Chapter 4
Too Much to Ask For

~The weeks remaining until Katniss' prep team arrived had gone by sluggishly, so much so that when Kat finally saw the eccentrically over-colored Capitol garb of Flavius, Portia, Venia, Octavia, and finally the muted colors of Cinna at last, it took everything she had not to run to them like a small child that wanted to crawl into their laps.

~There was a whirlwind of action, following a naked strip down to which they seemed appalled by the amount of hair that had grown back since they'd last seen her. It was all so comical again that Kat quickly realized one of the reasons why she had been so glad to be coming home after the games, even if the actual being here in the beginning had been rough for her.

~Katniss spent nearly all day being plucked, picked, and shined with her prep team, that when it was finally Cinna's turn to inspect her and give his reassuring approval, it was well into the evening time with the sun falling down well passed the horizon.

~She waved her goodbyes to everyone as they were staying at the mayor's house, one of the more accommodating places in District 12, and promised to return early for Cinna to show her his newest designs and ideas for her Victory Tour wardrobe.

~At the door's entrance, Katniss caught sight of a large framed shadow leaning against one of the building's pillars just out of sight of the glowing porch lights. If Katniss hadn't known Peeta's shape so well all ready, she might've been worried, but if he was here waiting for her, it meant she was about to be pulled into an important discussion that would usually end in her being rude and Peeta storming off. Katniss steeled herself for the talk to come.

~"Hey," she started, almost afraid for the coming words. She still hadn't apologized for her selfishness that day in his art room, that was most likely why she had seen so little of him since that day. It kind of hurt her to know that Peeta hadn't come to seek her out at all in the past month, and she vaguely wondered if he was still mad at her, but the thought dissipated when he grabbed her hand to lead her home.

~"Hi." That was all she got from him, nothing about his day, or about how he was, just a foreboding silence that gnawed on her. She almost put her fingers in her mouth to chew on her nails, but thought against it when she remembered all the work Octavia had done on them and caged her bad habit.

~Nearly halfway home, closer to his house then hers, Peeta finally spoke. His voice was gruff as if he was bottling up a torrent of emotion, "so, we leave in a week. Haymitch said we should turn on the charm more than ever now."

~Katniss nodded, wanting to slap herself for not finding anything to say, but he was holding her hand now and that made things a little bit easier to grasp a hold of in her mind.

~"I'm sorry, Peeta." The apology hung in the air stalely for along few moments, only the sounds of their footsteps crunching on the gravel making noise.

~Peeta sighed like he always did when it was obvious he was going to concede. With Katniss Everdeen, only a flash of a smile or some emotion in her voice would blow him over and sway his thoughts. "It's fine, Katniss."

~"It's not. I was selfish and I didn't think of your feelings. I was just so scared to… to…"

~"Be found out that you're a human being?" He was looking at her and Katniss blushed involuntarily under his intense blue-eyed gaze. She inwardly was cursing herself for falling prey to his gorgeous baby blues more and more without a fight. Much more staring and she thought she would completely melt away.

~"I'm not supposed to be human, Peeta. I'm their girl on fire. I have no emotions, no desires, no wants. I'm just the Capitol's object of amusement."

~His hand tightened around her comfortingly, "but some of us know better." Another smile meant only for her and she felt the distinct wobble in her knees. Forget falling prey, she was well passed that and had gone straight on towards the breaking point. She wondered when those feelings had snuck up on her. One day Gale Hawthorne was hers and she was his, but the next she couldn't picture a life without Peeta by her side.

~Lost amidst her thoughts of Gale and Peeta, Katniss didn't catch her escort's words. When she finally heard the tail end, she was even more confused.

~"…Car is that?"

~"Huh?"

~"Whose car is that?"

~She looked down the road to her house and found a beautiful white automobile, flying Capitol flags, sitting out front. The oddness of the car and who its owner was almost made Katniss want to wretch as the memory of the smell suddenly overpowered her senses. Her gait froze mid stride and she gripped to Peeta without thinking of how much circulation she was cutting off.

~"Snow," she murmured and Peeta gripped back to her in response.

~"She'll be right along, sir. She must've been delayed at the mayor's-" Katniss' mother heard the door open and spotted her daughter and Peeta Mellark come shuffling in. "Here she is. Dear, someone is here to see you." Her voice betrayed her fear which in turn only raised Kat's terror, but Peeta's presence was slightly reassuring.

~"Hello, Katniss," President Snow greeted with an icy, cordial demeanor and as if only having just noticed Peeta, he also greeted the much younger man.

~"I have been meaning to come pay my star-crossed lovers a visit for some time." The venom practically poured from his thick lips. "I see you two are becoming closer and closer."

~"Everyday, President Snow," Peeta answered good-naturedly, a smile playing on his mouth and a dreamy-eyed gaze dancing in his irises. He was so much better at acting than her that she was jealous.

~"That's good to hear. I had been worried when all this time had past and I heard no sign of wedding bells or the pitter-pattering of little feet."

~Katniss froze up, wanting to melt into the very floor. She couldn't breathe suddenly and stood like a useless mute with her frame plastered to Peeta's side. He was the strong presence in the face of terror because she was visibly crumbling in the wake of her conscious nightmares.

~"President Snow, you've ruined the surprise," Peeta gripped to Kat with one hand and wrapped his other around her shoulders. "I had planned on asking her while we were on the Victory Tour so everyone would know our happy news."

~Being unable to control herself, Katniss turned towards her lover with an entirely real surprised expression, "ask what?" Her voice squeaked with genuine emotion. She couldn't have faked it better.

~"I suppose I have to now, don't I? The Kat's out of the bag, President Snow." The white-haired, cream suited gentleman was visibly taken aback by the seemingly pure sincerity in the two's voices, but as swiftly as it crossed his visage, the bewilderment was gone and replaced by an eerily creepy smile. He lifted his hand up to give leave for Peeta to continue. He was giving permission. As if it was needed.

~Peeta slowly got to his knee, wobbling a bit from his prosthetic, but he corrected himself and took Katniss' shaking hand. He said the words but she couldn't hear them. Everything had been muffled by the millions of racing thoughts bogging down her brain and drowning out any clear minded thinking. She stared down at him dumbly, barely comprehending Peeta's eyes pleading with her to move or act. It wasn't until President Snow cleared his throat that Katniss felt her lips moving of their own accord. She must've said yes because the small, golden banded ring with a pretty, sparkling diamond gem was placed on her finger and Peeta's relief was all consuming on his face.

~The listless thoughts rumbled around her overfilled skull. She wanted to know why this all had to happen now. She was sixteen, not yet old enough to get married, not old enough for any of these things to make sense in her mind. There was an all-encompassing wondering why Snow was even here, and in a small piece of her befuddled skull, she questioned how long Peeta had been holding onto this ring.

~"Very moving," Snow began, his voice yanking Katniss back to reality viscously. "Well, dear girl, help your new fiancé up and kiss him, I'm sure he must've been bursting to give you this kind of surprise."

~Without thinking about it, Katniss helped Peeta to his feet, having forgotten about his leg entirely, but her mind was nearly bursting with the thought of having Peeta kissing her in from of the very man who could have easily crushed her like he did a cockroach beneath his expensive, brown loafers. That's when it clicked, Peeta had it all figured out, it's why he was playing his role so well. President Snow was here to see just how star-crossed they really were, and if their lathered on charm for the cameras was real or not.

~Getting control of her bodily functions, Katniss finally gave Peeta her full attention, letting everything else dissolve away. If there was nothing and no one else around, she could easily give the blonde haired, blue-eyed Mellark son a real kiss, or at least one Snow would believe.

~She raised a hunting callused hand to his smooth cheek, brushing her fingertips in small, soothing circles. There was only him and her in this present time and place, everything around them had blacked out. The Capitol couldn't reach them here and President Snow held no power, or so Katniss Everdeen hoped. She saw Peeta's eyes glazing over, this was no longer acting for him, he was blissfully in surrender and Kat couldn't help but to smile at his reaction. For him, there was no one else but her and that left a strange, warm and fuzzy feeling in her stomach she didn't know could have existed.

~He mouthed out he loved her and even though her guarded emotions begged for her not to return the gesture, she did so, saying the words out loud before his head dipped in for the inevitable plunge that blanketed his lips with hers. In a moment, she was breathless as foggy minded and hazy eyed Peeta had been, leaving her legs turning to mush, but her partner was ever her rock, his hands both holding her up and crushing her to him. If Katniss had for any reason needed to escape, she wouldn't have been able to if she had wanted. She vaguely wondered for what reasons she had been holding out on Peeta, the emotions she had felt for Gale didn't have this same intensity, and the fiery feeling coiling around in her lower body was a new and different sensation that caused an unquenchable fire to burn. For lack of knowing the right word, Katniss thought it felt like a kind of hunger.

~"All right-all right you love birds." President Snow had effectively stopped the hunger and infected Katniss' mind until she pulled away from the delicious warmth. "You should go tell Mrs. Everdeen about the fantastic news, Mr. Mellark." And to Peeta's misty brain, it seemed like a good idea. He was gone in a moment, leaving behind a stoic faced President to the Captiol and the Capitol's worst enemy.

~"Very convincing, Miss Everdeen. Or should I call you Mrs. Mellark now?"

~"Katniss is fine," she answered, swallowing hard. Behind her, in the kitchen, Katniss heard someone drop something made of glass. It was apparent Peeta had gotten to her mother. Tonight she was sure, was going to be a long one.

~"I hope that you won't think it a burden for me to plan help your wedding so that all the Capitol may feel the same love and adoring affection that I do seeing you and Peeta together." his words were biting, reminding Katniss of those hungry muttations she'd fought in the games, but she nodded anyway.

~"Of course, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

~President Snow's right eyebrow twitched, he wanted her to slip up, to make catastrophic mistake. But she wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her squirm any longer, she was fed up being scared of him tonight.

~His snake-like eyes narrowed, this little battle of wills wasn't won by him, but he wasn't about to give up. Katniss Everdeen would bend to his will before this conversation was over. "Close the doors, please."

~Katniss assumed he had been speaking to her and she twitched to do as ordered, but two black-coated members of Snow's personal guard eeked into view from the darkest corners of the sitting room, closing the doors before Katniss could move an inch. She watched them carefully, startled by their presence, but they never made a move towards her, going back to their respectful corners, just out of sight. The shadows seemed to pour out and mold all around them, their dark clothes, helmets, and rifles becoming merely an extension of the darkness, and just as their physical outline melted away to nothing, leaving behind no trace of them, Katniss swore she saw a tiny flash of prismed color glitter in the low light. They were camouflaged, a terrifying notion to think about. It made her visibly shiver. Between the masked men with guns and President Snow's nasal assaulting stench of too purfumey roses and blood, she was caged and they all knew it. She felt herself debate about finding a pathway of retreat before the snake man bit her. The window looked like a prospect, but not a good one, she'd be leaving her family and Peeta behind and that wasn't an option.

~"I think this whole situation would be much simpler if we both agree to not lie to each other," Snow said and made a hand gesture towards the seat across from him, although there was tension in his tone. He didn't want her to be near him, that was made clear, though cordial propriety seemed to be dictating his demeanor.

~Katniss' tongue froze in her mouth, making speech impossible, though she managed to dumbly nod her ascent after taking a seat offered to her in her own home.

~"My advisors tell me you're a difficult one to handle. You won't be difficult right, Katniss?"

~The young woman shook her head, all ready breaking the agreement to not lie to him. If he said anything against her family or Peeta, Gale's family even, Katniss couldn't be sure what she'd do.

~"I told them as much. I told them that a little girl who goes to such lengths to preserve her own life and the lives of her loved one wouldn't imagine throwing it all away without a thought to the consequences." He reached across the short space between them to touch Katniss' hand, patting it and relishing in the disgusted shiver that raced up her spine.

~"I have a problem though, Katniss. And it all began the day you pulled out those Nightlock berries in the arena." He smiled evilly with those pair of thick, skin-stretched too tight lips when Katniss pulled her hand out of his grasp to sit on them.

~"If I had been the one in charge, I would have blown you and Peeta to bits, no questions asked, but Seneca Crane was a die-hard sap for the underdog and his sentimental side knew no bounds. So, we are here now. Know where he is?"

~Katniss knew and she nodded, the President's dark aura and menacing tone left no room for doubt. She was alive while Crane was dead, possibly executed for allowing Peeta and herself to live. The idea of someone dying for her made the pit of her gut clench.

~Persident Snow leaned in close and for the first time tonight, Katniss noticed a pretty, white rose sitting harmlessly in the pocket of his lapel, but the look of the flower was nothing compared to the smell. Genetically altered, too sweet to be normal. It was the epicenter of all the horrible scents Katniss had been forced to gag through this evening. It's invisible fumes of too sweet rose scent and the coppery stench of blood. It took all of the young woman's self-control to stay planted to her spot and return Snow's piercing gaze.

~"Your little act may have convinced the Capitol, but the other districts aren't so swayed. Some have begun defying the Capitol."

~Katniss' eyes widened, she knew what defying the Capitol could cost, knew that people could be murdered for less, and she wanted to know why they would do something so foolish. She was just a sixteen year old that wanted to live and survive. She hadn't signed up for instigating a rebellion, and she didn't want to be the leader of it. All she had wanted to do before, during, and after the games was to go home and see her family and to keep them alive. She wanted to repay Peeta for his kindness for the bread by keeping him alive as well. She couldn't understand why no one understood she did this all for her own selfish reasons, no one else's. It both appalled and perplexed her.

~"Your mentor and stylist didn't quite comprehend just how much the nickname girl on fire suits you. A tiny spark left to burn will grow out of control unless crushed in its infancy." The implication of crushing her was becoming more and more apparent. Katniss felt the urge to escape rising again as it had before, but instead of following her flighty disposition, Katniss let her sharp tongue rise above all the other emotions.

~"It must be frustrating to know a handful of berries can shake the districts. Maybe your system is fragile if tiny berries can bring it down." She didn't even have the wherewithal to look frightened by her own words, just kept an even stare with Snow as he leaned against the back of his seat and glared seethingly at her.

~A knock on the door pulled both of the battling partners out of there match of wills and Katniss' mother poked her head in from behind the door, "would you both like some tea and cookies?" She asked mousily. At the woman's presence a drastic change came over President Snow. He smiled cordially, waving the old, worn woman over. There wasn't a trace of animosity for Katniss left in the wake of her mother.

~"Put it here, Mrs. Everdeen. Thank you. You know, it never ceases to amaze me how so many forget that even a president needs sustenance to survive." The emphasis on the tail-end of his sentence ran Katniss' blood cold. Her fiery defiance was going to have consequences, that much she was sure of.

~"I can make you something else more filling," Mrs. Everdeen suggested and President Snow declined with all the manners of a royal, waving her away without another thought.

~The older woman said nothing and gave her daughter a rather terrified look, wondering if she had done something wrong to upset the man, but she backed away nonetheless and left Katniss behind. It seemed to be the only thing she was good at.

~Taking a warm, ornately designed cookie, he looked over the pretty confection with approving eyes. It was obvious who had made them, yet he continued the cordial banter.

~"These are beautiful. your mother?"

~"Peeta," Katniss answered shortly. She poured herself a cup of tea after Snow had prepared his own with more sugar and honey than she'd ever seen anyone use on any one thing before, turning the consistency into something close to syrup. It looked foul and she imagined it might taste as such, but she held her tongue on the subject as another welling emotion inside her came bubbling to the surface and to keep down the rising tears, she spoke instead, "why don't you just kill me now if it'll ease your mind?"

~"Publicly?" He asked, the very thought, though seemed to amuse him, it wasn't on his agenda. "That would only add fuel to the flames."

~"Make it an accident then," she returned.

~"Who would buy that? Not you if you were watching I suspect."

~"Then what do you want me to do? I'll do whatever you ask."

~"Remember our bargain at the beginning of our conversation?"

~"Yes, not to lie to one another."

~Snow's grin widened, showing an array of pearly white teeth glistening brilliantly in the soft light of the sitting room. They were too white to be natural, just like his lips, they had to have been enhanced.

~"Tell me, Katniss, what in this life terrifies you more than anything else?"

~Kat debated her answer carefully, not wanting to divulge something too extreme, "sleeping scares me." It wasn't exactly a lie, but not the only thing she was afraid of and Snow knew it.

~"What else? Perhaps losing your sweet sister, the one you volunteered for?" His snakey grin never faltered, remaining ever constant even when Katniss nodded. "Losing you handsome cousin perhaps?"

~"I fear for him only because of his family. We've known each other for so long that I consider him my brother now."

~"Siblings that share intimate kisses?"

~Katniss couldn't control the shock that contorted her face. She didn't know how Snow knew about that day in the forest and it petrified her to think that if he knew that private moment, what else he knew.

~"It was one sided. He wants something to be there when there isn't." She lost eye contact with Snow to sip her bitter tea and it seemed that answer sufficed the man. Good, if he believed her, she knew Gale would be safe.

~"You'll have to prove you love for Peeta in a more… ardent way," Snow surmised at last and Katniss' face showed obvious chagrin. She'd all ready agreed to marry Peeta publicly, and with President Snow presiding over everything. She couldn't guess what more he wanted her to prove, but then the answer slammed into her like a ton of bricks. It hit her so hard she might've doubled over and fell to the floor if the table hadn't been there to keep her sitting up right. He couldn't be serious, President Snow couldn't possibly want that for her while she was so young.

~"I'm only sixteen! It could… kill me." That was what this horrible, inhuman man wanted. He wanted her to get pregnant, carry a child to term and die while in childbirth. But then what? She couldn't guess. The child would be Peeta's. Her thoughts were running a mile a second. The baby would remain with Peeta, under his care until they were twelve and old enough to… participate in the games. There was no way around it, the reaping would be rigged and her child would die. The vicious cycle would repeat and Peeta would have lost everything, he would have been punished by herself dying in childbirth, and then lose his only child in the games.

~"I've seen younger mothers," he said, setting his empty cup down to take a sample of Peeta's famous cookie. "It will appease me, Katniss. You did say anything."

~"Do you promise?" Her voice barely raised above a hushed whisper, but Snow heard it. "Promise me that if I do this you'll be appeased and nothing else will be done to my family, present or future."

~"I did say we wouldn't lie to each other."

~"I want you to swear it," she practically hissed, overturning her cup in the involuntary flailing of her limbs. She wanted to kill him, end it all right here and now, yet she knew it wouldn't solve anything. Her family would still be punished, most likely for treason and the way Snow's guards tightened their grips on their guns behind her, it was obvious she wouldn't make it to this man before she was gunned down.

~"What shall I swear on, Mrs. Mellark?" He actually looked gleeful, almost as if he could stand up, rub his hands together, and dance around about how he'd won. His happiness was revolting.

~"The most important thing in your life," she whispered lowly.

~"Well, I have two important things, Katniss."

~"Then both of them."

~Snow nodded, "I swear on my rose gardens and my daughter's life that should you, Katniss Mellark, appease my… curiosity with a baby to prove your love for Peeta Mellark. Everything will be forgiven, no questions asked."

~There was silence for a long time. A gauntness had formed in Katniss' face where all the blood drained from it, and when she finally trusted herself enough to speak, she did so in a defeated tone, "how long do I have?"

~"The Quarter Quells. I want news and proof on my desk before the reapings."

~She bobbed her head unquestioningly. To save her family, to save District 12, Katniss would give President Snow exactly what he wanted, the exact thing she didn't want.

~Climbing to his feet, President Snow stretched his aged legs and gave his guards a signal that his business here had been concluded, "our chat has been memorable, Mrs. Mellark, and I do believe it is now time I took my leave." He made his way towards the door when Katniss' voice stopped him.

~"You have a daughter?"

~"Yes," he returned. "A rebellious girl, a little older than you. Even so, she is very important to me. Shortcomings and all." The guards had reached the doors now and were about to throw them open.

~"And, Katniss. Don't tell anyone of our agreement, especially Peeta. Let our elated father to be have a nice surprise." He was gone then, not another word spoken and Kat remained planted where she was until the car's engine roared to life and raced down the road.

~Questions came from all sides, Peeta asking first then Kat's mother, and when Prim asked her of her troubles, Katniss Everdeen-soon to be Mellark-climbed to her feet and silently strode to her room, closing the door behind her. She wanted to cry in silence without the wondering eyes of her family watching.

Author's Note - Interesting twist eh?