'Maybe true. Maybe not true. Better you believe.'

-Sherpa saying

Peeta

Great. That awkward silence is back now. She caught me red-handed, gawking at her. I stare up at the mountain, unwilling to peek a glance at her, terrified of her reaction. What must she think of me now?

I shake my head slightly at my stupidity. This is a wonderful way to start off our partnership. Peeta, you moron.

Then, out of nowhere, I hear Katniss' soft voice.

"Why do you climb?"

I'm caught off-guard by her question. It takes me a minute to process the fact that she's still even willing to talk to me before I can contemplate my answer. Without turning to her, I eventually do reply.

"My dad took me to Sugarloaf when I was young. I was hooked. As I got older though, it became more of an escape for me, and turned into my passion."

"An escape from what?" She quickly asks.

I'm silent.

"I'm sorry, that was too personal," she adds after a moment.

"No, it's fine Katniss," I reassure her. I build up my courage and turn to her, and what I find is not what I expected. She's staring at me, but not with anger in her eyes. I can plainly see concern.

I take a deep breath.

"My mom used to abuse me," I tell her softly. "The woods were my escape from her."

Her eyes widen at my admission and her jaw slightly drops.

"Peeta, that's horrible," Katniss quietly responds. "I don't know what to say, really."

"It's okay," I try to shrug my shoulders casually. I can tell she's not buying it. "I haven't seen her in a long time. First chance I got, I left."

"Me too," she nods.

"Why?"

"Why'd I leave, or why do I climb?" She asks for clarification.

"Both, I guess."

"I climb probably for some of the same reasons you do. We grew up surrounded by such beauty that it was hard not to want to explore it. I just never feel happy unless I have a backpack on."

"Me either," I confirm. She smiles a small smile. It's gorgeous.

"I left because, well, there was nothing for me there. My sister was becoming a woman, able to take care of herself, and my mom, well, I'm sure you know about her."

I nod slowly.

"She was never the same after dad died," she explains sadly. Then her face lights up. "Peeta, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything," I reply honestly.

"Were you the one who left bread at our doorstep every week?"

Uh oh. I was not expecting that to come out of her mouth.

Katniss

I finally did it. I finally got the guts to ask him. Now he looks downright shocked. For a moment I wish I could take it back, but that doesn't last. I want to know. I need to know.

"Um, uh," he stutters. I grin at him. "Yeah," he says sheepishly, looking down at his boots.

I reach up tentatively and place my hand on his shoulder gently. He looks back up at me.

"Thank you, Peeta."

"It was nothing," he tries to downplay it.

I shake my head vehemently.

"It was certainly not nothing," I say firmly. "You saved our lives, Peeta. Every single week, no matter what. I think I always knew it was you. Thank you. I'll never be able to repay you."

"You don't owe me anything," he quickly says. "I didn't do it for that."

"Then why did you?" I ask, curious.

He looks back down at his feet again, obviously nervous.

"I can't tell you," he mumbles without looking up.

"You can't or you won't?"

"Both?"

"Why not?"

"You'll hate me," he tries to explain.

"Honestly I think I'd have a real hard time hating you, Peeta." I have no idea where the words come from, but I know they're true. "Please tell me. Please." I try to plead a little. Can't hurt.

Slowly he lifts his head up and our gazes meet. I'm almost stunned at the look in his eyes. They're so radiantly blue, so strong in their obvious emotions. I feel, well, I have no idea what I feel, because I've never felt like this before.

"I did it because, well, because," he stumbles.

"Just spit it out!" I coax.

"Because I love you!" He blurts out, then instantly covers his mouth with his hand, his face showing how mortified he is with himself.

Did he really just say he loves me? What? I think this is the first time we've ever said more than two words to each other.

"You – you – you love me?" I ask quietly.

He sighs deeply.

"Yeah," he admits. I feel my heart swell at his admission.

"Why?" It's the only thing I can think of to say.

He looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Really? You're beautiful, smart, independent, stubborn, a world-class climber, you took care of your family when you were still a kid, and did I mention you're beautiful?"

"Once or twice," I smirk. "But Peeta, you don't even know me."

"I don't care," he shoots back. "I know who you are, Katniss. I know what you're made of."

I'm taken aback by his words. By this entire situation, really. The odd thing is, before right now, I probably would've gotten angry if someone declared their love for me. But not now. For some reason, it's making me happy. Joyful, really. What does that mean?

"Look I'm sorry," he continues. "I shouldn't have told you. Now I've just made everything even more awkward and we have to be climbing partners. So I'm sorry. I'll just go now."

He turns and starts to walk away. It's the very last thing I want him to do.

"Peeta!" I almost scream as I dart after him and grab his arm. He turns to look at me, a questioning look on his face. "Don't go," I beg, "please. Stay and talk to me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," I nod. "Please, stay."

"Okay," he relents.

We walk and find a couple of rocks to sit on.

"I am sorry, you know," he starts again.

I roll my eyes.

"Stop apologizing right now," I order. He shuts his mouth tight. I can't help but chuckle at the sight. "Seriously."

"How are you so okay with this?"

"I don't know," I tell him sincerely. "To tell you the truth, Peeta, I have no idea what I'm feeling about all this. I do know that I'm not angry at you or anything like that. Just the opposite, really."

"What do you mean, the opposite?"

"I'm glad you told me," I blurt out. His eyes widen and I can see the beginnings of a smile.

"Really?"

I nod.

"Really," I confirm. "I don't know where we go from here or what is supposed to happen. I – I – I'm no good at any of this, Peeta."

"I have no idea either," he admits. "But I do know I want to spend more time with you."

"Me too," I quickly assure him. He smiles wide at me and I find myself returning it. Even Gale, who I climbed with for years, couldn't get me to smile this easy.

"Thank you, Katniss."

"For what?"

"For not hating me, or getting mad or something when I told you that."

"I told you I'd have a hard time hating you and I meant it," I grin. "Besides, if we're going to get each other to the summit we might as well get to know each other, right?"

"Right," he smiles.

"So let's start right here, right now," I suggest.

"Sounds good to me."

Just as I'm about to speak again, I hear Haymitch's booming voice from behind us.

"Hey kid! Sweetheart! Team meeting! Get your asses over here!"

"We'd better go before he gets angrier," Peeta says as he stands up. He holds out his hand to help me and I graciously take it. He easily lifts me up. He is strong, even if it's covered up in multiple layers right now, it's easy to see.

We walk side-by-side back towards camp. As we walk, my hand, seemingly with a mind of its own, seeks out Peeta's. He grasps onto it, neither of us making a sound, and I intertwine our fingers. We walk to the command tent just like that, holding hands.

Peeta

Oh my god. What the hell just happened? I admitted to Katniss that I love her, and instead of screaming at me like I expected, she seemed to be happy about it? And now we're holding hands, and she was the one who initiated it? This better not be a dream. If I wake up right now I don't know what I'd do.

We're almost to the command tent when she leans over and whispers in my ear. It sends tingles down my spine.

"I feel like I've known you for years," she whispers.

I turn and beam at her.

"I know exactly what you mean," I respond. She smiles back at me, and I know it's the prettiest thing I've ever seen.

We arrive in front of the command tent and I attempt to dislodge my hand from hers. She grips harder and when I look at her, she's scowling at me playfully.

"No," she says simply.

Fine by me.

We walk into the tent together. We're the last ones to arrive, and when we do, every head snaps to face us. First, they register that it's us, then they take in the full scene, noticing that for some reason, Katniss and I are holding hands. Their reactions are a mixed bag.

Finnick and Annie are grinning like idiots.

Johanna rolls her eyes and goes back to looking at the map in her lap.

Haymitch snorts, shakes his head, and goes back to whatever he was doing.

Gale is staring at me in obvious anger. Like he wants to rip my head off kind of anger.

I feel Katniss squeeze my hand gently and she tugs on it, leading me towards the last two open seats in the circle. We sit down and she keeps our hands firmly locked as we do. I'm still in shock at the fact we're even holding hands, and she's refusing to let it stop.

"Glad you could join us," Haymitch says, the sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"We're here now, Haymitch. Get on with it," Katniss snaps. I feel pride at her defending us.

"Oh calm down sweetheart," he shoots back. "You and lover boy can get back to making googly eyes at each other soon enough."

"Don't call him that," she growls. "His name is Peeta."

Haymitch throws his hands up in surrender.

"May I start the meeting now, Queen Everdeen?"

"Proceed," she waves her free hand like a royal. I chuckle softly.

"Thank you," he replies facetiously. "Welcome to the 2012 Everest Expedition. You've all met, correct?" Everyone nods their heads. "Good. This is the summit team. You all have climbing partners, but we will work as a team at every step along the way. None of you are to climb on the mountain without at least one Sherpa assigned to you and your partner. That's non-negotiable. Understood?"

"Yes," we all nod.

"Very well," he continues. "Now I'm not going to give you the standard expedition speech. You're all experienced mountaineers, and that's why you're on this team. However we do have to go over some boring logistical stuff. Tomorrow we will hike up to Advanced Base Camp. It's a twelve-mile hike, so we'll leave after breakfast. Once we're there, we'll spend a few days acclimatizing at ABC before we begin making round-trips up to the high camps for acclimatization. The final step in the process is hiking back down here to Base Camp one last time, then we go back up the mountain for the summit. It could be two weeks, it could be a month. You never know on Everest."

"How does the weather look?" Gale interrupts.

"Don't interrupt me Hawthorne," Haymitch says harshly. Gale looks offended.

"Just asking," Gale mutters.

"We'll keep a close eye on the weather," Haymitch goes on. "When you make the actual summit bid, I'll be at Camp One on the North Col. Everyone, and I mean everyone, climbs with a radio. If I call you on your radio, I expect you to answer me. No if, ands, or buts."

We all process and nod, agreeing with him. He seems mollified so far.

"Next we need to talk about the actual summit push. Once you reach Camp Three, which is just below the Death Zone, everyone goes on oxygen. No exceptions. Understood?"

"Understood," we reply.

"Lastly, and I know all of you are going to hate this, but it needs to be said. If you are one hundred feet from the summit, and I tell you to turn around, you turn around. I don't care if you can't taste it. You'll be oxygen-deprived, exhausted, and you most certainly will have summit fever. I will have a clearer mind and a clearer picture of the overall situation. So, I need everyone to tell me individually that they understand and agree to these terms."

We go around the circle and everyone agrees. The only person who looks like they're just saying it is Gale. That worries me. I can tell it worries Katniss too, from the look on her face alone.

"Any questions?" Haymitch asks.

"If I'm that close, I'm going for it," Gale defiantly states.

"If that's your attitude you can leave right now," Haymitch calmly explains. "Well?"

"Fine," Gale huffs. I think we all know that's not the end of it, not by a long shot. I'm suddenly ecstatic he's not my partner.

"Are the tent arrangements going to be co-ed?" Finnick smirks. Everyone laughs.

"Whatever you all decide is fine with me," Haymitch answers. Finnick and Annie look overjoyed at this, and then shoot knowing glances my and Katniss' way. I blush and Katniss turns her head. What are we? We haven't even broached that subject yet, but it's already starting to eat away at me.

"Any more questions?" Haymitch asks the group.

"Where are all the Sherpas?" Katniss queries. Actually, I was wondering the same thing. I haven't seen any of the climbing Sherpas yet.

"They're on the mountain," Haymitch answers. "They're setting the fixed ropes all the way up to the summit. Actually they should be summiting soon."

"Already?" I ask in astonishment.

"Yup," Haymitch says proudly. "One of the earliest summits on record, if they make it today."

"Wow," Katniss and I say in unison. Annie giggles at it.

Just then, as if the fates had hear our conversation, the radio crackles to life.

"Summit team to boss, summit team to boss," I hear a Sherpa's heavily accented voice call.

Haymitch grabs his radio.

"Boss to summit team, how's it up there boys?"

"Pretty, boss, pretty."

"Good. Where are you?"

"Summit, boss, summit!"

Everyone starts cheering and I hear pots and pans clanking from the mess tent. They have a radio in there too, listening for news of their friends.

"That's great guys, really great. Spend a few minutes up there and then return to ABC to sleep tonight," Haymitch tells them. "We'll see you tomorrow at ABC."

"Copy boss."

Haymitch puts down his radio once the conversation is over. I can tell he's relieved they made it, but they're only halfway there. The majority of deaths on Everest occur on the way down, not the way up. You're physically and mentally exhausted, your body is lacking oxygen, and you're delirious from the thrill of summiting. It's a perfect storm of factors that result in devastating, sad accidents.

Haymitch ends the meeting. Now what do we do?

Katniss

Well that was an interesting meeting. Not all the stuff we went over, that was fairly standard. It was the looks Gale was giving me and Peeta that made it interesting. He obviously has a problem with us. What's he got his panties in a bunch for? He's the one who destroyed our partnership, not me.

Or maybe it has nothing to do with that.

Maybe it's because I'm sitting here holding Peeta's hand like a teenager at the movies. Hmm. Intriguing.

Everyone starts dispersing and Peeta and I stand up, our hands still firmly locked. I never want to let it go unless I absolutely must. What the hell is going on with me right now? All I know is, I'm extremely happy at this very moment.

"What do you want to do?" Peeta asks as we make our way outside.

"Let's go sit on that huge boulder and talk," I suggest.

"Sounds perfect," he smiles. I smile back.

We make out way to the boulder I sat on earlier and sit facing the mountain in all its beauty.

"Katniss?" Peeta asks softly.

"Yes, Peeta?" I turn and look at him. He looks downright terrified. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," he assures me. He still looks nervous though. "Um, uh, I was just wondering, would you maybe want to go on a date with me?" He rambles off quickly. It takes my mind a second to comprehend what he said.

"A date? What, are we going to hike to Kathmandu?" I joke.

"I'm sorry. It was a stupid idea," he apologizes sadly. There he goes again, taking the blame for something he shouldn't have to.

"Peeta," I almost whisper. He turns and looks at me. "I would love to go on a date with you."

His whole face lights up.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Tonight?"

"Sounds perfect," I smile. He looks relieved and really, really excited. I admit, I'm probably more excited than he is at this point.

"I hope I'm not pushing you or being too forward or anything," he says almost regretfully. "It's just, this is kind of like a dream for me right now, if you get what I mean."

"I do," I tell him softly, rubbing the back of his hand slowly with my thumb. I think it's relaxing us both. And actually, I know exactly how he feels right now. Maybe when I realized all those years ago it was most likely Peeta who was helping to feed my family I started thinking about him differently. I do remember watching him at school from afar. Like a lot. Bordering on stalker territory. But this, right here, right now, nothing has ever felt so real, so right.

"What are you thinking about?" Peeta asks after a minute. I didn't realize I'd drifted off into daydreaming and I snap back to reality.

"The truth?"

He rolls his eyes playfully.

"Duh."

"I was thinking that right now, this seems, no it feels, right. I don't really know why, but it just does."

"I know what you mean," he nods. "If we're going too fast or anything, or if you're ever uncomfortable, please just tell me. That's the last thing I want for you. And don't do something because you feel like you have to, or you're required to. I want you to want, um, to want –"

"Peeta," I gently interrupt him.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and kiss me," I demand. Where is this coming from? Actually, honestly, who cares. For once in my life I'm doing exactly what I want and not letting my irrational rationalities get in the way.

Peeta, to his credit, doesn't waste any time.

Before I know it, his soft, warm lips are covering mine, and I know, I just know, after years of tramping the globe, I'm finally where I belong.

A/ N: Okay, so I realize they just officially 'met', but when you know, you know, right? Plus I realllllllly hate angsty, unsure Katniss who gets in her head wayyyy too much. Also, in this story, she's a few years older than her age in THG. She's more mature. She knows what she wants. True, maybe I'm moving them along too fast, but that's just where their conversation took me when I was writing it. Plus, I have some veryyyyyy specific plans for them as we journey through this, and I didn't want to spend half the story with the age-old will they, won't they. It just pisses me off.

Some notes about climbing:

Haymitch was very firm about turning his climbers around. In 1996, the guides and climbers alike ignored the agreed upon turn back time, and it resulted in them summiting late in the day and then they got stuck in a nasty storm, completely exposed.

The climbers will go on oxygen just below the Death Zone, so they and their bodies get used to it and gain a little more strength before they go higher. In the upcoming chapters, I'll refer to supplemental oxygen a lot using the term 'Os'. It's just a popular slang term.

Sherpas really do have to go up the mountain before anyone else to set the ropes. All of the ropes from years past are still there, but they've been exposed to the elements for so long they could easily break if you tried to use them. So, every year, Sherpas are sent up the mountain at their own risk to set rope lines and set up tents at the various high camps.

Advanced Base Camp, or ABC, is at the foot of the mountain. The next camp, Camp One, is atop the North Col, which is basically a saddle. To get there, the climbers have to scale a thousand foot high wall of ice and snow. It's back breaking and exhausting.

The acclimatization process is extremely, extremely important. Climbers who aren't properly acclimatized can become very ill higher up and that can be a huge problem. There's no helicopter rescue on Mt. Everest, no ski patrol to come and evac you. So, they must get their bodies used to the thin, thin air at the high elevations. Up that high, the human body is only able to absorb less than half the oxygen one would breathe at sea-level. Some people's bodies are simply not built to withstand that, and they find themselves becoming sick at the higher altitudes.

However, some climbers climb in a style known as 'Alpine Climbing', where you make a mad dash without stopping for the summit. It can be deathly dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. The world record for summiting Everest is held by a Sherpa who went from base camp on the south side to the summit in less than eight hours. It's unbelievable.

Phew, okay, that was an emotional chapter. I hop everyone enjoyed it. You guessed it, next chapter will be their date. Yay. Fluff.

For everyone who reads my other stories, the next chapter if 'The Truth Revealed' will be posted tomorrow sometimes. I'm just too tired to keep writing right now.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I truly appreciate it.