Author's Note: I'm so so so sorry for making you guys wait more than 2 months for this update. I promise I will get back to writing my story. I've had some personal problems involving my family. I will take a little break from all the drama and get some Evellark moments going here. Also, for those who are waiting, lemons are coming...I would like to hear from you guys if you are still interested in this story, so please leave me a simple review like "I'm". Here is chapter 28. Enjoy

I don't own The Hunger Games

Chapter 28

Katniss's POV

As Peeta carries me downstairs I can't stop myself from feeling some kind of hope. It seems like after so many years we are finally starting to get our lives on track. As I look up at his beautiful face my entire body seems to lighten up, I can still feel the taste of his lips against mine, so soft but so demanding and passionate at the same time. I never thought I would want someone in such a way, especially after what happened between me and Gale, but Peeta is different. He makes my entire body feel alive, full of hope. His hands on my hips seemed like an act so intimate, so full of love.

He carries me bridal style all the way from his room to his kitchen where Greasy Sae is heating some food up and Haymitch is sitting on one of the chairs reading what looks like a newspaper.

"Hey you two. Take a seat, lunch is almost ready." Says Greasy Sae. Peeta smiles at her and carried me to one of the chair and helps me to sit down. Honestly I think he is exaggerating, even though I just had a breakdown I know that I could at least walk by myself. But he is Peeta, even though I don't deserve it he is will always be right here by my side taking care of me and making sure he is okay. I was so lost in thoughts that I didn't realize when Peeta put a bowl of fresh rabbit stew in front of mes

"Are you okay? Do you need some help?" he asks. Oh my Peeta...

"No, I'm okay. Thank you" I answer with a smile. I wait until he gets his own bowl and sits down next to me. I start eating my food slowly, I'm not hungry at all and my stomach is not in the mood for lunch but I don't want to cause another scene, and of course I don't want to worry Peeta. The food is completely tasteless for me, but I do my best to act like I'm enjoying it, but I know that Peeta can read straight through me.

"So any news?" Peeta asks, probably Haymitch.

"Nothing new, just the rebuilding of the districts. Everybody seems to be doing so well, thinks are finally starting to come along." Am I the only one who got the impression that he is hiding something?

"Well I think you two need some rest. Peeta why don't you go take a shower and I will take care of changing those bandages. By the way, I know that with everything that happened with Katniss you kind of forgot but you are not supposed to be walking around for too long or lift weights. You are still healing, child." Greasy Sae says. She is always acting like a mother towards me and Peeta.

"Yeah I will make sure I do that. You don't need to worry about me Sae, the painkillers they gave me at the hospital are just what I need, I feel brand new." Peeta says before standing up, kissing my cheek softly and excusing himself probably to take a shower.

Greasy Sae smiles at me and I know that she is about to say something that will probably make me uncomfortable. "That boy loves you so much, and I know you love him just as much. You two are going to have such a beautiful family together." Maybe we could, if we lived in a different world and we weren't who we are. Haymitch notices how deeply this simple statement has affected me and changed the subject quickly.

"He seems to be healing faster than I thought. You can't even tell that he basically just got out of a coma." It's not of Haymitch's nature to make such statements but I'm very thankful for the help.

"He is. I'm just a bit worry, even though he seems to be getting better we can't forget that he is not physically healed yet. He needs to slow down a little and I think the only person who can make sure of that is you, Katniss." Greasy Sae says. I just smile. The only thing I want in this world is for Peeta to be okay, I will have to make sure that I keep myself together so I can help him.

"I would love to stay here and talk more about our lovebirds but duty calls me" Haymitch says as he stands up to leave. Before I can contain myself I jump out of my chair, a bit too fast for my broken body's taste, and hug him hard.

"Thank you Haymitch, for everything." I pull back and look into his gray eyes, and I see love and compassion.

"Take care sweetheart." He smiles at me before making his way to the front door and out of Peeta's house. Greasy Sae helps me to walk to the living room and sit on the couch opposite from the TV.

"I'm going to clean the kitchen. Sit here and don't go anywhere without telling me. If you need anything just let me know." She says. I wait until she makes her wait to the kitchen before I reach for the remote control. As I look for something to watch I find a channel about what looks like news from all over Panem. I can see what Haymitch was talking about. Everybody seem to happy and full of hope as they rebuild their homes. District 1, 4, 5 and 7 are almost ready. And that's when it happens again, I'm watching an interview about district 2 when his face comes up. He looks so healthy and his body is pure muscles. He is looking straight at the camera and saying something about the process of rebuilding the district. That night comes rushing back to my mind and my body starts to shake.

"So Soldier Hawthorne, what is the reason why you left district 12? I mean, we know that you are leading the rebuilding crew in district 2 but what makes you rather be here than in your home district?" The reporter asks him.

" Many reasons to be honest. 12 holds too many memories of a disastrous past. And maybe I just want to start a new life, with new people.." He lies.

"KATNISS" I hear someone yelling my name. I feel someone pull the remote control from my hands and I'm left staring at a black screen. "Why are you watching that?" someone asks me, but it seems to far away.

"What is happening here?" another voice asks. I feel warm and strong arms around me and I'm leaning against something very comfortable. I concentrate on the heartbeat echoing through my ears.

"Katniss, why were you watching that? you know how that affects you..." It's Peeta. Not Gale. Peeta. I have to find a way to tell myself that everything is okay now. Gale is in district 2 and Peeta is right here next to me, holding me, comforting me. I focus on his heartbeat and let it be my anchor to reality.

Slowly my surroundings become clear. I know where I am and who I am with, I must hold on to this. Peeta is holding me so tight and whispering on my ear things such as "I love you" and "everything is going to be okay." I can't let him down again.

"I love you too. I'm okay, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." I say. He pulls away and cups my face in his big warm baker hands."I was so worried, please don't scare me like that again." he whispers as he kisses my entire face. Greasy Sae appears out of nowhere holding two mugs.

"Here, I couldn't find any tea so I made some hot chocolate for the two of you. Girl, you need to stop giving us heart attacks." She says. We both laugh softly like it was supposed to be joke, but Peeta remains silent. "Boy, can we get this over with so I can go home and you two can finally be alone?" Greasy Sae asks. Peeta nods and makes his way to the kitchen without a words. I must have really scared him this time, oh my poor dandelion.

"Wait here okay?" I just nod and she disappears. I wait patiently for them to return, thinking about how stupid I was. Why would I watch Gale's interview? I should've changed to another channel as soon as I saw hi face, but what could I have done? I was completely frozen.

I wait for a couple minutes until Peeta walks back in the living room. He is shirtless and his torso is covered with white bandage. Some color has returned to his face and he smiles at me, but his eyes are still as wide as the ocean.

"All done here. You two take care. I left some rabbit stew in the fridge for dinner." Greasy Sae says before making her way out the door. Peeta sits next to me and I immediately climb on his lap facing him, his arms surround me like a shield.

"Are you okay?" I ask as I bring my hand to caress the hair that is falling over his forehead.

"I am now. You just scared me to death. For a second I thought that you were going to go away again, I was losing you all over again." Oh my Peeta.

"I'm right here. I won't leave you anymore, I promise." I say as I bring my lips to his. We share a slow and sensual kiss, taking time to explore each other's mouth. The hunger that I felt on the beach comes back, but this time much stronger. Could I finally be ready to take this step? I should ask my mother about it, I really want to take a step forward with the love of my life. I'm going to lose this fear and let my past go, I will give Peeta what every boy expects of a relationship. I will do whatever I can for my boy with the bread.

We continue kissing for what feels like forever until we have to pull away for air. Peeta rests his forehead against mine and rub his nose against mine. This simple act makes me smile, he just makes everything seem so simple and wonderful.

"I love that smile of yours" he whispers. I can't contain myself so I lean in and capture his lips again. This time there is not time for slow kissing. I push my tongue in his mouth and start to explore, Peeta fights back and the battle moves to my mouth. Before I know what I'm doing I'm straddling his lap and he has his hands on my hips. We haven't stopped kissing and it all seems to be moving a bit too fast. Suddenly Peeta is moving us so I'm lying on my back and is on top of me. He positions his elbows on each side of my head so his weight is not on me. His lower body is positioned between my legs, and I think I'm imagining it when I feel something warm and hard resting against my inner thigh. My hands start to caress his bare chest and around the white bandage. His hands are sneaking under my shirt slowly, as if asking for permission, such a gentleman. I grab one of his hands and place it right on my right breast, Peeta pulls away from me completely until he is sitting on the other side of the couch. We are both panting and I can't help the feeling of hurt and rejection that grows inside of me. I sit with my legs crossed and look down at my fingers that are resting on my lap.

"Katniss..." Peeta whispers, he is still trying to catch his breath. I don't look up, I don't want for him to see the tears that are about to fall. "Katniss, look at me." he tries again, but I won't move. I let myself think that Peeta wanted me, how stupid I was. I'm just a broken fragile and useless face of a rebellion, I'm not beautiful and certainly not attractive or sexy. Why would such an amazing and handsome boy like Peeta want me? He is probably just going to leave me and find someone who can give him what he wants.

"hey, hey..." I feel two fingers on my chin forcing my head up and my eyes to lock with his. I think he finally notices the tears in my eyes and it clicks in how hurt I feel. "Katniss, It's not what you are thinking. Oh my...Please don't think that I...I...I would never reject you. I just...I don't want to hurt you. I know that you are not ready for a physical relationship and I was afraid that if we went any further I wouldn't be able to stop." I single rebel tear falls down my face, could he be thinking about me all this time?

He wipes the single tear with his thumb and kisses my nose "I want you so bad you can't even imagine, but I want it to be perfect for you and me." Peeta pulls me to a bear hug so tight that it takes my breath away. He wants me and I want him too now I just need to make sure I'm ready for it as soon as possible so I can finally show him how much a love him in a physical way.

"Should we drink our hot now cold chocolate?" he says changing the subject. I only smile and reach for my mug as he reaches for his. I lean on his shoulder as he picks up the remote control and turns the TV off, for my contentment Gale is gone from the screen and from my mind for now. We spend the rest of the afternoon and evening watching whatever the Capitol has to present, kissing and cuddling on his couch.

Thank you so much for waiting so long :). Like I said before I had some personal issues, actually I still have, at home and was not feeling well enough to write. I know this is not the best chapter I could've written but I'm still trying to get back to writing-mode. So next chapter we will have some mother-daughter "talk" and...and...who wants to guess what is starting next chapter :D? Please leave me a review so I know that there are people reading this. I will update as soon as I can. Bye Bye...