This is probably the last chapter, because this is supposed to take place some time during the Quarter Quell (the rescue still happens). Peeta's POV.

Warning: Pretty darn fluffy/cheesy. It was written in an I-Adore-Peeta mood.

...

Katniss' eyes flutter open, and the whole world stops. I tune everything else out around me, not caring about anything but this girl lying infront of me. Her wet gray eyes stare up at mine, at first a bit dazedly, until they clear up and she gasps.

"Peeta!" she exclaims. Her breathing becomes hitched and fast, her chest rising up and down much too quickly to be good. I shush her, still crying like a pathetic baby. My tears haven't stopped for one second since I saw the knife sticking from her stomach. I always knew that something like that was a possibility, but I never imagined anything could pierce me as strongly as that did. Even being sliced by Cato, or bitten by mutts, didn't hurt me half as badly as this has.

Katniss whimpers again, and I pulls her back into my arms, careful not to stir her too much. Her eyes have closed again, but I can tell by the way they're squeezed shut that it's in pain.

"Katniss..." I whisper. I caress her cheeks softly, wiping away any tears that dare to leave streaks down her face. Her hand reaches up and grasps mine tightly, holding onto me like a lifeline.

"Don't leave me, Peeta," she says softly.

"I'd never." I try to stop crying for Katniss' sake, but my tears fall from my face and onto hers before I can do anything to stop them. She doesn't seem to notice, though. Her breathing becomes slower and slower, and I begin to worry.

What if the needle didn't work? What if she's not going to make it after all?

I stop myself right there, because if I let those thoughts take over my head, I know I'll go insane. Just the thought of living in a world without Katniss is unbearable. She's the only reason I keep fighting - so that she can stay protected. If she were gone, I wouldn't be able to see any more beauty in this world, because it would have dissapeared.

I look down at her, taking in her features that become so much more fragile when she sleeps. Her dark lashes are leaving shadows across her cheekbones, and I kiss them lightly. I've calmed down quite a bit having realized that her breathing was only slowing because she was falling asleep. I'm glad that she can still get rest with the pain she must be feeling. That means it can't be that bad.

"You alright?"

I turn to see Finnick sitting cross-legged against a tree nearby. He's staring at Katniss still, but his words are obviously directed at me; I'm the only other person who's conscious.

I take a shaky breath and nod.

"She gave you quite a scare, didn't she?"

I laugh humorlessly. "That's an understatement."

We stay silent for a few minutes as Finnick continues collecting the water that Katniss never finished getting. She's been too busy trying to sacrifice herself for me to live. It's sickeningly ironic how similar the circumstances had been to our berry stunt. Except this time, her love had been real. She's done this to herself for me, because she loves me.

I still can hardly believe it.

After all of the years I'd only dreamed of her even looking in my direction, I never could have imagined us as star-crossed lovers, trying to kill ourselves in the Hunger Games so that the other can live. It's horrible that I've finally gotten her, but in this way.

She was supposed to look at me - really look at me - one day in District 12, and fall in love with me almost immediately, just like I had with her. We were never supposed to fall in love through the Hunger Games. But we had, and now there's no going back for us, even if I want her to be able to live a normal life. Even if it means she has to be with somebody else.

I stroke Katniss' hair as she sleeps. I could probably watch her all day, but all of my crying has taken the energy straight out of me.

"Hey, Finnick," I say. "Would you mind keeping watch for a bit?"

He shakes his head, looking completely lost in his thoughts. I murmur a thanks, and slide down onto the dirt. I've left our sleeping bag all the way back where we were staying, but I figure that we can just pick it up later. I don't want to leave Katniss for one second.

Once I'm lying down, I gently rest Katniss beside me. I want to pull her completely into my arms, but I'm afraid of hurting her, so I settle for draping my arm under her head to support it. With the other, I continue to stroke her face and hair until sleep pulls me under.

...

Katniss is shaking me. I squint my eyes open, and see her smiling down at me. I hardly ever get the pleasure of seeing her smile, so I can't help but return it.

"Morning, Peeta," she says. "You slept for almost eight hours!"

I gawk at her. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"You were exausted... after... everything..." She looks away guiltily.

I sit up and take in the new bandages that have just been put onto her stomach. Since Finnick cut away her shirt yesturday, it only goes from about her collarbone to just over her stomach wound. But she seems to be moving around easily, and she isn't wincing.

"Katniss..." My eyes start stinging again. I try to look away, but it's too late, because she's seen.

"I'm so sorry!" She throws herself into my arms, her legs wrapped behind my back. I press my face into her neck as the fright from last night comes back to me. I breathe in her scent, never wanting to let her go ever again. And in that moment, I promise myself that I won't; I will never leave her again.

"I just... I need you to survive, Peeta."

"I can't. Not without you," I whisper, kissing her neck.

Katniss shivers slightly under my touch. Then she pulls back to look at me, her cheeks blazing adorably. "You have to. You and Haymitch vowed to save me the last Games, and now it's your turn to be protected."

I shake my head sadly at her, because she really doesn't understand. "But I wouldn't be happy ever again. I'd never be the same," I tell her.

"At least you could be alive. You can go back to the bakery, go back to your paintings. You don't have to forget me, but I don't want you to never let me go. I did it for you, Peeta" she says. She leans forward and presses her cheek against my own. "So you could live."

I want to tell her that I would never go back to my baking or painting before I kill each and every person involved in the Hunger Games if she were to die in them, but I know I can't. The cameras are probably trained exactly on us at this very moment, taking in our every word. If I let myself slip, the Gamemakers will surely punish us in some Godawful way.

Instead, I shake my head at her again, trying to tell her everything with my eyes. I want her to know that I would never rest until they were all dead, and even after that, I would never be able to cope.

Katniss' eyes fill with tears, and I know that she must understand what I'm getting at. I've only seen her cry a couple of times, so the past ten hours or so have been extremely saddening. I've seen lots of people cry in my lifetime, but seeing Katniss crying is by far the worst.

"I know, Peeta," she says softly. She moves her face up so that the cameras can't pick up what she's saying, and whispers, "I wouldn't let them take another breath, either."

I move my hands from her own and go to cup her face. I wipe away her tears while I'm at it, then lean forward slowly. She knows what I'm going for, and closes the distance between us in less than a second. When our lips meet, she makes a quiet sound of pleasure in the back of her throat that makes me want more. Without breaking contact, I gently lay her down on the ground, careful not to put too much pressure on her wound as I lie on top on her.

She breaks away first, looking down and blushing as she tries to regain her breath. When she lifts her gaze, my heart nearly stops. Her gray eyes have a new glow to them, one that I can't place, but they suddenly look a million times more beautiful than before, even. I'd thought it was impossible.

She must notice me gaping, because she whispers, "What?"

I shake my head at her in disbelief, and say, "I've never loved you more than I do right now, and I'll never love you any less."

Her cheeks become even more red than before, and she kisses me softly. "I love you, too, Peeta. I just wish..." She takes a deep breath. "I wish it didn't have to end."

I turn over and let her lie ontop of me instead, wishing she hadn't said that. It's making us both more sad and angry at the Capitol for doing this to us. "Me too," I tell her.

We lie in silence for a while, holding eachother tightly as we're both lost in our thoughts of the future. I wonder what else could possibly happen to us, but at the same time, I don't want to know.

"I want to lie here with you forever," I say. "Never moving forward, never looking back."

She smiles at me, then it falters. "Hey, Peeta," she says. "Do you know what this reminds me of?"

I shake my head.

"The roof, in the Capitol. When we were watching the sunset."

I remember that day, too. I remember playing with her hair and studying her stunning features - the features she probably doesn't even realize are incredibly captivating and beautiful. I smile down at Katniss and say, "I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever."

She tries to smile back at me, but it keeps breaking until she finally breaks down in tears again. She sobs into my shoulder, and I feel knives stabbing into my heart with each tear that leaks down her face. I want to take away all of her pain. I want to take her away with me, somewhere where there are no Hunger Games and no people trying to kill us for entertainment. Somewhere we can be happy together, forever.

I dream of a better world without pain and destruction, a place where there are no people controlling us and taking away our lives.

Katniss whimpers into my shoulder as her cries die down, and I stroke her back. I whisper soothing words to her until she lifts her face back up to look at me. Her eyes are bright red and glistening, and she stares at me with so much longing. I want to take away all of her pain, but I can't. I can only stay locked up in this arena while we wait for one of us - or both - to be killed.

I know that the Gamemakers will send something after us pretty soon, so I blurt out what has been eating away at me. "Katniss, can you promise me something?"

She nods her head cautiously, sniffling.

"Don't ever sacrifice yourself for me. Ever."

She kisses me slowly, making it last as long as she can. When she pulls away her eyes are overflowing with tears again, but she manages a weak, "I promise."

...

"I've never loved you more than I do right now, and I'll never love you any less."

Man, I'm pretty sure that was the most cheesy thing I have ever written in my entire life. Oh well!

Please review! *heart* :)