Chapter Text
Saturday, August 27th
Katniss didn’t even want the cat. But her sister couldn’t have Buttercup with her in her dorm and her mom was always busy at the hospital, so she was stuck with the mangy little beast. And it made Prim happy, so it was worth it, right?
At least, it would’ve been if the cat hadn’t disappeared. And it was her fault, she’d left the balcony door open. She was the worst cat owner ever. And the stupid cat knew it too, always giving her the stink eye when she was late putting food in his bowl. She figured she should probably be more diligent about that in the future, so the cat would actually want to stay with her. Maybe give him a treat every once in awhile. How does the whole cat owner thing even work? After watching Prim with him for years, she figured it’d be easy, but it wasn’t.
Katniss sighed, putting her head in her hands as she printed out a picture of Buttercup and Prim from her computer. Having a visual reference would hopefully help jog her neighbors’ memories. She didn’t have any other pictures of Buttercup, while Prim must’ve had a million, the way she was always taking pictures of him on her iphone and posting them on instagram. Yet another thing to add to the list of things that made her feel like a failure as a pet owner at the moment.
She grabbed the picture off the printer once it was done and set out to knock on people’s doors. Her neighbors who share her side of the building could’ve seen Buttercup out on the balcony at some point, he could even have jumped the few feet between their balconies. It was a place to start at least, so she turned right to the neighbors’ next door, and knocked. A minute later, just as she was raising her fist to knock again, the door swung open.
It was impossible not to remember his face from the few times they’d passed in the hallway: his startling blue eyes, ashy blond hair, and kind smile. What she hadn’t seen before, however, was his body. He was clad only in running shorts and her raised hand fell back to her side as her eyes drifted down his bare chest, noticing defined muscles glistening with sweat, and then quickly back up to his eyes, which now appeared amused. So he’d noticed then. Crap.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
“Yes, I’m looking for my cat,” she said, holding up the picture she brought with her.
“Oh! He’s right in here,” he said, ushering her inside. “I’m Peeta, by the way.”
“Katniss,” she said, following him into the living room.
“It seems our cats are in love,” he said, gesturing to a small cat bed in the corner of the room where two cats were entwined together, sleeping. One of them was Buttercup--Katniss let out a small sigh of relief--and the other was a white cat who opened its eyes to reveal a beautiful blue that seemed to eerily match Peeta’s own eyes. Upon waking, the cat snuggled closer to Buttercup and went back to sleep.
“This is...not what I was expecting,” Katniss laughed. “What’s your cat’s name?”
“Poppy,” he said. “Yours?”
“Buttercup,” she said. There was something so kind in his face, something that made Katniss feel warm and safe, and somehow the whole story came spilling out. She told him how the cat was a stray they took in a few years ago, how Prim had loved him immediately and claimed him as her own, how Katniss and the cat had always hated each other but now had to live together, and how upset she was when she couldn’t find him in the apartment this morning.
“Your sister, is she the one in the picture?” Peeta asked. He sat down on the couch and gestured for Katniss to do the same.
“Yes,” Katniss said, sitting beside him.
“She’s beautiful, she looks just like you,” he said. She blushed at his words, not missing that he was calling her beautiful.
“Really? People usually say the opposite,” she said, which was true. Katniss’s black hair, gray eyes, and olive complexion didn’t match her sister’s blonde and blue-eyed look.
“No, I can see it. You have the same smile,” he said, his eyes lingering on her lips. “And your eyes are similar, while not the same color, and your cheekbones.” At her widened eyes, Peeta smiled shyly. “Sorry, I’m an artist. I notice these things.”
“Well, thank you,” she said. She looked again at the picture of Prim and could see what he meant. It filled her with unexpected joy. “Did he come in through the balcony?”
“Yeah,” Peeta said, gesturing at the balcony door across the room. “When I woke up, he and Poppy were both meowing at each other through the glass and banging their heads against it trying to get to each other. I took pity on them and let him in.”
“I really thought I closed the balcony door last night,” Katniss said, putting her head in her hands. “I’m the worst cat owner ever.”
“Hey, Buttercup’s okay. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he said, placing a comforting hand on her back. “Hey um...is Buttercup neutered? Because we might have a problem if he’s not.”
“Oh. Oh. I’ll-I’ll have to ask Prim,” Katniss said, sitting up. Peeta’s hand fell back to his side and she had the strangest urge to grab it. “Here, I’ll text her right now.” She pulled out her phone and sent her a quick text.
Katniss [sent 10:21am]: Hey Prim, is Buttercup neutered? He might be a dad if he’s not.
Katniss stood up. “Um, I guess I should be going. Can I get your number so I can text you when I hear back from Prim?”
“Yeah, of course,” Peeta said. Katniss passed her phone over to him and he used it to call his phone. “There. Now I have your number too.” He passed her phone back to her, smiling.
She pocketed it and the picture of Buttercup and Prim and walked over to the cat bed in the corner. She steeled herself, knowing Buttercup would begin struggling immediately, which he then did the second she picked him up. She tightened her hold on him and asked Peeta to get the door for her.
“Thanks for…everything,” Katniss said awkwardly.
“Don’t mention it,” Peeta said, shrugging as he opened the door.
“I…I guess I’ll see you around,” she said. Why was she so reluctant to leave?
“Oh, I’d count on it,” Peeta said.
Katniss needed to relieve some stress, so she headed down to her complex’s pool to swim laps. She usually went running on her workouts, but in the summer she liked to switch things up and go swimming a couple times a week.
The cool water helped calm her heated body, and she was able to lose herself in the rhythmic strokes. Thoughts of her stupid cat and his virility and her stupidly handsome neighbor faded blissfully away.
It was a short-lived bliss though. She was snapped quickly back to reality as she was toweling off and her phone chimed with a text message.
Prim [sent 12:04pm]: Oh shit really? He’s not. Who’s the lucky cat?
Dread coursed through her as she wrapped her towel around herself and sat down heavily on one of the plastic chairs.
Katniss [sent 12:06pm]: Poppy, my next door neighbor’s cat.
Prim [sent 12:08pm]: Oh wow. Well we should still get him neutered to be safe. I can call his vet and schedule an appointment if you want, when are you free?
Katniss [sent 12:09pm]: It’s okay, I can call her. You programmed it into my phone, remember?
Prim [sent 12:10pm]: Oh right. Sorry I’m not there for this. Is your neighbor pissed?
Katniss [sent 12:12pm]: No, he was really nice about it. I think he mostly finds it funny.
Prim [sent 12:12pm]: HE? Is he a cute boy, Katniss?
Katniss [sent 12:13pm]: ….
Prim [sent 12:13pm]: !!!
Katniss sighed. Was the vet even open Saturdays? It turned out she was. She made an appointment with Dr. Mason for early Monday morning. She was working from home that day so it shouldn’t be a problem. The real problem was figuring out what to say to Peeta.
Katniss: Hey, sorry my cat might have
impregnated your cat, but want to go out for a drink sometime?
Erase, erase, erase. She typed out a new message and stared at it for a few minutes, wondering if there was anything she could change to make this whole thing less awkward, but there wasn’t, so she hit send and headed back to her apartment to shower.
Katniss [sent 12:34pm]: Hey, it’s Katniss. Turns out my cat isn’t neutered, but I’m fixing that on Monday so this’ll never happen again. Sorry.
Peeta [sent 12:35pm]: Ok, no worries. Thanks for letting me know.
Monday, August 29th
Peeta [sent 5:23pm]: How’d Buttercup’s surgery go?
Katniss [sent 5:25pm]: Good! It was a really quick procedure, just no bathing or exercising for two weeks, and I have to monitor his wounds, but he should be okay.
Peeta [sent 5:27pm]: Sweet. Any chance he’d be up for some cat treats? I made some for Poppy and I have extras.
Katniss [sent 5:28pm]: Oh yeah definitely. I never give him treats so he’d be all over that.
Peeta [sent 5:28pm]: Haha ok, I’ll be right over.
Katniss paused her TV, quickly switched her sweatpants for jeans, and then ran to answer the door. Peeta was fully clothed this time, in dark jeans slung low on his hips and a light gray t-shirt with paint splatters on it. Were they there when he bought the t-shirt? She wondered. She didn’t know how to ask that. She didn’t really know what to say in general, but she invited him in anyway.
“So where’s Buttercup?” Peeta asked, setting the tupperware container full of treats on the kitchen counter.
“On the couch,” Katniss said, gesturing. Peeta nodded in response, removing a single treat from the container and walking over to the couch.
“Hey, Buttercup,” Peeta whispered. “Do you want a treat?” He held it out in his palm and Buttercup sniffed at it before gobbling it out of Peeta’s palm, licking his hand when he was done. Peeta sat down beside him and stroked his head gently.
“So, um, you made them yourself? What?” Katniss said, cringing internally at herself. She took a seat in the armchair by the couch as Peeta and Buttercup hadn’t left a lot of room for her.
Peeta laughed. “Yeah, my family’s owned a bakery in town for generations, so I was raised as a baker, and I love it, so I try to make things for Poppy every once in a while. It’s one way I take care of the people I love, I guess, giving them food.”
“Well, thanks,” Katniss said. She suspected he’d made a batch just for her, and she didn’t know what to do with that. “I feel like I should be the one giving you treats, since, you know, my cat was the one who snuck over to your apartment and impregnated your cat.”
Peeta laughed again and Katniss felt her stomach flutter. “Hey, we don’t know anything yet.”
“True, true. Still though… I feel like I owe you,” Katniss said. “What are you doing for dinner? I could order a pizza...if-if you want.”
“Sure,” Peeta said, smiling.
After they agreed on toppings (half pineapple, half pepperoni), Katniss put the order in on the Domino’s app on her phone. Buttercup curled up in Peeta’s lap and Peeta made room for Katniss on the couch. She joined him without hesitation.
“What were you watching?” Peeta asked, gesturing to the TV. Katniss had forgotten all about it, but it was still paused on the same Kleenex commercial.
“The Parent Trap. It was on and...I love that movie,” Katniss said. There was nothing embarrassing about it, but for some reason her cheeks heated.
“Lindsay Lohan or original?”
“Lindsay Lohan.
“Awesome. What part are you at?” Peeta asked, leaning back and putting his feet up on her coffee table. Normally she would’ve been annoyed that he’d assumed he could, but she just smiled and put her feet up too.
“They just figured out that they’re twins.”
“Awesome. You’d think they’d have figured it out sooner, but I do love that scene,” Peeta said.
“Me too,” she said. She picked up the remote and fast-forwarded through the commercials, pressing play when she saw the cabin that meant it was back on.
“You know, when I was little, I always wished I was a twin,” Peeta said, stroking Buttercup’s head absently.
“Really? Why?”
“Well, I have two older brothers, and we didn’t always get along when we were kids, so it was more that I wished I had someone there who’d be on my side no matter what. I didn’t think of what would happen if I didn’t get along with my twin either.” His tone was light, but she could tell from his eyes that the pain he was remembering was anything but. It didn’t escape her notice that the feeling that no one was on his side probably included his parents. She didn’t know how to comfort him, or if he’d even want to be comforted.
“It would’ve been nice to have a twin,” Katniss said finally. “I had to take care of my sister a lot after our dad died...It would’ve been nice to have someone there to help me.” She smiled at him sadly and she could tell from the look in his eyes that this was the comfort he needed. I felt alone too.
“I’m sorry about your father.” He laid a comforting hand on her knee and she nodded, resting her hand on top of his. After a moment where nothing seemed to exist but the mere touch of his hand, they both pulled away, turning back to the TV in silent agreement.
“Ok,” Peeta begins just as Annie’s meeting her dad for the first time, “so obviously I love this movie, but...who the hell agrees to a custody arrangement of ‘let’s each take one kid and never speak to each other again’? What kind of fight did they even have that led to that? And they were the last ones to notice that something wasn’t right with their kid after they came back from summer camp! Who are these people?”
“I know, right?” Katniss laughed. “Chessie is much more of a parent to them, she should have full custody.”
“Agreed.” A knock on the door signaled the pizza had finally arrived, and Katniss put Buttercup in her room and shut the door before answering. She recognized the delivery man from the last time she ordered pizza, and they made small talk as she signed the credit card slip and he handed her the pizza. It must’ve been fresh out of the oven the way it nearly burned her hands before she could set it on the kitchen counter.
She took two plates out of the cupboard and turned around to see Peeta behind her. The pupils in his eyes had shrunk from the bright kitchen lights so she could really appreciate how blue they were for the first time. Like the sky after a storm. They were only about a foot apart now, had she moved closer? She couldn’t remember moving. We’re both just standing near the pizza box, she told herself. That’s why we’re standing so close together. “Do you... want any water? Or diet coke? I’m sorry I don’t have anything else…” She trailed off.
“Water’s good,” he said.
And...suddenly this felt like a date. But no, it wasn’t a date. No. Her first date in years could not be a “Sorry my cat kind of broke into your apartment and had sex with your cat and now we’re in the middle of a cat pregnancy scare, so to make it up to you, I ordered Domino’s pizza for us to share” dinner. She refused.
It was possible she was overreacting though. Her best friend in high school, Gale, had had a crush on her for years before he asked her out and even then she didn’t realize he’d asked her on a date until she was on the date… So now she tended to see things that weren’t there. Like now. Probably.
She got glasses of water for the both of them and carried them into the living room while Peeta carried their plates. She’d loaded her plate with three pieces of pizza and didn’t hesitate to start gorging herself once she was seated on the floor and Peeta had set her plate down on the coffee table in front of her.
They hadn’t paused the TV when the pizza arrived, so they’d missed a few minutes, but neither of them seemed to mind. She glanced at Peeta out of the corner of her eye, eating his pizza with about as much grace as she was (ie: none). She couldn’t help but think how nice this was. She was starved for friendship, she realized, not just pizza. Please don’t think this is a date, she silently pleaded. I could really use a friend.
The rest of the night passed in a blur: cleaning up the pizza mess, feeding their cats, sitting back down to the rest of the movie but talking through most of it.
“Thanks again for the pizza,” Peeta said at the door. “I had a great time tonight.”
“Me too,” Katniss said. She held her arms open and he did the same and then they were hugging. She felt his warm breath on the top of her head and then he left, their “See you later!”s echoing in the hallway and lingering on their lips.
Saturday, September 17th
The last few weeks had been full of nights much like that one. They watched movies, the Food Network, they even had a Pasta and Laundry night where they did laundry in their complex’s laundromat together and Peeta made pasta for them both.
Buttercup was allowed to be around other cats again two weeks after his surgery, so she’d brought Buttercup with her to Peeta’s apartment whenever she went over, and Peeta would bring Poppy to her place too. Their cats were actually really cute together. She’d only ever seen Buttercup be this sweet to Prim, so it was nice to see him with Peeta and Poppy, and he was even warming up to her now too. It helped that she’d gotten better at remembering to feed him on time, and with help from Peeta, she’d gotten better at what she was feeding him too.
So when Peeta asked if she wanted to go with him when he took Poppy to the vet today, she said yes.
Now, as they sat on the blue bench in the exam room, Katniss pitied Poppy in the cat carrier. She’d gained a lot of weight in the last few weeks, so she must be feeling more cramped than usual. She didn’t make any noises of complaint though, which Katniss admired.
The room was similar to the one she’d been in with Buttercup just a few weeks ago, but for the painting of a bird in flight on the wall that caught Katniss’s eye. It didn’t look like any bird Katniss knew, but it was beautiful, with feathers of gray and white.
“Do you like it?” Peeta asked.
“Yes, it’s lovely,” Katniss said. Peeta smiled at that and suddenly Katniss knew. “You painted it.”
“I did.” His smile was shy now, and she felt warm all over. Impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“It’s beautiful, Peeta,” she whispered.
Peeta’s eyes were wide. “Wh--” He was cut off by a knock at the door, shortly followed by an incredibly attractive man entering the room. His green eyes met Peeta’s and widened in surprised.
“Peeta! You didn’t tell me you were coming in today!” he said. Peeta stood and gave him a quick, tight hug.
“Sorry, Finnick. I wanted to surprise you,” Peeta said, sitting down next to me again.
“Well, I’m surprised,” he said, his eyes slid over to me. “Who’s this?”
“This is Katniss,” Peeta introduced. “Katniss, this is Finnick.” They shook hands.
“Ah yes, the Finnick,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Though, not that you were Poppy’s vet.” She had heard lots of other things about him though. Finnick and Peeta had met through Annie, Finnick’s wife, who was the manager at Peeta’s bakery. They were Peeta’s best friends. She wondered what it meant that she hadn’t been told she was meeting him today.
“Well, I’ve heard nothing about you,” Finnick said. He looked accusingly at Peeta, who looked away pointedly.
“I’m Peeta’s neighbor. We think my cat might have gotten Poppy pregnant,” Katniss said.
“Aha, well, let’s find out,” he said. He got to work then, washing his hands and putting on latex gloves. Katniss and Peeta took Poppy out of the cat carrier and set her on the table for him when he was ready.
Finnick pet Poppy gently for a few moments, helping her relax, then moved his hands expertly over her stomach. After a few moments, he looked back up at Katniss and Peeta. “Well, you were right. She’s pregnant.”