Disclaimer: the Hunger Games and related properties belong to Suzanne Collins and related parties.
Author's Note: Written in 2011 for the Valentine's Day exchange during the first round of Hungergamesland on Livejournal. Written for betty_mraz.
Katniss squeezed her shoulders closer to the trunk of her body, but she couldn't suppress the shiver. She yelled silently at herself to hold still, that this cold was nothing compared to the worst of last year's winter. But the contradictory voice inside her head snorted and pointed out that during the worst of the previous winter she had been tucked safely inside her home wrapped up in blankets with Prim on their bed.
'Point taken,'Katniss told herself and let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. It came out in a small white cloud that she would have considered pretty if it had been just a little warmer out.
"Here," Gale spoke, breaking the silence that had settled between them. He held out the thermos of warm tea. Katniss took it, an embarrassed smile touching her lips before she pressed them into a thin line as she tried to remove the cap. Gale reached over and brushed his fingers over hers as he helped loosen it. "Thanks," she murmured. "These gloves make it kind of difficult to do that."
He made an amused sound and turned his gaze back to the woods. "Well, they're keeping your fingers warm for now. But you'll have to take them off once the game comes out or you won't catch anything and tonight will have been for nothing."
"I know," she retorted, biting the pointer finger of her left glove and slipping her hand out of it to close the thermos after she had taken a few sips. She pulled the glove back on quickly. "Thanks again for coming."
"It's no problem, Catnip. It's dangerous enough hunting at night by yourself. To do it at night in the winter is crazier."
"You're sure I'm not keeping you from schoolwork or any chores?"
Gale laughed aloud, full and carefree. Katniss liked his laugh. He didn't share it often, so when he did it warmed her.
"Come on, you know I'd rather be here than doing anything for school. And in my family, hunting's considered a chore," he turned his head slightly and held his grey eyes to hers, "you know how it is."
Katniss nodded and tucked her chin down, letting her scarf cover the lower half of her face. Gale leaned forward and checked the etched lines on the rock's surface that he had added a few weeks ago to help them tell time. They were based off of an ancient way of time telling and it seemed to work well enough, even if it wasn't completely accurate.
"We've still got some time before we need to head out," he told her, settling back beside her. He lifted the blanket from his lap and spread it so that more of it covered his friend. "Get some sleep if you need to. I'll keep watch."
"You don't have to baby me," she protested.
"I know, and I'm not, Catnip," he rolled his eyes. "I'm more used to staying up late, and the cold isn't really bothering me. So go ahead and close your eyes. You're the one who'll need to be alert."
"Well... if you're sure," she said slowly.
"Yeah, yeah," he replied.
She snuggled down under the blanket and rested her head against his shoulder. "Thanks, Gale."
"What are friends for?" he reminded her.
She smiled and closed her eyes, trying to block out the cold and absorb the warmth from the layers of material they were wrapped in and the heat from his body.