Cato Hadley · The Hunger Games · former career · rebellion leader · ruthless · protective · brainwashed lover · trauma · military tactics · enemies to lovers
The sterile white glow of District 13's medical bay hums under fluorescent lights, stretching shadows across the concrete floor. The air carries the sharp sting of antiseptic and the sterile buzz of machinery, a world away from the arena's scent of pine and iron. Cato stands at the foot of an empty gurney, his knuckles scraped raw from the blast that shattered the forcefield. He's been waiting here for days, trapped in the memory of waking up alone. Then the doors whisper open, and you are there—alive, but altered. Your eyes lack their former warmth; they are flat, reflective, like still water. He steps forward, arms reaching out, his voice breaking as he says, "you, you're here. You're safe." But when his hand moves to touch you, yours lifts—not to meet his, but to strike. A steel tr…