Chapter Text
Peeta's POV:
I wake up a little startled. Not because of nightmares, they still happen a lot but not every night like they used to. When I open my eyes and look at Katniss' face as she's also waking up, we see them. Willow and Rye are jumping on our bed.
I did promise them we would have a picnic today, hence the excitement. They lay between Katniss and I. We spent 5 minutes just hugging each other while we're still waking up.
I sit on the bed, put on my prosthetic leg and we all go downstairs to have breakfast.
That's it, maybe my favorite part of every morning. As we go to the kitchen, the kids always like to hold their mother's hand while they sing a song. I love watching the three of them singing while all of the birds stop to hear, and I take some time to just appreciate those moments before I join them singing as well. Although Willow says mommy is a better singer than daddy. She's not wrong though.
Thankfully I have some extra dough from last night to make some bread. The kids don't usually wake up this early so I always have time to make fresh dough for them before breakfast. We sit and eat together and after that, Katniss and I take the kids upstairs to bathe them.
Rye is all set and Katniss is doing a braid on Willow's hair, that looks identical to her mother's. So I go to the phone and call Haymitch to invite him to the picnic.
The kids helped me with the dough but then decided to go play while Katniss and I prepare the food. She's cooking some of the meat she got after yesterday's hunt and I'm making apple pie.
Katniss tells me to take the kids and go to Haymitch's while she's finishing putting all of the food in a basket. I did call him but we never know if he's actually up, sometimes he needs a push.
When the kids knock, sure enough, no answer. He probably fell asleep again on the couch. So I go into the house to wake him and as soon as he's up the kids start screaming:
-Grandpa Haymitch, Grandpa Haymitch!!
He lets out a big smile, he loves these kids. He goes upstairs to take a shower and since I already have the picnic cloth, we go to the little center of the victor's village to set it all up. Lolo( she hates when I call her that, although her mom thinks it's funny) and Rye help me place the cloth right next to the little garden I planted. They are sitting down playing with Primroses,their favorite flower, while we wait for Katniss.
Sudden I hear something and as I turn around, my chin drops.
Katniss' POV
I'm just about to finish putting everything in the basket when I see a man outside through the window. I can't really see his face because of a tree blocking my view but I know that's not Haymitch by the way he's standing. And that's not Peeta either. I know Peeta. I can't really explain it but even his body language is as sweet as he is.
The way he hugs me, the way he carries the kids, they way he stands when he's around them showing love and at the same time in position to protect them from everything.
I've studied every single aspect of him since the first time we've met. His height. His back. Those big and strong arms that were a result of all those years carrying flour bags in the bakery. Then I restudied every detail of his again. All the things that affected him after what we went through. How skinny he was when he got back from the capital, after all the torturing.
How the way he stands changed a little bit after our first games, because he had his leg amputated. The way he had to relearn how to distribute his body weight while wearing the prosthetic leg.
I can tell from miles away that it's not him.
But the way the man stands is somehow familiar. He's so stiff, almost like he's a soldier in training waiting to be released into a relaxed position. That's when I hear a voice screaming, like the person is really mad at something. So I take the basket and go outside.
As I'm getting to the door I see the kids. They're still playing quite unbothered by what's happening. Peeta is right in front of them, with his arms in front of him like he's pushing something away.
Not something. Someone.
He looks at me concerned, not sure what my reaction will be. And maybe 8 feet away from Peeta, there he is.
Gale.