#And I think you could argue that it started with Peeta

[motherofmabari]

President Snow told Katniss to make the Districts believe the berries were an act of love, not of rebellion.

I think what he failed to understand is they were one and the same.

[leviathanspain]

his embrace

finnick odair x reader

synopsis: finnick odair, capitol sweetheart and the thorn in your side

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standing on the plate, you nearly broke your neck looking for him. frantically you looked, your eyes straining to see across the water, it was no use as the timer went off, and you had forced yourself to dive into the water.

your lungs felt like the could burst, but you ran towards the cornucopia, lifting yourself just over the edge only to be pulled back into the water. a career tribute was on you, you could tell as you fought him in the water. but you were losing, as you weren’t able to catch your breathe before you had been pulled back in.

only did the sight of a knife though the career’s chest did you feel some relief. someone had saved you. your body relaxed slightly, and your chest stopped trying to fight for the oxygen, and your eyes closed, your body feeling heavy as you passed out.

the buzzing of arguing flooded your ears. water had them plugged, and as you sat up, coughing up water, you heard the arguments cease, as other tributes rushed to your aid.

finnick was the first you saw, and he grabbed your shoulder, patting your back as you tried to spit out all the water.

you took a good inhale of the air and realized that you were deep in the jungle. along with finnick was katniss and peeta.

without saying anything, you embraced finnick. finnick laughed, hugging you tightly.

you pulled back and kissed him, “i thought i was dead. no one this pretty would be in my version of the afterlife.”

finnick laughed, “you wound me, darling.”

katniss and peeta shared a look, but stayed silent. suddenly the reasonings for why finnick had argued with them to keep you alive was now ever so obvious.

you looked at them, almost forgetting they were there. “katniss, peeta. normally my greeting wouldn’t be so half assed but, then again i’m not normally fighting for my life.” you offered a smile and only peeta gave back a weak one.

days and events had passed by you, and you were getting more and more irritated with your situation. you didn’t think that you would end up arguing with finnick over your safety, after offering to head into the jungle for some wood to build a fire.

“i can do it, finnick.” you rolled your eyes, hoping that he would relent as he usually did. but he wasn’t going to this time, especially with such danger all around.

“no. i alreayd lost mags, i cant lose you.”he shook his head, and you rolled your eyes, “finnick, do i have to remind you that i’m not entirely defenseless? i won my games too.”

but finnick wasn’t budging, and instead he pulled you back towards katniss and peeta, “i said no. im not letting you go in there.”

“if you’re jealous that i’m the one with a cool nickname just say so, don’t start acting like some sort of keeper.” you grabbed one of the knifes he had lying around on the beach and moved into the jungle, “don’t wait up.” you called.

finnick had followed you in, but you had mastered silent footsteps, and you were hard to track.

as you ventured deeper into the jungle, you felt regret in your stomach as you thought about finnick. you had disregarded his comment about mags, and you felt like an asshole.

you stopped, and thought about going back. but you had already left, and you couldn’t go back empty handed. but the screams are what sent you into a run. his screams, your name in the screams had you screaming back.

“y/n! help me!” his voice was on your ears and you ran, “finnick? finnick where are you?” as you tried to run back to camp, you heard birds wings flapping, and you realized that it was jabberjays, and as you swung your knife around to get them to stop, all you could do was listen to the rest of his screams, his mixed in with your families screams.

finnick had heard you scream, and realized he was a lot closer than he thought. you were crying, sobs recognizable as he ran, seeing you cursed up in a ball with a group of birds flying over you.

he realized as your screams intensified what they were. he pulled you up to your feet and practically picked you up, running with you back to the beach.

as he ran, you clutched onto him, crying and muttering apologies, he set you down just a few feet away from katniss and peeta, “stop. it’s not your fault. it’s okay, see? im fine, i’m right here baby.” he kissed you, and finally you calmed down, nodding as tears fell from your eyes.

“oh, finn.” you hugged him, “that was so stupid. im sorry, i promise i won’t do that again. i won’t leave you again, finnick.” you reassured, and hugged him, just as katniss and peeta neared the two of you, questions about your well-being buzzed in your ears.

[queuestarter]

daybreak

(johanna mason x reader)

cw: none- just two girls in love

link to the request → grumpy x sunshine during training for the quarter quell

open to submissions/asks

You watch from across the room as Johanna strips off her training uniform and begins to rub oil all over herself. You shake your head in amusement and refocus on the conversion you’re having with your district mate and close friend, Beetee.

“I wonder what the reason they put the forcefield up this year is,” he comments offhandedly while observing a piece of wood as he attempts to figure out how to start a fire. You sit opposite him, not having much luck either.

You didn’t win your first games by fighting or learning survival skills. You won by appealing to the audience.

“Maybe someone attacked them. Or maybe one of the Gamemakers fell over the balcony,” you giggle, throwing down your two sticks as Katniss walks over to you.

You’ve never met her, but of course you know all about her. Who doesn’t at this point?

“Hello,” you friendlily greet her. She stands over you and Beetee awkwardly. “Do you know how to make a fire with two sticks? We’re awful at it.”

She sits down at the station with you. “Yeah, but I haven’t done it in a while. Let me see…” she grabs some sticks and begins to rub them together.

For the next ten minutes that you three spend at the station, a friendly rapport grows. You talk about many things, like the forcefield, productivity in your districts, and a few other topics. Eventually, she starts asking if you’re going to join any alliances.

“I think so,” you say hopefully. “I know me and Beetee are going to stick together. Johanna, too.” 

“Johanna?” Katniss asks, raising her eyebrows.

You smile, finding your girl across the room. She’s arguing about something with Finnick, shoving his shoulder and getting shoved back in response. 

“Yeah, she’s great. She’s just really, really great.” You can feel a blush growing on your cheeks which you hide behind your hands.

“I didn’t feel that way when I met her.” You furrow your eyebrows at Katniss.

“Oh. While I’m going to go see if I can try to make a lure with Mags. Beetee, want to join?” You want to be nice considering she doesn’t know about your relationship with Johanna and your girlfriend does come off as rude sometimes.

“Oh, yes. That could be very helpful,” he comments, getting up from his seat. “Thank you for helping us, Katniss. Maybe we would keep up that trend in the arena?”

Katniss nods, getting up as well. “I should see what Peeta is doing.”

You don’t talk to Katniss again until the next day of training. 

You’re sparring with one of the trainers, having decided that it might actually be important this time around to work on your physical skills rather than just relying on your brains and public appeal. 

When you finish the spar and are bent over trying to catch your breath, you feel a hand cup your ass. You let out a gasp of surprise.

“Johanna!” You shriek as you return to an upright position. Ignoring the shocked gazes of the people around you, you wrap your arms around her neck and pull her in for a quick kiss. “You can’t just scare me like that when I have a deadly weapon in my hands!”

She looks beautiful with her signature smirk on her face. “I just wanted to let you know how good you were doing. And let everyone know that you’re mine.”

You giggle uncontrollably, holding onto her for a few more seconds. With one final kiss to her smiling lips that end up more on her teeth than anything, you back away from the sparring station to allow other people to enter, namely Finnick and Katniss. Katniss has a look of disbelief on her face.

You say a quick ‘hello’ to them before Beetee is calling your name from across the room. “Can you identify the metal that comprises this beam? It seems to be steel but the density is all wrong.”

As you walk across the room to help out Beetee, you can hear Johanna talk to the two others, none of them being too quiet. 

“What a woman,” she says, causing you to smile once more.

“You two are…? Her?” Katniss practically hisses.

“Why not?” Finnick teases. “Johanna needs something good in her life.”

“Shut up!” You turn your eyes back towards your girlfriend just in time to see her try to knock Finnick over. 

This is what it means to be in love

-

[emhahee]

Hi hi,

So like I have a question around your Hayffie headcanon’s. Because if I remember correctly you ship them? If not please ignore this.

Two questions actually

1: When do you think they went from arguing (derogatory) to bickering (affectionate)

2: What do you think happened after the war with them Book Verse v Movie Verse. (I only differentiate because a lot of people have different interpretations because of what happened with Effie book v movie)

I think the progression of Haymitch and Effie’s relationship from genuinely not being able to stand each other to making bedroom eyes at each other was a lot more gradual than what we saw as an audience. Like as readers, we only saw the last three years of the development of their relationship when they had YEARS of lore before that that we never saw. I’m sure when they first met, they were both a lot younger and Effie may not have even been an escort at that point. My guess is that they met when she was just working with the stylists, still learning the ropes, probably caught up in being a regular capitol young adult person, which probably hugely impacted their initial impressions of each other when they started having to mentor together, especially considering haymitch’s demeanor. That’s not to say Haymitch didn’t call her “sweetheart” in his Appalachian drawl just to see if he could make her blush through her makeup. Because he would, and she did. But also, for years and years before katniss and Peeta, Haymitch and Effie experienced the losses of their tributes as one. Katniss observed that each of them have different ways of coping with having to send two children to their imminent death year after year: Haymitch uses alcohol, and Effie lives in a hazy cloud of ignorance about what the games even really are, wrapping herself in the glamour and excitement leading up to the games and presumably tuning most of the event itself out. I think over the years, Haymitch and Effie certainly developed a mutual empathy for each other in this regard, because you can’t really blame someone for how they cope with unimaginable loss and suffering. But I think there was a shift in their dynamic around the time of katniss and Peetas first games, not only when they experienced the hope of having victors for the first time, but simultaneously becoming wrapped up in a rebellion. Effie was one of few constants in haymitch’s life and it is my personal belief that their feelings had been stirring for a long time but probably really took off on the victory tour. I’m sure there were nights where effie had a few too many and started sloppily confessing her feelings for Haymitch and the attendants on the train just looked the other way because it would NOT be a good look in the face of unrest and uprising to have a capitol employee fraternizing with a district citizen. But in that regard it was also 🎊forbidden🎊 which makes it so much better in my opinion. But I don’t think Haymitch would really have been able to admit his own feelings for Effie until learning she had been taken by the capitol, much like katniss wasn’t really able to know she loved peeta until he had been taken, too. And like I legitimately cannot imagine the torment Haymitch must have been experiencing at knowing someone who, on the surface, had such an innocent perception of the world being tortured for her association with him and his colleagues. I think Haymitch got home to 12 after the war, fairly soon after got a phone call, and, remembering his phone lines had been reconnected, knew exactly who was waiting on the other end of the line. And from then on it was game over. Or whatever. At least that’s how it is in my head.

[everlarkism]

You voted, I delivered! Just a small drabble of Katniss getting injured while hunting and Peeta takes care of her. Short and sweet, I apologize for my rusty writing, it’s been a while.

Katniss returned home with a few scrapes on her hands and a limp after a hunting session. Usually she had an animal with her, but not this time. She was on a trail with a lot of tree roots that were above ground, took one wrong step and tripped. Once inside, the bow was hung up on a rack and the quiver of arrows were resting against the wall.

“I’m home.” She exclaimed, walking into the living room and leaned into the doorway. Peeta was folding a page in his book and getting up to greet her.

He furrowed her brows, noticing Katniss had no game with her. “No luck?”

She sighs, shaking her head,”I fell. I could always go back out later.”

“Are you alright?” His voice is full of worry as he gently takes her hands into his own, but pulls away as he sees her wince. Katniss turned them over, revealing the small scrapes on them.

Already, the boy was heading to the bathroom for the first aid kit. “No way you’re going back out there, Katniss.”

“But-“

“No.”

Katniss sighs, carefully making her way over to the sofa and sitting down. Why did she even bother to argue? This girl could have a bruise, and Peeta would be worried like this - but that’s the thing she liked about him, he always cared for her. He just never wanted to see her hurt in any way possible.

He returned to the living room and crouched down, placing the first aid kit on the floor. “Do you think you fractured your ankle?” He asks, starting to remove her boot and sock.

“Peeta, I swear I’m fine.”

Her ankle was swollen and not bent at an odd angle, so it must’ve been a sprain - nothing more. He still ended up wrapping it with an elastic bandage so it could reduce the swelling at least. Once the foot injury was dealt with, he sat on the cushion next to Katniss and asked to see her hands. She laid them flat, palm upwards so he could examine. There ended up being splinters, which he carefully took out with a pair of tweezers and disinfected the scrapes then bandaged them up too.

“Didn't know you were a doctor and a baker.” Katniss teased, a smile forming on her face. “But thank you, Peeta.”

“Learned from the best.” He replied, packing away the equipment,”We take care of each other… It’s just what we do.”

“So, doc… What do you suggest now?”

“To rest.” Peeta gestures to her bandaged ankle,”You’re not hunting until that is healed, I’m afraid.”

“Are you saying you’re going to be the one to hunt?” She jokes.

“I’d never dare to take the Girl on Fire’s place.” He shook his head with a chuckle,”Now let’s get you to bed, hm?” Peeta stood and carefully picked Katniss up in his arms, bridal style.

[waywardangel-wilds]

hey, i love your writing!!! i wanted to see you write something about k&p complimenting each other's looks. like, katniss still has it since peeta said she's not "particularly pretty" and he has to reassure that he thinks she is the most beautiful woman alive etc thanks S2

Ask and you shall receive (I don't know where this came from):

I pulled the sweater on, running my fingers over my head to tame the static flyway's. I felt the distinct pressure of attention on the back of my skull, and with a smirk, I glanced over my shoulder.

"You're being such a creep right now."

"Am I?" Peeta replied from the other side of the closet. He didn't even pretend not to be staring at me. He just smiled shamelessly, standing there in his socks, boxers, and nightshirt, watching me as if he didn't see me every day. "You just look really pretty."

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the full-length mirror. "Okay," I said, braiding my hair with practiced ease. "If you say so."

"I do say so," he replied amusedly, going about the business of getting dressed for the day. I rolled my eyes, forgetting about the conversation as I assembled my list of tasks for the day. With my braid tied off, I started digging around the closet for my bag. I'd need something to carry the shopping back home with.

"Why do you always do that though?" Peeta asked, but my mind wasn't present, so he had to speak up again. "Katniss? Did you hear me?"

"Hm?" Aha, there it was. Why did I always have to throw it on the floor? "Did you say something?"

"I just asked you why you always roll your eyes when I say you look nice."

"I didn't roll my eyes," I refuted, wondering if we were going to end up having an argument over something.

"You know what I mean, you just always blow it off." he clarified, coming around to my side so he could smile in my direction. Okay not an argument then? "You look nice."

"Thanks," I said with a reluctant tone, rolling my eyes.

"See!" Peeta pointed at me. "Why do you do that?"

I gave him an unimpressed look. "Seriously? Can we just go?"

"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged; sounding put out.

I sighed, "are you mad at me?"

"What? No," Peeta laughed. "Why would I be mad?"

"Then why are you trying to have a fight?" I was exasperated. "It's like you're looking for something to be mad about."

"I'm not mad!" Peeta insisted with another laugh, he looked very confused. "I was just asking."

I crossed my arms, "You're being serious?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh," I looked down sheepishly, feeling my cheeks warm with an embarrassed flush. "I don't know."

Peeta shook his head, he looked bewildered. "This is silly, let's just go."

"I just-- I don't know, I guess I don't buy it is all." I admitted with a shrug, turning towards the exit with embarrassment. Peeta stared at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"You asked!" I tugged at the hem of my sweater. I felt twitchy and weird, like a fish out of water. "Stop looking at me like that!"

"I'm looking at you because you're not making sense," He ducked down to make an incredulous face at me. "Why are you hiding right now?"

"Ugh," I scoffed, pushing him away. "I'm leaving."

"Wait! I'm supposed to be driving you!"

"I'll just walk." I sneered over my shoulder. Well, we were arguing now. I strode across our bedroom and out onto the staircase, Peeta hot on my heels.

"So, what you're saying is that someway, somehow, you, Katniss Everdeen, the prettiest girl to ever come out of District Twelve, think you're not extremely hot?"

I shot him a look over my shoulder, not even bothering to acknowledge that insane statement. I headed for the foyer.

"If you're coming with me, I'm going to need you to shut up."

"One, hurtful." Peeta commented flippantly, lowering my hand when I gave him the finger. "Secondly, I'm just being honest."

I made a face and turned away to pull on my coat, "sure you are."

"Why would I lie?" Peeta asked as he shut the door behind us.

"Hey guys!" Peeta and I waved in reply to our next door neighbor. "I borrowed the wheelbarrow, if you don't mind?"

"That's fine!" I called back, Peeta flashed a thumbs up. I hopped down the stairs and went to yank on the door to Peeta's truck.

"Ah, ah, ah, I have the keys." Peeta waved them above my head. I tried to snatch them, but he just raised his arm higher. "Tell me why you're pissed all of a sudden."

"I'm not the one that's mad!" I insisted.

"And yet you're yelling at me, yikes." Peeta snickered, his free hand palm out to fend me off when I smacked him. "Okay, okay, you're not mad."

"I'm not." I agreed sullenly, crossing my arms. I sighed, realizing he really wasn't going to let it go. "Fine, if you want to know that badly, I know I'm not particularly pretty, or nice, or tall because someone told me."

"Why does that sound so familiar?" Peeta frowned, the realization slowly dawning on him. "Oh, oh no Katniss."

"Yeah ."

"You're being unfair," He frowned at me, going around me to put his key in the door. "You know that," he said, sliding into the drivers side.

I was taken aback, "so you're not going to apologize?"

Peeta leaned an elbow against the open window, "are you actually mad about that or are you using it as an excuse? Because if you really hadn't forgiven me for that you would have said something I'm guessing... six years ago."

I scoffed, rounding the car to climb into the passanger side. "Drive."

"Ouch, seems like I forgot how to do that." He leaned back on his seat dramatically. "I guess we just have to wait until my girlfriend starts being nice to me again."

I tried to glare at him but it was hard to keep the angry thing going when he was so clearly trying not to laugh. I groaned.

"Fine, I don't know. I'm just," I made a face moving my hands around to try to get the message across. "You know?"

"I really don't." He crossed his arms leaning towards me over the gear shift. "You seriously think you're ugly?"

"I," I briefly struggled to string a sentence together. "I guess? Just look at me. I could accept average, I think, on a good day."

He raised his eyebrows, "Wow."

"That's all you're going to say to me?"

"Wow, you're blind." He leaned closer to me, invading my personal space. "Blind."

"Can we go now," I gently pushed him away. "Please? I-just. I think Wendel is staring."

Peeta glanced out of the windshield, making a face as he put his key in the ignition. "Damn, I miss when we were the hermits of the District. Those were the days."

"Everyone thought we were deranged," I said dryly.

"But the privacy couldn't be beat." He turned to look out the rear as he pulled away from the house. Victor's Village hadn't originally been built with the intention of holding a car, let alone Peeta's massive truck, so he had to park in the yard and drive past the fancy wrought iron gate.

"We're not letting this go, just so you know." He said after he got the car on the road. "I'm just trying to keep all the neighbor kids alive."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Good thing I can talk for the both of us," he waved at an approaching figure. "Hi Mrs. McAlister! Lovely weather we're having. I'd love to stay and chat, but Katniss and I have to get going. Oh! Okay!" He laughed at Mrs. McAlister's usual joke. "Okay, see you!"

"You could roll the window up, you know." I said bitterly for no reason.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that because I'm a very nice man." Peeta retorted. "And because we're in the middle of a self-image issue."

"Ugh, you sound like my mother." I cringed thinking about her new 'therapy is the way' approach to life.

"Wha-" Peeta glanced at me with his mouth open, shaking with laughter. "Oh, by the odds, I try to tell you you're beautiful and you tell me I'm a middle aged woman. Where's the love? The poetry? You used to think I was the coolest thing that ever happened to you."

"I never thought that, you're delusional." I accepted the searching hand he placed on my lap, intertwining our fingers. "But thank you for saying that."

"I'm not just saying it, though." He leaned forward to look for an opening before he pulled onto the main road. "I'm being so deadly serious, Katniss. I think you're beautiful because you are."

"Peeta-"

"You have these eyes," he interrupted. "They're so intense. Like smoke. Sometimes, when you look at me it feels like.. God, it feels like fire. Like I'm going to die if I can't be near you."

I slammed my mouth shut, suddenly very interested in his new line of thought.

"You know, for a long time there I thought you couldn't get more beautiful than you already were. You were so serious back then, always frowning, like you were thinking about the hard stuff all the time. But then your smile. Katniss, I love your smile." He smiled at me then, before turning back to the road. "You have these funny uneven teeth, and on anyone else they'd look out of place, but on you? They're perfect."

"You like my buck teeth?"

"I love your little rabbit teeth," he said with a laugh. "And your hair? You have no idea how obsessed I am with you hair. I used to wait for you to fall asleep so I could smell it. It made me feel like a creep."

I laughed, "I knew about the hair."

"And you haven't left me? Wow, you must really like me."

"Just a bit," I agreed leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

"Oh, I'm not done. I could write poetry about the curve of your nose. And your hands, even your lips. And we haven't even gotten to the dirty stuff yet. I think I actually did write something about how much I love your boobs once. It's in an old sketchbook somewhere."

I laughed, "I love you, dummy."

"Love you too." He honked. "Hey! Are you blind? Get outta the road!"

[kit-kat-katie]

At dusk, the nightmares and monsters start to play

A/N: two fics (barely) in a month??? haven't done this since September (god it's been a long three months, thank you all for bearing with me through the end of the year). hope everyone has had a good holiday season and is looking forward to the new year! (there's gonna be more action in the next part, this is the set up dw 🫶)

as a future heads-up, most of the chapters will be smaller in size so I can have the time to complete one a month while I'm working on school work. I'm aiming for 1.5-2k words a chapter, but there may be more depending on what I have due at that time.

TW: medical trauma, trauma in general, sad vibes, reader has a knee injury

Pairing: Finnick x GN! Reader (romantic)

Summary: You pay Katniss a visit in the infirmary, only to find that she's more remorseful than revenge-filled, which is a good sign for your other knee. Afterwards, you seek your room and find a comforting memory there, along with Finnick.

(<- Previous Part | Next Part -> | Series Masterlist)

Nightmares.

That was something you had grown to live with, as a victor of the Hunger Games. Your mentors had your back when it came to the nightmares, at first - all you saw when you went to sleep were the dead tributes that you had killed or seen killed. Why were you the one to live, out of all of them?

You were hesitate to approach Katniss after she had a bad nightmare and ran off - she was probably one of the last people that wanted to see you. The last time she saw you, she put an arrow into your knee that gave you the cane and limp that you’re known for in District 13.

Although you tried to tell Haymitch it wasn’t a good idea, he insisted.

“What harm could it cause you to see her?” Haymitch asks before his eyes land on your cane. “…that doesn’t count, Sunny.”

“You’re lucky I still like both of you after that happened.” You vaguely gesture to your knee before grabbing your cane and standing up. “I’ll go find her when she needs me.”

You were sure that Katniss didn’t trust you, but you were positive that she trusted the nurses around you even less. You couldn’t blame her - you were the exact same way. President Snow had insisted that his victors were in the best shape possible, so you had to go to routine doctor’s visits. The prodding and poking was enough to drive anyone nuts, but the vague memory of needles and surgeries sends a shudder down your back as you quicken your pace.

It’s better if she kills me than some poor nurse or doctor.

~

Once you approach the hospital ward, you slowly make your way to Katniss’s room. You peak inside her room to see her sitting up in bed with a younger girl brushing her hair.

You lightly knock, as to not startle the two girls, before making your way into the room.

“Sorry about your knee.” Katniss grumbles as you collapse into a nearby chair and let out an exhausted sigh.

“It’s okay. I probably would’ve done a lot worse in your scenario.” You shrug before leaning your cane against the hospital bed.

“It’s not okay-“ She tries to argue, but you aren’t having any of it.

“What’s done is done, and I have to live with the consequences. You should save your care for a much more worthy cause.” You see her fidgeting with the pearl that Peeta gave her. “We’ll get him back, I promise.”

“They won’t want to.”

“Does it matter what they want? You have more power than you think, Katniss.” The girl behind Katniss starts to look familiar as your eyes glance between the two girls. “You’re Primrose Everdeen, right?”

The girl doesn’t say anything until Katniss lightly bumps her shoulder.

“I am.” She quietly answers while continuing to brush Katniss’s hair.

The three of you linger in the room with contemplative silence before a man comes to bring Katniss to President Coin and Plutarch.

Primrose sets the hairbrush aside as you fetch your cane from the side of the bed.

“Those are nurse scrubs, right?” You ask as you grab the bed’s railing in order to get onto your feet.

“I’m trying to help out, as much as I can.” She answers before starting to make the hospital bed.

“If you’re anything like your sister, you’ll be a great nurse.” You offer her a warm smile that she quickly replicates.

Perhaps the future isn’t as messed up as I thought it was.

~

You return to the living quarters side of District 13, only to be bombarded by a few small children. The younger kids always ran up to you when they hear the click click click of your cane hitting the floor, as you often had squirreled away treats or extra bits of food from meals. You were willing to share, so you offered them a few small candies that you had snatched from the front desk of the hospital ward.

“Don’t give yourselves a stomach ache,” You warn them with a wagging finger, “otherwise, you’ll end up back there.”

The kids promise to be careful before running off, and you continue your journey back to your room. You had been discharged from the hospital ward, after your strong insistence that you were fine, which you were, but you had to have daily check-ups to make sure that your knee was alright.

You had the appointments in the morning - it wasn’t like you were getting any sleep, anyways - but your progress continued to be positive. You weren’t going to be in fighting shape for a long time, and you might limp for the rest of your life, but the cane may get to be retired in another week or two.

Your bed can’t be found soon enough, and when you do find it, you set your cane on the ground before laying down on the bed. 

You had given so much effort into your capital duties - being a “model citizen”, doing exactly as President Snow asked - but you had never been as tired as you were now. The simple act of movement left you exhausted, the injury be damned, and all you wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.

You couldn’t. Although you weren’t physically strong, your determination to keep going kept you mentally well. You had to be strong, you had to be sunny, for the District 12 children, for Katniss, and for Finnick.

Finnick had a rough adjustment to life in District 13, due to the absence of Mags and Annie as well as your injury. Despite being drugged up, once he heard that you were going under for surgery, he knocked out two guards and nearly stabbed a third with a pair of scissors before Haymitch pulled him off of the guard. Finnick had stayed by your side for days after he had been discharged and you were recovering. 

He didn’t leave your side after you were discharged from the hospital wing. He was the one who helped you back onto your feet and he encouraged you to keep going, even when you felt like giving up. 

Finnick was quiet when you weren’t around, however. He would lock himself in his room for hours, only coming out to talk with Haymitch or to get the next meal. He was never like that with you - his smile was never so bright as he carefully embraced you. The two of you would talk for hours about anything and everything - it reminded you of your days back in the Victor’s Village in District 4.

Cooking for four was a learned habit of yours - you didn’t want Mags to have to cook or eat alone, Annie struggled to take care of herself, and Finnick was so busy that he didn’t often have the time to have good meals. 

You quickly distributed the food into four different containers. Two went straight into your refrigerator - Finnick would be home late on a flight from the Capitol, so you wanted to have dinner with him. You sealed up the other two meals, placed them into a small satchel, and began your trip to Mags’ house.

She warmly welcomed you in before putting a kettle on. You handed her the meal, which she took with a gracious smile. Mags grabbed two forks out of her silverware drawer, and you took one of them before joining her in the dining room.

You couldn’t stay long, as you had another meal to deliver, but you did enjoy a nice glass of tea and a few bites of food. With Mags waving you off, you ventured across the way to Annie’s home.

You softly knock on the door, as to not startle her, before the door slams open. Annie appears while rapidly wiping the tears off of her face. She tries to speak, but you shake her head before handing her the food.

“Don’t worry about getting the container back, I have plenty.” You gently reassure her as she nods before shakily closing the door.

With a soft breath, you go back to your own house to enjoy a bit of well-earned peace and quiet. A couple hours go by before someone knocks on your door.

You open the door, only to see Finnick standing there, all dressed up in Capital wear. Despite everything he’s wearing, he still is your charming, very attractive mentor.

“Are you in the mood for company?” He asks with an irresistible smile.

“You’re lucky I made extras, pretty boy.” You tease before letting him in.

“Sunny?”

You sit up at the sound of his voice, albeit slowly so you don’t injury yourself.

“Finnick!” You break out of your thoughts to greet him as you gesture for him to sit next to you on your bed.

“Are you alright?” His eyebrows scrunch as he inspects you for injuries before gently sitting next to you.

His hand finds yours, and your fingers intertwine as you softly kiss his cheek.

“I’m good, I promise. Haymitch wanted me to see Katniss in the hospital ward.”

“She didn’t have a bow and arrow this time, right?” A teasing smile rests on his face as you lightly shove him away.

“Very funny, Finnick.” You roll your eyes before looking over at him. “How are you doing?”

“Better now that I’m with you, honey.” He leans in to kiss you, and you indulge him in one kiss before locking eyes with him.

He lies to you about how he feels at times. You know it’s because he doesn’t want you to worry, but you end up worrying more because of it. This time, you only see merriment and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes as he looks at you.

That’s Finnick being Finnick.

“Isn’t it almost meal time?” You ask before grabbing your cane.

“It’s getting close, but we should get going if we want to make it there on time.”

��Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” You poke Finnick with the bottom of your cane as he happily laughs.

You rest your head on his shoulder as you enjoy this moment of tranquility and happiness. You don’t know what tomorrow’s going to look like, but you can only hope that it’ll be just as good, if not better, than today.

tagging ->  @yokolesbianism , @avoxrising, @honethatty12, @sweetybuzz25, @catvader101, @sollum, @emerald-valkyrie, @randomgurl2326, @caitsymichelle13, @bcbci, @iris1587 (send a request or comment on this fic to be added to the taglist!)

[bestloversfan]

We're in 2023, and there are still people trying to argue that Katniss was aro/ace and never felt romantic/sexual attraction for Peeta... 🤦🏻‍♀️ I could write a long meta about this for the milionth time, but this time I'll do something different. I'll just show some quotes from the books.

If she was unable to feel romantic/sexual attraction and only ever had platonic feelings for him, what are all of these quotes supposed to mean?

"He gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me." (The Hunger Games)

"This is the first kiss that we’re both fully aware. Neither of us hobbled by sickness or pain or simply unconscious. Our lips neither burning with fever or icy cold. This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another." (The Hunger Games)

"So, in a way, my name being drawn in the reaping was a real piece of luck,’ says Peeta. For a moment, I’m almost foolishly happy and then confusion sweeps over me. Because we’re supposed to be making up this stuff, playing at being in love not actually being in love." (The Hunger Games)

[...]"His face takes on a special look when he concentrates. His usual easy expression is replaced by something more intense and removed that suggests an entire world locked away inside him. I’ve seen flashes of this before: in the arena, or when he speaks to a crowd, or that time he shoved the Peacekeepers’ guns away from me in District 11. I don’t know quite what to make of it. I also become a little fixated on his eyelashes, which ordinarily you don’t notice much because they’re so blond. But up close in the sunlight slanting in from the window, they’re a light golden color and so long I don’t see how they keep from getting all tangled up when he blinks.

One afternoon Peeta stops shading a blossom and looks up so suddenly that I start, as though I were caught spying on him, which in a strange way maybe I was. But he only says, “You know, I think this is the first time we’ve ever done anything normal together.” (Catching Fire)

"I don't know what I expected from my first meeting with Peeta after the announcement. A few hugs and kisses. A little comfort maybe. Not this." (Catching Fire)

“When Peeta holds out his arms, I walk straight to them. It’s the first time since they announced The Quarter Quell that he’s offered me any sort of affection. He’s been more like a very demanding trainer, always pushing, always insisting Haymitch and I run faster, eat more, know our enemy better. Lover? Forget about that. He abandoned any pretense of even being my friend. I wrap my arms tighly around his neck before he can order me to do push-ups or something. Instead he pulls me in closer and buries his face in my hair. Warmth radiates from the spot where his lips just touch my neck, slowly spreading through the rest of me. It feels so good, so impossibly good, that I know I won’t be the first to let go." (Catching Fire)

"I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me.

'I do', I say. 'I need you'." (Catching Fire)

"I feel that thing again. The thing I only felt once before. In the cave last year, when I was trying to get Haymitch to send us food. I kissed Peeta about a thousand times during those Games and after. But there was only one kiss that made me feel something stir deep inside. Only one that made me want more. But my head wound started bleeding and he made me lie down.

This time, there is nothing but us to interrupt us. And after a few attempts, Peeta gives up on talking. The sensation inside me grows warmer and spreads out from my chest, down through my body, out along my arms and legs, to the tips of my being. Instead of satisfying me, the kisses have the opposite effect, of making my need greater. I thought I was something of an expert on hunger, but this is an entirely new kind." (Catching Fire)

"When I wake, I have a brief, delicious feeling of happiness that is somehow connected with Peeta." (Catching Fire)

"I sit next to Peeta on the sand to eat my rolls. For some reason, it's difficult to look at him. Maybe it was all that kissing last night, although the two of us kissing isn't anything new. It might not even have felt any different for him." (Catching Fire)  

"I sit back on my bed cross-legged and find myself rubbing the smooth iridescent surface of the pearl back and forth against my lips. For some reason, it’s soothing. A cool kiss from the giver himself." (Mockingjay)

"I’m light-headed with giddiness. What will I say? Oh, who cares what I say? Peeta will be ecstatic no matter what I do. He’ll probably be kissing me anyway. I wonder if it will feel like those last kisses on the beach in the arena, the ones I haven’t dared let myself consider until this moment." (Mockingjay) 

“Sometimes when I’m alone, I take the pearl from where it lives in my pocket and try to remember the boy with the bread, the strong arms that warded off nightmares on the train, the kisses in the arena. To make myself put a name to the thing I've lost. But what's the use? It's gone, he's gone. Whatever existed between us is gone." (Mockingjay)

"Despite what I feel for Peeta, this is when I accept deep down that he'll never come back to me." (Mockingjay)

"On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I know this would have happened anyway. [...] So after, when he whispers, 'You love me. Real or not real? I tell him, 'Real'." (Mockingjay)

There's more quotes like that, but I think these are enough. Now, can you all please stop pretending that these quotes don't exist and accept the fact that there's canon evidence refuting the belief that Katniss was aro/ace and never felt romantic/sexual attraction for Peeta? 😑

[rose-pearls]

Watching you go - Part 3

Summary: the train ride to the Capitol is filled with planning your arrival but a revelation makes everything worse.

Previous part - Next Part

Your name gets called, of course it does. 

It was between Prim and you to be taken as the female tribute of district twelve and you would never be able to live with yourself if Prim had to go into these games.

The stage is large, larger than you ever thought it was. Prim is in tears all alone in the female section while the whole district is watching in horror. The male section is filled with more people, Gale and Peeta’s brothers are there with stone cold faces. Effie takes a slip of paper and before you can even think of who you would be able to go with a name is called.

“Gale Hawthorne.”, Effie looks like she is going to be sick, she is as white as a ghost.

The name is met with a loud silence, and you can’t help but want to throw up at the name, Gale and you were going into the games together and either none of you came back or only one.

He steps onto the stage, and you can’t look at him, you just stare in the distance trying to ignore your mothers’ cries and Gale siblings’ tears. Effie tells you to shake hands and as you look at Gale you see an ocean of emotions, anger, sadness, and fear. You both shake hands and just as you take your hands back the peacekeepers are taking your arms and dragging you into the building. 

“Immediately to the train.”, you hear in the distance, and you have just the time to hear the whole district speaking up and Haymitch’s voice before the door close before you. Gale is trying to get out of their grip but ultimately, he isn’t able to and the both of you get dragged to the train where Peeta and Katniss are waiting. 

The both of them are in the living room as you get thrown there and while Gale curses the peacekeepers out you try to get a grip on yourself. There was no time to cry.

Peeta is by your side in an instance, taking your face in his hands and looking at you with guilty, pleading eyes.

“I’m so sorry, if I could I would’ve stopped it; I’m so sorry.”, he continues to whisper the same words before putting his forehead on yours and continuing to whisper the words over and over again.

“Peeta.”, you whisper softly before saying it slightly harsher when the boy doesn’t stop his mumbling.

“You couldn’t have done anything. It’s done, now we need to make a plan.”, you whisper, trying to wake him up out of his trance and after a moment he does, tears in his eyes.

“We do.”, you hear Haymitch say and the four of you turn to look at him. He looks tired, like he just went through hell and back.

“I thought that making you their families would be enough to protect you but apparently you are a bigger threat then I thought you would be.”, Haymitch says, and you immediately feel offended, as if it was your fault that you were taken into the games.

“Calm down sweetheart it’s not your fault, I know.”, you can’t help but feel embarrassed at Haymitch’s words, but Peeta takes your hand, and you forget about the mentor for a moment.

“Now, we need a game plan kids.”, the four of you start to argue as his use of ‘kids’ but he quickly stops the four of you.

“You two are going to be the center of attention as district 12 won last year. Tributes will be after you, mentors will analyze your every move and the Capitol will adore you.”, the words are said carefully, like you need to pay attention to every single words.

“This will be the biggest show of your life from the moment you step of this train.”, you can’t help but feel sick at his words and you hear Gale scoff at his words.

“Gale you are going to be seen as the new Katniss, mysterious and untouchable. That makes them go wild.”, Haymitch says, and Gale looks at him for a long moment after his words before scoffing.

“So, what do I need to do then?”, the mentor smirks before sitting down on his seat.

“You don’t have to do anything but be your charming self, except for insulting the Capitol and everything.”, Gale looks slightly satisfied at his role and Haymitch turns towards you.

“You on the other hand will be their sweetheart, the apple of their eyes.”, a look of disgust crosses your face, and you feel Peeta’s hand squeezing yours in reassurance.

“We are going to make them believe that you are the most innocent one, sweet one they will ever meet so that they believe they can just kill you easily. But when you arrive in the arena you will show them exactly why they should fear you.”, you can’t help but feel confused at his words.

“What do you mean show them? I’ve never used a weapon in my entire life.”, you tell him harshly and Haymitch chuckles softly.

“You are the butcher’s daughter, aren’t you?”, you nod slowly, not completely understanding where he is going towards.

“That means you can handle a knife like no one else and you know where to strike someone to make it hurt.”, you look at him for a moment and can’t help but understand his strategy.

“Alright, so Gale is the mysterious one who will be untouchable while I play the sweet little girl before killing people in cold blood.”, you say directly and Haymitch smirks at your words while Peeta shakes his head at the words.

“Exactly.”, you nod in understanding before a thought comes up.

“What about our training scores? Do I have to try and have a bad one?”, Haymitch is still smirking, like he is proud of you for thinking so far.

“They told the mentors that we will only get to know your training scores the moment you get into the arena. You all won’t know how strong the opponent is until you have to fight him, and the scores are announced.”, you feel sick in your stomach, usually the training scores would help to figure out who was dangerous but here you were getting into the arena without a single knowledge. 

“Do we still have to keep up the couple’s charade?”, Gale asks, and you nod at his question, turning towards Haymitch.

“Do it discretely, make the people wonder until you get into the arena, and you reveal it then.”, the both of you nod before Peeta’s voice breaks through the silence.

“Won’t it feel reused? I mean Katniss and I played the star-crossed lovers, so if we do that again people might get sick of it.”, the four of you look at Peeta surprised before Haymitch huffs.

“Smart boy. Don’t play the lover’s card, he is right they won’t like it as much as it is the second time. But we do need a bomb to drop on them.”, the five of you start to think and you see Gale’s face twitch for a moment before he shakes his head.

“What are you thinking Gale?”, you ask him, and everyone turns around towards him.

“Have you never wondered how it comes that Haymitch and you look alike? My mother used to tell me when she had drunk that your mother was dating him before the two broke up ‘tragically’ and she suddenly got with your dad.”, the silence is loud at his words, and you try to wrap your head around his words.

“What the hell do you mean Gale? My mother was with my father since they were teenagers!”, you can’t help but raise your voice, feeling offended at the suggestion and Peeta tries to take your arm and calm you down.

“I am not saying anything I am just saying that I was thinking about it and that we could fake something around that. It would be quite the bomb to drop.”, he says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and you can’t help but want to throw the glass in front of you to his face.

“I am not lying to the whole nation saying that another man is my father when he isn’t.”, you yell back, and Gale lets out a sigh before he tries to say something though Haymitch stops him.

“He is right.”, you turn to look at the mentor with wide eyes, Peeta’s hold on your arm has gone slack. 

“What the hell do you mean?”, Haymitch sighs before looking up towards you.

“Your mother and your father were together since they were teenagers but at one point they broke up and that is when I met her. I had just come back from the games, and she had been there for me even when I told her to go to hell. One thing led to another, and we ended up in bed, after that I told her that I couldn’t have a relationship with her, and she went back to your father. Nine months later you were born.”, the ground feels like it’s falling under your feet at his words, and you fall down on the couch, Peeta putting his arms around you in reassurance.

“I wasn’t serious when I was saying that. I didn’t know it was real.”, Gale whispers after a moment and you nod your head in acknowledgment before looking at Haymitch. His eyes suddenly looked more like yours then ever and you couldn’t help but feel sick as you remember his words.

“Did she ever tell you, my mother?”, you ask, barely above a whisper.

“She didn’t, I figured it out when I met the two of you at the bakery and I saw your eyes. They were my mother’s.”, he whispers under his breath, looking tired after his confession.

“I’m sorry you had to learn it this way.”, he says after a few seconds and you nod your head slowly, still in disbelief.

“Well, we found your bomb to drop, didn’t we?”, you say after a moment, looking at him straight in the eyes.

“The daughter of the last winner of the Quarter Quell is in the 75th Hunger Games. That will be quite the headline.”, Peeta tries to say something, but you shake your head.

The room is filled with a loud silence and Haymitch looks at you in apology, but you can only think of your father at home, thinking he has lost his daughter when she wasn’t even his.

“I need a moment.”, you whisper before leaving the room, Peeta quickly following you into your room.

You sit there on the bed, looking at the red carpet under your feet’s as if it would hold all of the answers you need. Peeta hovers next to you, lost at what he could say to help you out.

“I’m right here, whatever you need.”, he says after a moment and you nod your head slowly, feeling the tears in your eyes.

“I think I just need a hug.”, you manage to say before a sob takes over and Peeta brings you into his arms.

“You’re okay, I’m right here.”, he whispers softly over and over again as he holds you tight, trying to reassure you as much as he can.

The both of you stay there the rest of the night holding each other until you fall asleep in his arms and Peeta holds you even tighter. 

Effie knocks on your door the next morning and you can’t help but hold Peeta tighter, as if you were scared that he was going to leave.

“We are going to be arriving in one hour.”, she yells through the door, and you can hear Peeta respond to her before coming back in bed.

“We need to get ready beautiful.”, you nod at his words and Peeta sighs.

“Is there anything I can do?”, you know that he would do anything right know if you asked but you don’t know what you need.

“Just be there.”, you whisper under your breath and Peeta kisses you lovingly on the mouth before smiling at you.

“Always.”, the two of you stay like this until Effie yells through the door again and you get yourself ready to face the Capitol.

Gale is waiting for you at the door, looking at you with a sad smile but there is determination is his eyes.

“Ready for it?”, he asks, and you snort at his words before turning towards the door that would open any seconds now.

“As I’ll ever be.”

So happy that so many of you like this! I'm not entirely sure how this story is going to evolve but I have some ideas!

Taglist: @wannapizzamymindposts

[catoslvt]

Finnick Odair x Reader

After the courses of all the hunger games, rebellions, etc, if finnick survived

More of a katniss x reader bestfriend pov

Third person pov beginning.

Y/n Odair only really spoke to finnick, her husband, and johanna, her best friend, and it bugged katniss because she thought y/n hated her, but that wasn't the case.

"Finnick?" Katniss asks as she approaches finnick on his bed.

"Yep?" He asks and katniss clears her throat.

"Why does y/n hate peeta and I?" Katniss asks, and finnick smiles slightly, thinking it was stupid how someone could think that y/n hates them. She doesn't hate anyone unless it is snow, then that was a whole different conversation.

"She doesn't hate you. She just takes a while to open up to people." Finnick says, and that is usually the case, but he can thankfully say it wasn't for him, y/n loved him instantly.

"But I've known her for three years. god, I even saved her life a few times!" Katniss cries, starting to get annoyed because it seems finnick isn't giving her the answers she was looking her.

Finnick sighs as he realises katniss isn't going to give up, I mean, she is the 'girl on fire'

"The district four girl from your games? That was her little sister." Finnick tells katniss and katniss' face suddenly fills with a look of sadness.

"Y/n loves you, she sees her little sister in you, so I think that's why she doesn't talk much to you because she's scared she'll get attached to you." Finnick then explains, and katniss looks at the floor, ashamed about the fact she thought y/n hated her.

"And I don't mean that as in she wishes you and peeta died so her little sister could've won, she just wishes things were different, she wishes the games weren't real." Finnick explains and katniss nods.

"Yeah, I get that, I think it's cute how she sees her sister in me." Katniss tells finnick as she smiles before the door opens.

Your pov

I open the door to mine and finnicks room when I see him and katniss sitting on my bed, clearly deep in conversation.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realise you two were talking." I tell them both quickly.

"I should be leaving, peeta is making dinner, so I should go help. See you both at eight for dinner." Katniss says, smiling between both finnick and I before she leaves.

As finnick explains what they were talking about, my heart shatters into a million pieces.

"I don't hate katniss. god, I love her, i see her like a sister." I tell him as I shake my head, suddenly feeling embarrassed that I made someone as nice as katniss think I hate her.

"Maybe you should talk to her after dinner." Finnick offers, and I nod.

"I love you." I tell him and he smiles.

"I love you too." He tells me.

"Katniss?" I ask as I knock on the door of her room.

"Come in." She calls, and I push open the door and gaze around her room. It's really pretty. It's decorated exactly as I thought, messily.

"You know I don't hate you, right?" I ask her, laughing and she looks up at me and smiles.

"I figured that after I spoke to finnick, and I'm so sorry about your little sister, if I knew all this was gonna happen, I would've tried to save her." She rambles and I laugh.

"Katniss, it's fine. I lost a sister, and I gained a sister." I tell her as I motion to her.

"That makes the both of us." She mumbles, and I nod.

"And I don't talk to you much because I don't know what to say. God, you're the girl on fire. I can't compete with you." I then say and she laughs.

"Why would you feel like that!? I felt like that when I went into the quarter quell with you, you were literally a legend in district twelve." Katniss argues, and I grin before sitting beside her on her bed.

"I love you like a little sister, katniss. Do not think even for a second that i hate you." I warn, and she turns to me and sighs nervously.

"So can i tell you something? Little sister to big sister." She asks, and I nod.

"Yeah, obviously you can." I agree, and she bites her bottom lip before making eyecontact with me.

"I'm pregnant." She announces and I clap my hands.

"That's so good!" I exclaim, but she quickly shushes me.

"Don't tell anyone yet though, I want everyone to find out together, hamitch, effie all of us." She adds and I nod.

"But I want to know, would it be okay if the baby called you and finnick auntie and uncle?" Katniss goes onto ask, and i smile widely, probably the largest smile I've ever done apart from when finnick proposed and then obviously at our wedding.

"Yes!"

[goldrushenthusiast]

Since when katiniss cared about her family/sister in the second film / book? If I remember, she asked to save Peeta, she chose to die, which would leave her sister alone, and Snow could do whatever he wanted with her sister since she was loved by the capital like giving her Finnick's fate. And Peeta would have suffered the same fate as Finnick if he had won. Katniss asking to save Peeta is proof that she knew he wasn't capable of winning. Nor did she believe in his potential.

wait like what is this in response to? like where is this coming from my memory is too bad for anons lmao

anywho- Katniss has ALWAYS cared about her sister. Maybe not her mom all the time, but she was still worried about them?? she made sure Gale knew to take care of her, and A. Gale NEVER would’ve let that happen to her, and B. you’re overestimating how much the country loved prim. She was still cool, and maybe they would’ve done an update on her every few years, but they wouldn’t have loved her enough to do that especially if Katniss had died.

Can I also remind you Katniss barely knew the extent of Finnick’s situation by the time the second book started? She just thought he slept around and got paid for it, and that it was maybe engineered by Snow a bit.

Sure, Peeta would’ve probably gotten the same fate (unless he claimed he was too heartbroken to be with anyone else). Again though- Katniss didn’t know what that fate WAS, just that he’d be playing a part for the rest of his life. If course she was willing to risk that if it meant he got to live the rest of his life.

For the last part, we literally have proof of Katniss underestimating Peeta? like she does it constantly. she’s admitted to it (in the first arena, her and Haymitch agreeing not to tell him about the impact it could have because they didn’t want to mess him up, etc). Idk what point you’re trying to make here.

However, I do think she did believe he was capable of winning. If she thought it was hopeless she wouldn’t have been so dedicated to having him live (and she recognized everyone else was trying to make him win, too). There’s also that- she was ready to MAKE him win, even if he couldn’t do it himself (which he absolutely could).

Plus, Katniss literally brings up his potential MULTIPLE times to Coin, saying they should’ve picked him instead of her. Like she knows he has more potential for the rebellion, she’s reminded of it constantly.

and I know I’m saying it a lot, but ALSO, she’s human? of course she’s going to want the boy she loves to live, even if she doesn’t know she truly loves him yet. like that’s just human nature! sorry she’s not perfect and completely noble (get over it).

as always, if you’re going to debate (or argue, in this case), don’t do it anonymously! anons are cowards of the internet, hiding behind opinions they don’t believe in enough to be proud of and therefore aren’t worth having.

[malinaa]

as a hunger games and shadow and bones enjoyer, thoughts on a malina thg au, where they’re both tributes for 12?? mal is so peeta “boy next door, boy with the bread” energy

please just the thought of malina in the games makes me sob 😭 alina wouldn’t volunteer because honestly the only person she would volunteer for would be mal (and vice versa). i think at that point alina is just praying to anyone who would listen that let it not be mal let it not be mal not him please not him. but then d12’s escort calls out, “malyen oretsev” and her world crumbles before her eyes.

one of the big differences from everlark is def that malina’s romance dynamic is switched, on the surface at least. alina’s love for mal is so so so evident in the beginning of s&b but you don’t really get mal reciprocating that love until the latter half of the book (mal has been in love w her since he was literally a child.. peetacoded fr but he didn’t like act on it until he realized that he lost her … katnisscoded 🤭).

anyway everyone in d12 knows that they’re in love with each other but the other doesn’t know so the star-crossed lovers angle could still be played. mal is DEFINITELY charming and handsome enough to get the capitol eating off his hand (that one quote in s&s that’s like if you put him in a fjerdan camp he’ll come back on their shoulders etc etc). i think what spark’s the capitol’s interest in them is their closeness. that spark gets fanned into a flame when the tiny slip of a girl from district 12 got a high training score and idk if there’d be any grisha power in this au so use ur imagination. when the interviews roll around, i think alina would talk about mal in a way that makes the interviewer’s eyes gleam but they run out of time before they get to the Big Question. then mal’s interview rolls around and he charms everyone in the audience and when the interviewer asks, “and alina? you two are childhood friends, you grew up together. what was it like being reaped together?” and mal gives everyone a sad smile and says instead, “let me tell you a little story. i was never a brave kid.” and he laughs, self-deprecating. everybody’s attention is on him, their dissent rumbling through the air because there’s no way a d12 kid with a relatively high training score (i’m shooting for a 9 maybe. peeta’s 8 would be good too) wouldn’t be brave. “alina would argue with me just like you all are doing, but i swear it’s true. i was weak. afraid of the dark. the orphanage ran out of candles once during a storm and i couldn’t sleep and even though she was in a completely different part of the building, she knew that i had a fear of the dark, so she ran out in the middle of the night and traded some of her old clothes for a single candle. she slipped into my room, all wet from the rain but i didn’t care. alina lit the candle and all i could think was, ‘she’s so much braver than me.’ she gave me light.” mal locks his gaze with the interviewer. “she is my light.” anddddd time’s up!

the capitol’s abuzz with mal’s declaration. they feel like he’s def in love with her (he is) and she doesn’t know it (she doesn’t—probably thinks he’s playing it up for the camera for sponsors) etc etc. the games start idk they’d try to stick with each other and the gamemakers have sick fun trying to pull them apart just so that a reunion would boost ratings. mal keeps finding extreme ways to help alina and keep her safe and she’s doing the same, but mal is a good soldier. he probably downplayed his skills in training to everyone, even her because he’s a damn good shot and a damn good hunter. the 2 winners from the same district announcement gets made and they run with more vigor to find each other but when they do, they obviouslyyyyy need to have The Cave Scene so mal is injured by a mutt or something idk. the story that mal tells in the cave that gets them a Feast would probably be the similar one that peeta gave (“your hair was in two braids instead of one” blah blah) but mal’s version of probably an amalgamation of something similar to alina cutting up her hand and when baby mal said “i’m going to marry alina” and he definitelyyyyyy tucks alina’s hair back and whispers, “i wanted more for you. a white veil in your hair. vows we could keep.” and they Kiss blah blah u get it. they risk their lives for each other again, at the end mal grabs alina’s hand and positions the knife to his chest but alina throws the knife away and blah blah nightlock or whatever it could be something else. regardless they LIVE and boom. end of book 1 🙏

or you could have a thg malina au with grisha powers (but they’re hidden/not in the capitol maybe or idk) and mal does shove the knife into his heart and alina like Bursts into light and they get miraculously saved by her light and d13 rescues them idk

[lemonluvgirl]

Hugs! I think you’re great!!

You’re being hard on yourself, but your writing has brought me and others so much joy!!

Go reread your favorite fic you’ve written or sit down and write a fun piece of smut as a treat. 😘

Dear Anon, this sweet post completely inspired me to write this:

If someone had asked me to pinpoint the moment it happened, I couldn’t say. 

All I know is that we went into the woods as two survivors who had lost practically everything, except the will to live. 

I taught him how to fish, and hunt, and gather plants. 

He taught me how to thatch the roof of the bombed out old house by the lake and how to seal the cracks in the windowsills, and how to shape clay and bake it into usable things. Like bowls and cups. 

We taught each other how to carry on, and it was easier to face the silence, and the emptiness when you knew there was someone else facing it with you. 

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Those first few months were grueling. It was a race against time to load up on as much game and edibles as we could. 

I had to build additional meat drying racks and Peeta had to build a smoker for all the fish we caught. 

There was so much work, so much to do. I was the the more knowledgeable of the two of us. So I thought it was my responsibility to make sure we were prepared, ready for anything. I was gruff with him at first. All business and extremely irritable. He never took it personally. In fact he seemed to take it instride. He was good at turning things around. Seeing opportunities where at frist glance I saw problems. 

Over time we started to do better, and we got along. We worked together as a team and found solutions to problems I never could have fixed on my own. It started to get easier, and when that happened, it was easy to forget about everything else. 

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Still, touching never came easy to me. 

Not after everything I had lost. 

So even though I felt like after two months I could name the number of freckles on Peeta’s face because his was the only face I stared at day after day, that didn’t mean I wanted to touch him. 

Or him to touch me. 

The only exception was when one of us was hurt. 

Which happened with unavoidable frequency. 

Cuts and scrapes and burns and insect bites had to be cleaned, and closely monitored. Infection was always a danger, even more so in the wild where treatments were few and far between. 

I cleaned any wounds he couldn’t reach and he did the same for me. 

His hands were so much bigger than mine. Calloused but warm everytime. He always gently bandaged me up and applied salve with a the lightest touch of his fingertip. 

So featherlight I almost didn’t feel it. 

I asked him once, how he had gotten his light touch and that night he explained about how he used to decorate the cakes at the bakery. 

The sad, wistful smile and the suspicious sheen in his eye was enough to have me hurrying to close down the conversation. 

Talking about the past never led anywhere good. 

So I guess in all honestly there were two things I wasn’t very good at. Touching, and talking. 

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That first winter came and went and we scraped by. 

It was uncomfortable being cooped up for long stretches of time, but we made do. 

When lake thawed, and the snow melted, and all the world came alive again we were a few pounds lighter, and a few shades paler, but not much worse for wear. 

Peeta immediately started building back up our woodpile, now that it was possible to spend longer amounts of time outside without freezing the tip of your nose off. 

He started making plans to build more shelves inside the house so we could store more dried meat and food. 

“Come next winter, we’ll be better prepared.” He said with determination. 

I didn’t argue with him. Or tell him how I was used to losing much more weight in the winter time back when I lived in the Seam. 

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Spring, real spring made itself known a few weeks later. With soft showers springling over the earth and tender shoots bursting out of the ground, seaking the sun that had come out to play once more. 

Giving life and ligh to a world that had had enough darkness for a season. 

When the rains let up, I tugged Peeta out of doors with a grass-woven basket in hand and told him to gather up every dandelion and borage and wild bit of lavender he could find. And then I taught him that you could eat them. 

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Summer followed spring and brought a heat that was perfect for swimming. 

Peeta admitted shyly that he didn’t know how to swim. So I spent the summer teaching him. 

Long afternoons floating under the hot sun lead to a deep tan for me and a moderate sunburn for him. 

I had to apply salve on the back of his neck, his shoulders, and the tips of his ears. 

It wasn’t quite as difficult as I thought it would be. 

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In the fall season, at summer’s end, when the cold air blowing down from the mountains hit the still-warm water of the lake, a steamy fog would rise across the surface of the water. Enveloping the ground in a hazy mist. 

It was easy to imagine we were the only two people left in the world on days like that. Maybe we were. The only thing we really knew for sure was there was no home to go back to. All we had was what was ahead of us and what we built for ourselves with our own two hands. 

Every morning, no matter the weather, Peeta would go outside to check on the supplies, and if the woodpile were low, he’d set to work filling it up again. 

I would watch him from the one intact window of the lake house as I sipped mint tea from a rough-hewn mug he had made for me out of clay. I’d watch him from the window, the only one we hadn’t boarded up in preparation for winter, and I’d hum quietly to myself, something with no words and no set melody. Just whatever came to me. 

 Peeta’s feet would be swallowed up by the mist and sometimes, depending on the thickness of the fog, his upper legs and hips would be too. 

But not his torso. Or his arms. Or his face. Those were still visible. And my eyes would trace the way the fabric of his shirt stretched across his broad back. How his arms would smoothly and effortlessly swing the axe down. How sweat would dampen his collar and the ash-blond waves would stick to his forehead. 

He made quick work of the wood most days. 

He had strength in his hands. The kind that could inflict real damage if he were ever inclined. But I knew his heart was not inclined towards cruelty or shows of strength for showing off’s sake. 

As much as he liked to joke, and play, Peeta was an introspective kind of soul. He had unspoken principles that he exuded. Things he never talked about but lived by just the same. He made them known in the way he spoke, in the way he walked, worked, and above all, in the way he cared. 

For everything. For the house, and the things we filled it with. For the food and supplies we gathered. For the lake, the plants, and even the animals. 

Everything had a place and a purpose and he learned how to live off the land with a quiet kind of enthusiasm and respect that surprised me. I had not expected him to adapt half as well as he did, and certainly not as quickly. 

But after a few months, Peeta started to thrive. 

He didn’t complain about the hard work, or the inconvenience, or the solitude. 

He got up every morning and stepped outside the door and took a few seconds to just breathe. 

And in those five seconds, he looked freer than I had ever felt in my entire life. And then he was ready to go. Ready for any task, any trek, any objective. 

Except walking quietly. That was the one beginner skill he never seemed to master no matter how much he tried. But it was ok. I’m better at hunting anyway. 

It was hard not to resent him just a little bit for enjoying the wilderness maybe even more than I did. Which was ridiculous, but I had a long history with these woods, and by all accounts, Peeta had grown up his whole life in town. It shouldn’t have been so easy for him. 

And maybe I felt a little territorial at first. The woods were supposed to be my thing. My place. My sanctuary. 

The woods had given me joy and adventure when I was a child. They had given me life when I was a young starving adolescent. And now that I returned to them a grown woman they were no less harsh or dangerous. But they were still stunning. They were still the place where I felt I could best be myself. Where I could drink in the clean air and expel any worry that didn’t have to do with hunting or foraging. Or making sure Peeta didn’t wander too far from camp when he went in search of new colors for his homemade inks. 

I learned little by little to share the woods with him, in all their grandeur, in the same way, my father once shared them with me. 

And in the quiet hours of the morning, I could get away with just watching him bask in their natural brilliance for a few minutes. Uninterrupted. Without self-consciousness creeping in because he was always too absorbed to notice.

So I was free to notice things about him. 

Like how there seemed to be entire worlds hidden away inside of him. His eyes would take on a special look of focus when he examined a plant, or when he looked at a bird, or a rock, that I could spend hours trying to analyze, but never figure out. 

Or how sometimes the autumn sunset would hit his hair just right and for a second it would look softly dazzling, with warm colors like a fading fire. 

Or how when the weather was clear and the sky was cloudless, the lake would look like a pristine jewel so untouched and startlingly blue that the only thing more beautiful was the way it was almost an exact match for the shade of Peeta’s eyes. 

Or how all the world was quiet when I watched his strong gentle hands at work. Chopping wood. Setting a fishing line. Hanging up herbs to dry. Painting spots of color on the back wall. 

All the world felt new when I looked into his eyes. 

And here, in the fierce wilderness where my father taught me to love the plants and the trees and every growing thing, I started to love the thing growing silently, steadily, between Peeta and me. 

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The night was full. 

Full of the deep dark quiet that fell over everything that needed to sleep when the sun went down. 

Full of the night time symphony of the wide wild woods we called home. 

Bull frogs croaked, crickets chirped, owls hooted. And in the distance, wolves or wild dogs howled. 

Peeta always made sure we had enough wood to feed the fire the whole night and I always made sure that the lantern was ready. 

We kept the door barred, to keep out any unwanted predators. 

But the only thing we couldn’t keep out completely was the dreams. 

Dreams of a different life, full of the song of different voices, different faces, and life long since past. When I dreamed those kinds of dreams I often couldn’t fall back asleep. I knew Peeta had dreams like that too but after he tried to talk about it once, we got into such a big fight that he never brought it up again. 

So, yes, the nights were full. But often they left me feeling empty. 

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He stopped pretending to sleep through my nightmares during that second winter. He started waking me before they could go on too long. Often he wouldn’t say anything, as he looked down at me, he’d just heave this big breath, like there was so much he could say, or maybe wanted to, but he wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear him say it. So he just stayed quiet. Propped his back up against the wall next to my sleeping pallet and just stayed. Watching over me. 

I allowed myself to be sleepy, to let the exhaustion take over when he was near. I rested my head on his shoulder. Folded the old threadbare blanket I had salvaged from my old home over our legs, and closed my eyes. 

The dark didn’t seem so dark and the nightmares didn’t feel so inescapable when he stayed with me. 

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We traded stories of our childhoods, never naming names but we both knew who they were about. 

His favorite was the one I told him about two sisters who loved each other beyond measure and how they found ways to make each other smile no matter how poor they grew. He said he admired how tirelessly the older sister worked to provide for the younger, even going so far as to use her money from the first buck she ever shot, to buy her younger sister a goat for her birthday. 

“Was the goat still wearing the pink ribbon?” He asked when I told him about how the younger sister used her healing knowledge and her goodness to bring the goat back from the brink of death. 

“I think so.” I answer. “Why?” I ask, curious. 

“Just trying to get an accurate picture.” He says. 

He tells me stories about a little boy who grew up with two older brothers, who were always pulling pranks and getting into scrapes. He talks about how the little boy loved painting and art but hardly found the time or the materials to practice except on special occasions when someone would order a fancy cake from the family’s bakery. 

Then the world would come alive for the little boy, who reshaped it into something beautiful with tiny images created out of sugar and fondant and food coloring. 

But he had to be very careful not to waste ingredients or the fire-breathing she-dragon who ruled the kitchen would punish him for being wasteful. Often giving him only the stalest bread, the kind that was practically moldy, to eat.

“I always wondered if you ate cake and cookies everyday.” I admitted quietly, after his story was done. 

“Oh, no.” He says, stifling a yawn. It’s late, and we’ve stayed up longer than usual, just talking. “Hardly ever, unless we got invited to the same celebration where the cake was being served. Practically everything we ate was stale. That’s why my father was so keen on buying your squirrels and berries. Sometimes that was the only fresh food we saw all week.” 

He snuggles down closer, burying the side of his face against the side of my head. In my hair. I fall asleep dreaming about what it must have been like to have enough food but only be able to eat other people's leftovers. 

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One night he tells me the story about a little boy who fell in love with a girl who had a voice like a sunrise. He tells me about her mother and father who had a love so true that it crossed boundaries, divides, and prejudices just to exist. He paints the boy’s father as a footnote of unrequited love. And the girl as this beautiful free spirit who never looked at the little boy twice, at least not until they were the only two people left in the entire world—

“That’s not true.” I interrupt, voice thick and choking with emotion. 

“Are you crying? Katniss, please don’t cry.” He pleads. “I’m sorry. I never should have brought it up. I know you don’t like talking about the past, and these kinds of things and —” 

“But I did.” I protest. “I did see you, that day with the bread, and every day after that.” I tell him, tears streaming down my face. 

“Did you?” he breathes, voice softer than a whisper. As fragile as the moonbeams floating through the open window. Then, in a stronger voice, “You don’t have to say that, to try and make me feel better. You don’t have to spare my feelings.” 

“I knew you were strong. You could throw a hundred-pound sack of flour over your head like it was nothing. Ever since 8th grade. You came in second in the wrestling tournament. And I knew you were smart and good with people. You always knew what to say in class and you had so many friends at school. I saw you, Peeta. I always meant to say thank you for the bread but—” 

I’m cut off by him leaning in and resting his forehead against mine. I watch him take in a breath and heave it out. A light shudder passes through him. 

“I never needed a thank you, for the bread. I never needed anything at all. I just hoped that it helped you in some way. And if it did, that was enough for me. Katniss I never could have dreamed that you’d notice all those things about me.” 

He looks at me he’s just discovered something wonderful and completely surprising. He smiles that smile of his. The one that’s so genuinely sweet with just the perfect hint of shyness. That smile does things to me. It makes more words tumble out.

“I know a lot more now. You’re a painter. And a baker, even if the only bread you can make now is acorn flatbread. You never use berries to sweeten your tea, even when they’re in season. You always double-knot your shoelaces. You always sleep with the window open-” 

His hands cup my face, his warm breath ghosts over my lips. He looks into my eyes for permission, but all I can think before I touch my lips to his, is that this would have happened anyway. 

This is always where we were heading, Peeta and I. 

Even if we hadn’t been the only ones left, we would have gravitated to each other. 

Because I need him. I need him like air. Like water. And yet it’s more than survival. It’s more than just the way my body yearns, and hunger ignites in my veins in an entirely new way. 

It’s the warmth and heat of being touched by someone that knows me, perhaps better than I know myself. He has memorized every facial expression and every errant sound from the grumbling of my stomach to the way I cry out for him in the dark. 

But the sounds I make when he puts his hands on me, are not cries of fear. Distress, maybe, but only because I never, ever want him to stop touching me—ever. 

And I don’t want his mouth to stop kissing me, except after he makes me fall apart with his tongue and then everything is just a bit too sensitive for a little while. 

But that’s ok because then it’s his turn and oh, there’s nothing more beautiful than seeing the person who means the world to you come completely unglued at your touch. 

Peeta’s never been as exquisite as he is when he’s completely bare and open to me, yearning, straining, for his peak. And even though it's clear that neither of us has very much experience with these kinds of things, what we do know is each other. Every breathy moan and deep sigh is a map to guide us to each other’s pleasure. 

It may be new, and it may be scary at first, but it's us, and that makes it okay. To get lost in the sensation. To lose ourselves in each other, chasing the stars that burst beneath our very skin. 

For all the thrumming pulse of passion that drives us, when it happens it’s still sweet, and slow. Like the bud turning towards the sun. The ice thawing from the tree branches. The animals coming out of their burrows and nests and waking up to a world of sunlight and possibility. It’s the thing that exists inside all creatures after they’ve braved the darkest of winters and come out the other side. 

The feeling of death giving way to life. The past to the future. Fear letting go, and being replaced with something else. 

The hope that life can be good again, despite our losses. That we can go on. 

I know now that what I need is not the detachment of life without touch, severed forever from my past and divorced from the idea of family. I need the dandelion in the spring, the vibrant, enduring promise that dawn will come and make the world new, and us along with it. 

What I need is him. 

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So when Peeta asks me in the morning if I love him, I say I do. 

[kahlanmars]

BAD FEELING part. 5

HI. This is part 5, I really love this story. Perla in my mind is Alexandra Daddario and Lora is Alisha Boe, but of course you can imagine them as who you want them to be!

As always, english is my second language. Comment if you want me happy!

MASTERLIST

5. Protection

When you wake up it’s the middle of the night and Haymitch is still in your bed, you wrapped in his arms, his face buried in your neck. You don’t dare to move, not just because you are scared he could wake up angry at the enemy but also because the sensation of his lips on your skin is creating butterflies in your stomach.

You get that you are younger and naivé, but in these weeks you knew another side of Haymitch, the strategic, genius side. He is cunning, clever, he is brilliant. You never would’ve thought this situation could make you want him more. 

And gosh, his grip is strong, and he is handsome.  

«I have to go to my room.» He mumbles, half-sleeping. His breath is pure liquor, and you must be so screwed for finding it attractive. 

«I’m more comfortable than your room.» You point out and you indulge yourself stroking his blonde hair. «Am I so insufferable you don’t want to stay with me?» You joke, and since you are awake you move yourself a little, causing a friction with his body. Accidentally, of course. He grunts, you take that as a win.

«You always talk that much in the morning?»

«It’s night.» You can sense he rolls his eyes even if they are closed. He chuckles, but even if his hand is now on your tight and his lips still on your neck, his mind begins to work.

«We took a risk. I could have hurt you, even killed you- you are no match to me. I usually don’t wake up that peacefully.»

«Maybe because you sleep alone.» You open your eyes facing him. His proximity makes you blush, but in a good way. «You helped me. I didn’t have nightmares.»

«I’m glad sweetheart, but this is the last time.» He warns you.

«I like when you call me “Sweetheart”.» You let it slip from your thoughts. «You always called me Daisy in the district.»

«You worked for me in the district.» He gets up, not very firm on his legs - you have no idea if it is because of the liquor or the sleeping, but before he goes away he gives you a little kiss on the cheek. «See you in the morning, sweetheart.»  

     

You are actually happy when you wake up again, alone in your room. You decide not to think about your imminent death but to focus on the training. This is now or never: if you know something you have to use it now. 

You choose a pair of trousers and a simple t-shirt and you go ahead to have breakfast with your team when you recall two voices. Haymitch and Effie are arguing in the dining room. You know you should leave or appear, but this might be vital, so you eavesdrop.

«You two left the party without us last night.» Effie murmurs, clearly not amused. You didn’t think she would’ve cared, she was in her own element. 

«She was tired.» He explains in a dry way. She was having a panic attack, but it’s not an escort’s business. 

«You know, people wanted to talk to her. People wanted her.» What the hell does she mean? Who wanted you? The game-makers? 

«Before the games?» He sounds shocked. 

«They are older, this year.» She sighs. Not a good start.

«Effie you can’t possibly say-»

Even if you weren’t spying on them it would have been hard not to hear Effie’s squeaking voice right now. «It’s for her! They will lose interest in her if they can’t have her.»

«Or they’ll be intrigued.»

«Do you dare to bet on that? Because you are risking Daisy’s life.»

«I’m not selling her, it’s out of discussion.» Selling you. This is what Chaff said to you when you were at the party. People are going to buy you? Is this not an old scary story about Capitol City? Is it true?

«She is not yours!» Her voice cracks. «We’ve had an idea for Katniss and Peeta but I don’t know how we could, how… this year…» She begins to cry. 

«There, there, Effs.» He must be comforting her, because you can’t hear her anymore. «We will find a way.» 

«Find a way for what?» You go out from your hiding place, tears in your eyes.

«Nothing important, darling girl.» Effie tries to dismiss it, but you've had enough of this stuff, them not telling you anything like you were a little girl. You are an adult, twenty-four years old, you had a job before the reaping, a life. They cannot keep you in the dark to protect you. 

«You are crying.» You sound harsh. «Stop lying to me. I have heard you.»

«I don’t know what you think you heard but…» Haymitch begins, but you stop him. 

«You.» You face him, stepping closer, and this time you are angry. «You told me to stay close to you during the party, that you could protect me.»

«I will protect you!» He yells back at you, but you don’t care.

«From who? From Chaff? From the Capitol, from Snow? From the Games? Because I now know that my worst chance is to become a fucking exchange price and my best chance is to die!» 

They are speechless. You calm down a little, heavy-breathing because of the screams, then you take a puff cream on the table and you watch them deadly serious. «Now that I know everything, I will be very grateful if in the future you two decide to tell me the next torture Panem decides for me, since I am a fucking adult.» 

«Daisy-» Effie tries, but you are in no mood for a lecture.

«I’ll be at the training.» 

The first day of training is a nightmare. The other tributes have more skills, especially the careers, and you don’t know anything other than herbs and a bit of medical training. Watching the wall filled with tools, you can see skates, little rocket launchers, blades, any sort of things. Well at least you know how to skate, you chuckle. 

You have to focus on what you can do. You are strong, at least Haymitch told you so. You are still a bit upset that he didn't tell you the truth, but he succeeded with Katniss and Peeta so you better listen to him. You try to lift a big metal ball, and you slowly manage to do it.

«That’s impressive!» 

You turn around, and there’s a brunette girl standing next to you. The first thing you notice about her are the eyes, she has big bright ocean eyes. She is beautiful, you suddenly remember her from the videos of the reapings. 

«I’m Perla.» She greets you with a kind smile. «District 4.» 

To be fair she doesn’t look lethal like the other careers or particularly close to them. «Daisy, District 12.»

«I know, my mentor told me about you, you met him at the parade, right?» Yeah, her mentor must be Finnick Odair, you connect the dots. «He likes you, he proposed an alliance.»

«My mentor didn’t mention it.» 

«I said I wanted to meet you first, but after that? I want you on my team. I'm very good at swimming, you know, and with blades. And I’ve talked with the girl from District 11, she could be in the alliance too- she’s very good with fishnets, her name is Lora.» 

I don't want to kill this girl, you think immediately. She is bright, nice, and you think you could become friends. So maybe an alliance is what you need, it's rare that allies kill each other. You watch Lora, she seems like a nice girl too, her heart-shaped face is so similar to the girl Katniss made a deal with last year, little Rue. Maybe it’s her cousin or older sibling. Definitely younger than you.

You desperately want to go out with these girls, become a group of friends and think this is all a nightmare. But this is your reality now.

«Deal.»

«Deal? Great!» you are surprised by Perla’s reaction. You definitely don't want to kill this girl.

You go back to the penthouse for dinner. Your body is sore and you are very tired, and you don't have the strength for a lecture or a discussion. And you think if you see Clark you'd lost it, so you decide to eat in your room.

After a while you hear a knock on the door.

«It's open.» 

Effie Trinket comes into your room. You feel guilty about this morning, Effie was actually trying to help you the best she could.

«Darling girl…»

«I’m so sorry.» You get up and come to hug her. «We just thought, I don’t even know, that is new for us too. We are used to kids, and for years before Katniss and Peeta I was alone dealing with them because Haymitch didn’t even want to try. You two are adults and it’s… I thought it would be easier, but I knew you, and he cares for you, we wanted to protect you.» 

«I get it.» You place a hand on her shoulder. «But please, explain what the President wants from me.»

She deeply exhales before starting talking, her face is so serious under all that makeup. «When a Victor is considered beautiful or desiderable, President Snow gives them as a reward, or he sells them. It happens to victors, or to… people in the system.» Her voice cracks, and you instantly know why. 

«Effie.» You breathe out and hug her tighter. 

«It happened a long time ago.» She reassures you with a smile, but that doesn’t change anything. «If you don’t want to do something, he has some ways to make sure you’ll do that.»

«Or he kills your family.» Your thoughts go to your mentor, the way the Abernathys died in a fire after his win and his girlfriend soon after.

«When they told me he wanted you to be a reward before the games I panicked, Haymitch would have gotten himself killed and you… I didn’t want your mother involved in this, I didn’t want you to find out so soon.» 

She is clearly in pain right now, and you feel so close to her. You wipe out a tear from her cheek.

«You tried to protect everybody and I am so grateful. You are a special woman, Effie Trinket, I don’t think we realise it when you do something like this but you do it all the time. You try and try to make everything easier. I am sorry for today, and I am grateful we are friends.» 

And if in your room there are cameras, and you are mostly certain there are, Effie Trinket just became a target. 

There is still a person you have to make amends to. After staying a while with Effie, you grab a bottle from the kitchen and knock on your mentor’s door.

He opens it, clearly inebriated but still in control.

«I came bearing gifts.» You try, handing the bottle to him.

When you close the door behind you, you notice that the situation is serious. There are a lot, a lot of bottles on the floor and several pieces of glass, the bed is not made and the air is unbreathable.  

«What the hell?» You watch him, shocked. He shrugs like it’s the most normal thing he can do.

«I’ve had a bad day.» 

«All this in one day?!»

You grab all the bottles on the floor to throw them away and open the window, with a concerned look on your face. You can’t die because you have to babysit him.

«You are still angry.» He notices, barely standing. You guide him through the bed, although you should probably change it before someone could lie down in it, it smells like liquor. To be fair he smells like liquor too. 

«This is a different kind of anger.» This is you being worried. You know he is unstable, screwed up and brilliant, and you get why he became like that, but he is forty-one. He can’t go on like this forever.

«You are hot when you are angry.» He comments, and you can’t help but to blush and giggle a little. If he gets to be irresponsible, you get to be superficial. You like being called hot by the man you have a crush on. 

«Uh, I like you better when you are drunk. Oh- shit.» Throwing away the pieces of glasses you cut yourself. «Shit, I’m sorry.» You stained the bed with blood. Fuck fuck fuck. It hurts like hell.

You get up to clean yourself and the sheets, but he stops you. «I don’t think I have a towel.» 

«It’s ok, we can use paper.» 

«Come here.» He put his lips on your finger, sucking it. You try to act nonchalantly about it, even if you look each other in the eyes for a moment, and in that moment you can swear he wants you too. He watches you like he wants to eat you, like you are his prey. «Still hurts?»

«No.» You whisper, and he sits on the bed again. You follow him. «I wanted to talk about breakfast.»

«I figured.»  

«Effie told me everything.» You quietly begin the speech you prepared. «I don’t want to be left in the dark of what happens anymore. I’m capable of taking care of myself.»  

«That’s my job.» He argues.

«And you are terrific at it. But I needed to know that. What if Snow does something to Holly? To you? I needed to know that. We have to work as a team. Will you promise me you won’t keep me in the dark anymore?» 

«Ok.» He murmurs. 

You take his hand. You will die in a week, do what you want to do and stop being a coward!, you force yourself to think.

«And Effie said something wrong.» Your voice sounds more like a screech and less of a, well, voice.

«Mh?»

«Effie said something wrong.» You repeat, «This morning she said “She is not yours”.» You take the courage to look at him in his blue eyes. «She is wrong. Haymitch.» Cheesy? Definitely. You didn’t think about this part of the speech. 

He snorts. Not kinda the reaction you expected. «Nonsense.»

You feel the embarrassment through your body and if only you had a shovel right now you would bury yourself. «It’s ok you don’t have to, you know, return the feeling it’s just that I’m condemned to certain death so…»

«You don’t have to.» He stops you.

«I don’t have to… what?»

«You just found out about Snow and everything and you think you have to do some shit to survive, but not with me.»

You are shocked and a little offended by his implications. «Fuck off, Abernathy.» You say with a loud voice.

«Uh?» He seems confused, maybe because he is wasted but that doesn’t give him a free pass.

«Fuck off!» You echo. «You think it was easy for me to admit that I have feelings for you? I like you but I know you are an asshole.»   

«Geez, thanks.»  

«No problem.» You cross your arms around your chest and you suddenly want to leave. Leave and cry at the rejection in your bed like a normal 24 years old and not a Hunger Games’s tribute. 

He stops you, grabbing your arm to push you against the closed door. You are dangerously close right now.

«Don’t grab me.» You mouth to him.

«I can do whatever I want if you are mine, can’t I?» He licks his lips. Gosh, how is he irritating and attractive at the same time? There is something in the way he does certain things. 

«That’s not how it works.»

«So you say you have feelings for… this?» He observes the room with an unsure look on his face.

«This is not your best form but, yes. Can you stop making me repeat this? It’s humiliating.» You beg, but he only smiles.

«So that is why you wanted me to sleep with you.» Your face flushes red. «You know I’m a big fat mess.»

«I can confirm it.» You worked for him, you know all his dark sides.

«Mostly drunk, older than you, so… are you fucked in the head?»

Very classy. «Possibly.» You breathe, «But I’m sent to die in a week and I’ve wanted you for a year, so…»

«So you really are insane.» His hand caresses your hips, his lips come down to kiss your neck. «You know I should say no, tell you that you could have so much better.» He goes low, to kiss your collarbones. «But I’m a selfish man.»

«Please be selfish.» You agree with an almost desperate tone.

He crushes your lips with yours in a passionate kiss, almost violent. You were right, it feels like heaven, even if he tastes like burning liquor. And woods, he tastes like wood and forests and tobacco, it’s inebriating. His arms grab you so easily and you hook your hips to his chest. 

«Dear heavens, you feel so good.» He mumbles as he throws you on the bed, falling on top of you.

«I’m not sleeping in this bed.» You declare, and he giggles. 

«I don’t intend to let you sleep even for a moment tonight.»

[thesecondplacename]

Title: The boy with the Bread

Part 4

Summary: A final talk with Peeta.

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Here’s what I know to be true, Peeta liked or even loved Katniss at one point in his life, the feeling resurfaced during the games and while he still loves me, he also cares for her. That is one thing I know for sure; another thing is that the President is threatening both of them. He believes that the stunt with the berries was an act of rebellion against the capitol. So, if he and Katniss don’t convince all of Panem that they are just dumb teenagers that wanted to be together he’ll kill everyone. It is a lot to process, I don’t even know where to start asking questions.

“What does that mean for us?” It was selfish to ask especially with everything on with him, but I had to know where we stood.

“I love you, but I don't know what President Snow will do if he finds out that we are - were together.” Were is he breaking up with me? “I just want you to be safe and it has become very obvious that you won't be safe with me. “He wasn’t looking at me, he kept his head to the ground. I wanted to argue and say otherwise but what would be the point?

“So, this is it?” After everything we had been through. Was this the way we ended, forced apart by someone else. “You have to say it Peeta, or I’ll misunderstand what you're telling me.” I was being difficult; I know I was, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Y/N,” he was struggling to form his words, I wanted him to fight for me, not just let the world tear us even further apart. "I think that it's best that we don't see each other anymore, I sorry,” he was sorry? “Please, leave.” I couldn’t believe him, how could he so easily just end our relationship, not even trying to keep us together.

“Fine, if that's what you want Peeta.” He looked so hurt that I almost want to take it back." Have fun with your new life and your new girlfriend.” I was being mean, it wasn't fair to him, but it hurt me that he was just letting me go like everything that we had meant nothing, like I wasn't worth fighting for. I had gotten up and left, before he could see me cry like an idiot.

Leaving his home, it felt like everything was becoming real. We couldn’t be together, we couldn’t get married, and we couldn’t grow old together. It wasn't fair, it wasn’t fair we deserved a happy ending. It was the least we deserved.

I don’t know how I ended up at Gale’s home, but I guess I understood that he was the only person in our District that could understand what I was feeling. After all he was now Katniss' cousin.

Knocking at his door I didn’t even know if he was home, I hoped he was because I needed the comfort that he had provided me during the games and even after the Games when Peeta was ignoring me. His mother had been the one to open the door, she gave me a kind smile, but immediately knew something was wrong and went to get Gale.

“Hey, what's the matter?” Gale's voice sounded so concerned, and it took everything not to break at the sound of it. “Mom, I'll be back in a bit.” He led me past houses and under the fence though the forest of trees, until we came to a clearing.

“We can talk here, free of prying ears, ok?”

“Peeta, he left me, he doesn't want me, he doesn’t want to fight for me.” I broke for what felt like the hundredth time since Peeta was picked as a tribute.

Gale has strong arms, warm and strong arms which he held me in. “He’s an idiot and doesn’t understand what he is losing.” I buried my head into his neck seeking comfort from the only person who could understand me.

“It hurts, it hurts so bad Gale.” Why doesn't he want to fight for me? He fought for her, he was willing to die for her, why couldn't he do that for me? “What's so wrong with me that he can't fight for me?”

“You’re perfect, anyone would be lucky to have you.” Looking up into his gray eyes there was a serious look in them.

“Anyone?” Does he mean himself? “Even you, Gale?” This was wrong, I shouldn’t be saying this.

“Y/N, you hurt and confused, you don't know what you’re asking.”

“So, you don't want me?” Why couldn’t I stop myself?

“I didn't say that.”

Gone was the boy with the bread. Gone was everything that made me happy.

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What do you think??? A very tragic end with Peeta, who to know if you get back together.

[periwinckles]

Number five and its significance?

Reading this quote again because of this post got me thinking... Why is it that Peeta plants five primroses?

I wake with a start. Pale morning light comes around the edges of the shutters. The scraping of the shovel continues. Still half in the nightmare, I run down the hall, out the front door, and around the side of the house, because now I'm pretty sure I can scream at the dead. When I see him, I pull up short. His face is flushed from digging up the ground under the windows. In a wheelbarrow are five scraggly bushes.

You could argue that it's just a number. But Katniss has just woken up, she's just barely living, she pulls up short when she sees him, still she takes time to acknowledge and count that he has five bushes.

SC is a clever writer. Why would she mention "five" if "five" wasn't significant?

The only thing I could think about was Prim's age. She survived two reapings. She still had five readings to endure until she could be "free". Maybe the five bushes symbolize the five reapings she won't have to endure.

Are there any mentions of number five throughout the books that I'm missing? Am I reading too much into this?