Prompt: Gale visits for the first time. Sees the life P&K and H&E have built for themselves and has a hard time seeing Effie fitting in there. Kids can be in story.
The Matter Of Family
"This is a bad idea." Gale stated for the fourth time since they had left the hovercraft.
He wasn't one to doubt himself, not anymore. You couldn't doubt yourself when you were leading an entire base full of all the brightest and strongest soldiers left after the rebellion. Ten years after the war, he was one of the highest ranking officers in Panem's new Peacekeeper force and proud of it. No, he wasn't one to doubt himself and he wouldn't have liked any of his men seeing him at that precise moment. His nerves of steel were unusually frayed.
"You're the one who wanted to be part of my life or whatever." Johanna sneered with a disgusted face. "I was happy leaving you out of this. You said you wanted to come to Finn's birthday."
Gale swallowed back his irritation at his – don't-you-dare-call-me-that-Hawthorne – girlfriend. Their relationship was a long but complicated one, built on one-night-stands and on supposed business trips that were little more than covers to hide the fact they actually wanted to see each other… They managed to get a hold of each other twice a month on average. She didn't want to leave Four and he didn't want to give up his job in Two. It had taken almost seven years for him to get her to agree on being exclusive and on being… more than just sex friends.
He did like Johanna. Hell, if pressed, he would have readily admitted he loved her… But when he had said he wanted to meet her family – which was only right since she had relented to his mother's begging and come to dinner at least twice – he really hadn't meant a trip to Twelve.
He hadn't been back in Twelve since he had left it under the Capitol's bombs ten years earlier and it truly felt like another lifetime.
As if it was, the simple trek from the meadow to the Victors' Village brought back so many memories it was a bit disorientating, but it wasn't simply that. The idea of seeing Katniss again… He had long been over her but he wasn't sure she had forgiven him yet for the role he had unknowingly played in her sister's death.
So, yeah, he was nervous. And for good reasons. He was pretty sure Jo hadn't warned anyone she was bringing him.
She bumped her shoulder against his as they passed the Village's metal gates. Her special way of offering comfort. He didn't expect anything less.
Despite everything, he felt himself relax a little.
Jo was tough in every aspect. Tough to kill and tough to love. She was complicated and had perhaps more baggage than anyone he knew – including Katniss Everdeen – and he sometimes wondered what it said about himself that he was unable to go and fall for women who weren't complete nutcases.
The Village was far more livelier than he remembered, the houses all seemed to be inhabited and there was none of the gloom and misery in the air he remembered from his childhood. He wasn't sure why exactly he was surprised. None of the Districts looked the same as they used to. Of course Twelve would be different, if only because of the massive rebuilding. He had known that. But knowing and seeing were different.
He followed Johanna to the back end of the Village and he figured they were going to Haymitch's house. That surprised him. He would have thought the party would take place at Katniss and Peeta's. He couldn't imagine the old victor throwing a birthday party for a ten year-old.
Then again, he supposed, there he went again forgetting the last ten years hadn't happened only to him. Things changed. People changed.
Jo walked straight around the house to the backyard from which laughter and conversations could easily be heard and he followed, his trained eyes noticing that Haymitch's house had been repainted and that it wasn't in the same state of disrepair it used to be. There were blooming flowers beds around it too. It looked… Nice. Strange for the old man but nice.
Twelve's victors were elusive though. They made public appearances now and then for anniversaries and the like – mostly when Plutarch forced them too – but Gale had always been very good at not attending the same events they did out of respect for Katniss. It had been a long time since he had thought about them at all, truth be told, so he didn't know the latest gossip. Maybe Haymitch had found a lady for all he knew – and good for him if he had, the old mentor had never been his favorite person but nobody could deny he had had a shitty life.
That hypothesis seemed to be confirmed when they stepped in the backyard and every pair of eyes seemed to fall on them. He knew everyone in that garden – Annie Cresta, Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Beetee Latier – save from the blond woman who had the ten year-old boy sitting on her lap.
Everyone remained frozen for the longest time.
Johanna stood there with her chin jutted high, almost defiant, and Gale could do nothing but awkwardly remain by her side. Haymitch seemed torn between glaring at Johanna and tossing worried glances in Katniss and Peeta's direction. Peeta was holding a cake and seemed transfixed. Katniss was staring at Gale. Beetee was inspecting his watch as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Annie rested a hand on her son's shoulder, apparently unsure of what was going on – she knew about them, that much Gale was sure of, but she clearly hadn't expected them to show up like that.
And, in the end, it was the blond stranger who saved the day by loudly clearing her throat and prompting the boy to get off her lap so she could stand up.
"Welcome!" she greeted warmly enough. "Come right in. Grab a glass. What can I get you? Johanna, why don't you come help me in the kitchen find something to eat for your guest, dear. Right now."
The tone didn't leave room for any discussion and Gale was actually surprised to see Jo roll her eyes but willingly follow the woman in the kitchen. He resisted the urge to grab her wrist and hold her back by reminding himself that he was a grown man, a seasoned soldier and that he faced worse than this on a daily basis.
At least, supposedly.
The blonde's intervention had, at least, made everyone snap out of whatever spell they were under.
"Gale. It's good to see you." Peeta offered. It sounded genuine enough. "We were just about to have some cake, why don't you take a chair and sit down."
Gale nodded at him but his eyes shot to Katniss who still had to say anything.
"It wasn't supposed to be an ambush. I didn't know…" he quickly said, maybe a little too defensively. "Look, I can go if…"
"Like Peeta said." Katniss cut him off. "It's good to see you. Come sit down."
She had changed since he had last seen her but, yet again, ten years would do that to anyone. The scars from the Capitol bombing were less obvious than they used to be but they were still there. She looked older, she had put on some weight, enough that she didn't look starved anymore, and her long dark hair was braided in her usual fashion. She looked good, healthy, and he found himself smiling at her.
"So you're the mysterious boyfriend, then?" Haymitch scowled. "You're with Jo, now?"
Haymitch, Gale remembered, had never really liked him. Maybe if he had been a tribute instead of Peeta Mellark… But Haymitch had been team Peeta from the very beginning and that had colored their relationship before they even got to Thirteen. Truth be told, Gale had never really understood why his mother liked the old man that much – although that had also certainly played a part on his own dislike of the guy, Hazelle had always insisted they were simply friends but Gale was pretty sure his mother had had an unrequited crush on the victor.
"I'm with Jo now." he answered firmly.
"Here, sit next to me." Annie hastily offered.
They made room for him and it was awkward for a little while. It didn't get any less awkward when Jo and the woman walked back out, clearly angry with each other, and Seven's victor was immediately snatched by Finn who loudly complained about her leaving for too long. Stuck between Annie and Beetee, Gale relaxed a little though. They were both easy-going. He liked Annie and he had actually stayed in touch with Beetee for work so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
At the other end of the table though, Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and the blond woman, while not being openly hostile, were clearly forming a tight unit of sort.
"I didn't know Haymitch had someone…" he whispered to Beetee after a while, when Finn was opening his gifts and he was sure nobody would hear him. Nobody had introduced them yet. It was obvious she knew who he was but he hadn't even heard her first name. Haymitch only called her sweetheart or princess.
"Oh, they've been together for ages now…" Beetee chuckled. "I don't like to count, it makes me feel old." Three's victor shrugged a little. "They don't advertize. They got enough press attention to last a lifetime."
"Really?" he frowned. "I don't remember…"
But he wasn't into gossip rags. He might have missed it.
"It was a huge scandal after he secured her release." Beetee explained. "They still drag her name out now and then when they're short of new things to talk about…"
And suddenly it clicked. Because Jo had mentioned her name a few times before but he hadn't recognized her without her wigs and heavy make-up. And Jo had certainly not said Effie Trinket was living in Twelve. As Haymitch Abernathy's lover.
"The escort?" he asked, just to be sure.
Beetee frowned a little, clearly not liking that label very much. Thankfully, he was distracted by Finn before Gale could alienate one of the only allies he had there that day.
The cake was good and it was obvious they were all used to spending that type of family gathering together. He stayed far from Trinket though, unwilling to lose his temper and create a scandal when he was a guest in her house. He didn't like the way she talked to Johanna. She was too overbearing and disapproving, as if she had any right to boss her around… Jo wasn't having any of it, of course, but it was the principle of the thing.
He wasn't sure how any of the victor could bear to be in her presence after all she had done. He looked at her and all he could see was her painted face standing on a stage, calling out the names… He still remembered the dread of hearing your name being called – yours or a loved one. He still remember his stomach clenching when she had called Prim's name in that same cheerful voice she was now using to tease Peeta…
And there she was now… Sitting next to Haymitch, so close she was practically leaning against his chest, her hand on his thigh in a possessive gesture… And he had his arm propped on the back of her chair and kept muttering private comments in her ear that made her chuckle or purse her lips or toss him a look that clearly meant he should stop…
It was obvious to him Haymitch was in love with her but was the reverse true? And did it even matter?
He knew the story like everybody else. She had escaped the Purge thanks to Haymitch Abernathy and Plutarch Heavensbee. Unlike everybody else, he also knew she had been captured by the Capitol during the war but that didn't erase her sins in his opinion. One suffering didn't negate another. What happened to her was poetic justice as far as he was concerned.
The way everyone acted around her puzzled him though. They were victors and she had been an escort and they should have been natural enemies… Even Jo wasn't as hostile as he would have expected her to be.
At some point, everyone started drifting off to their own devices and the backyard emptied. Finn absolutely wanted Jo to play his new video game with him. Gale took the opportunity to slip away after warning her he wanted to have a look around the District.
His treacherous feet took him to what used to be the Seam but nothing was left standing from before the war, even the faces weren't familiar. It was all so different from Two and its clean streets full of cars… Two wasn't the Capitol but it was still far more modern than Twelve, it seemed.
He ended up in the woods without really knowing why but he wasn't surprised, when he reached the lake, to find Katniss standing there, almost waiting, her old bow in hand and a quiver full of arrows tossed over her shoulder.
"You still hunt." he commented hesitantly. "I wondered."
It was a difficult hobby to keep up in Two. Less wilderness around. Less opportunities.
She didn't seem startled by his approach so he figured she had heard him coming.
"What do you want?" she asked with what he thought to be forced calm.
"Nothing." he shrugged. "To talk? It's been ten years…"
The way she spun around toward him, he was surprised she didn't nock an arrow.
"Ten years and my sister is still dead." she spat, glaring at him. Then, she took a deep breath, shouldered her bow and buried her hands in the pockets of her old leather jacket. "I will be nice to you for Jo's sake but we're not friends anymore, Gale. We're never going to be friends again. So you stay in your corner and I will stay in mine."
It hurt.
It still hurt.
"So, I can't be forgiven for something I didn't even really do but you're okay with being friends with a killer?" he sneered. "Is that it?"
She froze, looking completely puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
"Trinket." he said, not bothering to hide his disgust.
"Oh, don't go there." Katniss warned. And he was certain she had just clenched her fists in her jacket's pockets. "You're still hating Capitols? I thought that fancy job would have…"
"I've got no problems with regular Capitols." he cut her off. He had come to see the error of hating them all. Most of them had been clueless and harmless. "She was an escort."
"She was part of my team." Katniss hissed, raising an accusative finger and pointing it straight at his chest. "Listen to me and listen hard. You don't go anywhere near Effie. If you say anything to upset her…"
"You didn't answer my question." he interrupted, waving that away. He had no intention of going anywhere near that woman if he could help it. "How come you're still hating me for something I didn't do when she gets to be forgiven and…"
"She's different." Katniss retorted. "She's family."
"She reaped countless children." he snarled. "She's just as responsible as the others were. She should have been tried and executed with the rest. And the only reason she's not is because she was cozy with Haymitch. Can you say that's not true?" He shook his head. "What is she even doing here?"
"She's family." she repeated as if that made any sense at all. She glared at him and stormed back toward the path. "Stay the hell away from me, Gale."
He walked around for ten minutes before he started regretting his temper getting the better of him. He slowly went back to Haymitch's house, fully expecting to be thrown out.
Peeta, Jo, Annie, Beetee and Finn were in the living-room laughing at the video game, Gale followed the voices coming from the kitchen instead, intending to find Katniss and apologize.
"He said stuff." Katniss spat, clearly in answer to someone's question.
He could hear the sound of dishes being washed so he stayed out of sight.
"What kind of stuff?" Haymitch growled. "'Cause if he's trying to pull one on Jo…"
"Jo is very attached to him and we should give him the benefit of the doubt." Trinket chided him. "I doubt he came back ten years later just to cause trouble between Katniss and Peeta, Haymitch."
"I don't like the kid." Twelve's oldest victor stated point blank. "He's always been too trigger happy for me."
Katniss snorted. "You never liked Gale because you liked Peeta better."
Haymitch didn't even protest the accusation. "So? What did he say that upset you, sweetheart?"
Gale heard Katniss sigh and he knew she was debating actually disclosing anything. In the end, she must have shrugged it off because there was the clicking of a plate being placed down to dry and then… "Stuff about Effie. I don't think he knew she was staying here with us."
"What's that got to do with him?" Haymitch growled in a very, very dangerous way. "What did he say, Katniss?"
"It does not matter." Trinket cut in quietly, a little sadly. "He is entitled to his opinion, Haymitch."
"The fuck he is." Haymitch snarled. "If the little asshole thinks he can insult my own fucking wife under my own fucking roof…"
"Language." the escort snapped in an exasperated tone. "And may I remind you we are not actually married?"
"We're as good as." the victor grumbled.
"As good as is not a fact." Trinket retorted.
"The number of times you've had that argument, you might as well make it official." Katniss chimed in, sounding extremely amused. "Peeta can go get some bread from the bakery right now, you know."
Trinket stepped into Gale's line of sight and he retreated further into the corridor's shadow. The escort looked happy again, she waved the dishcloth in the air in a dismissive fashion.
"You know he will never propose, dear." she laughed. "Out of spite if nothing else."
"Maybe I'm waiting for you to propose." Haymitch taunted.
"How improper…" Trinket grinned, shaking her head at him with such fondness Gale's eyebrows shot up. Well, maybe she really did love the old man after all… "Anyway…" she continued a little more seriously. "Whatever Gale's opinion of me… Do not let that trouble you, Katniss. If you wish to rekindle your friendship…"
"I can never be friends with someone who calls you…." Katniss let that sentence trail off. "He's got no clue who you are or what you mean to us and that's just as well this way. He's not part of my life anymore and I like it like that. We're a team, I don't care what anyone else say."
Trinket's eyes were a little teary and she crossed the room in long strides. Gale risked a peek. The escort had engulfed Katniss in a suffocating looking hug that his former friend suffered more or less gracefully. Haymitch was standing to the side and he rolled his eyes when Trinket blindly reached a hand out for him but let himself be pulled into the group hug without much protest.
Gale retreated to the living-room, extremely confused.
He really didn't understand how he had been thrown out when an escort was allowed to be part of Katniss' family.
But then his eyes fell on Johanna and when she winked at him, he decided it didn't matter one bit. He had his own family now.