Peeta chuckles quietly, ducking his head. "I've never found it difficult." And that's true, even when Katniss was being contrary, Peeta didn't mind being near her. In fact, he generally wanted to be closer to her, at least as long as she wasn't freezing him out. He had gotten bitter back home , knowing that everything in the arena had been a game for her. He'd gotten over it though the moment he'd known they were going back in the arena.

It's odd, because it took such a dramatic event to get them to this place. Peeta likes to think that if he'd actually managed to to speak to her back in 12, they would have eventually fallen into this easy friendship (and maybe something more). However, they'll never know because the Games did intervene and for that, he's grateful.