Over the next week or two, life solidifies itself in the normal routine we followed before Effie's visit. Haymitch still drinks, but he's come out of the bender he went on after Effie's departure. Peeta and I work on the book, he bakes, I hunt, life goes on.

The only major difference that sets these days apart from many other days we've had before is the amount of kissing between Peeta and I. We don't do anything around Haymitch or anyone else. We've never talked about it, never decided to keep anything private, there's just some sort of unspoken understanding that whatever this is, it's new and it's fledgling and it's just between us. But now when we get into bed I kiss him goodnight. If I wake up screaming his lips come to ground me in reality. If he's struggling to get out of a memory or in the early stages of a potential flash, mine do the same for him.

One morning starts entirely differently than most do, though. One morning, when Peeta and I had been peacefully sleeping in my bed, I wake up to a loud squawking sound I cannot place. Peeta wakes too and has a confused look on his face. His expression combined with his ruffled hair from bed makes him look entirely dazed. It's unfairly adorable.

"What is that?" he asks, rubbing his eyes.

"I have no idea," I say, but as I become more alert the sounds become more familiar. Squawking was close to the word I was looking for but not quite right. It's more like...honking. I rise without another word and head downstairs. I open the door to my backyard and sure enough, when I look over to Haymitch's I see four geese, all chasing each other around and honking. He's standing in the middle, looking utterly lost as to what to do with himself.

"What is happening?" I ask, part concerned, part amused.

"I got geese," he says, as if that's all the answer required to explain this truly bizarre scene.

"Why?!"

"I don't know! I was bored, I needed something to focus on other than the drink. I like geese. They're just mean and ugly enough to keep people away from me, but they lay good eggs. Useful." I just laugh at him. He looks so ridiculous, standing in a little circle of geese. I hear my door slide open and Peeta walks up next to me.

"I...what?' he asks, looking deeply perplexed, as if he can't trust his eyes.

"Haymitch got geese," I say.

"Why?" he asks.

"What is it with you two and the geese? I wanted geese, I got geese. What are you, the geese police?" Haymitch is annoyed at us, but the absurdity of what he just said is overwhelming, and all of us start laughing.

After a few minutes, we settle down and I give Haymitch some advice on how to take care of the geese. I've never kept fowl, but he's so obviously clueless on how to take care of an animal that I figure any advice I learned from having Lady is still better than nothing. Eventually, Peeta and I leave Haymitch with his new friends and head back inside.

"Now that is not something I was expecting to see today," he says, and I laugh.

"Not even a little bit," I reply. "I guess that it's good for him to have something to focus on though." Peeta nods.

"I agree. It's weird, but it's better than losing him to liquor." I nod back at him this time. He walks over to me. We're both still in our pajamas, it's still early. He puts his arms around my waist, and I put mine around his neck.

"It's still early," I say. "We could go back to bed."

"I know, but I shouldn't. I have a call with Aurelius in about an hour." I groan, and he laughs at me. I pull his head in and press my lips against his. He moans against my lips a little bit, and I love it.

"Mmm, Katniss," he says, trying slightly to pull away but not with enough effort to make any difference, and I don't make it easier for him. "God, I don't want to stop."

"Then don't," I counter, but he laughs and puts more effort into pulling away now.

"The issue is if I don't make myself, I never will," he says, laughing. "I gotta go shower." He kisses me on my cheek.

"I think I'm gonna go hunt today," I tell him. It's nice out, not too warm but not too cold. Seems as good a use of the day as any. "So I'll see you around dinner maybe?" He nods at me, places a quick kiss on my lips, and then we both head upstairs. He walks into the bathroom while I slip on clothes and my hunting jacket. I grab my bow and head out, making my way to the woods.

It really is a beautiful day out. Now that we're in the full throws of Spring, plant life is recovering and the district really looks better than it ever has. The rain has been nourishing, and the lack of coal pollution has made a big difference. I haven't really thought much about what sort of industry we're gonna develop in 12, once we finish with the rebuilding process. It's still such a far away point that I haven't given it much thought. No one is restricted to just the one industry in their district anymore. You can move anywhere within Panem that has a job you want, you can get higher education, you have a lot more options, but each district still has some specialties. Four has a major hospital now, but it's still going to have a major fishing industry. Once their forest recovers, 7 still has the biggest lumber reserves, so it makes sense to have that industry. 3 is still the leader in technological development.

Now that hours, conditions, and pay are all better, a lot of people don't mind working in their district's traditional industry; it feels good to apply the knowledge they've accrued over a lifetime and put it to good use, rather than just be exploited for it. Just having the option to work in a different district, or specialize in a career like politics or medicine is so liberating. People can actually enjoy their district's trade if they are working there by choice.

Even so, I don't really want the mines to reopen in 12. They were a symbol of death to me long before the Rebellion. I don't like the idea of anyone having to go in there in the future. No matter how many precautions the new government takes, the mines are still dangerous. They can still kill in so many different ways.

I cross the fence and start hiking. The woods really look beautiful right now. Everything is just so alive. I grab a couple rabbits from my snare line and shoot some squirrels. I'm bagging more game than I need because I want to sell it at the market to Sae and Rooba. Being out in the woods right now, seeing how lush and green everything is, feeling the breeze on my face, and using the skills my father taught me - I feel more content than I would have imagined I could be. It's nice.

It was easy for me to forget for so many years that 12 is beautiful. It was hard to see through the soot, through the fear, through the hunger. But right now I'm very grateful to have this land. I'm happy that I can live in my home.

An hour or two later, I head back into town and towards the market. It's fairly busy today, but Sae expects me and always lets me cut any line. She's stopped coming to the house to cook now that I'm doing better, and now that Peeta is here if anything goes wrong, but she still wants to take care of me. I appreciate her a lot. As I'm finishing trading with her, trying to make her pay me less because I truly do not need the money, I see Thom coming up to me.

"Hey Katniss!" he says.

"Hey Thom, how're you doing?" I ask, finishing up my trade with Sae and turning towards him.

"I'm doing pretty well! I'd been hoping to run into you for a couple days, actually. There's something I'd like to run by you."

"What is it?" I ask, curious. I've always liked Thom plenty well, but we haven't had a lot of overlap in our lives or interests. Our biggest connection for a long time was that we were both friends with Gale. I'm not sure what he might want my help with.

"So a couple of guys on the rebuilding team and I have been talking these past few days, and to just put it bluntly, none of us want to go back to working in the coal mines again. We had all worked down there before the war, and it just isn't the future we want for ourselves, or for our children in the future."

"I completely agree," I say. Thom smiles and nods. "How can I help?"

"So I've been thinking, the district has been looking so healthy since spring hit, and especially now that we aren't polluting it with coal every day, we have a lot of plant life that I didn't even know we had. Since so much of our infrastructure was knocked out in the bombing, we have a lot of space to build new structures. My thought was maybe that we could do something with that, and with all the plant life, and maybe start a new district industry. I know that one of Paylor's main goals is to set up a better healthcare infrastructure for everyone. She's setting up a local health clinic in each district, in addition to the two major hospitals in 4 and the Capitol for specialty procedures. I know a lot of the medicines they use come from plants like the ones we have here, but I don't know what does what. I was thinking we could maybe start off our new district industry as manufacturing medicine."

"That sounds great!" I say. I mean it. I think that's a genuinely great idea. "I'm just not sure where I come in. I'm happy to help get supplies or funds or-"

"No, no" he cuts me off. "I mean, that's great too, but I actually wanted your help with identifying plants and figuring out what goes into different medicines. I remember how good your mom was with all this stuff, and I know you have that plant book. Would you be interested in helping out with that part of it?"

I'm weirdly flattered by this. I'm really not as much of an expert on these things as he thinks I am, but I really like the idea of helping in this way.

"Yeah, yeah absolutely! I don't...I mean I don't know as much as she did, but I'm happy to share whatever I have," I say. He beams at me.

"That's great! We're still in the really early stages of trying to get things together, but once we're a little further along I'll give you a call, ok?"

"That sounds good," I say.

We part ways soon after, and I head back to Victor's Village. I see why everyone wants Thom to be the mayor. Our election is coming up at the end of next month, I think, and I don't know why anyone would vote for anyone else. He's passionate about the district and wants to make it better. That's all that is important to me for that job. When I get back to the Village, I see Peeta walking over to Haymitch's house, holding a loaf of sourdough bread. He smiles when he sees me.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey yourself," I say, kissing him on the cheek. No one is around, but I think this is the first time I've actually shown any sign of affection in what could be a public space. I think he knows that, because he beams at me.

"You seem like you're in a good mood," he says.

"I think I am. I had a good day."

"I wanna hear about it."

"Let's go to Haymitch's," I say. "I want to tell both of you." Peeta nods and grabs my hand, and the two of us head to Haymitch's. We walk in without knocking, but stop dead in the doorway. It's...clean.

"What is this?" I mutter. Haymitch walks over to us.

"Effie sent in a fucking cleaning lady," he says. "I hear a knock on the door this morning and assume it was one of you kids, and some woman comes in and just starts cleaning without a word. I'm about to kick her out when the phone rings, and it's Effie on the other line saying the way I live is "absolutely unacceptable" and that she had to do something. That woman is bent on controlling my life all the way from the Capitol."

He's acting like he's angry, but it's fake. Effie caring enough to make Haymitch clean his house means she cares about him. It means that, at some point, she plans on coming back.

"So, kid," he says, turning to Peeta. "You've put enough random shit in my cabinets over the past few weeks, and since it's actually hospitable here now, what do you think about cooking here tonight?"

"Yeah alright," Peeta says, and he immediately goes over to Haymitch's fridge to take stock of his options. Haymitch's place is usually so unpleasant to be in that we have all our meals at my place or Peeta's, so it's kinda fun to be somewhere different, even though it looks exactly the same.

"So, Katniss, tell us about your day," Peeta says while chopping up an onion. Haymitch and I sit on the counter stools while Peeta stands cooking on the other side, and I fill them in on all of Thom's ideas about manufacturing medicine.

"That kid's got a good head on his shoulders," Haymitch remarks. "It's a damn good idea. Might actually make this district a place where people want to live."

"Yeah, I thought so too," I say.

"And he's right to ask you for help, Katniss," Peeta says. "You know so much about all the plant life here."

"I don't know as much as my mom, but the book helps," I say.

"You know plenty," he says. "This is a great way to get involved in helping the district." He smiles at me. He knows I've been feeling a little useless, just trying to heal myself while others are trying to heal our home. I agree with him, that this opportunity is going to be good for me. The three of us sit down at the table to eat soon after. Peeta and I set the table and sit down, and Haymitch runs to the bathroom quickly before joining us. While he's gone, Peeta leans in and whispers into my ear.

"I'm proud of you," he mumbles to me. The feeling of his hot breath on my ear and neck is getting to me. He seems to notice, because he places a couple of kisses on my neck, then takes my earlobe between his teeth briefly. I moan. That's when we hear Haymitch clear his throat. We turn around quickly and see him standing with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"Am I intruding in my own home?" he asks, his tone blank. I blush furiously, and Peeta clears his throat, trying to get himself together.

"I-uh..." he mumbles. I have no chance of being able to come up with the right words, but he has a shot at it. Still, even he seems to be a bit at a loss right now. Haymitch takes his seat at the table.

"So it's finally happening, huh?" he asks. "Not like two have been any good at keeping it hidden."

I don't know why, but I laugh. I should be so mortified, I should be angry, I should want to run and hide. But Haymitch is family. He'll give us shit, he'll tease us, but he wants us to be happy. Whatever this is between Peeta and I, we don't need to keep it from him, Seeing me laugh makes Peeta laugh a little too, and the whole feeling of the room lightens.

"Yeah" Peeta finally gets out. "I guess you're right about that." We all joke and tease each other throughout dinner. It's nice, it feels light.

Towards the end of the meal, I start fixating on Peeta's hands. I've always liked watching them when he kneads dough, when he sketches or paints, but now even just the movements of his hands on his fork and knife are driving me wild. I really don't know why he gets me like this. On an impulse, throwing absolutely all caution to the wind, I take my own hand and place it on Peeta's thigh under the table. I see him jolt a little, but he quickly recovers enough that Haymitch doesn't notice anything. I don't do much, I don't want to be obvious. I just rub my hand up and down his leg a bit.

We're all done eating soon, and I immediately look for an excuse to leave. I'm not mad at Haymitch for finding us out, I really don't care. I just want Peeta.

"I'm tired," I announce. "I'm gonna head home. Peeta?" He looks confused for a second and then hops up and heads out with me into the night.

"What was that?" Peeta asks, but he looks amused. I don't say anything, I just grab his hand and rush him back to my house.

The minute the door closes behind us, I turn to him and push him so his back up against the door and start kissing him with intensity. I explore his mouth with my tongue, I run my hands up his back under his shirt, I taste him and feel him and try to memorize him. He tangles one hand in my hair and wraps the other around my hips, pulling me flesh against him. He moves his mouth back to my neck and nips at me like he did the other day. I think this time it might leave a mark. It feels so impossibly good, I really don't know why.

"Peeta," I breathe. Hearing me say his name seems to do something to him, because he moans a little and crashes his lips back onto mine. This time I break from him in order to kiss and nip a little path from his lips to his jawline, down his neck to the collar of his shirt. I gesture with my tugging that I want his shirt off, and he complies and removes it. I turn my head to the side slightly and suck on a point where his neck meets his chest. He groans. I push my hips into his and feel him throbbing against me. I smirk a little at the expression that flashes over his eyes.

"Katniss," he mumbles. "W-we should probably stop, otherwise I'm gonna-" I cut him off by putting my lips back on his. I have no interest in stopping, and I have no problem with the alternative he's posing. The fire that I feel when I'm with him like this burns through all the fear and doubts in my head. I trace my hand down his torso, feeling his toned muscles along the way, and pause right above his belt.

"Katniss you don't have to..." he says, but his voice trails off.

"Do you want me to? Because I want to."

"Of course I want you to," he says, his eyes locking on mine.

"Then I don't think we need to keep talking," I say, kissing him on the lips and slipping my hand past his waistband. I have absolutely no concept of what I should be doing, all I know is that I just want to make him feel good. Initially, I keep my hand between the fabric of his pants and the fabric of his boxers, and I just start rubbing a pattern up and down. He's responding well, but I can tell it isn't quite right. I move so I'm inside his boxers and take him in my hand. He seems to me to be impossibly hard, impossibly smooth, impossibly big, impossibly warm. I don't know how any of these things are possible. But I'm infatuated. He moans as I wrap my hand around him and start moving up and down his length. I can tell this is right because his breathing gets shallow and his eyes roll back a little bit.

"Oh my God, Katniss," he mumbles, which I take as my queue to speed up my pace a bit. Occasionally, I make little circles with my thumb on his tip, and that seems to make him wild too. I can feel the tension building up in him, he's close.

"Katniss I'm gonna..." he's warning me, as if I'd want to remove my hand, but I don't. I make one or two more passes up and down his length before he groans, and everything is suddenly warm and wet. After a minute or two I remove my hand from his waistband, admiring the stickiness of my fingers and the wet circle that has emerged on his pants. He looks embarrassed, like he might be about to apologize again. I need to stop him from doing that.

"Well, that was fun," I say, planting a quick and chaste kiss on his lips before turning around and going to wash up.