We left the seafood restaurant at around dusk after stuffing ourselves with lobster, crab, shrimp, you name it. Not so long ago I'd have felt guilty about consuming this much food and my social conscience would have gone into overdrive, but hey, I was on my honeymoon after all. Anyway, my wife – I can't believe I can actually say that! - deserves only the best after what she's been through. What we've both been through, actually.

To be honest, I'd have been happy with something a bit more low key. This fanciness made me feel a bit like a Capitol citizen, and brought back memories of the first lavish meal I'd had. But, like I said, I couldn't take Katniss to some greasy café for the evening could I?

We decided to go on an evening stroll after the meal was over, just to be together and admire the sunset. As we descended the stone steps to the beach and walked along the promenade, watching the deep pink sky fading to black, all had gone quiet. We both know equally well that sometimes, no words are needed. Except…there had been something playing on my mind for quite some time.

"Darling," I turned my head towards Katniss, and clasped her hand, "I really need to talk to you about something."

Katniss smiled and gave me a peck on the cheek, but looked a little worried when I didn't continue straight away, "What is it? I wish you would just come out with it, you know I don't like the suspense of these things."

I took a deep breath, knowing full well that I shouldn't breach the subject and that I'd probably regret it but decided to all the same.

"I was thinking about, well, that thing we were discussing not so long ago. I wasn't sure you'd…anyway, maybe we should sit down before we talk about it again." I put my arm around her and steered her to the nearest bench and we sat down facing the sea.

"Peeta," Katniss began tentatively, "you're beginning to scare me, and I can tell you're worrying about something." She put a comforting hand on my knee.

"No, it's nothing bad."

"Well, what?" Then, as she looked into my eyes, I could see a light bulb flicker. She shrugged my arm off and stood up. "We've talked about this," her voice was sharp and I knew there was no point, but I got up and faced her. I tried to hold her hands but she put them in her pockets stubbornly.

"But Katniss we're married now!"

"Yeah, and we agreed before the wedding. It was my only condition. No kids, Peeta. How could you ruin today bringing this up? You know how I feel about this." I guess this was fair enough. After everything we'd seen, and the terror that everyone in Panem had experienced up to only a few years ago, Katniss didn't want to bring a child into the world. But…

"Things are different now," I reminded her as we continued on our walk, "There aren't any Hunger Games and the war is over."

"For now," she replied.

"Now you're just being facetious. Anyway," I wrapped my arms around her from behind, "You'd be an amazing mother. It would be a shame to let all that go to waste. Don't pretend you don't want kids, because you do."

"Well…" Katniss held on to my hand and we walked side by side as we reached the end of the costal pavement. The tide was far out and, at this time of year and day, there was nobody around. My heart rose in anticipation as I could feel her resolve weakening. "Look Peeta, I- oh, don't give me the face." She rolled her eyes and looked away.

"The what?" I laughed.

"The face. The one you always make when you want something. It's not going to work!" But she was smirking all the same. I honestly had no idea that I had a 'face' that I made, but I'd have to make it more often, apparently.

"Katniss, I have no idea what you're talking about. I would never try to sweet talk you or anything of the sort. I take great offence to that."

"Oh, please. I've never met such a charmer. Well, except for Gale maybe…"

"Very funny. I seem to recall that my marital condition was that we never speak about him ever again." This was actually true, sort of. I tried to pass it off as a joke but obviously Gale Hawthorne was not my favourite topic of conversation with Katniss. Except for the time when he was forced to flee District Two when his girlfriend dumped him after he cheated on her. That was quite funny. Except that he was now living down the road from us, which was a real annoyance.

"Peeta, are you alright? It was just a joke, you know."

"Oh…yeah I know." The thought of Gale suddenly made me want to have children with Katniss even more, for some reason. I also got a strange impulse to assert my virility. "So," I put my arm round Katniss in a gesture of manliness, "you were saying you would think about kids, right?"

"I didn't say that," she began sharply, "but…yeah. I guess I will think about it. But not for a few years yet; I'm only twenty-three. I want to make sure that…this country really is safe for a child. Plus, I don't want the press sticking their noses in, like they did at the wedding."

Ah yes. I thought of the 'private' ceremony at the local registry only a few days ago, which had turned into a nightmare. Obviously we're pretty big celebrities in Panem now; the golden couple ever since our first Hunger Games, so everyone wanted a glimpse of the wedding. I don't know how the press got hold of the date and time of the ceremony, but I suspected that a certain alcoholic who gave Katniss away may have been taken advantage of... Anyway, Katniss was right. I didn't want any child of mine to become part of that circus.

"Can you imagine?" Katniss continued, "What would happen if some of our enemies found out we had a child, or somehow the Hunger Games was re-instated? Our child would be first in line." She was rapidly returning to her original train of thought, so I tried to change the subject.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Let's walk back to the hotel. I have a brilliant idea that I think you'll love."

Katniss nodded. "Yeah, it's getting a bit chilly out here." She huddled into me and we turned back. "I hope this idea isn't something that requires a lot of effort. I went canoeing yesterday, and that's the only exercise I want to do on my honeymoon."

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. I just thought that you'd like to go out to a nice pub for a drink this evening. I noticed a nice one in town earlier, and it's too early to go to bed yet."

Katniss sighed, "Well I'm a bit tired to go out. Can't we just get room service? Besides," she leaned in a little closer, "we went to bed at four in the afternoon yesterday. You weren't saying it was too early then."

"I know," I replied, blushing as I remembered, "but I bought you something nice to wear for the occasion."

"Really?" Katniss asked, surprised. "What?"

"You'll have to wait and see!" I was excited now; I'd been waiting for an opportunity like this to be my trump card. When Katniss saw what I'd prepared for her there was no way on Earth that she'd be able to look me in the eye – while I was making the face – and tell me that she didn't want babies just as much as I did. I had every confidence that, if I said all the right things, I'd be ready for baby-making in a few hours.

Persuasion, thy name is Peeta Mellark.

We arrived back at the hotel in only a few short minutes. It wasn't an amazing place; it had been a hostel before all the trouble broke out, and not much had been upgraded. The paintwork was dull and faded, and a lot of rough people were staying there. However, I'd managed to get Katniss and I a fairly romantic bedroom with a sea view and en suite on the top floor. The girl at the reception recognised us and handed us the room key. She beamed and me and flashed me a wink when Katniss wasn't looking.

"OK," I said when we reached our room, "I want you to go into the bathroom while I get it ready for you." I reached under the bed to retrieve our suitcases. "Go on!"

"But Peeta…what's to get ready?"

"I need to get ready!"

"But why do I need to-?"

"Katniss!"

"Fine!" she laughed and went into the en suite, closing the door behind her.

I'd brought a large suitcase for our clothes and a small holdall 'for bits and pieces'. I'd always been quicker at getting organised than Katniss, so I'd packed all of the luggage so she hadn't noticed the extra couple of things I'd stored. I'd brought an outfit for myself as well, and I changed into it quickly, stopping to check my reflection in the mirror before laying out Katniss' dress on the bed for her.

"Hey, you can come out now!"

Katniss opened the bathroom door and gaped in astonishment at me, before she saw her own dress lying on the bed. She didn't say anything for a few seconds, and then ran up and threw her arms around me, kissing me as she did. "Peeta, how did you do this?"

I was wearing a replica of the costume I had first worn during the Hunger Games which Portia and Cinna had designed. Katniss' "girl on fire" dress looked exactly the same as the original too. She picked it up gently and placed it against her body. I knew that she wasn't really into dresses or make-up, but this one had a special meaning to both of us. To me, these outfits symbolised the beginning of our life together, when we had both been thrown into the Hunger Games and preened almost beyond recognition. I like to think that when I wore this outfit, it was the first time Katniss ever really admired me.

"I got some photos of the originals and spoke to your prep team to get your measurements. Obviously the ones were wore on that day were destroyed, so…I wasn't sure whether you'd like it or whether you'd rather forget. I thought it would be a good reminder of Cinna and Portia."

Katniss looked as though she might cry, but sniffed and kissed me gently again. "I love it, Peeta."

I seized the moment. "The children will think it's beautiful." I gave her 'the face' for good measure, expecting her to leap into my arms and agree. Instead, she looked furious, and threw her dress back on to the bed. "What's the matter?" I asked, completely stunned.

"You planned this all along didn't you?"

I knew what she meant. "What are you-?"

"You went to all this trouble just to emotionally blackmail me into agreeing to give birth to your children. I can't believe you."

"I didn't!" I argued, "Well…yes children would be nice, but I wanted to do something nice for you."

"I can't believe you tried to give me the face!"

"I- I don't mean to do that."

"You did just now. It doesn't work when you consciously do it."

"Look, I'm really sorry I brought it up, but I just want to have a baby with you so much! Can't you understand that?" I was furious. I knew that I'd been wrong to keep pressing the issue, but after all I'd done for her, I still sometimes feel like I'm constantly fighting for her.

"I'm going for a drink in the bar. I think I need one."

"Don't you want to try on your dress?"

"…I will later." With that, she left the room, slamming the door behind her. It opened again a second later. "I forgot my purse." Slam.

I sad down on the bed, feeling completely deflated. Looked like there was going to be no sex tonight, productive or otherwise. But more than that, I knew that I'd just blown my chance to talk Katniss round. I knew how stubborn she was; it could potentially be months before she'd be willing to discuss the subject again, and I just wasn't prepared to wait that long.

I needed another plan, I thought, as I undressed and slipped into bed. There had to be some way of legitimately convincing her that we were meant to be parents. You'd think that simply being alive and with Katniss would be enough, but it wasn't. I needed to be a father, it was just an instinct I had. I felt incomplete without it. And the mother of my child had to be Katniss; there was no question of that, because I loved her. I couldn't trick her into it, or guilt trip her or whatever.

I squirmed around in bed. I tried to lie as suggestively as possible, hoping that when she'd come in, she'd be a bit more amorous. Then I suddenly realised what the problem was. I was trying too hard. Trying too hard to please Katniss, that was why she took me for granted. I felt bad admitting it to myself…but that was exactly the point! Look at the way I went to all that effort with the outfits. If I didn't constantly worship her, she'd find me manlier and be desperate to have my babies. Well…maybe it wouldn't be quite that simple.

I waited up until she returned from the bar, and rolled over as she got into bed, facing away from her. I wasn't about to ask her whether or not she'd had a nice time. I remembered my own parents' marriage and not once did they bother making small talk like that. And they had children!

"Peeta, I'm sorry," Katniss whinged in my ear, her voice a little slower, as it always was when she'd had a drink. Well, it was all well and good her saying sorry, but she wasn't getting off that lightly. "It was a beautiful dress, I'm so glad I married you." She kissed me on the neck.

Immediately, I rolled over. "That's OK, darling. I'm sorry too. I should never have upset you, talking about children on our special week away. Let's not talk about it any more." So I kissed her, but…then she started snoring.

FML. I am actually pathetic. Whatever happened to "treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen"? Maybe it just wasn't me. But I did know someone who was like that. Someone I knew Katniss thought was a lot manlier than me. Someone who could help me become a baby-making machine.

I hate to admit it, but I had to call Gale in for a favour.