abugsaunt- Happy endings are a rarity for me. I really liked Dr. Aurelius in Mockingjay. He truly understood Katniss and helped her and Peeta's mental health. I just had to include him. Heading over to read your latest chapter!
sysi huhu- Based upon your review, you should be pleased with this chapter lol.
CupcakeSprinkles14- Thank you! I'm glad you loved it. Here's that update!
Peeta awoke the next morning to the beautiful sensation of Cato's chest rising and falling with each breath. The young baker lifted his head off the sleeping Career's torso and slipped away to freshen up and grab them something to eat. Out in the hallway, he met his squad waking up from their own slumber and digging into food brought by Dr. Aurelius.
"Where are Beetee and Pollux?" Peeta asked a groggy Haymitch while he stuffed a roll into his mouth.
"Beetee woke up early and took Pollux to meet his loyal contacts in Special Intelligence. They're setting everything up. I think it's best if we get going here soon and get you into your position at the mansion, boy."
"Kay, just let me get ready and wake Cato up."
Peeta took some bread and fresh fruit and crept back into the hospital room. He washed up and sat back down next to Cato and lightly kissed his cheek. The Career smiled as he opened his eyes and met the blue eyes of his lover.
"Are you hungry? There's food," Peeta offered as he held out a cheese bun and an orange to the taller blonde.
"I'm starved, but not for food," Cato growled as his hand ghosted up Peeta's thigh. The younger blonde's breath faltered but he quickly regained composure and smiled.
"Well, glad to see you're feeling better," Peeta responded with a light chuckle. "But I know you're still nowhere near well enough for that. Now here, eat with me."
The boys cuddled close as they devoured their breakfast before Cato's curiosity got the best of him.
"You said last night that the situation with Coin is 'being handled.' I want to know what's happening."
Peeta heard the stern tone in Cato's demand and knew he couldn't deny him.
"I tricked her into coming to Snow's mansion later today. When she arrives, I'll kill her."
"Are you insane?" Cato chided.
"I think you could argue that," Peeta smirked, enjoying the déjà vu of these exact words just spoken to one another last night. He decided to spare the older boy more grief and elaborated on the planned assassination. When all was said and done, Cato demanded to take part.
"I'm coming with you and the others to face her. I was a tribute too. She tried to kill me. I want to be there."
"I don't think you're in the condition to be going anywhere," Peeta surmised. "You might faint or all those fresh stitches in your neck could rip open."
"Peeta, stop it," Cato barked, his temper beginning to flair. "I'm not a child. I'm going. This isn't up for discussion. I'm done with saying goodbye and you always leaving me behind."
Peeta felt the sting in Cato's accusal of his consistent abandonment, but he knew the boy was right. He was always leaving to go off on dangerous missions. Hell, he had abandoned Cato in the very beginning when he left him behind in the arena. Peeta knew that if the positions had been reversed, he probably would have lost his mind a thousand times over worrying about Cato.
"I'm sorry," the smaller blonde apologized. "And you're right. I can't tell you what to do. I only want you to be safe and happy. That's all I've ever wanted. I love you. If you insist on going, then I can't stop you."
"I do insist," Cato reaffirmed. "And I love you too. That's all the more reason for me to go. I want to be with you and look after you. I want you to be safe and happy too."
The healing Career caressed Peeta's cheek and brought him down to kiss him. He started nibbling the young baker's lips, tasting the sugar and smelling the tantalizing cinnamon of Peeta's scent. He smiled, breaking the kiss but still resting his lips on Peeta's. Peeta snuck the tip of his tongue out and swept it sensually across Cato's bottom lip.
"Mmm," the younger blonde smiled. "I can taste the sweetness of the fruit you ate for breakfast."
"I can't wait till I can give you more than just a taste," Cato growled low as he stared hungrily into Peeta's eyes. "You have no idea how badly I want to taste every inch of you again."
"Trust me, I feel the same way," Peeta assured. "In due time, my love. But right now, we need to get you up and ready. Beetee and Pollux are already at the mansion, waiting. We got us an evil bitch to take out. "
Peeta paced anxiously inside a glorious greenhouse in the west wing of Snow's large mansion. The entire glassed structure was filled with blooming roses of various colors. In the very center held Snow's precious white roses of perfection; the potent fragrance of them so sickly sweet it seemed almost suffocating to the young boy. Regardless, Peeta waited there for Coin's arrival. He went on high alert when he heard the steady trek of boots approaching him. He turned to face Coin and two of her highest officials; no doubt the two were guilty conspirators in her tyrannous plans. The three scoundrels from 13 wore expressions of sheer malice as they stared Peeta down.
"Madam President," Peeta greeted, straightening his back and saluting her.
"Soldier Mellark," Coin responded, nodding in acknowledgement so that Peeta could stand at ease. "I must start by giving you the highest of praise on capturing the former president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow. Your valiant efforts in this war have been the key to our victory."
Peeta had to fight the urge not to call Coin out on her betrayal right then and there. "Thank you, Madam President. It has been an honor to serve under you." Peeta's eye twitched from the strain of spouting such bullshit.
"The honor has been all mine, Soldier Mellark. Now, have you followed orders and remained isolated so as not to compromise the top secret intel you received from Snow?"
"Yes," Peeta lied. "I came straight back to the mansion after I went with Soldier Hawthorne to the field medics. He left this morning to try and reunite with Soldier Everdeen. I haven't heard from him since. Madam President, has there been any word yet of my squad's whereabouts?"
"No, I'm afraid. I must inform you that your squad is officially M.I.A. We sent out several search parties to look for them and, at this time, we can not confirm nor deny whether they've been killed, captured, or are trapped somewhere, wounded. I promise you, though, we are doing everything we can to find them."
Oh, I bet you are, Peeta thought snidely. "Madam President, after I divulge the intel I have on the rogue bands of Capitol fighters, am I free to leave and help the search parties look for them?"
"Of course, Soldier Mellark," Coin answered. Peeta smiled sweetly to hide the awareness of her blatant lie. He could see her gun sitting in her holster. He could see the two officials on either side of her with theirs too. Peeta knew they had no intention of keeping him alive any longer than they felt necessary. He would have to play this out just right or his blood would end up splattering all those perfectly white roses behind him.
"Now," Coin continued, "tell us what you know about the suspected bands of rogue Capitol fighters. Did Snow reveal how many there are or what districts they are planning to ambush?"
Peeta began to regale Coin on his entirely falsified story concerning supposed Capitol extremists hiding outside of district 13, making sure to include ludicrous details of their staggering numbers and when they planned to strike. One of Coin's officials was laboriously taking notes on the preposterous bullshit Peeta was feeding them until the boy had nothing else he could think of to say.
"Is that everything Snow told you?" Coin inquired when he was finished. Peeta couldn't help but notice the bitch's hand lingering ever so closely to her gun holster now.
"Yes," Peeta whispered, preparing his rattled nerves as shit was about to get real. "I guess that means you'll be murdering me in cold blood now."
Coin's eyes grew wide at the boy's brusque statement before settling into a deep scowl. "Why would you say that?" she asked, clearly not denying it.
"Snow," he answered. "Snow warned me that you were just like him. He would poison anyone that became too influential and threatened his power. He told me you would do the same. He said that I've become too influential in this rebellion and you would end up killing me just because of that. I didn't believe him for a second. I called him a liar. But here you are, with your hand on your gun. You really are going to kill me. After all I've done for you, you're going to murder a broken child who's been through so much and lost so many in the name of your rebellion."
"It's for the best," was all Coin could say in response as she took her gun out of her holster. "Think of it as your final mission."
"And those parachutes?" Peeta probed. "Snow said that wasn't him. He said it had to have been you. Those parachutes killed members of my squad; killed hundreds of your own men. Please, grant a dying boy one final wish. Tell me, Coin: Why?"
"Sacrifices must be made for the greater good," she informed, "I needed not only you dead, but all of your squad of tributes and mentors too. I couldn't have them all returning home and influencing their districts; that's my job. Unfortunately, you were all scattered about on the battlefield so, I did what I had to do. It cost me some of my own men, but if your squad is really dead out there now, it was worth it."
"You really are just like Snow," Peeta snarled. "You and him both see your own people as expendable. Those were brave men and women from your own district you killed just because you wanted to have all the districts to yourself? What does it matter who ends up uniting the districts? We could work together to set them free; you don't have to kill me. We want the same thing."
"But I do have to kill you," Coin assured, now raising her gun up slightly. "Because, you see, we actually don't want the same thing. I have no intention of setting the districts 'free.' With Snow out of the picture, and soon you and any other living celebrity of the Hunger Games out of the picture too, I will retain any and all influence over the districts. I won't let them control themselves. I will control them all. I will be the new President of Panem. I will make the rules and they all will obey."
"That's not what you promised the districts," Peeta stated angrily. "You promised them independence from an evil oppressor. Are you saying that you lied to the entire nation? Are you saying that your whole goal all along for this rebellion has been to overthrow the government just so you could take over as the new tyrannous dictator and oppress the districts yourself?"
"No one will be able to touch me," Coin idealized madly, "this war has perfectly weakened both the Capitol and the districts to where they have no choice but to submit to me and to the power of 13. Now that you know the truth, it's time for you to die."
Coin and her officials raised their guns to aim at Peeta's heart. The supposed martyr stared his killers dead in the face, unafraid, as his entire Star Squad suddenly jumped out from their hiding spots amongst the sea of rose bushes and ambushed them. Guns loaded and at the ready, they opened fire and mercilessly riddled Coin's body and the bodies of her two officials with a vicious spray of bullets. The manipulative monster was struck dead as her body resembled a sieve, full of holes and bleeding profusely on the ground.
"Peeta, are you alright?" Cato asked as he and the rest of the squad lowered their weapons, satisfied the enemy was dead.
"Yes, did Pollux get all of that?" Peeta looked over at Pollux, just now peeking his head above a couple of pink rose bushes. He lifted his new camera up triumphantly and gave them all the thumbs up. His camera had captured the entire scene as it unfolded, replaying it in live time to every television in the entire nation, courtesy of Beetee. Before that, Special Intelligence had just finished broadcasting the tapes of the secret meetings, as well as footage of the parachutes exploding over the Star Squad and 13's own men. Coupled with Coin's own live confession and murder attempt on Peeta, the evidence was damning. It immediately severed the allegiance the districts had to Coin, and seeing her admit to sacrificing her own men destroyed the trust of her district 13 citizens. As the Star Squad cautiously stepped out of the mansion to face the uncertainty of 13's military, they were met with cheers of gratitude. The tributes and mentors had unraveled and foiled a potentially devastating fate for the districts and were thus immediately exonerated of Coin's murder...
The hovercraft that had dropped the parachutes was later found outside 13 and was accurately identified by several of the rebel survivors. All the officials from the tapes of the secret meetings were identified as well and brought to justice.
Without the threat of anymore assassination attempts and all the pods in the Capitol deactivated, Peeta went ahead and led a team down to the sewers to retrieve Boggs' body. The team, with the help of dogs, managed to track down the liquefied remnants of Mitchell as well. The two men's remains were laid to rest outside district 13 in a serene stretch of forest.
With no leader in power, the districts agreed to vote for a democratic president to reside in the Capitol and to also have representatives from each district help run the nation as well. Peeta publicly gave Commander Paylor, a victor who led district 8 to victory in the war, the highest of recommendations. He had met her during a sniper mission that brought him to district 8 a month back and found her tact impressive. She was quickly voted in as the new President of Panem and several other Hunger Games victors became the representatives of their prospective districts. Their first acts were to abolish the Games and build memorials over the ruins of the old arenas.
About a week after Coin's death, the cameras and sea of spectators were all in place in the Capitol once more. The giant stadium that once held the tribute interviews for the Hunger Games had been transformed into an ominous stage for capital punishment… literally. Today was Snow's execution. All the surviving victors and tributes of the Hunger Games stood before the stage as Snow was brought to the gallows.
Finnick, sexually exploited by the Capitol for nearly 10 years, had decided to approach his abuser then. As he stood before the former tyrant, he took the single white rose from Snow's lapel. Crumpling it in his hands, the handsome man from 4 glared down as he spoke, "You can't cover up what you are any longer. Let the sores in your own rotten mouth reveal what you are inside an out: a putrid piece of flesh."
Finnick backed away and everyone held their breath. Peeta reached for Cato's hand and the Career squeezed it tight. The trap door released then and Snow's body fell through, but his neck did not snap. Instead, he hung there for nearly 10 minutes, slowly strangling to death. His feet kicked wildly and the pressure building up from the noose forced blood to ooze from his nose and sore-crusted mouth. He made disgusting gargling and gagging sounds as the blood foamed around his lips. Every blood vessel in his snake-like eyes had burst and finally his kicking was reduced to a pathetic twitch until he finally stopped moving.
As his lifeless body dangled, the rose Finnick had taken from his lapel and crumpled was picked up by the wind and rustled across the stage down to the dirt. The broken petals littered the ground like the blood that had been spilt for nearly 75 years.
"Is it really over?" Peeta whispered as he rested his head wearily against Cato's shoulders.
"Yes," the Career whispered back, bringing Peeta close to his side. "They can't hurt us anymore."
Peeta spent every spare moment with Cato in the Capitol until he fully recovered, patiently waiting for the security levels in the districts to lower and give them clearance to leave the city. During that time, many of the refugees from 12 had left district 13 to return back home and bury their dead. When security clearance was finally given for transport from the Capitol, the tributes and mentors eagerly prepared to return home. The trains were arriving to take each one back to their respective district.
The trains were leaving in order, starting with district 1, so it wasn't long until the train for district 2 was next to board.
"Are you ready?" Cato chirped enthusiastically.
"Ready for what?" Peeta asked, confused.
"The train for district 2 is leaving soon. We don't want to miss it. I can't wait for you to meet my family."
Peeta looked at the older boy with sadness, pity, and remorse.
"I'm sorry, Cato. But I'm not going to district 2."