It takes her 15 minutes to find a parking spot in the giant, overcrowded lot, and when she does, she has to follow a family to their SUV and wait another five minutes for them to pack up all their shopping bags and buckle their kids in before they pull out.
By the time Katniss makes it through the automatic double doors of the superstore, she's ready to snap at the first person who tries to approach her.
"Welcome to Best Buy!"
She takes a deep, steadying breath. The freckled teenager standing just inside the entrance eyes her curiously, the bright blue of his polo clashing terribly with his ginger hair.
"Can I help you find anything?" he asks after a moment, as she continues to eye all the signs hanging from the ceiling labeling the different departments.
"Yeah, actually," Katniss says, heaving the box in her hands on top of the little podium he's standing behind. "I bought this laptop for my sister for Christmas and it won't turn on. It's brand new. I only got it a month ago."
"Oh well, that sounds like a battery issue," he says. "You know, you actually have to charge it before you start it up for the first time. Did you try that?"
Her lips purse and she bites back a sharp response. He looks so bright and naive suggesting this to her, and she can't make a pimply teenager cry; 'tis the season, and all that.
Katniss sighs heavily. "Where can I get it looked at?"
"Oh, well our Geek Squad will be happy to look at that for you and troubleshoot the issue! The line starts right over there." He points to a counter where three miserable looking guys in white shirtsleeves and ties sit. In front of it is a long line of customers.
Katniss tilts her head back to the teen and gives him a sardonic look. He merely shrugs and gives her a sheepish smile. "Christmas time, ya know?"
She knows.
The line moves slowly. All the similarly grumpy adults in front of her entertain themselves by playing games on their phones, or texting so rapidly that she wonders how their thumbs don't ache. Katniss still has a flip phone that she bought on eBay, so to pass the time, she mentally runs through everything she has to get done at work before Friday, when she'll be leaving early to pick up Prim from the airport.
When she finally gets to the front of the line, she breathes a sigh of relief, shifting the laptop from one arm to the other. The customer who's been dealing with one of the "geeks" the longest keeps repeating the same stupid questions again and again and Katniss glares so hard at her, she hopes she can burn a hole into the back of her head. She almost misses it when the guy at the counter shouts, "Next!"
"Hi," Katniss says breathlessly, making her way forward quickly and heaving the box onto the counter before removing the laptop. "So I bought this for my sister last month and I tried to start it so I could get it all set up for her, but it won't turn on. At all."
When Katniss lifts her eyes, she finds the employee— "Marv," according to his nametag— chewing gum boredly and tapping at the keyboard in front of him. "Did you make sure to fully charge it beforehand?"
"Yes," she grits out.
"Okay," Marv drawls. "Got a receipt?" He still hasn't made eye contact with her, or even glanced at the laptop. She huffs, but digs through her purse for it.
"Yeah, here," she says, pushing it forward. He examines it for a moment
"You didn't buy the warranty."
Her fingers reach up to grip the edge of the counter. Finally, his eyes move up to meet hers. "No, I didn't buy the warranty," she says slowly, trying to hang on to her last vestige of patience. "But I shouldn't need one. I just bought it!"
"Well, ma'am," he starts, and her knuckles go white, "it looks like you bought it over a month ago."
"Well, yeah, I mean, that was when it was on sale!" Katniss sputters. "I need— I mean, I couldn't—" She pauses and takes a breath before finishing feebly, "It was a good deal."
"Okay," the guy says like she's dumb, "but without the warranty—"
"I didn't do anything to it! It was just sitting in my apartment in its box. I hadn't even touched it. It's for my sister, and she's coming home soon…" In the middle of her rant, she can tell she's lost his attention when his eyes slide back to the screen in front of him, and she can feel herself becoming just another Christmas shopper crazy person. "Anyway, I just decided yesterday to try to get it set up for her beforehand and, like I said, it won't even power on."
"Well, I'm not sure what the issue is," Marv starts.
"Helpful," Katniss mutters under her breath.
"But depending what the damage is, given when you bought it, you may have to pay for the repairs."
"But—!"
"See, the warranty covers any and all damage, factory or accidental. That's why we suggest you purchase it, especially for such a big ticket item."
"That's why I didn't buy it!" she snaps. "This was a $300 computer! I'm not going to pay a third of what it costs on top of it just to cover some 'factory' issue bullshit!"
"Ma'am, please lower your voice. There are kids around," Marv says, looking the most awake he has since she walked up.
Katniss' answering laugh is bitter. The only child she's encountered so far was swearing at his mom in line for not buying him the right video game console.
"You haven't—!" At his imploring expression, Katniss lowers her voice. "You haven't even looked at it yet!" she hisses, near desperation.
"Marv, do you need any assistance?"
Katniss' head turns at the deep voice. The tone is pleasant and easygoing, but she can read between the lines— Do you need any help handling this belligerent customer?
The owner of the voice moves behind Marv and gives Katniss a blindingly white smile. Even with all the shiny toys and bright electronics displays, he's easily the brightest thing in the store in his blue polo that so closely matches the color of his eyes, it's almost eerie. He also has flushed cheeks and a golden hue to his skin, whereas everyone else who works here look as if they run from shadow to shadow until reaching their lair, where they hole up and play Xbox until four in the morning.
"Nah, we're just checking out this customer's laptop here," Marv answers, casually tapping the computer and trying to match the man's wide grin…and failing miserably.
"He hasn't even opened it," Katniss says flatly.
Those deep blue eyes move to her again and the man opens his mouth as if to say something, before shutting it again. Katniss raises her eyebrows curiously. Does anyone here have a clue what they're doing?
"Sorry, hi!" he finally manages, the words coming out of him in a rush. "I'm Peeta, I'm a manager here. Is everything working out to you satisfaction?"
"Um, no," she says, wondering how he's managed to miss the clear dissatisfaction on her face. He keeps holding out his hand, and she finally takes it. He engulfs her tiny fingers and squeezes gently before pulling away.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," he says in that same bright tone. "Marv, have you been able to look into it for…?"
Katniss is glaring daggers at Marv, but after a moment her brain catches up and realizes that this Peeta is waiting her to fill him in.
"Katniss," she responds.
"Katniss," the manager repeats with a smile. His eyes slide to his sullen employee again, but only for a moment before they settle back on her. "So, have you looked into the issue?"
"Won't start up," Marv says shortly.
"You haven't even touched it yet!"
"Ma'am, you're the one who told me that was the issue," he responds, sounding infuriatingly bored.
"Yeah, but—" Katniss wants to lay into him again, but the manager's gaze is so calm and steady, like he's listening intently to her every word, that it unsettles her. "I mean, maybe I am doing something wrong." Marv stiles a snort and Katniss glares at him at the same time Peeta does. "I'm not an idiot. I charged it. I took the battery out and put it back in. I can't even get the power button to work, so please don't tell me to try ctrl+alt+delete."
Peeta lets out a loud laugh at this, the pleasant sound ringing in her ears like a bell. She doesn't like how it makes dimples stand out in his cheeks. It's like they're mocking her.
"We don't want to insult your intelligence, Katniss," he says easily, like he's been saying her name all his life. "How long have you had this?"
She launches into the story again, of her buying it, not buying the warranty, and not even touching it until yesterday. Peeta listens with clear sympathy in his eyes, and if he's faking, he's so good at it that Katniss idly thinks that he's destined for greater things than Best Buy.
"Okay, right," he says when she finishes, looking troubled. "Well, obviously it could be a battery issue. We can keep it and test a few different things. I will say—" He clears his throat and hesitates. "I know we've had…issues with these laptops overheating."
Marv shifts his attention to Peeta like he's just checking into the conversation again, and he gives him wide, disbelieving eyes.
"Well, anyway, it's an excellent product," Peeta rushes to cover. "You made a good choice."
"Well, that's good to hear," Katniss says dryly. "Because it was based on which one was listed first in the sale flyer." Peeta laughs with his dimples again and she moves to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, dropping her eyes.
"That's probably as good a reason as any," he says kindly. "But um, if it's an overheating issue, it may need to have the motherboard replaced." He looks faintly green admitting this.
"Okay, so…what does that mean?" she asks slowly, dreading the answer.
"Well, to replace the motherboard," Peeta clears his throat, "it's a few hundred dollars, at least."
"Basically, enough so that you might as well buy a new computer," Marv offers. Peeta shoots him a warning look, but Katniss jaw drops.
"What? I…I can't…I just—" She leans her elbows onto the counter and puts her head in her hands. $300 dollars. Months worth of savings. All for nothing.
"Katniss." She can hear Peeta's plaintive voice, quiet and close by, before she feels a warm hand on her shoulder. She lifts her head and he pulls his hand back, recoiling. "Sorry! Um, listen. We're gonna take a look at it, okay? That was just my best guess. It could be anything. In fact, Marv, I'm gonna take Katniss back to the office, free you up to help some more customers."
Katniss' heart is still in her throat, so she nearly misses Marv eyeing the two of them suspiciously. But Peeta merely picks up the laptop with a sweet, shy smile and gestures for Katniss to move around the booth so she can follow him to the back.
She follows him blindly through a dingy employee lounge to the small manager's office.
"Can I get you anything? Coffee, or—?"
"I don't drink coffee," Katniss says quietly, settling in the seat opposite his desk and wringing her hands in her lap.
"Water? Hot chocolate?"
She manages a quiet laugh at his eagerness and a smile spreads across his face. "Okay, a hot chocolate fan," he says he says with a nod, moving to step out of the room.
"No, no," she insists. "I'm fine, really. I just want to get this over with." The smile falters on his face, but he pulls the desk chair around so he can sit next to her. "Just— what's the damage?"
"Well," he begins gently, "I really don't know yet. We're going to take a thorough look at it, especially since you bought it so recently. Is it okay for us to keep it overnight? Do you need it at all?"
"When it won't even turn on?" Katniss asks with a raised brow.
"Right, obviously," Peeta says, rolling his eyes at himself, but she can make out the faint flush of his cheeks.
"Anyway, it's not for me, so it doesn't matter either way," Katniss says.
"Right. It's for your sister…Prim?"
Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. She can't even remembering mentioning Prim's name to him, but she must have inadvertently dropped it in during her frantic explanation. She's amazed he even remembered, but ten minutes into meeting him, she's already getting used to how strangely intuitive and understanding he is.
"Yeah, um, for Christmas," she says, tugging on her braid. When she looks up, she finds him watching her intently with his hands folded in his lap. "She's a student and she's never…well, we've never been able to afford to get her a new computer. She's using this old desktop we bought off a friend, and we had to drive that damn thing 50 miles to her school."
Peeta laughs and she realizes how they're both leaning closer in their chairs. She also remembers why she's in here to begin with.
"Anyway, that's why I saved for so long to get her this," she admits, unable to meet his eyes. "That's why I can't afford the stupid warranty. I can't afford to have it fixed, and I definitely can't afford to have spent hundreds of dollars on nothing."
"Hey, hey," Peeta says soothingly, his hand coming to rest gently on her shoulder again, only this time, he doesn't pull it away. It stays there steadily, almost nervously, and that's the only reason she doesn't shrug it off. "It's okay. Look, I'm gonna do everything I can to try to get this fixed for you. I'm not going to be responsible for ruining your Christmas. Or Prim's."
Her answering laugh is shaky, but she still manages to give him a weak smile. She blows the hair out of her eyes in a huff. "So can you look at it now? Maybe get some idea? I mean, maybe it's something really simple I'm doing wrong and it's all perfectly fine, I'm just an idiot."
"I highly doubt that," Peeta laughs. "But, um, I mean, I can look at it. I can give it a shot. I'm just not exactly…an expert."
Katniss eyes the "manager" label on his nametag and gives him a look. His hand flies up to cover it.
"Okay, well," Peeta laughs nervously, running his hand through his thick blonde waves, "I like to think I'm a good manager, but I don't know the ins and outs of every piece of equipment we sell." It would sound defensive from anyone else, but his tone is sweetly self-deprecating. "There's a reason I'm not on the 'squad.'"
"Because you're not allergic to sunlight?" His loud, answering laugh makes her preen.
"Yes, exactly. And obviously we need yet another way to make socially inept computer nerds feel superior," he says.
A noise in the kitchen interrupts their laughter, and Katniss sits back in her chair self-consciously. Peeta's eyes remain on her and she fidgets, but their moment is interrupted by a shadow in the doorway.
"Hey Peeta, I wanted to ask about the sched—"
The high-pitched voice cuts off, and Katniss turns to look at the young employee in the door who is now gaping openly at her.
"Thom?" Peeta prompts when the gangly, dark-haired teenager fails to continue.
"Um, yeah, no, it can wait," he mumbles, ducking his head and walking away.
Katniss widens her eyes at Peeta in question, who's shaking his head in amusement.
"God, am I just upsetting every one of your employees?" she asks incredulously. "That's why you pulled me off the floor, right? To keep Marv from spitting his gum out at me?"
"No, no! Thom's a sweet guy, he'll be fine," Peeta insists, chuckling. "It's not you. I mean— it is. It's just, this is the 'Geek Squad.' We don't get a lot of pretty girls around here. You're throwing off the whole nerdy balance we've got going on."
Her entire face burns, but he doesn't notice because a look of chagrin crosses his face.
"Not that girls can't be nerds!" he rushes to add. "You can totally be a nerd."
"Thank you," Katniss tries to joke sarcastically, but her voice sounds awkward to her own ears. His arm is draped across the back of her chair, and it's not pushy or encroaching, but now that she's aware of it, her shoulders tense and she feels very conscious of her messy hair and old jeans.
"But that's not why I pulled you off the floor." Katniss blinks and takes a minute to pick up the conversation. "Marv is harmless. Not that he isn't a jerk, but I don't really worry about anyone's safety where he's concerned, ya know?"
"Man, they must really hate you." She says it without even thinking twice, something that's not so uncommon for her, but her eyes bug out in mortification.
"What do you mean?" Peeta says, looking equally perplexed.
"Nothing! Just, well…" She struggles not to look at the biceps straining the sleeves of his polo when she says this. "You're just not…of the same type, I guess? Ya know, you have social skills," she adds, like this was her real line of thinking.
"Oh, yeah." Peeta scratches behind his ear again, hiding a shy smile. "Well, I like to think I'm one of them to an extent— I may not be able to rebuild a computer, but I've spent enough nights staying up till 4 am playing video games in my underwear."
Katniss' mouth drops open at the thought, but she snaps it shut again before he can notice. He seems too caught up in his own admission to notice.
"Anyway," he continues. "I really like my guys, even if I give them a hard time. They give me one back. I just want to be a good boss. We spend so much of our lives working— I don't want anyone to be miserable if I can help it."
"I'm sure they love you, then," Katniss says, offering him a sweet smile. His face lights up. "And I'm sorry if I was a jerk to your guys. It was sweet of you to bring me back here. I was probably making a scene."
"No, god! You weren't making a scene. You're fine, you're perfect," Peeta says, seeming to struggle for words for the first time. "You were just upset. It's perfectly understandable. And like I said, I'm gonna do everything I can. Just leave it with us for now and I'll try to get it sorted out as soon as possible. Can I just get your number?"
"Sorry?" Katniss asks, her breath catching. A sly grin tugs at Peeta's lips.
"We're gonna need you to fill out a form with your contact information so we can let you know when it's ready," he explains patiently.
"Oh! Of course," she says, shooting out of her chair and attempting to hide her embarrassment.
Peeta watches her quietly, before rising out of his own to follow. "Yeah, let's just, uh, go back to the front. I'll have you fill out the papers."
Katniss moves to pick up the laptop again, but Peeta walks up to the desk beside her and stops her with a gentle hand on her wrist. She glances up in question only to find his bright, blue eyes smiling at her warmly, framed by ridiculously long eyelashes.
"We can just leave this here for now," he says softly. She can feel the confused expression growing on her face. He laughs. "It's safe, I promise."
"Sure," she says with a shrug, finally stepping back and out of his space. "Who wants to steal a broken computer anyway?"
"Hey, we don't know that yet," Peeta says, his voice light and easy. "I happen to believe in Christmas miracles."
She takes in his his perfect, Precious Moments face and rolls her eyes.
Of course he does.
—-
When her phone rings the next morning, it's at an ungodly hour. Well, for Katniss anyway, anything before 10 am on a weekend is ungodly.
"Mmph…what?" she groans into the phone after it rings five times and gets caught up in her sheets.
"Hi! Um, Katniss?" The voice is hesitant and nervous, but the warmth of it is so familiar… "This is Peeta. Mellark. From Best Buy?"
Katniss shoots up in bed and almost drops the phone in the process. Her hand immediately goes to swipe matted hair out of her eyes.
"Hi," she croaks. She grabs for the water on her nightstand and takes a quick sip. "How's it going?" she asks, trying to inject her tone with false alertness.
"I'm so sorry to call you so early," he says quickly, immediately seeing through her. "I just figured it was kind of time-sensitive."
"No, of course. So do you have any word on my computer?"
"I do!" he says cheerfully. "It is all set for you to pick up!"
"Wait…all set? What do you mean? It's fixed?"
"It is! Not even a scratch. I powered it up myself and double-checked for you, too."
"Wait, seriously? Are you serious?" She can hear him laughing at her through the phone, but this is just so completely the opposite of her usual luck that it's unbelievable.
"I'm very serious!" he says. "Told you the Squad is good for something." His voice lowers on the last sentence like he's afraid of one of them overhearing him. But the deep whisper feels so close in her ear it's almost intimate. Katniss bites her lip and toes the tangled sheet.
"I don't know what to say. I was expecting the worst."
"I told you— Christmas miracle!" he practically shouts into the phone.
Katniss laughs and scrubs a hand over her face, feeling the warmth infused in her cheeks.
"You're ridiculous." Peeta affects a wounded puppy noise and it's so cute, she bites her lip, grateful he can't see her. "Thank you," she says sincerely.
"You're welcome," he says in the same tone. "Just feel free to pick it up anytime before 3."
—-
After Katniss ends their call, she's unable to get back to sleep. She trudges out of bed grumpily and holds onto the countertop for dear life while her tea brews.
After she inhales some toast with her tea, she sets about cleaning her entire apartment and preparing for Prim's arrival. She knows her sister will give her a hard time about being a grinch, so she makes sure to hang up Christmas lights around her windows and their fraying stockings over the fireplace.
By the time she has dusted every surface and showered the dirt off of her, the clock shows that it's half past 2. Katniss curses under her breath, but figures it really shouldn't matter. It will be hours until Best Buy closes. She doesn't outwardly acknowledge the extra time she spends applying mascara and braiding her hair carefully, allowing a few loose pieces to frame her face.
An hour later, while she's waiting for a couple to unlock their Prius and vacate their spot, her fingers drum on the steering wheel. She wills them to take as long as possible so she can collect herself before going inside.
"Welcome to Best Buy!"
"Hi," she returns, ducking her head and trying to make her way casually over to the Geek Squad section.
There's another long line today, and she can't help it- she peeks up through her eyelashes every few seconds to scan the space behind the counter. No blue polo'd manager in sight.
When she finally gets called to the front, it's by the boy from the other day— Tom, maybe?
"Um," he starts, clearing his throat. "Hi, can I help you?"
"Yeah, hi," Katniss says. "Pe—Um, someone called me and told me my computer was ready? I dropped it off yesterday to be looked at. It's for Katniss. Katniss Everdeen."
"Oh, right," he says, furrowing his dark eyebrows and clicking through his screen.
"Is there an issue?" she asks, dreading that this could be the case. She could have dreamed that call from Peeta, after all. It seemed too good to be true.
"No, no, you're good," he says quickly. "I'm just bringing up the information. Let me go grab it for you from the back, okay?"
She chews on her lip, wondering if he's picking it up where all the other repaired devices are sitting, or if he's going back into the office to get it from where she left it yesterday. Maybe Peeta will have to get it for him and bring it out. You can't have teens rooting around in the manager's office, after all.
Thom returns after a moment and sets it on the counter with a shy grin. She tries to return it, but she's anxiously shifting on her feet.
"Well, it looks like it's all good to go," Thom tells her. "It'll just be…"
"What?" she asks nervously when he cuts off mid-sentence and stares at his computer. "What?"
"Oh! Nothing," he says after a moment. "This is just strange. I'm trying to pull up your service charge, but it says there's a zero balance. Hey Marv! Can you come check this out for a minute?"
She's so perplexed by the events of the last two days, she doesn't even take a moment to glare at her nemesis when he approaches.
"What's up, bro?" Now she does. But once again, he's barely even looked at her.
"I'm trying to find the service fee for this customer, but it's not coming up," Thom explains.
"Oh, it's you," Marv says, and Katniss turns her head from where she was fruitlessly trying to sneak a peek at their screen to find him staring at her. "That's why."
"Huh?"
Marv ignores her, his attention back on Thom.
"This is Peeta's girl," he says.
"I'm—I'm not—" It's pointless to try to regain composure. Her face has gone bright red and Thom looks at her with wide, curious eyes.
"He took care of it all," Marv continues.
"What, the service charge?" Thom asks.
"Well, yeah, that. And everything else," Marv says, irritation clear in his voice.
"What are you talking about?" Katniss grits out, trying to avoid causing another scene, but beyond fed up with them talking about her like she's not here.
"Peeta," Marv emphasis dumbly, like she hadn't caught onto that part. "He fixed your computer for you. Or he tried anyway. Then when he couldn't, he tried to bribe some of us to look at it after hours with his homemade Christmas cookies and stuff."
"God, those are the best. Why didn't you tell me?" Thom whines.
"You'd gone home, dude. Besides, there was nothing we could do for it. But I heard Peeta on the phone like hours after his shift was over, talking to Dell about bad equipment. I think he got them to agree to take it back. So anyway," he says, as if remembering Katniss' presence once more. "You got a brand new computer there."
Katniss has to bite back her retort that she had a brand new computer anyway. But she's too flabbergasted by Marv's story.
"But…but," Katniss stutters and she has both their attention now. "What about a service charge? You guys did all this work."
"Sounds like it was Peeta, mostly," Thom says with a shrug. "And the guys got their cookies."
"He did it off hours so he didn't have to track it and charge you hundreds of bucks for a new motherboard," Marv says, glaring at her almost accusingly. "It's lucky Peeta's a good dude."
Katniss' chest tightens, knowing there's no way she can ever pay him back for such a kindness.
"Come off it, man," Thom says. "It's not like we work on commission. We're hourly and Peeta's on salary. You know those guys are sharks shilling their faulty hardware anyway."
"Whatever," Marv says, straightening up defensively. "She's the one without the warranty."
"Is Peeta here?" Katniss asks, the desperation clear in his voice.
"Nah, he got off at 3."
Her heart sinks. She didn't have to pick it up by 3 o'clock. He just wanted her to.
"Oh, well," she starts, her shoulders slumping, "Thank you guys, really. Tell Peeta I said thank you."
Thom grins at her widely and slides the computer across the desk at her, putting her paperwork on top.
"You could come back another day, thank him yourself. Give him some Christmas goodies," Marv taunts, waggling his eyebrows. "Oof!" Thom whacks him on the back of the head and Marv glares at him without retaliating.
"Merry Christmas," Katniss says to the both of them, wrapping her arms around her computer before leaving the store.
—-
The first thing she does when she gets home is plug in the laptop. It doesn't even need to be charged, it's clear someone's taken care of that already. The silver of the computer is so shiny, probably the newest thing she's bought in years. The desktop is crisp and uncluttered, so unlike her computer at work. She can't wait for Prim to open it.
But she has days before Prim gets here. Days when she'll be busy working and the stores will be full of frantic last-minute Christmas shoppers. Katniss sits on the floor in front of her fireplace, trying to work out a way to see him. It doesn't matter how nervous the thought makes her, or how unsettled she feels that a stranger would go so far out of his way for her. She has to find a way to thank him. Maybe she could try to find out his shift schedule, or wait outside the store until he leaves…
God, no. That's so creepy.
Katniss picks up the paperwork on the ground next to her, though it doesn't say much considering there was no real work done— not on record, anyway. He just managed to exchange her faulty computer for a completely new one and got the company to foot the bill. When she goes to flip through them, something falls out of the pages and flutters to the ground. It's a small, white business card.
Peeta Mellark. Manager. It's printed there right underneath the bright Best Buy logo. She flips the card over and bites her lip to suppress a giddy smile.
"I told you to believe in Christmas miracles! Call me if you have any more issues," it says in slanted black handwriting. At the bottom, his phone number is printed. It doesn't match the official one on the front of the card, and she wonders if it's his personal cell phone.
She could call him and invite him for coffee, her treat. She could text him and ask for his address so she can send him a thank you gift. She can't bake, but she can certainly handle buying some chocolates and wrapping them up.
It all feel so intimate considering she's only met him once. Even though he did call her this morning…
She checks her phone for recent calls and verifies that he'd called her from his office phone. That doesn't help. She huffs and runs her thumb over the embossed print of the card.
—-
An hour later, dressed in skinny jeans and a chunky maroon sweater, Katniss runs her sweaty palms over her thighs before dialing his number.
"Hello?" comes a bright, familiar voice.
"Um." She tries to clear her throat quietly. "Hi, Peeta?"
"Hey," he says slowly, then with pleased recognition in his voice, "Katniss?"
"Yeah, hi! It's me." She smacks her forehead with her hand.
"Hi!" he says again, and she laughs, wondering how many times they're going to greet each other. Thankfully, he saves her from the awkward circles. "How are you? Did you get your computer back?"
She wants to correct him, that she didn't actually get it back. She got a completely different one that he secured for her. But she doesn't.
"Yes, and just…thank you so much," she says, trying to sound as earnest as he always does.
"Of course! It's no problem," he says easily.
"No, it really is," she says seriously. "I appreciate it. You have no idea how much."
"Well, you're welcome," he says just as seriously, his voice deep and smooth and losing all playfulness. She squeezes her thighs together. "I'm glad it worked out."
"Well, actually it didn't," Katniss forces out quickly.
"Really?" he asks, his voice turning apprehensive. "Was there another problem?"
"Well, yeah," she says. "I mean, I appreciate all the trouble you went through and you really saved my Christmas. But, um, yeah, there is another problem." Katniss thanks God he can't see her face right now, twisted with the awkward lie and frantically searching for words.
"I swear to god, those computers…" Peeta starts, and it almost makes her want to laugh, hearing him angry for the first time. "So what's it doing now?"
"Um, well, it's stuck in like…Safe Mode?" she offers. She thinks she remembers one time when her computer at work got stuck in that mode and all the icons were too big like it was made for children. She almost threw it out of the window in frustration. "And um, I got that green screen thing."
"Green screen?" he asks carefully. Katniss panics.
"No, I mean…blue screen! That's it," she finishes, her eyes screwed shut nervously. When he doesn't answer, she opens them slowly.
"Katniss…"
"I'm lying. I'm a bad liar." The words rush out of her, almost in relief.
"What—" He cuts himself off with a breathless chuckle, waiting for her to respond.
"Um, there's nothing wrong with it. It's perfect," she admits tentatively.
"Oh, okay," he offers carefully. "So that's good, right?"
"it's great!" Katniss agrees. "Um, I just…I missed you at the store today. I just kind of assumed you'd be there and, well, I have no cookies to offer you."
He laughs and, strangely, being laughed at by him inexplicably makes her feel less stupid.
"Well, I have cookies," Peeta says after a moment.
"Do you?"
"I do," he agrees with that happy voice. "They're delicious, if I do say so myself."
"I've heard tell of these cookies." He laughs again. "Well, all I have is some eggnog and rum."
"Hmm," he hums deeply into the phone. Katniss' breath catches and she licks her lips. "Well, I guess we could do an exchange of sorts."
"Yeah?" she asks on a breath.
"Or we could just share. Since they go so well together."
"Right, sharing. Sharing is good," Katniss agrees. "I remember learning that in kindergarten." She expects him to laugh again, but he just continues in a slow, careful voice.
"And maybe then, I could take a look at your computer again. Just to make sure you don't get any suspicious colored screens."
Katniss buries her face in the couch cushion before coming back up for air. "That would be good."
—-
It's only 10 minutes after she texts Peeta her address that the knock at the door comes. It was a stroke of genius to get dressed before she even made the phone call. But despite being prepared, that doesn't help keep her nerves at bay.
Katniss takes a deep breath, counts to ten, and opens the door.
Peeta stands there huffing, like he ran up the stairs to her place. His breath comes out in white puffs against the cold air and she eyes his windblown hair.
"Hi," he says with a sweet smile, dimples fully on display. Before she can answer him, he thrusts a tupperware container of cookies at her. It makes her laugh.
"Well, come in then," she says, gesturing him inside.
He stops in the entryway and kicks his boots off politely. His socks are green and red striped and she pauses, ready to give him shit for it, when her gaze drags the rest of the way up his body— over dark, well fitting jeans and a forest green sweater.
"I bet you expected me to come over in my uniform," he teases, leaning down to catch her eyes.
Katniss startles at being caught staring and only manages a shrug in response.
"Since this is an unofficial housecall, I figured I could leave it at home. I own enough tan Dockers and blue polos to pass for a middle aged, golf-playing dad."
His blue eyes study her intently.
"I kinda liked the uniform," she says quietly, turning and walking to her kitchen without a second glance.
Katniss opens the container to find an array of beautifully decorated Christmas cookies.
"I didn't know what kind you liked." Her head shoots up to find Peeta standing close to her in the kitchen, but his hands are still shoved in his pockets nervously.
"All kinds are good," Katniss says, plating the cookies. "You can have a seat in the living room, if you'd like."
Peeta walks backwards with a grin, keeping eye contact with her for a few steps, before turning and making his way out of the kitchen. Katniss takes a steadying breath and pulls two glasses out for eggnog.
"You want me to put on A Charlie Brown Christmas on the TV? Or just Charlie Brown Christmas music?" he calls from the living room.
"Just the music is good," she says after considering it for a moment.
"Okay!" he shouts. "I'm rooting through all your cabinets, by the way!"
Katniss laughs, "Then you'll find the records in no time."
"Oh man, you have a record player! This is great."
Katniss carries the glasses into the living room, the plate balanced on her arm. She finds Peeta sitting on the floor, rooting through her record collection, and when he sees her, he scrambles to get up.
"No, you're fine," she insists, placing them all on the table without a hitch. "I used to be a waitress. I have skills."
Peeta looks like he wants to say something, but he merely bites his lip and looks back to his lap. "You have a great collection."
"Thank you. Most of them were my Dad's." Before he can say anything, she continues, "You know how to use it?" She nods to the record player.
"I manage a Best Buy," he scoffs. "I can handle some records."
Katniss rolls her eyes and settles onto the couch. The first notes of the piano start up and she smiles. Peeta looks up and meets it with his own, pushing himself off the floor and making his way across the room to settle next to her. He doesn't sit super close, and though she's curious about how warm he'd be sitting right up next to her, his careful politeness puts her at ease.
She grabs the cute snowman cookie with the corn cob pipe, admiring Peeta's attention to intricate detail. She holds her hand under the cookie to catch the crumbs.
"Oh, god," Katniss says, taking a bite and stifling a pleased moan. "This is amazing."
"Told you," Peeta says smugly, though his flush gives him away. When he takes a sip of his eggnog, his face screws up painfully. "Wow, you're not messing around."
"What?" she laughs.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" His eyes narrow playfully.
"Oh sorry, did you want something else? Maybe some chocolate milk in a sippy cup?" Katniss shoots back, trying to cover up her embarrassment. His head falls back in laughter and she breathes a sigh of relief that he seems immune to her temper flare-ups. It also helps getting to watch his adam's apple move in his throat.
"So," Peeta says as they make their way through the cookies. "How is the laptop doing?" She knew there was a reason she left her hair down, she thinks as she lets it fall in front of her face to shield her blush. "Seriously," he insists, putting a gentle hand on her knee. "Perfect working order?"
"Yes. Thanks to you."
Peeta's hand lifts to scratch at his nose. "Yeah, well, um." He clears his throat. "I'd say I didn't do much, but I got a text from Thom earlier saying, 'the jig is up,' so yeah. I figured the guys blabbed like middle schoolers."
Peeta's discomfort is palpable, and she wants to reassure him, to tell him not to be so embarrassed. No one should be self-conscious about being so sweet and considerate. But she can't resist forcing the issue.
"They did," she confirms. "I just…don't know why." His wide blues eyes dart up to hers. "Why would you go to all that trouble?"
"Well," he starts, straightening up. "It is my job, you know? Excellent customer service."
"Peeta, if you do this for all the customers, you're gonna get yourself fired." He barks out a laugh. "Seriously! All those extra hours, and arguing with one of your suppliers…"
"So, okay, I don't do it for all the customers. I did it for you." Her eyes lock on his and she can feel herself leaning forward, desperate for an explanation. "You just looked so distressed, and it was such a bullshit issue. You were just trying to do something nice for your sister. It's not like you were complaining because someone bought you a present you hated." His fingers start to pick at a thread on the seam of his jeans. "And yeah, maybe I also have a little bit of a hero complex."
"Uh huh," Katniss agrees in amusement.
He gives her a dry look, probably the least expressive she's ever seen his face. "Hasn't anyone ever told you 'it's the thought that counts'?" The smile in his eyes gives him away.
"I don't know, I'm not much for heroes swooping in," she says, affecting an equally bored look. "I'm pretty self-sufficient."
"I know," he says, his lips tugging up in a slow smile. "I like that about you."
She tucks her hair behind her ear and leans forward. Peeta watches her with wide, beseeching eyes, his nose just inches from touching hers. "It still counts," she whispers, her eyes fluttering shut.
Before she can even lean in further, she hears the sound of glass clunking against her coffee table and in the next second, his large hand is on her jaw, pulling her forward until their lips meet.
He tastes like eggnog and peppermint and his lips are so soft— gentle like the rest of him. Their mouths move slowly in sweet, exploring kisses that don't delve too far. Peeta pulls back after a minute, but doesn't release her face from his grasp. Her hands are grasping tightly to his muscular, jean-clad thighs.
His eyes are even more striking at this proximity, the expression in them so full of longing she can't imagine being able to say "no" to anything he might ask.
"There was nothing wrong with your computer today— no green screen or safe mode. You just wanted me to come over." There's a soft question in his tone, but Katniss still tries tries to pull back. He holds her there, his grip never tightening, instead just sliding past her jaw and into her hair to keep her face close. "Is that true, or just wishful thinking on my part?"
She would look away, but he's so close, it's impossible. "It's true," she answers quietly after a moment.
When he leans in to kiss her this time, her lips land halfway on his teeth because he's smiling so wide. It makes them both laugh, and she realizes that if anyone can manage to be a good kisser while laughing, it's Peeta.
Their soft pecks start to linger longer and longer until he's drawing her bottom lip into his mouth and laving it with his tongue. She tentatively reaches her tongue out to meet his, and when they touch, she whimpers. He leans further into her, his broad upper half eclipsing her own, and she has no choice but to fall back against the couch. Peeta falls with her, still never relinquishing his hold on her. Their kisses grow deeper and more frantic, her head tilted back so she can take him further into her mouth. He's settling between her thighs when she pulls back with a gasp.
"Wait, wait!"
"What?" Peeta asks quickly, his eyes nervous. He shifts away like he's afraid he's hurting her.
"Nothing, I just," Katniss struggles to catch her breath and pushes wild hair out of her face, "this is insane. We don't even know each other. I just invited you over to my place and I don't know anything about you! You could be crazy-Best-Buy-killer guy!"
He snorts and Katniss scowls at him.
"Hey," he says softly, cupping her face and dragging his thumb over her cheekbone, "I'll leave anytime you want, okay? We don't have to do anything. We can just sit here and drink eggnog."
"No, no," she says, frustrated with her own indecisiveness. "I don't want you to go, I just…doesn't this seem crazy?"
"Crazy," he muses, "or like Fate."
Katniss rolls her eyes. "See? You don't know me well enough to know not to say stuff like that to me."
"No," Peeta corrects, "I think I understand you well enough to sense that it annoys you. You just don't know me well enough to get that I think it's cute when you're annoyed."
Katniss pushes at his chest, but he moves his hands over hers to hold them there.
"My name is Peeta Mellark—"
"Peeta."
"I'm 22-years-old. I'm from Panem. I come from a…not-all-good family, but I think I made it out okay."
Katniss opens her mouth to interrupt, but he lays a finger over her lips.
"I've never been arrested. I've never even punched anyone. I was named 'Manager of the Month' for three consecutive months. And I think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I didn't take you into the office because you were making a scene. I brought you back there because you're beautiful when you're upset, but I still wanted to make you smile."
Her breaths are coming even quicker than they did while they were kissing. If she manages to so much as blink at him, she's unaware of it.
"Okay?" Peeta says after a minute.
Katniss nods and licks her lips. "Okay," she nods frantically, and pulls his head down by ashy blonde waves. He doesn't even complain when she pulls them too tight. He merely groans into her mouth and she stifles the sound with her tongue.
—-
Katniss and Prim are laid out on the couch holding their stomachs, sharing a long knitted blanket.
"Oh god," Prim groans. "I'm never gonna eat again."
"You're the one who insisted on a 13-pound-turkey," Katniss says. "Hey, stop hogging the couch!" She kicks her sister's feet away.
"It's not my fault I got the tall, supermodel genes. I need to stretch out," Prim teases. Katniss laughs at her. At 5'4", Prim is only an inch or two taller than her sister.
They're arguing over which Christmas movie to watch next when they hear a knock at the door.
"Who the hell could could be bothering you on Christmas?" Prim complains, eyeing the door suspiciously.
"Oh god," Katniss says, freezing in her seat.
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing," she insists, jumping up from the couch and almost tripping over the long blanket. She pats her hair down and straightens her top. Prim stares at her until she looks back.
"Katniss!"
"It's nothing!" she repeats frantically, until the knock comes again. "I just…forgot to tell you something." Prim opens her mouth, but Katniss cuts her off. "I invited someone over. Is that okay? I hope that's okay."
Prim's eyebrows shoot to her forehead, but Katniss ignores her and makes her way over to the front door, ignoring Prim's gaping.
When she swings the door open, Peeta is standing there, holding another container of cookies and a bottle of wine under his arms. He gives her a blinding smile.
"Hey! Merry Christmas!" he says, like he didn't already tell her in a text message that morning, followed by a voicemail a few hours later.
"Merry Christmas," Katniss returns warmly, taking the cookies and wine from his arm so he can dust the snow out of his hair and scuff his boots against the mat outside before coming in.
Katniss is so caught up in watching him, that she doesn't notice Prim has sidled up to her.
"Katniss, you didn't tell me you got me another Christmas present," she says, smiling slyly.
"Shut up," Katniss mutters under her breath.
"Hi, you must be Prim!" Peeta says, kicking off his boots quickly and reaching out to give her a hug.
Prim's eyes widen and she stares at her sister, open-mouthed, over Peeta's shoulder. She pats his back awkwardly.
When he pulls back, his smiles slowly drops off his face and he looks back and forth between the two of them.
"Katniss did tell you I was coming…right?"
"She didn't, actually," Prim says, and Peeta's face drains of color. "But it's no big deal. The more the merrier. Your name would probably be good, though."
"Peeta! It's Peeta," Katniss says quickly, moving to stand next to him, rubbing circles on his back. She's not generally prone to public displays of affection, especially in front of her nosy little sister, but she feels the need to reassure Peeta— and probably make up for the fact that she completely neglected to tell Prim about him. "Peeta, this is my sister Prim, which you probably already guessed because you just hugged her. Prim, this is Peeta. My…boyfriend."
Two pairs of blue eyes shoot to her in shock, but after a moment of squirming under their gazes, she looks up to find a huge grin spreading across Peeta's face. His arm wraps around her waist.
"Wow," Prim says after a moment, nodding to herself. "Okay, so where's the wine?"
After a few awkward minutes getting glasses from the kitchen and the three of them moving around each other like they're walking on eggshells, they all finally settle in the living room. Prim takes a big gulp of her wine. Katniss tried to insist that she was too young, but Prim gave her the meanest scowl she could manage. Not so surprising, considering Katniss failed to mention she had a boyfriend for the first time in…well, ever. At least officially. Not that she and Peeta have even discussed anything official since it's hardly been over a week, but the way his eyes lit up seemed like a confirmation.
"So, how did you two meet then?" Prim asks, eyeing Peeta's hand on Katniss' knee.
Katniss tries to sputter out an answer, struggling under the weight of her sister's gaze, but Peeta jumps in smoothly.
"I'm the manager at the Best Buy where your sister bought your new laptop. And I just want you to know, Prim…"
Peeta leans forward and Katniss grimaces, waiting for some horribly corny (and unbearably sweet) speech about how he's going to take good care of her.
"You have nothing to worry about there. That laptop has an updated Intel Core i5 processor and full warranty."
AN:
Originally written for PiP's Holidays in Panem.
Thank you, as always, to misshoneywell and didntheramble for pre-reading. And thank you all for reading!