I couldn't believe it at first. The fact that he was standing there, in front of me, as if we didn't ignore each other for the past two months. As if we didn't secretly keep track of where the other went so that we wouldn't bump into the other. Yet he was still there after I closed my eyes briefly to make sure that I wasn't imagining it like I sometimes did. Sometimes I would see Prim next to me, as if she never left, with her shirt untucked, making her look like a little duck. But he was still there after I opened my eyes. This was real.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His tone was full of concern, and at that moment I wanted to melt into his arms as if nothing happened, and just tell him all the things that only he can understand- things like nightmares about the arena, the fear and paranoia of the Capitol and Snow somehow magically reappearing and rising back into power. The constant flashback of memories that haunt my mind, involving those that were lost in the process of taking down the Capitol as well as to save Peeta's life. Resisting my urge to dig my way into his arms, I managed to choke out a "Yes, I'm fine".

He sat down next to me in the grass, looking not at me, but up at the sky. Then he closed his eyes and sighed.

"This kind of orange is my favorite color. Thanks for reminding me and helping me to remember, by the way. I don't need the 'real or not real' game so much anymore. It's like the effects of the hijacking are wearing off and my brain can distinct what is real and what is not more easily than it could before. Some days everything seems fake and I can't remember what's real at all, but I manage to get through it and it all goes back to normal."

I hear him rambling, searching for the right things to say- things that won't bring up sensitive topics that will hurt me. But I don't care. I go back to closing my eyes and soak in the sound of his voice and let it soothe me. To have him so near me, his hand so near mine without touching- it felt weird. Wrong, in some ways. I couldn't remember a time where we were not touching in some way when we were this close to each other. I craved the soft touch of the skin on his hands- the hands that were sometimes subtly stained the color they were painting that day, hands that were soft from kneading dough.

In a moment of weakness, I tentatively inched my hand over, closing the space that was between our hands. The space that was only a foot in length, yet felt light years long. I felt my fingers find his, and fill in the spaces between his fingers, wrapping mine around his hand. I felt him stiffen, and for a brief moment, I opened my eyes in fear that he would pull away, revolted by my touch. His eyes were squeezed shut and he seemed to be in a short, minute battle with himself. Yet the battle was over as soon as it had begun. He muttered something under his breath… something that sounded like the word "always". Then he opened his eyes and looked right into mine for few glorious seconds before flitting away, just like they had in school. As he stared into the sky once more, I gave his hand a squeeze, remembering the first day and moment his fate intertwined with mine. And for the first time ever, a memory associated with the Hunger Games brought a smile upon my face- remembering the reassuring squeeze he gave me in both our times of weaknesses. He was there for me even before I had known what his favorite color was, or even the slightest bit of information about him other than the fact that he was the baker's son. Now it was time for me to be something he can hold on to when it seemed like everything was wrong.

Peeta closed his eyes and gave a small sigh. Then, he squeezed my hand back and I saw a smile slowly unfolding across his face, reminding me of the Peeta I knew. The yellow dandelion in the spring, representing all that is good and hope for the future. We lay in the Meadow until the sky turned into night, revealing a magnificent myriad of stars spreading infinitely across the sky, hand in hand. Just lying there, grateful for the other's company. And that was good enough for now.

Author's Note: A HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed, I love you all so so much. I hope this chapter makes you all happy, I really appreciate anyone who is reading this, thank you so much. I'll be updating Chapter Three extremely soon, probably around Monday afternoon or evening. Please, leave feedback, and check back soon! 3