I hear a cannon.

My heart drops. Please let it be anyone else. It can’t be Peeta. I don’t want it to be Rue either. Wishing death on a child is not okay under any circumstances, but right now, the only thing I wish is that cannon does not belong to either Peeta or Rue. That’s it.

It takes longer than it should before Peeta and Rue return to the cave. I almost collapse out of sheer relief that they’re alive.

I run straight at them and almost barrel Peeta over but then I see it. His left leg is once again bleeding heavily from a cut on his thigh, not as high up as last time, but still well above the knee. I stare at him with wide eyes before I rush back to the cave and snatch up the bag of pink berries.

I don’t let him sit down, or do anything before I am squeezing the juice out of multiple berries at once, the juices dripping into his cut and causing him to wince. I don’t care. There is no way I am almost losing him to this injury again. No. Way. Whatsoever.

I put the juice of almost every single berry onto his cut, I would put them all but he stops me.

“Kat, don’t use them all. We might need some later and I don’t know if we’ll find anymore.” He says at a whisper, well aware of where we are, still exposed and outside of the cave.

Rue and I each take one of his arms and use ourselves as human crutches in order to get him into the cave. We lay him down of the makeshift bed that he and I share and get him comfortable, or as comfortable as he can be.

I take my jacket off and shove it under it his head for a make shift pillow. Rue hands him his water bottle and I drag the full first aid kit over, ready to sew up his cut as well. He tells me the story as we are getting settled.

“District Seven. The boy.” He winces as he moves his leg slightly. “He came out of nowhere with an axe, I ended up getting him straight through throat but he got me too. Ironic huh?” He asks me, trying to put levity in a situation where there is none.

I am just getting out the needle and thread when I hear it.

We are getting another parachute. I stand up immediately, hoping it is a clean needle so that I can sew him up. It is, thankfully, even better.

There is a pack of paper butterfly stitches, some sleep syrup that I will force down him again if need be, some new bandages, and some ointment, it looks like petroleum jelly, but I am not sure if that is what it actually is or if it is something better. I assume it isn’t the miracle stuff they use for the high paying Capitolites, otherwise Haymitch wouldn’t have sent the butterfly stitches.. Petroleum jelly is still helpful thought because it will help keep the would moist and closed and keep infection out, maybe there is still something else to this ointment as well but we will have to discover that later.

Peeta grins as he sees the contents.

“I am so sorry you had to put up with me stitching you but I can’t lie and say I am not grateful I don’t have to experience the same thing.” Peeta says cheekily but still heartfelt.

I give him a kiss on the cheek. “You did what you had to do and I would do it again if it meant you didn’t have to, now, you be quiet and let me focus on this.” I tell him.

Rue giggles at our by play, obviously entertained by our back and forth.

I get everything set up before I hand Peeta the tiny container of sleep syrup, its enough to make him sleep for the rest of the day but he will be fine by the morning. He tries to refuse but quickly gives up when I plead with him.

He gets the syrup down and I run my fingers through his hair as he starts falling asleep. When he is totally out, it is time to patch him up.

Thankfully, I don’t have to sew him up, I don’t think I could realistically do it, but I still have to clean the wound out and everything.

I hope this doesn’t wash out the berry juice and when I make that comment out loud, Rue volunteers to go looking for more.

“Katniss, I can do it!” Rue says after I tell her no.

“Rue, the careers are hunting right now and we have no idea where they could be, I really think it’ll be best if you stay here.” I tell her firmly, even if my focus is still mostly on Peeta’s leg.

I turn around when I don’t get a reply and I see she’s gone.

My heart drops.

“Please be careful Rue.” I whisper under my breath, a prayer that I hope will reach someone, a gamemaker most likely.

I would go after her but Peeta is the priority at the moment. His cut isn’t all the way to the bone like the last time around, but it is still deep and bleeding heavily, enough that he looks pale from blood loss.

I quickly pour the rest of the rubbing alcohol on the cut and use a few of the wipes around the outside. If Peeta were awake right now, this would be horrendously painful, which is why I’m glad Haymitch sent sleep syrup this time around.

We definitely know who his favorite is, and now I have proof for when Peeta argues that fact with me next time.

Then, I put the butterfly stitches over the wound, pulling it closed. After that, I put some of the jelly like ointment over the cut and between the stitches. Finally putting a new tightly wrapped bandage around his leg, keeping it guarded from the outside germs and hopefully the possible infections.

With Peeta situated as much as possible and Rue at least an hour out already, I decide to redress my own wound and see how it is healing.

I peel off the bandages and I see some redness around the wound, it is becoming infected but it shouldn’t be too bad yet, if I can keep it dry and clean, there should be no problems… hopefully. I quickly check where my stitches pulled out and cut them off using the swiss army knife scissors. Then, I use the remaining paper stitches to pull those areas back closed, not before cleaning it with the last wipe though, and goddamn did that hurt!

I suck it up, put some of the jelly substance on my own wound and re-bandage it. My side is already starting to turn blue and purple and I know I won’t be able to press on it at all or sleep on that side for the next few.

Thankfully, it was my right side that got cut and Peeta’s injured on his left so it works well for sleeping purposes.

It has now been almost two hours since Rue left and I am worried about her. I don’t want to leave Peeta though so I just head out of the cave but stay around here and I’ll maybe gather some stuff or fish in the river. I want to be here just in case she runs into trouble but I absolutely refuse to leave Peeta when he is unable to protect himself.

I gather some clover and dandelions and some edible river roots for dinner to go with the rabbits and squirrel I have already cooked from yesterday.

That’s when I hear it. Rue’s panicked voice.

“KATNISS!”

Chapter 23: Chapter XXIII

Chapter Text

That’s when I hear it. Rue’s panicked voice.

“KATNISS!”

Not again. Please not again.

I am sprinting in the direction of her voice, my bow already loaded. I need to get to her before they do.

I run into a clearing and stop, it’s a different one than the last time around but I am still having flashbacks. Rue is on the ground, a net pinning her down. I start to move towards her again when it happens.

A knife is embedded into her side, thrown from a distance away. I duck just in time for another to go whizzing right through where my head was supposed to be.

I see a flash of black hair in the tree line and I shoot immediately. I definitely hit her based on the sound she made, but probably not fatally.

I look towards Rue who is just staring at the sky in shock, her hands pressed around the knife in her side, but she hasn’t pulled it out, thankfully. I might still be able to save her.

Though, I can’t do anything for her until I know I'm safe so I stalk in the direction of the careers. Or at least where Clove took off towards.

Once I get past the tree line, I can see where they trampled the bushes and grass to get away quickly. They’re long gone.

I hurry back towards Rue.

“Rue. It’s okay. Keep breathing and putting pressure on it. I need to cut you out of here and then I can patch you up. You’ll be fine.” I try to reassure her as I take out my knife that’s attached to my hip pack. I cut away multiple different pieces of the net in order to get her out but after a minute or two I finally did it.

“Okay. Rue, let's see it.” I tell her already leaning in to see and cursing myself for not having the first aid kit. It’s back at the cave.

She looks at me with her big brown eyes, tears filling the water line and spilling down her sunken cheeks, not as chubby as they should be due to a lifetime of malnutrition.

She slowly movies her blood covered hands and I see where the knife is embedded. It is on her right side, towards the front of her torso. I would bet anything it hit her liver. A deadly blow but not a fast one. Clove really is sick.

“You’re okay.” I tell her, already starting to choke up, tears building in my eyes as well.

“Yeah?” She asks hopefully.

“Mm-hmm.” I tell her, letting the tears fall down my cheeks. “You’ll be perfectly fine in a few days, we just have to patch you up. You’re a smart girl, not pulling that out.” I tell her.

“Good. Katniss?” She asks me quietly.

“Yes?” I answer back, just as quiet.

“When you win, or when Peeta wins, and you go to Eleven on your tour. Tell my little siblings I love them.” She starts, unaware how she has just shattered my heart into pieces. “Tell my mom she was the best. Tell my dad that I am proud of him and that he did his best for all of us, and I appreciated it.” She requests.

“You’re gonna tell them yourself Rue.” I tell her, well aware she knows I’m lying.

“Just promise me?” She asks.

I give her a nod, unable to work out words past the lump in my throat.

“Okay. Good.” She says. “Did you know my favorite thing in the world was hearing my mom sing?” She asks me.

My eyes drop closed. Oh, Rue.

“My little sister has a song that she loves to hear after a nightmare. My father taught me. I won’t be as good as your mom, but would you like to hear it?” I ask her.

“Peeta fell in love with you because of your magic voice.” Rue says, even as she is losing blood she is still cheeky as ever, “I would love to hear you sing.” She says.

“Okay.” I tell her.

Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the sun will rise.

Rue closes her eyes, getting into the song. Her full lips falling open as she breathes more and more heavily.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.

Rue’s breathing is now interspaced with coughs and wheezes. Her dark complexion becoming more and more pale with every passing line.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away

A cloak of leaves, A moonbeam ray,

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Rue goes slack in my hold. Her arms falling to her side and her head rolling to the left. I need to finish my song for her, to help guide her to her safe place. A place under a willow tree where she’ll meet my dad. He will look after her. I know it.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.

I finish my song and place a kiss on his forehead, smoothing back her curly hair. My sadness turns into rage. I pull out the knife gently from her abdomen and zip her jacket up, hiding the mess of blood and gore away from the cameras.

I can’t think of anything else other than what I did last time, so that’s what I do. As I gather flowers just a few feet away from Rue, I sing a song I barely remember. It is almost sung secretly around the Seam but with how little songs there are with words in our district, it has stuck with me.

You're headed for heaven,

The sweet old hereafter,

And I've got one foot in the door.

But before I can fly up,

I've loose ends to tie up,

Right here in The old therebefore.

I gather bundles of purple, white, and yellow flowers. All different kinds. I even find a patch of wild rue.

I'll be along

When I've finished my song,

When I've shut down the band,

When I've played out my hand,

When I've paid all my debts,

When I have no regrets,

Right here in

The old therebefore,

When nothing

Is left anymore.

The mockingjays join in on my melody, creating a haunting lullaby. A promise to follow Rue, even if it’s not my time yet. I will see her again, in the sweet old thereafter, but until then I will be here, avenging her in the old therebefore.

I'll catch you up

When I've emptied my cup,

When I've worn out my friends,

When I've burned out both ends,

When I've cried all my tears,

When I've conquered my fears,

Right here in

The old therebefore,

When nothing

Is left anymore.

I still have things here for me. Peeta, Prim, Mom, the Hawthornes, Haymitch, Cinna, and all of the rest of mine and Peeta’s teams. I know someone will always be missing though, sweet Rue. The vision of a little common yellow flower that moved around like a bird about to take flight. Her sweet voice singing to the mockingjays. Her adventurous spirit lurking behind her full smile and the cheeky glint in her eye. Rue, the small dark skinned little girl whose death will change a nation. I’ll make sure of it.

I'll bring the news

When I've danced off my shoes,

When my body's closed down,

When my boat's run aground,

When I've tallied the score,

And I'm flat on the floor,

Right here in

The old therebefore,

When nothing

Is left anymore

I finish gathering my flowers and I once again cover her in them, even more than last time. Woven through her hair, a crown around her forehead, bunches surrounding her like a soft bed, a bundle in her little blood soaked hands. Hundreds of flower buds framing this little girl. Killed for nothing.

When I'm pure like a dove,

When I've learned how to love,

Right here in

The old therebefore,

When nothing

Is left anymore.

I stand up and gather my things. I give Rue one last kiss on the forehead and give her the salute.

The one that means goodbye to someone you love.

I hope the nation is rioting.

Chapter 24: Chapter XXIV

Chapter Text

I stand up and gather my things.

I give Rue one last kiss on the forehead and give her the salute. The one that means goodbye to someone you love.

I hope the nation is rioting.

Rue is gone. Just like that. Her body picked up by a helicarrier and is going home in a plain wooden box.

I can’t just stop. Not like last time. I need to get back to Peeta and check on his wound. Plus he is completely out of it because of the sleep syrup, he’s vulnerable and that’s not something I am okay with. Not here.

I start to head towards that direction when a spear comes at me. It misses, but just barely due to my last second side step.

Are you kidding me?!

Marvel has another in his hand and is coming straight for me.

I don’t have time to grab an arrow, that spear would be stuck in me the second I reach my hand up. So, I do the only thing I can do. I run.

I don’t run directly behind me, all too aware this could be a trap. Instead, I chose to run towards my right, the foliage is thicker and while that could be harder to run through, I am more likely to lose him in that direction.

I don’t stop to look over my shoulder, that’ll only slow me down. Instead, I duck and weave randomly, I barely even know where I’ll be going next, but it’ll keep Marvel off balanced and confused so that I can get away, or at least up in a tree or something.

Today has been hell! The sun is more than halfway down already and so far I've blown up the Career’s supplies, tended to an injured Peeta, watched Rue die, and now this?! I get it’s The Hunger Games but it’s like the gamemakers have it out for me.

Oh.

That’s a fair point, they probably do, and it doesn’t help that I had a small memorial for Rue.

There must be uprisings. Riots. In District Eleven, definitely, but I wonder if there are any others. Four or Eight maybe? They were ground zero for the rebellion last time around.

Not important right now Katniss! Marvel is chasing you!

I can hear his loud stomping footsteps following me and while he isn’t gaining, I’m not losing him either. I’m just barely out of his spear throwing length, and I need to keep that up. My bruised side is also not helping with my rushed flee.

That’s when I see what I’m running towards. It's marsh land. I definitely didn’t come through here last time. The ground is sinking beneath my feet and the water definitely has mutts in it. Whether there are snakes or gators or flesh eating fish… I don’t want to know, but it’s my only option. I can’t turn back and if I change directions now, Marvel is likely to catch up with me.

So, I take the chance. I plunge my boots into the soft ground before me and keep moving. The water sloshing and slowing me down, though I hear Marvel struggling behind me and it is slowing him down as well.

I am lighter than the hulking boy, a lifetime of fighting for food and traipsing through the woods compared to his large built up muscle mass and his lifetime of heavy proteins and carbs.

I hear him fall and let out a high pitched yelp. I don’t turn around immediately, wanting to get ahead and away so he can’t reach me.

Once I feel safe enough to look, I am horrified.

He is literally being swallowed up by the ground. His hands clawing to try to pull him out, his spear long forgotten on his quest for safety. His eyes grow more and more panicked as he falls deeper and deeper.

His entire torso is now submerged in the muddy dirt like ground. Only his shoulders, arms, and head remain above ground. He looks at me pleadingly. I can’t pull him out, if I get anywhere near him, I’m also going to get sucked in. I can however save him from suffocating to death. There is enough of that in the mines back home. If I can stop it from happening to someone else, you best be damned sure I will.

So, I take a deep breath and nock my arrow. He looks at me wide eyed but then gives me a single nod, his shoulders below the surface. He understands he doesn’t have a chance and he’d rather not go out like that. I give him a nod back and let the arrow fly. I hit him straight through the eye and it goes into his brain, he is dead immediately.

The close range of the shot and the specific way the arrow entered the eye leaves no room for any other outcome. The cannon blasting confirmed the death.

I look at the sky. Too many kids will be up there tonight. Rue, Marvel, the boys from three and seven. We are now in the top seven. They will have all of our loved ones interviews out by tomorrow. I hope Mom and Prim spread the message I asked them to. I bet they will have, especially after our own interviews and how we are acting in the games.

Speaking of Peeta, I need to get back to him. The sun is almost all the way down and while I do have my night vision goggles, I don’t have my jacket or anything to keep me warm.

I can’t go back the way I came though. I don’t know why the ground didn’t sink before Marvel got stuck, but I’m not about to take that chance, I need to find another way around.

I get as close as I dare to the ground to try to see what Marvel sank in. It is more gritty sand and dirt than the rest of the ground and when I throw a rock on it, it bounces and then when it stops moving, it sinks rapidly. Interesting and terrifying.

At least I know what I’m looking for, so I head off to the left, wanting to head at least sort of in the direction I think Peeta is in.

I quickly surmise the danger I am in. There are pockets of that gritty sand and dirt everywhere. There seems to be a very specific pattern that doesn't have that danger but I am so tired from today and my side hurts so bad I can barely concentrate. Not to mention I hit my head earlier after the explosion and I don’t think it’s entirely back to normal yet. My head seems almost fuzzy, like my thoughts aren’t as clear as they normally would be. I probably have a concussion. Great. That is exactly what I need right now to circumvent this minefield of quicksand or whatever this stuff is.

I don’t have a choice though. It is either move on or freeze to death tonight. Move on or starve. Move on or Peeta dies. It’s really that last reason that actually gets me moving.

It takes me almost all night. I picked up every single rock I could and kept throwing them at different patches of ground. Watching them bounce and then either sit perfectly safe on top of the swamp ground or sink rapidly into the earth.

I am so tired. My side is killing me. The bruising black and purple all up and down my side and the wound itself is itchy and hot, definitely infected. That's not even to mention how my head feels like someone is pounding it with a hammer and how I am wet, cold, and thirsty.

I found a nest of eggs in one of the trees half way through the night, thanking everything for my night vision glasses, so I quickly ate those but I also had packs of dried pears and mixed nuts on me. I need to get back to the cave to get water though. I already finished what was in my bottle and I don’t have the iodide with me. Not to mention this is marsh water. It is definitely not safe to drink.

The sun is just about to come up when I see the edge of the marsh. The only thing between me and this death trap of a biome, is a large bird like creature. This bird is not like any other bird I’ve ever seen though. Regular birds don’t have weird scaly skin on their wings and bright yellow eyes. It honestly reminds me slightly of the mutts that killed Finnick in the sewers, the same creepy way they move and while those didn’t have eyes I can see these ones fitting them perfectly.

I don’t even give it the chance to realize I’m there. It’s hit straight through the eye and no matter what kind of mutt it is, that shot works every time. It falls down dead and I’m free to leave this hell.

Peeta should be waking up any minute and I don’t want him to be panicked about where I am when he does. He’s stubborn enough to crawl out of that cave to find me, leading the careers straight to himself to draw them away from me. I can’t let that happen.

So, I grab my arrow as I pass by the bird , cleaning it as best I can in the marsh water and I head out of the swamp. Finally.

Only, I have no idea where I am. I am back in the forest but even in the last games I have never been here before. It is less pine trees and more like the redwoods we saw in District Seven. They aren’t actually red woods, so I can only assume the gamemakers made the trees grow this large. Taller than any building in twelve and rivaling the tribute center with its twelve floors.

The giant trunks leave me on edge, I still remember how the girl from Ten jumped out from behind one to attack me, and that was just a normal sized tree. Thresh or Cato could easily fit behind one of these trees.

I forcibly stop myself from thinking of that. It’s not going to help me get back to Peeta. He should wake up at any moment.

I start walking towards my left. The maze of quicksand had me so turned around that I can’t even begin to think about which way I came from. I lost track of that hours ago.

So, I pick to go West. I think I should run into the river if I continue this way. It might take me a long time but at least I would have a familiar landmark and can make my way back from there.

I start out at a walk, my lack of sleep catching up to me. I know I will have to find somewhere to rest for a few hours but these tree branches are too high to climb with, well for anyone born outside of Seven. So, I trudge my way through the woods. I was freezing last night, my lack of jacket a huge hindrance, but now the gamemakers are playing with the temperatures and it is sweltering. It is hotter’n blue blazes! I am sweating and I need water, ASAP. I can feel myself dehydrating as I walk.

After three hours of this, I find a tree whose roots are winding in and out of the ground, making pockets that are perfect for subtle camouflage. I find one large enough to house me and my bow and quiver and I take a nap.

I wake up drenched in sweat and slightly dizzy but I know that's from lack of water and not from my concussion so I call that a win, for the moment. I gather myself, sitting up slowly so as to not disturb my headache even more and I see that it is around midday.

Peeta must be beside himself with worry. I hope he doesn’t injure himself even more trying to look for me with his leg but I have a feeling he won't be sitting still.

I have to keep going so I pull my quiver over my shoulder and head off, only getting a few steps when I hear beeping.

The silver parachute comes straight toward me, the black twelve on the canvas like material, a confirmation that it went to the right person.

I opened the bottle immediately, thrilled to find chilled water inside. I must not be anywhere close to water for Haymitch to send this. I think I might even be headed in the wrong direction so I change my course to the South. I don’t get another parachute so I assume that is the right direction back to Peeta at the River.

I drink my water sparingly, knowing that even if the bottle is pretty large, I am not anywhere near water so I need to conserve.

I walk all day. Speeding up when I feel I have the energy but never going slower than a brisk hike speed. I need to get back to Peeta. He won’t know about Rue or Marvel or the boy from Three, he slept through the anthem last night and there hasn’t been a kill yet today.

At around five in the evening I reach familiar woods. The fake red woods intermixing with the pines before they disappear completely. I feel much more comfortable here but I also know I am closer to where the careers hunt and as night starts to fall I will need to be careful.

I shoot a squirrel and quickly roast it over a fire. Stomping out the remains and moving on as quickly as possible just in case someone saw the smoke.

I eat the entire thing, having missed lunch, and I find a bush of berries that I pilfer as well.

When night comes I am reticent to sleep but I know if I want to get all the way back to the cave by tomorrow I will need it. I find a tree and I wrap the parachute around me, blocking some of the wind. I am high enough that the silver won't draw attention in the dark and I get as comfortable as possible when I hear it.

Trumpets ring out throughout the arena.

Claudius Templesmith once more becomes my favorite person with his announcement.

“Congratulations to the remaining six Tributes! I need to announce that there has been a slight rule change… if the final two tributes are both from the same district, they will both be announced as the winners. Good luck Tributes and may the odds be ever in your favor.” Then he repeats himself.

I almost fall out of the tree in excitement.

Peeta's name falls off my lips at a whisper, growing louder and louder as I make my way down the tree.

When I get to the bottom I know my face shows my determination.

We are BOTH going home.

Chapter 25: Chapter XXV

Chapter Text

Peeta's name falls off my lips at a whisper, growing louder and louder as I make my way down the tree.

When I get to the bottom I know my face shows my determination.

We are BOTH going home.

I move through the night, stopping to rest for an hour or two but too excited and nervous to sleep longer than that. I must only get about four hours by the time the sun is rising. I know exactly where I am. I am on the opposite side of the river than the cave, however I am only an hour, maybe an hour and half out.

I can almost feel the excitement coursing through me. I know what I am going to do as soon as I see Peeta.

It will work perfectly for our plan but I don’t even care. I am not doing it for the Capitolites or for the President. I am not doing it for the rebels in the districts or Coin.

My thoughts lead me straight to it. I can see the cave from my place on this side of the river. I quickly refill my water bottles, the one Haymitch sent and my own, but i don’t drink them yet, I need the iodide before doing that but they are prepared now.

I rip off my boots and socks and I race through the river. Like I have the devil right behind me.

I don’t burst through the entrance, though I am desperate to. We are still in the games and Peeta is still quick with a knife. Even if he can’t walk, his arm still works.

I come around the corner slowly, knowing he can see me before I come all the way around the corner. I am barely inside before I am wrapped in his arms. His face buried in my hair and his breathing unsteady.

I drop my bow and wrap my arms around him as we sink to the floor. How he even got to me that quickly I have no idea.

“You're okay.” He says, like a prayer. “I thought- I didn’t know- Katniss.” He finishes, at a loss for words.

“I’m okay.” I tell him. “Worn out and slightly injured but perfectly fine otherwise.”

He pulls back to look at me. Swiping my hair out of my face from where it came out of my braid.

“I have never been more happy to see you in my entire life.” He says with absolute certainty.

I don’t answer, I just lean in and his eyes grow wide as he realizes what I’m about to do.

I kiss him straight on the lips, running my fingers through his hair as one of his hands goes to my uninjured side, resting on my hip and the other cups my jaw.

When I pull back, he looks at me with stars in his eyes.

“I get to keep you.” I told him. “I didn’t think I would be able to… but now…” I have never been the best liar but this is true. I get to keep him and he’s not going to lose his leg and he is not going to get abducted from the quell and we will be together in thirteen and I will never go another day without him.

He looks at me with one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen on his face and leans in again, kissing me like this is his last breath and it’s exactly how he wants to spend it.

“So. You’re telling me we're now going steady? That's what you're saying right?” He asks earnestly.

“Yes, Peeta, I will officially go steady with you.” I say. I can’t believe he just asked me to date him in the most Twelve way possible, it makes me love him all the more for it.

His grin could blind a room. It is so bright. He laughs and kisses all over my face. My chin, my cheeks, my forehead, even over my eye lids, but he always returns to my lips.

I end up laughing at him as he continues. He eventually pulls back and takes a deep breath.

“Okay. Tell me where you're hurt so I can take care of you. You did all of the hard work for the last few, let me do it now." Peeta says seriously. I know he knows what happened to Rue but he doesn’t know about the rest of it.

“I might have hurt my side a bit more and long story but I got trapped in a swamp and I think it’s infected.” I tell him, causing him to whip his head toward me in horror. “Oh. Also, I definitely have a concussion and I have barely had any water so I’m probably dehydrated which also might be adding to my headache.” I finish.

He immediately shoves his water bottle at me and pulls my full ones towards him. I sip at the water as I watch him add the correct drops of iodide.

When he finishes, he pushes them towards me to drink after the allotted time and then pulls the first aid kit towards him. He hands me my jacket, something I am very grateful to get back, and I use it as a pillow as I pull my shirt up enough for him to get at my wound.

It is hot and red and not the correct color, plus the bruising running all along my side is obviously purple and starting to turn yellow at the edges.

Peeta’s face pales and he looks like he’s gonna cry as he sees my wound. Thankfully, it’s not blood poisoning but it is definitely infected and going to be a pain in the ass, for both of us.

He gives me the sock and a pained look. The last thing he wants to do is hurt me but I understand. I almost expect Haymitch to send another parachute with some medicine, whether it be to clear up my infection or even just stuff for my bruises, but it never comes.

I bite down on the rag and nod once to my boy with the bread.

He grimaces but his hand is steady as he pours the last of the rubbing alcohol over my wound. It fizzes and pops as it works out the bacteria and I want to scream but I hold myself to a single grunt and a few whimpers. It feels like acid burning through my side, even though I know it’s not and it is actually helping me.

Finally he sits back and he puts more clean bandages on it after spreading a generous layer of the petroleum jelly like stuff and topical antibiotic ointment from the med kit, though I doubt it will actually help anything. Then he hands me a few pills and I swallow them down with my last sip of water.

We are both exhausted. I haven’t slept in almost 48 hours and Peeta, while he was drugged, is still injured and wore himself out with worry while waiting for me to get back.

We settle down for a nap. Not caring in the least about the heat as we settle together over our sleeping bag. I am, once more, thankful for where our injuries are placed as I can still sleep with my head on his chest. I might not be able to hear his heart like I could on the other side, however his steady breathing moving my head up and down does just the same thing for my anxiety. It lets me know he is still alive.

Hours later, when I open my eyes again I feel Peeta running his hands through my hair, gently working out the knots from where he unbraided it and I feel his other hand playing with my fingers that rest on his chest.

I tilt my head to look up at him and his expression makes my breath catch. The devotion being displayed is almost unbelievable.

“Good Morning Baby,” he says with a grin. It’s the first time he’s called me baby since the games began and I have to fight to keep the scowl off my face. He promised he wouldn’t say it in front of anybody else! Just because nobody is in the cave with us, doesn’t mean it’s not in front of others! The whole Nation is watching!

“Morning.” I yawn. “Or should I say afternoon?” I ask cheekily, leaning up to kiss his cheek before gingerly sitting up. My side blossoms with pain but I fight to make sure nobody knows.

“Definitely afternoon.” he says, handing me one of our water bottles from beside him.

I give him a thankful smile before I get up and move towards our packs. I pull out my toothbrush and one of the little toothpaste capsules. I smash it between my teeth, pour a tiny bit of water over the brush and scrub away. I haven’t been able to brush my teeth since I ran after Rue and if I want to kiss Peeta again, I can’t have horrific breath.

I poke my head out of the cave to spit in a bush and quickly rinse my mouth with one sip of water as well before spitting that out too.

Then I actually chug half the bottle and I see Peeta watching me with a glint in his eye. He knows exactly why I’m brushing my teeth.

I roll my eyes but kiss him anyway. He plays with the ends of my still loose hair and when we pull away he gives me one of his patent sunshine smiles.

“Well. Thank you? What'd you do that for? I want to make sure I get a repeat performance. Often.” He says cheekily.

I roll my eyes again, good naturedly at least, and give him one last peck.

“So. I know we have some dried food or the cans from our packs left but I wanted to see if we could go foraging or hunting just until sunset. My side still hurts so we won’t be able to go far but I think we can find something fresh for dinner.” I tell him, already reaching for my bow and quiver.

He gives me a nod, moving to put on his vest. “Yeah. I can walk on my leg, but too much distance hurts so maybe I’ll try my hand at fishing in the river. Not much movement there.”

I give him a small smile. His leg is so much better than it was the last time around. No swelling nor pus. No blood infection or a fever. His appetite is perfectly fine and he can still move, albeit with a limp.

We quickly get our stuff together and while Peeta sets himself up on a rock to fish with the line, I make my way into the woods with my bow already loaded.

My side is killing me! I realize I’m limping and completely favoring my left side. That isn’t unusual being left handed but I definitely feel off balanced.

For once, no one jumps out at me or tries to kill me and I am able to hit two squirrels and a wild turkey. I also found a few mushrooms to take back.

I see Peeta waiting for me by the cave, the bottom third of his pants soaked with river water but he presents two trout and smiles like he presented me with a star.

I give him a kiss in return and show him my haul.

I pop into the cave to grab the seasonings and he moves towards the fire site to start one for us. I also grab the pan because it will be much easier to cook the fish on.

We eat half the mushrooms and both trout. The best meal I’ve had in the last two days.

We eat in the cave and talk about anything and everything. The most basic of topics, like what each of our siblings are having for dinner or like what drunken mess Haymitch has gotten himself into now. I retell the goat story, knowing it is safe enough to share and Peeta goes into detail about the decade long prank war between him and his brothers, something I had no clue about until we came back.

The night ends with me running my fingers through his hair as he falls asleep with a smile.

My boy with the bread. My dandelion in the spring. My hope. My Lover.

May you always fall asleep next to me with a smile.

Chapter 26: Chapter XXVI

Chapter Text

The night ends with me running my fingers through his hair as he falls asleep with a smile.

My boy with the bread. My dandelion in the spring. My hope. My Lover.

May you always fall asleep next to me with a smile.

The next day is nothing like the last. Mainly due to the fact that both Peeta and I are well rested. We sleep better next to one another, knowing the other is perfectly safe and will keep us safe in turn. Whether that be from real threats or our own nightmares.

When we wake up, Peeta and I both brush our teeth and clean off in the river. My side is so tender I don't even try to clean it, the slightest pressure making me cry out. I drip water down it slightly but I am careful to not get it in my already infected wound so I doubt it will even help much.

Peeta is slightly better with his leg. It is healing nicely, the paper stitches working well and the ointment is keeping it from drying out and causing more pain. The berries also did their job. There isn’t a single sign of infection which is a miracle! He can walk, with a slight limp, but there is nothing about him, his wound, or his demeanor that would suggest he is dying, unlike last time.

Now, I am the one with the slight fever and signs of infection. It is nowhere near as bad as when Peeta had it, sitting in the mud for days on end with nothing between the wound and the bacteria, Prim would call that her worst nightmare. I happen to agree, having already lived through it once, it makes plenty of reappearances in my nightmares.

Thankfully, my wound is on my right side, lower down. So it doesn’t interfere with my shooting, mostly. My right arm is a little weaker than usual but it’s not like I can’t shoot through it. Peeta is perfectly fine with his knives so at least we aren’t defenseless even if our wounds aren’t great.

The day is spent gathering and talking. Kissing also plays a prominent role. Now that everyone knows and I am allowed to actually kiss the boy I love, I take every opportunity that presents itself. A thank you for allowing me the slightly larger rabbit leg, congratulations for finding another berry bush, a goodbye kiss when we head off in opposite directions. Every single time he leaves with a wide smile, making me either wink at him or smile goofily in return.

The day goes by almost normally, it is like we are back in the woods at home.

The only difference is that night. The trumpets blare loudly and Peeta and I share a glance. We know what this is.

Today must have been pretty boring for everyone. No action and the Capitolites are getting antsy. Peeta and I would be entertaining, sure. But Peeta and I, fighting together? Too good to pass up.

My new best friend, otherwise known as Cladius Templesmith’s, voice rings out across the arena.

“Attention. Attention. Tributes. There will be a feast at the cornucopia at sunrise. Now, this is no ordinary occasion. Each of you needs something, desperately. And we intend to be… generous hosts. I would think twice about not coming, for some of you, this may be your last chance.”

Peeta and I share a look. Neither of us is dying, we don’t need the blood poisoning medicine, but both of us have pretty bad wounds… cuts… deep ones. I can only imagine what Capitol medicine will be sequestered in the bag marked with a 12. If we need to run from mutts or Cato, Peeta needs his leg in top condition, and my side also slows me down considerably.

I try to think back to the feast last time, something that is honestly pretty easy. I remember how Thresh saved me from Clove and I can still feel her body weight as she taunts me with a knife at my lips. That’s not what I am focusing on though. Foxface. The devious girl who hid in the cornucopia. What if I steal her idea? I know Peeta has seen our games, hell we had to watch them together on live television, so he should know about that right? I don’t want to have to kill Foxface either though... so maybe that plan should just be out…

“We should get going if we want to scope everything out before sunrise.” I tell Peeta.

He nods, stuffing his last few berries in his mouth before he stands up and dusts off his hands.

We grab almost everything but leave the one large pack and our bedding and stuff.

I have my bow and quiver, as well as my small hip pack with our essentials, including my night glasses.

Peeta has the medium sized pack with a few supplies, food stuffs and our water bottles mainly. Then he also has his knife vest strapped on and filled to the brim.

I am missing a few arrows, like the one I got Clove with and the one that disappeared with Marvel, even the ones I used to blow up the supplies. However, I have more than enough to last me, if I don't waste any of them.

It takes us a few hours to get to the clearing. We find a position by a large tree at the edge of the field that overlooks the cornucopia and both of us have our night vision glass on.

The cold air would be unbearable if Peeta’s warm body wasn’t pressed right up against mine. Our jackets do little to block out the wind but we are content with each other.

We watch the field and the surrounding woods for the rest of the night, taking turns to get an hour of sleep here or there, but neither of us can stay in the world of dreams for long. The tension steadily rises as the sun gets higher and the moon drops below the horizon. By the time the first rays of sunlight shine through the leaves above us, both Peeta and I are ready to move. The need to do almost takes complete hold of us but we need to wait until the table rises.

Peeta’s elbow knocks into my gently, startling me from my train of thought and we both watch as the ground right in front of the cornucopia opens up and the table comes up. The large black ones I remember for the duo from Two and Thresh. The medium sized Green one with a 5 blazen across the front is joined by another medium sized orange bag with a 12. The tiny bag from last time is nowhere to be found, obviously we have different priorities than we did the first time around. Thankfully.

I give Peeta one last kiss on the cheek and head out into the fray, he steps out slightly in order to cover me but stays mostly hidden by the brush and tree cover. I sprint as best I can as I see the flash of red come out of the Cornucopia. I just double down, not even watching her flee. I am hoping to get in and out before Clove can catch me but of course I am not that lucky.

The knife whizzes through the air by my ear and, without even looking, my arrow is heading straight towards her. It hits her shoulder, not a fatal hit but one that probably hurts like hell. She curses loudly as she rips it out, blood dripping down her arm when I take a moment to look back at her.

Her left shoulder is wrapped in a bandage, obviously from where I hit her after Rue. Her right shoulder is where the blood drips from, her dominant arm. I resist the urge to smirk to myself. I will not stoop down to the level to enjoy a child being hurt, no matter how psychotic they are and whether they are trying to kill me or not. I will not do it.

I reach the packs and grab ours, leaving the other two large ones alone. I don’t need anyone coming after me.

That’s when Clove rams into me. We struggle for a moment, rolling over each other and she knees me in the side causing me to cry out in pain and stop breathing for a moment due to the pain coursing through me. Clove doesn’t miss the opportunity this offers her. I am once again trapped under her weight, her knees pinning me down and my wrists restrained.

“Hello Lover Girl.” She smiles at me cruelly. “Where’s the boy?”

I can’t answer her, my breathing still coming out heavily as I fight to catch my breath.

“Doesn’t matter.” She says with a smile, pulling a knife from her wrist holder.

As she is distracted, I rip my eyes away from her and towards Peeta. He is moving towards me as fast as he possibly can, his limp impeding him but he’s too stubborn to stop because of that. I know for a fact.

I give him the subtlest of head shakes but I know he sees it because of his gaze burning straight on me. The concern and love pouring out of him so much that I can feel it from here.

He looks at me pleadingly, as if that will get me to change my mind.

“He won't be able to save you.” Clove continues her monologue, unaware of the exchange, “just like you weren't able to save that little girl.'' She twirls the knife in her hand expertly over my face.

“Don't. Talk. About. Rue.” I spit out obviously surprising her with my anger and insistence.

“You don't have a leg to stand on Girl on Fire.” She says back snarkily. “I’m pretty sure you should just shut your trap or I have an idea…” she trails off, finally gripping her knife firmly.

“I’ll just make you.” She says with a smile. “It’s hard to back talk when you don't have the lips to do so.” She places the point of her knife right on the corner of my lip, drawing a single drop of blood.

“Go on. Blow Lover Boy one last kiss. One last little smooch.” She laughs, thinking her line of thought is so clever.

It takes everything in me not to look at Peeta. He would take that as permission to throw his serrated knife into her temple.

“No?” She asks. “You sure? It’s your last chance…” She drags her knife slightly, creating a cut along my lower lip.

“Don’t talk about Peeta. Don’t talk about Rue.” I say, finally, moving my lips causing the knife to scratch even more.

She tsks at me. “Okay. Fine. I’ll just take it out on you instead…” She finally gets fed up with my responses and that's when the inevitable happens.

She is dragged off me and I hear her head bang against the metal.

“What does she mean? What’d you do to that little girl?” He asks, getting into her face.

“N-Nothing. I- I mean…” She stutters, obviously terrified of the large and angry boy who is holding her up with one hand, a large rock in the other.

“No. I heard you. You should have listened and kept her name outta your mouth.” He says in a deep drawl, different from back home but it has some similarities.

That's when he does it. The rock hits her twice in the head and he drops her to the ground, uncaringly. Her cannon blasts in the background.

“You stuck up for her.” He says, “why?”

“We were allies. We blew up the careers food together, her, Peeta, and I. I tried to save her but Clove got her with a knife before I could even get to her.”

His eyes are dark as he stares at the girl at the ground.

“She died in my arms.” I say starting to cry. “I covered her with flowers and sang to her until she passed.” I say not even trying to stop the tears from dripping down my face.

He looks at me and then the rock in his hands.

“Do it quick okay? Peeta doesn’t need to see me suffer. He thought of Rue like a little sister.” I tell him, well aware he could decide to kill me this time. I don’t want Peeta to see that. He wouldn't survive it.

“Get outta here twelve. I won't kill you or your man this time,” he says gesturing with his arm towards where Peeta is watching wide eyed, a knife gripped in his hand tightly. “Only this time. My debt to you over Rue is paid.” He says gruffly, finally reaching out to grab both bags left on the table.

“Go on. Get.” He says as he runs away. Cato finally breaks through the trees, his sword gripped in his hand and he starts after Thresh, seeing that he has two bags before he looks over his shoulder and sees Clove.

“Clove!” He calls out, changing direction immediately.

That’s my cue to run so I snatch up my bow from beside me and run. Peeta turned around ahead of me and we didn't stop. Not when we run through the woods, not when we reach the river and need to cross. We don’t stop until we get to the cave and Peeta wraps me in his arms.

“I have never been more scared!” He says into my hair. “Why would you tell me not to save you! Do you understand what that did to me?!” He says loudly, obviously still freaking out over what just happened.

It is one thing to watch it on a screen after it has already happened, knowing the outcome, it’s another to see it in person and not be able to help. He knows exactly why he couldn't get in the middle. Thresh needed to save me, but it could not have been easy.

“Peeta. You have to think about what you were asking of me too. I couldn’t let you be in danger. Not when you can’t move like you need to. My side may slow me down but I can move almost as well as usual otherwise. You can barely stand on your leg! I get you're so stubborn that you run anyway but I can’t let you do that anymore than you like me being in danger.” I tell him, holding his jaw in my hands so he has to look at me.

“Kat. I want to yell at you so bad but because we are both fine I know you won’t listen.” he says, echoing our conversation the last time around.

“You're right, so why don't we just see what’s in this pack.” I tell him with a small grin, moving my mouth hurts, the cut on my lower lip and corner of my mouth pulling tight and aching.

He rolls his eyes but kisses my forehead.

We both get situated on the ground on our sleeping bags and I open the bag.

Inside are a few things.

The first thing I pull out is a metal pot. It is almost exactly like the burn cream pot that I got last time, so I have a pretty good idea of what it is.

Peeta and I share a smile as I untwist the top.

Inside is an ointment that smells so chemically but is obviously medicine. Medicine that is likely to heal both of us, fully.

Peeta pulls out the next item. It is a little needle with a K on it. It’s for my infection, I would bet anything. Peeta gives me a beaming smile when he reads it, obviously excited.

The last thing we pull out is two compasses.

Peeta has them in his hand and we both just stare at them for a moment.

I pick one of them up and as soon as it moves it turns to point towards its partner. Not North.

Peeta and I look at one another wide eyed and I stand up to walk to the other side of him. It moves with me.

Woah. They have never done anything like that before, if anything I would have assumed they wanted us to get separated.

They just gave us a sure way to know our way back to one another.

No matter what.

Chapter 27: Chapter XXVII

Chapter Text

Woah. They have never done anything like that before, if anything I would have assumed they wanted us to get separated.

They just gave us a sure way to know our way back to one another.

No matter what.

Peeta and I play with the compasses for a little bit, just walking around each other in the cave in different ways and directions. Or, I walk around Peeta.

Then, finally, I settle back down and we put the cream on. I slather his wound with it and he gently spreads it over my side and then cups my jaw and spreads a layer on the cut below my lip.

He then grabs a little bit to put on different cuts we have gathered through the games. The cut on my arm that is mostly healed, or the scratches on his hands from different things.

Then, he gives me a light kiss on the unhurt corner of my lips, not wanting to kiss the ointment or hurt me and puts the needle in my arm. I cringe slightly, not used to that sharp prick feeling but he quickly pushes the medicine in and pulls the needle out quickly but with care. He then rubs the tiniest amount of ointment onto the little hole in my arm. I roll my eyes slightly at his overprotectiveness but it also makes me feel safe, something rare in the middle of an arena so I just let him do it without a comment.

He gives me a smile and after we eat a good breakfast, we decide to try to catch up slightly on sleep. Cato and Thresh will either be fighting right now or Cato is still hunting after him in revenge, both for killing Clove and stealing his pack. So, neither of them are a threat at the moment and Foxface is never going to openly attack any of us so we both decide that watches are unnecessary.

We both settle down comfortably and shut our eyes. Knowing that we are both safe and the medicine we just got will heal us as we sleep. We sleep soundly for hours.

When I open my eyes again, Peeta is already sitting up. He has moved my head into his lap and is lightly using his index finger to outline my facial features. My eyebrows, my chin, my nose, my cheekbones, my cupid's bow, and my lips.

He gives me a smile when he sees my eyes open.

“Good morning.” He says, slightly gruff. He couldn’t have been awake long then.

“I think it’s way past morning, but same to you.” I tell him, closing my eyes and leaning my head into his stomach, hiding my face from the chilly air.

That’s when I realize how cold it is. It's wet too.

The rain. Of course the rain started.

Why wouldn’t it? The gamemakers got their drama. They're probably still intercutting clips of Peeta and I being all lovey-dovey and Cato and Thresh battling it out or hunting each other. Their perfect broadcast.

Kill two birds with one stone, cause Peeta and I to spend more time together, without too much of a threat, and make it harder for Cato and Thresh, make their search and subsequent fight last even longer.

Bastards.

“You're definitely right on that but I still say we should eat breakfast, though if you want to say dinner I am all for that too.” he says with a small laugh at my actions.

“Okay. What do we have?” I ask him, half muffled from speaking into his stomach.

He runs his hand over my hair one time before he gently pushes me to sit up. I do so with one last yawn and he scrunches his nose at me adorably. Then, he kisses me on the forehead and moves away to look at our packs.

“Wait. Peeta.” I am fully awake now. “You aren’t limping.”

He stops immediately and pulls his ripped pants away from his leg to show a thick scar where the previous wound was. Completely closed.

“Woah.” He says poking at it gently. “It’s tender but definitely healed.”

He looks up at me like a kid who just got handed a cookie. “What about yours?!”

I pull my jacket and shirt up and we both look at my side. The bruising is still there, though looks much older than it is, at least around the cut, and my cut is also fully healed, the rope like scar a purple color that matches his own.

“The bruise around the cut is healing quicker, do you think we should put the remaining ointment on the rest of it?” I ask. I am all smiley and happy. Even if I keep this bruise on my side, I don’t have an infection and it already feels a million times better. I even lift my hand up to feel below my bottom lip, there is a slight bump where the cut was but I bet you can hardly even see it.

“Definitely, we don’t know for a fact that is what made it heal fast but it's worth a shot.” He says excitedly.

“Okay, we can do that in a minute, we have all the time in the world with this rain.” I say, getting more comfortable on our makeshift bed.

“True. Let me see what we have for breakfast and then we can see what we want to do.” Peeta says moving back towards our packs. “We have three full water bottles, or should in a few minutes because I just put them in the rain. A can of soup, a can of tuna, 2 dried packs of food, one meat and one fruit, a half pack of crackers with peanut butter, and then we have a handful of mint leaves, about four handfuls of berries, and half a rabbit left.” He says after searching for a moment.

As he says each thing, he pulls it out and places it beside him, laying out our haul for us to see in full. We could be here for a few days if I remember correctly. This may be a decent amount of food but between the both of us this will last two days at most. Probably not even that if we eat until we are actually full.

“Okay. We don’t know how long this rain will last but I don’t think I’ll be able to go hunt or anything while it’s going on, it’s too heavy to be able to see and none of the animals will even be out so we will have to make do.” I tell him, grabbing my tooth brush and a capsule.

I just stick the toothbrush out of the cave slightly, making sure to roll up my sleeve and keep it dry. If anything gets wet, there is no way it is drying quickly.

As I pop the capsule in my mouth and start brushing my teeth, trying to get rid of the morning breath, Peeta grabs the rabbit and the pack of dried fruit. He lays out the tiny frying pan as if it were a tray or a plate and plates the food like we were at a fancy restaurant. The meat separated from the fruit but both are artistically piled and presented.

I quickly spit out of the cave and rinse my brush off, a handful of water finding my mouth as I rinse. When I finish putting my toothbrush away, Peeta grins up at me and gestures dramatically at his set up.

“Your breakfast, Milady.” He says.

I roll my eyes but I am sure my smile says everything for me, I never was good at hiding how I actually feel.

“Thank you good sir, join me will you?” I say back just as in character.

“Okay. That was strange. Never do that again, you're not that kinda girl and I don't want you to be.” he says seriously, picking up half a pear and taking a bite after I take the first one.

“Yeah it felt weird too, I'm more used to giving you what for than sucking up or being too polite like that.” I say with a wink, well aware district Twelve will be dying of laughter, some from the truth or untruth in the statement, depending on how much they know me or just what they’ve heard, some just because I’m using the phrase at all, and even some poking fun at Peeta and how he likes such a hard headed, or strong handed, woman. Little do they know I’m actually a sucker. Prim or Peeta, with their unparalleled kindness and sunshine, their innate goodness, could do almost anything and I’d never reprimand or get angry at them. Thankfully they're both such good people that it isn’t necessary.

“Don’t I know it!” Peeta says laughing. The rain is so loud and heavy we don't need to worry about keeping our voices down or anything, nobody will be able to hear us unless they are right outside, and even then it’ll be muffled. “The way you walk around scared just about every boy in school. I know how many guys liked you, it was clear as day, but every single one was too scared to say anything.”

I remember him saying something similar last time, how other guys liked me, I didn’t believe him then and I honestly still don’t see how he could be correct even now.

“Now, I know you're telling a story. Ain’t no guy sweet on me back home, well besides you it seems.” I say with a teasing nature.

“Exactly. You didn’t even know I was in love with you before those interviews, and I’ve been struck on you since we were five. You might not realize or even know, but there are plenty of guys back home who’d jump at the chance.” He tells me. I can hear in his voice that he is a little nervous, for what I cannot imagine, there is no way I would ever even consider somebody else over Peeta, not seriously or unseriously. We did that last time and it almost got both of us killed. Not happening again. Peeta is the only one for me.

“Well, they may jump but they don’t have a chance. Don’t think you can get rid of me now. As I said, I didn’t think I’d get to keep you but now that I know? You're stuck with me.” I tell him, both joking but with underlying seriousness, needing him to understand that I mean what I am saying.

“Kat, I’ve been ready to jump the broom since I was old enough to know what marriage or a toasting was. You aren’t getting rid of me now either.” He tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

“Deal. We both get out alive and never let go of the other, sounds perfect to me.” I tell him, finishing off my rabbit.

“Deal. Now seal it.” He tells me with a smirk.

I roll my eyes but lean in to kiss him. It’s something we’ve done since we came back. We made a bet on something or another in the woods and he said we had to seal it with a kiss. I don’t even remember who won but ever since then with our deals or our bets, we seal them with a kiss.

We both trade more comments back and forth as we finish off our breakfast, big enough to be satisfying but not as large as either of us would like or need. However, neither of us have lost a significant amount of weight during the games. We both came in looking decently healthy, especially for District Twelve kids, and we've managed to feed ourselves very well. Sure, we’ve been exercising and moving but we’ve been training for months, our bodies are used to this level of work. So, while some weight loss has occurred, it’s nowhere near the level it was at last time, especially for Peeta. We’re definitely okay to go light or restrictive on meals while the rain happens but hopefully they don’t keep it up for too long.

It turns out caving dwelling isn't super fun or exciting. We have nothing to occupy our time except for each other.

We laugh and tickle each other. Peeta nurses my side and we take turns putting out and grabbing our water bottles.

Peeta and I even resort to old hand games we remember from when we were really little. Played either in the meadow for the Seam kids or in the square for Merchies. Seam kids usually had more creative and drawn out ones, because that’s all we had to occupy our time, besides maybe a regular rope turned into a jump rope. Merchant kids, while still indulging in the activity, both of them, had other things to do. Helping run their family's stores, once they were old enough, or even playing four square or the occasional soccer or makeshift basketball game if somebody had a ball.

There are some both of us know like Miss Mary Mack or Tic Tac Toe, the hand game not the writing one even if both of us played quite a few games of that as well using water on the stone walls. There were even some that we just talked about but couldn't actually play like Down By the Banks or Little Sally Walker. We just played the ones that we both knew to pass the time but there are some that never crossed the Seam/Merchant line.

I teach him the super fast and slightly complicated one I remember from before my father died, Slide Baby, which features heavily in my memories from going to the meadow after school. I showed him Prim’s favorite from when she was a toddler and always wanted to play with the big kids but her motor skills weren’t as fine tuned as they needed to be, so instead we would pacify her with another game. He was endlessly entertained by that one. The baby song about patting a cake and baking it is apparently something he never heard even growing up in a bakery. I even showed him the most basic one, one I was sure he had heard of before and was just messing with me. If you went up to any Seam kid, grown and in the mines or still in elementary school, and said the words “concentration, sixty four,” you'd get immediate recognition.

He returns the favor and teaches me the game Chopsticks that he played with his merchant friends. How you try to get the other’s hand out by adding fingers to theirs, and he teaches me Lemonade, Iced Tea. I just cringe at that one. “Kick your brother out of town,” is too close for comfort, with my mother’s history, something he picks up on and changes the subject immediately.

So, while these things are entertaining, and are probably going to spread around the Capitol like wildfire, they aren’t actually what we spend most of our time doing. We spent most of our time talking and telling stories, which is how we even got onto the hand game topic in the first place.

I tell him the goat story again, not having as many safe stories as he did but still wanting to contribute. I also offer up a few more though. How Prim and I used to dance around the living room while Dad danced with Mom. Dad presenting us with a perfect orange on New Years Day. As well as the fact that Gale’s brother Rory on his fiddle or Vick on his banjo always play at the seam potluck every year, and how I hope they did it this year, even if I wasn’t there to see it. That, every year on her birthday, I make Prim an elaborate flower crown to present to her so she can wear it to school. I even talked about how Dad would sing and I would join as we walked through our neighborhood around the winter solstice and how people would either join or just come around to listen.

Peeta listens to every story with rapt attention and as many questions as he can think up. He pouts when I tell him that story about my father and I singing though.

“Kat. If I had known you two did that, I would have been the first one there. I would run all the way past the town line to come listen.” he says, serious as all get out.

“You would have froze. Or even caught your death I swear, half the time it was snowing or there was at least half a foot of powder on the ground.” I tell him, looking at him like he is crazy.

“I don’t care. Still would’ve done it and it would have been worth it.” He says, meaning every word.

I roll my eyes but lift my neck up slightly from where it rests on his shoulder to kiss his jaw line.

While Peeta is a captivated audience, he doesn’t just listen. He tells me stories of his own.

Stories about his family. Rye being a cheeky rascal. How he would wrestle Peeta every chance he got, even going as far as to tackle him right out of the bath. When Graham brought his girlfriend home for the first time, Brandy, the daughter of the owner of the general store/grocer in town. That was a whole thing apparently, it was a big deal then and now they are planning their wedding, or really their toasting.

Peeta also tells me about growing up in the bakery. How Old Man Forge, owner and only worker at the blacksmith in town, would come in every Saturday and talk at them for at least half an hour before leaving with his order. Talking almost about nothing but not letting them get a word in edgewise. He tells me about wrestling practice and how much ribbing Rye got when he won the championship right before summer started. He even goes slightly into the decade-long prank war he and his brothers are in.

“Yeah, I can’t count the number of times they've tried to drag you into it.” He tells me with a half sigh, half laugh.

“What do you mean?” I ask, tilting my head to the side as I look at him across from me.

“Every time they've tripped me in front of you or made fart noises as I walked past you trying to get you to laugh or something.” He says embarrassed.

“Peeta…” I trail off. I never noticed. Not once.

“Don’t do that. I’m honestly glad you didn’t notice. I was mortified every single time they did it.” he says, truthfully. It doesn’t take away any of my guilt for never paying him any attention.

“Well, if they do it again they have me to answer to.” I say firmly, not at all subtly moving my hands towards my bow with a wicked smile.

He cackles loudly, amused. “Oh trust me, nobody in twelve wants to mess with you. Even before they knew you could use a bow.”

I furrow my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

He looks at me like I caught him stealing a cookie.

“Umm…” He trails off.

“Nuh uh. You started it, tell me.” I say, waving my hand at him to get on with it.

“Okay, don’t take this the wrong way but you're honestly terrifying. I think all of Twelve knows it too.” He says.

I narrow my eyes at him, “I got that, my question is why?”

“Tonne.” He says simply, almost cringing.

“Oh. I see it.” I say simply. “I have no remorse about that though. He had it coming.”

“I honestly don’t even know what he did, most people in town don’t, I’m not sure about the Seam. Hell, most people, before right now, didn’t even know you had anything to do with it.” He informs me.

“Oh, it was me, and he absolutely deserved it. I wanted to do more but there are these things called laws that prevented me from actually maiming him.” I tell Peeta darkly.

“Now I’m really scared. I’ve seen you spitting mad, I don’t want to imagine what he did to get you to that level.” Peeta says, not joking even a little, he's been on the wrong side of my temper more than once.

“Oh no, I’m gonna straighten this out for the people at home, maybe get them to understand what the hell he did.” I say taking a deep breath. “Prim, I swear, close your ears. Gale or Mom, make sure she doesn’t listen.” I say looking around, hoping my seriousness is conveyed through at least one of the cameras in here.

Peeta settles in, well aware he can’t interrupt me now.

“So, the Tonne incident, as Gale has taken to calling it, happened more than a year ago now. I turned fifteen in May and Prim turned eleven. For her birthday, I had saved up to get her a hair ribbon, the blue one she wears all the time,” I mention, looking to Peeta to see if there’s any recognition.

He nods, obviously knowing what I mean.

“This didn’t happen in May but right before school ended, it had to have been the last week, as I was walking out the doors to meet Prim by the flagpole like normal, he was in front of me talking to Nick,” I get interrupted.

“Nick?” Peeta says, trying to place the name.

“Yeah, it’s short for Nickel? He was in Rye’s grade, just graduated this year.” I tell him.

He nods at me, not quite placing him but not wanting the story to stall.

“Anyway. He isn’t the quietest and is also dumber than a sack of coal. Anyway, as we walk out the doors the flagpole is right to the left, towards the seam, and so they walk that way too, making me stuck behind them. He leans closer to Nick, obviously not wanting his comment to be overheard, but he didn’t know I was behind him.” I say with an eye roll. You have to be aware of your surroundings at all times. That’s the only way to survive in Panem.

“Stupid mistake cause I heard everything he said. He gestured to Prim and said ‘now that one, once she grows, maybe in two years, I reckon’, she’ll be the best one I say. Look at that ribbon, perfect for keepin’ quiet behind the slag heap, if ya know what I mean.’” I say, breathing heavily through my anger, my fists clenched as I recall the words. “It doesn’t end there. Nick, the actual gentleman that he is, hit him upside the head and told him to shut the hell up, but Tonne just whispered to him again, ‘no, I ain’t gonna shut up because you know I’m right, her sister, if she’d lose the stick up her ass, would be a nice rail too but honestly I like em’ younger anyway.”

Peeta looks as mad as I’ve ever seen him. His face is set in a deep determination, his fists are clenched and his teeth are grinding together. “He fucking did not.”

“Oh. He fucking did.” I tell him seriously. “You have no idea how bad I wanted to do something right then. I didn’t even care what he said about me honestly, but what he said about Prim? What he implied he might do to her? Yeah, no, I was never gonna let that go.” I tell him, getting agreement from the kind hearted boy across from me. He definitely doesn't agree with what I said about it not mattering what he said about me, but he also knows Prim is off limits. To anyone trying to mess with her. He actually agrees and would do anything to keep Prim safe, something I know for a fact.

“I couldn’t do anything then though because my number one priority at that moment was getting Prim the hell away from him. So, I grabbed her and steered her the long way around, waiting for Tonne to walk back to the Seam before we even began the trip back. We actually stopped by the bakery window that day. Prim likes to look at your cakes in the window.” I tell him.

“I know, I used to see you through the window and Prim would wave at me and I would wave back. She’s a sweet girl, I’m glad I could help even if not directly.” Peeta says sweetly, even if he is still steaming.

“Trust me you did. By the time we started walking back home Tonne was nowhere to be found. So, once I got Prim home and set up doing homework that's when I needed to warn him off of her. In hindsight I was extreme but I honestly think it was necessary and justified so I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt.” I say thinking back.

“Knowing what I know now, and I bet everybody at home agrees, you were well within your rights.” Peeta says seriously.

“Yeah, he definitely deserved it. So, now everybody knows not to mess with Prim and honestly that's the most important thing.” Katniss says with a firm nod of her head.

“Yeah, nobody else wants animal feces and entrails strewn about their yard or put in their backpack.” Peeta says with a laugh.

“Hey! They weren’t strewn about. They were placed purposefully to spell out ‘predator,’ it’s not my fault he can’t read.” I say defensively.

Peeta busts out laughing at both my fake offense and the actual details of the revenge.

“Even if he deserved it, this still doesn’t make you any less scary.” Peeta tells me, meaning every word.

“I don’t care.” I say shrugging at him.

He just laughs again and pulls me in for a kiss.

As long as Peeta isn’t scared of me, everyone else can think whatever the hell they want.

Chapter 28: Chapter XXVIII

Chapter Text

He just laughs again and pulls me in for a kiss.

As long as Peeta isn’t scared of me, everyone else can think whatever the hell they want.

When Peeta and I wake on the eleventh day of the games, the rain doesn’t stop, if anything it picks up. The wind howls through the trees and I even think there’s hail.

I wake up tucked into his side and immediately check the bruising on my side. Or, where the bruising was on my side.

We had put another coat of ointment onto my bruise before we went to sleep last night and this morning my side is totally healed. The purple had been turned to yellow by the first coat but this morning the green/yellow color that had been there is now my normal olive. It isn’t tender at all and besides the scar on my side, you can not tell that I had been injured in the first place.

I let Peeta sleep for longer as I get up to see what we have left for breakfast. We had eaten the dried fruit and rabbit yesterday for breakfast, and we skipped lunch to have the can of tuna and the rest of the berries we had collected for dinner.

We have a bag of dried meat, one can of soup, a handful of mint leaves, and half a thing of crackers with peanut butter. Not enough to last us through tomorrow.

I say we have crackers and peanut butter for breakfast. We eat soup and dried meat for dinner. Then all we have left is mint leaves, not really good sustenance but hopefully the rain will stop by tomorrow so I can go hunt.

I set up our breakfast but don’t start eating, instead I set our water bottles to fill up outside and grabbed my toothbrush. Thank god for these, I feel so much better than I did last time. Not to mention, I’m sure Peeta appreciates it too, not that it would stop us if we didn’t have it but it is still better than not.

When I finish brushing my teeth, I just settle back next to Peeta and pull his head onto my lap. He must be really tired if I can do that without waking him. So, I just run my hands through his hair, gently getting a few of the knots out. I rub my thumb down his jawline, I’m surprised that no stubble had formed during our time in the games. I guess the Capitol might have done something to stop that, can’t have the children look too old while they kill each other, of course.

It takes another ten minutes before Peeta wakes and when he does open his blue eyes, they immediately meet my gray ones and his lips stretch into a loving smile. He always looks at me like I am the best thing to ever happen, and it takes my breath away every time.

“Good morning.” He says with a yawn, his hand coming up to cover his mouth.

“Morning, I have breakfast ready if you're hungry and the water bottles should be almost full.” I tell him, running my hands through his hair again.

“In a minute, this is too nice.” He says, snuggling down deeper into my lap.

I blush but continue to play with his curls. We spend the next few minutes in silence just sitting with one another. I almost think Peeta has fallen back asleep when he sits up and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Let me grab our water bottles and then we can eat breakfast, yeah?” He asks with a smile.

I nod and move to get us set up under the blankets, the cold seeping in even through the thick stone walls.

He quickly gets the bottles, the poncho looking pretty silly on him, even after seeing him wear it multiple times before now.

We quickly finish breakfast, drinking the full large bottle of water due to the dry crackers and the sticky peanut butter.

We settle together, ready for another long day of doing nothing.

It goes much the same as last time.

Instead of hand games, I teach Peeta how to braid after he tells me he always wanted to learn. I teach him a regular one and then a french, and then my usual side dutch braid. He takes to it like I expected he would. His artistic eyes and fast fingers pick it up quickly. He wants to learn more so I promise him when he gets home Prim and I will teach him every braid we know. It’s enough to placate him for now.

The rest of the time for the day is spent exactly how it was yesterday.

More stories.

I tell Peeta about Hazel and how she tries to handle four kids, three boys specifically, all by herself and probably get them in trouble as I recall mischief she had no idea about.

Peeta responds by getting his brothers in trouble, describing things they've done but never gotten caught over. Until he tells me about the time they did.

Peeta tells me about the time he and Rye and Graham had accidentally picked up an open bag of flour, completely covering the kitchen floor with it and making a giant mess. He has a smile as we talk but there’s an underlying sadness in the supposed to be funny tale.

I know what it’s about, and I am pissed. I have hated a lot of people. Coin and Snow on the top of the list, but Peeta’s mother, the witch, as most Seam kids call her, tops her own special list. I will never let her touch this boy again. Not with her hand, not with a spoon or a rolling pin, not even with her cruel words. She will never hurt him again if I have a say about it. I just need to make sure she knows that and he does too.

“What’d she do about it?” I tell him, sitting up away from his side and putting emphasis on ‘she.’

He looks away from me, he’s embarrassed.

I grab his chin and make him meet my eye line.

“Do not feel embarrassed over something she did. You are the best man I have ever met. Caring, loyal, kind, and I know she isn’t any of that but you are better in spite of her. Because there is something in you that is intrinsically good, something that defied her and everything she tried to mold you into being.” I tell him, watching as his eyes fill up with tears that he won’t release down his cheeks. “So, don’t ever feel ashamed because nobody else is ashamed of you. I couldn’t be more proud. Your dad couldn’t be more proud. Same with your brothers. Okay?” I ask him gently.

He nods, quickly running his sleeve under his nose.

“Good, now. What. Did. She. Do?” I ask more firmly.

“Let’s just say, the black eye I had the next day wasn’t from wrestling.” He says, toying with the end of my braid.

“What’d she use? I’ll burn it.” I tell him seriously, meaning every word.

“Wooden spoon.” He mutters. I know one conversation won’t rid him of a lifetime of embarrassment and shame, but god I wish it were that simple.

“As soon as we get home.” I promise him. “She won't be spared either, as we determined yesterday… I can be pretty terrifying.”

He laughs slightly, but it's subdued. I kiss him deeply. It won’t make up for her abuse, but I am determined to fill his heart up with love even if she can’t contribute. Her loss.

“Trust me. I know you are terrifying. You're also somehow the sweetest person I’ve ever met and I don’t know how someone could have such duality.” He says with a grin, obviously trying to change the subject.

“I think you're the only one who would ever call me sweet.” I tell him, laughing, going along with it and trying to lighten the mood. I tuck myself back into his side, comforting him that way too.

“Haymitch literally calls you sweetheart.” He says with a laugh.

“Haymitch is a drunkard who means that as an insult.” I tell him, playing with the zipper on his jacket, up and down, again and again.

“I think it started that way but mark my words, he’ll realize he’s wrong. He just has to watch you with Prim for five minutes.” He says.

“Prim is an anomaly, she’s literally the sweetest person on earth. Though, we are still sisters, sisters fight." I tell him with a grin and an eye roll.

“Kat. When was the last time you and Prim fought?” He asks me incredulously.

“Ummmm…” I trail off trying to remember. “I think it was about homework. She wanted to go hang out with Rory but had an assignment due the next day she hadn’t started. I told her no.” That had been in March, it had barely lasted five minutes before she just pouted at me and did what she was told, but it still counts.

“Kat. That’s not a sisterly argument.” He says slowly.

I can almost feel the tension in the cave go back up.

“I know. But we are sisters no matter what the circumstances are, ergo sisterly argument.” I tell him quietly.

“Kat. Just because my mother was horrible, doesn’t mean you can’t talk about your own homelife.” He tells me quietly. I can hear his earnesty in his tone, but that doesn’t make this conversation easier.

“My mother just checked out after my father died.” I tell him quietly.

“I know Kat.” he says just as softly.

“I love her. She knows I do. Prim loves her and she needs her mother. She still crawls in her bed after she has a nightmare sometimes, like the night before reaping day. She still asks mom to braid her hair in the mornings, or brings her dinner if she can’t get out of bed.” I tell him, my voice cracking slightly with emotion.

“She does need her mother. That doesn’t mean you are any less of a mother to her, Kat. You raised that girl since she was seven. I know you did, she knows you did, and so does your mother.” Peeta tells me seriously, as if trying to get the thought into my brain and make it stay there.

“Peeta. I was eleven. What did I know about taking care of a child?” I ask him. “She has every right to look at mom for comfort, I would never begrudge her that just because I can’t forgive her.” I tell him.

“You're right, she does. That doesn’t make it easier for you, though.” He tells me, smoothing the flyaways out of my face.

“I want her to have a relationship with her mother.” It sounds weak to my own ears.

“Kat. Stop for a minute. Prim loves you equally. She knows what you did for her. She knows you are the only reason they survived. You kept them alive. You did. You are the strongest person I know. Most people would break into little pieces if they had the same responsibilities from age eleven.” He preaches, speaking every word from what feels like the very bottom of his soul.

“I almost did.” I say softly, reaching my hand up to cup his jaw. “You're the only reason we survived. You know that right?”

His face gets hot, his blush all consuming. “I wouldn’t say that. I might have helped a little bit, once, but you did everything else.”

“Peeta, you took a beating for me. You gave us that bread and it was the first food we had eaten in, I don’t know how long. When I saw you across the school yard with that bruise on your jaw the next day, I had never been more grateful, more angry, more… I don’t even know. I just knew that since that moment you had been the only one to care about me since my dad died. That’s something I’ll never be able to thank you enough for.” I kiss the very tip of his nose.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’d do it a million times over again.” He says.

“That was the start of me falling in love with you.” I tell him suddenly.

He jerks to look at me.

“I’m serious. I was young enough that I didn’t realize it then though. It took me way too long to recognize what I was feeling but that was when it started. Not the moment you gave me the bread, but the moment across the school yard when I realized you were my hope. I had seen you and I wanted to walk up to you and thank you but I was too embarrassed. I looked down at my shoes and there was a single dandelion. That winter had been so cold and depressing and when I saw that one little sign of life I realized that's what you were. My hope that life could go on.” I tell him, meaning every word and they just fall from my lips, like I have any chance of stopping them.

He looks at me in awe. He doesn’t say anything, just leans in and gives me the sweetest kiss of my entire life. It isn’t passionate or aggressive, it is pure love and joy.

His cheeks are wet with tears and I quickly use my thumbs to wipe the tracks away when we pull back.

“God Kat.” He says in disbelief, “and you say you're not good with words.”

I laugh.

“I’m not. That’s all you.” I tell him, cuddling back into his side.

We sit quietly for a while before we hear it.

The pinging of a parachute. I guess Haymitch liked our conversation. I honestly forgot we were being broadcasted. Kill me now… not literally though. We’ve worked too hard to survive just to die of embarrassment.

Peeta wraps himself tightly in the poncho. He has to fully leave the cave to get the parachute and I know even with that protection his feet will be soaked.

I lay out the extra pair of socks so that he can take his wet ones off and clean a place on the ground where he can lay them to dry along with his boots, which I know will be soaked through as they aren’t covered by the poncho.

He runs back through the entrance and gets rid of the poncho to not drip water everywhere, there's a little part of the rock that juts out of the cave wall where he precariously hangs it up. He slips his boots off there as well and pulls his socks off, taking the extra pair from my hand and he steps directly onto the makeshift bed in order to not dirty them. With his socks laid out to dry, and his boots sitting beside them, he is finally settled and we turn to the large parachute as one. It is not a picnic basket like last time, this time it is a plastic tub that is waterproof, something I can appreciate. I don’t want soggy food.

Peeta gestures for me to open the box and I do as he folds up the parachute.

What is inside is even better than last time.

Last time we had lamb stew, rice, bread, goat cheese, and even apples. This time… oh man.

This has to be enough food to last us until the end of the games. Past that even, if it goes the same as last time.

There are 12 containers inside the largest one, each unlabeled and we can’t see through them either.

Peeta raises his eyebrow at me and I just nod my head with a grin. He smirks back and picks up the one on top.

It is fresh bread. Still warm. It’s not the Capitol rolls or even the drop biscuits from Twelve.

“It's from Three.” Peeta says, his head tilted in confusion. I know that as well, the parachutes from the quell flash through my mind, but I act just as confused.

“How do you know that?” I ask him, knowing he has an answer besides ‘the quell.’

“There was that one winner from Three a few years ago. When he came to Twelve we made a bunch of rolls from his district, we do it for all the winners each year, to give them a little taste of home.” He says.

“Huh.” I say, not knowing what exactly to say to that.

He just puts the lid back on, wanting to keep it as warm as possible.

I pull out the next box and start when I feel that the box is chilled. I pull the lid off the medium sized box and raise my eyebrows.

“Are those shrimp?” Peeta asks incredulously. I just nod back at him.

“From Four. Fishing.” I close the lid. Shrimp aren’t cheap, the only seafood more expensive would be crab or lobster and those are only for Capitol events, not that I’ve seen shrimp anywhere else either.

Peeta and I go through the boxes one at a time and each one is a surprise. Some, we immediately recognize.

The fresh fruit from Eleven. A pasta dish from Nine. The beef ribs from Ten. Even the sausage rolls from Two and the decadent chocolate cake from One are implied. The rest of the boxes take some working out.

Five is known for power and electricity but when we visited their food was simple but rich. We both remember having these little pockets stuffed with mashed potatoes and other toppings, they called them pierogies, and they’re very filling and delicious. That’s what is packed in the box for us.

Six is transportation but when we went they had the best cheese we had ever had. It wasn’t at all like the cheese Prim makes for her goat, and they had every single kind you could imagine. Haymitch has packed three different kinds. A spreadable one that is creamy and almost sweet. There is one that is sliced and has a white cream color center but the outside of each slice is bright orange, that one is rich but delicious. Then, finally, there are the little cheese curds, a sharp but almost light tasting one.

Seven you would expect has something to do with trees and you'd be half right. We were given honest to god cinnamon rolls that had maple syrup in them, you could smell it. They smell divine and there are two. They are bigger than my hand. They're huge!

Eight is right below Twelve geographically but they have a very different landscape. The mountains in eight are way off the main city, which is the only place we went on tour, but the rest is mostly flat land and it is very industrial. The warehouses for fabric creation are plentiful in order to create everything needed not only for the regular clothes of people in the districts, but the needlessly horrendous complicated outfits and fashion in the Capitol. We think this bowl with this grain like porridge is from there. It has cheese and green onions, as well as chopped up onions that Peeta says are caramelized. We had it for breakfast on tour, they're called grits.

Our taste from home is something that almost makes me tear up. It is a sandwich. It is bakery bread, the fresh sourdough loaves, and Peeta immediately smells it and says his dad made it. Then, on the sandwich is roasted squirrel, probably hunted by Gale, goat cheese, that I would bet anything Prim made, and strawberry preserves, I would believe Madge donated that in a heartbeat.

Peeta and I share a look and immediately decide to start there. It tastes like we are back in the school cafeteria. Before everything got so complicated, even if both of us knew what was coming. Talking and laughing together with Madge, ignoring all the stares and whispers. It tastes like home.

“Thank you everyone. I know who made these back home. Prim you better be keeping this cheese for yourself next time, yeah?” I laugh, trying to keep my tears at bay.

“Same to you, Dad. Your bread was always the best. There’s no way Rye or Graham made this loaf, it’s too perfect.” He laughs, enjoying getting one over on his brothers on national television.

We eat our sandwiches and a few of the fresh berries from Eleven. There is also a perfect orange in that box, as well as a banana, luxuries in any other district.

We pack everything back in the box, sealed tight to prevent any water or anything from getting in it and settle back together for a nap.

I try to think about what Haymitch meant about this gift. He never sends anything without a reason. The only one I can think of is about the rebellion. Trying to get support, all the districts together, helping one another, without the Capitol.

Oh, Haymitch. Stay safe please.

Like something is mocking me, a cannon booms in between rounds of thunder.

It has to be Thresh.

I’m so sorry.

Please take care of Rue, in the ol’ thereafter.

Wait for us there and one day we will join you, but you enjoy the peace for all of us until then.

Chapter 29: Chapter XXIX

Chapter Text

It has to be Thresh.

I’m so sorry.

Please take care of Rue, in the ol’ thereafter.

Wait for us there and one day we will join you, but you enjoy the peace for both of us until then.

Day Twelve dawns bright and sunny. The birds loudly chirping from their nests and the water can be heard rushing in the high river outside.

Peeta was the first one awake and had already laid out our breakfast, grit bowls and fruit. The grits are way more filling than they look and both of us are stuffed by the time we finish them along with the rest of the fruit.

We have our dishes left from Four, Seven, most of Six, Five, Two, some of Three, half of One, and half of Nine.

Last night we shared some of the pasta, the beef ribs, one slice of the chocolate cake, and we ate a few of the rolls with cheese on them in between meals. I feel better than I have in a long time. Not being injured, having enough food, actually resting instead of constantly moving around. It has done Peeta and I wonders.

Now though, it is time to get out of this cave.

We don’t actually have that much meat left. A pack of dried meat, sausage rolls, shrimp as well, but neither of us are super used to seafood and are a little wary of it. Enough to last for sure, but I’m antsy so we decide to go out hunting. Just for something little. Peeta says he wants to find some dandelions or clover while I hunt, maybe even some stinging nettle, wanting to get more fresh veggies as well.

It takes about two hours, there is hardly any game by the river now, but eventually I see some tracks and we split. Peeta is going to gather, I go to hunt.

Peeta promises to stay within signal range, he definitely remembers my genuine freakout last time around, I don’t think either of us will ever forget that. It was one of the first times I completely freaked over his safety. Though definitely not the last, it was still very memorable.

I end up hitting a rabbit half an hour in and I pull out my compass to go see how Peeta is doing. These things really could not be any more helpful. It’s pointing my back towards the river so I set off.

Five minutes of walking and a cannon sounds. Now I am sprinting, barely looking ahead of me as I focus on my compass, trying to find Peeta.

We end up finding each other, I run straight into his chest and he wraps his arms around me as our momentum pushes us to the ground.

“Are you okay?” We ask at exactly the same time, running our hands over the other and searching for wounds.

“It wasn’t you.” I breathe out in relief.

“You either.” He kisses my forehead and tucks my head under his cheek.

“Then who and where was it?” I ask him, looking up in the sky to search for a hovercraft. Maybe the cannon last night wasn’t Thresh. Maybe Foxface is the only one left standing or… or… or… a few different scenarios run through my head.

That’s when I see the red hair being lifted into the sky, not even thirty yards away.

“Kat. Go. Get up a tree, I’ll try to fight him off down here. You get him from above.” Peeta says seriously.

“Peeta.” I look at him, now that my panic has receded I know what's going on. Peeta’s eyes widen as he realizes as well, then he shakes his head in confusion.

Did he not pick the berries yet?

I shoot him a look and we move as one towards where Foxface was picked up. When we get to it, there are a bunch of bushes, berry bushes. Nightlock. There must be twenty or more. The only one that looks disturbed is obviously still nightlock but a little lighter shade, not quite ripe yet but still deadly.

Foxface must have thought that the gamemakers were trying to trick her, use reverse psychology or something like that. Her smarts felled her again. It’s just as dangerous to overestimate your opponents than it is to underestimate them.

Peeta is pulling out a bag, a plastic zip up baggy, to put the berries in.

“Maybe Cato likes berries too.” He says. Mimicking me from last time around.

I just pluck a good sized handful off the bush and he zips it up dramatically.

We set up a fire to cook, our reasoning the same as last time.

“Would you come hunting us if you were him?” I ask the baker’s boy. “I honestly hope he does.”

“Not a chance in hell. We’ve established you’re beyond scary by now, this is just another reason to add to the ever growing list.” he says. I just shrug, let him add it.

We quickly get everything cooked and decide to just climb and sit in a tree.

We eat our fresh rabbit and just sit in silence. It’s honestly nice. We aren’t trying to put up a front for the cameras, using the need to be quiet as an excuse, and we are just together. We probably aren't even being broadcasted, that's how boring it is for everyone else.

Eventually though, it does get into the afternoon and it is time to head back to the cave. We take the two hour hike back and eventually we find our little cave home. On the way, Peeta collects a few mushrooms, not wanting to come back empty handed as he didn’t collect anything earlier.

I still can’t believe this spot hasn’t been found, though I guess, there are plenty of cave mouths and rock formations up here, it’s not gonna be possible or worthwhile, to look in every single one.

Once we get inside, Peeta gathers our bottles and heads back out to fill them. Knowing how important it is. The river is likely to be dried up by the morning. They’ve had all day to place bets, Cato vs. The Star Crossed Lovers, and they will likely get bored, so tomorrow is the finale.

It has to be.

We spend a few hours outside, separate but near enough to hear if anything happens, taking time to ourselves and getting our thoughts straight. I end up sitting beneath a tree and if I turn my head just right and glimpse through the canopy, I can see Peeta sitting with his feet in the water.

I can’t believe how much has happened in the last three weeks. The reaping, all of our training and interview prep, the individual gamemaker’s sessions, that's not even including the actual games themselves.

I feel like we’ve done better overall. We have stayed together, mostly, neither of us were ever actively dying, and we are set up better for the finale than we were last time. We will fill our bottles tonight, right before bed, so they're full for tomorrow. Peeta can run and jump and climb and do everything he needs to in order to keep his leg. I can still hear with both of my ears. I have more arrows left compared to the first time. I don’t think we could be set up better.

That's what scares me. Cato has been starving and is likely injured from his fight with Thresh. It would be two on one anyway, so the gamemakers are going to want to make it more fair. They gave him body armor last time, a first for the games, is that what they’ll do this time? Will they do something else? I don’t know. It’s not like I can ask Peeta what he thinks either, we are constantly under watch.

I guess the only thing we will be able to do is prepare ourselves and head into the fray.

Sounds familiar. It is exactly what we did last time, both for the finale, and for after the games. I will admit, the way I handled going back was not the way to do it. I couldn’t pretend it never happened, no matter how much I wanted to.

I couldn’t be the same Seam girl that volunteered for her sister. I am completely different. The games change you, and the only people to truly understand what that is like are the other Victors. The only other people who have survived in the arena. Being hunted, relying on your instincts and whatever learned skills transfer into your individualized games. Honestly, even between the victors it is rare to find someone who understands your feelings and thoughts so exactly. The only ones who could really do it are Peeta and I, and that’s because we were in the same arena. We lived through the same things and know exactly what the other is thinking, through very few or no words. Something I took for granted last time.

That’s going to change. No silent treatment. No immature spatting. I will be there for him, and in return he will be there for me, just like it should be.

Honestly, I might even move in with him. Once the cameras go away anyway. I know we will end up in the same bed eventually, so what's the harm in trying it right away? Getting a full night of sleep coming right out of the games seems foreign and impossible, but maybe that's a possibility. For both Peeta and I.

Not to mention, we will need to plan for the quell. Our training won't end just because we survived the 74th. We know what’s coming, and we will be the youngest tributes next year, the only ones without connections to the other’s as well as without personal connections to the sponsors, we will need every advantage we can get. Not to mention the war afterwards. No, I foresee a lot of training in our future.

We can watch every single game all the way through, learn about the mentors and the tributes even more in depth. Start with the ones we know will go in, maybe I can actually learn how to deal with Johanna. That would make for a nice surprise.

Finnick! I can’t believe I’ve barely thought about Finnick. Sure, he’s crossed my mind but soon I will be in his actual presence. I know if I ever said that to him, he would be absolutely insufferable. But he was the closest thing I had to a brother after the games. Gale is my brother now, always will be, but Finnick is that annoying older brother that pushes every one of your buttons and plucks your very last nerve but somehow you love him. With your whole heart and you would do anything for him. I know he felt the same way for me, treated me like the little sister he lost after his games.

Annie as well. Maybe we can become friends sooner. I can get some remedies from Mom and Prim and try to help keep her calm without the Capitol drugs. They have too many side effects and made Annie almost monotone, like she had no personality, and I know from her time in Thirteen that isn’t true at all. Annie is almost as sweet as Prim and Peeta. A heart too kind for this world as it is. She’s more like Peeta in some regard though, as tough as Prim is, Peeta and Annie are both Victors. They are tougher than anyone realizes.

I can’t wait to see everyone, save everyone. Beetee, Wiress, Seeder, Chaff, Mags! Old Mags, the sweet heart. I will do everything to keep her alive. Finnick’s mentor, though she might as well be his mother, she practically raised him anyway. Even the ones I didn’t know as well, both Morphlings, Cecilia from Eight, Blight, even old Woof.

I know it is likely a lot of them will die in the quell, but if we can keep everyone alive and get them together at the end, and get them out. We will be better set up for the war than ever before. Every single Victor knows what the Capitol is, what it does. Even the Careers, no matter how unlikely that seems. They know what awaits them if they get out of the arena alive. Forced prostitution, enslavement, being a puppet for whatever Snow tells them to do, whatever he says to say. Death for yourself, death for your loved ones. Nothing good comes from the Capitol.

“Katniss!” Peeta says sharply. I start out of my line of thought. The sun is starting to disappear behind the trees, it’s obviously been a few hours since we’ve split. I must’ve been really lost in thought.

“Sorry. I was just stuck in my head.” I tell him with a soft smile, his face conveying how worried he actually was.

He sighs, a breath of relief. “Thank god. I didn’t know what was wrong but you weren't answering the whistle and I didn’t know where you were. Thankfully you weren’t far and I had my compass but that scared me.” he says, helping me off the ground and wrapping his arms around me.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just thinking about what happens when we get home.” I tell him, that’s safe enough and he can read in between the lines.

He nods, pushing some of my hair behind my ear.

“That makes sense, I’ve been thinking about it too.” He’s planning. Good, I should never come up with the ideas. He’s much better at it… the baby bomb example comes to mind.

“I can’t wait to see Prim.” I say quietly as we start walking back to the cave.

“She’s gonna run at you so fast. You're definitely gonna fall.” He laughs quietly.

“Oh, for sure.” I say back. “Plus we'll be living right next to each other now, no town line to separate us. You're going to get so sick of me.” I tell him cheekily.

“Never. I’ve dreamt about this since I was five after all. There isn’t much you could do to scare me away.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head and gestures me inside the cave.

I slip inside and gather some things for dinner as Peeta takes our bottles out to fill.

I sit out the rest of the pasta dish along with the pierogies, then I set out the last slice of cake for us to split. I also set up the rest of the rolls and cheese. We are going to stuff ourselves full for tomorrow, eat a healthy sized breakfast in the morning, cinnamon rolls most likely, and head to the lake, where the finale will take place.

We might have time for lunch, if it goes the same way as last time, so the sausage rolls are perfect for that, portable and filling but not too heavy.

Peeta walks back inside and sees the spread.

“We gonna eat all of that? Not that I’m complaining, mind.” He asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Yep. We are gonna need it. Tomorrow we’re gonna head towards the lake. There’s only three of the tributes left, and we count as two.” I tell him, knowing he already knows what we need to do.

He nods and settles down to eat. We make small talk, laughing and joking as we do so. We haven’t run out of things to talk about yet, which seems like a miracle after having two days of nothing else.

The pierogies are our favorite from tonight. We both bit into them and they exploded with flavor. We weren’t expecting them to have meat either. The ones we had in five last time were just potatoes and cheese, so the meat was a welcome surprise as well as welcome protein. Neither of us were feeling dried beef because we had so many actually good foods to choose from, but we both acknowledge that protein is important and we are mostly eating carbs tonight.

The cake is as indulgent as ever, the chocolate somehow still gooey and rich. The cake isn’t dry at all and Peeta even feeds me. He takes the fork before I have the chance to grab it and holds it up for me.

I don’t say anything, I just raise my eyebrow at him and give him a searching look.

He half shrugs at me and tries to look coy.

It doesn’t work.

I take the bite anyway and his small smirk drops as his jaw slackens. Point for me.

I just laugh at him and give him a gentle swat on the arm. He laughs and takes a bite himself.

Eventually, after a lot of back and forth, we finish our meal and settle down to sleep. We both brush our teeth and Peeta takes first watch. I settle right over his heart, the rhythmic thump along with the soft rise and fall of his chest lures me into the land of dreams.

“Stay with me?”

I’m out before I can hear his usual response.

Chapter 30: Chapter XXX

Chapter Text

Eventually, after a lot of back and forth, we finish our meal and settle down to sleep. We both brush our teeth and Peeta takes first watch. I settle right over his heart, the rhythmic thump along with the soft rise and fall of his chest lures me into the land of dreams.

“Stay with me?”

I’m out before I can hear his usual response.

The river is bone dry. Again.

I thought they might let us fill our bottles up this morning, because I said we were headed to the lake anyway, but nope. We have two full water bottles, the largest ones, so we won’t be hurting for water, but it still would’ve been nice.

Oh well. Our nice breakfast of maple cinnamon rolls has dulled my anger. The sweet taste still left on my lips a balm of comfort that keeps me from getting overly mad. Peeta isn’t complaining about it either.

We just share a look and continue on.

To the lake we go.

It takes a few hours but we just walk in silence. Listening to the mockingjays and the wind rustling the leaves.

Peeta’s footsteps are silent beside me but his presence felt in every other way.

Eventually, we make it to the edge of the woods, where the open grass starts. We both take a moment to look around us for Cato.

He is nowhere to be seen, likely hunting us in the forest but just in case we walk straight to the cornucopia first. With our weapons readied, we check all around it, making sure he isn’t pulling a Foxface. Luckily, we are all clear so we head down to the lake to fill up our bottles.

As I bend down to fill them up, Peeta gets the iodide out, thankfully we are almost done because there is barely enough left in the bottle for this round of water.

“So. Where do you think Cato is?” Peeta asks as we wait for the water to get clean.

“Probably in the forest somewhere, looking for us. I doubt he would believe we would come to him.” I say with an eye roll.

“True. You rarely do what others expect of you though, so maybe he should’ve guessed.” Peeta teases.

“Oh that’s how you wanna play?” I raise one of my eyebrows at his light teasing. “I’m not the only one with surprises up their sleeve.” I challenge him.

He leans in to give me a small peck. “No, you're not.” He grins, happy with himself.

I just chuckle and hand him one of the bottles.

We both take a long drink and settle back to get prepared.

To the best of our knowledge, Cato will come sprinting by us in a few hours, mutts hot on his tail. We will need to move quickly. Cato will be tired and likely wounded, and we will be fresh and completely fine, thanks to the feast.

We need to get up on top of the cornucopia fast and completely, before the mutts gain too much.

We also need to have everything we need, no arrow tourniquet this time.

So, we prep. We save the biggest bottle of water and we will slip it into the smallest pack. We take out the rest of the bandages and the med kit, including the clean fishing hook and the rest of the thread, just in case and add that as well. We obviously take the very small bit left of the miracle gel we got from the feast. The blanket is folded tightly at the bottom of the bag already. We then pack away the dried meat and after a few hours we eat the sausage rolls, our feet in the lake to cool down for the truly oppressive heat. The mittens and the hat are eventually stuffed into a side pocket in the backpack. The night vision glasses and the bag with the berries are placed on top of everything, readily able to grab.

Obviously, I have my quiver on my back, and my bow right beside me. Peeta’s knife vest is draped across his chest and he has a few hidden in his boots and in his belt. We are as prepared as we can be.

We had to do all of this over a matter of hours though. We couldn’t look like we were purposefully packing up a go bag that would have everything we needed. We had to pretend to be looking for something or checking something. We got most of it done around lunch time. Earlier we had purposefully packed the box with the sausage rolls towards the bottom of the bigger bag, but looked in the smaller bag first for them. We took almost everything out of both bags and repacked them how we wanted them after we ‘found’ our lunch.

All Peeta’s idea obviously, made up months ago in the middle of woods.

Even with all the planning it doesn’t feel like we are totally prepared, you might never be completely prepared to fight to the death, I guess. But it all has to come to a head eventually.

And it does.

Late in the afternoon, the air changes, charged with anticipation. The mockingjay’s stop singing, the wind comes to a standstill. The entire world seems to hold its breath.

It’s time.

Peeta and I share a look and stand up. Peeta grips his knife in his hand so tightly, I can see all the blood drain from his knuckles. My bow is already strung and I am standing on the balls of my feet, ready to move at the first sign of trouble.

The setting sun in the background paints everything golden. Peeta’s hair shines brightly and my dark hair looks almost red from the colorful glow. The sky has streaks of Peeta’s favorite color and it really is a beautiful view.

The only problem is the screaming and the howling.

Peeta and I share a glance. Here we go.

Our heads are swiveling back and forth, trying to track which direction something will pop out. Whether that be Cato or a Mutt.

We start inching backwards towards the cornucopia, our nerves getting the better of us.

That’s when Cato bursts through the tree line. Three mutts chasing him as he heads straight towards us.

This time we don’t hesitate. Both of us are sprinting for the cornucopia, Cato trailing behind us. We can hear his labored breathing and his red, borderline purple, face tells us both just how long he has been running.

Peeta and I reach the cornucopia first and Peeta grabs me around the waist and almost throws me onto the metal structure.

It takes me a second to get back on my feet but I drop my bow beside me and immediately reach down to pull him up.

We both make it to the top of the cornucopia before the mutts can maim us and with that we have saved Peeta’s leg for sure.

Peeta and I are now just trying to catch our breath, we ran as fast as we ever have to get up here. It might not have been as far a distance as we are used to but it was twice as fast, faster than even our sprint to the cornucopia during the bloodbath.

Cato has climbed onto the metal and is trying to catch his breath. I have to make sure there are no surprises and I shoot an arrow directly at his heart. It bounces off just like I imagined it would. His body armor is doing its job and protecting him.

“Body armor!” I yell at Peeta. The howling and growls from the mutts is too loud for anything else. It seems almost deafening. I am not sure if that’s in my imagination or if they are actually that loud but either way it is very distracting.

Peeta all of a sudden whips towards me and throws his knife right in front of me, I jump back and whip my head in that direction just in time to see the Marvel mutt let out a whimper and fall towards the ground. A knife sticking out of its throat.

“They can jump.” Peeta says loudly, twisting behind him to make sure none have snuck up.

He lets loose another knife, straight into the eye of a dark haired and dark eyed mutt.

I hit Glimmer’s mutt straight through the heart and as soon as I let it go. I am made to let go of my bow and I grab the arm holding me by my hair.

Cato recovered as we were dealing with the mutts and is dragging me towards the edge.

“Peeta!” I call out desperately. I can’t get a good position to flip Cato over me, I don't have enough grip on the ground to steady myself.

All of a sudden Cato yelps and clutches his thigh. A knife is sticking out of it.

Cato doesn’t rip it out, smart. It would kill him even faster and I know for a fact Peeta hit his femoral artery. He will bleed out within a few minutes, faster if he removed it.

“You’ll pay for that Lover Boy.” Cato spits at Peeta, his face contorting in anger.

That’s when a mutt jumps and Cato about falls backward, his eyes widening dramatically.

“Clove?” He asks quietly.

The mutt in question had dark hair and blue eyes that are undoubtedly the same as his district partner.

He visibly shakes himself off and just as he is about to start stalking again towards Peeta, he is knocked to the ground. Peeta has rammed into him and tackled him backwards.

I string an arrow but I can’t fire it. They are rolling and wrestling all over the top of the cornucopia and I can't take the chance of shooting Peeta.

Peeta is just about to pin him when all of a sudden Cato kicks his foot out and knocks Peeta’s foot out from under him.

Cato grabs him and once again we are at a stand still.

I am having vivid flashbacks. The way the moon is reflecting off of the lake and off of the metal we are standing on. The way the usual sounds of owls and crickets are covered by the growls and snarls. Even my heavy breathing and rapidly beating heart is familiar to me. Not to mention the way Cato has Peeta in a headlock, standing right at the edge of the cornucopia. The mutts circling back and forth underneath them, as if understanding they are getting at least one of them in a moment.

The entire world stops to a standstill as Peeta and I share a look, I am waiting for his signal.

“Do it.” Cato taunts. “Shoot me and we both go down. Don’t shoot me and this baker’s boy dies right here in my arms. Either way, you lose Girl on Fire.”

I glare at him with everything I have.

“Your eleven won’t help you now.” He says with a grin, tightening his grip even more and causing me to pull the string back even more taunt.

“Oh. Do it.” He dares. “I am gonna die anyway. I didn’t realize that till now, how this was all an elaborate way to die. Never about glory or fame or sacrifice. Kill both of us. I can do this one thing for real glory, and bring pride for my district. Make sure Twelve only has one winner for that shit hole, not two.” he says, almost distraught at the realization.

Peeta taps Cato’s hand once and I let the arrow go.

It doesn’t work like it should though. Like it did last time.

Cato’s hand lets go, but his arm doesn’t move, pulling Peeta down with him as he trips over Peeta’s foot behind his own.

They both fall.

I am immediately sprinting over to the edge and another one of my arrows goes through the throat of the mutt closest to Peeta.

The mutts converge on the two boys. Cato slashes with his sword that he had dropped earlier. How he picked it up so quickly is beyond me, all of my focus is on Peeta.

He is rapidly losing knives as he sends mutt after mutt to the ground. Not getting back up.

There seems to be a never ending number of them though.

Peeta moves his back towards the cornucopia, making sure none can get behind him as a surprise attack and I am rapidly running out of arrows, I only have four left.

Peeta and I have felled probably ten plus mutts and slowly they are focusing less on Peeta and more on Cato. Cato with a short range weapon and nobody helping him. Cato who is taking bite after bite on his armor and angering the slightly sentient mutts with his taunts and how he is not being harmed by their attacks.

Peeta cries out and I see one of the mutt’s claws, four inches long and razor sharp, has cut into his side, right where my wound was from the girl from Ten.

“Climb Peeta! I’ll cover you.” I yell at him. He wastes no time and sends the knife in his hand at one of the mutts before turning and climbing like his life depends on it, because it does.

I send three of my remaining arrows into the three closest mutts before I reach my hand down and yank Peeta up the rest of the way.

His pant’s leg gets torn by the claws but his leg is completely unharmed.

I pull Peeta into my arms, tears streaming down my face.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think you’d fall!” I repeat over and over again into his neck.

His tears fall onto my head and he shushes me.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.” He repeats just as many times.

We eventually collapse out of sheer relief.

Peeta had slipped the pack off before his tackle and I quickly run over to grab it. Yanking out the first aid kit.

Peeta sees what I am doing and immediately pulls his shirt and jacket up.

It is freezing now, the wind picking up and the sun no longer warm in the sky. However, this has to be done before anything else.

“Okay. I need to stitch you up, we don’t have sleep medicine or paper stitches anymore so this thread and the fish hook will have to do. They’re both clean.” I tell him quickly as I get everything set up.

“Just do it.” He says seriously. I hand one of the mittens to him to bite down on, the other one I use right before I go to stitch him up, using it to wipe most of the blood off.

This is the one thing I am actually not bad at. I might not be able to stomach blood but I can do multiple types of stitches. Mom taught me how when I was little and needed stitches on my knee after a fall in the woods. She wanted to make sure I knew how to do it if I ever needed it and she wasn’t there to do it. It’s how I talked Peeta through them earlier in the games.

Now though, I am as focused as ever. My hands move as fast as I am able to stitch him up. It doesn’t need to look the prettiest. It just needs to hold until we can get him into the hovercraft.

I finished stitching his side and I put the last little bit of the paste on it and cover it with the last two clean bandages. We won't need anymore and this can only help. Even if we get out of here before the medicine actually works.

I then clean everything up, putting it all back into the pack and taking a special something out and slipping it into my pocket. I then pull out the blanket. We are going to be in for a long night.

I hand the blanket to Peeta and he immediately wraps himself in it, but holds it open for me as well.

“One second, I want to see if Cato is close enough… I can’t just let him suffer if I can stop it.” I tell him quietly. Cato’s screaming and the wolf mutts are likely masking my words. I stand up and look over the edge towards where the sounds are coming from.

I don’t have a clean shot. If the mutts weren't in the way I would definitely be able to hit him, I’ve shot further than that accurately, but they are surrounding him and likely won’t let him die any time soon.

I give up for the moment and go back to Peeta. He wraps me in the blanket and we share body heat. The cold night air is likely to freeze us to death otherwise, but I am not complaining. His wound will bleed less due to the slower blood flow.

I pull the hat onto his head, knowing due to his blood loss he is probably significantly colder. He fights me on wearing the clean pair of gloves as well but eventually I talk him into it. So, we lay there for hours. Peeta talks about the moon and the different colors he would need to use to paint it accurately. He talks me through recipe after recipe, from his most basic white bread to the way more complicated raisin and nut loaf that saved my life. Anything to try to drown out the sound of Cato’s screams and the howl of the mutts.

Eventually, after what feels like forever, the sun starts to come up. The early morning feeling becomes brighter and brighter as the sky lightens.

Peeta looks down at me and I shimmy out of the blanket. He rolls it up and stuffs it back in the pack. Why, I am not sure, but it might have just been instinct at this point.

I grab my last arrow and take aim, the mutts are still surrounding Cato but there is a perfect hole for me to shoot him, to put him out of his misery and pain. I take it.

A cannon blast confirms the kill, and Peeta and I watch as all the mutts run back into the woods, never to be seen again. Except in our nightmares.

Peeta and I look at each other in disbelief.

We did it. Again.

Now comes the hard part.

We come together in a tight hug, not looking forward to what we have to do now. Time for the best acting we have. Honestly, I am going to pretend it’s real because who's to say they won't actually let us eat them this time. Or really blow us sky high like Snow once told me he would have preferred. It’ll help my acting as well.

Peeta pulls back from the hug and offers me a confused face.

If I didn’t know he was acting, I would never be able to tell.

“Do you think we have to move away from the body? Is that why they haven’t announced anything yet?” he asks, scrunching up his face in false confusion.

“We can try it.” I say with a shrug. “That’s the only thing I can think of too.”

So, he offers me his hand and we slide down the side of the cornucopia together. I make sure to be on his uninjured side.

We walk towards the lake, where we left the rest of our stuff on our mad dash to get away from the mutts.

Peeta has just reached for one of the water bottles when we hear Claudius Templesmith for the third time in the last week.

“Greetings to the final contestants of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. The earlier revision, allowing for two victors, has been… revoked. Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed, ” he says. “Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.”

Peeta immediately drops the bottle and turns to look at me. Both of our faces have paled dramatically and both of our eyes fill with tears automatically. These words haunt both of our nightmares.

“No.” I whisper, bringing my hand up to my mouth to cover a sob.

He reaches out to bring me into a hug.

“It’s okay. You’ll be okay.” He says determinedly.

“What-” I pull back and cut my sentence off.

“You are going home.” he says sternly. “The only thing I wanted was to get you home and I’ll be damned if I can’t do that now.” he tells me, reaching out to touch the end of my braid, unable to meet my eyes.

“Something must be wrong with you.” I'm completely serious. “You think I could go home without you?!” I ask, my voice getting louder.

“You have a family! A sister who needs you!” He says, his voice getting louder as well.

“I’m not the only one!” I yell at him.

“Yes, you are!” He is really yelling at me now. “If I go home without you I have nothing! Nobody who needs me, barely anyone who would want me even.” He says, eyes begging me.

I have completely forgotten this isn’t real.

“I do.” I say calmly, almost dangerously. “I need you.”

He stops immediately.

“I need you like the day needs the sun and the night needs the moon. I need you like plants need water. I need you more than I need air to breathe and food to eat.” I tell him, meaning every word. “So, don’t you dare stand there and say nobody needs you.”

He pulls me in for a deep kiss.

“Then what are we supposed to do? If I can’t live without you and you can’t live without me?” He asks, his voice cracking as tears finally fall down his cheeks. Mine following down my own.

I pull out the bag of berries I had stashed in my pocket last night as I searched for the med kit.

“No!” He gasps, clasping his hand over mine.

“I’m going to do it either way.” I tell him, meaning it with the very bottom of my being.

He opens the bag and takes out a singular berry. He places it in my hand and grabs one for himself.

“Are we doing this?” He asks quietly.

I just give him a nod.

“Together?” He asks, lifting his head to look me in the eye.

“Together.” I tell him. “On three.”

“One.” I say, trailing my thumb over his jawline.

“Two.” He once again reaches for my braid.

“Three.” We say at the exact same time.

We both put the berry in our mouths, making sure not to press down at all or digest any of the juice.

“STOP! Stop. May I present the winners of the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.” Claudius interrupts.

We both immediately spit the berries out and fall down on the bank by the water. We both take huge gulps and rinse our mouths out thoroughly.

“Did you swallow any?” I ask Peeta after I finish.

“I think I would be dead by now if I did.” he says in disbelief.

WE REALLY DID IT.

WE SURVIVED TOGETHER.

AGAIN.

Chapter 31: Chapter XXXI

Chapter Text

WE REALLY DID IT.

WE SURVIVED TOGETHER.

AGAIN.

We both look up when we hear the hovercraft. A rope ladder drops to the ground and I grab Peeta’s hand and we start to walk towards it.

We both put one of our feet onto the bottom rung and grab the side. We are frozen in place by the electrical current but this time Peeta stays conscious. My quick sewing job keeps his blood from gushing as his muscles uncontract.

We are pulled into the flying vehicle and immediately people in white coats swarm us.

Peeta wraps his arms around me and turns his back to them, shielding me with his body.

“Back away!” We hear someone yell, likely whoever is in charge.

Peeta looks over his shoulder and loosens his grip slightly around my waist.

“We are not going to hurt you. We just need to fix your side and any other injuries from your time in the arena.” He says calmly, walking forward to talk to us.

“That’s fine, but Katniss stays with me.” Peeta says firmly. I nod along with him.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” The doctor says calmly, not even flinching when both Peeta and I glare and get into ready stances. “It is not our goal to separate you. However, there is something called patient confidentiality where you cannot be together, especially not without your parents.”

Peeta gives me a look and we communicate silently. We both know this is not going to change, no matter what we do. Peeta does need the medical attention and while we will be separated until we see each other again on stage, there is literally nothing we can do about it. Not without putting us in even deeper shit with the President.

“Fine. I need your name and a personal guarantee nothing will happen to her. I will personally come for you if she is harmed in any way.” Peeta says with a glare.

I glare at him lightly before moving it, much more fully, to the same doctor.

“The same goes for the other way around. I believe you know we are both capable of it as well.” I say darkly.

He finally loses the calm facade and swallows thickly, obviously made nervous by the threat.

“No harm will come to either of you, and my name is Dr. Emory Hodges.” He says, gesturing for two of the white coated doctors to move towards us, obviously meant to lead us to where we need to be.

We are led in opposite directions and I am led into a white room. I have been in enough hospitals to confirm this is one.

She hands me a hospital gown and gestures to a corner with a changing divider. I quickly pull off my dirty clothes and leave them in a pile on the floor. The gown is scratchy and not very warm.

When I come around, she gestures towards a white bed with white sheets and I sit on the edge, she once again gestures to the bed and I swing my feet up and lean back, all without taking my eyes off of her for a single moment.

She then starts telling me everything she is doing. She hooks my finger up to a machine and a beeping starts, my heartbeat, high because I am panicked. True.

Then she pulls a rack over and it has a bag of liquid hanging from it. I am immediately suspicious.

“This is a saline bag.” She says, monotone, as she sets it up. “I will give your body more water and bring you back to the correct balance your body needs.”

She then asks if she can insert it. After, once again, making sure I am not being drugged, I allow her to do so.

She wraps my arm in a tight tourniquet and then pricks my arm with the needle. Thankfully, she rips the blue band off quickly, allowing the blood flow to continue.

The IV, I think she called it, feels weird, not hurting, but definitely strange.

“Now, there are a few things we need to check out and do for you, just based on what we know from the games. Would it be okay if we give you something to help you sleep?” She asks.

I immediately freeze. “No.”

“Okay. We don’t need to do it until we get back to the Capitol.” She says simply.

“But I will have to do it eventually?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Unfortunately, yes.” She says.

“You are not allowed to do it until Haymitch or Peeta are with me.” I say sternly.

“Okay.” She answers, handing me a full glass of orange juice.

I look at her like she is crazy and she takes a tiny sip out of one side of the glass before handing it to me. I take it and drain the glass quickly. It tastes so good and I really was thirsty.

It takes about an hour to get back to the Capitol. The doctor will occasionally ask me questions, but mostly we sit in silence. At one point I ask her if she can check on Peeta and tell me how he is doing, but she tells me she is not allowed to leave me alone.

When we finally get to the Capitol, Haymitch and the rest of the team are waiting by the doors that lead down from the roof.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” He greets as he sees me, I immediately sit up and reach my arms out towards him.

“Don’t leave me alone but please check on Peeta they separated us and I can’t deal with it.” I whisper in his ear quietly.

He breaks our hug and gives me a nod. Cinna comes to the bed and grabs my hand.

“It was a good bet.” He says quietly with a little wink. I almost laugh but my exhaustion is catching up to me quickly.

He just squeezes my hand and he walks with me and my female doctor down to the hospital floor.

We wait in silence in my room. The doctor and Cinna sit patiently in chairs while I lean back in bed, waiting for Haymitch to come back with news.

Finally, after what feels like forever, he comes to the door and I look at him with hope. He doesn’t say anything but gives a sharp nod. I slump in relief and look at the doctor. She is staring at me with a raised eyebrow, obviously wondering if she is okay to put me under now.

I give her a nod and then look back at Cinna and Haymitch.

I feel her fiddling with the tube inside my arm and I quickly find myself overcome with sleep.

The last thing I see is the dirty blonde hair and unkept beard of my mentor, along with the tiny dark curls and golden eyeliner of my stylist.

Much more comforting faces than the white coat doctors, but definitely not the one I really want.

I wake up to flaming red hair and bright eyes of Lavinia. The Avox. I am still in the hospital bed and in the gown but my headache is gone and everything seems less foggy. I hadn’t noticed things being foggy when I was in the arena but now without it, I can definitely tell the difference.

I go to sit up and am surprised when they let me.

Lavinia see’s me awake and walks out of the room for a moment before returning with a tray. A piece of bread, a cup of broth with a few soft vegetables in it, a glass of water, along with some plain rice.

I don’t even care about the bland meal, I am just happy to have it. I eat all of it within five minutes and while I would say I am full, I could still eat more. I am guessing that is a good thing though, having an appetite.

I am shocked when they don’t immediately put me back out like they did the last time around. I am even more surprised when the doctor from earlier, the one Peeta and I both threatened, walks in along with Haymitch.

I sit up straight in my bed and Haymitch takes the chair next to me, the doctor remains standing.

“How’s Peeta?” I get the first word in, my voice coming out scratchy and hoarse.

“He’s fine, Sweetheart.” Haymitch says with an eye roll, obviously expecting the question.

“Quite. As I promised, no harm came to either of you.” He says. I get the feeling he wanted to make sure Peeta and I didn’t follow through with our threat. Good.

“So, when can I see him?” I ask, turning to look at Haymitch.

“Soon. Not quite yet.” He answers.

“You will be released today, Miss Everdeen.” The doctor says, checking his clipboard.

“Great.” I say, already planning on how to sneak away to see Peeta.

“I need to go over your injuries with you first however.” He says.

I raise my eyebrow, what is there to go over?

“You had a few lacerations, one to your forehead as well as one on your side.” He explains. “Along with that you had some slight internal bleeding along with a concussion, a bad one, from after the explosion.” he informs me.

I raise my eyebrow. “What does that mean?” I ask.

“It means that you might have permanent brain damage, Miss Everdeen.” he says morosely, pityingly. “We did our best to correct it, however we will not know until later how bad it is.”

I stare at him. “How does that actually impact me?”

“Well, you might get more headaches than you are used to, which could just feel like pressure inside your head. Light might be a bigger problem or loud noises. As well as concentration problems.” He explains softly.

I sneak a look at Haymitch and he is listening more intently than I would have imagined.

“Were you a good student in school, Miss Everdeen?” The doctors asks.

“I wouldn’t say it was particularly good but I passed everything…” I trail off, not understanding what that had to do with anything.

“Were you the type to focus in class or doodle or daydream?” He asks.

“Depends on the class,” I answer, lowly.

“But you never had any problems focusing or with school work or concentration before?” He asks.

“No.”

“Okay, so that should be pretty noticeable if that occurs. Same with the light sensitivity and other symptoms.” he says, mostly talking to himself as he writes in the notebook.

“Those are just some of the more mild symptoms. I will give you a more comprehensive list to take back home with you, but many of them you should not encounter and I don’t want to scare you.” he tells me, unaware that I am now panicking even more.

“What I will also give you is some things you can do in response to some symptoms, whether that be exercises to do to help memory and concentration or remedies and things to do for light sensitivity and things like that.” he says, handing two papers to Haymitch who holds them in his lap, making sure not to fold or damage them in any way.

“I must also warn you. If you get another severe concussion or any other head trauma, you will likely have severe brain damage and greater symptoms and problems for the rest of your life. So, please be careful.” He says seriously.

I gulp. This seems more serious than I had thought it would be.

“Now, we have no way of knowing what symptoms you will experience, and so I will be checking in with you periodically to see what has presented and what hasn’t. You may get some of the symptoms, or none of them.” He tells me, making me feel a little bit better about the situation even if I am still nervous.

My head doesn’t hurt right now and the fogginess has gone away, so I am at least better than I was so I will take it.

“Okay, let me get started on discharging you and we can have you out of here within the hour, you have a long day ahead of you.” He says with a smile as he leaves.

I turn to Haymitch, wondering what else I need to do today.

“Tonight is the ceremony for the new victor, or victors, as it were.” He informs me.

I must’ve been out longer than I thought.

“Can we go see Peeta before that?” I ask him, already resigning myself to the forgone answer.

“Nope. Sorry, Sweetheart, they want to film your reunion live. And this time, try not to make me vomit with your mushiness.” That’s the Haymitch I know.

“Okay. At least I get to see him soon.” I tell myself under my breath, trying to make myself believe it. Trying to forget how my skin crawls every second we are in the Capitol and not together.

“Alright. I need to go check in with the boy. I will be back when you are released.” he pats my hand twice and stands up with a grown.

“Haymitch.” I say as he walks out of the door.

He turns to look at me.

“Thank you.” I tell him sincerely.

He looks at me proudly, almost fatherly.

“You’re welcome.”

He walks away.

Chapter 32: Chapter XXXII

Chapter Text

“Haymitch.” I say as he walks out of the door.

He turns to look at me.

“Thank you.” I tell him sincerely.

He looks at me proudly, almost fatherly.

“You’re welcome.”

He walks away.

I am almost bouncing with nervousness. I can’t stand still. I am waiting underneath the stage as I hear Caesar announce our teams and then he will, eventually, welcome Peeta and I.

Our prep teams are announced first.

“Welcome, Flavius, Octavia, Venia, Kitty, Marco, and Sparks!” He announces to cheers from the crowd. I can almost see the prep teams' large smiles and fake humility as they walk out.

“Then I invite you to cheer for Effie Trinket, the District 12 Escort!” He yells to the crowd, who get even louder.

“That’s not all folks. Let’s hear it for Cinna and Portia, the stylists!” They get the longest cheer yet.

“Now, can we get a warm welcome for the mentor of the year and victor of the second quarter quell, Haymitch Abernathy!” Caesar laughs into the mic. Haymitch gets stomping along with his clapping and screaming. It must go on for five straight minutes before Caesar can calm them down enough to be heard.

“Now, I have the amazing honor of introducing them tonight. The newest victors, the winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, the Star-Crossed Lovers of District Twelve, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!” He yells. The crowd goes wild, louder than ever and I can hear people wailing from here. The platform I am standing on starts to rise and the lights of the stage blind me for a moment.

When my vision clears, I can see hundreds of thousands of people in the crowd. They aren’t at all what I focus on though.

My entire focus is on the blond haired boy twenty feet from my left. His blonde hair sparkling like a lit candle and his shirt gives the same effects as he turns towards me as well.

For a moment we just look the other over and then we are both moving. I fling my sandals off as I run and I throw my arms around his neck and my legs wrap around his waist, his hands holding me up from under my thighs.

I smash my lips onto his and he doesn’t hesitate to return the gesture.

The crowd is no doubt losing it, but the only thing I can focus on is Peeta. The heat of his body solidly under mine and the softness of his lips.

Peeta and I eventually part for air and I just rest my forehead against his, my smile wide enough to blind someone. He is much the same.

He then buries his head in my loose hair and whispers in my ear.

“I am so glad you're okay.”

The crowd aww's and immediately both of our faces turn bright red. We forgot we had mics on.

We both look sheepishly at the crowd, gaining a few laughs, and Peeta drops my legs down onto the ground gently, wrapping his right arm around my waist instead.

We wave to the crowd and get loud cheers in return, the wailing coming back tenfold.

Caesar even brings out a handkerchief to wipe his face. How none of his makeup runs is a mystery to me but I find I don’t actually care as to how that happens.

We are gently heralded towards the love seat across from Caesar’s chair and my sandals are already waiting by the foot of it. I don’t bother with them though, I just tuck my feet into my side and lean into Peeta, just like last time.

The crowd goes crazy for it, but I honestly just need him close, as we are about to watch our games.

“So. You two.” Caesar begins, his hand already laying over his heart. “I can honestly say I have never seen a game like this, and I doubt we ever will again. Your love has touched all of us,” he gestures to the audience who scream their agreement. “I say we get straight into it and you can tell us everything.” He says.

This is different than last time. I think we are even more popular because I was informed earlier, instead of the three hour long usual run time this ceremony is, it will be over four hours. They said it was because there were multiple Victors, which could be true, if they did the same last time. No, it has to be because of everything we did, how well it all went, and how much everyone loves us for it.

Peeta smiles reassuringly at me as the lights dim and the screen behind us starts with the reaping. He gives me a kiss on the forehead and we settle in to watch.

After the reaping plays, including our walk to the train, we pause to answer a few questions.

“How did you feel when Primrose was drawn?” Caesar asks and when I go to answer, I realize he wasn’t talking to me.

“I was devastated.” Peeta answers honestly. “She is an amazing girl, and I knew immediately what Katniss would do. I did not want Prim to have to fight for her life, do not misunderstand me, but I didn’t want Katniss to be in danger either.” Peeta answers, looking down at me with tears brimming in his eyes. If he is already this emotional after the first question, and I am too, this is going to be a long few hours.

Caesar is already crying.

“What about you Katniss, how did you feel when Peeta was called?” He asks.

“I was crushed. I couldn’t do anything to get him out, not like I could for Prim.” I answer, looking at Peeta lovingly. “I knew then that I’d do anything to get him home.”

“That is beautiful,” Flickerman chokes out.

We turn back to the screen and watch the opening ceremonies, the Presidential Speech, and our flaming costumes. They even show our training scores, with a few of the early comments and discussions. Then without any questions, we move onto the interviews.

We are only shown the last two. Ours.

“Now Katniss, before we get into the big questions, I want to ask you again about your eleven…” Caesar says to cheers from the crowd.

I just laugh. “Oh Caesar, I am still not sure if I am allowed to tell you!”

I wink at the crowd. “Oh… what's a secret between friends right?” I ask in a fake whisper, getting loud cheers in return and Peeta chuckles quietly beside me.

“I can’t give away all my secrets but I might’ve busted open a few punching bags, blown a lightbulb or two, a rain of silver arrows can do a lot more than you expect.” I offer another wink.

Caesar laughs heartily. “That is hilarious! I must say you had me worried, saying you couldn’t talk about it but that seems exactly like something unexpected and mightily impressive, Miss Everdeen!”

I laugh along with him but I can’t help but think, you have no idea Caesar. None whatsoever.

“Now, let’s get into the real questions everyone wants answers to.” He says conspiratorially.

The crowd cheers.

“Obviously you two had a bit of something going on before, but Katniss did you really not know about Peeta’s affections?” He asks, leaning forward.

“I can honestly say, before Peeta announced it, I had no idea.” And it’s true, if you are talking about before. “It was a pleasant surprise,” still not a total lie… this time around, “and obviously I very much reciprocate so I can't say I am mad about it.” I give him a kiss on his red cheek. He obviously read between the lines and is trying not to laugh, but to everybody else he just seems like a besotted school boy.

The crowd aww's.

“Peeta, did you have any idea Katniss liked you back?” He turns to the boy beside me.

“Caesar. I pined after Kat for over ten years. I would have made a move a lot sooner if I had!” He laughs. I chuckle with him and so does the crowd.

“How right you are!” Caesar laughs.

He then segues back to the screen and now it is time to get into the actual games.

We are greeted by the bloodbath and they pay special attention to our little moment before the gong sounds as well as our hasty escape and retreat. Well, special attention to that as well as all the blood and gore.

“I must say…” Caesar starts. “You two can run!”

Peeta and I laugh, though slightly subdued due to the violence just graphically showcased to us.

“Well, I had been on the track team with our good friend Madge, and Peeta had run to help keep fit for wrestling and so I guess we were in a good position.” I answer coyly, not wanting to make it seem like we had been training and sticking to the truth. Even if I quit the track team halfway through the season, it is all true.

“That makes sense!” Caesar says brightly.

“I must also comment on how you two instinctively grabbed the other’s weapon!” He says slightly confused.

“Yes, Caesar,” Peeta jumps in. “It just made the most sense at the time. I had the better run towards the bow and Katniss was much closer to the vest, I’d say it worked out well.”

“I think all of us here can agree with you on that one, Peeta.” Caesar says and then turns back to continue watching, satisfied with the answers.

We watch the edited version of the games so most of the running and ‘boring’ parts are cut out. Though they show our reunion and what we got in our packs. Peeta’s worry about me almost getting hit by Clove’s knife is also shown and focused on. They definitely pay close attention to us sleeping in the same sleeping bag as well.

He only asks a few questions about the first two days.

“What was the biggest surprise about what you got in your packs?”

The chocolate. Like what?

“How did you feel about the other tribute’s fire?”

I felt bad for her, we were toasty together… gets them focused on our relationship instead.

“How did you know about the edibles around you?”

Deflect. Deflect. Deflect.

A few of them were tricky to answer without giving too much away, but we powered through.

Even the forest fire didn’t rate too large a mention, just a joke about how fire makes us look good.

Then we see Rue. My heart clenches and I am holding back tears. I know this is going to be hell trying to get through this next bit of the games. Peeta rubs the back of my hand gently with his thumb but I can tell he is also holding back tears at seeing her again.

We watch the scene in full. We watch Rue cry and Peeta throw the knife across the way. We watch Rue work to cut it down during the anthem but give up. Then we watch her finish it the next morning and the absolute chaos that follows.

Glimmer and Marina’s death as well as Peeta and I’s frantic run as Cato storms through the bushes after us, thankfully just missing us.

“Wow.” Caesar says, “You two are a great team. My heart watching you care for little Rue…” he says, clutching his chest.

Peeta squeezes my hand.

“Yes.” He jumps in, saving me from having to talk, “Rue reminded both of us so much of Prim. Sweet, caring, so young. “ His voice is choked up. “We could never have left her at that point, it just isn’t in either of our natures.”

“What about you Katniss? Did you feel the same?” He asks.

I nod. “Yes. Rue is so similar to Prim but if you look closely you can see this mischievous little fire in her eye. Prim might sometimes have it, but Rue’s burned extra bright. Not to mention look at how she stands, like a bird about to take flight.” I tell everyone, tears streaming down my face that I have no chance of stopping.

The crowd cries with me at my description.

“That is beautiful.” Caesar says, also choked up.

Then we all watch me leave the cave. Peeta tenses up, not wanting to watch me have to fight for my life.

They cut out most of the hunting but show me cooking the food and the moment the girl from Ten recognizes the smell.

The crowd gasps as she jumps out and cheers when I stab her. I just swallow thickly, trying not to puke right here on the stage. Peeta is gripping me so hard in his arms, he might leave bruises.

“Peeta, you weren’t here for this, what do you think, watching it now?” Caesar asks, interested in the answer and I can feel the audience’s anticipation as well.

“The only thing I can say is that I am glad Katniss is okay.” Peeta answers, leaning down to kiss the top of my head, to coos from around the room.

“I think we can all agree with that, right?!” Caesar gets the house back in good spirits.

We watch Peeta frantically trying to heal me and do stitches as I talk him through it.

“Katniss! How did you know what to do?” Caesar questions me.

“My mother is District Twelve's best healer. Prim is actually training under her. So, my entire life, I have been around it. I know more than most about first aid as well as long term solutions, such as stitches, even if I can’t do them on myself.” I answer, trying to joke at the end to get the mood up.

“Well, that is a real piece of luck, I say!” Caesar grins at me.

Not luck. Ironic happenstance sure, but I wouldn’t call myself lucky.

They speed through the next bit while Rue sleeps and Peeta and I take care of her and mostly just get ourselves together.

The next time they actually slow down is when we are planning and putting our plan into action. The one to blow up the career’s supplies.

They play the entire situation once and then they focus on me in slow motion. They show how hard I landed and they show my head hitting the ground. Hard. So, that’s how I got my brain damaged. It honestly makes sense, I hit the ground violently.

Peeta winces and kisses the back of my head. I will have to let him know about the possible side effects later, because I am positive he has no idea.

“Katniss… Wow.” Caesar begins. “First thing’s first, that shot! I am sure most other people wouldn’t be able to do that in a million years.” The Capitolites scream in agreement. “Secondly, that had to have hurt!”

“Terribly, I must admit,” I tell him honestly. “I banged up my side pretty badly, which I am sure you can see later, but on top of that I definitely had a concussion from hitting the ground, and a pretty bad one at that.” I say sheepishly.

“And yet, you were able to do everything you needed to. Very impressive Miss Everdeen, Very impressive.” He winks at me.

I just laugh and say thank you.

Then it cuts to Peeta and Rue. They are traipsing through the forest. They showcase them on one side and the boy from Seven walking through the forest a little ways away, maybe two hours from them, already getting the crowd excited for Peeta’s fight. My stomach just drops and I am dreading having to watch that so totally.

They cut pretty much all of the walking footage out because the next thing I know Peeta is fighting for his and Rue’s life on the screen. My hand is gripped tightly around his arm and my eyes roam the screen continuously, unable to look away no matter how much I want to.

The boy from Seven comes at Peeta first with his axe swinging. He is able to jump out of the way, and avoid a fatal hit but Seven doesn’t give up so easily. Rue has already retreated into a tree at Peeta’s order and is looking for something to help him out with but Peeta and District Seven are now wrestling.

Peeta pulls one of his knives and stabs him in the side, twice. Then Peeta pushes him off of him and I think District Seven is down, but he rolls back over, picks up the axe and swings at Peeta one last time from the ground, getting his thigh. Peeta throws the knife in his hand, straight through the throat, finishing it for real as the cannon sounds.

It isn’t as deep as Cato’s wound. He didn’t have enough strength left to do that much damage, but it is enough to make Peeta fall backwards and clutch his leg.

Rue descends from the tree and she helps Peeta stand before they are on their way back to the cave as fast as possible with his wounded leg.

They show my increasingly nervous waiting and the pain Peeta is in but they also cut that time down a lot, a few minutes instead of half an hour or more. They show my frantic healing of him, just like they showed his frantic healing of me earlier.

“So, I have to ask… that pink berry, why’d you put it on Peeta’s injury?” Caesar asks, very confused. “We have seen them in the arena before, but nobody has ever done that!”

“Oh. I mentioned earlier that my mother is a healer, we use a lot of different remedies back home and some of them are derived from natural things like plants and such.” I tell him and the audience with a smile, a strained one for sure but still a smile. “I had wanted to know something specifically for infection and so during training I just asked. We were told about them then and how to use them. They are the main ingredient for one of the Capitol’s best infection treatments, obviously the raw form isn’t as good but Peeta’s wound didn’t get infected, and that was the most important thing.” I lean back further into Peeta’s hold at that declaration.

“I know Katniss that you suffered from infection later, and while eventually getting the medicine from the feast, why did you not use them on yourself?” He asks, truly confused.

“We were told that you had to use them almost immediately after injury, it would have been too late by the time we found them.” Peeta says with a pained look, obviously wishing that were not the case.

“That makes sense,” Caesar says with a smile. “I must also comment on the disparity in your sponsor gifts…”

Peeta and I laugh.

“Caesar. That is something all of us agree on, well both of us at least…” Peeta trails off with a smile. “Katniss does wish that Haymitch had sent her paper stitches, or at least sleep syrup! However, she would much rather I had them if only one of us could.” Peeta rolls his eyes.

“Hey! Don’t act like you don’t think the exact same thing!” I fake pout, causing laughter to erupt from the audience.

“That’s true.” He kisses my head.

“We honestly think that by the time Peeta was injured, we just had more sponsor money, plus none of us can deny that Peeta’s wound was deeper and in greater need, so I think it all worked out either way, plus I benefited from them as well, my stitches had ripped open during the explosion so I got some use out of them too. Fair is fair,” I shrug.

Caesar just laughs. “Oh boy! You two.” He laughs. “You two are going to drive each other crazy!”

“I wouldn’t say that…” Peeta trails off. “I would definitely agree that we will wind the other up though, but what’s life without a little fun?” Peeta grins his sunshine smile that makes everyone agree with him.

“Too true Peeta, too true.” Caesar says before he moves back to the screen.

Instead of continuing where they left off. It is now time for the top eight interviews with the friends and family of each remaining tribute, though they will only show ours. This is the first time in years that Twelve is having even one of these interviews, let alone both tributes.

Chapter 33: Chapter XXXIII

Chapter Text

Instead of continuing where they left off. It is now time for the top eight interviews with the friends and family of each remaining tribute.

This is the first time in years that Twelve is having even one of these interviews, let alone both tributes.

Prim is the first one they show. Which makes sense. She is sitting in the justice building and is in her reaping outfit, her hair in her twin braids and her little face is red, obviously blushing from something just before.

Caesar isn’t the one interviewing her, instead it is a lady with ruby red skin, dark yellow hair, and bright green lips. Horrid.

“So, Primrose, how do you think your sister is doing so far?” She asks in her Capitol accent.

“Katniss has always been amazing at everything she does, except cooking, she isn’t the best cook… but to answer your question, I think she is doing the best she could be! Same with Peeta. He is doing really well also.” She says half excited and hyper, half timid.

The crowd laughed uproariously at her cooking quip and I could feel myself blush and roll my eyes. Peeta just chuckles quietly, earning a light elbow to the ribs from me in retaliation.

“About that…” The interviewer grins. “Did you have any idea they liked each other?”

Oh, please Prim, please have spread the lie around.

“Oh, definitely. Katniss never acts girly or interested unless it is about Peeta. He is the only one she does stuff like that for, plus every time we go to look at the cakes in the bakery, Peeta stares at her through the window. Or when we leave school and I wait by the flagpole for her, he does it then too. They aren’t very secretive I don’t think.” Prim answers perfectly.

The crowd oohs and laughs at all the right places.

“Final question. If there was any way you could tell your sister something right now, what would you tell her?” She finishes with.

“I would tell her to finally kiss Peeta and stop being dumb.” Prim says with an eye roll much older than her twelve years, “also that I miss her and love her more than anything.” She jumps in sincerely, making my eyes well up with tears.

The crowd claps for her as her interview fades from the screen.

“So Katniss, what did you think of Primrose’s interview?” Caesar asks me.

“I think she has gotten more cheeky since I left.” I answer back teasingly, causing the crowd to guffaw. “No but really, she is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met and I would like her to know that I miss her too and love her and can’t wait to see her again soon.”

The crowd aww's and Peeta kisses my forehead.

“What about you Peeta, what did you think of Prim’s interview?” Caesar questions.

“Oh, I thought she was right on it. Katniss really isn’t the best cook, unless it is rabbit or roasted squirrel.” I lightly slap his shoulder and gasp, mock offended, causing him to laugh. “Also she definitely should have kissed me earlier.”

“Maybe you should’ve bucked up and kissed me first if you didn’t like waiting that long.” I tease him back. He laughs.

“Kat. We have gone over this so many times. If I had tried to kiss you first, and you hadn’t wanted it, you would hit me so hard. I was not about to chance it and mess up any chance I actually had.” Peeta says with a smile.

“Well, you two…” Caesar laughs. “Let’s show the next clip.”

It ends up being Rye and Graham.

Peeta groans loudly, scared of how they are going to embarrass him now.

“Hi Little Brother!” Graham says with a big smile, waving at the camera.

“Hi Mr. Everdeen.” Rye says with a wicked smirk.

Peeta blushes bright red and I raise my eyebrow at him both in question and teasingly.

“Alright, let’s get rolling,” the same interview says, trying to calm the boys down. “How do you think Peeta is doing so far?”

“I think he finally grew a pair!” Rye exclaims immediately. “He’s been pining after this girl for over a decade and never worked up the nerve to tell her and then announces it on live television?! It was comical!” Rye cracks up.

The Capitolites are wheezing with laughter, obviously finding this hilarious while Peeta’s face just burns with heat.

“I think he is doing pretty well. I had no idea he could throw a knife, we grew up in a bakery and around them all the time, sure, but that aim? Impressive. He must’ve learned during training and took to it like a duck to water.” Graham says, calming down now from his excitable greeting. But then he pretends to look confused or like he is thinking really hard. “Or maybe Katniss is just rubbing off on him.” And that's where he ends it.

“I’m gonna kill him.” I say through gritted teeth as Peeta blushes even deeper as the crowd laughs louder at the insinuation.

“So you approve of Katniss and Peeta?” The interview asks.

“There’s no other option.” Rye says. “Peeta is so hung up on that girl. Every single day it’s… Katniss did this… Katniss’ braid… guess what Katniss did today… Plus the girl is scary! There’s no way I’d think anything bad against her, who knows if she’d be able to read my mind or something.” Rye says, waving his fingers around his hand like I had magic or something. “No but in all seriousness. I am happy for him. I might joke around a lot and tease him, and her in association, relentlessly, but he is still my baby brother. I’m just happy he found some happiness in her.” Rye finishes on a serious note, surprising both of us.

“I agree. They are perfect for one another. You can see the way they communicate without even speaking and you can see the way they instinctively know what the other is going to do. Peeta might have been hung up on that girl for years, but she must’ve not been too far off considering how well she knows him back.”

“Now, final question. If you could say anything to Peeta right now, what would it be?” She finishes with the usual question for the final eight interviews.

“KISS THE GIRL!” Rye and Graham bellow together after a shared head nod.

“Well. Peeta, I must say your brothers are something else!” Caesar says, slightly bewildered but entertained nonetheless.

“Oh I definitely agree.” Peeta says with an eye roll. “They are exactly what you would imagine having an older brother, or two, to be like. Extremely annoying and assholes most of the time but as you can see every once in a while they'll actually behave and act like the big brothers they are. Then they go right back to teasing and pranking and suddenly I’m the mature one.” Peeta laughs.

Flickerman agrees and turns to me. “What did you think of the interview, Katniss?”

“I think they are idiots.” I say with a smile, cutting through any hurt or malice that could be implied from the words. “I don’t have any older siblings or brothers, I have people who fill that role for me certainly, but none for truth and I am excited to get to know them when we get back. Even if they better watch themselves for a while, I have some revenge to plan out for how they've treated Peeta during some of their pranks…” I finish with a half smile, half smirk.

Peeta laughs beside me. “I can’t wait to see that.”

“I speak for all of us when I say we also wish to see that, and I will be asking you about it next time I see you.” Cesar puts his hand out for the deal.

“Done.” I say, shaking his hand firmly.

We all turn back towards the screen and on it are Peeta's parents. Their interview is nowhere near as exciting and his mother just sits in silence unless specifically asked something she can’t get around. Then just answers as curtly as possible. Bitch.

The baker is quiet, as per usual, but you can see his kind nature in his smile and in his words. You can see where Peeta gets a lot of his mannerisms as well. They wish us luck, mostly Peeta, and their interview ends swiftly.

Caesar doesn’t even bother asking us about their interview, there’s honestly nothing either of us could say. Well, besides his mother is a witch and the baker, while a good man, needs to grow a pair and stand up for his kids.

The screen automatically starts showing my mom.

“Hello.” She says quietly.

“Hi!” The interviewer says brightly, the complete opposite to my mother in every way. “Let’s get started. How are you doing with Katniss being so far from home? It's hard on every mother to let their children go.”

I almost roll my eyes at this on live television. Most mothers aren’t sending their kids off to fight to the death.

“It’s different.” She says. “I am so used to Katniss being here that it seems like a dream…”

The interviewer just gives a happy nod, not even pretending to actually care about how my mom is feeling.

“Katniss is so different compared to you and your other daughter…” The interviewer fishes, for what I am not sure…

“Katniss takes after her father. Same coloring and same strength that he had.” My mom says, both determined and sad, it’s a combination most couldn’t pull off but she does it expertly.

“How are you feeling about Peeta and Katniss? Their seemingly relationship?” She asks with a big smile.

“Peeta reminds me so much of his father, a good man. While I definitely think Katniss is too young to date, Peeta is the best choice she could have made.” She answers.

I do roll my eyes at this. She said this last time and Effie took it as law. Not happening this time.

“Lastly, what would you want to say to Katniss if she were here right now?” She finishes with the age old question.

“I would tell her to keep her head up, keep an eye on her boy, and that her father would be proud.” The interview finishes.

I wipe a singular tear that falls down my cheek at her mention of my dad.

“Well…” Caesar says, “your mother is certainly a beautiful woman!” He laughs, getting agreement from the crowd.

I just feel uncomfortable with the observation… Why would you say that to her daughter?

“What did you think of her interview, Katniss?” He asks, maybe seeing that I was not going to comment on his observation.

“I think… honestly I don’t know.” I say honestly, getting confused looks from the crowd and Flickerman. “I love my mother and her comment about my father at the end made me tear up. However, as we talked about it in the games, you know that after my father died she fell into a bit of a depression, which is completely understandable, he was the love of her life, but she hasn’t raised me since I was eleven. I don’t think she can decide if I am old enough to date, it almost seems like she still expects me to be eleven when I’ve grown and matured more than most in the years since then.” I finish looking at Peeta for support.

He just gives me a sad smile and kisses my forehead.

“I must say, I agree. You are more than old enough for a boyfriend and it seems like she approves of Peeta! So, if that is her only gripe…” Caesar trails off.

“I am not discounting her feelings, or I don’t mean to do so, I just think she hasn’t really seen us together and she isn’t the one able to make that decision for us. She is still my mother, and I do love her, so her opinion will be listened to, just not followed to the letter if we as a couple do not agree.” I say firmly, Peeta nodding along beside me with a smile.

“Alright!” Caesar says with a smile, trying to move the show along. “We have one more…”

I wonder who it is going to be. Could it be Gale? Or did they not even bother trying to make him my cousin this time?

It turns out to be Madge. The obvious choice for a shared friend between us.

“Hello!” She greets with a smile and a wave.

“Madge Undersee, the mayor’s daughter and best friends with Peeta and Katniss both.” The interview opens with a half question.

“Yes, I live just down the road from Peeta and Katniss and I have been friends for years.” She says with a smile.

“Tell me about them, you are one of the only people to know how they were together before they were in the games.” She prompts with a raised eyebrow.

“They were…” Madge pauses, both to think and for dramatic effect, “a match made in heaven.” She finishes to cheers from the crowd. “They were kind of insufferable. We had the same lunch period and every day they would move closer and closer to the other and neither realized they were both doing it.” She rolls her eyes. “Then came the silent conversations, we’ve all seen them on the holoTV but seeing it in person is a different experience altogether. They don’t need words to know what the other is thinking, they can just look at the other and know automatically, like an old married couple but they had never even been on a single date!”

Madge finishes out of breath, having not taken one for a minute while she ranted. The crowd is laughing uproariously at her commentary.

“So you knew about their feelings for each other?” The interviewer asks, slightly taken aback by her passionate response.

“I think almost everybody in the district knew about their feelings for the other, and if they didn’t before they knew during the reaping when they held onto the other as if the ground would open up and swallow the other whole.” Madge replies.

I knew Madge could have a sharp tongue and definitely had a talent for sarcasm but her imagery can’t be understated either, that’s a pretty accurate description as to how it felt. Also, she isn’t lying. The entire district did know how we feel about the other, but they found out after Peeta kissed me at the flagpole… Madge never lied once during her interview and it is honestly impressive, the way she words herself to not lie but to let everybody draw the wrong conclusions anyway.

“What would you most want to say to the both of them right now?” The interviewer finishes.

“I would say to them… stay together til the very end and for the love of everything, please please please finally kiss. I can’t take the tension anymore.” Madge begs on camera, a twinkle in her eye that most would think is mischievousness at telling us to kiss, but I know it’s because she is purposefully letting people draw the wrong conclusions and is finding it hilarious, honestly it is taking a lot of my self control not to laugh also.

The screen then shows both of our faces, red, and Peeta gets a mischievous look in his eye. I turn to face him to ask what he is about to do but I don’t get the chance to open my mouth before he’s dragged me into a passionate kiss and the crowd cheers.

When we finally separate, after maybe two minutes, my face is bright red but he just looks smug.

“Since everybody was telling us to do it, I figured we should.” He says with a dismissive shrug, getting wolf whistles and catcalls from the audience.

I roll my eyes. “Like you need prompting to kiss me.” I tease back, getting even more laughs.

“You’re right.” He says happily, rewrapping his arm around me and drawing me into his side.

Caesar laughs at our exchange. “I think everybody fell apart at your first kiss…” He tells us in a fake whisper, as if passing on a secret. The crowd screams agreements. “That was the end of the interviews and let’s get back to the games so we can rewatch it, yeah?” He asks the crowd who cheer back.

I’d rather watch more interviews.

Chapter 34: Chapter XXXIV

Chapter Text

Caesar laughs at our exchange. “I think everybody fell apart at your first kiss…” He tells us in a fake whisper, as if passing on a secret. The crowd screams agreements. “That was the end of the interviews and let’s get back to the games so we can rewatch it, yeah?” He asks the crowd who cheer back.

I’d rather watch more interviews.

The worst happens.

Rue leaves.

I suck in a breath and Peeta rubs his hand across my back, bringing as much comfort as he can until I finally breathe normally once more.

We watch her leap through the trees, on the lookout for more berries that are nowhere to be found, likely never to be seen in another arena now that everybody knows their properties thanks to us. They probably found it hilarious over the years that nobody had used them.

We watch as she scurries down the tree and starts running across the clearing. That’s when the next worst comes. The trap.

She walks in the exact wrong place, her light weight just enough for the net to fall and pin her down.

She obviously panics, her breath coming faster as she struggles to move. She tires herself out and starts calling my name.

A single tear falls down my cheek and Peeta wipes it away.

We watch as I sprint as fast as I can towards her distress. They even show all three Careers hiding just out of sight, manic grins on their faces as they await my arrival.

I burst through the tree line and freeze, that’s when Clove throws the knife. Her eyes glow with pride when she sees where she hits and it almost makes me puke right here on the stage.

I didn’t notice at the time but my face says everything. My dismay at watching Rue get hurt and then the total fury that takes over me.

I stalk them like a predator.

They wait until I start coming towards them and immediately turn tail and run, using millennia old survival instincts built into all of us, telling them to get the hell outta dodge.

We watch as I cut Rue out and everything after. My frenzied bare bones healing, Rue’s final requests, the way I sing her to sleep. They cut out my second song though, and the flowers, but I wasn't expecting anything less.

Thankfully, Caesar doesn’t ask us any questions. They do project my tear stricken, and Peeta’s tear stricken, face onto multiple large screens though, getting our reactions.

Peeta doesn't even fully know what is coming next. It will be a shock to him because neither of us had to deal with it the last time.

The crowd screams in unison as the spear just barely misses me and Peeta jumps. He pulls me into his lap, definitely subconsciously, but he did all the same. His arms wrap around me tight as he keeps his eyes on the screen, not wanting to miss a moment of what is happening, what is happening very differently than last time.

I can only hope that this ends quickly. For Peeta’s sake more than anything.

As we watch my mad dash away from Marvel, we see a wide shot that shows exactly how close I was to running into another career. I chose the only direction I could have survived. Cato had been behind me, waiting for me and Clove had been to my left, thinking I would run into the less dense area for more maneuverability.

I remember exactly what I was thinking at that time, how unfair it all was and how the gamemakers had it out for me. I still think that, and not just because I had a burial for Rue or just because I kept outsmarting them, but because of the uprising and riots across the nation. Well, I know at least in Eight and Eleven, I’m not sure about anywhere else.

I can almost feel Peeta’s questions as we come up on the marshland, most of the running edited out, as usual.

We watch until Marvel starts sinking and Peeta looks at me wide eyed, tearing his eyes away from the screen for a split second, but immediately his eyes roam back, needing to watch.

It goes until after I shoot Marvel. Then Caesar looks at us.

“It seems clear from your reaction that you had no idea this happened…” Caesar looks at Peeta beside me.

“I didn’t. I knew that Katniss was pretty far away, well once I woke up I knew, but I had no idea what took place. I am once again just glad that she is safe. I have her right here beside me and I think I will forever be grateful for that.” He answers honestly. I give him a quick peck on the lips for his words. I definitely agree.

“And Katniss, I must say I was not expecting you to do that.” Caesar half asks me to explain.

“You have to know more about District Twelve and me personally I guess…” I begin, knowing I will need to give more than that but very reluctant to actually do so. “Okay. So, everyone here knows that my father passed away when I was eleven.” I tell the crowd, getting pitying and sympathetic nods and affirmations. “He died in a mine accident. Now, when you grow up in Twelve you automatically know stuff like this but I will explain, there are two types of mine accidents. There are the ones where the explosives malfunction, the canary sings, or something similar. The main idea is that it is quick. Almost immediate, or near enough to it that you know your loved ones didn’t suffer.” I can see everybody absorbing my words, and realizing the second option. “On the other hand, there are the ones where you are so deep underground that the ceiling just caves in, trapping you. Those are the ones that are really despised, where if you are lucky, they can dig you out in a few hours, though you have to live through some of the worst conditions you could think of in the meantime, blackness so whole you can’t see a single thing, heat more oppressive than you can even imagine, burning your skin just by being in the air, let alone touching the rock. Your loved ones, your shift crew, surrounding you, alive and in hell if you’re lucky…” I say, my voice choking up. I have the entire crowd on the edge of their seats, but I don’t know if I can finish.

“Katniss’ father was one of the lucky ones. He went immediately. No suffering.” Peeta jumps in, recognizing I can’t continue. “That does mean however, that he was essentially buried alive. There was no body to bury or memorial service to be had. Just the great gift of knowing he did not suffer, and a medal awarded by the Capitol to recognize his death in service.” Peeta saves us. I hadn’t even thought about how this would look to Snow or his cabinet. “They provide compensation as well, for the families to have time to mourn and get their feet back under them, something everyone affected is grateful for. But, and now as much as I wish I was, I am not in Katniss’ brain,” that gets him a few laughs from the audience, buoyed by the belief that a little bit of money is enough to make up for the death of a father. “However, I can imagine that she just didn’t want Marvel to go out like that. An arrow is a dignified death, one he was deserving of for volunteering for District One.” Peeta finishes. He is obviously, at least to me, sucking up to Snow and the Capitol but it works. People are calling out agreements and the mood from the crowd lifts, excited to get back to the games they have just been reminded of.

I give Peeta’s hand a squeeze, a silent thank you . He returns it, you’re welcome.

“That was profound.” Caesar says, wiping his eyes but with a smile. The crowd loudly shouts their concurrence but you can tell they want to get back to the story the edited games are painting.

The screen is once more filled with images of me, working my way back to Peeta. They cut most of it out, the few minutes shown covering the hours of mental torture for me. They do show Peeta waking up and his obvious terror at me not being there. He tries to do a few things around the cave, his leg is not strong enough for much else.

That’s when they show the announcement. Peeta and I sport real grins on the screen. Two victors can win.

They show both of our reactions. I scurry out of the tree, Peeta’s name falling off my lips like a prayer. Peeta almost cheers with excitement. He immediately starts getting things together for when I get back before settling down to sleep. You can tell he is insanely worried and anxious for me to return, but he knows I am on my way.

They cut almost all of my nightlong movement. Only cutting together clips to make almost a montage of me finding my way back, an upbeat song played over the scene which almost makes me laugh or roll my eyes, I can’t decide.

What they do focus on is our reunion. And boy oh boy do we get a reaction. My face turns bright red, involuntarily, and Peeta gets smug. I can feel his emotions pouring off of him, his pride and just a smidge of disbelief.

Our kiss is zoomed in on and the crowd chants, “Melldeen!” I guess that’s what they've been calling us along with the star crossed lovers. I honestly prefer Everlark if they had to mash our names somehow.

“Honestly!” Caesar says sporting an unnaturally large smile. “We’ve been waiting for that for what seems like forever!”

“You’re telling me Caesar, imagine how I felt!” Peeta says, gaining a lot of laughs from the audience.

“I can imagine,” Caesar laughs along with the crowd. “How did you feel Peeta? When Katniss kissed you?”

“I felt…” Peeta pauses searching for the right word, but builds effect and intrigue in the perfect way as he does, “like everything had led to it. Like everything I have ever done, ever suffered through or triumphed over, had all led me to that moment with her. I felt like the sky had fallen to my feet and the stars were within reach, and she had made it happen. There is no single word to say how I felt at that moment.” He finishes.

Tears are streaming down my cheeks and I know my eyes are adoring. I can’t help myself and I kiss him, not a peck but a real loving kiss.

“That is beautiful.” Caesar says, tearing up himself. “What about you Katniss?”

“I-” I have to stop to wipe my face. “Sorry, I have no idea how to follow that.” I laugh, gaining quite a few chuckles from the crowd. “I think the only thing I can say is it felt right. I knew I had loved him since I was eleven, or I had figured it out between then at least, but up until that moment I never thought I could keep him. I never let myself believe anything could actually exist between us. The second I kissed him… it was just right.” I finish. It was not as eloquent as Peeta’s but it was heartfelt and true, the best I can offer.

The crowd loves it anyway and the chant continues until Caesar can manage to quiet them a little bit later.

They show our entire conversation and eventually get to the healing aspect, once again one of us frantically trying to work on the other. They show my side in gory detail and even have quotes from a Capitol doctor on what they would do compared to what we had access to and it is startling.

We both settle down to rest and the crowd awws, immediately moving on from our debilitating injuries. I want to scream but I know it won’t help anything so I just keep quiet and watch the next thing they show.

It is almost domestic, the way they cut everything together, Like us sharing half the chores and just talking about mundane subjects. It’s what interests the Capitolites the most it seems, just us existing together. The next day is pretty much the same. Until the announcement. They show what was in each backpack. Cato and Clove had body armor, to protect them from me with my bow and Peeta’s knives. Foxface had food, something she desperately needed after I blew up the career’s supplies, her main food source. Thresh had water. Then Peeta and I had medicine, and our compasses.

They cut out pretty much all of our recon and just focus on the actual feast come daybreak.

I sprint from the tree line, Peeta nowhere to be seen. Clove is across the entire clearing but is obviously watching for us and immediately jumps in when she sees me.

Peeta tenses against my side, probably remembering what happened right in front of him this time, not while he was completely unaware in the cave.

Cato is shown hunting Thresh but Thresh comes in from the opposite direction. They didn’t cut that together, his thought process, but it is obvious he is much smarter than most gave him credit for. His size and demeanor tricked a lot of people.

The crowd gasps when Clove crashes into me and Peeta pulls me closer now while he is shown on screen sprinting towards us, reaching in his vest and drawing one of the most wicked knives he had.

They cut back to what Clove is saying to me, taunting, and she gets boos from the audience. All of them disregard the fact that she is murdered in the next few minutes. It is horrible to witness. It always is, no matter how the tribute conforms to expectations or how they relish the acts of cruelty they perform, they deserve more than this.

When Thresh bashes her head in, it gets the loudest cheer in a good while. Peeta hides his face in my hair for a moment. Hiding his disgust and horror. I don’t have that privilege but I hide him as best I can, for as long as I can.

“Obviously that was difficult for you both.” Caesar starts. “Peeta?” He asks, trying to get his head to come out.

Peeta takes a deep breath and when his face is revealed he is composed. “Sorry. It’s hard to watch. I understand why Katniss didn’t want me to intervene, I really do. But it took everything I had not to jump in. The only thing holding me back wasn't even her wish for me to, it was just the uncertainty of maybe even possibly hitting Katniss that made me hold my hand. I don’t know what I would have done then but I am a wrestler, I wanted to rush and pin her or do something. Anything. I just didn’t want to hurt Katniss more or at all. So, it’s just really difficult to see me standing there, doing nothing when she’s in so much danger.”

I turn to face him. “Stop.” I say gently. “Don’t do that.”

He grabs my wrists where I am holding his face in my hands. He doesn’t say anything but gives me a kiss on the forehead.

I give him a peck on the lips and turn back around to face Caesar who is watching us with watery eyes.

“That is not only him. I felt the same way, which is why I told him not to jump in. I wasn’t completely sure he would listen, and I knew if he did, it wouldn’t be because I told him to, but I was just hoping he wouldn’t. I-” I cut myself off, shaking my head to rid it of the thoughts of the last time I lost him. “I couldn’t let it happen.” I finish.

Caesar just nods, not asking another question, recognizing that we were overwhelmed and not prepared to continue. I didn’t realize he was capable of that, but Caesar has been one of the only reasons some kids have survived the games. Maybe he cares more than he lets on. Maybe.

He just says a few words and turns back to the screen, getting everybody away from the emotionally charged moment.

Seeing our reactions to the feast bag is almost funny. We were both surprised. Especially about the compasses.

“Caesar, I actually have a question for you.” I say, just thinking of it now.

“Oh!” He says, obviously surprised. “I must say, nobody has ever asked me something before but shoot Ms. Everdeen.” He seems to realize what he said. “Not literally!” He laughs.

“I was just wondering whose idea the compasses were, it's alright if you don’t know. I just would like to say thank you. It helped immensely and allowed us to feel safer, something invaluable at the time.” I tell him truthfully. Plus I really would like to know.

“Well, Ms. Everdeen. I can tell you that every single bag was requested by your mentors. They were asked what they thought each of their tributes needed and we supplied what we could. So you have Haymitch to thank for that one.” Haymitch comes up on the screen. Raising his flask in the direction of the stage and tilting his head in response.

I send him a grateful look and an air kiss. He pats his cheek in response and the crowd cheers.

Peeta claps as well and I join in. Haymitch just waves all of us off in that way of his and we get back into it.

We see us use the medicine, both the ointment and the shot, and they cut to the next morning, our vitals on the side and both of us are now in the green. Peeta is a little bit better than me, I still have my concussion and bruising at this point, but both of us are miles ahead of where we expected to be.

When we realize it, after Peeta doesn’t limp, the crowd cheers and both Peeta and I have small smiles. At least they're cheering for us being healthy, not for a child dying, like usual.

Breakfast is when things both slow down and pick up. We aren’t actually doing anything exciting, just eating and chatting, but the topic is very obviously entertaining for the masses. Anything we talk about is entertaining it seems. All of our old stories, the goat story, pranks from years ago, stories about the Hawthorne brothers, stories about school or wrestling or anything.

The hand game conversation is shown almost in full, with step by step breakdowns of each game and pictures of brightly colored Capitol children playing them. It is honestly strange to see.

Then we get into the Tonne incident. The crowd laughs at the right times, gets angry at all the right times, disgusted, sad, all the feelings I associate with the story, they express at all the same moments. I know they are people. I get they have the same emotions I do, they just usually feel them in very different circumstances comparatively, so it is strange to see them so protective and defensive of my little sister. The same way I am.

“I must say, Katniss.” Caesar begins. “I was scared of you when I saw you with a bow, but even without one you really are terrifying!” He laughs, making light of it.

“Only to people that hurt me or mine.” I say sweetly, but with an underlying warning. “I would never go after anybody without reason. It’s just not in my nature. I’m more a keep to yourself kind of girl. In certain situations though, like when someone goes after my loved ones. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect them, even if it seems extreme or like an overreaction to most. If Peeta or Prim needed a star I’d figure out a way to fly and get them one.” I say seriously. I hope that’ll just make Snow leave us alone while we work quietly around him. Leave me and mine alone, we won’t have any issues. Threaten them? Hijack, bomb, or torture them? We are going to have more problems than you could ever imagine.

“I feel like that is a perfectly normal response. Maybe not the actions you took, but the feeling behind them is understandable.” Caesar allows. It’s funny. I think it is fine for the Capitol to be mad at the districts, we did rebel and lose so it is logical even if not understandable, but the actions of sending kids to fight for their life? Same concept, thinking behind it vs actual actions. Though my revenge didn’t hurt or kill anybody, especially hundreds of children.

They skim through the rest of the conversations, most of it cut out due to talking too much about how it is at home. They like the lightheartedness of childhood games, and my sisterly overprotectiveness, but the starvation? The mining conditions? The feelings of despair that clings to all corners of the cage we call home? Not for viewing pleasure.

They actually cut out almost everything until we talk about Peeta’s mom the next day. I think it would’ve been weird to the crowd if they didn’t include it, plus I guess it fits in with our love story even if that’s the last reason to include it. Honestly I just hope it embarrasses her and empowers Peeta. That’s all I want from people seeing and knowing about this.

All over a bag of flour. The witch.

I squeeze Peeta’s hand from where I have it held in mine, giving him permission to do it back, as tightly as he needs to get through this.

Caesar looks at Peeta with a pitying look, making my protectiveness swell even more and my anger shoots up to dangerous levels. He can’t judge and that's the basis of pity, judgment. “So, Peeta. I am so sorry to bring this up-” He begins.

Peeta cuts him off. “Sorry Caesar, I don’t mean to cut you off,” yes he did, “I just know what you want to know and would rather tell you without being asked.” He takes a deep breath and turns slightly away from me, facing more towards the crowd and Flickerman. “My mother is not the best mom around. That isn’t to say I don’t love her and appreciate the things she does for me and my family. However, I will admit my life would probably be better without her influence, no matter what good she does in general.” He starts.

I do my absolute best to not roll my eyes. I can’t see that witch doing anything good in her pathetic little life.

“Honestly, I will spare you all the details, it isn’t pretty but I am here. I am with the love of my life, and honestly I would do it all again just to be with her.” He gives me a loving look and takes my breath away. “I will tell you that it has happened my entire life and usually it was because of some made up reason. Now, I’m not sure why or how it started, I think I was too young to remember, but I do remember the first time I realized it was different than other families. I had a friend named Cooper, he and his family lived in town and we were basically the ones to call when you needed something fixed. Whether that be the roof of your house or your oven won’t work, anything you can think of. One time my dad sent me to run to get Cooper’s dad to fix our oven. A necessity in a bakery. Cooper’s dad fixed our oven, shook my dad’s hand and was on his way out the door when he heard my shout. They both ran back into the kitchen in the bakery to find my mother standing over me with one of our heavy wooden rolling pins. She had broken my arm with the weight of it. I had never seen someone stand up to my mother the way Cooper’s dad did.” Peeta tells his story, shaking. “He was the first adult ever to tell me that my mother was wrong, abnormal even. It actually helped more than I can say, to know not every kid experiences what I did.” He looks at me.

I can’t do anything besides offer support while he talks. As he does though, I know my face is showing murder, it’s all I can do not to scream and cry at his words.

“That was the first time I realized that not every kid was beaten or hit by their parents, or really one of their parents. My dad has never laid a hand on any of us boys.” He will always defend his father. I might agree the baker is a good man, a mostly good man, but he is a shit father. The entire point of being a dad is to protect your kids. He failed at his one job as a dad.

“So. Yes. I wish I had something different, that most of all, talking to Katniss earlier, admitting my feelings not on live television, all of these things are wishes I have but I am here, healthy, and with the love of my life.” He gives me a full kiss on the lips.

The audience is crying, sobbing more like, even Caesar has real tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I’m still gonna burn the spoon and now the rolling pin.” I tell him seriously.

He actually laughs, which allows some of the audience to laugh as well.

“Deal. As long as she doesn’t get an arrow to the eye.” Peeta says. “Plus I won’t be sorry to see either of those things go.” He gives me one last kiss on the forehead and we settle together, all the tension draining from both of us as we get comfort from the other.

“That was beautiful Peeta. I speak for everyone when I say we all hope you are healthy, happy, and beside Katniss, for the rest of your life.” He gets loud cheers in agreement with that statement.

It almost gives me whiplash, how fast these people move between emotions and situations. They can be crying one moment, and the next a giant grin will spread across their cheeks within one sentence. It is baffling. My brain will be going over every inch of this broadcast until the day I die, like I can’t really move on that fast, unlike what we have to portray. We will cry and the next minute smile, we will laugh and then scream or jump at what pops up. We will continue playing the game even if it is just that. Fake.

I know this isn’t the end of this hard conversation. If they went into Peeta’s mother, they are also going to get into the relationship between me and mine.

I’m right. After a few quips about Haymitch, to which he rolls his eyes on the big reaction screen, Caesar looks right at me, obviously letting me decide whether to just explain or let him ask questions, I’m not even sure which is worse but I guess I’ll follow Peeta’s lead and do it of my own volition.

“Before you start Caesar, I’m gonna take a page from this one,” I point my thumb at Peeta, “and just jump right in to explain.” He gives me a smile and a nod in return.

“When my father died, it is like a piece of my mother died with him. If you’ve ever lost someone you loved, truly deeply loved with every fiber of your being, you will know exactly how she felt. She might as well have gotten trapped in a mine, only it was in her head. Now, I completely understand why. Love, real all consuming love, has the habit of making you do things you would never do otherwise. The problem comes when in doing so, you leave your two daughters, the oldest one only eleven, to fend for themselves.” I take a deep breath, I pretty much said everything in one.

“I had to be the adult, at age eleven. I had to cook, do laundry, I had to get us ready for school and for bed, I had to take care of not just myself, but my little sister, and my mother who couldn’t get out of her bed. The Capitol supplied our family with money until we had enough time to get our feet back under us, something that kept us alive during that time, however, after that period was over, my mom was still grieving, still in the mineshaft of her mind searching for my father. She hadn’t started her healing business back up yet, the cabinets were bare, I actually think it was quite some time when we last had real food in our stomachs, not just mint tea.” I look at Peeta.

“Then I met Peeta. I had been trying to sell some of Prim’s old baby clothes. No takers. I had gotten so desperate, I just wanted to get some food for Prim, that I decided to look through the trash cans, even for the smallest thing to take home. They had all recently been dumped though. That’s when Peeta’s mom came out of the bakery where I had been drawn to the smell of fresh baked bread. She was screaming at me to get away and that I was scaring off customers. I must mention it was pouring rain and absolutely no one was around.” Peeta ducks his head. I take a break from talking and tap his chin up, shaking my head at him sternly and then offering him a smile. He has nothing to be ashamed of. “That’s when I saw Peeta through the doorway. I knew him from school, even if I didn’t know his name. I ended up falling outside, right under the apple tree in the bakery’s yard. I had just come to the conclusion that we were not going to have anything tonight when there was a loud crashing sound inside the bakery that drew my attention. Then the yelling started. I had moved to get up, to see what was happening when Peeta walked out. In his arms were two loaves of bread, slightly burnt but mostly intact. A huge red mark prominently on his cheekbone. His mother was yelling to feed it to the pig because nobody decent would want burnt bread.”

I look at Peeta, his eyes are filled with tears and a soft smile is on his face.

“He didn’t. He saved my life, my family’s lives with that bread when he gave it to me instead. He burnt it on purpose.” I finish, finally turning to look at Caesar again, just to see him bawling. “Then as I said, the next day at school is when I started to fall in love with him, even if I had no idea at that time. So, yes. I have a rocky relationship with my mother, but without that I wouldn’t have one of the best parts of my life. It is getting better. She is healing from her grief, and especially the last six months have been miles ahead of where we were at the same time last year, so who knows what will happen in the future. I just know I never want to lose the boy with the bread.” I quickly wipe the single tear that is falling down my cheek, and jump off the soap box. If I haven’t convinced Snow I love this boy yet, I don’t know what else I can do. I just spilled my heart out on live television. Though, I think he just sees what he wants to see.

“Well,” Caesar says thickly, “we wish you the best of luck, and can’t wait to watch where you go in the years to come. We have just a little bit more to show everyone and then we will have to let these lovebirds go back home.” The crowd boos. “Don’t worry! You will see them again soon and we will have coverage on them all the time! Let’s not worry about that right now. We still have some of the most exciting parts to watch so let’s get to it!” The crowd cheers.

God. It’s like they are mindless. Just taking cues from whoever is in front of them!

The ping of the parachute rings loudly over the crowd and Peeta and I share a smile. I still cannot believe that we had so many sponsors, and that Haymitch sent us all of that stuff. To be fair though, we had extra money, and we were probably not going to need anything else this late in the game.

The crowd cheers with each box we pull out.

“I want to ask you guys why the sandwiches first?” Caesar asks, truly confused.

“If you notice, each of the dishes came from a different district, shrimp from Four, bread from Three, even the chocolate cake from One or the pasta from Nine.” I start with a smile. “The sandwiches were from home.”

“My dad made the bread. You could tell from the consistency and the smell, my brothers never get it quite right. Madge loves strawberries, they are her favorite food of all time and the strawberry reserves had her written all over it. The cheese came from Prim’s goat and the squirrel is something both of us eat all the time at home.” Peeta explains with a large smile. He must not want to open the Pandora’s box that is Gale on national television, not to mention possibly get him killed for poaching.

“It felt like being back in the school cafeteria during our lunch breaks.” I tell Caesar truthfully. “We used to make sandwiches together almost every day. I would bring squirrel or rabbit and cheese, and Peeta would bring bread. It just was a taste of home and reminded us what we were fighting to get back to." I finish.

The crowd cheers loudly at my words, honestly surprising me.

“Well, it seems it worked. You have one good mentor.” Caesar comments.

“We do. Even though Peeta literally had to help him into the shower on the train and he face-planted off the stage during the reaping,” I tease, getting an eye roll from Haymitch in the audience, “even with all that, we definitely got lucky with him. Though, please don’t fall into another puddle of your own vomit. It really wasn’t a great first night.”

“No promises, Sweetheart!” He yells back, just loud enough for the microphones to pick up.

The crowd laughs at our back and forth, obviously entertained.

“Okay. Let’s keep going, we don’t have too much left!” Caesar says excitedly, getting the crowd worked up effortlessly.

Chapter 35: Chapter XXXV

Chapter Text

The crowd laughs at our back and forth, obviously entertained.

“Okay. Let’s keep going, we don’t have too much left!” Caesar says excitedly, getting the crowd worked up effortlessly.

They cut out most of the next morning, just showing our breakfast, when we separate to hunt or gather and a tiny bit of us doing that. Though they definitely show both of our panics when the canon goes off.

Peeta drops everything and you see me immediately starting sprinting, following my compass.

When we collide, the audience shouts their approval.

We are shown looking at all the bushes and gathering our own little bag of berries. Here is the start of the downfall, at least in the Capitol’s and Snow’s eyes. It’s the start of the beginning for the rebels.

Our quiet time isn’t shown, they cut it out. It makes sense, we are just sitting there in silence. Both of us lost in our own thoughts.

Peeta helps me off the ground gently, getting awws from the audience, and everybody laughs at our little conversation about Prim right afterwards.

Finally, we are almost done. One more day of hell to watch through and then we can get off of this stage, out of these clothes, and away from prying eyes. Though the listening ears will follow us around indefinitely.

The river is bone dry and they cut straight to us by the lake filling our bottles.

Peeta squeezes my hand in support of what we are about to watch and I lean further into him, almost completely boneless against him except for my inability to completely relax.

They cut out most of the day and show Cato slowly attempting to hunt us while we dally, waiting for him. That’s when the mutts jump out, drawing screams from most of the audience and I can tell Peeta gets the same adrenaline dumped on him that I just did.

Here we go.

Cato sprints towards us and the cameras perfectly catch Peeta and I’s coordinated reaction. We move at the exact same time, sprinting for the only high ground to get us out of range of the razor sharp teeth and claws chasing us down.

Peeta gets wolf whistles when he throws me up and I almost laugh. I don’t find any of this amusing, but at this point, I am not sure what else I can do.

I watch with bated breath as we both make it to the top. Peeta’s leg is still attached and not raw and bloody like the last time. At least that went right.

“They can jump!” Peeta shouts to me on the screen.

We can see Cato very obviously sneak up behind me as we are dealing with the mutts. When he grabs my hair, the utter outrage in the room is palpable.

When Peeta throws his knife, cheers echo around in my head. He gets even louder cheers when he tackles the other blonde haired boy onto the metal. Their wrestling slowed down. We can see the determination on Peeta’s face, the pain on Cato’s. The sweat dripping off both of them and the blood mixed in with it.

I look panicked. And I was. The tightly strung bow gripped tightly in my hand, a lifeline that I couldn’t use.

The room is silent. Watching Peeta stuck in a headlock, the way Cato’s eyes have given up but still hold enough determination to finish this out, the way I glare at Cato with my nastiest look and the way my breathing turns heavier, my anger and worry making me look almost feral. At least to me.

“Do it.” Cato taunts on screen. “Shoot me and we both go down. Don’t shoot me and this baker’s boy dies right here in my arms. Either way, you lose Girl on Fire. Your eleven won’t help you now.”

I bury my face in Peeta’s chest. I can’t watch this.

I can hear the moment the crowd gasps. Peeta has fallen too. I can imagine they are watching mutt after mutt fall under a rain of knives and arrows. Both of us hitting vital spots and only focusing on just getting Peeta back to safety, rather than just killing all the mutts.

I don’t see Peeta get injured, I don’t see my relief at having him back and safe. I don’t see my frantic healing of him, one last time in the 74th Hunger Games. I don’t even see the moment we settle down together in the blanket.

“Katniss?” Caesar probes, attempting to get me out of Peeta’s shirt. Peeta, bless him, just rubs my back and smooths my hair, shhing me gently and soothingly. Repeating “I’m okay,” over and over again.

“Sorry Caesar.” I finally remove myself, wiping at my eyes. “I could not watch that. I-" I have to stop and swallow, I am so close to crying again. “I never for a second thought Peeta would fall. I genuinely believed that Cato would let go, Peeta would trip him, and we would both be standing left on top of the golden cornucopia. I would have found a different way if I knew.” I turn to look at Peeta. “We had a few close calls during the games, I know that, but this one felt different. This one felt like my responsibility, like I’m the one who put him in that situation. I just couldn’t watch it again knowing that Peeta could have really gotten hurt, or worse.”

Peeta gives me a short but loving kiss. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who told you to shoot, and where, we both thought it would work. Plus I’m fine! I’m right here, with all my limbs, and all my health.” He said that just to remind me that we are even better off this time, even if something didn’t go to plan. “I’ll be here for as long as you let me.” He finishes sweetly.

“How does forever sound?” I ask him, completely serious.

The aww’s from the audience are unwelcome intrusions but a good reminder of where we actually are.

“He’s right Katniss, all of us could tell you had no idea that would happen, and we all know you’d never purposefully put Peeta in harm’s way. But here you both are! And together! Let’s just celebrate that.” Caesar says with a smile.

“You're right Caesar. We are both here and together. The most important thing.” Peeta says.

“Good, Peeta.” Caesar gives him an almost fatherly smile, “now. We still have more to go, arguably the most important part.” He says cryptically.

The crowd gets excited, but it feels like my stomach drops. Oh boy. Here we go.

They restart the screen just as the sun is rising over the horizon. Peeta and I emerge from the blanket wrap we were in and I take aim, my last arrow finding its place directly in Cato’s heart.

When the canon confirms the kill, the Capitolites scream in delight. It’s like they don’t know what's coming, when in actuality every single one of them followed this closely and probably already has it memorized.

“Do you think we have to move away from the body? Is that why they haven’t announced anything yet?” Peeta asks on screen. And so we move away, watch Catos’ body get picked up, and then the trumpets come.

You can see the minute both Peeta and I freeze at the announcement. It thankfully just looks like we were reacting to the upsetting news, but both of us know we were just nervous for what was about to happen.

“You are going home.” he says sternly. “The only thing I wanted was to get you home and I’ll be damned if I can’t do that now.” he tells me, reaching out to touch the end of my braid, unable to meet my eyes on screen.

“Something must be wrong with you. You think I could go home without you?!” I sound like I am on the verge of a breakdown, and I guess I was.

“You have a family! A sister who needs you!” He says, on the verge of angry, but just coming across as devastated. “I go home without you I have nothing! Nobody who needs me, barely anyone who would want me even.” He says, completely serious. My heart breaks all over again for him, though my anger spikes as well, just the same as on screen.

“I do.” I say through gritted teeth on screen. “I need you.”

When I said that in the quell, I meant it. But since then, with everything that’s happened, it has taken on a whole new meaning. I would be, and was destroyed, when I don’t have Peeta. That is just the truth. I need him, more than anything else.

I look out over the crowd and I watch as they react to us. Their sadness, their hope, their joy at our loving moments. They really do like us. All of them. It is weird to see. I knew they liked us last time, but this time feels different. It feels more real, less like they like us as who they see us as, and more like they like and see the real us beneath the games.

When I pull out the berries, I watch as they all tear up but look on proudly. They are upset, saddened, disappointed, but there is an air of understanding, a feeling that I can’t describe other than acceptance.

“I’m going to do it either way.” I hear myself tell Peeta.

I look at the boy beside me to find him already staring at me. We both offer a reassuring look and a head nod. We are almost there.

“Together?” He asks.

“Together. On three.” I answer back. I see us both look at the other, completely disregarding the beautiful sunrise, the crystal clear lake beside us, everything but each other. It’s as if the only thing to exist in the world is the person opposite.

“One.”

The crowd takes a collective breath.

“Two.” Multiple people wipe tears from under their eyes, or put their hands over their mouths to stifle a sob.

“Three.” I look at Peeta. He’s the only one who matters.

“STOP! Stop. May I present the winners of the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.”

The crowd almost destroys the walls with the strength of their cheers. The ground shakes from people stomping. My ears ring from the noise, and my cheeks hurt from my smile. Peeta and I did it. We actually made it through another game, and we did it better this time around. It’s like half of my stress just fell off my shoulders. It feels real now.

The crowd doesn’t stop cheering for a long while. Caesar even gives up on trying to quiet them after a while, he just lets them tire themselves out before getting back to it.

“Wow. The star-crossed lovers.” He says in awe. “I must say, the love between the two of you could be seen in the dark. I mean, come on!” He says dramatically, but it gets loud agreement from the audience.

“Thank you Caesar.” Peeta says with a wide smile.

“Just pointing out the obvious Peeta!” He laughs. “So, I have to ask, what was going on in your head? There at the end.”

“I can honestly say, the only thought I had was to save him. I wanted that so badly but I knew, I knew, he would never ever let himself live without me, and I would never be able to live without him. There was no choice at that point. It was, is, a fact, neither of us could live without the other so what other choice did we have but to die together?” I say seriously. “I never thought both of us could get out together and then the announcement came that we could. To have that revoked when we thought we had already done it. I don’t think I could have reacted in a different way, I was going to eat the berries either way as I said, so offering them to Peeta was just an extension of that.” I take a deep breath. “I would have preferred for him to just let me but I know he would never.”

“You're damn right I would never.” Peeta says incredulously.

“I said that, didn't I?” I laugh slightly.

“Peeta?” Caesar asks, trying to get his side as well.

“As soon as Katniss pulled the berries out, my heart felt like it had already stopped. I knew she wouldn’t change her mind though. And living without her?” He shakes his head. “I can’t imagine it and I don’t want to. I could never do it so the choice, as Katniss said, wasn’t even really a choice, it was just what needed to happen.”

Caesar wipes his teary eyes and thanks us. “We wish you both the most happiness one can have, and congratulations.” The crowd cheers.

The anthem starts and now is the time.

Snow walks towards us. Slithering across the stage like the snake he is. His eyes cold as ever. His puffy lips too large for his face.

He grabs the singular crown and twists it, separating it into the two halves it became the last time around.

He starts with me this time. His eyes betray his hatred, though I think I see his conflict there as well, as if he can’t decide whether he hates me, or for what, but his face remains pleasant, or as pleasant as he could possibly make it. It just sets me on edge more. He barely can look at me and I relish it. As much power as he holds, as much hatred as he has, just like the last time around, his days are numbered.

The surprise comes when he places Peeta’s crown. The last time he was genuinely excited to crown Peeta, offering him a real smile and a more amiable look. This time his eyes are just as cold as they were when he looked at me, the same feelings hidden in them. Interesting. Something we will definitely have to talk about, later, when we get home.

We both take the customary bow after we are crowned, though both of us have already discussed how repulsive we find this. Finally, after my arm feels like it is about to fall off from waving, the show ends and we are dismissed.

The victory banquet is the same as last time as well. A feast laid out for glutinous hands, important people who make my skin crawl, especially since I know at least a few of them are part of the under the table Victor’s market and are looking to buy both of us, and I never move from Peeta’s side. We chat with people, thank them for their sponsorships or support, and share a few kisses when prompted by people, but never once did either of us leave the other.

The sun is even rising when we finally get back to the training center. I am leaning heavily into Peeta. My head is pounding and my exhaustion is creeping up on me, it was only this morning I was actually woken up and that already feels like a lifetime ago.

I know as soon as we both step into our rooms, our doors will automatically lock and will not open again until morning. None of the clothes in my room will fit Peeta so I guess we are staying in his room tonight. I refuse to be parted with him right now as well. No way.

I give Peeta a look when we reach our hallway, and jerk my eyes towards his door. He knows exactly what I mean and just leads me there.

“Stay with me tonight?” He asks, just for the mics picking up our voices.

“Of course.” I answer with a tired smile.

It takes entirely too long for me to take out the pins in my hair. Peeta has taken a shower and gotten completely ready for bed by the time I am even halfway done. He gently helps me with the rest, not even pulling my hair once, and pushes a pile of his clothes into my arms before leading me to the bathroom. He even starts the shower for me as I put my clothes down on the counter.

He leaves after pressing a kiss to my head and shuts the door gently. I take the fastest shower of my life and pull the shirt he gave me on. It falls more than halfway down my thighs and it looks like a dress. I genuinely could just wear this as a nightgown. With that thought, I pull on the boxers he gave me, deciding not to do that tonight, not when Effie will probably burst through the door in a few hours, yelling about appropriate behavior.

I stumble out towards the bed and fall onto it. Peeta chuckles sleepily and pulls me closer to him. We settle down together and he reaches out to turn the lamp off.

We both fall asleep almost immediately.

Safe in the comfort of the other’s arms.

Chapter 36: Chapter XXXVI

Chapter Text

I stumble out towards the bed and fall onto it. Peeta chuckles sleepily and pulls me closer to him. We settle down together and he reaches out to turn the lamp off.

We both fall asleep almost immediately.

Safe in the comfort of the other’s arms.

Finally!

We are on the way home. Back to District Twelve. Back to Prim, my mother, the Hawthornes, the rest of the Mellarks, and Madge! We will see them all tomorrow when we pull into the station.

Haymitch has disappeared somewhere, not a surprise, and Effie is probably micromanaging some poor avox or worker, also not a surprise.

Peeta and I are in the last train car, sitting together but silent and looking out at the world as we are sequestered back to our little cage. Not that it’ll keep either of us in. We will be going into the woods regularly. More than regularly actually, now that neither of us have to go to school.

I can’t help but think about what else we have to do, to prepare for. We made loose plans before the games but needed our concentration to be on surviving the 74th again this time around, so now planning will begin in earnest. Not only for the quell, but for when we arrive in Thirteen.

I have no idea how I will react when I see Coin, the one who killed my little sister. Sure, others played their parts as well, including myself, but she’s the one who sent Prim there, knowing what the plan was and knowing she would die. I could never allow that to happen again. It is going to take a lot of convincing for me to not slit her throat right then and there the “first time” I see her.

Not to mention Peeta. He is not going to be captured by the Capitol, we just need to have a plan on how to stick together and still get our trackers out, and still not hint that we know the rebel plan, both to the rebels and to the Capitol. Not to mention we have to survive until then. I want to make our alliance even bigger, bring in Seeder and Chaff, hopefully save Blight from Seven and Cecilia from Eight, though as much as I hate to say it Woof is not a contender, especially not when we already have Mags. I just want more Victors to survive. ANNIE! What are we gonna do about Annie?!

It’s like Peeta can read my mind. He squeezes my hand firmly and pulls me from my slowly growing panic at the thought of what is ahead of us.

“I’m nervous too.” he says quietly, drawing me closer to him. “Just take it one step at a time. We can worry about everything else later.” I give him a nod and lean back against his chest.

“One step at a time.” I repeated back to him.

“Exactly.”

The train ride goes quickly.

Dinner last night was exceptional, less protein consumption for both Peeta and I though we still asked to have more than usual, which definitely got us some weird looks, even weirder than on the way there. We all had roasted chicken with rice, though Peeta’s and I had a brown type and Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia had a blinding white one, a side of vegetables, a side of potatoes, and for dessert we had something called tiramisu. It tasted like a very sweet version of the coffee my mother inhales when we can get it. I still prefer hot chocolate, but if coffee always tasted like this, I’d drink it.

Breakfast was buffet style. Peeta and I had waffles with bananas, peanut butter, and walnuts, and a side of pineapple and bacon.

Peeta and I are being dressed now. Our prep teams are still back in the Capitol, they will not visit until it is time for the Victory tour, but we have a few press things to do back home so Portia and Cinna were sent to help. Something I am grateful for. I still love Cinna so much, and I am happy to introduce him to everyone. He will get along well with my family.

I am wearing another rendition of a little girl dress and the matching outfit for Peeta. This time though, they are both a light blue color, not far off from my reaping dress. My dress ends slightly above my knees and flares out widely from my hips. My white flats complement the bow in my hair, a braid pulling back the top portion and the bow tied at the end of it. I have light jewelry, and I don’t doubt I will be the only one in the District with it on anyway. At least my makeup is super light as well, barely having anything more than mascara and light blush.

Peeta’s blue shirt is half unbuttoned, giving him a slightly messy look with his tousled hair but that just means I can run my fingers through his curls without being yelled at, so I am more than happy with it. His khaki shorts fall to his knees and I can see his two healthy legs. I find myself looking at them more than I should, as if amazed. Peeta just gives me a big goofy smile when he catches me looking. He also has on coal black shoes.

We should pull into the station at any minute now. Just as I think that, a ringing sound starts as the brakes to the train slow us down. Cinna adjusts my hair one last time and I take Peeta’s hand tightly in mine. The doors open to loud cheers and many whistles, something not often heard in the District except at certain sports events, usually by said athlete’s family. Now, the entire district must be here, raucous as ever before and finally proud of something.

When Peeta and I step out, holding hands the whole way, the cheering gets even louder and I scan everyone, trying to see my loved ones. I spot a few of the cameras first, their glass pieces reflecting the midmorning sunlight, the heat already slightly oppressive as is normal for this time of year around here.

That’s when I see her. Prim is sitting perched on top of Graham’s shoulders. He is one of the tallest people in the whole district, so Prim sits well above most others and her waving arms draw my attention. Her wide beaming smile and her excited little face a healing balm to my wounds. This is why I am doing this all over again.

My mother is standing beside the Mellarks, Mrs. Mellark nowhere to be seen, the Hawthornes are also with our families, along with Madge.

We wave and when Peeta raises our hands together in a victory pose, the crowd gets even louder.

Eventually, Haymitch gestures both of us to the side. When we get off of the platform, Prim immediately runs towards me. Peeta lets go of my hand and puts his shoulder just behind mine, helping to steady me because when Prim finally reaches me, her little jump almost has both of us spiraling towards the ground. I just wrap my arms around my baby sister and she buries her head in my hair. Peeta has moved now that I am stable and when I peek at him I see both of his brothers wrapped around him tightly. That’s different.

My mom is standing beside both of us, looking on with longing. I just gesture with my head and immediately her arms wrap around both of us. She squeezes for a moment before one of her hands runs down the back of my head, a gesture she had done all of my life to comfort me.

“I am so happy you are here.” She whispers, overtaken by emotion.

“Me too Mom.” I give her a smile.

Prim finally comes out of my hair and I gently set her back down on the ground.

“Hi, Little Duck.” I gently pull one of her braids. She quacks back at me and then grabs my hand, dragging me towards the Mellarks and their reunion. My mother follows along behind us, laughing slightly.

“Hi!” She announces our presence to the bakers.

“Hello, Prim.” Peeta smiles lovingly, an older brother smile, as he runs his eyes over her, checking to make sure she is okay. And I love him all the more for it.

“I know we have the victory banquet and dinner tonight.” She begins, and I immediately know where she is going with this. “But will you all pleaseeee one day soon come over for dinner?” She whips out her puppy eyes and I know for a fact they are goners.

“Woah. Put those away!” Rye jokes, shielding his eyes. “We will. As long as those stop.”

Prim immediately drops them and smiles brightly. “Okay! Katniss can tell Peeta and he can let you guys know when and whatever.” She has grown up more in the last month than I could remember.

“Hey Prim,” Graham bends down to her height.

“Yeah?” She asks.

“You gotta tell us when they do something embarrassing alright? We won’t be there to see it all the time so you gotta tell us so that we can make fun of them.” Graham conspires.

Prim’s brow furrows. “What do you mean? Won’t you be in the new house with Peeta?”

The older Mellark boys share a look, leaving the youngest out of it.

“Likely not Primrose.” The baker says quietly, softly as if embarrassed. Good. He should be.

“That’s dumb.” She says with a roll of her eyes. “Peeta needs you. And none of you need to be in a house with her.” She puts emphasis on her last word, but nobody could misunderstand her meaning anyway. “Haven’t you been away from Peeta enough?” Oh. She’s good.

I join in with her searching gaze, hoping to change that this time around. Peeta doesn’t need to be in that big house all alone. I want to stay with him, sure, but even still, he needs his family. Plus, maybe they will be in the village when they fire bomb Twelve, maybe they can be saved.

The baker fumbles for a moment but Graham and Rye immediately look cowed and duck their heads. Then as if a switch had flipped, they look at one another, to Peeta, to me, and then to Prim.

“We’re in.” They say together.

Peeta perks up immediately. The baker looks at them in shock and then is obviously trying to work out whether he could or not.

“I want to. I just don’t know how that would work with the bakery?” He says almost under his breath as if trying to work it out himself.

“Dad. Just open the bakery an hour later and I could probably get you a bike or something to get there quicker in the morning. You won’t need as much money, you will have everything you want at my house, food, clothes, anything.” Peeta is obviously trying to contain himself, not get his hopes too high, but I can tell he would be crushed if his dad said no.

“Alright Peet. I am not saying it will work, your plan, but we can try it. If it is too hard, I will have to go back to the bakery, but we should be fine with that plan.” The baker compromises.

Peeta crashes into his father in a tight hug, the joy showcased in his large grin. Graham and Rye join the hug and when they separate both Rye and Graham pick up Prim and set her between them, on their shoulders. She giggles and pats both of them on their heads. They all start moving towards the Seam. I guess we are packing up our things first.

The cameras are still following us and we have a whole procession. The Mellark boys, the Everdeen girls, all of the Hawthornes, Madge, Haymitch, Cinna and Portia, and Effie.

Peeta and I catch back up with Madge on the walk there, mostly just her making suggestive jokes and sending us looks. She really wants to talk to us, and I don’t blame her.

Effie is in raptures, thanking everyone for coming to help move everything. I don’t have the heart to tell her that just the Everdeen’s could have carried all of our belongings to the village. We really don’t need this many people, especially because we don’t need any of the furniture.

When we do, eventually, get to the house you can see the minute her face falls. Even Portia and Cinna look surprised and send pitying looks in our direction, or not pitying, sympathetic might be the better word. I don’t even look at the camera men and their reactions.

Effie is almost completely silent as we pack up our belongings. Prim and I share one of the bags they brought and Peeta takes that from me to carry, not even asking, just throwing it over his shoulder as he grabs my hand. Mr. Mellark is carrying one large box of my mother’s healing things, Graham has the other smaller box with the rest of it. Rye has all of my mother’s things in one bag, and Haymitch grabbed the last remaining box with all of our nicknacks and things, not that there were many of them. Just a few pictures, and some family heirlooms passed down through the generations on dad’s side. Prim pulls her little wagon behind her, and though she told everyone to put their things in, they all refused. Rye even asked if she wanted to ride in it while he pulled her. She almost said yes, I could tell, but I’m guessing she didn’t want to look like a little kid on television because of the cameras. Instead, she places Buttercup into the wagon and pulls him. Lady is being led by Portia who was immediately taken with the goat… why? No idea.

We have to walk all the way back through town to get to the village and we make a stop at the bakery. Peeta quickly packs his stuff, and so does Rye, into one bag, though they share most of the same clothes anyway. Graham grabs his stuff and shares a bag with his father. I have no idea where the witch is, but I haven’t seen her once today and I can only hope this streak continues because I have no idea how I’ll react when I finally do. They pack up a few of their sentimental things, Peeta grabs his old used drawing pencils, Rye grabs his almost completely worn through football, Graham grabs an old looking kite, and Wheaton, as Mr. Mellark told me to call him, grabs a little box from one of the cabinets. They don’t touch any of the feminine stuff or anything they would already have at the new house like kitchen things or living room stuff. They pile most of the heavy things, the clothes bags and the healing supplies, in the wagon which Wheaton pulls, and then Graham carries one of the remaining boxes, and Haymitch carries another. Prim carries Buttercup because she is the only one he will let do that. Gale, Rye, and one of the camera men all got scratched when they tried. Portia still had Lady.

We have to split to get the “best footage of us moving in” as Effie says. Peeta gives me a quick peck and a smile before we both walk into our new old homes. Prim and my mom are in awe of the house, multiple floors, four bedrooms, four bathrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a study, an extra room, which is supposed to be for my talent but will be turned into a space for mom’s healing, and an attic for storage, along with a basement that has the second living room, a wine cellar, a storage room, and laundry facilities that are machines and not for hand washing. All in all a certifiable mansion compared to our tiny house back across the district.

Prim has already run upstairs, hoping to claim the best bedroom. She will end up with the one facing the back, it gets all of the natural morning light and we will paint it a light yellow color in the coming weeks, or pay somebody from town to do it, most like Cooper's family or a family from the Seam, wanting to spread the wealth. It has white wood furniture, a full dresser, a wardrobe, a double bed, a chair with blue velvet fabric stretched across the cushion, white bedside tables, and a little window seat with the same blue color fabric cushion, but this one isn’t velvet, just plain fabric cotton. We will order decorations from the catalog Effie will leave on the kitchen counter. We have money set aside exactly for this purpose, and an unlimited budget for the month, pertaining to the house.

Mother will end up in the back bedroom, this one faces the entrance to the village and out towards the district. It has plain walls that will become a tasteful blue color, as well as white furniture, the same as Prim’s just with darker blue cushions and her chair isn’t velvet and she does not have a window seat.

I will end up in the master bedroom. The biggest room in the house that has its own bathroom attached to it. It also has a walk-in closet, along with the dresser. I have light brown colored furniture but my bed is absolutely ginormous, even bigger than I remember from last time. Did I get a different bed?!

My room has a window seat, but it faces the house next to me. When I pull back the curtains, I can see Peeta moving around in his own room. He spots me when he turns around on the way to his dresser, a few shirts in his hand. He gives me a goofy grin, crosses his eyes like a dork and sticks his tongue out. I return the face and give a wave. He gestures with his shirts and I know he wants to hurry up with unpacking so we can get back together, though I doubt I will see him until a few hours from now. We have to get ready for the dinner being held in our honor tonight. The only good thing about this is we will be together and Madge will be there as well as our families.

I pull my curtains back into place, blocking myself from interacting with, and getting distracted by, Peeta. I quickly unpack my half of the bag. I pull out my hunting jacket, hanging it on one of the hooks in my closet. I stuff my few shirts into one of the dresser drawers and my pants into another one. My undergarments and pajamas go into the third drawer. I hang the two dresses I own and place my pin onto the top of my dresser, ready to be put on when I am done getting ready. My few toiletries go into my bathroom and I am completely unpacked.

Just in time too. Prim comes bursting through the door, talking a mile a minute about how excited she is and how Buttercup will love her room and the bay window and how Lady will have so much room to roam but how they will have to build a fence or some sort of housing for her. I mostly nod along, just trying to keep up with the words per minute flowing out of her mouth when Cinna walks in.

“Hello Girls!” He greets us with a smile.

“Hi, Cinna!” Prim chirps back, both excited and shy.

“Hi.” I smile back at him.

“Prim, I need to start getting your sister ready but I left you a little something on your bed if you want to go have a look?” He suggests.

Prim lights up and gives him a quick hug, thanking him all the while, before running out of the room and down the hall, obviously heading straight for her room.

“Okay. I have a few surprises for you later too, Girl on Fire.” he winks at me. “But first we need to get you ready.” He gestures to the bathroom and pulls a bag from out of nowhere. It has a bunch of the Capitol toiletries and things that I know have been on my body, but never paid attention to the reason for them nor how to actually do it myself.

After a real struggle trying to figure everything out, I am finally done with my shower and Cinna gestures to the electrical looking box. I definitely didn’t have one of those the last time. I press my finger to it and immediately my hair is dry and falls perfectly into place.

It takes another hour and a half but I am finally ready. I am in a black dress, but when I move the bottom flares and red, orange, and yellow are showcased. I love it. My hair is pulled up into a bun, but there are so many little braids that go into it. I know they will be a pain to get out later. My makeup is mostly light, but I have dark eyeliner which makes my light colored eyes stand out against my skin.

Prim has been trying to get in for the last half hour and Cinna finally walks to the door when she knocks this time. She almost falls in the room because she wasn’t expecting the door to open but when she sees me her eyes get huge.

“Woah.” She scurries to stand in front of me. “I wish I looked like you.”

“No. You look beautiful, Little Duck!” I smile at her. “Spin for me?”

She twirls in her new dress. Cinna made her a light purple dress and she has matching ribbons braided into her usual two braids and they tie into bows at the bottom. Cinna must have given her those too. She also has on white flats with tiny bows and her lips look shiny. Where she got lipgloss is anyone's guess but I would bet my money on Effie.

“Well, I think both of you look amazing.” Cinna smiles from his spot by the door. “Are you ready to get going? We need to walk to the justice building.”

Prim gives him a wide smile and a nod before she skips out of the room. I nod nervously. I still hate these events. At least I get to see Peeta.

We quickly got to the bottom floor. Effie is standing in her bright pink outfit and her wig is a dark blue. She is standing next to my mother who is very much the opposite of her colorful appearance. She is also in a new dress but she is in a dark green one that reaches the floor and flows like a river. I assume the Hawthornes will be there, as my cousins and aunt, which did happen again this time around., I asked Prim, and we will meet Haymitch, Portia, and the Mellarks there as well. Everyone gathers their final things, I slip my feet into a pair of black heels, thankfully not super tall because I have to walk across the district and back. Prim grabs a white sweater with pearl-like buttons. Mom grabs an over the shoulder wrap thing, I don’t actually know what it's called but it is a golden color. Cinna reaches into his pocket and he pulls out a familiar golden pin. I had forgotten it upstairs. He gives me a smug look but I don’t get a chance to reply because Effie claps her hands and ushers us out of the door.

When we finally get to the Justice Building, Peeta is the only one waiting outside. He was in a dark suit with a dark shirt. Due to his unbuttoned jacket you could see that the inside of his suit jacket was flame colored and seemed to move as he turned and gestured. He was quite a sight with his slick hair and fitted suit.

Effie quickly ushers everyone inside of the justice building and I know they will announce us any second now.

“Shall we?” Peeta asks as he offers me his arm.

I take it gracefully, trying not to laugh and answer back. “We shall, but not until Effie says so. You know she’d have our hides.”

Peeta throws his head back in a real laugh and I just giggle as I watch him. Last time we both just walked in separately and were awkward as can be. Now we are truly in love and fully caught up on everything happening around us, a lot of our knowledge even surpassing those plans.

“May I invite you to welcome the newest Victors, our very own star-crossed lovers, and Panem’s new favorite couple… Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!” Mayor Undersee introduces us. A few miners who were obviously hired for the event, based on their actions and their dress, open the door for us and we both smile as we step past them.

Most people in attendance have blue eyes and blonde hair, though there are a few who don't, namely the Hawthorne bunch and myself, along with the few hired miners who are working the event, likely making more in one night than they do in a week in the mines.

But when Peeta and I walk in, everybody rises and starts clapping, truly happy for both of us and Peeta and I wave as we walk to our table in the front of the room.

“Now, we have a short speech today and then we can let the festivities begin!” He gets cheers for that. After a long winded speech, likely mandated to him by the Capitol based purely on the language used, it is time to eat. They have managed to get quite a nice spread for us. When I look closely, though there are others as well, the main options are the same as that parachute from the cave.

Peeta and I make our plates and sit down to eat. Throughout the meal we are approached by several people at different times. Townies who had never once acknowledged my existence, except to mock or belittle me, were now opening singing my praises and congratulating Peeta on “finally pulling” me. Strange. Very weird to see everyone’s reactions. Yes, people were excited last time and even tried to get in our good graces then, but this is overwhelmingly more positive than that, I can’t figure out why. Is it because they know we were already together before the games? Or is it something entirely different?

The night moves quickly. We are officially presented with the keys to our houses, and have to endure multiple jokes about moving in together eventually, and the Mayor announces the date of the first parcel day for next Saturday, five days from now. District Twelve even breaks out our dancing, something usually only seen during the harvest festival or toasting celebrations. The rhythmic twirling and stomping creates a symphony that compliments the band well. I can see that Vick and Rory both are looking longing at the stage, they want to be playing as they usually would be, but tonight they are here in an official capacity so that is not available to them.

When the celebration eventually winds down, Peeta and I plant ourselves next to the door and wish everyone a good night and thank them for coming, like we were the ones hosting this and not required to come against both of our wishes. When it is finally only our team, Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia, along with our families, not including the Hawthornes, we are finally allowed to leave. The cameras still follow our every move and likely will until after parcel day which is when Effie, Cinna, Portia, and the cameramen board the train back to the Capitol.

We all walk back to the village, the older Mellark boys head straight to bed, they have to get up early in the morning. Rye and Wheaton for the bakery and Graham to head to the grocer to work with his future father-in-law. My sister is one minute from falling asleep, her excitement finally catching back up with her, so mom leads her into the house, telling everyone good night. Cinna, Portia, and Effie are all staying in Haymitch’s recently cleaned house in his guest rooms. I think the camera men are staying in one of the other houses, but I find I don’t care enough to find out. That just leaves me and Peeta outside. We sit on the edge of the fountain in the center of the village and I lean my head on his shoulder.

I don't want to part with him. Not to go to my empty bed with only nightmares waiting for me.

“We can’t stay together tonight.” I whine softly.

“I know, but as soon as these cameras leave we are going to be together every other night. It's just a little while.” Peeta rubs his thumb across my upper arm where his arm is wrapped around me.

“I don’t want to.” I say, turning even more into him for comfort.

“Me either.” He whispers, pressing a kiss on the top of my head. “But we do need to go to bed. Tomorrow we have some stuff to do. Effie said she is going to meet with us to show us how to order things and to help us with our orders for the decorations for the houses.”

I groan. That is not at all what I want to do tomorrow. I just want to get my bow and bring Peeta to the lake. That’s it.

“I know.” He whispers gently pressing into the bottom of my back to tell me to stand up.

“Okay. I will see you in the morning because there is no way I am doing that alone.” I wrap my arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around my waist.

He gives me a small shy smile and leans down to kiss me.

“Deal.” He whispers against my lips before he kisses me again.

He walks me to my door like the gentlemen he is and gives me one last gentle kiss. I burrow my face into his chest. I don’t want to let go.

“I love you.” My voice is muffled.

I can hear the grin in his voice, the lingering disbelief we both share at how easily those words slip from my lips.

“I love you too.” He gives me one last kiss on my head and walks back to his house.

I watch him halfway through the door and he waves at me as he shuts his door. I give him one back and step inside.

Now, I just have to convince myself to sleep. Something much easier said than done without him.

But now I know tomorrow and the next day and every day after that I will wake up right here. I am truly back in this place, back with my people, and nothing will be the same as last time. Not if I have anything to say about it.

And let’s just say, we are making sure the odds are in our favor this time.