All the facepaint has been scrubbed down by suds and water, a flood of orange tint spiraling clockwise down the drain. Peeta curls his fingers around the rim of the sink as his other hand continues to splash warm water into his face, his head slowly lifting up to look at himself in the mirror. He breathes heavily through his nose as his eyes skim over what is being reflected back at him.

Willow has managed to wiggle her way in and add life to a formerly dead layer in his heart. He has been warned not to spoil her too much with toys, but he realizes that the more he gives, the happier he is propelled when he sees her happy too. So a bit after dinner and watching Dora on TV, he ducks outside to his car and pulls a massive box that has been carefully hiding in his back seat. Willow is beyond elated at the Imaginarium Modern Luxury Dollhouse he carries into the living room, almost knocking off a flower vase on the sofa table. Katniss is not too happy but accepts the wet kiss that Peeta leaves on her cheek as he passes her by.

Loving her is easy so letting her go was difficult. And now that she has skidded her way back into his life, albeit kicking, screaming and flailing at first, he thinks there is no more room for mistakes. He feels terrible for not coming clean and constantly evading from telling her the complete and awful truth, and a part of him feels rotten from being selfish because he's trying to have it all. But he wants this kind of normalcy, this kind of mundane so desperately, that he would trade away everything he has for simplicity. He's starting to entertain the thought of how he is ever going to quit his hitman job in front of Cato. He is already petrified of his own plan, but he has to figure out the next step of executing it.

He turns the light off in the bathroom and finds Willow in the hallway, waiting for him. Katniss is already zonked out in the bedroom, buried in the comfort of her blanket. She tends to pass out rather quickly especially after sex. Willow clutches Pooh bear in her arms as she looks up at Peeta.

"I'm sleepy, daddy..." she tells him as she scratches her eye. He picks her up and she settles in naturally in his grasp, her head resting over his shoulder as her loose brown hair flows behind her own. The top of the stuffed toy's head is tucked tightly underneath Peeta's chin and her free arm is clinging on to a bunch of his shirt. Peeta walks through the hallway and out to the living room and swiftly grabs the vibrating phone from his pocket.

"How's my favourite trigger-happy guy, huh?" Cato blasts with an abnormal amount of enthusiasm. Peeta shuts his eyes as he starts to sway Willow back and forth, trying to lull her into slumber.

"Overly chirpy as usual," his voice is reduced to sarcasm and a tone below a whisper, pointing his mouth away from Willow as he talks. "Thresh is done, and his partner. He said you should go to hell, along with me."

Cato breaks out into a fit of brash laughter. It takes him many seconds before he simmers down.

"Oh Thresh! He was a hilarious dude, wasn't he. Sure, why not, why don't we all go," Cato says casually, and slips into a sudden silence. Peeta shifts his head to peek at Willow who has now fallen asleep, her Pooh bear detaching from her hand as it drops on the floor. Cato's voice resumes to fill in his ear. "Anyway, I wanted to extend how pleased I am that you and Gale have worked out your kinks. You two definitely have that team spirit that is quite enviable. Three years and counting!" he says, letting out a small cough. "Have I ever mentioned Cornelius Snow to you before?"

Peeta is disinterested at best. "No, you haven't."

Willow slightly shifts in his arms as her small fingers tighten their grip on him.

"Cornelius Snow is the grandfather of all the mob grandfathers. He is a free spirit, maintains multiple territories across the United States. The only reason why his empire is still functioning under the discerning eye is because of his manpower. His employees, he makes sure he treats them properly, and that they treat each other right." He smirks as he runs his hand along the steering wheel below him. There is a folder on his passenger seat that he has been reviewing prior to his phone call to Peeta. "Like one big, happy family."

"That's a great story," Peeta murmurs. He is tempted to just hang up the phone before Willow has a chance to stir.

"Where are you? I wanted to drag you and Gale out for a drink."

Peeta cringes as he stares up at the ceiling, suddenly overcome with extreme annoyance towards Cato. "I'm at home. I don't really feel like getting wasted tonight, " he tries to build up a lie. "Need to finish up an art piece."

"Of course, of course. That's fine. You continue being a creative wonder and I'll talk to you in a couple of days, prettyboy," Cato says cheerfully. "Expect a bonus in your next pay." He finally hangs up the phone. Peeta lets out a sigh as he continues to rock Willow gently, who is comfortably draped over him and slightly drooling. He keeps a smile to himself as he listens to her tiny heartbeats while she sleeps.

Cato switches his gear back on drive and the car starts to crawl slowly, passing by Peeta's car parked on Katniss' driveway. Cato almost juts his head out as he squints his eyes through the window of Katniss' house. He recognizes the back of Peeta's head, his blond hair contrasting Willow's dark locks as he maintains a small dance in the middle of the bright living room.

It's a bright and early Saturday, it's his grand studio opening later in the night, and he's feeling extra good again. He has his guitar sheltered in its case lugged across his back, one of his hands holding the strap down against his chest. He is donned in a simple gray shirt and black jeans, wearing his favourite running shoes. There is a gorgeous and rare cool breeze in the air which makes him decide to ditch the Lex parked in the underground of his highrise condominium, and venture off on a one hour walk to Katniss' humble house in the suburbs. He is almost bouncing under restrained glee as he marches on the streets of downtown, making a quick stop at a flower market to buy a dozen of red roses for Katniss. By the time he leaves the store, there is a small card attached to the stems, especially handwritten by the vendor as per his request. Something incredibly cheesy and very Peeta, like "You are the sunshine of my life".

He notices he is smiling at strangers as well. He mentally slaps himself straight before he is able to duck his head inside the bouquet to catch a whiff of the flowers. A toy store across the street catches his attention and he springs towards it without batting an eyelash, targeting a certain stuffed toy displayed behind the glass wall. He picks an Eeyore to accompany Willow's Winnie the Pooh bear.

The paper-wrapped flowers swing happily in his hand as the other holds a paper bag with the tips of Eeyore's black hair peeking out of it, earning him many looks from women strolling past him. He ignores the flirty winks and straightens the guitar hanging off his back, looking forward to another day with Katniss and the adorable little girl he subconsciously gravitates to and almost considers his own.

There are little beads of sweat by the time he reaches the Everdeen house. He's already imagining the excitement and glow on Willow's face once he offers her the new stuffed toy to add to her collection. But his heart and his feet screech to a halt by what he sees sitting on Katniss' driveway. He glares at a familiar silver Porsche that he had tried to leave a foot imprint on earlier out of anger.

He knocks on the door and did not expect Gale to open it at all. Gale is looking smug, holding up two tall glasses of orange juice. Extra pulp.

"Well, hello my pumpkin! What are you doing here?" he holds a lopsided grin on his face. He scans Peeta over, noting the flowers, the stuffed toy and the guitar on his back.

"What are you doing here, I thought you were planning to take out Willow next week, like you said during our ops," Peeta looks confused and suddenly borderline furious, gathering will to stop himself from kicking him in the balls.

"I've been thinking about it, and I thought, why not give it a good head start?" Gale leans back into the open door to give Peeta a good view through the glass door to the backyard. Katniss is sitting cross-legged on a patch of grass, blowing bubbles into the air while Willow is shrieking with joy, encircling her as she chases little bubbles. "I brought in lots of bubbly fun for today. We're also making cookies. Oh and we're painting outside later. Willow has this paint set thing she's been meaning to show me."

Peeta is speechless, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. He trumps down the desire to shove Gale out of the way and join Katniss and Willow in the backyard.

"I want to talk to Katniss for a bit," he demands. He doesn't ask Gale if he could, because he thinks Gale doesn't deserve any entitlement in Katniss' house. Peeta begins to move through the door but Gale reclaims his position in the middle of the doorway, his face falling serious.

"She's very busy right now. Maybe you can drop by later in the day. You know, sing her a serenade or two?" Gale gestures at his guitar. "I didn't know you had a romantic bone in you, Mellark. You continue to surprise me!"

Peeta runs out of words as they stare each other down, gauging each other's reactions and trying to predict the next one as well. He peers around Gale and notices that Katniss has disappeared further out into the backyard beyond what he could see, and Willow pops out, materializing behind the glass door and trying to slide it open.

"Okay pumpkin. I got my hands full. Can you close the door behind you please?" Gale asks Peeta, urging him to leave, his hands still wrapped around the orange juice. "You were right. I should've been spending time with my daughter. Thanks, bro."

Peeta feels bushwhacked and takes in shallow breaths, his lips slightly parted at a thought. He finds himself in a confused trance as his emotions continually lift and crash at him, disabling him to move either forward or back. He curses inwardly, feeling like he's invading a private, family moment, and he's the unwanted outsider. And realizes he's always been. And that's all he is, much to his chagrin.

Gale stops waiting for any type of response from Peeta and finally turns around, walking through the living room and into the kitchen, placing the glasses on the edge of the counter. He acknowledges Willow behind the glass door, whose eyes widen as she spots Peeta standing outside the front door. Her gaze is fixed intently on him, blinking slowly as Gale slides the glass door open to let her in but he bends down to pick her up, preventing her from charging towards Peeta.

It all unfolds in front of Peeta, the way Willow's arms wrap around Gale's neck as she grabs a small handful of his hair. She does not utter a word, but her eyes speak volumes across the room, trying to read Peeta and figure out this situation she suddenly finds herself in, overall baffled. The normally chatty and upbeat Willow is suppressed to silence, and doesn't detach her gray eyes from him as Gale leads her away and passes through the glass door, vanishing into the backyard.

Five street corners out of range from Katniss' house, he claims a dusty chunk of the sidewalk curb, oblivious to his legs outstretched and shoes planted on the road. He ignores the looks people throw at him from inside their cars as they zoom past him, trying to avoid driving over his feet. He broods like a champ, curled inwards as he languidly blows smoke out of his mouth. He brings his hand up again and inserts the cigarette between his lips. The flowers and stuffed toy are arranged in a neat line beside him as the forgotten guitar sticks out tall from behind his back.

Even the sound of a rolling car pulling up beside him doesn't instigate him to lift his head and look up from his simmering sulk session. Cinna angles his head as he considers the miserable pile of bones and dormant gunpowder that is Peeta Mellark.

"Jeebus, dude. You look like that one person in a lottery group who decided not to chip money in the lottery pool for a week, and that group ended up winning the lottery," Cinna pauses, as if trying to make him understand. "...You know, except that person."

After a very long consideration, Peeta finally begins to budge on the sidewalk. Usually when he feels lonely, he just spends time at the pier off of Rincon Road and watches the seagulls frolic over the water and with each other. That afternoon, he feels especially in tatters, quick-dialing Cinna and blurts out to him that he is injured on a random sidewalk. Cinna arrives about fifteen minutes later, disconcerted and genuinely concerned. Peeta squints up at his friend, and for a second it seems like he doesn't even recognize him.

"Thanks, dude," Peeta mutters, taking another long drag of cigarette. He lifts his cell phone up and sees Katniss' picture flashing on the screen. "I totally get it." He snorts at his phone and returns it back in the depths of his pocket.

"Get in the car before someone runs you over," Cinna warns him. "You know, I think sometimes you're asking for it, Peeta."

"Did you ever get that wrong," he says calmly with a faint Texan accent, flicking out the cigarette butt into the street. "I ask for nothing."

He feels like being stubborn and difficult so he completely ignores Katniss' calls and refuses to hear the messages she has left. Cinna drives him back to the belly of downtown area, not quite ready to kick Peeta back out into the streets.

"Alright. Spill it. Girl problems?" Cinna asks, glancing at the lovely items in the back seat of his car. He starts to shake his head. "Haymitch is going to be so disappointed in you."

"Cinna...sometimes do you ever wonder what your life is all about, and how you ever got to this point in time? Do you ever question your choices, and dig back and ask yourself, out of the millions of choices you've made in your lifetime, which one branches out that leads you to the right path? And there is only one right one. And what if you missed it, and it's already too late?" He dips his head low and studies the lines of his palms. "What if everything that is supposed to be yours, they're already taken away from you? Leaving you in limbo, going in circles around yourself because you can't quite find it."

Cinna is dumbstruck by the amount and depth of words, glaring at him and is hit with a realization that he doesn't quite know how to handle the weight of Peeta's pensive side. "Peeta, my bro. I love you as a buddy, old pal. But do I look like Oprah to you?"

Peeta chuckles as he looks away and out the window. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I don't know where I'm going. It's exhausting to wander aimlessly." He glances back at Cinna and he is taken aback by the visible, crushing defeat in Peeta's eyes.

"Look, Peet. There are things in life you just don't have a say over, no matter how hard you flip your middle finger to the world. Rehashing and analyzing every single sequence and events in your life will drive you insane. So do youself a favour, and don't. Just breathe and live. The mere fact that you can breathe; that's a gift in itself."

Peeta's phone starts ringing again, flinching as he sees an old familiar face flashing on the screen. Before he has time to process what his hand is doing, his finger actually presses the answer button and lifts the phone to his ear.

"Hi baby," she greets him, sounding cool like ice and sweet like candy cane. Peeta brings a hand up to massage a side of his temple.

"Glimmer. What's up?" he asks, and he could almost feel her grinning on the other line.

"Nothing much. I passed by our favourite French restaurant earlier and I thought of you," she pauses as she shifts in her bed. Her boyfriend is currently in the bathroom taking his time in the shower.

"Careful. Your boyfriend might appear behind me and club me in the head."

When she laughs into the phone, she sounds like light bells ringing. "You're so silly. I don't know Peeta..." she ponders, hugging a pillow and turns to lie on her stomach. "He's not you."

Lucky bastard, Peeta thinks to himself. His hand is now running up and down his face in fatigue. "Glimmer, you wouldn't want your man doing this exact same thing to you behind your back, would you?" Peeta tries to make a point, being a good Samaritan. He doesn't care to know who her recent boyfriend is. But he hears through the grapevine that she's gallivanting around town and switches boyfriends as frequent as she buys shoes.

She scoffs quietly. "I miss you. And that's all," and she hangs up the phone.

She jerks suddenly as the bathroom door swings open at her right. Cato steps out, six foot tall, bare naked in all his glory and drying his blond hair with a towel.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone," he says as he throws the towel on her carpeted floor. She shakes her head as she searches for the remote control and turns the TV on.

"You're so silly. Come here and watch The Notebook with me."

Hours later, at about five pm, Cinna begins to drag Peeta out of his seat in a pub across his condo and supports him as he attempts to lift and interchange legs while he walks. Balance is not Peeta's friend right now. Cinna almost wants to slap him blind.

"Dude! You have a studio to open in a couple of hours!" he panics comically. He now needs more than two hands to count the times he has babysat an intoxicated Peeta. "You're smashed, man!"

"Isn't that how you're supposed to open...those things?"

"Too much swag, bro. Tone down the swag."

"Bread. Feed me bread," Peeta grumbles like a mad man, spitting out his demand to temporarily ease his inebriation.

"Yeah, yeah, bread eh? Wouldn't you want some bread right now," Cinna heaves as he struggles to keep him standing upright. "Doesn't your millionaire of a family own a Panera here? We should raid their freakin' pantry, considering the rate you're going down."

Peeta finally settles in the passenger seat of Cinna's car, Cinna feeling a tinge of accomplishment. He thinks it's a hard feat dealing with Peeta when he's being a radiant mess of complication. He holds a hand up as he tries to ask Cinna for a last request.

"Can we drive to Katniss' place? I won't take long. Just have to do something..." he trails, his blue eyes pleading. Cinna nods and accepts his slurred directions as he drives out of downtown.

Eeyore and the flowers have found their way back into Peeta's grasp as he leaves his guitar in the backseat of the car this time. He treads down Katniss' pathway with more composure and grace. And much to his dismay, Gale's car is still there, feeling his heart drop some more. He sneaks quietly to the bench and peeks in through the window, and sees Gale playing with Willow around the dollhouse that he gave her. Katniss is sitting down beside him, drinking a glass of wine. Peeta mentally calculates the space between them and concludes how far Gale should really distance away from her.

It happens all too quickly and he is engulfed in a stream of superfluous visuals triggered by his imagination. A barrage of unnecessary thoughts flood him, flashes of Katniss squirming and panting heavily and screaming Gale's name as he moves above her and into her. Peeta squeezes his eyes shut as he moulds himself into the bench, hugging the gifts close to him and suddenly having a flashback of when Katniss brought him there and pushed him down in the same bench so she can fix his wound one night. He concentrates and almost prays to the almighty to give him a break.

He stands up after a mind-bending decision and leaves the flower and the bag of stuffed toy behind on the wooden seat, and glances through the window one last time before he continues his ongoing battle with symmetry and wobbles back to Cinna's car. In the living room, and out of nowhere, Katniss suddenly springs around and looks back at the door.

Gale notices the distracted look on her face and smiles at her. But she doesn't return it.

The vibe in the Mellark Art Studio is royally pompous and heavy with sophistication. The height of the room stretches about nine feet, and the walls wide and pearl white, bordered by black stripes and other hints of black throughout the extent of the gallery. A magnificent, crystal chandelier boasts in the middle of the ceiling over a wide empty floor space below, hanging and sparkling in its splendour. The classical music of Mozart faintly fills the air as servers walk around with plates of hors d'oeuvres. Coconut shrimp beignets with pepper jelly sauce, beluga lentil caviar on blini, and edible spoon with mandarin orange beef tenderloin to name a few.

Peeta's artworks are framed in aged gold, varying in sizes but not categorized in any fashion. The guests have started to fill in at seven sharp, in their glamorous dresses and suits, but he is tucked away in the back room and has no idea quite yet what to do with himself and his life in general. He lounges in his ridiculously expensive William Fioravanti Bespoke suit, now clean-shaven, amazingly sober and playing with his black tie. He smells like Ungaro III and looks like a depressed model on the front cover of a GQ magazine. Cinna rocks his Valentino, leaning against a wall and has his arms crossed in front of him.

Peeta looks longingly at his phone and finally picks it up on the table. His face is unreadable as he listens to Katniss' first voicemail, out of three. Cinna starts to pace back and forth, and peers behind the wall that separates them from the main gallery. Peeta doesn't bother to hear the rest of her messages and drops the phone back on the table.

"She said she's not coming," he says sadly with a pout on his lips, then looks up at Cinna who is now bending his legs to squat just to have an eye-to-eye contact with Peeta.

"Fine. She's not here. But you know who made it here? Your friend Marvel and Haymitch. All your supporters and buyers, they're all here for you Peeta," Cinna tells him patiently. "Let's get this show on the road."

Peeta has a renewed sense of determination and courage as he leaves his tie alone, brushes back his gelled hair and emerges from the chair. He treads behind Cinna as he leads him away from the back room and out into the open.

As soon as Peeta steps into the gallery, a huge spotlight almost blinds him as a roar of applause catches him unaware. He blinks against the light and squints through, his lips stretching to a charming smile and waves at everybody's appreciative looks. The applause has not stopped as he clasps his hands together and takes a bow, three times to each corner of the room. He repeats his gratitude multiple times, and starts greeting guests with a firm handshake.

It takes about an hour until the affluent visitors feel settled in and comfortable, milling about and have nothing but praises and raves as they observe Peeta's fascinating and dramatic art on the walls. He has received plenty of offers on three of his paintings. Champagne glasses are now making their rounds among the crowd, and more hors d'oeuvres are being pushed out of the kitchenette.

Peeta ducks out of a small group of seniors and finds his friends, encircling the mini-bar situated near the lounge area which is decked by magenta walls and a Swarovski centre piece in the middle of the table. He receives a hard slap in the back as a greeting from Marvel. Haymitch lifts his champagne glass at Peeta and nods, offering him a smile. Cinna turns around and orders an extra drink as soon as he sees him trying to join them whilst the many people who are vying for his attention. Peeta is elated and can't help but feel fuzzy inside. He almost wants to pull his friends into a big group hug.

Suddenly, the crowd parts like the red sea as a new presence graces the studio floors. Annie Cresta and her posse, consisting of Cashmere, Clove and Enobaria float across the space, exuding grace, vintage beauty and class. They all have wine glasses in one hand as the other holds their sparkling clutch bags. Annie is not looking at anyone but Peeta.

Haymitch, Marvel and Cinna's mouths hang open as they reflexively step back while she pushes her way into the circle, her friends hovering inches behind. She moves too close to Peeta as she reaches for him and leaves a kiss on his cheek, and proceeds to nod at his friends. He greets her and the rest of her group, and does all the formal introduction in between.

Annie's hair is straight and jet-black, lips as red as cherry stain. Her eyes are smoky brown and her dress long and red and elegant. Marvel is struck by how extremely attracted he is to her, and so is Haymitch, and also Cinna. Peeta lifts the glass to his lips as he takes a slow sip of champagne, oblivious to everything.

"This studio is amazing, Peeta. You've done well. I love your works," Annie coos.

"Thanks! I worked hard for this," Peeta answers and gestures around the room. "Nice to see the fruits of my labour in an organized chaos. Normally they're just scattered across my condo."

Annie laughs, followed by girly giggles courtesy of her friends towering behind, standing around her like mannequin guards.

"Might as well build a studio for all of them, right?" Annie sounds awkward, but she figures she probably sounds charming because she's pretty.

Peeta nods and accepts a random handshake from a newly-arrived guest who is attempting to squeeze in between his friends' shoulders. He thanks the guest for coming and tells him to enjoy the food and drinks. Haymitch suddenly walks into the middle of the circle and right in front of Peeta, lifting his glassful of alcohol as he recites a cheer. The whole studio falls eerily silent.

"To Peeta, and his accomplishments. To his modesty, his talents, to his superb jawline," Haymitch waggles his eyebrow as he talks a volume above the normal chatter in the room. Peeta smiles and shakes his head, his eyes shooting down the floor. Haymitch continues. "To his successes and future endeavours. To Peeta. Cheers."

Champagne glasses are raised high as everyone responds to Haymitch' salute to the main man of the night.

After the good vibes mellow down, Annie sidles up next to Peeta and has a sheepish look on her face.

"Actually, I was thinking of getting you to do a portrait of me," she sounds like silk and other heavenly things, not loud at all but enough for the inner circle to hear. She locks eyes with him and notices he is still being defiant from her pull, as if there is a brick wall between them. It makes her even more interested and agitated at the same time.

"Oh. Ok," he pauses as he places his empty glass on a server's full tray. "You can pick whichever setting you want. Garden, by the water, by a graffiti-laden wall in the city, anywhere."

"I'll need a place that is closed off, because I will have nothing on."

Marvel spits out the bit of alcohol he has been playing with inside his mouth as Cinna coughs. Haymitch looks like he's about to faint. Peeta's eyebrows furrow in the slightest at her, not knowing how to react to this request he has never received before. He starts to fidget, his vision suddenly dropping down to her popping cleavage.

"I uhh...like in Titanic?" Peeta asks like an idiot.

"Yes! Exactly like in Titanic," her eyes are almost trying to seduce his. He is now wincing at the diamonds dangling from her left ear.

Words and wits fail him. "...Are you sure? ...There's a botanical garden nearby, it's really nice, I've had a client ask me to paint her there."

He is distracted by Marvel poking at his side.

"'It's really nice'? Dude, if you were offered a rib eye steak and a filet mignon, which one do you choose?" Marvel is glaring at him and talking in a whisper, almost tearing his hair apart.

"I don't know, they're both cut of steaks?" Peeta whispers back.

"Dude! You pick the filet mignon!" Marvel almost feels the urge to facewash him.

As if he is not being poked and bothered enough, Cinna yanks at his sleeve. He then points at someone far off across the room, standing and looking lost in the middle of the animated bodily activities.

"Sorry to interrupt this little party, but isn't that-"

"Katniss!" Peeta almost jumps and ditches the circle, a naked vision of Annie now a mere afterthought.

On the other side, Katniss stops from searching far and wide and looks relieved at the sight of him approaching her, all suited up, handsome and achingly happy. She adjusts the glasses perched on her nose, smiling from ear to ear.

"You're here," he exclaims as he reaches her, but keeps a healthy distance apart. She is wearing black slacks and a simple flowery top, and on her feet are her favourite ballerina shoes.

"I found the flowers you left on the bench. Thank you. And Willow loves her new toy," she pauses and tries to search for something in his eyes. "She was looking for you." A part of her wants to demand an explanation as to where he was during the day but she disallows it.

"...Sorry. Got caught up with something today."

"I left you messages," a look of hurt quickly crosses her expression before she shrugs it off. She starts to explain. "Did you know Gale came over my house today? I had the hardest time kicking him out. He left when I finally went to my mom to drop Willow off, and then I didn't have enough time to dress up." She looks down on herself and almost blushes from embarrassment. "Sorry I'm extremely under dressed." She darts looks at the curvaceous, captivating women walking around and monitoring Peeta from afar.

His hand finds her upper arm and wraps his fingers around it, but he looks unsure and doesn't draw her near. He is very much surprised that she has shown up and he can't get over it.

"I think you still look beautiful," he smiles as he extends his other arm, tucking away a strand of her hair behind her ear. But his fingers linger there, indulging in the simple feel of her skin, until he is slowly pulling her closer. He sweeps over her and peppers her with light kisses, gentle and slow, as if she was fragile. And when he moves away, her eyes are twinkling in enchantment.

He allocates time to show her around the gallery, pointing at his most popular works and also introducing her to some of his sponsors and regular buyers. They rest for a while and eat fancy finger food in another lounge area that is remote from the bustling core of the gallery.

After Katniss downs her white wine, he takes her hand as he begins to walk to the middle of the floor where his friends are. She feels small under scrutinizing eyes, criticizing her appearance and lack of glitz. She inwardly curses at herself for wearing her glasses and not her contact lenses. They reach the circle and Peeta introduces her to the boys, even the disgruntled Annie.

"Hey I remember you," Marvel declares, and then refrains from making any reference to the strip joint.

"Nice to finally meet you. Peeta talks a lot about you guys," she says, completely ignoring the dirty looks Annie is throwing at her left right and centre. "I'll tell Peeta to have your game night over at my place one day. I make a mean smoothie."

"...Hmmm...how do you resist CoD AND smoothie at the same time..." Marvel turns around but Peeta is long gone from his side, disappearing into the crowd. Marvel chuckles as he switches his gaze back to Katniss. She lets out a small laugh as she grabs another glass of wine off a server. Over the buzz of other people's conversations, she could pick out Annie's friends blatantly talking about her, not bothering to conceal it.

"...What a peasant. Which bus shelter did Peeta pick this one up?..." Clove mocks her. Annie, Cashmere and Enobaria break into a shrilling laughter as they all stare down Katniss.

"Some people should just keep their dignity and stay away from places where they don't fit in so they don't make a fool of themselves," Annie adds more ridicule, looking at her friends to support her.

Katniss hides the humiliation she feels, keeps her head up, turns around and walks away. Haymitch and Cinna fall agape at Annie and her group with a visible sense of disapproval and repulsion. Marvel takes a deep breath and dares to talk back to Annie.

"Hey guess what? That 'peasant' is Peeta's girlfriend," he says as a matter of fact. "Some people, like you, should keep their dignity and stop trying."

Some say love is not for sinners
I believe that isn't true
'Cause when I was finished sinning
Love came down and showed me you

And you told me how to get there
So I tried to find a way
Then I ran into your garden
But I tripped out the gate

-Hedley

A/N: Thanks for the support! Reviews are my energy shots :)