Fic: The Great Collide: The Capital 2/3 - R - Chloe/Peeta

[angela-stjoan.livejournal.com]

Fic: The Great Collide
Author: Angela_StJoan/Blaire023
Rated: R
Pairing: Chloe Sullivan/Peeta Mellark
Verse: Smallville(post season 10)/Hunger Games(spoilers for all 3 books)
Summary: Chloe Sullivan wakes up in District 12 just in time for the reaping. "She needed to protect him. And as she lay there, curled into him and listening to his breath even out under her cheek, she vowed she would do whatever it took to get them both back home."
[Prologue] [The Reaping 1/2] [The Reaping 2/2] [The Train Ride] [The Capital 1/3]




The Capital – part 2 of 3

The Interview

At some point Peeta had woken up to Chloe shifting on top of him. He had gently maneuvered them further up the bed and after laying back down and cuddling her into his side he had pulled the comforter over them both and settled back into sleep, Chloe practically crawling back on top of him in the night.

She woke up to the banging on Peeta’s bedroom door and Haymitch calling her name. Not being a total stranger to one night stands she opened her eyes and mentally checked to see if she was still dressed. She couldn’t decide if keeping her clothes on was a relief or a minor let down.

Peeta moved his arm from around her waist and sighed, “He’s not going to stop.”

Chloe tilted her head back and looked up into Peeta’s blurry blue eyes. His smile bloomed slowly and although they hadn’t done anything last night she felt her body flush and her breasts tingle in awareness. She wasn’t totally unaware that she was laying more on top of Peeta than she was on the mattress. And when she shifted to move off of him he grabbed her by the waist and closed his eyes and groaned.

The tingling shot straight from the tips of her breasts southward where her stomach clenched and her thighs parted without thought. The moving of her left leg up to bend against his hip placed Peeta in the exact position she needed. Chloe’s hips swiveled and Peeta arched up into into her in response, her name a revered sigh on his lips as Haymitch barged in.

“There you are.”

Chloe smacked her forehead against Peeta’s chest softly. Their mentor had the worst timing ever. Peeta laughed at Chloe’s muffled curse against his shirt.

“Haymitch.”

He walked in and took a seat beside the bed. “Tributes.” His eyebrows were raised as he took in their position, Peeta’s hands still gripping Chloe’s waist. “Well, Chloe, I expected this from you. But, Peeta, I’m shocked. I expected better.”

Chloe lifted her head to glare at him which just made Peeta chuckle again. “What’s up, Haymitch?”

He shifted his gaze from Chloe to Peeta. “Training starts in an hour. Make sure you eat something.”

Chloe sat up and swung her leg off of Peeta sitting down beside him instead of on him. “What do we do during training?”

Haymitch raised a teacup at her, surprisingly he looked pretty sober. “Glad you asked.” He tipped his cup in Peeta’s direction. “We’re going to keep your strength a secret for now. They’ll have a station set up for knot tying and stuff like that. That’s where I want you.” He looked to Chloe and studied her for a moment. “When you get in there, try to find a station that you aren’t good at. And if there isn’t one, well just pretend to suck at something.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and got out of bed. “I need to change.” She went to the door and looked back at both of the men staring after her. Haymitch watched her with narrowed eyes while Peeta openly smiled at her. Chloe just shook her head in exasperation and made her way to her own room.

When she came out to the breakfast table Peeta and Haymitch had their heads together, talking quietly. Chloe helped herself to breakfast and enjoyed the silence. Not much later Haymitch was escorting them down to the training room. “Remember, save the good stuff for tomorrow. You don’t want to give away your strongest abilities in front of any tributes.”

Chloe, suddenly nervous, shifted beside Peeta. “Are we supposed to do the in love thing or save it?”

Haymitch looked between the two tributes with raised eyebrows. They were automatically leaning into to each other without actually touching, “Just go for it.”

Peeta put his arm around her and she casually leaned into his embrace. Haymitch just shook his head.

Chloe stood aside and watched another tribute hurl a spear into a dummy. Marvel was his name. Chloe grimaced and looked over to Peeta where he was painting away, a look of concentration furrowing his brow. She sighed and smiled a little. She was done lying to herself. She was a total cougar.

A commotion across the room tore her attention from her jail bait and over to where a bulky muscled guy was in some other’s guys face. She sidled over to Peeta and away from the yelling match. “Yikes. Guy needs to take it easy on the 'roids.”

Peeta glanced at her with a smile, “roids?”

Chloe touched a finger to the thick paint and then smeared it on the back of her hand. “Steroids? Performance enhancement pills.” At his blank look Chloe said, “Side effects are rage and a tiny…well...” She glanced down to his lap and Peeta squirmed.

“Doesn’t sound like the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.” He took her hand and using paints created a magic scenery of greens and blues.

“That’s beautiful.” Chloe admired his work turning her hand this way and that.

“That’s nothing.” He led her over to where a few tributes were trying to start a fire and pressed Chloe’s hand against a mossy backdrop. Chloe stared in amazement as her hand blended into the wall. She looked from her hand up to Peeta’s satisfied face.

“You’re amazing, Peeta.” Peeta flushed and Chloe laughed as she caught his face in her hands. “Amazing and humble.” She placed her lips against his in a chaste kiss. When she pulled back the couple was looking up at them with narrowed eyes. Chloe patted Peeta's face and then pulled him over to the edible plants station.

After they had exhausted the less taxing tables and Chloe’s head was full of useless information, Peeta led her over to the wrecking balls. The lightest ball had the number 50 printed on the side of it. Peeta motioned for her to take it and Chloe grunted as the weight dragged down her right arm.

“This is so embarrassing.” She looked over to where a dark haired girl was skewering dummies with knives from 25 yards away.

Peeta laughed as she hefted the ball and tossed it. It traveled a few feet before falling and rolling away. Chloe, face flushed, rolled her eyes. She heard snickering and looked back at the muscle bound guy openly grinning at her.

“Yikes.” Chloe backed into Peeta. “What’s his deal?”

“Careers.” Peeta led her away, his arm around her shoulders protectively. “Districts 1 and 2 usually. They train kids for the games.”

Chloe frowned over at the other tribute. “That’s a sad way to live.”

Peeta nodded and mumbled, “Just another pawn in the games.”

Later, as they sat around the dining table for an early dinner, Chloe stole a piece of food from Peeta’s plate, earning a disarmed look from Haymitch and a gasp from Effie.

“What?” Chloe said around a mouthful of lamb.

Peeta grabbed her hand to soften the blow of what he was about to tell her. “In District 12 we are miners.” Chloe nodded, aware of the serious tone. “We don’t grow our own food, so we have to rely on the capital distributing it from other districts.”

Chloe looked ashamed as she realized what she had done. “And how many nights did you have to go to sleep hungry?”

Peeta pushed a lock of hair from her face and smiled sadly. “My family runs a bakery, so you’d think the answer would be never. The problem is if we ate what we made we wouldn’t turn a profit. We wouldn’t have money to spend buying stuff from others in our district. The economy would die.”

Chloe leaned into his hand against her cheek. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken your food.”

Peeta shook his head and smiled crookedly. “No, Chloe. Whatever I have is yours. I was just telling you why they looked a little stunned.”

Chloe looked up at Haymitch and swallowed as his gaze screamed to her that she wasn’t and could never be deserving of the amazing Peeta Mellark.

Effie broke the silence by piping in with, “And manners, young lady. We don’t just pilfer food from another’s plate around here.”

Chloe placed her hand against Peeta’s knee under the table and he laid his hand atop hers, offering her comfort.

Haymitch filled them in on their interview with Caesar Flickerman. Chloe looked to Peeta, remembering their shared dream. It seemed impossible that she had arrived in District 12 just one short week ago.

After dinner Cinna arrived and worked his magic then explained to Chloe about the flames in her dress. She agreed to give a little twirl. At one point she sought out Haymitch. “What do I do if they ask about family?”

Haymitch gave it a little thought. “Just go with it. Lie your ass off. You seem pretty good at that.”

Chloe, fed up with the attitude, pressed her hand against his chest to hold him in place. “Okay, what the hell is your problem?”

Haymitch stepped towards her until she had to back up a step. “You should know.”

Chloe sighed, “Peeta.”

Haymitch raised his chin toward where Peeta spoke with Portia, his stylist.

“I’m doing exactly what you told me to. Both of you.”

“He stopped pretending. If he ever truly was.”

Chloe glanced away and nibbled on her lip. “I love him, okay?” At his derisive snort Chloe slapped him in the chest. “I really do love him. Just…” Her voice trailed off, not sure where to go with that train of thought.

“He’s ready to die for you.” Chloe sucked in a sharp breath at that announcement. “Would you die for him?” She knew the answer and by the disappointed look on her mentor’s face so did he. “That’s what I thought.”

Chloe watched his retreating form before turning her attention to the guy from district 11, Thresh, as he gave his interview. Then Chloe was being led toward the side of the stage. They announced her as Chloe Everdeen, Girl on Fire.

Caesar Flickerman was charming and made Chloe completely at ease. He asked her about the capital and Chloe smiled and said shit was colorful. She was asked about and her family back in 12. And she frowned and said she missed them dearly. Her ploy was to be as simple as possible if not almost dim witted.

When Caesar asked her about Peeta she smiled brilliantly and played up their romance to epic proportions.

“I’ve been in love with him my whole life.” She let tears come to her eyes and blinked them back on purpose, her smile turning shaky as well. “I don’t know how I’d live without him.” As soon as the words were out she knew how true they were. She couldn’t imagine a world that didn’t have Peeta Mellark in it. The real tears threatened to break through and she smiled shakily.

Caesar, taking pity on her, asked about her dress. So she got up and laughed and twirled and then had to hold on to Caesar so she didn’t fall over.

She waved to the citizens of the capital and then tottered off the stage to where Peeta and Haymitch waited for her.

Haymitch was smiling and he applauded her theatrics as she walked right into Peeta’s arms. “Amazing.”

Chloe pressed her face to Peeta’s neck and inhaled deeply. Peeta, his arms banded around her, rocked her side to side. And then pulled away to look down at her. “Hey.” Her face was a mess as she let the tears loose. “What’s this for?”

Chloe just shook her head and wiped her hands across her face, drying her cheeks. “Nothing. Just overwhelmed.” Peeta kissed each tear stained cheek and then his lips touched hers softly. “You did great.”

Chloe nodded and let him go as he was called to the stage. Haymitch studied Chloe a moment more. “You meant what you said.”

It was a statement, not a question, but Chloe nodded anyway. Haymitch put an arm around her. “You’d die for him now.” Chloe nodded once again. Even if she did live there was no guarantee she could ever go back home.

Peeta had a family and friends back in 12. He had a life he could go back to.

Yes, she’d die if it meant Peeta Mellark stayed in this world.

She shifted her attention to the wall mounted monitor and watched as Caesar told Peeta that he personally was routing for district 12. Peeta smiled and nodded along. Chloe was mesmerized as he wove magic with his words.

At the end he looked in the camera and said, “I’ve been in love with Chloe since the moment I saw her. I will never love anyone as much as I love her. She’s truly everything I could have ever hoped for.”

Chloe pressed a shaky hand to her parted lips, unaware of the camera filming her reaction. When Peeta came off the stage to the sound on a raucous applause, he was completely aware of the camera filming from the hall. He kept his eyes on Chloe and walked up to her, framed her face with his hands and then slanted his mouth across hers.

Chloe, aware of the change in Peeta’s posture, pretended to melt into Peeta and was immediately swept away by his kiss. His lips pressed hers apart and his tongue ran along her lower lip until Chloe pinched his arm.

His tongue stroked against hers and he pulled away when her hands, resting on his biceps, tightened to an almost painful point.

Chloe’s expression was all banked desire as she stared up at him and Peeta could only press his lips to her forehead in return. Haymitch crowded them up and led them to their suite of room.

As soon as they were safely inside Chloe’s smile dropped and she punched Peeta as hard as she could in the chest.

“Ow.” He ducked the open handed slap aimed at his face and said, “What was that for?”

Chloe held her fists clenched down at her sides as she stalked him through the dining room and into the living room. “You know exactly what that was for. How dare you, Peeta.”

Haymitch cleared his throat to interject and Chloe stopped him with one hard look. Haymitch shot Peeta a “what can I do?” shrug and then backed off to sit on the couch where Effie watched the scene unfold.

“You can’t just say something like that and mean it and then kiss me like you take everything you just said back. And don’t tell me you didn’t mean it!”

“I meant it. Yes, I was playing for the cameras but I meant every word.” He took a step toward her and and stopped when she let the tears rise up. “The kiss was all for show and I’m sorry if it wasn’t as good…”

“The kiss was great.” She sliced her hand through the air. “Your intentions sucked.”

Peeta let out a startled laugh. “How did you know the kiss wasn’t real?”

Chloe looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Peeta. The way you kiss is as much a part of you as your words. There’s so much feeling in every single one. It’s your passion coming through.”

He sighed and came toward her again and then he pulled her close to him and nuzzled the top of her head. “I had no idea you felt that way.”

Chloe shuddered out a breath and then leaned back to look in his eyes. “And more.” And this time she kissed him and held nothing back, uncaring of their audience.

That night as she curled against Peeta’s side she said, “I’m falling in love with you.”

Peeta smiled into the dark. “In my dream, I turned around on the street and looked back at you and I felt it in my gut. I felt like someone had taken all the air.” His hand rubbed up and down her arm. “When I saw you volunteer for Prim my heart – I felt it slam to a stop. I thought, ”There she is. My Chloe. And I’ll never get to tell her how beautiful she looked standing on the sidewalk of the capital. I’ll never get to touch her or hold her or know the way her smile shines in her eyes before before it even reaches her lips.”

Chloe laughed, her mouth pressed against his shirt at his side. “All that, huh?”

Peeta nodded and pulled her closer, “Then my name was called and I thought, “Here’s my chance.”

Chloe half chuckled and half groaned, “Peeta! Be serious.”

Peeta chuckled and looked down at her, “I thought, ‘she’s so brave. So amazing.’ And I knew then that I would die for you to be victor.”

Chloe burrowed her face into his warm shirt, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Peeta lifted her face and kissed her, “I have you now. Now is all that matters.”

TBC