A/N: chapter 1 title comes from Ed Sheeran's Makes It Rain

Chapter 2 title comes from Selena Gomez's Slow Down

No more little games, just basing my titles after songs. If you want me to use a particular song, let me know in reviews.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing

Against it All

After flashing through my life with Katniss, I'm sprung back to reality by the feeling of arms pulling me to my feet. I finally realize that Effie is trying to get my attention.

She asks me, "Are you alright?" I can't even begin to fathom why she thinks any of this is okay.

I scornfully respond, "What do you think?"

I follow her with a few peacekeepers outside where they escort us to the car, where I see Katniss already waiting. They said it would be around 5 minutes, but it feels like forever. I'm more concerned with Katniss, as she doesn't seem to be faring well. "You okay Catnip?"

She simply looks at me, and I can easily tell that she isn't. She pulls my arm around her shoulders, and relaxes into me. I pull her into an embrace with my other arm, and I can feel that her breathing is labored, she's resisting the urge to cry.

"Prim told me the Mellarks will help our families."

"I didn't know that we meant so much to them."

"Well, Mr. Mellark did always love your mother."

She pulls away enough to look at me, but when she does, it's a look of surprise. I couldn't tell if she was surprised that I knew, or that Mr. Mellark loved her mother, but I don't ask. And she doesn't say anything, she just goes back to relaxing into me. Her breathing seems to have become less labored.

Effie begins talking yet again annoyingly and joyfully in her accent. "You two are in for a real treat big beds with silk-lined sheets, giant showers that will make you sparkle when you use them…"

The rest of what she's saying is lost into my thoughts, thoughts I'm certain that Katniss is having too, given that we're practically one in the same in our thinking. I think about what the arena will be like, I hope that a part of it is a forest, because that is our strong suit. But even if the arena is mostly forest, it won't be like the one we're used to. In the arena, we will have 22 people trying to kill us, mutts that the Capitol will release to hunt us, then we have to face the dangers already in place in the arena, unnatural threats designed to make our deaths painful for us and spectacular for the Capitol audience. All of this being said, I'm seriously betting the odds against us. But we're far stronger than a lot of the tributes from 12 typically are, so one of us may actually have a shot at winning. Once again the reality sinks in, one of us. Only one person can walk out of that arena, either I'm gonna lose Katniss, or she's gonna lose me, assuming that either of us make to the end.

All these thoughts keep echoing in my brain, until Katniss, lifts herself from me and shakes me from my thoughts, the look in her face confirms my earlier belief that she was thinking of the same things I was. She wraps her arm around my neck and pulls my lips to hers, in a soft kiss with a strong flame of passion. As we did on the stage, we affirm that we are not one another's competitors, we are closer than any kind of ally or friend. We are one entity in all but appearance. I am the half that completes her, as she does me. It also begins to give me a charge we haven't felt since our first time back in the forest again.

We get so caught up in the moment we fail to realize that the car has stopped, only realizing it when Effie pulls at Katniss's hand. If she had any kind of reaction to the display we gave her, we either missed it, or she's very good at hiding it behind her grin. She gestures for us to leave, but we need a moment to collect ourselves a bit. Especially me. When we finally are able to walk around without seeming awkward, Effie guides us to the train station that looks as decrepit as the rest of the district.

"Oh! This is just wonderful, everyone is going to adore you two," Effie says practically squealing in glee, driving me to the brink of my sanity. "The star-crossed lovers of district 12 is a story that they are just going to love! You two were born to be stars! And the best part is that you two make yourselves presentable naturally, all I have to do is touch you up a bit, and you will be the Capitol darlings."

Katniss probably knew that in my uncontrollable temper, I would want to clock her across the face, since she firmly gripped my across my body. It's all I can do not to punch her for making this grim situation sound so harmless and causal. However, being fair, that's the nature born from being raised in the Capitol.

Finally alone on the train, Effie's gleeful visage finally melts away into a straight face when she sees the way I'm glaring at her. I decide that I'm not gonna hold back what I think to her. "What ever cross you think you have to bear is nothing compared to what we have to bear."

In a tone that seems uncharacteristically mature and serious, even with the Capitol accent, she says, "You think I don't know that? I have been doing this for some time now, I know full well the burden you have in representing your district. Please, I'm here to help you."

Maybe I was wrong about her initially. For being a Capitol-raised woman she seems rather genuine and more understanding of us. Her motivations to help may be a bit...skewed for lack of a better word, but nonetheless she does genuinely mean well for the poorest district's tributes. I glance over to Katniss, and her face seems to imply that she's thinking the same thing.

The first place Effie brings us is to our bedrooms in the train's residential car. The first room we come across is designated as Katniss's. She opens the door and shows her the layout of the room while I waited outside the door. I thought the room in the justice building was nice, but this kind of layout far supersedes that room. I guess Effie wasn't lying when she said that the rooms were kind of a treat. The only thing I'm focusing on is the bed. I'm gonna be having some good times in there, I think to myself. Effie then brings me to mine, and shows me ropes of the room.

"You'll find the bed more comfortable than anything before," Effie tells me, but I don't find any condescending undercurrents mocking us, "the shower room has endless options for water temperature and washing liquid, and everything you'll need is in the dresser near to the bed. Get cleaned up, and we will get started. I'll go get Haymitch, probably in the bar car. Don't take too long, dinner will be served in about half an hour." The way she says he last phrase makes me chuckle slightly.

The first thing I do is see what's available to wear, and the sight of what's in the drawers makes me break out in laughter.

"You have got to be kidding me with this," I say to myself. All that's in there are a bunch of brightly colored outfits trademark to the extravagant Capitol style. I finally find a black outfit that I feel is suitable for me, and lay it out on the bed. The bathroom is another thing entirely, it's huge. At least half the room is solely the shower, and it has a huge number of buttons. One produces a lava hot stream, and another makes one that's colder than the water me and Katniss use to clean ourselves with in basins. I have to wonder why that's even an option, cause that'll give anybody hypothermia. Others produce streams that are clearly some kind of soap, and they smell like fruits and a bunch of other things I don't recognize. A button outside the shower seemed to turn on some kind of warm air flow, probably to dry off in seconds.

I take the towel in the room and the outfit and the bed, and I sneak to Katniss's room. I take all of my clothes off, and place my new outfit on her bed next to her outfit, which is more like an outfit that can barely pass as a short dress. I open her shower door a bit, and find her struggling with the buttons, until she finds a temperature good for her, and she strips herself down, lets her hair down, and steps in the shower, clearly reveling in the warm water. When her hands are pressing against the wall away from me, I take the chance to sneak in and place myself against her back, and she seems to shiver at the touch of me.

"Had some trouble with the buttons, Catnip?" I ask her with a degree of desire, as I run my hands up her hips and up her front, to her perfect breasts.

She grinds herself against me, making me groan in pleasure. She suggestively says, "What? You couldn't figure out how to use it, so you just came in and waited for me to do so?"

I turn her to face me and say, "Of course I did."

The sight of her naked curvaceous body glistening with shower water makes my desire shoot through the roof. When her eyes finally meet mine, all I can see are dark black eyes lusting for me. I feel like the god of sex when I see her lusting so much. She reaches her hand down to where I'm ready and eager for her, gripping me as tight as her body does. The sensation of her smooth hand and the warm water is enough to almost push me over the edge Before I do, I grab her hands and hold them above her head with one hand and she smiles at me, eager for what comes next.

My lips crashed onto hers aggressively, eager to pent out the emotion I've been holding in for what felt like the last four hours. She's clearly doing the same as she kisses me with equal force. I return her favor and run hand down to where I feel her as ready for me as I am for her. I place two fingers at her most sensitive spot, and circle as she begins to moan louder and louder, as I lock my lips with hers to absorb her moans. I break free enough to growl to her, "You're fucking beautiful Cat." With that, I finally push her over the edge, her loud moans very likely heard across the train.

We have no time to savor anything, before she fully recovers, I lift her above me and enter her with full force, our breathing heavy and strained. Her hands reach around me as I set a rapid pace, and she scratches my back with enormous pressure, causing me pain and pleasure simultaneously. I eventually move faster, her mouth moving to my neck, biting and grazing me animalistically. And then she reaches her peak again, bringing me with her, primally screaming each other's names as we drift into white hot oblivion which then fades back to reality, back to her and me.

As our breathing levels out, Katniss musters the strength to mutter, "I think we should clean up about now." She presses a button that turns the spray into a lavender-scented lather spray that then switches back to the water, fully cleaning is off and leaving us free of the dirt that we didn't realize we were covered in.

I whisper in her ear, "I dig the clothes you put out," as we finish showering.

"Gale. You won't believe the horrible clothes they have in that dresser," she tells me.

"Well that makes two of us."

After we get dressed, she shows me her dresser, and I couldn't help but let out a scream of laughter, because the image of her wearing these flashy pieces of cloth that are called dresses is more than I can handle. I look back at her, where she's giving me a "Fuck you" face. After combing her hair, I keep her from braiding it, insisting, "You look far better with your hair down in that getup."

The next thing we realize is Effie barging in on us, she really needs to learn to knock. She looks at me and shakes her head. "Gale, your room is next door. Though even I can take a guess that one room is probably going to be vacant for the ride." After thinking aloud to herself, she tells us to follow her to where we'll eat dinner. Well, I guess we didn't get off to too bad a start with her. But I can probably guarantee that our start with Haymitch Abernathy, our sole mentor and sole hope at receiving help from outside the arena, will not be so positive.

When we reached the rather extravagant dinner table, we find Haymitch with a bottle of what looks like whiskey. No surprise. Surprisingly, he seems to be sober enough to notice that we entered, a surprise he notices in all three of us apparently. "What, did you expect for me to be completely wasted."

I just shrug in response and give a chuckle. As we sit down, Effie with Haymitch, and Katniss with me, I consider that this guy is not as bad as the district makes him out to be. "So. Got any advice."

His response is to embrace the probability if our imminent demises. That destroyed any faith I had in him. I look at Katniss and she obviously feels the same.

Him aside, I see all this food and I immediately think of my family and the rest of the district, and how their going hungry, compared to the surplus of food. I figure that I have to eat whatever I can. If I can curb my hunger before the games, I can be at my strongest for the longest. The nearby servants bring us an aromatic soup that tasted and smelled so good, I couldn't help but eat it. Katniss used her utensils, but I was more hands-on. Effie visibly winced at me, while Haymitch reciprocated my earlier humorous support and smiling past his bottle. Katniss giggles a bit at Effie's reaction.

Haymitch then stands up, and Effie sarcastically asks, "Going for another nap, Haymitch?"

He responds, "We have a reaping recap to watch," to Effie's obvious utter shock. "Well, sweetheart, what are we waiting for."

He brings us to what apparently is the television room, he sits in his own chair next to Effie, and Katniss sits on a chair with me, suspending her legs over the armrest and relaxes into my chest. I see out of the corner of my eye Haymitch and Effie looking at us. They look at each other sometimes, their faces flashing between different emotions, but they mostly appear piteous towards us. We kind of made history in being the only romantically involved couple to be reaped into the games. Everyone is probably thinking about what this will mean for this year's games. People are likely speculating about us and how we plan to move forward, since even if we can take out everyone else, only one person can emerge. People are probably hoping me somehow make it to the end just the two of us, to see what we'll do then.

I don't have time to ponder the subject further when the recap begins. The recap starts with District 1. It's the first career district, where children train at a special and illegal academy, normally until their 18 and then volunteer. Even though it is illegal, the career districts have such close ties to the Capitol that they get away with it easily. They are also the deadliest of the tributes, winning it almost every year. Districts 2 and 4 are the other two career districts.

The tributes from 1 will clearly be a force to reckon with, albeit their appearances are deceiving. The girl is small, blonde hair, maybe Katniss's age, but a very clear bloodlust in her eyes. If I know careers well enough, she'll have been trained in one particular weapon all her life, but be quite proficient at others as well. The boy is much bigger, likely the same age. He has darker hair with a much more boyish than a manly visage. He has the same kind of clear bloodlust as his district partner. The District 2 tributes appear much more dangerous. The girl is smaller than even Katniss, but her eyes make it obvious that her bloodlust is far stronger than the District 1 tributes combined. She looks like a deadly predator, a spider waiting for you to fall into its web. The boy is huge, definitely my age, and maybe even close to my size and musculature. He also has a menacing smile on his face, making it clear that he is already a killer. District 3 doesn't appear intimidating, and the District 4 tributes appear meek compared to the other two. They'll likely be little more than pawns for the first two districts to use as shields.

The only other tribute that grabs my attention is the District 5 girl. She appears thin, and rather small. I sense something about her, something I can't put my finger on. I don't feel threatened, but I do feel something towards her, and I don't know why. Regardless, I'm gonna be keeping my eye on her.

The other recap reapings go uneventful, but when we get to District 11, that changes. The girl they call up is so tiny, she's gotta be twelve. I feel Katniss grasp around my body in a tight embrace, and I hear her gasp. She's so small, doesn't even look bigger than Prim. How could she have been selected, what are the odds of two first-time girls from the outlying districts getting reaped? Whatever the case may be, this reaping turned out differently, because when the escort, apparently aware of the events in 12, asked for a volunteer, there was only silence. This made me shed a tear, because it reminded me of Prim, but the effect was much greater on Catnip. I felt her lose herself to her sobbing right after that happened. She immediately looked at me with a determination that I shot back at her, we were going to protect this little girl however we could once the Games begin. I'm very certain that we both were comforted and intimidated by the boy they called up, he was big just like me and the District 1 boy. I felt comfort in knowing that the little girl had a partner strong enough to protect her.

Finally, it's our turn in the recap. I'm willing to bet were considered the grand finale. It's almost too much to see it again, but I force myself to look. I have to see what others would see and perceive of the two of us. Katniss begins to cry once again when she sees Prim in the aisle. For others this a recap, for us this is reliving. After she volunteers, the sight of the district salute rejuvenates some comfort within me, knowing that they are honoring us right now, not for sacrifice but for respect in what we will have to go through. I'm willing to bet that the majority of the other tributes will feel more threatened by me and my size over Katniss, not just because of her size, but because they saw her in an emotional and diminutive state. I figure people will see me as the valuable one to have as an ally, the one who will be a threat.

Then we see Caesar's personal interview with someone, usually a game maker, former or current. This year is the current one, a guy named Seneca Crane, dressed in red with an ornately shaved beard. They go over each of the districts briefly, but when they talk about us, it's very developed and spoken of.

"Now, Seneca, let's take some time to talk about the events in District 12. What do you make of it?" Caesar asks the question with a tone of wonder, as if he was talking about gossip topics.

Seneca responds, "It's always a big deal when we have volunteers from outlying districts. I found that very interesting, and I will admit that I didn't expect it. It kind of moved me a bit." I'm a little surprised at how he seems rather emotional and sensitive given his profession.

"That's right, that girl she volunteered for is her sister. But, more importantly, what about her obvious relationship with the boy?"

"That will be something to keep an eye on." The guy isn't lying, he's right, people should keep an eye on us. "It's something that myself and others have never seen. In our experiences, a relationship typically develops between the tributes in the interim time. With the obvious intimate relationship the tributes from 12 have, they may bring a new spin on these games that has never happened. I can guarantee these will be the most interesting non-quarter quell games we have ever had."

With that, the recap ends. I want to be angry with Seneca's comments on me and Katniss's relationship as a source of entertainment for the crowd, but I'm too emotionally exhausted to be. Katniss herself appears drained as well from the events of the day as well. She's clearly awake, but not moving at all.

Haymitch suddenly interjects, "Well! That was interesting wasn't it? Now, I'm gonna go get some sleep."

He leaves it at that. I can't believe him. But right now, I couldn't care less, all I want is to get some sleep with Katniss and sleep off the emotional torrent we both have suffered today.

Effie herself makes a comment, "Okay you two, go to your rooms, and get some sleep. We have a busy day coming up, and I need you to be well-rested."

"Yeah, sure thing Effie," I respond rather groggily. I hook my right arm under Katniss's knees and the other on her waist. I carry her over to the room we're basically sharing now, and I sit her on the bed. I strip myself to the boxers I found in the dresser that weren't skin tight, and she mustered enough strength to remove her small dress. We remove the covers and I crawl in and lay on my back, with Katniss crawling up and resting her head on me, and sprawling her leg over me. We lay there for less than a minute before sleep claims us. The last thing I remember saying is, "Night, Catnip."

Song credit: The Heart Want What It Wants by Selena Gomez.