A/N: This is two prompts in one. Catolovesclove gave me a prompt ages ago for "SeBlaine Hunger Games" and there's a one-word challenge called "promise" so this fic was born. I purposely left some things vague. To my dear readers, if you like this, please review and rec it! Also, I have a Tumblr account where I post about my other SeBlaine WIP as well as SeBlaine drabbles (which aren't on this site). I'd be honored if you can please follow me at rykerstrom . tumblr . com . Thanks and enjoy!

THE PROMISE

"I need you to do something for me."

"Anything." Sebastian wished he could take Blaine's place, but he was too old for it.

Sebastian was too old by one year. One fucking year.

"After I leave, go to my house." Sebastian could hear the tremor in Blaine's voice. "Cooper's got something I wanted to give to you."

"All right." Sebastian pressed a hard kiss to Blaine's lips. He didn't want to stop kissing Blaine. He wanted to stay in this moment forever. Sebastian knew that the moment he let go of Blaine, he might never see him again.

"Time's up." Sebastian felt a pair of strong arms prying him off Blaine. He wanted to struggle, but it wouldn't do either of them any good. The last thing either of them wanted right now was for one of them to be shot by the Peacekeepers.

"I have to go now." Blaine's eyes were wet, even though Sebastian could tell that he was trying to keep himself together. As Blaine turned away, Sebastian could see a drop of tear landing onto the wooden floor. "Please take care of them for me while I'm gone."

"I will." Sebastian wanted to say more, but he couldn't. So instead he simply added, "Be safe."

Sebastian knew that if Blaine died in the Games, he would also lose the will to live.

They had been naïve in thinking that there was no way that Blaine would get reaped this year. After all, it was his final year, and his name was only in the bowl for the minimum number required. They had plans. Plans to be together forever. Plans that they didn't dare tell anyone until everything was certain.

The visit to Blaine's house was brief. The family was grieving. It was almost as though the Andersons had already accepted the fact that their youngest son would never come home. It was an awkward meeting, where Sebastian had given them his reassurances that he and his family would be there for them. There really wasn't much else he could say, especially not under these circumstances.

Cooper had passed an envelope to Sebastian. It pained Sebastian to know that while he was hoping for the best, Blaine had been preparing for the worst. Sebastian didn't go home right away. Instead, he ventured out to their meeting place; the one place that Blaine and Sebastian could call their own. For as long as he had known Blaine, this had been their favorite spot.

Sebastian still remembered the first time they met. He was ten and Blaine was nine. It was friendship at first sight. The rest, as people would put it, was history. They shared many memories at this spot. Sebastian could almost pinpoint the milestone of his life by the events that took place under this tree. Thirteen, the first time Sebastian held Blaine's hand and declared that they were boyfriends; fourteen, the first time he kissed Blaine; nineteen, the first time they made love together, shortly after they had promised each other forever. Sebastian could still remember that moment vividly. Blaine was beautiful under the moonlight, with his amber eyes dark with lust and hair damp with sweat as Sebastian entered him for the first time. In that moment, there was nothing more certain in the world than their love for each other. Nothing else had mattered.

Sebastian sat down and leaned back against the tree trunk. He ran his hand along the ground over the grass where he and Blaine had laid the night before. It seemed surreal that it was only yesterday that he still had Blaine in his arms and now, less than twenty-four hours later, the love of his life was on his way to a certain death.

Sebastian pushed the morbid thought away. There was always a chance that Blaine could survive. Sebastian knew that he had to have faith that his fiancé would come back victorious one day.

His fiancé.

They had made plans to be happily ever after. They were so confident that Blaine would get through the Reaping unscathed. Announcing their engagement afterwards would be like double the dose of good news, with Blaine finally being free of the threat of being reaped and the great news of their betrothal.

But life in the Districts never seemed to work out in the favor of their residents.

With trembling fingers, Sebastian took a deep breath and opened the envelope. Inside was a letter.

"To My Beloved Sebastian,

I can almost see you rolling your eyes at the salutation. I hope that my attempt at being humorous has at least worked. I am writing this letter right after you have just bid me goodnight. I am too happy and excited to go to sleep. Tonight had been the best night of my life. I have never felt more loved than I have then, when I was in your arms. However, it is precisely because I love you so much that I must write you this letter.

If you're reading this, then that means the odds hadn't been in my favor at the Reaping. I'm sorry that I have to write this letter. I'm sorry that I'm even having this kind of thoughts especially moments after the joyous occasion tonight. But you know me, I always like to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

I need you to promise me one thing. Just one.

I need you to promise that you'll take good care of yourself.

No matter what, don't watch the Games. It won't change anything, it won't change the outcome. I know you. You may never say it but I know you'd be worried sick. You have a good heart, Sebastian. And sometimes you carry the burden of so many that you let things eat away at you. I want to go into that arena knowing that I can count on you to take care of yourself; that you will keep on living and never give up hope.

I will come out of this alive. I think you'll be pleased to know that all the years I've spent with you have not gone to waste. You have taught me many things and I will apply your wits to good use. I'm not a killer, and the blood of others will never be on my hands. I go into the Games with only one thing in mind – to come home to you, the love of my life.

I believe in happily ever after, and you know I'm a stubborn romantic at heart. So I will come back, alive, victorious. You and I will move into the Victor's Village and all of this will be forever behind us. It will be nothing but a bad dream.

As I sit here writing this letter under the candle light, I hope that you'll never have to read this. In fact, I'm hoping that I can have a chance to laugh at myself at the absurdity of my fear and burn the letter tomorrow, when we sit together by the fireside and celebrate our engagement.

But just in case, if it doesn't turn out that way, I want you to know this.

This is not goodbye.

And that's my promise to you.

Forever Yours,
Blaine Anderson"

It had taken Sebastian several tries to finish reading the letter. His hands were trembling so badly throughout the entire process that he had to put down the piece of paper several times just so that he wouldn't tear it by accident. He knew that at this point there was really nothing more he could do. Blaine was right, no matter what Sebastian did or didn't do, it would never change the outcome. The Capitol governed the Districts' fate after all.

Sebastian folded the letter carefully and reinserted it into the envelope. He would safe keep this and wait for Blaine's return, and then they would tear up this letter and burn it together.

A promise was a promise, and if there was one thing Sebastian was certain about his fiancé, it was that Blaine Anderson would never break a promise.

(END)