He Likes Saving Those For You

Everthorne oneshot of the first Sunday after her Hunger Games. Cannon, takes place at the beginning of Catching Fire

Katniss POV

My heart thumps harder with each passing tick of my watch.

After everything that happened with Peeta and I in the games I had expected something like this to happen.

Gale had been avoiding me ever since my return from the Capital.

Still, some part of me still held out hope that his recent absence n her life was due to his new job in the mines, rather than his negative feelings towards me.

It was Sunday and it had been hours since their usual scheduled meeting time.

I had begun to give up hope.

Maybe he was needed at the mines?

Or Rory or Vick needed his help with something.

Posy might be ill and Hazelle might need Gale's help.

Or…the more likely answer, Gale may not want to see me.

A sigh escapes me.

I can't begin to imagine how she would feel in his positon.

They weren't romantically involved.

They never have been.

But they are close.

Incredibly so.

And given Gale's feelings to people like Peeta let alone his feelings for the capital.

I imagine he is not too impressed with her at the moment.

I can't help feeling upset though.

I almost died.

I thought I would die.

I'm sure of it.

Forced to kill people to survive, to participate as a piece in the capital's games.

I'm hurt after all I've been through he couldn't bring himself to talk to me.

But even thinking about Gale in that situation.

Being put in the games.

Having to watch him fight for his life, kill for his life to get back to his family.

That would kill me.

So unfortunately, no matter how badly it hurt, I understood.

For the most part anyway.

I checked my watch again.

Almost three hours had passed.

He wasn't coming.

I concluded, there were only three possible reasons as to why he didn't show up.

Reason 1: Something came up that he could not avoid

Reason 2: He was too upset over the games or the romance between Peeta and I or my Capital loving star crossed lover façade to face me

Reason 3: He hates me

Of all the reasons the third tore me up the most.

I may not be dating him but he's my best friend.

He's been there for me through everything.

The only one who was able to make me smile for years.

Gale was the only person I have ever trusted fully.

My heart hurt, my head hurt, my hands were beginning to shake from the cold.

I could feel the water fill my eyes, my throat closing the way it does when I get upset.

I refuse to cry, not now, not here.

I've become too suspicious of my surroundings since the games and I can't cry over something as pathetic as this after all I've been through.

Gale made his decision not to come.

I swallow, blink back my tears and raise my head, determined to stand and walk away from this, to go home.

But I don't.

Because Gale's standing there, about three meters away from me.

His eyes on me, as if he doesn't truly believe I'm there.

Without even thinking, I jump up, run to him and throw my arms around him.

I didn't even know he was here five seconds ago.

Now I couldn't be more aware of his presence.

I clutch onto him and holds me even tighter.

He seems just as affected by this as I do.

We both don't know what to say.

Both too lost in the feel of one another after so long, listening to each other struggle to hold back the tears and laughter before just letting go because we both thought this would never happen again.

We could have stood there hugging for hours but eventually the mix of laughter and crying got too much for me and the hiccups began.

I tried to hide them but with my bad luck they were the loudest ever so Gale reluctantly let me go and we got a drink.

After the hiccups ceased we returned to our normal selves.

Just Gale and Katniss.

We ate, hunted, fished and gathered.

We talked about people in town, anything other than us and our new lives.

It was brilliant.

I had hoped we could do this.

Act like nothing happened, go back to just as we were before.

Gale and Katniss, best friends who hunted and talked and escaped from the real world in the woods.

It seemed more than possible now.

Gale seemed just as eager to forget everything that happened and who am I to ruin that?

Every Sunday we can hunt, talk, escape from the mines, our family, the town people, the capital, Peeta Mellark and just enjoy each other's company like old times.

I'd give him the game because I no longer need it and we'd get by just as we always had.

But it could never be that simple.

We pause at the hole in the fence nearest the Hob when the day draws to a close.

I hand him all the game we caught today and I can tell he hates accepting it, feels its charity and unfair to me but I give a chance to resist.

We usually go to the Hob now but I tell him I'll skip it.

Prim and Mum don't know where I've gone and I'm never gone this long, they'll be worried.

Gale's face falls and he figits with the game.

Guilt swallows me again but refusing to dwell on it instead I offer to take over the snare run.

I'm too busy babbling that I don't notice that he has moved even closer toward me.

Obviously Gale doesn't want things to go back to the way things were before the games.

Because a split second later, with no warning I feel his lips collide with mine.

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