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Peeta stared at the burnt cookies on the counter. He didn't burn things, not unless there was a purpose, and this was the third time this has happened since they had returned from the games. He considered throwing them away but decided to hand them out to kids in the seem instead. They were just a little burnt and would be better than nothing. He put the cookies in a basket and headed out. He stopped When he saw Katniss walking out of her home, he froze. He knew that his lack of attention was due to the revelation that the love of his life was just pretending to be into him to save herself. He tried to pull himself together and waved slightly trying to smile.

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"Okay We'll just see what we can find." It was worth a shot but this was a good enough excuse he guessed.

She smiled, before starting to pay attention to where they were going as they entered town. More than one path, more people to run into, she couldn't just navigate by instinct.

"So, where to first, town boy?"

"Why don't we start at the bakery and then see what else we might need." He smiled at her, wondering if buying her flowers would be too much. Everything was so confusing with her, and even thought he knew it was wrong, part of him still thought she loved him. He knew things were complicated, and he could expect her to sort her feelings out right in the middle of everything that was going on. He just didn't want to cross boundaries and upset her. The hard part about that was not knowing where the boundaries were.

She shrugged.

"Sounds good."

Being around Peet'as family, especially his mother, was a little awkward. But she stayed near his side, hand locked in his, and smiled when it seemed right. His dad, at least made things easier.

Peeta made his visit quick and tried to avoid the barrage of awkward questions from his brothers. His mother thankfully excused herself almost as soon as she saw Katniss. He bought a few loaves of bread and some tarts, as well as goat cheese. He asked his father what else would be good on their little outing and he provided things from most of the stores around.

Peeta smiled his thanks, glad that his father could read his mind. He always could, and that made him sad. He missed his father, and it made him feel awful, but he was the only one. It was the only down side to not living there anymore, waking up early and baking with his dad. It was one of the few times he spoke freely and at length. He came back a few times, but it felt different. Almost like his dad was jealous that Peeta had gotten the girl that he had failed to in the previous generation. It broke his heart.

"Shall we?" He asked Katniss guiding her through the other stores grabbing odds and ends, with a new type of melancholy hanging around him.

"Let's."

She lead him through town, fingers still tangled together, and then down through the seam. As the houses began to be less numerous, she ducked into their old house, hissing back at Buttercup as the cat greeted them in similar.

"We can leave what we're not taking to the picnic here and pick it up on the way home."

Peeta was still chuckling at the fact that she hisses at the cat. He wasn't sure why, but that had to be just about the cutest thing he had ever seen. It astonished how easily she could put him in a better mood. He set down the thing they weren't taking and arranged them in the sack he had bought.

"I'm ready when you are." He said with a smile offering his hand again.

She grabbed what she needed, and lead him to the loose length of fence. On quick glance to be sure no one was around, followed by a quick pause to listen for the hum of the fence, and then she dipped under it, holding up the chain link for him.

"Come on Peeta, quickly."

Peeta followed her orders and then smiled at her when they were on their way to the woods.

"It's beautiful out here." He said looking around trying to not connect how much it reminded him of the arena.

"Where are we going?" It didn't really matter, he was with her.

Well, that was actually a good question.

It didn't feel right to take him to her and Gale's outcropping. On several levels. But they couldn't just hunker down any old place.

She glance back. "Think you're up for a hike?"

"Lead the way." Peeta smiled squeezing her hand. This was turning out to be a really nice day.

"While we hike we should get to know each other better." At least it would give them something to talk about.

"Ah...all right."

Oh god, she wasn't good at this kind of thing. Picking her way through the forest, and watching out for anything that might catch Peeta's leg, she tried to think of something to ask him.

"Tell me about your family."

Why that question first, it was like she found the string that was dangling and started to pull. He just hoped he didn't unravel.

"Well," he was starting to choke up already. "I'm not very close to my mother, as you may have guessed. My brothers are, well, dicks for the most part." He paused trying his best to not cry talking about his dad. Maybe she would just let him slide.

"I always liked your dad best." She said softly, realizing she had treaded on a sensitive subject, but not sure how to gracefully back out.

Good job Katniss. Starting this well.

"Me too, we just haven't seen each other much since I got back." He said sadly, picking up his pace to keep up with her. He wasn't sure if he wanted to continue this line of thought.

"How did you start hunting?" Changing subject, good move Peeta.

"Uh, after...I mean. Everything with the bread, and the dandelion, I remember that my father had hunting equipment. And...I managed to find a way out and start working with it. Ran into Gale out there, and it just made sense to work together." She shrugged, pushing past a thick, richly scented bush, waving away a bee who had been disrupted.

"It helped us live." You helped us live.

"Dandelion? You mean the one I saw you picking the day after the bread, how did that help?" He remembered wondering why she would be picking a dandelion that day, but she looked so cute doing it he didn't ask questions. If he was honest though, he thought she looked cute doing anything.

She looked back, before chuckling. Her head shook as she looked forward again. No matter what, Peeta was still a town boy.

"You can eat them. That's what we survived off of the next few days, until I could figure out what else we could eat."

Peeta stopped abruptly. He knew what he needed to say but he wasn't sure how to say it.

"I don't regret being called." He paused before finishing. "I'm sorry that a lot of it happened, but I don't regret it. I'm glad I got to know you." He started walking again with out missing a beat, hoping she would let his little out burst pass.

She did keep walking, chewing it over. Peeta had a way with that, saying things that came, to her, from out of nowhere. Things like that, soul baring and open and everything Katniss wasn't.

And she had no idea how they made her feel.

"I...wish we had gotten to know each other some other way." She finally said, quietly. "But I would not have wanted to be there with anyone else."

Peeta leaned over and kissed her cheek then smiled softly. It was kinda scary how she could make him feel with just a few words. She could make his day with a smile.

"Where are we going?" He asked switching subjects to avoid any potential awkwardness.

"Uhh. It's pretty far in, but it's this lake..."

She tried to make it sound casual, like this one one of her most treasured places. But even she could hear how false it sounded.

"It's really beautiful." She added, hoping that would explain the catch in her voice.

"I can't wait." Smiling to himself, he realized that he felt completely at peace for the first time in a long time. He was here, he had faced every child's worst fear and he was alive with the most beautiful girl in Panem strolling in the woods. Tomorrow the world would surely burn, but today was perfect.

She lead him through the woods, going far slower than her normal pace, but not wanting to stress his leg. The realization she had no idea what shape it was in sent a little jag of guilt into her, but she pushed it away.

"Here it is." She said, stepping from the trees to the small clearing with the skeleton of a cabin, the lake sparkling and clear beyond it.

Jaw slightly slackened, Peeta set their basket down on a rock.

"Katniss , this is the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen." He turned to her and took her hands. "Thank you for sharing this with me." He smiled at her then leaned in to kiss her on the side of her mouth.