A/N - Hello all! I am S-O sorry I was unable to get this chapter up like I said! But it's here! Chapter 9 is ready! This chapter is just sort of a fun one, a bit of fluff! LOTS of Gale and Katniss in this one, I wrote this chapter especially for you, Josh.Y95, you wanted some 'romance' you got it! ;) I was really unsure about writing those scenes, now knowing if everyone cares for them? I know some people don't like reading that sort of stuff which is completely understandable! The poll will be up only a little while longer, get your votes in if you haven't!
Firework7- Thank you for your comment! Catapapalilar x3- Thank's! And I'm glad you understand it now. Again, feel free to PM me if you want to talk about it more!:)
Well, I hope you guys like Chapter 9. Like I said, it's really nothing but 'Fluff & Fun' to be honest! I thought a light hearted chapter was needed at this point in the story. LOTS of drama coming in the next chapters. Now, Chapter 10 WILL NOT be up until Saturday. I 'm sorry for the few days in between but I'm just going to be super busy. It WILL be up Saturday though, check the FB page for any changes or updates. Sorry again! But enjoy this chapter. THANK YOU for all the support I have been getting. Oh! I barely had time to check grammar/spelling with this chapter so PLEASE forgive any mistakes. Much, much love - Macayla (No Chapter 10 preview)
*** High dose of sensuality in this chapter. Feel free to skip if wanted. ***
Just as I thought the scene couldn't get more chaotic, Buttercup darts out of Prim's bedroom, chasing after the lizards and making Posy fall to the ground in a loud thump. Posy doesn't let the fall stop her though, she springs back up, running after the lizards and the cat.
One of the conditions was that Buttercup had to stay outside or in Prim's room if I was home, but he sneaked his way out obviously.
"Buttercup no!" Shouts Prim while still standing on the chair.
I start laughing even harder and so does Gale. But then I quickly realize what Buttercup will do if and when he gets them. I run into the living room where Posy ran into. Buttercup must have lost them though, their both standing in the middle of the room.
"Kat Kat we have to find them!" She shouts with a panicked voice.
"We'll find them Pos." I say back soothingly while pulling her blond hair out from her face. She swats my hand away.
"No, now!" She shouts.
The six of us spend the next ten minutes tarring the house apart looking for those three damn lizards. But after the ten minutes, we fall onto the couch tired. Posy's sitting in the arm chair when she starts crying and Gale runs up, kneeling on the ground.
"Shh, it's ok Princess. I'm sure their pop up somewhere. Ok?" He asks.
"Yeah, in Buttercups stomach!" Rory says in a hushed voice while laughing. But he wasn't quiet and Posy starts crying harder.
I thought tonight was supposed to be fun, I think to myself.
"Rory! That's enough!" Shouts Gale.
Posy starts mumbling words through her sobs but I can't make out any more words then 'but', 'if' and 'dead'.
"Pos, I'll check upstairs. We haven't checked there." Vick says.
He looks to me as though asking permission to go into Gale and I's bedroom and I nod my head yes in reply. Him, Rory and Prim take off up the creaky stairs. Posy's cries doesn't cease though and Gale keeps speaking soothing words to her. Finally I can't to the scene any longer. I quickly walk across the room, stepping past Gale and sweeping Posy into my arms, taking a seat on the chair and placing her in my lap. Gale places his hands on my knees as I try my attempt now with her-
"Posy, it's ok. It will be alright." I say while taking both my hands and pulling her long, blonde hair down her back.
"But…but…but.." She says in between sobs. "what… what if their dead?" She says.
"And if they are, it will all be alright." I move my hand under her chin, forcing her to look at me. "All good things come to an end." I say soothingly, Remembering the first time my father had taken me hunting and I was crying about the animals he was killing.
"Sometimes?" She asks, holding out hope.
"No. All good things must have an end, Posy. Happy moments, fun times and even animals." I say calmly. "But there's still hope Posy."
She stops crying but her face is covered in snot and is beet red. Gale see's this and runs to the kitchen, bringing me back a damp rag. After I clean her face she runs up the stairs, joining her brothers and Prim in the search. Gale shakes his head once she's out of sight and I manage a small laugh. I've never seen Posy get so emotional over animals. I'll never forget the time I stayed at Gale's house after hunting last year and watched as a three year old Posy was helping Gale skin a rabbit, laughing when Gale chopped the head off. But she's different now. She'll be five in a few weeks and starts school very soon.
Gale sits in my lap, taking the place of Posy. I huff when he releases his body weight on me. Gale is much bigger then my tiny, skinny stature.
"What can mama do for you?" I ask teasingly. It only makes him laugh.
"Give your baby a little sugar." He says while batting his eyelashes, making me laugh.
"I'm out of stock right now, but come back later." I say with a wink. Words I never thought would come from my own mouth.
We both laugh it off and embrace the quiet moment together. After several minutes I find myself dozing off when Rory, Vick, Prim and Posy join us in the living room. They had no luck, which results in a sadden Posy. They insist on playing a board game they brought over. I recognize it immediately… chess. Gale tried teaching me once but it only resulted in me yelling at him and calling him a 'nimrod'. The Hawthorn brothers are a pro at it. We light candles throughout the now darkened house and Vick starts to set the game up on the living room floor, so I decide to spend some time with Posy while making tea for everyone. I take her by the hand and into the kitchen, setting her on the counter as I retrieve some berries, herbs and a small pot.
"So what have you been up to lately, Princess?" I ask, picking up on the nickname Gale calls her. She rubs her eyes sleepily.
"Noth'n." She replies, in a hushed voice. I light the small fire in the burner.
"Nothing?" I ask.
"Nothing is something." She says through a yawn. Obviously picking up that answer from somewhere.
I try to rack my brain of cheery things to talk to Posy about, changing her sad mood. But her next words throw me slightly off guard-
"Does Gale Gale's still love me?" She asks in her most innocent voice.
I stop immediately from doing my task of mashing the berries and meet her teary eyes.
"Posy, of course he does. Why wouldn't you think so?" I ask.
"Because he never plays with me anymore." She replies in her high pitched toddler voice, rubbing her eyes again.
"He's just been really busy. But I know he loves you." I reply, telling her the honest truth. There's nothing Gale loves more then his family.
She takes this answer for now and removes her hands from her face, showing me a hint of a smile.
"So how's your kingdom going?" I ask, remembering the conversation she had with Gale and I last week and continuing my task of making the flavored tea.
She goes on for the next five minutes of her 'kingdom'. It's amazing the imagination of a four year old. I try to remember if I ever had a creative imagination, but I can't remember. Prim did, I remember hers. There's still days that she does, but I keep forgetting she's a teenager now, not a child.
Just as I'm pouring the tea from the open top pot into the mugs, I'm violently thrown to the ground, landing flat on my back and spilling all the hot tea all over me… and Rory. A pain shoots through my lower back and abdomen, including the pain from the hot tea.. I tilt my head to the side and see Rory laying next to me, laughing his head off.
"And what was that for?" I ask angrily, with a hint of teasing.
"I'm practicing for the wrestling team!" He says, pausing his laughter only to resume it.
"He's going to join the team Monday." Gale says from behind me, helping me up.
He pulls me up from under my arms and I grunt as another wave of pain courses through the same spots, mostly in my back this time.
"Way to go Rory." Says Prim as she enters the kitchen.
"I'm sorry." Rory says while standing up.
Gale and Prim help me stand completely. The pain subsides but I'm extremely sore now.
"Thanks." I say, looking at Gale and Prim.
I make my way up the stairs to change my clothes. My shirt got most of the tea so I should only have to change that.
Rory on the wrestling team? I could actually see it. Him and Gale are always wrestling, especially with each other. I wonder why Gale never joined the team? I shrug the question off as I walk across the bedroom to where my dresser sits. I pull out a blue tank top, setting it on the top of the dresser. Just as I place my hands at the hem of my shirt, I feel a pair of hands on my hips.
Gale.
I take deep breath. Now is not the time to be doing anything with our siblings roaming around downstairs, give it a minute tops and their be wondering where we went. He kisses the side of my neck, and begins to make trails down it until he reaches my shirt. He doesn't say anything and nether do I. He'll be 'in the mood' when we get walked in on.
"Gale?" I say.
He takes his hands that are on my hips and swings me around until I'm facing him. Lust. That's what is written in his eyes, and the way his hands are squeezing my hips.
"Vick and Posy are reading outside and Rory is teaching Prim chess." He says breathless.
He doesn't give me time to answer before his lips crash back onto mine. He quickly deepens it as his hands find the hem of my shirt, moving my hands aside. He kisses me for a few more seconds, making soft moans escape the both of us, his hands start to move, removing the shirt from me. We pull apart so Gale can get it over my head. For some reason, the thought that we could get caught only drives myself crazier, and judging by the way he is acting and the lust in his eyes, it's doing the same to him. As soon as my top is fully off and on the ground his lips meet mine yet again, but only briefly. He kisses my jaw, he skips my neck but goes straight to my chest. I have a bra on so he skips my breasts, too and starts kissing my stomach. Most of the tea landed around this area on my shirt and seeped through to my skin.
He stops kissing, squats down and begins to lick the tea off of my skin. I shutter for a second, we've never done something like this to each other, licking food/liquid off of each other. He goes slow, as though he's making sure I like it. I'm pretty sure the moan that he gets out of me confirms it to the both of us. Never in a million years did I think I'd be doing something like this, but I wouldn't go back. I realized that being intimate isn't something you do with just anyone, you do it with someone you love, you're in love with.
While he's licking the tea from my stomach and navel area, he reaches his hands behind me, grabbing my butt with both hands. We both moan in unison.
"Now your clean." He says through a grin.
He stands back up, dragging his hands up to the small of my back. The lust and desire is even more evident now, and I'm sure mine is to him too. He looks into my eyes, then moves his eyes down to my breast. I still have my bra on but it's slightly to small for me, pressing my boobs against my chest and showing a large amount of cleavage. He's seen them multiple times this past month so I grin at his deadpan face. He crashes his lips back into mine, he picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He walks over to the bed while we kiss each other frantically. As Gale is laying me on the bed, it's the first time we've done this without saying much to each other, only our moans to answer our unvoiced questions.
He spreads my legs slightly, sitting on his knees in between them. He looks up at me and I smile, hoping now that he'll just do it to me already. The chills are all present and I know I must be wet. He returns my smile and then begins working my jeans off of me, throwing them on the floor. My underwear join them. He doesn't waste any time (which I'm not complaining) and shimmies both of his bottoms off, joining mine on the floor. He still doesn't waste anymore time and takes my legs, placing them on his shoulders, he lines himself up with me and pushes in, making us both moan loudly. He leans down and kisses me before he starts to find a rhythm. The position is new, something we've only tried twice before, but we both like it. It doesn't help my soreness though, but the pleasure wins out in the end. Our moans are filling the room, mine muffled by Gale's hand over my mouth. After a good minute or two we come in unison. Thank God Gale's hand was over my mouth, I think to myself. He collapses on top of me, the both of us breathless and sweaty. He removes his hand from my mouth and kisses me tenderly. When we pull apart we look at each other and start laughing. We get up from the bed and we both pull on completely new clothes. Making ourselves somewhat presentable.
"Thanks for that." He says to me as were both buttoning our pants.
"Why do you always say thanks?" I ask causally. It's the truth, there's never been a time after our love making that he hasn't told me that.
"Because, I want you to know how much I appreciate you." He replies smiling. I walk over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I'm lucky you know?" I comment. Knowing that we both have our share of problems, but our love is not one of them.
"Were both lucky." He says.
We exchange a quick kiss and head downstairs. Our home looks abandoned but we know its not. We both walk over to the small doorway into the living room to see Rory and Prim by themselves playing chess. I lean on the door frame and Gale wraps one of his arms around me.
"I'm seeing sparks!" He says in my ear. I start laughing, trying to be quiet.
"Their just friends like you and I were." I reply, smiling at the sight of my giggling sister.
"Were." Gale repeats.
I laugh it off and do does Gale. I smile again at the sight of Prim. After fathers death she would never smile, only for me. She had a hard time making friends and be sociable to other kids after his passing. I spent all the time I could with her, playing with her, cheering her up. After a bit she started to become like the girl she is today. Now I watch as she turns from a girl into a woman. She's stronger and braver then any thirteen year old girl should be, but I respect her for her knowledge. For her willingness to help mother when she's chopping off someone's leg and the floor is flooded with blood.
Prim looks up and spots Gale and I in the doorway. Rory turns around, matching the grin forming on Prim's face.
"If you two are always going to be that loud, I'm moving out!" She says through a grin. Rory starts laughing.
I know I must be turning red because even Prim starts laughing now… and so does Gale. He never lets this stuff bother him, he never gets embarrassed. I on the other hand am not that way. Prim must see this because she gets up, walking towards me.
"I'm just messing with you Kat." She says, still grinning though.
I scowl at her and make my way into the kitchen. The tea from the floor is all mopped up but sadly we don't have anymore ingredients to make more. I sigh and call Vick and Posy in from the porch, the chilly September air won't do them any good.
We grab the deck of cards that Vick brought and sit down in the living room, Gale starting a fire in the fireplace. We start our game once Gale is done and that's when the real fun starts. After playing four rounds of 'Go Fish' Prim wins every single round. Rory stands up-
"She's cheating!" He yells, more in a teasing way then actually being serious.
"I am not!" She yells back laughing.
"Oh, oh really? Then why you laughing?" He asks. He looks to be on the edge of laughing himself.
Prim stutters which make the rest of us laugh.
"You're crazy Hawthorn!" She replies, standing and crossing her arms.
He opens his mouth to speak but instead he tackles her to the ground-
"Rory!" She shouts… laughing.
Were all a choir of laughing idiots as we watch Prim and Rory wrestle. Prim is acutely fighting back. Gale, who is sitting next to me on the floor, nudges my shoulder and brings his lips to my ear-
"Sparks!" He says again, I roll my eyes at him. The thought of Prim with a boy only makes me shutter.
Posy screams in pure delight and throws herself on top of Prim and Rory. And for the first time, I see Vick open up a bit, throwing himself in the mix too. Gale leans back in to me, but there's no need to whisper, the laughs of the wrestling group before us overshadows his voice-
"Five years later and you finally get to see the real Vick." He says through a grin. I return it and Gale wraps an arm around my shoulders.
Vick's always been the preserved one. You can always count on him reading a book or studying for a test (that I'm sure he already knows) then engaging in any activities.
I lean my head on Gale's shoulder as I take in the scene before me. I can't help but to think is this how Gale and I would look if it was our children doing that instead of our siblings? Would we be a cute little family? I quickly, and very, very quickly thrust just thought of it out of my mind. I'm never having children, I don't want them. I'd be a horrible mother, just like my own.
The wrestling carries on surprisingly for a few minutes before Gale and I pipe up, telling them someone is going to get hurt. That's the one thing I don't like about wrestling, it reminds me of the violence that takes place every year in the cruel Hunger Games.
After we tare them apart, we take to roasting some chest nuts in the fire. They grow in large amounts in the woods so were always stocked with them. As were roasting them we find ourselves laughing all over again, telling funny jokes and even stories about ourselves. Like the time I brought Prim with me to the woods and she thought she stepped on a snake and fell into the lake we were by. Gale recounts the time Rory pulled down his pants in the middle of school assembly last year… in front of a bunch of girls. I recall the time Posy got herself stuck on the roof of their house a few months ago (how that happened, I don't know!).
I laugh as we continue to tell our funny stories. I never thought I'd be able to laugh, to be happy after my fathers death. I guess I thought I would raise Prim since my mother didn't, then once she was grown, settle into my own private life. Away from society so I could continue to mourn my father. But so far, nothing has gone as I planned it.
We finish our chest nuts and stories and play a few more rounds of Go Fish, laughing and scolding Posy when she says , "Damn it!" after dropping her cards. Of course the night doesn't go by without the newscaster coming on the TV announcing more threats from Airgusta. It fears me more knowing what the old man next door said but I don't make any comments, not wanting to scare the others, I only exchange a quick look at Gale.
It's well after midnight, maybe even one in the morning when we decide it's bedtime. We all quickly change into our pajamas. We didn't really have an idea about where everyone would sleep, we take up Rory's idea of having a sleep out in the living room. The floor is made of wood but we decide to anyways, grabbing every single blanket and pillows in the house. We sprawl them out on the floor, making it as comfortable as possible. After blowing out the candles in the other room's, we all lay down in a line. Prim and Rory taking the far side, which of course Gale and I quiet our laughs. Vick and Posy take the middle, leaving Gale and I on the edge. Were all sandwiched together, using all the space the small living room has to offer. I have my back turned toward Gale as Posy scoots toward me more, shoving her back against my chest. I protectively wrap an arm around her, basking in the warmth from the two bodies cuddled next to me.
I fall sleep with the feeling of Gale rubbing the small of my back and Posy's snoring (which I haven't missed). . . . . . .