A/N: This one will be on the shorter side, just like the last one. Lemons on the way.

Disclaimer: The Hunger Games is all property of Suzanne Collins.

I See Myself in You

This morning, I wake up earlier than normal. I wake up on my own, without the alarm clock sounding off. I look at the clock and see that it's not even 7 yet. I return to spooning Katniss, at least I can have the illusion that I'm relaxing well into the day. In the meantime, I start contemplating things, especially with what's going to happen down below in training today, if the careers are gonna leave us be until the arena. But I don't contemplate for long, eventually, I simply think of my and Katniss's families. I wonder about their well-being, I hope the Mellarks are taking care of them as they had promised. If they're not, then anything we do here is in vain. I have to hope that they're ok, all of them. Mom, Vick, Rory, Posy, Prim and Katniss's mother.

Either she was already awake, or me cuddling against her woke her, because Katniss stirs and turns around to face me. "Hey, Gale."

"Hey, Catnip."

"Penny for my boyfriend's thoughts?"

Cute, Catnip. "Thinking of everyone back home. Our families. I'm hoping…I'm hoping that the Mellarks are holding up to what they said."

She props herself on her elbow, "You're the one who always reminds me that Mr. Mellark always had feelings for my mother. He has reason. I believe, truly, that they're being taken care of."

"Catnip, how are you so upbeat and hopeful right now?"

Her face drops somewhat, "Whoever said that I am?"

I sit up, and simply sigh, my hands covering my face, the strain of the approaching start of the next Hunger Games. The days pass so fast, yet so slow. The sole thing I want right now is not feel this. I get some relief when Catnip's hands go up and down my back, relieving some of the tension in my muscles. "Thanks."

She doesn't respond with words. She simply pulls me back to lie with her, and sits astride me. "We both know what works even better."

I give a smile and I surrender. She pulls me by my hair up to her, closing the distance between us. My mouth travels the length of her neck, to her shoulder, where I softly bite and suck on her soft skin. She shudders at the feeling of my mouth on her. I lift her up slowly, and she aligns me with her, before I lower ear back onto me much more fiercely than when I lifted her, the sharp gasp she makes spurring me on in my blind lust.

It spurs me on enough for me to flip us over, me taking full control, pinning her arms down. I set a slow pace, but with sharp movements. I inevitably start losing my composure and control of myself, and I let Catnip's arms go. Her hands travel around my rib cage to my sweaty back, where she traces the ridge of my spine with her nails. She starts digging much harder into my back, forcing me to move faster. Her teeth travel across my neck, to my shoulders, the same mine did for her. She bites with much more force than I did. She loves to tear at me the same I do for her, I guess we're both predators, even to one another. I feel that she's close to her peak, as am I. Her climax hits, forcing me to go with her into a peaceful world where only we exist, a world that lasts only for a moment before fading away. I roll to the side, trying to avoid crush Catnip beneath me, and she wraps her arm around my chest, kissing my neck as we recover.

"Feel better, Gale?"

"A bit." I turn to her and smile, before wrapping my arms around her, pulling her into the warmth of my body. And then the fucking alarm clock goes off. I turn it off, though what I want to do is break it. Luckily, we still got two hours before we have to be down, more than enough time.

We finally crawled out of bed at 9, and managed to finish breakfast ten minutes before training began. However, both of us were not actually concerned about making it on time, just following the orders of Haymitch and Effie, so that "we get all the training we can." When we got to training, Atala came up to us, saying that we were not allowed to go to the same station as the careers, and they wouldn't be allowed to do the same with us. She also told us in a nonchalant voice that we were not permitted to fight the other tributes.

We ended up spending not a lot of time at the stations, so much as the strength courses around the center, such as the gauntlet and the ropes course. I found the agility needed for the gauntlet daunting, and I could barely do it, unlike Katniss who with her smaller body could move more swiftly than I could. Climbing up the rope net was different, rather easy for me, despite my weight. Katniss didn't even attempt it, she called herself a tree-climber, not a rope-climber. After this, we simply went back to survival skills, until lunch began and that's where we are now.

Rue comes over to the table with us.

"I didn't want to mention it before. But I saw your reaping."

The memory does make my face fall a bit, but I reassure her it's nothing to be afraid to mention.

"It's fine Rue," Katniss adds.

Rue smiles. "I was shocked when I saw your sister being reaped, so were we, including Thresh and our mentors. They, and myself, we were moved by your volunteering, Katniss."

Cat gives a small smile.

"I will also say that, I cried after seeing what happened, right after Gale's name was called."

I grab her hand, and look at her. "I think a lot of people did."

She leans in, "Everyone here is afraid of you two as much as the careers, if not more."

I am a bit flabbergasted at that declaration, "What? Why?"

"Rumor has it that the sponsors love you two."

I guess Haymitch was right about our relationship having that effect. I look at Katniss, and she looks at me, making it clear that she's thinking the same thing. We're both at a loss for words, and Rue herself is silent, likely waiting for us to say something.

I finally mutter quietly, "I...I don't know what to say at that."

Rue leans in and tells us, "A lot of people want to try and do something to take you out of the picture quickly."

Katniss snidely remarks, "No surprise."

I thank Rue for letting us know about this, an expression of gratitude that she claimed wasn't necessary. "Is there anyone in here who doesn't wanna kill us now?" I'm thinking that we're not feared because we can harm them, but because we can outlast them because of outside help we're pretty much guaranteed to have. Though, guarantee is maybe a stretch.

Rue simply shrugs. Not surprising. If we're basically the sponsor darlings, everyone will want to take us out first to prevent us from becoming any kind threat. The careers have more personal reasons.

She stays with us throughout training. We return to some of her strong suits. She shows us how she can identify all types of plants. It seems on par with the skills of the girl from 5. It's a perfect combination of skills for her, swift motions in trees, lightweight speed, and plant identification. It's a perfect survivalist skill set, and a perfect one for her to avoid the other tributes. You know, I actually do genuinely believe that she may have a chance at this. If she can get the sponsors on her side, she may very well stand a chance emerging as the victor, the youngest if she did. The youngest was a 14-year-old. Part of me hopes that she does, but at the same time, I alost hope that it's not left to me or Katniss and Rue in the arena, because I could never harm such an innocent young girl. I know for a fact Katniss never could, because I can easily tell that Rue reminds her of Prim.

Finally the last day of training is over. We are released to our floor, and I'm ready to clean off the sweat and stress from the last day with a nice warm shower. Katniss is as eager as I am for that.

The warm shower water running down my skin offers a satisfying relief from the strain of the day, physical and mental. It also effectively washes reality from around me and Katniss. I lift her up and fiercely press her back against the wall, making her grunt.

In a seductive and lascivious voice, "Careful Gale. Wouldn't want me to break so soon."

I raise my mouth to her ear, whispering, "Then don't fight."

"Maybe I can't fight, but I can do this." She reaches her arms behind me and drags her now longer nails up and down my back. Whether or not she draws blood, I don't know or care. I love the pain, and she knows it.

I dive my own lips and teeth onto her neck, sucking hard and long, wanting to leave marks on her. I want her and everyone else to know that she's mine, and only mine. Her nails dig even harder into my back, but it no longer hurts at all. The only thing I feel is her body cradling me when I enter her at maximum force.

My lips return to hers as I move, rapidly, fiercely, animalistically. There's no gentle touching, no caressing, all simple aggression. Last time was much more savory, much more calm. This time, we simply give in to our hunter's desire. Not the desire to hunt and kill prey, but to attack one another, sexually and ferociously.

I thrust into her as hard as I can, going in deep and unrelenting. I keep stopping from one time to another, trying to keep us from going over the edge too soon. However, she picks up on my pattern, and returns with downward thrusts as well. This forces both of us over the edge almost as quickly as we started, leaving us as boneless heaps as we slide to the shower floor.

"Catnip?"

She opens her eyes and looks at me.

"I love you."

"Gale. I love you."

She lowers her face down on mine for one last lingering kiss, before we get out of the shower to get dressed. We can't get enough of one another, with both of us now living on borrowed time. All we want is one another, and at the least only one of us comes out. The other option is both of us never leaving the arena.

At dinner, Haymitch speaks to us about the importance of tomorrow. "It's your private sessions with the gamemakers."

He explains everything, going up the districts starting with one, so we'll be last, no surprise. "Whatever you got in store that you didn't already show the gamemakers in training, now's the time to show it off. You both seem to share many of the same skills, so show em off as much as you can. Just, make sure they remember you."

Katniss quietly remarks, "I think we already got that taken care of."

Effie interjects, "Well, then that should be easy."

She also begins explaining more about the interview. "For the interview, you two will also be last. You'll sit in a set of chairs around the Caesar, and be called up one at a time, ladies first. Caesar will ask you about various things, things that if you give the right response, you leave a significant impact. For both of you, that will definitely be the reaping, for you Katniss, he'll likely mention your sister. For you Gale, he'll likely ask you about your relationship with each other. Each one lasts roughly five, and he'll let you off. Your ultimate goal is to make a lasting impression, and that's where being last is best, because everyone remembers the first and the last."

Her words have quite an impact on me. They're quite inspiring, and I'm surprised that she actually cares about us. If I knew people well enough, no one really gives any damns about us from 12.

Cinna and Portia come in with their half of the job for the interview.

Maybe me and Katniss really stand a chance of winning this.

That's what I'm thinking when I fall asleep spooning Catnip.

Song credit: Show 'em What You're Made Of by the Backstreet Boys