Similarities

Kelton can't say he's sorry that his son got the girl.

He looks at Katniss' Seam friend and can't bring himself to feel more than pity for him. He sees him every day t four on the District's square, watching the Games. His gray eyes harden every time she's in danger, and considering she's in the Hunger Games, that's always.

Gale hunts, buys, sells, keeps Prim well fed and relatively comfortable but his shoulders are tense and hunched. His jaw sets and he lowers his head when his son kisses the girl he loves. Kelton Mellark knows that feeling all too well.

Once upon a time, Kelton loved a girl. Leyla was her name. Her big blue eyes and long blonde hair weren't the first thing that called his attention. No, he started noticing her when he saw her gently help a little boy back on his feet before smiling sweetly to him. It was such a beautiful peaceful smile that Kelton decided in that exact moment that he wanted to see that smile for the rest of his life.

He honestly thought he had a shot. They kissed, the laughed and they loved. Until the Everdeen boy with his voice and his determination won her over. He never blamed her. He loved her deeply and while Kelton would be able to give her a better life, Arless made her happy. So when it came down to it, he picked up whatever pieces of pride he had left and stepped away.

So yes, Kelton understood Gale's pain. The baker had seen them get married, saw her glow with happiness when she went to inform her best friend that she was pregnant. Unfortunately for his broken heart, he was her best friend. He smiled politely, hugged her and told her that his wife was pregnant as well. He liked Feera but he didn't love her. They had known each other for pretty much their whole lives so it seemed natural for them to get married. No one knew that the first two Mellark boys with the green eyes and dark hair weren't his. She had a lover. A married lover that would never leave his wife for her. So when she discovered she was pregnant, Kelton promised her everything would be alright and married her.

Their friendship was crushed under the things unsaid, the secrets and the longing looks at someone that he wasn't married to. Peeta, however, was his. He was sure of it. Her lover died on an earthquake, his shop falling on top of him. Kelton had three kids but only one son.

Peeta was like him in almost every way. Far too soft, far too trusting. The blond man often wondered what would befall on his son with his gentle ways and caring words. It was a harsh world and people like Peeta usually didn't end up well.

He saw his son follow Leyla's daughter with unguarded love and he worried for his destiny. She was a Seam girl and while he didn't have a problem with it Feera most definitely did. She would never allow them to be together. But Katniss was never alone. Her friend Gale was always with her, like her shadow. And his son lowered his gaze in defeat and mumbled something before running off to decorate some cakes, which always cheered him up.

Then his gentle, caring son was sent to the Games and Kelton grieved that night like he was standing over Peeta's tomb. Even if he returned, he wouldn't come back completely. He was friends with Haymitch before his Games and he saw how his easy going, happy-go-lucky friend returned somber and with eyes haunted, filled with shadows only he could see. That arena would keep a piece of his son. That was for sure. He just didn't know how much it would demand.

The blond teenager had seemingly accepted the fact that Katniss' would marry Gale but it didn't stop the flash of pain on his blue orbs every time he saw them together. Kelton loved his son, but he couldn't ignore the similarities between his story and Peeta's. It seemed that the Seam boy would get the girl. But Gale wasn't Arless, Katniss wasn't Leyla and Peeta wasn't him.

He got the girl. Kelton was there when Leyla's daughter pulled his son from the river, healed him and kissed. His boy's eyes were so peaceful; the baker knew that if his son died, he would die a happy man, a fulfilled man.

So no, Kelton can't say he's sorry that his son got the girl.