A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews, favorites and follows. I really appreciate them. They gave me something to look at while I waited in long lines on Black Friday. I'm sorry I'm horrible at replying to each one individually.
Chapter Seven
I hardly sleep tossing and turning worried about Peeta all night. Finn finally sends me a text message around three in the morning assuring me that Peeta is safe and staying the night at his apartment. Although I'm relieved I now know where he is, I still have a knot in my stomach. I want to make things right between us but I have no idea how to do it. Peeta is the one with words, not me.
By morning I am a complete wreck. I look like I haven't slept a wink and I feel like it too. Peeta still hasn't come home which doesn't surprise me. I decide to write him an apology letter and leave it taped to his bedroom door since he's clearly not coming home before I go to work. It's probably better this way anyway. I would more than likely say something I didn't mean in a face to face situation. By writing a letter I can actually think about what I want to say first.
Peeta,
Words cannot express how truly sorry I am for what I said yesterday. I could give you a million excuses for why I said the things I did but none of them justify my behavior. You were right. I was acting like a selfish bitch. I understand I'm a lot to handle most of the time and if it'll be easier on you, I can move out. However I promise you I will try harder to be a better person for you and Peanut. And please know I think of you as so much more. You will be a wonderful father. In fact you already are. I love you, always.
Katniss
I go through the motions at work but my mind is preoccupied with thoughts of Peeta. I wonder if he's read my letter yet. I wonder if he accepts my apology or where he wants to go from here. After lunch I'm trying to focus on a grant request for our department when I hear a knock at my office door. I look up from my computer in time to see a man enter carrying a beautiful vase of flowers. "Katniss Everdeen?" The man asks.
"That's me."
"Great. These are for you." I stare at him in disbelief, not moving to take the vase from him. "Do you want me to put them down somewhere?"
"Oh, right, yeah." I rearrange my desk to make room for the flowers. "You can sit them here. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Have a nice day." He leaves my office without another word once he realizes I'm rendered speechless. I watch the vase of flowers like they might explode any minute. They're absolutely beautiful. There are purple daisies, yellow daffodils, orange chrysanthemums and hot pink carnations. There is no doubt Peeta has sent the flowers which means he must have read my letter and has at least accepted my apology.
I finally work up the courage to read the attached card. I'm sorry too. Please don't move out. I love you, always. His words are simple and to the point. It's so like Peeta to apologize by buying me flowers when I'm the one at fault. I wipe away the silent tears from my cheek with the back of my hand. Now I'm actually looking forward to going home so of course the last few hours of work drag by agonizingly slow.
The house smells of lamb stew when I at last walk through the front door carrying my flowers. "Peeta?" I call out.
"In the kitchen!" He hollers. I follow the scent of my favorite dinner and the sound of his voice to find him setting the table for our meal. He smiles at me when I enter the kitchen carrying his lovely gift. "You got the flowers?" He asks as I find a spot for them on the counter near the window.
"Yes, thank you. They're beautiful." He nods and says it's not a big deal. "Peeta, you didn't have to do that. I'm the one that fucked up." He shakes his head and turns his attention to the pot on the stove.
"You're pregnant so you're allowed to be emotional and crazy. I have no excuse for the way I treated you so please accept my apology."
"Ok." I concede. I do not want to start another argument over something so trivial.
"Ok." He agrees. We eat dinner in relative silence stealing glances at one another in between spoonfuls of soup. Peeta eventually speaks first. "So I have a proposition for you." He states as he runs a hand through his blonde curls obviously nervous about the direction this conversation is headed.
"A proposition?"
"Yes, about Peanut's last name." My body immediately tenses. I would rather not discuss this topic ever again although I know that's impossible. "How would you feel about a hyphenated last name? It could be Everdeen-Mellark or even Mellark-Everdeen. I don't care either way." It doesn't take long for me to contemplate the idea. It'll be the perfect compromise. I wish we would have thought of it last night before our blow out.
"I think it's a great idea, Peeta. I love it." He gives me his beautiful mega watt smile evidently relieved by my reaction. "And I like Everdeen-Mellark." I confess and the baby must agree because that's when I feel him or her kick for the first time. My eyes widen in shock and my hands fly straight to my stomach. "Oh."
Peeta is by my side in the blink of an eye. "Are you ok? What's wrong? Is Peanut ok?" I meet his concerned baby blues with a huge smile on my face guiding his hands to where I felt the baby move.
"Do you feel it?"
"Feel what?" It's as if the baby knows daddy is near because that's when I feel another one. Peeta breaks out into one of his breath taking smiles that light up his eyes.
"That's our baby." He whispers.
"That's our baby." I agree. And just like that things return to normal between us or as normal as they were before Scranton.
The next few weeks pass by without incidence and it's the Fourth of July before I know it. Every year Peeta's parents have their annual Independence Day celebration. For the past seven years Mr. and Mrs. Mellark expect me, Jo, Finn and most recently Annie to be in attendance. I actually enjoy spending time with Peeta's family especially his brothers and parents but even his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are all very welcoming. Although I'm nervous about how they'll react to our unconventional lifestyle this year.
We all five pile into Peeta's car to make the two hour drive to Scranton. The Fourth of July is a holiday so luckily I only have to take a half day vacation tomorrow. We're staying the night as most everyone will be drinking and leaving early tomorrow morning. The trip is uneventful with the exception of Johanna falling asleep in the back seat while Finn tosses sugar cubes in her direction. Of course Peeta is annoyed Finnick has 'no respect for anyone else's property' but Finn promises to clean out the car when we get home.
There are already several vehicles in the Mellark driveway and down the street so the party must be in full swing when we arrive a little after noon. The family and the guests are on the back porch or in the backyard. Peeta carries our bags to his old bedroom where we'll be sleeping again. Finn takes his and Annie's bags to Wheaton's old room which has been converted into a spare bedroom with an extra bed since the last time we were here. Jo will be sleeping on the couch in the living room leaving Rye to more than likely pass out on the floor somewhere.
"Katniss!" Peeta's Grandma Mellark yells as soon as I walk through the sliding glass door. She approaches me with her hands outstretched to touch my stomach. "You look beautiful, honey." I'm wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with navy blue stripes that accentuates my growing baby bump.
"Thank you, Grandma Mellark."
"Of course you always look beautiful. Peeta did well with you. I only wish we were invited to the wedding." Wedding? What wedding is she talking about?
"Finn and Annie's wedding?" I can't think of another although I have no idea why she would want to be invited.
"No, dear, your wedding." My wedding? The woman must have dementia because I'm fairly certain I'm not married. My jaw is probably on the floor by this point and I'm unable to process anything she is saying. I'm about to correct her mistake when I feel a small hand on my back. Mrs. Mellark apologizes for the interruption and asks to speak with me in the kitchen.
"So you're probably wondering why Grandma Mellark thought you were married."
"To say the least. Is she ill?" Peeta's mother doesn't answer my question but instead busies herself with emptying the fridge of condiments and loading them on a serving tray. I ask her again. "Is there something wrong with Grandma Mellark?"
"Oh, no, honey. We just thought...well, I just thought it would be easier to explain...your little blessing if everyone thought you were already married. You know how conservative the grandparents can be. It would be difficult to explain your situation. We don't find anything wrong with it but everyone else might and we don't want others to judge."
"Does Peeta know?" How could he not prepare me for this?
"Not yet..." I quickly leave the kitchen refusing to listen to the rest of her excuse. I head outside to find Peeta standing near the coolers with a beer in hand talking with Finn and his brothers.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He looks concerned but nods his head and follows me to the corner of the yard out of ear shot from the rest of the party goers. I tell him what happened with his grandma and mom but he doesn't look surprised by the news. "Did you know?" I accuse, anger taking over my emotions.
"No, no, no. Rye and Wheaton just told me before you pulled me aside. I promise you I didn't know anything before you." I know he's telling the truth because he promised me he would never lie to me and Peeta keeps his promises. "We can tell everyone the truth. I don't care what my family thinks about us. You know that, right?"
"I know, Peeta." I look around the yard to see his family and friends enjoying themselves. I love his family and I love his parents. I would do anything to make them happy. "But I do care. This is important to your mom. How hard would it be to pretend to be married to me for a day?" He smiles at my question.
"Not hard at all." He offers me his hand. "Shall we, Mrs. Mellark?" I chuckle but take it and allow him to lead me into the crowd. We receive many congratulations on the baby and the fake wedding and a lot of people expressing their wishes to have been invited. Luckily Peeta is a quick thinker and great with words. He explains to his family we wanted a short engagement so we settled on a small ceremony at the Philadelphia City Hall. He promises we'll eventually have a reception where everyone will be invited after the baby is born.
"How did Peeta propose? He's such a romantic, I bet it was special." His aunt asks as we sit down at one of the many picnic tables to eat.
"Peeta? Do you want to tell it?" Honestly, I have no idea where to begin but I know Peeta will have something up his sleeve. He intertwines our hands on the table as he looks at me with a smile before turning his attention to his aunt.
"Well, I took Katniss to this park back home where she loves to spend her free time. I packed us a picnic that consisted of all of her favorite foods. She loves my cheese buns so that's where I hid the ring. Of course I got confused and gave her the wrong one so I practically had to force her to eat another." He lets out a laugh and sighs as if he is reminiscing giving his audience time to chuckle too. "Anyway, she finally finds the ring and I'm already on one knee by the time she looks at me completely shocked." He squeezes my hand and catches my eye to finish his story. I can't believe how easily the words spill from him. "I said, Katniss, my love, I know things haven't always been easy and I know things won't always be easy but I can promise you, if you'll let me, I will spend the rest of my life loving you through the good times and the bad. I love you, always. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"
His words paint such a beautiful picture that I almost forget where I am and what I'm doing. My stomach is doing all kinds of flips which have nothing to do with the baby. The collective sighs from Peeta's family bring me back to my senses. I realize my eyes are filling with tears so I use my free hand to wipe them away and then turn my attention down to my plate of food. He clears his throat and I finally feel his gaze leave me. "Obviously she said yes and here we are."
"Well that was a lovely story." His aunt that started the conversation coos.
"Where are your rings?" One of his younger cousins questions us. I squeeze his hand, not letting my eyes leave my pasta salad but Peeta never misses a beat.
"Kat isn't able to wear her ring right now because of the swelling from the baby so we decided to go ahead and get them both engraved before the baby comes." Everyone seems appeased by his answer and no one questions us any further.
Later in the evening I'm swinging from the porch swing when Johanna plops down next to me. "How's our new Mrs. Mellark doing?" She asks with a smirk as she takes a swig of her beer.
"So I take it you heard the good news."
"Who hasn't Too bad there's no truth to it, huh?" Jo knows my true feelings for Peeta because I accidentally confessed everything when we were planning Annie's bridal shower. I'm afraid she might let something slip being she's slightly intoxicated.
"Please, Jo, I don't want to talk about that right now." She nods letting me know she understands. "Where have you been anyway? I haven't seen you in a couple of hours." I follow her gaze across the yard to where Rye is standing talking to a couple of his uncles. "Oh, God, do not tell me you're fucking Rye."
"Well then you better not ask me that question." She immediately ends our conversation by heading in his direction. I watch Rye's face light up when he notices Jo approaching him. I can only imagine where that relationship will end.
I don't know how much time passes but I remain where Jo left me on the swing watching the kids chase fireflies and the stars make their appearance for the night. "Hey, you." Peeta takes up the spot Johanna vacated.
"Hey." I whisper. He puts an arm around me pulling me closer to his side. He takes a drink from the beer in his free hand.
"The fireworks will be starting shortly." Good. I love fireworks. I lay my head on his shoulder and we quietly wait for the show to begin. Peeta's parents have an excellent view of the Scranton Fourth of July fireworks from their backyard. The display is as amazing as ever and during the grand finale Peeta whispers in my ear, "You know, we're supposed to be madly in love newlyweds so it's ok if you kiss me anytime you want." I turn my head to see him grinning at me. It's probably the beer talking but I could care less because this moment is nearly perfect. Leaning forward I take his face in my hands and give him a tender kiss that he quickly deepens with his tongue. We both ignore the fireworks and the clapping of the audience as they finish. "Do you want to head to bed?" He asks against my lips and all I can do is nod. He takes my hand in his and leads me inside to his bedroom.
The door is barely shut before his mouth is on mine again. "Does what happens in Scranton stays in Scranton still apply?" He asks as he nips on my ear before trailing kisses down my neck.
"God, yes." I breathe unable to get out any more words because he captures my lips with his once again. He pushes me back towards the bed as we discard our clothes between kisses. I find myself lying naked on my back completely exposed to Peeta. He kneels between my legs slipping two fingers into my wet folds while using his thumb to rub circles on my clit. "That feels so good, Peeta." I moan as I begin to pinch and pull on my nipples. I watch him grasp his erection with his free hand and pump his fist up and down.
"You're so wet." He groans as he closes his eyes and tosses his head back, never stopping his ministrations.
"Fuck, Peeta. I need you inside of me. Now."
"Not yet. I want to make you come with my hands before I fuck your brains out with my cock." Shit, Peeta has never talked this dirty in the few times we've had sex. I don't know if the alcohol or all the tension between us in the past but it's kind of hot. I begin to buck my hips into his hands setting our pace and it doesn't take long for me to find my release. Peeta keeps fingering me prolonging my orgasm before he positions the head of his erection between my thighs. He barely enters me before he pulls out, teasing me.
"Please." I whisper.
"Please what, Katniss?" He asks with a smirk on his face. He knows exactly what he's doing to me.
"Please, please fuck my brains out." He likes to hear me beg although he doesn't need told twice. He slowly enters me finally giving me what I need but he's moving too slow for my taste. "Harder. Faster." I plead. Peeta moves my ankles to his shoulders and pounds into me like I requested.
"Kat, I'm about to come. I want you there with me, baby."
"Almost." I whisper while pulling harder on my breasts. He helps me get there by finding my sensitive nub with his magical hands. We come together breathless and panting. Eventually we find ourselves spooning which is our typical sleeping position, neither one of us says another word before I cave into a peaceful slumber.
When I wake up in the morning I roll over to find the bed empty. I make our bed, take a shower and get dressed for the day to join Peeta and everyone else in the kitchen for breakfast. We never get a moment alone to talk about last night before we leave. At least the trip home isn't as awkward this time as it was last time thanks to Finnick, Annie and Johanna. However, I'm slightly disappointed we didn't have another go at it this morning. Who knows when we'll be in Scranton again?
