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"If they were watching us, they would have stopped us." She hissed back, scowling.

It wouldn't make sense for them to just...let them wander around.

Still, she reached back and gripped her hospital gown closed. Just in case.

Maybe they know we won't get far, he wanted to say, but with Katniss' current tone of voice... he figured it was better to keep it to himself.

He tried to keep his eyes straight when noticing how she covered herself up. Now was not the time, Peeta...

If this building made any sense, they should be heading towards the exit. Stairs, or an elevator, or anything to get them up and away. Hallways peeled away from this one, like the ones the hospital wing had been off of, and occasionally she grabbed Peeta to hold him back as she sensed signs of life down this one or that.

"...this place is huge."

How much of District 13 was there?

"We're underground, it could go on for miles and we wouldn't know." Literally an underground district. It was still so difficult to fathom.

It felt like they had been wandering aimlessly for far too long before he noticed a door at the end of one particular hallway. Hell, at this point he had no idea how to even get back to their rooms so the only logical way to go was forward.

"Look," he pointed, a simple door like any other ahead of them, yet there was a symbol beside it that suggested it held an elevator-esque contraption inside.

She gave him a big smile, glad he was noticing things she wasn't. The lights out here were staring to make her head pounds.

They were going to be a pair getting to District 12.

A little bit of stealth was sacrificed for a run to the elevator. It would get them up, at least.

At this rate if they hadn't been caught yet, it was probably okay to run a little. They were so close to... wherever they were headed. They'd figure it out together.

"Think it works?"

The door hissed open, and Katniss was actually starting to feel a little giddy.

This was happening. They were getting out. She reached out behind her, pulling Peeta into the elevator as she hit the top floor.

Although Peeta tended to be optimistic about many things, this was one situation he was growing more and more skeptical over. It couldn't be this easy to leave an underground district, especially one that had been kept secret for... how many years? And yet when he looked over to Katniss she seemed so hopeful, so relieved, he couldn't bring himself to speak...

He reached for her hand again and held it instead, smiling slightly. Even as the elevator began to move to who knew where, he held on.

The elevator moved up. Closer to the sky. Closer to home and freedom. She gripped Peeta's hand, smiling wide.

So when the elevator door opened, and Haymitch was standing there with a wide smile on his face, hers didn't catch up quite fast enough.

"Enjoying your jail break?"

His stomach did a small twist at seeing Haymitch instead of blue skies, though Peeta could hardly say he was surprised. Not letting go of her hand, he gave it a small squeeze, almost apologetic.

"We were tired of staring at white walls... just wanted a nicer view."

"Uh huh. Come on." He turned, walking down the hall while Katniss stared blankly at the back walking away from them.

Her hand gripped Peeta's tightly, still not really having adjusted to the fact the freedom she thought was so lose...wasn't close at all.

"...really?"

Peeta stood his ground with her there, not wanting to break her hopes even more.

"What if we don't come?"

Haymitch paused, turning to face them.

"Well, the elevator does go back down. If you want. They can lead you back to your hospital beds."

"No!" Katniss burst out. She wasn't going down.

Peeta's thumb brushed over the top of her hand, trying to calm her down. He understood her frustration and why being down here felt so suffocating. He knew what had happened to her father and he couldn't imagine her inner struggle when she was trapped literally underground.

Although Haymitch had been keeping so much from them, he was the only other person Peeta felt like he could truly trust right now. Despite that fact.

"We just... want to know what's going on. It only seems fair we get some answers." A sigh. "And some pants would also be nice."

Her free hand shot back as Haymitch let out a bark of laughter, continuing on. He knew they would follow. With quick wrist flick, she had the edges of her gown snapped together in her fist, ears turning red.

"...let's go." She muttered to Peeta.

Peeta tried his best to contain a laugh of his own at Katniss' reaction. They had both become so invested in finding a way out that they hadn't been focusing on something like that after a while.

With another squeeze of her hand, he began to follow Haymitch, feeling resigned but also relieved. They may not be leaving 13 for good, but they'd be getting news. Maybe the air out there wasn't healthy to be in? He... hadn't even considered that. Suddenly he was grateful they'd been found quickly.

They were lead through long hallway after long hallway, Haymitch not giving them anything, and Katniss scowling next to Peeta as they went.

She knew Haymitch was enjoying making her stew. Of course that didn't stop her from just glaring at him more. Lucky for Haymitch, looks could not kill.

Finally they came to a room with two guards. Haymitch talked to one of them briefly, and the woman nodded, slipping off.

"She getting you pants before you meet President Coin. Figured you might apperciate it."

Very lucky looks could not kill.

((So do we wanna sorta summarize the meeting? So we aren't playing everyone in 13?))

And even luckier, their pants arrived fairly quick, giving them time to regain some dignity and join in on what felt like a very serious arrangement. Peeta only let go of Katniss' hand so they could discreetly get dressed, but moments later he was at her side again, wondering how she was handling this internally. At least they were being given this opportunity...

Before he could ask however, Haymitch was leading them past the guards and into the main room. Peeta had only been expecting to see President Coin so he was more than surprised when they entered a room full of people, both familiar and unfamiliar. Relief washed over him at seeing the faces of Finnick and Beetee especially, alive and well as far as he could tell. Well... they were alive. That was more than good news.

The mood in the room however was serious and he could tell that everyone there had known Katniss and he were on their way, while they hadn't even known if their friends were still breathing.

"Right, there you two are. Take your seats and let's get on with this." The woman Peeta assumed to be President Coin did not sound happy.

[[fine with me c:]]

Edited 2012-06-27 03:14 (UTC)

Her eyes moved around the room, lighting on familiar faces. Finnick, Beetee, and her heart lifted when she found him, Gale.

Even angry at their treatment, she was glad for all of this. All of them.

Her joy was short lived.

The debriefing was quick but brutal. The images shown were not gratuitous, but not edited either, and he hand tightened on Peeta's when they showed a brief shot of town. Looking up at Gale, watching them, she knew from the look he gave her that there wasn't good news for Peeta among the survivors.

They were told the rough outline of the plan, but Coin cut them off before Plutarch could lay out every small detail.

"You two probably have a lot to think about. Clearly as you are escaping from the hospital you are well enough to be assigned a cdorm. Boggs, will you escort them to dorm A327?" She waited for him to nod, before looking at them both.

"Before you go, one thing I want you to consider...the Capitol did this too you. They destroyed your District. And the two of you are in a unique position to use your voices to bring them down."

And with that she stood, walking out.

Although he had entered this escape plan with Katniss on a positive note, the reality of their situation was now hitting Peeta hard. The images shown of their home were numbing to the point where he couldn't find the strength to squeeze her hand back reassuringly. Most of what was being said faded into faint static as he thought of his family, his neighbors, friends. Most were dead and he was sure at least half of his family had perished, if not all of them. What were the chances that he'd see his parents somewhere in this underground place that was suddenly their home? Or his brothers?

The ringing in his ears took some time to go away but when he was able to focus again, he heard what was expected of all of them now. There were plans formed already and more to come. They had to be involved with this. He took Coin's words to heart, knowing that they were in the center of all this mess and could not ignore it. Their duty... was no longer to survive the Games but simply to survive.

Once Coin was gone his eyes hardened, feeling more determined than ever to do something. Even when the person named Boggs came to lead them to their new residence, Peeta was abnormally quiet, lost in his mind. He wanted to talk to the others as well and see how they were doing, but right now... he couldn't bring himself to try.

They were rushed out quickly, and she had little time to make eye contact with Gale one last time, trying to pick up any ques from him before they were parted. But if he was trying to psychically communicate anything, their bond wasn't sending both ways.

They were lead down more blank, white halls, but unlike before there were quite populated. Even with the late hour. Until they reached the dimmed out living quarters, she wasn't even sure it was night.

Boggs opened a door, leading them into a sparse apartment. There was a small living area, with a door leading to the bedroom and bathroom to the right.

"Miss Everdeen, your sister and your mother are staying just down the hall. They will come find you tomorrow. In the morning, when you wake, put your arms there and you'll get your schedules." He swallowed, knowing that when he left there would be a lot of emotions in his wake. "Someone will come by tomorrow to help you find your way around."

And then he was gone.

The fact that he hadn't mentioned anything about a member of Peeta's family was more than enough to let him know indirectly. He had no one.

Once it was just the two of them again, he put on a brave face, giving her a bit of a smile. "You should go see them now anyway, I'm sure they're worried about you."

Oh, she wanted to go see them. Badly. But they were safe and secure, and Peeta...

She hadn't missed that omission either.

"It's late. They are probably both fast asleep. It's not news were here, anyway. It can wait."

Or it could. Unless he wanted to be alone. Katniss couldn't imagine what was going on in his head right now.

There had always been the possibility that he would never see his family again. The first time he was a tribute he was almost positive of that fact, but then he was able to go home and just briefly believe that things would be okay. Then the second round had come and he knew at least, even when he did die, his family would be okay. They'd move on quickly.

Would he have traded places with them in a heartbeat if he knew this would happen? Of course.

He felt selfish thinking of this when that meeting made it so clear that there were more important matters to focus on as soon as possible. His family was just a miniscule portion of the countless victims. They mattered to no one but Peeta right now.

"Are you sure? Prim probably wouldn't mind being woken up by you."

Maybe Peeta didn't want to be alone, but she knew if she had said all of that she would want nothing more than a few moment alone to...fall apart. Get herself back together.

"I'll just go say hi. Real quick." She squeezed his hands, before slipping out the door. Giving him some time.

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boner, boner, boner...

odihasiod dat ass ok :|

it's fair. She DOES have a nice ass.

peeta approves

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You ok with us both playing Haymitch?

Sure!

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I'M STILL HERE BB SEE

you are also adorable

ashdasioh shhh am not 8|

you are. Stop lying.

NEVER /flies away

no don't leave me.

... f-fine ;; /flies back to

yessss