Author's Note: Written from the phrase "can't let him keep suffering" during a fic tree
In the night, when the cave is so dark that she can't see his face, she can hear him mumbling in a broken, meandering voice. She tries not to listen, not to let his fever dreams get inside her, but she can't escape the sound of his voice. The cave's too small to get away, and the cameras will see. If she leaves, he could die. She crouches in the corner and hums to herself, trying not to listen. It doesn't work, and she slips out long enough to find kindling for a fire. When she returns, he's quiet, but still breathing.
Sometimes, he whispers her name. It hurts, to hear, when she's not sure if she should trust it. She turns her back and busies herself with the fire. But they're watching, and she knows what Haymitch would want. When he does it again, she steels herself and goes to him. Her head stays down; she wonders if they can see her face.
By firelight, she can see he's trembling. The sweat-slick skin brings a flash of memory: of Prim flushed and shaking in her arms, helpless tears running down both their faces.
She reaches out to touch Peeta and her hand is shaking. "Shh...," she soothes. "It's okay." Her lips press against his forehead, and he feels like fire. He's shivering though, and she pulls the sleeping bag up tight over him.
"S-s-so cold," he tries to say, through chattering teeth. And she puts a finger up to stop him. Her arms go around him, and she doesn't even think of the cameras until after she's held him long enough for the chills to pass. She hides her face then, against his shoulder, and isn't sure if she's hiding from them or herself.
By the third time he passes from chills to fever sweat and back again, the cameras don't matter. She thinks of Prim and Rue, and she can't let him keep suffering like this. He doesn't deserve to die - none of them do - and she'll do anything. She wipes sweat from fevered skin, cools him with fresh water from the stream, and wraps herself around him when he's cold. When they offer her a way to save him, not even he can stop her.