Author's Note: It's been a while since I updated, but school has started back and it might be like this for a while with my other stories while I adjust, so sorry in advance! By the way, this is the last chapter of this little two shot so I hope you enjoy it! (:
Katniss tossed and turned through the night, her mind refusing to settle down long enough to allow her some sleep. She kept thinking about Peeta and the painting; it still felt like an odd dream. No matter how in love Peeta was with her, it still warmed her heart at the realization that he could remember her from way back when.
She sat up in bed and looked over at the bedside digital clock. It was 5:00 in the morning, right on the dot. She turned her head toward the window and although it was still dark, she knew light would be creeping in at any second. She threw the thick covers off of her and stood to her feet, growing weak at the knees.
Her body was exhausted, but it was pointless trying to make another attempt at sleep. She slowly made her way into the bathroom located in her room and snapped the light on. It was ridiculously bright and she squinted her eyes. She stood in the mirror and frowned at her appearance. Baggy eyes, tangled hair, chapped lips... she wondered how Peeta found this attractive.
Then, she stopped herself. Why did she all of a sudden care about what people thought of her, especially Peeta? It scared her a bit. She instinctively walked over to the glassed shower and turned on the dial, allowing the small space to heat up. She then walked back out into the room and retrieved a pair of khaki pants and a dark green tank top, along with clean undergarments and a towel.
She walked back into the bathroom and sighed satisfyingly at the steam that was already accelerating around the bathroom. She tore her clothes off and stepped into the shower, stepping directly under the faucet. She allowed the hot water to flow down her body, rinsing away any trace of the outdoors.
She stayed in the shower for about a half hour, repeatedly rinsing her body as an excuse to stay in longer. She hopped out and dried herself, replacing the towel with a fluffy blue robe that was waiting on her bed when she moved into the village. She looked back into the mirror and looked over her drenched hair. She usually let it air dry, but for some reason, she didn't feel like accompanying Peeta with a tangled web of hair.
She grabbed a brush from the already stocked cabinet. She began brushing through her hair in the way that her hairstylists showed her. For about fifteen minutes, she continued the routine until her hair was free of tangles. She allowed the rest to air dry and put on her clothes.
She walked downstairs and came in contact with her younger sister, Primrose. It couldn't have been past 6 am, so she was confused as to why Prim would be awake.
"Prim?" Katniss asked, joining her sister at the breakfast table. Prim looked up at Katniss with her crystalline blue eyes and smiled brightly.
"I was hungry," she said, biting into a roll of bread. Katniss looked down at the bread and narrowed her eyes.
"Where did you get that?" she asked. Prim pointed her tiny finger in the direction of the island where a basket of golden rolls sat. Katniss walked over to the basket and took one out, taking a bite of it. They were fresh.
"Did Peeta bring these over?" Katniss asked once she had swallowed. Prim nodded.
"He brought them over about 20 minutes ago! Just in time, too. I heard you in the shower so I roamed down here for some breakfast. He was waiting at the back door when I came down here," Prim explained. That meant that Peeta had most likely been awake for awhile as well. She pondered the thought of taking a trip to his house as she finished her bread roll.
"Prim, I'll be back," Katniss announced, walking over to where her hunting boots sat by the door.
"Where are you going?" the blonde haired girl asked. Katniss hesitated before wrapping her hand around the door knob.
"To visit Peeta for a bit," she said casually. Prim's eyes flickered in amusement as she made a shape of a heart with her hands.
"Oooooh, Katniss," Prim taunted.
"Oh, stop," Katniss said, laughing lightly. "I'll be back soon."
With that, she exited the house and closed the door quickly after her. The sky was a dark shade of blue, the morning dew thick in the air. She trotted down the walkway of her house, her eyes set on Peeta's back door. She could see a bright light on in the kitchen of their house, and she was hoping that when she knocked on the door, Peeta would be the one to answer.
She came in contact with the glassed door and peeked through the slightly tinted windows. She noticed someone in a white apron moving around the oven, but she couldn't quite make out who it was. She hesitantly knocked on the door, returning her hand by her side abruptly. She didn't understand why she was so nervous, but she undoubtedly was.
She noticed the figure jump from surprise, poking his tall figure upright. Definitely not Peeta. He walked over to the door and opened it, giving her a surprised smile. It was his older brother, Rye. She noticed him from that day when they returned from the arena to their families.
"What brings you here so early, Katniss?" Rye asked curiously. Katniss was at loss for words. She wasn't expecting to be greeted by Rye, or anyone else but Peeta.
"Uh... is Peeta awake?" Katniss asked, her eyes unknowingly lingering into their house.
"Oh yeah, he's just showering up. Now that I remember, he did say something about you coming over today. Just, not so soon..." Rye commented, giving her a light chuckle. Katniss forced an awkward smile as he led her into the house.
"Sorry about that. My little sister had told me that Peeta brought over some bread so I figured that if he was awake, I might as well come over now," Katniss remarked, taking a seat at the island. Rye laughed as he removed some cinnamon buns from the hot oven.
"Don't be sorry! We could use an extra hand. The reason why we're all up so early is because there's a bake sale going on down at the bakery. Mom, Dad and Brandon are already down there and they're selling out pretty quickly. They sent Peeta and I back here to bake some more goods, and Peeta's been up since 4 am. I told him to shower up because he was sweating bullets," Rye explained, quickly stuffing the oven with numerous trays of dough. Katniss looked around the kitchen counters at the many pastries. Her mouth watered instantly as she spotted some cheese buns off in the corner.
"So this is what Peeta meant by stopping by to pick up a cookie," Katniss said, returning her eyes on Rye. He shrugged and walked over to a tray of chocolate cookies, packing them into a plastic bag. Katniss stared off into space, the awkward silence growing thick. She was relieved when she heard thuds coming down the steps.
"Rye!" she heard Peeta call out, but he was still coming down the stairs.
"The hell do you want, little bro?" Rye responded playfully. Peeta walked into the kitchen and paused instantly when he saw Katniss. His eyes lit up momentarily when he noticed that her hair was down today, instead of in her usual braid. He loved it when she wore her hair down. She smiled lightly at the sight of him and stood up, waiting for him to say something. He simply couldn't. She was dressed in khaki pants that complimented her curvacious body along with a green tank top that brought out her piercingly gray eyes. He wondered how something so plain could appear so radiant on a human being; something only Katniss Everdeen was capable of pulling off.
"Morning," he said breathlessly, praying that his cheeks weren't as scarlet as they felt.
"Morning," she responded, standing awkwardly in the same position. Peeta demanded his feet to push forward as he stopped in front of her, taking a seat on the stool that was beside hers. She mirrored his action, settling down in her seat once again.
"Why are you awake so early?" Peeta wondered, noting that it was around 6:15 am.
"I couldn't sleep at all last night. I got out of bed around 5," Katniss responded, sighing tiredly. Peeta could see the light circles under her eyes from sleep deprivation, but it didn't make her any less beautiful to him. "Prim told me that you brought over some bread." Peeta gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Yeah, uh, I had been baking all morning and there were a few rolls left over. I saw the kitchen light on in your house so I thought I'd bring them over," Peeta told her. She nodded thankfully.
"They were delicious," she complimented. He stared into her eyes as his chest began to pound rapidly. Compliments from her were like a gift from God; they meant the world to him. They were music to his ears. Katniss noticed his mesmerizing stare, but couldn't bring herself to look away. The only thing that broke their gaze was when Rye cleared his throat noisily. They tore their eyes away from each other and shot a surprised glance at Rye, noticing that his eyes watched theirs carefully.
"If you two are done staring each other down..." Rye said, giving them his signature chuckle. Katniss and Peeta both knew that their cheeks were flushed at the comment. "We have some dough to knead!" Rye clapped his hands together excitedly and motioned toward a huge clump of tan dough that sat in a round bowl.
"What are we making?" Katniss asked.
"Sugar cookies. They're the last thing we have to make before we return to the bakery. By the time we get these rolled up and sprinkled with sugar, those lemon cookies should be ready to be taken out," Rye instructed, handing each of them a pair of plastic gloves. Katniss was wary about baking, because she had absolutely no experience in that area. Peeta noticed the expression on her face and gave her a little nudge.
"It's okay, I'll show you how to do it," he reassured as they walked behind the counter to stand next to Rye.
"I'll go pack up the rest of the pastries," Rye noted, excusing himself. Peeta stood closer to Katniss so that their arms brushed against each other.
"First, we have to knead the dough to make sure it's nice and fluffy," Peeta said, tearing the thick chunk in half and placing one half on Katniss' side of the table. She watched as Peeta sprinkled flour on the table before slamming his chunk of dough over it. He then powdered his hands lightly with the flour and began running his fingers through the thick dough. Katniss hadn't even touched hers yet. Peeta peeked over at her and snickered.
"Don't laugh at me," she snapped, instantly muting him. He replaced his snicker with a comforting smile and stared at her questionably.
"Do you need help?" he asked softly. She took a deep breath before nodding slowly. She didn't want to admit that she was completely oblivious to anything to do with baking, because it was quite embarrassing. He smirked and stood behind her, slowly wrapping his hands around her wrists and guiding her hands to the dough. He inched his lips to her ear and Katniss could feel his hot breath hovering over it.
"Take the flour," he whispered. She hesitantly grabbed the flour and sprinkled it on the counter as he did seconds earlier. "Good," he said. "Now get some flour on your hands," he whispered again. For some reason, the intensity of him being so close gave her soothing shivers. She did as she was told and got her hands nice and floury. He then inched his hands to lay atop hers, placing their hands in the dough. His body was flush against hers, and she could feel his warmth against her body. He began to guide her fingers through the dough, showing her exactly how kneading was supposed to feel. After a few minutes of this, he slowly pulled away. She almost frowned at the loss of his body pressed against hers.
"Thanks," she whispered, continuing to knead the dough as he showed her. He smiled and finished his kneading, tearing the dough and rolling them into tiny balls. Katniss mirrored his action and after a while, they had a full tray of cookies. Peeta hurried over to the oven and stuffed replaced the tray of lemon cookies with the sugar cookies, closing it quickly. Katniss watched after him and smirked at the streak of flour that decorated his pants.
"And you just took a shower, what a shame," Katniss laughed as Peeta stood upright. He narrowed his eyes confusedly and watched as her eyes lingered down to the stain on his pants. He smiled cheekily and walked over to the dish towel, wiping his pants clean.
He then grabbed a chocolate cookie from one of the bags that Rye had packed up and walked up to Katniss, holding it out to her.
"Well, I did promise you a cookie," he smirked. She grabbed the cookie from his hands and took a bite, sighing of satisfaction. The warm chocolate chips burst in her mouth, shooting chocolaty sensations around her taste buds. Something only the Mellark bakery cookies could do.
"It was worth it," she said quietly, staring up at him through lidded eyes. There it was again. Another compliment that left knots in Peeta's stomach.
"Glad you like it. Just wait until you taste your own," Peeta said, motioning toward the oven. Katniss smiled shyly and looked over at Rye, who was watching them with a smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"In the mean time..." Katniss trailed off, powdering her finger with flour. Peeta watched her carefully and slowly realized what her plan was. She trailed her finger down his face, leaving a streak of flour across his cheek. He gave her a devilish grin and lunged for her. She shrieked playfully and made an attempt to run. Peeta latched onto her waist from behind, stopping her in her tracks.
"What was that?" Peeta asked tauntingly, causing her to laugh breathlessly. It made Katniss feel good to laugh like that. For once, she was allowed some fun instead of nothing but work. Another thing out of many that only Peeta Mellark could truly give her.
Author's Note: I hope you guys like how I ended it, so please leave me a review? xoxo.(: