Fragile

Chapter Four: Almost burning Her

I can't believe he left us alone for the third time this week! Peeta thought as he and Katniss sat curled up on the couch together. Over the past week, they had grown considerably close, and Gale saw that, but he didn't know exactly how close they had gotten. He didn't know about the nights when Peeta went into Katniss' room and held her. He was always out of her room before Gale would come in there to see if she were up yet. Katniss looked up at Peeta through her long lashes.

"I'm hungry, Peeta," she said softly. He nodded and got up to fix them something to eat. Although he hadn't said anything, he was hungry also. He opened the fridge and looked.

Nothing, he thought. Katniss entered the kitchen and looked with him. "Can't you just cook us something?"

"What do you have in mind?" He asked her.

"Well, maybe we can have omelets even though it's nearly two in the afternoon," she said as she leaned against the kitchen counter. He nodded and took out the carton of eggs along with some bacon and cheese.

"You like bacon and cheese in yours?" He asked her and she nodded, her flower crown slipping a bit. He smiled and leaned over, adjusting her flower crown for her. She smiled at him once he did and kissed his cheek. He accepted the gesture and went to crack the eggs.

Once he had his egg mixture together and had fried his bacon, he poured some of the egg mixture into the hot skillet as Katniss watched, very intrigued. She was not one to cook and whenever she did, she burned it to a black crisp. Peeta looked over and noticed how close her sleeve was to the burner on the stove. The burner was the one Peeta knew would flare up sometimes and start a small fire that easily could be put out with a damp dish towel. "Hey, Kat, step back--" before the sentence could even leave his mouth, the burner flared up and her sleeve caught afire. She screamed and waved her arm around, trying to put out the fire. "Take it off!" Peeta yelled. She quickly threw her jumper off and stomped on it, her flower crown falling off as she did so. Peeta quickly put the fire out and put the skillet on the back burner while he tended to her. All she had under her jumper was a black camisole and her bra, and his eyes lingered a bit too long on her breast. She noticed it and blushed as she quickly covered her chest with her arms. Peeta's testosterone was taking over so he quickly met her embarrassed gaze. He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. He had no clue what to say and she didn't either. He carefully checked over her arm, which was unharmed thankfully, but the jumper was another story though. His eyes landed back on her breast and she grabbed his chin to make him make eye contact.

"P-Peeta, that's how my mother's boyfriend looked at me," she said quietly, dropping his chin.

He gave her an apologetic look and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Kat, I'm sorry, I'm a guy and you're really attractive--"

"That's why I wear oversized tops! I told you that!" She exclaimed on the verge of tears. Peeta hated seeing her cry and he definitely hated being the reason why.

"Katniss, I'm sorry if I offended you," he apologized. "I know how insecure you are about your body, but I need you to know that I didn't look at you that way just because of your body." She gave him a confused look. "Katniss, I really like you," he said, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her lips. She kissed him back as he placed his hands on her hips, slipping them under her camisole and against her sides. As much as she wouldn't admit it, Katniss liked his hands on her skin. His hands were rough with callouses from working in his father's bakery for years before he moved across the state.

"I really like you too," she murmured against his lips. He smiled a bit and swiped his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entry, which she allowed him. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her up onto the counter and stood between her legs as he gently tugged on her camisole. Without thought, she lifted her arms and he pulled it over her head. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he began to trail kisses along her jaw. She did what came natural, which was tug at his shirt, which he gladly took off before claiming her mouth again with his. They both came to their senses and pulled away when they heard Gale's keys and him in the living room say, "What's with all the smoke in here?"