A/N: I wanted to issue a little trigger warning for canon Mrs. Mellark in this chapter. I don't want to spoil anything, but, if you know Mrs. Mellark canocally, (Did I just invent a word?) then you know what to expect.

And I just want to say - Thank you. The response to this story is completely unexpected, and every review, every follow, every like has me smiling.

Anyway. Back to my typical announcement.

Hey, everyone! Wow! The response to this has been amazing! (Someone asked why I give the same author's note every time. Because I can and I always have the same thing to say.)

I know I have been updating fast, but after this, it'll be a little bit before I can get back to it. (And I will. This story is far from over.) [I'm just going to say this, even though this story keeps coming back. Okay. I tried. I really tried.]

In the mean time, if you want, come see me on tumblr. everybirdfellsilent

Xxx

The world stopped. Nothing else mattered but this.

Limbo be damned. Right here and now, kissing Peeta Mellark was all she cared about. The world could be ending, zombies knocking down the front door and werewolves scratching at the back, and none of it would stop this moment.

Lost in their own little universe, drinking in the smell of each other, lingering in the taste of the other's lips, shuddering at the feel of fingers raking through hair, pushing, pulling, dragging the other closer, until no room was left.

She forced her eyes open for the briefest of moments, catching the fluttering of those long blonde eyelashes she had come to know so well, before they opened lazily to reveal the two little patches of sky looking down at her. She felt his lips turn up into a smile, her own following suit, and kissed him even harder to swallow the chuckle he let loose.

The creaking of the steps went unnoticed until a voice directly beside them caused them to separate like opposing magnets.

"Hi." Looking up simultaneously they found Rye grinning madly at them, crouched beside the couch so that his chin rested on the arm, making it look like a floating head.

Katniss wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her face feeling hot, and rose to a seated position, eyeing Rye.

Peeta made no effort to move, reaching his hand up and smacking his brother dead on the cheek.

The sound made Katniss cringe, but the screwed up face of shock Rye wore made her smile.

"Ow," he squeaked quietly, scrunching his eyes shut. "Point taken."

Xxx

Rye cooked bacon and eggs while Peeta taught Katniss how to make biscuits from scratch, rolling his eyes as they ended up getting more flour on themselves than on the counter.

He leaned against the counter in his robe, eating a piece of bacon with a smirk as he watched Peeta stand behind Katniss, helping her make little balls with the dough, rubbing the back of his neck when she laughed, spreading flour into his hair.

"Aw, aren't you two adorable," he said smugly, his chewing slowly coming to a halt as their heads slowly swiveled to face him. "Oh shit."

Suddenly he was being pelted by puffs of flour "Why you little-" his jaw hung slack when Katniss snatched a piece of bacon. "Oh hell no!"

The kitchen was a war zone, flour covering every surface, lumps of dough flying, scrambled eggs plopping, the plate of bacon heavily guarded in Rye's arms.

A smashing sound caused them all to still. Slowly they all looked up through the settling haze to find Mrs. Mellark in the doorway, her face screwed up into an angry pucker. She was holding flowers in her hand, water dripping from the ends. Her knuckles were turning white around the stems, choking them. The vase they had occupied shattered around her feet, a pool of water stretching out across the floor, running from her.

"I'm sorry, mom. It's my fault," Rye rose to his feet, setting the bacon down on the island he had hid behind. "I dared them to arm wrestle, and when they said no I threw some flour in their faces, and I guess it got a little out of hand."

Mr. Mellark appeared behind his wife, a smile starting up his face at the sight of the kitchen, only to fade when he saw the broken glass at his wife's feet.

"Boys, Katniss, you know food is made in a pan, not the kitchen floor," he said trying to lighten the mood. "I'll help you clean."

"Get out." All eyes turned to Mrs. Mellark. When silence followed, she repeated herself, hissing out the words. "Get. Out."

Peeta grabbed Katniss' hand and headed for the back door, stopping at the sound of his mother's voice. "Not you. Only her."

Peeta whispered to Katniss, "Go, please. Stay outside, call the police, then call Haymitch and tell him to come. Call Jo, too."

"I'm not leaving you," she said as quietly as she could, her fist tightening in anger, fearful tears threatening to fall.

"Katniss. Go." He pushed her gently to the door, a last glance over her shoulder revealed nothing but a door slammed in her face.

Gathering her bearings, she took a moment to process what had just happened, fumbling for her phone, remembering his instructions. First she called the police to report a domestic dispute, then Haymitch, who told her not to worry about Jo - He'd call her and pick her up on his way there. "Just stay put, turn your phone recorder on if things get loud, and stay alive."

His last words were meant as a joke, but they had a sad truth hidden behind them.

"I should have never left him, Haymitch." Dammit, she was going to cry.

His voice was compassionate, almost fatherly. "Darlin', you did the right thing. Now I'll take care of Jo. Stay there and stay away from the madness. But keep that mean right hook of yours ready."

Xxx

Katniss was pacing around the outside of the house, cringing at the sound of crashing, the thumping of bodies hitting the floor, sounding like cannons.

So this is why Haymitch said to stay alive.

When news vans started pulling up she knew why he and Jo were on their way at all.

She rushed into the house, a picture of her the last thing she wanted right now.

She walked in to find Rye and Benjamin on the floor, Rye clutching his stomach, Benjamin grabbing his rib cage. Turning to the side she saw Peeta's father restraining his mother as she rabidly spit profanities, her eyes wild. He looked over his wife's shoulder at Katniss, his lips pulled into a tight line, his eyes apologizing silently, sadly as blood ran down from his nose.

Where's Peeta?

"Peeta?" She called tentatively.

She saw him crouched against the island, his back to the wood as he held his knees to his chest, his face tucked between his arms, rocking back and forth, his shoulders shaking lightly from tears.

She approached him slowly, making sure Mrs. Mellark was secure. Kneeling in front of him she said his name tentatively. "Peeta?" He stiffened, the rocking and shaking stilling eerily fast.

Reaching out, she tentatively touched his shoulder, leaping back when his head shot up, his eyes frantic and blood shot, his face red in anger. She cringed at the yellow and purple bruising developing around one of his eyes, and on his jaw. His forearms showed the same marks, obviously from a defensive position.

He studied her as if in a fog, narrowing his eyes.

"There are news vans out front," she said quietly, never looking away. Pointing in the general direction she came from, she stilled when Peeta flinched at the movement. Lowering her hand slowly, he stared at it as it fell, fear and anger in his eyes.

She barely registered Haymitch and Jo walking in swiftly behind her, Haymitch going straight for Mrs. Mellark to help restrain her, Jo going to attend to Peeta's brothers.

The sound of a skirmish, a fist making impact on flesh with a sickening thud, and Haymitch swearing under his breath before proclaiming in a snarky voice, "That's okay, Noreen. I needed another nose job. The last one you gave me just didn't heal quite right."

Peeta flinched when his mother's shouting escalated once more, shutting his eyes tight as the profanities rose before finally dying away down the hall, a door slamming making him jump.

Slowly moving forward and kneeling in front of him, Katniss gently cupped his cheeks in her hands, holding him in place when he tried to pull back, his eyes frantic. "Don't leave me." His gaze seemed to spark, looking from her hands to her face, and back again. "Don't let her- don't let this take you away from me." Leaning in she did the only thing she could think of, pressing her lips against his.

A moment of panic as she watched his eyes fog over again before sparking once more, and finally clearing, looking into her own, both sets brimming with tears.

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," he mumbled against her lips.

"What about mutant monkeys?" She smirked.

She smiled at the skeptical look he gave her. "Remember when I asked you if you were weird?"

"Remember when I said no?" She responded smugly.

"I'm beginning to doubt that." His voice was light, but was only a mask for the pain of his current state.

She fell into his arms, crying as he held her close. The weight of the situation finally settling into her very bones. It was heavy, like carrying around another body. She ached, like she had been in Rye or Benjamin's place. Peeta's rumbling voice beneath her ear calling her name caused her to look up

"What?" She asked, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder, his flinch not going unnoticed.

"Stay with me," he asked, his voice a broken whisper, looking at the space beside her head before looking at her.

His breathing got shallow, and it looked like he was starting to panic when she didn't answer right away.

Leaning back down into his arms, she pressed her face into the crook of his neck. "Mutant monkeys couldn't keep me away." She muttered the words into his shoulder, feeling them vibrate around his skin, echoing off his ribs, as if they were his oxygen.

Looking back up to see his face still panic stricken, she whispered, "Together? Always? Remember all that?"

He pulled her down, encasing her in a bone crushing embrace. She smiled, settling back into his chest as he kissed her forehead and spoke so softly, she thought she'd imagined it. "Duh."