Gale After 74th Reaping Kiss

Katniss cautiously approached the door of the room that now held her prisoner in the Justice Building. When it opened by itself, even as she was reaching for the knob, she shrank back in shock as Gale Hawthorne, her hunting partner, came through. The two friends pulled each other into a hug.

"Are you OK?" Gale croaked.

"I'm alright. I'm fine," Katniss tried to tell him.

"Listen to me. You're stronger than they are. You are," Gale encouraged her. "Get to a bow. And if they don't have one, then you make one. You know how to hunt!"

"Animals..." Katniss shook her head.

"It's no different, Katniss," Gale told her softly grimly.

Then, suddenly, he had taken Katniss in his arms and pressed his lips to hers. Katniss stiffened in surprise. Her first instinct was the push him away. But this was probably goodbye. And goodbye could take many forms. So she relaxed ever so slightly in Gale's embrace and let him kiss her. She even kissed him back, if only a little and even though she knew she was bad at kissing.

When they broke the kiss at last, gently, the Peacekeepers soon came in to take Gale away. "Don't let my family starve, Gale!" Katniss begged.

"I'll see you soon, OK?" Gale coached her, even as the door was slamming shut.