A/N: I just want to so thank you for all of the reviews so far, I really appreciate them! I could honestly write about this ship forever, so if my writing starts declining in quality, just tell me and I'll stop. Things will probably get fluffy and drably from now on, I'm not sure. I'm just sort of going with it. :3

As we were walking through the forest, I could feel Peeta wincing in pain beside me. I needed to get him back to the district, to heal him. The fight with Gale had injured him badly. I took Peeta's arm and hung it around my neck, supporting his weight. He objected, but I told him to lean on me and he finally obliged. He knew what was best for him right now. Peeta had had his fair share of injuries in his life, so this was nothing new. I could hear his sharp exhalation with every step we took. I could feel his pain and it hurt me to see him hurt. I wanted to get him back as soon as possible, but I didn't want to rush him. I took deep breaths, trying to stay calm. Today had been stressful enough, the last thing we needed for both of us was me having another breakdown.

"Katniss?" Peeta breathed, sounding alarmed. I just kept staring straight ahead, watching as the district appeared in the horizon over the treetops. We kept hobbling along, as I wanted to create as much distance as possible between us and Gale. "Katniss!" Peeta repeated, desperately trying to get my attention. When I ignored him once again, he removed his arm from around my neck and became dead weight. I struggled to hold him up and he pulled his both down to the ground. What was he playing at? I got annoyed with him and slapped him with half-strength on the chest. I would've hit him harder, but he looked like he was suffering enough as it was and my life was in debt to him; once more.

Peeta just laughed when I slapped him and pulled my head into his chest. I couldn't resist and let him lay my head down, listening to his heartbeat. We lay there for a few seconds before I asked him, "Why did you do this?" I sensed him smile, watching as he looked up at the sky. I followed his gaze and saw the birds flying around above the trees. We even saw a mockingjay among them. Today truly was a beautiful day. He didn't answer me, he just intertwined his fingers is my hair, flowing through it. I closed my eyes feeling comforted by what he was doing. A few minutes later, Peeta broke the silence. "Do you feel calm?"

"Yes." I answered him, my eyes still closed. He stopped playing with my hair and I opened my eyes. I wish he hadn't stopped, but he did. "You should talk to Gale." He told me quietly. His words confused me. Why would Peeta want me to talk to Gale? "Why?" I asked, my confusion seeping into my voice. "Because you need to hear what he has to say. It might help you, more than you think." I contemplated what Peeta had said, coming to the conclusion that he was probably right. I decided to follow his advice. "But what about you?" I asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine. I'll wait here for you. I promise. It's not like I can go anywhere." Peeta laughed, making light of the situation. I smiled in spite of him and helped him lean against a rock. I leant down and kissed him. This kiss reminded me of our first kiss in the arena, ho w I had wanted another. My thirst for him had only grown since then. It was hard for me to be apart from him for too long. But I was strong, so this I could handle. I turned away from Peeta, leaving my heart with him as I went back to talk to Gale. I knew he wouldn't have moved. I knew him too well.

I found Gale in the clearing we had left him in. I watched his head lift in surprise as I announced my presence by purposely snapping a twig on the ground with my foot. His eyes looked at me, momentarily surprise, then his face broke out into a beaming smile. I stood expressionless, staring back at Gale. He absorbed my expression and his smile faltered. Gale stood awkwardly, waiting for me to say something. "Peeta told me to hear you out." I said simply, as if that explained everything.

"And you did what he said?" Gale asked patronisingly. "That's not like you Katnip. You don't follow orders, remember? Never have, never will." He laughed loudly, the noise startling some nearby birds that flew off in a flutter, their wings flapping rapidly as they escaped. I watched them with more interest than listening to Gale's words. "It's different now, Gale." I told him, realizing the truth behind my own words. "I'd follow him into the dark. I love him." I watched Gale recoil at my words, evidently not pleased by them. His hands clenched into fists and he dropped his gaze to the ground.

"You love me too." Gale said suddenly, more to himself, than to me. It was as if he was trying to convince himself what he was saying was true, even though it wasn't. "No," I said, interrupting him. "I don't." Gale looked up at me, a fire burning in his grey eyes. "Yes you do!" He shouted, his fist in the air. He started towards me, closing the space between us in a few steps with his giant legs. He carried on towards me and I assumed he was going to stop infront of me, but I was wrong. Instead he grabbed me and leant down, pulling my face harshly up to his and kiss me firmly on the lips. He didn't hurt me, but he wasn't gentle like Peeta. I felt his lips on mine and all I could think about was how he wasn't Peeta. I felt my stomach do a measly flip as a remnant of my old feelings for Gale, but it was nothing compared to what this would've done to me a year ago.

I didn't stop him from kissing me because I knew he needed this. It seemed conceited but I knew Gale had to do this to realize. I just stood there limply in his arms, my lips frozen, waiting for him to finish. It wasn't unpleasant and I knew the girl who got Gale would be lucky, but I also knew that girl would not be me. Gale didn't seem to realize that I wasn't kissing him back. Maybe he was trying to ignite my fire with his own, as he kissed me all over my lips, his tongue begging for entry into my mouth, but my lips were sealed. Eventually, he realized what a lost cause this was and pulled away, staring longingly into my eyes and dropping me back down to my feet. The fire that was previously blazing in his grey eyes had died away. He finally understood.

"You love him." Gale repeated. It wasn't a question, it was an understanding. He had finally realized what I had been telling him all along. He looked at me as if he was really seeing me for the first time. "I'm sorry." I said to him, not truly understanding why but knowing it was the right thing to do. "No, I needed to know." Gale told me. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. "Do you love me at all anymore?" He asked, his eyes locked on mine, searching for something we both knew he wouldn't fine. "No." I said as warmly as possible, but it still came out cold. I wish there was a way to make this easier on Gale. He hung his head and a tear leaked out of his eye. I knew I was supposed to be angry with Gale, but seeing him hurt like this was something that evoked sympathy in me. I reached out and wrapped my arms around his waist, because he was too tall to wrap my arms around his neck, unlike Peeta, who was shorter.

Gale froze in shock for a moment, then wound his arms around me. I held him and his sobs got worse until he was shaking in my arms. "I'm so sorry Katniss." I hushed him but he said her name, "Prim." He just continually sobbed her name over and over, each time feeling like a knife in my chest, but at least I knew he was sorry. Seeing him like this, I knew I'd be able to forgive him. It was tearing him apart inside, that much was obvious. I stroked his hair comfortingly and calmed him down. Eventually, Gale was all cried out and he reached out to hold my hand. I let him, but it just a friendly gesture. I smiled at him and he spoke again, "I know this isn't it. I know it's going to take you a long time to forgive me, but this is a start, right?" He held up our intertwined hands and I nodded. He smiled, and stood up, separating our hands.

"I should go." He said, tilting his head. "Wait." I blurted out as he was walking off, stopping him dead in his tracks. He turned to face me and I asked him, "Can you help me with Peeta? He's injured and you'll be able to get him back to the district faster than I can." Gale contemplated my words for a moment and I realized the severity of what I was asking him. I knew it was unfair, but I was desperate. I just hoped Gale could understand that. Evidently he could, because he agreed to help, although he wasn't all smiles about it. I lead him to Peeta, the worry seeping into my thoughts again now that he was on my mind, so by the time I had reached Peeta in the clearing I was practically sprinting towards him, Gale struggling to keep up even though he was physically faster than me. I had more drive, more spirit and passion.

Peeta's eyes lit up when he saw me, despite the pain he was in. I would never get used to that look. Like there was no-one else in the world, only me, and I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire existence. That was how Peeta made me feel, and how I felt about him. Gale bent down and picked Peeta up, carrying him towards the district. Peeta yelled in pain, his condition clearly deteriorating. "Peeta, I'm sorry." Gale said to him. Peeta just shook his head, saying, "It's no worse than what I did to you." Gale was bleeding badly where I had shot him, but I knew he had a high tolerance for pain. I lead the way to the district hospital, which had been set up recently when a lot of people were falling ill from the fumes from the destruction of the district. There was bound to be someone there, even now.

I rushed the boys to the hospital and the healer on duty administered them both to beds immediately, where they were both hooked up to IV drips and passed out. I looked around the single ward and saw mainly children. The dust from the destruction of the district was causing havoc on their lungs, which caused asthma attacks and other illnesses. Nothing major, but in a high enough quantity to warrant a hospital. The healing jobs were beneficial to the economy of the district. Even now, the horrors of the Games haunted us. I heard one child coughing up blood violently and that was it, I had to leave. Both Gale and Peeta wouldn't even know I was gone.

I had been sat with them for hours, so once I went outside it was the dead of night and pouring rain. Without thinking, I walked out into the rain and sat down in the mud. The water soaked my clothes to my skin in a matter of minutes and my hair clung to my face. I found the sound of pouring rain soothing and I hadn't felt this relaxed in a while. I let my mind wander, thinking about my mother in the Capitol, the state of District 12, Gale, Peeta, everything. My life was a mess right now.

Suddenly, I heard the hospital doors swing open behind me. "Katniss?" I heard a familiar voice call out into the darkness. I swung around to see Peeta in his hospital gown, stood in the doorway, looking for me. "Peeta!" I called back over the drowning sound of the rain, which seemed to have picked up in volume. I noticed he was barefoot, but he still ran down the concrete steps and onto the muddy ground towards me. I jumped up and ran towards him, tears streaming down my face. I didn't even know why I was so upset, I think it was just all the emotion of the day building up and exploding out of me. I needed him. I needed him so much. He was so close. Just a few seconds away. Nothing else mattered. Nothing.

With monumental force we collided as a thunderclap raged in the dark sky, illuminating the world around us. But all I could see was him. He looked at me for a moment, smiled, then kissed me like he had never kissed me before. His lips pressed against mine passionately, his arms roaming all across my back, pulling my body closer into his, warming us both. We stood shivering as we kissed, the movement adding to our lips. I hugged him tight, never wanting to let him go. I held his body close to mine, kissing him again and again, gasping for breath. Our kisses were wet from the rain and the storm surrounding us didn't seem to bother either of us. Finally, he pulled my face back with his hands, staring deep into my eyes. "I love you." He told me.

I just smiled. "I know." I said, taking his hand in mine. "Now come on, let's get you back inside." Peeta intertwined our fingers, leading us back through the hospital doors, his feet covered in mud and cuts from the ground. Our moment of passion had its consequences when the healer got mad at Peeta for leaving the hospital and mad at me for allowing him to do so. "I just needed to find her." Peeta told the healer, inclining his head towards me and the healer clutched her chest and "Aww'd." I felt myself blushing but Peeta just chuckled, brushing the back of his hand against my hot skin. He was ordered back to bed and I sat in the chair by his side. Gale was still asleep. Peeta reached out for my hand. I took it gently, letting him know I was still here. The healer turned the lights off and Peeta said through the darkness. "Stay?"

"Always."