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everlarkrealornot · 2 years ago

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The Camping Set UP

All, this is about a week late as it was supposed to be my Fourth of July fic. I actually have more to this story, but it was only supposed to be a one shot, so I cut it off and here you go!

“I can’t believe you’re ditching me!” Katniss snapped as she slammed the car door shut. “You suck!” she spat through the open window.

“Catnip!” Gale smirked as he stepped out of the car, closing his door gently. “You and Mellark will have way more fun without me.” He walked to the back and opened the trunk for her.

“What are you talking about?!” she huffed as she grabbed her duffle and dropped it on the ground dramatically. “It’s going to be me and a bunch of preps now.”

He scoffed at her and crossed his arms. “Then bail,” he challenged her, knowing perfectly well that there was no chance she would.

She crossed her arms back at him and frowned. “I told Peeta I would be here, so here I am…I keep my promises, unlike others.”

“I told you I would drive you here, and I did, didn’t I?” He smirked at her again before closing the trunk. “Besides, Madge’s parents are out of town for a wedding this weekend, so we are taking full advantage of having the house to ourselves…and the hot tub…and the pool.”

Katniss wrinkled her nose as she dropped her arms to her side. “I did not need you to keep naming the places where you are going to take advantage of my friend.” She reached down and grabbed her bag, slinging the strap over her shoulder.

“Hey now,” he started walking towards the bakery with her, “I am not taking advantage…it was her idea.” He winked.

“Sometimes I regret encouraging you to ask her out…I mean, yay, you two are all in love and whatever…but at what cost?”

He shook his head, just smiling as they stopped just outside the bakery’s front door. “You ready?”

“No…what am I going to do with a bunch of wrestling team members and debate clubbers who haven’t seen each other all year?” she sighed, resigning herself to sticking by Delly’s side the whole weekend, hoping that freshman year of college hadn’t changed her much.

“Have fun.” Gale opened the door, and she heard the chime of the bell ring in the back of the bakery. “Besides,” he pushed her elbow, turning her towards the door, “I have it on good authority that everyone else backed out of the trip except you.” He gave her another nudge and she stumbled forward into the store.

“Wait, what?!” she sputtered, turning around to see the door swinging shut in her face. A whole weekend alone with Peeta?!

“Everdeen!”

She took a deep breath and turned around, gripping the strap of her duffle tightly. “Hey Rye.”

“So, you’re the one lucky soul who didn’t back out of Peeta’s Fourt of July camping trip.” He leaned on the counter a cocky smirk on his face. “Cozy.”

“Rye, I swear, if you said anything to him,” she stomped over to the counter and grabbed the front of his shirt, “I will make the next shift we work together a living nightmare.”

“Hey now!” He held his hands up in surrender. “I promised I wouldn’t say anything to him, and I meant it.”

“Okay,” she sighed and let his shirt go.

While the rest of her class had gone off to enjoy their first year of college, Katniss had stayed home, unsure what her next steps where. With Peeta in school full time, the bakery needed another worker and when the local sports center closed due to lack of funding, she figured it would be as good a place as any to get a paycheck from. While she did get to work a few shifts with Peeta, most of the time she worked with Rye. And unfortunately for her, he had picked up on her feelings for Peeta quickly and liked to remind her of this fact often.

“Kat!” Peeta beamed at her as he walked from the back. “Hey!”

“Hey,” she smiled brightly at him and cursed inwardly at how unsteady she felt when he looked at her.

“Bad news…pretty much everyone backed out except you, Gale, and Madge…speaking of which, weren’t they driving you here?” he asked, realizing she was alone.

“Yeah, Gale did give me a ride but, uhh,” she readjusted the strap on her shoulder, “They bailed too…her parents are gone for the weekend.”

“Ahh, I see.” The bell dinged as a customer came in and Katniss shuffled out of the way so Rye could help them.

“Yeah, so, uhh, just me.” She shrugged awkwardly.

“Oh, well…I mean, I still have everything for the trip.” He rubbed the back of his head, absent mindedly. “If you’re still up for you it, we can still go, if you want.” He gave her a shy smile and she could see Rye smirking in her peripheral vision.

She hesitated for a moment. Of course she wanted to go…she had had a crush on Peeta forever but she wasn’t sure a weekend alone with him was a good idea – she would have no one as a buffer and didn’t think she could keep herself from saying something completely idiotic and making herself looks like a total moron.

“It’s okay if not!” he rushed to say when he noticed her silence. “I can use the – ”

“No!” She held up her hands, cutting him off abruptly and he raised an eyebrow at her. “Lets go!”

“Great!” He reached over, taking her duffle off her shoulder, and slung it onto his. “I’ve got the car all packed!”

Peeta’s dad owned a small piece of property on a river that ran into a small private lake that only had a handful of houses on it. The surrounding land on the river was relatively similar and most families had owned their properties for generations. When the Mellarks had bought the land, the plan had been to build a small cabin but after a large storm did a lot of damage to the bakery’s roof, those plans were put on hold. The next summer, Mr. Mellark had found a hard sided camper that he had been able to set up for year-round use.

The drive from the bakery to the river was 30 minutes and Peeta had talked most of the time, setting Katniss at ease. They had been good friends for years but her feelings for him had only continues to grow and it did not seem like they were going to be letting up any time soon.

As the campsite already had most of their camping essentials, unpacking and setting up took no time. After Peeta made sure the electricity was hooked up he hurried inside to turn the air on as the camper was stifling without it.

“Sorry, Rye was out here last weekend with some friends and informed me yesterday that he had used all the clean bedding.” He gestured to the mattresses. “Dad sent sets for all of the beds; would you mind making up two of them while I get a fire started for lunch?”

“Peeta, you are supplying all of my needs this weekend, whatever you want me to do, I can do.” She cursed herself as she realized how her words sounded but he simply smiled his thanks and left her with the bag of bedding.

The camper had originally only had three beds, a queen and a set of bunks, but Mr. Mellark had torn out the storage closet and built another set of bunks. She knew that that bunk beds were a little tight for Peeta since he had gotten so tall, so she made up the queen for him and one of the bunks for herself and stored the other sheets in the overhead compartment.

“All set?” Peeta asked as he fed the flames, trying to get some coals to form in the base of the pit.

“All set.” She smiled and plopped down in the lawn chair that Peeta had set out for her. She loved when Peeta would invite them to the river. It was calm and quiet and peaceful…and this weekend she got to enjoy it with just him. I’m in trouble, she thought as she watched him. “So, what’s for lunch?”

“Pizza sandwiches…they are one of your favorites, right?”

After lunch Peeta got out the hammock for her so she could read in it while he attempted to fish but after twenty minutes of not catching anything he tossed down the pole.

“I think I’m going to go for a swim.” He jogged back to the camper before Katniss could even respond.

It had gotten warmer the longer the afternoon went on and she couldn’t lie that a swim sounded good. Closing her book, she swung her legs over the hammock and slipped her sandals back on. By the time she was standing straight up again, Peeta was already bounding out of the camper with a towel wrapped around his neck.

“You joining me?” he asked.

“A cool off sounds perfect right about now,” she nodded.

“If you need towels, they’re under the sink.”

She hurried into the camper and opened her duffle, pausing. There was a folded note sitting on top of her clothes.

You’ll thank me later

x Madge

She frowned, confused, until she looked down. “I’m gonna kill her,” she whispered as she stared down at her swimsuit. In replace of her full coverage, very sensible, one piece, Madge had given her the two-piece that she had convinced Katniss to try on a couple weeks ago when they went clothes shopping for Madge for her family vacation. Silently thanking the heavens that it wasn’t a string bikini, she changed into it. Before leaving the camper she pulled a t-shirt over her head.

“Kat!” Peeta called from the water as she closed the camper door. “The temp is perfect – hurry up!” He laid back in the water and swam around slowly looking at the sun.

As she walked to the water, she gripped her towel tightly. The suit was cute…very cute…just not something she was used to wearing. Especially in front of Peeta. I’ll just keep my shirt on. She nodded to herself and slipped off her sandals, tossing her towel on top. Walking into the water, she started to feel relief from the afternoon sun as soon as she stepped in.

“You mean to keep your tee on?” he asked as he looked up at her, still on his back.

“Oh, uhh.” She looked down, lost for words.

“Sorry,” he stood up, regret written on his face, “I shouldn’t have asked…you can swim however you want to.”

“No, uhh, yeah, thank you.” She reached down and gripped her shirt tightly, yanking it over her head quickly. “I would have walked right in with it.” She forced a smile on her face as she tossed the shirt back towards her towel.

Peeta lowered himself down into the water and just nodded. They were both quiet for some time, swimming around, cooling off. Katniss started to relax, forgetting what she was wearing and enjoying the freedom of the water.

“Hey Kat?” Peeta was gently treading water, his chin just at water level.

“Hmm?”

“We really haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time together this year…I’m really glad you came.”

She couldn’t have stopped the smile that spread across her face if she had wanted to. “Me too.”

He smiled back and nodded, looking down the river. “Want to take the kayaks out?”

“Aren’t you gonna change?” she asked after Peeta had simply slid his shirt back on.

“Ehh, I might go back in later.” Peeta tossed his towel over their makeshift laundry line to dry. “I was gonna get started on dinner but if you need to change first…” He held the door of the camper open for her.

“I think I’ll wait too,” she said and threw her towel on the line next to Peeta’s

Peeta nodded and hauled himself into the camper and started to close the door but stopped, “Actually, would you want to help me?”

“Sure!” She hopped up the steps and latched the door behind her. “What are we making?”

Peeta blushed as he grabbed a bag full of ingredients. “I, uhh, I asked Rye to figure out what one of your favorite camping meals was when your dad used to take you.”

She smiled. “I was wondering why he was asking about that…so we’re having camp stew?” she asked as she watched him start unpacking the bag.

“Yeah, but I don’t think we need to use all of the ingredients I brought.” He gestured to the counter.

“No!” she laughed. “Here.” She grabbed what they needed and slid the rest to the side. “This should be more than plenty for the two of us.”

After dinner they washed the few dishes they had and played a few rounds of cards. Peeta rebuilt their fire and Katniss got out the s’more stuff she had brought.

“I guess I’m good for one thing,” she said, handing him a chocolate bar, “I always know where to get something sweet.”

“You’re definitely good for more than that,” he laughed as he smushed the toasted marshmallow down.

“Well thank you!” She bit into her s’more and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate. “I saw Delly in the bakery the other day,” she said after a while.

“Yeah, it was really nice to catch up.” He nodded as he stuck another marshmallow on his stick and started roasting it. “She ended up bailing this weekend as her boyfriend surprised her and came in for a visit.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Katniss felt her checks flush red at her words. Idiot!

“Sorry – what for?” He wrinkled his nose in confusion. She was quiet as built his s’more. “Kat?”

“I just…I always thought you two were going to get together,” she admitted.

“For awhile I thought Delly was going to ask me out, but she never did.” He took a bite and chewed for a moment. “Can I be honest with you?” She nodded at his question. “I’m really glad she didn’t…it would have made things between us really weird.”

“Not you’re type?” she asked quietly.

“Nope.” He stuck the rest of the s’more in his mouth. “How has working at the bakery been for you?” he asked when his mouth was empty.

“Not bad, actually.” She stuck the end of her roasting stick in the fire, burning off the remaining mallow.

“Rye and Bran haven’t been too awful to work with then?” He stabbed the end of his stick into the soft ground next to the fire pit.

“God no, they’re great! Rye is an idiot, but I love working with him!” she smiled.

“Oh, gotcha.” Peeta nodded his head, his smile gone.

“What?” she asked, confused by his change.

“It makes sense now, I’ve seen how you two work together.” She raised her eyebrow in question. “You like him…have feelings for him.”

Katniss stared at him for a moment in shocked silence.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, I just - ”

Her laugh interrupted his babbling. “Oh my god, no!” she finally got out. “I definitely do NOT have feelings for Rye.” A look of what Katniss thought was relief spread across Peeta’s face. “Rye is very much like the annoying older brother I never had.”

“And the annoying older brother I do have,” he agreed. “I uhh, think I’m going to get back in for a little.” He pointed to the river, pulled off his long sleeve shirt he had put on when the sun went down, and splashed into the water.

Katniss sat in her chair next to the fire watching him. She had her knees pulled up and tucked under her chin. Absentmindedly she played with some loose strings at the bottom of her sweatpants while she tried to ignore the recurring picture of Peeta’s relieved face when she said she didn’t have feelings for Rye. That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he just doesn’t want his brother dating one of his friends. She also could help but imagine what Peeta’s type was if it wasn’t Delly.

“Come on Kat! The water is warmer than the air now!” While the moon was bright, she couldn’t see him, so he had to have been tucked behind a tree on the bank. “Nighttime swimming is the best swimming!”

She sighed, knowing that she was not going to turn down a chance to swim in the dark with Peeta. She stood up and shed her shirt and sweats, leaving them on her chair. As soon as she reached the sandy beach she slipped off her sandals and waded in.

“Peeta,” she called softly, knowing that he could hear her. “Peeta, where are you?” She swam out to the middle of the river, looking around, but still nothing. “Peeta?......AHH!” Suddenly strong hands were wrapping around her waist and pulling her backwards toward the bank. He had managed to get one of his arms under her and scooped her completely out of the water.

“Ready Kat?” he taunted as he swung her back and forth.

“Peeta, don’t you dare!” She gripped tight around his neck.

“Oh, come on! You’re a great swimmer!” He swung her harder.

“The waters going to go up my nose and make me cough and then you’re going to feel bad!” she said in a rush reminding him of last summer when that exact thing had happened.

He stopped mid swing. “Fair.” Still holding her in his arms, he trudged back out into the deeper water. “No coughing up water tonight.” They were both in the water now, but he still hadn’t let his hold on her go. “Kat, can I tell you something that I’ve wanted to for a long time?” he asked, not looking at her.

“Anything,” she practically whispered. He looked down at her for a moment but shook his head.

“Never mind.” He forced a smile and let his grip on her go, turning back toward the bank.

“Peeta.”

“Its alright Kat, besides there’s a family who sets off fireworks for the whole lake every year, we can see them if we take the kayaks down – ”

“Peeta stop.” Finally reaching him, she grabbed his arm, stopping him, and forcing him to look at her. He stared at her for a moment and she knew he was waiting for her. “You know I’m not good with words, so don’t make me beg because I will just sound ridiculous and if you don’t tell me I will just be thinking about whatever it could be all weekend and probably – ”

Her words were cut off as Peeta brought his lips down on hers. She froze for a moment, completely shocked, and before she could do anything he was pulling back.

“Sorry,” he stared at her in horror, “I shouldn’t have done that.”

She stepped towards him, cupping his cheek with her hand, as she pushed up on her toes so she could press her lips to his. In response he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” he breathed when they broke apart. “Kat, I’ve liked you for a very long time.” She smiled and rested her forehead against his. “You okay with this?” he laughed nervously when she hadn’t said anything.

“Very okay with this.” She leaned back so she could see him, thankful that he could not see her blush in the moonlight. “I like you too, Peeta. A lot.”

“Good, then come here.” He pulled her tight against his chest again, and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around him as he kissed her. Carefully, he carried her to the edge of the riverbank and kneeled in the shallows. “You were starting to shiver,” he said as he gently laid her in the warm water. Katniss smiled up at him, running her hands through his hair. “What?” he asked, brushing his nose against hers. She shook her head and pulled his lips down to hers again.

Several moments later, a loud BOOM startled her. BOOM. BOOM.

“Fireworks.” He sat up on his knees. “They always set off a couple preshow ones so everyone can get prepared and not miss anything.” Katniss sat up, her nose brushing against his shoulder. “Want to take the kayaks down to the lake and watch them?”

“I’d like that,” she nodded. He smiled brightly at her and kissed her cheek before standing up and pulling her to her feet.

He grabbed one of the kayaks off the rack and handed her a paddle before pulling it down to the water.

“Do I not get one?” she asked in a playful tone, knowing that she was not going to be able to get it down herself.

He looked at her for a moment and licked his lips. “I was hoping you would want to catch a ride with me.” He gestured down and she realized he had grabbed a different kayak than the one he had been using that afternoon.

“I can do that.” She nodded and waited for him to get it in the water.

“Here.” He wrapped his arms around her and gripped the paddle, pushing them off from the bank. As they moved down the river, Peeta reached down and clicked something. What looked like a jerry-rigged flashlight strapped to the front turned on and illuminated the water. “Rules of the river - you boat in the dark, you have to have a light.”

Katniss was quiet as they made their way to the lake, enjoying being held.

By the time they got to the river several other kayaks, small boats, and pontoons were already there. An older man in a small rowboat waved to Peeta when he saw him and Peeta steered towards him.

“Hey Howard,” Peeta greeted cheerily as they approached.

“Peeta!” The man smiled. “Rye said you were going to be here this weekend.”

“Yeah, there were going to be several of us, but Katniss was the only other one who was able to make it.”

“Hi,” she nodded, unsure which neighbor this was.

“Howard has the small cabin to the right of us.” Peeta explained.

“Oh! Rye made it sound like it was just going to be you and your girlfriend…looks like he was right.”

What?! I’m gonna hurt Rye when I see him Tuesday!

“Looks like it.” Peeta agreed. “Well, enjoy the show!” He turned them around and moved so they were out of earshot of the others on the water before switching off the light and clipping the paddle to the side, so they didn’t lose it while they drifted.

“I’m gonna hurt him!” Katniss hissed.

“I’m gonna hug him!” Peeta wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, placing a kiss to her neck.

She considered for a moment. “Okay, maybe hug him.” Peeta chuckled quietly in her ear and nuzzled her with his nose. “Definitely hug him.” She turned her head and he captured her lips with his, his hand resting on her neck and his thumb tracing her jawline.

A firework going off separated them and Katniss settled against him to watch.

#everlark #the hunger games #thg #kate writes

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jlalafics · 4 years ago

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“Katniss and Peeta’s Excellent No-Baby Adventure”-an Everlark Fic

For @drivebyanon who requested this prompt: Peeta and Katniss go on a date and leave the baby home with a babysitter for the first time 😄

(I totally relate...)

Summary: Peeta plans to give his wife the best date night ever. Katniss decides to name it. Everlark with a smattering of Hayhanna, Odesta, Gadge, and few other couples.

Peeta stood up as his wife hastily entered the restaurant.

“I’m sorry, babe!” Katniss kissed him quickly, all the while taking off her blazer and revealing her black date night dress. It was a cute number with a simple silhouette and cap sleeves. It was also the only decent dress that fit her after Rye was born. “Meeting ran late. Then, Beetee caught me as I was getting on the elevator. Seriously, it’s Friday. I mean, get out of the office—”

“Don’t worry about it.” Her husband pulled out the chair for her and signaled over their server. “You can drink, right?”

Katniss nodded excitedly. “Oh yeah—I have pumped for the next two days. I am ready to forget this whole week.”

Peeta sat down as the server came up to their table. “She’ll have a glass of Riesling.”

“What’s going on?” his wife asked immediately. “It’s too early in the evening for you to want to get laid.”

“Okay…I have some good news and some bad news,” Peeta told her. “Which one first?”

“Bad news, of course,” Katniss replied as she placed her napkin on her lap.

“Katie had to cancel on us.” He let out a slight breath. “Actually, all our usual high school kids had to cancel when I tried to find a replacement. It seems a number of kids at Panem High caught a case—”

Katniss was genuinely curious. “What? Head lice?”

“Chlamydia,” her husband told her. “So, Katie is grounded for the rest of the school year until she’s off to college.”

“Oh Katie…” Katniss shook her head. “Is it horrible that I’m a little relieved? It’s not that I wanted her to get something that could have easily been prevented with a condom. But I was also thinking that we have to clean everything out in the house in hopes that Rye wouldn’t get lice.”

“No, my big concern is that she invited guys over,” Peeta explained. “I checked all the outside cameras. No one that we didn’t know has entered the house.”

The server reappeared placing her glass in front of her. “So, who is currently watching our child?”

“Drink that first.” Katniss took a long swig. “The good news is that I found a great babysitter. She is more than capable and can actually stay later than Katie could, anyway.”

His wife’s gaze went steely. “Who, Peeta?”

“Johanna.”

“Johanna!” Katniss exclaimed. “She’s never watched a kid in her life. And when did she pop back into town?”

“She is Rye’s Godmother,” Peeta pointed out. “And she’s family. I may have also told her that she could stay for a couple of days.”

The last bit of information was said in such a rush that Katniss almost didn’t catch it.

Peeta hoped she wouldn’t.

“Well…” Katniss took another large gulp from her glass. “…I’m sure she won’t be that bad.”

She downed the rest of her drink.

++++++

Johanna Mason looked at her nephew in the bassinet beside her. He was fast asleep, the mobile above him playing softly. She could tell that her stepbrother had doubts about her ability to watch her nephew, but Johanna was sure that he was blowing it all out of proportion.

Rye was just a baby; he ate, slept, and pooped. This was not a big deal.

Then, the mobile broke.

And the crying began.

++++++

Peeta and Katniss ordered their usual; lamb for her and chicken for him. When their plates arrived, he took the radishes off her salad and she grabbed half of his fries. They caught up on work and she told him about some of the new cases that they were taking on at the firm. He told her about some of the commissions that were coming since his latest gallery show.

Everything was going great in their professional lives and—after many years of trying—they finally got the baby that they’ve been waiting for.

Halfway through dinner, Katniss made a suggestion. “Should we call and check on the baby?”

Peeta reached over, placing his hand over hers.

“Katniss, I’m sure everything is alright.” He looked around the restaurant before leaning forward. “You need to relax, because you’ve been working so hard especially since going back to the firm.” Peeta could tell that she was already trying to come up with ways to get home. “Tell me. What is something that you’ve really wanted to do but couldn’t because you just had a baby?”

Katniss searched her mind. “Um…maybe see a concert…go on a rollercoaster…go dancing?”

“That’s a lot,” Peeta replied grinning. “Let’s do it.”

Right after he texted Johanna.

++++++

‘How’s it going?’

Johanna quickly looked at her phone screen on the coffee table. In her arms was a wailing Rye Mellark, his face red and his bright blue eyes full of tears. She patted his sweaty raven hair as she stood up to pace the floor.

“Baby Boy, it’s just a mobile—” He wailed louder. “I’m sure we can find an alternative song…”

Except Johanna didn’t know any songs.

The next text came in: ‘Should we come home?’

With her free hand, she picked up the phone and pressed the speech-to-text icon.

“’We’re fine. The stupid mobile broke, but it’s okay. Do not come home. One of us should get laid and you two haven’t been alone for six months.’”

She threw the phone on the couch.

“Okay, Rye,” Johanna said to the weeping six-month-old. “Auntie Johanna doesn’t know all the Twinkle-Twinkle bullshit, but she does know her Black Eyed Peas.”

The fussy baby lifted his head to her expectantly.

Okay, she had this.

“Whatcha gonna do with all that junk…all that junk inside your trunk…”

++++++

“Where are we?” Katniss asked as they walked past the long line of people.

“You wanted to see a band, right?” They headed towards the box office. “Are there any tickets left?”

The attendant—a curly-haired teenager—gave them a buzzed smile.

“We don’t have anything on the floor,” he said. “But we do have some VIP tickets left. You get a private booth and unlimited drinks.”

Then, the boy told them the price.

“We cannot afford that,” Katniss told her husband.

“We can and we’re doing it.” Peeta kissed her gently, earning an appreciative hum from Katniss. “You pushed our kid out of your vagina. It’s the least I can do.”

She already knew she would say yes.

But first…

“Let me just text Johanna really quick about feeding Rye.”

++++++

‘Make sure that you give him the spinach that I blended for him. Thanks!’

Two rounds of ‘My Humps’ had quieted her nephew down and by the end, he had actually giggled at her.

When he wanted to be, Rye could be adorable.

They were currently in the kitchen as she warmed a bottle of Katniss’ breast milk—ew—and searched for the pureed spinach in the fridge. Rye sat in his highchair, plastic spoon in his grasp.

“Alright, we’re going to feed you this spinach that your Momma made for you,” Johanna told her nephew, pulling out a small container. She blanched seeing the green mush but went to the baby. “Yum…yum…”

Opening the jar, Johanna put her nose to it.

“Oh, gross!” She looked to the baby. “She makes you eat this?”

Rye put his spoon in his mouth and chewed.

Johanna put the concoction in the garbage. “Oh whoops…looks like you dumped it in the garbage.” She went to the fridge and looked at the other labeled jars. “What do you think of peaches for dinner?”

The baby pulled the spoon out his mouth and gave her a gummy smile.

Holy shit. Her ovaries just exploded.

++++++

“Wow, these seats are amazing,” Katniss gasped as they entered the balcony. “And we’re practically next to the stage.” She turned to her husband. “Thank you so much. We probably won’t be able to send our son to college with the amount you paid, but it was well worth it.”

Peeta shrugged, a smile against his lips. “Well, we’re just going to have to hope that he’s stupid, so we don’t have to worry about it.” He reached, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her against his chest. “I love seeing you smile.”

“If you’re trying to get laid—” Her arms wrapped around his neck. “—it’s totally working.” She pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. “I love you so much.”

Peeta’s lips went to her temple, wondering how he ever got someone as beautiful, inside and out, as his Katniss. He lingered against her skin for a moment before lifting her chin to meet her eyes.

“You two are the cutest fucking couple that I have ever seen.”

They turned to find two women by the entrance curtain of their box. One was dark-haired and wearing a green moto jacket with a silk tank and leather leggings. The other was a long-haired blonde. She was wearing a white dress, an oversized jean jacket, and combat boots.

“I didn’t realize that there were four seats here,” Katniss said suddenly. “Sorry! We were just about to makeout in the box.”

“Not that I wouldn’t love for you to continue but my fiancé is about to come on stage,” the brunette informed them. “I’m Annie Cresta and this is my friend, Madge Undersee.”

Peeta nodded at the two. “I’m Peeta Mellark and this is my wife, Katniss.”

The quartet shook hands before taking their seats with Peeta sitting at the end.

“So, your fiancé is in District 4?” Katniss asked.

“He’s the lead singer,” Annie said proudly. “Madge’s man is on drums.”

“So cool!” Katniss replied before turning to her husband. “I can’t believe we’re sitting with people who know the band!”

“I bet Rye is going to love hearing about this,” Peeta replied, putting an arm around her.

“Who’s that?” Madge asked.

“Our little boy.” Katniss pulled out her phone to show them her lock screen featuring their cherub of a son. “He’s six months old. This is actually our first time leaving him for the night…” Her eyes filled slightly. “I kind of miss him.”

“Aww…don’t cry Momma.” Madge gave her a smile. “I’m sure he’s doing fine.”

“Thanks.” Katniss sniffled. “Blubbering was so not part of ‘Katniss and Peeta’s Excellent No-Baby Adventure’.”

“Did you just name our date?” her husband asked in amusement.

Katniss shrugged. “Yeah…”

“Pretty cool. What else do you two have planned?” Annie asked curiously.

“Katniss wanted to go to a concert…go dancing…go on a rollercoaster…” Peeta listed.

“You know what?” Madge suddenly said. “I think we can help you. After District 4’s set is done, you two are coming backstage with us.”

Peeta looked to his wife who nodded excitedly.

“I’ll text Johanna that we’re going to be late.”

++++++

‘Don’t wait up. We’re at a concert and are going to hang with one of the bands after their set is over.’

“Whoa. Your parents are so extra,” Johanna informed the baby, who was laying on her chest. She was prone across the couch, one hand on Rye’s back and the other on her phone. She placed it on the armrest above before grabbing the remote. “They need a fun night.” She stopped flipping when her eyes caught a movie obviously filmed in Hawaii, the island sunset so achingly familiar. “I was just there. Left a man…thought he might’ve been the one. I guess I’ll never know.”

Rye let out a content sigh, burrowing against her contently.

Johanna kissed the top of his head.

“I much prefer snuggling with you, anyway.”

++++++

“Before we finish for the night, I wanted to sing one last song,” Finnick, lead singer of District 4, said. “My beautiful fiancée Annie is here tonight—” There was riotous applause and Annie blew Finnick a kiss from her seat. “It’s kind of a special night for us, so I wanted to sing a cover of our song.”

Thresh, on keyboard, started the beginning of the slow tune as Finnick put mouth to the mic, his eyes on the woman at their box, whose green eyes were glowing with love.

“My heart is filled with so much love…and I need someone I can call my own…” Finnick crooned and there was a collective sigh among the crowd. “To fall in love—that's what every one's dreaming of I hold this feeling oh so strong…”

Peeta leaned over to his wife, who watched the performance and was mouthing the words. It was a popular song when they were teenagers.

“Did you want to dance?” he asked her suddenly.

Katniss turned to him. “Here?”

Peeta stood up, offering his hand. “Yes, here.” Urged by Madge, Katniss took his hand and stood up. He pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her waist as his other hand entwined in hers. “I’m surprised I didn’t get more of a fight.”

“Well, you’re only trying to check things off my list,” Katniss replied, her chin resting on his shoulder. She pressed a delicate kiss to his neck, and he shivered at the spike of pleasure that raced through his body. “Is there anything you want?”

“A little girl?” he suggested, and she drew away from him in shock. “Kidding…for now. Let’s have a few years of seeing if we even like that little meatloaf at home.” Katniss giggled at his words. “Instead, I’d like to practice.”

She raised a brow. “Practice.”

He pulled her close, his mouth brushing over hers. “Thoroughly…until you’re too tired to practice…tonight.”

Katniss laughed breathily. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of practicing with you.”

++++++

Five Hours Earlier…

He packed his bag methodically, trying to think of the many ways to beg for her back without looking like too much of an inconsiderate dumbass. She had told him that she wanted more, and he argued with her; told her that they agreed on it not being forever.

So, Johanna left and took whatever was left of his mangled heart with her.

She had mentioned going to the mainland to see her brother and his family.

Going to his laptop, Haymitch typed in the last name ‘Mellark’, finding the address easily.

A knock on the door sounded—his taxi was here.

Now, he only had five hours to figure out how to convince Johanna to marry him.

+++++++

“Finnick, come meet Peeta and Katniss Mellark,” Annie said, her hand entwined with the bronze-haired man. “Mellarks, meet my fiancé. Finnick Odair.”

The man gave them a bright smile. “Nice to meet you two.” Finnick shook Peeta’s hand and kissed Katniss on the cheek. “I heard you were having an ‘Excellent No-Baby Adventure’.”

“I told you that name was cool,” Katniss crowed to her husband before turning to the couple. “Yes, we’ve already gotten 2 out of the 3 things out of the way.”

“Madge mentioned that you two wanted to ride a rollercoaster.” A dark-haired man with steel eyes approached them. “Gale Hawthorne.” He shook their hands before turning to Finnick and Annie. “Did you tell them where we’re going?”

“No, but they’re coming with us whether they like it or not,” Madge declared, wrapping an arm around Gale’s waist.

++++++

On the way to their destination (in a limo!), the Mellarks met the rest of the band.

There was, of course, Finnick, who was the lead singer and Gale on drums. Cato was on bass and Thresh was on keyboard. They had all met in high school and formed the band after graduation, deciding to try and break into the music industry in oppose to attending college.

They were steadily gaining popularity, their latest single getting regular radio play.

“We’re heading to New York after this to speak with an actual record label,” Finnick told them, his arm around Annie. “Hopefully, it will all work out.”

“In the meantime, I’ve booked them some gigs to keep us living in the lap of luxury,” Annie added. “We’re here!”

Katniss looked out the window and her smoky eyes widened. “Holy shit.”

Thresh chuckled. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“The girls are here!” Cato added excitedly.

The Mellarks stepped out of the limo in a daze at the sight of the amusement park before them.

“Whoa, they really did help with the list,” Peeta said, putting an arm around his wife. “Ready to ride a coaster?”

They joined the group and were introduced to Clove, Cato’s wife, a petite woman with a messy bob who was obviously pregnant underneath her navy sheath dress. Then Thresh introduced his wife, Finch; a tall redhead with sharp eyes who looked very statuesque in her gold lamé dress.

“We’re all set,” Finch told them, walking them through the turnstiles to get into the park. The place had obviously been closed for hours, as the usual litter of parkgoers had been cleared. However, the place was still lit up.

“What’s going on?” Peeta asked as they stopped in front of a large water fountain. Across from it was a two-tier carousel.

“It was a sign of good luck that we met you two,” Annie told them brightly. “Because Finnick and I are getting married.”

Katniss beamed at the two. “When?”

A blond man rushed over, a piece of paper in his hands. “I had to print out my certification at one of the ticket booths. Are we ready?”

Finnick smiled at the couple. “I guess now.”

Madge quickly explained that the amusement park was where Finnick and Annie had their first date and that they kissed at this exact spot where they would also get married. Marvel, their last-minute guest, was Annie’s cousin and the officiant.

So, it came to be that in front of a beautiful lit carousel, Annie and Finnick married.

Peeta wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist as they watch Finnick sniffle through his vows.

“Feels like that was just us,” he said.

“You cried a lot more,” Katniss replied softly before turning her head to press a kiss to his lips. “Thank you for marrying me.”

“Thank you for giving me that little meatloaf at home,” Peeta said into her hair, watching as the couple exchanged rings. “You two are the best things in my life.”

“By the power vested in me and the hopefully legit internet site that ordained me, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Marvel announced. Everyone applauded, the guys letting out whoops of excitement. “Finnick, you may now kiss your bride—just not too much tongue, because she’s my cousin and that would be really gross to see.”

“Then avert your eyes,” Finnick told the man and Marvel chuckled before turning away.

Pulling Annie into his arms, the new husband dipped her down before planting a kiss to her lips, unaware of the cheers around them.

++++++

Johanna awoke to the doorbell ringing. She looked down, finding Rye still asleep, his mouth slightly open.

Sitting up carefully, Johanna readjusted so that the little one was in the crook of her arm before standing up and heading to the front door.

Maybe the couple had forgotten their keys?

The doorbell rang once more.

“Hold your horses,” she muttered before reaching to turn the knob and opening the door. Her mouth fell open at the person before her. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Can we talk?” Haymitch asked. “I mean, I came all the way here.”

“No one asked you to,” Johanna muttered, patting Rye’s back. “Plus, I’m obviously very busy.”

“I wanted to,” the man before her said. “And he looks like he’s out for the night.”

“Of course, he is. Rye has spent most of the night asleep on my chest,” she retorted.

“I can relate.” Johanna couldn’t help but chuckle at Haymitch’s words. “Can we please talk?”

“Fine. But if you wake him, you die.”

She widened the door.

++++++

The air was cool from their seats.

“Last thing checked off the list for ‘Katniss and Peeta’s Excellent No-Baby Adventure’,” Peeta said as they ascended in their coaster cart. The newly minted Odairs had the front cart but if they decided to go again, he insisted that they get the front.

“I’m really starting to have doubts about going on this roller coaster,” Katniss said, gripping the railing in front of them. “However, I think this has been a really cool night. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

“I promise there will be another adventure,” he told her.

Katniss leaned over to kiss her husband, no longer caring that they were at the crest of the roller coaster, ready to tip down into the unknown.

They were ready for whatever came next.

FIN.

I really wanted to have ‘Date Night’ vibes (you know the movie starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell) because I think that they had such great chemistry.

Music:

“My Humps” –The Black Eyed Peas

“Shower Me with Your Love”—Surface

All the popular girls in my high school used to do this hula dance to this song and I kind of imagine Annie being one of those girls doing that hula dance during a school talent show and Finnick just falling in love with her in a grass skirt. I thought that it would be cool if that was Finnick and Annie’s song since they’re from a coastal district.

Thanks for reading.

#Everlark #Everlark Fanfiction #Everlark Ficlet #marriedwithbaby!Everlark #Hayhanna #Gadge #Odesta #Cato and Clove #Thresh and Finch (Foxface)

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mega-aulover · 4 years ago

Note

That pod fic 11. and 14.! (I love that story)

Hatched

7. Where did the title come from? This one is going to be weird but you know in the original Jurassic Park movie when they talk about how reptiles/dinosaurs changed sex to literally procreate. 🙈This where the concept of the story came from. That and I’ve always, always, loved this idea of an Amazonian society drawn from Wonder Woman, yea I watched WW growing up as a kid.

That quote in Jurassic Park - Life Finds A Way was the driving force behind this fic.

I also like the idea of the battle of the sexes. I had watched a documentary on Billie Jean King. And blew that up. I pictured this world that existed in D13, where the men were somehow gone and these women had to cope without men. How do they have kids? When faced with only women how are their interpersonal relationships. The idea of hatching and in-vitro fertilization and how would that take place. An idea of people being hatched to be able to control the birth processed. So all of the upcoming generations were hatched except for a few who born the “archaic” way. A few whose mother’s bucked the system. Hatched was not only the way to have children but also the concept of how to get rid of them.

11.Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story? The relationships in this story were important. Because the construct of Family and Relationships has changed over the years and depends on the prevailing societal norm. Family and relationships are defined by what society believes. For example the idea of a child and childhood came about at turn of the 20th century. If you read how people in medieval times raised kids you’d be shocked.

I wanted to play with idea of what it meant (family, childhood, relationships, society) this in this story. To me, a family doesn’t necessarily need to have a parent and a child. It can be a group of people who will defend their subtext of what societal norms are in relation to relationships and regardless of share genetic traces.

At the time I was watching a lot of documentaries on caveman group structure and the formation of Neanderthal societies, as well as Homosapien societies. So when deciding to pair couples, it was based on what necessary to the person. For Katniss, it was her discovery of sexual desire for Peeta and to expand her point of view. I also drew on my conversations with one of my friends from college - she was studying to be a geneticist, at the time they were working on the Human Genome Project, and I was fascinated by how genetic pools developed as societies formed. We used to geek out about that.

I digress.

Imagine a Neanderthal meeting a Homosapien for the first time. That’s what I kinda pictured in my head when Katniss met Peeta. (Peeta being the Neanderthal lol because in Katniss’s mind Peeta was the inferior one) What would her reaction be like?

Every single preconceived idea that she had, about family, about men, and society, went out the window because Peeta didn’t fit the mold. The outside world was different from her upbringing from her pod. I just played with that. Played with that when Jo, Madge, and Delly showed up. I had a few people read it through though. To make sure what I had played in my head was making sense.

Jeeze I’m long-winded but there it is.

Now I have to put it up on AO# & FFN.

Had she asked me about the Sister Hood of the Traveling P* Plant I would have told you it was hormones. Plain and simple HORMONES! (I was very horney at the time)

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wylanvnneck · 4 years ago

Text

Age Rating: T for Troglodyte

Summary: Hunger Games modern day AU, Peeta is a policeman and Katniss just broke the law. Kinda. Whoops. 'Tis a oneshot.

(Also, mentions of nudity in relation to streaking, so if you’re not comfortable with that kinda stuff this isn’t the fic for you.)

On AO3 | Can you spot all the references?

--------------

It was all Johanna’s fault. Against Johanna Mason and alcohol, I never stood a chance.

‘District 12’ was a pretty popular nightclub, famous for its signature drink ‘The Nightlock’, so that’s where Johanna, Madge and I had decided to take Annie for her Bachelorette party, she’d just wanted a small get together with ‘The Girls’ so there we were.

The night began when we all met up at Annie’s apartment to get ready together and ‘pre-drink’, ‘cus there was no way in hell we could afford to buy that many drinks at such a fancy place. We dress up, do each other’s makeup, paint our nails, exchange gossip, tease Annie about her upcoming marriage and take lots and lots of shots in between.

By the time we head out to walk the few blocks to the nearby club we’re decked in the sexiest clothes we own, which for me equates to a little black dress with a lacy feather design on the back that Jo’d forced me to buy on a rare trip to H&M, which apparently made my bod look fab, her words not mine. Madge has gone crazy with the makeup on my face, with black wing tip eyeshadow to match the dress.

She herself is looking elegant as usual in her midnight blue catsuit and heels, while Jo is in a dangerous looking pair of black fishnet tights and a leather top that threatened to slip off and reveal its secrets at any minute. Annie is in her skirt and top, rocking a shiny pair of silver stilettos which for me would have spelt out ‘death trap’, but she pulls it off.

The club is loud and noisy, strobe lights switching colours every few moments, dizzying my senses. While I’m still recovering Jo’s grabbed us all by the hands and dragged us to the bar, even though we’re all pretty tipsy already. Looks like I’m getting smashed tonight, but hey, what better occasion to get drunk at than your best friend’s bachelorette party?

We order our drinks from the hot brown eyed bartender, who’s smoothly mixing beverages and flirting with us as he prepares our drinks, cocktails for Madge and Annie, a Nightlock for me and a Jack and Coke for Johanna.

Annie is blushing and I’m surprised that Annie even recognizes flirting at this point, she and her groom-to-be Finnick having been attached at the hip since freshman year in high school.

Madge is more receptive but we all know that she’s irrevocably devoted to my childhood best friend Gale and that she’d never go further than casual flirting. Johanna of course has no such qualms as she shamelessly responds, with me as an unwilling witness as she chats the guy up and I impatiently wait for my Nightlock.

It’s worth the wait though, the dusky blue liquid is enticing, drawing you in like a sweet poison. This was definitely worth the long queue at the entrance and the rather steep pricing.

Now that I’ve sufficiently imbibed in enough alcohol I’m feeling brave enough to hit the dance floor with my friends and Madge, Annie and I leave Johanna to her conquest and find our way to the middle of the room where the space is packed with sweaty, writhing bodies.

I’m not much of a dancer, but the Nightlock seems to have taken effect and I’m filled with a delightful buzzing sensation so I just give myself up to the music, following along to the seductive rhythm.

My surroundings blur, as people dance around us, couples play tonsil hockey, my friends and I do the macarena and bump hips and I barely notice when Jo returns after having secured brown eyes’ phone number and carrying a fresh supply of drinks.

I’m feeling adrenalized and the buzzing sensation increases with this next round and we’re laughing and panting and the music drowns out everything and the lights are shining and it’s the most exhilarated I’ve felt in a while, considering how run down I am each day after my college classes and part time job at the clinic.

For tonight, I’m just Katniss Everdeen, a free unrestrained rebel.

Hours pass and it’s 2.00 am and we’re staggering out the door, blurry-eyed and red faced. The deserted sidewalk is so pretty and black. The trees are so brilliantly green. Trees. Lights. Life.

I’m definitely hammered.

The rest of the girls don’t seem too sober either, but I’m the biggest lightweight out of all of us so it’s no surprise that I’m so far gone.

We’re giggling and talking and I hear Annie start up a game of Truth or Dare. It’s a teenager’s game but who cares and besides, it’s her night.

Madge starts us off. “Alright Bridesy, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Ok, what’s your least favorite thing about Finnick?”

She contemplates this for a while before replying, “I suppose he can be a little too proud of his looks,” she blushes.

The rest of us let out a collective snort. It’s certainly true that Finnick could be more than a little vain, but it was also true that being around Annie made him less so. Besides, when he wasn’t busy preening his blond hair in front of a mirror he was a pretty intelligent and loyal friend.

“I’ll say,” Jo smirks. “Now, ask me one, a Dare.”

Annie dares her to give a 3 minute lecture on safe sex, which ends up with us guffawing as Jo proceeds to explain the science of birth control pills and the mechanics of a condom in a posh British voice that sounds vaguely Australian.

When she’s done and we’ve finally recovered our breath she turns to me, “Alright brainless, Truth or Dare?”

Her black eyes are challenging me, and the alcohol makes me stupid.

“Dare.”

It’s a testament to how drunk I am that I don’t immediately panic at the devilish gleam in her eyes. We’ve made it about 2 blocks from the club and we’ve still got a few more to go to get back to Annie’s apartment where we’re all spending the night. The streets are mostly deserted but the occasional car cruises along.

“Alright Kitkat, here’s what you gotta do. I dare you to streak around this block.”

At first, my alcohol hazed brain doesn’t comprehend what she’s saying. And then it hits me. Annie and Madge are doubled over with laughter and cheering, the traitors.

My cheeks are red, “You want me to...to strip and run around this entire block?” I ask, just to make sure.

“Yup,” the she-devil responds. “Come on, Everdeen, live a little.”

Easy for her to say, she’d done this millions of times, the worst that had happened was that she’d gotten off with just a warning from a mall security officer that she’d managed to charm. I, on the other hand, have always been extremely private about my body, not that I thought there was anything wrong with it but I preferred not to flaunt it. The dress I was wearing tonight is the most daring clothing I own.

However, tonight, I’m feeling daring. Or stupid. Probably very stupid. But it’s 2.15 in the morning, the streets are practically deserted, no pedestrians are around to see me other than my friends. And after all tonight I had been letting go, throwing off my constraints. Besides, when I’m 80 these’ll be the stories I tell my grandkids, right?

Well if I’m drunk enough to think about being 80 and having grandkids, plural, I’m drunk enough to run around a block naked.

So I do it. I take a quick glance at our surroundings to make sure no one’s around before I reach down and peel off my dress, while my treacherous friends let out ridiculous wolf whistles. I hand the black garment to Madge along with my black boots. The chilly night air hits my body and goosebumps erupt on my skin, pale in the dimly lit street lights as I cover my chest with my arms. I feel the blood rushing to my face.

“Well?” Jo raises an eyebrow at me, as if to say go on then, do it .

I take a deep breath and break off into a run. I feel as swift as lightning. I’m unstoppable. I’m running around the streets of the city in my lacy underwear and no bra as my dress was backless. I’m practically as naked as the day I was born as I race along the sidewalk and I’m burning up and I feel like a girl on fire.

I quickly circle the short distance and I’m just about to make it back to where my friends are standing, howling with amusement at the sight of me. The end is in sight.

And that’s when I hear it. The sound of a car approaching. Oh hell.

The situation gets ten times worse when I catch sight of the vehicle that’s just turned into the street. It’s a police patrol car.

Oh, the universe was a cruel, cruel place.

* * *

There’s no place to run and no place to hide in the open street. There’s no escape for me, the lone policeman behind the wheel knows it and I know it. So, heart pounding and with a sinking feeling in my chest I simply walk the rest of the way to my now silent group of friends and stretch my hand out for my dress while he stops the car by the pavement and steps out of it to approach me.

I manage to slip on my dress before resignedly turning around to face him, and when I do I’m struck speechless. In front of me is the most handsome policeman I’ve ever seen. Scratch that, one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen.

Ordinarily I’d be disgusted at myself for internally drooling so much over a cute guy, but this isn’t ordinary Katniss. So I stare to my heart’s content. His eyes are the first thing I notice, a stark blue, standing out in the dark early morning light. His ashy blonde hair falls in waves over his forehead, and his skin is pale. He also looks pretty muscular, no doubt as a result of regular training. Shoot me now.

I’m so absorbed in staring at him that I almost don’t notice what he’s saying, “Excuse me ma’am, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you in for being drunk and disorderly.” He sounds almost apologetic, despite his formal tone and his cheeks are tinged slightly red but that’s probably nothing compared to the embarrassed blush on my face.

“Don’t worry Katniss, I’ll call Gale, he’ll know what to do,” I hear Madge squeak from the side while Officer Blue Eyes attaches a pair of cuffs on me.

I turn my head and give her a quick nod before I’m gently ushered into the backseat of the patrol car. The drive is silent and I’m almost completely sober now. No more liquid courage for me, and I’m left feeling disoriented and anxious, starting to panic a little as I resolutely look outside the window as we drive to the station, unseeing of my surroundings.

“So, wild night, huh?” His voice is a slightly husky one. I could listen to it all day. And night. All day and night. Maybe I’m still a little intoxicated.

I let out a dry laugh that sounds rather high pitched, “You could say that.”

“I remember what that was like, you know, back when I wasn’t a cop yet. Highschool seems like a million years ago” He has an easy smile on his face that I can see from the rearview mirror.

“Doesn’t it. Although, I’ve never really been a huge party person. Tonight was an exception.” I wish I could cover my face with my cuffed hands.

I see him look at me through the mirror, blue eyes filled with sympathy. “Whoops, looks like it just wasn’t your night then.”

We’ve pulled up to the Police Station and he’s reversing the car into a parking spot around the back. “I guess not,’ I agree with a wry half-smile on my face.

I’m escorted into the building and it’s practically deserted, the sound of the ceiling fans working filling up the silence as two officers sit hunched around a desk examining a computer screen while sipping on what looks to be mugs of coffee.

Caffeine. I’m jealous.

Officer Blue Eyes exchanges a quick word with one of them and she simply waves back with her hand. He takes me to the back of the room through a short passage that leads to a holding cell, a small square room with barred walls through which I can peek at the corridor that leads to the main office we just walked through. There's a small bench attached to the wall, with a rolled up mat and a pillow on it where he indicates for me to sit. My hands are released from the cuffs and I rub at my wrists.

We haven’t spoken since we got out of the car, but now he says, “Alright then...ma’am, I’m gonna need to ask you some questions.”

“Hit me with it.” I slump against the wall. Might as well get comfy, this was gonna be a long night.

“Ok, well first off what’s your name?”

“Katniss Everdeen.”

“Age?”

“22”

“Are you in college?”

“Yep. But I don’t live within campus grounds.” I give him my address as well.

“Any part time jobs?”

“I’m a part time assistant at Paw Prints Veterinary Clinic.”

‘’Ok great, thank you,” he’s been writing my replies down on a plain spiral notepad. “Give me a minute, I’ll be right back.”

He turns and walks away and as he does a question pops, unbidden, out of my mouth, “Wait. What’s your name?” I’d been trying to read his name tag since we reached the cell but I couldn’t seem to make it out.

“Peeta. Peeta Mellark.” His smile is breathtaking.

I scrunch my eyes closed and let out a soft groan the moment he’s out of sight. Stupid, stupid Katniss. Why didn’t I just say no to that idiotic dare? Why did I drink so much? Why were cops allowed to be hot?

What was wrong with me?

My eyes are still closed and I’m leaning against the cell wall, contemplating my life decisions that had brought me to this moment, when I hear footsteps approaching.

Peeta was back and he was carrying what looked to be a steaming paper cup and a brown paper bag.

“Here, this should help with a hangover,” he hands me the cup through the bars. It’s steaming hot coffee and the aroma reminds me of Heaven.

I’m ravenous and thirsty and I gulp the brown liquid down, relishing the invigorating feeling despite the fact that I’ve almost certainly burnt my tongue.

When I look up again he’s leaning against the bars, watching me with those intense baby blue eyes. I would feel abashed by how impatiently I drank my coffee but I seemed to have reached my quota of embarrassment for the day. Probably even my quota for the year, forget a day.

“So Katniss, what’s gonna happen now is that you’ll be held here overnight until you’re sober and discharged tomorrow morning, most probably you’ll just be given an official warning as this looks to be your first offense.” His tone is calming and helps to slow my racing heartbeat. He’s still clutching that brown paper bag in his hand.

I nod slowly in response. That wasn’t too bad. I could live with just a few more hours in this claustrophobic space.

He hands me the bag. “Here, in case you’re hungry.”

I look at the bag and there seems to be something soft and circular inside. I think of that old cop cliché and I’m almost certain it’s a doughnut. Instead, it’s a soft looking bun and as I’m opening up the bag further the smell of...cheese? Reaches my nose. My stomach gives a low rumble. I really hope it wasn’t audible.

“It’s a uh...a cheese bun. I make them myself,” his voice sounds a little shy and my heart gives a lurch. Who was this man and why had I been deemed worthy of meeting him? Granted, not in the most ideal circumstances, but still.

“You bake?” The question comes out sounding almost accusatory. “I mean, you- you have the time to bake, you know, being a policeman?” and do it really well, judging from the scents wafting my way.

“My dad actually owns a bakery so he lets me come in after hours and do some baking. It’s surprisingly therapeutic after a hard day at work,” his lips quirk upwards on the left side.

“Wow. That’s...wow. The best that I can cook is a pretty mean mac and cheese,” I confess.

He lets out a soft laugh, “Well, that’s a very useful dish. You can go ahead and eat you know, don’t mind me.”

So I do. It’s delicious. The first bite melts me. It’s soft and salty and creamy and absolutely delectable. I involuntarily let out a long, low moan.

He’s looking at me with that quirked mouth and it almost looks like he’s smirking. “That good, huh?”

“Mhngmm” I garble out. I sound like a chipmunk with food in its mouth but I couldn’t care less.

I force myself to pace my eating this time and manage to intelligibly speak. “So you’re a policeman and a full time baker. Any other super powers?”

“Ah, no. I’m afraid not. Being a policeman doesn’t offer much downtime. I love it though, it’s a pretty fulfilling job.”

But perhaps enough downtime for a girlfriend? I’m tempted to ask, which is ridiculous. It’s none of my business if he's dating anyone. I’m just the drunken girl he’s arrested and taken pity on, enough pity to keep me company for the moment and even share the best baked treat I’ve had in my life with me.

But who cared what motivated him as long as he was here, right? So we talk and we talk and we talk, exchanging questions then jokes then stories. I tell him about my college classes and Environmental Science course and my part time job at the vet.

I tell him about the little girl with plaited blond hair who’d recently brought in an ill-tempered stray cat named Buttercup who for some reason had instantly hated me and proceeded to scratch me a grand total of 18 times.

He laughs and tells me about his little brother Rye and his first time making bread on his own, which ended up in a charred block of dough. He tells me about a recent case of his where this woman named Effie had sent threatening letters to the wrong lady, a distinguished corporate lawyer, rather than the Starbucks cashier that was actually her husband’s mistress and the hilarity that ensued after she found out.

The conversation is so easy and I’m enamoured by this man and the last thought to enter my head before he eventually gets called away and has to leave and I finally succumb to my alcohol induced mini-coma is of a pair of striking blue eyes.

* * *

A few hours later I wake up to the sunlight streaming through the bars of my cell. I’m groggy and my mouth is dry. My hair feels matted with sweat and the dark strands are probably still forming the remnants of a long gone fancy braid. My lacy black dress is wrinkled beyond saving.

“Morning!” Says a male voice that is entirely too chipper.

I blink a few times before I can finally focus on Peeta who’s standing in the now open doorway of my cell.

“Morning…” I reply, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

“So, you’re in luck Miss Everdeen, someone’s already come to take you home.”

“Katniss. You can call me Katniss.” I pause. “Wait, someone’s here for me? Must be Gale.”

“That’s the one...a Gale Hawthorne?”

“Oh thank god he’s here. I did not relish having to stay here any longer than I needed to.”

Peeta’s face looks more guarded than it had last night. Or rather, earlier this morning.

‘Yes, well, he’s here, so we can process you out.”

“Great.”

I’m taken to a desk at the front of the office where a middle-aged officer with lengthy dirty blonde hair sits behind the counter, looking bored with the world. He eyes me uninterestedly and as Peeta and I get closer I see that his name tag reads ‘Officer Abernathy’.

Officer Abernathy sluggishly carries out all the formalities and issues me an official warning. There's nothing for me to collect as the only thing I had with me when I was arrested were my clothes. It’d be a long time before I decided to take those off anywhere that wasn’t in the privacy of my apartment.

Peeta accompanies me to the entrance, he is strangely silent but he looks like he is thinking a million thoughts.

I can spot Gale’s Volvo in the parking lot from here, and I can see him walking up to the station entrance to come and get me.

“So, that’s your boyfriend I’m assuming?” Peeta finally speaks as we stand in the doorway waiting for him.

The idea shocks me, although it makes sense that he’d come to that conclusion. Madge used to think that Gale and I were an item too, but he’s always been more like my protective older brother rather than a lover.

“What? Gale? Ew no, that’d be like incest, it’d be almost illegal.”

He raises a lone eyebrow at me, smiling.

Right. I hadn’t exactly shown the greatest sense of distinguishment between what was legal and what was not. I blush in his presence yet again.

Gale comes up to us and his brown eyes are twinkling. “Well, Catnip, I gotta say, when Madge called and said one of you had gotten arrested I thought for sure it’d be Johanna. Guess I was wrong.”

I narrow my eyes at him, “Yes, well, Johanna’s got a worse punishment than getting arrested coming her way when I get my hands on her." I remember the officer standing next to me. “In the most innocent way of course.”

The quirked lip is back. I swear, for me, it was a weapon more lethal than the gun he carries in his holster. I blame that thought on the headache that I am currently dealing with.

‘Right..so uh, I guess this is it.” There’s a sinking feeling in my gut. I would probably never see Peeta Mellark ever again. Unless I decided to get arrested in this area again and hope to spend an hour or two in his company. The idea had merit. But no, I was already on my first official warning and I probably shouldn’t push the legal system.

I stick out my hand to him. He takes it and shakes it gently, his eyes seem to see inside me as they meet mine.

Almost reluctantly I turn away and start following Gale to his car.

“Hey, Katniss.” That husky voice suddenly calls out from behind me. “I’ll be picking you up at 8.00 tomorrow, just so you know. It’s a date."

I whirl around. He’s grinning and he’s got an annoyingly attractive cocky look on his face.

“Oh really? And how would you know where to pick me up from?”

He brings out his spiral bound notepad from his uniform pocket. “In here, remember?”

I flush yet again and this time I know that it’s definitely not the last time I’d be doing it in front of him. Oh no. If I had my way, this sweet, funny, intelligent and handsome officer and baker would be seeing that blush on my face for years to come.

“On one condition. There have to be cheese buns.”

“You got it,” he salutes me, beaming.

I’m walking on sunshine as I quicken my stride to catch up with Gale who’s already started up the car and as I do I hear a voice that sounds suspiciously like Officer Abernathy’s yelling from the station, “Good on you, sonny boy, you don’t see a girl like that everyday.”

* * *

A couple years later and I’m in a lacy dress once more, white this time, with the added accessory of a bouquet of Primroses. Next to me stands the man who arrested me all those years ago and won me over with a combination of his personality and his insanely good cheese buns. I like to tell him that it’s the buns that were really the deciding factor for me, but we both know that’s a lie.

He leans down and presses his lips to my ear as the photographer stops to reposition his camera.

“You know Katniss, you should have just walked up that aisle in your underwear, it’s my favourite look of yours.”

I glare at him. At least, I try to, but it’s hard with those blue eyes looking back at me.

“Keep up the jokes, mister, and you might not see that look again for a while,” I threaten him.

The smug look on his face is immediately wiped off.

* * *

I’m not yet 80, just a couple more years to go, but as I look at that familiar pair of periwinkle eyes gazing back at me with love in them, I feel like a young woman again. I turn back to the tiny toddlers playing on the ground in front of me.

Someday I’ll tell them, I’ll tell them the story of how their grandparents met. I’d tell them how Peeta likes to say that the only moral of the story is that you shouldn’t break the law, but I’d say that it was really that you probably shouldn’t play such a high stakes game of Truth or Dare, or simply ‘don’t accept stupid dares.’

And yet, when I look at where it got me, I suppose I should also say that there are certainly much worse games to play.

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thehopefuldandelion · 5 years ago

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Birds, Dreams, and other Happy Things

A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first fic EVER( I’ve read a ton but have never written one). I have been really loving the song Dream a Little Dream of Me specifically by Doris Day and I wanted to create a little fic about it. All grammar mistakes and errors are mine. :)

One shot, everlark...

And I do not own the hunger games...

FanFiction.net :

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13456901/1/

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“You ready Katniss?” my roommate and singing partner, Johanna, asks me.

“I guess,” I reply, “what if they hate the song?”

“They won’t, otherwise I’ll beat them to bits.” That’s Johanna for you. Always telling me the God honest truth. Ever since I started working at this crusty, dilapidated bar a couple years ago, my life has changed. For the better, I guess. Life as an Everdeen has never been easy. Low paying jobs and Ramen have become the highlights of my shitty existence ever since my father died, leaving my mother to check out. My sister, Primrose, has had the happy childhood I never knew because of my efforts. At 16, I became a parent to her after my mother abandoned us, taking my dad’s life insurance money with her. Hell, I don’t know where she is but I hope I never see her greedy face again. Regardless, bills still have to be payed including Prim’s pricey college tuition. My rent is already 2 days late and I can’t afford-

“Katniss,” someone calls in a gruff voice waking me out of my trance. I recognize it immediately as the bar owner, Haymitch Abernathy’s, voice. "You're on in 2.”

I reply with a simple,

“Thanks Haymitch.”

Here goes nothing.

------------------------------------------------------------

“Peet, pleaseeeeeeee. I really need a wingman tonight. You are the best man for the job,” I can almost hear the pout in my best friend Finnick’s voice over the phone as he says this.

“Finnick, you know I can’t. I have an important meeting tomorrow I need to be well rested for. This is my final opportunity to expand the bakery throughout the country,” I tell him in reply.

I've known Finnick since we were in diapers, running around, eating baby food. He’s always been a great friend, especially in college, but can be a real douche when it comes to any and all responsibilities.

“I’ll have you home by 1 at the latest. C’mon Peeta. You need the distraction after Delly-”

“DONT TALK ABOUT HER,” I cut him off and then take a deep breath, “Ok, I'm sorry I yelled but you know it's still a sensitive topic for me.”

He’s not wrong about me needing a distraction. I had just walked into our apartment, excited to tell Delly the news about the bakery, when I see her butt naked on another man. His name was Thom or something like that. What an asshole.

“Fine,” I grumble, "I'll come BUT only if I get to leave when I want.”

“YESSSSSSSSSS!” Finnick squeals like a schoolgirl causing me to roll my eyes. And that’s that.

——————————————————————————

I place a kiss on my father’s picture with my index and middle fingers, a ritual I do before every performance no matter where it is. James Everdeen was a man with both spunk and spirit and sang with the most beautiful voice. If you listened closely enough, you could hear the silence of the birds as if to hear his melodious singing. It wasn't the same since after he died and I am still grieving his death. My mind strays to the thought of Prim hearing me sing tonight. Her college is out of state preventing us to see each other more than 4 times a year. I cherish every second of her company when she visits.

As I step onto the worn stage and in front of the 1950’s style microphone, I remember how exhilarated I become whenever that spotlight focuses on me. On my left are the backup singers, Johanna and Annie, while on my right I can hear Thresh drop a beat as Gale plays the keyboard. My body and voice are one as the words seem to flow out of my mouth in tandem with the moving of my body. “This is for you dad,” I think to myself.

------------------------------------------------------------

The bar Finnick drags me to is called Abernathy’s, a small but welcoming place, near his apartment. Once inside, we both grab drinks and head over to a rectangular table. I notice Finnick winking at a stereotypical busty blond with fake eyelashes and large boobs. I roll my eyes exaggeratingly while I turn my attention to the stage (more of an elevated platform only 2 or 3 feet off the ground) as someone announces the next singer. I don’t catch her name because of Finnick’s obnoxious flirting.

The girl, no, woman who walks out takes my breath away. From her toned, olive legs to her enticing grey eyes and dark hair, she is the most beautiful human being I've ever laid eyes on. The moment she opens her mouth I am captivated by her melodic voice. It is both sultry and sweet with a touch of harmony. I’m hooked like a fish on a line. It’s official, I’m a goner and I don’t even know her name.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper I love you

Birds singing in the sycamore trees

Dream a little dream of me

As my eyes wander over the surprisingly filled bar, I notice a pair of crystal blue orbs that seem to stand out from the rest of the crowd. His orbs are locked onto mine in a comfortable gaze. Who is this man? Why is he here? And why, oh why, do I want to sing this song for him?

------------------------------------------------------------

Say night-ie night and kiss me

Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me

When I'm alone as blue as can be

Dream a little dream of me

The attraction between the singer and I is heated and I can't seem to tear my eyes away from hers. It seems as if time has stopped and it’s just the two of us. She seems to be singing the song directly at me until she continues searching the large crowd. Who is this woman who has captured my heart in a matter of minutes?

------------------------------------------------------------

Stars fading but I linger on dear

Just craving your kiss

I’m longing to linger till dawn dear

Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams to leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me

I tear my eyes away from his muscular body and slightly curled blond hair and focus on finding my sister in the crowd. Her small, slender frame and long blonde hair aren't hard to miss so I spot her right as the musical interlude ends. She gives me a smile filled with an emotion that reminds me of the day she convinced me to sing again. It was a deathly cold winter morning only a couple days after my father’s accident. I shut out the world and anything that made me feel happy including singing. I felt guilty, like I shouldn't sing because my dad is dead and I'm dishonoring him. Prim, darling, Prim dragged me out of bed, made me eat a hearty breakfast, and said she had signed me up for the Christmas caroling competition in town. No matter how much I bitched she would not have it. I did sing and I realized that my dad is still with me, both in my heart and voice. Humming and singing around the apartment has become a habit of mine ever since. Hey, singing pays the bills so how can I complain?

------------------------------------------------------------

Stars fading but I linger on dear

Just craving your kiss

I’m longing to linger till dawn dear

Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams to leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me

Dream a little dream.... of me

When the song concludes, the singer turns her back to the audience and says goodnight seductively over her shoulder causing me to drool. I must have really zoned out with thoughts of her because Finnick shakes my shoulder several times before I respond.

“You ok, dude?” he asks concerned, “What were you thinking about?”

I nod my head, anxious to go talk to the dark-haired goddess who just walked out of her dressing room. I jump out of my seat, startling people around me and walk (ok, run) towards my future.

------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as I sing the last note, a wave of contentment envelops me like a blanket. This is where I belong, on a stage, honoring my father through song.

Annie drags me off stage and leaves to get drinks for all of us. Thresh, the gentle giant he is, just pats my back and smiles. He has never been much of a talker but I appreciate his calming demeanor when I have a shitty day. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder and see a familiar face, Gale. My best friend since we could hunt. Gale has been Prim and my life support for since my father died and would lug me out of bed on days my depression got the best of me. I can’t imagine life without his ugly face.

“Great job out there Catnip. You always do great,” he tells me.

I scrunch my nose in response to the nickname he gave me when I was 11.

“Not too bad yourself. Is Madge here or...?”

“No, she’s complaining that everyone would laugh at her swollen feet.” He then looks at me with a humorous glint in his eye and says, “Pregnant women. Am I right?”

Madge and Gale have been dating since high school and are now married with a baby on the way. I often find myself daydreaming about having what they have but I snap out of it. The chances of me having someone who cares for me and would want a family with me are slim. Some would say I’m picky but its more that I’m cautious. I saw what happened to my mother after my dad died. Love destroyed her in the end and I don't know if I could live like that.

“I wouldn’t know,” I huff, “I will be in my dressing room”.

——————————————————————————

I bump into Johanna on my way back to the dressing room. She notices the scowl on my face.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” she asks mockingly.

“It’s none of your concern, Johanna.” How am I supposed to explain to someone that what I want most of all, I can and will never have.

A couple minutes later, after I’ve changed into more comfortable clothing, I hear a knock on the door.

Johanna, in a screeching voice, says, “Brainless, you better get out here. Haymitch wants you to mingle with people.”

I gag. I don’t “mingle”. I avoid people at all cost. My sister is out there waiting for me, though, so I grudgingly walk into the main bar area.

------------------------------------------------------------

There she is. The closer I get, the faster my heart starts beating. She’s even more beautiful up close than I could see from afar. The singer is wearing skinny jeans (which make her ass look divine), a flowy green blouse with a hint of cleavage, and not a trace of makeup can be found. Her hair is in an intricate but effortlessly messy braid. My fingers itched to unbraid it and run my hands through her luscious long locks.

The woman is hugging a shorter blond headed girl who I assume is a friend or, possibly, sister. This intense urge to grab her by the waist and kiss her senseless bubbles up within me. I push it back down knowing I need to be of sound mind when I confront her.

As I get closer, the blond girl says something about a cat to which the singer responds with a scowl. I’m about to tap her on the shoulder when a drunken man, about a head taller than me, with bleached hair steps in front of me and asks if the singer wants a drink. She tries to refuse but he doesn’t take no for an answer. On an impulse, I go up to her which shocks the man.

“Hey honey,” I say while putting an arm around her waist and kissing the side of her head, “I’m sorry, I had to go to the bathroom.”

My mind gets lost in her forest scented shampoo. She smells like evergreen trees during Christmas and her sweet perfume mixes nicely with the smell.

The beautiful singer looks at me with wide eyes and a shocking expression on her face.Just when I thought this was a stupid idea, she continues the act by saying, “It’s ok, dear.” She then takes it a step further by laying her head on my chest as well as most of her body weight.

The douchebag looks pissed, mumbles “whatever”, and walks away.

“Thanks for that...” She says and inquires for my name.

------------------------------------------------------------

“Peeta,” he responds with a crooked smile, “Peeta Mellark.”

My first reaction to Peeta saving the day was to yell at him but as I smelled his scent, cinnamon and spices, I decided to play along.

He sticks out his hand for me to shake.

“Katniss, Katniss Everdeen,” I tell him. When I shake his hand, I feel goosebumps rise on my skin and an electrical shock go through my arm. I pull my hand away and look at his face. It’s obvious Peeta felt it too.

“Hey, could I maybe buy you a drink?” Peeta questions me nervously.

“That would be nice,” I say in reply excited to see where this night may go.

Peeta and I end up talking the whole night through. He tells me that he grew up in his parent's bakery and wants to open a new one in New York. His 2 older brothers, Rye and Bran, were troublemakers until they settled down. As the night continues, we seem to drift from surface level topics and dive into the darkest parts of our pasts. When I learn about his abusive childhood from his mother, I start bawling caused by the 1 too many beers I’ve had. I recount stories from Prim and I’s childhoods and my job here at Abernathy’s. When my parents were brought up, I was reluctant to tell this handsome man about my dad but as soon a s I do, I'm comforted in a way I have never felt before. Haymitch eventually yells at us to get out of the bar and I leave with a content smile on my face.

While I’m walking to the taxi, too intoxicated to drive, Peeta calls my name.

“Katniss, can I have your number? So, we can... you know... talk... and... stuff?”

As I turn around, his floppy blond curls are bouncing while he runs towards me. I giggle at his hesitant tone. We exchange numbers and I give him a kiss on the cheek which puts a pink blush on his face.

------------------------------------------------------------

Katniss and I went on our first date about 2 months later. A simple romantic picnic in the park while watching the sunset.

“Beautiful,” I said but not at the sunset.

Without warning, she straddles my lap and gives me the shortest kiss making my body ache for more. From then on, we were inseparable. I love her and I want the whole world to know but I am not sure how to tell her.

------------------------------------------------------------

I have fallen hopelessly and incandescently in love with Peeta Mellark. He’s been there through every painful period, strenuous performance, and temper tantrum. Without him, I’m lost; But how do you tell someone you love them when you have never been in love before?

-----------------------------------------------------------

I hear the apartment door open and shut. Small, olive arms wrap around my waist. Katniss deeply sighs against my back.

“Long day?” I ask.

“Yeah. I missed you,” she tells me in return.

I turn in her arms so I can face her and kiss the top of her head. Those beautiful silver orbs lock onto mine. A stray hair falls out of her braid, which I push behind her ear in a loving gesture. She rises on her tiptoes and brushes her lips against mine. Katniss sighs into my mouth as we tangle our tongues together.

I can feel her tug on the hem of my gray Henley shirt which causes me to say sarcastically, "I didn’t cook us dinner just so it could burn.”

Katniss gives off a hearty laugh and I fall in love with her even more. It seems just yesterday I was listening to her sing and admiring her beauty and now I get to call her my girlfriend. We both serve our plates and talk as we enjoy a relaxing evening at home.

------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, I wake up and see a handsome, naked Peeta beside me. The sunlight flooding in from the open window hits his golden curls in a way that makes it look like he is wearing a halo. His muscular arms are wrapped around my slender waist and I lean my head back against his chest. This is what I have always dreamed of but never had.

I give Peeta a languid kiss and his eyelids slowly open revealing those crystal blue eyes I’ve come to love.

“If that’s my wakeup call every morning, I’m never leaving this bed,” he says in a low voice.

“Peeta, I love you.”

I said it. That confession is finally out in the open. I close my eyes, scared of his response.

He puts a finger under my chin, causing my eyes to open.

“Katniss, my love, I love you as well,” he says with a crooked smile.

In that moment, I realize that Peeta is home. And as long as I'm with him, I will never feel lost.

We spend the rest of the day in bed, repeating our confessions of love, and kissing to our heart’s content.

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A/N: Ahhhhhh that’s it! I hope you liked it. Anyway uhhhhhhh ill check in with you all later. Bye ;)

#Hunger Games #fanfic #birds dreams and other happy things #singing #love #everlark

25 notes · View notes

alliswell21 · 5 years ago

Text

Password

A fic for @historywriter2007, @lovely-tothe-bone, @mega-aulover and @arbyeatscheesebuns from a Prompt about a professor on tinder... hope this one is to your liking!

————————

I come into my bedroom to find Johanna lounging on my bed, messing with my cellphone, like she owns the place.

“What are you doing?” I demand feeling all my nerve ends spike in warning.

“Nothing,” She drawls nonchalantly, looking up from my phone with those brown, wide set eyes of hers, too innocently to be true.

“What are you doing with my phone? And how the hell did you figure out my password?” I grunt.

Johanna flips the phone next to her on the mattress, stretching like a cat, and then sits up taking her sweet time.

“You know, Brainless, if you use the same password for everything, from your bank account, to your Facebook, and also your email, and the password is just your sister’s birth date and initials everytime, you deserve to get hacked.” She scoots off the bed lazily, “I’m done anyways. I took the liberty to check on your tinder for you. You’re welcome!” She smiles devilishly, sauntering out of the bedroom.

“Tinder?” I ask in confusion, diving for my phone to check it myself, because I’ve never signed up for a Tinder account. That’s just… not me!

A couple of swipes, and sure enough, there’s an icon for an app I would never download myself.

“How the…?! Fudge! Now I really need to change all my passwords! Lousy Johanna!” I mutter angrily under my breath.

“Jo! What did you do?” I run after her waving my phone. “Why did you signed me up for a tinder account?”

She rolls her eyes while raspberrying obnoxiously. “Katniss, we had this discussion Saturday, after Madge’s party. I said you needed to get laid before your lady parts became dusty, and you said it was cool when I suggested tinder.”

“I was drunk!” I screech.

“No you weren’t! You only had two beers.”

“Plus all the shots of tequila you practically force fed me!” I groan. “Johanna, I don’t want a tinder!”

“Kitty cat, it’s done. Plus there are some hotties there I already took the liberty to swipe right for you. Now you’ll be on their feeds and if the swipe right too when they see your profile picture, then you’ll be matched and you’ll be on your way to orgasmic bliss!”

I scrub my face with both hands, questioning my life choices, especially the one where I actually begged Johanna Mason to move in after my last roommate left the apartment.

Finally I say with resolve, “I’m deleting the account. I don’t want it and definitely don’t need it!”

“After all the time I devoted to create the perfect profile that made you look like a total bombshell?!” She’s glaring at me. “Do you know how many guys are showing in your feed? That means they’re interested in you, Brainless! Give it a try and live a little for once! YOLO and all that jazz, you’re no spring chicken anymore, you know.”

“Can it, Jo! I don’t have time for this!” I say hunching all over, “Thank you for the effort, but... this isn’t for me, Jo.” I say a little defeated.

“You’ll be fine, brainless, stop being so dramatic.” Johanna sighs behind me before I shut myself into my room.

My love life is nonexistent, just as I want it to be… at least while I’m sober it seems.

I flop on the bed, cell phone in hand, ready to delete the tinder app when I see there’s a message. Out of curiosity, I tap the icon and almost flat line at the name displayed in the header.

I scream. Loudly. I scream Johanna’s name like is a cuss word and stomp menacingly down the hall to scream at her some more, but I’m freaking out with anxiety to the point that my anger gets buried under other unpleasant emotions that make my stomach roil.

“What’s wrong?!” My roommate asks jumping off the couch, her eyes wide with concern. “Did something happened?”

I start stuttering and flailing my arms like a person drowning in the middle of the sea; it takes a shake from Jo to finally sputter, “My teacher!” I stare at Johanna with wild eyes and finally feel the anger return. “You matched me with my freaking Teacher!”

It feels good to lash out in complete control of my feelings.

“I did not!” Johanna shoves me away rolling her eyes and going back to plant her butt in front of the TV. “I wouldn’t have match you with some old fart looking for young tail on tinder.” She says dismissively. “I have my limits.”

I groan in aggravation. “He’s not an old fart. He’s only a few years older than me. He teaches my stupid Social Scienses class... the one I told you about.”

Johanna’s interest piqued, “Go on…” she prompts.

I sink into the couch next to her, afraid of my phone.

Getting my college education has been my very own personal Odyssey. What should have taken a normal student four years, has taken me seven, since at first I had to work full time to help my mother support our little family, while my younger sister finished high school. I would’ve kept supporting us if my sister hadn’t insisted I got into higher education as well; so at the age of twenty six and a half, a diploma is within my grasp. I don’t mind doing grunt work, but my sister was right to push me for more. I’m ready to move on to a higher bracket in the salary ladder, and to do that, I’m required a college degree.

I neglected the needed Social Science credits for my degree until this year. I had to scramble to get all my credits for graduation, and I needed a Social Science class to round up the requirements.

I decided to go with American Ethnich Studies because the odds were in my favor, since it’s a very sought after course and a spot magically opened while I was picking my schedule and was able to snatch it up. The class is not really an elective, but it fills pretty quickly, and for good reason: the curriculum is fresh, the material is interesting, the level of compelling information is outstanding, and I also rationalize that since my late dad was from Native American descent, it would be a great opportunity to acquire academic knowledge of my heritage and all the other cultures that make America a rich tapestry that go beyond race, gender and tradition.

But the man teaching the class is a whole other compelling reason on its own… not that I was aware of that tiny detail until I set foot in the classroom.

“So, are you gonna show me this professor that’s got your panties all twisted and damped?” Jo challenges.

I only glare at her for a second, before slumping my shoulders. “He messaged me.”

“What did he say?” Johanna is now on her knees on the couch, facing me, the mischief glinting in her eyes annoys me to no end.

“I haven’t read it yet…” I sigh staring at my phone like it’s a poisonous snake.

“Why not?” Jo demands.

“Because it’s my freaking teacher, Johanna!” I say at the edge of a panic attack.

American Ethnic Studies is the class I’ve done worse in my whole schooling career. I blame it all solely on the professor, Mr. Mellark, who’s name is flashing on my screen.

I don’t mean Mr. Mellark is a bad or even mediocre teacher; on the contrary, he is in fact very knowledgeable, kind, open, friendly and approachable. But the man is ridiculously handsome; his voice is deep and smooth like warm dark melted chocolate, his eyes are as blue and deep as a summer sky under an unruly mop of ashy blonde waves, and his smile nearly made my heart stop the first time I saw it aimed at me. Then is the rest of his body: ass round and firm scrumptiously encased in pressed slacks, and shoulders so broad I wonder how can he find the right size shirts to cover them?

In other words, professor Mellark is what I believe a modern Greek god would look like nowadays, which brings me back to my original statement, I never took into account how the looks of a man could affect my concentration in class, resulting in the awful marks I’ve been getting in the course all year.

Johanna snatches my phone from my fingers, and I scramble after her to retrieve it.

“Johanna!”

“Hush, Brainless!”

She sticks out her hand to stop me from grabbing back my phone. I see with horror she’s already unlocked the screen.

“Give it back!” I demand stretching beyond Johanna’s shoulder and finally wrapping my hand around my device. “Don’t read my message! It’s private!” I snap.

“Oh please! I already told you, nothing is private until you change passwords. Now… read the thing! Stop being a coward!”

I glare at Jo for a second, but ultimately turn my eyes to the small bubble with a great deal of anxiety, because now there’s not just one, but two messages from Professor Mellark waiting for me. I steel myself and finally let the words take meaning as I read.

Peeta Mellark: Hey Katniss, I saw you in my feed and grappled with the questionable propriety of my choices: a) acknowledge you, saying hello since we got matched and passing for creepy; or b) ignoring you by swiping left and passing for rude.

I guess I managed to answer that question already.

Peeta Mellark: I’ll take this slightly awkward opportunity to tell you your final grade: B

I say the words in a monotone, not really knowing how to feel. I want to laugh and bawl at the same time. This man is so witty even in writing.

“Well? Are you going to answer or what?” Johanna presses bluntly, practically breathing down my nape.

I push her away a fraction, and mutter, “Shut up, Jo. I’m thinking!”

“You gotta answer! Stop thinking!”

“What am I supposed to say back?” I ask her harshly.

“Tell him you can handle the D if he swaps that B for an A!” Johanna wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, as if I would ever say something as crass or forward.

“Are you crazy?! I can tell my teacher that!” I balk.

“You gotta say something!”

“I know!” I sigh and start typing, carefully choosing my words.

Katniss Everdeen: Hello, Mr. Mellark. I would have never thought you rude for swiping left. I completely understand. Believe me, tinder wasn’t my idea, but my best friend decided I needed to socialize more… so… here we are...

I cringe.

Katniss Everdeen: Thanks for the grades. I’m relieved to know I’ve passed the class, it means I’m officially a graduate! No longer a student!

For the first time I let the news sink in and bask in the knowledge that I am graduating and can’t help but smile and say a tiny “Yay, Me!” Under my breath at the same time I’m pumping the air with my fist.

Johanna shoves me aside to read what I wrote, and then makes a disgruntled noise. “I thought something sexy was finally said when you reacted so excited.”

I’m about to tell her that getting my diploma is exciting but a chime goes off, announcing another message.

We both peer down at the phone and I gasp. Mr. Mellark has responded, and there’s a smiley face and a question; Johanna is yakking about none stop next to me, trying to tell me what to say or how to phrase it, but I’m speechless and elated because the few lines my ex-professor has written are so unexpected but so welcome, is not even funny.

Peeta Mellark: Congratulations! I knew you could do it!

Peeta Mellark: By the way, call me Peeta, I’m not your professor anymore, and given the circumstances, I believe is kosher to be informal… friendlier.

Peeta Mellark: Also, I was wondering, since we got matched up and everything, would you like to have a cup of coffee or tea with me… since you're officially not my student anymore?

My fingers fly over the screen typing my answer in a flash. I don’t even have to think what I want to say.

Katniss Everdeen: Make it a cup of hot chocolate, and you have a date… Peeta.

His answer is practically immediate.

Peeta Mellark: It's a date then! Meet me tomorrow at my brother’s bakery? Corner of Twelve and Capitol? They have the best cheese buns to pair with that hot chocolate… and I’ll get the privilege to show you off as my date. My brother set me up on tinder too.

I’m not sure if the smile I’m wearing is for what I’m reading, or because I’m now free to fantasize about my teacher, but when I see the rest of his reply, I know this would’ve happened anyway some way or another...

Peeta Mellark: Full disclosure at the risk of still sounding creepy, but I think it was lucky our profiles got matched together. It gave me the chance to ask you out, and I sorely wanted to approach you, but didn’t know how. This is the perfect excuse. Thank you for swiping right.

“See, Brainless?! You’re welcome!” Says Johanna breaking the nice little bubble I was in.

I roll my eyes not even trying to stop my smile, “Fine, Johanna, thank you for swiping right… now get out of my phone, and don’t even try to crack the new password! Also, I’m definitely deleting Tinder!”

#everlark fanfiction #my fics #prompt #professor tinder

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badnovels · 7 years ago

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The Wedding

Dear Jessa. I have always been inspired by your amazing fics, so here is a little something I wrote, that was inspired by one of your drabbles…. I think you’ll know which one. Happy Birthday.

by @louezem

(based on this and this)

……

Four years later…

“It’s not too late.”

I recognise the soft growl of Rye’s voice behind me as I face the mirror and struggle with this damn bow tie.

“What?” I ask, distracted, pulling the tie apart and starting again.

“I said, it’s not too late. You know, to call this whole damn charade off.”

“Why would I do that, Rye?” I snap, irritated at my brother. I still haven’t forgiven him for refusing to be my best man at the ceremony. Why does he always have to be so negative? My nerves are stretched enough as it is and there are only thirty minutes left before I’m due to meet Madge at the end of the aisle and commit myself to her and Lola for the rest of our lives. I don’t need this from him right now.

Lola. I close my eyes and think of my precious little girl. She has been a constant source of joy in my life for the last four years. One of the only things really, that has made my life worth living.

“Because you don’t love her.” Rye’s voice is firm and strong, and I snap my eyes open. He stands with his arms crossed over his chest as he meets my eyes in the mirror.

“That’s not true, I do love Madge,“ I huff. “We’re good together. We’ve been friends since elementary school and we have a daughter together. She helped me get through… she has helped me a lot.”

“Sure, sure, Madge is a nice girl, and you have a kid and all that. I’m not denying that. But you’re fooling yourself if you think that’s enough to build a marriage on because it’s not. I know you, Peeta. You’re not in love with her, not like you love Katniss.”

Katniss. I feel a spear of pain lance through me and I whirl to face my brother, pissed off that he is bringing this up now. I can’t take it. Not today. I can’t bear to hear her name today.

“Loved, Rye. As in, back in high school, once up on a time, past tense.” I snarl, starting to feel my temper along with my tears rising and I fight to suppress them both. I point an angry finger at my own chest. “You seem to be forgetting one major detail. It was Katniss who broke up with me, left me with a broken heart. Everyone seems to forget that our breakup wasn’t my doing. I begged her not leave me. And after—“

I have to stop and swallow hard to get past the tightness in my throat as the memory of Katniss’ face the last time I saw her comes back to me. I still have nightmares about it - the way her body seemed to fold in on itself as she reeled in shock, how she physically trembled - her face turning ashen and her beautiful grey eyes filling with pain and swimming with tears of betrayal as it sunk into her consciousness that her best friend Madge was pregnant. For me. I can still hear the agony in her voice as she screamed at us.

“How long Madge?” She’d screamed. “How long were you fucking my boyfriend behind my back? How long were you making me look like an asshole? I bet you were so excited to find out you’d be at the same school! Then you could fuck without even worrying about me finding out!! Oh shit! I bet you were so happy when you found out I broke up with him! Then he was free game, right? Well, good for both of you. I’m done! I don’t want to talk or see or hear about either one of you for the rest of my life!”

“—after what happened with Madge I wanted to explain that it was a mistake, tried to see her so I could tell her I was sorry—“

“What the fuck did you expect, man? You fucked the girl who was supposed to be her best friend and got her pregnant just weeks after she broke up with you!”

“I know all this Rye!” I realize I’m shouting and lower my voice, trying to calm myself down. “I’m getting married today. What good is throwing this in my face today going to do? I can’t change what happened and she never gave me a chance to explain. I tried everything but she would never hear me out.”

“She only broke up with you because she thought she was doing what was best for you.” Rye grumbled. “Any idiot could see that. Except for you.”

“So you say. But how could I know that, for sure?”

“What?” Rye’s voice took on a sarcastic edge. “Are you seriously telling me you’ve never talked to Madge about this? She was Katniss best friend and you know how girls talk. Do you really think she didn’t know what was going on in Katniss head?”

“Madge told me Katniss said she was confused.” I said, licking my lips to wet them. “That she didn’t know what her feelings for me were.”

“Yeah. Well, that fits. So you went off to college, licking your wounds and banged the first chick who let you, who just happened to be Katniss’ best friend.”

“Rye—“

A knock comes to the door. My mother enters without waiting permission and throws my brother a dirty look.

“What are you doing in here?” she shrills at him. “Out. Go take your seat out front with the rest of the family. Peeta, its time. Stand up, let me see.”

“It’s now or never, Peeta.” Rye gives me one last look. I shake my head and he nods, resigned that I’ve made up my mind, and he leaves closing the door behind him.

I stand up and my mother grasps my tie, tying it neatly at the first attempt. “Perfect!” she announces. “Now, come. Your bride will be arriving soon!” she pushes me towards the door. “It’s about time you made an honest woman of her!”

“Yes, mother.” I submit, and pass through the door. There is no turning back now.

….

I take a deep breath in and tuck Madge’s hand into the crook of my elbow. I lean down and place a soft kiss on her lips. “You ready?” I ask. “Showtime,” she smiles back at me. “Let’s do this.”

Smiling as wide as we can as we emerge from the church into the bright summer sunlight, a large crowd of family and well wishers surrounding us with wide smiles and applause, throwing rice and congratulating us, the happy newlyweds.

We pause on the lawn for various photos, first Madge and I together, standing cheek to cheek, our arms wrapped around each other. Then with Madge’s parents, my parents, and finally shots of both our families together with Madge, Lola and I. I bend and scoop my little girl into my arms, landing a kiss on her soft cheek.

“Are you happy baby?” I whisper into her ear, and she nods very fast, making her blonde curls bounce, tickling my face. “Mommy looks just like a princess!” she giggles, “and Grandma says we’re a proper family now Daddy!” she beams up at me, her innocent blue eyes shining and I feel my own smile slip just a little. I kiss her cheek again and let her down, watching as she lifts her arms up to hug her mother next. Madge looks over and smiles at me. She does look like a princess in her extravagant pouffed out ballgown, but most of all, she looks happy. I truly hope I will be able to make her happy.

After a few minutes of watching my new wife and my daughter I notice Rye standing at the edge of the crowd, his attention focused away from us as if he was watching something intently, and my curiosity makes me crane my neck to see what it is. I follow his line of sight until I notice it, and suddenly it feels like my whole world has been tipped on its axis.

There, about 50 yards away idling by the roadside is an all too familiar battered green Honda. It feels like my heart slams into my sternum when I catch the most fleeting glimpse of the dark haired driver as they turn the wheel and pull away at speed, leaving me dazed and staring at nothing but a dust cloud.

“Congratulations, baby bro,” I snap out of my stupor and notice Rye standing beside me, looking at me sadly. “You did it. You married the right girl and made Mom the proudest mother in all of Panem. I need a drink. I’ll see you at the reception.” With that, he shoulders past me and walks away.

I stand frozen, still staring at the spot where mere seconds ago the green car was parked. I try to tell myself I imagined it. Maybe it wasn’t Katniss’ car at all, it could be just a coincidence. I haven’t laid eyes on Katniss once since the night she ran out of Madge’s dorm room, screaming that she wanted nothing to do with either of us, four years ago. She remained true to her word, avoiding both of us and never speaking to either Madge or I since. She’d changed her cell number a month later and all emails bounced back as undeliverable. I tried calling her house one more time, the day before Lola was due, but her sister had screamed at me not to call the house again.

A soft hand lands on my shoulder.

“What’s wrong with Rye?” Madge speaks softly, a concerned look in her blue eyes as they search my face. “He looks pretty upset.”

“Oh, nothing! He’s fine. Just my mom, giving him a hard time, you know.” I forced a smile to my lips. “Now he’s the only Mellark boy left that’s not married.”

“Your mom will have him and Delly up the aisle in no time, if she gets her way, now she is no longer focussed on us,” Madge thinks out loud. “I kind of feel sorry for them, but I have to admit, I’m grateful to be out of that spotlight.”

“Me too,” I squeeze her hand.

“No regrets, Peeta?” she looks at me, squeezing my hand in return.

“No regrets,” I agree. I had committed to doing this with her, and I was going to try to be happy. I had to let the past rest. “Come on. Let’s go meet our guests.”

….

#thank you!!!#i'm amazed you were able to find the strength to take this way back to the angsty origin roots lol #thanks for being able to write the prologue that i was unable to #everlark #(kinda lol)#fanfiction #louezem #submission

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the-100-meta-library · 7 years ago

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Dear followers and meta fans!

Today, we present you the first segment of a series of interviews that will feature the brains and minds behind all those wonderful analyses floating around The 100’s tumblr tag.

For our first interview, we are pleased to welcome Elizabeth, also known as the lovely @hawthornewhisperer!

We connected with Elizabeth back in May, before Season 4, Episode 12. So this a little bit of a blast from the past. Read to see how right-- and wrong-- we were about some speculating.

We’d like to thank Elizabeth again for her time, and the supporters of the Meta Library who encouraged us. Keep an eye out for the next interview!

The 100 Meta Library (bellamysfern): The first questions are just about some background info. Anything you feel comfortable releasing to the internet. Who are you, what do you do, how does that affect how you write meta (if it has any effect at all), and your level of fandom experience.

Hawthornewhisperer: Okay, well, first of all, thanks for interviewing me! This is an honor and I appreciate you guys doing this.

You can call me Elizabeth, and I'm a writer-slash-historian living in Minnesota. I teach college courses on European history and write romance novels on the side (second one should be out this year!)

In terms of how that influences my meta, I've found that both of my jobs dovetail very well into analyzing the show.

As a historian, my main lenses of analysis are gender and imperialism so I tend to apply those to the show as well-- in what ways do characters fulfill our expectations of femininity/masculinity, and in what ways do they challenge it? What does that tell us about the characters?

My imperialist/colonialist focus also helps me sort out what the writers are saying (either intentionally or unintentionally) with regards to hegemonic cultures, etc.

As a writer, I try to think about the choices the writers room is making and what that tells us about the story

Oh, and fandom experience-- I wrote fic for The Hunger Games (Gale/Madge, mostly) but The 100 is probably the first fandom I've been very active in. But my first true fandom is probably Star Wars.

BF: That's absolutely amazing. I feel like anything with fandom can be trivialized, but so much work goes into writing meta and thinking about the choices made on the show.

HW: Yes, definitely!

I have very strong feelings about the importance of fandom, particularly transformative fandom (fics, headcanons, etc) as a primarily female space and how important that is to protect and take seriously.

BF: Right. And I know you write fanfic too (very good fanfic, btw).

Do you think writing meta influences how you think about fanfiction? They are two different ways of interacting with a show, but both require authors to really understand the material.

HW: Oh yeah, definitely!

I see fic and meta as two sides of the same coin-- writing meta

helps me understand characters better, because if I can explain why Bellamy or Clarke would make a particular choice in a particular episode that helps me craft their characters in fics in a way that feels true (or I hope so, at any rate.)

And writing fic helps with meta, because I have a little insight into how writers make decisions. In particular it makes me slightly more sympathetic to plot twists that seem to have no clear resolution because I frequently write ficlets with cliffhangers and then have *no idea* where it's going after that, because sometimes I just like to raise the stakes for myself. Of course, there's a major difference in that my fics are only limited by my imagination and can go in any direction I choose, whereas the show has actor contracts, studio pressure, budgets, filming limitations, and a dozen writers working on one story, and they’re getting paid to do this so they should be really be better at it than me.

BF: Is there anything you've ever read (fic or meta) that surprised you? Any interpretation or theory that influenced the way you thought about the show?

HW: You know, most of my favorite metas and theories come from the Meta Station podcast, and I wouldn't say it's *surprising* but I do think my favorite theory this season is probably Erin's suggestion that Bellamy will be key to brokering peace between all the clans. (I think we got the start of it in the most recent episode, actually, with his faith in Octavia). It wasn't a direction I'd initially considered for his character, but it fits very well with the story they've been telling thus far this season and I hope we see it come to fruition.

In terms of influence, one thing I really enjoy about fandom is how *collective* it all is-- lots of people come up with complementary ideas that fit together and overlap in really intriguing ways, which makes narrowing down influence kind of difficult. But on a personal level, I do toss ideas back and forth with @reblogginhood a lot, which probably shows in my writing.

BF: Haha, my fill of meta usually comes from Meta Station too. I just listened to the segment talking about fic and fandom with Chash and thought "Wow, this is great interview prep".

HW: I can't wait to listen to that! Those are three of my favorite fandom people, talking about my favorite topics, so I'm excited.

BF: I know, I was so excited when I saw the announcement. It was super cute and funny. Anyway, back on topic.

So for you, meta is a more collective thing. Do you have a writing process and need to go through the same steps every time, or does it vary?

HW: It varies, for sure. Sometimes I realize something and can just throw it all together very quickly, and sometimes my idea is very vague and I have to write and write and write (and talk it over with people) before I really figure out what I'm saying. But after writing a dissertation I'm pretty used to writing six different versions of the same idea before I feel like I've found it. I just edit those metas very heavily as no one needs to read four false starts. 😉

BF: So the amount of time it takes to write metas varies too.

Are there any characters/themes that come easier than others?

HW: Oh definitely.

Bellamy is probably the easiest for me to understand, followed by Clarke. There are other characters that just don't *speak* to me/I have less interest in writing meta on, but that doesn't mean I dislike them.

Roan, for instance-- he's probably my favorite minor character in the whole show but I don't have too much desire to get into his headspace for some reason.

The-100-Meta-Library (parapluiepliant): We could have had it all. Still in denial about Roan by the way.

HW: I'll always be in denial about Roan, but he will live eternal, shiny, and chrome in all of my fics so at least we have that.

PP: Yippieh! Something to look forward to!

BF: I am still in real actual denial because I thought I saw something about Zach coming back for season five.

HW: I would totally be fine with time travel becoming a thing on the show if it meant someone could go back in time and save Roan.

PP: Talking about time travel: let's go back in time.

I just scrolled a bit through your The 100 meta tag and came upon "Bellamy Blake, Clarke Griffin, and The Iliad". It was one of your first metas, or am I wrong?

Even though that referred to season 3, would you say that some of it still holds true for season 4?

HW: It probably wasn't my first meta, just the first one I bothered tagging-- I'm terrible about that, and I apologize to everyone for my poor organizational skills.

BF: I'm right there with you with the tagging.

HW: You know, I'm not sure it does hold true for season 4? The core of the Iliad is hubris, rage, and war between nations being manipulated by the gods, and that doesn't seem to be the story they're telling in season 4.

I will say, in retrospect I do think both Clarke and Bellamy were the Achilles in season 3 -- Clarke for separating herself from the fight, and Bellamy because it was his anger over Mount Weather 2.0 that incited a lot of the conflict.

(But I also doubt they were doing a straight parallel, so take that for what it's worth)

PP: Okay. Just a thought. I am not that familiar with the Grounders (and to the Arkadians to some extent) might still be an entertaining thought.

HW: Ooooh yes, that would work very well, especially since I suspect conflict between Becca and Cadogan is at the root of a lot of problems the societies are facing.

BF: I did find it interesting that the brought the Iliad in so explicitly. And there was a lot of speculation based on it, when maybe so much worth shouldn't have been placed on the Iliad/Odyssey.

But we won't know until the end, I guess.

HW: Yeah, it's tough to know what is meaningful and important and what's just a fun, throwaway moment until you've got a complete narrative to examine. But I do enjoy how fandom can take something like "Bellamy gets a present that probably just means he's a Big Ol' Nerd" and turn it into a coherent, unifying gloss on the season.

PP: One of the most entertaining and enlightening things in the fandom for me.

HW: Yeah, me too.

Fandom is such an enriching experience in so many ways.

PP: Another question in that regard: Is there a meta of yours of which you are most proud of? Or which you thought of as the most fun to read/the most clarifying in regard to certain aspects?

HW: I think the one I'm proudest of would be the one I wrote about Bellamy undercutting the Alpha Male trope, because I find "how we perform and understand gender" to be a really interesting topic, and I think Bellamy as a character really complicates our understanding of what it means to be an alpha male.

And I think some of that is directly intended by the writers, but I also think some of it comes from the performances (Bob in particular, but also Ian, Eliza, and Mike Beach because he's not just reading what's on the page, he's reacting to their performances as well.)

It makes Bellamy into a really interesting and nuanced character in a way that draws me in.

PP: Absolutely! One of the reasons I love him so much.

BF: Do you have a lot of interaction with your meta? Do people mostly reblog or like it, or do you get some conversations going?

HW: I think mostly people just like and reblog posts, but every so often someone will add something to my meta that I hadn't considered/seen before and it'll just blow my mind. I love it when that happens.

And sometimes people send PMs to respond and I end up having long, in depth conversations about characters with people I've never met before, and I *also* love that. I've made some really great friends that way.

BF: Fandom friendships are so interesting that way.

HW: Yeah, definitely.

I really treasure the friendships I've made in fandom, and I know they'll outlast the show itself, which is wonderful.

BF: Yeah, definitely contradicts everything people told you about everyone on the internet being dangerous. But I haven't met an axe murderer yet.

HW: Haha right? *fingers crossed*

PP: Who says that I am not one?

HW: Oh no! Haha!

BF: You are on the other side of the ocean. I think I'm good. Well, that was all questioning that I had. Laura?

PP: I would have one last question.

Can we hope for another meta pretty soon and if so, can you already tease it a bit?

HW: You know, there's nothing that I'm currently writing, I think because most of the stuff I'm interested in from 411 (the Bellarke fallout) seems to be on hold until 412, but I also tend to work best in response to prompts/questions.

So is there something you'd like me to talk about/you're interested in discussing?

BF: What’s your Becca/Cadogan speculation?

HW: Oooh, good one!

I think Cadogan's messed up childhood (Jaha mentioned an abusive father) is going to resurface, and I suspect it was a conflict between him and Becca that set things into motion. I have my fingers crossed for a flashback!

PP: Definitely. Oh, I missed that with Jaha because my stream didn't work properly. I really need to watch it so I can catch up!

HW: The Jaha-Cadogan mention was just a throwaway line, however, so I might be putting too much weight on it. And as for the Bellarke fallout, I do think Clarke holding a gun on him and then being unable to pull the trigger, even though she truly believed the human race might die if she didn't pull it, is going to carry a lot of weight in their relationship.

Clarke has consistently been shown as willing to put her own wants and needs and loves aside in order to save people, and this is one of the first times we see her make a heart choice instead of a head choice, if that makes sense.

But Clarke's decision to not shoot Bellamy was really big, and while I'm disappointed we didn't get the fallout immediately, I think 411 was a really busy episode and I have hopes that it will be addressed in some respect in 412.

BF: Thanks so much for taking so much time to talk to us!

HW: Of course! Thank you for interviewing me-- this was really fun!

#author interviews #hawthornewhisperer #the 100 meta

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everlarkbirthdaygifts · 8 years ago

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Happy Birthday uniquepizzacollectionblog!

Posting this possibly early for you @uniquepizzacollectionblog (it’s May 16 in Australia), but we at @everlarkbirthdaygifts wish you a happy birthday :) We present you with a lovely fic by @booksrockmyface that she has written especially for you! Enjoy!

Title: Let the Light Illuminate these Hopeless Places

Rating: M

Author’s note: Happy birthday!! I hope it’s the best day ever and that this meets your wishes. The title comes from a line in the Paramore song Idle Worship.

Katniss was always early to everything. Even dragging her feet she still arrived at the high school gym a couple minutes after seven.

Delly, their class president, was sitting at the entrance with a table full of nametags. “Oh, Katniss!” Her smile was as bright as ever. “I’m so glad you came.”

“Well, I had nothing better to do.” Katniss mumbled as she reluctantly accepted the other woman’s hug.

Delly gave her musical laugh as she moved away. “You’re always so dry.” She picked up a nametag and handed it over, marking something in a nearby notebook.

“We graduated with one hundred and eleven people, Delly.” Katniss affixed the sticker to her green blouse anyway.

“Have you seen the Facebook pictures?” Delly asked wryly. “Some of them have changed.”

With a laugh, Katniss stepped past Delly into the gym and made a beeline for the refreshments table.

“Well, you haven’t changed a bit.” A deep voice said from a few feet away.

Katniss lifted her eyes and looked right into the deep blue of Peeta Mellark’s. She gave an uncertain smile. “You definitely have.” She said softly.

Peeta shook his head. “Just not as lanky anymore.” He patted his stomach. “Far from it.”

Katniss swallowed. He was still handsome, but grown up from fifteen years before. His ashy blonde hair was streaked with gray. His face was still the same, but with a few laugh lines starting to form. He had always found something to smile about, even in the toughest times.

Peeta indicated the pastry. “My dad donated some goodies.”

Katniss snatched up a cheese bun. “Did you help make them?”

“Not this time.” Peeta waved at someone across the room. “I’m trying to finish a portrait. I’ve had so much graphic design jobs that I fell behind.”

Katniss nodded, letting the flaky bread melt in her mouth. “Prim said she heard you got a gallery showing.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I did.” Pouring a cup of punch, he continued, “It was decently received. Even sold a few paintings.”

“Good.” She took the cup he offered. “Great.”

“And what about you? What are you doing these days?” He paused and shook hands with a few more of their classmates that came over to greet him.

Katniss politely nodded her hello. When they were finally alone again, she cursed herself for not making an exit. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed Peeta. He’d always been so easy to talk to.

She moved a little away from the table and he followed. The gym was starting to fill up. “I work for the city. Code enforcement.” She looked around the room, trying to find a reason to leave. “Picking up stray dogs and transporting to the pound.”

Madge hurried over and threw her arms excitedly around Peeta. “Hey, Globetrotter! Welcome back!”

Peeta laughed and returned her hug. “Hi, Madge.”

Madge stepped back. “You need to come home more often.”

Peeta shrugged. “I have to go where I’m called for now. I’m not entirely established.” He looked toward Katniss and then back to Madge. “If someone’s father could be convinced to support that mural in the county courthouse….”

“You know it’s the city council dragging their feet.” Madge waved her hand. She smiled at Katniss. “Your boyfriend had to work over. He’ll be here in a few.”

Katniss laughed. “Maybe he’ll show before I make my exit.”

“Yeah, you always sneak away before it gets too crazy at these things.” Madge joined her laugh. “I told him I was walking out the door when he was still showering, so he’s probably not too happy with me.”

Gale came in then and made his way over, his hair still visibly damp. “You could have waited five more minutes.”

“I promised Delly I’d be here early.” Madge indicated Peeta. “You remember Peeta, don’t you?”

Gale gave the other man a hard look and held out his hand. “Hey.”

Peeta glanced between Gale and Katniss before he returned the shake. “Hey.”

Delly took the stage and called everyone’s attention. She made a few announcements, but Katniss didn’t pay much attention. She was watching Peeta.

The way it ended nearly fifteen years before was all her fault. She’d stopped answering his calls early on. She never visited Mellark’s bakery on weekends or when she knew Peeta would be on break from school. And then she stopped going all together, relying on Prim to pick up her favorite cheese buns and bring back news of Peeta’s life in the Real World along with them.

People moved to the dance floor as Bascstreet Boys started blasting through the speakers. Katniss shook her head when Madge tried to bring her along.

“The wallflower will watch the festivities.” Katniss said. “I only promised I’d be here, not that I’d participate.”

Peeta hung back, too. “Want another drink? Cheese bun? Slice of cake?”

Katniss shook her head. “I don’t even want to be here.” She sighed. “I promised Prim and Gale that I’d try to be social, but you know me. It’s not my style.”

“If Prim was here, I’m sure she’d drag you to all the little groups.” Peeta said with a grin.

“She would. Too bad she’s working.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ve been here an hour. Do you think Delly would get mad if I book it?”

Peeta looked around the room. “All these people here? Probably.” He gave Katniss a smile so wide the dimple appeared in his cheek. “But if you want to go, I think she’ll understand.”

“Come with me.” Katniss wasn’t sure why she said it, but she did anyway.

He nodded. “Anywhere.”

____

Katniss hurried into the house and kicked the pile of shoes closer together behind the door to hide the fact that she still had way too many and only wore the same two pairs. Then she put the dishes in the sink that were scattered around the kitchen and living room.

She was just about to run to her bedroom and throw her mound of dirty clothes into the closet when Peeta appeared at the door.

After she opened it, they stood awkwardly for several breaths. It had been so many years since they were alone. And for her, it had been just as long since she was with anyone. She was sure Peeta had gotten plenty of girls in their time apart.

He stepped closer. “It still smells the same in here.”

She laughed and held out her hand. “Something in the walls, I guess. I changed up everything else.”

Peeta pulled Katniss close. “Can we talk later?”

“Yeah.” She breathed just before he covered her mouth with his. She walked backward down the hall to her bedroom and paused. She stepped back and held up a finger. “One second.”

Slipping into the room, she kicked all the clothes into the same corner and made the bed look a little less like she just got up and never made it. She opened up the bedside table and looked at the ancient rolls of condoms she’d bought when she was dating Cato. They’d never gotten very far, so the protection had never been necessary. And were long expired.

She opened her bedroom door. “Go make yourself comfortable, I need to…” She walked past him into Prim’s room and took a condom out of her dresser. She could replace it later.

In her bedroom, she encountered Peeta struggling with the shoe on his prosthetic leg.

“You could just take the whole leg off.” She suggested, dropping down to her knees in front of him. “It’s not like I’ve never seen you without it.” She rolled up his pant leg.

“I’m just so used to…” He held onto the fabric as Katniss looked for the button to release the prosthesis. “You know, they see it and they usually run.” He admitted softly. “Women see a cute artist and think that maybe his flaws are mental. They can ignore those for a one night stand. But then they see I’ve only got one leg and it freaks them out.”

She sat the limb aside. “Well, I guess they didn’t deserve you if that’s all it took.” She sat up on the mattress beside Peeta and wrapped her arms around his middle. “I’ve thought about you a lot. And I would look you up on Prim’s Facebook sometimes. You always looked so happy.”

He smoothed his hand over her hair. “Only when I was around my paintings.” He kissed her forehead. “I missed you, Katniss. I missed you every day.” He let out a little snort. “One time Prim contacted me to try to set us back up. But I knew you’d never fall for it, so I backed out.”

Katniss sat up. “She makes a point to show me pictures of you. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven me for breaking up with you.”

“We were young, Katniss.” He assured her. “There was a lot going on in both our lives. Your mom had died, I was in college. We were going in different directions.”

“But it’s no excuse, Peeta. I needed you more then than ever and I just pushed you away.”

He framed her face. “Well, I’m here now. You haven’t pushed me away yet.”

She kissed him and then moved up onto the bed. “Come hold me and kiss me.”

Peeta didn’t hesitate. He stretched over Katniss, slipping his hand into hers as their mouths met.

The kiss was slow, lazy. They had all the time in the world. Hands roamed and it didn’t take long for them to get reacquainted with the feel of each other.

Katniss reached for Peeta’s buttons and pushed him up so she could remove the shirt. She pressed her lips against his shoulder, slipping her tongue out to taste his skin.

Peeta took Katniss’s hair out of its intricate braid as her mouth explored his torso. It was no easy task with her ministrations. But it was finally done and he combed his fingers through her long, soft tresses.

“Can I kiss you now?” He murmured into her hair.

She sat back with a seductive grin, already unbuttoning her blouse. After enough buttons were open, she pulled it off over her head and threw it into the corner with the rest of her dirty clothes. Peeta already had his hands around her back to unclasp her bra.

She reclined on the bed and lifted her arms up for him to slide the straps of her bra over them. He gave her a cheeky smile and flung it into the same corner as her shirt.

She laughed and slipped her fingers into his hair. “I’ve never been good at keeping up the laundry.”

“It’s okay.” He kissed her softly, covering one of her breasts in his big, warm hands. “I can come wash it for you sometime.”

She smiled against his lips. “You haven’t been home in years.”

“I was avoiding you.” He kissed her again. “And myself.” He brushed his lips along the length of her jaw before licking a line down her neck. He lifted his head just a fraction and whispered, “God, I’ve missed the way your skin tastes.”

The proclamation made Katniss tremble. And then when Peeta clenched his mouth to her shoulder, she let out a surprised yelp.

His head shot up. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be.” She pulled him back down. “Come back here.”

He closed his mouth over her shoulder again and sucked a bruise into her skin while she reached between them to slip her hand into his pants. He bucked into her palm and let out a low moan.

“There’s a condom.” She panted. “I put it somewhere.”

Peeta sat up and looked around. He hopped up and pushed his pants down before he sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned over and picked something. Turning slightly, he held up the square package with a grin. “You ready for this?”

Katniss waved her hand to indicate his erection. “For all of this?” She laughed and pushed her pants off. “Come on.”

“You didn’t throw those to the right pile.” He said with a grin as he rolled the condom in place.

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She pressed kisses along his neck. “My favorite part before was how you always insisted on cuddling after. And I always said I didn’t like it. But I really did.” She pulled his earlobe into her mouth and sucked. “Sometimes I just miss being held.”

He turned. “I’ll hold you however long you want.”

Katniss considered it a moment and then stretched out on her side, pulling him in behind her.

Peeta held her against his chest. They breathed in time together. She reached back and slid her fingers into his hair. He kissed her shoulder as he lifted her leg.

She helped guide him inside her and then returned her hand to his hair, twisting her head so that his mouth was closer to her ear.

As he moved, he murmured softly in her ear. “You always felt perfect.”

“Only because I was your first.” She commented.

“And I was yours.” Peeta pulled Katniss onto her back and stretched out over her. “I want to see your face.”

She smiled and wrapped her legs around his waist as he entered her again. “It’s not much to look at anymore.”

He shook his head. “It’s even better now.” He dropped kisses all over her face as he continued to move slowly.

It wasn’t much longer until both of them had labored breathing. Katniss was very close. She clutched at his shoulders and tightened all her muscles around him as she let herself step over the edge.

Peeta followed in the same moment, letting himself go. He threw his head back and let out a primal growl.

When he came back to himself, he stretched out beside her and pulled her close. “Is this still okay?”

“Mm-hm.” She pulled the blanket up over them as she snuggled close to his chest. She kissed him and murmured against his lips, “Stay with me?”

She was just about to fall asleep when she heard him answer, “Always.”

#everlark #everlark fanfiction #everlarkbirthdaydrabbles #everlarkbirthdaygifts #fan fic #by booksrockmyface

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