I haven't uploaded in a while so here I am.

I am sorry for not updating sooner.

Please forgive me.

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'A whole other game…'

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Gale gave the blond a bold smile as they treaded their way through the forest. It had taken nearly ten minutes for Peeta to finally enter through the fence, he had been nervous about someone seeing them.

It was expected, Gale knew, but it still made the hunter smile because of the sheer stupidity of it. Plus, Peeta had looked rather cute with that worry plastered over his face, like a fearful child.

Gale shook his head with a laugh dispersing his thoughts, so maybe he did have a crush on the other, maybe he did find the blond to be cute, but who cares. It's not that much of a big deal, not if he doesn't make it as such that is.

"So…where did you say we were going exactly?" Peeta asked, finally speaking up since they had left the fence and district 12 in the distance.

"I didn't." Gale responded, treading forwards through yet another bush.

"Okay…" The blonde interrogated, gripping the basket he held in his arms, "So…where are we going exactly then?"

"It's a surprise." The other said after a pause.

Peeta nodded but still felt as though he was being led to a trap. Not a dangerous trap mind you, no, for he trusted Gale, perhaps maybe a bit too much considering the situations associated between them but, yeah. So anyway, he trusted Gale, but he felt as though he wouldn't be able to keep his cool up any longer the farther he and the hunter got away from the city. That's why it felt as though he was being led to a trap, in the city he was able to hide his true feelings from the hunter because of everyone else around him, but here, with just him and the hunter – A.K.A the hottest guy in district 12, Gale Hawthorne, well, there was just no telling how far Peeta Mellark would fall.

And he knew he would fall, he had already accepted that, but how far he fell, well…he figured that he wouldn't know until it happened.

The silence that fell over them seemed awkward, at least to Gale that is. He couldn't really tell what the bread boy was doing behind him, perhaps he was looking around, or maybe he was thinking about heading back already, or maybe he was staring at his ass.

Gale smirked at the thought. Did Peeta Mellark have a dirty mind like that?

After all, if things were reversed, he would be staring at Peeta's ass, then again, Gale had a crush on the boy, (though he would easy deny so), and there was no telling what Peeta thought about him. Maybe Peeta still hated him and this was all an act for Katniss. Or maybe they were friends, just friends… Or maybe the other boy secretly liked him as well and they were both just being stupid.

Gale laughed. 'As if the last one could ever be true...'

"So, how are things at the bakery?" Gale voiced in, startling the boy behind him.

Peeta had jumped at the sound, and had changed his line of sight from the hunter's ass to his neck.

"G-good." Peeta answered with a blush, hoping to dear god that Gale wouldn't turn around or hear the flutter in his voice.

To Peeta's horror, he did both.

"You okay?" The other had asked, turning to face the Mellark boy.

"Y-yeah." The bread boy insinuated, reddening more.

"Really, you seem flushed?"

"Just the heat..." He lied in return, "anyway, let's keep going."

Gale nodded at the other but didn't by the lie in the slightest. Peeta worked in a bakery for god's sake; he shouldn't find this heat to be anything at all.

"…so, how's…hunting?" Peeta asked, trying to steer the conversation away from him. Gale thought about it and then nodded.

"Good." He answered, watching as Peeta decided to walk besides him instead of behind him. The blond had figured that it would be safer to be seeing the forest in front of him, and not a delicious looking rump that would just make his mouth water.

"…catch anything interesting?"

"No, not really," the hunter said in return, "but maybe I'll be lucky today."

Peeta nodded and then watched as Gale turned into a thicket, he was a bit curious to see what the other had set up back there, but maybe it wasn't in his place to-

"Come and see, Peeta." Gale exclaimed from within the bush.

"Oh, okay." The blond said back, placing his basket on the floor.

He moved forward through the thicket, a few twigs scratching at his cheeks, until he came upon a snare that now held a rabbit. Gale was standing over it, a smile on his face.

"I honestly didn't know if this one would work." The boy admitted, releasing the dead animal from the trap before setting it back up with new wire.

"Why not?"

"I had run out of good twine, so I had to use something of weaker material."

"Oh." The other said with a nod.

"Guess it proved me wrong."

Peeta nodded once more, a smile on his lips.

Gale placed the rabbit in his game bag and then adjusted the snare accordingly. It was such a wonder to Peeta; he honestly found it fascinating when Gale fixed his trap. It wasn't because of the trap initially though; it was because of the guy who fastened it. You see, Gale had strong arms, really strong arms, and it fascinated Peeta that such strong arms could actually be gentle and delicate if needed to. Just look at the hunter's hands, they were rough and hard, but they were able to set up the smallest of knots and slip wires. Inwardly, Peeta wondered if they were actually soft, wondered if maybe those hands could hold him in a way that not only wrung protection but adoration as well.

"Let's get going." Gale grinned, tugging in Peeta's arm as he turned past him to exit the thicket. The blond simply nodded like an idiot and followed the boy another few feet, his basket back at hand once more.

They entered a clearing then, a field, and it was one of the most tantalizing fields Peeta had ever seen in his life. It was yellow, but green, dirty but soft, and every which way he turned, there were tiny flowers sprouting around him.

"...beautiful," he whispered before he could stop himself, blushing when Gale turned to him with yet another grin on his face.

"You haven't seen anything yet." The other proclaimed, taking his arm and pulling him till they were at the edge of a hill.

Peeta at the time had only been aware of the other's arm on his hot skin, but then he had set his eyes on the valley that sat just before them. It was huge, stunning, luscious, free, and just…just…beautiful.

"Wow…" Peeta whispered, dropping the basket on the floor as he continued to stare at the mountain ranges and valleys leading in every direction.

"Yeah…" Gale nodded, briefly glancing at the scene as well until he was staring at the bread boy's face. The other looked genuine in this light, looked radiant and just…just…beautiful.

The two had remained like that for a while, one staring at the sight before them, the other staring at the boy right beside him. Once or twice, they would change positions, Gale would be looking at the mountains, and then Peeta would be looking at Gale. But by the end of the day, Gale would always be looking at Peeta.

"So do you ever get to eat the breads or cakes you make?" Gale wondered, eating a slice of green cake with his bare hands. Like Peeta had promised, he had brought the green mockingjay cake to their little outing, and boy had Gale been right when he had insisted that it would be delicious.

"Aren't I eating one right now?" Peeta asked with a grin, eating his own slice with a fork and a plate. He had brought a set for Gale likewise but the hunter being who he was had opted to instead eat with his hands, which was fine with Peeta in the long run.

"You know what I mean." Gale scoffed, rolling his eyes as he downed his third slice.

Peeta just flicked his tongue with a small laugh and then watched as Gale sliced himself a fourth piece.

"Sometimes, not really though…" the boy answered honestly, "I mean, I get to eat the bread on occasion but the cakes are usually left for the customers…"

"What about the ones that don't sell?" Gale wondered.

The blond shrugged, "I don't really know most of the time…they just go. I think my mom sells them on her own time, or…I don't know."

The hunter nodded and then took another mouthful of cake.

Peeta laughed. "You eat like a pig." He teased, quickly regretting the words in case the other got offended. Was he allowed to say such things, had their relationship allowed such? Did they even have some sort of relationship – or a status of it for that matter?

"Now just because I don't eat like a princess doesn't mean I eat like a pig," the other declared with a grin, relaxing Peeta once more, "trust me, I'm nothing compared to my brothers or even half the residents of district 12."

Peeta nodded in understandment but then realized what the other had insinuated.

"I don't eat like a princess."

"Sure you do," Gale pointed out cockily, "you sit on your bum and eat with china and a fork – all you need is a cup of tea and a crown."

"Why can't I be a prince then? They eat like that too." Peeta pouted.

"I imagine you more of a princess," the other insinuated with a tease, one that would've wrung as a seductive inappropriate comment to anyone else had they been in Peeta's place. Peeta of course had only been slightly offended and embarrassed by it all.

"I'm not a princess," he pouted, setting down his plate and fork, "I can eat without utensils."

To prove his point, he grabbed a slice of cake and forced it into his mouth.

Gale had merely found the other's actions entertaining, and had laughed when Peeta had missed his mouth on the first try, staining his face with green frosting.

"Shut up." Peeta blushed.

"You're so cute." The other admitted without thinking, coughing a bit when he realized what he had just said aloud. Peeta paled.

"…"

Gale sat up from his lying position and then looked over his shoulder to look at the mountains once more, a blush evidently staining his own cheeks.

"…like a child." He blurted, still not looking at the other, "y-you're cute – l-like a child, that's what I had meant…like a child…"

"…of course." Peeta nodded, forcing a large fake smile, "I knew that, I knew that-that's what you meant."

The hunter just nodded and then turned back to Peeta.

He gave a small awkward smile and then motioned to the other's cheek.

Peeta, realizing what he meant wiped at his cheek with a rag he had in the basket, removing the green frosting that had been settling on his face still.

"Did I get all of it…?" The blond asked, inching his cheek closer to the other's line of sight.

Gale nodded but then found a green spot on the bottom corner of the boy's cheek. He pointed at the spot but the other kept missing, so he simply reached over for the rag and wiped at the spot himself. Peeta had reddened at the moment, a fact that had gone unnoticed by the hunter. He blamed it on the lighting though.

"There." He exclaimed when he was done, a grin forming on his lips once more.

"Thanks…" Peeta thanked, trying to control the heat in his face. He really was a princess, wasn't he? But if so…then could that mean that Gale could be his knight in shiny armor, his prince – his star-crossed lover?

Inwardly, he hoped it so…

Inwardly, Peeta Mellark hoped that Gale Hawthorne could be his diamond in the rough.

...

'Diamond in the rough...'

...

And there you go, hopefully you enjoyed.

Excuse any mistakes, this was all free hand and stuff,

so I haven't really had the time to edit. (On a tight shift here, so yeah).

Please review and stuff,

criticism accepted.

Thank-you.

- Peace.