Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Saturday, August 27th  

Katniss didn’t even want the cat. But her sister couldn’t have Buttercup with her in her dorm and her mom was always busy at the hospital, so she was stuck with the mangy little beast. And it made Prim happy, so it was worth it, right?

At least, it would’ve been if the cat hadn’t disappeared. And it was her fault, she’d left the balcony door open. She was the worst cat owner ever. And the stupid cat knew it too, always giving her the stink eye when she was late putting food in his bowl. She figured she should probably be more diligent about that in the future, so the cat would actually want to stay with her. Maybe give him a treat every once in awhile. How does the whole cat owner thing even work? After watching Prim with him for years, she figured it’d be easy, but it wasn’t.

Katniss sighed, putting her head in her hands as she printed out a picture of Buttercup and Prim from her computer. Having a visual reference would hopefully help jog her neighbors’ memories. She didn’t have any other pictures of Buttercup, while Prim must’ve had a million, the way she was always taking pictures of him on her iphone and posting them on instagram. Yet another thing to add to the list of things that made her feel like a failure as a pet owner at the moment.

She grabbed the picture off the printer once it was done and set out to knock on people’s doors. Her neighbors who share her side of the building could’ve seen Buttercup out on the balcony at some point, he could even have jumped the few feet between their balconies. It was a place to start at least, so she turned right to the neighbors’ next door, and knocked. A minute later, just as she was raising her fist to knock again, the door swung open.

It was impossible not to remember his face from the few times they’d passed in the hallway: his startling blue eyes, ashy blond hair, and kind smile. What she hadn’t seen before, however, was his body. He was clad only in running shorts and her raised hand fell back to her side as her eyes drifted down his bare chest, noticing defined muscles glistening with sweat, and then quickly back up to his eyes, which now appeared amused. So he’d noticed then. Crap.

“Can I help you?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m looking for my cat,” she said, holding up the picture she brought with her.

“Oh! He’s right in here,” he said, ushering her inside. “I’m Peeta, by the way.”

“Katniss,” she said, following him into the living room.

“It seems our cats are in love,” he said, gesturing to a small cat bed in the corner of the room where two cats were entwined together, sleeping. One of them was Buttercup--Katniss let out a small sigh of relief--and the other was a white cat who opened its eyes to reveal a beautiful blue that seemed to eerily match Peeta’s own eyes. Upon waking, the cat snuggled closer to Buttercup and went back to sleep.

“This is...not what I was expecting,” Katniss laughed. “What’s your cat’s name?”

“Poppy,” he said. “Yours?”

“Buttercup,” she said. There was something so kind in his face, something that made Katniss feel warm and safe, and somehow the whole story came spilling out. She told him how the cat was a stray they took in a few years ago, how Prim had loved him immediately and claimed him as her own, how Katniss and the cat had always hated each other but now had to live together, and how upset she was when she couldn’t find him in the apartment this morning.

“Your sister, is she the one in the picture?” Peeta asked. He sat down on the couch and gestured for Katniss to do the same.

“Yes,” Katniss said, sitting beside him.

“She’s beautiful, she looks just like you,” he said. She blushed at his words, not missing that he was calling her beautiful.

“Really? People usually say the opposite,” she said, which was true. Katniss’s black hair, gray eyes, and olive complexion didn’t match her sister’s blonde and blue-eyed look.

“No, I can see it. You have the same smile,” he said, his eyes lingering on her lips. “And your eyes are similar, while not the same color, and your cheekbones.” At her widened eyes, Peeta smiled shyly. “Sorry, I’m an artist. I notice these things.”

“Well, thank you,” she said. She looked again at the picture of Prim and could see what he meant. It filled her with unexpected joy. “Did he come in through the balcony?”

“Yeah,” Peeta said, gesturing at the balcony door across the room. “When I woke up, he and Poppy were both meowing at each other through the glass and banging their heads against it trying to get to each other. I took pity on them and let him in.”

“I really thought I closed the balcony door last night,” Katniss said, putting her head in her hands. “I’m the worst cat owner ever.”

“Hey, Buttercup’s okay. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he said, placing a comforting hand on her back. “Hey um...is Buttercup neutered? Because we might have a problem if he’s not.”

“Oh. Oh. I’ll-I’ll have to ask Prim,” Katniss said, sitting up. Peeta’s hand fell back to his side and she had the strangest urge to grab it. “Here, I’ll text her right now.” She pulled out her phone and sent her a quick text.

Katniss [sent 10:21am]: Hey Prim, is Buttercup neutered? He might be a dad if he’s not.

Katniss stood up. “Um, I guess I should be going. Can I get your number so I can text you when I hear back from Prim?”

“Yeah, of course,” Peeta said. Katniss passed her phone over to him and he used it to call his phone. “There. Now I have your number too.” He passed her phone back to her, smiling.

She pocketed it and the picture of Buttercup and Prim and walked over to the cat bed in the corner. She steeled herself, knowing Buttercup would begin struggling immediately, which he then did the second she picked him up. She tightened her hold on him and asked Peeta to get the door for her.

“Thanks for…everything,” Katniss said awkwardly.

“Don’t mention it,” Peeta said, shrugging as he opened the door.

“I…I guess I’ll see you around,” she said. Why was she so reluctant to leave?

“Oh, I’d count on it,” Peeta said.

Katniss needed to relieve some stress, so she headed down to her complex’s pool to swim laps. She usually went running on her workouts, but in the summer she liked to switch things up and go swimming a couple times a week.

The cool water helped calm her heated body, and she was able to lose herself in the rhythmic strokes. Thoughts of her stupid cat and his virility and her stupidly handsome neighbor faded blissfully away. 

It was a short-lived bliss though. She was snapped quickly back to reality as she was toweling off and her phone chimed with a text message.  

Prim [sent 12:04pm]: Oh shit really? He’s not. Who’s the lucky cat?

Dread coursed through her as she wrapped her towel around herself and sat down heavily on one of the plastic chairs.

Katniss [sent 12:06pm]: Poppy, my next door neighbor’s cat.

Prim [sent 12:08pm]: Oh wow. Well we should still get him neutered to be safe. I can call his vet and schedule an appointment if you want, when are you free?

Katniss [sent 12:09pm]: It’s okay, I can call her. You programmed it into my phone, remember?

Prim [sent 12:10pm]: Oh right. Sorry I’m not there for this. Is your neighbor pissed?

Katniss [sent 12:12pm]: No, he was really nice about it. I think he mostly finds it funny.

Prim [sent 12:12pm]: HE? Is he a cute boy, Katniss?

Katniss [sent 12:13pm]: ….

Prim [sent 12:13pm]: !!!

Katniss sighed. Was the vet even open Saturdays? It turned out she was. She made an appointment with Dr. Mason for early Monday morning. She was working from home that day so it shouldn’t be a problem. The real problem was figuring out what to say to Peeta.

Katniss: Hey, sorry my cat might have impregnated your cat, but want to go out for a drink sometime? 

Erase, erase, erase. She typed out a new message and stared at it for a few minutes, wondering if there was anything she could change to make this whole thing less awkward, but there wasn’t, so she hit send and headed back to her apartment to shower.

Katniss [sent 12:34pm]: Hey, it’s Katniss. Turns out my cat isn’t neutered, but I’m fixing that on Monday so this’ll never happen again. Sorry.

Peeta [sent 12:35pm]: Ok, no worries. Thanks for letting me know.

Monday, August 29th

Peeta [sent 5:23pm]: How’d Buttercup’s surgery go?

Katniss [sent 5:25pm]: Good! It was a really quick procedure, just no bathing or exercising for two weeks, and I have to monitor his wounds, but he should be okay.

Peeta [sent 5:27pm]: Sweet. Any chance he’d be up for some cat treats? I made some for Poppy and I have extras.

Katniss [sent 5:28pm]: Oh yeah definitely. I never give him treats so he’d be all over that.

Peeta [sent 5:28pm]: Haha ok, I’ll be right over.

Katniss paused her TV, quickly switched her sweatpants for jeans, and then ran to answer the door. Peeta was fully clothed this time, in dark jeans slung low on his hips and a light gray t-shirt with paint splatters on it. Were they there when he bought the t-shirt? She wondered. She didn’t know how to ask that. She didn’t really know what to say in general, but she invited him in anyway.

“So where’s Buttercup?” Peeta asked, setting the tupperware container full of treats on the kitchen counter.

“On the couch,” Katniss said, gesturing. Peeta nodded in response, removing a single treat from the container and walking over to the couch.

“Hey, Buttercup,” Peeta whispered. “Do you want a treat?” He held it out in his palm and Buttercup sniffed at it before gobbling it out of Peeta’s palm, licking his hand when he was done. Peeta sat down beside him and stroked his head gently.

“So, um, you made them yourself? What?” Katniss said, cringing internally at herself. She took a seat in the armchair by the couch as Peeta and Buttercup hadn’t left a lot of room for her.

Peeta laughed. “Yeah, my family’s owned a bakery in town for generations, so I was raised as a baker, and I love it, so I try to make things for Poppy every once in a while. It’s one way I take care of the people I love, I guess, giving them food.”

“Well, thanks,” Katniss said. She suspected he’d made a batch just for her, and she didn’t know what to do with that. “I feel like I should be the one giving you treats, since, you know, my cat was the one who snuck over to your apartment and impregnated your cat.”

Peeta laughed again and Katniss felt her stomach flutter. “Hey, we don’t know anything yet.”

“True, true. Still though… I feel like I owe you,” Katniss said. “What are you doing for dinner? I could order a pizza...if-if you want.”

“Sure,” Peeta said, smiling.

After they agreed on toppings (half pineapple, half pepperoni), Katniss put the order in on the Domino’s app on her phone. Buttercup curled up in Peeta’s lap and Peeta made room for Katniss on the couch. She joined him without hesitation.

“What were you watching?” Peeta asked, gesturing to the TV. Katniss had forgotten all about it, but it was still paused on the same Kleenex commercial.

“The Parent Trap. It was on and...I love that movie,” Katniss said. There was nothing embarrassing about it, but for some reason her cheeks heated.

“Lindsay Lohan or original?”

“Lindsay Lohan.

“Awesome. What part are you at?” Peeta asked, leaning back and putting his feet up on her coffee table. Normally she would’ve been annoyed that he’d assumed he could, but she just smiled and put her feet up too.

“They just figured out that they’re twins.”

“Awesome. You’d think they’d have figured it out sooner, but I do love that scene,” Peeta said.

“Me too,” she said. She picked up the remote and fast-forwarded through the commercials, pressing play when she saw the cabin that meant it was back on. 

“You know, when I was little, I always wished I was a twin,” Peeta said, stroking Buttercup’s head absently.

“Really? Why?”

“Well, I have two older brothers, and we didn’t always get along when we were kids, so it was more that I wished I had someone there who’d be on my side no matter what. I didn’t think of what would happen if I didn’t get along with my twin either.” His tone was light, but she could tell from his eyes that the pain he was remembering was anything but. It didn’t escape her notice that the feeling that no one was on his side probably included his parents. She didn’t know how to comfort him, or if he’d even want to be comforted.

“It would’ve been nice to have a twin,” Katniss said finally. “I had to take care of my sister a lot after our dad died...It would’ve been nice to have someone there to help me.” She smiled at him sadly and she could tell from the look in his eyes that this was the comfort he needed. I felt alone too.

“I’m sorry about your father.” He laid a comforting hand on her knee and she nodded, resting her hand on top of his. After a moment where nothing seemed to exist but the mere touch of his hand, they both pulled away, turning back to the TV in silent agreement.

“Ok,” Peeta begins just as Annie’s meeting her dad for the first time, “so obviously I love this movie, but...who the hell agrees to a custody arrangement of ‘let’s each take one kid and never speak to each other again’? What kind of fight did they even have that led to that? And they were the last ones to notice that something wasn’t right with their kid after they came back from summer camp! Who are these people?”

“I know, right?” Katniss laughed. “Chessie is much more of a parent to them, she should have full custody.”

“Agreed.” A knock on the door signaled the pizza had finally arrived, and Katniss put Buttercup in her room and shut the door before answering. She recognized the delivery man from the last time she ordered pizza, and they made small talk as she signed the credit card slip and he handed her the pizza. It must’ve been fresh out of the oven the way it nearly burned her hands before she could set it on the kitchen counter.

She took two plates out of the cupboard and turned around to see Peeta behind her. The pupils in his eyes had shrunk from the bright kitchen lights so she could really appreciate how blue they were for the first time. Like the sky after a storm. They were only about a foot apart now, had she moved closer? She couldn’t remember moving. We’re both just standing near the pizza box, she told herself. That’s why we’re standing so close together. “Do you... want any water? Or diet coke? I’m sorry I don’t have anything else…” She trailed off. 

“Water’s good,” he said.

And...suddenly this felt like a date. But no, it wasn’t a date. No. Her first date in years could not be a “Sorry my cat kind of broke into your apartment and had sex with your cat and now we’re in the middle of a cat pregnancy scare, so to make it up to you, I ordered Domino’s pizza for us to share” dinner. She refused.

It was possible she was overreacting though. Her best friend in high school, Gale, had had a crush on her for years before he asked her out and even then she didn’t realize he’d asked her on a date until she was on the date… So now she tended to see things that weren’t there. Like now. Probably.

She got glasses of water for the both of them and carried them into the living room while Peeta carried their plates. She’d loaded her plate with three pieces of pizza and didn’t hesitate to start gorging herself once she was seated on the floor and Peeta had set her plate down on the coffee table in front of her.

They hadn’t paused the TV when the pizza arrived, so they’d missed a few minutes, but neither of them seemed to mind. She glanced at Peeta out of the corner of her eye, eating his pizza with about as much grace as she was (ie: none). She couldn’t help but think how nice this was. She was starved for friendship, she realized, not just pizza. Please don’t think this is a date, she silently pleaded. I could really use a friend.

The rest of the night passed in a blur: cleaning up the pizza mess, feeding their cats, sitting back down to the rest of the movie but talking through most of it.

“Thanks again for the pizza,” Peeta said at the door. “I had a great time tonight.”

“Me too,” Katniss said. She held her arms open and he did the same and then they were hugging. She felt his warm breath on the top of her head and then he left, their “See you later!”s echoing in the hallway and lingering on their lips.

Saturday, September 17th

The last few weeks had been full of nights much like that one. They watched movies, the Food Network, they even had a Pasta and Laundry night where they did laundry in their complex’s laundromat together and Peeta made pasta for them both.

Buttercup was allowed to be around other cats again two weeks after his surgery, so she’d brought Buttercup with her to Peeta’s apartment whenever she went over, and Peeta would bring Poppy to her place too. Their cats were actually really cute together. She’d only ever seen Buttercup be this sweet to Prim, so it was nice to see him with Peeta and Poppy, and he was even warming up to her now too. It helped that she’d gotten better at remembering to feed him on time, and with help from Peeta, she’d gotten better at what she was feeding him too.

So when Peeta asked if she wanted to go with him when he took Poppy to the vet today, she said yes.

Now, as they sat on the blue bench in the exam room, Katniss pitied Poppy in the cat carrier. She’d gained a lot of weight in the last few weeks, so she must be feeling more cramped than usual. She didn’t make any noises of complaint though, which Katniss admired.

The room was similar to the one she’d been in with Buttercup just a few weeks ago, but for the painting of a bird in flight on the wall that caught Katniss’s eye. It didn’t look like any bird Katniss knew, but it was beautiful, with feathers of gray and white.

“Do you like it?” Peeta asked.

“Yes, it’s lovely,” Katniss said. Peeta smiled at that and suddenly Katniss knew. “You painted it.”

“I did.” His smile was shy now, and she felt warm all over. Impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

“It’s beautiful, Peeta,” she whispered.

Peeta’s eyes were wide. “Wh--” He was cut off by a knock at the door, shortly followed by an incredibly attractive man entering the room. His green eyes met Peeta’s and widened in surprised.

“Peeta! You didn’t tell me you were coming in today!” he said. Peeta stood and gave him a quick, tight hug.

“Sorry, Finnick. I wanted to surprise you,” Peeta said, sitting down next to me again.

“Well, I’m surprised,” he said, his eyes slid over to me. “Who’s this?”

“This is Katniss,” Peeta introduced. “Katniss, this is Finnick.” They shook hands.

“Ah yes, the Finnick,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Though, not that you were Poppy’s vet.” She had heard lots of other things about him though. Finnick and Peeta had met through Annie, Finnick’s wife, who was the manager at Peeta’s bakery. They were Peeta’s best friends. She wondered what it meant that she hadn’t been told she was meeting him today.

“Well, I’ve heard nothing about you,” Finnick said. He looked accusingly at Peeta, who looked away pointedly.

“I’m Peeta’s neighbor. We think my cat might have gotten Poppy pregnant,” Katniss said.

“Aha, well, let’s find out,” he said. He got to work then, washing his hands and putting on latex gloves. Katniss and Peeta took Poppy out of the cat carrier and set her on the table for him when he was ready.

Finnick pet Poppy gently for a few moments, helping her relax, then moved his hands expertly over her stomach. After a few moments, he looked back up at Katniss and Peeta. “Well, you were right. She’s pregnant.”

Chapter Text

Saturday, September 17th (continued)

Katniss and Peeta sat on the couch in his apartment, side by side, staring blankly at the pamphlets on the coffee table.

Poppy was pregnant. Pregnant. Which meant that in the very near future--Finnick said approximately six weeks--she would have kittens. They would have kittens. What were they going to do with kittens?

“I think we need to go through hypotheticals,” Peeta said, turning toward Katniss. “If Poppy has two kittens, I can take one, and we can find a home for the other one if you don’t want it.”

“We’re going to ‘Parent Trap’ them?” Katniss groaned. “I thought we agreed that that was a shitty situation.”

“Yes, but Katniss,” Peeta laughed, “they’re kittens. It’s different.”

“Still...It feels wrong.”

“I know.” Peeta touched her hand gently. “But I can’t take care of two kittens on my own.”

“Okay,” Katniss nodded. “If she has two kittens, we can each take one, and...we’ll help each other.”

“Agreed.”

“And...hypothetically,” Katniss said, “what happens if it’s three kittens?” She didn’t know anyone who could take one and for some reason, she didn’t want the kitten to go to a stranger.

Peeta ran a hand through his blond curls. “I can ask my brothers if either of them would be willing to take one of them in.”

“Okay.” Katniss nodded. “So...back to the other important piece of information dropped today… You’re a professional painter?”

Peeta laughed. “I guess so. Finnick asked me to do a few for his office and then word spread that way.”

“I’d love to see more. If-If that’s okay.”

“Of course. Come on.” He stood up and held out his hand, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world for her to take it. They walked hand in hand into his bedroom.

She looked around the room, taking in the similarities between her own room and his: the one small window, the closet with mirrored sliding doors, the white fan hanging from the ceiling. There was also a small bookcase that she noticed had the complete Harry Potter series on its shelves, making her smile, a plain black nightstand in the corner, and, of course, a bed, with a black headboard to match the nightstand, and an ivory bedspread on green sheets.

Peeta gestured to the wall opposite the bed, where three paintings hung side by side: one of a white cat she knew to be Poppy, another of a field of yellow flowers, and the third of a sailboat at sunset.

“That’s Finnick and Annie’s boat,” he said. “I have an album too, of pictures of paintings I’ve given or sold.”

“Can I see it?” she asked. Peeta nodded.

They balanced the album on their knees as they sat on his bed, side by side, poring over the pages. She saw the one she’d admired earlier, of the bird in flight, and so many more animals. Peeta said he mostly got calls from people wanting paintings of their pets. There were paintings of people too though: his family, Finnick and Annie on their wedding day (“I did that one from a picture they gave me. It’s hanging in their house now,” Peeta said.). She turned the page and saw a painting of a young boy with blond curls and blue eyes sitting huddled in a corner, crying, as a menacing shadow approached.

“Peeta…is that--” she stopped, she shouldn’t ask that.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said. He ran a hand through his hair. “My mother was...abusive...And, well, it helps to paint or draw out my nightmares and fears. I painted that one when I was fourteen.”

She wondered what had happened to the painting, if he’d burned it or kept it in storage somewhere. For some reason, she felt sure he hadn’t sold it or given it away. It occurred to her that the rest of the album probably had more pictures of personal paintings, so she closed it, setting it aside. She didn’t need to read his visual diary. “I’m so sorry, Peeta,” she whispered.

It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough, but she was suddenly filled with the need to keep Peeta from pain, to lock him up tight somewhere where he could never be hurt. She settled on wrapping her arms around him. This was close enough, she decided. Peeta returned her embrace after a moment, and though Katniss’s body was at an awkward angle because they were sitting, she didn’t care. She took in Peeta’s scent of bread and cinnamon and felt warmth spread throughout her body.

Poppy jumped onto her lap suddenly and she laughed. “I guess she wanted to join us,” Katniss said against Peeta’s shoulder.

Peeta broke the hug, laughing too. “I haven’t been paying enough attention to you lately, huh?” he said, stroking Poppy’s head gently.

Absurdly, Katniss felt jealous of the cat, wishing Peeta would stroke her hair. She blushed at the thought, and then blushed harder when she thought of how she was sitting on his bed and blushing.

“Oh and as far as a kittening box goes,” Peeta said, “I can get a box from work and we can make it together?”

“Yeah,” Katniss said. “That sounds good.” Finnick had given them advice on that too, on how to prepare a box for Poppy to give birth in. It was still six weeks away, but she felt relief from stress she hadn’t known she had at their plan. She was glad Peeta was including her in each step of this process.

They would get through this.

Saturday, October 15th

Finnick and Annie’s boat looked just the way it did in Peeta’s painting with its white sail and blue hull and the words The Knot painted on the side in gold letters.

Katniss had met Finnick before, obviously, but she’d been surprised that time. It felt a much bigger deal to be meeting Finnick and Annie under these circumstances. To have even been invited out with them on their boat had shocked her, but Peeta said that Finnick had liked her when he’d met her and that he wanted to get to know her better. She didn’t know what any of this meant, but maybe she should’ve chosen a more expensive champagne to bring. Was champagne even the thing to bring in this situation? She’d never even been out on a boat before except that one time she went on a whale watching tour with Prim and she got really sick. Oh no, she thought, what if I get seasick again?

As the four of them climbed into the boat and she got settled in, she felt some of her nerves disappear. The soft, white leather cushions beneath her felt so much more reassuring than the swaying, wooden dock she’d been standing on before.

Finnick and Peeta untied the boat from the dock, and, with Finnick in the driver’s seat, they set off.

“So...Katniss, what do you do for a living?” Annie asked, sitting beside her. She was every bit as beautiful as Finnick was handsome, and Katniss watched her brown hair billowing in the wind for a moment, mesmerized, before answering.

“I’m an accountant.” She was surprised Peeta hadn’t told them already, but perhaps it had simply never come up.

Annie nodded and then moved on to the question that everyone always asks: “Are you seeing anybody?”

“No, no, definitely not.” She blushed. It was a simple yes or no question, why had she said no three times like that? Thankfully, she ignored her strange answer and moved on. Katniss was glad that they’d gotten the most awkward questions out of the way before they’d even taken the boat out of the harbor.

Immediately the conversation turned to Annie talking up Peeta’s baking skills, which Katniss already knew were extraordinary. She described for her a cake he’d made for a wedding last week that had three tiers and a pattern like tossing waves with dolphins made of sugar on it. Of course, Katniss had known about the cake for weeks and had seen the pictures of it that Peeta had texted her when he finished it, but she pretended to be shocked.

It was clear to her that Annie was trying to set her up with Peeta, and that was absurd since she was twenty-four and he was twenty-eight, they weren’t a couple of shy teenagers. But...weren’t they? Her head hurt.

When Finnick decided they were far enough out, he killed the engine and he and Peeta joined them. They passed around sandwiches that Finnick had prepared for them: grilled chicken and avocado with spices Katniss couldn’t recall the names of.

Once everyone had their sandwiches, Annie took out little plastic cups for the champagne and poured one for everyone. Katniss drank hers gratefully, and smiled when Peeta poured her a second. She saw Finnick and Annie smiling at Peeta’s thoughtfulness too and she only barely resisted rolling her eyes.

But, it turns out, having two glasses of champagne when you’re prone to seasickness is a bad idea. The trip ended early when Katniss got seasick and threw up all over the side of the boat. Peeta held her hair back and steadied her during the trip back to shore. She didn't know how he did it, but Peeta seemed to be an immovable rock out there at sea. She could barely feel the waves at all when he held her in his arms.

She stopped feeling nauseous before she got back to her apartment and was instead seized with an incredible amount of exhaustion. She could barely keep her eyes open enough to brush her teeth and get into pajamas. Peeta tucked her in and stroked her hair softly, telling her to call him if she needed him. She was so sleepy, she was dreaming already, wasn't she?

"I need you now," she whispered. "Hold me." She felt his arms wrap around her and she rolled over to rest her head on his chest. She felt the rise and fall of each breath he took and the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. This was a good dream, she decided. A very good dream.

Sunday, October 16th

Peeta wasn't there when she woke up, but the right side of her bed looked slept in and her sheets smelled of cinnamon. Peeta had definitely been there then, it hadn't been a dream. But what happens now? She wondered. Where did he go?

He wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. She was just about to head over to his apartment when he let himself into hers.

“Hey,” Peeta said. “I was just feeding Poppy.”

“Oh,” Katniss said. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest, looking anywhere but at him.

Peeta ran a hand through his hair. “I fed Buttercup too, earlier. Hope that’s okay. Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Katniss said, nodding. “Thanks for...taking care of me last night.”

“No problem.”

She didn’t know how this had already gone so wrong. She didn’t know how to fix it. But when she crossed the room to Peeta and wrapped her arms around his middle, she knew she hadn’t broken anything.

Peeta cleared his throat. “So...did you want to make the kittening box today? I got a box from work…”

“Sure,” she said.

She dressed quickly, slipping on jeans and a tee shirt, and Peeta made scrambled eggs for breakfast for them. She wasn’t feeling nauseous at all anymore, but she didn’t mind that he was feeding her hangover food. It was sweet.

Making the box really only took twenty minutes, with Peeta making the cuts to the box and Katniss reading out the instructions from the about.com page she’d found. It gave her flashbacks to putting Ikea furniture together with Prim.

“Have you thought about where you’re going to put it?”

“Yeah, I figured the corner of my bedroom should be good,” he said, stepping back from the box. “Well, that looks good to me. Now we just have to lay some newspaper inside and see if Poppy likes it.”

“Do you snore? What if it’s not quiet enough in your bedroom for her?” She blushed, realizing only belatedly that she was also commenting on his sex life. But whatever, he’d been spending every day with her for the last six weeks, so clearly he wasn’t seeing anyone.

“Yeah, I was actually planning on sleeping on the couch,” Peeta said, running a hand through his hair.

She handed Peeta pages of newspaper and he lay them inside until he was satisfied. “Okay, done.”

She wanted to offer that Peeta could sleep in her bed, with her, but she knew that she couldn’t. She let the moment pass.

Monday, October 31st

They had plans to pass out candy together and watch Hocus Pocus, but so far there’d only been two trick-or-treaters and they were eating most of the candy themselves.

She was already feeling a little nauseous from too many Junior Mints, but whatever, they were delicious.

They’d been taking turns being on Poppy Watch the last few days. The kittens were due any day now and they didn’t know when exactly they would come. They were both on duty tonight. There was a bag of supplies in the closet and Poppy had taken to sleeping in the kittening box they’d made for the last couple weeks, so all that was left was to wait. It should be soon though, she’d been purring and crying all day and according to all the reading they’d done on the topic, that meant the kittens should arrive at some point in the next twenty-four hours.

“You know, Binx is one of my all-time favorite movie cats,” Katniss said as he made his first appearance in the movie as a cat.

“Oh yeah?” Peeta asked, taking a bite of a Redvine. “Who else makes the list?”

“Okay, well, I also love Salem from Sabrina, though obviously that’s a TV show.”

“Right. Who else?” Peeta was smiling, she knew he was messing with her and she was surprised to learn she liked it.

“All of the cats from Aristocats, Luna and Artemis from Sailor Moon--Sailor Moon had movies, don’t look at me like that--Felix the Cat, the cat from Homeward Bound--” Katniss stopped because Peeta was laughing so hard. “What?”

“I’m just surprised you could name so many.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I just think you like cats more than you realize.”

She had nothing to say to that so she stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed the Redvines from him. It wasn’t that she’d ever hated cats, only Buttercup, though now she found she had overwhelming affection for him since he’d brought her to Peeta.

She was curled up against Peeta on the couch, so he was able to grab a Redvine from the box when she wasn’t looking and she smiled, though she didn’t let him see.

“I think it’s time to check on Poppy again,” Peeta said. “I’ll be right back.” She nodded without looking away from the TV as he got up and left the room.

He reappeared suddenly, looking strange. “It’s time. The kittens are coming!” He hurriedly got the bag they’d prepared out of the closet and asked her to call Finnick and get a bowl of warm water and went back into his room.

Katniss shut the TV off and ran to the kitchen, wondering how she was supposed to heat up water in this case. Boil it? Stick it in the microwave? She put a pot of water on the stove without knowing if that was right and called Finnick while she waited.

Finnick picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Poppy’s giving birth!” She yelled into the phone. “Peeta’s in the room with her and I’m heating up water and the kittens are coming and I read all the stuff but I don’t think I can go in there, Finnick. I really can’t do this.”

“Katniss, it’s going to be okay,” Finnick was speaking calmly in his doctor voice, and she appreciated it. It helped soothe her. “I’m going to get in my car and be right over, but I need you to put me on speaker and place the phone near Peeta, okay? I promise you don’t have to be in the room unless we need you.”

“Okay,” Katniss nodded her head. “Thank you.” She brought the phone into Peeta’s room, turning it on speaker and setting it down on the edge of his bed nearest where he knelt on the floor by the kittening box. “Finnick’s on the phone. I’m working on the water.”

Back in the kitchen, she stared at the pot of water, wondering how many ways there were to heat up water. It had to boil, right? And then cool enough to be used on the kittens? She couldn’t remember, but that seemed the most logical thing to do so she waited until the water was boiling and then shut off the stove.

Katniss called Prim while she waited for the water to cool. Hopefully Peeta didn’t need the water right away? What if he needed it and the water was too hot? She started pacing back and forth as the phone rang. Prim had a couple of exams this next week so she was in her room studying when she answered and she screamed into the phone when Katniss told her the kittens were coming and she had to hold the phone away from her face until she calmed down. Prim asked Katniss to take lots of pictures for her and said she couldn’t wait to see them when she came home for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.

She started pacing faster when she got off the phone, without Prim’s voice to distract her, the minutes before Finnick arrived were ticking by slowly. After two more trick-or-treaters came, she deemed the water suitably warm and poured it into a bowl, bringing it to Peeta in his room.

She mumbled an apology and set it on his nightstand. She heard Finnick’s voice through the phone saying he was just pulling up outside and she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d completed the two tasks Peeta had set for her: get Finnick and a bowl of warm water.

When the doorbell rang again, Katniss opened the door for Finnick and he rushed into Peeta’s room without preamble. She resumed pacing back and forth.

Thirty minutes later, Katniss found herself cleaning Peeta’s kitchen counter. They were bringing new kittens into the world! This place needed to be spotless! She put the Halloween candy that they’d been eating away too, in a top shelf of one of his cabinets where no cat or kitten could ever get it.

She wondered if Buttercup was okay in her apartment, if he could somehow sense what was happening next door and was clawing at the walls trying to get here.

After what must have been hours, Peeta burst out of his room. “It’s a girl!” He was smiling. “And a boy!”

She threw her arms around his neck and he grabbed her around the waist, squeezing her so tight her feet left the ground. She was happy, giddy even, and they were both saying “We did it!” so many times it lost meaning. When she slid back to the floor, she looked up at him. His smile had faded and his eyes were staring so intensely into hers that she was acutely aware that mere inches separated them.

Peeta leaned in slowly, giving her enough time to turn away if she didn’t want his kiss, but instead she reached up, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him down to her.

Chapter Text

October 31st (continued)

Peeta’s lips on hers were better than Katniss had imagined, and oh how many times she’d imagined this exact moment. But never quite like this. Never with newborn baby kittens and Finnick in the next room while their lips met over and over in a series of kisses that started gentle and brief and grew in duration and intensity as time went on. She was lightheaded and dizzy when they finally both pulled away.

His lips were red from both her kiss and the Redvines they had earlier and she smiled. Peeta pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered something she couldn’t catch before grabbing her hand and leading her into his bedroom.

“Look, Katniss,” he whispered. And there they were. Two tiny, baby kittens, their newborn pink skin showing through their patches of yellow and white fur. 

Poppy blinked sleepy eyes up at Katniss, then turned back to her kittens, brushing their fur with her tongue. 

“Poppy’s doing well,” Finnick said, smiling at them both. “And both kittens are healthy, one boy and one girl.”

“Oh!” Katniss cried in delight. Now they had one of each, how sweet. She wondered if there was a way for them to keep the kittens, she was sure Buttercup and Poppy wouldn’t want to be separated from them. 

Buttercup wouldn’t be able to see the kittens until they were older, perhaps around Christmas, which seemed unfair, but was for the safety of the kittens so Katniss wanted to do what was best. 

“Call me if you need anything,” Finnick said. “I should get back to Annie, we were in the middle of a movie.” 

Peeta and Katniss laughed and thanked him profusely for coming over. After Finnick left, Katniss sat on the edge of Peeta’s bed and stared at their little cat family in awe. 

She took her phone out to snap a quick picture of the babies to send to Prim, captioned “Buttercup’s a dad!”

Peeta sat beside her. “Amazing, aren’t they?” She nodded. “Should we give them some privacy?” She nodded again. Peeta laughed. “Let’s finish the rest of the movie.” He took her hand and led her back to the couch, where she curled up next to him to finish Hocus Pocus. 

Monday, November 7th

“There you are,” Peeta said, joining her on the balcony. She’d been joining Peeta for dinner after work every night, so he must’ve come looking for her when she didn’t come over. “What are you doing out here? It’s cold out.”

“You see those three stars in a row right there?” She said, pointing to them. It was a clear night, and though the city lights were bright, the stars she wanted him to see were bright too. “They’re part of the constellation Orion, they make up his belt. He’s standing like this, see?” She demonstrated, raising one arm over her head like she was holding a club, the other out in front of her for the shield, and bent her knees, getting into a battle stance. She felt silly, so she let her arms fall and went back to leaning against the balcony railing, not looking at him. “Orion was a hunter, he even hunted with Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. There are a lot of stories about him, not very flattering ones, but I think my father felt so connected to him because he was a hunter too.

“When we went on camping trips together, we’d lay out in our sleeping bags under the night sky, and he’d tell us the stories of the stars. I come out here sometimes...when I miss him. I live somewhere he’s never been, living a life he doesn’t get to see, and… I feel closer to him when I look at the stars. Like he’s here with me.” She paused for a moment, blinking the tears from her eyes. “Today’s his birthday.” 

“ Oh Katniss, I’m so sorry,” Peeta said. He put his arm around her and she nodded, turning into him so he was holding her. “Will you tell me one of the stories?”

She nodded and she did. She told him the one about how Orion’s constellation was created: how Orion vowed to kill every creature on Earth, so the goddess of the Earth, Gaea, sent a giant scorpion to kill him, and Artemis asked that her friend be honored in the night sky, and he was. It was a sad story, of a friendship ruined by bloodlust. She always sympathized with Artemis, having her relationship with her best friend end like that. In some stories, he was her lover, but she didn’t believe those stories. 

“Thanks for sharing that with me,” Peeta said when she was done. She looked up at him, his face mere inches from hers. 

“Thanks for listening,” she said, but it came out breathless. His breath was warm on her face and smelled of spearmint. He must’ve just brushed his teeth then, she thought. She felt dizzy suddenly, and goosebumps erupted all along her arms. “Let’s go inside.” 

“You know… You don’t have to keep sleeping on the couch, Peeta,” she said. “You can sleep in my bed with me.”

“Are you sure?” Peeta asked, his eyes wide.

“Yes,” she said. She was sure. And in a way, she was glad of the excuse that she didn’t want him to sleep on the couch, when truthfully she just really wanted to sleep with him. 

Peeta took her hand and led her to his apartment, where they ate the dinner he’d made together. Afterward, they did the dishes together and Peeta got ready for bed before returning to Katniss’s apartment. Katniss put her head on Peeta’s chest, he wrapped his arm around her, and she promptly fell asleep. 

Wednesday November 23rd

“So, where’s your boyfriend?” Prim asked. She was staying with their mom for Thanksgiving weekend, but she stopped by Katniss’s apartment to see Buttercup and the kittens. 

“He’s not my boyfriend, but he’s at work. I have a key to his apartment though, so we can still go see the kittens,” she said, taking Peeta’s key off the hook by the door. 

Prim raised her eyebrows, following Katniss into the hallway. “So he’s not your boyfriend, but you have a key to his apartment?” 

“We’re neighbors, Prim,” she said, unlocking Peeta’s door. “We help each other take care of our cats and we’re taking care of the kittens together… We’ve only been dating for a few weeks.” 

“Sure, Katniss,” Prim said, following Katniss into the apartment. “Wow, Peeta’s apartment is so clean!”

“Seen too many college guys’ dorms lately?” Katniss asked, laughing. 

“Actually, yeah,” Prim said, laughing. “Glad to see some of them grow up eventually.” 

Katniss remembered her own college roommates' messes that caused several arguments and laughed again. 

“The kittens are in here,” Katniss said, and showed Prim into Peeta’s room. She saw Prim take in his made bed that he hadn’t slept in since he’d started sleeping in her room a couple weeks ago, his ivory bedspread and black headboard, the books on his bookshelves, and the paintings on his walls. 

“Peeta made these?” Prim asked, surprised. “He’s really good.”

“Yeah,” she said, blushing for some unknown reason. “He is.”

“So if this is the kittens’ room, where’s Peeta been sleeping?” Prim asked, raising her eyebrows. 

Katniss looked away and didn’t answer. She knew Prim was an adult now, but she still didn’t want to have that conversation with her little sister. She’d started having sex with Peeta shortly after their new sleeping arrangements started, and Katniss wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed, but she didn’t want to talk about it with Prim.

Prim laughed when Katniss didn’t answer and turned her attention to the kittens. “They’re so cute! Can I hold them?” 

Katniss nodded. “Finnick says it’s okay to hold them now.” Prim picked up Daffodil, the one with a yellow spot on her nose, and held her close to her chest, petting her softly as she did. 

“Oh Katniss, we have to keep them,” she said. 

“What do you mean we ?” Katniss said, raising her eyebrows. 

“Oh you know what I mean! And I won’t be in school forever, I can take one of the kittens after I graduate in a few years,” Prim said. Katniss sighed, she had no plans to get rid of the kittens, but this was a big thing for Prim to ask. 

Prim pulled out her phone and started taking pictures of the kittens. When she was satisfied, she turned to Katniss with a smile on her face. “You know what we should do?”

There was a line when they got to Mellark’s Bakery, but Annie took one look at them and went in the back to get Peeta. He came out a moment later with fresh cinnamon rolls for them and Prim clapped her hands. 

“Oh I love you already!” Prim said, laughing and giving him a hug. 

Peeta laughed too, sitting down with them at a table. “It’s nice to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you.” 

“Likewise,” Prim said, looking sideways at Peeta and Katniss felt her cheeks heat. Prim took a bite of the cinnamon roll and moaned. “Ok this is too good! Do you have a younger brother?” 

“No,” Peeta said, laughing. “I have two older brothers, but I’ll make you cinnamon rolls whenever you want, how’s that?”

“Perfect!” Prim said. They started talking about Thanksgiving plans for the next day and how Prim’s classes were going at school and Katniss felt warmth spread through her chest at the sight of the two of them getting along. She imagined a whole future with Peeta, gatherings with her family over the years, and it felt so right , like of course that’s what her future looked like. She sighed in contentment and took another bite of her cinnamon roll. 

Thursday, November 24th, Thanksgiving

The Mellark family does their big Thanksgiving meal around noon, since they keep baker’s hours and start cooking early in the day. Katniss and Peeta decided to join them for Thanksgiving lunch before heading to her mother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. 

“We don’t have to stay long,” Peeta said. “I’m really not happy with my parents right now, since they voted for Trump. So really, the earlier we leave, the better.”

“Okay,” Katniss said. “Are you sure you don’t want to skip it?” 

“I’m sure,” Peeta said, clenching his jaw. “I’ll be fine because you’re here.” 

Katniss took his hand in hers. She hadn’t forgotten what he’d told her about his family’s abuse when he was a child. Perhaps she could fake an illness if he needed to leave? She was a terrible actress, but she thought she could do a coughing fit pretty well.

“Sorry I got into an argument with your mom,” Katniss said a couple hours later. 

Peeta laughed. “That’s okay.” Mrs. Mellark had made a comment about immigrants that had made Katniss so mad, they’d gotten into a heated argument. Immigrants committed crimes at a lower rate than people born in the United States, and Katniss was sick of people saying the opposite. 

“I just got so mad,” she said, shrugging helplessly.

“Well, my brothers loved you,” he said. He showed her his phone, where there was a text message thread with his two brothers. 

Rye : Dude Katniss yelling at our mom about immigrant rights was amazing btw 👏👏👏

Brad: My wife really appreciated what Katniss said to our mom ❤️ 

And then there were a bunch of quotes of what she’d said followed by mic drop gifs. 

“I’m still sorry for causing drama,” Katniss said, though she was starting to feel a bit better. 

“You didn’t say anything I don’t agree with, Katniss,” he hugged her. “If my mother is mad about this, I honestly don’t care. I don’t talk to her or see her outside of holidays anyway. I’m glad you got to meet my brothers and my nephew today.” 

Katniss nodded, she’d been enjoying getting to know his cousin Delly too. Hopefully the next time she saw his family, she could focus on spending time with them and try harder to avoid talking to his mom. 

“Let’s go see your mom now,” Peeta said. They stopped by his apartment to grab the pies he’d left in the fridge and headed over. Her mom still had the Clinton-Kaine sign in her front yard, and Katniss smiled. 

It was just the four of them for dinner, and Prim was a vegetarian, so Asterid had made a chicken instead of a turkey and mashed potatoes. Prim had made the sweet potatoes and cranberries and they’d made a green bean casserole together. The food felt like home to Katniss, and brought back the memories of a dozen Thanksgivings she’d had when her father was alive. He made the turkey then, back when Prim still ate meat, and he was always so proud of the final product when he brought it out of the oven. She loved her family and tried hard to make new memories with them, but there was always the cloud of “my father should be here” that she could never seem to shake.

Peeta took her hand under the table, seeming to sense where she’d gone in her head, and she squeezed his hand gratefully. She was so glad she had him in her life, she couldn’t believe they’d only known each other a few months, it felt like she’d known him her whole life. Like he was always meant to be in it. 

“Peeta, do you have a favorite thing to bake?” Asterid asked as they all ate the pies Peeta had brought.

“I love decorating cakes and cookies,” Peeta said. “I’m also a painter, so anytime I get to combine my two passions is wonderful.”

“The cakes at his bakery are beautiful, mom! You should see them,” Prim said, smiling. 

“I’ll have to stop by sometime,” Asterid agreed. “Especially if the cakes are as good as this pie.”

“The cinnamon rolls are to die for,” Prim said and Katniss laughed. “Peeta promised he’d make them for me anytime he wanted.” 

“I’m a man of my word,” Peeta said and Asterid smiled. Katniss felt warmth spread through her at their exchange, easily picturing a future with Peeta again. 

Saturday, December 10th

Peeta couldn’t put up too many decorations for Christmas in his apartment because the kittens were old enough now that they got into everything. He settled on a simple garland around the fireplace and helped Katniss decorate her tree. They put on Christmas music and danced together while putting the lights on the tree. 

Katniss had a box of ornaments from when she was a child that she’d taken from her mother’s house. She showed Peeta the ornaments that she’d made over the years and he smiled at her. 

“I’m in love with you,” Peeta said, looking deep into her eyes. 

Katniss froze. “You can’t be in love with me,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “You don’t even know me.”

“Katniss…” Peeta’s eyes look impossibly sad and she hated being the one that made him look like that.

“If you knew the real me, you wouldn’t love me,” she said, shaking her head again. She stood up from the couch and took a step back, needing distance from him. 

“What makes you think that?” Peeta said, standing too, his brow furrowing in confusion. 

“I’m stubborn.”

“I knew that part,” he nodded, crossing his arms. 

“I have a temper.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. 

“I’m mean and cynical.” 

“Katniss…” he said softly, uncrossing his arms. “Look, all of us can be mean, but I’ve seen you treat our cats, our friends, our family with nothing but kindness. You don’t have to be a saint to be worthy of love.” 

“But—“ Katniss was crying now. “It feels like I need to be… to be worthy of your love.”

“Katniss, you have my love. It’s yours, whether or not you feel you deserve it. And it always will be,” he said and he crossed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. She pressed her cheek against his chest and wrapped her arms around his middle, hugging him tightly. 

“Okay,” she mumbled into his chest, taking a deep, shaky breath. 

“Always,” he repeated, stroking her back softly. 

After a moment, she looked up at him. “I love you too, you know that?”

Peeta nodded. “I know.” He pressed his lips to hers gently.

When they finished decorating the tree, they sat on the couch and smiled at the beauty of it. They’d done that together and it wasn’t perfect, but it was just what they needed.

December 25th

“Merry Christmas, Katniss!” Peeta said, smiling at her as she walked into her kitchen. Peeta was flipping pancakes on the stove and she smiled at him.

“Merry Christmas, Peeta!” She gave him a light kiss in greeting before sitting down on one of the stools by the counter. 

He handed her a plate of eggs, pancakes, and bacon and urged her to eat before it got cold while he finished up. She did, moaning at how good they were. When she took a bite of the bacon, her stomach gave a sudden lurch. Uh oh.

She sprinted to the bathroom, where she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She rinsed out her mouth and looked under her sink for her mouth wash. She spied her package of maxi pads under the sink and sat back on her heels, her mouth open in shock. 

Katniss started doing some math, counting on her fingers, and walked back into the kitchen on shaky legs. Peeta was putting the rest of the food onto plates. “I was thinking we should bring Buttercup over to meet Poppy and the kittens after breakfast and then we can exchange gifts? What do you think?” 

“Sounds good,” Katniss said in a small voice. 

“Are you okay?” Peeta asked, concerned. 

“Yeah, I’m just not feeling well,” she said. 

“Oh. Well, we don’t have to go anywhere today, I can text your mom and my parents that we’re going to stay in today,” Peeta said. 

“That sounds good,” Katniss said, meaning it. Peeta took out his phone and sent the texts before sitting down to eat breakfast. Katniss nibbled on toast and that helped to settle her stomach. 

After breakfast, they took Buttercup to Peeta’s apartment and introduced him to his kittens. He immediately nuzzled Poppy’s neck and started purring. The kittens began climbing on him and he sat and let them, blinking sleepily at them. 

Peeta and Katniss sat down on the couch while the kittens played and he went and got her Christmas present from his room. It was a rectangle in wrapping paper with a big bow on it. Katniss ripped off the wrapping to find a painting Peeta had done of Buttercup, Poppy, and the kittens. 

“It’s beautiful,” Katniss said. “Thank you.” 

“I love you, Katniss,” Peeta said. “And I’ve loved taking care of our kittens together. My lease is up soon, and I was wondering if you’d want to move in together?” 

“Peeta, I’m pregnant.”

Chapter Text

Epilogue

One Year Later, Christmas Day

Katniss held baby Ginger in her arms as she nursed. She was almost four months old and growing bigger every day. She kicked her little feet and wrapped her hand around Katniss’s finger and Katniss never seemed able to stop staring at her. Her darling daughter. 

Prim and her mother were joining them in a bit for breakfast, which Peeta was working on in the kitchen. Katniss and Peeta had moved in together shortly after they found out Katniss was pregnant, staying in Katniss’s apartment until her lease was up in June and then moving into a two-bedroom apartment across town that was closer to her mother. For now, the second bedroom was a room for their four cats while Ginger’s crib was in their room. They’ll move Ginger in there once she starts sleeping through the night, and the cats will move into their bedroom and the living room. 

Their new apartment also had a washer and dryer in it, which helped the new parents. It was hard keeping their apartment clean with the four cats in it, but thankfully Peeta was really good about keeping up on household chores. Katniss usually was too, but since giving birth, she found herself much more tired than usual. Peeta told her not to worry about it, that she’d done all the hard work of carrying, birthing, and feeding their daughter, so she should relax as much as she could now. 

Ginger finished nursing and Katniss replaced her bra and t-shirt, holding her close. Ginger smiled up at her mother and Katniss smiled back, “Merry Christmas, baby girl. I love you so much.” She stroked her finger along her little cheek and poked her gently in the nose, making Ginger laugh. 

A knock at the door signaled her mother and Prim were here and she got up to answer it. “Merry Christmas, Katniss!” They hugged her and her mother took Ginger from her arms, cooing over her granddaughter. 

“You see her all the time, Aunt Prim needs some Ginger time,” Prim said and took Ginger from Asterid’s arms. 

Asterid laughed and joined Peeta in the kitchen to help finish up breakfast. Prim joined Katniss on the couch and held Ginger in her lap. “She gets cuter every day, Katniss! I can’t stand it!” She kissed her cheek. 

Katniss laughed. “I know, I can’t believe it myself.” She had Peeta’s blue eyes and Katniss’s dark hair and she was the most beautiful baby she’d ever seen. 

“So has there been any more talk about the wedding?” Prim asked, raising her eyebrows. 

Peeta had proposed immediately after they found out Katniss was pregnant, but Katniss had rejected him, saying they’d only been dating for a couple months, and she’d prefer to not rush into anything because she was pregnant. Peeta had proposed again when they’d moved into their new apartment in June and Katniss had accepted. She wore the engagement ring he’d gotten her with pride, but they hadn’t set a date yet. 

“I like the idea of a spring wedding, but that’s coming so soon…” Katniss trailed off. 

“Well, if you aim for my spring break in April, and you don’t want too many guests… I think it’s doable and I’d love to help out! We can go wedding dress shopping next week with all the after Christmas sales!” 

Prim was so excited and she did need the help, so she said, “Thank you, Prim. I couldn’t do this without my maid of honor.” Prim squealed and gave her a one-armed hug since Ginger was still in her lap. 

“Breakfast is ready!” Asterid called from the kitchen and she started setting the table. Peeta had made blueberry muffins, chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, sausage, and hash browns. There was also fresh sourdough bread that Peeta had cut into slices and fresh fruit. 

“Peeta, this is gorgeous,” Katniss said and gave him a quick kiss. 

“Thank you, honey,” he said. 

Prim held Ginger in her lap while she ate, unwilling to put her down. 

After breakfast, they exchanged gifts. Katniss got a leather portfolio for Prim for when she goes on job interviews and she and Peeta had both gotten a gift card to a nice spa for her mother. Peeta also got Prim a book of all his favorite recipes, which she said she’d love for him to show her how to make. 

Peeta got a new leather wallet from Asterid, some comical oven mitts with cats on them from Prim, and Katniss had gotten him an Apple Watch. Selfishly, this meant Peeta would see all her text messages right away, but it also meant that he could keep track of his heart rate when he went running. He’d been doing that less since Ginger was born and Katniss was trying to encourage him to get back into his morning runs.

Ginger ended up with a good haul. She got a beautiful little Christmas outfit from Asterid, a handmade knit cap from Prim, and an iPod from Peeta full of lullabies. Katniss had gotten her a new ornament that said “Baby’s First Christmas 2017” and just looking at it made Katniss tear up and hold her baby tight. This was their first Christmas with her, but they had a lifetime of Christmases with her ahead of them. 

When it was Katniss’s turn to open presents, she got a white sweatsuit from Prim that said “Bride” on the butt, making her laugh. Her mother had gotten her a new diaper bag with a coupon inside for one free weekend of watching Ginger and Katniss hugged her tightly and thanked her enthusiastically. She and Peeta hadn’t had much of a break since becoming new parents, and she would really appreciate a full weekend of sleeping through the night and being alone with her fiancé. She opened Peeta’s gift last and it was two tickets to Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour. 

“WHAT?!” Katniss screamed. “How did you get these?!” 

“I bought them a few weeks ago when they went on sale and I wanted to surprise you,” Peeta said.

“Oh my god, I love you! Thank you, Peeta!” Katniss cried, jumping into his lap and kissing him. 

“The concert’s not until the summer,” Peeta said, laughing. “Sorry you didn't get a present to enjoy today.” 

“The only thing you should be sorry about is not telling me sooner! I can’t believe you kept this a secret for WEEKS!” Katniss said, shaking her head. But she wasn’t truly mad, she’d been trying to get tickets for the cheap seats and they’d sold out too quickly for her to get them and he’d just gone ahead and paid for the more expensive (and better) seats. She loved him. 

After they cleaned up all the wrapping paper and put away their presents, Katniss let the cats out of their room. She sat on the couch curled up next to Peeta as Prim played with Ginger and the kittens on the rug in front of the Christmas tree. Her mother sang along softly to the Christmas music playing and went to make hot chocolate for everyone. 

Katniss picked up where her mother left off, singing softly, and Peeta turned his head to kiss her temple. “Your voice…” he trailed off. “So beautiful.” She squeezed his hand. 

“I love our life, Peeta,” she said, the words bursting out of her. 

“I do too, Katniss,” he said. “I do too.”