KATNISS'S POV

I wake up and see Gale standing over his clothing drawer, looking for something to wear. Gale, who's wearing nothing but socks and boxers. I bite my lip and blush, thinking of how close he was to me last night wearing nothing but that.

But - Gale and I are just friends, right? Nothing more… wait, right? He did kiss me… God, this is confusing. But he does look really hot right now, what with his tan skin and whooshy black hair. In fact, from here I can see arm muscles. Has he had those before? I lean over a bit to get a better view. Whoa, he has major stomach muscles, too. He turns around just as I'm staring and he smiles at me. I shake out of my trance and smile back.

I decide to sit up. It takes a bit of struggle, but my headache is gone from yesterday. I throw my feet over the bed onto the floor and I stand up. Next thing I know, I'm falling for the floor.

GALE'S POV

I'm looking for something nice to wear since I'll be around Katniss pretty much this whole day when I hear her start to wake up. I turn around and smile at her. Good, she's sitting up. She smiles back at me and stands up. Wow, she's actually stan - crap, falling!

I jump and grab her just before she hits the floor. I cradle her in my arms and look in her wet eyes.

"Katniss, are you okay?" I ask. She gives a small chuckle.

"I just feel like a huge idiot. But I'm fine… Thanks to you," she smiles shyly and gently kisses me on the cheek.

My cheek starts tingling crazily once she pulls away, so I lean in and kiss her. Katniss sitting on my lap, my arms around her waist, her hands in my hair… it's perfect. We pull apart and just sit, me rubbing her back while Katniss is curled up, periodically kissing my neck and jaw.

Eventually I stand up, with Katniss in my arms. "Can you walk?" I ask her.

She winces. "Not really… I could hardly stand up just earlier. My knee is way too sore." Katniss frowns. "But I can try again!" she exclaims.

I smile and slowly lower her to the floor. Katniss's arms are still around my neck, and my arms are around her waist, supporting her. She steps on her healthy leg and gently tries to take a step on her injured leg. She almost collapses, but I hold her up. Katniss tries to wipe a single tear from her eye without me seeing, even though I do see, but I don't say anything. Katniss is too proud like that, so she hates being vulnerable and weak like this. I scoop her back up in my arms.

"Well, Miss Katniss Everdeen, it looks like I will have to be your personal slave today," I joke, kissing her cheek. She smiles back and we go to eat breakfast.

TIME PASSES

"Moooom," Katniss complains. "You have made me try a hundred medicines today!"

I'm in Katniss's bedroom with Katniss laying on the bed, me sitting at her feet, and her mother and Prim and an arm-full of medicines. Empty stone pots half-filled with difference medicines are scattered about the room.

"I know, honey," replies Katniss's mom, "But just try a couple more. We want your knee to get better!"

"And it will get better with just rest!" Katniss protested.

"Just a couple!" exclaimed Prim. Katniss hesitated. She couldn't ignore Prim.

"Fine," Katniss sulked, crossing her arms. I smile at Katniss. She can't help but smile back.

Her mother pulls back the covers and rolls up Katniss's pant leg. The cut is now completely of dried blood. Her mom rubs a cream on the injury. Katniss winces. Eventually Prim and her mother leave the room. I scoot closer to Katniss.

"Do you want to go outside? Get out of this stuffy room?" I ask. Katniss throws the covers off and opens her arms for me to pick her up. I laugh and carry her outside.

"Where are we going?" she giggles.

"The meadow," I say as I walk down a beaten path. We emerge in a large clearing with a big pond in the center. To the left is a huge field with a rainbow-colored assortment of blooming flowers. To the right are a dozen rabbits hopping from bush to bush. It's a beautiful place where birds are chirping, the sun is glittering off the pond water, and butterflies flit from flower to flower. I set Katniss down in a patch of soft and springy grass. I sit next to her. We sit quietly, watching the meadow, until Katniss breaks the silence.

"So, um, what was, uh, yesterday about?" Katniss asks shyly, playing with the buttons of my shirt that she's still wearing. Oh. She must mean what was with the kiss. Well…

"Well…" I begin. How can I say this? I grab her hand.

"I've always loved you, I just never thought you liked me back. Yesterday I was just feeling more courageous, so I… went for it," I smile shyly.

"I always thought you were extremely handsome since when I first saw you," Katniss giggled and blushed. I smile and kiss her on the forehead.

Katniss blushes again but then she jumps on me, her hands on my shoulders and her lips on my lips. I'm taken by surprise so it takes me a while until I finally put my hands on the small of her back. With my arms not supporting me, we fall backwards into the meadow grasses, but everything seems like it's going in slow motion. Katniss is laying on top of me, her hair blocking everything else from my face, and her hands move from my shoulders to cupping my jaw. We spend what seems like forever just lying in the summer sun, kissing, and not paying attention to who was walking into the meadow…