Brand New Breeze
by FanficAllergy & RoseFyre

oOo

Chapter Five: Can't Help Falling In Love

oOo

Last Time in Brand New Breeze:

"I'm sober now," I mutter, staring down into my ginger tea.

"And?" Gale asks.

I look up to meet their eyes. "My mind hasn't changed. I still want you. Both of you."

"And we want you too."

I smile. "So… how's this gonna work?"

oOo

Peeta exchanges a glance with Gale. "I think we need to talk about that. But not here." He looks pointedly at the cave opening. "This is between us. I don't think we want anybody else involved."

"No, three's enough," Gale says dryly.

I nod my head emphatically. Then, because I can't help myself, I tease, "It's just too bad about Rory. But I suppose Prim can have him."

"Oh good," Gale murmurs.

Peeta adds tongue-in-cheek, "Yeah, that really makes us feel so much better. We were a little afraid you were hoping to collect your own harem."

"That was always one of my big, big, big goals. I've always wanted my own beefcake harem," I reply airily, imitating Effie Trinket's intonations. Then I slip back into a more serious tone and say, "But in all seriousness, I'm still kind of up in the air about the whole relationship thing."

"We know," they both chorus.

"I think we should probably get away for a couple of days, sort of work everything out. This isn't gonna be easy." He and Gale share a look. "For any of us. But if it's what you want, we're willing to give it a try," Peeta says. "We just don't need the peanut gallery offering commentary on what's really our decision."

I nod my head. I agree with them, it's a good idea. The last thing I want is other people listening in on our private conversation.

With that decided, we walk back into the cave. My mother is sitting crosslegged by the fire, her head propped up on one hand. It's clear from her drooping eyelids and vacant expression that she's struggling to stay awake long enough for one of us to take over. I feel a little smidgen of pity for her for what we're about to do.

"Oh good," my mother says, looking up at us with a yawn. "You're back."

The pity grows. "Not for long," I say guiltily.

She blinks, sitting up straighter. "What?"

I flinch at her tone. "All three of us, Gale, Peeta and me, we're gonna go out for a couple of days, exploring, hunting. You know, stuff."

"Mm hm." She does not sound pleased.

"We just thought we should let you know."

"Yes, you should." Her tone is flat.

"So we'll just get our stuff and packs and head out." I'm anxious to escape my mother's hard stare.

She regards me sternly for several long moments before tearing her gaze from mine to look at Gale and Peeta. "Boys, do you think you could go set the nets down at the river before you go? I need to have a conversation with my daughter." There isn't any room for argument in her tone.

And the boys don't give her one. "Absolutely, Violet, we'd be happy to," Peeta says quickly. Gale nods in agreement.

The boys grab the nets and all but run out of the cave. I struggle not to shift nervously while my mother sizes me up.

"So," my mother finally asks, "what's really going on?"

"I don't know?" It's the truth but somehow it comes out sounding more like a question than like the statement I intended it to be.

My mother tilts her head. "Really? So you're not dating Gale or Peeta?" She narrows her eyes. "Or should I say and?"

"Maybe? That's what we've got to work out." I'm struggling not to fidget. This is my mother. She's never cared about my life before and I'm not sure I want her to start with my love life.

"I see." I don't really think she does. "Have you thought about protection?" she asks next.

"Well, Gale's gonna have his bow and I'll have my bow-"

"That's not what I meant," my mother cuts me off.

I bite my lower lip. I'm confused. Maybe she means protection for here at the cave. "Rory's a good enough shot now, I'm sure he can guard-"

She cuts me off again. "That's not what I meant either."

"Then what did you mean?" I ask, exasperated.

My mother sighs. "I meant sex, Katniss."

"Mom!" I'm shocked she'd even bring it up. I know how babies are made, it's impossible not to growing up in a one bedroom house and being the eldest. But it's not something I feel comfortable talking about with anyone, especially my mother.

"What?" she asks, blinking at me. "Do you want to risk getting pregnant? You're sixteen. Do you really want a baby right now?"

"Well no! But I'm not having sex with Peeta and Gale!"

"Yet."

"Mom!"

"I'm being realistic, Katniss," she continues even though I'm sure she can tell I'm absolutely mortified. "I can't expect you to stay a child all your life. And it's not as though you have to worry about being Reaped. But a child needs to be something you want."

She's right. I don't want a child but someday, probably not anytime soon, if Gale and Peeta and I keep going the way we are, we will have sex eventually. I guess I can understand why my mother would bring this up now even if I don't want to talk about it. "So… what do you mean?"

"Well, when was the last time you had your period?" she asks bluntly.

I have to think. I've always been pretty regular but lately my period has been shifting, getting longer between cycles. "I should get it in a couple of days."

She lets out a sigh. "That's fine. If you want to have sex now, you shouldn't get pregnant."

"What?" I can't believe she just said that. It sounds like she thinks I'm going to just walk out of the cave and start making love to Peeta and Gale in the next five minutes. I'm not sure if I'm going to be ready for sex in the next five years!

She continues, ignoring my outburst. "Just don't have sex two weeks or so after you start your period. That's when you're fertile. It's not foolproof, but it's the best we can do out here to prevent you from getting pregnant."

I shake my head. I can't believe I'm discussing this with my mother. "I don't think you need to worry about it. We're not going to be having sex anytime soon. In fact, I'm not even sure that I'm going to be having a relationship with them."

She gives me a look. "Why not? You like them both and it's not like there's anything stopping you out here."

"Well, they may not want to." Even to my ears it sounds pathetic.

My mother just continues to stare at me.

I cross my arms defensively. "Okay, fine, they might be willing to consider it. But I'm not sure I want a relationship! With anyone. Not just them."

My mother shifts. "Why not?"

I look away. I'm not willing to admit the reason. How do you tell your mother that you don't want to turn into her?

My mother sighs. "It's because of me, isn't it?"

Apparently I don't need to tell her, she's already guessed. I nod reluctantly.

I feel my mother come up beside me and she places a hand on my shoulder. "Don't let fear of loss ruin your chances for happiness. If I knew what would happen to Solomon before we got married, I'd have still married him. The fifteen years we had together were the best years of my life. Even losing him the way I did, I still wouldn't give up loving him."

"I don't want to become you."

"Then don't."

I glare at her. "You say it like it's so easy."

"It's not," she says sadly. "But you can't hide yourself away for the rest of your life just because you're afraid of getting hurt. Because you're afraid of loving somebody and then losing them. That's not fair. It's not fair to yourself and it's not fair to the people who care about you."

"You're right, it's not fair. It wasn't fair what you did to me and Prim, going away like that!" I snarl. "I shouldn't have had to take over providing for the family when I was eleven."

"No, you shouldn't have, and I'm sorry." My mother sounds taken aback at my tone. "But I can't go back and change the past. Will you ever forgive me?"

"No."

"Of course not. I don't know why I even asked." She sighs. "Will you at least accept that I'm sorry?"

I turn to look at my mother. I can see the tears in her eyes. I've hurt her. But I still can't forgive her. If it hadn't been for Peeta, Prim would've died. I can forgive her, maybe, for what she did to me, but not for what she did to Prim. Though I do believe that she's sorry now. I still can't forgive her. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

I sigh. "I believe you."

Her shoulders slump in relief. "Thank you."

"Look, I should really get my stuff. You don't need to worry about me having sex with Peeta and Gale. It's not gonna happen anytime soon."

My mother smiles enigmatically. "If you say so, dear."

oOo

We set off an hour later, my mother's advice ringing in my ears.

When the boys return, she pulls all three of us aside and tells us, "There's no point in you focusing on hunting. We've got more than enough meat. Unless you see something you think we can't live without, I'd prefer you focus on other things."

With a knowing look in his eyes, Peeta nods. "We'll be back in a couple of days."

My mother gives each of us a hug. "Stay safe out there and don't do anything you'll regret."

I'm not really sure what exactly she means by that but I don't want to ask. I just want to figure things out with Peeta and Gale so that things can get back to normal. I debate saying goodbye to Prim, but I know if I do I'll have to explain why I'm leaving, and I'm not sure I'm ready to have that conversation with my baby sister. Instead, I ask my mother to kiss Prim goodbye for me.

"Yeah, tell Rory that I'm gone too and that he's in charge of keeping you guys safe," Gale adds.

"I will." She yawns. "Probably as soon as you leave. I'm exhausted."

We take our leave, heading off towards the northeast.

We follow the river as it meanders north through the valley until it moves away from the mountains to the east. Peeta calls a halt before we can get too much further, saying, "I think we're far enough away from home now. It's time to talk."

I want to protest. But he's got a point. We're not doing this to explore; we're out here to figure out just what kind of relationship we're going to have and how it's going to work. We set up camp under the trees near the river. It's nice enough out, we don't need to worry about a shelter, and a fire should keep away any animals at night.

Gale and I gather wood and some nearby greens while Peeta takes care of the fire. I admit I'm dreading this conversation so I dawdle over my tasks. But even moving slowly, we're able to set up quickly.

I take a deep breath. Time to get this over.

I turn to Peeta. "Alright, so we've stopped. Now what?"

"Now we talk."

I frown. "I'm not good at talking."

"We know, Catnip," Gale says. "Trust us, we know."

I glare at them. "We don't have to talk. We can just…" I grope for the words, "keep going," I finish lamely.

"To where? And to what?" he asks.

I shrug. "I don't know? I like you both. I want you both. Isn't that good enough?"

Gale shakes his head. "Not really."

I open my mouth to protest.

Peeta holds up a hand. "Not in the way you think."

My eyes narrow. "So what, then?"

The two boys exchange a glance and Gale motions for Peeta to talk.

So he does. "The best relationships are built on trust and you can't have trust unless you communicate with each other. My mother and father never talked and, well, you saw how good of a relationship they really had. I don't want that for us," he explains. "Even if it were just the two of us, we'd still have to talk about things, Katniss, but we could put it off a little, you know, ease you into it slowly. But if it's going to be all three of us, we all need to be on the same page."

"And I suppose you agree with him?" I ask, turning to Gale.

Gale nods. "Peet mentioned it was an option back when we had things out. We didn't really talk much other than you might pick both of us, but even that little bit made accepting your decision easier."

I blink. "You guys thought I might pick you both?" I hadn't really considered it an option as much as I wanted it. I just knew I couldn't choose between the two of them. I need them. Both of them.

"Well, there were basically four options, if you take Rory out of the picture," Peeta says, holding up four fingers and naming off each one. "You pick me, you pick Gale, you pick neither, you pick both. I figured it was best to prepare for all of the above."

"And you were hoping I'd pick you." It isn't a question.

He shrugs. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."

"And you?" I turn to Gale.

"Same. But we just both knew that we didn't want you to pick the neither option. After that, it made things easier."

I cross my arms. "I'm glad it made things easier for you!"

Peeta sighs. "That's why we need to talk about it, Katniss. We don't - we want to know - we need to know what you expect from a relationship. As much as it would make things easier, we can't read your mind."

"So… talk."

"You're part of this too," he says with a shake of his head. "I guess the first question is: do you want a relationship with the both of us?"

I tighten my arms across my chest. "I said I did."

"I know you did. We're just establishing that everybody's on the same page. We don't need any miscommunication, not when there's three of us," he explains gently.

It makes sense, but talking is hard for me. I'm used to making decisions and acting on them. It's what I've had to do in order to survive. I don't know how else to be. But it sounds like in order for this to work, then that is what I'm going to have to do.

I very deliberately uncross my arms, biting my lips as I do. I look at Peeta whose face is carefully blank and then at Gale who's doing his best to emulate the blonde boy. I nod my head. "I want a relationship with the both of you."

Peeta's mask cracks and he smiles. "Okay, good. I want a relationship with you too."

"Gale?" I ask.

He shrugs. "What Peet said."

"What about you?"

"What about us?"

"Do you want a relationship with each other?" I ask. "You seem awfully close."

Gale and Peeta exchange another glance then burst out laughing, shaking their heads emphatically. I stare at them and struggle not to just get up and leave. It's a legitimate question. They didn't have to laugh at me.

Peeta's the first to recover. "No offense Gale, you're a friend, but I don't think of you in quite the same way I think of Katniss."

"None taken," Gale answers. "I don't want to touch your penis either."

"So we have our first boundary. Gale and I want to be with you and we like each other as friends, but not as boyfriends." Peeta regards me seriously. "But, if Gale and I decide at some point in the future that we do want to be boyfriends, would you be okay with it, Katniss?"

I pause. I have to think about it. I look at Gale, hoping to get an answer from him, but his face is again carefully blank. I'm going to get no help from him. I scowl.

So how do I really feel about this? I suppose it wouldn't be fair for me to have both of them and not allow them to have each other. Then I really would be having my own harem, and that's just not right.

I look back at Peeta. "I suppose, if you want to be Gale's boyfriend-"

"Man bride," Gale mutters under his breath.

I glare at Gale. "Boyfriend. If you want to be Gale's boyfriend, it would be okay. I just want to know about it first."

Peeta nods. "I think that's a reasonable request. That's one boundary set. What about sex?"

I blink. "What about it?"

"Do you want it?" His tone is carefully neutral.

I squirm a little. I didn't expect this to come up quite so soon. "I don't know. Maybe. Not right now."

"But in the future?"

"Maybe? It depends on my mood." I decide to turn the tables on him. "Do you want sex?"

"Yes," he answers quickly.

"Make that a hell yes," Gale adds. "But whenever you're ready. And sober."

"Agreed," Peeta nods. "That's another boundary. No drunk sex."

I want to argue but I can see that both of them have their minds made up. "Do I have to have sex with both of you at the same time?"

"Do you want to?" Peeta counters.

"Maybe? I liked having both of you there last night, but would that be okay with you?"

Peeta and Gale share a look. Peeta speaks. "We have to talk about it more. I'm okay with it…"

"But I'm on the fence," Gale finishes.

"And there you have it. We don't know. It's a moot point right now, but it's one we'll have to come back to." Peeta takes a deep breath. "I do have one request."

"What?" I ask warily.

He blushes a little. "I'd like to be your first, if you don't mind."

I'm confused. "My first what?"

The blush increases. "Whenever you're ready to have sex, I'd like to be your first partner."

I'm still confused.

"What Peet's trying to say is he'd like to take your virginity," Gale states matter-of-factly, rolling his eyes at the other man.

I'm a little surprised Gale's not objecting to Peeta's request. I would've thought he'd want to be my first and I voice my thoughts.

Gale shrugs. "I get why he wants this. I've gotten all of your other firsts. He can have this one."

Peeta blinks and says, "Thanks."

"I do have a request of my own. I want to sleep with you."

"I thought Peeta was going to be my first," I object.

"No, not sex," he clarifies, "although I want that too when you're ready, but actually sleeping with you."

"But Peeta and I sleep together." I'm still not getting what he's trying to say.

"I know. And it makes me feel left out. I'm not asking you to give sleeping with Peeta, Catnip, just can I sleep with you too?" I can hear the yearning in his voice.

"You mean like with both of us?"

Gale nods.

"I'm okay with it, if Peeta is," I say slowly, beginning to understand why Peeta was so insistent that we talk. This isn't something that we can just blunder around blindly and expect to work. We all have to be on the same page on even seemingly little things like sleeping arrangements.

All eyes turn to Peeta, who shrugs. "I'm not totally comfortable with it. But I get why you're asking, Gale. Can I make a suggestion?"

Gale nods. "Nobody's stopped you yet."

Peeta continues as if Gale hadn't spoken. "We try it out for a few nights and see how it goes. Katniss and I still have the last watch and you have the first with Rory, there could be conflicts if we don't get enough sleep."

"That's a good point," Gale concedes. "But I think we need to redo the watches anyway. Rory's a decent shot now and Prim's still down for the count."

I make a face at the mention of my sister's injury.

"I don't think we need to talk about that right now," Peeta objects. "Maybe once we get back and we're all together."

Gale's still not willing to let go of his initial request. "But I still want to sleep with you. Both of you."

"So forceful," Peeta murmurs softly.

"Knock it off, Mellark." There isn't any real heat to it. More like two brothers teasing each other.

Peeta just grins. "So that's settled. Gale's going to try sleeping with us and when you're ready to have sex, Katniss, it'll be with me first. Are you okay with that?"

I nod my head. "It may not be for a while. The sex, I mean," I warn.

"That's fine." He waves it off. "We're not going to worry about it."

"So… what else do we need to talk about?" I'm almost afraid to ask.

"How about jealousy?" Peeta suggests.

"I thought you guys worked that all out. You two haven't been so possessive and stupid lately."

Gale snorts. "Thanks, Catnip."

I'm confused. "What? It's true."

Peeta laughs. "Yeah, it is, but I'll admit, it's still hard seeing you making out with Gale."

I frown. "That's not my problem."

"No," Peeta says, shaking his head. "It's our problem." He motions to all three of us. "Jealousy is never a good thing in a relationship like what we're proposing. I watched it tear apart my parents' relationship and I don't want that to happen to us."

"I'm not jealous of you guys." I shrug. "If you guys want to spend time together, you can."

"So you'd be okay if Gale and I went on dates?"

"I just said that."

Gale runs his fingers through his hair. "I think what Peeta's trying to say is that we need to work out a system so that neither of us gets jealous of the other."

"So it's just like before. You want me to date both of you."

"Not exactly," Gale says with a shake of his head. "I think it's important that we spend time together, all three of us. If it's just you and Peeta or you and me, the other's gonna feel left out. I know I would." Peeta nods, agreeing with him. "We don't have to do everything together, just some things. Like I don't really want to be there the first time you and Peeta have sex, but I will if you want me to be."

"And I'd rather not be there the first time you and Gale have sex." Peeta blushes again. "That's private between the two of you."

"Okay…" I'm still really confused. "I don't see the problem."

"I think the problem is a relationship is more than just sex or kissing or cuddling. That stuff's important, but it's not everything," Peeta explains. "I think we should start slow. This whatever this is, it's a good start. But we should make sure that we spend time together, just the three of us, pretty regularly."

"Are you going to have trouble if I go hunting with just Gale?" I ask seriously. "Because, I'm going to be honest, you kind of suck at hunting. And good hunting partners are hard to find. I don't want to lose that."

Gale laughs. "Aww, thanks, Catnip. I don't want to lose you as a hunting partner either."

"I think I can handle that," Peeta says with a smile. "But I would like to have something that's just ours. Gale and I have the building things together and you two have hunting. I'd like something that's just you and me."

I think about it. "We could do gathering? Or maybe preserving. You like cooking, right?"

He nods. "That works for you and me. What about all three of us? We should have something that we do together."

"I'm not gathering," Gale states flatly. "And you don't want me in the kitchen. My mom tried to teach me how to cook and it was a disaster. I burned water. Rory's better in the kitchen than I am and he's the kid that thought glue was a tasty treat."

"I could use some help with tanning hides," Peeta offers. "It's heavy smelly work, but it'd go a lot faster if it weren't just me, and it's not that hard to learn."

I exchange a glance with Gale and shrug.

"That could work," Gale says. "One thing. Do I need to keep asking permission to kiss you, Katniss? Because I kind of want to kiss you. A lot. Can we just, you know, assume kisses and hugs and touches are okay unless otherwise stated?"

"That's a good point," Peeta says. "I give you permission, Katniss, to kiss me and hug me and touch me as much as you want." He gives Gale a pointed look. "You have to ask permission."

"Same," Gale says, chuckling slightly.

Both boys look at me expectantly. I squirm a little but ultimately nod. "You have my permission. Both of you."

"So," Peeta says, "just to make sure we're all on the same page, we're in a relationship. Gale and I are not boyfriends. We're not ready for sex yet, but it's in the future. All three of are going to try sleeping together. When Katniss is ready for sex, she'll let us know when she is sober and we will determine a good time and place where she and I will lose our virginity. We'll do things both as couples and as a trio. Kissing, hugging, and touching are okay between Katniss and either of us, but Gale and I have to ask permission from the other before anything romantic. Am I forgetting anything?"

"Yeah. When's lunch?" Gale asks.

"Whenever you kill something and bring it back," Peeta responds quickly.

I laugh. "We'll get right on that."

oOo

After lunch, the three of us decide to take the rest of the day off and spend the time getting to know each other. Gale has to forcibly remove my bow from my hands, saying, "You know if you have it, you're just going to go looking for game to kill."

"I am not! Give that back!" He's holding it over his head and I'd have to jump to even have a chance of reaching it, which I am not going to do because it'd make me look ridiculous.

Peeta shakes his head. "Gale's right. You do get a little hunting obsessed. I seem to remember you trying to take down a deer while on the road."

"Traitor."

"We don't need a lot of food right now, you heard your ma," Gale says. "Let's just enjoy ourselves."

"Fine." I sit down on the edge of the bank, crossing my arms across my chest. "I'm enjoying myself. Are you happy now?"

Peeta sits down next to me and plants a quick kiss on my cheek. "Ecstatic. You know what would make me even happier? If you stopped pouting."

"I am not pouting!"

Gale sits down on my other side and mirrors Peeta's kiss. "I love you Katniss, but you are."

"I don't need this!" I say, standing up and glaring down at them. "You two are just ganging up on me!"

"When it's for your own good?" Gale asks, looking up at me. "Yeah. Absolutely."

"Katniss, when was the last time you actually had fun?" Peeta asks intently. "I mean, before you left Twelve?"

I have to think about it. The last time was probably before my father died, or… no. That's not quite right. Prim's forced me to play games with her and it's made me happy. It's one of the reasons I love her so much. "I guess you've got a point."

Peeta pats the ground between them. "Sit down. Talk with us."

"Didn't we just talk?"

"Not about anything serious. Just talk. You know, get to know each other. Like you do with your friends."

"Fine. Have you asked Gale his favorite color yet?"

"What?" Gale asks.

I point at Peeta. "He asked mine."

"And what'd you say?"

"Green."

"And him?"

"Orange."

Gale makes a face. "Orange?"

"Like the sunset," Peeta supplies. "And you?"

"Blue. Like the color of the sky."

"There. Now we all know each others' favorite color."

"For whatever good that does us," Gale mutters under his breath.

"Well, it makes birthdays and New Year's presents easier," Peeta supplies.

"Where are you going to find blue out here?" I ask.

"Well, uh," he looks around helplessly before turning to Gale, "how do you feel about flowers?"

Gale laughs. "Not like orange is a whole lot easier. Do you like flowers, Peeta?"

"I find it funny, out of all of us, Katniss's favorite color is the easiest to find."

"Not in the winter," I say, thinking back to when my father died.

Peeta smiles up at me earnestly. "Then I guess we'll have to find something green for you for then."

I smile and finally sit back down. "That'd be nice."

They each take one of my hands and we lay back against the bank, staring up at the sky.

"So… how do we do this get to know you thing?" I ask. "Cause, I'll be honest, I'm not really good with talking. Or friends."

Peeta bumps his shoulder against mine. "You managed to befriend both of us, so clearly you're doing something right."

"But Gale was a good hunting partner and, well, you saved my life."

Gale props himself up on one arm and looks over at Peeta and me. "He saved your life? When?"

"Um… well, when my father died." I take a deep breath and tell Gale about almost starving a month after my father died and how Peeta gave me bread, taking a beating for it from his mother.

Gale whistles low. "I hate to say it, Peet, but your mom's a bitch."

"Tell me something I don't know." Peeta shrugs. "But she's my mom."

Gale turns and looks at me. "Is that why you wouldn't let me kill him?"

I nod. "I owed him my life. And more importantly, I owed him Prim's life. I just couldn't take his."

"I'm glad you didn't let me kill him. I wasn't too happy with you at the time, but…" Gale looks over me at Peeta. "I'm glad we brought him along."

"You could've asked me, you know," Peeta murmurs. "I would've come with you."

"How was I supposed to know that?" Gale shakes his head. "It's not like we had heart-to-hearts braiding each others' hair!"

I reach out to ruffle Peeta's curls. "It's nice hair."

Peeta leans over to kiss me. When he pulls back he takes my braid in his hand. "Not as nice as yours."

"Hold it, you two stay here," Gale says, getting up. "I'll be right back."

"Where do you think he's going?" Peeta asks me.

I shrug. "Maybe he has to pee?"

"I guess we should give him some privacy then," Peeta says with a laugh.

Peeta rolls back down beside me and I snuggle up against him. It's nice to be able to touch him however I want without feeling self-conscious or like I'm taking advantage of the situation.

Gale comes back a bit later, his arms full of flowers.

I blink up at him. He looks so pleased with himself. "What do you have there?"

"I have orange flowers for Peeta and I got white ones for you, I hope you don't mind."

"And what about those blue ones?" I ask, pointing out the collection of asters and morning glories in his hand.

He smiles enigmatically. "You'll see."

He sits down again and starts doing something fairly intricate with the flowers. He weaves what looks like wild carrot and daisies intermixed with daylilies and marigolds and the morning glories and asters until he has a wreath of some sort. "Mellark, put your head over here," he says.

"Okay?" Peeta says.

Gale puts the wreath on Peeta's head. He surveys his handiwork and nods, clearly happy with the result. He points to his lap. "Katniss, lay down."

"What? I'm already lying down."

"Lay down here." He points again. "With your head in my lap."

"Why?"

"Please?"

"Alright." I rest my head in his lap. Peeta sits next to Gale and pulls my legs into his, reaching up to start removing my boots and socks.

Gale undoes my braid and runs his fingers through my hair. It's soothing and I hum contentedly under my breath.

"You keep moaning like that, I'm going to kiss you," Gale warns.

I blink up at him and very deliberately moan.

Gale laughs. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He pulls me up to give me a kiss. "You did that on purpose," he accuses.

"Maybe," I admit.

"Now hold still." He starts redoing my hair, braiding it into a crown on top of my head, weaving the flowers into it.

Peeta is now running his fingers up and down my legs lightly. He stops at my feet and starts rubbing them.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Foot massage," he says. "Don't you watch those Capitol dramas? It's supposed to be really sensual. Romantic."

I twitch slightly at his touch. "It kind of tickles."

"You want me to stop?"

"No." And I don't. It feels good. Almost as good as what Gale's doing with my hair. I lie there, enjoying what the two of them are doing to me, until I start to feel guilty. "I'm not doing anything for you guys," I say eventually.

"You're here," Peeta responds. "But if you want to do something, you could sing."

"A little obsessed with her voice, huh, Peet?"

"I don't know why you aren't. You've heard her sing."

"Yes, but I love her for more than just her voice."

"Guys," I warn. The day is going so well, I don't want to go back to the constant sniping and competition they were having before my birthday.

"Sorry, Catnip. We aren't fighting, I promise. I was just teasing Peeta."

"It's okay, Gale," Peeta adds. "No hard feelings."

I try to think of something to lighten the mood. I'm not really good at this getting-to-know-people thing, but there is something I probably should know, if I'm going to be both Gale and Peeta's girlfriend. "When are your birthdays?"

"You know when mine is," Gale says.

"I don't," Peeta counters.

"July 18th."

"So about a month and a half away." Peeta seems to be filing the information away. "Gives us time to find a present for you. Anything you want?"

Gale shrugs. "I can't think of anything."

"Well if you do, let me know. So long as it's not the box set of Finnick Odair's Magical Movie Moments," he teases. "I think we'll have a little trouble getting that out here."

All three of us laugh, imagining watching the Victor from Four shirtless in every single movie he's ever been in.

"What about you?" Gale asks, nodding at Peeta.

"October 2nd."

"That was my father's birthday," Gale states.

"Sorry? Not like I had a whole lot of say in the matter."

Gale waves the apology off. "It's okay, just makes it easier to remember."

"So what you're really saying is that you really have no excuse for forgetting my birthday," Peeta says lightly. "And I want you to know that I want a signed and personalized photograph from Caesar Flickerman."

"Really?" I ask.

Peeta laughs. "No, of course not. But, in all seriousness, just something from the heart would be nice." He pauses, thinking for a moment. "We should probably do something for the rest of the group on their birthdays. When are they?"

"Well, you don't have to worry about Prim for a while. She's January 19th. But my mother's coming up, she's July 30th."

"And Rory?"

Gale has to think about it for a moment. "November 11th. I think. It could be the 10th, or maybe the 12th. But I think it's the 11th."

"Did you remember any of your siblings' birthdays?" Peeta teases.

"I remember Posy's. She was July 31st. Best belated birthday present ever."

Peeta looks stricken. "Sorry man."

Gale shakes his head. "Nah, it's okay. This year's gonna be hard, though."

We lapse into silence while Gale continues playing with my hair.

He finishes a bit later. I realize that he's crowned us with all three of our favorite colors - orange for Peeta, blue for Gale, and delicate white with dark green stems for me.

"You're not making one for yourself?" Peeta asks.

"I'm not the girl in this relationship."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask.

"It's just, my hair's not as pretty as either of yours."

"That doesn't mean that you get out of wearing flowers too," I say, picking up one of the unused daylilies and slipping it behind his ear. "There. Better."

Peeta chuckles. "So, do either of you feel like a swim?"

"And ruin all my hard work? Oh hell no!"

"I guess that means we have to just lay here and talk." Peeta looks at me as though I'm going to object to that.

But I don't, this is nice. Whatever we've been doing doesn't make me uncomfortable and I actually like it. I sigh dramatically. "That doesn't sound completely horrible."

We all laugh.

oOo

We try sleeping together that night.

It's a little weird. Gale has a hard time finding a good place for his hands and there's a lot of apologies as the boys accidentally touch each other.

Finally, Peeta just says, "Look, you have your permission to put your hands anywhere you want as long as it's above clothes." He pauses, replaying what he just said. "While we're sleeping," he clarifies a moment later.

Eventually we find a position that works, with me in the middle, my head on Gale's chest, with Peeta spooning me with his hand on Gale's arm and Gale's hand resting on Peeta's back. It works, but we're going to have to do some more experimenting before we'll be completely comfortable.

The following morning Gale and I head out to explore the mountains. Peeta stays behind at the camp, pointing out that there are several mulberry trees nearby. He knows we may end up hunting and that he'd just be in the way.

Gale clasps him on the shoulder in thanks then pulls his hand back. "Oh sorry. Didn't ask permission first."

Peeta shrugs. "Casual touching is fine. We can work out the nitty gritty later."

Gale and I head towards the mountains, keeping our eyes open for what we want for dinner and to get a better view of the area.

It takes a few hours, but we reach the summit and finally get a good look around. Gale points off to the southeast. "I think there's another mine fire that way. I see a couple columns of smoke."

I point towards the west. "Looks like there's another pre-Cataclysm something over there. I see a bunch of ruins."

"Looks like the river winds through this mountain valley." Gale motions with his hands. "We should follow it more sometime, see where it goes," he pauses, "but not right now."

I nod. "Hey, look over there," I say pointing to the southwest and another column of smoke. "I think that's our fire."

Gale looks over. "You're probably right."

Something bleats behind us.

We freeze. "Did you just hear what I thought I heard?" I whisper.

It bleats again, this time followed by another, lower bleat.

"Is that a goat?" Gale asks.

"Could be, we should probably check it out. Prim did ask, if we found another goat, to try to see if we could bring one back to her."

"Are we really going to do that?"

"I don't know about you, but I kind of would like to have some milk or cheese." Specifically cheese for cheese buns. "Worst comes to worst, we can always eat it."

"Fine, we can go check it out."

We unsling our bows and start tiptoeing toward the sound, careful to keep the wind in our faces. We get to the other side of the ridgeline and see several large brownish shapes.

"Are those… sheep?" I whisper to Gale.

"They kind of look like it. I saw some old filmstrip on Ten, I think the unsheared sheep looked like that. It was hard to tell, the film was pretty old."

I finger a worn spot in my pants. "We could use the wool."

Gale nods in agreement.

We take careful aim. The herd isn't that big and we don't want to kill all of the animals. We have no way of carrying them back. But two shouldn't be that big of a deal. I point to the animal that I'm going to shoot at and Gale nods, pointing to the animal that he's going to try to kill. I refuse to miss my chance at getting two sheep.

"On three," I whisper. "One. Two. Three."

The bowstrings twang and two sheep drop.

The rest of the herd mills around in confusion for a bit until we stand up and start moving towards our kills. A couple of white fluffy dogs that look a little like sheep jump up and start barking, herding the sheep away from the fallen animals. One dog comes up and nudges the dead sheep before whining and moving away. Gale and I watch in awe.

"Are those dogs?" Gale asks.

"Why aren't they attacking the sheep?"

"I have no idea, but we should probably get our kills and get the hell out of here."

I nod. "Agreed."

We field dress the sheep faster than we've ever done, not even bothering with the livers or the hearts. It's extra weight and we have to move. Those dogs could come back at any moment.

"Are those sheep?" Peeta asks when we finally reach him and the camp. He has a bag full of mulberries in one hand.

"Yes. We should probably get moving," I say. "There were dogs."

"Let's walk along in the river for a little while then," he suggests, pointing to the shallow water along the edge.

We pack up the camp and head out.

"You know, we should do this again sometime. Maybe without the wild dog action," Peeta says.

The three of us laugh and head home.

oOo

AN:
Written: 3/11/15
Revised: 3/28/15
Revised 2: 4/20/15

The title of this chapter comes from the Elvis Presley song of the same name. It's kind of iconic and it fits the action.

Hi Threesome! Took you a while to get here, and it's not really a true threesome per se. Neither Gale nor Peeta strike us as particularly bisexual especially not at this point in the story, however one could interpret the conversation from Mockingjay that ends in "Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without" as them acknowledging that she could pick both of them and that they might have to accept it if she did. Both were also willing to step aside for the other at that point and they had a mutual respect. Here, the mutual respect comes earlier because Peeta and Gale are working closely with each other and with only limited others to interact with. And it's not like there were a whole lot of other options for them in terms of girlfriend potential so if Katniss wanted them both they were willing to try to make it work. Situations really do matter.

It was very important that the three of them have a conversation and set boundaries. Especially after the last chapter. Relationships require communication and Katniss and Gale don't do talking which means it fell to Peeta to pick up the slack. It's even more important in relationships where more than two people are involved. Things aren't perfect and likely never will be, but Peeta is taking the reins and guiding the relationship. He's the communicator and the mediator. Katniss may be the center, for now, but Peeta is the facilitator. Gale's the protector and the creator of flower crowns.

Sheep are totally possible in the Appalachians. There are several Amish communities in Pennsylvania where they have sheep and cows and pigs. Also there's a few ranches that have bighorn and other mountain sheep that have been brought in for big game hunters. Yay crossbreeding!

So like pretty much anywhere in the world where you have sheep, you'll have sheepdogs. Now here comes an interesting fact, Anatolian Sheepdogs are bred to look like sheep and blend in with their flocks. Most sheep herding dogs have had centuries of specialization honing their herding and protective instincts and unlike most other dogs they won't interbreed if they have been trained to herd sheep. So in a life after people, Anatolian Sheepdogs will still be herding and protecting their flocks and breeding with the members of their pack. So it is very likely that flocks of sheep that have intact sheepdogs herding them when the Cataclysm hits, will continue to have sheepdogs herding them 300 years or more later. Thank you "Life After People" for that little tidbit.

Things We Randomized:
- What they hunted/gathered (including the sheep)
- How long Katniss and Violet's periods last, how often they come, and when they come (and if Prim has gotten hers yet, which she hasn't)
- Everyone's birthdays other than Katniss's (which is canon) and Prim's (which we went with the same date as FanficAllergy picked for Spectator). And yes, Rory's actually is November 11th, even though Gale doesn't remember.

Thanks again for reading!