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Katniss was putting some concealer on a love bite Peeta had marked her with the night before, when he joined her in the bathroom.
“Don’t cover that up, it’s one of my proudest works,” he quipped, which got him a playful slap against his shoulder. Peeta brushed his teeth and Katniss turned her braided hair into a respectable updo. Her soulmate sighed when he put his glasses on, making her smile. She hugged him from behind and looked at him in the mirror. “I love it that you’re wearing glasses now.”
“It makes me look old,” he whined.
Katniss chuckled. “Not to me. It only accentuates your beauty,” Peeta blushed, so she added, “Plus it makes you look really hot. Like, even more so than before.”
“Really? This is doing something for you?”
“It’s definitely doing something for me,” she admitted.
“Well, maybe I’ll wear them to bed then too. After I put my book away,” he tried to wink playfully, but Peeta had never mastered that trick, so both his eyelids closed, making Katniss laugh. He turned around in her embrace and put his arms around her.
“Is that a promise?” she teased and he answered with a kiss.
It had been eight years since they got married. They became parents of two adorable kids in those years, had lost loved ones, went to Paris for their fifth anniversary and had taken that picture in front of the Eiffel tower the universe had promised them, had both enjoyed successes in their jobs and had even moved houses twice. And after all of that, when Peeta kissed Katniss, she still got butterflies. She still felt warm and safe. Loved.
She loved him so much, too.
Their kiss got interrupted by their daughter who was banging against the bathroom door. “Daddy! Dad! Come quickly, Neal dropped all of his cornflakes on the floor.”
Peeta sighed. “Yes, that will ruin the mood real quick. Do you want to get that one?”
Katniss laughed. “Nope. Audrey called for you, so..”
“Lucky woman,” Peeta mumbled.
After the Santa debacle of the previous year, where Peeta had dressed up as Santa and Audrey had burst out into tears thinking her mother was having an affair when the girl had caught her mom kissing Santa Claus, the honour of playing Santa this year went to Haymitch Abernathy, a friend of Katniss’ father. Her parents had decided to throw a little meet ‘Santa and his elves’ party at their house for all the kids they knew. Haymitch had agreed to do it for 80 bucks and a jug of Peeta’s homemade eggnog.
A jug Katniss wished she could drink herself. It was cold outside and she was tired after a hard day at the office. Plus Audrey kept asking too many difficult questions (“How does Santa have the time to visit everyone’s house before Christmas morning? Wait, not everyone’s house. Micah said Santa doesn’t go to his house because he’s Jewish. Why is that, mom?”).
“Uhh- I don’t know honey. Hey, look there’s auntie Prim and auntie Rue,” she quickly replied, hoping it would avert her daughter’s attention. “Go see if you and Neal can find Ethan, okay?”
Audrey was up for seeing her cousin and took Neal by the hand to where her aunts were chatting. “Thank God this is her last year of believing in Santa,” Katniss sighed, watching her kids, both dressed as Santa’s elves, dart away.
“Don’t say that. I can’t believe she’s already getting old enough that we have to tell her next year. I wish she would stay this little forever…” Peeta said a little wistfully.
“Oh, babe.” Katniss gave her husband a kiss on his cheek. “But, then we would miss so many milestones with her. High school, prom, her 25th birthday.”
Peeta gave her a smile. “You’re right. And you know, maybe we’ll have some more kids?” He looked at her, a hopeful look in his warm blue eyes.
The truth was that Katniss knew her husband wanted more children, but Neal’s pregnancy had had a very difficult aftermath. It had taken Katniss almost a year to get back to herself and she had let Peeta know that she couldn’t do that again, at least not for some years to come. Peeta had understood her, of course, respected her decision. Was maybe even a bit relieved, because he couldn’t bear to see his soulmate so miserable and ill after giving birth to their baby boy.
But, Audrey was seven now, and Neal four, and she was her old, strong self again. Katniss loved her children more than anything in her life and knew she would love a third child just as much. She didn’t blame her husband for testing the waters. And for the last couple of months, every time she saw a pregnant woman, her heart squeezed longingly and her own womb felt empty.
“How about we have that conversation sometime this week?”
Peeta tried to keep his grin in check, but Katniss knew him too well by now to be fooled. “Yeah?”
“Come on, let’s go say hi to Prim and Rue.”
*
“Mommy, was that Uncle Haymitch?” Audrey asked her.
“Where?”
“Over there. Pretending to be Santa.”
Katniss tried to stay composed. “What, no, that’s not Uncle Haymitch, that’s Santa.”
“Because he really looks like Uncle Haymitch! And last year Santa had blue eyes like me, but now he has grey eyes like you.”
“Uhh—“
“Look, Audrey, grandad is making some hot cocoa for us!” Peeta said, in an overexcited way, hoping the promise of hot chocolate would make his daughter forget her train of thought.
Thankfully, Peeta outsmarted his way-too-smart daughter, and their little elf skittered away.
“We’re telling her in February,” Katniss decided.
“March,” Peeta countered. “The 31st.”
Katniss rolled her eyes, amused. “Fine. March the 31st.”
Wednesdays was Peeta’s day off from the art gallery, so he always brought and picked up Audrey from her ballet classes, taking Neal with him. This meant that it was the only day in the week where Katniss came home from work and was greeted by an empty house. She took the opportunity to immediately rid herself of her uncomfortable shoes and blazer, and walked over to kitchen to heat up some eggnog for herself (since having kids she preferred something stronger over mulled wine during the Christmas period).
Katniss sat down on the couch, enjoying her treat, the silence that would last for another ten minutes or so, and the sight of their Christmas tree. It was now decorated with ten unique handmade ornaments (among the standard red baubles) she and Peeta had bought together at the town’s Christmas market, as was their tradition since their first Christmas together. Her eye got caught on one special ornament that was neither a red bauble or one of the 10. It was a plastic, see-through bauble carrying a photo of her and Yue in the snow. Yue was smiling at Peeta who had been taking the photo.
Katniss walked over to admire it, but taking the photo in, flooded her with memories that made her very emotional. The photo was taken during what turned out to be Yue’s last winter, 2 months into Katniss’ second pregnancy. Yue had passed away peacefully in her sleep, suddenly, just 11 days after Neal was born.
Katniss had been inconsolable. Her sweetest friend, the only being she never fought with, her dog that had chosen her that day in the park, her ball of fluff that had been her family for 13 years, was suddenly gone. Katniss hadn’t been suffering from postpartum depression after Neal’s birth, but she had been very down and that, added with the grief she felt over losing Yue, had caused Katniss to go into a downward spiral.
The photo reminded her how much she still missed Yue. How fun it had been to take walks with her, how Yue had always cheered Katniss up when she felt sad, the way she loved to play with Peeta, had cuddled them at night when they watched TV, how loving Yue had brought her so much happiness.
Peeta found his wife a few minutes later, standing by the tree, Yue’s bulb in hand, crying.
“I—I miss her so—much,” she hiccupped, explaining her tears.
“I know, love. I do, too,” he took his wife in his arms. Katniss hid her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent, which was very comforting. “Just remember what a good life you gave her. How happy you made her as well.”
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Neal had suddenly appeared, so Katniss dried her cheeks.
“Nothing that can’t be fixed with one of your hugs, Neal,” she answered, and her son did his best to give her the tightest hug he had ever given in his life.
Christmas morning was spend at Katniss and Prim’s childhood home, celebrating the holidays with their own families and parents. To not go overly ridiculous with the amount of gifts, the adults had agreed on a maximum of gifts 2 per child and 1 per adult. Peeta and Katniss had bought 1 gift each for their children (knowing their grandparents wanted to get them something for Christmas as well) and something on their own for the other. Prim and Rue had done the same. So on Christmas morning, the families were greeted by 12 gifts under the Everdeen’s Christmas tree. A large lunch followed (Mrs. Everdeen still made her famous waffles for her family) and the three children started playing with their gifts when they were finished eating. The adults were drinking some coffee (except for Peeta, he only ever drank tea), when her father asked Katniss if she wanted to sing them a song.
“I’ll accompany you on the piano,” her dad said.
“Dad, we just finished eating,” Katniss chuckled.
“Please, Katniss, you know it’s a tradition after all these years,” Prim said, trying to persuade her sister.
“I’ll sing with you, Mom,” Neal added, planting himself in his mother’s lap.
“Well, okay then. What song would you like to sing?”
“Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?”
“A classic,” she agreed. “Why won’t you ask your grandpa if he knows the song?”
Her father, already sitting at his piano just on the other side of the living room, gave his grandson an affirmative answer and started playing.
Katniss started out alone and Neal joined her for the famous chorus, belting out the words, in a gleeful, innocent way only kids can. She looked up at her soulmate, who was watching them both with love in his eyes, and cheered them on. When Peeta’s eyes met her, they both got that group of butterflies shooting through their veins: the memory the universe had promised them when they shared their first kiss was now made.
They were lying in bed, his scent and warmth protecting her from the darkness of the night. His heartbeat reassuring her she wasn’t alone. Something about being hold by Peeta always made it easier for Katniss to start difficult conversations. Peeta could read her like an open book, and like this, in the dark, her head resting on his chest, she could keep her inner thoughts to herself and tell Peeta what she wanted to tell him.
Katniss knew Peeta was waiting for her to broach the subject of them having more children, not wanting to push her into a corner or scare her off by starting it himself. But, Katniss had been thinking long and hard, and was now ready to talk.
“You know, growing up I never thought I would ever love someone, even my soulmate, more than I loved Prim,” Katniss admitted. Peeta’s fingers played with her hair, not saying anything, waiting for her to continue. “But, then I fell in love with you and I was proven wrong. Again I thought I would never love someone more than I could love you, but then the first time I felt Audrey kicking around inside of me, I knew I would do everything to protect her forever, even use you as a human shield if I had to,” Katniss told him, and he chuckled, stroking her shoulder lovingly. “Neal too, obviously. You know I’m not as good with words as you are, but what I’m trying to say here is that I love you, and I love our kids, and you three make me so happy, and I would love to have another child with you.”
Katniss could hear Peeta’s heart had started to race in his chest. “Really? Do you mean it?”
“Of course I mean it,” she promised.
Peeta took her hand in his and raised it to his lips where he kissed her knuckles. “You know I would love to have another baby with you, but I love you more than the possibility of becoming a third time father. Do you really want it? Do you really think you are up for another pregnancy?”
“Yes. To both of those questions,” she answered. “I’ve really thought about this. I want to expand our little family, or at least try to. It might not even be in the stars for us,” she whispered the last part, the thought already saddening her.
Peeta rubbed her shoulder, trying to caress the bad thoughts from her mind. “Don’t say that, you’ll make me feel old,” he joked.
Katniss laughed, before breaking their embrace to look him in his eyes. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips before kissing them.
The last Wednesday of the year, Katniss was home alone for longer than the usual 15 minutes. Peeta had texted her that they would be gone a little longer than normally, but Katniss quickly grew bored of it. She missed her family. She wanted to kiss Peeta, hug her children and listen to them tell about their days.
They were gone for almost one and a half hours and Katniss had grown restless. She all but jumped from the couch to let her family inside of their home.
“Mommy, mommy, we have a surprise for you!” Neal yelled, greeting her.
“Mom, come out and see!” Audrey yelled.
“A surprise? For me?”
“No, not yet. You three go back inside and I will meet you in the living room with the surprise,” Peeta said.
Katniss laughed, happy and baffled, as she took her kids inside. She hung up their coats and helped Neal untie his shoes. A moment later, Peeta found them waiting in the living room. He closed the door behind him.
“The kids and I have been talking,” he started. Katniss met Audrey and Neal’s eyes, blue and silver respectively, bubbling over with excitement. “And we know you love us very much, but that since Yue passed away, you’ve been feeling like this family hasn’t been complete anymore. We want you to know how much we love you, so I asked our kids, and Audrey and Neal agree with me that now would be the right time to extend our family with a little fur ball.”
Before Katniss could respond, Peeta opened the door and a dog entered the room. It was a grey labradoodle, it looked like he was about 3 years old, and it was wearing a green collar. “Oh my God!” Katniss exclaimed, eyes filling up. “Are you serious?”
“Yes!” Audrey said next to her.
“We got you a doggy, mommy!”
Katniss carefully took a few steps to her new family member and reached out to him. He sniffed her hand before licking it. She fell in love with him right there and then.
“His name is Augustus,” Peeta spoke. “I know you don’t care about what kind of dog we would get you, so I looked into some animal shelters to adopt the dog that had been living in the shelter the longest. Augustus was taken to the shelter as a two months old puppy, so he was really excited when the kids told him we would be his forever home.”
Katniss gave Augustus one last kiss, before getting up and facing her husband. “Thank you. I love you. Thank you so much. You make me so happy, Peeta.”
Peeta wiped the tears of her cheeks. “I love you too, Katniss.”
Augustus was perfect. Patient with the children, playful with Peeta and the perfect hiking partner for Katniss. She loved him just as much as she loved Yue. Now, if she came across photos of her old dog, she laughed instead of the crying she’d done before. But, still, when Katniss looked at Peeta, she couldn’t help but feel their little family wasn’t complete yet.
Two years later, on the 24th of December, Katniss gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They named her Noelle Yue Everdeen Mellark. It fitted her perfectly.
When Katniss met Peeta’s eyes now, she could feel they were complete.
Peeta could feel it, too.