Thanks to my beta, wollaston, for her help with this chapter.
Enjoy!
ChapterNine.
July 29th, 2013
By the time Finnick and Annie arrived, it was already past dusk and a coat of darkness covered the area. Katniss and Peeta snuggled next to each other in the backseat of their friends' Range Rover, and before they even made it to the highway Katniss felt herself nodding off. Before she fully succumbed to slumber, she was able to focus on bits and pieces of the conversation between Peeta and his friends.
"What were you guys planning on doing, anyway?" Finnick asked.
"I just wanted to show Katniss around," Peeta said, rubbing her shoulder lightly. "She hasn't left Panem since she got here."
"I hear you, buddy. Panem's great, but sometimes you need a change."
"I like Panem just fine," Katniss mumbled.
"That's what I always said," Annie chimed in. "When we first moved here we were having some doubts about staying, but I always thought that Panem was such a nice place."
"And the people aren't that bad, either," said Katniss. Peeta kissed her forehead.
"So, Finn, I hear there's a special day coming up for the two of you."
Annie smiled back at them and took her husband's hand. "Yup. August first marks six years."
"Six years of what?" Katniss yawned.
"Marriage, baby!" Finnick said loudly. "Can you believe she stuck with me for so long?"
"It's hard to believe I put up with your obnoxious self for six minutes, let alone six years," Annie said dryly.
"Oh, come on, you know you love me."
"I do," she said with a smile, leaning over to kiss him. "More and more each day."
"Hey, hey, eyes on the road!" Peeta called out. The couple pulled away from each other with a laugh.
"Don't worry about my driving, Mellark. Be thankful my car's actually working."
"Alright, you two," Katniss said, her eyes starting to flutter closed. "Be nice."
"Yeah, listen to your woman, Peeta," Finnick teased.
"Always do, Finn," Peeta said as Katniss felt herself drift off. "I always do."
When she woke up, she was in Peeta's arms, being carried bridal style through the bakery. A loud, barking voice startled her into consciousness.
"Peeta, I've told you time and time again that drugging women is no way to get them to date you."
Katniss shifted in her boyfriend's arms and rubbed at her eyes. "Shut up, Rye," she grumbled.
Peeta chuckled and helped her to stand up. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked upstairs.
"Well, good evening Sleeping Beauty," Rye said, following them up the stairs. "I heard you guys had an amazing time. Thanks for breaking our car, by the way."
"S'not my fault!" Katniss managed to say through a yawn.
"Yeah, but now we don't have any means of transportation. Unless someone decides to fire up their motorcycle..."
"Can it, Rye," Peeta snapped. "I'm never riding that thing again."
"Then why don't you sell it, huh?"
"Just drop it." Peeta guided Katniss towards her bedroom. "Goodnight, dearest brother."
"Buenas noches," Rye said with a smirk. "Enjoy your evening, lovebirds."
Peeta slammed the door in his face, and Katniss collapsed onto her bed with another yawn. "Why am I so tired?" she said. "I didn't even do anything today."
"You've been working hard," Peeta said, climbing on top of her. He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "You can be tired if you want to be."
"That's the thing," Katniss purred, clasping her hands together behind Peeta's neck. "I don't want to be tired."
"Oh? Then what do you want to be?"
Katniss grinned. "Wide awake."
"Well, then." Peeta kissed her again, harder. "Are you wide awake now?"
She yawned dramatically and shook her head. "Not even close."
A series of kisses down her neck. "How about now?"
"Nope."
Strong hands came up to massage her breasts and his tongue entered her mouth. "Wide awake yet?"
"Still tired," she mumbled against his lips.
Peeta pulled back enough to slide her shirt over her head, and then his was soon to follow.
"Are you sure?" He licked slowly at her collarbones as his fingers deftly unfastened her bra. Within seconds she was down to nothing but her underwear, simple pair of dark forest green pair of boy shorts. Peeta still had his jeans on, and Katniss reached down to unbutton them.
Peeta stilled, then continued leaving a trail of kisses down her stomach, but she could sense his hesitation.
"Wait." Katniss gently pushed him away from her. They were moving towards uncharted territory. Peeta had yet to remove his pants in front of her, despite her adamant claims that she did not care about his prosthetic. "Are you okay with this?"
Peeta rocked back so he was sitting on his knees. "I am if you are, Katniss."
Katniss propped herself up on her elbows. "I have no qualms whatsoever about your leg, Peeta. But if you're feeling uncomfortable then we don't-"
Peeta stood quickly and started unbuttoning his jeans. They pooled at his feet, revealing dark grey boxer briefs and, as Katniss looked lower, the shiny metal of his fake leg.
It was nothing strange. It looked just like the prosthetics from television and documentaries. He didn't look odd or scary. He looked like himself. He looked like Peeta.
"Come here," Katniss said softly, slowly laying back down. Peeta resumed his position on top of her. She kissed him languidly, and the thin and stretchy material of his underwear allowed her to feel him harden against her thigh.
"You are perfect," she mumbled against his lips. "Don't ever forget that."
"Katniss, I l-" Peeta stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm not so sure I'm ready for more."
Katniss let out a long breath. Thank God, she thought. "I don't think I am either," she admitted. "I want to, but..."
"But it's too soon," Peeta finished for her. She nodded, and he kissed her forehead."When it's time, we'll know."
Katniss wrapped her arms around him and rolled them over.
"For now, we sleep," Peeta declared. Katniss tilted her head up to look at him.
"I know today didn't go as planned," she murmured, tracing his jaw with her finger. "But I still had a good time."
"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Peeta chuckled, kissing her again. "We will definitely have a redo soon."
"I'm going to hold you to that." Katniss let her eyes drift shut, and within minutes she was asleep.
Euphegenia Trinket, or Effie, as she reminded everyone, was on the worse side of sixty, and always insisted that the obnoxious pink wig she wore everywhere was her real hair. Despite her initial strangeness, she was a kind-hearted woman, and Catherine Hawthorne always took the time to say hello and chat with her, even if Gale insisted they just ignore her.
Which was why he didn't believe her when she said she didn't know where Catherine was.
"Please, Gale," she whimpered, the cool metal of his revolver pressed firmly against her temple. "You're a good man. This isn't you."
"Shut the fuck up," he snapped. He clicked back the safety and Effie flinched. "It didn't have to be like this, Trinket. Just tell me where she is."
"I don't know where she is!" Effie cried. Tears streamed down her face and smeared her garish makeup. "If I knew where she was I'd tell you in a second. I want her back, too!"
"Don't lie to me," he scoffed.
"It's true! Catherine was always so sweet to me. Ever since my husband died I've been so lonely, and she would be kind and-"
"Stop feeding me this bullshit!" Gale yelled. He whipped the revolver across her face and she crumpled to the ground. "If you don't tell me where she is in three seconds I will blow your fucking head off."
"Fine," she choked out, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth. "Fine, I'll tell you."
Effie eased herself into a sitting position, Gale's revolver still trained on her.
"Three seconds."
"She was going to California," Effie said quickly. "At least, that's what she told me. She had been saving money for months."
"To California?" Gale scoffed. "How the hell was the supposed the get there?"
"She was going to hitchhike to the airport and hop on the first plane. That's all she told me, I swear to you."
Gale looked down at the sniveling woman before him. Her makeup was so disheveled that she looked like a drowned clown. She was pathetic, really. A poor excuse for a human.
"Thank you, Effie Trinket," Gale said coolly. "You've been a big help to me."
"Please, just get her some saf-"
Bang.
Effie's body crumpled to the ground, a pool of blood forming around her head. Gale reached down and tucked the revolver into her lifeless hand. Her eyes were still open, staring at him in shock. He closed them, and then brushed off his pants and left her house.
On his way across the street to his house, a shadowy figure in the dark orange glow of the streetlights, he dialed 911. "Hello," he said, a bit panicked. "Um, I think my neighbor just committed suicide."
The operator asked him the standard questions, to which he gave the appropriate responses, and within minutes they were sending paramedics over. Gale let himself into his house and poured himself a glass of whiskey. After taking a sip, he dialed another number.
"When is your next available flight to California?"
I love Effie, I truly do. I'm very sad that I had to kill her off, but you do what you have to do for the sake of the plot. What did you guys think?
Find me on tumblr or AO3 as 'ohalaskayoung'.
xoxo