Sorry it's been a while! Hopefully this fun little chapter makes up for it!
Gale grinned playfully over his shoulder at his mother and the group of people she was talking to. Johanna, Katniss, Posy, Vick, Rory and Isaiah had all clustered around Hazelle after Johanna had asked to hear embarrassing childhood stories of Gale, to which the woman happily obliged. Gale had extracted himself from the conversation very early on as he was very much embarrassed, but he didn't mind the telling of the stories, he just didn't want to hear them. He enjoyed the peels of laughter from his loved ones from a distance.
Finnley was playing with Haymitch and Cricket. The boy had come to 12 with an intense fear of dogs and had overcome it fairly quickly with Cricket's help. The sweet boy was running around under the watchful eye of his equally as sweet mother Annie, who was chatting to Effie at the picnic table.
Gale was happy just watching the commotion. This was a family gathering. And he was loving every minute of it.
"I suppose I should wish my neighbor a happy birthday," came a voice from Gale's right. Peeta.
Gale smiled a bit. "Thanks,"
"Of course." Peeta replied with a friendly nod.
It was Gale's first birthday since moving back to 12 and his mother and Katniss had made quite the fuss about it. Annie and Finnley were already coming to visit, so that made it even more perfect.
There was a pause. "I hope you liked the cupcakes."
"I did, thanks." Gale responded. Peeta had very graciously made cupcakes for Gale's birthday- chocolate cake frosted dark green with intricately frosted little designs of trees, of the pond in the woods, and of Cricket. They were delicious, as was everything Peeta made, and quite the gesture as no one had asked him to. In fact, while there were no hard feelings between the two men anymore, if there ever truly were, it was still a little awkward to say the least. "How'd you know I like chocolate cake?"
"I have my ways," Peeta grinned. "And by that I mean I asked Johanna."
Gale chuckled. "Well, they're great."
"Thank you," Peeta replied.
It was quiet for another moment before Peeta spoke again. "You know Gale, we're not kids anymore. My wife is very close friends with you and Jo, and you're my neighbor and I- this weird… thing between us is, well I think it's counterintuitive and if you're willing, I would like to end it right now."
Gale looked at Peeta. So, he felt the awkward too.
It was kind of difficult to exist next to each other and hardly communicate and if anything, their avoidance of each other made things weirder. Peeta had figured out a way to communicate that into words.
"I'd like that," Gale responded.
Peeta smiled.
Johanna and Peeta were quite close, as he was with Katniss. Peeta had been there, willing and ready to help with anything since Gale and Jo had come to 12 and even before that. Gale had begun to think of the blonde baker as a semi-friend, but now was the time to make that official.
Gale held his hand out towards Peeta. "Friends?"
Peeta took Gale's hand in his own and shook it. "Friends,"
"Oh! Come here, come here before I forget!" said Hazelle in a rather loud voice, drawing all eyes to her. "Let's take a picture of all of us together."
"How're you gonna do that, Ma?" Rory asked.
"I can take it," Isaiah offered.
"Oh, pish posh. Isaiah, you're family now. You're going to be in the picture. This camera has a timer. It does have a timer, right Posy darling? I'll just… you all stand over in front of the tree and I'll put it on the table and get it lined up right… save a spot for me. Someone grab the puppy, she's family too! Thank you, Finnley. Put Gale in the middle, it's his birthday…"
Gale smiled as his mother ushered everyone into a good position for picture taking, chatting all the while. They were really getting jostled around by everyone moving all at once. Johanna had managed to squeeze in beside him.
"Cricket, sit. Effie, dear your shirt sleeve- perfect. Can we all act like we love each other?"
Everyone laughed a bit at that.
Gale snaked his arm around Johanna's waist, who smiled up at him.
"Happy Birthday," she said. She had said it many times.
He kissed her in response. Vick made a gagging sound.
"Alright, alright, positions. Smile!" Hazelle said before pressing a button and dashing over to the group. She slid right in between Posy and Rory. "It'll take three. Keep smiling!"
And so they did. For two anyway.
And then Finnley sneezed breaking the serious silence of posed smiling and everyone dissolved into giggles for the final picture.
"I want a copy of that one," Gale managed to say after everyone recovered from laughing.
After the picture taking, the light hearted festivities of the party continued, culminating in a small campfire for s'mores at the end of the night. Finnley and Annie turned in first, followed by Haymitch and Effie, then Posy, Vick and Hazelle and then Isaiah and Rory. Katniss dumped water over the fire to put it out and then Katniss and Peeta and Johanna and Gale went their separate ways to their own house, but only after Katniss gave Gale a hug.
"I hope you had a good birthday," Katniss said. Peeta waved cheerfully from behind his wife and then the Mellarks disappeared into their house.
And with the crazy mismatched family they all made together, it certainly was a very happy birthday indeed.