Chapter-21

Chapter 21

It's the first Sunday since I've been back from the Games that I can actually go to the woods to meet Gale. I miss my old hunting partner, and most importantly, I miss my best friend.

Peeta's downstairs making me pancakes. For some reason, he feels the need to spoil me senseless all the time. I've woken up to breakfast in bed more often than not. He makes me cheese buns without needing to be asked. He makes me lunch to take to the woods in case I get hungry. He's more of a housewife than I am. This thought makes me laugh a little.

I dry off from my shower this morning and get dressed in my hunting clothes, and head downstairs. The sight I see when I first enter the kitchen makes me almost wish I wasn't going hunting this morning. Peeta Mellark, shirtless and making me breakfast.

I jump up onto the counter next to where he's working. As a teenage girl, keeping my hands off him is hard, but Peeta doesn't seem to mind. Our kisses have gotten passionate these past few days, and I'm not complaining. I think I could get used to waking up the way I did yesterday.

Our relationship has grown a lot in two days. I feel like admitting my feelings for him has allowed me to accept his love, and I hope he feels my love for him, although I haven't said it since that day I apologized.

"What are you thinking?" He asks as he whisks the pancake powder with water. It amazes me how a powder can form into a pancake within minutes, but thinking of all the things the Capitol invents and does, I'm no longer impressed. I mean, I can press a button in the shower and smell like anything I want to.

"Life, I guess," I say. "Maybe once it warms up, I can take you to the meadow in the woods. I mean, if you want to."

"Sure, maybe I could paint it if we can go early enough. Bring some food and a blanket, and make a date out of it," he says. A date? I've never been on a date before. If we go on a date, does that make us dating? I mean, we are together, so this shouldn't surprise me, but it still does. "I don't have to paint it Katniss," he says with a chuckle.

"No, no it's fine, I'd actually like it if you painted the meadow. I've just never been on a date before," I say nervously.

"Really? Never?" he asks. "I find that hard to believe. You're telling me no guy has ever asked you out on a date?"

"Nope. I didn't really have time for dating before the Games," I say.

"Wow, consider me lucky then," he says with a laugh. "I get to take the prettiest girl in the District out on a date."

"I'm not the prettiest girl in the District, Peeta," I say. He always says these sweet things that aren't true.

"To me, you are. No other girl holds a candle to you," he says with a wink. That's what I mean! He just says these sweet things about me that I don't even believe, yet somehow he makes them sound like a fact instead of his opinion. Haymitch wasn't kidding when he said the boy's got a way with words.

"How do you do it? You just say things like that without even trying," I say laughing.

"It's a lot easier when they're true," he says as he smears pancake mix on my nose. I blush and dip my finger in the bowl, and smear some on Peeta's chin.

"Katniss, stop messing around," he says jokingly. "You're going to be late for the woods. Are you meeting Gale today?"

"Yeah, it's Sunday, so he should be there," I say. I hope he isn't jealous of Gale. He knows we're just friends, but he also knows that's what I told Gale a while ago, and now look where we are.

"That's good. I know you've missed him since you've been back. You guys have barely hung out since the Games," he says. It amazes me how selfless Peeta can be. He's happy that I'm going into the woods with another boy? A boy he thought I was dating?

"Yeah, he won't take any money from me, so he's had to pick up extra hours at the mines. He's almost as stubborn as me," I say. "I have more money than I know what to do with, and he won't take any."

"Hmm, I feel like this reminds me of someone. Oh yeah, I remember now, it's you," he says laughing. "I'll talk to Hazelle today, I think I know a way of getting them some extra money."

"How are you going to do that?" I ask. He hasn't talked to me about this.

"You'll see if it works. I just hope she doesn't hate Merchants as much as Gale," he says with a laugh. "I'm joking, Hazelle's a wonderful woman. Now, eat some. Can't climb trees on an empty stomach, Little Squirrel."

"Not you too," I say quietly. He only laughs at my comment.

I eat a nice breakfast, kiss Peeta goodbye, and make my way towards the fence. I check for peacekeepers, and slip in. Although most know I hunt, and some are even my customers, getting caught would still be punishable. Knowing about it and seeing it are two different things.

I walk for a while to Gale and my meeting spot, and find him sitting next to the hollowed out log. With my bow slung over my shoulder, I go to sit next to him.

"Hey Catnip," he says with a smile. I pull out a roll with some goat cheese from Prim and hand it to him. "This from Bread Boy?"

"Peeta," I correct him. "Yes, and Prim's cheese of course."

"He shows up at my house every day before I leave for the mines with two loaves of bread, and when I tell him no, he says, 'any friend of Katniss' is a friend of mine,'" Gale says. "I try to tell him to leave, but he always hands the bread to Posy instead. How can I take the bread from Posy's hands? Exactly, I can't. And Bread Boy knows this. It's like he's taunting me."

"Or maybe he's being a good person, looking out for you. Even though you clearly don't like him," I say.

"That's the problem with him. He is a good person. How can you dislike someone who is so good?" he asks.

"You can't. Everything about him is too good. Way too good for the world we live in," I reply.

We get up and hunt for a couple hours, getting three squirrels, two rabbits and three birds. A really good day, one of the last ones we'll get before this cold winter comes. I hope whatever plan Peeta has for Hazelle works because they're going to need it with Gale only being able to hunt one day a week.

We go back to our meeting spot to relax for a little before heading back home. I've convinced Gale to take all of the game home with him, telling him it'd go to waste at my house. And I may have mentioned Posy's name a few times, which always gets him to stop arguing.

"Tell Bread Boy I said thanks for the bread this morning," he says as he stands up. I stand up with him.

"I will. He'll probably take it as a sign to send more next Sunday," I say with a laugh. "He bakes all day it seems."

"He almost makes me feel bad for him. He's probably pretty lonely. From what I've seen, his family stayed at the bakery," Gale says. "No wonder he bakes so much damn bread."

"I finally got him to sleep at night for the most part," I say with a laugh. "You should've seen the amount of bread in his house a couple days ago."

"You got him to sleep?" Gale asks. I knew we had to talk about this, but I didn't think it'd come up now.

"Yeah, he used to bake all throughout the night because his nightmares were as bad as mine," I say sadly. Here goes nothing. "But he doesn't have as many when we're together." Gale looks angry. I definitely wish we weren't having this conversation right now.

"What do you mean, 'together,'" he asks angrily. "As in, sleeping in the same bed?"

"Yeah, it's really helped with our nightmares," I say defensively.

"Katniss, the Games are over. You don't have to act anymore, at least not out here. Not with me," he says softer than his previous sentences.

"I'm not acting Gale," I say as I close my eyes and wish this conversation weren't happening.

"You told me you guys were just friends though," he says. "You don't love him, do you?"

I could barely tell Peeta this, how am I going to tell Gale?

"I think so," I say. "I do. I do love him."

"Then why did you tell me you were just friends?" he yells. "You got my hopes up for no reason!"

"I didn't want to admit it, Gale! After seeing what my mother went through, I think you can understand why I was scared to admit I'd fallen in love!" I yell back angrily.

We walk back to Victor's Village in silence. The last thing he said to me was that he'd walk me home. It's awkward, and I only find myself getting angrier at him with every second that goes by.

When we make it to Victor's Village, he stops at my porch. I turn around to face him, and start talking.

"Look Gale, I'm sorry, alright? Trust me, I didn't want to fall in love. But now that I have, I'm happy I did. I'm so glad to have fallen for Peeta. He honestly makes me feel like a better person just by being around him," I say.

"You didn't give us a chance Katniss! I could've been the one to chase your nightmares away! Or, or make you feel like a better person!" he yells. What Gale does next surprises me.

He leans in and kisses me. I feel no warmth in my belly, my lips don't feel hot, I feel nothing. I don't feel anything I normally do with Peeta.

"Katniss, I heard yelling, are you-" I hear Peeta say. Oh God, Peeta!

I push Gale off of me, and yell, "why would you do that?"

"I just needed to do that one time," Gale says as he walks away.

I chase after Peeta, but it's too late. He's already inside Haymitch's house. I need to explain this to him, I need him to understand that I didn't want that. I burst through Haymitch's front door to see Peeta and Haymitch in the living room, each with a bottle of alcohol in their hands.

"Peeta, that wasn't what it looked like," I say. Please believe me. "Gale kissed me, I didn't kiss him back. I, I didn't feel anything at all. I didn't feel warm inside like I do when you kiss me. I didn't want more when he pulled away. I didn't want him to do that Peeta."

"I know," Peeta says.

"Then what are you doing? Why are you drinking?" I yell more than ask.

"Because in about 10 minutes, Hazelle's gonna be here, and I can't take this out on her, so I need something to calm my nerves," he says. I'm confused by what this means.

"Hazelle's gonna be here?" I ask.

"Actually, this is perfect. Haymitch, I'm gonna hire Hazelle to be your housekeeper. She'll keep your house clean, and I'll pay her for it," he says.

"I don't need a housekeeper, kid. But I appreciate the offer," Haymitch says.

"It wasn't an offer," Peeta says before taking a swig of the clear liquid. I can see him trying not to cough. "Well Haymitch, I had a blast, maybe we could do it again sometime, but I have a business meeting to attend to."

Peeta walks out the door and greets Hazelle, who smiles warmly. I step outside too, and give her a hug.

"We've all missed you Katniss," Hazelle says.

Peeta whispers, "some more than others," which gets a laugh out of me.

"So Peeta, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Hazelle asks sweetly.

"Well, I know Gale hunts, but with winter coming and him being in the mines, he's not going to be able to get much game. Winter's a tougher season on you guys, I'd imagine?" he asks. Here he goes with his silver tongue.

"Well yes, winter does affect us a little harsher than the other seasons," she replies.

"Well, I have a friend whose house is in need of a housekeeper of sorts. I thought I'd offer this to you, if you want. I'll make sure you're paid well for doing this huge favor for him," Peeta says.

Smart, Peeta. Make it seem like a favor, like you'd owe her instead of the other way around. You really are a genius, aren't you?

"I don't see how that'd be a problem," Hazelle replies. "When would I start?"

"Well, you can start whenever you want to. If you'd like to come maybe once a week to tidy up for him. I must warn you, the first time will be a lot to handle though," Peeta says. I can't help but laugh at this. Even that was an understatement. Haymitch's house is probably messier than the junkyard.

"Could I start today?" she asks.

"Of course," Peeta replies warmly. "Here, I'll show you. Everything you'll need is in the cabinet under the sink, by the way. Do what you feel like today, and when you're done, come by my house for your payment. Don't worry about finishing all of this mess today, I wouldn't expect you to finish this in a month." I laugh again, because I'd say closer to a year is how long it'd take for this place to be cleaned.

He leads her inside, and introduces her to Haymitch, who grunts in response.

"Like I said, do what you feel like, and come over after," he says. We both say bye to Hazelle and go back to his house. "So, Hazelle gets a job, and we get to annoy Haymitch? Win-win for me. Oh God!" he says as he runs out the door.

I wait for him to get back, and when he does, he says, "had to let her know not to wake him up."

"Thank you for doing this Peeta," I say as I give him a hug.

"If Hazelle wasn't such a nice woman, I don't know if I would've helped her after what I watched Gale do," he says with a frown. "We've got a few hours until Hazelle comes by, want to take a walk to town?"

"Sure, let me get a shower first," I say. I go home and shower quickly, braid my hair messily and go back to Peeta's house.

The walk to town is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. It's a peaceful silence upon us, one that Peeta knows I like very much. Of course, nice things don't last long, because as we pass the bakery, we hear yelling from Rye.

"Rye, what the hell are you-" Peeta says before we see why Rye's yelling. He's surrounded by five merchant boys, who don't look very happy. I wonder what he did to piss them off. "Axel, five against one doesn't seem very fair to you, does it?"

"Stay out of this Peeta, I can handle this myself," Rye says. I scoff at this, because I'm not even sure Peeta could handle this himself.

"Yeah Peeta, we'll deal with you after we deal with this asshole," Axel Mayder says.

"Rye," Peeta says sternly.

"Don't worry about me Peet, just watch the show. Make sure he doesn't jump in, even if it looks like I'm losing Little Squirrel," Rye says.

All five boys start punching Rye, and for some reason, Peeta doesn't help him. After a minute of Rye helplessly fighting back, they stop beating on him, declaring he's had enough. His nose is bleeding, and he has a black eye, but other than that, Rye looks fine. They can't beat him up too badly because the wrestling coach will find out, but Peeta's not in school anymore, so he's not safe from this.

"Alright Peeta, you want a round too?" Axel says. Peeta laughs and tells me to take Rye inside so his father can help him.

"What did Rye do this time?" Peeta asks.

"We may have said a thing or two about his girlfriend," Axel says with a smirk. The other boys look at Peeta with a grin.

"You sure you want to do this?" Peeta asks like they're the ones with the odds stacked against them. I don't doubt Peeta's abilities, but it is five against one.

"You may be a Victor, but you're still a pussy," one of the boys in the back says. This gets all of them laughing. "Maybe Catpiss should go inside so she doesn't have to see what we do to you."

"You seem to forget she's a Victor too. We've seen a lot worse," Peeta says with a smile.

The boys surround Peeta like they did to Rye, and eye him up for a few seconds. Peeta's stance is almost perfect for this type of fight. Only one of the boys has the advantage against him, which is the boy behind him. Peeta can see and defend against the other four.

Axel throws the first punch, which Peeta easily blocks by grabbing his wrist. Axel looks surprised by Peeta's speed. He goes to kick Peeta but Peeta was already expecting this, so he sweeps his legs out from under him and slams him to the ground.

The next boy kicks Peeta in the back of the knee, dropping Peeta down on his knee, but he uses his other leg to kick the boy's feet out from under him too.

Peeta gets up in time for the next two boys to rush at him. Peeta sees the same opening I see in their attack. He ducks back as they both throw a punch, causing one of the boys to punch the other in the nose.

But Peeta doesn't see the last boy grab him from behind, in the same chokehold that Cato used on him. It's like I'm back in the arena, without my bow this time.

"I feel like I've seen you here before," the boy holding Peeta says as he laughs.

"Oh… Yeah? Then you know… How this ends," Peeta says. He bends over and slams the boy on the ground the same way he did with Cato, knocking the wind out of him.

"You guys done yet?" Peeta asks, almost taunting them to fight him. None of them move, realizing that becoming a Victor doesn't just take pure luck. Peeta's fighting skills are better than they've ever been with all the years of wrestling, plus the years of fighting with his brothers. "Say another word to Delly and this won't end so well for you guys. Get out of here," he says angrily.

Delly? Rye's dating Delly Cartwright? Wow, I was definitely not expecting that one.

Peeta only has a small dirt stain on one knee, but other than that, he's untouched. I actually feel bad for the boys he just fought. Peeta beat them without throwing a punch.

We go inside the bakery to check on Rye. He might need to come back with us if his injuries are bad, but thankfully, they aren't.

"How bad did you mess them up?" Rye says laughing. "I had that taken care of, you know."

"Sure you did, Rye. What did they say about Delly?" he asks.

"They called her fat! Can you believe that? They called her a cow!" Rye yells.

Delly isn't fat at all. I'm actually jealous of her body. She has larger breasts, wide hips and nice thighs. To be honest, I'm pretty sure if she was single, those boys would have been hitting on her instead of making fun of her.

"Well, they won't say another word to her," Peeta says with a smile. "What about you Rye, you okay?"

"Oh don't worry about me Sweet cheeks, I'm fine. They're just lucky I was distracted, that's all."

This gets a laugh out of me. "Distracted? You didn't even last a minute," I say. This gets them all laughing.

After a couple minutes of hanging out, Peeta and I decide to head back to Victor's Village. Hazelle might be done soon, and we don't want her to leave without getting paid.

When we get back to Victor's Village, Hazelle is still working in Haymitch's. I knew she wouldn't leave until it was either close to curfew or the job was done. The first thing I notice when we enter Haymitch's house is the smell.

I can actually breathe in here now. It doesn't smell like alcohol and vomit anymore.

The second thing I notice is that I'm not stepping over mounds of trash and clothes. There's a clear path to the living room where I find Haymitch and Hazelle talking.

"Wow Hazelle, I didn't expect this," Peeta says sweetly. "We owe you big time," he says with a laugh.

"Thank you Peeta, but you owe me nothing," Hazelle says.

"Are you kidding? Hazelle, we've been trying to find someone for weeks to clean this place! Not only did you clean his house, but you got him talking too," he says. He leans in close to her and says, "that means he likes you. He barely talks to me or Katniss."

Peeta, you're sneaky. We never talked to anyone else about cleaning the house.

We take Hazelle outside and thank her for her hard work. When Peeta hands her double what Gale makes in a month, she tries to stop him but he only replies with, "Hazelle, we really should pay you more for what you've done but I knew you'd barely accept this. Please, just take it."

I was honestly amazed. Peeta's made it seem like we should've paid her more! He really does have a way with words.

"Bring Posy and the kids down with you, I'll make them some cookies," Peeta says with a warm smile.

As Hazelle walks away after thanking us, I drag him inside his house. The second the door is closed, I turn around and kiss him against it. It isn't because of what Gale did, or because of what Peeta did. This kiss is because of how good of a person Peeta is. He deserves to be loved, and he deserves to know how much I love him, even if I don't say it.

When we finally break away from each other, he asks what that kiss was for.

"For being you," is my reply.

A/N: How'd you like the chapter? Peeta showing his eternal kindness, Gale being Gale, and Katniss being awesome as always. I have bigger plans for Gale, so for all of you Gale lovers, don't get too distraught now!