Author's Note: Hi all - while I'm not new to writing fanfiction, I am new to writing for the Hunger Games. This idea came to me when I was watching the scene in Catching Fire when Haymitch approaches Katniss and Peeta about who they want as allies. All descriptions are based on the movie, so Peeta's eyes are hazel not blue, etc.

I should be posting the next chapter soon. I would love to hear your feedback!

Hope you enjoy!

More Than Allies

"Good news. At least half the tributes want you as an ally."

Haymitch Abernathy's booming announcement broke the relatively quiet evening as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark lounged on the couch in the living room of the Penthouse suite reserved for District 12 tributes.

By tacit agreement and ingrained habit, they had gravitated there after dinner to watch old videos of previous Games, while Haymitch had been making the rounds among the other victors to suss out prospective alliances.

"Well, they saw her shoot." Peeta supplied, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Well, Sweetheart, you've got your pick of the litter." Haymitch prompted.

Katniss wasted no time in naming her first choice. "I want Wiress and Beetee."

Having stood upon Haymitch's entrance, Peeta crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Johanna calls them Nuts and Voltz."

Relieved that Katniss was at least willing to make alliances now - a huge hurdle in keeping either of his victors alive in the Quarter Quell - Haymitch kept his focus on her. Peeta would most likely fall in step with her decisions anyway. "Well, ok, good. Who else?"

"Mags."

Peeta turned away, disbelief and frustration washing over his features.

Sensitive to Peeta's sudden and intense displeasure, Katniss shot him an uncertain look then shrugged in surrender. "Alright, fine. Then no one."

Haymitch glanced between his two tributes, realizing that perhaps his earlier assumption had been wrong.

Especially tonight.

A deeper issue than just the choice of allies was brewing between the star-crossed lovers from District 12. That much was evident at dinner. Between Peeta's feeble attempts at conversation and Katniss' grunted replies to everything Peeta said, everything Peeta did, well - to everything Peeta-related, Haymitch had been grateful for a reason to escape.

That they were even in the same room together now was nothing short of a miracle. But they were. And now, Haymitch was at a loss for any appropriate quips to address the rising tension in the room. More interested in the task at hand then wading into the middle of the conflicted messiness of Katniss and Peeta, Haymitch reasoned that Peeta would find a way to melt the frozen tundra surrounding the Capitol's Girl on Fire - their own personal Ice Queen.

He always did.

Haymitch exited gratefully with a temporary decision made. "I'll...tell them you're still making up your mind."

A few minutes later, a staccato sigh punctuated the tense silence that had permeated the room since Haymitch's departure. Katniss' gaze never left the television screen that loomed large before them as she curtly addressed the immediate cause of her internal frustration. "You don't want Mags. You don't want Wiress and Beetee. Then tell me, Peeta, who do you want as an ally?"

Peeta answered without hesitation. "Finnick."

She turned to Peeta, her expression full of surprise and disdain. "You want that pompous, preening O'Dair as an ally?"

"Yes, I do." Peeta plopped back down on the couch, eager to state his case. He ticked off numerous reasons on his fingers. "He's a good fighter. He's young, smart. Knows his way around an arena. And he's a Capitol darling, so sponsors should be easy to come by."

"Maybe." Katniss conceded the well-reasoned points reluctantly after a moment of quiet reflection. She leaned back into the softness of the cushions, her expression sharpening with concentration. "Alright then, who else?"

"Johanna Mason." With the scoffing roll of Katniss' eyes, Peeta quickly reengaged. "What? She's worth taking a look at."

"Seems like you've already gotten an eye full." The scowl on Katniss' face deepened.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peeta asked sharply.

"Nothing." Katniss' mumble was barely audible as she agitatedly picked at invisible fuzz on the muli-colored throw bunched in her lap.

"Katniss..."

Unable to dismiss the prompt in his gently commanding tone, Katniss shrugged, her eyes remained averted from his scrutinizing gaze. "Well, it's true. You spent most of your day with her. She was all over you at lunch and you've been sulking all night tonight because I didn't want to go to the party she's throwing, even though, she clearly wanted the boy that 'the whole world wants to sleep with' there..."

The mocking lilt of her voice wasn't lost on Peeta.

"She invited us both." Gathering and releasing a calming sigh, Peeta countered. "And you let her push your buttons way too much."

"I do not." Katniss shot back. "And she only invited me because I was standing right there next to you when she asked. She had no choice."

Shaking his head, an exasperated Peeta jumped from the couch and crossed to the side bar which was laden with every scrumptious delicacy the Capitol had to offer its victors. Like an exquisite last meal for the condemned.

If there was one thing Katniss Everdeen excelled at, it was surprising him. He'd been completely caught off guard with her foul mood at dinner, which was clearly directed at him. He had no idea what he'd done that had prompted her usually sulky demeanor to disintegrate into downright petulance.

But with the direction of the current conversation, he had a feeling he was about to find out.

Peeta dropped ice cubes into a glass and poured himself his favorite drink, his answer tossed over his shoulder. "I couldn't care less about that party and I spent the day with her because she likes to talk. Which means that I got some good intel on the other victors."

"Good intel? And how do you know she isn't lying to you?"

"I just do." Peeta turned, drink in hand, and headed back to the couch.

Katniss unfolded herself and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees as she caught Peeta with a piercing gaze. "You've known this girl less than 24 hours, but you already trust her enough to put our lives into her hands. Why?" Try as she might, Katniss couldn't tamp down the agitation coursing through her. "Because she stripped in front of you in the elevator?"

Peeta's face pinched in irritation. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Me?" Katniss scoffed. "No, that's the way you act around her."

Rare anger flashed through Peeta's hazel eyes. "Look, if this is about our star-crossed lover charade, believe me, its still in tact."

"This isn't about that." Katniss dismissed the thought with a careless waver of her hand. "This goes way beyond that."

"Really? How so?" Peeta challenged.

And in that moment, with that one question, all of the days' events came rushing back to Katniss. The snide remarks. The knowing smirks. Every last button Katniss didn't even know she had being pushed by one red-headed victor determined to use Peeta Mellark to get under her skin.

And succeeding spectacularly.

"Out of all the tributes, you pick the rudest, most hot headed, brash, unlikable..."

Suddenly amused, Peeta started to chuckle as a slow, unexpected grin spread over his lips, interrupting Katniss' train of thought and drawing a curt "What?" from her.

"Katniss. According to half of the country...you just described you."

"I am nothing like Johanna Mason." Instantly bristling, Katniss shot back hotly.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous." Still amused, Peeta's voice had a teasing lilt to it as his eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Please." Katniss dismissed caustically, a prominent pout forming on her lips. "That girl doesn't have a single thing that I would want."

As swiftly as it came, his amusement disappeared.

"Right." Taking her response into rarely charted waters, Peeta bristled and nodded curtly. "I guess that would include my attention."

Katniss' breath caught. Her eyes flicked upward in time to see the pain flash through Peeta's eyes. Realizing how she hadn't just stepped into an awkwardly sensitive area, she'd dived in headfirst without thinking of the damage it could do to an already confusing alliance, Katniss deflated. "Peeta, I...I didn't mean..."

An unreadable mask dropped over his features. His voice hardened. And his eyes...his eyes had taken on that look that Katniss had seen before. The one that haunted her in the months between the end of the Hunger Games and the start of the Victory Tour.

Distant. Cold. Trying to hide the gaping wounds her own words and actions had inflicted on him.

And failing miserably.

"Don't worry, Katniss. I get it. Jealousy would require you to actually feel something for me and we both know the score on that one, don't we?"

"Peeta..."

"No, no. It's ok. Really." Peeta stopped her protest with an upraised hand. "I mean, its not like you're going to fall in love with me or anything, right?" His shrug was defiant. His tone hopeless. "Believe me, I won't ever make the mistake of thinking that again."

Agitated, Peeta ended any chance of further conversation when he rounded the coffee table, bounded up the few short steps and headed toward the exit of the Penthouse suite.

"Wait. Where do you think you're going?" Katniss called out after him.

"I don't know. Maybe a party is exactly what I need right now."

The door slammed behind him before Katniss Everdeen even had a chance to take her next breath.

Tbc...