Cato's POV

I can't believe it. When I proposed us dying together it was because I knew that there was no way getting past Clove and her stubbornness. I never thought that they would stop us, or make us both victors.

"We won, Cat, we really won." Clove says to me, she then hugs me tightly to her, like she never will let me go again; I never will let Clove go again either.

Doctors come out to treat us, Clove has more wounds than me, I just have a few scratches from running through the forest, whereas Clove, has a cut on her leg, her still-healing cut in her side, a cut on her face, and many scratches and bruises from fighting with the mutts. I wonder how she was even able to fight with that many injuries, and the answer is, because she's strong. Clove is a survivor, as am I.

I can't let Clove from my sight, so I insist on coming with her to get her treated up. The doctors give her medicine and heal her.

The next thing I know, we have landed on the roof of the Training Center. Clove is having some trouble, even though she acted like she was fine during the Games, it seems that the wound on her side has gotten infected and she needs treatment. Quickly. (A/N during Clove's POV the reason she doesn't mention it is because she's distracted about other things.) The next thing I know, Clove is being taken away, to have some type of special treatment, and I'm not allowed to come. I hurl myself at the door that they took Clove through, to try and shatter it, I can't leave Clove, we just won. I feel a needle jabbed into my back and then blackness closes in around me.

-0_0-

When I wake, I see that the entire ceiling glows with a soft yellow light, showing me that I'm in a room with a singular bed, and that's it. I look at myself next, I'm wearing a clean white shirt, jeans, and I'm clean. When I say clean, I mean that every last speck of dirt has been scrubbed off me. I sit up, pulling the covers off me, I get off the bed.

As soon as I do that, part of the wall I'm facing slides open and a Avox comes in holding a tray of food.

"Clove," I say. "Clove, is she alright?"

The Avox nods, she has red hair and looks friendly enough. She sets the tray down on the bed next to me, then leaves. I look hungrily down at the tray, I have a bowl of clear broth, a small serving of apple sauce, and a glass of water. Wow. I was expecting something a little more placebant for my first meal back in the Capitol.

But when I try to finish the meal, I can only eat half the applesauce. I wonder how long I've been out if my stomach is that small.

Thinking about it, there's usually a lag of a few days between the end of the Games and the presentation of the victor. I guess that's so they can make a starving, wounded, mess of a person back together again.

I know that somewhere, Alair and Lorena are talking together, making our full wardrobe for all the events until we return home. Ellen (Ew) , Brutus and Enobaria will be arranging a banquet for our sponsors, and reviewing our questions for our final interviews.

Then back home, 2 is probably arranging a gigantic welcoming home party for us, as every year there is a victor (quite often) we have a big party to celebrate. Home! Clove and I are going home! Together, we are going home together, the thought of it brings a grin to my face. A happy grin.

I sit up in the bed and walk around the empty room. Looking closer at my hands, I see that all the scars are gone, and there is not a single blemish on them. Wow, Capitol, you couldn't have handled one scar, could you?

I didn't notice this before. But lying at the foot of the bed is something that makes me flinch. The outfit that all the tributes wore in the Arena. I change into that then I walk over to the wall where the Avox came in and left out of. (A/N IK that Katniss was in there for more than one wake-up but I really wanted to get them back home.) The door opens suddenly, and I step through it, into a wide deserted hallway. I walk down the hall cautiously, like I'm still in the games, looking out for a threat to jump out from the wall and try to kill me. But no threat comes. At the end of the hall (once I get there) Ellen, Brutus, and Alair are waiting for me.

"Took you long enough," Brutus says smiling. I notice that Lorena isn't here.

"Is Clove ok?" I ask.

"Oh, she's fine." Ellen says, rolling her eyes.

"She's with Enobaria and Lorena, they want your reunion to be on live TV." Brutus explains. Ellen rolls her eyes at the word reunion. I have a feeling that if Chelsey liked Capitol weirdoes, her and Ellen would get along great. They'd probably start an anti-Clove club together.

"So when can I see her?" I ask hopefully.

Brutus laughs, "You can see her later, when you are with Caesar. Now go with Alair to get ready."

Clove's POV

I am wearing a teal silk strapless dress; it has a low-cut back and is very tight around my body. My prep team was so excited to see me. The whole time they 'fixed me up' they were talking about what they were doing at the time of the event. "Oh I just got my eyebrows dyed" "I wasn't even awake yet" "Yeah Ernesto had just puked all over Lara" but thinking about the dying children in there, no that would be a waste of time.

I am wearing long black heeled boots with the dress, and my prep team has pulled my hair back into a bun on my head, with like a $900000000000 hair pin that is white-gold with diamonds on it, lots and lots of diamonds.

I noticed that there is extra padding in my dress, when I asked Lorena about it, she said that the Game Makers wanted to alter me surgically, but then Enobaria and them got in a huge fight, so that was the compromise. I'm glad that I'm not surgically altered.

Lorena has a minimal amount of makeup on my face, just a little bit of blush and a peach lipstick. A clear nail polish coats my nails and the dress is rather short for my liking. I look like someone who is attending a fancy party, but also is ready to go kill somebody (probably that part comes from the long boots plus my facial expression)

We (Lorena, Enobaria, the prep team and I) take the elevator to the room where we trained, it is customary for the victor to rise up onto the stage along with their support team. 1st the prep team, then the escort (who unfortunately is with Cato), then the stylist, the mentors, and then finally the victor. But since this year there are 2 victors they have to change the whole thing.

I find that I am standing in a poorly lit area under the stage. A brand-new metal plate has been installed to transport me upward. You can still see the piles of saw dust, and smell the paint. I can see in the dark lighting that there is a makeshift wall about 10 feet away from me. I know that Cato is behind it. My heart yearns to rip through the wall, and to just be with Cato, then, there and now. I can hear the screaming Capitol citizens from down here, they're quite loud. I don't notice that Enobaria is here, until she touches my shoulder. I jump about 3 feet in the air.

"Calm down," Enobaria says, it doesn't really help when she smiles since her teeth are sharpened. "It's just me. Now let's have a look at you, shall we?"

I'm surprised she's saying this, but obediently I hold out my arms and turn in a full circle once.

"Good enough," she sighs. I wonder why. "How about I give you a hug for good luck."

"Um ok."

Enobaria wraps her small but muscly arms around my neck, of course, she's leaning over. "Listen up, you're in trouble. The Capitol is not happy about that stunt you and Cato pulled in the Arena. The one thing they can't stand is being laughed at, and right now, they're the joke of Panem."

I shiver, "So what do I do?" I ask quietly back.

"You are in love, I know the both of you are, so act that way, you were so madly in love that you weren't responsible for your actions."

"Did you tell Cato this?" I ask.

"Brutus is doing so at this moment," she reassures me. "Just act like you usually act around each other but just be more so in love." I'm not sure if we can be any more in love than we already are, but I nod.

Enobaria lets go of me, and says "Better get in our places." Then she disappears into the gloom.

I shift my feet from side to side nervously. I can't show my love for Cato in words, for us, it's in our actions for each other. Like being willing to die to be together. If only they hadn't stopped us, and we were both dead, then there wouldn't be any problems with rebellion. If any of the two of us are going to suffer, it should be me, I should have just killed myself and gotten it over with, but honestly I'm afraid. I'm afraid of death, of the afterlife, of judgment.

The anthem booms in my ears, and I hear Caesar Flickerman greeting the audience. Does he know how crucial every word will be from now on? I zone out until I can feel the plate lifting me onto the stage, the first thing I see are blinding bright lights. The next thing I notice it the roaring of the crowd. Then I see him, Cato, he stands just a few yards away from me, he looks very clean and handsome. I don't care what he's dressed in though, he will always look beautiful to me, no matter what. "Cat!" I exclaim, a girly smile on my face, I run to him and fling myself into his arms, kissing him on the lips like I've so wanted to do for the past 24 hours I've been awake. Cato holds me, bridal-style on the stage, and we kiss, that part isn't an act, I can tell that Cato has missed me too. It's Ellen who interrupts us, she stomps up on her 90 inch heels and shoves us towards the Victors chair. Usually this chair is a singular ornate chair but now that there are two of us, it's a love seat. A Red velvet one. Cato carries me to the seat, and I sit with my feet up on the seat, practically on top of Cato. His arm is around me, and I lean my head on his should, I 'smile' happily like there is no other place I'd rather be, though there are a million of them.

Caesar makes a few jokes, and then it's time for the show, which lasts exactly three hours, and is required for the viewing of all Panem. As the lights dim, the seal of Panem appears on the large screen in front of us. I don't want to see this. I don't want to watch 22 people die, I don't want to see myself killing others, the first time was enough.

Condensing the events of the last few weeks into 3 hours is quite the accomplishment. The first fifteen minutes is centered around the pre-Arena events, us volunteering, the tribute parade, the training scores, and our interviews. Then the Arena, the bloodbath is in kind of a slow motion, going from the dying tribute to us, the dying tributes, to us. It shows me and Cato 'fighting' as a kind of flirting, and then it shows me glaring at Glimmer every time she so much as looked at Cato, ok that did happen. Then it shows that after Katniss dropped the Tracker Jackers on us, it shows that I am constantly checking to make sure Cato's still with me. It shows Cato waking up, and screaming my name in the forest. It shows the kissing, and it shows that 3 had interest in me. I honestly didn't realize that until he had kissed me. It now shows Cato giving 3 murderous glares. I find it funny that they included the part when Cato and I were getting the Tracker Jacker leaves. It shows me and Cato swimming together, me comforting Cato about the supplies, and then it cuts to when I light the fire and Cato seeing the fire and coming straight to me. Apparently us sleeping together in the sleeping bag is adorable, since all the audience does awes when that happens. I watch our argument before the feast and how I jumped up right away, off Katniss, to save Cato. It shows all the good parts about out 'love in the Arena' skipping all the negativities. The 74 Hunger Games final video has been turned into a romance movie. The video ends not when Claudius announces us victors, but Cato trying to break open a door to get to me.

I turn and look at Cato, my eyebrows raised, he just leans down and kisses me, his lips are soft.

After the anthem plays yet again, we rise as President Snow himself takes the stage, followed by a little cushion that holds a singular crown. I am still clutching Cato's hand as Snow gives the crown a twist and separates it into two halves. He places the first on Cato with a smile, and he's still smiling when he crowns me, but his eyes say another story. Cato tightens his grip on my hand, telling me that Snow had given him this look too. We are both to be punished. We are going to be punished by the punishment of each other.

After getting crowned, Cato and I are whisked to Snow's mansion where the Victory Banquet is held. Technically it could also be called a taunt-you-with-food-but-not-let-you-eat-banquet-sine-so-many-people-talk-to-you-and-want-to-get-pictures-with-you but I guess that name is a little long so it's called the Victory banquet.

We get back to the 2nd floor of the Training center just as the sun is beginning to rise. I think that I will finally get some words alone with Cato, but that's not the case, Brutus escorts him to his room and Enobaria and me to mine. "Why can't I just talk to him?" I complain.

"Plenty of time for that when we're going home. Go to sleep, you have your interviews at 2." Then Enobaria leaves.

-0_0-

I awaken to see 3 excited faces standing over me, smiling. I scream, then I realize that it's my prep team, ugh. Finally after hours of 'prep' Lorena comes in and shoos out the prep team, she dresses me in a soft green dress and sandals. She personally puts on my make-up so I look like I have a soft happy glow around me, "Now," Lorena says. "Smiling never killed anyone you know."

You know what? Right now I'm writing a part about Clove's friend, Jocelyn (Remember her?) I like her character. Lol. Sneak Peek on my website; don't forget to review and all that stuff. (link in bio) Still having a little writers block on the next part I'm writing. But like I said before, 2 people still won, so the Capitol would be mad right? So like Cato and Clove could have started the rebellion.

BTW I forgot to say, if you ship Glato or Kato then you should leave since this is a Clato fanfic (Um, if you do ship them not sure why you're reading this far, lol. Interesting fact about me: I say lol way too much, sorry. I'm trying as hard as I can to finish nothing A.S.A.P but yeah, writers block is annoying! But I have a rather funny line of Jocelyn's in a part I haven't gotten ton yet, but am going to add in when I get there. Wow, did I just say rather? Lol (See there it is again.)

Anyway, I'm probably boring you so, see you on Saturday, (wait that's actually kinda stupid, I don't actually see you….) because instead of posting on Saturdays and Wednesdays, I've decided to post on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Also there has been some really weird weather going on around where I live lately. So if I don't have internet on Saturday I'll post as soon as I get the chance.

Another thing! I am still having writers block (this stuff is severely annoying isn't it?) So yeah…..

~Bookfanic~