DISCLAIMER: All of the characters, plots, places, and everything else Hunger Games-related belongs to Suzanne Collins. I own none of it, and I am in no way associated with the Hunger Games franchise. No copyright infringement intended.

Peeta

Katniss and I spent the perfect summer together, and I thought I would never have to face another nightmare without her. She had unknowingly saved my life.

After two months without her in my life, I knew something had to change. I had planned to find her and make her hear me out the day I left for the Victory Tour, but Effie showed up and ushered me into a hovercraft before I got the chance.

The first thing I did when the ceremonies ended in District 12 was go to her house. I thought I knew what a broken heart felt like, but when I walked through the door and saw her with him… I couldn't stand it. I should have known she would have run straight to him after leaving me.

Before I even made it down the steps of her porch, she was there screaming my name.

"Peeta! Come back!"

I should have walked away and never looked back. The last thing I should have done was give her the chance to break what was left of me. But despite what my head was telling me, I stopped. I waited in the middle of the road for her to catch up to me.

When she did, I was shocked by what I saw. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, and her eyes had deep black shadows under them as if she didn't sleep the night before. She was a mess. Once again, my heart won out over reason and I took her in my arms. She didn't hesitate to return my embrace.

She felt so small in my arms. I tightened my hold on her when I realized she was crying. Sobbing, really. I placed one hand on the back of her head while she cried into my chest. Her whole body was shaking. I didn't know what to say, or even why she was so upset, so I just held her until she pulled away. Sniffling, she said, "We need to talk. Now."

I didn't think she was in any condition to talk. She looked like what she really needed was sleep. I kept my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Are you sure? It can wait. I'm not going anywhere."

A brief flicker of guilt flashed in her eyes. She shook her head quickly. "No, we've already waited too long. I want to talk right now."

I studied her for a minute. She had obviously made up her mind, so there was no use in trying to reason with her. I sighed, "Okay, let's go to my house."

She took a step, but then abruptly stopped. She remembered at the same time I did that Gale was still there. She looked at me apologetically. "Can you give me a minute?"

I nodded and watched her walk up the stairs and reach for the door. Before she could open it, however, Gale was standing there. She started to say something, but he interrupted her.

"There's nothing to explain. Just go."

With that, he walked away. She stared at his retreating figure for a moment but then returned to my side. She said, "Let's go."

I followed her without a word.

Katniss

My resolve was wavering by the time we reached Victor's Village. What if Peeta didn't want to be with me anymore? After what I did, I had no right to expect him to care about what I had to say. I glanced at him. He was staring at the ground with that same crease in his forehead. We walked up the steps and into his house. I followed him to the dark blue, leather couch in the living room. Neither of us said anything for a few minutes. I was afraid of what the consequences might be for my words.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. The words flew out of my mouth, "I'm sorry for leaving. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to take everything back for the last two months. Please tell me you believe me when I say I'm truly sorry."

His eyes narrowed so slightly that I barely noticed, even though we were sitting quite close. He looked as if he was trying to determine if I really meant it. After a moment, his face relaxed. He said, "I believe you. I just want to know why you did it and why I walked in your house tonight and found you with Gale."

That was the exactly what I didn't want to talk about. I started with the easy part of his question.

"Gale was there when I got home. I'm guessing he wanted to talk to me before I was able to see you. He was apologizing for our fight."

He raised an eyebrow. "Your fight?"

Right, he didn't know anything about what happened with Gale. I quickly explained, "We got in a fight on the morning of the day I saw you last. Tonight was the first time we have spoken since then."

He contemplated what I said before continuing. "So that's what he was doing when I walked in? Because it looked like there was more to it than that."

I bit the corner of my lip. He needed to know the truth. "Actually, he was telling me that he loved me and wanted me back. He said you were the reason we couldn't be friends anymore."

Unsurprised by my answer, he asked, "And what did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything. You walked in before I had the chance."

I could tell he was afraid to ask the inevitable question. He looked as if he was preparing himself for battle when he finally said, "Do you love him back? Because if that's what you want, I don't want you to feel like you have to stay here with me."

The pain of what he was suggesting hit us both. I quickly determined that leaving Peeta was not something I could do again. So, with complete certainty, I said, "No, I don't love him. And I don't feel like I have to stay here with you. I want to be here."

When he smiled, it was like all the pain we both felt for the last two months had never even existed. Every word I said was true. However, I knew there was another issue that couldn't be ignored any longer.

As if he were reading my mind, he said, "I still need to know why you left."

Taking a deep breath, I said the words that could potentially ruin everything, "You kissed me when we were fourteen years old, and I felt happier than I had been in years. But the next day at school, you wouldn't even look at me." I paused long enough to let my words sink in, then added, "I didn't want to give you another chance to do the same thing again so I left."

I stared at my hands in my lap. I didn't want him to see the emotions playing across my face as I relived the embarrassing memory. He took one of my hands in his, and I looked at him.

"Katniss, I couldn't bear to look at you because I thought the kiss meant nothing to you. When you left the bakery, I saw you walking away with Gale. What was I supposed to think? Everyone at school thought you two were together, and there you were laughing with him just seconds after the most amazing moment of my life. I was too embarrassed to talk to you again. Besides, the last thing I wanted to do was give Gale Hawthorne a reason to hate me."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "So you didn't ignore me because you were too ashamed to be seen with someone from the Seam?"

His mouth fell open in shock. "Oh, no, Katniss… Is that really what you thought?"

I nodded, and the regret he felt was obvious. His piercing blue eyes softened, and he said, "I would have announced to the whole school I was in love with you if I thought you even felt close to the same way about me. If you remember, I did tell all of Panem." We both laughed at the memory that once infuriated me. "Nothing could ever make me ashamed of you, Katniss."

I could feel the tears stinging my eyes again but quickly wiped them away with my free hand. I had to make him understand that Gale wasn't a factor in my anger for him over the years.

"You saw me leaving with Gale because he was there trading with me. I thought he had already left, but he was waiting for me when I went outside. I was never dating Gale. He's never been anything more than my best friend. You're the only one I…"

My words caught in my throat when I realized what I was about to say. He gently wiped away a tear that had escaped from my eyes. His face was only inches away from mine. I could feel his breath as he whispered, "I'm the only one you what?"

I gulped. It was now or never and after the time I had spent pretending it was wasn't true, I knew it had to be now. "You're the only one I love."

I pressed my lips against his before he could respond. Every bit of passion I had held in for the last two months was released in that one kiss.

My heart was racing, and I clung to him even tighter. A kind of hunger that I had never felt before was threatening to take over. When Peeta pulled away, everything in me protested for more.

We looked into each other's eyes, gasping for air. With a serious expression on his face, he said, "If you're going to run away, please do it now because I don't think I could handle it if you left after another kiss like that."

I grinned and said, "I'm never leaving you again."

We kissed again, but this time he whispered against my lips, "I love you."

I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. I wanted to stay in that moment forever. Before I knew it, he gently moved and was standing in front of me. I was confused until he scooped me up into his arms. I laughed, "What are you doing?"

He said, "As much as I would like to spend the rest of the night kissing you, it's getting late and we both need sleep." He laughed at my pout. Suddenly his eyes lit up. He tentatively asked, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

I nodded and laughed some more as he carried me up the stairs and into his bedroom. After laying me down on the bed, he crawled under the covers next to me. I let my head rest on his chest, and he hugged me closer to him. He kissed the top of my head and murmured, "I love you."

I whispered, "I love you too."

The words felt so natural, as if I was born to say them. After years of thinking love was something I would never feel for anyone other than my family, Peeta Mellark had finally proven me wrong. In that moment, I didn't care about the risks I was taking. As long as Peeta was by my side, every one of them was worth it. Right before drifting into a peaceful sleep, I smiled and thought, "The odds are finally in my favor tonight."

Playlist

True by Ryan Cabrera

Just A Kiss by Lady Antebellum

The Only Exception by Paramore