A/N: I thought Mockingjay was incredible...until Gale was transformed from totally awesome to totally un-awesome. It seemed to like Suzanne Collins just needed a reason to have Katniss marry Peeta, so she pretty much just ruined Gale's personality in order to write him off. Also, I hate the sissy Peeta. He's incredibly annoying. Plus, when I tried to combine his and Katniss' names, I ended getting...a male body part.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize...but I wished I owned Gale.

"You know that day that you once told me about, when Gotham would no longer need Batman? It's coming." – The Dark Knight

I steeled myself to knock on the steel door that was used by everyone in District 13. Hazelle had adorned hers with a wreath of primroses, as a tribute to my sister. Hazelle always knew what to do, how to make you feel better. It was one of the reasons that I enjoyed her company so much.

"Katniss?" The door opened and Hazelle stepped into view, clearly just stepping out from the kitchen. She was wearing an apron and had a cut on her left thumb.

"Hi Hazelle." I didn't know how to proceed. "Is Gale home?"

She smiled. "Sorry dear, he just left a couple of minutes ago. Going hunting I think."

I glanced down at my arm and realized that we were scheduled to go above ground right now. "Oh yeah. Well…" I trailed off awkwardly, itching to get into fresh air.

"Have fun sweetie. Bye."

"Bye."

I stalked down the hallway, trying not to make too much noise in the heavy boots I refused to take off. They were the only thing I had left of my home.

Stopping by security to grab my bow and be fitted with my tracker, I made my way outside and into the real world as fast as I could.

The smell of the woods was both familiar and unfamiliar to me. Familiar because of the many long hours spent there hunting, unfamiliar because this wasn't the patch of trees just outside District 12. This was a whole new world, one I was in no hurry to explore.

I stopped just outside the first thicket of trees, unsure of where to go. Gale was probably already in there somewhere by himself. Not bothering to wait for me. Probably certain that I didn't want to talk to him.

But I did. No matter what I had said previously, no matter what I still felt like saying to him, I couldn't shake the connection between me and Gale Hawthorne. It was rooted there deeply, and to get rid of it, I would have to break open the very fabric that I was bound in.

I was saved the agony of deciding whether to leave or stay by the appearance of Gale in front of me, moving like a ghost as usual. He was wearing the regulation garb here in District 13, a white shirt and khaki pants. I didn't have to wear the plain apparel; I suppose being the Mockingjay made you exempt from such trivial matters.

He seemed surprised to find me there. Surely I must know that he would be here. And why would I want to see him?

"Gale," I started, moistening my lips as if that could abolish the lump of clay in my throat. "Gale, I…" but for some inexplicable reason, my words caught in my throat. The pain of seeing him, the pain of Prim's departure, the pain of everything riddling my life was too much for me at that moment. I couldn't compose myself in front of Gale, the one person that I hadn't set up wards around to shield my emotions.

And just like that, his arms were encompassing me, holding me tightly, and I was holding him back just as fiercely. I wanted nothing more than to just melt into his arms and stay that way, to forget about the constant tortures around me. He smelled of the very woods I had just been reminiscing.

And then tears were leaking out of my eyes, and I could barely control the sobs racking my body as visions of smoke and fire and Prim's face mouthing my name filled my mind. And still Gale held me tighter.

After an eternity, I finally let go and leaned back to look into his eyes. I was shocked to find the same pain in the gray irises, more similar to mine right now than they had ever been.

"Katniss," he began in a hoarse voice. "What's wrong?"

And I knew all of the other questions hidden behind that one simple one. I had, after all, blamed him for my sister's death. And now I was standing here sobbing in his arms as though nothing had happened.

"You're my best friend," I whispered, getting straight to the point, and something flickered in his stormy eyes, "I…I can't just leave you behind. You were the only person besides Prim who I've ever felt a connection to." I raised my head, tears forming again in my already damp eyes. "And now Prim is gone."

I swallowed. "But…but I can't help but think of you when I think of how she died. Your face pops into my head every time I see her in my nightmares. I know that it's not right to blame you for what happened. It wasn't your fault. But I can't help it." I lowered my head.

Gale was quiet for a long time before finally speaking. "I already knew all that Katniss," he said softly, "You've already told me that, just not in such nice terms. I'm trying to forget you." I looked up at him but found that his face was unreadable. "I'm trying to forget what I've done to you. And," he added, "what you've done to me." What was he talking about? "But you're not making it very easy."

"Well neither are you!" I shouted at him, anger helping me find my voice. Did he think it was that easy to forget? "What I'm trying to tell you is that I'm confused! I've been confused ever since the beginning of these goddamn Hunger Games, ever since the reaping! I don't know what I'll do with this feeling that you had something to do with Prim's death. But," I continued in a broken voice, "I don't know what I'll do without you either."

"You'll have to make do." He said in a hard voice. "You have Peeta."

A cold fury ripped through me. "What does he have to do with this?" I nearly snarled.

Gale locked eyes with me, matching my furious glare. "You know what he has to do with this. Katniss, you're my friend, and I've been treating you like one. But you know that that's not all I think of you as. Do you think it's been easy for me pretending that I don't? Well it hasn't! I can't stand any more of it! And I know that you don't think of me just as a friend either. But where is all of this going to lead? We can never be together, and you know it. You still think of me as your sister's murderer. You still have feelings for Peeta." He nearly spat out the end.

He was making it seem like I was the only roadblock in this. "As long as we're letting everything out here," I said vehemently, "Why don't you explain what you've been up to lately?"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, you're moving to District 2! You're leaving everyone from District 12! You're leaving me!"

"Well I can hardly stay here with you with the status of a killer, can I? Or am I cousin? I don't even know what I am anymore."

"You're my best friend."

"Forget it Katniss! Everything's changed! Things will never be the same, even if you wanted them to be!"

"But why?" I couldn't keep the pleading tone out of my voice. "Why can't things be the same?"

In response, Gale strode forward, crossing the distance between us. His lips were on mine before I even had a chance to think, and his arms were around my back, crushing me to him. His warmth, the smell of wood smoke. It all brought up a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach, a feeling I haven't felt in a long time. The feeling I got when I saw Prim's face the day we brought Lady to her. The feeling I got the first time that Gale had kissed me, so different from this time and yet still the same.

But I couldn't block out the other emotions welling inside of me either. That this was a guilty pleasure, short-lived and much more trouble than it was worth. Unwillingly, I began to pull away from his embrace.

Gale's pale gray eyes were filled with hurt as he watched me unhook myself from his grip on me. Like he knew that I would pull away, but was hoping against hope that I wouldn't.

"That's why things can't be the same." He whispered it so quietly that I barely heard it. "You want to be here with me, but you don't. You want to kiss me, but you don't. You love me, but you don't!"

I closed my eyes, desperately wishing for him to stop voicing my muddled thoughts.

"You run away from things when you're scared, and you're terrified of this, of us. And I can't stay here stuck in limbo forever. "

I saw a look of finality on his face and I opened my eyes. "I'm going to District 2. I'm going to get a job with Plutarch, and make sure that all this rebellion wasn't for nothing. And don't worry, I'm going to forget you." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

"Please Gale." I whispered brokenly.

"You don't need me here anymore. The reason we became friends was because of our mutual need to survive. We only hung out with each other so that we could put dinner on the table. That changed for me a long time ago. But I know it hasn't for you. You have enough here to make you survive. You've got riches to make up for the lack of hunting, you've got what's remaining of District 12 to be your family. You've got Peeta to replace me." The pain is his voice was unmistakable. He shouldered his bow before kissing my forehead. "Bye Catnip."

And then he was gone.

And if I knew Gale Hawthorne as well I thought I did, he certainly he wouldn't be back.

A/N: This is my first HG. I hope you guys like it, and don't forget to review. By the way, I love Gale, because he's just hot like that.