#everlarkfluff

(Peeta POV)

I stifled a groan as we piled into the Capitol car. I had been looking forward to our outing to the shopping centers in the City Circle of the Capitol. There was a new dual thermodynamic self heating voice controlled oven that I’d heard about that I wanted to get a look at. But then Haymitch and Effie had said Katniss and I had to stick together, and not stray from their sight and my hopes sank.

The tour was so absolutely exhausting, and even though we had done pretty well in the wealthier districts and here in the Capitol I was desperate for just a small amount of normalcy. Just a few hours where I didn’t have to put on the public persona of 74th victor of the Hunger Games.  Sometimes Katniss and I were able to sneak away and just sit quietly in a coat closet for half an hour or so, but it was so uncomfortable just wallowing in miserable silence while we tried to get away from the public eye for a few minutes. 

So now, we had to plaster on some fake smiles and Katniss and I had to figure out a way to divide our time between the shops we wanted to see, since they were on opposite ends of the shopping district.

I was surprised when she said she had someplace she wanted to go. Usually she just hung around the food places apathetically. Or found a nice stairwell to take a nap in. But no, the one day when I wanted to go and see the presentation of the new oven, she had to take an interest in some store called Pieces of Midnight.

I had no idea what it was, but she had asked Effie for a directory on all the stores inside the shopping district and after a few moments picked it out quietly and handed me the map.

She sat next to me, in a soft white looking sweater and slacks, looking beautiful and bored and surly. Her hip was pressed against mine because of the tight quarters in the car. And I had to mentally remind myself not to lean in and try to catch a whiff of her lemony shampoo.

All this time we’d been spending together again, and all the sleeping in the same bed, was starting to dig at me. And I was glad the tour was almost over. I needed a reset from her and her soft body pressed against mine in the dark, and her soft looking lips pressed into an unconscious pout as she looked through the window at the scenes we passed.

I ran my hand through my hair absentmindedly, turning away and trying not to stare at her. Haymitch looked over at me with a knowing expression. He had been dropping hints about Katniss and I for weeks now. And I’d tried to tell him to cut it out, because I’d worked really hard to get to this place with her. We were friends, really good friends. And we were a great team. And, ok, maybe I wasn’t exactly overjoyed with those labels, but it was better than us not being on speaking terms like we were after our Games. But Haymitch just wouldn’t let it drop.

He could be such a pain sometimes. 

He shrugs and looks over towards the car bar, no doubt wondering if he can sneak a few drinks in while Effie worries over the schedule and the number of stores we’ve promised to visit. 

This was going to be a long evening.

~

After visiting 6 shops consecutively, Katniss can’t keep the scowl off her face and Effie is about ready to pull her wig off in frustration. I roll my eyes and wander over to the back where there is no doubt a storage room where I might be able to get 5 minutes of peace. 

I’m running my finger over a rack of synthetic fabrics in a wild array of colors when Katniss comes in a grabs my hand, tugging me along behind her. 

“Where are we-” I whisper as she pulls me along but she just raises a finger to her lips in a gesture for silence. She pulls me back behind several rows of coats and tugs me down to the floor where we both crouch anxiously. 

The next few minutes are a flurry of peacekeepers and our mentor and escort raising all hell trying to find us. They are almost frantic, and send out guards to find us with our descriptions. I feel immensely bad for making Effie and Haymitch worry but Katniss squeezes my arm and shoots me a look that pleads for me to remain quiet. At the last minute before Haymitch walks out the door he looks right at the spot where Katniss and I are hiding and he gives us a small wink. 

We wait for a few minutes before the coast is clear. 

Katniss emerges from the racks and helps me to my feet. 

“Why did we do that?” I ask her.

“Don’t you just want one day for yourself Peeta? Just one?” She asks me with a penetrating look. 

“Of course, but Katniss, what are we gonna do? Hang out in this storage room all day?” 

“No. We’re going to visit the places we want.” 

“And how exactly are we going to do that Ms. Everdeen? We’re famous remember?” 

“That’s where you come in.” She replies and gestures towards the racks of clothes, wigs, and accessories. I grin back at her and pluck a purple flowing wig off a mannequin and hold it out to her. She smiles back at me mischievously. 

After some clever styling we slip out the back of the store. Its a giddy and euphoric feeling to be out in public and just be another face among the crowd. 

Katniss reaches out to take my hand in hers, when we pass by a couple of Peacekeepers that are scanning the crowd, no doubt for us. I give her small hand a reassuring squeeze. We pass by the peacekeepers without them recognizing us and she breathes a sigh of relief, but she doesn’t let go of my hand. 

I find myself grinning at her and she looks up at me.

“What?” She asks, her brows scrunching in confusion. 

“Nothing, this is just more fun than I thought it would be.” I reply. 

“Well, the stuff that’s frowned upon usually is.” She says with a shrug and I can’t help but laugh at the old joke. She chuckles too, a little under her breath and I get the urge to pull her closer.

She asks me where I want to go and I tell her about the new oven, its on the other side of the avenue from us, though and the store she wants to visit is closer so I agree to go to her store first, and then mine after. 

She sends me a grateful smile and I feel a little too warm underneath my over sized orange coat that I borrowed from the store. I’m embarrassed by how easily she throws me off, even after all the time we’ve spent together. Just one of her smiles can wreck me unlike any other girl I’ve ever met. Which makes it so hard to be just friends with her. I shake my head to clear it of my worries. 

I decide to go ahead and just enjoy the time together, even if it's just as friends. I’m tired of trying to keep myself on such a tight ship. So I throw my arm around her shoulder and she surprisingly doesn't startle, or stiffen up under my touch.

She smiles at me a little, and it makes my heart skip a beat. And we just walk on, companionably. Well, at least for her it's companionably, for me...not so much. She feels nice under my arm. 

“I think we’re almost there,” She says and I look back down at the map directory. Sure enough she’s right.

When we finally get there, the shop is on the smaller side and its exterior is a purple sparkly color. The window display shows only a small hanging arrangement of the moon, with stars suspended around it. So I don’t automatically know what will be sold inside. Models? Dioramas? But I follow Katniss inside regardless.

And...I’m startled out of my wits when my eyes catch the first display.

There’s a giant pile of boxes stacked in a pyramid shape with a huge sign advertising edible underwear...buy two get the third free…

I turn to gape over at Katniss, but she’s already walking off quickly.

“I just need to get something really quick. You can wait here if you want or go look around. I’ll find you when I’m done.” She calls over her shoulder and I want to tell her to wait, to explain this, but I’m speechless and she’s gone in a blink.

I think I make some kind of croaking sound as I watch her retreat into the maze of isles. Isles filled with lingerie, and toys...and….

A sex shop...Katniss brought me to a sex shop…

What the holy crap?

Before I can even get my bearings, there’s a clerk at my elbow asking me if she can help me find anything in particular.

And I can’t get a word out, I’m blushing so hard. We don’t have anything like this in 12. Sex is like a dirty secret, something talked about in hushed whispers but not fit to be discussed in polite society. Also discussions of sex often lead to discussions of pregnancy and contraceptives. And since contraceptives are illegal in all of the districts, there’s another reason why people don’t talk about it much. Of course here in the Capitol it's different. And there are no restrictions on contraceptives. Sex is everywhere. But it's always kind of impersonal and unrealistic when people bring it up in conversations or I catch glimpses of it on the Capitol tv channels. Here in an actual store, whose business is to sell to people whatever they fantasize about it actually feels more real and personal than ever.

Had I walked into some kind of alternate reality or something? Had Katniss Everdeen been replaced by an alien creature of some sort? What are we doing here?

Suddenly I was too hot in the overlarge orange coat, and I peeled it off and tucked it under my arm while I also removed the large hat I was wearing. I needed to get my bearings for just a minute. 

“Oh! Its You! Wow! WELL! What a pleasant surprise!” I hear a voice to my side exclaim excitedly. 

Shit. I forgot about the sales girl. I looked over at her worriedly. 

“Mr. Mellark! Do you know what you’re looking for? I’d be happy to help you with anything. And of course all purchases made in our store come with the upmost guarantee in discretion.” The shop girl says.

 She’s young, probably too young to be working here. She looks about my age or maybe a year or two older. Wearing an off the shoulder green dress. She’s petite, blond, with green eyes. And she’s blinking up at me, with a coy smile on her lips.

Oh, crap. Not this again. Women had been getting especially aggressive lately, ever since I’d proposed to Katniss. It seemed being betrothed had the opposite effect it should have and I was getting more propositions now than ever. Not that I hadn't thought about it. And not that it wouldn’t be absurdly easy. I just didn’t think it would help anything in the long run. There was only one offer I was interested in...and she was only interested in being my friend. So, I was stuck in limbo for the time being.

“Um, no, I think maybe I’ll just wait here for my...girlfriend to come back…” I say quietly, looking away from her pink lip gloss smile.

“Don’t you mean fiance?” She says as she leans in just a bit.

“Oh, yeah, finance. Sorry, I keep forgetting that fancy word.” I say and reflexively take a step further inside the store, if only to put a little distance between us. Sometimes women got handsy as well as suggestive. And I’d rather not deal with that today.

“Oh, that’s just too cute.” She says with a laugh as she clasps her hands behind her back and arches just slightly, pushing her breasts out...

“Uh-” I stammer unintelligibly, because well...I’m a guy and every now and then a girl really did still surprise me or catch me off guard. She was really pretty too.

“You know, I’m a really big fan.” She says, finally relaxing and looking over at me again, with a secretive glint in her eye and a subtly arched eyebrow.

Damn she was good at flirting. I’d give her that.

“Thanks?” I reply finally, trying to reign in my responses. I know it's just a lot of built up sexual tension from spending so much time with Katniss. And getting attention from a good looking girl was pretty nice but….Katniss. Where was she again?

“So if there’s anything you see that you like around here, just let me know. Since it's your first time, you can get the Victor’s discount.” She says as she tosses her blond tresses over her shoulder.

And when she does, I can see she has one of those new Capitol tattoos, that change colors depending on the person’s mood, on her shoulder. It's in the shape of a compass star. Originally black, but right now it's slowly turning a deep burgundy color. My eyes are a little fascinated with the transformation of the ink.

“The what?” I ask, not quite having heard her words. Jeez, maybe Haymitch had been right and I just needed to get laid...just once? Maybe?

“The victor’s discount...on whatever you like...do you see anything you like?” She asks as she looks up at me, and I realize she’s caught me staring at her shoulder and her tattoo. And I probably turn about 10 different shades of red...maybe even burgundy...

I have no idea how to answer her question. It's painfully obvious she’s flirting with me. And I can’t deny that she’s attractive. But Katniss...

“Peeta?” Kantiss’s voice breaks the girl's hold on me and I whip my head over in her direction guiltily. She’s standing a few feet away, unconcerned look on her face as she takes me and the store clerk in.

“Katniss, I was just-” I start to say, to explain, I don’t know why… it just feels like I was doing something wrong. But Katniss and I aren’t even really together. So why does it feel wrong to have been caught staring at another girl?

“Come over here, I need your help.” She interrupts me before I could stammer out a useless explanation. 

“Sure!” I exclaim and jog over to her, leaving the shop girl and her offer behind.

I’m still trying to clear my thoughts, when she grabs my hand and drags me through the labyrinth of isles. She’s shed her overlarge coat too and the rest of her disguise I notice. But I only have think about it for a second as the items we pass in the isles practically scream for attention. 

 I didn’t know there could be so many different kinds of accessories, outfits, and stuff. The people here in the Capitol must be really bored if they need all this crap to keep themselves entertained.

But when we get to a smaller aisle, with rows of boxes, she finally stops.

“Ok, which ones are good? Or the best, or whatever?” She asks me, her grey eyes serious.

“What?!” I exclaim, as I stare at the boxes, stacked on top of each other. Condoms...lots and lots of condoms. With different colors, textures, and flavors…

What the heck does she want with all this? Had she finally decided to take things to the next level with Gale? And if so what the heck made her think I wanted to be involved in the selection process of whatever contraceptive they used while he-

“Don’t you know which ones are dependable or whatever?”

“No! Why would I? And why would you ask me something like this?”

“Because we’re friends, and I needed help.”

“I think this is a little too personal for me to help you with sorry, maybe you should just talk to Gale yourself if you want to know what he prefers-”

“I can’t talk to Gale about this-”

“Why the hell not? If he wants you to, then he should be able to take some of the responsibility,”

“What?”

“Nothing, just, I don’t think I can help-”

“Peeta... you think...you think I’m asking for ME?! And Gale?!”

“Well, why else?”

She starts laughing so hard she doubles over. I realize that I may have been jumping to conclusions. This is Katniss after all. Maybe the explanation is innocent. Or maybe she’s asking for my opinion because she finally...no...no...she couldn’t possibly, not with me…

Could she?

Then she’s laughing so hard she’s got tears in the corners of her eyes.

Nope. Definitely not with me. She tosses her head back and sucks in great gulps of air as she slaps her palm on my forearm. I should be offended by all this. Her, dragging me here, confusing me, and laughing at my confusion.

But she’s so damn cute. I start to laugh too, and then we’re both practically howling. And I laugh so hard I have to sit down. And she does too after a bit.

“Sorry, I guess I didn’t really explain. My mother asked me to buy some to refill her stockpile. Apparently she’s District 12’s resident contraceptive dispensary.” She tells me with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh, yeah, my brothers used to go to her a lot when they were in high school.” I comment. And suddenly it all does make sense, in a perfectly rational, but also confusing and very Katniss way.

“What? Really? So everyone knew but me?” She asks in a flabbergasted tone.

I shrugged. She was so innocent. It was precious and infuriating, and today it was downright hilarious.

“Maybe it was a blessing in disguise you never knew before now, considering the fiasco we had. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful, but I know just as much about this stuff as you probably do.” I admit and my cheeks burn a little but she just smiles gently at me.

She stands up to offer me her hand. I take it, and let her help me up since my prosthesis can be a little tricky when I switch from sitting to standing.

“Well, that narrows the field down some for possible suspects. Although, with the way that shop girl was eyeing you-” She says quietly, under her breath.

“Huh? What did you say?” I ask, wondering just how much of the conversation with the clerk she had picked up on.

“Oh,” She says, a little surprised, as if she hadn’t realized she’s been speaking out loud.

“Well, it's just my mother said one of my friends had come to her for this stuff. And I only have three friends in the world.”

“Who are your other friends besides Gale?”

“You. Madge Undersee. And Haymitch, I guess, except I don’t really feel like we’re friends with him so much these days, it's more like we’re his…”

“Babysitters when he’s had one too many drinks?” I offer with a smirk.

“Yeah, more like that, I guess.” She laughs deeply and it makes me feel warm inside.

“You should’ve asked him. I bet he’d know more about it.”

“I don’t want to ask Haymitch about this stuff. It’d be embarrassing.” She says as she wrinkles her small nose.

“I guess you’re right.” I tell her with a shrug.

“So how am I gonna decide which ones to get?” She asks in a troubled voice, as she looks back at the intimidating rows of boxes. And because it would be an absolutely terrible but hilarious idea, and I want to make her laugh again I lean over and whisper in her ear conspiratorially.

Then...

We try to keep our faces straight when we walk up to the counter, each of us with our arms piled high with boxes of condoms in every size, flavor, and texture imaginable.

The clerk looks up in absolute astonishment when we dump the haul on her countertop.

“We’ll take them all.” Katniss says in a confident and serious tone. But she has an absolutely evil glint in her eye. And the clerk looks back and forth between the two of us. Katniss steps closer to me, and incredibly drapes an arm over my shoulder. I look over in surprise, but she just smiles at me.

“Think that’ll be enough for the honeymoon darling?” She asks with a totally innocent air, and oh, it's so perfect, and incredible that I just want to make out with her right there on the spot.

But instead I say, “To start with at least.” In the best nonchalant way possible. And I think I can practically feel the astonishment come off the shop girl in waves. But when I turn to smile at her, she composes herself quickly and starts ringing up the boxes under Katniss’s watchful gaze.

“And don’t forget to add the Victor’s discount.” Katniss chimes in, and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Man, oh man, I really loved this woman…

“Of course, Ms. Everdeen.” The blond says and I can see her tattoo is now turning a faintly green color…

We leave the shop with two bags full. And as soon as we’re past the door we burst out laughing.

“Oh, Peeta, did you see her face?” Katniss huffs out breathlessly between laughs.

“Yeah,” I say between chuckles. She looks so beautiful right now, her cheeks rosey and her eyes sparkling.

“Your acting skills have vastly improved.” I tell her and she snorts out a little disbelieving laugh.

“You were so convincing. I thought she was going to rip up your money. She was so pissed at you.” She tells me with a disbelieving shake of her head.

“Oh, that- that was just-” I stammer as I try to respond.

“Peeta, she liked you. She was really pretty.” She tells me with a calm and searching gaze. I blush a little, and look away. God, how could she say these things to me?

“I prefer brunettes.” I say dryly, to try and change the subject and cut the tension a little.

She rolls her eyes at me, but then she looks back and stretches up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.

“What was that for?” I ask in astonishment.

“For helping me, and for making me laugh, and forget about everything for an afternoon.” And then she steps into me and wraps me in a hug. And I just relish the feeling of having her close to me, in a sincere and genuine way.

This is for me, not the cameras, and it feels wonderful. I wrap my arms around her, shopping bags twisting together, and hug her back. She relaxes into me and I feel my heart skip a beat again.

And the perfect moment is interrupted by the telltale click of a camera shutter a few yards away across the street.

“Damn,” I mutter under my breath. There goes our evening. No doubt the rest of the cameras will be swarming us any minute now. 

She smiles, partly amused into my shirt.

“It's alright. We had a lot of fun.” She says, before lifting her head up and catching me in a kiss.

It takes my breath away, a little, even though I should expect it by now. Her lips move over mine softly, gently, but there’s an edge of a smile in her kisses that makes me want to keep tasting her delicious mouth. So I pull her closer, and kiss her back with just a little bit of heat. And her breath deepens against me, and she slips her tongue into my mouth...for just a bit, before we break apart.

And if she had been blushing and gorgeous before, now she was flushed and radiant. And I was simultaneously looking forward and dreading our inevitable separation at the end of this tour.

“We better go find everyone else.” She says, a little breathlessly. And I smile at her.

“Sure.” I say as I drape my arm around her again. Because it really does feel nice, and I’d like to enjoy all of these sharp, pleasurable, confusing, amazing feelings while I still can.

“Do we still have time to catch that thing you wanted to see?” She asks as she adjusts her bag on her arm before we cross the street.

“Maybe, but even if we don’t I’m good just hanging with you.” I tell her sincerely and she gives me the warmest smile I’ve seen from her in a while. She bumps her hip into mine playfully and then wraps one small arm around my wait.