Author's note: Wow! It sure has been a bit since the last update. I promise it was worth the wait! going to try really hard for it not to be so long between updates, but won't make any definite promises.

Thanks a million to my beta aihodineverlark for everything! (Go read her stuff!)

Thanks also to my bestie and forever prereader writingbutunpublished! (Go read her stuff too!)

Let me know what you think! Even if it's just a smiley face!

Happy reading!

Chapter Sixteen

It started snowing the day before school was supposed to start back and continued on for the next several days. Riley loved it, but it was a nuisance. He ran back and forth outside to play in it, leaving the door ajar for the cold air to blow in. And every time he came in, despite Peeta calling after him to wipe his feet, there were always wet shoe prints all the way into the kitchen.

Peeta sighed and finally put down his piping bag.

Riley ran back inside for the twentieth time. Peeta gathered him up. "You want some hot cocoa?"

"I want you to come play in the snow. You said you would when you were done."

Peeta smiled. "So I did." He placed a kiss to the top of Riley's head and sat him down. "Go find my boots and I'll get this stuff put away right quick."

Riley plopped his boots on the floor while Peeta got the last of his tools in the sink to wash later. His phone started ringing while he was pulling on his coat. He recognized it as the tone he'd set for Katniss.

He smiled into it as he answered, "Hi there."

"I hate snow." She said in greeting.

"Me too. It's all over my work room." Peeta made a face at Riley. "But I'm fixing to go play in it, so the attitude will change." He laughed. "The roads are finally clear, you should come over."

"I was actually about to ask if you two wanted to come here, but I can meet you."

"Okay, see you in a bit. Be careful." He hung up and pulled on his gloves. "Are we going to build a snowman or are we going to have a snowball fight?"

"Snowman!"

They took a few minutes to gather old clothes to dress their snowman. Outside they found some good sticks for arms and some rocks for the face and buttons. And then they got to work sculpting snow.


Katniss pulled in to see Peeta and Riley working diligently to pack a large snowball. She could see the large base of a snowman was in the middle of the yard already. She got out and stepped gingerly through the snow.

Riley looked up and brightened. "Katniss! We're building the biggest snowman ever!"

"Awesome! How can I help?" She continued her trek.

Peeta looked between the snowball they were working on and the base. "I think this is ready to lift up."

Katniss got on the other side and the three of them added the snowball on top of the other.

"I'll make the head!" Riley announced and trudged away to find the best snow to start the head.

Katniss looked up at Peeta. "How are you today?"

"I got some work done. But no one wants to come order cakes in this, so I'm definitely caught up. You?"

"Ready to get back to work. And frustrated that we didn't get to go on our bowling date last night, so I brought some ingredients and thought we could make pizza."

Riley's head shot up. "I love making pizza!"

"I'm glad." Katniss laughed. "I had planned on it happening at my place, so I bought everything."

Peeta nodded. "I have a crust recipe that works really well." He pointed to the snowman building. "We'll finish up this project and then go to the next. I'm freezing."

Riley struggled his way over with a snowball the size of his chest. "Is this big enough?"

"That looks great, buddy!" Peeta said. He took it from Riley and sat it on the body of the snowman.

The three worked together to get the face on and dressed him in a scarf. Katniss lifted Riley onto her shoulders to put the hat on his head.

"Perfect!" Riley announced. "Can we make pizza now?"

"Sounds good to me." Katniss sat Riley on his feet. "Want to help me get the groceries inside?"

"Sure!" He ran for her car.

Peeta gestured to the house. "I'm going to make some hot cocoa."

Katniss gave a thumbs-up and followed Riley to her car. She handed a bag to him and took the rest. "You like not having school?"

"Yeah. I like being with Dad. I want him to homeschool me." They stepped inside. "He always says no, though."

"Well, he knows what's best for you. And you get to see your friends more if you go to school."

Riley shrugged. "I see them enough."

Katniss laughed. "I completely understand."

They sat the groceries on the table and Katniss started unpacking everything.

Peeta called from the stove. "Riles, your pants are soaked all the way to your knees. Go change."

"Okay." Riley trudged off to his room.

Peeta helped Katniss with her coat and hung it by the door. "I have some sweats you can borrow if your pants are too wet."

Katniss had stuffed her jeans into her boots, so they weren't too bad. She couldn't imagine how it would feel to wear Peeta's clothes. And she wasn't sure she was in a mind-set to experience it yet.

"No, I'm fine. My boots are waterproof." She sat down and started untying them. "They are pretty clunky, though." She pulled them off to reveal a pair of socks covered in rubber ducks. She heard Peeta snort. "Prim gave them to me. My nickname for her is Little Duck so we pass duck-themed gifts back and forth all the time. Plus, they're super warm." She flexed her toes before she stood and brought her shoes to sit beside the door.

"I like it." He kicked off his own shoes. "I need to go change into dry things. Be right back. Make yourself at home." He paused and took her face between his hands. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm glad you're here."

She was beginning to crave those forehead kisses.

Katniss went to the table and started going through all the things she had laid out. She turned to look for a bowl and noticed the sink full of dishes. A look in the dishwasher showed it was full of clean dishes. So she started to unload it.

Peeta startled her when he said, "I didn't mean for you to do my chores when I said to make yourself at home."

She grabbed her chest. "And here I thought I was the one who walked too quietly."

"I'm serious about the dishes." He took a glass from her hand.

"I went in search of a bowl to make the dough and saw the dishes in the sink and then…"

"It's fine." He reached into a cabinet and pulled out a large bowl. "Let's get the dough going and then if you want to help with the dishes after that, you can. Not that you have to."

She took the bowl from him and, before she could fully form the decision, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You said you knew a recipe?"

Katniss opened the flour and Peeta brought over another bowl with some measuring cups and spoons.

Riley came back and Peeta put him to work as he called out all the measurements off the top of his head. They all stuck their hands into the bowl to mix up the dough. It was messy. Katniss was never good at getting everything mixed in and coming out without half the mixture on her hands, but Peeta's hands were free of the mess by the time it was all incorporated.

"You're some sort of magic man." Katniss held up her hands and looked over to Riley and then back to Peeta. "How do you not have this gunk all over your hands?"

"You have to get the flour on your hands before you start mixing the rest." He scraped the extra dough off Katniss and Riley's hands and then mixed it into the dough. "We have to let this rest for a bit."

"I'm going to play my game," Riley said as he wiped his hands on his pants.

"Why don't you go wash your hands first so you don't get any more gross things all over that controller?" Peeta said.

Riley heaved a sigh. "Fine."

Katniss washed her hands and went back to unloading the dishwasher.

"You really don't have to do that." Peeta commented as he came to help her.

"I'm contributing to the next load, I need to help out a bit. My mom and dad always taught me to be helpful when I'm a guest."

"Well, at this point, you aren't a guest. Though I do appreciate your help."

She held up some serving spoons. "Where do these go?"

"There." Peeta pointed to a drawer at the end. "Are you still going to that archery thing next week?"

"So far it isn't canceled. You and Riley coming?"

"That's the plan."

They finished in silence. Peeta went to the stove and stirred the hot cocoa simmering in a pan.

Katniss sat down at the table and watched him. "So Riley wants to be homeschooled?"

Peeta laughed. "He thinks I'll let him sleep in and that he'll get to play video games all day. One of the kids he plays with online says that's what he gets to do. But sleeping in won't work for us because I get up early and I need us to both be in bed at a decent hour." He turned the heat down and came to join her. "I'm sure getting through the subjects will be no problem because he's really smart and I wasn't a horrible student, so we could manage it in just a couple hours."

"Sounds like you've considered it."

Peeta looked over his shoulder down the hall. "There were a couple times." He leaned closer. "When Riley was in Kindergarten, Glimmer threatened to take him. That's when I formulated a plan just in case. But it was an empty threat. She left town a week later."

She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry you had to experience that."

He shrugged. "She's better. I don't fully trust her, but she's better."

She nodded and squeezed his hand again. Then she stood and wandered toward the stove to peer in the pot bubbling away. "So you make the fancy cocoa, huh?"

"Of course. It tastes better." He walked over and gave it a stir. "Just about ready." He opened the fridge and took out a can of whipped cream and a bottle of chocolate syrup. "There are sprinkles, too. If you're interested."

"Oh, you get super fancy. I like it!"

He sat the syrup and whipped cream on the counter and pulled her into a hug. "And I like you."

"I think I like you a little, too." She bit her lip and waited for him to kiss her forehead.

They were interrupted by Riley. "Did I hear the cocoa was ready?"

Peeta broke away and took three mugs from the cabinet. He poured equal amounts of the drink into each of the cups and then sat the topping options on the table.

Riley picked up the can of whipped cream and put a mound of it in his cup. It was high enough to start tipping.

Peeta leaned over and ate the top off.

"Hey!" Riley protested.

Peeta laughed. "Maybe not quite so much next time, kiddo."

Riley glared at him and then added more.

Peeta rolled his eyes and then tossed sprinkles on the top of his son's mountain of whipped cream.

Katniss enjoyed watching the pair of them together. And she was glad, with all Peeta had been through, that he let her into their lives to see it. Something stirred in her when the pair turned their playing to her.

Riley shook several sprinkles on the top of the mound of whipped cream Peeta had put on top of her cocoa.

"I hope you both like extra syrup." Katniss picked up the bottle and squeezed it all over the top of both their drinks.

Peeta swiped it from her and made sure to add some to hers.

"How am I supposed to drink this?" Riley asked when they were all finally done embellishing everything.

Peeta rummaged in a drawer and produced three straws. They sat around the table and sipped their cocoa.

Peeta reached over to wipe whipped cream off of Riley's nose. "How did that get there?"

Riley grinned and stuck his nose back in the whipped cream. He giggled.

Peeta smiled at his son and Katniss could see they were an exact copy. "You're ridiculous."

"You're ridiculous." Riley said around giggles.

"No, you are!" Peeta said.

"You!"

"You!" Peeta pulled Riley across his lap and started tickling him.

Riley broke free and started tickling Peeta.

"Okay, truce!" Peeta called. "I give." They were both still laughing as they moved apart and went back to their cocoa.

Katniss watched Peeta's lips as he wrapped them around his straw, a smile still playing on the edges. I would love to kiss him just now.

Where had that thought come from? She'd never had an urge like that before. She swallowed hard and pushed it away. But she was worried he could see something on her face, so she got up.

"Has the dough rested enough, do you think?" She said as she picked up the bowl.

"I would say so. Let's get to work." He turned on the oven to heat up.


Riley fought sleep for quite some time, but he was so exhausted from the day that he passed out as soon as he got still.

Peeta found Katniss in the kitchen washing pans in the sink. He was hit with a warm feeling all through his body. He could definitely get used to this. He walked over and placed a hand on her lower back.

She turned her head and smiled. "Your son is a prime negotiator. He has a future in politics ahead of him."

He smiled. "I sure hope it's as a public leader and not a gang leader." He kissed her forehead. "I can get the rest of this later. You should probably head home."

"So eager to get rid of me?"

"Just worried about you driving on this mess."

She turned and wrapped her arms around him. "The roads were fine earlier and no more snow has fallen since this morning."

"Well, in that case, would you like to go watch something on Netflix? I so rarely get time without Riley, I don't know what to do with myself."

"Yes, let's do that." She took his hand and they walked slowly together down the hall. "Have you seen the new season of Stranger Things yet?"

"I haven't even had a chance to watch the first season."

"Okay, so we're watching it." Katniss picked up the remote and navigated to his Netflix account.

They started the episode sitting side-by-side on the sofa holding hands. They slowly moved closer and closer until Peeta had his arm wrapped around Katniss and she was tucked firmly into his side with her head on his shoulder.

Katniss was yawning by the time the episode was over. "I should probably go." She looked up at him. She tipped her head up.

Peeta dropped his head closer. "Can I kiss you?"

She didn't move or say anything right away. Just when he thought she was going to say no, she nodded. "Yes. Yes, please."

His heart beat hard in his chest as he dropped his lips to brush softly against hers. He did it so tentatively, afraid she might pull away if it was too much. But when she didn't, he brought his hand up to brush his fingers over her cheek and pressed his lips more firmly against hers. He felt her smile and matched it as he finally broke the kiss.

"That was nice." She said softly.

"Very nice." His fingers played over her cheek some more. "You really should go. It's late and I'm going to worry about you until you are settled."

She nodded and stood. "I'll text you as soon as I get there." She moved toward the door and he followed.

"You want to take some of this pizza with you?"

"No, you and Riley can have it. It'll save you from having to cook a couple meals." She shoved her feet into her boots and sat down at the table to tie them.

Peeta dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

Katniss looked up with a smile. "I've been reading about love languages. Do you know about them?"

He shook his head.

"Prim suggested it. It's how you show people you care about them. It's her new obsession. Anyway," she finished tying her boots and stood, "I was trying to figure yours out and I just realized it's physical touch."

He nodded. "And what's yours? Have you figured it out?"

"Acts of service. Doing things for people, especially if they don't ask. Like making them a meal or picking something up from the store they need. Doing it because you want to make life easier and not because it's expected."

He nodded again. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

She touched her hand to his face. "And I'll keep yours in mind too." She kissed his cheek. "I'll text tonight and I'll call tomorrow."

He watched her pick her way down to her car and then as she backed out of the driveway. He looked in on Riley and then got ready for bed. He checked his phone a dozen times as he waited for Katniss to text.

It was taking longer than normal. He was glad she didn't rush home in this mess, but it was also worrisome with it being so late. Had she caught a patch of black ice? Did she get into a collision by someone not paying attention? Was she just being extra cautious?

The text tone startled him.

I made it home.

Peeta turned off his lamp before he typed his reply. I'm glad. I was starting to think of some very scary things. Lol

He stared at the screen. The three little dots popped up as she typed. I drove slow.

Good. Call me tomorrow. Goodnight.

Goodnight.

He was about to put his phone away when it went off again. He picked it up to find Katniss had sent him a kiss-face emoji. He grinned and sent it back before settling into bed. Riley would probably be crawling in with him soon and pressing his cold toes into Peeta's back. Best to get as much sleep as possible before that rude awakening.