When Katniss wakes, Prim thinks that there is no other relief in Panem to match how she feels. For a moment she forgets the year she has just spent in a secret affair with the man that loves her sister. As Katniss grasps her hand, Prim lets out a relieved sigh and for a moment, things really are okay.
And then the moment passes and she remembers that the fire is catching.
She makes sure to visit when Gale isn't around but she's not sure for who's benefit she does it. It still hurts that once again, her sister has come first. Prim does her best to always avoid the hallway going to the Hawthorne living space and she takes the routes that she knows he doesn't need.
She is unprepared for the way her heart clenches as her gaze locks on his and he makes his way to her. His quick footsteps match her heartbeat.
"Hi."
It is simple, friendly. But behind those words is a plea to return, to please, please just come back to my arms again.
"Hello."
Their ankles touch lightly as they eat.
He doesn't realize his heart was aching for her until he sees her gaze on someone else. The man makes her laugh and Gale's vision flashes red. She jumps when she sees him standing before her with an angry look that she can't understand but makes her want him again, if only to put out the fire.
He doesn't feel any better knowing that she's in training and working with the doctor. On his way out Gale looks back and a moment later, Prim turns to meet his eye. He loses his breathe as Prim purses her lips like she used to.
He wonders how she wasn't caught but doesn't complain as her hands move along the panes of his chest. Her mouth is on his and they must stay quiet or risk waking the rest of his family. Gentle fingers ease the tension he's felt for the past week, bringing him back to what is most important. It is the first time Prim has ever cried but she refuses to tell him why. Gale tries to pull her in closer but she shakes her head and begins to dress.
When she slips out of his bed, he can't help but feel dissatisfied: he had gotten used to waking up with her in his arms.
Dreams don't come true in District 13 either.
Unconsciously she has begun to take his routes and is usually awarded with the flash of Gale. She's sickened by her state of being but refuses to stop searching. He holds a breath at each hall he passes, looking for her little body. His day feels better and better every time he catches sight of blonde braids. Sometimes he goes to the ward on the pretext of seeing Katniss but his lips make sure to press on to Prim's before he leaves.
They can almost forget that the entire nation is at war when she falls into his embrace. The days are best when their breaks match up and they can escape to a secluded room. As Gale lifts her up, Prim thinks to herself that even at the risk of death, she has never felt more alive.
He thinks of her soft touch when he returns to the ruin that is District 12. He can almost hear her saying breathe, just breathe.
When that doesn't work, he turns his face to Katniss and let's himself kiss her.
When the siren starts, Gale's first thought is Prim. He sprints to the Infirmary, pushing against calm people walking the opposite direction. He knows the trouble he'll be in for panicking and going against instruction, but he has to know she's safe. He feels like he's back in the square, seeking out his lifeline, hopelessness filling him. Gale breathes in, ready to shout, and there she is, rebraiding her hair and walking like the siren call doesn't hurt her ears.
"Come on," Gale commands, gruffly. He tries not to show how worried he was, but his stoic face breaks when Prim begins to jog away from him. He catches up within two steps and grabs her arm, turning her to him.
"I have to get Buttercup," is all she tells him. But her eyes also say: No, not this time. You can't choose me this time. He stops, and he can feel the shock spreading on his face.
Giving up, he follows Prim. When they've slipped safely into the bunker, Prim distances herself from Gale as fast as she can, heart in turmoil as she tries to discern between truth and her fantasy.
"Do you love Katniss?"
"Yes."
"What about me?"
"Even more."
When Prim finds out that Gale has volunteered to get Peeta, her heart catches in her throat. She is distracted from work and falls in bed with a headache. The idea that she might never have gotten to say goodbye leaves her shivering as she tries to piece together her last memory with him. Prim decides that she hates Gale just a little bit. And when he returns, she makes sure that she is on the team to take care of his shoulder wound.
Prim is rough on him and Gale takes the stings without complaint, he knew she would be angry. They are alone the next time he wakes and he pushes himself up. She stares through him, tucked into herself and looking older than her thirteen years.
"Prim," Gale says. It's an apology of sorts, but his tone says that he had to do it, he had to get Peeta, he had to be the one. Her eyes flick down for a few moments and there is a terse silence. Then she slaps him and as his head flicks to the side, she bursts into tears.
"You didn't tell me!" Prim shouts. It's a wonder that no one wakes.
With his good arm, he pulls Prim into his chest, stroking her hair and wondering when things started to get so complicated. She falls asleep in that position and Gale is grateful to live another day.
He never forgets to say goodbye and carries a picture of her smiling face tucked into a secret pocket. Eventually Prim learns not to be so afraid. She decides that she can't be selfish with Gale, and it helps her focus when she repeats to herself that he is fighting a war for the nation.
He tells her that it is all for her sake but she shakes her head and reminds him of Katniss. He never manages to convince her.
"When I get back, let's tell them," Gale whispers in her ear. She traces patterns on his arm like she can't understand. But she knows he means Katniss, Peeta, the entire District 12. He means that what they have is real.
She's not in his bed when he wakes and he has to, needs to find her for one more goodbye. Prim turns as his arms wrap around her.
"I love you," he says for the first time. Then he pulls her into a kiss and she must lean on him as the weight of it all makes her knees weak.
"Go get 'em, hero," Prim whispers to his lips. "Come find me once we're free."
She keeps a smile on her face until he is far, far away. Then she begins to cry.
As Gale talks to Peeta, he can't help but wonder what he's doing. They speak of Katniss and he thinks of Prim.
He realizes that she never said she loved him back.
When Prim's feet hit the ground, her main goal is to find his body for one last farewell. She knows he'd be furious if he knew she had come, but she lets herself be selfish. She's had a few hours, and imagining he is still alive helps her cope. Prim turns when she hears her name being called, Gale's smiling face in her sub-conscience.
As her lips form the name Katniss, her last thought is the fading image of Gale. And then the light consumes her.
When he finds out he runs, and runs, and runs until he's standing in a vast courtyard. Then Gale screams until his voice is hoarse and he keeps screaming. They find him on his knees, face buried in his arms to muffle loud, howling sobs. He wakes up and immediately vomits.
Gale doesn't know how he manages to speak to Katniss, knowing that it might have never happened if he had only let Prim calm his fire. He feels no better when President Coin crumples to the floor and Katniss is taken away. There is no revenge sweet enough to soothe his broken heart.
He scares people, he hears their whispers. Once, he invited a blonde back to his house in District 2; she went home in tears. He flinches at the sight of platinum hair and everyone that works for him cannot look like they come from the merchant's class. They think it's because he wants to be reminded of Katniss, but really, he does it so he never sees the flash of blonde again.
Gale falls asleep, imagining that she is tucked safely in his arms, hair tickling his nose. She was always prettiest when she let her braids out.
He can't be sure if she ever really loved him. Gale understands now that it was him who needed her more than she ever needed him. He makes a name for himself but feels that the name he never managed to live up to is hero.
Gale convinces himself that it is because the good die young. He wonders if it was the only way they could ever stay apart. It seems that the third time truly was the charm.
"Are you coming back?" He imagines it is Prim. Because Katniss is too vengeful, too full of fire, too much like him. Prim, he realizes, was the sunny day that meant things were finally going to get better.
"Maybe when I'm not so busy," he always speaks vaguely. Truthfully, Gale is tired. He doesn't want to hear more voices, fearing that one day he will forget the sound of her beautiful laughter.
"I miss you, Gale."
"I miss you, too, Prim."
The dial tone reminds him that Prim is dead and he failed to keep her safe.
He still keeps the picture in his pocket.
Gale decides that there is no place where dreams come true.
He never returns to District 12. Prim was the only home he ever truly had.