Yes, I should be writing Running. I am a very naughty writer. But this little one-shot wouldn't leave me alone, so I just had to go type it up. And I might as well post it now, right?
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters, plot points or references you recognise from it. Credits for that all goes to Suzanne Collins.
This contains spoilers for Mockingjay if you haven't read that. So you have been warned...
Katniss walks arm in arm with her husband, Peeta. Their two children run ahead. Hope, at twelve years old, grows more like her mother every day; both in looks and in nature. Safe for her father's blue eyes, of course. Noah, who's nine years, is a lot cheekier than his father would ever have got away with being at this age. Still, there's no denying that smile, that laugh, is that of Peeta Mellark.
The family reach the meadow.
"Can I go play in the forest?" Noah asks immediately.
"We give you a lovely meadow and it's not enough for you." Peeta teases, knowing they'll play in the forest no matter what he tells them. "Don't go too far."
"Be back in half an hour." Katniss says, but they've already started sprinting toward the cover of the woods. Hope's dark braid bumps against her back as she runs, her hand entwined with her little brother's.
"She reminds me so much of you." Peeta whispers in his wife's ear.
"I know." Katniss replies softly. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Once beneath the cover of the trees, Noah asks his sister if they can play hide-and-seek. Hope agrees. It's not like anyone she knows from school will see her here; no-one else ever visits the woods. And besides, Hope's brother is the world to her. If playing hide-and-seek makes him happy, she'll play it all day if need be. Their relationship is similar to what her mother's was with her little sister, though Hope and Noah weren't to know this.
Their mother found it hard to talk about the occurrences before they were born, including the mysterious Auntie Primrose. Peeta sometimes told his children stories. He had a sketchbook, filled with pictures of the people they once knew. Sometimes, he'd take it out and tell his children the stories of the faces. There was Rue; the sweet little girl who's hand their mother had held as she died. There was Cato; deadly and murderous right up to his last moments. There was Finnick Odair, who was very handsome; his story was one that had touched Hope the most. She was good friends with Reef Odair, Finnick's son. The son he'd never known.
Annie and Reef sometimes visits. Even if Reef is in his twenties, he's like a big brother to Hope and Noah. He doesn't have any siblings of his own, so he enjoys seeing the two Mellark children.
Hope hides first. She doesn't try very hard, just climbs up a tree and sits there, swinging her legs merrily. It doesn't take long for Noah to look up and spot her sitting above him.
Noah, unlike his sister, doesn't really want to be found. He's quite short, even for his age, and a very good hider.
After twenty minutes, Hope begins to grow worried.
"Noah?" She calls, as loudly as she dares; the forest, beautiful as it is, is so quiet that she's often scared to break the silence. "We should really head back now."
"Hey." Hope almost leaps out of her skin; that's not Noah's voice. It's... Well, she doesn't know who's voice it is.
She turns round cautiously to meet the owner of this voice she's never heard.
He has the same eyes, the same hair, the same skin-tone as Hope's mother, yet something about the way he stands tells her they aren't related. His shoulders are broad, his arms folded, and his lips are giving her the slightest of smirks. His dark hair is messy, matching his scruffy cream shirt and trousers. It's an outfit that might look smart, had he taken more care in it.
"Sorry." He says quickly. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm just looking for someone and, well, you look like her."
Hope tilts her head to one side. "What's their name?"
"Katniss." He replies. "Katniss Everdeen. Do you know her?"
Hope shakes her head. "I know a Katniss Mellark, but no 'Everdeen'. Sorry." She makes to walk away, but the stranger begins talking. She feels it would be rude not to listen. She's many things, but rude certainly isn't one of them.
"I figured they might've got married." He says. "Katniss 'Mellark' will take a lot of getting used to though." He looks at Hope, and she feels something within her pang with pity. He looks so guilty, so desperate. "Can you take me to her?"
Hope looks around. She doesn't recognise this part of the forest. "Can you help me find my brother first? I can't go back without him."
As they search the forest for Noah, Hope learns that the stranger's name is Gale Hawthorne. It rings bells; she thinks she might've heard Mum and Dad mention him in passing conversation.
"Does she talk about me?" He asks Hope. She shakes her head, and tries to ignore the fact that his eyes lose a little bit of their sparkle, that his smile loses a little bit of its sincerity.
Eventually, Hope and Gale find Noah. He's kneeling beside a lake. The knees of his jeans are caked in wet mud, being lapped at softly by the lake's ripples, but the boy doesn't seem to mind. He's found a twig on the forest floor, and he's stirring the murky water in front of him.
"There you are!" Hope breathes a sigh of relief. Noah stands and turns to face her, hiding the soggy twig behind his back.
"I wasn't getting messy." He shakes his head innocently.
Hope laughs and holds out a hand. "Just to make sure you don't run off again." She explains as he drops the stick in the water and takes his sister's hand in its place. Gale Hawthorne watches the whole situation warily, feeling more like an outsider than he ever has before.
Hope remembers her manners when she notices her brother eyeing the man suspiciously.
"Noah, this is Gale Hawthorne." She introduces, feeling proud of herself for remembering his name. "He helped me find you."
Gale holds out a hand which Noah cautiously shakes. It reminds Gale all too much of a wild deer; quick, careful, and very unpredictable. Just like his mother.
"This is Noah." Hope says to Gale. "He's my brother."
Seeing a little brunette with a braid squeezing the hand of a smaller blonde with a delicate little face… It reminds Gale all too much of Katniss and Prim. But thoughts of Primrose always bring with them guilt. Even if he didn't know, even if he'd told Katniss he was sorry, he'd always feel guilt. Heck, he couldn't even look at Prim's namesake without feeling his heart sink.
"Do you want to see Katniss still?" Hope's voice wakes him from his inner turmoil; for the moment, at least. "She'll be waiting with Dad in the meadow."
"Uh," Gale rubs the back of his neck awkwardly with one hand. "If you wouldn't mind."
Hope takes a few steps away from the lake, dragging Noah along behind her, before she stops. Embarrassed, she looks over her shoulder. "I can't remember the way back."
The man laughs and pushes past her, striding ahead. Hope knows it's his way of telling her that he remembers the way back. She gives Noah's hand a quick squeeze and the two children hurry after him.
When they reach the meadow, Gale slows to a stop. For the first time in a long while, he's nervous. No, nervous isn't the right word. Nervous is that feeling you get before an important meeting. Nervous is the night before a big exam at school. This was worse than nervous. This felt like he couldn't possibly take another step. He was stupid for coming here, stupid for thinking she'd ever want to talk to him again. After all, the last time he'd seen her, Reef Odair had been crawling about on the floor and babbling complete nonsense to anyone who'd listen or, more often, anyone who picked him up and told him he had his father's wonderful green eyes.
Reef is in his twenties now. Yes, it's been a while, to say the least.
It's a tug on the sleeve of his shirt that banishes this worse-than-nervous feeling. Because, when he looks down, even if it's a little boy with Peeta's soft blonde curls, he's got Catnip's grey eyes. And that's enough to snap him back to his senses.
"You're not scared, are you?" Noah taunts, dropping his sister's hand and running off in the direction of his parents.
Hope shakes her head. "Ignore him." She tells Gale. "He doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."
They've only been gone fifteen minutes, but Katniss has already started to worry.
"They'll be fine." Peeta assures her. "They always are."
She glares at him, but it melts into a smile when he gives her his most innocent expression. "I know, Peeta. But can you really blame me?"
Peeta stands behind her and wraps her up in a hug, one that makes her feel safe and secure. He rests his chin on her shoulders and whispers "They're safe. Remember? They're safe."
Katniss swallows, desperate to say something but not sure what would fit.
Thankfully, Peeta can read her like a book; he knows everything she's unable to squish into words. "Come," He says, lifting his head from her shoulder and releasing her from his grip. Only to take her hand seconds later and flop down on the grass, pulling her down beside him. "About Noah's birthday cake. I was thinking a gnome or something. Your thoughts?"
Katniss smiles. This is changing the subject if ever she saw it, but she really doesn't mind.
She stands up when she hears her son's voice.
"Mum! Dad!" Noah shouts, running toward them. "Hope found a strange man in the forest!"
Katniss' heart sinks. "He didn't take her anywhere, did he?"
"He said he wanted to see you." Noah skidded to a stop in front of her, panting heavily in an attempt to get his breath back. "So she brought him here."
Katniss bites her bottom lip and looks down at her husband. Peeta stands up and puts an arm round her shoulders protectively.
That's when Katniss spots Hope running through the tall grass, and it's like a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders. She's safe. She's safe, she's smiling. Thank God, she's safe.
Hope has resorted to dragging the poor man along behind her, so that he can't stand stock still again.
The two stop beside Noah.
Katniss stares at the stranger, she can't help it. When Noah said 'strange man', her first thought had been of murderers, or terrorists, not Gale. She'd never expected to see Gale Hawthorne again.
"Mum, Dad," Hope said. "This is,"
"Gale." Katniss interrupted gently. "My hunting partner." She feels Peeta's grip on her tighten, ever so slightly, and she wonders if he even realises he's doing it.
"Catnip," Gale smiles. "The one and only." Quickly, he remembers where he is and what he's doing. And just how long it's been. "I was in the area, on business, and the woods were calling. I just so happened to find this little thing," He ruffles Hope's hair playfully. "I take it she's yours?"
"She's ours, yes." Peeta cuts in.
Katniss elbows him. "Would you like some tea or something?" She asks, desperate to catch up on everything she's missed him do, to tell him all about her two beautiful children. "We're just heading back."
"That would be great." He beams, casting a nervous glance in Peeta's direction. "If you don't mind, of course."
Peeta takes a while to respond but, when he does, he's all smiles. "We need to catch up, Mr. Hawthorne."
"Indeed we do." Gale agrees.
Peeta seems a little OOC at points in this.
Katniss worries a lot because she's lost so much. She's desperate to keep hold of Hope and Noah. I mean, she let Prim out of her sight for a little while and look what happened there.