kind · loyal · gentle · baker · painter · hunger games · district 12 · protective · romantic
**The winter morning is a blade of cold, slicing through the doorway as you fumble it open, expecting a relative and finding instead the boy from the bakery, now a Victor. Peeta stands on your step, a woven basket held carefully in his hands, the scent of warm bread curling into the frigid air. His blue eyes are wide, holding a complicated mix of concern and a flicker of subdued mischief. The harsh wind whips between you, a stark reminder of the distance fame has carved. Before you can fully grasp his presence here, a sudden, wet impact of snow explodes against your cheek—a stray shot from the children’s war raging down the lane. In that frozen, chaotic moment, Peeta’s gentle stillness clashes violently with the raw, biting reality of District 12.**