~Peeta~

After I escorted Madge back to her suite, I went back to mine, which was just down the hall. Upon entering, I discovered Mother on the sofa of the sitting room. She turned to me after I greeted her. The look on her face was unreadable.

"Where have you been?" she asked calmly.

"Just strolling on the top deck. I needed some fresh air," I replied, running a nervous hand through my hair. I really wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

"Oh? By yourself?" I realized my mother was feigning ignorance. Someone must have seen Madge and me and told her. Madge. Suddenly, I remembered her idea.

"No, I was with Madge. We were trying to see how far we could lean over the back of the ship."

Mother's facial expression changed so quickly it was laughable. Upon hearing that I had been with Madge, she was pleased, but talking about something so beneath us such as leaning over the back of the ship was disdainful. At least to her.

Of course, Madge and I didn't actually lean over the back of the ship. We just leaned on the railing and talked. But then both of us began to shiver from the frigid air and we decided to retire for the evening.

"Well, goodnight, Mother," I hurriedly gave her a kiss on the cheek, walked to my bedroom, and quickly shut the door behind me before she could say anything.

I allowed myself a small smile as I breathed a sigh of relief. Mother's hands were really tied on this. Even though she thought I was participating in childish behavior, I was still spending time with Madge like she wanted. And without me, her future would be in ruins as well. So really there was nothing she could do besides pout. I felt a small measure of satisfaction.

I began to remove my clothes, and didn't realize until I was fully nude that Mother had followed me into my room.

She coughed behind me in the doorway and I jumped, startled, as I quickly reached for my nightshirt and pulled it over my head.

I felt my cheeks burning as I said, "Mother, I didn't realize you were in here."

But it seemed that she didn't even notice she had walked in on me completely naked. Her eyes revealed that she was intent on something.

"What is it, Mother?" I asked, trying to remain patient and calm.

"I was curious as to why you felt the need to lean over the railing of the ship?" Mother asked with a cold look in her eyes.

Baffled, I struggled to answer her question. "I…We…It just seemed like something fun to do."

"Hmmm…" Mother looked me up and down as if she was seeing how likely I was to defy her. "You are a man now, Peeta. Enough of these childish games. Your brothers have deserted us. It is just you and I left to make a name for ourselves. You wouldn't want your father's name to be tarnished because you were playing silly games, would you?"

My first reaction was to become angry and disgusted with the way she talked about my brothers. But the look she gave me after her question – those large blue eyes that began to shine with tears, broke my will.

I could almost feel the burden of my future being more heavily placed on my shoulders.

"No, Mother," I replied softly.

"Good," she smiled smugly. She had won. "Why don't you take a bath before you go to bed? I'll have the maids fill the tub for you."

With that, she left. Already, Madge's plan had failed. I don't know why I allowed Mother to have such control over me, but she knew how to control me. She was right – I didn't want the Mellark name, my father's name, to be tarnished because of me.

I pulled on my robe as I walked out to the bathroom where the hot water was waiting in the tub.

I stripped off the robe and my nightshirt and lowered myself into the steaming water. The water seemed to melt the stress right off of me, so I relaxed deeper into it.

It smelled as if the maids had added some kind of scent to it as well. I allowed myself a few minutes to soak in the warm water before I washed myself, dried off, pulled my nightshirt and robe back on, and left the washing room.

Mother was just leaving the sitting room as I walked out.

"Goodnight, darling. I expect you to be up early tomorrow for our breakfast."

After I had gone back into my room and closed the door behind me, I realized the maids must have prepared my bed for sleeping. The sheets were pulled down, the pillows were fluffed up and arranged in a comfortable-looking way. I rubbed one of the sheets between my fingers. It was incredibly soft.

I stripped off my robe and nightshirt again, deciding to sleep naked. Mother would hate it. It seemed the only way I could defy her.

~Katniss~

The General Room was hazy with smoke and smelled of beer and sweat. I immediately liked it. People were laughing, dancing, drinking, and I saw more than one couple kissing as they snuck away. The joy in the room was tangible. It was impossible not to get swept up in it.

A group of men were playing an upbeat song with various instruments in the corner while couples twirled and jumped on the makeshift dance floor. As the song ended, everyone cheered and called out for another.

When the next song began to play, Gale grabbed me and pulled me toward the dance floor. I laughed and let myself go as the lively music seemed to weave its way through my body and into my heart. I wholeheartedly laughed as Gale attempted to dance next to me. He nudged me with a smile when he saw me laughing.

I glanced back over to where Finnick and Annie were standing. From what I could see, it looked like Finnick was attempting to get Annie to dance with him, but she seemed rather shy. I nodded at her enthusiastically, and finally Annie relented, allowing Finnick to gently take her hand and guide her to the dance floor.

I looked around until I saw Johanna dancing happily with an unknown man. Both looked to be having fun, so I only smiled at them.

My heart felt full. I could never thank Gale enough for secretly buying our way onto the Titanic. It was the greatest gift I could have ever received. I looked back to him as he still tried to dance. Sweat was beginning to form on his brow, but he smiled so widely that it clearly wasn't work to him at all.

We all danced, laughed, and drank well into the night. I enjoyed a couple of beers, the cool liquid refreshing and invigorating. I had probably lost several pounds in sweat, but I was having too much fun to stop.

Eventually, the music died down and the people in the room began to retire to their rooms in steerage. I was mildly disappointed that the fun was over, but was looking forward to my first night sleeping on the bed that awaited me in my room.

As we left the General Room, I hugged Gale tightly.

"Thank you, Gale," I said quietly.

"For what?" he asked, pulling away.

"For this," I replied, gesturing to the space around me. "For making this happen."

He smiled warmly. "Sometimes I know what you need better than you do."

I smiled back at him.

"Goodnight, Catnip. I'll see you at breakfast."

"Goodnight."

Finnick was saying something quietly to Annie, then kissed her cheek gently and turned to Johanna and me.

"Goodnight, ladies," he said, bowing slightly. "I expect I will see you again."

Johanna and I both bid him goodnight as he walked away with Gale.

Johanna yawned. "Well, we better head to bed if we want to actually make it to breakfast in the morning."

"You two go ahead," I said. "I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll be back soon."

As they both bid me goodnight, I made my way up to the top deck. I had to see the stars one more time before they faded for the dawn.

If you're getting impatient for Katniss and Peeta to meet - don't worry, it's going to happen VERY soon :)