Sundays
Sinking815
December 5th, 2011

A/N: I have not forgotten about Something Like Danger... I promise. But this idea intrigued me enough to stay up and write, even though I should be sleeping for my final tomorrow. Glad to see I have my priorities straight. ;) I was inspired to delve more into what happened in Katniss' recollection of Gale kissing her in the woods in Catching Fire. This will most likely be more than a one-shot and will most likely go AU at some point. Reviews are always greatly appreciated!

Two hours is a long time to wait. If life can change in the blink of an eye, how much have I missed sitting out here? Probably nothing I'd actually miss. The cameras, the interviews, the paranoia that I'll mess this whole thing up. I most likely already have, coming out here to the woods.

The idea of someone recording me sliding under the quiet fence and disappearing into the forest surrounding District 12 makes me shudder violently. Unease twists my empty stomach and I pretend that it's an aftershock of the disconcerting thought and not that I'm starting to panic.

Two hours, at least. He's never made me wait this long. Gale breathes for the freedom of these woods, just like I do. I take stock of my surroundings for the thousandth time. The trees have started to change from the deep greens of summer to the crisp colors of autumn. None have fallen yet, but it won't be long before the weather turns brisk and navigating the forest floor will be immensely harder when it is carpeted in yellow and orange. A songbird lights in one of the branches over my head and chirps merrily, flying off towards the echo made by its friend.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I fold my arms across the tops of my legs and bury my face. My breaths come in quick shallow blasts and my face feels hot. I swallow with difficulty and force myself to think positive thoughts. There could be any number of reasons he isn't here yet. Panicked negativity beats back my excuses with a resounding mantra.

He's not coming.

He doesn't want anything to do with me.

He's moved on.

He's gone.

A tear escapes and runs down my cheek. I raise my head to swipe angrily at it, starting to my feet when I catch a dark silhouette out of my peripheral vision, my hands automatically reaching for my bow. For a moment, I think my mind is playing a cruel joke on me as Gale and I stare at each other and the tears pour down my face, completely unchecked. They run harder when I realize my best friend is really there.

I want to laugh and cry at the same time and the noise that escapes me is something trying to do both. My bow falls to the forest floor with a dull thud as I rush towards Gale, throwing myself into his arms with a force strong enough to almost knock him off his feet. But he steadies us, wrapping me into a fierce embrace, his cheek resting against the top of my head. I want to tell him how much I miss him, how scared I was that I had lost him. Instead, I fracture, wailing into his chest, tears soaking the front of his shirt.

Gale holds me close as I shake and cry, only moving an arm to gently rub my back. We may have stood there for minutes or hours, I don't know. I'm so disoriented from my breakdown I've lost all sense of time and space. Slowly, my hysterics dissolve into a fit of ragged breaths and still Gale doesn't let go. I am vaguely aware of his breath against the top of my head and I think I feel him press his lips to my hair, but my gasps are suddenly harsh hiccups and I need to disentangle myself to get a drink.

My hands are quivering so badly, I fumble with the ties of my game bag. A gentle hand covers my left wrist and stops their frantic motions. I fall to sit ungracefully in a flop as Gale works the knot from my bag, retrieves the canteen, and hands it to me. Somehow, I manage to unscrew the lid and chug a few gulps. Gale pokes around in the bag, pulls out a piece of chicken, and sits to enjoy his breakfast.

I'm thankful that he gives me a minute to compose myself and doesn't make any comment on my outburst. When my breathing is almost back to normal, he hands me a few slices of bread, a piece of chicken, and an orange.

"What do you want to do today?" he asks, peeling rind from his fruit. "The snare line needs to be checked, but we can do that on the way back." He pops a slice into his mouth, holding out his hand for my orange.

I'd been struggling to break the peel on it, but Gale pulls most of the rind off in one piece. He hands it back and I'm overcome with emotion once again. Though this time, it's a feeling of contentment, a respite of normalcy. My mouths turns up into a genuine smile, a smile that widens when Gale returns it. The muscles in my face smart from lack of use.

"I've haven't hunted in a while," I say. It's true. I haven't touched a bow and arrow since the arena.

"All right, then," Gale says, standing. He offers me a hand and pulls me up. "Hunting, it is."

We pack the remains of our breakfast, mainly the leftover paper wrappers and the last few slices of bread, before walking deeper into the woods.

As the day wore on, I noticed the void between Gale and I growing. We had never been overtly talkative, but the conversation from this morning had descended into the occasional exchange about Seam life. At times, it even felt stressed, awkward. Gale kept shooting me those tortured sad looks and I was starting to get frustrated. I wanted this day to be a respite from the grind of District 12 life and what it had become. Who would have thought that I longed for my old Seam life and the never-ending cycle of hunting, school, hunting, barely eating, sleeping.

We were almost to the end of the snare run when bravery encouraged me to try talking again.

"I know you're really busy now," I said, stumbling over the unspoken words of mining and 12 hour long days. "So I could take over the daily snare run if you want."

We stopped walking and Gale turned to look at me, a slight frown on his face. He shifted his weight, his hands finding his hips and looked away as if contemplating my words. I really didn't think my offer was that much to consider, and I rushed to fill in the void.

"It's not really like I have a lot to do back there…" I couldn't use the word home to describe the Victor's Village residence where most of my waking hours were now spent. I had hoped that today would have opened the door for our usual Sunday routine to return. Maybe Gale was having second thoughts.

"I mean, of course, I would trade whatever was caught and bring it over to your place…" I drifted off. Gale studied me intensely, and I was getting that little nagging in my head that suggested he wasn't entirely listening to me.

"Are you…"

But Gale was moving and I couldn't even process his intention before his roughened palms held my face and he pressed his lips gently to mine. Gale was kissing me. He tasted of oranges, smelled of smoke and cedar, things I could remember through the roaring in my head. All the rest seemed to fade incoherently into the background. I felt my fingers curl into the shirt against his chest as I moved closer, and I realized I was kissing Gale back. He was heat, and strength, and stability. Gale was everywhere.

And then he was pulling back, still holding my face in his hands and my eyes with his own.

"I had to do that. At least once," he said.

He was gone before I could ask him to wait.

The smart thing to do would've been to go home and alleviate my mother's growing worry as to my whereabouts. In order to make smart decisions, my brain would have had to been engaged and functioning and while I knew my heart definitely was working, pounding wildly in my chest, I slumped awkwardly to the ground, in complete overload.

Gale kissed you, I kept thinking. Gale kissed you.

And?

And what?

Well, did you like it?

Well, I think so. I mean, I must have…

Why do you say that?

I kissed him back.

So you kissed him back. You kissed Peeta…

But not like that.

Like how?

Like… well, it was like… I can't even describe it…

Try.

It was like a reaction. I didn't have to plan it.

Second nature?

Exactly. I just followed along and I didn't stop it.

Did you want to stop it?

No… not really.

So you wanted him to kiss you?

Well I wasn't expecting him to kiss me.

But he did.

He did.

Do you want him to kiss you again?

I…

You…?

I don't know.

Why?

I mean, he's my best… friend.

So, best friends sometimes become more than best friends.

Is that what he wants, though? I mean, I thought it was simpler than that.

For you maybe. For him, maybe not.

…

What's wrong?

I'm just trying to understand this.

Let me give you a few hints. Suggesting running away with you? Suggesting having a family to you? Spending his free time with you?

But he spends time with other girls. That doesn't mean anything.

Really, Katniss…?

What?

I think maybe you knew how he felt and didn't want to acknowledge it.

Why would I do that?

Because you might be afraid how you feel.

That's ridiculous.

Is it?

I scowl, gather my belongings and head toward the fence.

~Fin