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Counting On Love (Part 2)

A/N: Hi guys! :)

You're all very kind and supportive and I really wanted to thank the people who took time to read and review. Thank you so much!

Once again my thanks also go to a couple wonderful people: @thegirlfromoverthepond for her constant hand holding and asking how the writing is coming along and encouraging to write, write, write! :D

And - of course - the wonderful, incredible @honeylime08, beta extraordinary. You're awesome, thank you for your time and input and the amazing work you do!

Hugs and kisses to you ladies! :)

That's it! Hope you'll all enjoy, thanks for all the support. I love the Everlark-community!

Part 1

You can also read it here: FFn or AO3

COUNTING ON LOVE

Part 2

After Madge had dropped the proverbial bomb in the middle of the playground, it took them a few seconds to react, too stunned to do more than gape at the blonde woman.

"MAGDALENA!" Katniss finally screeched horror-stricken, while Peeta stuttered, "Well, I-I was going to …"

"That's none of your bus-" Katniss hissed at her best friend, but at the young man's words she turned around sharply, all tension leaving her body. "Wait, you were?"

He rocked slightly back and forth on his feet, one finger scratching his nose, a half-smile half-scowl on his face.

"Um … yes?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Oh."

"Oh?" He must have heard disappointment in her voice because he looked confused, his arms crossing over his broad chest. She knew it was a defense mechanism, but to her it felt like he was starting to close up again. Katniss wanted to scream at him to make him stop. To let him know how desperately she wished for him to ask her out. That she wouldn't even hesitate to accept. That the disappointment came from her anticipation for him to finally ask.

Unfortunately, she never was a woman of words. So when she elaborated, it didn't help to explain the situation. At all.

"Well, were you … or were were you?" Did she even make an ounce of sense anymore?!

For a second the three adults stared confused from one to the other. Brow furrowed, arms still crossed, and a puzzled expression on his face, Katniss would have loved to throw herself off the nearest cliff.

That was it, she thought. That was her chance with Peeta Mellark, and she totally ruined it.

"What she means," Madge tried to help then, slightly irritated by her best friend’s behaviour, "and apparently isn't able to express in the slightest, is, that if you were to ask her right now, she would most definitely say yes."

Even though only moments ago Katniss could have murdered her, at that moment she could have kissed Madge.

Peeta's posture relaxed, his arms fell to his sides and a beautiful smile suddenly beamed down at her. "Oh! Really?"

"I-"

Just then a loud scream echoed across the playground.

This was not happening! It felt like they were cursed to never finish something important. But then Tyler came running, nose bleeding and tears streaming down his face, and of course all thoughts about dates disappeared immediately.

The events following the bloodbath (Samantha's word of choice) were rushed. Not twenty minutes later Katniss found herself helping Madge pack their stuff and leaving the playground for the day, while Samantha explained in all detail what had happened.

Bentley – the little sucker – had happened. He pulled on one of Sam's pigtails, and when Tyler defended her, the little asshole hauled his arm back and sucker punched Tyler in the face. If she hadn't disliked the boy before, now she surely had no sympathy for him.

In the end Peeta picked up Tyler and their stuff and rushed off the playground, only stopping for a second to ask if it was ok if he called her later.

She just had time to nod, and then he was gone.

He hadn't called afterwards, but sent a very apologetic message around midnight, explaining that after the playground everything was a little hectic, and that he only had returned home about 25 minutes ago. That Tyler was fine (his nose wasn't broken), especially now that he was a big brother. That the baby, little Sophia, was already a heartbreaker. That Delly and Thom were overwhelmed with emotions and didn't hold the accident against him. That he was sorry that they hadn't the chance to finish their talk.

Katniss wrote back that it was ok, and that she understood, and that maybe they’d get the chance to talk in the next couple of days.

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep with a smile on her face, was his reply: I would love to.

xXx

The day before the charity bake sale found her anxious and fidgety.

Over the days following the playground incident they didn't get the chance to talk. Katniss was running errands for Sam's upcoming birthday. Prim requested a girls' night. Johanna wanted to grab a drink after work. Uncle Haymitch and his wife Effie invited her to dinner. And 20,000 other things, it seemed.

And Peeta was too busy with preparations for the bake sale.

The only thing they were able to do was text occasionally.

Therefore when her phone vibrated on the side table at around nine one evening, it startled her. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought that maybe it was Peeta texting her. Katniss dropped the book she was currently reading beside her on the couch, put her glass of wine on the coffee table and grabbed the phone.

Primrose Everdeen: The Egyptian Cotton Sheets are worth every. Last. Penny! ;)

Katniss cringed. So much for anticipation. She really didn't need to know about her baby sisters sexcapades.

Katniss Everdeen: Thanks for the mental image. Our relationship will never be the same.

It took Prim 10 seconds to respond.

Primrose Everdeen: Your loss. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from my amazing experiences. I'm sure PEETA would appreciate it.

Jesus Christ! Her sister was just like a dog with a bone.

Katniss Everdeen: I don't know about that. It can't be that amazing if you're texting me instead of enjoying your anniversary with you fiancé. ;)

Primrose Everdeen: You're deflecting again, sister mine. And I only have the time to write because Rory is grabbing some snacks from the kitchen before Round 3. ;P

The older Everdeen nearly gagged at the image. Seriously, sometimes she regretted introducing her sweet little sister to Johanna. She was a bad influence.

Katniss Everdeen: And here's where I'm going to stop writing to you. Stop texting me, enjoy your evening. Say hi to Rory.

The silence following was answer enough. With a sigh Katniss put her phone back on the side table and picked up her book. At least the story was interesting enough to distract her from constantly thinking about the event the next day (or the organizer of the event).

Her phone chimed again.

"Seriously, Prim …" Katniss muttered, again grabbing the phone and considering whether to give her sister an earful about the appropriate time to text someone. Preferably when not having sex at the same time.

But it wasn't Prim after all.

Peeta Mellark: Hi Katniss!

Her heart skipped a beat, before resuming its rapping at double the normal speed. Suddenly her hands felt a little sweaty and the temperature in the room was slightly higher than moments ago. She nearly dropped the phone in her haste pressing the Reply-button.

Katniss Everdeen: Hey, there … stranger!

Geez! Even via text she was a linguistical klutz. She was so screwed.

Peeta Mellark: Sorry I didn't write sooner. There was a cookie disaster at the bakery.

Katniss Everdeen: Now, I'm intrigued. Explain to me what a cookie disaster entails.

Peeta Mellark: 99.9% of the time it involves my brother Rye.

She had to laugh out loud at that. It seemed siblings were a pain for everyone.

Katniss Everdeen: Tell me about it! I have a sibling, too. ;)

And then her phone went quiet. She saw the bubble with the three dots appearing and disappearing for a couple of minutes. Katniss waited, never taking her eyes off the display, as if her stare could make the screen light up with a message. When it started to fade into standby, a sigh escaped her and she put the phone down reluctantly.

Maybe she needed to start to accept that she and Peeta weren't meant to take this further - whatever this was - before she lost her mind over it. Five days ago - an awkward conversation, an even more awkward confession, and a bloody nose later - she was sure that by the weekend they’d finally have the chance to talk and figure some things out. But with every passing day this small flicker of hope got smaller. Maybe it was only wishful thinking on her side after all.

Okay, she needed to be fair here: She could have asked him herself. She could have pushed her insecurities aside and could have suggested to meet for coffee. Or lunch. Maybe - if she gathered all her courage - even dinner.

But she was a coward, discouraged by the looks given him by way more attractive women. His behavior was friendly, open, while she was monosyllabic, and reluctant, and … shy. Every time she opened her mouth in his presence she sounded like a total dork.

He looked like a fucking Greek God, while she was simply ordinary. There was nothing special about her.

It frustrated her that everybody was pushing her to 'take it in your own hands' when she never really learned how to do that. How could she?

Prim and Madge had the Hawthorne boys drooling all over them the second they hit puberty. Katniss' 'relationship' with Gale had been long done by the time he realized that he was head over heels for Madge. And just like his brother with Prim, he wined and dined her, and did everything he could to woo her, not even stopping at making a complete fool out of himself.

Of course, she knew that it wasn't roses and sunshine all the time. Relationships needed work. On both sides. The occasional fight was only natural.

Still, both Madge and Prim didn't have to experience the hardships of the dating world. It was fascinating, when they went out together for girls night guys tended to swarm around the two blondes like bees 'round a honeypot. They flirted harmlessly, enjoyed the attention, laughed and had fun, but at the end of the night they knew they would go home to the men they loved.

And while neither Madge nor Prim ever experienced it, Katniss knew what it was like to be the 'plus one' friend, only included in conversations because she simply was there, too. The friend who had to buy her own drinks. Who could step away from the conversation without someone noticing.

Katniss wasn't bitter about this. She had accepted a while ago that she simply wasn't the flirty, funny, open kind of girl that guys found attractive. And that was ok. She was only bitter when her friends made it look like the simplest thing to attract some guy.

On top of that Peeta wasn't just some guy. He had the potential to be the guy.

The phone chimed again, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Peeta Mellark: So … what are you doing right now?

Wow. It took him 10 minutes to write this? She swallowed down a curse, while rereading the message a couple of times. For nearly a quarter of an hour she was seriously contemplating whether she had lost her sanity ever since she started working for him, and this was all he could come up with?

Katniss' anger reared its ugly head. With a huff she started to type a detailed reply, but halfway through got so irritated with constantly mistyping the words that she switched to the contacts and pressed the call-button.

It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hey!" he greeted happily, she could hear the smile in his voice, "I wasn't sure if it was a good time to ca-"

"You know what?!" she interrupted his words, her frustration clearly palpable. "This needs to stop."

"Um … Katniss?" If it was possible, she could feel his confusion through the phone. She could even understand it to a certain degree. Minutes ago she was joking around with him. "Are you-"

"I can't do this anymore," she interrupted him once more, needing to get the words off her chest before the courage piqued by her anger extinguished again. Even if by now the frustration had mostly turned into resignation.

"I like you. I really like you. There! I said it. It's out there. I really, really like you. And I thought that maybe you kinda liked me, too. But this constant dancing around the topic is eating me up!" She took a deep breath, before continuing in a much calmer voice, "so, I like you. And I would love to grab some coffee sometime? Or maybe lunch? Or dinner? I don't know, whatever you want to do is fine. I'm terrible at this, I'm sorry if I got everything mixed up here-"

"Oh man, Katniss!" It was his turn to interrupt her, effectively shutting up her ramble. "I like you, too! It's fucking ridiculous!"

Ok, that hurt. More than she wanted to admit. He thought her ridiculous, and now she thought it herself, too. Calling him seemed more and more like one of her bigger mistakes.

"It's ridiculous to like me?" Even though she wanted to sound pissed, it wasn't possible to keep a hint of sadness out of her voice. She was seconds away from simply hanging up.

"NO!" he was fast to rectify. "That's not … I mean, you surely know … you have to know … Katniss!"

"What are you trying to tell me here, Peeta?"

She heard a huff, before he continued in a much softer tone, "How is it possible you can't see that I'm crazy about you even though every time I'm around you I make a total fool of myself?"

Was he serious?! He was the most eloquent guy she ever met. Her stumbling over words, her constantly blushing when he talked to her, her way of never finding the right thing to say was the mortifying part. A sarcastic snort escaped her. "Yeah, right."

"How do you do that?" He replied with the same sarcastic snort she just used.

"What do you mean?"

"You only ever hear the insignificant parts. Katniss …" he took a deep breath, "I like you. So much. I was head over heels for you five minutes into knowing you. Since that first time I stepped into your office I’ve wanted to ask you out. I really thought it couldn't be more obvious, but I would love to have dinner with you."

"Peeta …"

"Please, say yes."

She was happy he couldn't see her as she gaped like a freaking fish, mouth opening wordlessly, eyes wide like saucers. His confession caught her even more off guard than the one at the playground. And then he was standing right in front of her.

It was like every single word and phrase she ever learned got deleted from her brain. Single syllables swirled around in her mind, but the rest seemed like a gaping void.

And she still needed to answer him.

"Well," she tried to regain her composure, thinking about a way to let him know how ecstatic she felt about the whole situation. Once more she wished she was a little more articulate. Still, she promised herself this time she wouldn't screw this up. Katniss took a deep breath, and before she got the chance to overanalyze her next words, simply blurted out, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. You surely didn’t make a fool of yourself right now."

It took him a second to process what she just said.

"You're too kind, but it's true!" he laughed, dissolving some of the tension around them. "They call me silver-tongued, but when you're near by it feels like I turn into a linguistic amoeba."

She’d never heard something more ridiculous …

"Peeta! I'm the one who can’t string two words together in your presence."

His laughter made her whole body tingle, and his next words only intensified the feeling.

"So … back to the topic. Dinner sounds amazing."

"Glad we're on the same page here."

"How does next-"

She heard a ruckus on his side of the line, shortly followed by a sheepish 'Sorry, I'll clean it up right away!', before Peeta's slightly muffled and annoyed voice called out a 'Seriously, Rye?!'.

A second later he was back on the phone with her.

"And once again we get interrupted. I'm sorry, Katniss."

But this time it didn't feel so disappointing than the last couple of times. This time she knew they were on the same page. This time she still could hear his various forms of 'I like you'.

"It's okay," she assured him, a goofy smile playing around her mouth (again, she was happy he couldn't see it), "Maybe you should go and check what your brother did this time. Hopefully not another cookie disaster."

His smile was once again noticeable in his voice.

"How about we make plans tomorrow at the bake sale? We can have coffee and agree on a night that works for both of us?"

"Sounds perfect. Good night, Peeta. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Katniss. Until tomorrow. I'm really happy you called."

"Me, too."

She hung up, a brilliant smile nearly splitting her face in two. With all the anxiousness gone she suddenly couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.

xXx

Promptly at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday Katniss entered Mellark's. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the fresh spring morning air and her brisk walk. She never realized that the bakery was only 20 minutes by foot from her apartment.

As she stepped inside - the little bell over the door announcing her - the smell of freshly baked bread engulfed her, making her mouth water and a soft moan escape. Carb heaven, indeed.

Her eyes drifted around the store and the first word coming to mind was cozy. There was an area with several plush chairs and loveseats with small tables in front of them, lots of lamps and cushions and all kinds of different candleholders. Another area had higher tables and regular chairs for eating. One of the walls was a gigantic bookshelf, in front of that a spiral staircase lead up to a gallery with even more comfortable seating. A portion of the back wall was made out of glass, a door leading outside into a huge atrium, partly covered by a canopy overgrown with Virginia creeper. Pots full of flowers stood everywhere. A huge apple tree grew in the middle of the atrium, it looked like it was at least 150 years old.

Katniss wanted to live here.

For today's occasion, a huge banner was stretched over the back wall of the patio with 'Mellark's Annual Bake Sale' in big letters on it. Tables with white tablecloths stood scattered around the atrium, which soon would be filled with all kinds of delicious treats.

Someone cleared their throat behind her and she turned around. A dark skinned, young woman stood behind the counter, a blinding smile on her face.

"May I help you?"

"Um, hi! I'm Katniss? I'm here for-"

"Oh!" the girl interrupted, and her smile widened, if that was even possible. "You're Katniss! Welcome! I'm Rue, one of Peeta's employees. Mostly I handle the shop front. It's so nice to finally meet you."

Katniss smiled back. In a couple of their conversations Peeta had mentioned the young woman working for him. His smile was always fond when he explained yet another of the funny situations little 'Birdy' - as they called her (after all, her full name was Rueberta, the poor girl) - had caused.

But before she got the chance to return the sentiment, another person entered the storefront from the kitchen. He smirked at the two women, his blue eyes twinkling with mischievousness.

"Customer or volunteer?" He wiggled his eyebrows, leaning with his forearms against the countertop, and winked once at her. "I sincerely hope it's the latter."

"Rye …" Rue sighed, shaking her head at his attempted flirting, "This is Katniss."

Ah, okay. This was the middle Mellark brother, the one closest to Peeta, as far as she could tell. When it came to looks they surely couldn't deny their kinship.

Still, Rye lacked the sparkling blue of Peeta's eyes; his were much more icier in color. He was a little taller and leaner (which surely was helpful in his former football career), and his hair was a shade or two lighter. No doubt, he was handsome, but the big difference was that he knew he was attractive, and his whole demeanor showed that. Rye Mellark reminded her a lot of Finnick.

Katniss gave him and Rue a strange and questioning look after she noticed the look of recognition flaring up in the man's eyes. Why did it always seem like everybody knew her?

"So this is the infamous Kitty!" the middle Mellark exclaimed, his flirtiness gone, replaced by curiosity. "So good to finally be able to put a face to the name."

"It's Katniss," she deadpanned, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed in front of her.

"Oh, you're feisty. Awesome! I like that. We're going to have a lot of fun," Rye laughed, again wiggling his eyebrows.

It was going to be a long day.

xXx

By one in the afternoon Katniss was so exhausted, she couldn't even be disappointed that she hadn’t had the chance to talk to Peeta yet.

After Rye’s suggestive comments made Rue order him back to the kitchens, the young woman showed Katniss around and explained how the patio was divided into five different sections, one table for each: cupcakes, tarts, cookies, cakes, and pastries. People wanting to buy something would come to Katniss' little table beside the patio doors with a list of goods they had chosen and pay there. Additional colorful boxes were placed around Mellark's, in case people wanted to donate to support kids in Community Homes without buying something.

Just as Rue finished her explanations, the swinging doors to the kitchen were pushed open, and Katniss could hear the last part of a sentence uttered in an annoyed voice "… can't believe you didn't tell me!".

And then Peeta stood in front of her, the counter the only thing separating them.

When his eyes landed on her form his annoyance vanished completely. Instead a huge smile lit up his face, and his blue eyes (so pretty, so beautiful) stared into hers.

"Good morning, Katniss."

She opened her mouth to respond, but the doors of the bakery opened and a bronze haired whirlwind rushed in, aiming straight for the counter.

"Peeta!"

The shout of his name was loud and excited, and a second later the boy flung himself at the surprised baker.

"Tristan," a second voice scolded slightly, making everybody turn their eyes to the entrance again. "Let's calm down a little bit."

Finnick Odair, aka Real-Life-Adonis, stood there in all his glory. It was freakin' 07:55 in the morning and he looked neat as a pin: dark jeans combined with a white Henley and Blazer, also in white. GQ magazine must've called again. And of course, his son was his spitting image. At least this time Katniss didn't feel as much like a hobo as the week before.

Peeta laughed. "Man, you're so going to regret wearing white today."

Finnick simply shrugged, a half-smirk adorning his face.

From that moment on the door to the bakery seemed to never close, people streaming in continuously. At first it was mostly more volunteers - and to Katniss' surprise they weren't only women. It seemed most of them had done this before, greeting everyone around like they were old friends before introducing themselves to her.

An older woman stepped up to her, beaming like the sun, and introduced herself as Gammy Mags.

"Finnick is my grandson, but everybody calls me Gammy. I was a math teacher when I was younger, and not to give you the wrong impression, but I'm really happy it's no longer my duty to oversee the register. I'm getting too old for all that ballyhoo."

Katniss understood now what she had meant. People constantly appeared in front of her desk. She was really thankful for her semi-photographic memory, or else she would've never been able to remember all the prices of all the different goods.

She hadn't stepped away from her place from the minute she arrived, but she couldn’t delay a break any longer. Nature called, and she really needed to answer that call.

Excusing herself, she stepped inside and headed for the ladies room.

When she stepped out of it a couple minutes later (cursing herself under her breath for not taking a bathroom break earlier) a hand wrapped carefully around her wrist. It took her by surprise, a small gasp escaping her.

By the tingle rushing through her body from the contact it could only be one person.

She turned her head, confirming her suspicion: Peeta stood half in the shadows beside her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't, just caught me by surprise," Katniss reassured, turning around fully.

His hand dropped from her wrist and she immediately missed the contact. But only a second later his fingers brushed over the end of her braid, leaving her skin covered in goosebumps.

"Sorry we haven’t had the chance to talk." His gaze traveled over her face, resulting in Katniss taking a step forward. She had no idea where her courage came from, but her hand suddenly rested on his chest, right over the place where his heart was beating steadily.

"Maybe we can talk n-"

"Aunty Kat!" The loud squeal made them jump apart.

Seriously?! Again?! Karma was a bitch!

Sam came running at them full speed. Katniss loved that girl to death, but her timing was unbelievable.

"Samantha-sunshine!" Peeta recovered quickly, pushing his hands into the back pockets of his pants. Katniss had to drag her eyes away from his biceps.

The girl grabbed her godmother's hands and started to jump up and down in excitement.

"Mommy and Daddy promised we’d get some cupcakes. Francie is coming over today. She's my BFF, forever and ever. And we're having a sleepover, and we'll order pizza, and watch all our favorite movies, and Daddy promised he'll build us a pillow-fort where we can sleep in, and-"

"Take a breath, sweetheart," Katniss laughed, grasping the girl by the shoulders. Sam giggled, turned around and ran back to her parents. Madge and Gale stood hand in hand at the entrance of the bakery, taking in the scene outside on the patio.

Katniss offered Peeta an apologetic look, which he returned with a soft smile.

"Later," he promised quietly, and she nodded in confirmation.

xXx

Gale, Madge and Samantha stayed for a while, enjoying their exploration of all the different tables. About half an hour after they left Prim and Rory stopped by as well, sitting together and sampling about 25 different cakes, tarts and pastries.

Every time Peeta brought another tray full of mouthwatering things out of the kitchen Prim gave her sister a look and started to wiggle her eyebrows. Katniss wanted to throw something at her, preferably something heavy and painful.

Around two in the afternoon Tristan Odair, now on a sugar-high, and his father, white clothes now covered with multi-colored frosting, were picked up by the charming Mrs. Annie Odair, still in her nurse’s uniform and by the look of it, about 8 months pregnant. They left soon after, taking Gammy Mags with them.

At some point during the afternoon she saw Tyler rushing from one table to the next, behind him a dark haired man and a blonde woman pushing a baby carriage. Peeta introduced them later as Thom and Delly, and when they heard who she was, the blonde woman squealed happily.

"So, you're Katniss! It's so good to finally meet you. I’ve heard so many good things about you."

Katniss smiled back but was sure it looked more like a grimace. Did everybody know who she was?

When baby Sophia started to wake, they bid their goodbyes and headed home. Tyler started to protest, arguing that he wanted to stay with Uncle Peet for dinner and maybe movies afterwards.

Delly scowled slightly and told him in a stern tone, "Uncle Peet doesn’t have time for dinner and movies tonight. He already has plans." She flashed a glance first in Katniss' and then in Peeta's direction, and suddenly her meaning behind the word 'plans' was unmistakably clear. Katniss flushed to the roots of her hair.

At six the bakery closed and Mellark's Annual Charity Bake Sale was officially over. Which didn't mean that they were done with the work. Katniss decided to help clean the patio, enjoying the last rays of sun of this beautiful spring evening.

Finally - around half past eight - the last volunteers and employees waved their goodbyes, leaving Mellark's to Peeta and Katniss. And Rye.

"Are we done soon?" the older Mellark whined, pushing through the doors with his arms full of dishes, "I need to catch the red-eye - the Mockingjays have an away game tomorrow." She nearly had forgotten that he was a sports commentator and not simply an annoying being.

Katniss jumped at the opportunity to finally get the chance to talk to Peeta in private. Without interruptions. Even though it had to do with cleaning a lot of dishes.

"Oh! I can help! I have time, no worries." Was she really as eager as it sounded to her own ears? Probably, because Rye smirked knowingly, dropped the last of the dirty dishes on the counter, brushed his hands off and threw the apron on a pile of dirty laundry.

Peeta turned to her, showing concern, drying his hands on a hand towel.

"Are you sure, Katniss? You were the first one to arrive here today, and you helped all day long. You really don't have-"

"Awesome! Thank you, Kitty!" Rye interrupted his younger brother. Katniss cringed at the nickname, already accepting that she would be stuck with it now. Rye was the type for that. "See you soon, girly! Looking forward to it!" The eyebrow-wiggle was back. She rolled her eyes at him.

A couple of seconds later he was gone, leaving Peeta and her alone in the kitchen. For a few moments they stared at nothing in particular, not knowing what to say. Finally Katniss just grabbed some of the tableware and brought it over to the sink. Peeta offered her a smile in thanks.

They worked in amicable silence, Peeta washing up and Katniss drying and putting everything away. It took them about 45 minutes to finish all of the dirty dishes, but they didn't say a single word the whole time. The radio was softly playing music in the background, Katniss occasionally humming along.

Every now and then one of them glanced in the direction of the other, and every single time the other one caught it. Then they gave each other small smiles before continuing with their task.

After she put the last steel bowl in its designated place, Katniss dried her hands on the dishtowel and turned around to Peeta.

"I think this was the la-"

He interrupted her with a kiss. She was so surprised that she couldn't even react at first, her eyes wide open and her breath stuck in her chest.

And it wasn't just a kiss. It was an all consuming, the world stopped turning, mind blowing, toe curling, I-want-to-melt-into-you kinda kiss. His hands held her carefully in place, his thumbs lightly brushing over her cheeks while his fingers were wrapped in the hair at the back of her head. Her upper lip was caught between his', and Katniss thought never felt anything this perfect.

When she didn't respond after a couple of moments Peeta pulled back slightly, only a breath away. His eyes searched hers, trying to decipher what she was thinking, while his hands still cupped her head.

"I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you. It’s taken all of my willpower today to keep myself from dragging you somewhere private and kissing you senseless."

Heat flushed her face, mixed with excitement and lust. It was Katniss' turn to surprise him. In a split second her lips were back on his. Her hands clutched the shirt at his sides, and she took a step closer. The fronts of their bodies brushed and both escaped a moan. They were covered in goosebumps, she could feel it under the tips of her fingers after one of her hands sneaked under the hem of his shirt. Peeta tilted her head a little further to deepen the kiss, his tongue brushing over the seam of her lips. It made her toes curl.

Katniss sighed, allowing him entrance, and soon all thoughts left her. She could only feel his tongue against hers, insistent but not forceful. His lips - warm and a little chapped, but at the same time so soft - worshipping hers like they were the most precious thing. His fingers held on tight, but they never hurt her.

Never before had a kiss felt like this; Katniss didn't want it to ever stop.

The swinging doors connecting the kitchen with the storefront were suddenly pushed open and Rye rushed into the room, his eyes fixated on the screen of his phone.

"Hey, guys, I was already on the way to the airport when I realized I forgot my walle- woaw!"

The couple turned their heads in the direction of the middle Mellark brother, but didn't lose their grip or stepped away from each other. They got interrupted so often in the past, both deciding at the same time that they simply didn't care about it anymore. Katniss even had to stop the chuckle nearly escaping her when she saw the look Peeta was throwing in Rye's direction.

"Rye, get the fuck out of my kitchen!"

And then he was back to kissing her. A little deeper. A little dirtier. Not as soft as before. Simply ignoring his brother still standing at the kitchen entrance.

She loved it even more than their first kiss.

They didn't see Rye roll his eyes, nor his playful half-smirk. And they surely didn't hear him muttering, after he grabbed his wallet and disappeared through the same door he’d just come in, 'Geez, get a room! Seriously! Nobody can tell me this isn't against health regulations.'.

xXx

Numbers were her thing.

And she hated it when they didn't add up. For the last hour and a half she'd been searching for the mistake in one of her client's accounts. Maybe some transposed digits in the calculations?

A soft knock at the open door made her look up.

"Lunch is ready," Peeta announced, "The numbers still not adding up?"

Katniss let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head. It was useless, she needed a break to clear her head or else she would search for a couple more hours without any result. Food was a welcome distraction.

Funny, when you needed a break from something that you considered to be a break from something else.

"What's for lunch?" she asked and stepped around her desk, adjusting her glasses, before rearranging the bun she'd put her hair in. It was Sunday, and she enjoyed that she didn't have to dress up.

"Tomato Soup, Green Salad and Cheese Buns. And homemade Iced Tea."

She wound her arms around his middle. A broad grin consumed her face when she felt his arms immediately wrap around her as well.

"My favorite. That's very nice of you."

"Well, I'm a very nice person," he chuckled, giving her a short peck, before they made their way to the half finished kitchen.

Boxes stood everywhere, some half unpacked, others already folded up to be put away. Dishes, pans, cutlery, and a hundred other things stood on every available surface. The kitchen was a disaster zone; Katniss was surprised Peeta had managed to make them lunch at all.

"How can you cook anything in here?" she asked when she took in all the chaos, sitting down in their sunny breakfast nook.

He smirked while putting the soup in two bowls, "I have my ways."

Katniss raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "You walked over to the bistro and let Thresh make it." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Peeta walked over - still smirking - and put the bowls down on the table, before he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You're so clever, love."

They were silent while they ate, only interrupted by the occasional moan whenever Katniss took a bite from her cheese bun. She loved that he knew when she needed some quiet time to sort out her thoughts.

"You're going back to work?" Peeta asked after they finished their lunch and put their dirty dishes into the dishwasher (A dishwasher! She’d never had a dishwasher before! She was in love with the dishwasher!).

A long, whiney sigh escaped her, but she shook her head. "I can't avoid unpacking forever. I at least want to be able to get my clothes out of my closet tomorrow morning and not have to search through a hundred different boxes. I hate unpacking."

Peeta wrapped his arms around her from behind and started to pepper kisses along her neck. "Maybe I can convince you to expand your break for a little longer?" His hands slipped under the hem of her shirt.

"I'm listening …" Katniss bit her bottom lip when he reached that sensitive spot under her ear. She could feel his devilish grin against her neck.

"While you worked on your client's account I put on the new Egyptian Cotton Sheets Prim gave us as a housewarming gift."

She giggled all the way upstairs to their new bedroom.

FIN

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