Turning to You

Summary: After being in a relationship since their freshman year of college, Katniss and Peeta have a fight over living details, then make up for it later. Modern Day AU.

I sit snuggled into Peeta's side, my head resting on his chest, my legs curled up on the couch and his arm around my shoulder as we watch the end of Marley & Me. As the credits roll, he kisses the top of my head and gets up, turning off the movie before sitting back down beside me.

"Tired, sleepy head?" he asks, a playful tone in his voice. I shake my head.

"No. That movie just makes me sad. Why does the dog have to die. It doesn't deserve it."

Peeta chuckles slightly at my comment. "I don't think anyone deserves to die, Kat. But it's just a movie. Come on, I'll go and make you some tea for the ride home." I nod again and stretch before following him into the kitchen and wrapping my arms around his torso from behind. As he puts the kettle on the stove, he picks up one of my hands from his stomach and kisses my palm, holding it up to his face. Peeta takes a deep breath before saying, "You know, if you lived here, you wouldn't have to go home."

I sigh, stepping away from him. "Peeta, we've been over this. It's not a good idea."

"And why not? You're over here practically every night and stay the weekends. Your dorm doesn't let guys visit. We've been together for almost four years. Besides, I like having your scowl around," he says lightly, which I know he's doing because he wants me on his side. But I can't. I cannot depend on someone for my life. What if we break up? Then I have to find a spot in the dorms again and if not, then my own apartment, which would be even more expensive.

"Peeta, you know I can't do that. I need to stay focused, and I can't just be taken care of. You know I don't work like that."

He follows me into the living room carrying two mugs of tea and sets them down on the coffee table. Peeta sits down on the couch, resting one arm on the back and crossing his legs. "Babe, come on. I love you, and I know you love me. I just want to be with you. That's not bad is it? It's not a dependency thing. Think of it: you can come home and you can have cheesebuns anytime you want. Your showers would be much more entertaining. And we can have movie nights where we can fall asleep in the couch instead of me worrying about you being half asleep and driving back to campus."

I know it's childish, but I stomp my foot. "No, Peeta! I can't! You know I love you, but I just can't do it. I already stay here on weekends, isn't that enough?" I ask, now exasperated.

"I don't know Katniss, is barely seeing each other enough for you? I just want to be there for you. Let me take care of you!"

"Peeta, for the last time, I don't want to rely on you! I can't do that to myself, what if something happens?" I say, running my hands through my hair, which has come out of its braid from my tugging at it in frustration.

"I don't know Katniss, what do you want me to say? That I love you, that I want to be with you, that I care about you and want to take care of you? Why is that so bad? I just want to be with you and come home to you every night, know about every bad day, be there for you! Why do you make this so damn hard?" Peeta sat down on the couch, groaning as he rubbed his hands on the back of his neck, a definite sign that he is distressed. I know I should stop this conversation before I do some real harm, but I need him to see my point.

"I love you too, Peeta, but that's not the point. I don't need to be taken care of. I can do just fine on my own. I practically raised Prim and myself! I want to be with you too, but that doesn't mean we have to live together! We're not even graduated yet. Then what happens? Are we stuck together forever?"

At this Peeta looks up at me, evident hurt in his eyes. When he speaks, his tone is softer, almost defeated. "Is that what you really want, Katniss? Do you…not want to be with me forever? I kind of thought that this was going somewhere. I've never loved anyone more in my whole life. There's nothing that I wouldn't do for you." He stands up from the couch and walks over to me on the other side of the coffee table and cups my chin in his hand. "But is it so bad to want to hold you, kiss you, whenever I want to? I don't think it's wrong of me to see my future with you in it."

I turn my head away in his hand, the few tears that have betrayed me now falling down my cheeks onto his hand. I say softly, "You know I can't do that, Peeta. I've seen what love does to people, I've seen it happen to my own mother. It's already a lot of trust and faith for me to fall in love with you in the first place. Isn't that enough?"

"I guess for you, this isn't worth trying?" he says, sounding like he's holding back tears of his own.

"I don't want to be married. I don't want kids, or a house with a white picket fence and a dog out back. I want me and my job and my life." For some reason I just can't stop myself from saying all that has been in my head for the past few months. "I don't want to worry everyday that I might come home and find out you're gone, that you've left me, that you've been killed. I don't think I could live knowing that it could have been prevented if it wasn't for me, if you just didn't know me."

I hear Peeta take a shallow gasp at my words. I know it was harsh, but Peeta deserves someone better than me, someone that will give him the life that he deserves.

"Katniss, I…"

I turn away from his outstretched hand and grab my purse and my ballet flats by the door. "I have to go. I'm sorry, I have to go…"

I can sense him before I feel him. He grabs my arm and for some reason I pause. He's looking at me with sadness and defeat, and I feel incredibly guilty because I'm the one that put it there. He takes my face in his hands again, and this time I let him. Peeta leans in and so do I, stretching on my toes slightly to reach his lips. Our mouths meet and it's not soft and sweet, and for some reason it doesn't feel like goodbye. His lips are passionate and fierce, dominating even. His hands move into my hair and mine to his shoulders, clutching tighter, pulling him closer to me still. He pries my mouth open and kisses me deeply. "This is not goodbye," he says in a low voice, and I know that voice all too well. I can feel the desire pooling instantly in my stomach, making my toes curl slightly in my shoes. His mouth attacks mine again as he pushes me up against the door, sighing into my mouth as our bodies press against each other. My tongue slips into Peeta's mouth as he presses me further against the door, slightly grinding into me. I can't think straight, all of my thoughts are muddled. All I want is him, and his lips on mine, his body as close to me as possible. I let my hands wander down the front of his shirt and under the hem slightly, aching to feel the heat of his skin beneath my fingers. When my hands finally make purchase I feel Peeta groan inwardly, my name falling off of his lips and across mine, where my tongue meets his languidly. Our mouths are fierce and hot and ravishing, and I can't tell where I stop and he begins. I tug him as close to me as possible by the edge of his shirt, running my hands over his chiseled chest under the fabric, trying to commit to memory every part of him. For all I know this is the last time that I will get to be this way with him.

All of the sudden Peeta pulls my hands out from under his shirt and detaches his lips from mine. He takes my hands and pins them against the wall above my head, his eyes a darker shade of blue from earlier. "No. Tonight, you're mine. I'm going to show you a few things." From some reason his words make me clench my thighs together, when I realize – l like dominate Peeta.

He then bends down slightly, cupping his legs around my thighs and hoisting me up, forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist, earning a small squeak from me. He smirks at me a little, but there is anger still there in his eyes, but I know he is determined. But this isn't going to do it for me. For me, this is my last time, my way to remember him. Nothing is going to change my mind.

"This is where I would have kissed you goodbye every morning and greet everyday when you came home," My line of thought is distracted as I feel Peeta's warm breath on the skin of my neck, his lips planting hot kisses up and down and to the shell of my ear, pulling the lobe into his mouth and sucking on it gently. Peeta then places me unceremoniously on the edge of the dining room table, his hands running greedily up and down my back, dipping slightly under my shirt to rub my sides. I tug on the hairs at the back of his neck and he pushes me down, my legs dangling off the side but my torso flat on the table. Peeta pulls my shirt up, bunching it above my bra before pulling my left cup down, and surprising me by putting his mouth on my nipple.

I gasp at the unexpected move; my back arching slightly into his mouth and his other hands comes up to massage my other breast. "This is where we would have had breakfast everyday while you drank your tea. Where we would have eaten dinner and I told you about my day. Where you would be late for work because I fucked you on the kitchen counter because I love it when you wear those mini-skirts," he says as he makes a trail of kisses between my breasts, moving on to give attention to the other one. His words make my core burn more, my breaths come out a little sharper.

"Peeta…" I moan as I tug his face closer to me chest, my fingers running through his hair roughly. I don't know if I can take this. I sit up for a moment to catch my breath, but Peeta beats me to it as he captures my mouth again with his, his hands sliding around my back to unclasp my bra and let it fall to the table. I take this opportunity and run my hands down his torso, lifting up his shirt and tossing it to the kitchen floor. I groan at the contact as he pushes our bodies together. Peeta pulls my shirt the rest of the way off and we sit there, chests heaving as we stare at each other longingly, but he doesn't give much of a reprieve.

Soon enough he's tugging at my cut-off shorts and reaches inside, cupping me over my panties. I throw my head back as a small moan gets caught in my throat. "I could take you anytime I want, anywhere I want, because it would only be just us. In the kitchen, the living room, even the damn hallway because sometimes I can't control myself when you walk around here in my shirt and nothing else. Don't you know how fucking sexy you are?"

He doesn't give me a chance to respond as he pushes his hand inside my panties, finally touching me where I need him the most. "Fuck, you're sexy," he growls slightly as he moves his finger around, spreading me slightly as he coats his fingers with my arousal. "Lie down," he says and I do so willingly. Peeta then continues with his torture, yanking off my shorts and underwear. He spreads my thighs slightly and I almost whine with the anticipation of what he's going to do next. Peeta leans in slightly and kisses my left then right ankle, then moves up slowly, kissing up to my inner thigh. I feel his hot breath near my center and I squirm in anticipation. Suddenly I feel his mouth on me and I moan loudly, my hips bucking up against his mouth. "Fuck, Peeta…"

"That's right, baby. Let me hear. Let everyone know that you're mine, only mine," he practically growls as I feel his tongue lick up the middle to suck on my clit. I grab on to the edges of the table as the beginnings of my climax come toward me. I continue to meet him with my hips, and when he curls the fingers inside me in a "come-hither" motion, I lose control of my limbs, my body tensing up, then all of my muscles unclenching deliciously. I see Peeta with a self-satisfying smirk on his face, wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand. I prop myself up on my elbows and look at him in a daze. He makes eye contact with me and puts his fingers in his mouth, sucking on them, and the sight makes me already wanting more.

Peeta then strips off his jeans, leaving him in his boxers and me completely naked, as he picks me up bridal style and carries me into his bedroom. He flops me down onto the bed and crawls on top of me, kissing and sucking at my jaw, hard enough that I know that there will be marks there tomorrow.

I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing his neck and his clenched jaw, running my fingers through his curls. I can feel his arousal against my thigh and I grind against it, craving the friction, and he lets me. He runs his hands up and down the sides of my torso, his thumbs brushing the underside of my breasts with each stroke. "This is where I would have made love to you every night, like you deserve. And on some nights, fuck you as you deserve. Where I would have held you while you had a nightmare and listened to you when you had a bad day."

His words cut through me and he mistakes me cry as one of pleasure and continues to attack my body with kisses. I can feel my resolve breaking. I'm in the love with this man, every side of him, for better or for worse.

I sit up slightly and tug on the elastic of his boxers, hinting that they need to go. Peeta gets the hint and shucks them off, settling down between my legs. In a strained voice he says, "This isn't going to be slow, Katniss," and pushes into me to the hilt, filling me completely. My back arches and my hands tighten in his hair. "Peeta…" but this time he doesn't say anything. He just keeps thrusting, and I meet him for each one. His hands dig into the bed sheets beside me as mine find a home in his hair. Our bated breathing moans fill my ears and it's like I've never heard anything more beautiful.

"I'm almost there, Katniss," I hear him almost struggle to say. I nod slightly and pull closer, bucking my hips to get just the right angle to finish with him. He moves a hand from the side of the bed and focuses it on my clit, rubbing two fingers in tiny circles that make me cry out in pleasure. Not long after that I hear Peeta give a small shout before I feel him climax. With the last few thrusts and his fingers, I climax just after him, riding out the waves of pleasure with him.

Peeta rolls off of me and onto his back, breathing heavily. I look at him from profile, and see a few tears threatening to spill over. I lean over and kiss the corner of his eye, and he turns to me in confusion.

I reach my hand out, smoothing hair off of his sweaty forehead. "It's not what would have. It's what will."

Peeta jumps up slightly, leaning up on his side to fully look at me. "What does that even mean, Katniss? Do you mean…you'll stay?"

I pull him down, cupping his face in my hands, a small smile on my face. "Always."

FIN

A/N: Yo, I hope you guys liked this one shot. I've never written a one shot before. Or mature content. Or modern day. Heh. So I would really appreciate it if you guys left some reviews and whatnot and checked out my other stories. Thanks for reading!

~P