Finding the Missing Piece: Book 3

Chapter Forty-Two

Katniss POV- (May 8th, 12am)

"Katniss, wake up."

I open my heavy eyes to see Peeta wide awake.

"What?" I whisper loudly.

"Happy birthday." He murmurs and plants a big wet kiss onto my lips.

I can't help but to grin, "Thank you." I tell him tiredly.

He smiles proudly and pulls me to him once again, after we've separated in our sleep.

"I love you so much, Katniss Mellark."

I smile softly and take his hand, giving it a squeeze, "And I love you."

"It's your first birthday as a Mellark and as my wife." He says and I can hear how proud he is by the way his voice croaks at the end.

"It is, isn't it?" I laugh a little.

"Yes and don't forget about you letter either." He reminds me.

I nod and push the back of my head into the crook of his neck with his head canopying mine and his arms wrapped tightly around my body, "I won't. Goodnight, again." I say with a little breathy laugh.

"Goodnight, birthday girl."

I smirk and close my eyes again.

I am now 20 years old.

It seems like just yesterday I was barely 16 and falling in love with Peeta.

I remember his baby face too.

He has always been lean and muscular but he had this sweet baby-looking face when we met.

It was perfect, not a flaw one.

He still doesn't have any flaws but his face has aged with him.

Facial hair has grown in and bags find their way under his eyes. His laugh lines are more noticeable too in just a few years, but so are mine. I never smiled or laughed as much as I have since I've known Peeta, so that's probably why.

I have a dream that night.

It was my sister and my father.

They told me happy birthday and that I needed to be strong because some big changes were happening soon and I would need to be mature.

I want to tell Peeta about it but I refrain.

He doesn't need to worry.

I'll keep the worry to myself.

I wake up extra early because who doesn't wake up earlier on their birthday?

The air smells of my favorite pastry made by my favorite baker.

I run down stairs, ready to start this day, knowing Peeta will have outdone himself today.

"Something smells amazing." I say smiling.

Peeta looks up and grins, "It's my beautiful wife's favorite food." He says, walking over to me and giving me a big hug.

I smile and he presses a sweet, loving kiss on my lips, "I love you."

"I love you too." I say, walking away from him to sit at the island.

Peeta runs into the living room and comes back a few seconds later with an envelope, "Your letter." He reminds me.

I shrug, "I'm sorry, I always forget. I'll try to keep looking at them often in case there is one for whatever I need at that moment." I tell him guiltily.

He smiles and plops down in the barstool next to me pressing the envelope into my hands.

"It's okay, Katniss. I just want you to have them when you need them really, it's not a big deal." He smiles.

"No, you worked really hard on them so I will be sure to look through them every once in awhile, okay?"

"Alright." He laughs.

I smile and open it, carefully.

I pull it out a sketch book, obviously Peeta's.

"Oh, Peeta." I smile as I open the brightly colored pages to find little doodles of me, dandelions, things we've done together and his beautiful handwriting that wrote my name millions of times.

"You like it?" He asks proudly.

I laugh as I see his little drawings of some of our dates or his point of view of me.

It's fascinating to see how Peeta views me, it's so much more different than I see myself.

As I make it to the end of the book, I find a picture of Peeta and I in the woods and I tear up.

"Peeta, I love you." I say, hugging him tightly.

He wipes a fallen tear from my eye, "Here's the actual letter part." He laughs, handing me a folded piece of paper.

I smile and carefully unfold the paper.

(Letter)

'Dear Katniss,

You are now twenty years old, you're not a kid anymore. Join the adult club, it's a wild ride and I can't believe it. I'll be twenty-one before we know it. It makes me happy and sad to see us age but I love experiencing life with you. It seems like just yesterday that we were falling in love. Aging isn't so bad because I know that I still will have you 80 years from now. And no matter what happens, we will be together. I hope that you have the best birthday and you feel just how much you are loved. You deserve it. I love you so much.

Forever and always,

Peeta Mellark."

"Peeta, why was I lucky enough to meet someone so incredible? I don't deserve someone as amazing as you." I cry/laugh into his lap while he gently caresses my back.

I look up and kiss his lips once more.

"Let's get this day started." Peeta smiles excitedly.

***Disclaimer: I know the way the dates work out, technically, Katniss is nineteen and Peeta would be nineteen until September but, I'm an idiot and messed up the math AGAIN even after editing. I would go back change the ages mentioned but I'm not sure exactly when and where they were mentioned the last three books. And if I were to change them to nineteen here, it would effect the future plot. Anyways, as of right now, Katniss is twenty and Peeta is twenty & will turn twenty-one in September. Sorry about the confusion but I will attempt to keep everything straight throughout the rest of the stories.