Disclaimer: All the genius for the characters goes to Suzanne Collins, and to Pixar for the plotline (Loosely from "Up!") I also do not own any of the Avengers or Marvel.

A/N: This story is going to be in general POV, unless specified.

I may have some internalized thoughts, these will be in italics. Also, texts will be in italics. Some sections are more obviously about specific characters and their struggles, but for continuity, it is general POV.

Chapter 8

It had been three years since that day. Since the day he left, leaving a gaping hole in the family, in her heart, and in the universe, as far as she was concerned. It was out of his control, she knew, but it was hard for her not hold it against him sometimes. He said he would always be there. She could always come home to him, tell him all about her adventures, which as she got older got farther and farther away. Now her days were filled with school, homework, and babysitting Gale's younger siblings on occasion. But still, she wished for a father she could talk about her day to. Explain how Posey Hawthorne could be such a pain sometimes, especially if she and Prim joined forces, and don't even get her started on Rory Hawthorne waging war against the girls and throwing dirty socks into their pillow fort, making them scream.

She needed someone to help her with her homework. Her mother tried her hardest, but since her husband died, she had all but checked out of reality. It was all Katniss could do to wrangle her attention for help with one math problem, and as far as cooking was concerned, that was left to Katniss after the time shortly following her father's death when her mother had let a pot of water boil over, and distantly realizing, went to remove it from the stove, covering her hands in boiling water and severe burns.

Haymitch did what he could, which was mostly helping to pay the bills and buy food and clothes for the girls, since her mother had been fired from the hospital. He and Effie were now married, and had moved into their neighborhood, Effie not too thrilled at first to be in District 12's suburb Victor's Village, but she told Katniss shortly after moving, "Once you get used to the smell, it's not so bad!"

Katniss could not help rolling her eyes at that.

Her friends had been a huge help, that's for sure.

Johanna had softened and turned into a sort of motherly figure for her and Prim, being a voice a reason. A mostly loud and foul mouthed voice, but reason, nonetheless.

Finnick and Annie had started dating within the last year, and were great company, always making Katniss laugh and roll her eyes at their mock over the top lovey dovey talk.

Gale had become extremely protective of her, her mother, and Prim. Not fatherly, more of a watchdog. Katniss especially appreciated this when his little brother Rory would flirt with Prim, and Gale would bark at him to knock it off until he knew what he was talking about.

And Peeta. Oh, Peeta. He would come over and help her cook every night he could, bringing a warm loaf of bread most times, sometimes it was cold, and on those nights she noticed swelling on a cheek, or the bruise in the shape of a hand around his arm as he pushed his sleeves up to wash his hands before cooking. When she had tried to ask him about it, he just got flustered, pulled his sleeves down quickly and said some nonsense excuse. On the days he didn't come to help at all, she noticed the next day at school he would either call in sick, or have a bruise on his torso that showed when his shirt rode up in gym.

His brothers were acting somewhat like Gale, but were more like the court jesters of the group. They made it their job to help everyone through the rough patches along the way.

And as for Mr. Mellark, he had stayed true to his word, and looked over them, providing them with leftovers from the bakery every few days, doing odd repairs here and there, and trying to help bring her mother back, all of which Mrs. Mellark did not seem to care for.

All of her friends were coming over for dinner this evening, and Peeta was helping her prep. She was setting the table, a plate at every space, and she couldn't help looking at the head of the table, feeling sad that someone else now sat in that, her father's place, and there were only twelve places instead of thirteen.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Peeta said, causing her to look up to him over the bar that separated the kitchen from the dining room. "You can take one of those places off."

"Why?"

He looked back down to the pan of pasta sauce in front of him on the stove, stirring absentmindedly. "My mom isn't coming."

"Oh," was all Katniss could say. They had been friends for almost seven years now, she wanted to know. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

"Why doesn't your mom ever come around?"

He continued to stir the sauce and shrugged.

"Why when you bring cold loaves of bread do you have bruises?"

He shrugged again, but his shoulders slumped a little further forward.

"Why on the nights you can't come over do you call in sick to school the next day, or have large bruises?"

Peeta dropped the spoon, turned and leaned against the oven crossing his arms, and looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Peeta, I didn't mean to-"

"My mother is a jerk, okay?"

Katniss looked at him in shock. He never talked badly of anyone.

"Well, at least that's what my brother's say, but I have to agree with them. She is the reason I have bruises. Call in sick. Don't come by. Why the bread is cold."

He couldn't look her in the eyes, so he stared at the floor by her feet.

"She says that 'the little piece of Seam trash doesn't deserve our bread'."

Seam. A reference to her part of town she had not heard in a long time. It used to admittedly not be the best neighborhood, but things had changed, and it was now a budding part of town.

"I'm sorry," he said, bringing her back from her thoughts. He was still staring at her feet, so she walked over to him, hooked her index finger under his chin, and lifted his gaze to meet hers. The tear tracks down his cheeks making her stomach twist.

"Peeta. I don't care what that woman has to say. Don't believe her. At least you have a mother."

His eyes turned from sorrow to anger in mere seconds.

"Don't you dare say that! You still have a mother, absent as she may be. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' they say, but I wouldn't know because mine is always there."

"Absence does not make the heart grow fonder. I should know."

He snapped his jaw shut, setting it in a stubborn way, his eyes still furious but starting to fade.

"Absence only tears you apart more each day," she continued, steeling herself against sadness, against tears, demanding her voice to stay steady. "Maybe if you can see that person again it can make you fonder, but knowing that that absence is bigger than you, bigger than anything you could ever do, it tears at your heart. It eats at you, consuming your soul until you are nothing but a shell. A shell full of grief, pain, suffering, bitterness."

"Oh, Katniss," she heard her father's voice from the night before the accident. "You were always so much more mature than your age. So much wiser."

The memory caused a lump to form in her throat, her resolve starting to falter.

Peeta's jaw was still set, but his eyes now showed compassion more than fury.

Her voice now had a slight crack, "And I fight everyday to not become a shell. I refuse. I try to enjoy everyone around me, take everything in, and be there for everyone. I will not become a shell. I am a survivor, I am a protector, yes, maybe I was forced into this, and yes, maybe I was too young, but it's where I am now, and I can only take it a day at a time."

Peeta merely nodded slowly, and went back to staring at her feet. He let out a soft gasp of surprise when she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed back, hoping he could send her courage through a hug. Feeling his shoulder dampen with tears, he squeezed even tighter and put a hand on the back of her head, stroking her hair in what he thought, no hoped, was a comforting way.

"Shhhh…." He said to her softly and turned to whisper in her ear, "It's okay to cry. They carry out all the sadness. They are like little bumper cars made out of water."

He felt her suck in a breath and pull away from him slightly, her puffy, red eyes meeting his, and her arms still around his neck. "….Water bumper cars?"

Smiling sweetly he said, "Yeah! I mean, here let me explain." He let go of her with one arm, holding her tighter with the other one to make up for it, and put his index finger at her eye. "You see, they start here, and race down your face until they run into the crevice of your nose, or your lips, and bump!" he had traced the 'bumper tears' tracks down her face as he spoke, tapping the end of her nose with his last word.

She giggled and shook her head, then tucked it back into his chest and he returned his arm around her.

Placing his chin on the top of her head, he said, "And those little water drops are full of all your problems. Sometimes it helps to cry. Empty the gas tank for all your problems."

"Who told you all of this?" she asked, muffled into his chest.

Smiling a sad smile, he said, "My dad."

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Everyone was there, enjoying the dinner, chatting happily amongst themselves.

Gale and Johanna were arguing over who would win, Batman or Superman, and Finnick interjected that the argument was dumb, and if they threw The Joker in, he would obviously win, to which Annie disagreed, and stated that Loki should be thrown in, and he "would totally win because he can do that cool thing and multiply himself."

Peeta just laughed and told them all what a dumb conversation that was because obviously Spider Man would beat them all.

"Oh yeah?" Gale raised his eyebrows at Peeta from across the table, that 'I'm gonna prove I'm right' glint in his eye. "And what makes you think that, Bread Boy?"

"Yeah, I'm with Gale on this one, Short Stack," Johanna chimed in, coining her new nickname for Peeta. "'Short' because he is the youngest, and 'Stack' because it is in reference to pancakes, Brainless." She had explained to Katniss. "What makes you think Spidey Boy could take on Batman, Superman, The Joker, and Loki?"

With a smile of triumph Peeta said, "Because, he would just wrap them all in a web. Duh."

They all snapped their jaws shut whenever they tried to come up with a rebuttal, and looked off into space, seemingly envisioning the battle.

"Until Thor came and fried it all with a zap of his lightning."

Everyone turned to look at Katniss, and she could see it register in their eyes.

"She's right!" Finnick exclaimed, then followed by a cheesy British accent, "By, Jove, I think she's got it!" He fussed when several people tossed small pieces of their rolls at him accompanied by 'Boo!' or 'Shut up, Finn!'.

"But," Annie questioned in her small voice, "what happens when the web melts and they all get freed?"

Everyone turned to look at Katniss.

"The lightning would fry them, too. Duh."

Growls and 'aw, man!' went around the table at the realization of their defeat, but Peeta turned to Katniss beside him, a proud smile on his face, and grabbed her hand under the table, giving it a little squeeze.

She raised her eyebrows in question, and he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Something about the way you talk about super heroes is kinda…. Cute."

"Peeta!" Katniss shouted in surprise, her cheeks blushing a fierce red, and Peeta's a close match.

Everyone turned to them, all conversations halting immediately.

"What?" Johanna asked with a smirk.

"I, uh, just…. Um…." Katniss could have kicked herself. Of all the times to be at a loss for words…. "Peeta just said that The Hulk could come and smash Thor out of the way, but I think that is just ridic-"

"Dude!" Finnick yelled, cutting her off. "You totally stole that from the Avengers."

"That was an awesome movie," Gale said, looking off into space again, obviously reliving scenes from the movie. Everyone agreed with him, and they started chatting about the movie.

Katniss turned to Peeta, the deepest scowl she could muster on her face, when she realized they were still holding hands. Her face started to melt into surprise, then he wove his fingers through hers, and she smiled.

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That night after everyone had left, Katniss was loading the dishwasher when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw a text from Peeta.

Hey. I need to talk to someone. You got a sec?

She quickly replied, Yeah, sure. Just loading the dishwasher. Want me to call when I'm done?

No. Just meet me in the meadow at the picnic table.

Katniss glanced at the time. It was going on eleven. Okay. Sure. Be there in about ten minutes.

See you then.

Putting her phone back in her pocket, she quickly finished loading the dishes, grabbed her coat, and headed for the meadow.

Peeta was already at the table when she got there, his forearms resting on the table, and his head thrown back, staring at the stars.

"Hey, stranger. Long time, no see," she joked.

Peeta jumped, and looked at her with a smile. "You startled me. Yeah. Long time. A whole two hours!"

"Gasp!"

They both shared a chuckle as she scooted into the seat next to him.

"So," she said after a few silent minutes of star gazing, "What did you need to talk about?"

Peeta lowered his head so he was staring straight forward, off into the woods.

"Um, well, I got home and my mom wasn't there, so I asked my dad where she was and he just broke down crying."

"Wait, she wasn't home?"

"Well, you know she goes to visit her sister for a week every month or so. She was supposed to get back tonight, but she wasn't there. When I finally got my dad to calm down, he told me she had left."

"Uh, yeah, duh. She would have to leave to go somewhere," Katniss chuckled, elbowing Peeta, but he didn't smile.

"No, Katniss." He turned to look at her, the look in his eyes making her mouth go dry. "She left. Our family. She's not coming back."

After a few seconds, Katniss turned her head to stare into the woods like Peeta had.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm not."

Katniss turned her head back to him, finding him staring into the woods.

"I mean, I am," he continued, "but I'm not. I mean…" He turned to face her. "I was never good enough for her. Ever. I was the youngest, I was unwanted, and I was not a girl."

Katniss hugged him. She squeezed and refused to let go until he relented, and returned the hug. She felt tears on her shoulder where he was resting his chin.

"Kat, what am I going to do? I know it wasn't the best, but I've never not had a mom."

"You don't do anything. There is nothing to do."

He pulled back and looked at her with a scowl. "Gee, thanks for the pep talk, coach."

She smiled a small smile and pretended to slug him in the shoulder.

"I mean, you just continue on. If you try to do anything, it will just hurt, because it won't work. Just move forward. This is your life now. Embrace it. Run with it. See where it takes you."

After a moment of silence, Peeta sniffed and said, "Will you run with me?"

Katniss smiled and crossed her heart. "Always."

Peeta smiled, crossed his heart and mouthed, "Always."

"Come on!" Katniss said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up on top of the table. "Lay down. It's easier to watch the stars this way. You won't get a crick in your neck."

They lay down on top of the table, side by side, looking at the stars. Peeta grabbed her hand like he had at dinner, and she laced her fingers in his. He turned to look at her, and even though she was looking at the stars, he saw the smile on her face.

"You know," Katniss said, "This is what my dad and I did the night before he died."

The stars reflecting in her eyes twinkled even more as they reflected in the tears pooling in her eyes. Peeta squeezed her hand.

"He told me, that if he ever left me, that he would be up in the stars, looking down on me, watching all my adventures."

She smiled a sad smile.

"Then a shooting star came, and we both made a wish."

"I was wondering why he talked about cupcakes…" Peeta said, and Katniss chuckled.

"Yeah, he told me that was what he had wished for."

"And what did you wish for?"

She turned her head to face him.

"For a happy family. For years of happy memories."

"Why did you wish for that? You already had that."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

They both turned back to the sky, and a star shot across the others.

Turning quickly back to one another, they shouted, "Did you see that?!" in unison.

Laughing, they both shut their eyes and made a wish.

Peeta asked playfully, "What did you wish for?"

Katniss nudged his shoulder with hers, and said, "You know I can't tell you."

Another star shot across the sky.

"I love you, too, dad."

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A/N: Ta-da! If you have any ideas or suggestions for this story, please PM me, or leave a comment/review! (Comment/review/follow anyway. You know you want to. :P)

Also, you can find me on tumblr: Konzelwoman

In the hopes that you have read this far, thank you. May the odds be ever in your favor, the force always be with you, and may you live long and prosper.

And once again, Disclaimer: All the genius for the characters goes to Suzanne Collins, and to Pixar for the plotline (Loosely from "Up!") I also do not own any of the Avengers or Marvel.