A/N: So, I've made it and can't believe it. Only took me about 4 years. ggg

This is for the Tumblr February challenge "Love is ..." at loveinpanem and will most probably be a Two-Parter. The second part still needs to be finished, so no idea when that one will be published. Hopefully not in another 4 years. ;)

There would be no submission if there hadn't been a couple of ladies and their support and help. So, thank you thegirlfromoverthesea for your constant cheerleading and handholding. You brought me back to wirting, I never realized how much I missed it. Thank you greetingsfromthennorthernsea for our brainstorming and all your very helpful comments. And last but not least honeylime08 for the incredible betaing. I loved all those little comments you gave at certain parts. Without you this story would be in terrible shape. ggg

THANK YOU, ladies!

Enough now, let's start with the story. Hope you enjoy, comments would be lovely. ;)

All the best,
LitLove

Disclaimer: Not mine. Suzanne Collins has all the rights. I just love the characters and had to write something for them.

COUNTING ON LOVE

Part 1

Numbers were her thing.

Ever since her first lesson in mathematics back when she started school at the tender age of 6, Katniss loved to solve equations. She added, substracted, multiplied and divided. She draw graphs, she solved page long math riddles.

She loved numbers.

And even though there were people out there who thought it boring and stupefying, Katniss also loved being an accountant.

Oh, and she was good at it. It was fulfilling for her to know every aspect of her clients company, to know its monthly debits and credits to the T, to have the books clean and correct and always up to date.

No matter how chaotic or unorganised a new client was whenever they sought out her company's help, Katniss made sure the books were up and running within a short matter of time.

Tax authorities loved to work with her, always breathed a sigh of relief when they read her name as responsible for the account of the company they were reviewing.

So it took her by surprise when on Tuesday afternoon (she remembered it being a Tuesday because she had a burrito for lunch, and Tuesday was burrito-day in the cafeteria) her supervisor knocked on her office door and introduced her to her newest client.

And in stepped the most handsome man Katniss ever had laid eyes on.

She had no client meetings scheduled for that afternoon. Therefore she was fully aware of the orange spot on her white blouse left by the lunch-burrito, her messy hair hurriedly plaited into a braid over her shoulder, her slightly crooked glasses, and her heels unceremoniously abandoned on the other side of her desk.

Katniss jumped to her feet, simultaniously dripping some coffee on her now ruined blouse from the mug she held in her hand.

"Katniss," Leonard Boggs adressed her, an amused smirk playing around his mouth, "this is Peeta Mellark, our newest client. Mr. Mellark, this is Ms. Katniss Everdeen. She'll be responsible for your account. If you have any questions, please simply contact her."

The blond man stepped forward, his right hand outstreched. A huge smile was plastered on his face, and his eyes shone like two sparkling sapphires. Katniss felt like her coffee mug was the only thing holding her up. It was an automatic reaction to stretch out her arm as well and take her newest client's hand to shake.

As soon as their hands touched it felt like an electrical jolt floated from her fingers through her arms and all the way down to her toes.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Everdeen."

The sound of his voice made her skin break out in goose bumps. It was velvety, masculine, rich ... perfect. Only a few moments later - their hands still clasped and lightly shaking - she remembered that she still had to reply.

"Likewise," she blurted out, with the hint of a nervous squeak at the end.

Never before did Katniss wish to be more articulate and charming. She felt like the most awkward person to ever walk the face of the earth.

"Well," Boggs interrupted, "I'll let you two get started. Goodbye, Mr. Mellark. Katniss."

And off he was, leaving her behind with a man who made her knees weak and her voice shake.

This was going to be very interessing.

xXx

It became regularity.

Every other Tuesday, promptly at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Peeta Mellark stood in her office doorway. He always had a folder with him, and a bag labeled "Mellark's Bakery & Bistro" containing something mouthwatering in his hand.

It started at their third meeting with Mellark's famous cheese buns and hadn't stopped since. She was in carb heaven, so to speak.

And he smiled. Like, all the time.

The worst thing about it: She already had categories for each of his different smiles.

His 'welcome-smile' when he entered her office and gave her the paper bag with the goodies.

The 'appreciation-smile,' together with a slight nod, when he didn't understand something about the bookkeeping she tried to explain.

The 'half-smile-half-smirk' whenever she got flustered – which for some reason happened in abundance – and started to ramble before shutting up completely.

And her favorite one: his 'smile-after-laughing-out-loud.' Katniss knew she wasn't the funniest person around, most of time more stoic and pragmatic than anything else. But when he was around sometimes a joke slipped out, or a clever comment, or a funny remark.

Normally her own smile was hard earned. Only her closest family and friends had the privilege of seeing her smile regularly.

Now Peeta Mellark seemed to be the exception to the rule.

To every rule.

It took her five meetings to admit (if only to herself) that he was charming, funny and considerate, that she liked spending time with him, and that the two hours every other Tuesday quickly became her favorite days of the month. More than once they drifted off to topics which had nothing to do with the bookkeeping of the bakery. They talked about their hobbies, the books they both had read, movies they had seen, cities and countries they had visited. They talked about family, and holidays, and can you believe Carrie Fisher is dead?.

Peeta was friendly and open, showing a confidence when it came to his life and work. Katniss wished she had a little bit more of that, too. You could feel the love he felt for the work he did. It wasn't simply an occupation for him, it was his calling. And still, when it came to other areas he seemed almost shy and reserved.

Not once had he mentioned his parents, only that he was the one of the three brothers who inherited the bakery from them. He talked of his cousin Delly (she did the books before Katniss took over) or his brothers Bannock and Rye (the older was investment banker, the middle brother a retired football player turned sports commentator). At one point - she couldn't remember how they came to talk about it - he even told her about a girlfriend in college, but from the tone he used and his whole posture she could tell it didn't end on good terms.

Not that she was an expert. She's only had two relationships longer than five dates, and one had been in High School. It took Gale and her three months to realize that their dates consisted of them doing the same stuff as when they were friends, only with the occasional kiss in between (which wasn't that thrilling to begin with). They ended it and returned to being best friends, before he realized that he actually was in love with her other best friend. They were married now.

Katniss' other serious relationship happened in college and was at least a little more serious. It lasted two years, but when Eddie got a job offer overseas, they decided to end it. Both of them knew they weren't made for long distance relationships.

But back to the topic, while Peeta was confident and open when it came to his profession and his everyday life, he was coy and cautious about his feelings and private affairs.

Which didn't make him any less attractive in her eyes.

At meeting No. 7, she realized that she subconsciously started to dress more feminine, took more care when it came to her make-up and hair, and never ate another Tuesday-burrito in the cafeteria again. That day Peeta smiled bashfully, his hand rubbing over his neck and told her, "I really like the blouse you wear. It … it brings yo-your eyes out very prettily." Even his stumbling over words was endearing.

Right before their 8th meeting, she caught herself fantasizing about the way his lips would feel on her own, and only got interrupted when he knocked on her office door. For the remainder of their appointment a faint blush was visible on her cheeks.

Today was the Tuesday of their 10th consultation and Katniss was quite proud of herself. She hadn't blushed once, her voice was steady, her tone and posture friendly. She was professional but didn't come across as her 'cold, stone-hearted working-bitch'-self (Johanna's words, not her's).

Unfortunately it was already time to end their meeting and with a heavy heart Katniss prepared herself to say goodbye to him for yet another two weeks. They moved to her office door, Peeta two steps in front of her, when he suddenly stopped and turned around abruptly. It was only thanks to her fast reflexes that she didn't run into him full force.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I just need to ask, or else I'm wondering yet for another two weeks …"

He drifted off, suddenly turning quiet and a little flustered. It was so untypical for him, Katniss wasn't used to him being self-conscious, and therefore she completely missed his next words.

"Pardon?" All the before mentioned steadiness in her voice was gone.

"Oh, well … you … and it felt like … oh, man! … I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Just … just forget I ever mentioned anything, ok?"

"NO!" she nearly screamed, it even startled him a little. Taking a deep breath she continued, calmer but no less eager, "No, please. I just … what were you saying?"

Peeta didn't look convinced, but the pleading in her voice probably persuaded him to repeat his sentence.

"Would you consider … helping out at our annual charity bake sale?"

"Of course! … Wait, what?" Her eyes must've looked like saucers.

Peeta started to twist his fingers, nearly stumbling over his words.

"Mellark's Annual Charity Bake Sale. It's Saturday. In a week. So ... not the one coming up, but the one after. You're ... your're so good with numbers, like ... perfect! I-I mean, you could do the register. Because you're awesome with numbers. I mean, you're not only awesome with numbers. You're like ... always awesome. ... Oh man, this is ... It would be great if you could join me- eh us! If you could join us! With your skills it will be a walk in the park. Please? I mean, there's even free baked goods for our volunteers?"

When he looked up - a slight blush on his cheeks - he seemed so hopeful that not a single cell in her body would have been able to say no in that moment. Half sad, half happy she accepted.

Only after saying goodbye, his face showing a big smile, and closing her office door behind him, Katniss realized how very disappointed she felt that she had agreed to volunteer at his charity event when instead she would have happily agreed to go on a date with him.

xXx

"You're such a loser! Why don't you ask him out yourself?"

Prim's laugh sounded half like a snort, her eyes fixed on the label a package of sheets she held in her hands. She adored Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Katniss had to roll her eyes. It was easy for her little sister to be self-confident. Her boyfriend of however-many-years was a sweetheart, totally smitten with her, and the one who did all the work in the beginning. He asked her out. He wined and dined her. He was the one to tell her it was love at first sight for him. Prim simply had to be present, and Rory did all the rest. Boom! She was a girlfriend even without having to lift a single finger.

She did have to lift that finger – after all – when she turned from girlfriend into fiancée.

Of course, Katniss never mentioned any of that out loud. She was happy for her baby sis and wished her all the love and luck with Rory. It just felt unfair when Prim presented it as the easiest thing to do.

Therefore she simply ignored her younger sibling and grabbed the next best thing. It was a yellow-green soap dispenser.

"You think this'll look good in the kitchen?"

It was Prim's turn to roll her eyes. "Don't try to deflect the topic with the ugliest item Bed, Bath & Beyond has to offer."

"I'm not –"

"Of course you're not," Prim mocked.

"He's probably not interested anyway. Let's just change the topic, ok?"

"Whatever you tell yourself to let you sleep at night."

"Sometimes you're really annoying, you know that?"

Still, she never stayed mad with her sister for long, and her slightly amused tone showed that. Which didn't mean she wanted to explore the topic at hand for much longer. The next time Prim turned around to grab yet another package she fled three aisles over – finding herself in Bakeware & Baking Tools.

With her head turned in Prim's direction to make sure her sister didn't see where she was going, Katniss couldn't avoid crashing into another customer. Stumbling slightly, only the two strong hands grabbing her upper arms kept her standing. An electrical shock ran through her from the place they touched her all the way down to her toes. Surprised she gasped and started to apologize.

"I'm sor-" The apology got stuck in her throat, when she realized that none other than Peeta Mellark just saved her from crashing to the floor.

Peeta Mellark, who stood in front of her in all his damn glory, looking like a Greek God in his dark blue jeans and grey Henley, the long sleeves pushed up to the elbows (he had beautiful forearms). His hair was slightly disheveled, as if he had recently ran his hands through it.

The same Peeta Mellark she just gushed over in detail to her sister.

The very same Peeta Mellark who had starred in her very R-rated dream only the night before.

Of course, she wore an old pair of sweats. Her oversized sweater hung off one shoulder. Her hair was in its typical side braid. When Prim picked her up she had no time to put in her contacts, and in her haze she had grabbed the oldest pair of black-rimmed glasses she owned. She looked like a hobo. Wonderful!

One hand was now casually stuck in the front pocket of his jeans, the other one still warm on her upper arm. The heat radiating from there made her toes curl. In this light his eyes looked more azure than sapphire, and the spark in them made him radiant.

"Hi, Katniss." He sounded surprised but at the same time pleased.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he addressed her, so deep in thought had she been. A deep breath later and a step back, and his remaining hand fell away, too. She plastered a friendly smile on her face and hoped the constant blush she had in his presence wasn't too visible.

"Hi, Peeta." Even she could hear the happiness in her voice.

"Fancy meeting you here." One side of his lip curled up into a half-smile, and it made her weak in the knees. Her reactions to him were getting ridiculous! Seriously, she behaved like a teenager, and not like a twenty-seven year old woman. She needed to get a grip!

"My sister dragged me here. Something about new sheets, and they absolutely need to be Egyptian cotton, because they feel amazing on your skin, and she and her boyfriend - well, actually, her fiancé - have an anniversary coming up, and … well, yeah …"

What the fuck was she talking about?!

He raised one eyebrow, amusement clearly visible in his features. "Sounds like … um … sensible motivation?"

"Yeah, whatever. I didn't really listen to what she said, except that she offered to buy me dinner afterwards. The mention of free food made me accept. Hook, line and sinker."

Fantastic! Now she made herself sound like a cheap bimbo. She really needed to shut the fuck up!

Peeta chuckled, "I see where you're coming from. My best friend Finnick offered the same to come with him and help him get all the necessary equipment for his new kitchen. Annie, his wife, is visiting with her sister and he wants to surprise her when she returns. He thought me owning a bakery and bistro made me an excellent shopping partner, but now that we're here he simply grabs whatever he thinks he is in dire need of à la 'it's my bloody kitchen, I get what I want᾿, not minding my opinion at all."

The laugh that escaped her felt like a fresh start. It made her realize that, although he was very attractive, and very charming, and very nice - and although she might have a little crush on him - he still was one of the few people she really enjoyed spending time with. He always showed interest in the things she had to say, asked the right questions at the right time, and was a gentleman through and through. He never made her feel socially awkward, although she'd totally given him more than one opportunity when she couldn't have blamed him. Therefore she really needed to get her shit together and to start acting normal around him again.

Just because he was friendly and considerate didn't make him automatically interested in her.

Before her inner monologue could take over again, she quickly responded, "Just sounds like something my sister would also do."

A silence fell over them, but it wasn't oppressive. On the contrary, it felt nice and relaxing. Nevertheless, he broke it after a few moments.

"So, did you find something for yourself, too?" His eyes travelled to her hands. Katniss wasn't sure why Peeta started to smirk, but then remembered the ugly thing she had tried to distract her sister with.

"Oh, I'm …" she thrust the dispenser out in front of her. "It's for my kitchen. I broke mine the other day. When Prim dragged me here I realized it was a good opportunity to replace it."

Mischievousness joined his apparent amusement. "Interesting choice. Love the colors."

She couldn't help herself, again the laughter burst out of her without her being able to control it. "It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen."

"Can't say I disagree." His laughter spread through her like warm energy. If it were possible, she would bottle it up, so every time she felt sad or down she could take a small whiff.

"I'm probably not taking it, all right."

"But it deserves a chance to fulfill its purpose, don't you think?"

"Are you trying to make me buy this thing? I'm not sure I'm convinced …"

His hand came up to the back of his head, rubbing his neck, a nervous habit of his, she knew by now. It surprised her that he seemed suddenly so tense. When he averted his eyes Katniss got the chance to study his face without restraint. Never before had she seen someone with such long eyelashes. It was a surprise they didn't get tangled every time he batted his eyes. She found it very endearing.

Clearing his throat he finally looked up again, all shyness gone, directly in her eyes.

"Maybe we should discuss it further at di–"

"PEET! I found the most fantastic - oh, sorry! Did I interrupt?"

"Geez, Finn …"

The bronze haired man stepping in next to Peeta was nearly blinding. A vision of beauty if she ever saw one. Bright eyes, killer smile with dimples, broad shoulders and a tall, fit posture. He was so beautiful he didn't even seem real.

He was too flashy, too shiny, too … everything. He couldn't hold a candle to Peeta, if you asked her.

Nevertheless the hobo feeling returned full force in the face of the two men standing in front of her, both looking like they stepped straight off the cover of GQ magazine.

Finnick – at least Katniss assumed it was him – stepped forward, his hand outstretched, "Finnick Odair. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, um … Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. My pleasure," she grabbed the hand and shook it. No electrical shock. Not even a small tingle.

"Holy shit!" His laugh surprised her. "Finally I've got a face to the name. You're Katniss!"

Her confusion about his exclamation must have shown, because he immediately continued, "Peeta here just can't shut up about y-"

"Your fantastic work!" Peeta interrupted, suddenly looking very pale. "It's amazing how much you helped me in the last couple of weeks, and I just told Finnick the other day."

"Thank you, Peeta!" Katniss was always happy when someone was satisfied with the work she was doing. "It's my job, after all, but I'm always glad when my clients are pleased about the work I do for them."

"Oh, he is very pleased, that's for sure!" Finnick snickered. His eyebrows wiggled provocatively.

Peeta huffed, one hand over his eyes and his head slightly shaking.

"Okay, thanks Finn, for this very valuable contribution," the young baker deadpanned, punishing his friend with an incredulous look. When he turned back to Katniss, he was smiling again. "I think it's time for us to let you be, Katniss. We'll see each other soon, yes? I will send you the details about the bake sale as soon as I can."

"I'm looking forward to it!" He started to smirk, and she realized how eager it must have sounded to him (which she was, but he didn't need to know that, did he?). "I mean, to the bake sale ... I mean, I'm looking forward to spend the Saturday with you. For the bake sale. I mean ... geez, you know what I mean!"

"I do," his smirk had turned into a soft smile, "Have a nice evening, Katniss."

"You, too, Peeta. Bye Finnick."

Before his friend got a chance to reply Peeta had already pushed him a few steps ahead while scowling at the bronze hair at the back of his head. Katniss saw Finnick grinning even wider, and his mouth formed some sort of comment, which earned him a punch to the arm. It didn't make his grin disappear, but at least he seemed to shut up. The last thing she saw before they rounded the corner to the next aisle was Peeta turning around once more and sending her a breathtaking smile and a wink. Then they were gone.

"You were right."

Katniss startled when Prim stepped up to her, arms crossed in front of her and her eyes following the retreating forms of Peeta Mellark and Finnick Odair, just like her own had seconds ago.

"Prim –"

"Totally not interested. Not at all. Seriously, Sis! He flirted from the moment he said 'hi' and couldn't take his eyes off of you! Sometimes you're really dense, Katniss." She grabbed – with a last eye roll – the ugly dispenser from her sister and put it in her own basket, before she started to walk in the direction of the cash registers.

A defeated sigh escaped Katniss. With a last look in the direction where Peeta had disappeared a few moments ago, she turned and followed Prim to the exit.

xXx

Samantha Hawthorne was the spitting image of her father.

Therefore it often happened that people assumed that she was Katniss' daughter when she joined her and Madge. When it came to appearances, Samantha only shared the bright blue eyes with her mother. Madge always shrugged and said it was no surprise with the dark hair and the occasional frown on her face. When she first met Katniss and Gale, she thought them siblings, too.

"Mommy, can I have ice cream?"

"I don't know, can you?" Madge winked while putting her bag on the bench and parking the stroller beside it.

Samantha rolled her eyes (a gesture so similar to Gale and Katniss), but corrected herself nevertheless. "May I have some ice cream, please?"

"Good girl," Madge cooed, her hand brushing over the dark bangs of her daughter. They needed a cut. "I'll get it for you. Go, play with your friends."

Katniss chuckled, slumped down on the bench and made herself comfortable. She loved joining Madge and Samantha on their trips to the playground. More often than not her Godchild coaxed her into partaking in the games of her and her friends. Then, Katniss found herself crawling through tunnels, going down slides, playing tag, or hide-and-seek. On days like these she returned to her apartment probably looking the same as the kids: dirty from head to toe, but wearing a huge grin.

And today wouldn't be any different: Madge bought a cone with a scoop of plain vanilla from the kiosk and presented it to her daughter. It took about 5 minutes for the girl to gulp down the treat. After removing all residual ice cream with a wet wipe, Sam grabbed Katniss' hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Aunty Kat! Come on, let's play 'Pirates and Sharks'! Please!"

Ever since they rode that boat in Disneyland and Samantha afterwards told her friends about it, Pirates of the Caribbean had been a favorite for the kids.

Soon she found herself dangling on ropes and ladders on the huge structure in the middle of the playground, fleeing from Bobby – one of Sam's friends – who got roped into being the "Commodore" and had to catch the pirates. They weren't allowed to touch the ground either or else the sharks would bite, and one was disqualified until the next round.

10 minutes into the game, one of the boys – Glimmer Robert's son, Bentley (nobody really liked him - he was a bully. And why was he named after a car?) – pushed one of the younger girls aside to flee from the Commodore. At the last second Katniss was able to catch the girl and pull her back on the platform.

Unfortunately, it made her lose her own balance. A second later she squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for a hard fall on the back …

… only to be caught by a pair of strong arms.

"Whoa, there! You alright?" The chuckle that followed sounded very familiar.

Katniss' eyes snapped open and she found herself staring into Peeta Mellark's face. Of course! How on earth did she always end up looking like a total klutz in front of him?

"I'm good, thanks to you" she recovered from her surprise, still a little shaky. Which wasn't only because she just fell off a jungle gym, but also because she could still feel the warmth of his palm through the fabric of her shirt on the small of her back.

"I have to admit, this is not how I imagined you falling into my arms."

Katniss gasped. Did she just hear him correctly? Before she had a chance to analyze, her tongue got ahead of her and she blurted out, "You imagined me falling into your arms?"

Only then he realized what he just had said. He opened his mouth, but the chance to explain got interrupted by a whirlwind of dark hair crashing into Katniss and hugging her tightly.

"Aunty Kat! Are you alright? Bentley is so mean, he won't even apologize! Thank god, Mr. Peeta caught you before you hit your head."

The young woman looked up surprised and for a second let her eyes drift between Peeta and the girl. "You know Peeta?"

"Of course!" Samantha nodded proudly. "He owns the bakery near Grandpa's house. Mommy and he grew up together. I always get a cookie when Mommy buys bread there. Do you know Mr. Peeta, too?"

"Oh, yes. I work for Mr. Peeta. My firm helps him run his business," Katniss explained, before she chuckled lightly and looked at the man still standing close beside her. "You always give her cookies when she comes by? I'm surprised you're not out of business yet. I know how much this small one can eat. She gets it from her father. If you do this with every child stopping at the bakery this won't end well."

The man smirked. "Nah. Only the nice and friendly ones get a cookie, isn't that so, Samantha-sunshine?"

The girl nodded violently, and grabbed Katniss' hand. "Do you get cookies, too? You have to be nice and friendly when you work for someone, right?"

"I get lots of amazing treats, Sweetheart. Mr. Peeta always brings me something different." Katniss smiled down at the girl, brushing over her hair once.

"He must really like you if you get all kind of different goodies."

Sam's eyes were wide as saucers, before a happy glint reached them. "Mommy!" she suddenly screamed excitedly while running in the direction of Madge, "Aunty Kat finally has a boyfriend!"

"Samantha Rose!" Katniss exclaimed horrified while her eyes followed the retreating form of her Godchild, a deep blush overtaking her from head to toe.

Peeta laughed out loud, his eyes traveling over her face, taking in her rosy cheeks. It made her blush even more.

"Geez, I'm so sorry. Sam has no filter. At all." Why didn't the earth open up and swallow her whole?

"Don't worry," he snickered. He had his hands casually stuck in the back pockets of his jeans, which accentuated his arms and shoulders nicely. For a moment Katniss was distracted by the way his Adam's apple moved when he talked.

"No, really. She gets something in her head and the next moment she blurts it out. It can lead to very embarrassing situations." Like right now.

"Don't worry," he assured again. "Ty is the same."

He pointed to a boy a few yards away, at the moment standing by Madge and Samantha. His honey blond hair glistened in the sun. Katniss' heart dropped to the bottom of her belly. Her blush had vanished, and now she looked rather pale.

Naturally he had a family of his own. How she ever could have thought a charming, handsome man like Peeta Mellark was still single was beyond her. Prim had it totally wrong when she insisted that he had been flirting with her at Bed, Bath and Beyond. He was simply a friendly and polite person.

"Your son is really cute," she therefore exclaimed, and dearly hoped that her voice didn't sound as miserable as she felt. "Is your wife around here as well?"

"Oh!" Peeta blushed prettily (yes, she thought him pretty, married or not. So sue her!). "Tyler's not my son. I'm his Godfather. He's Delly and Thom's oldest. You remember Delly, my cousin? She did the bookkeeping before you took over. Well, she went into labor this morning and so I offered to watch over Ty. I … I'm not married. Or in a relationship. Or dating anyone. Or … whatever." He started to rub his neck with one hand again, a chuckle escaping him. It was still very endearing.

Katniss couldn't stop herself from beaming at him, both for thinking him very cute to do something like that for his family and friends in the spur of a moment, and out of relief that he wasn't married after all. Before she had the chance to reply, he took a deep breath and looked her directly in the eyes.

"And coming back to Sam's announcement," he started, a teasing in his voice before it got slightly deeper, "filter or not, it probably broke quite a few hearts right now."

"Oh, ha ha!" Katniss blushed, but wasn't able to avert her eyes, his look way too intense. Still, she needed to break the tension slowly building around them. "But, of course, you're right. I'm a regular heartbreaker, especially when it comes to 4 year olds." she deadpanned, her arms crossing in front of her.

Wow! Suddenly it felt like flirting. When did she learn to flirt? Madge and Johanna always told her she was as charming as a dead slug when it came to flirting. Normally she couldn't even disagree.

"Honestly!" Peeta's teasing turned bashful, his eyes suddenly riveted on a spot by his feet. "I would be devastated if I learned you had a boyfriend."

"No … um … no boyfriend. Well, um … just … no boyfriend. That's it."

"Oh," he gazed through his eyelashes up at her, one side of his mouth drawing up in a pleased grin. "That's … that's actually-"

A loud, angry huff interrupted their conversation. With a frown she turned around, Peeta following her example. They found their godchildren standing face to face, deep in an argument.

"Uncle Peet is the most strongest!" Tyler insisted, his small arms crossed in front of him.

"So?" Samantha replied, the scowl on her face competing with Katniss' own. "Aunty Kat is the fastest. And the cleverest. And the most prettiestest. I mean, after Mommy, of course!"

"She's half right," she suddenly felt more than heard the whisper at her ear, "I think, Aunty Kat is the prettiest, too. Period."

The momentum of her turn nearly gave her whiplash. Surprised she stared at him, but he simply smiled back at her. Reaching up Peeta's fingers carefully brushed once over the end of her braid. Katniss' breath got stuck in her throat.

Again, the kids' argument interrupted her reply.

"But Uncle Peet is the bestest! He always gives me cookies when I come to the bakery."

"I always get cookies, too! And my Aunty Kat is the bestest! She always plays everything with me, and watches Brave, and Mulan, and Pocahontas and all the other movies, no matter how many times we already saw them."

At that moment Madge stepped around the girl and the boy and came to a halt beside Katniss. She greeted Peeta with a handshake and a smile, which he returned.

"I think it's established," she said cheekily, "you're both the bestest."

It made them laugh together, and for a second they even forgot that the children's argument disrupted an important conversation between them. Katniss was afraid that now that they got interrupted again (the first time it was her own damn fault for not listening carefully, the second time Finnick appeared exactly three seconds too early, and now this!), the much needed chat would get postponed yet again.

It felt like she tempted fate, because only a moment after she finished her frustrating thought, Madge turned with a wink to Peeta – her arms crossed in front of her – and playfully glared at him. "So, Peeta, tell me: When will you finally ask my best friend out on a date?"

TBC