Yay! We get to see Katniss' soft side! I was kind of hoping to see some more of that in Mockingjay, but oh well. We can see it now :)
And I know, I know, I said this was going to be a one-shot. And I said it pretty firmly, too ;P But I've changed my mind after some of my super cool reviewers (*cough, TheSoggyBug, cough*) convinced me to continue. Thanks for everyone else that reviewed, too. You guys are the best!
* And in case anyone noticed, I have changed my pen name. *

That night, it's not my nightmares that wake me. I remember falling asleep contently, with Peeta's arms wrapped tightly around my waist, and my head resting on his chest. But that's not how I wake up.

A fist makes contact with my cheek, and I yelp, jumping awake. I'm still half-asleep, so I'm not able to move away fast enough before I receive another blow, this time to my nose. I throw the covers off of me and splatter myself against the wall, away from my attacker. My eyes have watered up from the pain in my nose, and I can feel warm liquid running down my face and into my mouth.

I wonder if someone has broken into our room, but realize a moment later that that couldn't have been it. Peeta is much too light of a sleeper; he would have waken up almost immediately, no matter how quiet the intruder was. Then what-

"I'll kill you."

My heartbeat quickens, and my eyes dart back towards the bed, where the voice came from. All I can see is darkness.

"You're a murderer, Katniss Everdeen," the voice growls, sending chills of fright down my spine. "It's about time you get a taste of your own medicine."

"Who are you?" I demand. I somehow manage to keep my voice strong and unwavering.

I hear a click, and the nightstand light turns on. Peeta is poised on the bed, positioned so that he would would be able to leap off at any moment and get to me in a mere second. His expression is filled with the most hatred and loathing that I can feel it burning into my skin.

My eyes close for a moment, feeling completely miserable. I realize how ridiculous I'd been. Ridiculous to think that, after everything I've been through, I'd be lucky enough to have Peeta back the way he was before. Things just aren't ever in my favor.

When I open them again, he's still glaring at me, but he isn't moving towards me, much to my surpirse. I thought that he'd have tried to strangle me again by now. Or at least something. He's just crouched there, looking at me.

"Peeta," I say softly. "Snap out of this. It isn't you-"

His eyes flash, and I catch a glimpse of black in them. I can't even see the blue anymore. "It isn't me?" he yells. "Stop playing tricks on me, I'm done with it! I'm done with you!"

I take a step forward, wanting to reach out to him, to comfort him. What's happening isn't his fault; it's the Capitol's, much like all of the other catastrophic things that have happened to us. I take one, two, three steps forward, and he doesn't move. His body is so tense that I can see his muscles exposed through his t-shirt. Despite the horrendous situation, I blush.

"Don't come any closer, mutt," he growls. I flinch, and the dull ache in my chest becomes harder to ignore.

I don't have much time to defend myself before Peeta throws himself off of our bed and shoves me back against the wall. Hard.

The wind is knocked out of me, and I struggle, trying to breathe again and free myself of his tight grip at the same time. I come close, but Peeta is much heavier than I am, and to be honest, a lot stronger. So each time that I manage to get at least a foot away from the wall, he shoves me back against it.

Peeta leans in menacingly. His beautiful blue eyes have turned to a copper black, and even the golden specks have dissapeared. My heart drops, because along with those, the tenderness is gone, too, leaving only harshness.

I focus on remembering the way we were before we fell asleep, so that the memories of right now aren't burned into my brain forever.

~Flashback~

"I was so worried about you," I say quietly. "I didn't know if we'd get to you on time."

Peeta looks down at my hands, and I follow his gaze. They're shaking, like the rest of me, as I try to hold myself together. I shouldn't be the one shaking, not after everything that he's gone through. He's the one that went through the most pain. Thinking of his torture makes me even more upset; I can only imagine the horrific things that President Snow did to him, on top of the attempt at hijacking. There's one thing that I can be grateful for, though: that he didn't succeed.

He takes my hands in his own and rubs light circles into them, soothing me just like all of those nights on the train and in the Capitol. "I knew you would," he says, smiling lightly. "You're Katniss Everdeen."

"That's not always such a good thing," I say. My voice breaks, despite my efforts.

He moves so that he's facing me directly, and gently pushes me back. I fall back into the pillows and turn my face to the side, unable to meet his eyes. He lies down on top of me, resting his elbows beside my head so that he isn't putting all of his weight on me.

He kisses the side of my face, and whispers, "You know that's not true."

I don't answer him, because I know my voice will fail me again. Instead, I turn my face back around so that the next time his mouth comes down, it lands on my own. He kisses me carefully, like he's afraid to break me if he makes one wrong move. I, on the other hand, pull him as close to me as I can. As our kisses become more heated, I tangle my fingers in his wavy, soft blond hair and let him explore along my jaw.

"I love you."

Peeta freezes, and snaps his head up towards mine. His face reflects the shock I am feeling myself. Did I really just say that outloud? I think. It had been running through my head, but I hadn't meant to say it, not yet.

"What did you just say?" he breathes. His blue eyes are wide.

I blush. "I said... I love you."

I try to look away again, my cheeks flaming, but he forces me to look at him. He's practically bursting with joy, and I can't help but smile back. After all, he's just gotten the girl he's been in love with for years - the girl he's been to hell and back with.

"I love you, too," he says. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time."

"I know. And now you can, whenever you want."

Peeta pecks my cheek teasingly. "Expect it often."

I grin. "I will. Just promise me that you won't let them take you away from me again."

"I promise."

~End of flashback~

It's crazy how fast that promise was broken.

As I look into his black, remorseless eyes, I can't see the boy I love at all. The only thing I can see is someone who has been hijacked by the Capitol, never to be the same again. I can feel my eyes stinging.

Footsteps are coming down the hallway towards us, momentarily distracting Peeta. He looks away for a quick second, and I try to re-collect my composure. I swallow the lump in my throat and force my tears not to overflow.

The door is thrown open and Haymitch runs in. His eyes have dark purple bags under them from lack of sleep. "What could possibly be going on in here at four o'clock in the morning?" he demands. He catches sight of Peeta pinning me against the wall and me still trying to catch my breath.

His expression barely changes. If anything, he looks exasperated. "Alright, Peeta. Let her go," he says. "It's time to go back to the doctors."

"No! You can't take me back there!" Peeta yells.

"I have no choice-"

Haymitch's words are cut off by the door being thrown open again and two men walking in. They each hold a syringe in hand, their expressions fierce as if they are about to go off to war. Peeta shoves me away from him, and I fall sideways into the bedside table. A sharp pain and warm liquid tells me that I am bleeding just above my hip, but I ignore it. The two men advance on Peeta, and he tries to fight them off. It's no use; these men look like they've been doing this for decades (and they have the wrinkles to prove it).

The younger one of the two finally manages to hold Peeta long enough to stab a syringe into his forearm. Peeta cries out, and his eyes start to droop.

"Everything will be alright, sweetheart." Haymitch has appeared by my side, and is watching the scene with sorrowful eyes.

I don't answer him. I can only watch as the two men lift an unconscious Peeta onto a stretcher and push it out of the room.

Taadaaaaa! I was planning on putting this up a while ago, but I had a really bad writer's block.

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