Face To Face

The rest of the evening continued as it started, going from group to group but something subtle had changed. Katniss couldn't be positive but it seemed that Miss Snow or Lachrimae, as seemed to be her first name, never quite fully recovered her friendly façade after the encounter with Mr. Averys. Katniss didn't think that most people even recognized the difference but she'd become so familiar with this woman's demeanor of late that she couldn't help but think it was real. It took awhile but Peeta eventually found his flow again, treating these other people of the Capitol, once more, with the easy familiarity he didn't truly have with them. They left long before the festivities began to slow down and for that Katniss was thankful. She didn't know how much more of this ridiculous spectacle she could take. Her face absolutely ached from the forced smiles. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, by the end of the night, they were no longer quite convincing. They left discretely, without fanfare, through a door in the back of the ballroom. She led them quietly down a fairly dark hallway but as Snow turned another corner, she unexpectedly stopped dead, almost taking a step backward before catching herself.

"Lachrimae." A cold but resonate voice spoke right before Katniss and Peeta could see who it was. Katniss didn't need to round the corner to know the face to whom that voice belonged. She would know that it anywhere; it haunted her nightmares regularly.

"Father," Lachrimae breathed out oddly before forcing her normal tone back into her voice, "I didn't know you would be attending this evening or I would have brought our guests to see you personally." She stood rigidly, much like Peeta had around Mr. Averys.

"Oh, well you know I don't enjoy large gatherings." He said in a slightly admonishing but loving tone. "However, I was fairly certain I'd be able to catch the three of you before you left, away from the crowds." He smiled and reached out to stroke his daughter's pale cheek. "I haven't seen much of you lately and I worry that I've asked too much of your time of late."

"I've relished the workload Father." She replied without missing a beat, her surprise at his appearance completely removed from her voice though her posture had not completely recovered. "With three arenas to finish into working order and preparing these two, I've been more than happily occupied."

"Certainly, you always did excel under pressure. I have the upmost faith in your abilities." President Snow turned his attention to Katniss, his snake eyes boring into hers, his tone dropping any hint of warmth. "I hear that your cousin has been instrumental in aiding my daughter with preparing the first arena. It's a shame to hear he was so badly injured in the process."He addressed his daughter with the last queston. "I assume he'll be making a full recovery?"

"It seems he will." Lachrimae supplied with a sly grin, her transformation back into the Snow Katniss had first met was now complete.

"Excellent. I do enjoy hearing such good news especially knowing that everything else is going so smoothly as well." He smiled at his daughter then. "I do apologize for Mr. Averys however. He asked to attend this event at the last minute and I just didn't have the heart to refuse him. Nor did I have time to inform you prior, Rima."

"It's no matter." The woman said, though Katniss knew for a fact it was. She had just lied to her father. But the far more important question which she didn't have the answer to was: Was he aware that his daughter was lying to him or not? "However," Miss Snow continued, "it was a shock to see his lovely wife out in public."

"So he brought her with him." He raised one bushy white eyebrow in what seemed genuine surprise. "Now that is interesting."

The longer this exchange went on between the two Snows, the more confused and uncomfortable Katniss became. Peeta too had tensed up since the encounter began which was significant since he went just as rigid at the sight of President Snow as she did. His grip on her hand had become almost painful and she welcomed the physical distraction it provided along with the chemical of her active bracelet. Without them, what the President said next would have made her bolt.

"Did you enjoy meeting Mr. Averys again but more formally and standing up this time, Mrs. Mellark?"

Everyone went silent. Lachrimae's posture suddenly turned to one ready to spring into action as she placed her attention fully to the young couple, President Snow looked at her with intensely viscious cold eyes and Peeta actually took a small step in the President's direction which went completely ignored by the older man. It took only a second for Katniss to make the connection she should have made during the party, one she was thankful she didn't make until now. Mr. Averys was the man she hadn't been able to see. That was the man that had raped her in front of Peeta and Gale and Haymitch. She was at a loss for words and as the tense moment stretched out, Miss Snow actually came to her rescue in her own perverse way.

"She seemed to take quite an interest in him. She even had a few words with him alone after I took her husband for a turn on the ballroom floor. Mrs. Averys seemed quite taken with her as well."

The president looked from Peeta, to Katniss and finally to his daughter before responding. "That is very good to hear and I would love to know more. Unfortunately, a president's obligations rarely allow him too much time for socializing and as such, I need to be going. I know that my daughter will continue to introduce you to all the many extravagances of our wondrous city." He leaned in and kissed Lachrimae on both cheeks before giving them a slight nod of his head. "So if you would excuse me." He turned and left.

Lachrimae didn't move until her father was well out of sight. She didn't even turn toward them when she spoke. "You've both done better than expected this evening." Her voice was low and dangerous sounding but for the first time, it didn't feel like it was being directed at them. "Come now, we no longer need to be here." And she walked away, fully expecting and knowing that they would follow her without question.

They exited a back door and headed straight for a far less descript transport than the one in which they arrived. Snow opened their door and waited as they filed in before closing it and leaving the two of them alone for the first time since this whole terrible evening began. They heard another door, toward the front of the vehicle, open and close before they departed their first social engagement as property of the Capitol.

Katniss already knew but she couldn't stop herself from asking. "That was who…" but she didn't have a chance to finish.

"Yes." Peeta said quickly, cutting her off and not looking at her. He'd never let go of her hand since their encounter with the President and it gave her a squeeze after he answered.

"I never saw him." She supplied unnecessarily. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have made that last statement but she was having a hard time thinking straight at the moment. The bracelet and the events of the entire evening were taking their toll. Without warning, Peeta pulled her into his lap and crushed her to him.

"I just stood there." He said quietly into her ear and she knew immediately that it was an apology. An apology for not avenging her. It broke her heart to think that he felt as though he'd failed her, again.

"You had to. They would have let Gale die if you hadn't." That just made him tense up even further, his breathing increasing in its shakiness.

"I didn't want to care about that." He pushed his face deeper into her carefully styled hair. "I kept telling myself that he would have understood, that he would have had the guts to do what I didn't. That he'd hate me as much as I hate myself for failing to do it."

"Stop that." Katniss chided as strongly as she could muster at the moment. She tried to pull away from him so she could look him in the face but he wouldn't let her. She tried a second time but again, those strong arms just held her in place. He didn't seem capable of a face to face at the moment. She gave up and just let him hold her. "It wouldn't do anyone any good if you had."

"I don't care about anyone else." He whispered harshly into her neck.

"Then it wouldn't have done me any good."

"I know. That's what Snow told me. She said that you would never forgive me if I had."

Katniss just shook her head at the response. Of course Snow had threatened Peeta to force him to regain his control. She was an expert at manipulation in a cold and terrible way. Katniss hoped that Peeta would never be able to understand or duplicate this twisted woman's abilities.

"And then the President was so close. The one responsible for it all and again, I just stood there."

"She would have killed you before you had a chance to get anywhere near him. You haven't seen what she can do Peeta. She's spent her whole life training for an arena she'll never get to participate in. Finnick tells me that she has a dozen knives on her at any one time."

"I know." He said quietly.

The statement took Katniss by surprise but she immediately berated herself for it. Of course he'd know this. Telling her captives this, either personally or through others, would act as an excellent form of control. If they thought she was as fragile as she looked, people might try something but inform them just how deadly she was and her charges would always think twice before acting.

"Has he touched you?" That was the second sentence in as many minutes that threw Katniss for a loop. It took her a second to realize who he was talking about.

"Peeta… he."

"Stop. I don't really want to know."

"Finnick is not the bad guy."

He didn't respond. This time Katniss didn't stop until Peeta let her put some space between them. He finally relented but it took several more moments before he would meet her eyes with his.

"He's in the same position we're in. He has just as much to lose and already has lost so much. Don't you dare blame him for anything that has to be done." She held his cheeks. She saw his eyes shining, his brow a mass of knots.

"This is getting so hard Kat." He pulled her to him again but this time so he could press his lips against hers. "I tell myself every morning that I can do it but by the end of the day, I feel like I'm going to fall apart."

"I know, I know."

"No, you don't know Katniss." This time he took her cheeks in his hands. "You can't. You are doing this for so many people, for Prim, for your mother, for Gale…"

"For you." She interrupted him before kissing him again.

"I know." He said quietly once they pulled away again. "But you're the only one I do this for and the idea… of everything that's going on, that will go on… I…" She felt him shake his wrist a little and knew he'd just gotten another dose.

"Shhh." It was all she could respond with. She didn't know what to tell him. She didn't have the words that could make this alright. She didn't know what the future held except that maybe their torturous hell wouldn't last more than a year before the final games of the quell came and victors fought victors. She rarely thought of it, the hopelessness that came over her each time she did was almost too much. As of now, there were only three District 12 victors and she was the only female. Unless someone else won in the next five games, she would be going back automatically. That wasn't the part that frightened her. She could handle that. With everything that had happened to her over the past year, dying in the arena felt almost like a gift. It would release her from all of these sick obligations while leaving everyone she cared about safe from harm. It was the thought of Peeta or Haymitch in there with her that terrified her. She wouldn't kill them, that was obvious and she would do everything she could to protect them but she knew that they would do the same thing. They wouldn't allow multiple victors again. Seneca Crane had died for that mistake; the next game master would not be so foolish. No matter who went into that arena, Katniss would die, even if she were the last victor standing. There would be no living after that.

"Shhh." She cooed again when she heard his sharp intake of breath. She pressed her lips to his once more, the way he always had with her, barely touching. They ghosted over his nose and cheeks and up to his forehead. He let her do this, his hands rubbing small circles on her waist and upper thigh where they'd stayed since he pulled her to him. She felt his arousal though the thin material of her dress and sighed, squirming slightly.

"I'm sorry." He said after he knew she'd noticed.

"I'm not." She said quietly. She would never be upset that he'd react this way. She never would have thought it a year ago but physical intimacy made her feel safe. She knew she actually wasn't, that it had been forced on her by the President and the Capitol. Still, when she was in the arms of either man that loved her, she felt oddly safe. She kissed him again but with more force. She needed to feel safe again after all that had happened tonight.

That was when the car came to a stop and Peeta gently pushed her from his lap. She knew why. He'd told her they couldn't be together and that breaking those rules could bring on any one of a plethora of unimaginable consequence. The door to the vehicle opened to reveal a still agitated looking Miss Snow. She waited for them to exit the vehicle before entering their building through a door Katniss hadn't seen before tonight. The foyer was small though lavishly decorated, the use of the color red predominant among the marble floors and vaulted ceilings. They approached an elevator door and entered. Lacrimae pressed the button labeled '23' and the doors slid closed.

"You both performed better than I would have expected." She said rather curtly. "Your reward Katniss, you already know of. He will be ready to reenter the arena in only a couple of days." She turned to Peeta. "And yours, considering how well you handled this evening's unexpected event, you get the the rest of the night with your wife. No cameras. No recordings. No micorphonse." She repeated his previous demand back to him. They all stood in silence for a moment before Lachrimae spoke once the elevator doors opened. Katniss realized this was the same one Snow had used when they first met. It opened directly into her large, round room. "Fuck, snuggle or do whatever it is you two would do without compulsion, I don't care as I simply don't have the time at the moment. I have unexpected business to which I must now attend." She said it without looking at either of them. She physically pushed them out of the elevator when they didn't move right way. Making it obvious she wouldn't be leading them out. "Just remember these rewards and the next two months will pass by quickly enough."

OoOoO

AN: Originally, I planned on having 'more' in this chapter but it was simply getting too long. So you Peeta fans will just have to salivate with anticipation until the next update. :)

enginette: You were wise to make that assumption. After all, who else could have made Peeta lose his easy charm? I do love posed hypotheses.
MaidenAlice: And now you know why Peeta acted the way he did. I'm sure it would have been incredibly difficult for anyone to maintain any kind of calm in a situation like that. You didn't have to be curious for too long. :)
catie8: You are too smart for me! I absolutely love that you immediately zeroed in on the names. Lachrimae, I can't believe you likened it to Mozart's requiem which is absolutely why I named her that. I though changing it to its basic Latin derivative would keep people from guessing that but you are just too good at this… well done. And yes, it does mean 'tears'. Though it wasn't for the 1603, I do love those but the Mozart piece describes her to a 'T'. Averys… so close though I think I like your guess better than my actuall pun, keep guessing. :) Yeah, he's something different than what I've presented before. There's obviously a hierarchy that these two exist within and Averys seems to be a rung above even Snow's daughter. What that hierarchy is, has yet to be reveled. He is definitely all those things and I think I say that without giving anything away. Thank you, thank you!
BlAnCh: Ah yes, he is but you already know that you guessed correctly on that one. Well done.
Kismet4891: I update most mornings, so I hope I bring that awesomeness to most of them. I love that you gave her name that association. I would love to take credit for it but alas, it was accidental on my part though it does fit very, very well. I take it back, I did it on purpose… ;p Yes, it's the same man and as far as we know, he is the only man that could drive Peeta to nearly losing control. You will learn more about Lory in upcoming chapters, I promise. I have a thing for OCs. How to respond to the last portion… scenarios like that, within the Capitol are well within reason. I won't give away if it is a possible scenario of this story but anything really is at this point. And nothing is wrong with you, well not anymore than anyone else that follows this story and far less so than the one writing it. It's the nature of the story that would lead you to think up such scenarios… it's dark and very possible in the world I've manipulated from the original. I just like that you're thinking that much about the story!
Ambrosia: Oh, he very much is and we have not seen the last of his creepiness either. And now you know the reason for Peeta's reaction… can you really blame him?
Savannah: She's doing MUCH better, still sleepy so I have lots of time to write after taking care of her chores while she sleeps. Thank you. Don't feel stupid. I Purposely left that a bit vague but the overall implication is that he involves his wife in his twisted sexual life. So I didn't tell you exactly what he was thinking, just a hint that he's a really, really bad guy. You'll find out specifics later on, unfortunately for Katniss. Thanks for the name vote! I had several other choices narrowed down but this one won out. I liked that it was Latin, like her father's name (a little way to further tie father and daughter together) and I liked the meaning behind it as well as what catie8 amazingly figured out concerning its origins (or at least its inspiration). I love music of all kinds so it figures in heavily to my writing, like my suggestion for Chap 9. I'll give a few more suggestions for a few more chapters in this fic. I highly recommend you follow my suggestions if you want better insight into how I feel about this story... but of course you don't have to. :)
Carla: It would make sense that her name sounds like that since I'm sure the Spanish version comes directly from Latin. I think it was ok to hate him right away. :) You got a bit more insight into Peeta with this chapter, at least his motivations behind why he acted the way he did around Averies and Snow. I think you're finger crossing worked, you got your conversation and soon you'll get... Aww, the Gale comment, way too kind.
Rawr: (26) Thank you, she's doing much better. (27) You know I've a review hound so yeah! I have a feeling if Snow were in the games, it would be over in no time with it being a very one sided contest. I would LOVE to do a chapter in her POV but I just can't. It would give far too much away but don't worry, you will find out so much more about her as the story continues. Maybe I'll write something, like a deleted scene, from her POV when this comes to an end, if anyone would be interested in that sort of thing. (28) Uh oh, I think you're the first person to say that. I wonder if you still think that after this chapter since you know why Peeta acted the way he did. It is odd but it has it reasons lol.