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He pulled away, and I bit my lip, looking down then up again. Only Cato could pull this humble, innocent act from me. And I loved it.
His arms lingered around me, and I could feel his thumb making small, light circles on my lower back.
"Stay with me?" I asked, surprised at the, again, innocence of my voice.
He smirked, a facial expression that was intimidating to other people, but completely endearing to me. He picked me up, bride style, and carried me to my bed. His arm never left my waist, holding me in a way that seemed to block out the instinct to always protect myself, always be on guard. His other hand was entangled in mine.
We talked. For hours. About the tribute parade tomorrow, about the interviews and what our angles were.
"Confident," We said at the same time.
He smiled at me.
"I don't know... maybe you should go for sexy?" He said, and wiggled his eyebrows in the most ridiculous fashion.
I laughed, and he poked me in the stomach playfully, tickling me and making me laugh harder. I didn't feel like Clove. I didn't feel like the bloodthirsty since age eight, sarcastic, sadistic killer that I was convinced was my personality. I felt...happy. It's a simple word for a simple feeling. A feeling where all that matters is whatever is making you happy and enjoying it, because all good things must come to an end.
Cato had stopped tickling me, and I rested my head on the place where his shoulder meets his chest.
As I entered the place where my dreams and reality seemed to blur together, about to fall asleep, Cato whispered in my ear.
"Clove."
I rolled my head over, looking into his eyes. What was wrong? He looked shaky. Scared, almost. I sat up.
"What's the matter?" I asked, searching his eyes for answers.
"Clove, I... I have to ask you something. And it might be stupid and I know it's completely impossible, but I need to know what would happen if we were home now. I need to know if I ever would have had the chance."
"Cato, babe, you aren't making any sense..." I said, but then he did it.
He got down on one knee.
"Clove, I love you. It's that simple. Not one other girl I have ever met has caught me like you do. You make me nervous that I'll do something wrong. You make me smile when you're talking to me. Hell, you make me smile whenever you're doing anything. You make me laugh with your sarcasm and sometimes you just make me laugh when you do something cute, which is more often than not."
He looked up at me, and his eyes were filled with a desperation I had never seen before.
"You...you make me happy. And I was a happy guy before, I'll admit that. But you, Clove. I've never heard of anyone going through some of the things you've had to go through. I've also never heard of anyone strong like you. Strong enough to make the best of your situation, no matter how bitter it made you feel towards people and how little faith you had in them. And when you told me that I made you forget about that... I realized that I make you happy too. And that's all I want. Well, that and one other thing."
He pulled out a little box, and revealed a beautiful ring.
"I want to marry you. Will you marry me?"
I took a deep breath.