A/N: Like I said, don't be expecting legitimate smut in this chapter. All the smut is going separately, for people who just like reading smut. 3

I reach my hands into the air for him to help me up. This is it. "Upstairs, duh." ~

I smack my hand to my forehead. "Of course. Well, there's stupid Cato for you." I grab his hands and pull him up to his two feet, but I don't let go of his hands. "Lead the way, boyfriend." ~

"Hey!" I say, walking him to the stairs and up them. "No one calls my boyfriend stupid. Not even my boyfriend." I mean, he was clever enough to make it here. More than most could ever do. As soon as we make it all the way up the stairs, I walk him to the last door at the end of the hall. "..This is it." I smile. ~

"Yeah, it is." I open the door to a huge room with a giant bed. Too bad we might not even make it that far. "And, let me correct myself...fiance, will you let me do naughty things to you up here?" ~

After all this time, he's still able to catch me off guard. "I'd love for you to." I manage to crack out. ~

"Good." I pull him inside, and surprisingly, I'm able to make it to the bed. So I throw him onto the mattress and leap on top of him. "Undress me. Now." ~

"I'd be more than happy to." I quickly pull his shirt over his head with the jacket, tossing it to some side or somewhere, I really don't care. I do the same after I remove his pants, struggling with his shoes simultaneously, but they find their way off of the bed, which is really what matters here. I leave him in his boxers. For that, we'll wait. "Now you." ~

As soon as I get the okay, I unzip his jacket-my jacket? His? Ours? What-the-fuck-ever. I toss that shit all the way across the room. Then I practically rip the shirt from his body, and I pull his pants off in a second. I get rid of the shoes and socks, too. Just us. In our underwear. Perfect. "So here we are." ~

"Finally." I breathe. "I...thought we'd never get this." I lean up a bit to kiss him slowly and sensually. ~

"Neither...did...I," I manage through the kiss. Oh, it felt so good. I can't handle myself with him. It's been way too long... "No," I say, lightly pushing him off me. "Enough with the kissing. Let's get into this." ~

A bit of a natural blush spreads across my cheeks. "Absolutely." I say, shifting a bit at how...obvious I already am. Damn him and his good looks. "Please." I whisper. ~

"With pleasure," I whisper into his ear. "Get ready for it." ~

He gets my heart racing. "I am." And with that, no more words are said. The last, offending pieces of clothing are removed...and he is finally able to have me. Quite literally...all of my dreams come true.

Even after the insane afternoon/night/morning that happened, old habits die hard, and I wake up first, in a sweat, completely naked in his arms the next morning.

It really wasn't a dream. ~

Finally, I wake up. I'm in a bed. And next to naked Peeta. Naked! Score! "Hi." ~

I yawn a little, turning to face him, since my back was against his body. "...Hi." I smile a little. ~

"You were really good yesterday." Oh god, I remember all of it. Every. Fucking. Second. Literally, fucking...oh my god. "Lover Boy." ~

I take a deep breath and blush hard. "Oh, so were you..." I say in one fluid breath. It was everything I'd expected and so much more. "My god." ~

"I know...WE FINALLY DID IT!" His red face is back. As it always is. "And I'm fucking hungry...fucking makes you hungry." ~

"Shh!" I laugh. "You want to broadcast that to everyone?" Not that I mind, but not this early. "And there may or may not be uneaten birthday cake in the fridge downstairs." ~

Oh geez...he still made a birthday cake for me. Even though he thought I was dead. He baked me a cake for my birthday. "You said there'd be cake...didn't you?" ~

"Isn't that what I just said, just not in those exact words?" I smile. "Of course there's cake! It's your birthday, and you're engaged to a baker." ~

"That I am." I go completely under the covers, looking for my boxers. "Soon to be married. Right?" ~

"Absolutely." My mind is still processing the whole 'I finally slept with Cato' thing, so it doesn't get all schoolgirl-bumbly over the marriage reference. Thank god, because I don't want him to think I'm nervous. I've never wanted anything more in my life. ~

I finally find what I'm looking for and slip them back on, before crawling out from under the covers and getting off the bed. "And you finally proved to me that you're not a girl." ~

"I told you." I laugh, doing the same and sitting up with my boxers on. "So tell me about your time back in Two." I say as I get off the bed. I'm trying to see what he thinks happened to his mom. ~

"Well, I got there around midday, and I was so fucking thirsty because I ran out of water. It took like, five days. So I was hungry, and thirsty, and smelly, and I really had to piss. So the first place I went to was my old house, which was obviously empty, and went to the bathroom, then I took a shower because I smelled like the ocean." Good shower. "And I watched the TV to see if I could find out anything, and I saw you, and your arm...and I just got really sad." ~

I glance away from him. "I'm...I'm sorry. I...didn't tell you about my breakdown." ~

"We can talk about all that later," I tell him, not wanting to kill the moment. "But um, he came to the house early. He broke my wrist in the struggle, but I eventually shot him with his own gun. I...felt weird after that. I had just killed my own father, and I just...it was scary. I had to keep reminding myself to find you, to save you...that's what kept me going." I pause. "And then part of Two blew up, so I knew it was time to go. After I got that present together for you." ~

"I understand what you're saying... Did you get a chance to see that cake?" I smile, trying to put his mind on happier things and hope that the cake will somehow bring him onto a track of talking about his mother, since she helped me bake it. She told me when she got to Thirteen that it was never touched. ~

"That cake...I ate a piece." I smile. "The red velvet part. You guys did a good job on it..." I trail off. My mom helped him bake it. ~

"What is it, love?" ~

His concern makes me happy. His face makes me happy. So I can't stop smiling. "I just miss her, that's all...she wasn't there when I was in Two," I sigh. ~

"Well...what do you think happened?" I walk over to the phone. "I've just got to check on Haymitch, keep talking." ~

"Like I told you before I left...the Capitol got her before I could." I look down at my feet. The one person I was close to, besides Peeta, gone. Because of my dad. ~

I shake my head at him and speak into the phone. "Hey.. Yeah, I've got something to show you. Could you just drop over?" I hang up. "You may want to put at least pants on.. Haymitch is coming over quickly." No, his mom is. I love surprises. ~

"I was planning on putting pants on anyway." I laugh, looking around the room. "Uh...do you have any? I'm not putting that back on," I say, pointing to the pants I wore yesterday. "I need casual wear and everything else I have is icky." ~

"Go in the drawers." I laugh, pulling on my comfy pants from the night prior and a shirt. Suddenly, the bell rings. Wow, she's quick. I run downstairs quickly and let her in, telling her to be quiet before I run upstairs to get Cato so I can walk him down with his eyes closed. ~

I practically tear his dresser apart looking for pants. Sorry for making a mess, I think. Eventually, I find a pair of normal jeans that actually might fit me (even if it's tight), and I find a red shirt in another drawer. Finally, normal clothes. Then, after getting dressed, I look to the door to see Peeta. "Out of breath much?" ~

"After last night, yes. Very." I whisper before walking him to the door and covering his eyes. "I have a birthday present for you." I show his mom to be quiet, but she's already crying quietly the moment we hit the top of the stairs. ~

"Another one?" I laugh, blindly following his lead. "After last night? Damn." ~

"In the long run, this is more important." I kiss the back of his head. "Ready? One, two..." I lift my hands off of his eyes. "Three." ~

"What is it?" I look around excitedly, eventually finding my present at the bottom of the stairs. "Mom?" ~

She can't decide whether or not she wants to run up or if he's coming down, but she just holds out her arms to him. "Cato..." She smiles, tears soaking her face and dress. ~

Oh god. "Mom!" I start running down the stairs to go hug her, but I end up tripping over my own feet and slide down the rest of the stairs. Getting up quickly, I say, "I'm alright, I'm alright..." And I hug her. She's alive. She's alive, I keep telling myself. "I'm alright...you're alright." ~

"Peeta got the district to send a team out for me the day you first left." I see her smile. "It was all him." ~

I turn to see Peeta, still at the top of the stairs, smiling like an idiot. "You're the best fiance ever! I...thank you so much, Peeta!" I look back to my mom, a questioning look on her face...oh, fiance. Oops. ~

"Anything to make you happy." I smile, but then immediately, my eyes look to his mother. She doesn't seem upset or anything...her face stays completely stoic until a small smile spreads across it.

"When?" She asks him. ~

"Oh..." I put my head down nervously. After all this time, yes, I'm still nervous about this. Excited, sure of it, but nervous. "I asked him a month ago. I would've told you, but...a few things kinda got in the way." ~

"Well," she laughs. "I understand that." She wraps her arm around Cato. "Come on, kiddo!" ~

"Come on, what?" I reciprocate by wrapping my arm around her. "Birthday cake time?" ~

"Absolutely!" I laugh, running to the phone and calling over Finnick and Annie on the phone. "Who else? There's a lot of cake." ~

"A small party is all I want right now," I say, laughing from happiness and laughing because he's laughing. Then, as I watch him excitedly dial numbers, I add in, "Actually, I want the whole family here. Get your dad." I smile. ~

"Okay!" I turn my attention to the phone. "Finnick, you jerk, get you and your wife over here!" I laugh before hanging up and calling my dad. I'm so excited, I can't even handle it. "You won't believe me if I tell you," I exclaim. "Just come over!" I put the phone on the hook and run downstairs to where Cato and his mom are. ~

"Someone's way excited here." I pull him close to my side in a sort of hug with the three of us. "And I think that someone is me." I break away from both of them and run into the kitchen. Oh, I love birthdays...and the day after birthdays, in this case. ~

"Come see the cake!" I exclaim, heading over to the kitchen fridge and opening it. ~

"Show me!" I run over to the fridge and look at the only thing lying on the top shelf. It's red, and cream cheese, with cinnamon sprinkled everywhere...and little memories from our time together writing in every corner of the cake. And when I ask if it's chocolate, he nods. Oh, he knows me so well. "Thank you!" I tackle him with another hug that nearly sends him to the floor. "Just the cake I deserved." ~

"You deserve anything and everything I can give you." I smile, kissing him. The bell rings, and I pull myself to my feet, holding my hand out to Cato. "Come in!" I call. ~

I take his hand and pull myself up. "You also deserve everything." He really, honestly does. ~

I look to the door and see Finnick and Annie come in hand in hand. I quickly run and hug him. "Thank you!" I laugh, almost crying. Cato's behind the wall, not visible from the entrance, so poor Annie seems really confused. ~

"Of course!" He laughs, trying to pry Peeta off of him. "Anything for my favorite neighbor." I shake my head at him. "Don't mind Annie, she's just wondering where he is." Of course he'd tell her. Not that I object. ~

"Just...thank you." I pull away. "He's in the kitchen." I see Annie give me a big smile.

"Things work out in mysterious ways, don't they?" She says, squeezing my shoulder.

"That they do." And I can't help crying as she makes her way into the kitchen to see Cato. ~

"Hey!" I manage to get out before she completely cuts off my breathing with a hug. "Okay-okay." ~

"You're a little late for the wedding," she jokes. "But I'll forgive you." She loosens her grip as I follow Finnick in to where they are. ~

I can breathe again. "Sorry 'bout that." I laugh, then look to Peeta. It's time. "I won't be late for the next one. Promise." ~

Huh? I look at him confusedly before everything clicks. Everyone else besides his mother is confused, though. "You better not be." I laugh. ~

"There's a next one?" Finnick asks.

"Tell them, Peeta." ~

"Well," I smile, sticking one hand in my pocket and the other into Cato's hand. "We've kinda been engaged.. For a month."

"A month?!" Finnick yells, realizing that this has been going on since before we left. "Why didn't we know? You could've trusted us."

"Because you guys were waiting for longer than us," I say, "so we were planning on telling you after yours."

"Well...congrats, then!" And he high-fives me. Great. ~

"Thanks." I smile, squeezing Cato's hand as Annie giggles.

"It's great you're back." She says. "This one was a wreck without you." ~

He was a complete wreck. I know it and we haven't even discussed it in full yet. "I noticed," I say, not making eye contact with Peeta. "I'm glad to be back. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get rid of me." ~

"I wouldn't try!" I roll my eyes. "Finnick can testify to that." ~

"I can," he says in agreement.

"Oh, you guys." I shake my head and sit at the kitchen table. "Stop standing around! Sit!" ~

"Please!" I walk over to the cake and begin pulling out plates. The door knocks suddenly. "Cato, could you see who that is quickly?" ~

"Alright." I laugh, getting off the chair and walking over to the door. There's another knock on the door before I finally open it, revealing a very familiar, worried man. I turn back to the kitchen. "Peeta! It's your dad..." ~

Of course, I'm walking from the counter to the table with the cake as he says that, so I rush to put it on the table. "Hey, dad!" ~

"Peeta, what..." he says to Peeta, mouth still gaping at me.

So I run up and hug him like nothing was ever wrong. "Hey, Mr. Mellark!"

"What...?" ~

"Dad...you er, know Cato." I smile. "It's...it's a long story." ~

"Is it really...?" he asks through exasperated breaths.

"The one and only!" I let go and smile. "I'm here. Cake time, right?!" ~

"Really!" I pull my dad into the kitchen. "I'll explain later. Cake now." ~

When everyone sits down at the table, I just stare at the cake. "Sing happy birthday. I'm nineteen, guys." ~

I quickly stand and grab candles from the drawer and light them with a box of matches before flipping off the lights. As everyone begins to sing, I can't help but stare at his face in the candlelight and how happy he looks at the simple gesture. ~

Surrounded by people I actually like...the one I love. Someone who, after this little celebration, I can finally catch up with. "Happy birthday to me," I say quietly. Mentally, I'm a child. I really am. "And happy birthday to Peeta!" I add. "He didn't get a party on his birthday." ~

I laugh a little. "You enjoy your time, and make it up to me in November. Blow out the candles! Make a wish!" ~

I lean forward to extinguish the candles, but before I do, I smile at Peeta and say, "I already got my wish." How cliche. And then I blow out the only remaining light source. ~

I turn the lights back on, just smiling at him and bringing over a dull cake cutter. Finnick took all the sharp things out last night. "First piece." I hand it to him. ~

"Before I left, you promised me that I'd get to feed you the first piece," I say, taking the cutter and slicing a triangle into the cake. After putting it on my plate, I dig the fork into the corner of the piece and hold it up to his mouth. "Please?" ~

I roll my eyes a little at him, but smile and nod and open my mouth. ~

I put the fork onto his mouth and smile. "Now close your mouth," I tell him, with everybody else suppressing laughs. ~

I bite down on the cake, smiling because I even surprised myself. It really was good. "Now you have some!" ~

I stick the fork back into the cake and put a large chunk of it into my mouth. Best cake I've ever had. Slowly and seductively, I pull the fork out of my mouth, just like what I did to the spoon back in November.

Cue laughter from everybody, and Finnick saying, "I'd honestly probably do the same thing to that fork...but we all want some cake too."

"Cut your own piece." I throw the cutter onto the table and take another bite of Peeta's best cake ever. ~

I shake my head smiling and pull him into a hug. "Happy birthday, love." I whisper. ~

"Very happy birthday indeed," I mumble through the food. When I swallow, I hug him back and say, "I missed this." ~

"Well...we have forever now, don't we?" I smile, kissing his cheek. "Can someone cut me some cake?" ~

"Cut it yourself," Finnick says, after cutting everyone else a piece.

I take the cake cutter from him and cut a reasonably sized piece for Peeta. "I got it." ~

"Thank you, love." I take another bite. "I tried to get everything you liked in it." I laugh, finally sitting. "It reminded me of you without making me sad, because I'd just picture your reaction and smile." ~

So everybody says, "Aww, how sweet."

"I'm glad you did." I start licking my plate clean, making sure to get every little crumb into my mouth. "So, who wants to hear my story?" Everyone nods. "Peeta? Is now the time?" ~

I look at him apprehensively. "What story?" ~

"Coming back to life, duh," I laugh. ~

"Go ahead." I say. With him, you can never know. It could have been a detailed account of last night. ~

"Well, it started that morning in the Justice Building..." So I tell them every detail-well, not every, just enough to fill them in-the explosion, the boat, the woods, Two, and my trip to the Capitol. Of course, I'm hesitant about telling about my father, but...once I clarified it was me or him, my mom completely understood.

And now they know everything. "Believe me now?" ~

"I believed you yesterday." I say to him. "I think that was obvious."

"It...was really brave, what you did." Annie says, clutching Finnick's hand. His mom nods. Deep down, she knew he'd died. But it was hard, hearing that it was her son. In the end, though, she was happy it was Cato and not that man. And so was I. ~

"Brave? I was scared shitless!" I get a death glare from my mom, asking me to clean up the language. "Sorry...bad habit."

"Thank you for coming back..." Mr. Mellark says, finally speaking up. "Everybody's glad you're back...especially this one," he pats Peeta on the shoulder, "you're lucky."

"Both of us are." I reach under the table to take Peeta's hand. ~

"We're both lucky to have had other people around to make sure this could happen, too." I grab Cato's hand and make eye contact with my father and Finnick with slight nods. ~

To make sure this could happen? What could Finnick and his dad possibly have done to...oh. Right. "That's right." I sigh and push the plate away from me. "No more." ~

I squeeze his hand tightly. "What?" I say nervously. ~

"I'm done. That's all. I can eat cake later." What's wrong? I'm worried about you. That's what's wrong. ~

He can't lie to me. I just can tell. But I'll dismiss it until later. "Okay..." I sigh. "Well," I look around. "There are things to be done, I'm sure.. So I'll let everyone get back to their normal days. Just don't spread around about him yet." We should probably go see Haymitch and Coin personally. ~

"Alright," Finnick says, standing and helping Annie out of her chair, as she seems to be having a bit of trouble getting up herself. "We'll be right next door if you need us." And they leave. ~

"I'm only a few blocks away." His mom stands, kissing his head and crying a little. "I'm always here for the both of you." She follows Finnick and Annie out. ~

"Goodbye, Mom...I'll talk to you later, definitely."

Peeta's dad is the last one to leave. "Just...thanks. So much...I'll always be down the block from here."

"Bye..." I wave. ~

"So...it's just us now." ~

A/N: A long chapter with lots of wonderful things in it.