Author's Note:- Wow! Another story! Yes, my lovlies! Another story! I was in the midpoint between asleep and awake this morning, and this idea popped into my head. So seeing as I have nothing else to do today, why not indulge you in some Cato and Clove cuteness?

Disclaimer: As much as I would love them to be, Cato and Clove are not my characters. They are the property of Suzanne Collins.

"Please!"

Please. Please. Please.

I awoke to the sound of Mockingjays, singing all around me. It almost sounded like they were singing right in my ears. When I opened my eyes, what I saw surprised me. Not that I believed in the afterlife or anything, but if there was some miraculous life after death, I expected to be damned straight to hell. I mean come on, look at the things I had done, right? Even if it was all for the games, the murders I had committed were unforgiveable, even if I was fighting for my own survival.

Mine and Clove's.

I was laying in some long, soft grass. A little like that of the arena, but softer, and not dripping with the blood of other tributes. There was a lake too. And a forest. The only thing missing was the Cornucopia.

The rule change in the arena was the first time in weeks that I had been happy. Really, genuinely happy. All Clove and I had to do was protect ourselves and get rid of the others, and then we would be able to go home. Both of us. Together.

But then Thresh had bashed Clove's skull in, and I was alone again. Even if I had survived, it would have meant nothing. My survival would be mediocre, compared to surviving with the one other person I cared about.

She had called for me in her last moments, and I had heard her.

"Clove! I'm coming!"

But I had been too late. I had tried to get to her, I really had. And despite by hopeless begging for her to stay with me, it was pretty obvious to me and everyone else that she was dying.

I had avenged her, of course. But what use was that? It wasn't going to bring her back. Nothing was going to bring her back.

Thinking of Clove's death made me feel sick to my stomach, even now. Even now I was dead. Sitting in this grass. The greenest grass I've ever seen. I could still hear her calling from me. Her screams blared in my ears, as clear and as terrified they were the day she died.

Wait a minute...I was hearing her. I was hearing her. Here.

"Cato! Cato!"

My heart skipped a beat as I jumped to my feet, and I began to run towards the voice. Clove's voice. Calling me.

"Clove! I'm coming!" I called, running faster than I ever had before. I felt a horrible sense of déjà vu. Was this some sick joke? I was dead. How could Snow make me feel any worse? He wasn't supposed to be able to touch me when I was dead.

"Cato!"

The voice became clearer. It was coming from the forest, and I quickly changed direction. Though I could run pretty fast when I was alive, it didn't compare to how fast I was running now. I wasn't even remotely breathless. I felt graceful as my feet seemed to bounce off the ground with every step I took.

"Cato!"

I skidded to a halt. She was close. So close. But...I couldn't see her. Was I imagining it? I must have been. I loved her so much, but I didn't deserve to see her again, did I? I had been a terrible person in the arena, which I suppose should have been allowed, but I had been a terrible person before I had volunteered; and no doubt, I would have been after I'd won. If I'd won.

"Clove! Where are you!" The panic was evident in my voice, but to my surprise, I heard a enchanted, light hearted giggle. It was coming from above my head.

"I'm up here!" I looked up. And there she was. My beautiful Clove. Her skin was as fresh as it had been before we went to the Capitol. As fresh as it had been in school where I would watch her, from a distance, giggling with her group of girlfriends. She was simply glowing.

Now I knew that she was safe, I began to relax, and the ghost of a smile played on my lips. She was sitting on the branch of a mahogany tree, swinging her delicate little legs, playfully.

"What are you doing up there?" I smirked, getting a first look at what she was wearing. She was in a simple, white gown. Nothing flashy. Nothing compared to what she had been wearing at the chariots parade. But to me, this outfit was worth a hundred of what she had worn before and during the arena. The simple, white gown enhanced her beauty. Her natural beauty.

"I learned some climbing tips from Fire Girl." She shrugged, jumping from the branch and landing softly on her feet. Her swift movement and precision reminded me of a cat. Cats always landed on their feet, after all.

"You learned some tips from her?" I asked, and my eyebrows rose in amusement. Clove simply nodded.

"Yes. I watched her climb that tree before the whole Tracker Jacker incident. As much as I hate to admit it, she was a good climber. And I guess I spent some time watching that District Eleven girl, too." She paused, and her rosy red lips curled into a smirk. "So you see me again, against all odds, and I don't even get a hug?" I didn't need to be asked twice. I pulled her into my arms and I embraced her tightly, never wanting to let go. But I had to.

"I want to show you something, but you'll have to let go first." She sniggered, pulling away. I grumbled.

"Way to ruin our romantic moment." I mumbled, but I let her take my hand, and she led me through the trees.

"Where are we actually going?" I frowned, following her. But she simply laughed. Her laugh was so fresh and lovely, I couldn't help smiling.

"You'll see." She giggled.

We had been walking for around twenty minutes, before Clove finally came to a halt. We had reached a clearing. A clearing next to a sparkling, clean pond. Perfect for washing, swimming and drinking. We didn't even have to purify it with iodine. In the middle of the clearing was a black and white, striped blanket and a picnic basket.

"Did you do this?" I asked Clove, as she walked over to the basket and started rummaging around for something to eat.

"No." She said, indifferently. "After I died I found it. It's weird how you can be hungry even though you're dead, isn't it?" Now I thought on it, I was starving. I wasted no time in reaching into the picnic basket and taking some juicy, steaming hot chicken legs. "I was worried what I'd do when I'd eating everything in here..." Clove continued, "...But the food in there seems to go on forever. I haven't even reached the bottom yet. There's everything we could think of in there, too. Sandwiches, chicken, lamb, rice, soup...and dessert." I almost dropped the chicken leg I was eating in shock.

"Dessert! Are you kidding me!" Despite what the other Districts thought, we didn't have it that much better than them. Yes, we had more than enough food to keep our bellies full, and despite having access to dessert, we were never allowed to eat any of it. We started training for The Hunger Games as soon as we were old enough to handle a knife without being afraid of it. We had been told all our lives that desserts would slow us down. Make us put on unnecessary weight that could be better use to our muscles, rather than our stomachs.

"I'm being deadly serious, Cato." Clove smirked. "That apple pie and ice cream we'd always wanted but were never allowed to touch? Just imagine it...and then look inside the basket."

So I did. The thought of it made my mouth water. The warm, tender pastry, topped with a little sugar, and filled with the sweetest apples one could ever imagine. I imagined Capitol food. Though we got dessert in District Two, from what I'd heard, it was like chalk compared to what the Capitol had to offer. I opened the lid of the basket, and gasped. There it was! A monstrous apple pie, big enough to feed my whole family for a week. It was still warm, too. I could see the steam. Beside it was several scoops of ice cream, in every flavour imaginable. Chocolate, strawberry, cherry, blueberry, toffee, caramel, mint chocolate chip...the list was endless. Though we got ice cream as a rare treat in our District, it was always plain old vanilla. Not that I ever got to find out what it tasted like when I was alive.

I lifted the heavy china plate out of the basket, and gave Clove one of my rare, mischievous smiles.

"I'll never be able to eat all of this myself, you know." I used a delicate knife to cut her a generous slice, and handed it to her.

We both ate until our stomachs were fit to burst, and then we just sat at the edge of the clearing, leaning against a thick oak tree, and watching the sun go down.

"You could have won, you know." Clove told me quietly, after almost half an hour of silence.

"I know." I sighed. It wasn't a complete lie. I believed that I could have won. But after Clove's death, I didn't really want to win anymore.

"Then why didn't you?" Clove wasn't criticising me. I guessed she was just intrigued. She must have noticed how lost I was without her.

"I suppose knowing that you wouldn't come home with me, winning didn't seem so important to me anymore. I'd rather be dead and have you, than be alive and have to live the rest of my life without you."

"But you let yourself suffer for hours at the mercy of those mutts. Why didn't you just let Fire Girl shoot you and get it over with?"

I sighed, and pulled Clove close to me, so her head was resting on my chest.

"I suppose I was punishing myself." Clove frowned, pulling away slightly and looking up at me.

"For what?" I sighed. Clove knew what I was punishing myself for already. She just wanted to hear me say it.

"For not getting to you fast enough." Clove sighed, resting her head on my chest again.

"You couldn't do anything about that." She said, simply. Clove wasn't of a forgiving nature...but could she possibly forgive me?

"I shouldn't have let you go alone. I should have been there to go with you."

"Shh, Cato." Clove whispered, placing a finger to my lips. "It's okay. One of us had to go. I watched the end of the games from wherever this place is. They would never had let both of us live."

"If that's the case...which District Twelve won?"

"Both of them...but only because they pulled some suicide stunt and the Gamemakers panicked."

"Well we could have done that too." I frowned. Clove giggled.

"And miss out on being dead? They're in trouble with the Capitol. And plus, here we're living like Capitol citizens. We get endless food; we can watch everything that goes on. We have a life here, us two." There was a long pause, before she said. "I love you, Cato. I always have. Ever since we were four and we were in the same class at school." I snorted.

"You picked on me for the first three years."

"You just don't understand girl speak, Cato. When girls pick on boys, it obviously means that they like them." Clove sniggered, snuggling closer into my chest.

"You spat in my hair because you liked me?" This was all so confusing. But despite being picked on by Clove until we were seven...I had always liked her too, secretly. I had always been afraid to tell her.

"I guess so." She shrugged, climbing into my lap and using me as a chair.

"Well...I guess putting up with it and not getting you in trouble for it meant I liked you too. And I still do."

"Is that some boy way of telling me you love me too, or are you trying to let me down gently?" Clove rolled her eyes, but didn't move away from me, which was a promising sign.

"No no. I'm not letting you down. So it's the latter." I paused. "But I refuse to say it."

"There's no one else here to hear you."

"How do you know?" I asked, running my fingers through her soft, dark hair.

"Because this is our place. Just for us. We have a house and animals. We can live here forever and never get any older." The idea did seem tempting. Clove squeaked with surprise as I lifted her, bridal style into my arms.

"Well in that case, let's go home. I'll look after you like I didn't when we were alive." Clove smiled, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. I kissed her back, briefly, before pulling away. "And Clove...?"

"Yes?"

"I love you too."

Author's Note:- Well I did my best. I'm not sure whether I like it or not, but as I've said before, it doesn't matter. As long as YOU like it, I'm happy. I've never written Cato/Clove before, so I hope I didn't do too badly. Please review! I'll love you forever if you do! Bye for now x.