The Deal

"I love you," Peeta told Katniss, tightening his arms around her. She managed to shake her head even though it was pressed against his chest. She put her hands on his stomach and pushed him away from her and turned around. She buried her face in her hands. "Katniss…" Peeta said.

"No!" she said shakily. She just couldn't deal with all the sacrifices he was willing to make for her. It had always bothered her but now she really couldn't deal with it. "You do too much for me. I just… I can't…"

Peeta came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his cheek against her ear. Katniss leaned against him but kept her face in her hands. He nuzzled her hair and said, "It's okay. I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't know I made you feel like that. I would never try to make you feel like that on purpose."

Katniss removed her hands from her face and turned around in his arms. She locked her hands around his neck but didn't look up to meet his eyes. "I know you don't do it on purpose. But that's something that bugs me too. How can you just do things like that for me without thinking?" She looked up into his eyes.

Peeta pressed his lips against her forehead. "Because I love you."

"I love you too, but I don't do things for you as easily as you do them for me."

"You do, Katniss." He brushed some hair out of her face and spoke very softly. "You do." She buried her face in his chest and breathed in his scent. He repeatedly stroked her hair and held her. "Do you want to back to your house?"

"I don't know. I want to stay with you. I just want to be with you." She said into his shirt. She turned her face and pressed her cheek against his heart, feeling its steady pulse. "I want to live with you." she said, languorously.

"I want to live with you, too. But you know that it's going to be hard. I will ask my family to leave, Katniss. I'll do it for you."

"No." Katniss pulled her face away and looked at him.

"Katniss…" his eyes were wary and he looked very tired.

"Don't do it for me. Do it for us."

"Us?" he asked his eyes brightening.

Katniss traced a finger along his jaw. "Us."

"Okay." He smiled, but it soon faded. "I… when should I do it?"

"Whenever you're comfortable. I can be there if you want, or not if you don't."

"I think maybe I should do this by myself." Katniss was relieved. She did not want to be around when her boyfriend kicked his family out. "I think we should go to the Justice Building to let them know that they won't be living there anymore. We don't have to say anything about you living with me though, because then your mom and sister might be kicked out."

"Okay. Wanna go now?" She asked, tapping a finger on his chest.

He looked at her reluctantly. "I don't know."

"Okay, well, we can go whenever you're ready. I don't want to push you." She said quietly.

"Ah, come on." He said lightly. "Let's go now before I lose my nerve."

"Peeta…"

"No, it's fine. It is." He released her from his arms and held her hand. He started to walk and pulled her gently when she didn't follow. "Come on." He said softly.

She walked with him and kept her eyes downcast because she knew he looked at her from time to time. She didn't want to meet his eye because she didn't know what she'd read in them and didn't know how she'd feel afterwards. The Justice Building came into view, the words Hall of Justice gleamed in the morning light. They walked up the stairs and entered. It looked the same as it had before. Too fancy and out of place in their poor little District.

They met an attendant who quickly whisked them off to find the man who assigned Peeta's house the first time. The attendant knocked and the door opened, a cheery old man stood there. They exchanged a few words and then the attendant left. The man smiled and beckoned Peeta into his office. Peeta's hand tightened around Katniss's. She smiled encouragingly at him and released his hand, sitting down on a wooden bench outside the office. The man shut to door behind Peeta and Katniss waited.

The door was too thick for her to hear anything, which bothered her. She bounced her knee impatiently and drummed her fingers against her thighs. It seemed to take ages. She crossed her leg over the other, switched, and then uncrossed them. She folded her arms and then unfolded them and patted the sides of the bench. By the time Peeta came out she was about to begin pacing. She stood when the door opened and straightened her shirt.

His expression was sombre but the man behind him looked happy… "Well, there you go, son." He handed Peeta an envelope, which he accepted with a glance at Katniss. "When I was your age I didn't want to live with my parents anymore either. Just give them that and they'll have to leave by law or Peacekeepers will extract them."

Peeta nodded numbly and the man clapped him on the back before heading back into his office. Peeta was staring down at the envelope in his hand. Katniss took a step forward and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You okay?" He looked at her and nodded, smiling sadly. Katniss felt really bad. She kissed him on the cheek and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back and rested his chin on her head. "You can still back out if you want to."

"No." Peeta's voice was firm and Katniss withdrew so she could look at him. "I want us to live together. I'm doing this."

"Okay." Katniss said, stroking his cheek. He gave a small smile and they left the Justice Building and walked back home.

"I'll come by later when…" he cleared his throat. "After it's done."

"Alright. See you later." She kissed him gently on the lips. "I love you."

"Bye." Peeta gave her another peck, but it wasn't playful like it usually was. "Love you, too."

Katniss watched him go and then walked into her house. She shut the door and leaned against it. She felt a tear drip onto her cheek and she quickly brushed it off with her sleeve. Here she was crying when her boyfriend was going to kick his own family out of the house. She really didn't want to let him do that, but there was no other way for her and Peeta to live together. And she didn't want to live with her mom anymore. If living with her meant that Peacekeepers were going to harass her boyfriend, then she wanted to be free. Living with Peeta would give her that. She just felt bad about Prim.

She blew out a shaky breath and jogged up the stairs. She found a duffel bag in her closet and threw some clothes in there. She wouldn't always be able to steal Peeta's clothes. She put in warm clothing mostly, because it was getting colder outside. She put in some under garments and socks, and gently put Peeta's handkerchief in the hidden pocket inside. She grabbed some toiletries and dropped them in on top. She kicked the bag into her room and then under her bed.

She wouldn't be living with him until after his family had left, and she wasn't sure how long that would take. She walked down the stairs to make herself a mug of hot chocolate. She felt horrible making him do this but when she asked him not to he wouldn't listen. Katniss felt like Peeta would take risks and make sacrifices for her until something bad happened. Something really bad.

Her lip trembled as she took her hot chocolate up to her room and threw on a wrap sweater. She sat down on the large stone railing and let her feet dangle over the edge. She sat there for hours, until the warmth from her mug was gone and she started to shiver. But she didn't go back inside. She just sat there and felt numb, from both the cold and from what she had made Peeta do.