'I Give a Fic About You' (Stacylk's Drabble Gift Xmas)-Girls
For Steph skeese77
Prompt: Single Dad!Peeta
His bare feet slide over the wet grass as he runs through the yard. When he stubs his toe while attempting to jump over the scattered toys, Peeta curses loudly. He hops awkwardly on one foot before resuming his sprint after the brightly clothed woman. She adjusts her wig as she rounds the front of her car. He follows her onto the street and attempts to ignore the pain from the loose gravel stabbing the bottom of his feet. She unlocks her door and jumps in quickly as he reaches the driver’s side. He panics when the engine starts and he can feel his chance to convince her diminishing. Peeta knocks on the window, his eyes pleading with her to roll it down. She huffs while fluffing her wig before she looks over at him with sympathy.
He begins to knock at the glass once more when the window rolls down. Peeta grips the top tightly. “Please Mrs. Trinket! You can’t leave!” His breath is rushed as it matches his racing heart beat.
Mrs. Trinket sniffs. “I most certainly can.”
Peeta gives her a wide grin. “The girls were just playing.”
She turns to him sharply, and he winces at how perturbed she seems. “They stole my wig off of my head and put it on a pig!” Peeta nods and his smile falters.
However, he recovers quickly. “Because they like you.” When it doesn’t appear that she’s buying into his false sincerity, he decides to fall at her mercy. “Please.” Peeta sighs as he leans closer toward the opening. “I need a nanny.”
Mrs. Trinket shakes her head regretfully. “I’m sorry, Mr. Mellark.”
Peeta can feel his pride crumble as he speaks. “I’m begging you. None of the other agencies will even take my calls anymore.”
She studies him for a few seconds before she pushes the button to lift the window. “And neither will we. Your girls are out of control.” She waves at him through the raised glass. “Good day, sir.”
Peeta barely has time to back away from the car before she drives off. He raises his arms up as he motions in the air wildly. “Wait!” He hangs his head in defeat as the nanny’s car disappears down the street. He notices that a few neighbors are watching him and he decides to go back inside before he embarrasses himself further.
He drags himself to the door as his body comes down from the adrenaline. Even before he had chased the nanny out the door, he had been trying to catch his daughter Harlow’s pet pig, Pearl. The girls had decided it would be funny to take Mrs. Trinket’s brightly colored wig and place it on the pig. The woman had shrieked as she held onto her balding scalp. Peeta didn’t know what to process first when he walked into the living room from painting in his studio. His seven year old twin girls, Harper and Harlow were laughing and running around the couch as Mrs. Trinket screamed in horror. Peeta was about to run over to the girls when the pig ran up behind him, effectively tripping him. He collided with the floor hard enough to knock the air from his lungs. Peeta pushed himself off the ground and spent the next thirty minutes trying to catch the pig and console the traumatized woman.
His daughters were still laughing when he had chased after Mrs. Trinket out the door.
Peeta reaches for the door knob but when it doesn’t budge he rattles it frantically. “Girls?” He’s anxious as he knocks on the door and when he hears their high pitch squeals he places his head against the door. “Harlow? Harper?” He looks up to the front window to see both blonde girls grin at him widely and when they raise their hands he sees the bright green paint that covers them. They must have went into the back room that he uses as his studio. When they press their hands up against the glass and begin to smear the paint, he bangs on the door. “It’s not funny! Let daddy in the house right now!” He can see Harlow fall back in laughter as her sister, Harlow, sticks out her tongue before joining her.
Peeta is too busy pounding on the door to notice when the dark haired woman from next door walks up the porch steps. He rears back to kick the door in and he wonders if he could get discount on the next new door. When he feels a hand on his shoulder he lowers his leg before looking over and seeing her grey eyes watching him. Katniss. The next door neighbor he’s been in love with for years.
Her mouth is turned down in a frown but her eyes have the slightest hint of a smile. “Did they lock you out again?”
Peeta is lost in the feel of her hand on his shoulder that he forgets to answer her for a moment. “Yeah.” He motions to the door with his head and he’s curious how long she’ll continue to touch him. “Do you mind?” Her gaze is intense as his mind conjures up all of the impure thoughts he’s had about his neighbor over the last few years. Most are of her bending over in her Yoga pants when she exercises early in the morning as he watches her from his bed room window. He never fails to feel like a creep but there’s always been something about this woman that demands his attention.
He realizes he’s spaced out again when she clears her throat. A blush forms at his cheeks and when she drops her hand he feels the loss. Katniss looks at him curiously before nodding. “Sure.” He steps back as she bends down until she’s eye level with the knob. He notices the familiar black pouch in her hand as she pulls the flap open and removes a couple of thin tools.
Katniss places the pouch on the ground before sticking the ends of the tools into the tumbler and moving them in a circular motion. He runs his hands through his hair as he tries to look anywhere but at her bottom, but unsuccessfully his gaze seems to revert back to the curve of her ass. She’s wearing those Yoga pants again. Peeta swallows roughly before clearing his throat. “You know one of these days you’re going to have to tell me how you learned to pick locks.”
She glances back at him causing the end of her braid to fall between her breasts and he tries not to stare at her delicate curves. “My uncle Haymitch raised me and he believed that everyone should have a certain set of skills.” She bites her bottom lip in concentration as she continues to work. When a loud click sounds she stands up and steps away. “There you go.”
Peeta smiles widely as he walks over to the door and opens it. He turns around to see her tuck the lock pick set underneath her arm. “Thank you. I wish there was a way I could thank you for helping me out.”
Katniss shakes her head. “Don’t worry.” The door is open wide giving her a clear view of the disaster inside. “You have bigger problems.”
He glances behind him and sighs as his eyes take in the messy living room. “Yeah.” Peeta looks down to see green hand prints covering the hard wood floors. He’s not looking forward to cleaning that up, but thankfully he has the chemicals to remove it. That is if the girls haven’t gotten into those too.
It is abnormally quiet and he can feel the familiar anxiety work through his body. He walks into the house and tries to spy two heads of blonde curly hair.
Katniss follows him into the house. “You know why they walk all over you, right?” He looks back to her and shakes his head. “Because you let them.”
He nods as a frown forms at his lips. “True.”
Katniss sighs when his shoulders sag. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe I could help.”
Peeta’s eyes go wide and he steps toward her. “Really?”
She fidgets with the end of her braid as she takes in the house. “Yeah. I helped raise my sister and I even took a few nanny jobs while putting myself through school.”
“Are you sure?” Peeta motions to the mess that surrounds them. “They can be a handful.”
Katniss sighs as she continues to look around but eventually she looks back at him and he’s not surprised by how warm her smile makes him. “I think I’ll manage.”
It’s hours later when he emerges from his studio. He had put his ear buds in and turned his music up all the way when he began working after leaving Katniss alone with the girls. Truthfully, he had been trying to ignore any of the commotion that was surely to happen. He needed to work and he reasoned if things got too out of control no amount of loud music was going to distract him. After, an hour of silence he had lost himself in the painting and for the first time in awhile he had been productive.
Peeta walks into the living room and he has to look around to ensure that this is still in fact his home. The floors are clean and for once he can make out the throw rugs underneath the furniture. All of the toys and books that are usually strewn around are put away and everything looks organized. He feels oddly uncomfortable in the order.
Peeta looks over to the other side of the room where Katniss emerges from the hallway. “Am I still in the same house?”
She laughs as she approaches him. “Barely recognize it, huh?”
His mouth hangs open as he holds his hands out, speechless. “How did you do this?”
Katniss tilts her head to the side. “I’m not afraid of them for one. They know that you’re overwhelmed so they take advantage of it.” She looks around before facing him again. “They’re sweet girls, they just need a lot of structure.” He nods as Katniss motions toward the hall where the girls’ room is. “The girls are in bed. Harper was asking for you.”
Peeta nods. “Alright.” He makes his way to the room but not before glancing back and giving Katniss a grateful smile.
An hour passes before he leaves his daughter’s room. Harper had held onto him until falling asleep and he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t wake back up when he left. He was amazed by how calm the girls were as they settled into bed causing his admiration for Katniss to grow.
Peeta runs his hands through his hair when he enters the living room and stops short when he sees Katniss leaning against the couch.
His brow creases when she begins to close the gap between them. “I thought you would have been gone by now.” She doesn’t answer him but instead wraps her arms around his neck and presses her mouth to his. Peeta stands there shocked but it isn’t long until his lips begin to work against hers. The kiss is heated and he can feel every nerve ending in his body firing off as reality melds together with the fantasies that he’s held onto for so long.
When she pulls away, he looks down at her. Peeta assumes his lips are just as swollen as hers and he licks his bottom lip involuntarily. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?” His hands tighten their hold on her hips.
Katniss smiles as she presses the length of her body into his and he breathes in deep when he can feel himself becoming hard. “Stop talking about it and do it again,” her voice barely above a whisper.
