Three more houses stand as empty husks in the Seam.

Word travels easily enough with her mother being the district medic of sorts. The number of people Katniss has seen come in with frostbite the last week alone is enough to haunt her dreams. The temperatures only continue to grow more frigid as time goes on, and if she's being completely honest, Katniss knows they won't make it to spring. Not if the weather stays on this track, and she can tell it will.

Even people in the town sector are dying.

Two so far- an older woman and a young boy. But still.

A shiver wracks its way up Katniss's spine and she scoots closer to the fire. Any closer and she'd be the fire. She eyes it warily but doesn't move away.

"Prim, the salve please," her mother says, reaching out without taking her eyes from the discoloured hand she cradles. Katniss cringes and looks away. Frostbite is her new least favorite color.

An entire merchant house is empty now. The whole family was found dead the day before. All five of them, taken out in one night.

Katniss glances over at Prim, nearly drowning in worry. That's seven Townies now. It's only a matter of time before death comes knocking on their door, too.

Katniss suppresses a shiver as she stands from her spot by the fire and shirks off her sweater before tugging it over Prim's small head. Her sister tries to protest but she ignores her and walks back to the threadbare carpet she's been camping out on for weeks now.

If any of them is going to make it through this winter, it will be Primrose.

The knock comes well after nine pm.

Katniss freezes immediately, almost elbows deep into her work of butchering one of the foxes she caught a few days ago. She had put a trap in the backyard in hopes that something might come along.

Her mind goes straight to the worst case scenario. She can't think of anyone other than peacekeepers who would come to her door right now, not this late. No one has dared venture outside without the meager sunrays to guide the way through snow banks.

From the corner of her eye, Katniss sees Prim start towards the door.

"Prim!" She hisses. "Don't open that!"

Her little sister completely ignores her and opens it anyways, revealing Peeta Mellark standing on her front step, ringing his gloved hands in front of him.

"Oh." Katniss can't help the little noise that escapes her as she looks at him in shock.

"Come inside before you catch cold," Prim says, ushering him in and closing the door behind him. "Or have you already? We have salve for frostbite, and herbs for-"

"No, no. I- uh… I'm fine. Thank you." Peeta reaches up and rubs the back of his head awkwardly, the knitted hat going crooked. "How are you three doing?"

He glances at Katniss as he says this, but she doesn't move an inch from where she stands looking at him like an idiot. It's Prim who answers him.

"Oh, we're doing alright. Katniss is taking wonderful care of us. Although, I think we might be running a little low on some of our medicinal herbs, but we should have enough to last until the first false spring, when we can go get more. And also-"

"Prim," Katniss says suddenly, cutting off her sister's rambling.

"If you do need more, I've got medicines from the Capitol. I have no clue what they're for, but your mother should be able to figure them out and get more use from them than I could." Peeta shifts on his feet, glancing around and refusing to meet anyone's eyes as his cheeks turn a darker red than normal for the cold outside.

Katniss watches him curiously as if she could piece together why he's here from his movements alone. She can't.

Her mother silently appears in the doorway to the living room, and looks between the three of them like she has never seen them before.

Peeta nods to her in greeting. "Mrs- ahem- Mrs. Everdeen." Katniss raises her eyebrows at his voice crack. She can't remember a time he has ever stumbled over his words. "I was wondering if I could speak to Katniss." A pause. "A-Alone."

Prim suddenly shoots into action, runs to their mother and drags her back into the bedroom before she nearly slams the door.

Slowly Katniss turns back to meet Peeta's equally surprised look.

Remembering the blood and fur clinging to her hands, Katniss's face heats up as she lunges for the towel laying haphazardly across a chair. She takes her time to wipe her hands completely clean before she turns back to Peeta.

Even the time it takes her to clean up doesn't seem to be enough for him to get his thoughts together. He stands there, bright red, only occasionally meeting her eyes. After a few more moments of horribly awkward silence, he takes a deep breath, goes pale again, and slowly lets it out.

"I would like to marry you." The words rush from him before he pauses, seems to think about what he just said, and then blushes deeper than she's ever seen. "If you want. Please."

She doesn't respond, she doesn't even think she's breathing. What the hell is he doing?

He opens his mouth again and goes on, visibly shaking with nerves. "I-I've loved you since we were kids. I remember the first time I saw you: your hair was in two braids instead of one, and you were wearing a red plaid dress." She blinks in surprise, because yes, she remembers that dress. "And my father pointed you out to me and said, 'See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner..' I asked him why she would do that, when she could have had him instead. He told me because when he sings… even the birds stop to listen." He pauses for another moment, and Katniss feels the words land heavily on her. She can't believe what he's telling her, and yet there's so many truths in it that she knows…

"And later in music assembly, when the teacher asked who knew the Valley Song, your hand shot straight up. And she stood you up on a chair and sure enough, every bird outside the windows fell silent."

Before she can help it, an almost hysterical laugh escapes her as she rolls her eyes. "Oh, please."

This brings a smile momentarily to his face before he falls back into his puddle of nerves again. "No, really. And I knew then- just like your mother- that I was a goner. I always tried to work up the courage to talk to you at school; to try and catch your attention. I kept telling myself, 'Maybe I'll try tomorrow.' 'Monday for sure this time.' And then a few years ago I just started repeating over and over that I would talk to you as soon as our last reaping was over. That I would ask to court you, and go from there."

He takes another deep breath before continuing. "That obviously didn't work. Honestly, when they called my name last year I had already given up before I even reached the stairs. But then you came rushing in through the doors, and I… I knew I at least had to try. Because for once it looked like I had a better chance with you than winning the Hunger Games and I thought, 'Well, if one can happen I guess the other can too.'

"And then when I came home I decided I should still wait until you were in the clear. Haymitch… He gave me a few warnings that I was planning on sticking to. But then the winter and all the snow hit... " He runs a gloved hand down his face. "I just keep hearing about all these people who aren't making it through, and it's not even half over yet, and all I can think about is you and your family here. I take trips to the Hob at least once a day just to make sure that you're all still okay."

He finally falls silent, allowing her to soak in everything he's said. The biggest thing that catches her attention first is how he doesn't just check on her, but them. The fact that he cares that much about Prim, just by extension through her, is astonishing. She catches herself starting to feel foolishly happy at this tale he's spun for her. But then she remembers what he said at the very beginning, and everything drains away to leave behind an odd sense of dread and confusion that she doesn't even know how to begin to unravel.

Before she can say anything Peeta hurries on to fill the silence again. As if it pains him to not hear an answer from her, or that he thinks she'll say no. She realizes with a jolt that maybe that's because she should.

"All three of you are welcome in my house. The heating system is actually very effective, and I have plenty of food. We- We don't even have to act married, if it makes you uncomfortable. We can just sign the documents so you and your family can move in. Pretend to be neighbors from across the hall instead of across the street. The house is so big I think we could easily keep out of each other's hair."

And suddenly a small wave of disappointment washes over her. She has no idea how they got here, when the conversation had started so differently.

She furrows her brows and asks, "Is that what you want to do?"

He looks unprepared for that question, but he has an answer for it anyways. "As long as I know you and Prim and your mother are alright, I'll be more content than you can know."

Her face twists oddly, and Katniss honestly has no idea what look she sports but whatever it is has Peeta continuing.

"My nightmares are about losing you," he nearly whispers.

It's surprising how long it takes for the fact to sink in that he is being completely honest with her right now. That Peeta Mellark truly is completely enamored with her, and has nightmares about losing her, of all people.

That thought alone makes her speak up again. "You barely know me. I'm not… I'm not even that special."

"You are to me," he says immediately and with so much force behind it that all Katniss can do is stare at him with wide eyes. "You're the only reason I won those Games. Everytime I wanted to give up, all I had to do was remember that you wanted me to come back. That even if you were the only thing I came home to, I wouldn't do anything differently if given the chance to start from the beginning."

It's only then that the dam she keeps on the feelings from his Games bursts, and Katniss feels as if she's suddenly drowning under it all. She can barely keep her head above the terror she felt for him and the intense urge to protect him.

"I never wanted to get married," she blurts suddenly in her terror at what she's starting to discover inside herself.

Peeta hurries to soothe her. "We don't have to act like we are. We don't even have to talk to each other if you don't want to."

She shakes her head in disbelief. Peeta Mellark is definitely not something she is prepared for. "That doesn't seem fair to you. Besides, I'm not very pleasant to be around- especially for extended periods of time."

She doesn't see him move closer from her view of her boots, but suddenly her hands are engulfed in his. The warmth leaches through his gloves as if he was a furnace and not a human being. She nearly sighs at the warmth against her freezing fingers.

"My whole life I've wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as I possibly can with you."

Her mouth drops open and it takes a second to remember how to speak.

"I would never be able to repay you for something like this. And it's hardly fair for me to… To use your feelings for my own gain." She curses herself for the stinging that appears behind her eyes.

"I don't care about being repaid." He says without an ounce of room for argument. It grates at her pride and she scowls up at him. He gives her a warry smile in return and continues. "Katniss, please. I just want to make sure you're ok."

"But you're not even getting anything out of this!" Katniss hisses, suddenly angry with him and his stupid, selfless, irritating- She rips her hands from his with a sigh, and raises a single eyebrow at him. "You can't possibly tell me you're going through all this trouble just for some peace of mind?"

His eyes drop to the ground as his face starts to grow pink once more. "I… I'm not used to being selfish, but I am allowing myself to be just this once. I do want to keep you and your family safe and healthy, but also I was hoping that- at some point- you might… Come to love me too? Or at the very least I would be happy to know you have my last name, and that we live under the same roof. That alone is more than half of my childhood dreams answered."

Katniss can't remember a time when she felt more conflicted than she does right now. There's genuine longing and truth in his words that shakes her down to her very core. Katniss is surprised to realize that this whole time, somewhere in the back of her mind, she has been seriously considering accepting his offer. It's this realization alone that proves to her out of any one person in District Twelve- in the whole world- the only person she could picture herself giving in to would be considerate, kind, Peeta Mellark.

Which brings her back to the question of why he wants her, when he could have anyone.

"How could you love me that much for thirteen years? All because of one song?"

Peeta blinks and opens his mouth to respond, closes it, and then opens it again.

"You have no idea the effect you have on people."

She thinks about Prim then (because this declaration from Peeta scares her too much to think about in this exact moment), and how much better her life will be if she accepts his offer. She even thinks about how it might help her mother; if they were in a place that isn't haunted by memories and colder than the grave her father would never have.

And lastly she thinks of how happy she might be, as Peeta's wife. An image steels into her mind unbidden of them, as her parents had been so many years ago. Together and happy. Of having someone other than Prim to keep her coming back home every time she runs away to the woods. And the silliest notion of all; the thought of all the life-sustaining, raisin nut bread she could ever want.

"Ok," she blurts. Her eyes widen comically with shock at herself.

If possible, Peeta's eyes grow even wider than her own. Any remaining pink in his skin vanishes immediately. "W-what?"

"I'll… I accept your offer." She says quietly.

Peeta smiles achingly wide, and it's almost as if she can feel the warmth of his joy slowly melting more of the ice surrounding her heart.

She blushes lightly and looks away, eyebrows drawn close together, trying to grasp the ends of her facade from slipping away.

A squeal catches her attention just as Prim crashes into her, arms squeezing her tight as she jumps around in excitement. "When… When were you thinking?" Katniss asks, a hand coming up to rest on the back of Prim's head. She runs her fingers through Prim's long hair in an attempt to ground herself.

Peeta shuffles, awkward once more. "As soon as possible? I'm scared of waiting any longer. It's too cold for you all in here." He blushes and smiles a little endearing, embarrassed smile. "And I'm a little impatient. Forgive me for not having much patience in this."

His embarrassment at this makes Katniss smile unconsciously. Just a little.

"Well, you did tell Caesar that if you came back, you'd marry me. You might as well hurry up with that promise."

Oh my God, she thinks. Did I… Did I really just say that?!

Peeta stares at her, completely flabbergasted, as Prim launches into a fit of girlish giggles. He gets over his surprise soon enough, and promises to have everything ready by midday tomorrow, then. Their goodbye is more awkward than their hello had been.

After a moment of staring at the closed door, Katniss turns to look at her family. Prim is ecstatic, to say the least. Her mother, on the other hand…

While Katniss doesn't much care what her mother thinks- especially after leaving her to take care of them all on her own for so long- the slight displeasure on her mother's worn face strikes a chord deep within her chest. But before she can say anything, her mother turns and heads into their bedroom.

"I'll start packing."