#promptsinpanem

Katniss Everdeen elbows her way through the group of miners clogging the large metal building at the edge of District Twelve.

Diminutive stature notwithstanding, Katniss was now considered a full fledged adult as her last reaping was just over two months ago.

When the vividly pink woman from the Capitol pulled another girls’ name from the reaping bowl, she had been almost underwhelmed. Katniss had been prepared to go, knowing deep down, it was meant to be.

But it was a different Seam girl dragged to the stage that day.

She couldn’t figure out why it felt like the hand of fate sweeping the board clean. She continued on with her work, feeling strangely detached. Hunting, making her trades, caring for her family. It’s all just the business of living but she can’t help but feel that something is missing in her life, though she’s afraid to examine it further.

As she makes her way up to the worn wood counter, her thought is interrupted when she catches a thread of conversation that makes her drop onto a nearby chair.

“Peeta Mellark, the bakers kid, is working in the mine.”

Katniss can feel the color leach from her face.

“Yeah. I saw him comin’ out of the Justice Building with a hardhat.”

The very idea of it makes her sick to her stomach as she listens closely to the gossip spreading around the Hob. Every account is different, ranging greatly from person to person.

Every set of eyes caught a different view of the story and rushed to relay their parts. Katniss hung on their words, her brain trying to turn each recounted scenario over in her mind.

“Peeta refusing to marry the cobbler’s daughter before storming to the Justice Hall and signing up for the mines.”

“Peeta being tossed out on his ear by that harpy Mrs. Mellark as she rants how glad she is to be rid of him at last.”

“Peeta finally hitting his witch-of-a-mother back and being dragged away by Peacekeepers before being banished to the Seam.”

The tales grow more fantastic as she listens. But one thing’s for certain; people are saying that Peeta is now contracted to slave his life away in the same darkness that killed her father.

Katniss can’t repress a shudder as she hauls two unwanted squirrels off of Sae’s counter.

“You goin’ to be alright, girl? You ain’t lookin’ so hot,” Sae asks kindly.

“I’m fine,” Katniss states, shoving the remaining game into her bag before she darts out of the Hob and walks at a brisk pace until she reaches the Merchant quarter. Her stomach lurches as she treads closer to the bakery, stepping quietly up the back steps to knock.

The door is pulled open and a blonde head peeks out. Her heart thumps loudly...but it’s only Bran, the oldest Mellark son. With wide, disbelieving eyes, Katniss looks over his shoulder to find Mr Mellark peering at her sadly and with a small shake of his head, he returns to his work.

She takes the two small loaves in return for her squirrels and stumbles back down the stairs, lost in a haze as she walks the main road back to the Seam.

Peeta should’ve handed her that bread. He would’ve smiled at her and wished her a good day in the same warm voice as he had every trading day for the last two years.

Katniss looked forward to each and every one of those moments. He was the one person who had cared enough to save her after her father died and over time, Peeta had become something more to her...something special. Always with a kind word, smile or deed, Peeta made her hard days a little brighter.  

Cheeks flushed with anger, Katniss kicks a stone across the dirt road. How could this happen? How could Mr. Mellark allow his youngest son to be removed from the bakery?

Still absorbed in her thoughts even after the walk home, Katniss absently calls to Prim as she steps through the door and into the kitchen to prepare the rabbit she had saved for dinner.

“Prim, I’m home.”

Shaking, Katniss attempts to make the required cuts to remove the pelt and though she hears Prim’s soft footsteps, she doesn’t turn around trying desperately to get a handle on her emotions.

“Is everything okay?” Prim asks, eyes following Katniss’s jerky movements with concern.

“Yeah, it’s fine,”she says, a weak attempt at normal.

It’s so rare that a Merchant ends up in the mine that the knowledge would’ve spread like wildfire through the district. Prim’s next words shouldn’t have surprised her...yet somehow they did.

“I heard Peeta Mellark started at the mines today.”

The words were said softly but they caused Katniss’s stomach to twist anyway, her movements frozen with the knife in hand, fingers clenched so tightly the knuckles turned white.

The reaction was not lost on Prim and her sweet sister hugs her gently, making her eyes sting.

“I know Peeta always liked you, he was always staring at you in school,” Prim smiles. “You can really keep a secret Katniss, because until this moment, I didn't know you liked him too.” Katniss chuckled weakly, unable to summon the words to dispute it.

“You should talk to him.”

“I can’t.”

“I know you’re scared, probably even more so now, but Katniss...some things are worth taking a risk.”

Katniss smiles at her little sister, who all of a sudden, doesn’t seem so little. “I’ll think about it,” she murmurs and returns to her work.

******************

The talk dies down, no one has the energy to gossip for long.

Katniss is out a whole hour earlier than usual after another terrible night. Nightmares have plagued her since her father’s death and now they feature Peeta trapped in the dark. A constant reminder of why she should never seek him out.

But it’s out of her hands today.

Lost in her own head, Katniss didn’t see the stocky form walking down the path until she was practically on top of him. Her eyes met his and even through the layers of soot and grime she knows it’s Peeta. All blue eyes and dusty rumpled curls, but really it’s his smile that sets him apart. Shy and sweet..and always aimed at her.

Blue eyes take her in, and her own move over him in turn.

“Good Morning, Katniss.” His voice was low and gentle and the way he says her name makes her melt...it’s been too long.

“Hi Peeta.” Still of few words but she just can’t stop herself from returning his smile. She clears her throat, “are you just off your shift?” It’s a roundabout question that will confirm everything and he doesn't disappoint.

“Yeah, they put all the new recruits on the night shifts,” he confirms. “I live five houses down to the left. Moved in last week,” he points to an identical row of shacks to the side of them.

“Are you..okay?” She blurts.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” Peeta grins at the blush that stains her cheeks. “You can come see me if you want,” he scuffs his toe in the dirt and peeks up at her shyly.

“Maybe,” Katniss whispers and it’s enough to make him grin wider.

“I should go,” she says as her heartbeat kicks up.

Peeta must notice her pulling away but he doesn’t hold it against her. “Yeah, me too. Have a good day Katniss.” And with that, he turns and walks down to his new home.

Her eyes follow him the whole way.

**********************

Katniss avoids him for the rest of the week. Though she still leaves early enough to prop herself against the corner of a house, just out of his view, needing to see with her own eyes that he makes it home safe. By the end of the week, she sees that he’s already losing weight and his shoulders are starting to slump.

Guilt burns through her. Peeta was there for her when she was at her lowest and now she can’t even drop by his house to make sure he’s okay? She has no idea if he knows where to get food or supplies. Surviving in the Seam is very different from living in town.

With a sharp nod to herself, Katniss continues to the woods with one thing on her mind. She will be visiting Peeta tonight with something worthy of settling the debt of her childhood.

The woods are plentiful. Boasting wild apple trees and the last berries of the season. The snare lines gives her two rabbits and she shot a few squirrels with her bow. Just then the wind turns and she hears it, a faint gobble coming from the other side of the hill and Katniss grins to herself as she rushes silently to the covey.

A turkey would make a fine gift indeed.

She lets her arrow fly.

****************

Tired from the hunt but flushed with pride, Katniss carefully made her way out of the woods with her bounty of not one...but two turkeys, stuffed in her large game bag. She was forced to shed her father’s old flannel shirt so she could tie it into a sack for the rest of her haul. Shrugging her jacket back on over her undershirt she pulls the bags over her shoulders.

She moves slowly toward the bustle of the hob, muscles straining under the weight of her game bag. Sae is more than happy to take one of the turkeys and both of the rabbits. It’s a fair amount of coin that she quickly places in her pants pocket.

Katniss heads off to town for the rest of her trades. Two squirrels to the baker for two loaves of bread. The scowl was free.

Berries to her friend Madge, the Mayor’s daughter who was never one to gossip but does ask about Peeta. “Is he alright?” “Have you seen him?” “Is he really working in the mine?” All Madge’s questions were met with her quiet but affirmative answers. It reminds Katniss that she has somewhere to be and with a quick goodbye, she hurries off her destination.

With her load lightened, she makes good time. Turning up in front of the fifth house on the left, she scuffs her boot not quite ready for this moment. The night shift doesn’t begin for at least two hours so she bites her lip, hoping she’s not about to wake him and reaches out to knock.

Katniss hears a ruckus inside before the door flies open, startling her. When her eyes focus, she’s met by a solidly muscled chest, pale with just the faintest sprinkle of blonde hair. A white, unbuttoned shirt frames it perfectly.

“My eyes are up here, Everdeen.”

Katniss feels heat rushing to her cheeks as her jaw snaps shut. Peeta’s amused tone doesn't help the situation as embarrassment flows through her. She is seconds away from running when his soft voice coaxs her to meet his eyes.

“I was just kidding, Katniss,” he adds, hurriedly buttoning his shirt closed. “Would you like to come in?”

“Okay.” She brushes past him as he holds the door open for her.

The inside of the tiny shack is sad and bare and she shouldn’t be surprised but she is. Not a single remnant of his town life can be seen. A threadbare couch, rickety table and chair are the room’s only occupants.

The Baker might get more than a scowl from her the next time she sees him.

How dare they send Peeta away with nothing but the clothes on his back! A throat cleared behind her and she turned quickly. Now it seems he’s the embarrassed one with streaks of pink highlighting his cheeks and it makes her heart kick hard in her chest.

“I know it’s not much…” Peeta trails off, because what else can he say?

She scrambles to think of something to lighten the mood. “I guess it could use a little color.” It makes him chuckle and Katniss beams.

“Can I get you some water?”

“No. I just ...I brought this for you.” she says, pulling the large bird from her bag.

His sapphire eyes are wide and glued to the turkey, “Katniss, I can’t accept that, I have nothing to trade.”

“It’s not a trade. It’s for you,” she tells him stubbornly.

“Why?”

She wonders how he could ask that. “You gave me food once, when I needed it.”

“You mean the bread, from when we were kids? I think we can let that go.”

“It’s not just because of that. I just... want you to have it.”

“Katniss, it’s killing me to admit it, but I don’t know what to do with a bird that size,” he says ruefully. “You should take it home to Prim.”

This is not going the way she pictured. Katniss would hand him the turkey, he would be grateful and smile then her debt would be paid.

Then it dawns on her. He doesn’t know how to process the bird. All his family’s meat had come from the butcher and her squirrels were only a single meal and were already prepared for cooking by her own hands. Peeta hasn’t learned how to parcel it out, canning soup and drying jerky so he’ll have food for later. A process she happens to be familiar with after years of winter preparations for her family.

Katniss knows what she needs to do.

“I’m not taking this turkey anywhere Peeta Mellark. We have over an hour before you have to get ready for your shift and you’re going to help me gut this bird,” she shakes it by the neck for emphasis. At his raised eyebrows, Katniss realizes this is probably the most she’s ever said to him.

A smile stretches across his face followed by a bark of laughter. He flings his arm towards the kitchen and offers gallantly, “after you.”

By the end of the hour they have the turkey parted out into several meals. The bones soaking in water for broth, and a large portion cooked for his dinner and breakfast tomorrow. The meat and soup pot takes up most of the banged up coldbox, seeing all that empty space made her glad she had come by today.

Katniss closes the metal door and turns, catching Peeta watching her thoughtfully, “I’ll be back tomorrow, same time.” She states as she loops her game bag over her shoulder and starts for the door.

“Katniss...” she hesitates as Peeta carefully takes her hand. “Thank You.”

His large hand envelops hers and a quiet, “you’re welcome,” leaves her lips before he pulls away and she walks outside.

The skin of her hand tingles all the way home.

**********************

The following day Katniss gathers all the herbs she can find, along with more apples, mushrooms and acorns. The snares yielded four rabbits and she shot as many squirrels, making it a good haul. She made her way through the meadow with a skip in her step, rushing through her trades, selling all but two rabbits to Sae so she could skip the bakery.

Katniss walked briskly home to drop off a rabbit and collect all the unused jars, and supplies she could find before going straight to Peeta’s.

His door swings open at the first knock, a grinning Peeta stands before her wearing a smartly buttoned grey shirt.

“Hello Katniss,” his eyes darted to her game bag which was full to bursting.

“My eyes are up here, Mellark,” she blushes when he laughs at her joke, causing her to chuckle a little herself.

“Please come in,” Peeta says through a smile, ushering her through to the kitchen. She can feel the warmth of his hand hovering over her lower back, wishing for a moment he would let it settle there.

Weeks go by in the same fashion, and to her surprise, the comfort and ease she feels around Peeta continues to grow. They talk, more and more and Katniss is sure she’s never said as much in her whole life. And he laughs when she makes a joke even if it's one he’s heard before. She lives for his smiles, lucky for her they are plentiful and cause her own.

*********

The woods have been generous, allowing her to fill her family’s winter stores as well as Peeta’s. The beauty of the turning trees and fragrant cool air infuses her with energy. So, while winter is always on her mind, this year, it doesn’t loom as fearfully as in years past allowing her to enjoy her days and evenings with Peeta.

Now, most of the time anyway, she arrives empty handed...but he’s no less happy to see her. They talk and laugh, small innocent touches become the norm, and while she can see the exhaustion in his face, Katniss can see joy there too, it makes her giddy to think she’s the cause.

One day, they’re diligently canning more soup and he suddenly stops, looking at her intently, his usual smile is absent and it makes her frown.

“Katniss…” Peeta glances over to his rapidly filling pantry, “why are you doing this?”

She shrugs, dipping the ladle back into the soup pot.

“Is this all about some imagined debt? Because you don’t owe me anything,” he says gruffly. Peeta reaches out and stills her motions, setting her work to the side. And when he turns the full force of those big blues eyes on her, she caves.

“At first...it was about repaying a debt,” Katniss offers, her voice just louder than a whisper.

“And now? What is it for you now, Katniss?”

“It’s for me,” she answers simply.

Moving another step closer before standing on her tiptoes, Katniss leans in quickly and presses a quick kiss to his cheek but she finds herself lingering there, nuzzling his jaw gently.  Peeta brings his hands to her waist to steady her. Pulling away slightly, she meets his eyes as they darken, a sigh breathing out as he moves forward to return a kiss to her cheek.

Peeta leans away, his hot eyes fixed on her, waiting. He would never take more than she allows and knowing that is enough to give her courage to lean up and meet his lips.

The kiss is her first.

It’s soft and warm and she moves nearer just as he drawers her closer. He breaks the kiss sooner than she would like but soothes her with a flurry of tiny pecks across her face, making her chuckle.

It is the first of many days spent this way.

************

It’s been more than a week since she’s seen him. Katniss had to spend every last minute she could in the woods, taking advantage of the temperate weather to gather as much as she was able before the cold blew in, sending her quarry to their burrows.

She’d missed him.

Just seconds after her knock Peeta swung the door widely, his smile falling into confusion as Katniss jumps into his arms, knocking him off balance. They crumple to the floor and her flurry of desperate kisses makes him laugh and their teeth clink. Katniss tries to refocus him to the task at hand and is successful when she slips her cool hands under his shirt. A low groan vibrates his throat and makes her shiver.

Peeta’s head thumps lightly back to the floor as he studies her with heavy lidded eyes.

“I missed you too.” Peeta runs his hands up her arms and over her back. She doesn’t know if it’s his words or his wandering hands that cause her entire body to flush as heat settles in her core.

Still atop of him on a dust covered floor, and Katniss knows there’s no place she’d rather be. She carefully moves her legs to straddle him and his eyes go wide.

“Katniss-”

She can feel him hard beneath her and gives into the urge to press against him. A gasp rises unbidden and Peeta moans in return as his hands drop to her hips. The pressure of his grip is euphoric and she moves again.

Katniss sits up, gaining the leverage she needs, and not to be outdone, Peeta follows. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kisses him deeply, grinding her center against him, chasing that burning pleasure. His hands loosen their grip and move up her sides until he brushes the underside of her breasts. At her nod, those hands cup over her breasts. The sensation is as overwhelming for her as it is for Peeta who can’t stop his hips from thrusting up, her loud moan is all the approval he needs as he does it again and again

“Katniss..sorry..I’m already close,” he grunts in her ear. The feel of his lips at her ear, hot and soft is enough to send her flying to her peak. As she gasps and shakes through her release, Peeta wraps his arms around her tightly, thrusting harshly twice more before coming with a loud groan that she can feel vibrating through her chest. They collapse onto the floor in a breathless heap, the occasional shudder still running through them.

“I’ve loved you forever you know...”

Peeta’s voice was sleepy, hardley a whisper. She probably wouldn't have heard it if her face wasn't tucked into the crook of his neck. She pulled away minutely and his muscles went rigid as he cautiously met her eyes.

Katniss waited for a wave of fear to roll her under but it didn’t come, having drained away, drop by drop over the months they’d spent together.

She wasn’t quite ready to return the words though, so instead, she leaned up and kissed him. His body slowly relaxed, a grin lit his face as he hopped up and offered her a hand up off the floor.

******

The beauty of fall was gone, giving way to the somber notes of winter. Grey permeated everything in the district, lowering Katniss’s mood.

Quotas had been extended at the mine so her evenings with Peeta were also cut short. Many afternoons he barely had the energy to eat before laying his head in her lap.

“I’m so tired, Katniss.” he whispers before falling into a fitful sleep for their remaining time together. After seeing the purple hollows under his eyes she can’t begrudge him that extra hour of much needed rest. Katniss contented herself with his presence, running her fingers through unruly curls, pressing light kisses to his forehead until it was time to wake him.

****************************

A distant rumble of thunder wakes her out of a sound sleep. Katniss leans up slowly, scanning the dark room, trying to explain the feeling of dread welling in her chest. She's warm, she'd bundled herself in every layer she owned before bed, it makes her groggy and sluggish and she shakes her head to clear it.

A horn blast wales through the night. He heart leaps into her throat, it only takes her seconds before she’s flying off the bed and racing out of the house, leaving her hunting boots sitting lonely by the door.

Her panic forces the air out of her lungs. Faster, faster until she reaches it.

The Mine.

Body numb with cold, Katniss stares at the gaping maw before her. The entrance is dark and unforgiving, if there are other people around she doesn’t see them...can’t see them.

Katniss’s eyes are trained on the mouth of that unforgiving beast, begging it silently to release it’s jaws and relinquish its prey. Finally, there’s movement and the clang of metal as men heave out onto the frozen ground.

But none of them are Peeta.

She wants to scream.

Katniss claws her way through the crowd to get a closer look, but all the forms are rangy and unfamiliar. She moves closer, gliding right through the mine guards as they try to hold back the crowd. Walking ever closer to the black of her nightmares.

To get Peeta, she will go down there herself.

Just as she reaches out, another metal bang vibrates her eardrums, and another load of men spill out into the dark. She looks them over but can tell immediately they are Seam. The wail has just started to build in her throat. Her eyes swing to the back frantically searching, eyes catching on a crumpled form on the steel floor. Blonde hair peeks through the soot but his eyes remain closed. Katniss starts to leap in after him but is grabbed from behind and hauled back fighting and screaming, but a voice from her past breaks through.

“Katniss, calm down, I’m going to get him. Run to your mother and tell her to get ready.” Gale says. She hasn’t seen him in years, not since he started in the mines. She’s not sure she can trust him with this.

“I’m not going to leave him! I’m not going to do that!” She screams and tries to shake herself loose.

“You’re wasting time he doesn’t have. Go now. We’ll be right behind you.”

His words finally register and she meets Gale’s eyes.

“Go! Run!”

As soon her feet hit the earth, she’s running. Back to the Seam. Back to the shack she calls home.

Katniss throws open the door, screaming for her mother. Giving her what little information she has as the words shake out through dry sobs.There’s a commotion only minutes later, four miners carry Peeta on an old wooden door and move him quickly to the table Mrs. Everdeen has prepared.

Peeta is awake now, but she almost wishes he wasn’t. The sounds of his agony breaks her heart, sending streams of tears down her cheeks. She watches her mother spring into action, looking Peeta over carefully before using shears to cut the fabric away for his mangled leg. Even that caused Peeta to cry out and her mother moved quickly to the head of the table, sorting through different vials until she found what was needed.

Katniss moves closer to his side and his pain filled blue eyes meet hers. Tears cut trails down the dust on his face and she feels so helpless, like all she can do is hold his hand and cry. Her mother tips a vial into his mouth and he sputters weakly. Katniss watches his eyes blink slowly, then they remain closed.  

Her mother pulls her away and tries to explain but the jumble of words doesn’t quite make sense. Words like crushed, blade, sleep syrup, amputate. Time speeds up and Katniss turns to the side to cough up bile on the floor.

“I’ll ask Gale to hold him down.” Her mother says.

“No.” Katniss chokes.

“Katniss, it has to be done, the longer we leave it, the higher the chance a blood clot will kill him.”

“Can you wait...just...wait. Please.” She’s begging now.

Her mother frowns, “I’ve dosed him with sleep syrup, he’ll be okay for now but it won’t keep him out when we remove the leg.”

Katniss gathers all the strength she has left.

“Don’t do anything...I’ll be right back.” And with one more longing look at Peeta, she heads for the door then breaks into a run.

Sprinting across town to the richest house in the district, it’s after curfew but she can’t bring herself to care. It feels like she’s been darting through shadowed streets for hours but it's only been a handful of minutes.

Katniss pushes herself harder.

She arrives at Madge’s dizzy and heaving but she bangs on the door as hard as she can and when it opens, she’s surprised to see her friend standing there instead of a servant.

“Katniss! Was he down there?”

Breathless, she can only nod.

“Is he hurt?” Madge asked worriedly.

“Please,” Katniss managed to weaze. “They’re going to take his leg….do you have anything?”

“Wait here.” Madge shuts the door quickly, leaving Katniss to slump against the wall for support, her legs shaking so badly she can hardly stand, the shock setting in.

She hears a creak and Madge is holding out a small box full of glass tubes, “It’s morphling. It will help.”

Katniss stares at the box.

“Take it Katniss!” Madge’s words wake her and she snatches the box before racing back, through the dark and deserted streets.

She doesn’t remember returning home or handing the box to her mother. All she knows is that she’s standing over Peeta, watching his chest move as he breathes. Katniss lifts her hand and gently pushes the curls away from his face. If he wasn’t so pale, he could just be sleeping.

Her mother approaches with a syringe full of morphling and injects it into his vein. “Katniss, you should go outside. You don’t need to see this.”

“I can’t leave him.”

“He’s going to need you to be strong when he wakes up. Go outside and Prim will come get you when it’s done.”

A hand is at her shoulder, pulling her away. She tries not to resist as she’s dragged outside and propped against the wall, a heavy blanket shoved into her hand. There’s a heavy chill in the air as a wave of exhaustion hits her, sinking her down onto the rough wooden porch. She notices for the first time that her bruised and bloody feet are visible through large holes of her woolen winter socks, she tucks herself under the ratty quilt. Crying, Katniss drops her face into her hands and tries to think of anything other than what’s going on inside.

She begins to think of Peeta, the first time she made him laugh, the first time she kissed him. Katniss gets lost in memories of his smell, his sweet smile, his warmth and the feel of him under her hands.

An hour ticks by, then two. The sun was just starting to crest when Prim came outside to fetch her.

“Katniss?”

She tries to scramble up but her frozen muscles creak with the effort, tripping and almost crashing into her sister. Prim stays calm, grabbing Katniss’s shoulders firmly.

“He made it through the surgery.”

Katniss begins to gasp for breath until a relieved sob breaks free.

Prim hugs her tightly, “He’s going to be okay, Katniss. We were able to save his knee, that will make all the difference when he starts to walk again.” Prim says as she releases her grip.

“Can- can I see him,” Katniss manages through tears.

“Yes, of course,” Prim says, quietly leading the way inside.

In a daze, Katniss walks across the fire warmed room, ignoring the instant pins and needles that prick her skin after being in the cold for so long. She sidles up to the table and takes Peeta’s hand. It’s warm. So unlike the pale coolness when he was first brought here. Taking note of the sheet draped over him. Noticing the empty space on one side where his lower leg should be.

It doesn’t matter. Not to her.

Her mother sets a stool nearby and Katniss gingerly sits at his side, gently stroking the skin of his hand, leaning up to brush the curls away from his face.

Katniss can’t seem to stop touching him. Needing to reassure herself that he’s alive. She wants to see his eyes, but can’t begrudge him this deep sleep. Safe from the pain and their reality as he starts the long road to recovery.

A hand perches on her shoulder. Her mother is looking at her kindly, “We have to keep him asleep for the next three days, that should get him through the worst of the pain and give the incision a headstart on healing.”

“Thank You,” Katniss squeezes her eyes shut, causing a tear to run down her cheek. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if…”

“I know, honey.” With a final squeeze, her mother wanders back to the kitchen to speak to Gale.

Katniss watches her mother walk away, the last vestige of her harbored anger evaporates. Because her mother does know.

She knows exactly what it’s like when the thought of being without someone makes you want to stop breathing... but she saved Peeta last night, now Katniss would not suffer her fate.

Peeta’s face is relaxed, his breaths are deep and rhythmic, the gentle cadence makes her eyelids start to droop. Bone weary but not wanting to leave his side, she leans down and softly kisses Peeta’s cheek before laying her head beside him as sleep rolls her under.

********************************

On the third morning her mother shooed her out of the house so she could check Peeta’s incision and change the dressings. Katniss meanderes her way through the Seam, she doesn't realize where she’s going until she’s standing in front of Peeta’s house.

She half expects him to throw open the door, a wide smile and a joke on his lips.

But he can’t.

Because he’s laying on the kitchen table in her house, drugged to sleep and missing a leg.

She shakes herself. He’s alive. That’s all that matters. It’s no secret that he will be staying in the Everdeen home for the foreseeable future. Pushing open the door, Katniss quickly walks inside, taking note of the dried dandelions on the table and she promises to bring him more in the spring.

Moving over to the pantry, she starts packing up the food that they had made together. Stopping to stare at a jar of turkey stew for an obscene amount of time, long enough that her eyes started to sting and water.

Shaking her head she continues to load her game bag with as many provisions as she can carry. She’ll have to make at least two trips to move it all, Peeta had been well stocked for the coming winter.

With the top shelf of the pantry nearly empty, she can’t help but see it.

It’s a little green paper box that has been carefully constructed by a loving hand. Like something you’d see at a merchant shop in town. It would house a bauble or trinket, maybe a special sweet.

It seems private, but she can’t stop herself from reaching for it.

Katniss stares at the box in her shaking hand as she carefully removes the top. Inside, nestled on a bed of velvety dried moss is a small silver color band most likely made of tin.

The design, that has been painstaking and lovingly carved.

Tiny katniss flowers.

Her knees buckle and she slides to the floor, tears spilling down her face as Katniss clutches it tightly to her chest.  

****************************

She returns home much later to a groggy but awake Peeta.

Her mother had had him moved to Katniss’s room once his incision was no longer in danger of reopening. But it's been so long since she's seen his eyes. They were duller than she remembers but the elation that must show on her face makes him smile, it may be small but it means everything. It means he’s alive, it means he’s still with her.

The beginning of his recovery is difficult but he bears the strain with dignity. Katniss is truly shocked when not one of the Mellarks show up to check on him. They must’ve heard by now, surely.

In her disbelief she slips up and mentions it, immediately wanting to kick herself when Peeta's face falls.

“They won’t be coming, Katniss. Not now, not ever.”

“How could they not at least stop by after what happened?”

“I was disowned the day I left the bakery. I have no doubt my mother went directly to the Justice Building to make it official so I’m no longer part of that family.”

“But why?”

“My mother had arranged for me to marry.”

A chill courses through her.

“I refused. I didn't want my parents' marriage, a lifetime of misery. I suppose my mother thought she could beat me into submission. This time I couldn’t let her and when she tried, I caught her hand and flung it away. She started screaming about calling Peacekeepers but I told her I’d save her the trouble... so I left. Walked around the district and then headed to the office to apply for the mine, when I got there, a box of my clothes was waiting.”  

The tears came unexpectedly and she quickly wiped them from her cheeks, but of course he saw.

“Katniss...don’t cry...not when I’m getting to the good part.” He begs as he pulls her hand away, cradling it between his own.

“The good part?”

“The best part, I think.” He says sweetly. “When I left that life I felt free for the first time. Whatever choices I made were my own. I had planned to save up for a year or so. I wanted to woo you, show you I could be a worthy partner but you ruined my plans Katniss...and you made me happier than I ever thought possible.”

She fumbles through her jacket pocket, then places the small green box on his chest.

“I found it. When I was packing up the food.”

“How do you know it was for you?” He jokes and her eyes go wide before narrowing with her scowl.

“I seem to remember you saying that you've loved me forever.....I think you want to marry me someday.”

“Supposing I said something like that, what would your answer be?” Peeta stares at the small box that now rests in his hand.

“Yes.”

“What?!” It’s almost a shout.

“My answer...it’s yes.” She shrugs, as if it was inevitable, as if she would have always said yes.

“I don’t...I don’t have anything to offer you now, maybe we shouldn’t.” He looks to the place where his lower leg should be.

“Peeta Mellark, are you taking back your proposal?” Her scowl is back full force.

“NO! But..”

“I said yes and that's the end of it.” Katniss unceremoniously removes the ring and places it on her finger before carefully cuddling into his side.  

“Whatever you say Everdeen.” Peeta murmurs with sleepy eyes and an adoring smile. “So...does this mean..”

“That I love you?” She can hear the breath hitch in his chest. “Yes, Peeta. That’s exactly what it means.”

He gathers her closer and she can feel his smile when he kisses the crown of her head.

“I love you too, Katniss.”

*****************

The first snow had just begun to fall when their whole world changed.

Katniss was packing up the last of Peeta’s supplies, loading the last jars into her bag. Thinking over the events of last night, and this morning when they had quietly announced their engagement. 

Mother and Prim were happy for them.

Katniss hummed as she let herself out of the little shack. The sound cut off by a loud siren blast.

Not for the Mine…..but for the Reaping.

People, startled and confused, started making their way to the square. She could hear crying children, followed by the angry raised voices of adults.

What could the Capitol possibly want now?

With her family safe at home, Katniss decided to find out.

She moved into the throng, bumped and jostled until she finally stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Twelve as the screens in front of the Justice Building lit up.

A gasp echoed through the crowd as they were addressed by a serious looking man dressed in grey military garb.

The words that followed made her heart pound so hard she could barely hear over the sound.

“People of Panem.” His voice boomed. “Today We Celebrate Your Freedom!”

Author’s Note: Hello y'all... I know the deal was to finish a WiP in two weeks in honor of Kika, but I just wasn’t able to do it, even working on this when I was supposed to be sleeping... anyway, here are the first 1000 or so words of Chapter 2 of Sister Wives. I was only able to do minimal editing on this puppy, but I will post the finished fic by the end of October... It's almost complete, and ready for editing!!!

Thank you @promptsinpanem for hosting this “In Memorian” round. Authoreskika will certainly be missed.

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