A/N: This chapter is wonderful and ever so appropriate for a landmark chapter. You'll see what I mean. ;D Cato starts.

The next morning, they sent out a team to rescue Peeta's family before we do any attacks or anything. I hope they're okay. But I have faith in District Thirteen.

And they're planning a meeting for about thirty minutes from now. Apparently, it's with me, Finnick, Johanna, and others. No Peeta, because he isn't going in to fight. In fact, while the meeting's going on, Portia will be giving Peeta a haircut, and a dye job, if necessary.

Thank god.

"Peeta," I say, changing into clean pants, "nap time is over. You slept through breakfast." ~

"Hunh?" I roll over towards the voice. "But...I'm hungry..." I yawn. I'll live, but it's Cato. I'm gonna complain. ~

"You'll have to wait until your schedule has room for meal time." I start tying my worn-down shoelaces-double-knotting them to get back into the habit of it. "Sorry, but you had a lot on your mind and you look really cute when you're sleeping." ~

I groan. "You ate and didn't wake me up?!" ~

"I didn't eat much!" I defend myself. "I almost woke up late without you there to wake me." To be honest, I think I was so worried that I woke up early for once. "They left this morning, you know." ~

"Who?" ~

"The team to get your family." I wonder if I'll ever see my own mother ever again. "They should be back tonight, I think. More or less." ~

"Ah, shit..." I curse quietly. ~

"Why? You'll see your dad and brothers again!" ~

"No one told me that they were going this morning, though... I wanted to talk to the team first. Less importantly, to get the cats, but my dad will bring them if he's allowed. But more importantly, to tell them not to bring my mother.." ~

"Maybe she'll refuse to come." I hope so. Because I will cause an 'accident' that WILL kill her. "Even if she comes, you don't have to be nice to her." ~

"I don't want to cause more of a problem, though." ~

"You won't. You see this? The rebellion? This is a good thing, not a problem. And you caused it...by accident, of course...but still." I kneel at the side of the bed and make it so that I'm eye level with him. "You'll be good while I'm at the meeting, right?" ~

"Yeah, of course! I'll be with Portia. I missed talking to her. She always made me a lot more relaxed when I'd freak out before the Games." ~

"Good boy." I pat his head, laughing. "And I'll finally have blonde Peeta instead of rebel Peeta." Blonde Peeta always seemed more innocent, anyway. ~

"According to Portia, I have to look like Peeta circa the Hunger Games. So people recognize me." I laugh. "So blonde Peeta's gonna be rebel Peeta, too." ~

"You look like Peeta? Naaah." I joke. "That's like making me look like Peeta circa the Hunger Games. I don't think you'll be able to pull it off." ~

"We'll see, won't we?" I laugh. "My hair is so long.." I pull at it. ~

"Maybe once she chops all that shit off, I'll be able to see your eyes for once. Blue, right?" I laugh. Of course, I look into his eyes a lot, but he just has so much hair in his face that it's ridiculous. ~

"Very funny." I clear it off my face and roll my eyes. "Your boyfriend's going to be a television star." I laugh. ~

"My boyfriend's been all over national television for months now. But I think the fame is starting to get to his head." ~

"That was bad fame though." ~

"No fame is particularly bad fame. It's all the same. Every last bit of it." People think it's good, others think it's bad. You can't win over an entire audience no matter how hard you try. Not even in the Capitol. "But I'm sure the people in the Capitol will be delighted to see you." ~

"Oh, joy." I smile. "The people. Not their officials. You think Snow knows we escaped or do you think they lied to save their jobs?" ~

"Probably the former. He'd be able to see through their lies anyway." Snow knows nearly everything and honestly, it scares me. That's why I've always been afraid that Peeta never really came back. Because of Snow, the Capitol knows just how to screw with me. "But as far as I know, no one's been executed or fired or anything...but I have a feeling that they'll all be sacked if they screw another thing up." ~

"Which they obviously will." I smile. I'm confident things will work out. I can't imagine a world without Cato. So we have to win. ~

"Because I always fuck their shit up, right?" I laugh quietly. "It's always the two of us screwing things up for the Capitol. Partners in crime, right? And partners in life, too..." ~

"That second part, especially. But I suppose it comes with the first one." I smile. "But partners in life...most definitely." ~

This leaves me at a loss for words. Because I fucking love him so much. "I...yeah." I laugh and hide my face in the side of the bed. "Definitely." ~

"You know, if you go back and look at the Games...at the beginning, I feel like we'd be the last two people to fall for each other. Lucky for us, we did...unlucky for the Capitol, though." I smile. "It's fate. It has to be." ~

"I know...remember, you thought I was playing with you at first? You said something along the lines of, 'Stop fucking with me, alright?'" I lift my head up and kiss his hand. "Still not fucking with you." ~

"Not yet." I give him a smile and look him right in the eyes, and we both begin laughing hard. This is what love is. I just know it. ~

"You know that isn't what I meant!" I say, taking a breath for once. "Before we kissed that night, I was wondering to myself why you kept saying people hated you. I just didn't get it. The entire time, I just kept thinking to myself that you weren't so bad...I didn't think it'd become more than that...I was just originally planning on killing you." I shrug. ~

"And I begged that you'd let me die in the least painful way possible. Berries. How ironic." I laugh. "Wanna hear something funny? Every time you'd call me Lover Boy, I knew it was because of my interview...but I always hoped that I'd be yours." So dorky, but so true. ~

"Our lives are full of irony, Peeta. 'See you soon, love.' Does that ring a bell?" I start to laugh even harder now. So, so full of irony. It's the basis of our relationship. "And you are my Lover Boy. Well, you haven't really earned the title Lover. Yet." I wink. He knows what I mean. ~

"And I intend on it." I laugh with him. "You're right, though-with all of the irony. It's like there's someone up there, controlling our lives and just bringing these things up over and over again. But...it makes everything so much more memorable." ~

"Memorable, yeah! But that's not always a good thing." Memories are good, for the most part. "Whoever the bitch is keeps bringing up terrible things that happened to us! Fucking karma!" ~

"They'll get what's coming to them, don't you worry." I laugh. "We'll have our happy ending, whether they like it or not." ~

"We better!" We laugh quietly to ourselves for a few seconds, but it just turns into us staring at each other. The eyes, the face, the hair, the arms-everything. But mostly, I just look into his eyes. Normally, staring at him for this long would make me want to throw him onto the floor and rip his clothes off...as we have many times...but I like this for now. I never realized how much he's changed just based on the way he looks at me. Before, he always just seemed sad and lost. Now...he's just glad to be with me. And I'm happy to be with him. "I'm so glad we met." ~

"And you weren't, at first." I can't believe that. It all seemed so long ago...it was only really about seven months ago. When I believed I'd fallen in love, and was destined to die for it. When I'd first seen this angry boy from District Two...and first heard him laugh, letting me know that there was so much more to the man behind the mask. A mask forced to him by culture and the Capitol, and a mask removed by love and me. Only to reveal a face scarred by the past; scars that, with kisses and time, would heal. Slowly, but ever so surely. ~

"Because I thought you had to die...and I said that before I kissed you, you know. Even before I knew you were gay, I didn't want you to go." I remember it so well. How fidgety he was, and how he snapped at me when I pushed him to give me a reason why. I kinda hated myself for insisting on it, but really...if I hadn't, would he have ever told me? "I guess maybe I always knew." ~

"Am I really that obvious?" I laugh. ~

"No! I mean that I would like you, silly!" His gayness wasn't that obvious. Well, now that I know, I can see it, but not before. ~

"I was about to say." I smile. "I didn't think I was that bad." We lie in silence again for a few moments before I break it. "I'm crazy about you, you know." ~

"So am I." Just as he opens his mouth to say something, I catch my mistake. "I mean I'm crazy about you, too. Not myself!" I take his hand in mine and kiss his cheek. "As you could tell from my screaming yesterday." ~

"I didn't mind so much. Though this quiet is nice, too." I trace my hand along his face, trying to memorize every detail. Take in the one or two freckles. Creases from smiling or stress. The shape of his eyebrows and hairline. Every bit of it. ~

"Anything is nice with you here." ~

"I'm always there with you, you know." ~

"Your face when you smile...is the cutest fucking thing I've ever seen." And the best smile award goes to...Peeta Mellark. ~

"Who...me?" I give him my innocent, slightly pouty face. ~

"Yes!" I force the corners of his mouth up so that he's smiling. "Like this! Not the pout!" ~

I roll my eyes. "You're silly." ~

"Am not. I'm the deadliest person in District Thirteen, mind you!" ~

"Yeah, yeah. That whole thing." I laugh. "But you can still be silly. I mean, look at who you're dating." I hold my arms out. ~

"Who said we're dating?" I scoff. "The nerve of some people." ~

"Well then what the hell are we?" ~

"I thought we were already married." I laugh. ~

"We are together enough." I laugh, too. "And we fight like we're married, too." ~

"Then why the hell aren't we married?!" Part of me is joking around, but the other part...why the hell not? Besides the fact that we haven't even been together for a year. "Why the hell not!" ~

I smile and laugh with him, before our eyes meet for just a moment. And though we're laughing, I can see it in his eyes, and I think he can see in mine that we're both just a bit serious. That's when things get very quiet. ~

I turn away from him and mentally slap myself. Stupid! "I uh...was joking of course. That's ridiculous." ~

I wasn't. "R...right." I respond, laughing nervously. ~

"I mean...I love you, Peeta!" I really do. "But...now? That'd be silly!" ~

"Yeah, it would be." I smile. "One day." But what if we never get that day? ~

"Definitely one day. Not a doubt in my mind that I want to." Did I just ask him to marry me? ~

"...Me either." I whisper, putting my face halfway into the pillow, half looking at him. At this second, I don't know what to feel. I could cry from sadness or happiness at any second. ~

You know what? Fuck it! "Consider that...a proposal, boyfriend." ~

My heart stops, and nearly rewinds to make sure I heard that correctly. "Wait, w..what?" I sit up immediately, just confirming he said what I thought. ~

"I mean, we aren't going to anytime soon, but...you heard me right." I don't care how long I've known him. "I feel like I've known you my whole life." We're perfect for each other, I think. "You're perfect for me." He needs me. "We need each other." And I love him. "And we're in love. So whatever happens with it, how it happens and stuff...I don't know how, but I love you. So goddamn it, I will fucking marry you, Peeta!" Yep, I'm insane. ~

No wonder he calls me a girl all the time, because I'm definitely the girl in this relationship. I immediately begin sobbing tears of joy and tackle him to the ground with kisses. I can't even make out words to describe how happy I am at that moment. I care about nothing else but being with him, kissing him...nothing more than he and I exist in that time. When my sobs cease and I'm positive I can't kiss him again due to lack of breath, I whisper, "That counts as a 'yes', right?" ~

For a minute, I can't say anything. What the fuck did I just do? Yes, I love him with all my heart, and I've thought about this before, but is this too soon? We can always wait a few years, I guess...so it won't be too bad. "That's definitely a yes in my books." ~

"...I'll wait for you forever. No matter what." I insist to him. I've never felt like this about anyone before, and I can't imagine feeling this way about anyone ever again in my entire life. ~

"You would've waited anyway!" I laugh. "I'm so happy right now! I LOVE YOU, PEETA!" Honestly, I am happy-more than I've ever been in my life. I didn't even know that was possible, but I guess being with him makes anything possible. ~

"I know that, just..." I smile and break into laughter. "You know what I meant, you jerk." ~

"Yeah, I know! But did you ever think this would happen? Like we were saying, think back to the very first day of the Games. Would you have ever thought that I'd...?" ~

"It's like I said...I never expected, but always hoped." I pause. "Hoped that maybe, I'd just get one moment before I died to tell you how I felt." ~

"Well...you surpassed that." And this is the perfect moment, so I pull him on top of me and kiss him intensely. "Any doubts you could've had about you or us...gone forever." ~

"I know not to doubt you." I laugh. "What time is it?" ~

"Ten forty-five, I think." Only fifteen minutes to go. "Don't tell anyone about...us, okay?" ~

"Of course.." I sigh. People would overreact. Plus, I don't want us to be brought in like a piece of a puzzle in this rebellion. "I should get ready...Portia would appreciate it if I at least brushed my hair out." ~

"I like it like this, though." I start combing through his hair with my fingers. "We'll tell people after all of this." ~

"First you don't like it, now you do? So indecisive." I laugh. ~

"I mean I like the mess!" ~

"You like it because it looks like sex hair." ~

"Truth." ~

"Oh, you." I laugh. "At least you're honest." ~

"You should start getting dressed." Smirking, I pull his shirt off over his head and ruffle his hair. "Just thought I should help." ~

"I appreciate it." I laugh, standing. "All they gave me for clothes is versions on that same outfit from yesterday." I sigh. ~

"Same." Still no good clothes. "How am I supposed to look sexy in these clothes?" I pause for a moment and shrug. "Nevermind. I always look good." ~

"I agree with that." I laugh, opening a drawer and pulling out a shirt and slipping it over my head. ~

"I knew you would." I check the time again. Ten minutes. "Well, we'll be apart for who knows how long today, so...if you ever feel lonely, just think about what you just said yes to." ~

"Life with you?" I turn back and smile at him. "I said yes to that ages ago." ~

"Oh, trying to be cute, eh?" He doesn't have to try to be cute; it just happens. "Maybe I should just take it back, then. The proposal." ~

"But I'm not trying." I whimper. "I just have to be able to make snappy comebacks if I'm with you." I laugh, still keeping on a bit of a pout. "Besides, why would you take it back if I was being cute? Isn't that just a bonus to you?" ~

"Because I said no more cute Peeta!" I give him a serious look, when really, it's only good-natured joking. "Besides...taking it back, there are other reasons." ~

I get a little nervous, but at the same time, I know that he loves me-I'm sure of it, and he's always told me to stop taking him so seriously. But I can't help getting a bit nervous. "Like...like what?" ~

"Well, first of all, you kept staring at Finnick yesterday." Not sure if he was or not, but it's only good-natured joking. "And I don't want to spend the rest of my life with you." ~

I feel like I got the wind knocked out of my chest. "N-no! I wasn't!" I wasn't. I probably made more contact with Annie than Finnick, and both of us knew I didn't go that way. "I wouldn't!" I cry out, immediately dropping the pair of pants I'd pulled from the drawer. "W...why?" How could this happen so quickly? Minutes ago, we were perfect. Moments ago, we were perfect. Now I'm shaking, my chest hurts, and I feel like sobbing. I just stare at him, waiting for some kind of response. ~

So he still can't pick up on my lines. "I was going to say that I want to spend the rest of forever with you," I say flatly. "I was just...don't cry!" Stupid me and my stupid jokes go way too far yet once more. ~

I give him one of those, 'Are you serious?' looks before running and hugging him. "I told you, jerk. Match made in heaven." I let out a sigh of relief. "You're such an asshole, but I love you." I pull back and kiss him gently before standing up again. "Now that I can breathe..." I shoot him a look and smile. "I should probably put pants on." ~

He squeezes me so hard that I can't even talk until he lets go of me. "I'm sorry! I figured that after...how long were we actually together? Two months and a half?" He was dead for about three months, and I was away on the Victory Tour, so...really. ~

"I'm easily swayed. You're pretty good at fooling me." I stick my tongue out before motioning for him to turn when I switch my pants. ~

"Really? You dropped your boxers in front of me but you can't even change your pants without me turning around?" I laugh. "Honestly, Peeta! Don't make me regret asking!" ~

"Well, you turned away. I was just trying to respect what you wanted. Jeez." I smile. ~

"Alright, whatever." I cover my eyes and turn around. "I have to be out soon." ~

"I'm just trying to be a good b-" I pause, and smile to myself. "-fiance." That was going to take some getting used to. ~

When he refers to me as his fiance, my face goes extremely pale. Thank god he can't see it. "Yeah..." Shit, I think I'm going to puke. This is too much to take in in a week...in the past twenty-four hours, really. "You can still call me boyfriend...I mean, if you want, or...it just sounds better. Not that fiance sounds bad, or anything," I say quickly, "but it's what we're used to, right? I...I'll shut up now." ~

As I pull the second pair of pants back on, I laugh a little. "You're cute when you're nervous." ~

"I'm not nervous!" I'm scared. Also, eighteen is way too young. So is seventeen. He's seventeen. Oh my god. Is this even legal? "Nervous is not in my vocabulary. What's nervous?" ~

"Either way, you're pretty cute." I laugh. "Sexy, really." I have a million words I could use to describe him. My personal favorite? Mine. ~

No, Peeta. Stop telling me these things. This is really freaking me out though. I'm insane! I don't know what I was thinking when I asked him. I was crazy just yesterday. Yesterday! He should've known I was insane. If he had realized, he probably wouldn't have taken my proposal seriously. Goddamn it...not that I'm second guessing myself or anything, because I really do love him...but it's so soon that I feel sick. "I should go now." I rush out the door, hiding my face from him. ~

A/N: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. REACTIONS? PLEASE LET ME KNOW! xx