A/N: Thank you everybody for the wonderful reviews and follows and faves. Your feedback and support have been tremendously helpful. A couple of reviewers mentioned that they would prefer the chapters be longer. Honestly, I probably would, too, but I've got 2 kids, a husband with a full time job and my own full-time job (50+ hours a week). I deliberately chose a story structure that switched POVs every chapter because lends itself to conveying an increasingly complicated story while still allowing me to make frequent updates.

Also, my incredibly fantastic (and incredibly patient) betas all have school/jobs/family/lives of their own. They review my stuff in their spare time, for free. Sending them a 2500 word chapter is a lot more manageable and means a much faster turn around time than if I send them a 10,000 word document.

However, I will try to keep in mind that really, there's just no such thing as too much Everlark. :) If you have strong feelings one way or the other, let me know in the reviews or by PM.

Thank you, all of you, for reading.

PS: Betaluv: Dandelionsunset beta'd this chapter and was immensely helpful, as always. Girl, you have my gratitude and admiration. (I'm sure most of my readers know who dandelionsunset is but if you don't, please go read her in-progress AU Everlark, "Sever." It's here on this site and it shows up on a lot of "Best Everlark Fanfic" lists.)

Chapter 10—politics (Peeta's Friday)

Rye spent the entire walk home mocking Peeta in a really dumb voice. "I'll walk you home, Katniss. I'll do it, I'd looooooove to!" Peeta shoved his brother away and told him to shut up but couldn't hide his smile.

As they got closer to the bakery, though, Peeta started to worry. "What about Mother?" Rye didn't have to ask what he meant. There was no way Marigold Mellark was going to allow Peeta walk home a girl from the Seam—much less an Everdeen girl. He was going to do it, anyway, of course; Peeta kept his promises. That didn't mean Marigold couldn't make life hard for Katniss. And she'd likely come after Peeta with a rolling pin or worse.

Rye thought about it for a minute and answered, "don't say anything about it yet until I have a chance to talk to Dad." When they arrived at the bakery, Peeta changed into his work uniform. As he washed his hands at the sink, he saw Rye and their father step outside to talk. His mother was in the front of the bakery with a customer.

Peeta checked the order list and saw that a couple of cakes needed decorating for pickup the following morning. As he was pulling out the equipment, his father came over and whispered, "You can walk Katniss home but don't say anything to your mother just yet, OK?" Peeta gave a grateful smile to his dad but doubted his father's ability to sway their mother.

Farl Mellark went to the front of the bakery and announced to Marigold that the Mayor had sent for him. Mrs. Mellark started yelling questions but he hung up his apron and left out the front door. Peeta raised his eyebrows at Rye. Rye grinned at him and said, "get to work, Peet."

The first cake was for a toasting tomorrow. The couple wanted the cake to look like a big loaf of bread. Peeta thought this was really stupid. They already had an actual loaf of bread for the toasting. Why not have a beautiful cake for their guests to enjoy at the reception? But hey, if that's what they wanted…Peeta took the unfrosted, cooled cakes his father had already baked and started slicing them into the right shapes, like puzzle pieces. He lost himself in his work as he stacked the layers of cake and frosting. He had just finished sealing the cake with glaze when he heard his father call for him and Rye.

Peeta walked into the front of the bakery, followed by Rye. Mayor Undersee was standing there with Mr. Mellark. Mrs. Mellark was working behind the counter and several customers were in the store, all looking at the Mayor and whispering.

"Peeta, my boy!' boomed the Mayor. The Mayor was using his "political" voice, not his normal speaking voice. He knew he had an audience. "I need to ask you a favor, with your parents' permission, of course." The Mayor nodded his head to Mrs. Mellark, who looked both pleased and confused.

Mrs. Mellark gushed, "Oh, of course, Mayor Undersee, I'm sure whatever you need from Peeta, he'll be happy to do, won't you Peeta?" Peeta kept an expression of polite puzzlement. Everybody in the store was looking at him.

"Now, Mrs. Mellark, I'm quite sure you know that I've invited Rye and his friends to rehearse their music at my house." Peeta was quite sure she didn't know that but she wasn't going to admit it to the Mayor. She nodded her head and tried not to look surprised. "Excellent. Well, one of the band members is a friend of my daughter, Madge. And Madge is worried about this young woman walking herself home every night. She's the youngest member of the group, so she'll have to leave a little earlier than the rest of the band." Peeta glanced at Rye, who had a small smile on his face. Then Peeta understood-they needed a reason for Peeta to walk her home instead of Rye or anyone else from the band.

The Mayor continued. Peeta could tell he was on a roll. "Mrs. Mellark, I would see it as a great personal favor from the entire Mellark family if you would be so kind as to allow Peeta walk this young woman home after rehearsals? I asked your husband and he said he would be so pleased to do me this favor but he wanted to discuss it with you first. And I know that this will be something of a chore for young Peeta here but it would put Madge's mind at ease, knowing her best friend was being escorted safely home. Madge and I would be so grateful to Peeta for doing this. And let me say how thrilled I am that Rye is pursuing his interest in music. It's just the sort of thing that shows we have pride in our District. Makes us look good to the Capitol, you know."

Mrs. Mellark was beaming and it was obvious she was going to say yes. Mr. Undersee had done more than get Mrs. Mellark to agree, however. He'd also subtly implied that this might be a way to make Madge and Peeta notice each other, without actually saying anything of the sort. The Mayor had even praised Rye's career choice as somehow being good for the District. Peeta, who could be something of a smooth talker himself, sat in genuine awe at the Mayor's ability to bullshit.

"Of course, Mayor Undersee, Peeta would be happy to do this for you, won't you, Peeta?"

Peeta nodded. Woman, if you knew how happy, you'd be saying no.

Marigold continued, "And you know, we're so proud of Rye's talent. I always knew he'd make something of his music." Rye pretended to cough into his apron so nobody could see his reaction to that.

The Mayor held his hand out to Peeta and they shook hands. "Thank you so much for stepping up to the plate, young man. I know it won't be much fun for you but my Madge will be so grateful to know that Miss Everdeen is getting home safely every night." Peeta could swear the Mayor actually winked at him.

Mrs. Mellark's huge smile faltered just a bit. "Everdeen?", she said, her voice going up a couple of notches.

"Yes, yes, Katniss Everdeen," said the Mayor, who had started walking around the bakery shaking hands with all of the customers. "She's Madge's best friend, you know. Lovely girl, so responsible, taking care of her family the way she has after her father died. By the way, I'd like to purchase some cookies for Rye and his friends tonight. Madge says it's to be their first rehearsal. I do so love roots music, don't you, Mrs. Mellark?"

Mrs. Mellark was still smiling but her throat was working up and down like she's swallowed something the wrong way. "Katniss Everdeen? Isn't she…doesn't she live…I mean to say, Mayor, no disrespect, of course but…isn't she from the Seam?" Mrs. Mellark whispered the last two words like they were vulgarities you would never say in polite company.

Although the smile never left the Mayor's face, his voice was suddenly a little frosty. "Yes, Mrs. Mellark, she is. Most of my constituents are from the Seam, in fact. But Madge assures me that Miss Everdeen's home is only about a 20 or 30 minute walk from the Mayoral Mansion. Surely a strapping young man like Peeta here can handle the distance?" Mrs. Mellark nodded, unable to do much of anything else. All the warmth returned to the Mayor's voice. "Wonderful! Peeta, I will see you this evening. Now, Mrs. Mellark, how about you box up a dozen cookies for me?"

Peeta returned to the kitchen in a bit of a daze and tried to pick up where he left off with the cake. Rye was grinning from ear to ear. He came over under the pretense of helping Peeta. "That was a genius move on Dad's part, asking Mayor Undersee to help with this but I have to say—even I didn't see most of that coming. Did you see the look on her face when she learned it was Katniss? She looked like she'd choked on a dick."

Peeta shuddered at the visual. Rye cackled and went back to his own work. Peeta started mixing colors into the frosting.

Peeta had finished the first cake and started on the second one (a traditional two-tier cake with basket-weave frosting) when Mrs. Mellark came into the back and walked over to him. Peeta didn't stop his work but looked up at his mother. She looked confused, like she wasn't sure what to say. "How well do you know Madge Undersee?" she asked.

Peeta shrugged. "I sat with her at lunch a couple of days ago." He felt Rye's eyes on him. He wasn't lying but he knew that he wasn't really answering his mother's question. Still, it seemed to satisfy her. She got an ugly, calculating look on her face.

"Well, I've tried before to set you up with nice girls from town and you've always disappointed me. Try not to screw this up. I expect you to do everything you can to cultivate a relationship with Madge Undersee. Keep her little Seam pet safe and maybe she won't see how pathetic you really are." She walked off without a backward glance.

Peeta was used to the insults his mother directed at him. It stung a bit that she called him "pathetic" and so on but what really upset him was the disdain in her voice when his mother called Katniss a "Seam pet." It didn't matter that she was from the Seam. And she sure as hell wasn't anybody's pet.

Rye told Peeta what time he needed to be at the Undersee's and then left. Peeta finished his work, ate dinner and changed clothes. As he sat down to finish his homework, it hit him for the first time what the Mayor had really done for him. For the foreseeable future, he was going to be taking a 30 minute walk—alone and at night-with Katniss Everdeen.

After Peeta heard Katniss sing the Valley song when they were little, he would sometimes see the Everdeens taking walks together. He mostly watched Katniss, of course. She was usually running ahead of them or playing with Prim. But he noticed Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen, as well. How loving they were with their daughters. The way they held hands, the easy way they laughed, how their eyes shone when they looked at each other. Sometimes, Mrs. Everdeen would place her hand on Mr. Everdeen's cheek and he would press it to his face with his hand and kiss her palm.

Peeta couldn't have been any older than seven or eight but he was still old enough to recognize longing when he felt it. Young as he was, he knew that he was a grown man, he wanted what Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen had. And he wanted it with Katniss. They would shower their children with affection. She would look at him with love in her eyes. She would reach for his face and he would kiss the palm of her hand and press it to his cheek.

Now he was almost a man grown and he wanted it still, more than ever. And here he had finally been given a chance to know her and he was starting to panic. How was he going to impress a girl who once shot a lynx?

Peeta groaned to himself and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. And as he sat there with his unfinished homework, every insult his mother had ever rained down upon him-pathetic, useless, worthless, stupid, ugly-looped through his thoughts like a headache.