Thank you to everyone that has supported me through the process of writing this story. This is in fact the last chapter. I just wanted to clarify since I think I confused a lot of you with my Author's Note.

Thank you to my Beta, sixela872. She's always so patient with me, especially when I send her tons of stuff to edit during the holidays.

I can be reached on tumblr under the username: stacylk

And at my writing blog: fightingdragonsanddrawingfairies

ix: your trojan's in my head

Katniss sits on her couch with her knees tucked into her chest the feeling in her legs long gone.

She could still hear his shouts long after she had run out of his room. Katniss had tried to think of anything other than the way he had looked at her, but the image of tears streaming down his face was burnt into her memory.

Her body begins to shake uncontrollably and she draws up her legs and hugs them even more tightly.

Peeta had been honest with her about his feelings, something she knew had been difficult for him, and she had responded with hostility. She had been sitting here for hours mulling over every moment of that night: every expression on his face, every word he uttered and in the end she had concluded that her worst nightmare had come to pass.

She was like her mother.

She left those who cared for her behind with only their pain to keep them company. She had locked herself away for so long that when she finally found someone who understood her she was too damaged to love him back.

Katniss barely registered when the sun began to rise until the light filtered through the blinds, blinding her slightly. She winced against the light and unclenched her hands from around her legs, the sudden movement making her muscles ache. Other than the a deep tingle that rushes through her limbs as she stretches out, every part of her is numb. Almost everything. The hollow feeling in her chest is the most painful. Katniss can feel the tears welling up in her eyes when the tumbler to the front door lock clicks. She sits up straight on the couch, smoothing her hair down and watches her father walk in the room, his shoulders hunched down.

He stops short when he enters the living room, noticing her sitting there. "I didn't think you'd still be up?" He fumbles with his keys before tossing them on the coffee table in front of her.

They stare at each other in an uncomfortable silence until Katniss clears her throat. "Couldn't sleep," her voice heavy from the lack of sleep. She shrugs when he continues to watch her. "Long day."

Her father nods and works his hands through his dark hair before turning toward the stairs. She watches him walk away and something about the way that his shoulders slump indicating defeat unnerves her because in this moment she sees herself years down the line as she regrets her own decisions.

He's nearly to the first step when she jumps from the couch. Her legs are still finding their feeling so she stumbles a bit but her resolve to catch him wakes up her body. Her father had begun to climb the stairs when she speaks. "Why won't you talk to me?" Her voice is so small that she cringes. She feels as though she's eight years old again asking her father why her mother was gone.

He stops and turns to her, his tired brow furrowed. "Katniss?"

Katniss shrugs. "I guess I can't entirely blame you since I've been just as much at fault as you." He watches her warily. "I've let you put me in second place after a ghost. She's not even here and everything we do still revolves around her."

Her father sighs as he reaches out to grasp the bannister. "I'm a little confused here." His eyes fall from her gaze before returning. "What are you wanting me to say?"

She throws her hands up aggravated. "I want for once to have an honest conversation with my Dad."

He reaches with his free hand to the back of his neck rubbing it roughly. "Forgive me, but this is all a little unexpected."

Katniss shakes her head clearly frustrated by her father's obtuseness. "Why? It's not like these aren't issues we've both been ignoring for years."

He sighs as he steps down from the stairs before stopping a few feet from her. "Katniss."

She begins to wring her hands, a nervous habit that always seems to happen when she talks about her mother. "We both walk around this house like we're dead already." Her fingers have already begun to ache from her tight grip as her tears fall down her cheeks. "I can't be like this anymore."

She's taken aback when a few tears fall down her father's face as well. "I miss her."

Katniss nods as she rushes toward him, wrapping her arms around him. "I know." Her voice is muffled against his chest before she settles her cheek against him. "But I can't anymore because I'm so angry with her for leaving that I can't even miss my own mother."

He sighs loudly before wrapping his arms around his daughter. "I thought if I loved her enough it would be alright."

Katniss closes her eyes as he squeezes her tightly and it surprises her how much she missed her father and his embraces. "She was always sick, even before I met her. But when she had good days, it was like all the light came from inside of her. And when she died I felt like she took it with her."

She can hear him sniffle as she pulls away enough to look up into his face. "I look at you, Katniss, and sometimes I see so much of her in you it frightens me."

Katniss shakes her head as the realization comes over her. "I'm not her, Dad. I'm not broken or vulnerable but I'm afraid if I keep closing myself off, if I keep living in this tomb I will become like her. Maybe I won't take my life but it'll be one of loneliness and I'll begin to be a degraded version of myself."

He reaches out to brush her hair away from her face. "I'm not sure how to change."

She nods. "I'm going to go away to school." His hand freezes and she can see the worry in his eyes but she continues. "It's not my responsibility to take care of you, but maybe you can start being my dad again."

He pulls her back to him, hugging her tightly and she can feel him relax. He leans down enough to place his cheek at the top of her head and she can feel him smile. "I'd like that."

Katniss squeezes him back. "Me too."

They stand there silently holding onto each other and as the tears begin to fall steadily neither one runs from the grief that has demanded to be felt for so long. They endure it together, the way it should have been all along.

She stares down at the acceptance letter and is filled with a sense of hope. Katniss had always seen her future as something to dread, something else to regard as empty and painful, but now she had a chance to be happy.

She draws her legs underneath her tighter and thinks of Peeta. He had given her the strength she needed to speak up, to confront her father. Peeta had given her voice back and all she had done was cause him more pain.

She needs to make it up to him, to tell him he was so much more important to her than she was willing to admit.

That when he held her she felt safe and loved. Feelings that she hadn't experienced in a long time.

The sudden movement outside of her window causes her jump up from her bed. She can barely register what's happening as he climbs through her open window. Katniss approaches the window before Peeta enters the room fully. She watches him brush his jeans and stand up. He looks at her for several minutes - panting , his breathing quick, and his broad chest heaving from the exertion of the climb. She notices his t-shirt is slightly torn at the hem as he lifts it up to mop his sweaty brow. Her own breath hitches as a large part of his toned stomach is visible and she wants nothing more than to reach out and trace the muscles there.

Katniss shakes her head attempting to clear her mind of images pertaining to a half dressed Peeta when she speaks. "What are you doing?"

Peeta drops his shirt as a wry smile plays at his lips. "Oh, so you can climb into my bedroom but I can't do the same? That's sexist." She fights the grin that threatens to overtake her face while pretending to be offended.

The smile finally plays at her lips as she tilts her head to the side. "Peeta." Katniss can feel the warmth radiate off his body and having him so close as he smiles at her is too much. Her gaze flits back to his sweaty t-shirt and the way it clings to his muscular chest before she walks back over to her bed.

She stops a few inches short from the bed and when she turns around to face Peeta his eyes are locked on her. The crooked grin is still at his lips as she watches him. His breathing has slowed but when he begins to take a step forward she can feel her pulse race.

Peeta's expression turns somber as he approaches her. "I just wanted to tell you something and then afterwards I will get out of your life."

She nods as he stops directly in front of her. Katniss can already feel the warmth from his body and she can feel her rapid heartbeat quicken. "Alright."

His arms hang at his sides as his hands nervously fidget with the material of his jeans. "It wasn't right of me to push you like I did."

She looks up into his eyes to catch his gaze and she's mesmerized by how blue his eyes can be. "Peeta."

Peeta breaks their stare for a moment before looking back down at her. "I didn't like who I was when I came here, and because of you I think I have a real shot at being the person I was always meant to be."

He closes his eyes to gain his train of thought and Katniss suddenly feels hollow without his gaze. She nearly works up the strength to reach out to him when he opens his eyes and speaks.

"But here's the thing - I'm terrified that I'll be that guy again, and I know it isn't fair to expect you to fix me or make me like myself. But everything I love or feel is worth living for seems to be wrapped up in you. And I'm going to spend a long time getting over you, but I'll never stop loving you, Katniss. I wouldn't want to."

Katniss nods as she closes the inches between them and places her hands at his chest. She can feel him draw in a strangled breath from the action. "Well, I can't be here with you." The hurt in his eyes appears instantly and she bites her bottom lip before continuing. "Because I'm going away to school and I want you to come with me."

It takes a moment for Peeta to fully register what she's said and Katniss can see him work through a myriad of emotions before his mind seems to clear. "What?"

She smiles widely as her fingers idly play with the material of his shirt. "There's some great art schools on the East Coast." It takes a moment but his face breaks out into a wide grin as well. "Just don't use all of the sketches of me in your portfolio."

His cheeks begin to blush from his apparent embarrassment. "You know about those?"

Katniss nods. "Of course."

"How?"

Her eyes fall to his chest as she begins to run her hands over the plains of his torso. "You fell asleep once and I got curious." Peeta winces when she brushes a spot that is ticklish and she makes a note of it for later.

Peeta laughs as he wraps his arms around her to pull her against his body. "Evidently not curious enough. You didn't see any of the filthy ones."

This surprises her as she looks up at him curiously. "How filthy?"

Peeta leans in close toward her to press his lips to hers. "Oh, really dirty." His breath is warm and tickles her lips as he speaks.

When he pulls back she holds his gaze and the contentment from before returns. He's a breath away from her lips and she wants to lift up the few inches to meet his lips. "I'm not ready to say it yet."

Peeta releases her waist to place his hands at each side of her face, framing it gently. "That's ok. I know you, Katniss Everdeen. I have loved you since I was eight years old and I know you have to come to things in your own time." He closes the gap before she can and runs the tip of his tongue against her bottom lip. She opens her mouth to him and all the heat from last night is flooding back, threatening to overtake all her senses. Peeta is the first to pull away and when he looks at her she can see all of his hope and love in that one gaze. "I'll be here beside you waiting."

She nods as her hands travel around his sides to settle at his back before sliding into the back pockets of his jeans and giving his butt a playful squeeze. "How close will you be while you're waiting?"

Peeta grins and pulls her closer into him, causing his groin to press into her stomach. "As close as possible."

Katniss lightly scratches up his bottom and back as Peeta shivers under her touch. Her hands settle at his broad shoulders. "Good, 'cause I think it's time you show me how lacking the nerd at science camp was."

Peeta laughs before his blue eyes begin to darken. She feels lost in the deep shade as he presses his hips into her body and a warm tingle begins to radiate below her stomach. "I'll put him to shame."

Her fingers travel up the length of his neck to tangle in his curls as he leans down to kiss her. Katniss pulls back slightly, her lips still resting on his. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

A deep affirming growl comes from the back of Peeta's throat as he lifts her up and she wraps her legs around his taut torso. His mouth is wet and hot against hers as every ounce of passion and sexual tension between them is set free. When they fall to her bed, she clings to him for dear life as he works his way up under shirt to roam his hands over her stomach and breasts. The feeling from his touch alone is enough to make her moan out loud and when he places open mouth kisses to her neck she can feel his smile against her skin.

It isn't long until they're both naked and pressed up against each other underneath her sheets, and as he moves inside of her Katniss can understand how easy it can be to lose yourself in another person. To want to be completely immersed in the way that person makes you feel.

But as Peeta takes her hands in his, pushes into her gently, and lowers his mouth to her ear to ask if she's still alright, Katniss knows that it takes two separate people to equally love. So when he lifts up to look into her eyes and she can feel her entire body tighten as her orgasm approaches she can hear the words pass by her lips.

I love you, too.

THE END

A/N: That's it! I hope it was everything you were wanting. Thank you for sticking through it all with me. Please Review!