"I've always loved scuba diving and the cell-tickling feel of being underwater, though it poses unique frustrations. Alone, but with others, you may share the same sights and feelings, but you can't communicate well." - Diane Ackerman
Peeta's eyes raked over the woods as he stumbled his way after Katniss. He had been surprised when she asked him to go with her that morning and even more surprised when she mentioned bringing something to swim in. Peeta hadn't gone out into the woods surrounding District 12 with Katniss before. Since they had gotten back, it had been a Katniss-only thing, which Peeta thought came out of the fact that it had always been a Katniss and Gale thing. It didn't anger him so much as it slightly annoyed him, but he was confused as to why now, of all times, Katniss had pulled him into the forest.
Katniss didn't appear surprised at Peeta's slow pace through the underbrush, and Peeta's memories of their first games came to his mind. He pushed aside the shiny ones to focus on the ones that he knew were real: Katniss's slight annoyance with his footsteps, but her willingness to put up with it. The annoyance seemed gone, perhaps because there was no longer a threat or because he at least had a prosthetic leg now as an excuse.
They had been hiking for quite a while, and Peeta had watched as the light filtering through the tree tops shifted as the sun moved through the sky. He was starting to get the hang of missing the branches and other debris that he had regularly stumbled over at the start of their walk.
Peeta had finally managed to set a pace that put him directly behind Katniss, and she didn't seem to be going slower for his benefit. Her feet were lighter than his. While Peeta's footsteps rustled through the brush, Katniss's were as silent as always, and while Peeta needed to watch the forest floor closely for possible trip ups, Katniss seemed to maneuver across it without a thought. Peeta wondered how many years it took to develop that ability or if Katniss had just been born with it. Watching her made it difficult to believe anything but the later. So absorbed with watching Katniss was Peeta, that he stumbled several times more than he probably would have otherwise.
Even as walking became easier, Peeta was thankful when Katniss announced they had reached their destination. The June heat was causing him to sweat profusely, even with the sun being largely blocked out by the trees. The heat seemed to increase as Katniss led him beyond the tree line to a clearing that opened up to a lake. It was more or less what Peeta had expected from the mentions of swimming, but he took in the lake with curiosity.
Peeta really didn't have much experience with large bodies of water or swimming, but he knew the lake would feel cooler than the air around him, which made it difficult for Peeta to hold back from immediately jumping in and drenching his clothes.
When Peeta finally turned away from the lake to look at her, Peeta saw Katniss was watching him closely to see his reaction. He smiled at her. "This place is incredible," he said.
She nodded as she turned away and wandered to the muddy bank. Peeta followed as she sat down and began untying her boots.
"My dad used to bring me here," she told him as she continued undressing to the bathing suit she had worn underneath. "It's where I learned to swim. I don't come out her much because it's so far out, but I decided it would be nice for today, and I didn't want to come all the way out here alone."
"I'm glad you brought me," he assured her. He laid his hand on hers briefly before turning his attention back to his own shoes that were halfway untied.
Katniss worked fast and was already waist deep in the water by the time Peeta was down to the swim trunks he had bought for their trip to District 4. He stepped in hesitantly, flexing the toes of his real foot as he felt the mud beneath them. It was an odd sensation that he wasn't used to. He remembered seeing many of the Seam kids run around barefoot during the summers, more because they could than because they didn't have shoes, but Peeta's mother and many of the others in the town had seen it as unsanitary. Peeta had always wanted to know how it felt to run so freely and actually feel the ground beneath your feet, and now this mud under the water was an even greater experience. It felt pleasant in a way that Peeta hadn't expected, as if he was connecting to nature in a way he hadn't before. It was an embarrassing feeling that many would scoff at, especially in the Capitol.
Peeta laughed lightly as he wandered farther in and cherished the feeling of the cool water splashing against more of his skin. Katniss was watching him with a slight smile as he finally reached her where the water came up to her chin and right under his shoulder.
"It feels nice," Peeta commented pointlessly.
Katniss smiled again as she moved slightly farther out and began treading water. Peeta watched her with his feet firmly planted in the shifting mud below, wishing he was capable of following after her.
"Come on," Katniss urged. "You can do it. All you have to do is move your arms and legs to keep your head above water. It's almost instinctual."
Peeta was doubtful, but with Katniss sounding so confident in him, he stepped forward. He had to go out farther than Katniss before his feet would no longer scrape the bottom, and Katniss followed after him. Peeta felt the water shift around him from Katniss's movements, and he could tell that her limbs were moving rapidly in order to hold her head up.
Peeta pushed off from the muddy bottom and began moving his limbs in an attempt at mimicking Katniss. He felt jerkier than Katniss, and his head almost went under. He kept going though, and eventually, he thought he was starting to get the the hang of it. He lasted less than a minute, even as Katniss continued to bob about. His feet finally made contact with the mud again, and Peeta let out a sigh of relief. Muscles he hadn't even known existed were aching. He struggled to take deep breaths as the water pressed into his abdomen. Peeta pushed forward towards the bank, hoping that getting rid of the pressure would help him breathe. His legs wobbled as he walked.
Eventually, Peeta was able to sink down to sit on the lake bed. The water now lapped across his legs and hit low on his stomach. Peeta looked up at Katniss wading towards him and watched as she sat beside him, the water coming up a bit higher on her stomach. The material of her conservative bathing suit was clinging to her tightly now, and Peeta averted his eyes as he felt a slight heat in his abdomen.
Peeta looked out towards the sun that was now nearing its highest point in the sky. Soon they would need to get out the food that they had packed along with them, but it could wait for now.
"How often do you come out here then?" Peeta asked, breaking the silence they had been in.
"Not often. This is only the second time since I got back to District 12."
"And before that?"
"Not often then either."
"You and Gale didn't spend a lot of time out here then?"
Katniss sighed, and Peeta thought he would have seen her roll her eyes if she had been facing him. He had to admit that Gale Hawthorne had been on his mind a lot more since their trip to District 4 the month before. His preoccupation with Katniss's former best friend hadn't gone unnoticed by Katniss, even though his name was never actually spoken.
"I brought Gale here once before the Quarter Quell. It was the only time he was here. We didn't even swim."
"You never brought him here before that?"
Katniss shook her head. "I always saw it as my dad's spot. I didn't feel like sharing it."
"Then why bring me?"
Katniss shrugged. She was staring intently at her hands as she moved them through the water. "It's different. I feel like I shouldn't keep anything from you, including the lake. We share everything."
She was right, Peeta realized. His and Katniss's relationship wasn't the same as it had been the year before when they first returned to their home. It wasn't the same as it had been before his hijacking. It certainly wasn't the same as Gale and Katniss's friendship. It was different than any of that, and Peeta was just now fully realizing that.
Gale and Katniss had a past that would never be changed, but Peeta got Katniss in a myriad of ways that Gale never would. He should be thankful for that instead of sitting around feeling jealous of a man Katniss hadn't seen for more than a year.
Peeta reached out to grasp Katniss's hand through the water. She looked up at him in surprise, and Peeta smiled as their fingers interlaced. Katniss seemed confused at his sudden attitude change, but Peeta didn't offer an explanation as he continued smiling at her. Katniss shifted awkwardly under his gaze, and Peeta shook away his thoughts of pulling her to him and kissing her. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her waist, and she sunk comfortably into his side as they continued to stare out into the water.
