Chapter Text
As she went to find Prim and head home, Katniss felt the tension inside her dissipate.
She was free.
She felt bad for the two families who’d lost someone today, but now Katniss only had Prim to worry about. In addition, she needed to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life now that she would never again have to worry about being thrust into the Hunger Games with only a slim chance of survival.
Of course, even the slimmest of chances could be enough. Gale had proven it last year. The Hawthorne family now lived in Victor’s Village after the Third Quarter Quell had given District 12 its third ever victor.
The Seventy-Fifth Games had spared Katniss. The Quell’s cruel twist forced those who were supposed to be celebrating their first year free of the bowl to chance one more shot at being reaped. And, even worse, the bowl included all slips previously accumulated from taking tesserae. She had watched her closest friend go into the Games to fight for his life. Although he’d returned, she still lost him anyway–to keep his family safe, he could no longer hunt in the woods outside the district. Thankfully, Katniss could handle herself just fine on the other side of the fence.
She found Prim talking to one of her friends from school next to the corner of the town bakery. The girl was the florist’s youngest daughter and must have given Prim a few buds since her sister clutched some tightly in her hand.
“Katniss, there you are! Poppy was keeping me company until you found me,” Prim said breathlessly. “Look at these flowers—aren’t they just the most beautiful things?”
“They are lovely. That was kind of you, Poppy.” Katniss couldn’t help but smile at how excited the tiny flowers made Prim.
“Oh, it was no bother at all. By the way, Katniss, Prim was telling me about this being your last year. Congratulations on making it through.”
“Thank you, Poppy. Prim, we’d best be heading home now.”
“Okay.” The two younger girls quickly made plans to meet up before school the next morning.
School…
Katniss would only attend it for a few more weeks. The teachers would conduct a sort of transition period to help prepare her year for their roles as adults in their district. Katniss saw this mostly as a waste. Still she grudgingly admitted some of it might be helpful. She had no idea what she could possibly do for a job, aside from the dreaded mines. However, that would cut her potential hunting days down to just one a week, and she wasn’t willing to give up the one thing which gave her even the slightest feeling of peace. She also feared being blown up in a mine explosion as her father had been years ago.
As she prepared for bed later that evening, Katniss could not have known fate would have a hand in saving her from her darkest nightmare.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day, Prim ran off to join her friend with only a “Have a good day, Katniss!” floating on the air behind her.
Katniss shook her head ruefully, happy to see her sister so carefree. She made her way up the steps that led into the school building. She wasn’t looking forward to today. She’d shot a deer that morning, so she distracted herself with thoughts of what she could turn it into. Deer jerky, deer stew, deer steak seasoned over a salad of dandelion greens–
She was so preoccupied with her list that she neglected to pay attention to her surroundings, a fact which would become very obvious when she collided with someone. And not just any someone, but the town baker’s youngest son, Peeta Mellark. He’d also just survived his last Reaping, and she owed him a debt she’d never be able to repay.
“Sorry about that.”
“Excuse me.”
They both spoke at the same time. Amused blue eyes met startled grey ones before his flitted away as they usually did.
Katniss readjusted her bag strap on her shoulder before continuing toward her first class.
She’d barely taken three steps before his voice stopped her. “Katniss?”
She turned to look at him, schooling her face into an expression of wary curiosity. Out of habit, she folded her arms across her chest, waiting for him to continue.
He appeared unsurprised at her silence. “I think our year is supposed to meet in the cafeteria first thing. There was a note on the board when I went to the classroom.”
That explained why he’d been heading the other way. “Oh, okay. Um, thank you. For telling me.” She wanted to cringe at how curt she sounded, even to her own ears.
Peeta was one of the nicest people in the district. He didn’t have to tell her about the note. He could have just let her continue on her way and discover the note for herself, which would have annoyed her. Instead, he’d saved her the annoyance of making it all the way to the classroom before having to turn around.
A slight cough alerted her to his continued presence. Surely he had better things to do than stand here looking at her in the middle of the school hallway, she thought.
She looked up, noticing he looked amused—was he laughing at her?
“Is something funny?”
He had the good sense to look slightly abashed at having been caught laughing at her. "Sorry, I—I just—you looked like you were arguing with yourself about something. You were really animated doing it and I’ve just never seen someone do that before and I just— I’m babbling—can I make it up to you?“
What? He wanted to make it up to her? He thought he owed her?
“You don’t have to—”
“Please? At least—” He seemed to wrestle with what he was about to say, as if speaking took every ounce of bravery he possessed. “At least let me walk with you to the cafeteria?”
Oh.
Katniss felt warm all of a sudden. It shouldn’t have been that much of a shock given it was the warmest time of the year right now. Still, this was a different kind of warmth that didn’t come from the sun. It came from inside of her. Threatening to spread through her, if she’d only let it. She was completely unfamiliar with this kind of feeling. Couldn’t begin to give it a name. It sort of reminded her of the satiated feeling she felt after a particularly hearty meal of game stew with bread dipped in it.
“I—okay. I’ll allow it, I guess.” How could she deny him this when she already owed him so much? She wasn’t sure if he remembered that day in the rain, with the bread, but she knew she would never forget.
As they walked, he kept up a steady stream of conversation, seeming to understand that her lack of response in no way indicated boredom. She was actually rather interested in what he had to say.
“So, my dad has been increasing my responsibilities at the bakery lately,” Peeta said. “With Barley at the florist’s now and Leaven transitioning to the Cartwrights’ shoe shop, I’m the only one left to inherit, you know?”
Katniss tilted her head, acknowledging his words.
“Actually, Barley’s wife Ivy told me that he’s got a bit of a green thumb, so… Hey, don’t I see her little sister hanging out with yours sometimes?”
She nodded. “I thought I recognized her,” he mused before carrying on. “Anyway…the only reason Leaven and Delly haven’t married yet is because they’re waiting on her to finish school. That’s only a couple of weeks away, assuming the Games don’t last longer than usual.”
He paused for a moment and Katniss motioned for him to continue. “I guess you could say I’m sort of responsible for them being together,” he said with a wry smile. “Delly and I used to pretend we were brother and sister and now we actually will be. She asked for me to be the one to make their toasting cake and bread.”
The obvious excitement in his voice caused a slight smile to appear on her face. However, his description of what his brothers were up to made Katniss thing about that bakery, and she couldn’t help but ask him a question. "So with Barley and Leaven no longer at home, you’ll be short-handed, won’t you?“
He looked surprised, but no less pleased at her question. "Yes, I suppose I may have to see about hiring one or two people to help out. My mother has already started dropping hints about inviting people to dinner, but thankfully Dad has been very supportive of giving me time.”
“Time?” she asked, before it dawned on her. “Oh, you mean time to find—”
“To find a wife, yes. My mother, of course, couldn’t care less how much I actually like whomever I end up marrying But my dad—well, he understands my position, I think.”
“Your position?” Surely he wouldn’t have any trouble finding a girl to marry him. Granted, she’d never exactly seen him with any girls, aside from Delly Cartwright, but that didn’t mean he’d never dated. He was definitely attractive with his blond curls and blue eyes which looked like they held the key to the world’s secrets. Katniss reckoned any girl who’d turn him down had to be insane.
“—and my dad, well, my mother wasn’t exactly who he had in mind when he fantasized about marriage. He never really had a chance with his first choice, so that’s how he and my mother wound up together.”
She’d been so lost in her thoughts she’d missed part of what he’d said about the position he now found himself in. And yet, the fact that he was in a position didn’t seem to faze him.
“I’ve never really seen myself marrying,” she found herself saying. “Anything that leads to having kids, I just—I don’t know that I could put myself through that.”
She was sure she’d imagined it, but his face seemed to fall ever-so-slightly before perking back up again.
“I can understand that, I guess.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “Um…can I ask you something? It could be a—well, a favor, I guess.”
“Sure,” she said. Something about him relaxed her in a way that she hadn’t felt since her father died. Even the woods…
“Would you be interested in helping me at the bakery?” The words spilled out in a rush. He took a deep breath before continuing. “I, uh, don’t know if you have any plans for after we’re done with school, but on the off-chance that you don’t yet, I thought I’d ask. I hate the idea of you—anyone really, but anyway—being forced into the mines because you have no other options. And you do. Have options, I mean.”
She studied his face, unsure at first of the seriousness of his offer. But the earnest look on his face combined with the hope she felt just from his words led her to stick out her hand.
“Yes.”
“Yes? You’ll do it?” His hand grasped hers, not yet shaking it to make it official, as if he were afraid to let go in case it would be the last time he’d ever feel her hand in his.
“I will.”
As they shook on it, neither of them could know this was just the beginning of both of their lives.