To be exact…
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I LOVE YOU ALL. I was expecting a few more reviews from the last chapter, but oh well(: Here is 27!
Mother shakes my shoulder, and I awake in a start. My cheeks pinch from tears drying on them. Prim's head is nestled in Rory's neck, and his arms are tight around her. I smile slightly at their innocence.
"Hey. It's mid-afternoon, thought you might want to be woken for your shift." Mom whispers, and I nod. "Shall I wake Rory and Prim? The Hawthornes are coming over to celebrate with us for dinner."
"You probably should. What time are they coming?" I respond quietly.
"In about four hours, Peeta is waiting at the door for you." I get up quickly, straightening my clothes. Mud is caked into them from the woods, and smelly.
"Can you tell him I'll be out in five minutes?" I reply heading to the stairs.
"Yeah. Just hurry Katniss." I nod and run the stairs, pulling off my clothes. I take a quick cold shower to wash of the sorrow of yesterday. Racing to the dresser, I pull on a light brown shirt with long khakis. My feet are stuffed into my shoes, and run down with a hair tie in hand to braid on the way to the bakery.
Being so absorbed in hurrying, I run face first into Peeta's chest.
"Oof!" I huff, and laugh.
"Well hello to you too." Peeta says with a grin. He leans down to give me a quick peck.
"Hi. Shall we go?" A brisk nod is his response and we leave the house. "Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday. I just had a…snap."
"I understand." He replies casually. "Everybody has bad days." Peeta never fails to amaze me. Had he been some other guy, he probably would have been a jerk about me being upset. I stop him to give a sweet kiss.
"Thank you." I whisper into his lips.
"For what?" He responds.
"For being you. Always understanding. I can be a bitch to you, and you'll always forgive me. So thanks." I give him another kiss then start walking again. I see him smile out of the corner of my mind, leading to my own lips tugging upwards. My finger tangle into his large calloused ones.
"I figured since Gale won, we could throw a small party for him? I'm working on a cake right now, it's cooling." Peeta says happily.
"Actually, you could come over tonight. We're having dinner with the Hawthornes in celebration. We could invite Madge too."
"Why not? You could help me decorate the cake. Since we dropped our prices on the baked goods, more people can afford the product. Therefore we can spare things like cakes. We're handing out free cookies tomorrow."
"Sounds good." I reply with a smile. "I have to be home in four hours."
"Alright. We better hurry then, have a lot to do!" We break into a sprint, and I pull my fingers from his.
"Last one to the bakery is a burnt loaf!" I yell, and run quickly. Peeta tries to keep up, but stumbles slightly. I let out a peal of laughter, and people turn to smile at us. I run in the front door of the bakery, and turn back to see Peeta five steps behind.
"I win!" I say smugly, and he gives a mischievous smile in return. He leans in to kiss me passionately. I try to pull back, but melt into his embrace.
"Nope. I win." He mumbles, and darts back to the back room. I turn to see Rye casually leaning against the front counter with a smirk.
"Have fun?" He says, with hidden laughter in his voice.
"Shut up Rye." I grumble before heading back into the kitchen. He bellows out laughter, and the blood rushes to my face.
Peeta is pulling out the cake layers, and I grab the icing bags with the fondant too. "How we decorating the cake boss?" I ask sarcastically, and he lets out a laugh. A paper is shoved into my hands, and I look over the design. Simple pearls line the layers, ribbon looking decorations hanging lightly down the sides.
"You sure you want to do pearls? Maybe we should make mockingjays." I say, imagining the pin worked into the cake. Peeta stops short and glances towards me.
"Never thought of putting in mockingjays. That is smart, we should do that." He swipes the paper out of my hands, making quick adjustments to the cake. I grin with success, and pull out the edible gold sugar dust. He carefully slabs on a light strawberry filling in between two cake layers, and frosts over them to hold it together. I stretch the fondant, and smooth it carefully over the cake. With quick measured movements, the two stack cake is frosted and has fondant placed perfectly. Peeta works on forming the pins, while I fold some fondant into delicate black ribbons. They drape perfectly, making me smile in satisfaction.
Peeta's arms go around my waist, and I lean back. "You're getting a lot better. Nice work Kat." He says with a tinge of proud on his words.
"Thanks." I respond, then shake him off.
"We got to work quickly! How we going to tell Madge?"
"We could invite her right after we finish." Rye pops his head in.
"Hey, so I've got a date tonight…and I forgot to mention that. Mind covering for me? Business is slow today anyways." He gives a hopeful smile.
"I don't know…" Peeta says seriously. My cheeks twitch, and I press down the urge to smile.
"Peetapoo! Don't make me pull out the embarrassing stories for Katniss." He taunts, and I see Peeta's face pale.
"Have fun." He says quickly, and I laugh loudly.
"I can cover the front; the rest of the cake is your expertise. We closing at seven tonight?" Peeta nods and gets back to work.
"We don't need to bake anymore bread, whatever is in stock now is what we are selling. After the cake I'll make up the cookie dough for tomorrow, and then help up front. Okay?" I smile in response, and head up to the front. Just as I sit on the stool, the door bell rings.
"Welcome to Mellark's Bakery, how can I help you?" I say automatically before looking. A particular long blonde hair girl smiles. "Oh, hi Madge. What do you need?"
"A few cookies. Please." She smiles, and I grab a bag.
"Which ones?"
"Surprise me." She says, grinning the whole time.
"Oh! Before I forget, want to come over for dinner? We're celebrating Gale's…success. Figured you may want to join?"
"I'd love to! I have something special to bring for a kids drink too, and adults. No worries on drinks." She says with a smile.
"Alright! Dinner is at seven."
"Okay, I got to go. Mother was craving cookies. See you later! Bye Peeta!" She calls out, and gets a muffled bye in response.
Time flies, and before we know it, it is time to close the bakery and head over to my home. Peeta boxes the small cake delicately. I pull the shades down and put out the fires in the ovens. After quickly closing, we head down to home. The noise from our house is obvious before it is in sight, and other houses boom with celebration too. I smile at that, proud of Gale. My mind flickers to Rue, causing my smile to drop. I hurry to the house, dragging Peeta along. Rory and Prim are sitting against the side of the fence in a patch of replanted Primroses our father had put in years ago.
"Hi guys." Peeta calls out lightly, and they straighten out of their embrace.
"Hello. Oh! Peeta! Did you and Katniss make a cake?" Prim says excitedly.
"Yup! A special one too. Even Katniss hasn't seen the final product." He gives a wink, and Rory's lips tug slightly.
"Well it will go lovely with Madge's special treat. Hazelle and Posy are bombing her with more questions inside, better save her." Prim says with a smile.
I nod, and we walk inside hand in hand. "Katniss!" Posy shrieks, and plows into my legs.
"Hey Posy. How's my little girl?" I say lovingly, and pick her up into my arms. She kisses my cheek.
"Great! Galey is coming home!" She squeals with happiness.
"He is! I can't wait for him either Posy. I'm sure Madge can't either also." I wink at her, and she lets out a nervous laugh.
"Who's that?" Posy asks curiously, looking at Peeta.
"That's Peeta. He's my special friend." I say with a smile.
"Like Prim is Rory's special friend?" She responds, her eyes lingering on Peeta. He gives a small wave.
"Just like Rory and Prim." She squirms out of my arms, and walks towards him. Peeta crouches to her level, and opens the cake box. He reveals a small cookie and holds it out.
"You like cookies?" He asks, and I glance at its design. Light pink swirls cloud through it. She lets out a high pitched squeal.
"I love cookies! Pink favorite color!" Posy takes the cookie and gobbles it down. Peeta and I laugh. She then crushes herself into his arms. "I like you." Posy says happily with a big sigh. I notice the room is quiet, and see Hazelle, Madge, and Mother smiling at them.
"Shall we eat?" I ask, and Mom looks at me.
"Oh! Sure!" She pulls out a turkey I hadn't caught out of the oven.
"Did Rory get that?" I ask, with amazement lacing in my question.
"Yup, I sure did!" Rory says while puffing his chest with pride. I grin, and we all sit down in the living room since the table is too small. Laughter floats through the house, and the only thing missing is Gale. That isn't so bad though, since he's coming home tomorrow. We watch the television when it comes on for Gale's recap. Peeta serves the cake after the program, and Hazelle splits the champagne Madge brought with Mother. She also brought this special drink called sparkling apple cider for us kids. Everyone decides to stay the night since the Mom's are a bit tipsy. They get the room upstairs, and we all crash downstairs in piles of blankets together. Madge sleeps with Posy cuddled into her side, Peeta and I together, and Rory and Prim at a respectable distance. Vick sleeps between the two for the extra measure, winking at me. Peeta laughs and Rory glares at the two.
Gale is coming home tomorrow. The Hawthornes are moving into Victor's Village. We won't have many more night like this, if we ever do again. Gale won't have to work in the mines; they'll all have full bellies. Will he hunt with me still? Or will he be too busy with Madge and his new life? I worry at the thought, and Peeta must notice.
"Hey." He whispers, turning me towards him. "Whatever you're stressing about, don't. It will all work out." He brushes my hair back, and kisses my temple. I smile slightly, and scoot into his form. His arm sneaks around my waist, rubbing comfortable circles in my back. "I love you." He murmurs sleepily into my ear.
"Love you too." I whisper back quietly.
.0.0.0.
I wake up to the smell of melted goat cheese and fresh bread, causing my mouth to water. I sit up and see Posy shaking Madge awake, Rory is drooling, and Prim is watching him affectionately. I turn to the kitchen to see Peeta baking with the Moms. I laugh slightly, and notice Vick hanging out at the table watching them.
Posy bounces over to Hazelle, who gives her a small pot and wooden spoon. I cringe at what is to happen, and cover my ears. Posy creeps next to Madge and Rory, and raises the spoon above the pot. She slams down with all her force, screeching loudly.
"WAKE UP SLEEP HEADS!" Rory sits up quickly, hitting the side of the coffee table in the process. Madge jumps up, and looks around nervously. Posy laughs loudly, and I join her with Peeta.
"Breakfast is served." Peeta announces, carrying a plate of cheese buns. I dash to the plate, snatching one before anyone else moves.
"Hungry much?" Madge teases and I blush. I bite into the cheesy deliciousness while barely holding back the groan of satisfaction.
"That's hot." Peeta says out loud; everyone looks at him, and he goes bright red. "Please tell me I didn't say that out loud."
Everyone laughs, and I lean in to kiss him lightly. "Don't worry; you're cute when you're red."
He licks his lips where a bit of the goat cheese I was eating came off. My stomach tingles at the sight. He grins, and helps carry out the rest of the food. We are treated with turkey bacon, eggs, and the cheese buns. Everyone digs in, and I can say it has been a decent amount of time since everyone was with a full belly. Gale's last interview comes on, and basically is about seeing Madge finally and his family. He's due to come in within two hours, and the Hawthornes have to pack. We see them off, and Peeta has to head off to the bakery. I get a late start for Gale's arrival. Peeta gives me a chaste kiss goodbye and heads home. Prim pulls on the blouse and skirt she wore at the Reaping, showing it to Madge.
"I think I have some of my older clothes I don't wear often. Do you guys want them?" Prim looks at me as if to say 'Please?' I nod, and she squeals.
"Well, lets go over now, You can use some for the train greeting. Mom waves goodbye, and we race to Madge's home. Prim and I barely get to absorb the luxury of her home before she drags us to her room. She pulls out a big box from her closet, and opens it.
"Ahh, perfect." She says to herself, and tosses Prim a light blue dress, ending just above the knees. Delicate flowers are sewn into it. Prim gives a smile in thanks, and changes into it. Madge tosses me a emerald green strapless dress that comes below my knees slightly, and some flats in black. We tie our hair back just as the whistle of an arriving train sounds. Madge pulls on her white dress, and lets her hair fall down her back freely.
"Let's go!" Prim says, dragging us to the station. We get to the front just as the doors open. He steps out, and sees his family. They all clobber him, and tears visibly streak all their faces. Prim and I step up next, hugging him tightly.
"I'm so glad you came home. We've missed you." I say when we pull back. His eyes look into mine, and what I see scares me. Hurt, sadness, anger, and hopelessness floats in the deep grey. His lips are turned up slightly. "Woods tomorrow morning." I say quietly, and he nods. I motion towards Madge, who stands at the stairs fidgeting with her dress. His eyes change to happiness and love instantly, and I smile. Prim and I back away as Madge flings herself into his arms, crying loudly. Their mouths collide passionately, and cameras click away quickly.
"I love you Madge." I hear him say, and she cries harder.
"I love you too Gale." She responds, and leans in for another kiss. Everyone cheers loudly, and reporters comment on the couple.
He's finally home. Broken, but he's home.
And that's all that matters for now.
I'm so sorry about the delayed update. You have no idea. I've been having writer's block on how to put what I wanted to do to words. Anyways, second to last chapter everyone..! Thanks so much, please review.