Haha it's funny, because I have a crush on this guy. And my friend figured it out, and she insists that we need to nickname him something so that when someone asks her who I like she won't have to be a horrible liar and stutter out 'no one'. Now he's nicknamed Gale.

A part of me feels wrong. But I'd totally love to have a crush on someone named Gale. Or not. It's absolute torture, seeing how beautiful they both are.

I stay frozen in my corner, overwhelmed. Gale is going to stay to fight for me. Peeta's going to fight just as hard for me. I shake a little as I recall Haymitch's words. You could live a hundred lifetimes and still not deserve him, you know. He never could've guessed how much this applied for both Peeta and Gale.

It takes me a minute to remember that Peeta is gone, and Gale is no longer talking to anyone anymore. I drop my train of thought and dash back into the room, closing the door as quickly and quietly as possible. I dive under the covers and turn my back to the door. Sure enough, I feel his weight on the edge of my bed less than a minute later. After a moment's hesitation, he pulls both his legs up over the edge of the bed, and turns to lie next to me. His arm slips around my waist and I am completely overcome with the sense of warmth and security. How can someone be so strong and so gentle at the same time? There's something so comforting about lying there with him, pretending to be asleep, locked in the safety of his arms.

But something about it is terrifying at the same time. Something about this doesn't seem quite so normal. Yes, I do feel safe. Just like I do when I'm with him in the woods. But I feel vulnerable. We've stepped into completely different territory now. This is no longer just Gale and Katniss, hunting partners, best friends, fake cousins…it's starting to become Gale and Katniss as more than that…

I desperately hope he can't feel my heart flutter in a completely un-Katniss manner. What is going on? This whole thing, Gale lying next to me with his arm around my waist, breathing in time with me, listening to me sleep… It's so much more intimate than anything we've ever had. He had kissed me once, but I had been confused, and surprised, and I would hardly call it 'intimate' since I didn't know a thing about what I was feeling. Then again, I still don't. My heart is racing and I can't grasp why…

"Katniss?" he whispers. "You awake?"

His breath tingles on my cheek. I want to turn around and answer him, talk to him, ask him more about what I didn't know when I was in solitary confinement. But a part of me that I don't understand holds me back, makes me pretend I'm still asleep. I snuggle deeper into his arms.

He lets out a soft chuckle. I can picture him smiling and shaking his head. "Catnip, when I was in Two…" he pauses, as if thinking of what to say to my supposed-to-be-sleeping self. "Okay. Remember when we were there for your 'Mockingjay duties'? Every day for the last few months, I couldn't look anywhere without thinking of how I sent an avalanche over the nut. And how…how willing I was to seal the entrance and kill everyone in it." He draws in a long, slow, breath, and I find myself doing the same. "I can never forget how you didn't seem to like that idea. You wanted to keep them alive. You were so selfless…you still are, Catnip. And later, in the square, you could have shot that man, but you didn't. He had his gun pointed right at you. Every camera was watching you, waiting for you to kill him. But you didn't. You stayed right there and talked to him. You tried to negotiate. You didn't want to kill him." He takes another shaky breath. "That's when I…that's when me and everyone else around knew, really knew, that you weren't being the Mockingjay just for publicity. You were the Mockingjay because you cared. You genuinely wanted the best for the people of Panem. You put their lives ahead of your own, and you kept doing that, even when we went to the Capitol later on. These people, you fought so hard for them, Katniss…" His arms tighten around me. "I almost lost you because of it. You could have died. And every time I thought I was about to lose you…" he shakes his head, obviously trying his best to keep his voice even. "I could never lose you. Never. There wasn't a day that went by in District Two where I didn't think about you and regret everything I did wrong. I'm so sorry, Catnip. I…" His voice wavers and he lets himself trail off for a moment. "You inspire me. You make me want to fix everything that I took part in destroying." He stops again. Eloquence isn't really his thing. It's not mine, either. "Not a lot of people can do that. You…it's like you…it's like you struck a match and put this fire in my chest and…" He groans in frustration at his inability to convey his feelings. I can almost hear him wishing for Peeta's gift of speech. He remains silent for a while, but I can tell he's not done.

"It's you, Katniss. It's always been you. And from here on now it will only ever be you." He whispers.

I turn over to put my face in his chest, disrupting the silence to distract him from my uneven breathing. Best friends out the window, I think. He still loves me. Of course he does. What did I think when he challenged Peeta? That he was fighting for our friendship? No! He knows that he wouldn't have to fight for that. He's still in love with me. Why is he still in love with me?

I groan inwardly. He deserves better. Part of me wishes that he did find some girl in District Two, that he never acted on a letter with just one word on it, that I was still drunk and smelly and rotting away in a stale room piled with mess.

Involuntarily, my mind flickers to Peeta. I think of the times after the Games when he lay next to me and held me to save me from my nightmares. We both needed saving from the memories that won't fade. Peeta said he would fight for me. Peeta still loves me. Poor Peeta, I keep putting him through this. Why won't Haymitch just tell him to go find a better girl that actually deserves him?

Because the reason he's so wonderful is because he cares so much about people that are beneath him.

I can't keep my mind on Peeta for long, though. I'm wrapped in Gale's arms, and he's planning on staying for a while. That in itself it pretty distracting.

I slowly open my eyes to the late morning light. It's still not too late in the day. On impulse, I nudge Gale's eyes open, longing and nostalgia growing with every passing second. "Gale," I say, watching him open his eyes.

"Hey, Catnip," he smiles. "What's going on?"

"Gale," I smile, giving him one last nudge. "Let's go hunting."

Oh shoot. Was that too sappy? I hope you like…