“What?” Katniss looked to him, not sure why it mattered if she could or couldn’t dance. “W-what does that have to do with anything?” She huffed. “Don’t be stupid, it doesn’t matter.” She said, getting flustered. The last thing she wanted to do was look like an idiot in front of Haymitch. “Dancing is stupid…” Katniss cleared her throat and looked off at the skyline which had several interesting and odd looking buildings. It was better than listening to him laugh at her inadequate dancing skills, which to her weren’t a big deal. It’s not like anyone would want to dance with her anyway. And the only person she might put up with was the laughing moron in front of her. Even if it was a bit at her expense, she couldn’t help but enjoy his laugh. “Okay okay shut up, stop laughing at me.” She protested, not enjoying the moment so much anymore. SHe was a bit dubious when it came to picturing him dance but that was because he didn’t seem very graceful. 

Thankfully he finally settled down and moved in front of her. “You’re joking right?” The girl rolled her eyes at him. He had lost his mind, as far as she was concerned. “You want to teach me to dance…?” Katniss pushed herself away from the safety of the rail and stepped closer to him, intrigued by his challenge of sorts. “I’ll humor you if you’ll stop laughing at me.” She said, not willing to admit that she wouldn’t mind if her taught her something, especially how to dance. “It’s a useless skill and a waste of our time.” She grumbled as she finally took hold of his offered hand. If she didn’t know any better though, she could have sworn there was a small hint of romanticism about their situation. A misty skyline, low lights, two people on a balcony dancing...but of course the idea of romance often escaped her for many reasons. And Haymitch? He was about as romantic as she was, at least that’s what she figured. 

Day dreams didn’t count for anything.

Part of Katniss wondered if this was some practical joke and if it was, it was a very weird one. But for now, she decided to play along and hopefully it didn’t start some petty fight between the two of them. Though in her mind, Haymitch looked good regardless of mood. Pensive, amused, concerned or even upset. The more Katniss thought about it though, he hadn’t been able to teach her much. When they were training for a month, they didn’t need to teach one another much except small things with survival but it might be interesting to actually listen to Haymitch with the intention of understanding, rather than tuning him out like she would, say a year ago. “I do prefer you over Effie.” She considered. In truth, she preferred him over pretty much everyone she knew. She swallowed, trying to keep her emotions in check. Now wasn’t the time to get nervous. “Just...be nice.” She gave him a slight helpless pout on purpose since it didn’t suit her at all, which she was sure would amuse him.

For Gale, he knew it was better if they stayed in the present.

That wasn’t an easy thing to do but he was going to try to keep everyone in good spirits. He knew the plan would work if they all remembered that hope was real and not some sort of imaginary concept beyond their reach. Prim didn’t flinch or seem uncomfortable thanks to his actions which made him more relaxed. The boy was in no way trying to assume certain things, he just wanted to be close to her and enjoy the privacy which they had for the time being. He sighed against her lips and her own arms curled around his neck, ensuring that he kept close to her. That was just fine with him. It seemed his own relentless optimist was rubbing off on Primrose who agreed that when it was all over, they wouldn’t need to wonder about their time together.

The idea of her and him going back to District 12 together made him pretty happy, filled him with a familiar sort of warmth. His forehead rested against her gently as he just focused on both of their breathing. He couldn’t imagine what the Games held for any of them. The setting and situation were out of their hands all they could do was struggle to stay alive until Peeta came to get them out of the bloodbath. He would do anything to keep Katniss and Prim and Haymitch safe. If he could save anyone else, that would be great but he was pretty focused on keeping the main people safe, especially the one in front of him. “I can’t wait to see tomorrow night.” He said, pushing his thoughts away from the Games. They didn’t belong there, not yet. 

“I get the first dance I hope.” Gale smiled to her and pushed himself back and caught her hand in his as he headed off towards his room, figuring Effie or Katniss might be around and stumble across them. When they got to his room, he let her in first before he walked in after her and walked over to sit with her on the bed, still hoping he wasn’t acting too weird. This was as new to her as it was to him. He just wanted spend time with her, no pressure at all. He glanced around the room. “I wonder why we don’t get any freaky paintings.” He commented with a grin and laid back, slipping a hand behind his head. Like Katniss, he found the Ball pointless but at least now he had Prim to be his date. He then sat up and wondered if he should make if offical, at least between them. “I haven’t...actually asked…” He felt a bit stupid but didn’t care. “I mean, will you be my date?” He grinned at Prim.