Author's note: This one's long. Let me know what you think. You can always visit booksrockmyface on Tumblr as well.
Happy reading!
Chapter Twenty-One
Peeta woke up before Katniss. He looked over and saw her soft face. There was a small smile on her lips. One arm was thrown above her head and the other was resting across her stomach. The light passing through the blinds fell on her so perfectly that he wished he could paint that moment.
She moaned and stirred. She squinted her eyes open and smiled when she saw him watching her. She closed her eyes again and moved toward him. "Morning."
"Morning." He kissed her eyes, her nose, her lips. "You wanna…?"
She chuckled. "I wanna." She rolled onto her back and pulled him on top of her.
They made love slowly and gently. Quietly. Katniss barely opened her eyes until she came and they popped open in her orgasm. Peeta kissed her through it. He followed closely behind her and then rolled away panting and grinning like a madman.
Katniss stretched and sat up. "I need coffee." She found her clothes on the floor and put them back on.
"Should I make something for breakfast?" Peeta asked as he followed.
"We usually do presents and then breakfast. Is that cool?"
"Works for me."
Katniss bounded out of her room and pounded on Prim's door. "Wake up, baby sister, it's time for presents!" She continued to knock on the door until her sister opened it with a disgruntled glare. "I'll make coffee."
"You better. I need the bathroom." She shuffled down the hall. "Have a cup ready." She called over her shoulder.
They eventually settled around the tree, each of them with a cup of coffee and the leftover cookies from the night before.
"Who gets to be Santa?" Prim asked.
"May I do it?" Peeta asked softly.
Katniss kissed his cheek and smiled. "Go for it."
"Okay, I have just the thing for you, Prim." He searched through until he found one and handed it to her. Then he sat one in Katniss's lap. "Do you do where everyone takes turns opening presents or do we just pass them all out and go at it?"
"Prim can't hold off for long." Katniss chuckled. "Just pass them out. Unless you want to open some."
Peeta shrugged. "I'll wait. But there's one I want to watch you open, so I'll save that for last." He finished passing out the presents.
Prim got lots of art supplies and a few new shirts. She glared at Katniss when she opened up a package of underwear and then threw them at her face. "Jerk"
Katniss laughed and threw them back. "It's tradition."
"At least they don't have ducks on them." She said as she tore into the next gift. She laughed.
"But that one does!" Katniss laughed along with her.
"What is it?" Peeta asked.
Prim held up an apron with ducks all over it. "I guess we need to do more baking, Peeta."
"Do you like it, Little Duck?" Katniss asked as she opened a gift from her sister.
"I do. I hope you like that one. I worked hard on it."
erk" Prim sat back and watched as Katniss opened the present.
It was a painting she'd done of Katniss with a bow and arrow just before firing. "It's beautiful, Prim."
Peeta leaned over her. "You did a good job with the detail in her hair. And I like the bright feathers on the arrows." He sat another gift on her lap. "Maybe you should have opened mine first. Prim's is much better."
"Has the student become the master?" Prim teased.
"I guess we'll see." Katniss said as she ripped the paper. She found inside a landscape featuring a lovely little cabin nestled in the middle of a wood. "Oh, wow." She breathed.
"My grandfather's hunting cabin. It's still in the family and my mother has nothing to do with it. My brothers fight over it. I just visit it to paint it every once in a while."
"It's beautiful, Peeta. Thank you." She leaned in and kissed him. "And all I got you were painting supplies."
"Good ones. I like them." He brushed another kiss over her lips. "And I like those silly socks you found with the famous artists."
"I can't believe he gets silly socks and I get boring white underwear." Prim grumbled.
Katniss shoved her shoulder. "Open your last present, you doof."
The younger girl did and squealed. "I got artists socks, too! We can be matchy, Peeta."
He chuckled. "Probably shouldn't until after you graduate. That may be weird."
"May be awesome! Wear the Picasso ones today!" She pulled them on.
"I'm more of a Van Gogh man, myself." He took out a pair and slipped them on.
They both laughed as they put their feet in the middle of the circle and wiggled them. Katniss shook her head and started gathering the wrapping paper.
Peeta pulled her down on his lap and kissed her deeply. "Hey, thank you for this. I haven't had so much fun on Christmas morning in a long time."
She smoothed her fingers down his cheek. "I'm glad I could be part of it." She brushed a kiss over his lips. "When do we have to be at the Odairs'?"
"About noon." He looked up at the clock. "So we have a few hours. Who wants crepes?"
Prim raised her hand. "Fancy pancakes!"
"Much more than pancakes, my dear. Want to learn how to make them?"
"You are going to make me the envy of my classmates." Prim bounced to her feet.
Peeta looked to Katniss. "Want to help?"
"Okay."
They gathered in the kitchen. Peeta was a really good teacher. Katniss could see why he was so popular with the students. And as he patiently showed Prim how to pour the batter, she fell even more in love with him. She never fully realized how much it meant to her to have a man treat her sister so well until this moment.
They ate and Prim talked about past Christmases. Peeta listened with an interested smile, but his eyes kept cutting to Katniss. He kicked her foot under the table and rubbed her knee. He kissed her cheek.
Prim stopped talking and looked between them. "Okay, now I'm becoming the third wheel. Time for a shower." She picked up her plate and sat it in the sink as she hurried from the room.
When they were alone, Katniss smiled and slid into Peeta's lap. She kissed him softly and then rested her forehead against his. "Has it really been a good Christmas?"
"It's been one of the best in my life." He rubbed her back. "Even when my brothers were getting all these awesome things and I got my brothers' hand-me-downs as gifts from my mom, I loved Christmas. My dad always gave me something great, even if Mother took it away when he was at the bakery."
She combed her fingers through his hair. "Did you ever love her?"
"When I was a little kid and I didn't know that wasn't how moms are supposed to act… Yeah. But my dad… Dad was everything to me. And he took me under his wing. Maybe that was part of the reason she always singled me out." He shrugged. "I don't analyze her anymore." He rubbed his hand over her back. "I love you. And that's all that matters."
She pressed a kiss to his lips. "Do you love my sister?"
He nodded. "I do."
"Every time you show her that extra bit of attention…"
"Is it sexy?"
She chuckled. "Well, it's very much appreciated."
"Come on, you think it's sexy." He poked her side.
She wiggled away and giggled. "Okay, it's sexy." She grabbed his hands when he tried to tickle her again. "Stop it."
"Or what?"
"Or…" She looked over his face and lost track of her thought. His eyes were full of boyish mischief. She leaned down and kissed him softly. She looked over his face again as his eyes shifted to something more suited for the bedroom. She grabbed his face and covered his mouth with hers. She slid her hands up into his hair as the kiss deepened.
He moaned and slipped his hands up her shirt as she shifted to straddle his lap. They continued to kiss. Katniss rolled her hips down and Peeta moaned again, deeper this time. She could feel him growing hard underneath her.
"Whoa, get a room!" Prim said from the doorway.
They both looked up to see her back as she fled.
Peeta blushed deeply. "Maybe I should take the next turn in the bathroom."
"What if we went together?" Katniss asked with a sheepish grin.
He chuckled. "It's hard enough to stay upright with one leg to clean myself. Sex in the shower is probably not a smart idea."
"Okay." She stood. "Good for future reference."
He followed awkwardly. He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll be quick."
Katniss and Peeta held hands as they walked up to the front door of Finnick and Annie's house. Prim threw feigned disgusted looks over her shoulder. She knocked rapidly on the door. When Finn opened it, he threw himself at her, happily saying her name.
"Hey, Finn! I missed you, too." She chuckled.
Annie called, "Peeta? I need your help in the kitchen. My pies aren't setting. Come tell me what I'm doing wrong."
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to Katniss's cheek before he walked away. She took the presents into the living room, following behind Prim and Finn as they boy talked about his presents he'd gotten that morning.
Annie stood in the middle of the kitchen holding a pecan pie with tears streaming down her cheek. "This is the third one I've tried today. And it's watery. And I don't know what I'm doing wrong."
"Hey, it's okay." He walked over and took the pie from her hands and sat it on the counter. "We'll go a little bit at a time and work together. But," he took her hands, "Is the pie really the problem?"
"Johanna asked to move back in. She's been evicted again. And before, it was funny and she was ridiculous, but in a good way. But now… She's old enough to have her act together. And I don't know how I'm going to like her influence on my 10-year-old." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I don't know."
"Hey, you know what? My apartment is empty now. She can take over my rent."
"Your apartment is empty?" She wiped her nose and started cleaning off the counter to start over again on the pie.
"I moved in with Katniss and Prim." Peeta explained.
Annie's eyebrows rose. "Oh, really?"
Peeta bumped her shoulder with his. "Not two weeks, but we are moving fast, huh?"
"Does it make you nervous? This is your first major relationship."
"It's my first relationship, period." He whipped the pie together under Annie's crucial eye as he spoke. "I love her, Annie. When I'm away from her, it feels wrong. I feel real love for the first time in my life."
"Gee, thanks." She said.
He chuckled. "You're very nurturing. And I appreciate how you and Finnick took me under your wing this year. I now know how a mother is supposed to love me thanks to you. But with Katniss, it fills me. And I know that I matter, really matter." There was silence in the kitchen as Peeta finished the pie and stuck it in the oven. "Did you figure out what went wrong with your pies?"
She shook her head. "Not a clue. I followed the recipe completely."
He shrugged. "I guess we'll see how mine turns out." He looked toward the living room.
She laughed. "Let's go." She slipped her arm through his and walked with him into the next room. She curled up on Finnick's lap. Peeta took a seat on the floor in front of Katniss. He rested his arm across her legs.
Finn and Johanna took up a lot of the conversation. Both were used to being the center of attention. Finnick was grown up enough to know how to hold his tongue. But there were times when the conversation lulled that it appeared he was going to say something and he just whispered in Annie's ear instead.
After presents, much lighter for all after the morning, Peeta helped Annie get the meal on the table. Finnick promised he'd get the dishes later and Katniss said she'd help him.
"So who wants to talk about Christmas presents?" Johanna asked.
"Katniss got me and Peeta artist socks." Prim said and pulled up her jeans leg. "Show 'em, Peeta!"
Peeta stuck his leg around the corner. "Ba-bam!"
Prim squealed. "You put on the Picasso ones!"
"We're going to be matchy, right?" He winked and went back to helping Annie.
Katniss smiled fondly at her sister. "I got a couple really cool paintings from my resident artists. They deserve their socks."
"I think I'm gonna puke." Johanna said.
"Exactly why we never would have lasted, Jo." Finnick said. "You would have died from my doting on you all the time."
Annie poked her head in. "You don't like commitment anyway."
"Ain't that the truth!" Johanna said with a laugh. "Nothing beyond friendships anyway."
"Come get food." Annie called.
"Turkey leg!" Finnick called as he bolted toward the dining room.
"No, fuck you, Finnick Odair! That leg is mine!" Johanna called as she followed at the same speed.
"Are you two really fighting over the turkey leg?" Annie said as she cut the legs off the bird. "There are two, for crying out loud." She pointed at Johanna. "And you watch your mouth in my house, you got it?"
"Sorry, Annie." Johanna actually looked contrite as she accepted the plate the other woman handed her.
"Wow, Ann. I don't even think her own mother could make her apologize that convincingly." Finnick said as he took the other leg. "I'm impressed."
"Of course you are." Annie smiled. "I'm quite impressive."
"In so many ways." He slapped her bottom as she walked around the table.
"Excuse me, we have guests." She smiled sensually and winked.
Katniss kicked Peeta's foot under the table, but he didn't react right away and she realized she'd kicked his left foot. He smiled and kicked back with the other one. She mouthed, "Love you."
The tops of his ears reddened and he did it back. Then he dug into his food.
Most of the meal passed in silence as everyone savored the dishes. Annie was a great cook and they all knew it.
Eventually Prim said, "Hey, how about we go around and say one of our favorite Christmas memories?"
There were nods around the room. Finnick said, "You start, Prim."
Prim smiled and said, "There was this one Christmas right before my dad died that I really wanted this doll. Everyone was getting this doll and I wanted to be like everyone. But when I started opening presents, there was no doll. I was really starting to get bummed. But then Dad took out this one last present. And it was the doll! And I was so happy. No other Christmas has been nearly as awesome."
Finnick said, "My first Christmas with Annie and Finn was pretty cool. We didn't have a lot, but we got baby Finn a bunch of stuff he didn't need anyway and he loved it. And it was magical."
Annie nodded. "That one's one of my favorites, too. But my most favorite was our first Christmas." She pointed at Finnick. "I was about five months pregnant and miserable and Finnick went out and got all these decorations from the dollar store and hung them all over our tiny apartment and he made me this big meal from the food we'd gotten at the food bank because we were broke then, too. And it wasn't that delicious, but it was good. And I think I truly fell in love with you that day."
Johanna sniffed dramatically and wiped her cheek in a big exaggerated motion. "Touching."
"Fuck you, Jo." Finnick grumbled. "What's your favorite?"
"That one I spent with you guys when Finn was about three. Where he opened all the presents, not just his own, before the rest of us woke up. That was an awesome year."
Finn laughed. "That was awesome! But I think my favorite was last year when I got that bike that I wanted so bad. Dad said I wasn't good enough for it, but I got it anyway."
Finnick shrugged. "Anything for my namesake."
"Katniss?" Annie asked.
Katniss looked across the table to Peeta and then sideways to her sister. "Last Christmas. Haymitch and Effie went all out for us. We all worked together to distract ourselves from what had just happened and it worked relatively well." She smiled at Peeta. "This one is a very close second, though."
"This one's my favorite." Peeta said softly. He didn't say anything else.
They were all done not too long after. Finnick looked down the table and caught Katniss's eye. He gave her a questioning look and twitched his head toward the door. "We should wash dishes."
She nodded and followed him out of the room to bring the first load to the dishwasher. As soon as it was full and started, they started on pots and pans. "What's up? Gonna threaten me or flirt with me?"
He laughed. "I want to know how he's doing. Really doing."
She leaned against the counter as Finnick filled the sink with water. "Did he tell you about the dinner the other night?"
He shook his head.
"His mom was there."
"No shit? Did you tear her throat out?" He leaned in and started scrubbing a pot.
"I wanted to. She was there with my former boss. I can't see that as a good pairing."
"Yeah, that Snow guy always gives me a bad vibe when I see him lurking around the corners at the grocery store. Always kinda leering." He handed the pot to her to rinse and dry. "Wait, did you say 'former boss?'"
She smiled and nodded. "Peeta convinced me to make a new path. So I quit the butcher counter and signed up for school. I'm going to take business classes and maybe start a summer camp eventually. My friend Gale and I used to talk about it."
Finnick grinned and nodded. "Way to go, Katniss!"
"Thanks. I'm nervous. I wasn't the best in school. Too focused on Prim." She sat the pot off to the side.
"You've done a great job." He said. He handed her another pan. "As for Peeta... He's such a good guy. I'm glad you two came together because he seems to have more of a purpose now. And so do you, according to Prim." He paused. "You know she thinks the world of you, right?"
Katniss smiled and nodded. "I think the world of her, too. She's special."
Finnick nodded.
"Okay, enough about me. What's going on with you and Annie? You both have been kind of jumpy. And every couple minutes, you look like you're about to explode with something."
He grinned. "We're sitting on some really good information. But we haven't found the right time to say anything."
"Is she pregnant or something?" Katniss teased.
Finnick's grin turned proud.
Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"You told her?" Annie asked from the doorway.
"So it really is true?" Katniss asked
"What is?" Peeta asked from behind her.
Johanna chuckled. "Knocked up again, eh?"
"You're pregnant?" Peeta asked.
"When did that happen?" Finnick asked with fake shock. He broke into a fit of giggles.
Annie walked over and shoved him. "Stop acting so big and bad. Your work is done for a while."
"What's that mean?" Finn asked.
Annie shot Johanna a look before she said anything rude. "Just that now I get to carry around the baby for the next several months and Dad just gets to sit back and chill. And then after the baby is born, we'll take turns getting up in the middle of the night."
"Because he already did all the sex stuff, right?" The boy asked like he knew exactly what he was talking about.
Annie blushed slightly. "Sure." She looked around the room. "Okay, now the cat's out of the bag, we can move on. Anyone else have news?" She eyed Katniss.
"I quite Capitol Grocery. I'm going to college." Katniss said. "And Peeta moved in with us. A lot of big things happening in the Everdeen house."
Peeta nodded. "A lot of big things happening with everyone." He turned to Johanna. "You have any news to share, Jo?"
Johanna chuckled. "Nope, I'm still floating through whatever life throws at me."
"Which means," Annie said, "She's been evicted again and moving back in with us a while."
"Hey, let me have some mystery." Johanna demanded with mock hurt.
"They would have found out the next time they were over anyway." Finnick said. He handed the last pot to Katniss to rinse and dry. "Which hasn't been much lately."
Annie chuckled. "Katniss, you took Finnick's boyfriend away. He's been devastated."
"Yeah, I've been lonely." Finnick made a sad face.
Katniss laughed and patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Well, he's my actual boyfriend, so I trump you. But we'll make sure to come over more often. We do lunch with my aunt and uncle every Sunday, so I'm sure Peeta could use a little reprieve."
"I like Haymitch and Effie." Peeta argued.
"They are a little much." Prim said. She threw her arm over Finn's shoulders. "Come on, kid, you still owe me a race. And I'm gonna kick your butt this time."
"Nuh-uh." Finn said as he hurried into the living room ahead of her.
"So how far along?" Katniss asked, pointing to Annie's stomach.
"About two and a half months." She said. "Ten weeks. We wanted to keep it to ourselves for a while." She smiled lovingly at her husband. "He wanted to shout it to the world, but I wouldn't let him. I said today, but I would choose when we announced it. I've been a little mean about it."
"Did Finn already know?" Peeta asked as he took a seat at the breakfast nook.
Katniss sat down in his lap and wrapped her arm around his neck.
"Yeah, we told him last week." Finnick said. "He wasn't too happy about it at first, but I think he's warming up."
Katniss said, "After being the only child for so long, it's hard having a little one around taking up Mom and Dad's time. I was four though. It's a little different being almost ten, I'm sure."
"He yelled at us and told us he hated us." Annie leaned into Finnick.
"Then we smothered him with love and he decided he didn't want to hate us anymore so we would leave him alone."
Finn walked into the room. "Hey, Aunt Jo, are you playing winner? Because I totally just beat Prim. Like, really bad. She needs a cold compress for her burns and I want to see if you need one, too."
"Oh, you're on kid. You're going to be the one that needs the cold compress next." Johanna ruffled his hair and followed him out of the room.
"I have to see this." Finnick kissed Annie's cheek and hurried after them. "Watch Jo get her ass kicked by a 10-year-old. You're going down!"
Annie shook her head. "Why did I agree to have another baby with him?" She followed after.
Katniss looked down at her boyfriend. "How much longer do we have to stay?"
Peeta smiled. "Well, if we can get Finnick or Annie or Johanna to give Prim a ride when she's ready, we can leave now."
"Then let's go." She hopped off his lap and made her way to the living room. She leaned down by Prim. "Peeta and I want to head out. Are you ready to go?"
"Not really." She admitted softly.
Annie said, "I can drive her home later."
"You sure?" Katniss asked.
Annie nodded. "Sure. Go be alone for a while. You deserve it." She waved her hands at them. "Shoo."
Katniss kissed the top of Prim's head and bid her farewells to the others. She waited by the door for Peeta and then slipped her hand into his.
"I'll be sure to call before we head back." Prim said. "But, you know, not the kitchen."
"Not the kitchen that you'll ever know of." Peeta said as Katniss pulled him out the door.