a/n: thank you, thank you for the reviews, the alerts, favorites, everything. your guys' support and encouragement got me to write this chapter much quicker than I had anticipated. so, thank you!
Katniss clutched her sweatshirt tighter to her frame, her head falling onto her shoulder. The cotton of the sweatshirt still smelled like Gale – the musky, tell-tale scent of boys, cars and oil. But the material had also clung to a new scent, a foreign scent that didn't quite belong to Gale.
It was the distinct smell of the sand, the cool air, the saltwater. It was a smell so specific to here, to her summer.
If she pulled it close enough, she could almost smell the scent that radiated off of Peeta as well from the material – it had, after all, spent almost night after night in his presence. The smell of Peeta was a warm one; sugary and sweet, of cookies and cupcakes. Sometimes, after a long day at work, the smell of hamburgers and fried food would linger on his shirt, but never could it over power the smell of all things sweet emanating from the blonde boy with the gloriously blue eyes.
That kind of sweet, the kind that only Peeta could manage to radiate, was not the kind to be challenged or overlooked. It simply overpowered everything else, almost overwhelmed a person – but some, Katniss had found, he did so in the best way possible.
As she flipped open her haggard, too-worn copy of Pride and Prejudice, letting her eyes fall to a random page, she stared at the words uncomprehendingly as she her mind drifted to Peeta, to the sweetness of his being.
Katniss knew she had to apologize – spending four nights on her creaky, wooden porch accompanied only by her overused copy of one of Jane Austen's finest had solidified as much to her. She just didn't know how, didn't have the words.
It was her weakness – the art of speaking, of forming coherence through words. She just didn't know how. She didn't know how to speak, she didn't know how to befriend others, and most painfully obvious, she didn't know how to trust.
But somehow, with Peeta, together they had managed to do all three. She had managed to speak to him, without the pit of reluctance filling her gut. And with that, he'd managed to befriend her, and above all else, he had managed to gain her trust, had managed to open Katniss up, to let her think and speak freely.
In a world where she was so very well versed in acting as the care-giver, the mature adult, Peeta had somehow managed to make her feel her age again.
And then, he'd managed to shut her out.
Katniss discreetly glanced towards the side of the house, wondering if the patterns from the light of the garage would spill onto the grass, letting her know if he was home or not, or if he was even awake.
With a quick look at her watch, she decided he surely had to be awake. It was only one AM, and though he'd never told her, and she'd never asked – mostly in the fear that he would flip the question onto her – she knew he kept the lifestyle that she did, only sleeping when he really, truly had to.
Katniss lifted herself from her position on the couch, stretching her legs under her. She much rather preferred the soft, cool sand to the creaking and jagged wood of the porch, but found it to be almost unnerving to sit at the beach by herself. She just wasn't used it.
She padded down the short steps of the porch quietly, leaving her book on the discolored, almost gray wood, and walked barefoot over the soft, cold grass to the side of the house.
Reaching one hand, gingerly, to the small window that allowed her to peek into Peeta's room, she met a haunting darkness, and immediately knew he wasn't home.
Peeta slept with his lights on, his face covered under a sea of blankets, with just the tendrils of his blond curls peeking out from under. She'd learned as much over the span of the past few nights.
She sighed, already dreading her next day at work. With just Annie to rely on, the diner was almost unbearable. And with every sweet, sad smile Peeta through her way, and every deliberate move he made to avoid speaking to her, avoid eye contact with her, she felt the pale blue, greasy walls of the dainty restaurant close in on her just a little bit more, effectively suffocating her.
She turned, the goose bumps on her legs prickling her skin, and decided to turn in for the night. Her time would be spent better tossing and turning in bed than reading the same words on the fading pages of her book and probably catching a cold from the wind that had picked up.
She stopped short though, as she found a pair of stark, wonderfully blue eyes staring at the grey, small shards of her own.
He seemed to freeze as she did, his eyes somehow different than before, guarded. He crosses the pavement of the street, suddenly looking wary, a large cup of coffee clutched tightly in his fingers, a large, white canvas in his other free hand. He tilted the canvas cautiously, effectively blinding Katniss from the image he'd painted on to the coarse material.
Katniss shifted as he neared, and responded to the half-wave he threw at her with an unrecognizable, forced smile of her own. She suddenly felt nervous, a feeling that felt foreign and unwelcome. At least around him.
"Hi." She offered meekly as he stepped on to the grass, nearing her.
"Hey," He said, his eyes still guarded, different. His voice wasn't it's easy, happy self either, she realized.
Scowling for a quick second, she wondered why he was so angry. She'd forgotten to meet him, she knew that – but it wasn't the end of the world. He could have joined them at the fireworks when he had clearly seen them, he could have reminded her.
Just then, unwelcomed, Johanna's words made an ugly reappearance in Katniss' head. "Have you not seen the way the boy looks at you all the time? That's a hint in its own that he likes you."
She hadn't seen the way he looked at her; at least not until he stopped. In the world she grew up in, the life that she had lived, she had never much paid attention to any of that. She hadn't had a boyfriend, hadn't even ever kissed anyone. The only guy she had even allowed to come close to her, other than her father, was Gale. And Gale was to her what Prim was to her. He was her brother.
But, as she looked at Peeta's eyes, the dull aching in her stomach returned and Johanna's words rang clearly in her head. And somehow, they almost made sense.
But, unfortunately, that confused her even more – she was inexperienced, needed to be guided. She didn't know what it was like to like someone. She didn't know how she was supposed to react when someone liked her. This was uncharted territory for Katniss.
For now, she decided, she simply just wanted to regain his friendship. She knew how to do that; or at least she hoped she did.
She stepped to him as he reached her, and opened her mouth, only to close it a second later. She opened it again, and closed, not sure how to start. She gnawed at her lip, not knowing what she wanted to explain or how she wanted to explain it.
Encouraged by the faint amusement swimming in his eyes, Katniss opened her mouth again.
"I'm sorry." She blurted, sticking her hands forcefully into the pocket of her hoodie, twisting her fingers.
His eyebrow quirked, a small shadow of a smile lingering on his lips for a quick, few seconds.
Katniss huffed in frustration, the thoughts in her brain too jumbled for her to form a cohesive sentence. She took a breathe.
"I'm sorry," she repeated, "for forgetting about the fireworks. And the portrait – Gale showed up and it totally slipped my mind. I'm sorry."
Peeta's turned up in a wry smile, his eyes humorless but softer than before. "It's okay, Katniss – I'm sure it had been a while since you'd seen your boyfriend. It's understandable –"
Katniss let out a snort of laughter, her eyes wide with the accusation and Peeta stopped mid-sentence, his own eyes bright with confusion, questions.
"Gale isn't my boyfriend … he's, he's like my brother. My best friend."
Peeta nodded slowly, and Katniss continued, "I know you're angry but –"
Peeta interrupted her this time, his voice softer, sweeter, his. "I'm not … I wasn't angry. I just …" He paused, nervously rubbing his neck. "I just … I guess I just, I thought Gale was your boyfriend." He sputtered, his neck turning a light shade of pink.
Katniss shook her head, pulling her hands out of her sweatshirt, awkwardly placing a hand on Peeta's shoulder, the material of his orange shirt soft under her palm. "I'd still like to do the portrait … if you want."
She had to make it up to him, this was a way she knew how.
He regarded her for a moment, capturing his lip with his teeth, "Are you sure? I know you weren't sure about it before, and I didn't really think of it when I asked you but it's kind of time consuming and stuff. It could take a while."
She nodded quickly, eagerly. "I'm sure.
"Not like I do much at night, anyway," she added a moment later, shrugging, a small smile on her lips.
His lips mimicked hers as he nodded, "Cool. Awesome. We can start tomorrow, after work?"
She nodded again, and stepped to the side, allowing him access to his room.
He flashed a smile at her, his teeth bright in the darkness of the night as he wished her a good night, before walking to his room.
Still too awake to sleep, she walked back to the porch and folded her legs under her, picked up her worn book in her icy fingers.
She flipped to a random page, her eyes scanning the words she already knew by heart when she felt the wood under her creak and moan.
Alert, she looked up quickly, her hunter's prowess awaking from its long slumber.
She sighed, relieved as Peeta lowered himself next to her, handing her a wool blanket that she graciously accepted. She spread it over her chilled legs before throwing it over Peeta's body as well.
He leaned back on his palms and smiled at her, the kind that reached his eyes, and she set her book down.
"Truth or dare?" He asked.
Katniss fidgeted as she tried to keep still on the metal stool, Peeta's hands moving swiftly across the coarse material of the large canvas in front of her, drawing her.
She didn't know how to do this, really – keep still for such a long period of time. She was an antsy a person, a girl on the go.
She shifted in the seat once more and a wry smile appeared on Peeta's face, his lips stretching wide as his fingers stilled.
"Man, you really are not patient, are you?" He asked, setting the canvas to the floor.
She narrowed her eyes at him into tiny, gray slits. "I can, I just … I get bored." She mumbled.
He laughed, covering the cotton canvas with a large, black sheath before walking the short distance from the back parking lot to the back door of the kitchen, leaning the painting by the door.
"We can continue tonight, if you want? At my place?"
Katniss eased herself out of the metal stool, wincing at the piercing squeal it let out as the metal shifted, and stepped in next to Peeta, nodding her head. "Sure."
She peeked to catch a glimpse of the painting they'd worked on for two days now, but instead he tilted it away from her, securing the black material over the square frame. "Wait, why are you covering it? I want to see what it looks like."
Peeta's lips turned up, a secret hidden in his smile. "Not yet! You can't see it until I'm completely done."
"What?" she snapped, her voice louder than she intended for it to be.
His smile widened, his eyes a gleaming blue from the reflection of the too-bright sun.
"Did I forget to mention that?" he asked, walking back towards the paints, sealing the lids. His plaid black and red shirt hung loose on him, his jeans splattered with paint.
Katniss lifted her fingers to the paints, twisting the lids backs on the opened canisters, and mumbled an incoherent mish-mash of words under her breath. She stopped a second later as she realized how much that specific action reminded her of her disgruntled uncle, Haymitch.
Peeta chuckled under his breath, and Katniss knew he was thinking the same thing.
Wordlessly, she followed Peeta into the kitchen, the grease and humidity from the grills palpable in the air. Mimicking the blonde boy, she piled the canisters into a large, brown bag.
She stared at the painting for a moment, wondering if she could see anything past the black sheath that covered the cotton canvas. She squinted her eyes, but to no luck. He had covered the painting completely.
She let out a frustrated huff, flushing as she caught Peeta's gaze on her, and he laughed, shaking his head.
Ignoring him, she headed towards the front, smiling at Annie as she whizzed past her, a tray of burgers and fries in her hands. Johanna walked beside her, nothing but a notepad in her hands.
The second girl scowled at her, her eyes questioning, her dark hair piled to the top of her head.
Katniss grimaced at Johanna, their conversation from a few days ago rearing its ugly head in her mind yet again.
Annie smiled at Katniss, shifting her sparkling green eyes between her and Peeta, questioning, but pleasantly so. She turned to look at Johanna, and rolled her eyes at the deep frown she wore. Annie nudged the darker haired girl, making a face at her before Katniss looked away, heading back towards the counter.
She didn't know what that meant. She didn't quite know what any of it meant.
Katniss groaned as she lifted her hair to her face, the stench of fried foods filling her nostrils immediately.
It was the one aspect of working at the diner that she couldn't adapt to – constantly smelling like fries and patties. It was an overwhelmingly sweet smell, made worse by joining forces with the scent of the saltwater and the sand – the result from spending a few quick minutes munching on burgers near the dunes with Peeta. The combination of smells was one she couldn't bear to smell for a second longer than she had too.
She tossed her shirt to the side and slid out of her dark jeans and under garments and stepped into the steaming water.
After the clinking, cluttering noises that infested the diner throughout the day, Katniss enjoyed the quietness of the shower, just the steady hum of the water as it descended upon her, her limbs loosening with each hot, scorching drop of water.
The serene quietness of her shower, however, was short-lasting as she heard a small click, followed by footsteps padding across the cold tiles of the bathroom floor.
Confused, Katniss peered her head out from behind the shower curtain, only to find Prim sitting on the yellowing white porcelain of the bathroom counter, clad in her pajamas, a hairbrush in her hand.
She raised an eyebrow, careful not to let the suds of the shampoo dripping from her hair into her eyes. "Hey there, little duck. What are you doing in here?"
Prim's beautiful blue eyes danced in excitement as she tucked her feet under her, the bristles of the brush moving swiftly down her blonde strands.
"I didn't see you all day and you're probably going to go hangout with Peeta soon, again. So I thought I'd talk to you while you were in the shower…" she said, shrugging.
Katniss' eyes widened, suddenly feeling alert. Prim was right; Katniss had been seeing less and less of Prim as the days went on, sometimes only seeing her for the few hours she had in the morning before she went to work.
With guilt filling her stomach, she realized that that outside of work, she'd been mostly spending her time with Peeta.
Her eyes softened, "I'm sorry little duck, I didn't mean to –"
Prim rolled her glorious blue eyes playfully, a sweet smile playing on her lips. "Don't say sorry! I like that you hang out with Peeta. You're more … you."
The younger girl paused, biting her lip, and Katniss gingerly lifted a finger to her forehead, swiping at the shampoo that was beginning to drizzle across her face.
"Like, before dad died." Prim added, her voice suddenly small and quiet. Her eyes brightened up a beat later, the smile back on her lips, "Besides, I really like Peeta."
Katniss shook her head at her baby sister, rolling her eyes before she stepped back into her shower, combing her fingers through her soapy hair. "I know you do."
"He's helping me," Prim's sweet voice added a moment later, "with uncle Haymitch. He's getting him to drink less. Uncle Haymitch gets a little cranky about it, sometimes. But Peeta helps. He's good at it, too."
This was news to Katniss, though she had noticed some hints before; the way Peeta had looked at him the night of the fireworks popped into Katniss' mind.
She didn't know why Peeta helped, or why Peeta even lived here. When it came to the sweet, happy blond boy, there were so many questions unanswered.
But she never managed to ask – she knew she had many questions unanswered herself, and truly, she'd prefer if they remained unanswered. She had too much she didn't want to share with anyone, and she was sure Peeta felt the same way.
Regardless, she was grateful. Not because it helped Haymitch, but because it seemed to genuinely bring joy to Prim.
After another long beat of silence, just the water from the showerhead humming as it pattered onto her skin, to the porcelain of the tub filling the room, Prim's small voice called out again.
"Katniss, d-do you think, maybe, when we go home, we could get a pet? Like a cat?"
Katniss groaned inwardly, knowing that the topic of pets would come up soon. After the amount of time her little sister had spent with Peeta's cat and Rue's dog, the question was simply inevitable.
"We'll see."
Prim let out a loud, exasperated sigh. "But, like, just a small cat, Katniss? Buttercup doesn't bother Peeta at all. You don't even have to take a cat out for walks or anything. They just sit and purr and look cute."
Biting her lip to contain the grin that threatened to take over her face, Katniss tried to adopt a stern voice, repeating her words. "I said we'll see, Prim."
Prim huffed, her voice laced with a whine, "Fine, I'm going to bed."
Katniss heard soft footsteps pad out the door as she turned the water off, reaching for a towel.
A second later, before the door clicked, Prim's voice turned playful once again as she sang, "Have fun with Peeta."
Katniss grumbled incoherently under her breath, but said no more as she stepped out of the shower and patted herself dry, slipping into her usual night attire – shorts and a sweatshirt. She brushed her hair through, twisting it into her signature braid before tip-toing out of the bedroom, careful not to wake Prim, the small girl already deep in slumber.
She walked towards the door, slipping into her younger sister's flip-flops. She noted, confusedly, that Haymitch's light was still on in his study. He normally was knocked out quite early, more often than not through the aid of alcohol.
Prim's words came to her mind; Peeta was helping Prim with Haymitch, with his alcohol problem. The thought tugged a smile onto her face, though she wiped it off only a second later as she pulled open the front door and found the orange, dirty ball of fur on curled up at the corner of the porch. Buttercup.
Katniss sighed, knowing she was likely to give in to Prim's pleas for a pet soon enough; her baby sister had seen enough, had gone endured far too much in her short life. If she could give her simple joy by fulfilling her request, Katniss knew she would without hesitation. Though she had a strong dislike for cats. There was something about their eyes, she thought.
She clambered down the steps, the soft grass poking at the sides of her feet, causing a weird tickling sensation. She scurried to the side of the house, the door to Peeta's room already wide open.
She stepped in, leaving an awkward knock on the door. As they always did, the eclectic colors that defined Peeta's room popped out at her, taking her by surprise. There seemed to be new paintings, new colors, every time she stepped in. His bed, now turned back into a sofa sat in the middle, nearly hidden under a pile of blankets.
She called his name out, her eyes lingering on the canvasses – some filled with colors, others bleak, just black and white. A lot of them had faces, she noticed not for the first time. But some were just simple landscapes, mostly of the ocean. She could almost feel the tranquility, the serenity just looking at them.
She inched towards the section towards the back of the room, canvasses of all sizes covered in black cloths. She wondered, like with her portrait, if he just simply covered all of his paintings before they were complete. She neared them, wondering if she could sneak a peek before he came back from wherever he was.
As she contemplated lifting just the corner of one of the black sheaths, she heard footsteps behind her and jumped back, turning around swiftly.
Peeta's eyes widened infinitesimally in alarm as he found her, but covered it up with a smile a beat later, his fingers holding on tightly to a big block covered by a dark sheet.
"Sorry," he said, setting the black block on a wooden stand – an easel, she remembered him calling it. He left the black sheath on the canvas as he brought a stool in front of it, the canvas facing away from the couch.
He looked to Katniss, and she twisted her fingers awkwardly, not knowing where she was supposed to sit, or what she was supposed to do.
Doing the portrait made her slightly uncomfortable, having Peeta's eyes trained on her so intently for such long periods of time; but she owed him, and with that in mind, she toughed it out and sat through it sans complains.
To his end, he did often stop after he noticed her fidgeting and antsy behavior increase – usually, they took a half hour break for every half hour they worked.
But they hadn't worked here yet, in his room, completely alone, and this new setting made her nerves jumble a tiny bit more.
Peeta moved to the sofa, pushing the blankets off to a corner, and turned to her, "you can sit here. It should be more comfortable than the stool we use at the diner."
He smiled, walking to the other end of the small, chaotic room, to a small fridge. "Anything to drink?"
She clambered to the couch and situated herself, folding one leg under her and shook her head.
He smiled, and brought her a small bottle of apple juice anyway, leaving it on the large arm of the sofa.
"Music?" He asked a moment later, and she nodded, appreciative that at least they wouldn't have to sit in complete silence while he painted.
Peeta wasn't one to talk while he worked, she'd learned in the past few days. When he painted, his face became different, more concentrated, more serious than she'd ever seen before. His blue eyes danced with excitement, inspiration and a small smile always played on his lips. He often ran his hands through his hair, too, leaving it mussed and out of place by the time he finished.
He flipped through his CDs, slipping one into the CD player that sat on top of his fridge. Immediately, to her surprise, Bruce Springsteen's voice filled the room.
She quirked her eyebrow at him as he took his place on the stool, lifting the veil off of the cotton canvas, letting the black sheath fall to the floor.
"Interesting choice in music," she said, smiling. "I was expecting Dean Martin or Sinatra – they seem to be all you listen to."
He chuckled, opening the canisters of paint one by one and shrugged. "Springsteen reminds me of my dad."
She nodded, realizing that the song playing did in fact remind her of her life before … everything. But it wasn't her father who came to mind, it was her mother. She'd always been a fan of Springsteen, U2, and Bon Jovi; often blasted the music as she cooked, as she cleaned. Though, she cut herself off from anything that used to bring her happiness or joy once their dad died. It had been a while since she'd heard any of these tunes.
She shook her head, ridding herself of the thoughts. She didn't want to think of her mother, of the ghost of the person she used to be, the hollow person she'd now become.
She closed her eyes as Peeta set to work, and seeped further into the comfortable couch allowing the laziness that was creeping up on her to take over.
Katniss felt a cool hand on her, shaking her gently and she peeled her lazy eyes open, confused.
She blinked once, twice, taking in her surroundings, the colors and the paintings, Springsteen's voice singing softly in the background. She turned, facing a pair of blue eyes, bright even in the dim lighting.
Peeta smiled at her, handing her a mug of something warm, steaming. "You fell asleep."
Her eyes widened; she remembered just closing her eyes for a second to relax, she hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep. She couldn't remember being tired much.
"I'm sorry! Did I ruin the portrait?"
Peeta shook his head, strands from his blonde hair falling into his eyes. He pushed them away with his fingers, and took a sip from the mug he held in his own hands.
"No, actually, it works better when you're not moving and fidgeting every five seconds." He teased.
She rolled her eyes, shifting to a sitting position. "What time is it?"
His eyes flicked to the clock hanging to the left of him; it was a confusing clock, the numbers reading backwards and counter-clockwise. She smiled, it was very him.
"Two-thirty."
She took a sip from the mug she held, and hot chocolate oozed down her throat, sweet, warm and delicious.
She nodded her head towards the clock, "Where did you manage to find that?"
"Garage sale." He said, smiling at the clock. "It's kinda where I get most of my stuff."
"At garage sales?" Katniss asked.
He smiled, "Yeah, people can hoard some weird stuff over time. But you can find some cool stuff at garage sales."
His eyes widened for a moment, his smile widening a tiny bit. "Which reminds me, are you working tomorrow?"
Katniss shook her head, Wednesdays were her days off.
"Perfect. Meet me here at five tomorrow, I want to show you something."
Katniss looked at him dubiously, her attention piqued "Show me what?"
He chuckled lowly, chiding her mockingly, "Impatient as always, Katniss. You'll see tomorrow."
"It's not fair if you tell me you have something to show me, and then not tell me what it is." She argued, wincing at the whine in her voice. She sounded about the same age as Prim.
"But see," He said, his blue eyes glowing as he turned his body towards her, "I'm pretty sure that's how surprises work."
Katniss let out a huff, her chest rising with the action. She didn't do well with surprises, or with not knowing, really.
"You'll survive" He laughed a second later, as if hearing her thoughts.
She shook her head, glaring at him.
"Well, I guess I should go. You probably need to sleep…" she said, making to move.
He shook his head fervently as she expressed the words and she stopped.
"I'm not really tired yet, it's cool. You can at least finish your hot chocolate." He said, nodding at the mug clutched in her fingers.
She nodded, and sat back, tucking both her legs under her. Her eyes flickered over the paintings again, and too the far corner, she noticed the one of Delly. She was beautiful; blue eyes set deep in her face, her blonde hair a halo over her head. The picture next to the one of Delly's was of another girl, an unfamiliar face. She had dark hair, and bangs sitting angrily on her forehead. She wore a smile, though, one that brightened her face completely, and under her thick, dark lashes sat two beautifully blue eyes. A picture of Johanna followed, her face disturbingly happy. The smile on her face made her look years younger, though, she might have been younger when he'd painted it.
Katniss turned towards Peeta, his eyes already trained on her. "Are they all your ex-girlfriends?"
He smiled fondly at the pictures, "No. Just Jo and Delly. The other girl was just a friend; she goes to school somewhere north, now."
Katniss nodded; Peeta had always suspected Peeta to be popular at school, there was something in his look, his smile. He was friendly, amiably talking to everyone he ever came across. She couldn't imagine him ever being unpopular with the girls at his school.
She told him that, and he laughed loudly, shaking his head. "No, I just – I guess, I was in a bad place for most of high school. Everything kinda just fell apart when my dad died, you know?"
She nodded, she knew. Though she couldn't imagine Peeta losing it; his unyielding smiles made her feel like nothing bad could ever happen in this world. She couldn't imagine him being any other way.
But she said nothing, allowing him to speak. He'd never mentioned his dad before, or why he lived with Haymitch. She knew from experience how difficult it was to say some things out loud.
He rubbed his neck nervously, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "And I guess, Delly was—Delly was my best friend for a long time before that, and she's, you know how she is – always happy and bright. I just, I guess I clung to her because she was the only happiness I could see, the only palpable happiness, at least. But it wasn't fair to her. I didn't, I didn't love her.
"And then, Johanna was just as screwed up as I was. And we kind of just – we just bonded in our own messed up way but, I mean, that could only last for so long. She's like family now, though. Her and Annie. Them and Haymitch – they're all I have."
She nodded slowly, Annie's words coming back to her from a long time ago. They were all they had – all three of them.
But she silently wondered, why he didn't have his actual family to depend on? His dad had passed away, but what happened to the rest of them? His mother? Siblings? He never mentioned anyone.
When he didn't continue, Katniss cleared her throat. "That's kind of how it is with Gale – my friend that came here – some days it feels like him and Prim are the only two people in this world that I have to depend on."
He smiled at her sadly, softly. Too affectionately.
"Well, you can make that three people now." He said after a moment, his voice soft.
She smiled back, a weird warm feeling creeping up her neck, making her unbearably uncomfortable.
Not knowing what else to do, she brought her mug to her lips again.
Smiling understandingly at her discomfort, Peeta looked to the small TV that sat a few feet in front of them on an old, small wooden table, a stack of DVDs piling high next to it.
"Do you wanna watch a movie?" He asked suddenly, "If you're not too tired, I mean."
Katniss nodded, grateful for the change in topics. "Sure, what do you have?"
He stood from the couch, swiftly taking the few steps towards the table. "The Star Wars trilogy, It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone 1 and 2, and Back to the Future."
She laughed; the list of the DVDs he owned was typical, just as eclectic as him. "So you only own either Christmas movies or sci-fi movies?"
He shrugged, smiling, "I'm a man of many tastes."
"Home Alone." She decided, "The second one."
He nodded, agreeing, and placed the movie into the videogame console that rested in a shelf under the wooden table.
He climbed back onto the plush sofa, and handed her a blanket, reaching for one of his own. She took it from his hands and spread it across her legs, pulling it up to her chin.
As she leaned back into the sofa, her head lying close to Peeta's shoulder but not quite touching, she inhaled the scent of him. The warmth, the sweetness, it somehow brought her comfort.
She thought of his words, of the shy, sweet smile as he told her she had three, not two people in this world, and she smiled. A real, genuine smile.
Katniss awoke with a start, taking in her surroundings in for a second time. Except this time, there was no one to awake her, no gentle shaking rousing her from her slumber. Instead, it was the bright, blinding sun peering in through the window in Peeta's room.
She turned to the clock, and cursed silently as she read the time. It was almost six in the morning; she'd fallen asleep sometime during the movie.
She felt Peeta shift next to her, her eyes widening as she realized his arm was splayed across her waist, her head resting on his arm.
Slowly, gently, she lifted his arm off of her body and slid out from the covers.
Placing a pillow under his head, she pulled the covers over Peeta and stared at him.
He looked young, much younger when he was asleep. His blonde hair almost looked white from the sun, the mussed completely on one side. He snored lightly, barely audibly, as his chest rose and fell.
As she remembered his words from the night before, she felt the odd sensation of heat rise in her neck again, and pushed the thought away.
She needed to get out of her, needed to be in the safe comfort of her own bed, next to Prim, now.
Shutting the door softly behind her, she padded back to the front of the house, and walked in.
The house was quiet, still, and she was grateful that she'd made it back into the house before anyone else had woken up.
Without a second glance to anything else, she scurried across the kitchen, the living room, heading for her and Prim's room, wanting nothing more than to hide under the safety of her blankets, in her own bed.
She heard a cough as she walked past the kitchen, and she froze in her path. She turned slowly, too slowly, she knew.
And she was met with Haymitch's questioning look, a mischievous smirk on his face, a cup of something steaming in his hands, clutched tightly. His knuckles were a scary, pasty white where his skin stretched over his bones.
She looked at him, apprehension in her eyes as she meekly nodded to at him in acknowledgement.
He simply nodded back, and Katniss took it as her cue to run.
She stumbled into her room and peeled the sweatshirt off of her body, slipping out of the flip-flops, and fell into bed.
As she stretched her sore limbs, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. She could feel a flush in her cheeks, an odd, tingly sensation everywhere else as she thought about Peeta's arm on her, her face so close to his.
She pushed her face deep into her pillow, feeling the warmth from Prim's sleeping form radiating on to her, and forced herself to shut her eyes, and her mind.
She needed to stop thinking of this, of him. She needed to rid herself of these awful, horrible tingling feelings.
Katniss shifted on the large, itchy towel as she heard Prim call out to her, her voice a happy giggle.
She lifted herself from her laying position and turned towards the two girls who stood not too far from her, both clad in bright pink bathing suits, their hair wet from the ocean.
Prim ran towards Katniss, Rue in tow, her beautifully golden dog chasing the both of them. With a loud thump, Prim fell onto the towel, and Rue's small form followed.
The dog stood a few feet away from them, his tongue hanging out almost comically, panting loudly.
"Are you two hungry?" Katniss asked them as they dried themselves off with smaller towels, their skin different shades of pink from the relentless sun.
They both nodded, their tired bodies falling onto the blanket as they both stretched themselves out onto the itchy cloth she sat on.
Shielding her face from the sun, Katniss stood and dusted herself off, small grains of sand still clinging to her shorts and legs.
She walked across the smooth, warm sand and trudged up the short stairs leading to the deck, the heat of the summer forcing laziness into her step.
She passed Haymitch's study, the light from his room peering onto the wooden tiles, and avoided it steadfastly, ignoring the flush rising to her cheeks.
She collected the sandwiches she made earlier in the day for the two girls, and tucked two bottles of water under her arms, heading back towards the beach.
She squinted her eyes as she spotted another body on the girls' towel, her body freezing altogether as she realized who it was.
Peeta.
She wondered if he remembered her falling asleep next to him; he was still deep in slumber when she'd left, and she only hoped that he had no recollection of her sleeping form cuddled far too closely to his.
She neared the three of them, and they all smiled at her, Peeta's smile brighter than the rest.
Purposefully, she sat opposite Peeta, hiding behind both Prim and Rue as she handed them their water and food, as the two girls carried their conversation with the blonde boy – something about seashells and frames, though Katniss couldn't much pay attention to what they were saying.
Moments later, she risked a glance at Peeta, and with a swoop of relief, realized that he wasn't looking at her any differently; his cheeks weren't tinted pink the way she was sure hers was.
Maybe he didn't remember, she thought hopefully.
She smiled as he turned his attention towards her, excitement swimming in his eyes. "So, are you ready for your surprise?"
Her eyes widened; as she drowned in the embarrassment from the night before, the surprise awaiting her had managed to completely slip her mind.
She nodded her head fervently and he laughed, almost oblivious to the questioning stares from the two younger girls.
He stood, helping her up as he did. "Get your shoes and meet me out front."
Ignoring her baby sister's questioning glare, Katniss nodded and told him to give her a minute, and walked into the house.
She slipped into her converses, double-knotting the laces and re-twisted her mussed braid before heading towards the front of the house.
Katniss' eyes shone with excitement as she neared Peeta, her eyes fixated on the piece of wood in the blonde boy's hands.
A beautiful, bronze colored bow.
She touched it with delicate fingers as she looked to him, question in her eyes.
"I found this at a garage sale the other day, so I picked it up. Thought you could maybe teach me to shoot?" He explained, "The arrows are in the car."
A grin spread across her face as he handed the bow to her, and she ran her fingers along the length of it.
"This is a beautiful bow, Peeta."
He smiled, walking around to the driver's side of the car, climbing in. "Well then, c'mon. Let's go."
She smiled, her fingers clutching to the wooden bow. It had been so long since she'd last lost herself in the woods, inhaled the scent of the wild, the green, the fresh air.
Her smile fell as she realized where she was. "Where are we going to hunt here, Peeta?"
He turned towards her as his fingers turned the ignition, coaxing the car to start up. "I know a place. It's about thirty minutes from here. It's beautiful."
She nodded, relaxing in her seat, as he rolled the windows down.
His fingers poked at one of the buttons in front of them, and Bruce's voice filled the air once again.
Unwelcomed, the tingly sensation rose back into her fingers, her toes as she recalled the night before.
But this time she couldn't hide, couldn't slip away. This time, she didn't know how to stop them.
a/n: alright, there's a bit of fluff in here for you all. hope you liked it! reviews, as always, are so very appreciated. I swear my heart swells each time I get a new review.
on another note, as i'm sure you can tell from the typos, i don't have a beta reader. but if any of you would be interested in proof-reading these chaps before i post them, it would be so greatly appreciated so please let me know if anyone's interested. thanks!