The Hunger Games One Shots

First Word

District 12 after the rebellion

"Come on, Willow. Say it. Say something. Anything." Peeta encouraged, playing with his child. Katniss laid on the ground beside them, watching their daughter grin and giggle.

"She's not going to do it." Katniss replied, smiling, her cheek resting in her hand.

"Oh, she will," Peeta waved away. He turned back to the blue eyed girl, smiling at her. "Yes, you will. You'll prove Momma wrong." He cooed, his voice in a higher octave.

Katniss groaned, laying on her back. As excited as Katniss was to have their child begin speaking, she was also nervous. At first, Willow would begin to babble goofy, meaningless words. But once she started connecting words and growing curious, questions would start to be asked.

Questions Katniss wasn't ready to answer.

"Say, 'Momma.'" Peeta demanded, rolling on his back, having Willow standing on his stomach.

But for now, Katniss decided to ignore her growing fear. She couldn't worry about the future. She moved closer to Peeta, smiling at their baby towering over them. "Say, 'Dadda.'"

Peeta laughed, tilting his head to rest against Katniss'. "Yeah. Say, 'Dadda.'"

Willow paused, seeming to be processing what she was told. Peeta and Katniss held their breaths, watching. The word seemed to be resting on the tip of her tongue, waiting to roll off her lips.

Instead, she laughed, her blue eyes brightening.

"You're a little stinker. You know that, right?" Katniss sighed, slightly disappointed. Peeta laughed, tossing Willow up and catching her.

"You sure like to play tricks." Peeta said, sitting up. Katniss followed suit, reaching out to the baby.

"You like to play tricks on Momma and Dadda, huh?" Katniss asked, her voice in a higher octave. Willow laughed, kicking her legs in excitement. "I take that as a yes."

xxx

"Yes, cheese!" Peeta cheered, holding out a slice of cheese to the toddler. Willow made a noise, a smile wide on her face. Peeta shrugged his shoulder, tossing the slice in front of her. "Close enough."

"I'm surprised she hasn't spoken yet. Delly said Aurora started speaking by this age already." Katniss said, watching Willow eagerly grab her snack and bring it to her teething mouth.

"I'm sure she's fine," Peeta replied. He bent over, pinching his child's chubby cheek. "Just a late bloomer is all."

"How are you so calm about this?" Katniss asked, arching her eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid that something's wrong with her? Maybe we're doing something wrong?"

Peeta slightly frowned, watching the blue eyed toddler. "I don't know. I guess I don't think about that."

"About something being wrong with her?" Katniss asked.

He shook his head, his blonde waves shifting. "No. Nothing could ever be wrong with her. She's our baby, our creation. She's our Willow." He spoke, holding his hand out to her. Smiling, she tightly gripped his pointer finger.