The right moment wasn't going to just happen; he needed to make it now before the rock in his pocket drove him mad. Peeta took a shaky breath and set down his paintbrush. Katniss looked at him, concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He tried to cover his nervousness, but it was obvious she wasn't buying it.

"I have no idea. But you are nervous. That much I can tell." She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her seat, smirking at him. "Are we going to have to hold an inquisition?" Katniss teased. Her words were joking, but her long-time boyfriend paled anyway. What was up with him lately?

His throat went dry. Why did he like smart women again? He searched for the words to the question he longed to ask. Peeta couldn't find them. "Do you want to play a game?" came out instead.

Katniss's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Sure, why not?" She waited for a response from him, but none came. "Did you have something specific in mind?" This game of cat and mouse was getting tiring. He needed to stop acting so jumpy around her; Katniss was starting to think he must be hiding something from her. If there was another woman, he should be nervous. Peacetime hadn't made her stop practicing with her bow.

This was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. "Real or not real," he said as confidently as he could.

"All right. I'll start." She glanced around the room for inspiration. Finding nothing inspiring, she focused on Peeta. "You've been an anxious little bugger the last few weeks, and I want to know what's up." Her eyes challenged him to disagree.

"Real," he had to admit. Finally, it was time. "You're going to marry me."

She didn't understand. Well, yes, she assumed they would get married someday, but they'd never really talked about it. Would saying real scare him away?

Peeta knelt in front of her and took a ring out of his pocket, presenting it to her. Please say yes, he thought. Time stretched in odd ways, and he couldn't tell if he'd been waiting seconds or hours for her reply.

Oh. Now she knew what he meant. She slid off her seat onto the ground next to him, pulling him into a kiss. She took the gold band from his hand and slips it onto her ring finger. She'd admire the blue stone later. This moment was for her and her new fiancée.

His mind erupted in celebration, and he wrapped his arms around her to bring her closer. "I assume that's a yes?" he laughed as soon as they separated.

"Wrong." Peeta couldn't understand. She'd just turned him down. Why had she kissed him?

His confused expression was so adorable that she had to press another kiss to his lips. She didn't pull away fully; instead, she tilted her head upwards to whisper a single word into his ear. "Real."


A/N: Thanks for reading! Special thanks to Estoma for pointing out an error in the originally published story. This fic was written using the prompt stone from Caesar's Palace. Thanks again!

~finnicko-loves-anniec