Set after Catching Fire. There was a Revolution, and Coin is president. Most everyone lives in District 13, and the victors involved in the war (Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, Annie, etc.) live in 13's new Victor's Village.

Disclaimer: The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins

"You already know that I love you, and that I would do anything for you. I will never judge you, and I promise to take care of you. I promise to love you every single day for the rest of my life, and whatever comes after that. I promise that I will be yours forever. But will you be mine? Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"

I stare at him in wonder, the whole speech taking me by surprise. I wonder if he had rehearsed it. Suddenly, I see an image of him down on one knee in front of his mirror in the same warm green shirt and dark pants, proposing to a pretend Katniss.

"Katniss?" Peeta says, obviously wondering if I was even listening to him in the first place, or if I was zoning out while he was asking me to marry him. "Katniss, I just professed my undying love for you, the least you could do is show some kind of response."

"Yes," I murmur. Finally, I think.

Honestly, I had been wondering how long it would take for him to propose to me - if he ever was going to propose at all. How many times would we have to be in the Hunger Games together before he finally realized that our lives were more valuable than we thought? How many near-death experiences would we have to go through until -

"Yes?" he asks, breaking my silent reverie. "Was that a yes-I'm-listening or a yes-I'll-marry-you?"

I bite my bottom lip and smile - a mannerism Peeta knows I do whenever I'm love-struck. It's not exactly a nervous habit, but it's me trying to suppress the goofy smile I know will make me look like a fool. I'm not the type of person who smiles a lot.

He smiles questioningly, arching one eyebrow, trying to figure out my answer.

"Yes, I'll marry you." He smiles wide and genuine, almost looking as if he is about to cry. I try to keep myself from crying as he slips the ring on my finger.

He looks up at me, the ring halfway on my finger. "It's my grandmother's ring," he tells me. "I thought of buying you something more extravagant - we both know after the Games it would be no problem - but I thought this one was..." He struggles to think of the right word.

When I say nothing, he continues rambling.

"I could get you something from that jewelry shop in the town square. You could pick it out if you like."

I shake my head, holding the ring up in front of me. I notice how the diamond reflects the light, and how I can kind of see red and orange flecks of light, even though the diamond had impeccable clarity.

"I had Cinna alter it a little bit," Peeta says, "because I wanted it to have a little bit of you in it. He thought the way it would reflect the light would remind you of fire." The girl who was on fire, I thought. Of course.

"It's perfect," I whisper, quieting his nervous rambling.

He stands up, taking my hand in his, stroking the ring with his thumb. The upper corner of his lips pulls up into a smile. "I'm glad you like it," he says, sounding kind of relieved. Did he think I would throw some kind of diva fit over a ring that wasn't new? He should know that I enjoy the sentimental value of things over the monetary value. After all, I did come from nothing. Nothing would ever change that for me.

"Of course, they're probably going to televise the wedding, because, well, you know..." Peeta says quickly. "We'll have to spend some time in the Capitol - although it isn't too bad now that it's not longer the same..."

He expects me to look disappointed by what he's telling me, but I look unaffected. After all, those are just minor factors in the big picture.

I shrug, and again he looks a bit relieved. He opens his mouth to speak again, but before he can say anything, I kiss him.

It's a sweet kiss, like most of our kisses are. It's sweet like summer and those strawberries I used to find in the woods with Gale. It's sweet like a mockingjay's song. It's sweet as always, never lustful or forceful or overdone. It's perfectly nice.

When I pull away, I see he can no longer control his expression. He looks excited as hell, no longer cool and collected. His expression makes me smile, and I almost laugh before he leans in to kiss me again.

"I love you," he murmurs when he pulls away, his forehead pressing against mine.

"I know," I say.

He raises one eyebrow at me. "Very nice, Katniss."

"You know I'm not very good with expressing emotion." I smile, because we both know I'm holding out just to tease him.

He kisses my forehead.

"I love you, too," I whisper.

He looks up at the moon above District 13. "We should probably head back to Victor's Village now," he says. "You know, before our families file a missing children report."

I roll my eyes. "They never worry about me not coming home before dark."

Peeta looks concerned for a moment. "You're not sneaking off to the forest again, are you?"

I look at him expectedly. We've been dating since the Revolution. Since he was taken by the Capitol after the 75th Games and I realized that he was the one I couldn't live without. When we found him, I ran into his arms and I realized I never wanted to let go. He should know me better by now.

"Of course you are," he sighs, stroking my hair softly.

He takes my hand and our fingers intertwine. I hold his hand tightly, like I always do at night, always feeling like someone might pop out of the dark and pull us apart. I've never been scared of the dark before - at least not until the Games when the night became a time where you had to take turns playing guard. Suddenly, I don't want to go to the forest anymore.

"Relax," he whispers, referring to my iron grip. "I'm here; I've got you."

"I know," I tell him, easing up my grip a bit as we walk back to the Village together.

Unlike in District 12, 13 has more than three houses in the Village lit up. Before the Revolution, 13 was untouched. After, all the Victors who rebelled at the Quarter Quell last year have moved in here, including Haymitch.

Peeta walks me to my house, waiting until my mother opens the door. My mother smiles brightly as she welcomes the sight of me and Peeta, hand-in-hand. But what weirds me out about my mother's brilliant smile is the way she's looking at the ring on my finger. I expected a look of surprise on her face, or maybe one that would tell me I'm too young.

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