This is my submission to the new round of Prompts In Panem, "The Language of Flowers", Day 1 - "Primrose" - Childhood. Many thanks as always to my beta soamazinghere for being her wonderful, helpful self. I do not own The Hunger Games.
Flour
Five
The first gift he gives her is a bag of flour.
It was a silly misunderstanding, of course. When Peeta asked his older brothers what would make a good gift for a pretty girl, their reply of "flowers" translated to "flour" in his five-year-old mind. He is a baker's son, after all.
So he prepares a brown paper bag for his gift, and practices his letters by writing her name on it – KATNISS. Big, beautiful green letters, because he found out that green is Katniss's favorite color. He also draws a few dandelions on the bag, since he always sees her picking them after school. When he's happy with his drawings, he fills the bag with three cups of flour, enough for her to make some cupcakes if she wants. Peeta likes cupcakes, so he decides that Katniss must like them, too.
He's nervous as he approaches her in their classroom. He comes up behind her and gently pulls on one of her braids. Katniss turns around quickly, and the scowl on her face does nothing to damper his spirits as he proudly presents her with the brown paper bag. She blinks twice, looking at the bag and then back up at his bright, blue eyes.
"For you," he says, grinning.
Katniss stares at the bag and crinkles her nose. Peeta thinks she looks confused, so he says it again.
"This is for you, Katniss," he says quietly.
She lifts her hand slowly and gently traces the dandelions with her fingers. Then, very carefully, she takes the bag from Peeta's hand.
"Thank you," she says softly. Peeta thinks he sees her smile, but it doesn't matter. Katniss Everdeen just spoke to him for the first time.
"You're welcome," he replies happily, standing back and waiting for Katniss to go to her desk first. When he sits down in his chair, he turns around to peek at her. She's still staring at the bag. She lifts her eyes and catches Peeta looking at her.
She smiles.
The next day, she brings Peeta a big blueberry muffin. He thinks it tastes even better than a cupcake.
Ten
The first time she kisses him, they're both covered in flour.
At ten years old, Katniss decides she wants to make her little sister's birthday cake all by herself. Well, by herself… but with Peeta's help, of course.
"Primrose likes the color pink," she tells him. Peeta nods, and picks out the red food coloring. When Katniss gives him a confused look, he smiles. "A little bit of red will mix with the white frosting to make it pink."
"Ohhh," Katniss says in wonder. Peeta sure does know a lot about colors.
They work quietly. Katniss is happy that Peeta understands that she doesn't like to talk very much. She thinks he talks enough for both of them, anyway. It's a good thing she likes the sound of his voice.
When the cake is finally in the oven, Peeta sits down at the table and yawns. Katniss laughs at how wide he opens his mouth. He smiles at her, and pretends to yawn again, stretching out his arms and laying his head down on the table.
Peeta's eyes are closed as he pretends to be asleep, and he doesn't seem to notice when Katniss comes closer.
And then she kisses him. A quick, gentle kiss on the cheek.
His eyes fly open and she backs away quickly, her cheeks growing hot.
"I just wanted to say thank you for helping me," she says quietly, looking down at her feet. She's still looking down when she senses Peeta walking towards her. He takes her hand in his, lifts it up to his mouth, and gives her flour-covered knuckles a soft kiss.
When she raises her head to look at him, he's wearing the biggest smile she's ever seen.
"You're welcome, Katniss," he says.
They hold hands until the oven timer beeps.
Fifteen
He asks her to their first big dance using flour.
It's not how he originally planned to ask her. He wanted to make Katniss her favorite cheese buns, the kind he makes all the time, but today he can't seem to make a decent batch.
They're teenagers now, and have been "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" for over a year, yet she can still make him nervous.
But he's also his happiest when he's with her.
Peeta glances up at the clock and knows he's running out of time. He looks down at the overworked dough he's been kneading, and sighs in defeat. When he hears the back door open, he quickly takes the dough off the board and tosses it into the trash. In a panic, he looks down at the flour-covered board and scribbles one word with his finger.
Dance?
He blinks at it, decides it's the dumbest thing he's ever done, and goes to wipe it away when Katniss grabs his hand.
"Jesus, Katniss!" he yells in surprise, and when he looks up at her, he's appalled to see that she's laughing.
"Peeta, what is this?" Katniss asks through her laughter. "Is this your way of asking me to the dance?"
He's humiliated. He can't even look at her.
"Peeta, you're usually so good with words – why is this so hard for you?"
Peeta finally raises his eyes to look at her face, her earlier laughter replaced with a look of concern. "Honestly, Katniss, I wasn't sure if you'd even want to go. I know this isn't exactly your thing…"
She sighs, moving closer and putting her hands on his shoulders. "You're right, it's not. But…I'll go if you want me to. I'll go if it'll make you happy."
He grins and wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "You'd do that for me? I promise we can leave if you hate it…I just thought it would be nice."
Katniss smiles and runs her hand through his flour-covered hair. "Tell you what – make me some cheese buns, ask me properly, and we'll see."
Peeta laughs. "Deal."
Twenty
Peeta asks Katniss to marry him with a bag of flour.
He knows they're only twenty years old. He knows they're still in college. But he also knows that Katniss is the one.
She's always been the one.
So he prepares another brown paper bag, just like the one he gave her when they were five. But instead of writing her name or drawing flowers, he writes down all of the promises they've made to each other over the years:
I will always tell you the truth.
You will always tell me how you're feeling if I ask.
I will always be here to hold your hand.
You will always be here to wipe the flour off my face.
I will make you cheese buns anytime you want.
You will take me berry picking whenever I need berries.
I will always keep you safe.
You will always keep me safe.
I love you.
You love me.
I will stay with you.
You will stay with me.
Always.
Peeta writes slowly, artfully, with all the devotion he's had towards Katniss since he was five years old. Once he's done, he picks up a small, dark green velvet box and opens it. It's a modest ring – a gold band with an arrow-pierced heart in the middle, engraved with "Always" on the inside.
He loves her so very much.
With a deep sigh, he closes the box, positions it in the paper bag, and covers it with three cups of flour. Enough to make a loaf of bread.
After she says yes, they'll make the bread together. And with any luck, they'll stay together.
Always.
Thanks for reading! I'm on tumblr hiatus right now until Easter, but the askbox is open - 30smmof2.