Title: White Roses
Fandom: Hunger Games
Rating: G
Length: 515 words
Summary: Healing doesn't happen from one day to the other and some memories are hard to shake.

Peeta has one of his bad days and she isn't sure what's worse: that his sudden lashing out scared her to death or that he apologizes whenever she looks at him. “Stop it, Peeta, it's not your fault!” she had nearly screamed before she'd swept up her bow to leave at a sprint. She's not running away. She's going hunting. That's all.

The road that once led down to the main district, out of Victor's Village, is familiar and she feels better just breathing the air outside. She'll feel even better in the woods. It's easy to stomp forward, although she hears the door she'd slammed shut opening again behind her. Hopefully, Peeta isn't going to apologize again.

Anger propels her forward. Not for him. But she can't put that into words.

Too much is wrong that she can't work out.

Then she looks up and there it is and she's frozen in her spot without a chance to escape.

A rose. A white rose. Right there in front of her.

It's like a rug has been pulled from under her feet. It's like she can smell the sweet odor of fresh blood, of terrible decay, of Snow. She can't move, just stare.

The family who moved into the house must have planted the rose bush, because she has never seen it before and the earth looks like it's been recently disturbed here. She tries to breath slowly, through her nose and fight the dizziness and fear, but she can't look away.

“Katniss?” Peeta asks and he's at her shoulder now, reaches for her arm. “It's okay.”

He knows about Snow and the Roses. He knows everything, even the things she kept to herself before. They're working on their book together. They're working on sorting out all of Peeta's memories. There is no room for games and secrets anymore.

“I'm fine,” she says and it sounds clipped.

“Good,” he says and holds on to her elbow.

She still tries to control her breathing, but a tear is running dow her cheek. She knows he can see it. He touches her cheek to wipe it away and she turns to throw her arms around his neck and holds on. That at least feels right.

“It's just flowers,” Peeta whispers.

“I know.” She does know. And these were neither as perfect nor as big as the ones Snow loved so much. “I just didn't expect them here. I was startled.”

“I know,” Peeta says. “Just flowers.”

The panic is leaving her, but she doesn't let her arms sink. Peeta is real and close and he grounds her as much as she grounds him these days. Which means sometimes they are unhinged together.

It's not always enough. But it's so much better than dealing with this alone.

“Want to come back inside?”

“Want to come to the woods with me?”

His eyes go wide. The woods are hers. She goes there alone.

He understands. He nods.

She takes his hand and together they walk past the rose bush, leaving another part of nightmare behind them as they walk.