Chapter 5: Fourteen Years Later

I wake up before my alarm. My body clock has become flawlessly skilled at judging the early hours of morning, when I have to go out and hunt. Climbing out of my empty bed, I quickly shower and dress, carefully working my way down the stairs so as not to disturb the other occupants of the house.

It is summer, so the temperature is already quite warm, even in the early morning. And it will only get worse. Upon crawling under the fence and reaching the woods, I resolve that stocking up on meat is a more practical choice at the moment. The muggy weather has lowered the water levels of the ponds dangerously low; there are no ducks. Given migration won't happen for another six months, their absence is concerning. I hope some will return soon.

I manage to fell a sizable buck, as well as nab a few squirrels. I should feel proud of myself, and I am: at 30 years old and working half in the dark, a kill like the one I've just made is pretty impressive. Satisfied that this is a haul worthy of the Hob, I return the way I came. By now, the sun is just poking over the horizon; the sky has long since turned gray. I enter the black market to find it bustling with activity. Most of the patrons are miners, frequenting the eatery stalls for a spot of breakfast before heading for the elevators and dangerous earth below.

After trading the buck to the butcher, and haggling a few coins out of Greasy Sae for the squirrels, I notice a Peacekeeper with pepper-gray hair eyeing me. The wrinkles crease around his hardened face as he frowns, before sauntering over to me.

"Did you get that from beyond the fence, Katniss?"

"So what if I did, Thread?" I shrug.

"It's against District law," Thread recites almost rotely, like he's a robot.

"Never stopped me before," I banter back. "Or you." I give him a loaded look with words and memories implied; though I don't speak at all, I can tell these hang in the air and weigh heavily on Thread's mind. He sighs, then he grabs my hand and pulls me into the back corner of the market. Seizing my thighs he hoists me up the wall. My expression is blank as I grab his face and smash my lips into his. He moans pathetically, and after a while I do too, closing my eyes in pleasure. I can pretend all I want that this is just business, but that doesn't excuse the fact that Thread and I still somehow find ways to see each other.

"Mmmmmm!" I scream muffledly into Thread's mouth as he slides his member swiftly into me. With each thrust, the wall behind us shakes, my body wobbling each time it is slammed against the wood.

"You've - been a - very - bad - girl!" Thread growls with each pound. His lips attack my neck and I arch into him, my hands pawing along his shoulders. "Last time I allow this!"

"Sure. Until the next time," I call his bluff, pulling his face back to mine and kissing him again.

"GRRrrrrrrrrr!" Thread comes inside me, slumping like a noodle against me, until I make him set me down and we re-adjust ourselves. He kisses me once before I can object. I don't return it, but don't resist him either. The passion is gone, with only necessity and convenience to take its place. "Gotta go down there to supervise these rats. See you later, babe."

And he strolls off towards the mines, while I gaze after him almost unemotionally.

I spend the rest of the day out in the woods, tracking more game. Hunting is my sole occupation, so I appreciate the fact that I can keep my own hours, adjust my income for inflation depending upon how productive I am. Out here, it's just me, myself and I - and I'm fine with that.

But that doesn't stop my mind from wandering elsewhere, and towards other people, as I approach my father's hunting cabin.

FLASHBACK: It's been a few days since the wedding. Taking my husband's hand, I drag him through the trees, actually laughing and smiling as I begin to force us both into a run.

"Katniss!" Peeta laughs. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," I chuckle. We at last arrive at my father's hunting cabin, set against the backdrop of a beautiful lake complete with a waterfall. I show my husband the inside of the cabin, the basic amenities.

"It's not much for a honeymoon," I admit. "Certainly not the most exotic thing, but..."

Peeta kisses me once to shut me up, lingering before he pulls away. I whimper at the lack of his lips on mine. "It's perfect. It suits you."

I raise an eyebrow at him, a smile playing at my mouth. "Yeah, but does it suit you?"

"Never mind that!" Peeta laughs. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."

My eyes prick with tears. Barely a week as his bride, and already this boy is having a profound effect on me. His generosity, his insistence that my needs be placed above his. I tug at his hand. "Come on, let's go watch the waterfall."

We scale an imposing stack of boulders overlooking the pool, watching the cascade of liquid disappearing into the depths below. Many times being here with my father as a little girl, and the sight still never ceases to amaze me. "Someday," I open up. "I wanna see the world. Every speck of it. Heck, I might even find some new continents or something!" Hit with a flash of bold inspiration - rare, as I never do bold things often - I begin to strip right before my husband's very eyes. Down to my underthings. Peeta eyes me curiously, concerned. "I mean, I know there's gotta be a lot of places besides Panem, but the world is huge! It must be!"

When I pull my shirt over my head, Peeta cannot keep quiet any longer. "Katniss Everdeen, what are you doing?!"

"I believe it's Katniss Mellark now," I wink. "And what does it look like?" I scramble along the boulder's face until I find a good point, then stand. With a girlish scream, I leap into the water below - at least a fifteen foot drop. I can feel Peeta's eyes on me as I surface; indeed, he has crawled over to the edge and is peering down at me, barely-masked fear in his eyes. I let out a whoop and float about, beckoning my husband down. "Come on!"

"I can't!"

"Why? You're not afraid of a little cold water, are you?"

"No!"

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No, of course not! You're my wife!"

I beam. "Then what?"

There is a pause as Peeta bites his lip. Finally, he calls out, "I can't swim!"

"You're joshing me!" I gape in disbelief.

"I wish I were," Peeta confirms his story.

"So you're telling me, you're afraid you'll drown, right? Swallow too much water, sink to the bottom... and die?"

"Thank you for putting it so vividly, honey, and yes, considering I would sink like a rock, drowning is a fair concern!"

"Well," I shrug. "I guess I'm just going to have to enjoy this all by myself... without my husband... just little old me..." I wait, hoping my drawn out point of the obvious is seductive enough.

It works. Peeta strips himself of everything but his jeans, before letting out something like a squeal as he bravely leaps off the rock. His impact splashes my face. My husband surfaces almost immediately, looking absolutely terrified. "Katniss!"

"It's OK; it's OK! Come here, come here... I've got you, I've got you!... I've got you..." Cradling him in my arms the way he might have done for me if our wedding had been more traditional, I begin to spin in the water with him. "Relax," I prompt soothingly. "Relax against me. Are you all right?"

"I think so!"

I exhale, flashing him a smile. "You did it!"

"I did it!" Peeta crows. "It feels wonderful!... I'm weightless..."

"That's cause we're carrying you, see?" I laugh. "The water and me. We're both carrying you. You like the feeling?"

"I love it," Peeta confirms, but he doesn't seem to be talking about the floating sensation anymore. Suddenly, we thrash, just for a moment. "Katniss, don't let go!" Peeta squeaks.

"It's OK, it's OK..." I smile. "There's no chance of that, Peeta Mellark... I'm never gonna let you go..."

Peeta curls into my body in a kind of hug, before allowing me to lay him flat on his back over the lapping waters. I spin him about, him just floating there, allowing the waves to take him...

I sigh, as I shake the memory from me, emerging from the trees at the edge of the forest. By now, the sun is low in the sky, and I know the miners will be returning home soon, stopping in the Hob for their evening meal. Maybe I can make it up to Thread somehow, besides just getting paid for my game.

I manage to sell most of my catch, but not all of it, ending up with a few squirrels left over. As I leave Rooba's stall, I stop short when I see a familiar crop of pepper-gray hair...

... which is currently being buried against the lips of some blonde Merchant woman-skank!

Fuming, I stomp over to the pair, seize a clay jar from a nearby table, and promptly crack it over the man's head. Thread topples out of the embrace, rubbing his temple, and the woman screams.

"How dare you! After what I've provided for you - you douchebag! We're done! Consider our arrangement closed!" I hustle from the Hob, ignoring Thread's calls to stop. I am well outside and away from prying eyes before I burst into tears. All at once, I crash into something. Or rather, someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're..." My voice dies in my throat, as I raise my eyes to see that I recognize who it is. I would know those eyes anywhere... eyes as blue as a summer sky...

"Peeta?" I croak out in a whisper.

"Katniss, what's wrong?"

I cannot bear to meet his gaze any longer. "Nothing. I... I just need to get away for a while."

Peeta nods slowly, his eyes falling to my hunting bag. "Got any squirrels left?"

"A few," I mumble.

"Come on." He takes my hand, and I momentarily return to that moment in the woods during our honeymoon all those years ago, before he leads me back to his bakery. The place is dark and closed when Peeta lets us in the front way, throwing his keys on the counter. Crossing behind it, he beckons me forward and gestures that I put my bag on the counter. I do. "Let's see what you've got."

I show him the squirrels. He runs the first one, then the second, through his hands carefully. I observe him spy the place where my arrow found its mark. "Right in the eye... every time..." he chuckles, half to himself, a wistful smile playing on his lips. He turns back to me. "I'll give you 25 coins for it."

I stare. That's at least double what I usually get for two from Greasy Sae, and even that is after some haggling and raising of the price! I sigh. "Peeta..."

"Stop," he cuts me off. "I want to. Here." He pushes a bag with the total amount across to me. "Get some rest. Say hi to your family."

"Yours as well."

I reply without thinking, for Peeta's eyes snap up to mine with a look of confusion and pain lingering there. My throat goes dry, and I feel my face flushing. Seizing the bag, I turn and flee from the shop without another word.

A/N: The flashback here comes from another source... Can you guess what it is?