Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review this story, it means so much to me to know what you think.

I want to give a huge shout out to Court81981 and her fantastic super-beta skills. She wrote two lovely PiP submissions, the super cute, First Kiss and steamy Have Your Cake. Both are awesome!

Also thanks to kismet for my pretty banner.

Always a Blessing

Chapter 11

July 1955

"What are you getting tonight?" Peeta asked Katniss when they pulled into the Hob for dinner.

The night was hot and they had all the windows rolled down. "I don't know, my head is hungry, but it is really too hot to eat."

"Your head is hungry?" Peeta questioned teasingly.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about a cheeseburger and onion rings," she explained with a grin. "I don't know…I have been craving it all day."

Peeta looked at her with an odd, questioning expression on his face. Before Katniss could ask what the matter was, their waitress skated up to the car, and of course it was Glimmer. She greeted them with a forcedsmile. "Peeta, how are you this evening?"

"Katniss and I are doing well," Peeta told her pointedly.

"Oh, well what can I get for you tonight?" the vampy blonde asked.

"We'll each take a sweet tea and I'll get a Coney and French fries and Katniss will have a cheeseburger and onion rings."

"Really?" Glimmer said in a condescending voice.

"I want a chocolate milkshake too," Katniss added with a smug smile.

Glimmer's face fell some and she skated away.

"I'll share it with you," Katniss sheepishly offered. "I didn't like how she looked at me like I shouldn't be eating that stuff."

"It was a nice addition," he smiled. "I like that you always feels awkward when girls refuse to eat in front of guys."

"Well then you'll never feel awkward in front of me then, huh?"

"No, I've never been as comfortable around someone as I am you," he said, and he reached out to stroke her cheek. "I am already dreading when I go to Ohio State and I don't get to see you every day."

I am too, she thought and fought her impulse to frown.

"If I get good grades, I can be finished with my degree in as little as three years. I know that it sounds like a long time right now, but over the long run it will be nothing," he promised.

Katniss swallowed her pain and nodded. Three years is a lifetime. Three years to meet other prettier, smarter girls, and lots of time to forget me.

"I'll be home for holidays, almost a month at Christmas," he said with a twinkle in her eye. "We can pack some blankets and snuggle when we go parking."

Katniss chuckled and rolled her eyes.

Peeta suddenly surged forward and kissed her; it was tender and yet passionate. It was as if he were assuring her of something. Katniss got so swept away that she forgot that they were in a public parking lot.

"Your food is ready," Glimmer said tersely and hooked the tray on the side of Peeta's door, causing the couple to break apart.

"Oh, thank you," Peeta said cheerfully, and she skated away. When she was out of earshot, he grinned and told Katniss, "I think my favorite part about coming here, simply making her get her panties."

Despite wanting to crawl in a hole for being caught kissing in public, she had to laugh in agreement.

They ate; Katniss gobbled up all but a couple of her onion rings, and Peeta only got a couple of sips of milkshake. She apologized, "Sorry, I have been so hungry lately. I have been dreaming of junk food."

"That's fine," he grinned and finished the last of her onion rings.

"Maybe we should work that meal off?" she said with a naughty grin. She was being bold, but the earlier conversation reminded her that she wouldn't have him for too much longer and she wanted to enjoy every moment with that she could. She had to get enough of Peeta Mellark this summer to last a lifetime.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a strangled voice.

She nodded and licked her lips. Peeta called for the bill and told Glimmer to keep the change. It was probably more than she deserved but they both wanted a quick getaway.

Peeta drove them to the quiet spot that they had found weeks ago. It was risky, because it was well before dark butworth it. In no time at all they were in the back seat, drinking from each other's lips. Before they knew it, Peeta's pants were pooled at his ankle and Katniss was straddling his lap with her skirt bunched up around her waist and her panties on the floorboards.

She felt a bit of pride when she rolled the condom on him while he worked two fingers in and out of her. She let him bring her to the edge before she eased herself onto him. The look on his face as her body stretched around him was magic; she'd never really watched it before, because usually it was dark or she had her eyes closed. But now she wanted to commit everything about him to memory. Katniss couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else—there could be no settling after him.

Peeta noticed her intently staring at him. "Something wrong?"

"No, I just like looking at you," she confessed.

He smiled that radiant smile. "I like watching you too." He thrust into her a little deeper, making her mewl in pleasure. His hand drifted down between her legs and he rubbed tight circles over her little bundle of nerves. Katniss rose and fell on to his lap faster, trying to catch her high. Peeta applied a little more pressure and she moaned and contracted around him.

Peeta soon followed suit. Both of them were sweaty and panting. His hair was plastered to his face and her skin glowed with perspiration.

The night was insufferably hot, and the air was even thicker after their vigorous activity. It was far too hot to cuddle after sex, even for Peeta. They put their clothes back on and then they sat on the hood of the car and watched the twilight fade into darkness and enjoyed the cooling night air. They talked for a long while about everything and nothing. Katniss simply enjoyed the sound of his voice.

Peeta told her about how his mother had been in a tizzy ever since dinner the previous week, "Mother has been doing research to see if she can convert Lavinia."

They looked at the stars until it was time for curfew, then Peeta drove her home and kissed her goodnight. He said that he'd see her the next day and go to church with the family.

She watched him drive away from the porch and only when he was out of sight she went into the house.

Katniss always felt guilty when she came home after she and Peeta had been out parking. It wasn't that she regretted being with him, although she still felt a heaviness in her heart when she thought about how disappointed her family would be with her if they knew what she was up to.

Her parents trusted her and Peeta enough to let them go out on their own and do as they pleased. And how did Katniss respond to that trust? She took advantage of it to do immoral things with Peeta. She was so conflicted, and her head and her heart were constantly at war.

In the bathroom she took a shower to cool down and rinse the smell of Peeta off of her, so that Prim would not suspect anything. After all, Katniss had an example to set.

There was light spilling from under their joint bedroom door; Katniss winced knowing that Prim was most likely awake. Sure enough she opened the door to see her sister with her nose buried in a book.

"What are you reading tonight?"

"Sense and Sensibility," Prim shared with a tiny smile. "It is wonderful, you should read it."

Katniss had to snort; she was not much a reader, especially the girly romances like Prim adored. "You won't catch me reading princess books."

"They're not princesses," Prim informed her. "They're poor and were forced out of their house when dad died. They went from living in a huge estate to a cottage with just a couple of servants."

"They can still afford servants, so they can't be too bad off," Katniss said sarcastically.

Prim rolled her eyes and shut her book."So what did you do tonight?"

"Um, we had dinner at the Hob and then we went for a drive," Katniss lied.

"Where did you drive to?" Prim asked innocently.

"Around," she replied, trying to sound passive.

"You guys should be able to get to Indiana and back with all the driving you do." Prim's words were well meaning, but they still made Katniss cringe. She knew that they were going to have to come up with a better cover story soon.

Katniss crawled into bed and claimed her half of the sheet, "Let's get some sleep, Duck, we have church in the morning."

Prim turned off her lamp and settled into bed. They were silent for a little while; Katniss was half asleep when Prim asked, "What is it like to be in love?"

If she'd not been so sleepy Katniss would have lied to her sister, but exhaustion was a powerful truth serum.

"It's wonderful and scary all at the same time." Katniss yawned and despite the heat she wrapped an arm around Prim and held her close.

"Do you think that you're going to marry him?" Prim whispered hopefully.

Katniss's eyes few open. The pragmatist in her wanted to inform her sister that boys like Peeta do not marry girls like herself. But the loving older sister in her wanted Prim to believe in romance and fairytales for just a little longer. Prim had already suffered more than her fair share of pain and disappointment. Katniss knew that the thought of having Peeta as a brother someday made her happy and she couldn't take that glimmer of hope away from her. Life would do that soon enough.

Katniss gave her sister a diplomatic answer, "I don't know, maybe."

Prim sighed happily and promised, "You two will have the prettiest babies."

Soon Prim was sleeping but Katniss stayed awake for a long while. Her thoughts were filled with white dresses and plump, blond-haired babies that she knew would never be hers. She finally allowed herself to embrace the idea, if only for that one night. It was only a dream and it never hurt anybody to dream.

December 1955

Katniss knew that she ought to get up, but she was so comfortable in her bed that she couldn't manage it. The room was cold because of Peeta's habit of sleeping with the window open and her blankets were so warm. She went to reach for her other source of heat, her husband, but his side of the bed was empty and cool.

She blinked a few times. It's Christmas morning—he should be here. They had spent all Christmas Eve day baking and preparing food before going to the Christmas service at church. Then they visited Haymitch; he wouldn't say it but Katniss thought that he appreciated the company.

A delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen. She knew exactly where Peeta was: in the kitchen she got up and put on her robe and slippers and walked out into the living room. Much to her annoyance, there were gifts under the tree and one of the decretive stockings was full. It was a cheerful setting, and there was a warm fire crackling. When they had first seen the ramshackle little house she never could have imagined that it could be this inviting.

Haymitch finally found out about the lack of hot water and had a new hot water heater installed as an early Christmas gift. He even had his handyman put in a showerhead for Peeta. Katniss had glued the peeling wallpaper back in place. This place had become home, and there was no longer an urgency to find something better.

While she was staring the lovely tree and ruminating on their home, the kitchen door swung open and Peeta appeared, carrying a plate of something. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, I see that Santa was here," she said in a perturbed tone.

"I know, it's amazing isn't it?" he said happily. "And here I believed all those kids when they said that parents were leaving the gifts under the tree."

"Peeta, we agreed no gifts," she reminded him.

"It's not much, I promise you. I got an unexpected Christmas bonus," he said honestly. "It's just things we can use around the house and stuff I knew you needed but wouldn't buy for yourself."

Katniss shook her head. "You don't play fair."

"Next year will be all about the baby, so I wanted this Christmas to be all about you." If he'd hadn't of have spoken so sweetly, Katniss would have been able to be upset with him.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek."What did you make me for breakfast?"

"Cinnamon rolls," he announced proudly and showed her. "I was going to bring you breakfast in bed, but you got up too soon."

Katniss grabbed the confection off the plate and ate it hungrily. He laughed her as she practically inhaled it. "Taste good?"

"Delicious," she said with a full mouth and followed with a moan. She was trying to entice him, suddenly she was hungry for much more than breakfast.

"You're messy," he teased and wiped some icing from her chin. He was about to lick the sticky-sweet concoction off his own finger when Katniss surprised herself by grabbing his hand with hers. She guided it to her lips and sucked his forefinger into her mouth.

Peeta's eyes went dark as his wife licked his finger;her taste buds dragged against the ridges of his finger prints. It was not lost on Katniss, who watched his face contort in confused pleasure. Even after the last of the sugar dissolved she continued to suck on his finger.

"Katniss," he hissed, and she inhaled his finger a little deeper before letting it go.

When she looked down, she couldn't help but to notice the tented fabric of his flannel pants.

"Did you like that?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

With a look of surprise still on his face he nodded 'yes.' Before she thought about it twice, she sunk to her knees and found herself eye level with the knot of his waistband. She fumbled with the string for a moment.

"K-Katniss," he stuttered. "You don't have to do this."

"I know," she said honestly and finally loosened the string and pulled down on the material. His erection sprung free and bobbed just inches from her face. Now that she was down there she didn't really know how to go about pleasuring him like this. So she started off with what was familiar, running her fist up and down his hardened, velvety length.

Peeta groaned. She knew that he'd be would be content with her using her hand, but she thought that he deserved more. And not only that—she wanted to do it.

A bead of moisture wept from his slit. She experimentally licked it off of his skin; the taste was salty with a hint of musk. Peeta's body trembled as she traced the lines of his head with her tongue. She opened her mouth wide and took as much as him as she could take. It was a far more complicated task than she'd anticipated.

Her teeth raked his skin no matter how wide she opened her mouth. She remembered once overhearing Leevy telling Bristel to cover her teeth with her lips. It seemed to help. He threaded his fingers in her hair. Her head moved back and forth, and occasionally she'd look up at her husband's face. He watched her in wonder. After a few minutes her jaw became sore, and she reverted back stroking him with her hand.

"How am I doing?" she asked.

He got a goofy grin on his face. "Good."

She resumed her task, this time using her hand to help steady him. She felt a bit more confident, sucking on the head like she did on his finger. His breathing became uneven, and she knew judging by the sound of his groans that he was close.

Unexpectedly Peeta stilled her; she gave him a questioning look. He said and as he pulled her up, "I don't want to come like this, at least not right now."

"Then how?" she posed.

Peeta tugged and pulled her robe open and pushed it off her shoulders. He quickly unbuttoned her nightgown and added to the growing pile of clothes, along with his own. He sat her down on the couch and knelt on the floor in front of her. They kissed and explored each other's bodies with hands and mouths. They took their time. It was nice, recently their encounters had been late at night when one or both of them was exhausted, or it was quick and rushed just before Peeta left for work.

Peeta kissed a trail down her belly and brought her legs to rest on his shoulders, and scooted her rear to the edge of the couch. Katniss's body thrummed with anticipation; she'd really come to enjoy his mouth on passed his tongue over her time and time again, slowly, methodically, making her keen in pleasure,and she pushed against him.

He picked up speed and soon her body stiffened. She was a mumbling mess as she came against his mouth. He rose up and then guided himself into her. He groaned when their bodies fit flush together.

"You feel so good," he said in a low tone, and he began to move inside her. She noticed that his eyes glued to where they were joined, although her belly obscured the view from her.

"You…like to…watch…, huh?" she asked in between strokes.

His eyes met hers. "It will never get old."

She leaned up to kiss him and he held her close, though her protruding belly kept them from fitting as tightly as they used to. Peeta thrust deeper into her; the angle was fantastic, and he was able to rub something inside her that had her on the edge again.

"Please don't stop," she begged, wrapping her arms around his neck, and his hands moved to her hips to get a firmer hold on her.

"Don't let go yet," he commanded and thrust into her harder her.

She mewled into his ear, the tension built deep in her belly, and every flex of his body was euphoric. She was trying to hang on, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to for long. Peeta's motions became unmeasured and erratic, and he groaned, "Now."

Katniss fell apart in his arms, her body shuddered around him and he spilled inside her, their bodies throbbed together and they collapsed into couch.

"This is shaping up to be my favorite Christmas ever," Peeta said when he caught his breath. Katniss chuckled. "Do you want to unwrap gifts?"

The change in subject took her by surprise, "Let me put on some clothes and we can."

"Oh, you're no fun, just throw on a blanket." He took a quilt off of the back of the couch and wrapped it around her. "Maybe Santa brought you a new outfit."

Peeta, unashamed in his nudity, gathered packages from under the tree and set them in front of his wife.

"When did you get all this?" she asked in disbelief.

"Finnick and I left work early a couple of days ago," he admitted. He picked up one gift and handed it to her. "Open this one first."

She peeled back the paper and opened a box to find a new green dress. "Peeta, it is lovely."

"I'll tell Finnick you thought so, because he told me to get the pink one."

Katniss had to laugh at the thought of two grown men in the maternity section of a department store picking out clothes.

Peeta snuggled with her under the quilt and handed her box after box. He also got her a new winter coat since hers no longer fit. There were new kitchen towels, utensils, and a pot and pan set, which he confessed was also for him too.

She felt a little inadequate when she handed him his single box, which contained her sad attempt at knitting him a blue hat and scarf. She had toiled for weeks and had to unravel and restart on both at least half a dozen times and still wasn't happy with the results. But Peeta opened the box and acted as if it were the best gift he'd ever gotten and immediately put on the lopsided hat and too long scarf.

Katniss had to laugh at Peeta, naked as the day he was born except for his hat and scarf. He even went into the kitchen and got them more cinnamon rolls and glasses of milk. She couldn't remember the last time she saw him seem so carefree and happy. It was nice to see.

"Next Christmas, we'll have toys!" he proclaimed.

Katniss shook her head. "The baby won't need too much in the way of toys by next Christmas."

"Good that will be more for us!" he exclaimed. "We'll have to wait for a boy to get a train set."

"Girls can play with trains too," she complained. "I always wanted a train set and got dolls instead."

"We had one," Peeta said sadly. "Mother got mad at us boys one day because we were too loud and she broke it. She told Dad that we did it, so we never got another one."

"Oh, Peeta," she said and took his hand. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

He grimaced and told her, "Those days are over. We're going to make new memories from now on."

From outside they could hear Ripper carrying on; Peeta looked out the widow. "Damn it," he jumped up and picked up their pile of clothes and took her by the hand to help her up and lead her to the bedroom. He exclaimed, "I didn't realize it was that late."

"Peeta, who is here? Mom, Dad, and Prim won't be here until this afternoon."

"My dad. He said that he would be here at nine," he said sheepishly and pulled clothes from his drawer and hastily put them on. "I meant to tell you, but I forgot. Dad called early this morning and told me that he had some stuff for us. I got a little sidetracked."

Peeta had his shirt buttoned just in time to answer the knock at the door. By the time she looked presentable and had her hair tied back into a braid, her father-in-law was sitting in her living room.

They wished each other a Merry Christmas. It was a bit awkward; it was the first time that any of Peeta's family had been in their home. Katniss always got the impression that it wasn't so much that Henk didn't care to see them, but that he didn't want to catch grief for it later at home. It was something that she understood and abhorred all at the same time.

The men shared the most polite small talk ever. They spoke much but actually said little. Katniss finally had an insight to how they were able to function in their home. Mr. Mellark told Peeta that Al was too busy to come home and Jon was spending the day at the Undersees'.

After a while Mr. Mellark announced, "Peeta, there is something in the car for you and Katniss. Could you go into the car and get it? It is heavy and my back is sore and I don't trust myself to not drop it on the ice."

As soon as Peeta was out the door, Henk smiled. "Peeta's mother would have come, but she was feeling ill."

"You don't have to lie to me," Katniss replied matter-of-factly.

Henk gave her a pained look.

"She offered me money to leave Peeta, and she's told poor Delly Cartwright that Peeta is going to leave me as soon as the baby comes," Katniss started, and there was no malice in her voice just the truth. "I don't think that she's going to want to see me for the holidays."

"When did she try to bribe you?" he questioned.

"At the cocktail party," she said softly. "I've not told Peeta. Haymitch said that it wouldn't be worth the trouble."

He looked at her as if it weren't a surprise to him. He said, "I found out about her taking Peeta's savings too. She had too much to drink one night and she told me." The kind man looked at her and sincerely said, "I am sorry for the way that she has treated you. I am sorry for many things, but I can promise that thing will better someday."

Katniss did not know what to make of his promise. Peeta kicked the door. "I could use some help here!" She quickly got up and opened the door and saw Peeta struggling with a huge box.

"What in the world is that?" she asked.

Peeta set the heavy box downcarefully. "Dad, if this is what I think it is we can't take it."

"What do you think it is?" the older man questioned with a twinkle in his eye.

"A television," Peeta stated.

His father simply smiled. "It is yours, and it is also a late wedding gift."

"Dad, it is too much," Peeta insisted.

Henk waved him off. "No, it is hardly enough."

Peeta and his dad opened the box and sure enough, there was medium-sized console TV. They set it up on an empty wall, attached the huge bunny ears antenna, and turned it on. CBS came in clear, NBC, was a little fuzzy but still watchable, ABC was a lost cause.

"Do you have plans for later?" Henk asked. Peeta told him about the Everdeens coming over for lunch. Katniss told him that he was welcome to stay. He declined but said that he would go visit Haymitch. It was obvious that he didn't want to go home.

He smiled at them when he put on his coat. "Next year will be fun. I get to buy for children again. I am looking forward to it."

Watching Peeta walk his dad to the car, Katniss felt for her father-in-law, but she also felt that it was all of his own making. She wondered when things became so bad in the Mellark home. Was Henk always so passive or did Mrs. Mellark get worse over time?

Katniss prayed that things would never become like that between she her and Peeta.

Thanks for reading!

You can also find me on tumblr as izzysamson. On my page you can find links to all my stories, my FFF's (which I have not published on FF or Ao3), and fanart based on my fanfics, by Everlart, ackennedy7, and barenakedpeeta, who recently made some a very sweet Always a Blessing fanart.

I wrote a PiP for day 5, peach blossom. Captive of the Seam, it is up on both Ao3 and ff.

Peeta is a colonial boy kidnapped by the French and sold to the Seam Indian tribe. He has every intention of running away, but he finds himself being falling in love with one of his captors, Katniss. Will he stay or go?