A/N: Cute random post-engaged Katie and Ned scenes because I've been writing AUs so I needed some authentic Ked, you know? :) Enjoy xx Mariah
"You said we needed spaghetti noodles, right?" Katie asked Ned, glancing over her list with her pen before looking at him.
"Yeah. I'm going to make us a big pot of spaghetti for when your family comes over. First dinner at our place,"
"Yep. So excited," she returned to the spaghetti, attempting to calculate the best value for money.
She was so nervous about hosting dinner and saving money. They were getting married soon and were trying to buy a house. And even if their dinner was just for her parents and siblings, it was the first time she would be hosting her family at their place.
He reached past her, grabbed his preferred brand of noodles, and started pushing the cart down the aisle.
"Ned," she sighed.
"Katie, if I'm making the spaghetti, then I'm going to make it with ingredients I prefer." He said, glancing back at her.
She scowled. "There's no need to pay through up the ass for-"
"Babe," he sighed, stopping to toss tomato paste into the cart. "It's pasta, not a car. Let it go. We aren't going to go broke over an extra forty cents."
"Yeah, I guess. But no more brand-names," she sighed.
"Fine," he smiled, walking around the corner and down the sweets. "But I want Twinkies," he insisted, pointing down the aisle. "And Little Debbie's brownies."
"Okay. That's fine," she said, rolling her eyes and crossing something off the list. "Hey, is that my brother?"
Ned looked up from where he was trying to decide which brand of twinkies looked better and saw Aaron standing in line with a box of condoms in his hands. "Yep, he's buying condoms."
"What?" She froze beside him. "You have to go stop him! My mom would kill me if I didn't make you."
"I'm not going over there," Ned laughed. "He's what, sixteen? I lost it right before my fifteenth birthday so I think he's pretty normal."
"Ned, please. I can't do go over there." She whispered, walking up to him.
Peeta crossed his arms and frowned. "Fine, but only because I love you and I regret mine."
"Thank you," she said, pushing him toward her brother as she grabbed the box of Twinkies from him. She followed him but waited at the end of the aisle for Ned to return. "Be quick."
It wasn't long before he came back, shrugging. "I think he's still gonna buy them. But it's definitely his first time. I think he's thought it through though if that makes you feel better."
"Damnit," she sighed. "I just remember being that age and even though I was thinking about it, I shouldn't have been doing it. What if he gets her pregnant?"
"At least he's buying condoms," he laughed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I didn't back then."
"Ned, please don't remind me." She sighed.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing," she shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it here. Let's just grocery shop and get my mind off my brother having sex with his girlfriend?"
Ned nodded, knowing it was best to keep her mind off things that stressed her out and angered her. "How about I bake you some brownies when we get home?" He suggested.
"Really?" She asked, pushing the cart toward the produce. "That sounds amazing."
Saying nothing, Ned walked over toward the tomatoes. Katie jerked the cart around and scurried after him, taking two steps for everyone one of his purposeful strides, but it wasn't enough. She finally caught up with him, where he was carefully checking the tomatoes to find the ripest fruit for his sauce. She placed a bell pepper next to the three tomatoes he'd already selected.
"Okay, sometimes I just wish I hadn't slept with Toby." She muttered, staring at the mountain of produce in front of them.
It was Ned's turn to freeze.
Had she hurt him by mentioning her ex? "Ned, I didn't mean to upset you," she said softly, as she touched his arm.
He stopped and turned to look at her, his heavy thought evident on his face. "You didn't upset me," he said. "Sometimes I forget you two broke up and we got together pretty quickly."
She marked that as progress and bit her lip, her hand drifting from his elbow so that her fingertips could whisper against his cheek. "Yeah, I think it would have been more special with you than it was with him. Toby made a big deal about it for two months and then it was eh."
Ned rolled his eyes. "You don't have to say that to make me feel better, babe." He lifted her fingers from his cheek and entwined them in his own. "You know how I feel about you, Katie, and you don't have to stroke my ego. I swear."
She did know. She shivered, reliving the rush of joy that came over her when he whispered those words in her ear while his body worshiped hers in the dark.
"The sex was vanilla, Ned," she shrugged, laughing. "We only did it like ten times before we broke up anyway." She confessed in a rush. The words came out so quickly, that she was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to make them out.
She needn't have worried. The sudden laughed was bright enough to wash away the shadows of doubt.
"Good, but that's enough smack talk for now," he reassured her, drawing her close. She rose on her tiptoes and joined her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck when he sighed happily. Her fingers wound into his curls and he grasped her hips tightly. A little thrill zipped under her skin.
Somewhere behind them, someone cleared their voice. They jerked apart to meet the gaze of the scowling night manager.
His dark eyes flashed annoyance from beneath his scraggly grey mop of hair. "If you lovebirds are quite finished, you should get back to shopping." The man muttered.
Nodding mutely, they pushed their cart to the back of the store and then started laughing.
Katie woke in the morning when the sunlight crept through their curtains, feeling warm and content. At some point in her sleep, she and Ned curled against each other, both on their sides and Ned's arms nestled around her waist.
He was already awake and was watching her sleep. He brushed a strand of hair from her face and smiled at her a bit shyly. "Hey," he whispered.
"Mmm. Hi. Little creepy," she gave a lazy stretch, turning to lay on her back. "How long have you been up?"
"Only a couple of minutes," he said, leaning down to press a kiss of her shoulder, plopping back down on the bed. He tossed onto his stomach, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. "I have to get ready for work soon."
Ned rose his head and smiled at her, which she was finding curiously sweet. "Did you sleep okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, you?" He asked, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.
"Off and on," she yawned, sitting up to stretch. She felt her back ease and settle, making her body feel better as she moved out of bed. "Your mattress is not the most comfortable thing in the world."
"What do you mean? I think it's fine," he said, moving out of bed and toward the bathroom.
She shrugged and turned around to face him as she heard the floorboards creak under his feet. "It's okay, for a queen-size." She said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, stopping in front of her.
"Don't you want to get a bigger mattress? A comfier king-sized one?" She said, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning up to kiss his neck. "We would get to break it in… and maybe get new soft sheets."
"I thought we were saving money for the wedding?" He asked.
"I bet we could find a good deal," she said, shaking her head. "You know how much I love to bargain shop."
He shrugged, sighing. "Maybe we can look online," he said.
"What about we go to Ikea?" She suggested.
"Okay, I have to admit," Ned said thoughtfully, licking his ice cream before speaking again. "Coming to Ikea was a pretty amazing idea. I mean, you can look at furniture and eat ice cream."
"You're a dork," Katie said back as they finished off their ice cream cones and walked towards kitchen models. "Why are we over here? We are supposed to be looking at beds."
"We should take in the whole store, babe. What if we need to remodel our kitchen in our new house one day?" He said, looking over at her.
She watched his eyes light up in interest when they approached a lovely model with white marble countertops and matching cupboards.
"Whoa. This is nice." Katie said and took a seat at the island, watching him gently touch everything in sight, and she found it all adorable.
Finally, after minutes of him gawking at the kitchen, he turned to her and stood on the other side of the island with a cute smile. "This is it. We're getting a kitchen like this one day. You always said you wanted a white kitchen," he said with a glint in his eyes. "And I'm going to cook dinner for you every night I can. You'll sit right there grading papers and I'll be over here cooking for us…yeah." He nodded slowly at the end, looking around the kitchen once more as if he were imagining their future together.
She slid out of the chair and came around to wrap her arms around him. "I like that picture," she whispered, kissing his shoulder.
"Me too," he said simply and turned around to face her with a bashful smile. "I can't wait until we're married and have our own house."
She looked down with a blush as their hands linked together and they left the kitchen. They walked along the path, giving glances at models and other displays. They passed suites, bathrooms, kitchens, and a few different mattress options they laid on until Katie stopped right in front of a model.
"This is it," she said and tugged him along to the decorated room with a large dark wood bed with blue sheets. Her hand ran along the wooden desk in the corner with a reading chair beside it. "This will be our room. I love this desk."
"You think?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "You haven't even tried the bed yet."
"The frame is beautiful and it looks comfy," she said, running her hands across the top of the wooden frame. "And that desk is perfect for we both need to do…and the chair will be for late night reading, which I am very guilty of when you work late. And-" She flopped down on the bed. "Ugh, it's so comfortable." She motioned for him to follow, and he did, laying down next to her. "And this is what it'll be like when we go to bed every night. Right next to each other."
"We'll just lay here all night?" He asked with a grin, turning his head to catch her smirk.
"Of course not," she said and reached out to stroke her hand up his thigh. "We'll do plenty with this bed, don't you worry."
He covered her hand with his and her grin grew wider. "I'm sold."
"On what?" She asked.
"Our future," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.