A/N: I told you I would eventually get around to posting Chapter 3 of this story haha. Thanks for sticking with it and I'm sorry it took so long to update. If I had tried to write this sooner it would have been very bad and you guys don't want to read that. This chapter wraps up this little mini-story. The only thing I can say with certainty that is forthcoming writing-wise from me is a one shot for Streetlightlove's Charity thing in Feb (ask her for more details! haha) but you never know! ;) Finally, thank you times a million to my awesome beta/friend/fellow fan girl Court81981 for not only getting this back to me so quickly but just overall being a wonderful person who I'm so lucky to know :) Enjoy!

They're having breakfast one morning when there is a knock at the door.

Katniss looks from Peeta to Haymitch and frowns, wondering who could possibly be coming to see them.

It's Peeta, however, that pushes back from the table quickly and walks over to answer it. Without saying a word, he steps out on the front step to speak with whoever knocked and closes the door behind him, shutting them out from the conversation.

Katniss scowls at the strange behavior and looks over to Haymitch for answers.

He merely shrugs and she can tell he doesn't know anything more than she does.

The front door opens again and Peeta backs up into the house. In a quiet and controlled tone Katniss can just hear him saying, "We'd appreciate it if you would respect our privacy, thank you."

He walks back to their table, sits down, and continues eating like nothing happened.

She gapes at him for a long moment before he finally catches her looking at him.

"What?" he mumbles around a mouthful of bacon and eggs.

"Um can you tell us what that was about?" she says, incredulous that she even has to ask him.

He looks down at his plate and frowns. "Just some guy...they're about to hold elections for District 12...officials that would be in charge here and the ones that would go to the Capitol to represent us." Peeta takes a deep breath and shakes his head, clearly upset about something. "He wanted the 'star-crossed lovers' endorsement, thought it would help his campaign. It's not the first time he's come by."

The news shouldn't come as so much of a shock to her, but it does. It hasn't been the first time people have asked for something from her or Peeta since the war ended, but it's the first time it's come from outside of the people rebuilding the nation in the Capitol. Suddenly the level of comfort and security she's felt in District 12 since her return is thrown into question, and it forms a knot of fear and uncertainty in her chest.

The district's numbers have been growing steadily as the town has rebuilt. With adequate food and supplies being sent in from the Capitol every week and plenty of jobs that need to be filled at the factory that makes medicine, there are more than enough incentives to make District 12 home for the refugees of the war. People from 13—former residents, and displaced citizens from other districts who are looking for a new start—have all slowly filtered in to make 12 their home.

There is no distinction between Town and Seam now. The rebuilt Hall of Justice, representing Panem's new democratic government, was the first thing to be rebuilt and everything has grown from there. Peeta's bakery and Sae's market were the first merchant stores to emerge in the former town square and others soon followed. The homes that began to pop up throughout the rest of the district, with the help of Thom and his crew, were all uniform and standard, neither excessive nor dilapidated.

The only thing that remains from the pre-District 12, besides the—now non-electrified—fence that keeps out wild predators, is Victor's Village.

Katniss feels the knot of anxiety tighten as she thinks about how it must seem to the other residents of District 12 to know their three former victors still occupy the extravagant homes built by the former government that abused and terrorized them for so long. She thinks about her trips into town to trade and visit Sae or the days she spends working at the bakery with Peeta, and wonders if she simply missed the looks of annoyance and anger from her fellow citizens.

Most likely this is the case, considering she walks with her head down and doesn't often make eye contact. She saves her smiles for Peeta, or people she trusts, and is all too aware that her former celebrity status as the Mockingjay, the Girl on Fire, and one half of the star-crossed lovers from District 12, did not disappear completely when the war ended.

An aspiring politician wanting her endorsement for his campaign she can deal with; she has gotten good at saying no to the people who have asked for things from her once the war ended. But the idea of the people from 12 resenting her for continuing to live in what was built as the ultimate symbol of the former Capitol's power is more difficult to swallow because she understands where they're coming from—she would feel the same way if she was in their position.

This district 12 is trying to rebuild and emerge as something new and better than the former one. With the looming mansions that make up Victor's Village and their untouchable inhabitants still a presence in Town, it makes it difficult for the district and its citizens to fully move into the future and leave the past behind.

She swallows thickly as Haymitch breaks her from her train of thought.

"Hmph," he grunts, taking another bite of his breakfast, "he's clearly not too bright since the election rules strictly prohibit any of that propaganda bullshit."

"Don't worry, he won't come back. I was too nice the first time. I made sure he got the point today," Peeta adds.

"Why didn't you tell me the first time he came by?" She asks.

Peeta pauses mid-bite and sheepishly raises his eyes to meet her own. He swallows and looks away. "I...I'm sorry. I should have. I just didn't want to upset you."

She takes a moment to absorb that and pushes back her initial annoyance that he kept something from her and that heseemed to think she couldn't handle this information without becoming distraught. When she considers it further, however, she realizes he was just looking out for her; she realizes that it was something inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

She reaches across the table and places her hand on top of his, squeezing it and giving him a warm smile.

"It's okay. But I like being in the loop about these kinds of things. I'd rather know than be blindsided later on."

He raises her hand to his lips and kisses the back of it. "I won't keep something like that from you again."

It would be a sweet moment if Haymitch didn't roll his eyes, burp loudly, and push back from the table before declaring he's full.

"Not sure I'm ever going to get used to you two making goo-goo eyes at each other all the damn time," he complains, heading out the door.

Winter arrives and it is mercifully more tame than usual. The snowstorms come for a two-week period and then melt away, leaving frigid temperatures, but clear skies. When the season approaches its end, so does a date on the calendar that has loomed menacingly, threatening to undo all the progress Katniss has made in the year since.

The anniversary of Prim's death is tomorrow and Katniss feels like all her bad days since it happened are threatening to fuse together and knock her off her feet when it comes a mere 24 hours from now.

She sits on the couch in their living room, and staring into the fireplace blankly, letting her wind wander to that horrible day almost a year ago. She can only vaguely remember moving through the tunnels under the city in the days leading up to it, but the horrible death traps and people they lost down there always make an appearance in her nightmares.

Even the death and destruction—the street opening up and swallowing people whole, innocent civilians being gunned down by the Rebels and Capitol alike—as she made her way to the City Circle where it eventually happened all seem like kind of a blur now, although those horrors feature in her night terrors heavily as well.

Oddly, the only things she can remember with such vivid detail is hugging Peeta in Tigris' shop before they split up, his warmth and comfort giving her the courage to continue with her mission, and her sister's beautiful face as Prim heard her name called out in the midst of the chaos, turning and making eye contact with her, saying her name in that last instant before it all ended.

She can feel it–the grief and depression and sickness—threatening to bubble up and choke her, to swallow her whole and leave her incapacitated. Thankfully, Peeta breaks her from her daze.

"Hey, you okay?" he asks, abandoning the page in the book he had been working on and coming to sit beside her on the couch. He puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her closer.

She nods dumbly, not trusting herself to speak.

He takes a deep breath and laces his hand with hers. "Katniss...I know what tomorrow is."

She looks over at him, startled, and finds she is at a loss for what to say. Thankfully, Peeta does the talking.

"I love you and I'm going to be here for you," he says gently before leaning in to kiss her softly. She sighs at the familiar taste of his lips, the comforting lull of his voice. A pleasant warm sensation spreads through her that is not lust, but pure love. She feels her mood lift as she remembers that she is not facing this day alone, that she is not the person she was when she lost Prim.

She is in love with Peeta and being with him helps remind her that despite all she's lost there is at least one big reason to keep going.

"It's okay to be sad. It's okay to miss her," he tells her and despite what she was just thinking she feels something split open inside her. She feels the unbearable sadness over losing her sister pour out of her in a rush and because Peeta told her so, she doesn't hide from it. As she breaks down into tears and buries her head against his chest she can feel the grief wrap around her, but it does not feel like a sickness as it has previously. This sadness feels like a relief, like a healthy, cathartic release of all the emotion that has been building up inside her the past year as she struggled to keep it together.

She cries for a very long time.

She cries until her throat is raw and she is so exhausted she falls asleep right there on the couch with Peeta's arms wrapped around her.

The next morning she wakes from the bright sunshine flooding in through her bedroom window.

She didn't have any nightmares last night.

She stirs and frowns when she doesn't feel Peeta's warm body beside her own.

When she opens her eyes, she sees something on her nightstand that looks so beautiful basking in the morning sun that it immediately puts a smile on her face.

Primroses.

The primroses that Peeta planted on the side of the house. He cut a handful of them that just came in bloom and put them in a vase by her bed, making sure it would be the first thing she saw this morning when she woke.

This morning that marks the one-year anniversary of her sister's death.

Surprisingly she doesn't feel the depression she expects to hit with full force. She feels like she cried herself out last night and if anything, this sweet gesture from Peeta makes her happy to the point that she almost feels strange to feel this way on a day like today.

She is looking at the flowers serenely when the door to their bedroom opens, revealing Peeta carrying a tray with food. He offers her a hesitant smile and approaches the bed.

"I made you breakfast," he says quietly, placing the tray filled with pancakes and bacon and eggs and orange juice at the foot of the bed and coming to sit beside her.

She pulls him into a hug and rests her head on his shoulder, too overwhelmed for a moment to say anything. He rubs her back and kisses the top of her head.

"I love you," she finally manages to choke out, pushing back against the wave of emotion threatening to completely undo her.

She is so, so lucky to have him. She would not be able to get through this day without him.

She's not sure she would have made it to this day if he wasn't here in her life, alive and beautiful and loving her.

They eat in relative silence and like they did so many months ago when he first returned to 12 after the war, the primroses from Peeta give her a spark of life that she can't ignore.

"Let's go to the lake," she insists.

It takes them longer than usual to get there.

She walks without haste, holding Peeta's hand and simply enjoying the nature around her.

But when they get there she's more tired than she normally would be and as Peeta spreads out the blanket next to the lake's edge, she sits down on top of it and suddenly feels exhausted. He produces the food they brought with them for lunch from a basket and they eat their meal in relative silence, watching the lake's calm water and listening to the mockingjays chirp in the nearby trees.

When they finish eating she feels like the burst of energy the primroses gave her has faded and she doesn't feel like doing anything but staring vacantly out at the water for the rest of the day.

But Peeta has other ideas.

"Come on, let's get in," he says, stripping off his t-shirt and revealing his beautiful bare chest, the sight of which momentarily distracts her from anything other than her urge to run her hands all over him and to cover the exposed skin with kisses like she has done so many times before.

She says nothing in response and Peeta stands up and kicks off his shoes before he starts to unbutton his pants. She watches with rapt attention as his clothes fall to the ground, leaving him completely nude.

She is vaguely aware that she is staring without shame, her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Come on, you haven't given me a swimming lesson since the fall," he adds, turning and walking into the lake's shallow water, giving her a full view of his perfectly sculpted behind.

She swallows thickly, the ache between her legs growing at just the sight of him.

She still hasn't moved though yet and when he gets about chest deep he turns around and splashes the water with his hands. "You want me to drown, Katniss? Get your ass out here!"

She laughs and breaks from her stupor, standing up to kick off her hunting boots and then stripping off her shirt and pants. She hesitates before taking off her bra and underwear despite the fact she's swam in this lake naked plenty of times before and she knows there's not another soul around for miles.

She looks out at Peeta wading around in the lake and he catches sight of her in just her undergarments and pauses, focusing on her intently. She has to bite her lip to contain her smile, and slowly, and very deliberately, she reaches around to unclasp her bra, letting it fall to the ground to join their piles of clothes. And then, without looking out at him, she hooks her thumbs in the waistband of her panties and pulls them all the way down her legs.

Fully nude, she takes a few steps towards the lake, standing ankle deep in the water before she looks back out at Peeta.

His face, which looks like he had been studying her closely, breaks out into a huge grin.

"Get out here," he says, not asking but demanding this time.

She smiles as she walks deeper into the water, the chilly temperature puckering her nipples and causing goose bumps to form on her skin. When she's a few feet away from him, Peeta lunges at her and pulls her into his arms.

She attempts a few feeble protests, but his hands wrap around her waist and her own snake around his neck. They are naked and pressed up against each other and suddenly kissing so intensely she feels dizzy from the warmth swirling in her chest and growing between her legs. He sucks on her bottom lip and eagerly probes her mouth with his tongue, tasting every inch of her. His hands tighten their grip like he's trying to pull her closer and even closer still.

"I thought you wanted a swimming lesson," she finally gasps out when they break away for air.

"How am I supposed to focus on anything when you're naked?" he shoots back.

She laughs and kisses him one more time before pulling away as he mumbles a feeble protest.

"Come on," she encourages him, moving deeper into the water. "We got to work on your treading water ability before we move on to the different strokes."

They spend the next couple of hours in the water and by late afternoon Peeta is learning the backstroke. They make games out of holding their breath underwater and diving down to the bottom of the lake and racing back towards the shallow end. The weather has been pleasantly mild, and they've been in the water so long both their hands are wrinkled.

They drift closer and closer to the shore and find their footing in the shallow end. The water only comes up to their chests now and when Peeta pulls her against him her legs automatically wrap around his waist.

She kisses him as his hands run up and down her back, the touch of their skin creating a pleasant warmth despite the frigid water. When she pulls back to look at him, he pushes her hair away from her face and she closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath and rests her forehead against his.

"Let's go home," he whispers and she nods her head in agreement as they make their way back to their blanket on the shore.

After they've dried off and redressed, they sit down to finish the rest of the food they brought before their long walk back. Peeta starts building a little town out the remaining crackers and berries, making up a ridiculous story that has Katniss laughing so hard her cheeks start to hurt. But as sudden as her laughing fit begins however she chokes up as a completely different emotion overwhelms her.

Because suddenly she's not sure how to reconcile the fact that she's had fun today when it's the anniversary of her little sister's death. She's been genuinely happy and for all intents and purposes she has a good life. She has Peeta. She's still alive and experiencing all this and her sister is gone, forever thirteen-and-a-half years old and innocent.

She breaks down in tears and Peeta immediately pulls her into his arms, not asking what's wrong. She cries for a long time, just like she did the night before and when she has finally calmed down enough Peeta asks her if she feels up for the walk home. She doesn't, but she knows they'll have to go back eventually.

So they pack up and make the trek back to District 12 hand in hand, getting back home right at sunset.

Peeta makes them dinner as she collapses on the couch in their living room and stares off into space vacantly. She feels bad when she sees the worried look in his eye, but she is still trying to work through what she's feeling at the moment.

When he calls her over to the table to eat she feels calmer than she has in a long time. Throughout the meal, she starts getting nervous flutters in her stomach as she thinks about what she's going to do. She thinks about what her sister would say if she were here, how happy she'd be, and smiles.

"Feeling better?" Peeta asks as they are finishing up. He looks hopeful, like he must have caught sight of her smile and figured she wouldn't break down in tears again any time soon.

She nods her head in response, not trusting herself to speak.

He clears their plates for them and then she takes his hand and leads him into the living room.

She asks him to start a fire.

He does so without hesitation and as she watches the flames grow and spread, her heart starts to beat a little faster.

Then she asks him to get the bread.

His eyebrows furrow in response, no doubt confused over why she'd want that when they just ate, so she elaborates.

"For our toasting," she says and then watches the mix of emotions play out on his lovely face.

He opens his mouth to say something, but he hesitates and she sees the doubt on his face. For a terrifying second she's afraid that he's trying to think of how to best let her down easy and tell her he doesn't want to marry her.

But he scoots closer to her and takes her hand between both of his. "Katniss, are you sure?" he asks. "Today has been kind of rough..."

He trails off and she forces herself not to doubt this decision, to realize the only reason he hasn't sprinted to the kitchen for the bread and broken down in tears of joy is because he knows she has been all over the place emotionally today.

She takes a calming breath and tries her best to explain to him how and why she's come to this decision.

"That's the thing Peeta," she begins, "I don't want today to forever be about the end of Prim's life. I want it to signify the beginning of ours."

He bites his lip and looks away and she realizes that didn't come across as well as she wanted it to.

"I mean..." she exhales and shakes her head in frustration, "I mean I don't just want to marry you so this day doesn't haunt me every year. I want to marry you because I love you and you reminded me today that I still have a life to live even though she's not here anymore. I know she'd want me to be happy, but I know it's okay to be sad and to miss her too."

She laces their fingers together and lifts her head to meet his eyes. They are as blue and beautiful as ever and she sees the warmth and love there. Looking into his eyes, she's able to get the next words out without getting too tongue-tied.

"I could live without you, I could get by and go through the day to day motions, but it'd be a life half-lived and I don't want that. I need you to survive what we've endured. I need you to know it's not all pain and loss. For the longest time I was so afraid of this kind of love, terrified that it would only lead to heartache. But I know now that I love you and I am better because of it; I am able to keep going despite what happened because I have you."

She only briefly registers him grabbing her face and kissing her quickly before he's scrambling into the kitchen. She laughs as he returns with a loaf of bread—good, hearty bread with raisins and nuts, the bread he threw to her in the rain so long ago that forever bonded them—and watches as he sits down beside her again.

She takes it from him and puts it aside. Then she takes both his hands in her own and gets him to look at her.

"Wait, we got to do this right," she explains. "I want it to be real."

He looks at her in confusion for a moment before she speaks, "Peeta, will you marry me?"

He breaks out in a dazzling smile and her heart lifts and her stomach swirls with nervous excitement.

"Absolutely," he tells her before joining their lips in a kiss.

They toast the bread and feed it to each other and when she sees the silent tears of happiness fall down Peeta's face she knows this is the best decision she has ever made. She feels her own smile threatening to split her face in two and her heart is so, so full.

When he lowers her onto the floor in front of the fireplace and slowly removes her clothes, she squirms in anticipation of making love to him for the first time as his wife. He hovers over her and she lets her hands trail along his bare chest and shoulders, trying to push his pants and underwear down to his ankles using her feet.

After he removes them he kisses her thoroughly, letting his tongue stroke and caress every inch of her mouth, sucking her lip between his and biting down on it softly. When his lips move down her throat and across her collarbone, she wraps her legs eagerly around his waist.

She can't remember ever being this wet or needy, this desperate to be filled. She wants him to sink into her and stay there forever. She wants to make love as man and wife.

His mouth latches onto her nipple as his hand comes up to fondle her other breast. She keens and arches her back, encouraging his actions. He bites and sucks and flicks the puckered flesh with his tongue until she is circling her hips, searching for his touch.

She reaches down and grips his cock in her hand, pumping him up and down as she feels him grow harder.

"Peeta, please..." she begs and he doesn't need any further encouragement.

He pushes inside her and they groan in unison, her nails sinking into his back. She bites her lip at the perfect sensation of being stretched and filled by her husband, and lets her knees fall down to the side.

He holds his weight up with his strong arms and starts rhythmically pounding into her, hard and deep thrusts that make her whole body move a bit and cause her breasts to bounce up and down.

She closes her eyes and lets her hands wander down to his behind, squeezing it and using it to try and pull him into her even deeper. Her head thrashes from side to side as his pace starts to pick up and the pleasure starts to build and build.

His hand drops down to find her clit and with a few quick, hard strokes she shatters beneath him, crying out as the ecstasy consumes her.

He thrusts into her at a frantic pace until he too comes undone, filling her up as he moans his satisfaction. He collapses against her, pushing the air from her lungs but she just holds him against her, not wanting to let him go yet.

They fall asleep in front of the fireplace and when she wakes in the morning he's the first thing she sees.

And she smiles because she knows it'll be like that for the rest of her life.

When they walk hand in hand to the Hall of Justice the next week to apply for a marriage license it's none other than Delly Cartwright who greets them. She now works as the full time registrar for District 12.

She can barely contain her squeals of delight when they tell her why they're there.

"When are you going to do the toasting?" she asks excitedly, showing them where to sign.

They share a look and a secret smile.

"We kind of already did," Peeta begins and Delly's face falls, clearly thinking she wasn't invited.

"It was just the two of us," Katniss tells her and then elaborates when she sees Delly's look of confusion. "It was kind of spur of the moment."

Peeta just grins and grabs her hand, lacing their fingers together.

"Oh, well aren't you guys going to have a ceremony for friends and family?" Delly questions as she stamps some paperwork.

Katniss shrugs. "I think we're happy with the way we did it. We don't need a big party."

Delly shoots them a genuine smile as she hands them their marriage license. Despite her disappointment that there won't be a big event to celebrate the occasion, she sounds very sincere when she tells them how happy she is for both of them.

As they walk out of the building together and towards their next stop, Peeta pulls her to the side to talk.

"So are you absolutely sure about this?

She nods her head eagerly. She is positive. There is nothing that even makes her doubt this decision. She hesitates for a moment though and wonders if maybe Peeta is the one having second thoughts.

"Are you sure? I don't want to feel like I'm forcing you into this. You have to be sure about this too."

He puts his arm around her shoulder in response and starts walking again in the direction of Thom's home.

"I think it's a great idea. Kinda mad I didn't think of it first," he replies, and she laughs and leans into him.

When they get to Thom's house, Katniss explains their proposal in one long breath.

He simply stares back at them in silence for a moment before speaking.

"You want to tear down Victor's Village?"

She nods in response.

His mouth hangs open as he searches for something to say.

"Katniss and I talked about it," Peeta explains, "we think it would the best thing for not only us, but the entire district."

"And Haymitch?" Thom asks.

"He agrees with us," she replies and tries not to laugh and the look of doubt and disbelief on Thom's face. She can't really blame him; it took some convincing for their former mentor to go along with this plan.

"Well, if that's what you guys want I guess that's your call to make. I'll get my guys to start working on tearing down the ten houses not in use right now while I draw up some blueprints for your new homes."

"Umm actually," Peeta interrupts. "I sketched a few designs out the other day for what we had in mind. We figured we could use that land right on the old border of where the Seam and Town used to meet. I can come by tomorrow and go over it with you."

"Oh, even better," Thom says. "And Haymitch? Does he just want the same thing you guys are getting?'

"Uh no," Katniss speaks up. "He wants something smaller. Just a one bedroom with an area outside for his geese. Peeta will explain in more detail."

Thom chuckles and rubs his jaw. "Alright, whatever you kids say."

They shake hands and thank him before heading back home.

Or what they'll only be able to call home for a little while longer.

6 months later...

She kisses Peeta goodbye after a day of working together at the bakery and heads home to prepare dinner for them. She takes the short walk to their new home and notices the streets are more crowded than she can ever remember them.

More than that, she notices that nearly everyone she sees looks right at her and smiles. They don't avoid eye contact or steer clear of her like they used to when she was still the Mockingjay that lived in Victor's Village. She smiles back at them and feels a sense of calm wash over her.

It happens when she walks in her front door and drops her things on the floor. As she walks towards the kitchen, trying to decide what to make for dinner, she realizes that the loss and tragedy of her past feels almost like a distant memory now.

It hasn't been that long since the war ended in the grand scheme of things, but she can tell that it has slowly started to fade, a scab that has grown over a wound only to leave a scar. It's not that it doesn't hurt anymore to think about all that she has lost, and she knows her nightmares and days of crushing sadness will never truly go away for good, but it no longer feels so close to her; it doesn't overwhelm and consume her.

Her life has evolved into more than just what she's been through. She is a wife now; she is a mostly happy citizen of the new democratic nation of Panem. She doesn't spend her days in fear and while it's taken some getting used to, she feels comfortable with the town and the people around her—even the new government that has emerged.

She is washing some vegetables over the sink and glancing out the window when she spots Peeta coming up the road, a paper bag filled with freshly baked bread in his arms. He goes right past their house and down the dirt trail that separates their home from Haymitch's new residence. He walks the 30 yards or so and greets their former mentor, who is sitting on his porch sipping a bottle of some alcohol and watching his geese meander through the yard.

He sits down beside him and offers him two fresh loaves from the bag. They talk for a while and Katniss studies them carefully, wondering what they're discussing and wishing she could eavesdrop on the conversation. Both men just stare out at the geese, comfortable in each other's presence.

Finally, Peeta stands up and Haymitch joins him. He slaps Peeta on the back, taking a big swig from his bottle and laughing heartily. Peeta blushes beet red and stares down at the ground, scratching the back of his neck.

She resists the urge to roll her eyes, knowing she can only guess at what Haymitch might have said to get that sort of reaction from Peeta.

She is just putting the cover over the pot of stew to let it simmer when Peeta finally walks in the door. He puts the bag of bread down and without a word pulls Katniss into his arms and kisses her.

She pulls away breathless and can't help her giddy little smile. Getting married has not lessened the effect Peeta has over her; if anything it's only made it more intense.

"Hello to you too," she laughs.

"Can dinner wait? I'm really hungry for something else right now."

She bites her lip and nods eagerly. She knows what he means about a different kind of hunger.

They've become very good at this, she thinks as her husband takes her nipple in his mouth and sucks. He fondles her other breast as she throws her head back in pleasure.

He knows her body so well. He has become a master at making her writhe with need, her whole being thrumming with anticipation. When he does finally put his mouth between her legs or bury himself inside her, she usually cries out in sweet relief, already wound up and desperate for release.

Now he lets his hand trail down to her clit, which he rubs firmly for a moment before trailing down to trace her folds, feeling how wet and ready she is for him.

"Fuck Katniss," he curses and she pushes her hips towards him. She loves hearing him cuss. It always means he is heady with lust. He pushes two fingers inside her and curls them just right.

She moves her lips up his neck until she can bite down on his ear lobe.

"Are you going to fuck me or what?"

He pulls back and she can see his nostrils flare and his eyes darken with lust. She isn't as good talking about sex as Peeta is, but whenever she does say anything she can always see the immediate effect it has on Peeta. It's usually her clue to him that she wants him to fuck her so hard that she will have trouble walking the next day.

He sits back on his haunches and before she can protest he is pushing her onto her stomach and pulling her ass up so she's on her hands and knees in front of him.

The wetness seeps down her thighs when she thinks about what he's going to do her, what he always does to her when he gets in one of his moods.

He pushes into her from behind and he is so big and he goes so deep it's all she can do to keep herself propped up on her hands. He is relentless, slamming into her hard and fast as the pleasure makes her nearly delirious.

He pulls on her braid roughly so she has to arch her back, and it changes the angle of his penetration. She keens and reaches down to rub her clit.

He slaps her ass with an open palm and just the perfect amount of pressure that it only just stings, but mostly sends a jolt of pleasure through her and makes her cry out.

"That's my job," he grunts into her ear, releasing her braid and moving his hand down to find her clit as he keeps thrusting into her.

"Oh god, Peeta!" She wails, falling down on the bed, unable to support her own weight any longer. If anything he keeps pounding into her harder and when he slaps her ass again, she tightens around him and explodes, her body shattering in ecstasy.

He pauses for a moment and she is so dazed by her orgasm that she turns over and falls on her back with his help. He leans down to kiss her gently and settles himself between her legs. He takes himself in his hand and pushes inside her again.

She makes a noise of contentment and wraps her legs around his waist, dragging her hands through his sweat-dampened hair.

She mewls her approval as he sets a less hectic pace. Before she knows it she feels her own climax building again and in sensing this, Peeta reaches down to rub her clit firmly.

When she comes he follows and fills her up, rocking his hips sporadically as he finishes.

He collapses against her and rolls on his back as she curls into his side. They come back down to earth, breathing hard and holding onto one another.

She finally understood what Peeta meant when he said he wanted to freeze a moment and live in it forever when they started making love. If she could pick a moment to live in forever it would be this, when they're naked and sweaty and clinging to each other in the afterglow of what they've just done. When all that exists in the world is her and Peeta and the love between them. This is her perfect moment. Always.

Peeta's stomach growls in the silence of the room causing them both to laugh.

"I guess I was more hungry than I thought," he admits.

She runs her hand over his bare chest and sighs contently. "Is Haymitch coming for dinner?"

"Umm no, he said he had a big lunch down at Sae's Cafe."

In the suddenly awkward silence that follows Katniss lifts her head and turns to look at him. She studies him carefully and props her chin on his chest.

"Alright, so tell me what he said."

He furrows his eyebrows at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Haymitch. I saw you walk down to his place to drop off some bread before you came home," she explains. "He looked like he was ribbing you about something right before you left."

He looks away briefly and runs his hand up and down the smooth skin of her back. "Oh you know Haymitch, always taking pleasure in teasing me about something," he says evasively.

Normally she would just let this go. It's not like it really bothers her that Haymitch enjoys making them both uncomfortable and giving them a hard time. She's used to it by now. But something about the way Peeta has gone stiff and won't quite meet her eyes makes her persist.

She reaches out and cups his jaw, forcing him to look at her. "Peeta. What did he say?"

He sighs and covers her hand with his own. "I just didn't want to freak you out. He didn't mean anything by it. He was just joking that he loves his new place so much, that it's so much more cozier than the old mansion and there's still space for his geese."

"Okay?" she says, knowing there is still more he's not revealing.

"And just that when it comes time for him to babysit there's even a yard to play in."

Her heart jumps in her chest and she takes a moment to process how this really makes her feel. She has a suspicion that if they weren't having this conversation in the afterglow of their mind-blowing session of sex she might react completely differently.

But surprisingly she is relatively calm about this topic given how she has always felt about it.

She chooses her words carefully. "Well, if we ever need him for that, it won't be for several years from now."

The effect her words have on him is almost immediate. He swallows thickly and his eyes widen almost comically.

"Are you...do you...?" He struggles to get the words out.

"I don't know," she tells him honestly. "I can't really give you an answer. I'm not saying 'yes' and I'm not saying 'no.' I just know that it will be awhile before I can even consider it."

He nods as he processes this information. "Okay, alright. That's fine with me. I'm in no rush either."

They simply stare at each other for a moment as something passes between them, the unspoken possibility that maybe, eventually, one day they could go down that road together. She curls back into his side and feels his nervous energy pulse through her. She doesn't regret being honest with him about it; she knows that this topic would have come up sooner rather than later.

At the moment she knows that she still has a long path ahead of her until she is really okay again and can even contemplate the idea of bringing another life into this world. The thought of it still terrifies her. The old fears about bringing an innocent baby into an unstable and dangerous world haven't completely vanished with the end of The Hunger Games.

But she cannot deny that she is a different person than she was at sixteen, she is different even than the damaged and battered girl who emerged from the war without a sister. When she accepted how much she loved Peeta, when they started to make love and she became his wife and promised herself to him for forever, she knew that her views on having children would evolve one day.

She remembers that night in the arena when she and Peeta kissed with such passion it made her whole body ache for more, how she fell asleep thinking about Peeta's children and a world where they could be safe. She is not ready yet; she knows that. But underneath her fear and uncertainty, there is that hope and joy that being with Peeta instills in her, there is that quiet excitement over the idea that she could be the one to give Peeta those children, that she could create something beautiful and precious and give him a family.

Peeta has such a good, kind heart and so much love to give. She feels selfish being the only one who gets to experience it. A child would be so lucky to have Peeta as a parent, to have that unconditional love in his or her life.

She reaches out and laces their fingers together.

In response he brings her hand up to his lips and kisses the back of it.

"I love you, you know," Peeta says softly. "No matter what you decide. You'll always be enough for me."

She swallows back the lump in her throat and nods, blinking back tears.

Looking back one day she'll realize this was when she knew.

She will give Peeta children some day. She will push aside her own fears and worries just to see the look of joy and love on his face when he looks at their child for the first time.

That's what his love does for her.

He makes her feel like together they can do anything.