CHAPTER 22: Unity
AUTHOR'S NOTE (It's gonna be a doo-sey)
So secretly, I am not even sure if that is how you spell doosey, but you will either understand what I mean or not. SO, sports fans, here's the dealio!
First off, there is some singing in this chapter. Katniss mentions a few times in the books that District 12 folk sing, dance, and play instruments. In addition, Appalacia, the area of the US that becomes District 12 has a rich history of oral tradition and culture, one of the majors being folk songs. This song, Miss SuperNova was the coolest person to track down, and we really thought it fit in nicely. Here is a youtube link if you'd like to hear what it sounds like:
.com/watch?v=F0jm58m7wQw
Okay, so, big changes are happening. Namely, we are nearing the end of this book. Yes, this book. Yes, end. See, we never really thought this fanfic would take off the way it did. On my part (V) it started as a one shot between Madge and Gale, but I wasn't so good at writing sexy stuff, so I called in SuperNova to help me out. We got all involved in the characters and decided it would take development to get Madge and Gale in bed, and then we started posting and our wonderful readers have inspired and driven us to be better and better with each update.
However, this story is now 22 chapters long, and literally, thousands of words. In order to gain closure on the story of the characters achieving Unity, and move on to the political thriller ideas we have brewing up for the election, we have decided to divide the story up into books, maybe 2, maybe 3 depending on if the election tour spirals out of control like the story of Unity did. We are wondering how y'all would feel about us starting a new story for the new book. Same characters and all that, just a different title/story such on . Please send us messages or mention in reviews how you feel about this, because it is very important to us not to lose any readers by doing this.
Also, you may have noticed that this is the title chapter. It is not the last chapter of Unity, we will be writing 2 – 3 more that cover Gale and Madge's wedding. The next book will start the first day of the election tour, and we are actually going to take a brief (2 weeks, probably) writing hiatus when Unity is done to take notes and draft out the plot of the next book!
Finally, SuperNova is also known on as MezzoPenDoll05, and has written 2 other wonderful Hunger Games stories.
First, a chilling one shot into the mind of Clove before the first Games, called Keystone: .net/s/8007868/1/Keystone
Then, if you like the way we write Peeta, you should check out "Peeta's Reaping" that tells a little bit of the backstory that we've worked out for Peeta's family, but things we can't find a place for in "Unity.":
.net/s/8105082/1/Peetas_Reaping
Also, while we're pimping things, I am an amateur filmmaker, and have done a few scenes from the Hunger Games book, and while they're not quite as shiny as the Lionsgate version, I am rather proud of them:
Goodbye District 12:
.com/watch?v=pFQJxqJWfLQ&feature=plcp
The Victors (The Berries):
.com/watch?v=3DZ8_jTsruM
I am more proud of the Victors, due to the amazing visuals, but that scene lends itself to good visuals, so judge for yourselves. Perhaps you will decide I am a more talented writer than filmmaker, and that's fine too!
Thanks for all your reviews, and for reading! It is thanks to your readership that we've really gotten our asses in gear and made this story great!
The evening turned out better than any of them could have hoped, or anticipated, given how it had started. The meal itself, chicken and vegetable pie with a cream sauce, rolls, and salad, was decadent, but hearty. The food was complimented by all the wine that any of them could drink - red, white, pink, and sparkling in all varieties. Peeta had worked his magic, giving the meal the feel of a family dinner, rather than a Capitol feast.
The feeling of family engulfed them, washed over them, and warmed their hearts - the wine didn't hurt either - until conversation flowed freely, hugs and handshakes were given generously, and most everyone at the table found themselves smiling, just for the joy of being there together.
Katniss took a census of the people gathered around her at the table. Most of them didn't have much family left, if any, so perhaps this feeling of connectedness meant they'd be making a new family from now on - at least that is what it felt like to her. These were the people she loved, even if she didn't always like them.
Finn and Maysilee did a lot to fill the initial lulls in conversation. Maysilee sat between Gale and Katniss, and rather appropriately refrained from sharing her food with Katniss or asking her to cut up her meat. Despite herself, Katniss found herself watching the girl, taking genuine pleasure in watching her face light up with her first sip of hot chocolate, and feeling worried when she seemed to lean too far to one side of her chair or the other, fearing she may fall off and get hurt. Gale proved to be a gentle, attentive, and patient father, and took great care to make sure that his daughter enjoyed herself.
Katniss watched him too. This was a new Gale, one whom she had never known, and she liked him. This didn't seem like the same Gale who'd left Madge to suffer alone while he chased after Katniss and did what he pleased.
On Katniss's other side sat Peeta. He was by Finn, who was perched on a pile of books so he could reach the table, as Katniss and Peeta didn't have a highchair or a booster seat, nor did Katniss actually know what those things were. Katniss couldn't help but observe Peeta as she did Gale, and notice similarities in his behavior.
Peeta spent his evening doting on Finn, cutting his meat, buttering his bread, and even blowing on the steaming bits of pie as he helped Finn eat them with the small plastic fork that Johanna and Annie had brought for him. They seemed to enjoy the break from parenting, and took the opportunity to eat, drink, and romance one another. Johanna commented, as Peeta finally got around to eating his own dinner, "Cold now, isn't it?"
Peeta shrugged, and shoveled a few bites in his mouth, obviously hungry, "I've had worse."
"Just wait," Johanna grinned through a bite of roll, "I haven't had a hot meal since Finn was old enough to eat solids." As an afterthought, she added, "Well, until now."
"Oh. I don't mind," was all Peeta said. The whole thing made Katniss uncomfortable, but Peeta was beaming.
The person who surprised Katniss the most during the meal was Haymitch. He started out quiet, and reserved, picking at food rather than eating it, and adding only a word or two to the conversation as necessary. As the meal progressed, he transformed, becoming animated, joking with the kids, and handing out compliments and kind words unprovoked. He was barely through a single glass of wine, but had devoured a few helpings of food. He usually didn't have much of an appetite.
It wasn't until Maysilee wanted to make sure that "Mister Haymitch" had gotten to try a sip of her hot chocolate, even though he had his own mug that Katniss understood. She watched Haymitch as he scooped up Maysilee's mug and pretended to down the entire thing. As the tiny girl stared, her wide eyes looking incredulous, he revealed to her that her mug was still mostly full, and guffawed as she giggled along with him. Katniss watched him laugh until he had to wipe at his teary eyes with his napkin, and realized how very lonely it must be to be Haymitch Abernathy.
She made a point to give his shoulder a squeeze the next time she moved past him to retrieve water from the kitchen, and was surprised that he met her hand with his own and gave it a squeeze in kind.
The talk around the table veered to a slightly more serious conversation, Annie and Johanna spoke animatedly about the Voting Education tour, for the election upcoming in spring. Gale and Madge voiced that they had agreed to go, and that Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch would be welcomed, were encouraged, to think about it, to join them. Madge couldn't help but compare the tone of this conversation to their first one; perhaps it was only the wine that made this talk lighter.
By the time Gentry and Caridee came to pick up Finn and Maysilee, Katniss felt better than she had around people in long time. Madge and Gale introduced Caridee and Gentry, and their son River, who were good friends of theirs they had met in Two. Everyone shook their hands and hugged them. Their thick, drawling accents and Gentry's large hat marked them as from District Ten as clearly as if they wore signs. For Peeta's part, he was incredibly warmed to meet people from other Districts. He packed them up leftovers and expressed how nice it was to meet them. Though the couple had been invited to this meal, they opted to let old friends catch up, and offered instead to come the next night for another dinner that would focus more on the wedding planning than reminiscing.
At some point, after Gentry and Caridee had successfully scooped the children up and brought them back to the Bed and Breakfast in the Square, Peeta stood and motioned for quiet from his dinner guests. With a smile on his face, a drink in his hand, and candles lighting his features, Peeta looked almost like the golden, glowing child he had been. Only the burn marks on his face served as a reminder that he was a man. Katniss blushed when she found herself staring at him and thinking about how close they had been only this afternoon.
"Thank you all for coming to dinner. We're all here in District Twelve to celebrate Gale and Madge's wedding, which promises to be a beautiful occasion, but I wanted to just take a moment to say a few words before the celebrating begins in earnest."
Though everyone had stopped speaking when Peeta first scooted his chair out, the hush became deeper. A few words from Peeta had always been something worth hearing.
"I want to propose a toast," his words resonated through the room, though he had not raised his voice. "The seven of us are here, alive and living in an almost-republic because many people, and many people we loved dearly, have died to give us that right."
He paused here, and Annie closed her eyes tightly, Johanna and Madge simultaneously reached out to take one of her hands. He locked eyes with Haymitch, "The right to breathe," he turned to Katniss as he continued, "The right to start a business. But most importantly, the right to live. Tonight is proof that none of our friends, our families died in vain. Because in this moment," he paused, and pointed his finger down to the table "We have something to celebrate, to really be grateful for, and that is life. Not only do we get to celebrate Gale and Madge's union later this week, we get to come together, people of all Districts to do so. And even greater than that, we have an incredible opportunity to shape the future, so that our children live better lives, that theirchildren will live better lives, and everything that we, and all of our loved ones have sacrificed, will be worth it."
Peeta took a beat here, and took in the reactions from around the table. Six pairs of eyes followed his every move. Some of them, Annie's and Madge's, had brimmed up with tears. He had almost forgotten this feeling. That he, just the baker's son, could use his words like others could play instruments, was able to ensnare people as surely as Gale could. He took a moment to look into each pair of eyes; the various steely colors of Gale, Katniss and Haymitch, the green of the sea in Annie's and the brown of the earth in Johanna's, and finally the sky in Madge's eyes that he knew reflected his own. He felt a surge of affection for them, for what they had done, that they were here with him. For all the things he had lost, these people were here.
"I propose a toast," he continued, "to Finnick, to Primrose, to our families, to the Tributes and to the rebels for all of their sacrifices." He took a moment of silence, his eyes welling with tears, and then began again, "To Gale and Madge, for bringing us together tonight, and to the seven of us," he paused here, seriously, "to a new future for all of us." He let his last words ring out for a moment, before raising his glass.
"Skol!" Johanna said loudly, holding her glass up with her free hand.
"Cheers, then," Haymitch agreed, his face softer than Peeta had ever seen it. His hand did not shake as he raised his wine glass, held it aloft.
"To us," Katniss added, looking first directly to Peeta, then letting her gaze sweep over everyone.
Gale raised his glass "To the future." With his other hand, he found Madge's and held it tight.
"To our children," Madge said, wiping a tear from her cheek before lifting her glass.
Annie cleared her throat and disengaged herself so she could hold her cup up with both hands, "To Unity." As soon as she had said it, Peeta knew that had to be the final toast,
"To unity," he said solemnly.
"To unity," everyone chorused to the clinking of glasses. They drank the last of their dinner wine in reverent silence.
"Thank you," Peeta said quietly; as he set his glass on the table "Now," he clapped his hands together, providing a decided change in tone. He mimicked the trilling, affected voice assumed by Effie Trinket, "if you'd all like to join me in the sitting room, I believe Miss Mason has plans for us to play a game."
On the way out of the dining room, someone opened yet another bottle of wine and provided everyone with a full, fresh glass. The game had been Johanna's idea, which she explained rapidly, her voice ever-more tilted by her Northern district accent. The game was loudly supported by Haymitch and Gale. The others had never played a drinking game before, but this one seemed simple enough. Everyone started with a glass of wine, to be refilled generously. The game was played by going around the circle and saying something you had never done, but believed that others had. "I've Never," was the name of the game, and it seemed that to remain sober you would have had to stay inside your house your entire life.
Haymitch settled in one large armchair, and Gale landed in another with Madge perched on the arm. Peeta and Katniss and Johanna and Annie paired off and snuggled up on opposite loveseats. Before Johanna sat down, she distributed extra bottles between the couples and the wizened old mentor.
Peeta, who had at some point become the unofficial master of ceremonies, made sure everyone had a strong grasp on the rules and began, "I have never killed an animal," he announced. Gale and Katniss raised their glasses to one another proudly as Johanna, Annie and Haymitch also raised their cups.
Katniss gave Peeta an awkward nudge with her elbow, "Maybe we'll have to change that, huh? If that snake bite had taken me out, you'd be back to stale bakery bread for the rest of your life." Peeta looked at her reproachfully. Perhaps it was a little too early to bring up the snake bite in casual conversation - and he had, in fact, killed the snake which threatened her life. In hindsight, he took a quick sip from his glass, and hoped no one noticed.
To his left, Haymitch was frowning, but then said, "I've never worn a dress," the women in the room all drank, and to their credit, Gale and Peeta didn't. "Thought I would have gotten you there, Hawthorne," Haymitch growled.
"Not a chance," Gale shot back, "restricts movement."
"Not as much as you would think," Annie added giggling, already through her first glass, as she twirled her legs around Johanna to illustrate just how easy it was to move in a dress, showing off her panties as she did so.
Johanna shushed him, planting a hand on Annie's legs to keep them closed "I," she began proudly, "have never once been in love with Katniss Everdeen."
Gale raised and drank from his cup, but followed it up by pulling Madge down from her perch on the arm of the chair into his lap and giving her a mildly inappropriate kiss. Peeta only smiled and asked Katniss affectionately, the various tense moments of the day forgotten, "Do you suppose I should drink twice, since I fell in love with you twice?"
"Gross, Mellark, shove it!" Johanna called out, and tossed a throw pillow at him with waning accuracy, she turned to Annie whose turn it was, "This should be easy for you, Seashell; you're so innocent." She said this haughtily as she poured herself and Annie new glasses of a pink sparkling wine.
Annie's large eyes narrowed as she tilted her head in thought, "it is much easier to think of things that one has done, rather than the things one hasn't done," she mused quietly. "I've never lived in District Twelve."
"Too easy, Annie!" Gale argued, but drank anyway with Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch.
Gale thought hard for a moment, and came upon something. He judged that it would be okay, "I never kissed Finnick Odair,"
A thousand memories of kisses shared with Finnick washed over Annie. She thought of her past with Finnick like a trail of footprints left in the sand. Each wave that washed over them blurred the edges, smoothed the details. She knew that one day; all she would have was the memory of footprints in the sand, a memory of her memories. No, she realized, that wouldn't be all she had. Annie's eyes found Johanna, and they smiled sadly at one another and shared one gentle kiss before drinking. Katniss prodded Peeta, "Drink,"
Peeta looked at her with complete confusion etched on his face, "What? I never kissed Finnick."
"But he resuscitated you," Katniss insisted. Sheepishly, she added, "I thought he was kissing you."
"I was dead," Peeta said in amusement.
"Wouldn't matter," Johanna said with a sultry leer.
"Just drink," Katniss insisted, maybe a little drunkenly. "Madge, it's your turn."
"Well," she said with a toss of her golden hair, adjusting herself in Gale's lap, where she realized she was quite comfortable, "I've never been in the Hunger Games."
Everyone but Gale and Madge tilted their cups to the ceiling, while a brief wave of sobriety washed over them, but Katniss cleared her throat, she had been thinking of hers for a while, and blurted, "I've never kissed a girl!"
Johanna and Annie responded only by kissing one another once again, enthusiastically, and Madge timidly lifted her glass to her lips, hoping to go unnoticed. Everyone else was watching Annie and Johanna, but Gale had seen. "You apparently have a story for me, later," he growled in her ear. She shushed him with a blush creeping over her cheeks.
Peeta, with his arm securely around Katniss, was only too happy to think of the many things in his life he had never done. The lifetime of experiences that winning the Hunger Games had allotted him, since losing would have ensured that the list of things he'd never done would never change. The first thing that struck him was, "I've never had children." Katniss darted a furtive look up at him. This was certainly on his mind today.
"I'm drinking," Johanna asserted, as Gale and Madge toasted their daughter. "I have changed a damn lot of diapers."
"You're just as much Finn's parent as I am, Jo," Annie murmured, tucking her feet up to snuggle closer. "Haymitch, it's your turn," she added with a nod. Johanna, who had looked initially defensive of her position in Finn's life, gave a little smile at Annie's assertion.
"Well, this would work better later on in the week," Haymitch began, his gravelly voice with a tinge of sadness, "but I've never been married."
Annie and Johanna lifted their cups, but everyone's heads were turned to Katniss, who had lifted her glass.
"Who'd you trick to marry you, then, Brainless?" Johanna laughed.
Katniss looked at Peeta almost accusingly, who sheepishly raised his cup, "I didn't know if you wanted to tell them or not!"
"Wait, wait, wait," Johanna interrupted, "You two got married and didn't invite anyone?"
"We didn't know you, Johanna," Peeta said diplomatically, "we had the world's shortest engagement, we got married the night I proposed, in a train compartment."
Madge, with raised eyebrows, had to inquire, "So you didn't go to the justice building?"
"No, but we toasted," Katniss said stubbornly, "we're married." Peeta's couldn't help a bright smile from creeping on his face as Katniss affirmed their commitment to one another in front of their friends. It made it feel yet more real. She grabbed his hand for good measure. This seemed to be enough for Johanna and Annie, who seemed to relax into one another.
"That settles that," Haymitch declared, though it seemed that Gale and Madge had more questions. He took a draw of his wine that happened to last until his glass was empty, seemingly forgetting they were playing a drinking game.
"My turn!" Johanna crowed, it was clear that she was reveling in this, a night off from parenting, with Annie wrapped securely by her side, "I have never had sex outside," she said with a meaningful glance at Gale and Madge, who both seemed to concentrate fully on their wine which they gulped a bit too freely and came up choking.
Katniss barely had time to wonder how on earth Johanna knew this about Gale and Madge, but Annie, seeing their discomfort, turned directly to Johanna and said sweetly, "I have never been naked in public."
Everyone's eyes raked the room, curious to see if anyone but Johanna had exhibitionistic tendencies, but only the District Seven native raised her cup, with a defense of, "you all should try it, it's very freeing. Your turn, Gale Force,"
Gale frowned, concentrating on pouring new glasses of wine for himself and his fiancé. He wanted to think of something good, that would get most of them without bringing up too much pain, "I've never lived in a Victor's Village,"
The Victors raised their glasses, "Nice place once you get all the bugs out," Johanna said with an ironic tilt of her head.
Peeta felt a stab of indignancy, and felt Katniss tense under his arm. This was where he baked! There weren't any bugs! Maybe Haymitch had bugs in his house, but, his thoughts were interrupted as Katniss yelped with a desperate glance into the rafters, "Are you kidding? Where are they?"
Johanna rolled her eyes and huffed as she pulled herself away from Annie, stood, and walked directly up to a molded fixture in the wood, where she popped out a covering and revealed a tiny, dark disc. The word bug clicked for Peeta. Not scavengers for bakery crumbs, but stray words.
"Are they live? Do they still work?" Katniss panicked aloud.
"'Course not, brainless," Johanna scoffed as she crushed the thing under her boot unceremoniously, "No one left to listen, right? We made sure of that on the Clean-Ups, eh Soldier Hawthorne?" She gave him an ironic salute.
"Yes, definitely," Gale affirmed, returning her salute.
"Actually, it was kind of fun to try to find them all, once we found out they were there," Annie said, the wine clearly making her already ethereal voice only more vacant, with vague motions for Johanna to return to their couch.
Madge, who had been shaking her head in wonder, mused, "Well, I've never been interesting enough to get spied on."
Haymitch laughed raucously, "Pick another one, Goldilocks, your dad's house was full of 'em."
Annie piped up, suddenly looking quite sober, "Why would they spy on your father, Madge?"
Madge's family, like Peeta's family and almost all other District Twelve families, had not made it out of the firestorm, and Madge's face threatened to crumple at the reminder, "My father was the Mayor."
"Shit, Gale Force, I knew your girl was Merchant but I didn't think she was the District Princess!" Though she said it with no malice, it was so out of place that everyone bristled. '
Agitation enveloped Katniss, but Peeta spoke first his words calming every tense muscle in the room, "It was never like that, here, Johanna."
Johanna accepted this at face value, and cast what could pass as an apologetic glance at Madge. But Madge still felt a pang of anger, and knew immediately what she had never done, "Well, I've never killed anyone."
Her words didn't have the effect on Johanna she had wished they would, but nearly everyone in the room drank under a dark cloud.
Peeta felt concerned that this wasn't going exactly the way he planned and turned to Katniss, hopeful that she could say something that would break the tension. She would know, wouldn't she, to keep it light on her turn? But Katniss, whose survival instincts were as keen as her social skills were dull, seemed to only have been inspired by Madge's morbid contribution.
"I have never stabbed anyone," she announced, and Peeta was sure their night was over, that people, himself included, would dissolve into a trauma-induced misery, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect: no one believed her!
Haymitch refused to drink, protesting, "Really, sweetheart?"
"What'd I say, Haymitch? I never used a knife on anyone," Katniss insisted, as Gale, Johanna, and then Peeta tilted their cups. Katniss twisted her neck up to look at her husband, "But Peeta, when did you stab someone?"
Peeta raised his eyebrow at her, "How about on live TV, twice? I had to finish that poor girl from District 8 in our first Games, and then Brutus came after me in the Quell the night that you blew out the force field." he suppressed a shudder, "Not my best moments, when you compare to my other appearances. But," he gathered, suddenly, knowing the best way to fully diffuse the tension, "I've never won a Quarter Quell, Haymitch!"
Haymitch dutifully raised his nearly empty cup, but Johanna was protesting again, "Who says we didn't win the Quell?"
Gale was immediately brought back into the empty bar car, where Johanna had insisted, no one wins the games. But this didn't seem to be the moment to pick out the subtleties of Johanna's perceptions on winning and losing. But Annie was in the same place, "No one wins, Jo, you know that."
"I know, I know," she muttered, "I'm still gonna drink, 'cause we're all alive aren't we?"
Haymitch seemed to content to continue to pass the ball, as he poured himself another very full glass of wine, "Well, I've never chopped down a tree, how's that Mason?"
Johanna drained her glass and filled it again and drained the second glass, then began to pour a third, when Katniss finally felt the need to interrupt, shaking her head, "What are you doing?"
"I figure, I chopped down way more trees than anyone else has done anything else," she slurred.
"I bet I caught more fish than you chopped down trees," Annie said gently, perhaps knowing that competition would be the only thing to keep her partner from downing the entire bottle. She began frantically pouring and gulping glasses of wine to keep up.
"I bet I baked more cheese buns," Peeta asserted, catching quickly to Annie's plan. He abandoned the idea of pouring and throwing back glasses of wine, since he himself was not as steady as the others. Instead, he tipped back the bottle and began to take great swallows of the tart red wine.
"I bet I killed more squirrels." Katniss challenged, not following the string, but wanting to compete all the same. She grabbed the bottle away from Peeta, sloshing some down her dress as she brought it to her lips.
"Nu-uh! I killed way more squirrels than you!" Gale shouted, rather more loudly than necessary, the redness on his cheekbones belying his sobriety. He actually pounced across the room to snatch the bottle from her as if the bottle itself were the prize, though he and Madge had their own bottle, which he knocked to the ground when he leapt up. It sloshed out of the bottle onto the ground. Madge snatched it up before too much damage was done.
"Well," Haymitch announced loudly, "I killed more brain cells than any of you have done anything," no one could argue that, "so whose turn is it?"
"Itsh mine!" Johanna was beginning to cross a line from tipsy into intoxicated, but straightened herself up and proclaimed with a nasty gleam in her eye, "I have never masturbated!"
A stunned silence covered the room and six pairs of eyes blinked back at her, "Oh, Jo," Annie whispered, holding her closer.
"What," Johanna spat defensively, seeing the pitying, confused looks from around the room, "it's not that weird!"
"It kinda is," Gale pointed out, arching his eyebrow at her.
"You're a man," Johanna said, rolling her eyes, and then turning them to Madge and Katniss, who, in response, only quietly lifted their glasses to their lips. Katniss thought only fleetingly of her moments alone in the woods, before turning to nuzzle her head against Peeta's shoulder. Madge, on the other hand, was thinking much more deeply, as she lowered her glass slowly.
She thought of the nights, alone, when she would think of Gale. So many months after their first encounter, the months between, the long, lonely stretch of time between Maysilee's birth and Gale's return to them. Wondering, almost knowing, even as she thought of his broad shoulders and challenging smile, that when he did this, he almost definitely did not think of her. She recalled the many nights, even recently that Gale would murmur Katniss's name in his sleep. It was Gale who filled her consciousness when she was alone with herself. But Gale? Did he still imagine himself with her? Think about Katniss with her dark hair and strong arms when he was at his most vulnerable? Or did he think about her? That she couldn't answer this question left her gripping her wine glass and staring far off into the distance.
She sat there for so long, with anger and sadness written so clearly on her face that a hush fell over everyone else. As she looked up, she saw her friends, her wedding guests staring at her so expectantly that she was suddenly filled with rage. She had never asked for this. For all of these people to reappear, she had just needed to know.
"I didn't want to get married here!" she blurted so furiously that everyone leaned back, their eyes wide, "What could I hope to accomplish here besides stirring up old ghosts?" Madge shouted. She was on her feet, but the orientation of the room made escaping without having to awkwardly step over someone impossible, so she paced in a tiny circle as she continued, "I would have been happy with a wedding in Two, but I-" she faltered, and stopped moving, turning to face Katniss.
Madge quivered with anger, all eyes on her, as she whispered, "I had to know."
"Madge-" Gale stood, and tried to catch Madge's arm but she tore it away. "You don't touch me!" She pointed a finger at him, as if it could stop him. "I had to know..." She nodded, gaining intensity as she spat, "I had to know you'd choose me this time."
"Of course I'd choose you." Gale frowned, casting not a glance in Katniss's direction. "I already chose you."
"You didn't choose me, you just knocked me up." Madge shouted, sobs beginning to choke her voice.
"Madge-" Gale tried, but what could he say? He took her in, her hair disheveled, wine sloshed down her dress, tears falling down her cheeks, and pain in her beautiful eyes. Had he just chosen her because of Maysilee? He was so drunk, and his mind so cloudy, it wasn't fair for her to confront him with this now. He was bad at talking when it was just her, and he was sober, so what was this ambush?
He tried to collect his thoughts, one phrase pushing through. It had been enough for her then, maybe it would be enough for her now. With eyes as clear as he could muster under the circumstances, he opened his body to her, palms out, like he would approach a wounded animal and spoke in a clear, strong voice, "I wanted to see you."
Though no one else seemed to understand, it seemed to placate Madge at least somewhat, the wild look in her eyes quieted, as she uttered, helplessly, "Why?"
This time, 'I came to see you' would probably not be sufficient. Why did he... because he just did. That was all, but how could he say that and not sound like an idiot? He licked his lips and attempted to clear his head and his throat. Both seemed reluctant. He tried again, more successfully, and opened his mouth to speak, to say anything at all, but Katniss spoke for him.
"Madge, Peeta and I are married. There is nothing to choose."
Madge looked surprised, as though she hadn't comprehended the full meaning of this when they had said it earlier, and flicked her eyes back and forth between Katniss and Peeta. Peeta laced his fingers through Katniss's, supporting her decision to speak, expressing to Madge that everyone else could see what she couldn't, as he added, "Madge, Gale did choose you."
Madge looked to Gale for assent, and he realized as he stared at her broken, beautiful face that those were the words he had been searching for. He had chosen her. Not because he wanted to, initially, but because of something else - because he needed to. Because he needed her, the way that Katniss and Peeta needed each other, for survival, for support. "Madge," he tried again, "I need you to choose me too, the way I am. I can't erase that I abandoned you for Katniss. I won't do it again. I need you to choose me anyway."
Madge stared at him, mirroring his own disbelieving expression from moments ago, "Of course I choose you." For good measure, she added, rather unnecessarily, "You idiot." She was crying, so her icy tone was unconvincing.
They stared at each other, wordless, breathless, as everything else in the world fell away for just a minute. Gale reached out a hand to her, and this time, she took it. As they settled back into their chair, Annie, who had decided, apparently, that the show must go on bravely broke the silence, "I've never sung a song."
"Really?" Katniss asked her, sounding as if this was one of the saddest things she'd ever heard.
"Yeah," Annie smiled one of her little 'to-herself' smiles she got when she was thinking about Finnick. Johanna placed a hand on Annie's as she continued, "When I was young, I was too shy, and then... when we were older, Finnick used to sing to me endlessly. He'd serenade me with love songs from the Capitol, little children's rhymes, sailors' ballads from our District, anything he could learn, he'd sing back to me. No offense Katniss, but he was my mockingjay long before you donned your gold pin."
"I'm not offended," Katniss dismissed. "He never asked you to sing with him?"
"Oh, only all the time," Annie blushed, "But see, Finnick's voice was... like him. Perfect. I was so scared of sounding bad next to him; I just couldn't make sound come out, even if I wanted to. I would open my mouth and just freeze up, and this squeaking sound would come out... Like when you're raising the sails and pulleys haven't been oiled."
"Yes, darling," Johanna kissed her cheek, "Because all of us land folk knew exactly what the pulley system on a sailboat sounds like when it hasn't been oiled properly." Everyone laughed, the lightness of the evening returning, but Annie seemed put out. She was blushing the color of a tomato, since the wine had already brought color to her face, and now she was embarrassed. Despite this, she took a deep breath, shimmied her shoulders back so that her posture was proud, and declared, as if no one had heard her the first time:
"I never learned any kind of instrument, nor have I ever sung a song!" she proclaimed. The addition seemed to make her pretty pleased with herself, as her blush faded back to a drunken - rather than humiliated - hue. Annie had cast a wide net with this one, and everyone else in the room drank.
Katniss, on the other hand looked in surprise to Peeta and Haymitch, the two people in her life who she was arguably closest to. "Wait, what do you two do?"
Peeta's face, already flushed from the alcohol reddened further, "well," he stammered, "I don't know if it counts, but I can," then he mumbled something under his breath that even Katniss, who couldn't possibly be closer to him on the couch, couldn't hear.
"What was that?" Gale called out, putting his hand to his ear jokingly, being careful to keep hold of Madge on his lap.
"Spoons!" Peeta said in a loud voice, "My brothers learned real instruments but they never anticipated... me, and so they just gave me spoons. I can play the spoons."
"Y'kin do what?"Johanna slurred,
"Yes, Peeta, what is that?" Annie seconded.
"What can you play, Haymitch?" Peeta asked, a bit too cheerfully.
"Well, haven't played in years, but I can pick a banjer," he admitted, miming the stringed instrument.
Johanna and Annie still looked at one another in confusion, "this is the most backward district in the world," Johanna said to her in a very fake, loud whisper.
As though in protest to Johanna's insult, Haymitch, unexpectedly, began to sing. His voice rusty, and low, but warm. Katniss recognized the song from the days when she and her father wandered the woods belting out tunes so numerous and various, it was a wonder she could remember any of them clearly at all. It came back to her slowly as Haymitch crooned out the first verse.
Oh the Cuckoo, she's a pretty bird
and she warbles as she flies
but she never hallers 'cuckoo'
'till the fourth day of July.
Gale was the first to join in, first just a word here or there, but he, like Katniss managed to recall the song from the depths of his memory, and by the end of the first verse, was singing along with Haymitch, his voice not entirely on key, but sweet and smooth.
It is often that I wonder
Why do women love men
then I look back, and I wonder,
What makes men love them?
The sound of these two men, Seam men, from Katniss's home District singing this old District song made her heart swell with almost uncontrollable joy. She snatched up Peeta's hands and held them to her own chest as she joined in, pitching her voice differently from the main melody to give the song a fuller feel - harmonizing, her father had called it. Madge joined too, her high, thin voice providing another level of harmony.
Gonna build me a log cabin
On the mountain so high
So I can see the Cuckoo
as she goes soaring by
Tentatively, Peeta joined in with them, his voice, like Gale's warm, and sweet, and yes, maybe a pinch off key, but Katniss could care less. She looked at him, face beaming, as he stole his hands back to pat out a beat on his legs. She could fill in, in her mind, what the same beats would sound like with spoons, rather than hands. It made her love him even more.
Oh the Cuckoo, she's a pretty bird
and she warbles as she flies
She'll ask you no questions
And she'll tell you no lies.
As they rounded out the last verse, Peeta waved his hands encouragingly and ran out into the kitchen, as Haymitch began the song again. Peeta rushed back in with his spoons and joined in, singing and clacking out a furious beat.
Johanna cocked an eyebrow at Annie, as if to say, well, now's your chance, and opened her mouth, singing mostly 'la's and humming along, rather than trying to learn the words in her intoxicated state. Johanna's voice was throaty, and mellow and rich. Annie watched Johanna for a minute, and then closed her eyes tightly, a giant smile spreading across her face. She opened her mouth, and at first, Katniss heard the sound, like a squeaky door, but gradually, the sounds turned into a voice - a tiny, high-pitched voice that was definitely sharp, but clear and full of feeling.
Oh the Cuckoo, she's a pretty bird
and she warbles as she flies
but she never hallers 'cuckoo'
'till the fourth day of July.
It is often that I wonder
Why do women love men
then I look back, and I wonder,
What makes men love them?
Gonna build me a log cabin
On the mountain so high
So I can see the Cuckoo
as she goes soaring by
As the end of the song neared, Katniss marveled at the incredible feeling of singing with this group. The sounds they made together were not necessarily on-key or perfectly harmonious, but a feeling washed over Katniss. She recognized it, but she had never felt it this strongly. The opposite of this feeling was much easier to identify; the feeling of being completely alone and without hope. Haymitch's voice, with Peeta's, Gale's, Johanna's, Annie's, Madge's and even her own all joined together, forming their own force, something more powerful than Katniss had ever experienced. Perfect togetherness. The word from Annie's toast swam into her mind, unity.
Oh the Cuckoo, she's a pretty bird
and she warbles as she flies
She'll ask you no questions
And she'll tell you no lies.
They finished the song, the 7 of them, all grinning with such unadulterated joy that their cheeks were sore. Annie declared, after downing the last of her glass of wine, "I think I am the winner!"
Johanna scoffed, "No such thing in this game, Seashell!"
"Nope," Annie was sure of it. "I definitely win."
Peeta caught on, "I think so. She took the opportunity to rectify one of the things she'd never done. I think that makes her a winner."
Annie looked mischievously at Johanna, "You can be a winner too, if you'll let me teach you a thing or two about," her eyes darted down between Johanna's legs, and then back up to her face as she let the word fall from her mouth slowly, seductively, like a drop of honey, "Yourself."
It was Johanna's turn to blush, everyone's in fact. Annie being so sexually open was new, and surprising, even in their drunken state. After a moment of stillness, Annie and Johanna entangled themselves in each other, limbs, lips, and eyes locked in some sort of drunken dance.
Gale turned to Madge, and offered his wine glass her way, as if to toast. "I've never," he tried, "been so happy." The way he said it, his eyes locked with hers, his face caught in that crooked smile he used when he was trying too hard to look like a normal man, rather than one broken by years of hardship, and war, she knew that he was trying to express that his happiness was linked to her.
Madge looked at his face for a lingering moment, her eyes searching for something. What it was, Gale would never know, because she leaned into him, and kissed him deeply. When she broke the kiss she nodded towards Johanna and Annie, "I think it's time for bed."
She took him by the hand and led him to the guest bedroom where Maysilee had napped earlier in the day, leaving Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch to stare awkwardly at the entangled bodies of Johanna and Annie, who had passed out about halfway through the process of removing their clothes. Annie was curled up in a slip, but still wearing her high-heeled shoes. Johanna was completely clothed from the waist down, but bared her breasts, her shirt on her arms above her head.
Katniss and Peeta gave each other knowing looks, smiling at a faint memory of the Training Center in the Capitol - before the Quarter Quell, the night of the tribute parade, Johanna had stripped completely naked and shared an elevator with Peeta and Katniss, much to Katniss's discomfort. Now seeing Johanna's naked body was like seeing a tree in the woods.
Peeta turned his attention to Haymitch. "Would you like to stay?"
Haymitch shook his head, rising to a standing position as he grumbled, "I've walked home much drunker and much farther than this."
It seemed that Haymitch's peculiar behavior had not gone unnoticed by Peeta, because he took Haymitch's hands in both of his, and looked him straight in the eye, fighting to keep a straight face through the wine fumes as he spoke, "You know you're always welcome." The way he said it made clear to Haymitch that he meant it unconditionally.
Haymitch waved him off, and stumbled out the door, but cast a fleeting glance at them as he tripped out the door.
For a moment, they stood in the kitchen, fingers intertwined, saying nothing, just staring after their once-mentor as he stumbled out into the night. Katniss suddenly found herself so tired, her eyes stinging with the effort of just staying open. She blinked sleepily a few times and turned her face towards Peeta. The wine was definitely working it way into her very nerve endings; it felt as if her entire body was buzzing.
When she looked at Peeta, he looked strange, as if she was looking at him through a tunnel. She realized, also, that he didn't look like the Peeta she knew now, but the pure, whole, 16-year old boy she'd entered the games with. She saw him with a shocking clarity, though she knew it couldn't be real.
"Peeta?" she asked him, to be certain that her worst fears hadn't been realized. He didn't vanish, though. Instead, he turned his face to look at her, and looked familiar again, burned, gaunt, and broken - her Peeta, her husband, her family.
"I love you," she said to him, plainly.
"I love you too, Katniss," he responded in kind and gave her hand a squeeze. "Thanks for choosing me," he added meekly.
"Oh no," Katniss sighed, shaking her head, "You chose me first."
Katniss closed her eyes, letting a flood of memories wash over her. The first time she and Peeta touched hands, when they shook at the Reaping, the first time they kissed when the only heat she could feel was his fever, and then, just that afternoon, when their breaths, the bodies had become one.
She opened her eyes in confusion, as she felt Peeta's hand shaking in hers. She found his face, and saw, with dismay, his pupils dilating, then shrinking back to normal, as he blinked rapidly, and gripped the table white-knuckled with his other hand. He too was being overcome by memories - but with a very different result.
"Peeta?" she asked, her voice small, and scared.
This seemed to ease his struggling, as he let go of the table and let out the breath he had been holding. His muscles tensed and released a few times, until the shaking subsided, and hot tears flowed to his eyes - which had returned to normal. He leaned into her, and she wrapped her arms around him as he sobbed silently into her shoulder.
"Katniss," his voice was hoarse, and sounded distant. She tightened her grip on him and found her own voice.
It quivered as she answered him, "What?"
"Y- you're always asking me to stay with you, like I have anywhere else in the world that I want to be..." he tried to sound like he was joking, but instead his voice was fragile as he begged her, "Please... you're the one... who could... I mean." He fought for a moment for some stability in his voice, but it only came out quieter, "Katniss, will you stay with me?"
It took her only a moment to process what he was really asking her. Not about tonight, not about tomorrow, but about the rest of their lives. About being more than the friends they had agreed to be, the allies they had vowed to be. This was something more. The word passed her lips, without any thought, or doubt, and she knew it was true when she responded,
"Yes, always."
The look on Peeta's face told her that he understood, though even this couldn't fully combat the fears fighting behind his eyes. She put Peeta at arm's length and kissed his salty cheeks, wiping at his tears before leading him up to their bedroom. He sat, defeated, on the bed as Katniss took off his shoes and socks, placing them in a neat pile before she helped him out of his clothes.
She tried to replicate the way he folded them each night, and managed a small neat pile before whipping her own dress over her head to pool on the floor in wrinkled heap. She lay down on the bed, and pulled his head to rest between her breasts. Tonight, she would hold him, and fight off his nightmares, even if it meant she didn't get a wink of sleep herself.
She held him until his breath steadied, his crying stopped, and he began to snore ever-so-softly. Only then did she give in the wine and exhaustion, dragging her down into a deep, dreamless slumber.