On being reserved at Luceti

[victorbychance]

Picking out wing colors, huh?  Sounds like an identity crisis waiting to happen.  And don't even pretend this isn't a thinly-veiled attempt to lure more canonmates to Luceti, okay?  I don't think a place with two bars and Romulan ale is the best place for Haymitch.

Yeah, Archie explained what that is.

But if you're going to do it?  You have to let me go on missions.  You have to let me go on drafts.  I have to be able to protect them both.  Katniss and Rue.  You have to let me do that, or I won't talk.  Every time you want to post with me, I'll be quiet.  I have that much power.

Comments

[rutagraveolens]

No. No, you can't come here. [Because that's what Katniss says. Because he's safer back in Panem. Because it's better there.

But there's a small smile there too. A very faint hint of one. Hi, Peeta. It's nice to meet you.]

[victorbychance]

Sure I can. [This isn't the first time he's seen her, or heard her voice, but it's the first time he's ever spoken to her.] Two pairs of eyes are better than one, right?

[rutagraveolens]

I guess, though it's really three pairs of eyes. Katniss, you, me. We have to watch out for each other.

And if you go on missions, you can't watch out for us.

[victorbychance]

No, I meant what I said. You and me, two pairs of eyes, looking out for her. Her and me, two pairs, you. I think you get the idea.

Going out on missions is a way of watching out for you. They have rewards, don't they?

[rutagraveolens]

Her and me, two pairs of eyes, looking out for you. [Rue smiles at the idea. There's all the other allies too, all watching out for each other.]

I guess, but if you go out on a mission, we can't watch out for you. What if you get hurt?

[victorbychance]

[A shrug.] Then I'll get better.

[rutagraveolens]

Katniss really isn't going to like that. [aka "You are so screwed once she finds out."]

[victorbychance]

You wanna know a secret? There isn't much Katniss does like.

[rutagraveolens]

...Yeah, you're right. But what she does like, she likes a lot.

[victorbychance]

I know about the cheese buns, yes.

[rutagraveolens]

And her sister.

[victorbychance]

Yeah, I was just trying to keep things light.

[Because he can easily tell why Katniss is attached to Rue in particular.]

Your family's okay, by the way.

[stillplaying]

[There is, ultimately, very little that has to be said upon seeing this. Upon overhearing the conversation between Peeta and Rue.

He is not going on missions. He is not doing anything to endanger his life again. She won't let him. She doesn't even want him there. It's not safe.

Her face is stony, just the tiniest bit of worry slipping through when she shakes her head and says firmly,]

No.

[victorbychance]

No, I can't come? Or no, I can't protect you? Because either way...

[stillplaying]

None of it. What are you thinking, Peeta? [With every word, her voice rises in pitch. Gone is the stoic demeanor from moments ago as the worry takes hold.

Stop being so stupid, Peeta Mellark, she wants to shout. Stop trying to be a hero.] You can't come. Let alone go on missions! How am I supposed to keep you safe?

[victorbychance]

Well, about coming, I don't really have a choice. And a bonus of Luceti: if something happens, it's a week at most before you see me again, right?

[Not that that sort of casual attitude towards death is going to apply toward Katniss.]

[stillplaying]

[Really? He thinks that's funny? He thinks his death in any kind of manner is something to laugh about? She doesn't care if death is supposed to be temporary. She doesn't.

Because it'd still be losing Peeta. And nothing could ever make the pain of that go away again. Not even getting him back.

She blinks quickly. She's not going to cry. Not going to give him that. But her hands do curl into fists and she scowls.]

Tell her no.

[victorbychance]

Right. Because I get a vote? [The humor is fading, a few notes of irritation in the cadence of his last sentence.]

[stillplaying]

[No, he doesn't, does he? None of them really do.

But it doesn't make the anger dim any less.]

You could still try.

[victorbychance]

Why, to make you happy? Knowing you're there? Think about what you're asking me to do.

[stillplaying]

[He probably hates it. Knowing that she's there right now and he isn't. That there's nothing he can do to protect her. Not unless he goes herself.

But doesn't he also understand how much it'll hurt her, too? That she's worked too hard to keep him safe and she doesn't know enough about Luceti yet to keep him safe there, too? And she has to. Because she'd really die if anything happens to him.]

I am. [Maybe she says that a bit too harshly. But she doesn't care.] I am thinking about what I'm asking. And you're better off, Peeta. Better off not going.

[victorbychance]

I'm about to pop my head out of the ground in an arena designed to kill me, so I beg to differ.

[stillplaying]

[And that takes her aback. Because out of everything she's imagined, she's never thought Peeta might be from another point in time.]

You're what?

[victorbychance]

...Yeah, she said that'd give you a start.

[stillplaying]

[Something he can use against her. Like that locket with the pictures of her family and Gale. It shouldn't surprise her. Just make her angry.]

Which? Which Games?

[victorbychance]

The second one. There aren't any more after this, are there?

[stillplaying]

[She shakes her head. That means he hasn't been hijacked yet. He's still Peeta. Still the boy with the bread.

She can't even begin to process what that means to her.]

No. No more.

[victorbychance]

Good. [A pause, and he can't hide the shaking in his voice when he speaks again.] Do I keep you alive?

[stillplaying]

[It's such an easy question. Such an innocent one.

He did.

But at too much of a cost to himself. He should have just let her die. He should've. She opens her mouth to speak but no words come out. So she gives a short nod, yes.]

[victorbychance]

[He takes her silence to mean that he died in the process.]

Then I don't exactly have much to go back home to, do I?

[stillplaying]

[He's getting better. Dr. Aurelius wouldn't have sent him back to Twelve otherwise. And it had been his idea to plant the flowers in memory of Prim. His way of caring for her like he used to.

But he nearly died in that arena. Would've, if not for Finnick. And then he was tortured. To break her.

Luceti or the arena? She doesn't know which is the kinder fate.]

You do. [Said quietly because it's just sunk in that he might've misunderstood her.] You have your whole life, Peeta.

[victorbychance]

...I do?

[stillplaying]

[A quick nod.]
You do.

[What more can she really say? That he'll be tortured by Snow first? Made to be almost unrecognizable from the boy with the bread?

But he's come back. Little by little, she's seen more and more of the boy she owes everything to. At least, she had, prior to arriving in Luceti.]

[victorbychance]

[And now that she's going to get him back completely, the torture having never happened, what will she do with him?

For him, there's only one thing he cares about.]

With you?

[stillplaying]

[Maybe. But he's only been back for a few weeks. Things are still too raw. They're still recovering from their scars, inside and out.

But he's there, in Twelve, with her. Not in District Two like Gale, taking on some fancy job and kissing other lips.]

And Haymitch.

[It's the safest answer for now.]

[victorbychance]

Weird. I he's not really my type. [Teasing.]

[stillplaying]

[She knows it's meant to be funny. But right now, she's having a hard time finding humor in anything.

So you get a look, Peeta, rather than any vocal response.]

[victorbychance]

[He sees it.]

Listen. There's nothing you can say that'll make me change my mind about wanting to protect you and Rue. There's not even any point in judging me for it. Let's save time and skip the argument.

[stillplaying]

[He was like that on the beach. When he opened up the locket and tried to convince her that her life was more important than his own. It hadn't worked then. She had been so determined.

But so long as Peeta has his own personal Gamemaker, it's going to be a hard battle to win.]

Ask her. [Because she's not ready to quit. Just to try a different tactic.] Ask her what I can do to get her to change her mind about you.

[victorbychance]

No.

[stillplaying]

[Why does he have to be so damn stubborn?

She's close to yelling at him. To beating her fists against his chest in order to keep him away.]

You have to!

[victorbychance]

[If she touches him, he'll touch her back, catching her hands in his.]

No. I don't.

[stillplaying]

[Which he does, causing her to struggle half heartedly to free her hands and try to beat at him again. It's easier to be angry. Because if she's not angry, she might give into her fear. And she might just start to cry.]

How am I ever going to keep you safe if you don't listen?

[victorbychance]

[He moves to draw her into his arms.]

Too late.

[stillplaying]

I hate you. [The words are whispered as she lets him hug her, feeling safe only when enveloped in his arms, even as a few tears trickle down her face. It's not true and the words don't carry any conviction. She's just angry. So very angry.

Two of them she'll have to keep safe now. More of a burden. And maybe she deserves it. Deserves to be punished like this. But she knows one thing for certain. Peeta Mellark does not.]