Chapter 16
"Hey, you doing okay?"
I turned my head at the faint sound of Peeta's voice coming from over my left shoulder. It was a wonder I heard him at all over the band playing on the dance floor just inside the door. I had snuck out onto a balcony of the large mansion the welcome banquet was being held in to enjoy my drink in something close to peace and quiet.
We had been at the banquet for nearly three hours, being passed around from adoring fan to adoring fan. I had hoped it would feel different than when we'd been in the Capitol on the victory tour, but most of them were still the same out-of-touch Capitol citizens only with a little less glitz and glamour. One of the conditions that had been set forth as part of the change in government was that it was no longer 'Panem et Circenses' for the Capitol citizens.
Everyone had to work to earn their keep equally whether Capitol citizen or District 11 field laborer.
I shrugged as Peeta came to lean against the railing I was resting my elbows on with my drink dangling from one hand. He sighed and took off his jacket, slipping it around my shoulders as I stood back and turned to look up at him.
"I'm sorry I'm not being more sociable and kinda leaving you to do all of the talking…" I whispered and glanced over at the door as a particularly rowdy group of partiers stumbled by. I hurried into Peeta's embrace to avoid any of them seeing me. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back to keep me warm in the chill of the winter night.
"It's alright…I'm not having a very good time either to tell you the truth." He mumbled against my hair. I didn't need to venture much of a guess as to why he wasn't having a good time. The Hunger Games might have been over, but in the eyes of most of the people attending this banquet, we were still 'victors' and as such, were subject to one imposing question after another about our personal lives.
We might not have had much, but the privacy of our life together was more valuable than anything we could buy with the money the bakery or selling game brought in.
I nodded and tucked my head under his chin like I often did at night in bed. "I can't help it…I still hate them." I admitted and Peeta's arms tightened around me.
I thought I might feel about the 'new' Capitol citizens like I had my silly prep team; imagining them as spoiled children or excitable pets but the truth was, I had reached a limit so far past being able to write off their behavior as being 'all they ever knew' or 'part of their lifestyle' like Plutarch tried to convince me. I'd seen and lived through too much to care about hurting their feelings anymore. There's something very enlightening about riding on a train through starving district after starving district that makes life in the Capitol seem just that much more despicable.
"I know you do…so do I." Peeta whispered against my head and I finally put my arms around him too after downing the rest of my drink and dropping my glass on the stone floor of the balcony with a satisfying shatter. "You wanna get out of here? I think Annie wanted to put the baby to bed soon, we could ride back in the limo with her." He offered.
"Yes, please." I answered immediately making Peeta chuckle as he dropped another kiss on my head. He took my hand and led me back into the ballroom and took me over to where Annie was standing with a crowd around her and little Zale. I had no idea where Johanna was and had last seen Effie and Haymitch when we'd first arrived and exchanged pleasantries with Plutarch.
"Let Annie know we're leaving and see if she'd like to ride with us, I'm going to go let the driver know and grab your wrap." He said releasing my hand and heading for the main entrance.
I looked up at the crowd I'd have to pass through to get to Annie as if they were leeches. Annie was the center of their attention so none of them noticed me skimming around the outer rim of the group except for Annie herself and only because she was facing me. She caught my eye and I nodded toward the door as I slipped through the crowd and came up to her side.
"Peeta's getting the driver, you want to ride back with us?" I asked as quietly as I could and Annie's eyes widened in thanks and she shifted the baby to one shoulder. I could tell she was tired and offered clumsily to take the baby from her.
"Thanks Katniss, I appreciate it." She sighed, obviously relieved and started to hand the baby over to me. I had noticed that she was purposely keeping anyone else from holding him all night even though there were plenty of adoring 'fans' of Finnick who had obviously shown interested in holding his child.
"Oh Annie! Let me hold him! I want a turn!" One of the Capitol women beside me started pushing forward as I took little Zale in my arms and it set off a domino effect of everyone in the group pushing and shoving to get to him. I cupped one hand on the back of the baby's head and tucked him closer into my body with the other as I pushed back, working to get through them all. Zale started crying halfway through the group and I felt Annie holding onto my arm as we propelled ourselves forward.
"Katniss?! Katniss is he alright?" Annie asked from behind me and I could hear the panic rising in her voice. I let go of his head to push the hands away that were reaching out to grab at the little boy.
"Stop! Don't touch him!" I growled at them and the baby cried harder and struggled in my arms. "He's alright Annie, just scared!" I called out to her and felt her grip on my arm tighten. Annie was becoming just as agitated as the baby and I was feeling like I wanted to curl up and cry myself when we finally broke through the circle and I almost ran straight into Peeta's chest.
"Oh! Peeta!" I gasped and grabbed onto his shirt tightly. I could feel him reaching behind me, presumably to grab onto Annie as well, and he pulled us both swiftly away from the crowd and into a hallway. When I was able to get my wits about me again, I realized Annie was standing with her hands over her ears and rocking back and forth slightly as Peeta stood in front of her holding the baby and talking softly to her. I hadn't even felt him take the baby from me.
"Is the car out front?" I asked taking my wrap from him and throwing it around Annie's shoulders.
"Yeah, let's go out the back way though…" Peeta whispered with shaky breaths. I could tell the incident with he crowd had shaken him as well. He snapped out of it a little when the baby began to cry again and I handed him his coat which he put on and then tucked the little guy into his coat, buttoning him into his arms as we each took one of Annie's elbows and led her toward the back exit.
As we slipped out the back, I noticed that Peeta had also grabbed the bag Annie brought in with her containing diapers and extra clothing for Zale. From the smell of the poor little guy, he was going to need it when we got to the car.
Once we were free of the mansion and in the crisp winter air, Annie seemed to calm considerably and turned to reach for the baby as we rounded the corner of the building and the limo came into view.
"I've got him Annie, get in the car and I'll hand him in to you." Peeta said, still keeping a strong hold on Zale as we reached the car. The driver was waiting for us and opened the door quickly, letting me slide in first so that I could help Annie in. Peeta climbed in last and dropped onto one of the plush benches in the limo and quickly began unbuttoning his jacket to slide the baby out.
I placed one of the warm blankets from the baby's bag on Annie's lap and she quickly wrapped Zale up in it when Peeta placed him in her arms.
"Ohh…my sweet baby," She cooed and held him tight. "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…I'd never, ever let them hurt you…never…" she murmured and kissed all over his head as she rocked him back and forth in her arms. I could see her hand shaking as she ran it over Zale from head to toe making sure he was alright.
"I'm so sorry Annie, I should have stayed with you…I just…I needed to get out of there for a few minutes and I…" Annie shook her head and reached over to hold one of my hands in my lap where I was wringing them together nervously.
"Don't Katniss, I understand…trust me, I understand." She said weakly as she continued to try and steady her breathing. We locked eyes for a moment and I could see that she truly did. "Peeta…" She said with a little more strength and cleared her throat. "Could you hand me his bag, I need to change his diaper." She said and Peeta grabbed a diaper and cloth wipes and set them on the seat beside Annie.
He turned back to me as Annie lay the baby down and started to unbutton his outfit.
"You okay?" he asked in a hushed voice and pulled me into his side. I nodded, still not taking my eyes off of Annie and the baby.
"I'm fine, are they alright?" I whispered back and Peeta started rubbing his hand that was around my shoulders up and down my arm to warm me up. He just nodded and tugged me closer into his side. As he did, I could feel that he too was trembling. "Are you okay?" I asked turning my head to look up into his eyes with a sad laugh.
Peeta took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before he nodded and rested his head to mine. "I'll be fine…better once we get back to our room." He murmured and I finally relaxed with the realization that Peeta wouldn't likely be having an episode tonight.
When Annie finished cleaning up the baby, she wrapped him back up in his blanket and snuggled him into her arms as he quieted down and dozed the rest of the way back. When we pulled up in front of the large estate where we were all staying, Peeta climbed out first and held the door open for myself and Annie, taking the sleeping baby from her without a word, and carrying him inside.
"I'll put him down if you want to help Annie get ready for bed." Peeta whispered to me as we climbed the stairs to the second floor and turned right at the landing to head towards Joanna and Annie's rooms. I just nodded and linked my arm with Annie's smiling at her softly when she shot me a tired but appreciative look.
Avitus, who had followed us up from the first floor, opened the door for us all and I led Annie straight to the bathroom while Peeta laid the baby in the middle of the bed, removed his suit coat and unbuttoned and rolled his sleeves. I saw him climbing onto the end of the bed with the baby in front of him as I guided Annie into the bathroom after grabbing a pair of pajamas and a robe for her along the way.
"Do you want me to turn the shower on for you?" I asked her as I unzipped her dress for her and she stepped out of it when it hit the floor. "Might make you feel a little better…" I said with a shrug and she looked toward the door back into the bedroom where Peeta was with the baby. "We'll stay here with him until you're done, it's no problem, take your time Annie." I said gently and watched her shoulders slump in relief.
"Tha…that would be w…wonderful, thank you Katniss…" She said meekly as I took a towel out of the linen closet and set it on the counter for her. I was suddenly reminded of the video of the reapings from the Quarter Quell and the hysterics Annie had been in when her name was called. I touched her shoulder gently and gave her a reassuring smile which she tried her best to return.
"No problem. Like I said, take your time okay? We've got Zale…you just take care of yourself first."
I shut the door behind me as I went back into the main bedroom and found Peeta lying on the end of the bed, his shoes kicked off and his head propped up on one elbow as he patted the squirming baby's bottom.
"Thought he was asleep…" I said leaning against the dresser across from them and folding my arms over my chest. I was starting to see what Peeta meant when he told me it showed on every inch of my body when I was uncomfortable with a situation. Of course, it didn't help that he also smiled at me from where he was on the bed in the way that let me know that was exactly what he was thinking at the moment.
"Gettin' there." He whispered and cocked his head to call me over to him. I approached the bed carefully and kicked off my own shoes before slipping onto the bed in front of Peeta. He raised his arm to let me in and then reached over my waist to resume patting the baby. Despite my general discomfort being around an infant, I couldn't help but smile at the little guy when he cooed and tried his hardest to focus on my face and then Peeta's.
His droopy eyes were quickly betraying him and he grunted and squealed a few times, rubbing his face into the mattress. While my reaction was to stiffen, paralyzed with a lack of knowledge as to what to do next, Peeta leaned forward and kissed the back of my shoulder softly once and quietly began to 'shush' the baby as he moved his hand up to rub circles on Zale's tiny back.
"How are you so good at this?" I whispered and snuggled back into his arms. I felt Peeta shrug behind me.
"I dunno…I guess I feel kind of a uhhh… camaraderie with helpless creatures at the mercy of bigger, more powerful beings." He said starting to laugh softly until I threw a dirty look at him over my shoulder.
"Don't joke about that." I scolded. "There's nothing funny about what happened to you, Peeta." I argued and he sighed and smiled softly as the baby quickly lost his battle to stay awake.
"Sorry, it's just…easier for me sometimes I guess." He whispered beside my ear and chuckled softly when the baby groaned in his sleep, probably still protesting the need for rest in his dreams.
We lay like that for several minutes and the only sound in the room was the quiet noises the baby was making as he fought sleep and the trickle of water from the shower in the bathroom.
"How's Annie doing?" Peeta asked softly and continued rubbing the baby's back to make sure he was asleep. I shrugged and leaned my head back so that it was resting against his chest.
"I told her to try taking a shower. I thought the warm water might make her feel better and help her to relax." I said quietly so that I wouldn't wake the baby. I felt Peeta nod again and He slowly sat up and reached over me to lift the baby into his arms.
"Sounds like good advice that maybe we should follow when we get back to our room?" he suggested, bouncing the baby from side to side gently as he walked over to the crib and laid him down. "Fill the tub maybe? Take a nice relaxing bath?" he said moving back over to the bed and scooping both pairs of our shoes up along the way.
I nodded and sat up on the end of the bed to make room for him to sit down just as the door opened and Annie came out in pajamas and a bathrobe drying her hair with a towel.
Peeta sat down on the bed with me and smiled at Annie as she walked over to peek at the baby. "Thanks for…for helping with him and watching him while I showered." She said looking at first Peeta and then me. "I feel much better now so I should probably get some sleep before his next feeding." She whispered, still a little anxious and leaned against the edge of the crib for a moment, looking down at her son.
I smiled sadly when she reached into the crib and stroked a finger over the little cleft in his chin just like I had seen her do to Finnick several times. I couldn't imagine how hard it had to be for her to look at her son every single day and see the husband she lost. I added that to my list of reasons never to marry or have children myself.
Peeta stood from the bed first and I followed him. "Okay, well you know where we are if you need anything just give us a call." He said walking over to Annie. He leaned in and kissed her cheek as she placed a hand warmly on his bicep.
"Thank you Peeta, for everything." She whispered and hugged me next. Her embrace was so warm and honest that I accepted it without any hesitation and whispered the same offer Peeta had just made in order to reinforce it in her mind.
"Seriously, anything you need, we're just down the hall…"I said and then grinned and rolled my eyes. "Well…down the hall, like a mile…but you know what I mean." I chuckled and pulled back from the hug.
Annie laughed weakly and nodded as she walked us to the door. "I will thanks. Good night." She whispered as we stepped out into the hall and she gently shut the door behind us. I reached over for Peeta's hand and entwined my fingers with his as we walked quietly down the hall to our room.
"She's amazing." I said shaking my head as we passed the stairs and Peeta told Avitus we were all good for the night but he should keep an eye out for Johanna stumbling in sometime later.
"She is, isn't she?" Peeta said shaking his head as we got to our door and he unlocked it. "I don't know how she does it with the baby all on her own and still keeps herself together." He admitted as I went inside the room ahead of him and turned on the lights.
I gave a mirthless laugh and pushed the top of my dress down enough that I could reach the zipper and then let it fall to the floor as I headed into the bathroom to start the faucet on the big tub. "Yeah, especially since the two of us can barely take care of our own selves without the other's or Haymitch's help." I called across the room and turned my head when Peeta came strolling into the bathroom in just his boxers. He sat against the counter and stretched his arms over his head with a yawn.
"Zale's a good baby at least. He's really a cute kid huh?" He asked with a goofy smile and stared across the bathroom. I sensed the 'kids one day' conversation coming on and realized I'd have to redirect Peeta pretty quickly if I wanted to avoid it. Luckily, I had gotten pretty good at redirection when it came to Peeta.
"Yeah, he's great." I said turning and slipping out of my panties which I then slingshot across the bathroom right into his face. Peeta startled and tossed the underwear over his shoulder onto the countertop with a chuckle and shook his head. He pushed his boxers off and unlatched his leg before he made his way over to the claw-footed tub and slipped in so that he was leaning against the back. I lowered the lights and climbed into the tub, sitting down in front of him between his thighs and leaning back against his chest.
We both took a deep breath and released it slowly as Peeta brought his arms down around me and folded his hands over my middle. When he began to stroke my abdomen lightly, I knew that the baby conversation wasn't quite as over as I had thought. I was right.
"Do you really never want to have kids, Kat?" Peeta whispered against my ear and kissed my cheek softly. When I stiffened, Peeta rested his hands on either side of my hips and I felt him shake his head behind me.
"I'm not talking about like…tomorrow or next year, or even five years from now, I just mean…don't you think maybe someday you might want to have kids?...like…my kids?" he mumbled nervously and I flipped over in his arms, sitting up a little to straddle his thighs and reached up to stroke his cheek.
You know, that night on the beach in the Quarter Quell, when you showed me the pictures in your locket and tried to convince me to be the one to go home…" Peeta nodded, remembering the night. Obviously he remembered a lot about that night because when I said this, his eyes dropped quickly to my lips and then slid slowly back up to my eyes. "…I tried to imagine you as a father…" I admitted and smiled as I pictured his still boyish looks in a little baby like Zale. "…tried to imagine a world where a child of yours would be safe from the Games, the control of the Capitol…all of it." I whispered and brought one hand up to touch the skin over his heart.
"It's here Katniss, that world is now." He whispered back emphatically and placed his hands on my waist. "The Games are over, Sweetie…you and I are together…" he whispered and tugged me forward so that our chests were nearly touching. "I love you and I would do everything in my power to protect our child just like I would you. Our child would be as safe as anyone with two Hunger Games victors for parents could be." He said with a soft smile and leaned forward to kiss my lips lightly.
I couldn't help but smile at his remark about having victors for parents, but I still wasn't sure about the idea of having children. When Peeta pulled back from the kiss, the hopeful look in his eyes melted my heart to goo. I couldn't possibly say 'no', so instead I leaned in and kissed him again with a murmured a promise that I wouldn't say 'never' again when it came to kids.
"Good." Peeta whispered against my lips and pulled me flush against him. "Anyway, I'm not saying that I want them tomorrow…" he teased. "I am kinda enjoying having you all to myself a little too much right now." He grunted and raised his hips to mine, rubbing against me lightly.
"Mmm…good answer." I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his neck as we sank down into the hot water together to unwind after such a difficult night.
When I woke up in the morning, I was lying upside down on our bed with one foot resting on my pillow and the other across Peeta's chest where he lay sprawled out on his side of the bed. I lifted the top sheet covering us to find that neither of us had on a stitch of clothing. As I raised my head and blinked in the early morning light that was coming in through the bedroom window, (in our passion the night before, neither of us had bothered to close the curtains around the bed before we passed out) I noticed it must have still been pretty early so I spun around on the mattress and crawled up under the covers until I reached Peeta's side.
I settled onto my side gently with my head propped up on one arm as I watched Peeta who was still passed out. With his face slack and relaxed, he looked even younger than his 19 years, and it was easier to see what a child we might have together would look like than it had been when I pictured it the night before in the tub. I couldn't deny that there was a deeply buried biological urge I felt to have Peeta's child. I was in love with him and procreation is our most basic instinct as part of a drive to continue the species.
That aside, I was absolutely certain they'd be pretty damn cute.
As I was thinking this over, Peeta rolled to his stomach with a yawn and frowned in his sleep as he sensed the light from the sunrise in his eyes. I laughed softly when he immediately stuffed his head under his pillow and put his arms over top of it to hold it down.
"Hey, come on…" I laughed and reached over to pull the pillow off of his head. "We're up early enough to have some breakfast brought up to the room so that we don't have to go down to the dining room later and deal with grouchy, likely hungover, Johanna!" I teased and climbed over him to the other side where I could see his face was turned under the pillow.
Peeta peeked an eye out at me and groaned. "I've kinda been enjoying sleeping in and not having to get up at the ass-crack of dawn to bake though." He pouted and I rolled my eyes.
"Well…if you do wake up…" I said leaning over to kiss his shoulder. "Maybe you could pass the time while we're waiting for our breakfast to be cooked with a little private painting session…" I suggested and Peeta pulled his head out from under the pillow and cocked his head at me.
"I'm listening…" he said still a little groggy but obviously interested in what I was going to say. Instead of saying a word, I used my toes from where I was lying on my side, to work the covers down off of both of us until I was laying naked before him.
Peeta took one long look at me before he leaned over and punched the intercom buzzer that would connect us to Avitus. "Better make sure we order a lot so it'll take a while for him to bring it up." He rushed out and I threw my head back and laughed.
Aside from the time Peeta had done a painting of me from memory after our first night together, and the time he had quite literally painted me, I had never in the time we'd been together posed on purpose for him, and certainly not while I was naked.
Despite my comfort with him, I could still be a little sensitive about my scarred body from time to time and so I had never actually offered to sit for him to sketch or paint me.
We ordered our breakfast and Peeta climbed out of bed and pulled a pair of warm sleep pants on as he practically bounded over to the easel like an excited puppy towards a big bowl of food.
"Where do you want me to lay…or…be…or…." I stammered and turned onto my stomach and dropped my face into the pillow. "I'm sorry, this seemed like a good idea a few minutes ago and now I'm a little freaked out." I admitted and Peeta chuckled as he prepped his paints and brushes and turned the easel so that he would have the right light.
He looked around the room for a moment until his eyes fell on the cushioned window seat to the left of the balcony doors.
"Peeta…" I warned and he grinned and looked over at me.
"It's still early yet, no one'll see you." He argued, still grinning and walked over to the bed and grabbed two of the decorative throw pillows which he carried over to the window and arranged against the side of the window with the most light.
I sighed and chewed on my bottom lip a moment as Peeta turned back to me and placed his hands on his hips.
"It'll be fine, I'm going to have you looking out the window anyway so if you happen to see anyone, just get up and move away from the window." He said patting the long cushion gently to beckon me over.
I chewed my lip for a moment longer and then slipped off of the bed slowly and made my way over to him, hoping that Peeta realized just how big of a deal this was to me. Even without the burn scars, being a young woman with a body that was still developing from that of an adolescent to an adult, I had some hang ups about the way I looked completely nude. It was one thing for Peeta to see me that way while we made love, but it was an entirely different situation altogether to have him paying the kind of close attention to each inch of my body that he would need to in order to place it on the canvas.
I was wondering if this was a good idea for the 30th time in the ten seconds it took me to make the walk from the bed to the window seat, when Peeta reached out and took my hands, pulling me forward so that they were resting on his hips just above the waist of his pants.
"Relax." He said breathing in deeply through his nose and letting the breath out through his parted lips. He raised his eyebrows and took another deep breath which I assumed was my cue to do the same.
I breathed in enough air to power a hovercraft from here in the Capitol all the way back to our home in 12 and then let it out through my lips like Peeta.
"Come're." he mumbled and tugged me forward into his arms and tilted my chin so that he could kiss me. We kissed deeply as our hands began to wander over each other's bodies and Peeta turned us, pressing me against the little strip of wall separating the balcony doors and the window seat. My pulse quickened and I felt that familiar warmth pooling between my legs. I didn't even notice Peeta was subtly guiding me over to the window seat until I way lying with my head and shoulders propped on the pillows he'd placed there and my leg closest to the glass of the window was bent so that the bottom of the foot was lying flat. My other leg, the one closes to Peeta, hung a little to the side with the lower part of my leg past the knee dangling over the edge of the window seat.
He pulled back from kissing me with a smile and took the arm that was against the window and folded it behind my head so that my ear was resting against my forearm as if I was simply relaxing on a picnic blanket in the warm sun of summer. Instead though, I was naked and stretched out in what Peeta was quickly turning into a sexy but tasteful position to be painted in. My breathing was heavy from our kisses and my cheeks were hot which told me they were likely red, and my eyes glassy with want based on the way Peeta was staring intently into them. He lifted my other arm from where it was resting at my side and settled it gently on my hip, angling it down so that I could feel my finger tips were just barely grazing the line where my pubic hair began.
I shifted my legs at the look of heat in his eyes and licked my lips unconsciously, trying to resist the urge to squirm. The corners of Peeta's lips quirked up in a little smile as he backed away and looked me over where I was stretched out for him.
"Alright, perfect…" Peeta smiled and backed up to stand beside the easel. "Now, just…just turn your head slowly and tilt your chin up so that you're looking out that middle pane of glass there." He said indicating a small square of glass just above my head.
"It's really cold." I said with a smile and bit my bottom lip as I adjusted my head the way he asked me to. I felt gooseflesh spreading all over my body and the strain of my nipples tightening under his gaze.
"I'll try to do the outlining quickly." Peeta promised as he hopped onto the stool by the easel so that he was facing me and picked up a brush. I nodded slowly and kept my eyes trained out the window, picking out a building far out in the city and focusing on the peak of it as I tried to steady my breathing.
"Relax, Kat…it's just you and me here." Peeta whispered in that multitasking tone that told me he had begun painting but was trying to put me at ease at the same time.
I took a deep breath and willed my body to relax and melt into the comfortable cushion and the soft, fluffy pillows behind me. It must have worked.
"Good, good…now just lay right like you are and relax…" he said and I could hear his voice dropping an octave or two in the husky way it did when he was very turned on. "You're gorgeous." He said with such awe that I had to fight to keep my legs where they were when all they wanted was to rub together.
"Hey! Lie still!" Peeta chuckled and I sighed again, fighting a smile on my lips as I cut my eyes over at him. Bastard. He was adjusting his sleep pants as he shifted on the stool and I immediately knew he was having just as difficult a time as I was to avoid saying 'forget the painting and just take me right here in the window.'
"I'm trying!" I screeched and my body shook with laughter as I tried to hold the pose.
"Katniss…" Peeta said in a warning voice. "Behave or I'll tickle you mercilessly when I'm done here." He laughed and I shook my head slightly and stretched my lips over my teeth a few times trying to regain a neutral face. "Well you can still smile, jeez." He mumbled and I chuckled again and let my face rest in the easy smile that always from bantering with Peeta.
"Good girl." He said softly and I smiled a little wider and took a deep breath as I tried to focus only on the city in front of me.
We settled into a comfortable silence after that and I managed to actually relax and let go of my worries about how I looked long enough for Peeta to finish the outlining of his painting.
"Okay." He said clearing his throat after we'd been silent for a half hour. "Uh…you can get up now, I'm finished with the outlining. I can finish it up later tonight after the first part of our tour of the new city." He rubbed the back of his head and I could see he was adjusting his sleep pants again.
"Or…I could stay right here and you could come over and keep me company until breakfast gets here…" I said and Peeta smiled and stood from the stool. He was just starting to walk over to me when there was a knock on our door.
We looked at each other and sighed heavily before I climbed from the window as Peeta grabbed my robe and slipped it around my shoulders. "To be continued." He whispered and pecked a kiss on my cheek quickly.
He went to the door and opened it slowly to reveal Haymitch leaning against our cart of food. "Room service." He smirked and looked between the two of us with just a hint of anger in his eyes. Shit. We hadn't let Haymitch and Effie know we were leaving the banquet the night before.
"Oh, Haymitch…I'm so sorry!" I gasped as he pushed the cart into our room and over to the dining table. I cut a glance at the easel and was relieved to find that Peeta had turned it toward the corner of the room, probably while I was tying the sash on my robe.
"For which part?" Haymitch asked taking one of the lids off of a random tray and helping himself to the plate beneath it. He must have known that in our shame, neither Peeta nor I was going to protest sharing our food with him. He plunked himself down in one of the chairs at the table and set his plate in front of him. "The part where you left the banquet without telling us, or the part where no one thought to call once you got back here and let myself or Effie know what the Hell was going on?" he spat out and we had the decency to look ashamed of ourselves.
We stood beside one another waiting for the scolding to continue but Haymitch just looked up at us from his food and sighed. "Well don't just stand there, take your plates and sit down." He growled and we both hopped into action, setting the table with the rest of the covered plates.
"For Pete's sake, why did you order so much food? It's not like you didn't eat just last night." He mumbled more to himself than to us as we sat down in the chairs across from him and started to eat.
We sat in silence and for a few minutes, the only sound in the room was our utensils scraping against the plates. "So go ahead, explain yourselves before I order tracking bracelets to be permanently placed on each of your ankles." Haymitch said sitting back in his chair and pouring about a quarter of a flash he produced from his pocket into his coffee cup.
Peeta and I cut each other a look, trying to decide who was going to be the one to speak first. I set my knife and fork down on my plate indicating that I would be the one to explain this time. "It was these stupid Capitol people." I started and cut a nasty look towards the window overlooking the city. "Peeta was fine, it wasn't an episode or anything…" I said knowing that would be the first thing Haymitch would think and be worried about. "They were all crowding around Annie and the baby and I was having a shitty time to begin with so I went to ask Annie if she wanted to leave while Peeta got my wrap and told the driver we wanted to go…"
Haymitch listened patiently while I explained the rest of the incident with the mobbing crowd, the crying baby and Annie quickly falling to pieces. He sighed and glanced toward the door, probably thinking about stopping in to check on Annie next.
"Why didn't you come find Effie or I?" he asked more gently when I was finished telling the story. I shook my head and twisted my hands in my lap as I felt tears welling in my eyes. Peeta reached over and placed a large, warm palm over my hands and squeezed them supportively.
"We just wanted to get the fuck out of there, Haymitch." He supplied for me. I couldn't have said it better myself. Haymitch looked up from his drink and watched us both closely for a long moment before he took a sip and set the cup down on the saucer with a gentle clink.
"Alright, well I'll talk to Plutarch. Get personal security for each of you for the rest of the week." He said and waited a beat until we were both looking at him. "I won't let anyone that close to any of you, or that baby, unless you give the o.k…understood?" he asked gently and we both nodded vigorously.
"Thanks Haymitch." Peeta said meekly and I cut my eyes over to him and saw that he was fighting back tears. I turned my hands over underneath his and squeezed his hand tightly to let him know I was there. When I looked over at Haymitch again, his face was a mixture of sadness, determination and a hint of empathy that reminded me he too, was a Hunger Games victor.
"No problem, kid. Just take it easy, you've done well so far with all of this." Haymitch said with a cough that signaled he'd reached his touchy-feely limit for the day. I smiled softly and squeezed Peeta's hand once more before releasing it and picking up my fork and knife again and digging into the pile of pancakes in front of me.
Peeta did the same and we both began to ravenously down our food. If I remembered correctly, we'd worked up quite an appetite the previous evening after we returned from the banquet.
Haymitch just sighed and rolled his eyes as he dug into his own food and Peeta and I smiled shyly down at our plates as we realized he must have drawn the same conclusion about why we were so hungry. When I looked up from my plate, Haymitch's cheeks had pinked slightly and I couldn't contain the snort of laughter that bubbled out of me if I tried. It turned into full fledged laughter when I heard Peeta make a similar sound and then start choking on his orange juice.
"You're both perverts, you know that right?" Haymitch said sourly which just made us laugh harder.
A little later, when we had all eaten, showered and dressed for the day, we met on the first floor in the foyer to wait for the limo that would take us on our first day of touring the changes in the Capitol.
When Peeta and I got to the foyer, Johanna was there, wishing us a good morning quietly which told me Annie had probably filled her in on what happened the night before as they were both standing together talking in hushed tones.
We nodded and wished her the same before I noticed Haymitch and Effie standing just behind them. I still couldn't get over how different Effie looked without buckets of make-up and with her natural hair which was a very pretty honey blonde color and hung to just above her shoulders.
She was leaning forward towards Haymitch's chest and smiling so I leaned around Peeta a little to get a better look and found that Haymitch was holding little Zale in his arms. The baby was fixated on Effie who was making irritating cutesy baby noises at him. Haymitch was frowning at Effie's attempts to entertain the baby and was rocking back and forth from foot to foot slowly.
"Careful there Haymitch," I said coming up behind him and grabbing onto his shoulders. He turned his head quickly and furrowed his brow. I could tell he wasn't sure whether to ask what I meant or leave well enough alone since I was probably going to say something smartass to him.
Well, I was.
"You could give that kid a contact buzz just breathing in his face." I grinned and Haymitch smirked.
"Hardy, har har." He said sticking his tongue out at me which made Peeta laugh. Effie reached out to take the baby from him carefully and looked at the three of us with her typical disapproval of our lack of manners.
"Now behave you three, we've got a very busy day ahead of us." She chirped and walked over to give the baby back to Annie.
I reached out to hold Peeta's hand as Haymitch turned to face us fully and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Talked to Plutarch an hour ago." He said quietly. "He's set up the extra security beginning today. You'll each have a full time body guard with you this week whenever you set foot off this property." He promised and I felt Peeta relax considerably beside me.
"Did you tell Annie and Johanna?" I asked looking over at them and Haymitch smiled.
"Why do you think she let me hold her little drool maker there?" He said with a smirk and I couldn't help myself, I released Peeta's hand quickly and grabbed Haymitch, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Thank you." I whispered beside his ear and he brought his arms up around me in surprise and then tenderly hugged me back.
"You're welcome, Sweetheart." He whispered and kissed my cheek softly before I pulled back. We smiled at each other for a moment before Avitus appeared from the hallway and announced that the limo was pulling up. Everyone pulled on warm winter coats and we all smiled at the baby who Annie bundled so tightly into a snowsuit that his little arms and legs couldn't move and all we could see were his big green eyes under the hood.
"Ready?" I asked Peeta as we started out the front door ahead of everyone else and saw 4 big burly men in suits climb out of the limousine and open the doors for us all to climb in.
"Yeah, let's go." Peeta said more confidently than he'd sounded in the two days since we arrived in the Capitol. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him softly before we headed down the walkway to the waiting car.