A/N: Okay, so I said I'd type up and send out this chapter like four days ago, but I got heavily sidetracked by some other business I had to attend to. I've been working on a short story (link to my wattpad in my description) and I'm just trying to get back into focusing on writing as a general thing. I've hit a wall, however, and find myself stuck in the eternal "he said she said" loop and it's incredibly frustrating to try to write a story as complicated and loving as Katniss' and Peeta's without having any drive. So, expect some delays on this story for a bit, I'm gonna be reuploading 'Us' in the next few days, however, so if you watch Supernatural and need a story to read, feel free to find that :) (Plus a Everlark drabble/possible au story coming your way within the next week). Have a good day.

Don't forget to show your support by following/favoriting/reviewing. Every little bit helps.

~B

Chapter 7: Miss You

[Gale]

"What do you mean you ran away?" asks Katniss. We've moved to the dining table, Katniss mopping up the coffee as we speak.

"Hey, don't touch the glass with your hands, Kat." says Peeta, leaning towards her from his chair.

"You shush." she says, shooing his hand away gently. "I've picked up worse." her voice breaks slightly. I join her, kneeling on the floor, picking up the bigger shards so she can sweep away the fibrous remains of the mugs. "Gale, are you going to continue?"

"Well, I mean…" I start, a slight tremor in my voice. I fall back onto my heels, unsure where to start as Katniss takes the glass fragments from my hand. "I guess I should start back at the end of the war." Peeta nods, watching Katniss hurry between the still damp floor and the broom cupboard under her stairs.

"Wherever makes sense," she flusters. Her small hands grip the broom handle tightly; it seems to be shaking in her grip. She looks down at me, dark grey eyes wide. "Talk, Gale."

"Okay, okay." I watch my hands instead of her body.

[Three Months Ago, District 2]

My old car carries me down the lane and into the city center. Five days ago I was meeting with President Paylor in hope to see Katniss. She'd refused, telling me Katniss had already been sent home with Haymitch, and to take my sexual frustrations elsewhere. I'd stormed off in a blithering huff, shaking my head and calling our brand new president names. Katniss was gone, back home and away from me and the responsibilities the aftermath of the war had for me. I was sanctioned to return to Two, rebuilding my life in a district where I'd destroyed hundreds of others. I turned left at the Justice building, wheel riding the curb slightly as I shift the car into park. Learning to drive hadn't been so hard, but I was still shit at parking, even a few weeks later.

I wasn't here for myself anymore. There was no more war to be fought, Katniss had seen to that, shooting Coin down from the pedestal we'd so graciously placed her upon. I shake my head, turning off the car with a quick press of a button and exiting. I don't bother to lock it - there are no thieves here, and even if there were, it's just a car. I couldn't be pushed to be bothered if I lost it. My feet were still attached to perfectly well working legs, weren't they? Pushing past the branches of the tree meant to accent the wide streets, I find myself in front of the bustling Justice Building. Lyme would likely be waiting for me just inside the door, all blonde hair and busy hands.

I nodded and smiles smally at some of the people I vaguely recognized from my time here not more than a month or two ago. Time had seemingly sped up towards the end of the war, everything happening in a flare of bullets, bombs, and the white fingers of Peacekeepers. I shudder slightly at the thought, feeling the return of fingers sliding against my skin. I run up the stairs, still covered in dust and rubble. The remains of the Nut looms behind me, a shattered vessel of the powerhouse that Two once was. Power I ruthlessly stole. I shake my head once again, shaking off the shame that always accompanied thoughts of my fucked up plan to blow the shit to bits. Stumbling slightly over myself in my haste, I practically crash through the doors, creating quite the stir in the marble laced front hall. A few of the older men scoff and shake their heads, while younger women look at me like meat while laughing nervously. I don't remember being quite this clumsy before having to return back to normal, civilian life, but perhaps I had been.

The reason I'd been called to the large and grand building was still unbeknownst to me. I'd only just arrived, had barely unpacked my suitcase and the few miscellaneous items that had been set from 13 before I'd heard the telephone ring. I wasn't sure I would ever get used to carrying the small, flat communication device around with me. I glance around the busy area, all different types of people hurrying from place to place around me. The shrill sound of a woman's voice carried through the cacophony of other noises; I could hear my name plainly above the rest.

"Gale!" Lyme crossed to me, tall and sleek as ever, hair pulled back into a slick bun, dress formal but demanding attention to all the right places. I smile lightly, extending a hand to meet hers; she still had a strong grip.

"Lyme," I say in greeting, feeling small under her watchful eyes.

"How are you, soldier?" she questions. I repress a second shudder at the title, following her gesture away from the doors and towards the stairs. Her pointed heels click marvelously against the tiled floor.

"I'm not a soldier anymore, Commander," I say, smirking gently as I use her military title, unintentionally making my point moot. "Wars over, or didn't you hear?" I laugh humorlessly as we make quick work of the stairs. I wonder for a moment how she can keep up with me in such impossible shoes.

"War never ends, Mr. Hawthorne." she replies, a snap in her voice. "That's actually why I called you here."

"Oh?" I say as she opens the door to her office. I allow her to usher me in, settling myself into a seat opposite her desk. She shuts the door gently, then begins her high speed speech regarding moral and civilian agreement, and finally my tasks in Two. They are innumerable. I find myself losing track of her words before I can even begin to process them. I leave many hours later with a pit in my stomach, feeling more lost and confused than I had been when I'd arrived. The desperate yearning for Katniss had returned and settled in my muscles, making sleep impossible.

I toss and turn in bed, desperately trying to get comfortable, before eventually giving up on the idea all together. The city I was given refuge in, the same one they'd sent us to give the end of the war a final push was busier than I'd ever seen it. It didn't look the same as it did on television; it was hot, a sun-baked district with a burned look to it all. Being right along the edge of the Capitol had fucked this district more than anything I could ever do. I missed the quiet, soft air of the woods near my home, and out here, hunting was still illegal; weaponry of any sort had been banned due to riots after the fall of the Capitol.

Yet another task I'd taken on unknowingly upon moving here. With the Mockingjay out of commission and Peeta not exactly the same after his capture and torture, I was to rally support of the new system and government - though to be honest I wasn't sure why that was continuing to be problematic - I was the figurehead. Weeks passed before I truly figured out what that meant.

Suddenly, as if no time had passed at all, though it had been more than two months, I found myself being presented as Corporal Gale Hawthorne to everyone I met, being dressed in military garb and preened and pampered by frivolous people from the Capitols large array of makeup artists. I shook hands with diplomats from places I'd never even known to exist, and was helping President Paylor sign peace treaties into action with men and women from around the world. Some of them spoke to others in garbled tongues, and my brain whirled with the amount of new information that was being pressed upon me all at once. I was never going to be able to keep up.

"How are you liking your position, Corporal Hawthorne?" asks Paylor one stormy day in early November. The rain had rolled in and hadn't ended since the weeks beginning, flooding the streets, reminding me desperately of home. I saw images of wet days hunting with Katniss, in the early spring before the Games, her hair plastered to her neck and her shirt soaked through under her waterlogged leather jacket. I shook the memory off, looking around in an attempt to properly answer her question. My office was scattered with paperwork I didn't know what to do with and I nodded slightly to her as I take a deep drink of my very strong coffee, feeling the warm drink give me a little push.

"I'm very appreciative of the opportunity, President." I begin, unsure how to continue. Paylor glances around the room, a light smirk on her scarred face.

"You look overwhelmed, Gale." she slights, gesturing to my practically overflowing in-box and very vacant out-box sitting haphazardly on my desk.

"Honestly, Madame President, with all due respect, I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing here." I reply crudely. She ducks her head at the swear, choking slightly on her drink. I had nothing but the fondest respect and regard for our current president, but… "I'm unsure why I was chosen for this task. I have no experience in this, whatsoever. The only thing I know how to do is kill and mine coal."

"Well, Gale, you were one of the forefront leaders in the entire war on the Capitol's regime. You worked side-by-side with Katniss - you took down Two! Maybe it wasn't on your own completely, but your idea is what practically won us the war." Paylor shrugs, an oddly unprofessional act on her. "Give yourself some credit."

"But that's just the thing, President Paylor. Katniss and I… we didn't really do anything. I mean, yeah, we filmed some propo's, and shot down those fighter-crafts in Eight way back when, but if I'm being honest… she deserves more credit than me for, well, everything. She fought this war before it even existed. She ended it when we all thought it was already over." I look at her; she wears a secret smile on her thin lips. "We weren't really a team, not in the end." It takes me a second to realize she's chuckling softly to herself. "What am I missing."

"Oh, nothing." She considers me for a moment, eyes searching my face before shifting forward in her seat across the table from me. "Now, I want you to take your time with this Gale. We've all discussed this, back at the Capitol, and we're electing new leaders for each district. We'd like you to represent Two, if you would." She chuckles a little louder at the stunned look on my face. "Take your time." She rises from her seat, setting her cup down on the plate it belonged to. "But not too much time."

My hands shake as I lock my office door that evening. Run an entire district? Me? I could barely keep up as it was, let alone with an entire district on my shoulders. What did that even mean? I cross the empty street to my car, the hum of the streetlights still foreign to my ears. The air is heavy with the smell of rain, and there are no stars tonight, no singing of crickets, and the trees are all empty of leaves. The wind cuts through my light jacket as I open the door to my car, settling myself in the leather seat.

Would I be able to do this? Would I be able to run a district on my own? Would it be on my own? There were so many questions stirring in my mind as I started my car, hearing the rev of the engine I'd grown to love so much. I look out the windshield and down the long, winding road that leads to my house, stealing myself in my decision.

I needed to run.

[Present]

[Katniss]

Gale ends his story just in time for Sae and her granddaughter to enter quietly through the kitchen door. She carries a large pot of what I can only assume is stew from the venison we'd shot only this morning; it felt like forever ago. I rise quickly to avoid the responsibility of responding, feeling nervous and claustrophobic again. It was an unusual sensation, not necessarily something I wanted to get used to. I smile at Sae's granddaughter, who bolts straight for my mother's old yearn collection; Buttercup hisses at her from his spot in the rocking chair, but she pays him no mind, patting the crotchety cat once on the head before settling on the floor with a skene of navy blue yarn.

"Is everything okay?" Sae asks me gently, hand coming to rest on my shoulder. "You ran out in a bit of a tither earlier." I nod, still soft around the eyes. Her gentleness sends a spark of reminder through me, and I whip around to stare determinedly at Peeta. He cocks his head slightly to the side, smile sliding onto his face.

"How's Haymitch?" I ask, voice bright. I was still avoiding Gale's grey eyes, too scared to meet them fully and see the hurt at my ignorance of him.

"Better," he replies. "Told me he was 'never drinkin' again, no sir'." Peeta chuckles at his half-hearted mockery of Haymitch. I shake my head, laughter getting caught in my throat. "Want me to take him something?" Peeta looks as if he's about to stand, pain grabbing his face and wringing the smile out of it. I rush to him, hand outstretched to stop him.

"Please, Peeta." I say, voice catching slightly. I was a mess today, all emotions, unfamiliar and unwelcome. He settles back into the seat without much complaint, happily distracted by my fussing. Gale has remained silent and stoic since finishing his story, and I'm unsure if he's waiting for one of us to speak to him, or if he simply has nothing left to say. I look to him, and words spring to my lips before I can stop them. "What are you going to do?" I shut my mouth quickly, but meet his eyes, unwilling to relent.

"I…" he pauses, obviously irresolute about his decision. "I was going to stay."

"Gale." I chide lightly, crossing my arms.

"Katniss." he replies, mocking my quip. I frown, deepening the fold in my arms as I shift uncomfortably behind Peeta.

"You're not serious?" asks Peeta. He's place a hand on my arm, rubbing soothing circles into my flesh with this thumb. Gale shrugs, a usual action that I had grown weary of.

"Gale." I repeat, eyes narrowing. "What are you going to do, for real, actually."

"I don't know, Catnip!" Gale barks, eyes sparking. "I don't fucking know, okay? I want to go back, if only to get away from here." his words sting a bit, and a blush rises to my cheeks?

"Then why don't you?" I spit, backing away from Peeta's hand. I wasn't going to cry. I had to promise myself that, or else I would.

"Because, I need to be sure." Tears spring to my eyes a she says this. Sae clears her throat from the doorway, signalling time for lunch.

We eat in silence. I help Sae wash the dishes and accept some tips and food for dinner with an unapproachable air. I kiss the little girl's head and shut the door behind them and stay in the kitchen with tears in my eyes. Gale walks up behind me - I know it's him, because his footsteps are even, there is no jilt in his walk.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, and I want to slap him for even speaking.

"Why?" I reply, back to him still. I can feel the heat from his hand before he even touches me. It wraps around my shoulder and I try to shrug it off but he turns me to face him.

"Because you're right." he says; there's a sigh in his voice. "I need to go back, huh?"

A sob breaks from my chest, and I throw my arms around him. Part of me still hates Gale for the plans he'd made and the people he'd helped me kill. But the other part still loves him so much, so drastically. "Don't go." I whisper into his chest. "I miss you so much." I can feel Gale's quiet laugh more than I can hear it. He rubs his hand deep into the lines of my back, and places a gentle kiss on my head.

"You don't need me anymore, Catnip." he murmurs. "You have everything you could ever need here. And my phone number is in your phone book, for the days you miss me too much." I follow the line of his arm to the small notebook I hadn't noticed next to my phone. A smile melts onto my lips. He squeezes me a little tighter, hands shaking as mine had been. "I'm scared." I nod. "I love you." I nod again, breathing slowly out through my nose. "I'll be back." I nod once more, pressing my face into his chest.

"You're always going to be my best friend, Gale." I murmur. "Always."

"You too, Catnip." He kisses my forehead and takes my face in his hands. "You are better than you will ever know." I smile at him and tug away, poking him in the chest. He laughs gently, grabbing my wrist. We hug again.

"Are you gonna stay for dinner?" I ask into his arms. He hums, speculating my question.

"As long as you're not cooking." I pull away and smack him lightly on the arm, giggling.

"Don't worry!" yells Peeta from the livingroom. "It's my turn tonight." We all laugh. I wander into the den, eyes searching for Peeta, who'd made his careful way to the couch to paint an elegant portrayal of The Seam.

Gale would leave in the morning. I would get to keep my best friend for one more day; confusion hit me for a moment, however, and I wasn't sure why. I didn't want Gale to leave, even though I know he has to. Two was where he belonged - a place that realized his potential. I shrug off my discomfort, looking down at the book coming into fruition under Peeta's masterful hands. Gale was drinking freshly made coffee and staring out the window at the great big forest behind my house; Buttercup wound around my feet, mewling softly.

A/N: So the next chapter is coming a little easier to me now.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You'll get one more with Gale (for now), and it'll be an extra long one, though none of it will be from his perspective.

Please favorite/follow/review if you wish! Every little bit helps.

~B