A/N- Sorry it's been so long. Getting back to work and getting the kids back onto a schedule is more time consuming than the vacation was :) Hopefully I will be able to write more now though.

PPOV

So Katniss' idea of telling Effie to start letting everyone she knows what happened gets around really quick. She starts with the prep team and they let it 'slip' to Greasy Sae the morning they all leave. Just like wildfire, everyone in the Hob knows what Gale did within a day of that, as well as the customers who frequent it. When I go into town to the bakery, my brothers ask me if it's true. When I tell them yes, they both offer to take care of it, no questions asked.

"I already did, kind of. He was still drunk when I saw him. We have a plan, don't worry about it." I tell them nonchalantly.

"You're going to send him into that arena, aren't you?" My mother asks, coming out from the back. "I didn't think you had it in you, Peeta, to be honest."

"He hurt Katniss and that's all that matters to me. Whatever happens to him once we're in is all on him." I tell her. She's never liked Katniss, even now with all the money she has.

I hear her mumble under her breath, "She probably asked for it."

"Mother! You can't really mean that! No woman ever deserves that, I don't care what you think of her, I love her and that is all that should matter!" Her face pales, but she nods and leaves again.

"You're going back in too?" My brother, Barric, asks once she's gone. "Both of you?"

"Between the three of us, we could only choose one person who deserves to go in, so Katniss and I are going in again." I shrug my shoulders as I tell them this, pulling some cheese buns out from behind the counter. "I didn't bake today, so I'm just going to take a few for lunch."

Barric nods solemnly and I give him the money. He grabs my hand suddenly and shakes it. "You're a better man than you know, Peeta."

I nod at him and shake his hand back. I walk out with my brown paper bag and go home to Katniss. When I get there, I find her in the backyard, skinning a rabbit.

"You went hunting?" I ask her, staying far enough away while she works with the knife.

"Hardly, this one was right by the fence. I figured why go in if we had dinner right there. I probably will go tomorrow though. I need to get practice in." She has no idea how little she needs it, she's so good at hunting already.

"Speaking of practice, I had a thought." She puts the knife down and turns to me. She's wearing one of my aprons and the strings are wrapped around three times because of how small her waist is. Not in a bad way, in that womanly shape way.

"Yeah, what were you thinking?"

"Well, we know how hard it's probably going to be in there already, so I was thinking that maybe this time around, we could train?" I play with the bag in my hands. "Like the careers, they train their whole lives before they get called in. We could get ourselves strong for it, weightlifting, running, you can teach me how to shoot an arrow. Basic stuff really."

She ponders this and turns back to the rabbit. Two seconds later, she turns back around and says, "I could teach you how to shoot, but I don't know that I could teach you how to be quiet in the woods. Maybe if we get you new shoes, lighter ones?"

I nod my head; I remember how annoyed she was with me when we were hunting in the first Games. I had no idea I was so loud until she pointed it out to me. "I'll go back into town, want to come with me?"

"Sure, let me finish this up and get it in the fridge. What's in the bag?" She asks as she turns back to her task.

"Cheese buns, I didn't bake this morning and I know how much you like them." I see her hand stop moving and know she's smiling even though she's facing away from me. "I'll go put them inside and wait for you in the painting room."

As I walk away, she yells, "I love you, Peeta Mellark!" And then it's me smiling as I walk into our house.

I'm just finishing up a painting I had started a few days ago when Katniss comes in. She wraps her hands around my middle, trying not to get in the way of my arms. She puts her chin on my shoulder, looking at what I'm painting.

"Wow, Peeta, you never cease to amaze me with the way you paint the sky over the forest and mountains. I love how you use the colors." She says her breath hot against my neck.

I shrug, "It's just the sky. Sunset is my favorite time of day, but it can look so different depending on what's happening."

"Well, it's looks beautiful all the same." She kisses my neck. "Are you ready to go?"

I step back, feeling her step back with me and look at my new painting. I nod and reply, "Yeah, let me wash my hands and then we can go."

She lets me go and I pull together all my brushes and paint tablet. Going into the bathroom across the hall, I rinse everything and put them on a well worn towel to dry and wash my hands. Katniss is waiting in the kitchen, picking at a cheese bun. I smile at her and she smiles right back. She seems to be in a much better mood since Effie got her 'rumor' out. I grab her hand and we walk out the door towards town.

As we're walking, I bring Katniss' hand up to my mouth and kiss the back of it. "You seem like you're doing much better."

"You know, I thought I'd be embarrassed by what happened once Effie got it around, but everyone that I've run into keeps telling me what a jerk Gale is and how they wouldn't blame me at all if I send him into the arena. There have also been a few women, who have told me that they've been raped too, not by him or anything, just other men who've done it. I didn't realize how often it happens." She says in a rush. I never did tell her about the girl my brothers knew. She stops walking, effectively making me stop and when I look at her, her face is sad but there's a small smile on her lips as well. "I don't think I ever thanked you for doing what you did."

I pull her into my arms and whisper, "You never had to, he deserves whatever happens to him. It should never have happened anyway."

She hugs me back and I feel her lips on my neck, "I love you Peeta and no matter what happens in that arena, always know that."

We just stand there, in the middle of the road between Victor's Village and the town. A few people pass us by, but no one says anything, or not that I hear anyway. After a few minutes, she's pulls back and we begin our way to the shoe store to find me some lighter leather boots.