Hello, again. It seems that I've been on a writing spree lately haha but that's good because I bring you another story of Katniss and Peeta.

This is my take on the "You love me. Real or not real?" thing but a little different. Some, if not most of the authors here wrote what happened before this line was said by Peeta. For me, I wrote what happened after Peeta said those words. I wanted to see how Peeta and Katniss interacted after saying those words and showcase their feelings more. I also wrote it in an all-knowing third person perspective because I thought it would be good to actually see what both of them are feeling. I didn't want to just show what Katniss is feeling as a narrator or what Peeta is feeling as a narrator. I think that we deserve to know what both of them are feeling when they are in an emotional situation.

I had fun writing this one. It was fun pouring out all the love from Katniss and Peeta and I hope you guys will like it.

Enjoy and as always, any form of criticism is appreciated :) Please read and review.


"You love me. Real or not real?"

She looks at him, her eyes scanning his blue ones, his golden eyelashes that flutter when he blinks, the freckles that adorn his cheeks and the smile that dances on his mouth when he's with her.

"Real," she says. A jolt of happiness runs in her veins and she smiles at him, her eyes twinkling in delight, her heart open and ready for him to catch. He gazes at her intently, capturing every emotion displayed in her eyes that almost lost its shine. But it didn't, because he saved her. The thought crosses his mind and he grins, flashing his white teeth at her and the dimples on each side of his face that made him look even more handsome. And she loves the look on him.

Happiness.

The shine in his eyes enamours her and she curves her lips to match his smile. Her mouth emits a sound almost foreign to her ears and she finds herself surprised. A giggle. A giggle escapes her lips while she watches the boy…the man who captured her heart despite the brokenness inside her, the war that raged in her head, in his head, and in every part of their souls.

He moves forward on the bed, opening his arms for her and she scoots herself closer to him, burying her body in his embrace, her palms on the plane of his chest and her head against his shoulders. He squeezes her tight and drops a kiss on her forehead. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up at the gesture, a trail of goose bumps run from the very tips of her toes, to her legs, to her stomach where it rumbled in delight, to her arms and to her fingertips. She smiles a small smile at him and brings her hand up to his rugged face, caressing it with her hard and calloused fingers. He breathes in a deep breath and closes his eyes. The roughness of her hands against his damaged skin feels sensational to him. The warmth of her hand raptures his heart and he sighs in relief.

He covers her small hand with his and both of them still. He relishes in the moment and leans in her touch, savouring her sweet scent and the feel of her skin against his. He blows a puff of air and slowly opens his eyes. He smiles at her. His hand travel to the length of her arm and rests it on the side of her face. He rubs his thumb on her cheek and she sighs a content sigh.

Her fingers continue to dance on his face, tracing every outline, every scar that decorates his beautiful face. She brings her other hand to cup his cheeks, her fingers lightly drumming the valley of his face. She covers his eyes with her hands and he closes them. Her thumbs play at the hair above his eyes, ruffling them and lightly scraping them with her nails. Then, she moves to the space underneath his eyes and caress the blackened skin painted by their many sleepless nights.

"I'm sorry," she says and his eyes flutter open. A look of concern appears on his face and begins to open his mouth to speak but closes it instead when she shakes her head at him. "I hurt you," she continues. "You hurt me, too. We hurt each other." She pauses and gulps as a whimper tries to escape her lips.

"I'm sorry," she croaked. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to catch you when you fell." She blinks a tear out of her eye and he motions to wipe it with his thumb. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough, Peeta." She says as she begins to cry.

"Katniss," he whispers, unable to say anything else. He only continues to wipe the tears that fall from her eyes.

"I love you, Peeta." She chokes on her tears and sniffs as she continues, "I love you so much that it hurts." She cries uncontrollably now.

Her confession has her mind in a haze and her heart pounds loudly in her chest. Any other sound is left unheard as the pounding grows louder and louder. Only the sweet sound of her heart enters her ear. Her love for him overflows and runs in her entire body. Tiny bolts of electricity prick her skin and she can't shake the feeling away. No, she doesn't want to shake the feeling away. She wants the feeling to stay.

Overwhelmed by emotions, he finds himself speechless at the sudden outburst of love. Her words rings in her ears, every letter enter his mind one by one. Love. It travels from his mind and shoots to his heart. She, the one who holds his mind, body, and soul…his heart, has him locked in a sensational feeling that he almost lost himself. His heart swells at her confession and he absentmindedly smiles.

He springs back to his senses when her cries register in his ears and he hugs her tightly. He buries his head in her hair and whispers soothing words to calm her. He runs his fingers through her hair and caresses her back to stop her from sobbing. His actions freeze her as another surge of emotions run in her body. She tries to shy away from him but his grip on her only tightens. She whimpers and raises her head to look at him. Her tear-stained face crumples his heart and he brings her head closer to hers, kissing away the tears that still run from her eyes.

"Katniss," he whispers. His blue eyes stare at her gray ones and cup her face with his hands. "I love you," he says, giving her lips a chaste kiss. "And I'm sorry because I hurt you, too. But it's all in the past now, Katniss. It doesn't matter because I love you. We're moving forward. You're here with me now."

"And you're here with me," she replies.

He rests his forehead against hers and nuzzles his nose against hers. He closes his eyes and opens them again.

"You are my whole life now," he whispers against her lips and hugs her body closer to his. She buries her head in his chest as she mumbles a reply.

"And you are mine."

End.