The Treehouse

The wedding was beautiful. It was clear to see how much Gale and Johanna cared about each other. It wasn't just the words they said, it was the way they acted together. The shy glances, the gentle graze of their hands. The secret whispers as they passed by each other.

It was lovely to see them both happy. They deserved happiness after all they had been through. I don't think I can ever fully forgive Gale, but I want him to be happy. He did save so many lives when the Capitol bombed 12, included my mothers and Prim. They both would have died that day, or the days that followed in the woods, if it wasn't for him. Maybe, they would have died when I went into the first games without me hunting to keep them fed. I owed a lot to Gale.

"What are you thinking about?" Peeta asked, and took my hand in his. I shivered at the contact. We were all at the square, the sun was setting now and the twinkling lights that hung up above us looked so beautiful with the orange blaze of sky above it. We were sitting in one of the many benches that were littered over the gravely road, leftover plates of food and drink cups everywhere.

"I'm thinking about how nice it is to see Gale and Johanna happy." They were both dancing together slowly in the center, lost in each other's gaze. Other people also danced around them to the soft music that played from the band nearby. Johanna pulled him closer and rested her head on his chest as he continued to lead them in a slow circle. "Let's dance." I said and pulled Peeta to his feet.

As we spun around together slowly, his hands resting on my lower back and mine wrapped around his neck I couldn't help but remember when we danced in the woods in the rain. It felt like a lifetime ago now.

My thoughts soon returned to how awful it was to see Peeta the way he was the other day. The hatred in his eyes, the confusion as he tried to fight mentally what was fake and real. "Are you sure you want to risk having a turn again?" I asked him, my voice low enough that only he would be able to hear me. "I understand if you don't want to see me anymore, I am your biggest trigger. Don't feel like you have to stay with me."

He scoffed. "I can't believe you're even asking me this. You should be the one reconsidering if you want to be with me! Not the other way around." He laughed and shook his head. "You still don't know the effect you have on people, the effect you have on me. As if I could ever let you go." His voice was suddenly serious. He tilted my head up to look at him, his eyes were sparkling from the twinkling lights around us. "I love you Katniss. Losing myself on a rare occasion is worth it to be with you, always." He leaned forward, closing the gap between us and lowered his lips to mine. It was such a sweet kiss, it was enough to shut me up on the subject. At least for now anyway. I sighed happily and rested my head on his chest as we slowly spun around to the music.

We danced and danced until my feet ached and my cheeks were numb from smiling. Eventually, Peeta stopped us. The sky now grew dark now that the sun had completely set. "I want to show you something." He whispered to me and pulled me away from the crowd.

We walked past where all the new shops were built, past Peeta's bakery that held the sign 'Mellarks' above it in bold yellow letters. I've never been down this way before. It was always an area where the kids from this area hung out, not somewhere for someone like me. A girl from the Seam. We didn't walk far before we came across this huge tree, it was massive. Like scarily huge. I was surprised it survived the bombings.

But the size of it wasn't the only noteworthy thing about it. Someone had built a treehouse there, a long time ago by the looks of it, but it still stood strong. "My grandfather had built this for my dad to come and play when he was a child." Peeta explained reaching the base of the tree and grabbing on to the weathered rope that hung from the tree house down to the floor so you could climb inside. "He used to bring me and my brother's here all the time when we were younger. We would have so much fun." He smiled at the memories that fleeted through his mind. Then slowly the smile faded. "I miss my father, he was a good man. So loving to us when my mother was so cold."

I gave him a tight hug, trying to take some of his pain into me. "He was a very nice man." I agreed remembering how he came to visit me before the first games, the cookies he gave me and saying he will help keep Prim fed. He was a very nice man, just like Peeta was.

"Ladies first. I'll keep the rope taught for you, it'll make it easier to climb up." He said and gripped the rope tight.

I looked down at my pretty dress, it was a bit short to be climbing in. I felt my cheeks starting to flush at the thought. "Effie would kill me if she knew I was climbing in this."

Peeta's eyes sparkled and he gave me a wink. "At least I'll have a nice view from here."

My mouth fell open, earning me a thunderous laugh from Peeta. I was so shocked at what he had said that it took me too long before I reacted and slapped his arm. He laughed even more and nodded up. "Go on, I won't look."

I hope my blush wasn't too obvious, I don't know why it embarrassed me. He has seen me completely naked after all. Peeta was the only person to see me completely bare, both body and soul, but here I was embarrassed at this.

I began climbing and tried to be as quick as I possibly could. It was hard to fight the urge to keep looking down at him to see if he was looking. Deep down, I kind of hoped he was. Once I was near the top, I glanced back down. Peeta was looking at the ground, always the gentleman.

True to his word, as always.

I reached the top and gave the rope a little shake, "Ready."

I left him to climb on his own and looked around the tree house, taking a step back in time to Peeta's childhood. It was smaller inside than it looked from the ground. The ceiling was low, making me duck so I wouldn't hit my head. There were drawings all over the walls, Peetas I'm assuming. There were some from when he was really young, just messy scribbles. Then each drawing got better, it was nice to physically see his talent grow.

Peeta finally reached the top and stood straight up, smashing his head into the ceiling. He grunted and bent over, rubbing his head. I fought back the laugh in my throat and went to him, inspecting his head. He was okay.

"This place is a lot smaller than I remember." He said and groaned at the pain.

I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from smiling too. He glanced up at me, and I think seeing me trying not to laugh made him laugh.

I kneeled down in front of one of the small windows, looking out at District 12. You could see most of the town square from here, the place alight with the twinkling lights. You would be able to see some of the Seam too, but it was too dark now. Peeta kneeled next to me, and we watched the people dancing from afar, they looked so small from here.

"I wanted to show you this, " he said, drawing my attention away and towards him. He turned around and fiddled with the floorboards next to him, they creaked and cracked and finally it lifted. Under it, he pulled out an old worn tin.

He opened the tin, and inside poured out a bunch of photos, a few pieces of crumpled up paper and a ring.

He picked up the photos first, showing me them. There were photos of him as a child with his brothers. There was a faded photo of his mother pregnant with him with a happy smile on her face, one she rarely wore in person, he told me. Watching him grow up in these photos warmed my heart. There was even one from when he was around 10 or 11, around the age I first remembered him. He looked so innocent, so blind to the pain and suffering that was heading his way. I wished I could jump in the photo and shield young Peeta from the life before him.

Eventually he turned to the pieces of crumpled up paper, he scanned them quickly until he found the one he wanted. "My father used to write poems, years ago." He said and smiled at the piece of paper in his hand. "I'm fairly positive that he wrote this one about your mother."

My breath caught in my throat, "Really?"

He nodded, "Would you like me to read it to you?"

Smiling, I nodded eagerly.

He cleared his throat and began.

Beauty that tortures me

Rare bulb with healing hands

Her soul sewn to mine

Bright blue and full of promise

I'm not her friend

I am nothing

Starting to regret her

Wished we never met

How I burn for you

My secret love

Cool blue eyes

With a gentle touch

Do you not see me?

Standing here, bare and empty

She once was

A true love of mine

I pondered the words for a long time, both of us falling into silence. Loving my mother sounded very painful for him. I wondered if she had known how he felt. I'm sure she knew a little, maybe even she liked him back, but I wonder if she was aware of how deep his feelings were.

He held up the ring then. It was beautiful. The gold band was made of multiple vine-like shapes with tiny leaves at the end of each vine. Inside each leaf held a tiny sparkling stone, they looked like diamonds, but they couldn't be. Diamonds were too expensive for anyone in District 12 to own. "I think he proposed to her." He admitted rubbing the ring between his fingers.

"With this ring?" I asked, studying it closer. "Are those real diamonds?"

He nodded, "I think so. He told me they were real anyway."

"Why do you think he proposed to her with this?" I asked, looking away from the ring to him.

"He told me after the first games that he once asked a girl he loved the most to be his wife with this ring. And that he wanted me to do the same." He paused, studying the ring further. "My mothers wedding ring was plain gold, so it wasn't hers. The only other woman he had loved was the one he wrote this poem for, your mother." He looked up at me. "He knew that my feelings for you were real, maybe he thought it was fitting that his true love's daughter would get the ring one day." The silence that fell between us was heavy. My heart began beating harder and faster, so loud in fact I was sure he could hear it.

What was happening here?

He looked nervous as he held out the ring to me. "Would you accept it?" He asked shyly.

"Are you asking me to marry you?"

Was this really happening?

I started the day unsure if Peeta would ever be in my life again, and now I'm finishing it with him asking me to be in his life forever.

He nodded. "I love you Katniss. These few days apart have shown me I don't ever want to be apart from you again, not ever." He took my hand in his, his fingers soft and warm against my skin as he slid the ring on. It fit perfectly. I looked at him again, his eyes so soft and full of love, it made my skin tingle. "Will you marry me?" He asked, his voice slightly shaky.

I couldn't hold back the smile that spread across my face. "Of course I will." I leaned in and kissed him. My heart had never felt so full.

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-Shunice