A/N: I don't like this one at all.
I really don't. I don't know what it is, and it seems cheesy and
weird. I just didn't know what to do with this theme. Hopefully
it's not too horrible...
Peeta wasn't entirely sure what made
him decide that they needed to have a "guy's night." He'd
seen something similar on TV and thought it was a good idea. Plus,
it gave Katniss and Dani the opportunity to spend some quality time
together as well. It wasn't anything fancy. He had decided to just
take Nickel to the new movie theater that had opened in town to see
some movie. On a whim, he'd decided to invite Haymitch along, since
he was practically a member of the family as well. Besides, there
wasn't another shipment of alcohol for a week, and a grumpy Haymitch
was doing everything he could to occupy himself.
After the movie, they decided to stop
by the meadow for a little while and watch the sunset. Haymitch was
grumbling on about this being a "girly" activity, but
Nickel was always thrilled to spend time in the meadow. They found
themselves staying even after the sunset. As the first stars began
to appear in the sky, Peeta would point out different constellations
and other things of interest.
There hadn't been much interest in
stargazing while the Games had been happening, but astronomy (and,
especially in the Capitol, astrology) had become a somewhat popular
hobby in recent years. Apparently, it had always been a little
popular in the Capitol where there were several large planetariums
where citizens could enjoy the night sky without leaving the glaring
lights of the city. Now, citizens from across Panem were starting to
pick up the hobby as well. Peeta had only learned a few things, but
he found the concept of the universe fascinating. It was something
he remembered briefly discussing in school, but it wasn't until after
the rebellion that he learned people had actually went up into space
in the years before the disasters that destroyed North America.
After the disasters, it hadn't been as important as rebuilding
civilization, and humanity's fascination with the universe had kind
of died except for the small group that liked to stargaze
occassionally. Things were changing now though, and many people
wanted to attempt to visit space again. Peeta thought that was being
a little crazy, but it was fascinating nonetheless.
"That star right there,"
Peeta pointed, "is the brightest one in the sky. It's called
Sirius or the Dog Star."
"The Dog Star?" Nickel
questioned.
"It's in a constellation that's
supposed to look like a dog." Peeta tried to trace the outline
in the sky, but it was a bit difficult and he wasn't even entirely
sure if was pointing to the right stars.
"And that there is the North Star.
It's the star that's almost directly over the north pole. People
used it as a guide to know what direction they were going on ships
and long journeys back in the days before technology."
They stayed there for several hours,
just looking into the sky. Even Haymitch seemed to become interested
after a while. It wasn't until Nickel fell asleep that Peeta
realized they should be heading home. Nickel didn't protest as he
didn't have the energy to even try. He did, however, ask, "Dad,
can we come back tomorrow night and look at the stars again? Maybe
Mom and Dani can come." Peeta smiled and assured his son that
they would come back soon.
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