It's the end! Thanks a million to Thynerdgurl for her beta time. Not so long AN at the end.
Katniss closed her computer with a sigh. She was already late with the essays she had to look at, but Prim's e-mails were always a nice distraction from everything.
"There's someone for you at the door." her mom said, ready to leave "I'll be back in the morning, call me if you need anything."
Katniss nodded and lifted herself out of the bed. She put on her old Panthers hoodie and made her way to the living room. She heard her mom leave and sighed with relieved. Tonight she would have noodle soup and then she would watch a crappy movie on the TV.
Her plans crumbled when she saw Peeta standing in her living room.
He looked taller and broader, his hair was longer than she remembered and golden stubble covered his jaw. He looked really tired.
"Hi." she said, dum-founded. He looked at her and nodded, not trusting his voice. They were still drinking each other in, she looked tiny in the oversized hoodie and her hair was not in its usual braid, but loose on her back. Her right temple and a small part of her jaw were dotted with little burns and tiny scars, as if glass had found its way into her skin. Peeta shivered at the thought.
"The labs exploded and you were there." he said, his voice still scratchy. Katniss cringed but nodded.
"When did you get back?" She asked when the silence was unbearable. Peeta took a step forward.
"A few hours ago, I'm leaving in a few hours too. I had to see if you were okay, with my own eyes." he said, looking at her intensely, his voice breaking a bit. He cleared his throat. She gulped and nodded.
"Thank you Peeta, for taking all that trouble." she whispered, feeling tears on the back of her throat. He nodded, still looking at her, as if she would vanish from sight , as if fire would consume her right there on the spot.
"You were on the hospital. Prim said you almost died." his voice faltered a bit again and he took another step forward. Katniss looked at the floor and nodded.
"Yeah, my lungs were bad but my arm and the right side of my body got the worse part." she said and Peeta noticed that from the long sleeves of her hoodie he could see the white bandage.
"I'm glad you didn't die." Peeta said, feeling like a fool for saying the most inappropriate words. But there were also his more sincere. Katniss smiled and nodded, still not believing that he was there, standing in her living room, after five years.
"I was on a trip. I left for almost three months and they couldn't find me, I should have come sooner." he said after another silence, feeling the need to tell her. She smiled a bit and nodded.
"It's okay Peeta." she said. He nodded.
"I should go." he whispered. He looked at her one last time and turned around opening the door.
"I was right." she blurted and he turned around again to look at her with a confused face. His hand still on the ajar door "I mean, when we broke up. You became an artist and you travelled the world. You did great things and I'm sure that you will keep doing them."
Her words were soft and a small smile was dancing on her lips and he knew she didn't regret the decision she took all those years ago. She still wanted what was best for him and he had to recognize she was right. He was an artist, he had traveled the world, he had done what he wanted to do in less than four years and maybe she was right, maybe if he would have something to tied him down, he wouldn't have done what he had accomplish.
But she wasn't with him at the end of the day.
"Katniss..." he said, but was interrupted by a knock on the door and the feel of it being opened.
Thom stood there with a brown bag and a confused face.
"Hey Peeta." he said, his voice grave. He looked at Katniss and lifted the bag "I brought the noodle soup. Should I go to get some more?" he asked, looking very uncomfortable.
Peeta cleared his throat and shook his head quickly.
"No Thom, I'm leaving. I just stopped by to say hello to Katniss, I'm leaving in a couple of hours." he said quickly, stepping outside "It was good to see you Katniss." he said to Katniss and she smiled sadly. Peeta clapped Thom on the back
"Good to see you too, man."
And just like that, he was out of her life again. He almost ran to his dad's car and drove to the bakery, but he had to stop in the middle of the way, because the tears were blurring his vision in a dangerous way.
Peeta arrived at his department after a warm greeting from Flavius, the doorman.
His loft had the kitchen, the living room and the dining room downstairs, along with his study, which took all over the place. It was full of canvases, jars with brushes, pencils and a big table for drawing. The walls were blue and in some parts he had painted clouds.
He climbed the stairs to his bedroom and plopped himself down the bed, sighing. He closed his eyes and luckily sleep took over.
Two days after his arrival, he was drawing the last frame from his cartoon to send to the newspaper. He had spent the entire day hunched over the drawing table. It was a comic about an orange cat, Zap and a little girl Pat; it was very simple. It had started as a doodle but an important newspaper owner had seen it and his daughter loved it, so Peeta from day to night was a cartoonist.
He stretched and took his glasses, looking at his cartoon when the bell rang.
"Surprise!" the voice of Annie, Finnick and Johanna made him smile.
"It's pizza and Scrabble time, Blondie." Johanna yelled and Peeta laughed
"Come on up." he said and in a few minutes his three friends were knocking on his door.
"Hey Peet." Annie said and hugged and kissed his cheek tenderly. Johanna patted his head with a hand, while the other shook the Scrabble box. Finnick was carrying two pizza boxes and butthead him on the shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Annie asked, eyeing him with worry and Peeta smiled tiredly.
"Yes, Annie, I'm fine." he answered, happy to have them in this moment.
Finnick was pulling plates and glasses and in no time they were eating.
"So she's dating now." Finnick said, chewing his pizza and Peeta nodded, swallowing his bite.
"Brainless." Johanna said with a grimace and Peeta, after years still had the need to defend her.
"She's not brainless Johanna, it's not like we were dating. I just wanted to see her and I arrived when Thom brought her noodle soup." he said, tiredly.
"But it doesn't mean that there are dating." Annie said, trying to cheer him up.
"Prim mentioned they dated so…" he said, shrugging and Johanna shook her head.
"Peet, you should try to get over her. We've been a million time over this, you both are in a different place, so maybe you…" Peeta cut her off.
"I know Johanna, I know, I just can't. I tried, okay? I dated, I had one night stands, I even traveled for months, but she's…she's everywhere. It's like there's a tiny Katniss Everdeen that lives inside of my brain that keeps telling me that there's no way in hell I'm going to get over her." he yelled and Finnick, Annie and Johanna looked at him with a pained expression.
"Sorry." he said and Annie patted his hand.
"It's okay Peet, Finnick would be the same way if I would break up with him." she said and Finnick eyes opened wide.
"Are you trying to say something?" he asked.
"No, silly, just trying to cheer up a friend." she said, kissing Finnick on the lips lightly.
Peeta and Johanna laughed and luckily Katniss' topic was dropped.
They started playing Scrabble after the pizzas. It was a silly tradition that had stuck with them when they finished college. Twice a month they would gather to play a not so friendly Scrabble match.
"Fellythone it's not a word Finn." Johanna yelled at Finnick and he snorted.
"Shut up, sapito." he said, smirking.
"It's a Spanish word." she yelled and Peeta and Annie roared with laughter.
The doorbell rang again and Peeta stood up to pick up.
"Yes?" he asked, trying to listen over the laughter and Finnick and Johanna bickering.
"Hi Peeta, is Flavius, there's a girl for you downstairs." he said.
"Oh, yeah, I'll be downstairs in a minute." he said
"I have to go downstairs for a minute to hand this." he yelled over the noise and Annie nodded. Finnick and Johanna were arguing over the word.
He put on a sweatshirt and grabbed the painting.
When the elevator's door opened he shivered when the cold air hit his legs. He was with running shorts, because the heat on his house was always bad regulated and most of the time the place felt like an oven from the bakery.
He searched for the newspaper lady but he froze and not because of the cold.
Katniss was looking at the painting he had given to the building when he had moved. Flavius saw Peeta's demeanor changed and cleared his throat.
Katniss turned around and her eyes fell on Peeta. She was wearing a green woolen hat and her cheeks were red from the cold. Her black coat was dusted with a bit of snow. Her hair was loose on her back and part of the hat and scarf covered the scars on her jaw.
"Hi." she said, looking at him with a small smile. He stood with his mouth open, probably feeling the same way Katniss felt when she saw him standing on her house.
"Peeta." a high pitch voice called him and he shook his head, watching Effie Trinket, Plutarch secretary walked into the lobby. He walked towards the door.
"Hi." he greeted Katniss "Could you wait for me, please?" he asked and she nodded.
"Effie, hi." he said. Her blonde hair perfectly curly and she was dressed like a pink bubblegum.
"Dear, Plutarch sent me to fetch the paintings." she said, eyeing Katniss with a raised eyebrow. Peeta blushed and handed it to Effie. She looked at him and then at Katniss.
"Umm, yeah, Effie, this is Katniss." he introduced them, avoiding to put on a label on the link he had with Katniss.
"A pleasure." Katniss said politely, shaking Effie's hand.
"Dear, your face is familiar…you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. And that skin, what cream do you use?" Effie said and Katniss looked alarmed.
"Uhmm, nothing, no creams." she said and moved the hat a bit lower to hide her scars. Effie narrowed her eyes.
"Peeta, isn't she…" Effie asked but Peeta cut her quickly.
"Yep. Anything else Effie? Sorry to be rude, but I'm freezing." he motioned to his legs full of goose bumps and his feet covered with only ankle socks. Effie shook his head.
"No dear." she said and after kissing Katniss and Peeta with two kisses in each cheek she left.
"I'm sorry I came uninvited, but I wanted to talk to you." she said, when Effie left and Peeta opened his mouth to speak.
"Let's go upstairs, I'm with some friends." he said, shivering.
"Oh, I don't want to intrude, I can stop by tomorrow." she said taking a step back "I'm staying with Prim, so…" but Peeta shook his head.
"Come on up." he said, smiling, his teeth clashing from the cold. "I'm freezing, please." he asked again smiling and Katniss nodded, not so sure, and they stepped on the elevator. And the ride to the twelfth floor was one of the most awkward that Peeta had to bear. He could only hear Katniss taking off her gloves, the scarf and the gloves.
He opened the door and let Katniss stepped in. A heavy silence fell on the room and Katniss blushed.
"Guys, she's Katniss, Katniss, meet Finn, Annie and Jo." he introduced them. The three of them were looking at Katniss with a shocked expression but luckily Annie was the first one to react.
"Hi Katniss." she said, standing up. She hugged her quickly and smiled at her "It's so nice to finally get to know you." she said and Katniss smiled. Finnick stood up and shook Katniss hand with a smile.
"Hey Katniss, so you're real, I always thought that Peet had made up that beautiful girl from the painting." he said, chuckling. Katniss frowned and Annie elbowed him on the ribs.
"It's nice to meet you too Annie, Finnick." Katniss said, blushing under Johanna stare.
Peeta looked for a chair and put right next to his.
"Be nice." he whispered to Johanna.
"Here, let me get your things." he offered and Katniss gave him her backpack and her coat, along with the hat and the scarf. She was wearing a red homemade sweater and her cheeks were still red. She sat with her hand folded in her lap.
"So, you're Katniss." Johanna said with a stony stare.
"And you must be Johanna." Katniss answered, nodding a bit. She felt Johanna's eyes on her temple and she shifted nervously on her chair.
"Yeah." Johanna said. Peeta left Katniss' things on the couch and joined them again.
"Do you want some pizza? I could reheat you a slice if you want." he asked Katniss but she shook her head.
"No, that's okay." she said, trying to ignore the fact that she was being studied as if she was a three headed puppy by Johanna.
"What brings you here?" Annie asked curiously.
"I came for a visit. My sister Prim is in Med School, so just visits." she answered looking at Peeta briefly before looked at Annie again.
"How long are you staying?" Finnick asked, while Peeta rearranged the board to play.
"Just a few days." Katniss answered, feeling Peeta's warm body next to hers.
"You play, right?" he asked and Katniss nodded, smiling a bit, glad that her interrogation had ended.
At first it was tense and Johanna wrote a few offensive words towards Katniss but luckily Finnick and Annie managed to save the situation.
"Queue." Katniss said, putting the letters and the rest groaned. She smiled broadly and Peeta whistled, patting her on her shoulder.
"Well done Everdeen, well done." he said, smiling and Katniss looked at him, smiling as well.
"Well, that was unexpected." Johanna said, stretching "I guess that's how you play, you're quiet but you strike when nobody expects it."
The room felt quiet and Katniss shifted on her seat nervously.
"Jo." Annie said in a warning tone, looking at her.
"What? I was making a comment about her Scrabble techniques." Johanna said, looking at Katniss "she moves slowly, she looks, she strikes, even if it is a bit of a dirty play."
Katniss looked at her with a quiet expression and shrugged a bit.
"This isn't about Scrabble anymore, right?" whispered Finnick in Annie's ear and she nodded.
"I'm sorry if you don't like the way I play Scrabble." Katniss said, breathing heavily.
"As a matter of fact, I think I hate the way you play Scrabble. You had a great letter and you wasted on a short word, even if you won, you wasted it." Johanna yelled.
"I did what I thought it was the best." Katniss yelled as well.
"Please, stop, stop it now." Peeta yelled too, standing up. They all looked at him. It was weird to hear Peeta Mellark's raised voice. He looked at Johanna, angry and she shrugged.
"I think we should go." Annie said, putting the letters on the bag. Finnick nodded, but Katniss rose quickly.
"No, please, I should go. I came here, I didn't know I would interrupt you." she said, her hands shaking. Finnick rose as well and patted Katniss on the shoulder.
"Don't worry Katniss, we have to go anyway." he said, smiling. Peeta was still looking at Johanna with a stony expression.
They gathered their things quickly and left. Annie and Finnick hugged Katniss, telling her that they would love to see her again with a wink. Johanna left without a word.
"I'm sorry Peeta, I had no right to came here, and I should have told you, that I was coming, but Prim…" Katniss said very quickly as soon as Peeta closed the door, but he held a hand to stop her and shook his head.
"Please, stop." he said, putting the pizza boxes on the trash can. He was tense, she could see that. Katniss helped him in silence, swallowing the tears that wanted to come out.
"Why are you here?" Peeta asked when the table was clear. Katniss had her hands clasped together.
"I want to talk to you. You left so quickly that the next day when I went to the bakery your dad said that you had already left." she explained and Peeta nodded but the words didn't come and he raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer, but her cell phone rang. She stood up and picked it up from the couch.
"Hey Little Duck." he heard her soft voice and smiled at Prim's nickname. Her back was to him and he couldn't help to looked at her. She looked beautiful with her sweater on.
"Oh…but Prim." her voice sounded annoyed. He was surprised when Katniss gave him the cell phone.
"Prim, hello!" he said and Prim's happy voice greeted him from the other side.
"Hey Peeta, listen, my roommate Rue had a surprise visit from her little sisters and we don't have much space." Peeta smiled at Prim's words "I'm sorry, but could you have Katniss?"
"Of course Prim, not a problem." he said and after a few words he hung up. Katniss was blushing.
"My little sister finesse is a bit rough around the edges." Katniss said, waving at the cell phone over the table and Peeta chuckled, shaking his head.
"It seems that everything is playing just like she wanted." Peeta said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Tea?" he offered after the silence and Katniss nodded. Peeta filled the kettle and he could see from the corner of his eyes at Katniss looking at him. He smiled and Katniss looked at her hands.
"I'm sorry about the tense moment with Johanna, she's kind of protective." he said, taking two cups.
"It's okay, I understand." she said, shrugging. Peeta turned around again to grab the tea. The silence was awkward and he absolutely hated it.
"Listen, I'm sorry that I left in such a rush. But I just needed to see you." he said, with his back still to her, waiting for the water to boil.
"It's okay, it was so sudden that I couldn't even begin to think what to say to you." she said in a whisper. The kettle whistled and Peeta poured the water into the cups.
"Here you go." he said, handing her the cup and the sugar bowl. She added two spoonfuls.
"Still no sugar in your tea?" she asked smiling and Peeta smiled back, nodding. A silence fell between them again while they zipped theirs teas.
"I traveled for four months and when I arrived I had 15 messages from my dad, Prim and Delly. The last one it was from Prim and she said you were no longer on a coma and when I looked at the date…Almost four months had passed." he ran a hand through his face and looked at Katniss.
"And I just lost it. I called Prim and asked what happened and she explained and just took the first train home." he looked tired. Katniss sighed and looked at him and tried to speak a few times.
"How did it happen?" Peeta asked, carefully. Katniss took a deep breath and looked at her cup between her hands.
"The lab's burners and needle valves were old. Mrs. Purnia asked several times to replace them, but the budget wouldn't allow it, so we always left the windows open." Katniss sighed and took a strand of hair behind her ear "but one of the main pipes that supplies all the burners wasn't closed properly. Can you imagine it? During the entire weekend the gas was leaking and the window was closed. I closed it on Friday because I was cold. And when I arrived on Monday I couldn't smell anything because I had a cold and my nose was stuffy and I can't remember what happened next. All I know is that I saved my eyes because I covered them with my arm." her voice was thick with tears. She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head.
"So, somebody made a shitty lag and I had a stuffy nose. Shit happens I guess." she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. Peeta's eyes were wet, but there were no tears.
"I'm so sorry." he said with a thick voice, feeling powerless, feeling the need to hug this girl that had been wrapped in fire and never let her go.
Katniss looked at him and Peeta smiled weakly at her. He grabbed her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze and let go of it quickly.
He scratched the stubble on his chin and Katniss smiled sheepishly, looking at the table.
"Maybe we can call it a night?" he suggested and Katniss nodded.
"I don't have any clothes." she said, blushing a bit and Peeta stood up.
"Don't worry, I had a few things, you'll sleep in my bed." he said, climbing the stairs noisily.
"No! Please I'll take the couch." she said, hearing the drawers being opened and closed. He climbed down the stairs and handed her a pair of flannel pants and an old Panthers t-shirt.
"Don't you even try to tell me that again! You'll have my bed and end of the story" he said, stubbornly. Katniss opened her mouth but he lifts his index finger at her with a frown. Katniss smiled shyly.
"I bought a toothbrush today, I have to change mine, but use it." he said, leading her upstairs. She entered the bathroom to change while Peeta changed the sheets.
Katniss stepped out the bathroom, the clothes swimming on her petite body and Peeta's air left his lungs. He coughed a bit and showed the bed with his hand to Katniss.
"So, here it is the bed, with pillows…ummh, it's quite easy to use." he said, blushing and Katniss laughed.
"Yeah, that's what they say about beds and pillows." she said, lying down. Peeta looked at her arm full of scars while she tucked herself in the bed.
"Okay, if you need anything I'll downstairs." he said, leaving.
"Thanks Peeta." she called and Peeta nodded.
He knew that sleep would be impossible that night. He still couldn't believe that Katniss was sleeping on his bed. He tossed and turned on the couch, but it was no use.
Finally, he lost the battle against the couch. He looked at his room, where Katniss was sleeping. He sighed and walked slowly to the stairs.
He climbed the steps slowly, trying to be quiet. He stepped into the room and he saw her with her back to him, he took two small steps and she turned around. It was dark, everything was tainted with the night's blue light, but he could still see her.
She looked at him with a small frown and a ghost of a smile and slowly, she raised the covers. He took the invitation without a second thought.
She was there, with him. He hugged her and she placed her head on his chest, sighing. He ran a hand though her hair. He closed his eyes freezing the moment.
Without a word, they fell asleep within minutes.
He was on his back, sleeping. His right hand was under the pillow and the other was over his eyes, trying to block the soft light from the window's curtain he had forgotten to close last night. He sighed with his eyes still closed and then he heard a giggle. He frowned and the previous night events came rushing to his mind.
He opened his eyes slowly and found Katniss sitting cross legged reading one of his books that gather all of his cartoons. She giggled again and he smiled.
"Hey." he said and Katniss jumped a bit. She closed the book and smiled sheepishly.
"Hello." she answered back, looking at him. Her hair was loose and his t-shirt was so big on her that it shown a bit of her naked shoulder. She lift the book and smiled "You're funny" she said, smiling. Peeta chuckled and turned on his back first, he stretched and then he lay on his side to face her.
"Not really. Those are really silly jokes." he said, his voice still raspy from sleep. The clock next to her said it was 8 in the morning.
"Well, the joke about Oliva, the olive and the James Bond's martini was pretty good." she said, laughing a bit. Peeta laughed at her laugh and shrugged.
"If you say so." he said, yawning.
"Can I see that book?" she asked shyly, pointing at a big book over the dresser at the end of the bed. It was a book that Johanna had given him that gathered all of his paintings. Peeta cleared his throat and nodded, feeling a bit nervous. Katniss was about to see all of his works and somehow that showed more of him that anything else.
He heard the bed's soft noise, Katniss footsteps and then the bed sank a bit when Katniss returned. He looked at her face every time she turned the pages, but the warm bed and Katniss' presence lulled him to sleep again. When he closed his eyes, Katniss was staring at the double page that had a meadow full of dandelions.
"Are you okay?" Peeta asked when he saw her eyes fill with tears. She nodded and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She coughed a few times and cleared her throat.
"When I left ICU I had to lay on my left, because my right side and part of my back were still healing. On the room's wall there was this painting, it was a meadow full of dandelions and on the right corner, above, was your signature. Just Peeta. With a line underneath the name. Simple. I stared at the painting for hours and sometimes at night when I couldn't sleep I would tuned on the light to look at it." she said, smiling sadly at the memory. Peeta hoisted himself up, leaned on his elbow and took her hand.
"I'm glad I could help, even if I wasn't there." he said running his thumb over the burned skin on her hand.
"Does it hurt?" he asked in a whisper and Katniss shook her head.
"Not anymore. It's all scar tissue now, so I don't have feeling." she said. Peeta lift his hand hesitantly and placed on her arm, brushing it slowly. Katniss was looking at him with her brow knitted in concentration.
"I was so scared to lose you." he said, shaking his head, looking at her arm. Katniss placed a hand over his and Peeta looked at her. She smiled at him and he leaned his forehead over their joined hands.
Katniss ran her hand over his hair slowly and Peeta sighed contently.
"I'm okay now." Katniss said and Peeta lift his head, smiling. His eyes were a bit moist and Katniss took the sheet and dried them with a small smile. Peeta laughed, running a hand through his eyes.
"Sorry." he said sheepishly and cleared his throat "I'll take a shower and I'll make us some breakfast, sounds good to you?" he asked, stretching and Katniss nodded.
A few minutes later Peeta was walking down the stairs and saw Katniss looking through his drawing table, smiling at his glasses on her hand.
"Hey." he said, running a hand through his head. Katniss jumped and left the glasses quickly on the desk, blushing. She was wearing a green t-shirt and her jeans. She was barefoot and Peeta felt his stomach clench in a familiar way when he thought about the intimate of the scene.
"You wear glasses." she said and Peeta laughed, nodding.
"I'm not getting any younger." he said smiling. Katniss chuckled and pointed at a Tupperware on the table.
"Mrs. Venia came by when you were showering. She said she missed you and she hopes you enjoy this." she said and Peeta chuckled and took the recipient from her hands.
"She always gives me a bit of this. It is pumpkin pie, it is really good." he said, opening the fridge. He put the Tupper and took the milk, the strawberry jam and the butter out off the fridge and began prepping breakfast.
"Can I ask you something?" Katniss' voice took him from his task. She was looking at him and he smiled.
"Shoot." he said, putting the bread on the toaster.
"Why did Finnick and now Mrs. Venia called me the girl from the painting?" Peeta froze and turned around slowly. He placed the kettle on the stove and ran a hand through his hair.
"Promise that you won't freak out." he asked and Katniss frowned.
"I always freak out." she said and Peeta chuckled.
"Well, when I won the scholarship I submitted I painting with your face…well your shoulder and your profile and now you must think I'm a total freak." he said, blushing. He turned around and took the toasted bread and poured the teas into the cups. Katniss laughed sheepishly.
"I don't think that you're a freak." Katniss said softly. Peeta placed the cups on the table and Katniss grabbed the cups.
"I was kind of still getting over you, so all of my teenage angst was poured into that painting." he said and Katniss chuckled. They sat across from each other on the table's sides.
"I would like to see it." she said, adding milk on her tea. Peeta shook his head, smiling.
"Really?" he said and Katniss nodded, smiling.
"Of course, I want to know why I'm the girl on the painting." she said and Peeta shrugged, smiling.
"Maybe we could go to the gallery later." he said and Katniss froze.
"It's in a gallery?" she asked, holding her cup in midair and Peeta nodded.
"Cinna bought it." he explained and gave her a toast with butter and jam. She took with a soft thank you. She bit it and moaned.
"This is really good." she said and Peeta smiled.
"I made it, the jam I mean." he said beaming and Katniss laughed at the image of Peeta stirring a big pan of strawberries.
"Well, congrats to you Mellark." she said and Peeta smiled, looking at her and how her body shook with laughter. Peeta zipped his tea and looked at her.
He wanted this. He wanted to be in her life again, he wanted to have breakfast with her every day, he wanted everything with her, but he still didn't know why Katniss was in his apartment, he didn't know why she had travel all those miles, leaving Thom in District 12. Sweet Heavens, Katniss Everdeen could be an impossible riddle. Frustration beat him with force. He had forgotten about Katniss dating Thom.
When she finished the toast he cleared his throat and Katniss looked at him smiling.
"Thanks for breakfast and everything." Katniss said and Peeta shook his head. A silence fell between them and Peeta rose from his chair and cleared his throat again, scratching the stubble on his chin. Katniss looked at her cup, sighing.
"Listen Katniss, I need to know why you are here, I don't know if Thom knows you're here…" he said, his heart pounding noisily on his ears and Katniss lift her head.
"What about Thom? Of course he knows I'm here." she said, frowning. Peeta sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't know what kind of relationship you have with Thom, but I doubt it that he would like that his girlfriend…" he said and Katniss rose from her chair, breathing heavily.
"Thom broke up with me a year ago." she said, narrowing her eyes and her voice cracked a bit "I'm here because I wanted to see you; I'm here because I'm trying to gather enough courage to ask you a second chance Peeta, that's why I'm here." she practically yelled at him.
Peeta looked at her with his mouth open. Katniss was there, asking for a second chance and yet he couldn't say a word.
"I get it, I was the one that broke everything, but I don't regret it because you became everything that you wanted since you were a child." she said, looking at her hands.
"You took that decision without asking me." Peeta said walking back and forth through his kitchen "You have no idea Katniss, how much it hurt."
"Do you think it was easy for me?" she asked and Peeta sighed in frustration.
"Katniss, I'm not saying it was easy for any of us." he said, holding the back of a chair "You know I tried to hate you, because you were right. Perhaps I would have never applied for the scholarship and perhaps things wouldn't have turned out the way they did, but we would have been together and that's was important to me."
Katniss sighed and sat down again.
"You have no idea how many times I wanted to call you to try to take back my words, you were always on my mind and everything reminded me of you. Every little thing. I was a mess, all I did was work and study, Prim and my mom were worried, even Haymitch talked to me." she chuckled. Peeta smiled, shaking his head.
"What about Thom?" he asked, failing miserably at trying to not sound jealous. Katniss sighed and looked at him.
"We worked together at school. And when he heard that we had broken up he kept his distance for exactly nine months." she laughed at the memory "He said that if in that time a life could be developed then a break up could be get over with, so nine months after I broke up with you he started to talk to me and eventually we dated." she explained.
"And why did you break up?" Peeta asked and Katniss blushed.
"He asked to move in with him and I just couldn't." she said and Peeta nodded and the question that was burning him slide from his mouth.
"Did you love him?" he asked and he tried to mask the pain when she nodded.
"Yes. But I couldn't give him what he wanted." she answered. Peeta nodded and sat down again. His head felt heavy with information and it was too much. He dropped his head to the table, sighing.
"Maybe we could take a walk, I could take to the gallery." he said, his voice muffled by the table.
"Okay." Katniss agreed and Peeta jumped from his chair, hoping that the cold air would help to clear his mind. Katniss seem to understand this too. She was quiet though the entire walk, while Peeta walked at her side, throwing stolen glances he though she couldn't see.
"Peeta." a soft voice greeted him when he opened the gallery door. Cinna was walking towards them. He was really tall, his gold eyeliner stood up on his dark brown skin. He was wearing black jeans and a dark blue woolen sweater. He was really handsome and Katniss blushed a bit at his gaze.
"You're back." he said shaking Peeta's hand.
"Yeah, thanks for the recommendations by the way, they were great" Peeta said smiling and turned to Katniss, taking of his woolen hat "Cinna, she's…"
"Katniss." Cinna finished and shook Katniss' hand. Katniss frowned; she didn't remember introduced herself. Cinna laughed "You're the girl in the painting."
"So they said." Katniss nodded, blushing and Cinna smiled.
"How did you feel when you saw yourself in that painting?" Cinna asked, smiling and Peeta blushed.
"She's going to see it now." Peeta said, scratching his chin. Cinna looked amazed but hid it gracefully.
"Well, go ahead then." he said, smiling and winking at Katniss. She smiled back timidly.
Peeta leaded Katniss though the gallery, stopping to look some of the painting on the walls so Katniss could ask him about the author or the date or the story behind the painting. She would listen eagerly, her eyes never leaving the world that was framed and hanging on the wall.
"And here it is why they call you the girl on the painting." Peeta said and Katniss looked at her portrait, because it was her, that was no denying, but that girl looked beautiful.
She was looking over her naked shoulder, but her eyes were closed and she had a small smile on her lips, as if she knew some secret or something. The light felt perfectly on her smooth skin and a braid could barely be seen over her other shoulder. She looked beautiful and Katniss felt tears on her eyes.
"That's how you used to see me?" she asked, looking at the painting
"Yes. I still do Katniss." he answered shoving his hands on his coat pockets.
"I'm not that girl anymore, the fire changed me." she said and a tear fell on her cheek. Peeta felt a lump on his throat. He took her hand and she squeezed it, crying silently. She turned around and his arms hugged her tightly. She hid her face on his neck, sobbing.
"I'm sorry Peeta, I'm so sorry for hurting you." she said with a thick voice, looking at him. "I thought it was for the best…" he shook his head. He would not have this conversation again. He grabbed his scarf and just like she had done that morning, he wiped her tears away.
"Did you mean that? I mean about the second chance." he asked and Katniss nodded.
"Yes." she said, looking at him on the eyes. Peeta smiled and kissed her slow and tenderly on the lips.
"You know, it will be harder for you to get rid of me this time." Peeta teased, leaning his forehead on her and Katniss chuckled.
"I'm not going anywhere Peeta." she said whit such sincerity that Peeta felt could swear his heart would burst from happiness.
And he hugged her, feeling that now, things where on their right place.
"Good." he said, smiling happily. Katniss smiled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, smiling sheepishly. He kissed her temple.
They walked away from the painting, holding each other hands.
That night she stayed with him. The next day she called Prim and told her that she would be staying with Peeta and a week after she called her mom to ask her if she could send her a bag with most of her clothes.
When Peeta moved back to District 12 to take over the bakery he asked her to move in with him and of course she said yes.
They had a beautiful and quiet life and they were together which is what really matters, that's what Peeta always mumbled before bed, enveloping her in his strong arms and she would smiled because she felt safe, she was with him and she was staying with him. Always.
So, this was my first story in English, thanks to those that stay and review and favorited and followed, it means a lot to me, really.
Points to your house if you can point two quotes from two movies :)
I'm writing another THG story non AU kinda.
If you want to, leave a review, I would love to know what are your thoughts on this.
Until next time
Mari :)