Chapter Twelve: Carving
"Carving is easy, you just go down to the skin and stop." – Michelangelo
Johanna and Gale stumbled through the door of the house in Victor's Village they were using for the weekend. To prepare for the celebration, Peeta and Katniss had opened up all the victors' houses and stocked them with necessitates for all the visitors. Johanna was thankful for the privacy. She wanted to be able to do Gale where ever she wanted, staring with the floor in the entrance hall.
Mimicking her earlier motions, Johanna pushed Gale against the wall and slid her body down his. She made short work of his pants as he unbuttoned and pulled off his shirt. She grasped him firmly before taking him into her mouth. She heard his head drop back against the wall with a soft thud. He threaded his fingers in her hair. She continued to pleasure him until she felt him twitch.
At this, she sat back on her heels and removed his fingers from her hair, but she didn't let go of his hands. Instead, she tugged on them, pulling him down to her. He let himself slide down the wall and into her arms until they were both in a heap on the floor. Johanna rolled him over pinning him down on his back. He didn't put up a fight; in fact, he was very compliant, waiting to see what she had in mind.
Johanna swung her leg over his and yanked her dress up and over her head. He grinned when he saw and felt that she wasn't wearing a stitch under the dress. Reaching back to grasp him again, she lowered herself onto him, finally achieving the fullness, the completeness she had been craving since he whispered in her ear at the celebration. She rode him slowly, moving his hand to rub her.
When she bent down to kiss him, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her pinned to his chest. He then began to thrust up into her mercilessly. Just when Johanna felt her legs start to tremble, he stopped and rolled them over. Johanna was about to protest, when he pushed back into her. Her protest was overtaken by a gasp of pleasure.
Gale continued at his wonderfully punishing pace, their mouth not quite kissing but almost, breathing in tandem with labored gasps. Johanna licked her lips. She tasted the salt of her own sweat mixed with his, and it was delicious. This was her last coherent thought, before he pushed her careening over the edge, and she pulled him down with her.
When Johanna came too, she was surprised to find that she was still on the floor in the entrance hall. The wood floor felt cool again her back. Her front was still on fire. Gale lay with his head pressed against her chest.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, pushing his hair back from his damp brow.
"Listening to your heartbeat," he answered, glancing up at her. "I think it is the most wonderful sound I've ever heard."
"Do you want to get married right now?" she blurted. Stupid, stupid, she scolded herself.
"What?" Gale said sitting up slowly.
"I mean isn't that what Katniss and Peeta did? Why not just do it right now? We can go to the justice hall tomorrow, bring Annie with us as a witness. Your family's here. And, best of all, we can just consider tonight our wedding celebration, too. We won't have to have any stupid fuss," Johanna explained, crossing her arms over her exposed chest.
Gale looked thoughtful for a moment and then stood up and walked away. A jolt of fear ran through Johanna. Was he leaving her? What the hell? Getting married was his idea in the first place. She shot after him.
"Where are you going?"
"To the kitchen," Gale smiled at her stricken face. "To find bread for a toasting."
Johanna wiped the crumbs from her hands and smiled, looking down at her hands. She felt Gale's hand nudge her chin back up. She looked into his face, her husband's faced, and felt her smile widen. She could still taste the bread on her tongue. It was sweet but smoky. Although pleasant, she decided she preferred the taste of Gale.
"I really like your smile," he said. "Probably because you don't show it that much so I feel like it's all mine." The light coming from the fire place made his eyes glow.
"It is all yours now. We are married aren't we?"
"In District 12. What do you do in District 7?" he asked.
"We don't really have a special ceremony, but we do have a tradition," Johanna explained. "It's called a carving."
"A carving? What do we do?"
"Find a tree and carve our names into it." Gale raised his eyebrows, and Johanna gave him a shove. "Don't you start. Your district burns bread, a waste of perfectly good food. There isn't always food to go around, but in Seven there are always trees."
"Well, we are in luck. There are plenty of trees in Twelve, too," Gale countered.
Once they had put out the fire and dressed again, Gale led the way to the forest. After a search for the perfect tree, they finally decided on a large oak in a little clearing. Gale pulled out a pocket knife and began working on Johanna's name. When he finished, she took the knife from him and began working on his name. Together, Johanna's hand around the handle of the knife and Gale's hand around hers, they carved an ampersand between their names. They stood back to admire their handiwork.
"Hmm, you didn't do half bad for your first attempt at woodwork," Johanna mused.
"Half bad!? I did a great job," Gale said in mock indignation. "I think mine looks even better than yours."
"Yeah, because I carved your name. Of course it looks better," Johanna responded. Gale laughed, but as his laughter died away, the couple stood in silence. She could smell pine on the wind, and it strengthened her resolve.
"There might be something I left out of the tradition," Johanna added turning to Gale.
"Yeah?"
"Normally, the couple uses the wood in their first house."
"Oh, so we are going to have to ship this tree to District 2?" Gale joked. "I guess we can manage, but that would have been nice to know before we got so caught in the moment. Could have picked something smaller."
"Well, you're also supposed to build your house on the spot of the tree," Johanna finished with a sideways glance. "It's good luck."
Gale let out a slow breath. Johanna held hers. He finally spoke. "So, you want to move to District 12?" Johanna though she head the shy quiver of hope in his voice. Or, maybe it was her own hope bursting forth.
"Yes," Johanna began quietly. "I think it makes sense. Not to be sentimental, but almost everyone we know who isn't dead is here, and I thought maybe you would like to finally come home." Gale looked around the clearing then back at her with a determine look in his eyes.
"It looks like I already am home," he said, grasping her hand firmly in his own, pulling her toward him, and capturing her lips in a fiery kiss.
Author's Note: Mush, mush. Sap, sap. Look I didn't lie this time. Posted this afternoon. I admit. The story feels a bit rushed to me, but I wanted to tie it up and finish it up because I am out of ideas for this one. I have to admit, I do like that it's 12 chapters. Apropos, no? I promise to be more diligent in the future if you choose to follow any of my other WIP. Thank you so much for reading and sticking with it. Reviews are always welcome, but I understand if it's been too long. I deserve the punishment. :)
