Title: Innocent
Characters/Pairings: Glimmer/Cato, other tributes
Genre: Hurt/comfort, tragedy, angst, romance
Summary: You're just two kids trying to survive the war.
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You've never been more than a pretty face.
Until the hunger games that is.
You're in the middle of the large crowd in District 1, preparing for the reaping. You fold your arms across your chest and glare at anyone that dares to meet your eye. You don't flinch when Marvel's name is called and he walks to the stage to stand by the gaudy announcer. You have known the boy for years, but that doesn't mean you're going to let his bad luck affect you.
You are no stranger to hiding your emotions. Ever since you found your parents dead on the floor of your living room, eyes still wide with fear. You allowed yourself a few tears before dragging the corpses into the backyard by their feet and burying them under an oak tree. (It took you three hours to dig their graves.)
You were seven years old.
"Glimmer Creedence!" The announcer's voice screeches and your heart drops, but you hold your head high and make your way to the stage to stand next to your childhood friend. Marvel reaches out to grab your hand and you squeeze his fingers tightly.
He's always been like a brother to you.
You really hope you don't have to watch him die.
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You don't hate Katniss Everdeen. You really don't. You admire her talents, but that doesn't mean you're going to let her kill you.
So you make it your mission to get to her first, along with your fellow Careers.
You and Marvel make up the District 1 side of the group. The other side, District 2, is made up of a sadistic girl with a love of knives and a boy who knows his way around a sword.
You've known Clove for years since her family used to live in your district and you know she remembers you when she hugs you tightly and whispers that she missed you. You hug her back and breathe a sigh of relief. She may be a killing machine now, but somewhere in there is your childhood best friend. Cato, however, is a stranger to you and you try to ignore the way your pulse quickens every time you meet eyes with the blond boy. You train alongside him and bite your lip when you feel his hands on your waist, turning you until you're at the right angle to get a bull's-eye during target practice.
"I knew you could do it," He whispers in your ear and you nod your thanks.
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3…2…1…GO!
You run as fast as your legs can carry you, grabbing whatever supplies you pass, not caring what they are. You throw an arrow through another tribute's heart and rip the pack out of her hands.
You know Cato is somewhere behind you and that is the only thing that keeps you going as you snap a young boy's neck when he meets eyes with you.
He can't be more than 12.
His innocence almost breaks you, but you feel Cato grab your hand and tug you away before what you just did can fully sink in.
Clove and Marvel convince your group that it is best to split up and wander off to collect food and find more weapons.
You are left with Cato to set up a shelter. He shakes his blond hair out of his eyes and starts to walk through the forest. You follow because that's the only thing you can do.
There is a crack and then, suddenly, you are on the ground with blood pouring out of your arm. You scream out in pain and yank the arrow out swiftly before clutching the injury to try and stop the bleeding.
Cato's eyes widen and before you realize it, he has his knife out and in your attacker's neck. He leans down and scoops you into his arms with a frown, "You're gonna be okay, Glim. I promise."
::
Everyone around you is dead. You have no idea where Cato is, or if he is even still breathing. The last thing you remember is his hands gently bandaging your arm as your leg rested in his lap and your head lulled against his firm shoulder. You wake up hours later alone and force yourself to stand up and explore.
You pass Clove and Marvel's mangled bodies and you can't help the tear that slips down your cheek. You lean down and press your lips to your friends' cold foreheads and with a squeeze of the girl's hand, keep walking. You would never admit it, but Clove had been your best girl friend and everyone knew Marvel had been like a big brother to you.
You can only be grateful that you weren't there to watch the life flow out of them.
::
Ever since you found Marvel, you don't look at the faces of the bodies you pass. You're terrified the next corpse you see will be Cato. You couldn't bear if you lost him too.
You hear screams and before you can think, you're running as fast as you can towards the sound. Your eyes widen at the sight of the Girl on Fire being attacked by a swarm of bee-like creatures. She looks at you with a pained expression and her mouth opens, "Please."
You squeeze your eyes shut tightly before blinking and then you shoot an arrow through the girl's heart. But for once, your kill is not out of hatred of wanting to win. It is out of pity for Katniss.
You watch her fall to the ground and the cannon goes off to signal her death. You wonder where her district partner, Peeta, is. You wonder if you are the only one left. You have seen countless bodies and you wonder how you could have possibly survived the bloodbath.
You aren't sure that you wanted to.
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"Glimmer!" A voice yells and you spin around to face whoever is calling your name. Your mouth drops open as you take in the tall, blond figure coming towards you.
"Cato?" You breathe and take off running, jumping into his arms as he spins you around and presses his lips to your forehead. He lowers your feet to the ground, but keeps his arm wrapped around your waist tightly.
He looks around and you see the shock spread across his face, "You killed Katniss?"
"Only so she wouldn't suffer anymore."
::
It's almost midnight, and you are curled into Cato's side as you both watch the sky from your spot on top of a cliff. Your head is tucked against his chest as he runs his fingers through your hair and tightens his arms around you. One after another, shots are fired from a cannon into the air as the dead tribute's faces are shown across the sky. You can't fight the tears when Katniss and Peeta flash appear and you hide your face in Cato's jacket when Clove and Marvel show up. All of your friends, all of you enemies. Dead. Gone.
You wish you could've told Katniss that you thought she was amazing and you wish she and Peeta had gotten their happy ending. But it's too late now.
Cato kisses the top of your head and you feel his own tears falling onto your hair. It had been you four since the beginning. Districts 1 and 2 made up the careers. But now, it is just the two of you, and you can practically feel the emptiness.
A loud voice booms across the arena, "We are down to our last two tributes. May the odds ever be in your favor."
You look up at Cato in fear, waiting for him to kill you.
But he just looks down at you with a soft smile, "I guess this means we will do it together."
He stands up and brings you with him and confusion crosses your face.
"Well, I'm not killing you and I would never make you kill me. So I guess that means we will die together."
You grab his hand and look down at the rocky ground twenty feet below the cliff. You gulp, "On three?"
Cato leans over and kisses you and you kiss him back eagerly as fireworks explode in your head. He pulls away enough to whisper as he clutches your face in his hands, "One."
You press your nose against his, relishing in the feeling of his skin against yours, "Two."
He kisses the corner of your mouth and opens his eyes as you speak together, "Three." You turn to face the cliff and intertwine your hands tightly before stepping off. Your feet are no longer on solid ground, you are just floating to your deaths.
You close your eyes and hear Seneca Crane's voice telling you to stop before everything goes black and you don't feel anything.
Your last thought is how ironic it is that the last voice you will ever hear is the person leading you to your death.
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There is no victor.
All the tributes are dead.
The arena is deserted and the districts are all in mourning.
As Glimmer and Cato's broken bodies are lifted off of the rocks, no one can bring themselves to separate their conjoined hands.
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You should have known you never would have gotten your happy ending. Love stories aren't for people like you.
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