AN: So here it is, the sequel to Broken Halves. If you haven't read that then you probably should before you read that because otherwise this fic may not make much sense.
Trigger Warnings: This fic will contain self harm and abuse
Katniss POV:
A breeze passes through the leaves above me and I shiver as it brings a new wave of cold. I feel Clove wrap her arms around me and I lean into her, happy I brought her with me. I shiver again and try to move closer to Clove's warmth.
"We should get back." She says and I nod, she removes her arms from around me and stands up, I follow suit. My limbs protesting to the sudden movement due to being still for so long in the cold. I turn to the girl I love, She grins at me and glances around at the surrounding forest. "It's beautiful here." She states and I nod.
The forest is beautiful, it has always been my refuge, here I can just be me. I don't have to pretend to like the Capitol or those disgusting games that are hosted every year. I stare at my girlfriend for a moment, her black hair is tied in a ponytail and it blows in the wind slightly as she stands there, staring at me with those beautiful green eyes of hers.
I find myself leaning towards her, I press my lips against hers. She wraps her arms around me, pulling me closer and I tangle my fingers in her hair. I grin into the kiss and we part. My eyes roam over the multitude of freckles covering her nose. I love those freckles, they make her look adorable. I quickly kiss her on the nose and she blushes.
"You're more beautiful than the forest will ever be." I whisper causing her to grin. I pick up my bow and arrows and we travel the long trek back to District 12 stopping only to collect the kill from various snares set up along the way.
I stash my bow in its usual spot before heading towards the fence. We wriggle through the hole and I head towards Gale's house to drop off some of the fresh game. I don't need to hunt anymore as I have more than enough money to feed my family and Gale's, although Gale refuses to take any of it. It took a lot of convincing just for him to allow me to hunt for his family.
As we approach Gale's house I notice Clove scowling so I take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. I know she doesn't like Gale due to knowing he has a crush on me. Her eyes find mine and I give her a smile, I will never love anyone the way I love Clove.
Gale's not home when I arrive but I was expecting this. He's taken up a job in the mines and spends most of his time down there. I shudder, I would never be able to go down there. Ever since my father died in a mine explosion when I was a child I've had a slight fear of the mines. I'm glad I don't have to go down there.
Our next stop is my old house where I change out of my father's hunting jacket. I look around the place where I grew up. I dislike the house in Victor's Village where I now live. It's too big and feels more like the Capitol than my district.
"Are you ok?" I turn to look at Clove. She's staring at me with concern in her eyes. I smile at her reassuringly.
"Yeah I'm fine...I just...I miss this place." I shrug looking away. Clove approaches me placing a hand either side of my face, forcing me to look in her eyes.
"We could all move here if you want." She says seriously. My heart swells, because she would do that for me. I know she'd hate it here, houses in District 2 are much larger than those here. But the fact she would do it for me proves she loves me.
I give her a small smile before shaking my head Prim and my mother are both already settled in the new house. It appears as though I'm the only one who has a problem with living in the strange big house in the Victors Village.
Clove studies my face for a long moment before placing a kiss on my lips. I kiss her back, holding her close to me and trying to convey how much I love her into that single kiss.
"We should get back." Clove whispers and I nod slowly my mother will be expecting us.
"You go ahead, I just...I want to spend a bit of time here." I'm not sure why I feel so reluctant to leave this place, Clove glances around the dingy place, her nose scrunching up slightly although she tries to hide it. I know she dislikes it here. When I first brought her here she'd been unable to hide how surprised and slightly disgusted she'd been that this is the place I grew up.
"I'll stay with you." She says, turning back to me but I shake my head.
"No you go it's fine."
She sighs and sits down at the table folding her arms and frowning. "What's really wrong Katniss?" She asks stubbornly. I shrug and refuse to look at her, I don't really want to talk about this. I just need to spend a bit of time away from that house, the atmosphere there is suffocating.
"I just wanted to hang around here for a bit." I say truthfully. I sit down next to her, honestly I'd quite like it if she stayed. I love spending time with her and if I had my way we'd never be parted. But I can see that she dislikes this place and I don't want her to be here if she hates it and feels uncomfortable.
"Do you want me to go?" Clove asks quietly not looking at me. I take her hand and she looks at me.
"I don't mind."
She decides to stay with me and we sit in silence for a while. I hear a thud come from the bedroom we look toward the door in confusion. The door is open very slightly but neither of us thought anything of it when we entered.
After sharing a look we get up. Clove pulls a knife out of her pocket, she always carries knives wherever she goes, hiding hem in her pockets and boots as the peacekeepers would dislike her carrying weapons. Cautiously we approach the door, Clove stands in front of me holding her weapon in her hand ready to throw it if necessary.
The door creaks open slowly revealing the empty beds. Suddenly a yellowish blur shoots out from under Prim's old bed and dashes towards us. I scowl when I recognise the blur and grab at it when it tries to escape past me.
"Prim's been looking everywhere for you." I growl at the mangy cat I'm now holding by the scruff of the neck. Buttercup hisses at me and swipes at me with his claws. I hold him at arm's length for a few more moments before sighing in irritation and dropping him.
With a final hiss he jumps up onto the table and start sniffing at my hunting bag, hoping to find some scraps inside. I roll my eyes at the cat and shoo him away. "Go find Prim, she's been worried about you." I tell him but he just looks at me blankly.
"We should get back." Clove says scooping the cat up in her arms. "We can take Buttercup to Prim."
"Yeah." I glare at the cat when he purrs and nuzzles into Clove. "Don't get too comfortable cat, she's taken." I say possessively making sure to give Clove a quick kiss before the cat can wriggle out of her grip and scratch me.
"I guess you're not the only one who doesn't like the new house." Clove says as we walk together.
"I guess." I murmur, glancing at the cat. Maybe we have something in common after all. When the cat appeared half starved on our doorstep years ago I'd wanted to cook him in a stew. It had been Prim that had saved him and seeing her so happy had made me allow her to keep him. He's never liked me much, I guess because he senses that if it wasn't for Prim I'd have killed him.
I watch as he sits contentedly in Clove's arms, his eyes half closed and purring audibly. It irritates me that he's decided to cuddle up to my girlfriend. I shake my head, am I really getting jealous of a cat? I snort in amusement.
As we approach the Victor's Village Buttercup starts squirming and Clove is forced to hold him tighter. She manages to keep hold of him and we enter our house despite the cats yowling protests. "Buttercup!" Prim exclaims when she hears the cat. He purrs as Clove passes the cat to Prim.
That evening Gale visits us. He smiles when he sees me but the smile soon leaves his face when he spots Clove. Clove stands off to the side, her arms crossed as she glares at him.
"Hey Catnip." He says to me, glancing at Clove with an expression of dislike. He approaches me, giving me a big hug. When he pulls away I spot Clove pursing her lips in irritation. "It's my day off tomorrow, you still up for hunting in the morning?" He asks.
"Of course." I say smiling at him. I've always enjoyed hunting with him, he's a good hunting partner and since we haven't been able to hunt together lately since he's been working in the mines. Gale smiles and tells me he'll meet me in the forest the next morning.
With a last glance at Clove he makes an excuse to leave and exits the house. I turn to my girlfriend and she approaches me. "You're really going hunting with him?" She asks her eyes flicking to the door that Gale just left through.
"Yeah." I stare at her for a moment before realising why she seems to be upset about this. "It's alright, Gale's just my friend. You know this." I tell her before placing a kiss on her forehead and wrapping my arms around her. "I love you and that's not going to change." I kiss her again and when I pull away she has a small smile on her face.
"Katniss."
"Yeah?"
"I love you." She says with a grin, kissing me on the lips. My heart leaps at the words. I never want to part from her, I hold her closer to me. My mother calls us for dinner and I'm forced to let go.
We lie together in bed, my arms wrapped around her. She shifts her position and lets out a small sigh. "What's wrong?" I ask, kissing her neck gently.
"It's nothing." She mutters but I can tell she's lying. I tighten my hold on her, guessing what the problem is likely to be.
"Would you like to come hunting with me and Gale tomorrow?" I ask, she tenses and although I cannot see her face I can picture to frown that has appeared on her face at my mention of Gale.
"It's fine, I know hunting with him is important to you, he's your friend." She turns over to face me, pressing her forehead against mine. "I just don't want him to ty anything…"
"Gale knows I don't love him." I interrupt, hugging her reassuringly.
"I know." She sighs before kissing me softly. "I love you." She whispers.
"I love you too." I grin at her in the darkness, hugging her tightly and kissing her. After a few minutes of silence I notice that Clove's breathing has evened out and I realise she's fallen asleep. I can't help the small smile that graces my lips and I place a final kiss on her cheek before closing my eyes and allowing myself to drift off to sleep.
I awake with a start, Clove is thrashing around in my arms. "Clove, wake up." I say, as I realise the cause of her thrashing. Her eyes snap open and she gasps, I hold her close as the smaller girl shakes uncontrollably.
"It's ok, you're ok." I whisper as I kiss her cheek, trying to calm her down. She takes a few shuddering breaths as I hold her. "It was just a nightmare, you're ok."
"I…I saw you die…Cato…He…." She shakes her head, clinging to me.
"I'm alive, Cato's gone, he can never hurt us." I try to reassure her, she nods. I hold her until her breathing evens out and I realise she's fallen back to sleep. I lie down with her, holding her protectively.