New

"That's right, we're almost home."

The doorbell rings again, and sloppily plopping the letter down on the end table as I make my way, I rush over towards the front door. I open the door, and the first sight I see is a stack of boxes that appear to have a pair of feet. A sweaty, bright red face pops up behind them. "Care to help, Katniss?" Peeta manages to wheeze out.

I manage to stifle in a giggle and reply, "Of course, Peeta." I take two boxes off from the top.

"Thank you. Normally I wouldn't ask you for help, but they're quite heavy," Peeta admits.

I stutter out, "They are kind of heavy. There are more, I presume?"

"A load more," Peeta responds. "And we got the paintings."

I drop the boxes off in the living room. "Just put them in here, we can carry them up or wherever they need to go later," I call out.

"That would be great," I hear Peeta yell in response.

I run over to Peeta's house, eager to help out with his work. Is this really happening? Peeta and I are moving in together. I wonder, I wonder if he dreamed of this before, us moving in together. Would he have wanted it to be like this? I don't know, but one thing I do know is that I'm happy, the happiest I've been in a long time. As soon as I open the door, the first thing I notice is a high pile of boxes. "Jeez, Peeta, how long have you been waiting to move in with me?" I joke.

Peeta laughs, "For a while." He winks at me. Butterflies start to flutter in my stomach. I do love him. I really do.

We laugh, we giggle, and we joke. The high stack of boxes at Peeta's is slowly disappearing and reappearing, only this time, at my house. Box after box is dragged from his house to my house. Haymitch even pitches in.

"What's going on here?" Haymitch grumbles as he steps out of his house. "Moving in together?" He winks.

Peeta, oblivious to Haymitch's suggestive remark, replies, "Yep. It's about time, don't you think?"

Haymitch grins. "I suppose I could help, and then leave you to your own little…festivities."

I groan in horror, slapping my hand to my forehead. Peeta raises his eyebrows, but laughs along with Haymitch. We may have lost our families, but along the way, we have created our own. We may be broken, but we've pieced each other again. We may have lost our way, but together, we wrote a new map.

Time flies even faster. Every paintbrush, every rolling-pin, every letter is somehow now in my house. "I better get going now, let you get settled in," Haymitch says, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Thank you for the help, Haymitch," Peeta calls out, waving wildly, as Haymitch walks back to his house.

"Do you want to actually unpack all of this?" I ask, pointing to the heap of boxes.

Peeta shakes his head. "Let's wait until tomorrow; I think we've done enough for today," he replies.

I agree whole-heartedly. We flop onto the sofa, exhausted from the day's work. After a few moments of piece and quiet, Peeta says, "Letter."

My eyebrows knit in confusion. "Letter?" I repeat.

"Do you want to read a letter with me? You know, the ones I wrote to you during the rebellion," Peeta confirms.

"Okay," I murmur. Will this go well? I'll take my chances.

I open up a fresh letter and begin reading.

Dear Katniss,

"Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without." Gale's words repeat over and over in my head. What does he mean? Physically or mentally? Physically, you would with Gale. But mentally, I'm not sure. You've known Gale for so long, so it's most likely him. And plus, he doesn't mistake you for a murderous mutt, does he? I always knew it was him, from the very start. And to be honest Katniss, I'm jealous to this day. I'm still jealous. I don't know why. Gale's a good guy. We have our differences, but I'm willing to put this away, to become friends with him. He loves you, and I'm definitely sure you love him. Gale says you love me, but I can't believe that now, after all that I've gone through in the Capitol. No one could love me now. It's okay. I'm willing to accept this. I just want you to be happy, and if you're happy, I'll be happy.

Sincerely,

Peeta

"I'm sorry," Peeta murmurs. "I was so confused, and I just needed to get my thoughts out. There was no other way. I'm sorry to have you see this terrible person inside me."

I press my lips to his forehead. "It's okay, Peeta. I'm willing to accept you, in any shape or form you're in," I whisper.

"I hate this person, this monster that lives inside of me. I can't control it. It's not me."

"I know it isn't."

Peeta sighs. "Why do you bother to even care for me? It would be a lot easier to just ditch me."

"Because I do. I've always cared for you. I've unknowingly watched you from that day in kindergarten. I've looked out for you, just like you have been for me."

"Why?"

"You're amazing, Peeta. You won't ever be able to recognize this yourself, but you are. You can make a person feel better about him or herself in seconds. You can find the light in anything. You can bake. You can fight. You've lost your entire family, and yet you're still hanging on. You were brainwashed into believing things that aren't true, and you are making an effort to rebuild your past. You've suffered through so much, and yet, you're still here. You've become a part of me, Peeta. I don't know how I survived so long without having you in my life, but then again, I guess you always were."

He looks up and whispers, "I love you."

I take a deep breath. I whisper in reply, "I love you, too."