five times kissed
send me “five times kissed” for five times our muses kissed.
O N E
Katniss will always remember their first kiss after the war ended.
It was a warm, spring day. The season was coming to a close and the stinging heat of District Twelve summer could be felt in the air. But she didn’t mind. She wanted to go for a walk, but she didn’t want to go alone. She convinced Peeta to go and they walked towards the crumbling fence hand-in-hand. There were several opening in it now. Katniss hoped that as the District rebuilt that the fence would be one of the first things to go.
They stumbled their way into the woods. It was just as Katniss had left it, but somehow different. The memories of the place felt like ghosts and she felt haunted by their presence. She remembers clutching Peeta’s hand, hoping for some sense of normalcy. The woods didn’t feel the same and that terrified her. But Peeta’s hand reassured her that things were okay, that they were okay.
They settled into a spot against a tree and she doesn’t quite remember how it happened, getting tangled in each other’s arms as the sun set before them, but she remembers being content. She remembers warmth and the feeling that she could do this for the rest of her life. And it didn’t scare her.
She looked up at him and saw his blue eyes shining back at her and she couldn’t help herself. Her lips pressed against his and she practically melted against him. It wasn’t a long kiss, a brushing of lips, enough to make Katniss remember why she missed it. It was enough to let her know that maybe things could be okay again.
T W O
A kiss bred out of something that wasn’t quite jealousy, maybe rage, maybe frustration, or maybe alcohol. She doesn’t really remember.
Gale had come for a visit. She should have known that would end in disaster. After everything that had happened between them, all of the things that they said, she should have known that letting him into their home would not go well. But there was part of her, the one that missed their friendship so much that it hurt to even think of him, that wanted to make amends, so she did it anyway.
At first, she thought things might actually go well. They talked about what had happened, and as much as it hurt Katniss to think of her sister, she knew that if she ever wanted to make up with Gale, it was something that she would have to do.
Peeta made dinner. Katniss could tell that something was wrong. Peeta wasn’t entirely comfortable with having Gale there. She wanted to be able to comfort him, but she wasn’t sure how. They still hadn’t worked out what exactly they were. Katniss was dancing around the truth and she knew that Peeta hated it. She just wasn’t quite ready to admit it yet.
When Gale was leaving, it was just Katniss and him on the porch. He tried to kiss her, but she stopped him.
"I don’t understand," he told her.
"I’m with Peeta," she answered.
"It sure didn’t seem like it," Gale snapped.
"Try working through everything we’ve been through and see how far you get!" she yelled back. "We’re working on it. We’ll get there when we’re ready. If you can’t accept that, get off our front porch and don’t come back.”
She didn’t wait for response. She turned and went back into the house. Peeta’s lips found hers almost as soon as she was through the door. They tasted of diner and wine and his hands rested on her lower back with ease, gently keening her towards him.
She should have objected, but his mouth enveloped hers and it only made her want more. They shared kisses until they couldn’t hold their eyes open anymore.
T H R E E
She thought they would wait longer to do the toasting.
But she couldn’t help but wonder why they should wait. They were clearly in this for the long haul. Katniss had never pictured herself getting married before everything had played out. She had never pictured herself falling in love either. Things had changed, though. And Peeta was her rock. The only thing that kept her sane, why not make it official. She knew that it was something Peeta wanted and she couldn’t deny wanting it herself.
They put on their best clothes. Things that weren’t from the Capitol, though Effie had offered to send them the finest things. They didn’t want that. They wanted this to be all their own. So much of their relationship had been tainted, they didn’t want the Capitol to touch anymore of it.
Peeta baked the bread, of course. Katniss tried her best to help. But she didn’t want to ruin it. He could teach her to make bread properly another day. They say by the fire, and let the flames lick at each slice of the loaf that he had prepared.
They didn’t say much. Katniss had never been good with words and that probably wasn’t going to changed, but they said enough. They entwined their arms and fed each other their bread and it was set in stone in their mind. They could worry about making it official another day.
Katniss leaned in and captured Peeta’s lips with her own and despite everything they had been through and still had to go through things were okay today. He was her husband and she was his wife.
F O U R
She never thought this day would come.
Even after everything else, she never thought the day would come when she would be carrying another human being inside of her.
She had agreed to it, of course. Peeta wanted children so badly and as the years had passed, the world was becoming a better place. Katniss could see no reason to deny him. So they had been trying.
A long time ago, the doctor had told her that it might be possible that she could never have children after all the trauma, injuries and Capitol injections that she had faced. She had sighed in relief at first when she saw the positive pregnancy test. Months will no results had left them both terrified that maybe the doctors had been right.
She was scared. She knew that much. What if she wasn’t mentally stable enough to take care of a child? That would probably always be a concern for the both of them. She wanted to be happy, but the dancing in her stomach made her feel like she was going to puke.
With shaking hands, she went down the stairs to an anxiously awaiting Peeta. Blue eyes met mercury and she couldn’t help but give him a smile.
"We’re going to have a baby," was all that she said.
Peeta nearly bounded forward, wrapping her up in his arms before pressing several kisses to her face.
"Don’t worry, okay?" he murmured, tracing a thumb over her cheek. "We can do this. Together, okay?"
"Together," she mumbled back before his lips met her own.
F I V E
She was exhausted.
Nothing that anyone told her could have prepared her for what a long, painful process giving birth was. She has, admittedly, been through worse, but halfway through she had panicked.
She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t be a mother. Their child was going to grow up and not be loved enough by her. She just knew it. What if the Games came back? A million things were making her afraid and Peeta had to help her relax.
It was over now and she was much calmer. The minute that she laid eyes on their daughter, everything else in the world seemed to fade away entirely. She was so little, with a dark patch of hair and shining blue eyes like her father’s. Katniss’ heart had swelled.
She was standing over the crib, watching as their daughter slept when Peeta approached her.
"You should get some rest," he insisted. "She’ll be all right. I’ll make sure of it. We’ll come and get you if we need you."
She couldn’t help but smile. She pushed herself onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Peeta’s. She will never forget that day. They were finally a family.
