A/N: Hey there. Remember me? I'm really sorry for the wait, I've just been so wrapped up in my original novel lately, and then the end of school a few weeks ago. I have something though! I think that you'll all like this chapter, it's STEAMY! Hehe! Please enjoy!

~Mock

Snow's eyes haunt me all throughout the Victory Banquet. Even though I didn't see any specific threat in them, it scares me just to know what this man is capable of. I believe that he could kill Prim, my mother, Gale, anyone with one single word, and have no qualms about doing so. He strikes me as a complete murderer.

Without Peeta to support me, I doubt I would have made it through the banquet, where my arm hurt from waving too many times. At least I didn't have to dance; I saw plenty of other couples doing that throughout the ceremony.

Haymitch is leading us to the top floor of the Training Center, which brings the bittersweet memories of before the Games. Here was where I was in tears after my private training session, only to be overjoyed when they gave me an eleven. Here is where I was put through brutal training by Effie and Haymitch before the interview, only to do, at least, in their eyes, a stunning job. Here was where I first started to trust Peeta, then have him break that trust by wanting to train alone. I smile as we get out of the elevator and I see the place where I pushed Peeta into the urn after the interviews.

"What are you so happy about," Peeta whispers, his lips brushing my ear. A shiver runs up my spine at his touch, but I manage to form words to answer him.

"I was remembering when I pushed you into that urn," I say with a light laugh. "I didn't trust you at all then, and now…" I let my sentence trail off, but the full meaning of what I could have said was clearly implied.

"All right, we don't need any more of that," Haymitch says, pushing us apart. "You two make me want to drink." He's not slurring his words, but I did see him drink a little at the banquet. I thought he'd be completely intoxicated by this time, but he's actually quite steady on his feet and aware of his surroundings. "This love thing is going to be the death of me," he mutters.

"Haymitch, they're adorable!" Effie exclaims. "Let them have their fun. I for one, feel like they shouldn't spend a moment apart, except to sleep, of course." She goes on about how much she loved the relationship Peeta and I have, and how much she wishes she could find someone like Peeta, when thankfully, Cinna interrupts her ramble.

"Sadly, I'm going to have to steal Katniss away for a moment," he says apologetically. "I need to look at the measurements for her dress tomorrow, make sure everything's going to fir right with that leg of hers.

I reluctantly let go of Peeta's hand and follow Cinna. He keeps a strong arm around me for support, as I'm still a bit wobbly on my cane. Cinna doesn't take me far, just into a separate room, but he goes right to work on my leg, making sure he has the exact measurements.

"Do I get to try the dress on before tomorrow," I ask, hoping I can. I realize that after tomorrow, I won't get to have any more of Cinna's beautiful clothing for six months. While I'm desperately happy to go back to District 12, I'm genuinely going to miss Cinna.

"Now what's the fun in that?" he asked, grinning up at me. "I like surprising you with what I pick, because you never expect what I do." I begrudgingly acknowledge the fact that he's 100 percent correct. He always manages to throw me for the opposite of what I expected, and every time I love what he comes up with.

After a few more minutes, he's done with my leg, and helps me step out of my dress into comfortable and loose pajamas. "I made sure that they were baggy so the fabric wouldn't get caught on your leg in the middle of the night," Cinna explains.

He hands me my cane, and I experiment walking around again. I find that if I don't put too much pressure on my leg or try to movie it in fancy ways or go too fast, I can get around pretty well. I don't know if I'll ever be able to run again, or stay silent when I'm walking though, which will be a problem when I'm trying to hunt. I don't even know if I'll ever get a chance to hunt again.

Peeta and Haymitch are waiting for me when I walk out of the room. Immediately, Peeta puts an arm around my waist, but Haymitch all but pushes us into our rooms.

I wait a minute to make sure that I don't hear Haymitch's footsteps, then I slowly creep out of my room, leaning heavily on my cane. When my free hand reaches for the doorknob to close the door, I find that it's been locked from the outside. I'm furious, but just in case, I leave the door open to check to see if I can get into Peeta's room. To my dismay, I find his door just as sealed.

I let out a quiet groan, and slowly make my way back to my room, door standing ajar. I'm almost there when I hear a quiet voice behind me.

"Katniss?"

I turned my head, and saw Peeta's face, peering out into the hallway. He quickly made his way over to me, and I hugged him hard the second he was within arm's reach.

"I had to see you," I said into his chest. In response, he simply held me tighter and stroked my hair. We stayed in this embrace for minutes, and yet it was still too soon when we broke apart.

"Get your sleep," he said, kissing me softly. I unhappily unwrapped my arms from around his neck, but then noticed that he had shut his door, and I couldn't stop the smile that was quickly making its way across my face.

"Peeta," I said quietly. "You're not going to be able to get back in your room. They've locked the doors from the outside." He turned, and he too saw that his room was unobtainable. He looked at mine, which was still standing open, and slowly, his face grew a beautiful smile that matched my own. "Guess you're just going to have to sleep in my room tonight," I said, barely able to contain my glee.

Peeta helped me the rest of the way to my room, where he picked me up and set me on the bed, shutting the door behind us. Before, I had had the sense of being watched, but Peeta's presence made everything that was wrong disappear. He quickly climbed into the bed next to me.

He wasted no time taking me into his arms. I snuggled even closer into him, loving the feeling of rightness it gave me to be with him. I tilted my head up and stretched my neck so that my lips were pressed against his.

All of the sudden, he was attacking my lips with a kind of desperate ferocity and hunger, and I was returning with the same kind of passion. His tongue swept over my bottom lip, and I let him gain access. Our tongues brushed together, and I could barely conceal my moan of pleasure. All I could feel was Peeta, and at that moment, it seemed like I could live off his touch.

He slowly ran his hand down the side of my body, heightening my senses wherever his hand passed. My skin felt like it was on fire, burning for him, needing things that only he could give me.

Pressing myself even closer in his arms, I take one of my hands that was previously entangled in his blonde hair down to his chest. My long fingers leave a small trail as I explore him. I'm desperately trying to memorize everything about him, memorize the feel of his chest under my hand, know the feeling for as long as I live.

Our lips separate as the need for air becomes too much to handle. I take deep, gasping breaths and I feel Peeta do the same. As soon as my lungs are filled with cool, clean air, I press my lips against Peeta's again, trying to recreate the same level of intensity as before. Now that I know it exists, I don't know how I ever survived without it.

Peeta, however, seems to be slowing down, but I'm not off my high yet. I try to press him closer again, but all I get is his laugh on my lips. Scowling, I pull back a little to look at his face.

"You just growled," Peeta says before I can ask my question.

"I don't growl," I say in a voice that's actually sounds like I'm growling, which just sends Peeta into another wave of light laughter. I push away from him, and he stops laughing at once, like I knew he would.

"Katniss, I'm sorry," he says, and although I'm looking away, I can still hear the smile in his voice. I feel his arms snake their way around my stomach from behind, but I force myself not to react.

"Katniss." His breath on my ear breaks my careful composure, and I shiver. Giving in, a turn to look at him, and his face is less than a centimeter from mine. He closes that space for a moment, gently kissing me one more time.

"You need sleep," he whispers as he breaks away. I automatically start to shake my head, but he tightens the hand that's twined in the nape of my neck to stop my movements.

"Yes. You're exhausted, I can tell, and we have to be up tomorrow anyway to do that interview with Caesar Flickerman. It wouldn't look good if you passed out on stage. You'd give Effie a heart attack!"

I let out a short laugh, and make myself acknowledge the fact that I am tired. I wrap my arms around Peeta though, refusing to let him go. My head rests against his chest, and I pass out.

In my dream, I see the mutts that attacked us on the Cornucopia. Peeta's off the side, desperately trying to hold on to my hand, but I feel him slipping. Powerless, I'm forced to watch as he falls, where Rue's mutt immediately starts gnawing at his face.

My screams don't do any good. I reach for my bow , but it's not strapped to my back. I turn, and see Glimmer's mutt, somehow holding my weapons in her golden paws. She takes aim at Peeta's heart…

"Katniss! Wake up, wake up! You're fine, it's not real, you're fine!" My eyes fly open into Peeta's blue eyes, sparkling with concern. I take several giant breaths before I'm calmed down. I dread going back to sleep, but the comfort of Peeta's arms reassures me, and I'm able to rest again, Peeta's arms driving away my nightmares.

A/N: Thought I'd give y'all a little bit of fluff to make up for my absence! I really hope you like this, please review! I would love it if you'd review! Hopefully, I'll be able to update much faster, I'm in the library for three hours every day lol.

~Mock