No Games Left to Play

7: The Interview

"Have you two lovebirds made any wedding plans yet?" Caesar asks.

"We've talked about it, but nothing is set in stone." I say. "We really want to stick to our district's traditions. We want to have a toasting."

"What's that?" Caesar asks.

"It's a ritual in twelve, where the married couple walks into their home and light their first fire together. They sit in front of it and toast a piece of bread, then share it together." Peeta answers.

"No one really feels married in twelve until they've had their toasting." I add.

"So what about the actual wedding ceremony?" Caesar asks.

"Well, if we stay in twelve, we sign papers at the Justice building." Peeta says.

"So, you're considering getting married here in the Capitol?" Caesar asks.

"We aren't really sure. We kind of want it to be a private thing." I say.

"Well, whatever you decide. We wish you best." Caesar says.

"Thank you, Caesar." Peeta says.

"Have you thought about starting a family soon?" Caesar asks.

There he goes with the invading questions. I give a flat answer. "No."

The audience beings to whisper amongst themselves.

Peeta beings to explain. "We want to enjoy our time together, just us as newlyweds."

"Well, you would have already had a child had it not been for the quarter quell." Caesar adds.

"That's true." Peeta says. He looks to me for help. He's at a loss for words.    

"Losing that baby was the hardest thing I've done." I chime in. "Peeta and I had just found out about the baby before he announced it in his quell interview, but I had already gotten so attached to it." I start to tear up and Peeta inches closer to me to comfort me.

He and I both know I'm acting, but as far as the Capitol is concerned, that baby was real.

"I lost something I really loved and I had to experience that loss alone. Peeta wasn't there to help me through it. He had been taken by the Capitol after I destroyed the arena. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see him again." I pause for a moment. "I lost the two things I loved the most, back to back."

"Katniss, I'm so sorry." Caesar says leaning in to put a hand on my knee.

"I'm just too afraid of losing another baby. Who know's... maybe in a few years that will be different. But right now, I just want to be with the man I love."

Peeta puts his hands on my cheeks, wipes the tears off, and kisses me. When we pull away I see he is crying too. For once, I wipe the tears off his face. I mouth 'I love you' to him and he mouths it back.

"Let's hear it for our star-crossed lovers." Caesar says and stands up. Peeta and I stand as well, joining our hands back together. The audience claps. "May your future bring you joy and happiness." Caesar grabs my other hand and kisses the back of it.

"Thank you." Peeta and I say in unison.

"We hope to hear from you soon." Caesar says and shakes Peeta's hand. Peeta and I exit the stage and are greeted by Effie.

"Well done." she says and hugs me. "Now, let's get you two back to my house."

"Ok." I say.

When we return to Effie's house, Peeta and I head up to the guest bedroom. Our interview was at 8 and it was live, so we are exhausted. We both are ready to relax before leaving tomorrow to head back to twelve. I walk into the room first and Peeta follows. I unzip my dress and step out of it before he can even shut the door. Peeta stands in front of the door with his chin dropped and his mouth wide open. Peeta's never seen me strip that quickly so he's in shock. I couldn't wait to get out of that dress Effie picked out. I don't enjoy wearing Capitol clothes or dresses. The combination of the both is just unbearable.

"We aren't doing what I think we're doing, are we?" Peeta asks.

"What gives you that idea?" I retort.

"How quickly you got that dress off."

"You liked that, huh?" I say.

Peeta laughs and I just stand at the foot of the bed, considering if I want to have sex or not.

"What are you thinking?" Peeta asks.

"That night was fun, but..."

"But what?"

"I'd feel uncomfortable doing that in someone else's house, especially Effie's." I say. "Could you imagine if she walked in on us? It would give us a whole new kind of nightmare."

"The fact that you haven't put clothes back on proves to me that you don't care." Peeta says.

"I was thinking about taking a bath." I reply.

"Mind if I join you?"

"I kind of just want to relax."

"I promise. No funny business." Peeta says, basically pleading me.

"Fine, but the second you try something... I'm kicking you out."

"Ok." Peeta smiles.

I go in and run a bubble bath while Peeta gets undressed. I climb in and can instantly feel my muscles relax. Peeta gets into the tub behind me, and kisses my neck.

"Peeta!" I warn.

"I'm not trying anything, promise."

A few minutes pass.

"Katniss, can I ask you something?" Peeta says.

"Sure, Peeta. Go ahead." I say.

"You had a miscarriage after getting struck by lighting at the lighting tree in the quell. Real or not real?"

"Not real." I say. "I was never pregnant. The victors were mad they were being sent back into the games and said anything they could to prevent the quell from happening. Haymitch told us to do the same. You made up a lie that I was pregnant to try and stop the games. It didn't work though."

"Thank you," Peeta says. "For some reason, after the interview with Caesar I couldn't figure out if you were lying to him or not. Hazy memory."

"It's ok." I say. "You know I love you, right?"

"Of course." he says.

"I just feel like I don't say it enough," I say. "It's something I promise to do more as your wife."

***

AN:

So that was the interview. I loved this chapter! Let me know what you think in the comments. :)

The next chapter will probably pick up with them back in twelve. I don't think I'll write another traveling chapter. If there is something you guys want to see, comment it and I'll see what I can do.