Haymitch raised his glass of scotch whiskey when I entered the dining car, draining it and refilling it from the bottle sitting by his elbow. Which was already half empty and it was only half past nine in the morning. And considering that he had just fetched me not ten minutes ago, drinking so much already meant that he was upset or stressed.
Not that I blamed him. The train would arrive back in District Twelve by eleven.
It would be a fanfare. Even just one Victor from District Twelve would have been a cause for celebration. The last time the mining district had won had been Haymitch's Games, and all I knew was that it was before I was born. The winning district received extra supplies from the Capitol, which District Twelve was in desperate need of.
But this was the first time in the history of the Games that there were two Victors. Me and Peeta. The train station was going to be chaos, flooded with people celebrating our return. Celebrating that we folded to the system and killed other children.
It sickened me. I could hardly stomach the idea of breakfast. But I didn't doubt that Haymitch would set the harpy of an escort on me.
"Oh, Katniss, dear, from now on you simply must be on time. The Capitol is going to have cameras waiting for us when we arrive and it is the height of rudeness to be late," Effie lectured. "Now come sit and eat. I was just telling Peeta what to expect."
I automatically took the seat next to Peeta, who slipped a hand under the table to grasp mine. I gave him a small frown and took my hand away. His generally open face closed, and he pointedly turned to Effie and asked her a question I didn't hear.
I was too busy staring at her bright orange monstrosity of a dress and the matching wig.
"It's just going to be a short interview piece," she explained, daintily spreading a flavored butter on a warm scone.
I choked on the mango I had just taken a bite of. Peeta slapped me on the back of couple of times until I was only wheezing. "Interview?" I gasped.
Haymitch snorted, forgetting his glass and drinking straight from the bottle. "You need all the coaching you can get, sweetheart."
Peeta poured me a glass of water. I accepted it, reddening as I remembered last night. Only hours before hand we had promised to take this relationship thing slow, and I practically begged for him to join me in my bed.
"Haven't you been listening, Katniss?" Effie's, thankfully white, not orange, lips scowled. Or at least I think she did. It was hard to tell under the foot of make she was wearing. "There's going to be a crew to film your return home and your reunions with your families. Afterwards it'll be a quick stop at Victor's Village so all of Panem can see your new homes, and that'll be that. Of course, you'll have to choose your hobbies still and there is a lot of preparation to be done for the Victory Tour in six months."
My heart started beating rapidly. The sound drowned out the shrill voice belonging to Effie Trinket. My victory finally sunk in. I had just won the Seventy-Fourth Hunger games. I kept my promise to Prim. I was going to see her again.
Peeta abruptly excused himself from the table and quickly exited the room. I stared after him a moment before following him. I was so nervous now that I couldn't possibly finish.
I found him pacing in his room. He jumped when I slipped in through the open door and closed it behind me.
"What are you doing here?" he asked wearily.
"Are you alright?" I asked instead, ignoring his question.
He sat heavily on the bed, rumpling the perfectly made spread. "What are you doing here, Katniss?" he repeated. "I thought you were going to give me a chance. Give us a try. But the first chance you got you pulled away from me."
"I meant what I said. I want it to be private. Just you and me," I said hotly, defending myself. There was absolutely no need for Effie to see us together.
Peeta brought his head up to gape at me in disbelief. "That vulture has eyes in the back of her head that could see through concrete."
Slowly, the incredulity turned into amusement. There was a definite sparkle in his baby blue eyes. "So you'd be okay if I touched you here?"
The baker's son stood, taking two steps aware from the bed in order to pull me towards him. He linked our hands, raising them between us at chest height, much like we had done on the chariot rides at the start of the Games. I was acutely aware of how rough and strong and calloused his hands were.
"Yeah," I whispered. And then he was kissing me.
I hesitated only a second before kissing him back. This one was nothing like all the ones we had already shared. While I had kind of liked kissing Peeta, not that I would ever admit that to anyone, they had always been awkward, because I had only been pretending for the cameras.
That was what made this one different. We weren't kissing for the cameras or the audience. It wasn't expected of us here, alone in his room on a train back to District Twelve. My stomach twisted almost painfully. It felt tight like it had after my father passed and my family was starving.
Which was stupid because I had been well fed since the end of the Games. Aside from skipping breakfast, I had eaten to the point of bursting, wanting to be able to tell Prim about all of the food. Her face would light up imagining how each dish tasted.
The bedroom door opened. I hastily shoved Peeta away and directed my gaze at the floor. This time he wasn't wounded by my pushing him away. He laughed.
"Don't you two lovebirds ever stop?" drawled Haymitch.
"We'll be out in a minute," Peeta promised. Haymitch gifted us with a sarcastic look, but withdrew from the doorway. His footsteps echoed down the hall. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.
"Why are you always comforting me? I just hurt you," I said, confused.
Peeta shook his head. I couldn't help but watch his hair move from side to side, falling in blond waves in front of his eyes. "It was a misunderstanding, Katniss. We talked about it. I overreacted. I know you're not good with words," he teased, and my nose scrunched up as a scowled, "but so long as we talk whenever we have a problem, we'll be fine."
"Right," I said dubiously.
Peeta cupped both my hands between his; they dwarfed mine. "Don't give up before you start, Katniss. I'm not asking you to reveal your darkest secrets or innermost thoughts. Just let me know if I do something that makes you uncomfortable."
"Alright." This time it was said strongly. "I can do that."
"Good," he smiled. "Now, let's go apologize to Effie for our hasty departure and hope she doesn't talk our ears off about proper breakfast etiquette."
He held out his hand slightly, giving me the choice on whether or not to grab it. Peeta waited patiently while I debated. Did it really matter if Effie saw us holding hands?
I grabbed his head, threading my fingers through his. Peeta's smile could have melted ice. Effie already thought we were some darling couple anyway. She'd probably only bat her eyelashes annoyingly and coo how adorable we were.
I had promised to give Peeta's love a chance. Our fake act wouldn't hold up forever. I couldn't shy away every time he tried to touch me.
Peeta and I stood before the train's door. We had pulled up to the platform several minutes ago and the Peacekeepers had stepped off first to clear away the crowd of people pushing towards the train. The formed a white barrier on the edge of the platform, a wall of people.
Even behind the metal door, I could hear them cheering. I felt the same now as when I had mounted the stairs to Effie when I volunteered. Dazed and not knowing how I was still standing.
The yells were deafening when Peeta and I stepped into view. First in line to greet us was Mayor Undersee. But I wasn't paying any attention to him.
Off to the side stood a familiar head of blonde hair, braided in two braids just like it had been two weeks ago when I last saw her. She was crying again, but this time it was tears of happiness at my homecoming.
"Prim!"
At my shout, Prim broke away from our mother's hold and flew into my arms. I knelt, hugging her close as she cried into my shoulder. I ran my hand along the back of her head soothingly until she had composed herself.
"Prim," I said softly. The noise of the train station faded.
"You came back."
"Yes, I came back. Just like I promised you, little duck."
"Up you get now, dears." Effie's voice broke through my bubble. I wanted to glare at her for interrupting us, but was stopped by what looked suspiciously like tears clinging to her no doubt fake eyelashes.
I rejoined Peeta, who was already standing next to the mayor. His whole face was alight with happiness, for what reason I didn't know. I kept Prim beside me, unwilling to have her far from me now that I had her back.
Madge's father made a speech about both he and District Twelve were proud of their two Victors, and how honored they were to be home to such a historic finale of the Hunger Games. There was a lot more but I didn't really listen to it. He was only saying what President Snow and everyone else in the Capitol wanted to hear.
"And now, the Victors of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"
There were a lot of questions from Capitol journalists. I let Peeta field most of them, only answering when they were directed to me.
"It's good to be home. The Capitol was amazing, don't get me wrong. The food was spectacular. Especially the lamb stew. But there's nothing like coming back home." As opposed to returning home in a box I thought viciously, struggling to keep a smile on my face.
Peeta wrapped me in a hug, adding his own opinion on how he felt to be back, which the reporters soaked up. All the grandstanding and speeches came to a close quickly after that. We posed for what felt like a hundred pictures, and then came the moment the rest of the world was waiting for.
I blinked when Peeta lifted my chin so that our foreheads were connected and our noses brushed against each other. "Can I kiss you?"
His mouth barely moved and he had whispered it, but it sounded like he was screaming to me.
"You don't have to ask for permission." I replied in the same manner. His eyes, so blue from such a short distance, shone with joy.
"I'm going to hold you to that."
It was a short kiss, but it left me breathless nonetheless. Then it was time to head to Victor's Village. Peeta offered me his elbow and I took Prim's hand in my own. The camera's dogged our steps away from the train station, through the center square, and up the main road to the most luxurious section of District Twelve.
It was only as we were herded off the platform that I noticed the Mellarks, standing on the fringe of the wall of Peacekeepers. Peeta's mother was harsh and unmoving, serious frown on her face. His father and elder brothers, on the other hand, looked relieved to see him.
But not one of them had come forward to greet him or hug him or cry their joy at his unexpected return. They stood still as statues as we descended the steps, eyes locked on us.
I glanced at Peeta, wondering what he thought of his family's odd reaction. I had thought they'd be overjoyed to have Peeta back. I know he had said his mother outright admitted that she thought he had no chance. Not that anyone from District Twelve ever did.
He had been hurt and angry then, but Peeta seemed unconcerned now. Or maybe he didn't see them. Whichever, I resolved to not say anything. It wasn't my place to interfere.
But I did tighten my grip on Prim's hand.
