Hey guys, there's a more in-depth A/N at the bottom, but I just wanted to take a chance to explain this. Basically, this is just going to go from A to Z, like an actual alphabet game. I'll pick a random word, or two, and maybe a phrase for which I will write a ficlet or oneshot for.


Anything or Anymore – Take your pick [Modern AU]

Rated M - Nothing explicit, just... content and language. Soft M, really.


"So, Katniss…" A very familiar voice calls out from the dark, causing her to jump. "I think you owe me a little something."

Katniss rolls her eyes and turns the lights on in her apartment. "How'd you get in this time? I thought I locked the door." She walks over to the kitchen and rummages around in the fridge for something to drink before she feels his hands trailing down her back. She shivers at his touch and reaches for a carton of lemonade.

"Oh, I have my ways." He pulls Katniss flush against his chest, resting his chin atop her head as his arms wrap around her waist. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" He doesn't wait for her to answer before spinning her around and nibbling along her jaw.

She moans and fists her hands in his shirt. "W-what do you want?" She gasps and digs her nails into his chest as he nips her earlobe. "C- Cato…" Katniss whimpers when she feels his erection digging into her hip.

Cato smirks against her ear, "You promised me anything I wanted, Katniss." He runs his hands down her sides and rests them on her ass, squeezing lightly. "I'm pretty sure you know what I want." His breath is hot against her ear, and Katniss squirms in his hold as she imagines herself underneath him, calling out his name in pleasure as he thrusts into her. "I know what you're thinking about, Katniss." The lust in his voice is clear and Katniss certainly wouldn't mind entertaining her thoughts for an hour, or two, or three, or the whole night. But he suddenly pulls away, a smug grin on his face, "Any other time, Katniss, I would have jumped on the chance. But, you promised me anything and contrary to where we were headed a couple minutes ago, what I want is much more… different." He pulls away and saunters off into her living room, leaving Katniss gasping for breath and slightly disappointed.

She takes a few minutes to compose herself, calming her nerves and smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes. Katniss shuts the still open fridge and pours herself a cup of lemonade, not bothering to waste her time pouring him one before walking over to her living room and plopping herself down on the couch. "Would you care to explain what that was back there?" Her voice has a slight twinge of irritation with a veil hint of a threat behind it, and her face is fixed in an almost permanent scowl.

Cato almost laughs at her, Katniss has never been able to intimidate him and she knows it. "What are you talking about, Katniss?" He asks innocently. She's almost tempted to slap him, she really is, but instead settles for a pointed glare at him as she sips on her lemonade.

"What did you want?" Katniss finally asks after a couple minutes of silence. She's curious, she really is, Cato has always been there for her, no matter what, and this 'thing' that they have going on between the two of them is a fairly recent development and she can't help but wonder if he's thinking of backing out. Cato wouldn't do that. He wouldn't just leave after everything, would he? No, she finally decides after a minute or two of contemplating things, he probably wouldn't. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and notices that he's looking at her oddly, and then she realizes that she's been completely out of it for almost ten minutes and smiles sheepishly at him. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Cato rolls his eyes and slinks further into the sofa. "It's not that important, obviously. I mean, you completely spaced out so…" He chuckles and shakes his head as he gazes out her window, his eyes focusing on the waves as they lap at the shore. She eyes him carefully, watching his every movement. It is important Katniss decides, at least to her, and she has to know what it was that he really wanted.

She pushes herself off the sofa, placing her cup on the small coffee table in front of her, before making her way towards Cato and sliding into his lap. "What was it you wanted, Cato?" Katniss asks as she looks up into his piercing blue eyes. "Was it this?" She breathes out as she slowly starts to grind on him. She feels his cock begin to harden through his jeans and smirks at him as she trails her hands down his chest.

"Katniss." Cato growls out as his hands grip her hips, stilling her movement. "That's not what I wanted and you know it." He stares down into her luminous gray eyes and slowly slides her off of him and to the side. He takes a moment and readjusts himself before turning to face her. "Is that all we are?" His voice is low, tinged with a hint of something Katniss can't seem to recognize. "I just- after all this time, and that's all you're interested in?" His gaze settles on her eyes and she swallows and looks away uncomfortably. Cato sighs and climbs off of her sofa before making his way to the door. "I'll see you later." His tone is flat, that little something from earlier gone. He's gone before she can even tell him to wait.

The next few days are awkward between the two of them, to say the least. Katniss can't find the words to say, and Cato goes out of his way to avoid her. Years of friendship ruined by a simple agreement to satisfy each other's physical needs, never once taking into account what the other might have felt. Finally, Katniss snaps, she grabs Cato by the collar one day when he passes by her apartment and drags him inside. "Why the fuck are you avoiding me?" She hisses as she slams him against the counter.

Cato scoffs, his eyes peering into hers. "That's rich coming from you, Katniss. I don't exactly remember you trying to talk to me." And it's true, she hasn't tried to talk to him, but that's not for lack of trying, really, she just couldn't find anything to say to him.

Cato pries her hands off of his shoulders and makes to leave before Katniss grabs his arm again. He almost throws her arm off of him but stops. "Wait. Please." Her voice is barely a whisper and he just barely manages to catch it. He sighs and turns to face Katniss. "Just- just bear with me, please." She tugs on his arm and leads him to the couch. "I just wanted to know what you meant before when you said that what you wanted was different." Katniss bites her lips and sighs as she pulls Cato down next to her. "I'm not- I'm not good at stuff like this, you should know that better than anyone."

"Yeah, I should, but the thing is, you aren't." He chuckles deprecatingly. "You're so good with other people but when it comes to me, you just freak out and shy away from me and I fucking hate that." He sets his jaw and glances away. "Fifteen years, Katniss. Fifteen years I've known you and yet, you just-" He shuts his eyes, "You never noticed me. It was always those other boys, never me, and I had to watch from the sidelines while you were out there taking names and breaking hearts. Sure, I'm not innocent, but it still hurt when I had to pretend it was you, still pissed me off beyond belief when I had to close my eyes because all I could think about was you."

Cato opens his eyes and looks back at Katniss. "And then one day you came to me with an offer: your body for mine, but never our hearts. And I told myself, 'I could handle it, because as long as I had you in my arms I would be fine.'" He peers into her eyes, willing her to look away. "But I wasn't, I wasn't fine because as much as I tried not to, I kept fucking falling in love with you." That finally does the trick, she turns away from his gaze and Cato finds himself smiling sadly. "Yes, Katniss, I'm in love with you, and I really should have known better. [You promised me anything, but you never placed any limits. You wanted to know what I want. Well, the answer is simple, I want you.]"

Katniss swallows thickly as she listens to Cato, she's always suspected that things on his side weren't just strictly for physical pleasure, and it all suddenly makes sense to her. The dirty sweet nothings he would whisper into her ear as he fucked her weren't just nothings, and the occasional times where he would help scare off some boy pursuing her wasn't just because she'd asked him. No, she's pretty sure that there's always been more to everything, even before she came to him looking for sex. "I- I don't know what to say, Cato." And it's true, she doesn't know what to say, she gave up on love and marriage and children and everything like that when she was younger. She doesn't believe in the 'fairytale' anymore, not after her father died and left her with a broken mother and a shattered family. But Cato, Cato was her anchor, he kept her tied to the ground when there seemed to be nothing else left, and if he leaves her she wouldn't know what to do.

She briefly realizes that maybe she might be in love with him too or maybe one day might be able to fall in love with him, she knows that she loves him, he's her best friend, has been for over half her life. They've been inseparable since they were eight, and it wasn't until they turned twenty-two last year that they took that plunge.

"Of course you don't." He replies bitterly. "I never expected anything from you, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't still hurt." He sighs and stands up, "You promised me anything I wanted, but you never placed any limits, Katniss."

"I know I did, but I just- I just didn't." She can't find anything to say to him, she isn't sure of how she feels right now, and she's never been one to ever lie to Cato. So instead, she merely stands and slowly walks up to him, her eyes fixed on his. "Tell me what you want, Cato." Her voice is low, but steady. "Tell me what you really want."

Cato shakes his head. "It's not just what I want, Katniss. It's what you want." He sighs and begins walking towards the door. "We can forget that this," he gestures between the two of them, "ever happened and just continue on our merry way as friends only," he tries not to show how disturbed that makes him feel, "or we can give it a shot, try to make it work. Take your pick, because I'm sick. I'm sick of having you in my arms, but not having you, I'm sick of loving your body but not being able to love you, and I know that this is essentially an ultimatum and that you hate being told or forced what to do, but I can't take it anymore." He rests against the doorway. "So take your pick, Katniss. I'm promising you anything, but you have to give to receive."


A/N: Honestly, this really spun out of control. It wasn't supposed to be so convoluted; it was just supposed to be seduction, confrontation, then going out for a date, and then sex, maybe. But… yeah, it just kept going. I might write a sequel to this since I kind of left it hanging, but I don't know, it really depends on the feedback. The brackets are basically things Cato or Katniss wanted to say in that moment, but couldn't.

Okay, so I promised a more in-depth explanation down here. Basically, this will be Cato and Katniss, obviously, and anyone can send in a prompt if they want, it can have other pairings, but Cato and Katniss have to be in the prompt somehow; it can be angst, fluff, drama, whatever you guys want, it can even be set in a different universe besides The Hunger Games or modern times if you want. PM me and let me know if anyone has an idea for the next letter, excluding 'B' or 'C', otherwise I'll start working on it as soon as I can.

Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think.