A/N: Thanks for all your wonderful feedback for the first post! I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Anyways, this is just a little drabble that has been sitting in my head for a couple of days so I had to sit down and write it and this is what I came up with. Enjoy and remember - LOTS of reviews means possible future updates :)
"I forgot how good you look in a dress."
I smile when Peeta wraps his arms around me from behind as we ride the elevator back to our floor.
3 years after the war ended and they finally got us to come back to the Capitol. An event to celebrate the anniversary of the end of the war, a chance to catch up with the star-crossed lovers of District 12, and - the only reason I finally agreed - a real memorial for the lives lost in the Games and the war.
I have to admit, they did a pretty good job. Between Plutarch's sense of public relations and Effie's knack for the special occasion, everything was handled perfectly. A beautiful mix of somber remembrance and a joyful celebration of the present and future.
It was cathartic in a good way. To get a chance to publicly honor and remember Rue and Finnick and Prim, to feel the grief as fresh as if it happened yesterday, but the knowledge that they are not forgotten, that we are moving on with our lives to honor theirs.
My eyes close, feeling the effects of the day's events finally taking their tole. From the early wakeup call, to the hours of prep to make me look presentable, to finally all the ceremonies and interviews, I'm only just now aware of my level of exhaustion.
Peeta plants kisses along the curve of my shoulder and I let out a sigh, thankful most of all that he was at my side through everything today.
I know I couldn't have done it without him.
We step off the elevator onto our floor and walk down the long maze of hallways towards our room. Peeta grabs my hand in his and takes the lead.
His level of eagerness to get back to the room suggests he has something in mind when we get back.
We come to a stop at an intersection of three different hallways. We pause and look around for a moment unsure.
"Is it this way or that way?" I question wondering why they would make such complicated floor plans, but seeing as it's the Capitol's only real hotel left they have a lot of rooms to accommodate.
Peeta wanders a few steps down one hallway and I turn to inspect the opposite one, trying to remember our room number.
Instead I come face to face with someone I haven't seen in over 3 years.
"Gale," I mumble in such a state of shock I'm literally incapable of doing nothing but stare at him.
"Katniss," his eyes widen in surprise as he takes in the sight of me.
I only now register the blonde hair girl attached to his arm as they struggle to open the door to their room. Finally he gets it open and he shares a look with the girl before he tells her he'll be there in a moment and she walks into the room without another word.
He looks at me for a long moment. We both kind of just stare at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time, taking in the familiar sight of someone who used to mean so much, but is now nothing more than a memory.
Finally, I hear Peeta headed back towards us and I snap out of whatever stupor I'm in.
"Hey I found it, we're room 811," He says, but when he takes in the sight of Gale and I simply staring at one another, the bizarreness of the situation makes him go quiet.
"Gale, man, how are you?" Peeta regains his bearings quicker than any of us and he steps forward to offer Gale his hand.
Gale excepts it and they share quick small talk that I'm thankful for because it lets me clear my head.
"Alright, well I'm heading to bed," Peeta says as comes back towards me, "I'll give you guys a chance to catch up." He wraps an arm around my waist, before pressing a kiss to my temple and then disappearing.
I swallow nervously, not sure where to even start, but Gale takes care of that for me.
"How are you?" He asks and it seems very genuine, it really seems that he wants to know that I'm okay and happy with the life I've chosen for myself.
"Good," I reply and I know it sounds lame, but it's the truth, "Really good," and I try to give him a smile to let him know that I am happy with how everything turned out.
"That's great, Katniss," he says and I can't help but note the omission of the old nickname, "and you and Peeta..."
He trails off, leaves it out in the open for me to fill him in on the details. There's no jealously there, just simple curiosity, and it feels like so many lifetimes ago that there was ever anything romantic between us.
I don't know what to say, how to express what my relationship with Peeta is now so I just say, "Yeah...and you and...?" I trail off, but I nod my head to the closed door of his hotel room.
He looks back at me and just shrugs, saying more in a simple gesture than he ever could with words, but I don't want to push him.
"So what's it like in District 2?" I question him, suddenly very curious about what his life has been like during all this time we've been apart.
"Different...what's life like back in 12?" He replies with a hint of a smile, like he's teasing me, like we're kids again and I'm just that younger girl that tagged along with him in the woods. "Still hunting?"
"Yup," I laugh and I can't help but feel how good it is just to talk to him, to feel like we're just friends and hunting partners again, "keeps me busy...and sane."
He looks away for a moment, suddenly shy and unsure of himself and I'm confused until he speaks up. "You did a good job today, with everything, the ceremonies and interviews. I know that probably wasn't easy."
I shrug, not wanting to bring up any mention of the war or memories that could taint this moment, this simple reunion between old friends. If we bring up the war my mind will go to Prim and then to the bombs and I decided a while ago I don't want to hate Gale for that, no matter if he did hold any fault or responsibility. I don't want to let the person I grew up with, the person I cared about for so long, act as some sort of scapegoat for my sister's death.
Circumstances aren't important, it hurts all the same and I have to work hard every day to remind myself to focus on her life, not her death. To focus on the duck tail and that stupid cat of hers and the goat and her healing hands.
After a moment I gain my composure and shoot him a shaky smile. "It was really good to see you Gale."
He nods and I'm the one who moves forward to initiate the hug. It lasts maybe a couple of seconds and if feels right. It's not awkward, there is no tension, it's just me and Gale again, like it was for so long.
"You too, Catnip," he returns with a smile and we part ways.
I get back to our room and see that Peeta has left the door ajar for me. I come into the room to see him sitting up in bed in only a t-shirt and his boxers, reading something under the nightlight. He puts it down the second he sees me.
"Hey," he says and I can tell he's searching me for any indication that I'm mad or happy or upset or whatever.
"How was that?" He questions tentatively as I make my way over to his side of the bed and turn so my back is facing him.
Lifting my hair up, I expose the back of my dress. "Unzip please," I request and when he obliges I respond, "You know, it was surprisingly...not awkward."
When he's done I push the heavy material of the dress past my hips and to the floor where I step out of it and kick it aside carelessly.
I remove my bra as I move across the room to search my bag for my nightgown. Peeta, as always, and despite over 3 years of being intimate with one another, seems to be in a trance at the sight of me topless.
I never could have imagined being this open and comfortable with someone, but with Peeta it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
"That's good," Peeta comments after a while, and I can tell he is deciding to not push anything, to let me speak on the matter and tell him about it as much as I see fit.
I finally slip on the sheer nightgown and crawl into bed by his side. I wrap my arm across his chest as my head finds it's usual spot on his shoulder.
"It was good," I agree as Peeta turns off the nightlight, leaving us in just the darkness of the room to talk before bed like we do almost every night. "It was good to just see him and talk to him again. It's weird that it's been so long. It's like I almost didn't realize I missed him until I saw him."
Peeta doesn't say anything for a while and then finally speaks up, "Funny that his room is right around the corner...wonder who planned that out."
"It is weird," I laugh, "his room is practically on the other side of this wall," I add, thinking how with being the first rooms in different hallways, our rooms are kitty corner from one another.
"I was expecting to see him some time today during the ceremonies or interviews," Peeta says stroking my arm up and down, "when I didn't see him I figured his job in 2 kept him from coming."
"Yeah," I agree, feeling my body start to relax as the sound of Peeta's voice and his warm body feel like the absolute best thing in the world after the day's events.
He suddenly rolls me onto my back as he hovers above me. "You're not about to go to sleep on me, are you?" He questions with a small grin.
Yes, but I'm not about to admit that to him. I notice the mischievous glint in his eyes and I can tell exactly what he has in mind.
"Why? Do you have any ideas for what we could do besides sleep?" I question innocently, and Peeta laughs as he captures my lips in a kiss.
"Yup, let me show you," he whispers into my ear and he leaves a trail of hot, wet kisses down my neck and across my chest.
He strips away the flimsy material of my nightgown and takes my breast in his hand. I gasp when his mouth goes to my nipple and he pushes his hardness against my center.
"Peeta," I moan and reach out for him, but he shakes his head 'no' and grabs both my hands in one of his and keeps them in place, together above my head. His other hand moves down between my breasts, down my stomach, and slips inside my lace underwear where his oh-so-talented fingers work their magic.
I'm panting and squirming on the bed as the combination of not being able to move and my hands being pinned down magnify the pleasure I'm feeling.
He finally rids me of my underwear and strips off his remaining clothes and I prop myself up onto my elbows. He sits on his knees as best he can with his bad leg, most his weight on one side. He takes a hold of my hips and tilts them up towards him as he pushes his hardness into me.
He starts off slow, pulling out and pushing in, but his pace eventually quickens until the point I'm grasping at the bedsheets and screaming louder than any other time we've made love. His thrusts are so strong and just the right pace and he's going so deep. I'm calling out his name over and over again, feeling the tension build and build and build until I can literally take no more. My head explodes and my insides clench around him as waves of pleasure leave me incapacitated on the bed.
He lies on top of me, dead weight and sweaty, as he recovers, his head cradled between my breasts. I can do nothing but stroke his back, so satisfied and content I have this dumb smirk on my face as we hold each other.
"That was amazing," I finally whisper and I just feel Peeta smile against my skin.
I relive the love making, how it felt uniquely different from all the other times Peeta and I have been together. I decide there was a little bit of an edge to it. It was passionate...and rough. Not in a bad way, Peeta doesn't have it in him to ever be harsh or aggressive in bed.
Our coupling is generally always so sweet and gentle, not that I'm complaining because those have been mind blowing as well, but this was entirely different for us. Everything was so intense and hard and fast I'm getting turned on again just thinking about.
Finally Peeta rolls onto his back and pulls me into his side just as he always does every time we finish.
"If I wasn't so exhausted I'd be asking for another round," I whisper into his ear.
He laughs and pulls me closer, "Me too, trust me."
I can't help replay the moments we just shared as my body prepares for sleep. The way Peeta just took over control, how he made my body solely and completely his, the strength he gripped my hips with, the urgency and pace of his thrusts, I start to debate whether I do have the energy for round 2.
There's just something about it I just can't let go and the images start to blend together until I'm finally seeing it clearly. The headboard of the bed hitting against the wall, making me practically scream in the throws of passion, calling out his name over and over.
The fact Gale is practically on the other side of our wall was not lost on Peeta.
I sit on the thought for a moment as I chew it over and really think about it. Even after 3 years happily living together, even though in the end he got the girl there is probably a part of Peeta that will always see Gale as the competition.
And how could he not? Watching the first girl you ever really cared about from a far, not speaking or having any interaction, just seeing her tag along some older kid's side for the longest time is probably the kind of feeling that doesn't ever really go away. Even once the Games happened and he finally got his chance, to him Gale was still a threat.
The thought makes me strangely sad and yet fond of him even more. I imagine if the roles were reversed and there had always been some other girl I had to worry about winning Peeta's affections and how I would have felt. It makes me pull him even closer, so grateful that he never gave up on me, that he kept the faith and that his feelings were so strong.
I want to tell him how happy he makes me, how he never has to worry about anyone else because he's it for me. I want to say that it had always been him, it just took me way too long to realize it, that Gale can't even compare to how much he means to me, how much I love him.
The pull of sleep is much too tempting after the day's events and the intense round of love making however, and it's like someone slipped me some slipping syrup because I'm about to pass out.
I manage to convey the message I think is most important though, before falling asleep. The message I think he might need to hear the most tonight and to be reminded of.
"I'm Yours."