bringing it home [nixie/flynn]

[kap]

Becoming a victor was one of the best things that had happened in my life so far. People sometimes told me that if I ever won the Hunger Games, I'd grow tired of the attention, but for some reason, I doubted that that would ever become the case. I suppose I've always been the type who likes attention, though. Any spotlight on me feels like a good one, and winning the Games? That's definitely a good spotlight.

Now, not only had I won the Games, but I'd become a mentor to District Four's future tributes until we had another victor. Thing is, I didn't expect another victor to happen to fast. Talon won the Games. I'd barely talked to the young victor before the Games, but perhaps my chat with Talon on the train had actually meant something.

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I loved the fanciness of the Capitol. Not only that, but the people there loved me. They always wanted photos, autographs, and to ask me as many questions as they possibly could. I reveled in that fame. I loved it. So, when I was in the Capitol, I made it a point to go out into busy public places. Typically the fancier the better, though. The more upscale establishments had better food and better service, after all.

Flynn wanted to meet up after the finale. The last time I'd seen him had been when we snuck away for lunch on my victory tour. He seemed quite nice, so I wasn't going to turn him down. We decided to meet up at a fancy restaurant in the City Circle of the Capitol. I really hoped that people didn't think we were on a date because of this, though. That would be a bit awkward for me, admittedly. I don't know how Flynn would feel about it, but he's really not my type. He's just a friend to me.

Ultimately, I ended up picking out the restaurant. It was a place I hadn't been to before, but it got a lot of buzz. People talked about it a lot, and usually, you'd have to be put on a waiting list to get in. I suppose being a victor has its perks, though. I was able to get Flynn and I a same-day reservation without a problem.

When I got to the restaurant, I was immediately greeted and seated. I told them to direct Flynn to me when he got there, and they agreed to do so. Taking my seat at the table, I started to browse through the menu as I waited.

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423 words

table by Kiah

[gamemaker ☢️ ivan korsch]

FLYNN GARNER
YEAR OF THE 90TH

So here we go again, third year on the trot and two lovely coffins will be filling the space in the storage carriage of the District Six train. No, I am not getting used to it. I will be forty-three (if I reach that) and will still be tearing down the mirrors in the bathrooms after my last tributes cannon is sounded. I at least saved myself and Star from embarrassment this year by not having the meltdown in public, not that I had any choice. Being barred from the private viewings and forced to live through the Ninetieth Hunger Games in full public view of the cameras. They were waiting for the moment, and I never gave it to them.

It is over. I will be on the train tomorrow with a miserable Teddy and District Four will be welcoming home another. I cannot resent them, not after the few weeks of peace that Annie gave me in District Four after Aurora. I just want to know how they do it. How Annie does it. A decade anniversary and her prize, a survivor.

Nixie Summers is no longer the freshest victor, and I am no longer the only youngest. A blessing in disguise? I have been told it may take a few years before I turn stale, and they stop treating me like the immortal thirteen-year-old that they think I am.

Dictaphones are shoved in my face, and I will be due an eye test after all the flashing cameras that chase me down the Capitol street. Reservations have been made with Nixie, a bit of an odd setting as I was just hoping for a quick chat in the training centre dining hall. Though obviously District Four are a whole other breed, something I am trying to find out more about. Maybe Teddy and I need to start making more reservations in the prime Capitol hot spots if we stand a chance for next year.

I do not even have to say a word to the restaurant’s concierge, the pick me out of the queue and lead me straight to where Nixie is seated.

Before even getting a chance to sit down, a waiter already insists on filling our glasses with some alcohol infected sparkly wine. Alcohol has not touched my lips since my victory tour, not that I had any choice. I cover my glass with my hand before it can be filled. ”The elderflower cordial for me please.” The one that magically now has a picture of my face on the bottle as it was all I drank last year.

”They really will do anything to try and milk us victors. Look at the bottle of cordial when they bring it. I never agreed to it.” I say to Nixie as I take the food menu from another waiter that hovers over us. ”Congratulations by the way, for Talon”