stillplaying | for preemptiveforgiveness

Her life shouldn't be so good. With all of the sins that she's committed in her life, she shouldn't be this happy. It's an odd feeling and at first, Katniss hadn't been certain what it was. Happiness on this kind of scale hadn't been a part of her life in a long time. Since before her father had died. But that fluttering in her chest that she's felt every morning for the past month hadn't been the sign of an oncoming cold but the joy she felt from waking up in Matt's arms. Almost every single morning, the steady rhythm of his heart is the first thing that she hears. His lips have been the first thing she's tasted. His face the first thing she sees.

This might not have been the second chance Matt had had in mind when he initially taken her in but it's better than any other she could ask for. Hard, tricky, terrifying, but still better than any life she let herself picture on the rare occasion Katniss thought there might be something post-Games. What had there been if she was ever let free of the Games? A life of more fighting? Prostitution? Drinking herself to an early death once she was certain that there was enough money in Prim's account to afford college? Or ODing instead. Any life after the Games wasn't going to be a life at all.

But this second chance is better than anything she could ask. Being loved so thoroughly, loving Matt in return. Waking up every morning knowing this man beside her thinks the world of her. It's given her a new kind of courage in which to face the world. She hadn't been afraid to go on subsequent dates with her. She hadn't even thought twice about kissing him in the office one evening, a couple of weeks into their new relationship. Foggy and Karen had been there but she hadn't cared. And that had been liberating. Everything about life has been liberating lately. She's even managed to last the past week at her current job no matter how much she hates waitressing.

Everything has been going well. And shortly after their first date, when she had brought up the idea of being his sidekick again, he hadn't argued. He's taken time out of his normal nightly patrols to work with her instead. Matt's idea of fighting is something much more graceful than the rough and tumble version she had picked up in the ring. It's taken her a while to unlearn a lot of what she had picked up to survive but Katniss is of the opinion that she's progressing. And tonight, when she finally succeeds in knocking Matt off his feet, she feels a sense of pride that she hasn't felt for a long time.

She falls to her knees beside him and leans over to plant a kiss on his lips. "Gotcha," she murmurs against his mouth. "Finally."

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He's not incredible. He's just a man. Katniss is the incredible one for putting up with him, for loving him the way she does. He knows that living with him isn't easy and loving him is even harder.

They'll get better and they'll know what to work on after tonight. He's not used to working with anyone either and he probably should have signaled her before he stopped. He listens to her shot, knows it hits the man's temple and leaves him alive. He hears her whisper (though he knows it's quiet enough that no one else does). He listens to the second man go down and and steps up behind Katniss, bowing his head to graze her cheek with his lips. "After this, I'm buying you ice cream."

Because clearly that's what's necessary.

He steps in front of her and continues down the hall to the next stairwell. "Four downstairs," he says. "Plus head guy we're really aiming for."

He's so far from just a man. That he doesn't realize that only adds to his appeal. Living with him isn't always easy but given her previous life, Katniss has absolutely no complaints. And while living with him might be an option, loving him isn't one at all. It's something that had hit her hard early on and now just comes so naturally to her. Life is hard. That love can be too is no surprise.

The next time she accompanies him on one of his patrols will be easier. As will the time after that, and so on. Archery lessons as a child had taught her how practice makes perfect. Katniss won't quit because they've encountered a few hiccups this time around. Not everything's going wrong. Based on Matt's reaction to her shots, neither man died. The risk worked. "You better."

Ice cream makes life all the richer.

She follows him down the hall, careful to keep a little more distance between them this time in case he stops short again. It helps knowing that he can hear her whisper even from a distance. "What do you want to do with them?"

Growing up, they're all told that love conquers all, which somehow leaves one to believe that love is easy. It must be if it's all powerful, right? It's only with time and experience that one begins to realize that nothing with power is easy, love included. He remembers a line from a movie 'if it were easy, it wouldn't be worth as much' and he tries to remind himself of that when anything gets hard: love, either of his jobs, life.

She's done a fantastic job of not killing anyone. He needs to see about getting her some taser style arrows or something like that. Even a crossbow with different sorts of bolts would help.. He grins at her 'threat'. "Yes, Ma'am," he whispers in return.

Always.

He hears her whisper and he responds, turning his face a bit so that she can hear him whisper in return. "Look at the men closest to the boss. Shoot one of them in his shooting arm with an arrow. He'll be wearing his gun on that hip, then hold an arrow on their boss. If I need help, shoot them in the leg. It'll slow them down enough and isn't usually fatal."

Really, these are things they need to go over some time when they're not on a mission, but Matt hadn't thought about talking her through these things because he doesn't often use weapons, or if he does they're something he picks up in the area.

Growing up, they're told a lot of things. A lot of things that wind up not necessarily being true. And a lot of things that wind up being true. Love can conquer all - if you actually work hard at making love succeed. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Katniss doesn't know what movie that's from, either, but it's true. So very true.

Taser arrows aren't the kind of arrows she's ever considered using before. Any kind of trick arrows, like the ones Hawkeye has, seem a little beyond her. To start off with, she wouldn't even know where to purchase them. But they would help. A lot more than these tricky shots she's currently taking. They'll have to have a talk about that. Over ice cream. Or after sex. Something like that.

It's not that hard to determine which of the men in the room is the one in charge. The way the others all seem to defer to him make it rather obvious. She watches the men that stand around him. Soon enough, her eyes fall on the man with the holster hanging off of his hip. She picks an arrow from her quiver. "Aiming," Katniss whispers as she pulls back on the string. She doesn't bother to tell him when she lets go. The man's shocked scream is signal enough.

He'll have to trust her that love can conquer all because she's the first sign he's seen that it's remotely true. He's pretty sure that he loved Electra at one point, but he's also certain that she didn't love or respect the person that he is. That one, he would definitely agree with. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. He's not sure what that's from either.

He'll have to talk to his guy. He's pretty sure that he can make something for her. Maybe even sedative arrows, anything to knock people out without actually killing them. Well, he knows which one he's voting for. Ice cream doesn't stand a chance.

Matt can hear the bowstring snap; he can hear the arrow slicing through the air and thudding into the man's arm. He's got just enough time to whisper 'good job' before he jumps over the railing, lands on his feet and launches into action, disarming and knocking guards unconscious. The boss raises a gun and Matt stops. "I wouldn't. I've got a lady with an arrow aimed at your head right now and she doesn't miss. Put the gun down."

There's a tense moment where the man is trying to decide what to do. He's got one body guard still conscious, but his shooting arm is messed up and he's in a lot of pain. Matt turns his head toward that guy. "Leave the arrow in. Pulling it out is going to cause a lot more damage."

The boss lowers the gun and Matt looks up. "Mockingjay, why don't you come down here with me. Keep the arrow trained on his head."

It hasn't been all that long. Months, really. But they've been long enough to make Katniss think that maybe love is real. Maybe it's something that they both deserve. And maybe it's something that they've finally found. She can't say why now, why they work so well, but it's there. It hasn't been easy and it's never going to be easy but maybe for them, they'll never have to find someone else to love.

He definitely will have to talk to his guy. If he can make anything as useful as the suit that she's wearing now, Katniss has every bit of faith that he'll make her some amazing arrows. And for treating her to such a lovely (albeit useful) gift, she'll make sure to reward him properly. Ice cream and sex. Why pick one?

Katniss barely hears him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, his compliment registers. She's too distracted watching Matt in action. Her arrow is aimed at the man exactly as told and she does her best to focus. His moves are graceful and beautiful, something she admires. But his life (both their lives) are also at stake. Her draw on the bowstring doesn't waver, even as she steps out of the shadows.

"I don't miss," she tells the boss. She smiles sweetly at the man. There's a challenge hidden in that grin, almost as if she's asking him to test her skill. From the corner of her eye, Katniss looks at Matt. "Daredevil?"

for preemptiveforgiveness

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