It's a message.

President Snow is letting Katniss and I know that he sees our every move, and we better not step out of line. I think back to our conversation with Haymitch—does Snow have this place bugged too?—and I decide that I sincerely hate the President. As if I didn't already.

We walk back out of the house, holding hands, and I know Katniss well enough to know that she's trying hard to keep it together. Instead of turning left at the end of the street to head back to the Victor's Village, I turn right towards the town square. Across from the Justice Building is a series of benches, and we pick one that's far enough away from people that we won't be heard.

"What does that mean, Gale?" Katniss questions. "I know it means he's watching us, but does he know we have our hunting gear there?"

I shake my head, "I don't know, Katniss. I'm not even sure that it's safe to go into the woods."

I can see the panic start to rise in her eyes, What will we do if we can't hunt? It's a question that is no longer about survival and feeding our families, but about survival and keeping our sanity. What will we do if we can't hunt? it's not a question we've really been asking ourselves since we've gotten back. The memory of District 12 is one with hunting, the calm of the woods. Without that calm to regulate our days, I can't really say what will happen to our sanity. As my thoughts progress, I can feel my own panic rising.

Luckily, Haymitch strolls out of the bakery, no doubt offering his condolences to Peeta's family. I see him stumble across the sidewalk, drunk. I'm honestly not as mad as I should be, because I know how shitty it would be to have to tell someone's family that you're sorry you couldn't save their kid. He spots the two of us across the street and straightens up a bit, probably realizing that we aren't in the woods for a reason.

"Well, well, if it isn't the two love birds," he teases. "Why aren't you in your nest?" he sneers.

Katniss's eyes flash a shade of anger, "President Snow left us a gift. We were actually going to ask you if it's even safe to be out here." I catch her double meaning, but I wonder if Haymitch does, even in his drunken state.

Understanding flashes across his features, but it is gone as quickly as it appeared. He smiles coyly, as if to let us know he's still playing drunk. "You're Victors, right? I feel like you've earned a few days of being out from under the Capitol's thumb." He leans in closer, and I can smell the sweet whiskey on his breath, "But i'd be doubly careful if i were you."

he leans back, takes another swig and is back off to his house in the Victor's Village, no doubt trying to drown his memories of the baker's boy.

But for us, an instant weight has been lifted off our shoulders. Freedom to hunt, even for a few days, is enough to put smiles back on our faces. "What's it going to be, Catnip? Want to go hunting?"

She giggles, "One of these days, I'm finally going to tell you no."

The walk through town is one of stealth, making sure we aren't seen by the wrong people. Cray, the head Peacekeeper, won't turn us in for hunting if we bring him a turkey, but you never know how the new guys will react. All it takes is one newbie to yell something about an execution or a whipping, then Cray's stuck and has to follow protocol.

I'm not sure what the difference in crime is for one to get a bullet in the brain rather than lashes, but I can't say it's something I've ever asked either. I know that no matter what happens, I would take the punishment for Katniss, but I'm really not comfortable with the thought of someone charging her with illegal hunting—lashes or not. We are Victors now, after all.

As soon as we are clear of the people of the town square, we begin to run towards the fence, stopping only to make sure the buzz of electricity is absent. We're breathing hard with exercise of running, and her face is red and breathless, she's never looked more beautiful.

As soon as we pass under the fence and through the treeline, I'm reminded of how much I really missed this place. The woods in the Games were similar, but nothing can compare to the peace this place brings me. All that time in District 2, working to be a Peacekeeper, I was dreaming of this place. My hand in Katniss's, the sunshine of a bright Applachian day, and the serenity of nature. My weapons are still intact, and I can't wait to get down to the Hob so I can find some throwing knives. All my practice before and during the Games is just too good to let the skill go without any more practice.

We walk the old snare line and reset some of them, just like old times. "How was it here without me?" I ask her, watching her reset one of the snares. Her fingers aren't as sure as mine, and mine aren't half as good as my father's. I wonder what kind of huntsman either of us would be if we'd had our fathers to teach us.

"Lonely. Boring," Katniss replies.

"What was the worst part?"

She looks back at me and grins, "Hmm, the worst part?" She puts her hand to her chin, as if she were thinking hard about it. "Probably not having anyone to watch my back."

I try to look disappointed, "That's it? My stimulating conversation and dashing good looks don't make the list?"

Katniss shakes her head and snorts in laughter before turning back to the rest of the snares.

We find the stream easily enough, taking off our boots and letting our feet rest in the ice cold mountain water. Katniss rests back and closes her eyes, basking in the sunlight of the afternoon. It's peaceful, being out here, together again.

"How many girls did you have?" Katniss asks suddenly.

The question causes me to sit up and face her, "Excuse me?"

She smiles, "I know you had girls before you wanted me, and I wanna know how many."

I shake my head, "Why's it important? No one mattered before you did."

"If they don't matter, what's the harm in telling me?"

I run my hand through my hair, "Promise you won't judge me?" She nods. "5. 5 different girls, and I can't tell you how many times."

"That's all?"

What. "That's all? What do you mean, 'that's all'?"

She giggles, "There were alot of girls at school who told me they'd slept with you. A lot more than that."

I roll my eyes, "I kissed more than that, but I only had sex with five."

She nods and lays back to where she was. "I just don't want you to think that the Capitol is forcing me into this with you, Gale. I'm doing this because I want to, and I want you. I wanted you since before you left to be a Peacekeeper."

The very words I've been dying to hear since we were Reaped, even since I left. It doesn't matter that I was leaving, it doesn't matter that we were fighting for our lives; her feelings are real. It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders to hear those words. She wants this life with me, she always has. The Capitol, the PRA, no other factors have contributed to this. She wants me.

I roll on my side to where I'm over her, my weight on my arm and the other hand on her cheek. She opens her eyes and bores into mine with an intensity I've never seen her have. "I love you, Gale," she whispers.

I smile, "I know, Catnip."

The silence falls easily again, just staring into each other's eyes. Can't say it's something I've ever done before—just being content looking into a girl's eyes—but intimacy wasn't ever really a priority with me. "Why'd you wanna know about my past?"

She smiles sheepishly, "Remember how i told you I could always hear the girls whispering at school?" I nod. "Glimmer was talking about you in the lobby before the interviews. Said you were a nice piece of meat and she really wanted you." She rolls her eyes, "Also winked in my direction and said she always got what she wanted."

I snort, "Why on Earth were you thinking about Glimmer?"

"'Cause your escort said something about it before we boarded the train today. Something about how Glimmer had easily been the prettiest girl in the Games this year."

I have to make a concentrated effort to not laugh out loud at the statement. Damn it, Rysalee.

"She wasn't," I say. "It doesn't matter what anyone says, you were my girl, the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

She leans up to kiss me, hands tangling in my hair, pulling me on top of her. The kiss reminds me of the one on the Training Center, where I'd longed to say goodbye to her. The same feeling rises in the pit of my stomach, making me crave more, want more, need more.

I need perfection. For Katniss.

I stop suddenly, getting to my feet and pulling her with me. I shrug on my boots and grab my bow, grinning and making her follow me. I lead her up the stream to the lake and the house on the hill next to it. We race to the entrance, breathless as we burst through the door to the old cabin. It's like I remembered, a small table, a chair, a fireplace, and an old bed.

I take a blanket out from the cabinet that we keep here in case we get caught out in the cold and lay it out over the bed. I sit down on top of it and pat the space next to me for Katniss to join me. "Is this what you want?" I ask her.

She nods, "I want this to be our decision, no one else's."

She reaches for my shirt, pulling it over my head. I smile, pulling off her jacket and her shirt off too. I kiss her just like I was in the forest a few minutes ago, not even realizing that my hands are finding her curves and laying her on the bed beneath me. I take it slower, kissing her neck, up her jawline and to her cheek, finding my way across it to her lips. She moans into my mouth, trying to inch me out of my pants. I comply, shucking them and my boxers off.

Katniss looks up at me and opens her eyes, her beautiful eyes. I know it's her first time, and I can understand that she's scared and needs reassurance. "It's my first time making love too, Catnip," I tease. The look doesn't leave her eyes, "I do love you, you know," I say. She nods and closes her eyes again, reaching up to pull my face to hers so she can kiss me.

I kiss her, eating up every inch and every reaction she has. I find her hands with mine, then pull her body close to me, trying to show her all the advantages of making love, trying to show her how much I love her with just my body. It goes beyond any sexual experience I've ever had, because like I had told her, those other girls didn't matter.

But she does. And with every kiss, every thrust, every time I cry out saying her name, i try to prove to her how much she means to me, how much she will always mean.

When we finally stop, breathless and dizzy with love, I find myself thinking that it can always be like this. Katniss will always be mine, and I will always be hers. anything else is really unthinkable.

Where are those damn kids? I know I told them it was safe to go in the woods, but I didn't mean all damn night.

I take another sip of the liquor. I'm not sure why they'd want to go back out there, they have all the food they could possibly eat in 3 lifetimes. Maybe they're actually doing a good deed and giving everything they catch to Seam families who deserve it. Calling more attention to the fact that they hunt. Illegally hunt.

But who listens to me.

I finally see them walk up the street to where the Victor's Village meets the Seam, giggling and holding hands in the way teenagers in love do. I get up from the porch, almost stumbling on my way. "Where've you two been?" I slur.

"Where do you think we were?" Gale asks. The boy is smart, he knows better than to give away everything so close to a house that Snow has bugged.

"Let's take a walk," I suggest.

Katniss sighs, "How about in the morning? You're drunk, it's late, and we're tired. We'll come wake you up." She takes Gale's hand and turns to lead him into the house.

I grab his forearm to stop them, "How about now, sweetheart?"

She rolls her eyes and complies.

We walk down the lane, almost into the town square but closer to the meadow that overlooks the fence that leads into the woods. As soon as we are out of town, I start talking, "I know that Snow left you a message for a reason, I've already called Cinna from a different phone. Apparently, the buzz between everyone involved in the Games is that this year's Quarter Quell is going to be a doozy. You have to be careful, 'cause the cards are just a show, the President can really do anything he wants with those cards and no one will ever know. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Gale nods, the color drained from his face, "You mean he's going to try to kill us again. Either directly or indirectly, somehow using the Quell."

"Yes," I reply. "Do what you have to do. Prepare yourselves in anyway you can, my guess is it'll have something to do with Rory or Prim. They're both eligible, right? The Victory Tour is in a few months, so i wouldn't worry about it now. They'll announce it as soon as the tour is over."

They both nod. "What about our house in the Seam? Is it bugged too?"

I shrug, "No idea, sweetheart. I'll look tomorrow though and let you know."

"What do you think they're going to do for the Quell?" Gale asks.

"I don't know. Let's just focus on getting back to normal lives, then the Victory tour in a few months. Go home and try to get some sleep," I say. I turn on the kids and start walking back to my lonely house.