Thanks to Em74 and a guest for reviewing! Your comments made my day! Just to make this clear, this takes place five months after the wedding, on the eve of the victory tour. Every time there is a song in the rest of the chapters, I'll mention the artist at the top. So, thank you, the Band Perry.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.
It's only been five months, and already I'm already keeping a secret from Marlin. Not that it's bad or anything. I'm just... waiting for the right time to tell him. Like on the victory tour, because Finnick actually didn't lie about that. Marlin really is coming with me. I suspect it's because Finnick has heard me screaming at night when Marlin had been called to the Capitol. I thought Capitol people were sick, taking a just-married man and selling him for the highest bidder. But Marlin was only called to iron out the details of him on the tour, and he was back in a day. Finnick still had to come and wake me up the night he was gone, though.
Marlin has been trying to prepare me for the emotional cost of the victory tour. Together, we've been building up a wall of fake smiles and thank yous for when I face the families of those I have killed. The trick, Marlin says, is to look at their nose, not their eyes. They think that you're looking at them, but really you're staring elsewhere, trying not to notice how their eyes look just like your victims' eyes.
I'm looking at sketchs of dresses Liza has sent me while Marlin jots thing down on a piece of paper. Suddenly, my eyes go wide. "Marlin, I just realized I don't know what your talent is!" I shriek. "You promise you won't laugh?" It seems like an odd request, but I agree. "I play guitar." I laugh so hard I almost fall off the chair. "You said you wouldn't laugh!" he says, sticking out his lower lip, trying to look sad. "No, no, I'm only laughing because our talents are made for each other, just like us!" He smiles. "I suppose they are. I could play you a song if you want." I nod. He goes to get his guitar.
I go to the file cabinet full of music that he has and pick a sheet at random. If I Die Young is the title. It looks really old. I walk back to find Marlin tuning a guitar. I clear my throat and begin to sing after giving him the music.
"If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
Uh oh, uh oh
Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh,
And life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby
The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger,
I've never known the lovin' of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand,
There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever,
Who would have thought forever could be severed by...
...the sharp knife of a short life, oh well?I've had just enough time
So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls
What I never did is done
A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'
Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'
If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (oh, uh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket
Save 'em for a time when you're really gonna need 'em, oh
The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls..."
"Wow, we sound good together." "Yeah, we do," I reply. "Wow, it's already ten o'clock? We have to wake up early tomorrow, we need some rest!" Marlin says, leading me upstairs. He throws the blankets over me, then lays down next to me. He never sleeps with blankets, because he gets hotflashes from his games, as well as the usual nightmares. "Goodnight. I love you," he says tiredly. I snuggle up against him as his breathing slows.
Usually his slowed breathing makes me drowsy, but tonight it's just annoying. I get up and take a sleeping pill, the kind designed by someone in the Capitol especially for victors. I feel the effects immediately as I lay back down. I curl myself back up under Marlin's arm and sigh, sleepy at last.
Three hours later, I awake to Marlin's screaming. I shake him awake. "Marlin, wake up! Whatever it is, it's not real! No one's going to hurt you anymore! I'm right here!" He crushes with a hug. "I'm surprised you didn't wake yourself up, screaming like that," I say, getting him to sit up. "I was that loud?" he asks. I nod. He buries his face in his hands. "What was it this time?" I ask, massaging his back to relieve stress and tension. We have both become excellent at giving massages, because every single night, one or both of us wake up screaming and need to be calmed down.
"It was you... and there was... two... two children. We were all chained to chairs. And Snow was torturing all three of you. A thousand cuts... death by a thousand cuts." "I'm right here. As long as I'm with you, I'm safe." "I'm so afraid for you, that something's going to happen to you on the tour." "As I said before: as long as I'm with you, I feel safe. I am safe. C'mon, let's get some sleep. I's like one in the morning."
"This sounds stupid, but... can I hug you? To make sure nothing happens?" "Nothing's going to happen... and it's not stupid. Now go to sleep!" He wraps his arms around me tightly. It's not the most comfortable thing, but if this means sleep, let him do it.