Highway to hell

18. The flirt

Cato's POV:

I've been wondering these stupid woods for God knows how many hours and I feel like I've been walking in circles. I literally just have my sword and a small backpack with an empty bottle and matches. Pretty useless, really. But whatever, I'll manage.

It's been two whole days since I've eaten anything, last time I ate was with Mara. And the other day I managed to cut a pretty large gash on my leg with the trap I was working on, so that's not too good.

Going back to Mara. Now that I'm here all over-thinker mode I can allow myself to figure out her opinion of me. Well considering that last time I saw her she left, angry at me for whatever bullshit I did, I don't think her thoughts of me are very colourful, y'know?

I'm meddling in my own mental shit when I hear Claudius Tempelsmith's voice over the speakers, covering the whole arena with the sound, "Attention tributes, attention. The regulations requiring a single victor have been... suspended," my heart stops for a second waiting for him to continue, "From now on, two victors may be crowned if they both originate from the same district. This will be the only announcement."

Wait so that means... "MARA!!!" I shout, immediately covering my mouth with my hands. Regretting the stupid decision of making any sound.

"What the actual fuck?" there she is, wait, how did she find me? "How the fuck did you find me?"

"I could ask you the same," I reply.

"I mean you did scream my name the minute the announcement ended so..."

"Don't worry, when we go back home, I'll make you scream my name," I say without thinking. Her jaw drops at my sudden flirt, but she quickly recovers and rolls her eyes.

"Well it's not like you can..." she starts, "whatever,"

"So I win," I say not too cheerfully.

"Bitch, fuck you," she spits.

Despite her insulting me I just laugh at her, "Anyway, we just have to kill off District 12 and the victory is ours,"

"Fine, but only of I can kill the guy," she replies and starts walking off.

"Sure princess, he's all yours," I promise, "just like me when we get out of here."

"I heard that,"

"I wanted you to hear," I do a little jog to catch up to her. After like, an hour, a bit of fighting and a Mara being dramatic, we still haven't found district 12 so I ask,  "so where are we going?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know, I was following you," she stops and looks at me.

"But I was following you," I say

"Well if you would've just shut up, I would've know where to go." God her accent. I don't listen the rest of her rant and try to memorize every single thing on her body, from her dark green eyes, to her thick lips, to her marked collarbone, to her abs, her perfectly sculpted legs. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Uhh... what?"

"Ugh! You're so annoying!"

"Thanks, I guess," I say softly, she shoots me a glare and continues walking. "So what did you say?"

"Never mind it's stupid," she answers.

After a while longer of walking through the woods, we finally found a little cave tucked into the hillside. It wasn't much, just enough to keep us hidden and out of the cold and other tributes. We decided it was best to not lit a fire, since we'll both be asleep.

Once everything was quiet, Mara scoots closer to me. Her movement is slow, deliberate, as if testing the boundary between us, but she doesn't stop until her shoulder brushes mine.

"You think we'll make it?"

"What? The baby? I'm mean we're kinda young but I guess if you wanna, we can manage something..."

"Are you crazy? In the middle of the hunger games? Once we get home we can," she says. I look at her, as my jaw slightly drops, did she just flirt?! I can feel the heat rising up to my cheeks, luckily it's getting dark and she won't be able to notice, "What? You can make sex jokes but I can't. That's sexist."

"Not at all, I'm just... surprised by that sudden boldness," I stutter.

"Oh, I'm just getting started,"

"Stop it, you're turning me on," I have to really control myself to not smash my lips against hers and kiss the fuck out of her. So I just put my hand on her lap as she puts her head on my shoulder.

"Gone soft, Hadley?"

"Quite the opposite actually," I say, she stares at me for a second.

"Was that a dick joke?"

"Maybe," I think through what I'm about to say, hesitating at first, "Mara?"

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?" I ask softly, almost in a whisper.

Her eyes opened slightly, probably surprised by my question, nonetheless, she answers a simple, "Yes,"

That single word sent a surge through me, and I leaned in slowly. My hand rose to her face, my cold fingers brushing against her cheek as I closed the space between us.

When our lips met, it was soft, tentative, as if we were both afraid of breaking something fragile. Her breath hitched, and I felt her hand tighten on my shirt, pulling me closer. Encouraged, I tilted my head, deepening the kiss.

Her lips were warm, and she tasted faintly of rain and something sweet I couldn't place.

Mara kissed me back with a quiet intensity, her fingers sliding up to the back of my neck. She pressed closer, her body leaning into mine, and the heat of her touch sent shivers down my spine. My other hand moved to her waist, anchoring her to me like she might disappear if I let go.

When we finally pulled apart, both of us were breathing hard, our foreheads resting against each other's. Her hand lingered at the back of my neck, her fingers tangling in my hair.

"I've wanted to do that since..." I hesitated, realizing I didn't have an exact moment. It felt like I'd been waiting forever.

"Since when?" she asked softly, her lips forming a faint smile.

"Since I met you," I said simply.

Her smile grew, and she leaned in again, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth. It wasn't hurried, wasn't desperate. It was steady, real, like she believed this moment was worth savoring.

For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt like I wasn't just surviving. I was alive. Well not for long, since the sweet Mara I had I front of me literally five seconds ago decided to turn into the deadly carrer the whole country knows.

"Okay so... we'll talk about this when we get back home," she says coldly. And then adds "but not bad for a swordsman,"

"Okay, now that's offensive,"

"Oh, poor baby," she says with a smirk, "go to sleep, you kneed the energy for tomorrow,"

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