You and I'll Be Safe and Sound
AN: obviously, I own nothing. I just wanted to take my own stab at writing how Katniss and Peeta found each other once more after the War was over.
Chapter One: Going Through the Motions.
Peeta bakes. I hunt. Haymitch drinks.
Sometimes I wake up and it feels like the time after the first set of games. When we came back and set into a comfortable life style. The silence of the house, though, tells me it is not the same as before. The clock ticks ever on and I'm home alone until I hear Peeta entering with his bread. I pull myself out of bed and away from the nightmares that will probably always plague me. My arms wrap over my chest as I move down the stairs to at least greet him. Even though words don't come from my mouth, I nod my head and he mimics me with a small smile in return. Soon, his hands move to uncover a loaf of bread that I feel like I haven't seen in ages. My stomach almost growls in anticipation of the cheesy bread that Peeta would constantly bake for me before the Quarter Quell.
Peeta bakes.
We enjoy breakfast with Greasy Sae. It is a brief moment of normalcy before the depression starts to set in on us all once more. I become claustrophobic and the only cure is to run. Throwing on my father's jacket and carrying my bow and arrows, I head for the woods, careful to stay clear of the large hole in the meadow. I know that they won't fill it until all bodies have been found and the last ash is accounted for. I move easily through the woods, though getting my mind back to navigating like I did years ago is hard. It is almost like relearning the simplest of skills and my mind flashes for a second, wondering how hard it was for Peeta to get used to his leg. I try not to focus on that and instead on the game that I want to bring home. I'm having trouble hitting the animals in the eye, but I continue to try.
I hunt.
I'm too tired and emotionally drained to even attempt making the snares that I learned from Gale. The two rabbits that I was able to hit with my arrows will just have to do. I carry the game back towards the town, a part of me tempted to once again hide the bow and arrow to keep it safe. But the dead electric fence reminds me that it isn't necessary. Things are different, yet sometimes they feel exactly the same. I move easily through the streets, stopping for a moment outside of Haymitch's door. My hands are full of rabbit and arrows, so I kick the door with my booted foot. Surprisingly enough, he answers and I nod. It's all I can do at first because the smell permeating through the door is enough to make me sick. "I caught rabbits for dinner. Greasy Sae should be coming around to cook. Peeta brings bread. You should come, too," is all I tell him, inviting him to have dinner with us. I then turn and head towards my home as I hear a belch and his door shut.
Haymitch drinks.