Before I type one word of this story, I want to tell you that this fic is not all puppies and rainbows, and in fact, there's more angst than fluff. Part of this story chronicles an affair, which I realize many people will have a problem with. I don't depict Gale in a nice way at all. That has nothing to do with how I feel about Gale in THG, but I flipped a coin between Gale and Gale and go figure, Gale won. That being said, this is a love story and Everlark at the core, so I hope that you'll stick with it. Inspiration came from PenelopeWeaving, who had the idea of building a story around the lyrics of Bob Dylan's song "Tangled Up In Blue." Because she's working on a few fics herself, she gave me the green light to tackle this one. If you hate it, blame her. I kid, I kid. Yell at me.

Chapter warning: affair and violence

"She was married when we first met

Soon to be divorced

I helped her out of a jam I guess

But I used a little too much force

We drove that car as far as we could

Abandoned it out West

Split it up on a dark sad night

Both agreeing it was best

She turned around to look at me

As I was walking away

I heard her say over my shoulder

"We'll meet again someday on the avenue"

Tangled up in blue."

Present Day

"We should get up. Gale will be home soon," Katniss whispers. Her breath is hot on my chest.

"I don't get to do enough of this. This…—" I stroke the skin on her side: shoulder to breast, down the ribs, looping around her belly button and back up. "—just lying here with you."

"Soon." Her sigh alone makes my eyelids flutter closed. "This will be over soon, Peeta."

I've heard this before and I want to believe her. I want to believe that after all these years we will put the bullshit behind us and try to make a go of it. But then again we're talking about Katniss and me. There's not much we've done right up until this point. If we're getting technical, what we're doing right now is anything but 'right.' Not morally, at least.

She kisses my mouth and scoots away from me, taking a light blanket with her. I sigh in frustration and ask, "When is 'soon'?" Katniss turns around and faces me, her face void of expression. This time I don't lose my resolve and I refuse to look away. "Katniss? Come on, when will this be taken care of?"

"When I can be sure that I can support myself." She turns away from me and begins rifling through an old dresser, trying to locate some underwear.

"What is so wrong with supporting each other?" I rub my palms over my face and plead, "Haven't you been asking that question since the day we met? What is so wrong about asking for help every once in a while? Katniss, I love —."

She sits on the edge of the bed and places her palm over my mouth to prevent me from finishing my sentence. "Don't. Don't say those words to me. Not now."

"When?"

"Soon." She leans over to kiss me again and I reach to cup her breast but she quickly stands and walks back to the dresser.

I flop back against the pillows and groan before rolling to my side to look for my boxers. Jesus Christ, my whole life is an exercise in frustration. I watch her shimmy into her panties and reach for a bra, effortlessly hooking the clasps behind her.

The sound of the front door opening makes my heart stop. Footsteps make their way down the hallway, walking closer to the bedroom. Katniss gasps and immediately covers her mouth with her hands, looking at me with wide eyes. I hiss, "Fuck!" and roll off the bed, grabbing my jeans. The reality of the situation is that neither one of us can leave the room without Gale seeing us. But that doesn't matter because the footsteps come to a halt.

We've been caught.

"I knew it."

Gale stands in the doorway, taking in the scene. I've managed to get my jeans halfway up my thighs and am frantically trying to finish the job, buttoning the waist. Katniss isn't so lucky: she stands there like a deer in the headlights, trying to hide behind a t-shirt.

"I knew you were fucking her!" His voice is lethal, perhaps rightfully so. The state of their relationship shouldn't matter: Katniss is his wife, not mine. The fact that they've been on the verge of a divorce, living separate lives, going in different directions and wanting different things…none of that should matter. It shouldn't, but it does to me. Because I love her even if she isn't mine to love.

Katniss pulls the shirt over her head and reaches for some shorts. "Gale, we—"

"How long have you been spreading your legs for him?!"

She begins to cry. "It's not like that—"

I plead, "Katniss—"

He lunges forward and catches me off guard, grasping my shoulders and slamming me against the wall. I'm momentarily stunned but recover in time for him to connect his fist with my jaw. Bending slightly, I stumble ahead and push my shoulder into his chest, just trying to put some space between us. I register Katniss' yelling for us to stop.

"She's mine, asshole! Mine!" Gale's fists are connecting everywhere: face, stomach, side.

I sputter and gasp, tripping against the corner of the bed and ending up on the floor clutching at my skull. Somewhere Katniss screams. I cough out, "She isn't anyone's."

"Gale, don't! Please! He didn't—"

"Oh, I have no doubt that this was your idea." I open my eyes and see his feet moving toward her side of the room. "Did you wait a whole week before screwing him in our bed? Or did you fuck him before you even brought him here? Huh?"

"No—"

"Answer me!"

"You and I don't love each other—"

The sound of his hand meeting her face and her body dropping to the floor ignites something I have no control over. I push forward and hold Gale to the ground, pounding his face until her crying and pleading snaps me out of my trance. I look up and see her gasping and holding her hands to her eyes. I look down and see Gale, badly beaten and unconscious. I then look at my hands, registering what I've done.

"I… I didn't… He hurt you—" pushing off the floor and struggling to stand, I dizzily try to get my bearings. Walking to Katniss, I reach for her and help her up. I gently touch the bruises that are beginning to bloom on the side of her face; I'm sure I look almost as bad as Gale. It feels that way. I deserve it, she doesn't.

Tears continue to fall. "Peeta, we need to call Johanna and then get out of here. Now."

I nod dumbly and watch her grab some essentials: a few changes of clothes, some toiletries, a wad of cash from a shoebox in the closet and her messenger bag. I grab my duffel—it contains the only things I own—and the keys to the car before following her out the door.

"Jo, I need you to come over to the house. It's Gale—" Katniss covers her eyes with one shaky hand and takes a deep breath. "Things got out of hand and I need someone to make sure that he's okay. I know, okay?! But it's over." I can hear Johanna mumbling on the other line but can't quite make out what she's saying. "I can't tell you where I'm going. I'll let you know when I get there, but just do me this one last favor and make sure Gale's okay. Please."

I see her end the call and I can't help but ask, "Well?"

She breathes, "Jo's going over there now."

We drive in silence for a few minutes before Katniss quietly says, "Here, take this." She holds out a frozen bag of corn that she must have grabbed on the way out. I wave it away but she grabs my hand and holds the ice against my knuckles. I suck in air at the sensation.

"Are you—" I clear my throat before continuing, "—are you alright?" I try to glance at her in the early evening light but only catch a glimpse of her swollen lip.

"I'll be fine in a couple of days. You're the one who looks like you've been put through a meat grinder." She touches my temple and I wince. "You might need to see a doctor."

I shake my head and stare straight ahead. "Where should we go?"

Katniss doesn't answer so I keep driving to nowhere in particular. Due west.

…

Hours later she whispers, "You know we can't do this."

I grip the wheel in frustration and my sore fingers protest. I knew this was coming, just not this soon. Not the night we were found out, and not the night we were finally free to make a clean start.

"You know what, Katniss? I know that we can't be together now." I glance at the passenger side but she's staring out her window. "I know that you have to deal with the shit situation that we left back there. I can even say that I understand that now's not the time for us. But I need to know when. When can we be together?"

She simply answers, "Soon."

I pull into a rest stop to fill the gas tank and grab some food. Katniss is dozing when I walk to the convenience store to pay so I grab two Dr. Peppers, a pack of peanuts and some Swedish Fish—her favorite. Taking my change, I head back to the car and abruptly stop when I near her door, looking around. Fuck.

Katniss is gone. Her bags, everything…gone. On the front seat is a napkin that I pick up and read. I tip my head back and let tears leak out of my eyes, simply overcome with emotion for the woman whose life is completely intertwined with mine. The same woman who views love as control and dependability as a weakness. The same woman who promised me that despite all that, we'd be together. Soon.

I take one last look around and climb back into the vehicle. Wrapping the seat belt around my torso and putting the key in the ignition, I start the car and read her note again.

Peeta, It's not fair to drag you any further into my messed up life. You're already in too deep and I'm truly sorry for that. I need to take care of some things, but I swear that I'll get my shit together and find you again, because you deserve someone who's whole. We've come this far; please hold on a little while longer. ~ Katniss

I fold the napkin and put it in my wallet before putting the car in drive and pulling away from the pump.