A/N: I sincerely apologize for the long wait between chapters! I took some time away to participate in the Hunger Games Spring Fling Fic Exchange on AO3. The stories are still anonymous so I can't tell you which one I wrote, but I encourage you to go on over and check them out anyway. There are lots of really great works.

Thanks as always to my beta sunfishdunes.

And keep those reviews coming! I love reading them. Come say hi on tumblr, too (soamazinghere).

I haven't slept this well in a long time. Even now, I'm so content that I really don't want to open my eyes or even move, but someone is running his fingers over my stomach, trying to tickle me. Keeping my eyes closed, I attempt to wriggle away and burrow myself further under the blankets. He'll follow me, of course. I'm counting on it.

Peeta presses his chest against my back as he leans in close to my ear. "Hey," he whispers.

I roll toward him and bury my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his familiar scent. "Hey." Suddenly remembering that I have a flight back to DC today, I open my eyes. "What time is it?" I ask sleepily.

"It's still early – you don't have to get up yet," Peeta reassures me, absently stroking my hair. I close my eyes again, losing myself in his touch. It's been too long since we've had little moments like this, and honestly, I don't know how long it'll be until I have a chance to wake up next to him again. So I want to enjoy this. "I just wanted to see you awake," he admits.

"That's okay," I murmur. "You weren't staring at me while I was sleeping, were you? That's creepy," I tease him.

With my face pressed into Peeta's neck, I can feel as well as hear his quiet laughter. He pulls back to look at me; I smile up at him. Before I have a chance to say anything, he abruptly rolls me onto my back and attacks my lips with his own. I wind my arms around his neck, trying to bring him as close to me as physically possible. I've missed this so much. No, that's not quite right – I've missed him so much.

Even though Peeta assured me that it's still early, I know that I only have a few short hours before I have to leave. After Peeta and I spoke yesterday, he practically begged me not to go back to DC on my scheduled flight, which was last night. Honestly, he didn't have to beg me – I didn't want to leave either. I would never have come to Chicago and risk humiliating myself if I didn't desperately miss him. So if he actually wanted me to stay, there was no way I was going to volunteer to leave.

I managed to book a flight departing this afternoon, which means that I had to take an extra day off of work. Plutarch may not be happy with me, but how often do I do something like this for myself? Still, I'm not going to push things with him too much – I'll go back to work tomorrow. Thankfully, Peeta was able to take off from work today as well. (Maybe my awkward run-in with Hugh at the bakery yesterday wasn't all bad – Peeta told me that Hugh was more than willing to cover for him when he explained what had happened.) That gives us at least half of the day to be together.

We spend several minutes doing nothing more than softly, slowly kissing each other. Peeta's hands tangle themselves in my hair as mine move over the smooth skin of his back. Eventually Peeta breaks away from me, rolling onto his back and tucking me into his side. I hear him sigh and chuckle under his breath.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask him.

He answers without a second's hesitation. "How lucky I am that you came back."

I lift my head from his shoulder and stare at him, wide-eyed. How can he even be thinking that? He doesn't look at me, though; his eyes are closed as he places his hand on my head, drawing it back down to rest on him. "I don't know about that," I say disbelievingly. "I think I'm the lucky one here – I'm lucky you were willing to take me back."

Peeta doesn't respond for a long moment. Eventually he shifts slightly onto his side, running his fingers down my cheek as he looks at me. I can barely hold his gaze; it's almost as if he's trying to memorize my features. "I don't think I've ever been so surprised in my life as I was to see you at my door yesterday," he tells me.

I can feel my face heating up – I'm embarrassed just thinking about it. Looking away from him, I say, "I still can't believe I really did it." I laugh softly, remembering my mental state as I walked up to his apartment yesterday morning. "I was pretty sure you'd slam the door shut right in my face."

In response, Peeta just wraps his arms around me even tighter. I drape one arm over his waist and press my face into his chest, reveling in his steadiness and warmth. I can't believe I ever thought my life would be better without him in it.

"Thank you," I say suddenly.

"For what?"

How can I even begin to explain why I feel so thankful right now? I'm not sure I have the words to express exactly what I'm feeling or why I think I owe him my gratitude. Typical Katniss. So instead, I decide to tell him just a tiny part of the truth – just what I can manage right now – because even that small start is a step in the right direction. "For…giving me another chance. No one would've blamed you if you didn't."

"Well," Peeta begins slowly, "I don't think I would've forgiven myself if I didn't."

At his words, I feel tears well up in my eyes. I blink them back quickly before they have a chance to slip out. Today is not a sad day. I'm determined to make this day meaningful. With any luck, it'll be a fresh start for me and Peeta. "I love you so much," I say softly, my voice betraying some of the emotion I'm feeling.

I can feel Peeta's warm breath on the top of my head as he presses his lips there, gently. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you say that," he murmurs into my hair. "I didn't think you ever would."

Knowing what I put him though makes me feel guilty, even if we ultimately did end up here. It's unfair to Peeta that it took all that angst for me to fully realize and admit how I really felt about him. He deserved some kind of a beautiful moment, where we would have both had the presence of mind to know that we loved each other and been ecstatic to finally say it. I know I can't change that, but I can make sure that from here on out, he always knows how I feel. That I really do love him.

"Just try and stop me now," I say happily, trying to lighten the mood. "You're going to get so tired of hearing me say it," I tease.

Peeta swiftly grabs my hips and pulls me on top of him. He peppers my face and neck with kisses as I squirm in his arms, laughing. "That's not possible," he tells me in between kisses.

Good. Because I have every intention of never allowing him to doubt me again.

I sit in Peeta's small dining room, absently spreading cream cheese on my bagel. I smile at him as he walks in from the kitchen and places a steaming mug of green tea in front of me. We're sitting next to each other at his table, deliberately very close – I don't think either one of us wants to be separated this morning, even by a table.

For once, Peeta didn't insist on cooking some kind of elaborate breakfast, and I'm perfectly okay with that. As much as I love his cooking, this morning I have other things on my mind. We need to talk, and the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned. It's about time I start making up for all those conversations we didn't have before.

All morning I've been mentally preparing, reminding myself of everything that I need to tell him. (I figure that Prim's directive to me to not prepare in advance no longer applies now that Peeta and I have reconciled.) But there are so many things I messed up that I hardly know where to begin. I guess I'll just start talking and see what happens.

I'm about to speak up when Peeta grabs my hand under the table and turns to me. "Katniss, I – " he begins.

But I stop him mid-sentence. "Wait, Peeta," I tell him. I'm worried he's going to try to apologize or take the blame for something and I just don't think I could handle hearing that right now. Especially since I know that the majority of the blame lies here, with me. "Can I, uh…can I say something first?"

He nods slowly and gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.

I take a deep breath and release it quickly. "I feel like I owe you an explanation," I say.

"No, you don't," he insists, shaking his head vehemently. "It's fine."

That's the Peeta I know: kind and forgiving to a fault. Of course I owe him an explanation – I mean, I just showed up unannounced at his front door, hundreds of miles from where I live, after breaking up with him over the phone and completely blowing him off when he wanted to see me. I feel horrible and I need to get some things off my chest.

"I think we both know we really need to talk," I tell him earnestly, between bites of my bagel.

He concedes. "You're right, I'm sorry. Go ahead."

"Okay…" I trail off, trying to decide where to begin. Might as well start with at the lowest point and work my way back up. "I think I should tell you why I broke up with you in the first place. Honestly…it was so much more than I told you on the phone that night."

A pained expression crosses Peeta's face as I remind him of the distraught phone call I made that evening. I'm sure he isn't pleased to recall that memory. I don't know what part of it exactly he's most unhappy about – the fact that another man kissed me, or the actual breakup itself – but it doesn't matter. We have to cover this territory, because the way I handled our breakup is something I'm incredibly ashamed about.

Still, I sympathize with him that we have to re-open these old wounds. I reach over and place my arms around his shoulders, nuzzling my face into his neck and placing a soft kiss on his skin. His arm moves instinctively to rub small circles on my upper back, and we rest like that for a moment before I move away to continue.

"So…what I said on the phone about the kiss was true. In case you doubted that," I hasten to add. "I didn't kiss him…I didn't want him to kiss me. I never told you, but it was the same guy who told you I was a bitch that one evening. Do you remember that?"

Peeta's eyes widen. "You're kidding! God, if I run into that guy again…" he shakes his head, pursing his lips angrily.

"Yep, same guy," I sigh. "Anyway, you probably already know this, but that kiss…well, it didn't really have much to do with the breakup," I admit. "I think I just used it as an excuse, honestly. I'd been feeling overwhelmed for so long…"

I have to stop for a moment and collect my thoughts. It hurts to admit my failings out loud. I'm so used to bottling up my emotions to avoid appearing weak, so having this conversation with Peeta goes against all my instincts. I hope he can forgive me for all this.

"You were feeling overwhelmed?" Peeta asks. "How?"

I shake my head as I try to explain. "It was just…so many things. Like, I hated talking on the phone because I never knew what to say. And I didn't know how to deal with the fact that I missed you so much whenever we were apart."

Peeta thoughtfully takes a sip of his tea. "It wasn't easy for me either, Katniss," he tells me quietly.

I rub my hands roughly over my face. "I know! I mean, I'm sure you're right, it just…it never seemed that way to me," I say, raising my head and giving him a pleading look. "You seemed to handle everything so well. And then that stupid kiss…I guess I just decided that it meant I wasn't committed to you enough, and I used it as an out."

Peeta turns to me with a disbelieving look on his face. "You wanted an out?" he whispers.

"Not…exactly," I say slowly. It's hard to express precisely how I was feeling at the time – my mental state was not the greatest when I broke up with him, and the only words I can find to describe my actions seem inadequate. "It wasn't like I sat around trying to figure out how to break up with you. At the time, though, it seemed like a good idea. I really, truly thought I was doing us both a favor," I attempt to explain.

Peeta sighs, placing his elbows on the table and dropping his chin into his hands. He stares at the wall in front of us as he tells me, "I was never unhappy, Katniss. I hope you know that." Turning to face me, he adds sadly, "I'm sorry to hear you were."

Placing my hands on either side of his face, I lean forward and touch my lips gently to his. I want to bring him back to the present and remind him that, despite everything we're discussing, I'm here now. And I plan to stay. I hear him inhale shakily as I pull away.

"It makes me feel better to hear you say that. Um, that you were happy," I try to reassure him. "I was never unhappy because of you, Peeta, I just didn't get it at the time. I understand now – I mean, I was miserable when we were broken up but I was too stupid to figure it out for the longest time." My head falls backward and I exhale loudly as I stare at the ceiling. "I'm such an idiot! I feel like I wasted the last two months. I should've just told you how I was feeling."

"No, Katniss," Peeta says firmly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Don't blame yourself for everything. I knew we were having trouble but I never talked to you, either," he points out. "I thought talking would make things worse."

I laugh softly under my breath. Peeta was afraid of talking to me? The idea seems ludicrous – I can't imagine how unstable he must have thought I was if he believed that just talking would've scared me away.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't wrong about that.

"There's plenty of blame to go around, I guess. And you know, I still worry that we won't be able to do this again without me messing it up somehow," I say sadly, looking away from Peeta. I feel tears welling up in my eyes and I blink furiously, trying to hold them back.

Peeta places his hand gently on my shoulder and I hear him scoot his chair closer to mine. "We have to be serious if we want to make it work." He leans forward, resting his chin on my shoulder and wrapping his arms around my waist. I put my hands over his where they rest against my stomach. He presses a kiss just under my ear before he continues. "But I think it's worth it. Don't you?"

I nod almost imperceptibly. "I love you, so…of course it's worth it."

Peeta's arms tighten around my waist. I turn around and take his face in my hands, running my thumbs lightly over his cheeks before I move closer and kiss him deeply. After several minutes, we break apart and rest our foreheads together.

"Hey," Peeta whispers. "I love you, too. So…let's not try to figure everything out right now. We really only have a few hours before you have to go back. Let's take some time to think. That way, when we talk, we can say everything we need to say."

Peeta's right, of course. I shouldn't be surprised; he's really always been the levelheaded one in our relationship. Even though a big part of me wants to rush and tell him a million things about what I did wrong and what I need to do better, I'm sure I'd miss something if I attempted to do that. (It's funny how badly I want to talk to him now, given how hard I worked to avoid talking to him before…)

Getting our relationship back on the right track is going to take time. And as much as that annoys the part of me that likes to fix things and get immediate gratification for my actions, I know that we have to take this slow. We can't just jump right back in and pick up where we left off. Even if neither of us ever admits it out loud, there's a lot of damaged trust between the two of us. We have some rebuilding to do, I suppose.

I move away from Peeta slightly and give him a bright smile. He's made me feel so optimistic that I can't help but let my happiness show on my face. "Alright," I agree. "Let's just…take a break from all this talking for now. But what should we do then, until I have to leave?"

Peeta's eyes light up. "I know!" he says excitedly. "Let's go down and say hi to everyone at the bakery!"

After everything we've been through for the past day, I'm too emotionally exhausted to even attempt to hide the look of horror that crosses my face. Peeta doesn't know about my run-in with Hugh at the bakery, and even though I suspect that Hugh will be happy with what happened, I'm just not ready to face him yet. I have no idea what his family thinks about me after what I did to Peeta. But I'm sure that it'll take some time for them to forgive me.

I realize that I'm so stunned that I still haven't responded to Peeta. But just as I open my mouth to try to find the right words to diplomatically decline, he starts laughing and wraps an arm around my shoulders. "I'm kidding! I know that's the last thing you probably want to do right now," he says, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Besides, I need to talk to everyone first. Let's just stay here and spend a few more hours alone while we can. How does that sound?"

I let out the breath I didn't even realize I was holding. "That sounds perfect."

It's been a week now. One week since I hopped on that plane and went to Chicago. One week since Peeta and I agreed to give this another try.

I reluctantly parted from Peeta at the end of my brief trip and came back home, sad to leave him behind but ready to start showing that I'm committed to staying close to him, even when we're apart. One little thing I've been trying to do is talk to him every day, whether it's a phone call or just a brief text message exchange. Even if I think it's awkward. Even if I don't have anything to say. Peeta lets me know how much he appreciates it, which makes it worth it.

We've been starting to explore our relationship problems in more detail, but not in the way I had expected. I guess I had always envisioned sitting down and having a long, emotional conversation where we lay everything out there and vow to change. And then we move on. But I guess that's not very realistic.

Rather than put a burden on ourselves to identify and solve all of our problems in one drawn-out exchange, we've been discussing them a little bit every time we talk. And we're not forcing the conversations to happen – we're simply talking about whatever comes up, and more importantly, we're not avoiding any uncomfortable topics. This approach seems to be working out well for us. We're making progress in working through our problems, but at the same time, we're not making every single conversation we have focus on them, either. These aren't light topics, after all; it would be exhausting to make them the center of attention all the time.

Plus, we just got back together – we deserve a few minutes a day to enjoy each other. Before we get down to the very serious business of repairing our relationship, that is.

Our discussions have been interesting, to say the least. Really eye-opening for me, too. I've always considered myself the source of all the problems in our relationship. But Peeta's been telling me a lot about the things he considers to be his own failures and his own contributions to our breakup. Honestly, I never thought he played any part in our problems before. I heaped all the blame on myself.

I'm starting to understand the role he played – or at least, the role he thinks he played – in our relationship troubles. But I'm still having difficulty accepting the notion that he made any real contribution to our breakup. His problems just seem so trivial compared to my own. I think he wants me to feel better about things by making it seem like our problems come from both sides, rather than primarily from me. But I just don't think that's true.

The one thing that he has been able to convince me of is that our communication problems really do come from both of us. We've spent more time on this subject than any other. I recognize that throughout our entire relationship, I was so afraid of getting hurt that I withdrew from Peeta whenever we weren't physically together. Peeta's told me how obvious I was, how he noticed how differently I acted during our visits compared to our phone calls. He wanted to ask me about it, but he was afraid that would scare me away or cause me to withdraw even more. So we both made a lot of poor choices, and neither of us ever said what we needed to say to the other. Eventually that blew up in our faces.

Peeta's admitted his frustrations with himself; specifically how he didn't listen to the instincts that were constantly telling him that we needed to talk. Sometimes his fears erupted and led him to try to do something, but it never came out quite right. Like the night in Miami when he called and texted me a bunch of times – it just made me feel suffocated and angry, but we didn't talk about it. We both let things go unsaid even though it was obvious that they needed to be acknowledged. We let our separate anxieties just sit and fester inside of us. Peeta held back out of a fear of losing me, but that ended up happening anyway.

We've been forced to confront even seemingly-simple problems, like my reluctance to talk on the phone. Peeta's tried to explain to me that talking on the phone makes him feel closer to me, that hearing my voice makes him feel better about the distance between us. I guess for me it was always the opposite – talking on the phone just reinforced how far apart we really were. Peeta's calls and texts were just his way of showing me that he cared and that he was thinking of me. He was just doing what made sense to him, and I'm sure he would've liked it if I'd had the ability to return the favor.

I never did though, and it's distressing to me to know how differently we perceived our phone conversations. He just wanted to have a few happy minutes with his girlfriend, and the entire time, all I could think about was how quickly I could get off the phone. Knowing how he feels about our phone calls has made me resolve to try to see them how he does. Or at least, to give him those happy moments, even if I don't exactly feel the same. I'm working on it, I really am, but I'm not quite there yet. The phone calls don't yet give me that same sense of comfort that they give him.

There's another fact of life that I'm learning I can't escape if I truly want to be in a relationship with Peeta – being apart hurts. Living hundreds of miles away from each other is hard. We're going to miss each other; that's normal and that's okay. It's not possible for me to find a way to stop missing him, so I shouldn't try. And I shouldn't punish Peeta for taking comfort in something as simple and uncomplicated as a phone call, if that's what honestly makes him feel better. He's doing the same thing I am – just trying to cope.

And then there are the money issues, the fact that Peeta can't afford to keep buying plane tickets to come to DC every couple of weeks. There's no easy solution for that, but I at least apologized to him for the over-the-top reaction I had when he told me about it. It wasn't fair of me at all to blow up at him for something beyond his control. I'm learning to accept that I might not be able to see Peeta in-person as often as I'd like. We have to find new ways to navigate the distance between us, to figure out ways that we can be together even when we're not physically in the same place. Or I need to take on more of the travel burden myself if I want to see him. I make more money than he does, and our commitment to this relationship isn't measured by how much money we each spend on plane tickets to see the other.

But I do honestly feel more optimistic this time around. I really think we'll make something of this second chance we've been given. I have complete faith in Peeta, and I know that I'm going to try harder, so that's a good start. Yes, we still have a lot to figure out – but I'm pretty sure we will.

In my eagerness to show Peeta that I'm committed to changing my past behaviors that led to so many problems in our relationship, I've been trying to get outside my comfort zone and reach out to him in ways that I was never willing to before. It doesn't take much – I know how pleased he is to get even a text message or phone call from me. It's so easy, and it makes me feel selfish for not being willing to do this for him before.

Tonight I unexpectedly find myself at home alone. Given Prim's crazy work schedule, it's not unusual to end up by myself in the evenings, but right now I was scheduled to be on an airplane flying home from a business trip to St. Louis. But I managed to wrap up my work early, so I caught an earlier flight back. It's the perfect time to call and surprise Peeta – he won't be expecting it at all.

Flopping down on the couch, I grab my phone and impatiently search for Peeta's name in my contacts. I place my call, but the phone just rings and rings with no answer. Damn. That's the one problem with surprising Peeta from hundreds of miles away – I can't actually be sure he's available to talk. He's been there every other time I've called, but I guess that won't always be the case. He does have a life in Chicago, after all.

His phone goes to voice mail and I leave a short message. "Hey, it's me. Call me back if you have time tonight, okay? Love you."

Well, maybe I won't get to talk to Peeta tonight, but at least he'll know I called. I take my suitcase upstairs and change from my work clothes into yoga pants and a t-shirt. I order a pizza and settle onto the couch for a quiet evening catching up on the TV shows I missed during my trip.

A few minutes pass, and I hear my phone ring. I pick it up to answer – it's Peeta, of course. "Hey!" I greet him happily.

"Katniss!" he exclaims with worry in his voice. "What is it? Are you okay? Aren't you supposed to be flying home tonight?"

I smile to myself. He still worries about me when I travel. The difference is that I no longer let myself feel offended by his concern – he doesn't worry because he thinks I can't handle myself, he just does it because he loves me. "Nothing's wrong," I reassure him. "I got home early and…I just wanted to hear your voice."

I can hear him chuckle under his breath. "I love you, you know that?" he says in a low voice. I can practically hear his smile.

"I love you too," I say immediately in response. In the background, I can hear the faint sounds of talking and laughter. He must've called me while he was still out. "I didn't mean to interrupt," I apologize. "Where are you?"

"You didn't interrupt," he says quickly. "I'm at Ryan's. He and Lydia are having a few people over for dinner."

"A few people?" I tease. "I don't even want to know how you Mellarks define 'a few people'." Peeta laughs. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to it."

"I'd much rather be with you right now," he whispers.

"I know. Me, too," I respond, before falling silent for a moment. "Well…I don't have anything else to say to keep you from your dinner. Except to tell you I miss you," I add hastily.

"I miss you too," he tells me. I hear a shout in the background, but I can't quite make out Peeta's muffled response. He returns to the phone with a sigh. "Well, I guess I have to get back…" he says reluctantly.

"Don't worry about it," I reply sincerely. "I love you."

"Thanks for calling, Katniss. Really. I love you too."

"Bye, Peeta."

As I put my phone away, I reflect on how far Peeta and I have come, and how hard we're working to get ourselves back on track. I think we've made it through the most difficult times already, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's to come.