AN: Hi there everyone! This is my first Hunger Games fic, and it is also a SongFic! Yayyyy! The song is Butterfly, by SMiLE, and the refrences to the song are incredibly obvious if you've heard it before. The refrences being so noticeable are supposed to make it a little bit more comedic than it seems. Hope you like it and enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES OR ITS CHARACTERS DESPITE MY OVERWHELMING WISH TO OWN GALE ;)

A Butterfly's Wings

"God Peeta, where did you run off to?" Katniss grumbled under her breath as she scrambled over another rock. He couldn't have simply disappeared after the battle with the Careers, could he? Katniss was exhausted, but still, she plodded on, searching for Peeta. She owed him that much; he had stood up against the Careers for her. "I feel like I've been looking through this entire arena, how could he elude me for so long?" Despite how Katniss felt about him, or pretended to pretend to feel, she knew that Peeta had few skills out in the wilderness and would probably need her help. He wasn't necessarily stupid, just that he didn't know all of the vital tips. Katniss inhaled deeply, trying to calm the inward desire to just shout his name and take off running, but that would reveal her position to the Careers. "Okay, I admit it," she muttered to herself again, "I guess it isn't just for his sake. I need him. He did protect me back there." Distractedly, Katniss flashed back to the confrontation with the Careers and how she initially believed that her fellow tribute from District 12 had turned on her. Just as they were about to catch her, Peeta stepped in and challenged the leader, throwing a couple of punches before taking off into the nearby woods. She didn't know what happened afterwards, because she was already fleeing the scene, just what Peeta wanted her to do. Now, she was out searching for him, while also trying to hide from the Careers. They were still after her and wanted her dead, so that was why screaming for him would do nothing but give them Katniss's location, which would ultimately lead to her death. A dark and scary feeling of trepidation crawled into Katniss's body. It was getting dark and she still hadn't found Peeta. What if he was dead and it was all her fault? Katniss resolved that she had to find Peeta, no matter the hour or where she went; she would look everywhere for the guy who saved her life.

"Ow!" Katniss shouted suddenly. Her toe was throbbing where it had run into a tree's long and gnarled roots. Trekking through the unfamiliar arena in the impending night was difficult, but she was determined. As quickly as the pain had stung her, it subsided, leaving Katniss to stand still in the enveloping night, growing used to the rustle of leaves in the wind and the distant pattering of animal paws. But something broke through the calm woods. Trying to use her hunter senses to their best ability, Katniss closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. Faintly, ever so faintly, she could hear an unfamiliar sound being carried in by the breeze. Katniss instantly recognized it as something similar to the noise animals made when they were in pain. Not even worrying about the potential of it being a trap, Katniss hurried ahead with only one thing on her mind. Peeta.

"Peeta!" Katniss whispered as soon as the cover of trees was behind her and she stood on an empty, grassy plain. Ahead of her was a large hill that stretched across the horizon. It was simple to determine that Peeta was on the hill and Katniss was firm on her decision to find him, and to do so as soon as possible. And so, she shuffled high up on the hill, far away from any source of water or food, just to find Peeta. "Peeta!" she called again, softly, but louder than before. But the only reply was a gentle zephyr. Once again trying to summon her hunting senses, training and tactics pounded into her skull because of Gale, Katniss closed her eyes and let her mind relax. Scents and sounds flooded her senses and her eyes shot open as soon as the soft hint of a metallic scent hit her nose. It was the metallic smell of blood; Peeta was near. Katniss ran up the slope, her once soft and careful steps replaced by the thunderous sound of her bolting up the grassy mound. Just fifty feet more to climb. Just twenty-five left. Ten feet. Five. Three. One.

"Peeta," she gasped, panting from the run and utterly fatigued from lack of food and sleep.

"Katniss?" A weak reply called to her. And she turned and saw him there, limply lying against a sickly-looking tree. Peeta.

Ignoring the ache and exhaustion that engulfed her body in incessant waves, Katniss rushed over to see him. He looked terrible to put it simply. His hair was a disheveled mess of dirty blonde hair. His eyes were dull and blank, which made her worry; it looked like an effect of blood loss. And it was no surprise. Katniss's eyes continued to scan over his body when she saw the reason for Peeta's intense pain. An immense gash stretched across his stomach, so wide and deep that Katniss was shocked Peeta had made it this far before he… Instead of worrying about the possibilities of what could happen to Peeta, Katniss continued her look over. His right leg was contorted at an odd angle, no doubt fractured or even broken due to the terrain of the arena. What had the Careers done? "Peeta." Katniss knelt down beside Peeta. His body radiated heat and his lips were dry and cracked from fever and dehydration. "What happened to you?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

Peeta stared at her with hazy eyes. Weakly, he cracked a small smile. "Well, it was my job as your samurai to protect you."

"Samurai?" Katniss couldn't prevent herself from asking. Why would Peeta call himself an ancient Japanese warrior? They had learned about them in school together. Brave and honorable, set to protect the one they trust most. Peeta had saved her from the Careers, sacrificing his life for hers. Maybe he was like a samurai, but only a little in Katniss's eyes as she inwardly denied the feelings that were flooding through her.

"What? Are you trying to say that I'm not your noble protector?" He tried to sound hurt, but the teasing in his voice was apparent. Only Peeta would tease someone while he was lying there, broken, battered, and bloody. "And here I thought you were my little butterfly."

"Butterfly? Are you serious?" There were many things you could compare Katniss to, but a butterfly seemed a little farfetched. "Okay, now I'm pretty sure you're completely delirious."

"Me? Delirious? No way. Now, let's fly, far away Katniss. Those gorgeous little butterfly wings of your can get us out of here."

"Oh okay Peeta. You go first. You jump off a cliff and then I'll fly down and catch you."

Both laughed hard at this, perhaps too hard, but they were glad to be away from all the stress and worry, even if it was just for a minute.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what is that?" Katniss asked, pointing at what appeared to be a messy web of rope lying next to Peeta.

He chuckled and replied, "Oh, that. It was supposed to be a net, to capture anyone who came near me in my sleep. That way they couldn't kill me while I was unconscious. Didn't really work out the way I had hoped."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "If you caught anything in your sleep, I assure you that you'd regret it by morning. Especially if it was me."

"No," he assured her. "You're probably the only thing I would not regret finding in my net one morning." He flashed a cocky smile and began to laugh. Katniss joined in, caught up in the moment, feeling lulled into a false sense of security that maybe everything was going to turn out okay. But things got serious when Peeta's laughing turned to coughing and blood splattered out with each racking cough.

"Peeta! What can I do?" This was all her fault. If Katniss had taken time to tend to Peeta's injuries instead of goofing off, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

The coughing slowly subsided thanks to the last bit of water Katniss had been carrying with her. Peeta smiled sheepishly to Katniss. "Sorry butterfly. I guess your big strong samurai isn't as tough as he says." He leaned back against the tree heavily, his head lolling gently to the side and his eyelids drooped shut.

"Peeta," Katniss whispered, taking the boy's head and resting it in her lap, stroking his hair with each word. "Don't leave me Peeta. My fellow tribute. My friend. My protector. My love. My samurai. Please wake up my noble samurai. Please." She couldn't stop the single tear from flowing out of her eye and she knew that many would follow.

Peeta's eyelids slowly fluttered open, as if the effort in doing that was too much for him. He flashed a half-smile at Katniss. "Look at the sky my precious butterfly."

Confused, she followed his gaze. "Green, black, and blue," she replied, puzzled even further by the odd coloring of the sky.

"Yes. Green, black, and blue make the colors in the sky. Now, my beautiful butterfly, come here and kiss me." His voice was getting weaker and weaker and Katniss's heart broke with every word he struggled to say.

"Of course my noble samurai," she whispered, tears streaming down her face as she leaned forward and placed her lips to his.

And so the samurai breathed his last breath, lying secure in the protection of his butterfly's wings.

AN: Aww, that was sad. Poor Peeta. In case you didn't figure it out, Peeta died in Katniss's arms after they kissed. How adorable, yet sad. Sniffle, sniffle, tear, tear. Well, I just wanted to say THANKS SOOOOO MUCH FOR READING I REALLY APPRECIATE IT and READ AND REVIEW PLEASEEEEE!
^-.-^