Chapter 4: Reaping Kisses in the Meadow

Katniss's POV

My heart is still pounding and my head is still spinning as I walk to the Meadow. I had a fitful sleep last night, the excitement coursing through me as I thought back over how Madge and I kissed and made love in her piano room.

I've always thought that love was a silly and pointless invention, especially when tied down in an institution like marriage. Seam district girls are often expected to marry and know how to take care of a husband at home – for Merchants like Madge, the expectation of gender roles is even worse, as arranged marriages are quite common. I don't intend to be a wife or mother, however. Look what marrying for love did to my mother. She lost her husband, and it has all but destroyed her.

I arrive in the Meadow a little early and set about at the edge of the forest arranging my surprise for Madge. Once my basket is full of plucked strawberries, I have a seat in the grasses and wait. I don't have long to, for I soon see Madge crossing over to me. I blush, in spite of myself, running a hand through my single braid that Mother insisted on doing up this morning. I hope I look nice in my blue Reaping dress. The Reaping doesn't start until 2, so the thought of meeting alone with my.. lover is exciting and thrilling. Stolen moments alone.

Madge sits beside me, clearly also looking as nervous as I feel. We exchange shy smiles, and she is appreciative when I present her with the strawberries, but I can tell she is down. I take her hand. "What's wrong?"

She sighs. "My father is arranging a match for me."

My grey eyes expand. "That's awful!" I blurt out. Most Merchants tend to marry for economic advantage rather than love. They Toast the bread with someone their parents approve of. "And we aren't even done with our Reapings. What if…?"

Madge just smiles sadly. "I don't know."There is a pause where we just gaze into each other's eyes, before Madge breaks the spell and rummages around in the folds of her dress. She plucks something out in her palm, a bronze tinge catching the sunlight. It might be a pendant. A pin, more specifically, which she now fastens to my bodice, directly over my breast. I feel myself hiss as her fingers brush against my pebbling nipple.

"Everyone is allowed to carry a token with them into the Reaping, then the arena if.. if they.." She daren't finish the thought, instead clearing her throat. "Will you wear this for me?"

I nod immediately. Of course I will. Madge then bravely kisses my cheek. As she turns her face away, I cup her cheek intimately and turn her face back to mine, kissing her on the lips deeply and solemnly.

Our mouths petal, blossom open like flowers bursting into full bloom as the kiss deepens and I soon feel Madge's long, talented fingers in my hair, caressing my braid, undoing it so that my chestnut tresses roll down my back in waves. Sinking back into the tall grasses, I shiver as Madge now bunches the hem of my blue dress in her fists, pushing the fabric up over my hips. Peeling back my underwear, I can feel the cool breeze rustling against my nether regions that are already very, very damp. The Mayor's daughter slowly lowers her face to my throbbing, aching cunt and uses her tongue and lips to lather the warm and wet caverns of my lower lips.

"Uhhhh….. Huhhh…. Hmmm! MMMMMM! Fuck…" My feet scrabble for purchase in the dirt, my fingers tangling themselves in Madge's golden hair as she brings me close. The hem of my blue dress rustles as it now slips down my legs again, obscuring my lover's face as she administers oral sex to me.

"Oh….. Oh, God…" I pant, rasp. I feel the muscles in my pussy clench around Madge's merciless lips and my nails dig into her scalp, and I scream. "MADGE!" I cum hard onto her face, coating her mouth in my juices as I am satisfyingly brought to completion.

Emerging from under my dress and crawling on top of me, Madge kisses my mouth deeply so I can taste myself on her tongue. Spreading my legs, I allow my lover to settle between them. The Mayor's daughter shoves her thigh against my sore womanhood and rubs herself there, making me cum again with a whimper and a squeal. With a pathetic groan, she follows me over the edge a moment later.

Rising out of the grasses in which we just had sex, Madge and I collect ourselves. Ducking under the fence, we embrace and kiss as we part, promising to see each other after the Reaping.

It's still a little early, but I don't bother going home, instead making for the Square so I will at least be there on time. I can meet Prim and Mother there, thus reducing the chances of them asking me where I was and what I was doing. I am just passing the alley leading to the back loading dock of the Bakery when a figure appears at the edge.

"Katty! There you are!"

I turn, my loose and around my shoulders in ringlets as I blink at Peeta Mellark. "Morning, Peeta."

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asks me quite earnestly, taking my hand. Befuddled, I allow him to guide me into the secluded darkness of the alley. He appears nervous as he faces me.

"So: Reaping Day, huh? Nervous?"

I shrug. "Not for me. It's Prim I'm worried about; it's her first year."

He nods. "I can imagine." An awkward pause, and then: "Stolen a Reaping Kiss yet?"

I gawp at him in surprise. The Reaping Kiss is an old superstition in District 12. They say that if you kiss someone who is also eligible on Reaping Morning, both you and your partner are guaranteed to not be picked. I have never partaken in the tradition, though I have no reason to believe the Kiss doesn't work. Now that I think about it, I suppose Madge and I shared what could amount to a Reaping Kiss and lots more besides this morning.

I am so lost in my thoughts, that I don't have time or warning as Peeta suddenly takes me in his arms and kisses me right on the mouth.

I let out a whimper of confusion into his lips. I should push him away, but I don't. I find myself kissing him back, though it feels strange, if for no other reason than he deserves to have a good luck charm too. I shudder when I feel Peeta's hands brush my thighs, caressing the supple and tender flesh there before he raises my leg. I almost instinctively hook it around his torso, much to my chagrin.

Peeta and I finally break the kiss sharply, our arms still wound about each other. My grey eyes are bulging and my swollen and very kissed mouth is hanging open prettily. I should slap him for his gall in kissing a girl without asking for her express permission. But I don't do this either. Only now do I shove him away, smoothing down my skirts. We lock eyes again, grey on blue.

"Thank you," I breathe stupidly, formally, before turning on my heel and flouncing out of the alleyway.

We are all standing in the Square together, Effie Trinket – our district escort – about to step forward and draw the name of the girl, when it happens.

A large and dark shadow suddenly passes over the Square, and we look up, a chorus of murmurs rising in confusion. A Capitol hovercraft? I can't see any markings that might tell me so, but then I hear a sudden boom, and a structure at the edge of the square suddenly explodes in flames. Screams split the air and chaos breaks out as the orderly Reaping devolves into pandemonium. I push through the crowd to find Mother, near the stage.

"Katniss!" I turn to see Peeta and his father, the Baker, lunging for me. "Are you OK?"

"Primrose! Primrose! Where is Primrose?!" I cry, near hysterics.

Peeta dives back into the crowd, and I scan, heart in my mouth as bombs continue to fall. Mere seconds later, he is back with my little sister tucked under his arm. Prim flies into my embrace and I hold her tight to me.

Another fireball explodes nearby, and we dash up to higher ground, mounting the steps onto the stage. Why would the Capitol bomb an entire district when we're already being punished by the Games? What purpose does that serve? "What do we do?" I ask.

I all at once feel Madge's soothing presence by my side, though her voice is hurried and panicked as she rounds us up and pushes us, along with our only living Victor, Haymitch Abernathy, into the Justice Building. "Quick, this way! Through the servants' quarters!" Madge leads us through a maze of hallways and we finally appear in a spacious bedroom of the mayoral residence. Moving a hidden floor tile, the Mayor's daughter reveals a trap door leading down into the metallic gloom of what must be a bunker. One by one, Prim, Mother, Peeta, the Baker, Haymitch Abernathy and I drop into the hole. Madge is last of all, hanging on the edge of the trapdoor by her fingertips as she slides the tile back into place, which forces her to let go.

The bombs sound farther away now, given that we must be below ground. The texture at our feet is nothing but dirt. I hear a match strike and then a flame of light appear as Madge finds and lights a lantern. I am amazed when I see the stores of food, sleeping bags and other items lying around.

There is a loud BOOM and everything shudders about us, followed by a ROAR like something is collapsing. Then – silence. None of us dare to voice what could possibly be happening outside.

"Let's get some sleep," Madge murmurs, and we begin pulling out sleeping bags. My heart warms when I see how Madge keeps Primrose close and soothes her. I quickly discover that there are not enough sleeping bags to go around, so when Peeta gentlemanly offers to let me have it, I resolve to scoot over and tug him into the bag with me.

It's cramped quarters, so I am nestled somewhat in Peeta's arms. Through the inky blackness, I can see the amorphous shapes of our companions. It isn't long before I hear a rustling of fabric somewhere off to my left, followed by grunts, heavy breathing and moans.

"Hmmm…. Mmmmm…."

Two figures, cloaked in shadow, are wrapped together in one sleeping bag, undulating in heat, their bodies jerking as they make wild and clumsy love. The groans are coming from a woman, and I recognize the stocky build bouncing now on top as Peeta's father. Having heard secondhand how the Baker and my mother used to date, I find myself cringing at how such a near-death experience is nudging them towards giving in to passion.

I curl into Peeta, trying to ignore the sounds of our parents having sex. The planes of his chest feel warm and strong against my lithe tiny body. I hardly even mind about the abrupt Reaping Kiss we shared earlier this afternoon, my heart now swelling at the knowledge that he went back for the one person who means everything to me.

"Thank you,"I mumble.

"For what?"

I lift my head to look deep into his eyes. "For saving Primrose."Suddenly inspired, I crane my neck up and kiss his lips softly.

I am shocked by the earnestness with which he kisses me back, the tenderness with which his body caresses mine. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he kissed me today, and is kissing me now, because he is in love with me. Suddenly slamming the man onto his back, I swing a creamy thigh over his hips as I audaciously move to straddle him. Sitting astride his waist, I let his arms encircle me, draw me close and our lips smack in little pecks as we kiss. I pause in having my lips on his briefly, listening to the rustling of fabric as Peeta helps pull my blue Reaping dress over my head until it pools in the dirt beside our sleeping bag. I move to help shuck his dress shirt off of his broad shoulders and he embraces me tightly, his hands rummaging along my spine and shoulder blades. Slowly, I sink down on him, bouncing on him so that my naked breasts jiggle in his face; when Peeta catches my one nipple between his lips and cups me, I throw my head back and let out a breathy moan:

"Mmmmmhmmmm….."

Kissing deeply, we roll in the sleeping bag until we have flipped, with Peeta now on top. I never thought I would ever willingly lie with, sleep with, a man, but I now spread my legs and let Peeta thrust deep inside me. Digging my nails into the shapely curve of his buttocks, I lift my hips to meet his with every slam, rocking and rutting against him furiously as we spend much of that night making love until my cries drown out those of my mother being fucked as hard as I am just mere feet away:

"Uhhhh….. HUHHHHH! ERMMMM! URRRR! MMMMMM! HMMMM!"

When Peeta cums deep inside me, and he brings me to completion with a happy shout, I kiss him once before my sated body sags and sleep overtakes me.

Madge is brusque and short when we all awaken the next morning, and I try to dress myself as inconspicuously as possible while her back is turned. The Mayor's daughter insists on opening the trapdoor and climbing through to investigate the outside world alone; the rumblings and shakes from the bombs falling petered out during the night and all from above has been ghastly quiet for hours. My.. my lover has to stand on the Baker's shoulder, who in turn has to stand on a crouched Haymitch just to reach her high enough so Madge can heft the trapdoor floor tile aside. She disappears through the gap and I expect to see the Justice Building around her…. but instead, the sun is much brighter.

Almost as if there is no building left around us.

Prim finds a rope amidst the apocalyptic supplies stored down her and we manage to lasso it up to Madge, who ties it off and lifts us, one by one, through the hole. I can only stare agog at what I find when I clamber through.

The Justice Building that once stood tall in this spot has been razed into nothing but ash.. and so has the rest of the district. There is no more Town, no more Hob… I squint to make out Victors' Hill in the distance, where Haymitch once made his home in exile, all alone. No more Victors' Village. No more Seam.

Terrified, I think of my hunting partner, and cup my hands around my lips, still flush from all the kisses Peeta and I shared last night. "Gale?! GALE!" Only gray silence greets me, and it isn't just the smoky ashes that are making my eyes sting with tears. Are we the only survivors of the bombing of District 12, a bombing unprovoked and unexplained? I think of Peeta's brothers and even his Witch of a mother. Were they lost in all these fires that are still burning all about us? I can roughly make out where the bakery and its back loading dock used to be, a few blocks away; it's now nothing but a rubble pile of bricks and concrete. If the rest of the Mellarks are dead, I know Peeta will mourn, for his brothers at least. Maybe not his mother. Where the shrew is concerned, the Baker will probably bounce back even faster; he certainly wasted no time in jumping on and screwing my mother last night. The thought that they actually fucked still leaves me a bit disquieted.

I feel Prim sidle up to me, whimpering, and I take her hand. "Where are we supposed to go?"

I quickly improvise something of an answer. "The woods. I know a place we can be safe. My father's hunting cabin is out there." I notice my mother nod absently in approving assent, though she doesn't meet my eyes.

Madge still isn't either as the seven of us – in all likelihood the only survivors from Twelve – progress through ghostly ruins to the edge of the district and the Meadow beyond, once we pulley up as much of the supplies from down in the bunker as we can. It's hard to find one's way without the landmark signs of buildings, but we nonetheless struggle doggedly on. Mother and the Baker are ahead, speaking in low tones; just behind them, Peeta is politely helping Haymitch stumble along. Prim dashes ahead on what little path there is left to help the men.

Which leaves me alone with the woman who up and fucked me with her mouth not even twenty-four hours ago, in the Meadow to which we are now heading. Madge sidles up to me, eyes downcast.

"You fucked him last night, didn't you?" she hisses, though from her tone, I can discern she is more anguished than angry. Even so, I cringe.

"He found and saved Primrose. I had to… give him something."The explanation makes it all the worse, as if having sex with Peeta was nothing more than a transaction, the same as any other trade we have made.

"And you thought opening your knees for him would do it?" Madge sneers, the jealousy from her palpable. "Don't deny it, I heard you practically screaming with glee last night as he ravaged you. He's been in love with you for years, obviously, so you have no right to play with his feelings like that! And what about me?"

I finally will myself to look her in the face, pained, finally coming to terms with deep parts of myself. Given my vow of chastity and to never marry, I didn't think my own sexuality or sexual preferences would matter. I've always known, deep down, but my trysts with Madge and Peeta have only confirmed it: my bisexuality.

"I'm attracted to men and women. So what?"

"Yes, but who do you love more: him or me? That's the real question!" Madge is doing an admirable job of avoiding raising her voice, but her look of betrayal is heated enough on its own. "Katniss…." she stops me, then suddenly pulls me close and kisses me right on the mouth.

I squeak a little in surprise, but it's almost embarrassing that this is all the resistance I give as I melt into the passionate kiss, lifting my leg to hook around Madge and pull her closer. When Madge and I finally break apart, our arms still wound about each other, everyone else has stopped to stare at us.

Peeta is doing a remarkable job of looking like he's less crushed than I imagine he is. My eyes actually well up with tears. "I'm sorry," I whimper out.

He just smiles sadly. "Don't be. She's the one you deserve."

It's not hard to traverse the fence once we reach it: the bombs have flattened most of the chainlink. We steal across the meadow and into the trees, and my party lets me take the lead in guiding us to the cabin by the lake. The whole time, I do not let go of Madge's hand.

We begin building a camp, a home around the cabin, trying to carry forward now that we are seemingly free from our former district confines. One day, I bring Peeta out with me on a hunt and we have a long talk. While I tell him I am flattered that he loves me, and I do feel love for him too, it isn't as strong as what I feel for Madge. I also make it clear that for all of that, I won't ever regret being with him. He smiles and tells me he understands, joking, "My inability to keep quiet out in the wild would not have made us a good match anyhow, love," and kissing me once gently.

I can only smile. "I'll allow it."

So it comes as a happy surprise when, after getting sick for a couple of weeks, I discover that I am pregnant with Peeta's child. Madge is surprisingly ecstatic when I tell her, confessing she has still always wanted a family, and she wants one with me.

"Will you marry me, then?"I find myself asking, quite seriously. My lover seems so shocked, it takes her a couple of moments to answer Yes.

Madge and I hold our Toasting on a starry, moonlit night, burning some pieces of bread over a bonfire on the shores of the lake. Feeding each other a piece, I solemnly tilt my head and permit my wife to kiss me on the lips. As I sink into the embrace, I feel my grey eyes – smoky as the ash now coming up from the bonfire's flames – sink closed in contentment while Madge kisses me back.

That night, in my father's hunting cabin, Madge and I make love, arching our backs and rubbing our legs against each other's femininity to gain friction until we both orgasm together, happily crying out as one in our release. I finally understand what all the fuss is about regarding sex.

Eight months later, on the dirt floor of Daddy's cabin, I scream and cry and spread my legs to now push and go through an agonizing labor so that Peeta's offspring may be brought out into the world. He is squalling, red-faced and strong, like his father, and holding my son between myself and my wife, I feel content in the knowledge that we will raise our child together. Peeta has promised that he will also help.

As the woman I love kisses me with pride, I feel a glimmering candle flame of hope in my heart – that here in the wilderness, we can make a new family and life for ourselves, free from the Capitol and from the Hunger Games.