Fair Warning: This chapter ends with some smutty, sweaty, hot, XXX-rated, Everlark sex. It's quite awesome. Read at your own risk. You've been notified.
The Next Morning
"Wake up Peeta," I coax my husband.
"Ugh," he grumbles, his voice muffled by the pillow he's lying on. I chuckle.
"Let's go sleepyhead," I say a little louder. He just mumbles again and refuses to move.
I roll my eyes and lean down, gently kissing his shoulder blade, trailing kisses up to his neck and around to his jaw.
"Not fair Mrs. Mellark," he mutters.
"All is fair in love and war," I retort.
"Fine," he says, quickly turning over and grabbing my hips, pulling me on top of him. I squeal and find my lips locked to his instantly. I do not oppose this, not at all.
"Good morning baby," I whisper against his lips.
"Good morning beautiful," he whispers back. "What's on the schedule today?"
I sigh, remembering where we are and why we're here.
"More training this morning and this afternoon for the Tributes. Hopefully we'll hear something from Plutarch, but who knows."
He nods and just kisses me again. I slip my tongue in his mouth and we both start to deepen the kiss, running our hands all over each other's bodies.
Just as I'm about to pull down his boxers, both babies start crying loudly.
"Remind me why we wanted kids?" Peeta mumbles with a smirk.
"I know you're joking honey, but don't say that," I say semi-seriously. He nods somberly, a guilty look on his face. I give him a peck on the lips to let him know I'm not mad. I grab his hand and tug him out of bed, leading him to the twins' room.
We change their diapers and dress them for the day. I've already given them their first meal, so they're fine for now. We're bringing them with us again. We like to have them close.
Soon we're at the Training Center. We walk in to the penthouse and Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, Portia, Grayson and Annabel are having breakfast. We join, as we didn't eat before we left the hotel. I have Eve in my lap and Peeta has Josh in his.
"How is everyone today?" Peeta asks.
"Good," Grayson mumbles.
"Articulate please," Effie says in that tone only she can pull off.
"Sorry," Grayson says, much clearer.
Effie nods her approval.
"Mrs. Mellark, can I hold Eve?" Annabel asks me with a nervous smile.
"Of course you can," I smile back, beckoning her to sit next to me.
Annabel sits down and I transfer Eve to her arms. Eve looks up at her curiously, then decides Annabel knows enough to hold her.
"She's so beautiful," Annabel says quietly, not taking her eyes off her.
"Thank you," I say at the same level.
"She's going to look like you, Mrs. Mellark," she tells me.
"Maybe. But she has Peeta's eyes. I love them," I reply, looking over her shoulder at my gorgeous, perfect daughter.
"Did you always want kids?" She asks suddenly.
I sigh and run my hands through my hair and down my braid, tugging on the end of it for a moment.
"No," I tell her. She looks at me wide-eyed, confused. "I never wanted kids, actually."
"So why do you and Peeta have them?" She asks bluntly. Haymitch snorts and laughs, Effie gasps, and Peeta just smiles.
"It's complicated," I tell her gently.
"Please?" She pleads.
"Okay," I relent. "Growing up, I never wanted children. Most of it was because of this, the Games. Then, when I was eleven, my dad died. All of the sudden, I had to take care of my sister and my mom, making sure they were fed and keeping them alive. It was, well, difficult at that age to say the least. Actually, that's the first time I interacted with Peeta, when he saved my life by throwing me two loaves of bread, not caring that he'd get a beating from his mom."
"Really?" She asks, looking to Peeta. He nods. "Your mom beat you?"
He sighs.
"Yes. For a long, long time. But now she won't touch me."
"Why? Because you won the Games?" Grayson asks, curious.
"No, that has nothing to do with it."
"Then why not?" Annabel asks.
"My wife," Peeta says simply, looking at me with love and that smile I can't ever get enough of. "Katniss won't let her."
"That's amazing, Mrs. Mellark," Annabel tells me in awe. "But you never answered my question." Damn, she didn't forget.
"Fine," I huff with a grin. "So after my dad died, I didn't want children because I thought I'd always have to take care of Prim and my mom. Prim was like my own daughter, actually, because my mom – well – she was there, but she wasn't. My dad's death really affected her, and she's just started coming back since I got back from the Games last year. Actually, that's a big reason I never wanted to get married either. I was terrified that I'd fall in love like my mom, and become her one day."
"I see," Annabel says sadly, looking down at Eve, a tear running down her cheek. I gently wipe it off, and she gives me a grateful look.
"Yeah," I nod. "But that all changed during the Games."
"How so?" Grayson asks.
"I fell in love with my husband," is my simple answer. I can tell they want me to explain further. "Like I told you, at first, it was an act on my part. But when we were in that cave, and we had our first kiss, which was both our first kisses by the way, everything changed. I didn't know that it was called at the time, but I'd fallen deeply in love with him."
"I remember that," Annabel pipes in. "I think you were the only one who didn't know, Mrs. Mellark."
"I didn't," Peeta says sadly.
"I'm sorry honey," I automatically apologize. He waves me off and mouths 'I love you anyways'. I chuckle and mouth 'I love you too' back. "But, when we got back, I lied to him and told him I didn't have feelings. Then, when we finally got together for real, I started to change as a person. I realized that falling in love is the best thing there is in life. I never wanted to be anywhere else but with him." I look over and Peeta's beaming. Effie has tears in her eyes, and even Haymitch is smiling, as are Cinna, Portia, and Grayson.
"When did you decide to have children?" Annabel asks.
"Well I'd been thinking about it for a long time, even before I started dating Peeta. Then, we got married. We got married in secret, actually. Only a few people knew for a long time."
"How did you decide to get married?" Grayson asks. We keep getting off topic, but I'll answer all their questions.
"She asked me to marry her," Peeta answers for me. "We were lying on the couch, and out of the blue, she demanded I make her my wife. By the time we went to bed that night, she was."
"Oh my god," Annabel gasps. Cinna smiles brightly at me and I blush deeply.
"It was during our toasting when I finally admitted it to myself and Peeta," I continue. "It was just me and him in front of the fire, with our burnt bread. Peeta told me his vows, which were, well, beautiful. Then I relayed mine, and I thought I was finished, but I just blurted it out. I told him I'd changed, that he'd changed me, and I wanted to bear his children. Not because I knew it would make him happy, but because I knew it would make us happy."
"And then, a week later, we found out she was pregnant," Peeta finishes.
"Wow, that's some story," Grayson says in awe. Peeta chuckles lightly and kisses Josh's forehead lovingly.
Annabel leans over and whispers in my ear.
"You got pregnant on your wedding night, didn't you Mrs. Mellark?"
I blush deeper than I have in a long time and nod shyly. She giggles and looks at Peeta, who just looks confused.
We finish breakfast, and it seems that Grayson and Annabel's spirits are lifted a bit, at least until we tell them they have to go to Training. It's definitely helping to have the twins around. It keeps their minds off the Games when we can afford to, and steers the conversations away from death and fighting.
Effie takes them to Training, and we're left in the penthouse with Cinna, Portia and Haymitch. Cinna's holding Josh while Portia has Eve. They both can't take their eyes off of them.
"She's right, you know," Cinna whispers. "Your children are beautiful."
"Thank you," I tell him gratefully.
"It's all Kat's genes," Peeta announces.
"That's not true," I glare at him playfully. "You are incredibly handsome, honey. Why do you think all those stupid Capitol women swoon and fan themselves every time we have an interview?"
Everyone laughs while Peeta blushes. I lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek.
"You're not jealous of them, are you?" He asks me nervously.
"Maybe before we were together, yeah," I admit. Then I hold up my left hand and look at my wedding ring. "But not now."
He smiles wide and grabs my hand. I grab his, and we kiss each other's wedding rings at the same time. Cinna and Portia sigh, while Haymitch snorts again.
"They act like this all the time now," Haymitch complains.
"Leave them be," Cinna waves him off. "They're newlyweds, new parents, and they're in love. They're allowed."
"Ugh," Haymitch mumbles. Everyone laughs, lightening the mood.
Suddenly the phone rings, and since Peeta's the closest, he answers it. He just says 'yes' a few times, then hangs up.
"That was Plutarch," he tells me. "He wants to meet us at our suite after lunch when they go back to Training."
"We should tell everyone," Haymitch suggests. "I'll do it." Before we can object, he's at the elevator, ready to round up the gang.
When he's gone, Cinna speaks up.
"He's really sober, huh?"
"Yes," I say proudly. "He did it for the babies. He's their godfather, but I think he knew I wouldn't let him around them if he was drinking."
"That's wonderful, Katniss," Portia tells me. "Except he's still grumpy."
We laugh.
"Sometimes he misses it, but he just looks at our kids, and he's fine after a bit," Peeta explains. They nod in understanding.
Haymitch returns after a few minutes and tells us everyone agreed to meet us at our hotel after lunch. Good, we'll have backup again.
We spend the morning on the roof, Peeta, me and the babies. We just talk, play with the kids, and relax. I know we both wish we were home in the woods or in our house, but this is the best we can do here.
We eat lunch with everyone in the penthouse. Grayson and Annabel tell us about Training. Apparently even the Career Districts are almost as clueless as everyone else, and there doesn't appear to be any favorites. That's good. There's actually five Tributes who are only seven. It's incredibly sad.
Peeta pulls them aside and talks to them about camouflage briefly, then I give them a brief overview of finding and purifying water. Soon they leave for their afternoon Training.
Haymitch, Effie, Peeta, the babies and I head to the hotel in our limo. Soon, everyone arrives and we wait in the living room for Plutarch. He shows up, and asks Beetee to bring in a monitor and hook it up to teleconference with 13.
"Before we call them, Mr. and Mrs. Mellark, I need to tell you some things," Plutarch says sitting down. I motion for him to go ahead. "The leaders of 13 are not happy with this." I hear everyone grumble, but Plutarch continues. "They were counting on having all the Victors in the Arena. However, I talked to them for a long time, trying to get them to see the advantage of having you two doing Propos and being the public faces of the rebels. They agreed to speak with you."
"Fine," I say, more angrily than I meant. I shoot Plutarch an apologetic look. He understands.
"I must ask that the rest of you not be visible, just Mr. and Mrs. Mellark," Plutarch says to everyone else. They reluctantly move to the sides so they're not seen.
Beetee types in some commands, and the monitor flickers to life. After a few seconds, a room is shown. There's three people sitting behind a conference table. They introduce themselves sternly, without emotion. The man on the left starts.
"My name is Mercer Bronson. I am the Vice-President of District 13." We greet him politely. The man on the right is next.
"My name is Xander Freiser. I am the second-in-command of the army." We greet him.
Finally, the woman in the middle introduces herself.
"My name is Alma Coin. I am the President of District 13."
"Madame President, my name is Katniss Mellark. This is my husband, Peeta Mellark. Thank you for speaking with us."
She grunts unapologetically.
"Like I had a choice. Plutarch calls me and tells me two Victors are whining about going into the Arena."
I already hate this woman.
I take a breath, reigning in my already high level of anger.
"Madame President, as I'm sure Plutarch explained, Peeta and I are new parents. We are committed to the rebellion, but we put our children's lives and safety above everything else, even our own lives. I'm sorry, but we just don't trust anyone but each other to keep them safe."
She looks pissed and she whispers with the two men.
"What do we get?" She asks bluntly.
"Peeta and I will be the public faces of the rebellion. We're incredibly popular in all the Districts, and it will hurt Snow when our defection becomes known. We'll do whatever you want. Interviews, photo and TV shoots, Propos, posters, anything."
"You're being awfully quiet there, blondie," she hisses at Peeta.
"My wife is perfectly capable of handling this," Peeta says confidently. God I love him.
She just scoffs.
"So do we have a deal?" I ask her, keeping my tone as polite as I can.
"Maybe," she sneers. "I'm still not convinced this is for the best."
"It is, trust me," I tell her. She looks like she doesn't want to even listen to me. Bitch.
"Trust you? I don't even know you, Katniss," she snaps.
"You may call me Mrs. Mellark," I ask her politely. She snorts, but nods.
"So that's all you want? Not to go into the Arena?" She tries.
"No," I shake my head. "We want a guarantee, in writing, that Peeta and I will never have to go into combat. We will never be required to leave 13 during the war. We will be allowed to be with our children at all times, and live together as a family."
She sighs and runs her hand through her hair.
"Fine," she relents. I allow myself a small smile. "Is that it?"
"No," I shake my head again. She looks angry, but I push on. "I want a guarantee that you will do your upmost to keep all the Victors alive and safe. They're risking their lives for you and for us, and that's the least they deserve. They're heroes."
"They can handle themselves, but if it'll make you feel better, very well," she tells me.
"I also want their quarters in 13 in the same area as ours," I demand. She just nods.
"Anything else, Mrs. Mellark?" She says my name with undisguised disdain.
"One more thing," I hold up my index finger. "My husband and I have the right, at all times, to be armed."
Everyone, including Plutarch and Peeta, gasps.
"That's not possible," Coin immediately tells me.
"Then no deal," I shoot back.
"Nobody is armed in 13," she explains.
"Like I care," I retort. "I don't know you or your people. Peeta and I must protect our family. We will be armed." Truthfully, we plan for Peeta to wear the armory leg every day, but it still would be nice to have permission to carry our side arms.
She confers with the two men for a few moments then turns back to me, glaring at me with hate.
"Fine, Mrs. Mellark. We agree to your terms, as long as you and your husband become the spokespeople for the rebellion."
"Thank you," I smile at her. "We would like it in writing. Plutarch can represent you, and we will have independent witnesses present. Is that satisfactory?"
She waves me off dismissively.
"Fine, fine."
"We look forward to working with you," I tell her, my tone saturated with sarcasm. She picks it up and her glare returns. I give it right back. I realllllly don't like this woman.
"You as well. Have a nice day," she snaps, then the monitor goes black.
I let out a huge breath, and turn to Peeta, who's smiling nervously.
"We did it," I tell him happily.
"No, baby, you did it," he grins and kisses me. I deepen it, forgetting where we are, until we hear cheering and hooting and hollering. We break apart, and I bury my face into Peeta's chest, trying to melt into him.
"Good job, Katniss," they all tell me.
"Yeah, brainless, you made that bitch respect you," Johanna says proudly.
I chuckle.
"Well maybe she knows now not to mess with me," I ponder.
"I hope so," Peeta adds. "I sure as hell know not to." Everyone laughs.
"I really don't like this Coin," I announce to the group. Almost everyone agrees.
"She's the President, Mrs. Mellark," Plutarch reminds me. "You must be polite and respectful."
"I give respect to those who show me respect," I tell him. He looks down and nods.
"Alright, alright, enough of this serious crap," Johanna almost yells. "Let's do something fun, shall we?"
"Like what?" Peeta asks.
"I don't know cinnamon buns. Where are the mini loaves?" She looks around for Josh and Eve.
"They're in their cribs in the bedroom," I tell her, pointing in their direction.
"Well get them out here. They're always a riot," Johanna orders me.
I groan but get up. Everyone seems excited that we're bringing the kids out to play. Plutarch excuses himself and I thank him once more before he leaves. I tell him I want to speak with him soon, about the Arena, but I don't tell him that yet.
We spend a couple hours with the Victors, playing with the twins. Everyone takes their turns holding them, and Josh and Eve are great. Josh looks at Chaff's stump of an arm curiously, but he's seen his dad's stump, so it's almost like he recognizes it. Interesting.
When the time comes, we all head back to the Training Center to meet with our Tributes and eat dinner. Peeta asked me to leave the twins with Prim, but won't tell me why.
We arrive at the penthouse and Grayson and Annabel fill us in on their afternoon. Standard training, nothing really new. We're about to sit down to dinner when Peeta pulls me aside.
"Let's go, Mrs. Mellark."
"Huh? Come on, honey, dinner's being served," I try to tug him towards the dining room. He shakes his head with a grin.
"I'm taking my wife out," he announces, and gives me a peck on the lips. I roll my eyes at my romantic husband. "What, you don't want to go on a date with me?" He asks, slightly hurt.
"Of course I do Peeta!" I tell him, cradling his face in my hands. "I'm sorry, I just love how romantic you can be, that's all honey. Let's go, I'm excited."
He smiles and I give him a sweet kiss. He leads me downstairs and to our limo.
We pull up to a restaurant which Peeta tells me has dishes from all the Districts. We enter, and almost everyone stops and looks at us in silence. I snort and laugh, and Peeta looks nervous. I kiss his cheek and tug his hand along, following the hostess to our private table in back. As we walk through the dining room, I can hear murmurs, people saying our names and how much more handsome Peeta is in person or how much more beautiful I am in real life. I smile to myself.
Peeta suggest we try some fish from 4, in honor of Finnick and Annie. It's actually quite good. The manager comes out and is obviously ecstatic to have us in his restaurant. He stumbles over his words multiple times. He offers our dinner on the house, but we refuse, finally settling for a free dessert. He brings out a plate of a few different dishes. There's slices of red velvet and double chocolate cake, crème brulee, chocolate and vanilla mousse, and various slices of pie. They're all delicious, and I find myself being fed and feeding bites to Peeta. It's incredibly intimate and romantic, and for the few hours we spend at dinner, we forget all about the Games.
Before we leave, I lean over the table and give Peeta a thankful, long kiss. I can taste the chocolate on his lips and I savor it. When we part, he whispers against my lips.
"I can't wait to get you back to the hotel."
I shudder with anticipation, and find myself heating up quickly. How dare he get me all hot and bothered in public! Not that I don't like it, because he knows I do, but still.
We leave with our arms firmly around each other's waists, smiling and laughing. Again, the restaurant comes to a standstill.
"They really are in love," I hear one woman say under her breath.
"They're a gorgeous couple," her girlfriend adds. I smile at that.
"I'd like to get in her pants," I hear a man say, not even trying to hide.
Peeta stops on a dime and turns.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," the man sneers. "This is the Capitol. We get what we want."
Surprisingly, Peeta just laughs.
"Listen, buddy, I don't know who you are, and frankly I don't care. But trust me, I don't need to beat you up to defend my wife's honor."
"Oh, why not? Scared I'll win?" He says confidently.
Peeta laughs again.
"No, I know I would definitely win. I don't have to because my wife can handle that all on her own. I guarantee if you even got within ten feet of her, you'd never be able to have children. Come on honey, let's get back to the kids."
I smile wide and give him a sweet kiss, shoving it in that douche's face. We hear a smattering of applause behind us as we walk out and into our limo. A few flashes go off, and we know we'll be in the papers and on the news. Life of married Victors, I guess.
Back at the hotel, we pick the kids up from Prim's room. We thank her and she waves us off, telling us they were perfect. We head up to our room, change the twins, and I feed them before we put them to bed. I sing them a song to help them doze off. Peeta stands, leaning on the doorway, and watches me with a fierce gaze of love as I sing our children to sleep.
I gently close the door to their room, and before I can even turn around, Peeta wraps his arms around my waist and attaches his lips to my neck.
"I wasn't joking at the restaurant," he whispers.
I moan softly.
"Good," I whisper back with a smirk. We start walking towards the bed in that embrace, my back against his chest. I try to turn around, but he doesn't let me.
Instead, he reaches under the hem of my dress and slides his hand under my panties. I feel him slip three fingers inside me, and I lean my head back on his shoulder, moaning.
"Oh my god baby, if you stop, I'll hit you as hard as I can," I tell him seriously. He smirks and kisses my cheek, increasing his thrusts.
"I want to feel you come hard," he whispers in my ear, lightly nipping my earlobe.
"Keep doing that and you'll get your wish," I moan.
A couple minutes later, I feel the heat rising from my core until it spreads throughout my body. The orgasm racks through me, and Peeta whispers how much he loves me in my ear while I come, hard just like he wanted me to.
"I love you," I breathe once I finally come back to rationality.
"I love you too," he grins, kissing me.
"My turn," I smirk and turn around quickly.
"Let me get on the bed," he tries.
"Nuh uh," I shake my head. "You stand right there, Mr. Mellark." His eyes go wide and his jaw slackens at the implication.
I kneel down in front of him and unzip his pants. I pull out his already hard erection and look up at him as I take it in my mouth, wetting it with my tongue. He moans softly and runs his fingers through my hair, which I left down for dinner.
"Holy shit Kat," he groans. I smile to myself as I take his balls in mouth one at a time, massaging them gently to coax him further and further into ecstasy.
"You almost there baby?" I ask before I take his length in my mouth again. He just nods with his eyes closed. "You going to come in my mouth?" I prompt. He nods again with a grin.
A minute later, he tells me he's there, and I speed up, using my hand to massage his balls. I taste his come as it explodes into my mouth, making sure not to let a drop out. I quickly clean his length and swallow, locking gazes with him the whole time. He shakes his head in awe and disbelief as usual.
"Best. Wife. Ever," he moans. I smile thankfully.
"Let's have sex," I suggest as I stand back up. He takes my face in his hands and kisses me soundly, which I guess is his answer.
We strip each other quickly, and he takes my breasts in his mouth when he unsnaps my bra. When I slide my panties off, he smells them and sighs happily. I shake my head at him and smile.
"Pretty wet, huh Mrs. Mellark?" He teases.
"My husband made me come really hard, Mr. Mellark," I tease back. We both smirk and kiss.
We fall down on the bed, our lips locked. I turn on my side.
"I want you to take me from behind, Peeta," I plead. "Like before the twins came."
He nods in anticipation, knowing how pleasurable this position is for both of us.
I feel him behind me, and instead of lifting up my upper leg, I keep it clamped down on the other one.
He tries entering me, and can only get an inch in before he speaks up.
"Kat, I need you to move your leg honey. It's too tight."
I shake my head.
"Keep going," I beg.
He lets out a breath.
"If that's what you want."
I feel him enter me again, and he slowly but surely gets his entire length inside me. It feels spectacular.
"Oh my god," he moans. "You're so warm and tight baby."
"Please don't stop," I beg.
He leans over and takes my cheek with his right hand, angling my head towards him so he can kiss me. We slip our tongues into each other's mouths and keep our lips locked while he slides in and out carefully. I moan into his mouth in pleasure.
"I'm going to come again," I tell him. In response, he darts his right hand over my legs and between them, helping me along.
In less than half a minute, I'm coming, groaning his name while my body racks with pleasure. He smirks and kisses me soundly. He grips my breast and massages it, tweaking my nipple which always sets me off.
"Are you almost there baby?" I ask after a few minutes.
"Yeah," he groans.
I nod and help him thrust, taking him all the way inside me before I let him pull out even a little.
After a few more minutes, I can tell he's almost to his release. He kisses me passionately and grips my breast harder.
I turn to look him in the eye, our foreheads resting on each other.
"Come inside me, Peeta. All the way inside me. I want you to fill me up. Fill me up with your warm, sweet come. Please, baby, please," I beg with wide, innocent eyes, then kiss him.
I keep our lips locked as I feel him come, making sure he's as far into me as he can get. I thrust a couple times and reach down, grasping his balls, making sure he gets every drop out and into me.
When he's finished, I smile and give him a peck on the lips, and whisper.
"I love you."
"I love you," he whispers back fiercely.
"Shower?" I suggest.
He nods.
"Then we're coming right back here for round two," he announces.
I smile wide, kiss him, then whisper in his ear.
"Always."
A/N: So Coin has apparently taken the deal, even though she and Katniss now despise each other. We'll see what happens with that relationship in the future. Will Coin try to take advantage of Katniss and Peeta? Probably, knowing that conniving bitch.
We're almost to the start of the Quell. Hopefully our Tributes make it out alive! You'll have to wait and see!
I updated my other THG story, 'Five Years Later'. It's silly, and features a very OOC Gale trying to get Katniss back five years after the war. Please read it, I think it's quite entertaining. I'd appreciate it!
Keep reviewing and reading. Hope all my fellow Americans voted today!
