Chapter 9: Uncle Peeta & Auntie Katniss

A few nights later, I return home from hunting in the woods, humming to myself. After providing game for the dinner rush at the Hob, I wander through town. Finally, I steal away into an alley just beyond the Hawthorne Homestead and meet my lover there.

"Have you got it?" Peeta whispers after breaking up our kiss in greeting.

Smiling, I hold up the engagement ring he gave to me the night we made love in the bakery. I slip it on, and it feels almost like a preventive measure against what might come. It's strange, how two people in love and who really know each other can think on such similar tracks. For Peeta suddenly asks, "What if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you," I assure him with a kiss.

"I was actually referring to anyone not under the age of six," Peeta rolls his eyes.

"Prim already loves you," I laugh, staring at him in half-shock. "She'll just be surprised to see us... together. And Hazelle knows we were... married."

"So I guess that leaves old Gale, huh?" Peeta sighs.

"He'll be forced into line," I almost hum happily, smiling. We kiss again. "Come on." Taking his hand, I lead him into the Homestead. I grandly open the front door and head for the kitchen, before I lose my nerves. Hazelle looks up from where she is setting the table.

"Peeta! What a lovely surprise!" She turns to her grandchild. "Rory, set an extra plate; we have a guest!" Rory dutifully goes to obey.

Peeta takes a seat with me, and I next to him. Not once do I let go of his arm. The whole time I keep a beaming smile on my face, hoping it doesn't come off as forced. I'm happy, I really am! But that doesn't mean I'm not nervous.

Prim now comes down the stairs. She stops short and blinks upon seeing Peeta, but then she smiles knowingly. "I'll be damned... Peeta! ..."

My lover rises to embrace her. "It's been too long, Prim."

"It sure has," she smiles.

"Well, you grew up gorgeous," Peeta compliments her.

I gasp in mock-outrage. "I'm sitting right here, Peeta!"

"Yes, and I'm standing right here!" Gale grumbles as he pauses on the stair landing behind his wife, watching as Peeta and Prim move apart. My brother-in-law holds out his hand gruffly. "Mellark."

"Hawthorne." Peeta is cordial, correct, as the two men shake hands. Sensing the tension, Hazelle purposefully inserts herself to break it up and keep things lively. "Gale, come help me peel the potatoes!" She literally drags him over to the sink. Prim follows, giving Peeta an almost apologetic look. Peeta just shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his mouth, before returning to me. After a moment, Winnie takes a seat across from us, regarding Peeta curiously.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Peeta," my lover smiles, extending a hand. "You must be... Rory, right?"

"I'm Winnie. That's Rory," my niece points to her older sister, who is playing with Ben on the carpet in the living room. She continues to study Peeta the way an artist might study a painting. "Is Auntie Katniss in love with you?"

Peeta stares at her, unsure how to broach romantic love with a four-year-old. "Well... Winnie... I would hope... she is... I love her..."

"I knew it!" Winnie squeals, eyes shining. "Auntie looks at you all goofy! She really likes you." She now turns to me. "Auntie Katniss, does he kiss you like Daddy kisses Mommy? Do you sleep in the same bed? Are you married?"

I laugh nervously. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, sweetheart! We'll talk about it. Why don't you help your parents with dinner?" Winnie scampers off, Peeta staring after her in amazement.

"Jesus, Katniss, how old is that kid?"

I bite back a smile. "She's four..."

"... going on forty!" Another thought strikes him. "Does she know about us?"

I glance down. "That night I sold you the squirrels and you paid way too much, I was thinking back to... when we got divorced. And I was crying... Gale and Prim were fooling around at the sink - kissing, touching. Winnie comes over and asks me what's wrong, and wondered if I had anyone to kiss me like that. I told her that I did once, and she asked what happened to her uncle..."

I don't cry, but Peeta nevertheless hugs me close to his side and kisses my temple. "If we have a little girl, I want her to be as smart and sensitive as Winnie."

I smile, before capturing his lips with mine. "I'd like that."

Girlish squeals make us jump apart to find both Winnie and Rory staring at us in abject wonder. Ben, meanwhile, is too engrossed in his toys to bother with the public displays of affection perpetuated by his aunt.

Everyone gathers down to eat, Winnie and Rory stealing glances at Peeta and me before giggling and whispering to each other. Brief small talk, broken by long bouts of silence, is conducted. Prim and Hazelle do an admirable job of making Peeta feel welcome, but I can tell they keep waiting for Gale to say something... civilized. Or rather, say anything at all.

Finally, Hazelle decides to throw us all into the deep end, as she spies my one hand on the tabletop. "Katniss... there is a very important ring on a very important finger..."

As if afraid I might try to retract and hide it, Prim seizes my right hand so that the engagement ring is there for all to see. "Oh, Katniss! Oh..." She squeals happily. "Congratulations, Peeta!"

"Yes, all the best to the happy couple," Hazelle nods.

Then, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law move as one, turning their heads expectantly to the young man smushed between them. Gale looks from one woman to the other, his expression blank except for his eyes narrowing slightly. I try not to smirk. Gale walked right into a trap when sitting between them, and he knows it now, too. There's no way out. Prim is giving him a look that says she will no less than divorce him if he so much as bitches about this. Gale finally clears his throat and extends a hand across the table.

"Welcome to the family... Peeta."

The use of his first name is not lost on my fianceé, who smiles good-naturedly and clasps Gale's hand. "Thank you, Gale."

The dinner devolves into excited chaos after that, Winnie and Rory running around to get a look at my engagement ring, then asking Peeta if they can call him their uncle. And on and on it goes...