This was her apology for not seeing what was right in front of her the entire time; this was her way of saying she loved him. This was her last goodbye. Catching Fire SPOILERS. PxK. Lemon-esque.

CATCHING FIRE SPOILERS STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT!!!

… Ahem. Anyways. This is my attempt at writing a lemon with no dirty words whatsoever. Oooooh, hard. It's mostly to prove that it doesn't have to be a fade to black to stay –sort of- appropriate. Plus, it's Katniss' head, I'm pretty sure she doesn't go around thinking the words cunt or even dick for that matter. Definitely not the word fuck. Maybe shit, but no one's doing that in this story, LOL. Anyways, enjoy. If someone knows a good song to fit this, let me know!

Also, something interesting about me, this is my first fic OUTSIDE of the Twilight fandom. D: Holy crap. I've been much too obsessed with that for far too long, and this series deserves some notice by moi. I hope you all like me, and don't hate me for my obsessive weirdness. I'd forgotten I'm catering to a slightly different audience… :)

"The entire country thinks we've…" I trail off, not wanting to say those words.

"Had sex?" Peeta offers helpfully, his tone light and teasing.

"Yes, that," I reply with a sigh, almost wishing I would just bite my own tongue. But I have to say this, since I have to give him this. This one last piece of me. "What if…you and I…" I stare down at my hands, sure my face is red.

"Katniss, I, you know we couldn't, you couldn't, you don't…" For once, Peeta is at a loss for words. However bizarre it is, I find myself smirking.

I hold a finger to his lips and turn around in the crook of his arm to face him. "You've always loved me, Peeta, I know that now. You're too good of a person for me, but I…I owe you."

His blue eyes open wide and he lets out a single laugh. "So you want to pay me back with your body? Katniss, that's not right-,"

"No, Peeta! You don't understand," I grab him by the shoulders and push him back onto my bed. "I'm sorry I hurt your hands last year," I say as I lace the fingers of my left hand through his right and pin it above his head, "and I'm sorry I hurt your heart." I take my right hand and run it up underneath his thin white shirt, stopping when I've exposed his chest. Then I lean down and kiss right over his heart.

"Katniss," he protests, but I'm not done yet.

"This is my last apology," I whisper, tracing my fingertips up to his lips. "You've made me a better person, and I…I do love you. I'd like to prove it to you." I kiss his cheek and lean over to whisper in his ear, "This is my last goodbye."

I draw back just in time to see the determination flash in his eyes, determination that he die in the arena instead of me, but my lips are on his before he can refute me.

"This," I say against his lips, "what I feel here and now, is right." This is not just a kiss in front of the cameras, a show we put on for Panem. "It's taken me so long to realize…"

"I've done it," he says mostly to himself between kisses, "I've caught the girl on fire."

That is who I am to Panem, a vision dripping with power. Catnip is who I am to Gale, a childish nickname that stuck. Gale, who is more like a brother to me than anything. To Peeta I am –

"Katniss," he nearly moans, and a wave of sweet pleasure overcomes me. Yes, to Peeta I am Katniss, a name that when he says it makes me feel invincible.

Our names are all the words we have left to say as Peeta eases me out of my short forest green strapless dress, and I relieve him of his shirt. His pants prove to be more difficult, as his leg refuses to let them slide past his knee.

He groans in contempt and rolls me onto my back, pinning me to the bed in nothing but my underclothes. I know I should feel exposed, but I don't.

Not when his warm body is pressed so close to mine. Soon after I've thought this, however, he rolls off of me and stands to shake his black dress pants off, and his boxers shortly after. Peeta Mellark stands naked before me, and all I can think is how much I want him back overtop of me.

He chuckles as he comes right back where I wanted him, and when I raise an eyebrow – all the while aware that only my underwear separates us now – he whispers, "Your lack of innocence in this situation amuses me."

My reply is to reach down to remove my panties, but my hand meets something else instead. My eyes widen and he laughs again. "Well, maybe not complete lack of."

"Like you've ever done anything," I growl, blushing profusely. I grab what I was really after and promptly pull them off. Thanks to my prep team, I'm rather hairless in this area of my body as well. A hairless pet ape, I think disdainfully.

"Not yet," he reaches down between my legs with one hand and eases them apart. Then I feel his finger inside me and it's all I can do not to scream as tremors of pleasure shake my small frame. I grip his face in my hands and pull it down onto mine roughly, past being gentle.

"Katniss, love, your hips-," that's all he needs to say, as I arch them up to meet his body, and within seconds his finger is replaced.

I know this is right. We connect perfectly. We understand each other, physically, and, surprisingly, emotionally. "O-oh God," I utter uncharacteristically, and Peeta's response is to slide his hands behind my back and lift me up slightly to undo my bra.

Then his mouth is down on one of my breasts, and I bury my hands in his long, perfect blonde hair, not wanting him to stop. "P-peeta…" I blink incredibly fast and end up lolling my head back against my pillow, lost in an immense amount of bliss that I never thought to be possible.

"You're beautiful," he whispers in my ear, slightly out of breath, and then his mouth comes back down on mine. He whispers yet again, "This may hurt, sweetheart," before he slides himself deeper in.

Sweetheart. He said it with no malice or sarcasm in his voice, only sweetness and a lot of love. This is all I manage to think before I'm biting down on Peeta's lip to keep from screaming as the pain he was speaking of comes in a sudden rush. After a few seconds, however, there is only that lovely feeling of pleasure and it's becoming so much my head falls back on the pillows again and I sigh – no, it's more like a moan.

Peeta trails kisses down my neck as we both begin panting in earnest, near to coming. We climax together and I utter the longest, girliest sigh I've ever let out of my mouth, in perfect contentment. He comes to rest overtop of me, his chin resting on the crook of my neck as he sweetly kisses up and down my jaw.

We stay like this, still connected, until Peeta sighs and pulls out of me with a large, foolish grin on his face.

"What?" I ask suspiciously, one of my eyebrows arching up as he stands to put his boxers back on.

"Nothing," he smiles sweetly – and a little too innocently – as he lifts me up and turns down the covers, then slides in next to me. He turns on his side and I sidle up close to him, my breasts pressing against his bare chest.

I let it go and instead sigh contentedly, an omission I rarely ever let out.

"Listen, Katniss, about going into the arena tomorrow-," he begins hesitantly, but I reach up with one finger and hold it to his lips.

I trail this finger down to his collarbone as I explain, "It doesn't matter Peeta. Whatever happens happens; I've said my goodbye."

And for tonight, for whatever reason, he lets me have the last word, but I can tell he's not done fighting. It's a shame for him, because I'm not either, but in this moment, I'm too happy to tell him otherwise.

We drift off to sleep in each other's arms, and for once my dreams aren't permeated by the stuff of nightmares, only thoughts of Peeta and how perfect finally being with him really was.

Awwwwwhhh, cute! Short, I know, but still adorable, no? I love writing things from Katniss' point of view; very much fun for me. :)

Hope you enjoyed!! Critique it as you will. Positivity will make me smile, negativity will make me laugh, especially if it's unjust. Just so you know. :D

Love, Reese (AKA Aleatoire)