Actually, I do. [The skepticism is understandable, and Pepper keeps her calm. She’s no less certain in the face of Katniss’s disbelief.]
The person I’m with couldn’t tell me he loved me for a very long time. Even after we’d been together for over two years, he just couldn’t get the words out. Not until I nearly died on the last draft. [She hesitates then, not only to find the right words, but to keep back the emotion that accompanies the memory. It had been one of the worst experiences of her life, yet also one of the best, and she smiles faintly as she describes it.] I was infected, but they gave me the protocure so I wouldn’t lose my mind. It meant that I was aware of everything happening to me: all of the pain, and the…hunger. [She swallows, hoping that Katniss knows enough about what happened to understand what that means. Pepper isn’t willing to explain it.]
We found out the Malnosso were going to bomb Vaskoth to end the infection, and Tony—Tony refused to leave. [Adamantly refused, and Pepper remembers all too well the conflicted feelings that overwhelmed her, along with the sense of helplessness.] He could have, because he wasn’t infected. He just would not let me die alone.
Then he helped me dance. Dancing together is something very special to us, and he wanted to help me forget everything that was happening, even for a few minutes. That’s when he said it, and just hearing it made me happy. In spite of everything else, all of it—I really was happy in that moment.
And that’s how I know Peeta was too, when you said it, and why I think it’s better. That you’re better, for being able to trust another person that much.
Re: [voice/locked]
The person I’m with couldn’t tell me he loved me for a very long time. Even after we’d been together for over two years, he just couldn’t get the words out. Not until I nearly died on the last draft. [She hesitates then, not only to find the right words, but to keep back the emotion that accompanies the memory. It had been one of the worst experiences of her life, yet also one of the best, and she smiles faintly as she describes it.] I was infected, but they gave me the protocure so I wouldn’t lose my mind. It meant that I was aware of everything happening to me: all of the pain, and the…hunger. [She swallows, hoping that Katniss knows enough about what happened to understand what that means. Pepper isn’t willing to explain it.]
We found out the Malnosso were going to bomb Vaskoth to end the infection, and Tony—Tony refused to leave. [Adamantly refused, and Pepper remembers all too well the conflicted feelings that overwhelmed her, along with the sense of helplessness.] He could have, because he wasn’t infected. He just would not let me die alone.
Then he helped me dance. Dancing together is something very special to us, and he wanted to help me forget everything that was happening, even for a few minutes. That’s when he said it, and just hearing it made me happy. In spite of everything else, all of it—I really was happy in that moment.
And that’s how I know Peeta was too, when you said it, and why I think it’s better. That you’re better, for being able to trust another person that much.