"...like the sunset."

Katniss was 10 minutes early for her shift at Abernathy Pub, so she wanted to hang out in the staff break room before facing the crowd of out-of-town patrons only here for the holidays. When she stepped into the room, she was met with an unexpected sight and bewilderedly exclaimed, “What the hell?”

Finnick and Peeta, two of the pub bartenders, were putting Santa hats on their heads, but that was not what threw her for a loop. The tall and lean muscled bronze haired man and the shorter but stocky muscular blond were completely bare chested and only donning red velvet shorts, black boots, and said Santa hats.

Peeta shrugged and simply said, “Lost a bet.” Finnick peacocked at her, his brows turned up suggestively, and winked. “Like what you see, Kitty Kat?”

Scowling and choosing to ignore the happily married man’s question, she switches her attention over to the brunette with the pixie haircut in the corner of the room. Johanna, a pub server like her, looked like she was having a field day.

“Relax, Brainless. These two bet that their beloved Seahawks were going to win out the rest of the season and make it to the playoffs, but they lost on Sunday, so now Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum have to be sexy Santas for the rest of this week, and I get a cut of their tips.” Jo explains with flair. “It’s a win-win. This getup is going to drum up business; I make extra money without even trying…” She paused for dramatic effect. “Plus, you, Brainless, get a free show from Blondie and all his glory.”

Finnick guffawed; Peeta looked bashful, and Katniss turned tomato red. Why did she have to drunkenly ramble to Johanna about her crush? But by the shy looks Peeta was giving her, perhaps the feeling was mutual?

—

That’s how Katniss finds herself back in the break room standing next to a still shirtless Peeta who apparently doesn’t care who sees him nor is he cold, so he doesn’t bother putting a shirt back on. Both of their shifts have ended, and as much as she will not admit it out loud, Johanna was right, she did like watching Peeta in his “sexy” Santa getup. Getting to see his muscles ripple and move as he went about making drinks and tending bar made her insides warm and radiate with energy.

They’re both walking out into the hallway towards the pub’s back entrance when Peeta turns his head down towards Katniss. In his best Santa impression, he asks, “So Katniss Everdeen, have you been naughty or nice this year?” The twinkle in his eyes accompany his teasing smile.

Katniss directs her smokey grey eyes straight into his baby blues in a coy manner and steps in closer to him. Feeling bold, she skims a finger down his bare hard chest which flexes at her touch and sultrily answers, “I’ve been nice all year, but tonight I’m feeling naughty.”

A look of shock and pleasure flash through Peeta’s darkening eyes, her comment catching him off guard. She takes this moment to step away and walk towards the back door of the pub. She stops midway, turns back to him, and continues sexily. “So, Santa Mellark, are you going to reward me or punish me?”

Broken out of his stupor, Peeta sprints to her, grabs her by the waist with both hands, and draws her body so tightly close to his, it leaves no room for the holy ghost. The heat from his unclothed upper half seeps through her white button up shirt. Goosebumps dot her skin in anticipation; her nipples stiffen against her nude bra, and wetness pools in her panties. He tugs the ends of her braid as his lips move to graze her ears, and his whisper sends a delicious shiver down her spine. “Guess that depends on just how naughty you are the rest of tonight.”

Not letting nerves dictate her next move, Katniss turns her head so their lips lightly brush up against each other. She places her hands on the back of his head and pulls him in for a heated kiss. Sparks fly, and the two forget that anything else exists but each other.

It’s lips on lips, tongue against tongue, going after each other like the world is about to end. He gently nips at her bottom lip, and she lets out a moan. She lets her bottom half brush up against those velvet shorts where she feels an ever hardening thick swell, and he groans. The palms of her hands roam the smooth skin of his back; muscles tight and firm. He moves his hand up her torso, cupping her breasts gently before giving them a squeeze.

“Oh hell. Fornicate at ho-ho-home, not in my hallway!” A gruff voice demands. The culprits, caught in the almost-act, are apologetically sheepish as they try avoid eye contact with the pub’s owner, their boss.

Katniss hides her face on Peeta’s shoulder farthest away from their interruptor; her companion speaks for the both of them, “Sorry, Haymitch. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Putting an arm around her shoulders, Peeta turns the two of them back towards the door, and they finally make their way out the pub. Though a little embarrassed, both are still oh so wired and eager to continue their merry (naughty) night.

“Fucking kids. Shouldn’t have let Johanna convince me about the increase in business with that stupid getup while drinking that extra strong eggnog. This is a bar, not a strip club.” Haymitch grumbles to himself as he goes back into his office.

—

All the while from the entryway that leads into the bar, Johanna and Finnick, with knowing grins on their faces, high five each other and shout, “Finally!”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“COME ON, EVERDEEN, COME OUT HERE BEFORE I BREAK YOUR DOOR DOWN!”

The constant pounding on the door and that familiar shout rouses her from her cocoon on the couch. All she wanted to do was stay at home, eat ice cream, watch movies, and wallow in her feelings, but it seemed like someone had other plans in mind.

She groans but gets off the couch. Her single braid is askew over her right shoulder and her sweats are all bunched up. Not caring that she looks like a hot mess, she trudges to the door and swings it open.

“This better be good, Mellark.” She gripes, as she crosses her arms and looks at her best friend, since 5 years-old, up and down with a scowl on her face.

The blond in question smiles brightly in return, blue eyes twinkling. His ashy curls are mostly hidden underneath a navy blue beanie. His fit broad body is clothed in a knit gray sweater, dark washed jeans, and a pair of L.L. Bean boots; a winter puffer coat completes the look.

He’s looking good as he always does, making her feel even more of a hot mess. She unconsciously pulls at her braid and starts finger combing out her hair. In doing so, she misses his response.

“What?”

“I said I’m taking you sledding.” He repeats nonchalantly.

Katniss furrows her brows. “Why exactly?”

“Because we used to do it all the time growing up,” Peeta answers with a shrug. “Plus, I figured you needed some cheering up after you texted me about your run in with Gale this morning.”

Right. The man who broke up with her a week ago and is now seeing someone else. (Or so she assumes after seeing him with a gorgeous blonde laughing and holding hands at their table of their coffee shop.) How dare he do that to her? She’s the one that introduced him to her favorite spot for handcrafted drinks. She shakes herself out of her thoughts before the anger can course through her again.

“And you thought sledding was the answer?”

“Yes, because sledding always makes you happy. So get changed and let’s go. I’ve got the sled in my car.” He points behind him where his Subaru is parked by the curb. “And a canister of piping hot chocolate calling your name.” He sing-songily adds.

That last part weakens her resolve. “Fine.” Katniss laments.

Peeta’s grin stretches across his face. “Chin up, Buttercup. You’re about to have the best day with yours truly.”

Choosing to ignore the horrible nickname he gave her when they were kids, she turns around and walks to her bedroom down the hall and gets changed. She replaces her sweatshirt with a cozy soft red turtleneck sweater and her sweatpants with a pair of her favorite black skinny jeans. She pulls on some thick socks before shoving her feet into her own L.L. Beans. She grabs a scarf, a knitted white beanie with a pom on top (Prim’s purchase for her), and her black winter coat, throwing them on as she walks back to her front door.

Peeta is now sitting in the driver’s of his car, fingers drumming the steering wheel as he waits. She locks her door then marches to the car and jumps into the passenger seat. “Okay, Mellark, dazzle me.” She throws up jazz hands sarcastically.

Her companion only chuckles, starts the car, and begins to drive.

—

It’s about half an hour until they reach their favorite hill for sledding. Fresh snow blankets the ground that all you see is glistening white. The evergreen trees lined throughout look picturesque with snow draping their needles.

Although she and Peeta have been here numerous times, Katniss can never tire of the scenery. The view itself is already making her feel better. The car comes to a rolling stop before Peeta puts it in park.

Itching to touch the snow, Katniss immediately opens the car door and jumps out; her boots sink into the powder as she lands. She closes her eyes and inhales, filling her nostrils with the piney scent of the evergreens, and exhales. Everything she was feeling prior to Peeta interrupting her day melts away. That best friend of hers always did know how to turn her day around.

“Last one to the top buys dinner!” Peeta’s shout breaks her reverie. She opens her eyes and sees him hastily making his way up the hill, the sled trailing behind him. Her competitiveness takes over, and she starts running as fast as she can through the snow.

She closes in on Peeta and gently smacks him on the back. “You’re getting slow, old man.”

“You try running while lugging a sled up the hill. It’s no joke.” Peeta grumbles.

Katniss rolls her eyes and smirks. “Excuses, excuses. Remember I pulled you on the sled to the hospital when you broke your leg after your epic jump on that thing.” She put up air quotes around the word epic.

Peeta snorts. “It took you 2 hours! And you were huffing and puffing along the way.”

“Hey, 2 hours is record time considering we were 12, and you already weighed a ton,” she fires back.

Peeta feigns hurt and dramatically clutches his heart at her remark. Katniss shakes her head at his display - always dramatic that one. She resets her focus on the remaining distance to the top. She starts running again, reaches the top, then turns around to tease the blond, sticking her tongue out for emphasis. “Looks like you owe me dinner.”.

“I let you win, Everdeen.”

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.” She continues to tease.

Next thing she knows, she feels Peeta’s arms on her and is up in the air and thrown over his shoulder. “Peeta, put me down! I swear to god.” Her arms flail around as she tries to get a hold of herself.

“Nope. You did this to yourself so face the consequences.” Still holding Katniss over one shoulder, Peeta uses his other hand to maneuver the sled into a starting position. He then reorients Katniss in front of him so she faces the hilly slope and holds her close to his body. He pulls her down with him onto the sled, and they take off downhill - laughter and shrieks abound.

—

And that’s how the next hour continues. They go up and down the hill with the sled - sometimes together, sometimes individually - and banter constantly. Every now and then, they pause and engage in a snowball fight. When they tire from the up and down trek and goofing off in the snow, they find a conveniently placed log at the foot of the hill.

Katniss stays by the log and stretches her muscles while Peeta heads to his car to grab his bag. After finishing her stretches, Katniss situates herself on the log and takes in her surroundings. She feels absolute bliss like she can run the world, a complete 180 to earlier where all she wanted was to drown her feelings in ice cream and rom-coms.

Come to think of it, Peeta has always been able to cheer her up; he had a way of knowing exactly what she needed when she needed it. Memories of their high school prom flood her mind. She acted like she didn’t care about it, an unnecessary frivolous event she called it, but Peeta read right through her. He surprised her with a private promposal in the forest near her childhood home, using pine needles to simply spell out “Prom?”. In college, when she stressed over finals, he would talk her into study breaks and then take her to do some mindless activity like booking a room at a karaoke joint where they belted out their favorite songs from the 90s and 2000s. She reflects back on the sledding incident when they were 12. While she was freaking out over his broken leg, he stayed calm, cracked ridiculous bone jokes, and even held her in his arms to ease her worries. Really, if this hill could talk, it would have so many stories about the two of them spending time here in the winter with their sleds.

“I come bearing gifts.” Peeta declares, breaking her train of thought. He settles next to her on the log and opens his bag. “As promised, a canister of hot chocolate.” He pulls out the canister, hands it to her, and reaches into his bag again. “And what kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t bring cheese buns?” He adds, pulling out a rectangular container.

Katniss snatches the container out of his hands, takes a cheese bun, and gobbles it up. Although it has been sitting in the car for a while, it’s still a little warm. Peeta chuckles beside her and teases, “You’re welcome.”

Turning her head, Katniss studies him. His cornflower blue eyes are shining; his pink lips are upturned at the corner, a hint of a dimple appearing in one corner. Freckles dot the skin on his cheeks. His blond curls underneath his beanie are damp from the snow but still look soft to touch. She had always thought he was good looking, but now she finds him irresistible. Whatever mental block she put up about him and the possibility of more disappeared when she reflected on their past.

She finds herself leaning in towards him. Peeta glances down to her lips as he catches on to her movement and instinctively reciprocates it. As if everything was happening in slow motion and at once, their lips meet in a tender yet passionate kiss. He brings up his hands to cup her face. She wraps her arms around his middle trying to pull him closer. When they break apart, they stare into each other’s eyes.

“Wow,” Katniss breathes out. That kiss was nothing like she has ever experienced. It was sweet and affectionate but also breathtaking and leaving her wanting for more. It’s like putting the last piece of a puzzle in; she feels complete.

“I second that,” Peeta replies. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now.”

“Yeah?”

Instead of responding, Peeta closes the gap between their faces and kisses her again. When he pulls away, he answers, “Yeah. And I’m more than happy with this, with us being more, if you are.”

Katniss ponders in silence for a moment, but not too long after, a soft smile graces her face. “I’d like that.”

Peeta’s lips slowly turn into a wide grin, and he intertwines her left hand with his right. “So you like like me, real or not real?”

Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Katniss simply answers. “Real.”

Peeta starts to stand up from his spot on the log, his hand still holding hers and tugging her up. “Want to go down the hill one more time before we head back to either mine or yours?”

She stands up straight and beams at him. “There’s no one else I’d rather sled with than you.”