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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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"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.

She gave him a wide smile, cheeks pink. He appreciated it, and she was fairly sure if he hadn't, she...well, she wouldn't have brought him back.

"My...my father use to bring me here. Taught me to swim." She glances over, a twinkle in her eyes. "Can you swim, Peeta?"

"I've never had a chance to, but I would love to learn." Her father had brought her there. Suddenly it felt like a sacred place, and that made it even more special that she had showed it to him.

Then it dawned on him what swimming involved. Even though he had never done it he knew it wasn't done with your clothes on.

"I'll show you after we eat."

Leading him across the clearing to the small, sandy beach, she climbed up on to a large, flat rock. it was warm in the sun, and would be the perfect place to eat.

Her mind was very far from swimming in her undies. Her thought process hadn't caught up to that yet.

Peeta pushed away his slightly stiffening thoughts and started setting up the food. Every now and then he would glance up at her , she looked so different out here, in her element. Almost like a wild creature, a part of the woods. He remembered having very similar thought in the arena.

"Ready to eat." He sputtered blushing, once the food was set out.

"Incredibly ready." Picking up a piece of cheese, she started spreading it out on some of the bread, stretching out on the warm rock below them. This day was perfect.

Not just for the weather.

Peeta watched her eat her bread in the sun.
This was perfect, a quiet, sunlit lake and a pik-nik with the love of his life.

It was moments that made the games feel years behind him, a hazy dream that may or may not have happened. It made him feel light.

"So have you ever come outside of the fence at all?"

So much of her life was out here, she sometimes she forgot it was like a foreign world to town people. And many seam ones.

"No, kinda wish I had now." It was probably for the best really. He knew how suited he was for the forest, that was to say none.

"You know you're like a completely different person out here? It's not a bad thing, you just really come alive here. I really didn't think you could look anymore beautiful." He probably have stood to leave out the last part. He was doing really good at just being friends wasn't he?

Even thought this was weirdly like a date, and they had been holding hand all day. Really honestly thinking about it it just confused him.

She looked over, cheeks going pink, before she focused on the scuffed up toes of her boots.

"I just...out hear you can be yourself."

"The two of you are very lucky for that. I gather that Gale benefits from a place where he can voice his displeasure for the Capitol." His teeth sunk into his bottom lip. He knew that last comment might have seemed a bit like a jealous boyfriend remarking on the male friends his girlfriend kept. Mostly because even if it didn't have the right to be, that's what it was.

Gale was precious to her, and he knew it. That didn't mean the bond they had didn't drive him batty.

"Hows the bread." It was a desperate subject change, but hopefully it would work.

"Yeah." There was worry in her voice. It wasn't just idle chat now. And Gale was going to start pushing to hard, or pushing the wrong way. Get himself hurt.

Glad for the subject change, she pulled another piece off. "Good. It's always good."

"My dad has some magic touch I haven't mastered yet. I can't quiet get the raise just right the was he does, but on the other hand have you seen him frost a cake? I guess he both have our own strengths." He chuckled slightly at a joke that wasn't very funny.

He didn't know why he was so nervous all the sudden, this wasn't the first time they were alone in the woods. But that wasn't true was it? The last time they were they were being watched, performing for the masses. There was no one watching now, just the two of them in this beautiful scared place.

A place she had shared with him on their afternoon outing here. An outing that felt a lot like a date. And now he was babbling like an ass.

She chuckled anyway, looking over at him with her grey eyes lite up in amusement. Not really at the joke. Just at him, at the way he was out here.

Peeta was good. So good. That familiar heavy tug settled in her stomach. Far too good for her.

"Will you make me a cake for Prim's birthday?" She asked, wanting to think about something else.