A/N: by request of reviews, I'm writing the next chapter to Gale and Katniss' story. Hope you like it. Just so you know, this is going to be like a whole series of books. Next one after this is Eternally Snared.

"Great." Gale puts his arm around me "Mel- I mean Peeta left." Two days ago I watched Peeta leave on a train for District 6. I wanted him to go. To leave, so me and Gale could just be together in peace. I didn't tell Gale, because I had wanted to wait for today. We've been dating for a year today, so he was taking me out to a romantic dinner. The news of Peeta's absence would please Gale.

"Mmm hmm." I pick up my coat and put it on, then take Gale's hand as I make an attempt to get him out of the house. "Watched him leave myself. Now can we go?"

"Sure." He lets me take him out and he shuts the door behind him. As he takes out his keys- a whole ring with many keys on it, including my house key- I notice something in his coat pocket. It looks like a red piece of fabric. Gale locks the door and takes my hand. "Put this on." He hands me a blindfold "It's a surprise."

We walk for a little bit and finally Gale leads me up some stairs."It's clear, now." I lift the blindfold and take in my surroundings. It's Gale's house. He must see my confused look because now he's explaining. "Well, as you know I'm a little short on money, so I decided on a nice home cooked meal."

"Thank you." I say hugging him "This couldn't be any more perfect." Gale takes my hand and leads me to a chair, which he pulls out for me. I take a seat and Gale sits down across from me.

"So Girl on Fire, what do you want to do after this?"

"I don't know." I say "What are we having?"

"It's a surprise, Katniss."

I stick my tongue out at him, then lean back and fold my arms. "Unfair!" I say "You know I hate waiting."

Gale snaps his fingers. Nothing "Snap, snap!" He says, looking around for something "Posy." He sighs. Posy comes trotting out carrying two plates.

I laugh. "You're making Posy serve us?"

"Sure," Gale rustles Posy's hair "That's what little sisters are for, right?"

But Posy's smarter than that. She brushes off his hand and smacks his head lightly."No, it's not. Here" Posy hands over the dishes and does a small bow. Then she's gone.

"Now will you tell me?" I beg

"Lynx and rabbit." Gale hands me a dish "I snared them myself."

We eat our meals and have something to drink. After we're done, Gale takes me out on the balcony. We stand there for a while, hand in hand, looking at the stars. I look at him with a smile on my face. He meets my gaze and I kiss him. When he pulls away, I say "I just had to do that. Once."

"Okay." Gale says. He gets down on one knee and pulls out the red piece of fabric I saw earlier. It's actually a it open and I see a ring. "Katniss, I love you and I always will. Will you marry me?"

My eyes widen in disbelief. Is he actually saying that? His eyes drop a little; he must think I'm declining. But then I fling myself into his arms. "Yes." I whisper in his ear. My smile must be the biggest I've ever smiled. I pull away and hold out my hand. Gale slides the ring onto my ring finger. It fits perfectly.

I don't know how long we're out there, just sitting Indian-style on the balcony. We talk and laugh, and even do a little wedding planning. By the time Posy sticks her head out to tell us it's getting late, it's 9:00.

"Come on, Catnip." Gale helps me up "I'll walk you home."

"Great. I'd like that." I let Gale lead me back to my house in Victor's Village. It's basically just a huge family room now. I let all my creativity shine on the walls that used to be white. Now it's truly mine. When we get to my house, Gale takes out his keys and opens the door.

"See you tomorrow." He kisses my forehead and turns to leave.

"Wait!"I say. Gale whips around and looks at me. "I was hoping you'd stay." I smile and wait for his answer. He rubs his chin as if he's thinking.

"Sure." He comes back inside. I take his coat and we sit at my snack bar. I fix us some hot cholate and sit back down with a calendar and some colorful pens.

"What's that for?" Gale asks taking a sip of hot chocolate "I know!"Gale picks up a pen and starts drawing on today. It takes him about 10 minutes to finish drawing. I examine it. It's a heart with two rings that says "I 3 Gale" in the middle. I look at him and he smiles.

"Pretty." I say "But no, this is not drawing paper. We need a wedding date. You have your planner?"

"Yup." Gale pulls out his electronic planner "So, how long can you wait?"

"Well, I'll go with anything." I say "But then again…oh, in the next month."

"That works." Gale says checking his planner "I've got nothing going on. Do you? Oh wait, this your calendar. Looks clear."

"Then you pick a date." I say. Gale closes his eyes and twirls the pen over the page. Suddenly he sticks it in the page.

Gale opens his eyes "May 8th,"He looks at me smiling "That's your birthday. 19, right?"

"Mmm hmm." I think about it "That's a good date. Gives us a little over a month for planning. And hey, it could be like my birthday present."

"You get me for your birthday." He laughs "That's nice. Then you get to rub it in all the other girls' faces."

"And you get to rub it in Peeta's face." I say kissing Gale. He pulls away.

"Trust me." He says "Peeta and I weren't your only admirers. There were tons. Even boys from my year at school."

"Didn't think I'd come across like that." I saw sweetly "We'll do more planning tomorrow. I'm really tired. You should be getting home." I push Gale out and go straight to bed. I fall asleep within minutes. I have no fear of nightmares tonight.

A/N: Please review this! Each chapter will be at least 1,000 words and I can probably promise one weekly.