I've already written a fic about Katniss and Peeta's first time – Broken. However, I think I fell for the temptation to make it slightly unrealistic, in particular I think I made Peeta a bit too well endowed, so I hurt Katniss a bit too much. ;) Poor thing. I read in someone's first time fic that the author's grandmother (or something) had said that if it hurts, you're doing it wrong, and I have to agree. Sooo I'll try to make up for it. Plus, at the end of the day, they are two teenagers, both inexperienced, and it's likely to be a bit awkward and confusing the first time, isn't it? I've read a lot of HG fan fiction by now, and how likely is it really that they'll both have earth-shattering simultaneous orgasms the first time? Hands up everyone who experienced that themselves?

Anyone?

I thought so…It's a bit of a learning process, after all. It's often a longer learning process than in this fic, too, I guess.

Plus Broken wasn't canon – I introduced a strongly sexual component of the abuse Peeta suffered when he was a prisoner in the Capitol. In addition, on the final page of the last chapter of Mockingjay (pre-epilogue), it seemed like their first time happened somewhat suddenly or unexpectedly, whereas in Broken, it was something was building up for a long time.

So here's a second take at their first time – this time I'll try to stay true to the final chapter of Mockingjay, and I'll try to be as realistic as possible (I hope). Don't worry, I haven't abandoned the sequel to Broken, it will still be finished, but I need to write this story first! This story has nothing to do with Broken or the sequel whatsoever. It stands alone.

The quotes from Mockingjay are in italics. I've changed some of them very slightly, from the present tense to the past tense, to fit into my story. For reference, the original quote is:

Peeta and I grow back together. There are still moments when he clutches the back of a chair and hangs on until the flashbacks are over. I wake screaming from nightmares of mutts and lost children. But his arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips. On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I know this would have happened anyway. That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.

So after, when he whispers, "You love me. Real or not real?"

I tell him, "Real."

I think I'll use it all, with the possible exception of one (or part of one) sentence.

I love reviews, please tell me what you think! And of course, the HG characters aren't mine. I just love them so much that I borrow them for a little while. Thank you, Suzanne Collins, for writing books that are so inspiring! And can I just say that I saw the second trailer for Catching Fire today, and I CAN'T WAIT! It looks amazing!

So what makes tonight different from all the other nights Peeta and I have shared a bed?

Perhaps it was the breeze through the open window of his bedroom. Perhaps it was the way the earth had felt earlier today, when I was hunting bare feet for the first time of the year. I had felt so alive, somehow connected to the earth, to the forest I love so much. Perhaps it was the dandelions he had plucked, bright yellow in the vase on the table as we had dinner. Only Peeta could possibly find dandelions beautiful enough to be used as a decoration.

Where others see weeds, he sees beauty.

It couldn't have been the way we kissed, because we've kissed so many times before. Including in this bed. But somehow, a fire was lit tonight, a fire that this bed hasn't seen before.

Peeta and I grew back together. After our return to District 12, we moved into our old houses in the Victor's Village. Attempting to achieve something resembling normalcy was a long and difficult road for all of us. Peeta, Haymitch and I were all so destroyed and broken by the Capitol, in so many ways.

Peeta and I started spending time together. He'd leave me bread on my doorstep. I'd leave him a squirrel or a wild turkey. Then one day, as I was leaving him a turkey and then tried to sneak away as usual, he opened the door and asked me if I'd eat it with him. I did. We'd share more meals together, until us having dinner together had become the norm, not the exception.

We discovered that sometimes, my being there could shorten his episodes. Not always, and I quickly discovered during which episodes it was better if I just left him alone. Sometimes, during particularly vicious episodes, I even had to lock the door behind me. But most times, he'd hold on to me like I was his lifebuoy. On one such night, I fell asleep in his bed together with him after helping him through an episode. When we woke up the next morning, we realized that neither of us had had any nightmares - a rare occurrence.

So we spent the nights together, helping each other keep the nightmares at bay. Soon I had more or less moved into his house. I don't know why he didn't move into mine – perhaps because Peeta has always been better at creating a home than I have? Creating happy memories. My house was filled by the presence of my mother, of Prim, of Snow. Peeta's house was filled by the smell of flowers and bread and soap. My few personal belongings found their way into Peeta's house, one by one. First my toothbrush, then some underwear in a spare drawer, then my bow. It wasn't something we talked about. I started thinking about the bed not as his bed, but as our bed. There were still moments when he clutched the back of a chair and hung on until the flashbacks are over. I woke screaming from nightmares of mutts and lost children. But his arms were there to comfort me, as mine would comfort him.

Sometimes I would feel his arousal - often early in the morning, somewhat less frequently when he held me at night. It would always embarrass him, and me, too. He tried once to tell me how men's bodies worked, that it was just a physical reaction he couldn't really stop, that it didn't mean anything. I didn't really want to talk about it, finding ignoring it easier than talking. Sometimes he'd go to the bathroom and stay there for quite some time after he'd realized I'd felt his erection against my body. When he returned, he'd look guilty, refusing to meet my eyes.

And eventually his lips would descend on mine, and we discovered another way to help us through sleepless nights, another way to fend off the darkness. It happened quite suddenly the first time we kissed. It was chaste, cool, loving, calming. After that night, we would kiss more often than not, but never would the fire be lit in me, like it had been that night on the beach in the Quarter Quell.

Never until tonight.

Oh yes, I know I'm a tease! LOL There are approximately two more chapters coming up, and if you review, I just might post them faster. ;) Anyway, please let me know what you think! This first chapter is only introductory, the real action is coming up in the next chapter.