Chapter 20
Thankfully, Peeta and I both slept peacefully through the rest of the night after the initial nightmare he'd woken up from when I came to bed after spending some time sitting up talking with my mom. I was sure we'd need the rest to endure the interviews that evening. After the emotionally taxing day we'd spent with the memorial unveiling the day before, I was looking forward to having most of the day to ourselves since the interviews were being taped live in the evening. Especially since I had arranged for a little bit of a surprise daytrip for Peeta and I to take together.
I only told him about it as we were coming down to breakfast and he was in the midst of trying to weasel information out of me while we ate. He was still doing so when my mother and Johanna came down to breakfast.
"Come on Katniss! It's not fair for you to dangle it out there in front of me like that! That's called teasing!" Peeta insisted between bites of his French toast just as Mom and Johanna were coming around the corner into the dining room.
They both raised their eyebrows at us and Johanna grinned. "Jeez, don't you two ever take a break? I'm surprised you've left that room long enough to attend the events so far this week…" she said with a pleased smile that told me she was both happy to get another jab in on the sexual humor front and overjoyed that it was taking place in the presence of my mother.
"Take it easy will ya?" Peeta said rolling his eyes as my mom poured herself a cup of coffee and Johanna piled pancakes and bacon onto her own plate. "Katniss has some excursion planned for us today and she won't tell me what it is." He said smiling at me playfully.
"Oh! A surprise?" My mom asked grabbing a bagel and sitting down at the table across from us. "Don't make her tell you, Peeta…" She said laughing softly. "…surprises are fun!" she said cutting a sly look my way which I returned.
Peeta looked between the two of us suspiciously and then his eyes widened with understanding. "Hey! You know what it is, don't you Mrs. Everdeen?!" Peeta asked with a good natured smile. I chuckled around a spoonful of cereal and Johanna even looked to be enjoying the joke.
"Of course I do." Mom smiled back and held Peeta's gaze as he stuffed another forful of toast into his mouth. "There are very few things a girl can manage to keep from her mother you know, Peeta." By the way his fork froze an inch from his mouth and his cheeks reddened, I was sure Peeta had gotten the main idea behind the statement. It couldn't have been more clear if she had just out and said 'I know you're having sex with my daughter and don't you ever do anything to hurt her'.
Looking around the table I could see that not only Peeta had gotten the message, but by the smirk on her face, so had Johanna. I had sense enough to look slightly embarrassed as Peeta mumbled a quiet 'yes ma'am.' and went back to his meal.
Peeta continued to make guesses about what we were going to be doing, ranging from the mundane to completely outlandish for the rest of the morning. We took a walk with Johanna, Annie, baby Zale and my mother after breakfast. Peeta ended up pulling the sled with the baby in it and we all laughed as each time Peeta stopped to rest, the baby began crying which kept Peeta walking for virtually the whole time we were outside.
"I wonder if I'll be able to make it through whatever you've got planned after pulling Zale around all morning in that damn sled." Peeta joked when we were back in our room splitting a pot of soup and a roll of bread for lunch. We were perched on opposite ends of the window seat looking out at the city, the comforter from the bed spread over us from belly to toes and our feet resting beside one another in the middle of the window seat.
I laughed softly and nodded. "He sure is cute though. It kinda makes up for the fact that he can take care of absolutely none of his own needs."
Like I've said, it's never been for a lack of thinking babies were cute or cuddly or anything like that, it was more the constant care and concern for their well being that turned me off to parenting in those days. Afterall, I'd already done plenty of the taking care of people thing in my young life. I needed a break from that for a few or…15 years.
"Give him a break Kat, he's only 3 months old." Peeta said with a grin and nudged my foot under the blanket. I grinned and nudged his foot back. We grinned at each other again and it quickly turned into a full blown game of footsie which then escalated to a merciless tickle fight in the window. When I finally gave in and told Peeta that I gave up, he glanced toward the bed and back to me with crystal clear carnal intent.
"No way!" I warned and hopped off of his lap on the windowseat and moved to lie down on my side of the bed. I bunched my pillow up under my chin and shot him another warning look. "We have to leave in an hour, come lie down and nap for a little." I said and Peeta pouted slightly as he climbed from the window and moved over to his side of the bed.
He flopped down on his belly beside me and continued to frown as he mashed his own pillow into submission beneath his head. "Oh don't be such a baby." I laughed and turned onto my side to face him.
I always had to be very sensitive when handling Peeta's feelings as they pertained to our relationship for fear I might set off an episode. I reached over to stroke his cheek lightly and ran my fingers through his shaggy bangs.
"We'll have plenty of time to unwind that way when we get home from the interviews tonight Peet. Maybe we can even spend the night in the solarium again…" I whispered and wagged my eyebrows at him as I ran a finger across his jaw line.
"Light a fire…climb in the hot tub…" I said sliding my hand down to rest on his back where I began to scratch my nails lightly over his t-shirt there.
"Not helping me get rid of sexual thoughts Katniss!" He grunted and adjusted his hips against the mattress with a soft moan.
Even after nearly a year together I still had a difficult time remembering that, while my libido took some time to warm up, (much like a tea kettle on the stove set on low heat) Peeta's nineteen-year-old libido could be compared to, well…a bottle rocket.
"Oh, shit! Sorry…my fault!" I said with a cringe and moved my hand back from his body quickly.
"Yes, yes it was your fault." Peeta chuckled and lifted his head to lean in toward me. I gave him another warning look and he smiled. "Just a kiss, promise." He whispered and I nodded slowly as he leaned in farther and took my lips in a soft, chaste kiss.
"Love you." I murmured as our lips came apart briefly. Peeta leaned in again and sighed as he deepened the kiss with just enough promise for later that night that I brought my hand back up to scratch his back lightly.
"Love you too." Peeta sighed against my lips and I couldn't help my body's reaction to how he said it in that needy way. I slid my hand across his back to grip his opposite shoulder and Peeta scooted over closer to me as our kisses became more passionate.
"Peeta…" I whispered in that warning tone again and tried to pull back but he threw out an arm and looped it around my hips, tugging me forward so that we were front to front.
"No sex…promise…" Peeta grunted and started rubbing his hips against mine lightly. I pulled back a little and gave him a look that plainly said 'are you kidding me?' and Peeta turned his head into his pillow and growled. "Yeah…I…heard how stupid that sounded." He mumbled and reluctantly pulled away from me and turned back over to his stomach with a hiss.
I scooted back over to my side of the bed and wrapped my arms around my pillow again. "Sleep for a little." I whispered. "I'll wake you up when it's time to leave." I said with a soft smile and Peeta nodded and turned over to his opposite side so that he was looking out the bedroom windows and the French doors to the patio.
When I woke him up a little later, Peeta rubbed his eyes as he sat up on the bed and looked around. "Time to go?" he asked with a still sleepy but excited edge to his voice. I chuckled and reached out to try and fix his mussed hair. I loved seeing Peeta like this, acting his age. I hoped that the surprise awaiting him on the other side of the city would have me seeing that face a lot that day.
"Mmhmm." I said climbing from the bed and stretching in the early afternoon light. Peeta slid off of the bed on my side and wrapped his arms around me while I had my arms up stretching and I brought them down around his neck.
"Gonna tell me what it is yet?" he asked biting his bottom lip and leaning in to nibble on my ear.
"No." I said pushing away quickly. "your sexual prowess will not keep me from my enjoyment of your surprised face." I teased and Peeta laughed and then suddenly grew serious.
I had seen that face before on several occasions. He was excited and nervous but he also looked gravely worried only a few seconds later. "What's wrong?" I asked with my arms still looped around his neck.
"I…I hate to have to ask this, but it's not…it's not a surprise that might make me…" he raised a hand to beside his head and twirled one finger around and around near his temple miming 'crazy' like he sometimes did when he didn't want to outright mention his episodes.
I thought for a moment, giving his concerns the consideration they deserved and then shook my head. "Shouldn't." I said with a shrug. "It has to do with something you love so it will be as stress-free an experience as I can possibly provide. Sound good?" I asked and Peeta grinned so fully and unrestrained that I couldn't help smiling too.
"Sounds good." He said biting his bottom lip again before we hurried to pass each other as we rushed around the room pulling on shoes and jackets before heading hand-in-hand out of the room.
We talked quietly as we headed down the hall together to the stairs and when we reached the bottom of the landing at the foyer, Avitus was waiting there with a smile.
"Good afternoon Peeta, Katniss." He said nodding to each of us and held out a hand to Peeta with a single key dangling from a chain. We said good afternoon and Peeta looked between the swaying key and my face a few times.
"Your car is out front." Avitus explained and Peeta smiled when he saw the grin on my face.
"We're driving ourselves?" he asked taking the key gingerly from Avitus' hand and looking towards the door. "In what?"
I smiled at Avitus coyly and he raised his eyebrows and I saw the first hint of that carefree, excited smile on Peeta's face.
A minute later Peeta and I were standing outside on the street gaping at a very extravagant (and fast) looking car parked in front of the house. "I get to…to drive this?" Peeta asked still staring open mouthed at the car. "Is this my surprise?" he asked brightly and I rolled my eyes. Boys and their interest in flashy vehicles is something I've never really understood.
"No dummy," I laughed and pushed him towards the driver's side. "Well, it's part of the surprise if you count that it's taking us to the place where the surprise is." I grinned and climbed in on the passenger side. Peeta's smile never faltered the entire ride. It even seemed to grow wider with each turn the guidance system told him to take.
"You have reached your destination." The automated voice announced brightly and this time, Peeta and my enthusiasm matched that of the voice on the guidance system.
"Come on!" I said biting my bottom lip as I hopped out of the car and ran around to Peeta's side. He opened the door and climbed out as quickly as his prosthetic would allow and looked up at the massive marble building in front of us. I watched Peeta looking it over, already impressed with the sheer size of the building before him. I saw that look increase times a thousand when he read the stone sign affixed to the front of the building.
PanemNationalMuseum of Art
"Katniss…this is…" He started and dropped his head into his hands as I saw the smile fall from his face. I felt my heart shoot into my throat, immediately thinking that I'd set off an episode.
"Peeta?" I asked weakly and reached out with a shaky hand to touch one of his hands that was covering his face. "Peeta…are you…" he cut me off shaking his head as he moved his hands away and I could see that he had tears racing down his cheeks. "Oh! Peeta…I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…I didn't…I didn't…I thought you would like this and…" He cut me off again, but this time by grabbing my face and kissing me breathless.
My hands went immediately to his wrists and gripped them because I wasn't sure what exactly was going on until I felt his tongue slide between my lips seeking mine.
"Peeta…" I gasped and he slid his hands that were holding my face down to my shoulders and around my back to pull me in closer.
I forgot for a moment that we were standing on the steps of the national art museum. To be honest, I think I forgot for a moment that I was standing on solid ground at all. When Peeta pulled back after a glorious eternity, I looked up into his eyes that were still teary and touched his cheek lightly.
"You okay?" I whispered and Peeta turned his head to look at the sign in front of us again as if he couldn't believe that it really said what it said. I used my hand on his cheek to turn his face back to mine and searched his eyes for an answer.
"I've…you…" he stuttered and took a deep breath. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, Katniss." He said looking at the sign again which made me laugh. "We can go in?" He asked excitedly and I laughed softly and took his hand.
I pulled him along with me as we climbed the stairs to the entrance and then leaned back against the doors with a grin. "Not only can we go in," I said taking both of his hands and swinging them between us playfully. "We have the whole museum to ourselves for 3 hours." I whispered and Peeta's breath quickened and he looked up at the museum again.
"Happy?" I teased and Peeta gave me a devilish smile and leaned in to kiss my lips softly once more.
"Happier than I can adequately put into words…" He murmured against my lips. "Happier than I can properly show you right now in public…" he teased and I felt a shiver down my spine.
"Well, there's always tonight." I teased back and pecked him on the lips once more before wagging my eyebrows at him. "Come on! Let's get in there and start looking at some paintings!" I said turning and grabbing onto the large, ornate handle of the door and pulling it open.
As soon as we stepped inside, a chipper young woman appeared in front of us. She was dressed very similar to how we had seen most people dressed in the Capitol prior to the war and we were both slightly startled by seeing her at first. We later learned that those in the art community were the only citizens given permission to continue dressing this way after the war.
"Good afternoon Katniss, Peeta. My name is Chara." She smiled politely and nodded her head at each of us as she said our names. It was still really bizarre to have complete strangers address us as if they'd known us for years but we both just smiled politely back. I glanced over at Peeta and couldn't help smiling at the way he was already trying to look past our greeter and around corners to see the art.
"Good afternoon, thank you for setting this up for us." I said shaking her hand and then playfully nudging Peeta to do the same when I noticed he wasn't paying attention to either one of us, just the art on the walls around him.
"Oh, I'm sorry…nice to meet you." He said with an embarrassed laugh but quickly returned his attention to the walls.
"As you know, you've got the museum to yourselves for the afternoon and are welcomed to go anywhere you like and stay in each area as long as you like. We only ask that you don't touch any of the paintings or sculptures." She said with an easy smile. "We know how much you enjoy art Peeta, I hope you both enjoy your day here." Chara pointed to a small intercom box on the wall. "There are intercom units in each area of the museum so just press the button and ask for me if you need anything." She said and smiled widely when she noticed Peeta hadn't heard a word of that. I rolled my eyes in his direction and offered Chara an apologetic smile.
"Thank you, we will." I said with a soft laugh and reached out for Peeta's hand. When my fingers grasped his, it drew him temporarily out of the spell he'd been under since we stepped out of the car and Peeta turned to look at me as Chara walked off down a long hall to our left.
"Well?" I said with a shrug and the kind of smile that had been rare to see on either of us since we arrived in the Capitol. The dazzling smile Peeta responded with made him look like he was about 5 years old. "Should we start looking at some art?" I asked and before I could finish the sentence, Peeta was dragging me down the hall to our right, both of us laughing.
Not a moment of the afternoon was wasted as we made our way through room after room after room of paintings. Some as small as a dinner plate, others that would have covered an entire wall in our bedroom at home. It would have been boring for me (as I have no real interest in art aside from thinking that certain paintings are pretty and would look nice on the walls of my home), except that I was enthralled watching Peeta's eyes carefully inspect each inch of the paintings that 'spoke to him'.
He would stand for several minutes looking at the direction of brush strokes, the blending of colors and it was if I could almost see the wheels in his head turning as he thought about how to use his supplies at home to do similar work. There were never classes in school where something as frivolous as art would be discussed. I realized the farther we traveled through the museum, that this was the first time Peeta had seen the work of master artists up close. It was the first time he'd ever been in a museum.
Okay, so saying that we hadn't wasted a moment might have been a lie, but I think you'd be hard pressed to get either Peet or I to say that making out in the corner of the bronze sculpture room for 10 minutes was a waste.
When we entered the corridor containing all of the nude paintings, we shared a shy smile and I quietly teased Peeta, asking him if he was looking for ideas for the next time I let him paint me that way. He seemed genuinely surprised (and by the way his ears reddened, genuinely embarrassed) by what I said and we probably would have gone another 10 minutes in a corner together if Chara hadn't buzzed us on the intercom to see how we were enjoying ourselves.
"It's…they're….this is the most wonderful place I've ever been." Peeta responded but was looking at me. He mouthed a 'thank you' and I smiled softly and mouthed back 'you're welcome'.
We sat in a room with paintings of landscapes and storms for almost 45 minutes which I think had mostly to do with the fact that in one of the paintings was a rainbow. Rainbows were one of the few things Peeta had never been able to observe long enough to paint properly. He stood in front of the painting of the rainbow for at least 20 of those 45 minutes analyzing every inch of it.
We were in a room with various still life paintings of fruits and flowers when I realized our time was about up and we needed to get back to the house to get ready for the interviews. I hated to interrupt him when it was clear he could have spent another 3 hours in that museum…and then set up a tent, stayed the night and walked through it all over again the next day.
"Peeta…we have to get going pretty soon." I said gently as I walked up to him and took his hand. "Why don't we come back tomorrow? We have a free day all to ourselves remember?" I suggested and Peeta smiled. "We wouldn't be alone but we can bring security so that no one bothers us." I offered and Peeta nodded enthusiastically.
"You'd want to come back here?" He asked raising his eyebrows. "I mean…I know art isn't really your thing…"
I chuckled and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek lightly. "But it's your thing and I'm kinda stuck with you so, yeah…I'd like to bring you back here tomorrow." I smiled and held his hand as we started for the exit.
"Maybe when we get home I could try hunting with you." Peeta offered nudging me playfully with his elbow. I chuckled and stopped at the exit and turned to face him.
"Mmmm…yeah, I guess we could…do that…if you really wanted to that is." I said trying to be light and Peeta laughed and pulled me into his arms.
"Wow, that was the least sincere invitation I've ever heard. Good job!" he said kissing my cheek and then my lips gently and I buried my head in his chest laughing.
Peeta had sounded at best, like an elephant and at worst, like a herd of elephants when we'd teamed up in our first Hunger Games and had been making our way through the forest together. I hadn't ever told him directly that he had no business hunting under any circumstances but I assumed from what he was saying in the museum that he'd gotten the drift of why I never invited him into the woods with me unless it was to go to the lake and swim or to show him something I thought he might like to paint.
"Sorry," I said making a face as I pulled back from his chest. "You're just not real…quiet when we're in the woods together and you have to be virtually undetectable when hunting." I explained and Peeta nodded.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Basically you're saying if our roles were more traditionally reversed, we'd probably starve." He teased and I pushed open the door which we headed out hand in hand.
"And we'd have absolutely horrid looking paintings around our home that looked like a small child made them if I tried to do what you do, so we're even okay?" I smirked and Peeta looked back at the museum doors once more as we reached the steps down to the car.
"Sure." He said and looked down at me seriously. "Seriously though Katniss…I really, really appreciate you setting this up for me today." He said and leaned forward to rest his chin on top of my head and hug me close again. "I love you so much. Thank you." He whispered and I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed back.
"I love you too, Peet. You're welcome." I whispered back and lifted my head to kiss him gently. Peeta deepened it, sliding his hands up the back of my coat to massage my shoulders and I looped my arms around his waist, massaging the small of his back with both hands.
I pulled back when I heard some quiet snickering to my left and turned to see two young teenaged girls watching us from where they sat on the steps of the museum. Peeta cleared his throat and immediately dropped his hands from where they were up the back of my Jacket to rest them on my hips. I brought my hands around from his back and settled them on the lapels of his jacket and smoothed them out with a sigh.
"To be continued." I whispered with a wink and then took his hand as we headed down the steps to our car.
On the way back to the house Peeta kept one hand on the wheel and the other rested over top of one of mine on my knee. As much as I didn't want to admit it, that trip to the Capitol for the one year anniversary of the rebellion and the end of the Hunger Games did, in fact, bring Peeta and I closer together as a couple. We learned things about each other on the long drive to the city from District 12 and even in bed we had been more attuned to each other's needs since we'd been there.
Peeta must have noticed how quiet I was and he squeezed my hand gently to get my attention. "You doing okay? Nervous about the interviews?" He asked and I shook my head.
"Nah, just thinking." I said cutting a sly glance at him and Peeta smiled and glanced over at me at a stop light.
"Bout what?" he asked and rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand he was still holding soothingly. I turned in my seat so that I was facing him a little better before I answered.
"I dunno…I guess just about…everything. About coming here and the things we've done so far this week. I think maybe…you were right about coming here." I admitted and Peeta grinned.
"Wow! Shit!" He said with a gasp and laughed softly. "Can I get a tape recording of that? Did Katniss Everdeen just tell me I was right about something?" he teased and I rolled my eyes and dug my short finger nails into the back of his hand lightly in warning.
"Hey! I was trying to be serious you jerk!" I laughed and Peeta nodded as he turned his attention back to the road and started driving again.
"I know, I know you were Katniss I was just teasing. I'm glad you feel that way." He said still smiling. "To be honest, I didn't know if it would be a good idea myself when I first suggested it. But I'm very, very glad that it turned out to be one." He said squeezing my hand again.
"Me too." I said squeezing his hand back.
We pulled up outside of the house and were met by my mom, Annie and the baby who appeared to have been walking from the shops down the street.
"Hey! So how was it? Did he love the museum?!" Annie asked excitedly and Peeta snorted.
"Did everyone but me know where we were going?" he laughed and Annie shook her head as Peeta took Zale from her and we headed up the walkway to the front door.
"Oh, no, Mrs. Everdeen only told me after you'd left for the afternoon. I think it's so sweet that you'd do that Katniss." She said with that dreamy smile normal girls get when talking about lovey-dovey things.
My mom hooked an arm through one of mine as Peeta and Annie walked ahead of us with Peeta telling Annie about all the wonderful paintings he saw. "Everything go okay?" Mom asked quietly and I smiled.
"He loved it." I whispered back with a grin. "Actually, he cried a little bit when he first realized where we were." I said quietly and looked lovingly at Peeta as he lifted the baby over his head and blew a raspberry on his cheek.
"Good, I'm glad you had a nice time together. Was Peeta alright when you went to bed last night? His voice sounded a little tense…" She asked with that 'concerned doctor' look she always got in her eye when discussing a patient's condition.
I tried to hide the flush in my cheeks at her mention of the night before and when I couldn't, I just hoped I could pass them off as being rosy from the chill of the late winter afternoon. "Yeah, he just had a nightmare. That happens sometimes when I'm not with him." I said quietly and Mom nodded. "Everything was fine once he saw me and knew I was alright." I mumbled and Mom raised her eyebrows as Peeta opened the door for the three of us with his hand not holding the baby.
"So I heard…" She teased with a grin and headed for the dining room without a backwards glance after hanging up her coat. I groaned and hung up my own coat before taking the baby from Peeta so he could hang his up too. Annie was placing her scarf over a hook and chuckled at the look on my face.
We found Effie, Haymitch and Johanna already sitting in the dining room and most of the meal was spent listening to Peeta talk about all of the different paintings we had seen at the museum.
More than once I caught Haymitch and Effie casting approving looks my way and I smiled back to let them know I really was happy that they were pleased with what I had done for Peeta. Everyone was so caught up in Peeta's excitement about the museum that we forgot to be nervous about the interviews coming up in a few short hours.
"And how'd you like tooling around town in that sweet ride, Peeta?" Johanna asked during dessert. "I saw you guys leaving from my window, that was one fiiiiiine looking vehicle." She grinned and Peeta nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, it was great. Really smooth driving. I was more excited about the art though, cars were more my brothers' thing." He said with a sad smile and glanced around the table apologetically when he realized he had dampened the good mood of the table.
"Sorry." He mumbled and I reached over for his hand on his knee. My mother, who was on Peeta's other side, reached over as well and placed a hand on his arm that was resting on the table top.
"Don't be sorry Peeta. It's perfectly natural and acceptable for you to talk about your family. It's actually healthier if you do." She said casting a guilty look down at her lap, knowing full well that everyone at the table knew how she'd been when my father died and how 'well' she and I were dealing with the loss of Prim.
Peeta nodded without saying another word and we all quietly made our way off to our rooms to get ready shortly after.
"Sorry if I made anyone upset back there." He said as we walked up the steps to the second floor and headed down the hall to our room. "I didn't mean to…" I stopped and turned to face him outside of our door.
"Peeta, it's okay. My mom was right, you can talk about your family any time you want. Don't think about how it's going to seem to anyone else, they were your family. If you want to talk about them, you should be able to do so without worrying that you're going to make other people upset." I said sternly and Peeta looked at the floor and nondded slowly. I reached out to touch his cheek and he looked up at me, searching my eyes.
"Didn't it make you feel better to talk about them on the ride here?" I asked as I opened the bedroom door behind me and we both slipped inside.
Peeta sighed heavily and kicked off his shoes on his way to the bathroom. "I guess so…I just don't like making everyone feel uncomfortable. We were having a nice time at dinner talking about the museum and then I….I don't know, I just feel bad for killing the mood…" He said as I pulled my own clothes off on the way to the bathroom behind him.
"You didn't." I argued. "I was really proud of you for being able to share a nice memory of something your brothers liked without getting upset or feeling like an episode was coming on." I whispered wrapping my arms around his waist when we were both down to our underwear and were standing outside of the shower stall waiting for the water to heat up.
"Really?" Peeta asked looking down into my eyes and I smiled and reached up to kiss him softly. "Oh, okay." He said when we pulled back and he smiled a little bit.
"Comin' in with me?" he asked wagging his eyebrows and I chuckled and kicked my underwear away before climbing in the shower. Peeta bent down to remove his prosthetic and kicked his own underwear away as well.
"Just to shower, we have a schedule to keep you know Peeta." I clucked in my best Effie voice and Peeta laughed as he climbed in too.
The interviews went surprisingly well, but I should have known that Caesar Flickerman would do all that he could to put us at ease. He and Peeta had a history of good-natured ribbing of each other so of course their part of the interviews was a big hit.
Peeta gave what Ceasar later referred to (over well-deserved post interview drinks at a saloon down the street from the events center which had, of course, been closed to everyone but our little party of victors, family and Effie and Caesar) as a day-in-the-life account of his activities in District 12 since he'd returned.
He told of the bakery re-building and how I'd helped him with the designing and now ran it with him. He told a little about the quiet nights we'd spend on our front porch watching the stars and forgetting to go to bed until we noticed the sun beginning to rise. He told about the baking classes for children he ran on the weekends and how it was his hope that something similar could be done in every district of Panem to ensure every child in the country was able to feed him or herself if needed. Of course, this earned him a lot of 'ooos' and 'awwws' from the crowd that had been invited to sit in the live audience while the rest of the country watched from their televisions at home.
Peeta expertly navigated tougher questions like if we were planning on tryinging for a family by saying that since the miscarriage I'd (falsely) had after the Quarter Quell, we had decided to wait a while and just enjoy getting to know one another again. That part at least, was completely true. When I was asked, I had turned red and mumbled that we were only 19. I heard Annie and Johanna both snicker slightly from where they sat just off stage.
During my interview, I basically rehashed most of what Peeta said but tried to put my own spin on it. One piece of information I did share that the audience really responded well to was the memory book. I told them how it began with a family plant book kept by my mother and father and how Peeta and I had worked on the book during our time between the first and second Games we were reaped into. How it had started out as something to do to keep busy, but after we returned from the Capitol after the war, we started a new book in memory of those lost not only in the war, but in the Games as well. I told them how I had written the descriptions and memories of each individual and Peeta had drawn them.
Caesar Flickerman even went as far as to guess that there might be considerable interest from the citizens of Panem to one day publish this book for widespread sale in the country. I was quick to agree…as long as the proceeds from the book went entirely to a fund in support of the families of anyone who was in the war, no matter the side they fought on.
Caesar remarked that this was a wonderful idea in front of the interview crowd and then again during our private 'party' at the saloon later on that night.
Annie had gone back in the limosine with my mother (who had decided to stay for just one more night much to my satisfaction) and Effie which left Johanna, Peeta, Haymitch and myself to our own devices for the rest of the evening. I could tell by the look my mother gave me when she kissed me good-bye and whispered for me to be safe that she wasn't sure it was the best idea for us all to head over to the saloon she heard Ceasar and Plutarch telling us about, but to her credit she kept her opinion to herself.
We walked down to the saloon around 10:30 that night, all of us pretty tired but no one ready to go home to bed just yet. I had peeled off my high heels and was riding piggy back on Peeta who had his nicest tie untied and hanging loose around the collar of his dress shirt was unbuttoned far enough down his chest that the collar and top of his undershirt was visible and I was wearing his suit coat to shield me from the biting cold. I was very thankful that it at least wasn't windy.
"Here we are!" Ceasar announced brightly and I couldn't help but marvel at his stamina at that time of night, at that age when all the rest of us were well, dragging ass big time.
"Fantastic." Haymitch mumbled as he hurried past all of us and up to the bar area where an attendant was waiting and led us to a large circular booth that we all piled into. Haymitch was halfway through his second drink when all of our firsts arrived and we sat around talking about everything and nothing. We talked about the interviews, the places in them where we had stumbled a little but had managed to cover it with a witty remark or two and we all marveled at Annie's ability to get through hers without breaking down completely as she talked about Finnick and held their infant son in her arms.
"You two really do seem like you're doing well." Caesar said gently twirling the melting ice in his third drink with a stirrer as he looked Peeta and I over. It was only then that I realized (through the haze of my own third drink) the way Peeta and I had cuddled up together on the booth. Actually, it was very similar to the way we were sitting in the little booth of our trailer the first night we stopped to sleep on our way to the Capitol earlier that week. Peeta was turned with his feet stretched out on the seat towards the rest of our group and I was settled between his legs leaning back against his chest. One of Peeta's hands was methodically stroking up and down my thigh while he held a tumbler of vodka and ice in the other. When I smiled softly at Caesar's words and turned my head a little to look up at Peeta, I could see that he was pretty tipsy as well.
"We're…as good as can be expected all things considered, but thanks Caesar." Peeta said raising his glass to the man at the other end of the table. A strange, far away look passed over Caesar's face and left just as quickly before he turned his eyes to Peeta and I and looked at us for a long few moments.
"Trust me, son." He said quietly and tossed back the end of his drink. "You're much, much better than could have been expected after all you've been through." He said and cleared his throat before shooting us all a more subdued version of the patented Caesar Flickerman smile and setting his glass gently down on the table.
"Well, this is where I say good-night." He said slipping out of the booth and only for a moment showing his age as he worked to straighten himself out after sitting cramped in the booth for a few hours.
Variations of 'Good-night Caesar' were passed around the table and he told us all to enjoy our 'day off' tomorrow and he'd see us at the banquet on Saturday which, thankfully, was a luncheon after which we would head out on the first leg of our journey home.
Plutarch stood with Caesar saying he would call for a car and wished us all a good night as well. It was while calling a good-night to Plutarch that I realized Peeta's hand that had been stroking my thigh was suddenly farther up my leg, his palm flat against my lower abdomen and his thumb stroking circles on my hip bone.
I snorted a laugh and sat up a little to look at Peeta and noticed Haymitch snoring softly with his head tossed back on the curve of the circle closest to us. "Come on, we're all pretty loopy and if we don't wake Haymitch up now, you're going to have to help carry him out to the car." I said sitting up and placing my hands briefly on Peeta's thighs as I worked to sit up in my slightly inebriated state.
As I did, my backside brushed against Peeta's crotch and I gasped softly when I felt the erection stirring there. I turned my head quickly to look in his eyes and Peeta grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders.
"Wow, you two are pathetically obvious." Johanna slurred from her place across from us. I moved as quickly as I could in the state I was in and smoothed out my dress as I stood from the booth.
"Shut up Johanna." I mumbled and took Peeta's drink from his hand and set it down on the table before pulling him to his feet.
As expected, we all assisted in corralling Haymitch into the limo that had returned to wait for us outside of the bar. I noticed the driver and our security detail smiling slightly as they watched us stumble our way into the car, laughing at each other.
"How bout a walk around the property to sober up when we get back?" Johanna yawned from where she lay on one of the bench seats. We put Haymitch up front beside the driver and buckled him in to make sure he stayed upright until we got back to the house. I could see the hint of a smirk on her face even though her eyes were closed but I knew what she was trying to do.
"How bout we drop Haymitch in his room and then I'm going to spend the rest of the night with my legs locked around Peeta's waist." I smirked back at Johanna and shook a thumb at Peeta as we pulled up in front of the residence.
Peeta and Johanna lifted their heads with identical snaps of their necks and looked at me shocked. Their eyes slowly slid to each other and then they both burst out laughing. We all filed out of the car and I slipped my shoes back on to for the walk to the door. The security detail carried Haymitch into the house ahead of us and as Johanna climbed out she hooked one of her arms with one of mine and tugged me along in front of Peeta chuckling quietly.
"I gotta say, Brainless…I'm proud." She said pretending to wipe a tear in the corner of her eye. "I've got nothing left to teach you." She sighed whistfully and I chuckled because everything anyone said that night seemed to be pretty funny to me.
"Glad I could fulfill that dream for you Johanna." I grinned as we both kicked our shoes off inside the door and scooped them up to carry by the straps. "We're going back to the museum for a little tomorrow after lunch, if you wanna join us let me know okay?" I said watching her climb the stairs ahead of me while Peeta talked with the security guys about how Haymitch was when they returned to the foyer from dropping him off in his room.
Johanna stopped halfway up the steps and turned to look at me with what was almost a thankful smile. "Oh…sure. That…that would be nice. Thanks." She said and then smiled like I'd never seen before. That night I learned that Johanna Mason has a very pretty smile and I felt privileged to be one of (I'm sure) the few people to be treated to it.
"No problem, I'll call your room in the morning and let you know what time we're going to leave." I told her and the sly Johanna smile I was more accustomed to returned just that quickly.
"Sure, sure…" She grinned and winked at me before she turned and headed up the stairs. "Enjoy your night." She called over her shoulder and I hollered a louder than necessary 'Good night!' after her.
"Hey! Shhh!" Peeta laughed suddenly behind me and wrapped his arms around my torso and covered my mouth with one hand. "You're gonna wake the whole house up!" He said turning me around in his arms and kissing me soundly. "I was kinda planning on us carrying out that particular job together…" he mumbled against my lips and nipped his way down my throat to nuzzle my breasts through the gauzy dress I was wearing.
I gasped and looked around the foyer to make sure the security detail had made themselves scarce for the night and then gripped Peeta's hair to let him know his mouth was right where I wanted it. "Ohhhh….Peeta…" I moaned letting my head drop back so that I was looking up through the foyer skylight at the starry sky. I don't know if it was the alcohol, the hight I was still on from my surprise trip to the museum with Peeta or the feelings for him I had become more aware of that week, but when his mouth wrapped around one of my breasts through the dress and laved it with his tongue warmly, I had an urgent need to get him naked and on top of me as quickly as was humanly possible.
"Now…please…" I moaned, reaching for the waist of his pants and pulling his dress shirt free of his pants as we stumbled up the stairs together. Peeta's breaths were coming in short huffs and I could feel by the sheen of sweat that had already broken out on his body when I ran my hand beneath his undershirt that he was just as ready as I was.
"Absolutely…" He grunted as we slammed into the wall at the end of the hallway together, kissing and groping like we hadn't seen each other in years. Peeta pinned me against the wall with his hips and I moaned when I felt his hardness already grinding into my center through his pants and my dress.
Peeta's hands were at my shoulders, holding me against the wall and he slipped one hand down to drag the front of my dress down, freeing my bare breasts before he brought his mouth down onto my chest. I opened my eyes just long enough to look up and down the length of the hallway twice just to make sure no one was around. I could have guessed that they were all asleep well enough if I'd actually had a clue that it was two in the morning.
I dropped my head forward as he switched back and forth between breasts and I bit down on his shoulder to keep from crying out. "Peeta!" I hissed as he pushed my dress down my arms to my waist leaving me completely bare from the waist up. "Bedroom..." I whispered shakily against his neck and Peeta came out of his haze long enough to look up and down the hall himself before scooping me up in his arms and carrying me the rest of the way to our room.
He set me down in front of the door and I dug a shaky hand in my small purse for the key to our room while Peeta, his arms then wrapped around my torso from behind, ground his erection into my backside and fondled my breasts. "Not helping!" I groaned and slid the key into the door finally after three or four misses because my hands were shaking so badly.
"There!" I cried proudly as the door swung open and we tumbled in and both fell on the floor in a heap. In any other circumstance, we probably would have burst out laughing and teased each other about the mishap. This was not any other circumstance and I realized that quickly when I climbed to my knees and started pushing my dress down my hips the rest of the way and looked over to see Peeta on his knees as well struggling with shaky fingers of his own to unzip his fly.
When I finally managed to get myself completely naked, I was crawling over to the bed when Peeta grabbed my hips from behind and propelled me forward until I was leaning over the end of the bed face down.
"You okay?" He asked hoarsely beside my ear as I felt him lining his hips up to enter me from behind. I nodded eagerly and spready my knees apart, bracing them on the soft carpet of the floor.
"I'm fine, go ahead, please!" I almost sobbed and reached back with both hands to hold onto Peeta's sides. Before the whole word 'please' had completely left my mouth, Peeta drove into me fast and hard, stopping when he was buried to the hilt and we both moaned with satisfaction.
"I love you." I said turning my face to look into Peeta's when I felt his hot breath against my ear. He had his head resting against the back of my neck and I nuzzled his forehead with my nose until he lifted his head a little to kiss me.
"Love you too. Always, Katniss." He grunted as he began to pull out and then pounded back into me when he'd pulled only halfway out. I cried out and dropped my head forward again and dropped my arms from his sides to fold them under my cheek as we really began to move.
I wasn't surprised that it only took a few minutes of thrusting paired with Peeta's constant attention to my breasts with his roaming hands, before we both went over the edge crying out each other's names.
It must have been only a few minutes later but it felt like hours, when we both finally came back to our senses curled up together on the floor in a tangle of limbs. Peeta was stroking the back of his knuckles lightly over one side of my face and peppering kisses over my neck and chest lovingly.
I lifted my head and propped it up on one elbow. I looked down into his face smiling sleepily but adoringly, trying to keep my emotions at bay as I was overcome once again by the depth of my feelings for the boy who was grinning up at me with a similar expression.
"Hey." He mouthed and placed a hand on the small of my back, tugging me forward so that I was lying on his chest. In the wee hours of that morning, lying naked together on the floor of our temporary room in the Capitol, I finally smiled and kissed the patch of hair I'd been so curiously watching grow for several months.
One of Peeta's hands slid up from my back to touch the hair and I felt him chuckle softly.
"Does this officially mean I'm not a kid anymore?" He asked playfully and I shrugged and continued pressing soft kisses to the area.
"Don't know." I whispered and glanced up at his eyes smiling. "But I will tell you that I find it to be pretty sexy." I admitted with a chuckle and kissed my way down his chest and across his abs.
"Really now?" Peeta murmured and grabbed under my arms, dragging me back up his body so that I was lying on top of him. I wiggled my toes against his and Peeta grinned.
"Uh huh, really sexy." I giggled and started to say something else but my eyes caught the time on the clock. "Ughh…Peeta, it's 3:15 in the morning!" I groaned and dropped my head to his shoulder, letting my whole body go limp on top of his.
Peeta laughed softly and settled his hands on my backside after giving each cheek a light crack with his palm which made me screech and jump a little. "Oh alright, we can go to sleep now I guess." He whispered as I climbed off of him and we both stood.
It was then that I remembered we had talked about going back to sleep in the solarium where we would have the most privacy. As it turned out after the exciting day we'd had, it was looking to just be privacy to sleep, but I still didn't want Peeta to think I'd forgotten about it.
I was pulling on a pair of cut off sweats and a tank top when I turned to Peeta who was pulling a pair of flannel sleep pants on. "Did you still want to go over to the solarium for the night? We can take pillows and blankets and make a bed by the fire again but this one would be a little more comfortable." I suggested and Peeta grabbed the comforter and threw our pillows to me without a second thought.
"I'm in!" he grinned and grabbed a couple of bottles of water and 2 towels for us. "Maybe a dip in the tub in the morning?" he asked and I nodded as he leaned in to give me a kiss.
"You got it." I said kissing him back and Peeta sighed happily. That week I noticed not only a change in myself and the dynamic between Peeta and I, but I noticed a change in Peeta that was all his own. He seemed to have come to a place where he was at peace with the horrors he'd faced in that city. It began months before when he had started talking me into giving that visit to the Capitol a chance, had strengthened when I agreed to go with him, and grew even more in just the few days since we had arrived. I hoped that I had at least a little to do with that change and by the look in Peeta's eyes as we crept down the hall together to the solarium, I was certain I had.
We entered the room quietly and I set up our makeshift bed on the floor while Peeta got the fire started and put enough logs on it to last until we woke up in the morning. I checked the water in the hot tub and placed our towels on the little couch beside it before joinging Peeta on the floor. He tucked me in close to his body beneath the warm comforter and we settled our heads on our own pillows but holding each other just as close as those nights on the victory tour, guarding each other from the monsters that crept in the dark.
We fell asleep quickly, smiles on our faces as we seemed to both notice that there might have been 2 or 3 less monsters to guard against than there had been even a week earlier.