It's the sound of a car horn that initially rouses me from my slumber, but it's the insistent sound of traffic that pulls me towards consciousness. Slowly I work my heavy eyelids open a crack but immediately squeezed them closed against the morning sunshine streaming across my face. Where the hell am I? my sleep-addled mind tries to work out. As I creep towards wakefulness, my memory sharpens and the events of the night before come to the foreground of my mind. I easily recall the welcome the party, and quickly after that, Tova's revelation about Cinna. For a long moment, my thoughts catch on a kiss in the dark. I sigh and push the memory away. I'm defiantly not awake enough to dissect how I feel about that. My thoughts tumble forward past the party, to the talk with Katniss next to the pool and on to the image of 3 feet propped up by a fire. Immediately, any lethargy my brain had been wading through is instantly dissolved. It's a weight across my lap I register first, but that's quickly followed by the sound of gentle breathing. In spite of the blinding sunlight, I force my eyes open. They instantly begin to water as the light stabs at my corneas, but regardless of the tears blurring my vision, I clearly make out two small feet in my lap, their toes tucked under my forearm. I feel my breath catch in my chest as my eyes traveling up a set of legs that are only partially encased a tangled in pink satin. The morning rays catch on silvery threads of a sash wrapped around a small waist. As my gaze finally finds Katniss's sleeping face, my heart pounds so hard it feels as if it will leap right out of my chest. I place a hand the over place it pounds in an attempt to calm its erratic pace, but it beats seems to speed up as I stare at her, with her head propped on a bright teal pillow and her long dark locks spread out in a tangled disarray around her head, her face a mask of peaceful slumber.
Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! This was so dangerous. What if I had woken up mutt? Yes, we've managed a few fleeting touches, but this….this is a different story, and completely irresponsible of me. Granted this scenario was not planned when I sat down here last night I still should have been more careful! My breath becomes erratic at the thought and I go light-headed. Laying my head back, I try to regain control of my racing heart and the pace of my breaths. Everything is fine. She is safe. You are you. I lecture myself. After a long moment, my breathing and heart rate seem to sync up and I open my eyes again. I gaze down at Katniss. She looks so peaceful it brings tears to my eyes, and if I'm being honest with myself, a strange surge of pride to my ego. It's no secret that, like myself, Katniss still suffers from horrifying dreams most nights. There have been too many burley eyed breakfasts to ignore their presence in our lives. So to see her in peaceful slumber curled up next to me, I can't help but wonder if it has to do with my presence. For a short time after our first hunger games, we had shared a bed; it had been a simple act that provided us both with more restful sleep. I linger a moment on the memories that surface, and I feel a twinge in the pit of my stomach. This is how I felt those mornings so long ago. The very consideration sends panic rushing through my veins. I'm spiraling through memories and thought in fits and starts when the brunette draped over me begins to stir.
Drowsy eyelids lazily flutter open to reveal her unique grey orbs. I watch as shock passes over her face, but is just as quickly it's replaced with a soft, if not a shy, smile.
"Good Morning," I offer, a smile pulling at my own lips.
"Morning," she returns. "I can't believe we fell asleep out here," she says, stretching lazily.
I'm surprised at her lack of reaction to our current position, but I push the consideration way, enjoying our closeness too much to mention it.
"Did you sleep well?" I ask, plucking wayward strain of hair from in front of her eyes.
She sighs happily. "Yeah, I did. I haven't slept like than sin…." She begins but cuts herself off.
"Since before the quarter quell?" I finish for her.
She nods, a blush creeping to her cheeks. "Are you okay?" she asks, concern passing in her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I woke peacefully too," I tell her. "But..." I add reluctantly.
"It could have gone the other way?" she says completes my sentence for me.
I shrug. "Truthfully I don't know, at least not yet. When I'm awake, I can tell when things are going to go sideways, but sleep has been unpredictable," I tell her honestly.
She considers me a moment, "Perhaps something to discuss with your Doctor?" she asks shyly.
Her suggestion eluding to this morning's event possibly returning to a regular habit at any point shocks me, but I keep it from my face. Truthfully, it isn't as though the thought hasn't gone through my mind in the past. But I would never suggest it. I never really entertained the thought because of all of the issues share a bed could bring up.
Behind us I hear a door open.
"Oh, there you…are," I hear Effie exclaim, her voice dipping when she takes in our state. I look at her over my shoulder and find her with her hand over her heart and smile on her face. When she catches me looking, she immediately drops her hand and erases the pleased look from her countenance.
Haymitch comes barging on the to the patio behind her and sighs dramatically when he sees us. "Oh, perfect," he grouses, throwing up his hands in the air.
I duck my head and peek at Katniss who seems to be taking the whole scene in stride, a smirk on her face and all.
"When you two are able to pull yourselves together, meet us in the kitchen," Haymitch grouses, then turns and drags Effie back into the apartment.
I groan. It's never a good sign when Haymitch is up before noon.
"Did he seem hungover to you?" Katniss asks.
I pull my attention for the door and look over at her, surprised by the twist in the conversation. "Not particularly…" I draw out.
"He wasn't hungover yesterday morning either," she says, pulling herself to a sitting position, but still managing to keep her legs draped over my lap.
I squint at her, "Yeah, and?"
She shrugs, "And nothing, it's just odd," she says through a mischievous smile.
I smirk back, "Very," I return. Recalling all the oddities I've noticed in him since our arrival, I decided to follow her train of thought. "Have you noticed that he's been…" I start but the sentence is interrupted by the squeak of the screen door again.
"Pulling yourselves together don't take that long! You're not even naked" Haymitch growls, "Get in here" he demands, letting the door slam behind him again.
Katniss hides laugh behind her hand and begins to pull herself together.
I reach over a grab my leg from where it lies abandoned on a chair next to us.
"I'll have to make a note that nakedness buys me more time," she mutters as she pulls her gown from where it has ridden up around her hips over the night.
I freeze mid latching my leg on and stare at her up at her, amused by the comment. She immediately blushes so deeply it matches her dress.
"I…I mean…you know when…when he's rushing me…out the…somewhere," she mumbles before awkwardly standing to finish straightening her clothes.
My heart beats a little quicker in my chest at her flustering retort. This is the Katniss the old me remembers.
I pull the last strap on my prostatic tight and stand up next to her. Without finding my eyes she nods towards the door. "Ready?" she asks.
I look down at her, wanting to force her to look into my eyes again like she did when she woke up, but she refuses to lift her eyes to mind. I sigh and nod, "Let's go." We circle the firepit and maneuver around furniture towards the back of the apartment. She's pulling the door open when I reach over her head to close it again. I don't' want to leave a great morning with a dark shadow over it. She spins around but with my hand on the door she's a lot closer than she realizes; she has no choice but to look up at me. She smells of perfume, chlorine, and outside, I mundanely wish I could bottle it, like the candles and lotions I bought from Honey the night I was lost in Panem. I smile down at her, "Do me a favor and avoid using the naked excuse with me, I am after all only a teenage boy," I suggest in a teasing tone, hoping to break the tension she has decided was needed due to an off-handed statement. Her cheeks glow red but she straightens her spine and a smirk pulls at her features.
"Peeta you'll be 20 in a month," she counters with a raised eyebrow.
I chuckle in amusement, glad to see her rebound. I reach behind her and pull open the door. "Yeah, well let's just say that certain parts of the male brain remain perpetually 16 years old," I smirk and glide past her into the apartment.
Her face turns fiery red and her mouth hangs slightly agape. She may be blushing and slightly appalled but she seems to have put her awkwardness aside.
"What? It's the truth," I laugh. "Come on before Haymitch sics Effie on us," I urge, feeling very proud of my feat.
Finally, she lets out a breath and rolls her eyes. "I'll never understand males," she mumbles as she passes me.
I chuckle and follow her down the hall to the dining. At the table. Effie and Haymitch sit with full plates in front of them, each engrossed in a newspaper.
Katniss goes immediately to the buffet to fill a plate, and I sit down across from Haymitch. "So…." I drawl out.
Haymitch peeks over the top of the paper at me, then watches as Katniss places a cup of tea in front of me and her plate at her spot before clasping into her chair.
I glance over at Effie for clarification, but she's worrying her bottom lip. Now I get nervous.
Haymitch clears his throat and folds the paper over, placing in between Katniss and I. "Thought you'd like to see the morning headlines," he says leaning back in this chair.
I look down at the Panem Times, the headlines read, "The Capitol Welcomes District Conference Teams with a Bash to Remember!" Brightly colored pictures litter the front page, but about halfway down the article gives way to a picture of Gale and Katniss standing close to one another, his hand on her arm. The lighting of the photo is such that Gale's face is obscured in shadow, so much so that a casual reader wouldn't be able to tell who it is, but I recognize him. The caption reads, "Is Katniss Everdeen in a love spat with this Mystery man?" I quickly graze the article. Apparently, the photographer never identified the mystery man, but the article goes on to speculate about their early escape from the party.
I look up at Katniss and find her looking peaked which causes my gut to clench. I push the paper away and clear my throat. "Speculation is all that is, they're looking for a way to pad the morning news," I state, sitting back in my chair and taking up my cup of tea for a sip.
Haymitch reaches over and takes the paper from Effie and tosses it in front of me. "I'm not done," he says. The People of Panem Gazette slides across the table, stopping between Katniss and I.
I look down at a grainy picture and my teacup begins trembling at my lips. There below papers header is Tova and I kissing on the porch in the dark. The image is blurry but clear enough to make out that it's Tova and I. I set the cup down carefully, and slowly lift my eyes to Katniss. Her face is white, her gray eyes wide.
I shake my head, trying to come up with the words to explain the evidence but come up short. I've hardly devoted any time to thinking about the moment on the patio. To be honest I've been avoiding thinking about it altogether.
Haymitch takes the paper from in front of me, and reads the headline, "Peeta Mellark falls for his Designer."
"It's not…what it looks like," I muster.
Haymitch's eyebrows raise, and he grabs a remote next to his plate. After a push of a button, a picture above the buffet disappears replaced by a television screen. There, on a morning chat show the hosts are watching what appears to be surveillance footage from the porch. There isn't any sound, but the super clear film of us kissing makes up for that lacking. I bury my face in my hands.
"On the bright side, no one's talking about your little dance," Haymitch gripes, flipping off the TV.
"Haymitch, a little compassion," Effie chides.
I finally lift my face from my palms. "How do we manage it?" I ask quietly?
Haymitch takes a breath and looks from me to Katniss. "Well, I think this thing with Katniss and Gale will die before it even gets off the ground since they don't know who the mystery man is, but the film clearly shows that it's you and Tova so this is going to be a thing that serves distraction from what we all agreed to come here to do!" he says slapping his hand on the table. I jump at the sound, but he quickly pulls himself together.
"At least s we don't have to worry about the star-crossed lover's issue now do we," Katniss says, her voice hollow. I look at her but she keeps her eyes focused on Haymitch, her face still bleached white.
Haymitch considers this and nods. "I suppose that's true," he agrees.
"Perhaps some well places leaks could possibly help?" Effie offers.
My attention pulls from Katniss to Effie. "What do you mean by "well-placed leaks?" I ask.
"I know quite a few people in the media, we can turn this any way we want with some well-placed gossip," she explains.
I feel my brow furrow. "What kind of story? There isn't…that…it's not…"I stammer.
"Reality doesn't matter, you of all people should know that!" Haymitch says matter of factly.
I level my eyes at him, "It's no one's business! It's completely gossip," I grind out.
Haymitch snorts. "Then kiss your new girlfriend in private quarters next time! In the meantime, we have to figure out what we're going to feed the beast."
My blood pressure rises. I open my mouth to respond, but before the words can leave my mouth, Katniss is pushing away from the table. "Since my issue is resolved, you'll excuse me," she says, her voice hard. Getting up she quickly disappears down the hall.
Frustration builds in my chest and my fist comes down on the table rattling the dishes and silverware. A growl tears at my throat at the words "Damn it!" escape into the silence of the dining room.