Last year I had given Katniss a surprise by waiting by our first Christmas tree, naked. I needed to do something equally good but better, take it up a notch hopefully. And I knew how to do that; through food. I had the perfect setup again, she was off delivering some fresh game to Sae and then would come straight home to shower.

I waited in our bedroom, the one we shared every night since we had started talking again after being returned home. I was just about done getting everything setup when I heard the door in the kitchen open and close, the stomping of her feet to get the last of the snow off her boots.

"Peeta?!" She called out and I swear I could hear her bite into one of the buns I had left out, smiling because I knew she wouldn't resist.

"I'm upstairs!" I yelled back before listening to her take two steps at a time up to the room. She rounded the corner, her braid hitting her in the chest as she came to a complete stop.

She smiled and chuckled, looking around at the transformations I had made. Not only had I brought up a small tree and decorated it with tiny ornaments, but I had also lit about three dozen candles around the room, making it slightly warm. "What did you do this time? And how come you're still dressed?"

I couldn't help my jaw dropping and had to shake my head, not expecting to have heard what I just did. "Wait, what?"

She walked slowly over to me, undoing the buttons on her shirt and throwing it to the floor without a care in the world. Her eyes never let go of mine as she got close enough to run her hands over my chest, leaned up on her tip toes, and quietly, oh so carefully asked, "Why are you still dressed?"

Now there weren't too many times when she had caught me off guard, but this was definitely one for the books and I had to shake my head again. "I figured you'd want to take a shower before we did anything."

She began lifting the hem of my shirt up and I lifted my arms so she could take it off of me. And just before she answered, she kissed my collarbone. "I do, I just want you to come in with me."

"Oh, okay." Why was I acting so stupidly? We had made love hundreds of times by this point, seen each other hundreds of times. I was supposed to show her how romantic I could be with the candles and the little tree and the dessert I had made her, but she was changing things up on me. Truth be told, I liked it and there was no way I would stop her.

"Alright then, Mellark, follow me." Katniss turned around, sliding her bra off and whipping it back towards me as I blindly followed, letting my growing erection guide me. It would seek her out anywhere.

Once we were in the very large bathroom, she took my clothes off before stripping completely herself. She turned on the water, letting it steam up the mirrors before helping me with my prosthetic off and into the shower. I held on to the handle bar built inside as she lathered up a loofah with soap and started to wash me. There was surprisingly nothing sexual about the way she did it, just washed me and then I washed her. I was rinsing the suds off of her when she looked up at me, her gray eyes wide and longing.

"Katniss?" She gave me a kiss, a sweet one that we had shared a billion times before, that usually led to something much more heated.

She pulled back a little, her hands on my chest, one right over my heart, and answered, "I've been thinking, Peeta."

I let out a small, nervous laugh. "Okay, let me have it."

"Let's get married." There was no shaky breath or hesitation in her voice. She was serious and when she's made up her mind, it's hard to let it go.

"This is your proposal? In the shower?" I looked around our surroundings, "Katniss, even I thought you could do better than that."

She smacked my arm, knowing I was just making fun of her. "I mean it, Peeta, we do everything together and I can't live without you, we both know that. I barely survived being here alone before you came back. Marry me, Peeta, be mine for always."

I cradled her face in my hands, rubbing my thumb across her lips, "You have always been the one I wanted Katniss, we both know that. I would love to marry you and be yours and only yours, always."

The smile she gave me warmed my entire body up and I felt like my heart would explode from the sheer happiness I was feeling at that moment. I gave her a kiss, gentle at first before it became the hunger that I only ever felt for her. She never did know the effect she had on me, probably would never really understand. But it didn't matter, she wanted me for always and I was honored beyond belief.

I pushed her up against the wall, our lips still locked together, my hands caressing their way down her body, feeling the scars that I was so accustomed to now underneath the calluses of my fingers. Her moans vibrated through me and gave me all the strength I needed to lift her legs around my waist and slide myself into her easily. I broke the kiss to breath hard into her neck as I thrusted into her, her grip around my shoulders tightening as she was getting close to her orgasm.

"Oh, Peeta, yes." Katniss cried into my ear, one of her hands reaching down around to my backside and squeezing my butt as I slammed into her. "Right there, Peeta, right there!"

I didn't need her to tell me I was hitting the right spot, I could feel her pulsing all around me, and knew she was close, but it was still nice to hear. It was when she started to nibble on my neck that I lost it and started driving into her full force and we both came at the same time. My words weren't quite as smooth as I would have liked and they came out kind of breathlessly, but these were what rolled off my tongue, "Shit! Holy crap, Katniss."

I put my forehead against hers, trying to calm my heart from thumping out of my chest as I slipped out of her, setting her legs down. I had to hold on to her so I wouldn't fall, being a little off balance from that. "Wow, I guess that was a pretty good proposal after all."

Katniss laughed and smacked my arm again, "You're damn straight, Mellark, I wouldn't have had it any other way."