Although he may not have had anywhere else to be, Haymitch also didn't [i]want[/i] to be anywhere else. As ridiculous as it was to be out on a balcony in the Capitol, dancing with a girl who was much too young for him, to no music, the older man was enjoying himself quite a bit. He didn't actually want to admit that to Katniss, of course, his own ego susceptible to a quick bruising. There was also a certain level of risk involved and Haymitch was still nervous about crossing the lines they had laid down earlier in the week, even if he was starting to wonder if Katniss felt the same way as he did. The situation was a delicate one, and tenderness had never been something that Haymitch was very good at. At his age, it was too late to start practicing.

Their dancing had brought them much closer together, and Haymitch didn't mind the closeness even if the night was already warm. “Oh, you're too kind, sweetheart,” he chuckled at her admission. He didn't think dancing with her was so bad, either. “Do I really have to explain why this is useful?” he asked rhetorically. “People are going to see you tomorrow and if you're more approachable, more...normal, they'll want to sponsor you. There's no telling what you might need in the Games and a sponsor remembering something nice about you could be the difference between life and death.” Haymitch didn't really want to discuss the Games, or a strategy for it, but it was so woven into their lives that the topic was hard to escape.

As Katniss wrapped her arm around his neck, Haymitch instinctively pulled her closer, eliminating what little space had been previously keeping them apart. He had been denying the urge to kiss her for days, and Haymitch knew that he should pull away, leave for his own room and forget it, but that was difficult when Katniss was right there and looking at him so intently. Silencing the nagging thoughts in his head, Haymitch leaned in and pressed his lips to hers in a surprisingly soft kiss. After a few seconds, he pulled away from her warm lips and stayed quiet, bracing himself for a punch and the guilt of a ruined friendship.

Even if Prim had never been in love before, or even had an official boyfriend, she knew that she loved Gale. It was different from how she felt about her sister, or her mother, or the few friends that she trusted; Gale was so much more. With what they were currently involved in and about to go into, Prim didn't think that she wanted to hear or say those three special words until everyone was absolutely safe. It seemed wrong to be so happy, to be in love, when much of the country was suffering and oppressed. The blonde needed that to change before she ever tried to make a life with Gale a reality. 

After Gale turned the hologram on, Prim turned her head to look. The image was beautiful, almost realistic enough to fool her into thinking that she was somewhere else. She smiled faintly as Gale mentioned living somewhere like that one day. Prim had never thought of leaving District 12, it was the only home she had ever known but the scenery on the wall looked tempting and the blonde wondered if she and Gale could find their own slice of paradise just like that one day. So many futures were riding on Peeta's plan, and Prim was starting to understand just how desperate the situation was becoming. She wanted to help and Panem needed change. 

“I can too,” she said, turning back to look at him. “I keep thinking of how things could be once we go home. I'm probably getting ahead of myself,” Prim laughed and shook her head before turning on her side to face Gale. She wasn't foolish enough to think that Peeta's plan would instantly free them from the Capitol's reach, Prim knew that everything was going to change and that it would be worse before it was ever better, but at least people would try—at least they could start thinking about a free world where the Games didn't exist and no one was starving.