#thank god for that. my neighbor (best friends older sister) brought me medicine and food. and she watches my pets for me

[devildaisies]

fishing style hat that just says 'everyone else's millennial older sisters want to adopt me'

[everlarkbirthdaygifts]

Happy Birthday page-28!

Happy Birthday @page-28! We hope you had a great day celebrating:) To help make your day is even better, @historywriter2007 has written you a lovely Everlark story :)

Rating: T

Katniss pulled her car along the curb in front of the newly renovated building and huffed as she put it in park. She was still fuming over the fact she had to come out here and review a coffee shop. A real coffee shop, not some place that sold coffee along with exquisite food, no a coffee shop.  Katniss was a food critic, a damn good one, not a coffee critic; but her editor told her she owed one of the owners a favor so now Katniss was the one spending her afternoon at The Cornucopia Coffee Shop instead of trying to work on her pitch to Travel Panem.

Katniss took a deep breath and tried to collect herself before going in. She may be pissed about her assignment, but she was a professional and was going to act as such. The coffee shop was in an up and coming area of the Capital, many of the buildings were older and being renovated. The Cornucopia sat on a corner lot and appeared to have at least one apartment above it with the windows wide open. She pulled the doors open and walked in,  the second she entered she noticed this was different than other coffee shops she’d been in.  Unlike the ritzy chain shops with their dark wood and overpriced drinks this shop was bright, warm and inviting. There was no other way to put it in Katniss’ mind, the place felt like home. The wood floors and counters were light in color and the walls were all a warm beige besides the back wall which was a sunset orange.

Ed Sheeran played from a small speaker behind the bar so she knew someone was here but she couldn’t find them right away.  She wondered to the counter and looked behind it to find a male with a very nice looking ass half in the display case.

“Excuse me.” She started, causing the man in the case to jump and hit his head with a loud bang followed by a whispered “shit.” He pushed his way out rubbing his hand along the back of his head, tousling his curly blonde hair in the process. When he straightened Katniss couldn’t help but to stare, he was around her age, medium height, well built, with bright blue eyes with a strong jaw and movie star looks.

She quickly regained her composure. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.  I’m Katniss Everdeen with The Capital Times, I am supposed to be meeting a Peeta Mellark here.”

The man gave her a nervous smile and extended the hand that was not holding his head, “I’m Peeta, it’s nice to meet you. When they said they were going to send someone to review the place I didn’t think I would get someone as well known as you.”

“I was told Effie owed you a favor so here I am,” Katniss replied.

Peeta let out a huff. “No, she owes Haymitch a favor and then some. He’s a silent partner, believe me if you ever met him you wouldn’t want him near your food, but he does make a mean Whiskey Sour.  He is the owner of the Arena Bar a few blocks over, my guess is he figured if he got them drunk the night before they would need coffee the next morning. I’m sorry they dragged you into this, I am sure this is beneath you.”

Although he was saying exactly what she was thinking moments ago she felt a pull to him, there was something about him that felt familiar and comfortable, she found she wanted to help him. “It’s not beneath me, just not what I’m used to. I’m willing to go ahead with the review if you are.”

Peeta smiled for real this time showing off his perfect white teeth and dimples, “Sure, so how do you want to go about this?”

“Why don’t you get a few of your house specialties together and we’ll go from there.”

Peeta nodded and started to gather some dishes, “Why don’t you take a look around while I get everything together.”

Katniss smiled at him then walked away from the bar to let him work. She found herself wandering towards the back where a picture hung that seemed very familiar to her. It was a meadow in the spring, filled with dandelions. Katniss was immediately enchanted by the painting, she felt like she could smell the green grass, it was just like she was back in District 12 where she grew up. Peeta’s heavy tread came up behind her, she spoke without turning around. “Who did this painting?”

He was placing the tray down at the table next to her as he answered. “I did. It’s of the meadow outside District 12. I went there a few times while visiting my grandparents.”

Katniss turned to look at him, but he was now the one lost in the painting. “I’m from 12, I’m surprised we never crossed paths before.”

“We were never there very long, my mother hated going to 12. I would sneak away for a bit to see the meadow if I got the chance, I always loved how peaceful it seemed, especially compared to the hustle of the Capital.”  

“I loved it too, I would go there a lot after my father died. It was the only place I felt I could let go of everything for awhile.” Katniss was afraid of where the conversation would go after she uttered those words and she changed the subject. “So what did you bring me.”

The two sat at the small table next to them, “I have a cafe mocha, a latte, and a hot chocolate. Also, I brought a sample of the food items I am thinking of carrying when I open, a chocolate croissant and some cheesebuns.”

Katniss noticed he had a cup as well, “And what are you drinking?”

He paused to answer before taking his first sip. “Tea, just cream, no sugar.”

Katniss chose the cheesebun first and couldn’t stop the sound she made as she tasted the treat. It was savory, with just the right amount of herbs and cheese to make her taste buds explode with pleasure. When she opened her eyes and looked at Peeta, his mouth hung open and his cheeks had a slight blush, one which she was sure her’s now matched. He swallowed thickly before talking. “I’m guessing you like them.”

Katniss simply looked at him and nodded, no food ever made her moan in pleasure before, she then took a sip of the hot chocolate, which gave her a similar reaction. It was smooth, but thick at the same time. Not to mention the way the savory from the cheesebun and the sweetness of the hot chocolate met in her mouth; it was as if she was tasting heaven. If she had known coffee shops had this kind of flavor she would’ve added more to her circuit.

“Oh my God Peeta, this is amazing. Where did you get the recipes?”

“I made them up myself. It took some time, but I finally got them where I wanted them.”  

As Katniss continued to try the drinks and food she asked Peeta more about the shop. He told her about how his grandparents had a bakery in 12, but he didn’t open a bakery due to the overhead. She, in turn, told him stories from her childhood, how she got out of 12 and that her sister was now studying medicine in District 4. Katniss also told Peeta about her idea for a new show where she would go around Panem trying restaurants and educating people about the forgotten history of each district. He was the first person who told her to go for it without finding a thousand reasons it would fail.

The conversation went on for hours, but neither noticed, they had stopped talking about the shop, it felt more like they were old friends catching up on lost time. Finally, Katniss realized it was getting dark outside. “I should get going so I can write the article, by the way, are there apartments upstairs? I know those are going for a premium in this area, I could mention it in the article if you’d like.”

“I’m the only one who lives up there. I bought the whole building and thought it would be better to only have my apartment up there. That way I could ensure I didn’t have a noisy neighbor keeping me up. Do you want to see it?” The words left Peeta’s mouth before he could stop them and the blush that took over his face made Katniss’ heartbeat speed up. She wanted to see the apartment, along with spending more time with its occupant, but she needed to keep things professional.

“No, that’s okay. I should get going. The article will be out in about a week, right before your grand opening.” Katniss spoke while trying to gather her notepad and other items, she needed to get out of there before she did something stupid like lick the bit of chocolate she just noticed in the corner of Peeta’s mouth. She couldn’t help the attraction she felt for him and it scared her.

If Peeta was thrown off he didn't let on, instead he gathered the now empty cups and plates and walked her to the door. “Well if you ever want a tour I would be happy to give you one.”

He gave her a shy smile that made everything in her melt, time to go. Katniss nodded and walked out the door shouting a thank you over her shoulder.

___

One week later Katniss found her way back to The Cornucopia with an advanced copy of the review she wrote. She never brought advance copies, but she couldn’t get Peeta out of her head. For once she decided to take a chance, plus her friend Joanna told her it’s time to do something with her life besides work. What’s the worst that could happen?

The door was open and Peeta was straightening up behind the bar, this time Imagine Dragons played over the speakers in the shop. Everything was ready for the grand opening which would be in two days. He looked up from the pile of plates and gave Katniss a big smile she couldn’t help matching. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Katniss answered while handing over the lifestyle section of the paper. “Well, I thought you would like to see what I wrote about the shop.”

Peeta took the paper and read the review while Katniss bit her bottom lip, she hadn’t been this nervous about a review since she wrote her first one for Effie.

Finally, he looked up. “You really think this is the best coffee shop you’ve ever been in?”

“I never write anything I don’t mean. I’m a horrible liar.” Katniss acknowledged.  

“Thank you, this means a lot coming from the top restaurant critic in the Capital. Speaking of, where would you recommend someone go on a first date?”

Katniss felt a pit open up in her stomach, of course he would have a date. Peeta was far too attractive and nice to be single for long. She hoped her voice wouldn’t betray her as she spoke. “I would suggest The Ocean, as long as your date likes seafood that is.”

“Well Katniss, do you like seafood?” Peeta questioned.

Katniss stared at him with confusion, “Yes, why?”

Peeta chuckled and ran his thumb over her furrowed brows, “I would like to ask you out on a date. Now that the review is published we could go out right. Of course that’s only if you want to.”

Katniss released her breath, “I would like that very much, and maybe after I could get that tour of the new apartment upstairs.”

Peeta moved a hair from her face to behind her ear, “I’m sure that could be arranged.”