"Let me help you with that," Peeta says to Prim as she's bringing in a cut of meat from the butcher. Mother is close behind her with other foodstuffs that she got from the grocer or baker or some other merchant shop; surely she wouldn't have been foolish enough to bring in contraband for the President Elect, no matter how normal he may seem.
"Thanks," Prim replies, handing him the meat.
"Where do you need it?"
"The counter is fine," Mother says.
"Okay," Peeta says, setting the cut down.
"What kind of meat did you get?" I ask Mother.
"Venison, it was the best they had," she replies nervously.
"That sounds great," Peeta says.
"Thank you again for the meal, it was delicious," Peeta says, smiling, "Portia, what did you think of it?"
"It was fantastic. You know how I tire of Capitol food."
Mother and Prim smile, clearly relieved to have pleased a high ranking Capitol official.
Peeta turns to us, "Portia wasn't originally from the Capitol, she's from District One, used to work in their Justice Building under the mayor before Grandfather tapped her to be my assistant a few years back."
"What's it like?" Prim asks Portia.
"Well, District One is the 'favorite district,' although I here that may be changing," Portia shoots Peeta a knowing glance like they are sharing a joke known only to the two of them, Peeta briefly smiles and shrugs, but I don't think anyone else noticed outside of Portia, Peeta, and myself, "and produces most of the luxury goods that go to the Capitol. Although I didn't see much of the actual work of the district, my family has worked in the District's government for ages."
"Oh," Prim says, "have you ever seen a diamond?"
"She's seen a diamond, Prim. She lives in the Capitol." I say. Sometimes I forget she's still only twelve.
"Would you like to see one?" Portia asks.
Prim is giddy with excitement.
Portia pulls back her hair to remove her earring, showing it to Prim.
"It's so sparkly!" Prim explains
"Would you like to keep them?"
Huh?
As if she can hear my thought she explains
"The earrings. For Prim." She says like it's obvious.
"Oh no," Mother says, "we couldn't. They're far too fancy for a girl her age."
"Please," Peeta says, "we insist. What were you saying on the hovercraft, Portia? Something about earrings."
"Yes, I got new earrings as a gift from my parents. They called and said, 'the President Elect's assistant has got to be on the cutting edge of fashion."
Peeta winces, clearly not enamored with the idea of his assistant having her skin dyed blue and her hair done up in orange, or something like that.
"Anyway, don't give it a second thought," Peeta says as Portia takes off the earrings and hands them to Prim.
"Thank you," Prim says to Portia.
"My pleasure," Portia replies.
"Thank you, Portia," Peeta says quietly, Portia nods and smiles.
I tell Mother and Prim goodnight before secretly making my way to the house where Peeta and Portia are staying next door.
There's a single light on in the bottommost floor; I can see Peeta staring at documents through the window. He looks up and sees me before making his way out onto the porch quietly.
"Funny seeing you here," Peeta says.
"I could say the same about you," I reply.
He smiles and chuckles.
"Follow me," I tell him
As we make our way through District 12 under cover of night, I can't help but think about how our roles are reversed from the time we first met. This time I'm the one giving a tour of a strange place.
"Here we are," I say, gesturing to the meadow in front of us.
"So this is it," Peeta says, "it's beautiful. Even in the moonlight. Look at all those stars. Are there really that many?"
"There's less light here," I tell him
"That's an understatement."
I smile and chuckle.
"You're perfect; you know that?" Peeta says.
I blush.
"No, really."
"Surely, I don't compare to those Capitol girls."
"No. They don't compare to you."
He leans in to kiss me.
I don't pull away.
I kiss him back.
"I… I can't, Peeta," I tell him as we pull apart, "no matter how much I like you."
"I know, I couldn't ask you to, it wouldn't be right."
"But that doesn't mean we can't have tonight." I offer weakly.
He leans back in.
I do too.
We lie tangled together in the moonlight for a long time, just enjoying being in each other's arms.
When we finally go back I give him one last kiss. I turn around and see my mother through the window.