**previously titled "Cruel Summer"-changed due to developments in personal views of that artist; edits to come** It's been almost 6 months since the end of the war. Katniss and Peeta have managed to regain the friendship they'd thought they lost, but Katniss is unsure if Peeta is ready to face his old feelings and pursue something more between them. Katniss herself worries that she may not be mentally prepared for what a relationship might entail. The problem is, that hunger she felt for him on the beach in the Quell won't relent, and it only grows stronger when they resume their previous sleeping arrangements. In an attempt to stave off the hunger she feels for Peeta without putting pressure on him to label what exactly he feels for her, she suggests a simple proposition-that they become friends with benefits. But friends with benefits is never as simple as it sounds. (Post-Mockingjay Everlark growing back together fic)

"It's been a year, Katniss. People actually heal if they understand how lucky they are to be alive."