Katniss opens her eyes, blinking away the sleep. A light sheen of sunlight filters in through the cracks of the boarded up windows and illuminates the silhouettes of her mother and Prim in the kitchen.
She reluctantly throws off her blanket, alerting Prim to her awakening.
"Good morning, Katniss!" She exclaims, putting down the jar she was holding and walking towards her sister.
"Morning, Little Duck," Katniss grunts, pushing herself up off the ground. She yawns and scrubs at her face, wincing at the scratchy material of her gloves. A rush of excitement goes through her as she remembers the plans for today. She's- well, she's not really excited to get married, if she's being honest. That was never something she wanted. Having Prim was already enough of a chance, and now she was going to have to add another person to care about?
She doesn't mind that it's Peeta, though.
But what she's really excited about, is going to bed in a warm house, and waking up in a warm house.
A sigh almost escapes her at the thought as she stands up and smooths Prim's hair affectionately. "You're up early."
Prim grins up at her and grasps her hand, bouncing in place.
"Oh, I was just too excited to stay asleep any longer! Mom and I have been working on packing up the kitchen for an hour or so. Are you hungry? We pulled out some jerky and bread for breakfast."
Katniss nods and allows her sister to lead her to a chair at the table, and then thanks her for the plate she offers up.
She's biting into the meat when there's a knock on the door. She waves Prim off to go back to packing, and walks to the front door.
She pulls it open to reveal Gale, who smiles brightly and swoops into the house. "Morning, Catnip, Prim, Mrs. Everdeen." He says as he goes and sits in his usual chair across from Katniss.
Right. Sunday.
Gale watches Katniss sit back down before he notices the workings of the other two women in the house. At the sight of boxes and bags he frowns and leans an elbow on the table.
"Where are you all going?" He asks, sounding miffed.
Katniss chews on the inside of her cheek, making eye contact with her mother briefly, before looking back to Gale. She doesn't meet his eyes, though. She has a feeling this is going to end badly, and she doesn't even know how to start it.
Primrose bounds over and says giddily, "Peeta Mellark came by last night and asked to marry Katniss! And of course she said yes, so now we're packing so we can all move into his house! They're getting married this afternoon!"
Katniss can hear the crack of his neck as he whips back around to look at her. She can't even describe the look on his face as he grits his teeth and nearly growls.
"Were you planning on even telling anyone? Or were you just going to up and leave us all in the dust for some Towny?" He uses both hands to gesture to himself as he leans over the table. "Why didn't you come to me if you needed help? I can take care of you better than he can- he doesn't even know you!"
Katniss takes a deep breath and locks gazes with him, refusing to back down. "You have to take care of your own family, Gale. You already take care of us enough as it is. I didn't go asking for help, you know."
Gale throws his hands in the air and lets out a loud, pissed off scoff. He pushes back from the table, his chair almost falling over. Katniss stands up as well, hands fisted at her sides. "Yes, but I was going to marry you! That's how it's supposed to be! I've known you the longest, I have more claim to you than him!"
The clinking noises in the kitchen fall silent at the same time the front door closes.
Katniss can't even look away from Gale to see who walked in, she's so frozen in shock. Gale's shoulders are heaving with each breath he audibly sucks in as he waits for her to respond.
She finally looks away, and the first thing her eyes land on is the terrified look on Peeta's face as he looks between the two of them. As if he thinks she would change her mind right there. It's that thought that pulls the deepest scowl onto her face as she turns back to Gale. He takes a half step back at the pure fury written across her face and burning in her eyes.
"Gale, even if you had asked me first, I wouldn't have said yes. I'm not something you get claim to through seniority."
Gale frowns right back at her and sidesteps the table, grabbing her arm. Katniss rips it right back, her upper lip starting to curl in anger. "Katniss," his voice is hard and demanding, and grates on her nerves. "Tell Mellark to fuck off, you hear me? You're being ridiculous. What can a Towny give you that I can't?"
"You're being ridiculous!" She shouts suddenly. She doesn't like raising her voice at Gale, because nothing good ever comes of it, but she's just about had enough of his shit. "Look at yourself; why would any of this make me want to change my mind and marry you?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss vaguely sees Peeta's shoulders relax, if only minutely. Gale, on the other hand, tenses up so tight his neck almost disappears as his face turns red.
"I wouldn't have to get like this if you hadn't lost your damn mind," he grits out, throwing a hand up to motion at her.
Katniss plants her fists on her hips and squares her shoulders so hard, the muscles pull painfully. "I haven't lost my mind. That's you, Gale. I'm not marrying you- right now I don't even particularly like you at all. I feel bad for the woman you end up with- that is if anyone is foolish enough to marry you. You're a tough piece of work, Gale, and everyone knows-"
His hand shoots out so fast she doesn't even see it until she's grabbing her cheek and cursing in pain. And suddenly Peeta's there, inserting himself into the small space between the two of them. He's only maybe an inch or two taller than Katniss, if that, but the way he holds himself in that instant makes him seem like the tallest person in the house.
"That's enough," he says, voice like cold steel. "Get out."
Gale splutters out a laugh. "Who the hell do you think you are, Mellark? You're the one in the wrong house. We don't want your kind in the Seam." He straightens and locks his jaw in an attempt to gain back the upper ground. "Katniss doesn't know what she's doing, marrying you. You've gone and confused her. Let's be honest, you only want her for her body. You don't even know her."
Peeta takes a deep breath and replies calmly, "I don't have to prove my intentions to you, Hawthorne. Besides, after all this, do you really think Katniss would change her mind? You think you know Katniss better than I do? Then I'm sure you know she'd never marry a man who hits her."
Katniss watches as Gale's eyes bounce between the two of them a few times, and spots the exact moment realization dawns on him that he's finally losing a battle.
"Katniss, I'm sorry I hit you," he says, voice strained and yet not entirely sincere.
"Then you shouldn't have done it. Get the hell out of my house, Gale."
Gale shakes his head, opens his mouth to say something, and then storms out.
Peeta's hands are hovering on either side of her face before the door has even shut. "Are you alright?"
The gentle timbre of his voice compared to the yelling of just a moment before makes her shudder inwardly. Heat pops up in her cheeks at his concern and she ducks away.
"I'm fine." She looks to her Mother and Prim, still frozen in the kitchen with matching lost looks.
"I... I'm fine." She repeats, and she doesn't know if it's for their benefit, or hers as she disappears into their old room.
Mrs. Everdeen shakes her head and slips back into the motions of packing. Prim looks briefly at her mother before turning to Peeta and walking towards him.
"Don't worry," she says quietly. "Katniss never wanted to marry Gale, even before you came last night. She's smart, and she knows they couldn't stand to be around each other for that long without someone getting an arrow in the eye." Prim gives him a shabby wink and skips back to her mother's side.
Peeta chuckles softly under his breath, remembering all the comments his father has made through the years of Katniss' clean shots to the eye. He continues to stand awkwardly in the middle of the dinning area before Prim raises her eyebrows at him and motions for him to follow Katniss. He nervously clears his throat and walks down the hallway, pausing in the doorway. He's unaware that she heard him approach, and takes a moment to silently watch her. Like he has for so many years.
"I'm sorry about Gale."
Peeta jumps in surprise, blushing at having been caught staring. "You- uh, you don't have to apologize," he says, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at his shoes.
Katniss sighs as she turns to look at him with a raised brow. "No, but someone does, since he never will."
Peeta gives her a nervous smile. "Do you need help?" He asks, motioning to the room around them and the piles of clothes.
Katniss looks around too with a slight crease between her eyebrows. "Not really, I think... I think we're mostly done."
Peeta nods but moves over to a stack of clothes and starts to pack them into a bag anyways. He can feel Katniss' gaze on his back as he does, and smiles inwardly at how the roles have reversed.
Katniss can't help but think how beautiful he is.
Which bring back the question of, why her? Out of everyone District Twelve, she still doesn't understand why he's choosing her. Katniss shakes her head and walks over to Peeta, helping him finish packing the room up.
