Firefly's and promises

"Katniss," I whisper as I play with her soft hair "You know that I love you right?" She looks up at me from her position on the ground, where her head lay's in my lap. "Yes," she says giving me a quick teasing kiss on my lips. "Why do you ask?" I pause for a second, still lingering on the taste of her lips. "I just wanted you to know." As I stare into her eyes, my heart skips a beat and the butterflies in my stomach seem to double. Oh God, I love this woman so much. It is about five years after the rebellion and the fall of the Capitol. I still have "episodes" now and then, but we work through it: playing "real or not real" and speaking comforting words to each other. All I know is that whenever I come out of the haze and confusion of it all, or when I am holding Katniss in my arms at night, that our love is only growing stronger every day. I always knew that I wanted to marry her one day, but I never really had the time or the courage to actually come up with a plan and ask her… That is until last week. I went all around town collecting supplies and polishing up the finer details. However, by the time I was ready and had all of the stuff that I needed, it was too late in the evening, so I settled on today.

My heart pounds against my chest as I think of what I am about to do. Taking a deep breath I grab her hand in mine and gently squeeze it, loving the way it fits perfectly into mine. "Here," I say "get up, I want to show you something." Silently we get up: I take a bit longer than normal, partly because of my artificial leg and because I cannot stop shaking. I am trying to calm my nerves when Katniss turns to me and asks "So where are you taking me?" I turn to look her in the eyes and kiss her on the forehead. "That's a surprise," I say with a smile on my face "it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you." I take her hand as she delivers a playful punch to my arm. Feigning hurt I grab my arm and put on my best pouty face. Breaking into laughter she grabs my hand again. "That didn't hurt and you know it!" Grinning I squeeze her hand and stop walking. We have reached a small clearing in the woods. All around the birds are chirping and scolding each other high above in the trees. A small brook babbles happily off to our right, catching the light from the setting sun and turning it into liquid gold.

Turning towards Katniss I laugh when I see the look on her face; curious and joyful. "It's pretty right?" I ask leading her to a medium sized boulder by the edge of the water. Sitting down, she regains her senses and looks at me. "When did you find this place?" she asks, looking around the clearing. "How did you find it?" Laughing I kiss her softly on the lips. "You know I do other stuff than bake and paint right? I found this when I was taking a walk before work the other day. You were still sleeping and I just needed to clear my head for a little while." She chuckles and smiles teasingly at me. "Oh so you bake, paint, and take walks? You must be so busy."

Grinning I put my hand in the water and flick the stray droplets at her. "Yes," I say, flicking some more water at her. "Bake, paint, and walk. That is the way of the Peeta." She giggles, trying to bat the droplets away with her hands. "Speaking of the way of the Peeta," I say, taking her hand in mine. "There is something I have been meaning to ask you for quite a while now." As I get down on one knee, her body becomes rigid and tears start to form in the corner of her eyes. Silently I take a deep breath and try to calm my racing heart. "Katniss," I start, looking her in the eye. "Ever since the first day I ever saw you, all those years ago, I knew that one day I was going to marry you. I didn't know how or when, but I knew." Tears have started to fall down her face and her free hand has gone up, covering her mouth. "All of those years, I held on to that thought, keeping it tucked away in my heart, just for you… Now I know we have been through a lot of crap in our lives, but we have always gotten through it, together. Katniss," I say, gently wiping away a tear with my thumb. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you; today, tomorrow and every day after that until the day I die, old and wrinkly in my bed."

Smiling I reach my hand into my back pocket for the small box that resides there. "I want to share my life with you, the good times and the bad times, forever." Pulling the box out of my pocket I open it up and show it to her. The pearl in the middle of the ring catches the last of the dying light and shines like a beacon. "Katniss Everdeen," I pause, grinning like a fool "will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?" Unable to speak she nods vigorously nods her head, pulling me into a deep kiss. Breaking apart I laugh nervously. "So I'll take that as a yes then?" I ask, unable to stop smiling. Laughing, she finally speaks "Yes," she says, wiping at the tears on her face. "That was most definitely a yes." Beaming I take the ring from its cushion and place it on her ring finger. Standing up I kiss her hard on the lips until I am left gasping for air.

Suddenly a burst of energy shots through me, making me laugh out loud, pick her up and spin her around the clearing. While spinning, I accidentally lose my footing and we end up crashing into the cool water of the brook. Laughing we stare into each other's eyes and catch our breath as the water pools around us and eventually finds a different way to go. Still breathing heavily, I lean in close and kiss her very slowly on the lips, trying to preserve this moment and live in it forever. Silently we break apart, both of us grinning and giggling like five-year-olds who successfully sneaked a cookie out of the jar without being caught by their mother.

"Katniss Mellark," She says, teasing me with a quick kiss. "I like the sound of that." Kissing her on the nose and cheeks I sigh contentedly. "I do too, it fits perfectly." Feeling the water begin to creep up my back I look at Katniss, grinning I say "You know we should probably get up before we are completely soaked." Giggling she puts on her pouty face "But I don't wanna get up!" With that said, she collapses on me, leaning in with all of her weight. Laughing I get into a kneeling position and pick her up easily bridal style.

Kissing her softly on the lips I chuckle. "You know you're gonna have to gain more weight if you want to stop me from picking you up. At this rate any guy could grab you and carry you off!" I say teasingly. Batting her eyes she puts a hand on my chest, making my heart skip about two beats. "You would never let anyone do that would you?" Swiftly I reply. "No I would not, they wouldn't get five feet before I cut them down with my baguettes of doom!" jokingly I add "And they probably couldn't even get to you before you sent them running with your sharp tongue." Laughing I notice a light flash by in the corner of my eye. Putting Katniss down I grab her hand and turn to see what it is. What I see takes my breath away. All around us, fireflies have filled the air; lighting up the night with their soft glow. Dancing through the trees, floating and flitting past us with the promise of a new life and a better future.