Look at us, being functional adults! Who: Alyssa and Peeta What: Alyssa’s birthday is coming up! Where: Alyssa’s house When: June 14th Rating: PG. Status: Complete!
Having Gale come over for a dinner had been the highlight of Peeta’s last couple weeks because everything just went downhill from there. The Dreams intensified and the past couple days he had been barely able to leave the bed. There was all sorts of questioning from the Capitol and things only got worse when he managed to alert Katniss that the Capitol was planning an attack. He had suffered greatly for that bit of rebellion and the wounds had shone through. It was one of the worst experiences of his life and ranked up there with the explosion that he lost his leg in. The worst part was how much he knew Alyssa was worrying about him while he suffered through it, lost in a haze of pain and tracker jacker venom. He knew his Dream memories were completely twisted now and he hoped to god he didn’t encounter Katniss in this world because he was unsure of how he would react to her because of the conditioning that happened.
Fortunately, there was light at the long end of the tunnel. Annie had told him there was hope in the end and he finally reached that part of his Dreams. The rescue team from District 13 had made it into the Capitol and rescued all of the Tributes from the cells they were held in. It was a dangerous thing to do because when he arrived in District 13 and saw Katniss for the first time he attempted to kill her. Thankfully the rest of his Dreams for the morning seemed to pass in a blur as the team in District 13 got him ready to start healing and staying away from her. That was the first time in a long time that he felt hope blooming inside of him and he woke in the early morning and knew he had to straighten out his thoughts by keeping busy.
The date on his phone reminded him that Alyssa’s birthday was the next day and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to show his gratitude and appreciation for everything she had been doing for him for almost a month now. He padded barefoot downstairs to the kitchen and began to whip up a breakfast for her. It didn’t take long before the house smelled like heaven and he made sure to leave a plate for Kitty before putting it all on a tray for Alyssa. The meal consisted of coffee, orange juice, Nutella pancakes, toast, bacon, and some fresh fruit. A smile was on his face, feeling more normal than he had for a long time, as he walked over to where she was sleeping and used a piece of her own hair to tickle her face to wake her up.
Alyssa had hated to see Peeta suffer, but she refused to do anything but help him in his time of need. That’s what friends did, never mind the fact she loved him. So she sat up with him, carefully using her light to make sure that nothing too terrible happened to his body. She wished it would work on his mind too, but knew that would be far harder to soothe. She read to him while he slept, happy children’s books that she hoped would filter into his subconscious and push out all of the awful. Or at least comfort him while he was in that dark, awful place.
When she felt hair on her face she groaned, then smiled. “Flowers, lemme sleep,” she murmured, batting a hand at where she thought the cat was mussing with her hair.
The actions and the comment earned a chuckle from Peeta, who just continued to keep it up. At least Flowers was getting the initial brunt of her annoyance. A quick thought to snap a photo on his phone passed through his mind, but he wasn't able to reach it from where he was. Instead he finally relented and leaned down to place butterfly kisses on her face as he whispered, "Wake up, beautiful." And when she did she would eventually notice a familiar twinkle in his eyes of almost being back to his old self and no longer captive of his Dreams.
Smiling, she reached out to wrap her arms around him. “Mmm, morning, Peeta.” She opened her eyes slowly, half thinking she was still dreaming. Cocking her head, she stroked his cheek. “You look like you feel a bit better.” She hoped it was true.
"I was rescued in the Dreams and healing in the rebel District, which means I am finally past the torture," the relief in his voice was thick as he leaned down to kiss her properly. She was perfection to him and he smiled as he broke the kiss, "I am forever thankful that you took care of me during that. So, I made you breakfast as an early birthday and thank you present." He had to move out of her arms to grab the tray from the dresser and brought it over to her.
Her eyes widened and she felt her eyes gloss over with tears. “You feeling better is all the present I need.” She moved her fingers to her hair and started to fingercomb through, wanting to look a little more presentable for him. “You didn’t have to do this, you should be recovering. I’ll eat it on one condition, that we share.”
The tears in her eyes earned a kiss from him as he set the tray down on her lap with a chuckle, "I like your hair all tangled. You don't have to comb it right now. And I will accept your condition. Let me climb back into bed with you." He let go of the tray once she had control of it and went around to the other side of the bed before climbing up into a spot beside her. He kissed her temple and helped her get situated, "Nutella pancakes, by the way. I even made extra for Kitty."
“You’re sweet,” Alyssa smiled, leaning against him and letting her head rest on his shoulder. “I love you so much. God, I’m so glad you’re all right.” Her eyes closed, and she smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. She felt content and happy for the first time since this had all started. “Thank you.”
"You and me both. That was one of the worst experiences of my life. I am incredibly lucky to have found you because I don't think anyone else would still love me after that," he pointed out to her as he reached down to take her hand in his, his thumb running over the back of it, "I love you."
“Well, people who leave when things get tough aren’t worth it,” Alyssa murmured. She snuggled closer, closing her eyes. “You being well is so important to me. I’ll do anything I can for you.”
“That’s exactly how I feel,” Peeta took a deep breath as he watched her snuggle against him. There had been a thought that wouldn’t leave his mind over the past few weeks and he just decided that he should let it be known, “I don’t think I can ever find anyone else who compares to you. You are perfect for me and I know that’s crazy to say since we’ve only been together for a short time, but it’s true. You’re it, Alyssa. I know this in my bones. Marry me.” He knew it was kind of a silly way to propose because he didn’t have a ring or anything like that, but he didn’t intend for this to happen, but he was taking his recent dream troubles as a sign to just embrace life.
Alyssa smiled when he flattered her, but then she opened her eyes, leaning back. Had he just proposed? “Did you - “ She was grinning, so it was obvious that she wasn’t upset by it, but she still couldn’t believe it.
“It’s a horrible proposal,” he quickly commented with a deep blush in his cheeks when she looked at him. At least she wasn’t angry at him? He had to know that it was a surprise to her because he hadn’t planned it at all either.
“You mean it?” Her lower lip wobbled a bit, and she turned to stroke his cheek. “You don’t have to say things just to make me feel better or whatnot. I just... dunno, usually boys are all ‘ugh, commitment’.” She was used to Logan being passive aggressive, wanting her then pushing her away for her ‘own good’.
’Oh god, please don’t cry, please don’t cry.’ He did not want to watch her cry, although happiness was probably better than sadness However, her comment did make him chuckle gently as he nodded against her hand, “I do mean it. I even said to Gale that I was going to marry you. I didn’t expect to ask you right now, obviously, but I don’t want to keep these feelings to myself. I’ve never felt this way before.”
She felt her eyes tear over, and she started to nod. “Of course I’ll marry you. I mean, I’d hoped - I’d hoped since Easter, but I figured I was just doing the girlie thing.” Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him gently. “I’m glad I’m not the only hopeless romantic in this room.”
The Easter comment earned a smirk from Peeta, but it quickly turned into a smile as she leaned forward to kiss him. He reached a hand out to steady the tray that was still on the bed and returned the kiss. When they parted he reached up to brush some hair out of her face, “Since Easter? Really? And no, we’re both stupidly romantic. I’m sorry I don’t have a ring or anything...would you want to pick one out tomorrow for your birthday?”
“Well, not realistically, not since Easter. I don’t know, I just knew I was keeping you.” Alyssa smiled at him, running her thumb over his cheekbone, appreciating how cute he was. “I’m lucky.” But he mentioned rings and her blue eyes went wide. “Oh my god you’re serious yes yes yes. I’m still not unconvinced this isn’t a fever dream, though. Pinch me?”
“Keeping me. I like the sound of that,” Peeta admitted with a smile as he leaned into her touch slightly before laughing at her next comment. Only Alyssa would decide that none of this was real and it was all a dream, but she asked for a pinch. He snaked a hand down to playfully grab at her ass, “I’m very serious. We don’t have to get married for a long time, but I’m putting a ring on it. You helped save me, Alyssa. I’m so in love with you.”
“We’ll get married when the time’s right, but I like ... you just said you’re putting a ring on it. Oh, god, now I’m thinking of you doing the dance.” Alyssa couldn’t help it and burst into giggles.
“I would never say no to you dancing around on the bed,” Peeta laughed before leaning in to kiss her once again, “Now, start eating your breakfast. I didn’t spent all that time making Nutella pancakes for you to not try them out.” This was absolute perfection right now. His girlfriend had just agreed to marry him and he couldn’t believe how good things were now that he was out of the torture.
“Remember, we’re splitting.” She moved so she could eat the pancakes, sighing contentedly. Nutella was her kryptonite. “Is Gale going to be your best man? Oh, we could have his dog be the ring bearer since we don’t know any kids.” This was crazy, but she loved it.
“I should just pick Gale so I don’t have to make my brothers fight over it. And oh god, you want a dog ring bearer? You’re such a girl. I’m surprised you didn’t want to try and train Flowers how to walk on a leash,” Peeta laughed as he leaned playfully against her and reached out to take couple pieces of fruit from the tray and pop them in his mouth.
“Oh my god that’s the best idea we have time to do it and I can get him a wee bow tie.” Alyssa’s eyes lit up and she grinned at him excitedly.
And with that Peeta almost choked on his fruit before coughing a couple times, “Oh sweet jesus. That is ridiculous. Actually, you know what. If you manage to make it happen then I will allow it. Otherwise maybe Gale would be nice enough to let us use Tella.”
“We have to use an animal because we don’t know any children. Having an adult do it is just creepy,” Alyssa grinned. Oh, Peeta had asked for this. She patted his back helpfully, amused at the idea of someone dragging Flowers down the aisle by a harness.
A playful roll of the eyes was given before he leaned over to kiss her temple again. He snatched a piece of bacon and gently waved it in front of him as he spoke, “You never know what may happen by the time we get married. We don’t even have a date set at this moment. The minute you start making a binder then we’re in trouble. Although, I should ask if you have a secret Pinterest board dedicated to this possibly.”
“Pinterest is the place where people do nail tutorials that nobody could possibly do, right? I don’t even have an account. And why would I need a binder to get married?” She blinked. “Oh god, you know more about this than I do. You get to plan it. I’m just going to focus on cat training.”
“Nope, I’m not going to be in charge of this whole thing. I’m going to be helping you along with it, but I’m going to let you do most of the decisions, if you want. And Pinterest and binders I know about because I own a bakery. There are a ton of brides that come in with both of those things to show me ideas,” he pointed out with a laugh. He didn’t want to shove everything on her, but he knew weddings were a bigger deal to the bride, but he wanted it to be a partnership.
“We’ll do everything together, I’m just being silly. But no, I’m not mad. I don’t have like, colours picked out or anything.” She wrinkled her nose. “I just sort of figured you got a dress, had someone make a cake, and then had it in someone’s garden with your mates.” Alyssa was inherently practical above all things and would probably insist on buying a vintage dress to save money.
“We can certainly do that, if you want,” Peeta had to admit he enjoyed the fact that Alyssa didn’t seem like the type to completely go bridezilla on him. The idea of just having a wedding in a garden seemed quite nice, but he didn’t know many people with their own place. He was sure there were lovely garden venues around the area, “And I’ll be making the cake because I don’t trust anyone else. I can make sure you have a cake tasting though if you want.” His eyebrows wiggled at the double entendre he threw in there.
Snorting, Alyssa took another bite of pancake. “We can cake test whenever you like, luv.” She thought weddings should be small and intimate; the idea of having some huge extravagant thing seemed exhausting. “We have ages to worry about all of that, though. Really, we should just focus on honeymoon practice.”
“We do. We can just enjoy the engagement for a while before people, and by that I mean my mother, start bothering us about when we’re going to get married. And I’m all for honeymoon practice,” he commented with a laugh as he leaned down and nuzzled playfully against her neck, “Do want to wait until after breakfast to have serious life discussions? We should probably hash out a few things about our future before it becomes a problem.”
“Why can’t we talk and eat? And what about?” Alyssa handed him another bit of fruit, popping it into his mouth before taking a bite for herself. “Oh, about finances and children and the lot?”
“Basically,” he mumbled around the fruit in his mouth. He finished chewing, swallowed, and then managed to speak properly, “We should probably make sure we’re on the same page before I kidnap you for the rest of your life and hide you in my bakery’s dungeon.” He kept his expression serious as he reached down to steal some of the pancakes.
“I prefer leather to rope,” Alyssa quipped, wondering if he’d choke on his pancakes. “Do you want children? I don’t know, really, I’m just - I don’t know, I don’t think I want them? But you probably want a million.” Crap, would this be a huge deal?
Only slightly. He was slowly becoming immune to her random comments like that, but he still enjoyed knowing random facts like that. Some day it would come into play. “I do want children. I’m not expecting to have five of them running around or anything, but at least one,” he answered softly as he watched her carefully. Oh how he hoped this wouldn’t be an issue with her, “But it certainly doesn’t have to happen anytime soon. We’re both incredibly young and we have a lot of time to live our lives.”
She nodded. “One with you would be good. Maybe two, but when we’re ready. It’s weird, now that Mum isn’t pushing me to have them with my ex, I don’t feel as strongly about not having them. But I do think they should be planned for, so there’s room in our lives. Planning is always good.” Alyssa smiled lopsidedly; she liked planning things out. She was a listmaker through and through.
“I’m definitely okay with planning. That would be preferable. I’m not going to hate you if something happens by accident, but I’d much rather be prepared as much as I could be. And besides, you love me so much that you think the idea of having strawberry blonde children would be adorable,” Peeta pointed out to her with a laugh as he ate another bit of pancake, “Okay, so one thing off our list to talk about.”
“Oh, redhaired genes are dominant in my family. And our first child will be a girl, because of what I am.” She hoped he wouldn’t be upset by having another Rooder in the family.
“Oh really? Well, that’s kind of nice to know,” Peeta made a face as he considered that. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a huge issue to have another Rooder. Alyssa knew what she was doing and she could help their future daughter along. And the idea of having a girl was a happy one because he was sure that his mother would die of happiness to have a girl in the family.
“I don’t think there’ll be as many demons around here, and even if there are, there’s loads of other people to help with them.” Besides, Alyssa would defend any children of hers until the death; family to her was one of the most important things in the world. Family was also mostly her friends, her “chosen” family, since she’d not really ever been super close to her mother.
“Yup, there’s definitely a lot of demon hunters around here. Alright, what’s next to talk about,” Peeta mused as he snatched another piece of bacon and munched on it thoughtfully, “Do you want me to move in here then? Unless you want to buy our own house, but why bother when this one is quite nice.” They just had the move in discussion briefly, but that was before they were engaged.
“I like this house, and it’s really up to you as to when you want to move in. I can talk with Kitty about it, but I can’t imagine she’d be too upset since she understands I’m mad.” Really, Kitty knew better than anyone else that Alyssa leaped before looking.
"Talk to her first. We can take our time since it is still so new. I have a few months left on my lease anyway," he wanted to get Kitty's approval before attempting to move in. It was going to happen eventually, but if it took more time than so be it. Maybe better to take that part of it slow.
Alyssa smiled, and leaned in to kiss him again. “You’re just letting me know that someday, when we’re ready, we’re going to get married. And I .... I’m not used to people staying in my life for long periods of time. I’m usually alone. So. Thank you.”
The kiss was happily returned before he rested his forehead against hers, “I’ll be here for you forever until you get sick of me and kill me. Just don’t hide my body in your backyard because that’s the first place they’ll look. But seriously, I’m just thankful that I make you happy and you never have to be alone ever again.”
“I wouldn’t kill you, you git. I’m actually friends with all of my exes, still. Not super close, but close enough.” Oh, god. They were going to dogpile him once they heard. Alyssa facepalmed. “Let me tell one of them before you tell everyone about this, yeah?”
“Well, it’s a good thing that I don’t intend on ever becoming an ex,” Peeta pointed out with a laugh as she facepalmed. That was never a good sign and his brow furrowed just slightly, “Should I be worried about that one? I’m not going to be stalked and mysteriously injured after you tell him, am I?”
“Oh, he knows I’d never let you get hurt, and he knows that while he may be very ‘grr argh I have pointy claws, eh’ I can shoot him in the face and it’ll sting.” She folded her arms. “Nobody will hurt you. Ever. Not here, anyway.” She couldn’t keep him safe in her dreams, but she’d be damned if he came to harm in their waking lives.
“Mmmmhmm…” he murmured with a pointed look. He still didn’t understand any of her past relationships, but that’s what they were - past - so he didn’t really have to worry about it. He grabbed another bite of pancake and chewed as he tried to think if there was anything else they were missing. After a swallow he realized, “Do we need to discuss finances and work and all that? You’ve still got school left, so that’s not really a big deal and I’ve got a decent amount of money that we can be comfortable.”
“I have what Mum left me, so I can pay for school and such. Once I graduate, I’ll see about joining a practice, but I should have enough to live on once I get certified to be a therapist.” She smiled and continued to lean against him. “Look at us, being functional adults!”
“Functional adults who eat Nutella pancakes. But perfect, I don’t think we really have anything to worry too much about in regards to money. It’s not like we need to take out a loan to pay for a house if we’ve already got this one. Do you have mortgage payments or is it all paid off?” Peeta was curious because he was more than willing to start paying for part of the house if it needed it. He didn’t want to make her pay for everything if he was going to end up living here.
“It’s all paid off, Mum paid for it up front. She uh. Well, you know hybrid cars? She helped make those.” Green energy had done well for Nancy Hamilton, and Alyssa knew it. “I could always sell the house in London if I wanted, but I’ve been letting it and saving that money too.” Practical was Alyssa’s middle name.
“Look at all these things I’m still finding out about you,” Peeta countered with a smirk. At least they didn’t have to worry about one thing when they finally got married. Learning things about her was still one of his favorite things, “And don’t sell it. Maybe we can go there together soon. I only went once in the military for a brief deployment and I would love to go back. Besides, you can show me things while we’re there.”
“I can indeed. I can show you where I went to school. It’s pretty out there in the country.” She smiled a little, squeezing his hand. “Honestly, we could go whenever you like. I haven’t shown you how often I exploit teleportation.”
“Ah, that’s very true. A very handy trick. That will save us a lot when we decide on a honeymoon,” Peeta pointed out with a laugh and squeezed her hand back, “We can do that in a couple days. For now let’s relax because I’m finally back to normal and tomorrow is your birthday. So, unless you don’t want me to set up a party then we won’t be able to teleport for a couple days.”
“Exactly, we can go wherever you like.” She did want to stay in hotels, though, just because hotels were fun. Eating some more pancake, she laughed a little. “You can set up a party if you want. I don’t think I’ve ever really had a proper birthday party.”
“Well, then you’re due for one. And you can go flash around whatever beautiful ring we pick out,” Peeta mused and leaned over to kiss her cheek, leaving a bit of maple syrup on her cheek, and laughed, “oops, I’m getting you all dirty. At least you’ll taste delicious.”
That earned him a nosewrinkle. “Ugh, now I’m all sticky. I’m due for a shower anyway. And honestly, I won’t want anything huge. Or new. I should look up antique stores.” Vintage was her jam.
“We can go antiquing today if you want. I’m sure you’ll find something that calls out to you,” he was more than happy to get her opinion on her ring because it was something she had to wear and he wanted her to be in love with it, “Are you going to have me wear a mangagement ring? I heard Chris Pratt wore one. And sticky is just fine, by the way.” He leaned over to lick off the bit of maple syrup off her cheek.
“You feel up to going out? And what is mangagement?” She arched an eyebrow.
"I haven't been out in forever, so I think it would be good .if it gets to be too much then I will tell you. And a mangagement ring is basically the male version of an engagement ring. Just in case you want ladies to know I am taken," he playfully wiggled his eyebrows at that.
“I always figured that the jewelry bit was just if you wanted a ring,” Alyssa blinked. “I trust you.” Other women were baffling to her, and she expected that was how blokes felt too. “If it’s too much, we can just teleport home.”
He couldn’t help but laugh and leaned over to kiss her again, “I’m glad you do. Then I won’t wear one, it’d be strange. And yeah, teleporting home would be good if it gets to be too much.” He reached over to grab the tray from her and moved to set it down on the floor on his side of the bed, “So, want to do a little celebrating?”
“You don’t even have to wear a wedding band if you don’t want to, I imagine it’d get stuck and gross with dough and things.” Alyssa giggled when he mentioned celebrating. “What do you have in mind?”
"It might, but I would want one anyway. I would just have to wear it on a chain or something when working," he mused before scooting closer to her and pressing his face against her neck in a nuzzle, "You wanted to take a shower right? Been awhile since I joined ya."
Alyssa smiled, closing her eyes and enjoying the idea of Peeta wearing a ring when they went out, and wearing it on a chain while he baked. “That sounds good. I’ll rub your back, I’m sure it’s sore.” That venom was wicked.
"That would be absolutely amazing," he murmured against her skin before pulling away so he could look at her properly. There was an amused smile on his face, "I love you." Plain and simple before he leaned in to kiss her.
“Love you too, Peeta.” Alyssa Mellark. She kind of liked it.