A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the amazing reviews. I wanted to answer two of them that I received that I felt I needed to reply to.
AlwaysEverthorne- I'm so glad that you liked this chapter and even more glad that you liked Gale's POV at the end. He does sound sad at the end. That's exactly what I was going for but didn't want to portray it that way. I wanted all of the readers to put that line in different ways in their mind. I feel like moments like that can be put into many different ways. He could be pleading or just simply asking her. But I wanted you all to imagine it however you wanted. Also, when I'm reading any kind of fanfiction, I love the sister moments that most people put in there. It really shows how much Katniss cares for Prim and I wanted to put that in there as well. Thanks again for the wonderful review!
Gale Lover- Hey! I always look forward to your reviews. You followed me all through my other story and you really helped me with it. So first I would like to thank you for that. Second, to your review. I agree that it was kind of creepy when he kissed her while she was sleeping but I always loved it in Catching Fire when Katniss did that same to Gale while he was sleeping. I think it shows his vulnerable side to Katniss when it comes to his love for her. As for how she will take it? Well I guess you will just have to keep following to find out. Thanks so much!
Thanks again to all of the other reviews that I have received since beginning this story. They make me type faster so if you want the next chapter faster, REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games!
It's been three weeks since the announcement and the house is full. And I don't mean with people. I mean with flowers and chocolate and ribbons and bows. Even the little peppermint candies that we get from the sweet shop in town. All from suitors who think that they will even have a shot with me. Most of the more extravagant stuff like the chocolate and the flowers are from men in the Capitol. Most of them just sent them with a name and a number to call back if I choose them. Other men even go as far as to travel all the way from the Capitol to ask for my hand.
Many have presented me with big diamond rings that are more than a luxury here in District Twelve.
There are only a few people here that even have one. They are usually merchants or people that have connections to the Capitol. I've noticed, out of the few times that I've actually run into her, that the baker's wife has one on her left hand, as does to mayor's wife.
There are even fewer people in the Seam that have marriage rings, one of them being the one and only Hazelle Hawthorne. I haven't seen her wear it often. Gale says she keeps it hidden in a box in the back of her closet and only wears it on the happier days that remind her of her late husband; their wedding day and her birthday. I asked Gale why she wore it on her birthday and what memory it was and Gale blushed.
"A few months after my dad died was her birthday," he said. "My mother put her ring on for the first time since he died and Vick asked why. I thought she was going to break down but she just smiled. She said to him 'Because this is a very important day. Not only is it mommy's birthday but this is also the day that your older brother, Gale, was conceived.' I was so mad when she told him that but mostly embarrassed. Of course Vick didn't know what that meant at the time. He was only around five or six." I just giggled.
I asked Hazelle about her ring one day also. She said that her husband would never tell her where he got it. Just that he got lucky when he found it. She said that it always drove her insane when he teased her about her not knowing where it came from.
And now staring at yet another Capitolite down on one knee on my front porch, I wonder if I will ever have some of the same memories that Hazelle Hawthorne had with her husband. Will I ever fall in love?
It's Sunday. Gale's off work. My first appointment is on Wednesday.
"I just don't know what to do, Gale," I complain. "I have never seen so many men on my door step. I never want to see any man on my door step."
"I've told you what you should do," he replies. "But you said no."
"Gale," I warn.
"What do you want me to do?" he asks. "I can act just like those Capitol men if you want me to."
"Please don't," I say. But he's already up from the grass.
He makes a fake knocking noise with is mouth and gestures his hand. He pretends that I open the door and he gasps.
"Oh, Miss Everdeen!" he exclaims in a fake Capitol accent. He falls to one knee. "You are even more beautiful than the cameras show." He yanks my hand from my side and places a kiss on my knuckles. "Please! Marry me!"
All the while I am laughing until my sides hurt. "I'm sorry, Shimmer," I say, referring to one of the Capitol men that showed up at my door.
"But I can not marry you," I continue.
He gasps again and brings the tips of his fingers to hover just in front of his mouth. "Is it because I didn't bring a ring?" he exclaims. "How selfish!"
He jumps from his place on the ground and starts to walk away before stopping and breaking into a fit of giggles along with me. We return to our places on the ground and are quiet for a few moments before he breaks the silence.
"I'm serious, Katniss," he says.
"Do you know the damage that it could put on our friendship?" I ask.
"There will be no damage, Katniss," he replies. "Our friendship will stay exactly the same."
"And how do I know you are not just trying to get in my pants?" I tease.
His face falls. "I will never, ever, force you to do something that you don't want to do. I- I mean on our wedding night, I'm not going to expect you to make love to me. Hell, I don't expect you to sleep in the same bed. But if you want to, we will. If you don't, we won't."
"I don't," I say.
"Okay," he replies.
"I just don't know, Gale."
"Would you rather marry a stranger? Or live the rest of your life sleeping with random men and women every night?" he asks. "I'm sorry, I know that's a low blow but, why not me? Marry me. There doesn't have to me anything to it. It can just be a convenience."
I scrunch my brows and turn to him again. "What do you mean by 'convenience'?" I ask.
"Well there are lots of things," he answers. "First of all it will get you out of the appointments. Second, you won't have to go behind my back anymore. Were you there when Thom married Delly?" I nod. "Well one of the "vows" was that everything that the single person owned is now the other's as well. Meaning your money is my money. So instead of you going behind my back to give my mother money, I can come with you on the days that you take money to her. This is absolutely killing me inside because I know I won't be able to take care of my family like I want to," he sighs.
"It's getting you out of the mines," I whisper.
"I know," he replies in his own whisper.
The Capitol law says that the family members of every victor, just like the victor, will never have to work another day in their life unless they choose to.
"Anyway," he shakes off the uneasiness.
"More food for your family," I continue. "No tesserae for any of the kids."
He smiles and glances up at me. "So. Will you marry me?"
I sigh then smile back at him. "Yes."
We went to the Justice Building with our families the next day. We made sure that no one in the Capitol knew until after we were already married. A few hours after, a message was sent to President Snow about our union and he replied quickly congratulating us and cancelling my appointment and any future appointments.
Although we didn't need it they still assigned us a house. Gale and I decided that that would be where we would stay while Prim and my mother stay at the Victor's Village. Prim and mother seemed more comfortable there anyway whereas Gale and I were comfortable in a home that reminded us of the ones we grew up in.
Gale and I didn't make love the first night or second night or any night really. We slept in the same bed every night and the first few nights we lied with our backs to one another. We could feel the awkwardness of the situation. Over six years of friendship did not prepare us for this.
After four nights of our backs to each other Gale finally turned over. I wasn't willing to do so yet.
It was another week later when I knew Gale was getting antsy.
"I know we're friends, Katniss," he whispers in my ear one night. His arms slide over me; one under my neck and the other around my waist. I turn on my back and find him hovering over me. "Best friends." He hasn't met my eyes yet. "But it's so hard, Katniss." He finally meets my eyes. "It's so hard to lie next to you every night." He kisses my forehead then sits up in the bed. He throws the covers from his body and covers me with them. He grabs the extra pillow and blanket that sits in the rocking chair by the window and turns to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" I ask.
"Couch," he replies and walks out.
I wake just as the sun breaks over the treeline outside my window and something feels wrong instantly.
The bed feels too big and I soon realize that Gale is not lying next to me like he has been for the passed week and a half. He usually wakes when I wake. Then last night comes back to me. I was upset that Gale felt that he had to move to the couch just to make me comfortable. But the honest truth was, I was comfortable. I had gotten too used to the feeling of heat at my backside for the passed few nights and now I missed it.
I got up slowly from the bed and change from my night clothes to my hunting clothes. I walk through the living room to the kitchen and smell something cooking on the stove. Gale sits at the table, his face somber, while clutching a cup of tea.
"What happened last night?" I ask. But he gets straight to the point.
"I love you," he states and my stomach sinks.
"You can't," I whisper.
"Why not?" he exclaims. "I'm your husband."
"You- you just can't, Gale. You agreed. You said it yourself that there didn't have to be anything. Why all of a sudden?"
"It's not all of a sudden," he yells. "Six years, Katniss. Six years of friendship and I've been in love with you for over half that. It's not sudden. You just never saw it. It killed me to say that there didn't have to be anything between us because all I wanted was everything." He takes a step forward takes my face in his hands.
"It killed me," he whispers. "To lie next next to you and not touch you and wrap you in my arms and whisper the most sweet words that you have ever heard in your ear. It killed me to not run my hands down your body and make you feel the most amazing things that a man has never made you feel before. So tell me, Katniss. Why can't I love you? Why won't you let me love you?"
His hands slide down my body and rest at my waist. The shivers in my body follow his hands down and a knot curls into my stomach. My hands find his shoulders and I take a small step closer to him.
"Because," I whisper. "If they find out that I care so deeply for you, they will kill you. They don't know that I knew you before the announcement. They think that you are just some random pretty face that I found on the streets of District Twelve. They think that I just married you to get out of the appointments."
"But, I thought that's what you did?" he asks.
When I agreed to marry him, I thought that that's what I was doing, too. Oh, how wrong I was.