Hey guys! :D

I'm sorry this one's short, but I promise it's not just filler. Guess you'll have to read to find out what it is! ;)

Enjoy!


The barrel lost balance, rocked forwards and slammed down onto Peeta's hand with the force of three hundred pounds of solid wood. He heard the crunch. And then he felt it. His scream caught in his throat and came out as a broken wail. He struggled to pull free, sending fresh waves of pain up his arm with every movement. People surged around him, trying to hold him still, and others braced their shoulders against the barrel. It creaked, shifted, and all at once he was free, stumbling backwards into the people behind him.

Cradling his hand close to his chest, he locked his jaw and screwed his eyes shut, trying very hard not to make any more noises of pain. He couldn't make himself look at his hand, but he heard others' gasps and shouts.

"Oh, my God-"

"-just crushed it!"

"Have to get him to Miss Everdeen quickly-"

"Lean on me, there's a good lad-"

"-should have known better than to try to move that barrel."

"He wasn't, he was just in front of it when it fell, must've been-"

"Miss Everdeen! Over here! Quick, he's hurt!"

Peeta opened his eyes in a squint. The doors of the Captain's Cabin burst open and Katniss bounded out, not even hesitating before she pulled his uninjured arm over her shoulders and guided him inside. Someone's shadow moved into the doorway, but she said, "Unless you've got an injury, stay out there! I've got my hands full as it is!" Just before the doors swung shut, he saw Thresh move back a half-step, his eyebrows drawn together in a concerned frown.

Peeta was deposited on the same couch as when he had come for a cold. This time, the fire smoldered halfheartedly, embers winking and letting off wisps of smoke. Without any wood, it would soon go out. But Katniss didn't seem to care. Her leather boots slapped the ground as she crossed the room to a low, wooden table covered with a rough-looking cloth. Lying on it, on his stomach, was a shirtless crew member. His back was covered with red-streaked bandages. Katniss lifted these, made an unhappy sound in her throat, pressed a bundle of herbs to the wound and went back to Peeta.

"What happened?" She set a rough-hewn box on the floor in front of them, opening it to reveal an assortment of medical supplies. Gauze, packets of different-colored leaves, thick, black thread, needles, jars of waxy salves… Peeta's eyes fixed on the needles and he shuddered involuntarily.

"I was putting away cargo- a barrel fell- on my hand," he managed, speaking through his teeth.

"How badly does it hurt?"

"Bad."

"I'll need you to be a bit more specific than that. On a scale of one to ten."

"Seven or eight."

"Mm." She stood and disappeared behind his back. He heard the sounds of metal clanking against metal and water being poured. While the tea boiled, she poked and prodded his hand, causing Peeta to bite down on his sleeve. Just when he thought he would stand up and walk out, no matter the condition of his hand, she reached for a roll of bandages.

"It's not actually that bad. It's only your ring and pinky fingers that are broken. The rest of is just badly bruised. You're lucky- you could have crushed your whole hand."

I did crush my whole hand, he sputtered indignantly but silently while she went to check on the other patient. He knew better than to try to contradict her out loud.

"What happened to him?" Peeta asked as she replaced the other man's bandages.

"Shrapnel," she answered shortly. "A wood railing splintered in the cannon-fire on the other ship."

"Oh."

She returned to the couch and sat down next to him, tucking her feet up underneath her as she turned towards him. She reached for his hand and he ducked his head, preparing himself for another painful examination, but her grip was gentle, almost nonexistent, as she bound up his fingers. After all the jabs and pinches from before, she pressure of the cloth strips was almost bearable. Suddenly, a different kind of jolt went through him as he realized that he and Katniss were basically holding hands. Well. Hand. He felt silly, being excited over this, but… It was a start, right?

She tied off the bandages and gestured to the cup of tea she had brought along. Peeta took it clumsily, not used to using only one hand, and took a sip. The liquid scalded his lips and he drew back sharply. After a few minutes, once he was accustomed to the temperature, the overwhelming sweetness hit him. It wasn't sweet like sugar, either. It was stickier and had a different aftertaste. Strange. By the time he finished the cup, his head felt pleasantly fuzzy.

Katniss led him to a cot, which she unfolded and pushed against a wall. Peeta fell, as opposed to sat, down, wondering vaguely what had been in that tea.

"Sleep syrup," she answered. "It's strong, but easy to get."

Did I ask that out loud?

Katniss's hair was falling out of its braid, and stands fell over her forehead. She brushed them back impatiently with a slender hand. She was beautiful. Using the last of his energy and concentration just to stay upright, Peeta didn't really think about what was coming out of his mouth until it was too late.

"I like you."

"Thank you," she said distractedly, taking the mug from his hand and pushing on his shoulder to get him to lie down.

Normally, he would never continue, but the sleep syrup stuff must have been making him brave, or just stupid, and he went on. "No, I mean, I like you. I admire you. I…"

Katniss's lips parted in surprise. Peeta's heart went off at a frantic pace as he realized what he had just done. Oh. Oh, no. Why did I say that? Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? Scrambling for something to amend his blurted-out confession, he skipped from memory to memory, trying to find something, anything to undo what he had said. At last he settled on just acting nonchalant. Sure, he admired her. Fancied her, even. No big deal, right? Right?

"So?" he asked, doing his best to keep his tone calm.

"So… what?" Katniss said after several seconds of silence.

"So, will you allow it?" He tried to play it off as a half-joke, but he wasn't sure it quite came off that way. Despite his panic, the sleep syrup was invading his brain, pulling him down with insistent drowsiness, and he couldn't focus.

After what seemed like forever, during which time Peeta struggled just to stay awake, Katniss answered. "I'll allow it." The last thing he registered was the cot sinking as she sat gingerly beside him, and her voice. "I definitely have strong feelings for you. I just haven't decided if they're positive or negative yet.*"

Then he slipped into a murky landscape defined by a fog of a very familiar shade of silvery-gray.


*Yes, this quote is from the Percy Jackson movie. I don't own it, but I loved it so much I had to use it! XD Forgive me...