A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I promise every universe will have a resolution.
2.
As soon as Mr. Mellark turned left onto Victory Lane, Peeta knew he was fucked. He had assumed his family would be going to Sage to celebrate his mother's birthday. It was her favorite restaurant, and their usual pick.
But he knew, without a doubt, that they would be dining at the Gilded Rose tonight. There were plenty of restaurants in this part of New Haven, but fate was going to screw him over. He wondered if his mother somehow knew about Katniss, if she was doing this on purpose.
(He often confused fate with his mother. Both were omniscient, and both were out to get him.)
Sure enough, a minute later, Mr. Mellark pulled into the parking lot of the Gilded Rose.
"You finally lifted the embargo on this place?" Peeta asked, leaning forward into the front seat.
"I can't hold a grudge forever," Mrs. Mellark replied.
Peeta disagreed. His mother was a champion at holding grudges. She still hadn't forgiven him for spilling grape juice on her Valentino when he was seven.
She probably never would. Every time he held a glass of wine in her vicinity, she brought it up.
The valet opened the door for Mrs. Mellark, and Peeta realized it was Gale. And of course, Mr. Mellark had handed off the keys to Peeta with a mumbled, "Tip him well. I don't want him denting the car."
So Peeta forced a smile, his cheeks bright red, and said, "Hello."
"Good evening, sir," Gale replied, staring straight through him.
Peeta gave him the keys and a ten-dollar bill, and Gale nodded at him. For a moment, they knew each other, and it was as easy as when they hung out after hours, two beers open, Katniss draped over Peeta's lap.
Then, the familiarity disappeared, and Gale slid into Mr. Mellark's BMW and drove away.
Peeta knew better than to expect a warm greeting. Gale understood the situation, even if he had never had to pretend before. It had been two years since the Mellarks had visited this restaurant.
In fact, the last time they had all been there was the first time Peeta saw Katniss.
It was when everything changed.
Tonight, Johanna stood behind the hostess booth. She spotted Peeta first, and her face lit up with malicious glee. Before she could deliver whatever insult she had thought of, she realized he wasn't alone.
"Good evening," she greeted them.
Mrs. Mellark skipped the pleasantries and said, "We have a reservation for ten under Cartwright."
"Cartwright?" Peeta echoed.
"Of course." Johanna grabbed several leather-bound menus. "The Cartwrights are already here. Follow me."
Peeta grabbed his mother's arm. She shot him an annoyed look, and he quickly removed his hand.
"What are the Cartwrights doing here?" he asked.
"They're our oldest friends, Peeta. Honestly, you don't have to sound so dramatic."
Peeta could have screamed at the hand fate had dealt him. Mrs. Mellark preferred having all the attention focused on her, so if she was willing to invite the Cartwrights, then it could mean only one thing. She was trying to force Peeta and Delly together.
Again.
Mrs. Mellark couldn't stand Mrs. Cartwright, and she barely tolerated the woman's husband, but it wasn't the in-laws she wanted but the prestige that came with old money. Nothing would make her happier than to unite the two families with a marriage.
Like it was the god damn nineteenth century or something.
Peeta's older brothers Rye and Tyler had already been successfully matched off with pre-approved families. They had married the women Mrs. Mellark had picked for them, although she'd never admit it out loud. She had simply introduced them to young, pretty girls who came from well-to-do families. Rye and Tyler did the rest.
Mrs. Mellark had been pushing Delly on Peeta since he was a toddler. Too bad neither one was attracted to the other. Sure, they were fairly good friends, but that was it. They had made out exactly once, and they had both felt dirty afterwards as if they had kissed a sibling.
Imagine Peeta's surprise then when he reached the table to find Mr. Cartwright, Mrs. Cartwright, and a young blonde that was not Delly.
The woman opened her arms and offered him a dazzling smile. "Hi Peeta," she said. "It's wonderful to see you again."
Fuck. This night was getting worse.
Hesitantly, Peeta stepped into her arms and gave her a quick hug before taking his seat.
Madge, Delly's cousin, was the only daughter of Senator Undersee. He hadn't seen her in at least ten years, and she had really…grown up. Gone were the baby fat and clunky braces.
So this was his mother's new plan? A senator's daughter? Since when did she have such high aspirations for Peeta? He thought a law degree and a respectable marriage would be enough. Apparently, now he was going into politics.
It was a shame she had wasted Rye on Cressida Bellavue. Rye would have made an excellent politician.
"Wow, Madge, great to see you too," Peeta said.
Everyone exchanged greetings, hugs, air kisses. A few minutes later, Rye and Cressida and Tyler and his wife Glimmer joined them. As soon as everyone was seated, fate determined that Peeta wasn't having a shitty enough night yet.
Not only was Katniss working this evening, but they were also sitting in her section.
"Good evening. My name is Katniss, and I'll be your server tonight."
Mrs. Mellark's eyes flashed as soon as Katniss spoke her name. It wasn't that his mother had a keen memory for names or faces, especially when it came to the help, but of course, she remembered Katniss. Her unique name coupled with the Mellarks last dining experience here guaranteed Katniss was seared into his mother's memory.
"Katherine, I hate to be a bother, but do you think we could get another server?" Mrs. Mellark asked. "I recall a rather unpleasant experience the last time you waited on us."
Katniss froze. She glanced over at Peeta before looking back down at Mrs. Mellark.
"I apologize, but we're booked to capacity tonight. I'm the only one available. I assure you I will do everything in my power to make sure you have a good night."
"Hmm," Mrs. Mellark hummed. "So be it then." When she met Peeta's eyes across the table, he realized she knew. Somehow, she knew about Katniss and him. There was no telling how long she had known or how much, but none of that mattered now. Mrs. Mellark was likely thrilled that Katniss hadn't backed down from being their server.
He wouldn't be surprised if his mother had requested Katniss's section when she made the reservation. She had even put it under the Cartwright's name, so he and Katniss wouldn't have any advanced warning.
Katniss took everyone's drink orders and disappeared. He longed to go after her, wrap his arms around her, and apologize for every single thing that was wrong with this shitty situation.
He closed his eyes and reminded himself that in some alternate universe, they had all gone to Sage instead.
In some alternate universe, his mother didn't try to make every decision for him.
In some alternate universe, Katniss wasn't a secret.
He liked thinking about parallel universes whenever life got too overwhelming. He had believed in their existence ever since he'd taken a physics course to fulfill a requirement his sophomore year of college. His professor had been a bit of a crackpot, but the discussions certainly had been lively. There were many theories concerning the multiverse, but Peeta's favorite was the idea that the universe was infinite, so there were infinite worlds, worlds born from every decision each person made.
Sure that meant in some universes he was much happier, but it also reminded him that it could be worse.
Somewhere, he might not have met Katniss yet.
When Katniss returned, she delivered everyone's drinks and pulled out her pad to take everyone's order. Everything seemed fine until Mrs. Mellark held up her finger.
"This is a Manhattan," she said, looking up at Katniss.
Katniss crinkled her brow. "Yes."
"I didn't order this. I cannot stand the taste of whiskey," Mrs. Mellark complained. "I ordered a martini."
She hadn't. Peeta specifically remembered her saying Manhattan, but before he could get a word out, his mother continued, "Honestly, it's not that hard to get the order correct. Maybe if you had written it down…"
"I apologize," Katniss said. Peeta looked around the table and noticed everyone else staring down at their menus. Of course. They weren't going to defend the poor waitress his mother was terrorizing. It was up to him. He opened his mouth, but Katniss shook her head.
"I'll have the bartender prepare a martini for you immediately," she said. "Keep the Manhattan. It's on the house. I'm sure someone at the table will enjoy it."
She disappeared once more.
"She didn't take our dinner order," Mrs. Mellark sighed, taking a generous sip of her free drink. "I knew I should have pushed for a different waitress."
Peeta took a deep breath. He wanted to berate his mother over her treatment of Katniss, but that was exactly what she wanted. She wanted him to admit that he was seeing Katniss, apologize even, for daring to defy her.
"So Peeta, tell me what you've been up to," Madge said.
She was seated to his right, dressed in a strawberry red flared dress cinched at the waist by a white belt. She looked gorgeous, but she also reminded him of housewives from the 1950s. It wasn't her fault she had become a pawn in his mother's power game, but he didn't want to give Madge the wrong idea.
Or Katniss, for that matter.
"I graduated from law school a couple of months ago. I just passed the bar exam."
"Congratulations!" Madge gave him that bright smile again. The braces had left her with perfectly straight, painfully white teeth. "Yale, right?"
"Yup. I was an undergrad there too."
"You must be really excited."
He wasn't. Not even a little bit. He hated law school, hated the internships, and hated working at his brother's firm. He supposed he'd be made partner in a few years, but that didn't sound appealing either.
He knew he was a good lawyer. He had the mind and personality for it. But he hated it. Originally, he had wanted to teach high school English. His mother had dismissed that idea with one look. She hadn't needed to say the words aloud.
Waste of time, thankless job, below you.
Law was boring. Law meant long hours. Law meant selling his soul to corporate America and dealing all day with greedy assholes screwing over the little guys.
The only bright spot was Katniss. She usually didn't leave the restaurant until midnight. Sometimes later. Their strange hours led to a lot of late nights, sitting up and eating Chinese takeout, and talking about anything and everything.
Except the future. Katniss never allowed him to bring that up.
"Yeah. Tyler just offered me a permanent position at his firm," Peeta said.
Tyler looked over at the sound of his name and gave his brother a thumbs up.
"That's wonderful. I just received my Bachelor's in Psychology. It feels good to be done with school," Madge said.
"What do you think you'll do with your degree?"
She shrugged. It was the careless kind, the one-shouldered, didn't really matter kind. He knew she was biding her time, taking a year to "find herself," which really translated to "find a husband."
"Right now, I'm doing a lot of charity work with my mother. Have you heard of her foundation? It focuses on illiteracy in children and adults."
Peeta mentally chastised himself. He knew people like Madge and her mother did good in the world. They organized fundraisers, held galas, threw money at problems they'd never have to deal with. Madge was simply following the path laid out before her. He couldn't fault her for that.
Their lifestyle was a seductive one. Why risk it by straying from the path?
"I have," Peeta said. "She does great work."
Katniss reappeared with a martini. She set it down in front of Mrs. Mellark and waited for the woman to taste it before she began to take everyone's order.
Katniss answered several questions about the freshness of the salmon, the different sides available, the different cuts of steak. She recited the salad dressings the restaurant offered twice. Everyone simply ordered while Mrs. Mellark asked question after question, trying to get Katniss to slip up.
Finally, Peeta cleared his throat, "Mother. Why don't you get the Chicken Francaise? It's your favorite."
"I thought I'd try something new tonight." She glanced up. "Katherine, what do you recommend?"
"The Chicken Francaise, actually," Katniss replied, not bothering to correct Mrs. Mellark. It wasn't worth the trouble. "It's delicious."
"Hmm." Mrs. Mellark pored over her menu for another minute before closing it and declaring she'd take the baked stuffed shrimp. He could practically hear the eyeroll coming from his left. Cressida had about as much patience for Mrs. Mellark as he did, but she'd never speak up.
Mrs. Mellark could easily make Cressida's life a living hell. No reason to risk it over an anonymous server she'd never see again.
"I'll put that right in," Katniss said. "Can I get anyone anything else?"
"Another scotch on the rocks," Mr. Mellark said, his empty glass in the air.
"Of course," Katniss said.
As soon as Katniss was gone, Madge returned her attention to Peeta. She turned toward him, her knees brushing his, and dropped her voice to a whisper.
"So what do you think?" she asked. "Obvious set-up?"
Peeta wanted to laugh, he was so relieved. "That's the feeling I'm getting."
"Look, you're cute, and you seem nice, so I'm game if you are."
"I'm actually…seeing someone."
Realization dawned across her face. "Ah. And your family doesn't know?"
Peeta cast a surreptitious glance at his mother. "Not yet," he lied.
"Okay, so we'll chat each other up, and get along quite well. At the end of dinner, ask me for my number and make sure your parents hear. How does that sound?"
Peeta grinned. "That sounds like you're an amazing, understanding woman."
"Why thank you."
"So it bodes well you won't be forced to marry into my family. We're utterly miserable."
She laughed out loud and touched his shoulder. "Peeta, you're hilarious," she said.
"What's so funny?" Mrs. Mellark asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Madge rested a hand on Peeta's forearm and turned her dazzling smile toward his mother.
"Peeta was just sharing a story about some senior year antics at Yale," Madge said. "I probably shouldn't repeat it. Wouldn't want to get him into trouble."
Peeta couldn't help the smile that took over his face. Madge was going to be the perfect accomplice for the evening. Better, even, than Delly because at least Madge was a good actress.
Crap. Maybe too good. He finally noticed Katniss standing nearby with his father's drink in her hand. Her gaze was zeroed in on Madge's hand on his arm. He pulled away and folded his hands in his lap.
"Your drink, sir," Katniss said.
"Thank you, dear," Mr. Mellark replied without looking up.
Once Katniss was gone, Peeta counted to sixty in his head before excusing himself to use the bathroom. He turned the corner, passed the bathroom, and stuck his head into the kitchen.
A redhead named Fox did a double take. "Employees only," she said.
"Is Katniss back here?"
"No."
"Do you know where she is?"
"I'm not her keeper," Fox replied. "Now out." Peeta doubted Fox would have treated him like that if he hadn't already been known as Katniss's boyfriend. Fox knew how to play the power game with these people. Make yourself small. Make yourself unimportant. And never, ever question the customer.
Peeta backed away from the kitchen only to run right into Katniss.
"Peeta? What are you doing back here?"
"Looking for you."
"Well, you found me," she said.
"Can we talk?"
She sighed and glanced over her shoulder. "I have about ninety seconds before I need to return to work."
"That's enough time," he insisted. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out the back exit into the alley between the restaurant and the boutique next door.
"Madge—that woman next to me? I'm not interested in her," he said.
"Okay."
"I'm not. She's pretending to flirt with me to make my mother happy."
"Seriously? Do you hear yourself?"
"Katniss, come on."
"I know the situation. I do. It's just difficult seeing it played out in front of me."
"I'm sorry. I really, really am." He grabbed one of her hands and backed her against the building.
"Peeta, I'm working." She tried to sound stern, but her eyelids fluttered close as he lowered his mouth to hers.
The kiss started out chaste, but he could sense the urgency within her, the need buzzing under her skin. Katniss didn't give a shit about what people thought of her, but she was always so insecure when it came to their relationship, almost as if she couldn't believe he had chosen her.
Which he thought was ridiculous. If anything, he should be falling on his knees and thanking fate for delivering this smart, gorgeous woman that he didn't deserve.
He'd never deserve her. Not as long as he kept her a secret.
He pulled the bottom of her white button-up shirt out of her black dress pants, so he could slide a hand up the small of her back. She groaned as he slipped his other hand down the front of her pants, his fingers quickly pushing aside her panties.
She bucked against him before shoving his suit jacket off his shoulders. She yanked his shirt out of his pants and made quick work of his belt and zipper.
Then, she froze. His mouth was on her neck, but he felt her go still, felt the hesitation run through her like a wildfire, burning the remaining desire to ash.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he pulled away.
She shook her head and moved away from him. Quickly, she tucked her shirt back into her pants and smoothed her hair down.
"I can't do this anymore," she said. "I can't just be a quick fuck in an alley. I can't just be the girl you see in hotels or in the back of your car. It makes me feel like your mistress."
Guilt overwhelmed him. He couldn't bring her to his place because his mother had insisted he remain at home while he attended law school and studied for the bar. Katniss often refused to allow him at her place due to a total lack of privacy.
More often than not, he'd rent a hotel room for them, but he usually couldn't spend the night.
"I know the situation. I know this isn't your fault," Katniss said. "But I can't do this anymore."
"Katniss, no. We can make this work. Please, I—"
"How exactly? Are you going to marry the next woman your mother chooses and actually make me your mistress? Because that's the only future I have with you."
"Then I'll tell her. I'll tell her right now."
She shook her head, even as the promises spilled out of his mouth. "I won't let you do that. You'll be disinherited. You'll be fired from your job. She'll disown you."
He swallowed. It was true. All of it. His mother would take his future away from him, cast him out of the family. He'd never be invited home again. He'd probably never meet his future nieces and nephews. He'd have nothing, no one.
Except Katniss.
He'd have Gale and Johanna and Finnick, his best friend from his undergraduate days at Yale. He'd figure it out. No money, no job, no family. Somehow, he could make it work.
But Katniss was already back at the door, returning to the real world.
He sighed and put his clothes back together. He knew all of Katniss's arguments. She didn't want him giving everything up for her. What if they didn't work out? What if he resented her? There was so much that could go wrong.
But wasn't it worth the risk?
By the time he reached the table, Mrs. Mellark was chewing Katniss out for spilling a glass of wine all over Glimmer's three-thousand dollar dress.
"How incompetent are you?" Mrs. Mellark demanded. "Do you have any idea how much it will cost to get this cleaned? You better be prepared to hand over your next paycheck."
"I'm sorry," Katniss said. "I don't know what happened."
"I want to speak to your manager about the subpar service you've been delivering all night."
Peeta winced as he approached the table. He had an idea of how the wine had ended up in Glimmer's lap. He doubted it was Katniss's fault. "Mom, it's not a big deal. We'll just send it to get dry cleaned."
"It is a big deal. I don't need a plate of shrimp in my lap later," she said. She stood and glared down at Katniss. "Bring me to your manager this instant."
Katniss closed her eyes and nodded.
"Wait," Peeta said. "This is ridiculous. You've been torturing her since we got here."
"Peeta, don't you remember her?" Mrs. Mellark asked. "This is the same waitress who dropped half of our dinner on the floor two years ago."
Yeah, Peeta remembered. It was Katniss's second night at the restaurant. Mrs. Mellark had been on her case the entire evening because their usual server, Darius, had the night off. Katniss had tripped on their way to the table and sent all of the food tumbling to the floor—and into Peeta's lap. Mrs. Mellark had been livid and insisted all of them leave without paying their drink tab.
Peeta had returned a couple of hours later to settle the bill and make sure Mrs. Mellark hadn't gotten the poor server fired. He found Katniss still there, still serving tables with a strained smile. He offered to take her to the diner on the other side of town after her shift was over. She had hesitated, but Peeta's charm eventually won her over.
They ended up spending almost three hours at the diner, just eating and talking. He found out she had only been in Connecticut for two weeks. She had moved there with her best friend, Johanna, and Johanna's boyfriend.
Peeta had been relieved to find out that Katniss was single.
"Mom, that was two years ago, and it was an accident. You need to relax."
"Relax? It's my birthday! Is it too much to ask that everything go well? Go back to the table and sit down."
"Mom—"
"Peeta, I won't say it again."
How? How did she still have such power over him after all these years? Whenever she berated him, he was transported back to elementary school, to high school, even to college. He did everything she asked, yet he could still never win her approval.
The only words he ever got from her were variations of not good enough.
He went back to his seat. Ten minutes later, Mrs. Mellark returned to the table. Five minutes after that, Fox served their dinner. As soon as he saw her, a sick feeling rolled through him. He knew what had happened.
He left the table without excusing himself and burst into the kitchen in the back. He cut past the servers and the cooks, and let himself into the staff room.
And there she was. Collecting her things.
"She didn't," Peeta said.
"She did," Katniss replied.
"How? You didn't do anything wrong."
"Seneca has been looking for an excuse to get rid of me for a while. We're overstaffed, and he hates me the most."
"I'm so—"
"Look, I know I can't blame what happened tonight on you, but I want to. It'd make things so much easier." She looked close to tears.
"Katniss…"
"I don't think we should see each other anymore."
"I'll buy the restaurant," he blurted out.
She laughed but it sounded more sad than happy "What?"
"I'll buy it and fire Seneca and any other asshole that mistreated you."
"I think you'll have to ask your mother before you make the purchase," she said, shoving her sweater into her purse.
"I'm sorry this happened. But I'll help you find a job. We can do this together."
"Easier said than done. Seneca refused to be a reference. If I can't find anything, I'll have to move back home. Go back to the diner."
Peeta paled. Home for Katniss was Vermont. Home was a four-hour drive away.
"We'll figure something out."
"No, I'll figure something out," she said.
"Please don't do this. Please. Talk to me at least."
She slammed her purse on the table and stared at him. "You're always telling me there are an infinite amount of universes out there."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, if there are really an infinite amount of universes out there, then there has to be at least one where you and I don't work out."
"No," he said with a surprising amount of strength.
"No?"
"What you don't understand is that we're the exception." He grabbed both of her hands. "We're together. It's you and me in every single one."
She pulled away and picked up her purse. "Goodbye, Peeta."
She walked past him, out into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind her.
He wondered if a universe existed where he wasn't such a coward.