Savior

Chapter 1

Author's Notes: This AU story takes place during Catching Fire and Mockingjay. It is set in an Alternate Universe - one where Peeta is the son of the President and Katniss entered the hunger games alone. As a result of the change in their backgrounds the characters may be a little different to how they are in the books. The chapters will consist both Peeta's and Katniss' point of view.

Katniss: What You Don't Sign up for

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"I didn't win the games so that I could sign up for this!"

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The room fell silent at her desperate cry. They were all looking at her; some with sorrow, others with empathy. Their eyes made the panic swell in her stomach and she gasped for air, fighting back tears. She had been certain that she had already experienced the worst of the sick games that the Capitol could play – but this! This was unfathomable.

"I am not letting him use what is left of me to entertain!" she snapped. She let her fire burn through the panic, because it was easier to be angry than scared, and she was petrified. In her own mind, Katniss Everdeen had done everything right (at least by Capitol standards). She had volunteered for the games. She had murdered innocents in the name of entertainment. She had smiled and chatted about murdering those innocents to the cameras. She had more than earned her ticket home.

"Good luck with that," Joanna Mason spat as she sat up in her chair. She stared darkly at Katniss, her face twisted into a nasty snarl, "You can learn the hard way, like we all did, what Snow does with disobedient Victors." Her eyes burned as she clenched and unclenched her fists. "And their families," she added carefully. Katniss stared at the woman, the desperation returning as she watched the Victor from District Seven stand up and stretch. "Speaking of which, I don't really want to be involved in this anti-Capitol debate." she hissed staring down the dark haired youngster. "You need to sort her out Haymitch, before she gets us all killed."

"Sort me out!" Katniss repeated; her tone deadly. She glared into the woman's brown eyes, daring her to make a move. She felt the need to hit someone anyway. Might as well be the pointy haired bitch from District Seven, she thought sardonically.

"Ladies" Finnick Odair interjected with a small sigh. He was sitting on the edge of his chair, a hand rubbing his forehead. "Killing each other is not going to solve anything," he reasoned.

"It will make me feel a whole lot better though," Joanna jeered with a twisted smirk.

"Come on Jo," Chaff, the Victor mentor from District eleven interjected. He ran his shaky hand through his dark messy locks as he regarded Katniss with sympathy. "You know what she is going through – she could use your support," he said quietly.

"What do you want me to do?" Joanna cried dangerously,"give her pointers on how to fuck the Capitol's high and mighty."

Katniss' eyes widened slightly before she tore them away from the other woman, suddenly aware that her current issue wasn't an isolated case. She glanced around the room at the other Victors. "All of you?" she asked, suddenly horrified.

"It's not quite that simple," Finnick explained quietly but his sea green eyes had dropped to the floor and he nodded sadly. Her breath caught and she dug her nails in to her palms. She tried to comprehend the wave of emotion that his simple gesture brought. She tried to understand what this meant for her. But all she could concentrate on was the fact that whatever hope she had hung on to, had left the moment the handsome man's eyes had dropped to the floor.

"This isn't the time or the place," Beetee, the District Three Victor, commented wisely. He motioned around the lavishly decorated Capitol hotel room. His tone was one of warning. He was carefully pointing out to the group that they were still playing the game, that Snow was still watching.

The sudden awareness to the fact that the cameras were still trained on her face, brought a fresh wave of rage. She wanted to break something, anything, maybe even everything. "I fucking hate the Capitol" She snarled for everyone could hear before she turned on her heel and stomped off to her room.

The tears were falling before she reached the door.

The sobs racked her body before she reached the bed.

And the nightmares haunted her before she fell asleep.

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Peeta: Protect, Not Purchase.

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"So you're saying you want me to purchase her…"

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Despite having been fathered by a perverted psychopath, Peeta Snow considered himself a good and decent human being. As soon as he was old enough to understand he had turned on his father, dedicating his own life to making the President of Panem's as difficult and problematic as possible. He took the consequences in stride, careful not to make attachments with people so that no one would suffer for his actions.

Finnick Odair knew all this. The extremely handsome victor from District Four was the closest thing that Peeta had to a friend; and here he was telling Peeta to just throw the carefully tried and tested strategy out the window to save Panem's latest victor. To say that he couldn't comprehend was an understatement. Surely Finnick knew that he was condemning this girl to absolute hell.

"Yes, yes that is what I need you to do" He snapped, as his eyes glanced up and down the hall. "We all do – she's the one Peeta. They are calling her the Mockingjay, the symbol of the resistance! All the anti-capitol messages she sent through her actions in the arena have started fires across the districts…" He silenced abruptly as a soft clang sounded in the distance. The pair remained quiet for a good minute before agreeing that the coast was clear with mirrored nods. The shadows in the small gazebo always played tricks on them.

"And you think putting her right in front of my Father is going to help her finish things?" Peeta asked incredulously. Is he for real? he thought to himself as he stared at District Four Victor with a raised eyebrow.

"Well she might just kill him," Finnick chuckled. He stopped when he saw the young man's deadpan response and sighed. "No, it's not that simple, sh-she's at breaking point. This would be it – she's, well, she's pretty pure and letting herself be raped by some Capitol prick will be enough to send her over the edge. We're certain that the only reason she hasn't offed herself yet is because she has a little sister back home. But we don't think that will be enough if she has to..."

Peeta's eyes widened, "So you don't just want me to purchase her, you want me to protect her."

Finnick hunched slightly as he nodded his sea green eyes locked with Peeta's sapphire orbs.

Peeta groaned audibly and ran his hand through his golden locks. "You realize what you are signing her up for – the moment I show interest my father has leverage. She will be my Achilles heel. I won't be able to do anything for the rebellion if you want me to keep her alive. No extra grain for the districts, no extra water, no getting rid of fanatical peace keepers, no sabotaging bombers… and eventually he's going to use her against me, he will expect me to…" Peeta trailed off, his bright blue eyes haunted by the sickening requests that his father could make of him. He already had enough ghosts.

Finnick closed his eyes, his expression pained. "We know," he sighed.

"No I don't think you do," Peeta snapped his eyes ablaze with anger. "He's going to expect a happy couple, a wedding… a child… he will expect her to bear my child."

Finnick placed a calming hand on his friends shoulder. "No!" he said with conviction. "It won't be for that long. The plan is to win before the Quarter Quell and we can't do that without her alive. The districts aren't ready, they can't keep her safe yet. You know what how he will react! This is our only option, and its the best one. She will be right there, in front of everyone! The people who know you despise your father will fight for what you represent, the people who don't will fight to free her... you're the only person who can keep her safe, who can buy us the time we need."

Peeta looked at his friend with a sad smile on his face, "this is one of Coin's brainwaves isn't it?"

"Does it matter?" Finnick asked with a small shrug of his broad shoulders. "Look, I know she's not your favorite, to be honest she doesn't like you all that much either, but we are on the same side for now."

"Surely you can just get Katniss out, fly that hovercraft in here and get her and her family out," Peeta suggested quickly, his eyes pleading with the twenty-four year old victor.

Finnick gave Peeta an exasperated look. "You know we aren't ready for that," the man stated in response.

There was a significant pause before anyone spoke next. Peeta understood the thinking that had brought them to this point. He could understand how hiding the girl in plain sight was far more effective than whisking her off to District Thirteen. The impact it would have could potentially start and win a war. The problem was simply that he knew how dangerous it was. If the public knew she was the symbol of the rebellion then his father surely knew.

Peeta ran a shaky hand through his ashy blond locks before sighing, defeated. Against his better judgement he turned to his friend and nodded his head. "Fine, I'll protect this girl and her family - but it's on you if any of the districts are wiped out."

Finnick smiled sadly. He knew that he had potentially just convinced his friend to sign away his life. "Good luck," he whispered, because really it was all he could say.

Peeta managed a small smile, "You too," he said before he turned on his heel and headed out into the night.

As he walked towards his home, the President's mansion, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that keeping this girl alive would be the last thing that he ever did.