"Mellark. We need to talk."

"Okay. Come on in, Gale."

…..

Gale? What the hell is Gale doing here? My mind is racing through possibilities now. Why did he come here, instead of to my mother's house? Does he know I'm living here now? No, wait, he said he wanted to talk to Peeta. Does he even realize I'm here? Probably not, I think.

But what does he want with Peeta? Of course my first instinct is to protect Peeta from danger. Is he in danger? Would Gale hurt Peeta? He can be hotheaded at times, but when I last spoke to him at our dinner two nights ago, he was more sad than angry. Is that still the case?

Then I realize, today is Sunday. This is usually our biggest hunting day, and it's the first one since the cameras left, and I missed it. Gale's probably just come back from hunting, actually. Probably wondering where I was. But he didn't come looking for me, I remind myself, he came looking for Peeta.

As quietly as I can I finish getting dressed and creep partway down the stairs, so I can eavesdrop more easily. I briefly wonder if I'm doing something wrong by doing so, but Peeta will probably assume I can overhear anyway, and besides we have no secrets from each other. And Gale… I need to know what he's here for. I settle myself half-way down the stairs, just around the corner from where they sit in the living room, and listen.

"So what can I do for you, Gale?" Peeta asks carefully.

Gale huffs at him. "What can you do for me? There are lots of things I could ask you to do for me. Would you actually be willing to do any of them?"

"I think you'd be surprised what I'd be willing to do," Peeta says calmly. "But I think what you've got on your mind right now is really something you should talk to Katniss about, not me, isn't it?"

They're both quiet for a few moments, before Gale says, "Okay, I'll level with you, Mellark. I need to understand what's going on here. I'm Katniss's friend, even if I'm not anything more than that. I tried to talk to her about it the other night, but we both got angry and then I got frustrated and left. I was going to try again today when we went hunting, she's always more at peace in the woods and with the hunting as a distraction… but she didn't even show up today, so she's more angry at me than I realized. I… I need to know what's going on with her right now. I need to know what she needs from me."

"And you trust me to tell you?" Peeta asks.

"Not really," Gale admits. "I guess I just want to hear what you have to say. Then I can try to figure out how much of it to believe."

Again there's a long silence. "Kind of a waste of my time to try to explain things to you if you're not even going to believe me," Peeta says, followed by another long silence. I wish I could see the looks they're exchanging. Finally Peeta says, "Okay, fine. Ask me what you want, I'll answer as honestly as I can. Just understand, there are some things I won't be able to explain. There are some things you just can't understand without having lived through it."

"She said the same thing the other night," Gale says. "She told me I'd never understand what happened in the Games, because I wasn't in them."

"That's true," Peeta says. "There are some things that she and I can only really discuss with Haymitch, because we're the only three people in District 12 who get it. That's not an insult to you, it's just a… lack of common experience. Like how you and Katniss bonded over both of you hunting to support your families after your fathers died. Could you ever explain that to me? I have no younger siblings, my father is always there, I never went without food for two days in a row until the arena. Can you explain your experience to me so that I understand it as well as you and Katniss understand each other? When you've done that, then I'll explain to you what it's like to be in the Games."

I smile at Peeta using my explanation to him to explain to Gale. He's basically taking my place in this conversation, after all, except with his skill with words he's explaining things far better than I could ever hope to.

After another short silence in which I hope Gale is seriously considering Peeta's words, Gale finally says, "Okay, any other caveats?"

"Just one," Peeta says. "Some things I may refuse to tell you."

"You're not exactly improving your credibility with that one," Gale snarks.

"Whatever," Peeta says dismissively. "I just think there are some things that you really should hear from Katniss, not from me. There are some things it's not my place to tell."

"Okay. That's it?" Gale asks.

"That's it," Peeta says. "What do you want to know?"

Gale exhales loudly. "You and her – Are you really together? Or are you being forced together by the Capitol?"

"We're really together," Peeta says. "Not just because we're being forced." I notice the subtle rephrasing Peeta used there, but Gale seems not to.

"If that's true, then what the hell happened to Katniss?" Gale asks forcefully. "I get that the Games change a person, but she went from a tough-as-nails survivor to a silly girl twirling in her pretty dress! And it happened before she even went into the arena."

"Gale," Peeta says patiently, "understand this: Everything we do on camera is an act. It's an act targeted specifically at the Capitol, to keep them happy, to show them what they want to see. They want to see a fawning, silly girl completely drunk with love, so that's what she shows them. Don't judge her based on what she has to do on camera."

"I thought you just said the relationship was real?" Gale asks angrily. "Now you're saying it's an act?"

"Everything we do on camera is an act," Peeta tries explaining again. "That doesn't mean our relationship isn't real." There's a pause, and then Peeta continues. "Think of it just like all the other shows on television. Think of two actors who are married, who also play a married couple on a television show. You wouldn't judge their real-life marriage based on what their characters do on television, right?"

There's a long pause. I don't know what face Gale is making, but it prompts Peeta to try explaining again. "Okay, try this: Imagine the Capitol finds out about you hunting in the woods, but instead of executing you they decide to make a television show about you. Gale Hawthorne: Bow Hunter. Except they change a few things to make the television show more exciting. Hunting for rabbits and squirrels is boring, so every episode you take down something big like a bear or a cougar. And they give you a different bow and new arrows to use, ones that look more impressive on screen. And when they film you shooting, they make you adjust your stance so that your face is more easily visible. And since they can't talk about starvation, on the show you're hunting for fun rather than for food. Now what happens when this show comes on and someone like Katniss watches it? Katniss immediately says, 'That guy is using the wrong bow, the wrong arrows, the wrong firing stance, hunting the wrong game, and no one from the Seam ever hunts for fun. That Gale Hawthorne is a complete fraud!'"

"Because she's judging me based on the television show," Gale says, but it comes out more like a question than a statement.

"Exactly," Peeta says. "Now, when someone asks you, 'Are you really a bow hunter or is everything on that show just staged to look good on television?' how do you answer that question?"

"It's both," Gale says, a little more sure now.

"Exactly!" Peeta says again, more excitedly this time. "Just because Gale Hawthorne: Bow Hunter is a staged television show doesn't mean you aren't really a hunter in real life. Just like Katniss and I pretending to be in love on television doesn't mean we aren't in love in real life."

I'm amazed by the beauty and simplicity of Peeta's explanation, even as Gale completely dismisses it. "But you and Katniss aren't a television show," he says.

"But we are," Peeta counters. "What are the Hunger Games? For the Capitol, they're entertainment. A television show. And this year they featured the Star Crossed Lovers from District Twelve. Two characters on that television show. And we're still playing those characters. Whenever we're being filmed, any time when we're being observed by the Capitol, we're playing those characters. I play a charming raconteur and Katniss plays a silly twirling girl, and we pretend to be in love. But an amazing thing happened: The actors playing these two characters actually did fall in love. For real. And now that the cameras are gone, we can be ourselves again. Our real selves. You saw us at dinner the other night, that was real. That was the real Katniss and the real Peeta, really in love."

"I don't know what the hell I saw the other night," Gale spits out. "That didn't really look like Katniss either. The whole time I've known her she only ever smiled at me or Prim. Seeing her smiling at you in the Games was shocking to me, but I figured it was an act for the Games. But seeing her laughing and smiling freely with her mother, who she hates? With your family, who she barely knows? With that useless drunk Haymitch Abernathy? I don't know who that was."

"She's still Katniss," Peeta says. "She's just not quite as… bottled up as she was before. She is a bit freer with her emotions, she's a bit freer about admitting when she's happy." Peeta pauses for a moment. "You didn't know her before her father died, she wasn't always so bottled up."

"I didn't know her before her father died?" Gale asks incredulously. "You didn't know her before two months ago!"

"I know her better than you think," Peeta says, and the way he says it makes me believe it. "She was always quiet and serious compared to most of the other kids, but after her father died she shut down in a way. Not like her mother did, but it was like she didn't dare admit to being happy anymore for fear that she would lose it again. After the Games, she had the opposite reaction. She's experienced so much sadness in the last five years that now she tries to cling to happiness so hard that nothing can tear it away from her."

"Sadness…" Gale says. "I've never seen her break down like she did when your father brought up that girl from Eleven. Not even over her father."

The mention of Rue almost brings back the tears again, but I try my best to remain silent. I'm also a bit annoyed at Gale for calling her 'that girl from Eleven,' she was a person with a name and she deserves the dignity of being addressed properly.

Peeta's voice is tight when he responds, Gale's casual dismissal of Rue has obviously bothered him too, but he continues his explanation. "For so long she didn't really let herself feel anything. I guess maybe anger, because it kept her going. But now she's opening herself up to so much more – joy, sorrow. Love. And sometimes it just overwhelms her. She's not used to dealing with it all, because for so long she didn't allow herself to feel those things. She's such a passionate person at heart, when she lets herself feel sometimes it just overwhelms her." Peeta pauses before continuing. "And just so you know, if you ever do talk to Katniss about Rue, just… be careful. You saw how it affects her. Don't call her 'that girl from Eleven.' Katniss was very attached to Rue, and you know how loath Katniss is to become attached to anyone. She may have cared for Rue more than she cares for anyone other than the two of us and Prim, and at the time Rue died I hadn't made that list yet. Rue was probably the biggest loss she's suffered since her father died."

As I'm listening to all of this, as I'm crying over Rue, I'm also amazed again at how well Peeta knows me, how much more insight into my soul he has than I do myself. I've known him for two months, and he knows me better than anyone has since my father. How did I manage to meet two such wonderful people as Peeta and Rue in the middle of the horrible nightmare that is the Hunger Games?

"How did Katniss of all people become that attached to someone she only knew for a few days?" Gale asks, disbelief in his voice.

"Well, first, it was more than just those few days in the arena," Peeta says. "Katniss took note of Rue right from the beginning, on Reaping Day, when we watched the recaps on the train. And Rue used to follow us around during training too, she took a liking to Katniss just like Katniss took a liking to her."

"Why would Katniss do that?" Gale asks.

"Because she reminded her of Prim," Peeta says softly. "She reminded me of Prim as well, though I only really knew Prim from seeing her at the bakery. But this sweet, clever little girl hung around us during training, and for Katniss it was almost like seeing Prim thrown into the Games. And then Rue saved her life, she pointed out the tracker jackers in her tree and she treated her stings. Then they were allies, they got to know each other a bit, they became friends, they plotted and schemed together." Peeta pauses and takes a deep breath. "And then Rue was killed, and Katniss held her and sang to her and watched her die, and she still blames herself for Rue's death. This sweet, clever, brave, dead girl who reminded her of Prim."

Tears are pouring down my face now, and I make no effort to stop them. I lean my head over against the wall and cry quietly. I'm sorry, Rue. I'm so, so sorry…

After a long time Gale finally speaks. "I feel like you're telling me about some other person, that my Katniss is gone and now there's this new Katniss that I don't know anything about."

"People change in the Games," Peeta says. When Gale doesn't respond, Peeta continues. "She actually told me something similar the other night, after you two talked."

"She said I don't know her anymore?" Gale asks sadly.

"She said that she was worried about your friendship, because you understood each other so well before, but now she had been through the Games and you hadn't and she was afraid it would create a gulf between you."

"I have to admit," Gale says, "I'm worried about the same thing now."

"Look, Gale," Peeta says, "I know I'm probably the last person you want advice from, but you're the one who came to me so I'm going to offer it anyway. Don't let this come between you. I wasn't exaggerating before about how few people Katniss truly cares about, you know that as well as I do. I mean, there's her mother, but you know how complicated that is. There's Haymitch, but he's… well, he's Haymitch. But really it's just us and Prim. We're the people she loves."

Again Gale doesn't say anything, and again Peeta fills the silence. "If you really love her, I mean if you love her like I love her, and seeing her with me just kills you, and you don't think you can stand it, I get that. I know the feeling, I spent years thinking that the two of you were together and I had missed my chance. So if you just can't stand to be around her watching her love someone else, I understand. But if you can accept her relationship with me and move on; if you can still be her friend, or her brother, or her fake cousin, or whatever you want to describe it as; don't let this come between you. Don't push her away. Because whatever changed about her in the Games, underneath it all she's still just Katniss. And you're still one of the most important people in her world."

There's another long pause. I know Peeta has always seen Gale as competition; just last night we talked about how jealous he was, and after that kiss the other night he has every reason not to trust Gale. Yet he's still sitting there trying to convince Gale not to give up our friendship. He really is the most selfless person I've ever met. I reverse our positions in my head; if some other girl had designs on Peeta, I don't care how uninterested he was there's no way on earth I would ever encourage the two of them to be friends and spend time together. But that's Peeta, always putting my interests ahead of his own.

Finally Gale asks, "So she told you about our conversation the other night?"

"Yes."

"What did she tell you?" Gale asks.

Peeta lets out a breath. "She said you didn't believe her that we're together by choice. She said you told her you loved her, and then left when she didn't feel the same way about you." Peeta pauses for another breath. "She told me you kissed her."

"Did she?" Gale says. "I was wondering if she'd leave that part out."

"We try to be completely honest with each other," Peeta says. "It helps make up for all the lies we have to tell on camera."

"So how do you feel about that?" Gale asks. "That I kissed her?"

"I feel like you shouldn't go around forcing kisses on people who don't want them," Peeta says, his voice hardening. "But you should also understand the danger you would put yourself in if anyone ever saw you doing that."

"Danger?" Gale scoffs. "From who, you?"

"No, not me," Peeta says with a laugh. "From the Capitol. We're everyone's favorite couple right now. Our characters, I mean. The Star Crossed Lovers from the Hunger Games. They won't let anything threaten that image. I mean, that's why they called you her cousin in the first place, because they didn't want anyone to have the idea that Katniss may have feelings for anyone other than me, to the point where they wouldn't even admit that she had a friend who was male. If they see you as a threat to the storybook romance they've scripted for us, they could well decide to… remove the threat."

"See, this is why no one knows what to believe!" Gale says, frustration clear in his voice. "Do you have any idea how confusing it is when you say in one breath that you're not being forced to be together, then in the next that I'd be killed if I threatened your relationship?" he asks.

"You have to separate what's real from what's not real," Peeta says. "Remember when I talked about actors playing characters? The Capitol wants everyone to think our characters are real. So we have to play those characters any time the Capitol is observing us. And if the Capitol observed you kissing Katniss, they would see that as a threat to the characters they've presented to the public."

Another long pause. Then Gale says, "She told me she loves you."

"Yes," Peeta says.

"Was she telling the truth or was she lying because that's what she has to tell people?" Gale asks.

"She was telling the truth," Peeta says.

"What happens if she's wrong?" Gale asks. "What happens if she wakes up one day and realizes she doesn't love you anymore, that she loves someone else?"

"I'm not trying to trap her into anything," Peeta says. "We'd still have to put on the show when there were cameras, but when we're at home we really don't even need to see each other much. Hell, we barely saw each other at all the whole time the Capitol cameras were here. But she and this 'someone else' would have to be very careful. Very discreet. If any whiff of Katniss and I no longer being together made it to the public, then 'someone else' would very likely be very quickly dead, and she and I would have to do something extra special to reassure the public of our undying love."

"Extra special?" Gale asks. "Like what?"

"I don't know," Peeta says. "A televised Capitol wedding? Maybe move to the Capitol so we could be on display full-time?" The ideas Peeta is suggesting make me shudder. I think again about how completely unbearable this whole situation would be without Peeta. I would never be able to handle pretending to love him without his real love to sustain me. I'd crack up, probably end up trying to hide from the world in a closet or something.

There's another long pause before Gale asks, "If she didn't love you, what would you do?"

Peeta takes a moment before answering. "Die a little each day."

Me, too, I think. Gale sputters a bit, seemingly thrown off track by Peeta's answer. "No, no, um… If she came to you and said, 'I don't love you, I love someone else, I want to be with them and I need your help to cover it up from the Capitol,' what would you do?"

"I'd help her," Peeta says without hesitating.

"Why?" asks Gale.

"Because I love her and I want her to be happy."

There's another long pause before Gale says, "I wish I believed everything you were saying." I can hear Peeta laughing lightly at this, and the laughter seems to anger Gale. "What's so funny about that?"

"Katniss thinks I'm such a good liar," Peeta says, "just because I did well in our interviews with Caesar Flickerman. But here I can't even convince you of the honest truth."

Another long pause, then I hear something shifting. Gale says, "I should go talk to Katniss."

"Gale, wait," Peeta says. "Are you going to look for her at her house?"

"Um, yeah. Since she didn't come out hunting and she wasn't at the Hob, she must be home," Gale says.

"She's not there," Peeta says. And then I realize. Oh, no. I've left Peeta in the lurch again. I briefly consider walking out from my hiding place now, but that would reveal I'd been eavesdropping this whole time, and I don't want to do that. Can I make it back upstairs silently and then feign waking up and coming down? No, probably not. They would hear me.

In the end I remain motionless as Gale asks, "Where is she, then?"

"This is one of those things you should have heard from her," Peeta says. He takes a breath before continuing. "Katniss is here. She's upstairs asleep. She moved in here yesterday."

"Moved-?" Gale sounds confused.

"We're living together," Peeta explains. "Katniss can give you all the gory details if she wants."

Now I really wish I could see Gale's face. After a few moments he asks, "Are you two…?"

"No," Peeta answers, "not yet."

"'Not yet'?" Gale asks back.

"Not yet," Peeta confirms. "Her words, not mine. And anything more than that you'll have to ask Katniss. Do you want me to go let her know you're here?"

"She's really been upstairs asleep this entire time?" Gale asks.

"Well, either that or she's been sitting on the stairs listening in." Peeta says this jokingly, but I can tell. He knows. Damn, what must he think of me?

"I'll go get her," Peeta says again when Gale doesn't respond.

When I can see Peeta from the stairs I try to look apologetic, but he just smiles at me and puts his finger to his lips to shush me. I use the noise of his clomping up the stairs to mask my own steps as I precede him back to our bedroom.

We both sit down on the bed and Peeta gathers me in his arms. I gratefully nuzzle my head into his chest. Neither of us speaks for a few moments. From the way he looks at me I can tell Peeta knows I've been crying, but he doesn't say anything about it. Instead we just sit together until Peeta finally breaks the silence.

"So," he says, "Gale's here."

"I know," I tell him. "I heard."

"I figured," Peeta says. "I didn't think you'd go back to sleep without coming down to see who was here."

"I'm sorry," I say.

"For what?" Peeta asks.

"For listening in on your conversation," I say.

"Oh, forget it," Peeta says. "The whole conversation was about you, anyway." Then he pauses, and a serious look crosses his face. "I'm sorry if I said anything that upset you."

"I'm fine," I tell him. "What you said about Rue before, that was really beautiful."

Peeta doesn't say anything, he just gives me a kiss on the forehead, and then, as if he just couldn't resist, another on the lips. "Come on, you want to come see him?"

I release a breath. "I suppose I should."

"You don't seem that eager to see your best friend," Peeta says. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'm just so sick of having to justify ourselves to everyone!" I say, suddenly agitated. "It's bad enough having to sell ourselves to the Capitol, but now we have to sell ourselves to Mom and Gale, people who should just be happy for us! Why is your family so much more accepting than mine is?"

"Because my family has known that I'm in love with you for years," Peeta says.

"And I've spent years telling everyone I know that I'll never fall in love and never have a relationship," I say, finishing the sentence Peeta left incomplete.

"Hey," Peeta says, tightening his arms around me, "this isn't your fault, okay? None of this is your fault. People are just… confused. This is a confusing situation. Your mother and Gale, they just care about you. They just want you to be safe. And my family's not all so accepting, don't forget about my mother."

Peeta's line about his mother makes me snort. "I think getting Gale to accept a merchant might be easier than getting your mother to accept a Seam girl."

"Well, at least Gale is willing to talk to me," Peeta says.

I sigh, and reluctantly release myself from Peeta's embrace. "I guess I've stalled long enough, I should go see him now."

"Do you want me to leave you two alone for a while?" Peeta asks.

"No!" I say, a bit too forcefully. "Stay with me."

He smiles, and kisses me again. "Always, my love." And now I'm smiling too. Peeta always manages to lift my mood. Do I want to go meet Gale with this big dumb lovestruck grin on my face? Whether I do or not, I guess I'm about to.

…..

This chapter has been mostly done for a while, but my writing time was taken up with the latest round of Prompts in Panem. If you haven't yet, you should definitely go check out all the awesomeness that was created for PiP, including three new stories by yours truly. (/shameless plug)

I really want to sincerely thank everyone who's been kind enough to leave a review or a comment about this story. I love that there are folks out there who enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

Next chapter: A threesome… of conversation! Also, this story quite possibly jumps the shark.

Preview quote form Chapter 7:

"I won't let anything come between us."