Hunger Games 1. Chapter 1

Cato remembers the first time he saw her, even if it was only on television.

He had been watching a replay of the reapings while on the train to the capitol. Cato wasn't impressed by any of the tribute's he had seen so far, though he did feel sorry for the tiny girl from District 11 since she reminded him of his own little sister. Cato couldn't image her going into the games when she was only 12 years old. He may have trained for the games his entire life, but he didn't think it was fair to have tributes that young, they didn't stand a chance. Since the only District left was 12, he figured he might as well call it a night. However, before he turned the television off, Cato saw a little girl being called as the female tribute from 12. Cato stopped to watch and again felt sorry for the little girl. Even though he had no problem killing the other tributes, he knew he wouldn't be able to kill these two girls. While he was lost in his thoughts, he missed the older girl pushing her way through the crowd, but his attention was called back to the screen when he heard her volunteer.

Cato figured she had volunteered in her sister's place and was surprised since that has never happened in any District, especially 12. What surprised him even more was the crowd's reaction as the girl made her way to the stage. Cato heard her sister crying out her name, 'Katniss', it was an interesting name, unique. He watched as an older boy picked the little girl up and carried her away. His attention was pulled to the boy's eyes who was carrying the small, crying girl away; you could see the love, respect, and concern for Katniss in his eyes clear as day. As he looked over the crowed he saw that most of the crowd had looks of respect and hope in their eyes. On the boy's side, there were more than a few that shared the look of adoration to some degree that the first boy had.

Never had a tribute from the outer districts received this kind of reaction, even if it was a silent one. Mostly, the crowds would look sad and resigned that they were saying goodbye to whomever was called. This crowd looked like they planned on seeing her again, that she could and would win. Cato watched her stand on the stage, looking stoic and fierce, and he learned what the crowd already knew: this girl had fire, this girl had determination, and this girl was not saying goodbye to anyone-she would be coming home.

Cato was enthralled. The outer districts didn't train for the games like careers did. It was understandable why the careers looked confident when they volunteered; they figured that they would either win or they would at least kill as many as they could before they went down. They believed they were bringing honor to their District by playing the games; the more they killed the better. But the outer Districts were normally like lambs at a slaughter.

Why did these people believe Katniss had a chance? What made her different from all the tributes before her?

Cato paused the replay and studied her closely. She was beautiful; he could easily see that through the light layer of dust that normally covered everyone and everything in District 12. She was thin, but not without muscle. She had thick, brown hair that was in a long braid. Her eyes were what drew him in the most. They were a steel grey that seemed to shine brightly with something he couldn't put his finger on.

He wondered if the boy who pulled her sister away was her boyfriend or if it was another one from the sea of boys that liked her. Cato couldn't tell from her reactions. It was obvious she knew the boy who took her sister, but he couldn't get a read on her feelings from the looks she cast his way.

Just the thought of any of those boys touching her angered him. No one deserved to touch her; no one should get close to her flame. She would easily burn anyone who was unworthy that came too close or they could extinguish her fire if she allowed it. Cato didn't believe that any of them knew how to treat a girl such as Katniss. She needed someone who supported her, gave her strength, but didn't hold on to her too tightly. She needed to be free to do what she wanted.

Cato knew exactly what type of guy she needed and he knew that he was the only one who wouldn't extinguish her fire; he'd fan her flames, help her glow brighter then she could on her own. He would make her better, stronger than she could be alone.

He turned his attention back to the television in time to watch one of the boys who had showed a love interest in Katniss get called as the male tribute. Cato watched as the boys' eyes didn't leave Katniss as he made his way to the stage. He watched as the boy, whose name he learned was Peeta, shook her hand. His eyes narrowed as the boy held her hand for a bit longer than what would be considered appropriate.

Cato knew that his whole plan for the Hunger Games had to change. He needed to devise a plan that allowed him to get close to Katniss before the games and let him keep her when they won. Cato could provide for Katniss and her family after the games, get them out of District 12 is that is what they wanted. He could make her happy and complete. He already knew that she would make him complete and he had yet to hear her voice.

Cato knew exactly who he needed to talk to when he arrived at the capitol. The only issue would be getting away from Clove long enough that she didn't find out what he was up to…

A/N: Okay, this is my first attempt at fan fiction or any type of creative writing since I have never been the creative type. I have an idea of where I want to go with the story and it won't follow the books or movie. I have not read the books, so I'm not too familiar with the Hunger Games, but I want to try to keep the characters personalities as accurate as I can with the little bit that I do know. If there are any major inconsistencies, please let me know. If you have any suggestions for improvements, let me know those, too.

I do not own the Hunger Games and this is unbeta'd.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as their train arrived at the Capitol, Cato only took the time to drop his bags off in his room before he left to start his search. He ignored Clove when she called out to him and questioned where he was going. They may be expected to form an alliance because they were from the same District, but Cato wasn't interested in what was expected of him. He knew his actions would cause confusion among his friends and family back home, at least until they saw her. Cato felt they would understand every step he was planning once they saw Katniss. He'd been to the Capitol a few times with his father and had made a few friends, one in particular he knew could help him now.

* * *

_About 1 ½ years ago_

His father had brought Cato with him and let him check out the sites at the Capitol while he attended several meetings. Cato had been wandering around kinda pointlessly, looking for a birthday present for his sister, when he bumped into someone. He was about to tell whomever it was to watch where they were going, but remembered that he was in the Capitol, not District 2, and he needed to watch what he said. When Cato looked down and realized the man he bumped into was dressed in a very bright suit with odd colors, he had to bite his tongue. People at the Capitol had such a strange sense of fashion (or lack thereof, he thought).

Cato and the man somehow struck up a conversation and he volunteered to help Cato find a present for his little sister. All Cato had to do was describe the little girl and the man was able to take him straight to a shop that sold elaborate dolls fashioned after different fairy tale characters. He was able to find the perfect gift all thanks to the strangely dressed man who introduced himself as Cinna.

They talked about various things during lunch over the next couple of hours while Cato waited for his father to get done with his business. While they were talking Cato learned that Cinna was a stylist for the Hunger Games and that stylist were able to pick what tribute they wanted to work with based on their standing in the community. When Cato told him he was volunteering as tribute when he was 18, Cinna readily agreed to be his stylist. Cato got lost in Cinna's rapid explanation of his plans, but did hear the words 'lion' and 'cape' and decided he was probably better off not knowing. He didn't know what either of those things had to do with District 2, but he figured Cinna could pull off just about anything when he set his mind to it. Cato was surprised he got along so well with Cinna since he wasn't normally the type of person that Cato would befriend.

* * *

_Present day_

Cato had been searching various places around the Capitol he thought Cinna could be and after looking for 2 hours he finally found him.

"Cinna," Cato called out to him and Cinna immediately turned around and smiled wide when he realized it was Cato.

They exchanged pleasantries before Cato asked if there was some where private they could talk.

Once they were seated in a secluded part of a small restaurant, Cato started in on the favor he needed from Cinna.

"Cinna, I need your help. Did you watch the reapings?" Cato asked.

"Yes, we all watched after we heard of the volunteer from District 12. I can only imagine the determination that girl has that allowed her to take her sister's place," Cinna said. "She could give you a run for your money."

"That's exactly what I want." At Cinna's confused expression, Cato went on, "I've never seen anyone like her. She's the one and I need your help so both of us can survive the games."

"What do you need me to do?" Cinna was intrigued. He knew from their previous meeting that Cato never had any real feelings for any girls. That's not to say he was inexperienced by any means, just that Cato let the girls come to him and never really felt any strong attraction to any of them. Cinna knew when he first saw Katniss that she was special and to have captured the attention of Cato, he realized there was even more to her that he couldn't see.

Cato told him how he needed Cinna to be Katniss' stylist because he knew Cinna could get the Capitol to easily fall in love with her. He described his reactions to seeing her the first time, how he lost himself in her fire. Cato talked about the rest of the District's reaction and how Kantiss seemed oblivious to all of it.

While Cato was describing 'his spark', as he had decided to call her since he had never seen Cato's eyes so full of life, Cinna's mind was racing with the possibilities. What caught his attention was Cato's description of the girl's fire, how she could easily out shine every other tribute there once she got the Capitol's attention. The Capitol just needed something to draw their attention initially since, normally; District 12 didn't get much press. Cinna had the perfect idea.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Cato was sitting in the lobby of the hotel, hoping to get a chance to meet Katniss when her group arrived. While he waited, he plotted. Cato knew that in order to break the rules and have two tributes leave the arena he was going to need more than just Cinna's help.

Cato knew he could get his mentor to help. Over the years, he had grown close to Brutus since he was the top fighter in District 2. He knew that Brutus would have some ideas for how he could succeed in his plan. Cato was hoping that, along with putting in a good word for him with Katniss, Cinna could also convince District 12's mentor to meet with him and possibly get him to help, too. He didn't know much about District 12's only living victor except that most people thought he was a worthless drunk, but Brutus had a different opinion. Brutus knew what it was like to be a victor and he understood Haymitch's downward spiral. Whereas Brutus had his family to help him after the games, Haymitch had no one. It helped Cato see past the first (bad) impression Haymitch leaves and look close enough to see the pain in his eyes.

Cato's attention was drawn to the entrance of the lobby when he heard Haymitch's loud voice telling that Peeta kid that he needed to 'nut up or shut up.' Cato almost burst out laughing at the embarrassment that took over Peeta's face when their group realized that most of the lobby was watching their interactions. He didn't know a face could turn that shade of red. He saw Katniss shooting dirty looks at the people in the lobby who were staring at them. As her eyes moved around the room, they landed on him. Cato smiled at her when their eyes met and his smile got even bigger when a slight blush crept up Katniss' cheeks while she bit her lip and looked away quickly.

Cato continued to watch her until the group got on the elevator. He made eye contact with her again as the elevator doors were closing and, this time, she gave him a small smile in return.

A/N: I didn't get into Cato's back story as much as I wanted, but I wanted to have at least a tiny bit of Katniss/Cato interaction in this chapter. Also, the "nut up or shut up" comment is from the movie Zombieland, I just thought it would be funny to have Haymitch say it to Peeta.

And a quick thanks to those that reviewed and added the story to their favorites or alerts.

I do not own the Hunger Games and this is unbeta'd.


	3. Chapter 3

After Katniss' group went upstairs, Cato retreated to his own room to get ready for the opening ceremonies that were happening later that evening. So far he had managed to avoid Brutus and Clove, which was good since he wasn't sure what he wanted to tell them. Cato was going to talk to Brutus tonight after the ceremonies and just needed to avoid being alone with him until then. He had never been very close to Clove since she was two years younger than him and he knew she would be jealous of the attraction he had for Katniss. Clove would try to make it impossible for him to get Katniss and he needed her soon, he couldn't afford any interference. He knows he needs to finalize his plans before he could really enjoy his time with her, but it felt like he's been waiting years for her, even though it hadn't even been a full day. Katniss was always in his thoughts, even when he was planning, she was still there in the back of his mind, giving him a reason to try harder; go faster. He needed a full proof plan for the Games to ensure that he would get to keep Katniss.

Cato knew District 2 was expected to form an alliance with the other careers and he knew this would make killing the majority of the tributes easy and quick. He just couldn't decide if it would be better to partner with the careers and leave Katniss alone for awhile or have him and Katniss take on everyone. Cato figured his options in the arena would mostly depend on the plan he devised; should everyone know of them before the Games or should they have their alliance be a surprise? What would increase their odds of survival?

He knew Katniss must have some skill for her and her District to believe she was coming home. He just didn't know if her talent would be enough for them to take on the other tributes themselves. Cato wouldn't be so worried if it was just his life on the line, but he couldn't imagine Katniss getting hurt, let alone killed. He wouldn't be able to survive losing her. He didn't want her to have to kill anyone either. Cato knew the deaths from the games haunt the victor and he didn't want Katniss to have to deal with that. He knew he would be able to move past any possible guilt for the tributes he would kill as long as he had her. Cato would just have to play things close to the vest until he was able to learn more about what Katniss could do.

* * *

Most of the tributes were gathered in the training room, getting the final touches done on their costumes, but Katniss had yet to appear. Cato knew Cinna had something incredible planned for her, but he didn't know what. He pictured a lot of different things, mainly skimpy outfits that would allow him to see as much of her as he could, which would definitely help with his fantasy life until he could have the real thing. Cato let his mind wander over all the things he would like to see Katniss in until he remembered that everyone else would be able to see her too. Her body was meant for his eyes only, the rest of Panem were not worthy of seeing such beauty.

Cato was almost vibrating with nervous energy while he waited for Katniss to appear and he noticed Clove watching him out of the corner of her eye. He was lucky the rest of their team were standing farther away, lost in their own discussion, so they didn't notice his odd behavior. Cato's eyes hadn't left the door in several minutes and he knew Clove finally had enough when he heard her huff.

"Seriously, Cato," Clove started, "What is going on with you? You know how to play a crowd; you do it every day back home so that can't be why you're all," she paused and waved her hand around in the air, "jittery. What is going on? Where were you today? Are you planning something? If you try to form an alliance behind my back, you'll be sorry."

This time it was Cato who scoffed.

"You know you're not better than me and that, if I want to, I can easily take you out during the blood bath," Cato stated coldly. "Don't make yourself into a liability so early; the target of your back will just get bigger."

Cato had to watch himself tonight and make sure that he didn't allow Clove to figure out where his heart lies. He wanted to talk with Brutus and figure out what angle would work best before anyone found out about his love for Katniss.

He looked down at their costumes again and was glad his new stylist went with what Cinna originally had picked out for him. It was a toga with the red cape Cinna had talked about and had a crown fashioned after a halo made of ivory. It showed off his many positive attributes and should impress the sponsors. Cato couldn't remember what the costume was supposed to represent, he was just glad Cinna didn't find a way to pull off whatever if was he had planned with the lion.

While Cato had been admiring Cinna's work, he missed District 12's entrance. His attention was once again drawn by Haymitch's loud voice lecturing Peeta about paying closer attention or he'd be dead before the countdown was even over. It seemed that Haymitch wasn't a fan of Peeta, which could work in Cato's favor if he played it right. Cato's eyes finally found Katniss and while he enjoyed her skin tight costume he was confused and slightly upset with Cinna. How is a tight, black body suit going to make her memorable? And it was definitely too tight for public, Cinna should have known Cato wouldn't be okay with something like that.

He got Cinna's attention and gave him a questioning look, but all Cinna did was shake his head and lift his hand slightly in a hold on gesture. Cato knew Cinna must have something up his sleeve, he would just have to have patience, which he would easily admit, he had very little of even on his best days. Sure he was showing patience with Katniss right now, but that was just because he couldn't afford to make any mistakes with her. They only had seven days before the arena and he wanted Katniss to be his as soon as possibly so they could enjoy their time together before all of Panem was watching their every move.

Even though Cato didn't think the outfit was very attention grabbing and it was too tight, he couldn't deny that Katniss looked beautiful. She didn't appear to be wearing any make up; she didn't need that stuff any way. Cato thought she looked nervous and he wished they were already together so he could hold her and help calm her nerves. He wasn't able to get her attention before they got in the chariots and began the procession.

The Capitol was already screaming and cheering on Districts and tributes and he could hear 'District 2' and 'Cato' come for more than a few people. The noise level stayed about the same until their chariot came to a stop in from of President's Snow stage. Then all of a sudden the crowd seemed to get ten times louder-and they were cheering for District 12 and Katniss. Cato knew whatever caused this reaction is why Cinna told him to wait. He looked up to the monitors and saw that Katniss' costume now had flames coming off of it. If Cato didn't know Cinna so well he would have been concerned that Katniss could get hurt, but he knew Cinna would never do that to him.

Katniss had captured the Capitols attention, just like he knew she could and a small, genuine smile made its way to his face. His plan was already moving forward. Cato saw Peeta reaching for her hand and Katniss pulling hers away discreetly. He looked at the crowd again and confirmed that no one else saw this, he only noticed because he noticed everything about her. Cato wondered what Peeta was doing. Was he trying to put a united front on for the Capitol? Was he making a move on Katniss? Cato remembered Peeta's behavior at the reaping and wondered if the boy is dumb enough to think that he could get someone like Katniss. Either way, he's going to be watching Peeta closely from now on, at least until Katniss knew that she belonged with him.

Throughout the rest of President Snow's long winded speech, he watched Katniss as inconspicuously as possible and didn't realize he lost himself in her until he almost tumbled backwards out of the chariot when it began moving again. Apparently, Cato needed to pay closer attention to himself too, he wouldn't be able to protect Katniss if he got himself hurt before the games.

* * *

Cato continued to watch Katniss as everyone cleared out after the ceremonies and she finally made eye contact with him. His heart sped up, he started breathing faster, and his mind went blank. Because of this, he didn't notice right away that she didn't smile at him this time, she didn't blush, she just gave him a look of disdain and turned her attention back to her mentor. What happened? How could she be upset with him when she didn't even know him yet? Overall, it doesn't matter, Cato wants her and he will have her even if it takes some intense persuading on his part.

* * *

Cato was wandering the halls on the main floor of the hotel since he couldn't sleep. What had he done to upset Katniss? Cinna didn't have an answer for him so Cato spent the next couple of hours trying to figure out what upset her. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the person coming around the corner, didn't see them until he knocked into them and they fell to the ground. Cato shook his head to clear his thoughts and realized that he had just knocked down the object of his obsession. He leaned down and offered his hand to help her up.

"Oh, Katniss, I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention…" Cato continued to ramble through his attempt at an apology all the while thinking that he couldn't believe this was the first time he would get to talk to her, would get to hear her voice and he looked like an idiot.

To his surprise, Katniss let out a slight laugh and smiled shyly at him again. Cato wasn't sure what changed in the few hours since he last saw her, but he couldn't stop his own smile from coming to his face.

"How do you know my name?" Katniss inquired. "Aren't you a career? Why would you know anything about the tributes from 12?"

This was his chance; she had given him the perfect opening. Cato just needed to make sure he didn't spook her, he won't, can't let her leave him tonight until she's his.

"I've watched you as much as I can since I saw the reaping," Cato responds. He noticed her smile slipped a little at the mention of this, so he quickly added, "Volunteering for your sister was brave. I wish I had that option. My biggest fear is that my little sister will get reaped and I can't take her place."

Katniss' eyes softened at this and she took a small step closer to him. It was only then that he realized he was still holding her hands from when he helped her up. There was only about a foot separating them now and all Cato could think about was closing the distance. He took a small step closer and she took one in turn. He looked down at her and he couldn't help but stare at her lips. Cato started to lower his head so he could finally taste her…

* * *

Cato was jolted awake by the pounding on his door and Clove yelling at him to get up. He realized it was just a dream and that Katniss is still upset with him. He had a lot of work to do today.

**A/N:** Sorry about the slight delay on this chapter-and the long A/N , I wanted to get a good outline for the rest of the story. I'm happy to say that I have the next 12 chapters pretty well planned, which takes them up to the night before the Games. I'm still struggling with the other Careers and how to work them into the story. If you have any ideas for them or if in the general story there is something you want to see happen, let me know and I'll see if I can work it in.

I've realized I'm better at the character's reflection/thoughts on what happened versus actual conversation. I didn't include a lot of conversation in this chapter, but that will change in the upcoming ones. If you think there's too much time spent in Cato's head, let me know and I'll try to cut back. I just want them falling in love before the games to be as realistic as it can, which requires build up. I'm trying to find a balance between possessive/dominant Cato and Cato the asshat. This story will most likely move to an M rating in the next couple of chapters, unless I am completely unable to write a lemon.

Story time line-The reaping was on Saturday, they arrived at the Capitol on Sunday, and the Games don't start for about a week (the second Monday they're there). There is a lot of Cato/Katniss interaction planned in that week. I didn't get to Brutus/Cato's meeting, so that will be in the next chapter.

Again, thanks to those who added the story to their favorites and/or alerts and a big THANK YOU to those who reviewed. I truly enjoy your feedback and it makes me want to start on the next chapter a.s.a.p.

I do not own the Hunger Games and this in unbeta'd.


	4. Chapter 4

Cato arrived at Cinna's room and knocked. He figured Brutus was already here since he disappeared after dinner. Cinna answered the door and ushered Cato into the living area where Brutus was already waiting on one of the couches. Cato could tell he was agitated and before he could even get a word out, Brutus had already started in on him.

"You better tell me what's going on right now, boy," Brutus said in his gruff voice. "You've been worked up since the train ride. If you're planning to break the rules, then its best you let it go before I have to slap the stupid out of you. I won't be disgraced by having one of my tributes killed before the Games even start."

Cato rolled his eyes, don't get him wrong, he didn't doubt Brutus' threat for a second, but sometimes a simple 'Hello' before his mentor started lecturing him would be nice.

"Oh, just relax. It does involve breaking the rules, but not in whatever way you're thinking of, I'm sure," Cato began before he shot a questioning glance at Cinna.

"I did not tell him any specifics, just that you had a new priority and needed his help," Cinna answered his unspoken question.

Cato gave Brutus a quick run down of the situation and what they had planned so far. Cinna knew someone who, while not very high on the political totem pole, did hold a significant amount of influence on the Capitol's citizens. Cato had his own plans for wooing Katniss and he did not feel the need to share the details with Brutus.

"Well, I know a couple of people who could help if there is enough backing by the Capitol citizen's before the Game starts," Brutus responded after listening to what Cato had already planned with Cinna's help. "I'll have to wait until right before the Games to talk to them and you need to make sure that as many people as possible are in favor of you and Katniss being together by then."

"My guy should have no problem getting the crowd to love them. I mean, a Career from District 2 who has been trained to kill, in love with a girl from District 12, who volunteered to save her little sister. It is definitely not something the Capitol has seen before," Cinna said. "As long as Cato's strategy for Katniss works, everyone will be rooting for those two by the time the Games begin."

"Trust me, I will get Katniss. Training starts tomorrow so I'll be spending the whole day with her and I'll make sure she notices me," Cato responded semi-arrogantly.

"Yea, well most people notice you, doesn't always mean it's a good thing, dumbass," Brutus said while giving a Cato an exasperated look.

"Yes, she did not look very please with you after the ceremonies this evening. I was not able to get her alone after that, so I did not get a chance to ask her about it." Cinna looked Cato directly in the eye and continued, "You have a small window to gain Katniss' affections or your plan will not work. You cannot afford any set backs. You need to have a solid bond established with her, because she has absolutely no acting abilities and the Capitol has to believe you are in love."

Cato tried to comment on what Cinna said, but Brutus interrupted him.

"And we mean more than just a physical bond."

At that, Cato glared at Brutus, his blue eyes shining bright with his fury. Granted, he did spend a significant amount of time fantasizing about how it would feel to finally be able to do anything he wanted to her body, but that was not all he wanted from Katniss. He took several deep breaths before he responded, no need to piss off his mentor when Cato was asking him for a favor.

"If all I wanted from her was sex we wouldn't be having this conversation. I wouldn't risk everything for a random girl. Hell, I wouldn't have even bothered learning her name. We all know what would happen to us if President Snow found out about this and thought it was an act of rebellion," Cato stated while he shuttered right along with the others.

They all knew their punishment would be severe, public, and very painful. Just the thought of that made Cato one hundred percent positive that he was doing the right thing by keeping Katniss in the dark. The thought of her being hurt at all, let alone being hurt from something he had done, made his heart ache. Yes, Cato needed all of her; body, mind, and soul, but her safety was still his first priority. He honestly felt like he would die without her, but if he had to die for her to live, then so be it.

The group finished outlining what each member needed to do and called it a night. Cato had a big day tomorrow; he would finally be able to put his plans for Katniss into action.

* * *

_Monday morning, post dreamland_

Cato was jolted awake by the pounding on his door and Clove yelling at him to get up. He realized it was just a dream and that Katniss was still upset with him. He had a lot of work to do today. Cato rolled out of bed and got ready for the day before going out to the kitchen for breakfast.

The kitchen was empty except for Clove, who was too busy cooing over her knives to notice anything going on around her. Cato couldn't stop his eyes from rolling at her behavior. He may be able to wield a sword like it was an extension of himself, but he did not feel the need to caress his weapon. Cato always knew Clove was a little off her rocker, this just helped cement that belief. He took his time eating breakfast and then got up to head down to the training room.

On his way to the door, he slapped Clove on the back of her head to get her attention and quickly moved out of her reach. Yes, she could easily stab him if he stayed within arms length, but Clove knew better than to throw one of her precious knives at him. Cato still had the knife from the one and only time she was dumb enough to try it in his weapons collection back home. He couldn't stop his smirk at that thought and, after he saw the pissy expression on Clove's face when she realized what he was thinking, he knew he wouldn't have wanted to anyway.

* * *

Once they arrived at the training room, Cato took a quick survey of what tributes were already there and didn't find Katniss. He studied some of the tributes while waiting for something to happen. Cato had been unimpressed with them during the reaping and he confirmed they were all just as unimpressive in person.

While he was scanning the room, he couldn't stop his eyes from focusing on Rue, the tiny tribute from District 11. She was the only tribute that made a bigger impact in person, which is ironic since she stood out more for being so small. Rue looked even younger in person and it made his heart sink to his stomach. Cato didn't want to think about what would inevitably happen to her in the arena. Instead he focused on how watching Rue made his love for Katniss grow stronger; she was here to save someone just like Rue and that made her all the more remarkable.

Cato's eyes were drawn to the entrance when he heard another group come in. Katniss had arrived, looking as beautiful as always. Something pulled his admiring gaze from her though and it was how close that Peeta kid was standing to her. Cato had to make his move today, even if they kept their relationship a secret from the other tributes, at least Katniss would know who she belonged with. It would give him some peace of mind to know that his claim had been established and acknowledged by her.

* * *

**A/N:** I didn't get nearly as far as I wanted to in this chapter. I thought I'd be able to cover all of Monday, but I guess not. The next chapter will have his first encounter with the Careers and should cover the rest of Monday, which includes his first one on one with Katniss. Sorry about the lack of Katniss in this chapter. I'm having difficulties deciding how to write the Careers and I wanted to at least post what I have now incase it takes me a few days to get the rest of it right.

And does "caress his weapon" sound dirty to anyone else? No matter how many times I reworded that sentence, I couldn't find a way that didn't sound like a dirty metaphor and I like it too much to cut it.

Thank you to all who added the story to their favorites or alerts and to all of those who took the time to review-I really love reading your comments. To answer SweetBlackAngel16-I don't plan on doing Katniss' pov, but if people are interested to see her side, then I will at least try to write her. It would be a separate story though and not nearly as in-depth. I guess we shall see.

I do not own the Hunger Games and this in unbeta'd


	5. Chapter 5

_Monday Morning continued_

Cato turned his attention to the trainer at the front of the room when she began speaking. However, he quickly zoned her out and laughed to himself when she started to explain each station and how to use some of the weapons. If they didn't know how to use any weapons now, there wasn't a point in trying to learn how to master one in less then a week.

His attention was snapped back to the present when he heard Clove talking to him and the tributes from District 1.

"Let's start with the dummies. We should show the other tributes how fast we can kill them from the beginning. We might not be able to start killing everyone yet, but we can definitely start with the mind games and show them that they don't stand a chance," Clove was saying, she was really dying to show off her skills with her knives.

The District 1 tributes nodded their heads at everything Clove said and Cato couldn't stop the image that popped into his mind of them as a pair of those cheap bobble head dolls. What were there names? Marble and Sparkle? Marvin and Glamour? Wait, Marvel and Glimmer, he was almost sure of it. Huh, their real names weren't any better than his guesses.

Cato looked around quickly and saw that Katniss and her increasingly annoying District partner were at the station across from the dummies. Maybe he would get a chance to hear some of their conversation and he could find out more about what type of relationship they had.

"That sounds fine to me," Cato agreed. "It's been a few days since I've handled a weapon, might as well jump into things."

"I'm sure there is no way for you to be out of practice, Cato," Glimmer said while she moved closer to him and laid her hand on his arm.

Cato looked down at her hand with narrowed eyes and wondered where this girl got the idea she could touch him. He grabbed her hand and roughly removed it from his body, then turned and headed to the station before she could say anything. He noticed Marvel looked jealous, which just told Cato how stupid Marvel really was. He had absolutely zero interest in Glimmer. Granted, she was almost an exact replica of his groupies back in 2, but even if he did want her, it would just be one time then Marvel could have her. Before Katniss he had never found a girl that kept his interest beyond a few hours and once he fucked them it seemed that any details he did know left him as he came. Now that he had found the girl that captivated him, he certainly wasn't going to throw it away for anything, let alone a girl who was so ordinary you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen just like her back home.

"Let's just get started, shall we," Cato said as he picked up different swords and tested their weight out. He moved down to the dummy closest to Katniss and let out a frustrated breath when Glimmer took the dummy next to him and Marvel the one next to hers. It was like an annoying game of follow the leader and he had to keep repeating that he couldn't kill them until the Games started in order to stop himself from snapping at them.

Cato started practicing with his sword, Glimmer had chosen a bow, Marvel had several spears with him and, of course, Clove had her beloved knives. Marvel wasn't too bad with a spear, but he hoped the bow and arrow wasn't Glimmer's weapon of choice. If it was, it wouldn't matter who was in their alliance, if she didn't die in the blood bath she would be the first Career to die after.

Clove and Glimmer were discussing the other tributes and who they thought should join their alliance. Cato still wasn't sure if he would be with them or Katniss. He knew they wouldn't say anything if he had Katniss join their group, they knew not to cross him, but he couldn't see Katniss wanting to be part of an alliance with all the Careers. Cato hoped he could put them off long enough for him to figure it out. He may be a manipulating, egotistical, soon-to-be-killer, but a liar he was not. If he got cornered and had to give them an answer, he would have to stick to it no matter what his approach with Katniss was.

"I say we wait a couple of days, scout out the possible talents before we do anything. We don't want to ask a District just because they are normally strong competitors. They could end up being dead weight this year," Cato threw his opinion out and ended the conversation there. They wouldn't argue with him and it would give him time to figure out what was best for Katniss.

* * *

The rest of the morning past by uneventfully, except that he was almost driven insane by Glimmer. That girl would not stop talking for anything and his head was pounding as a result. As Cato made his way to lunch he tried to figure out a plan for this afternoon-he needed to get close to Katniss and try to listen in again. Her and that Peeta kid didn't talk very much this morning and it looked like he was doing most of the talking for the little bit of conversation they did have.

Cato sat down at the table with Clove and District 1, praying that Glimmer wouldn't be able to talk as much since she should be eating. Turns out, his prayers were for nothing as everyone at the table seemed to do more talking than eating.

"Did you get a chance to check out any other tributes?" Clove asked to the table in general. "I saw that 4 had some skill, but the boy is puny. I think we need to watch them longer to be sure, but I say the girl should definitely be a part of our alliance."

"I agree," Marvel began, "Did you see 4 with that ax? She's got good aim. I didn't really see the boy do too much of anything."

"Well, I know who we don't need on our side," Clove said. "The guy from 11 is big, but he's a loner for sure and should be an easy kill since it'd be at least four to one. If we did partner with him, one of us would end up facing him alone. And that girl from 11 might as well just leave the platform early and set of the land mine because she isn't walking away from the blood bath."

"12 looked pretty worthless too; I didn't see them touch a weapon," Glimmer said in her obnoxious, high pitched voice. "And there's something about that girl that I don't like. It's bad enough the Capitol is talking about how she volunteered for her sister, but she acts like all this hype means she's not a worthless waste of space from 12."

Cato finally turned his attention to the conversation going on around him instead of watching Katniss when he heard Glimmer talking about 12. He had to bite his tongue as his hands curled into fists so tight that his nails were cutting into his palms to keep himself from screaming at Glimmer. Cato couldn't afford to have them find out about Katniss until he already had her and she trusted him. He knew Clove would be a bitch about the whole thing and after Glimmers leech impression this morning, he knew she would try to cause problems as well.

Overall, their opinions meant less than dirt to him, but he didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from killing them now if they slowed things down with Katniss. After she was safely in his grasp she would be his forever, whether she knew it or not, and everyone else could go fuck themselves. Cato had Brutus and Cinna's help and their connections already; he just needed to secure Haymitch's help. He knew nothing would stop him from having Katniss with them on his team and he would keep her no matter what the Capitol and other Districts threw at him.

"Are you all deaf? Were you not listening earlier when I said that we were going to wait a few days before we make any decisions on an alliance? We're not deciding until I say, so you all can shut the fuck up about it until then," After Cato finished scolding them; he got up and walked back to the training room.

Maybe the group would show some brains and leave him alone this afternoon, but he seriously doubted it. At this point, Cato wasn't sure he even wanted an alliance with them at all. They were approaching the Games like it was a popularity contest. They needed to realize that it didn't matter what District a tribute was from, if they were a worthy adversary they'd make an even better partner.

Cato thought he'd be alone in the training room since everyone should be at lunch, but he heard a couple of voices when he walked in. He was quiet enough that they hadn't notice him and once he realized it was Katniss and that Peeta kid, he moved as quietly as someone his size could. As he got closer, he caught the end of Katniss' sentence and knew he HAD to hear the rest of this conversation.

"I just don't feel that way. I'm sorry, but I don't," Katniss said in a tone close to a whisper while she avoided eye contact with the boy.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes and Cato was about ready to burst. She doesn't feel what way? She doesn't have feelings for that Peeta kid? She doesn't have feelings for whoever that guy was that carried her sister away? She doesn't feel like having chicken for dinner? What did she mean? There was infinite number of possibilities. Cato was about ready to break down and ask her himself when that Peeta kid finally said something. That kid wasn't winning any points with him right now.

"Are you with Gale then?"

There was silence again. Jesus Christ, just answer the damn question, Katniss. She was killing him. It wasn't a hard question-is she with this Gale guy or not? Was Cato going to be killing someone before the Games or not? It was very simple in his mind.

"Gale and I have always been close, we lost our fathers at the same time," Katniss replied. "I love spending time with him. He knows me better then anyone, except for Prim, and I can talk to him about anything."

The conversation was cut off there as the other tributes started to file in as they returned from lunch. Katniss' answer or rather lack of one kept running through Cato's mind. She didn't come out and say that she was with Gale, but she didn't deny it either. Hell, even if she wasn't romantically involved with him he was still too close to her for Cato's liking. _He_ should be the person who knows Katniss best, _he_ should be able to look into her eyes and be able to tell exactly what she was feeling. Katniss should come to _him_ when she had something she wanted to talk about.

He needed a sword. He had to take his frustration out somewhere so he didn't get on a train to District 12 and hunt this Gale guy down and kill him. How long was a train ride to 12? Could he make it back in time that no one noticed he was gone? Hell, it would even give him real killing experience for the Games. It was a win-win really.

* * *

_Monday Evening_

When Cato finally made it to the atrium in the center of the hotel, he was slightly out of breath from trying to beat Katniss down there. Cinna said he would send her down at nine and it was already eight minutes past. He knew Brutus was messing with him when he kept talking "strategy" after dinner and kept him there far longer than he normally would; he just wanted to drive Cato insane as he thought about Katniss waiting for him.

Cato tried to steady his breathing while he looked around the area for her. The space had plants and flowers growing around several benches and in the middle were several pieces of lounge furniture for two. His already shallow breath caught in his throat when he saw her. She was sitting on one of the bench's in the garden area, wearing a dark blue, silk tank top and matching shorts, which were short enough that all he could think about for a minute was running his hands up her smooth legs. With all the little lights that were strung around the area she looked almost angelic. Her hair was out of its usual braid and flowed freely down her back. Cato didn't think he had ever seen someone look so innocent, yet seductive at the same time. She was made for him.

"It's a nice night," was Cato's simple conversation opener.

He could tell he startled her when she jumped slightly before she stood up and turned around. She had a surprised look on her face and Cato took the opportunity to move closer to her. Once he was only a couple feet away he stopped, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Cato wanted her to come to him willingly. He had never been this close to her before; it was exhilarating and allowed him to study her closely. She was shorter than he thought, probably about 5'5" to his 6'2" and her outfit tonight showed off her curves that he couldn't wait to run his hands over. She could only be 110 pounds at most and that combined with her height made his protective instincts scream that he needed to take care of her.

Cato made a silent vow to himself right then and there; Katniss wouldn't suffer another second in her life if he could help it. And if it was something he couldn't control, then he would be there so she didn't have to suffer through anything alone anymore.

He realized he had been silently studying her too long because she started to shift uncomfortably from foot to foot. He needed to put her at ease.

"Don't worry, I'm not here for anything nefarious, just wanted to get some fresh air and enjoy the view," Cato looked up to the stars as he said this and decided he didn't need to tell her that the real view he came for was her.

"Cinna said no one comes out here and that most people don't even know it's here," Katniss responded while twisting a piece of her hair around her finger. He wondered if it was a nervous habit of hers. "How did you find out about it?"

Cato avoided her question and came back with one of his own instead.

"So you and Cinna are getting along well? Has he made being here any easier?" He could hear the concern in his voice because even though Cinna said she was handling things well, he needed to hear it from her.

"Why do you care? I was told that Careers only talked to normal tributes when they wanted information so they could kill them faster. And that's if they can lower themselves to talk with us at all," Katniss remarked.

Cato cringed unintentionally at the disdain he heard in her voice, but was impressed with her at the same time. If that was her opinion on Careers, it took a lot of courage to stand up to him when they were all alone. Cato just needed her to choose to be his willingly or at least think she had the choice. Once she was his, he would never give her a reason to want to leave, not that she would be able to anyway. Cato wished he could just grab her and run right now. They could start over somewhere together and not have to deal with the Games. He could have her all to himself right now, spend days at a time getting lost in her. He wouldn't have to wait any more. God, the things he had planned for her…

"Wait a minute, how do you know Cinna?" Katniss appeared to have just blurted that out if he was reading the surprised look on her face accurately. "He doesn't seem like he'd have much in common with someone who was raised to kill."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. She seemed to trust Cinna and Cato was afraid that if he said they were friends she might push Cinna away and she needed him for support until he could be there himself. Huh, perhaps Brutus and Cinna were right; this wouldn't be as easy as he pictured. Well, nothing worth having ever is, he thought.

He needed to get this conversation back to safe ground.

"What do you think of the Capitol? Is this your first time here?" He asked her. If he could get her to talk about a generic topic, he knew he'd be able to get her to open up about the list of other things he wanted to know about her.

Katniss just stared at him, blinking a couple of times, but didn't answer his question.

"Did you learn anything useful in training today? I saw you at the obstacle course for most of the afternoon," Cato tried again. He thought it best if she didn't know he had listened to her conversation with that Peeta kid. Just thinking about it had him clenching his fists and trying to find a way to ask her if she had a boyfriend without unnerving her. He didn't notice that he was scowling fiercely until he saw Katniss eyeing the door and trying to back away from him. His heart stopped for a minute; she was afraid of him.

He cursed to himself and decided it was best to get away from her as fast as possible before he screwed up even more, though he didn't know how this meeting could get any worse.

Cato started to make up an excuse so he could leave and have a chance to regroup and figure out where he went wrong, but the door to the roof opened and out stepped that Peeta kid. He cursed under his breath again; he clearly jinxed himself when he said this meeting couldn't get any worse.

Peeta's eyes landed on Katniss and he smiled before he looked past her and saw Cato. His smile quickly turned into a scowl that he probably thought was very intimidating. It made Cato want to laugh for the first time tonight.

"Katniss, are you okay? Has he done anything to you?"

As Peeta questioned her, Cato's anger started to rise again. Who did this kid think he was? He would never hurt Katniss and that soon-to-be-dead boy implying otherwise made Cato want to strangle him. He forced himself to take deep breaths until he calmed down some. Cato didn't want Katniss afraid of him anymore then she already was.

"No, Peeta, he wasn't doing anything. We were just talking," Katniss said while she moved closer to Peeta and the door.

Peeta glared at him once more before he opened the door and tried to usher Katniss through. Cato kept watching and was able to make eye contact with Katniss one more time before she left and the look in her eyes was enough to give him some hope. Yes, she still looked a tad frighten, but he also detected curiosity in her eyes. That was better then nothing.

Cato needed to talk to Cinna and get his advice on what to do next. He never had to actually try to get a girl before and he just failed miserably at his first attempt. Cato couldn't believe that his mom was right; he really did need to work on his people skills.

* * *

**A/N:** I was very tempted to kill off Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer in a freak accident just so I didn't have to try to write them in. Spoiler-those three will die horrible deaths in the Games, I don't know how yet, but they will suffer just as I have.

Alright, moving on… I know there is something missing in this chapter, but I can't figure out if it's with the Careers or Kato. I've deleted it, rewrote it, and edited it so many times I lost count. I've finally given up and am just posting it because I don't know if I'll ever figure it out. If I do figure it out and make any major changes, I'll put a summary in the next A/N.

So, Cato finally got Katniss alone, but it didn't go as he hoped. Luckily he has another shot tomorrow. The Careers, much to my annoyance, will come into play more in a few chapters, but I'm going to try to have a little bit of them in each one until then. Once I can figure out the personality for each one they might get easier to write, if not be prepared to read about a freak tsunami that only killed those 3 (Yes, I know it's supposed to be the Rockies, so my explanation should be interesting).

As always, thanks to those who added the story to their favorites or story alerts and my undying gratitude to those who reviewed. It's all greatly appreciated.

I do not own the Hunger Games and this in unbeta'd


	6. Chapter 6

_Tuesday_

Tuesday morning came faster then Cato would have liked. He didn't get a chance to talk to Cinna or even Brutus last night to get some ideas on how he could turn things around with Katniss. Luckily all the tributes were kept busy at the morning training so Cato didn't have to worry about talking to anyone right now. He was able to get lost in his training and the morning flew by quickly.

Next thing he knew, they were getting called for lunch. Cato finished his set and by the time he went to leave it was only him and the little District 11 tribute, Rue, left. She was over at the targets and it looked like she was trying to learn to throw knives, but most of them didn't hit the target and the ones that did just bounced off.

Cato sighed and started arguing with himself. He wanted to go help her, but what was the point? He knew only two of them were going to be leaving the arena, maybe its best if Rue died quickly instead of having to suffer. Even worse, if she were to make it to the final three and Cato had to kill her himself so he could get Katniss out. He fervently hoped it didn't come down to that, he wasn't sure he would ever be able to forgive himself and he definitely couldn't picture Katniss forgiving him.

Either way, he knew he needed to help her and give her the best chance he could even though he knew she wouldn't get to leave the arena. Cato made his way over to her just as she threw another knife that missed the target.

"Here, let me show you how to do that," Cato didn't think he was being quiet, but apparently Rue wasn't paying attention to her surroundings because she let out a squeak, turned, and threw a knife at him. Since she wasn't able to throw very fast, he was able to catch it before it stabbed him. Cato rolled his eyes, figures that the one time she was going to hit her target it was when she was aiming at his chest.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to. Please don't hurt me," Rue pleaded with him while she backed away and seemed to be hyperventilating.

"Hey, hey, calm down. I'm not mad, I know you didn't mean to. Try to relax, take deep breaths," Cato spoke to her in the calming tone he used with his sister when she had a nightmare and took small steps to get closer to her while he set the knife aside. He knew he was getting through to her when she stopped backing away and matched her breathing to his.

"See, look," Cato said while he held up his empty hands, "I have nothing here to hurt you with. I will not hurt you. Just breathe."

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to throw the knife, but you scared me," Rue finally spoke once she had calmed down.

"Don't worry, Shorty. I told you I'm not mad. You didn't hurt me and I should know better then to walk up behind someone when they're having target practice. It was my mistake. But in my defense, I never thought you'd throw a knife, let alone that you would actually come close to hitting me," Cato said with a little chuckle at the end. "That was the best throw you've had all morning, so I know you can do it, you just need some practice."

"You're going to help me? Aren't you from District 2? Why would you do that? Won't we get in trouble if we're not at lunch? Isn't it better if I can't use any weapons?" Rue looked up at him, her eyes wide and inquisitive.

"It doesn't matter why I'm helping you, just be grateful that I am," Cato growled. What was with everyone questioning his motives? First Brutus, then Katniss, and now little Rue. It was beginning to piss him off. And how she asked multiple questions without giving him a chance to answer reminded him of his little sister when she wanted to know something; he needed to remember he couldn't get too close. And thinking about how she'll be dead in a week made him angry, too. He wished he could save her, but knew it was impossible. "Lunch is only an hour long, so if you want me to teach you anything, I suggest you shut your mouth and let me help you or just plan to get killed in the blood bath."

Rue nodded her head while she kept her eyes on the ground. Cato heard her sniffle. Great, he made her cry. Was it because he raised his voice or because he was mean? He didn't think he could feel like a bigger ass then he did right then. Cato hadn't meant to take his anger out on her. He hated that he made a little girl cry. Cato was striking out at every turn these past couple of days.

"Shh, stop crying. I didn't mean to snap at you," He was now kneeling in front of her and used his finger to tilt her head up so she was looking him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, please, stop crying,"

Cato brushed the tears from her face when she finally stopped sniffling. He stood up, patted her head, and turned her back towards the targets. Cato felt very awkward and what better way to avoid his feelings then playing with weapons.

He spent the next 30 minutes showing Rue how to properly grip the knife so she could throw it right and what movements she needed to do with her wrist when she made the throw. She still needed to work on hitting her target, but at least the blade was sticking every time. It should slow an attacker down enough to allow Rue time to get away, but unless she hit a vital part on someone he doubted she could kill them.

At that thought, he took her over to the dummies and spent their last 10 minutes going over the vulnerable points on a body so she would know where to aim.

"Come on, Shorty, I know a different way to take to the cafeteria so we can avoid the other tributes and I'm sure that between the two of us we can talk the cooks into making us something for lunch," Cato laid his hand on the top of her back, just under her neck and guided her out of the training room.

* * *

Cato was right, they were able to talk the cooks into making them Rue's favorite lunch. Once they were done he walked her back to the training room and went off to find Cinna. He wanted to talk to him about Katniss and make sure that he got the meeting with Haymitch set up for tonight. Cato made a mental note to tell Brutus about it so he could be there, too.

Something finally went Cato's way and Cinna was in his room when he knocked. Cato couldn't help thinking that out of all the things to go in his favor, this is probably the last one he would have picked. He'd much rather have been able to wake up with Katniss this morning, her naked body wrapped around his. Hell, he would have rather not made Rue cry. Cato could have easily found Cinna wherever he was.

"Were you able to set up the meeting with Haymitch?" Was the first thing out of Cato's mouth when he got into the living room. He didn't have a lot of time since the afternoon training had already started and he doubted that no one would notice he wasn't there.

"Yes, he agreed to meet me here at ten tonight. He was uncooperative at first, I am assuming because I asked for him to be sober, then I said I might know of a way for Katniss to be the victor. As soon as he heard that he readily agreed. Seems like Katniss has wormed her way into Haymitch's heart also," Cinna remarked. "I do not know how she does it since she comes off as a little rough around the edges, but she has captivated a lot of people already and they have not had the chance to see the real Katniss."

"Believe me, I am well aware of the power Katniss has over people. I mean, she's got me running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to figure out a way for both of us to win and she doesn't even want to talk to me right now," Cato shook his head, almost like he was trying to say that even he didn't believe how he had been behaving. "I wouldn't do this for anyone else."

Cinna asked what Cato meant by Katniss not wanting to speak to him, so he explained how their meeting went last night. Katniss hadn't brought up the meeting at all with Cinna and when he questioned her about her previous night's activities, she avoided answering. To say he was surprised when Katniss came to see him after lunch to ask about Cato and the Careers was an understatement.

"What did she ask you about?" Cato's brow furrowed as he tried to think of what she would want to know from Cinna.

"Well, she asked it I knew you, I said I did, then she gave me an annoyed look that I assumed meant she wanted details. I explained that I had met you last year and that we have kept in contact since then. She asked me some questions about your family and your personality, but I told her she would need to ask you if she wanted to know any personal details about you. Someone had told her that Careers were pretty much the equivalent of the sons and daughters of Satan," Cinna was cut off by Cato, who was shaking with anger at this.

"Who would tell her that? If someone is trying to keep her from me I'll kill them…" Cato continued to mumble what Cinna thought were very descriptive death threats under his breath while he paced the length of the room.

Cinna did what Cinna does and waited patiently for Cato to calm himself down. He knew Cato was too upset to listen to anyone right now and he did not want to make him so upset that he left the room before he calmed down. Cinna just hoped he could avoid telling him the specifics of what Katniss told him and who told her those things.

Fifteen minutes later, Cato was done pacing and had dropped on the nearest couch. Cinna was a little dizzy from watching him.

"Before you start, Cato, let me tell you that I cleared up this misunderstanding and she knows that while some Careers are like this, you are not and that I trust you with my life. Of course, she did not understand that I was being literal with that statement since she does not know what we are doing, but she did not question me further after that. She did comment that she already knew you were not like other Careers but would not tell me why. When I sent her back down to training she was looking thoughtful."

"Do you know anything that will help me get her? My patience is running thin."

"Hmm, well," Cinna began while he turned his gaze out to the window overlooking the capitol. "One of her more obvious qualities is that she is fiercely protective of those she cares about, but there are less then a handful of people that she has allowed herself to get close to. She thinks quickly on her feet and appears to be aware of everything going on around her most of the time. She does seem to, how do you say it, 'zone out' at times, but she does not discuss what she was thinking of. There are some other things, but as I told her, if you want to know them, you will ask her."

"At this point, I don't think I'll get a chance to ask her anything until I come up with a different approach. Once I do, I'll make sure I get her alone and the rest should take care of itself," Cato was finally starting to sound a little optimistic about his endeavor again. He needed to keep reminding himself that he always got what he wanted and he wanted Katniss above all else. One bad meeting was not going to deter him. Cato would have all of her soon; he could feel it in his bones.

* * *

Cato had arrived back in the training room after saying good-bye to Cinna in time to catch the yelling that was going on in the corner to his left. He recognized Katniss' voice immediately and started to make his way over there before he even noticed that she was yelling at the male tribute from 7. Cato took stock of the situation quickly with his sharp eyes. Rue was close by, hiding behind something and that Peeta kid was no where to be seen. Did this guy threaten Rue and Katniss stepped in? The yelling had stopped almost as soon as he noticed it and now Katniss was talking very quietly to 7, whose eyes kept getting wider the longer she spoke. She also had a pretty good grip on his shirt, which she used to pull his face towards her.

When she let go of his shirt, she sort of tossed him away from her. 7 started to make his getaway, but didn't seem to want to turn his back on Katniss, so he didn't make a fast exit. Cato didn't think the kid even noticed he was standing there. Katniss turned and made her way to the ladies restroom. Of course, she would go to a place that he couldn't follow her into.

He looked for Rue. Maybe she could explain what happened. If that guy was dumb enough to threaten Rue, he'd be first on Cato's kill list, well after that Peeta kid anyway. He might not be able to save her, but he wasn't going to allow her to be threatened by the other tributes either. It never occurred to Cato that 7 could have been harassing Katniss since she did not come across as an easy target to most people. When he first spotted Rue hiding he figured it was about her. It looked like he'd have to wait to find out since it seemed like Rue disappeared after Katniss.

Cato kept looking for Katniss the rest of the afternoon, but never saw her come out of the bathroom. Finally, when training was over and they were being herded back to their rooms for dinner, he saw her come out. Cato was about to make his way to her, but stopped when he realized she was walking directly towards him.

"Meet me after dinner, same place," Was all Katniss said as she made her way past him, only glancing up for a second to meet his surprised gaze before continuing out of the room.

Well that was certainly an interesting and hopefully welcome turn of events. Katniss still appeared upset, but not at him, so Cato was already ahead of where he started last night. Maybe Cinna being there this afternoon wasn't the only luck Cato was going to experience today.

After he thought about it he decided that luck would have nothing to do with the outcome of their meeting tonight. Cato wanted her and he would take her. That was the end of it. If she was reluctant, he had ways to persuade her. Cato was bringing his full game tonight and he knew this meeting would end differently then the previous nights had.

* * *

**A/N**: I was hoping to include their meeting later, but I won't get a chance to get to it for a few days and I've had this part done since Sunday. So, sorry for the lack of Kato in this chapter, but as long as I stay on track, she will be all of them after this. I'm sure some things seem random, but they all serve to build on Kato's relationship and help them get out alive.

Again, thanks to those who added the story to their alerts/favorites and my eternal gratitude to those who took the time to review. I do take the time to read them and I try to address any questions/suggestions etc. in the next chapter or add something when someone points out that there's a little something missing with a character if I can. Example-merekat6's comment about Katniss attitude-cue fight with 7, which will be explored more in the next chapter. I do have most of the details and interactions planned up to the games, but I think Katniss having more attitude is a good idea-so expect to see more of it in the story (just not always with Cato).

I'll stop my rambling now-hope you liked the chapter!

I do not own the Hunger Games and this is unbeta'd.


	7. Chapter 7

_Tuesday evening_

Cato had barely been able to make it through dinner and he ignored anyone who tried to talk to him, because he was trying to figure out how he wanted to handle the meeting with Katniss. He had hurried up to his room after training so he could get his shower done before dinner. He couldn't believe that he actually felt nervous, well that's what he thought it was since he'd never felt it before. At least he didn't forget to tell Brutus about the meeting later.

Now Cato was waiting impatiently in the atrium for Katniss to show up. It was still early enough in the evening that the sun hadn't set yet so he would be able to spend a couple of hours with her before he had to get to the meeting. He heard the door open and turned to watch her enter. God, she really was perfect for him. Her skin had a glow that made her stand out. Cato's breath left him when he stood up to greet her.

"Hey," Seriously Cato-that's your greeting? He had a plan and he needed to stick to it. He shook himself a little to bring him out of the apparent daze she put him in. Cato still couldn't comprehend the power that she seemed to hold over him.

"Hi."

Well, at least her greeting wasn't any better then his. Cato wasn't sure how to start and it looked like she didn't know either. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself, he wanted her to be his and he wouldn't accomplish that if he kept acting like an immature little boy. He needed to just dive in.

"I'm sorry if I scared you last night, that wasn't my intention and I wasn't upset with you. Even if I had been, I would never hurt you. You don't need to be afraid of me," Cato told her in his most earnest tone.

Katniss stared into his eyes the whole time he spoke, like she would be able to see through any lie he told and, he reasoned, she probably could. After what seemed like a lifetime she nodded her head.

"I don't think you'd hurt me any more," Katniss said as she began playing with the ends of her hair again. "I shouldn't have believed them in the first place," She continued under her breath, but Cato still heard her. Before he could ask her what she meant she started talking again.

"Look, I know I shouldn't have asked you to meet me alone, but I wasn't sure how you'd react if we had an audience," Katniss stopped and took a deep breath, almost like she was trying to calm herself. "I saw what you did for Rue today and how you interacted with her," She paused again, watching his face for any sort of reaction. When she didn't see one she went on, "I know Rue was grateful for the help, I'm sure her family would appreciate it, too. And I'd like to think if my sister had come, you would have done the same for her."

"It was nothing," Cato mumbled, hoping she wouldn't notice the slight pinkish tint to his, now warm, cheeks.

"No, it was definitely something and I shouldn't have judged you before I even spoke to you," Katniss was staring up into his eyes again. "So, that was all I wanted to say. I'll let you get back to your girlfriend."

Katniss went to turn and leave, but Cato's arm shot out and gently grabbed her wrist. He used it to turn her back to face him, while pulling her a tad bit closer.

"Girlfriend? What are you talking about? I've never had a girlfriend," Cato told her as he rubbed little circles lightly on her wrist he still held.

"You don't have to lie. It's not going to help you. I won't be a pawn in your stupid game to make her jealous," Katniss stated stiffly while trying to jerk her arm away from him.

Cato was starting to get frustrated. What was she talking about? What game? What girlfriend? He reached out with his free hand and grasped her other arm to hold her still. He wouldn't let her run from him.

"Stop, please, just stop and tell me what you are talking about."

"I heard your crush talking about how you liked her, but was afraid to let her know because of the Games. Then she started talking about all the things you are going to do to her and I have to say, you're disgusting."

That didn't clear up anything for Cato. The only person he could imagine to be stupid enough to say anything close to that would be that Sparkle bitch from 1. He was going to kill her painfully slow now.

"I'm assuming you're talking about the chic from 1 and I can honestly say I have never and will never have any interest in her. I'm interested in someone else, someone who is more captivating then anyone I've met before, someone who will keep me on my toes," Cato was hoping she would take the hint, but from the frown (and was that a little jealously?) on her face she didn't.

"I don't know why you're telling me this, it doesn't change anything. Especially since your partner and her threatened me," Katniss responded, still trying to yank free of his grasp.

"They threatened you?" Cato asked with a slight growl. He couldn't believe Clove would get involved in this. Why would they threaten her? It didn't make any sense. He heard both Clove and Glimmer say that they didn't think she was any sort of competition. Cato thought they might try to mess with her once they found out Katniss was with him, but they didn't know about his feelings yet.

Katniss finally stopped struggling and stood still in his hold, tipping her head back to look him in the eyes.

"Why would you care?"

She didn't seem like she was very good with verbal interactions, so he figured he needed to show her. Cato leaned down, keeping eye contact with her and only glancing down to her lips briefly. He didn't give her time to stop him before he pressed his lips against her soft ones. Katniss didn't respond at first, but after he let go of her arms and moved one hand to her hip and the other to the small of her back to pull her closer she opened her mouth for him with a little sigh that went straight to his dick. She stood on her tip toes and put her arms around his neck. Cato moved his hand to the back of her neck and gripped her hair to tilt her head back so he could deepen the kiss. He finally pulled away when they were both out of breath.

"That's why I would care," Cato told her. He had yet to let her go, but it felt so good to have her in his arms that he didn't even contemplate relinquishing his hold. Cato waited until she opened her eyes to continue. "I've wanted to do that since I first saw you. You are the only one I'm interested in and I plan on making sure Clove and Glimmer know their place. No one should ever talk to you that way."

Her eyes looked like they were about to pop and she stared at him stunned by his confession.

"You like me?"

'Like' didn't even begin to cover Cato's feelings for her, but he didn't want to risk scaring her with his intensity. He needed to give her a little bit of time to get to know him. He rubbed her cheek with his thumb while he thought about how to respond.

"Yes, I like you. I know you might not think it's smart to get involved with someone before the Games, but I swear you won't regret it," He told her. Then another thought popped into his mind and he prayed she had the right answer. "You don't have a boyfriend waiting at home, do you?"

"I don't have a boyfriend. I've never even kissed a guy before," Katniss blushed under his intense scrutiny.

Cato was tempted to grab her and lock her in his room when she confessed that fact. He would be the only one to ever touch her intimately; he could teach her everything he liked. He got hard as all the different things he wanted to show her flashed through his mind.

"That's good news," And it means I won't have to kill any of your friends, he finished silently. It seemed like she finally noticed how close they still were and she removed her arms and tried to pull away. "No, stay. I like holding you and I plan to do it whenever I can. So I'm the first person to touch you like this?" He asked with a hint of a smirk.

"Well yeah, technically."

"Technically? What does that mean?" So there was someone he would be punishing.

"Well, you walked in on it, you should know," Something about the look on his face must have told her to continue. "Today with 7, he grabbed me and boxed me in against the wall, trying to touch me and talking about… ugh, I can't even repeat it," She explained.

Cato saw red and finally let her go. He moved her to the side and started walking to the doors. He was going to kill this guy. No one touched what was his and he'd make sure this guy's mistake would serve as a warning to anyone else who tried to touch her in the future. After all, once the Games were over, he couldn't get away with killing anyone who interfered in their relationship, so he needed to make a lasting impression while he could. All of a sudden, Katniss was in front of him, pushing on his chest to try to stop him. Of course, she was too tiny to make him do anything physically, but he still stopped because he didn't want to hurt her.

"Stop, whatever you're planning on doing, just stop. I already took care of it. He knows better then to try it again. I don't need your help and I sure as hell didn't ask for it. So, so, just stop." Katniss said getting more flustered the longer she spoke.

Didn't need his help? Didn't ask for it? Like that mattered when it came to her. Everyone needed to know to leave her alone or he would make sure they weren't around to try again. Her opinion on this didn't matter. He knew what was best for her and she needed to realize that.

Katniss must have seen that she wasn't getting through to him, so she did the only thing she knew would distract him from his current mission. She pushed herself up on her toes and brought his face down to meet hers. His attention snapped to the present when he felt her lips on his. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer when she ran her tongue across his lips and he opened his mouth for her. Feeling her soft, little body against his and feeling her fingers playing with the hairs on the back of his neck made him forget what he was upset about. Everything faded to the background as he focused his full attention on her. He pulled away when she needed to breathe, but pulled her back as soon as she took a few gulps of air. He never wanted to stop or let her go.

* * *

Cato rushed to get to Cinna's room since he was already late. He knew he should have left earlier, but he couldn't make himself leave Katiniss' presence when things were finally going so well. Most likely Cinna, Brutus, and Haymitch were sitting there waiting for him. He knocked rapidly on the door and walked in when Cinna opened it to see a sober Haymitch glaring at him from the couch.

"What the hell is this about?" Haymitch stood up and his voice continued to get louder as he talked. "You said you had something that could help and then I show up, sober I might add, thanks a fuck lot for that, to find another mentor here, nothing personal, Brutus, and then you have his tribute show up? How is this supposed to benefit Katniss?" He started patting his jacket looking for something. "I can't believe I stopped drinking for this shit. Where did I put that God damn flask?"

Cinna and Brutus both turned to look at Cato, clearly this was his show.

"I asked for Cinna to arrange this meeting because I know a way for both Katniss and I to survive the Games, but I need you help," Cato told him.

Haymitch barked out a laugh at that before taking a big drink from his flask.

"Please, save your bullshit for someone else. I may be an alcoholic, but that doesn't make me an idiot. Why would you want to share the victory? Why my tribute? What's in this for you? I thought tributes from 2 were supposed to be smart, but you are a dumbass, kid. I don't know what your end game is here, but you can forget about whatever it was that you wanted from me. I won't help you hurt her."

Before Cato could answer him, Brutus spoke up.

"Why has any tribute ever wanted to have two victors?" Brutus gave Haymitch a look that was loaded with so many emotions there was no way to identify all of them. "You, better than anyone, would be able to understand his motives if you would hear the boy out." Brutus nodded to Cato; a signal for him to start his spiel after Haymitch sat back down and remained silent.

Cato laid all of his cards on the table for Haymitch. He knew he wouldn't get his help unless he was completely honest with him and Haymitch needed to know everything so he would know how serious Cato was.

"She has to come out of this alive. If we don't succeed and only one of us gets to live, then it will be her," Cato vowed. "I don't want to be in a world where she doesn't exist. I can't be the sole victor." Cato looked directly into Haymitch's eyes when he said, "She has to live even if I don't, but if we can pull this off, then I'll spend the rest of my life showing her how much I love her." His eyes fell to the floor and he finished quietly with, "I need her, I love her."

Haymitch took a deep breath and blew it out while his hands rubbed his face. After several moments of silence he finally responded.

"What are the odds that out of all the tributes in the Games over the years it would be my tribute who gets caught up in this," He seemed be directing that question to himself before he turned his attention back to the group. "Where's Katniss in all of this, why isn't she here?"

"She doesn't know," Cato admitted. "And she won't know. That way if we get caught she won't be punished. We can pull this off without her doing anything different then she normally would in this situation. We each have a part to play and Brutus said that I would need your help." Cato made a circle gesture with his finger to encompass the 'we' he was referring to.

Haymitch was looking at the wall. Cato gave Brutus a questioning look wondering if Haymitch had even been listening.

"I know this will probably bring up some unwanted memories, but I don't think anyone could help him or understand him better than you," Brutus explained to Haymitch. "I didn't tell him anything, but I think it'd be beneficial for him to hear it and you never speak of it. It could do you some good to talk about it."

Haymitch glanced to Brutus before turning his remarkably piercing gaze to Cato. He seemed to be searching Cato's eyes for something and must have found it because he gave Brutus a short nod. He took several deep breaths.

Then Haymitch told his story.

* * *

_The 50th Hunger Games_

Haymitch was scared shitless, but had more or less accepted his fate. He didn't have anything waiting for him back in 12. All of his family had either died or left him and he'd been on his own since he turned fifteen. He had no reason to fight. At least that's what he believed until he saw her.

It wasn't until the second day of training that he paid attention to the other tributes. That was when he first laid eyes on her. She was the tribute from 9 and she was busy practicing with some different weapons. Haymitch wasn't able to look away. He had to talk to her and made a plan to get her alone later.

After that, Haymitch and Lissette were inseparable. They kept their relationship hidden from everyone, letting them think it was just another alliance, but they had devised a plan for them to win the Games together. They would hide, taking out what tributes they could, and when just one tribute was left they would attack together. They figured once it was the two of them, they could threaten suicide and the Gamemakers would allow two victors, they reasoned that it was better then having none.

Their plan had been going perfectly until there were only three other tributes left. Lissette had been getting water while Haymitch tried to find some food when he heard her scream. He took off in the direction it came from praying he could get to her in time. When he finally made it he realized it was a trap. The tribute from 3 was holding her down when 1 and 6 attacked him from behind. They over powered him and he was forced to watch as they killed her. She never stopped screaming for him, never stopped believing that he would save her and he was helpless to do anything. Up until her last breath she cried out for him and when she died it felt like he had died with her.

Haymitch didn't notice the tears streaming down his face, didn't notice he was shaking and his voice was hoarse because he never stopped calling out to her. Something in him snapped and the next thing he knew he was cradling her limp body in his arms with three dead tributes around them.

It wasn't until they forced him to watch the replay that he realized he had killed all three of them in mere minutes and that he had been covered in their blood by the time he reached Lissette. He had remembered how they had to knock him out in order to take her from him.

* * *

Haymitch never got over her and was never able to forgive himself for not saving her. The only semi good thing was that the Capitol didn't talk about it after that year since their tragic love story didn't paint the Capitol in the best light to the Districts. The residents of 12 avoided the topic and him, most of the time, like it was the plague. Twenty-four years later he still woke up screaming her name more times then not. The alcohol helped to numb the pain, but could never make it go away. Maybe this was his second chance. He couldn't save Lissette, but maybe he could save Cato and Katniss, give them the life he would never have. He knew Lissette would want him to save them, so he would do whatever he could to help. Maybe he could bring himself some peace if he helped them succeed where he had failed so miserably before.

Cato was stunned. He understood why no one would want to talk about it, but he couldn't believe he had never heard even the tiniest tidbit about it. A Career is supposed to know everything about the previous Games, but this wasn't something they covered in any of his lessons. He looked into Haymitch's eyes again and shuddered at the emptiness he saw there. This just confirmed what he already knew; he couldn't survive without her because his world would be empty without her.

Cato wasn't sure what to say. Everything sounded like a simple platitude, which is exactly what it would be because there was nothing anyone could say that would give Haymitch any sort of comfort or alleviate the guilt he felt. Thankfully, Brutus spoke up.

"Do you think there's anything you can do anything to help them?" Brutus didn't know that his inner monologue was very similar to Cato's, but whereas Cato didn't know what to say, Brutus knew that Haymitch wasn't going to say anymore about it and would want the focus moved off of him.

"I'll do whatever I can to help and I know someone who has a lot of sway with President Snow. I'm taking her to the ball on Friday so I can speak to her then. It'll give Cato more time to establish their relationship," Haymitch explained his plan in detail and they all agreed to keep this between them for now. Others would know about it as they reached out to their individual contacts, but no one outside of those four would know all of the angles 'Team Katniss' was working.

* * *

When Cato got into bed that night he felt like everything was falling into place. He had people to help him gain support to get him and Katniss out alive and his meeting with her tonight ended way better then he thought it would after their rocky start. When he finally got her to tell him what she threatened 7 with he almost cried from laughing so hard. Cato wasn't sure it was possible to do that to a body and he wasn't too keen to find out himself, but figured if anyone could pull if off it would be her. Katniss also told him that Clove and Glimmer had approached her after training on Monday by cornering her in the elevator. They tried to demean her, but Katniss didn't let them get to her, nor did she stoop to their level. When that didn't work they talked about how they were going to kill her and they had thrown his name out there as part of their group. Now he knew why she had been afraid of him.

Katniss talked a little about her life back in 12, but seemed reluctant to share too much with him. That was fine for now, after a couple more days, she would be more than willing to tell him anything he wanted to know. Cinna was right about her being a little rough around the edges. She came across like she didn't have a lot of interactions with people, so he could see how it would be easy for other people to think she was uptight, but they just needed to look closer. If you took the time to look you would see a girl who was so used to taking care of everyone around her that she forgot to take care of herself. And she definitely didn't think about someone else taking care of her. That was fine too, because he would prove to her that she could count on him, that he wouldn't leave her, and that he could give her anything she would ever want or need; she didn't have to take on the world alone anymore.

Yes, everything was coming together nicely and Katniss would be joining him in his bed soon. Cato fell into the first peaceful sleep he's had since he first saw her.

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Haymitch, but at least there's more of a story that can justify why he's a drunk when none of the other victors seem to be. As the story gets longer I'm having a harder time making sure that I don't mess up any of the previous story line, so let me know if something doesn't add up. Also, my planning so far only goes up to the night before the Games, so tell me if you have any ideas on something you'd like to see. Ohh, I also need ideas on a unique pet name for Katniss, nothing I can think of fits her.

As always, thank you to everyone who added the story to their favorites/alerts and to those who took the time to review. I truly enjoy reading your feedback and the last couple of reviews reminded me to get off my ass and get the chapter done.

I do not own the Hunger Games and this is unbeta'd


	8. Chapter 8

_Wednesday_

Sunrise the next morning found Cato standing silently in Clove's room, watching her sleep. He had already removed any weapons she could easily access and was trying to decide exactly how he wanted to do this. He smirked as he bent down, grabbed the side of the mattress, and quickly lifted it until he heard a thump on the other side of the bed. Cato let the mattress fall back on the frame and watched as Clove tried to untangle herself from her blanket and sheets. If he wasn't so pissed off, he would have been laughing at her. As it was, he took a mental picture and made a note to laugh later.

"God, what the fuck is wrong with you, Cato?" Clove yelled at him.

"Hmm…What's wrong with me? Let's ponder the possibilities for a moment, shall we. Could it be that I'm pissed you didn't listen to me and that I thought it would be better to throw you out of bed then get punished for killing another tribute before the Games?" Cato asked her rhetorically. He stalked closer to her as he spoke and was only able to keep from hurting her by reminding him self that he still needed something from her.

Clove had finally freed herself from her bedding and was standing up, looking at him with wide, innocent eyes. If Cato didn't know her better he would actually believe that she didn't know what he was talking about. Fortunately for him (or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it) he knew her well enough to know when she was trying to bullshit someone. Cato was a little insulted that she thought she could play him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clove responded while crossing her arms defensively over her chest and jutting her chin in the air. "All I've been doing is training. How would you even know if I had been doing something? You have been avoiding me since the second day of training and disappearing the last two nights as soon dinner was over. There's no way you can know for sure what I did, which I'm not saying that I did anything."

"I don't give a flying fuck what you're trying to say now. I know you and Glimmer have been talking to other tributes about possible alliances and threatening others when I told you to let it be for now. We don't know enough about them to know if they'd make a good alliance, but you didn't fucking listen. And not only did you ignore what I said, but you had the nerve to use me as a threat to them. What gives you the right to speak for me? You're pathetic."

"How would you know we brought you up? We only did that with…" Clove's expression went from pissed to suspicious in seconds. "How would you know what we said to that bitch from 12? Are you talking to her? Have you lost your mind, what do you think your parents are going to say? Even if you're just using her for whatever reason, you're going to piss off the whole District."

"Since when do I care what other people think? I've always done what I wanted and that's not going to change now. Now I want Katniss and I won't settle for anything less. I don't care what anyone else thinks, especially you. But, since you did fuck with Katniss and cost me a day with her there is something you're going to have to do so I won't kill you first in the Games." Cato's tone clearly said that there would be no refusing or negotiation. She was going to do what he said or within five short days she wouldn't be doing anything ever again.

Clove let out a deep sigh and waited for Cato to tell her what she had to do.

* * *

Cato impatiently rode the elevator up to the 12th floor. He needed to let Katniss know about his plan for Glimmer so she didn't get upset and he also got the added benefit of seeing her alone before they were surrounded by the other tributes. When the elevator finally arrived he decided to wait outside the door to her room since he could hear them getting ready to leave.

Haymitch was the first out of the door and when he noticed Cato, he nodded to him in greeting. Following Haymitch was District 12's shockingly bright escort. Katniss was behind her with that Peeta kid being the last out. Peeta got a slightly confused look when he saw Katniss smiling, which quickly turned in to irritation when he saw that she was smiling for Cato.

After she told the group that she would meet them downstairs, she walked over to him, but stopped a couple of feet away. Well, that certainly wouldn't do. Cato's hands shot out quickly, grabbing her, and switching their positions so Katniss' back was pressed against the wall and Cato's body was pressed against hers. He loved the blush that rapidly spread over her cheek's since it reminded him that she was inexperienced and he would be the only person to touch her like this. Cato ran his hands down her sides and let them settle on her hips, using his grip to pull their lower bodies closer together and lowered his head until their lips met. The kiss started off soft and gentle, a simple greeting, but Cato wanted more of her, he would always want more of her, so the kiss quickly escalated and Katniss wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed her against the wall harder and moved his hands to her ass to lift her up a little so he didn't have to bend so far to reach her. Cato wanted her so bad, but he knew she wasn't ready yet and with that thought, he slowly pulled away from her. He brought his hand up to cup her face and Katniss leaned into his touch. Cato smiled gently at her. Her face was still slightly pink and she seemed to be trying to calm her breathing.

"Good morning," Cato finally broke the silence between them. "Did you sleep okay?"

For some reason, Katniss' cheeks turned a darker pink; she cleared her throat and stopped making eye contact with him. When she never responded, Cato spoke again.

"Are you okay? Why are you blushing?"

Katniss mumbled a response, but she spoke so low that he couldn't understand her and asked her to repeat it.

"I said I slept fine, but I kept having these dreams and I never dream."

"Dreams? What kind of dreams? Was I in your dreams?" Cato asked, once again showing his self-centeredness. He really hoped she had dreamt of him, it would certainly suggest that he was getting closer to having her.

"You might have been there," She answered while she let her hands rest on his biceps and bit her bottom lip. "It's not important though, just forget about it. So, not that I'm complaining, but did you need something or did you just want to see me before training started?"

"I do have something to talk to you about, but I'll probably keep coming here every morning when you don't spend the night with me. I don't like being away from you for too long."

Katniss smiled up at him and moved her hands from around his arms to the sides of his waist and gripped his t-shirt.

"Okay, so what did you need to talk to me about?" Katniss asked him.

Explaining his plan to Katniss only took a couple of minutes since the brilliance of it was in the simplicity. Cato kissed her again before they got on the elevator and he held her close to him while they went down to the training room. Cato knew he should tell her about his other plan, but he didn't think she'd let him follow through with it if she knew. He decided to embrace the philosophy that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission.

* * *

Cato scanned the training area as soon as he walked in. He smiled when he saw Katniss and that Peeta kid helping Rue at one of the stations. Maybe the boy wasn't so bad after all. He spotted Glimmer over in the corner, trying to improve her dismal archery skills. Cato looked around the room for Clove. When he made eye contact he nodded his head towards Marvel, letting her know to get him over there as soon as Cato had distracted Glimmer.

Cato made his way over to her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to stand in front of him while he leaned back on the wall. He smirked when he saw her running her eyes over his body and he saw the lust blossoming in her eyes. She was clearly willing to do anything he asked even after all the shit Cato had said to her before he started ignoring her. She was truly pathetic and he thanked God that he had found Katniss so he wouldn't have to associate with girls like Glimmer anymore. He didn't want to waste his time talking to her and he really wanted her to stop touching him, so he immediately executed his plan when he saw that Marvel was close enough to hear them. It's not like anything he said could possibly offend her.

"So, Glimmer," Cato started while he pulled her closer to him, "I was thinking that we could fuck to relieve some of the stress during training. That is, as long as you're not already with someone. I've noticed you spend a lot of time with your partner."

Cato had to work very hard to keep the disgusted look off his face when she pressed her body against his and rested her hands on her chest.

"Please, Cato, like I would ever be with someone like Marvel," Glimmer stated with an exaggerated eye roll. "I just want him to believe he has a chance so he'll protect me in the Games. He's too stupid to realize that someone like me would never be with someone like him. I just want to ensure that I survive for the longest time possible and I know he's willing to die to try and save me."

Glimmer was so focused on running her hands over his chest that she didn't notice that Cato hadn't looked at her while she bragged about her idiotic plan. No, he was watching Marvel's reaction to her words and it was easy to see that he was pissed off and embarrassed that he fell for her crap. Cato might feel bad about how easy it was to set up her death if she hadn't fucked with Katniss. He could tell by the look in Marvel's eyes that he wanted to kill Glimmer now and he was sure Marvel would spend his time hunting her down. Clove and Glimmer's interference had cost him precious time with Katniss, so Cato felt nothing but satisfaction that his simple plan was so easy to pull off.

"To be clear, you're willing to have sex with me even though you know that, most likely, I'll be the one to kill you?" Cato wanted to make sure there was no way Glimmer could try to say it was all a misunderstanding when Marvel confronted her.

"I'm more than willing to let you do whatever you want to me. We could sneak off now, if you want."

Jesus, this girl had some problems. What kind of person was happy to fuck the person who would be killing them in less than a week? Well, after eyeing Marvel again the odds of him being the one to kill Glimmer were going down. Unless he cared enough to kill Marvel so he could kill her, which he didn't. If the rage in the kids' eyes were any indication she might not even walk out of the training room today. Cato figured he made his point, there was no way Glimmer would be able to smooth things out with Marvel now and, frankly, he was tired of her touching him.

"On second thought, I don't think this is going to work so well after all. I think you'll have more than enough on your plate as it is," Cato said, nodding his head to Marvel so Glimmer would turn around and see him. "I don't think the odds are in your favor this time."

Cato walked away as Marvel made his way towards Glimmer. He didn't care enough to listen, so he began his training and only looked back when he heard Glimmer yelling for Marvel to come back and that she was sorry. Cato could check one item off of his to do list for the day, now he just had to wait for lunch so Clove could do her other assignment.

The rest of the morning seemed to pass at a snails pace, but finally lunch time came. Cato looked for Clove and saw that she was already making her way to the male tribute from 7, so he quickly made his way to the restroom so no one would know he was still there. He made sure that Clove and the male tribute from 7 were the only ones there before he left the restroom and approached them. 7 looked up with a terrified expression on his face as soon as he saw Cato walking over to him. Cato took Clove's place and continued to advance on him until the boy was backed up against the wall.

"We need to talk," Cato stated while 7 looked around the room frantically, hoping someone would come to his rescue. When he realized they were alone, he swallowed audibly, which made Cato smirk.

"I didn't do anything," 7 stuttered out.

"I didn't say you did, but you must have done something judging by your shitty poker face. So, why don't you tell me what you think I wanted to talk to you about and I'll let you know when you get it right," Cato took a step back so he wasn't crowding the kid and crossed his arms over his chest waiting for 7 to spill.

* * *

After dinner Cato made the familiar trip outside to meet Katniss. He didn't really have any particular plans; he just wanted to spend time with her and get to know her better. When Cato walked outside he saw Katniss sitting on the same bench she was sitting on the first night he saw her. This time she was wearing a pair of pink, cotton pajama shorts and a tight, black, long sleeved t-shirt. While pink didn't match up with what he knew of Katniss' personality he couldn't help but think of how good she looked.

"Katniss," Cato spoke her name to let her know he was here so he hopefully didn't scare her again and knew he was successful when she didn't jump, just turned around and walked over to him. He immediately knew something was wrong and he hoped she wasn't upset with him. She stopped a couple of feet from him with her arms crossed over her chest and looked up at him.

"Was there anything you wanted to tell me that you might have left out this morning?" Katniss asked.

Shit, she found out. Did she see them or did someone tell her? That wasn't really important right now; he needed to know what she knew so he didn't confess to anything he didn't have to.

"Like what?" he questioned, trying to remain calm and sound confused while his internal monologue was anything but quiet.

"I saw the boy from 7 this afternoon and could easily see the bruise forming along his jaw. I heard him tell his partner he fell, but I don't believe that; do you?"

Cato chose to remain silent, still waiting to find out what she knew. Katniss dropped her arms to her sides and let out a frustrated breath before she began to pace slowly.

"I told you that I handled it. Why did you have to do anything? What would happen if you got caught?" Cato noticed that her voice wavered slightly towards the end of her questions. Was she already worrying about his safety?

"I wasn't going to get caught, I made sure of that, and I know you said that you took care of it, but you shouldn't have had to. I should have done something when I walked in on it, but I didn't want to in front of everyont. I wanted to make sure that he knew not to come near you again or he'd have to deal with me too. You're not on your own anymore; I know you're used to taking care of yourself and your family, but I want to take care of you and your family." Cato had made his way over to her and pulled her into his arms while he was talking. He could tell she didn't like the thought of relying on anyone and decided that was an argument that could wait for now. Cato knew that once she found out about everything he learned from 7 she wouldn't be upset with him anymore.

"And I didn't do it just for you. Granted, that was the reason I confronted him, but since I didn't tell him what it was about he started listing off different things he had done. I didn't punch him because of you, I punched him because he admitted he had been threatening Rue and pushing her around," Cato saw her eyes narrow and knew he was off the hook. "I also talked to Rue and made her promise to tell me if anyone else gave her problems."

Cato hadn't realized that any of the tributes had seen him helping Rue from time to time during training, but apparently they had. He was going to have to keep a closer eye on Rue to make sure no one else gave her problems. Cato hadn't wanted anyone to know he was helping her so they wouldn't think he was going soft, but if it came down to losing his intimidation points or keeping Rue safe for as long as he could, well, he'd just have to remind the others that no matter how he acted with Rue (or Katniss for that matter) he was still a Career who had no qualms about killing them.

He turned his attention back to Katniss when he felt her run her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck. Cato looked down at her and saw something in her eyes that made it impossible for him not to kiss her. He pulled her closer to his body and lowered his head so he could take her lips in a passionate kiss, which she eagerly returned. When Cato finally pulled back they were both panting and Katniss' eyes were shining bright with lust.

"I still don't like that you said anything to him about me and I want you to let me fight my own battles, but I can let this time go since you were standing up for Rue too."

It was clear to Cato that he was going to have to ease Katniss into the idea of him being there for her. That was fine, he knew he could get her where he wanted her he would just have to up his game.

They moved over to one of the love seats and fell into an easy conversation. Katniss opened up more about her family and Cato was grateful she trusted him more. She told him about her childhood and her relationship with her dad before he died. Cato tightened his hold on her when she talked about how they almost starved after his death until she learned to hunt. He knew that most Districts didn't have it as easy as 2 did, but he couldn't believe the Capitol would let people starve. The Capitol and President Snow maintained its rule with fear, he understood that, but wasn't losing 23 kids a year to the Games enough to keep everyone in line? Even though he hated how the Capitol treated everyone, he couldn't wish the Games away completely or he never would have found Katniss.

They had kept talking about their families and their lives back in their home Districts until most of the lights in the hotel were out and Katniss was shivering from the cold.

"Well, I supposed I should get you upstairs, it is getting pretty late," Cato stood and held his hand out to help Katniss up. After he pulled her to her feet, he gave her a quick kiss, took her hand, and began to walk towards the door until his arm was tugged back and he realized she hadn't moved. "What? What's wrong?" Cato asked while he brought his hands up to cup her face.

"Nothings wrong, I just don't want to leave you," She replied and quickly lowered her gaze to the floor as if she was afraid he'd reject her.

When would she realize he'd give her anything she wanted? All she had to do was ask and he'd move heaven and earth for her. Cato pulled her to him and started running his hands up and down her arms trying to warm her up a little. If she didn't want to leave him, the only solution he could see was her coming back to his room. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too opposed to the idea since he had wanted her with him since he saw her and now that she voiced her agreement he was pretty much set on the idea of it happening tonight.

"How about you come back to my room with me?" He tried to make it seem like he just thought of it, but knew he didn't pull it off when all she did was look at him suspiciously. "We don't have to do anything, we can just sleep, but this way I can keep you with me."

"Just sleep-nothing else?" Katniss questioned him.

"Yes," Cato was quick to reassure her. Yes, he wouldn't try anything tonight, tomorrow night however he made no promises. When she nodded her head he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Cato took her hand again and led her to the elevator, then hit the button for his floor.

Cato dug out a t-shirt for Katniss to sleep in and sent her in the direction of his bathroom. He thought about how she would look in his clothes when he changed into a plain t-shirt and his boxers. Cato led Katniss to his bed when she came out of the bathroom. Once they were both settled in, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Cato turned her slightly and gave her a slow sweet kiss, being careful not to push for more, before he pulled her against his chest with his her head resting on his arm while the other was wrapped around her. He held her to him tightly like he was afraid he might lose her during the night and listening to her steady breathing to lull him to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** I am so sorry about the long wait, but I lost track of time with finals, graduation, my birthday, and family visiting. Then I took a long vacation and didn't bring my laptop with me and I didn't realize how long it had been since I last updated. I can't promise this, but I'd like to start updating weekly again. I will promise that I will complete this story (up to the day before the Games), because I hate it when stories I read aren't completed. I haven't come up with a plan for the Games, so I don't know if there will be a sequel for the actual competition or not.

Quick note about the next chapter-when I upload Chapter 9 I will be uploading corrected versions of the other chapters (nothing major, just changing the order of some things, but mainly grammar errors). I don't know if it will send out an alert for each chapter that I change, but if it does just ignore them. There are no changes that really affect the overall story, so you don't need to read them, but you certainly can if you want to. I also want to change the name of the story, but I'm struggling to come up with something I like-so if you have a suggestion let me know.

As always, thanks to those who added the story to their favorites or story alerts and my eternal gratitude to those who reviewed. It's all greatly appreciated. And I apologize again for the extreme wait for this chapter.

I do not own the Hunger Games and this is unbeta'd.


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