A/N: This starts with Cato's dad, going into Cato. MORE PLOT DEVELOPMENT. We're so close to the ending split it's scary! Review, review! :D

"Bye," He says one last time before walking out and closing the door behind him. ~

Once he's gone, I run to the door and double-lock it, just in case. I wait about a minute to make sure he's gone, and once I'm sure, I call over to the closet, "Peeta! You can come out of the closet!" ~

I remain seated on the ground, slightly shaken and extremely terrified. They know there's a chance I could be alive. Oh god, I'm dead. ~

Huh? "Did you fall asleep or something?" I go over and knock on the door. "It's just us." ~

I go to open my mouth to say something, but it just comes out as a faint whimper. I was cocky to think I'd be able to hide myself that well, travelling through all of the Districts. My entire body is shaking and I might cry at any moment. They want me dead. Worse than dead. Whatever that could be. All I can manage to do is raise my arm to flip the lock on the door next to me. ~

When I hear the lock open, I open the door to find him sitting on the ground shaking. "Hey...come on." ~

"They're gonna kill me," I whisper. "They're gonna find me and kill me." I continue starting straight forward. ~

"They're not gonna kill you," I say, kneeling down beside him. "I stand by you, remember?" ~

"Then...then they'll kill you, too." ~

"No they won't. Because I won't let them kill you. We're gonna live, okay?" ~

I turn my head to look at him. "...I'm...unkillable?" I don't want to seem like such a downer to him...even though I know the result here in inevitable. ~

"Yes, you're unkillable," I laugh. "You're safe when you're with me." ~

"Why does he want me dead so much?" His dad. ~

Because it's his job. "Because you gave me gay feelings." That's also true. "He's just hateful. I told you." ~

"He's like everyone back home," I whisper sadly. "They were the same way." ~

"No, no...he might be a little worse," I laugh. He has the power to kill Peeta. No one in Twelve did. "But he'll be gone for a while. So you're safe. Alright? Try not to freak out over it." ~

"I...I hope so. I'll try my best." I hold my hands out to him to help me up. "Can...can we make cake now?" ~

I stand and help him up. "Yes, we can make cake now. And it's gonna be the best cake ever." ~

"Promise?" Baking makes everything better. ~

"Mhm," I smile, leading him out of the closet. "Did you hear every part of that conversation? Even my dad said your baking smells good!" ~

"That was pretty nice hearing," I admit. "So...do you have actual dark chocolate?" ~

"Probably? To be honest, you've probably seen more of the cabinets than I have." ~

"Okay..." I crawl up onto one of the counters and start going through the higher cabinets, pulling out typical cake ingredients and locating some really high grade dark chocolate. "Woah. This stuff is way expensive." ~

"Most of this stuff is," I shrug. "Sorry." ~

"Don't be sorry...that means it's really good," I say as I pass him everything. "That should be it... How about frosting?" I slide off of the counter. ~

"Oh, it should be in the fridge!" I run over to the fridge and open the door. "I'm pretty sure there are unopened cans in here somewhere." ~

Had he listened at all? "That was more of a flavor question than a 'do you have that godforsaken canned stuff' question." ~

"No can either?" ~

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a cylindrical box." ~

"Wow...you've enlightened me," I say sarcastically. "I don't know how to make icing. I wouldn't know if we have ingredients." ~

"I do. I'm just asking what flavor you want, or if you don't care." ~

"Well...my favorite is cream cheese, but I think I'm in a chocolatey mood today." ~

"Why not both?" ~

He's the best. "Both sounds nice." ~

"Sounds good to me." I walk over to the huge fridge. "I've only been in a Victors Village house once before," I comment as I start pulling out eggs and milk and cream and, of course, cream cheese. ~

"Why?" I sit down at the chair I was sitting in earlier. ~

"My dad did some business with the only living Victor from Twelve, Haymitch Abernathy, who was my mentor. And he had to drop something off at his house, so I tagged along." Bowls, spoons, baking trays. Okay. ~

"Ohh." I tap my hands on the edge of the table. "Isn't he like, drunk all the time?" ~

"Yeah, kinda. But he's not really a mean person. Honest." For the most part. ~

"Ahh. Cool." Now I'm picturing Peeta running alongside his dad every day. Cute. "Were you always this adorable?" I whine. ~

"No," I laugh. "I was a chubby kid." Very chubby. I place some ingredients on the table. "Mix these." ~

I do as he says, putting everything into the bowl. "Cute chubby?" I ask, mixing everything together. ~

"Just fat chubby," I say, mixing together some things without measuring, just eyeing it. ~

"Didn't you not have food to eat?" ~

"Yeah, so my body decided to store the fat from everything I was able to eat." I shrug. "Most of it was bread anyway. And bread makes you fat." ~

"I think you'd make a cute chubby kid," I laugh. "I can tell by your face." ~

"There's pictures at home." I add the eggs. "Maybe you'll see sometime." If the Capitol doesn't get me first. ~

"I hope so! Baby pictures!" ~

"We'll see!" I smile, pouring the batter into the pan. "Smell." ~

"Smell?" I sniff the air. "...Good. Can I have some?" ~

"Not yet. The oven is still hot from the muffins, so..." I put it back on. "It has to bake first." I stick the pan in. "Patience." ~

"I want batter," I demand. "Now." ~

"You can lick the bowl." I hand it to him. "Or...the spoon may be easier." ~

I scoop as much batter onto the spoon as possible and head into the living room with it. "Thanks, boyfriend," I say, sticking the spoon into my mouth. Yay. ~

"No problem. So..." I sit at the table. "Um... About those girls.." I can't say it hadn't been bothering me. ~

"About those girls?" I laugh. ~

"That...you were talking about with your dad. Are you..." ~

Oh, Peeta. "Am I what?" ~

"Are you gonna go out with them and stuff?" I feel so vulnerable. "I...I mean, I understand that you have to, j...just.." ~

"Even if I do, I'm only yours." ~

"Even if they...expect things of you?" ~

"Of course! I love you." ~

"Even...first and only everything?" ~

"What do you mean? Peeta...?" ~

"I.." What're you saying? "..forget about it." Oh god. ~

"No, say it...please, for me." That should work. ~

"No...i..it's stupid." ~

I didn't want to resort to this, but... "Tell me or you're out the door." ~

"You'd...you'd do that?" I'm just weird and possessive. ~

"Tell me, Peeta, while you still have the chance." ~

"But..." I can't believe he'd do that to me. He loves me. ~

I give him a serious look. "Peeta. Say it." ~

"It's stupid...let it go." I look away from him. ~

"Please just tell me what you meant..." ~

"No, I just feel foolish and selfish about it now," I lay my head on the table. ~

"Don't..." I pout. "I wasn't really going to kick you out, but...please tell. I promise it's not selfish." ~

"I..." I shake my head. "No. It's not worth it." ~

"Even first and only everything what?" ~

"I'm sorry that I still have childish views of love!" I bury my head in my arms. "I always wanted to have my first of everything with someone who would have it as their firsts, too...and only. E..everything. But it's unrealistic." I say muffled by my sleeves. ~

"But...if that's what you're worried about, don't be." He's so sweet. "You'll be my first and only." ~

"Not..not if I want to live. Even little things..kisses...anything, everything...big things...I go crazy, Cato." ~

"But I'm not going to kiss them. Actually, at this point in time, I'm not even going on any dates. I lied to him, Peeta. I'm not gonna go out and try to pick up a couple hot girls and do it in an alley. I'm devoted only to you." All of the admirers come with becoming a victor. It's natural that people would be after me, considering I just won the most recent Games and killed nearly half of the tributes in the arena single-handedly. Around here, killing as many tributes as I did is a thing that people really like. Not to mention the fact that people saw how physical I like to get, so that didn't exactly help me out. So I can't really fend them off; there are just too many. "Peeta, I know you think things...that maybe I would eventually get bored with you and find someone else, or that I would get over you as soon as possible, because you don't trust the world we live in. You've been wronged your entire life. And I know you can't really help it, but you seem a bit jealous there. I only have eyes for you, okay?" ~

"...Promise?" I come up and wrap my arms around him from behind. ~

"Would there ever be anyone else like you?" I ask. "Of course I promise." ~

"Good." I pout a bit. "I want this all to myself. Every bit of you." ~

"Is it safe to assume you're all mine?" What kind of question am I even asking? He even said himself that people still hate him back in District Twelve, but I just need confirmation. ~

"Completely...Now and always." I sigh. "You'll never have anything to worry about." ~

"Good." I put my arm around him. "So when will that cake be done? I want some breakfast." ~

"...it's only been fifteen minutes." I laugh. "Twice of what's past to go." ~

Thirty minutes left? I sink in my chair and groan. "But I'm so hungry." ~

"You'll have to wait. If you can think of something to satiate yourself and pass the time, go ahead. But cake must wait." ~

"Nothing will ever satisfy me while I'm hungry and waiting for cake." He looks up at me and smiles, begging for more. "Not even you." I grin and look out to the kitchen. "Warm batter smells good right about now..." ~

I sigh frustratedly. "No. No warm batter." ~

"Semi-warm batter?" I ask in a polite manner. "I had one taste and I can't get away from it...just like you?" Sucking up will definitely get me more cake batter to eat. ~

"Pleading and compliments will get you nowhere." I laugh. "You'll be fine." After all his pleading, it's only 20 minutes until the cake was to be ready anyway. "Besides, you have to wait until the cake is done, then I have to frost and decorate it. So relax." ~

"But why frost it if I'm going to eat it in like...half a second?" Now that I'm finally able to eat without feeling guilty, I am starving. "I can just take a spoonful of icing and stick it in my mouth." ~

"You can have some icing now." I stand and go grab the bowl and a spoon. I put some on the spoon and bring it over to him. "This is it. Make it last." ~

"I meant when the cake was ready!" But I was already eyeing the spoon. I don't take it, but I lean forward and engulf the entire spoon while he's still holding it. It tastes good because Peeta told me how to do it. I slowly lick the spoon clean, with him still holding it, and lick my lips when I finish. "Too sexual for you?" ~

"Definitely not." I let out a breath I've been holding in. "Damn spoon..." I mutter, looking at the spoon with a bit of mock jealousy before looking up to Cato's smirking face. "You're a real tease, you know that?" ~

"You're just angry because the spoon got more action from me than you'll ever get, Lover Boy." I laugh. "You might want to take notes. Mr. Spoon here knows what he's doing." ~

"Ever? Oh, I see how it is." I stick my tongue out at him and turn away. "I only ever do nice things for you." I pout. "Maybe I'll just go sit and watch the cake bake." ~

"Really?" I grab his wrist and take the spoon out of his hand. "And you're going to leave me alone with the spoon?" Smirking, I lick the spoon all over, even though I'm pretty sure I'd gotten every last bit of frosting off. ~

"Yes, really-you said it yourself, the spoon's gotten more from you than I ever will. So I might as well give up now." I sigh, forlorn. ~

"Well maybe if you were covered in frosting..." I wink seductively at him and lick the spoon again, not taking my eyes off him. ~

I raise my eyebrows slightly. "So you only want me if I'm covered in chocolate?" I smile at him charmingly. ~

"Chocolate covered Peeta...hmm..." I put the spoon down on the table and lie back on the couch. "I like my Peeta the way he is." ~

"Then why is the spoon getting preferential treatment, huh?" I lay next to him, resting my head on his chest and running my hands up and down the side of his body, across the pocket areas on the front of his pants. ~

"Because it talks less..." I look at him and burst out into laughter. ~

"Hmph. Fine then. I won't talk." I sit up, making sure my hand goes across and lingers for a moment on the front and center of his pants before standing and going over to the kitchen table and sitting, looking into the oven at the nearly finished cake. ~

"Peeta!" I call out to him. "I didn't mean that...I...I want cake too! Can you carry me into the kitchen?" ~

I keep my mouth shut and simply shake my head, smiling to myself. My turn to be a bit stubborn and teasing. I rarely get this chance. ~

"Love is about making sacrifices, and doing things for each other..." I whine, "so sacrifice a moment of your time and do this for me!" ~

I do loads for you. I think to myself. Stop being a lazy bum. I laugh quietly to myself. I walk over to the door of the kitchen and poke my head out and make a zipping hand motion on my lips and shake my head at him with a wink. ~

"Come on! I killed ten tributes for you, and you can't even do this one little favor for me." I roll off the couch and onto the floor. "If you don't care, then just leave me here." ~

I sigh, walking over to him. Well, you get what you ask for. I grab him by the waist and pick him up, fireman style, over my shoulder. ~

"Ah! Oh god." In about two seconds, I'm off the ground and being carried across the floor into the kitchen. "I was joking, Peeta..." ~

I smile and use my free arm to smack his ass before sitting him down on a chair, glancing over at the oven. 5 minutes left. ~

"I was taken from the floor and violated against my will..." I fake cry. "I will never forgive you for this." ~

I give him a look that said something along the lines of "Seriously?". I roll my eyes and begin looking around for an oven mitt. ~

I impatiently tap my feet, waiting for my food to be ready. "The boxed mix doesn't take this long." ~

I shoot him a look of death before pulling out an oven mitt and opening the oven. I pull the pan out, taking in the smell. I place it on the top of the stove and get a larger plate to put the warm circle on before sticking it into the fridge to cool before I frost it. I gather a few of the berries I had earlier and some cream and sugar from the fridge and pantry. After searching for a moment for a whisk, I put the both of them into a bowl with a splash of vanilla and began whipping it intensely. I didn't even look to see if there was canned whipped cream. I didn't want to know. After about ten minutes, it's thick and whipped properly, and I take the plate with the actual cake on it and put it on a counter. I smoothly frost it with the chocolate frosting Cato had made, before putting the freshly whipped cream on top in intricate swirls, placing the berries at the bases of the wisps of cream and at the bottom of the cake. Lastly, I make sure to pour the last of the warm chocolate Cato had used for the frosting on top of the cake, along with a few chunks of chocolate on top for garnish. I turn back to look at him. "Ready?" I finally speak, proud of the cake I'd basically pulled out of my ass. ~

"Yes, please. Before I die of starvation." He picks up the cake and brings it over to the table and lays it down in front of me. "Oh my god..." I could devour that cake in five minutes if I wanted to. Every little crumb. "Can I...Can I eat it now?" I look up. ~

I laugh at him, before pulling a fork from behind my back and handing it to him. "Go ahead. You've waited long enough." ~

He's barely even able to finish his sentence before I take the fork from his hand and dig it into the delicious-looking cake in front of me. The first bite that goes into my mouth is probably the best sweet I've ever eaten in my life. "This is so good!" I say, with cake crumbs falling out of my mouth as I do so. After about ten bites, I look up at Peeta. He's still watching me with a smile on his face. I take a considerably large chunk out of the cake with my fork and hold it to his mouth. "Have some." ~

I bite into it, laughing slightly at the look on his face and the amount of chocolate frosting that didn't quite make it into his mouth. "Better than the boxed cake?" I break out into laughter. ~

"Anything you make is superior to boxed cake!" I scoop up another piece onto my fork and let Peeta have another bite. "This is better than the batter from before!" ~

"I told you to wait until it was finished baking. Was it worth the wait?" ~

"I hate waiting for things...but yeah. Anything concerning you is worth the wait." I eat more. "Your food is worth the wait. You are." Before I realize how carried away I'd gotten, the cake was already about a third of the way done. "You can have some more, you know. Before I finish it off." ~

"I know I can, but you're also thoroughly enjoying it. And I've lived with this as a norm for my entire life." I smile. "Go ahead, eat." ~

"But...you didn't eat any yet. Come on. I'm pressuring you to eat this cake right now!" I hand him the fork. ~

I use the side of the fork to cut off a piece of the cake. "Fine, fine! I'll eat the cake." I laugh. "You really are crazy. Maybe I shouldn't have given you sugar. I might have discovered your fatal flaw. That could be problematic, dating a baker." ~

"No, no!" I beg. "There is no problem with dating a sexy baker. The sugar is good! The cake is good." The cake is actually taunting me at this moment, so I pick a piece off with my fingers and eat it quickly. ~

"I mean that you're obsessed, and probably don't take sugar well. That it makes you extraordinarily hyper. More than a normal person. Once again, problematic." I laugh at him. ~

"There's nothing wrong with me!" I sink down my chair and cross my arms. "I've just never had cake as good as this before." ~

"Well, thank you." I take his hand in mine. "I'm glad you like it." ~

"It's not nearly as sweet as you." I try to smile like he does, but it just doesn't work on my face, so I end up laughing at my comment anyway. "It's damn good cake." ~

"You may want to save some for later. You could make yourself really sick, and you'll probably want more tonight, seeing as we're in here all day." With that comment alone, my mind is pushed back to the reality at hand. ~

"I guess so..." I reluctantly push the plate to the center of the table. "Yeah, about that...do you think they'll look here?" ~

"I..don't know." I thought about it for a minute. Sure, it had crossed my mind. But I hadn't thought of it since they'd now gained the suspicion that I was alive. "..Probably. The only reason they wouldn't would be that they assumed that I couldn't make it this far on my own." I say. "But if they think I could...this'll probably be the first place they look. They'll probably send local Peacekeepers, since you guys practically manufacture them." I manage a smile. "But they will probably look here for me...I'm almost sure of it." ~

"Yeah..." If they had any reason to look here, they probably would've been here by now. They must really trust my dad to do his job. I'd imagine they asked him if he saw any suspicious activity around here, and of course we hid it well enough, so he must've said no. If I'm not mistaken, they know him very well, and therefore know that he would give up Peeta's location, even if it'd hurt me too. "If they do look here...we'll just have to hide you somewhere." I take a napkin and wipe excess chocolate off my face. "I'll keep you safe." ~

"They'll rip the house apart, Cato. No matter where I hide here, they'll find me. This house was the Capitol's design." ~

"Then I...I'll have to watch carefully, wouldn't I? And I can get you out of the house somewhere." The Capitol knows every little door, every room, everywhere to hide in this place. "I'll fight them for you." ~

"You don't have to plan that far ahead love...you make it sound as if you're sure they'll come here." I sigh, before having all of this hit me at once. What I've done. Been a part of. Messing with. "I'm...I'm scared, Cato." ~

"I don't blame you for being scared. It's not your fault that you didn't die...you didn't purposely defy the Capitol. Maybe they'll see that..." I'm almost sure that they'd be here eventually, because I can't hide it from someone who lives here for the rest of my life. It's just a matter of when. ~

I almost laugh at his words. "Cato...in District Twelve, we're lucky. Our Peacekeepers aren't strict at all. They support the illegal activities that go on, like hunting and crossing borders. But even there, messing with the Capitol is defiance. Whether you mean it or not. And they have to write you up. Write you up. Means nothing. But if that's what happens in a District where you can basically leave whenever you like and nothing gets done, what's going to happen to someone like me in a District where conspiring to leave brings you torture, followed by public execution in the Square?" I say, shaken. "I beat their Games, Cato. Whether I meant it or not, there's no way they'll let me live." ~

"You shouldn't need their permission to live, Peeta," I say. "I'll kill anyone who tries to take you away. That way, they can't execute you." ~

"They're trained to kill people like me. Those in hiding. Running. You can't risk yourself if you realize it's hopeless for me." I say, looking him in the eyes. "If you fight them and win, and I'm not far enough away, you run after me. If you fight them and lose, they'll kill us both. Have us both. You can't risk yourself like that." ~

"Yes I can!" I stand up angrily. "Peeta, you said dead, not apart. If they kill us both, what would be so bad about that? We'd be together, like you said! We just discussed this!" ~

He's right. And I know he is. "I know we talked about this already, but I just...I'm just afraid to see you die," I whisper. "You're like..this rock, to me. Infallible, strong, powerful, confident...If you fall, I..I don't know what I'd do." ~

"I saw you die. For what I thought was for real. You would see me die once, but I would see you die again." I push the chair in and begin walking out of the kitchen and up to my room. "But at least we'd be together that time. Just forget it, Peeta. I'm not discussing this for the second, third time. You know my stance on this. Forget it. Wrap up the cake." I reach the door to my bedroom, go in, and slam it shut. ~

A/N: Uh-oh spaghettios. Review, and I'll spam you with some chapters over today. ;D xx