notes: Hello, dear reader! I would like to thank you for opening my story. :)
notes2: I haven't written for this fandom in a long time, and, well, the last one I wrote was when I was new to the fanfiction world. You could just guess that I deleted it.
notes3: Anyhow, hope you enjoy this.
disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did. . . well, no, I wouldn't have been able to come up with something like that.
summary: This is to Modern!Peeta's shy (and failed) attempts at confessing to Modern!Katniss.

The glass windows of the humble shop were misty and foggy, the weather of the streets cold and chilly on the night before New Year's Eve. Light snow fell outside, no doubt creating a blanket of white on the gray pavement.

It was a fairly quiet day. The flow of customers was moderate, just like the usual amount the shop received on a usual day. Aside from a little unsatisfactory mishap (really, it was his brother's fault and his flirting that burnt the cookies in the oven), the shop hours breezed by with the same peaceful, comfortable pace and he found this nice. He liked working in their family business because he enjoyed it, but the hectic buzz of getting tasks done quickly and efficiently with the highest amount of customer satisfaction—not to mention the pressure from his mother's watchful eyes that seemed to see every single tiny mistake he made—was a serious weigh-down on his shoulders. Really, the only relief in this job was that he loved what he was doing. Well, that and—it was a Sunday today. He almost anticipated that it was at any minute now that—

As if on cue, the small bell above the shop's door sounded with a soft ding!, signaling a new customer's arrival. Turning to the front with a natural smile, he greeted the person with a cheerful tone. "Welcome to the Mellark's Bakery."

The newcomer returned his smile with a small upturn of her lips, but he knew it was the best reaction he could get out of her, and for that, he was satisfied. "Hey, Peeta."

"Hi, Katniss." His face lit up with unbridled joy, a faint blush on his cheeks. They've been friends for long now—well, casually talking; he didn't know if she treated their relationship as such—but shyness was always his body's immediate reaction to her, no matter what she was doing. "The usual?"

Katniss nodded as she walked to the counter, her braid moving with the motion. "12 pieces of Cheese bread."

"With extra cheese," he sufficed, not being able to stop the growing smile on his face when she nodded again with more enthusiasm. On habit and with practiced execution, he placed the spherical-shaped cream-colored bread doughs on a metal tray, opening the oven door with one hand and sliding the tray over the grates with the other. His shoulder nudged the door closed and he turned the dial to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, watching as the orange glow filled the inside of the oven.

Idle moments ticked by between them, him using all his might not to stare at her—or make it seem like he was. She was gazing at the now-barely-seeable shop window, so he couldn't get a small glimpse of her expression. Before the silence stretched for too long (and before he was forced to start a casual conversation to fill it in), she let out a sigh. Knowing her for this long, he knew every small gesture she made had a meaning.

"Something wrong?" he asked, slightly leaning on the counter with his elbows. Flour-covered hands supported his head.

She turned to him, and there wasn't even surprise in her eyes that he read her that well. That, or she just didn't care. "Well," she blew another breath, contorting her features in what he could only describe as disdain, "my mom insisted I get a boyfriend again." She joined him on the counter, putting her head on her elbow. She was so near that he caught a whiff of her scent, and he was almost sure that if she turned her head to look at him, their noses would be touching.

"Well, why don't you?" He mentally patted himself on the back for keeping the embarrassment from appearing on his voice. Katniss was pretty, and he knew she could get any guy she wanted, but he didn't voice this thought out for fear it would push her away.

"I just don't think of romance at this time too much," she said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, "And there aren't too many prospects that are good enough, anyways. Those that aren't jerks or assholes."

There was a moment of disappointment on his part before he swallowed it like a large pill and continued the conversation before his evident pause became too suspicious. "What about your best friend, Gale?" It almost physically pained him to say that, but he managed to hide his jealousy like an expert.

Katniss scrunched up her nose, and he found the expression cute (even though cute hardly ever described her). "As you said, he's my best friend, but there's nothing more to that," she said, waving her hand in the air dismissively, "And besides, he's Madge's guy."

He couldn't deny the relief that immediately flooded through his body as he heard that. With renewed confidence, he started to ask, "What about m—?"

The ding of the oven cut through his question, startling him enough for him to quickly wear his mittens and get the steaming batch of freshly baked bread out. He couldn't help but thank the heavens that it finished baking the time it did (to keep him and his thoughts busy), but then he couldn't help but curse his luck either because the ding definitely ruined his built-up confidence. Neatly he packed the bread in a paper bag and handed it to her with the customary smile, albeit being a little crooked this time from embarrassment. "Thank you for buying," he said the memorized words without missing a beat, "Come again soon."

Katniss peered into the bag, seeming to count off the number of the bread as if knowing he gave her an extra. "There's 13," she said, but there was a small appreciative smile on her face.

"It's a bonus for the regular," he said smoothly, picking off the words 'girl I like' for 'regular'. Not to say they were two different people, but they were on two completely different levels. This braided girl was not merely just a regular.

"Happy New Year," she said, gray eyes having a bright glint in them he found enchanting.

"Happy New Year," he said, smile turning tender and softer around the edges.

She offered him another smile before bidding goodbye, walking out of the shop as confidently as she had walked in. Only when the bell sounded her exit did he let himself relax and sigh in relief. And to think he was almost going to confess to her—

"Smooth. Definitely better than the heart-shaped cookies with pink frosting you wanted to give her."

His body jolted in surprise at that voice, but managed to recover quickly to turn his head and bore holes on his brother's face with a piercing glare. "Shut up," he said, embarrassed, pink dusting his cheeks. His brother only laughed harder at his failure.

But next year, he thought, for sure, he would tell her how he felt. And ask her out like a real man should.

Well, nicely, because she could shoot his eye out in mere seconds with a bow and arrow.

She spared one last look at the bakery shop before whipping her head to the front in disappointment. Well, Madge's plan of subtlety certainly didn't work, as it had only given her an extra piece of bread. It turned out someone as dense as Peeta needed a little more than just a push.

Despite the situation, she smiled to herself. This year was his turn. Next year was all hers.

notes: Well, I figured Modern!Katniss would've liked Modern!Peeta sooner than Panem!Katniss did to Panem!Peeta. I mean, she doesn't have any reason not to trust him (*coughs* Hunger Games *coughs*).
notes2: I surely hope it's not too OOC or anything, but this is just how I imagined they would act like. The setting is very different, so they change to suit it.
notes3: Leave a review? :)
notes4: And belated Happy New Year!