AN: My first one-shot for the hunger games. Please let me know what you think about it… Also my maternal language is german so please don't kill me if I make mistakes…
Disclaimer: WJM doesn't own the absolutely awesomeness called the Tributes Of Panem / The Hunger Games, and so on… You know the deal!
She has nightmares. She's had them every night since she became the female tribute of District 11. The worst part is that when she wakes up she doesn't know anymore what the dream was about. So she goes to bed every night – afraid of the unknown horror that awaits her in sleep.
This night is different, though. In the evening they had watched the results of the personal trainings and everybody congratulated her on her seven points, but a few times she caught Thresh starring at her with an expression she couldn't quite place.
After all scores had been presented, Thresh and her were sent to their rooms so the "grown-ups can have a talk". Rue just can barely hold back from stomping her foot and pouting about getting threaded that way. She isn't particularly happy about going to bed.
The others, too, must have noticed it by now; the circles under her eyes are getting darker and she's losing weight.
A scream echoes through the hallways of floor 11.
Thresh's eyes snap open and he's on his feet and out of his room in an instant. He knows that voice. It's the same he hears every night but now he can't go back to sleep. Hell, even if he swore himself to stay away from her – to keep her save – he just can't hear Rue suffer anymore.
A few seconds later Thresh finds himself kneeling next to Rue's bed and stroking her cheek with his thumb. She whimpers and slowly opens her moist eyes. "Thresh" is all she can say before she throws her arms around his neck, crying hard. She clings so tightly onto him the he lifts her into his strong arms and sits down, his back against the headrest, like his mother had done with him, when he had been little.
He murmurs soothing words into her ear. That everything is okay, that he's going to protect her, and rubs her back comfortingly.
A little later Rue has cried herself to sleep – now clutching a fist full of the older boy's shirt like a lifeline. Soon after Thresh drifts off.
The next morning he wakes up to the sound of the door opening. Seeder walks into the room and as she sees Thresh watching her carefully her lips curl into a small smile. At first Thresh has no clue why she would be amused to see him here – until he notices that when the mentor stepped closer he had subconsciously slung his arms protectively around the still sleeping Rue. Now that he's aware of that he lessens his grip on the girl and cracks a sheepish grin at Seeder. The woman only smiles and turns to leave.
"Breakfast is in half an hour, wake the little one, will ya?" Thresh nods and Seeder leaves the room. He lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding and gently wakes the little sleeping girl in his lap. He is almost reluctant to do so because her face is more relaxed than he has ever seen – how Rue must have looked before the reaping.
Apparently she doesn't want to be woken and so she just buries her face in that broad, strong chest she uses as a pillow – until she notices what exactly she is doing. Then she slowly leans back to look Thresh/her "pillow" into the eyes, smiling shyly.
"Slept well?" he grins. Her face turns beet-red and she buries it in the crook of his neck. He feels her nodding into his shoulder.
"Mpfeurhie" she murmurs.
"Pardon?" he holds her at arm's length so that he can look into her eyes.
Rue casts her eyes down. "I said 'I'm sorry'. I didn't want to wake you up and be a bother."
"You're not." He says gruffly and holds her close again before untangling himself and getting up. Rue opens her mouth to answer but his look leaves no room to argue.
He motions over to her gigantic wardrobe. "Get ready, Seeder says breakfast is ready soon, I'll pick you up in ten." With that he leaves the room to change out of his sweatpants and shirt he wears at night.
Okay. Now Rue is confused. Relieved, yes – but confused nonetheless.
Why did Thresh cone over last night? She thought that he'd made it pretty clear that he didn't like her by ignoring her and spending as much time possible on his own. So why the sudden change of mood? She doesn't want to question it though, because it means that she at least got some decent sleep last night.
The second Rue's done changing it knocks on the door and soon after Thresh steps into the room. Rue lets out a short laugh when she sees his face. The way he is fidgeting with his shirt and his scrunched-up face clearly show how uncomfortable he is in the clothes his wardrobe had picked out for him.
"All I wanted where some clothes which aren't black or white! Those capitol people sure don't know a thing about 'decent clothing'" Rue now grins openly. Okay, so maybe his clothes are a bit bright but not bad. He's wearing dark-blue jeans and a lime green wife beater under an unbuttoned sapphire-blue dress shirt. Next to him Rue giggles at his pained expression. She simply wears a pair of beige cargo-pants a white long-sleeved t-shirt and a dark-blue zip-up hoodie. "It even spilled out this thing." Thresh holds up a bright orange tie and tosses it into the next waste bin. "Absolutely horrible." She only smiles and drags him out the room by the hand. Thresh, surprised by this action, nearly trips over his own feet trying to follow her in her haste.
When they arrive at the dining room Chaff, Seeder and both their prep-teams are already there, chatting animatedly. They go silent and all eyes wander over to the two newcomers.
"You're late" Chaff grunts, apparently he is already drunk. "Where the hell have you been?" he asks Thresh who just stares back blankly. One can feel the tension in the room rising and Rue has to use all her willpower to not to hide behind Thresh's tall frame. Instead she just grabs the hem of his shirt. That seems to ease the tension and Seeder elbows Chaff just beneath the ribs. Rue chuckles slightly and with a now again blank expression Thresh shoves her over to one of the last two free seats.
The rest of the morning goes by fairly uneventful just some training regarding the interviews they'll have to give in the evening.
As they meet up at the elevator to ride down to eat with the other District's tributes Chaff stalks away grumbling how incompetent Thresh is and how he will die with no sponsors and so on.
When the elevator doors close Seeder turns towards Thresh with an apologizing expression.
"He didn't mean it like this. Don't worry; you'll get some sponsors after tonight's interviews." Thresh shrugs. "Doesn't matter. I don't fight to win the Games but to protect what I think is worth protecting. And when I die for the right reason, I know at least that my family at home knows I fought for the most precious to survive."
See der blinks and even Rue stares at him. That was the longest hey have ever heard him speak. Now his face once again holds that blank expression of his as he and Rue step out of the elevator and into the group- dining hall.
So far so good…
Hope you enjoyed.
See ya