Alright, so for the sake of the story, I'm not changing their names. Let's pretend that Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are the most common names in the world.
Thank you again for all the ongoing support. It really does help keep me going.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.
Katniss wanted to scream for many reasons. At this point, she didn't know how long the FBI dingbats had kept her there. She lost count after eight hours. They were giving her access to the necessities, bathroom, food, water. But she was losing her mind. They had moved her from that stuffy room and put her in a more comfortable room with a couch and mini fridge, but still no windows. She wondered what was up with them. Did they never want to see outside?
Director Abernathy came in shortly after, with Agent Hawthorne in tow.
"Miss Everdeen-"
"Katniss!" She gritted out.
Haymitch only smiled, "You understand my top priority is your safety."
"Yea, yea. You said that already." Katniss tells them. "When can I go home?"
He clears his throat, "As I was saying, being that your safety is my top priority," Katniss glared at him. If he said that one more time... "You are to be relocated somewhere in our glorious country, with my best agent."
"I don't want to go anywhere!" Katniss yells. "If Snow wants me, I'll be right here."
Haymitch gets real serious. "Rest assured, Miss Everdeen, if he does, he will find you and the reality is quite morbid."
"I don't care!"
"Stubborn. You really should work here." Haymitch runs his hand through his hair. "But this isn't only about you anymore. You, your sister, and everyone in between will be in danger until we catch Snow. I won't put everyone at risk."
"Fine." She said calmly. He was right. She couldn't run forever and worse, she couldn't risk her sister's life.
"I wasn't asking for permission. This is out of your hands." He snaps his fingers. Agent Hawthorne leaves the room momentarily and returns with a duffle bag. He hands it to Haymitch, who hands it to Katniss. "Your are to get into a car with your husband downstairs. You will drive to the location provided. Further instructions await you once you arrive." He goes to walk away.
"My husband?" Haymitch pauses mid-step.
"Oh, did I forget?" He shakes Agent Hawthorne's shoulder comically. With a laugh, he continues. "My best agent is going undercover as your husband. Treat him well." He goes to walk away. Katniss cuts him off.
"Hold on, old man! I never signed up for a husband."
Haymitch only laughs. "Yea, you guys are going to get along just fine." He turns to Agent Hawthorne. "Take her downstairs. She's Peeta's problem now."
Haymitch got onto the elevator alone. He turns around and smiles at them.
"This is bullshit!" Katniss yells as the elevator doors close.
Peeta puts the last bag into the trunk of the car. He slams it shut just as he sees Haymitch stroll up to him.
"Wait! Are we married now?!" Peeta asks, pointing at himself and Haymitch.
"You wish! She'll be down in a minute. The location is in this envelope." He hands him a sealed envelope.
"You won't know where we are?"
"It's safer that way. I'll know when it matters, Peeta." Haymitch extends his hand out to him. "Good luck with her. Remember Peeta-"
"Alive! I got it! I'd die before I let anything happen to her." Haymitch pulls him in for a hug.
"You better not." He pulls back, releasing him finally. He goes to walk away but stops. "Oh!" He digs into his pocket for something. "For the love of your life." He throws him a small box. Peeta gives Haymitch a look.
"That son of a bitch!" Katniss is rambling next to Agent Hawthorne. "There he is!" She exclaims when she sees Haymitch walk past her. Agent Hawthorne stops her from hitting him.
"Take care, sweetheart!" Haymitch waves to her before going back inside. Gale pushes Katniss towards Peeta.
"Gale."
"Peeta." They exchange handshakes. Katniss who is still trying to get past Gale, hasn't noticed Peeta.
"Katniss?"
"What?!" She turns to the voice. "Whoa!" She says a little too loudly.
Katniss was sure she was being punked. She wanted to know why the "FBI" only seemed to have males working there that looked like they should be working for Chippendales. First, it was Agent Hawthorne. Serious, brooding, dark hair, grey eyes. He was cute. Then, Agent Cato. Tall, strong, blond. He was cute, too. Even the director had an older man allure to him. Now, this guy. All of the above, minus the grey eyes and him being old. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that showed both his seriousness and his charm.
"I'm Peeta Mellark. I'll be at your service until we find Snow."
I'll bet. Katniss shook her head to rid the thought. She was in a serious mess. There was no time for a sexy man.
"I'll take it from here, Gale."
"Thank you!" He exclaims a little bit too enthusiastically before going back into the building.
"So...You're going to be my husband?"
Peeta coughs, "Um, yes. Don't worry Miss Ever-, uh well I guess you're Mrs. Mellark now."
"Mrs. Mellark...Katniss Mellark. That has a nice ring to it." She smiles.
"Right!" He laughs. He opens the passenger door. Katniss takes her seat. Peeta goes over the driver's seat, also taking his seat. He hands her an envelope. "You want to do the honors?"
"What is it?" Katniss says while opening the envelope.
"Directions to our new home." Katniss blinks quickly before looking up at him. She felt a rush go through her body. The way he used that pronoun - our. It was so natural. It was nice to hear that word being used in regards to her and someone else. A good looking man, none the less. Katniss smiled to herself before opening the envelope.
"It's a nice house." She said as she looked at the picture.
"Okay. Where are we going?" Peeta said, gripping the steering wheel.
"Uh," Katniss sifted through the papers. "New Jersey?!"
"Okay, so not far. That's either really smart and/or really dumb…" Peeta thinks out loud.
"What the hell is in New Jersey?!" Katniss exclaims.
"The place where we fell in love." He says with a chuckle. Katniss looks up at him again. "What? I'm just reading." He points at the part on the paper titled "Cover Story."
"We fell in love in Jersey." She shakes her head and laughs. "Who writes this stuff?"
"Hey, don't talk about her. She's cool." Peeta says seriously.
Katniss rolls her eyes. "I'm not sorry." Peeta starts laughing.
"I'm just kidding. I don't know who writes that, but I agree. It's crap." Katniss starts laughing as Peeta begins driving. "Do me a favor, read out loud so I can get a feel for Mr. & Mrs. Mellark."
"Okay…" Katniss gets more comfortable in her seat. "We were married in Washington because your mother insisted on it. I compromised and you love your mother. So..." Peeta snickers.
"Love my mom...keep going."
"We grew up in New Jersey. We met when we were little, been in love since. We split up for a while after high school. Went our own ways for college." Katniss keeps reading, then starts laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Fate brought us back together, when I went to a teaching conference in New York. You were there too. I saw you, you saw me and we fell in love again."
"Aww, baby!" Peeta says reaching for her hand. She laughs but lets him hold it. When he brings it up to his lips to kiss it, Katniss snatches it back still laughing.
"I guess we're both teachers." She sighs. "Great."
"You use to teach though, right?" Peeta asks her. He remembered reading about her being a teacher somewhere in her file.
"Yes."
"What made you stop?"
"The pay is shit!" They both laugh. "Truthfully, I never thought I was any good."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"I guess we'll see."
"Hey! You'll do great, Katniss. Besides, I take care of my wifey!" They both laugh again. Katniss watches Peeta as he drives. He's cute and funny. She couldn't do anything about her current situation. Katniss would just have to make the best of it and Peeta Mellark might just be the man to get her through it.