Trade With Darius Kiss

Katniss Everdeen entered the Hob with plenty of fresh game to sell. As she was making her trade at Greasy Sae's stall, she was approached by Darius, a redheaded friendly Peacekeeper.

"Got anything left over, Ms. Everdeen?" Darius asked.

Katniss shrugged. She had very few people within her orbit of Folks She Cared About, and Darius's fun-loving personality was one of them. "Plenty. And since Greasy Sae was my last stop, all that's left can be yours."

Darius looked into her game bag, seeing a full turkey and a few rabbits inside. Poking his head out of the bag, he grinned. "This could feed the boys for over a month! All this for the Barracks?"

Katniss shrugged and nodded again. Darius beamed. "Come here," taking Katniss by the hand and pulling her towards the back of the stalls in the rear of the Hob.

Katniss's brow furrowed as she frowned. "Why?" she asked, suspicious.

But Darius couldn't wait until they reached their destination, and before they quite got there, he whirled around and kissed Katniss full on the lips, each of his hands gently framing her face.

"Mmm!" Katniss squealed in shock, for she hadn't had time to realize what he was doing even as he was doing it. She had never been kissed before in her life. Sure, Darius had once joked with her to make a trade for a kiss, but she had laughed him off. She had never imagined he would actually want to kiss her...

Maybe Katniss's eyes were open in astonishment, but Darius's were closed. Then, he felt Katniss's arms go tentatively about his neck, and she was clutching him toward her, pulling him closer and closer until he forgot how to breathe and didn't care if he ever learned again. Her lips were softer than he had imagined in his daydreams and her hair smelled like wild honey.

It was the most wonderful kiss he had ever had in his life.