I'm just going to pretend that favourites and followers are the equivalent of reviews but I don't want to leave people who do review hanging. And I forgot to mention this before, but Affodell and Dandelion have always gone hand-in-hand in my mind, I'm not sure why. I was worried a lot of readers would lose the significance of her name if I didn't mention that. :P
At the prime age of seven, Lily has finally put her foot down on archery lessons and braiding her hair.
"You can't tell me that my hair is too thin, and I am strong enough to hold a bow. Mommy, please please please teach me." She drops to her knees dramatically and gives me her best puppy eyes; and I'm sad to say it worked. I brush through her hair before splitting it into two parts. I tell her that we're going to give her two braids for now, that she can have a single braid when she's older. She starts to make a fuss until I threaten to not do her hair at all. Finally Lily settles down and sits patiently in front of me while I start doing the braids.
My mind wanders back to Peeta and I's argument this morning. He wants to have another kid; I insist that I'm still not ready. Even though it has been two and a half years since we lost Affodell I still miss her. I'm just so scared. What if I fall and hurt myself again? Or what if a freak accident like one of Haymitch's geese runs into me? I don't want to go through that heartache again. He reminds me of the joy that raising Lily has been, and I can't help but see his side of the argument.
I look at my handiwork. It's certainly not as neat as mine or Prim's ever was; partly due to Lily's curls but also because I haven't done it in so long. Lily is beyond pleased anyway and jumps up and down. She tells me that she's going to run over to the bakery to show daddy quickly and then she'll come straight back for us to start her archery lessons. I really don't want to teach her because I fear that old memories will come back, but I know I can handle myself.
When Lily gets back to the bakery (after mooching a cookie or two from Peeta no doubt) we go to her bedroom so that I can pick out some clothes I don't mind getting ruined. She admires my jacket as I get dressed.
"Wow, where did you get that?" She asks in awe.
"It was my father's; your grandpa's." It seems like she barely heard me.
"Did he teach you how to shoot?" Lily inquires again.
"Yep, he did." I say, smiling at old memories. I take her hand and we start the long trek to the woods. We exit the wire fence and I make my way to the hollowed-out log. Old habits die hard.
"Why is your bow and arrows there?" She asks.
"A long time ago, hunting animals wasn't allowed. So we had to hide them." I explain to her. She accepts my answer and simply nods her head. I find an old bow from when I was little as well as my father's old one. I take both and only two arrows with me.
"Why so few?"
"We have to practice without the arrows first, and then we can practice with them."
It takes about two hours but I feel confident enough that her form is good. She spent the entire second hour just snapping the line and I kept waiting to hear to right sound so I knew she was doing it correctly. We sit down for a lunch break where Lily takes out some biscuits she got from the bakery.
"My arms are tired." She complains.
"Yep, it's hard work… Do you want to stop?" I ask her.
"No! Absolutely not, I can do this." I try to keep the smile off my face at her determination.
For an hour we practice shooting trees with just the one arrow (no point in having her ruin my stash). Only on the last try does she actually hit the tree, and it was in the branches instead of the trunk. She doesn't get frustrated like I did when she was little, she's patient like her father. Well, patient when learning things. Lily's not patient when she wants someone's attention.
I'm brought back to twenty years ago, when Peeta and I had been living together for a year after the war.
"You're never going to hit anything. You're way too loud." I mock him. Peeta only shrugs in response.
"If you can do it than I certainly can." I am mock-hurt by his mock-insult but we find ourselves smiling anyway.
"Okay, okay. Here we go." I explain to him the formation and I laugh at his bravado position.
"Hey Hawk Eye. Less showy, please." I stand to move behind him, and mirror his actions; repositioning his arms to a better formation. I put my hand over his on the bow.
"Everdeen, are you trying to flirt with me?" Peeta asks suspiciously.
"Stop being so full of yourself, your archery skills suck." I tease him. He suddenly drops the bow completely before tackling me to the floor, taking me by surprise.
"Stop being so coy, you know you want me." I laugh at his suggestive voice until I find myself completely pinned beneath him. He leans down and kisses me long and slow. Only over the last few months did we really start kissing at all. This prolonged one pits a fire in me and I lean up to keep our mouths connected, my hands reaching into his curly blonde locks; securing his face to mine. Eventually we separate to gasp some breath. Peeta leans forward to kiss me again but I interrupt him.
"We need to make some bread later." I tell him breathlessly.
"And why's that?" He counters, leaning down to kiss my neck.
"To toast with." I tell him simply. He leans back up and I see that his eyes have widened dramatically and the biggest smile I've ever seen stretches across his face. It takes my breath away.
"Absolutely." He tells me, before capturing my lips in a searing kiss.
Lily and I start making our way back home, three hours practice is more than enough for a seven year old. She begs me to take her out again tomorrow but I delay our next lesson a few days, knowing how sore her arms are going to be tomorrow.
I feel refreshed today, rejuvenated even. I had been dreading teaching Lily archery but I found that I could keep some of the worse memories away, and instead I was filled with the good ones.
After I said goodnight to Lily I walk into Peeta's and my bedroom. I lay down next to him and we start talking about our day. I tell him about Lily's lesson and the memories and he smiles all the way through. Peeta tells me about the new intern at the bakery and how he seems promising. I lean against Peeta's shoulder and start kissing there, leading a trail up his neck until I reach his smiling lips.
"Let's have a baby." I whisper against them. He sits up suddenly and wraps me up in his arms holding me close.
"Stay with me." I say into his chest.
"Always." He replies, before his lips cover my own.
Can you say fluff? I sure can! Wow, I never thought I'd be able to write something so randomly happy (even if it's just a flashback). What did you think? Leave a review please! Since school is starting in a week or so updates will be once or twice a week from now one. One) because I'll be busy. Two) I'm suffering from writer's block. The next chapter is half done and I'm not sure where to go from here. :P
Have a good evening!