The day started off cool as Peeta and I headed towards the woods, but by the time we got in a few hundred yards we were taking off our outer layers due to the heat. We walked silently for the most part, with the occasional, teasing, "Are we there yet?" from Peeta. As we neared the lake almost an hour after leaving the house, I stopped to smile as Peeta tromped up beside me. "Wow, this is really beautiful," Peeta sighed as he dropped our bags on a large rock beside him. I smiled for being there. It had been a while since I had gone back to that area; close to a year at least.
"When did you find this place?" He asked, as I stood there enjoying the sunlight and my oasis in the woods. It was then that I realized I had never actually brought up the lake with Peeta. "My father," I said, slowly coming back to reality and looking at him. "My father used to bring me here when I was younger," I smiled. We stood there for a moment or two taking in the natural beauty around us until I snapped back into focus with our task for the day: teaching Peeta how to swim.
"Okay," I said, taking my shoes off, "you need to strip." I said, not really paying attention to my words. "What kind of swimming are you talking about, Katniss?" Peeta asked with a chuckle. "No, no, no. Just strip down to your shorts. Come on." I said, leading by example as I began to take my pants and shirt off. I began walking to the shallow side of the lake and held out my hand for him to follow me. He took it and we walked in until we were around waist deep in the water. Peeta held my hand tightly and I wiggled free of it, putting one hand on his back and holding the other one out.
"First, you need to learn how to float. That way, you won't be able to drown as easily," I teased. His eyes got squinty and I told him to stand still and watch me. As I lay on my back I indicated for him to put his hand on my stomach to show him how I was breathing and another hand on my back to show how I was lying. He gave a shy smile and placed his hands as indicated while I floated for about a minute after which I stood up and said it was his turn. He slowly got into position and I rested a hand under his back and on his stomach as he had done to me earlier. After a few minutes he got the hang of it and I took a floating position next to him. We turned our heads slightly to each other and gave a faint smile as Peeta was still concentrating on his breathing. I reached a hand out to his as it was grazing the waters and caught him off guard, making him dip a little and stand up, coughing on a little water that made its way into his mouth. I stood up quickly to help him to which he splashed some water in my face and smiled.
A few moments later I was teaching him how to tread water. The water was pretty clear in the bright sunlight so I told him to look at my legs while I began to tread in the deeper area. I began kicking and a faint smile spread across his face as he stared at my legs kicking in opposing circles under the water. "Now look up here at my hands," I said, calling him out of his trance. He smiled bigger and began skimming his hands across the water as well. I nodded and he slowly tried to kick his legs in a similar pattern. I moved further away, continuing to tread water, and watched as he quickly picked up the move. We began moving around the area of the lake until we were in a bit deeper than our heads. Realizing this, Peeta freaked out a little and lost his smooth motion so I swam closer to him and pulled him to the shallow end. I stood once we got to a shallow enough area and congratulated him on his quick learning to which he blushed and looked down at the water, softly dismissing my compliments.
"It's time for a break, I think," I said, nodding to the rock where we had left our bags and clothes. We trudged out of the water and made our way to a couple of rocks near the bag and sat down in our swimsuits, relaxing and drying out in the sun while we drank for a few water bottles and ate sandwiches we had prepared. As the sun moved we moved to a larger rock where we could both lay out since the sun was especially warm there. We brought the water and apples we had packed and ate while we lay there.
As we lay there for a while, Peeta eventually stood up and said he wanted to practice a little more. "I think I'm okay on my own," he said, waving a head to indicate I should continue lying down if I wanted to. As he walked away I laid back down, turning to look at him and he stepped into the cool water. I waved at him and he waved back as I turned to grab my water on the other side. As I turned back I heard a large splash in the water, figuring Peeta had lost his kicking pattern. I looked to where he had been but he was gone. I stood to look for him and quickly saw his head come up from a deeper area of the water.
I jumped into the water where I was and swam towards him. As I saw him, I grabbed him under an arm and drug him to the shallow area. He was coughing on the water as I sat him up and patted his back hardly, trying to get the rest of the water. "Sorry," he said, choking on the last bit of water. "I thought I was good enough to go in the deep end," he said with a small laugh in his voice. I shook my head and continued hitting him in the back, my mind not registering that the water was out. "You scared me!" I yelled, trying not to sound too upset. I stopped hitting him and rubbed his back as we sat there, waiting for Peeta's breathe to settle. He put an arm around me and said, "I promise to not go swimming while my lifeguard isn't on duty." "You're right you won't!" I shot back, trying not to smile too much at his smart comment.
We eventually stood up and Peeta began walking into the water again. "I promise I won't drown this time," he said, holding a hand out for me and nodding towards the water. I followed him and waited while he got into a good treading pattern before beginning to tread as well. As we treaded Peeta began moving past me to the deep side as well, this time talking, "Let's try it again. I should do better since I have something to distract me from over-analyzing my moves." I smiled and began to move closer to him. We began following each other around the lake and treaded for what felt like a good thirty or forty minutes. As we neared the shallow part, Peeta moved more vigorously so he was moving past me. He stopped once he got chest deep in the water and grabbed me before I could pass. I stood up and he pulled me in with one arm around my waist. The other hand pushed my braid behind my back and he stood there smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back when I saw how happy his bright blue eyes were. His hand rested on the back of my head and he pulled me in for a deep kiss. It was different than other kisses I was used to. Usually Peeta's kisses were passionate and lusty or short and sweet. But this kiss was deep, soulful, and gentle. I kissed back and we stood there in the water, kissing for who knows how long.
When we eventually pulled away I opened my eyes to see a smile on Peeta's face and his eyes still closed. As he opened them slowly again the bright blue was happier than ever and he pulled me in again quickly for another kiss. When he finished he rested his forehead against mine. "Today has been wonderful. Even if you had to save me," he said with a smile, "Thank you." I smiled back and said, "No problem. I figure with the life-saving I'm starting to pay you back, right?" He grabbed me by the arms, saying, "No, Katniss. I'm always going to be in debt to you." I let a faint smile graze my lips and we walked out of the water towards our clothes. The sun was still high, but it was probably close to 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. We each took our clothes and went to different areas behind trees to change into regular clothes. Peeta was finished first and began walking to the area where I was but as I caught sight of him I turned around and yelled for him to stop. He stopped and laughed as he covered his eyes.
When I finally got my shirt over my still-damp body I sloppily put my wet hair in a bun and headed out to meet him. "Sorry," he laughed, holding his hands up. "I thought you were done. Honestly." I gave him a suspicious look and slung my bag on my back. He took my hand and we began walking back slowly out of the woods. I felt a bit of sadness leaving the spot but was glad it had been a good day. Even though it held a special place in my heart for the memories I shared with my father there, taking Peeta there had a different set of happy feelings associated with them and I smiled quietly to myself.
As we left the fence Peeta asked if we could return the next day for more lessons. I laughed and agreed, surprised by his enthusiasm. "It felt good in the water," he said bashfully, like a little child. We went home and, due to the heat, opened all of the windows. "I think this calls for some more time outdoors," Peeta said as he headed back to our garden. We had begun growing a few more plants. In addition to the herbs and small flowers, we had added a few small things like carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes; nothing too fancy. Peeta and I enjoyed good flavors, but we weren't really exotic eaters like the people in the Capitol were. He began checking on the vegetables, some of which were beginning to sprout, as well as pluck up some of the herbs that were ready to be harvested. I sat on the chair and watched him, admiring his gentle, but strong hands as he pruned, composted, and took care of our little garden.
I fell asleep in the chair and woke up a few hours later with a small nudge on my shoulder and kiss on the cheek from a cleaned up Peeta. The sun had begun to set and he pulled up another chair beside me to enjoy the sight. He took my hand and pulled it up to his mouth, kissing it softly before resting it on his armrest. After the sun had set he turned to me, "How's it going?" he asked, calmly. "Pretty good. It's been a great day." I said, still staring at the sky as stars faintly began to show. I felt completely calm and serene for the first time in a very long while and wanted to stay in that mood for as long as possible. I sat still, fearing that my movements would suddenly throw things back out of balance.
Peeta stood up and held a hand out for me, pulling me up as well into a warm, soft, hug. "I made dinner if you want some," he mumbled into my hair after he kissed the top of my head. I nodded and he began to pull away but I grabbed him and pulled him back, closer to me. It just felt good. He let out of soft laugh and stood there while we hugged for a few more moments before he interrupted my silent calm. "I do need to go inside to make sure it's not burning at least." I groaned and let go of him, following him as he walked inside.
The table was set and the food smiled very good. Peeta reached into the oven for a loaf of bread and then took out a pan with a piece of meat which had been roasting with some vegetables. I sat down and stared at it, suddenly realizing I was hungrier than I had thought. He set everything down on the counter and began preparing a small salad, saying we needed to wait before cutting the meat and bread. After a few more minutes he brought everything to the table and I eyed the delicious spread. Before we began eating Peeta reached his hand towards mine squeezed it tightly. "Katniss, I-" but he was soon cut off by Haymitch.
"Hey! What's for dinner? Sae's out of town…" he stopped, suddenly realizing he had interrupted us. You could smell the alcohol on him but Peeta motioned for him to sit down and got up to get Haymitch a plate and utensils. "No, I'm not hungry," he said with a burp, patting his stomach. "You really should eat something instead of drinking all the time," Peeta chided Haymitch as he set down the plate and silverware.
The forces of nature knew things had gone too easily on me that day and thus produced Haymitch. I didn't mind him being there; it had been a while since we had seen him since my mother had been in town and we had both been busy with our little businesses. We entertained Haymitch that night. It felt almost reassuring, listening to some of his drunken stories and loud laughter during dinner, after which he stumbled to the living room. Peeta and I gave him quizzical looks and he tried to explain as he reached for the TV. "Do you guys even have a remote?" he asked, frustrated as his drunken stupor impeded him from hitting any of the correct buttons. We didn't. Peeta and I weren't big TV watchers. Actually, I couldn't remember the last time we had watched TV. Peeta got up next to him, asking what he wanted to turn the TV to as Haymitch stumbled backwards, sprawling out on the couch.
"They're doing a report on what they've been researching in the area. I hear there's a really good looking guy they interviewed," he said with a wily smile. Peeta turned on the TV and sat in the chair next to me as a woman came on the screen and they began showing footing of District 12. It felt weird to see it on a TV screen. They showed several of the shops in the area, including footage of the bakery, complete with Peeta helping a customer.
They continued by showing some of the new buildings in the area and discussing the plans the Capitol had for our district in the future. Apparently they were thinking of using some of the natural resources we had in the area for various needs around Panem. The interviewed a few official looking people, one of which was Gale. My stomach began to turn as I looked at him. He had a very cold, hardened look on his face as he stood near the town square talking about how they were going to start testing some materials to see if they could be used to help hovercrafts fly on cleaner fuel and also what could be used with weapon development. The word weapon struck a particularly painful cord with me as I saw him discuss potential weapons they could use.
The shot went back to the woman who was walking in the town square and discussing the various ideas the officials had presented. She continued with a short intro before interviewing a few district people concerning their thoughts with the ideas. Haymitch clapped his hands and punched Peeta in the shoulder as it shot to him. He was clearly more sober than he was at this moment and he smiled a good bit at the camera before looking at the woman. But as he spoke he sounded rational. Shortly after the program was over a new one began. Since none of us were interested Peeta turned the TV off and we both turned to Haymitch who was beaming with pride. "What do you think?" "You did a wonderful job, Haymitch," Peeta began. I nodded fervently in agreement to make him feel better and he stood up to excuse himself.
As he closed the door behind Haymitch Peeta let out a chuckle and shook his head. I smiled at him, but my insides were still twisting after seeing Gale and hearing him discuss the advances he wanted to make with weapons. Who were we fighting? Why did we even need to continue making weapons? My cheeks grew red as I grew angry with a not-present Gale and Peeta walked over and rubbed my arm with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?" He asked tenderly. I shook my head, "Yeah, I'm fine," I said quickly before giving him a fake smile and walking to the table to clean up the dishes.
As we lay in bed Peeta's kisses brought me back to him and I quickly remembered the night before Haymitch interrupted us. "What did you need to say earlier? Before Haymitch came in." I asked. "Oh, nothing. It's okay. Don't worry about it. We should get some rest. We've got more swimming ahead of us tomorrow." He smiled before kissing me again.