Author's Note: This is my first fan-fic for The Hunger Games so I'm pretty nervous. ;3 This is JUST A ONE-SHOT. I hope you guys enjoy. :)
The mutts, ripping his body to lifeless pieces, gnawing his flesh to deterioration. Katniss couldn't stop it if she tried, her body paralyzed... frozen. And that's how it ended. All of the memories between them gone in a matter of seconds.
Katniss woke violently in a pool of sweat, struggling to breathe. She realized that it was just a dream, but it all felt too real. She was surprised that no one could hear her scream through the thin walls of her room in the Victor's Village.
She cradled her legs against her chest and sobbed silently, the flashbacks of her nightmare projecting vividly in her head.
She turned her head toward the window, staring at the house accompanied by Peeta and his family. She imagined him sleeping peacefully in his room that night, void of any tortuous nightmares. She then imagined him getting torn to pieces by the mutts, never again being able to look into those baby blue eyes of his.
Before her mind could fully process what she was doing, her feet hit the cool carpet, dragging her out of her room and down the stairs with silent steps. What she was doing was completely barbaric, but if she had any hopes of getting sleep that night, she needed to reassure her thoughts.
She opened the front door and fled the house, adjusting her eyes so that she could see in the darkness. She slipped over to the Mellark's back door, the thick glass showing no hint of humanly movement. She twisted the doorknob, sighing of relief when the door swung open.
I guess there's really no point to keeping your doors locked when you only have two neighbors, one of whom is drunk for most of his existence, and the other of whom was harshly ignoring him. She didn't know why she was ignoring him, but she had a feeling of what it could possibly mean... and that's what she was afraid of. She wasn't afraid to admit a lot of things, but there was one thing in particular that she was failing to admit to herself.
As she looked around Peeta's unfamiliar house, her idea of sneaking over seemed more and more absurd. She had never stepped foot into his house before that night, and she had a feeling that finding his bedroom wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.
She tiptoed toward the staircase, putting her hand on the railing for support. She climbed up the stairs, flinching each time her feet caused the wooden stairs to creak. As soon as she had reached the top of the staircase, she looked around confusedly. All she saw were doors; closed doors.
She groaned quietly and tried to get a mental picture of her Victors house. Her bedroom was located all of the way in the back, neighboring the bathroom. With a look of bravery, she silently made her way to the back of the house, wrapping her hand around the doorknob.
She counted to three internally and slowly opened the door, praying to see a sleeping Peeta behind it. Boy, was she unlucky.
She stood in the doorway of his parents, frozen with fear. Mrs. Mellark stirred in her sleep and shot up, her eyes covered with a night mask.
Run, Katniss was telling herself, but it was as if her feet were nailed to the floor. As Mrs. Mellark fiddled with the mask, she felt an arm grab hold of hers and swing her out of the room. She was thrown into a dark room, listening as the door shut quietly after her.
It took every fiber of her being not to scream as she noticed the blue eyes creeping down on her in the darkness. She backed up against the wall, gulping loud enough to fill the room.
"Katniss, what are you doing here?" he asked, and Katniss sighed of relief when she matched the voice to Peeta's. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness, so Katniss could make out the outline of Peeta's built body.
"I...uh," Katniss whispered. She'd almost forgotten why she was there in the first place, with the events of just seconds earlier. Peeta waited patiently for Katniss to respond as she regained her breathing.
"I needed to see you," Katniss managed to get out. Peeta stared down at her confusedly before switching on the light. Both of them squinted their eyes from the sudden brightness, but their eyes never left each other.
"What do you mean?" Peeta asked, keeping his voice low. He noticed the fear in her eyes as he looked into them curiously. Katniss rubbed her wrist nervously and averted her eyes around the plain white room.
"I had a nightmare," Katniss whispered back hoarsely. "You had died... I needed to make sure you were alright. It's silly, I know... but it made more sense to come over until, well, now," Katniss remarked, laughing uneasily.
Peeta slowly let out a sigh and walked over to his bed, taking a seat on the edge of it. Katniss searched his face for some kind of emotion. She noticed that his expression mirrored hers all too well; sadness.
"You have them too?" he whispered, finally looking up to meet her gaze. Katniss nodded, folding her arms against her chest. Being that she had only worn a thin nightgown to bed, she had begun to feel self conscious exposing so much skin to Peeta.
"All the time," Katniss admitted. From the disturbing sounds of Cato's last pleas for his life, from the look on Foxface's face as she hit the ground from nightlock, to the aching last moments spent with Rue, these images haunted her mind each and every night. She snapped out of her thoughts and focused her eyes on Peeta. He was completely lost in thought.
All he could think about was his past nightmares, and how they always seemed to revolve around one particular thing, or person for that matter.
"What are they usually about?" Peeta wondered. Katniss told him about how the terrifying nights in the arena were scarred in her memory, and how she'd wake up in pools of sweat each and every night.
"What about you?" Katniss asked after a minute.
"Hmmm?" Peeta asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Your nightmares," Katniss whispered. "What are yours usually about?"
Peeta nervously looked Katniss in her eyes, pausing for a moment to take in her breathtaking features; the way her lips would naturally poke out, the way her dark brown hair cascaded down her shoulders in perfect waves, the way her gray eyes would peer into him as if she were reading his soul. She was a true beauty to him.
"My nightmares are always about losing you," Peeta whispered back dreadfully. Katniss stood by the door in sorrowful awe, taking in his words. Aside from all of the disturbing things that could ghost his mind at night, the fear of losing her was always the greatest. Peeta noticed that Katniss wasn't going to respond, so he continued talking.
"I can never get to you in time. No matter how fast I run, or how hard I try, it always ends the same," he said, struggling with his words. His face cringed in pain and Katniss felt the pit of her stomach sink. She knew how much Peeta cared for her; he admitted it in the cave to the entire world of Panem, but after how harshly she'd treated him, would he still have loved her?
"Peeta," Katniss whispered sympathetically.
"It kills me every time because it means I can't protect you!" Peeta exclaimed, barely keeping his voice as low as he should. Katniss pushed her feet forward, kneeling down in front of him.
"You must not remember the arena then," Katniss began, blinking rapidly. "You protected me from Cato."
"And then you had to turn right around and almost get yourself killed just to heal me up from that," Peeta argued back.
"Okay, so we saved each other. There's nothing wrong with that; and that means that you did protect me. Don't let these nightmares consume you," Katniss reassured, grabbing his hand to give it a gentle squeeze.
"Says the girl who snuck into my house because of one," Peeta said, a light smirk on his face. Katniss blushed a bit and looked away. "Seriously though, we haven't even talked since we returned from the arena... and now you're in my house, holding my hand. It's a little confusing," Peeta breathed. Katniss looked back up at him and she could understand how he felt.
"I'm sorry for that," Katniss whispered. "It's just that..."
"It's just what, Katniss?" Peeta wondered. It just felt so unreal to him, Katniss being there. He didn't know whether or not he was dreaming, and whether that would be considered a relief or a burden.
Katniss slowly began to realize why she had been avoiding him, and she was ashamed that it had taken so long. She had feelings for the boy with the bread, and whether or not she could process what they actually were, she knew they were there. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his.
They were soft and familiar, tenderly spreading warmth throughout her body. Peeta stiffened up, his eyes remaining open. When he had finally registered that Katniss' lips lay upon his, he let his eyes flutter closed, returning the kiss contently. After a minute, Katniss pulled away, letting their lips separate in a light smack. He studied her face for an explanation.
"I was scared that if I was around you like this, I'd end up doing that," Katniss admitted. Their hands still lay in each others, and Peeta began to caress hers.
"If you hadn't noticed, I didn't mind that at all," Peeta joked. He always had such a way with words. That fact warmed Katniss.
"I know, but... why wouldn't you? You looked so hurt after what I said to you after the games... about it being all an act. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me for it." Katniss felt genuinely horrible after that interaction, and it scared her because Katniss Everdeen was not the one to be known for showing much emotion.
"I understood. I heard you loud and clear, and even though it hurt, there was nothing I could do to change it. I accepted it," Peeta responded, his eyes never leaving Katniss' face.
"That's the thing," Katniss said, scooting impossibly close to Peeta. She felt her voice shake, and she prayed that she wasn't on the verge of tears. "I guess when you had accepted the fact that my feelings weren't the same, it opened my eyes to the truth. It made me realize that they were there all along. I just feel so foolish for not realizing it sooner."
She knew that things weren't going to be that simple, but Peeta needed to know. As Katniss watched the hard glare on Peeta's face soften up, she couldn't help but smile.
"And you're sure of these feelings?" Peeta asked, paranoia dripping from his words. He refused to allow himself to get excited until he was completely sure of it.
"I'm sure," Katniss whispered, and Peeta felt nothing but pure honesty. His smile mirrored hers as he intertwined their other hands together.
"So what does this mean then? Are we really going to be the star-crossed lovers of District 12?" Peeta asked playfully, causing a light laugh from Katniss.
"Just come here," she responded, motioning toward her lips. Peeta leaned forward and captured her lips in his, sighing satisfyingly. She unwrapped their hands from each other and cupped his cheeks, deepening the kiss. His hands reached out until they sat at her back, feeling her body heat through the thin nightgown.
Katniss' fingers trailed down until they sat at the neckline of his shirt. As the kiss intensified, Katniss began to feel that familiar hunger eating out at her. She pulled away reluctantly to stop herself from going too far. Peeta's face showed slight disappointment, but it was soon replaced with a smile.
"That was nice," Katniss said, her fingers tracing the fabric of his T-shirt.
"That was perfect," Peeta declared, and Katniss couldn't agree more. After a while of comfortable silence, Katniss rose to her feet. Peeta looked up at her questionably.
"I should go before anyone notices that I'm gone," she remarked. She really hadn't planned on staying over for so long, and time had drifted by quickly.
"Stay," Peeta pleaded, jumping to his feet. Katniss shook her head lightly and looked up at him.
"What will your mom say if she finds us in bed together?" she responded. Peeta knew she was right, but he eagerly wanted her stay.
"But what about your nightmares?" Peeta asked worriedly. Katniss smiled softly and wrapped arms around Peeta's neck.
"Trust me. I can't imagine myself having anything but good dreams tonight," she reassured, pecking his check lightly. He smirked and unlaced her arms from his neck, intertwining his hand with hers.
"Let me walk you home then," Peeta offered. They opened the door to his room and looked around, making sure that they had not waken any of Peeta's family members.
"Coast is clear," Peeta whispered, laughing internally at his joke. Peeta and Katniss made their way down the stairs, stopping at the end of it to listen for any noise. They walked up to the back door, and Katniss turned toward Peeta.
"I got it from here," Katniss whispered, a softness to her tone almost as soothing as a lullaby.
"Are you sure?" Peeta asked hesitantly.
"I'm sure I can make it a few steps next door," Katniss laughed, receiving a grin from Peeta. "And you say you're not protective."
"I wouldn't be me if I didn't at least try," he responded back, holding in laughter.
"Exactly," Katniss said, touching his face. She stared into his calming blue eyes and felt safer than she'd ever felt since those nights in the cave. The footsteps being heard from upstairs brought them back to reality.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Katniss promised, pecking his lips tenderly.
"See you then," Peeta whispered back. Katniss scattered away as Peeta closed the door quickly after him. Seconds later, Peeta's older brother Rye appeared at the end of the staircase.
"Who you were you talking to?" he asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Nobody. I was sleep...talking?" Peeta lied. Rye rolled his eyes and trotted back upstairs. Peeta quickly turned toward the window, noticing a bright, white nightgown floating into the house beside him. He grinned happily, thinking of their first kiss where he could finally feel her true feelings for him.
It was the greatest pleasure he'd ever felt.
Author's Note: Okay, what did you guys think? ._. It was my first, so I'm just trying it out to see how it goes. Please leave a quick review? Thanks. Xoxo.