Made for Hc-Bingo on LJ. The prompt was "Nightmares". Hope you all enjoy this! Leave reviews!

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belong to Suzanne Collins.

The Perfect Lullaby

Somewhere inside her mind, Katniss knew Peeta would be terribly hurt with what she was doing now. However, she had to face her feelings someday. She kept postponing it endlessly, but she knew that would only hurt further the three of them. Neither Peeta nor Gale deserved her indecision, but, for her, it seemed it was much easier for them then to her. They knew. One day they had woken up with the certainty of their love. Such thing never happened to her.

She had always been immensely grateful to both of them. Peeta saved her from starvation while Gale helped her guarantee she would never get back to it. She was sure she loved them both, but in completely different ways.

So, when Gale's arms came to her in the middle of a particularly bad dream, she was more than glad to welcome its warmth and protection. Her lips searched for his desperately, and she kissed him in a way she had never kissed anyone before.

When they parted, she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart to calm her mind. He wrapped his arms protectively around her, keeping her away from all danger.

"Everything is okay now, Catnip." He whispered softly to her. "You're safe with me."

She let herself cry with his warm words. Her nightmares were always so horrible, and they always scared her so much. This time, she dreamed he was on the arena with her on the first Hunger Games she participated. Differently from Peeta, Gale had stayed by her side the entire time, and when Cato came for them, Gale protected her, getting himself killed on the process. The entire dream was filled with President Snow's nasty scent and disgusting laugh, mocking her cruelly.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Gale asked her.

"No." She answered. She couldn't voice it. Voicing things usually meant they were real. But her dreams weren't real – at least not that night. "Just stay with me, please."

"I wouldn't dare leaving you."

And Katniss knew he was telling her the truth. Even when she hurt him really badly, Gale never abandoned her.

"I love you, Gale." She finally let herself admit.

Her words made him stop all movements, even his breathing. She knew what he was thinking: that she couldn't really mean it, not in a time when she was so nervous and scared. However, for her, it couldn't be clearer. That kind of situation… he would never be able to tell him about the nights Peeta helped her sleep, since it would just hurt Gale further, but that was the exact kind of situation when she could tell her feelings apart perfectly.

When Peeta hugged her, and whispered on her ear that everything would be alright, she had never felt that way. Peeta was a dear friend. End of story.

But Gale… when his arms came to her aid, and his rusky voice whispered on her ear… she felt warm inside, and her heart began to race in an impossible speed.

"We can talk about it if you still feel like this in the morning." He answered her.

Katniss sighed. How stubborn he could be, really? Instead of answering, she just kissed him. He had once accused her of only kissing him when he was in pain. She had kissed him twice that night already, and he wasn't in pain – she was.

"Katniss." He half groaned, half reprehended.

"Just shut up." She said, placing herself on top of him as the kiss continued.

It wasn't long before his strong hands were on her waist, holding her firmly as he changed their positions. Leaving her mouth, his lips went to her ears, and then her neck. Katniss let a soft moan escape.

She couldn't be more sure about her feelings for him. Yes, she loved him. Her whole body was screaming it for her, urging her to prove it to him. Letting her hands wonder down his chest, she found the hem of his chest and pulled it up, enjoying the feeling of her hands on his muscled chest.

"Katniss?" he asked in an unsure way. Did she have any idea of what she was doing?

Her answer was to sit up and take off her own shirt.

It was answer enough for him.

His mouth was soon on her breasts, sucking and nipping gently at them. Her moans only encouraged him to continue his way down. It was easy to remove her pants and undergarments, letting his mouth explore the secluded place between her legs.

Katniss almost screamed when she felt his tongue. A liquid warmth spread through her entire body, making her mind forget anything that wasn't that sublime sensation. And as he continued, it only got better.

"Gale!" she half screamed, half moaned. She was convinced she would die if he stopped what he was doing.

Gale smirked a bit, loving to hear her sounds, loving to hear her say his name in that sultry way. Only he knew how long his fantasies had been about her, how long had he dreamed about this moment.

When Katniss thought she would explode, Gale inserted a finger inside of her, making everything even more desperate. As she felt it moving in and out her body, it was more than she could take. Her first orgasm was a mind-blowing one.

Gale wasted no time removing his own pants and pushing himself inside of her while she was still under the fog of pleasure.

Katniss barely noticed the pain, if there was any, and soon, all the pleasure was back, as she moved in the same tempo he did. Gale kissed her in a loving way as their hips moved in perfect synchrony.

"I love you, Katniss." He told her.

She smiled to him.

"I love you too."

This time, he believed her. Because he knew she would never give herself like that to anyone she wasn't sure she loved.

This time, when her orgasm hit her, Gale's did too. Katniss discovered it was even better to feel that kind of pleasure when he was experiencing the same.

Gale fell on the bed, careful not to crush her. He brought her close to him, tightening her firmly with his arms. Katniss loved to feel his warm and sweaty body against hers.

He kissed her on the forehead, letting his head rest on top of her contently. Letting sleep win, Katniss snuggled against his chest, for the first time in months not fearing the images that would come for her.

She had finally found the perfect lullaby.