The Hunger Games Secret Snowflake

Okay, so I had really hoped to post this by midnight, but if @gentlemama happens to live outside the EST time zone, perhaps I’ll be able to make it in time for her gift, after all! This one is for you, my dear secret snowflake. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you this past month (and thank you for your patience, considering that I accidentally revealed my true identity on the second day of December…because I am an idiot). Also, thanks to @thgsecretsnowflake for organizing this exchange!

As always, my eternal gratitude goes to @dealanexmachina, the best sister/beta ever.

Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here. And if you haven’t already checked out the RL group that this fic is inspired by, I encourage you to check out this video.

Hope you enjoy the ending!

—

Peeta was in trouble.

As much as he kept telling himself to stay professional or remember the kids, the reality of the situation was that what was supposed to be an innocent schoolboy (or in this case, schoolteacher) crush was quickly snowballing into something else entirely. While he managed to keep himself in check during their interactions over phone or Skype, thoughts of Katniss had strayed into his mind with increasing frequency when he was alone - many of which were far more intense, and some of which were definitely not innocent.

He just couldn’t seem to get her out of his head.

Objectively speaking, he knew that his burgeoning feelings for Katniss were completely ill-advised. Sure, he was only a couple years older than her, but she was still in college. And his student’s cousin - something that could undoubtedly land him in hot water if Effie had any suspicion his motivation for working with Katniss was anything other than educational. And then there was the part about how they’d known each other for less than three weeks, and still hadn’t met yet…

None of this, by the way, seemed to matter to his students, who seemed determined to play Cupid. The other day, he’d overheard Leevy and Rue giggling about how they ‘totally ship Mr. Mellark with Miss Katniss’ - it took a visit to Urban Dictionary to discover what that meant, and when he did, he was equal parts relieved that ‘shipping’ didn’t refer to anything inappropriate and mortified at the level of interest the girls had taken in his love life.

Not that he didn’t ship himself with her, too, but that was a different point entirely.

Summary: Finnick, Peeta, and Gale attend Thom and Delly’s annual New Year’s Eve bash in the hopes of sending the year out with a bang. 

A/N: Rated E for explicit language and sexual situations. With many thanks to three girls on my star squad, @myusernamehere, @dandelion-sunset, and @jennagill for their friendship, support, and betaing skills. I love you girls! 

For @etherealfinnick, from your truant THGSS. I didn’t forget about you, chica. I’m just a horribly slow writer, especially since my family has been in town for the past two weeks (cue the violins). You asked for a fluffy holiday Odesta drabble, and hopefully you’re okay with whatever this turned out to be… <3c   

The house looked like a PG-13 version of a strip club. Thousands of gaudy lights pulsated in time to the “Carol of the Bells.” Thom’s idea, no doubt. A neon sign in the front window cheerfully proclaimed the presence of “Ho!Ho!Hos!” beyond the glass pane, a classic Delly touch if ever there was one. On the snow-covered lawn, a winking plastic Santa, finger knowingly nudging the side of his nose, sat like a pimp in his sleigh. His paunchy gut and rosy cheeks implied a shade or two of debauchery, a taste for something stronger than the occasional Christmas cookie. And the twinkle in his eye suggested he’d been more than a little naughty, too.

There was a fine line between a stripper pole and the North Pole, and Thom and Delly had plowed gleefully through that line, balls out and no looking back.

Finnick half-expected to be greeted at the door by a scantily clad elf in sequined pasties and reindeer antlers—he just hoped Thom wasn’t the elf. There were hardships he could endure in this world, but the sight of Thom’s voluminous manbreasts was decidedly not among them.

“Okay, here’s how this works, broskis,” Finnick said to his friends, flipping up the collar of his wool coat to shield his pretty face against the bracing wind. “Tonight shall henceforth be known as ‘Operation Hit and Quit It.’”

Under the mistletoe

I’m flaky.  I’m flighty. I’m generally an incredibly slow writer.  And, as usual, I’m unconscionably late.  I have two things in the works for you - an Everlark fic and a Peeta surprise, but RL has been kicking my butt so badly in recent days that I can’t even manager a bad poem or two.  I will have your gifts to you in just a few more days, though.

So I’ll leave you now with something that I hope will at least make you smile.

Chapter 1/1

Summary: Katniss and Peeta get snowed into their now shared house

For my lovely secret snowflake @the74thvictors

No warnings

what i need is the dandelion in the spring. the bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. the promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. that it can be good again. and only peeta can give me that.

so after, when he whispers, “you love me. real or not real?”

i tell him, “r e a l.”

{listen}

For my Secret Snow Flake @waitingformydandelion,  It has been so much fun to get to know you.  I too love books.  I hope you enjoy this short story, your Secret Snow Flake - @mega-aulover 

A New Year’s Everlark growing back together story for you. (written notes to and from Katniss and Peeta are Italicized)

PART ONE

“Make your choice, adventurous Stranger; Strike the bell and bide the danger, Or wonder, til it drives you mad, What would have followed if you had.”  Peeta re-read these lines over and over again.  In the silence of his home, he closed the book written by CS Lewis.  These words resonated with him.  It reminded him of the Capitol saying ‘Carpe Diem’ which meant ‘Seize the Day.’ For months since he came back (Katniss and Peeta) were sharing meals but did not speak.  Peeta wanted to hear her voice, she was still mute.  He was ready to make a choice and seize his moment.

Peeta walked across the yard, his breath coming out in slow, billowy puffs.  It was dinner time.  He walked into the house and Katniss was already sitting at the table.  He noted the way her eyes lit up at the sight of him.  She opened her mouth but nothing came out.  Peeta anxiously recalled the quote from the ‘Magician’s Nephew.’  He waited until the end of the meal.  When she stood to clean her plate, Peeta left the small note and returned home.

Katniss turned around to say his name but she could not.  Not just because she could not make noise but also because Peeta had left.  Angrily she walked over to the table to grab his empty used plate.  Then she saw it the scrap of paper neatly folded underneath.  She looked around as if someone was watching her.  She touched where he had written her name in neat, precise pencil strokes.

Her heart beat so quickly, she was afraid it was going to blow up in her chest.  Katniss swallowed as tears rushed to spill from her silvery eyes.  Carefully she unfolded the paper.  However, before she could read what was written she put it down and jumped backwards.  The note fell silently to the ground, she walked away, afraid of what it contained.

Four hours she sat on a chair just staring at the note.  It was a joke that the great huntress, survivor of two Games and symbol of the rebellion was afraid of a note.  Katniss swallowed several times.  Then with a burst of energy she ran to the kitchen, picked up the note and forced herself to read it.

“Katniss, Real or Not Real, I once made you cheese buns when you hurt your leg?”

Katniss swallowed and read it again.  At first she was mad that he would ask such a silly question.  Then she chastised herself, Peeta was only trying to recall the past.  Katniss debated whether she should write to him. After some deliberating if she should write back, she decided she owed it to him, to at least answer him.

To @bigdhutch,

I hope you’ve had a nice holiday season and continue to have an even better 2016. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend to me these last several years. Can’t wait for the day we get to see each other in person.

Love,

Dear @moviefangal,

Surprise, i’m your Secret Snowflake! 😊❄️I enjoyed sending you messages this past month and I hope you liked answering them, it was nice getting to know you and find out we have lots of common interests. 😍

I hope you like my gift to you, sorry I don’t have talents to make you a fanart or edits or write fics, lol, and I also thought this would be something different. Excuse my terrible voice and bad quality, it’s the best I can do with my laptop😅. I wish you a Happy New Year! 🍾🎉

❤️Love, 

For @shesasurvivor. Hi, I’m your @thgsecretsnowflake! Also, happy birthday! Hope it’s been wonderful! :)

He picks up the bread and tears off a piece, handing it to me. I take it from him, and pick up one of the prongs off the plate. He does the same. Together, we plunge them into the flames and watch as they grow golden. Without even having to say it, we both know when it’s time to take them out. Peeta pulls his off first, and feeds it to me.

“Katniss Everdeen,” he says as I chew the toasted bread, hot on my tongue but not anything more than I can handle. “I love you more than life itself. And I promise you, I’ll always be by your side.”

Tears well up in my eyes. I don’t even bother to hide them. Instead, I pull the bread off my own prong, and feed it to Peeta. “Peeta,” I say, but my voice catches in my throat. “Peeta Mellark,”  I begin again, my voice stronger this time. Then I falter, because I’ve always been bad at this stuff, even now when the words should be so easy and are so important.

In front of me, Peeta chews on his bread, and waits patiently, smiling at me.

And then it comes to me. In a soft voice, I whisper, “It’s always been real.”

Now the tears spring up in Peeta’s eyes. At the same time, we move towards each other and kiss, holding on to each other as tightly as we can. Peeta’s chest heaves; so does mine. Finally he pulls back and rests his forehead against mine. “Thank you,” he whispers.

I laugh through the tears and give him a kiss. For a long, long time, we’re just quiet as we hold each other, and the realization settles in on us. We’re married. We’re finally married.

This drabble is dedicated to the amazing Elise @andthisisthewonder​. Hi there Elise! I’m Sara your Secret Snowflake/SSF/Mystery Snowflake Etc. Its been very lovely getting to know you and it’s been fun reading all your drabbles and Fics. You have no idea how thankful I am that I was your SSF. I feel like I gained you as a friend and I hope you do too.

I wrote a Modern Au, i’m not the best writer and I really tried on this so please bear with me. I lost Photoshop on my Laptop about 3 months after getting the hard drive replace. So I haven’t been able to make anything and I really wanted to make you something. So I gave writing a go, and I hope you like it

@odairesta I was your Secret Snowflake! It’s been fun messaging you, and I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. I used a lot of your headcannons and it was fun to write. It’s definitely longer than I expected. Enjoy the new year!