Sorry for the long wait guys, I just didn't feel like writing after what happened in Paris in November, and then I just had so much to do that I couldn't find time/inspiration. Once again, all mistakes are mine.
For those who don't know, the title of this fanfiction is the translation of "Fluctuat nec mergitur", which is the motto of the city of Paris. It roughly translates to "Tossed but not sunk". Deep, huh.
Anyway, let's get to it !
Two months later, Peeta was still adjusting to his new life in Paris. Everything was so different, from the people to the lifestyle. He was also struggling with the language, even though he was understanding it better every day.
He had developed a quick and strong friendship with Finnick, whose humor matched his own – witty, yet a bit more salacious.
Together, they hung out in different places almost every night, but they still spent every Friday night at Le Geai Moqueur. If Peeta was being honest with himself, he knew a big part of it was because he liked to see Katniss pour drinks confidently.
He burnt to know more about her, but he was reluctant to ask Finnick. He knew he would get teased for days if he showed his friend how curious he was about her, which was really stupid at this point because they had only spoken once – well, fourteen if you counted the times he had ordered a drink from her, but that really didn't count.
He could already hear his friend's voice saying "well well well, little Peeta is yearning to fulfil his bartender fantasy, isn't he?". Every time he thought about it, he mentally rolled his eyes.
Sure, he did want her more than he had wanted anyone before. Maybe it was her slight French accent – that was definitely a huge turn-on -, or her stormy grey eyes. But really, it was everything. She was just beautiful.
The truth was, it was slowly starting to drive him crazy. With less than 20 hours of class a week, he had all the free time in the world to think about her, and when she had a shift at the bar, he just spent the whole time studying her.
Peeta decided that it was enough. He needed to know everything about her, and most importantly, whether she and the tall, black-haired guy were an item.
As talking to Finn really wasn't an option, he sent a text to Cressida, and they agreed on meeting at a cozy café of the 10th arrondissement on Thursday after class.
When Peeta got out of the métro station, it was bucketing down, so he raced to the café, cursing himself for not having brought his umbrella. As he entered the place, the warmth engulfed him, along with a sweet smell of coffee and chocolate. Most tables were occupied, but he spotted an empty one in a corner, and sat down after having ordered a hot chocolate. His hair was wet, and so was his sweater.
As he pulled it off, he saw Cressida step through the door, and waved at her.
"Hey, Peet. So what's up ? How's college going ?", she asked as she sat in front of him.
"It's going well. It's pretty interesting, and I met some cool people. Most of them live on the left bank though so they are just college friends, I guess.", he said. Then he decided to just go for it, at this point, he didn't really care anymore if he sounded stupid. "Look, I was wondering… You know your friend Katniss?".
Cressida nodded, a smirk appearing at the corner of her lips. To her credit, she had the decency not to entirely smirk.
"Well… I was kinda wondering if she was, huh, dating this big guy that was also there at your party.".
Peeta tried not to blush too much while he asked the question, staring intently at his chocolate. However, when he looked up, he saw that Cressida wasn't smirking, but smiling sweetly at him.
"I guess you're talking about Gale. They're best friends, but they used to date. Now, they're just… having fun, I guess. Sometimes. I think Gale likes to think she's his, but really, Katniss isn't interested in him."
Peeta was conflicted. On one hand, he was happy that they weren't in a relationship. On the other hand… if they were still having sex, that had to mean something, right ?
"So, she's just having fun." stated Peeta, but it sounded more like a question.
Cress nodded, and took a long sip of her beer. "Look, I'm not even sure they're still doing it. But even if they were, it doesn't mean anything, at least for Katniss. I guess he's just the one she turns to when she wanna blow off some steam."
She winked, and Peeta felt uncomfortable. He wanted to be the one she turned to… especially to blow off some steam. She could use him. No problem.
Before Cressida could read his thoughts and he could embarrass himself even further, he changed the subject and asked her how the short film she was supposed to direct for a school project.
As Peeta got home later that night, he decided to draw until he got too tired to think clearly, and he drifted off to the soothing sounds of the city.
The following day, the whole crew met at the bar like every Friday night. Peeta was the last one to arrive, and Joanna, Finnick, Cressida and Thresh were already sitting at their usual booth. As he made his way through the bar, Haymitch winked at him, and Katniss… well, Katniss didn't even look at him. She was in deep conversation with this Gale guy, who was leaning against the bar as if he owned the place. That pissed Peeta off, and he decided he definitely didn't like the guy.
Undeterred, he made his way to his friends, knowing that Haymitch was going to bring him his beer without him asking, as he did every Friday. These little things made Peeta realize that he was slowly but surely creating a life for himself here.
"Salut Peeta !", said Joanna, "We were just talking about what's happening these days in Paris, the "Nuit Debout" thing. It's crazy, it's like a revolution is on the way !". She then raised her fist.
Peeta laughed, Joanna was such an anarchist. It figured she would be thrilled by the movement, which consisted in people protesting against the government every night at Place de la République. However, Peeta didn't feel French enough to feel concerned by it, and he only watched it from afar.
"Yeah well, I don't really know about that. I heard the place could go wild", he said shyly, fearing his friends' reaction. However, they all laughed at this.
"Look man, you should come with us on Sunday, you'll see what it's really about", said Finnick with a grin.
"Yeah, you really should", continued Cress. Peeta vaguely agreed, obviously not convinced. As the others changed the topic, talking about the recent attacks, Peeta looked over at Katniss, who seemed really pissed at Gale, brows furrowed and all, and that made Peeta smile. However, Katniss suddenly looked at him over the liquor bottles, and Peeta quickly adverted his gaze, ashamed that he had been caught staring at her so blatantly. Throughout the night, he didn't dare looking at her again, but he did see Gale make exasperated gestures with his hands and ultimately leave the bar, looking annoyed.
Hours later, as everyone was leaving the bar, a slightly drunk Cressida drew him aside for a moment.
"Look Peet, I know you don't really want to go to Répu on Sunday, but I thought something could change your mind.". At this point, Cressida was grinning in a way that reminded him of Finnick a bit too much for his liking. "Katniss will be there. She sings there every Sunday afternoon. So just consider it, ok ?".
She winked at him, and shouted a loud "A plus, les gars !" as she exited the bar. Répu was short for Place de la République, where Nuit Debout took place, but also where people went to talk, exchange ideas, dance, sing, draw, or even just chill.
Peeta bade goodbye to Haymitch and told him he would prepare him a sandwich when he got home. It was usually how it worked between the two, Haymitch pulling long hours at the bar and getting home in the middle of the night with an empty stomach. Well, empty was a bit of an overstatement. It was actually quite full, only it wasn't food that his uncle gulped down all night long. Peeta made sure that he got something to eat every night after he closed his establishment. The man did host him for free after all.
Later that night, as Peeta was lying in bed, he kept thinking about what Cress told him. He decided he was indeed going to go and see for himself what was special about this place. That, and the fact that it would mean an occasion for him to talk to Katniss, without a bar counter in the way – it was actually kind of impressive, and he just felt like an idiot every time he tried to start a conversation with her at the bar. Also, it would mean he would get to hear her sing, which was kind of unexpected. He had no idea Katniss sang. Yup, he definitely knew what he was going to do this Sunday.
