"Welcome to District 13."
"President Coin," I nod politely.
"Mrs. Mellark," she barely acknowledges me. "You and your husband are needed in Command. Now."
With that, she turns and walks away. Peeta and I look at one another and shrug. One of the soldiers walks up to us and tells us he'll lead us to Command.
"What about our luggage?" Peeta asks.
"It will be taken to your quarters," he replies.
We sigh but agree. We strap the twins in to their stroller. There's no way we're letting them out of our sight yet.
"We'll see you guys in a bit," I say to Prim and my mom. We say goodbye to them and follow the soldier off the hovercraft.
District 13, if I had to describe it in one word, is drab. It's grey. A lot of grey. I'm sure it's going to take a while to learn my way around, because everything looks the same.
I try to keep track of the lefts and rights we're taking, but give up after ten minutes. I just hold Peeta's hand tightly as we push the stroller together.
Finally we come upon a large door marked 'Command'. The soldier leaves us at this point, and we enter together.
When we walk in, the room stops. Silence. Every eyeball is on us. Maybe it's because we're the new kids, or maybe it's because we have infants with us. Probably both.
We stride in and find two seats, taking the twins out and putting them in our laps as we sit.
"Welcome everyone," Coin says as she stands in the middle of the room. "The offensive into the Arena is about to begin. Our war has begun."
Behind her, a number of large monitors flicker to life, showing the Arena. I see Grayson and Annabel, feeding the Alliance breakfast. They even spare some food for the Career girls, who they still have tied up.
"Now we're one hovercraft short on the evacuation," Coin informs, glaring at me, "but that shouldn't affect the overall plan. Care to speak to that, Mrs. Mellark?"
I glare right back.
"That wasn't our deal, and you know it. So I informed the pilot of his new destination," I explain simply.
"Fine," she huffs, turning back to the room. There's really nothing she can do about it now.
Suddenly, all the screens go black as explosions appear all over the Arena.
"It's started," Peeta whispers.
After a few seconds, whatever magic Beetee is working kicks in, and all the monitors turn back on, showing various views from Rebel soldiers and hovercrafts.
"Where are the Victors?" I ask impatiently.
Coin doesn't answer me verbally, just points to a specific monitor. I can make out Finnick and Johanna, geared up for battle. I start praying.
It happens fast. The hovercrafts land, the soldiers disembark, and the battle begins. As predicted, the Capitol sends in their own troops, but they weren't prepared for this. Our soldiers easily repel them, forming a large perimeter to begin the large scale evacuation.
I see the Victors all board one hovercraft, and they're soon heading towards the mountain where the Alliance waits in a cave for rescue. I'm so happy that all my friends are rescuing the Tributes.
The pilot backs the hovercraft up right to the cave entrance and lowers the rear ramp, showing a smiling Finnick.
"Need a ride?" He asks sarcastically. A cheer goes up through the cave, and they start loading onto the hovercraft.
I'm incredibly proud when I see that Grayson and Annabel are the last two to board, making sure everyone, even the Careers, got on safely.
When Grayson steps aboard, he goes up and shakes Finnick's hand.
"Thank you Mr. O'Dair. That's everyone."
Finnick is shocked, but only momentarily. Grayson doesn't look like the eleven year old kid that was Reaped recently. He looks like a man.
The rear ramp is closed, and Johanna orders the pilot to head for 13.
The battle is still raging below, and there are casualties on both sides. Luckily, however, no Tribute has died so far except for the two that died in the Bloodbath yesterday. This is working out better than any of us imagined.
"Is the rest of Panem watching this?" I ask the room.
"Yes," Coin answers. "This is playing on every screen, including Snow's."
That makes me smirk. He's having to watch his precious Games get ruined. He has no idea what he's started, but we're sure as hell going to finish it.
As the battle starts dying down, I notice that most of the Capitol's soldiers are now surrendering instead of fighting to the death. That intrigues me. Maybe Snow doesn't have as much of a stranglehold on the country as he thinks, or maybe we just overwhelmed them this time.
It's over as quickly as it began. 13's hovercrafts begin the retreat back home, having rescued all living Tributes. There were less than twenty casualties, and we captured over a hundred Capitol soldiers.
"We're destroying the Arena, right?" Peeta asks.
"No," Coin replies without turning her head.
"What?" I almost yell. "We have to blow it up!"
"Quiet down, Mrs. Mellark. Leave the military matters to me. Worry about how you look on camera," she snaps.
I'm about to retort when Peeta grips my shoulder, willing me to reign in my anger. I take a deep breath and seethe silently. I realize what he's saying without him having to say it. I can't piss off the President our first day here. Well, any more than I already have.
We watch the aftermath for a few more minutes until it's obvious there's nothing really to do until all the hovercrafts get back.
The room is dismissed. Peeta and I strap the twins back in their stroller and exit Command. It takes us a while, but eventually we find the area our quarters are in.
Walking up to our designated quarters, I can't help but smile at the identification right in the middle of the door. It reads:
Mr. and Mrs. Peeta and Katniss Mellark
Colonels
Two Children, Twins, Aged under 1 year
Opening the door, Peeta sweeps me up and carries me over the threshold. I mildly scold him but ultimately allow him this little piece of tradition. We each take a twin on our shoulder and explore our new home.
It's not too large, but sufficient. There's a main living room with a few couches and seats. There's a small kitchenette off to the side with a fridge. That will be good for storing breast milk. I'm sure Peeta had a hand in getting that.
We check out the twins' bedroom first. Their cribs have already been set up, and their luggage is spread out. Next we go into the master bedroom. I'm astonished when I find a queen sized bed. I was sure we'd be forced to share some tiny twin sized bed. Once again, I feel Peeta's fingerprints all over this. I'm grateful, even though I know we'll be curled up together every night, the extra space helps for – other reasons.
There are two bathrooms, which surprises me. There's one attached to the master bedroom, and then one attached to the living room for guests. Both have showers, and the master one even has a bath. I'm sure this must be one of the best living arrangements in the entire District.
"Peeta, how did we get such a nice place?" I ask quietly with a smile.
He blushes slightly and has a small grin on his face.
"Haymitch, Plutarch and I may have made some calls….."
"Well, thank you," I smile, giving him a peck on the lips.
"There's something else I have to talk to you about," Peeta tells me. I nod and we put the twins down for a nap first. Then, we rid ourselves of our vests, thigh holsters, and uniform blouses, leaving us in our fatigue pants and t-shirts. We crawl onto our new bed and cuddle close.
"What is it baby?" I prod.
"Well, everyone in 13 has to have an implant on their arms which every day is loaded with their schedule. They have to adhere to the schedule down to the exact minute." I cringe, already dreading this. Peeta knows how I hate to be told what to do, especially by these people who we barely know. "Well, Haymitch and I knew you'd hate that, so we got Coin to agree that we don't have to wear them. Besides, we'll be working with Plutarch most of the time anyways, and when we're not, we'll either have time to spend as a family or we'll be teaching the occasional class. So, what I guess I'm saying is, we're special. We'll be doing things on our own schedule."
"Oh, Peeta," I breathe. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, honey."
"So this is our life, huh?" I ponder, looking around at the plain grey walls.
"For now," he concedes. "I know it's not what we want, Kat, but it's the only way we can get to live in the kind of world we want our children to grow up in."
"I know," I nod sadly. "We'll get through it, Peeta. Together."
"Together," he confirms, and I lean up to kiss him.
"Did you see the looks we got when we walked in to Command with the twins?" I ask.
He smiles wide.
"That was hilarious. They'd better get used to it, because I want my wife and kids with me all the time."
"Same here," I agree.
"Coin doesn't like us," he tells me somberly. I sigh.
"I know. I don't think she's liked us since before she even met us. I mean, we did start off by demanding a bunch of stuff."
"I don't care if she doesn't like us," Peeta decides firmly. "She has to deal with it, not us. We're doing what we need to do for our family. That's all that matters to me."
"Me too."
"Let's just not try and piss her off anymore, okay baby?" He pleads.
"I'll try," I vow with a grin. "I can't make any promises though."
"I know. That's not the girl I married."
"Oh yea?" I tease. "Who is the girl you married?"
His face takes on an air of seriousness, and I find myself excited to hear his answer.
"She's beautiful. But even that's not adequate. I've tried to explain it, but it's impossible. She's simply the most beautiful thing I have ever, or will ever, lay my eyes on. She's gentle and kind. She's the most wonderful, caring, loving wife and mother. She has a temper, but knows when to let it go. And when she does, it's an amazing thing to see, because she can inspire a nation. She can be the most outspoken person out there, but in our bed, she's as shy as can be. When she kisses me, my life can't get any better. She gave me two perfect children, and promised me someday she'll give me more. I love her more every day, and I can't imagine my life without her."
He pauses for a moment.
"How was that?" He jokes.
"Perfect," I mumble, still in shock.
"Like you," he instantly shoots back.
"I'm not the perfect one," I shake my head. "That's your department, honey."
"Ha. Yeah right," he waves me off with a shake of the head.
"Ugh. How come you can compliment me all day long but we I try, you just ignore me?" I complain.
"Because you deserve the compliments I give you."
"So do you!" I try to make him see.
"Maybe," he tilts his head back and forth. "But I don't want to argue with you right now."
"No? What do you want to do with me right now?" I smirk, knowing where this is heading.
Peeta surprises me with his answer, because he's usually not very vulgar, even when we're in the middle of having sex.
"I want to fuck you. Hard."
Oh my god. I feel my core heating up fast, and I'm sure if he doesn't get me naked in the next minute I'm literally going to die.
"Please," I beg.
The next hour is spent christening our new bed, exploring each other's bodies like we haven't seen each other in weeks, when in reality we had sex on the hovercraft ride here.
Peeta fulfills his promise, and I'm sure I drew blood scratching his back as he thrust deep and hard inside me. He makes me come four times, to his twice. The second time I make sure he explodes in my mouth, knowing how it drives him wild to see that, then I swallow.
We share countless 'I love you's, and get lost in each other. It's perfect. As we snuggle close, still naked with sheens of sweat covering our bodies, I can't help but think about how all this would be without Peeta.
What if I hadn't gotten the courage to tell him the truth? Would he have found another girl? Would I have ended up with – with – Gale? It makes me cringe to think about. After seeing all the girls that tried to get him even after we got married and had kids, I'm sure he wouldn't have lasted long on the open market. But that's not fair to him. He loves me. He would've waited for me – right? But I told him not to. I told him I didn't love him, that I didn't even like him, and that he should move on. It was only two weeks. What if it had been two months? What would have happened?
"Mrs. Mellark, you need to stop thinking so damn loud. I'm trying to sleep down here," Peeta mumbles. I giggle and turn to kiss his chest.
"Sorry," I look up to him with pleading eyes.
He sighs and runs his hand through my hair.
"What are you thinking about baby?"
"Nothing," I try to deflect.
He sighs.
"By saying that I know it's obviously something," he points out wisely. "Spit it out, Kat."
I take a deep breath, and, as usual, just blurt it out.
"If I hadn't told you the truth, would we be together right now?"
He's silent for a few moments as he takes in my question, mulling it over and turning it over in his head.
"I don't know," he says honestly. "I don't think we can ever know for sure what would have happened. Why?"
"I was just thinking how terrible it would be going through this without you."
"Even if we weren't 'together', Kat, I'd still be here to protect you."
"I know. That makes me feel even worse. But, if I hadn't come to your house that night, would you have found someone else?"
"No."
"Really? I mean, I remember you telling me about that night when Delly came over, and how you kind of wanted to kiss her…."
"Yeah, and do you remember why I didn't kiss her?" He asks, slightly frustrated.
"Me," I reply meekly.
"Exactly, Katniss Mellark. I was in love with you. I am in love with you. If you hadn't come over that night, and right now, I still believed you didn't love me, I'd still be hopelessly in love with you."
"But why?" I plead, trying to understand.
"Who knows? I don't know why love works the way it does. I just knew, I just know, that I'll love you no matter what. You could marry Gale, rub it in my face, and treat me like dirt for the rest of my life, and I'd still pine over you day after day."
This isn't helping. It's just making me feel more guilty by the second.
"I wouldn't want you to be lonely like that, Peeta."
"Kat, we've been over this. There's nothing either of us can do about it. We can't think about what might have happened."
"I know," I nod.
"What we can do is think about our future. Our mutual future. Because, that night all those months ago, you did come knock on my door. You did tell me truth. We did get married. We did have children. And now, because of all those things happening, we have our whole lives ahead of us to live together."
I nod, starting to get it.
"So stop wallowing in the past, Kat. We both made mistakes, but we're past them now. All past transgressions have been forgiven and forgotten. So let it go, and live in the now, with me and our kids."
"Okay," I smile. "I'm sorry, Peeta."
"It's nothing to be sorry about. I do it sometimes too. I get where you're coming from. It seems like if one thing hadn't gone our way, our lives would be totally different." I nod. "But they did go our way. And we're happy, aren't we? Even if we're in the middle of a war, as long as I have you in my arms, I'm happy."
"I'm happy too Peeta," I tell him with a sweet kiss. "Truly. With you and our children, I'll always be happy."
He beams at this, and we decide no more words are needed.
We tell each other everything else with our bodies, with kisses and caresses.
A few hours later, I'm woken from my deep slumber by an incessant knocking at the door. I reach around in the dark and grab Peeta's t-shirt. I throw it on over my head and it reaches halfway down my thighs.
I go to the door and crack it open, squinting from the bright lights of the hallway.
"What?" I mutter.
"Sorry to interrupt your session between the sheets with cinnamon buns, brainless!" Jo yells. "But we're here!"
"Jo?" I ask in disbelief.
"Yup. And some other people who want to see you."
I open the door a bit wider and I see Finnick, Annie, Haymitch, Chaff, Beetee, Wiress, Mags, and Effie all smiling at me.
"Um, hi?"