The Hunger Games One Shots

Survivors

District 12

"Uncle Haymitch!" The little girl shouted as she entered the house. She laughed and jumped into his lap and he picked her up, placing a kiss in her cheek.

"Hey, blue eyes!" He smiled and she squealed in his lap. "How was school today?" He asked, brushing her brown locks behind her ears.

"Good." She grinned. Katniss was entering the kitchen, holding her blonde haired baby on her hip. A soft smile was present on her face. Haymitch had been an important role in her family's life. Her mother had only seen her and Peeta's children once and Gale vowed to never come back to District 12.

"What did you learn about today?" Haymitch asked, admiring the little girl. She looked like a carbon copy of her mother, but with Peeta's blue eyes. She had shown common personality traits of both though. She had her mother's stubbornness and her father's gentleness.

The little girl became silent, looking to the floor. She mumbled something under her breath that no one could understand. "What was that, sweetheart?" Haymitch questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

Peeta had entered the room, quickly noticing how tense it was inside. Everyone stopped and stared at their daughter, wondering what was going through her mind. She kept her head low, never bringing her eyes up. "We learned about the Hunger Games." She whispered.

Everyone froze.

Immediately, the gray eyed boy fussed, tugging on his mother dress, his face become a shade of red. Peeta gripped onto a kitchen chair, his blue eyes staring off into space as he slightly shook.

Haymitch picked up the girl, placing her on his hip. "Let's go to your room, okay?" He stated as he quickly left the room. The little girl began to cry, asking what was happening, her voice getting softer and softer as Haymitch took her away.

Katniss looked to Peeta, who was beginning to tremble more. The chair squeaked on the floorboards as it was shook from Peeta's strong grip. Katniss hugged him behind, rubbing her open hand up and down his arm, trying to comfort him the same way she had been the past couple of years.

Slowly, he calmed back down, his trembles softly going away. "Who teaches a six year old about the Hunger Games?" He breathed, his blue eyes becoming glossy. Katniss took a deep breath, walking to look into Peeta's blue eyes.

"Peeta, we knew she would learn about it someday." Katniss softly replied.

"I know, but not today. Not this soon," He quickly argued. "She was so full of-of innocence and-and now she knows. She knows what we did to other people, good people."

"We don't know how much she knows. Maybe she doesn't know our part." Katniss offered. Peeta nodded his head, licking his lips in thought.

"And what if she does? What are we supposed to tell her?" He questioned, his blue eyes piercing through Katniss's gray ones.

"I don't know." She confessed, biting on her lower lip. They had talked about what to do when this time came, but they never expected it to be this soon. It felt like the war had just ended, that their little girl had only had a few years of peace. It had been over 20 years ago though.

"Your little girl is refusing to talk to anyone besides her father." Haymitch declared as he entered into the kitchen. Katniss and Peeta turned to look into their mentor's eyes, hoping he would give them some type of advice.

"What does she know?" Peeta asked, his voice slightly shaking.

"From what I got out of her, just the basics. That the capital used to send children into the Hunger Games until someone won. I don't think she knows that any of us were apart of it." Haymitch explained.

Peeta slightly nodded his head, licking his lips. "Okay. I'll go talk to her." He replied, heading towards the bedroom. Katniss and Haymitch quickly followed behind him, placing their ears against the door as soon as Peeta shut it.

"That girl is as stubborn as you are, ya know that?" Haymitch softly groaned as he brushed his dark locks out of his gray eyes. Katniss rolled her similar gray eyes as her son slightly fussed. Haymitch quickly reached over, taking him from her arms.

Peeta took a deep breath, walking over to her bed. She was hidden under the covers, hiding from the world. Somedays, Peeta wished he could do the same.

He walked over to her bed, gently shaking her. She peeked her blue eyes out, fear present in them. "Hi, baby." He softly smiled. As soon as she realized it was her father, she crawled out.

"Hi, Daddy." She replied. Peeta picked her up, placing her on his lap. She cuddled into his chest. Peeta took another deep breath. What was he supposed to say? This was something no one should ever have to go through, let alone learn about.

"Do you want to talk about what happened today?" He asked, his blue eyes looking into hers. She slightly frowned, nodding her head.

"Uncle Haymitch said it was a very bad thing done by very bad people." She explained, her face stern and serious. Peeta nodded his head, understanding what she knew. She didn't know much, but it was enough to frighten her.

"That's right," Peeta softly replied. "Anything else you know?"

"My teacher said that there are survivors all around us. She asked if we knew any, but I didn't." She replied, her voice now sounding more sure of herself.

Peeta held his breath, unsure what to say. He didn't want to talk about it, not now, but he couldn't lie to his little girl. "We are all survivors, every one of us. Some things that seem easy to you, may seem difficult to someone else. Me, Momma, and Uncle Haymitch all had an important role during this time. When the time is right, I will tell you what I've been through." Peeta softly explained.

"And Momma and Uncle Haymitch?" She asked, her sweet voice, placing a smile on everyone's faces.

"When they're ready," Peeta softly smiled. He closed his eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead, leaving his lips there until she pulled away. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy." She grinned, giving him a tight hug.

Katniss and Haymitch let out a sigh on the other side of the door. The conversation could have taken a turn of the worst, but Peeta was able to save her. He was able to protect her from the nightmares they experience almost every night. "Damn, that boy sure has a way with your kid." Haymitch admitted.

"I know. But she'll have to know soon," Katniss replied. "Do you think she'll still look at us the same? Will she still love us?"

"She'll have to know her history someday, Katniss. She'll know what all of us did to survive in our world," Haymitch stated, his Seam eyes looking into Katniss's. "But that little girl has grown up with the toughest people the world has ever seen. There's no doubt in my mind that she'll still love you and look up to like she does today."

Katniss smiled, reaching over the run her fingers through her son's blonde curls. "Same with him?" She asked.

"Same with him." Haymitch repeated, nodding his head.

~~~~~~~~~
Sorry if this seemed quick or out of character. I just really love the idea of Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch raising these two kids. It just seems like the perfect ending for them, especially since Peeta had always wanted kids.