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Katniss looked up at the darkening clouds in the sky and tried to quicken her pace. She’d already stayed out longer than she’d intended, and her body was helpfully reminding her that there was a price to pay for such exertion. Such a price had never been a problem before, but things were different now. Her hands cradled her belly protectively as thunder rumbled overhead.
“Almost home, little one,” she said quietly. “Almost there.”
She tried to remember if she’d left a note for Peeta when she left the house, but the deepening cold and the pain in her legs was making it hard for her to focus. She’d meant to leave him a note, she knew that much. He had been worrying about her so much more lately, with good reason, she supposed. Peeta wanted her to take it easy and spend less time on her feet. But Katniss simply wasn’t designed to sit quietly at home and just wait for their first child to arrive. She needed activity. She needed purpose. So, while Peeta was at the bakery for the day, she’d gone hunting.
It had seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea at the time. She’d tried to keep regularly active since they’d confirmed that she was pregnant. Her belly was still only a slight encumbrance and she thought that she would have energy enough to get her through a few gentle hours of easy hunting. No climbing, no running, nothing that would give Peeta cause for alarm. They’d agreed, after all, that she should continue hunting as long as it was safe for her to do so.
But then the weather had changed much more quickly than she had anticipated, and now she had to try to hurry home before the storm hit. If she didn’t make it home before the rain set in, she knew that Peeta would come looking for her. And that wasn’t good for any of them.
She groaned when she felt the first cold drops of rain against her cheek and quickened her pace, stumbling a little with uncharacteristic clumsiness.
“Come on, now,” she said aloud. “You can do this.”
The rain got almost alarmingly heavy over the next few minutes as she struggled to reach home. She clutched her jacket close to her body and forced herself to keep moving. When she next looked up, she could make out the distant outline of the first houses. She smiled in relief and then stumbled again, cursing at her distraction.
“Almost there,” she said again, passing a hand soothingly over her belly. “We can do this.”
“Katniss!” Peeta called suddenly from somewhere ahead of her. “Katniss, are you out here?”
“Peeta!” she cried out, feeling relief course through her. “I’m over here!”
She heard him come crashing towards her, smiling at the sheer amount of noise he could make that she could even hear it over the sound of the storm.
“Katniss!” he gasped as he reached her, quickly scanning her for any sign of injury. “Let’s get you home.”
Katniss allowed Peeta to take her bag and bow off her. He looped his free arm around her waist and started walking back the way he’d come.
“Aren’t you going to yell?” she joked feebly. “Tell me how irresponsible it was to go out—”
“That can wait,” he said gruffly. “I’ll yell at you when I know you’re safe.”
Katniss snorted a laugh and leaned against him heavily as they walked.
“I really thought it would be okay,” she said defensively. “The weather wasn’t this bad when I left.”
“You know the weather changes quickly at this time of year,” Peeta said impatiently. “I understand that you hate being stuck at home, but you need to start being more careful, Katniss.”
“I’m not an invalid, Peeta! I don’t need to be confined to a sick room—”
“No one is suggesting you be confined, Katniss. I’m merely asking you to be more considerate of your poor husband’s nerves before you go missing in a storm!”
They were approaching the steps to their house and Peeta subtly increased the pressure around her waist, preparing to take more of her weight if she needed him to. Katniss smiled at him, ignoring the rain pouring down both of their faces.
“We’re fine, Peeta,” she murmured, tracing her fingers gently down his cheek. “The baby and me? We’re fine. We’re tough.” She took one of his hands and placed it reassuringly against her belly. “We’re survivors.”
Peeta closed his eyes briefly and then encouraged her to precede him up the steps.
“Let’s get inside.”
She pushed the door open and sighed in pleasure when she felt the warmth of the fire.
“Upstairs, now,” Peeta said shortly, shutting the door behind them and dropping her bag on the ground.
“Peeta, what—”
“Straight into the bath with you,” he continued firmly. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how cold you are, missy.”
“Missy?” Katniss scoffed. “Peeta, you’re being—”
“Do I need to carry you?” he interrupted her, smirking despite his serious tone of voice. “Because we both know I will, if that’s what it takes.”
“Peeta, the squirrels—”
“Can wait. Upstairs, now.”
Katniss sighed and made a great show of reluctance as she walked up the stairs. In truth, she was looking forward to a hot bath. The cold had seeped into her skin and she was a lot more uncomfortable than she wanted to let on to Peeta. He was already worried and annoyed enough, Katniss had no desire to exacerbate the situation. She sat down on the toilet to remove her boots and watched Peeta set the hot water running in the bath.
“You understand why I’m concerned, don’t you?” he said gently, as he knelt before her and helped her with her boots. “You know that I’m not just angry for nothing, right?”
“I know.”
He tossed her boots behind him and stood up, holding his hands out in invitation. She grasped them and lifted herself to her feet, wincing at the pain in her legs. Peeta noticed the expression but made no comment, instead concentrating on helping her to remove her damp clothes.
“I don’t mean to stop you from doing what you need to do, Katniss,” he murmured as he removed the last of her clothes and dumped the whole lot in the laundry basket. “I know how important your freedom is.”
He shut the water off and helped her ease her tired body into the bath. When she was settled, he handed her some soap and started to knead the muscles of her neck and shoulders. She groaned and tipped her head forward, the soap slipping out of her hand. Peeta laughed softly and fished the soap out of the water, laughing again at the little sound of protest that slipped out of Katniss when his hands left her body.
“Just relax, Katniss,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Soak for a bit and I’ll be back.”
“Can’t you stay?” she said plaintively, grasping his hand quickly and trying to tug him back close to her. “Take care of your poor pregnant wife?”
Peeta threw his head back and laughed loudly. She scowled at him and tugged impatiently at his hand.
“Peeta,” she said reproachfully.
“Oh, Katniss,” he said, still chuckling. “I’ll never stop taking care of you.”
“Promise?”
He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
“I promise,” he assured her. “But if you don’t want to soak, then how about you let me help you with your hair?”
She nodded eagerly and leaned forward slightly so Peeta would have easier access to her braid. He reached for her hair and started freeing the strands carefully. When her hair was loose, he encouraged her to lower her body further into the water, making sure her hair was completely soaked before she sat up again. Katniss closed her eyes in pleasure when she felt his fingers rubbing insistently against her head. He washed her hair carefully and thoroughly, making sure that no shampoo went into her eyes and careful not to use more than needed. Neither of them liked to waste anything, even now when they had access to more than they would ever need. He gently dipped her head back into the water, smiling at her when she met his eyes. Katniss snaked a hand out of the water and threaded their fingers together, feeling perfectly content.
“Come on, then,” Peeta said cheerfully ten minutes later. “This water is starting to get cold and I want you in front of the fire before that happens. Let’s go.”
Katniss groaned a little in feeble protest but obediently stood up and allowed Peeta to help her out of the bath. She remained still as he quickly wrapped her hair up in a towel with well-practiced ease. He handed her a bigger towel for her body and then disappeared into their bedroom, returning a moment later with her warmest robe. She slipped it on gratefully and smiled at Peeta.
“Shall we go back downstairs? You can dry your hair by the fire while I get some dinner on.”
“I’ve got those squirrels to deal with,” she reminded him. “Maybe I can help you with dinner?”
“You can do whatever you want, Katniss. Provided you are warm and safe, of course.”
“Of course,” she agreed with a laugh. “Thanks for washing my hair. I really wanted to do it myself, but I was just so tired.”
“Yeah, I could tell.” Peeta shrugged. “I know how much you love having your hair washed.”
“I do?” Katniss asked, nonplussed. “I didn’t realise that. Although now that you mention it, you have done that for me quite a few times recently. Was that on purpose?”
“Oh, Katniss, my love! There’s so much you give away without realising! So many things I’ve learned about you simply by watching.”
“Hey!”
“Husband’s privilege, what can I say? I just like to keep you happy, and if that means undressing you and helping you in the bath on a daily basis, so be it.”
“Oh, and there’s nothing selfish there, of course,” Katniss teased. “No ulterior motives?”
“None at all! I’m just taking care of you, Katniss. It’s what we do, remember?”
Katniss took both of his hands in hers and pressed a kiss to the back of first one and then the other. She looked up at him and felt sudden, inexplicable tears prickling her eyes.
“Why are you so good to me?” she whispered.
Peeta cupped her cheek gently and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“It must be love.”