After the Games

Two weeks had passed since the end of the games. Two long, stressful weeks. They had been full of medical treatments and interviews, filled with constant attention from the Capitol. Now, after two weeks of being stuck in a city that praised his every move, it was finally time for Aphroditon Rockefeller to go home.

He sat staring out of the window of the high speed train that would take him back to district one. His journey was almost over, going back the same route that had led him to the arena, just in reverse. Everything had changed in the five days of the games, and then the two weeks after that had been extremely hectic. The outside world looked different now, though it was still mostly the same as it had been before he'd left.

The investigation into Porcelain's death had been an undercurrent running through his time after the games, taking up most of his hours outside of recovery. Normally, victors didn't spend this long in the Capitol after they won, going back home after a week or less. The fact that a previous victor had died while the games had been happening made everything much more complicated.

Officially, Porcelain had been killed on her way home from a sponsor meeting, in a car crash that left three other people dead and several others injured. The Capitol said that it was a rare instance of someone hijacking the vehicle's control system, but no other leads had presented themselves in the time between the accident and now.

There were rumors of an underground group being responsible for it, and Aphroditon was tempted to believe them. The most likely story that the Capitol investigators had told him was that there had been a Capitol backer of the Children of Victory, and that they'd been the one to conduct the accident.

Because Releve no longer had a tribute to mentor, she'd taken over as his official mentor for the eventual Victory Tour and current postgames festivities. Losing Porcelain had been a shock to her system, but she was trying the best she could. Releve sat across from Aphroditon in their train car, reading something on a tablet, She'd also been busy preparing for Porcelain's funeral, which would occur in a few weeks.

Seeing himself in the shiny reflection of the window, rain pouring down outside, Aphroditon looked down at his shirt. The long scar was still visible, poking out of his collar. The Capitol loved making victors keep their scars from the arena, and this had been no different. He'd forever carry the reminder of his games with him. Other scars and various injuries had all been fixed, although he wasn't back in perfect condition yet.

The mental wounds were still there. Every night for the past two weeks, he'd been plagued with nightmares, getting to a point where he'd asked a doctor if there were any drugs to help keep nightmares at bay. Unfortunately, they wouldn't give them to a victor, and told him that the nightmares would lessen over time.

"How are you doing? Excited to see your family?" asked Releve, looking up from her tablet at him. They were both grieving, together yet separate, for different people. Although Aphroditon was sad that Porcelain was gone, he'd never formed a true attachment to her, and hadn't known her as well as the previous victors did. Verd was who he really was grieving for. She'd been so close, and it had been his fault. He hadn't meant to kill her. That weight still hung heavy on his shoulders.

"I'm looking forward to it. It's hard to believe it's been over half a month since I've seen them," he replied. It was true, this was the longest he'd ever gone without seeing his family. Even during the career trials, he'd been allowed to return home, and the portion of them that was overnight had only lasted a week.

He knew that the victory tour would also be a time where he was away from his family, and every set of games after this would mean he was required to return to the Capitol. It would be an adjustment, that was certain.

Joyous came walking into the train car, his makeup done in light gray stars dotting his body like freckles. He held a smoothie in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Even Joyous had grieved Porcelain, which was rare for a Capitolite beyond the normal level of reverence for a dead victor. The two had known each other for several years, so he supposed it wasn't that odd.

"We're almost back to the train station! The cameras will be rolling as soon as we get there, so be prepared. Your family should be there, Aphroditon. We've also gotten word that Verd's grandmother refused to answer any interview questions, so she most likely won't show up," said Joyous with a gentle smile. They all knew that Verd's grandmother wanted nothing to do with Aphroditon, and was avoiding anything involving the games.

He was beginning to see familiar things out in the landscape of district one. This was a rare rainy day, and obscured some of what he could see, but that didn't stop him from pointing out landmarks in his mind. They passed the road that eventually led to the career academy, meaning that they were only a minute away from the station. For some reason, the train station and career academy were separated, and it required a car to get between them.

The train station came into view, and he stood up, Releve followed right behind him. Steeling himself, he was prepared to see the faces of his friends and family, but now as a changed person. He mustered a smile, thinking about how happy he'd be to finally see his father again. Chandelier was probably corralling the whole family now, seeing the train coming toward them.

With a screech, the train pulled to a stop. The train workers grabbed their bags, and when the doors finally opened, Joyous was the first one out. Aphroditon was next to him, and cheers rose throughout the platform when he emerged. Several people in attendance held up signs of support, while others had brightly colored streamers and noisemakers.

His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for his loved ones. Suddenly, the crowd parted, revealing five people dressed in their best clothes, all beaming as they saw him disembark from the train. Breaking out into a run, Aphroditon sprinted to his family, running to his father and enveloping him in a hug.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, his father hugging him back. For a moment, they stood there, oblivious to the rest of the train station. When they pulled away, he immediately hugged his mother, and then each of his siblings. Tears ran down Symphony's face, making her mascara run, but she didn't care. For a moment, they were all filled with joy, happy to see Aphroditon safe and sound once more.

"You're home! Aphroditon, you're home. You made it back to us," said Chandelier softly, a small tear coming from the corner of his eye. Aphroditon patted his father on the back, then took a step back. His three younger siblings all had varying levels of interest in the reunion, with Leton already looking around curiously and Heron continuing to cry.

Suddenly, he was very aware of the cameras and onlookers. He raised a hand up to the crowd, met with more cheering, and then saw Joyous trying to usher him and his family into a private room away from the mass of people. He led his family over to the district one escort, all of them looking at Joyous intently. The escort opened the door to the room and had them go inside, then gave them some privacy as they all looked at each other.

"Symphony, would you mind taking the kids out of the room?" asked Chandelier, gesturing toward the door. Aphroditon was surprised, but went along with it, nodding. His mother took his three younger siblings and guided them back out the door, with Adonia looking back in confusion as she went. Once they were gone, Chandelier sighed, turning toward his son.

"I wanted to talk to you about something before things went any further. Aphroditon, how much do you know about the Children of Victory?" he inquired, not meeting Aphroditon's eyes. The victor immediately recounted everything he'd learned during the games, which hadn't been very much.

"And then Teuthis said I was the 'chosen one', but I wasn't sure what he was talking about," finished Aphroditon, taking a deep breath after going through all that he knew. Chandelier nodded, thinking, and then looked away from his son. Something in his eyes held a heavy sadness, and then he spoke.

"I was once a part of the Children of Victory, just as Symphony was. You were born as part of the group. I don't want to say more here, but this was your life's purpose. I never wanted this for you. We all thought that they wouldn't let a child of victory win, and from what I could tell, they did a lot to keep you from winning," started Chandelier, talking quickly and without halting.

"Porcelain's death, your volunteer spot, all of it. Aphroditon, please. I left them years ago, after you were born. I'm not one of them anymore," he pleaded, noticing that Aphroditon's face dropped at his first words. Taking a moment, Aphroditon shook his head, and then enveloped his father in another hug.

"There's nothing you could say that would change my feelings towards you. You're my dad. We don't have to go over all of this now, let's talk about it more back at home," replied Aphroditon. His father looked relieved, and the two hugged again. It was all very sentimental, which he was keenly aware of, but he thought that he deserved something sentimental after he'd been through hell and back during the games.

The rest of the day was filled with congratulations from his career academy friends, and going to the justice building to fill out the paperwork to get him moved into the Victor's village. Being home was odd, especially since he knew that everyone there had seen everything during the games. Most of them had seen more than he had, as he still hadn't had the chance to sit down and watch the rest of the footage. He'd seen a number of clips during interviews, but still not the whole thing.

With that, the rest of his life began. Sleeping in his old childhood bedroom was comforting, but couldn't do enough to ward off the nightmares. The cameras followed him around endlessly, interviewing him every few days on different parts of the games, and he even did another virtual interview with Pristina Numera. Going back to the capitol wouldn't be on his radar until the victory tour.

About a month later, he was in his own home in the victor's village, and had moved out of his parents' house. He still stayed with them often, and his siblings were over a lot, but his parents had wanted to remain in their own home instead of moving in with him. Things were settling down, but wouldn't fully settle for much longer after that. Time ticked on, and eventually they arrived at Porcelain's funeral.

The funeral was a somber affair, as a victor hadn't died in an accident in over eight years, Porcelain's body was brought out, everyone was dressed in dark colors, and she was laid to rest in a grave next to Verd and some of the other career academy tributes that she'd mentored.

Aphroditon would never forget what happened in the 90th games. He was constantly reminded of them, his whole life revolved around being a victor. The Hunger Games were all around him, surrounding him on all sides. Twenty four years later, they were still an integral part of his life.

Twenty Four Years Later (Before the 114th games)

Aphroditon stood at a grave, another man at his side. The years had been kind to both of them, and yet they both showed signs of aging. It had been over two decades, after all, and no one could stay young forever.

The gravestone in front of him was engraved with Porcelian's name, weathered yet well kept throughout the years. Several bouquets of flowers lay in front of the grave, all freshly placed, the remains of older bouquets still hidden underneath. To the right of the grave was another, with fewer flowers, proclaiming its occupant being Verd Lucan

It was a month before the anniversary of Porcelain's death, and a little over a month before the 114th games started. Aphroditon had been conducting the career trials at the academy for the last few weeks, and had finally gotten a break to take some time for himself. He would often visit Porcelain and Verd's graves, at least once a month, putting fresh flowers out and taking a moment of silence to reflect on the past.

As he stood, he fidgeted with the wedding ring on his finger. This year would mark fifteen years of marriage between him and his husband. It had taken some time after the games for him to fully warm up to the idea, as anyone in a victor's life was in danger, but his partner was already in a more precarious position than most.

Trill smiled. As the brother of a victor and the husband of another, he knew full well how the games could affect someone, and was always more than willing to go on these trips. Aphroditon shook himself out of his stupor, recollecting his thoughts, and leaned into his husband. They'd been fast friends after the games in the times he'd felt all alone, which had started their courtship and eventual marriage. He didn't know what he would have done without Trill.

Twenty four years of games had made him wiser to the world. Most of the games began to feel repetitive, but the horrors of the tributes dying every year never ended. Aphroditon had declined the mentorship position for multiple reasons, most of which involved him not being able to face the fact that his trainees would die soon.

He still helped out at the career academy, and had been recently nominated to a council for victor welfare across all of the districts. The position hadn't been one that he wanted, but Aphroditon had reluctantly accepted it. Meeting some of the other victors who he'd never gotten a chance to talk to at past Victor's dinners had been something that he actually enjoyed. They all had one common ground, that being their experiences in the games.

He was lucky enough that all of his family was still alive. Adonia was a peacekeeper in another part of district one, while his father and mother were happily retired. His victor's salary paid for their retirement, meaning that they never had to work another day if they didn't want to. They were able to escape the poverty of the districts, something that was given back to them as thanks for raising him so well. Aphroditon visited them weekly, and often took Trill with him.

Occasionally, he'd see clips circling around the Capitol of his games. Most of the games after his hadn't mattered much to him, minus the 107th. Those games had been a shock to his system. Still, Teuthis was used as an example in district four as to what not to do in the games, and Wynd was memorialized in district five as a tragic hero.

The other career tributes were mostly forgotten over time, but the memories of Basalt, Lanista, and Verd were kept alive by Aphroditon. After all, not every dead tribute could be remembered, regardless of how much they meant to him. Sometimes, he caught himself forgetting the names of those that had died in his bloodbath, but always made sure to keep them fresh in his mind.

He was older now, wiser. His impulsiveness had calmed down a bit, but he was still prone to fidgeting around or getting distracted. HIs skills with a bow had never faded, as he'd kept up his training in the meantime, mainly so he could teach the next generation.

This year's games were shaping up to be interesting, but they concerned him no more than any of the past games had. Joyous was long since retired as well, and the current district one escort always put Aphroditon on edge. Panem had changed in some ways in the years since his games, but much of it had stayed stagnant. The nightmares had faded, only popping up once a month instead of every night.

Aphroditon looked down at Verd's grave, a heaviness in his chest. If she hadn't died in that final battle, and he'd had to fight her, he might have been a very different victor than he was today.

As he stood with Trill, he heard thunder in the distance. It was probably best that they went back to the train station now, going in a district sponsored car. He took one final look back at Verd and Porcelain's graves, closing his eyes. He'd never let go of them.

Aphroditon slid into the car, lighting visible on the horizon. It started to pour. Despite the rainy weather, and the long years since his games, he knew that his outcome was better than most. He was still alive, and that was what mattered.

Maybe he'd visit his father later that day. For now, however, he'd head back to Victor's village, unpacking from his recent trip to the capitol for the victor's dinner. It hadn't been all that eventful, minus getting to meet the victor from the previous year. Aphroditon looked out the window, staring off into the clouds.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, the rain continuing to pour down.

Aphroditon Rockefeller would never be at peace with his games.

He could only hope to continue the memory of those that had died.

Author's note:

This fic was written as a part of SYOT Verses' 2023 Victor Exchange! I got Oli's kid, and I had so much fun writing Aphroditon. He was a perfect fit into my verse, and I really hope that I was able to properly capture his personality. All I've been able to think about for the past month has been this fic! Yes, all of the part titles come from song lyrics, and so does the title of the overall fic. Now that this is done, I have plans for my verse outside of TWSR, mainly as a side project while I get more submissions for it. It's hard saying goodbye to this fic, since it's the first fic I've ever actually finished. Hopefully it will be the first of many!