April Showers, May flowers. // Kire JB Blitz

Her name had shaken me of my worry for myself. I had always felt a strong draw to enter the arena, to show the world that I was the brother of Marchello and that I was proud of that, but in that moment I was dumbfounded and scared. All I could think was that it couldn't be Maye, not because she wasn't entered in the reaping - in fact she was, a good number of times and with tessera to boot - but because we couldn't afford to lose her; I couldn't afford to lose her. She was one of the only things keeping us from being put into orphanages, or starving to death in the streets. Besides, she had also known my brother. Maye was as good as my sister. No, sister doesn't quite sit right with me. She was a friend, someone I could rely on, someone I felt comfortable talking to - when she would let me talk.

The moment I entered the justice building I felt as chilled as the marble floors. My clenched hands were driven into my pockets, clutching at empty space and desperately trying to hold it close. I hadn't been able to be there for my brother, but I would be there for Maye. I had to, I couldn't let her think I would abandon her. Not when I-

The peacekeeper opens the door for me, grudgingly. I can't form my face into a smile as much as I want to. I want to comfort her as she had comforted me before, but I wasn't strong enough. Some people might applaud me for my honesty, but I just felt like a scare little boy. Yet another person was being taken from me. At least this time I had had the chance to get to know them before they were sent away to never come back.

As soon as she sees me she is talking. I knew she would, this was always how she was, but seeing it for myself eases me a bit. Somehow, she seems to be taking this better than me. "Oh my gooooood, Marzo." She grabbed me and pulled me to her, wrapping her arms around me. I winced as something sharp jabbed into my flesh but it seemed like Maye hadn't noticed. As much as I wanted to stop the pain, I had to admit that it was nice to be held by her. The moment the thought crossed my mind I felt a hot flush rise in my cheeks and I determinedly stayed both very still and very silent. It didn't matter, though, Maye was off on one of her rambles. "This sucks, this sucks this suck this fuckin suuuuucks."

Her voice held a small whine in it, and the breath that she took was hitched. I felt the spasm rock through my body, clutched as I was to her chest. Perhaps she wasn't taking this quite as well as I had thought. How could she, though? She was being sent off to- No, Maye couldn't die. My arms wrapped around her too, finally, and I forced myself to ignore the fact that my heart was beating a bit faster than normal. Now, of all times, was certainly _not_ the right moment for a discovery like this. "How are you lot supposed to make up the money I make at the pawn? I mean, not that you can’t, I’m not like invaluable or anything." Another breath, another moment for me to realize how much I will miss her. She was right, though, we really did need her.

"Haven’t we suffered enough losses? Fuckers walking out on us and then Marc… UGH!" With her exclamation of mixed frustration and disgust she flopped backwards. Her arms had released me only a split second before and I was nearly dragged with her before I was able to let go. I was sure my face was super flushed by this point; the image of me landing in her lap sent hot waves of mingled fear and embarrassment through me. "I miss Marc. Marc was always the strong one, I thought…we thought he was coming back." That, finally, was able to help me to settle the strange feeling in my gut. Hearing her talk about my brother in that way, that admiring way that she had, both made me proud and... no, just proud - it had to just be pride. Still, pride shouldn't feel quite so sour in my gut. "Not that you’re not great, even if you can be a grumpy buttmunch half of the time." Her rush to assure me wasn't enough for me to save face, but it did put a small twitch in the corner of my mouth.

She laughed then. Even though she was laughing at me I still liked her laugh, it was real, it was something I could make happen. Best of all, it meant that even in some small way I made her happy. Now, more than ever, I was glad for that. Digging around in her pockets, she pulled out a handful of items. I gaped slightly at them, especially when she held them out to me. I took them, hesitating for a moment as our fingers touched. "Here, you should be able to get a decent price for it." This time, her mirth was not nearly as heartfelt. "I know, I know. I’m amazing." She looks down, betraying the fear I had sensed. I wanted to put the object aside and take her by the hands, but simply closed my fingers around the items instead.

Her eyes pierce me as she looks back up at me. I feel rooted to the spot, struck dumb by the pleading in her face. She had always been so confident, so sure of everything. Now, under the weight of her own peril along with the world that they had all placed on her shoulders, she was beginning to falter. "You’ll uh, you’ll help take care of them right? More so than usual? You know, at least until I get back?" Quickly I nodded. This was one part of her burden I could take, one thing I could promise her. If the knowledge that I was taking care of the other kids would make this whole ordeal even the slightest bit easier for her to handle then I would do it. Besides, I couldn't leave the others to fend for themselves, we were a family. "I will, Maye. I promise I will." My voice cracked on the word promise. I couldn't tell if emotion was getting to me or if the last hints of puberty were still making themselves known.

This time I couldn't stop myself from touching her. I placed my hand on her forearm, leaning down slightly in order to do so. "Maye I-" Suddenly my face was much closer to hers than I had intended, even though there was still a foot of empty air between us. I felt like backpedaling, like turning and running. I couldn't do that though, I couldn't just leave. My voice held a puppy's whine as I tried to speak again.

"Come back, okay?"

I watched her eyebrows rise and wondered if I had gone too far. The embarrassment and fear were tangled in my stomach like a giant burr and I could barely swallow. I could almost see her teeth clamping down on her tongue, could almost hear the teasing she held back on. When a smile crept up the side of her jaw and into the corner of her mouth I felt both more at ease and more scared. "C’mon, this is me we’re talking about." The smile was a terrible threat, promising me more embarrassment and not a little excitement. She was genially poking fun at me now, like she always had. "What do I always say? Keep ‘em looking at this," My eyes involuntarily followed her hand as it traced its way down her form. I could barely breathe anymore, let alone swallow. Desperately I tried to pull my eyes away.

A quick pain in the seat of my pants was enough of a shock to look her in the face again. The moment I put two and two together - which was a long moment considering my brain didn't have much oxygen going to it at this point - I was almost mortified, almost. "So they don’t know what your hands are doing. The other tributes won’t know what hit them." The grin on her face wasn't making me feel any better. If she was trying to comfort me she was doing the exact opposite. I was distinctly unnerved, uncomfortable, and still just as worried as before, if not more so.

The new look in her eye really wasn't helping.

"So, you gonna give me a kiss for good luck, or am I gonna have to steal one?" Despite my best efforts, my mouth was open. I was stunned that she would ask, that she would want, that she would care. Did she know? How could she, I didn't really know for myself. I was dumbfounded again, but this time it was almost pleasant - except that I felt like a complete fool. She had to be mocking me, absolutely had to.

Her face was coming closer and I was able to smell the scent of her hair. I closed my mouth so fast that I bit my tongue. "I- Maye-" I moved closer for all my brain was screaming at me. I was the biggest idiot in all of Panem but somehow I didn't care right now. "It's not nice to tease someone like this." But I had kissed her before she could have even registered my words.