Work Text:
...
“Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three,
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it seem,
If we met up at midnight
In the hanging tree...”
Katniss Everdeen took a deep breath, the last notes of the song still quavering in the air. She could see him in the distance, his golden hair glinting in the soft light of the moon.
It had been like this for almost a year now. Every three nights, she would sing for him in the quiet of the night in exchange for a single silver trout. He would swim to the shore to throw her the fish, and she would take it, running back to the village with the hood of her dark cloak strategically covering her face.
He really was beautiful, she thought, with the moonlight morphing his hair into white gold, his eyes deeper and bluer than the sea itself, his body lithe and muscled and everything she needed to think of at night when she touched herself.
Sometimes, she honestly thought she was dreaming.
Other times, all it took was a distant splash in the water, a flash of creamy white skin, or a glimpse of hair the color of sun-baked straw to make her believe he was real.
Most times, she wondered if she was going mad.
It had happened before. Her name was Annie Cresta.
Rumor had it that Annie went mad after a disease had taken her brother’s life. She would spend entire days and nights alone on the beach, and when she’d come into town, all she could ever ramble on about was mermen, of all things. Her affections seemed to be fixated on one merman in particular – the one she claimed was the most beautiful. His name was apparently Finn, or Finnley or something of the sort. The village schoolboys used to entertain themselves by asking poor Annie about him, laughing and making cruel jokes about her behind her back.
No doubt, the stories of the hauntingly beautiful sea creatures were some of the most popular legends on the small island, but they were just that.
Legends.
Before the villagers knew it, Annie had disappeared. No one knew where she went, but there were fishermen who swore she’d committed suicide - just drowned herself.
Katniss used to believe it, that Annie had gone mad, that she’d killed herself out of grief.
That is, until about a year ago.
..
It was the coldest winter she'd ever experienced. Katniss’s father had just passed away in the most devastating of accidents – swept away while on a fishing trip, miles away from the village. His body was never found, but the handful of survivors had sworn it was mermen.
The village healers had deemed them insane.
Katniss Everdeen had never been one to believe in fairytales. She wrapped her father's navy blue cloak tighter around her body while scavenging the beach for food. After the death of her father, dinner had become hard to come by. Her mother refused to climb out of bed and find some work, choosing instead to give into her grief, abandoning her daughters and spending her days gazing lifelessly at the leaky ceiling above.
It had been over a month since his death, and Katniss knew she had only weeks left. The ache in her belly now bordering on unbearable, she collapsed on the beach, on the divide between land and water. She hugged her knees, letting the piercing cold waves slide over her feet, numbing her skin...numbing the hunger.
Closing her eyes, she thought of her father. She thought of the tall, dark, brave man who would never give up, no matter what. Summoning all her strength, she parted her lips and weakly choked out the last song she'd ever heard him sing,
"Are you, are you coming to the tree?
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it seem
If we met up at midnight..."
All of a sudden, she felt a wet slap against her calf. Startled, her eyes flew open and landed on a single silver trout at her feet.
What?
Her head shot up, eyes flitting across the horizon, scanning the waters for the source of the fish. This was impossible. You couldn't get fish at this time of year. No one could. Most schools of fish avoided the island coastline in the winter, and the majority of villagers weren't daring or stupid enough to risk the freezing waters.
Then who... ?
Katniss stiffened as she locked eyes with something in the water.
Or... someone.
She barely had time to think before he disappeared into the sea in a whorl of golden hair, glittering scales, and eyes bluer than the skies on the clearest of summer days.
..
She’d never forgotten him.
..
The first day
Today was the day.
Today was the day she’d been dreaming about for months.
At noon today... she would tell him.
The thought excited her as much as it terrified her. She’d read up on ancient legends that spoke of the strange creatures. They were a dangerous folk, despite their love for music and pretty things. They could grow obsessive – neurotic, even – about the ones they loved, especially when the object of their desires were humans; they often dragged their lovers into the sea to live with them.
She briefly thought of Annie Cresta.
Katniss had stayed up late, reading books borrowed from the library as well as from her friend, Madge. She was running out of excuses for her deep interest in them. The local drunk, who also happened to function as the village librarian, had taken to narrowing his eyes whenever she stepped foot in the shoddy place.
Her close friend Gale Hawthorne scoffed every time she brought home another book. But he was a hypocrite. Katniss had caught him secretly reading her books more times than she could count.
“It gets boring, that’s all. Mending shoes all day, all night –”
Katniss could vaguely hear Delly’s voice babbling on in the background as she stretched her legs and imagined what he would say once she told him.
Every day, once Katniss was done gathering various herbs and clams to sell on the village streets and island marketplace, she would accompany Delly at the shoemaker’s stall as the chirpy blonde girl did her work. Delly really was the bubbliest person she knew. Her voice was like bakery cake that was too sweet, dance music that was too loud, sunny weather that was too –
“Katniss, are you listening?”
Katniss blinked. “What?”
Delly sighed, exasperated. “I said, spending the rest of my life mending shoes wouldn’t be so bad, now would it?”
“Oh. Oh yes, not at all –”
“I don’t need a husband. After all, I’m fine on my own. Though it sure would be nice...”
“Delly, I’ve really got to –”
“Oh, I’m sorry Katniss. I know there’s no use moaning over this. It’s not as though I have heaps of men fighting over me or anything.” Delly giggled, but there was something forced about it.
Katniss raised an eyebrow. She had no idea Delly cared so much about things like men and marriage. She had always seemed chipper and friendly, happy and comfortable with herself and what she did for a living.
“You don’t need a husband,” Katniss assured her and then winced internally, realizing she sounded like she was agreeing with Delly’s words. “What I mean is, you’re fine on your own,” she added quickly, but Delly wasn’t listening anymore, instead gazing absent-mindedly into the distance.
“Hey, Katniss, I just… I need to take a break, alright? Run some errands and all that–”
“Oh. Oh yes, me too –” Errands.
Delly shivered, rubbing her arms to keep warm. “You can really feel the winter coming on, can’t you?”
Katniss nodded tightly, but the truth was, she was used to being cold. She understood that the townsfolk weren’t quite as accustomed to the colder weather as the inhabitants of the village were, but sometimes it was hard not to feel bitter.
“Here, have my cloak,” Katniss offered, stripping it off and handing it to her friend.
Delly beamed gratefully. “Thank you so much, Katniss. Oh goodness, you must think I’m such a weakling –”
Katniss rolled her eyes, waving her off. It was hard being annoyed with Delly for too long. “I’ll see you later, Delly.”
“Bye, Katniss, and thank you so much –”
The sun was high in the sky. It was nearly noon, and Katniss’s palms were sweating as she prepared her mind, prepared her heart for what she was about to do. She briefly considered giving up on the idea. Maybe she should just go home, take a bath, or visit Gale; something, anything besides face him.
No! the voice in her head snapped. You’re going to tell him today. You’re going to tell him how you feel.
Katniss Everdeen had never been one to believe in fairytales. She still didn’t. She didn’t love him, but there was something in him that not even humans had: a sort of selflessness that she’d only ever seen in him.
Katniss had always despised charity – the only reason she’d initially accepted the trout was because he wouldn’t come to meet her unless she accepted his token. Once, she didn’t take the fish he tossed at her, and the next time she came to sing for him, he didn’t show up for a long, long time. Finally, hours later, he’d erupted out of the water in a glorious medley of colors, waving the trout in his hand. The message was clear: no more meetings unless you accept my offerings.
Even after finding out about the mermen’s deep fascination with human singing and music in general, she still couldn’t help but feel a sense of debt towards the beautiful creature, as though she owed him something.
Over time, these feelings of debt faded into a very strange but beautiful sort of friendship.
They didn’t know each other’s names, but she knew by the songs he’d sing his precise feelings, and he would know hers. They would sing to each other through the night, offering each other comfort and companionship. She knew he wasn’t happy at home, and he knew the way she struggled day and night to provide for her family. She knew the way he felt about his mother, and he knew the way she felt about hers. Over the last ten months, he’d become her secret confidante, and she his.
The only catch was that she’d never shown him her face.
Despite the closeness she felt towards him, she was still very wary of him. She couldn’t possibly risk the fate of being turned into one of them, being dragged into the ocean with him, being pulled away from the family she had to protect and take care of.
But today... today, she would do it. She’d known him long enough now, knew she could trust him enough to finally reveal her identity.
She nodded to herself, ready to face him, ready to face her feelings.
But first: a detour.
..
Katniss left her house a quarter of an hour later, making her way to the beach. She fingered the delicate wooden comb in the pocket of her trousers. She’d carved it herself, splurging a few coins on expensive silvery paint to coat the pretty thing. She’d even carved musical notes and little silver trout on it. She knew he would love it – he loved shiny trinkets and attractive little odds and ends.
With a rare spring in her step, she bounded onto the beach, her heart bursting with a long-absent warmth. She stood at the edge of the water, letting the ocean spray cool her face.
This was it. Before her resolve could slip, she opened her mouth to sing her heart to him, to tell him everything she –
Wait.
What was that?
Katniss cocked her ear slightly, trying to make sense of the music she was hearing. A soft, girlish sound, humming the tune of “The Hanging Tree.”
She crept over to a large boulder and peeked from behind it, doing a double take as she recognized the owner of the voice.
It was Delly.
Taken aback, Katniss listened as Delly hummed on, sitting sprawled on the sand, wrapped up in Katniss’s cloak and absent-mindedly scribbling something in the sand with a twig.
“It’s you.”
What?
Delly looked up, and Katniss was shocked into silence as a tall, blonde man crossed over to Delly.
It was him.
On legs.
On two, full-fledged human legs.
Katniss could do nothing but look on helplessly as the man stood in front of Delly, smiling and saying, “You have a beautiful voice.”
Delly scrambled to her feet, blushing furiously. “Oh. Oh. I – thank you.”
The man held out his hand. “I’m Peeta.”
Delly took his hand, allowing him to kiss it. “I’m…” she paused for a moment, as though trying to remember what her name was. “…Delly.”
“Delly,” Peeta repeated, his voice soft and melodic as he reached out to brush her cheek. “Well, I’m pleased to meet you, Delly. Thought you’d never come out from underneath your cloak.”
“Pleased to meet you too!” Delly nearly squeaked.
Peeta laughed, and the sound was the most beautiful and musical yet painful thing Katniss had ever heard.
Everything was happening too fast. This is a mistake! she wanted to scream. You have the wrong girl!
Go! a voice in the back of her mind screeched desperately as her breathing quickened and her throat began to close. Tell him it was you, not her! You!
But something on Delly’s face stopped her from coming out of her hiding place. She remembered her friend’s melancholy words that morning, the forced laughter and jokes she’d made about never finding anyone.
And so, Katniss Everdeen stayed silent and tried to shut out the sound of her heart breaking as Peeta led his new lover into town.
..
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Katniss cursed herself as she walked home. How could I be so stupid?
Willing herself not to let the tears spill over, she strode into her home, shut the door, and sank to the ground, her heart sinking along with her.
..
The second day
She and her mother awoke the next morning to an empty pantry. Her sister, Prim, was still asleep in her cot.
“The fish isn’t right,” her mother was telling her. A month ago, Mrs. Everdeen had finally pulled herself together and started brewing medicines for the village apothecary and the medicine shops in town. The pay wasn’t much, but coupled with Katniss’s herb-hunting and Peeta’s gifts of trout that Katniss pretended she had bought in the marketplace, it filled their needs. “Some sort of odd voice-loss sickness going around.”
“Must be a bad catch,” Katniss replied shortly. Conversation with her mother was still something she was not used to.
Inside, she was still torn up and confused about what had happened yesterday.
All those months, all those nights of singing to each other, everything she thought they shared – it was no longer hers.
But he would find out soon, wouldn’t he, when he asked Delly to sing? He would find out he had the wrong girl.
Katniss shook her head to clear her thoughts. Focus, she told herself. You need to forget about him and focus on getting food on the table.
Suddenly, she remembered the silver comb she’d made for him. Cursing herself yet again, she realized she’d left it behind the boulder on the beach yesterday. If the fates were on her side – which they clearly weren’t – it would still be there and she could sell it in the marketplace to buy some grains and vegetables.
“I’ll be right back,” she told her mother, reaching out to grab her cloak before she remembered she’d given it to Delly.
As she made her way to the door, her mother called out, “Katniss?”
Katniss turned to face her, annoyed. She felt her features soften when she saw the pained look on her mother’s face.
“Katniss... I –,” Mrs. Everdeen closed her eyes, looking at that moment as though she were a thousand years old. “I’m so sorry.”
Katniss nodded briskly, not in the mood for her mother’s apologies. “Be right back,” she said. She felt a sudden twinge inside her, propelling her to give her mother a quick hug before heading to the beach.
As it turned out, the fates were on her side today. The comb was still there, buried a little in the sand, but still there.
She pulled it out of the sand, about to tuck it into her pocket when she realized there were silky brown hairs stuck between the teeth of the comb.
That’s odd.
Shrugging her shoulders, she dismissed it, dropping the comb into her pocket and making her way to the marketplace. “Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green –”
“I knew it.”
Katniss froze.
She turned around very, very slowly.
“Oh goodness, I just knew it.”
It was one of them, floating in the water, only her head visible. A woman this time. Her dark hair was short and choppy, sun-kissed skin glowing in the afternoon light.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you,” the mermaid yelled. “Get over here!”
Katniss’s first instinct was to run anywhere but near the fierce looking creature, but something in the mermaid’s voice bothered her. It was that subtle layer of panic, of desperation, and she didn’t look like someone who was desperate very often.
Katniss cautiously made her way to the beautiful creature in the water. “What is it?” she probed warily.
“The name’s Johanna, thanks for asking, lover girl,” the mermaid drawled, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, here’s the deal: lover boy’s in danger.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
With that, Johanna lunged across the water and roughly pulled Katniss towards her by the collar. “Don’t play dumb with me, you got that? We have no time for games. He’s in danger.”
“Alright, alright,” Katniss gasped, struggling for air. Johanna let go of her, and she stumbled back onto the sand. “What happened?”
“So Peeta got the wrong girl.”
“I know.” Katniss grit her teeth.
Johanna threw her hands up in the air. “Hey, it ain’t my fault, woman! Can’t help that our dear, sweet Peeta obviously has hearing issues, or that the poor thing can’t even tell what’s real and what isn’t.” She rolled her eyes again. “We also can’t help that some people are too cowardly to step in and –”
Katniss scowled. “I thought you said we had no time for games.”
“I’m not the one playing, baby girl. It’s Alma you should be worried about.”
“Who?”
“Alright, so listen closely: you’ve obviously noticed Peeta’s sprouted a pair of human legs, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, with all the reading you’ve been doing about our kind, I’m sure you know humanity comes with a price.”
“How did you know –”
“How I know is not important. What’s important is that...” her voice trailed off, and Katniss could see the panic rising in her eyes. “Peeta’s paid a very heavy price for his humanity. He made a deal with this awful sea witch, Alma. He traded in his tail and his singing voice for that pair of stupid human legs. And he did it for you, brainless.”
Her throat tightened. She couldn’t believe he’d given up his beautiful singing voice for her.
“Is there any way he can get them back?” she asked, her voice hollow.
Johanna laughed, the sound harsh and mean. “His singing is hardly his biggest problem. The deal was that he had to kiss the one whose voice he loved in three days, or else.”
“Or else what?”
“No more human.”
“So he’ll just become a... a merman again.” Merman. The word still sounded silly and fairytale-like on her tongue.
“No more merman either.”
Katniss’s mouth went dry. “What...what do you mean?”
“I mean...he’ll be dead. She’ll take his life. Making trades with witches is never a good idea. I tried to warn him, but the little bastard went behind my back –”
Katniss did a double take. “You're lying."
"Why would I be lying about this, brainless? This has happened before.”
“What...when?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Johanna snapped.
Katniss’s heart raced. "But – Delly..." she faltered as the severity of the consequences dawned on her.
"Exactly. She's not the right woman." Johanna rolled her eyes, trying to seem nonchalant, but Katniss could see the gravity of the situation in her eyes. "See, that's the thing about our darling Peeta. Boy falls too hard too fast – doesn't think. Don't blame the poor thing, though. He's got some serious problems with that mother of his back home –"
“But the witch will never find out it was me, and not Delly –”
Johanna snorted. “Do you really think Alma is that stupid? She made sure Peeta captured your voice with a conch shell –”
“What?”
“The logistics of sea magic are too complicated for your pretty little human brain to understand. The point is: bad things are going to happen if you don’t kiss him before the break of dawn on the fourth day.” Johanna took a deep breath. “God, I don’t understand why the hell you didn’t –”
"Just tell me what I can do now," Katniss cut in irritably.
"Alright, alright." Johanna put her hands in front of her as though protecting herself. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Sing for him. Tell him you're the one."
Katniss’s eyes widened. "But I -"
"Don't lie to me, girl. I know you were here to tell him yesterday. That good lookin' friend of yours told me all about your research. Wasn’t too hard to put the pieces together."
"Gale?"
Johanna nodded. "Good kisser, that one."
Gale?!
“No need to get all worked up, sweetheart,” Johanna dismissed her shock. “We’ve got no intention of marriage and babies, what with you know, the species differences. Like I said, humanity comes at a steep price, and I ain’t nothin’ like lover boy."
Katniss nodded absently, her mind still reeling.
"I... have to go," she fumbled, turning on her heel to head off towards town.
“Oh, and Katniss?” Johanna called out.
Katniss looked back.
“I forgot to tell you about the second part of the curse.”
“Second part?”
“Oh yeah, it gets better. The twist is: if lover boy goes... so does his lover.”
..
“Delly! Delly, open up!” Katniss yelled, desperately banging on the Cartwrights’ door.
The door swung open to reveal a tired but happy looking Mrs. Cartwright. “Katniss?”
“Mrs. Cartwright, is Delly home?”
“Oh dear, I’m afraid she’s gone out somewhere. Had a lovely young man with her –”
Katniss swallowed. “Well, once she gets back –”
“Of course, I’ll be sure to let her know you dropped by! She’s so happy, you know,” Mrs. Cartwright gushed on. “No man has ever shown interest in her like this before, and it’s just made her so happy...”
Forcing a smile onto her face, Katniss exchanged good-byes with the woman and made the solemn trek back home, trying not to let the panic drown her like the waves in which she’d first found him.
..
Katniss sat at the rickety dining table, picking at the fish she’d hurriedly cooked for herself, trying to clear her head and keep her breathing steady.
“If lover boy goes... so does his lover.”
Breathe, she told herself. Breathe.
But how could she, when it had been made so clear that she could be dead within two days’ time? It was already the second day. She only had tomorrow left.
There’s still tomorrow, the survivor in her reminded her. Still tomorrow.
Taking a bite of fish despite her lost appetite, she decided not to lose hope just yet.
..
The third day
The next morning, Katniss woke up earlier than usual, bathing and applying some of her mother’s sweetest-smelling soap. With her mother and sister still in bed, she crept quietly out of the house and made her way to the town square, heading straight for the shoemaker’s stall.
Remembering Johanna’s words – if lover boy goes... so does his lover – she made sure to carry the kitchen knife in her pocket, just in case the horrible witch decided to unleash her wrath on her.
Even from a distance, she could clearly make out the two forms leaning against the side of the stall. She hesitated then, the bright smile on Delly’s face drowning her spirits as much as the uncertain look on Peeta’s face lifted them. Had he started to realize his mistake...?
Delly leaned in to kiss Peeta then, and Katniss’s vision burned.
To her relief, Delly turned and left then, running into her house behind her workstation, leaving Peeta all alone at the stall as he ran his hands across some of the thick laces and leather squares lying around.
Katniss seized the moment before the coward in her could win over and crossed the distance between them.
“Peeta,” she croaked, and to her dismay, her voice was cracking. “I know about the curse.”
She figured it was in both their interests to jump right in.
Peeta looked confused. “Excuse me?”
“Peeta, I’m your girl,” she coughed out, feeling like something was stuck in her throat. “I’m the one you’re looking for, not” – cough – “Delly!”
Looking startled, he said, “Sorry, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
Katniss persisted, trying to keep her heart from sinking deeper into the depths of despair. “I can prove it! It was my cloak she was wearing,” she said, voice cracking, before coughing again – once, twice, three times. She moved her arms to shrug the cloak off her shoulders when she remembered it was still somewhere with Delly. She cursed under her breath, realizing she couldn’t bring herself to involve Delly in this.
The fates were not on her side today.
“Wait!” she cried as Peeta turned to walk away. “Let me sing” – cough – “for you!”
He turned and crossed his arms then, leaning against the stall expectantly, his features twisted into a look that was full of both annoyance and... pity?
When he didn’t say anything else, Katniss inhaled deeply – he smelled of everything natural, sea foam and salt water and sunlight and wheat, the last presumably from his stay in the town – smiled, and broke into song, letting the soft, haunting notes of The Hanging Tree take over her.
But...wait.
Why was there no sound?
Katniss tried again, tried to choke out the notes that were playing so seamlessly in her mind, but nothing came out.
There was only silence.
It was then that she remembered.
The fish.
She ate the fish yesterday. The fish her mother had warned her not to eat.
The fish that was causing the voice loss sickness.
Voice loss sickness.
She’d lost her voice.
The pitying look on Peeta’s face was too much for her to bear, the stark humiliation pouring over her like a hot summer rain. Her heart thumping and her eyes filling with tears, she turned on her heel and half-walked, half-ran back home in utter shame.
..
It was Prim who found Katniss weeping on her cot hours later. She’d just come home from the marketplace after helping Mrs. Everdeen sell remedial herbs to various medicine stalls.
“Katniss?” she asked worriedly, sitting on the cot and nudging her sister. “Katniss, what’s wrong?”
Katniss looked up, embarrassed to be caught in such a state. She was supposed to be strong for her little sister, not crying like a pathetic weakling.
She propped herself onto her elbows, taking deep breaths and wiping the tear tracks off her cheeks.
“I’m in trouble, Prim,” she whispered hoarsely, and told her everything.
..
Minutes later, after struggling to croak out the full story through the coughs that racked her body, Prim was on her feet. “You’ve got to sing for him.”
Katniss scrambled upright, still unable to believe that her sister actually believed her, believed everything from the first silver trout Peeta gave her to Johanna’s warnings about the terrible curse.
“But how can I? With...with this?” Katniss motioned agitatedly to her throat.
“I’m not letting you give up, Katniss. There’s too much at stake. Peeta’s life is at stake,” Prim said. Katniss swallowed guiltily. She hadn’t told Prim the curse extended to include her – there was no need to worry her sister about that.
“So” – cough – “what are we going to do?”
“I know what to do.” Prim’s confidence made Katniss feel a little more hopeful, made her feel a little less like she was already dying. “There’s a special sort of brew Mom’s been making lately for the people who’ve been losing their voices. I’m pretty sure I know how it works. The thing is it won’t be ready until midnight. Your voice won’t be back until just before dawn tomorrow.” Her face set and determined, she reached out to squeeze her older sister’s hand. “There’s still hope, Katniss, plenty of it. We won’t let him die.”
..
The wait was agonizing, but there was an air of hope now, even as the afternoon slowly dissolved into night. She settled into her cot as Prim brewed the herbal mixture outside. She thought about getting her voice back, about finally singing for him. She thought about saving him and finally being free of the debt she owed him. She thought about his blonde hair: golden straw in the glint of the sun. She thought about his scales, glittering like rich jewels in the afternoon light. She thought about his eyes, deeper and bluer than any lake, river, or ocean in the world. She thought about his body – the roughness, the hard lines.
She thought of this as her hands moved down to touch herself.
..
“Katniss! Katniss, wake up!”
Her eyes fluttered open. Through the window, Katniss could see it was dark outside.
“Katniss, it’s ready!” Prim urged, and thrust a mug of thick, green, chunky liquid in her hands. “Quick! Drink.”
Katniss drank.
..
Her voice came back to her just before dawn.
Run, was all that Prim said.
Katniss ran.
..
She stumbled onto the beach just as the sky was getting light, the knife still tucked safely in her pocket, just in case.
She found him standing on the shore, on the wet, frothy divide between sand and sea.
“Peeta,” she whispered, the name like honey on her lips.
Without further hesitation, she stepped out of the shadows, parted her lips, and sang her heart out, the sound vibrating all around them,
“Are you, are you coming to the tree?
Wear a necklace of rope side by side with me,
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it seem,
If we met up at midnight
In the hanging tree.”
Peeta turned then, ever so slowly, and when she locked eyes with him, there was nothing but a mask of pure shock on his face.
Silence.
And then –
“It was you.”
Katniss nodded, using the moment of hesitation to close the space between them.
Peeta stumbled back. “But...that’s impossible –”
Katniss shook her head. “The trout, Peeta,” she whispered, and his eyes widened. “You gave me that first trout nearly a year ago, and you saved my family’s life. It was me all along, Peeta. Katniss. Me.”
Peeta’s voice dropped to a whisper as the all too dreadful realization dawned upon him. “That means...”
Katniss reached out to touch his cheek, the situation becoming more and more dire as the skies became lighter and lighter. “Kiss me, Peeta. Now. Kiss me before it’s too late!”
Still shocked, Peeta leaned in, and their lips met just as the sun broke over the horizon.
The fourth day
It was glorious and beautiful and foamy and everything she wanted and more –
Wait.
Foam?
Oh god," Katniss breathed out, her stomach dropping as she opened her eyes and saw the peculiar froth and bubbles forming on his lips.
"What's happening?" Peeta croaked out, foam dribbling from his mouth as he spoke.
Foam. There was foam everywhere. The waters were rising all around them, encompassing them and ripping them apart.
"Peeta!"
"Katniss!"
She grabbed his hand, trying to lead him to the shore, but the sea pushed and pulled until it broke them apart, wrenching them ferociously in opposite directions.
She flailed in the water, screaming for him. "Peeta!” she gasped. “Peeta!"
The water filled her mouth, and all she could think about then was staying afloat, staying alive until it was all gone.
When the waves finally died down, she scrambled to her feet, screaming, wailing until she was hoarse, “Peeta! Peeta!” Her voice cracked on the last syllable, echoing forlornly against the rocks on the beach.
She wiped the salt water and sand out of her eyes, but it was useless. Her vision wouldn’t clear. She told herself she was not crying, not crying, as she ran to the edge of the water. She placed her hand on the pocket of her trousers.
The knife was still there. She could still protect herself.
But what was the use anyway?
He was gone, he was gone, he was gone, and it was all her fault. He’d saved her life all those months ago, and he’d died, died without letting her save him...
She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath and –
And there he was.
She couldn’t believe it.
Her voice caught in her throat again as she whispered, “Peeta.”
She didn’t want to get her hopes up too high again, but the scent was unmistakable.
The familiar aroma of salt and wheat and everything fresh filled her as she bent down to ladle a handful of foam from beneath her feet. She put it to her face, smelled it, filled herself with it until it consumed her, and oh god, yes, he was there, he was there, she knew it.
She thought she was laughing, or crying, or maybe both. All she knew was that he was there, he was there, he was there, and the relief swept over her in waves.
She ran into the water.
END.