Chapter 4: The Deal

The fog of despair was thick. It made it hard to breathe.

Haymitch was resting his hands gently on his withered shoulders. "Peeta, you have to be proud you won."

Peeta stared at his shoes. They were shiny and black. He remembered the butterfly on Leevy's shoes. He wanted his work boots from home, a hole starting at the left big toe and coated in a film of flour. "I'm not proud I won," he wheezed through the fog.

"They don't care about that," Haymitch said. "Go out there and tell Caesar you're going to buy your sister a pony or whatever crap they want to hear. Peeta," he shook him slightly. "Peeta, please!"

Peeta looked up. Haymitch was frightened for him.

"Okay," he whispered. "Okay."

Caesar was ready to greet him with an embrace. "Now this is a first! A victor with no direct kills! We all might want to look out or Mellark will get us by accident!"

The audience laughed appreciatively. Peeta's stomach twisted as he thought of the berries in Rue's hand.

"So, Peeta. Here we are," he remarked as they sat down. "How does it feel to be the Victor of the 74th Annual Hunger Games?"

Peeta thought hard. He couldn't say 'terrible'. "Surprising," he smiled lifelessly. "My other Tributes were so strong and brave. I never in a million years thought I'd be here today." He thought of Clove hurling her knives at Leevy standing on the launch pad.

"The odds were against you!" Caesar laughed. "What are your plans now?"

"Um…I didn't really make any," he laughed softly. "I think I'll buy my sister a pony. She loves animals."

The audience cooed in adoration. Peeta saw Foxface stretch out her hand to let him help her from the burning forest.

Caesar clapped a hand on his back and ordered that they review the tape of Tribute deaths. Peeta watched his shoelaces. He held his breath as he heard Cato's death screams.

Then it was finally over.

"And now – your crown, sir." Caesar smiled and helped Peeta to his feet. He gestured to a gilded staircase descending like a new rainbow from the balcony of the Presidential Palace. Snow stood at the top. Peeta swallowed hard.

He climbed slowly and deliberately for his nerves and the cameras. His fingers touched the gilded banister. It was cold. He reached the top and found Snow was not alone.

On one side an Avox, carrying a velvet pillow bearing the Crown of the Victor. On his other side, his daughter. He stared. He never thought she'd go near him again.

"Peeta Mellark, our Victor," murmured Snow. Peeta bowed slightly.

Snow reached for the crown, but a soft voice stopped him. "May I?"

"Of course, my dear."

Katniss took the crown from the Avox and stepped in front of Peeta. "My Victor." She smiled. This one didn't make him shiver.

He bowed his head to her and she set the crown around his golden hair.

She took his hand and led him to the balcony's edge. She held his arm aloft and one hundred thousand voices cheered.

Caesar announced the end of the show and the lights began to dim. The crowds stood and began to chatter incessantly as they blocked exits and tried to shake hands with Caesar.

Katniss released Peeta's hand. He saw her smile had left her. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," he murmured.

"I suppose you're leaving now," she murmured, watching the teeming streets below.

He nodded. "Tomorrow morning."

She released his hand. "Excuse me. I have to speak with my father."

And she was gone.

Haymitch knocked on the door. "Peeta, get up! Train leaves in an hour."

"I'm up."

Haymitch poked his head in the room. Peeta was dressed, sitting on the edge of his bed. He watched him for a minute. "Couldn't sleep?"

Peeta shook his head. "I got up last night. To get some water. And I went to her room. To see if she was awake. She had bad dreams." His voice was shaking. "But she wasn't there. She'll never be there again."

A pause stretched between them.

"It will pass," Haymitch said softly. "It does get easier."

Peeta shook his head. "No it doesn't."

Haymitch tried to think of something to say, but nothing came. He turned and left to find liquor for his coffee.

Peeta sighed and stilled the pain. He sat in silence.

A gentle knock was at the door.

"I'm ready, Effie."

"Ready?"

His eyes darted to Katniss standing the doorway. He jumped to his feet.

"Hi," she smiled softly. "You're all packed?" she said, taking in the single small bag at his feet.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Train leaves at eleven. I guess I'll-"

"Stay."

He looked up at her. She smiled.

"You should stay."

"Stay?"

"I want you to stay. With me," she added quickly. "I have that whole apartment to myself. You'd have plenty of room. I have a maid and a housekeeper and a trainer. And you could go to parties and anything you want you could have."

"I…"

"Anything, Peeta!" She smiled desperately. "The whole country adores you."

"I...can't."

Katniss blinked at him. "What?"

"I can't stay, Katniss. I have a family to take care of. My sister isn't out of school; I need to help my father with the bakery. I have to go home."

"But," she looked floored. "I want you to stay."

"I…appreciate that," he fumbled. "I am very flattered-"

"Is there a girl waiting for you?"

The venom and fury with which she accused him, was startling.

"What? No. I mean, yes, my sister. She's just in the Reaping this year, I need to be home-"

"I'll get her out."

He started. "What?"

"If you stay, I'll have the drawings rigged so she doesn't ever get picked."

He stared. "But – you can do that?"

She nodded frantically. "Of course I can." Her smiled dropped away. "But you have to stay with me. Forever."

He was having trouble focusing. Prim would be safe. She'd never get reaped. But he'd never see home again.

"Katniss," he told her carefully, "I'd stay. I would. But you have to know…I don't…feel the same way."

The flash was momentary; a stab of pain across her face. She recovered and smiled hollowly. "That's okay. I'm okay with that."

He stared at her. He'd never seen such an unhappy person before, even in Twelve.

"I'll stay," he told her.

"Great," she smiled again. It was more hollow than the last. "I'll have your things sent for."

She turned and walked away stiffly.

He sat down on his bed and cried.

Haymitch threw his coffee mug through the TV when Peeta told him. When it cracked on the wall behind the screen, Peeta could smell it was mostly liquor with coffee for color.

"No! They can't do this!" he shouted, hurling the coffee table against the wall.

"It's an honor!" Effie yelled over the clamor. "He's going to have a wonderful life here!"

"He's not, Trinket!" Haymitch barked at her. "He's going to be a puppet to that spoiled little brat!"

"She's getting Prim out of the Reaping!"

Effie and Haymitch stopped shouting at one another. Peeta took a deep breath.

"You can't say anything. You know you can't," he sighed. "But it was the deal. I stay and she's safe." He watched Haymitch's shoulders sag. "I have to stay."

"It's just…" Haymitch sighed. "Why you? Any of the other brainless, bloodthirsty Careers, I don't care," he moaned. "Why the only decent person to ever come to this god-awful place?"

Peeta smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It's your freedom she's taking."

"I know."

He threw himself onto the sofa and buried his face in his palms.

Peeta sat down next to him. "Haymitch."

"What?" he grumbled.

"It's all right. I'll see you next year when we mentor together. And on the Victory Tour. It'll be okay."

He grumbled into his hands.

"Haymitch."

Haymitch looked up finally.

"I need you to take a letter to my father for me."

Katniss was waiting at the front steps to the manor when the car pulled up. She was wearing a yellow dress that looked like it was made of candlelight.

She held out her hand to collect his.

He accepted hers and they climbed the stairs. The stone steps were unyielding beneath his feet. It was a new Arena in his mind. He wondered if she was a new mutt to be dealt with.

Her fingers were foreign to him. But they were soft and cool to the touch, with no claws. He thought of his own hands, now foreign to him as well. He missed his calluses from kneading dough. The Capitol had erased his past.

"Oh," he paused. "What about my bags?"

"The Avoxes will take them to my apartment," she threw over her shoulder.

He glanced sideways at her as they walked down the hallway. She had her head high, like he'd always seen her but something was different. It was like noticing a hairline fracture in a beautiful vase; bound to crack open soon.

"This is the main foyer," she explained as they passed through a grand entrance room. Royal blue marble was inlaid into white limestone on the floor. Pots of flowers taller than a grown man ran along the hall. "We're not allowed in here unless there's a party. Daddy's most expensive gifts are here."

He thought of the run-down wooden structure he called home in Twelve. There was nothing as warm and comforting here. He took in a mosaic on the wall made of precious gems. "Is that you?"

She nodded. "On my twelfth birthday. From the Mayor of One."

"It's amazing." He tried to count the diamonds in her eyes, but got dizzy. He wondered if a child in One had ever starved to death.

"This is the Viewing Room," she gestured to a door on his right. "That's where you can watch TV on a big screen. What do you like to watch?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I don't have time to watch TV at home. What do they play when they're not showing the Games?"

"You've never seen a movie?" she laughed.

"What's a movie?"

She stared, the hint of a smile on her face. "I'll have to show you my favorite movies."

"Okay." He tried to sound excited.

They continued down the hallway. "That way to leads to the gardens. It's where I practice archery."

"Archery?"

"Daddy says I'm a natural," she beamed. "Do you shoot?"

He shook his head, knowing he couldn't have told her the truth if he did. "I'm sure I'd be terrible."

She giggled. "I doubt it. And this is Daddy and Mom's sitting room," she said.

They stopped in front of double doors.

The argument was audible even in the hallway outside the tea room. Katniss offered an apologetic smile. "Daddy gets very passionate about politics," she explained. "He-"

They were interrupted by the outburst.

"How could you not tell me about this?" he recognized Snow's angry shout. He feared for his life.

"I didn't even know until his train had left," he heard Esmeralda fire back. "Look, she'll be seventeen in a few weeks and she's never had a date. What harm could it do letting her have a little boyfriend for a while?"

"Mer, you know what boys that age want."

"You know that because that's what we were doing at her age."

Snow said something low and rumbling. "Cori," Esmeralda sighed, "she's young and lonely. You know she doesn't fit in with that Enobaria and Cashmere. She can barely keep up at dinners. She needs to learn how to choose a partner. Besides, he seems like a nice boy. And if he isn't…we can just take care of it. "

He heard Katniss swallow hard. She was humiliated and he was terrified.

"Um-" he started.

The door swung up abruptly. "Oh! Sweetheart, I was just going to send an Avox to look for you," the president smiled. He glanced over. "And Peeta Mellark. How wonderful to see you again," he spoke thinly. His eyes were suspicious.

Peeta stared into the ice blue eyes of the enemy. "He-hello," he stammered.

Katniss was silent and ashen.

"Our Victor!" Esmeralda called out cheerily. She dropped an elaborate needlepoint loom from her lap stood from a rich teak wood table and swept over to Peeta at the door. "Or at least the Victor of my daughter's heart," she winked, pinching his cheek.

Katniss looked at the floor. "Mom," she whined.

"So," Snow began ominously. Peeta forced air into his lungs. "You'll be staying in Katniss' wing?" It seemed like an accusation.

"I will? I don't know, I mean," Peeta stammered.

"There's a lovely guest room there," Snow intimated. "I can have more blankets brought if you find it drafty. I do."

Peeta nodded. "Blankets are nice," he said lamely.

"Katniss, you'll have to have your Avox take down all those posters of Finnick Odair," her mother smiled.

"But he gave them to me!" Katniss complained. "They're autographed."

"He's here often enough you don't need photos," Snow sniffed disdainfully. "You'd think he was presidential family."

Peeta stared at the floor. It was strange to see Snow as a husband. As a father. How he could have a child and still send so many to die year after year confused and angered Peeta. He saw Leevy slip from his grasp as she flung away her life.

"Well, I'm sure Peeta needs to unpack, we best not keep him too long," Esmeralda said. "We'll see you at dinner, sweetheart."

"Yes, Mom," Katniss said. She forced a smile.

Peeta bowed. "Madame. Sir," he murmured.

"Oooh, manners. I do love manners," the First Lady swooned as she turned back to her hobbies. Snow eyed Peeta before turning away.

The heavy door closed.

Katniss was still pale.

"Um," Peeta began. He felt strangely piteous to the girl who made him shiver.

"My apartment is this way," she said, turning on her heel and stomping down the hallway. He was obliged to chase after her.

They walked in silence. He could see the cracks widening.

"I've never had a girlfriend," he blurted out.

Her steps faltered, but she quickly recovered. "Sure."

"I'm not saying that," he told her. "My dad just needed me around the house to work and look after Prim. He said girlfriends take a lot of time so..." he looked at the mosaic as they passed it again. "I got made fun of a lot."

"No you didn't," Katniss sighed.

"Yes I did," he laughed. "I was a chubby baker's kid who couldn't get a date."

She stopped at a familiar-looking door. He saw she smiled a little bit. "And now you're a Victor," she whispered. "And you live here."

She pushed open the door. He looked at the parlor again. He sighed. He realized she was watching him. There was something vulnerable about her hopeful gaze.

"It's still a beautiful room."

"Apartment," she corrected him.

"Apartment."

"Um." She was blushing. "About the - I told Mom you'd have the guest room. I was sure it was the only way Daddy would let you stay. I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to the contrary to him."

"What about the last time I was here?" he asked in surprise.

"He doesn't know about that," she said quickly, lowering her voice.

"Oh." He bit his lip. "Um. Sorry about...that night."

"It's okay," she whispered. She looked at him sideways and twisted her clasped hands. "We can try again."

He shivered.

He listened to her sing along softly with a television program in the parlor off the guest room where he unpacked his few possessions and changed into the clothes she'd had laid out for him. He looked at the posters of the dashing Finnick Odair she hadn't taken down. Most were autographed "to my good friend Katniss" and marked with a winking smile. He'd written his father to send him pictures from home. He hoped he would be allowed to put them up.

He looked at the telephone on the night stand. He tried to remember the last time the phone worked in the bakery.

Peeta looked at his reflection in the mirrored closet door. He took a deep breath and walked back out to Katniss.

She was cross-legged on the sofa, throwing popcorn up in the air and catching it in her mouth. He smiled in spite of himself. "You're good at that."

"I've practiced," she blushed. "Want to try?"

"Sure," he said as she held out the bowl. "What is this?"

"Popcorn. Heated corn kernels."

"I like corn."

"It's doesn't taste like corn," she said.

He threw a kernel up in the air. It hit his eye. "I'm not very athletic," he blinked as the salt made his eye sting.

She giggled. "It's just aim. Take your time."

The second kernel went over the sofa and the third went down his shirt. She was falling over laughing as he tried to retrieve it. "Maybe I should just eat it," he grinned. "I don't want to ruin these new clothes."

"Do you like them?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes," he told her honestly. "I've never seen work like this."

"Yes you have," she grinned mischievously.

He raised a curious eyebrow.

"I hired Cinna to be my new stylist."

"Cinna? From the Games?"

"Is there another?" she joked. "He did such beautiful work with Female Twelve. I wanted-"

"Leevy."

Katniss stopped. Peeta hadn't meant to sound so angry. He had to keep her happy. "Sorry," he muttered.

She looked at the floor.

"She's gone, I just…I don't want to forget about her."

Katniss looked at him. "Why?" she whispered.

"She was my team mate," he explained uselessly. "She was my friend. Keeping her alive was something to focus on and forget how scared I was. If she hadn't been there I don't know if I'd have lasted for so long."

Katniss watched him. She scooted closer on the sofa to him. He glanced down as their knees brushed.

"Why did you help Fe - the little girl from Eleven? And the red-haired girl? They weren't your friends."

"I don't really know," Peeta sighed. He leaned forward onto his knees. "I just...they were so small. And they needed help. I guess...I guess I've just been taking care of my little sister so long, I just got in the habit of trying to help small people."

She was still watching him. "That's a nice habit."

Peeta smiled at his feet. "I bite my nails; I guess that balances it out with a bad one."

"Not quite," she told him. "Besides, I bite mine too. My aesthetician finally glued fake ones on to keep my teeth away." She held up a hand of perfect nails. Peeta could see little tooth marks in the index nail. "It doesn't work."

Peeta smiled.

Katniss unfolded her legs and leaned back on the sofa, keeping her eyes on him. "Um."

He felt nervous.

"Do you want to…watch a movie until dinner?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes."

The table was made of platinum, he was sure. He stared at it. How could there be that much platinum in Panem to make a table?

"That's Phosphora Wainwright," Katniss whispered as she pointed surreptitiously around the room. "And that's her husband Diborane. They're the Capitol overseers of District Three."

"Overseers?" he mumbled.

"The mayors call them with concerns so they don't have to bother Daddy," she whispered. "And that's the pair for Four; Aguila and Trench."

"Miss Snow," a voice from behind startled them. An elegant older man with a decadently dressed woman half his age was addressing her. "You're to dine with us again, I see?"

Katniss transformed in front of Peeta's eyes. She stretched up and smiled coldly. Peeta saw a cracked vase repairing itself in his mind. "Yes. Daddy's so rarely here, I wanted to see him," she confessed. "And after all, it's about time I started taking an interest in all these dinner meetings. They'll be mine to host soon enough," she said.

"Do you think so?" the man chuckled condescendingly. Peeta felt Katniss bristle. A crack reappeared.

"And why not?" she strained politely.

"Why not indeed?" the man recovered, patting her on the head. "I do hope it isn't too taxing for such a carefree girl like yourself." The man and his trophy date snickered at their cleverness. The crack widened.

"And you are…?" the woman sniffed at Peeta.

"Peeta Mellark."

"Really?" intoned the woman. "Well, the prizes do get better every year, don't they Luxor?" She smiled at Katniss, whose eyes widened.

"Peeta Mellark," Luxor remembered. "No direct kills, if I recall?" he disdained.

"Killing isn't what makes a Victor."

Luxor stared Peeta down, but he refused to look away. Eventually the man and his trophy excused themselves to greet their peers. Katniss seemed to deflate by his side. He recognized her again.

"Who's that?" Peeta mumbled.

"He oversees One. Silk is his partner, but I think she's angling to be more."

Peeta looked at the hand Silk was resting on Luxor's back slide lower than his belt. "Seems so."

"Katniss," a voice purred from behind.

"Finnick!" Katniss cried. Peeta saw a number of emissaries roll their eyes as Finnick swept her into a dramatic embrace. Luxor and Silk were chuckling to themselves.

"I'm so glad you're here," Katniss giggled quietly. "This was shaping up to be a boring night."

"My lady, it's never boring with me around," he grinned. "And may I say, it's an honor to meet you, Mr. Mellark." Finnick Odair offered Peeta a small bow.

"It's much more of an honor to meet you," Peeta told him. "You're a legend."

"Well," Finnick teased, "that's true."

"Peeta's going to stay with me!" Katniss enthused.

Finnick's eyebrows rose. "Are you?" he looked at Peeta. He nodded awkwardly. "I suppose we'll get to know each other much better then," he recovered. "I try to see my girl Kat whenever I can." He poked Katniss in the ribs and she giggled.

An Avox entered the room. Katniss looked at her expectantly. The girl raised a small cymbal and struck it lightly with a miniature baton in her right hand. A beautiful single note played out. The President and First Lady entered at the chime.

Their dinner guests applauded.

As Peeta watched two sets of dignitaries from each District take a seat, male and female in garbs of their homes, a panic gripped him. He smelled the fire of his cape during the Tribute Parade. Then Katniss' soft hand was taking his and leading him to the table. Snow took the seat at the head of the table, stamped with the country seal. Esmeralda sat at his right hand. Peeta pulled out the chair to the left of Snow for Katniss and she smiled proudly as he pushed it in underneath her.

"Such manners," Esmeralda cooed. "Very rare for Twelve."

He hid his shock at her lack of tact. "Thank you," he mumbled, slipping into an open seat to Katniss' right. The seat cushion was embroidered with the emblem of Panem. They were plush and overstuffed but he was still uncomfortable. He was glad to see Finnick taking the seat across from him.

They were immediately swarmed by servants, bringing dishes of foods Peeta had never conceived of in quantities that made him sick.

"What news from your mayor, Sycamore?" Snow asked lightly of the overseer to Seven.

The burly man dabbed his beard with his napkin. "The forest fire was well contained, sir. No real trouble. We can reduce rations until the damage has been paid off."

"And what of the cause?" Esmeralda asked, taking a delicate bite of a flaked fish platter.

"A chainsaw," Sycamore replied. "The gas tank malfunctioned and burst, as I understand it. Splattered the trees and dried leaves. Went up like paper," he tossed off, throwing back a glass of fermented juice.

"Was the lumber collector hurt?"

Sycamore stared at Peeta. "What?"

"The person," Peeta stammered, realizing he had spoken without thinking. All eyes were on him. "The person operating the chainsaw," he choked out. "Were they all right?"

Sycamore laughed. "How should I know?"

A laugh spread down the table. Peeta flushed in embarrassment. He heard the "no direct kills" jab whispered along the row of chairs. Finnick gave him a cautionary nod not to speak again.

"I think that was very thoughtful of you to ask," Katniss spoke up. He could see her ears were still a bit red from Luxor's mockery.

"It was," her mother said in a clipped voice, giving Katniss a sharp glance. "Pashmina, is the new line of textiles debuting soon? I'd like to have something made for the new season."

"Yes, Madame," a beautiful and rigid woman answered from the end of the table. "Our factories have been opened twenty-four hours a day just to be sure it will be ready on schedule."

Peeta frowned and opened his mouth, but a slight kick from Finnick on his shin silenced him. He saw Finnick shake his head.

"Really, sir, this all must seem so trivial to you," Luxor smiled. "I'm sure you have much more important things to worry about than the operations of our little Districts."

"Your little Districts," Snow mimicked, "make my country." He bit gruffly into a bloody piece of meat.

"Indeed, they do. And the finest country there is," Luxor agreed shamelessly. "But do you not find a council to handle these minimal affairs might free you up for greater deeds?"

"A council, you say?" Snow smiled.

"Yes, sir," Luxor rushed on. "I was speaking to Mason," he gestured to a man Katniss had introduced as the emissary to Two, "about forming a group of knowledgeable citizens to assist you. Perhaps to overtake specific duties-"

"To overtake." Snow's voice was alarmingly calm and pleasant. The air in the dining room grew cold. Snow smiled at Luxor. "You and Mason would like to…overtake, would you?"

Katniss was watching Luxor tremble. Peeta saw the smile play at her lips.

"My dear comrades," Snow laughed. "This country is my legacy. I have ruled for many years. And my father before me. And his father after the Dark Days. They did it with their ideas and their courage and their sheer strength of will. And we rebuild this country from disaster. The prices we paid were dear," and Peeta saw Snow's nod towards Finnick and himself when he said this, "but we have become a unified nation under my leadership.

"So," he said and the smile was gone. His volume began to grow. "Any and all notions that you or anyone shall overtake any amount of power that lies with the President will be considered treason."

The room was deathly silent.

"Katniss, would you like some saffron rice?" Snow asked charmingly.

"Yes, please," she smiled. He called an Avox over with a plate of sunny yellow grain.

The conversation began nervously at the end of the table. Finnick complimented Silk's augmentations and she stammered about how the best surgeon in the Capitol had done them for free; he was such a fan of hers.

Peeta tried not to shake too hard.

"Now then, Peeta. Tell us about your family," Esmeralda launched in, holding up a wineglass for an Avox to refill.

"My father is the town baker," Peeta said, fearing for him more at that moment than any other. "My little sister has a talent for healing."

"And your mother?" Esmeralda asked, taking a roll offered to her.

"She passed a long time ago."

Esmeralda tsk-tsked and he looked at the Avox pouring a cup of steaming green liquid for him. The boy looked no older than him. What could he have done to merit such a horrible fate?

"Well," Snow dismissed, "my Katniss does love her sweets. You'll have to make some cookies for her."

"Yes, sir," Peeta said quickly.

"Will you share this time?" Finnick teased her.

She stuck out her tongue at him. "Daddy, we have a pastry chef. Peeta doesn't need to work," Katniss laughed.

"That doesn't mean he ought to not work for your favor, Katniss," her father said, his eyes narrowed on Peeta.

He dropped his roll. "I make excellent apricot turnovers. Do you like apricot?" he recovered, trying to brush away the crumbs he'd spilled.

"Sure," Katniss shrugged. "I love sweets."

"So does my sister," Peeta smiled. "She eats so many she gets a toothache. But she's growing so fast, she's still so skinny. Not like m-" He paused and looked down. He was still achingly thin.

He looked at the roll in his hand. It had sesame seeds on it. He broke it in half to give Leevy her share before he could stop himself. When he saw what he had done the bottom of his stomach dropped.

Finnick spied him staring at the two halves of bread in his hands. "What does your sister think of you living in the Presidential Palace? She must be very impressed," he attempted.

"I haven't spoken to her since I left," Peeta said quietly. "I sent them a letter when…when Katniss invited me to stay."

"Oh." Finnick looked desperate for a way to make the conversation cheerier. "Where did you learn how to swim? I thought that river riding was a bit impressive."

Peeta smiled. "I'm not much of a swimmer. My friend Gale showed me how to climb into the water tower in Twelve when we were younger. I can pretty much only stay afloat."

"Finnick is the best swimmer. He taught me," Katniss said. "Well, he tried to teach me."

"You're doing much better. I haven't had to resuscitate you in months," he laughed.

"What?" Snow dropped his fork.

"Daddy, he's teasing," Katniss said. "I'll never drown when Finnick's near."

"I should hope not," Esmeralda laughed nervously.

"You'll have to teach Peeta," Katniss said.

"I'm around for the weekend," Finnick said to Peeta. "I can show you tomorrow if you have time."

"I've got an archery lesson at eleven," she told him. "You could entertain Peeta while I'm out!"

Peeta shrugged. "Okay," he nodded at Finnick. "But I promise you I'm no good."

Finnick gave him a sad smile and leaned in to lower his voice. "I think we both know you are."

Peeta tried to steady his heartbeat. His legs were shaking as he crossed to her door. She'd told him to come to her room once he'd readied himself for bed and he'd stalled as long as reasonably possible. He had to go now.

He knocked softly.

"Come in."

He pushed the door open.

She wasn't wearing the transparent dress this time. He took in her nightgown with the pattern of pink kittens.

She sat on her bed, her knees are her chest. She was staring at her painted toenails. Her face was washed and her hair was braided. "Ready for bed?" he croaked.

She nodded. "Could you get the lights?"

He flicked the switched and closed the door. He heard the sheets rustle as she lay down before he reached her. His throat was dry.

He climbed into the soft bed behind her. He thought it felt like he was kneeling on a cloud.

She was curled up on her side, facing away from him. He saw the teddy bear crushed in her arms. Pity surged through him as he thought of her mother's words that afternoon when she thought Katniss wouldn't hear.

"Um, Katniss? You know we don't have to do anything."

She rolled over. Her eyes were wide and dark.

He smiled nervously. "If you're tired...or just don't feel like it tonight."

"Really?" she whispered. "You don't mind?"

"Not at all."

She exhaled. "Thanks. Sorry. I'm kind of nervous. I thought…I was ready for a boyfriend….but I'm pretty scared."

He leaned back on her pillows. "You didn't seem scared when you first called me to your apartment."

She blushed at the memory. "I was doing what my friend Cashmere told me to do. I thought you'd like that. Most guys like her."

"Well, honestly," he hesitated. "I've never done 'that' before. You could have done a handstand and I'd have thought it was normal."

"I can't do a handstand very well," she admitted with a shy smile.

He grinned. "I can. Do you want me to teach you?"

"Okay," she smiled.

Sae knocked on the door fifteen minutes later. "Miss? Are you all right? I heard something fall!"

Katniss sat up from where she'd knocked over her white wicker chair. She tried to smooth her hair and gestured wildly for Peeta to stop laughing. "I'm fine, Sae! We dropped some books!"

He thought he heard Sae clucking away at the door, imagining far worse things than an overturned chair and cracked table.

"We should go to sleep," he smiled.

She nodded. "Before we break everything in my room."

He held back the covers for her and she crawled in facing him. She was warm as she wrapped her arms around him and curled against his body.

Before he fell asleep he noticed she'd left the bear behind on the nightstand.