Just after 2 A.M, Cato knocked on her door.

"I come bearing gifts," He said, the most humor she'd heard from him.

"Alcohol?" She asked, spying two cups.

"Better," He said, handing one off to her, "Hot chocolate."

Katniss wasn't sure what this was. She sipped it and made an unintentional squeak, "That's delicious!" She knew Prim would die over this drink. She'd be obsessed.

"So," She asked, "What's the occasion?" She narrowed her eyes.

"I was just…I was thinking…" He pressed his lips, swallowing hard, "We…uhm, have a tight timeline. For…" He waved uncomfortably toward her stomach.

"So this is sex hot chocolate."

"When you say it like that…" He winced deeply, "Never mind. Goodnight."

"No, wait," Katniss gets out of her covers, "I'm being an idiot. I just guess I…" She takes a sip, "Let's start over."

"What I was actually going to say," Cato says, with a hardened edge, "Is that we're on a tight timeline, as in…tomorrow we're going to District 2. And you have to make my family believe that we fell in love so wildly that we'd be so irresponsible and…" He inhales hard, "My family can be tricked, but it's out of character for this to happen."

"Yeah, for me too."

In all of this, Katniss hasn't even paused to wonder what her mother thinks about it. They don't call in between or even write. She's thought of Prim, and perhaps her sister's excitement, but the idea that her mother is going to be a grandmother makes her feel odd. It's like assigning a role to a stranger.

"We have more time for us to figure out how to make your family believe it," Cato waves a hand between them, "But mine? Time is very much of the essence."

"Maybe start by telling me their names," Katniss offers, patting the bed, an invitation. Cato still lingers in the doorway, unsure, "I'm sure I'd know them if we were actually…you know."

"Okay."

Still, Cato stands. It takes Katniss giving him a hard look for him to move in, just a shuffle of his feet.

"I won't bite," Katniss says dryly.

"Sorry, I just don't know how to go about this." He plays with a ring on his finger. Not his wedding band, since the wedding hasn't happened, but something he probably got after winning. He's always wearing it.

"You have siblings, right?"

She knows the answer. She knows how he reacted to the news of the Quell. Everyone does.

Cato swallows, "Five."

Katniss grins, in spite of herself, "Wow, you're the oldest of six? Full house, huh?" She can't imagine that, and in some ways, she's glad she never had to. Four more siblings would just mean four more responsibilities, four more mouths to feed, four more to agonize over through the games. She's never envied the position Gale is in. Having one sister has always suited Katniss and, in her opinion, is the most intelligent choice her mother ever made.

She knows that District 12 makes it so easy to have more instead of less, stringing people along with the promise of food to fill their bellies, just at the cost of a child's life. But people are starving, so sometimes, Katniss understands it, even if she feels sickened at the idea of trading lives like chattel. It's not just the Capitol who do such things, they're just the ones who created such strife.

"You could say that," Cato seems to relax a bit, "Three brothers, two sisters. Me, the oldest, at seventeen. My brother Vulco is fourteen. He's…" Cato licked his lips, twiddling his thumbs, "Eager to volunteer as well."

"And you disagree?"

"At this point," Cato pressed his lips together, "Yes. But he may get his way and go in anyway. Next is my sister Helena at 11. If she gets in, well, she may actually win something. She's vicious. Her twin, Julius, is not so much. And then I have my youngest siblings, Boaz - he's eight, and Iphigenia. Only five. Basically, babies, when I left and won and well…" He knit his eyebrows together.

"Iphi…Ifen…" Katniss felt stupid, stumbling over her name.

"It's a mouthful. We just call her Gennie. Only five."

Katniss reached out, but Cato flinched before she could touch his shoulder.

She drew her hand back.

"She'll probably believe us," Cato said, sitting on the very edge of her bed, looking ahead, "Boaz and Julius too. They're too young to think otherwise. Vulco might as well, just because he's pretty full of himself. It's Helena we'll really have to convince. Even at 11, she's sharp-eyed. And my parents, of course."

"Will romantic PDA work?" Katniss asked, but hoped that wasn't the case. Cato snorted.

"Thankfully, no. They'd be more sure it's a setup if they saw that. I think I'll have to get more used to…" He finally looked back, half-turning, one leg pulled up onto the bed, "Touching you…casually."

"Touching me a lot more than just that," Katniss added dryly, "We should, though," She stared underneath her fingernails, "Since we have a strict deadline."

Cato's face darkened, "We'll go as slow or as quick as we damn well please," He hissed.

"That's a nice sentiment, but…" Katniss shrugged. In some ways, she'd made peace with it.

"It's not just a sentiment," Cato said stiffly, "I don't force myself on people…." And then, he trailed off, and though he snapped his jaws shut, Katniss knew exactly what he wasn't saying. It was as loud as a scream.

I don't force myself on people the way the Capitol does on me.

"I draw the line there," Cato added, fists flexing.

"And while I appreciate that sentiment too," Katniss leaned forward, setting her mug on her bedside table, "If we don't, they'll kill us."

Cato didn't react to her words, not outwardly. He just blinked and finally sighed, "I think I'd rather die than stoop to their level." He said it very evenly, but still with a sense of caution, as though he was just rolling the thought around and agreeing mentally as each letter left his lips. He gnawed on his lip, breathing evenly, but his eyes shadowed as the admission hung between them.

"Well, hopefully it doesn't come to that," Katniss said, trying to force a laugh, but understood immediately that the situation was all wrong for levity. Plus, it wasn't even a good joke, "Plus, they'll kill all we love, too."

Cato screwed his eye shut, "I know." His voice warbled.

"So non-compliance isn't an option for me. If I say yes-,"

"You can't agree under duress," Cato cut her off quickly, shaking his head, "It doesn't count."

"What if I…" Katniss focused on his jawline, on the curve of his nose, on the way his hands seemed so large, "What if I also find you attractive? What if I'm...interested?"

Cato looked up, trying to read her. "You hate me, Katniss."

"People have sex all the time with people that they don't like but find hot," She reasoned, "And I…do…find you attractive…" The words died on her lips as she spoke them, feeling dumber than ever, "And I feel better knowing that you won't…" She focused hard on his hands, knowing he had more brute strength than she did.

"Actually, not the worst way someone's propositioned me for sex before," He said with a mild smirk, "We do have time, Katniss. Don't listen to me. Let's not go faster than we're ready for."

Maybe he was just trying to save her feelings, but she didn't miss how he said 'we' instead of 'you're'. Katniss was very well aware he wasn't a virgin, though at this point, she felt uncomfortable for his sake, wondering if his first time was with a Capitol fan or someone he actually wanted to be with.

Katniss leaned forward, grasping his T-shirt and pulling him back towards her on the bed. He fell with ease, letting her drag him, as she found his lips with hers.

If she let all her hesitations or worries, or anxieties fall away and just focus on Cato, she was sure she could muster sex with him, and perhaps even enthusiastically. She hadn't been lying; ever since that kiss in the training room, she'd been seeing him in an entirely new, fresh way that made her stomach tingle and heart thud fast.

Cato pushed lightly on her chest, tipping her backwards onto the pillows before his hand snaked around her shoulders.

"Let me know if you want to stop," Cato mumbled.

"You too," Katniss added, but Cato chuckled.

"Well, now you've gotten me hot and bothered," He said, "And stopping for me isn't an option. But it can be for you. It might be best if I get a taste of it now, my family will never see me. I'll be dragging you to bed every chance I get."

Katniss felt a rush of color run up her neck.

"Maybe that's the trick, though," Cato continued, one of his hands exploring underneath her shirt, pushing the fabric farther up, "To get them to believe it. If I couldn't even make family dinners because I was eating you out instead, I doubt they'd think it was manufactured for a second."

He met her gaze, grinning, "I wonder how you taste."

Katniss inhaled hard, the shore of her mind filled with images of what he was describing as his silver tongue washed more naughty pictures, one wave after another.

"Keep doing that."

Cato paused, "What?"

"Talking…" She exhaled, "Like that… "

Cato's eyes turned a shade darker. "Dirty talk?" He confirmed. Katniss nodded, "Well, that's a surprise. Never would have pegged you for that kink."

"It's not so much a…" Katniss pressed her lips together, "You know when you went to the doctor and you had to get a shot? And they just talked you through it, and just knowing made you feel so much better, more prepared?"

Cato snorted, "No. I just closed my eyes and told them not to count to three."

"Oh. Well, yeah, that does sound like you."

"Wait," Cato's face pinched again, "You're not comparing having sex to getting a shot, are you? I'll have you know I'm nowhere near as quick, nor narrow."

"That's not…" Katniss choked, "No! I mean to say that I like knowing. I hate surprises."

Cato laughed, "Welcome to the Victor's Club. Literally. It's common to be pretty anti-spontaneity after the Hunger Games."

"Well, I don't know what I'm doing. I've never…clearly," She tried not to feel shame or like she was behind the clock on some agreed-upon time-honored tradition, "And if I know what you want to do, if I can prepare it in my head, I'll be less likely to get caught up and more able to just let it happen."

Cato's fingers continued pushing the fabric of her shirt up, which meant that she hadn't gravely offended him, though she knew the joke of the sex drive of young men, so even if she had, it was entirely possible he was more interested in getting laid.

"Alright," He sounded amused, not upset, "When I do take you, all of this will come off first, so I can see what I'm working with. And I'll run my fingers across your nipples, and they'll get hard, just like this," Cato whispered, pushing up her shirt, exposing her chest to the AC of the hotel room. She felt her heart thud as his thumb swiped, and a path felt it lit down her stomach and between her legs.

Cato rolled himself to where he was between her legs, leaning down to lick a line between her breasts. Katniss let out a short huff of surprise, and his hand shot up to muffle her moan as his mouth, wet and hot, found her nipple.

"And I'd let you cry out, because we'll be far away from others, but tonight, I don't think we want our mentors checking up on us, hmm?" Cato asked, eyes flickering to hers. Katniss shook her head, agreeing.

"I'd push your legs apart and get you ready with my tongue, just like I'm doing right now," Cato mumbled, taking care to equally split his ministrations between each breast, biting lightly on the nipple above.

"And when you were ready…" Cato withdrew to straighten his back, grasping Katniss' hips. He slid his hands around to her ass, fingers digging in slightly as he lifted it slightly off the bed.

He pushed himself forward, his cock hard in his shorts, presssing against her center.

"When you were ready for me, I'd fuck you nice and slow the first time," He said, holding her legs wide as he bucked his hips forward, such thin fabric between both of them.

"I'd get so deep in you, Everdeen," Cato continued, and Katniss felt that same burning, made to feel lessened with the way he was rubbing against her, "You'd be so full of me, and while you were unwraveling, I'd get you off too."

"Where?" Katniss whimpered, shuddering.

Cato pressed two fingers inside his mouth, but as he withdrew them, he paused, "Can I demonstrate?"

It was so formal, but Katniss knew he was attempting not to take without explicit permission. Katniss, who felt like she'd burn through her skin if this tension wasn't snapped in some way, gave a shaky nod.

Cato pulled down her shorts, not all the way off her frame, but enough to reveal a very intimate part of her that no one else had seen. Before she could feel self-conscious, Cato's fingers found somewhere she'd only done basic experimental explorations of, usually before she'd snapped her hands back, chastising herself for doing something as time-wasting, or worried Prim would find her, hearing her bite back moans in the middle of the night.

Katniss felt her eyes roll into the back of her head as Cato rubbed in a way that made her insides feel like they were silk passing through his fingers.

"Once I got you used to this, I'd take you in so many ways, Katniss. Pressed against a wall, holding you up, hard and fast. Bent over a table, on the table…watch you cum with toys."

"Toys?" Katniss barely had the voice to ask, but it warbled out.

"Mhh…" Cato nodded, never breaking his movements, "Toys I can fuck you with, ones that vibrate that will have your head swimming, all sorts."

Katniss felt a feeling like a wave rising in her.

"Cato-,"

"I know, can you cum on my fingers?" He asked, looking pleased by the idea, "Maybe you'll get off by me telling you that once we do, I'll be insatiable, Katniss. Maybe I'll show Snow by fucking you on the balcony of his fancy house at one of those parties. It's what he wants, right?"

Katniss should have been horrified at the idea, but something about it, said in the safety of the bedroom, was her undoing. Maybe it was Cato's confidence, or maybe it was just the entire feeling of the night.

She felt something pitch and pull in her navel, and all of a sudden, the world grew fuzzy and her head swam. She tried to catch her breath, and in the pause, Cato was…kind enough to pull her shorts back up.

"Can I finish myself?" Cato asked.

Katniss, unsure what he meant but not wanting this to feel unequal, nodded. He surged forward, kissing her with much more vigor than before, something needy and hungry and unrefined. His hands kept her in place, rubbing against her.

Katniss felt the way he pressed against her, and already wet and turned on, she let out a small whimper. It felt good .

Cato swore as his movements became jerky, fingernails digging into her thigh. She felt her heart skip a beat as he gave a low, throaty moan, his hips stalling. She wasn't sure what had occurred until she felt a wetness against the inside of her thigh, and Cato pulled back, an obvious spot on the front of his shorts. Wordlessly, he rolled off, as though intending to stay the night.

"I'll go in a moment."

"You don't have to," Katniss felt the words fall out of her, "We're probably going to…with your home, aren't we? We're meant to be married, overcome by lust."

Cato snorted, "Well, one part isn't untrue so far." As though trying to drive her insane, he absently brought the two fingers to his mouth, the ones he'd used to get her off with. The idea of that made Katniss roll over, cheeks bright red.

"Not tonight. It feels like too much." Cato finally said, and she wasn't entirely unsure it was only for his benefit.

"Alright."

But she didn't rush him. They lay there, silently, for countless hours. She guessed it didn't count if neither actually slept. Finally, the bed creaked as Cato sat up.

"It'll be embarrassing, but tomorrow, think of tonight and look at me when you do."

"You want me to mentally undress you in front of your family?"

"Yes, I know I'll be doing the same," Cato ran his fingers through his hair, "It's easy to look a certain way when it's not a lie."

"And who do you know I want a repeat?" Katniss asked, almost spottily, but regretted it at once. He wasn't the enemy, and it had been enjoyable. She was looking forward to it again. And if it had been any other time or any other circumstance…

"Because I know I know what I'm doing," Cato said with a self-assured grin. When Katniss didn't reply, which felt like maybe conceding, he nodded, more to himself, "Yeah, if we get that 'newlywed lust' look, we might just pull it off."

Katniss, for the first time, was starting to imagine that they could too.