'With the war finally concluded, the Girl on Fire and the Boy with the Bread live on to tell their tales. Even with their story finished, there was still seven more years. "Real."'
~ Seven Years ~
Chapter One:
- Year One -
Hidden in a black, cloudy, dark night, there's always a star that shines above. It may take you a while to find it. You might need to adjust your glasses, but soon enough, you'll find it.
Katniss found her star.
No more lives were taken. No more blood was shed. No more buildings were obliterated into chunky boulders and rubble. No more bullets whirled through shop windows or into the flesh of their brainwashed soldiers. Peace washed over Panem like a tsunami. Katniss' eyes flung open when the cart came to a wobbling stop. The old man nodded in the front. "Yer' stop." Katniss nodded and tossed herself out onto the cobblestone. The driver's whips lashed against the horses' skin and they roared to life with neighs. Their feet stomped down the pat and Katniss watched the small vehicle roam away into the winter mist, rotting corpses piled in the back.
Snowflakes melted on her palms. She crossed her arms and shivered in her boots. Her teeth chattered and she spun around slowly, walking straight through the gate to the Victors' Village - the one place the Capitol left unharmed in the bombings. It was just like it was yesterday for Katniss that she was walking down this same path. The frosted shrubs. The glimmering lampposts. Everything clicked into her brain instantly. She slumped up the two steps to her home and gently pushed on the door. It opened with a creak.
The fresh smell of beer shot up her nostrils like a dagger. Haymitch, she thought instantly. He must have been here before her arrival. Katniss walked across the slick wooden floorboards and whipped her leather hunting jacket off the coat wrack. She draped it over her shoulders and trotted down the hall and into the kitchen. The house was absolutely freezing. Her brain guided her towards the stove to instantly take in some heat, but the sudden smashing brought her to a pause. Buttercup sat perched on the kitchen table, sniffing through the fruit bowl full of brown bananas, shattered glass resting on the floor. His tail swished against a wine glass and it fell to its doom off the edge.
Crack!
His beady green eyes locked onto Katniss as if she were intruding his playtime. Hurried, he scampered across the tablecloth and froze at the end of the long desk. Prim's seat. His head jutted out towards her, clearly waiting for an action.
"She's gone," muttered Katniss, storming towards the stove. With a press of a button, it clicked to life and a small fire crackled in front of her. She cupped her palms over it and breathed out. Her icy breath clung to the window in front of her. Just beside it, she saw Buttercup's reflection. He rose to his feet on the table. Meowww..
"I already told you.. She is not here for you anymore. Get out."
Katniss focused on the fire and embraced the warmth rising in her hands. She gently shut her eyes and relaxed in comfort.
Meowww..
Her eyes burst open.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Get out," she ordered, voice getting louder.
Meow.
"Get out!" she yelled, reaching for a plate in front of her. "I said get out! Why don't you listen to me? Prim is gone!" Faced in his direction, she chucked the plate through the air. It skimmed over him and collided with the wall, splitting instantly. "PRIM IS DEAD! She is not coming back! Ever! She is DEAD! GET OUT!"
She charged towards the table and ripped Buttercup straight up. His claws sprang out and he meowed in terror. Katniss shook him wild, tears running down her cheeks. "I said.." Fierce grip on him, hands shaking. The cat blankly stared at her while prepping to be thrown. "I- I.. said get... out." Katniss slowly lowered him, tears going wild. Her voice choked from her throat in dry sobs and she squeezed the cat tight to her chest in a hug. She buried her face into his fur and felt his smooth, velvet touch. Each and every bit of hair on him tickled her into comfort.
She needed Buttercup. He may have just been a cat, but he knew. That's why instead of running, instead of attacking her like he always used to do, he embraced her as she finally embraced him.
Both of them rested on the sofa by the fireplace, watching as the warm coals slowly crumbled in the flickering flames. Katniss eventually dozed off and was awoken with rattling. Her immediate response was to reach for Buttercup. She instead found herself petting the plump pillows. She twisted her neck around just in time to see the cat casually strolling out the ajar front door through the doorway.
"Buttercup," she exclaimed, jumping up and sighing. She slumped out into the hall, pulled open the door and was blinded by the shining winter sun. Even in such cold times, the sunshine refused to vanish in Panem. Down the steps and kneeling in the small grassy patch, a young man fiddled around in the soil. Buttercup sat and rested beside his lap and admired his gardening. With a pair of thick gloves, he slowly tilted a watering can and drizzled water into the Earth. When his head tilted, Katniss got a good look from a perfect angle. He looked no different than when she last saw him at the execution.
"Peeta." His name slid out of her mouth like it was buttery smooth. He turned around fully and stood up, patting off the muck from his jeans. "Katniss," he said calmly, as if surprised to see her. "You left the door open." She looked at him from head to toe - confirmed that it really was him. It was him! She had assumed he didn't want to wake her up. Her gaze fell down to the patch of soil by his feet. "What are you doing?"
"Planting flowers," he said, squinting his eyes in the brightness.
"Without a coat on?" Katniss questioned him. "It's freezing-"
"I'm planting primroses."
Instantly, she paused and stared at him. He stared back as if waiting for an answer. Too choked up for words, Katniss just dashed down the steps and wrapped her arms around him. He stumbled back a bit but they both stayed stable. Softly, she whispered in his ear. "Thank you."
"It's okay.." he whispered back. "Do you want to go inside and make some bread?"
The days went by and they both agreed to ditch Peeta's house. Together, they both slept in separate rooms in Katniss' home. Haymitch dropped by on a Saturday. They sat at the kitchen table eating roast turkey, watching as Paylor was elected as president of Panem on their hologram. On quiet mid-days, they sat together by a dull window, staring out into the city of District 13, watching as the workers rebuilt structures in the rain. Each week, a new building shot up into the sky. Slowly but surely, the city looked brand new and modern, bigger and brighter than it ever had been before. The Capitol clearly had money, but now with logical leaders, that money was put to use.
On a stormy Sunday night, Katniss simply couldn't go to sleep. She slid out of bed and onto the cold floorboards, picking up her bedside candle. She slowly tiptoed through the darkness, out the door, across the landing and into Peeta's room. Setting the candle down onto his table made his eyes flick open instantly as if he were awake all this time. He said nothing, only pulling back the covers to let her in.
She crawled in beside him and snuggled up into the sheets, resting on the pillow that Peeta's arm slept around. Before shutting her eyes, she was proposed a question from Peeta's tender voice.
"You love me. Real or not real?"
She replied with one word.
"Real."
Author's Note:
Hello everyone! I present to you: Seven More Years!
Out of all my stories, this one has probably had the most title changes yet..
My direction of this story is to focus on the next seven years of Katniss & Peeta's lives after the war. For each chapter, we will dive into a different year and look at one key section of said year. So for Year One, this chapter, we read about the weeks following the war. :)
Hopefully you understand what I mean! xD
Anyway, I'm so excited to share this story to you! Just six more chapters left now! :P
Please leave a review if you'd like to!
Thank you all so much for reading, byeeeee! :D