Disclaimer: I love Suzanne Collins. She created these marvellous, Gorgeous Characters, and I feel privileged to be messing with them. I don't own them, never will and make no profit. Still love them though.

~ As you can see from the summary. Sometimes dreams can turn into nightmares, and only one or two people can stop that. Peeta's heavily affected by the Games and the Aftermath, and he's not really sure who to turn to. Peeta/Katniss.

-x-x-x

Peeta

I stepped up onto the platform, the raised stage which Katniss and I would have given anything not to be standing on nearly four weeks ago. It was the one place I truly hadn't wanted to be, but now, now I was glad to be home. We took our seats in silence, my hand reached out for Katniss' instinctively, fury bubbling through me as I realised I should stop. I couldn't, and I didn't want to, but if I didn't… She hated me already. Why give her another reason to feel that way?

I looked out into the crowd and saw Gale, Katniss' tall, dark and handsome friend, and immediately, I felt inferior. I felt small, young, pathetic and weak. It didn't matter that I was the victor of one of the most dangerous games in existence, and that for that to happen, I had had to show something I had never intended to show. Katniss was never supposed to know. Katniss should never have been put in that position in the first place.

I hated the reaping. I hated the Capitol. I hated myself.

"Miss Katniss Everdeen, and Mr Peeta Mellark!" I rose from the chair on autopilot, and looked out at the faces in the crowd. Everyone looked proud. Everyone looked happy.

But they were looking at Katniss. Nobody remembered me. I was the one who was hopeless, in the beginning, I was the one that cried when I said goodbye to my father, who wished their mother had told me to be safe, and to look after myself, but had had to put up with a "Good luck. Make sure Katniss comes back for us." which left a ringing in my ears. Nobody sent me the District 12 salute. They expected me to die. They weren't going to miss the baker's son.

It left me determined to win. But it left me determined to die, just so I could show them all. I had been torn until those words had slipped from my mouth in the interview. Then I knew I had to die. Just so she knew I could do anything for her, and I would do it.

When they changed the rules, I admit, I panicked. I nearly threw it away, because by the time I was lying in the mud, confused, and burning up, I thought I was dead. I walked into Cato's trap - he knew I would want to protect Katniss, he knew I would take anything to protect her, and he used it. It hurt as well. My new leg was strange. I couldn't get used to the feeling of part of me being missing, though, I knew, I would have been dead if not for her. I dared to look across to her, she was beaming at the crowd, totally unaffected. I hadn't slept in three nights. I had known not that she wouldn't, but that she couldn't love me.

It broke me inside, but, as I looked down at the crowd, I saw Madge. She had her arms locked around Gale. She was leaning into him, his hand on her waist, and for the first time in three days, I smiled genuinely. It was wrong of me to be so happy that she would be so hurt, but I hoped against hope that I would be the one she came to for help, and for a second, I allowed myself to imagine it. Immediately I felt guilty, but I looked at her again and I felt sick, I felt tired of lying to myself, and I wanted to break down.

As soon as we were allowed to sit back down, I strode away from the stage and walked back to the room I had been in over an hour ago. I felt damned, I felt broken and I was hurt. The past month had given me so much, it had made so many new things for me, and it had started to make me aware that life was short. I wanted to be with her. I had the chance. I had every chance of doing it - I could do it, and if I had any guts, I would do it.

"Peeta." His voice made me jump out of my skin, I was on my feet in a second, twisting and looking at him, my eyes wide. He stepped into the room without being asked. "Was she faking it?"

"Faking what?" I said sullenly, angry and hurt. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"She… won't see me." Gale murmured, running a hand through his hair, "She ran off after you, but I think she missed where you went." I smiled at the awkward expression on his face. "I…" He looked away. "I never felt anything more than fraternity with Katniss." He sighed and grinned as I looked at him sideways. "Don't think I missed you glaring at me out there."

"Thought you'd missed that." I couldn't help but return. He nodded at me and moved to sit down.

"Do you mind?" He said softly, I shook my head and he took the seat in the corner. For a long minute, we were in silence, then, he looked at me, blinked twice and smiled. "Katniss told me you gave her family bread when she was eleven." He said softly. The smile in his voice was obvious.

"I would never see her starve." I replied quickly, staring at my feet. "I couldn't stand to see her hurt." I took a breath, "Do you think… what I said before… at the interviews…" I looked up at him, "Did I hurt her?"

He looked taken aback at my words, frowned for a minute and then looked at me, a small smile on his face. Slowly, he shook his head.

"I think… I think you gave her a reason not to lose herself in the games." He said, "But… I do think that… well, I think that if you hadn't said it… one of you'd be dead." His voice was low, hoarse.

"It's alright. We're not."

"That's not what I came here to tell you." He said after a few minutes pause. "I came to tell you… that if you pursue her…" He looked at me, then glanced away. "Do you know what?"

"What?" I was getting tired of his games, tired of the cryptic crap he was selling me here.

"I think you're better than you give yourself credit for." I raised an eyebrow and he looked at me, a slight smirk twisting his features. "You're handsome. You're funny, and trust me, you're so much better than you think."

With that, he rose, leaving me sitting there, looking confused. A second later, he returned, pressed something into my hand, and turned to leave again.

"What's this?" I glanced at the thing in my hand. The key in my hand.

"It's the key to your new home." He raised an eyebrow. "Lucky you." There was a small pause, and we watched each other warily for a moment. "The boy with the bread, and the girl on fire." He said, almost inaudibly, "Provider, destroyer." He ran his tongue over his lips and slowly raised his eyebrows. "I like it."

Without another word, he was gone, and I was staring at the place in which he'd stood, only moments ago.

The provider, the destroyer. The baker, the hunter. The boy with the bread, and the girl on fire. Katniss Everdeen. Peeta Mellark. Perfect opposites… Perfect… partners?

… -x-x- …

A/N: This will have more chapters. It'd be awful if I left it there. I'll update, if you review?

Love ya already!

xxx