Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games franchise or any of its characters.
Peeta closes his eyes and leans back against the wall. The cold, hard wall feels good somehow. Solid and stabile in a day that has been anything but that.
A day? Has it really only been a day?
He had meant to die yesterday. Meant to sacrifice his own life so that she could live and become a Victor two times over. It wasn't the how that mattered, only the when. Survive long enough to live.
"No one really needs me."
He moans brokenly. Why did his last words about his family had to be that? Did his father weep when he heard his son admit he had nothing else to live for? Did his brothers get angry at his preference for a Seam girl over his flesh and blood? Did his mother feel any regret at his sacrifice or just indifference to her unwanted and unloved son?
"Stop crying, Loverboy. We'll get her back." She lifts an eye when she sees his harsh dry-eyed glare. "I've been looking for you. They wouldn't let me go until they tied up my arm."
"Go away, Johanna."
She pauses. "It's not about her, is it?"
He drops his eyes and tightens his lips to a thin line. A heavy silence descends in the room and it's more than Peeta can bear. He's startled when something soft lands on his lap. A towel, a shirt and some pants. The clothes were grey and dull but clean. The last time his clothes had been clean was just before he had entered the arena.
"Take a shower. You're messing up the bed sheets. Bathrooms are down the hall, to the right."
She's right. It has been a long day. "Thank you."
Johanna nods and moves across the room. "Water's going to be cold. Not enough heat to go around, they said." He lifts an eyebrow at her as she sits on the other bed in the room. "They assigned me here too. Not enough rooms to go solo." Her smile turns predatory, like a cat staring at its prey. "Why? Afraid I'll take a peek, breadboy? You've already seen what I've got. Why don't you show me what you're packing in there?" She darts out a small pink tongue and licks her lips seductively.
Peeta smirks at the memory. Johanna had stripped down to nothing in the elevator right after the Quarter Quell's opening ceremony. The expression on Katniss' face had been particularly memorable and he was sure that Johanna had done it not because she fancied him but because she wanted to get a rise out of the younger girl who could be so tough and yet so pure at the same time. He's sure she's trying to do the same thing to him now but he's not as innocent as he looks. He grew up with two older brothers after all.
"I'm afraid not everyone is as comfortable as you are in our birthday suits," He says, with a small smile. He stands to his feet, holding the towel and clothes. "What about the top bunk?" He points to the upper berth.
"No thanks. I rather not have my bed shaking and bouncing if you decide to rub one out. You know, when you're thinking of her." She scoffs and he blushes. She waves off his protests and explains, "The bed's for Finnick but they're keeping him in the wards overnight."
Finnick had gone to pieces on the hovercraft when they had found out about the Peacekeepers storming into District 4. Peacekeepers in District 4 must have meant that the Capitol had taken Annie Cresta. No amount of begging or pleading would move Plutarch to turn the hovercraft around. Finally they had sedated him when he had tried to break into the cockpit in desperation.
Peeta nods his head and heads in the direction of the bathrooms. Johanna was right. The water is lukewarm at best but he feels better after the shower. Almost human again. He walks back to his assigned room and sits on his bed. Carefully, he removes his prosthetic leg. It was a luxury he had to do without in the arena. You never know when you needed to wake up and run for your life.
Johanna watches him as he unbuckles the prosthetic. "Was it worth it?" She suddenly asks.
"Would I take a knife wound from a Career, get stung by tracker jackers, nearly die from fever and lose half my leg to blood poisoning again?" He asks drily.
If it meant getting her to kiss me like that again.
"Yes," he says honestly and he doesn't feel the need to justify it for her. He puts his prosthetic leg down and reaches down to rub at the stump, grimacing at the sore muscles.
"She wasn't pregnant, was she?" Her next question catches him off-guard and he blinks at the turn of the conversation. She cuts him off before he can responds. "Don't lie to me. Save it for the Capitol."
"What makes you think I lied?" He says carefully.
Johanna huffs. "She wouldn't have such a huge stick up her ass if she was getting laid on a regular basis. She looked like she would rather suck lemons every time you kissed."
"Ouch. I didn't think I was that bad." He says mildly. He isn't offended by her insinuation; the kisses weren't real.
She smirks at him. "So if she wasn't pregnant, what was that interview about?"
He sighs and tells her everything. He tells her the strategy he and Haymitch had concocted for the first Hunger Games, the staged kisses, Katniss' plan with the berries, the star-crossed lovers charade, the planned proposal, even the false toasting and pregnancy. "I just wanted to protect her. She didn't deserve to get dragged back into the Games."
"Newsflash, brainless. None of us did. Wasn't that why we're Victors? So we don't have to go through that hellhole again?" Johanna's anger is palpable. She throws her hands up in the air and leans back on her bed. She's silent for a while before she speaks up again. "Snow killed my family. Including my old and blind grandmother. I'm the only one left."
He remembers what she had said in the arena. "I'm sorry," he says softly. "My family didn't make it either. They couldn't get out in time. The firebombs hit the town first." His voice trails away. The pain is still raw, like an open wound that had not yet begun to heal.
He looks up in alarm as Johanna punches her pillow. "That bastard Snow. He does this. That's how he controls you. Playing god and deciding who gets to live and who gets to die. Your father is crushed from a tree when you ignore an invitation to Snow's granddaughter's birthday party. Your sister and three of her friends are raped and strangled when you break his richest sponsor's hand when he tries to put his hand up your skirt. Your family and the whole District die from firebombs if you blow up his precious arena."
"Johanna," he says tiredly but she interrupts him again.
"Are you listening to me, brainless? Snow's never going to stop. We're out of his arena but we're not out of his Games yet. He's got Katniss and Beetee and Annie." She sees the fear in his eyes and shakes her head impatiently. "Oh, I don't think he'll kill them. Katniss is the darling of the Capitol and they don't like their Victors mysteriously dying on them. Not especially when Snow has them in his claws." Johanna reaches up and flicks the light switch on the wall. "Go to sleep, breadboy. Tomorrow, we're going to have a good long talk with that drunkard Haymitch and whoever else is running this show." She turns to face the wall and her breathing slowly evens out into slumber.
Peeta settles down in his own bed but sleep refuses to come easy. He stares at the dark ceiling and remembers a heated kiss by a beach.
"No one really needs me."
"I do, I need you."
For a brief moment, he almost allows himself to believe it.
The next morning, Peeta and Johanna are visited by Boggs, a soldier who explains that he was sent to give them an induction on District 13. He points out a contraption in the wall, explaining how schedules are tattooed on everyone's arms and the need for strict adherence to the schedule. He explains the various key locations and then informs them that they were to head to Command after breakfast before leaving as abruptly as he arrives.
Bemused, Peeta and Johanna eat a rather unsatisfying breakfast before heading to Command. The room is filled with computerized screens and high-tech control panels everywhere. Maps are projected off different walls and green lines run continuously across different screens. A large television sits to the back of the room and Peeta notices that it displays the Capitol's broadcast on a continuous loop. People in grey uniforms stare at different screens and manipulate the controls to pull more information. This is a war room, designed with the sole purpose of bringing down the Capitol.
Boggs meets them at the doorway and escorts them to a meeting room situated to the side of the large room. The meeting room is encased in soundproof glass, preventing any sensitive information from leaving the room. Inside, Plutarch Heavensbee spots the duo and beckons at them excitedly. He invites them to sit at the large oval table, where a few people are already seated. Clearly, their arrival is anticipated.
Peeta looks around the table but recognizes no one. His eyes shift to the woman seated at the end of the table. Her hair falls straight down in an unbroken sheet to her shoulders and her grey eyes coldly assess the two Victors. He has the uncomfortable feeling that she is able to read every single one of his thoughts, including the ones that he hides even from himself. Instinctively, he knows that this woman is a force to be reckoned with. Like a carven stone, unmovable and unbending. She has kept District 13 together through sheer force of will and she would not allow anything to deter her from her path.
Plutarch clears his throat and the meeting begins.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to District 13 Command."
"Haymitch?"
Bloodshot eyes gaze back at him and Peeta sees the raw pain in those eyes.
"What do you want, boy?" He slurs at him.
"What's going on? Is he okay?"
Johanna rolls her eyes at Peeta. "He'll be fine. Give him a few more days and he'll be right as rain." She snorts at his blank stare. "He's detoxing, brainless."
As it turns out, alcohol is a big no-no in District 13. Haymitch is finally forced to detox after years and years of alcohol abuse.
"Get out." Haymitch snarls as he swipes blindly at the air. His arm flails wildly before he collapses to the floor, shaking and shivering.
Peeta bends down to try and help the older man up but is only rewarded with another swipe. Johanna pulls him back, shaking her head.
"It's no use. His body has to flush the toxins out before he can start recovering."
"Look at him. I don't think he can even understand us, much less help us. Let's just go."
Johanna blocks the doorway and folds her arms stubbornly. "I'm not leaving until we get some answers."
Peeta sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Haymitch? We need to ask you a few questions." When there is no response, he continues hesitatingly. "President Coin told us that we were rescued from the arena for a reason. She wants us to be the face of the rebellion."
Johanna snorts again. "Just you, breadboy. I've already done my part in keeping you and Fire Girl safe."
He ignores her jibe. "She wants us to shoot propos to be broadcasted to the other Districts and maybe even the Capitol. Is that why you rescued me and not Katniss? Because I make a better face on the camera than her?" Anger creeps into his voice and it's all he can do to stop himself from throttling the already suffering man.
Haymitch groans in pain before vomiting on the floor. He curls into a ball and alternates between groaning and shivering. Johanna wrinkles her nose and makes a disgusted noise. Peeta tightens his mouth before reaching out to haul Haymitch into the nearby bunk bed. He picks up a cloth and gently wipes Haymitch's mouth before handing him a glass of water to drink. His mentor drinks thirstily but his hands do not stop shaking.
"Coin told Plutarch…get you first." He gasps out. "I tried…but too late. Wanted…both of you…safe." The look of guilt in Haymitch's eyes tells him all he needs to know.
Peeta balls his fists and trembles. He could feel Johanna shift her stance behind him and he senses her watchful eyes on him. He forces himself to relax, loosening his tense muscles.
"I'm not Katniss. I'm not the Mockingjay. I'm just Peeta." He says quietly.
I don't want to inspire rebellion. I don't want to be the public face of the rebels. I just want Katniss to be safe.
"No." Haymitch coughs out. "You're a Victor."
"That drunkard's right." Johanna cuts in. "You're just as much a Victor as she is. She might be the Mockingjay but you're the brains. Fire Girl would have never thought of half of the things you said in the interviews." She holds up her hands at his glare. "I'm not saying she's an idiot but Coin wants your charisma right now for the rebellion. Fire Girl has moxie but she doesn't have your silver tongue."
Katniss was the one who saved us. All my silver tongue got us was attention. It's her berries and her hunting skills that got us out of the arena. Without her, I'm nothing. Just another baker's son who couldn't, shouldn't have survived the Games.
"Kid." Haymitch's rasp pulls Peeta out of his thoughts. "Listen to Coin. Help her."
Help Katniss? Or help Coin?
There's a knock on the door and a nurse orders Peeta and Johanna out of the room. They leave reluctantly, allowing the nurse to tend to Haymitch who has slipped into another trembling fit. Outside, Boggs is waiting for them.
"President Coin has offered to let you visit District 12, as a sign of good faith. If you're willing, we will be leaving in an hour."
Peeta's mind leaps to his family immediately but he frowns when he catches Boggs' last word. "An hour? That's fast."
"We want to scout the extent of the damage and search for intel on the Capitol. We'll be at the hanger bay if you wish to join." Boggs pauses before saying softly. "Maybe you can find out more about what happened to your family."
He sucks in a breath of air, as if his lungs had lost the capacity to breathe. He feels a tight grasp on his arm and he knows it's Johanna.
"You should go. Say goodbye." She tells him without looking at him. Before he could reply, she walks away quickly and disappears out of the hallway.
Peeta looks at Boggs and nods. "Lead the way."
Author's Note: My sincere apologies for the late post. I'm trying to stick to a weekly update but I had to rewrite this chapter several times. I'm not entirely pleased with it still but it finally hit the right notes for me.
Part of the reason why it took so long was due to the fact that I've been ruminating on how much will the story change based on the twist as well as keeping the characters in-character. I sincerely hope I can produce a satisfactory story without compromising too much of the original plot and characters. Do review and let me know how I'm doing!