He double-checked that the lugnuts were secure before sitting back to admire his handiwork. It didn't look right. Peeta hoped that was just the fact that the tiny spare stood in place of the flat and not a mistake on his part. Dad had showed him how to change a tire years ago after Rye managed to back over some contractor's order of carpentry nails in the Menards parking lot, but his fourteen-year-old self hadn't paid as much attention as he should have. Driving seemed a long way away, and surely he wouldn't do anything as stupid as Rye had. The need wouldn't arise. Not for the first time, he wanted to go back and smack teenage Peeta.

"So, are we ready?" Katniss asked, leaning down to kiss his forehead as she did. He'd found a keeper if she was willing to put up with that much sweat.

"I think so." Really confident. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're going to take it into Gale's shop. He ordered the tire as we talked, and he says he can get the delivery service to bring it overnight. He'll get it on first thing in the morning."

She sounded a little too matter-of-fact about seeing her ex-husband, but he wasn't going to mention that. "Great."

Katniss shot him a warning look. "Be nice."

"Of course I will." It hadn't crossed his mind to do anything else. If Katniss was over Gale (and preferably, Gale was over Katniss as well) what did it matter? He'd go to the shop of her high school friend or cousin or something in an instant, and Peeta placed exes with whom things were absolutely, one hundred percent over in about the same category. Now, if she wasn't as done with Gale Hawthorne as she'd led him to believe… No. Katniss wouldn't do that.

"He's a nice guy."

"I'm sure he is." She didn't look convinced. He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'll be fine, Katniss. Just because I'm not sold on this doesn't mean I can't act like an adult."

Her expression finally softened. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to suggest that. Up?" He accepted her hand and let her help him to his feet. "Thanks for changing the tire." Her smile was forced, but it was there.

"No problem."

"Ready to head?"

"Hey, if you're done with this dusty stretch of nowhere, I guess I can be too." She didn't seem to appreciate that, so Peeta kept quiet as he climbed into the passenger seat. But when another thought came to him, he could no longer keep quiet. "You got directions, right?" Please don't make me call Gale as you're driving to figure out where the shop is.

"I grew up in this town, Peeta. I think I know how to get there."

"I didn't think you two talked often is all. I figured the shop was relatively new." He really didn't know when to stop, did he. The hole kept getting deeper, and he just kept shoveling with no thought as to how to climb out.

Peeta paused for a moment, waiting for her to chew him out, but she didn't even dignify his words with a response. Katniss stared straight ahead, just as a responsible driver should. The muscle in her jaw twitched, and though she must have felt his eyes on her, she did not turn. Eventually, he gave up, leaning back in his seat and staring out the window. At least the view out here was nice.

Mockingjay Song, Population 2307 announced the proud sign posted right where the highway went into town. It made a nice replacement for the one that had sat in that spot for thirty years. Someone must have hit that sad, worn little sign or vandalized it beyond repair, for there she doubted the town would have bought a new one otherwise. She hadn't been back since 2010, but the place couldn't have changed that much.

Hawthorne's Auto Services stood one block off the town square. A colorful mural decorated one wall of the short, squat building. Gale had done a nice job fixing up Beetee's old place. She had to give him some credit for that.

Gale emerged from the building as they pulled into the parking lot. Katniss hadn't seen him in person since the divorce, six years now, but he hadn't changed much. A little older, a few pounds heavier, some more scruff on his jaw, but otherwise, he still looked about the same as he had since high school. Luckily, the similarities included the smile with which he greeted them. She turned off the engine and got out of the car. "Hey there! How have you been?" she half-shouted at him from across the parking lot.

"All right," he answered, squinting against the late afternoon sun. "I hear you two had some issues."

Peeta was standing beside her, so she couldn't see his reaction, but Katniss practically heard him stiffen in response. Typical. She gave no indication that she'd noticed. "Yeah, we might have hit a bump in the road." Gale chuckled at the un. "Or a nail or some broken glass, maybe. We looked around the area, but we couldn't figure out exactly what was to blame."

"You were up by Sunset Ridge, right? Sae had a blowout up there earlier this week. She thought it might be construction stuff. Said the crews that have been working a few miles past Haymitch's have been taking that route and not picking up after themselves."

"Must be good for business, huh?"

Katniss flinched at Peeta's words, but Gale laughed. "Yeah, I suppose so. Maybe I should have them drop a few more nails around."

Maybe now would be a good time for introductions. "Gale, this is Peeta Mellark. Peeta, Gale Hawthorne."

"Hey," they said in almost perfect unison. Peeta reached out and shook Gale's hand. Good to have that over with. Now they only had to get through a few minutes of pleasantries and then head off to the hotel.

"You want to come inside?" Damn him. Gale didn't wait for either of them to reply, just started into that sweet, sweet air conditioning. Maybe she could forgive him. "So, I know I was talking about this with Katniss, but I don't know how much she passed on. I don't keep the right tires for this model Camry in stock, but the deliver guy – Thom, you remember him, right, Katniss? – he owes me a favor, so he's going to get them to me tomorrow morning. He says they'll be here at six, soon as he starts his shift. I'm guessing it'll be more like seven, but we'll get you out of here before nine for sure."

"That's great." Because I don't want to deal with a minute more of this than I absolutely have to.

"I was over at my mom's when we were talking earlier." Her stomach sank at those words. She knew it. She knew what had to be coming next, for Hazelle Hawthorne had maternal instincts beyond what was really reasonable. The alpha mother to end all alpha mothers, she had accepted Katniss as one of her own children the first time Gale had brought her home to meet the family, and Katniss still received a package of cookies from Hazelle's kitchen every Christmas. "She said to feel free to stay at her place overnight."

"That's very sweet of her." Katniss wanted to turn it down, but they were already going to end up paying for a replacement tire, and thought of adding on dinner, breakfast, and another night in a hotel made her checkbook cry. She looked over to Peeta, who looked incredibly uncomfortable at the suggestion. Too bad her mind was already made up. "That'd be great, Gale. Thank you so much."

He grinned. "No, thank you. She'd never let me forget it if you turned her down."

A/N: One chapter left! Thanks for reading. It's great to see that people are enjoying this!