A/N: Closer and closer…This starts in Cato's POV.

"Show me!" I yelled. ~

"Okay, jeez." I turn the paper around. It's a painting of him the previous night, after he'd fallen asleep after me, and I woke up because I was worried he'd have nightmares. There was something so perfect about his content smile and the small bits of moonlight that had made it into the room onto his face that I had to get down on paper. Not like I'd ever forget the image. There was the red from the blanket on his bed. His hair was only ruffled a bit, but it worked for him. I loved the image in my head, but I believe that anything I could do could never give him justice. ~

"Is that me?" I stupidly ask. It was so very clear, because the picture is perfect. Not because I like staring at myself or anything, but he's really that good. "How dare you call yourself a terrible artist!" I stare at the painting a little bit longer and take in every detail...which there are many. "Wait, was this from last night?" ~

I nod, somewhat embarrassed. "..Yeah." I blush a little, but only a slight pinkness in my cheeks. ~

"This is so great...god, you bake me a cake and paint a picture for me, and I have nothing to give in return." I put the canvas paper on the ground in a safe spot and hug him. "Peeta, you're so good at everything!" ~

"You've saved my life, Cato." I hug him back. "Drawing pictures is the least I can do. And trust me, I'm definitely not good at everything. Like luck. I have terrible luck, as we've both experienced." ~

"That's not really something you can help...besides, I think it was the best luck in the world that you didn't die. Sure, you're on the run and they're looking for you...but I got you here with me, and I said I will never let anything bad happen to you." ~

"That isn't good luck, that's just stupid luck." I laugh. "But sure, it was luck. Either way, you've done so much for me. Even letting me stay here...I couldn't think of a better, safer place." ~

Yeah, completely safe except for the whole 'Dad is a Peacekeeper' thing. "There wouldn't have been any other way." ~

"No, I suppose not." I take his hands in mine. "We'll figure all of this out, you know...together. Right?" ~

"I don't know how, but yeah, we will." Maybe they'll give up the search after a while. Maybe they'll decide that if the all-superior Capitol hasn't found him after a few months, that he's just gone forever. And people will forget about him. "Together, this time." ~

"It's the only way to do it." I smile. Sure, I'm scared. I have a right to be. But things could be so much worse. Part of me feels as if I'm cursing myself, talking about the great luck we've had so far, but I can't help myself from being thankful. ~

I start thinking of ways that he could come on the Victory Tour with me, but they all end in failure. He can't hide, he will never not look like Peeta, and it's not like I can opt out. I still have a little over a month to think about it, but as of now, it sounds like the best idea is to keep him here. It's only a few weeks. "I remember when we talked about having met in a different time and place. It would've been perfect then, wouldn't it?." ~

"Maybe it would have...But I have you here, and now...And I can't object to that at all, no matter how it happened." ~

"What am I kidding?" I stand up and push him into a lying position on the bed. Then, I crawl on top of him. "It's perfect now." ~

"It is, isn't it?" I blush a bit at our position, per usual. ~

I turn and roll onto my back next to him, possibly making him slightly disappointed. "Now what?" ~

I let out a breath. What a tease. "I don't know, what do you want to do?" ~

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" I laugh. ~

You know that perfectly well. I think to myself, giving him a look that says just about the same thing. "I don't know either." I say. "We've made cake, sat by ourselves for about three hours, I've painted, there's been more cake, you've been hit on my some chick...pretty eventful non-eventful day, if you ask me." ~

"I know what you're thinking, but I just ate. And it's the middle of the day." I ruffle his hair when he makes a pouty face. "And she was not hitting on me!" ~

"Whatever you say, love." I sigh, rolling my eyes at him. "Whatever you say." I laugh a bit, enough to let him know I'm not actually mad at him, just being a bit stubborn and pouty. ~

"So...did you actually hear that entire interview?" ~

"...Yes...?" ~

"So you know about what was going on in Twelve? And all the Peacekeepers?" ~

"...I did. But didn't you catch on to what else she said?" ~

"It wasn't much else," I sigh, "just the whole Peacekeeper thing to every house is bothering me." I'm not sure if we'd get any here, but if the Capitol knew Peeta well at all, they would know where his destination is. But if they'd actually station one here, would it be my dad? I mean, why not have the most important Peacekeeper be checking in or guarding the house? I'm sure he has other things to handle, but this being a possibility is bothering me. "You're not worried about it?" ~

"I'm extraordinarily worried about it, Cato. I just didn't know if you got that it wasn't just happening in Twelve.." I swallowed nervously. ~

"It's hard to believe, but she said it herself. Every District." ~

"Including Two." ~

"It'll be fine. I promise." ~

"But how? What if they come? I know peacekeepers aren't often in Victor's Village, but this is a special case." ~

Unless one lives here. "I'll protect you, Peeta." ~

"Neither of us know what's going to happen with this... But it means a lot that you're going to be here." ~

"Nope. No one knows. But I like you being here, too." ~

I woke up groggily to the sun in my eyes. I was, like every morning for the past month or so, in his arms. Not that I minded. Cato always slept later than I did, but I was used to it, being a generally early riser. I yawned once and shut my eyes, not to sleep, but to get the sun out of my eyes. "...Cato?" I whispered. He had to be up today. Neither of us had wanted it to come, but like clockwork, it did. ~

I partially wake up to a voice saying my name. "No, Mom, let me sleep." ~

I laugh a little. "It's not your mom, Cato. It's Peeta. You've got to get up." ~

"No, I don't want to ever get up." I know what day it is. And the more time I waste in bed, the less I will have to worry about it. "Can I go back to sleep?" ~

"But I have to get out of here before the cameras and Capitol people show up in an hour or so... I just wanted to have some time for a goodbye." ~

"Where are you going?" ~

"Just away from the house...Until they've all cleared away. Then I'll come back. I just can't risk it, with the cameras..." ~

"But I won't be out there with you." I sit up in the bed and pull him into a tight hug. "Don't get yourself killed while I'm on the Victory Tour, alright?" ~

"I...I promise I won't." I hug him back, talking into his shoulder. "You better come back for me." ~

"Well, I was planning on staying around in District Eight for a while..." I pull away and laugh. "Of course I'm coming back for you! That is, if you stick around and wait for me." ~

"You'd better!" I give him a stubborn look. "I have no where else to go, after all." I wink. "You know I'll be here." ~

"I know." Looking at him makes my smile disappear. "Are you sure you can't try the suitcase thing? I'm almost positive you could fit." ~

I sigh, giving him a sad smile. "I don't think so, love." ~

"I'll miss hearing that." I admit to him. "I feel good every time you call me that." ~

"I understand..." I stand and dig into my-my being his-jacket's pocket and pull out a little slip of paper. "This is a note I wrote for you. You can't look at it until you're far off and gone, though, okay?" ~

"If you tell me I can't read something, I'll just want to read it more." I shake my head and take the slip of paper. "But for you, I'll hold off." ~

"Promise?" ~

I stuff it into my pocket and put my hand on his shoulder. "Do I ever break promises to you?" ~

"Not that I know of." I wink. "Of course not, love. Put it away!" I yell at him, laughing. ~

"It's good! It's good. It's gone now." I pull my hand out of my pocket. "I wish I had something to give you." After thinking for a moment, I come up with a solution. "I can give you secret messages on TV, if you want." ~

"How?" I say, glancing over at the set. ~

"Well...if I say something sweet, sexual, or charming, just remember I'm saying it to you." I wink. "Especially the sexy." ~

"Anything at all?" I laugh slightly. "I'll watch every day-probably with your mother." ~

"Anything." I pause. "I don't want to go." ~

"...I don't want you to go either..." I look to him, taking his hand. Then, I remember something. "Don't forget...You're starting in Twelve. You can't break down, okay?" I warn him. "You can cry...play the part, but always remember I'm right here with you." I squeeze his hand and put my other on his shoulder reassuringly. "Besides, you're going to have to meet my parents." I laugh a little. "So make a good impression." ~

"I'll try, but after you being by my side for a month, I might forget that you're still here." It would be easier for me if I wasn't starting in Twelve, because the more I spend apart from him, the more emotional I could act. But I'll just have to try a bit harder to make it real. "I wouldn't make anything but a good impression. Your parents would love me." ~

"Well, except with my mother. She hates everyone, I'm pretty sure." I laugh. "Including me, sometimes." I see him give me a nervous look. "Relax...you'll do fine, I'm sure." ~

"No, no, I'll do fine..." If she hates her own son, there isn't a doubt in my mind that she'll detest me. "I'll be fine." I lean in and kiss him. "See? Fine." ~

"Of course, love." I kiss him back once before looking up at a clock on the wall. "I have to start going soon..." ~

"No," I groan, "I don't want you to leave me. And I don't want to leave here. Can't I just...fake a stomach ache?" ~

"They'll take you anyway, Cato." I sigh, standing and holding my hands out to him. "They took a blind victor, once." ~

I take his hands and pull myself up. "Well...I guess we can stay apart for a few weeks. But I'm still not good with you leaving. You can't hide in the closet or anything?" ~

"I could, but what if your stylist or prep team decides they want to look in there? Or the Capitol wants an in depth look at your life-including your closet, which I believe only has a pair of pants and my tribute jacket in it?" I laugh. The rest of his clothes are either scattered or stuffed in drawers. Over the past month or so, I'd noticed he isn't the neatest person. ~

"It'll be empty soon. I need new pants for today and those are my only clean ones." Laughing, I walk over to the closet and open the door. He was right, for the most part, about the contents of it. He forgot to mention underwear and, of course, dust. When I take out the jacket and the pants, I see him give me a questioning look. "They told me months ago that when I visit Twelve on the Victory Tour, that they want me to wear your jacket." ~

"Of course they would...it's the show factor." I shrug at Cato. "I don't get it either, but it's not a terrible thing. At least you'll have some of me with you." ~

"The part of you that's stained with the blood of about seven or eight tributes?" I laugh. "But you're right." ~

"I'll be right here waiting the moment you get back." I smile. "Well, I might be in the closet, in case your entourage decides to come inside." I pause, thinking. "Maybe I'll hide somewhere and surprise you." I laugh. ~

Shaking my head, I say, "I think you've surprised me enough for a lifetime." Him coming back from the dead was a big enough surprise for me. It was a big enough surprise for anyone, really. I check the shirt I'm wearing to see if it's clean enough to wear out today, then I take the jacket off the hanger and slip it on. As I put my arm through one of the sleeves, I hear a crinkling sound in one of the pockets. "Oh, I know what I can give you!" ~

"Huh?" I turn to him after getting distracted by something out the window. "What is it?" ~

Laughing, I stick my hand into my right pocket and pull out something small and wrapped in plastic. "In case you're ever hungry." I toss the pack of crackers I found at him. ~

I look at him in disbelief. "Oh my god!" I laugh. "You still have these things?" ~

"You're the one who stuffed a million of them into your pocket." I take another one out and unwrap the plastic. "And they still taste pretty good." I put one of the crackers in my mouth. "And crunchy." ~

"If they were going to chase me off and try to kill me, I didn't know when I was going to find food again!" I laughed, referring to our old time in the Games. "Don't eat them all, how am I going to have them last me while you're gone?" ~

"You don't need them to last you! If you get hungry, bake another one of those cakes that would remind you of the one you made me. You know, the one with all the chocolate?" I take his mystery note out of my pants pocket and zip it into the left pocket of the jacket. "Now, turn around, I have to change my pants." ~

I groan. "Do I really have to turn?" I turn, sighing. "We've been living together for like, over a month. You're really that reserved?" I laugh a bit. ~

"Like I said," I start unzipping my pants, "I'm a perfect gentleman, so I will not show you the good stuff." With that said, I quickly pull off my pants and change my underwear. "You can look now...maybe we can have sexy times when I get back." ~

My face gets red. "As much as I wanted you back before, I want you back even more now." I laugh. "And since when have you been a perfect gentleman?" I give him a smirk, suddenly hearing a noise outside. "...They're here..." ~

"Shit!" I whisper-yell. "How are you gonna get out?" I rush to get my clean pants on and zip up my jacket. "I need shoes. And socks. Where are they?" ~

I listen closely. "I think they're out front.. I'm going to run out back before they barge in here." I take him by the shoulders. "I'll be safe. I promise. I love you." And I kiss him. Just once.. Then again. Innocently. Like I did the first time we kissed. And I run to the door, turning back quickly. "See you soon, love." And I run out the door and down the stairs, through the living room, waving to Cato's mother as I got out the back door. I'd barely be able watch him go...but the view was better than nothing. ~

A/N: Now there's a bit of a timeskip that'll take up the next chapter. You'll see! Review and continue enjoying! xx