ɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ: ᴄᴀᴛᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

𝟙𝟚. ℍ𝕠𝕞𝕖, 𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕣 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝟙

The crowds of District 7 cheered in joy as you and Cato stepped out of the train, waving to the crowd with smiles on both of your faces. You could see younger children giggling happy, older people cracking smiles, and everyone being so proud that you came home. You turned to see your mother and father carrying Emma and Lily on their shoulders, in tears as they waved to you.

You felt yourself get teary as well, seeing your family so happy. You ran down towards them and crashed into their arms, squeezing your parents. Your sisters got off your parents and squeezed their way into the family hug.

"I'm so glad to see you ok, dear!" Your mother whispered, squeezing your shoulders as you all pulled back. She had tears starting to roll down her cheeks, while your father put a hand on both your shoulder and your mother's. You smiled kindly at them.

"I am too. I'm so thankful I made it back." You sighed, looking at the blue sky that painted District 7's cheery background. Your sisters looked behind you, giggling a little, causing your parents to face whatever was behind you. You felt an arm wrap around you and you instantly knew who it was. Cato.

"Is this your family, (N/N)?" Cato asked, his blue eyes observing your family. You nodded happily, excited to see what your parent's reactions are, and to see his. Suddenly, your two sisters ran up to Cato and tried to get on his back. He instantly knew what they were going for and squatted down, letting them grab onto his shoulders and let out a long 'Weeeeeee!' As Cato stood back up. You and your parents laughed at how cute the three looked.

"Why don't you join us for dinner tonight, Cato?" Your mother spoke kindly. His eyes lit up in happiness and delight, and put on a more polite attitude. "Of course, Mrs (L/N)." Your mother gushed at how polite and kind he was.

"Aw, just call me Rachel." Your sisters then hopped off Cato, dragging you to your new home the Capitol granted you. Literally. You gave Cato a 'please help me' look, and all he could do was laugh.

The house was perfect. Not too big, not too small. It was the perfect house. It was made of nice wood and had nice windows and nice, velvet furniture, and the house had a lavender smell. There was a piano, some art easels, and even some toys for Emma and Lily.

You were in your room, feeling the soft cushion of the mattress on your bed when you felt Cato's arms snake around you, pressing his lips to your neck softly. You intertwined your fingers with his, letting him sway you around the large room.

Somehow, without either of you saying anything, Cato turned you around and picked you up, twirling your around as you squealed in surprise. He settled you down after a few minutes, his hands still on your waist while yours moved to his shoulders. And you two just stayed there, swaying side to side as nothing else mattered.

"Welcome home, Cato."

"And you, (Y/N)."

Little did you know your siblings were watching you behind your door, giggling very quietly over the two of you.

-

A few weeks later, when you thought all was well, Cato had a talk with President Snow. This was just before the Victory Tour the two of you had to go through.

Cato sat down, facing President Snow, feeling a little unnerved. Why would President Snow visit him now?

"I have a problem, Mr. Hadley. A problem that began the moment you brung out those poisonous berries." Cato gulped, hearing President Snow talk about how he and the one he cares about got out of the arena alive.

"Katniss Everdeen had done the exact same trick before, and if the head gamemaker Seneca Crane had any brains at all, he would've blown you and Ms. (L/N) to bits, then and there. But here you are. And I'm sure you know where he is."
Cato nodded. Of course he knew. It was death. He died from the same berries that Cato himself pulled out, or from an execution.

"However, some people in the districts believe your trick was an act of defiance, not as an act of love." Cato's face turned to disbelief. Snow smiled, sneering at him. "Tell me, what were you truly planning on doing with those berries?"

Cato made sure his facial expression remained solemn, and unreadable afterwards, although the honest tone of his voice gave him away. "I was going to use them if (Y/N) wasn't alive by that point. I'd rather die with her than live a life without her." He said, without hesitation. President Snow smiled at him. Although the smile looked more of a creepy grin, Cato had a feeling that Snow was happy he was telling the truth.

"You fought very had in the games, Mr. Hadley. But they were games." He smiled, wickedness seeming to emit from his smile. "Would you like to be in a real war?"

"No." Cato immediately responded, as fast as he could. "What can I do to stop anything from escalating into something worse?" He asked, and the president could feel a lace of desperation, knowing he didn't want to get (Y/N) involved in something much worse than needed.

President Snow thought about it for a little. "When you and (Y/N) are on tour, you two need to smile. You need to be madly in love. Do you think you and her can manage that?" Cato nodded very quickly.

"I'm already madly in love with her. I'll convince them." Cato responded.

"No. Convince me. For the sake of your loved ones." Snow responded, smiling even wider. Cato felt a wave of uncertainty crash over him. The president was a tough man to crack. He's probably not going to even be convinced no matter what they do. As long as they convinced the people everywhere that his act was for the sake of love (which was what it was), then nothing bad will happen. Not to his parents, to your family. That's all he could hope for.

It's short, why not. I didn't really know what to write for this so I'm gonna end up writing more in the next chapter.