Falling For You

Chapter 5

They rip another patch of my leg hair off and I squeeze the table, gritting my teeth. It rarely gets a chance to grow back before it gets ripped off again. I miss my leg hair. "I'm almost done and then we'll start on your makeup." Venia informs me. I think it's meant to be comforting, but it's not. She finishes in no time and passes me off to Octavia to get my makeup and nails done. I sit in a chair and stare at the wall while she paints my nails a dark red color. While she does my makeup, she rambles on and on about how excited everyone in the Capitol is about my wedding. As Flavius gets his styling tools ready on the counter, I notice that he doesn't have a curling iron or any of the usual things he has for my hair, just a clear rubber band, and some hair spray. Octavia finishes my makeup and passes me off to Flavius, who begins braiding my hair in it's usual braid, only less messy.

Octavia leaves for a moment, and then returns with a dress. "We got to pick your outfit for today since Cinna's been busy with the final touches on your wedding dress." She explains, holding up a black dress. "Okay..." I slip the dress on and have her zip it up. "It's really tight." I complain, inspecting my reflection in the mirror. It wraps tightly around my waist, like one of Effie's corsets, making the little bit of fat I do have on my stomach undetectable. "It's supposed to be like that, Dear. You'll get used to it." Octavia says, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly. I don't want to get used to it. I don't want to get used to anything about the Capitol. I hate what they're doing to me. I twirl my braid around my fingers trying to comfort myself. I don't want to look upset the day before my wedding, that would bring on a round of questions I don't want to answer. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells trying to keep up this fake love story.

After I sit down, I cross my legs and smile at the audience. They scream even my name even louder than before. "Katniss, Peeta, you both look stunning as usual." Caesar states, looking directly at me. "Thank you. You look nice too." I compliment him, hoping to deflect attention from myself, although I know it's useless. "I think we should start with what we know is on everyone's mind... Your wedding of course." Screams erupt from the crowd and I smile at Peeta. "But more importantly, your honeymoon." I was prepared for this. I fake a laugh, looking at Peeta. "Have you decided where you're having it?" He asks looking between the both of us. "We have actually." I say. Peeta looks at me expectantly, waiting to find out where just like the rest of Panem. I decided it on my own since I assumed he wouldn't care where it was. "We're having it right here in the Capitol." I can't help but laugh at the screams erupting from the audience. Caesar looks at them, just as surprised as the audience. It takes a minute for them to calm down, but once they do he turns back to us. "That's wonderful news. What made you choose the Capitol out of all the places you could've gone?" I bite my lip, looking at Peeta. I didn't think to come up with an answer for that. I only chose it for one thing. I decide to go with the truth. "The food here is good." That of course triggers laughter from everyone, including Peeta. That was probably the last thing he was expecting me to say. I laugh, even though I'm serious. "Yes, well, that's always a good reason to stay somewhere." Caesar says. "Yes, well," I mimic his tone. "I figured everywhere else we would have to cook and it still wouldn't be as good as the stuff here so..." I trail off, making myself smile. "My cookings not good enough for you?" Peeta asks, acting offended. His usual on-screen charm making an appearance. "That's not what I said!" I glance up at the big screen and see it zoomed in on my face. "She always does this." He gestures to me. "Literally all she wants to talk about when we get home is how good the food was here. We'll be sitting at the table eating dinner and she'll go 'this was so much better in the Capitol.'" He's not exactly making that part up. I did say that once. Everyone laughs including me, and I suddenly remember what Haymitch told me. I put my hand on his thigh. That's affectionate right? "Honey, you're cooking is good too. I just like it better here." I scratch my perfectly manicured nails along his inner thigh. He looks towards the audience, then to me. He's smiling but I can tell me touching him like this is not something he expected. "You two are adorable, really." Caesar says, reminding me that were not alone.

I find Haymitch backstage. He's standing, watching our interview playing on a screen. I watch it with him, awkwardly standing next to him. I watch as it zooms in on my hand on Peeta's thigh and Haymitch laughs, startling me. "That was hilarious. That whole poor girl from the seam still amazed by the Capitol food thing, genius." He takes another drink out of his flask. "Well done." He holds his flask out to me and I stare at it. I take a look around, wondering where Peeta is. "Go ahead and take it. He's not here." I hesitantly take the flask out of his hands and take a drink. It burns, much more than the stuff I'm used to. I choose to ignore it and take another long drink, emptying the flask. I hand it back to him, laughing at his face when he realizes it's empty.

A/N: I love Katniss and Haymitch's relationship so much