Hiiii! I was the one who requested the âmorning afterâ prompt!! Loved part 1! Canât wait for part 2 with the âdiscussionâ (and hopefully some smut đ) â¤ď¸
Yes! I didn't forget! Sorry it took so long to finish. I've had way too much going on lately. But here it is finally.
Part one can be read here.
Without further ado, here's-
Sunrise Part 2
The timer went off in the kitchen and Peeta stood up, leaving his painting slightly unfinished, so he could go and take the food out of the oven so it wouldnât burn.
Just when he was beginning to wonder if maybe something was wrong with Katniss, he heard the soft click of the front door opening, followed by the influx of fresh air. She was home, finally.
He didnât call out to her like he usually did. He didnât know if she would welcome him pretending like this was just any other day. He had no idea what path her thoughts had taken today, while she was out in her beloved woods. Maybe she was still feeling pensive. Maybe she was nervous. Maybe she was sad or worse.
He tried to imagine several times what she must have been thinking or feeling throughout the day, but he wasnât successful. He had learned to gauge her moods more accurately over the past few months, but mind reading was still not a skill he possessed when it came to her.
She had learned to gauge him as well, giving him space during his episodes, as he gripped the backs of chairs, or the kitchen counter hard until the tremors passed. He knew now to back off when she felt overwhelmed emotionally. He had taken note of the signs. A certain blank look she got in her eye, the anxious way she played with her braid or picked at her nails. Preceding her withdrawing into herself, growing more silent and sullen. Peeta learned to tread gently when she was in one of those moods.
He still wondered sometimes when she gave him a certain glance if there was a time he had figured her out before his hijacking. If the old Peeta, the one without a leg but who had still been in control of all his mental faculties before the hijacking and the torture had scrambled him up had gotten so good at reading her that they didnât have to say things out loud. In some of the videos of the second Quarter Quell there seemed to be a fluidness to their interactions. Like the way he seemed to anticipate her next moves and vice versa. While they were in the arena things between them had seemed soâŚreal. Before it all went to shit of course, on the last night. He had a vague sense that most of their interactions had at least been moreâŚequitable, and smooth before his hijacking.
Nowadays if they had a misunderstanding there was always the lingering fear that it could trigger an episode for him, or cause her to withdraw for a while. It wasnât a pretty thought, but it was their reality. And it was something they both were aware of and had known fully before they crossed that line last night. But Katniss had been so sure. She had promised she wasnât going to run.
And Peeta guessed she hadnât. She was here, she was home for dinner.
But was she still sure? Doubt and fear slowly began to creep back in.
Peeta looked up to see her enter the kitchen slowly. Her gray eyes watching him, with something like shyness and wariness jumbled together. He tried to keep the tension out of his shoulders and forced his hands to remain at his sides. He wanted to go to her, examine her and make sure she was alright and not hurt. But her steps were as soft and fluid as ever. No obvious injuries. His eyes roamed over her face, and arms and neck. Aside from the scars of the flames they had both shared during that fateful day in the Capitol, she looked flawless and healthy.
Peeta took a deep breath and smiled up at her, trying to show her he was ok. Katniss smiled tentatively back at him, but it looked strained.
When she knew what she wanted, and how she felt it was apparent. Even in his post-hijacked condition Peeta knew this. Katniss had almost no guile, and was not very good at masking her emotions.
The harder thing to judge was trying to get a read on her when she was confused. There had been many days in the beginning when they both started reconnecting after the war in which Peeta had to exercise patience and give her the benefit of the doubt when it came to simple things, like expressing whether she wanted to spend time together. She was not very good at communicating what she wanted from people.
Peeta had a sneaking suspicion that it came from something inside of her that wasnât comfortable asking, or relying on others. Maybe even a part of her that felt she didnât deserve peopleâs help or their attention. He remembered Prim telling him once while they were in District 13, when she was still trying to convince him Katniss wasnât a mutt, that Katniss had learned not to expect a lot of things from life. To save herself the trouble of being disappointed when she didnât get them.
Peeta wondered if Katniss was trying to save herself some trouble now.
A dark part of him, the part that the Capitol left behind, whispered that she was troubled by him. That she regretted what they had done together. That she stayed away so long because she couldnât bear to face him after succumbing to such a base instinct and engaging in such intimate acts with him. That voice was constantly reminding him of all the times she had rejected him before, passed him over, ignored him, or chose someone else.
Seeing the hesitant look on her face as she approached the kitchen table caused the volume of those poisonous whispers to increase. But Peeta knew that giving into them would do no good. If there was something wrong he wanted to hear it from Katnissâ own mouth.
That was another thing they had worked on. Katniss had made him promise that if he started hearing bad thoughts he wouldnât just presume to know what she was thinking or feeling. He had to ask. He had to talk to her about it. Because it was too easy for the bad voices to confuse him. He resolved to try and clear things up, after dinner.
Peeta cleared his throat and asked if she was ready to eat. She nodded and went to the sink to wash her hands. He observed the way her clothes clung to her body in more places now that she was eating regularly. He was proud of the fact that she was a healthy weight for her size these days, instead of the half starved girl he had found when he returned from the Capitol. She often told him it was because he was such a good cook.
That memory made him smile, and sent a trickle of pride and warmth into him. There. That was a better thought to focus on for now.
âI baked the pheasant you shot yesterday with some potatoes and tubers in an olive oil and garlic and lemon sauce.â Peeta told her as he began to fill their plates.
âIt smells delicious Peeta.â She told him, brushing her hand along his arm as she passed by him and got two cups and some silverware to finish setting the table.
Her small touch reassured him a little, as did the gentle tone of her voice.
âDid you have a nice day in the woods?â Peeta asked as they both sat down to eat.
âYes, I didnât do much hunting or foraging though. I just mostly soaked up the views.â She replied, her mouth pulled into a small frown.
âThatâs ok. Weâve got plenty of meat in the icebox.â Peeta told her. Dr. Aurelios said it was ok to sometimes have days where you just processed things. You might not get a lot done on the outside. But that was fine as long as it helped you on the inside. Peeta hoped that was the kind of day Katniss had out in the woods today.
âHow was your day?â Katniss asked as she glanced up at him quickly.
âI got the things we needed in town. I cooked, and painted a little. Nothing difficult. I think youâll actually like the painting. I can show it to you after dinner if you want.â
âSure.â
What followed was a few minutes of silence as they ate. Sometimes they chatted over dinner, other times they ate in companionable silence. Todayâs silence was twinged with uncertainty and awkwardness hung in the air. Finally, Peeta couldnât stand it. He put down his fork carefully next to his plate and looked up at Katniss as she pushed her food around her plate for the third time in the last two minutes without taking a bite.
âOkay.â Peeta said, releasing a loud exhale, âSo, we should probably talk.â He finished and leveled his best serious stare at her. He knew she didnât like discussing things that had to do with her emotions. He could respect that she was an incredibly private person, and most of the time it took her longer to process things than average. He knew it had a lot to do with what sheâd been through. But hell, theyâd both come too far, and gone through too much shit together to sit around awkwardly ignoring the elephant in the room.
âYou think so? I donât know if we really need toâŚ.â Katniss began, her eyes never leaving the pattern in the grains of wood on the tableâs surface.
âKatniss, I need to.â Peeta told her firmly. That was another thing he had been working on with Dr. Aurelius. Being assertive, and communicating his needs more openly in their relationship so as to avoid building up feelings of resentment.
âOh.â Katniss said as she finally looked up at his face. She blinked once, and then took a deep breath before nodding. âOkay. What do you want to talk about?â She added, her voice soft and vulnerable sounding.
Sometimes it got on Peetaâs nerves. The obliviousness. He wasnât sure if that was something new after the hijacking or not. But he was in a better place now than he had been when he first began to try and figure her out. Almost a year ago he was 99% sure the obliviousness was all part of her act. Contrived to manipulate him and those around her. He knew better now. A good part of it was just the way she tended to avoid emotional conflict, but some of it was real honest, to goodness unawareness. Katniss didnât tend to work well with reading in between the lines, or inferring other peopleâs thoughts or emotions. She was better with concrete scenarios and directness. So that was the track Peeta took.
âLast night, you regret it? Real or not real?â Peeta asked point blank.
Katnissâ face was the epitome of surprise one second, then anger the next, but she looked away and took a deep breath before answering. When she did her voice was calmer than he expected.
âNot real Peeta. I donât regret one second. Not at all. You?â She said and looked back at him, her gray eyes assessing him astutely with that same watchful gaze that reminded him sometimes of a predator watching its prey. Peeta took a deep breath to ground himself. He couldnât afford to let his mind get carried away right now.
âI donât regret it either. I started off this morning the happiest Iâve been since I can remember, and I had the best sleep Iâve gotten since they took me off morphling.â
âOh, well, happy I could be of some use.â Katniss muttered, sounding more offended than before. Peeta ground his teeth in frustration for a second. Sometimes, actually, most of the time, the filter between his brain and his mouth malfunctioned when he got upset, or frustrated. It was another leftover symptom of the hijacking. Lucky him.
âKatniss,â Peeta said, exasperation but apology also leaking into his voice as he looked over at her and pleaded with her to be patient with him as well. This wasnât easy. Maybe it would have once been. Maybe, before he could have found the perfect words to smooth things over, but these days he was putting himself back together one piece at a time just like she was.
Her steely gaze softened just a tad. Then a faint blush crept over her cheeks.
âYeah, ok. I slept well too. But it wasnât the absolute highlight of the last 48 hours for me.â She murmured. Peeta smirked at the quick insinuation she made.
âMe either.â Peeta replied, fixing his eyes on her as he deliberately stared at her long and hard enough to let an inkling of the hot desire that he had allowed to sweep through him last night rise to the surface.
It was always there. The way he wanted her. The way he loved her. It was such a consuming thing. Only, nowadays it consumed the worst parts of him. It chewed up the darkness that swam in the recesses of his mind and it snuffed out the uncertainty that plagued him on his bad days when she allowed him to care for her and vice versa. It was like the lighthouse that forever led him back to shore. He had found so much of himself in loving her again.
Peeta had learned that he was more than his devotion to Katniss Everdeen. He was still his own person, apart from her. But he discovered that he was a better person for facing it. For owning that huge part of him that would do just about anything to keep her safe, to make her smile. It was ok to love her. It didnât make him pathetic or weak. It made him hopeful that what Snow had done to him could be overcome, given enough time, and given the fact that she loved him back.
Peeta watched as a blush crept up her cheeks. It was lovely that way the color highlighted the architecture of her face, and the luminousness of her golden skin. He could paint her a thousand times, and not get tired of trying to capture the complexity of her eyes, the warmth of her coloring, and the graceful lines of her body.
âThe highlight of my night was seeing you so blissfully undone. Your pleasure was the most beautiful thing Iâve ever seen Katniss. Last night meant everything to me.â Peeta added.
Her gaze widened, her blush deepened, and she swallowed slowly. Peeta watched the way the muscles in her neck rippled with the movement, and he was reminded of the little sounds of approval she had made last night when he pressed hot, open mouthed kisses all along the column of her neck. He felt his cock twitch in his pants at the sight of her reaction.
âIt meant a lot to me too.â Katniss replied finally, tearing her gaze away from his face and sucking in a breath. Peeta felt his eyebrows pluck up, intrigued by her flustered expression. Sure, Katniss wasnât very good with words, but her actions, well they spoke very clearly. And right now Peeta was certain she was being honest with him.
âIâm glad to hear that sweetheart.â Peeta said, relief evident in his voice. Her words made him happy. They made him hopeful. But overall they made him eager to repeat the experience that was the topic of their discussion.
Peeta lowered a hand to shift his pants inconspicuously. They had quickly become uncomfortably restrictive. He longed to shed them, along with the rest of his and Katnissâ clothes.
But he wasnât sure if she felt the same way. And he wasnât going to push or assume she wanted to have sex with him again so soon. Despite the eagerness she displayed in the morning.
He would have to wait for her to make the first move. But he could find other ways to express just what their night together had meant to him.
âWould you like to see the painting I worked on today after we finish eating?â Peeta asked, almost shyly.
Katniss looked back at him, her eyes shining brighter than the silver moon at its zenith.
âIâd like that.â She replied before she picked up her fork and dug back into her food with renewed vigor.
~
Later, as Peeta led her into his art room, he paused at the door to make sure the other paintings were covered or tuned away. Once he did a sweep of the room with his eyes and found nothing amiss, he gently guided her to stand in front of the easel in the center of the room.
He turned it around so she could see the picture, and waited for her reaction.
She simply stared at the scene, her eyes a little wide. Gradually, a look came over her face. It was an expression of gentle awe.
âIt's incredible Peeta. Just beautiful.â She said, bestowing on him one of her rare smiles.
âThis was the second most beautiful thing I saw this morning.â Peeta said quietly, gesturing to the sunrise that he had captured in vivid detail.
Katniss looked up at him with a sheen in her eyes, her hand trembled as she reached out to place her fingers on his forearm. Peetaâs skin tingled at the contact.
âWhat was the first?â She asked, her voice not more than a hushed whisper. But the vulnerable longing in it took Peetaâs breath away.
He took a step closer, pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her in the way he had been wanting to do all night.
Right before his lips descended to cover hers, he breathed out the reply.
âYou. In my bed.â
She shook her head slightly, as if to disagree, but Peeta just kissed her doubts away with the firm pressure of his lips. Her mouth parted perfectly, and his tongue peeked out to brush against hers. She made a needy sound in the back of her throat and pressed herself against him more firmly. Then she opened her mouth wider, to allow his tongue better access, which he happily acquiesced to.
They kissed and rocked together, touching and pulling at each otherâs clothes and hair. The passion that had crackled between them last night flickered and roared to life in record time.
âPeeta,â Katniss whimpered into his mouth after another minute. It was all he needed to hear. He guided her back, until the back of her thighs brushed against the stool he usually sat on when he painted. Then he broke away from her lips with a groan, and she started to protest for a second until his lips attached themselves to her neck. He tasted her sweat, the lingering scent of the outdoors, and the pervasive flavor of her warm skin as he sucked and gently bit his way down her body. Even though he ached for her, he unbuttoned her shirt one button at a time. He paid careful attention to her breasts, pulling down the cups of her bra and teasing her taut nipples into stiff peaks before divesting her of her shirt completely and licking his way down to her belly button. She let out her breath heavily, raking her fingers through his hair as he descended to unbutton her pants and push them to the floor.
Peeta inhaled the heady scent of her arousal as he pressed his face against her cotton panties. Katniss mewled as she widened her stance and pressed her center eagerly into his face. Peeta fanned his hot breath over the growing wetness that was soaking into fabric. He kissed her softly, reveling in the heat radiating from her. She squirmed against him, urging him on.
Peeta slowly kissed up to the waistband of her panties, ignoring the impatient noises she made, before using his teeth to drag them off her. By the time her underwear pooled at her feet, her legs were shaking.
Peeta gently directed her to sit back on the stool, with her legs splayed open for him.
For a second or two, maybe more, he just stared at her. He drank in the way her breasts heaved as she took in a breath. His eyes followed the curve of her waist, out to her softly flared hips, down to her wet and swollen lower lips. His nostrils flared out, and the blue of his irises was swallowed up by his pupils dilating with pleasure and lust.
âI imagined you so many times.â Peeta whispered, as he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the smooth skin of her inner thigh. She trembled and let out a stuttering breath.
âNo amount of fantasizing prepared me for how intoxicating the actual sight of you is.â Peeta said, mostly to himself as he nuzzled his nose against the dark thatch of curls that captured his attention so mesmerizingly.
Katniss mewled, pushing her hips forward, trying to force more contact with his mouth. But Peeta pulled away, determined to bask in the sight of her for just a bit longer. He gingerly traced her inner lips with the tip of his finger, reveling in the way her sickness felt as he brushed over her folds.
âKatniss, you donât know how fucking inescapable you are. I wanted you even when I didnât remember who I really was. Even when I couldnât remember my favorite color, or that I liked to paint. But I always remembered what it was to want you so desperately I could feel down to my bones. Down to my atoms. That was always there. Nothing has ever felt as good as touching you does. As kissing you does. Not even being high on fucking morphling is as good as being inside you. So please, please tell me this is what you really want. Because Iâm so gone for you, Iâm in so deep. I love you so much. And I know it's not easy. Being with someone like me. Who starts thinking crazy shit if you're five minutes late for dinner. I know Iâm fucked up, but I will never stop trying to be what you deserve.â Peeta finished, with a shudder, dropping his face atop her thigh, hiding for just a minute from the overwhelming crush of the emotions stirring in his chest.
He felt her small hand caress his cheek, and then dip underneath his jaw to tip his chin up.
âI love you.â She whispered, her eyes wide and teary as she stared down at him. His eyes began to water as he stared up at her. Her lip trembled slightly, and Peeta reached up to cover it with his thumb. He brushed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip, to stop the shaking.
She parted her lips again.
âAnd you are so much more than I could ever deserve Peeta. But Iâm so far gone, I donât care. All I know is that I need you.â She confessed, her eyes never leaving his.
He nodded, blinked away the tears that were clouding his vision, and swallowed before nodding again.
He felt like weight had been lifted off his chest. Last night she had said ârealâ when he asked her if she loved him. But today, hearing her say the words and it coming from her totally unprompted, set him at peace. He smiled at her, tenderly before lowering his mouth to her still dripping center and giving her one long, obscene lick.
She bit back a sharp cry, and opened her legs wider for him. With a carnal groan he began to feast on her, lapping up her sweet arousal and thrusting his tongue into her with quick strokes. She keened, and rocked on the stool, and Peeta had to hold it steady so she didnât topple over.
He seriously doubted they could keep this up for long, so he focused his attention on her clit, licking around her sensitive bud in tight circles and sucking alternatively.
âFuck, yes. Oh, I love your mouth.â Katniss cried, as she fisted one hand in his hair and yanked him closer, grinding her pussy against his mouth.
Pride rushed through him, and even though his legs were protesting, especially his prosthetic one, from kneeling in one position for so long, Peeta didnât give up or slow down. Instead he increased his motions, flicking her clit back and forth with his tongue as she chanted his name.
When she took a gasping breath, and her legs trembled before clamping down against the sides of his head, Peeta knew that was it.
Katniss let out a sharp cry that descended into a long moan, followed by a rush of wetness that gushed out of her. He happily lapped up every drop. And when she was done she hopped off the stool and pulled him into a standing position.
âWanna go to the bedroom?â She asked with a provocative smile as she stared down at his tented pants.
âTogether?â Peeta asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Katniss just nodded and took his hand in hers.
âTogether.â She replied.