Alright so I have done stuff like this once or twice and gotten pretty good feedback So I figured why not give it a shot as a huger games story. It is the lyrics to Long Live, written n the context of a pre epilogue story but it will be multi-chaptered. Anyways Please Read It and Review.
I said remember this moment
in the back of my mind
The time when we stood
with our shaking hands
The crowds and stands went wild.
Peeta Mellark P.O.V
So far nothing about my day had made it a good day.
But one of my better days.
After the rebels won the war days like these became more and more frequent, much to the joy of Doctor Attucks. At the moment I was standing alone in my kitchen as I baked cookies. I seemed to be baking a lot lately seeing as a few days ago I ran out of trivial things to paint not yet ready to reopen the wounds that painting my family and friends would bring. So I awaited the slowly baking cheese buns. I knew they were Katniss' favorite and I made them for her often as a reminder that even if I was broken and had yet to completely rid my episodes, I was still here.
After Prim was killed not many had stayed, her mom left saying she couldn't handle being in twelve, Gale moved to district two and had yet to contact her. Johanna moved to four to help Annie, not that Johanna and Katniss where ever close but they could still be considered friends, in the loose form of the word. Effie was in the capitol where she belonged along with Katniss' prep team. Cinna and Finnick had died in the rebellion Katniss blaming herself for both of these deaths almost as much as she blamed Gale for Prim's.
Oh Haymitch was here as well, and was just as much of a drunkard as he was before the rebellion. It was funny really to think about, the three of us where so broken. The bottle popping rebel leader, the flightless mockingjay, and myself the hijacked lover boy, yet somehow we lived in relative peace. That is If you scratch the times when I tried to kill Katniss that is, But that hadn't occurred in a few months.
Today was one of my better days.
The ding of the oven told me the bread was done and lost in my thoughts I did something I hadn't done since I was a young boy. I reached right into the oven and grabbed the pan without any oven mitts. A scream ripped from my pursed lips as I flung my hand out of the oven taking the pan with it. Cheese buns flew across the tiled floor as I silently cursed myself as I took my hand to examine it. My flesh was pink and irritated throbbing due to my own stupid mistake. I moved to turn on the water using my bad hand and wincing at the pain of the cold metal.
"Come on Mellark use your head," I scolded myself as I finally got the water on and placed my hand under.
Hot Water
Hot Water!
I pulled my hand out and looked at it; it was even more irritated than before. I heard a chuckle from the door way and I looked over to see the smiling face of Greasy Sae smiling at me as she stumbled into the kitchen her four year old granddaughter Genevensis, or Jen as we called her clipping at her heals.
The small girl chuckled her violet blue merchant eyes sparling the same color as the plant for which she was named. Greasy Sae took my hand into her own and tisked under her breath at me and sent Genevensis off for some hydrogen peroxide, gauze, and a hand towel the child clambering threw my house finding the supplies with ease and handing them to her grandmother. In the time the girl was gone I had explained to Greasy Sae what happened and retrieved now ruined cheese buns from the floor and picking up the pan, with the oven mit on my good hand.
Greasy Sae poured the peroxide into a large bowl and told me to soak my hand in it to prevent infection. As I did it I despised the idea because though I knew it would help it stung. Somehow it reminded me of the plant Katniss used in the arena to drain my scrape of puss and tend to my tracker jacker stings. My hand that wasn't in the peroxide grabbed tightly to the kitchen counter as I placed all possible pressure against it trying to push away the memory.
"Uh Oh, a shiny memry Grammy," The all to smart four year old said as she backed up to hide behind her grandmother. I bit my tongue as hard as I could trying not to say or do anything I would regret when it was over. It was over faster than others have and for the most part wasn't too bad, but It still must have looked it because Jen was hiding clinching her grandmothers leg not letting go for anything and even ol' Greasy Sae seamed taken back. Scratch all previous comments.
Today was not one of my better days.
Greasy Sae left soon after and once again I was alone. Seeing that the first batch ended up on the floor I started another trying to rid my now frantic mind with facts about bread and other baked goods.
Once the second batch of buns where finished I placed them all on a plate Katniss had left at my house a few days ago and made the quick walk over to her house. I thought she would be hunting like she usually was at this time of day so with a soft knock I walked in.
"Katniss," I called into the empty air not expecting her to answer.
"Peeta," She called from the kitchen I smiled and swiftly made my way over to her. Katniss slowly turned to face me. Her hair was placed in the braided up do I remember her having at the first reaping.
The Seventy Fourth Hunger Games Reaping, the reaping where Katniss volunteered for her sister Primrose, the reaping that lead to this moment. For a second I was taken back to that day where Katniss bravely stepped on the stage holding back all remembrance of tears and the district, and all of Panem, wished her luck. I remembered stepping on that stage myself and after almost getting flopped on by a drunken Haymitch shook her somewhat shaky hand. And this memory was not shiny.
It was real, because in that moment Katniss and I began our journey to steal the hearts of Panem, come home together, get thrown back into an arena, and in her case aid a rebellion.
I personally didn't do much aiding to district thirteen. But Katniss however did and everyone rebel and capitol alike cheered. They cheered for the underfed beaten and bruised district twelve kids.
The Kids who should not have stood a chance,
The kids who defied all odds,
The kids who won Panem.
We were the kings and the queens
And they read off our names
The night we danced
Like we knew our lives
Would never be the same.
I continued to drink in her presence as my memory track skipped to our victory tour, more specifically our dance at the Capitol. The memory was one of the first that came back after my torcher and its one that I knew would probably be one of the first I painted, when I painted memories again.
Katniss was stunning, not that she ever wasn't stunning, but it was, well a different kind of stunning. One I wasn't particular found of but the capitol seemed to like it well enough. When Claudius Templesmith announced us at the dance as the victors the reaction of the crowd was unbelievable.
It was if we were there designated royalty or something. It is the reaction I suspected was given to old monarchs like King James the first of England, or Luis the fourteenth of France, even going as far back as Alexander the Great of Greece. (Though he was technically more of a conqueror,) Actually the applause almost overpowered that to which they gave President Snow that night.
"Peeta," The sound of my voice being called by Katniss pulled me from my thoughts about our one trip to the Capitol witch was not a calamity.
"Yes," I answered softly sitting on the closest stool to me and setting the cheese buns on the table. I then took in what Katniss was wearing, it was a pair of jeans like usual but they were nicer than her hunting ones and a borderline see through red dressy shirt, the one that was made by Cinna for the arrival at the capitol from district one during the victory tour. She had a light pink tank top on under the shirt and a pair of white flip flops on her feet.
"You where zoned out there, I thought you were gone." She explained moving to sit on the stool next to me using our old familiar side language that we were so used to it was almost second nature. 'Gone' did not mean anything physical but mental, gone for a while was a term used for my episodes.
"Nope I was right here," I said with the best goofy smile I could muster making Katniss chuckle a bit. "I was thinking about the Capitol Dance, for the victory tour." I explained and she laughed again.
"That was only a year and a half ago but I don't remember a lot of it." Katniss whispered nostalgically but the time lasp surprised me. It couldn't have been so recent. It seemed like a life time ago, everything was so different now.
"Except for the fact, you are a horrid dancer Mr. Mellark." She giggled playfully pushing my shoulder so I rocked against the side of the stool.
"I am no worse than you Miss. Everdeen." I said with a laugh.
"Oh I beg to differ Mr. Mellark I seem to remember being stepped on a great number of times that night." She laughed whole heartedly. Moments like this where times to savor because they didn't come often as of late, most conversations had a bad undertone that drove them in a negative direction.
"That my dear Katniss is only because you danced with one Plutarch Hevensbee I could have told you he was a bad dancer." I joked and she still laughed.
"Oh coming from the boy whose feet I ended up standing on during the slow songs because he was so uncoordinated," Katniss poked fun and I found myself wanting to dance after all this talk about it.
"Come on," I said hastily excusing myself and found the old music box Beete had created. He always says he hated it but it was one of Katniss' favorites so I knew she kept one around. I fumbled around with it for a few moments before Katniss snaked her way under my arm standing in between me and the music box turning it on.
The house filled with wordless music and I smiled finally realizing what part of the house we were in, it was the great room. Well we called it that because neither of us knew what it truly was for so it sat empty in each of our houses. Turning Katniss around to face me I grabbed her hands and whisked her to the center of the room.
"May you grace me with your hand for this dance Miss Everdeen," I asked bowing as I had saw others do in the capitol. Katniss just rolled her eyes.
"I guess," She growled before I pulled her in tight to my own body in one swift motion making her borderline squeal.
"Do I need to step on your feet Mr. Mellark?" She asked in a barely audible whisper into my ear canal.
"I think that would be safest for everyone involved Miss Everdeen." I answered as she stepped lightly on to the arch of my foot and I whisked us across the great room. It reminded me so much of the victory tour it made me smile. When we danced then I knew things were going to change, we were in an 'arranged engagement' preparing for a 'capitol wedding' not to mention the fact we knew we were going to have to mentor the Quarter Quell.
Now I knew things were going to change as well, yet this change did not have a negative under tone. This was a change that told me at one time I could and would earn Katniss' trust back. That at one time I could, and most defiantly would, admit to her I still loved her. It gave me hope that one day we could have a real future together. One uninfluenced by the government, one we both wanted. I change my mind once again,
Today was one of my better days.
Today also was a good day.
Did you like it?
Did you really? :) Oh and I know Katniss and is really OC in this chapter and I am sorry, kinda. I really kind of wanted to write a lighter chapter for the two of them to start out this story so please no flames. She will be more in charictors later on alrlighty.
Anyways Please Review :)