Real- A Katniss and Peeta fanfic

Chapter ~2~

Peeta POV

As soon as Katniss opens the door, her beauty takes my breath away. She is wearing a sunset orange dress, which is my favorite color, just as I'm wearing the forest green button down. I am pretty sure she has noticed this too, by the cute little blush on her cheeks. Before I can say anything, she runs up and envelops me in a hug.

When we break away I stare at her for a second, smiling like a crazy person, before i say, "hey."
"Hey", she says back, also smiling.She whisks me inside and we go to the dining room where she has made spaghetti. Even a simple dish like this shows how much she cares because she is definitely not a great cook.

"So", I say, "what's up?" She replies with, "not much, It's just me here alone struggling to make it through every day." Then she says, "Oh gosh, Peeta I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said that! I always ruin everything thing with my stupid sadness!" I brush my hand lightly across her cheek saying, "Katniss you'll be alright. I'm back now. You won't be alone." Then she whispers,timidly,"Stay with me". And I reply with "always."

Katniss POV

I try my best to not start crying and ruin the perfect moment. I am so happy that Peeta is back, but he just brings so many more memories with him.

I offer to help him start getting his stuff into his old house. I go and put on a sweat shirt and jeans, not wanting to have to wear a dress any longer. I come downstairs and see Peeta gathering his stuff as I put on my boots.

He smiles and says, "ready to go?". Which I answer with a small nod. We walk over to Peeta's house right next door, each carrying a suitcase full of his belongings. I sneak a quick peak at him, only to see he is already staring. We both quickly look away blushing.

He stops and finds the key to his old house. He unlocks it and we step into the foyer. I suddenly realize how much I love being here with him. Away from my house, where a painful memory lurks around every corner, waiting to jump out and haunt me.

Peeta and I walk up the stairs in silence. We go up to his bedroom and start putting stuff away. In his suitcase I find a picture of me after the first Games, looking genuinely happy, because I was about to see Prim and my mother for the first time since after the games. I also find a painting of me in a field of dandelions. I explained to Peeta about how seeing him with the dandelion showed me life would go on.

I let a tear slide down my cheek, smiling to myself about this. When Peeta turns around and sees me looking at theses he says,
"Oh crap! Oh I'm sorry Katniss! You weren't supposed to see those! Please don't be mad at me, It's just when I was away from you looking at those helped me, and gave me the hope that I desperately needed. I'm so sorry."

When he looks up and sees me grinning at him he asks,"so you're not mad?", and I say, "Of course not Peeta! I love the painting, and don't tell me you didn't paint it because I know that you did, because it is so beautiful! You need to stop being so worried that I'm going to be mad at you about everything!"

He looks very relieved, and he goes back to putting stuff away. I put the pictures on his dresser, smiling once more. He is so sweet!

Peeta POV

I am so stupid! She found the pictures that I had with me in the hospital to keep me sane when I couldn't see her everyday. I am relieved because she wasn't upset, and she's smiling as she puts them on my dresser.

We finally finish unpacking my stuff at about 8:30. Katniss doesn't seem to want to go home yet so I suggest that she stay for a while so we can talk for awhile. Finally at 10:00 she decides to go home even though she seems very reluctant.

Suddenly I can't help my self and I ask," Katniss, uh, um, well, I was just wondering... well, would you like to sleep here tonight?". I know that I probably shouldn't have said it as soon as it is out of my mouth, but when i turn to Katniss she is nodding eagerly. She smiles at me before heading back upstairs to my bedroom.

I am so happy she will be here tonight. She goes to my drawer and takes out some pajama pants and one of my old T shirts. She goes into my bathroom and changes quickly and then slides into my bed. I take off my shirt, showing off my hard muscles, and i put on a pair of pajama pants, not putting on a shirt.

I slide into bed next to Katniss and put my arms around her. This is how it used to be. This is how it should be. She turns around, snuggling into my bare chest, and I know neither of us will have nightmares tonight.