Thank you for so much for reading! It's awesome to hear your suggestions and feedback!
The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.
Thank you to Chelzie, beta extraordinaire, who deals with my gibberish.
Lazy
Part Three: Revenge
"Ain't that the tradition?" Haymitch asked as he walked her over the threshold of the house. "You're supposed to carry the bride into the house?"
"I don't think it meant over your shoulder," Effie replied with a giggle as she poked his lower back. "You can put me down now."
Haymitch swatted her bottom through the fluffy skirt of her dress before placing her gently on the feet. She stood before him in her sleeveless white tea-length dress with a tulip skirt and matching kitten heels. Perched on top of her golden hair was a fascinator with delicate netting that swept over her blue eyes.
She was beautiful. He always thought so.
Haymitch hated to admit, especially to Effie (since she would tease him) that he had fallen for her the moment he first saw her.
He was working in a local bar when she had come in—hair up in a messy bun, ripped jeans caked in dirt with a tight gingham top—and demanded a cold beer.
She'd had a hard day trying to fix up the mess of the house that her ailing father left her in charge of.
He nearly dropped the glass he was cleaning at first sight.
When Haymitch agreed to help out for some extra cash, he didn't know that he would end up becoming her personal slave.
Effie was bossy and demanding—she'd nitpick over every little thing. If he painted a wall wrong, she was on him about the proper brush direction or how he needed to wait until the primer was dry.
It was during a particular fight over why he had placed some stupid canisters against the outside storage wall that he lost it.
Haymitch finally yelled back at her—the words 'heinous bitch' might've slipped out a couple of times.
He found himself pressed against that wall with her mouth against his and his hands in her hair.
And he was a goner.
"You okay there, sweetheart?"
Haymitch looked up to see Effie smiling shyly at him.
"I just can't believe that you're my wife," he found himself saying.
"Come here." Haymitch went to her and Effie took his hand, pulling him close. "You're mine now—always."
"Always," he agreed.
"And I'll fill this house with children," she promised.
"Not too many." Haymitch smiled into her neck and he could feel her laugh against him.
"Just six or seven."
"You'll be the death of me, woman!"
"Hardly," Effie replied simply and pulled away from him with a grin. "If I haven't killed you by now—you must be invincible."
His hand went to her face and he lifted her chin so that she would meet his eyes.
"I'm only invincible because you're with me."
And he meant it.
"Dance with me, Haymitch," she asked suddenly. "I just want to do one thing that's traditional."
They had married on a spur of the moment decision. His proposal had been clumsy at best and she had yelled at him for not getting down on one knee.
Then she accepted before knocking him onto the grass that they laid their picnic on.
"Okay, but there's no music."
Effie shook her head before heading to the opposite side of the sitting room. Crouching down under an old chair, she pulled out a small case with a handle. Placing it on the table in front of the chair, she opened it to reveal a small music player.
She pressed the play button and the sounds of a slow guitar filled the room.
Effie clapped her hands excitedly before rushing over to him. "Come on now! I want a dance with my husband!"
Haymitch obliged, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her hand. Effie placed her other hand on his shoulder, resting her head against his chest as they swayed in comfortable silence, listening to the song.
"You ended up so with that person who comes home too late from the bar
I ended up so when my courage could finally walk on its own
When I finally opened the door…"
"You've made me so damn happy, Haymitch."
"I'm opening the heart door, letting in the light…opening the heart door and giving life to me that died…"
Haymitch opened his eyes, adjusting to the bright light filtering through the dirty window of his office.
How long had he been asleep?
Turning his head from where he laid on the couch, Haymitch found Johanna sitting in front of the computer that she had set up on his desk.
His wedding song played softly through the connected speakers as Johanna softly sang the words and he watched as she scanned the computer screen before jotting down notes onto a legal pad.
She looked tired and unkempt—he was sure that she hadn't slept.
"How long have you been here?" Haymitch finally asked, his voice still rough with sleep.
Johanna looked up and gave him a small smile. "Morning. Not long – maybe an hour or so."
He sat up and moved his head from side to side, cracking his neck. "You didn't sleep until two—you were too busy smoking cigarettes in the back with Gale!"
"I'm not a child anymore, Haymitch," she replied as she rolled her eyes. "Haven't been one since the day I came to you and Effie."
"Doesn't stop me from worrying," he told her. Johanna nodded acceptingly; her eyes, however, were happy at the thought of him caring. "You remember that song?"
"Of course, Effie would tell us all about your wedding dance." She pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest in his large chair. Resting her chin on her knees, her eyes were soft as she focused on the memory. "We ate it up, too—except for Katniss—because apparently romance was bullshit to her." Johanna met his eyes. "Was it all real? Everything she said?"
Haymitch thought of that day; it had been the only time he ever danced.
When it was over, Effie had led him to the bedroom of their home and – well, Johanna had found those pictures.
"It was real," he said after a quiet, painful moment. "I have it in my memories."
"And in photos," Johanna laughed when he glared at her. "Don't worry, I never told anyone, but Effie was a wild one."
Haymitch grinned in remembrance. "She sure was."
"Yuck."
They heard a low groan from the ceiling above them and Johanna shook her head.
"Speaking of gross things—Katniss is a lot more vocal than I thought."
Peeta ran his hands up the sides of her thighs, drawing a low, slow moan from Katniss.
"What are you doing?" She sprawled an arm over her eyes to cover them from the morning light. Lifting it slightly, she smiled seeing him at the foot of their bed knelt before her, his hands on the band of her lace shorts.
"Waking you up," he replied as he began to pull them down. She complied, lifting her hips.
Peeta loved her legs—long and tanned—and he remembered when she was gangly during their adolescence. She caught his attention even then.
He prayed for his body to grow taller and stronger so she would notice him.
When he was twelve, thanks to a growth spurt and Effie's care, his prayers were answered. He wasn't muscular like Gale nor handsome like Finnick, but Peeta was taller than her and content with that.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked as she pushed herself up on her elbows. "I saw something change in your eyes."
Peeta lifted a leg over his shoulder, kissing her shin. "Lay back and I'll tell you." She fell backwards, letting her hair fan out against the cream pillow behind her. "I was thinking about when we were kids and I spent two years praying that I would get bigger so you would notice me."
"I noticed you," she replied softly. "I could see everything in your eyes—every emotion, every thought, every pain. Johanna would make fun of me because I stared so much. She couldn't understand why I was so focused on the 'the little one.'"
"Ouch." Peeta placed her leg down. "That's still not easy to hear."
Katniss drew her legs up, her feet flat on the mattress, entrapping him between her open thighs and grinned at him.
"I was so awkward," she said. "I wished I was petite like Annie and I wished for her green eyes."
"Why?"
Peeta went flat on his abdomen as he parted her thighs. His mouth went to her inner thigh, placing a gentle kiss on it before doing the same to the other side. She sighed and reached a hand into his hair, gently massaging his blond locks.
"You seemed obsessed with the color green," Katniss answered. "You would sketch leaves using every single shade of the color. I wanted to be small like Annie so we would be the same, and I wanted her eyes so you would see me."
"I saw you," he told her huskily, his eyes fixated on her open before him. Peeta could see her folds glistening before him and when he caught her scent—he felt the pleasurable twinge in his groin.
He met her eyes. "I used green because it's your favorite color."
Peeta's mouth went to her wet slit and she moaned as she arched into him. "Really?"
His tongue flattened against her, moving slowly up to her clit so he could draw circles against it. Katniss writhed against him as her hands went back to his hair. Her tugs weren't painful—jolts of pleasure rushed through him whenever she did, making him desperate to be inside her.
He knew that they would wait until he could put a ring on her finger – after they destroyed Snow.
Instead, Peeta took his index finger, slowly entering her as he looked up at her flushed body. She had thrown off the tank she wore at one point so he could see all of her—her rosy, hard nipples, her smooth abdomen and the small scar to the side of it from when she had accidentally scraped herself against some barbed wire in the outside storage as a kid.
"Really," he replied as he inserted a second finger into her wet cavern. He shivered at feeling of her clenching around him as he caressed her. "You wore your olive jacket all the time in the spring. In the winter, you were always in the dark green sweater that Effie knit for you—even when it didn't fit right."
He distinctly remembered that winter it stopped fitting her.
It was the winter that Haymitch had 'the talk' with him after he had woken up in a cold sweat, moaning her name.
"Peeta…" she moaned, pulling him out of his reverie. "Faster—please…"
He met her eyes and grinned. "Since you said please."
His mouth moved over her clit, sucking on her flesh as she fucked his fingers.
Soon, the occupants of the house would be waking up – if they hadn't, then she would be giving them one hell of a wake-up call.
As he felt her beginning to tighten around him, Peeta bent his fingers, pushing against the spongy tissue while his tongue drew around her button. He had read about it once when he broke into an old library—it was supposed to be some spot that caused intense pleasure.
Peeta liked to experiment, so he curled his fingers once more to see what would happen—and she fell apart, arching her hips with his mouth still on her.
Yanking the pillow out from under her, Katniss moved it over her face, shattering as her orgasm hit. He heard her murmuring his name as her body began to relax.
Throwing the pillow aside, she looked down at him, her chest rising and falling as she recovered.
"You know I only started wearing that sweater more when you woke up the entire house screaming my name."
He sat up, still tasting her on his lips and smiled.
"You know you made Effie think that the washing machine was broken by shrinking it."
Crawling over to her side, he grabbed the pillow that she tossed and laid his head down. Her head joined his on the pillow and her finger reached over to trace his chin.
"Don't you wish that we could just turn back time?" she asked softly. "We could've told each other how we felt sooner."
"I think it was better that we were friends first," Peeta replied. "It made us stronger."
She kissed him softly, then pulled away to look into his eyes. "I love you."
Peeta cupped her cheek. "I love you back."
Katniss smiled once more before sitting up, "I'd better wash up before the girls come." He nodded, closing his eyes and began imagining a life where he would wake and listen to her prepare for the day.
Before he knew it, she was rousing him with a soft kiss tasting of peppermint toothpaste.
Their eyes met and he reached behind the nape of her neck. "Are you up for another round?"
Her eyes were clouded with longing and Katniss gave him an eager nod when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Peeta groaned, "I'd better get up anyway—I'll just shower while you ladies do your thing."
Giving Katniss one more kiss, he hopped out of the bed, grabbed some clean clothes, and went into the open door next to the small closet that was once Effie's.
The master bathroom was the only luxury the house afforded. Haymitch had broken down a wall so his wife could have one. Peeta, along with the two other boys, helped him the spring that he turned thirteen. It was a present for their wedding anniversary.
Haymitch could definitely be a romantic when he wanted to.
The clawed bathtub and marbled sink had been a bitch to carry in, but it had been worth it when they saw Effie's excited face.
Turning on the shower, Peeta looked around and caught the subtle changes. Tucked in the corner, he saw a shower chair that he was sure Effie used when she had become too weak. On the counter were different painkillers that she was taking to help with her discomfort.
Peeta felt his eyes water—his poor mama. How she had suffered—the need to make this Snow pay grew even stronger inside him.
Removing his clothes, he stepped into the tub, letting the warm spray ease his aching muscles. The bed was old and the springs hit at certain spots, but Katniss curled up against him more than made up for it.
As he washed up, Peeta went over everything. He knew it was likely that that Cato's body had been found. While it was unnecessary for him to die, he considered it their warning to Snow—he had helped in taking their mother and Katniss had disposed of his dearest nephew.
And he had hit Katniss, and likely more than just the one time he saw. The fucker deserved it.
When he was finished, Peeta quickly changed into his old jeans and black t-shirt. As he brushed his teeth, Peeta could hear the chatter from behind the door—the girls were there.
Finishing up, Peeta opened the door-the scene before him made his heart leap into his throat.
Katniss and Prim were perched by the window of their room while Rue sat at the vanity, playing with the old makeup brushes. He watched his girl comb Prim's hair gently so that she could properly plait it. Prim smiled brightly as Katniss said something quietly to her.
He wondered if this was how things would be if they had children.
The image of Katniss holding a little baby appeared in his mind—it seemed at one point to be an unattainable dream, yet now it was within his grasp.
They just had to follow the plan.
"Am I interrupting?"
The girls turned to look at him. Prim smiled brightly while Rue bowed her head shyly.
"Nope, I just finished cleaning up and was just going to get started on the girls' hair," Katniss told him with a smile. She was wearing a white tank top with a pair of torn jeans—her hair was messily piled on top of her head and her feet were bare.
How she managed to make him breathless was always beyond him.
He nodded and went over to give her a quick kiss.
"I'm going to go talk to Haymitch; you look pretty." The younger girls giggled and Katniss blushed as he pulled away.
"Thanks," she stammered out and he winked before walking out the door.
"Holy shit!" Johanna dropped the piece of toast that she was holding in her hand. It fell to the hardwood floor—jam side down.
Annie, who was sitting on the couch next to Haymitch, rushed over and picked it up off the floor to place it back on Johanna's plate.
She began wiping vigorously—a telltale side that her anxiety was flaring up.
Finnick, who stood by the window, went to her, kneeling so he could place a hand over hers. "Stop."
Annie sat back on the floor, sweat beading on her forehead, and took a deep breath before returning to the couch.
"What happened?" Haymitch asked after he made sure that Annie was okay.
"Snow's nephew is dead," Johanna said as she read the article on the screen. "Single shot to the back of the head."
"Katniss is ruthless," Gale remarked from where he sat on the floor, rolling a cigarette between his fingers. "I like that."
"Sometimes you just need the love of a good man to get the fire burning," Johanna replied with a smirk. She was aware of the crush that Gale harbored—he had admitted to it as they each smoked their fifth cigarette. "Peeta must have done something right while they were in her private room."
There was a knock on the door and Peeta entered. "Morning."
"Morning," Johanna greeted him. "Where's Katniss?"
"She's upstairs with Prim and Rue," he informed them. "She'll be down after she's done." Peeta looked over at Haymitch. "I didn't want to bother you last night, but there's something I wanted to ask you."
The older man nodded. "What's going on?"
"Do you think that it's possible that there's oil on this property?"
"Why would you think something like that?" Haymitch asked. He had looked over the property papers after Effie's death. There had been inspections but nothing like that came up.
"Nothing will grow past the trees in the yard because the soil is weird—and there's a smell," Peeta recounted. "Like the oil that I use for the cars—it's so strong. I remember telling Effie when I was a kid that it smelled in that area."
"It would make sense," Johanna supplied. "Oil rising over time can cause the area around it to become unmanageable. If Effie's dad knew about it—he would've likely tried to cover it up. Papers can be forged or favors can be bought."
"It would also be the reason why Snow wants this place so much," Gale added. "How would we test for it?"
"There are machines we can use that can detect that kind of thing," Finnick informed them. "I know a woman whose husband is an inspector. He would be gone for days looking over a property if they suspected something as valuable as oil on a property."
"How would we get one of those machines here without anyone suspecting?" Gale asked.
"We'll just have to find another way," Haymitch told them.
"I can create something."
Haymitch turned to the girl next to him and she met his gaze. He could see it all whirling in her eyes—the formulas she was pulling from that highly organized brain of hers. It was both scary and interesting to watch—because Annie would become practically robotic when she was like this.
She pushed emotion out to make way for more important information. He feared that if she wasn't careful, she might destroy herself in the process.
"Something that could indicate oil just using the first surface of it—digging would be too suspicious." Annie got up. "I need to write all of this down—my notebook is in the kitchen."
She went to the door, ripping it open quickly and almost knocking down Katniss as she made a turn to go in the kitchen.
"What the hell was that?"
"Annie-bot," Johanna quipped.
Finnick glared at her. "Not funny." He walked out the door in pursuit.
"Morning, sunshine," Haymitch greeted the girl, noticing her outfit. "Effie was wearing those jeans the day I met her."
Katniss smiled, playing with the tip of her braid. "Really?"
"Then she yelled at me for not for giving her a beer fast enough."
"Sounds like Effie." The girl went over to where Peeta stood and wrapped an arm around his waist. They walked over to where he sat, Katniss taking the spot Annie had occupied. Peeta sat on the floor, resting his back against her legs. "So what were you talking about?"
"Loverboy was telling us that he thought that there was oil on the property," Gale told her, his eyes going to the rip where her knee was.
"Interesting." She ran a hand through Peeta's hair, grasping just slightly before letting go. Haymitch caught the faint blush hitting the side of the boy's cheeks. She leaned down to meet Peeta's eyes. "Was that why you were out there for so long?"
"The way the breeze was hitting me—it was like someone was trying to tell me something," Peeta replied softly. "And I remembered Effie telling me about how her dad fought hard to keep this place."
"Maybe it was her," Haymitch replied softly.
"I think it was," Johanna agreed with a smile. "I'm going to keep working on this. It's likely there's something that I'm just not seeing."
Gale got up from the floor and went over to his friend. "Let me see what you've got." Johanna handed him some papers. "I'm itching for a smoke—let's go look at these in the back."
"Those will kill you, you know," Haymitch warned. He met Gale's tired eyes that glanced over at Katniss before flitting back to him.
He felt for the boy—unrequited feelings weren't easy.
They were especially more difficult when it came to wanting Katniss, who wasn't attainable at all—her heart had always belonged to Peeta and vice-versa. Haymitch knew little of her story after she left them, but he knew that she had spent her time trying to get Peeta to find her—making sacrifices in the process.
Now that they found each other, there was no letting go.
When the time came, he knew he would watch them marry.
Just like Effie had predicted.
"I'm hoping they will," Gale joked.
"That's not funny," Katniss said suddenly, her eyes stony. "My dad died of lung disease."
She never talked about her family. It had been a hard story for even Haymitch to hear. Her mother had gone off the deep end after Katniss' father passed.
She tried to drown herself with her daughter at her side. She would have been successful if Katniss hadn't managed to untie the rope that was knotted around her ankles. He shivered at the thought.
"Sorry, I didn't know."
Katniss stood up as Peeta rose to follow her. Haymitch watched her gears switch—her hips moved a little slower as she approached Gale; her steps becoming elegantly sensual.
She was suddenly 'The Mockingjay'— and it was strange to see the change.
Katniss could go from simple country gal to coldhearted sexpot in only seconds.
She stood before Gale, her eyes meeting his and Haymitch could see the boy swallow nervously. Johanna stood by the desk, watching in anticipation to see what would happen.
"Why do you care so little for your life?" Katniss hissed. "We've had so many people taken from us but we're here for a reason—our hearts beat for something. Do you know how it feels to have to fight for your life? DO YOU?"
Her face was only inches from his.
Gale shook his head and tilted his head a little lower towards her mouth. "Do you?"
The room was suddenly thick with anxiety.
Katniss stepped back, her eyes watering as the mask crumbled before them. "Yes."
She reached behind her, searching for Peeta's hand and found it immediately. He pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back as she shook.
"I'm here, baby," Peeta told her quietly.
He looked up at Gale, his kind blue eyes now full of cold anger.
"Fight for your shitty life."
Haymitch finally stood up. "Peeta, why don't you go outside with her for a while? I'll make lunch with Annie in a few minutes and bring it out to you." He looked over at Johanna. "Take Gale to the back and go over those papers."
"Yes, sir," Johanna said, giving him a mock salute. She took the shell-shocked Gale by the arm and led him out of the room. "You really shouldn't have fucked with her…"
Haymitch went to the couple. "You okay there?"
Katniss pulled away from Peeta and turned to him. "I'm okay." Her eyes were still glistening, however. "Bad memories." A hand gripped Peeta's shoulder. "I need a few minutes."
"You know if you ever want to talk—or see your file," he told her. "I'm here."
The girl nodded absently and Peeta met his eyes worriedly as they turned to walk out.
"Go on," he instructed, "We'll see each other after everyone has cooled off."
The couple walked out of the room and Haymitch listened to their heavy footsteps. The front door slammed behind them and he sat back on the couch.
He was so tired.
Peeta woke up with a start.
Their bedroom was dark and he felt for the soft, feminine body of Katniss only to find her side of the bed cold.
She was silent as they sat on the porch that afternoon—the only telltale sign she was in pain were the steady track of tears running down her cheeks. Prim, Rue and Rory watched them from the front yard as they swayed on the porch swing.
Haymitch and Annie came to them a little after that to offer sandwiches. Katniss looked blankly at them before lying back on his chest.
Peeta took one—just in case.
"You should eat something, Katniss," Haymitch said sternly. He knelt before her, patting her leg. "Fight."
She looked at him for a moment, her eyes searching her foster father's before taking a sandwich from the plate that Annie held out.
"Go rest after you're done," Annie instructed before she and Haymitch retreated inside the house.
They ate in silence—he knew that she wasn't ready to talk. Peeta could always read her like a book and she could do the same for him.
"Annie put something in our food," he remarked when they finished. Katniss looked up at him and her eyes were already beginning to droop. "Come on." He helped her stand before getting up himself.
Whatever Annie had given them was strong because he began to sway. If Rory hadn't rushed over to help him while Prim and Rue propped Katniss up then they wouldn't have made it upstairs. The three children were already dealing something that was way beyond their maturity level.
He recalled reaching for Katniss' hand as they laid in bed—she gripped his tightly.
"I'm scared," she whispered tiredly.
"Of what?"
"The nightmares—I'm afraid I'll wake up and you won't be here."
He placed his hand against her chest, feeling her rushing heartbeat.
"Even when we were apart, I was here," he told her, trying to fight the feeling of drowsiness over taking him. "When you wake up, I will be here. When we are done with all of this—the rest of my days belong to you—always."
She smiled as her eyes began to close. "Always."
He succumbed to whatever Annie had given them, falling into a deep sleep.
As Peeta sat up, he saw a light coming from the bathroom and the sound of the shower running. He stood up, walking to the door and knocked softly.
"Katniss?"
No response.
Opening the door, he was assaulted by a rush of steam. "Katniss?"
He locked the door behind him and looked around—everything looked normal except for the fogginess of the room.
Pulling back the curtain, Peeta found her sitting in the tub with her arms wrapped around herself. Her hair clung to her body and she looked up at him in surprise.
"What's going on?"
"I had a dream about my parents."
He nodded before pulling his shirt over his head and unbuttoning his jeans. Stepping out of them, he peeled off his boxers, leaving him nude before her. "Move over."
Katniss leaned forward in the tub to let him step in behind her. Resting against the back of the tub, Peeta wrapped his arms around her shoulders and laid her back against his chest. The spray of the shower hit her chest, flowing down her stomach and through the crevice of her thighs.
"He went quickly," she recounted. "It was probably a month of him coughing up blood and she did what she could—but we woke up one day and he was already gone." She shivered against him although the water was still hot. "For days, my mama didn't speak and she didn't feed me so I would try to scrounge up any kind of meal I could from our cupboards. When that was gone, I would walk through the woods looking for berries or mushrooms."
Peeta tried to imagine this life that she was telling him about. When he had met her, she looked healthy and well adjusted. At that time, however, he was the runt of the group.
"One night, she woke me up and told me that we needed to go—I didn't understand what she was saying. She wouldn't even let me get dressed before we were running through the woods. I kept on asking her where we were going as we ran. Finally she stopped and turned to me—her eyes were blank. We were in front of a river."
Katniss turned to look at him, the terror of that night in her eyes.
"She said we were going to meet my dad. I began to scream and she threw me down to the ground. She was already prepared—there were ropes and they were being tied around my ankles."
"You don't have to keep going," he told her. "I don't want to bring up anything that's going to cause you nightmares." Peeta couldn't admit that what she was telling him was bringing him to tears—the spray of the shower kept them hidden.
"I think I need to," she replied shakily. "Mom started pulling me into the water and I tried to fight, but the rope was connected to some rocks." Katniss began to sob. "And I was sinking. I don't know how long I was in the water for, but I remembered thinking that I would break my own ankle if I had to—I couldn't breathe."
"Then what?" Peeta felt chills trying to imagine the scene she was describing. It was a miracle that she was spared.
"Somehow, I loosened the ropes and began to swim toward the shore. I could see my mom's hair floating in the river. The yellow of it was so bright against the dark water. Then I passed out."
Katniss turned to him. "I told myself I would never be like them—I would never love like them. They were obsessed with one another—I don't know how they only had one child." She looked into his eyes for a moment. "I am like them though. I woke up and you were there, like you said—"
"And what?"
"I realized that if something were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do," Her voice was choked. "I don't think I would want to go on and it scares me to feel this way."
"Nothing is going to happen to us," he assured her. "I will protect you no matter what." Peeta paused for a moment. "If something were to happen, then you will go on. There is a lot more love for you to share—even if it isn't with me."
"It doesn't work that way, Mellark," she replied sternly and held her pinkie out. "We're in this together—ride or die."
He hooked his pinkie with hers and brushed her lips softly. "Now there's the girl I know and love." He could see the fire in her eyes again. "You're not your mother. We're not them."
Katniss nodded before placing her head on his chest. They remained silent and content in the moment.
There was a knock on the door.
"It's Annie. If you want, there is dinner downstairs and we'll be meeting in Haymitch's office afterwards."
"Thanks, Annie!" He called out to the closed door.
"You're welcome – and sorry for giving you those sandwiches!"
"You didn't come to dinner."
Johanna turned away from the computer screen to look over at him at the doorway. She gave Haymitch a tired smile.
"I couldn't go over the papers because I was busy trying to talk some sense into Gale," she replied. "He's so stupid sometimes."
He placed a plate in front of her. "Eat."
"I'm busy –"
"Five minutes, okay?" Haymitch took a deep breath to calm his nerves and pulled up the chair to sit beside her. "Just take five minutes to eat."
She looked over at him before taking the fork and eating a piece of the roast that Annie had made.
"What did I miss?" Johanna asked as she chewed.
"It was just Annie and Finnick and the kids at dinner," he informed her. "Gale spent his time out back but I had Rory bring him some food. Katniss and Peeta have been asleep since this afternoon—Annie apparently drugged them with her sandwiches and she might've given them too much."
"What the fuck did she put in them?"
"A sedative of some sort—Katniss was catatonic outside." Haymitch chuckled softly. "They're okay, I guess. Annie checked on them and they were in the shower together."
"Let's hope that he doesn't knock her up before this is all over," Johanna said. "Though I don't think they've done it—Peeta would be that kind of goofball romantic who would wait until the wedding night."
"We need more of those in the world." Haymitch glanced down at her filled legal pad. "Any luck?"
"This is the only property that Snow doesn't own from my list." She took her pad and read it out. "He owns the cave in District Four, some coal mines in District Twelve, a river in the middle region, and a small town up north near the Great Lakes."
"Let's assume," he started. "That if there's oil on this property, then there's coal in District Twelve. It's the other ones that I wonder about."
Johanna slammed down the pad—her eyes flashing. "I hate this!" She stood up and began to pace. "Why can't we find anything?"
He stood up and went to her, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her movements.
"What's really going on?" Johanna bowed her head. "You seem more hell bent about this than all the others. You don't sleep or eat—just nothing but research."
"I spent my life losing everyone because of Snow and his men," she spit out angrily. "They killed my family for fuck's sake! When I was in the Capitol—do you know how I was treated? I was smarter than all of them but because I was a woman – it was all worthless."
She wiped her eyes. "They only accepted me after my initiation."
His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Johanna looked up at him. "It doesn't matter, but I need to make them pay for it."
There was a knock against the doorframe—it was Annie. "Sorry for bothering you."
"It's okay, sweetheart," Haymitch replied with a soft smile. "Come in."
"I was about to rest before the meeting when I remembered something," she told them. "The reason why no one made it all the way down the cave—ice."
"Ice?"
"They look like crystals underwater," Annie said softly. "But it was toxic—you didn't come out because you would suffocate."
"Do you mean methane crystals?" Johanna asked suddenly. "As in gas?"
Annie shrugged. "I guess so."
Johanna turned to Haymitch, her smile bright. "Don't you get it?"
He shook his head. "Do I look like a damn encyclopedia? Can you please explain what the hell you're talking about?"
But Johanna was already running out of the office to call everyone for their meeting.
Where was his flask when he needed it?
Song: "Heart Door"-Paula Cole with Dolly Parton
It really just gets a little more complicated from here.
Reviews, PM's, and Tumblr asks are always welcome!
Thank you for reading, dolls!
-JLaLa
