The next Saturday in March
Katniss arrived at the coffee shop and saw that Peeta hadn't arrived yet. She ordered her medium non-fat cappuccino and requested a mug before she found a little table in the corner near the stone fireplace, and waited for the man who had become her friend over the past few months.
He arrived a few minutes later and joined her at the table after ordering his usual double Americano, and a lemon-blueberry galette. "Good Morning, Katniss. I hope you weren't waiting long."
Katniss blushed as she stammered, "No, I wasn't."
"So how was your week?"
"It was good. I've made a lot of progress on my novel. You?"
"The same. Beetee is amazing by the way."
"Yes, he is."
"He's redesigning our whole program on how we approach naturopathic care." Peeta took bite out of his galette. "These are almost as good as the ones my pops makes. So, what are you up to today?" He asked.
"After I leave here, I need to run by the grocery store. Then I'm meeting a friend this afternoon. Actually, it's the person I was supposed at The Chocolate Bar that one time," Katniss admitted.
"Oh, really. He's not going to stand you up again is he?"
"He isn't. He promised."
"How can you really know for sure that he isn't in fact some crazy?"
"Peeta, I've been talking to him for a year. I think if he was crazy, I would have figured it out by now."
"Well, just be careful. You're meeting somewhere public right?"
His concern for her wellbeing gave her a little thrill, which she wasn't sure she wanted to examine too closely. She and Peeta had truly become friends over the last couple of months. He was always encouraging when she discussed her book, patiently listening to her as she babbled about potential plot points and the nuances of character development. She had learned that he did have a real heart. He had a soft spot for animals; he often carried a small bag of peanuts in his pocket for feeding squirrels when they met to go run. Not to mention the obvious love he had for his cat, which oddly he just referred to as "cat." Not terribly original but there were worse things than being unimaginative over pet names. He also shipped Zoe and Wash as hard as she did. She laughed when he had joked that the movie was just an alternate universe and he refused to believe that the events in that film really happened. Then, there was his smile. A smile that still made her stomach flip-flop as it had the first time she saw him. Katniss definitely did not want to examine her feelings to Peeta too closely. It just left her feeling confused when she also considered the growing connection she felt with her beta. Realizing she had been lost in her thoughts, she shook her head and answered, "Yes, we are meeting in a public spot. There should be plenty of people around. Especially since today is supposed to be a beautiful day."
"Good. So tell me more about how the novel is going."
They continued to visit. An hour later, they said their goodbyes and parted ways.
Katniss ran her weekend errands and then hurried home to eat lunch and get ready. Today felt like spring. It was supposed to be the first 60-degree day of the year. She exchanged the t-shirt she had worn earlier to a lightweight spring green sweater and changed from her jeans to a flowery chiffon skirt before slipping on ballet flats. She looked over her appearance in the mirror. She rarely wore skirts, but for some reason, today it just felt right.
At twenty to two in the afternoon, Katniss walked out of her house and toward the park. She made her way over the fountain and took a seat on one of the benches. Looking at her watch, she noticed that she was five minutes early. As 2pm approached, she began grow restless. She stood up and started looking around. There were children playing nearby with their parents. Couples were taking afternoon walks. A man threw a Frisbee for his dog to catch. She searched for a man walking by himself.
As she scanned the crowd again, she saw in the distance, a blond man walking toward her wearing what looked like an orange Hawaiian shirt, just as Wash would wear. He came closer and closer. When he was close enough to make out his features, she ceased breathing and her heart started to pound wildly in her chest. As he approached closer, now only a few feet away, she noticed he was holding a dandelion. The flower that most people considered a weed but representing hope for her had only started remaking their appearance in the last week or so. She took a big gulping breath as he tucked it behind her ear.
"It's you," Katniss said as she stared up into his blue eyes. "I'm so happy it's you." Katniss could feel tears beginning to form at the back of her eyes. "I wanted it to be you so badly."
Peeta pulled her into his arms and their lips finally met, brushing softly. Her mouth opened and their tongues touched, sliding against each other briefly before Peeta pulled back. Katniss looked up at him and bit her lip as she smiled, a tear finally falling down her cheek. He brushed it away.
"I didn't mean to make you cry," he whispered.
Katniss shook her head and stood up on her tiptoes to meet his mouth again.
When they broke apart for the second time, he asked, "So what now?"
Katniss looked down at her feet, blushed, and then peered back up at him. She hoped he didn't think she was being too forward when she suggested hesitantly, "Let's go somewhere we can be alone. Maybe talk? Or something else?"
Peeta laughed. "I'm just across the street."
"Let's go!"
Peeta took her hand as they scampered their way through the park to his apartment nearby. When they reached his building, Peeta pulled her back into his arms to steal another kiss before entering the code to unlock the front door.
When they reached the first landing, Katniss pushed him up against the wall and kissed him fiercely. Peeta's hands cupped the cheeks of her ass, pulling her tightly to him as she moved against him.
He returned the favor when they hit the third landing. He turned her around so she was facing the wall as he kissed her neck and palmed her left breast. His right hand moved down to rub against her mound through her skirt.
Finally reaching the fourth floor, Peeta fished out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment. A yowling Biscuit greeted them.
"Ignore him," Peeta said as he captured her lips again. They continued to kiss as he backed her down the hallway in his apartment to what she figured was his bedroom.
When they reached the room, Peeta shut the door behind them. Katniss helped him work the buttons of his shirt. Once he was free of it, he tugged at her sweater and pulled it over her head.
Peeta backed her toward his bed. When the back of her knees hit the edge, she hopped up onto the mattress, lying back as he followed, hovering over her. Peeta's lips moved from her mouth to her jaw, then to a place just below her ear that made her keen. He pulled back for a moment to look at her and smile. He murmured, "I'll have to remember that spot."
He then kissed the tip of her nose before moving back to her neck. He nipped, suckled, and lathed his way down to her collarbone and along her shoulder before was making his way to the tops of her breasts.
Suddenly they both heard the worst yowl, followed by persistent clawing at the door causing Peeta to pause and pull back. He closed his eyes and muttered, "Oh shit."
Katniss looked at him perplexed.
Peeta groaned. "I was so nervous this morning I forgot to feed him." He moved away from her. "Don't move. Stay exactly where you are. I'll be right back." Katniss giggled as he walked out of the room, shifting himself uncomfortably in his pants.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Katniss shimmied out of her skirt and unhooked her bra, leaving her only in a sea-green colored bit of lace. She lay back in the bed and waited.
Moments later, Peeta returned and shut the door behind him. Noticing the discarded clothes on the floor, his gaze moved to the bed where he admired her and she lounged against the pillows. He shook his head playfully. "You disobeyed orders, Warrior-Woman. What am I going to do with you?"
Katniss laughed. "I don't know but I'd like to find out."
He worked his belt buckle and the fly to his khaki pants, kicking them off as he walked back to the bed, leaving him only in black boxer-briefs that were noticeably strained at the front.
His lips met hers once more. As their tongues tangled, his hand drifted along the edge of her lace panties. Then he dipped beneath the fabric and brushed his fingers through her slick folds.
"You're so wet."
Katniss moaned, arching into his hand as he circled her sensitive nub. She reached down and cupped his length as she moved her lips along his strong jawline and up to his ear. "Enough. We've had a year of foreplay."
Peeta pulled away and smiled down at her before easing her panties down her legs. She then helped him remove his underwear. He reached over to his bedside table and opened a drawer, grabbing a condom. He tore open the package and was about to put it on when she stilled his hand.
"No let me." He handed it to her and grinned.
Katniss pushed him back down onto the bed. She licked her hand and then ran it up and down his length, swirling the bit of pre-cum that had collected along his head.
He groaned. "I thought you said you'd had enough foreplay."
She laughed as she rolled the condom over him. Then Katniss straddled his hips, positioning him at her entrance. She looked into his eyes and they shared a small smile before she took him inside her. She moved against him as his hands reached up to grip her hips. They quickly found a steady rhythm.
As she rode him, she reached down to massage her clit and his eyes widened. She picked up the pace and quickly found completion, the flutter of her orgasm triggering his. She carefully removed herself and then the condom.
He gave her a slow, lazy kiss as he took the condom from her and told her he'd be right back.
Upon his return from the bathroom, he pulled her into his arms.
"Peeta. This seems like a dream. Real or not real?"
"Definitely real." He tipped her chin up, coaxing her to look up at him. "Katniss, you have to know that I'm in love with you."
She smiled. "That's good, because I'm in love with you too."
They lay in bed for the rest of the afternoon, talking and laughing, enjoying each other's company. They made love once more – slowly the second time. That night, as she slowly drifted off to sleep, Katniss thought that if anyone had asked her a year ago what she wanted, she would have never thought of this. But sometimes life gives people what they really need.
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need – The Rolling Stones
A/N:
"I wanted it to be you so badly" is a direct quote from You've Got Mail. I love that moment in the film.
In my head canon modern AU Katniss and Peeta will forever disagree on the Stones/Beatles debate. Katniss is a Rolling Stones fan.
A/N:
Thank you very much to Pookieh for being an amazing beta. She turned around this story so fast and I'm grateful.
If you'd like more information about my fanfiction please visit my tumblr: dispatchesfromdistrict7
The characters are the property of the amazing Suzanne Collins and do not belong to me. I occasionally weave lines from her novels. Those totally belong to Ms. Collins too.
As I mentioned the plot is inspired by the movie You've Got Mail so I credit the creators of that film for the story idea – which I've adapted to modern times and Everlark.