#1ungs

peeta    is    still    unsure    of    just what    he    was    awaiting    when    he    tuned    into    the    annual broadcast    that    evening.    another    barbaric    tactic    by    the    capital    to    keep    everyone    in    line,    an    obvious    expectation.    thus    was    the    markings    of    every    passing    quarter    quell.    he    should've    considered    the    target    on    katniss'    back    to    have    a    heavy    hand    in    it.    he should've    seen    all    of    this    coming,    still,    he    didn't.

above everything else, he's    afraid.    but    he    knows    it's    not    for    himself.    & of    course    katniss    is    capable.    a    fine    survivor in    the    most    damp    of    circumstances.    she'd    proven    that    to    him    long    before    either    of    them    stepped    foot    on    that    stage    during    the    reaping.    but    this    is    no    longer    about    strength,    or    wisdom,    or    skill.    peeta    knows    corruption    when    he    sees    it.    he's    been    drowning    in    it    his    whole    life.   

maybe    he's    blinded    by    feelings    he    has    no    place    to    keep . . . maybe    he's    being    self    sacrificial.    & maybe    anyone    might    think    him    a    fool to    lay    down    his    chances    of    survival    just    to    save    someone    who    half    the    time    off    camera    can't    look    him    in    the    eye.    but    he    doesn't    care.    he's    at    haymitch's    house    before    he    can    even think to do    anything    else.    nothing    past    this    point    can    change    his    mind. ❝ yeah, i do, which    is    exactly    why    i    need    you    to    do    this.    for    me    and    you,    it's    a    fifty - fifty    chance    for    katniss,    it's a    death    sentence.    we    both    know    this    isn't    a    coincidence. we    can't    stop    her    from    getting    reaped    but    we    can    make    sure    that    she    wins.   ❞

the    promptness    of    his    technique    had    you    beat,    if    only    for    a    second.    but    that    second,    it    was    all    it    took,    all    that    was    needed,    for    him    to    knock    the    gun    clean    out from    your    bloodied    palms.

and    though    you    were    hardly    a    girl    to    be    easily    impressed    (    a    spit prideful,    some    might    say    ),    his skill briefly willed    a    private    candor. he's    good,    you    muse,    pulsing    your    neck.    for    a    kingsman.    but    you    don't    take    defeat    so    lightly.    come    to    think    of    it,    you    rarely    take a    defeat    at    all.