A/N: So, I really hated Mockingjay. Too much sadness with Peeta ): So, this is how I wished the reunion between Katniss and Peeta would've gone. Peeta isn't hijacked. Sorry if this isn't very accurate, haven't read Mockingjay in like a year and someone is borrowing my copy so I can't even check quotes and things, but, yeah. I do not own the Hunger Games! The brilliant Suzanne Collins does!
Reunion
Finnick and I were running as fast as we could to the hospital ward, Haymitch wheezing behind us. The only thing that is going through my mind are the words Haymitch just spoke to us: "They're back."
I think they are on Finnick's mind also. But I don't linger on that. How is Peeta? Is he ok? How badly is he hurt? How much did they torture him? Does he hate me for leaving him in the Quell? Does he still love me?
That was a stupid question, Katniss, I tell myself. Of course he still loves me. No matter what I did to him, he always still loved me. And for that, I am incredibly thankful. I don't know what I would do if he didn't care for me anymore. If his arms weren't there to comfort me after my nightmares, if his hand wasn't there for me to hold when I needed a sort of comfort. Even his loud feet. What would I do without this boy?
And that's when I realize it. I can't believe it took him being taken away from me and probably him being half-dead to realize it. I love him. I know the minute my mind says it, that it's true. I do. I am in love with Peeta Mellark.
The though only makes me run faster, my legs competing with Finnick's longer ones.
The minute the two of us reach the ward, we are screaming at doctors. Demanding to know where Annie and Peeta are. As we are yelling, I see a bunch of doctors wheeling a gurney carrying a bald woman with horrible scabs past us. Johanna. I give a small whimper as I see her wheeled away, silently praying that she would be alright. She could be mean and hostile, but she saved my life, and tried to save Peeta's. Which means I will owe her.
Damn.
I stop yelling at the doctors, looking around for who else made it. Finnick stopped for a second when he saw Johanna, and understands why I haven't picked up the yelling. He yells even louder, for the both of us. I smile a little before I keep looking.
I catch a glimpse of Gale through a doorway nearby. He is stripped to the waist, sweat pouring down his body as a nurse uses tweezers to pick something out of his shoulder. He's alive. I give a sigh of relief before deciding to join Finnick with the yelling. I am getting frustrated because I STILL don't see Peeta.
That's when I hear it. It is so small that I am surprised Finnick even heard it. But I suppose that he would recognize her voice anywhere, just like I would recognize Peeta's.
"Finnick."
I turn around and see a pretty young woman with dark, tangled hair and eyes that resemble Finnick's and I instantly know that this is Annie. She's running towards him in nothing but a sheet, crying his name. And suddenly, I feel as if I am intruding on a private moment. It's as if there is no one else in the world but these two. Annie throws herself into Finnick's waiting arms and they crash into the wall, losing their balance. It's as if they are one person, and will never be separated. That's the final straw. I need to see Peeta.
I immediately start screaming at the doctors, more forcefully now, to show me Peeta.
Haymitch, finally catching up with Finnick and I, comes in, looking like he ran about ten miles. He sees Finnick and Annie in their embrace, and me screaming at the doctors and immediately joins me. He goes back and forth between trying to calm me down and forcing the doctors to give the Mockingjay what she wants.
I am broken out of my stupor by Boggs, looking worse for wear but uninjured, come up to Haymitch and me.
"We got them all out. Except Enobaria. But since she's from Two, we doubt she's being held anyway. Peeta's at the end of the hall. The affects of the gas are just wearing off. You should be there when he wakes," Boggs says.
With that, I sprint down the hallway, pushing anyone who is in my way, out of it, Haymitch not far behind. I guess he did have some energy left in him after all.
I enter Peeta's room looking around expectantly.
Peeta's awake already, sitting on the side of the bed, looking bewildered as a trio of doctors reassure him, flash lights in his eyes, check his pulse. I'm disappointed that mine was not the first face he saw when he woke, but he sees it now.
We just sit there, staring at each other as the doctors still move around Peeta. I am trying so hard not to cry as I stare at him. Then he says one word, and it breaks all the barriers that I had built up these past months.
"Katniss." That's all he says. My name. The doctors immediately stop babying him. The whole room is silent as the two of us drink each other in. Tears are running down my face as he gets up and starts walking towards me. He must have a lot of determination because he looks incredibly weak. And then I am running toward him, not standing it for another minute, and then I am in his arms.
My face is buried in the crook of his neck, his in my hair. My arms are around his neck, and his are around my waist. I actually pinch my wrist in the middle of the embrace, making sure that I'm not dreaming, because I have had these dreams a million times before. But when I feel pain, I know that I am not dreaming. He is here. In District Thirteen. With me.
And his arms feel so good, so impossibly good, that I start crying even harder. One of his hands comes up from my waist to stroke my hair, and he's whispering to me.
"Shh, Katniss, it's ok. I'm here. I'm right here."
I pull myself away from his embrace, just enough to look at him, and whisper, "I missed you so much."
He gently wipes the tears from my eyes with his thumb, and caresses my cheek. "I missed you, too. More than I've ever missed anything or anyone."
And then I can't stand it anymore. I reach up on my tiptoes, and kiss him. He seems surprised at first, but then eagerly kisses me back. God, I missed this. I missed everything about Peeta. My Peeta. The Boy with the Bread. The boy I love.
"I love you," I breathe against his lips. He pulls away, leaving me feeling cold. I look into his eyes, and all I see is hope.
"Say it again," he demands. Not unkindly. Just…hopefully.
"I love you," I say again. He comes back to me, and brushes his lips against my forehead.
"Again," he breathes.
"I love you," I mumble into the crook of his neck. He kisses the top of my head.
"Really?" he whispers.
"Yes," I whisper back. "And, I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure it out."
He sits on the bed, and pulls me onto his lap. "I don't care how long it took you," he mumbles sleepily. "As long as you're here now. I love you so much, Katniss Everdeen."
"And I love you, Peeta Mellark." Our lips meet in a sweet kiss that makes me never want to let go of him. Unfortunately, humans need to breathe, and we broke apart, both of us gasping for air. He kissed my temple, and then yawned.
"Tired?" I asked, chuckling a little.
"Just a little," he mumbles back, burying his face into the crook of my neck. I pulled the sheets and helped him settle in.
I wanted to stay with him so badly. I know that the nightmares would be even worse now that I knew he was here, but I couldn't sleep in his arms. I kissed his forehead and gently started to pull away.
His arm shot out and grabbed mine. I looked down at him, and saw his bright blue eyes wide with fear. "Don't leave me." The fear in his eyes made me want to envelope him in my arms and never let him go. "Please stay," he pleaded.
"Ok," I whispered, brushing a lock of hair away from his eyes. "I'll stay." He immediately grabbed my waist and pulled me down next to him. I laid my head on his chest, right above his heart. I loved being able to feel his heart beat; it helped reassure me that he was here, and that he wasn't going anywhere.
He kissed the top of my head, and whispered, "I love you, Katniss."
"I love you, too," I whispered back. He buried his head even farther into my hair before I felt his breath get slow and even. Feeling the reassurance of his heart beat below my ear, I fell into my first peaceful sleep in months.
A/N: So…what did you think? Please leave a review and let me know!
