Work Text:
“Where were you?” Her voice roars at me as I enter.
“School” I reply quickly, trying to keep my voice neutral.
“School finished at three” my mother states plainly, “it should not take you twenty minutes to walk home”
I try not to cringe when I notice the clock and realise she’s right, time really had gotten away from me. And for what? For a few minutes of creepily watching your crush? No, of course not.
“Get an apron on and get in there” My mother’s angry voice quickly brings me out of my stupor again, coming over to shove one into my arms, and give me a shove while she’s at it.
“Yes mother” I nod, throwing the apron over my head and tying it as I walk.
‘Good to see you too’
***
Quiet.
Still.
All except the creaking of my own footsteps, uneven and heavy as I manoeuvre the new robotic leg they gave me.
It’s nice; The house, I mean. Sturdy, quite well looked after from what I can tell. I can’t even see a speck of dust, despite the place being vacant for seventy odd years.
And it’s all mine.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.
I look down to the bag of stuff in my arms, the contents inside so few in numbers, I doubt it could even fill one room. Let alone make the whole place feel lived in.
Dropping my new keys onto the counter, I find myself walking over to the couch, set up in the living room.
It’ll take quite a bit of time getting used to, and though it’s hard to believe at this moment, I remind myself; I’m home.
***
The house is quiet when I enter.
No sign of life anywhere, other than the dirty dishes left over from breakfast, sitting in the sink.
It’s a bad day today.
I mean none of them are ever all that great these days, but the warning signs are all there to tell me it’s one of the worse days.
And I can’t help but feel it’s partly my fault.
I wasn’t here at breakfast, of course Greasy Sae does the best she can, but with the rebuilding of district 12 in high production at the moment, her time is stretched thin, between feeding Katniss and the rest of the district.
I can only hope among those dirty dishes in the sink was Katniss’ plate, long since cleared of all the food on it, hopefully in the right place.
Making my way upstairs, I find Katniss as expected on days like these, in bed again; or perhaps still.
She glances up at me as I lean against the doorframe.
“Bad day?” I ask softly, to which she nods meekly.
I smile sadly, “it’s okay, I’m here now”
I ignore the part of my brain wanting to say ‘home’.
She nods again, but doesn’t say anything else as she tucks her chin back into the covers.
“You want me to stay?” I question gently.
She nods.
“Stay with me” she confirms in a whisper I barely catch.
And I do.
***
I’ve barely even made it inside the house before my body is engulfed in a hug.
“You’re home” she grins.
“I’m home” I confirm, ignoring the fact that this isn’t officially my ‘home’, yet.
I mean we’ve only just committed to ‘boyfriend’ 'girlfriend’ labels; which I still don’t think i’ll ever get used to.
But to be fair I do spend most of my time here and have been sleeping here even longer than the labels were in place.
It’s as much my place as it is hers at this point.
“How was work?” She questions softly, loosening her grip on me a little so we can both come further into the house.
I shrug, “a little tiring. I baked some bread, talked to customers, you know the usual”
This for some reason brings a smile to her face and I want more than anything to feel those lips on mine.
And so I do.
We’re both smiling when I pull back again; I’ll never get over being able to do that either.
“How about you? How was your day?”
“It was alright” she begins with a soft shrug, “went to the woods, shot a few birds. Went to the market, bought a few things. Came back here and did a few things around the house, now you’re here”
“Sounds like a full day” I comment.
She nods distantly and we both fall into a moment of peaceful silence.
“So what’s for dinner” she asks after a moment.
I roll my eyes, all about food this one. “I just got done feeding the district, why don’t you make me dinner for a change”
Her face drops, a scowl quickly coming in my direction.
My grin widens slightly as I concede, “just kidding, what do you feel like love?”
She contemplates these words deeply, her smile returning slowly.
“Maybe some stew” she smiles thoughtfully, “and some cheese buns”
“Of course”
***
“Hi Love” I smile brightly over towards Katniss as I enter the house.
She’s on the couch knitting, or in better words attempting to knit. She’s picked up the quiet pastime fairly recently, inspired somewhat by her mother, though I’m not too sure how she’s going with it all, or whether she even really enjoys it.
Her scowl of concentration dissipates almost instantly, as she looks away from the pesky yarn and smiles warmly back over to me “Hi. You’re home”
I nod briskly, coming over to stand behind her “yeah I am” I press a gentle kiss to her forehead.
“How was your day?” She asks me, pulling me down to the couch with her as she pushes her knitting to the side.
I shrug, “eh same old, little slow today though. Missed you, like usual”
Her smile softens as she admits, “missed you too”
“How ‘bout yours?” I question a moment later, one of my hands finding it’s spot gently running up and down her leg comfortingly.
She shrugs as well, “kind of boring” she admits, “but it’s better now that you’re here”
“Yeah” I murmur, “I’m glad to be home”
***
“You were gone so long!” Katniss whines dramatically the moment I open the door, pouncing on me a moment later to continue what was so rudely interrupted earlier.
“Trust me Love, no one was happy with that” I murmur somewhat jokingly when we finally have to come up for air.
“Never leave me again” she pouts exaggeratedly, “you promised” she reminds me.
“Yes” I agree, remembering the vows I told her only a couple of weeks ago now, “I’ll stay with you, always”
“Always?” She questions.
“Always.” I confirm.
***
My shoulders drop the moment I walk through the door.
My keys quickly deposited off to their usual spot, as I slump my way further into the house.
Today sucked.
It felt as if everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong.
First, an employee down due to sickness, a broken oven and subsequently a ruined batch of bread, and snappy, rude customers, that wouldn’t usually set me off, but on top of everything else, got on my nerves today.
More than anything I want to curl up on the couch and confide in my person, but I see no sign of her.
But then I hear it.
The voice that could stop angels.
She’s upstairs; I let out a brief sigh, a bit of the tension already leaving my body, as I make my way towards the sound of her voice.
I find her in the bathroom, wiping down the sink as she sings melodically.
‘If a great wave shall fall’
‘It would fall upon us all’
‘And between the sand and stone’
‘Could you make it on your—’
Her words trail off as she turns to see me standing there. “You’re home” she lights up.
I nod, but it doesn’t hold it’s usual energy as I’m still so drained.
She frowns, clearly picking up on this as she asks, “bad day?”
I nod again simply.
“What do you need?” She asks plainly, forgetting about her cleaning quickly, though it looks fairly done to me anyway.
“Just you” I reply honestly as I think back to my original idea of snuggling on the couch.
“And maybe that beautiful voice of yours” I add on as an afterthought, a part of me wishing I hadn’t interrupted her so I could have heard the rest of her song.
But of course she already knows what I need, as she finishes her song for me.
***
“Oh goody you’re home” The vulture comes pouncing towards me, snatching the takeaway box I brought home with me from the bakery.
“Gahh!” She moans unceremoniously, taking another bite of the cinnamon roll, she requested I bring back for her “I needed this” she sighs before quickly going in for another bite.
“Good to see you too” I greet sarcastically. Dropping off my keys and toeing off my shoes.
I think it’s cute.
It’s one of my favourite things about Katniss; her love of food and in turn an easy way to her heart.
When she’s done with the first one, she smiles bashfully up to me. “Sorry” she mutters, “I’m really happy to see you too. I just— I’ve been wanting that all day”
My smile widens, “it’s okay love” I comfort, coming over to her side to press a kiss to her forehead and drop a hand to her abdomen, the slightest swell under my hand, that sends excited jitters through me with the knowledge that it’s only going to grow bigger in the coming weeks.
“How was your day?” I continue softly, “were you sick again?”
She shakes her head with a small, grateful smile, “not since the morning”
“That’s good” I nod, “what did you get up to then?”
“Not much” she shrugs, “took a nap, that’s about as exciting as it got”
A small chuckle escapes me.
“How ‘bout you?” She asks in turn.
I shake my head “Oh same old, no big dramas to share this time”
“Bummer, I’ve been dying for some good goss lately” she hums thoughtfully.
“Honey, I think we’re gonna be the next big goss” I admit truthfully, placing my hand back on her belly.
She scowls at the thought but doesn’t deny it, in fact a moment later she smiles softly.
“Are you happy?” She asks me.
“Yeah” I nod quickly, “really happy” I confirm with a warm smile, my hand that still rests on her belly rubbing softly.
“Good, because I’m really happy”
***
The house is quiet when I enter it, which is surprising considering the chaos it was in when I left.
Willow’s been super fussy today, cutting a tooth I suspect, leading to a very unhappy baby.
Not wanting to disturb the peace, nor wake up what I suspect must be the baby finally asleep, I toe off my shoes as quietly as I possibly can and bring the bag of takeaway food to the kitchen to plate up; neither of us were in the mood to cook dinner after a day like today.
I keep expecting for Katniss to come in and greet me, though I was as quiet as I could possibly be, she always seems to have a sense of me being home.
She must be with Willow I surmise quickly, I better go have a look either way, just to make sure everything was alright.
She wasn’t downstairs, so upstairs I went.
Instinct leads me to the nursery first, and there she is; nap trapped with Willow on the rocking chair.
“You’re home” Katniss smiles over to me whispering the words cautiously, but thankfully Willow looks dead asleep, her body desperately trying to catch up what it’s missed the past few days.
I nod, “she’s asleep” I murmur back in reply, somewhat disbelievingly.
“Yeah” Katniss murmurs in a similar tone. “Eventually just tired herself out I think”
“Think she’ll transfer?” I nod towards the crib.
She shrugs softly, careful again not to disturb the sleeping baby in her arms. “I wouldn’t risk it”
“Fair” I concede, “think we could make it downstairs without waking her up then? I could feed you on the couch”
“It’s fine Love, I can wait” Katniss murmurs softly “you go eat now while you have the chance”
“No honey” I argue quickly, “come on you’re looking after her, I need to look after you”
“So think she’ll stay asleep?”
***
“Dada home! Dada home!” I’m greeted quickly by Willow’s little lispy voice, as I open the door.
Then my legs are engulfed by tiny arms.
“Dada” Willow smiles up at me, still hugging my legs tightly.
“Hi Willow” I grin brightly back, leaning down to lift the little girl up in my arms.
She quickly settles into my chest instead, “how was your day?” I ask her, directing the question to Katniss as well, when I notice her slipping out of the kitchen.
“Good” Willow answers simply, while Katniss simply shakes her head, telling me nonverbally it had been somewhat a long day.
“Were you a good girl for mommy?” I ask in turn.
Little willow just nods her head innocently.
“Oh were you?” I confirm, Katniss shaking her head again.
“Someone was a little cheeky today” Katniss finally speaks up, a smile on her face despite the annoyance.
“Really? Doesn’t sound like my Willow” I look down at her with a quizzical look that makes her laugh, then I cover her face with kisses and attack her body with tickles, causing her to shriek.
“Mean dada” Willow pouts, when I’ve stopped, the grin still huge on my face.
“Oh I’m sorry” I pout apologetically.
Coming over to Katniss’ side we share a quick kiss, Willow wiggling in my arms as we do, until I finally drop her down to the floor as I’m assuming she’s wanting.
“Dada paint?” Willow asks excitedly a moment later, moving on quickly.
“Sure bug” I smile down at her, “how about you go change into some messy clothes and dada will come join you in a minute” she’s wearing one of her really fancy dresses today, impractical on all counts; an outfit I already know Katniss eventually gave in to letting her wear, after a few minutes of stubborn arguing between the two of them.
“Okay” Willow grins, racing off upstairs to go do this.
I turn to Katniss again when she’s gone.
“So everything good today?” I ask her again a bit more specifically this time.
She shrugs, “it was fine, but I’m glad you're home again”
I smile, “well I’ll go look after Willow for a while, you go do something you want to do, and that doesn’t include cleaning the kitchen, I’ll do that later when I cook dinner” I instruct clearly, before pressing another quick kiss to her forehead.
“Okay” she nods simply, an appreciative smile on her face.
“I love you”
***
Willow is on the couch, watching a movie and colouring when I return home from work.
She lights up when she sees me, quickly forgetting about both activities as she comes racing over.
“Hi daddy” she smiles, embracing me in her arms as she reaches me.
“You have something for me?” She asks sweetly as she pulls back.
I huff playfully, “and here I thought you were just excited to see me”
She giggles, batting her eyelashes cutely.
I sigh, holding up the bakery bag I brought home with me, one cookie for Willow and both a lemon tart and cinnamon scroll for Katniss, this pregnancy’s most recent cravings.
Willow’s eye’s light up again at the sight of it, reaching out a hand to take it from me.
“How about after dinner” I argue, pulling it back again slightly so it’s out of her reach.
She pouts, arguing back stubbornly, “now”
“After dinner” I repeat.
“Half now, half later” she bargains.
I can’t help but puff out a laugh at this.
“You are so much like your mother” the comment slips out almost absentmindedly; it brings a smile to her face. Seeming genuinely pleased with this.
“Speaking of, where is she?” I continue.
Willow shrugs, “Cleaning I think” she mumbles.
“Of course she is” I murmur, more to myself than anything else.
We’re well on our way to baby watch time now. Especially now if she’s nesting.
“So half now” Willow restarts our original conversation, pointing to the bag I still hold in my hands.
I sigh again, a smile coming to my face despite it. “Okay fine little trader, but don’t spoil your appetite for dinner”
“I won’t” Willow quickly promises, taking the cookie half I hand her with a grin.
“i’m gonna go find mama okay?”
“Okay” Willow nods, finding her way back to the couch where she resumes her activities from before.
As I make my way upstairs, the scent of cleaner fills my senses quickly, confirming as we suspected, Katniss deep in her cleaning.
I can’t hear her though, which is odd since I often find her singing when she cleans.
But it’s made clear why, when I finally enter the nursery, mostly ready for our new arrival due to arrive very soon, that’s all but the laundry, which Katniss must have decided to tackle today.
Because there she is, asleep amongst the pile of clean clothes and blankets and swaddles.
A soft smile comes to my face as I approach, a part of me doesn’t want to wake her up, but she’ll get sore sleeping like this.
“Love” I murmur softly, pressing a gentle hand to her side.
This only causes her to stir slightly, “Love of mine” I murmur a little louder this time, rubbing my hand up and down her side.
“Mmm” Katniss eventually hums, slowly opening her eyes.
“Come on” I smile, “you can go back to sleep somewhere nicer”
“Clothes are soft” I think I hear her murmur, still half asleep.
“Yeah, and our bedsheets are gonna be even softer” I murmur, helping her off the floor.
“I want him to be here” she murmurs as we walk.
I smile reassuringly, “he will be here any day now”
***
“Dada come quickly! It’s an emergency!” Willow comes running to greet me at the door.
My face drops quickly, “what? What’s wrong?” I ask worriedly, dropping my things unceremoniously by the door as I follow her in.
“Rye pooped” she tells me with full sincerity.
This takes me completely by surprise and I can’t help but let out a breath of laughter, slowing what had been a haste journey into the house quickly, as I get my heart back under control now that I know the severity of our ‘issue’.
“Oh, that’s not good!” I agree.
Willow shakes her head, “it stinks” she informs me, the seriousness still there.
“Well” I ruffle her hair, “thanks for your help soldier, I think I’ve got it from here”
Willow nods curtly, racing off in the direction of her toys while I make my way upstairs.
I find them In the nursery, Katniss practically gagging. Okay, yeah. Willow wasn’t exaggerating, it is a bad one.
“Gah what did you do this time poop monster?” I ask sarcastically as I enter, looking to Rye who lies there with an almost smug look on his face, as his mother changes him.
Katniss looks up briefly at my voice, before turning back almost regretfully “Ugh, I don’t think we’re doing peas again” she tells me.
“Noted” I smile, “fine by me and I’m sure fine by him as well” I think back to the expression on his face when we tried him on the new food.
Still lying on his mat, Rye giggles, almost as if in success to the situation.
“You think this is funny?” Katniss asks him, no humour in her voice at all.
This of course only makes him laugh harder at the seriousness on her face, then harder again after another gag that follows shortly after.
“I can take over if you want?” I offer a moment later.
She flashes me an appreciative smile but shakes her head, “I think I’m almost done, besides I’m thinking we might as well just chuck him in the bath anyway”
“Fair” I smile, “well I can go start that then?”
She nods, the grateful smile still on her face. “Thank you, sorry you didn't get a better 'welcome home gift'” she jokes softly.
"don't be silly, I wouldn't have it any other way"
***
Laughter fills my ears the minute I open the door.
Two little voices filling the air with their excited chatter as they play together.
Surprisingly, it isn’t either of those little voices that greet me at the door. Instead I’m practically jumped scared by Katniss throwing her arms around me, after I’ve turned from dropping my stuff down.
Then her lips are on mine and I’m transported back to a time in our relationship where this was our everyday, just Katniss coming to greet me home from work. Just us two spending every night together, with no worries of kids coming to interrupt the moment.
She’s a little aggressive, but I can’t seem to pull away; especially not when this could be all the alone time we get these days.
“You’re feeling better then?” I nod, tucking a bit of loose hair behind her ear as we finally pull back.
She shrugs, “somewhat”
“But I know something that would make me feel even better” she adds with a smile.
“Katniss the kids are awake”
“They’re occupied” she shrugs.
“Katniss”
“What? We could squeeze one in?”
“You’re unbelievable” I can’t help but laugh.
She smiles. “But you love me”
“Real” I smile back.