Hey guys! I honestly kind of lost my motivation for this story since no one was reviewing, but I wrote this chapter and I love it, so here you go!

To my one lovely reviewer Alyssa: Here you go! So happy to hear someone is enjoying my stuff!

Also, I did bump this story up to an M rating because of this chapter, so WARNING: a little guy on guy loving ahead!

I don't own the Hunger Games

On With The Story!

Chapter 18-The Date

Peeta spent the hour between 5 and 6 o'clock fretting about what to wear that night. He didn't know why he was getting so worked up, especially since he usually didn't care much about his outfits. Was tonight a date? Cato hadn't confirmed one way or another, but Peeta found himself wanting to look nice for him.

As he pulled yet another shirt option out of his closet, Peeta heard a knock at the door. When he opened the door, Finch popped her head in with a huge smile on her face.

"Hi Peeta! Cato let me in before he left with Clove. How are you doing?"

Peeta sighed. "Honestly, not great. I have no idea what we're doing tonight, so I don't know what to wear. I don't even know if this is a date or not."

At this last statement, Finch snorted.

"What?"

"Oh, it's definitely a date!" the red head responded with a sly grin. "You weren't there to see it, but Cato did not stop smiling the entire time he was at our place. He's really looking forward to tonight."

The baker smiled to himself and blushed slightly. "I think I am too." Finch blinked at him in surprise, but Peeta continued. "But I'm also nervous. I don't know what he expects from tonight and I don't want to hurt his feelings."

His friend smiled at him. "Honestly Peeta, I think all he wants from tonight is to cheer you up." She stood up and marched to Peeta's closet. "Now, let's make you look hot for your fiance."

Cato paced in the hall outside Peeta's room, nervously dragging his hands through his spikey blond hair. It was ten minutes after 6, and Cato was nervously waiting for his beautiful blonde to emerge from his room. The longer he waited, the longer doubts began to creep into Cato's normally confident and cocky persona. He hadn't knocked, it hardly made sense since they lived in the same house, but what was taking Peeta so long?

He didn't think the blonde was stalling, that didn't seem like Peeta's style, but what if he had changed his mind and decided not to come?

Cato straightened his black suit jacket and stepped closer to Peeta's door. Maybe I should knock, he thought. But he didn't have to wonder any longer, because Peeta quickly yanked open the door and hurried out, stopping when he noticed Cato.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long."

Cato smirked and took his Peeta into his arms. "It was worth the wait, you look stunning." And he did, Peeta was wearing a charcoal grey suit, with a light blue shirt that matched his eyes. His lovely blond hair was hanging loosely across his forehead in a natural style that Cato was quickly coming to love.

To his relief, Peeta smiled up at him "Thank you, Cato. That's very sweet."

The career took his hand and led him downstairs and out the door. As they walked along the road past Glimmer and Marvel's house, Peeta looked at him curiously.

"Cato? Where are we going?"

"You'll see, Peetabread."

The two walked in comfortable silence up the road and towards the forest that Peeta had ran into on his first night. The mid-January twilight cast long shadows across the path as they walked, shrouding the pine trees in darkness. Though all of the snow had melted, there was still a slight chill in the air and Peeta shivered slightly as a gust of wind ruffled his hair. Cato looked down at him, concerned.

"Are you cold?"

"Yeah, a little."

Cato looked guilty. "Sorry, I should have told you to bring a coat. We're almost there though.

A few minutes later, they rounded the corner and Peeta was surprised to see a medium sized log cabin crouching in a clearing just off the path. It had a small front porch, a large green door, and a broad bay window that blazed with warm light. Cato pulled open the front door and gestured for his partner to enter ahead of him.

When Peeta entered he was in awe of how cozy and yet elegant the cabin was. To his left there was a staircase leading to an upper floor, with an entrance to what he assumed was the kitchen behind it. To his right, was a modest wooden table set with wine glasses, plates, cutlery, and napkins, with an arrangement of winter foliage in a vase in the center. Past the table was an open concept living room with plush red couches, and a floor to ceiling stone fireplace which crackled merrily as Cato closed the door behind them.

"It was my dad's hunting cabin." The career said as he crossed the hardwood floors to the table. "Me and the others stayed here after the revolution until our houses were built, since a lot of District 2 was destroyed by freedom fighters. Glimmer and Finch did a lot of redecorating though, it looks better than it did when we moved in."

"It looks wonderful." Peeta said with a wide smile. He moved towards the table. "So, should we sit down, or…"

The career returned his grin. "Yeah, have a seat. Our dinner's in the kitchen, I just have to do a few things and we'll be ready to eat." He moved towards the kitchen, but then stuck his head back out again. "Feel free to open the wine by the way."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Peeta asked playfully.

"Depends, is it working?"

The baker rolled his eyes. "Don't count on it." Nonetheless, he poured a little into his glass. It was a decadent red wine he had never tasted before. And though it wasn't the best wine he had ever tasted, it was still palatable, so he continued to sip it intermittently.

Five minutes later, Cato came back into the main room holding a basket of rolls and a bowl of salad in his massive hands. When he set the basket on the table Peeta gasped in surprise.

"Are these District 12 dinner rolls?"

The taller blonde smirked proudly. "Yeah, I ordered them just for you. I'll be right back with the rest."

While he waited for Cato to return, Peeta reached over to the basket and took one of the rolls into his hand. Taking a bite, he revelled in the familiar texture and taste of the humble bread, a small piece of home in this distant district. Thoughts of home began to quell in his mind and Peeta could feel the familiar pit returning to his stomach. But he shook himself, Cato was only trying to do something kind for him, and he would ask Cato tomorrow if he could go home for a visit. Right now, he had to focus on enjoying a meal in this admittedly beautiful place.

At that moment, Cato returned to the table holding a large plate of roast beef and another bowl filled with garlic mashed potatoes. Peeta started to rise from the table, asking if he needed help, but the career waved him off with a cocky grin.

"Thanks Peetabread, but I've got this. If you hadn't noticed," he flexed one of his impressive biceps, "I'm pretty jacked."

Peeta snorted and rolled his eyes. "I am too, Cato. I spent at least twelve years of my life hauling flour sacks. I'm not weak and helpless, you know."

"I know." Cato said simply, setting the food down on the table and fixing Peeta with his intense gaze. "And that's why I find you fascinating."

The younger blonde blushed and struggled to dissect the statement, but Cato seemed eager to move on. He handed the slightly flustered Peeta the plate of meat first, instructing him to take as much as he wanted. Peeta was touched that he had remembered his favourite protein, one he rarely was able to eat before the rebellion, especially when Cato handed him gravy to go with it.

The first bite sent a symphony of smooth, smokey, and rich flavours cascading through the baker's mouth, and he let a tiny moan of appreciation.

"Wow, Cato, did you make this? It's incredible!" he enthused, not noticing the way the tall blonde had stiffened in his chair upon hearing his pleasured sound.

Across the table, Cato was having a difficult time maintaining his composure. After hearing the passionate, sweet little moan, Cato wanted nothing more than to shove back his chair, grab his little Peeta, and ravish him all night. But that was not what tonight was about, so Cato took a swig of wine and answered calmly,

"Most of it, yeah. Clove helped with potatoes this afternoon. But the meat and salad was all me."

The baker swallowed a bite. "This was really nice of you, thank you."

Cato looked back at him with a surprisingly benign smile. " I think we both needed to get out of our house for a while. Winter always makes me restless."

"Our house?" Peeta asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's your home too. It has been for the last two months, and I hope you don't feel like a guest anymore."

I felt more like a prisoner, Peeta thought, but he kept it to himself. He did feel more comfortable in Cato's-their house, so he answered, "No, don't worry, I don't."

The pair spent the rest of the meal making casual small talk, the atmosphere light and comfortable. They both cleaned their plates, finishing all of the roast beef and potatoes, but had multiple rolls left over. In addition, they had finished half of the wine bottle, but neither felt more than a little tipsy.

Cato rose to his feet, Peeta following suit, and grabbed the wine bottle and glasses.

"C'mon, let's go sit by the fire." The two blondes sank into the soft leather of the red couches and sipped on the wine left in their glasses. Peeta looked around the warmly lit area contentedly, admiring the twinkling lights strung up on the walls around them and the beautiful glow they cast. Combined with the crackling fire to his left, the mood was very relaxed.

He glanced to his right at Cato, who he noticed had been sneaking glances at him too. "What are you looking at?"

The career smiled at him. "You. You look so beautiful."

Peeta frowned slightly. "Is that the only reason you like me?"

"Of course not. I mean, you are gorgeous obviously, but you're also kind, brave, intelligent, and you have a lovely voice. What's not to like?" Or love… he added mentally.

"You're not so bad yourself." Peeta responded quietly. Even if he wasn't in love with Cato, he had to admit that the older man was attractive, intuitive, strong, and protective. And tonight he had shown Peeta that he could be relaxed, funny, and even chivalrous.

Sitting next to him, Cato was nervously squeezing the couch cushion next to him. The wine glass in his hand felt slippery with sweat, so he quickly placed it onto the coffee table with a louder thunk than he intended. Peeta looked at him with concern.

"Is everything okay?"

Dragging a hand through his hair, the career pulled himself together. He was Cato Hadley for god's sake, he shouldn't be intimidated by one boy! One beautiful, amazing boy….and there he went again.

Scooting closer to the blond beside him, Cato put his hand gently on Peeta's thigh and looked into his eyes. "Peeta...are you happy here?"

The baker thought for a moment and then answered honestly. "You know, I think I am. I was pretty nervous and a little afraid at first, but now that I've gotten to know all of you, living here is a lot better."

He was about to mention that he had been feeling homesick, but before he could a very relieved Cato started to speak.

"Good. Peeta, I need to ask you a question...it's not the usual one…"

"I thought you just did!" Peeta quipped, smirking lightly. The career laughed weakly.

"Fine then, I have another question."

Peeta nodded. "Go ahead." To his surprise, Cato rose from his seat, adjusted the legs of his black suit pants, and lowered himself to one knee next to the baker. His eyes grew wide as Cato reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Had he been carrying it around all night? Peeta wasn't sure.

For the first time since he had met Cato, the normally cocky alpha male looked nervous. Nonetheless, he opened the box to reveal a very simple but still expensive looking gold ring, which, to Peeta's relief, was obviously meant for a man.

"Peeta...will you marry me?"

The baker was taken aback. "But I-I already agreed to-"

Cato nodded. "I know, but I was thinking that I didn't exactly give you the proposal you deserved when we first met, and I wanted to make up for that." He looked expectantly up at the younger blonde. "So…?"

"Oh! Yes." Peeta nodded, not wanting Cato to think he was put off by the proposal. It had been very sweet, even though he felt uncertain as Cato took his left hand and put the ring on his finger. As he looked contemplatively down at it, he realized Cato was staring intently at him.

"I want to kiss you." The taller blonde said, an almost desperate edge to his voice.

Peeta turned to face, feeling empowered by Cato's affectionate and amorous words. "Why don't you then?"

In the next moment, Cato had bridged the gap between them and pressed his lips roughly against the smaller blonde's. This was what he had been longing for since the first time he saw Peeta, and he was not going to waste this opportunity. He kissed Peeta like he was starving and the baker was the sweetest food he had ever tasted. One hand snuck up to cup Peeta's face, the other curving around his waist to hold him close to Cato's muscular frame.

Peeta felt a soft sigh reverberate from the back of his throat as Cato passionately kissed him. To his surprise, he felt his hands wander up to link around the career's broad neck. Cato gave an answering growl to Peeta's sigh as their lips brushed and caressed each other, sending warm tingles flowing through both of their bodies.

After a few more seconds, Peeta recovered from his stupor and gently pulled out of the kiss, the sound of their lips separating amplifying in the quiet room. Peeta blushed gently while Cato looked down at him adoringly, putting his arm around the baker and tucking him against his chest.

They sat like this for a few more minutes, Peeta listening to Cato's steady heartbeat, and Cato stealthily smelling the smaller boy's hair as he rested his head on top of Peeta's. To anyone looking on, the two blondes looked like a normal, happily engaged couple. But Peeta's mind was still swirling with confusion at the career's gesture. It had been romantic sure, but it also carried some serious implications. Their relationship had clearly been taken to the next level, and yet, Peeta still wasn't ready to say he loved Cato.

He had enjoyed kissing the older blonde, and if the threat of marriage wasn't hanging over his head, the baker might've admitted to himself that he felt an emotional attraction to him. But if he showed any hint of deeper affection for Cato, they would be married quickly, Cato would make sure of it. So he stared into the fire, hoping the popping and crackling of the flames would distract him from his troubled thoughts.

Then he noticed another sound overlapping with the flames. "Cato...I think it started raining."

Reluctantly, the career released Peeta and pushed aside one of the red curtains to peer out into the darkness. Not only was it raining, it had begun to pour; fat, round drops pounded the roof and porch of the cabin. With a frustrated groan, he turned back to the cute blonde on the couch, who was staring up at him with his sweet blue eyes.

"It's pouring out there. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to walk home."

The baker winced. "Good idea. So are we going to sleep here then?"

"Yeah, except there's a problem...there's only one bed. We took all of our beds to our houses when we moved out, but we left one in case Glimmer and Marvel or Finch and Clove wanted to come out here."

The baker stood up and shuffled his feet. "Well...it's okay with me if it's okay with you…"

Hardly able to believe his luck, Cato smirked. "Of course."

Without warning, he reached out and scooped the smaller blonde into his arms, bridal style.

"Cato! I can walk myself!"

"I know." The taller blonde said simply and continued to carry the beautiful boy upstairs to the bedroom. At the end of the upstairs hall a simple, red door led them to the master bedroom, complete with a queen sized bed, a pine wood bedside table and chest of drawers, and two large windows facing the forest.

Cato strode across the room and gently deposited his prize on the bed. Peeta watched in surprise as his suit jacket and then shirt were discarded on the floor.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I don't want to sleep in my suit, Peetabread. Don't worry," he winked. "I'll keep my briefs on."

Peeta sighed, and slowly started to remove his clothes as well. He turned his back towards Cato, blushing softly as he felt the career's eyes on his back. When he stood up to take his pants off, he made the mistake of looking behind him.

Cato was standing there in nothing but tight, blue briefs that left nothing to the imagination. His broad chest seemed to glisten in the dim room, contrasting with his eyes, which had become deep pools of lust.

Turning red, Peeta quickly pulled his pants off and rushed towards the bed, but before he could cover himself, Cato's thick arms snaked around his waist. But instead of roughly groping his little blonde the way he longed to, the bigger blonde asked,

"This okay?"

AN: Warning-slash ahead!

His heart hammering, Peeta nodded lightly. He was nervous, but that indescribable urge that always seemed to spike when Cato returned from running was back. He shivered lightly when Cato's breath caressed his ear and the brute lowered his mouth to Peeta's neck.

But he was gentler this time, slowly kissing up Peeta's neck towards one delicate ear. The baker let out a gasp and arched against the bigger body as his ear lobe was sucked into a warm mouth.

An answering rumble sounded from Cato's throat as Peeta's perfect bubble butt rubbed the thick bulge in Cato's briefs. His hands settled on the baker's hips to ease him fully against Cato's body, growling again as his length settled against the firm cheeks. His hunger for Peeta again flared up inside him, and desperate to sate it, he turned the blonde around to capture his lips.

Their lips danced together in an impassioned fervour, Peeta's hands resting on Cato's biceps while the career's stroked his back and hips. Continuing to kiss Peeta roughly, Cato slowly backed his fiance up until the backs of his knees hit the bed, and the baker allowed himself to be eased backwards onto the bed.

Crawling after him, Cato hovered over Peeta, his larger body covering the smaller one with blanketing heat and solid muscle. The tall blonde continued to dominate his prize, his lips straying occasionally from the eager ones beneath him to worship Peeta's neck.

As his lips caressed the beautiful younger man's sensitive neck, Peeta let out the most delectable sound Cato had ever heard. He pulled back from Peeta to fully observe him. And he was the most gorgeous creature the career had ever seen. His ash blonde hair had fallen slightly into his eyes, which were hazy and full of lust, and his lips were almost red from his passionate kisses.

Cato wanted to pleasure Peeta even more, so he let one hand wander down to the bulge in the baker's briefs, gently cupping it.

But as soon as he did, Peeta jolted away and looked startled.

"Cato, I'm not ready for that yet."

Despite being sorely disappointed, Cato didn't miss the word yet in Peeta's sentence, so he rolled off the younger blonde and lay beside him.

"Alright. I meant what I said, I won't push you."

The two blondes slid under the warm cotton sheets, Peeta flopping onto his back and sighing contentedly. He was surprised when a strong arm slid over his body and tugged him against Cato's strong chest.

"Cato…" he warned.

"What? I just want to hold you." The career responded innocently, gently stroking Peeta's arm.

To his surprise, Peeta realized that he did like being held in Cato's arms. The big brute was very gentle and warm, so he rested his head on Cato's upper arm, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Aww...so sweet. One of my favourite chapters to write so far, I hope you guys love it! And please, please, PLEASE review!