Help Me Make it Through the Night (Everlark Fanfic)

Chapter 33: My Wish

Katniss' POV

I've spent two weeks with Peeta at the bakery. The cut on my hip has healed and faded to a thin scar. But Peeta still hasn't let me stay home and hunt. I've been having fun, but I've also started getting cabin fever. The undeniable ache to run through the forest, setting snares and shooting game, any thing to get me back in the woods, my safe haven.

I roll over to find that Peeta is already up. I get dressed and walk down stairs to find Peeta just finishing our breakfast. But I smell something with them.

"Why are you making cheese buns here? We usually just bring some home from the bakery." I ask him.

"Yeah but those are never warm. I wanted to make your birthday breakfast special. Plus you might need something warm before you go out hunting." He says smirking. I look over to the calendar to see he's right. Plain as day, May 8th is revealed on the tear away we keep on the fridge. I had been so caught up in life that I hadn't felt the time go by, very unlike when I was a child when I counted the days since my father died or the days since I had my last meal. But I'm drawn out of my trance when I think of his last sentence.

"You're letting me go hunting?" I ask.

"Yeah, you deserve it. I've kept you away to long. I should trust you. Plus you've been obviously been getting restless being cooped up," he says and I laugh.

"Maybe just a little bit," I say, "Hey, you wanna come with me? I mean it being Saturday and all, you don't really need to be at the bakery, do you?"

"No, but I'm not exactly the quietest person when it comes to walking in the woods," he says.

"I don't care. I want to spend my birthday with you," I say.

"You do?" he asks.

"Unfortunately I've become infatuated with a one legged baker who can't walk soundlessly to save his life and after spend two weeks in the bakery with him can't stand to leave his side. So I'll go get ready and you can pack something for us to take with us," I say smirking.

"Well I was gonna stay home and make you some thing special for dinner or maybe a cake. I want your birthday to be special," Peeta says.

"I don't need a special birthday. Just the woods and you," I say kissing him on the cheek and walking past him to go get my bow.

*************
An hour later, Peeta and I are walking through the woods, the fresh spring air scented lightly with wild flowers blowing stray hairs in my face every once in a while. Though Peeta has gotten better at walking through the woods, he's still to hunt with.

"Is there anywhere special you're taking me?" he asks. I shake my head.

"No, just wherever our feet take us," I say. We keep walking around until I see something far off that I can't get a good look at.

"Peeta, hold up I have to look at something," I say, walking over to a tree and begin climbing up so I can see over the brush that naturally covers the forest floor.

"Please be careful," Peeta says.

"Peeta I've been climbing since before school," I say stubbornly reaching for the next branch.

"You've fallen quite a few times as well," he says as I reach a branch wide enough to support my full weight and sit. I look over towards where I saw movement before to see a wild dog. I look down to Peeta who is looking worriedly back up at me.

"It's just a dog. It should leave us alone. Let's just head the opposite way," I say as I begin to descend the tree. I get about half way down when I hear a crack and a branch breaks under me.