Spark to Flame: A Finniss Story

Pt IV: Whirlwind to Tempest

They get up early in the morning to begin their march to the Capitol, with Katniss and her team all rushing to get dressed and properly outfitted for their journey.

She's just begun zipping up her bulletproof vest when Plutarch comes in, walking past the others and making his way to her with a rather uneasy look. For a moment she thinks he's about to tell her something horrible has happened to Prim or her mother, but decides to keep her cool until he's said his piece. No need to get all panicky an hour before leaving just because the middle-aged gamemaker wore a look she didn't like.

"Katniss." He greets, somewhat stiffly. She can tell it's just a quick formality to get out of the way before he drops whatever news he has to bring on her, and so she waits for him to do just that. "Um, listen...I know you're busy getting ready for a rebellion and all, but...Peeta asked that I come get you."

She furrows her brows and tilts her head, relieved and somewhat confused. "Peeta?" What would Peeta want with her?

The gamemaker nods. "Yes. He found out that you and your team were planning on heading out this morning and wanted to see you before you left. He wouldn't say why, but I figured I'd let you know in case you wanted to speak with him one last time."

She knows that he doesn't mean it that way, but Plutarch makes it sound like she's going to die a horrible death and that she should seriously weigh her options before deciding to leave without seeing her ex-star-crossed lover. She fully realizes that it would probably bring her some kind of closure to at least see Peeta before she left, but at the same time none of their previous encounters had really been what one would call 'positive', and she couldn't think of a single time when either of them had left each other's presence without one feeling hostile towards the other. She didn't want to leave and then die regretting that she hadn't at least spoken with him (assuming she did die, that is) but she also didn't want to have yet another hurtful conversation that would only lead to tearing them further apart. Not to mention the stress that it was sure to cause her and, therefore, her team.

Still, even if it did go completely south, she would regret it either way. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn't. And so it was decided. She would see him. Because even if it didn't bring any kind of closure to her, maybe it would do something good for him. Peeta would have surely gone to see her if their positions were reversed, and it was the least she could do to try and mend the rift between them. It was worth a try.

"Okay." She says, nodding to reassure herself of her decision. "Take me to him."

Plutarch looks slightly taken aback, as though he had never thought she'd actually agree, but ultimately nods his approval once he's recovered from his shock.

She gets permission from Boggs and follows after the gamemaker, deliberately ignoring the looks she gets from Finnick and Gale as she goes to see the boy with the bread.

~*~

Walking into Peeta's holding cell feels a little like walking into a lion's den.

Katniss takes a deep breath as the two guards assigned to Peeta's post close the large metal doors behind her. She feels trapped, locked inside an inescapable room with a man capable of suffocating her with just his gaze alone. He has so much more fire inside him now that he's been hijacked, so different from the person she used to know. He's changed. But then again, so has she.

"Peeta." She greets, nodding to him.

"Katniss." He greets back, nodding back.

She doesn't wait for things to get awkward. "You said you wanted to see me?"