Note: Sorry about the delay, we've been focused on our original stories. Our first short story "The Best Worst Valentine's Day Ever" just came out today, February 1, 2017, as part of the Anthology 'Red Hots: A Valentine's Day Anthology' so if you like erotica, this might be a book for you. It's available on Amazon right now. Now on to what you're really interested in...
Lovers in a Dangerous Time
by FanficAllergy & RoseFyre
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Chapter Four: The Moment Explodes
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Last Time in Lovers in a Dangerous Time:
I pull back, staring down into his eyes. "I'm gonna only tell you this once. Well, maybe twice. Or as often as you need to hear it. But that was fan-fucking-tastic. Blew my mind. Don't know why I was so scared, but being with you was as good as being with Katniss. Only thing that'd make it better is if I could have both of you once." I pause, flashing him a grin. "Oh wait. I can."
"You're sure?" he asks, his voice still uncertain and vulnerable. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"
I struggle not to roll my eyes. I'm the one who's caused Peeta's insecurity, it's up to me to fix it. Eschewing words, I take his hand and place it against my rapidly hardening cock. "Does this answer your question?"
He wraps his hand around it, squeezing. "I think it does."
And then there are no more words.
oOo
After our long regulation-violating shower, getting dressed is a chore. The last thing I want to do is pull on the standard-issue Thirteen coverall. The pants always chafe. It's even more uncomfortable fresh from the shower. I never thought I'd miss the patched and frayed jeans I wore back in the cave, but I do. I miss everything about life back in the cave. But I've got a duty.
I run my fingers through my still-damp hair, grimacing as the water soaks the back of my collar. I glance over at my husband, envying his shaved head. All he has to do is pat it dry and he's ready to go. Then my eyes spot the pink, puckered flesh where the doctors pulled the shrapnel from his skull. My envy turns to guilt. Peeta's always getting hurt because of me. I wish there was something I could do to keep him safe.
The door to our compartment opens to reveal our wife holding Rain. Our son sees us and makes little grabbing motions with his hands toward Peeta and me. I take a step forward to greet him, but the look on Katniss's face stops me. Her expression is thunderous. Her gray eyes snap. The furrow in the middle of her eyebrows is a canyon. Katniss is pissed. As eager as I am to see my son, I'm not stupid enough to brave the storm.
Katniss's eyes narrow. "So, Sweetgale Hawthorne. When were you going to tell me that your brother was marrying my sister?" she asks in a deadly tone.
Oh shit. Full names are never good.
"Sorry?" I venture. I shoot a glance at Peeta. "It slipped my mind."
The storm clouds darken. Peeta's hand twitches and I know I've said the absolutely worst possible thing. I'll be lucky if Katniss lets me sleep with her for the next month.
"Yeah, well, congratulations. You have a new sister-in-law."
"Excuse me?"
"Apparently your brother married my sister this afternoon. While we were fucking."
I blink. "...That was quick."
"So I say again: when were you going to tell me I was going to have a new addition to the family?"
"I… I…" I struggle to find the words. I can't. I'm in shock. My brother's married. He's actually married. I know why he didn't ask me to be there. He knew I'd object. I expected to have a little more time to talk some sense into him. Get him to delay at least a couple of months… preferably years. Instead, he's gone and married Prim without giving me the chance. I don't know if I want to congratulate him for his decisiveness or throttle him. Although throttling's winning.
Peeta steps in to cover my silence. "I think what Gale's trying to say is he didn't think it'd happen this quickly."
I shoot a look of gratitude at my husband. Peet's trying to smooth the waters between me and Katniss. He's much better at it than I am.
Katniss doesn't stop glaring at me. She'd be crossing her arms if she weren't holding Rain. Our son's fussing a bit, probably from our argument. "Yeah, well, it did." She bounces Rain a couple of times to calm him. "We're invited to the toasting later tonight in their new quarters, but they've already signed all the official paperwork. So, in the eyes of Thirteen, they're married."
"What do you want us to do?" I ask, running my hand through my still damp hair. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. What more do you want me to do?"
"Finish getting dressed," Katniss says with a sigh. "'Cause after dinner, you and I are expected to make a speech."
"Does your mom know?" Peeta asks.
Katniss's eyes widen. "Probably not. Prim sure as hell didn't say anything to me until afterwards."
His brow furrows. "I thought Prim was off rehabilitating the Peacekeepers?"
"She was. She got back just a little while ago." Katniss smooths a hand over Rain's fine blond curls. "I saw Rory right before I dropped Rain off in the nursery this morning. He must've just gotten back. Can you believe what the first thing he said to me was? 'Hi Katniss, have you seen Prim?' I told him she was going to be back later today. Then, he told me he'd wait for her. He'd wait for her! How was I supposed to know that was code for, 'I'm going to ask your sister to marry me.' Argh!" Katniss lets out a groan. "I can't believe Prim didn't say anything to me. I mean, we're sisters! We're supposed to tell each other things!"
I don't point out that Katniss has never talked to Prim about anything. I'm not that stupid. Katniss and I deliberately didn't tell our younger siblings we were leaving Twelve because we were afraid they'd screw things up. I guess turnabout's fair play.
Peeta changes the subject. "So where are they holding the toasting? And what kind of bread are they using? Is Coin going to let them go outside?"
"How am I supposed to know? Nobody tells me anything!"
I feel the same way. Too many people are keeping secrets from us. I don't like it. To distract her, I hold my arms out for my son. "I suppose we'd better start finding out."
Katniss sighs but hands me the blond infant.
Rain smells like he always does, that fresh baby scent that's not mistakable for anything else. There's a hint of Thirteen's antiseptic, but it's mostly covered with the scent of baby powder. Katniss or the people in the nursery must've changed him right before she brought him up here. I've missed my son so much. It feels good to hold him again.
I kiss him on the nose and he giggles.
For the next hour or so, I play with my son while Peeta and Katniss talk quietly over in one corner. Rain's still too little to do much, but he's growing in leaps and bounds, just like Posy did at that age. He's starting to stand up, using the furniture as handholds to search for his toys or the cats. He hasn't quite managed words yet, but there's a rhythm to the noises he makes. Before long he'll be talking. I'm looking forward to that day. For now, we snuggle, I sing, and he waves Posy's doll at me.
I didn't realize how much I needed this moment until now. A month is too damned long to go without seeing my son. I'm not going to do this again. I don't care if I'm in the middle of a war, my family comes first. Always!
At the appointed time, Mrs. Everdeen comes to get us. I'll never be able to call her Violet. Not even in my own head. There's a wry expression on her face and she greets Katniss with, "I guess Prim is more like you than I'd thought."
Katniss glowers at her mother. "I'm not the one who ran off with a kid from the Seam."
The older woman blushes. "Fair point. So have you figured out what you're going to say?"
"I think so." Katniss makes a face. "It's not being filmed, is it?"
"No. I think that might be part of the reason they did it so quickly."
I snort. No way in hell that's the reason.
Mrs. Everdeen turns to me. "Have you figured out what you're going to say?"
I stare at her with dawning horror. "I didn't think anybody else was speaking."
"Didn't Katniss tell you? They've asked for all of their family members to say something at the toasting."
"It's not traditional," I protest weakly.
"Where did you get the idea that any of this was traditional?"
My mother-in-law has a point. I guess I'd better figure out something to say, and soon.
oOo
I can't concentrate on the toasting. I'm still in shock that my baby brother is now married. To my wife's sister. At the age of fourteen.
What the fuck!
The only way this could be even more surreal is if they were also marrying Peeta's brother at the same time. Never in my life have I been as grateful for the Mayor's daughter as I am right now. If Madge weren't still off working at the rehabilitation camps, I'd probably embarrass myself by kissing her.
Yeah. Let's not do that. I don't need to piss off Katniss any more.
The ceremony, if you can call it that, takes place in Rory and Prim's new quarters on the same floor as the nursery deep in the bowels of Thirteen. The whole floor tastes of talcum powder and antiseptic. The sounds of the generators and air reclamators would drive me insane after less than a week. The newlyweds seem happy with the placement, though. I only hope they don't take the location as encouragement.
Rory and Prim's vows are sweet, almost an echo of mine and my spouses'. The love shining from my brother's eyes is pure and uncomplicated. I'm happy for him, I just wish he'd waited a few years or at least until the war was over. The ring he found sparkles on Prim's middle finger, I'm guessing the only finger it would fit on. She doesn't seem to care.
Katniss's speech is short. She welcomes Rory to the family, then follows it up with "if you make my sister cry, I make you cry." She means it.
Then it's my turn. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to say. I can't do what Katniss did and threaten my new in-law. Prim's too sweet for that. This is the first time in my life I wish I had Peeta's encyclopedic memory for inspiring speeches from Capitol movies. Not that I'd want to watch the stupid things, but I'm not good coming up with inspiring things to say when put on the spot. I should've spent my time earlier preparing for this moment instead of playing with my son.
Not that I regret playing with my son. But I'm about as fucked as a tribute on Reaping Day.
The silence stretches out uncomfortably. I clear my throat a few times to fill it. Everyone stares at me. Waiting. Shit! I can't put this off any longer.
I clear my throat one more time before starting. "What can I say about my brother marrying Primrose Everdeen, other than that he's got excellent taste in women." Okay, that's not a bad beginning. "Um…" I struggle to find something else to say. "But I think I got the better sister. I-"
I'm cut off by the shrill punctuation of static.
"Attention. Attention," a familiar female voice says over a loudspeaker. "The following people must report to the Command Center immediately. Haymitch Abernathy. Derrick Boggs. Fulvia Cardew. Katniss Everdeen. Gale Hawthorne. Plutarch Heavensbee. Peeta Mellark. And Finnick Odair."
My spouses and I share a look. Something's wrong. This is the first time they've used the broadcast system like this. Most of the time, they contact our bodyguards via communicuff or send an aide.
Once again, the woman repeats the list of names, adding, "This is not a drill. All named individuals must report to the Command Center immediately."
With a hasty apology, Katniss thrusts Rain into Mrs. Everdeen's arms and the three of us hurry from the room.
Whatever's happened, it's likely changed the course of the war.
oOo
The Command Center is chaos.
Aides scurry from station to station, data sticks clutched between their fingers. Screens flash images, some from hacked Capitol feeds, others from the Capitol's state-run media. I strain my ears, trying to figure out just what's going on. It's hard to tell. People are shouting contradicting stories at each other. No one seems to know exactly what happened. All anyone knows is that it's bad.
The common thread is that there's been a bombing. I'm not sure where. All I know is that it's big. Really big. The noise in the room tells me that.
Katniss clutches my hand, her eyes fixed on one screen. "That's Twelve," she whispers, just loud enough for Peeta and me to hear. "They've bombed Twelve."
Something deep in my gut jerks.
I narrow my eyes, focusing on that screen. She's right. I can make out the front of the Justice Building through a pillar of smoke. A low simmering fire spreads up my back at the destruction of my home. It doesn't matter that I fled the place long ago. Or even that nobody lived there anymore. District Twelve was still my home, and part of me hoped, dreamed, that after this war was over, me and my family might be able to go back.
Katniss lets out an even louder moan.
My eyes zero in on her. "Is something wrong? Is the baby coming?"
She shakes her head, clutching at her stomach.
Peeta turns to her. "Katniss?" His face mirrors my concern.
"I did this," she whispers brokenly. "This is my fault. If we hadn't liberated Twelve, Snow would've left everyone alone. But we provoked him. I provoked him."
Peeta pulls Katniss forward, clasping both of her hands in his. I take up a sentry position behind our wife, letting her know silently that I've got her back, while Peeta does what he does best: talk.
"You did not do this. Snow did."
"But-"
"No." He shakes his head. "No. He's the one who dropped those bombs. He's the one who decided to take revenge. You saved thousands of people. You're not the one he's angry at. If anything, he's angry at Thirteen for liberating Six." He pauses, his eyes flicking up to mine. "How much do you want to bet, even if you hadn't saved all those people, Snow would've dropped those bombs anyways? He doesn't care about the people in the districts. The bombing of the refugee camp at Six proves that. He destroys who he likes, where he likes. Just because he can."
"Peet's right." He is. Snow doesn't care about anyone. We're all just pieces in some sick game. Why not kill a few thousand of them to make a point? Snow will do anything to stay in control. Even bomb my home.
My husband flashes me a ghost of a smile in gratitude. "Remember our lessons? The Capitol doesn't care about Twelve. You know they don't need our coal. Or any of us. If you hadn't talked Coin into going to Twelve, seven thousand people would be dead now. You saved them." Peeta reaches up and bops Katniss on the nose. "You. And no one else."
A ghost of a smile flits across Katniss's face at Peeta's action. Then it fades as her eyes take in the chaos around us. "It still feels like my fault."
I think about our previous encounters with President Snow and come to a conclusion. "How much do you wanna bet that's what Snow wants you to think? Wants all of us to think? How much do you wanna bet he's gonna come on that Capitol station and announce all of this was the fault of the rebels?"
"Very good, Gale," Heavensbee says, sidling over to join us. "You've got quite the mind for understanding our enemies. We can use that."
"What happened?" Katniss demands. "Why'd he bomb Twelve?"
Heavensbee's eyes flick to her. "To destroy evidence." He rests his hands on top of what's left of his paunch. "If word got out that an entire district just up and left, there'd be chaos. The Capitol would lose even more control. Snow had to destroy Twelve to prevent news from getting out about the mass defection."
"Oh." Peeta looks around the room, his eyes stopping on one of the screens, before turning back to Heavensbee. "It's not just Twelve, is it?"
The florid man shakes his head. "No. No, it's not just Twelve."
"Who else got hit?" I ask. From what we've been hearing, several districts have been on the edge of open rebellion, while others, like Three, have Thirteen infiltrators leading their underground. It's not like Snow's lacking targets.
"Four."
My jaw drops. Four? Snow bombed Four. But that doesn't make any sense. Four's a Career district. They play the Capitol's games. They're loyal. And as far as I know, they're not in open rebellion. "Why?"
"Best guess?" Heavensbee lets out a huff of air. His breath smells like old moldy cheese. "Same reason as Twelve. To hide evidence."
I struggle to keep the revulsion at the man's breath from my face. I don't want the vice president to think we hate him. Peeta considers him an ally, which means I do too.
It must work, since Heavensbee continues without indicating he's noticed my reaction. "We've been getting reports of fishing boats going out and never coming back. It happens often enough because of storms or malfunctions that the first few instances were easy to write off as benign."
"Benign? Isn't that an odd choice of words?" Katniss asks. Unlike Peeta, she's never fully trusted the man, and it's evident in her tone.
"Ah. Forgive me. It's the Capitol's term, not ours," Heavensbee hastens to correct. "Naturally, any loss of life must be lamented. It's what we're all fighting to change. But anyway, once the tenth ship failed to return, the Capitol started to take notice. After the fiftieth? Well…" He motions to the screens. "You can see the results."
"How many?"
"Early estimates? Whatever's left of the district after the flu."
"How many?" Katniss's voice is hard.
"It's too early to tell. But preliminary estimates put it at approximately sixty thousand."
The blood drains from my face.
"Out of how many?" Katniss chokes out.
"Pre-plague population was around sixty five thousand. It's unknown how many perished during the epidemic."
Peeta stares at the man. "So you're saying it's possible that the Capitol killed an entire district just because fifty boats went out and didn't come back?"
Heavensbee places a hand on my husband's shoulder. "Unfortunately, yes."
I can't understand it. Sixty thousand. Dead. I can't even begin to fathom just how many people that is. It'd be like if all of Twelve and all of Thirteen had been snuffed out in one terrifying instant. It's hard to breathe. That many people, just gone. And for what?
"Why?" The question slips from my lips. "Why would they kill so many?"
Heavensbee drops his hand and looks at me pityingly. Part of me wants to smack that look off his face. Just because I can't understand why someone would do something so awful doesn't mean I'm an idiot. I don't need, or want, anyone's pity!
"It's about power," Coin's voice says from behind us. "We've proven the Capitol is not all-powerful, which means they needed to do something, anything, to reassert their dominance." She inclines her head at Katniss. "Miss Everdeen here removed their most obvious target. District Four was clearly the next district they deemed most expendable."
"Sixty thousand people are expendable?" Katniss asks.
"To the Capitol, yes."
I don't know what to say. The question of is this fight worth it, was giving up our freedom to become the figureheads of this rebellion worth the sacrifices we've had to make, has been answered. If the Capitol's willing to kill so many people just to keep their stranglehold over the other districts in place, then yes, this fight is worth it.
"So. What do we need to do?" I ask, a new resolve filling me.
I don't get my answer because behind me, the door opens once again. Unlike the three of us, the newcomer, Finnick Odair, recognizes immediately what happened. He lets out a loud wail.
"Annie!"
oOo
AN:
Written: 11/11/16
Revised: 12/6/16
Revised 2: 1/7/17
The title of this chapter comes from the Broadway musical If/Then. It, uh, fit.
So yes, that happened. We've had this planned for a long, long, long, long, did we say long? Time. Pretty much as soon as we knew we were going into the rebellion we knew Four and Twelve were toast. We figured out substantially later that we could save the people from Twelve, but the district itself was going to be destroyed for the reason stated: to hide the evidence. You'll out more about exactly what happened in the coming chapters. Four, unfortunately, had no chance.
On to a brighter note! Prim, in our stories, has this annoying habit of getting married as soon as she's proposed to. It happened in Floriography, it's happening here. This was not what we originally had outlined, but we realized Rory and Prim would rightfully assume that both Katniss and Gale would try to talk them out of it. So they decided to beat them to the punch. Hello, confusing family tree.
Something was randomized in this chapter that you will find out about later.
Thanks for reading! Let us know what you think!
Make sure to check out RoseFyre's Tumblr at rosefyrefyre for more stuff and any other info.
