Hello, there! I never know what to say here. Well, when I read the Hunger Games Trilogy, I absolutely fell in love with Peeta. Peeniss Everlark gives me incredible warm fuzzies so I thought I'd write a fic in honor of my feels. It takes place before the epilogue of Mockingjay while Katniss is pregnant with their little girl. Enjoy!
Summary: Katniss takes Peeta and their unborn child to her father's lake. Told from Peeta's point of view.
The Lake
It's early on a warm, spring day when she tells me we have to go. Now.
"What's wrong? Are you alright? Is it the baby?" I ask. My hands stop their work on the cake I was frosting and reach out to touch her swollen stomach. My eyes search hers for any sign of pain or distress.
"No, Peeta. I'm fine. We're fine. I just need to show you something. Please?" The please is an afterthought, I can tell, but there's something in her eyes. Something I can't place, and I know I have to agree. It's not like I'd resist my five months pregnant, and hormonal wife anyway. I keep that last sentiment to myself.
"Alright, Katniss. Just let me get dressed." I kiss her forehead and her stomach, leaving my work on the cake for later. Before I can get up the stairs she calls out to me.
"Pack a lunch too. And wear your boots. The ones that don't make you sound like you're 400 pounds. And bring your knife. The big one."
"Anything else?" I say with a sigh. It's obvious now we're going into the woods, but I've already agreed and I can't stop her. I can never stop her when she's determined. I'm not worried though, Katniss knows the woods better than anyone in District 12. She's not supposed to be hunting this far into the pregnancy, but she still walks her snare line everyday and takes the game to the Hob to trade. I pretend not to notice when there's fresh rabbit in the stew.
She's waiting for me outside. Her hair is tied in her signature braid and she's wearing her father's old leather hunting jacket. For a moment I see the girl on fire. Katniss Everdeen, victor of the 74th hunger games. But as I get closer I notice the faint lines on her face and the swell of her stomach. The girl on fire is long gone, and that's alright with me. When I reach her she steals a bun out of the lunch basket and kisses me on the cheek. We say nothing as we head straight for the woods.
It's a longer walk than I anticipated. I have to readjust my leg several times, but I try to be as quiet as possible for her. I know by the way she looks back at me I'm failing. We're not here to hunt though so she doesn't complain. She just walks ahead, slashing wildly at the overgrown green. For a moment, I think I should have taken the lead. A thousand different scenarios run through my head of her slipping and falling, or some wild animal leaping from the trees and hurting her. I try to remind myself that she knows what she's doing. If anyone knows how to survive it's Katniss Everdeen, but that doesn't stop me from making us take a break.
"Can we stop for a bit, Katniss? It's just my leg." I say, limping heavily for good measure. She stops, wiping the perspiration from her forehead, and stepping over to me. I sit on a rock and adjust my leg into a comfortable position then scoot over to make room for her. She sits and I reach in the basket to hand her a water bottle. I watch her take several long gulps, before I allow myself the question. "Where are we going, Katniss?" I ask. She shakes her head and smiles.
"You'll see. We're almost there." She says, standing up and wrapping the leather jacket around her waist. She resumes her walking and slashing and I have to hurry to catch up.
'We're almost there' was an overstatement. It takes us another forty minutes and several more breaks to reach the end of the overgrown wood. When she pauses at the edge I'm nearly out of breath.
"Are we here?" I ask, not bothering to keep the breathlessness out of my voice. She just nods walking hesitantly in front of me into the short grass. When she moves I get in the full view of the place. It's breathtaking, like something someone from District 12 could only hope to see in a dream. The grass is an impossible green, and small, colorful flowers bloom here and there. In the distance I can see sunlight bouncing off of a small lake. I turn to her with a smile on my face and begin to ask how she found this place. But I stop short seeing her on her knees, one hand clutching at the grass and the other wrapped around her stomach. Before I can ask what's wrong, she starts to talk.
"My father used to take me here before the accident. It was our special place. On hot summer Sundays we'd come here to pick waterfowl. We would end up staying for hours singing and swimming in the lake. I haven't been here since before the Victory Tours." She says. I sit down beside her and wrap my arm around her shoulder.
"You've told me about this before. Real or not real?" I don't remember it being mentioned, but my memory isn't all that reliable. She shakes her head.
"Not real. I haven't told anyone about it." She says rubbing her stomach. "You hear that, little girl? You're the first." She inhales sharply, a look of surprise and horror taking over her features. "She kicked."
"She must have heard you." I laugh. She bites her lip looking towards the lake.
"I had a dream about him last night. My father. It started off like it always does, the explosion in the mines, and my mother's illness leaving us to almost starve. But then it changed. We were here. He was teaching me how to swim. I couldn't have been more than four years old, but it only took a couple of hours. Each time I'd float to him he'd reward me with a song." I pull her closer as the tears start to fall. I know how much her father meant to her. "I want to teach our children how to swim here." I nod, kissing her cheek.
"You should, but maybe you could start by teaching me." I say, nudging her in the side. This gets her smiling.
"But your leg." She says, shaking her head.
"Waterproof." I reply, standing up and pulling my shirt over my head. "I'll race you in."
Somehow she stills beats me.
Katniss is a demanding teacher, but her rewards make up for it. Kisses are her favorite to give. I don't get very far and she says we'll have to come back again if I actually want to learn how to swim. I agree, but I plan to delay our visit until after the baby is born.
We sit in the grass, my fingers tangled in her now loose hair while she nibbles on the fruit and bread I brought. We don't talk much, just a few words exchanged here and there. I try to bring up the topic of baby names again, but she shoots me down. She says we'll know what to name her when we meet her. I ask if we should just let Haymitch name her. She kicks me for the suggestion.
"I should pick some waterfowl. Greasy Sae might be able to use it." She says and starts to get up. I stop her.
"No, you rest. I'll do it. Point me in the right direction." She does and I head over to the edge of the water, picking the roots.
She sings while I work. Ballads and love songs I've never heard before. I start to think she'll never land on a song that I know until she starts to sing one that's almost too familiar.
Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when again they open, the sun will rise.
Her head is titled slightly back and her hand strokes lazily at her stomach. She's singing to the sky.
Here it's safe, and here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.
I wonder if this is the place where she first learned the song. How many times did her father have to sing it before she knew it by heart?
Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, A moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when again it's morning, they'll wash all away.
She's beautiful here. The sun lightens her dark brown hair, and though her eyes are closed I know they're a light, clear gray.
Here it's safe, and here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.
I finish picking the roots and walk to her. As she sings the last lines of the song, I kiss the sides of her mouth. She smiles and pressing her lips to mine.
"We should go. We need to be out of the woods before it gets dark." She whispers onto my lips, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Yeah, we should." I say, pressing my lips back to hers.
We just make it out of the woods when the sun starts to set. Katniss pulls me down to sit with her at the edge of the wood. I fall ungracefully beside her.
"What are we doing?" I ask, laughing as I adjust my leg. She points to the sky.
"We're watching the sunset." She says. "It's your favorite color." I grab her hand and we silently watch the deep oranges blend into each other until the sky turns a dark blue. It seems like hours but it might have only been fifteen minutes.
"I love you." I say when the stars start to shin.
"I know." She says, putting our folded hands over her stomach. "I love you too."
As we head back to our home I think of today and how I'll hold on to it for as long as I can. No amount of the tracker jack venom that still pulses through my veins could take this from me. Katniss is alright. The baby's alright. Haymitch is probably drunk somewhere, but he's alright. It's no ending by any means, but it is happy. For now.
~The End~
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