Stop and Smell the Roses

Chapter 18

A/N: Don't worry. There is still more to come. Just a fluffy little chapter full of set up for what's to come.

Thank you to my wonderful beta, papofglencoe!

I have to say - Wow! The response to this has been amazing!

Thank you so much for all your feedback! It really keeps me going.

In the mean time, if you want, come see me on tumblr. everybirdfellsilent

Xxx

It was almost done. It had been a long night full of laughs and snack runs, either Johanna or Haymitch braving the mass of paparazzi outside while the other stayed behind to guard "the love birds", as Jo had dubbed them.

Not a single nightmare was had, but then again, the good company and constant flow of conversation was a good way to stay awake.

Along with no nightmares, not a single cigarette was had, either. Come to think of it, Katniss hadn't seen him smoke in a while. She smiled faintly into the pleather of the seat, feeling the constant buzz of the pen stop.

She heard a chair rolling, and saw Peeta's sneakers through the hole in the chair, smiling at the double knots. His hand rested on her lower back, splayed out as if to touch every inch he could, to prove this was really happening.

"It's done," he said with a sigh, the heat of his hand leaving her skin, and the sound of cracking joints soon following as he stretched.

A low whistle from where Haymitch sat in the corner with his feet propped up made Katniss smile even wider. "Damn, boy! Why don't you do work that good more often? You've been slacking!" A light smack was heard along with a snort from Johanna. "Quit hitting me in the head, woman!"

"Stop being a crass old man!"

Haymitch snickered. "Like that'll ever happen."

"Exactly."

"Um, guys?" Katniss cleared her throat. "Not that this whole thing doesn't sound amusing," she gestured blindly behind her with one arm, swooping it for good measure, "believe me, I'm laughing on the inside." All three let out a soft snort eerily similar. "But can someone please give me my shirt or a towel or something to hold up and cover myself so I can actually see my new tattoo?"

"Nah," all three voices said after a moment, and Katniss scowled at their shared sarcasm.

"Peeta, give me something, or I swear to God, I will make you eat pears for the next-" her shirt appeared under the hole in the chair, and she grinned. "Thank you."

As she covered herself, she looked over her shoulder to see Peeta shrugging, Haymitch and Johanna grinning widely with raised eyebrows. "What? She's serious! When it comes to her and that damn rabbit food-"

His voice trailed off as he followed Haymitch's gaze, a very Katniss-esque scowl on his face at the small smile the older man wore, and he quickly saw the source, his jaw dropping slightly as his knit eyebrows melted away.

With her back to the mirror, her shirt clutched tightly against her chest, she looked over her shoulder at her reflection, staring at the tattoo, the angry red skin still flaming around the black swoops.

He couldn't quite read her expression, her face void as her eyes flicked up and down and back again over the ink, holding her long, loose hair over one shoulder. It wasn't until her eyes began to twinkle, a small tear falling down her cheek which she hastily wiped away, a small smile following her hand to replace it.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" He quickly walked over in front of her, running his hands up and down her arms, but she just shook her head gently, meeting his gaze in the mirror. "I love it." She turned her head to face him, eyes flitting up to his quickly. "Thank you." Her nose came right to his collarbone before she turned to rest her temple against it, hearing his heartbeat underneath.

"Of course." He wrapped his arms low around her waist in order to avoid the tattoo.

Johanna must have slipped out at some point because only Haymitch was left in the corner, staring Peeta in the eyes through the mirror as he nodded his head approvingly. "Now I see what you mean, sweetheart. That definitely deserves to be painted as big as day."

Katniss smiled at him, her head already turned his way against Peeta's chest. Closing her eyes she saw it clear as day, her tattoo reflected back at her. A dreamcatcher, not only to ward off the bad dreams, but to keep the good ones in.

It was fairly basic, looking to the naked eye like your normal dreamcatcher, but if you looked closely, you could see the tendrils, the snare portion inside the band of willow was actually the boughs of a willow tree, growing up out of the bottom of the hoop and swirling like a wind blown promise.

Feathers hung from it, of course, down near the base of the tree, but only two. One for each of her parents. She dreaded the day she would ever have to add another, but at the rate she was gaining friends - as well as making enemies - she expected it to be sooner or later.

Nodding at Haymitch's words, she looked up to find Peeta's eyes already looking down her way, and it made her smile. "Well, this is the place where I fell in love with you. So it only seemed appropriate."

Johanna barked a laugh from the front, followed by a low, "Well, shit."

Haymitch's feet fell from their propped position to the floor with a loud clang, his jaw agape despite the large grin working it's way up. "Whoooo!"

Confused for the briefest of moments, Katniss instantly went still, rigid in his arms, staring straight forward at his clavicle as she saw his adam's apple bob with a rough swallow.

"Y-you lo-" he hooked a finger under her chin and tipped her head up, waiting until she met his eyes with her own, the grin on his face stretching painfully wide, and the arm around her waist cinching significantly tighter. "You love me?"

Turning her glare on Haymitch, he raised his hands in surrender and left the room, still grinning madly despite his muttered, "Don't stop on my account."

"I don't stop for anyone, sweetheart," the two of them mumbled out of habit, smiling widely when their eyes met one another's once again.

"What?" Katniss asked softly.

Shaking his head almost indiscernibly, he pulled her closer slowly by the finger hooked under her chin.

"Nothing. I just really like you."

Her jaw dropped and he laughed, their lips barely touching in that way they always did right before the best kisses. "Just kidding. Of course I meant 'love'. You know that."

"Duh."