Hello everyone! I apologize ahead of time if there are big gaps in between posting chapters. There's a lot of things i'm working on since the holidays are coming up. Anyways, i wanted to at least get the first two chapters out since Mockingjay Part 2 is coming out soon. Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave a comment!
A Rose in the winter- chapter 1
"She's going to kill me for this," A man muttered to himself. He searched through his pocket for his keys and unlocked the door. He walked inside and shuddered, all of the memories coming back. He knew he shouldn't have come back there, especially with all the bad memories tied to it, but he couldn't abandon the old place.
The bakery was and always would be his second home.
"Peeta!" a voice shouted for him.
The blonde trudged up to the door, opened, and revealed where he was in shame," I'm here hon," he said.
The owner of the voice marched up to him, shivering from the freezing cold mass of land known as district 12,"Peeta, what the heck were you thinking! Do you know what time it is?" she asked him in an upset tone. It was 5 am.
He studied her face cautiously. Her hair may have been in knots, eyes looking at him in exhaustion, and wearing a huge robe and hiking boots, but none of those mattered if he made her angry. After all, she was his girl on fire.
"I know and I'm sorry, it's just that I haven't been here since…well, you know."
Katniss sighed and hugged him," It's ok Peeta, I know how much this place means to you," she reassured him. That was his girl, tough to the world but protective and gentle with his heart. This was why he married her 2 years ago.
Peeta hugged her back and ran his fingers through her mess of brown hair, "You know, I was thinking… maybe I could fix up the old place and continue with the family business," he confessed to her nervously.
She let go of him, looked him dead in the eyes, and gave him a sympathetic look, "Honey, I know you love baking, but I'm afraid that this place could hurt you more than help you. I don't think it would be a good idea to reopen."
He sighed and went to lock the door. She did have a point, but neither one of them could see what would truly happen. Hijacking episodes, more nightmares, they were both possible. But, what if it could bring in a bit of peace they both needed?
The blonde looked at her like a wounded puppy," You love me, real or not real?" he asked her.
"Real," she answered.
He came up to her and kissed her cheek," Then have my back on this, I really want to try"
"But Peeta…" she stopped. He never usually asked her for anything (except for a baby, which was the last thing she wanted to think about at this point) and he always strived to give her everything she asked for,"…ok I'll support you on this, but I will not hesitate to come get you if something goes wrong."
He smiled a little," Then don't try baking the cheese bread till I'm home from the bakery then," he teased.
"Peeta I'm being serious."
"I know, so am I."
Katniss rolled her eyes and tried to keep from laughing. Though the capital tried to fully change him into a weapon of anger and fear, they had failed to do so. Even with trying to alter his memories of being in the arena, they could never touch the happy moments they had off camera, away from President Snow and the rest of the world.
"As cute as it is that you're picking on me for that yet again, I think we better head home," she told him.
Peeta wrapped his arm around her and nodded," You'll see Katniss, everything will turn out ok," he told her as they were heading back home.
She looked at him and smiled tiredly,' I hope he's right,' she thought.
-Twelve years later-
The little bakery was a success on Peeta's part. When he first opened it back up, there would be a few people here and there that came in and bought from him. Now though, he had customers by the dozens. The Mellark bakery got so popular that he had enough money to buy new equipment, refurbish the entire store, and even hire a few people to help him run the place.
As a bonus, he didn't experience any major episodes while on the job. Every once in a while he'd feel something, but nothing he couldn't shake off after a few seconds. This actually surprised him at times, seeing as Dr. Aurealis told him his episodes would occur if he put himself into situations like this, but the more years he spent there the less frequent the pain. This made everything in his life better, including his relationship with Katniss.
That is, if he wasn't trying to ask her about having a child. It had been almost fifteen years since the capital was defeated, but she still wouldn't agree to it. However, that didn't make him give up on trying to change her mind.
Once closing time came, all of his employees rushed out. Since tomorrow was the anniversary of the Capitol's fall, people from all districts had come to buy up his goods.
Peeta looked around and shook his head,' Wow, we nearly sold everything today,' he thought to himself with a laugh. He went to the entrance and started closing up.
Just then, a young man with light brown hair rushed in," Excuse me sir, but by any chance can I buy a loaf of bread really quick?" he asked.
Peeta looked at his watch, it was already 10 pm. He didn't want to worry Katniss by being home late, but he never turned a customer away. He nodded and got him a loaf," That will be $3," he told him.
The young man dug shamefully through his pockets. He pulled out 50 cents," This is all I have," he said sadly.
Peeta studied the young man carefully. He had clothing that looked like it needed a lot of mending, hair that was dusty, and a face that was dirty from ash. His guess was he worked in the new mines that just opened up.
"I don't mean to offend you, but do you work down in the mining shaft by any chance?" Peeta asked him.
The young man raised his eyebrow," Yeah, but what does that have to do with trying to buy bread?" he asked him.
Peeta smiled at him and gave him the loaves of bread," It means that I'm giving you the bread free of charge," he told him.
The young man was shocked at his generosity, but also very happy," Really, oh thank you sir!" he exclaimed.
"Anything for a brave soul like you, those mines are a risky place to be in. My wife's father perished in those mines during the accident many years ago," Peeta explained sadly.
The young man sighed," I heard about that accident, they still talk about it down there," he told him. The two men made their way out of the shop. The young man anxiously looked around; almost as if he was making sure no one was watching them. This was odd and suspicious to Peeta.
Peeta quickly checked the time, it was 10:15 pm," I should get going home; it was very nice to chat with you um…"
"Shay, the name's Shay. And thank you for the bread," Shay told him. The two shook hands and departed ways.
Peeta sighed. He did enjoy helping Shay out, but he had the feeling there was something wrong about him.
-At the Mellark residence-
Katniss was upstairs, already asleep. After finally getting a meal in, Peeta got ready for bed and lay down next to her. He kissed her softly, trying to be careful not to wake her.
"Bout time you got home," Katniss muttered.
Peeta smiled a little. He should've known she would wait up for him," Sorry, I had a last minute customer," he whispered to her.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it was interesting."
"You wanna talk about it?"
Peeta yawned and cuddled into her," I'll tell you tomorrow babe, I'm tired," he said.
Katniss sighed and kissed his forehead," Ok hon, I love you," she whispered tiredly.
"I love you too," he whispered back. Soon the two fell asleep, unknowing of the adventure that would break in and change their lives forever.
