We'll Watch the Sunset - Peeta Mellark x Reader Story

Chapter 1 - Hunting

I lived with my mother and brother in district 12, and today was the day I dreaded... It was reaping day. However, that doesn't mean I can take a break from my normal routine in the mornings. Quickly slipping on plain green shirt and black trousers, along with my combat boots and hunting jacket, I head downstairs, while sorting out my h/c hair so that it looked presentable, although I was only going to see my friends. Although living in the Seam, my mother came from the Merchant section, while my father, who had perished in the same mining accident that killed him along with my best friends, Katniss and Gale's fathers, came from the Seam.

I found your mother in the kitchen with a tired looking Axel, my little brother.
"Morning, Axel, mom." I say as I grab my game bag.
"Morning y/n, please make sure you are back around noon, so you can get ready before 2." Mom said as she stroked Axels soft, dark hair.

I nodded, then walk over to Axel and kneeled down in front of him, "Hey, look at me, you'll be fine, my name has been in there for what, 4 years, I'm 16, and I've also been taking tesserae, and have the odds been in my favour? Yes, so don't worry, okay? Your name's only in there once."
He gives a small nod of his head and then I leave the house, jogging down to the area of fence that I usually go through to get to either the meadow or the woods, a different exit to Katniss and Gale since I live further away.

On the way, I grab my set of throwing knives which I had made out of simple kitchen knives, sharpening the shiny steel blades, and also my bow and arrows that were tucked away in a hollow log to protect them as much as I could from any unforgiving elements of the weather.

While scouting around for my friends, I hear a voice yelling through the woods, "What are you going to do with that when you kill it!?"

"Gale!" A female voice shouts.

Laughing to myself, I head over that way, and when I near, a rabbit walks by the duo and I throw a knife, and the movement caused the two to turn round and look at me.

"Hey, y/n/n." Gale says.

"Hi, y/n." Katniss says, giving me both the knife and rabbit, which I put in my game bag and put the knife back with the set.

We hunted for a while, enjoying our morning that was peaceful and filled with laughs like it always was, seeing who could gather more game, the reward being eternal respect. Well, that was at least until the trio's next hunting trip.

When they had gathered enough game for the day, the three headed off to go to the Hob, making sure to stash all their gear away in their usual hiding spots, where they traded some of the game to other people for other food items, string, wool, thread for fixing up some clothes because it was cheaper to fix instead of buy new clothes.

Walking out of the trading market, the three started discussing where to go next.

"We got some strawberries to sell to Mayor Undersee," Gale stated, and Katniss nodded, saying something about how it was a good idea to head there.

"I have to go get some bread from the bakery before they shut for the Reaping," I told them, looking up at a clock that hung from a building.

Katniss and Gale both nodded at me, and I hugged Katniss first, wishing her luck and she returned the saying, before allowing me to embrace Gale before heading over to the Merchant Section.

Pulling away, I nodded to the two, readjusting my bag on my shoulder, "I'll see you both tomorrow."

With that we parted way, those two heading off towards the mayor's house while I went to the Square to get some bread for me, mom and Axel.

I always liked seeing Mr. Mellark, he was always very kind to me compared to his wife, which meant that I smiled widely when I went in and saw him at the counter, the bell ringing as I entered the shop, taking out the little money I had and handing it to the baker of District 12.

"Here you go, your usual." He says, taking some bread and placing it in a brown paper bag, sliding it over the surface as I passed him the right number of coins, and as he placed them in the cash register, he looked me in the eyes and with kindness and slight worry in his voice, wished me good luck.

I smiled, "Thank you."

Then a boy with dirty blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes appears from the back room where they make all the bread, cakes and pastries.

"Hello Peeta." I giggled like a 12-year-old schoolgirl but quickly snapped out of it, cringing slightly on the inside, thinking to myself that I needed to get a grip because I was just a Seam girl that he could never like, and even if he did then his mother would never allow it.

"Hey y/n," He responded, giving me a warm smile, "Good luck today."

"Yeah, you too Peeta," I waved goodbye to the baker and his son, the latter being someone I was friends with since I went to school with him, before exiting the bakery which always smelled amazing, and into the warmish air, walking back to my small house in the Seam.

Edited: 21/10/22