Lupe's Lovey

Katniss looked up and stifled a laugh as Peeta crawled up the ladder with tiny timid steps. Lupe had lost his "Lovey" again. He always managed to throw it up onto the window ledge. The one right above the door… Kids.

Peeta clearly wasn't enjoying himself as he lifted one foot after the other (He'd never been good with heights. Katniss didn't know why he wasn't letting her do it herself)

Dussy had parked herself in front of Katniss's feet and was looking concerned as Peeta continued his study climb upward. Occasionally she would whine, begging Peeta to come down and pet her.

But Peeta was persistent. He wouldn't come down till he had their son's Lovey once again.

Finally, after what seemed to take forever, he took the Lovey and threw it back down to Lupe.

Katniss lectured him for a while about how he wasn't supposed to throw it from the top of the stairs. She didn't know if he was listening or not, but she continued anyway, until he asked her to let him go. Sighing, she looked into his sweet little face and couldn't be mad. "You can go Lupe, just be careful with your Lovey," Katniss whispered in his ear.

The next week, Lupe went to school for the first time. All day Katniss sat at home worrying for his son. Arriving home, however, he was bouncing off the walls with excitement. "And then my teacher gave us all a snack! It was called PINEAPPLE! It came out of a can and it was sweet and juicy and SO GOOOD!"

Pineapple. What a treat! With a bit of a shock, Katniss realized she could go to the store and buy that anytime.

Lupe continued on.

Out of nowhere (or perhaps she had just stopped listening) she heard Lupe ask her where his Lovey is.

"I think it's up in your room sweetheart," she told him.

He ran upstairs to go get it. She sat down to talk with Haymitch. They chit-chatted for a while about the weather when they heard the terrifying scream.

Both of them pelted up the stairs at full speed. Reaching the top, they found Lupe flat on his face screaming at the top of his lungs. Katniss ran over and knelt by his side. "Lupe? Lupe what's wrong? Lupe? Lupe, talk to me!" she yelled.

He looked up. "Lovey's gone!" he wailed.

Katniss stared. "You little… YOU! YOU! Lupe, I thought you were dying you idiot!" Katniss stopped herself quickly. Lupe had tears spilling from his eyes. How could she stay mad at him? He was so… innocent? Was that the word? She wasn't sure. She looked at his eyes. They may be filled with tears but they were… dangerous. Gray, stormy… scary. Katniss had dreams about facing him in the Hunger Games. Most of the time she was crying, screaming, and running away from a huge, muscular man. But it was always the same eyes. Always.

She knelt down next to him and he ran up and gave her a hug. Despite all the things she'd said to him, he was sad, and he loved her.

They searched the house for hours. Under the couch, between the cushions, under the rug. Peeta even climbed up to check the window sill again. Joy momentarily got off the phone with Lily and helped look as well. Haymitch sat around, and when Katniss scolded him and told him to help, he'd get up and check under the couch cushion.

"Haymitch, checking under the couch cushion is NOT helping

When none of them found it, Lupe started crying again.

Katniss tried to comfort him. She held him and cooed in his ear about how she'd get him a new Lovey if he wanted her to. Prim made him hot chocolate in the kitchen, and Lupe's grandmother put marshmallows in it. Peeta combed his hair and put him in his pajamas.

Even Haymitch tried to help. (although Katniss scolded him afterwards, letting him know that, "Suck it up kid," is not encouragement.

The Lovey was nowhere to be seen. He'd had it for six years, and he wasn't ready to get rid of it now.

The next day Lupe came skipping into the door, holding his Lovey in one hand, and a fist in the other. He had a black eye, and a scrape on his cheek.

Katniss ran over. "Lupe, what did you do? Six-year-olds do NOT come home with black eyes!" she yelled.

"I got Lovey back!" he said.

Katniss groaned and put her head in her hands.

"What happened?" she asked her son.

By this time, of course, Peeta was there too, giving Lupe questioning looks. Even Joy came down and looked at him in surprise. Then, she too sat down. Haymitch, who was already over, joined the table with Prim and Katniss's mother. They all stared at Lupe, waiting to hear his story.

"Meanie meanie poo-head Aliyah stole my Lovey! She took it from my backpack yesterday! I told her to give it back to me, and she hit me. So I jumped on her and knocked her down. Then I pinned her down and I hit her too. I punched her everywhere! It was so fun! She got my eye once, but that was it, and then she gave me Lovey back!"

He looked around the table. Haymitch stood up and grinned at him. "That's the stuff kid!" and he gave him an high five.

Katniss glared at him fiercely, and Peeta jumped up and grabbed her before she jumped onto Haymitch.

After she calmed down she turned to Lupe. "You cannot fight people! What were you thinking?"

"She told me she was a Hunger Games fighter! She said that her daddy would make the Hunger games come back some day!"

Everybody stared at him in shock. Though Lupe didn't know it, nor hopefully would he ever, three of those people in the room had been in the Hunger Games. The three of them exchanged a glance. Katniss bit her lip. Peeta wrapped his arms around her.

"What? Daddy, did I say something bad?" Lupe asked, looking frightened.

"No, you didn't. It's alright," Katniss said. She almost started choking as she said it though.

"Who's Aliyah's daddy, Lupe?" Peeta asked casually.

Lupe scrunched up his face. "I've only met him once. He's a brute! Big and powerful and mean! I didn't like him, he scared me…" he said.

"What's his last name Lupey?" Prim asked.

"His last name?" Lupe asked, looking confused.

"Yes, yes, what's Aliyah's last name?" Katniss said impatiently.

"Oh! Aliyah's last name. Why didn't you just ask? Her last name's… Snow,"

And the room

Went

silent