10 Years Later- Post Mockingjay Fanfiction-Chapter 1

Katniss POV

My eyelashes flutter open through the haze of nightmares that sleep brings.

Nightmares? What am I talking about, nightmares? There were certainly no nightmares last night. First time I slept well in days.

"Well, someone's awake."

I sit up, finding a smug Haymitch smirking at me in the doorway.

"What in the world are you doing here?"

"And good morning to you too, Sleeping Beauty. In case you forgot, today's the day.

"The day?"

"That's right, Katniss, the day." Says a different voice.

Now Peeta has appeared at the doorway as well. Great. I'm being double-ambushed.

"Good morning to you too, Peeta."

He laughs, and I feel better. It's just the way Peeta's laugh influences me. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and get up, heading towards the breakfast table, but Peeta's arm stops me, his face serious.

" You can't tell Junie."

"About what?"

" Today we are going to the Capitol, remember? To have that meeting. "

"Oh."

The meeting. A bit too stiff of a word for what it actually is. Every year, President Paylor organizes a kind of peace maintaining celebration where the people who were important to the revolution as well as the district representatives gather for a week. It's filled with dinners, meetings, parties. And I hate it. Now that all the districts have equal power to the Capitol, it's supposed to be good and even. I wonder why the Capitol hasn't bothered to change its name, though.

" Don't worry. It will be fun, remember?"

Sure, it will be fun. Where all the memories of Cinna, Portia, Effie Trinket, Peeta's torture, certain Avoxes, gory deaths, and the revolution await me. Oh yeah, and Snow.

Very fun.

I see Peeta's face fighting to remain strong. For me. As always. Of course. Wasn't he tortured there? Wasn't he hijacked? He probably hates the place more than I do.

And, as always, the Hunger Games hang around us. Even though they are over, they will continue to haunt us. All of us. I know that they will never go away. Not really.

Haymitch's voice breaks me out of my stupor.

"Better get dressed, sweetheart."

Right.

Before I can move, though, Juniper runs in. Juniper Primrose Mellark. My daughter. She's already dressed in her school uniform.

" Ready for school, Junie?"

"Yes, mom."

" Don't forget, you have to go to Auntie Delly's house every day after school."

" Ok, mom. You take care."

" You too, sweetheart."

And there she is, my 7 year old daughter bounding away to school with her flowing black hair, to meet up with Denise, Delly's daughter. She never cuddles with me anymore, never tells me anything. So young, but already she is drifting away from me, ever so slowly.

But too fast for me.

Peeta says it will be ok.

" She's just going through a stage, Katniss. Just like you and I once did with our mothers. Don't worry."

But I do.

Now I can fully feel the pain that my mother had once held within her, on top of my father's death. Her daughter, angry at her, ignoring her. It hurts. I can fully appreciate anything she does for me now, but back then, I wasn't compliant. Not by a long shot. Combine that with me going into the Games twice, Prim and my father dying, and it becomes hopelessly unbearable. At least, for me.

But now I have my daughter. And a son coming soon. And Peeta.

Peeta.

The boy with the bread has grown into a man who helps me see the bright side of everything, who loves me unconditionally. Sometimes, I don't know how I would bear it without him. He is my ray of sunshine in a cloud of grey. My dandelion in a dry dead field. He is my Peeta.
Now I find myself enveloped in his warmth, his blonde locks tickling my forehead as he kisses me. His strong and gentle hands sliding down my back. His blue eyes flitting to mine, and then closing.

Finally, we break away.

" Better get dressed, Katniss. The hovercraft should be coming soon.

My prep team shows up the moment he says this. Octavia. Flavius. Venia. My silly pets no longer. They have grown up too. Their chatter gone. Just an example of how the war affected even the most silliest of people. Now, they don't wear things in their hair. They dress normally. Natural Octavia is sweet and young, with auburn hair that comes up to her knees without all the flashy things holding it up, and has olive skin like me. Venia is thin as always, and quite old, her raven black hair is streaked with silver. although you would never know. Flavius, under the makeup and dyes, is really quite handsome. His hair a light brown, which is still in its trademark curls. They help me wash my hair and body, get rid of body hair, and lotion me down. All three are full of happiness when they notice my slightly protruding belly. ( "How come you never told us?") At first, I was at loss on why I needed them, but I do have to look nice for public appearances. They don't put a lot of makeup, though. Maybe a brush of lipstick, a swish of mascara.

I put on a black silk dress that comes to my knees. My ever-so- famous mocking jay pin. A golden ribbon weaves through my braid. A golden wrap glistens at my shoulders. My hair in its regular braid down my back. My legs covered in golden tights, which really beats the use of agonized hours of waxing. Short shiny black pumps.

As I step out, I notice Peeta doesn't really look much different, except he is in a black business shirt with golden tie, and black pants. And then I remember. His prep team was executed on TV along with Portia. Cinna, too, is dead. Cinna with his golden eyeliner and short-cropped hair and Portia with her violet eyes and wavy brown tresses. Both gone. Peeta probably didn't want to hire a new prep team, although we could definitely have one if we wanted. Was he as close to them as I am to mine? I never bothered to ask. I go up to him and stroke his hair back from his forehead.

" You know, you're outfit goes really well with your hair, being golden and all."

He laughs, and fingers the end of my braid, but doesn't say anything.

" Where did Haymitch go?"

"To his house to get ready. And get a bottle, I think."

I snort. Of course. Haymitch and a bottle.

But as Haymitch comes hurrying up to us, I see what I have never seen in his hand before. A comb.

As I am gawking at this bizarre new combo, Haymitch hurries up to Peeta and runs the comb through his hair. Peeta's shocked as I am, and looks scared for a second when Haymitch comes up to him with a comb, like the comb is a lethal weapon. But I am laughing so hard it hurts, while Peeta tries to maintain a disdainful look unsuccessfully, Haymitch muttering obscenities under his breath.

When Haymitch finishes, it takes a while to choke out the question-" Why?"

" You both have got to look presentable, don't you? While you look fine, he looks like he just got out of bed-"

" And he likes to keep it that way." Peeta mutters, though grinning.

Haymitch shoots us both a glare, as I crack up and Peeta runs a hand through his hair, but lightly. Then he hurries outside to call Plutarch.

" Since when did Haymitch take responsibility? " I ask while laughing.

" I have no idea."

I run a hand through Peeta's hair, messing it up completely.

"Looks better this way." I say, planting a kiss on his forehead.

"Finally, someone on my side. " He replies, putting his arms around me.

I think of those nights on the train, and how I have to bear the Capitol once more, when I jolt.

" Peeta!"

"What?"

"The book!"

I ran down two flights of stairs, and looked around.

The book, the book, the book. It's necessary for survival for the next week.

The book. The book. The book.

There! It's where Peeta left it last time I was having a meltdown. I grab the leather cover, bound out, and run up the stairs, out of breath. On to the roof.

Peeta is already herding the hovercraft to its place on the flat roof of the building, wind whipping his hair all over his face.

"Katniss! Get over here!" He hollered.

I sprinted over to the hovercraft, but naturally, since my hair was whipping all over my face, I couldn't see a thing, and so I ended up slamming into Peeta and bruising his shoulder. So after all of that was over with, we climbed onto the ladder and it rose up in the air. And then we were welcomed by the crew- Plutarch, Fulvia, Johanna, Annie, Effie, Enobaria, Beetee, a disgruntled Haymitch, and my mother. What a welcome sight.

Everyone is exclaiming at the fact that I am pregnant, patting my belly and all. Haymitch is making remarks about the state of Peeta's hair. Plutarch looks me and Peeta over and says-
"Goodness Katniss, you and Peeta never seem to get older."

He's right. Peeta and I look basically the same as 10 years ago, maybe 23 at most. It's a bit disturbing that I never look like I'm getting older. I could be having my first child instead of my second one. But both of us are 29—a fact which Effie is very troubled about.

"Katniss! You two are getting so old. I can't believe that you two were the 16 year olds I met at the—"

"Me neither, Effie." I cut across Effie's remark because I don't want any mention of the Games because I'm afraid I will have some meltdown, especially since we are heading to the Capitol.
The Capitol has rebuilt itself remarkably well over the past years, with newer technology as well. But now there is a change. The districts are equal as well. The districts are no longer poor. We have equal status to the Capitol, are just as rich as the Capitol. I should be happy, right? I can't say I'm not, I mean, I didn't take up the role of the Mockingjay for nothing. I just...wish the capitol people would humble down a little. They are still obsessed with their parties, food, feathers. Only a few, like my prep team and Plutarch, haven't gone back to their old money-splurging selves. I wish Cinna were here. He would definitely understand.
I ask Plutarch if we are heading straight to the Capitol.

"Oh, no, Katniss. You think this is all? We still have a few more stops to go. "

So I sit down between Peeta and Johanna, who embraces me. She looks well. Her hair now comes to her shoulders, and her scars are not even noticeable. She looks like she's been bathing lately too. Johanna's dressed in a lime-green blouse and sky-blue A-line skirt. So they bring out food and I'm pretty happy, because even though we are going to the Capitol, it's wonderful to see everybody again. Associated with the Games or not, these people are close to me. There is happiness dancing in the air.

That's when he steps on. Handsome. Classy. Silent. His arm encircling a pretty blonde girl.

Gale.