Hunger Games 1. Chapter 1

Flower Born of Flame

Chapter 1

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Pain.

Excruciating pain.

That was all Katniss could think of as she lay there in the darkness. The only bit of light that she had been given was the from the small opening of the cave where she had made camp. But she couldn't see if it was day or night, whether it was the sun or moon causing the light that was casting shadows around her. Not that it really mattered.

All that mattered at that exact moment was her ability to ride out this next wave of agony.

The pain rippled through her abdomen straight to her spine. Her body tensed as she shook from the overwhelming sensation. It was felt almost like the her internal organs were being contorted and stretched before being slammed up against each other by an invisible force. Like they were being tightly squeezed over and over again.

She lay there facing the ground, but she placed the majority of her weight on her side. She didn't want to risk lying completely on her stomach, but it hurt too much to lay on back. Her flushed cheek pressed against the soft push fabric beneath her, she was eternally grateful for the padding around her face. Because once again, she could feel another excruciating moan trying to escape her dry parched mouth.

Burying her nose into the blanket, the sweat that literally dripped off her brow dampened the area. The small amount of liquid almost made the sweltering heat of the cave bearable.

Almost.

Katniss didn't care about the perspiration-drenched saltiness of the fabric as she took it into her mouth and clenched her teeth together tightly. Her jaw was aching from holding on so hard as she released the muffled sound of her pain from her throat. Her damp, shaky hands clenched the fabric tightly on either side of her, fingers digging into the material. She accidentally ripped out strands of fibers when they snagged along the jagged and dirty edges of her fingernails.

Her slicked bare legs, greased from the perspiration emitted from her heat-radiating skin, easily slid over the same blanket as she brought them around to her front. Clenching her knees together tightly, they stayed a distance away from her body only because Katniss knew that bringing them to her chest would make the pain worse. Toes curling into her feet, she could feel the tinge of an ache from her toenails digging into the skin of her adjacent appendages, but at that moment she hardly cared.

She knew that the expression on her face was far from controlled, far from anything she had ever brought herself to show before. Her eyelids were pressed down so tightly that she could see stars behind her eyes. Her brow was wrinkled from the contortions of her mouth while she was screaming ans moaning into the fabric. Tears streamed down her face, what she could musters as saliva formed around her lips and clear streams streaked out of her nose.

Katniss knew she looked horrible. But for the first time, she couldn't help but be grateful for that.

Her body's disarray matched her face. Her once carefully braided hair was still in place, but numerous strands feel from it in every which way. Around the edges of her scalp was damp. A layer of dirt was caked onto her skin, all over her neck and face, her exposed arms, shoulders, and even the full length of her legs.

The smock of a dress was made from a very thin, swarthy white fabric, practically see-through now that it was drenched with the amount of moisture secreting from each and every one of her pours. Adding to the fact that Katniss wore nothing underneath left her increasingly exposed.

The outfit was nothing more than a long, rectangular piece of fabric. A fringed slit opening had been torn in the very center, the opening where she'd put her head through. The exposed area of skin around her neck started right at her breastbone until it reached behind her to her shoulder blades. All of her neck, collarbone and upper back were bare. The thin expanse of fabric left to cover her shoulders fell to the sides, every now and then, sometimes showing too much breast tissue than she wished.

The only thing holding the cloth in place were a series of thin matching cloth strips encircling and crisscrossing around the circumference of her waist, starting just below her bust line and coming down to her hip bones. With such a narrow strip of fabric running down her front and back, it left plenty of space for the all of her hips and sides to be exposed. The smock only came down several inches above her knees. There was only barely enough fabric to cover her decency. Even as she writhed in pain she had to monitor the way the fabric moved, careful not to expose too much.

Usually she would have been embarrassed by how much skin she was showing. After all, at that very moment, even as she screamed into the blanket in agony, her appearance was being displayed across the entire nation of Panem. Normally every instinct within her would have done whatever possible to cover herself.

Then again, Katniss wasn't in a normal situation.

But in that very moment, as twisted as the feeling may have been, she was glad the entire country could see her like this. This was because Katniss knew the more pain she suffered and the more horrendous her appearance, there were more chances that every citizen in the Capitol was becoming more and more intrigued by this entertainment.

Her pain and her suffering, this new and fresh approach to the event that had never in the history of their country happened before. It was almost impossible for a Capitol citizen to object to this new found delight. They wouldn't be able to even try saying that they disliked it.

And when they liked what they saw, that meant Katniss's surroundings were unlikely to be changing anytime soon.

That was what Katniss was counting on.

Within seconds the once excruciating pain dulled, leaving as quickly as it had come upon her body. She paused for a few seconds as she tensed, just waiting to feel if the pain had really ceased. It took less than a few seconds for her to confirm it. Yes, it was gone … for now.

Katniss released the now soggy fabric from her teeth that she had used as a muffler for her voice, wiping off her entire face on a dryer patch of blanket next to it. Although her horrid appearance was helping her, she could only maintain so much. Refusing to collapse onto her stomach, Katniss used what strength she had to push herself from her side and onto her back.

As she did, she couldn't help the small sharp sound that escaped her mouth. Groggy and dizzy, Katniss's head fell onto the hard earth beneath her without much cushioning. All that lay beneath her was the very thin wool blanket, and beneath that was only a small layer of leaves and clay. She gathered the strength to cut her voice short, but that was all she could muster.

Now that the waves of pain in her abdomen were temporarily relieved, she could feel the intense throbbing from inside of her skull. It felt like there were little people hammering away on the other side of her temple. She stretched her head back to rest the bones and muscles in her neck. Her heart was fluttering faster than a hummingbird's wings against her ribcage. Her chest moved up and down furiously, and Katniss forced her mouth closed so that she could attempt to regulate her breathing.

Only when Katniss could feel her pulse lowering, however slowly, did she realize that not even her tongue was wet enough to moisten her lips as she tried. Letting out an almost pleasant sigh, she was once again reminded that in the very least thirst was not something she needed to worry about.

Never daring to remove her self from the blanket, once Katniss mustered up the strength she rolled herself onto her side once again. Reaching up above her head, she inched her fingers forward, almost waving them around blindly until they found what she had been searching for. She clasped her hand around the plastic, and forced her aching muscles to pull herself up from the ground. Leaning her weight on her free arm, she steadied herself despite her shakiness.

Already opened, Katniss brought the water bottle to her lips with shaky hands and pressed the opening to her lips. Once she felt the warmer yet wonderfully wet pure liquid on her lips she took a long, slow swig. The substance trickled down her throat and coated its sandpaper-like walls. She wasn't savoring it, just making sure to pace herself. In fact as she drank she could feel it trickling down the sides of her mouth, dripping onto her neck and chest. Conserving her water was one thing she didn't have worry over. In the space where she had retrieved the already half-downed gallon bottle were were another eleven. Two were already empty. Plenty left.

Twelve gallons of water for the tribute from District 12. If she had the energy, Katniss would have chuckled at the irony.

Once the bitter dryness from her throat and mouth was gone, she capped the bottle and returned it where she'd found it, wiping the liquid away from her chin and neck. Katniss didn't bother to use the water to scrub down her face or body, despite the fact that they were covered in a layer of sweat and caked in a layer of dirt. Her body was doing its job of cooling her down on its own, so where was she to stop it?

The sweat was welcomed, a sign that she was still hydrated enough to perform such a task. She had enough water, but that didn't mean she was going to waste it either. Besides, once she rid herself of the sweat, it would just return with the next wave anyway. The only thing that Katniss did to herself was wipe away the salty fluid from her brow. The last thing she needed was for her eyes to be stinging. She didn't want to temporarily blind herself.

Slowly returning to her position on her back and closing her eyes, Katniss took in slow deep breaths through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. In and out, in and out. She repeated this until she could hear her heart settling, slowing down to a normal pace. No longer was the organ beneath her breast trying to escape its cage.

She released all the tension in each of her muscles, allowing them to sink down slowly onto the ground. Instead of her limbs being tightly clenched to her sides, she allowed them to fan out wherever they landed. The ache from having to hold herself subsided, and as she stared out to the space in above her, she could see her vision returning.

As the stars that blocked her vision cleared, she couldn't help as her head turned to the side, too heavy to keep straight. It was when she completely let go that she could feel the extreme weight of tiredness settling over her.

Sleeping was next to impossible, despite the heaviness of her eyelids. Katniss knew that if she tried to close them they wouldn't open without a substantial amount of effort. She would never forgive herself if she fell asleep in that moment. Sleeping now would mean vulnerability. That was something she couldn't afford at that moment.

Despite her persistence to stay awake, Katniss knew that she had to rest somewhat, even if it only meant lying there motionless. She needed to rest and not allow the stress to affect her so, because her present state of mind affected her body. And the state of her body not only affected her own, but the one she was supporting as well.

The body of the person inside her.

She felt her hand lingering to an all too familiar spot on her stomach. Like the simple barrier of her hand could protect the small life inside of her from all harm. It was wishful thinking, and foolish at that. Still, something inside of Katniss made her perform the small gesture anyway. It was her only way of showing her protectiveness even in her weakened state. The audience wouldn't be pleased unless their most famous mother-to-be wasn't being … well, maternal.

Even if the cameras weren't filming her every move, she would have done it anyway. This was because the only thing between danger and this new, fledgling life that was making its way out into the world for the first time, was Katniss. She was all that this unborn creature had.

No, not a creature. This wasn't just another creature without an identity. It was a baby. Her baby. Her child.

And Katniss knew that the only thing that could keep her child out of harm's way was her own strength and protection. She glanced over to the opening in the cave where she had made shelter. Outside these walls were countless dangers, all of them just waiting for the right opportunity.

That was because for the first time in history, for the 75th annual Hunger Games, the number of people in the arena was about to grow.

And Katniss had no idea how soon that time was coming.

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(A/N: Thank you for reading. I haven't written anything in such a long time... but I hope I haven't gotten rusty. Please tell me what you think, even if it's negative. But gently. Please? I look forward to my next update.)


	2. Chapter 2

Flower Born of Flame

Chapter 2

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A flutter.

That was the only word that could be used to describe it.

At long last, when the pounding in her head finally settled into a dull ache, and when her pulse stopped racing so loudly that she could hear it, that's when she felt it. It was a distinct feeling, one she was all too familiar with. Despite its origins in her abdomen, this time it wasn't a feeling of pain or agony. Too hard to be the beating of butterfly wings, but too soft to be painful. As she let out surprisingly lighthearted sigh, this time she couldn't help but smile – even if was just the slight curling of her lip.

Leave it to the one person behind Katniss's wanting to rest to make it nearly impossible for her to relax.

Slowly, her hand trailed up from resting beside her until it found its way to her stomach, only several inches beneath her breastbone, to the source of the disturbance. She pressed her fingers to the area softly, an almost impossible attempt at communication.

For the first time since her episodes of screams began, she open her mouth for a completely different reason. "Shhh … " she soothed, although she knew her voice was cracked. The strain to her voice box made it ache to use. Katniss knew saying something was next to useless, but she had to try. "You'll be out soon. Just hold on a little longer."

But the fluttering did not stop for this. In fact, once Katniss's voice filled the silent void only made it the feeling more intense. Restraining herself from making a face, she opened her eyes as she lifted her head ever so slightly. Of course trying to give her opponent a look was impossible; they couldn't even make eye contact. That didn't mean she couldn't try.

Katniss knew what she needed to do to make it stop. Knew, but didn't want to do it. But her tiredness was so relentless that she also knew she'd never get relax in this state. And rest was critical for her at that moment.

As annoying and aggravating as the situation was, she knew she couldn't say no to her own baby.

Resting her head back, Katniss's hand moved so that her palm laid gently over the area where her child was kicking. It was the closest way of touching at that point. Taking a deep breath, Katniss mustered up energy as she cleared her throat. And once she knew her voice was almost normal again, she began to sing.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd heard the melody. It was a soft and slow tune, a lullaby, something that had been sung to every baby in the Seam. It had been so long since she'd last heard it, she was shocked that she knew it word for word. All Katniss did know was that with each new word that escaped her lips, the fluttering in her belly slowly began to stop.

It still kicked because it wanted her to sing louder, for longer. But Katniss restrained herself from going over a certain pitch, knowing how much it echoed inside the cave around her. It was for this very reason that Katniss muffled her own agonized screams with the blanket. If it was only all of Panem watching, then she would have screamed as loud as she pleased.

The sound of an expectant mother in labor might have pulled on the heartstrings of Capitol citizens, however small they were. And if she didn't succeed in making them pity her, maybe she would have been lucky enough to entertain the sadists watching. Either way, she would never pass up another opportunity for a sponsor.

But all of Panem weren't the only ones watching. That was the problem.

Weren't the only ones listening. Loud screams would give away her location alone, echo them and they'd grow louder. And anything outside the cave could hear her. There were a number of things just waiting to find such a defenseless creature. Hungry animals, mutts…

And of course her fellow tributes.

However few of them were left, Katniss knew there was at least one of them that wouldn't hesitate to kill her even if she was in labor. She wasn't about to give up her hiding spot. It was her only line of defense at that moment. Her bow was right next to her, arrow already out of the sheath, and next to that a knife that even at that moment she had firmly in her freed hand. But she knew that wouldn't be enough.

Katniss let out a breath of relief as the final words of the lullaby escaped her mouth. There was no more movement underneath her palm. She may not have been able to sleep, but that didn't mean she would deprive her child of the same pleasure. The baby hadn't even been born yet, and already it was being subjected to the worst life that Katniss could have ever imagined for it. The life inside of her only existed because of other forces at work.

But that didn't prevent her child from coming, and Katniss knew that it would be soon.

She'd been lying there for a very long time, clutching the blanket in pain every time a wave of pain rippled through her once again. She really wasn't sure how much time had passed. Hours, days maybe? All she did know was that she'd endured more than her far share of labor pains.

Katniss also knew that the baby would be there soon. At first the pain came almost about every hour or so, but soon the times between these 'episodes' was drawing shorter and shorter. And that was the clearest sign of the infant's soon arrival. Years of being by her own mother's side, however briefly, while babies were delivered told her that much about the situation.

As an ache returned to her spine, she moved her weight ever so slightly until she was on her side again. Katniss rested her head on her upper arm, sprawling it out above her head. Meanwhile, she placed the other on the ground, palm facing down, careful to steady herself. Positioned like this gave her a little relief from the aching.

She wasn't being very active, and she knew that her spectators were itching in their seats while watching her. Between her contractions was the perfect time for Capitol citizens to talk amongst themselves though, comment on her performance.

Maybe they were placing bets too, since there were so many things to take bets about.

How much longer would it be before the birth?

Would either of them survive?

What was the baby's gender going to be? Katniss had to admit that even she didn't know the answer to that little question.

She had never wanted children. Katniss had admitted this several times, to herself and others. She didn't want them for this exact reason; she didn't want to subject them to the games. She didn't want a child to be a pawn for others' entertainment. But that was exactly what happened anyway.

Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that of all the children born into Panam, her own would be only one ever born inside the arena. This child never even had a choice about it; it hadn't even been born yet. It had no free will of its own and yet it was already exposed to almost all the terrors the world had to offer.

No child, not even her own, deserved punishment just for existing.

Because of this child, Katniss was one step closer to danger. Its presence in her life caused countless troubles and problems, all of which were ways that others could harm her. Her tormentors probably couldn't wait to torture her this way.

But Katniss couldn't bring herself to hate her baby. She couldn't hate this small, innocent little life that had grown inside of her for so long. This life had formed within her. It was a part of her, and also a part of the one she loved very dearly. It was a life that had been created because of that shared love.

Yes, that love with a special someone.

The thought made Katniss's attention draw forward, her eyes steadying on the hand that lay in front of her, her left hand to be precise. She let it relax ever so slightly, letting the fingers curl into a slackened state. She couldn't help it as her eyes started to trail towards the light strip of skin at the very base of her ring finger. The lack of jewelry helped her to remember something else, something that might keep the Capitol busy for a while as well.

The other tributes.

They were out there. She had no clue as to where, but she knew they were. She'd yet to hear a single cannon fire, let alone enough to leave her completely alone. Plus, even those at the Capitol wouldn't leave her like this with a baby on the way. Then again, maybe they would.

Her thoughts still didn't count out the lack of cannon fire. That fact alone told her that the person with her missing piece of jewelry was also out there. That person had it because Katniss had given it to him before they entered the arena. He wore it on a chain around his neck, along with the slightly larger companion to the matching pair, because that was the one he owned.

She knew his finger had the same lightened skin around his own finger as well.

And he was probably looking for her at that very moment too. No, he was most definitely looking for her. There wasn't any way he could rest unless he knew they were safe. They, meaning Katniss and their unborn child.

Katniss felt a tear well up in her eyes. She wanted to curse the hormones in her body causing her to feel all these different and riveting emotions. They made her normal stoic mask just melt away whenever she began to think certain things. But she didn't curse herself, because at that point Katniss couldn't punish herself anymore.

Shouldn't she want her baby's father to be with her when she was in such a defenseless state?

Was it wrong to want him to be safe?

Couldn't she feel guilty knowing he was probably fighting tooth and nail to find her?

The feelings were just welling up inside of her, and they were too much for her to contain. But instead of trying to hold the tears back, Katniss decided to embrace embraced them. After all, she couldn't just pass up making such an emotional scene for the cameras. The better the show, the safer she was. The safer her baby was.

She kept her face straight as she felt the small bit of liquid trail down her face sideways onto the blanket. Although she'd never been a good liar, at that point in time she didn't need exaggerate for the cameras at all. The emotion and toll in her voice was genuine. She could almost see Haymitch now, cheering her on for playing her part so well. But she wasn't pretending.

With parted lips, she mustered up the strength to mutter one simple choked out name, "Peeta."

Where was her boy with the bread?

Where was her husband, the father of her child?

She knew the answer to these questions, but thinking about them was too painful. He was outside the cave, in dense maze of trees that made up the jungle of an arena for their Hunger Games that year. He was out there probably fighting off some beast, or making his way out of some trap. Katniss knew all these things because the only reason they were apart was because it was more thrilling.

What could be more entertaining than watching the star-crossed lovers of district twelve separated, kept apart by numerous obstacles while Katniss suffered alone through the labor of their first child in the middle of the arena for all the world to see? This was a first, something new and exciting. The Capitol citizens got to watch as a young couple clung onto their own lives, all while trying to bring a new life into the world. It was too good of an opportunity to let things pan out by chance. What would be the delight in that?

Nothing was, that was the problem.

Nothing was more entertaining to watch than the turbulent lives of the tributes from district twelve. It had been that way since their very first instant as tributes, the very day they were chosen to take that train to the Capitol. That way the day all this began.

Yes, that very dreadful day only a little over a year ago.

That was the beginning of everything.

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(A/N: Just to give everyone a little forewarning, from this point on, the story is going to rewind a little ways. I'm going to have it go back to the day when Katniss got on the train to go to the Capitol. And the story will play out chronologically until we get back to the scene from chapters 1 & 2. I like to think of it as this is what's going through Katniss's mind as she's waiting there in the cave. Thanks again for reading and the support. I hope to hear from many of you.)


	3. Chapter 3

Flower Born of Flame

Chapter 3

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Delicious.

That was really the only thing Katniss could think of as she slowly pulled the fork from her mouth. As she did, she pursed her lips together as tightly as possible as so there was absolutely nothing left on her eating utensil. There had only been one time in her life where she had tasted cake before that moment, but even then it hadn't been nearly as heavenly moist and creamy as the one in front of her. And it had most definitely not been chocolate either.

It was the absolute best thing about her entire day. Considering that the day began with her sister's name being drawn out of the reaping ball, there wasn't a lot that would have cheered her up. But somehow this was doing just fine. The fancy, already half-eaten, brown pastry that sitting in front of her was light and fluffy, coated with an equally richer and smoother icing that tasted like velvet going down her throat.

As she was eating Katniss had to hold back a moan of delight.

She didn't want to draw the attention of her dining companions. Katniss was having such a good experience that she knew it would end the moment she was interrupted. And she didn't want that to happen. Indulging in the pastry almost let her forget that she wasn't at home, relatively safe with her family. Almost.

But Katniss wasn't home. No, instead she was in the fanciest place she'd ever seen, the dinning car on the train that was taking her to the Capitol. It was something that she didn't want to think about at that exact moment. Not while she was experiencing the best thing that had ever come in contact with her tongue.

But not thinking about it didn't detract from the fact of one important thing.

She hated this.

Katniss hated being there. She hated knowing that with each passing second she was only too closer to meeting her impending doom. Each time she felt the room around her moving she was reminded that this may have been her final chances at experiencing different things. When she looked out the window to see the world passing by, Katniss realized that she was that much closer to the Capitol.

The Capitol where she was probably going to have to kill one of her dining companions of that evening.

As Katniss quietly chewed she couldn't help but look around to the ones that were sitting with her at the table. Effie Trinket had seated herself besides Katniss, changed out of her green suit and into something that Katniss could only describe of as a casual dress.

It was Effie's form of casual anyway. Still donning her complementary pink wig, she had dimmed down the colors in her make-up for the evening. The bright magenta beaded dress had a skirt that looked too tight to walk in, and her very high-heels helped this matter. The neckline to the dress went down far enough that Effie was practically spilling out of it every time she leaned forward, but she didn't seem to even notice or care.

Admittedly, Katniss had changed too. After her arrival on the train, Effie had led Katniss to her own 'chambers', and before leaving Effie instructed her to change before she came back to retrieve Katniss for dinner. The chambers themselves were simply a set of three rooms; a bedroom, dressing room and bathroom. For the first several minutes of being inside, Katniss had to take the time to look around because the space was so overwhelming. The dressing room scared her with its automatically opening closets and drawers, that she didn't even attempt looking through all the clothes she had been given.

But not wanting to disobey, she made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. After trying to figure out how to operate the shower with all its various buttons and knobs, somehow she'd found both her hair and body clean, smelling of mint and had all the hair on her body, besides her eyebrows and head, removed while inside. Katniss had just been thrilled to have her very first shower, since back home she bathed in a small tub and if she wanted the water hot, she had to boil it herself. So while she was showering she took her time to enjoy herself.

But apparently she had taken longer than she thought because as soon as she got out of the shower and dried – by the automatic drier no less – Effie popped into her rooms without asking and was buzzing about Katniss taking so long.

Only able to cling to a towel for decency, Effie dragged her into the dressing room and began pressing buttons without care. More worried about her state of undress than anything, Katniss practically let Effie choose her all her clothes. The only thing Effie stopped to ask was if she preferred a particular color.

Green.

Thankfully Effie complied in dressing her in green.

Only Katniss didn't expect that shade of green. The dress was a light mint green, a cotton fabric speckled in tiny black spots all over it. Effie even took the opportunity to help Katniss put the dress on, seeing as she'd never worn anything like it before. The straps tied at the back of her neck, leaving her back and shoulders uncomfortably exposed. It also pushed out and accentuated her chest, the sweetheart neckline showing more cleavage than she realized she had.

Katniss had never been particularly well endowed because of all the years she had spent going hungry. Her body didn't have enough fat to spare on her breasts. One wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at her in that dress. The bodice fitted tightly around her waist, and the skirt took advantage of her skinniness by fanning out from that point making it look like she was curvier than she was. The only good things about the dress was that it came down to her knees, and wasn't see-through.

Although Katniss wanted to go barefooted, Effie wouldn't let her leave the room unless there was something on her feet. Katniss compromised with a pair of black slippers instead of Effie's suggestion of heels. She knew she'd never be able to walk in the heels. After that, Katniss was then half-led, half-dragged to the dinning room, Effie muttering something about them being late the whole way.

By the time they got to the table and Effie forced Katniss into her chair, there were already two others present.

Sitting across from Effie's spot was none other than Katniss's alleged mentor, the previous victor Haymitch Abernathy. Katniss was surprised to even see him sitting there. As soon as they got on the train he'd grumbled about taking a nap before disappearing, and Katniss had been certain that she wouldn't see him until they arrived at the Capitol. But there he was, even wearing a new, albeit a little grungy, set of clothes.

It looked like it was a suit, but it was missing a the tie and vest, and the first couple buttons at the top of his shirt weren't fastened. He had even shaved and put on a clean set of clothes. Haymitch didn't bother looking up when they arrived, too preoccupied with sharpening a hunting knife that looked completely out of place along side the fancy silverware.

Last but not least, sitting across from Katniss herself and next to Haymitch had been her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark. He had been nothing but nice since their first greeting, and that hadn't changed throughout the small time they were apart. Nothing but smiles and friendly conversation. It was almost beginning to annoy Katniss.

How was she supposed to kill someone so polite?

The blond-haired boy had changed as well, wearing slacks and a button-up shirt. It was fancy for District 12's standards, but it was probably casual for Capitol. When the pair of females entered the room, Peeta in the very least had the decency to look up, locking eyes with Katniss with a polite smile as she sat down.

Katniss tried to return the gesture. She was attempting to be nice for a reason; the baker's son looked uncomfortable. He was leaning away from their mentor ever so slightly. Katniss had early on realized she didn't like Haymitch that much. Was Peeta as uncomfortable around Haymitch as she was? How long was Peeta sitting there alone with Haymitch while they waited for Katniss? How long had Peeta had to put up with him? Katniss almost had to be polite to Peeta for this reason alone.

But what contradicted that in Katniss's mind was fact that Peeta was someone that she may have to kill once they got into the arena. Did it really make sense to be polite to a future enemy? What was she supposed to say – "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kill you now"? Even to her it didn't make sense.

But for some odd reason Katniss couldn't find it in herself to be rude.

So Katniss decided to smile back at him. Only when she returned the small gesture, Katniss couldn't help but notice how Peeta immediately snapped his bright blue eyes away from her gaze a second later. She saw redness form around his cheeks before he cleared his throat. Placing his elbows on the table and gathering his hands together in front of him, he more or less hid his face behind his hands as he turned to look away.

A blush?

Did she look odd?

Was the dress inappropriate?

As Katniss looked over herself, she didn't have time to ask or ponder over this because in the next moment Effie began to rave about how much nicer Katniss looked. Katniss hadn't really done that much, just bathed and changed her clothes, but Effie made it sound like a very big deal. The woman even poked at the males across the table for them to agree with her.

Haymitch made a noise that sounded like a mix between a grumble and cough after giving her a quick once-over, but that was it. That was as good as a yes from him. Peeta on the other hand smiled charmingly at Effie and agreed with her, but that was it. Her fellow tribute glanced in her direction but avoided looking her in the eye.

How odd. Peeta was perfectly fine looking at the pinked-haired Effie, with her bright lips and eyelids, but not the plain Katniss. Katniss briefly wondered why, but became too distracted to dwell on it as soon as her first course of food was presented.

After that, Katniss could only think about consuming the delicious and mouth-watering plates that were being placed before her. There was a creamy soup and a crisp salad. Then the main course, followed by smaller courses of fruit and cheese. Katniss did the best she could not to become involved in the conversation throughout the meal. The food was too good to care.

Besides, most of the dinner consisted of Effie rambling on about their schedule in the next few days.

Dominating the conversation, Effie only received willing responses from Peeta. Katniss noted how well he was able to speak so that it cheered up Effie. Nothing Peeta said made her frown. And Katniss knew not everything he was saying was perfectly true. Like when Effie pressed for details about District 12, he twisted things to sound better than they were. But the way Peeta described things to Effie made it believable. And it wasn't just for Effie's sake either. Had she not known the facts, Katniss would've believed him too. Peeta was just naturally able to have that affect on people.

Katniss was glad for his efforts to keep Effie in a good mood. Haymitch sure wasn't going to help. He didn't eat much, mostly picking at the dishes placed in front of him. Every now and then he'd retrieve a vile he stashed in his coat pocket and would pour from it a clear liquid into his glass. Katniss could smell it was alcohol. Every now and then when Effie prodded more, Haymitch would work up a grumble before going back to his food.

But that was it.

Not that Katniss was helping with Effie much either. She stayed as quiet as possible. Katniss was just enjoying her food too much. Towards the end of the meal she regretted wearing such a tight dress, her stomach needing the extra space to expand. Only all those thoughts disappeared as soon as she saw her dessert.

And that was the chocolate cake that she was taking her good time to finish. She didn't know the next time she'd have this again. The cake was okay, but she was more concerned about the chocolate. It was probably the best thing about the Capitol; they had chocolate. She didn't want to forget the taste of it, so she savored every last bite.

Even as she swallowed her last bite, Katniss made sure to spend a few extra seconds sucking the left-over residue on her fork. She didn't even care if Effie made a comment about it. Only after she'd done this, she was only too disappointed when she turned back to her plate to see it empty. She practically made a face, but restrained herself.

Well, she knew it could only last so long.

Katniss then was suddenly jolted from her thoughts when a half-eaten slice of the very same cake slid and collided with her own. The clinking of the fine china made her jump slightly. The hand attached to the plate then slid back to the other side of the table. Following the limb to its owner, Katniss was able to finally meet Peeta in the eye once again. And for a split second they looked at each other without expression. Then, Katniss blinked several times in confusion.

What was happening?

Why did he put his own serving in front of her?

He hadn't finished it, so why was he showing it to her?

All these questions went through her head over the course of several seconds. So before Katniss could open her mouth to ask them aloud, the blond haired boy merely smiled charmingly. "Go ahead," he said reassuringly. "I don't want the rest."

It then dawned on her. Peeta was giving it to her. Katniss felt a little stupid that the thought had never occurred to her. But with her history with food, could she really be blamed? At first Katniss wondered why he would do such a thing, but then she thought about it.

A baker's son. The same baker that had given her cookies before departing. Peeta had access to cake all the time. So it probably wasn't something special to him. Surely Peeta knew Katniss didn't share that luxury. Could that be why he was giving her his share?

Why was Katniss finding it almost impossible to dislike this boy?

Having locked eyes with him for the second time that night, Katniss realized she'd paused much too long. Peeta hadn't looked away from her yet. Oddly enough she didn't feel odd. Katniss merely gave the most genuine smile she could muster before she cleared her throat. "Thank you," she replied calmly.

Their held glance held for a few more seconds before Haymitch suddenly let out an exaggerated sigh and then cleared his throat loudly. Like it had snapped them back into reality, instantly Peeta looked away again. This time his blush couldn't be hidden as their mentor slapped him rather harshly on the shoulder, and his arms crashed forward onto the table with a clunk.

"What's the matter, eh? Not good enough for ya?" Haymitch croaked out harshly. They were the first real words he said all night.

Peeta regained his composure easily for a reply. "No, I just can't eat anymore," he brushed off like it was nothing. Katniss had moved the cake in front of her while he spoke, her fork pausing before she dug into it. Peeta did look a little green. The food really was richer than what they were both used to. Katniss had been ready to feel the same way before dessert arrived. "Besides I've had things like this before."

Effie had been quiet for too long. "Oh?" she chimed in cheerfully. "How is that?" Leave it to Effie to make such a simple question sound condescending. Was District 12 so poor that Effie couldn't fathom how Peeta could possibly have access to something like the dessert in question? Katniss knew that Effie probably meant nothing by it, but it still irritated her.

"Peeta's father is the town baker."

Three sets of eyes went landed on Katniss as she continued to stare down at her dish. Katniss realized the words came out before she had the chance to stop them. She had just wanted to set Effie in her place. As she sat there quietly, she realized that Effie probably was really that ignorant. Was it Effie's fault? Effie had probably never spent more than a few hours in District 12, and she'd only in the Justice Building at that. She had no idea what the citizen's lives were like. With this in mind, Katniss decided not to say anything else before she took a bite out of Peeta's – now her serving of cake.

Effie didn't seem to notice Katniss's tone. "Really?" Effie asked as brightly as ever. "How delightful! The town's baker – you mean the same man that gave you those cookies in your room?"

Katniss paused when she realized her chaperone was talking to her, and looked up at everyone at the table. All three of them were looking at her expectantly. Only, Katniss had just placed another fork-full of cake in her mouth when she'd been given the question. Without the ability to speak, she just nodded her head up and down briefly.

Effie seemed pleased with this answer, so she dropped the topic of sweets and started going off on another tangent.

But Effie wasn't the one that Katniss was watching afterward.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss could see as Peeta's brow wrinkled while she had been answering Effie. He was … surprised? It was like he didn't know about the gift his father gave to Katniss. Hadn't he known? His own father had come to visit Katniss, even offered to feed her family while she was away. Had Peeta really not known? Hadn't that been his strategy - to make Katniss feel he wasn't a threat?

Katniss then stopped eating. She was examining Peeta, but he wasn't looking at her. Slowly she let her arm drop until her fork was on the table. For the strangest reason she wasn't hungry anymore. Actually, she felt nauseous. But it wasn't because of the food.

It dawned on Katniss that Peeta wasn't a bad person. He was actually a very good person. He wasn't entertaining Effie or putting up with Haymitch for his own benefit; he was just doing it because he was kind. It had been the same reason why he gave her his cake. The same reason why all those years ago he'd burned the bread on purpose, just so that he could give it to her.

The uneasiness in Katniss's stomach increased. This had to get harder, didn't it? There was no way this was going to be easy. She had promised Prim that she'd win the Hunger Games. And winning the Games meant that she was going to be the last one standing in the arena. That meant that Peeta was going to have to die. Katniss herself might even have to kill him.

And here he was, making it impossible for her to do that.

In that moment, Katniss realized that she couldn't possibly kill Peeta. He was just too good. A purely good person. And he was so much better than even Katniss was then or could ever dream of becoming. And the world was already lacking heavily on good people.

How was she ever going to be able to bring herself to take that away?

* * *

(A/N: Hi there again. Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear responses from everyone. Since many of you were confused about a particular detail in the first two chapters, I wanted to clear things up a little bit. In the 1st two chapters, Katniss is in the arena during the 75th Hunger Games, not the 74th. So it's happening during the Quarter Quell. Also, she has not been there for 9 months ... more like a few days. This is all the details I can give to you without revealing too much of what is to come. (I'm not spoiling the surprise for all of you |-P) Anyway, thanks again and I hope to update again really soon.)


	4. Chapter 4

Fire Born of Flames

Chapter Four

* * *

For the first time in a while, Katniss had to admit that she didn't exactly know what to do.

While standing next to her fellow District 12 tribute, Katniss glanced several times from him to their unconscious mentor on the floor. It was only a few moments after they had finished their dinner when Haymitch decided that was the best time to pass out. Since it had been so sudden, it took a few seconds before any of them really reacted.

It happened while they were leaving the table, heading for their rooms. To be honest it was almost comical. Haymitch had been just fine, albeit staggering a little bit but he was still walking. Then without warning he simply fell over, face first onto the carpet. It would have been comical had Katniss not found it a mix between alarming and disturbing.

So now the two tributes were standing around the man awkwardly looking at each other.

Effie on the other hand held an expression that looked like a mix between annoyance and knowing, almost like she had expected it to happen. Then with an irritated growl and pursed lips, their chaperone bent over at her slightly before she yelled condescendingly and placed her hands on her hips.

"It's reasons like this that there hasn't been a victor from District 12 since you!" she snapped. Katniss thought that the way Effie's nose wrinkled when she was angry was a little amusing, but she restrained the urge to smile.

Because this was not in the least funny.

Only out of the corner of her eye, she saw the corner of Peeta's mouth upturn ever so slightly. Katniss glanced over to him, but the small tweak all but vanished like it had never been there. But she knew that she hadn't been seeing things. Well at least she wasn't the only one that found this a little funny.

But then Peeta met her gaze, looking almost as concerned as Katniss felt. The concerned look in his eyes told her everything, and it was exactly what Katniss had been thinking – how were they supposed to win with this?

Despite Effie's yelling, Haymitch didn't budge. He let out a large snore that was half muffled by the carpet, but that was about it.

The chaperone then looked up, her expression softening slightly once her gaze was directed towards them. "Well, it seems that I'll be the one apologizing about this," she told the two tributes. "Because someone can't!" Her last statement, paired with a glare, was directed towards the motionless heap on the floor. To place emphasis on her words, she stomped her foot next to Haymitch's ear. His only reaction was another snore.

Deciding to give up on their mentor, Effie approached the pair with care not to step on Haymitch. Something about her tone made Katniss wonder if she was considering it anyway. Once directly in front of them, her perky smile returned with the same enthusiasm as normal, like she hadn't even been irritated moments before.

The pink-haired woman then clasped her gloved hands together, the large glittering bangles around her wrists clanking together. "So ... I'm going to find someone to take him to his room. Meanwhile, you two should head to bed." It was amazing how quickly Effie could fluctuate her moods. "After all, we have a big big big day tomorrow! You'll need all the rest you can get."

Effie left in the opposite direction in which the rooms were, leaving the pair to stand awkwardly in silence. The only thing that interrupted the quiet was the faint sounds of Haymitch's heavy breathing. For a few seconds Katniss just stared after Effie, trying to think about what to do next before she saw Peeta move beside her. The blond-haired boy knelt down aside of their mentor and looked like he was checking the pulse on his neck.

"What are you doing?" The words escaped from Katniss's throat again without warning. She'd been doing that a lot lately. Although she was confused, her tone had been completely curious.

"Our mentor is our lifeline, right?" Peeta asked absently, not looking at her. As usual, he kept his regularly pleasant tone. "Least we can do is be on his good side."

Peeta was right. While the two of them were in the arena, Haymitch was in charge of giving them things from their sponsors – if they even got any. Haymitch was also given the task of _when _to give these things, hopefully in attempt to take advantage of certain situations. Kissing up to him was probably a good idea. Then again, this wasn't too bad. It wasn't like he'd vomited everywhere, like he had all over the stage back at the reaping.

Her fellow tribute then looked up at her for the first time. "You gonna help?" His tone was neither expectant nor critical, just curious like her own had been.

Katniss didn't give him an answer. She simply knelt down on Haymitch's side, the one Peeta was not on. It took a few attempts to lift the older man to his feet. He wasn't heavy, nor a lightweight, but that didn't mean he didn't weigh more than Katniss could lift. Thankfully she had Peeta there. She had known him to be strong, but never thought he was that strong. But at that moment she was only thankful for the help.

Throwing his arms over their shoulders, the two managed to act like crutches for him as they bumbled their way to Haymitch's chambers. It wasn't exactly a swift or clear path. He wasn't even really walking, so they basically had to drag him while his feet lingered on the ground. Katniss contemplated giving up half way through; he was much too heavy and it was becoming harder to hold onto him. But she didn't think it was fair to leave Peeta with all the work, despite the fact that she didn't think she was doing all that much.

Despite lots of banging and bumping around, their mentor never roused. Somehow they managed to haul him into his rooms before they practically dropping him into the large tub in the bathroom. Katniss was relieved once she didn't have to hold him anymore, seeing as all the liquor he ingested seemed to be seeping from his skin. It smelled horrible. She wondered how Haymitch could stomach all that he drank. Maybe he grew an immunity to it after so many years.

The smell was so bad that Katniss was almost relieved when Peeta said that she could go, assuring her that he would take it from there. But that didn't sit right with her. She didn't want Peeta to do everything. Although she knew it was in her best interest to get on Haymitch's good side, that wasn't the whole reason. Katniss highly doubted that Haymitch would remember anything from that evening, seeing as he was so drunk that he stayed unconscious throughout their entire bumbling trip down the hallway. So this really wasn't entirely about recognition from their mentor.

Katniss knew why Peeta wanted to do this alone. He was just being his normal self. Being nice. It was for that reason that she wanted to stay and help. Being around Peeta didn't necessarily make Katniss want to improve herself, but it was just that she didn't want to have him stuck with doing everything. Peeta had to get up tomorrow just like she did. He had to go through everything, just like Katniss would. Would it be fair to go to bed and leave him to clean up Haymitch by himself?

So that was why despite Peeta's insistence that she leave, Katniss held her ground. She wasn't going anywhere, and she made it clear that she truly and honestly wanted to help as much as possible. Amidst their small argument, there were some awkward pauses and silence. Sometimes Katniss would look at him, other times she just stared at the wall or anything else she could find. Why was it so difficult to talk to him?

Katniss admitted that she had never been very social. She knew that, she embraced it. She never really made an attempt to change it or do something about it because it wasn't something that had been a problem before. Hunting didn't require social skills. And since that was the most productive thing she ever did, her social skills remained the same; unpolished.

Still, she could usually speak to people just fine. Maybe it was because this was really the first time they'd ever really had a conversation. When she thought about it, she realized that it was indeed the first time they actually spoke directly to each other. And they were arguing. It made her wonder if all of her first conversations with people were arguments.

After several more tries at getting her to leave, Peeta finally caved into letting her stay. Katniss let it up easier on him, agreeing to leave just before Haymitch was completely nude – she really didn't think she'd be able to look him in the eye afterward if she saw him like that. It was really better for all of them that way.

The process of stripping their mentor down was a little harder than Katniss first imagined. Simply pulling his clothes off didn't work because he was lying on them. After experimenting with a few things, the two of them worked out a system where Peeta lifted Haymitch up partially as Katniss pulled things out from underneath him. It was a little difficult to get his arms out of his sleeves, but other than that things went smoothly.

Each time Peeta lifted him up, Katniss couldn't help but silently commend him for his strength. It was hard not to notice the flexing of his arms after he'd rolled up the sleeves on his shirt. But at the same time, the feeling of envy came over her when she realized one of the reasons he was so strong. He always had access to food to keep up his muscle strength. Then again, whose fault was it that Peeta had been born as the son of a baker?

Katniss thought she was doing fine until it came to the point where she was pulling off Haymitch's slacks. She was pulling them from the legs, as she had been doing her best to avoid all physical contact with his skin. Something in her was afraid she'd smell of liquor if she did. But just as she managed to loosen the cloth from beneath him did she get part of her sandal caught on the leg of the claw-footed tub.

She heard a ripping sound from her foot, drawing her attention to it instead of to her balance where it should have been. The next thing Katniss knew was that she was falling backwards, but wasn't quick enough to catch herself. The pair of pants she was holding came with her.

Katniss knew that her face probably contorted with a wince at the pain coming from her tailbone after landing on it. Upon inspecting her foot, she noted that it was just fine. The shoe took the damage, the sandal's strap ripped. Only she didn't have time to dwell over it because no sooner did she fall did she hear the numerous clanging sounds of metal against porcelain.

The entire contents of Haymitch's pockets fell out onto the floor. In particular of the things that fell was his wallet that flew open, and the coins from inside scattered all over the floor around her. While some landed right next to her, others rolled away. Katniss felt the urge to kick herself. Why had she done something so stupid? She was never that ungraceful. Damn shoes.

Sucking in a sharp breath, she pushed the angered look away from her face before she before she immediately turned onto her hands and knees. She didn't bother standing up as she reached over to grab the first coin. Why bother? As soon as she gathered the one, she padded over to the other one. Although Katniss knew it probably looked a little silly, she really didn't mind. Who was there to judge her? Haymitch was asleep, and Peeta, well … did he ever say anything negative?

But she did find it a little ironic how this was the nicest dress she'd ever been in, and there she was crawling all over the floor in it. Her only real concern was whether or not her dress rode up in the back. More embarrassment was the last thing she needed.

Katniss had been so preoccupied with picking up every last coin, pushing aside that it was the most money she'd seen together ever, that she didn't even notice something important. Peeta knelt down on the other side of the room, helping her to gather the coins as well. But that wasn't the really important thing that she was missing.

This was why when her head collided with an equally hard surface, she let out a yelp of pain and surprise.

Instantly thrown back after her collision, her hand immediately went to the injured area. Holding up her weight with her other hand, sitting back on her feet as she looked up to see what she'd hit her head on. Surely it was the sink since it was so hard. It was then that she spotted her fellow tribute sitting only a few feet in front of her. He was holding his temple instead of the top of his head, but she could see the wrinkle of pain on his forehead.

Great, she'd succeeded in injuring him before the games even started. As if she didn't feel guilty enough.

"Sorry," she muttered quietly, not looking at him. She decided that looking at the pile of once scattered items from Haymitch's pockets was much more interesting.

"It's okay," he replied. There was no annoyance or aggravation whatsoever. It had been an accident after all. Either Peeta was the best actor in Panem, or the most genuinely good person in existence. For her sake, Katniss really hoped it was the first option.

Why did he have to be so nice? Why couldn't she find a reason to hate him? Then again, with her luck, Katniss had never had things easy. That had been evident enough that morning when her sister's name had been called. Why would this be a good time to start having luck?

Katniss could sense that Peeta wanted to say something more, but when she suddenly held up something in front of her eyes to inspect it, those words died. After staring at the pile of items from Haymitch's pockets for a few moments, she finally noticed something out of place. In her hands was a sheath for a knife. A sheath, but no knife. As she examined it a little closer, Katniss couldn't help but recall a certain one that Haymitch had been fiddling with during dinner. It was the perfect size for the holder in her hands. But as she looked around again, she reached a conclusion. No knife in sight.

Peeta decided that this was the perfect opportunity to say something. "Did he leave it on the table?" he wondered aloud. He had obviously drawn the same conclusion as Katniss.

That was when it hit her.

This was perfect!

Before Peeta could say or do anything more, Katniss practically jumped to her feet. "I'll get it," she announced quietly. She said it so quickly she didn't know if it came out sounding like words or not, but she didn't stop to repeat herself. Without another look in her fellow tribute's direction, she turned and headed out the door. Completely disregarding the ripped lace on her sandal, she made an effort to move as swiftly as possible.

She wasn't about to miss an opportunity to leave the room.

After making a complete fool of herself, the last thing she needed was to stay there as they sat in awkward silence. It was too uncomfortable even to think let alone do anything else. Not to mention she didn't exactly wish to help Peeta bathe their mentor. Besides, hadn't she already agreed to leave the room at that point? Retrieving Haymitch's knife was just a very good excuse to leave.

Just before reaching the dining room, Katniss found a pair of attendants from the capitol looking confused. The ones that Effie sent. Katniss didn't really think it fair to leave them standing there not knowing what to do, and found herself explaining what she and Peeta did. Their reactions were shocked, and Katniss thought this was strange but didn't question it. Then when she realized she felt guilty that they had been called for nothing, she asked that they bring her some medicine for pain, as well as two servings warm milk.

The first she would drink on her own, and the other she would offer it to Peeta as a peace offering. Or in the very least an apology. After all, Katniss was the one that knocked him in the head.

By the time Katniss got back to the table in the dining room, it had already been cleared of almost everything. Several attendants there were still there cleaning. She saw the object she came for the second she came into the room.

Although Katniss attempted to slip by unnoticed and grab the knife, the attendants just froze and stared at her. They did not expect her back, and probably didn't know protocol for dealing with her. Katniss remained silent, meekly grabbing her mentor's weapon before sheathing it and leaving the room as quickly as she had entered.

The attendants' stares made her feel like she'd grown a second head or something.

Katniss had almost gotten back to Haymitch's room when she found Effie. The chaperone beamed at seeing her (Katniss was under the impression that Effie was rather fond of her. Katniss really couldn't think of a reason why,) before she snagged Katniss up to speak to her.

Effie didn't say much, but informed Katniss that she had taken the liberty of picking out her clothes for the night and next morning. Although Katniss was a little afraid of what she might find, she felt a little better after remembering what Effie picked out for that evening's meal. It wasn't exactly Katniss's style, but she could tolerate it.

When Katniss finally got back to Haymitch's rooms, she heard the sound of running water. Water. Peeta was probably already bathing him. It was probably not a good idea for Katniss to go into the bathroom.

She didn't want Peeta to notice her presence either. If he didn't know Katniss was there, he couldn't ask her for help.

Katniss had never seen a naked man before, and she wasn't looking forward to her first one being Haymitch. Not that Haymitch was that bad, seeing as when she'd helped Peeta undress him she'd noticed he maintained a somewhat healthy physique. He'd done well for all the alcohol he ingested on a daily basis. But that wasn't the reason.

It was just wrong. The thought made her skin crawl.

But she couldn't very well take the knife with her either. She had said she would go and get it. Looking around for a solution, her eyes finally landed on the empty bedside table. She could leave it there, and Haymitch would find it in the morning. It wasn't a great or guaranteed plan, but it was the best Katniss could do at that moment.

Trying to remain as quiet as possible, Katniss stayed standing but reached down to untie her sandals. After ripping the one lace, it flapped up and down against her foot as she walked, creating a small sound. Small, but enough to give her away. She wasn't about to risk it.

Finally feeling better now that she was bare-footed, she carried her shoes by the long laces as she maneuvered over to the side of the bed. The door to the bathroom was almost entirely closed, but it had been left ajar. There was a larger possibility of being heard. So Katniss used her hunter's stealth, she practically stood on her toes as she walked. Admittedly the soft carpet felt very nice against the bottoms of her feet. Not to mention the padding from the floor also made her job a little easier. Once she deposited the weapon, she felt a little relief and then quickly turned to leave.

She had to pass the bathroom door on her way out, and at that moment she heard something besides running water.

Voices.

To be more specific, conversation.

Normally Katniss would have just ignored this. What did she care what Peeta and Haymitch were talking about? But what if Haymitch was already talking to Peeta about the games? That left her to a disadvantage already. She wasn't about to pass that up.

Tiptoeing back to the bathroom door, she heard only mumbling at first since. Well, Haymitch's closet was another room dividing the bathroom from the bedroom. It was narrow enough to be a hallway, but that was only because it was lined with closets.

It wasn't good enough. She still couldn't hear properly.

She pushed the door open, padding through the closet until she reached the next door. This one was ajar too. Well, Katniss really wasn't too concerned with closing doors when she had left. The only reason the door to the entire chamber closed because it was automatic. For some odd reason there were normal doors inside the chambers.

Although the room was completely darkened, a column of light shown from the crack in the door. She lightly stepped towards it and got as close as she possibly could without actually putting any part of herself in front of the opening. Her shadow would be seen, and her cover would be blown.

Katniss could hear much better there. Not only that, but a second later, the water shut off with a loud thud. Now it was even clearer.

"You can't lie your way out of this one kid, I have eyes you know," Haymitch grumble with a curt laugh. There was sloshing of water and a few footsteps, but no noise other than that.

She caught them in the middle of the conversation. She had missed the first part. But did Haymitch just catch Peeta in a lie? How was that possible?

"What does it matter anyway?" she heard Peeta ask. His tone surprised her. Peeta almost sounded almost depressed, far from his normally cheerful and charming tone. There was also a bit of confusion in his voice too. "If it was true, I mean."

Haymitch produced another curt laugh. "Gee, I don't know," he uttered sarcastically. "It would prevent you from winning if it's that bad."

There was a pause and Katniss heard movement as well as the splashing of water.

"Ah ha!" she heard her mentor exclaim suddenly.

Katniss heard nothing from Peeta, but information had obviously been exchanged by another means. He did something she couldn't see.

"I was right," Haymitch confirmed. He wasn't being cocky, but Katniss could sense a knowing in his voice. After that, she heard the swishing of liquid in glass, and Katniss guessed that Haymitch had taken a swig of something from a bottle.

Probably alcohol, no definitely alcohol.

Katniss didn't have time to dwell as Haymitch continued. "So how long?" Breaking from his usual sarcasm, his tone was lowered and curious, but serious at the same time.

"How long what?" Peeta's tone was annoyed this time. He didn't want to reply to Haymitch's question, and asked one that he already knew the answer to.

Haymitch made a noise that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a grunt. Annoyance and a little admiration this time. "Don't get smart. You know what I mean – how long have you been in love with her?"

As soon as she'd heard this, Katniss couldn't help but be confused. In love? Peeta was in love with someone? Okay, that sounded reasonable enough. He was very popular at school, always with a group of friends around him. Katniss had remembered the girls at school talked about him numerous times, but she really didn't pay attention to the contents of those conversations that much. She just remembered hearing his name a lot.

But why was he talking about this with Haymitch?

There was a long pause before Katniss heard Peeta reply, "Eleven years – since we were five."

Katniss felt her brow wrinkle. Eleven years? Wow, that was an awful long time to be in love with someone. Since they were five? Was it possible to fall in love with someone at that age? The thought made Katniss recall that she had seen Peeta talking with several of those chatty girls over the years, but that was it. And he never spoke to them alone either. That may have been because he was never alone, at least during school.

But Katniss almost smiled. Well, having an affection for someone that long would explain why, despite his popularity, those girls never seemed to have much luck capturing his attention. She remembered a few bits of overheard conversation, during some lunches when there had been nothing better to do.

Those girls that mostly cared only about their appearance, clothing, and of course boys. Many had attempted to speak to Peeta or drop hints that they were interested. Not one of them actually asked him directly, which Katniss thought was just stupid. If they liked him so much they should have just told him. It seemed silly to wait for the boy to do something. Maybe Katniss didn't understand because she really never thought about it herself. The subject never really crossed her mind. She really didn't have the time, energy or patience to deal with that.

Besides, she wasn't ever getting married, so what was the point?

Katniss's attention was drawn back to her current situation when she heard Haymitch break out into laughter almost immediately after Peeta's confession. She was confused at this. Katniss realized that eleven years was a long time for someone their age, but was it really that funny?

"Oh damn kid, you are screwed," Haymitch said once he finally stopped laughing enough to say something. And even when he did, he was gasping for air at that.

A loud thunk, like something had fallen to the floor. Did something break? Footsteps, heavyset and growing louder.

Peeta was walking towards the door!

Katniss tensed up and froze as she could see Peeta's shadow on the other side of the door. The handle moved slightly.

He was going to find her standing there.

… damn.

Katniss told herself to move, but her body wouldn't budge. How would she explain this? She just got there, and didn't hear a thing. That was it! Now only if she could make it sound believable. She's always been a terrible liar.

She was saved by the most unlikely person. Well, there was a first for everything. "Wait, wait, come back here," Haymitch commanded, almost sounding apologetic. That was new.

Katniss let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she saw Peeta moving away from the door. She restrained herself from letting out an audible sound of relief. That was way too close for comfort.

Maybe this eavesdropping wasn't such a good idea. As Peeta moved away, Katniss was thought about it. Was she really going to learn something valuable by listening to the rest of this conversation? So far, she had learned nothing about improving in terms of the Games. All she knew was something personal about Peeta that was really none of her business.

But what good was it going to do for her?

She decided that this was as good of time as any to leave. Remembering to use caution in her steps, as she made her retreat she could still hear the conversation clearly now that the water had stopped running.

But before she could get to the bedroom she was stopped dead in her tracks by what she heard from Haymitch next. "I just meant that it'll really suck if it comes down to just the two of you in the arena. You'll definitely lose then."

Katniss's hand paused before it reached the door handle.

What?

What had Haymitch just said?

Katniss knew what she heard. She'd always had good hearing. She didn't doubt the words that her brain was processing. She understood them entirely. But that wasn't the problem. The problem stood when she combined them together with the ones from earlier in that conversation. And if they meant what she thought, it could only mean one thing.

Trouble.

The huntress went over the data in her brain once more, to be absolutely positive of what was going on.

Peeta was in love with someone.

He had loved that person since he and that person were both five years old.

This meant that the object of his affection had to be from District 12.

Katniss felt a chill run down her spine as she processed the last and final detail; this person, the one that Peeta loved, was also going into the arena with him that very year.

Someone from District 12, someone going into the arena.

From District 12 … Going into arena.

Those two facts alone made it very clear. There was no one else, no other possibility. There was only one other person from District 12 going into the arena that year. And that person was her.

Her – Katniss Everdeen.

The person that Peeta was in love with … was Katniss?

* * *

(A/N: Sorry it took longer to update this chapter ... took a while to revise until I got it where I liked it. I sure hope you guys like it. So, once again please review! Thanks again for reading.)


	5. Chapter 5

Flower Born of Flames

Chapter 5

* * *

Katniss didn't know whether to yell or to cry.

How was she supposed to win the Hunger Games now?

As she sat on the floor in the corner of her room, Katniss forced herself to admit that she really didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to react. What was her next step? How was she supposed to cope with this? Not only did she not know what to do, she didn't know what to think.

She was completely out of her territory. Hunting was her territory. Tracking, stalking down and killing prey. It was always so straightforward and logical. It was plain and simple. There was no messy emotion to get in the way of that simplicity.

But this? This was something that she had never even thought about preparing for.

Peeta was in love with her.

Why did something so simple have so many complicated meanings?

Logically, this knowledge wasn't a lot. Technically, it was simple. But this wasn't a technical situation. Katniss wasn't quite sure about the exact term one would use to describe this situation, but technical wasn't it.

No this was far more complicated; this was a void. A never ending dark and endless passage of earth-shattering and destructive emotion.

Katniss usually deprived herself of those kinds of things. Feelings. She figured it out long ago that if she wanted to survive and provide for her family then she needed to rid herself from them as much as possible. And for the most part, she was able to accomplish this small goal even if only for a little while. The method had worked rather well for the most part.

But now that she was presented with the emotions of someone else, she didn't know how to respond.

Peeta was in love with her.

Even as she repeated the idea to herself she still couldn't wrap her head around the notion. She understood what the words meant surely enough. While growing up in the Seam, Katniss understood what kept her neighbors together. Despite the fact that Seam people had practically nothing, they did have one thing.

Usually, love was the only thing the people of Panem were allowed to have freely. They weren't allowed to poach, they weren't allowed to speak freely, they were forced to do things they didn't want to do. But love, that was different.

There was really no way the Capitol could control that.

Not that they wanted to. There was no point in trying to get people to stop loving one another. If anything, that was how the Capitol got what it wanted. The Capitol counted on love between people, so those people could be controlled. Why else would children sign up for tessarae? Why else would people continue to live their horrible and probably meaningless existences?

Because every human have love for something.

In Katniss's case, she loved her sister. That was her motivation and drive. Katniss was familiar with love. She had loved her father, very dearly. At one point Katniss even remembered loving her mother. She didn't know what she felt toward her at that point, but she did know she had experienced the feeling. All those relationships were ones of love. So Katniss knew what the feeling was.

… but this was different.

The kind of love that Katniss had overheard her fellow tribute and her mentor speaking about wasn't the kind of love that she knew. Not personally anyway. This was the kind of love that was shared between two people, usually a man and a woman. Katniss knew what it was. At least, she thought she did. She knew enough to realize that she'd never felt it for someone before.

It was the relationship that her parents shared. Katniss remembered it briefly. It was the basis for what she thought she knew about the subject. The way the pair interacted around another was how she got her information. Most of the things she remembered were very brief, very subtle. There wasn't very much really. But enough.

She recalled the way her parents looked at each other. They shared glances and would block out the rest of the world. When they would greet each other, they would smile in a certain way that they didn't show to another. During the small amount of times when they were together, they didn't need to say much but somehow they communicated. Sometimes when Katniss saw them alone together, she saw the way that they held each other, touch one another in simple gestures. Her parents simply had a certain bond with each other, one that they didn't share with anyone else.

And then there were the other things that went on between a man and a woman.

Living in the Seam, Katniss was accustomed to thin walls. Not only did that mean that there were no privacy, but there were no secrets either. Whatever occurred around the Seam that was good enough for gossips' ears, knowledge of that event became public knowledge. The topic of nightly trysts was something that everyone in District twelve spoke about. Male or female, young or old.

Katniss had to admit that she'd accidentally become somewhat of a witness to these events. Teenagers never had any privacy, but tried their hardest. The woods right outside the fence were the most popular spots for these activities.

Regretfully, Katniss had stumbled upon a young couple from the Seam in the act only about a few months after her father's death. It had been before she met Gale, so she was alone. She had been distracted while tracking a rabbit and didn't notice their approach. Thankfully Katniss had the instinct to instantly hide, at first fearing that it was a peacekeeper. Only when she heard giggling and soft moaning did she realize that it wasn't a peacekeeper.

Hiding on the other side of a hill in the shadows, Katniss had plenty of cover. The log separating her eyes from the pair had enough holes for her to look out for any potential threats. Katniss couldn't leave, too afraid of being spotted. So she was forced to sit there and wait for them to leave.

That was how she was able to witness everything.

Everything.

She never saw their faces, but Katniss was glad she didn't – she would probably have to look one of them in the eye in the future. But she saw everything else. What happened before Katniss's eyes was the how the pair moved against each other. She witnessed the amount of bare skin shared. The touches, the kissing, the nuzzling.

Then there were the sounds. Grunts, moans, and cries. They were never painful, angered or scared, instead they were filled with pleasure. Katniss could have seen more, but she could only bring herself to watch for a few minutes. After that she only listened. Eventually after a gradual increase in volume, the pair made a final loud noise before it was all but silent. Except for the sounds of their breathing. It took only a few minutes for the two to collect themselves and their clothes, before left a little quieter than they had arrived.

It wasn't until Katniss could no longer hear the sounds of their movements did she emerge from her hiding spot and then proceed to finding something else to track. Once back into her hunting state of mind, she pushed what she just witnessed aside until she made it back to her bed that evening. Only then did she allow herself to think about it.

Katniss had mixed feelings about the experience. She regretted witnessing something so private. It was like watching someone in their most vulnerable state. She was very glad she hadn't seen their faces. All she did know was that they were both dark-haired and olive-skinned. Definitely from the Seam. She'd run into them, even if only briefly. She was glad she wouldn't recognize them.

But then on the other side, Katniss was grateful for the experience. She had received a good amount of information on the subject, something that her mother liked to politely refer to as 'being intimate' with someone. Her mother and teachers had equally told her about the subject, but before seeing it in real life she never really understood it.

She never expected it to be so … intense. She couldn't think of another way to explain it. The first time she heard about 'being intimate', Katniss was only five and her impression was that the act was not only awkward, but strange and not to mention disgusting. In her child's mind, she didn't know _why_ people would _want_ to even do it in the first place. It didn't take Katniss long to realize that it happened more often than just when she'd witnessed it.

Afterward Katniss didn't think about it until the next time she came across a young pair. She never stayed to watch or interrupt them; she was either just too embarrassed or really didn't care. Her first and only witnessing was all she needed. So after some time, she grew as accustomed to young couples in the forest just as much as the trees or other animals. Whenever she came across a pair, Katniss did her best not to be noticed. She would take a small detour around them, and then got as far away as possible.

It was best that way.

Gale's presence changed this behavior. The first time Katniss and her hunting partner came across another pair of lovers, he was just plain curious. Katniss would encourage him to leave it go and leave, but he insisted on watching. Katniss would hide right next to him, but would cover her ears and eyes. Gale on the other hand just found it as fascinating as learning a new snare. The way he reacted, it could have been a pair of rabbits instead of humans.

It usually happened the same way every time too. Gale would observe, evaluating the different pairs. Meanwhile, Katniss would try her best to ignore them, making it obvious that she'd rather be hunting. Gale would tell her who it was – another thing she hated – before listing off mistakes or differences. He never described anything in detail, and Katniss never asked questions. Usually she would just make sure her bow and arrows were in working order during this time. It distracted her.

They came to a silent agreement that whenever they stumbled upon this, Katniss and Gale would hide nearby. It was best that they keep a low profile nearby while it happened; animals would grow confused otherwise. After a few years Gale wasn't as curious anymore. They were still forced to hide out nearby, but sometimes Gale became bored. Katniss was content by just leaving them be; they never lingered long.

But Gale was usually the one that enjoyed being malicious, trying to spook the couples. He particularly enjoyed scaring merchant couples from town. He didn't do anything too extreme, just make some noise so they'd leave quicker. Katniss always tried persuading him otherwise, but never took any real actions to stop him. She was annoyed with them scaring away the game too, but it was really never their business.

Katniss supposed that her reasoning was that she didn't want to bother anyone like that. If the pair were fortunate enough to have love like that, she didn't want to interrupt it. Just because she didn't want that for herself, didn't mean she wanted to deprive others of that pleasure. She wasn't cruel.

Although Katniss wasn't cruel, she had never been known for her kindness either. So how was she supposed to deal with this?

Peeta was in love with her.

He loved her the way that her father loved her mother. … and like all those young couples she'd seen in the forest. The thought made her blush. Katniss realized that people shared _those_ kinds of thoughts about each other, but when she imagined someone thinking that way about her … it just made her feel uncomfortable.

But pushing all the 'being intimate' business, Peeta loving her would explain several things.

It would explain the bread all those years ago. He'd burned them on purpose and thrown them to her, but it hadn't been because of his genuine kindness. His affections explained his blush at her during dinner – it hadn't been because she was dressed inappropriately. And the reason he'd given her his cake wasn't only because he couldn't eat anymore. He wanted her to have it.

This also meant that Peeta wasn't being nice to try and lure her into a false sense of security.

After Katniss heard Peeta's explanation to Haymitch, she'd stayed put for several moments. She didn't know why, but she stayed and listened to the rest of the conversation. Only later did she regret it.

Because as she stood there, Katniss overheard several more things she wished she didn't.

Once Peeta admitted his long-time feelings for her, Haymitch pressed him about a few things. Their mentor asked about what Peeta was planning for the arena, and how he would face Katniss. Peeta's reply had been simple; he intended for Katniss to win. His strategy was to make sure that she left the arena alive, no matter what that meant.

When Haymitch questioned as to why he wouldn't try to win himself, Peeta's reply had been, "There's no way I'm going to win. But she has a chance." Katniss found herself wondering if he really believed his own words. "And if I'm going to die anyway, I might as well give her more of a fighting chance." When he chuckled bitterly it sent a shiver down Katniss's spine. "Besides, I don't think I could deal with it if she died and I didn't."

Haymitch chuckled at this comment. "Couldn't go on without her, eh?" There was some splashing of water during the pause. "Gees kid, you're even good at pulling at my unromantic heartstrings."

That struck a cord. "If you're gonna make fun of me, I can leave."

"Nah, stay," Haymitch insisted. He obviously hadn't meant it to be harsh. "I know you ain't lying. But don't you have a family back home? Won't they care if you're dead?"

Peeta paused. It left Katniss time to think about the question too. Peeta had both his parents and two older brothers back home. Katniss knew in the very least his father, Mr. Mellark, would have been upset if Peeta never returned. That had been apparent by the baker's tear-streaked face when he had visited Katniss before she departed.

Was Peeta completely forgetting about his family?

"They … won't miss me," Peeta finally admitted. Katniss was a little disturbed by his casual tone, like he wasn't upset by this confession. He said it like it was just another fact, something that everyone should know. Didn't it upset him that his family wouldn't miss him? "Not as much as her family would miss her."

"Oh yeah," their mentor mentioned, like he was recalling something. "Seen her in the Hob a few times. And then there was that sister of hers she volunteered for, right?"

"She's got something to come home to," was Peeta's answer, pointing things out matter-of-factly. "I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if she couldn't come back to them."

There was a clank, almost like glass on marble. Haymitch must have dropped his bottle of spirits. "Well, you're a much better human than this old drunk," Haymitch admitted with an amused chuckle. "So tell you what? If you really want to do this and succeed, you gotta listen to me alright?" There was silence, and Katniss assumed Peeta nodded. "First off, don't tell her any of this, got it?"

Those words had been the last thing Katniss heard before she ran out of the room. She didn't even think about staying longer, not after what she'd heard. After she found her way back to her own chambers she quickly locked the door behind her. She had no idea how she'd found herself sitting in the corner, her knees pulled up to her chest as she contemplated all that she'd just heard.

Peeta was in love with her.

It did cross Katniss's mind that her fellow tribute may have been lying. Neither Peeta nor Haymitch knew she'd been listening, so they had no reason to put on a pretense. Besides, somehow Katniss knew in her gut that Peeta had been telling the truth. It was the way he spoke, the tone in his voice. There was no waver of falseness. Besides, even if she didn't want it to be true, Peeta's admittance cleared up everything that had been a mystery to Katniss.

Peeta was in love with her.

Katniss didn't need another answer, because the one she received explained everything.

As if bad couldn't get worse, now Peeta and Haymitch were devising a plan to help Katniss win the Hunger Games, even if it meant sacrificing Peeta's life.

Why couldn't this have been easier?

When Katniss volunteered herself instead of her sister, the only thing she could think of was to win, for Prim. In the very least she just didn't want her sister to die such an awful death. But then she realized that she didn't want Prim to die of starvation either. That meant that she needed to come back home. She loved Prim more than anything, and Katniss knew that she had to come back home to take care of her.

But now Peeta wanted her to win too … because he loved her.

Katniss held her head between her hands. The thoughts swirling around inside of it made it begin to ache.

Why?

Why did he have to love her?

Katniss had always been so concentrated on feeding her family that she pushed aside all those feelings, forgetting even the possibility of love. Had she expected the rest of the world to push her aside her too? Maybe she did.

But still … this?

Did fate hate her?

On the other end of that argument, hadn't winning the Hunger Games been Katniss's goal all along? So why did it upset her so much knowing that Peeta was going to help her? It wasn't like she was in love with him too. No, Katniss didn't feel that way about him. She didn't even know him. Before that day, she had never even spoken to him. No, Katniss didn't love Peeta, but that didn't mean she wanted him dead either.

But wasn't that the only way she could win and go home?

Katniss was jolted from her thoughts and looked up when a knock came at her door. Although her first impulse was to either ignore them or tell the person to go away, she remembered that it was probably the train attendant. The one who was bringing the warm milk she'd requested.

Once there was a second knock, Katniss called that she was coming before she pulled herself up, and went over to the door. The tray that was displayed before her took Katniss off guard. On the relatively small tray were two mugs filled with steaming white milk, just like she had ordered. But it wasn't alone.

Accompanying the beverages was a selection of cookies and other baked goods she couldn't name because she'd never seen them before. And besides the milk and cookies, sitting in the corner of the tray was a small bottle with a round red lid. The painkillers she'd requested.

Well, her head had been killing her ever since she knocked it against Peeta's. Now even more so because of all the thinking and dwelling.

So with a simple thank you Katniss closed the door. She put the tray on her bedside table, and then found herself staring at the two cups. The only reason she'd requested the second was because she wanted to apologize to Peeta for bumping his head. After all, Peeta had been helping her pick up the mess she'd made on her own, and didn't even complain. But giving the milk to Peeta meant that she would have to talk to him.

And at that moment she wasn't sure if she wanted to or not. Talk to him, that was.

Katniss simply stood there and watched the steam rise from the white liquid. If she spoke to Peeta, she could find out if what he said to Haymitch was true or not. Part of her knew it was, but hearing it out loud would assure the other part of her. The part that was in denial.

Then again, Katniss wasn't supposed to have heard that conversation. She did anyway, and she knew everything now. But Katniss didn't think she would be able to sleep that night, at least not until she got a straight answer from him. And she would need her sleep for Effie's infamous 'big, big, big' day tomorrow.

Even if Katniss didn't like the thought of Peeta sacrificing himself for her, his plan to help her win was sounding more and more appealing. After all, was that not what Katniss wanted in the long run? That was what she had promised Prim, that she would try to win. If Peeta was willing, and wanted to, who was she to prevent him from helping her?

Could she even prevent him from helping her?

But then there was the issue of the bread. The bread Peeta had given her all those years ago. She still hadn't paid him back for that. She hadn't even so much as thanked him for that. Katniss wasn't about to let Peeta sacrifice himself without thanking him, in the very least. That was something she really wouldn't be able to live with.

For the first time since she'd entered her room, Katniss noticed an outfit laid out on the bed. What had Effie told her? That she picked out her night clothes? Katniss had to admit that the tight dress she had worn for dinner was getting uncomfortable. It had been uncomfortable to begin with, but now it was just horrible.

Katniss didn't need to think about it before she reached behind her to unfasten it. After several tries, she managed to open her zipper without ripping the fabric. Once down to her underwear, Katniss picked up the first piece of clothing. It looked like a very short dress.

After she slipped it over her head, she found that it gathered under her chest like a bra would, and fell just below her hipbones. There were no sleeves, only some lace on the edge of the wide straps. It was relatively comfortable, but Katniss couldn't forget that it was short. It revealed the underwear she was wearing.

But then she turned to the other piece. It was a matching pair of very small shorts, with the same lace around the leg holes. But upon further inspection, she noticed how they were lined like underwear as well. Which were they, shorts or underwear?

Making up her mind quickly, Katniss removed the uncomfortable pair Effie forced on her for dinner before putting these new ones on. As she looked at herself in the mirror on the wall, it was clear that they were visible from underneath the dress part.

Were they supposed to do that?

It would make sense why the shorts had lace on them. Katniss was tempted to find something that covered her a little more, but she didn't want to brave the closets. Besides, at that point she wasn't in the mood to waste time, and she was already changed too.

Kicking her dining clothes into the corner, Katniss picked up the tray on her bedside table before she headed outside. The trip to Peeta's chambers wasn't long; they were right next door. For several seconds she stood outside the door before she gathered the confidence to raise her hand and knock.

Did she really want to do this? She could just go back to her room. But she couldn't let this go. She had to at least thank him for the bread, and apologize for the bump. Besides, it wasn't going to be that difficult. All she really needed to do was drop off the tray, say thank you, say sorry and then leave. She didn't even have to enter the room.

Katniss contemplated all of this while she heard her knuckles rap on the door, like they had a will of their own. Apparently her body wanted to get this over with before her mind decided something else. After she knocked, for several seconds Katniss braced herself, but nothing happened.

So she knocked again.

Nothing.

Was he asleep?

The third time she knocked, the door slid open and Katniss found herself staring into an empty room. For a moment she was just surprised. If Peeta didn't answer the door, why did the door open? But then she took a glance inside. Maybe he did it remotely?

Katniss took a few steps inside after she poked her head in and glanced around. It was exactly the same as her own room. The bed, the walls, the decorations were all the same. The only difference was that the entire thing was mirrored.

But no Peeta.

Was he still in Haymitch's room? Katniss had been sure that she heard footsteps walking around in the hallway while she'd been sitting in her room. They had been too heavy to belong to Haymitch, and weren't quick and clicky enough to be Effie. It had to have been Peeta walking around outside. And where else would he go but his room?

So where was he?

As she took a few more steps, Katniss almost jumped when the door closed behind her by itself. Maybe it was automatic, just like so many of the other things on the train. Once the door was closed and she got her wits about her, Katniss realized that it wasn't entirely quiet. She heard a faint noise. And it was coming from the direction of the door leading to the bathroom.

Running water.

It was fainter than it had been in Haymitch's room, seeing as it was probably the shower faucet and not the tub. But that told her one thing; Peeta was showering, and would probably be there for a while. If he had any kind of experience that she had with her own shower – with all its knobs and buttons – he wasn't about to emerge shortly.

Just great.

Katniss had gone and gathered up the will to come there, and Peeta wasn't even there.

So now what was she supposed to do?

Katniss could always leave and then come back and hope he was out of the shower. But when? How long would she just wait in her room? On the other hand, there was the option of waiting right there. In the room.

But if she just stood there with a tray in her hands, staring at the door as he emerged he would obviously find something odd about that. Not to mention it would probably make her look stupid. She was not going to just stand there, so she might as well sit down.

Katniss glanced around the room. There were no chairs, only the bed and tables beside it. The tables were not an option. Sitting on the floor was probably as silly as just standing there. That only left one alternative.

The bed.

Would that be okay? It wasn't like she had many choices. But it was his bed, and she was going to sit on it. Katniss knew that if Peeta was sitting on her bed while waiting for her, she'd think it was strange. But there wasn't anywhere else to sit. What else could she do?

Pushing away her feelings, Katniss decided to go ahead and brave the bed. Once sitting on the edge of the plush mattress, she placed the tray in her hands down on the bedside table. With nothing else to do, it gave her time to actually look at the tray.

Her eyes drifted over towards the small bottle in the corner. She was surprised that they actually gave her a whole bottle. Weren't they afraid she would attempt an overdose or something? Katniss felt the lightness of the bottle as she picked it up to examine the label. After she read the directions, from the feel of it, she hadn't been given nearly enough of the painkillers to cause her any harm. Upon further inspection, she found that she'd only been given a single dosage. The bottle was just for the directions' sake.

Once the two little white pills were in her palm, she was reminded of the bump forming on her head. It ached a little. Surely that wouldn't be good to sleep on. Not to mention she was getting a headache without the bump, just from all the information her brain had been processing. Well, Katniss did not really want to talk to Peeta about something so sensitive and have her head hurt at the same time.

Might as well.

The pills slid down her throat easily, and were followed quickly by some of the warm milk. She had to admit that the milk did taste better than what Prim's goat Lady produced. It was probably cow's milk, something she'd only had the rare treat of tasting every so often. Katniss gulped down the whole mug before she knew it, and then wiped off her mouth with her arm.

Once she put the empty mug back down, Katniss saw the full one sitting next to it. She was really almost tempted to drink that one too. But it had been the whole reason she came there, so drinking it would be counter productive.

Katniss sat there for only a few moments, looking around the room at nothing in particular. What else was she supposed to do? When her eyes finally landed upon the pillows on the bed, she realized how tired she actually was.

Then again, it had been such a long day. The reaping, the ride on the train, dinner. And then there had been the conversation Katniss heard between Peeta and Haymitch, the thing that landed her sitting there in the first place. So much had happened in just one day. Had she really been eating berries with Gale in the woods that morning? It seemed so long ago.

Before Katniss could think about it clearly, she was pulling her feet up from the floor before she spread out her legs before her on the bed. Laying back against the pillows, she felt her eyes begin to droop. She really was exhausted.

Making sure to only put her head on one of the ten pillows, she laid back completely. If she really wasn't doing anything else, she could dose for a few minutes. It wasn't like she was going to sleep completely. As soon as Peeta emerged, she'd get right up and talk to him. She was always a light sleeper in the first place.

She'd be bound to hear him.

Katniss saw her vision begin to blur. Maybe she was more tired than she originally thought.

Oh well, it wasn't like he would be in there all night.

* * *

(A/N: Okay, I know this is starting out slow. I must warn all of you, that there are some parts where this fic will be slow, and then it will speed up, and then slow down again. But if I want to get out all the things I need to get out, there needs to be some slow parts. Besides, it's not like all of you are complaining about more to read, right? Once again, thanks for reading and please review!)


	6. Chapter 6

Flower Born of Flames

Chapter Six

* * *

Trouble.

Peeta didn't know another way of describing the situation.

Not only that, but there were a number of reasons why he was in trouble. The first, and the most obvious, of those reasons was that he was on a train headed towards the Capitol so he could participate in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. So basically, Peeta was going to spend the next few days being groomed and trained just so he could face his emanate death. Usually this would have been the biggest source of his concerns, but he wasn't so fortunate.

Secondly, another one of the things that caused agitation was the fact that his fellow District 12 tribute was none other than the girl who he had loved since they were children.

Katniss Everdeen.

It wasn't her fault that he loved her, but she had been the one that volunteered to be a tribute. Then again, Peeta hadn't been surprised when Katniss had offered to take her sister's place. It was just the kind of thing she would do. Just another reason he felt so strongly about her.

Although Katniss's entry into the Games did make it a little bit more difficult for him, seeing as she had a chance of dying too, Peeta wasn't that concerned about her surviving. Katniss was tough, and like his mother told him, a survivor. Despite all the things that held her back, Katniss had good chances of winning. So that wasn't the reason that Peeta minded having Katniss on the train with him.

It was more because Peeta hadn't exactly mastered hiding his feelings while she was around.

That was what led him to the third item on his steadily increasing list of frustrations. Peeta had to admit, that his first impressions of their mentor were off. There had been absolutely no warning signs from Haymitch that would tell Peeta how observant the drunk could be. Despite Peeta's best efforts, Haymitch had been able to spot how much Katniss affected him. Although Peeta was certain that he had hid his reactions as best as possible, Haymitch still saw them.

But Peeta just couldn't help it.

Katniss had come into the dining room that evening looking so beautiful, and as tacky as it sounded, Peeta felt his throat go dry. It was really amazing how a change of clothes could change someone so dramatically. The only thing that Peeta ever saw Katniss wearing was either her unattractive school uniform, the baggy clothes she wore for hunting, or the occasional nicer dress for Reaping Day. And it wasn't like he could look forward to that day, even if it meant seeing Katniss in a dress.

Peeta had only caught a glimpse of Katniss earlier that very day, before her sister Prim's name had been called. He had to admit that it was one of the nicest things he had seen her in. The color made her eyes brighter, stand out more.

But the dress Katniss wore to dinner was completely different from the one she wore that morning. If the gray-blue color made her eyes bright, the crisp mint green made them just glow. And that was just the beginning.

Without sleeves and only a thin strap around her neck holding the garment up, Katniss's gracefully formed neck and shoulders were visible for the world to see. He could also see her beautifully olive-toned skin, not flawless but covered with a lovely, lived in protective layer. Her bared arms showed off all the muscles that had grown from using her bow for so long.

Katniss's equally nicely formed legs were bared and peaked out from beneath the cloth, almost tantalizingly. Because the fabric wasn't very thick, he could see the form of her thighs as she walked. Then there was the way the fabric wrapped tightly around her thin waist, accentuating the way her hips curved out. And the male side of him couldn't look over how her cleavage seemed to have increased and deepened in the matter of hours. Admittedly, yes, he monitored that too.

Curse his hormones.

It was for that reason he avoided eye contact with Katniss throughout the entirety of dinner. What else was he supposed to do? He was getting excited just looking at her … eating. Of course she was eating that cake like it was the most delicious thing she had ever consumed.

Then again, maybe it was.

And to add insult to injury, Katniss was eating cake – of all things. Peeta was regularly surrounded by the sweet pastry. Why hadn't he thought of that before? But the only thing his brain could process while Katniss had been sucking the last of the chocolate from her fork was … how badly _he_ wanted to be that fork.

That damned lucky eating utensil …

Further more, the infamous dress that Katniss was wearing only proved further frustration later in the evening. While in the midst of stripping their mentor down for his bath, Katniss accidentally dropped his wallet. Peeta had to admit that he cracked a grin when he saw her fall. It wasn't because he liked seeing her fail or in pain, but she looked cuter when she was caught off guard. Her surprised expression made her face flush with redness.

So as soon as Katniss turned to pick up the coins, Peeta didn't hesitate to help her. It wasn't like Haymitch was rushing them. At that point Peeta doubted if their mentor would know about any of the help they were giving him. But then Peeta found himself pausing to stare at Katniss. She was looking away, crawling around on the bathroom floor without a thought about her appearance at all.

Katniss was not aware of how her hair fell into her face or the cute way she was biting her lip in concentration. Peeta knew she did not care about the subtle way her skirt was riding up in the back, or how sensuous she was positioned as she moved. It took every shred of courtesy in him to look away when he was barraged with the viewpoint of her front. Peeta had the full opportunity to take advantage of her negligence and look down her dress, but he was just too much of a gentleman.

The dark part of him was yelling at him inside his head.

Peeta was concentrating so hard on _not_ looking at Katniss that he wasn't paying attention when she got closer. When she finally did get close enough to him that Peeta noticed, he had been taken aback so much that he froze on the spot. The only thing he remembered was the sweet way she smelled before their heads collided.

Of course, their first moment alone had to lead to both of them being in pain.

Katniss found an excuse to leave the room faster than Peeta could come up with an apology. Peeta didn't even have time to think about whose fault the head-banging had been before she was gone. And that was how another opportunity for Peeta to talk to Katniss just flew by.

As if adding salt into the wound, within seconds of Katniss's departure did Haymitch decide to speak up. Apparently he'd witnessed the entire exchange, at least from when Katniss dropped his wallet until she left. After stripping Peeta of all the dignity he had left with an interrogation, Haymitch was able to get Peeta to admit something he had kept as a secret for over eleven years.

His day had gone from bad to worse.

The only good thing that came out of the discussion was that Peeta found that his mentor was willing to help him. Peeta was very clear with his intent; he wanted Katniss to win. And during the conversation, Peeta was able to negotiate Haymitch's cooperation – even if Peeta wasn't exactly sure how good it was. And if Peeta could get Katniss to win, he would willingly brush off the brief amount of humiliation.

But that didn't mean Peeta wasn't grateful to get back to his room after they finished talking. There was only so much of Haymitch that Peeta could handle at once.

Peeta didn't like the fanciness of the train, but he was thankful for the hot shower waiting for him in his room. It took him a while to get used to the controls inside. There was even this glowing wand-type devise that came out and encircled his form. He was fearful when he saw clumps of hair going the drain, only to be comforted when a sturdy tug at his scalp dismissed those feelings.

When Peeta emerged, he took the time to look himself over in the large mirror over the sink. The only hair that remained on his body was his head and eyebrows, and that was it. The image made him think. Katniss had showered before dinner – he could tell because of the scent of soap on her. No way she had that kind of perfumes from back home. Had Katniss gone through the same process Peeta had, while in the shower? That would explain why her skin looked so … bare.

Realizing how late it was, Peeta looked in the closet for something to wear only to find what appeared to be a pair of shorts laid out for him. Effie mentioned something about picking out his wardrobe, much like she'd done for his dinner attire.

But the article of clothing confused Peeta. Usually shorts weren't very popular in District 12, since they weren't practical for doing much of … well anything really. He had never worn them himself. They resembled shorts, since the length of the leg came up to his mid-thigh. but the material was too flimsy and delicate to be outer clothing. It must have been underwear, since it resembled it so much.

But was this it?

Back home, he wore a worn-out pair of pants and a tattered shirt. Hardly anyone in their district had official pajamas. The best thing normally people could do was use regular, softer clothing that had just become too warn to wear in public. But was this all he was going to wear to bed? He only wore underwear to bed when it was exceptionally warm outside, but he was on the cooler train.

Part of him wanted to find something else, but Peeta didn't think it was that great of an idea to brave the closets without Effie there to tell him how to use them. What other choice did he have? It was better than sleeping in the nude. And it wasn't like he didn't have blankets to cover him. Besides, who was going to see him?

Only he regretted that thought as soon as he emerged into his bedroom.

In his room, waiting for him, was the last person in Panem he expected.

Katniss.

Half dressed.

Asleep.

…and on _his_ bed.

Peeta didn't know exactly what to do at first. For the first few seconds of him finding his guest, he just stood there staring at her. It was probably several minutes before he even twitched let alone thought about anything.

The moment he did, dozens of thoughts came rampaging through his head.

What was going on? Was this a bizarre dream? That was it, he was already asleep and he was just imagining all this. Why else would the girl of his dreams be half-naked and sleeping in his bed? Sleeping was really the only reasonable explanation he had at that precise moment. But then, no … he would have remembered getting into bed, wouldn't he?

Right?

Peeta didn't think it was a good idea to rely on his thought process at that moment because he didn't think his brain was operating properly. If this was reality, and Katniss really was sleeping in his bed, then hundreds or more thoughts went crashing through his mind.

What was she doing here? Had she intended to fall asleep there? Did she get lost and think this was her own room? Was she waiting for him? And if she was waiting for him … what exactly was she waiting for?

Could she be here for … what his imagination was thinking about?

Well … she was wearing practically nothing and – wait a second.

No, no, no, and again, no!

Do _not_ go there!

Those are dangerous thoughts, Peeta, stay away from them!

Pushing aside the alarms that were going off because Katniss was in his bed, Peeta took time to look at the situation carefully. It gave him time to get a hold on reality and think things through logically. Despite all the things that his mind was imagining, he knew that Katniss didn't come here for _that _… no matter how badly he wanted her to be there for that.

Yes, there was probably a perfectly reasonable explanation she was there – a less promiscuous one too.

Peeta looked at her again. Technically, because Katniss wasn't under the covers she was only _on_ the bed, not in it. That made it a little less intimate than his original thoughts came up with. She was laying on her side, one hand extended under the pillow where she lay her head while the other was sprawled limply in front of her. Legs curled up slightly under her and her mid-section went up and down with her shallow breaths.

He realized that he'd never actually seen her sleeping before. She looked so much more peaceful when she was asleep than when she was awake. Peeta never really caught more than a glimpse of her throughout the years. Peeta would have dared for more than a glance, but he didn't want to risk she or others noticing him watching her. Still, that didn't take away the fact that almost every time he had seen her, Katniss had the same tired, saddened and overworked look in her eyes. It had been there since he'd given her the bread that fateful day five years ago.

Then again, maybe he'd look the same if he had to provide for his entire family the way she did.

But as Katniss slept, her chest slowly rising and falling, she had an air about her like she didn't have a care in the world. It was probably because now that she was asleep, she didn't. The peace that embraced her in that moment was very precious, something she didn't get often. It only made her look more beautiful than he already thought she was.

Peeta had no idea why others thought of her as plain. It was most likely just because she kept to herself most of the time, and no one else really took the time to look at her properly. He'd always admired the contours of her face and the shape of her piercing gray eyes. He couldn't see them at that moment, but he could see her long dark lashes as they lay on her cheeks. Her nicely arched nose had always done well at pointing out the fullness of her lips.

He stopped himself from going down any further. Peeta didn't want to go there, especially since she was wearing – what was she wearing exactly? Were the two pieces supposed to match like that? And was he supposed to see her …

He stopped himself mid-thought. Not a good idea. Peeta snapped his eyes back to her face. Definitely dangerous territory. Normally any guy, regardless of age, would have only fantasized at having the love of his life in his bed. And here Peeta had the real thing right in front of him. Not a fantasy; the living, breathing girl of his dreams.

So what the hell was wrong with him? Why didn't he like this?

Oh yeah, she had no idea he loved her.

So she probably wasn't there for the first thing that his testosterone overridden brain popped into his head. Oh, and she was probably going to kill him within the next few days. That was a very good reason too.

So what in Panem possessed her to come in his room and fall asleep on his bed?

That was when Peeta saw the tray on the bedside table. Peeta found himself padding over towards the table as quietly as he could, although he was always told he was never a lightweight and couldn't walk quietly to save his life. He made noise despite his attempts, but Katniss didn't stir.

How odd, he would have assumed she'd be a light sleeper.

Once in better view, Peeta could see the tray better. A plate of various cookies and two mugs. It hadn't been there before. Had Katniss brought these here? Wait a moment. Did she bring that for him? Judging from the empty mug, she had probably drank a serving already. A serving for herself, and one for the only other person in the room – him. She hadn't touched the cookies.

Was she … trying to be nice?

To him?

Why?

Even if she was trying to be nice, it wasn't a good idea for Katniss to stay there, on _his_ bed. Where was Peeta supposed to sleep if she slept there? He definitely wasn't sleeping in the bed with her; despite the bed's giant size, he didn't trust himself with that.

Knowing her, Katniss would probably stab him if she woke up and found him there sleeping next to her. Peeta was suddenly feeling empathy for the numerous squirrels his father bought from her, all with wounds in their eyes. Well, at least they died quick and painless deaths.

Not sleeping in the same bed as Katniss was looking like more and more like a better plan.

"Katniss," came out of his mouth a moment later without him even needing to think about it. He needed to wake her up. He said it softly, but urgently.

She didn't stir. She didn't even move. Had it not been for the movement of her chest, he would have thought she wasn't even alive. Peeta took a deep breath and tried voicing her name again. Once again, the same effect.

Kneeling down so that he was at her level, Peeta reached to her shoulder cautiously. He paused for a moment before his hand made contact with her skin. It would be the first time he touched her. Once his hand was there, Peeta shook her gently once. Then he waited. But she remained unconscious. Trying once more, this time he tried shaking a little harder. This time she reacted, but only with a sigh as she repositioned herself onto her back instead of her side.

Again, nothing.

Although he was distressed about her being there, Peeta was beginning to worry. Why wasn't she waking up? Peeta looked around him to see if there was any signs of distress. Nope. The only thing different was the … tray.

Idiot!

He reached over picked up the empty mug. Without hesitation, he raised it to his nose before inhaling. Instantly he pulled it away with a grimace. Sickeningly sweet. That only meant one thing; sleeping syrup. It was a common enough sleeping aid, even in District 12. So it was no wonder that they would have some on the Capitol-supplied train. But why would she drink it sitting in his room? Everyone knew that the effects were almost instantaneous. Did she even know about it?

Peeta's attention was drawn to the other, full mug. Upon closer inspection of that one, it was clear that they had both been spiked with the sleeping syrup.

It briefly crossed his mind that Katniss could have done it. She had all the means of asking for the syrup and planting it. But Peeta seriously doubted she did because for one, he couldn't think of any reason why Katniss would do that in the first place. Even if she was particularly malicious, what would she achieve? The effects of the syrup were only temporary. It wasn't like it was going to delay him in the arena. And then there was the fact that Katniss herself had fallen victim to its properties. It further strengthened his first conclusion; Katniss had not known about the syrup.

Well, if what Peeta knew about the sleeping drug was true, it meant that Katniss wasn't waking up any time soon. That was for sure.

But it wasn't like he could just leave her there either.

… so what exactly was he supposed to do?

* * *

(A/N: This chapter was a little shorter because I broke up a really long one into two separate ones so all of you could read the first part sooner. I haven't finished the second part, so I thought it was mean to make you wait. Besides, if a chapter is too long people begin skipping over words and I don't want you guys to feel you have to do that...;-P.

Also, just to give all of you a visual, I like to use real references when I talk about clothing so, for all of you who like pictures here are a few links for you. Now, since won't let me put up the whole link, please just put in whatever is in the parentheses before all these words and it should lead you all to the proper place. (Take out the parentheses too):

(etsy) .com/listing/88989075/lucy-halter-dress-in-green-dots-in-small

This first one is Katniss's dress for dinner. Just look past the tattoos and boots on the models and you'll see how pretty it is. I hope I did a pretty accurate description. I can't tell you how long it took me to find a dress like this one.

(victoriassecret) .com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265771535018&c=Page&cid=1331606786846&pagename=vsdWrapper

Okay, this second one is what Katniss is wearing to bed. A lot of you thought she was wearing a certain kind of skimpy lingerie, but that wasn't what I was aiming for. I wanted this outfit to be a little bit cuter than sexy, so this was my choice. Sadly I think my description is a little off, but I think this will compensate for things.

I will give all of you more links as the story continues, as it is appropriate.

Once again, thanks for reading and please review!)


	7. Chapter 7

Flower Born of Flame

Chapter 7

* * *

Annoyance.

Yes, that was definitely the word in this case.

"You know kid," Haymitch drawled. "I've met people with really strange luck, but you really take the cake with this one," the older man chuckled, probably at his own joke.

Peeta bit the inside of his lip so he would remain silent.

Why had he done this to himself? Oh yes, to help the girl he loved. That's right. Otherwise he would have said, 'Hell with it'.

But then again, Peeta had been the one that asked Haymitch for help in the first place, so he had no place to talk or tell him off. If the older man thought the entire thing was hilarious, who was Peeta to stop him from laughing? Still, it didn't make him feel better about the situation.

Realizing that he couldn't leave Katniss in his bed, Peeta came up with the plan of carrying her back to her own room. Only he came to a bump in that road since he couldn't open the door and carry her at the same time. Hence, he asked the literal closest person on the train to help him. Thankfully Haymitch hadn't gone to sleep yet.

Admittedly when Peeta knocked on his door, Haymitch looked confused about his presence more than anything. That was until Peeta asked for his assistance. As soon as Peeta mentioned the combination of Katniss, drugs and sleeping in his bed, Haymitch's curiosity was roused. So it was no surprise to Peeta that when he presented the unconscious Katniss on his bed Haymitch decided to start laughing about it.

Peeta wasn't sure if his mentor was there to assist him, or just laugh at his attempts to alleviate the situation.

But as long as Haymitch held the door open, Peeta didn't really care.

Turning to look at the older man, who was surprisingly, for once, without any alcohol on him, Peeta gave him a sour expression. "Are you going to help me or not?" he asked condescendingly.

With another chuckle, Haymitch waved at him like he was dismissing him before going over to the bedside table. He didn't even glance at Katniss. "Don't get up in fit, kid," he retorted. "I'll help ya, just hold on for a second."

Their mentor did the same thing that Peeta had done, testing the mug by inhaling the scent. Peeta walked over slowly, watching as the older man picked up something that Peeta realized he had overlooked. It was a small bottle, the label had a big bold name on it, accompanied by lots of small lettering. Haymitch held it up inches away from his eyes, pulling it back and then towards him again. It was like he was trying to focus the object.

"Good old fashioned painkillers," he finally declared. Haymitch glanced over to him with a wolfish grin. "Her head had bound to hurt after colliding with your hard one."

Peeta frowned and bit his tongue this time. He wasn't going to start. "She took those?" he inquired innocently.

Haymitch shrugged. "That's my best guess," he responded, examining the bottle better. He was reading the smaller print this time. He muttered to himself for a few seconds before he began reading aloud. "Hm … 'Do not take with sleeping medi– '," Haymitch started reading, but he cut himself off and briefly looked worried. It made Peeta uneasy; Haymitch didn't do worried. "Oh crap," his mentor said absently, almost like it wasn't that big of a deal.

Peeta on the other hand _did_ think it was a big deal.

"What do you mean?" he interrogated, speaking rather quickly. Although Haymitch had cut himself off, Peeta knew that he was about to say, 'Do not take with sleeping medications'. And if that was true, that definitely meant something bad. "What's wrong, is she gonna be alright?"

Haymitch's eyes narrowed as he gave Peeta a half-frown. "What do you take me for? If she was in any real danger, no way I'd still be here – I'd have already gone and got the medic."

Peeta briefly thought a little higher of Haymitch. At least he was still a little human.

"Besides, you have any idea how much Little-Miss-Schedule would get all in a tizzy if we needed a new tribute?"

That higher thought of Haymitch then left right away.

"She'll be alright," Haymitch then assured him. He tossed the bottle down on the table before he turned to the girl in question and crossed his arms. "She'll wake up in the morning, it's just in the mean time …"

Haymitch's head leaned backwards for a few seconds as he appeared to be thinking about something, rubbing the back of his neck before straightening it again. "In the mean time, what?" Peeta prodded, this time a hint of annoyance laced in his concern.

Their mentor reached over and picked up Katniss's arm with one hand. It was slack in his hold. As soon as he raised it up about a foot, he let it drop back down. He didn't do it delicately, but not harshly either. Haymitch proceeded to do this about a couple more times.

Katniss didn't even twitch.

"Well, she'll sleep like the dead for thing," Haymitch finally told him, gesturing to Katniss as if showing Peeta an example. "And if she does happen to wake up with both those drugs in her system …"

Peeta was beginning to grow tired of prying answers out of the older man. "And if she does wake up?" he asked, this time obviously annoyed.

Haymitch picked up on his annoyance and just gave him a look. "She'll start rambling like she's drunk," he finished.

That was it? Really? There wasn't something a little more … life-threatening?

"Drunk?" Peeta echoed, like he thought the older man was joking.

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Haymitch declared, giving Peeta the hairy eyeball. "You know, she'll start acting like a little kid, or she'll say something really weird – stuff like that."

In other words, Katniss would be the complete opposite of normal. Peeta knew that people said things they didn't want to while drunk, like things that they would normally keep to themselves. They would also act without restraint, and sometimes they might even give away secrets.

What part of that did Peeta dislike if Katniss were to act like this? Oh, that was right – nothing.

Peeta rubbed his eyes with his fingers before pushing them up to run through his hair. He still had a big problem on his hands. "So I can move her?" he asked hopefully.

Haymitch chuckled. "Yeah," he answered. "She probably won't remember a thing too – even if she does wake up right now. The syrup relaxes ya, and the painkillers make ya forget you have any worries. That combination 'ill make her more compliant than a hooker you've already paid off tenfold." Peeta didn't like that analogy, but Haymitch then gave him a look. "Don't _you_ go gettin' any ideas though," he warned.

It was Peeta's turn to look at him condescendingly. He would never do that to Katniss, never. Even if his hormones were yelling at him to take advantage of her in such a vulnerable state. He'd never go that far, but maybe just tell her everything he wanted to reveal to her.

But _that_ … Peeta didn't want that from Katniss, not in the way Haymitch described.

No, if – and only if – Peeta ever had a chance to be with Katniss in that way, he wanted her to be fully aware of everything that was going on. Then there was the part where Peeta wished for Katniss to want it as much as he did, and for her to enjoy it too. He also wanted her to remember it like he knew he would, as something he would cherish for the rest of his days.

Doing it without all those factors … wasn't love. It was something else, something that he didn't want to have with her. Without all those things, Peeta didn't know how anyone could enjoy that kind of affection.

Peeta didn't respond to the comment. "Are you going to get the door or not?" he asked. Changing the subject was usually the best idea when avoiding a question.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get excited kid," Haymitch responded. "Pick her up first, okay?"

Peeta nodded, and Haymitch took it upon himself to back away from the bed. The mentor knew without asking that Peeta would need a little room.

Only when Peeta came up beside Katniss and looked over her again, a problem arose in his mind. How was he supposed to pick her up without touching her anywhere … inappropriate? With the amount of skin she was showing, he highly doubted if it was even possible. But she wasn't even going to remember. How could she remember something she didn't even witness?

Haymitch noticed his pause. "She ain't gonna bite ya," he mentioned with a grin, elbowing him in the side.

Peeta didn't respond. He pushed away his cautions and just thought about it in a normal situation. How would he pick up someone who wasn't Katniss? Moving swiftly, he knelt down and first reached under her legs, resting the crook of her knees over his arm. His other arm slid under her shoulders, and he delicately pulled her to sit up.

Katniss's head hung against her shoulder limply, and her arms were sprawled out unceremoniously. At first he thought he could clasp her upper arm, his arm under her back but he realized that she would slide out of his grasp like that. Last thing Peeta needed was to have explain to Katniss how she had gotten several bruises in the middle of the night, without knowing how they'd gotten there. Despite his own protests, he was forced to grasp her around the waist. By redistributing her weight a little, he was able to get her head to lean against his shoulder.

Once she was safely positioned in his arms, Peeta stood up and turned to Haymitch expectantly. He didn't want to touch Katniss for longer than he needed. It was too much of a dangerous territory. "Ready?"

Haymitch only blinked, brow going up with a little surprise. "Ain't she heavy at all?" he asked absently.

Peeta paused. What did that have to do with anything? And was Haymitch implying there was a reason for Katniss to be heavy? They were looking at the same girl right? The same thin, small girl from the Seam. How would she be heavy?

Peeta had to think about it carefully. He looked down to the girl in his arms briefly. No, Katniss wasn't heavy. In fact she was lighter than air. Her body was surprisingly soft and supple against his own, melding against his chest nicely. Peeta could feel the slight pressure of several of her ribs pressed up against the arm that was wrapped around her waist.

She was so thin … it was possible that she would have been heavy?

But then Peeta noticed something else. With the close proximity of her head to his own, he could fully embrace scent of her hair. It was a very faint fragrance, not almost pungent like the perfume that Effie liked to wear. It was much softer, almost earthy. The scent reminded him of evergreen trees and freshly dampened soil. Then again, he wouldn't have expected anything less from Katniss.

But since Katniss's head rested on Peeta's shoulder through this thought process, he could feel the the way she was softly breathing against his neck. The short, sharp spurts of air. And then there was the fact that her lips were only inches away from his own …

"No she's not," Peeta said suddenly, cutting off his own line of thought. It had taken him all of less than a second, but to him it seemed like much longer. He didn't want Haymitch to catch onto anything else.

Peeta cursed himself silently when he realized his voice sounded different. He cleared it before continuing. Think Peeta, what else could Haymitch have been referring to?

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. Looking at it from another angle, his mentor could have been implying that Peeta wasn't that strong. "How do you think we got _you_ back to your room?" he asked with an eyebrow raised, trying his best to give his mentor a little attitude.

Haymitch didn't reply to his last remark, but looked impressed that Peeta was able to come up with such a comeback. He merely took a step back and began looking him over carefully, from his head to his feet, and then back up again. While he did this, he reached up to scratch at his bearded jaw before crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. He was … concentrating.

Well, his mentor was full of surprises, wasn't he?

But the Haymitch was looking at him made Peeta felt like he was an animal carcass at the butcher's shop. It was like Peeta was being sized up, only his mentor was comparing him to other humans and not cuts of meat. Although unnerving, that wasn't the biggest thing on Peeta's mind.

After several seconds of silence, Peeta was still quite aware of the unconscious Katniss in his arms. "What does it matter, anyway?" he asked, trying to push along the conversation.

Haymitch simply shrugged. "Doesn't matter at the moment," he responded finally. "Just something this ole' drunk will need to know for later." He then nodded to the door. "Come on, we need to get her in bed right?"

Getting to the door was relatively easy. Getting Katniss through it was another story. The doors hadn't been made wide enough for someone to walk through it while carrying another person. So in order for Peeta to get her out without banging her legs against the wall, he had to turn and carefully sidestep out into the hallway. It was surprisingly easier than Peeta first imagined, and for a moment Peeta was hopeful that handling the unconscious Katniss would be easier than she initially thought.

That was until he remembered that nothing went according to plan when he was involved.

"What in Panem are you three _doing_?" suddenly came a sharp Capitol accented voice. Peeta didn't need to look up to see who it was.

Effie.

What was she doing up?

Only Peeta was caught off guard when he saw the source of the voice. This was not the Effie he remembered. Peeta wasn't entirely sure if the person was Effie.

If this was Effie, there was a dramatic change. The woman in front of them had delicate pale skin, face appearing like it had just been wet moments ago. Her complexion was almost perfect, and she appeared only a few years younger than Haymitch. She wore a knee-length bright magenta robe and on her feet were short heels, matching feathers holding them on around her toes.

However there was an obvious give-away that this was Effie. Her real hair was dyed to match the florescent pink color of the infamous wig that Effie wore the rest of the time. It was very thin and delicate, curls relaxed from the pins that Peeta assumed kept it under her wig.

It made Peeta wonder why Effie bothered with the wig in the first place.

The woman in question walked up to the two of them and placed her hands on her hips. "I come to check on things and this is what I find?" she asked her arms gesturing to the unconscious Katniss. "What _is_ going on?"

Yeah, this was Effie.

Haymitch rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Don't get ya panties in a twist, Princess," he soothed. "She ain't dead – yet."

The woman's nose wrinkled up like Effie's had done after dinner, and her lips pursed together in a frown at this comment. She also gave Haymitch a knowing glare.

Yup, definitely Effie.

Haymitch continued before Effie had a chance to say anything else. "Someone on this damned train's staff thought it was a good idea for Sweetheart over here to mix sleeping syrup with painkillers," Haymitch continued, twisting his voice a little to mock Effie's accent.

Peeta made a face in thought when he heard Haymitch's nickname. Sweetheart? Was he referring to Katniss? Okay, so that meant that Peeta was 'Kid', Effie was 'Princess' and Katniss was now 'Sweetheart'. It made no sense in Peeta's mind whatsoever, but he thought it was a good idea to keep it as a mental note anyway.

Effie seemed to completely disregard Haymitch's mocking, but didn't stay silent. Her stiffened appearance increased when she heard the mentor's explanation. "Why, who would condone such a thing!" she asked, bewildered. Even Effie knew how foolish the combination was. "That's like asking for trouble."

"We figured that out too, Princess," Haymitch answered, nodding to the unconscious girl in Peeta's arms. "Now if you'd be so kind to move out of the way, the kid's gotta take her back to her room, okay?"

Effie opened her mouth to say something, but Haymitch walked passed her before she could. He slapped a button beside Katniss's chamber door and the thing slid open. If Peeta had known it was that easy, he might not have asked Haymitch for help.

Too late now.

Haymitch held Effie back to allow Peeta as much room as he needed to get her through the door. It was much like getting her out of his own room, but going the opposite direction. Instead of leading with her feet first like he'd done the last time, he backed Katniss's head into the room first. Somehow her head had slipped from Peeta's shoulder and began to loll around loosely. He wasn't about to risk banging it against something.

By then Peeta realized it was a good idea to ask for Haymitch's help in the first place, once Effie started chattering away. Once Haymitch told her what Katniss ingested, the chaperone began going on about scolding the staff.

Thankfully, this is when Haymitch corralled Effie in the hallway, keeping her out of the room and allowing Peeta to move without having to worry about bumping into someone. He was already carrying one person, and just moving her without having to worry about obstacles was complicated enough.

Peeta wasn't all that certain what Haymitch did to distract Effie after that, because as soon as he went in the room the door closed behind him and it was quieter. Much quieter. He could hear a few muffled words exchanged between the two, but they faded out shortly after that. Besides, Peeta wasn't exactly paying attention to anyone outside the room.

Because as soon as the door shut, the body in his arms twitched.

Peeta froze.

Katniss's head rose up from its inclined position rather slowly. Arms came up, instinctively clutching Peeta's shoulders her half-lidded eyes blinked continuously. Her head swayed a little, almost like it was too heavy for her neck.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily, not even bothering to look at Peeta. Her tone was almost like that of a child's, bewildered and curious. "Where am I?"

Peeta paused before he spoke. "We're in your room," he told her calmly. If what he knew about drunk people was true, it was usually best just to humor them. Katniss wasn't drunk, but she was close enough to it. "You fell asleep in mine, remember?"

Katniss just stared out into space in front of her, blinking several times like she couldn't see. "We're on the train," she said, but it was more like a question than a statement.

Realizing it wasn't a good idea to just keep standing there with her in his arms, Peeta began the process of heading over to the side of the bed. Katniss instantly tightened her hold on him as he began moving, bracing herself. As soon as Peeta reached the bed, he began to lower Katniss down on top of the covers. As he resting her head back against the pillows and took his arms out from around her, he went to stand up straight only the hands remained. Katniss clutched his neck firmly, and didn't seem like she was ready to let go.

As if this wasn't difficult enough.

But Peeta managed to gently but firmly unclench her hands from his shoulders before he laid them down on her abdomen. "Yes, we're on the train," he finally answered her. Kneeling down onto the floor, he looked her in the eye in hopes she would hear him better. Head leaning back against the pillows, she was looking at him blankly. Her eyes were still only half open, but it was clear she was able to see him. "Do you remember getting on the train?"

There was a pause before Katniss did anything else. She blinked, then her arm rose up and she pressed a lazy finger to Peeta's cheek. "Boy with … bread," she muttered almost incoherently. Her raised hand then fell to the bed with a plop.

Peeta wasn't exactly sure what Katniss meant by this, but if he had to guess she was recognizing him, in her own drunken way. He couldn't help but find the term endearing. "Yeah, I'm Peeta," he said with a small smile.

"Pee-ta," was the next thing out of Katniss' mouth. It was like she was rolling around the sound of the name in her mouth, like she was tasting it. She let out an exasperated sigh and quickly moved her head upright. "Did you get the milk?" she asked hopefully.

He paused. The other, full mug of milk on the tray. So Katniss had brought that for him after all. It made Peeta feel a little better. Well, at least she didn't hate him. It also cleared up the reason behind her impromptu visit to his room. Peeta's imagination's reason had been a lot better (and included less clothing), but part of him was relieved that hadn't been the reason. He would have made a complete and utter idiot of himself if he was caught off guard by that scenario.

Thinking back to Katniss's question, Peeta remembered that he hadn't drank the beverage for fear of falling asleep just like Katniss had. Although, he didn't think it was a good idea to tell the dazed Katniss that. "Yes, I got it. Thank you."

Katniss moaned as she pushed against the bed in an attempt to sit up, but she failed. Peeta didn't rush to help her, hoping that she would give up on her own. That way he wouldn't have to touch her again. Peeta wanted to, but didn't at the same time. It was really the strangest feeling Peeta had ever experienced. Katniss didn't give up though. Once completely sitting, her hand flopped down on the mattress next to her, but she had done it distinctively. It was a gesture to sit down.

Peeta had no idea why, but he complied.

"I hit your head," she said, once Peeta had sat down next to her. Although she was sitting up, she couldn't keep her balance and was forced to recline on the numerous pillows behind her. It was enough to keep her steady. "With mine," she clarified. "I'm sorry."

For a few seconds Peeta just looked at Katniss, trying to figure out her train of thought from her face, but it was a lost cause. Katniss showed absolutely no emotion, and her eyes looked like they were fighting back sleep, blinking as her pupils attempted rolled backwards. She could only focus on his face for so long. But that didn't refrain Peeta from reaching the conclusion he was looking for.

Katniss thought that when they knocked heads, it had been her own fault. And that was the reason she'd brought the milk, as an apology. Peeta almost chuckled at the irony.

Even if Peeta told her the truth, Katniss wouldn't even remember.

Peeta only smiled at her genuinely. There was the Katniss he knew he loved. Never blaming anyone but herself. "It's okay. It didn't hurt that much," he soothed.

But Peeta then remembered that Katniss was fighting sleep. Not only was it not good for her, but he needed to be getting some sleep as well. "You should rest," he encourage her. He moved to stand. "We have a lot to do tomorrow."

Katniss immediately shook her head in defiance. Then without warning she reached out and grabbed a hold of his hand, pulling him back and preventing him from leaving the bed. "Wait," she begged longingly in a whisper. "Wait …" She said it in such a way, Peeta had to comply.

Peeta looked at their clasped hands. Katniss was holding on tightly, with more force than he would have guessed she owned. She then pulled at his arm, summoning Peeta closer towards her. Again, he complied willingly. At that point, Peeta's torso was only centimeters away from her own.

"I have to thank you," she finally muttered. By this time, her eyes were completely closed, but she still managed to speak. Katniss folded her arm back and it rested on her shoulder, but she didn't let go of Peeta's hand.

Katniss gave it another tug so he would come closer, but this time the closer proximity was awkward. If Peeta came that close without wanting to touch her or fall over on top of her, he had to keep himself upright. To do that, he needed to prop himself up with his arm. And to do that, he needed to place his hand on the other side of Katniss's waist.

At that point Peeta was trying really hard to figure out what was going on. He sat there with his bared torso just hovering several inches away from Katniss's barely dressed one. Their faces were at least farther away from each other than that, and for that Peeta was thankful. But even still, this was more than Peeta could handle for one evening.

Think … think! What had she said!

"Thank me?" he questioned. Peeta was grateful he was able to maintain his normal tone of voice. He had no idea how, but he wasn't about to question it either. Not that Katniss would remember this anyway. "Why?" He really was a little curious about her earlier statement. "What for?"

Katniss's eyes finally reopened, and this time they were steady and locked squarely with his own. "Don't you remember?" she asked him, a small smile coming onto her lips. "You gave me the bread … "

Peeta felt things become still as he heard these words. Bread. Katniss was thanking him for bread.

" …those years ago," the girl in front of him continued.

Wait a minute … _the_ bread?

"Was raining," Peeta heard Katniss say next. He heard her, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking out into space. "You burned them on purpose … for me. Threw loaves to me."

Peeta couldn't believe what he was hearing. Although Katniss could no longer form proper sentences anymore, it hardly seemed to matter. He was still able to understand her without a problem. She remembered that? She actually remembered that? After all that time?

He found his eyes locking back with hers as she reached her free hand up to his face once again. This time she placed the base of her palm to the edge of his jawbone. It was all she could do in her tired state. "Your mom hit you," she muttered out. Her brow furrowed as her lips turned down slightly in a frown. She touched a shaky finger to his temple. "Bruise right here."

Katniss took in a large sigh that sounded more like a yawn than anything, moving her head slightly. "Wanted to thank you – so long now," she went on. "But … nervous."

Peeta processed her words carefully, concentrating very hard. For some reason he had become solely interested in what she was saying and nothing else. Not even their close proximity came to mind. He realized what Haymitch had been saying earlier, about Katniss rambling on. Indeed, she was saying things she normally wouldn't say.

Had she really held that thanks in her for all those years?

At the time, Peeta hadn't done it because he wanted recognition. He wanted to help her, that was all. She was suffering because of reasons she couldn't control, and Peeta was in the position to help. He didn't think there was anything that could have prevented him from helping Katniss back then.

Still, a part of him was glad that Katniss knew. It wasn't because he wanted her indebted to him or anything. It was because a part of him hoped Katniss would see the gesture just as he had – something more than just one human helping another. Did she see it that way?

Peeta gathered his thoughts together as he swallowed, clearing his throat before looking her in the eye once more. "You're welcome," was the only thing he could think of to reply.

Her eyes were closed again, and Katniss didn't make much of an expression other than the muscles in her face relaxing. But then the slightest of smiles crept up onto her lips as her eyes opened fully. "I'm glad," she muttered softly.

Peeta didn't have time to even think about responding to this, as in the next few seconds a number of things happened that made him freeze. The hand that was laced with his own gave a firm tug, forcing him forward. His weight, once balanced on his other arm, was knocked over and he fell forward faster than he could react to stop himself. Although he was solely concerned about crushing the smaller girl beneath him, Peeta had a completely different reason to forget about that.

Because as Katniss pulled him down, she also lifted herself up slightly. Sitting up, she pulled her head towards his own before pressing her lips against his.

And that's when the world seemed to stopped.

* * *

(A/N: Okay, I did not abandon/forget about this fic. This is my excuse: I recently started a job in a factory working 6 PM-6AM. Yes, that is twelve hours straight and all night... but I'm broke and it pays well. So yeah, all my free time I've been spending sleeping ... hope you guys don't mind. Anywho...here is my much anticipated update. I hope you guys like. Please reading and review!)


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