Who: Peeta Mellark and Caroline Forbes What: Caroline 'helps' Peeta pick out a tree and ornaments :) Where: Random store When: A few days before Christmas Rating: Low Status: Complete!
Caroline was very disappointed in Peeta. Just a few days till Christmas and he didn’t even have a tree. That was just not acceptable. Obviously Caroline had to change that. She really should have made sure he decorated before she left on her road trip with Elena but there was no time with how packed her weekend had been. Oh well, no time like the present to rectify that. Which was precisely why she convinced Peeta to go to the store with her.
Grabbing his hand she practically dragged him inside, her excitement getting the best of her. She loved picking out trees and ornaments and well any Christmas decoration really. It was too bad he had to get a fake tree, but she would make do. “I can’t believe you haven’t even gotten a tree,” she repeated for probably the millionth time. “I mean really, where is your Christmas spirit?”
“I’ve been a little busy and haven’t really thought about it. At least the bakery is done up,” but that was easy enough to accomplish since he left a tree in the back year around and his employees really enjoyed decorating far more than he did. For a holiday party he usually made extra treats and they all decorated the place, which meant it got done quickly and everyone got to have some fun while doing it. It was nice to have a small group of employees that he could count on.
Decorating his apartment wasn’t something he really thought about until Caroline had come over and chastised him for not having it done, so he readily agreed to come along if she was willing to help out. She seemed to have an eye for that type of thing and Peeta was following along as she dragged him inside to start looking for things, “Besides, it would take away all of your fun if I was already finished with decorating.”
Caroline had yet to see the bakery. It wasn’t like she spent a ton of time there. And she had been busy like all of December. But then Caroline was almost always busy. Splitting her time between work, school, her friends and her boyfriend wasn’t as easy as one would think. But it was better now that Peeta had met a few of her friends and they were able to all hang out together. “Remind me I need to visit you there,” because why not? Just because she worked at another bakery didn’t mean she couldn’t go to Peeta’s.
“How thoughtful of you,” Caroline teased as she dragged him towards the aisle with the fake trees. “But good cover. I’ll allow it.” And it would be fun to decorate his place. She had never really done that before. Dropping his hand she walked up and down the aisle herself examining the trees. “Too short. Too skinny. Too fake looking,” she commented as she passed trees by.
“Well, I shouldn’t have to remind you. You should be super excited to come see your boyfriend while he’s working,” Peeta retorted with a grin as he pulled her close for a quick kiss to her cheek. He didn’t mind that she was overly busy because this was his busy time at the store and he was looking forward to relaxing for a few days. He was debating if he could give his employees a bit more time off and just run the shop during the weekend by himself.
“I’m incredibly thoughtful,” Peeta laughed and stood back slightly as he watched her studying the trees. When she start criticizing them he couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’re going to give them a complex. You’re so harsh on them.” He was completely teasing as he stepped forward to join her in the great tree debate.
“I was thinking of you, really. Wouldn’t want to distract you at work.” Now it was her turn to cover. But hey it was a very valid reason. She would make it a point to stop by and surprise him though. Plus she wanted to see Mellarky all decorated. Between her work and Peeta’s she had a feeling she was about to start spending a lot of time in bakeries.
“I don’t think trees have feelings. Especially fake ones,” she replied with a smile. “Besides this is serious business. It’s not like you will just throw it out after Christmas. You can keep putting it up for years. It has to be perfect.” She continued to examine the trees and then she spotted the perfect one. It was decent sized, maybe a little shorter than her, not too big considering it was for Peeta’s apartment and a large tree wouldn’t exactly fit. And it didn’t have that shiny look that some of the other fake trees had. “Oh look!” Caroline pointed out the tree before grabbing his hand again and leading him over to it.
“I welcome any and all distractions that are blonde, gorgeous, and named Caroline,” he made sure to add that last part in with a wink. He was more than happy to talk to his friends that came to visit. His employees were able to take care of things and usually things weren’t too hectic if she came to visit anytime beside the early morning. He was only a little surprised she didn’t come see him more, but she also worked in a bakery so she was probably over it by the time she could come see him.
“I know, I know. I will cherish it for all of my life,” he drawled with heavy sarcasm as his hazel eyes lit up with a smile. Oh, he was certainly enjoying teasing her about this, but he truly did appreciate her helping him out with this. He let himself be pulled over to the tree that she found and from her excitement it could quite possibly be the “one”. He stopped in front of it and gave it a critical once over, “I think this could do quite well. Not too tall, but not too short. Do you like it?”
Well that settled it then, she was going to have to stop by the bakery more often. At least while she was on break from school. It was easiest to study when Peeta was at work. Maybe next semester she’d have to try studying at Mellarky. Although she had a feeling Peeta might just be too distracting. She was feeling a little deprived of him though, what with her week away and then with Christmas in just a few days that would be even more time away from him. It was good though, he had his own family and friends to spend Christmas with as did she. And she wasn’t exactly ready to introduce him to her mom. “Remind me not to take any more week long trips,” the sentence probably sounded random to Peeta given what they were talking about but whatever it made sense in her head.
She didn’t mind the teasing. She got excited about Christmas and holidays okay? She wasn’t quite on her roommate’s level, but still it was best Peeta learn this about her now. “Of course I do,” duh Peeta she had picked it out after all. “It will be perfect for your apartment. Now come on let’s go get a cart,” in all her excitement she had forgotten to stop and get one of those on the way in the store, just beelining for the trees. “I think the box will fit. And then we have to get ornaments!”
Peeta would excel at being distracting if that’s what she wanted, but if she truly needed to get things done then he was more than happy to let her just study and bring her coffee and pastries when she needed them. It would be nice to have her around a bit more since they hadn’t seen each other a lot lately. Her comment about the trip earned a chuckle, “I’ll make sure. Only allowed if we go together.” Their reunion had been quite enjoyful however, so he couldn’t complain too much.
“I just wanted to make sure. Stay here and I’ll go grab a cart. Then we can push it around while you attempt to sell me on a pink color scheme for my ornaments,” he teased and leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek before walking over towards the carts. They weren’t too far away, so it didn’t take him long to get back to her and place one of the tree boxes in the cart, “Alright, it just sticks out, so let’s try not to take anyone out.”
A trip with Peeta did sound pretty great. She had never really done that before. Taken a trip with a boyfriend. There were plans for one. But then they broke up and she ended up going to Europe with her friends instead which still worked out well. “You can’t break up with me before that happens,” Caroline teased but there was a small hint to her past. But yes the reunion had been great. Pretty much the only good part about being away from him for a week and the bonding with Elena. Absence did make the heart grow fonder though, or hornier. Maybe both? Probably both.
“Maybe I should be in charge of maneuvering the cart,” she teased. “No pink ornaments,” she promised as they began to head for the ornament aisle. “Your apartment you get to choose the colors. And the ornaments. I’ll just help you hang them. I am an expert ornament hanger. Not trying to brag but I can find the perfect branch for each one.” Just as they were at the end of the tree aisle though something caught her eye. “Wait!” she said stopping at the most adorable little tree. It was tiny enough that it didn’t need any assembling. Or even a box. She picked it up and put it in the cart. “You need this for your room.”
“What, I can’t? Well shit, there goes that master plan,” Peeta teased back with a good natured smile. And as for her thought, he would have to agree that it was both. They had a great time making up for the lost time while she had been gone, “And where would you like to go? Obviously not right this minute since you just got back from a trip, but potentially in the future.”
“Well, I’m not going to refute your claim to fame on that one. Let’s take a look down that aisle and see what in the world they have for sale,” Peeta commented with a laugh. He wasn’t surprised that she would be an expert ornament hanger and he started to push the cart down the aisle. Then suddenly she yelled and ran off to grab a tiny tree. He let out a loud laugh and shook his head, “Seriously? You’re hilarious. Why don’t you have that one for your room? Maybe it’ll give me a reason to come over and see it.” He had yet to go over to her place for the evening because he lived by himself, but one of these days he was going to need to go over there.
“That would make the trip a little awkward,” she laughed. Joking about it was a little weird though. It was not something Caroline wanted to happen anytime soon. The breaking up, the trip she was totally good with. “I don’t know. Somewhere I haven’t been before,” which was a lot of places. She had barely ever even left California until a year ago. “So not Vegas, Europe, or Mexico.” There were still a lot of places in Europe she hadn’t visited but they could do that another time maybe. “Where do you want to go?”
Good thing Peeta didn’t try to disagree with her about the ornament hanging. She would just end up proving him wrong and herself right anyway when they got back to his place. “Oh! Good idea. We can get two. One for my room and one for yours.” She picked up another tree and put it in the cart. It was pretty full now but they still had to get the ornaments.
“Speaking of seeing my room. We are throwing a New Year’s Eve party at our place. You have to come.” Because no way in hell was she about to miss kissing him at midnight. It was a little weird that he hadn’t been to her place yet but it made so much more sense to stay at his all the time. With the privacy and the no roommates with vampire hearing. But he probably should see where she lived and meet the rest of her roommates. Plus hot tub. “Maybe you can come over before that too. Meet Lexi and Anna.”
He certainly wasn’t planning on breaking up with her anytime soon. So instead of commenting on that again he leaned over and kissed her temple, “Anywhere, honestly. I travelled a decent amount in the Army, but I think the idea of road tripping around the US with you could be fun. Let’s make sure we can handle being a car together before we get stuck in a plane for twelve hours.” There was a smile on his face when he said that because any kind of trip was a milestone in a relationship.
“Perfect, now I don’t have to worry about two fake trees. I think this one will look lovely in your room. You can pick out the perfect ornaments,” Peeta commented with a laugh as he lead the way towards where the ornaments were. He was leaning towards silver and blue as a possible color combination, “And that would be a lot of fun. Maybe I should come over early and bring some pastries as a housewarming type thing since I haven’t been over. I should probably meet all your roomies before they think I’m some kind of made up figment of your imagination.”
“Road tripping it is then. It’ll have to wait till my Spring break or summer though.” She wasn’t sure if they should be planning something so far into the future when they were still fairly new but whatever. It was all just talk right now anyway. “And you aren’t allowed to fall asleep when it’s my turn to drive,” she added with her mega watt smile.
Picking out ornaments was even more fun than picking out trees. And now that she had a tree for herself she would be too preoccupied with picking out her own so Peeta could do the same. Not be influenced too much by her taste. It was for his place after all. “Hey! I haven’t had an imaginary boyfriend since I was like 8,” she laughed as she began to examine some ornaments. Red and gold for her little tree. It was Christmasy. “But they do want to meet you. And I think you just made yourself the pastry provided for the party. Bring cookies too.”
“Well, schedule me in for your spring break and we’ll figure out when we get closer,” that was a simple way of solving that problem. He liked the idea of planning for the future, but he had been burned in his last relationship with that. So for now he would make a vague plan and then they could figure it out later in time, “Oh really? Well, that’s just mean. You better be packing a lot of coffee and Red Bull then.”
“Isn’t 8 pretty old for an imaginary boyfriend? Do I need to be afraid of him coming to kick my ass some day?” he teased as he wandered the aisle and picked out a few things. It was much easier to buy them in a pack than do individual ones, but he did find a couple that were singles that he liked, “And I can bring just about anything you could want. What else do you want besides cookies?”
That worked out well for her as well. No need to talk about it anymore until it got closer. But she would remember to keep in mind that spring break was time for a trip with Peeta. She wouldn’t plan anything with her friends, which was kind of a big deal in itself but she wasn’t going to comment on it. “Excuse me? Why am I the one doing all the packing? Pack your own coffee and Red Bull,” more teasing. But she liked it. That they could keep things light while still talking about something that was somewhat serious, because yes a trip was a milestone.
“Is it? That’s the age when boys stopped having cooties for me,” she laughed selecting a few gold star ornaments. “I don’t think so. Unless some weird thing happens where imaginary people come to life,” and with Orange County who knew? “Cupcakes. And whatever else you want. Stuff that doesn’t require utensils to eat.”
“No one said you were doing all the packing. I can pack my own things, but you totally seem like the girl to pack all the snacks for the trip,” he countered with a raised eyebrow. It totally did seem like her style. She was the planner and especially when it came to social things like this. She would probably have a list of things and check them off, so he was teasing her about the coffee and Red Bull.
“I have no idea. I don’t really remember having imaginary friends. And please don’t say things like that aloud because the weird voodoo powers of the OC will hear you and make it happen,” Peeta chastised with a laugh as he grabbed a couple more ornaments and then went to look at what he could put on the top of his tree, “Cupcakes, got it. And I’ve got a few things that don’t require utensils.” He was making a mental list of possible items.
Well he was right on that front. Caroline would certainly have a checklist for everything not just snacks, and would probably end up triple checking they had all the items they needed before they left. Damn, he knew her well already. “Fine, fine. I’ll make sure you have your coffee and Red Bull.” There was no reason to argue his point because well he was right.
“How sad. I had a whole gang of them,” she joked. Because it wasn’t true she never really had a need for them considering the fact that she had always been able to make friends easily and had been close with Bonnie and Elena since kindergarten. The imaginary boyfriend thing though, that was sadly true. “What about your friends? Are they starting to think I’m imaginary?” she teased.
All her ornaments were pretty much selected now. She only needed a few handfuls with how small her tree was. So time to focus back on Peeta’s. “Well that settles it then. You are officially in charge of all the dessert type food for my party. It’s fate is in your hands,” she teased but that was actually kind of big considering how much she hated giving up control over anything when it came to party planning. “Don’t forget tinsel,” for the tree obviously. Not the desserts.
A pleased grin crossed Peeta’s face as he realized she was conceding the ‘fight’ and he was totally in the right. He couldn’t help but laugh when she mentioned that she had a whole gang of imaginary boyfriends, “Are you serious? Wait, I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re the kind of girl that had to beat guys, real or imaginary, off with a stick, I’m sure. And quite possibly since I haven’t really mentioned you to them. Everyone has been so crazy busy that it hasn’t come up. I should probably tell them properly - should we make a thing out of this? Like massive group date?”
“That is a big deal,” Peeta commented with a nod and a serious expression on his face, “I will take my responsibility seriously and make the best damn desserts ever.” He knew it would be easy since all his desserts would be delicious, but it was fun to think that her friends would be trying them out for the first time. “Tinsel? Damn girl, are you going to make me string popcorn too?” He flashed her a smile as he grabbed some tinsel off the shelf and threw it in the cart.
“I liked variety,” she said with a laugh. “Fortunately for you I learned quality is better than quantity.” There was certainly a lot of teasing in their relationship and she had to admit she liked it. “Well now I just feel like your dirty little secret,” she was grinning though so obviously she wasn’t too offended. Holidays were a busy time of year. “That would be fun,” she agreed. She didn’t want Peeta to always have to hang out with her friends. She could hang out with his too.
She just smiled at the dessert comment. She had completely faith in her boyfriend when it came to baking. Well in she had faith in him in general, but definitely in the baking. “It’s popcorn and cranberries. But not this year. Maybe if we had decorated earlier. You should get lights too though. White?” Because colorful lights wouldn’t go well with the blue and silver.
“That is a good lesson to learn. And maybe I’ll call you my dirty little secret instead of my sex friend,” Peeta countered quickly with a laugh. Oh yes, he was never going to forget about her way of introductions now. “I know Gale is dating someone, Johanna is not, and Annie secretly loves Finnick, so there’s that. I could invite Katniss, but I’m still not quite sure what is going on with that,” he really should sit her down and figure things out, but he just hadn’t had time.
“Oh, excuse me for my ignorance when it comes to Christmas decorations. White will be just fine. Throw ‘em into the cart,” he answered after putting his hands up in mock surrender at the popcorn comment. He had never done anything like that as a kid, so he wasn’t sure he would be very good as an adult, “And is that everything else? i just need a tree topper. Maybe an angel.”
“We aren’t the most conventional couple.” The ‘dirty little secret’ and the ‘sex friend’ it made her laugh thinking about it. “Maybe just a group thing then?” Since it didn’t sound like all his friends were in relationships. At least of the ones he wanted her to meet. She kind of had a feeling there was something with Annie and Finnick with how upset she had been the night Caroline had met her.
“Well it’s a good thing you have me,” she replied selecting the lights and putting them into the cart. If there was a next year for them she would definitely teach him all about popcorn and cranberries. “Yup. Once you have your topper we can go decorate!” her eyes shone with excitement as she went with Peeta over to the toppers. “An angel is perfect,” she looked at the selection of angel toppers and picked up a blonde one. “What about this one?” it was his decision after all.
“Yeah, a group thing would be a good idea. After the holidays because right now it’s just a bit of craziness,” he commented. It would be good to get the whole group together after the holidays when everyone wasn’t running around like crazy. He followed her along as she went to the tree toppers and noticed what color hair the angel had. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in to kiss her cheek, “Oh, I see, you want me to buy a blonde one so I’ll see her and think of you? Crafty.”
After the holidays was fine with her. She had enough of her own friends to catch up with and spending time with her mom and planning the party and she still needed to take Midna up on the pole dancing lessons and work too. “That will be perfect. Just let me know when and I’ll be there.” By now Peeta probably knew that Caroline’s social calendar got booked fast, so if he wanted her to be somewhere a little notice was always best. “I just think the blonde one is pretty,” damn, he had caught onto her plan. “I can’t help it if it makes you think of me.”
“I’ll send out a mass text soon and get it planned out. And really? The blonde one is the prettiest? hmm, shall we check and see if it comes with its own name? Maybe it’s named Caroline,” Peeta teased her with a laugh as he leaned down to nuzzle against her neck and pressed a kiss there, “Mmm, I’ll buy the blonde one. She is pretty cute.” He pulled away from her so he could take the box and studied the angel carefully. Yeah, she would work just fine, but he wanted to continue to tease her. “How much would you hate me if I picked the brunette instead?”
“Shut up!” was a response to the name comment, complete with a shoulder nudge. But then he was kissing her neck which just gave her more motivation to finish up the shopping so they could get back to his place. “See? I picked the right one.” She smiled triumphantly which quickly formed into a pout at his next comment. She could fix this. “Do you really want the brunette?” she whispered, followed with a kiss to his jawline.
“Mmm, blonde is definitely giving brunette a run for their money,” he murmured as she kissed his jawline. He wrapped his arms around her once again and brought her close. There was amusement in his eyes as he spoke, “Mmm, I think I’ll be much happier with the blonde. Now, let’s get this cart up to check out and get out of this place. I want to have a little fun before we start decorating and you are so swept up in it that you forget about me.”
Hah! She had won this time. But she was in the same page as him. It was time to get the hell out of the store. Still she had to get back at him for the whole brunette situation. “I don’t know. I’m pretty excited for the decorating I don’t think I can wait,” she teased but it was obviously a lie. Peeta beat decorating any day. She wasn’t going to tell him that though. “But yes let’s go,” she agreed breaking away from his arms, heading to the check out. It was time to move on to the next phase or well phases of the evening.