Katniss Everdeen

"Peeta!" I called out after him as he turned to go. It was involuntary but it couldn't be stopped. I couldn't bear to see him walk away. "Will you stay with me?" I bit my lip as I waited for an answer for what felt like an eternity.

"Yeah, of course." He returned to my side and crawled into my bed with me. Then quietly, almost too quietly for me to hear, he added, "Always." I turned to look up at him. The boy with the bread. The boy who protected me. The one who was always there for me. The only one I could trust. The only one who understood what it was like to be in this position. There were so many ways I could describe him but right now it all came back to one. My friend. And the way he looked at me, I knew he felt that way too. I was his friend, his companion, his love. I had to do what I could to make him happy. We were engaged now. There would never be another life for us. I owed him so much and if I could make him happy, who was I to deny him that much? So I kissed him. He seemed surprised at first but when I didn't pull back he responded enthusiastically.

His tongue ran over my bottom lip and I opened my mouth instinctively. Peeta's arms wrapped around my back and he pulled me tightly to him. I felt that thing again. That thing I had felt in the caves was flaring up in my stomach. I tried to push it down at first but after a moment I threw all caution to the wind and embraced it. I rolled into his arms and enveloped myself in his comforting warmth. His warmth was spreading through me. The electricity was connecting us, holding us in place. I needed him now. I needed him like I needed oxygen. I needed to be closer, I needed to be part of him. So I gave in. Or rather, I gave in to something Peeta had never outright asked for. I rolled on top of him, deepened our kiss and when I felt Peeta's body responding I smiled against his lips.

"Katniss," He breathed as I moved from his lips to his neck. "Katniss I think we need to take a break." I shook my head.

"No Peeta. I think we need to just keep going." He pushed back for a minute.

"Katniss, don't…" Whatever he had been about to say was cut off by my lips against his and my hips grinding against his noticeable excitement.

"I love you Peeta." I whispered in his ear. I wasn't lying. I did love him. Of that I was completely sure. What I wasn't certain of was whether or not I was in love with him. At this moment I didn't feel that clarification was necessary and he didn't ask.

Those four words were enough. He gave in. And after, as we lay together, out of breath but full of heat, he whispered them back to me.

"I love you Katniss." I nestled my head in the curve of his shoulder, feeling his bare skin against my cheek. I closed my eyes, and for the first time in weeks, I slept soundly.