Katniss Fell in Love With Peeta During the Quarter Quell However, it wasn't until Mockingjay -- when Peeta got kidnapped by the Capitol -- Katniss realized how much she cared about him and that she couldn't live without him. By then, they had gone through two games together.
Yes, Katniss loves Peeta. Her love, however, develops slowly and painfully. One interesting aspect of Peeta and Katniss' relationship is the evolution. The two start off as virtual strangers, then they enter into an uneasy friendship that finally progresses into love.
In Chapter 9, as Caesar Flickerman interviews Peeta before the Games, Peeta reveals to Caesar and all of Panem that he's in love with Katniss. Peeta's revelation sets in motion the storyline of him and Katniss as ill-fated lovers that carries on throughout the Games.
She, again, fears losing Peeta, this "boy with the bread" as she calls him; she feels a stirring inside her chest when they kiss, a kiss that leaves her curious and wanting more; in Peeta's arms, she feels safe and secure; and then, during his descriptions of her as a child, she wonders if none of his feelings were ...
The bread, the dandelion, and Peeta are all connected. They all contribute to her survival, which makes her feel that she owes Peeta something, and she hates feeling like she owes anyone anything, particularly when she's expected to kill that person.
peeta being in love with katniss for 3 minutes and 5 seconds straight
Why did Katniss fake her love for Peeta?
Katniss here's this and understands that even though she may not love Peeta (then) that it's one less person who has to die. (At least that's what I have always thought.) Katniss realizes that if she pretends to be in love with Peeta people will want the capitol to let them survive.
Katniss's focus on survival and her family's safety prevented her from fully considering romance, but her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged in the end. Katniss ultimately chose Peeta because he understood her trauma and she didn't want to lose him, proving her love for him.
Peeta thanks Katniss for finding him and she says that he would have done the same. He talks about what Katniss should do if he doesn't make it back. She's worried that he might die, and to keep him from speaking of such things, she kisses him. It's her first kiss.
When Katniss comes home to District 12, Gale immediately confesses his love for Katniss, and she realizes she might have feelings for him, too — but she can't explore them, because she has to continue her fake relationship with Peeta or else her entire family, including “cousin Gale,” will be killed.
Katniss Fell in Love With Peeta During the Quarter Quell
However, it wasn't until Mockingjay -- when Peeta got kidnapped by the Capitol -- Katniss realized how much she cared about him and that she couldn't live without him.
It's only implied that they get it on via snuggling and other affectionate acts in close quarters — but if you have read the book, they really imply that they took their relationship to the next level.
While the Hunger Games film never talked about it, the Catching Fire novel explained why she could only communicate through hand gestures. Katniss briefly mentioned that a previous stroke could have caused Mags' garbled speech. However, post-traumatic stress disorder could have also caused her speech incapacity.
Katniss has just learned that Peeta has romantic feelings for her, and initially she feels she is being used. She becomes angry with Peeta as a result, going so far as to shove him over an urn of flowers.
Katniss is at first so angry with Peeta for his comments, believing that he made her look weak, that when they get off on floor 12, she shoves him. He knocks an urn over, shattering it, and then falls and cuts his hands on the shards.
Gale was responsible for creating weapons that would trigger a second wave of bombs to target first responders and combat healers. This invention potentially ended up killing Prim, but even if he wasn't directly responsible, Katniss found this tactic so abhorrent that she lost her affection for him.
Katniss made the choice to build her future with Peeta. If she didn't love him, she wouldn't have made that choice. Katniss made her whole world about getting the people she cared about to the next day, her choice to survive with Peeta proves her love for him.
Gale does not marry anyone in The Hunger Games. He and Katniss talk about running away together and starting a new life in the wilderness, but they never officially marry.
Gale is jealous of Peeta and the relationship he has with Katniss, and he wants Katniss to decide between them, though he doesn't press Katniss during her recovery in District 13. Gale is an excellent hunter and excels at setting snares and traps.
She stumbles into the snow at first, but then she dusts herself off, rises, and begins waving to the photographers, arm in arm with Peeta. The camera zooms out to a neutral angle, giving audiences a sudden, somewhat startling reminder that oh, that's right—Katniss is slightly taller than Peeta.
Did Peeta actually have a crush on Katniss before?
Ever since he was five years old, Peeta had a huge crush on Katniss Everdeen. On the first day of school, Peeta's father pointed her out, saying that he wanted to marry her mother but ultimately didn't as she married a coal miner.
Snow's knowledge of Katniss and Gale's kiss confirms what Katniss has felt since she returned home: She is a prisoner of the Capitol, unable to escape the terrifying realities of her victory in the Games. The Capitol's suffocating grip on Katniss' life tightens during her conversation with Snow.
Although she will never know for sure, Katniss does recognize that she cannot be with Gale. She will never be able to forgive him for his idea — the parachute bombs — that killed Prim.
Like Katniss, Peeta ended up back in District 12, which was still recovering after being firebombed. By that point, Peeta greatly recovered from the brainwashing, but he still had PTSD from having his mind hijacked. Being in close proximity to Katniss was greatly beneficial as they relied on each other to heal.
Even though he goes through a lot, he remains tender, considerate, and loving. While Gale isn't a bad person, he lacks Peeta's easygoing and softhearted personality, which ultimately is what Katniss admires the most about Peeta.
