A/N Okay I went on a 2 day frenzy and wrote and edited as fast as I could while my inspiration lasted. This story is about Brutus and Beetee and some unseen interactions between them.

Characters: Beetee and Brutus

Placement in time and space. inside the arena in the 3 quarter quell

At the same time as the wire snaps, I just know that something happened, that the plan failed somewhere and the careers would soon be on their way. I just hoped that Katniss and Johanna would be okay, it pained me too much to imagine them being slayed by the careers and I told myself not even careers could knock down Johanna Mason and Katniss Everdeen because it was the only thing that could ease my worries.

"You okay Beete?" It's Finnick asking, both him and Peeta standing guard and watching out for careers. They're obviously tense, understanding as much as me that something went wrong and that there's going to be a battle soon.

"I'm fine" The words barely have the time to pass my lips before your interrupted by Peeta screaming in alarm.

"Careers, to the left!" Peeta's screaming, pointing to to your side where suddenly Enobaria and Brutus have appeared, big and intimidating as their sprinting up the hill to the lightning tree, where all three of you are already waiting for them.

Peeta and Finnick rush over there to take on one of them each, Peeta takign the slightly smaller Enobaria and Finnick the much bigger Brutus, trying to get as close to a fair fight as you can with two young boys from four and twelve fighting two older careers from District two. At the same time, your just trying to figure out what you can do in a direct combat situation, which normally wouldn't be much and even less so when your still weakened from being stabbed in the back, literally.

Somehow, Brutus manage to get past Finnick, the distraction meaning that Peeta lost focus in his very even battle against Enobaria and suddenly Finnick is forced to ignore Brutus to be able to try and stop Peeta from being mangled by his opponent who now gained the upper hand in the fight, taking advantage of hi momentary confusion.

All you hear is Finnick screaming a measly warning, and then you see Brutus coming for you, running with his spear held high in his arm, all ready to be thrown and impale your body at any moment, assuming that the aim is right, which you don't doubt for a second that it'll be.

So you run, because by now you're sure it's your only option, to run away and into the jungle outside the clearing and hoping to lose him.

Once you started running your not sure what particular direction your going, just damn sure that Brutus is definitely chasing you as quick as he can and you wonder why he haven't catched up already, when you're nothing more than a not as fit as he would wish nerd and he's a huge gigant made of nothing but power and super strong muscles.

Suddenly there's a fallen tree in your way that you of course don't see because your glasses are broken and if they were no good when they were hole they're worse when they're broken.

Your legs are up against the trunk of the tree, getting scraped and cut by the bark as you continue falling, over the tree and down on the other side, you body colliding with the less than soft ground and filling all of you with an intense feeling of pain.

You don't think you can get up, at least not fast enough, and for a few moment you consider if it's really worth it. You lost Wiress, your love, you soul mate and the only child you ever thought you'd kill yourself if she didn't make it out of the arena. She had meant that much to you, and now all of sudden she was gone.

"Beetee!" Finnick's screaming for you, but his voice is low and you know he's far away, much further away than Brutus would be. You consider trying to answer him anyway, but then there's a hand sneaking around your neck and you know for a fact that it must be Brutus, having catched up with you and finally intending to kill you.

"Just get it over with" You mumble, closing your eyes and preparing for your inevitable death.

But it doesn't happen.

After you say what you assumed would be your last words, the arm around your neck let go as quickly as it took hold, and you can hear the person backing away from you, breaking twigs and stomping down bushes as he move further away without actually having done anything.

"I'm not going to kill you." Brutus voice sound so sad and unlike him that you force yourself to turn around just so that you can look at his face and make sure it's really him. To your own surprise, it is.

"What?" You ask in disbelief, not knowing why a career would possibly pass up on the chance to kill someone. "You can't win if you let me keep living. Besides, it doesn't matter. I've already lost everything I had to fight for."

Brutus face twist, his frown deepening and the entirety of his expression turning it to something that could almost be read as shameful regret.

"I'm sorry." He says. "I told them not to kill her. I fucking told them but they didn't listen and now…" It looks like he's going to go cry and you don't know what to do because a career never cries, especially not when he's supposed to be killing someone.

"She's dead" When you say it you make sound much less important than Brutus would have, and you once more consider why he hasn't killed you yet, why they can't just get it over with, but at the same time you know that it was the only way you could have said such a sentence out loud.

"I didn't mean for you to be left, damn well I told them to kill both or none, but they didn't fucking listen and I should have known, should have done it myself!" Brutus is so very angry, borderline screaming and making everything feel absolutely wrong.

"So you're going to kill me now? Yourself?" You can't help but hear how hopeful you sound, and you can see the disgust in his eyes.

"No. I owe you one for what happened with Wiress, so consider this me repaying it." And with that, Brutus took of into the forest, most likely to find his District partner.

"Beetee!" The next person screaming us Peeta, and you can see him come running through the forest, almost tripping on something every ten steps due to his recreated leg. I smile remembering that it was actually my invention. "You okay? Where's Brutus? Finnick swore he took off after you."

"I'm fine." I smile even though nothing is better, because for the first and probably last time ever Brutus did me a solid. "And Brutus never came here. I suggest he might have gotten lost or did a wrong turn somewhere. He never came anyway."

You don't know why you lie. Maybe it's to preserve Brutus dignity, because you can't imagine the shame in being a career that didn't kill, or maybe it's because deep down you never hated him, you pitied him. You still remember that mad little boy that they pulled out of the arena covered head to toe in blood, shaking and screaming at anyone coming even remotely close. 'I'll kill you too, I swear. I'm the one that's going to live!", he screamed, and no one came close, not even his own mentor. He was a career victor now, and thus no one cared for him any more. You had people by your side from the start and all until the end, but Brutus, Brutus started his life alone, and would end his life alone.

Yet he managed to care enough himself to not want you to be left here alone, and to be riddled by guilt when you were left all the same, repaying you by not killing you when he so clearly should have. He managed to see beyond himself, and the way people threatened him, and think differently of it all. he managed to be more than just a victor from a career district.