Katniss POV- (The next day)
"Good morning." Peeta says looking across from me.
I smile, "Good morning." I say pulling the sheets up to my ears.
Peeta blinks his blonde lashes, "What do you wanna do today?" He asks.
I take his hand and hug it to my chest, "Let's go on a picnic." I say.
Peeta smiles, "Okay, but you know it's December, and it's cold. I should probably start looking for a new job, actually." He laughs.
I laugh, "I know but it will be fun and you can start looking in a few days." I say, kicking him from under the sheets.
"Hey!" Peeta chuckles.
"What?" I ask, acting as if to be innocent which I'm not.
"You know what." Peeta says, kicking me back gentler.
"So, was that a 'yes' or a 'no' to a picnic?" I ask.
"Yes." Peeta smiles.
I grin, "Can I teach you to shoot too?" I ask in hope.
Peeta raises his eyebrows, "If you want." He says unsure.
"I haven't done it since I was younger but I remember how." I tell him.
Peeta laughs, "Well, we will see about that." He jokes.
"What time is it?"
He turns around and clicks on his phone, "Eleven." Peeta says with wide eyes.
"We must've been tired." I laugh.
Peeta nods, "Well, we better start getting ready. Do you have your bow?" He asks.
I nod, "In the garage with some of my Dad's things my mother left me."
"Okay."
"I'll go to the garage and get it while you go pack us food." I say, jumping out of bed.
We both get dressed in some weather appropriate attire and head downstairs.
Peeta heads to the kitchen and I go out to the garage.
I haven't been out here alone in forever.
I walk up to a big tote that my mom left for me, it has some of my dad's things in it and some of my baby stuff.
Mainly our hunting stuff.
I open the dusty box and retrieve my father's bow and my quiver of arrows.
I run my fingers along shaft of an arrow and of the grip of the bow.
How can something I used to be so comfortable with, feel so alien?
I guess I'll just have to warm back up to it.
I go back inside with bow by my side and quiver on my back, I find Peeta has just finished packing our food and looks ready to go.
"You ready, my little huntress?" Peeta teases.
I roll my eyes, "Let's go." I say and grab the car keys off the dining room table.
We get everything in the car and head out.
"Where you taking us?" Peeta asks.
"A little place outside of the fence." I tell him.
Peeta nods nervously.
"It'll be fine. I used to leave the fence with my dad all the time and I do it alone sometimes."
"Alone?" He says.
"Yes, sorry I never told you."
It's not illegal to go outside the fence but it's suggested against since there's tons of wild animals out there.
"You're sure we won't get killed or arrested?" Peeta asks.
I laugh, "Peeta, it's not illegal."
"Are you sure? Because everyone I know is terrified to even get close."
I give him a look, "Do you trust me?"
Peeta nods, "I trust you." He says.
I roll my eyes at his fear of anything even remotely dangerous and continue driving to where my dad and I used to come so many years ago.
It's not the same place I ran to a few months back, before college but it's near.
I still haven't told Peeta about Gale and I's conversation early that morning.
If he every knew he'd be crushed.
I remember my words, they were harsh.
I remember telling Gale how if something happened to my mother there would be no one else I loved.
I scold myself for my stupid thoughts.
I can't believe I even thought it, let alone said it aloud.
Look at me now.
Peeta's here and she left.
Gale looked so disgusted with me and honestly I was and am still disgusted with myself for it.
I push the thought away and finally, we arrive.
"Okay, here we are." I say putting the car in park.
Peeta looks at me, "You lead the way."
So I do.
We get out and grab everything we need and I lead Peeta to the gate in the fence.
"There's a gate. If it was illegal, it wouldn't be unlocked." I say, trying to make a point.
"Okay." Peeta says.
I open the gate that probably hasn't been open in years and walk through.
"Come on." I say, urging Peeta in.
I laugh at his unsure face.
"I have my bow and arrows so if there's any animals out here that wanna eat us, I'll shoot." I assure him.
Peeta's eyes widen as he picks up the picnic basket. I smirk to myself and start towards the lake.
Peeta stays quiet, all except for his feet.
"Good job." I say.
"What?" He asks me.
"You're running off all the monsters so keep it up." I joke, nudging him with my arm.
Peeta just laughs awkwardly, not understanding.
A few minutes later, we make it to the lake and I tear up at the sight.
It looks just as it did years and years ago well, I mean, not exactly.
The water, clear but the vegetation is dormant for winter.
Everything else looks right.
I look over to find the little lake house, "Look." I whisper softly.
I remember spending many hours playing house in there.
Sweeping the floor with my little broom and watching the coals burn.
"What is that?" Peeta asks, standing next to me.
"It's an old house, more like a shack. My dad and I used to come here all the time." I say.
Peeta looks at me and gives me a sad smile, "It's really beautiful out here, Katniss. I'm sorry I was afraid."
I nod but keep my gaze on the house.
Nothing has changed about it.
Nothing.
Just the weather, that's all.
And, my dad is gone.
I haven't gone inside since he passed.
Suddenly, I feel like a thousand pounds weighs my chest down at the longing I feel for him.
Then, I feel strong arms wrap around me and I feel as if I'm a kid again, allowing my dad to protect me from the cold. Only, the arms are more comforting yet, not the arms I want around me in this moment.
"Are you okay?" Peeta asks, concerned.
I nod my head at him, "I'm fine." I shake my head, trying to push it all back.
Peeta puts his hand on my shoulder, "You sure?" He asks.
"Yes. Let's eat." I say, plopping myself down right in front of the lake, by the waters edge.
Peeta sits down next to me and opens the picnic basket, pulling out two thermoses of hot soup and a large flask of hot tea.
Peeta hands me a thermos and I dig in.
"This is really good." I say, looking back at him.
Peeta smiles, "Thanks." He says, sipping his soup.
I look down into the crystal clear water and then to the edge, "Look!" I say in disbelief.
Peeta jumps up, frightened.
I laugh.
"What?" He asks.
"I was just gonna say it's a 'katniss'." I snort.
Peeta sits back down and examines the little white flower and arrow like leaves.
"That's the plant your named after?" He asks curiously.
He knows I'm named after a plant, just like Prim was but didn't know what a katniss looked like.
I nod with a wide smile, "Yes, I haven't seen one since I was little." I say, wondering how its even alive in this cold.
Everything else that showed any sign of life out here is dead for the season.
Peeta examines it, "It's a beautiful little thing."
I smile, "You know, you can eat them." I inform him.
Peeta chuckles, "Eat you?" He asks.
I laugh and push him over, "You're stupid." I say.
"Really though? You can seriously eat them?" He asks.
I nod my head and uproot the flower.
I hand him the tuber, "It's good."
"We used to eat them all the time, they're perfectly safe." I say, sipping the last of the hot soup into my mouth.
Peeta continues to examine the root and gives it confused looks.
"You cook it. I'll show you how to make them if you want. Now that I look around, there's at least four more we could get." I say.
Peeta nods, "That would be different to try." He says, interested.
I laugh, "So, I was thinking about yesterday..." I start.
Peeta nods, "And?"
"I think that we should get River more than just socks." I say, taking a drink of the hot tea, handing it to Peeta after a second.
He sips, "Well, of course we are gonna get him more than that." Peeta says.
"He is a really sweet man." I say softly.
"He has a very big heart." Peeta says.
I look down in the water to see my reflection and it reminds me of my childhood.
With my dad.
We would always look into the water at ourselves, make funny faces to make another laugh.
I smile at myself, at the memories.
I pick up a little rock and toss it across the waters top.
It skips and comes to a stop about half way before sinking into the water.
"What are you thinking about?" Peeta whispers softly.
I look up at him, "Everything." I state simply.
My mind keeps shifting back to all the years I've been alive.
My childhood and my teenage years too.
Memories of my dad and mom coming here or when it was just my dad and I here. Prim never got to come out here outside of the womb but she never wanted to anyways. My mind flashes to the many times I've come out here all alone, to think. Or to cry.
I think about Peeta and I and about yesterday's happenings.
All of them.
"Can I teach you how to shoot?" I finally blurt out.
Peeta nods and stands up.
He helps me up and I pick up the bow off the ground and the quiver.
I walk towards a tree that is about five feet wide and extremely tall.
"Okay, you're going to aim for this tree. I'll do it first." I say.
I take several steps back until I'm standing about twenty feet away.
I pull an arrow from the quiver and load it in my bow, I aim and shoot.
The arrow lands in smack dab in the middle of the trunk, the shaft unbroken.
I pull another arrow and hand the bow and arrow to Peeta.
"Okay, close one eye and aim." I say and he does.
I smile, "Okay, open. Now, you're going to pull the string and the arrow back at the same time. Hold tight then when you feel like you have enough pressure to back it up, release the arrow." I say.
He shoots.
The arrow lands a little bit higher than mine but still hits it.
"Good, just a little lower next time." I say, handing him another arrow.
He reloads the bow and shoots again, spot on this time and I'm a little jealous at how quickly he caught on.
It took me years and years of practice to get half as good as I am now.
"Peeta, that was perfect!" I say excitedly, hugging him proudly.
Peeta grins confidently, "Really?" He asks.
"Yes, you did great. I'm a little jealous!" I say truthfully.
"Why's that?" Peeta laughs.
"It took me forever to learn."
"You were also little." He laughs.
"True." I say, smiling.
Peeta and I continue to shoot for a few more hours. We pick four more katniss tubers and put them into our basket but then, all hell breaks loose.
Well, if hell was cold.