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The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Fated to Love

Part Two, Part Thirteen

Peeta stared up at the ceiling, his eyes counting the flecks of sunlight hitting it as he laid in his bed. It had been a long time since he had enough courage to stay in the room that he and Katniss once shared. However, it had been a long day of negotiations, arguments, and board meetings that had left his spirit drained.

He was tired.

30. This weekend, he was turning 30.

Peeta never imagined that it would be anything like this. He was single, childless, and alone—save for his Uncle and Johanna.

There was an alert on his phone and he reached for it on what was formerly Katniss' side of the bed.

'Are you an artist?'

He typed back his message to Katniss eagerly: 'I was never an artist…but I knew someone who made me fall in love with art. This person made me see the world differently. Now that the person is no longer in my life, I find myself searching for pieces that make me feel the way I felt for that person.'

Her response was immediate. 'Ah…so you've been in love.'

He could almost see her smiling as she responded.

'At my age…yes. I have loved many times over. However, I've been in love only once. And you, my dear? Have you ever been in love?'

Peeta held his breath, expecting her to gush about Gale and their whirlwind Parisian romance. However, he knew that Katniss needed someone to confide in, someone to listen to her with a non-judgmental ear so he fought the urge to heave at the thought of the dark-haired man who seemed to be a constant in her life.

After all, in these conversations, he wasn't Peeta Mellark, her ex-husband. He was Mamie—named after Rue's great-grandmother—who lived outside of the city and not close enough to return her painting at the moment.

'I was in love once—married even…then something happened that we couldn't recover from. However, when we were good…we were really good. Sometimes, I'm afraid I'll never feel that way again.'

Peeta felt himself pause. Could there still be hope in any way for them? Could they find their way back to each other?

Probably not. Especially if he continued playing this game with her.

However, Katniss seemed like she needed someone to talk to.

And, Peeta wanted to listen.

'You will,' he typed. 'I promise you will.'

"So how do I look?"

Delly bounded out of her dressing room and up to the three-way mirror of the chic bridal shop.

From her seat on the gaudy pink couch, Katniss stood and approached her friend.

The bride-to-be wore an elegant lace gown that just barely swept the floor. Delly had designed the cream-colored dress herself, with its three-quarter sleeves and lace neckline that traveled across her delicate clavicle. Her friend would be wearing her hair down using a mantilla veil, given to her by Seneca's mother, along her golden hair.

"You look…" Katniss felt her eyes misting and her grin widen as she gazed upon her friend. "…perfect."

Delly beamed at her, twirling her skirt in excitement. "You're my Maid of Honor so of course you're going to be weepy." She looked to Johanna, who was sitting on the couch across from the mirror that Delly was standing next to. "And, what about you?"

"It's pretty," Johanna replied, sipping from the glass of champagne that was offered to her upon their arrival at the bridal shop. "But, more importantly—what are you going to be wearing underneath?"

"Oh you know…the usual. Corset, garter, tights, and nothing else." Delly smirked at them. "I don't like panty lines."

Johanna and Delly had become close working with one another on 'Panem Walks' and so Johanna had been invited to come along with Katniss to the small bridal shop in the mall. She had agreed to be a bridesmaid though Johanna mostly blamed Delly, who had nagged her into agreement.

Prim, the last of the bridesmaids, was unable to go with them because she was running an event at Arena. However, Katniss had been sending her regular updates and had just sent her sister a photo of Delly in the dress.

"Seneca will love it," Katniss told her, watching Delly preen in front of the mirror. "It's that perfect mix of elegance and sass."

"And, I have sass up the ass," Delly retorted, a glint in her round eyes.

"Better than something else up the ass," Johanna remarked with a smirk. She put her glass down and let out a breath. "Okay, that's enough champagne."

"You ever think that you'd want to get married?" Delly suddenly asked Johanna.

Johanna stared at her for a moment, her expression pensive before speaking. "I suppose so. At the same time, I don't know if it's that important to have a ring on my finger. It's more important to me that I've found the person I'm supposed to be with."

Delly nodded before looking to Katniss who was examining a dress on a nearby mannequin and avoiding the conversation.

"And you…would you ever want to get married again?"

Johanna looked to Katniss in interest at Delly's question. Katniss' face burned and she walked slowly to the couch, sitting down, and putting her hands on her lap. It had been a long time since she had thought about relationships, especially the romantic kind.

During the last four years, another relationship had never held much interest to her. Katniss was too lost in herself to bring anyone else into her mess.

Truth be told, she didn't believe anyone could take on her mess—or even relate to it.

Well, there was one person.

Her lips curved up in a soft smile and she looked to Delly then to Johanna.

"No," Katniss concluded. "I think that one time was enough for me."

Johanna reached over to squeeze her hand. "I agree."

There was a beep on Katniss' phone and she read over the message from Mamie, asking how her day was. She quickly messaged back telling her that it was fine so far and that she was currently carrying out her duties as Maid of Honor.

Putting her phone away, she turned to find Johanna staring at her. "What?"

"What's with the smile?" Johanna asked curiously.

"I've been talking to that woman—the one that purchased the Toad painting—and she's become a sort of texting pal. She's a lot older and not able to come to Panem that often," Katniss revealed before shrugging easily. "I feel like she needs a friend."

"That's really nice of you," Johanna said to her. "It's not easy being older and alone." Her cousin looked over to where Delly was talking to the saleswoman before turning back to Katniss. "Speaking of older—Dad is throwing a birthday party for Peeta at the Mellark Compound. Your family is coming…and I hope that maybe you might consider coming, too. I mean, it's a big event. It's his 30th birthday."

"I know." Katniss took a deep breath. "I just don't know if I'm ready to see him again. I mean, I nearly tore Prim's kitchen apart that first time and Peeta doesn't remember even coming to Arena that second time. I can't even imagine what a third meeting would be like."

"Yeah…maybe you won't knock shit over and my cousin won't have made out with a bourbon bottle," Johanna responded with a bitter chuckle. "Katniss, you two just have to talk it out. You deserve to have peace of mind. So does he."

"And, what if we don't get that?" she countered.

"Then at least it's a step forward." Johanna gazed at her pointedly. "Don't act like the past is done when you're actually knee-deep in it. You need to confront your relationship head on."

Katniss stared at her for a moment.

Finally sitting back on the couch, she gave Johanna a small smile. "Shouldn't you take your own advice?"

Johanna had the good grace to blush before letting out a soft laugh. "Shut up."

'Will you tell me about the person you loved?'

Peeta stared down at the question on his phone's screen as he walked into the back garden of the Mellark Compound. He had just arrived home and found the place completely quiet. The Sloans were likely back at their home and Johanna, along with his Uncle, were probably already in their rooms.

Sitting down on the outdoor chair where Katniss often did when she had her art lessons, he contemplated the questions before answering:

'It wasn't exactly love at first sight with this person. However, the more we got to know one another, the more I realized how perfect we were for one another. I am not the easiest person to get along with, but this person made me smile, made me sing, made me believe that we could have hope.'

'Why didn't it work out?'

Peeta sighed into the air. There were just too many reasons.

Finally, he responded, 'Because I wasn't brave enough to fight for this person.' Quickly, Peeta continued, 'Why didn't it work out for you?'

There was a long pause after his question. He looked up, realizing how in the darkness of the gardens, the stars seemed even brighter. He could see why his Aunt, his mother, and even Katniss had enjoyed this particular spot.

'Because we couldn't trust one another and we spent so much time trying to shield each other from the bad things instead of trying to work them out together. I loved this man with all my heart…but giving your heart to someone can be too hard sometimes. I know he tried and so did I—but in the end, we just needed to be away from one another.'

Peeta felt his heart race at her words, feeling that warmth in her response. Katniss had loved him.

He had loved her.

Shit—he still loved her.

But was that enough?

'If you were ever to see this person,' he began. 'What do you think would happen?'

Her response was immediate, 'I don't know…that's what scares me.'

For Madge, today had been the worst day.

One of the moms from her afternoon classes was livid over their daughter not getting the lead in the upcoming recital and let Madge know very loudly. Then during her break, she had met up with Clove who mentioned in a not-so-subtle way that she was invited to Peeta's upcoming party while Madge had not even heard a thing about it.

It wasn't that much of a surprise to her. While Madge did care for Peeta, it was clear that he would never forgive her. She didn't really blame him.

However, the road to redemption seemed to continually get longer.

Rummaging through her bag for her keys, she was surprised to find a box in front of her door.

Leaning down, Madge picked it up, feeling her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She sank down to the floor, feeling the bitter tears begin to prickle her eyes.

Her father had returned his birthday present from her.

She had very little money, being fortunate enough that her parents pay her rent, but she wanted to give her father something that was thoughtful yet useful. The knitted blanket was the color of his eyes—cerulean like her own—and had taken a month to make. Madge had one of the other teachers at the dance studio teach her how to knit, purl, and figure out a pattern.

All for nothing.

"Are you okay?"

Looking up, Madge found Gale standing in front of her with that annoyingly worrisome expression on his face. He had an unfortunate way of finding her at her worst.

She snorted wetly. "Do I look okay?"

Sighing, Gale shook his head before opening his door. "Get in."

"Why?" she asked. He took her bag and began searching through it, much to her dismay. "A little nosy?"

"Your keys aren't even in here," he told her flatly.

Madge groaned. "Oh crap, I probably left them in the studio."

"Well, come in. You can call the landlord." Gale widened his door's opening and gestured her in. "I'm assuming that you have a spare key in your apartment." She nodded. "Have some…" He stared at her for a moment. "…hot chocolate. You're too amped for coffee."

Reluctantly, Madge pushed herself up and crossed the hallway into his apartment.

His place was neat with comfortable furniture, worn wooden pieces, and a large flat screen television on a TV stand.

"Have a seat." Gale gestured to the couch where he placed her bag. "So what happened?"

She sat down, still gripping the returned present. "Do you really want to know?"

"I don't make hot chocolate for everyone," he replied. "Also, I already texted the landlord to let you in. He'll knock on my door."

"Thanks." Madge sat back against his couch. It was unbelievably comfortable. "My dad returned the birthday present I sent him." She held out the box to him. "Interested in a blue blanket?"

Gale sat down beside her, placing her mug on the coffee table adjacent to the couch. He took the box and she nodded in permission for him to open it. Madge watched him easily rip open the box before pulling out the heavy-knit blanket.

He examined it carefully as she sipped from her mug, allowing the sweet liquid to warm her up.

Finally Gale looked to her, a grin on his face. "This is great!" He folded it back neatly. "You're talented."

"Well, it's yours," she declared. "Enjoy."

"Thanks neighbor," Gale replied happily. "I know it's none of my business, but what is going on with your parents?"

"I did something bad." Madge stood up abruptly, walking to the window of his living room. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and willing herself from wanting to scream. "My dad lost his job because of what I did and then had a heart attack. He hasn't been the same since. My mother can't stand me because of all this."

It went quiet and she half-expected Gale to be holding his door open so she could get the hell out. However, Madge was surprised to find him standing next to her, understanding in his gaze.

"Everyone makes mistakes and has regrets," he told her quietly. "My best friend and business partner spent a long time hurting over something that was out of her control."

"And, what did she do?" Madge asked in a tight voice.

"She's still working on herself," he replied. "She painted as much of her pain away as she could. You can do the same. You can dance for yourself again…dance until you feel nothing but the joy you once felt doing it."

Madge let out a slow breath. "And, how do you know I feel joy in dancing?"

Gale gave her a kind smile. "Because there was a sweet little light in your eyes when you told me about your classes."

She looked into his eyes, swallowing the rising nervousness.

"Gale, there's nothing remotely sweet about me."

Tentatively he reached to brush his fingers along her chin. "I don't believe that."

There was a knock at the door and Madge tore herself away. "That's the landlord."

As she headed towards the front of the apartment, her peripherals caught something at his entryway table.

Madge picked up the photo before looking to Gale. "Is this your business partner?"

"Yes, that's her—Katniss Everdeen."

She placed the photo back down.

"I told you that there is nothing sweet about me," she told him bitterly.

Gale looked at her, confusion in his grey eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Ask Katniss. She'll tell you."

'Why is this painting so important to you?'

Katniss looked at the message on her phone before putting down the book she was reading. She wasn't sure if she should be sharing the information with Mamie, but perhaps it would help the older woman understand why she wanted the 'Toad' painting back so badly.

Taking a deep breath, Katniss began to type:

'When I was married, we were expecting a baby boy…and we lost him. When we lost our son, my husband and I fell apart. I blamed him and he accepted it. Then, there was nothing left but pain, regret, and eventually…heartbreak. That painting is how I imagine our son may have looked—it's how I see him in my dreams.'

She wiped her eyes, reaching for the bottle of pills to help her sleep when the alert came.

'I lost someone, too.'

Katniss put the bottle down as she read over the rest of the message:

'There was a boy I once knew…and he died. Sometimes I still talk to him as if he's there. He was there the day I saw your painting. I knew I had to have it. I stared at it for so long because standing across from that painting made me feel less alone—something I hadn't felt in years.'

She wiped her eyes, feeling her lips tremble at the message.

Her fingers were tearstained as she texted the woman back: 'I'm sorry for your loss.'

The response was immediate: 'I'm sorry for your loss. You never deserved that kind of pain.'

Katniss typed her response quickly before turning off the lamp on her side table.

There would be no sleeping pills tonight.

On the other side of town, Peeta read Katniss' response before throwing the bottle of bourbon he held into the garbage in his kitchen.

Entering his bedroom, he pulled back the comforter to slip under the covers and before reaching to turn off the lamp on his side table, Peeta read her message once more: 'Neither did you.'

He turned off the light, laying back as midnight arrived and he readily greeted his 30th birthday.

"It looks like you're a success," Gale said as he and Katniss walked through the gallery.

Several of her paintings had sold stickers next to them and Portia had mentioned upon their arrival that there were a few pieces that were in the middle of a bidding war.

They walked past Thresh, who greeted her shyly and she gave him a bright smile. The young man still felt bad for selling the 'Toad' painting but she found herself hurting less, especially since she had gotten a friend out of it.

"The question is—what's next?" Katniss responded.

Her eyes went to the portrait of the old church on Seam Island, the very one where she and Gale had first met.

However, it brought back another memory and she stopped before her friend. "Can I tell you something?"

Gale looked to her and nodded. "Of course."

"It's Peeta's birthday," she said. "Johanna invited me to the Mellark Compound for his party. My whole family will be there and so will his."

"You thinking about going?" he asked and Katniss shrugged. "I could see why you would want to go. It's his birthday and you've only been thinking about him since you landed in Paris—four years ago."

"It would be weird, wouldn't it?" She shook her head in indecision. "I mean…just popping in like, 'Hey, your ex-wife is back!'"

Gale chuckled at her. "You're still so into him, Katniss." He put an arm around her. "If you decide to go, then pick something hot to wear. If not, then we can go get pizza. Someone contacted me about you creating some designs for a handbag company and we can talk about that over dinner."

"Thanks for the plethora of choices." She turned to Gale, her eyes at the brink of tears. "I miss him, Gale. Being back in Panem just reminds me about how I felt whenever I was around him."

"And, how did you feel?"

"Like I was somebody loved," she replied, her voice thick. "Somebody loved for just being me."

Gale looked at her for a long moment, his own chest tightening at her words, before pulling her into his embrace. He had watched her suffer for such a long time.

Suddenly, Madge's words of asking Katniss about her rushed into his head.

How could these two women be connected?

Katniss had never mentioned Madge in all the time that they had known one another. The truth was that he was almost afraid to find out about their connection.

By the look on Madge's pretty face, it wasn't a good one.

Gale decided that, for the moment, he needed to focus on his friend—the one who stood in front of him with that lost look on her face. In the end, all Katniss needed was to speak to Peeta. He had a feeling that her ex-husband had not forgotten her—not by a longshot.

Katniss never understood the effect she had on people.

"You are loved," Gale assured her. "More than you realize."

She pulled away after a moment, the look in her grey eyes lighter. "So…pizza?"

He nodded back, pushing thoughts of Madge's pained expression out of his head.

"Sure." Gale put his arm around her once again. "And, you can pick as many toppings as you want."

"Of course, I can." Katniss grinned. "I sign your paycheck."

"Happy Birthday Uncle Peeta!" Lacey rushed into his arms and he lifted her easily. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I got a new dress." She held out the skirt of her burgundy dress.

"And, you look very pretty," Peeta responded. "Not to mention, very sophisticated."

Lacey hugged him tighter, her dark eyes overjoyed at his words.

Enobaria walked over, reaching over to keep Lacey from ruining Peeta's tux.

"Even if you're at grown-up party, you'll be sure to go to bed in an hour!" she told her daughter. "It's almost ten and you have ballet class tomorrow."

"Yes, Mommy," Lacey replied solemnly as Peeta placed her back on the floor. Her eyes lit up seeing Jace across the room with Hani and Prim, both looking like sisters in their similar shaded gowns. "Jace! Dance with me!"

With that, the little girl rushed off, leaving her mother and Peeta in the dust.

"Ditched for another boy," Peeta remarked, a smirk on his lips. Enobaria entwined their arms. "That's my lauded life."

"I never ditched you for a boy," his friend argued.

"Well, that's because Brutus already had dibs on you from the moment you walked into our school," he responded as they strolled into the living room where part of the party was going on. His Uncle had also opened their bigger dining room as well as the study on the opposite end of the house. "Your husband already had it all figured out."

Peeta sighed, giving the woman next to him a half-hearted smile.

"This wasn't what you were expecting at 30, was it?" Enobaria asked. He shook his head. "Well, 30 just started for you. There is still time to go after what you want."

Peeta stopped and turned to her curiously. "And, what is that?"

"I don't know…" Enobaria looked to him knowingly. "…maybe it's someone that used to wear a pair of glasses...who paints...and loved submarine sandwiches so much that she'd doodle them in her sketchbook."

Peeta mused over her remark, a smile playing on his lips. "Does a woman like that truly exist?"

"Tonight is just as important for her as it is for you," his friend said, seriousness in her dark eyes. She squeezed his hand. "Hani said that she was just going out for dinner then heading home."

A tuxedoed Brutus suddenly appeared alongside them, pushing a pair of keys into Peeta's hand.

"All gassed up." The man guffawed at his confused expression. "I even got you a bouquet of flowers." Brutus looked around the crowd of people before meeting Peeta's eyes warmly. "You've blown out your candles. Enobaria and I know what you were wishing for. Go get her."

Peeta looked at them in disbelief before pulling them both into an embrace.

"You really are the best friends that a guy could ever have."

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Peeta took a solid breath. Brutus had entered Katniss' address into the navigation system of the BMW and it would take an extra fifteen minutes to get to her place from where he was.

However, there was still something that he needed to do.

It had been almost four years since Peeta had come to this spot across from Victors' Village. He had avoided the area, taking longer routes home just so he didn't have to see where it had all fallen apart.

Tonight, Peeta needed to pay his respects.

He didn't want Toad to think that he had forgotten him.

With the bouquet of flowers in his grasp, Peeta found himself at the intersection where he and Katniss had lost their son—when everything had turned topsy-turvy and his life had changed forever.

Placing the flowers at the intersection's lamp post, he sat down. "Hey Toad. It's Dad. I'm 30 today." He clasped his hands together, staring at his fingers. "You would be turning 4 this year. Every day, I wonder what kind of person you would have become…how you would look…I still have that image of you walking around Mellark Corporation, both of us in matching suits—"

There was a sharp gasp and Peeta looked up just in time to see Katniss placing flowers on the opposing lamp post.

She looked as if she had just slipped out of bed in her jean jacket and sweat pants, her glasses perched on her slim face. He found his lips rising in a fond smile and Katniss stared in disbelief before giving him a slight upturn of her own rose lips.

Looking both ways, Katniss made her way over to him.

He stood up quickly, his throat tight as he greeted her, "Hi."

"Hi," she greeted Peeta in her own quiet, breathy voice.

He gestured for her to have a seat before he settled down, the bouquet of flowers between them.

They went silent; he didn't know how long, both of them not knowing how to begin.

Peeta could feel the air buzzing, his body tense at the feeling of Katniss only inches away from him. He turned slightly to look at her; her hair was slightly shorter and she looked tired, even thinner—but there was still that quiet, dignified beauty about her.

His eyes followed her stare to where the archway of Victors' Village stood.

"Why did it happen to us, Peeta?" Her question rang out into the thick, still air. She looked to him, her grey eyes shattered. "What did we do to deserve all this pain?"

"Oh, Katniss…" He turned to her from where he sat. "You did nothing to deserve everything you went through—"

Katniss shot up from her seat restlessly, her steps angry. "That's not a good enough answer for me!" He rose, watching her pace anxiously along the sidewalk as she reasoned to herself. "I want answers to why we lost Toad!"

She ran her hand through her hair, looking up at the clear night sky—the tracks of her tears causing her skin to gleam against the soft light of the street lamps.

He approached her carefully and their eyes met—her own manic with despair.

Katniss looked at him feebly. "We didn't deserve that…"

The rest of her words fell into a garbled sob and Peeta reached for her, pulling her into his arms, as his hand reached to cradle the back of her head. He could feel her sink against him, years of repressed pain rushing at them head on.

"No." Peeta felt his own eyes burn. "We didn't and I don't know why it happened—but you would have been a damn good mother, Katniss. I always believed that."

"And, you would've been a good father, Peeta…" she cried and a sob tore through him at her words. "We would have been the best…we would've been so good…"

Peeta couldn't speak, the tears crowding his throat. So he held her tighter, afraid that if he let go, she would just disappear before him.

As long as Peeta could feel her chest rising and falling against the rapid beating of his heart, he was alright.

"Let's pretend, Katniss," he whispered into her ear, rocking her slowly in his arms. "You didn't get hit by that car and I turned around—what would you say?"

Katniss took a shaky breath, her hands gripping the back of his tuxedo jacket. "I-I would have told you that we were having a s-s-son…" He could feel the shakiness in her chest. "…I would have told you that I didn't want the divorce…that I was still in love with you."

"I would have torn those fucking divorce papers to pieces," Peeta continued, his mouth pressing down to her jean-clothed shoulder. "I would have taken you back to our home and I would have told you over and over how much I loved you—how happy I was that you were the woman carrying our son and how happy I was that you were my wife. My beautiful, wonderful superglue."

He felt himself let go, the tears coming steadfast, and Peeta released her so he could step back, overwhelmed by it all.

But, Katniss wouldn't let him.

Instead, she held on tighter.

"I'm not ready to let go," she said against him.

His lips fell to the top of her hair. "Neither am I."

Katniss let out a damp chuckle. "What now?"

Slowly, they pulled apart but just enough to finally look at one another through clearer eyes—to see the kind of people that they had become while they were apart, and to realize that while they weren't sure where they were going with one another, they wanted to find out.

Peeta took her hand. "Can I walk you home?"

After a moment, she squeezed his hand. "Yes."

I'm a little emotional about this reunion—and, I'm happy about it.

I know that this was not the longest chapter, but it was so emotionally draining on my part. Thank you if you've stuck around.

I'm sure you have a crazy amount of questions because as great as this reunion is—there is still something that Peeta is keeping from Katniss. Also, Gale and Madge do not truly know how they are all connected. There is still so much more to get through.

I'm going to keep this short, but I'm letting you know that there will be a definite break after this chapter because soon I'll be going on vacation but I'll also be working on some of my other things.

Feedback would be great.

Hopefully I haven't lost any of you.

Thank you for all your love and support, especially with everything going in my life.

I'll see you in Part Fourteen-JLaLa