Prompt by flirtwithmeudie
Cheese Buns
He sat there rather stupidly, twiddling his thumbs. Katniss would be home any second now, and he still wasn't sure how to go with it. The last time he did something like this, she had pinned him against the wall and yelled for five minutes straight on how he was embarrassing her. Then again, that time he had done it in front of the entire country. Katniss never liked paparazzi, even after the war was won.
Looking next door, he could see Hazelle trying to convince Haymitch to put away his bottle. He tried his best not to laugh at the drunken slob of a mentor he had had to put up with for four years. Today was a good day for him, the sun made him happy, and he felt for certain Katniss was real. Not a mutt, he had to continuously repeat in his head.
The timer quickly dinged, and he practically leapt out of his seat to get the cheese buns out of the oven. They were Katniss' favorite, perfect for the situation and for her. He put them in a basket, waiting for Katniss' return.
Ever since the war had ended, the two of them had been in a rough spot. He guessed it happened to everyone who ever in their situation; he had tried to kill her; she had pretended to be in love with him all for the sake of not dying. He snickered at the thought. No one else had ever been in that situation.
"Peeta, I'm home!" she called, and he could hear the familiar sound of her game bag clunking down on the floor. Buttercup ran to it, pawing at the clasp. The relationship between the cat and Katniss had grown better since her death. They didn't speak of the name anymore, and when Katniss brought it up, it was usually during a bad day.
"Paw at that one more time, and you'll be in the bag next time," Katniss growled, snatching the bag up again. So the relationship was still strained. Peeta rolled his eyes, forgetting for a second what would happen within five minutes. He cautiously walked towards the door, basket in his hand.
"Katniss, I made cheese buns," he called. It was almost comedic how quickly Katniss dropped her game bag to snatch up the warm pastry. The first one was devoured within seconds.
She quickly finished off the rest of the baskets before finally looking at Peeta as if expecting something. Peeta blushed, pulling a final cheese bun from behind his back, praying she would be more careful in eating this one. Katniss gave him a curious look before nibbling at the cheese bun.
He turned away, blushing furiously, hoping she hadn't noticed it just yet. He needed a moment to gather himself. Breathe in, breathe out. Just like Dr. Aurelius always told him. He finally turned back to Katniss, who was wearing a look of shock on her face.
"You love me. Real?" he asked.
Katniss had reached the center of the cheese bun where a diamond-encrusted ring was buried in the dough. Tiny swirls of red had been painted onto the center diamond, so intricately. They were like fire, dancing around the ring much in the way the flames had danced around the dresses Cinna designed.
"Real."
"Will you marry me?" he asked, getting down on one knee, taking the ring from her awkwardly.
"Of course I will," Katniss breathed, taking the ring from Peeta. There was not a doubt in her mind that Cinna designed the ring.
"You're saying yes to me and not the cheese bun, real?" Peeta asked, as Katniss finished the cheese bun.
I couldn't help but end it as a comedy.