On the Threshold

by GHTlovesTHG

A fic in honor of Katniss' birthday. Nineteen and free from the Reapings forever, Katniss finds a token on her doorstep commemorating her passage over the threshold of adulthood. Discovering the identity of the sender will start Katniss on a road that leads toward life's other milestones. Canon-deviating/Canon-divergent story.

10. Transom

It's been far too long, so I'm going to keep it short: I'm sorry about the crazy-long wait between chapters. I'm really grateful to everyone who has stuck with this story, and for all the kind encouragement along the way. Thank you to The RPGenius for pulling out all the stops to edit this, and thank you to Mejhiren for limitless support!

As always, I reserve the right to go back and tweak story details in the event that I back myself into a corner with the plot. :P I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy.

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Chapter Ten: Transom

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Dawn found Katniss quietly cursing, as she wedged the blade of her hunting knife between the concrete wall and a rotted wooden window frame in the building by the lake.

Peeta was inside, still sleeping peacefully. The sound of light snoring drifted through the openings where other windows had once been, giving her the assurance that he hadn't awoken. He needed the rest, but when her eyes fell on the building's last intact window, Katniss hadn't been able to resist.

To Peeta and her, the large, unbroken pane of glass was nearly priceless. It had seemed commonplace enough that she never really stopped to consider it on previous visits. And while Peeta was here, they'd been too busy brick-making to notice. But with all the effort Faren was taking to construct windows for Peeta's house, and those a mere patchwork of glass shards and lead, there was no way she could leave this unbroken pane behind.

If she got it out and back to Twelve, Katniss planned on presenting the window to him as a gift - the final piece to complete the major repairs on his house.

As she worked, Katniss pictured how nice it would be for Peeta to look outside with an unobstructed view in his bedroom. Free of the criss-cross soldering on the composite windows, the unbroken, clear glass pane might even let in enough light for painting.

Finally, Katniss managed to chisel it loose. Wrenching it out and draping her hunting jacket carefully around it, she started for home.

Her thoughts stayed with Peeta as she traipsed through the underbrush and bracken on her way back from the lake. They'd almost gone too far last night. Even knowing that, she wasn't willing to go back, or willing to stop. They would just have to be careful not to let their feelings get the better of their self control.

She hadn't wanted to leave him again this morning, but he needed rest before digging the bricks out of the ashes of the fire, and dragging them back to Twelve. And she had hunting to do.

Katniss abruptly stopped as she recognized where her musings had brought her. She'd come to the rock she'd once used as a meeting place with Gale. She hadn't spoken to him since his toasting last summer. Katniss acknowledged that his absence in her life had less of an effect that she'd expected, but things couldn't remain strained between them, not when Prim had confided that she and Rory were hoping to toast right after Prim's final reaping.

The time she'd just spent with Peeta had so elevated Katniss's mood, she felt magnanimous and conciliatory. She and Gale operated in different spheres now, and she was happy for him. Leevy was having a baby, and though Katniss considered it a harrowing predicament, it was what he wanted. Katniss still intended on making Gale a child-sized bow as a birth present, but she shouldn't wait until the child was born just to extend an olive branch. He'd said they couldn't be friends, and certainly not hunting partners, but eventually they'd be in-laws.

Reaching into her hunting bag, she rummaged around until she felt the tin she'd recently filled with beeswax. Wild beeswax was no easy task to collect, but when she did get access to some, she stocked up, as it was essential to maintaining a bow.

Katniss stooped and set the tin down on the rock. Gale probably never came by here anymore., but just in case he did, the tiny peace offering was a start.

She reached the Seam in time for breakfast. Propping the window carefully against the side of Lady's shelter, and surrounding it with some extra straw, Katniss decided to stop inside and eat before heading back into the forest to hunt.

Both Prim and her mother were at the table when she entered the house. Prim shot her a warning look, as their mother turned and fixed Katniss with an assessing look.

"We worry when you're gone all night," her mother said, censure in her voice.

Katniss squared her shoulders. She had no time for maternal disapproval. She'd outgrown childhood at the tender age of eleven, and it was too late for her mother to don the mantle of concerned parent.

"I left a note."

Prim stood and started reheating the kettle on the stove. "I'll fix you something, Katniss."

"You managed well enough all the times Gale and I got caught on the other side of the fence unexpectedly when the electricity came back on," Katniss continued. Those occasions had been few, but her mother had accepted it as a necessary risk that came with hunting and gathering beyond the fence.

"Yes, but Gale was with you. We didn't have to worry that you were fending for yourself out there, with no way for us to know if something was wrong."

She sat down adjacent to her mother, contemplating her next words. Katniss had never told her mother anything about Peeta, not from their budding friendship to her intimate involvement with him now. And as much as things had been repaired between mother and daughter over the years, their relationship was still too stilted for Katniss open up to her comfortably about this. Even Prim didn't know how far things had progressed.

"I wasn't alone," Katniss stated, watching her mother's reaction.

A knowing look filled her mother's eyes. "I suspected as much. What are you thinking, Katniss? Staying out in the forest all night just to see someone?"

Katniss opened her mouth to protest, but her mother barrelled on.

"Can you deny it? I can see your hunting bag is empty, and you've been out there yesterday, last night, and this morning. People at the hob will only just be setting up, you couldn't have traded already."

Katniss grimaced. It was true that she'd had to postpone hunting this morning because of the window.

"You're always gone, now. And when you are here, your mind is in the forest, or with whomever you're seeing. Did you think I would be so unaware of changes in my own daughter? I'm hurt that you feel you have to hide your life from me, but most of all I'm worried for you."

"Stop worrying, then!" Katniss interjected, annoyed. "I can more than take care of myself!"

Her mother tiredly rubbed her forehead rubbed fingertips "There's been a steady plume of smoke rising from the west for three days. Did you really think the Peacekeepers wouldn't notice? What if they'd gone to investigate? What would happen if they realized it was you?" she demanded.

"You can't afford suspicion Katniss, not when so much rides on your ability to get into the forest. If there's blatant evidence of activity out there, they'll start patrolling the fence. Is that what you want?"

"No, of course not," Katniss protested helplessly.

"People count on you, Katniss. More than that, we would be shattered if something were to happen to you."

Katniss gnawed at her lip as she stared at the table, at a loss for what to say.

"Just tell me this: are you even being careful? You haven't come to me for wild carrot seed tincture. Please tell me all your senses haven't fled you."

"I'm not clueless!" Katniss snapped, her face bright red with embarrassment. "Nor am I some irresponsible, callow teenager who throws caution to the wind! Obviously, if I needed the tincture, I'd take the tincture!"

Prim had approached the table by then, and was pouring tea into a mug, keeping quiet amidst their argument. Her hands shook as she set the cup down after Katniss's outburst.

Katniss glanced at her. Prim looked troubled and drawn. They must have been truly distressed, she acknowledged, feeling a rush of guilt.

"Have a seat, Prim," Katniss muttered, chastened. "Finish your breakfast." She took a long swig of the hot tea, and got up. "I have to go back out there. It will be fine, I'll be careful. And I'll see you both tonight."

Without another word, Katniss hurried out of the house, as Mrs. Everdeen shook her head in disappointment.

Katniss was stewing as she headed back to the meadow. She was well into adulthood, her mother had no right to question her behavior. But what rankled the most, was that she'd been right.

Katniss knew they had taken an extreme risk, keeping the bonfire burning continuously for that long. But the season was rapidly ending, and they'd desperately needed all those bricks. Who knows how long it would have taken to fire all the bricks if they'd done them in smaller batches, for shorter durations. She wanted Peeta's idea to become a reality.

She'd also taken a considerable risk spending the night with Peeta. But that too, she couldn't regret. She'd given in to the illusion that Peeta's company created - that they were free, that there was hope to be found in the coal warehouses and ash heaps of Twelve. This district wasn't really like that. Only Peeta was. Katniss knew she'd have to rein herself in from now on. Go back to being cautious about their movements near the fence. And fearful.

First though, she had to catch Peeta on his way to Twelve, and tell him come back through the fence opening by the Victor's Village. Peeta could store the bricks behind one of the empty houses and borrow a wheelbarrow to get them through the town.

She and Gale rarely used that breach in the fence, since it was further from their houses. But if the Peacekeepers did decide to start patrolling the fence, they'd start in the Seam. No one seeing a merchant moving bricks near town would guess that he was openly conveying the spoils of the forest. Whereas if he was caught moving building supplies through an empty meadow, that would be harder to explain.

---

With Peeta caught up in transporting the bricks and using the other entrance, Katniss only saw him if she stopped by his house in the evening, after they had both returned to the district. She paused at his front door, her mother's plant book cradled in her arms. She'd avoided going inside his house for the sake of discretion and keeping their connection private. After the unpleasant confrontation with her mother, it was clear that maintaining a private relationship with Peeta wasn't really viable.

It felt like they had crossed a threshold at the lake. Katniss knew she would have to sit down with her mother and Prim and be up front about the extent to which Peeta was a part of her life. Katniss just had to figure out the right time, and the right way. As for the rest of the Seam and any gossip mongers who might make something of her and Peeta's frequent interactions, she owed them nothing. She rapped on his door.

Through the cloth tacked over the windows, she could see Peeta's silhouette as he approached to admit her. She breezed in and set the plant book on his rickety kitchen table. "Let's strategize about this bakery," she said, determined.

Once they were seated with tin mugs of tea in hand, they huddled over the book together, looking for possible ingredients in the pages. "I think I need to do something to bring the bakery attention, like an event. If I can get people to try some baked goods, I think they'll come back. So I want to start with some sort of giveaway."

Katniss frowned. "You're right to think people would be wary at first. It's kind of a strange set up, the building on its own here, and run by the ousted Mellark. But I don't see a lot of people queueing up for what will be seen as a merchant handout," she cautioned. "Plus, that would be a huge expense. I don't need to remind you what our finances look like."

"I know, but winning people over is our biggest hurdle now. If it's a prolonged, uphill process, I'll never keep this place open long enough to build trust. Without people talking about the bakery, no one will stop here. So why not do something for the Harvest Festival? Everyone will be passing by to get to the Square, and with the celebratory atmosphere, it would seem more like a festival perk, than a handout.

"I'd only make one type of sweet - I don't have the inventory or capital to make multiple offerings in the needed quantity. And it would have to be something I could produce fairly cheaply, which is a challenge," Peeta acknowledged.

"But here's the business model: any child who stops by gets one free baked good if they promise to tell their parents that a new bakery is opening in the Seam a week after the festival. So it's not exactly getting something for nothing. Any adults wanting one of the baked goods would pay." Peeta looked at her, eyes bright and hopeful. "What do you think?"

Katniss mulled it over. It was clever. The importance of paying back debts, understood even by children in the Seam, would ensure that the kids would carry through and inform their parents of the bakery's impending opening. And surely they'd rave about the treat to their parents, because Peeta was a talented baker, and they would be hoping to have more goodies in the future. Who could be better ambassadors than the children of your future customers? The idea was sweet, generous, and shrewd. Very Peeta. And It seemed likely to win people over faster and in greater quantities than a regular opening would.

She smirked, impressed. "I think it could actually work - if we can do it in time. The Harvest Festival is just two weeks away."

"I think we can make it! The trouble is in the sweetener. Sugar is going to be the most costly element, whatever we make. So we should pick something that requires less sugar, or supplement with another sweet ingredient."

"We should use autumn olives."

Peeta's distasteful look made her smile. "They're berries that grow this time of year. Not only are they appropriately seasonal for the festival, they're at their sweetest now, and grow so densely on the branch that you can pluck dozens in a single handful. It's something we could gather fairly quickly."

Peeta nodded thoughtfully. "Shortbread uses less sugar than other cookies, and if the berries are as sweet as you say, I can be sparing with the sugar in the dough. I could dry the berries ahead of time or put them in fresh."

"We can test both ways," Katniss volunteered. She was definitely ready for the taste-testing phase of his bakery.

"This could work, Katniss! You're a genius. My genius," he praised, as he leaned in to tug her braid and drop a kiss on her cheek. Katniss rolled her eyes at his antics, secretly pleased.

"When do we start?" Peeta asked excitedly.

"Whenever there's a completed oven in this kitchen," Katniss reminded him.

Peeta groaned and sank further into his chair. "If I never see a brick again, it will be too soon."

She leaned over to rub at the undoubtedly weary muscles in his upper back. "Next time you see one, just think of how much fun we had, passing the time at the lake, waiting for them to bake."

They swapped knowing grins and Peeta waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Katniss snorted and gave him a gentle shove. "Back to work, Mellark."

---

Two days later, Peeta met her in the meadow on her way back to the Seam, a triumphant grin on his face. Despite how worn out she was from hunting, it was easy to return his infectious smile.

"What has you looking so pleased?" she wondered.

"Every single brick, and a massive amount of cob, is now inside the fence, awaiting incorporation into what will undoubtedly be the best oven Twelve's ever seen."

She congratulated him, knowing that lugging those bricks all the way from the lake must have been a miserable task. "The day's not over yet; do you want some help starting on the oven?"

Peeta sighed. "I know we're on a deadline, but I need a couple of hours that aren't dominated by clay bricks. What if I meet you by the train station after you're done trading? There's something else you can help me with."

"Sure," Katniss agreed, adjusting the strap of the game bag on her shoulder. "What is it?"

"I'd rather not say yet. Before you go, though, do you have anything in there I could use to butter someone up for a big favor?" Peeta asked, gesturing to the game bag.

"I got a wild goose," Katniss offered. "But we really need to trade everything we possibly can, Peeta, if we're ever going to afford all the supplies we need."

"I know. But walking through Victor's Village got me thinking. I've been mulling this over all day, and if it works, it could significantly reduce costs for the bakery."

"Well, whatever it is, I want to help. We're a team."

Peeta squeezed her hand in thanks. "Okay. But this is me officially calling in that favor you promised for the sleep syrup incident, because I'm pretty sure you're going to be none too happy about this one. It involves eating some crow, but only to get our foot in the door."

Katniss furrowed her brow. She hoped he wasn't thinking of begging his parents for supplies. "Well, now I want to go just for the sake of curiosity."

Once she'd finished trading, Peeta was waiting for her. He'd changed into one of his nicer shirts, dusted off his boots, and ordered his hair.

"Should I have dressed up for this?" she asked warily.

Peeta shook his head and led them down the road past the station. The road only led one place, and when they stood at the towering, ominous iron gates at the entrance, Katniss looked over at Peeta. "Victor's Village. What are we doing here?"

"Playing out a scene," he answered.

She looked around her. The stately houses sat silent and empty around them. There certainly wasn't much of an audience.

"What kind of scene?" she asked suspiciously.

"One that puts you at somewhat of a disadvantage, I'm afraid. But it was the only reason I could think of to get him to talk to us."

"You were right. I'm not going to like this," she grumbled.

" I'm sorry. But if you'd known who we were going to talk with, you would have just gotten surlier the closer we got, and I need you to feign contrition." Katniss couldn't fault his reasoning, he was exactly right. "Just play along, and remember: you are completely off the hook as far as owing me after this."

Katniss nodded her willingness. If she hadn't vowed to make the sleep syrup debacle up to him, she still would have helped. Even despite the fact that, in her experience, Haymitch Abernathy was one of the most unpleasant people to talk to in all of Twelve.

They ascended the steps to his front door, and Peeta knocked on the intricately carved wood. There was no response. They stood listening at the threshold, but beyond the door, it was silent as the grave.

Peeta knocked again, with no answer. "Maybe he's not home."

They stood for some minutes longer, and Peeta raised his hand again, only to let it hover indecisively above the door.

"For goodness' sake," Katniss muttered, balling her hand into a fist. She banged on the door hard enough that the panes of glass in the nearby windows rattled with the impact.

From within, there was a bellow of surprise and then something shattered. The next few moments were punctuated by indistinct curses and the sound of objects being kicked out of the way.

The door lurched open, and Haymitch Abernathy sagged into the space between it and the frame. His eyes were bloodshot, bleary, and supremely annoyed.

"Whaddya want?" he snarled, the flecks of spit that resulted emphasizing his ire.

Peeta launched brightly into introductions. "Hello Mr. Abernathy! I'm Peeta Mellark and this is-"

"Not interested!" Abernathy barked. "Whatever you're selling, I don't want it."

Peeta seemed to deflate a bit, so Katniss stepped in before he could shut the door.

"We're not selling anything!" she insisted testily. "If you let someone finish a sentence, you'd know that."

"And who're you?" the victor asked, with narrowed eyes.

"This is Katniss Everdeen," Peeta said, jumping back into the conversation eagerly. "She's come here to apologize."

As Katniss tried to look repentant and managed something between sullen and discomfited, Haymitch looked back at her with renewed interest. "It's about time! Didn't think you'd be so prickly though, when you're coming and asking for forgiveness."

Katniss bit her tongue to silence her retort. Peeta may be angling for some kind of token apology, but there would be no begging for forgiveness. This could only be about the insult she'd slung at him at the Hob, but she couldn't figure out why Haymitch seemed to be expecting them. The interaction had been ages ago, and she was surprised the victor even remembered it. He must be off his rocker.

"We brought a peace offering of sorts," Peeta nodded toward her game bag, which held the goose she'd bagged that morning. "May we come in?"

"Ha! Suit yourselves." Haymitch turned and moved into the interior of the house. He left the door ajar behind him, so Katniss and Peeta followed him inside.

The air was musty and rife with the odor of unwashed clothes and old food. Dust and grime clung to every surface, and the floor was strewn with all manner of objects.

Katniss grimaced at the stench and glanced at Peeta in time to see him wince, then school his face into a polite mask. Picking their way through the mess, they followed Haymitch as he led them toward the entrance to the kitchen.

The smell of rotting food got more powerful as they approached, and Haymitch made a sound of aggravation, turning away and leading them to a sitting room on the other side of the foyer.

The room was darkened, but slivers of light peeked shyly through the heavy curtains. Motes of dust trickled through the beams, glowing gold as they drifted in the light.

The old victor pushed some wadded up clothing and empty bottles off a pair of chairs, and then sank down on the well-worn couch opposite. The depressions in the cushions suggested he spent most of his time there.

"So you've come to apologize about that girl," he said, gesturing that they should sit. "She's been a thorn in my side for weeks," he complained, clearly agitated.

Katniss and Peeta looked at each other in confusion.

"A man can't even get peace in his own house, without some little brat waltzing in and taking him for everything he's worth - and disturbing him in the process!" he groused. "I don't know how you're going to begin to pay me back for all the things she's stolen."

He swiped a bottle of clear liquor from a stockpile on the floor and opened it, taking a deep draught.

"That's not why we're here, actually," Peeta said.

Haymitch furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? She's your kid, ain't she? The little whelp's the spitting image of Miss Sunshine over there," he said, indicating Katniss.

They shook their heads. "We don't know who you're talking about," Peeta insisted.

Haymitch huffed in annoyance. "There's this little urchin who keeps breaking into my house and ransacking my pantry. When there's nothing to eat around, she takes anything else she can find." He took another swig and muttered, "Probably sells it all at the Hob."

"You sure she's not yours?" Haymitch asked hopefully, as if maybe they'd simply forgotten the existence of a child here and there through the years. When Katniss and Peeta shook their heads again, he slumped further down on the couch, disgruntled.

"At first, I figured I was forgetting when and what I'd eaten. I don't exactly keep a regular schedule," he explained sardonically. "But one day, I woke up and some kid was standing over me, chewing on a piece of bread and just staring. Whenever it was that I passed out, I slid off my kitchen chair and was sprawled out on the floor. Apparently I was making it tougher for her to get to everything in my cupboards.

"Nearly scared me to death. I see enough emaciated children in my sleep, without them coming to haunt me when I wake up too! I hold a knife when I sleep, it's a good thing I dropped it when I fell over!" he added angrily.

Katniss shot Peeta a look of mild alarm.

"Soon as she saw I was awake, she hopped right over me and bolted out the door, arms full of the food I'd just brought back from town!" He banged his fist on the arm of the sofa in frustration. "I hate going out for supplies, and now I have to do it twice as often!"

Haymitch swirled the contents of his bottle as he mulled over his next words.

"Guess she deserves some credit. The little thing's sharp as a whipcord; everyone else is too afraid to come here, even adults. Certainly no one's got the guts to break in, 'cept for her," he said wonderingly. "She just breezes into the bear's den and helps herself to everything in sight. Grabs enough stuff for her and her lookout."

"You say she has an accomplice?" Peeta interrupted with interest.

Haymitch growled at the memory. "Yeah, some boy, even younger than she is. When she ran out the door, she yelled for someone to run, and I caught sight of 'em both scrambling off towards the woods. I've only seen them the one time, but food goes missing weekly," he said darkly.

Katniss looked over to Peeta, only to see her own excitement reflected in his eyes. She knew it was probably too much to hope, but there was a chance that Haymitch's young tormentors were the two beggar children that used to sing to Peeta in exchange for bread from the bakery.

It had been months since there had been any sign of the girl and boy. With Peeta exiled from his family's bakery, was anyone willing to give them bread? It sounded like the girl was resorting to theft to feed her and her brother.

The stigma of the Capitol and the Games seemed permanently attached to victors, and Haymitch wasn't wrong about people avoiding him. Victor's Village was viewed almost as a No Man's Land, and there was an unspoken understanding that people stayed away unless they had specific business with the victor. Most children were afraid of Haymitch merely because they associated him with being reaped for the Hunger Games. His demeanor did little to remedy the situation.

So for a child to be willing to venture into Victor's Village and approach the Abernathy residence, they had to be pretty brave. Or very desperate. There was the added danger of making a getaway by going beyond the fence, and the risk associated with stealing, which was an offense punishable by death. The fact that their target was one of the most prominent figures in the district, a figure whose possessions were purchased with Capitol money intended only for the victor himself, made things worse. And while Haymitch's story sounded a bit far-fetched, parts of it rang true.

Katniss found herself very worried about the young thieves.

"Do you know their names?" she asked.

"Know their names?" Haymitch asked incredulously. "Whattya think I do, babysit 'em? The kids rob me blind and take off! 'Course I don't know their names!"

"You're not going to report them, are you?" Peeta was clearly as concerned as she was.

"Haven't yet, have I?" Haymitch challenged. "What do you take me for, boy? I know enough to understand all the implications of such an action. I have more than enough young lives gnawing at my conscience, without adding two more."

Bitterness and self-recrimination was evident in his voice. Katniss knew her words in the Hob had been far more critical, and far more cruel. Seeing the way guilt bled into his conversation and clearly informed his actions made her regret what she'd said that day.

"And now here you sit, telling me that you have no idea who these little urchins are, and you can't help me. So why else are you wasting my time?"

"We don't know who they are, it's true," Peeta said. "But I think we can help you."

"Oh, is that so? And does this help come predicated on a mutually beneficial arrangement between us?" Haymitch asked mockingly.

Peeta's ears turned pink at the accuracy of the words, but he continued on, undeterred.

"Just hear us out. First, we wanted to apologize." Peeta glanced at Katniss as he spoke. "It was a while ago, so you may not recall, but we had an altercation at the Hob. There were some unpleasant things said on both sides, and an implication was made at the time that you didn't care what happened to your tributes. We know that's not the case."

Peeta paused, and Katniss took up where he'd left off. He didn't have to apologize for her. After seeing a glimpse of Haymitch's regret regarding his tributes, she wanted to do it herself.

"It wasn't Peeta who implied that. It was me. I'm sorry. I can see that you do care. Probably everything about you indicates how much.

"I'm not in a position where I can understand your situation. And making assumptions wasn't the right way to approach the topic." She frowned. "You probably get that a lot from people. I could have behaved better."

Haymitch was watching her, liquor poised halfway to his lips. He lowered his eyes to the bottle, staring at its contents, before taking a long drink. He said nothing, didn't even acknowledge her apology, but it seemed like her words had meant something to him.

Haymitch wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and gruffly cleared his throat. "So why are you here then?" he asked, addressing Peeta.

"I'm here to offer you a chance to help even the odds," Peeta said. He didn't elaborate right away, and Katniss could see that Haymitch was interested, despite himself.

Sure enough, after a beat of silence, Haymitch arched his brow, inviting Peeta to continue.

"This is Panem, so everything comes down to bread. The means to secure sustenance is the currency with which the Capitol controls us and barters our children's lives away," Peeta stated calmly. Katniss could tell he'd been rehearsing his pitch.

"For Odds' sake boy, think before you speak!" Haymitch hissed, rising abruptly from the couch and grabbing Peeta by the shirt collar. The next thing Katniss knew, she was hurriedly following Haymitch as he pulled Peeta along, out the backdoor and into the yard behind his victor's residence.

When Haymitch finally released him, they were standing closer to the electrified fence at the edge of the property than the house, and Peeta straightened his shirt, stunned at the direction things had taken.

Haymitch didn't look upset, though. If anything, a hungry light had entered his eyes.

"You have to be mindful of your audience," he stated cryptically, by way of explanation. Katniss looked back at the house, realizing with a chill that the walls were likely choked with Capitol bugs. Probably all the houses in Victor's Village were. Each one had been constructed by Capitol contractors.

"Now, go on with what you were saying."

"Uh…right." Peeta gathered himself and began again. "We all know that the looming threat of the next reaping keeps the district in a perpetual state of fear. That's not something easily changed. But tesserae is an added tool of oppression, and it's one that disproportionately affects the Seam.

"Vendors in the Hob have offered bread for trade in the past, but its availability is sporadic, prices fluctuate, and the grain is still obtained from tesserae rations. The bread at my family's bakery is cost prohibitive to the average mining family, and while Seam customers aren't explicitly discouraged from buying bread in town, neither are they welcomed by my mother."

Katniss found herself listening with as much interest as Haymitch. Apparently Peeta had been talking to some of the vendors at the Hob, getting a better picture of any potential competition.

"This creates a situation in which almost all the individuals in the Seam, excluding the few that can afford more expensive bread, are relying on loaves made from tessera grain, whether assigned to their own children, or assigned to other children before being traded at the Hob. Even individuals who have no offspring are contributing to the number of Seam slips in the reaping bowl just by purchasing bread made with it. Every year the glass bowls at the reaping are overflowing, and every year, the tributes from Twelve are almost exclusively from the Seam."

"And no one knows that better than me. You're not telling me anything I couldn't tell you myself, kid. What do you intend to do about it?"

"I'm going to open a bakery for the Seam," Peeta said proudly. "One with bread and baked goods that are not made with tessera grain, and are more affordable to its residents. My bakery is going to even the odds between Seam and town when it comes to tesserae being taken out."

"And both the Merchants and the Seamfolk are going to hate you for it," Haymitch assessed snidely. "Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad idea. Maybe even a good one. But to help one group of people, you're making the other more vulnerable. And hey, maybe that's only fair, but they'll see it as a betrayal, if they bother to think about it long enough.

"The group you're helping, well, they'll either see it as charity - which they hate - or an opportunity for you to make a buck off their misfortune, which is even worse. Doesn't seem like a situation with a winning outcome."

"Or maybe," Katniss interrupted archly, "They'll see it as the excellent opportunity it is, one that will improve their children's odds of surviving, and a way to subvert the Capitol. Maybe they'll see that Peeta making a living could benefit them as well, and that his motives are honorable and not avaricious."

"Maybe," he conceded. "But I doubt it. Luckily, it's not something I have to worry about. You do." Peeta didn't quail at Haymitch's pronouncement, Katniss noted proudly.

"Now what do you want with me?"

Peeta replied readily. "In order to provide products to the Seam at a reasonable price, we have to obtain them in a way that saves money. We have alternative sources for a lot of ingredients, and I have a contact that can get me malted grain and yeast at a good price. But I can't work my way around eggs. I need them, and there's no way to get enough of them inexpensively."

"And let me guess, that's where I come in."

"Yes. The most cost effective, reliable way to get eggs would be to buy fowl. You're the only person I can think of with the means to acquire and maintain a sizable number of them, the ability to make inter-District purchases without intense scrutiny, and the space to keep them."

"Space to keep them?" Haymitch blustered. "You mean you want me to turn my residence into some sort of zoo? What's in it for me!?"

Katniss's gaze swung from Haymitch to Peeta, riveted. This had to be the trickiest part.

Peeta merely smiled. "Plenty. First off, this is a chance to make a difference in the lives of District Twelve's children. Every year you're forced into an impossible situation with a pair of malnourished tributes, and the odds are incredibly against them, and you, before the Arena gong even sounds.

"A Seam bakery could mean better fed tributes, but on a grander scale, it could mean less fear among the poorest children that they will be reaped by default. How crushing is the daily fear that their days are numbered? How much does the Capitol's looming punishment for their hunger weigh on them? You could alleviate that."

Katniss studied Haymitch's face, eager to gauge his reaction so far. His arms were folded, but it was hard to determine if he was closing himself off from the conversation, or if he was receptive to Peeta's words.

"The Capitol has you trapped. As a Mentor, your hands are tied by an unbeatable system. Barring something miraculous occurring, what can you change? Here in Twelve, with the right allocation of your winnings, you can have an effect on the inherent discrimination of the entire tesserae system. That could touch the lives of every Seam child, not just two a year."

Peeta's delivery was earnest and confident. Katniss felt sure Haymitch was listening carefully. The liquor bottle in his hand was forgotten as they stood in the brisk autumn air.

"If you raise chickens for us, we'll pay you what we can for the eggs. It would probably be a fraction of the cost associated with supplies and upkeep, but you'll also have fresh eggs and meat for yourself. You can tell people you're taking it up to keep busy. Once the bakery is on its feet, we'll keep you in baked goods and the occasional wild game for your trouble," Peeta promised, nodding to Katniss, who still had her game bag clenched in her fist.

As if on cue, she pulled out the fat goose and showed it to Haymitch. Peeta opened his mouth to continue to make his case, but Haymitch interrupted him.

"Alright, alright, kid. You can stop spinning gold out of thin air with those words of yours, I get the picture."

He rubbed at the stubble on his chin in thought. "I've heard more than a few crackpot sales pitches in my day, but you make an interesting case. Assuming you can lay out for me exactly how you figure this bakery's going to work, I could be tempted to agree to it."

Peeta bit his lip in an effort to contain his excitement. Katniss wanted to rush up to him and envelop him in a hug. It sounded like he was on the brink of convincing Haymitch, of all people, to help them.

"But no chickens," the older man insisted gruffly. "They're stupid. Get themselves stolen and killed too easily. I have more than enough defenseless charges dying on me as it is. I want something smart and hardy. Like me."

Katniss felt her heart sink. There were other birds that could provide eggs, yes, but she couldn't see how they could make it work. Ducks would be perfect, but they required a water source, and given the number of birds they'd need, it would be difficult to create the right environment here in Victor's Village. Geese seemed to be just the sort of bird Haymitch was looking for - irritable and obnoxious - but they only laid seasonally, and far less frequently than other egg-laying fowl.

Still, she couldn't disagree with Haymitch's assessment of raising chickens. They were particularly vulnerable. And therein, Katniss realized suddenly, lay the key.

"I know just the bird," she said, thinking of the goose she held. "But you're going to want to start with chickens, and it's precisely because they're easily stolen."

Haymitch stared at her, unimpressed, and Peeta just looked confused.

"If you've got a thief around, why would they would risk sneaking into your house if they don't have to? They could much more easily nab a plump chicken and some fresh eggs," Katniss reasoned.

"You said yourself that practically no one comes to Victor's Village unless they absolutely have to – except for your enterprising little thief. If you raise chickens, I guarantee she will stop stealing what's in your house, and go for the birds instead. And once she does, that's our problem.

"Start us off with a brood of hens," Katniss instructed confidently. "And if you agree to help us, I'll figure out who those kids are, and direct their attention away from a short career in petty theft – before our last chicken disappears," she added, with a smile to Peeta. "When we know the fowl are safe, you can start raising some birds worthy of you: geese."

Haymitch pursed his lips, mulling the offer over. He studied the expanse of open yard between his house and the fence, where the chicken coop would likely be constructed. Then his eyes moved from the forest to his house, as if tracking the progress of his junior robbers. They'd have to walk straight past all the chickens and eggs to get to his back door.

The corner of his mouth tilted upwards. "You've got a deal, then."

Katniss could scarcely believe they'd pulled it off. Perhaps her history of trading throughout the district had paid off, as he had responded favorably to her attempt to haggle over the chickens.

Haymitch promised to look into getting chickens as soon as he could, and agreed to furnish funds to purchase eggs until they had their own hens laying. With that, he gave Peeta a handful of money he dug out of his pockets, ostensibly to be used for eggs, claimed the goose in Katniss's hands, and went inside for some much-deserved peace and quiet.

The moment the door closed behind Haymitch, Peeta was rushing over and throwing his arms around her.

"Katniss, we did it!" he crowed. "I didn't know there was a seasoned negotiator on my side! Any time I need to bargain for supplies in the future, I know who I'm bringing!"

He continued his effusive praise, but Katniss was distracted. Wrapped up in Peeta's arms and looking over his shoulder, she spotted something that made her heart leap even more than being one step closer to getting Peeta his bakery.

In a patch of dried mud near the fence, there were two little sets of footprints, each spread far apart for their size, indicative of running feet. Haymitch hadn't been imagining things. There was a chance their singing beggars were still scraping their way through life in Twelve.

---

Heading back to the Seam, Katniss just had one question. "Was the apology really necessary? You don't think that if we pushed, he would have heard you out otherwise?"

"Honestly? No, I don't think he would have. Haymitch is probably the wiliest person in the district. He saw that I was after something a mile away. Luckily, your insistence that we were there for a different reason got us in the door, and the apology fed his ego enough that he was willing to listen.

"Besides, recalling what you said at the Hob would have reminded him exactly who he doesn't want to be. Then lo and behold, we present a way for him to better the district on his own terms, and he accepts."

Katniss shook her head, "I don't know, you're pretty wily yourself."

Flush with their success, Katniss and Peeta continued to plan. With eggs taken care of for the foreseeable future, their task felt more achievable. But they were far from ready. To stretch Peeta's supply of malted flour, they decided to supplement it with homemade acorn flour in the autumn olive cookies.

Ripper had put him in touch with her contact at the train station. Cray looked the other way so she could get malted barley for beer making, so a line of communication existed between her, her contact from Six who worked the trains to Twelve, and some of the people who loaded grain and flour on the trains in Nine. With so many points of relay through unofficial channels, the system for obtaining flour was precarious. Peeta had been steadily accruing a supply via this method since deciding to make a bakery, but it was important to preserve as much as possible for usage after the festival.

Using acorn flour meant Katniss would be responsible for collecting an obscene amount of acorns, in addition to hunting and foraging, while Peeta was district-bound building his oven. He would take care of the cold leaching, drying, and grinding as she supplied him with the nuts.

Being able to afford all the other ingredients needed for the festival required consistently bountiful hauls from the forest until then. After they parted that day, Katniss took to waking up earlier to go hunting every morning and returning later every evening.

She was pleased to see the oven start to take shape. Faren was there helping a few days later when she stopped by to drop off her latest accumulation of acorns for Peeta.

Nearing them, she let the heavy sack stuffed with acorns sink to the ground with an audible thud. Katniss was dead on her feet. She didn't know how many more days she could endure of this frantic sprint to get everything in place for the festival.

It felt as though the second her head hit the pillow each night, it was time to drag her hunting boots back on and head to the forest. Her eyelids drooped as she reset snares, and her vision swam as she identified plants. She'd lost count of how often she'd jolted awake with a gasp when in a hunting blind, scaring away game that should have ended up in her game bag.

Plus, the added time gathering acorns meant she'd hardly had a chance to gauge how things stood with her mother. She hadn't had a real talk with Prim in ages. All was for the bakery. Katniss felt sure she would start seeing acorns in her dreams, if she ever got a full night's sleep.

Both men looked over, the remnants of laughter on their faces. Peeta had a smear of cob on his cheek, and clumps of it in his hair. On further inspection, so did Faren. Apparently they'd been flinging it at each other before her arrival.

It looked like there was more cob on the two of them than on the oven. Normally, she'd find Peeta's playfulness and good humor endearing, but all she could focus on at the moment was the time wasted, time better spent on completing the oven and ensuring things were operational for the festival.

"Katniss!" Faren greeted enthusiastically. "Haven't seen you around for a while, didn't know if you'd bailed on Peeta's crazy scheme!"

Katniss debated retorting that no one had seen her for some time, as she practically lived in the forest now, but decided it would just take too much energy.

"Faren stopped by to drop off the last of the trays and kitchen tools he's been patching and repairing for me," Peeta explained, wiping cob off his hands as he approached.

"Acorns," Katniss grumbled in response, gesturing tiredly to the sack at her feet.

"Thanks," Peeta sighed, eyeing the hundreds she'd managed to collect. "I'll husk them and start on the leaching after we finish here."

While Peeta went to empty the bag of acorns inside, Faren approached with a searching look. "So you're still onboard for all this, huh?"

"Of course," Katniss said defensively.

"It's just that you don't seem so enthused."

"That's because I've been running myself into the ground to make this possible. Sorry if I'm not presenting the picture of entrepreneurial ambition at the moment," she replied, voice laden with sarcasm.

"Hey, no need to get riled up, I'm on the same side as you. We're all working for Peeta now, aren't we?" Faren joked.

Katniss eyed the progress they'd made on the oven that day. "Something tells me "working" may be a relative concept with you."

"Hey, that's what you get when all the labor's free. Besides, I've been scaring up every junked bowl, tray and cooking implement that can possibly be repaired, and helping Peeta piece together more besides with scrap in my free time. I'd like to see this bakery function without anything to bake with."

Katniss scowled. There was no arguing that.

"Anyways, I'm heading home. Wouldn't want you to waste any more of that sunny disposition on me," he ribbed. "Tell Peeta I'll try to get Ander to come help, but no guarantees. He might not want to assist the competition, after all."

Katniss was surprised that Faren thought Ander might be willing. As far as she knew, Peeta hadn't communicated with him since he'd been kicked out. Peeta must be really missing him.

"It's a prime opportunity for him to spy on the competition," she volunteered hopefully.

"Now you sound like Peeta," Faren called back. "Spinning things like a pro to get this bakery going. I think you two could make out like bandits with this place."

Peeta returned a few moments later with the empty flour sack she'd been using to hold acorns.

He went to hand it to her, but didn't let go when she grasped it, using her grip on the sack to pull her closer to him. "Katniss, you look exhausted," he said remorsefully.

She bowed her head with a sigh, resting her forehead against his chest and closing her eyes for a few blissful moments. "I am."

"I'm so sorry to put you through this. You would tell me if it's too much, right?"

She smiled ruefully. "Probably not. Anyways, it's not like you're better off. When you're not working on the oven, you're working on kitchen supplies with Faren or leaching" she broke off her sentence with a yawn, "- half the acorns in Panem."

"Yeah, about that, you better be careful out in the woods. There's probably a squirrel uprising in the works."

"I'd like to see them try," Katniss mumbled against his clavicle. "Having them all in one place - it would be my biggest haul ever. That's how we could fund this bakery," she chuckled.

She and Peeta parted ways shortly after, and Katniss was happy to find Prim waiting for her at home.

"Prim!" Katniss greeted affectionately. "I've been meaning to catch up with you. We always seem to be operating on different schedules."

"Mom had a house call, but that's actually why I stayed behind - I wanted to make sure I caught you in case we returned late and you were in bed," Prim said.

She undoubtedly would have been. Katniss sat down across from Prim. "What have you got there?"

Prim looked down at the drink she was nursing. "Peppermint tea. Just feeling a little under the weather tonight," she said.

"You're always so busy taking care of others, I worry you forget to take care of yourself," Katniss fretted.

"I'm fine," Prim insisted with a weary smile, "But I'm glad to have tonight free. I wanted to make sure you knew we were having a group dinner with the Hawthornes this year after the festival."

For those who were able, it was tradition in Twelve to have a special meal the night of the festival. Most didn't have the resources for anything significant, but if it was possible to serve meat, or buy a special treat for dessert, all efforts were made to do so. The festival celebrated the harvest, however paltry it may be, and the subsequent meal celebrated family.

Several times in past years, the Hawthorne and Everdeen clans had joined to share the meal. It made sense to pool their resources, and they'd all been close when Katniss and Gale were hunting partners. Last year, Katniss had been relieved when the Hawthornes supped with Leevy's family, following the announcement of Gale and Leevy's engagement. But with Prim and Rory's relationship verging on engagement, it only made sense that the Hawthornes and Everdeens would reunite for the tradition.

It would undoubtedly be awkward, given the strained relationship between she and Gale. But there was no avoiding it, as Katniss knew Prim was intent on toasting Rory. Soon enough they would truly all be family.

"I just wanted to make sure you'd be there," Prim continued. "Rory and I are going to make an announcement to everyone after the meal," she added.

Katniss raised her eyebrows. They must be ready to announce their official engagement and future toasting, then. She had been expecting this, but a bittersweet pang still caught at her heart. Prim was all grown up.

With a warm, sad smile, Katniss reached her hand out and captured Prim's. "Sounds like my Little Duck is flying off to make a nest of her own soon."

Prim's lip trembled, and though she looked overwhelmed at the prospect, she nodded in agreement. "Will you be there?"

"Of course I will."

Katniss hesitated a moment as she considered her forthcoming request. "Do you think I could bring Peeta? He doesn't have any plans with his family that I know of. It could be awkward with Gale and everything, but if it's a meal with family, I want him there."

Prim nodded. "He should come."

"If that argument with Mom proved anything, it's that I should be more upfront about Peeta. He's part of my life now," she admitted to Prim shyly. "An irreplaceable part."

Prim beamed at her. "Look at you, so insightful all of the sudden! If the Hawthornes are going to be family, they'll just have to get used to your besotted Merchant beau," she teased.

Katniss lightly swatted Prim's hand, embarrassed.

"I suppose we have something to announce as well," she mused, thinking of the bakery. "I'll get it out of the way right at the beginning of dinner, I promise it won't get in the way of your big news," Katniss assured. "There's just something that should be mentioned before it actually happens."

Prim nodded agreeably, and Katniss suppressed a yawn, her time in the forest catching up with her. "I think I'd better head to bed. You're sure you don't mind Peeta crashing the dinner?"

"No, I think I would prefer for him to be there, actually."

"I hope Mom won't be upset, like she was before. But if if that's the case, I'm sure that will all go well as soon as she hears your happy announcement," Katniss said with a smile.

And with that, she rose, dropped a kiss to the top of Prim's head, and entered the bedroom, leaving her sister in the kitchen, sipping her tea worriedly.

---

Faren was good on his word. The very next day, Katniss saw Ander helping Peeta with the finishing touches on the now-completed chimney, which was seamlessly fused with the rest of the oven. She wanted to rush over and congratulate Peeta, but she held back, not wanting to disrupt his time with his older brother.

As she approached his house the next day, however, she drew up short. There were windows now. No more cloth nailed over the gaping holes in the wall. The little structure was transformed. It looked livable and cozy, now. Like a home.

When she reached the front door, the window to her left swung open, and Peeta leaned out over the sill.

"Hello stranger," he said. "Faren and I put these in this morning, what do you think?"

"They're great," she marveled. Katniss looked at the patched roof, the reinforced chimney with cheery little puffs of smoke rising from it, and the oven that extended out from the kitchen wall. "You've got yourself a real abode now. And in a week, a real bakery."

"I sure do," he affirmed happily. "And so do you. This is all yours too, as far as I'm concerned. It would still be a shambles without your ideas and hard work."

"And you had nothing to do with it, I suppose," Katniss countered.

"Just the grunt work, mostly. Faren and Ander helped a little," he conceded with a wink. "I guess."

"I'll be sure to pass along your heartfelt appreciation to Faren when I see him next," she teased.

Peeta shook his head. "I owe him so big for this. He really pulled out all the stops, from the nails, to the kitchen supplies, to the windows, to getting Ander here for the oven. I don't know how I'm going to pay him back, but I'll do it somehow."

"Maybe he just wanted to help because he's your brother," she posited.

"Even so, he didn't have to. I don't care how long it takes, I'm going to find a way to repay him."

Katniss smiled at his words. "You sound Seam, Peeta. It's a good sign."

Peeta returned her smile, exhilarated. "This is really happening, Katniss."

She shook her head, overwhelmed. "I know. I can scarcely believe it."

"Now there's just the small matter of having actual food to sell. Since the oven's all finished, I believe I'm owed a date in the forest, to collect autumn olives."

"Well then, meet me first thing tomorrow on the other side of the fence. And bring as many buckets as you can spare from leaching," she instructed.

After she'd handed over the past two days' worth of collected acorns, Katniss walked around the side of the house to admire the outside of the new oven and chimney. The bricks had been mortared together by cob, then another thick layer of cob had been applied to the entire outside of the oven to retain heat.

Peeta must have added the outer layer that afternoon, because the cob was still wet. He had drawn designs into it, so that stylized bread loaves, muffins, and baking tools decorated the outside. Katniss picked up a stick and added some crude dandelions amongst Peeta's pictures. Stepping back, she smiled at her handiwork. Just right.

---

Katniss never failed to marvel at the abundance of autumn olives each year. The branches of the berry bushes were always laden down to the ground with berries, which made them easy to collect in bulk.

It was a beautiful day, and Katniss was quite enjoying herself. As she and Peeta bent and gathered, they popped the sweet red berries in their mouths here and there as they went.

It had been some time since they'd been in the forest together, and as their lips got redder and sweeter with with every pilfered berry, the glances they traded grew decidedly provocative.

Despite her acute awareness of him, Katniss forced herself to regroup and focus on the task before her, not the man gathering beside her. Soon she found herself settling into the repetitive task contentedly. The sun was high, a wind was teasing the branches above, and a bevy of birds were trilling around them.

Lulled by the metallic patter of berries dropping into their buckets, Katniss let her mind drift. At times like this, all was right. If only there could always be such moments. Peeta moved off to a nearby bush behind her, and she breathed in the scents of the season, at peace.

Her blissful reverie was momentarily interrupted when something small bounced off the back of her head. Katniss paused and turned around, but nothing was there. Shrugging it off, she turned back to the task at hand.

But then it happened again. Katniss turned again and ran her hand over her braid. There was nothing in her hair, and no obvious cause. Just the forest, the autumn olive bushes, and Peeta, steadily picking berries with his back to her.

There were no oak trees overhead, so it didn't seem to be falling acorns. Or ones lobbed by insurgent squirrels, Katniss thought in amusement, recalling Peeta's comment about a sciurine uprising. She returned to berry picking, but this time, her focus was on the forest behind her.

When it happened again, Katniss heard nothing. And that was the giveaway. The soft plink of berries into Peeta's bucket went strangely silent right before the third mysterious projectile had gone pinging off the back of her head. This time she didn't react.

And sure enough, in another few seconds, a poorly aimed berry went flying past her shoulder. Peeta cursed softly under his breath.

Katniss whirled around. "Peeta Mellark, are you wasting food?" she demanded, trying her best to sound highly affronted, but only barely able to stifle her laughter.

His eyes were wide and innocent. "No!" Peeta denied emphatically, as he slowly reached toward his bucket of berries.

"Peeta," Katniss warned, voice ominous, "What are you doing?"

He merely shrugged and gave a cherubic grin as he straightened back up, and the next thing she knew, she was being pelted by a barrage of autumn olives.

She yelped in indignation and took off through the thicket of bushes, Peeta following close behind.

Darting into a small gap between two large bushes, Katniss put some distance between her and her assailant. Peeta was too bulky to get through the opening without getting scratched, so he continued around the periphery of the bushes, hoping to catch her on the other side

Katniss was having none of that. She was the hunter here, which made Peeta the prey. As soon as he had continued on, Katniss popped back out from between the bushes and doubled back to their buckets, bending to scoop up a handful of berries.

She knew she shouldn't waste what they'd picked, but there was such an abundance of autumn olives, it would be easy to replenish what they'd used, and the mockingjays and other assorted forest birds would eat anything they left behind.

It felt nice to let loose. Katniss crept back to the area she suspected Peeta to be, careful not to give away her location. Being the one with the aim and the velvet tread, she had something to prove.

Sneaking up behind him, she took aim and threw a berry. It arced perfectly through the air and flicked the edge of Peeta's ear as it passed. He jumped in surprise and whirled about, but by then she was gone, circling around the other way to ambush him once more.

Sure enough, when Katniss approached from the other direction, Peeta was peering back the way she'd come before. Aiming once more, she tossed a berry projectile at his head, but when it got lodged in the waves of his hair without him realizing it, she snorted in amusement before realizing she'd just given her location away.

Katniss took off at top speed, hearing Peeta's footsteps crashing heavily behind. She scampered behind a nearby tree before he'd gotten sight of her, and once he ran past, she jumped out and flung several berries at his behind in quick succession. His face looked so shocked, Katniss dissolved instantly into helpless giggles. With her guard down, he was able to reach her with little effort.

Taking hold of her hand by the wrist and pulling her towards him, Peeta wrapped an arm around her as they both cracked up at the other's antics. Behind her back, he raised his other hand without her notice.

Katniss gasped in surprise as the she felt sticky juice from the seasonal fruit trickling down her scalp. Peeta had mashed his remaining berries into her hair, in a last, desperate attempt to win their face-off. She was more shocked than anything, and the look of mischievous pride on his face dissipated any anger she may have felt at her sticky predicament.

But she didn't stand gaping for long, because Peeta leaned forward and kissed her soundly. She wrapped herself around him in response, and their lips moved together sinuously, the retreat and advance imitating their earlier game as she savored the berry aftertaste of their kiss

Katniss raised berry-stained fingers to weave through his hair, and Peeta hauled her up against him, backing them up until she felt her back bump against the rough bark of the very tree she'd hidden behind.

Katniss was sinking further into the sensation of the kiss when Peeta pulled away. "I think we can both agree that I won that little skirmish," he said smugly.

Katniss shrugged a shoulder, eyeing his lips hungrily. "If this is what losing entails, I'm more than fine with it."

She moved forward to capture his mouth again, but Peeta shifted back and pressed on, "I think you owe me a forfeit."

Katniss arched an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Such as anything I choose." And with that he turned her in his arms, and planted her palms on the trunk of the tree behind her. "I think you shouldn't move your hands, or you'll owe me another forfeit," Peeta whispered in her ear. Her stomach gave a swoop at his tone, and her breath quickened.

Katniss was surprised by her immediate response. Normally, high-handed demands and the expectation of her obedience would raise her hackles. Instead of turning back around and giving him a piece of her mind however, she shivered as his breath stimulated the downy hair at her nape.

Leaning further in, Peeta twined his fingers with hers against the rough bark and gave the lobe of her ear a sharp nip. To her mortification, the sensation drew a surprised squeak from her. Peeta answered with a satisfied hum and soothed the tingling skin with the tip of his tongue.

His weight pressed in on her, and Katniss pushed back, melting into the planes of his body. Peeta expanded his area of focus, and her mouth fell open as his lips leisurely trailed the side of her neck. She knew he could taste the sweat on skin from running and dodging through the thicket in pursuit, but he was ardently undeterred. Peeta eased his hands around the front of her body and slid them slowly down, until his fingertips dipped just beneath the waistband of her pants.

Exhaling roughly, Katniss bent forward, pushing her hips further back into his, issuing an eager invitation. In the process, the palms of her hands lifted from the tree. With a chuckle, Peeta slipped his fingers back out of her garments, and moved his hands up to cup her breasts instead. "You have to follow the rules if you want me to continue, Katniss," Peeta whispered.

Growling and cross, she pushed her palms back against the tree trunk and waited for his hands to return to their earlier position. But they seemed in no hurry to do so.

Katniss bit her lip anxiously as she tried to keep her hands perfectly still. She was aching to whirl around, discard her clothes as quickly as possible, and latch onto Peeta. He, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content to prolong the game, pressing little kisses to the shell of her ear and lazily flicking her tightly furled nipples with his thumbs.

"I could do this forever," Peeta sighed happily, clearly taunting her. Katniss groaned, both in frustration and in response to this attentions. If he didn't touch her more, under her clothes and soon, she was going to go crazy.

After an eternity of waiting, Peeta finally drew a finger down over her stomach, and unfastened the top closure on her slacks. Katniss moaned in relief, all sense of pride gone.

He slowly undid the rest, taking care not to let his fingers brush against the skin revealed, or to apply any pressure as he worked, pulling the loosened edges of fabric out and away from her body as he went.

Once finished, Peeta hooked his arm around her pelvis and pulled her snugly against him. Katniss could immediately feel that Peeta wasn't nearly as unaffected as he acted.

The friction between them felt wonderful, but she wanted his hands on her skin. Spreading her legs further apart and bracing her feet on either side of his own, Katniss bent forward, hoping he'd accept the wordless offering. Unable to resist, Peeta slipped his hand into the opening of her pants and beneath her undergarments.

He stopped when his fingertips were just inches from where she was desperate to be touched, and Katniss trembled in anticipation. The stillness stretched several seconds, and supremely frustrated, she burst out, "Peeta! If you don't move, I swear I'll-"

But she didn't have to come up with some fearsome consequence, because he swayed closer and finally pushed a finger inside her.

Peeta heard her sharp gasp of bliss and relief at the welcome intrusion. "Like that?" he asked innocently, as if he didn't know exactly how much he'd been tormenting her. Katniss raised her head. "When we're done here, you are so dead Peeta Mellark," she menaced weakly.

"Uh-oh," he answered, clearly unconcerned. "Guess I better not stop then." And to punctuate his words, a second finger slipped in to join the first.

Her head fell forward and her eyes squeezed shut at the sensation. Having restrictions on her movement and not being in charge of the situation left Katniss feeling like she was careening out of control. It was agony not to be able to reach back and hold onto Peeta, to pull him against her and bring him with her to the fast-approaching precipice.

Peeta spread his fingers, reveling in the feel of her as his digits stroked and pressed. She was snug and wet around him, and he hadn't even brushed the bundle of nerves at her apex yet. Not willing to waste anymore time, he tucked his thumb into the valley of her flesh and grazed the nub that was nestled there.

Katniss whimpered and clamped her thighs together, desperate for more pressure. With his hand curving to reach underneath her, it felt like he cupped her whole weight in the cradle of his palm, but it wasn't enough.

He pressed his thumb firmly to the side of her clit in answer. This time, Katniss cried out, and his other hand snaked down from her breast to clasp her hip, guiding their rhythm. She arched her back, needing to feel him closer, and Peeta obligingly shifted forward to align their torsos. One hand rose and tugged on her braid, tilting her head back until his lips met her jawline.

Katniss felt herself coming undone. Peeta's uneven breaths shuddered against the sweep of her neck, and the frantic rocking of their hips was working his obvious erection against the curve of her behind. His fingers continued to delve into her, and the sound them slicking back and forth, eased by her arousal and clearly audible in the autumn air, was more than enough to send her over the edge.

Her lips opened on a silent cry, and Peeta loosened his grip on her hair to catch at her chin, drawing her mouth to his for a voracious kiss.

She pulsed against the pads of his fingers, pleasure skittering through her like electricity. Peeta continued working his fingers in her until it became too much, and she sagged bonelessly against him as her knees buckled.

As they sank to the ground together, Peeta removed his hand from her slacks. Katniss stayed kneeling for several moments, her forehead resting against the backs of her hands, palms still pressed dutifully against the rough bark of the tree trunk.

Once she'd mastered her breathing, Katniss slowly turned to Peeta and rasped out a delighted laugh. That had been amazing, and they still had all of their clothes on. "I'm going to get you back for that," she vowed.

Despite the languid torpor that was settling over her, Katniss scooted shaky limbs away from the tree and nudged Peeta to sit against the trunk. The fabric at the front of his trousers was pulled taut against his arousal, and the expression on his face made it clear that he was desperate for relief.

But turnabout was fair play, so Katniss leisurely unbuttoned his pants, primly tucking the opened fabric out of the way. Checking her progress as she went, Katniss stopped to admire the picture he presented, slumped against the tree and at her mercy, craving release at her hands.

Moving with deliberate slowness, Katniss swung her leg over him, straddling his thighs. Eager to guide her and unable to resist, Peeta raised his hands and placed them on her hips.

Katniss smiled mischievously and eased partially off him. "Now, Peeta, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that as soon as you move your hands, I stop."

His hands dropped obediently from her hips with a muttered curse, and Katniss arranged them behind his back, resting at the base of the tree he leaned against. She could tell her unhurried pace was getting to him, as his chest and abdomen rose and fell rapidly with each breath.

She lowered herself until she was seated on his thighs once more. Slowly tugging his underwear away from his erection, she took in the sight of it, weeping in readiness, flush, and straining for her touch.

Peeta groaned when she remained motionless, but the gleam in her eyes was pitiless. "I guess it's my turn now, but what's the hurry?" she teased. "Might as well savor the moment, right?" She trailed her fingers through the coarse hair at his base, and he twitched in interest.

Katniss shifted forward and kissed his lips softly. His mouth followed hers as she pulled away, but he had to fall back, panting, to keep his hands against the tree. He tried leaning in for another, but Katniss shook her head. She moistened her lips in anticipation, eyes sparkling wickedly in response. "Let's see how long we can prolong this, shall we?"

Peeta moaned in mock despair and dropped his head back against the tree trunk. His eyes fell shut as he felt a whisper-light caress move teasingly up the length of him. "I've created a monster."

Katniss crooned in agreement.

---

The next morning, Katniss presented herself at Peeta's bright and early, to help with a test batch of the cookies. When she knocked, however, there was no answer within. Furrowing her brow, she peeked in through one of the larger sections of glass in his composite window, but she didn't see him in the kitchen.

In case he slept in, she moved around to the side of the house, heading for the window that looked into his bedroom. But Peeta himself had said that beside the sleep-syrup incident, he never overslept.

There was no sign of him in his room, though she noted little katniss blooms had joined the designs doodled on the outside of the oven since she'd last seen it. Apparently Peeta had embraced the floral theme she'd begun.

When Katniss came back around to the front of the house, Peeta was walking up to his door, rubbing a hand wearily over his face. She noted his fingers were stained with a myriad of bright colors, and it looked like there were smudges of buttercream frosting on his shirt.

"Peeta!"

He whirled around at her scandalized exclamation, a look of surprise on his face. "Katniss! I wasn't expecting you this early."

"Are you cheating on your own bakery?" she asked incredulously.

His cheeks pinkened guiltily. "No! Not technically...it's just until the Harvest Festival, when our bakery opens, so…"

Katniss shook her head as she followed him inside. "That sounds like a pretty weak excuse, Mellark. What are you doing back at your parents' bakery?" She tried to tamp down on her alarm at the prospect.

"Well, when Ander was here, he was talking about how overwhelming this season has been for them. With so many couples announcing their toasting intentions at the Harvest Festival, it's common in town to celebrate with an engagement cake. Then there's all the cakes and pies ordered for the harvest meal, and the apple tarts we always sell in the square during the festival," he explained.

"We were swamped every year, and they're one person short now."

Katniss snorted. "How unfortunate. If only there had been a talented baker at hand to help them out - oh wait! There was," she said caustically.

Peeta smiled at her ire on his behalf.

"I don't think they deserve your help, but that's beside the point," she grumbled. Peeking at him out of the corner of her eye, she tried to conceal the trepidation in her voice. "Are you thinking of going back?" For so long, she'd fervently hoped that Peeta would be taken back into the fold of his family, for his own sake. But they'd both worked so hard to make a place for him here, and carve out a potential future, that the thought of him abandoning their crazy scheme left her feeling bereft.

Katniss liked having a shared goal, and being able to see the product of their joint efforts and ideas in his little home. She was excited to see what they could do together with his bakery.

"No, of course not! My parents don't even know I'm there. Dad's getting on, so Faren does the opening prep. He's lets me in when he arrives at three, and I'm gone before Dad comes down to help with the morning rush.

"I'm just decorating the special order cakes, mostly. After years of ordering their Festival cakes at Mellark's, people know how they're supposed to look. Ander is good, but I'm better, and a lot faster," Peeta explained.

"We discussed it while he was here - he'll give me some of his wages to get the cakes done, then he can get ahead on other orders. That way, he can get a good night's sleep leading up to the festival, and I get some money for our bakery." He looked pleased and proud to have found another source of income. "So if I'm cheating on our bakery, it's only out of love," he joked.

"Yikes," Katniss replied. "There's some scary logic. So you're up late husking and leaching acorns, and then you sneak out for a few hours later to ice cakes? Where's your good night's sleep? There'll be nothing left of you come festival time!"

"My restful nights went the same place as yours. I know you've been wearing yourself equally thin."

"I'm too tired to deny it," she conceded. "But why don't you get a few more hours' sleep? I'll come back and we can work on the cookies later today. I insist."

When he didn't protest, Katniss knew she'd been right to suggest it. Peeta headed to his bedroom, and Katniss decided to dart into the forest and see if she could bag anything close to the fence, so she wouldn't be gone too long.

She checked the snares closest to town. Several had been tripped, but nothing was in them, and two were broken. After bagging a few squirrels, Katniss checked her old meeting place with Gale before she headed back, to see if he'd ever found the beeswax. When Katniss arrived, she was pleased to see a little bundle of coiled wire they used in some of their snares in its place. Gale had found the wax, and left something for her as well..

Pocketing the wire, Katniss made her way back to the Seam, and to Peeta's. Letting herself in, she quietly peeked in the bedroom.

The late afternoon sun shone in dappled patches, broken by the shadows of the lead solder web holding the window together. Peeta slept atop a straw-stuffed pallet, beneath the comforter Madge had given him. His hair fanned out in slight waves on the pillow, which was an old flour sack stuffed with feathers from fowl she'd felled and plucked.

Katniss felt her heart brimming as she looked in on him, this man who was her partner in so many things, her tether to hope, her friend, and her lover. He was always ready to be more to her, to do more for her. Just the sound of his soft, deep breaths, the sight of his lips slightly ajar and his eyelashes catching the light, gave her a depth of feeling so fierce and fulsome it shook her.

Needing to move, to do something, she turned and exited the house. Another instant seeing him there and she would have crawled under the covers, tucked herself into Peeta's side, and never, never left.

Katniss walked briskly through the Seam, calmly considering her reaction. She knew with certainty what she was feeling, and with it came no apprehension, only relief. There was no going back, or pretending. It was out of her hands.

She loved him. She had wondered, and worried, and suspected, and Prim had all but called her out on it, but now she could admit it to herself. She was truly in love with Peeta Mellark.

Reaching the shelter she'd constructed for Lady, Katniss carefully hefted the window she'd brought from the concrete building into her arms, and turned right back around. She couldn't wait for the Harvest Festival to give it to him, she would do it now.

Reentering Peeta's house, she propped the window and partial frame against the kitchen table, and entered his room. Leaning down, she kissed him softly awake

With a warm hum of appreciation, Peeta opened his eyes and smiled groggily. Katniss took his hand and lead him out to the kitchen.

"I was going to save this for the day of the festival, but I want you to have it now," she said, standing aside so he could see the window. "It's from the shack by the lake, and it's for your bedroom, so you can have unobstructed light, hopefully enough for drawing or painting."

"Katniss, thank you, this is so amazing! I don't even know what to say," he lamented, but the surprise and pleasure that lit his face said it all. "I can't believe you brought this all the way here from the Lake."

"It was well worth the effort." She gazed at the window fondly. "The days I spent at the lake were the happiest of my childhood. Now some of my favorite memories are of our time there. I wanted to bring a piece of that here, to this house, because you've given me so many remarkable moments in such a short span of time."

His expression softened and he reached out to cradle her jaw with both hands. Drawing her close, Peeta tilted her head up to his, and her breath caught in anticipation for the first touch of his lips. She poured herself into the kiss as their mouths melded together, drinking in the scent and feel of Peeta until he was soaked into her senses.

When they parted, Katniss took a step back to gather herself, and Peeta moved to pick up the window, walking it into his bedroom. "Maybe I can used the composite window that's here now to cover the transom over the front door," he called from the other room. "There wasn't enough glass before, so I just boarded it up."

Katniss looked above the door, and saw the boards nailed over the opening. She hadn't noticed the space for a window there. It was a strange structure, with odd design elements and little frivolities that wouldn't normally be found on a Seam house. "Why not use the opening where the transom window was to frame a sign for your bakery?" she wondered aloud.

Peeta rejoined her in the kitchen "That makes so much sense, why didn't I think of that?"

Katniss shrugged with faux modesty. "You said yourself that I was the genius here."

Peeta began sifting regular flour and acorn flour together while Katniss began rinsing autumn olives. It seemed miraculous to Katniss that there was running water, when the house had been sitting empty and abandoned so long.

Every house in Twelve was hooked up to the district's power grid, spotty though it was, because all living spaces had to be able to receive broadcasts of the Games when constructed. But there were no power lines leading to the house, which would have been chewed to bits over the years by squirrels. That meant the power lines must be buried, unlike in the Seam. The more she thought about it, the more the house seemed like an anomaly.

But however unique their surroundings, there was something else on Katniss's mind. "Prim, my mother, and I are going to share a harvest dinner with the Hawthornes this year."

Peeta glanced over at her. "That sounds like a nice evening."

"I think Prim and Rory are going to announce their engagement," Katniss continued.

"Oh? How do you feel about that?"

She shrugged as she ran the colander, an old dented bowl with holes punched in it, back and forth under the water. "I think I'm okay with it now. I've known it's on the horizon for a long time and I've had a while to get used to the idea. I'm happy for Prim. Rory's a decent guy, and I think she's ready for it. I know it's what she wants."

Peeta nodded, pleased.

"I want you to come. To our dinner."

When he didn't immediately answer, Katniss turned off the water and looked over at him. He looked hesitant, but sorely tempted. "Are you sure? I doubt the Hawthornes would want me there. I'm fine just spending a quiet night here, Katniss."

She rolled her eyes. "I want you there, Peeta. Prim wants you there! I'm not just being nice, it's a dinner for family and loved ones, so if I'm going, you belong there, too."

There was a spark in Peeta's eyes at the possible implication of her words. "If you're sure you want me there," he breathed, "there's no way I'd refuse."

"Well, I do. Besides, we can announce the bakery, and our partnership, and the success we'll have had with the cookies earlier that day."

"Maybe I can sneak a batch of cheese buns in the oven amidst all the cookies I'll be making," Peeta mused, beginning to get excited. "If I'm officially meeting your family, I want to make a good impression."

"I'd never turn down cheese buns. But don't feel as though you have to. With the exclusion of Gale, not only will they welcome you, I know they'll love you."

Katniss knew it was time to stop keeping the people she loved separate in her life. It was in her nature to guard what mattered to her from the rest of the world. But in sheltering the people most important to her, they stayed isolated in the different corners of her life.

A log behind Peeta shifted and crackled in the fireplace and he turned, still grinning, to check the fire. The disruption was a relief to Katniss, who had been on the verge of divulging that it was impossible her family and friends wouldn't take to him, not when he'd gotten her, the most guarded of them all, to love to him dearly.

---

Quick notes: Pictures can be drawn in cob, it has a lumpy clay-like consistency. Once it dries, the images are etched into whatever was being built.

Making acorn flour requires leaching tannins from the acorns, but yields flour with a slightly nutty flavor.

Autumn olives, also known as autumn berries, are an invasive species to the east coast. They produce berries in such proliferation that branches often drag on the ground with their weight. One person can gather about 3 gallons of autumn berries in an hour during the peak part of their season. The berries are sweet and, if sources are to believed, the flavor is universally liked. They are a good source of lycopenes and antioxidants, and many things can be made with them.

If anyone is interested in my sources for this information, please message me on tumblr. I am GhtlovesThg on tumblr.