Author's Note: Don't own the Hunger Games. I've got a working sketch of Venus and her dress. It's lovely. I also want to thank all the people who had favorite this story, had put it on their alert, and reviewed. You are all lovely.

A smile played on her lips, and the next thing Gale knew, she kissed him lightly. "That's how I feel half the time. The other half, I feel as if my sanity's finally returning."

It seemed like sanity played a big part of Venus's life, and it was clear she doubted she'd ever have it back. Gale smiled over at Venus, whose face was half illuminated by the moon, the other half hidden in the shadows. The way she had her eyes sparkling, and he couldn't help but smile at the pretty girl next to him. She looked over at him, and grinned. "Something on your mind, soldier?"

Gale was becoming less and less shocked whenever Venus seemingly read his mind. She was clearly just observant of him, and for some reason, that comforted him. It was almost like having a best friend again, one who understood him. He bit his lip, sorting his thoughts out carefully. It was still a new relationship, and he didn't know how far he could push it. "Just… how beautiful you look in the moonlight."

Venus flushed, and he felt proud that he could make her flush like that. There was definitely something about her, something about the way she carried herself that commanded respect. The gleam in her eyes said everything that he needed to know: that this was all he needed. "Well… um, thank you."

Gale wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close as they looked at the moon and the stars. Venus was pointing at stars, and mouthing their names. "How do you know what's in the sky?"

Venus glanced over at him, and smiled. "I've spent half my life looking up at the stars… just hoping that maybe one day, things wouldn't suck so much. Then… a year after I won the Games, the revolution happened. I had to fight for the end of those games, if only for other people's families."

Gale nodded, kissing her forehead. He couldn't imagine how she was real, couldn't imagine how he couldn't have just produced her in his head. He didn't understand how one minute he could feel so broken and hopeless and the next… she could turn it all around. The stars was another piece of her that fascinated him. "Can you show me?"

She nodded and laid down on her back, not caring about the grass that would turn the back of her white dress green. She pointed to a cluster of stars that Gale wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't point them out to him. "That's the star sign, Pisces. And if you look over there, there's the North star. Old stories say that people used to use that star to guide them home on the seas."

Gale smiled, his gray eyes bearing into her bright blue eyes. Her eyes sparkled up at him, and he couldn't help but want to kiss her. Before he knew it, his lips were against hers, pulling her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling softly. "You didn't let me finish my tour of the sky," she chided.

He laughed, a hand moving to tangle into her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at controlling my impulses."

Venus laughed as well, wrapping a leg around his waist with a small smirk on her face. It was enough to send Gale's heart racing, and Venus's heart went racing as well. His breath was shallow as Venus asked, "Not good at controlling your impulses, are you? How good are you at controlling them right about now?"

Gale let out a soft groan. They were going too fast, and he hated that he had to cut this off. He wanted to continue but he knew that if he continued, he'd regret it. He pulled away from Venus, not wanting to keep going. He stood up, holding his hand out for her. "We really should get back… we don't want to do anything we just might regret."

There was a distinct look in Venus's eyes as she took his hand, one that Gale couldn't be able to place no matter what. He lifted her up, his eyes connecting with hers again. Whatever it was that had been in her eyes, it was gone now. "Of course we should get home."