Reuniting Our Lives

Dinner With Peeta and Sae

I'm in my bed when I wake up. I take note that there were no nightmares, no dreams, no white roses. It was just an empty sleep. I force myself out of bed since it's bound to be close to supper time, and someone will be here to make sure I eat.

I get myself showered for the first time in over six months, and realise just how much dirt and grime had been caked onto my skin. I step out and put on a baggy navy blue t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. They smell stale, but it's better than the clothes I was wearing that smell sweaty.

As I carefully make my way down the stairs, I notice a pain in my knee that could've only come from falling down the stairs. I limp my way to the ground floor, keeping my leg as straight as possible to reduce the pain.

When I reach the oversized doorway leading to the kitchen, I smell eggs and bacon, with a hint of something I can't discern. I walk in and see a muscular figure hunched over the counter with blonde curls falling into his face. Sae and her granddaughter are sitting at the table playing a game of cards as I make my way to the island to watch Peeta cook.

"What are you making?" I ask, which causes Peeta to jump and almost burn his hand on the pan that he's making bacon in.

"Eggs, bacon, and some cheese buns," he says with a hint of apprehension.

"Sounds good!" I reply, trying to give him a smile to ease his nerves a bit. It's the first time I've dared to smile since everyone that got close to me started dying. Certainly since the bombing in the Capitol...

"Katniss, are you okay?" Peeta asks. He's taken his attention off of the food, and I notice that I've been crying. I nod my head, not ready to open up to him or anyone about what has happened. He nods to Sae who looks over the food and wraps his arms around me. I bury my face into his shirt, grabbing onto it as though it's my sanity. He rubs his hands up and down my back trying to soothe me, which just causes me to cry even more.

After about five minutes of me sobbing into his chest, I start to regain my composure and my crying starts to diminish.

"Do you want something to eat?" Peeta asks. I nod in reply, wiping away tears. Suddenly I realise that I'm extremely hungry, and it's only until I'm on my fourth cheese bun that Peeta stops me.

"Save the rest for later tonight. I'll come over around 7:00 tomorrow morning and make you some breakfast," he says. It's 6:17 in the evening now. I don't think I'll be able to last that long. Only now do I realise why I went insane. Why I couldn't piece myself together.

I needed Peeta.

Gale knew when we were in Tigris's shop that I needed Peeta. "Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without." Now I know that I don't need Gale's fire and rage; I have enough of that in myself. I need my dandelion in the spring. My rock. My boy with the bread. Because only he can provide me with the stability that I need. He knows what I've been through. And he alone is the one who can offer the unconditional love that I yearn for.

Peeta starts for the front door, about to leave when I speak up.

"Peeta, will you stay with me?" He is a bit stunned when he hears this, but he stops where he is and turns around to face me.

Closing the door, he makes his way toward me and whispers, "Always."