DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.
Warning: strong sexual content implied/discussed towards the end of the chapter-may want skip if not your thing.
Chapter 85-Silver Lake
7 weeks later
Katniss looks out the kitchen window of her small cottage. The day was Oct 21st, seven weeks after her graduation ceremony in the capitol. A lot had happened since that day. One week after her interview in Silver Lake, she got the call from her apartment in District 9 that she had been offered a position at Silver Lake's elementary school, teaching grade 1. Silver Lake had one elementary school and had three classes for each grade. As expected, the position she was taking was for a teacher who recently retired.
She accepted the offer on the spot and was informed she would need to be in Silver Lake by Sept 15th for two days of orientation before class begins on Sept 19th, giving her only a week and a half to move from District 9.
She called Gale at work to give him the good news. She then called her Mother followed by McKenna. All three of them expressing heartfelt congratulations to her.
A couple of days after accepting the job offer, she traveled by train to District 2. She had begun packing immediately and had all of her belongings boxed up. Now all she needed was an address to deliver her stuff to. She was heading to District 2 to stay with Gale, for the next day was her appointment in the Capitol for her scar removal procedure. Since the procedure was on a Friday, she and Gale planned to spend the rest of the weekend finding a house in Silver Lake.
They had decided to try to rent first, since her arrival was so sudden they agreed to rent before planning for a more permanent home. The village had no apartments, only houses and cottages. Katniss wanted to rent a cottage possibly near the lake.
Her scar removal procedure goes well, for it was similar to what she had done while in the Capitol after the games. As expected, she brought a third of the money with her to the appointment and was given a bill for the remainder of the balance that needed to be paid. Once she sees the remaining bill, she takes a deep breath but reminds herself that she will be starting a job soon and that she will have Gale to help with rent and bills. She didn't want to take any more money from him than she already had. While they were about to live together, she still looked at them as equals in the finances, and refused to give up her wanting to be more independent since leaving District 12.
They both agreed they needed to live together, because they couldn't stand to be apart any longer. While she needed that time apart from him before, she had finally reached the goal she wanted for herself since coming back to Panem over a year ago. Getting a job in District 2 was the icing on the cake, everything had finally come together like she had hoped. She had a job, and had Gale. A year and a half ago she never thought him being in her life was a possibility. Despite becoming a couple under horrific circumstances, they were each other's everything again, just like they were for that very brief time at her house after he was whipped. He promised her that as long as she was committed to staying in 2, he would live in Silver Lake with her.
While a three hour commute was not ideal for him, he was at least still living in the District, for he admitted it would have been extremely frowned upon to be the government official yet not live in the District he represented. President Paylor agreed to let him work from home on Friday's, requiring him to take the train to the office four days a week.
They had found a place by Sunday. While walking around the village, they had attracted a lot of attention, for all of the residents of District 2 knew who Gale was and some were completely shocked to see him with Katniss. Silver Lake being a small community, word had traveled fast that Katniss was moving to the village for a teaching position. The residents seeing the two of them searching for houses around town solidified that the articles in Panem Daily that some of them had read were in fact true. Katniss and Gale had to endure seeing people whispering and staring while they walked to the main town to meet the owner of the house they were about to tour. They fell in love with it and asked when it would be available before they were finished with the official tour.
The cottage was small, but charming. It had two bedrooms, one room that they planned to use as a spare downstairs and had a bigger room upstairs that would be their bedroom. The room was so large Gale could use the extra space to set up a desk and computer to serve as his office while at home on Friday's. The room upstairs took up the whole floor, with a small bathroom connected to it. Downstairs was the small bedroom in the front, another bathroom, and an open kitchen and living room area with a stone fireplace.
Both felt it was perfect, it had plenty of room for Harper and the cottage was a five minute walk from the lake and a fifteen minute walk to the train station. They signed a one year rental agreement and were given the keys before they left to catch the train back to Gale's apartment.
Katniss's belongings were delivered by Sept 13th. She had to pay for a rush delivery but all of her boxes from District 9 arrived first thing in the morning after she had arrived the night before. She spent the day unpacking while Gale was at work. He was to arrive later on that night with a few suitcases packed. He would be slowly moving his stuff in over the next couple weekends for he had found someone to take over the rental agreement on his apartment and he needed to be out by Sept 30th.
A few weeks after arriving the rest of Katniss's stuff arrived from District 4 and by the beginning of October the cottage was complete. They had gotten new furniture, for Gale had left a lot of his furniture at the apartment as part of the deal for the person who had taken over the lease needed something move in ready.
As far as her teaching job was concerned, it was an adjustment for Katniss. Silver Lake's elementary school was pretty large, it was the only elementary school in the village with one secondary school for the older children. The school had 21 teachers. From the moment Katniss had started she had felt out of place. Some of the teachers were unfriendly, some fairly friendly and some were completely indifferent to her. She had a teacher who served as a mentor named Julia Graybar. PES provided a mentor for the first year to help the recent graduate get acclimated in the classroom. For the first three months Julia would be present for part of the day each day. After holiday break she would be observing Katniss three times a week and then once a week for the final three months before summer break started.
Julia had informed Katniss that she was the mentor for all of District 2. The two had become fairly friendly but Katniss did not consider her a friend like she had McKenna. Despite that, she couldn't complain for Julia was a good mentor and had helped Katniss feel more comfortable in her new role.
Working with children ages 6-7 years old was more challenging than working with 8-9 years old's. They were more dependent and some were still struggling being away from their Mother's for an entire day. At times Katniss felt more like she was babysitting than teaching, but she loved their innocence and sweet nature. Now nearing the end of October, most of the kids had gotten used to being in school all day and Katniss was finally able to engage them more in classroom activities with Julia's help.
Katniss was able to form friendships with two of the teachers, the other two teachers who were new to Silver Lake like her. One teacher named Livia was from District 2, but lived on the opposite side of the District. The other teacher, Kimber, was from District 3 and had decided to take a job in District 2 to help start fresh after a recent breakup with a long term boyfriend. Livia had come to Silver Lake for it was the only position she was offered explaining that she like Katniss had applied for four positions in the District.
The three of them had stuck close together, for Katniss quickly figured out that Silver Lake was similar to the Seam in the sense that it was a close knit community that was not welcoming to outsiders. Add to the fact that she was the former Mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion didn't help. Though not everyone was unfriendly, and some of the more experienced teachers were friendly with her though pretty much all of the teachers had their own pockets of friendships. It reminded Katniss a lot of school back in 12.
When she went out into town with Gale people continued to keep their distance from them, minus some of the women who tried to flirt with him and some of the residents who were friendly with him but not her. She found it a double standard that the residents of the village still harbored hard feelings towards her after what happened during the rebellion, yet some of them had welcomed Gale with open arms. When she expressed her feelings on the subject to him, he stated that some of them were more welcoming to him because he had proved himself after being the District official for the last nine years. A lot of the residents of the District had approved of what he had done to help the District recover and restore peace after the war.
She continues to stare out the small window. It was her favorite past time, looking out this particular window while cleaning up the dishes in the sink. She had a perfect view of the trees behind the cottage and often saw small animals and some deer eating in their backyard.
She and Gale finally got to hunt together, going deep into the woods behind the cottage. It was like old times, just the two of them. They would go out on Sunday's, but not every Sunday for Gale continued to go out of town for business trips and on some Sunday's Katniss needed to devote the entire day to getting her lesson plans done for the week.
She goes upstairs and sees Gale still sleeping on the bed, Harper by his side. It was his birthday today, so he had taken the day off. Katniss had arranged to take him to dinner at a restaurant that was about a half an hour away by train, for they had visited every restaurant in Silver Lake, the village only having six places total to eat. Livia had made the suggestion for the restaurant Katniss was taking him to tonight, hoping that it was as good as she said it was.
She kisses him goodbye before leaving to head to the school, rousing him from sleep. He grunts in response and slowly opens his eyes, smiling at her he says, "Morning beautiful."
"Sorry-I didn't mean to wake you. I am not used to leaving and not seeing you awake, I couldn't leave without saying goodbye" Katniss says softly bending over him.
"Have a good day at school" he says bringing his head up to kiss her then gives her a hug.
"Bye" Katniss says beaming while continuing to hold his hand while she stood up before finally letting go and petting Harper and heading down the stairs. She still wasn't used to the elated feeling she felt knowing each day she would be coming home to him.
The day dragged on, for her thoughts turned to him wondering what his plans were for the day. She assumed most likely it involved lounging around watching TV in their room and going out for a hike with Harper, for they did not take the dog with them while hunting, not wanting to risk him getting hurt. Instead they would take him on hikes while exploring the mountains on the other side of the lake.
Katniss asked Gale if he had missed the excitement of the downtown area, for Silver Lake was a hundred times quieter and more laid back than the hustle and bustle of the downtown shops, restaurants, and bars. He assured her that he was happy in Silver Lake and that by being in the office four times a week he still got to experience the atmosphere of the city and often met up with his friends for lunch.
Katniss much preferred the slower pace of Silver Lake. The lake was great for fishing and they often saw families having picnics and social gatherings down by the lake with some even braving the cold water for a swim. Besides being friends with Livia and Kimber, she didn't spend time with anyone else other than Gale.
The town had one abandoned building, the old training center that was used for potential tributes. The facility trained young boys and girls of the village and decided which ones would be sent to the training academy downtown. Katniss had found out from Julia that Silver Lake only had one volunteer tribute that had won the Hunger Games thirty years ago. Julia showed Katniss the small section of the former Victor's Village. With only one home occupied, the other three houses sat vacant even to this day.
When she finally arrived home she was not surprised to see Gale lounging on the couch, Harper at his feet. She asks him how his day went.
"Relaxing, it is nice being able to just sit around all day for once."
Katniss knew he appreciated the lazy day probably now more than ever. For his days were quite long, getting up around 5 am each day to leave the cottage at 6 to walk to the train station in order to make it to his office by 8 and not returning home until almost 7 pm.
"Well, we have reservations for 7:30, we need to be leaving here soon" Katniss says for it was 4:30 and he did not look at all ready to go out.
He quickly stands up and picks her up and says, "How about we-you know" he says flirtatiously as he heads up the wooden staircase.
"Gale! We need to get ready, we have to leave here at 6."
"We have time, besides, it's my birthday; don't you want to give me my present?" he says setting her down on the bed, beginning to strip off his clothes.
Katniss sighs and says, "Since it is your day I guess I can't refuse" and before she knows it his lips are on hers, kissing her hungrily.
They both end up in the shower after, making love again before finally getting washed and ready.
She ends up tying her hair back in a bun, not having enough time to do anything else with it. She is wearing dress pants and a light sweater, for the days were getting much cooler now that fall has approached. Usually wearing her old hunting jacket, she opts for her work jacket, a long navy coat with large gold buttons on it.
Dinner is a success, the two of them sitting an in intimate table along the back wall of the restaurant, with a perfect view of the mountains. She found the food was as good as Livia said it was, cleaning her plate. She ends up surprising him with a small cake with the number 29 on it. She watches as he blows out the candles. She asks after if he made a wish while they dig into the cake.
"I did, but I can't tell you what it is, if I do, it won't come true."
Later that night, while lying on blankets atop the floor rug, they lay naked entangled in each other's arms. They stare at the flames in the fireplace, the heat of the fire keeping them warm.
While stroking the side of her breast, he continues to stare straight ahead as he says, "Are you sure you are alright?"
She's silent for a moment before saying, "It was…..not what I had hoped, but better than…..you know."
"I'm sorry."
She turns her head and looks up at him. "Don't be, it was my idea."
During the entire month since living together, they had continued to have an active sex life, making love a couple of times during the week and sometimes multiple times on the weekends when he was home. There were days when one or both of them were too tried from their busy days to do anything more than kiss or cuddle, they also sometimes didn't have sex during her time of the month. But just as before when they had a long distance relationship, she continued to experience a passion she never had with Peeta while making love to Gale.
She assumed it was due to the fire that burned deep inside both of them. The fire she foolishly thought at one time she didn't need.
Since her scars were removed, she felt less anxiety about the Jay Killers. A part of her was still worried, and she often looked over her shoulder when she wasn't with Gale when in town, but by the scars being removed it enabled her to move on in her own way from the memory of being raped for she still refused to see a therapist.
She had asked Gale that night to make love to her in an unconditional way, entering her in an area Peeta never touched for she had no desire to have sex that way before. She had dreamed about performing the act with Gale while with Rain and the tribe and finally decided she wanted to try it to see what it was like.
As expected he was hesitant, afraid of triggering memories of her traumatic events. She assured him that she while she will never be able to forget that day on the boat she wasn't going to let what happened control her.
"I want to. At least try it. You've done it before right?" she says in response to his initial protest.
"Yes but….it's definitely not for everyone."
"Do you like it?"
"Sometimes."
She leans in and kisses him seductively, reassuring him that she wanted this. After a few moments he breaks off her onslaught of kisses and touches her face before getting up and grabbing blankets and a small bottle from their upstairs bathroom.
He encourages her to relax before they begin. Telling her at any time he will stop. She squeezes his hand in response letting him know she was ready.
It didn't go as she imagined in her dreams at all. In the beginning she tightened up which made the discomfort even worse, she forced herself to relax and the pain subsided. Once he began a rhythm she began taking deep breaths to help keep herself calm, sensing her uneasiness, he leans over and begins kissing her neck softly to help distract her. She leans her head onto his as his kisses move up to her cheek before she opens her mouth to allow his lips to meet hers. She continued to breathe heavily into his mouth between kisses. She found the act to be uncomfortably intense as opposed to passionate as she had imagined in her dreams.
Once finished he takes her into his arms and says in her ear, "Are you okay?"
She nods into his shoulder in response, unable to express how she felt. She knew he had come, feeling his semen moving down back leg once he pulled out. She of course had found no pleasure in what they had just done and had not orgasmed which he was aware of for he knew her well enough to know when she was satisfied sexually.
"I would have stopped."
She pulls away and looks at him and says, "I know you would have. It's okay, I'm okay."
Once he cleans her up they tangle up on the floor, touching each other while getting lost in the beauty of the fire. After she tells him not to be sorry about what happened, she tells him she's glad they have taken this step in their relationship though she admits she is unsure if she be willing to do it again. He assures her he is fine with whatever she decides in the future, for all that mattered to him was her being comfortable and satisfied.
She sighs happily in response while he strokes her breast, savoring the feeling of his fingers gently touching her. She feels her nipples start to harden after a few minutes and brings his hand down to her front, hinting what she wants him to do. He obliges and begins rubbing her clit until she orgasms. Afterwards they finally head upstairs to go to bed.
Once the light is turned off she leans over putting her arm around him and says, "Gale."
"Yeah?" he says unsure what she will say next.
"Happy Birthday" and then she begins singing, the first time she has ever sung just for him.
He smiles once she is finished though she cannot see it in the darkness and he kisses her forehead and says, "I love you" before he drifts off to sleep, holding her tight.
