"Come on Katniss. Raising a family wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Gale asks for what seems like the thousandth time.
"I've told you already Gale; I just don't think its right for me. I'm not cut out to raise a family," I tell him. It seems like we've gone over every day for the past month and it's beginning to grow old.
"Can't you just see it though? Little Katnisses learning how to shoot, or gathering berries and plants, maybe singing while they skip alongside you in the town?"
I must admit, Gale does paint quite the picture, but I still can't see myself having kids and raising a family. It just doesn't seem like a very me thing to do.
"I don't know Gale. I just don't think I'd make a very good mother," I say quietly. I grew up for 11 years with a wonderful family, my mother was always there; alive; awake, but after my father died, it's like she just fell into eternal sleep, never to be fully woken. I wish I could remember my mother more as she was before the mine accident, but I can't; the more awful memories of recent years have taken over.
Gale begins to open his mouth, getting ready to tell me that I probably would make a good mother, but I don't want to hear it. "Don't you dare go on about how I would make a good mother, Gale Hawthorne. You know it isn't true, so don't even start," I snap before he has the chance to get a single word out.
"Okay, okay, I won't!" He says as he puts his hands up in mock-surrender. Good, I think and smile to myself. "But I still think you'd be a good mother, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind about it," he whispers in my ear.
Something about Gale being that close to me makes me feel weak. I don't know why. He's never made me feel this way before, but something about his lips brushing against my ear makes me shiver. I don't know what has gotten into me.
Gale pulls away from my ear and leans down in the cool grass. Something about him looks different today, but I don't know what exactly it is. He almost looks more grown up in a way. He rests himself upon his elbow, and I can see the strain in his muscles as they work to hold him up. My eyes travel upwards and I see his big hands that are capable of so much more than just killing, and more than just mining.
I try to make myself stop staring at him, after all, this is Gale; my hunting partner; my best friend; not my lover. Lover. I find myself beginning to wonder what it would be like to be held by him, to be held in his strong arms, to be kissed by his full lips. I know I need to stop, but I can't.
Gale turns his head and tilts it to the side, looking straight in my eyes. "What ya thinking' 'bout Catnip?" he asks, and his voice pulls me both out of my daydream while pulling me in deeper.
"Nothing," I reply, probably a bit too quick.
"Oh, yes you are. You're definitely thinking' about somethin'. I can see it in your eyes, you have that faraway sort of look in them." He says, and I know he's right. "Come on Katniss, just tell me," and I can hear the slight pleading tone in his voice.
"I don't think I can," I say in a small quiet voice. It's the truth. I really don't think I can tell him.
He sits up and puts his hands on both sides of my face, his hands cooling and intensifying the blush on my cheeks. "You can tell me anything, Catnip." That's when I lean in and kiss him.
The kiss starts off slow and shy, I don't know what come over me, but I knew I had to kiss him. I had to kiss him before it was too late. Too late for what is something else I'm not sure of. Gale becomes more aware of what's happening and begins to kiss me back, his lips against mine. The kiss is deepened -though I don't know by whom - and soon our tongues are battling for dominance.
Gale starts to pull away, but I put my hands in his hair, pulling him back into the kiss. I move closer to him, wanting all of the space between us to be gone. I taste the berries we were just eating on his lips, and I moan into his mouth.
We reach the point where neither of us can breathe, and we have to break the kiss. I don't want him to leave my side, so I put my hands on his shoulders, keeping him as close to me as possible.
"What the hell just happened?" He asks, panting.
"I don't know," I whisper truthfully in his ear. "But I'm starting to think that maybe you're right, maybe raising a family wouldn't be so bad after all."