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Chapter 20

The next morning, I wake up, under the blanket with Katniss still in my arms. I keep my eyes closed and enjoy this moment with her before the others wake up. All of a sudden, I hear a giggling noise coming from above me. I tilt my head upward and look to see Posy staring down at us with her cute little laugh. I sit up and crouch in front of her.

"What are you so giggly about?" I ask her with a raised brow. She points to me and then to Katniss. I'm still confused. "When are you getting married?"

"When I am what?" I ask in disbelief.

"That's what married people do…sleep next to each other."

"Pose, she's just a friend. And since when did you so much about married people?"

"Mommy told me." I want to ask her about how that came up but that's a whole other story.

"Why are you up so early little bird?" I ask her as I pinch her nose.

"Gale!" she squeals. I scoop her up and walk her over to my mother.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" I suggest when I lay her down.

"I can't. I'm too awake."

"Then maybe you could come check the snare line with me." She pops up and runs to her boots, quickly putting them on. I grab mine as well. By the time I have mine on, her coat is on and zipped. I put mine on and we go outside. I make her hold my hand to make sure she doesn't wander off. She skips beside me, happy to get to explore.

"You like it here, Posy?" I ask her as we make our way through the woods. She smiles and nods her head. "You don't miss your friends?"

"At first I did but I'm ok now. And I like living with Katniss and Prim." she admits. I can't help but smile. I know she's always wanted a sister.

"I think you'll like it here. When it snows, it won't get all black and ugly like it does in the Seam. And in the summer, I can teach you how to swim in the river. We're going to have so much fun."

"Thank you Gale." she says hugging my leg.

"Glad I can make you happy." I say, patting her head. We check the snares, which have caught a rabbit and two squirrels. I put them in my bag and we head back to the house. On the way back, Posy complains about being tired. We have done quite a bit of walking. She' getting too old to be carried but she has me wrapped around her finger. I lift her up and carry her back. In the process of walking back, she manages to drift off, which I don't mind. When I reach the cabin, I lay her down next to my mother and leave my things by the door before returning to Katniss.

"Catnip." I whisper. Her eyes flutter open and she smiles. I bring my hand up to her cheek and stroke it.

"You're cold."

"I checked the snares."

"Catch anything?"

"Rabbit and some squirrels."

"Good." she says with a grin. She leans in towards me and our lips touch briefly before I push her away. She gives me a hurt look, perhaps thinking I've changed my mind.

"We have to be careful." I tell her.

"Why?"

"Do we want them knowing yet?"

"I don't know." she says.

"Posy caught us this morning…asked me when we were getting married." I tell her with a laugh. She joins in my laughter.

"What did you tell her?"

"That we were just friends. She's only 4." I remind her.

"No, that's fine." she assures me.

"Follow me." I say getting up. I put on my boots and coat and again and wait for her to do the same. Once outside, I take her hand and lead her 30 feet away from our house behind a big oak tree. I press her back against it and kiss her in the comfort of some privacy. She lets out a pleasure-filled moan as I slide my tongue against hers. I wonder what else I could do to elicit that sweet noise. I part my lips from her and plant them firmly on her neck drawing out each kiss.

"Gale." she moans.

"Hmm?" I hum, not stopping my work.

"Gale." she says again, this time halting my efforts. "You're going to leave a mark."

"I can't help myself."

"I don't want to have to explain to our siblings what the marks on my neck are from."

"Ok." I concede. I sit down on the ground and pat the spot next to me. She joins me and I wrap my arm around her shoulders. I then decide to ask her something I've been wondering about since the time she went to the Games. "Katniss." I say, making sure I have her attention.

"Yes?" she replies.

"You and Peeta…what exactly went on there?" I inquire.

"What do you mean?" she asks, baffled.

"I know it wasn't real. You've told me that. I was wondering how far it went." I uncomfortably ask her.

"It was only happened in front of the cameras. What you saw on screen was all that happened."

"After a while, I couldn't watch anymore. I slipped out of the square whenever things…were too much to bare." I admit.

"Just kissing and sleeping next to each other." she fills me in.

"Nothing after the Games?"

"No, we barely even talked after the Games ended. He didn't know that it was all pretend. What about you?" she asks, abruptly changing the subject. I quickly try to think about what she could be asking of me with this ambiguous statement.

"I've never kissed Peeta Mellark." I say sarcastically with a smirk on my face. She looks unamused, rolling her eyes at me as she stands. I guess this conversation is over. I stand up and walk toward her.

"Katniss, wait." I say, grabbing her hand to prevent her from going too far. "Whatever it is, you can ask."

"The slag heap." she said before drifting off, perhaps unaware of what to ask next. My heart drops out of my chest. It's the one topic I wished she never asked about. In all the years I've been visiting that place, she's never asked me about it before. Although of course I'm sure it never really mattered.

"What about it?" I ask her trying to keep my cool.

"Are the rumors true?"

"Can't be quite sure which rumors you are talking about." I answer, deflecting her questions.

"I heard girls talk about you in school. I never really knew what to think."

"Yet you've never asked me about it before."

"I always kind of hoped it wasn't true…what they'd say." she says lowering her head.

"What would they say?"

"They'd tell their friends what they did with you. In detail."

"I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Was it true?"

"Not every rumor was true. You know how things get twisted when it travels through the grapevine."

"I heard some interesting ones." she remarks.

"Such as?" I ask for more information.

"I heard that you and Wren Clearwater did it in the dome of the Justice Building."

"You think that really happened?" I ask with a laugh. "You think I'd do that?"

"I heard it straight from her." she explains.

"Well she's full of it. I never did anything with that girl, much less have sex in a Capitol-owned building. What else?" I asking, knowing that can't be all she's questioned.

"Lila Meadows and Greta Hark…at the same time." she adds with a blush. I silently curse to myself, knowing she won't like my answer. I exhale loudly before giving my answer. "Yes. That happened."

"At the same time!" she says with her eyes wide.

"It was their idea." I add, as if that would change her thoughts. "Look, Katniss, I know I did some stupid things when I was younger but I'm not like that now. When it first started I was young and I liked the attention I got from those girls. It was the only thing in my life that I didn't have to try hard to get—and it didn't matter where I was from or how poor I was. Girls liked me and I liked that." I explain.

The words have only seem to distance her and she can't even bare to look me in the eye. I take her hand and lead her back behind the tree. I bring her closer to me, cradling her in my arms. She's doesn't fight me on it, which I am thankful for. Her sorrow-filled eyes meet mine, and I can fill my heart throbbing with pain with the knowledge that I did this to her. I cup her cheek with my hand, bringing my face to close to hers. "Things changed after I became aware of my feelings for you." I murmur.

"You still went there." she says, which is the truth.

"I know I did but it wasn't because I enjoyed it. I knew it was never going to happen with you. I thought that maybe I could find someone to make me forget you, and some did for a little while but at the end of the day, my heart still felt empty. I felt so lost. I'm sorry Katniss. I really am." I tell her, pouring out my soul. It's the most honest I've ever been with her before. I can only hope that I haven't messed up what we've just started. "Please don't be upset with me Catnip." I whisper.

"It's in the past." she says before kissing my lips. "I'm sorry for making you feel like that."

"This makes up for it." I tell her resting my forehead against hers. She wraps her arms around the back of my neck and plays with the hair on the back of my head. "You have no idea how good you make me feel." I whisper before continuing the kiss she started earlier. She reciprocates the kiss and I feel my heart growing full. A few minutes in, I hear my mother call out our names, causing her to jump. I let out a low laugh as I brace her from falling.

"Never seen you spook so easily." I smirk. A wild smile appears on her face as the embarrassment leaves her face. I then change the subject. "When do you think we should tell them?"

"Once we figure out what to say—when we know how to break the news to them."

"What shall we tell them they ask where we've been?" I ask playfully with her still in my arms.

"We went on a walk." she suggests with a glint in her eyes. I plant my lips on hers once more before we go inside.

"We should go on walks more often." I whisper softly in her ear before sucking on her earlobe.

"Gale, they're waiting." she says with heavy breaths.

"They can wait a little longer." I reply before moving back down to her neck, being careful not to leave any evidence of my affection. The longer I continue, the more neither of us want to stop. I know we can't go any further in the daylight and the cold. I pry myself off of her and tell her it's time. She takes a minute to collect herself before we start walking back. I grab some firewood from the pile on the side of the house and we walk into the house.

"Where have you been?" my mothers asks us.

"Exploring." I remark. 'And I can't wait to explore her more.' I silently add as I strut to fireplace.


Looks like Gale's past finally caught up with him (you knew they had to talk about that sooner or later). Let me know what you thought! ;)