A/N: LEGIT REASON FOR LACK OF UPDATE. Whilst putting in the air conditioning in my room, my father broke my computer charger and the piece is coming in and it said worst case 10 business days…I think I'm facing worst case. I'm on my dad's laptop at the moment. BUT PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND REVIEW. This starts in Peeta's POV.

I can't stop thinking about him, and I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing. I mean, he's literally all that's on my mind. His face, his voice, the way he holds me, his warmth...I could sleep forever as long as I knew I was in his arms. Because then, I know, I'd be safe. He's in my dreams that night, too. As he was the night before that. Nothing crazy, just kisses, cooing...perfect moments, away from the Capitol and the Games. There's nothing more I would want, than to live a long and happy life with Cato. ~

The rain quiets down a little, but it's still freezing out and I can honestly feel myself starting to get sicker, but if I take the jacket away from Peeta, then he'd be sick, too. So my sickness keeps me up longer than I expected, and as I'm finally about to go to sleep, I hear twigs snapping in the distance somewhere. I can hear voices talking, too. And I can't exactly hear most of what they're saying, but I do recognize the voices. Oh, do I.

I slip out from under Peeta, careful not to wake him, and cover him completely with the jacket so that they wouldn't see him. Honestly, they'd see me if I stayed, so I go as quietly as I can around the trees so that if they do see me, Peeta's location wouldn't be given away, too. ~

For a moment, things get very cold. But then I get used to it. The feeling really isn't that bad. I smile to myself, content in this sleep. This perfect, peaceful sleep. And Cato. The past few hours have gone by so quickly that I can hardly believe it. I ignore that we're in the Hunger Games. I just recognize that we're together. I finally have someone. Someone to call my own. ~

"Where are they? It's cold."

"Shut up!" a familiar hushed voice says. "You'll scare people off!"

Now, I can see them. All three of them are there, carrying all of our stolen packs. Bastards. Not only that, but they're hunting us down. Just like I thought they would. But worst of all, they're only about ten feet away from Peeta, who is completely unaware of what's happening.

"Clove, you think we're getting close?"

"Shh!" ~

Suddenly, my eyes flit open to voices. I can't really recognize them quite yet through the rain, so I do everything I can to try and get back to sleep. That is...until I realize Cato isn't next to me. I can't move. Frozen in place. Feigning sleep. ~

If they get any closer, they'll see him, and then they'll kill him. And I know that eventually, one of us will have to die, but I'd want us to at least say goodbye first. But this can't end here. I need to save that boy, protect him until the end. Which is quite literally the exact opposite of what I came here to do.

"Hey," I cough, "you losers." ~

That voice...that's Cato. Who's he talking to...? I squeeze the jacket a bit closer to my body, clutching it for any form of warmth. I'm terrified it's the other Careers, come back to finish what they started. Was he with them the whole time? I'm used to being made a fool of like this, but...no, he wouldn't. I know it. ~

"Where are you?" Clove asks hopefully, looking around for me.

"Over here." I step out from behind the tree. "What're you guys up to?"

"Looking for you and that weak loser from Twelve." Glimmer drops her bags, probably annoyed with the weight of it all.

I force a genuine-sounding laugh out. "Yeah..." Quick, give them a story. "I had to chase the idiot down for our packs...but I see you got them. Good work." ~

I inwardly sigh in relief. He is on my side. He's trying to protect me. But...how close are they? This can only end up poorly if they find out any lies. We can't be unprepared, but...we have no weapons. They have all of our weapons. Peeta, think.

And nothing. Absolutely nothing comes to my mind. I poke an eye out to see, and they're maybe five feet from me... Oh god. ~

"Well, then where is he?" So maybe Marvel isn't one to fall for things as quickly as others.

I almost say that I finished him off earlier, and that's what the cannon was, but it could've been their kill. Then everything would fall to shit. "Around...you know. I was waiting to meet back up with you guys. Then we could do it together, like we planned." I've had this death planned ever since before the Games started. But now...I can't. I wouldn't. Ever. "You were right. We could've finished him off before, instead of wasted time. Worthless."

On the other hand, Clove accepts me with open arms. Physically and figuratively. "That's the spirit, Cato!" And she runs over and hugs me. Oh, great. This shit again. ~

She literally runs OVER me. One foot. Me. Other foot. So close, if I'd moved an inch, she would've stepped on me. That was too close. Too close for comfort. But then, she's all over him. And of course, I'm jealous. I'll warn you right now; I'm the jealous type, and I'm not so great at hiding it. ~

Just to keep up the act, I hug her back. "Good to be with you again, Clove. Both of you, too." I need to divert them away from Peeta. As soon as possible.

But the other two don't seem as convinced. Glimmer says, "Why did it take so long to look for him-"

"Shut up!" The voice is practically screaming in my ear. "I finally have him back and you're doubting him?" She turns back to me. "I have hot food from the Capitol. They wanted to eat it a few hours ago, but I said we should wait until we find you. So...let's eat..." She brushes against my arm. Okay then.

"And then we hunt him down?" I smile. Not because I want to kill him, but because I know it's not going down like that. ~

Please, please Cato. Just get her away. She's inches away. Inches. And I'm so terrified, I'm afraid my shaking is audible. Go. Eat your food. Please. ~

"Yes! I knew it, I knew it! You were all buddy-buddy with him this morning so that we can have one big kill tonight! So that he can cry, right? Those are my favorites." Oh, how that sickens me.

"Of course, would it ever be anything else?" Except for the fact that I love him. "He'll stream tears at my betrayal." I take her by the hand and start pulling her away a little bit, while the others hesitantly follow. ~

I'd normally get extremely nervous at hearing that, if I didn't think he knew I was listening. But he was. That I knew. I'm finally able to breathe, cracking my back slightly and trying to conceal myself a little bit more in the bushes. ~

Then, she kisses me on the cheek. "I've been wanting to do that for days."

Okay...how do I even respond to that? ~

My stomach is in knots. Someone has to back off here. Why doesn't he say something? I mentally slap my forehead. Duh. Because that'd give everything away. But I can at least take her...he could take the other two. It's plausible. ~

"I've been waiting for you to do that." It's true. Days were spent with me wondering when the hell she would finally put the moves on me.

"Oh, good..." And she leans in for another one. On the lips this time. No, no, no, no, no. God no.

Do I push her away? Or...kiss her? What the fuck do I do now? ~

Alright. That's it. I quickly stand up, "Stop." The shock at a minimum would at least stop her for a moment. After all...she's been waiting for this. She said it herself. ~

"Who-" She turns around. Goddamn it, Peeta. "It's him! Glimmer, Marvel, back up!" She excitedly pulls my sword out of one of the packs and hands it to me. "Kill him!" ~

Perfect. She gave him a sword. "I don't think that's going to be happening." I smirk at her in the darkness, glancing at Cato quickly. ~

"Good luck," she says, giving me another kiss on the cheek. No...I don't really like that one bit. "Do it."

I look between Clove and Peeta. And then down at the weapon in my hand. If I attacked someone, would he be able to help me out? Or would it just get him killed? Hmm. Decisions. ~

"Okay, you really need to back off." I start getting a little touchy. I'm getting a few days of happiness. I'm getting him out of here alive. She's not stopping me. So I charge at her, just thinking about how Cato always says I'm strong, and push her with my arm up against a tree. "You underestimate me." ~

"Let me go!" She begins struggling, but to no avail. "Cato!"

For a moment, I stand there awkwardly, but then I happen to glance over at the other two, where Marvel is preparing to throw a spear at me. Peeta and Clove are out of range for them, blocked by a couple of trees and bushes.

I duck down just in time for the spear to impale the tree behind me. "Thanks for the weapon, guys. Really appreciate it!" I yank it out and hold it above my head as a taunt. And now they're scared. Good, because now I have a long-range weapon.

"Let me go!" ~

"Why on earth would I let you go? You want me dead!" I look over to Cato. "You're okay, right?" I give him an assuring nod, keeping my grip on Clove tight. She really has a thing for him. But he's not interested. Not at all. ~

"I'm peachy." I get into attack stance just in case the others attempt to pull something.

"Cato...! Help!" she screeches.

"I'm not involved in this." This is his battle. ~

"You were planning on killing me from the start. You're a generally vile person. And you're trying to take away the little bit of happiness I've ever had. Why on earth should I let you go?" ~

"You're no match for me! Just go away!" I shout at the others. "Just leave!"

"What happiness? We're both going to kill you, Twelve." She looks at me, with a hopeful look in her eyes. We were both supposed to kill him. ~

"I think you're in for a little bit of a disappointment if you think that's what's going on here." ~

"That is what's going on. I love him. And he's in love. He told me himself. Love." Clove stops struggling since it's starting to burn her out a bit. "Right, sweetie?"

I am in love. "Right you are, Clove." ~

"But did he tell you with whom?" ~

"Me, obviously. He threw himself at me before we even entered the arena."

If saying 'hi' is her definition of throwing myself at her...I wonder what 'I love you' would actually be classified as. ~

"I have reason to disagree with that." Come on Cato. Back me up here. Somehow. Please. ~

Sometime during this whole episode, the other two fled with a bag or two. Apparently, they were too lazy to take everything with them. What a shame.

"I...think this should end here. Peeta, let her go." District Two will hate me if I just let my partner die like that. No matter how obnoxious. ~

"She'll kill me." I say, some of the fear showing in my voice. ~

"See? He loves me!"

"You can't just hold here there forever, Lover Boy." ~

"But I can't just let her go, either." I glare back and forth. I don't know what's taken over with me. I'm not generally a violent or mean person...at all. But this is kill or be killed. Especially with Clove. She's out for me. ~

"Yes, I'll kill you if you let me go. I'll get you dead even from this tree! CATO!"

I sigh. I can't win. "Do what you want." ~

There's nothing else I can do here. Only one option. "I want to kill her." ~

Coming from the boy who didn't want to kill if it wasn't necessary. "What?" I ask him. ~

"It's her or us. And it's going to be her." ~

"'Us'?" Her expression becomes even more worried at the prospect of death, and I do feel bad for her, no matter how obnoxious she can get...but it's the Hunger Games. Kill or be killed.

"Yes, us." I hand a spear to Peeta. "I am in love. But...not with you, and you know that. There's only one person who I truly like here, and it isn't you." ~

And with that, I take the spear and stick it right through her stomach, somewhat deep into the tree, too. I killed someone. There is blood on my hands. I want to throw up. ~

The cannon sounds.

"Let's...clear out." She wasn't bad. She was like me. But if not her, then Peeta. I'd rather keep him around. ~

"Uh..uh-huh." I pull my hands away from her slowly cold growing body. I stare at them for a second before stepping away. I've killed someone. Cato begins walking away, grabbing packs...and I just follow, unable to think. I didn't want to kill anyone. ~

"Come on, faster. We've got food." I take him back to our camp setup and lay the supposed hot food under my jacket. "Smells like some type of meat." ~

"O...okay." I don't think I can eat this, as hungry as I am. She brought this here. I'm starving, but I might just let it all back out if I eat it. ~

"Hey...are you okay?" I look up. He hasn't sit down yet. "Peeta?" ~

"I...feel sick." All I can smell is the blood now. ~

"No, one of us is already sick!" I reach up to him, holding his jacket. "Put this on." ~

"No," I take the jacket anyway. "I feel like I'm going to throw up." ~

"Why?" ~

"I killed her." ~

"That's kinda why you're alive now..." ~

"That doesn't make me feel any more right about it." I sit, holding my head between my knees. "I never wanted to kill anyone here." ~

"It's alright. Only one person can get out..." I scoot closer to him. "You were just helping." ~

"I just want to protect you." I'm being honest. We may have only met, but for some reason, I've just felt the need to have him out of here. More than my own need to live through this. ~

"And you did." I hug him. "You'll be okay." ~

No, I won't. "You will be." I take the warmth in his hug with a small smile. ~

"I love you." ~

It makes my heart skip a beat. "I love you, too." I whisper, pulling him close and not letting go. It's keeping me sane, my love for him. I'd be terrible if I was on my own here. ~

"Calm down." I turn his face ever-so-slightly towards me and kiss him. "No matter what you do here, you're still-" Another kiss. "And you'll always be...my boyfriend." ~

"...Thank you, for all of this." ~

"No, thank you." ~

"No, really." I look up into the sky. Still dark and cloudy. "I mean...I know all of this could mean nothing after everything's over. That you'll probably move on when you've won, but..." I sigh longingly. "You've made the past, and to-be final days of my life the happiest I've ever had." ~

The thought that I could make someone that happy is strange to me. But I won't question it. It sounds like I'm all he has. "I just said always. I won't move on, if you don't want me to." ~

"I want you to be happy." Whatever that entails, do. ~

"Then I'll stay yours." I like being his. Something tells me that he's the only one who would actually keep all of me. ~

"...Even after my cannon's fired?" ~

I don't want him to die anymore. "Even after the cannon is fired." ~

"You have to win for me." I whisper, taking his hands in mine. If I can't get out of this, I want him to. I wouldn't want it any other way. ~

"I promise, if you don't win, then I'll win for you. Anything for you." ~

"I don't want to win, Cato." I don't want to go back to that hellhole. ~

"So you just come along for a few days, and then disappear?" ~

"We met for a reason, I think. I think everything that happens in this world is for a reason, be it good or bad." ~

"So do I..." I sigh. "But this? Us?" ~

"What about it?" ~

"You really think we were meant to meet here? What for? So that you can die some painful death and I can go home?" ~

"So that you can go home a better person than you came in. So I could genuinely smile for a bit of my life." I look him in the eyes. "I think so." ~

"Whatever you say, goes." I pull him to the ground with me and let him cuddle up next to me. "Whatever the reason, it's nice." ~

"It is...much better than having the long, lonely days and nights." I sigh, cuddling into him. "You and me...we'll be the last two." ~

"As far as I'm concerned, we're the only two." ~

"I like the way you think." We may have come from totally different worlds, but I get on with Cato more than anyone from Twelve. Those jerks hated me. ~

"I like the way you look." He's a cute little blonde teenager. With a great smile. Who wouldn't like that? ~

"I like everything about you, really." ~

"Oh, please. You're perfect." I roll my eyes. ~

"I'm far from perfect. You'll learn that someday. Maybe when you go see Twelve and see how happy the people there are that I'm dead...then you'll get it." ~

"They can't hate you that much..." What did he do to make them hate him so much? "I don't want you to die." ~

"If one of us has to...I want it to be me." He had to go on. Find more reasons to laugh and smile every day. ~

"No," I sneeze, "I don't want either of us to go." ~

"Put on a jacket!" I exclaim. "Someone has to." ~

I look up at the sky. "But it looks like rain. We need shelter." ~

"Well...where were you thinking?" I didn't remember seeing a lot of places except a cave a while back. ~

"Just...the jacket." I point above at our setup. "I'm too tired to go looking for something else." ~

"Okay...in the morning, maybe." I sigh. It's definitely going to rain. "We can cuddle up to make sure you don't get any more sick, okay?" ~

"I definitely wouldn't object to that," I cough, leaning up against the tree the way I was before. ~

"We should get you somewhere safe tomorrow, so you can get better..." ~

"I'm more concerned about getting you somewhere safe...but we can compromise and both be safe there." It's just a stupid cold. I'll be fine. Him...I'm not so sure. ~

"But you have to last longer..." I pull the jacket over the both of us. "You've got to be more careful." ~

"I told you I'm reckless." Some stupid little cold won't kill me. ~

"For me?" ~

"Sure," I sigh. "Can I sleep? My head and throat hurt." ~

"Yeah...now that the sleep's not going to have any other interruptions..." I sigh. It's quiet for a while before I speak. "Cato?" ~

"Hmm?" I open my eyes and see him looking up at me. "What is it?" ~

"You don't think I've...changed, do you?" ~

"I've only known you for two days. How would I know?" ~

"I'm...just asking." Especially after what happened, I'm sure I've changed somehow. "I wanted to die here the same person I came in...and I couldn't even manage that." ~

"Well, you don't seem any different from this morning." ~

"Except I killed someone." ~

Pulling him closer to me, I say, "Kill or be killed, it's going to be okay." ~

"I...guess you're right." ~

"Of course I am, sweetheart." I kiss the top of his head. We'll be alright. ~

Sweetheart.

Oh god, no.

I can't make myself respond. I can't choke out the words. I can't even tell him not to call me that. I never wanted to think about that time ever, ever again. ~

"Is something wrong?" ~

"N...no." I lie. I won't let any of that get in the way of the next few days with him. I can't ruin my own happiness. I can't let them do it again. ~

"Stop stuttering," I laugh. "I shouldn't be making you so nervous now. We've been dating for like, a whole day." I make it out to sound like it's been so long, when really, it hasn't at all. ~

"Best day ever." ~

"Love you." ~

I let out a big yawn. "Love you...too." ~

"Love you more." ~

A/N: And there it is. I'll post as many more chapters to amend for my lack of laptop while I have access to this computer…please review! And if you have tumblrs, leave them in your reviews, too! :) I'd love to chat with ya'll! Xx (Peeta)