So, I'd intended this to be a one-shot, but the first part got such a great response that I felt the need to write a follow up chapter. So, now it's a two-shot.

Peeta's bed.

Peeta's house.

Peeta's wife.

Katniss Everdeen owed him her life. He was the reason she was no longer the property of the Capitol, and she should have been grateful to him. But she wasn't. Her time in the Capitol had conditioned her to believe that she had one purpose in life, and Peeta refused to use her that way. Each night since they returned to District 12, she would slip into bed naked. She kissed and caressed and attempted to fondle, but he pushed her away.

"Not tonight," he'd say before rolling over to fall asleep.

Slowly, she slid out of his bed and padded downstairs. If he didn't want her, she decided, then she didn't want him. The fire still burned in the hearth, casting an eerie glow around the living room. It provided just enough warmth, that with a blanket, she wouldn't be cold as she slept. If she could sleep.

Once, her nightmares had been consumed with the atrocities she witnessed as a tribute in the Hunger Games. Rue, Cato, Thresh had appeared night after night. Some nights, she was unable to reach Peeta in time and he died. But her experiences under Snow's control had caused a shift in her subconscious thoughts. Men who tied her to the bed, people who groped and grabbed at her in public, the customers who brought a few friends to their late night get togethers.

Knees drawn to her chest, she rocked back and forth on the floor in front of the dying fire, willing the thoughts to disappear. So lost was she in her own mind that she never heard the footsteps that approached or the groan as Peeta sat down beside her. She didn't feel the cool, cotton material he draped over her bare shoulders, nor did she notice the lips that touched her temple.

"Come back to bed, sweetheart," he softly urged. The rocking stopped, but she didn't speak. "Please, Katniss."

"All I thought about was you," she whispered. "And now you don't want me."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've never heard," he scoffed, getting to his feet. "You know I love you."

She too got to her feet, and in her haste, the shirt he had draped over her fell away. "Snow forced you to do this," she replied. "Don't you get it? This...us...it'll never be about loving each other. It's his way of controlling me, and I hate it!"

Bending down, he picked up the shirt and put it back on her, buttoning it up as he spoke. "Did you not want to marry me?" he asked quietly. "Being with me now...it's just like during the Games. You say you love me because it helps you survive. It helped you survive the Arena, and it got you out of the Capitol. And once again, I'm the dumbest man in Panem for falling for it."

"It wasn't a lie," she murmured, taking a seat on the sofa. "Being there, being in that room with strangers...the things they did and said...it was easier to just close my eyes and pretend it was you. And it was easy when they were kind and gentle. It was easy to imagine they were you. When they got rougher, it stopped. I didn't want to picture you doing those things to me."

Peeta sat down beside her and rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm afraid of hurting you," he admitted.

"How can you hurt me if you won't even touch me?" she interrupted. "Believe me, Peeta, the way you've been acting hurts so much more."

"I'm sorry," he murmured behind his hands.

"Did you even notice the...changes?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice with each word she spoke. His hands fell and he looked her over. "All the hair is gone permanently. Some kind of laser. At first he didn't want me modified. A month later when people were less willing to pay for me, he had my breasts enhanced. I cried for days. They wouldn't give me anything for the pain. I guess they thought I wouldn't be lucid enough to enjoy my other activities. Then came these." She turned and rested one leg on the sofa, exposing her inner thigh. "Snow was furious at first, but he came around. Some tattoo artist bought me one night, and after I passed out, he marked me. Little x's for each man who fucked me so I'd never forget my role."

He touched her leg, tracing his fingers over the neat row of tattoos. "How many?" he asked.

"Seven months, four or five a week," she answered. "They gave me a pill once a month to stop my period so I wouldn't get pregnant."

"But we can get it fixed," he said as a plan formulated in his mind. "Cinna or Portia, they'll know of someone who can get these removed. The implants too, if that's what you want."

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she leaned forward and captured his lips. It was a sweet, gentle kiss, and it spoke of how much she loved him. And just as quickly as she'd kissed him, she pulled away. "I'd like that," she murmured. "But can I have the morphling this time? I have a feeling it'll hurt like hell."

"I'll call Cinna tomorrow morning," he promised. "Now, can we please go back to bed? We're okay now?"

He rose to his feet and extended a hand to her. Katniss eyed it briefly as she fiddled with her shirtsleeves. "Um, there is one more thing," she replied as she looked down at her lap. "Can you show me what it feels like to make love?"

When he didn't reply, she glanced up through wet lashes and continued, "I'm sorry. After everything I've done I don't expect you to want to."

"There's something I need to make sure you understand before anything happens between us," he stated, bending down in front of her. "I didn't spend my winnings on you so I could own you. It was so you'd be free of that place and that life. I've seen the way you walk on eggshells around here, like you aren't comfortable living here. If you're not happy living here because you think of it as my house or whatever, we'll find someplace else. Someplace where you'll be happy.

"Secondly," he continued, "the things Snow forced you to do don't bother me. I love you, that's never gonna change. I just wanted to make sure you were alright before we went further. I'm sorry you felt like I was pushing you away."

Katniss wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you," she whispered, her breath hot against his ear.

With his arms around her waist, he stood back up. "Then let's go to bed."