A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews especially the comment that this was an 'underrated fic', it made my heart happy. Of course I own nothing. I hope you are all having a fabulous holiday, I know I am. Thank you to Oakfarmer my lovely beta, who worked this past week! If you haven't read The Concubine yet on AO3 you should or of course anything by JLaLa is perfect!

Chapter 26 – Something Worth Protecting

Prim woke up to the comforting warmth of her sister snuggled beside her; it was unusual for Prim to wake up with Katniss still in bed sleeping. As she turns and looks at her sister who is smiling in her sleep she becomes a little nostalgic to the fact that not only is this their last morning in this house, but it is also the last time she would wake after sleeping with her sister. The feeling of sadness passes quickly though as she thinks of all the positive changes in her life that are happening. Her acceptance into the accelerated learning program that started a few weeks ago when she started her first year at the upper school was a wonderful change. The fact that she is tracked to be trained as a doctor was a dream coming true, perhaps healers truly are born. Their move to the apartment above the Apothecary is another positive change along with her mother having a true healing practice at the Apothecary. As she muses over the wonderful merits of hot water and showers Katniss starts stirring next to her, bringing her attention back to her sister.

Katniss's eyes blink open slowly and its clear when she notices Prim is awake and looking at her since she seems to slightly startle at Prim in front of her. "Morning Katniss, I don't think I ever remember you sleeping so late before."

Katniss yawns and stretches cat like, for all that her sister hates buttercup she is more feline than any person she knows. "Morning Prim, I had some peppermint alcohol that Johanna brought last night, I guess it made me sleep in. Plus I'm not going to hunt this morning." Katniss's tone is soft and sleepy as she snuggles in closer to Prim.

Prim loves this as she snuggles into Katniss, "No you're not, you have to pack and then get beautiful for your toasting." At this a huge smile graces her sister's face, "Yes I do, umm Prim if you promise not to tell mom, you want to see what Johanna gave me last night?"

"Sure" she was curious as to what the victor could give her sister. In truth Prim was intrigued by the woman, Johanna displayed many attributes that were reminiscent of her sister, but there was a confidence and brashness that she had never seen before. Johanna also scared the hell out of Prim. Her eyes grew wide as Katniss pulled out the negligée (at least that was what Katniss said Johanna called it), but it was the 'thong' that went with it that had Prim asking, "are you going to wear that for Peeta tonight?"

"No, I want to wear mom's nightgown, it is special and mom trusts me with it. This might take a little bit of courage to get into for Peeta, although Johanna thinks I will 'blow his mind' in it."

"Peeta wouldn't know what hit him, but you don't really need that to blow his mind. He already looks at you like you are the sun on earth." Prim then giggles as she pictures Peeta looking at Katniss in the outfit displayed before them, "but it might be worth it just to see the look on his face."

At that Katniss starts giggling with her as Prim describes what she thinks Peeta might do when he first sees Katniss in the negligée, causing them both to laugh so hard tears leak out of their eyes.

"Girls", the call from their mother interrupts them and they both throw on a robe and hurry downstairs where their mother was up and dressed. Tea was set at the table along with some bread and jam for breakfast. "I am going to meet Hazelle and head over to the Apothecary to get started on those geese for dinner. I will see you both at the Justice Building at one. My room and most of the downstairs is already packed." Prim watches as her mom picks up a box of dresses to bring with her. "Rye Mellark said he would stop by later this morning to start moving some of our things. We can take our time and move gradually over the next few days, since he promised us his help. Prim, just a reminder he will be staying with us tonight and Sunday night, so you cannot walk around in your nightgown and you must be on your best behavior."

At that her mom walks over to Katniss and hugs her briefly while placing a kiss on her forehead, "I'll see you at the signing, don't worry you will be beautiful, Prim and I went over the perfect hairstyle for that dress last night." Prim watches as her sister actually hugs her mother back and murmurs a quiet "Thanks".

"Now get packing, I will see you both at one." The smile and look of happiness on her mother's face is one Prim had not seen in a long time. Prim follows her sister to the table and sinks down into the chair besides her and accepts the bread and jam Katniss hands her. Today is going to be a wonderful day.

After finishing up her breakfast Prim looks at her sister who is glowing with happiness, "Come on sis, let's get you packed up for your married home and me packed up for the move to town." Katniss reaches over and clasps her hand, and both girls walk up the stairs together. "Plus you need to tell me what went down last night after I had to leave with mom." She swore Katniss's laughter could be heard at least a block away.

Rye Mellark groaned at the sun that suddenly was streaming across his face, my head hurts I shouldn't have had so much to drink. Looking up he sees Peeta over by his window grinning at him, since he clearly had just ripped open the curtains to wake him up.

"Peet, it's too early." Just five more minutes.

"Nope, no it's not. I am toasting today, Katniss is becoming my wife today!" His brother is giddy like a kid in a candy store and it is annoying.

"Why are you not tired and in bed, doesn't your head hurt?"

"Nope, I didn't drink that much last night. Too nervous for today, too nervous with Hawthorne in the house." Peeta cheerily replied, he is waaayyy to happy this morning and loud…too too loud.

"Fine, but why are you in here again?"

"You promised you would help. Come on, I already have the dough rising for the toasting loaf. I need you to make the rolls for the dinner tonight, while I finish icing my cake. You also promised Mrs. Everdeen and Prim you would help start moving them later this morning." Rye lazily reopens his eye and looks closer at his brother who is looking at him expectantly, fuck, he is already covered in flour.

"Shit, I'll be down in five baby bro", Rye slowly starts to move in a direction out of the bed while Peeta strides past him out the room. Rye chuckles when Peeta yells back at him "not a baby".

After throwing on some work clothes Rye stumbles down to join Peeta in the bakery where he has the cake out on the work bench. "Coffee?" is the only thing Rye mumbles at him. Peeta points to the partially filled pot as he slowly stares between the cake and design that is in front of him.

"Remind me why, I am helping you with all of this?"

Peeta looks up from his cake at him with a level stare, "Madge's toasting cake".

Rubbing his face Rye responds with "Oh yeah, sorry about that. Madge is a little detail oriented."

"A little?" the ironic tone in his brother's voice does not escape Rye, "I had to redo her sketch seven times Rye, I have NEVER had to re-sketch a cake more than twice. I swear to god the last three sketches are almost identical." Rye smiles sheepishly at him as he sets his coffee aside and starts to grab the ingredients he needs to make the rolls for tonight.

"What about Katniss, she is a little bit of a controlling type isn't she?"

"Well, she is a little bit of a control freak", Peeta starts while wiping a streak of green frosting across his forehead, "but only when it comes to the necessities. She gave me creative license to do what I wanted on the cake. The only conditions were that it would be a surprise and that it represents both of us."

Rye quickly glances at the cake and then at the sketch on the table before him, "so how does that represent both of you? All I see is trees and some flowers, don't get me wrong it is beautiful"

"They are willow trees, Rye." Peeta sounds exasperated, "We would meet to talk in the Willow Grove on the other side of the meadow. It is where I asked her to be my girlfriend, where we first kissed, where I asked her to marry me, where she said yes." A dreamy smile overtakes his brother's face and Rye watches as Peeta shakes his head to snap himself out of it. "These flowers are katniss flowers and these orange ones are primroses, normally primroses aren't orange, but it is my favorite color, the willow and Katniss leaves are green representing her favorite color. The dandelions are special to us."

Rye looks over the cake again, his brother is clearly the most talented out of the three of them. "Cake is beautiful, bro, she will love it." Rye and Peeta both then go back to their respective task quietly working while waking up.

"Do you think Dad will bring Mom?" Peeta's voice breaks through the peace and the question settles on Rye like a dust cloud.

"I'm not sure; do you want her to come?" This is hard for Rye, he knows Meredith Mellark will not approve of Katniss, but she does approve of Madge. He isn't sure what the better option is, having mom approve of your wife or disapprove of your wife. Either way with their mom involved it can be hell.

"I don't know, I mean she is our MOM, she should want to be there for me on my special day, but I know how she feels about Katniss, or more truthfully Mrs. Everdeen and anything seam related. I don't want her to ruin our day by being mean to Katniss or her family, because that really is the only outcome if she attends isn't it?" Rye looks up to see Peeta's sad countenance, it sucks really, it always has, and their mom is just so nasty. All the hitting and shouting and berating can just kill you inside, and he and Bannock know Peeta has always gotten the worst of it.

"Peet, honestly, I don't even really want her at my toasting. She approves of Madge, but she is mean to her too, not outwardly like she would be to Katniss, but in a passive aggressive manner. She is always making snide comments or making a remark that seems like it is a compliment but it is really an insult." Taking a deep breath Rye voices his real concern, it's the first time he has done so out loud. "What frightens me most is when Madge and I have a family. Madge and I can take her bullshit and she can't hit me anymore, but I am frightened to have her around my children."

Peeta looks at him seriously, "that's a concern isn't it. I know if mom even looks funny at any kid that Katniss and I have, Katniss will go ballistic. That is something I wouldn't want to see. Mom's tough, but Katniss would hurt her, and honestly I don't want that on Katniss. Know what I mean?" Rye nods, because he does know what Peeta means. "Although it might not be an issue for me, I'm pretty sure mom has disowned me as of last night. You on the other hand will have to deal with her shit, there is no way she won't try and spend all the time she can at the mayoral parties and such."

"Yeah, Madge and I already talked about that. The one thing I will say is that this blindness, although hard on dad, is a godsend. She can't follow you around and she is pretty much stuck wherever dad leaves her." Rye looks over at his brother who is intently filling out the leaves of a Willow tree; I wonder how much this mom thing is upsetting him?

"Peet, if mom does disown you, would you be OK?" He asks softly, he is a little worried for his brother; Peeta has always had the softest heart of the three of them, quick to forgive and first to give it away forever. He watches as Peeta's hands still and his eyes raise up to meet his own questioning ones, Rye found Peeta's eyes to be so full of emotion, he sees the pain and acceptance there, a lifetime worth of hurt at the hands and mouth of that woman.

"It would hurt Rye, I would hurt, but not anymore then she has done to me in the past. But, if it is an all or nothing choice; Katniss or Mom? I choose Katniss without hesitation, she is my future. I have always loved her you know that, but it is the way she treats me, how Katniss praises me, makes me feel like I am worth it, that I am special to her. That is why I would give up mom, if that was the only way, and it may be, I am prepared for that. I always have been." At that Peeta went back to his Willow tree, his eyes firmly on the cake with a resilience and strength that Rye has never seen before, but suddenly admires his brother for having.

Later that morning Rye is having another epiphany of sorts as he walks through the Seam towards the Everdeen house. He has been through the seam before, but for some reason he never really noticed how decrepit a fair number of these houses were. He could actually see holes in the walls of a few of them as he walks down the street. Passing what he knew to be Hawthorne's house he notices that it was in much better shape than many of the others. Gale and his brother Rory must keep up with repairs and even seem to have made some improvements to the structure. Even though he has always had an adversarial relationship with the oldest Hawthorne, Rye has always admired him for the way he stepped up and took care of his family. Gale became a man years ago in some aspects, but in others, like his relationships, he has been adrift in a sea of adolescence for a while. His father's lectures on respecting women, respecting your wife, the attempts to tame his wild spirit with groundings and lectures have always annoyed the crap out of him, but at least he had his dad to do that. No matter how much Mrs. Hawthorne may have disciplined Gale, how great a mom she is, it doesn't make up for a male presence in a boy's life. Rye wonders if Gale's dalliances were his way of rebelling against the fact that he had to shoulder such a large burden early in his life, like Rye rebelled against having such a bitch of a mother.

Climbing the porch steps to the front door of the Everdeen's he notices that although their house was in better repair then some, it certainly wasn't in great shape. The Hawthorne's house was clearly in better repair and was larger, but they had five living in that house where the Everdeen's just had three.

"Hey Rye" the always cheerful Primrose flings open the door to greet him just as he is about to knock.

"How did you know I was here?' he asked as he stepped into the house and surveyed the small pile of boxes on the threadbare couch.

"Katniss heard you coming", Prim pointed to a door where presumably Katniss heard him. "She's just getting in her bath after packing. Apparently all you Mellark men walk with the same 'thunderous plodding tread'." Prim chirped even using air quotes in the most adorable way.

"You sound like a herd of elephants!" Katniss calls from behind the door of what must then be the bathroom. Rye just smiles in response; it is amazing how much the scowling reticent Katniss Everdeen has blossomed over the last few years.

"Prim what boxes do you want me to start with? I figure I can get a few loads in this morning before I have to get ready for the signing."

"Why don't you start with these? I had mom separate out the heavy ones from the lighter ones that I can carry." He looks to where Prim points to a smallish pile of boxes, each labeled. He reads, Apothecary, Living room, master bedroom and Prim's room.

"Which ones should I start with?" He asks the willowy girl in front of him, she really is very fairyesque he thinks; both of the Everdeen girls have a magical quality about them. Katniss is reminiscent of a wood nymph and Prim that of a delicate fairy.

"Why don't you start with the ones that we will need tonight, my bedroom and the master bedroom, we can leave the Apothecary ones for tomorrow. Mom and Mrs. Hawthorne are already there so you can just knock on the door. Thank you so much for all your help Rye."

"Anything for my new little sis!", Rye grins at her, "it is the least I can do for you and your mom letting me stay with you for a few days. I really don't want to be around for the first few nights of the most sexually pent up couple in all of District 12!"

"I can hear you," Katniss shrieks from behind the door, Rye can feel the scowl in her words, "and watch what you say around my little sister."

"My little sister too, well at least she will be in a few hours anyway!" Rye happily chirps back at his soon to be sister in-law as he bend down to grab the first set of boxes labeled master bedroom and with a cheery good-bye he sets off towards the apothecary.

Climbing the back stair case to the apothecary he can smell the food cooking and it makes his stomach rumble. Knocking, he smiles when Mrs. Everdeen answers the door as she steps aside to let him in. "Good morning", he grins while looking around the apartment, which looks to be an exact replica of the one above the bakery.

"Oh good morning my dear, Thank you so very much for your help." Mrs Everdeen glances at the boxes he is carrying and makes a motion towards the hall that lead to the bedrooms. "Can you please take them to the appropriate bedroom? I am sure you know which the master is, this is a clone of the bakery's apartment."

"I can see that," Rye grins at her and then notices the other woman, who is most definitely seam standing by the door to the kitchen. "Hello Mam, I'm Rye Mellark, Peeta's older brother" he walks over to her with his hand outstretched in greeting.

"I can tell," the woman greets him with a nice firm handshake. Her hands are calloused, red and worn and there is tiredness in her eyes, but strength in her grip and countenance that automatically earns his respect. "I am Hazelle Hawthorne, neighbor and good friend of the Everdeen's." Ahh this is the famous Mrs. Hawthorne, no wonder the woman looks a little familiar.

"Well, it smells just delectable in here. I cannot wait for the toasting meal. Peeta said that Katniss shot some geese, is that what smells so good?" He gives her his most charming Mellark smile; Peeta really wants these people to like him and his family so he won't let him down.

"It is, she shot two Geese," Mrs. Everdeen replied bustling past him into the kitchen and returning to stir something on the stove. "We will have roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes and the Geese are stuffed with the bread from your bakery. I have infused the Geese with an herb mixture of Rosemary and Thyme. There will be plenty for tonight as well as for the next few days for the happy couple so they don't have to cook."

Rye nods as his mouth begins to water, it is customary in district twelve to make the toasting feast with enough leftovers for the couple so they don't have to cook for a few days. Although it is a custom to do this, he knows that in the not so distant past not many people actually had enough food to have a toasting feast at all, let alone left overs. There still may be people who are too poor to have a feast, the thought bothers him as he puts the boxes into the master bedroom and walks back to the living room and stands by the kitchen door.

"Well the rolls have already been made, although they are not the dinner white rolls, Peeta insisted on cheese buns, apparently they are Katniss's favorite."

"They always have been her favorite, James used to get them for her as a child." Mrs. Everdeen replied as she was peeling what looked like potatoes.

"I am off for another load; I will see you in a bit." He replied cheerily. As Rye walked back down through the district towards the seam he wondered what he could do to help those that are in abject poverty in his district.

Gale Hawthorne woke up before the sun, grabbed his brother and the two headed towards the woods, both waking up in silence. As they entered the wood it feels odd to him that today he would not go to the place where he and Katniss usually would meet, but instead the two boys headed directly to the new snare line. He decided against retrieving his bow, which was really one of Katniss's father's spare bows, because he didn't anticipate actually hunting today, unless of course the snare line's yield was poor. As they make their way through the woods he notes that Rory's tread has really improved, he isn't as quiet as Katniss, but honestly he isn't either, Gale attributes this to the fact that Katniss is just so small compared to him.

As they reach the snare line he quietly sends Rory off to start at the other end of the line that they can run this line fairly efficiently, but more importantly he needs some time alone to think, without those knowing eye of his brother's…looking at him. Yawning he wonders if he will have time for a nap after the mornings hunting, there won't be much trading today, just a little bit in the hob, the bakery certainly won't be open. He is tired, after returning home from the bachelor party he and Rory walked in to find his mother sitting at their kitchen table in wait…for him.

After she unceremoniously sent Rory to bed she sat him down for a talk, apparently his mother had returned from the Undersee mansion and Katniss's shower earlier and had been lying in wait for him, like the predator that he is in the woods. The talk was painful, but looking back on his behavior he deserved it. His mother went off on him and really just ripped him a new one, but the worst part about the whole thing, is that he agreed with her.

He had been an ASS, not just yesterday and not just to Katniss and Peeta. He had been treating Leevy badly for so long, been using girls as an escape from having to grow up so young. As his mother ran down the litany of his transgressions he began to feel bad, not for the lecture he was receiving, but for the people he may have hurt. He didn't do it on purpose, he never did, but he had been so single minded and focused on what he wanted what he needed for so many years that he hadn't stopped to determine if what he wanted was what others might want as well.

It was what Peeta had said about Katniss the night before that had really hit him in the chest and started to open his eyes a little. How he talked about her ideas and how smart she was, how she was contributing to their business, not just with physical labor but with her brains, which got to him. When he thought about it, he hadn't listened, really listened to Katniss in years, beyond that of hunting and honestly it discomfited him. Katniss was supposed to be his best friend and he never noticed who she had become as a person, not just a hunter. Apparently Madge, Rye and Prim had all been able to ferret out the secret relationship by observing the changes in their friends. He could blame the fact that he was in the mines all the time and he only saw Katniss once a week, but really that was just a lame excuse, he hadn't even noticed her physical changes until they had been pointed out to him (really shoved down his throat).

The discussion with Bannock Mellark was another thing for him to ponder, Bannock was two years older than he was and was 17 at the last reaping. Bannock was more reserved then Rye, more serious and had an older sibling protective vibe that Gale could appreciate. It seems that although life in town was much better than life in the seam, it really wasn't all roses and feasts as had been Gale's impression. In fact the baker's boys probably had it worse than most in town, because they had to deal with their mother, who was more of a witch to her boys than she was to kids from the seam. The information that the only fresh food they would get on a regular basis was from the squirrels he and Katniss traded to the baker shocked him. Bannock did say conditions got better after the regime changed, but that it really started to improve with the downfall of his mother's vision. Bannock also made it clear that Peeta got the worst, this floored Gale; how could someone be so cheerful and optimistic, when his mother treated him so poorly. In this Gale was grateful, he may have lost his father, but his mother is always there and has always loved him.

As he removes a second rabbit from one of his snares he reflects on his feelings for Katniss, did he love her romantically? Maybe, maybe not, but he does feel possessive over her, like she is his; but he also feels the same way about Posy. Recalling something she had told him weeks ago after the incident: "I love you, Gale, like I love Rory, like I love Vick, like a brother. I don't think we would be 'good together'. Just because we make a great hunting team does not mean we would have a good relationship." Then Haymitch had pointed out how much they argue and these revelations humble him even more, because yes, when he thinks about it, they probably wouldn't be good together.

The worst thing is that he had fun last night and watching Peeta freak out over talking about his upcoming toasting night with Katniss was amusing. Rye really isn't that bad of a guy, he likes good liquor and can be pretty funny. The stories he and Bannock told about a little infatuated Peeta were hilarious. He guesses if Katniss has to be with anyone, Peeta isn't bad, he truly loves her, has loved her forever and will treat her with respect. He still doesn't like it, Katniss going off to live in town, but, damn it's hard to hate the guy he's just so damn nice.

Looking up he sees that he and Rory are both just finishing up their last snares; they have a pretty good haul, enough for them to keep some and to trade in the hob. Sighing he looks down at his hands and figures if he is going to turn over a new leaf he might as well start with his brother.

"Rory, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry." He looks up as his brother who is staring at him eyes wide and slack jawed as if he has never heard Gale utter those words before and maybe he hasn't.

"While I was gone you did good. The new snare line is well placed and the individual snares are done well. The modifications that you came up with for large game snares are ingenious. Dad would be proud." And with those words his brother rewarded him with a smile that warmed his heart.

"I had a good teacher, now let's go to the hob and see what we can get for this game." And with that Gale knows his apology is accepted and no more words are needed.

They get home in time to take a short nap before having to start boiling the water for baths. He had promised his mother that he would get all four of his siblings fed, bathed and dressed for the toasting and then drop them off at the Apothecary, before meeting with Haymitch to walk Katniss to the Justice building. Hours later Posy, Vick and Rory and himself were bathed and dressed in their best clothes (the same ones as yesterday only newly laundered thanks to his mother). They arrived at the Apothecary and went round back to the apartment door and up the stairs where he could just smell the food; even though they had had some stew at 11 it made his mouth water.

Mrs. Everdeen lets them into the apartment after knocking on the door, he looks around. The place is nice, not as big as he would have thought, but nice. It looks like it would be warm in the winter and Rory asks to see the shower with the hot water that Prim had told him about (well that made him jealous). Finally after the grand tour and a third promise to his mother that he would behave Gale steps out to meet Haymitch back at his home.

"You ready?" The gruff voice of Haymitch greets him as he walks up onto Gale's porch.

Gale stands and looks at the man who was a close friend of his father's and one of the victors instrumental in bringing down the capitol of old. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"I don't mean if your dressed, I mean are you ready to be nice, to be supportive, to be a best friend, because if your aren't, then you can just stay right here. Sweetheart don't need you ruining her big day."

"Yeah, I even got an apology that I plan to use." Haymitch is scanning him with those shrewd seam eyes probably looking for signs of the veracity of Gale's words. Finally after what must be a minute or two Haymitch smiles at him, he must have seen something he likes.

"Good, let's go collect sweetheart and take her off to marry that boy."

As they walk up to the porch they are greeted by Prim, who looks lovely in a pale pink dress, Gale has never seen her in this dress before, it looks like it has been used before but not overly so. I wonder where she got the dress?

"Katniss just needs a minute then she will be out.", so the three of them stand there waiting, with a strange energy in the air. "Prim, you look very nice" he tells her one because it is true and two because this silence is deafening.

"Thank you" Prim replies a faint glow of pink on her cheeks. Rory will be following her around like a puppy.

Finally the door creeks open and Katniss steps out and all the air Gale had in his lungs escape. She looks beautiful, well beyond beautiful, but it is the aura of happiness that gets him. She is really doing this, Katniss is marrying Peeta Mellark and for some strange reason even though her beauty blows him away, the anger just isn't there.

"Sweetheart you look beautiful, your daddy would be so proud of you." Haymitch gives her a pat on the arm and then offers her his right arm. "Now let's go get you married."

"Wait!" the words escape him before he can temper the tone, he knows he sounds desperate, and the reaction that Katniss has reveals this. She stiffens and her eyes get shaper as she looks at him.

"No, I mean wait, I want to apologize." Gale softens his voice, "You are my best friend and I really haven't been listening to you for a while. I am happy for you Catnip and I am sorry I have been such an ass. Forgive me?" He can feel her stare appraise him, much in the same manner as Haymitch's did just moments earlier on his porch. He holds his breath waiting to see what she will do and he hopes she can see the sincerity of his words.

"Thank you" and with her words he can breathe again a small smile ghosting on his lips and they all turn to walk towards town. A small procession, Haymitch on her left, Prim holing her right hand and he holding Prim's hand. It is a procession that has people smiling as they make their way through the district, a procession that is old as time; a young woman going to meet a young man to join their lives together in love.

As they approach the Justice building they can see a small group of people gathered there in wait. Gale can see Mrs. Everdeen, Mr. Mellark, Bannock and his wife, Rye, Madge and finally Peeta. As they continue their march he can feel how Catnip has picked up the pace, looking over he sees her face just overwhelmed with joy. Facing forward he can make out the expression on Peeta's face, his eyes locked on the girl with an uncontainable smile as he bounces up and down. Just as they reach the steps it's clear that Peeta cannot contain himself anymore as he comes running down the steps to meet Katniss. Stopping the forward progression the two greet each other with their eyes. Gale can see the unspoken words flash between them and he realizes the tight bond that these two share, an entire conversation based on glances, gestures and touches. A language developed between the two derived from the need for secrecy dictating a new way to communicate.

"You are the most beautiful vision I have ever seen, that there has ever been" Peeta voice is practically a whisper as he raises a hand gently to cup her cheek in the most innocent gesture of adoration and love that Gale has ever witnessed. How could he have wanted to get between this, how could he have even questioned this? As he watches this, their display of love, not with kisses, no this is not lust, but something pure and worth protecting, his heart grows to include their love in the small list of what he would shelter.

"Let's go sign some papers, shall we?" Haymitch interrupts the moment by handing Peeta Katniss's arm. He watches as Peeta takes her arm and the two slowly and steadily with no ounce of trepidation the two continue to climb the steps of the justice building. The peace settling in his heart suddenly shattering when the shrill voice of the witch comes from behind them, screaming that 'this cannot take place this will not take place'. And all previously happy parties turn to see that Mrs. Mellark is angrily marching towards the couple with Cassidy Wentworth acting as her eyes.