FAGE 007
Title: Past Love
Written for: Tori W Inch-Tester/WelshWitch1011
Written By: cloemarrie
Rating: M
Prompt used: "I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?"
Summary: The games were over. The revolution was won, at great cost. Could she ever forgive him for what he had done? Could she be able to love him again?
Fandom/pairing: HG - Gale/Katniss
If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox. www . fanfiction community /FAGE-007/93625/
Tori here's your second gift, bb! I apologize I wasn't able to get it up yesterday. I had to work and didn't get home until late.
I want to thank Dinia Steel and Carolina Cullen for helping me clean this fic up! Y'all are awesome! And Mina Rivera thank you soooo much for the beautiful banner you made for this fic, awesome work bb!
A BIG thank you goes out to our mistress, readingmama, for yet another fantastic FAGE!
KPOV
The day the revolution ended was the best and worst day of my life.
The people of Panem had risen up, overthrown the government of the Capitol, and killed President Snow. It had been coming for over seventy-five years, and it's Games had cost me almost everything.
Prim died that day, and my best friend betrayed me.
My baby sister had gone to the capitol to assist our mother with the injured when it happened. She was struck by the blast of a bomb that was dropped in that area, but it wasn't just any bomb. No, it was one of ours.
My heart sank even more when Gale informed me that the bomb, that killed my innocent baby sister, was one that he had designed.
I was too heart broken to even speak to him after that I never accepted his apology, no matter how sincere he was, and no matter how much he loved my sister.
I couldn't forgive him. I just couldn't. How could I after he had been a part of the reason my sister was now dead?
I knew he blamed himself for what happened. Hell, even I blamed him for many years.I still couldn't bring myself to care enough to forgive him.
Maybe one day, I might, but that day was not today.
A little over a year after the revolution, Peeta and I got married.
Originally, we weren't going to, that was what the capital wanted, but during the horrid games and the revolution we had, some how, fallen in love.
A few weeks after our wedding, we found out we were expecting.
Our twins were born a week after my due date, but they were healthy. Our son's name was Victor and our daughter's name was Victoria. The names were not only rare around here, but they both stood for conquer and being victorious.
We overthrew the Capitol and despite them, and their adversary ways Peeta and I fell in love.
"There you are," Peeta said as he entered our room, effectively breaking me out of my memories.
"Of course, where else would I be," I tried to smile, failing miserably.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concern clouding his voice.
"Nothing, just thinking." I paused to clear the lump from my throat. "Just thinking of my sister and what happened all those years ago."
A single tear slipped down my cheek. I wasn't one for crying, or I didn't used to be. I used to be a rough and tough girl, but ever since my sister's death, I haven't had the desire or the strength to even try to be.
Peeta sat down on our bed next to me and put his arms around me. I laid my head on his chest. He lovingly told me, "I'm here for you and always will be. Just let it all out. Cry. Scream even, if you want. I love you, and I know you miss her."
I did as he suggested, and I cried. I cried for my sister, cried for a friend who betrayed me, cried for what the games had cost us, and everything in between. All the while, Peeta was comforting and reassuring me that everything would get better.
Later that night, we laid wrapped in each other's arms with thoughts of the future.
~~PL~~
I had put the kids to bed, when the phone rang. It was Peeta's father. Peeta was sleeping, so I didn't want to disturb him. But his father insisted, it was urgent. Reluctantly, I went to the room to wake Peeta.
When I walked into the room, Peeta was on his side, facing away from the door. He was usually a light sleeper, but he didn't budge when I tapped his shoulder.
"Peeta," I whispered. "You're dad is on the phone."
No movement. I started to panick.
"Peeta, he needs to talk to you." I tried, again.
Still no movement, my heart began to pound as my mind raced with horrid thoughts.
"Peeta, please wake up." My voice shook.
I turned him over, and he lay still, not even the usual rise and fall of his chest.
I checked his forehead, it was warm and clammy. I put my hand under his nose-nothing. I panicked, even more. I checked his pulse-nothing. Then I laid my head on his chest, and knew what I'd find-silence.
Peeta was gone. My children's father was gone. My best friend was gone. My eyes stung, and the dam inside me broke.
I laid there on his chest, numb, holding the lifeless body of my husband as my heart broke, and I wept as questions flooded my mind.
How can this be? He's as healthy as a horse. What am I supposed to tell our children? How can I tell them their daddy is gone?
I heard voices coming into the room, but all I could do was lay there holding my once energetic husband.
Then, I felt someone splashing water in my face and someone speaking to me.
"Katniss, you need to snap out of it. You don't want to be like your mother was do you?" a male asked. "Come on Kat you have two kids to worry about." More water.
"What the fuck!" I snapped. "Can't I have a moment alone with my husband?"
"Yeah, later. Dad was worried about you when he heard all the commotion, so he called us," Patrick said.
Patrick was Peeta's brother and one of my very best friends. He was always told me that if Peeta ever hurt me that he'd kick his ass and take me with him, but thankfully it never came to that.
"Kat, are you there?" Pat was waving his hand in front of my face.
I nodded. "I'm sorry."
"You have no reason to apologize. I was just saying we need to call the paramedics, so they can get Peeta out of here before the kids wake up," he explained as he flipped his phone out and called the emergency number.
I nodded.
As Pat was on the phone with the medics, I wandered the room with my eyes. There were two ladies by the window. Peeta's sister, who was in hysterics and his sister-in-law was comforting her. Peeta's brother-in-law was kneeling by the bed, but then walked over to the ladies. I was about to go over and speak to them, but Pat caught my arm.
"Kat, the medics said they'll be here in about thirty. In the mean time we need to call dad and inform him of the situation," he sighed.
"Call your dad and let him know. I've gotta go check on the kids." I turned to leave, but he stopped me.
"I'll take care of the kids, you call dad," he said.
Alaric answered on the first ring.
"Katniss? Is everything okay?" he questioned no sooner than he answered.
"It's me Al and sadly no. I need you to get here as quickly as you can." I tried to stay calm.
"I'm on my way. What's going on, Kat?" His voice shook.
I recanted everything to him; from his earlier phone call to everyone showing up to the current one.
~~PL~~
It had been a couple of months since, we buried my husband and the life he and I had once shared. The kids were devastated even though they had yet to understand the meaning of death. I kept myself busy with the kids, so I didn't have much time to think, no more tears.
I was in Panem with my mother so she can spend time with her grandkids. Panem was rebuilt a couple years after the revolution destroyed it. The Capitol no longer rules over the districts, and the people were much happier.
My mom took the kids into town for ice cream, and I decided to take a much needed walk.
I took a shower, got dressed throwing on my jacket, and hiking boots. I locked up the house and headed out. As I was walking, I thought about the years I spent away from this place, the happy years with my husband and kids, and about what life would have been like if I didn't volunteer. I quickly stopped myself. The best thing I did was volunteer at least Panem was truly free now.
"Kat?" Came a voice, effectively, breaking me from my thoughts.
I was lost in thought, but I froze when he spoke again.
"Kat, it's been awhile," he whispered.
"Gale?" I heard myself ask, "What are you doing here?"
He frowned, but recovered quickly. "I come here sometimes to think."
I nodded.
"Did you come to visit your mom," he asked.
"Yeah, the kids wanted to see their grandmother," I said.
Gale said nothing else as he sat next to me on our log.
After a while of being silent and the memories of the last time we were out here together, I had to speak up.
"Do you remember the times we've spent out here?" I asked, hoping he'd know what I meant.
"I think about it all the time," he whispered. "Katniss, we need to talk."
"About?" I asked, staring off into the distance.
He sighed, sadly. "The past, your sister, everything."
I froze as memories of the past came crashing in.
Gale and I hunting in the forest near Panem. Peeta and I being reaped for the Games. The Games themselves. Rue. The Victory Tour. The Uprising. The revolution and my sister being hit with a bomb. My mom being a zombie once more. Peeta and I marrying and having our kids. Peeta dying. The last two months.
I heard Gale calling my name from the distance. Then he shook my arm, breaking me from the memories.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"I was trying to apologize," he sighed.
"For what?" I asked.
"Nevermind," he sighed as he turned away.
After a minute, I reached out to him.
He stood up and walked over to the nearest tree, leaning against it with his head on his arm, and he punched it.
"Gale..." I began.
"I should have known," he stated.
"Should have known what?" I asked.
"What they were going to do with the bombs. But I was too focussed on overthrowing the damn Capital to realize what they were doing," he choked out. "The worst part of that situation was your sister, getting caught in the middle of all that chaos. That should have been me NOT Prim. She was an innocent child! Why the fuck did she have to die! And if that wasn't bad enough I lost the one friend I ever cared about!"
I was speechless. He was sobbing and punching the tree.
I walked over and grabbed his hands.
"Gale, stop. You're gonna hurt yourself," I said.
He stopped but didn't look at me.
"Let's go back over and sit on the log," I suggested.
He nodded as he stood, brushed himself off, and we walked over and sat down.
"Now, let's start from the beginning; the day of the reaping," I said.
"What am I supposed to say? How, when you left, your sister bawled her eyes out, begging for you to come home? Or what it did to your mom? What do you want me to say?" he asked in a rush.
"I didn't have a choice and you know that. It wasn't my choice to leave MY sister or my mother. At that time, the Capitol would have killed me if I wouldn't have went." I tried to explain.
"You didn't have to volunteer either," he whispered, so low I barely heard him.
"And what? Let my sister go and die? Because that's what would have happened. She wasn't strong enough to fight in the Games. I did that to protect her," I choked out.
"She died anyway, didn't she," he stated, sadly.
"Yeah, by your BOMB!" I yelled. I took a breath before I continued.
"That happened all those years ago, and you're still blaming me," he sighed, sadly. "I thought you might have changed, but I guess I was wrong.
"Gale, you're right I'm sorry. Death is still a touchy subject for me, especially now," I whispered.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I know Peeta was a great man, and I know how much you loved him," he said, turning toward me at last.
"Thank you for saying that. I know how hard it must be for you to admit that," I said with a smile.
The first real smile in three or four months.
Gale started to chuckle.
"What's so amusing about what I just said?" I asked, confused.
He sobered up real quick before he spoke, "I hadn't realized you even noticed how I felt about it or about you."
That last part trailed off as if he didn't really want me hearing it. I grinned.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked.
"Sure."
"I know how you felt after what happened to Prim, but … I was … wondering if you'd be able to … forgive me for my past sins? For everything I did to her and .. to you." He looked into my eyes.
I was silent for awhile, thinking about what he asked me. I wanted to forgive him, but was I ready to, after so many years? I thought about the first time he and I had met, all our hunting trips together, growing closer. I thought about how he reacted to me volunteering at the reaping and about what happened to my sister. I realized how he took care of my family, while I was gone at the time.
I felt as liquid dropped onto my cheeks. I realized as I wiped at my eyes, how much I'd missed Gale, how much we'd meant to each other in the past. I flung my arms around his neck and wept as I pulled him closer.
"I've missed you," I whispered.
"I missed you too, Katnip," he whispered as he pulled me closer.
"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" I asked as I pulled away.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I think it would be good. Besides, I think it's about time you meet them," I assured.
We stood up and walked back to town before parting ways we hugged.
~~PL~~
My nerves pricked as the time got agonizing closer for Gale to arrive. I still needed to tell mom about Gale and tell the kids a guest was coming for dinner.
After getting ready, I went back downstairs to find mom in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables.
"Mom, can I talk to you please?" I asked.
"Sure honey, you know you can talk to me about anything." She smiled, still focused on the task at hand.
"You remember Gale, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, why?" she asked.
I took a deep breath to steady my voice and prepared myself for her wrath. "He's coming over for dinner, that's okay, right?"
After a minute of silence she spoke up, "Are you sure you're up for that? I mean, Peeta hasn't been gone that long and look what he did to Prim. He has caused too much heartache in this family. I don't want the kids being subjected to that."
"Mom, please stop and let me explain. I know what he's done in the past, but it was all a mistake…"
"A mistake that cost your sister her life!" She cut me off.
"Mom please listen to me," I begged, at her nod I continued. "I know what he did in the past was a mistake. A mistake that we both have to live with for the rest of our lives. What happened to Prim wasn't Gale's fault. He designed the bomb on the notion they were going to use the bomb against the Capitol, not kill innocent children and Prim. He tried to save her. When he spotted Prim in the area, near where the bomb had landed, he ran towards her but it was already too late. She got caught by the backfire." I was in tears by the time I finished, and so was mom.
"I had no idea," she whispered.
"You probably never gave him the chance to tell you what happened just like me," I told her. "It's time we change. Prim wouldn't want us to continue hating him for what has happened. She just wouldn't."
She sighed and nodded.
I gave her a hug as the doorbell rang.
"He's here," I whispered as I left to answer the door.
When we walked into the dining room, we took our seats at the cherry oak table. The two kids were seated on either side of my chair, in their high chairs and mom was on the other side of Victor. Gale was still standing when I took my seat.
"Gale, have a seat," Mom said.
He sat next to Victoria as mom dished out the food.
"So, Gale, this little angel next to you is my beautiful daughter, Victoria. And this little guy is my handsome son, Victor." I smiled as I introduced him to the kids.
I had already had the talk with them about Gale. They knew he was an old friend of mine.
"Nice to meet you both," he said, greeting the both of them. "They look just like you."
The rest of dinner was spent in silence, except for forks hitting plates. After dinner, we had mom's famous pie for dessert.
Mom took the kids to the rooms and tucked them in while Gale and I went into the living room. Gale sat at one end of the couch as I claimed the other. When mom entered the room she claimed the recliner.
"Mrs. Everdeen, I want to…" he began, but mom held up her hand to stop him.
"No need to be formal, call me Mary." She tried a smile. "And don't apologize, that's all you seemed to be doing for the past few years. Katniss and I spoke before you showed up, and I have realized that I hadn't given you the chance to explain what happened. When that bomb took my baby girl's life, it was like my will to live left with her. For awhile, I didn't have the strength to move on nor the will to. But as Katniss told me earlier, it is about time we moved on and begin to really live life and that includes you. From this day forward no one is to apologize for the past and, as hard as it may be, no more tears. Got it?"
I was stunned speechless. Gale's mouth dropped as he stared at her.
"Got it?" she asked, again.
We both nodded and got up to hug her.
Later that night as, I crawled into bed I thought about the days events as I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.
~~PL~~
Gale and I had been together now for six years; dated for two and married for four. We had a set of twins, boy and girl, a year after we'd gotten married.
When we brought the twins home, my oldest two were really excited to meet them.
Gale had stepped up to the father role and my kids love him. Victor and Victoria were both ten now and our babies, Cassandra and Alex, were two.
"There you are," Gale said as he entered our room, effectively, breaking me out of my memories.
"Of course, where else would I be?" I asked.
"What's wrong?" he asked with a worried look.
"Nothing, just thinking." I smiled. "Thinking about the past years of our life together, and how it all happened."
He smiled brightly as he said, "These past few years with you have been the best of my life and hope to have many more years together."
"I look forward to the rest of our lives together as a family," I said.
We crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep in each others arms.