A/N: This is Day 4: Favorite AU- Hunger Games AU
She's 12 years old when Lincoln is reaped from their District. The gentle giant of the school. He was tall and well-muscled for just being 17 years old. His foster mother had him training hard a young age, hopeful that he would be strong enough to be a Peacekeeper. If they saw him as useful, maybe they wouldn't kill him was the logic.
He didn't cry when he was Reaped. He just strode up to the podium and his hands linked behind his back. When he stood up there with the female tribute, he just stared out into the distance. Octavia had envied his courage. She knew she would have cried.
She snuck a peak at her brother in the boy section. Bellamy was a year behind Lincoln, but they played together often. When they played ball together, she would watch from the window while helping her mother mend clothes. While Lincoln looked like he enjoyed spending time with Bellamy, he never ever smiled.
He barely ever paid attention when she was in eyesight, and she preferred it that way. He looked scary since he was so much bigger. But now, watching him on the stage, she felt her heartbreak for him. He didn't deserve this.
Ever since Bellamy and Lincoln became friends, her brother would come home with extra food for them all. They never asked him where he got it from and just accepted it.
She watched Bellamy's face crumble when they led Lincoln away. Tears pricked at her own eyes, knowing that she might never see him again.
But then he surprised them all. He won the Games. The first winner that their District had in a decade. Bellamy tried to shield her from Lincoln's Games and even tried to avoid watching it himself. He couldn't bear to see his friends do the things that tributes did to survive.
Six tributes. That's how many Lincoln killed to the win the Games. The Blake kids were there to welcome him back with open arms, but he strode past them. He locked himself in his Victor's house and rarely came out.
His foster mother even gave up on him after a few months. She had other children to take care of. After Lincoln won, Octavia noticed his siblings were better dressed and had full bellies. Some were in her class, so she would ask about him periodically. They would just quietly say that he wasn't doing so well.
Her brother would go to Lincoln's house often and come home with bruises. Bellamy would argue with their mother over it all the time. Lincoln was addicted to morphling now.
He cleaned up his act once Bellamy was Reaped at the next Games. Bellamy didn't make it, so Octavia was left to help keep Lincoln clean. He stayed clean for her. He donated a portion of his money to her and her mother. In exchange, she would always check in on him. An uneasy friendship grew from it. As she started to fill out, she fantasized about make it something more.
Octavia knew her days were numbered the moment Bellamy was Reaped. The Reaping was only random if there were no related children in the eligible groups. Her name was called when she was 17.
Her heart hardened, and she adopted the same mannerism that Lincoln had shown on the day he was Reaped. She would win this for her brother. She said goodbye to her mother and was greeted by Lincoln at the train. He didn't even look her in the eye.
"I'm going to win this, Lincoln," she told him. "Help me do it."
He shook his head. "You don't want to win. It's not worth it."
"My mom can't lose both her children," Octavia insisted, trying to search his eyes. They looked back at her, haunted.
"She'll lose you anyway," he muttered. Octavia groaned and punched him in the jaw. He stumbled back in surprise.
"I am not losing! So either get your head in the game, or get the fuck out of my way. I need the best, and if you're not up to the job, I'll do it on my own," she declared, and for the first time, she saw a smile on his face.
He trained her hard. They didn't have much time to get in her shape, but he did what he could. He coached her on how to build alliances and charm the sponsors. She was prettier and much more likeable than he was, so she had an easier time at it. Lincoln had almost no help and still managed to win.
She saw him smile again when her training score came back as an 11. She made a decision that night. Their escort slept soundly due to all the medications she was on.
She had a few more days until the Games started, and she wanted to do this now.
Octavia took a shower and ran a razor over most of her body. She put on some light perfume and teased her hair. When she was done primping, she covered her body in a robe.
She padded quietly over to Lincoln's door and knocked. He didn't answer immediately, so she knocked again.
"Lincoln?" she whispered and pushed the door open. She saw him sitting at the boudoir with a bottle of morphling in his hand.
She made no move to take it away from him. "If you do that, you will insult Bellamy's memory," she said quietly. Her eyes hard. He didn't look at her.
"I let you get Reaped. If you win, you'll no longer be the same," his deep voice choked up.
Sighing, she went over to him and sat on the boudoir. He finally looked at her and took in her state of dress. She let his eyes roam over her, but he quickly turned away.
She reached out and used two fingers to lift his chin to look at her. "Lincoln," she said softly. "I love my brother. I'm already changed. This is survival. It always has been. If I follow the darkness, I'll have you there to pull me out. Bellamy did it for you. You've done your best, now trust in me."
"Trust in you?" Lincoln asked. He looked into her eyes. "Is that why you're naked under your robe?"
Octavia smiled at him. Her blue eyes shining in the darkness. "Yes," she said and dropped her robe to the ground. His eyes stayed on hers.
"What are you doing?" he asked. He didn't move as she straddled his lap. Now they were eye to eye.
"I could die out there. I want to feel alive atleast once before I go out there. I debated waiting until the night before, but I will need the rest. I don't need it for tomorrow though." She grabbed his hands and dragged them to her naked breasts. They were still small, but atleast they fit into his hands.
"Octavia," he drawled and looked at her lips briefly. She could see the gears turning in his mind. He knew Bellamy would disapprove, but Bellamy wasn't here.
"Fuck it," he nearly growled and took her lips in a passionate kiss. He was gentle but hard. Her tongue slipped past his lips and tangled with his. His hands cupped her breasts, and she moaned into his mouth. His thumbs brushed against her nipples, and she could feel herself getting wet.
Her temperature rose as his light ministrations only served to frustrate her. She nearly whined until he picked her up and deposited her on the bed slowly. He held her hand as his mouth mapped out every inch of her body.
Octavia bit her lip to keep her moans in, but Lincoln wasn't having any of that. When he started lapping at her center, she groaned out loud. When his tongue swirled around her clit, she gasped loudly. He slid his finger inside her and started to massage her insides. He added a second and curled his fingers inside her. She screamed when he made her come.
She helped him undress and took him into her mouth. With his guidance, she sucked him until he came in her mouth. She wanted to taste him atleast once. He was still hard for her, and he made sure she was still slick when he entered her.
It hurt slightly, but it was mostly uncomfortable at first. He was bigger than she thought, but he fit perfectly inside her. Stretched enough to make it pleasurable, but not too big so that it hurt a great deal.
He moved slowly at first, and slowly picked up his pace as she started to demand more. They tried many positions, and the one that had her scream the loudest was when he took her from behind. She really liked that position. They ended the night with her riding him at her leisure.
Nobody was surprised to see them come out of his room together. That was the only night they had sex. He couldn't bring himself to do it again, and she didn't even bother to ask him again. Instead she focused on training and preparing for her day.
Her male tribute was intimidated by her, and she exploited that. Lincoln did not approve, but he couldn't control her actions. His advice to her was not to kill him. She wouldn't be able to come home if she did.
She didn't kill him, but she partnered with the Career tributes. She let them kill him, but she made sure that she was away at the time. She stayed with the Careers until they killed off most of the difficult tributes. They still had a four more tributes to kill off when Octavia killed them all. She had been drugging them once their competition was dying down.
It happened in the second week. They all went to sleep with her keeping watch. She slit all their throats, and they were powerless to stop her. She took what she could carry and hunted the other tributes. There were only two left when she finally ran into one.
Both posed a challenge to her, but she came out on top. She won by the Games by dismembering the last tribute. She was covered in deep cuts, but she won fair and square.
President Snow actually liked her and visited her in the hospital when she was recuperating. He told her what her new duty was, and she was on him with scalpel before his guards could react.
For that, he killed her mother. Lincoln was there when she was sent home. He looked into her eyes and saw the same darkness that was present in his own. Instead of turning his back on her, he took her hand and led her to Victor Village.
She moved in with him. There was no reason to go to her empty home with her mother and brother gone. She preferred Lincoln's company even though he barely spoke to her. He didn't really need to. They fit together perfectly.
Throughout the day, they went their separate ways. To keep herself busy, she took over her mother's shop. She practically gave away the clothes and mended them for almost nothing. Sometimes she would even send her customers home with money.
At night, she and Lincoln shared a bed. Sometimes they made love, and other times they just laid next to each other trying not to let their demons haunt them.
When the Victory Tour came, Octavia played her part. She did everything the President requested, even being forced to sleep with a few of her sponsors. She confessed this to Lincoln after the Tour was over. He understood. He had been forced to do the same.
Years later, Katniss and Peeta won the Games. Octavia remembered holding Lincoln's hand as they were announced winners. She smiled for the first time in a long time. She looked at Lincoln and saw hope in them as well.
The Districts changed after that. Protests and riots started all over Panem. She and Lincoln kept out of it, preferring to live in a blissful dream. Through the years, they managed to heal together. Lincoln even proposed, but they kept it a secret. They both agreed to never have children, since they knew that any child of theirs would be Reaped.
But then came the Quarter Quell. They were both Reaped from the pool of Victors, and Octavia's heart turned cold once more. Lincoln tried to keep her grounded, but she took her anger out on Katniss during training.
He went into mentor mode and reminded her that they needed allies, but Octavia wasn't listening. So he set things up behind her back. He formed the alliance with Katniss and Peeta.
When Katniss electrocuted the Dome, he and Octavia were picked up by District 13.
They both chose to stay out of the revolution, and President Coin accepted that. They were tired. Pitted against their own friends in the last Game had been hard, and they were both done with Panem.
After President Coin was killed, they left the District and formed their own little home in the wild. They did business with travelers, but mostly stayed out of sight.
One day, they were curled up next to a fire when Octavia spoke. "Lincoln, I love you."
She took his hand and led it to her stomach.
He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "Really?" he asked.
She nodded enthusiastically. They kissed passionately.
A month later, they moved back to what was left of their district. Their community welcomed them back with open arms.
Indra, Lincoln's foster mother, officiated their wedding ceremony. They got married in front of the old Victor's Village. Octavia looked beautiful even though she was six months pregnant.
While Indra was still distant with Lincoln, she was happy to see that he would be a father soon. He was happy as well, but he noticed Octavia's concerns.
On their honeymoon, they sat on a beach with his hand on her stomach. "What do we tell her, Lincoln? How can we tell her what we did?" she asked.
He kissed her neck. "We tell her that we survived. We did what we had to. We're not monsters, Octavia. We're normal people who were put in an awful situation."
"That won't bring those kids back, Lincoln."
"They can never come back, Octavia. We dishonor them by looking down on their sacrifices. They died so that we could live. I want to say I regret it, but then I wouldn't have you or our daughter." His hand stroked her large belly.
He understood the pain. It never went away. Their faces still haunted him at night, but then he would open his eyes and look at Octavia. She was his everything, so he pushed through the pain every night. She was worth it. She was worth everything.
"I need to tell you, something," she said and turned in his arms.
"What is it, my love?" he murmured as he kissed her forehead. He looked into her sad blue eyes.
"I wanted to come back to you. That's why I fought so hard in the Games. I didn't want to leave you alone. It was worth killing them all just to be with you again, and that's what scares me."
He had no answer to that. His motivation had been his foster mother. He wanted to make life easier for her, so he killed everyone he came across. It was why he couldn't look her in the eye anymore. Indra knew it, but she never mentioned it. Even now, she gave him his space.
Finally, he said. "We have the power to stop the cycle. Our daughter won't have to go through that. We did good, Octavia. We did our best."
Octavia sighed. "I guess that has to be enough."
"Yeah," Lincoln said. He took her hands in his and planted a kiss on her lips. Then they both looked out to the sea. Their breaths followed the motion of the waves, and soon they were falling asleep.