Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Caesar Flickerman: "It seems that Katniss has stumbled upon what we call Red Velvet. For those of you who don't know, Red Velvet is a powerful aphrodisiac that completely overwhelms the body."
RED VELVET
Haymitch: "Give them something to root for."
Seneca Crane: "What?"
Haymitch: "Young love."
Katniss Everdeen was starving. She had set up several snares around her tree but they had not managed to trap even one single squirrel. It was almost dusk and the rumbling in her stomach was rapidly turning into one of pain. She sighed and decided to go hunt for food - the unmoving kind. She had already done a quick survey earlier but had not gone farther than ten feet from her tree. She decided to push through her boundary just a few feet more. The sun was dipping slowly in the horizon, casting eerie shadows across the forest. She was just about to give up when her eye caught something red in the distance.
Berries.
Katniss jogged over and gathered as much as she could into her pockets before returning to her spot. She eagerly removed the berries from her pocket and studied them closely. Katniss considered herself knowledgeable enough when it came to anything related to the forest, but for the first time in what seemed like forever, she found herself stumped. She had no idea what these berries were. They were bright red, the color of ripe maraschino cherries. They looked incredibly delicious and she was on the verge of popping them into her mouth. But something was nagging at the back of her head. Where had she seen these before?
A distinct crunch echoed in the distance. She shoved them in her pocket and climbed her tree with practiced ease. Once she was satisfied with her height, she laid out her sleeping bag and tied the lower part of her body onto the sturdy branch as a safety precaution. She didn't want to fall off while she was asleep. Her stomach was suddenly hit by another stab of pain. She needed to eat something or she was going to die a sad, sorry weakling.
She pulled out the berries again, racking her brain as to where she had seen them last. After what seemed like hours, she finally had the answer. She had seen the exact same berries being sold at the Hob at a very ridiculous price. Apparently they were very rare. But if they were being sold at the Hob, then they must be safe for consumption. She licked one tentatively. It was as sweet as syrup. Almost too sweet. But her stomach craved for more. She swallowed a handful and waited a few minutes for any side effects. There were none. She breathed a sigh of relief.
She was just about to drowse off when she heard another distinct crunch, like a boot stepping on a fallen twig.
The sound came from directly below her.
"You're making this way too easy for me, Girl on Fire."
Katniss looked down to see the sneering face of the blonde male from District 2: Cato. He appeared to be alone. Katniss wondered where the other Careers were. Had he finished them off? But the cannons had not gone off. Were they lying out there somewhere bleeding to death? That would be typical of him, making his victims suffer before they died.
She tensed on her spot on the branch and prayed that the branches would be too weak to carry his enormous build. However, she decided to untie herself just in case she needed a quick escape. She was unarmed and from what she can see, he had a sword strapped to his back, big enough to slice her in half. He began his ascent, the first few branches carrying him well. By the time he reached the fourth branch, it split with a crack and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Katniss could not hold back a snort. "Yeah, too easy."
Cato scrambled to his feet, a scowl marring his sharp features. "Well, you can't stay there forever." He said with a smirk. She stiffened. No. And to Katniss's horror, he began to set up camp at the base of her tree. He promptly closed his eyes.
Cocky bastard. She thought. Well, he wasn't going anywhere either. So she decided to get some much-needed shuteye as well.
After settling herself comfortably into her sleeping bag, she began to dream.
It wast just after the final interviews. They had retreated to their floor to get some rest. Haymitch and Effie had stayed behind to entertain several potential sponsors, leaving them both completely alone.
Katniss was still reeling from Peeta's little stunt during his interview.
'He made you look desirable.' Haymitch had said, milliseconds after Katniss had slammed Peeta against the wall with sheer fury.
Wasn't she desirable enough?
She was so preoccupied with these thoughts that she hadn't realized that Peeta was speaking to her.
"Katniss? Are you there?" He asked in a concerned tone. "Look, if this is because of what I said about you earlier I -"
Katniss cut him off. "What about me do you find desirable?" She asked bluntly.
Peeta was stunned speechless for several long minutes. Katniss waited patiently for him to reply, her eyes never leaving his face. She needed to know if he was lying or if he was telling the truth. His cheeks visibly reddended under scrutinizing gaze. "Uh."
"Tell me Peeta. I want to know."
An order.
Peeta cleared his throat and looked away. "Everything about you."
"Can you be more specific?"
And suddenly, he was angry. "What is this? Twenty questions? I've liked you for a long time, Katniss. Just seeing you at school would make my heart skip a beat." The frustration was crystal clear in his voice. When those impossibly blue eyes locked onto hers, something inside her lit up. "You have no idea, Katniss, the effect that you have on me."
Katniss did not know what came over her. It was as if someone entirely different took over her entire being because the next thing she knew, she was kissing him. It took a few moments for Peeta to even register what was happening because he froze under Katniss's touch.
"Peeta." She murmured urgently. And that was all he needed. He kissed her back with as much fervor, with only the slightest tinge of desperation. She pushed him onto the couch. She straddled him, already feeling the growing bulge underneath his jeans. Soon, the kissing no longer became enough for Katniss. She wanted to feel his skin. She needed to feel him. "Unzip me." She demanded. Peeta's trembling fingers trailed along the back of her neck before finding what he was looking for. The dress came off quickly. Cinna had kindly asked her to forgo underwear that day, seeing that the tightness of the dress did not allow any room for it. Peeta took a second to appreciate the view before latching onto one of her nipples, causing her to moan loudly.
"That must be some dream your having, Girl on Fire."
Cato was a trained Career and it was firmly embedded in his mind that one should never succumb into a deep sleep in the Arena. So he kept his ears pricked for any sign of disturbance as he rested. Nothing escaped him. Every single sound caught his attention, a Mockingjay singing in the distance, a squirrel scurrying across the ground, fallen leaves rustling in the wind, and the vague sound of someone moaning.
His eyes snapped open. It was coming from above.
He scrambled to his feet. Sure enough, it was coming from her. She was fast asleep but she was writhing and emitting all these sounds that had Cato's mind wandering. He decided to wake her before it wandered into the direction he did not want it go to. This was his victim. His kill. Now was not the time to picture her - snap out of it Cato!
"Hey Girl on Fire, that must be some dream your having." He called out loudly.
This was enough to jolt her. She stared down at him. He expected her to blush or tell him off, but he was only greeted with silence. This only succdeeded in peaking Cato's curiousity. Was he mistaken? Was she having a nightmare? Those moans definitely did not sound like they were caused by pain. Again with the wandering, Cato! He admonished himself. He cleared his throat.
"Cat got your tongue?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. "Or was it something else?" He could not help adding.
Again, no response. She began to undo the ropes tying her to the branch. Cato prepared himself for battle. He had scoped her out earlier and he knew for a fact that she was unarmed. She may possibly be hiding a small knife but that would only cause minimal damage to someone of his stature. It didn't matter, though. Armed or unarmed, she was no match for him.
She began to descend the tree, something that took him by surprise. What was she planning to do? Outrun him? He snorted. She may be a fast runner but Cato was faster. She was going to die. Right here, right now.
"Someone's eager to die," he drawled as she slowly unzipped her jacket. His hand automatically went to unsheath his sword, but she revealed no weapons. His grip relaxed. She began to walk languidly towards him, like a panther stalking its prey.
He watched, almost fascinatedly, as she untied her braid, letting loose a cascade of luscious brown curls. His mind once again began to drift to the dreaming Katniss Everdeen and his breath accelerated just a little bit. He would be lying if he said that the Girl on Fire was not attractive, because she was. And Cato always had a thing for brunettes.
For the first time in his life, Cato was uncertain. Very uncertain.
Until Katniss looked him straight in the eye.
He had seen the way killers looked at their victims, with a sort of hunger, a definite thirst for blood.
But Katniss's eyes were filled wtih a different kind of hunger that sent Cato careening right into that area in his mind that he swore he did not want to go.
He realized now that he had completely let go of his sword. It dropped to the ground with a clang. Cato barely noticed. His eyes were fixed solely on the tintillating creature that was now only a mere inch away from him. She cocked her head to the side, as if assessing him. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear his trainers screaming at him. This is her strategy. Seduce the prey and kill him afterwards.
But Cato was mesmerized. There was something about her that was pulling him in.
This was not bloodlust.
This was simply pure, unadulterated lust.
Her hand came to rest on his chest. It trailed slowly downward. Cato found his eyes follwing its path. They rested on his belt buckle. His breathing hitched. He could already feel his body betraying him. He reminded himself that he could always snap her neck if she was tricking him.
But then her lips crashed onto his and he lost all sense of coherent thought. All he wanted to do at that very moment was to fuck her, right then and there. He didn't give a fuck if the entire Capitol was watching. As far as he knew, consensual sex was not prohibited in the Games. Of course, he knew of no one who had ever attempted it before.
She tasted sweet. Almost too sweet. It boggled his senses, made him crave for more.
Her arms had come to encircle him, pulling him closer. He grabbed both of her legs and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist. He carried her over to the base of the tree until her back hit the rough bark. He trailed kisses along her jawbone, along her neck, and slowly downward to the valley of her breasts. She tugged on his shirt, pulling it over his head. Her warm hands travelled across his bare back making him shiver. He blocked out all thought. He just wanted to feel her. All of her. He ripped open her shirt, his palms meeting her breasts eagerly. They were just the right size, soft and supple. He massaged them slowly, eliciting a purr of appreciation from Katniss. He kneaded them like dough as she grinded against him.
"Take it off." She hissed. This was the first time he had heard her speak since she descended the tree.
"Take what off?" He asked innocently. His lips twitched in amusement as she fixed him with a glare.
"Everything."
He ignored her and latched onto one of her already peaked nipples. She cried out in ecstasy. HIs tongue swirled lazily around each as his fingers divested her of her jeans. She was so enticingly wet. He began to rub her clit with his thumb, moving in slow tantalizing circles. Another finger slipped into her making her moan loudly. She was tight. A virgin. He slipped another finger in. Stretching her. Preparing her.
"If you're not going to take it off, I will." Katniss growled, unbuckling his belt roughly and pushing down his pants until they pooled at his ankles. He kicked them off, not once loosening his hold on Katniss's body.
The Girl on Fire also happened to be fast. She had already grasped his cock and was moving her hand up and down rhythmically. Cato grunted in satisfaction. He could feel an orgasm building, so he decided to stop her. He moved all three of his fingers inside her before pulling them out. She hissed. "Now, now, Girl on Fire. Let's not be hasty."
He kissed her again, their tongues battling for dominance. The sweetness in her mouth never dissipated. In fact, it only seemed to get stronger. Cato pinned her arms above her head. "I think you're ready."
She responded with a nod.
Cato positioned himself at her entrance before pushing his entire length into her in one powerful stroke. She cried out in pain. He halted, massaging her clit a little to balance the pain with some pleasure. He then started to move slowly. It was a tight fit but she expanded a little more with each movement. Soon, her moans of pain became ones of bliss. He began to thrust into her with a little more force. "Do you like that, Girl on Fire?"
"Yes."
"Do you want more?"
"YES."
And he did give her more, driving in and out as fast as he could. She was breathing heavily now and he knew she was close, just like he was. Her fingers were clawing at his back as she held on for dear life. Those were going to leave a mark.
As they neared the precipice, Cato briefly wondered what was going to happen after this.
They came together, an explosion of something undefinable.
And then it was o"ver.
And then the pain came.
Cato looked down and saw an arrow sticking right through his chest. It came from behind. Just before everything went dark, he briefly saw the boy from District 12 looking down at him.
"Katniss belongs to me." He hissed.
The cannon fired.
Haymitch: "I can't believe you put Red Velvet in there."
Seneca: "You said you wanted young love."
Haymitch (exasperated): "I meant Peeta and Katniss. Or didn't you watch the interview?"
Seneca: "I know that! But it wasn't my fault Cato found her first!"
Haymitch: "There goes young love."
Seneca (grins): "You mean, young lust."
Haymitch: "You don't happen to have any of those berries around here, do you?"
END
A/N: I love Cato/Katniss but I love Peeta/Katniss more. ;) PLEASE REVIEW!