Chapter 9. Bad Habit
A few days later, Katniss was back in her and Finnick's room. Since she had seen Gale, she had gotten better. The shock had worn off and she was beginning to speak again, especially to Prim and Finnick. She even had begun to go downstairs for one or two meals a day. However, as the days began to continue on without her being taken back to the Medical Center to see Gale, she was beginning to get anxious, almost as if not seeing him had caused her mind to begin to doubt he was alive again, and the rope was back in her hands for comfort purposes.
But today was the day that all her doubts were laid to rest. With his fever gone and wounds healed as best they could, Gale was not only walking but he was permitted to leave the Medical Center and finally move back in with Katniss and the remaining rebels in their original home. That very afternoon, the hunter walked himself down the snowy sidewalk of Bonum and to the familiar oversized house's front door. He knocked a few times before shoving his cold hands back in his fur lined coat pockets.
It was clear Willow had been awaiting his arrival. Almost instantly, she opened the door, giving him her familiar look over, although it was marred by the slight smile on her face. "Hawthorne."
"General Pierce," Gale smiled back at her with a small nod.
She paused before handing a hand out to him, solemnly. Gale stared down at the hand, almost like he analyzing it, before taking it. Though, once in his hand, he pulled the girl closer in a hug, risking the pain he was certain she would put him through for that. However, Willow just immediately wrapped her arms around Gale's waist, setting her head on his chest. "It's good to see you."
The hunter smiled briefly before pulling back. "Good seeing you too again, Willow."
Willow smiled back at him, but only slightly, before moving away from the door frame. "Correct answer. Now you may enter."
"Oh, was I being quizzed? I didn't realize," he laughed before walking in. As he did, the small Serena rushed into the living room.
"Woah-woah! Woah... hm?" The toddler stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Gale and tilted her head in an almost exaggerated way. Her large blue eyes looked the hunter up and down, almost confused but also intrigued as to who the new man was.
Gale, on the other hand, looked thoroughly confused to the point that his head started to hurt. Putting a hand on the side of his temple, he stared down at the little girl before looking back to Willow. "I... I don't know how to ask this but... should I know who this is?"
Willow smiled but shook her head. She scooped Serena into her arms and held her closer to Gale. "This is Serena. Amur's daughter. We got both her and her mother out of District 4." She looked down at the small girl, lovingly. "Serena, this is Gale. He's super nice, okay?"
"Soupa nice," Serena smiled brightly, answering like she agreed with Willow fully. She turned her head back to Gale immediately and began to wave both hands at him. "Nice!"
The hunter looked at the toddler, giving her a small wave back. "I never realized how good you were with children, Willow."
"I'm not. I don't even know why this one is so attached to me. I guess because I'm the only person in the house close to her height," Willow laughed, even while brushing the toddler's hair back gently.
Gale, as much as he wanted to laugh at that, didn't though and only looked slightly confused. A year ago, Willow would have yelled at anybody for picking on her height. Gale paused briefly, trying to consider whether that was a fact or a product of his imagination but just shook his head. It didn't matter either way, he figured he shouldn't stress over it. He forced a smile. "So... where's everybody else?"
She turned her eyes up to Gale and smiled a little. "Johanna and Chaff are drinking in the kitchen, I believe Delly and maybe Peeta are cooking for them and Amur, and Finnick and Katniss are in their room."
He nodded briefly as his eyes immediately shot over to the stairs. "You don't think they'd mind if I...?"
She shook her head a little. "Of course not. Be sure to knock, though. Katniss gets skiddish when people barge in."
"Thanks Willow," he flashed her a smile again before practically running up the stairs towards the bedrooms. Willow smiled after him, amused at his enthusiasm, before carrying Serena to join everyone else in the kitchen.
Once up the stairs, Gale paused at the bedroom door. Pressing his lips together, he knocked almost excitedly but tried calming himself. "K... Katniss? You in there?"
There was a pause as Katniss glanced up from her rope, her eyes lighting up. She sat up in her bed and crawled to the end of it, holding her rope tightly. "Gale?"
Upon hearing her voice, the hunter relaxed as his face fell into another smile. Since returning, it seemed rare for there to not be a smile on his face anymore. He opened the door slightly before poking only his head through the crack first, looking towards Katniss. "Afternoon, Catnip."
"Gale." She smiled, a new occurance for her, and she held her arms out toward him, sitting up on her knees. He knew she wasn't exactly mentally sound but he couldn't help but think the way she acted just then was adorable. Walking the rest of the way inside, he shut the door behind him before going over to the bed. Once close enough, the hunter sat down beside her, lightly wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her. This time, he reminded himself to be a little slower in his actions though, not wanting to startle the Mockingjay. She immediately wrapped her arms around his back, pressing her nose against his hair again, something that was apparently becoming a routine for her. As soon as she was satisfied that it was him, she threw her legs over his lap and curled her head against his chest.
Finnick sighed, although while he smiled while doing so. "Am I going to have to deal with this every day now?"
"I'm sorry, Finnick, but possibly," Gale looked back to the man with his arms wrapped around Katniss. "At least immediately since I just got back. How... have things been since I've been gone? I see Amur got his child and wife here..."
Finnick shrugged, setting his feet on the floor, looking back at Gale. "Yeah, Willow's been obsessed with that job you gave her. She organized a mission especially for Amur to get them back. She said something about how she wanted to make sure you'd be proud of her."
Gale nodded, making a mental note to have to tell her that he was, in fact, very proud of everything she's done. "How about with everybody else? Are you doing good? And Effie and Haymitch?"
"Yeah, I'm really well. My new job babysitting your girlfriend keeps me busy." He smiled, letting the younger man know he was joking. Kind of. "And Effie and Haymitch moved out on their own, so I guess they're okay. Haymitch stopped drinking and he got a job in town, so we don't see them much."
Gale seemed taken back by the last revelation. From what he knew of Haymitch, the man was rarely seen without a bottle in his hand nor did he seem the working type. The last job Gale knew the man for having was... 'Didn't he work at the mines for awhile? Wait...no, he's a Victor, he didn't need to work, right? I'm pretty sure...'
The hunter remained silent and unmoving, trying to determine the real from the fictitious. Finnick, mistaking his look for confusion, just shrugged. "I know. It's weird."
Katniss, however, frowned up at Gale. She ran her fingertips down his scarred right cheek, comfortingly and silently. Even though she was still damaged mentally, she knew his face better than her own, and that facial expression had never been on it before. Her touch snapped him out of his thoughts almost instantly. The hunter looked down to Katniss before smiling warmly at her, putting his hand over her's on his cheek. "Sorry, I'm alright."
"Okay..." she paused, faltering, as if trying to find the right words. There was a long pause before she spoke, as if it took her an inordinate amount of time and effort to form the sentence in her head. "I can... help, if you don't understand something."
The hunter paused. He didn't enjoy needing the help of others, it wasn't how he was raised. "I don't want to worry you."
She tugged on his ponytail gently, in an almost Katniss-like manner. "Shut up."
Gale shook his head slightly though. "A lot is still kinda scrambled, but I can sort it out on my own. I'll be okay, I promise."
"You helped me," Katniss replied, almost immediately, a hint of stubbornness in her voice. "I owe you."
"Fine," he sighed, happiness in his tone though. It was nice to hear that her stubborn attitude wasn't gone. "Haymitch... never worked before, right?"
She shook her head. "Victor. He had money."
"I thought so. Thanks, Catnip."
She paused, frowning. "That's all you needed?"
She almost sounded disappointed, as if helping him would have fixed everything that had happened over the past year, would have fixed her being a burden on everyone else.
"That's all for now. As I talk more to everybody, things will start to come and go that I'll need clarification on. And you'll be the first person I go to, okay?"
She just looked at him for a moment before smiling, satisfied, and nodding. Gale shot her a smile back as he leaned down, planting a kiss on her forehead. As his lips made contact with her skin, a light, familiar knocking came from the door. When nobody entered at first, it was obvious who was in the hallway.
Katniss closed her eyes briefly at the feeling before her eyes snapped open. She instantly pulled her legs off Gale's lap and onto the bed before backing out of his arms and toward her pillows, grasping her length of rope again. "Peeta."
Gale stared back at Katniss, confused by her sudden movements. However, he didn't have the time to question it before the door swung open. At the doorway, Peeta stood with his usual tray of food and medical supplies for her and Finnick. His eyes went between Katniss and Gale, but he showed no immediate reaction. If anything, he seemed almost too calm.
She quickly and silently tied a very intricate fisherman's knot into the rope, a knot that was large and difficult, but she didn't even look down as she did it with ease. Her eyes remained on Peeta as she chewed on her bottom lip. She hadn't spoken to him since the incident in the Medical Center. She couldn't find the words and the longer their silence went on, the more awkward it became. "Thanks Peeta."
But the boy's reaction was far from what was expected. He gave her a small nod as he walked to the familiar end table at her bed, placing the tray down on it. He only looked to the plates of food as he picked one up and took it to Finnick. Tearing his gaze from the plastic dish, his eyes went to the District 4 Victor. The way his expression and attributes presented themselves were reminiscent of how Johanna used to look before they moved to Bonum.
Finnick eyed the boy for a long moment before taking the plate. Instantly, he understood and an unexplained anger shot through his chest. He knew it wasn't his place but, when he spoke, it was calm and almost condescending. "You shouldn't use that stuff too much, Peeta."
