-Epilogue-

Secret Moments

A year flows by, then two, with barely a change of seasons to mark them. Winter is just slightly less warm than summer. It's a new rhythm; tide in, tide out. Drier months, rainy months. The flowering bushes by our windows never sleep.

The house is small, but it fits us. Every space is bright and fresh, the kitchen full of color, our bedroom lush with floral scents and always that tang of salt. I take a moment just to sit and collect myself.

I'm tired from my day with the boys. Aaron and Flynn Odair have a way of overwhelming their mother despite the younger not yet walking. Finnick can't always be at home, and Annie welcomes my company and my help. I wish I had more time to offer. I have lessons to give, arrows to fletch, letters to write… So much more than I ever thought I'd do.

I feel alive each day.

Right now, though, I feel hungry too. A glance at the clock says Clove was delayed, probably shaving stray grams off a harpoon shaft until it balances on one finger. That's her teacher's standard, and she rises to every challenge. Soon she'll start making the spear points and knife blades; then the challenge will be selling her creations instead of collecting each one.

No sooner do I think of getting dinner alone than the front door opens and I hear her call my name.

"Kat. Hey. Sorry I'm late." She grins and hugs me. When she comes from the forge she always smells of wood chips and coal. It reminds me of District Twelve.

"It's okay. Haven't been home long."

"You look tired."

"Thanks." I shrug. "Looking forward to your day off tomorrow."

"Me too." She kisses me. "Me too."

I wake from a doze on my bed of sand. High above, the sun, warm on my skin. Beside me, a girl in peaceful sleep. I sit up and look across the beach, down where pipers chase the surf and foam builds at the water's edge. Around us, surrounding us, the whisper of dune grass took us to sleep. I stretch my toes and bare legs and wonder what time it is. Not too late yet, but getting on.

"Clove."

"…mmhm."

"We need to go soon," I tell her.

"But I just laid down."

"No, it's been a couple hours. Finnick and Annie will be expecting us."

She fixes her emeralds on me. "I don't care if we're a little late. Don't get many free days anymore."

I relent when she lounges across my lap. She deserves her time off, though as much as she complains about work, I know she loves every minute of it. It gave her new purpose, a sense of self-sufficiency and power. Even Dr. Ishida said, when he saw her for her six-month assessment, that by her disposition alone he wouldn't have recognized her. She couldn't stop smiling at the sight of clean brain scans. Hearing that there would be follow-ups for the next two years did nothing to dampen her mood.

That was a wonderful day. Thrilled and beautiful. We took a train home that passed through District Two with the mountainsides of colored trees and bright autumn sunshine.

I look down at the ring on my finger and let it catch the sun. Things are so different now; I wonder every now and then what life would be like if she hadn't appeared from the snow that day. She wouldn't be around to know.

Maybe I wouldn't be, either.

Thoughts of the past don't frighten me now. Still, there's little point in dwelling. I've made mistakes. Lost. Gained. Broken old promises, but made new ones, new ones I can happily keep. I know the same is true for her.

"Kat?"

"Uh?"

"Where'd you go?" She waggles her fingers in front of my face.

"Sorry. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Everything."

"Damn, all at once?" She brushes sand from her hair, and I smile.

"You. Us. This."

"Been this way for a while now."

"And I hope it never changes," I tell her.

"Not if I can help it. I'm quite happy here. Right. Here." With an evil grin she curls around me and digs her fingers into my sides. I gasp and try to stand, but she has me, and I end up sprawled in the sand with her looking victoriously down at me.

"You never see that coming." Her lips flutter against mine.

"If I didn't like it you'd never get the chance."

"Keep telling yourself that." She kisses me, tentatively as she's been doing, not wanting to push too far. Maybe it's the light making her eyes sparkle; maybe it's the hush of the grass that secludes us… I want more. I lean up to her and kiss her deeper, lingering, heart jumping in my chest. Her arms feel so good wrapped around my shoulders. Holding, protecting. Run my hands down the curve of her back and feel heat deep within.

She's right – we can stay a while. This is our time, and no one can see us here. Fear and doubt left far behind. Just the sand, the sky, and the two of us.

My Clove and me.

Free.