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Joel was not a fancy man, certainly nothing like those other District 1 Victors who liked to pretend they were Capitol. He knew full well that when the Capitol people adored them, it was as pretty things to see, not as people.
Joel was grateful that he was getting to an age that was considered old by Capitol standards, thirty-six was most definitely not old for the districts, but since he wasn’t undergoing any of the aggressive plastic surgery all of the Capitol went through since their twenties, he looked ancient to them.
Trimming his beard, combing his hair, picking some nice, but not overly elegant clothes, he looked handsome indeed. He checked his breath and downed a couple more mints just to be sure. All his best for the girl that was waiting for him at the train station.
It was incredibly early, but Joel sucked it up and walked to the station before the town or the sun woke up, because he knew the Capitol train would be there at first light, and every second spent with her counted. It’s what they’d been doing for the past ten years or so, since it was very illegal for them to be dating.
But what can you do, love is love no matter where you’re from, so they made it work, only seeing each other at official events, and sneaking around, with a lot of help from their friends who helped cover their escapades.
She loved all things pink pretty and shiny, that’s why she was the District 1 escort after all, but she wasn’t vain or uncaring, and she always did her best to help the kids through the Games, she was surely better than the man that had preceded her, who had accompanied Joel to his game 19 years prior, who had only cared that he be attractive and brutal, so he could get a better payday.
This year he had gotten for her a beautiful ring, elegant and not too flashy and while they could not get married, he was planning to propose to her, if nothing to symbolize that if he could he would in an instant, and the Capitol could not do anything to change the fact that he loved her. So he fidgeted with the small box in his pocket with one hand, and he clutched the large bouquet with the other.
As the train pulled in Joel craned his neck trying to see if he could catch her from the windows, but it was still too dark to see anything, so he waited impatiently, half-hidden in the shadows of the old train platform, for his love to come out.
Joel held his breath, as she walked onto the platform, beautiful and pink, even more than she had been if possible.
When she saw him she ran to him, and jumped into his arms.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Lizzie.”
The kiss that came after was long, soft and gentle, making up for all the time spent apart.