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Peeta was slicing a fresh loaf of bread when he heard Katniss’ phone ringing. He then heard Katniss calling to him from upstairs, “Peeta? Can you get that? I’ll be right down!”
He quickly walked over to the phone, picked it up, and said, “Everdeen residence, Peeta speaking.”
“Oh, hello Peeta,” said a familiar voice.
“Hello Mrs. Everdeen! Katniss will be down in a sec. How’ve you been?” He was glad it was someone he knew, and he hadn’t really had an opportunity to speak with Katniss’ mom in a long time.
“I’ve been keeping busy. We are still understaffed at the hospital so I’ve been picking up extra shifts.”
“I’m glad to hear. And I’ve always found that I sleep better when I’ve been busy,” said Peeta.
“Me too,” she agreed. “How have you been?”
“Oh, most days are usually a bit better than the last,” he responded truthfully. He didn’t want to admit that a large part of the reason he was feeling much better now was that he and Katniss had started sharing her bed every night. Nothing happened between them at night besides sleeping, but he was happy with the arrangement. He didn’t officially live here, but he did spend more time at her house than his own.
“I’m really glad to hear that. And how is Katniss?”
Peeta knew that she wanted an honest answer, but Katniss had arrived so instead he said, “You’ll have to ask her yourself. Here she is now, talk to you later,” as he passed the phone to Katniss. He resolved to call Katniss’ mother soon to catch up when Katniss was out hunting.
A week later, Katniss’ phone was ringing again while she was in the yard watering the garden. He called out through the window to let her know, and she requested that he answer it first. He hurried over to the phone and lifted the receiver.
“Everdeen residence, Peeta speaking.”
“Hello Peeta, this is Plutarch Heavensbee. Is Katniss available? Or should I leave a message with you?” The voice through the speaker clearly was raised in the Capitol, and likely the wealthier portion. Peeta was glad that Plutarch had introduced himself, since he couldn’t quite place his voice. He had a feeling that Katniss wouldn’t want to hear anything the man had to say.
“She will be here in a minute, if you don’t mind waiting.” Peeta responded politely.
“Not at all! I hope you have been well. It seems like you and Katniss have gotten quite close again”
“I have been well, thanks. Oh, here she is,” Peeta said. He was relieved when he saw Katniss enter the room and waved her over, since he didn’t want to get stuck in a conversation with Plutarch, who seemed to be making some assumptions about Peeta and Katniss’ relationship. Katniss grimaced as Peeta mouthed “Plutarch” when he handed her the receiver. Her free hand gently brushed his cheek and his heart fluttered in his chest. Recently, Katniss had begun to initiate casual physical affection towards Peeta. It was generally small actions, like brushing his hair away from his face, holding his hand, or resting her head on his shoulder, but they always made him flustered and filled his heart with hope for the future.
Peeta went into the kitchen so Katniss could have some privacy on her call. Less than a minute later, she joined him. He could tell instantly that she was annoyed and knew it probably had to do with the phone call.
“What did Plutarch want?” he asked.
“He wants me to sing in some television series he is producing.”
“Wow, he has some nerve asking!” Peeta understood now why Katniss was annoyed. She had spent years being on television, where her image was manipulated constantly to advance other people’s agendas and interests. The two of them had more than a lifetime’s worth of screen time, so Peeta didn’t understand why Plutarch thought she would even consider returning. Even if a singing show seemed innocent, it was probably somehow just propaganda for the new government.
“I told him I only sing to mockingjays now,” she said, with a slight laugh.
“And me,” Peeta added, nudging her gently with his elbow .
“And you,” she confirmed.
A few days later, Katniss was out in the woods hunting, and Peeta was lounging on her couch while planning a new painting. He heard the familiar sound of the phone ringing, and automatically got up to answer it.
“Everdeen residence, Peeta speaking. Katniss is unavailable at the moment, can I take a message?”
“Actually, I want to speak with you, Peeta,” said Dr. Aurelius.
“Me?” said Peeta, confused until he remembered that he had actually had an appointment scheduled that afternoon with Dr. Aurelius that he had completely forgotten about. “Oh, I must have lost track of what day it was!”
“I have been calling your house the last few days, but you never answer that phone anymore. Are you living at Katniss’ house now? Is this where I should call to reach you?” Dr. Aurelius asked without any judgment or malice, and Peeta was grateful that Dr. Aurelius was his therapist.
“I do spend most of my time here, so calling this house would probably be most effective,” he said, avoiding the doctor’s first question.
They continued their call, and later when Katniss asked about his day, he told her casually that Dr. Aurelius had assumed that they were living together. He had debated not telling her, but he was curious what she would say. And he was not opposed to the idea of living with her full time if that was an option.
Katniss smiled when he said that and said, “I swear half the people in this town think we are married now. And I don’t even bother to correct them”
Peeta just managed to keep his jaw from hanging open. He responded, “Well, people will think what they want anyways.”
It was sometime later that he realized that when he said “Everdeen residence, Peeta speaking,” it might seem to a stranger that he was both a member of the household and an Everdeen. He liked the sound of Peeta Everdeen, but decided to keep that idea to himself until their relationship progressed.