Xzavier Thomas, District Three (18)

It was funny it ended up being me and Farlan. Neither of us was supposed to have been trained, but both of us had in a way. I just did it on the off-chance the worst happened. He did it to get money for his family. In the end, we both got Reaped. I didn't know why they voted for him. I really didn't know why they voted for me.

Somehow or other, it was me that ended up on top. We both took major damage, but I got in a few lucky hits, and maybe Farlan had already been through a few fights. Whatever the reason, I was the one the hovercraft came for. At the time, it was just surreal. I didn't really understand I'd won until maybe a week later, when they finally let me get out of bed.

There was one person I wanted to see. According to Cilantro, mentors usually came to their Tributes right away. Acee could be a bit distracted, so I didn't necessarily make anything of it when she wasn't there. I tracked her down in the Three lounge and found her fiddling with a broken blender.

"Hey," I said.

She looked up and set the blender down. "Oh, Xzavier! I didn't know you were up," she said. She got up to move to one of the couches in front of the television wall. I took a seat next to her.

"Good job winning!" she said. "It's been too long for us."

"Are you my mother?" I asked. All these years I'd been wondering. When the moment finally came, I couldn't hold back.

Acee sagged a little in her seat and looked out at the corner of the ceiling.

"I guess I owe you an explanation," she said. Just like that, the mystery was solved.

"You got Reaped," I said. "I understand why you left me. But why didn't you come back for me?"

"To tell the truth, I was scared," Acee said. It might have been strange how calm she was, but Acee was always unflappable. "I never planned to have children. I was a bit of a wild child. Imagine that. As smart as I might seem, I wasn't smart enough to plan ahead. Pretty dumb, right? I wasn't going to kill a kid just because I messed up, and I'd started looking around for a home before the Reaping came. That just forced my hand, and I left you where I knew you'd be found. I kept saying I'd come back for you, but I just... I got scared. Raising a kid is way scarier than the Games, and it's something I know way less about."

I wanted to cry and laugh and scream all at once. I'd found my mother, but she'd left me. We were together again, but not because she wanted it. Did she even care I was back?

"Did you ever miss me?" I asked. I thought I might cry, but I was too mixed-up.

"I sent money to Dr. Thomas a few times. Then he died and I lost contact with you. I tried to convince myself it was just a past indiscretion, and if you'd died, I guess I would have gone on trying. I'm a terrible mother, aren't I?" she smiled ruefully.

"But you are my mother," I said again, still trying to reconcile it.

"Yep. Call me Mom," Acee joked. "If you want."

"I do want," I said. "Are you still scared?"

"I think I've spent enough time being scared... son."

For Xzavier, I elected to explore the possibility of Acee being his mother. That was a result of his form and Acee being the only viable candidate. It's unanswered in the main universe, but for this one-shot, I confirmed it.