A/N: OMG! These last reviews have been absolutely wonderful. It makes me feel so good when I find out that you enjoy my story, so keep up the reviews. Thanks so much!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Hunger Games!
For the last four months Gale has been sleeping in the guest bedroom. After our talk, the morning that he told me he loved me, we decided that it would be best to fix up the old bedroom that came with the house. When I agreed to Gale sleeping there, I didn't expect it to be for four months. Being completely honest, I miss him. Our friendship has gone back to the way it was before. But when the lights go out each night we can both feel the sexual tension between each other.
I'm not in love with him. At least I don't think I am. I think it's lust that is making me want Gale as bad as I do. I hope it's lust. I think.
I realized that night that there is something there though. I'm just not in love. There is a connection between Gale and me that can't be broken.
It was strange to think that Gale and I had already been married for almost five months. It didn't feel like it. I don't know what a marriage is supposed to feel like but this wasn't it. If this was how I felt with a man that I have known for a long time now, I don't want to know how the girls, that didn't marry in time, felt.
Only a handful of eighteen year old girls didn't marry in time. A couple days after Gale and I married, every citizen in District Twelve was called to the square. Head Peacekeeper Cray didn't look to happy to have to call out each of the young ladies to come to the stage. Seventeen girls got married on stage, that day, to men that most of them did not know. Each girl's name was called and then an eligible young man. Once the names were said, it was official. They signed the papers right there for the whole district to see.
The bouncing from the bed under me is what wakes me on May 8th.
"Wake up! Wake up!" I hear as I finally slip from my slumber.
"Katniss! Katniss! Get up! You're nineteen!"
I open my eyes to see Posy Hawthorne standing on the edge of my bed. When she sees my eyes open she begins to bounce again but this time the headboard bangs against the wall. There's a small moment of silence then a crash from the kitchen. Next thing Posy and I know, we hear big boot footsteps barreling down the hall.
"What's going on?" Gale exclaims worriedly. "Are y'all all right?"
I giggle and pull Posy down beside me on the bed and begin tickling her. Her giggles fill the room as I answer Gale.
"Yeah we're all right! Miss Posy here thought it would be so funny to jump on the bed."
Gale rolls his eyes but there is a slight smile playing on his lips. He sits down beside Posy and places his arm around both of us.
He looks at Posy sternly and says, "I told you to wake her, not jump on the bed."
"No," she says while drawing out the 'o'. "You said to do anything I had to do to wake her. I shook her a couple times and she wouldn't wake up. I hit her in the head with that pillow over there and she still wouldn't wake up-"
"You hit me in the head with a pillow?" I ask.
"Hehe! Yeah. But you still wouldn't wake up so I started jumping on the bed. You woke up then." She suddenly jumps from the bed and yells, "Happy birthday, Kat Kat," before running into the other room.
Gale and I laugh and then exchange a look. We stare into each other's eyes for what feels like forever before the silence is broken. "Breakfast is ready!" Posy yells from the other room.
Gale squeezes my shoulder, places a kiss on my forehead, then retracts his arm. "Get up, Catnip. Got a big day planned today."
Ever since my dad died, I have always disliked my birthday. I'm not gonna say I hate it because I don't. I mean who wouldn't be excited about turning a year older. I disliked it because my dad wasn't here to share it with me and my family. But when I walked into my kitchen that morning, something was different in the atmosphere of the room. My mother and Hazelle stood at the counter chopping vegetables. Prim and the kids sat at the table playing an old board game. Laughter floated from the kids as someone went all the way around the board in one roll of the dice.
Prim glanced up from the table. "Katniss!" she exclaimed and everyone's heads shot up.
Prim jumped from her chair almost knocking it backwards and jumped into my arms. "Happy birthday, Katniss!"
I smile down at her and reply, "Thanks, Little Duck."
A chorus of "Happy Birthday's" floated around the room after that.
I walked over to the counter and stood behind Hazelle. "Anything I can help you with?" I ask.
"Absolutely not," she replies sternly. "You are to sit down at that table and watch those children play or even join in if you want to but you are not doing anything today!"
I sigh and take a seat at the table. Not five minutes later, Hazelle set a plate of food in front of me and my mother set a glass of herbal tea. I smile up at them.
"Thanks. This is wonderful," I say. I begin shoveling food into my mouth and Hazelle and my mother join the kids at the other end of the table.
"Are you guys not going to eat?" I ask.
"We already ate," Rory says but doesn't look up from the board game.
Suddenly, I feel hands on my shoulders. A kiss is placed on the crown of my head before Gale's voice sounds in my ear. "We'll go hunting when you're done eating."
I turn to look at him and realize he is still in his pajamas.
"Not with you dressed like that!" I exclaim teasingly. "Go change!"
He frowns jokingly. "Fine," he says then stomps off to his bedroom.
I look up and meet two pairs of confused eyes.
"What?" I ask Hazelle and mom.
They share a glance but Hazelle nervously brushes it off. "It's nothing, honey. Maybe we just weren't paying attention but we thought that your and Gale's room was on the left."
My eyes widen. Gale and I hadn't told them the reason that we married. I glance worriedly at the kids and Hazelle quickly excuses them to play outside.
"Umm-" I stamper. "Uh, no. My room is on the left. Gale's is on the right." I stare down at my food.
"Why?" my mother asks. "Is everything all right?"
I open and close my mouth stupidly.
Gale walks into the room then. "Ready to go, Catnip."
"Yep," I reply quickly and bring my empty plate to the sink.
"Stop!" Hazelle exclaims to us before we step out the door. We turn to her slowly.
"Is everything OK, mom?" Gale asks.
"Sit. Both of you," she replies. I sigh and take a seat in front of her.
"What's going on?" she asks sternly.
"What do mean?" Gale asks.
"Katniss tells us that you aren't sleeping in the same bed," my mother says.
I stare at the table and I can feel Gale's eyes on me. I turn and meet his eyes. I shrug my shoulders and tell him with my eyes, Just tell them the truth. He nod and turns back to our mothers.
"Katniss doesn't love me," Gale says.
"I never said that!" I exclaim.
"Well you never said that you did," he retorts. "I love you. And I know you don't love me. But it's like I said before, why can I not love you? I just don't understand." He stands from the table and walks out the door.
It's silent for several minutes before I break the silence. "I guess I should go after him?"
"Yeah, you should," Hazelle answers.
I walk straight to the woods because when he is angry that's where he goes. I walk around for about an hour before I finally find him.
His back is to me when I say, "You're a target."
He shakes his head and turns to face me.
"You keep saying that but you never explain why," he says. "So, why? How am I a target?"
"You've been a target ever since you married me. And you'll be a target until I show the Capitol how I really feel. Or at least what they think are my true feelings."
"I still don't understand!" he exclaims.
"If they think that I am in love with you they will kill you and make it look like an accident-"
"But why?" he pleads.
"Because, if they know I love you then that obviously means that you are important to me, right?" He nods. "They want more money from the people that pay for the appointments with victors. So by getting rid of any victor's spouse it forces the victor to begin the appointments. But the only way they would kill a victor's spouse is if the Capitol sees that they are in love. They want to see the victors suffer."
"You know what?" Gale yells. "I don't give a damn what they do to me because I love you. And I'll be damn if I let them take away any of the little time that we have together!"
"That reminds me," I whisper. "The games are next month. It will be the first time that I mentor. I'll be gone for at least two months."
Gale grunts. "I'm sick of this! I'm sick of the idea of losing you!" He takes the two steps needed to reach me. And then?
He presses his lips to mine.
All of the withheld tension instantly releases and we press our bodies together. I can feel Gale's hands at the small of my back and mine were around his neck pulling him closer as he backs me into a tree.
Is this it? Is this the desire?
I'm laying on my back in the meadow. Gale is slightly hovering over me and his lips are making their way down my neck. I shut my eyes and just feel, and when I open my eyes again I see the sun slowly going down over Gale's shoulder.
"We need to go," I whisper in his ear. He sighs and places his head on my shoulder before sitting down at my side.
"We haven't even caught anything for dinner tonight," I state.
"Don't worry about it," he replies. "I got it covered."
"I don't want to know," I says and stand from my spot. Gale stands with me and we begins walking back but before we even make it out of the meadow, Gale stops me.
He grabs my arm and turns me to face him. "Katniss, I-"
"I love you," I interrupt.
His eyes widen and he stampers a little before saying, "A-are you sure?"
I laugh. "You've been waiting three years to hear that and know you're going to question it?"
He laughs with me. "You're right." He kisses my forehead then whispers, "I love you, too."
We head to the fence but right before we break the treeline it's me who stops us this time.
"You know that we can only be ourselves out here, right?" I ask.
He nods with a frown.
"Good. Now kiss me, because it's the last one you're going to get until tomorrow."
He laughs and does as he's told.
We arrive home not long after. I'm walking up the stairs when I instantly know something's up. It's too quiet.
"Gale Hawthorne! What are you up to?"
"Oh, what ever do you mean?" he asks falsely.
I roll my eyes and open the door. "Surprise!"
Although, I kind of new it was coming I was still shocked. I exchange a loving glance with Gale because I know that this was his idea and then walk into my home to greet my guest.
"Happy birthday, Katniss," Madge says as she approaches me.
"Thanks," I reply with a smile and we hug.
The same goes with Thom and Delly but it's a little strange with Delly because of her protruding belly.
"When are you due?" I ask.
"Three months," she replies with a smile.
Six months pregnant! Why am I just finding out about this?
But I don't voice this. I just congratulate them and move on to my last guest. Greasy Sae.
She does the same as the others and wishes me happy birthday.
Sae, Hazelle, and my mother sit at the table while the kids, Gale, and I sit on the couch and the floor. Greasy Sae brought a cake from the bakery so we enjoyed that and the amazing dinner that Hazelle and my mother cooked.
After everyone left Gale and I got ready for bed.
We slept in each other's arms that night.
A/N: Sorry, that last part was kind of choppy but I still think it turned out okay! What do you guys think about this chapter? Let me know in a review!