Thank you Chelzie for fixing my errors big and confusing, and Sassyeverlarking and Fairmellarky for helping me buff out the dents.

ONWARD!

Katniss

Peeta drops me off at my building at close to eleven. We actually spend most of the night talking about the arson case he been roped into helping with, while I sit in his lap and slowly eat a giant bag of M&M's we picked up at Wawa on our way back from this Irish tavern he insisted we visit.

There's technical jargon he's not used to. Investigating big cases is something he's been trained to do, but unfortunately he doesn't have the background in fire science that I do. Nor can he tell the difference between an engine company and a ladder company, which is something we're going to have to work through together. I leave him with notes on a few key terms.

I still think I can open up to this man, that I can let him into my life. I just have to work up to it.

I'm stuck in an internal debate on whether or not to invite him upstairs. Not for sex, just sleep. WatchingThe Life of Brian in his arms was heaven. I haven't felt that relaxed in ages. Even now as my back is against the wall and the stairs up to my apartment are oh-so-close, I can't help but debate. Even as our tongues wrestle for dominance and I hold him tight to me, I wonder when I should tell him I'll see him later.

"Please come upstairs…" I whisper, not thinking. "Not for sex," I clarify, "I just… my apartment's so much closer to your work and…"

"I don't have a uniform… Even if I stay here, I'd have to go back."

I sigh. "Yeah, you need that…" He kisses me goodnight for the final time, the taste of cigarettes and Coke thick on his tongue.

We spend almost every night off we have like this, caught in a war with ourselves on whether or not we should take things to the next level. The debate gets even harder when my next blood test comes back clean. I'm free of Hep-C. I'm one of the lucky ones; though to be safe, I'm finishing treatment.

But I'm clean.

We start spending time with his partner, Finnick, and his girlfriend, Annie, who usually leaves the house in a wheel chair since her right leg is completely in plaster and held together with pins.

Peeta and Finnick joke that Annie is a 'quiet riot'. She's soft spoken with a sense of humor that makes normal minded people run. She works dispatch, so she's heard it all.

My favorite game to play with her while our boyfriends drink is to give her a word and for her to recall a call she's received including that word. The only rule is that I can't use the word 'hamster,' because she's "had too many of those."

"Um…" I spin my phone idly on the heavily varnished table while thinking, "How about… alligator…"

Annie thinks for a second while sipping on her Coke. "Oh, two summers ago this guy in South Philly was out walking his alligator and it bit some woman."

I cringe.

"Don't worry, the woman got her leg back. I mean, I don't think it ripped it off, but I think she still hobbled away from… I think the gator's name was George. He lived in the man's basement."

I shrug, "I stay out of South Philly for the most part. Too hit or miss."

"At least you're not Peeta," Finnick teases, "Had to go find the biggest population of the fucking Irish to piss around with."

Peeta rolls his eyes. "I'm sorry if I'm attracted to my people; they're yours, too."

Finnick shrugs. "Ah, but the difference is that I chose to live in Kensington, where any Saturday or Sunday at two fifteen am, you can look out the window and see the zombie apocalypse or a bunch of drunk idiots trying to find their way home. I can never tell."

Two large hands land on my shoulder. "Hey, stranger," Gale greets from behind. I turn around quickly in my seat and hug him.

"Hey, what are you doing having a social life?" I ask, looking for Johanna, Bristel, and Thom, who appear behind him.

"We all have the night off," he says and kisses the side of my head.

Peeta reacts immediately, resting his hand on my thigh as if I'd start making out with Gale right here.

I sit back down in my seat like a human. "Everyone, this is Finnick, Annie, and you know my boyfriend, Peeta. Guys this is Gale, Thom, Bristel, and Johanna. They run with 29."

To be honest, just seeing the testosterone filled tension between Gale and Peeta, I had good reason to be nervous about the four of them joining us. But after moving closer to Peeta so we could make room in our long booth and also so Annie doesn't get her busted leg bumped, everything works out. Peeta throws his arm around me and when not talking, he keeps his head resting against mine. It's possessive, but kind of hot.

I rub my hand up and down his thigh as he plays with my hair until finally I feel that itch in the back of my brain. "I'm going to go outside and pollute the air," I announce, taking Peeta with me.

I know what I want, but I don't know how to ask for it. We sit in silence and I shift uncomfortably every few seconds.

How hard is it to say, "I want to fuck you, let's stop at Walgreens and pick up a pack of condoms on the way home?"

Peeta takes my nervous shifting as me getting cold in the early fall chill and pulls me into his lap. "What are you thinking?" he asks.

"That I want to go home and fuck you; we should stop at a drug store on the way home and pick up condoms!" God dammit, Johanna's bluntness is like a disease. It's barely nine o'clock, way too early to end a night at the bar.

Peeta taps his chin. "I'm going to tell them you're feeling sick and that I'm taking you home." He hands me his cigarette, "Hold this for me, I'll be back in like two minutes."

I take a deep breath when he's gone I still feel that tingle; that want, that desire.

"They say feel better soon, and maybe you should quit smoking." Peeta and I took the El to the bar, no matter how ill advised that is on any night. When the closest door to the train opens, there's a giant vomit stain trapped in the grooves of the floor that looks like a graph.

"Appropriate. It must be showing the time spent on anything SEPTA and the crazy people you come across," he says as we quickly move back a car and away from the vomit. Other than feeling a little nauseated from either nerves or the impromptu 'graph,' there's no interesting people watching.

After a quick train ride and a stop at the CVS two blocks from my apartment, I'm fumbling to get my key into the lock while Peeta's hands rest on my hips. He assaults my neck with kisses and love bites that make it very awkward to be wearing a skirt. Finally I get in, but there's another obstacle - the stairs and locks on the front door, but Peeta's not concerned with this. He lets me lead, but when I stumble, he catches me before I crash, keeping his hands on my hips so I'm stuck against the wall.

"Peeta?" I look over my shoulder into his smoldering eyes. He kisses my cheek before his lips settle on my neck and his right hand travels to the front of my skirt. My body knows what my mind wants and my left foot steps down to the next stair as he uses the side of his index finger to rub my clit through layers of skirt and underwear.

"Peeta, someone will hear…" I whisper as he lifts up the front of my skirt and his hand dives under my panties.

"Do you want me to stop?" he whispers in my ear, just as his finger glances over my clit.

Honestly, I don't. Between his body pressed against mine and knowing just how to tease me, I've never been this wet. "No…" I choke out, "Please, just don't stop…" It's been so long since anyone's touched me like this.

I yelp in shock when I feel his middle finger inside me and Peeta chuckles. "Babe, you're going to have to be a little quieter…" he whispers huskily. God these walls are bare, made of brick and plaster, nothing to absorb the sounds of my moans.

I'm forced to bite my lip to muffle my cries as I grip the banister for dear life while he goes about finger fucking me into oblivion.

When I come, I don't hold it in; I couldn't give a fuck who hears. Mayor Nutter could hear my moans from his office in fucking City Hall and I wouldn't give a shit. My legs quiver and knees buckle as every inch of me starts to tingle.

"I've been wondering what you'd sound like since the moment I laid eyes on you…" he tells me honestly as I fix my skirt and attempt to catch my breath.

I take his hand. "Since you got to satisfy your curiosity, it's my turn."

I lead him up the rest of the stairs and somehow get the lock and deadbolt open on the third try each. Peeta's hands never leave my hips. "Is your sister here?" he asks.

I shake my head no and before I can turn around to face him or flick on a light switch, my skirt is on the ground as well as my black underwear.

I blush and cross my arms to shield the apex of my legs from his view. "Aww, why are you doing that?" he asks after turning on the lights. I take a step back to get out of my clothes but my foot gets caught in my skirt and I end up on my back on the hardwood. "See? That's a better view?" Peeta says, trying not to laugh as I lay on the ground spread eagle. "Are you okay?"

I could either be embarrassed, or I could take advantage of this situation. "Get down here…"

Peeta's eyes grow dark and he pulls his black t-shirt over his head, throwing it away while unbuckling his belt. I've never seen him shirtless before and it's everything I hoped for, with the added surprise of the dove outline holding an intricate claddagh ring on his chest.

"Peace, love, and friendship… you fucking hippie," I tease as he kneels down beneath my legs once ridding himself of his pants and underwear. He sets the little cardboard box with the condoms beside me.

"And loyalty," he says as I sit up and take off my shirt. Peeta reaches behind me to unhook my bra. "There, now we're even…" he says, backing up a little to give me the once over. "God… you're gorgeous, Katniss."

I blush and try to return the favor, but my eyes settle in one spot. Right where his rock hard cock seems to be staring at me.

Peeta reaches for the little blue box, but I distract him after licking the palm of my hand and wrapping my hand around his length. He sits there slack jawed while up on his knees, his eyes closed tight. Every so often he lets out a small moan before regaining composure. "Babe, you have to stop if we're going to use these…" he tells me, shaking the box. I let go and fake a pout as he tears off one foil package. It rips into the middle one. "Guess that one's going first," Peeta grumbles.

When he's ready, Peeta grips my knees and pushes my legs back so I'm completely splayed. "Ready?" he asks. I nod, not breaking eye contact as he presses into me.

"Oh, God…" I moan, trying to grip on to the corner of the area rug poking at my back. This is something I've missed in my almost year long vow of celibacy. Peeta drops down so he's almost lying on top of me, but supported by his arms so we can kiss as he slowly thrusts into me. I start cringing after a few thrusts, and Peeta frames my face with his hands.

"Babe, take a deep breath… you've gotta relax…" he tells me, stroking my cheeks as I unwind, not realizing just how tense I had made myself. He doesn't move but still I can feel him inside me. At first even that makes me tense, but with each breath, every inch of me loosens up. "Ya good?" he asks after I start getting used to the sensation of being filled.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm good." I'm good on the floor, on my bed, then again on the kitchen table after Peeta and I decide we need a midnight snack.

"Did I move too quickly?" I ask while watching Prim hose the vomit out of the back of her ambulance. The smell is horrible, but apparently we're lucky. E. coli usually 'makes it fire out of both ends,' as Prim says.

"No, but I think the kitchen table was a little… excessive."

"They were really good nachos," I tell her.

Prim looks up from her work and wipes her brow. "How often does he cook for you?"

I shrug. "Like… five nights a week?" I tell her as she hops out of the back of the ambulance.

Prim yawns, as she's just about to get off a twelve hour shift and go home to sleep. "Well, poor you, you have a guy who can cook and is willing to fuck your brains out," Prim teases. "Now that I've just scrubbed all the E. coli out of that fucking thing, I'm going to go home and shower, then fall asleep cuddling my cat. Be safe, don't talk to strangers," she says while patting my cheek and yawning.

It's October now; Peeta and I have been seeing each other for just over five weeks. Not long enough to make any major developments in a relationship, but long enough to make a comfortable routine. A routine I don't want to lose or really alter, but I'm afraid us having sex might have fucked everything up.

I have the overnight shift and as the evening turns into the obnoxiously late night, I find I can't sleep. Something feels off - the arsonist hasn't fucked anyone's day up in a while and we know the city is overdue.

I toss and turn on my uncomfortable cot while everyone else on duty seems to sleep peacefully. Can't they feel it in the air? That electricity?

The storm comes quickly, as they tend to do. First the alarm rings, a fire five blocks from here, if that. I fumble with everything in the truck as I get ready for the call. First, I step into my boots and pants, but I put my arm through the wrong part of the suspender. I can't snap my clips closed on my jacket, my air pack gets stuck in the seat, and my strap folds over so I can't pull them tight right away.

"You're some kind of hot mess," Gale sighs, patting my shoulder. I pull my nomex hood down just far enough to get my mask on right.

Fuck, are we going in there? I ask myself as I feel the hot wind coming from the building. Fires cause their own weather; hot, windy, occasional rain of siding, roofing materials, and broken glass. The arsonist has moved from abandoned buildings to shops around the city. So now, instead of a basically empty building filling with smoke and the sparse contents bursting into flames, we have tight corners and ample fuel for the fire, especially in the packed little mom and pop store targeted tonight.

We're not supposed to assume we're heading into an arson fire, but we can't help that the flames threaten to melt off our faces and we can smell nothing but gasoline.

"Ready, Catnip?" Gale asks me, handing me the hose. "Ladder's already done their search, we've gotta do our thing."

"But you always lead," I tell him. I honestly want to run, because something bad is going to happen in that building. I can't shake the feeling. After my measly almost nine years fighting fires, I've learned to trust my gut.

"Yeah, but it's your turn now. I've got your back, Katniss." He squeezes my shoulder trying to reassure me, but nothing is going to shake this feeling.

We're not immune to the heat in a burning building. Almost immediately, I feel like it's August again and I'm soaked with sweat. I press on though, because there isn't really a choice trying to soak everything and snuff out the fire and our only source of light. We can't really see anyway, as the smoke is too thick.

It's a chunk of ceiling that does it. First the plaster cracks and falls, setting off a chain reaction of falling shelves falling and breaking glass. I immediately know something's wrong - Gale's constant presence behind me is missing and the hose is completely snagged.

"Gale?" I call, trying to turn in the cramped haze. For the first time, the radio is silent. My terrified call shuts everyone the fuck up. The only noise I can hear is the crackling of flames and Gale's damn PASS screaming at me once he's been still for long enough. Finally, I feel a rubber boot under my gloves.

"Help, we need help! I have one down," I call through the radio.

"Where are you?" a voice asks.

"Just follow the damn hose line," I snap. "Please, just hurry."

I don't know what's pinning Gale or if he can even hear me, the smoke is so thick I can barely see six inches in front of my face. All I know is that he's not moving, and his low pressure bell is going off.

"We're here," Johanna calls from the other side of the obstruction.

It takes Thom, Johanna, Bristel, and I to dig him out of the pile of rubble and kindling; everything after that is a blur.

Paramedics rush us the second we get Gale on the ground. The first thing to go is his air pack and mask.

Johanna and Bristel hold me back as I scream for him the second I see just how blue his lips are.

Peeta

Katniss calls me at four in the morning in hysterics. "Whoa, Katniss, calm down. Take a deep breath."

"Gale, he… I wasn't paying attention and… I'm at Temple… I don't know what to do."

I kick the sheets off me. "I'm on my way. Just take a deep breath, Katniss. Everything will be okay," I tell her.

Katniss is grimy and sweaty when I get to the hospital. She's pacing outside with this completely vacant look on her face and a cigarette between her fingers. "Hey…" I mumble into her sweaty hair after pulling her into a hug.

Her shaky hands hold onto my jacket and don't let go as she sobs. "His parents have a priest in there," she whispers before sniffling, "It crushed his ribs and suffocated him. They got his heart beating, but he's on life support and…" Her face contorts in pain, like someone is pressing a hot knife into her abdomen. She hugs her self and hunches over and screams. There's nothing I can say to make her pain go away. She's been ripped open and left bare; at this point, only time will ease the pain.

Katniss can't even bring herself to enter his room in the hospital as everyone goes in and out to say goodbye. Finally, when there's no one left, she grabs my hand. "Please…" She clings to me like a scared child, "Help me…" I nod and wrap my free arm around her.

She's like a newborn fawn on drunken legs as I guide her into the room. Katniss jerks away from me once we're over the threshold. The easy part is over now that she's in the room. Katniss drops to her knees in at his side. "This should be me," she tells him, "You made me lead so you could watch my back, but I'm also supposed to have yours. This should be me, Gale… you fucking idiot, I should be in this bed!"

I stand guard at the door as she pours out her emotions. She screams at a shell of a human for a good half hour, about how they've always had each other's backs. That she never went into a building without him. How he's been her brother for as long as she can remember.

Once they take him off life support, Gale passes peacefully overnight surrounded by his family, friends, and his crewmates, who were basically family anyways.

Finally, when the sky turns grey and an icy rain pushes the city into a quiet submission, we leave the hospital. Katniss puts on my sweatshirt to hide her face. It isn't every day that a firefighter dies, so every news station has swarmed the hospital and in her Engine 29 t-shirt, she's a big target. We still catch their attention, but we're in the car before they can do any major damage or get anything besides a few pictures.

"Where are we going?" she sniffles as I drive north instead of east to her apartment.

"My place. I don't want you sleeping alone." That and with the influx of Gale's family in town not wanting to spend the night at his place, Gale's younger brothers are spending time at Katniss' apartment at Prim's insistence. She took one look at him in the hospital and broke down after seeing the younger version of her best friend.

"I'm not tired…" she whispers. "But can we stop at my place to get a change of clothes?"

I make the first right I can. She piles more clothes than she needs for one night in her bag as she moves like a zombie, shoving sweats and jeans and hoodies in her bag before grabbing her laptop and cell phone charger.

The first thing she does when we get back to my place is take an hour long shower, where she screams and punches the wall several times before idly walking around in nothing but a towel, sniffling occasionally.

"Want something to eat?" I ask. Finnick and Haymitch are at the scene of the fire and understandably pissed that I called off today, but I have no choice.

She shakes her head no. "Where did I put my bag?" she asks.

"On the bed. Get changed and come watch a movie with me."

We're back in the same spot as our second first date, only this time she's facing me and latched on so tight I can't move, but she sleeps away the afternoon and into the evening. Finally, I carry her into the bedroom and we sleep away the night, but not the pain.

I come to learn that Katniss doesn't like anyone seeing her emotions. She spends the next few days playing phone tag with the Hawthornes, getting ready for the funeral completely stoic until she thinks no one is looking and she breaks down again.

Gale's death is felt through the entire brotherhood of firefighters. Throughout the city, flags at fire houses fly at half-staff leading up to the funeral.

Katniss is asked to speak at the funeral. She hasn't gone home and to be honest, I don't want her to. A pile of newspapers has accumulated on my kitchen table. The first one, from the morning after, has a picture of the blaze that took Gale's life; the second is from when I led Katniss out of the hospital. Big and bold on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer is Katniss holding onto me for dear life as I guide her away from the circus, but the only thing I can see is her quivering lips.

The ceremony is crowded as firefighters from across the area and even the country flood the city to pay tribute to a fallen hero. Katniss perseveres through her quick speech, but just barely. After she tells the large congregation about Gale's service and hurries from the podium, she breaks again, this time in public for the world to see and where I can't shield her from prying eyes.

It's a cold and rainy when Gale is finally put into the ground. It feels like thousands of firefighters gather in the rainy cemetery. Through the speakers on Engine 29, as loud as can be and cutting straight to the bone, is his last call. The dispatcher calls for him several times before they finally ask for a moment of silence.

A minute or two later, she speaks up again. "Thank you, Gale Hawthorne, for your years of service both in the department and in the community. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten." I hold on to Katniss during the entire thing as she stares at the ground, not speaking or blinking.