She liked to hold him.

Their son was still in the roly-poly phase, as Peeta affectionately called it. She had rolled her eyes when he said it first, but it was true, with layers of baby fat and springy blonde curls, her son was a ball of sunshine. Always smiling. Always giggling. Just the right size to draw into her arms and tickle.

Peeta was the fun parent. Nearly spoiled their children rotten, if they hadn't already possessed his sweet disposition. Cheerful, happy babies that nearly took care of themselves. That still didn't quell her fear.

He could barely walk; usually toddling on unsteady legs, and was crawling on his belly across the sunny yellow nursery Peeta had painted when Katniss was expecting him. That sweet little boy looked up at his mama and giggled. She couldn't help but smile.

"Come here." She said softly, the closest she ever got to baby talk. That was Peeta's job. Cooing over them and carrying them around and coming home with a fresh batch of cookies so they always went to sleep with their bellies round and full, tired and loved. But she was the one to sing to them. Always. It was the only thing Peeta insisted "no, ask Mama. She does it better than me."

Her son shook his head, getting up and running to the other side of the room, laughing at his game. She got on all fours and crawled over, narrowly missing swiping him up, and followed him. He loved it, giggling madly as Katniss 'missed' scooping him up. His laughter intensified as she cried "gotcha!" a few times, and then purposely missed. She even managed an exaggerated pout like she couldn't believe he managed to best her.

"You're so fast!" she smiled. "Mama's tired. Come here."

He hurried in a bouncy trot into her open arms, and she lifted him into her lap, tickling his belly and planting a raspberry on his cheek, tempting the laughter from him.

She laughed softly, gently, because even when he was in her arms, she was so scared, but less than usual. It felt like she could keep him, and her little girl, and Peeta, when they were close. She closed her eyes and rocked him in her arms.

"My baby." She murmured into his hair, kissing gently. "Mine."

"I think I can take a little more credit than you're giving me here."

He smiled smugly at her from the doorway. She started, but not enough to upset the child in her lap. Peeta was leaning on the doorframe, their daughter clinging to his leg. He was beaming so hard he could probably melt something.

She looked a little embarrassed. "How long have you been standing there?"

He glanced down at their daughter. "Oh, not too long. Somebody finished dessert and wanted to catch fireflies, so we went up to find you. You wanna join us?"

"Sure, I'll grab my shoes." She said quickly, helping her son up and watching him toddle out of the room. She could hear the thundering of two pairs of feet down the stairs, and then the faint sound of voices on the porch outside. She stared out the window, cheeks flaming. Peeta smirked and crossed his arms in a self satisfied way. He was gloating, very obviously.

"You love this." She muttered bitterly.

"Not as much as you love me for that." He nodded to her now-empty lap.

"Don't say it." She warned.

"I told you so." He said slowly, savoring the words.

He started making his way over to her, smiling brighter with each step.

"I. Told. You. So."

He settled down next to her on the floor, watching the sun set out the window with her. He slid and arm around her. "Gotcha."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Shut up."

Peeta smirked and took the end of her braid in his hand, toying with it.

"I love you so much right now."

"And you didn't before." She teased blandly, leaning into him. She tucked her head easily into the crook of his neck, like always.

"You know what I mean. I love you and I get to be right for once. Score for me." He pointed out cheerfully. She rolled her eyes. Her body was relaxed for only a moment longer before tensing and springing up to her feet.

"We should probably get out there," she pointed out worriedly. She walked over to the window and glanced down at the yard, where she counted two blonde heads before taking a breath. Haymitch sat on his porch, bottle in hand, but he nodded up at her, as if to say he was taking care of them. Peeta stood behind her, watching this, heart sinking.

After their daughter was born, he felt like the happiest person in the world. Even happier when his son joined the family. For brief, fleeting moments, the look on his face when he held them made it so worth it for Katniss. While she carried them, held them, and nursed them, he'd watch with a look of pure love that seemed to radiate a glow that lit the entire room. It felt right. In her arms she held something that was completely theirs, their own little person.

He felt guilty, because Katniss's fear was so apparent. He saw it in her eyes when she lost sight of them for even a minute, her voice frantically barking out their names. The way she'd get quite during some nights before they all went to bed, she'd gather all of them, children in laps, him by her side. She'd stay connected to each person. Head on Peeta's shoulder, hand tangled in her daughters hair, arm around her little boy. It's like she thought if she could hold them close they wouldn't have anywhere to go.

They held hands as the went down the stairs and outside, Peeta stopping in the kitchen to grab jars for the children to catch the glowing bugs. Katniss watched him dig through the cabinets, eyes wide over how he managed to think of that. They sat on the porch steps, observing each insect and flower and rock brought to them with a fascination only parents could feign.

"Pretty." Katniss said simply at the rock thrust in her face, clutched in a chubby palm.

"I love the colors," Peeta added. He was better at all this.

She shivered as the rosy glow of the sun slowly sank, and Peeta slid an arm around her. "Warm you up later." He promised, and it sent a shock through her body and she smacked his shoulder, as if their children could read her mind and see the dirty thoughts there. Her hand tangled in his hair as she kissed his cheek. She turns back to the two bodies running frantically around the yard.

"They're beautiful." She said quietly, as if thanking him for an unexpected gift.

"I told you so." He said again, puffing out his chest, and she rolled her eyes again.

After they tucked the kids in and Katniss sang not one, not two, but three songs to each child, they ambled to their room on the other side of the house.

As Peeta shut the door behind them, Katniss made her way to her dresser, stretching her arms over her head and sighed at the 'pop' of her back cracking. He smiled, watching her, as she took her hair down and slid into her tee shirt that she slept in, and old one of his.

He pulled off his shirt and joined her in their bed, over the sheets because it was the point in the summer when there was no other way to sleep without feeling smothered.

He slid his arm around her, fingers fanned across her stomach, and groaned quietly.

"What is it?" she asked knowingly.

He snuggled closer. Curled up behind her, his breath tickled the back of her neck as it brushed over the tender skin in a steady rhythm.

"You're happy we had them, right? You don't regret it?"

Her heart dropped in her stomach. "You thought I didn't love them?"

"No." he said quickly, defending her more than himself. "I just know this wasn't entirely your decision. Sometimes I wonder if you could take it back…if I hadn't pushed you so much…"

"You would never make me do anything like that." She turned to face him, placing her hands on his face. "Yes, at first, I did it for you. To make you happy. Because you've done even more for me, and I love you. But they're just like you. I can't take them back. I love you too- no, I love them too much."

He smiled. "We're a family." Because they were, all they had to do was lose everyone else first. They came together to rebuild. They fixed each other.

He nuzzled the side over her head, his mouth by her ear. "When we made our first baby together, that was my favorite time making love."

Katniss couldn't manage an answer to that. She still wrinkled her nose at the term.

"I thought you were getting tired of trying by the time I conceived." She pointed out.

"Awfully hard thing to get tired of," he teased. He rolled himself on top of her. "Your turn. Tell me about your favorite time."

She looked off to the windows at the night sky as she mulled it over. "Can't choose. Too many to think of one."

She could feel the frown pressed under her ear, followed by a kiss.

"That's a boring answer." He whined.

"That's a strange question. You know I don't like getting nostalgic over 'lovemaking'," she said the last part dramatically, swooning a bit underneath him.

"That's cause you're just looking forward to the next time." he lifted himself up a little bit, beaming down at her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Maybe I'm looking forward to when the next time is over." She poked his chest. "Ever think of that?"

"Never." He said triumphantly, tickling her sides.

He was still very proud of the day he discovered the Mockingjay is extremely ticklish. She wasn't always that way, and was never pleasant when responding to that sort of play, until recently. She twitched underneath him; writhing, giggling crazily, breasts bouncing a little.

He relished the sight of her like this, growing slightly aroused. He remembered his promise from earlier. He let up his assault on her waist, watching her collect herself, breath shallow and light. He leaned down to kiss her; slow, sweet, and full of intention.

She picked up right away, sliding her arms around him, one hand on his back the other at the nape of his neck. Her legs slid around his waist, and he sat up, pulling her onto his lap. She shuddered, lifting the tee shirt off of her head and flinging it to the floor. He got a handful of each breast, groping and squeezing as her tongue moved inside his mouth.

She rose on her knees for a moment, as he slid off her underwear, and lowered herself back down, grinding on him. She could feel him rise up to the occasion, moaning into the lip-lock.

"I love you." she said lyrically, smiling.

"Love you too." He kissed her gently.

His fingers found her slit, stroking the soft inner flesh. She was wet.

"Oh Peeta." She whispered. He smirked, she wasn't the most vocal person at night and he was very pleased with himself.

"You're all wet for me, aren't you?" He hadn't tried to talk dirty to her in a while, something about having children on the other side of the house made her shy. He assured they couldn't hear, but she still turned pink when he steered the conversation in that direction. But tonight, she looked him square in the eyes, grinding her hips against his hand a little, and said, "All for you."

His eyes grew dark.

She kissed him. "Only for you." she promised.

His free hand slid up and down her side protectively. He stared up at her, breathing a little quicker over this turn of events. "So, nobody else can do this to you?" His finger slid inside her, curling at the right spot and she gasped. He already knew the answer, but her wanted to hear her say it.

"No one Peeta. Why do you think I'm with you? I practically belong-" she lost this train of thought as a second finger is added.

"Are you saying you belong to me?" he asked, testing the waters for where this conversation would go.

"Yes." She bit her lip, hips rocking wildly against his hand.

His lips found her neck, sucking lightly. "So, you're mine?"

"Peeta I'm yours." She pushed his head back and locked eyes with him. "And you're mine. I wouldn't have it any other way."

This went past the between the sheets banter he had meant to start, he knew all this, he'd known since he came back to her, since he decided to die for her, since he heard her sing when they were five. All those years he hoped they would have something special. He thought he could only imagine this. He never thought he'd have this.

She whimpered a little at the loss of his fingers after he slid them out of her wet core.

He freed his cock, sliding up inside her. She threw her head back, and he kissed her neck longingly.

"Mine." He growled under her ear. Her nails found his back, raking over gently. Her hips shifted, rising up and down as he moved in and out of her. She wrapped her arms around him, and he held her tight, fucking her slow and gentle. Her chin tucked around his neck as they curled into each other, bonding into one. She was almost relieved they weren't talking anymore, as they fell into the bliss of slow and careful movement and touches. They were concentrating on each other and completion, the sensation of him filling her and her wrapped tight around him.

His hands found her hips and controlled her rise and descent down him. Chills ran down her spine as she angled her hips a certain way, moving faster, but not yet frantic. He was hitting her in all the right places, she was so close.

Suddenly, he shoved her hips down quickly, and simply sheathing him to fully so fast lead to her completion, quiet moans escaping her lips right near his ear. He continued to lift and lower her hips on him, walls contracting around his cock, as she met him in a final kiss that sent him over the edge, spilling inside her.

Her forehead pressed against his, both of them sweaty and panting, as her arms looped around his neck. Together they tried to catch their breath in comfortable silence; unlike the first few times were they weren't quite sure what to say to each other after all that.

Peeta helped her shift off of him, and she lay down on her back, snuggling into a comfortable position. He retrieved her shirt for her, and she pulled it on. He spooned behind her and she held his arms in place. Like so many other nights, nearly a routine.

"I never thought it'd be like this." She murmured, just as he was about to nod off.

"What?"

"My life, our life. I never thought we'd have time together, like this."

"Like what?" he rolled her over, pressing a hand to her cheek.

She thought for a moment. "Warm. Small. Happy."

He smiled, eyes closing. "I pictured that life for you. Just not with me."

"There was never anyone else, not like you."

"You would have found someone, I'm sure."

She shook her head, holding his chin so he'd look at her. "I only wanted you. Without you, I wouldn't have any of this. I wouldn't be here. There wouldn't be anything." She choked a little on her last words.

He smiled again, sadly. "I wanted this so badly. A life like this. But I couldn't picture it without you. I tried, but it just felt…plastic."

She smirked. "Well I'm glad you tried imagining a world without me, to no avail."

"Not worth living in." He answered dramatically. "No point to it all. People walk through the woods with no regards to how much noise they make. The animals live in fear and the people go hungry."

She rolled onto her back, closing her eyes. "Your sarcasm is making me feel unappreciated as your partner."

He took her hand in his, squeezing. "Thank you for communicating your feelings, I will try to not use sarcasm that hurts you and makes you feel unappreciated." He was completing a line to a script, in an awful video on counseling of marital problems Effie sent them very early on when they started sharing a dwelling. They read the first chapter together before they hurt themselves from laughing too hard, and only used it's advice as a joke. Peeta actually won a few fights by making her crack up with a few lines from it, much to her frustration.

"Let's be grown-ups for a second." She murmured.

"I like where this is going." He raised his eyebrows at her suggestively.

She took a deep breath, settling for sleep. "Not a chance Loverboy."

"I love you?" he offered.

"I know. But you had your fun, go to sleep." She rolled back toward him, and for a moment they were a tangle of limbs until they settled into holding each other in a way that way comfortable for each of them. One person is that last thing the other sees when they drift off, and when they wake up, and vice versa. They dream peacefully. No more nightmares.

A/N Please don't get angry at me for not naming their children. Suzanne Collins didn't even open up that can of worms, I couldn't bear to play god and make that decision. Nothing seemed right. I tried to stay as in character as possible, please forgive typos and lapses of any sense. I'm not the best writer. I know it switches from present tense to past tense in this chapter; I started all three of these stories at the same time, starting them like a month ago. Finally dug them up to finish this week. Feel so happy they're done. Sorry if the ending feels rushed, I wasn't sure when to stop.

Review for more Katniss and Peeta, I also take requests, it motivates me to write!