Disclaimer: You know that I don't own this. If I did, it sure wouldn't be on fanfiction. Am I right? You know! :):):)
"I never wanted to love her, Peeta. It just happened. I never wanted to be vengeful. It just happened. I have trouble believing things aren't happening the way they're supposed to…" Gale looked over Katniss' body laying limp on a pile of furs that Tigris sent down. Everyone was sitting up and laying against the wall in their slumber. Peeta and Gale, however, found themselves struggling to stay asleep. In place they had conversations about anything that came to mind. Anything to keep their minds off of the war.
"You're not a bad person. I wouldn't want you to believe for a second that you are." Peeta kept his gaze on Gale to emphasize his point. Looking at Katniss was painful, especially knowing that she was always meant to be with Gale. They'd been behaving like a married couple since they were children, hunting and raising their families together. Katniss wouldn't feel at home and at peace with anyone but him. It was easier to look at Gale and remind him how special he was and how much Katniss deserved him.
"We've done nothing but argue and disagree since thirteen. She doesn't trust me anymore. I've lost whether I had before. She looks at me as though I turned into a monster." Peeta couldn't get his mind around Gale's self-pity. He didn't handle losing well, if you could call it losing at least. Peeta wasn't sour when Katniss was falling for Gale instead of him. Peeta had loved her for years but found himself helping Gale and Katniss maintain a normal relationship. He encouraged Katniss' happiness. Instead, here sat Gale asking himself whys and hows. Peeta knew it was just Gale's personality, though. He couldn't get caught up in his personal confusion, which was Capitol induced. He had to remember that Gale and Katniss had been getting the short-end of the stick, so to speak, since they were little. Seam raised left an imprint that would near wear off.
"If you are a monster…you are a handsome monster, Gale. Katniss is wise and she'd pick you anyway, but let's be serious for a minute and recognize that every girl is going to pick the handsome guy first. If it works out, then she chose right. If it doesn't, at least she was with the handsome guy for awhile and still chose right. Fool yourself not, Gale, she'll choose you. When sun rises tomorrow you'll be her first thought." Peeta ended the conversation on that note. He rolled himself about until, he was comfortable and starting to drift in and out of sleep. Gale wouldn't try to wake him knowing how much it hurt to be desperate for sleep. He'd continue to watch Katniss ensuring her safety, even though they remained hidden under Tigris' shop. Gale would embrace the silence and continue with his silly thoughts.
"Katniss doesn't see in terms of good looks, Peeta. Otherwise I'd have had her in my arms a long time ago." Gale wasn't meaning to say he was incredibly attractive. He wasn't blind that he was easy on the eyes, but he'd never let it go to his head. At least, not since he started falling in love with Katniss and saw it had no role in their relationship. The way he looked was never going to win Katniss over because in her eyes, if you weren't a good person then you weren't worth the time of day. Gale saw each day that the time spent paying attention to him dwindled. This meant each day his heart shrunk and his "goodness" dissipated. By the end of the way, well, Gale didn't want to think about that.