I do not own The Hunger Games.
Icbiwf tagged me with the prompt: kindergarten!Everlark
Kindergarten
"Katniss!" Peeta's voice held a note of utter panic as it drifted up to her from the first floor. It had just the right tone to take her from sleepy and content to heard-thudding and disoriented-but-awake.
"What! What!" She ran into the kitchen with her nightshirt flying behind her like a flag of surrender. "What?"
A small, dark-haired tempest hit her legs full-force, almost knocking her off balance. "Mama! You're awake! Daddy and I were just making breakfast."
Katniss met Peeta's eyes as she stroked her daughter Violet's long, dark hair. She's not sure whether the touch did more for her daughter or to calm her own pounding heart. "Yes, Peanut, I'm awake. Did you guys need something?"
Peeta resumed mixing what had to be pancake batter. From the smell of it, and Katniss's grumbling stomach, she would bet they're pumpkin flavored. He grimaced at his wife before saying apologetically, "Peanut asked a question that I thought you would should answer."
Katniss raised her eyebrow, especially when a blush colored Peeta's cheeks. What could possibly embarrass him after ten years together? "Well, Honey, what is it?"
"Mama, when will I have bumps like yours?"
"Bumps?"
A dramatic sigh escaped the girl, who sounded forty instead of five. Katniss had to bite her cheek to stifle a laugh. "Yes, Mama. Bumps. Like those. They have little points. But yours are bigger than mine." The little girl scowled in a look just like her mother's and pointed to Katniss's shirt.
Oh my God. She couldn't be certain, but she thought Peeta's shoulders shook with a laugh. I am going to kill him. She took a deep breath and sat on a stool at the kitchen counter. "Honey, do you mean my breasts? These?"
Violet nodded as Katniss pointed to her breasts under her nightshirt. "The boys at school call them boobies."
Peeta's shoulders were definitely shaking. When Katniss scowled at him fiercely, though, he immediately wiped the smile from his face. "Well, people have all sorts of names for them, but I think we should call them breasts. And the points are called nipples. As for when yours will get bigger: you'll have them when you're older."
Violet thrust her lower lip out in a pout and demanded, "But I don't want to wait for when I'm older. That's all you guys ever say! Are mine going to be bigger than yours? Ms. Cartwright's are. And I want to look like her!"
Katniss mentally rolled her eyes at the mention of Violet's kindergarten teacher. The bouncy blonde was certainly…gifted…in certain areas of her anatomy. "Breasts come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Why do you want to look like her?"
"Well, she's warm and smells good. Like Daddy. But she's softer. And she gives the best hugs."
"And I don't?" It wasn't hard for Katniss to pretend a degree of hurt. She thought her hugs were pretty awesome, even if she had to say so herself.
Violet rolled her eyes in an exact imitation of her mother. "Mama, yours hugs are good. But hers are better. Just like your pancakes are good, but Daddy's are better."
Although Peeta refused to meet her eyes, Katniss knew that she would see twinkling agreement in his baby blues. Payback's coming, Peeta. Better hugs and better pancakes my butt! "Ah, I see. Well, why don't we make a card for Delly – Ms. Cartwright – before school today? You draw one while I shower before breakfast." She didn't have to ask before Peeta slid drawing paper and crayons in front of their daughter. Dropping a kiss on her daughter's head as she hopped off the barstool, she said, "Love you, Vi. Make it a pretty one, ok?"
-o—
"How was school, Peanut?" Katniss asked as she buckled Violet into her car seat.
Violet looked like a child well-satisfied: she had dirt under her fingernails, dried applesauce on her shirt, and her socks were missing. "It was good, Mama. Ms. Cartwright loved her card."
"Oh, I bet she did!" Katniss tried not to laugh outright at the image of Delly that Violet had drawn, complete with large breasts and a larger smile. At least the little girl had written "I love hugs!" on it so it hadn't looked totally perverted.
"She said it was the nicest card she's gotten in a long time and that she's putting it on her 'fridge. OOOH! And I almost forgot! She said she loves my hugs too. I don't need to wait until I'm older," the girl finished with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Well, Ms. Cartwright knows best, I suppose."
"Uh huh."
Violet sang along with the latest Taylor Swift song for a few minutes. It was loud and off-key, more like Peeta's singing than hers, but Katniss was grateful for it. She's so grateful to have a healthy little girl who carried so much joy with her. Katniss was lost in her own thoughts of running errands, finishing schoolwork, and what Peeta was most likely making for dinner when a voice popped up from the back seat. "Mama?"
"Yes, Peanut?"
"How do little boys go pee-pee?"
Katniss sighed and silently cursed Peeta. How did he always avoid these awkward conversations? "Much the same way we do: they sit down or some like to stand up."
"But not exactly the same way, right? They have things that dangle. Parts. I know. I saw one today." Katniss gaped at her daughter in the rear view mirror, totally speechless. She's not sure she wanted to even ask how that had happened. Violet took her silence as lack of knowledge on the topic. "I have an idea!"
"What's your idea?"
"Well, you don't know because you're a girl. When we get home, let's ask Daddy! He's a boy! I bet he even has one!"
Katniss tried not to laugh as they pulled into the driveway. It's certainly pay back. Peeta won't know what hit him. She latched onto the thought before Violet could come up with some other answer. "Honey, what a great idea! Let's go ask him!"