July
"Ms. Everdeen, we've arrived," the driver of the long black car says when he turns around to face his backseat passenger.
"Officer," Katniss responds without a thought.
"Pardon?" the driver replies.
"Officer Everdeen, sorry. Not 'Ms.' if you don't mind," Katniss says. She'd always hated being called "Miss" or "Ms.", even before her promotion to Officer within the ranks of the Panem Peacekeepers; she's grown weary of correcting people all the time.
"Of course. We've arrived at the Mansion. If you follow the path up this flight of steps, you'll be at the Peacekeepers Headquarters on the property and will be signed in," the driver says with a curt nod.
"Right, thank you," Katniss says, reaching into her satchel to retrieve her wallet. The driver waves her off with a white-gloved hand.
"The ride is paid for, Officer, you're all set," the man tells her.
"Oh. Well, thank you again," Katniss says as she reaches for the handle of the door. Her fingers have almost closed around it when the door swings open. She sees the uniformed junior Peacekeeper stand at attention as he holds the door for her, and nods at him politely even though it bugs her that she couldn't open her own damn door. She does as the driver instructed, taking the path up the flight of twenty-odd stairs, and pushing open the thick glass door of the blatantly militarized two-story structure. Several more junior officers stand at attention as she passes, the blue and gold insignia on her jacket indicating she is an Officer First Class, and is thus deserving of this respect. She hands over her ID card and Peacekeeper badge to the clerk behind the desk and shifts the handle of the satchel from one hand to another while she waits for the woman to analyze it.
"Officer Katniss Everdeen," she says simply. "I have a 2 o'clock meeting with Agent Hawthorne."
"Yes ma'am," the woman says as she types a quick note into the computer before handing Katniss back her personal effects. "Allow me to escort you to his office. He left communication saying he'd be just a few moments late but asked if you'd be kind enough to wait for him there."
"That'll be fine," Katniss replies. Despite being short-legged, the woman walks fast and Katniss has to quicken even her own brisk pace to keep up, even going so far as taking two-stairs at a time as they climb the marble staircase to the second floor. A few twists and turns of the conservatively decorated hallways and they come to a stop in front of a dark mahogany door emblazoned with the name Gale Hawthorne, Chief Agent.
"He'll be along any moment, Officer Everdeen," the woman says as she pushes the heavy door open and gestures inside. "Please, make yourself comfortable."
Katniss steps inside and can't help but immediately marvel at the view. A handsome desk and plush office chair sit in the corner across from a full-to-bursting bookshelf, but the truly impressive bit is the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up the entire back wall. Thick brown curtains are pulled all the way open and appear to be more for decoration than function as the view overlooks the back most courtyard of the Presidential Mansion. Katniss takes a deep breath and feels a smile tug at her lips.
Gale did good, she thinks fondly of her friend. She drops her bag into the simpler chair across from the desk and folds her arms as she continues to drink in the view. A fountain bubbles and flows in the center of the courtyard, and tall bushes of flowers she couldn't even begin to name construct an intricate maze around the perimeter. She knows that high-level Peacekeepers are no doubt stationed in various corners of this little utopia, but that doesn't take away from the beauty of it. It's not ostentatious or gaudy, like so much of the Capitol. It simply is.
"View's not too shabby, eh, Catnip?" Gale's voice rings out, breaking Katniss's concentration. She turns and smiles at her old friend. All at once, this office and its proximity to the residence of the President of Panem doesn't exist; they are simply Hawthorne and Everdeen, the inseparable pair of troublemakers that were always one day from getting expelled from the Peacekeepers Academy of District Two. They were never really huggers, but Gale holds out his arms and Katniss steps into them gladly.
"Yeah, it's alright," Katniss says with a smile when she pulls away. "How many of these books have you actually read and how many did they put here just to make you look smart and sophisticated?"
"Ah, clever girl," Gale says, pointing to the tip of his nose as he rounds his desk and drops into the chair. The leather squeaks like it's seldom used, and Katniss supposes it might not be. "Thanks for swinging on by to take this meeting, Katniss. I know the ride in from Five can be a long one."
"Not as long as some. And it's not really like you gave me much of a choice," Katniss says good-naturedly as she sinks into the chair across from him and folds her hands in her lap. "What's up, Gale?"
"I need a favor and you were the first one I thought of, just like I said in the communique," Gale says with a shrug.
"You wanna tell me what that favor is, or are we gonna play a round of Twenty Questions until I guess properly?"
"I'd like you to step down as Officer First Class," Gale replies bluntly, causing Katniss's eyes to go wide.
"Wait, what?" she stammers. The request is obviously untenable—Gale knows exactly how hard Katniss worked to achieve her rank and station. He knows the pride she takes in her work and the personal significance of that hard work turning Five into one of the safest, most peaceful Districts in the nation. "Why the hell would I do something like that?" she presses, anger beginning to permeate her words.
"It's against the law to work for two branches of the Peacekeepers at once, so I need you to step down so you can be reassigned. Here," Gale says, holding out his hands in offering. Katniss blinks rapidly as she surmises that "here" means this building: the headquarters of the Secret Service branch of the Peacekeepers organization.
"You want me to be SS?" Katniss says slowly.
"'Round these parts, Catnip, we tend to refer to ourselves as Tributes," Gale replies.
She's heard the term before, but has a hard time believing that Gale Hawthorne of all people would willingly use it. When a Peacekeeper is sworn in to the Secret Service branch, they're made to take an oath, wherein they solemnly swear to offer myself up in tribute to protect the lives of the men and women who serve the interests of the citizens of Panem. It's become a tongue-in-cheek name for those who serve within the Secret Service—"tribute" or "trib", those who may well give up their life so that someone else can live. Katniss always considered the branch to be just a slight step up from shoving her pistol in her mouth and pulling the trigger.
"Gale, I…"
"Before you go thinking this is nepotism, Katniss, let me assure you that it isn't. I called every District precinct and spoke with every supervisor to compile the most thorough list of names I could manage. But when I called Five, Mitchell kept me on the line for twenty minutes talking about you. Most of it I already knew from back in the day—your marksmanship, your testing scores, your complete inability to take a damn vacation when there is any work at all to be done. But you want to know what he reminded me of that I'd nearly forgotten, although I have absolutely no idea how it's possible?" Gale says.
Katniss shrugs her shoulders.
"He said 'Deep down, I know she's still just a girl from Twelve'. Somehow it slipped my damn mind that you were born and raised in Twelve. Pretty dumb, huh?"
"Considering it's your home District," Katniss says, her voice small. "I lived eight years in Twelve and ten in Five before I went to Two for training; I wouldn't call myself a 'girl from Twelve'. Five is my home."
"That may well be. But you're still Seam, just like me. That tells me two important things about you, Katniss—you know how to survive, and you don't go down without a fight. That's what you need to be a Tribute, and that's why I want to give you this job," Gale says.
Katniss stares down at her shoes and searches for the right words to say. As she suspects, they don't come easily. "Gale, there have to be a hundred people who are more…"
"There may be. But they're a hundred people who aren't you, and you're the one I want," Gale says. He's reluctant to appeal to Katniss's sense of patriotism and perseverance, particularly when he knows for a fact that one is far stronger than the other, but it seems the quickest way to end the argument altogether. "Katniss, I'm asking you to serve your country and serve your President. Simple as that. And personally, I think if he were alive, your father would be awfully pleased to hear you referred to as 'Agent' Everdeen."
Katniss's back is ramrod straight as she takes a deep breath and holds her head high. She could kill Gale Hawthorne for being able to manipulate her so easily. "Alright. I'll have to head back to Five to pack my things. I'll put in my notice to Mitchell then."
Gale shakes his head. "You'll have to send it via communique. I'm afraid if you accept, you won't be returning to Five for quite some time. Your position would begin immediately upon your signature."
"What the hell are you going to have me do that I can't go back for my whole two boxes of crap?" Katniss says, annoyance heavy in her voice.
"It's…it's easier if I show you," Gale says with a sigh and gets to his feet. He marches towards the door of the office and looks behind him with a scowl. "Coming?"
Katniss leaves her satchel on the chair behind her and rushes after him. She can match his pace just fine, having done so for two years in the Academy, and doesn't bat an eye when he escorts her out the back door of the building along a path that appears to lead directly into the Presidential Mansion. It doesn't really hit her that that is exactly where they are going until Gale is already pressing his palm to a print-scanner, and a heavily armored door swings open in front of him just a second later.
Unlike the sparsely decorated building they've just left, the mansion is plush, warm, and elaborately decorated. Some paintings look as though they've survived hundreds and hundreds of years, and depict men in white wigs and puffy collars riding on horseback and carrying archaic weaponry and swords. Katniss has barely a minute to look at any of them as Gale takes them through a long series of twists and turns, their well-polished shoes looking almost dull on the high-gloss of the mansion floors.
"Do I get to ask where we're going?"
"You have a meeting," Gale answers back over his shoulder. Another twist, another long hallway lined with regal paintings but no windows to speak of at all, and they're at an elevator. The metal doors click open and Gale gestures her on.
"With whom do I have this meeting?" she asks with a huff. Gale has always been one for mystery and cunning; it annoyed her at the Academy and it annoys her now.
"Katniss, this elevator has three stops. The first is where we entered—the bottom floor of the security passage underneath the private residence. It's a bunker for all intents and purposes, designed to be a fortress for the President in the event of an attack on the mansion. The second stop is the residence itself, and the third, where we're going, is the north wing of the mansion where the senior staff to the President work," Gale says simply.
"Why am I meeting the senior staff? Surely they have something better to do—wait. Are you trying to assign me to one of their protection details?" Katniss asks with a shake of her head; press liaison to the President, Finnick Odair, is on television several times a day and is arguably the most popular face of the administration, save for the President himself. If Gale is going to try to assign her to his detail, she's going to have to become far less camera-shy.
"Not exactly. Most of the senior staff doesn't have dedicated security, save for Haymitch Abernathy, and that's only because he got a few death threats early on after the administration took control. The President insisted upon his having a full-time guard, given that the man is ostensibly his second-in-command."
"What about Prime Minister Boggs? He was the one that ran everything after Snow was ousted."
"Sure, he stepped in and did an admirable job. But the Prime Minister and the President are two completely separate checks in the legislative branch. They take over one another's duties temporarily until other arrangements can be made, but that isn't exactly the point. The President is a smart man, there's no doubting that—but Haymitch Abernathy is the real brains behind this administration, and everyone, even the President, knows it," Gale explains.
"So why didn't we elect him six months ago?"
"Shit, Katniss, have you seen Haymitch Abernathy? The man is one of the least palatable people on the planet—you think the Capitol would ever elect a man like that? Not to mention it took two months to find him a guard that could handle him before Jo Mason took the post; she's just as surly as he is, which is the only way it works. But no—you're not going to be assigned to the senior staffers, or junior staffers, or even regular mansion security."
The elevator opens and Gale strides forward, oblivious to the many men and women in the exact same white and black suit ensemble who nod or salute him. Interspersed with the officers are long rows of desks and cubicles, all manned by people equally well-dressed but who are arguably far busier. Most of them don't even look up as she and Gale pass, and they're walking too fast for her to focus on any of them for longer than a second.
The seemingly endless passageway finally stops at a rounded wall manned by larger, bulkier guards who seem to have rods completely rammed up their asses for how straight they're standing. Gale doesn't even have to pull his badge out of his pocket before they stand aside to let him pass. Katniss is sure they sneer at her just a little before they fall back into formation. She's used to it in her position of authority, but it still annoys her.
Past the wall are another row of desks, but the general hustle and bustle of the exterior wing is notably absent. A woman dressed to the Capitol nines sits at one of the desks, clicking away at a computer with long, brightly painted fingernails, and barely looks up as she addresses Gale. "He's in senior staff now, Gale, you'll have to wait a moment," the woman chirps.
"They were supposed to be done twenty minutes ago…"
The woman throws her hands up in the air. "I cannot keep him on schedule no matter how hard I try! Every day is a big day now and you know it!" she huffs as she gets up from her desk and stomps away in her precariously high heels. Gale waits until her back is completely turned before facing Katniss with a cheeky grin.
"Effie's the President's executive assistant. I think the only person who likes tormenting her more than the senior staffers and me is the President himself," Gale says snarkily.
Katniss can't help but smile at this—until a sinking feeling invades her gut. "Gale, that room is the…"
"The Aula, yes," he says impassively. But of course, Gale would be impassive about that; he is, after all, the ACP—Agent in Charge of the President.
"You're taking me in to meet the President. He's my "meeting"?" she whispers. Her stomach drops to her toes from sheer nerves.
"Well, as soon as he's done with senior staff, yeah," Gale says with a nod. He's got his wrist quirked up towards his face like he's looking at his watch, but it's like no watch Katniss has ever seen before. He catches her staring at it and points the face towards her by way of explanation. "A communicuff. All Tribs are fitted for them and are expected to wear them at all times. They're surprisingly comfortable, actually. You get used to them fast."
The notion of wearing a watch that allows for constant communication with every other agent equipped with the same device sets Katniss's skin to crawling. In Five, when she's off-duty, she's off-duty. But Gale works for the President—she wonders if he's been off-duty anytime within the last six months. How that doesn't drive him crazy baffles her—she knows his work is his life, just like hers, but to not even have a minute alone…
A side door opens with a mechanical whoosh and a small group of men file out. Katniss recognizes Finnick Odair's dazzling green eyes and bronze hair immediately; the Seam-look of Haymitch Abernathy is apparent, even as he skulks off to his own office next door, which slams with a thud behind him; the final man, with his short cropped black hair, dark skin, and gold wire-rimmed glasses is not one Katniss can place immediate, so she looks at Gale.
"Beetee Watts, head of Executive Communications. Means he's the head speech writer and steps in when Odair isn't available, although Odair is very seldom unavailable," Gale mutters, still not looking up from his communicuff. A crackle of static emanates from the little thing before a deep voice filters through.
"Gale, Thresh here, over."
"Copy, Thresh, your status?"
"All clear in the South Wing; Thom's awaiting your word for the residence."
"Thom, Gale here, over."
"Copy Gale, residence is secure."
"Hold in the residence for now until Annie and LD arrive, Thom. The President will be expecting them at their usual time."
"Copy that, Gale; Thom out."
"Thresh, proceed into the Aula in five."
"Copy that, Thesh out."
Katniss gapes at the smoothness of Gale's commanding voice until he nods her towards the door that had just clicked closed a moment before.
"We're heading that way," he says.
"We don't need to be, like, announced?" Katniss asks.
"Only if we're interrupting a private meeting. We are the meeting, Katniss, come on," Gale says before he steps in front of her, waves his palm in front of the door and steps through it when it slides open. In a daze, Katniss follows him.
"Mr. President," Gale says curtly.
"Afternoon, Gale, sorry to keep you waiting," a voice says. Gale steps aside a second later and Katniss swallows hard as Peeta Mellark smiles at her from behind a desk even more elaborate than any she's seen before—even today.
"Not at all, sir. I'd like to introduce you to Officer Katniss Everdeen of District Five. She's my personal candidate for the open post we discussed earlier this week," Gale says.
"Of course! Good to meet you, Ms. Everdeen, Gale's told me quite a bit about you," the President says as he steps around his desk towards Katniss, his palm outstretched to her. She takes it tentatively, but can't stop the words coming out of her mouth.
"Officer, sir," she states.
"Pardon?" the President says with a quirk of his head.
"Officer Everdeen, not 'Ms.'," Katniss corrects, and immediately wants to snatch the words out of the air and shove them back in her mouth. She's said two sentences to the leader of the country, and in those six words has actually corrected the President. She steals a look at Gale, who's looking at her like she's crazy. She casts her eyes downward immediately as she releases the President's hand and clears her throat. "My apologies, Mr. President. That was incredibly rude of me."
Peeta Mellark's eyes squint when he smiles. Katniss knows this because he smiles at her broadly before holding his hand out to the plush sofas in the middle of the perfectly round, glass-domed room. "Not at all, Officer, I apologize for not using your correct title. Please, take a seat. I can ask Effie to get you something if you'd like."
Katniss folds her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking as she sits next to Gale on the red silk sofa to the left of a wing-backed chair that the President sinks into. She clears her throat again before saying "No, no sir…I'm fine, thank you."
The President accepts this and crosses his right leg over his left, his left hand loosely resting on his ankle above his knee. He looks to Gale at once.
"Thresh will be in momentarily, sir, and Thom as soon as Annie checks into the residence."
"Perfect, that gives us a few minutes. Ms…apologies, Officer Everdeen—may I ask how you decided to enter Peacekeeper training?"
Katniss swallows hard and rubs her hands together before answering. Everything about this place is intimidating, although this man and his crisp, perfectly tailored grey suit across from her should be the most intimidating thing in the room. And yet, Peeta Mellark radiates kindness instead of arrogance, all the while exuding endless confidence.
"I, um…I entered the Academy in Two after I finished my District-required schooling in Five. I didn't have the math and science scores to enter the electrical engineering school at home and wanted something different anyway," she says shakily.
"You could have gone and done a lot of things, though; why Peacekeeping?"
Katniss decides not to lie. "For my sister's sake, sir."
"Your sister?" the President asks. Is that concern she hears in his voice?
"Y-Yes," Katniss stammers as she swallows over the lump in her throat. "My sister died a few months before her 16th birthday. The circumstances of her death were—troubling. I suppose you could say that I entered Peacekeeper training to find out more about the process that failed her."
Katniss knows she's blowing this—whatever this is—by the sudden darkness that invades the President's sapphire blue eyes. His right hand seems to rise to his well-definited jawline on instinct, his first two digits trailing slowly across his lips; Katniss wonders if this is a nervous tick for when the man is deep in thought.
"I am very sorry to hear that," he says gently. "May I…what was her name?"
Katniss cringes, but this man is still the President. "Prim. Short for Primrose."
"That's a lovely name," he says kindly. "I must admit, Officer Everdeen, that I have also experienced—"
A door slides open suddenly and Katniss startles. A man even darker in complexion than Beetee Watts steps through and nods curtly to the President. "Apologies for my interruption, Mr. President."
"Not at all, Thresh. Please take a seat. Can Effie get you anything?" the President asks, gesturing towards the empty couch to his right. The man shakes his head.
"No sir; thank you, though."
"My apologies, Officer Everdeen, where were we?" the President says quickly as he turns his attention back to Katniss. She swallows hard again and smooths the fabric of her dress slacks.
"I was explaining what motivated me to join the Peacekeepers, sir. If you don't mind, though, I...I'm very confused as to why I'm here. Gale mentioned something about me joining the ranks of the Tri—Secret Service, but surely there are thousands of already decorated officers that would be more equipped to handle the guard of the president. Not to sound ungrateful, truly, but...I'm not the person for this post."
Peeta Mellark shakes his head with a soft smile on his face. "On the contrary, Officer," he says. "I already firmly believe you are."
A buzzer rings out behind the desk and the President gets to his feet. Gale crosses over to the door the agent called Thresh had entered through and presses a button on his communicuff.
"Gale to Thom. Annie and Little Duck are secure?"
"Roger that, Gale; arriving in three...two..."
Gale waves his hand in front of the door and a moment later, the President squats down directly in front of it. When it opens, a tiny blur of blonde curls rushes through.
"DADDY!" a voice much louder than that which should belong to a child so small resonates through the room, and a smile wider than any Katniss has seen spreads across the President's face as he sweeps the child up in his arms and spins him in place.
"Heya, Ry-Ry!" Peeta Mellark exclaims as he kisses the boy soundly on the cheek and props him on his hip.
"Daddy, it was art class today so I drew you a new picture for your desk. Annie has it, wanna see?"
"Of course, Duckie, but first I need to introduce you to someone. Can I put you down, you're getting way too big for this..."
The child grumbles but slides down easily to his feet, turning around when the President places his large hands on the child's shoulders. Gale nods quickly to Katniss, who stands up and tries to keep the vaguely shocked look off her face.
"Rye, this is Officer Katniss Everdeen; she is going to spend some time with you and Annie this afternoon. Would you say hello, please?"
"Hello Officer Everdeen!" the child responds brightly to Katniss.
Katniss is mute for a long moment before she nods at the little boy, who's looking at her expectantly. "H-Hello. It's um…it's nice to meet you."
"You too! Daddy, can I show you my drawing now?" the boy says, arching his neck up to his father, who beams down at him affectionately. The President scoots around his desk and sinks into the plush office chair a moment before the little boy crawls up in his lap. The pair seem to be examining the glass panel top on the regal-looking desk, and the boy points a chubby finger after a long second of studying. "That one," the child says.
"I like that one, why would I take that one out?" the President says with a laugh.
"'Cause this one's better, Daddy, I promise! Huh, Annie?"
A raven-haired woman in the same, standard Secret Service uniform that Gale and Thresh wear strides forward and holds out a piece of paper. "Why don't you let your father decide that, Rye? How are you, Mr. President?"
"Fine, Annie, thanks. Did you meet Officer Everdeen?" the President asks, claiming the piece of paper and studying it with a smile before nodding the woman towards Katniss.
The woman shakes Katniss's hand politely and smiles. "Annie Cresta, I'm Rye's guard. Gale told me you'd be shadowing us this afternoon," she says.
Katniss is still speechless, but finds it in her to at least nod politely. "I-I…"
Gale and Thresh approach Annie, tearing her attention away before Katniss can formulate an answer; the three of them and another ashen-skinned man, who she presumes is this "Thom", huddle in a little group quickly, their attention turned away from the President and his child. Katniss realizes at once they aren't actually ignoring the father and son; this must be one of the rare occasions of the day when the pair of tow-heads get the opportunity to whisper to each other conspiratorially, for the little boy to giggle happily at the words his father murmurs to him, for the father to hold his child close to his chest. Katniss tries not to stare, realizing this is probably as close to privacy as the Mellark men most of the time She follows the Tribute's examples, and examines the high arched windows above them. She can't help but wonder just how safe it actually is for the entire ceiling above the most important executive room in the country to be made of nothing more than glass.
The same buzzer that went off a moment before the little boy bounced into the room trills again, and a heavy sigh is heard from the boy behind the desk.
"Do I have to, Daddy?" Rye Mellark says pleadingly to his father, who kisses his forehead and scoots him off his lap.
"I have four more meetings today, but I'll be home in plenty of time to tuck you into bed. Tell Auntie Delly that I said you don't have to go to sleep until I walk in the door, no matter what time it is," his father replies. The look on the boy's face is exuberant, and he hugs his father around the waist with all the strength his tiny arms can muster.
"Deal!" he chirps, and skips to Annie's side. The woman looks down at him tenderly, then up at Katniss.
"Annie, I'm going to have one more word with Officer Everdeen before you and Rye whisk her away. If you'd all step out for a moment?" the President says as he slides the bit of paper Annie had placed in his hand underneath the glass-top before letting it fall back onto the desk with a soft thump.
"Of course, Mr. President," the agents all seem to say at once, and the little boy waves at his father.
"Bye Daddy! Do good work!" the boy sing-songs.
"Bye, Duckie, see you tonight," the President replies with a wave. Katniss stands in the middle of the room lamely as she watches the young President ruffle his hair and sigh before rounding his desk, leaning against the front, and crossing his arms.
"If Gale didn't explain matters, Officer Everdeen, please allow me to clarify. My protection detail is adequate as it is—Gale, Thresh, and Thom rotate with six other agents at any given time and work round the clock. In fact, I know for certain that I see the three of them more often than I see Rye, or his Aunt, or even the rest of my cabinet and staff."
"So, I'm…" Katniss begins, but trails off as her head swims with the information it is piecing together. The words Little Duck that had been uttered through the communicuff on Gale's wrist bob at the surface and make it hard to breathe.
"May I call you Katniss? I'm sure you'd prefer Officer Everdeen, but it's scary enough for my son to have so many near-strangers in our lives without using such formal titles," the President asks calmly, as if to reclaim her attention. She nods quickly and places her hands behind her back.
"Of course, Mr. President. I'm just—I'm sorry, I'm not particularly good with words and this request has…"
"Katniss," the President says softly. "The protection detail Gale has recommended you for isn't mine—it's Rye's. I need someone smart and agile and observant to head his detail. Annie will be stepping down for personal reasons as soon as we find her replacement and Gale can't seem to say enough good things about you. Now, I can tell you're awkward around children, and that's fine, really. Rye's a good kid and you'll warm up to him fast. His Aunt is his primary caregiver so I'm not trying to hire you to be his nanny—you're his guard. Simply put, I just need you to make sure there are no monsters underneath my son's bed at night. Because despite my promise just now, I can't guarantee that I'll be there earlier than 11 o'clock, maybe midnight, and he'll probably already be asleep. So…I'm asking you to consider serving, and in order to make up your mind, I'd like you to spend the afternoon with him and Annie to get used to what being Rye's guard might entail. Would that be alright with you?"
Katniss gulps and feels her head nod up and down without hesitation. She should be hesitating about this. She should be yelling at Gale for using the words Little Duck to get under her skin and manipulate her into caring about this tiny stranger before she's even so much as figured out what color his eyes are. She should be the first to recognize just how crazy this entire ordeal is, and nip it in the bud before it gets even more complicated. And yet, her head is still bobbing up and down.
"Of course, Mr. President," Katniss says calmly.
Peeta Mellark smiles at her and uncrosses his arms. "I appreciate that, Katniss. Now, if you'll excuse me, Effie might just have an aneurism if I don't at least try to get back on schedule for the rest of my day."
"Yes, sir. I'll just…" Katniss turns in place and immediately becomes flustered at the sight of not one, but three identical doors, and she can't tell which one Gale, Annie, and the President's son left through. Behind her, she hears his throat clear, and when she turns again, he's smiling at her broadly once more.
"You'll want the one to the far right. The middle is the lavatory and the far left is the Adyton, which only I am allowed in," he says, his smile playing up the kindness in his words. Katniss feels a blush burn hot against her neck as she nods curtly and heads towards the door he's indicated. It opens with a whoosh, and she chances one more brief look back at him before stepping through it. He's rounded his desk again, and is hunched over to study something on his desktop with a pensive face. It occurs to her in the moment before the door closes between them that she's never seen a man with eyelashes quite so long before.
A/N: The title of this chapter comes from The Cab song of the same name, also my recommended listening for this chapter, if that's the sort of thing you might be interested in. ;)
To say that I am pleased with the response I have gotten so far for this story is a drastic understatement - it absolutely thrills me that you all are enjoying this story, and every single review and Tumblr note I receive humbles me more and more. I hope this story continues to excite and entice you all. Thank you so, so much for reading.
My beta/pre-reading trio of amazing (sohypothetically, megsonfire, and Court81981) each went through this chapter two or three times to help me smooth the introduction of Katniss and little Rye Mellark. Thank you to these three beautiful women is nowhere near an adequate sentiment!
I'll be so interested in hearing any and all feedback on this chapter either here or on Tumblr, where I am also baronesskika! In the meantime, I'll be trucking right along on chapter 2 so I can get it to you all as soon as possible.
