Hello Everybody!
*Sighs* Okay guys, let me lay it out for you... You no review, I no post. Please, take those two minutes to post a review, it would really make my day.
So who's gonna take the deal? Let's find out!
On with the story!
"And when I turned the corner, this man grabbed me and knocked me out with chloroform. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hovercraft with Katniss. They obviously planned this very carefully." President Paylor finished. She was seated in the very chair Cato had occupied a few hours earlier. Peeta and Thresh sat across from her.
"And they just let you go?" Peeta inquired.
"Since you accepted the first deal, yes. Which was what, by the way?"
"They can't be persecuted for the kidnapping, ever. They want to be free to live their lives and will never bother us again. If we go back on our word they've planted bombs around Libete."
"I see." The President said grimly. "We must meet the careers in the woods west of Libete this evening to inform them of our choice. Has a decision been made concerning a husband for Cato?"
Peeta refused to meet Thresh's eyes. "Not exactly…"
"Peeta is thinking of going!" The district 11 burst out.
"Really? Do you want to go?"
"No, not really, but I can't let him hurt Katniss! I'd rather die instead of her!" The president thought for a moment.
"Hmm… Now, I cannot guarantee anything, but I have a feeling you would not be hurt if you chose to go with Cato."
"What makes you say that?" Thresh demanded.
"After spending a few hours in my kidnapper's company, I noticed that the district 1's are romantically involved, and the district 2 girl's girlfriend was mentioned. Cato does not appear to have a partner."
"You mean he's lonely?" Thresh said skeptically.
"The life of a career can be rather empty. There's no time for anything other than training, especially not relationships. Without the games, I suspect he doesn't know what to do with himself."
Thresh slammed his big hand onto the table. "That doesn't mean he gets to disrupt everyone's lives by kidnapping innocent people! And forcing someone to marry him is insane! Peeta, you can't go!"
"Luckily, we still have some time." The president said somberly. "We'll all have to discuss this and-"
"No!" Peeta cried. "You can't tell anyone yet!" He took a breath. "Just, wait until I know for sure, okay?"
Thresh moved to protest, but Urmia Paylor nodded. "I'll tell them you are having trouble sleeping and you need to rest. No one should bother you."
"Thank you." Peeta said with a smile.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Thresh turned to the President.
"Are you crazy? Do you actually believe anything you told him?"
The dark-skinned woman shook her head.
"What if he does? What if he goes and marries that horrible-"
"Thresh." The word stopped his rant. "I don't fully believe that Cato is lonely, but I also don't think Peeta will be in grave danger. And at this point, he may be Katniss's only hope. If he wants to go, we have to let him."
Peeta sighed. He had been staring at his ceiling for hours, and he still wasn't any closer to making a decision. His mind continued to go in circles, giving him hope that someone else would go, only to dash it by poking a hole in his theory. He knew that if he went, he would lose any chance at ever being happy. The dreams he'd had for having a family would be gone. Being married to Cato would mean giving up the freedom he'd so recently gained. But who else would be willing to accept that fate? The more he thought about it, the more Peeta realized he really was the only one who could go. He was single and had no family to take care of, and on top of that he was gay. Not that it really mattered, since he would never be attracted to such a horrible person.
Peeta looked out the window at the darkening sky. The deadline was fast approaching. With new found determination, he yanked open his desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper.
"What are we going to do?" Bran said to no one in particular. He and the rest of Katniss's friends were gathered in Haymitch's room. For the past seven hours, they had struggled to find a solution, but none arose. Everyone was beginning to give up hope.
"I don't what we can do. Someone has to go." Haymitch said firmly.
"But who?"
"Where's Peeta?" Prim asked suddenly, glancing around.
"Resting." Thresh said flatly.
Madge rose from the table quietly. "I'm going to go check on him. I hope he got some sleep."
"I'll come, too." Effie piped up, glad for an excuse to leave the tension filled room.
Gale looked straight at Haymitch. "Someone does have to go. I've already said it should be me!"
"Gale, don't be stupid, Katniss needs you!" Rye snapped.
"But she's going to die if we don't do something!"
"No, she won't. We'll figure something out. We just need to stay calm and-"Paylor was cut off by a shrill cry of terror. Two seconds later, Madge and Effie came racing through the door. Their faces were white with shock, and Madge had a small piece of paper clutched in her hand.
"What's wrong? Are they back?" Gale demanded.
"What is it, princess?" Haymtich asked Effie gently. She flung herself into his arms and started sobbing.
"Madge?" Gale asked. Wordlessly, the blond held out the small slip of paper. He read it, then dropped to the couch in despair, his shoulders shaking.
"Let me see that!" Bran snatched the note off the ground, Rye reading over his shoulder. Minutes later, the two wore identical expression of heartbreak. "No…"
Madge let out a choking sob. "Peeta…"
Peeta froze at the edge of a large clearing, seeing the silver hovercraft shining in the twilight. He had been running as quickly as he could, hoping that his friends wouldn't be able to catch up when they found him missing. He felt awful for hurting them, but he had to do this. For Katniss, he told himself, this is all for Katniss. He took a step towards the hovercraft's open door. It looked like a giant mouth, ready to swallow him whole. But before he could put a foot on the ramp, someone grabbed him from behind.
He let out a small cry, twisting around to see who was holding him. His heart sank. Peeta was looking up into Cato's glowing grey-blue eyes. When Cato realized who he had caught, he released him and took a step back, eying the other blond. Finally, he spoke.
"Let me guess, they sent you to ask for more time?"
Peeta stared at him, perplexed.
Cato continued smugly, believing he was right. "They sent you to beg for more time to come up with a way to save Katniss. Probably hoping to prey on my sympathy. Unfortunately for you, I have none. So get going."
Somehow, Peeta managed to find his voice. "That's not why I'm here."
Cato struggled to avoid showing confusion. "Then why are you here?"
"T-to accept your deal."
"Really?" The career said with interest. "So where is my husband-to-be?"
"R-right h-here."
"What?" Cato stared at the younger man. Was he saying that he had accepted the deal? It couldn't be possible.
"I will marry you." To his surprise, Cato snorted.
"Yeah, right. Who told you to say that?"
"No one! I didn't even tell them I was coming here. I did leave them a note, so they might be coming to stop me."
"Why wouldn't you tell them you were…?" Seeing the nervous look on Peeta's face, he realized it was true. "You're serious, aren't you?" Peeta nodded. "You?"
"Y-yes." He backed up nervously. Cato didn't seem very happy, so maybe he didn't want Peeta. In that case, there was nothing more the blond could do. "But it's okay if you'd rather have someone else, since I'm not very attractive…"
Cato grabbed his arm, halting his escape. "Where do you think you're going? I didn't say I wasn't interested." He crossed his arms and studied the smaller blond. He had to admit that he had been attracted to Peeta since the moment he'd first seen him. His baby blue eyes were wide and sweet, and his ash-blond hair looked so soft Cato was tempted to run his fingers through it. Cato was over 6 feet tall, but Peeta only came up to just under his chin. When the career thought about it, the little blond was just the right size to hold in his arms. He could hardly believe that this innocent boy had come on his own accord, but he knew he could not to waste this opportunity.
"You'll do." He stated indifferently. "But if you agree to this, there's no way out. You'll be mine."
The possessiveness in his voice frightened Peeta, but he had no choice. "If I did, would you let Katniss and her baby go?"
"Of course! Why would I want to keep her? She's incredibly irritating, I don't know how Gale puts up with her."
"Will I ever see my friends again?"
"No."
Peeta looked sadly back the way he had come. In the distance, he could see the lights of Libete. It would be so easy to run back to his friends, back to safety, but then Katniss would be doomed. He had come this far, he couldn't turn back.
Cato watched the conflicting emotions running across Peeta's face. It was clear that doubts were beginning to creep into the beautiful boy's mind. But Cato had no intention of letting the blond slip away now.
"Having second thoughts?" He asked. The question was mild, but his tone was not. Peeta turned back to face him.
"No, I was just-thinking."
Cato seemed to accept this, and took the little blonde's smaller hands in his.
"So, Peeta will you-"
"Peeta, no!" An angry shout interrupted Cato. Gale came barreling into the clearing, Bran, Rye, and Thresh right behind him. A few seconds later, Madge, Haymitch, and Effie caught up. Cato pushed Peeta behind him protectively and glared at the group.
"Get away from him now, Peeta!" Bran ordered his younger brother. Peeta looked between his brother and Cato, unsure of what to do.
"Clove!" The tall blond barked. "Get out here!"
A dark head of hair appeared at the entrance to the hovercraft. "Yes, your majesty?" Clove said with a roll of her eyes. Then she noticed the crowd. "What do they want?"
"I'll tell you what we want!" Rye snarled. "We want him to get away from our brother and let Katniss go."
Clove shook her head with a cruel smile. "Okay, but you know the deal. Unless someone marries Cato, fire girl's kid stays with us."
"Relax, Clove. Peeta here has agreed to be my husband."
"Peeta, you can't!" Madge wailed.
"I have to, Madge." Her friend told her.
"No, you don't!" Haymitch said firmly.
"I'd rather go instead of you!" Gale said.
"No thanks, you're married!" Cato called. "I have some standards!"
While Gale fumed, Haymitch spoke to Peeta. "Look, I know it seems like there's no other way, but you don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do. Katniss has been a hero to so many people, now it's time I be one for her."
Bran grabbed Peeta's hand, looking at him desperately. "Peeta, you can't to do this, I'm not going to let you!"
"Let him go Bran." Thresh's deep voice interrupted the oldest Mellark's yelling. "If this is Peeta's choice, we can't stop him." He pulled his closest friend into a hug. "Be careful."
"Thank you, Thresh." Peeta said softly. He walked over to Haymitch and Effie.
"Take care of Katniss and Gale. I might not have said it, but I really appreciate everything you two did for them." He hugged Effie, who was openly crying, then was pulled in a tight hug by the former district 12 mentor. "And by the way," Peeta said with a small smile, "I think you two could be really happy together."
"Peeta!" Effie gasped, looking flustered. Haymitch managed a short laugh.
The blond then turned to his oldest friend. Madge threw herself at him and began sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm going to really miss you!" She whimpered. "You're my best friend!"
"And you'll always be mine." He walked up to Gale next. "It's going to be okay." He told the hunter. "You and Katniss will have a healthy baby and you're going to have a family-"Gale cut him off with a tight hug
"I'll never forget you for this, Peeta. You're one of the best friends I've ever had."
"You, too."
Finally, the young baker faced his brothers. They were his only family, and it killed him to leave them, but he knew they would be alright.
"Don't worry about me. You have your girlfriends to take care of." He told them. "Besides, I'm stronger than you think."
"We know you are, Peet." Rye said with a sniffle. "Remember when you threw that huge iron pot at the wolf?"
Peeta nodded. "I think the noise scared it more than anything."
"You scared the wolf and the whole neighborhood!" Bran snorted.
"Hey, at least our pigs stopped getting attacked!" The three blonds looked at each other for a moment, then lunged into a hug.
"I love you guys so much." Peeta murmured, clinging to his older brothers as tightly as he could.
"Please be safe, bud." Rye pleaded.
Peeta nodded, turning bravely to face the expectant career. Clenching his fists at his sides, the baker gathered his courage, knowing his life was about to change forever.
"Yes. I will marry you."
"Good." Cato said with a triumphant smirk. "Clove! Let her go!" He jerked his head towards the dark haired girl, then took Peeta's hand and led the smaller boy towards the front of the hovercraft. Peeta looked over his shoulder for as long as he could, until finally his friends were out of sight.
Katniss burst out of the hovercraft, running to Gale as fast as her legs could carry her. Flinging herself into her husband's arms, she clung to him as he checked her over for injuries.
"Thank god you're okay." Gale breathed.
"I'm fine. But how did you rescue me? Cato said he would only let me go if he got a husband." She looked at the tear-stained faces surrounding her. "What's wrong?"
"Sweetheart…He got a husband." Haymitch said sadly.
"Who?" Katniss gasped. She looked carefully at each of her friends, before turning back to Gale. "Where's Peeta?" No answer. "WHERE'S PEETA?" Wordlessly, Gale pointed at the hovercraft that was now rising into the sky.
"No…" Katniss whispered.
*Sniff* My ship has sailed! Really sadly, but still! Writing this made me cry!
Once again, PLEASE review! Reviews=Love!