Katniss sighed, poring over her physics textbook that was open on the counter before her. One minute the book warned her of the perils of forgetting to consider friction and the next it insisted that friction didn't exist. Her head was beginning to swim when the bell on the door jingled.

"Hi, welcome to The Ho-oh hey Peeta," Katniss was working a shift at her part-time job as a cashier at The Hob. It was a cheap pizza place run by her neighbor, an old lady whom everyone addressed as "Aunt Sae." Peeta often came to visit her while she was at work. Although most employers would frown upon Peeta's frequent visits, Aunt Sae was delighted by Peeta's friendly demeanor and by the amount of pizza he bought each time he came.

"Hey, Aunt Sae," he called, smiling broadly at the old woman in the kitchen before sidling up to the counter.

"Hi, Katniss," he began, making a big show of squinting at her nametag. "I'll have two large slices of pepperoni and a medium fountain drink," he said, making a show of fishing his wallet out of his pocket. Katniss rang up his order.

"Do you want any sides? We have french fries, onion rings, tater tots…" she trailed off.

"As a matter of fact, I think...I'll take a side of you too." Peeta wore a goofy grin and leaned over the counter towards her. She pushed his waiting lips away disgustedly, a half smile and a blush adorning her face. Aunt Sae chuckled a low gravelly laugh as Peeta sighed loudly and began to count his money.

"Aw, Katniss, show the poor boy some love, won't ya?" Aunt Sae yelled from the kitchen.

"He's no poor boy, Aunt Sae; after all he spends at least five dollars on your pizza almost everyday." Aunt Sae chuckled harder at that, and Katniss put Peeta's money into the cash register. She then grabbed the spatula and unceremoniously plonked two slices of pepperoni pizza on a plate. "Here," she said holding out the plate and an empty cup. He took them and placed them on a nearby table, before coming back to the counter.

"Now what?" Katniss demanded, continuing their banter.

"Actually Katniss, I have something to tell you." Peeta started quietly, the goofy grin replaced with a grim expression. "You know how my mom left us five years ago, right?" Katniss nodded. She had never met the former Mrs. Mellark, but she remembered seeing the woman at school events. Her own mother was absent-minded and occasionally unintentionally neglectful, but Mrs. Mellark was much worse. According to Peeta, she was prone to violent mood swings. "Well, she's back."

"What? With you? Why?" Peeta grimaced.

"She's not staying with us at the house, but apparently she had some revelation while she was gone and wants to be a better mother to us."

"Isn't that… good? What's the catch?" Katniss frowned, concerned.

"Ah. That's exactly it. There is a catch. She wants to fight Dad for custody."

Katniss' breath caught. "There's no way she'd win. She walked out on you guys. She would probably revert back to her old self seconds after she took you guys home with her." She grabbed Peeta's hand.

"I know," Peeta sighed, smiling a bit at their clasped hands. "Dad is doing a great job, and we have a steady income coming in from the bakery. Hank and Sam are legal adults already, so I'm the only minor, and I'm old enough to tell a judge who I want to live with." Peeta looked up at her. "I'm just gonna have to go down to the capital a lot to talk to social workers and such. You might not see much of me for the next few weeks, and I didn't want you to worry." Suddenly, the bell on the door tinkled.

"Katniss, you won't believe what happened to me today." Madge walked into the Hob a bit breathlessly. "Oh hi Peeta. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Nah, you're fine," Peeta said, smiling easily. "What happened to you?"

"Oh! I have a date to Winter Formal!" Madge proceeded to tell Katniss and Peeta what had happened to her. As Madge was telling Katniss about tutoring Gale, Katniss's phone rang loudly.

"Hello? Prim?" She paused, listening to her sister. She turned to look at Peeta and Madge. "I'm really sorry, but can either of you pick Prim, Posy, and Vick up from school? Their after school activities were cancelled." Katniss's eyes widened as she remembered that Gale was working and that Rory had basketball practice. "They also need some kind of supervision until around six."

"I can,"

"No problem,"

Madge and Peeta looked at each other for a second. Peeta cleared his throat. "Why don't we go together? I don't think either one of us can handle three elementary school kids by ourselves anyway."

"Okay." Madge agreed, nodding. "Your car or my car?"

"I took the bus here, so your car." Madge and Peeta put on their coats. Katniss watched her friends bundle up, and felt incredibly lucky to have them.

"Thanks so much guys, I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything. Friends don't keep score on favors," Madge grinned. "Let me go get my car so Doughboy here doesn't have to freeze walking through the parking lot." Peeta swatted at her arm, and she left laughing.

"Really, thank you, Peeta," Katniss said again. "And don't worry about your mom. Everything is going to work out just fine." Peeta smiled at her. A horn beeped from outside the shop. Peeta turned to go, but Katniss caught his wrist. Leaning over the counter, she gave him a quick kiss.

"There you go, Katniss!" came a raspy voice from the kitchen.

"Aunt Sae!" Katniss exclaimed, her face growing warm. Peeta laughed as he waved, already halfway out the door.

-00000000000000000000000-

Posy, Vick, + Prim r Peeta's house. Their activities were cancelled. Pick Posy + Vick up by 6.

Katniss had texted him a few hours ago. He just finished his shift at the local grocery store, so he had about ten minutes to get to Peeta's house. He pulled out his phone and entered the address Katniss had sent him into Google maps. After studying his map, he hopped into his beat-up lemon which he had affectionately named Old Bessie, and headed down the road.

Peeta's house was cute cookie-cutter house surrounded by identical houses painted in different colors. Gale double checked the address before heading towards the front porch and ringing the doorbell.

"Hey Gale," Peeta said, opening the door. "Come on in."

Gale followed Peeta into his house. It wasn't large, but it was nice, with glossy hardwood floors and a renovated kitchen. Peeta lead him through the kitchen into the living room, where Vick was drawing and Posy lay fast asleep on the couch.

"Thanks, Peeta." He leaned over to pick Posy up. "What happened to her hair?" Posy's normally straight brown hair had been twisted and braided into an elaborate updo, and small, loose curls framed her little face.

"Madge was here earlier. She helped me take care of the kids, but her family has some rule about being home by dinnertime so she left half an hour ago."

"Oh." Gale didn't know what else to say, so he scooped Posy up. "C'mon, Vick." Vick packed up his pencil case and followed Gale out.

After thanking Peeta again at his doorstep, Gale made his way to Old Bessie.

"Open the door for me, Vick," Gale placed Posy into her booster seat gently, trying not to wake her. As he fastened her seatbelt, she seemed to stir.

"Madge, come see...like a princess." She shifted uncomfortably and settled down again, her face cradled by the seatbelt. A small smile appeared on her face, and Gale's heart melted. Gale shut the door and Vick scrambled into the backseat. He got into the driver's seat and sighed.

Maybe he was a little harsh when he had said she was abnormal. But then the thought crossed his mind that maybe Madge was kind to Posy because she was trying to get to him.

Ugh, he sounded like a self-absorbed rubbed his jaw and shook his head before coaxing Old Bessie to life.