A/N: Sorry everyone, it took me forever to update! I had been in a comma from Nanowrimo (Succesfully finished, by the way) and regained consciousness just in time to take some finals. Seems like I've finally revived just in time for Christmas. Anyway, thanks for reading! R&R, Concrits are always cherished. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed thus far!
I used "Here Comes the Sun" for Hellopoppet123, thanks for reviewing, and sorry it took me five million years to update!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Hunger Games is owned by Suzanne Collins, and Here Comes the Sun is owned by the Beatles. Yay creative genious!
P.S. Next songfic I'll try to make shorter x.x
Here comes the sun, doo da doo doo
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright
The last time I really saw Katniss, before she was just a pixilated image on a TV screen, was at the justice building. The shock of her reaping hadn't yet worn off, but cracks in the icy disbelief were giving way into boiling anger.
The Capital is the one who took her away from me. The Capital, who preys on the weak and lets the rich live a life so spoiled they forget what life is really like. The Capital turns their head away as children starve to death in the streets every week and watch with zeal as kids murder each other for their entertainment. But I know Katniss: she won't play by their rules. She'll give those Game Makers a piece of her mind.
When I walked into the train station, Katniss didn't look like her ferocious self. She only looked like a girl, and a frightened one at that. Sure, her mouth was set in a straight hard line, but I've been her hunting partner long enough to know when she's faking it. Right then, she was phonier than President Snow.
I felt something hot prickling at my eyes—anguish. Anguish for her being reaped, and anguish that I didn't volunteer to protect her. But I knew that one of us had to be here, for our families' sakes. I pushed back the tears and replaced them with the old familiar anger. Nothing was left to do except reach out to Katniss.
I had never hugged her, at least not the way I was hugging her then. I could smell her hair, the familiar blend of pine of the forest and the coal dust that clung to everything. I didn't want to trade that smell—her smell—for anything. In less than three minutes, she'd be gone. I can't say I knew she'd come back. I'm not an optimist, and while she can fight, no one should underestimate the power of the capital lapdogs: the careers. So I did the best I could to reassure her, remind her of her assets. If she could get a hold of a bow, her chances would skyrocket. She was scared of hurting the other kids. Fear of playing the games sounded almost trivial to me because if you don't act, they will. I tried to comfort her anyway, because I couldn't take the fear hidden away to everyone but me. It took me back to the day where I first saw her, standing on the stage getting medals of valor for our dead fathers…
The peacekeepers came up behind me, demanding that I leave. Apparently, I was out of time. I didn't want to go. I couldn't trust her to the Capital. She started to panic as I demanded more time. The peacekeepers deny my request, and when I refuse to go they grip my arms tightly and start to pull me away. I jerk out of their grasp, but they only latch on harder, like leeches.
She grabbed my hand and almost shouted, "Don't let them starve!" She was getting carted off to a death match and all she could think about was her family. Of course I wouldn't let them starve.
"I won't! You know I won't! Katniss, remember I—" but then the Peacekeepers got the best of me and shoved me away and out the door. Katniss was going into the arena and I never told her I loved her. I hated myself for it.
Little darling
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it's been here
The next few days are lonelier than I've ever felt. I've forgotten what it was like hunting without a partner. The woods are quiet, so quiet they could swallow you up whole and no one would ever know. The solemnity is not what tears me apart. What kills me is her absence. She should be right next to me, teasing me about a bad shot or worrying about Prim. My mind plays that moment in the Justice Building over and over—the part where I was to cowardly to tell her how I felt, the look in her eyes as she begged me to keep her family from starving. She's always worrying about others. She's on the same par as Prim, if not better, and she doesn't even realize it.
I see her on TV not long afterwards. All the perfect flaws in her face are covered by the vain Capital goop they use to make everyone look "perfect." The worth of an inch of fabric in her black jumpsuit could feed both our families for a week. And the stupid fools of the Capital light her on fire. Even those bloodthirsty bats should realize the risk they're taking by lighting one of their valuable tributes on fire. I'm sweating bullets just thinking about the flames burning through the cape and licking at her skin…
I almost choke when I realize she's holding hands with the market boy, Petey or Peter or whatever the hell his name is. I don't know much about him except for the fact that we sell squirrels to his father, and he's well liked at school. The scene where I almost tell Katniss how I feel replays in my head yet again. I wish I had told her. What will happen when this well-likable market boy is there for her when I'm not?
Get a grip of yourself, Gale! I think. I'm being ridiculous and I know it. Still, I can't hide the resentment that's slowly growing. This is going to be a long Hunger Games.
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright
I feel like I am going to throw up. We are at the Everdeen's house watching the action on their small TV. Prim is curled into her mother's arms and Mom is holding a squiggly Posy while trying to shield her eyes from the action on screen. Vick and Rory are quiet. I can't hear a single breath.
Katniss had been caught up a tree when the Careers cornered her. Peeta was with them. He latched onto the stronger ones the second they got into the arena, leaving Katniss on her own. I knew he would betray her.
With the help of the little girl, Katniss spotted the tracker jacker nest. I knew what she was going to do the second the cameras zoomed in on it. Dropping the nest was the only thing Katniss could do, and she's not afraid to take risks of that magnitude.
As the nest plummets to the ground, Prim gives a yelp and Mrs. Everdeen gasps. My crossed arms are clenched so tightly my nails are digging into flesh.
Crash. The tracker jacker nest hits the ground and bursts. A fury of golden wasps hunt for victims. Katniss has already accrued several stings; I almost cry out as she nearly topples from the tree. But she regains herself and watches the mayhem below.
Several tributes panic. "To the lake! To the lake!" I can barely hear them over their screams but soon their gone and Katniss half falls and scrambles away, to the other direction.
"Wait! Katniss!" I scream at the TV. I ignore the concerned stares of everyone in the room. She's missed something crucial, something that lies in the hands of the dying District 1 girl—the bow. "You need the bow! The bow!"
If she has the bow she could win. But of course, she can't hear me. She's only an image projected across a piece of glass. Mom puts her hand on my shoulder reassuringly. I look away. I don't want her words of comfort right now.
Katniss stumbles through the foliage to a tiny pool. Never mind the bow, as each second passes I'm just worried she won't survive the poison from the tracker jackers. But Katniss is determined, and always has been.
Prim is crying into her mother's dress as the camera cuts to the careers making it to the lake. I don't care about them. I wish they'd all drown.
The camera cuts back to Katniss, who is now wandering through the woods in a fevered gait. It only takes me a split second to realize she's remembered the bow. When she sees District 1 on the ground, she gasps. Her face looks green. But she goes for the bow, shaking as she tries to wretch it from District 1's hands. It pains me that I can't be there for her right now.
She hears something coming through the bushes. It's the careers. They've left the lake. She pulls a bow into the string, but I can tell she's dizzy. I can tell the poison has gotten to her mind by the way she's holding the bow, like it's oozing something…
Peeta crashes through the bushes, spear raised. If he kills her and lives, I will hunt him down and murder him myself. But he doesn't move. Katniss just sits on the ground, helpless. I urge her to shoot, to move, anything, but I'm not as telepathic as I wish I were.
"RUN!" Peeta says the words to her that I cannot. Just as Cato crashes through the foliage, she disappears into the forest. I let long breath out. I don't care what happens to Peeta. All I know is that Katniss is alive. She's alive, and she has the bow. Everything is going to be alright.
Little darling
The smiles returning to the faces
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright
I am in such a good mood after seeing Katniss hold her own in the arena that I decide to hold up my end of the bargain, and go on a much needed hunting trip. I need to get a double haul, but I don't think it will be hard. Nothing seems difficult when I think of Katniss in the arena. She's not just hunting mindless deer and rabbits that will wander into a trap, she's hunting thinking people. They've proven to be cunning, and they will fight back. Especially the tributes from District 2, who are too eager to humiliate the tributes from the real districts.
It's not too long before I've gotten three turkeys and four rabbits. I've also collected strawberries. The last time I gathered strawberries was on Reaping Day. It' seems so long ago.
I go to sell the game I've caught—the turkeys go to Cray, the strawberries to Madge's. The rabbit's I'll take home to split between my family and the Everdeens. I'm vaguely aware that I'm wearing some sappy smile as I trod through town. I tell myself to wipe it off. Katniss isn't through the games yet. There are still tributes to be killed. I'm just so excited that she's alive that I can't help smiling. Anyway, smiling is better than hysterics and I've got so much anger built up in me already that adding more wouldn't do any good.
And I really can't help knowing that Katniss will come home.
I am so uncharacteristically chipper that I am not even annoyed when Madge comes to the door. It's not really Madge that annoys me, but the fact that she gets to sit in the nice house with a full belly while my brothers and sister starve. She represents the flawed system, the fact that she can get away with five slips in the Reaping ball while I have forty-two. But I guess Prim was chosen with just one.
"Hello," Madge says skeptically when she cracks open the door. She gives me the once over and then opens the door wide with a smile on her face. "More strawberries?"
I ignore the strawberries and pull into a tight hug. I don't know why I did it. Maybe I had been hurting for so long, and now I just wanted to share my enthusiasm. Someone who wasn't Prim or Mrs. Everdeen. Because Katniss and Madge were friends. Whatever the reason, I didn't pull away, and neither did she. We stood in a silent embrace for minutes, not saying anything at all. When I pulled away, Madge wore a big grin. So did I.
"Katniss is going to win," I say. "I'm sure of it. She's coming home."
She pauses for a minute. "Yes. Yes, she will. Did you see the pin I gave her? It's good luck."
So it was Madge that gave her the Mockingjay pin. I want to hug her again. But I just give her another smile. I give her the strawberries, and then she gives me the coins. I can't help thinking that Madge and I are no longer just acquaintances.
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
This is what I get for being optimistic. Katniss is facing certain death. She's trapped on top of the cornucopia surrounded by dozens of grotesque muttations that are crying for her blood. Peeta is there, but he's injured and turning pale from the loss of blood. Not that he could help much either since he is wrapped in a chokehold by Cato. Cato, who just murdered Thresh so brutally that no one will recognize his body when he gets back to District 11 in a wooden box. I'm sure I haven't taken a breath in the last five minutes. I'm so terrified my brain seems to think it doesn't need oxygen.
"Come on Katniss…" I mutter. She can think her way out of this one. I know she can. She just has to try hard enough. Katniss and Cato are standing in a stalemate. Peeta is turning blue. But I can see that if Katniss shoots Cato, he'll take Peeta over the edge and into the sea of muttations. If she doesn't, Cato could just use Peeta's body as a shield and easily find a way to kill Katniss with it. Honestly, their relationship unnerves me so I probably wouldn't mind if he happened to fall over the edge. And that just might be Katniss's only way out. I retract the thought. I try to hate Peeta. I really do. But he's there to take care off Katniss when I'm not. Does that mean I owe him?
Then something happens. It's such a miniscule action that the camera barely catches it. Peeta drags his fingers across Cato's hand in an X. Katniss's eyes light up and she takes the shot. It's a shot her father would have been proud of. Katniss barely manages to snag Peeta as Cato falls into the crowd of mutts.
Prim lets go of my hand that I hadn't realized she was holding. My fingers are white from where she cut off the circulation. "She did it, she did it!" Prim cries. There is cheering, hugging, laughter. Mrs. Everdeen starts to cry.
But nothing happens. I realize it's because the cannon never went off for Cato. He's still not dead. There's no way he's making it back now.
We huddle together on the Everdeen's couch. Eventually we fall asleep there, because the next thing I know it's morning. Katniss and Peeta are still on the screen, this time sitting by the lake. It's the cannon that wakes me up. Cato is finally dead. I shake the others awake.
"it's over," I say, "It's over. They won." But nothing happens. Katniss and Peeta are just as confused as I am. Then Claudius Templesmith 's voice booms through our speakers. "The earlier revision has been revoked. Closer examination of the rule-book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"
"No!" Prim shouts. She begins to cry. Posy is too young to know what's going on, but Prim's sobs makes her start screaming. In a split second Katniss has her arrows trained on Peeta. "Shoot," I whisper, "Shoot." But she doesn't. That's the difference between her and I: she hesitates where I wouldn't.
Instead, she pulls out some berries from her pocket. I recognize them instantly. Katniss has shown them to me before, while we foraged in the woods. Nightlock. One berry and they'd be dead in seconds. My brows furrow. Would really be willing to kill herself for him? The market boy? No. This must be a trick. Peeta kisses her before they put the berries to her lips. My blood begins to boil.
They put the berries in their mouths. For a second, I'm unsure of her plan. I expect her to keel over on the ground any second, poisoned. Prim starts trembling again. She knows very well what nightlock is.
But they don't. Claudius comes back on the speaker and says urgently, "Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present tthe victors of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you—the tributes of District 12!"
Everyone starts shouting, jumping up and down, and praising the heavens. Even me. Especially me. Katniss is coming home. She did it.
Little darling
I see the ice is slowly melting
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say,
It's alright
I am right there on the platform when the train pulls up. The train that contains what I've realized is my sunshine. Yes, I had been jealous that she leapt into Peeta's arms every hour during the Games, and especially during the interview where she fawned over him and kissed him over and over. I had been angry and jealous. But I can't stay mad at Katniss for long. I can just as well channel all my emotions to the market boy.
My stomach flutters when I the doors begin to open. I don't know how to act around her anymore. Should I just pretend that her and Peeta never happened? We never did have a pronounced relationship before she left. Except that one time I tried to tell her I loved her at the Justice Building. But I'm sure she didn't even notice.
She steps out onto the platform hand in hand with Market Boy. But that's okay, because all I really need right now is to see her face. Her eyes meet mine in a second, and I realize that everything will be all right.