They discussed Bran staying for several days and in the end, Bing told him to stay with him and April. Bran didn't want to impose on anyone but as the new hotel (District 12's first!) had not been finished, he would have to stay with one of his sons. Peeta invited them all for dinner before he collected the dishes (Madge protested but since she had a hard time getting out of the chair, he did it anyway) and said goodbye to his family.

Unsurprisingly, Katniss was munching on a cheesebun when he entered the house and he laughed softly.

"Hey," she said with her mouth full. "Where have you been?"

"At Rye's and Madge's, with Dad and Bing."

"I figured he had already gotten here. You didn't wake me."

"I know you had some trouble sleeping. I wanted to let you rest."

"Well Bran probably thinks I'm rude now," she brushed her hands off.

"He doesn't," he reached for her waist. "And I invited everyone to dinner tonight."

"Guess I should go hunting then," she made to move toward the front door but his grip on her waist tightened.

"Can we talk first?"

"Uh, that doesn't sound good."

"It's… well, it's complicated. But I don't want to wait until tonight. I want to get things out in the open so that if you want to say you don't want my father to come to dinner, you can." Her eyes widened.

"I like your father. Why would I say he can't come?"

"Come sit with me."

He tugged on her hand and led her to the living room. They sat close together on the couch, Peeta holding both of her hands in his lap.

She didn't scream or cry or curse. She didn't say anything, really. Peeta watched her carefully. She didn't move and he was thankful that she hadn't shaken him off.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, as if trying to find the words. He squeezed her hands comfortingly but she continued to stare into space.

"Daddy must have known," she finally spoke and he winced, as if she had yelled. "He never… he never had her in any of his propos. He never took her to the woods. I mean, he treated her like his daughter, of course but I think he still knew."

"I'm sorry, Katniss. I can't imagine how you must be feeling." She finally looked at him.

"You're too perfect, Peeta." His brows furrowed and he shook his head.

"Your father told you he had an affair with another woman, that you actually have a sister, and you apologize to me for it."

"I know how much Prim means to you. I know firsthand what you would do for her. I don't imagine you would ever think of sharing her with anyone. Not even your husband."

"It's… weird. But if I was going to share her with anyone, it would be you. I know how much you love her. How much you already think of her as your sister. This just… blows my mind. Not the affair part but the fact that they kept it from us for so long."

"I called Dad a coward," he said softly. "I screamed at him that he is messing with peoples' lives. He said he and your mom agreed that he would tell me and she would tell you. But Prim got sick of it, I guess. I think that's why she is coming in person. To tell us."

"Well… I guess I can call her and tell her we already know," she shrugged.

"Let's just wait for her to get here. We can tell her then." She nodded and he pulled her hand to his lips.

"You're not upset with me?"

"Why in the world would I be upset with you?" He shrugged.

"I dunno. It's got to be weird. We share a sister. You can be upset with my dad and by extension, upset with me."

"I'm not upset with you," she cupped his cheek. "And thank you for telling me. I appreciate your honesty and I love you for it. As for your dad… well, like I said, it is

weird but I already knew my mom was engaged to him. And it's obvious their feelings are still there. I guess it doesn't surprise me that much. Not that I condone it in any way, I mean… I'm furious with my mother. She totally lost herself when she lost Dad. I didn't think she would come back to us, Peeta. And she was the reason I never wanted to fall in love. I didn't want to wind up like her one day. Knowing that she actually cheated on him… well, I already had a pretty poor view of her. This doesn't help much."

"In a way, I can sort of understand my mom's pain. Don't get me wrong, I'm not forgiving her or anything. But I can understand now. Being 2nd choice, always, can't feel too great. And not only was she his second choice in marriage but then he goes and has a daughter with another woman. His first choice, at that. And she hated me because I wasn't a girl. I think maybe my life would have been much easier if I had been a girl. I don't think she would have hit me and I wouldn't have become a Peacekeeper."

"But then you wouldn't have fallen in love with me," Katniss whispered, leaning in close. Peeta's lips curled.

"Katniss, I would have fallen in love with you no matter what. If my social status didn't stop it from happening, my gender sure wouldn't have."

"Well I'm glad you're a man," she kissed his nose. "And that you fell in love with me."

"I'm glad too. On both counts." He pulled her into her lap and rested his chin in her hair. He felt her sigh against him and he kissed her temple.

"I can go tell Dad that he can just have dinner with Rye and Bing tonight, if I need to."

"No Peeta. While I'm upset, I'm not going to keep him from his son. He doesn't deserve that. Now if it was your mother here, it would be a different story."

"I, uh, also told Dad that I don't want to see her again." She moved back and blinked up at him, looking surprised.

"I've thought about it. You and Rye and Bing and Madge and Haymitch and Prim, you've all given me your thoughts. But I needed some time to really think about what a relationship with her might mean. And even though I can now understand a bit more, I still don't want anything to do with her. I told Dad to let her go and let her move on. I truly hope she finds happiness."

"You're too good for this world," she mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. "When we were in 13, I told her I hope I have a daughter one day. So that I could flaunt it in her face that the son she claimed to hate so much was the one who gave her a granddaughter. And that she wouldn't be a part of her life." Peeta startled, glancing down at her.

"Damn. My huntress has claws." She shrugged against him.

"I don't like the woman."

"I know. And I love you for always sticking up for me. I still remember the first night I took you to meet the family. The way you yelled at her and said I would make a great father. It was the first time anyone had stood up for me like that."

"I love you," she snuggled into him and his arms automatically wrapped around her. "And I will fight anyone who tries to hurt you." He smiled and rested his cheek

against hers.

"I love you, Katniss."


Prim looked up at the large house and took a deep breath. She slung her two bags over her shoulder and pushed open the gate.

"Hey sis!" She hardly recognized the young man who was barrelling towards her. He looked so healthy and full of life, with a broad smile and a mop of messy blonde curls. He lifted her up, causing her to drop her bags, laughing boisterously. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly.

"God Prim, you've grown at least an inch!"

"Shut up, I have not," she laughed as he set her down. "Wow, Peeta, you're… you look so different!"

"In a good way, I hope," he rubbed the back of his neck with a smile.

"In a great way! You look wonderful! Is Katniss home?"

"She just got back from the woods and is in the shower. Come on inside." He grabbed her bags and led her into the house.

"I wish you had told me when you were getting in, so I could meet you at the train station."

"It's ok, really. I kind of wanted to take a look around the district as I walked."

Prim looked around as she entered the house. Her apartment in the Capitol was larger than her home in the Seam had been but this was still bigger than anything she had seen.

"Your house is huge," she breathed.

"Yeah, Katniss keeps saying we don't need this much room but the Victors' houses were just sitting here, untouched, so we accepted Paylor's gift."

"And how is having Haymitch as a neighbor?"

"He's not bad," he laughed. "He's taken to keeping geese and sometimes they get loose, which drives Katniss crazy but he mostly keeps to himself. We drag him over here for dinner twice a week."

"Your brothers live close too?"

"Yep, just down the pathway. Rye and Madge are in the one on the left, and Bing and April are further down. Come on, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

He and Katniss had thrown themselves into making the guest room look nice. Since Prim would be their first guest, Katniss had insisted on buying bed sheets and comforters with flowers on them. Peeta had even painted primroses on the furniture they had refurbished. Prim gasped in awe when Peeta opened the door and led her inside.

"This is so nice!"

"Katniss said you're planning to stay a week so we wanted you to be comfortable!"

"Thanks Peeta. It looks great." He set her bags on the bed and stretched his arms.

"Sooooo, which room is the nursery?" His cheeks reddened and Prim cackled.

"We're not, uh… I mean…"

"Your face right now! Katniss told me you guys are trying. What's taking so long, Peeta? I want a niece or nephew."

"The added pressure from you and everyone else isn't helping," he scratched at the back of his neck.

"Maybe I shouldn't stay here," she looked around the room, considering.

"What?! Why?"

"Cause you and Katniss need to be going at it whenever you can! Having me here will put a stop to that."

"Primrose!" They whirled around at the shocked voice. Katniss's face was red as Peeta's.

"I just walked into a conversation I shouldn't have!"

"I was just telling Peeta how much I want a niece or nephew. You two should get to it. Really, I'll take a nap and pretend I don't hear anything."

"Oh my god," Peeta covered his face with his hands.

"That won't be happening while we have guests in the house, Prim. And like we keep telling everyone else, it will happen in its own time."

"Fine," the girl huffed. "I'm just ready for a baby to play with."

"Oh yeah? You planning to visit a lot more?"

"Well, for one of my classes, I need some field work and an internship. So I might accept an offer I received in District 11." Katniss's eyes widened.

"You'd be so close!"

"I know, that's why I'm considering it! I miss you!"

"We miss you too. I think that would be great for you."

"But a niece or nephew would be EXTRA motivation to take the offer," she winked. Peeta blushed even harder.

"Well since I'm not pregnant right now, I can tell you to collect your motivation from elsewhere. Like seeing your sister more often."

"That's some good motivation," Prim laughed. Her smile faded as she looked between her sister and Peeta.

"Listen… we need to talk about some stuff. Maybe later we can–"

"Prim," Peeta sighed, shooting Katniss a glance. "We can probably guess what you are going to say."

"Um, I'm not sure you can."

"Yeah, we can," Katniss reached for her sister's hand. Peeta took the other.

"Dad heard you were coming here and he flew here several weeks ago. He told me everything. I told Katniss that night."

"So he finally grew some balls, huh," she grumbled.

"Prim!"

"Oh don't Prim me, Katniss, it's ridiculous that he waited as long as he did! But at least he finally got off his ass and talked to you. Unlike Mom, who keeps avoiding the topic. I keep asking her when she is going to tell you and she keeps putting off a visit."

"Well, it makes sense now," Katniss rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Peeta squeezed her hand. "I know you must be upset–"

"I get you for a brother," she squeezed back. "How upset could I be?" Peeta gave her a warm smile.

"Still, I know it's not an easy thing to come to terms with."

"I've known longer than you two," Prim pointed out.

"Wait, how long HAVE you known?"

"Oh I figured it out in 13. I confronted him about it and Mom came in. I told them before he left the Capitol that they had better tell you."

"Well, makes sense why he flew here then. I figured he knew you would tell us when you had the chance."

"I just didn't want to do it over the phone," she shook her head. "I wanted to see you both. I mean I missed you, don't get me wrong, but I just…"

"We know, Prim," Katniss said gently.

"So do your brothers know? About me, I mean?"

"Dad only told me and Katniss and I haven't said anything. We weren't sure if you would want anyone else to know. But I can tell you, if you do want to tell them, Rye and Bing will be ecstatic. They adore you and they have always wanted a sister."

"Then let's tell them! Not for our parents but for us. Let's celebrate this instead of focusing on how angry it makes us. Katniss, you are being remarkably calm, I gotta say. Did you blow up at Peeta? Oh, you did hide her bow, didn't you," she asked Peeta with wide eyes. He chuckled softly.

"The thought did occur to me but no, I didn't. And no, she didn't. She took it better than I did anyway."

"Oh YOU blew up at him, didn't you?"

"I wouldn't say blew up but I did yell at him a few times," he shrugged. "To this day, I cannot understand why he is still going back to my mother."

"Oh, he left her!"

"WHAT?" Peeta and Katniss's surprised exclamations echoed off the walls. Prim looked back and forth between them.

"He didn't tell you?!"

"I haven't spoken to him since he went back to 13. He spent four days here, told us he loved us, and went back to Mom."

"Well he came back to the Capitol last week and asked Mom if he could take her to dinner. Said they had a lot to talk about. I didn't ask for details but she was smiling a lot the next time I saw her. I don't know what happened after that but I can guess." She wrinkled her nose in disgust and Peeta gaped at her.

"I told him to leave Mom and let her move on… I didn't think he would actually do it. I never thought he would have the courage to court Violet."

"Maybe he needed you to tell him what a coward he was being," Katniss said gently. He nodded and stared at Prim.

"Wow. That's… I mean… I don't know what to say to that."

"Well enough talking! You promised me a baking lesson, big brother. So let's go!" Katniss smiled as she followed her family down the stairs and watched them approach the counter. The similarities were uncanny, she decided as she watched them. Their smiles were identical, their bright blue eyes sparkled with mirth, they even had the same expressions of concentration when they kneaded the dough. And right then, Katniss decided she wanted a daughter that looked just like her husband. She wanted to see them baking together, with identical smiles and matching eyes. She couldn't wait to have his child.

Her hands went to her stomach and she peered down before returning her gaze to her husband. He caught her watching him and winked, his smile growing.


At dinner that night everyone was silent as Prim, with Peeta's help, revealed her news. No one said anything for the longest time, until Rye stood and lifted Prim off the ground. Bing joined them and Prim motioned for Peeta to join the embrace.. Madge shot Katniss a shocked look, leaning over so she wouldn't be heard.

"So this news didn't upset you?"

"My family is closer than ever," Katniss laughed. "Prim and Peeta are so alike, I don't know how I didn't suspect it before actually."

"Wow," Madge shook her head. "I didn't see that one coming." Katniss hummed lightly while the siblings chatted happily, Rye mussing Prim's hair and causing her to shriek.

"So Katniss, you still believe love is a complicated fairytale?"

"Hmm?" She didn't tear her gaze away from her laughing husband. Madge smirked.

"I SAID, do you still believe love is a complicated fairytale? That we shouldn't buy into it?" Katniss finally turned her head and frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"That's what you said at my wedding when I accused you of being in love with him. You didn't want to admit it and you said love was just a fairytale. Complicated feelings and all that bullshit."

"You kiss your husband with that dirty mouth?"

"I sure do," Madge smirked. Katniss snorted and rolled her eyes.

"So?"

"I love him more than I ever thought possible," she said firmly. "And no. It's not a fairytale. It's better than that."

"Atta girl," Madge patted her hand and leaned back in her chair.

When Peeta rejoined her, she took his face in her hands and kissed him hard on the mouth. He blinked down at her in surprise, before reaching up to a run a hand through his hair.

"What was that for?"

"I can kiss you anytime I want to," she shrugged. "So I am going to do just that."

"I'll never object to it," he nuzzled her cheek.


Later, after several bouts of lovemaking that left them completely spent, she curled up in his arms and he rested his chin on her head.

"Thought you told Prim that wasn't going to happen while she was in the house," he gasped.

"You weren't complaining."

"Uh no, no I wasn't. And I never will. I'm impressed at how quiet you were, actually."

"Well I'm not going to let her know what we're doing," she said crossly. He laughed and closed his eyes as his arms tightened around her.

"Do you still think we're living on borrowed time?"

"Hm?" She glanced up at him and he pulled away so he could look at her.

"Something you said, a while back that stayed with me. You said we were living on borrowed time. Do you still believe that?"

"We have all the time in the world," she reached up to finger his damp curls. "And I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you."

"You stole my line," he complained through a yawn.

"Get some sleep, Peeta," she leaned up to kiss his nose, before settling back into his arms.

"You'll stay with me?"

"Now who's stealing whose lines," she teased. She tilted her head so she could kiss his throat and his jaw and his breathing steadied so she knew he had fallen

asleep.

"Always," she whispered against his lips, before giving him a soft kiss and falling asleep in his embrace.


WOW. I have been working on this fic for FOUR years. That is insane. And it's even more insane that so many of you have stuck with me for so long! So thank you from the bottom of my heart! So many ups and downs and twists and turns and my life is SO different than it was 4 years ago but we made it. I thank you all for riding this roller coaster with me!

There will be an epilogue and don't worry, it won't be too long! Thank you again and have a GREAT weekend!

ALL my love to you,

Panskiss XOXO