"Ladies and gentlemen, your victors, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"
The sound of the crowd, foaming at the mouth, brought the pair back to a time before their first Games as they took their seats across from Csaesar Flickerman. He beamed at them with his candy face, and they waved to the crowd. He parted his daintily blue lips, but was cut over by Katniss.
"Has it ever occurred to you," she said, "That just about everyone you've ever interviewed is dead?"
It seemed for a moment that their host had actually been frozen by this morbid inquiry, but the audience laughed, and in a flash he had chuckled it off as well.
"So how does it feel to be back on tour?" Csaesar asked warmly.
Peeta jumped right back into rhythm. "It was great seeing all the Districts, I really think they each have something unique to offer."
"But none of them are quite as good as the Capitol, am I right?" Katniss asked the crowd, who answered with some appreciative applause, "Woo! Capitol city number one!"
"Csaesar, if you don't mind, could I take your place for a moment and ask Katniss a question?"
"Go for it, kid," the host complied good-naturedly.
The crowd was screaming the moment Peeta dropped down on one knee, so Katniss could barely hear him ask if he would marry her. She struggled to make her face display the correct amount of shock and naturally corresponding joy.
"Of course! Why should I even have any reservations about this?"
The lovers embraced, and the roar intensified, but only partially due to this next step in their relationship. President Snow had also taken the stage with them. He graciously greeted the audience, and shook hands with the couple in a congratulatory but reserved way.
"So," Katniss said in as slight a voice as possible, "Am I clear, or what?"
The President shook his head subtlety.
"Are you kidding me?" she hissed in response.
He shook his head again, giving the crowd another perfect smile.
"That doesn't even make sense!" Katniss said through her own clenched smile, "Everyone totally believes me! This revolution is going to happen anyway!"
"I'm an irrational leader who makes poor decisions, you said so yourself. I'm a malevolent dictator. Can't I just kill some people because I feel like it every once and a while?" whispered the President, with a half-shrug.
"Screw you."
"Love you too, Katniss."
After this friendly exchange, accompanied with a whirlwind of congratulations, the couple had to surrender themselves to their fashion teams in preparation for the very classy Capital party they were going to attend. To their mutual surprise they were allowed to wear perfectly normal evening attire. For Peeta this meant a suit and some butleresque white gloves, for Katniss a dark gown.
"I want you kids to be social. Talk to people." instructed Haymitch upon arrival, eyeing every single person in the entire building skeptically at the same time.
"But Haymitch, I don't know how to have normal social interactions anymore," Katniss objected.
"Then just let Peeta do most of it."
With this in mind, they made their way to an endless table of soups and other foods that neither of them even knew how to properly categorize. Every possible style of liquid seemed to be represented in some form or another in shallow bowls.
"I wonder what this is," Katniss asked aloud, looking over a pinkish, frothy concoction.
"That would be a raspberry bisque."
Katniss jumped, turning around. "Jeez man, don't sneak up on people like-"
Peeta cut in with some social aptitude. "I don't believe we've met."
"I'm Plutarch Heavensbee."
Katniss laughed loudly in his face. "What kind of a name is tha-"
"And I guess you probably know who we are, then," Peeta said, putting an arm around his fiance.
"Of course," he said with a friendly smile, "And, if you hadn't become acquainted with me here, you surely would have down the road; I am the Head Gamemaker this year."
Peeta nailed a look of curious surprise. "Oh, really?"
"Indeed. I'd love to stay and discuss it, but I really must be going." he slipped a golden pocket-watch out and opened it. A mockingjay flashed on the face for a moment before he snapped it shut. He made fleeting eye contact with Katniss.
The official raised one eyebrow.
He received a blank look from Kantniss, who asked, "What?"
Both eyebrows were now raised.
"Is this a Capitol thing?"
Flipping the watch out again, the mockingjay appeared for another moment before vanishing.
"You really like birds...?" she trailed off, hoping in vain for him to correct her.
He turned his large frame and walked away, muttering, "I tried. It's not your fault when she doesn't know, Plutarch."