A/N: Hello everyone! For those are mad at me about not updating my Hunger Games chapter fics.... I'm very sorry about that! I really hope to get to them soon. I was inspired to start this though, and so I thought I would. If you want to request a pairing - which I encourage you to do - please leave it in a review. There is no pairing too awkward, icky or impossible for you to ask for, so don't be shy! I love this kind of writing.

Pairing One: PeetaGale

Setting: CF, during their training sessions. After the Quell is announced but before the "reaping".

Angry hands pinched Peeta's skin, nearly ripping his shirt with violent energy.

"Gale... watch it..." Peeta said, too tired to deal with this. They'd just gotten through an exhausting, horrific day or training, and his patience was nearly burned out. He could handle Gale's jealousy usually, the silent looks of contempt that shot his way whenever he was in spitting distance. Tonight though, it became too much. He was terrified for Katniss, for himself; he even worried for Haymitch sometimes, and he didn't plan on letting the older man into that arena. Tonight, Gale's selfishness became too unfair. His mild manners could not handle it anymore, at least not mildly.

Surprising him, Gale dropped the unwitting fabric. He swung away in silence, an unreadable fire behind his pale eyes. Watch out for the white tip of the flame, Peeta reminded himself - it's the hottest. The Seam boy grunted, his stare still unforgiving. And Peeta couldn't let it pass this time. He cut Gale more slack than was deserved, saying that it must be hard to always lose people you love. To the coal mines, to the Games... Peeta recognized the pain he must feel. But enough.

"Listen Gale," he said, a current of anger vibrating beneath his calm veneer. "I appreciate you acting civil in front of Katniss, because I know it would be harder for her to see us fighting, and I understand that you've been through a lot... But this isn't my fault. I hope you realize that I didn't do this to you. Katniss isn't mine to give or take, and I wouldn't give her anyway, because - " Because I love her. However, he knew enough to realize that saying this aloud would not improve the situation.

Gale made a strangled noise, and for a second Peeta wondered if he was crying. When he turned though, his eyes bore a dry, calculating front. "I know you can't give her to me," he said, sounding far sadder than Peeta had ever heard before. "But did it ever occur to you, that she's not the reason I act this way?" He was met by a blank pair of blue eyes, misunderstanding it all. "Did it ever occur to you, Bread Boy, that she's not why I feel so... so..." Jealous. Peeta winced internally at "Bread Boy". That was the root of his connection with Katniss, and it cut him to hear it vandalized.

"You don't remember me, do you?" His voice took on a sudden mature air, as if he was about to tell a story. Or confess... Peeta thought. "One time, it was a couple of years ago, I took Rory to look at your store. Katniss used to do the same thing with Prim I think, but it doesn't matter. But we didn't go in. Not just because we couldn't afford it, but because there were voices. They were your brothers, sitting inside the window and talking about how they hated you." He did not think to soften his words, to soothe the ache that Peeta must feel all too readily anyhow.

"They talked about how their mother didn't like you as much as them, and how you thought you were so special because of the flowers you put on those cookies and how popular you were at school..." Gale spit the word popular, hating its implications. He'd never been liked by more than a handful of people. "But I didn't think about that. All I saw was you, crouching behind them in the doorway, looking so... lost. You weren't angry. You were just sorry, because you were little and you thought you'd done something wrong." He took a deep breath, looking unhinged.

"And for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, I felt lucky. I knew I would never say that about my siblings or my mom, and they wouldn't say it about me." He finally met Peeta's eyes, though it was not because he wanted to gloat. In a twisted, suffocated manner, he hoped Peeta knew that he felt grateful. The blue pair stared back, unashamed and far from angry. The boy looked curious and perhaps a little concerned, but that was all.

Gale took this in stride, and continued, "Rory just said it was sad, and I nodded. But I never forgot you, Peeta. I saw you at school sometimes, and I felt envious of your popularity, yes, but there was more to it... I wanted to be your friend." His face heated up, contorting from the unbearable truth of it all. He surged forward, hands roughly grabbing Peeta by the collar. This time though, he pulled him forward, close enough to lean down upon. To brush his cheek, and finally plant a kiss upon the pair of unknowing lips.

Peeta barely had time to gasp, shocked, before it was over. And while he felt confused and slightly angry, he could not stop thinking that Gale had the longest eyelashes he'd ever seen.

"So when I act jealous," Gale said unsteadily, refusing to release Peeta from his grip. "Don't think it's because I lost my best friend. ... At least, not only because of that. Okay?" Rich exhales passed between them, filled with the kind of uncertainty that the situation owned.

"Okay," Peeta said finally, and Gale let him go. They locked gazes once again, Peeta's with a question and Gale's with a resigned sorrow.

"You have training tomorrow," he said softly. "And you two are leaving in a couple of weeks." He leveled his head, eyes boring through the fuzzy edges of Peeta's hair. "So I won't bother you again." He turned away, disappearing into the night before Peeta could tell him to wait.