Author's Notes: Here's a Clato One Shot, it's in Clove's POV and it's based after Marvel and Rue were killed.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, it belongs to the amazing Suzanne Collins!
The sound of the cannon echoed around the arena, as the anthem began to play. Two blasts in five minutes, who could have died. Maybe it was Lovergirl? I smirked. We'd just sent Marvel to go and kill that little screwt from District 11, hopefully luring Lovergirl out from her hiding place.
Cato was obviously having similar thoughts to me, as he too had a lustful smirk etched into his features. I caught his eye before the faces of dead tributes began to be displayed in the sky. The first was the little one from District 11. Cato began to chuckle to himself, pulling me into a tight embrace. Her face soon faded and was replaced by Marvel's.
My face dropped and I felt Cato tense against me. "You've got to be joking," Cato said little above a whisper, as we broke apart. Our eyes met and he grinned weakly. "I guess it's just me and you then, Clove,"
I sighed. "Only one of us can win, Cato, you'll have to kill me soon enough." I dropped my head, my eyesight fixing to the ground.
"Clove, I couldn't kill you, I can't, I care for you too much," he protested as I felt my eyes rim with tears.
I felt a frustration rise within me as our eyes met once more. I blinked frantically. "I saw you with Glimmer." I bit my lip, as Cato dragged a hand through his blonde hair.
"So?" he yelled. "You said you don't like me in that way," his voice dropped in volume, almost breaking at the end of his sentence. I brought a hand to my face, dabbing at my moist eyes with my sleeve.
I inhaled sharply, covering my mouth. "Maybe I lied," I muttered, hardly audible. Cato gasped, cocking his head to the side as his eyebrows knotted.
He took a cautious step forwards, taking my hand. I flinched at the sudden contact as he coughed nervously. "And maybe I was trying to make you jealous,"
The hairs on my arms instantly stood up as I felt a blush creep upon my cheeks. "You're joking aren't you?" I sighed, my eyes dropping to the ground once more. Cato gave my hand an encouraging squeeze, and I could feel his breath upon my face.
"No," he whispered, his breath tickling my cheek. "I do, I love you Clove, ever since we first trained together, I always have. When you volunteered, I couldn't let you go on your own. I had to tell you at some point, and maybe we'd even die together."
My eyes fluttered open and I found his face just inches from mine. I felt a tear slide down my cheek, though Cato swiftly wiped it away with his thumb. "What's the matter?"
"I'm going to wake up soon, any second now, and this is all a dream." I spluttered.
Cato grinned. "If this was all a dream, would this feel real?" and before I knew it, he closed the gap between us, his lips brushing mine.