Katniss Everdeen had once upon a time been the girl on fire. The spark that set the world ablaze. She was, without doubt, one of the largest contributing factors of the revolution. But the revolution was over, it was long gone... for her, sometimes it seemed as though life would never move on. With Prim lost for good, and Gale having finally given up hope, she is on her own for real.
Peeta came back from the revolution as different as she felt. They could have healed their burns, they could have left them as flawless as they had been when she had come back from the games. Katniss didn't know why Peeta hadn't done it, but she knew that she couldn't. She needed those scars, for whatever reason she needed them to be there. They covered nearly all of her. She tried not to think about what she must have looked like at first. All her clothes burned off, her hair burned off-she remembered screaming-then it all went black.
Peeta's burns were not as severe as her's, they only covered the base of his neck, his face and his arms that had been exposed. His eyes were still as pure and blue as they had always been.
It had taken her a while to ask him into her bed the way she used to. Finally one night she woke screaming, and he was there in the doorway like he had been on the train. His face looked strained and was streaked with tears. He looked at her sadly, and she stared back. Finally, she scooted over to one side, the unasked question hanging in the air.
"You have to say it, Katniss, you have to ask." He had told her. She could tell that he thought she would ask him to leave, or be too stubborn to say the words out loud.
Finally, after a moment, she uttered a single word that brought him instantly to her side. "Please." It was not begging or pleading, it was a request, and the fact that she had made it at all surprised him. He pulled her to him like he used to, and she would lay her head on his chest and listen to his heart. When the night terrors would grab either of them, the other was there for comfort.
For weeks, every night went this way. He would come to her door, the question hanging in the air, and finally she would say one word; "please", and he would come to her.
One night, after she had woken screaming in the blackness, and he wrapped his arms around her, whispering calming words, she kissed him. She kissed him desperately, clinging, her arms holding him to her so tightly he thought she might break him. And he kissed her back with an eagerness that took him by surprise. This was the kiss he had been dying for from her. No cameras, no one to see; she wasn't putting on a show.
She felt the warmth spread in her belly, heating her through and making her toes curl. Her fingers dug into his skin in her attempt to get even closer, the dim light of the fire making the scars on her face and neck shine. He broke her kiss and heard her whimper slightly as he pressed his lips neck. Her fingers tangled in his hair, bringing him closer still.
Suddenly she pushed him away, he jumped back, scared she was stopping him as she always did. Scared she didn't want him still, he withdrew his hands. But she did not want him to stop, instead she pulled her shirt over her head, exposing the roundness of her breasts. They too had scars, though these were hardly raised and shined pink in the light. It was the first time she had made such a bold move, and he could not take his eyes off her.
"Katniss, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to."
Katniss looked into his eyes, searching them for what she always saw. The softness, the kindness that was entirely Peeta enveloped her. "Peeta, please." She said the words so softly; such a quiet plea for him drove him mad.
He was on her again, kissing her, his hands in her hair, on her breasts, tugging at the waist line of her pants. He could not stop touching her in his frenzy, and she didn't want him to. For once, she wanted to lose herself in this. She wanted to lose herself in him, and for once, just let them be what they were meant to.
She tugged his shirt over his head, pressing kisses across the scars there, loving him completely for them. He laid back onto the softness of the bed, enjoying the feel of her hair on his chest, loving that she was there with him- loving her as surely as he ever had.
Katniss stopped, looking up at him nervously, then she pressed her hand to the bulge in his pants. Peeta couldn't help the groan that escaped him. No one had ever touched him in this way, he never thought she ever would. He was content to hold her forever, with nothing more than soft kisses and unfulfilled desires, if that was what she needed. But this, this was much better.
She moved her hand slowly, gently touching; he grew painfully hard in her hand. She tugged at the waist band of his pants, pulling at the tie that held them together. He sat forward, his eyes meeting hers again, and she smiled slightly. "I want this." She said simply, reading his thoughts before he spoke them.
Already naked, he felt very exposed before her. Her own bare skin gleamed beautifully in the light. He reached forward slowly, tracing his fingers down them, he saw her draw back slightly as if she was embarrassed.
"You're beautiful." He told her. She smiled a little, not looking entirely convinced. He tilted her head so her eyes met his again. "You. Are. Beautiful."
His hands traveled down the bareness of her flesh, finally settling on the waist of her pants, before he tugged them down. For a moment they just sat, taking in each others nakedness. He smelled musky, his desire for her clear on every feature he had. She reached out, wanting to know what it felt like to touch him. It was softer than she had thought, the pink tip slightly moist with his excitement. Timidly, she leaned forward and touched her tongue to him lightly. The moan he let out startled her and she giggled a little in nervousness.
"Sorry." He muttered, looking a little embarrassed.
"No, it's okay. I was just... well nervous."
He grinned. "Me too. This is a little new for me." With that, he kissed her again, more gently this time, less frenzied. He laid her back, laying on his side next to her. "Let's just take this slow."
She nodded, running her fingers down his chest. He pressed kisses to her eyelids and forehead, moving his head down slowly. He wanted to kiss and touch and taste every inch of her, he loved the sounds that escaped her lips when he touched somewhere and she liked it. It seemed like hours went by, it might have been, where they sat together, timidly exploring each others bodies. He loved how she shivered when he pushed a finger into the wetness between her legs. She loved how stiff he was in her hand, and how he moaned when she touched his cock with her tongue.
Finally, both shivering from a desperate sort of need, he pressed himself down between her legs. The soft curls seemed so inviting as she spread her legs nervously. Slowly, he pressed himself into her. She cried out, but it was not a horrible pain as she had expected. Instead it felt like pressure, like it was meant to be there but it didn't quite fit. He paused, savoring the feel of the wet tightness of her cunt. He started to move, listening to the noises she made to guide him. When she took in a sharp breath he knew he pushed too hard too fast, so he slowed himself.
She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him firmly as he moved inside her. It took a few minutes for her to feel the rhythm, for the pain to subside and for her to relax into the sensations. When she was ready, she urged him forward and he complied happily. It was not long before he couldn't stand it anymore and began thrusting in earnest. She wrapped her legs around his back, thrusting her hips back at him. She felt something building inside her, it was an unfamiliar sensation, like she was about to explode. She felt herself starting to tremble beneath him, and with a suddeness that surprised her, her orgasm crashed over her. Katniss moaned his name loudly in his ear, driving him further forward, until he too was sent into spasm. He felt himself erupt inside her, cuming harder than he ever had in his life. Slowly, he rocked his hips against her until both of them subsided.
He rolled them over so they were laying on their sides. "I love you, real or not real?"
Katniss smiled, looking over the face she had been through so much. "Real." She said firmly. "I love you, real or not real?"
He smiled back. "Real."