Author's Note: Over 30 reviews! Thanks for all the reviews everyone. I'm hoping to get to 45 reviews with this chapter, so please review! :D
Here's some fluff for the people that are into it. We're nearly up to the arena chapters!
Chapter Six
Grey's POV
The remainder of the training session continued as if nothing had happened, that the Peacekeepers hadn't just had to pull two of their strongest tributes off each other. Marvel and Clove, who seemed to warm to me after seeing that Marvel and Cato trusted me, asked if I wanted to go to the medical floor. My side hurt like hell, and I suspected that there could be a broken rib there somewhere, but I didn't mention it. When I said it was nothing, Clove imperceptibly nodded. I think she was used to being back in her district where you didn't show pain to others, and she respected me for it.
It was quiet without Cato there, but the other careers continued to train and act arrogant in his absence. My fall off the gauntlet had been a turning point, because now I was welcome in the career group. I was introduced to Glimmer, Marvel's district partner, the girl who had nearly impaled me with her arrow. The blonde career took me over to the bow and arrow section and attempted to improve my ability with the weapon. Glimmer wasn't particularly proficient at it herself but I appreciated the gesture.
I ended up back with Clove at the knives, after she agreed to give me some advice. She looked pleased at what I already knew, and it only took a few pointers before I was hitting mostly on target. It was when we were quietly throwing together that I brought up Cato.
"Do you think he'll be okay, Clove? He wouldn't be dumb enough to attack the Peacekeepers right?" I asked, my aim faltering a bit from a lack of concentration. Clove raised her eyebrow at me and smirked, wondering if I was joking or not. Realising that I was completely serious, she rolled her eyes.
"Of course not, he's getting punished as it is. And anyway, once he has a blow out like that, he exhausts himself. He'll be as gentle as a kitten, at least while they've got him in custody."
- Later that afternoon -
I pressed the button labeled 2 and felt the elevator move down. A couple of seconds later, there was a "ping" and the doors slid open. I hesitantly walked in, uncomfortable that I might be intruding. There was no written rule that you couldn't visit another tribute, but it wasn't looked kindly upon either. Not having a door to knock on, I felt like I was breaking in. Clove came out of an adjoining room and smiled sneakily when she saw me, not looking surprised at all. She had taken her hair out of the braid and it was loose down her back. She looked so different to the fierce, 'don't mess with me' tribute that I'd seen in training.
"Hey Clove. Your hair is out… it looks really nice." I said sheepishly. Clove laughed at me, but it wasn't a cruel laugh.
"We're not at a sleepover, Grey." She replied, still smirking.
"Oh, sorry. Yeah. Uh, I'm looking for Cato."
Cato was sitting on his bed, playing with some sort of shackle locked on his wrist. It looked like it was weighing his arm down. I stood in the doorway and surveyed his room, waiting for him to acknowledge me. It looked exactly the same as mine, backing up Domitia's comment that the highest districts don't get it any better than us, with the bed being one of the only pieces of furniture apart from a cupboard built into the wall and a chair opposite. The big window looking out over the Capitol had been turned into a view of the ocean, and I instantly recognize it as the beach in my district. Probably one of the only beaches known in a Panem district. I wondered why he chose it over a view from his own district.
"Come to pity me?" This wasn't exactly the 'kitten' I was expecting, but at least he didn't look violent. Cato was staring up at me with his piercing blue eyes, and I noticed that parts of his face, especially around his nose, were bruised purple. There was some unidentifiable cream pasted over the swollen skin and even with my mediocre knowledge of Capitol medication, I knew those bruises would soon be gone.
"No…" I said, thinking out my words before I said them, "I wanted to thank you." I saw him sit up a tiny bit and fold his arms, but I knew I'd said the right thing.
"Spens is a jerk, he completely deserved to get it handed to him," I continued, letting out a laugh, "You should have seen him come back to our floor, he had his tail between his legs!"
"He didn't hurt you, did he?" I walked further into the room, not comfortable enough to sit on the bed with Cato.
"Nah. He's usually locked in his room. He says horrible things to me sometimes, but I've learned to block them out."
Cato's POV
Making room on the bed, I gesture for Grey to sit down. She eyes the chair before tentatively perching on the edge of the bed, watching me, and I figure that she's not used to being with guys. Normally I'd be thinking some disturbing thought about what I want to do with her, but my mind is hazy from fatigue after the incident at training and the shackle on my wrist is a heavy reminder of my punishment. I see her gaze move over it.
"Wha-?" She begins, but I interrupt.
"Tracking device. I'm not allowed to leave this floor until after training tomorrow. I got off easy." Her mouth forms an "Oh" shape, and then she goes quiet, staring at her hands. Her blonde hair falls across over her face as it contorts into a thoughtful expression. She seems to be concentrating awfully hard on her fingernails.
"This is your home, right?" I ask, gesturing to the ocean scene. She whips her head up so quickly that I think for a second she might have forgotten I was there.
"Yeah, it is. It's weird to see it here it in the Capitol because this was where I went on the morning of the reaping."
"Is it just you at home?" I ask, trying to keep any sarcasm out of my voice. It comes out sounding mean, but she just laughs sadly.
"It feels like it sometimes. My dad works somewhere here in the Capitol, and ever since he left my mom has been living like she has no purpose, she didn't even bother to come and say goodbye to me after the reaping. But I know you mean brothers and sisters, and no, I don't have them either." Grey pulled her knees up closer to her, and without thinking I put an arm around her shoulders. She silently moves into my lap and leans against my chest, and we sit wrapped in each other's arms.
"It's a bit like that in my family, no brothers and sisters." I say quietly. "I'm the child of fame-obsessed parents that only care about me winning this game. I spent my whole childhood training; I barely scraped through school. My reading, writing, maths skills are all appalling. It could barely even read the volunteer sign-up form." I go silent, sneering in anger, but Grey is holding my arms tightly. I don't think she realised that maybe careers weren't great at everything, but she's not letting it show.
"I figure that ever since I was born it's been planned for me; I either win this or die trying. There's no other option for me."
Grey's POV
I'm sitting in Cato's arms, and he's pouring his heart out to me. For a second I can't believe that it's the same person I saw beating up another tribute earlier that day. It's even more frightening seeing him like this than it was when he was violent. At least I felt like I knew him before, now I realise that I really don't know anything about this career.
"Maybe we're not that different, you and I." I say, looking up at him. He gives a ghost of a smirk.
"We're nothing like each other, Grey. But even if we were, I'm the one that's going to end up portrayed as the cold-blooded killer. It's just who I am." All of a sudden, I have the urge to kiss him. He's looking down at me, his chin pressed into my hair, with the glaze over his eyes that people get when they're thinking about something far away.
I reach behind me and put my hand on Cato's neck and pull him to me, tilting my head back so I can press my mouth to his. After his initial surprise I hear him growl and he falls back onto the bed, pulling me with him. He seems to know exactly what he's doing and even though I started it he's roughly taken over. It's not like I could protest, he's already got his tongue in my mouth, dominating that too. Gentle Cato is gone, replaced by the rough Cato, and in a way it's comforting that he's back to normal.
I feel him grab my legs as he turns us both over, pulling me under him. Cato's quite heavy and I wonder how long I'll last with his weight pressing down on me. He breaks away from my mouth and starts gently kissing down my jaw and neck, and in doing so shifts his weight slightly onto my sore rib. I can't hold back the sharp intake of breath caused by the pain, and he's up in an instant, apparently recognizing the difference between pain and pleasure.
"What's wrong?" He breathes, his eyes staring me down, probably trying to stare through the clothes I'm wearing too. I don't reply and instead shrug, trying to pull the same trick that I did with Clove. He's not impressed. Without even asking he pulls my shirt up and we both look down at the bruising. I had been avoiding looking at them, hoping they would just go away. There's one on my left side from where Cato's training stick hit me, purple and black. But the worst one is on the opposite side where I hit the edge of the gauntlet. He softly fingers that bruise and I wince, turning my head away.
"It's not broken, just badly bruised. It's going to be sore for a while. By the way, you're looking nice." He smirks, eying my exposed chest. I yank my shirt down and turn bright red.
"Aww, we can't go back to what we were doing before?" Cato winks at me. Part of me would like to, but I need to get back to my own floor. The others would be getting suspicious.
"You've kind of ruined the mood," I laugh, "Maybe another time if you're lucky."
"The odds are always in my favor." He grins, and manages to steal a kiss one last time before I leave his room.