The Tribute Returns (Percy Jackson Hunger Games crossover)

Life Without Him

Katniss sat on the train back to District 12, looking out the window pensively. Her time in the Capitol after the Games had gone relatively uneventfully. She couldn't remember how they depicted her story in the recap at the end. She couldn't really remember anything other than her interaction with Finnick.

However, she knew that something still needed to be addressed. Whatever she had done at the end to the remaining monsters confused and frightened her, and she knew that the Capitol felt the same. She almost wanted President Snow to just approach her about it, so she could stop worrying about what was going to happen. She just hoped that her family would be safe.

Lost in her thoughts, she wasn't sure if it was minutes or hours before the train slowed to a stop outside the District 12 Justice Center. 

Haymitch stood up and turned to her, looking intensely into her eyes. "Katniss, you're not out of the woods yet. Something happened in there to make Snow consider you a threat, but I don't need or want to know what it is. You need to continue putting on his show, alright? In order to heighten the drama between you and Percy, they've turned Gale into a sort of darkly attractive counterpart. The Capitol girls are falling over him almost as much as they are Percy. You need to really overplay the romance between you two, work with him over how much detail you want to share of your past. You can also just make stuff up, as long as you agree on it beforehand. Make it compelling enough, and they'll leave you alone, got it?"

Katniss nodded tiredly. "Yeah, I've got it. Keep pretending, don't be me because I'm not as likable as the 'girl on fire'. I know, Haymitch."

He sighed, but accepted her response and opened up the train. There was her mother, Gale and his siblings, and... Prim.

"Prim," Katniss choked out and rushed over to her. 

"Shh, Katniss it's okay. You survived, just like Percy said you would. He would've hated living as a victor, you know that. That's just the way he is. Besides, he wanted you and Gale to be happy," Prim told her.

Katniss pulled back slightly. "What?" she asked in disbelief, looking into Prim's eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Percy... when we came and visited him before he left, he promised everyone that he'd bring you back safely. He's not selfish or stupid, and he knew that you and Gale had more history... he didn't want to come between you guys."

Katniss closed her eyes and took a deep breath, furiously blinking back her tears. She hugged Prim again before quickly standing up and throwing herself into Gale's waiting arms. She almost let herself go then, almost let herself fully mourn, but she knew that she still couldn't. That the Capitol was still watching. She knew she had to put on a show, but that didn't mean she'd lay bare her emotions for their entertainment. 

After composing herself slightly with her face buried in Gale's shirt, she pulled back to embrace her mother. 

"Katniss, I'm so proud of you," she whispered. "You won, but you didn't give in. You didn't turn into the sort of ruthless killer that all those other victors did. You stayed true to yourself through it all, and that's what real victory is."

"I know, mom... but it was only because of Percy. If he hadn't been there to take care of all the other tributes, I couldn't have won without losing myself. He's the one who deserved to win, not me," she mumbled. 

"Percy did win. His battle was a different one from yours, but he most certainly won it. Do you think the Capitol could have avoided showing the final battle? That was supposed to be their ultimate victory. Long, drawn out, and savage. That's what it was all those other years, teammates turning on each other ruthlessly and destroying the confidence and morale of the Districts. But Percy twisted it. He died protecting tributes from three other districts; do you think that went unnoticed? He beat the Capitol at their own game. He wanted to die his own person, and he inspired a nation in the process," Mrs. Everdeen told her daughter.