'Fortune and love favor the brave.'
- Ovid
Fair Warning: In the beginning of this chapter, Katniss and Peeta Get. It. On. Woooeee. He he enjoy!
Peeta
"Kat honey wake up," I whisper in her ear.
"Nooo," she murmurs adorably.
"Come on sleepyhead, we have to go to the team meeting."
"You can represent our family," she orders. I laugh softly and nuzzle her neck.
"If you don't get up I'm not putting out tonight," I threaten.
That makes her turn towards me, both of us still sans clothes.
"Oh yeah?" She asks. Her hand creeps downwards and she soon has ahold of me. "I'd like to see how long you'd last, Mr. Mellark."
"Trust me Mrs. Mellark, I'd be a monk," I say confidently.
"Hmm let's see about that," she replies mysteriously.
Before I even realize it, she has one hand on her breast, groping and fondling. I look down and find her other hand, which has let go of me, between her legs. I watch as she slips a finger inside herself. She moans.
"Oh my god," I mumble, unable to tear my eyes away from my beautiful wife pleasuring herself.
"Mmm maybe this won't be that bad after all," she teases, sliding her eyes shut and biting her bottom lip, which she knows is one of my weaknesses. She's playing dirty. And I love it.
"Fuck it," I mutter, leaning forward and capturing her lips. I feel her smug grin against my lips as I moan into her mouth.
I reach down and place my hand on hers, slipping my own finger inside her, joining hers.
"I thought we had a meeting to go to?" She asks between kisses.
"I guess we'll just have to be fast," I answer. She smiles.
She snakes her arm around my neck and pulls me down until I'm atop her. We adjust our legs so she's spread open. I line up to prepare for entry.
"Just so you know," she gives me a disclaimer, "I really like quickies like this, but later tonight, I'm making us go for at least an hour."
"Whatever you say," I whisper. She grins and leans up to kiss me.
"Well come on," she says impatiently. "What are you waiting for? Everyone's already going to know exactly why we're late. Get to it, husband."
I realize that there are a lot more people in camp now, including Haymitch. I can't bring myself to care in this very moment.
I slip inside her and push in, both of us groaning. I quickly start thrusting, and she bucks her hip appropriately. I'm going so fast, and it feels so good, I lean my forehead on her shoulder and ride it out with her. I feel her kissing my ear and neck.
Something about our time restraint or the urgency of it cause both of us to quickly near our orgasms. Without voicing it, we know we'll come together, one of our very favorite things.
"I was going to ask you to come on my tits," she tells me when I'm almost there, "but we don't really have time to clean that up, so just come inside me okay?"
"Oh yeah," I mumble happily. She shakes her head a bit smiling.
"You're so predictable," she teases.
"I'm gonna come," I inform her breathily.
"See? Predictable," she grins. "And I'm about to come too baby."
Just as she hits her peak, I bury into her as far as possible and bust. She gyrates her hips and I moan in pleasure.
Once we're finished, we start to frantically get dressed, laughing at ourselves throughout.
A couple minutes later we lace our boots up and link hands as we make our way to the meeting.
"Your abstinence lasted all of ten seconds," she teases me relentlessly.
"I can't say I regret it," I reply honestly.
"Good boy," she gives me a kiss on the cheek right as the rest of the team comes into view, sitting in a circle.
"You've got to be kidding me," Johanna mutters.
"What?" Katniss asks as she sits me down and slides into my lap.
"You're ten minutes late," she holds up her watch, "and you both have that freshly fucked look. You didn't even bother to fix your hair."
I realize she's right. I'd gotten about halfway done undoing Katniss' braid and stopped, and my hair is all over the place from her fingers running through it.
"Well we're here now," I respond. "Sorry guys."
"I'm not sorry," Katniss objects. "It was well worth being a little late."
Everyone rolls their eyes.
"Alright, alright that's enough," Haymitch interrupts. "So, welcome to the North Col. Good climbing today, all of you. I was glad to see the five of you working together as a team. You obviously have each other's backs and trust one another."
"That's definitely true," Annie says. We all nod.
"Where's Gale?" Katniss asks, looking around.
"He's waiting for me to get him," Haymitch explains. "We need to talk without him first."
"Oh, okay," she nods.
"The Sherpa he climbed with today said there was no noticeable change in his attitude. While he at least made the climb in a reasonable time, he once again proved me right. I instructed the Sherpa to create a situation wherein he'd need Gale's help. So he purposely fell and acted like his knee was twisted. Gale just told him to suck it up, not even offering to help him stand. Then, before he even had a chance to get ready to climb again, Gale had started kicking steps."
"Wow," I shake my head. "He really doesn't care about anyone but himself."
"Yes, it's painfully obvious now," Haymitch agrees. "So we need to discuss this as a team. He's still a member of our expedition. He paid me to get him to the summit, but only if I deemed him ready and capable."
"I for one don't want him anywhere near me when we climb," Johanna tells us. "I trust everyone here way more than him."
"We already gave him too many chances," Finnick's next to render an opinion. "He blew them all."
"I don't want anybody to get hurt," Annie says sadly. "And I think that if he's climbing with us, there's a greater chance of an accident happening. I mean, remember what Jo said about when he fell and Peeta saved him? He could've prevented that easily, but was too focused on flirting."
"Katniss, Peeta, you guys have been affected the most by him. What do you two think?" Everyone turns to us as Haymitch speaks.
"I don't want to take away anyone's chance for the summit," I say. Katniss whips her head around glares at me. "Having said that, I believe Gale took it away from himself. You clearly stated the rules and expectations at the beginning of this trip, and he has consistently ignored them. Plus I don't want him anywhere near my wife ever again."
Katniss' glare turns to a beaming smile.
"I think you all know where I stand," Katniss tells the team. We nod. "He'd be more of a liability than an asset. If you told him to turn around, there's no doubt in my mind he'd risk other people's, especially the Sherpa's, lives so he could summit. All he cares about is himself and his 'reputation'. He places his personal glory above all else, including his partner's safety."
"I know this is probably unnecessary, but let's take a vote. All in favor of Gale's climb ending here, raise your hand," Haymitch says quietly in case Gale's listening.
Everyone but me raises their hand. They all look at me curiously, except Katniss, who's steaming mad.
"I'm not voting no, I'm abstaining," I explain. "I don't think it should be up to us. It should be our leader's decision along with the guides. If we vote him off the mountain, not only will he hate all of us even more than he does, but it also puts the decision of which climbers are on the summit team in our hands. That's not our job. It's Haymitch's."
"So what do you want kid?" he asks me.
"I want him gone, obviously," I quickly answer. "But I still think it should be your call."
Haymitch nods, thinking about it.
"Well now I know how everyone feels. I'm going to get Gale and all the Sherpas. Be right back." He gets up and leaves the circle.
"Sorry," I hang my head.
"No, you're right," Katniss assures me quietly. "As good as we all are at climbing, we're still clients on this expedition. Clients don't get to pick their teams."
The three other members nod their agreement.
Katniss gives me a kiss that tells me she's past being angry with me, that she had been wrong to in the first place.
Just then, Haymitch reappears with Gale and the four Sherpas in tow.
"Here we go," Katniss mumbles.
Katniss
I really, really hope Haymitch doesn't give him another shot. He wasted every opportunity we gave him. He'd get one of us hurt up there, I just know it.
"Sit," Haymitch points to the last open chair. Gale sits as the Sherpas sit on the ground. "Gale, the report I got from your climb today was not good. You didn't even make an effort to change your attitude. Care to explain?"
"I paid you thousands of dollars to get me up the mountain," Gale sneers. "If you kick me off the team, I'm going to sue you for everything you own." He looks pretty satisfied with himself, smug.
Haymitch just laughs.
"Gale, do you remember the contract you signed when you joined the team?" Gale nods. "Everyone here signed the same document. Did you even bother to read it before you agreed to its terms?"
Gale shakes his head no.
"If you had been smart enough to read a contract before you sign it, you'd know that it says I have absolute authority in choosing whether or not I'll allow you to go for the summit. It reads plainly that I can use any reason I want to send you down. I don't even really need a reason. I could kick you off the team for wearing ugly socks."
We all laugh except Gale. Even the Sherpas find it hilarious. I read the contract carefully, so I knew all that. I know Peeta did too. He's not that dumb.
"Fine, I'll just go for it myself," Gale declares.
"I can't stop you," Haymitch admits. "But you won't have access to my gear. No oxygen mask, respirator, or oxygen bottles. No food or stoves. No radio. No tents at the high camps. No backup."
Gale takes this all in and his face falls.
"I'm sure someone at ABC will help me out," he tries.
"You're welcome to try," Haymitch shrugs. "But I'm pretty good friends with all the expedition leaders. They're well aware of your antics. They actually pity us for having to deal with you. So I doubt any of them would willingly help you."
Wow, Haymitch is not fooling around at all. I love it.
"Gale, you're off the team," Haymitch finally decides. "You can stay the night here then descend tomorrow back to Base Camp and take the first convoy out."
"Fuck you," Gale spits. "I'll do whatever I want."
"Like I said, I can't stop you. But I doubt you'd make it very far up the mountain on your own. As much as I dislike you, I don't want to see your frozen corpse join the hundreds already up there. I'm willing to let you use our resources until you leave. That's my final offer."
Gale looks around the circle and realizes none of us are even close to taking his side. It looks like it's starting to sink in.
"Fuck you all," he says angrily. "You're just intimidated by me, that's why you convinced Haymitch to kick me off the team. What's wrong, Katniss?" He looks directly at me. "Scared you'll actually fall for me? Is that it, Peeta? You threatened by me like you should be?"
My jaw drops. I'm speechless. He's nuts.
"Do you have cerebral edema?" Peeta asks seriously.
"Huh?" Gale looks confused.
"You're making no sense. You're delusional. You're forgetting even the most basic rules of climbing. Are you sure your brain's not swelling?"
"You're so funny Mellark," Gale taunts. "I'd like to see you crack a joke when I steal your wife away from you."
"Will you give it up already?" I finally speak up, exasperated. I'm honestly just done with this entire situation. "I would never willingly leave my husband. I can't believe I actually have to say that out loud. That means that if you were to 'steal me away', it would be tantamount to kidnapping. Good plan."
"You even try to lay another hand on my wife I'll break every fucking bone in your body," Peeta says with confidence, steel in his voice. It turns me on instantly. I love when he defends me.
"Watch your back Mellark," Gale warns.
I just have to say it. He gave it to me on a platter.
"Wait, which Mellark? Me or him?" I smile just to piss him off.
"It doesn't matter," Johanna interjects. "Either of you would beat the shit out of him." Everyone laughs again except Gale. "And I'd happily help them."
"Ditto," Finnick grins.
"I'm in," Annie adds.
"Okay, enough," Haymitch shuts us all up seriously. "Gale are you going to do this the easy way or the hard way?"
Gale glares at me one more time, then shifts his hateful look to Peeta and finally Haymitch.
"Fine," he concedes eventually. Thank god. "This is the last time I climb with any of you pathetic pieces of shit."
"You won't find us arguing," I smirk.
"When I get out of here I'm going to call the editor of Outside. The whole climbing world is going to know about this. You'll never work again, Haymitch." Gale levels another threat.
Everyone looks at Peeta and me. We couldn't keep our excitement in, and ended up telling the team about our article that's being written by Jon Krakauer and swore them to absolute secrecy. So we know already that Gale's little plan is doomed to fail.
"You can leave now Gale," Haymitch dismisses him casually. "I need to talk to my summit team about their upcoming climb."
Gale stands up and tries to intimidate us again.
"Bye Gale," I say in a sweet, innocent voice. "I'd say it was nice seeing you again, but I'd be flat out lying. My husband doesn't like it when I lie." Peeta chuckles and kisses my cheek. Gale seethes.
Without another word, Gale leaves. I pray it's the last I ever see of Gale Hawthorne. Haymitch assigned the Sherpa who climbed with Gale today to keep a close eye on him and make sure he leaves Base Camp as soon as possible.
"Okay so that's over with," Haymitch says in relief. "So this is the summit team. Congratulations, climbers."
We all exchange proud looks with one another.
"Johanna, do you want to permanently join the O'Dair's team? If that's okay with them, of course."
"I definitely do," she nods. "But it's up to them."
"Nah, we're sick of her," Finnick jokes. "Let the Mellarks babysit her."
He's obviously being sarcastic and we all laugh, breaking some of the tension that was present.
"But seriously, we'd love to have Johanna on our team," he amends honestly.
"Good. That's settled then," Haymitch nods.
"How far are we climbing tomorrow?" I ask.
"Up to Camp Three," is his answer. "You'll rest until around noon the next day then leave for high Camp Four, in the Death Zone. You'll get a few precious hours of sleep then leave for the summit in the middle of the night, on schedule to summit right at dawn."
"This is so awesome," Peeta says in wonderment. I giggle at his exuberance.
"Apa?" Haymitch gets the attention of the Sherpa assigned to climb with Johanna and Gale. "Join the O'Dair's team, got it?" Apa nods enthusiastically. He looks happy to get the chance to keep climbing.
"Hey why do they get two Sherpas?" I whine playfully.
"Because I like them better," Haymitch shrugs. "They don't keep the whole camp up with their screams of 'Oh yes baby right there' all night."
We all laugh, but Peeta and I blush deeply as well.
"Any questions?" He doesn't wait for an answer. "No? Good. See you in the morning."
Peeta
Gale is finally gone. Well, technically, he's still on the Col for tonight, but he's off the team. We don't have to worry about him anymore. It's like a weight lifted off my chest.
When he dismisses us, Katniss grabs my hand and pulls me through camp to the outskirts. We sit on a boulder that has a spectacular view of the valley below. ABC looks tiny from here, the climbers resembling ants.
"He's gone," she states, not to me or her, just states it. We get into our usual position of her between my legs, her back against my chest, my arms wrapped tightly around her, her arms covering them.
"Are you okay?" I ask her quietly. While yes, it's obvious Katniss hates Gale as much as I do, he was still her friend and partner for a long time.
She sighs and leans her head back on my shoulder. I kiss her ear gently.
"It's okay if you're going to miss him or something," I say, trying to not let the pain I'd feel if she did show. "I get it. You two used to be really close."
"No it's not that," she finally answers. "I'll never miss him. Sure I miss the guy he used to be, when I first met him. He was nice, at least to me. He's just changed so much, and not for the better."
"You think it's your fault," it finally dawns on me.
Her silence is enough of an answer.
"Oh honey," I sigh heavily. "This is the furthest thing from being your fault."
"Yes it is," she says emphatically. "I knew he was changing. I knew he'd become selfish and egotistical. I didn't try to help him. I abandoned him. What kind of person does that make me Peeta?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there. He abandoned you Katniss. First as a friend then as a partner. You could have died on Denali if it wasn't for that other team sacrificing their summit bid to help you. He was dangerous to climb with. You did the right thing leaving him. Never doubt that. If you'd tried to help him, he would've just resented you because in his mind, he can do no wrong."
"I never thought of it like that," she quietly admits.
"He did this to himself, like Haymitch said. We didn't cause him to get kicked off the team, he was doing a good job of it on his own. It's behind us now. We have to move on together, okay?"
She just nods.
"Hey," I whisper, gently turning her face to me. I see the emotions swirling in her eyes. It breaks my heart. "You've got me now Kat. I'll never abandon you. I'll never leave you to die. I'll always place your life and safety above everything, even my own."
"I know," she whispers painfully. "I don't deserve you."
I roll my eyes.
"Seriously? This again?" I smile, trying to cheer her up. "I don't even have to ask to know that you feel the exact same way I do when it comes to your protection of me. Does that mean I don't deserve you?"
"You're right," she hangs her head sadly.
"Tell me what you need," I gently say as I lift her chin with my finger. "Tell me how to help you baby. I'll do anything."
"Anything?" That gets a smirk out of her, and her eyes start to clear and brighten.
"You heard me," I smirk back.
From the look on her face I assume that fairly soon we're going to be naked. Again.
"Let me kiss Finnick," she says seriously.
"Wha – what?" I stutter, stunned. I'm unable to even process it.
"I just want to know what it feels like," she explains. "I've always had a crush on him. I want to see if he feels the same way." She's completely serious.
I'm utterly speechless. My wife wants to be with another man.
"I – I thought you'd never leave me?"
"I didn't say I'm going to leave you," she replies. "Maybe I'll be over at his tent sometimes, but I'm still your wife."
She's giving me absolutely no indication that she's anything but deadly serious.
I start trembling involuntarily. My eyes well up faster than ever and I start crying. I can't even look her in the eye.
"Oh my god," she almost yells frantically. "Baby I was kidding. It was a joke. I was teasing you, I promise."
While I feel relieved, I'm still pretty emotional. She just made me think about her with another man, my best friend at that.
"Please look at me," I hear the pleading in her voice plain as day. "Peeta please. I'm so sorry. It was insensitive. I was just trying to lighten the mood. I'm so so sorry."
I still can't bring myself to raise my gaze back up to hers, even with her begging me. I'm not sure if I'm angry, heartbroken, or what.
"Please," she continues pleading. "Please baby. I'll never do it again. I swear. I'll make it up to you. Just please don't be angry with me. Don't leave me. I know I fucked up. It was stupid. I'm stupid. Please don't tell me I just ruined us."
That gets my attention. She thinks that this tiny argument or whatever it is will break us up.
Without raising my head, I speak slowly and quietly.
"Do you honestly think our marriage is that fragile, that something like this would end it? I hope you have more faith than that in me, in us."
I hear her sobbing now. My kryptonite.
I finally raise my head up. What I see makes me want to hurt myself for doing this to her. She's crying almost uncontrollably, her eyes red, tears streaking down her face at a ridiculous rate. The look in her eyes is unmistakable – fear and despair.
I start to open my mouth to apologize, to explain, to do something. I realize that right now, words aren't enough.
I look deep into her eyes for a few seconds, then without warning, crash my lips onto hers, immediately slipping my tongue in her mouth, deepening it.
She's momentarily surprised, but soon regains her bearings and returns the kiss with gusto. I feel her hands go to my hair, threading her fingers through it possessively. I rub her thigh with one of my hands while the other creeps up under her shirt and begins fondling her through her bra.
Finally we have to break apart to breath. I rest my forehead on hers and meet her eyes again.
"It's my turn to apologize," I whisper. "I'm sorry. I should've known you were teasing me."
"No Peeta," she says adamantly. "I took it way too far. I was completely out of line and inconsiderate. I didn't even stop to think about what that would do to you. You've been brave telling me about your mother. Then you hear your wife tell you she wants another man. In your mind, that means that all the women in your life will abandon you, hurt you. I'm so sorry. I feel terrible."
"Thank you," I tell her emotionally.
"You know I'd never do that to you, right?" She nervously asks, starting to panic. "I'd never kiss another man. I'd never cheat on you. Please tell me you know that."
I try to speak but nothing comes out. She goes into full on panic mode.
"Oh my god," she gasps. "Of course you don't know that. That's why you thought I was serious. What kind of wife am I? My own husband doesn't know that I'll be faithful. I can't believe that I'm causing you even the tiniest shred of doubt. I – I – I told you I was no good at this."
Her obvious desperation snaps me out of my funk.
"Hey," I reach up and cradle her cheeks gently, wiping away her tears with my thumb as she sniffles. I smile a bit at how cute it is. "My stupid insecurities have nothing to do with you. It's on me. I know you'll always be faithful. You don't have to prove that to me. It's simply just not the kind of person you are. I guess you were so convincing when you teased me that I let myself forget what I know to be true."
"I'm sorry Peeta," she repeats, seemingly for the hundredth time.
"It's okay," I assure her gently. "We're okay. I'm not even remotely mad. In fact I'm downright giddy. I have the most beautiful wife in the world, and she's all mine for the rest of my life."
"Not to mention we finally got rid of that parasite," she adds with a grin.
"Let's just forget about him," I suggest.
"Agreed," she quickly replies.
"Are you okay now?" I ask with concern.
"I'm okay," she nods. "Can you, um, tell me you love me?" She asks in a tiny, meek voice.
"I. Love. You." I punctuate each word with a kiss to her lips. She smiles wide.
"I. Love. You. Too." She copies me then gives me an amazing eskimo kiss.
"What do you want to do now?" I ask. It's getting darker by the minute and we have a long climb ahead of us tomorrow.
"I know," she grins. "Let's go to our tent and start screaming passionate things just to piss everyone off."
"That sounds like fun," I grin back.
"Definitely. Or…..we could go back to the tent, get naked, and make the sounds for real. Might as well, right?"
"Don't have to tell me twice," I hurriedly say as I stand up, bringing her with me with ease. She giggles and turns to jump up on me, wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.
"Let's go Mr. Mellark. I say we make Gale's last night with us torturous."
"Maybe when he gets to ABC he'll hook up with Delly," I joke.
"Probably. They're both assholes and certifiably nuts."
I stay carrying her as we make our way back to the tent, weaving through the camp. We enter our team's area and walk right past the rest of the team, sitting around a fire chatting. They all turn to us at the same time.
Of course, my wife picks that exact moment to rub herself up against me and kiss me hard.
"Everybody get your earplugs out," Haymitch yells. "The nymphos are at it again."
"Don't bother with earplugs," Katniss smirks.
She turns to me and looks me in the eye as she speaks.
"Maybe you'll all learn something."
A/N: Gale is toast! He is still physically with the team until he descends, but he's off the summit team. Will he try climbing on his own? Will he try to find gear and help? Will he just leave? Will he start planning revenge? Who knows.
This was a very emotional chapter, and I really didn't intend for those conversations to run this long, but once I got started I couldn't stop. Once they make it to Camp Three, it really starts getting serious as they start acclimating their bodies to supplemental oxygen and preparing to go to the summit. They'll leave in the middle of the night, which means climbing with only your headlamp to guide you. Dangerous to say the least.
The newest chapter of 'The Truth Revealed' was posted earlier this afternoon. If you haven't checked it out, please do. It's quite a chapter if I may say so myself.
Thanks as always for reading and reviewing! You guys rock.
PS - Did anyone catch the movie reference in the disclaimer at the beginning of the chapter?
