Authors note: My first Everlark fic and I am so scared to post this. This ship is so full of emotion and is so hard to write, this part in their relationship especially. It's not very long nor is it very well written but it's kind of how I saw it happening and I wanted to get it down. I hope you like it if you end up reading it. To those waiting for me to update The Flame, it will be up soon I hope. I'm waiting for inspiration to strike. My disclaimer is on my profile page. Thank you for reading and please review if you liked it :)

You and I

It always started and ended the same way. They would go to bed on opposite sides as if getting too close could be dangerous and in a way, it could for her. Lying there in the darkness, both pretending that they weren't listening to the other's steady breathing until eventually, sleep overtook the pair of them. They often fell asleep at the same time to the rhythmic sound of their breathing but they were never asleep for long.

It was usually her that woke first, her sister's name on her lips, the young girl's face staring out of the darkness and the scream of that name echoed through the empty house. He would wake and be there almost instantly, his arms encircling her and holding her close. There were never any words between them, nothing spoken about their past and the things they had both seen that bound them together tightly. She liked it better that way; his comforting arms and light kisses on her head were enough. His strength had a calming effect on her and although it took time for the images of Prim lying lifeless in front of her to fade, her screams didn't last as long when he was there to hold her.

And he was there every night now. The first night they were working on the book together and time ran away from them, escaping into the night and it wasn't long before her eyes started drooping and he took her up to bed. It was the way he placed her under the covers with such tenderness that made her grab his hand. There was a brief moment as he looked down at her, almost completely covered by the thick blanket but her eyes were just visible and in that second, a flicker of understanding passed between them. Tonight, she needed him, but just that night.

But it happened again a week later, then again a few days after that. They were slowly growing more comfortable with each other and after a month, he didn't even need to question it. Perhaps he knew better than to question it. If he did, she may change her mind and although it was confusing for him after all that had happened between them, he knew there was something slowly building between them and he didn't want to ruin it.

It was a given that he would stay every night now. There was no question, no hesitation. They went to bed together with few words spoken between them and the space between them in the bed was filled with fear of what would happen if they got too close.

The night that it happened was no different. She woke screaming Prim's name, pain heavy in her chest and tears already streaming down her face and he was there once more, pulling her close until her sobs had begun to subside. There were faint kisses on her head as she fought to regain control and forget, if only for the moment, what had become of her life.

"Katniss." His voice was barely a whisper but still it startled her and she jumped slightly at the sudden noise. Turning slightly in his arms, she faced him carefully. "Why do you let me stay here each night?"

The question confused her slightly and she sat up straighter, peering at his face through the darkness and trying to make out the conflicting emotions that seemed to be running across it. "Why would you ask something like that?" She tried to keep her voice steady but the question had rattled her somewhat; their routine seemed to work for the both of them so why would he ask something that could disrupt it?

Peeta sighed heavily before continuing. "It's just . . . I can remember before the Quarter Quell how we used to spend each night together and I get these feelings of happiness when I think about it. But sometimes they mess with more . . . recent memories. I know I used to love you and I know that those feelings are coming back." He paused then, leaving her to feel suddenly overwhelmed with the intensity of what he spoke about. She felt angry for a moment that he would spring this on her in the early hours of the morning after she had woken from a nightmare but he interrupted her thoughts. "You never used to love me, Katniss, did you?"

The question was confronting and demanding of an answer and it was the kind of question she hated. Not because she wasn't sure of the answer, but because he put her in a position where she had to answer. She preferred things to be on her own terms and to talk about things like this was not something she enjoyed. But this was Peeta. Peeta, who woke each time she screamed and held her until it was over. Peeta, who was now the only constant in her life to keep her steady in times of pain. She at least owed him this simple answer.

But still she could not give it. Not yet. So instead of answering with something else, or ignoring him entirely, she did something completely different. Shocking even herself, she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly on his.

His reaction was slow but within a few moments he responded, his hands moving around her to hold her tight and as one of them ran ever so softly over her hair, she was jolted back to the roof of the their apartment in the Capitol, the day spent together and Peeta braiding her hair. Those words Gale spoke were true. She couldn't survive without Peeta. His presence in her bed these last few weeks had proved that and now, with their lips pressed together and their arms holding each other close, she knew with such certainty that Peeta was the one she needed. But he was also the one she wanted. It was the first kissed shared between them for a long time and it sent a rush of emotion through her that she wasn't expecting.

She broke the kiss, though something inside her told her not to, and for a moment there as only the sound of their breathing. Peeta's hand still tangled in her hair, he looked into her eyes and there was the trace of a smile on his lips.

"Go to sleep." She whispered and simultaneously they lay down. This time however, there was no gap between them. Though she was sure he would appreciate the words she wanted to tell him, she couldn't do it. Not quite yet. Instead she lay facing him, her eyes closed but she could feel his slight hesitation before his hand found hers and held it tightly.

The next morning she felt it in the air. Things felt different but not in a bad way. She felt at ease with him next to her in the kitchen whereas before she was constantly aware of his presence, of how close he was to her. The day passed and before long night fell again and when she stood up to head up to bed, Peeta stood too, the question already in his eyes.

Without a word, she held her hand out and he crossed the room, taking it in his own. Together they climbed the stairs and once in bed, they lay so close she could feel his heart beating softly. This time she didn't wait. The kiss was different tonight; there was something else in it, an intense longing that seemed to fill the air between them. It was clear they both felt it; Peeta's kiss was firmer, stronger and it excited Katniss in a way that both scared her but also spurred her on.

When his shaking hands begun to move down her back and under her shirt, she froze slightly. Never before had he gone this far but she couldn't ignore the fact that she liked it. His warm hands sent a tingling sensation across her bare skin and she stopped kissing him only to give him a look of encouragement before crashing her lips onto his again. Both of his hands were on her skin now and the goosebumps that rose made her shiver slightly though heat seemed to be emanating from her. It was as if all of a sudden she couldn't get enough of him and her fingers scrambled to pull his shirt over his head, their lips breaking. With only a moments hesitation, she removed her own shirt and caught just a hint of surprise on Peeta's face before his eyes moved down to her chest and something else replaced it.

It was as if he had done it before, though she was sure he hadn't, as his lips trailed kisses down her neck and on to her chest, sending unknown feelings she had never felt before throughout her body. The heat in the room seemed to be rising and the blanket moved off of them slightly as Peeta's fingers moved across her stomach. He lightly made patterns with them, causing more goosebumps to form and she watched him carefully, anxious as to what would happen next but knowing she was excited for whatever it would be.

As if scared, he inched back up her body, his hands now resting on either sides of her face and the emotion in his eyes overwhelmed Katniss. He kissed her lightly on her lips, the sudden break in their fast pace making the heavy breathing suddenly seem louder and for a moment, she felt herself blush. To get this close to him, to do these things would be the final word in a way. She couldn't take this from him and leave it at that. He seemed to know it to – that to go this far would mean there was no going back. It was the final step in rebuilding their relationship even stronger than it had been back in the arena and after the games. But with every movement of his shaking hands on her body, every hesitant kiss on her lips, she knew with an increasing urgency that this was what she wanted.

The final pieces of clothing were removed, though not with the same urgency that she had removed his shirt. They had slowed things down and Peeta seemed to be taking in every detail of her. His hands were shaking as they traced over her stomach, her chest, her legs. The emotion was obvious on his face and though she used to hate the way he so bluntly declared his feelings, the fact that she could read his face so clearly now only intensified what she was feeling.

He seemed to be waiting for permission in a way as he brought his face close to hers and kissed her once more. "Katniss. Are you sure?" His voice was full of worry and pain, and it was the sound of it that brought slight tears to her eyes.

"Please, kiss me." She whispered back, using her hands to pull his face towards hers and the kiss they shared as he entered her seemed to electrify every single thing she was feeling and it was almost overwhelming how strongly she felt towards him in that single moment. She cried out slightly at the physical pain of it though it mixed with other feelings and when he pulled back to look at her, concern on his face, she kissed him softly and pulled him towards her once more. His lips moved from her face to her neck as he moved on top of her, burying his face in her skin and the warmth that radiated from the spot his lips touched spread until it reached the very tip of her being, filling her with love that no longer scared her, only made her want more.

She became aware that he was crying and her own tears fell softly again. It was as if all that they had been through together had been leading up to this moment. From the boy who tossed the bread and saved her life, to the pain of seeing him so removed from himself after his torture in the capitol, till finally rebuilding what they used to have, growing back together. It all culminated in this moment and when it was over, they were both still for a moment, lying as close as two people could possibly get, the intensity of the moment not lost on either of them.

The boy with the bread. That was what he used to be. With those eyes that used to watch her, follow her movements. Peeta had meant so many things to her over the years, so many different things that had confused her and messed with her emotions. There was no life without Peeta, no life worth living. After losing so much of herself and her life before the games, there was little left to keep Katniss going. But Peeta had become that within the last few weeks. He had crept back into her life, his words, his calm manner weaving its way into her heart and ensuring that hope was never lost, no matter how bleak her days got. He was the light, when all she could seem to see was dark. He was the dandelion in the spring and though it took her what felt like forever to realise it, she felt as if she had known all along that it was Peeta she wanted.

He moved next to her, turning his head to watch her. His eyes were full of something she couldn't put her finger on. She knew before he spoke what he would ask and she had known for a long time what her answer would be.

"You love me. Real or not real?"

"Real."