This is not a Katniss and Gale story. There will be some stuff between them, but ultimately it's a Katniss and Peeta story.


"I can't believe we're here." I exhale, my breath white in the chilly fall air.

"Well we are baby, we are." Gale looks down at me and my heart skips. He looks so good in the cold Denver air, his nose red. He pulls a cap over is short brown hair and laughs. "I'm gonna lose my tan."

I can't help by laugh at him. Gale and I have lived in the Phoenix sun our entire lives, but after he was offered his dream job here at an environmental law firm, he wanted to pick up his life and move. And I had to join him—I love him; we've been together for years. He went to Arizona State University when I was finishing up high school, and then I joined him after I graduated; after he completed his undergrad, he went ASU Law, and then interned at a small law firm until I graduated. And then he got this job offer.

I'm going to miss my younger sister Prim, the one thing in this world I love more than Gale, but I have to take this chance with him. Our families thought we were stupid—moving away from our lives to a town we've never even visited. But Gale had connections, and we are moving in with them. Gale was best friends with them all through grade school, and apparently the three of them were known at the Trio; they went around playing pranks and acting immature. The two guys we're moving in with, Finnick and Peeta, are half brothers, and their family moved to Denver when they were in seventh grade. They've kept in touch all these years.

"You ready to meet them?" Gale asks as he intertwines his cold fingers with mine.

"Yeah, I am. I mean, you say they're cool guys, so I'm sure everything will work out."

Hand in hand, we walk from the car up the cobblestone walkway that leads to a small, red house. When Gale called to tell him we needed a place to crash for a few weeks before we found an apartment of our own, Peeta was thrilled; their roommate had just moved out and they were looking for a new one. Gale was almost too happy to accept the room for us.

"They are cool—and they will love you. Though not as much as I do." He leans down and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek, then lifts his hand out to knock on the white wood of the door we just reached. We hear a muffled "coming" and then suddenly the door is thrown open. A tall Adonis with bronze hair stands in front of me; his eyes are a sea green and he wears a smile that screams "hide your daughters."

"Finn!" Gale shouts, and drops my hand to give this guy, apparently Finnick, a chest bump; I roll my eyes at the two of them. They grab each other into a manly bear hug with many slaps on the back, then the two of them pull apart, smiling.

"Finn, this is my girlfriend, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss, this is Finnick Odair." I smile and reach my hand out for him to shake, but he just grabs it and pulls me into his arms for a hug.

"We don't shake around here, Katniss," he says after he releases me from the a few seconds later; his voice is low and gruff and oozing sex. "Especially not with Gale-y's girlfriend; I mean, god, I thought he was gay." Gale lightheartly punches him in the arm and Finnick moans in mock pain, then he looks back at me. "But that is obviously not true, because you are one gorgeous specimen, Katniss Everdeen."

I glare at him slightly, trying to relieve the blush; I've never really been one to accept compliments.

"Finn, dude, I've been here for five seconds and you're already hitting on my girlfriend. Back off!" Gale says, punching him again, though the broad smile on his face shows that he's not really bothered by Finnick's words.

"Gale, you're right, I barely even know Katniss. I mean, it will take a few hours before I've stolen her from you." The two of them look at each other with serious faces, and then burst out laughing. Obviously this is some inside joke that I don't get. "Anyway, can I help you with your bags? I'm so glad you guys are moving in. I haven't talked to you face to face in years!"

Gale nods his head and points to the Chevy truck in the driveway. Gale and I didn't bring much, no furniture or anything because they said they had a spare bed and dresser, so we basically just brought clothes and knick-knacks. And my books. We all head out to the car and Gale pulls out a dolly from the truck bed and proceeds to load the boxes onto it while Finn grabs several duffle bags and throws them over his broad shoulders.

"Wow, that's a lot of books," Finnick says, peeking into one of the boxes. In the truck-bed, we have about ten large boxes and eight of them are filled with my books.

I shrug. "I like to read."

Finnick looks over at me and smiles, his white teeth blinding against the tanned skin of his face. "You'll like Peeta then. He probably has just as many books as you do." I smile. I have a feeling I'm going to get along with these boys very well.


"Where is Peeta, anyway?" Gale asks as he plops down to the brown couch next to me. After we finished unloading all of our stuff into a large room with blue walls with a closet as well as the dresser and bed promised, we were given a small tour of the house. It's two floors, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Finnick and Peeta's rooms are both upstairs, and our room is on the first floor, sandwiched between a quaint kitchen with yellow cabinets and a large bathroom; Gale wiggled his eyebrows at me when we saw the large shower and I had to smack his arm. After the tour, Finnick grabbed us all a beer and we plopped down in the spacious living room on the largest brown leather sofa I've ever seen, which faced the biggest TV I've ever seen. It was obvious that this was a home for boys. And now me.

"He had some errands to run. He wanted to get you guys a home warming gift or some shit—you know Peeta. He's all sentimental like that." Finnick pops open his beer and Gale nods knowingly. But I don't know Peeta, so I just smile at that; that's a really sweet thing to do. "And he needed some last minute things for dinner—he wanted to make your favorite."

Gale's eyes widen. "His making his lobster bisque?" Finnick nods and Gale fist pumps, then turns to me. "Baby you are going to love it. It's the most delicious thing on this planet. Plus, Peeta makes it with his homemade bread." Gale's brown eyes flicker with happiness and I lean in to give him a small kiss on his cheek.

"That does sound delicious." Then I turn to Finnick. "Does Peeta cook often?"

Finnick scoffs. "Often is an understatement. Peeta cooks our meals every day. He loves to cook and bake—he grew up working at his father's bakery, my step-dad, and he just never grew out of it. He goes to the culinary school at Johnson & Wales University and loves cooking things using the techniques he learns daily. It's definitely a perk to living with him." We all laugh and I smile widely. I think I'm going to like this Peeta guy.

Suddenly lights shine through the front windows and Gale jumps up off of the couch. "Peet's here!" A few seconds later, a man walks through the door holding a bag of groceries.

The man in front of me has to be one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen; beautiful, not handsome, but truly, unbelievably beautiful. His hair is a mop of dark blonde curls and he wears the biggest smile I've ever seen a human being have. He's tall, but not too tall, and he has a broad chest and strong shoulders. But it's his eyes that cause my breath to hitch; they're so very blue. Blue like the ocean on a summer day, and soft and glassy like he's been watching a sad movie and tears are about to spill over.

"Gale, man! I can't believe you're here!" Peeta says, pulling Gale into a big hug. Gale pounds his back and laughs boisterously, like a kid in a candy store. I get up off the couch, watching the two of them, when Peeta's eyes suddenly flicker to mine mid-hug. I can feel my pulse quicken. Gale pulls away, and Peeta's eyes stay locked on mine.

"Peeta, this is my girlfriend, Katniss," Gale says, waving his arm to me. I take a few steps towards them and put my hand out for Peeta to shake, but just like Finnick, he pulls me into a hug. My head hits the pale skin of shoulder, and there's a scent of dill and cinnamon and something else that overcomes me. His wraps his arms tentatively around my shoulders and then he pulls away and looks at me. I can't seem to pull my eyes away from his.

"It's nice to meet you Katniss, but I feel like I already know you," he says, still looking into my eyes; then his flicker to Gale and he smiles broadly. "Gale, here, has been talking about you for years!" He moves away from me and smacks his big hand on Gale's shoulder. Gale shrugs and looks at me, his eyes sparkling.

"How could I not man, I mean, look at her. She's beautiful." All three pairs of eyes are suddenly locked on me and I turn away; Gale chuckles, knowing how I hate attention.

"That she is," Peeta exhales. I turn around again in shock, but Peeta's looking at Gale and gripping his shoulder. "I can't believe you two are going to live with us! It's going to be awesome." Gale nods and laughs and Finnick comes over and grips the shoulder Peeta isn't.

"Wait, let me take a picture," I say, reaching into my pocket for my phone. I turn on the camera put it out in front of me. "Now smile, fellas. And try not too look douche-y." They all laugh and I take the picture. It's definitely a keeper.


Peeta told us he got us a bookcase for our housewarming present; apparently Gale had mentioned that we needed to buy one for the copious amounts of books I have. It was a really sweet gesture and I had to thank Peeta repeatedly, but he tried to convince me it was no big deal.

We all sit around the table laughing and chatting for hours, even after we've finished eating. The meal was delicious, just like Gale said it would be, and I found myself moaning in pleasure with each bite I took. Soon the boys get into chatting about the good ol' days.

"Remember that one time we plastered Mr. Willington's chair with tacks!" Finnick says, choking on his beer. Gale and Peeta laugh loudly.

"Yeah, that was hilarious," Gale says smiling. "And kind of mean. Man, we were kinda dicks." Finnick shrugs and Peeta nods, both of them still smiling. I decide to get up and wash the dishes and let to boys talk. Peeta quickly stands up to stop me.

"Katniss, no, I'll do that," he says, taking the bowl out of my hand. I quickly take it back.

"Peeta, I'll do it. We're gonna be roommates, remember? And we are going to need to share the duties equally anyway, so might as well start tonight." I try to smile in the most pleasant way I can, and I guess I succeed, because Peeta smiles back.

"Okay, I guess you have a point. I still don't like it though. I mean, you're probably tired from driving all day and it is your first day here and—"

"Peeta just let her," Gale chimes in. "She'll just argue with you for hours until you beg for her to stop talking, so you might as well just stop now." Gale smiles at me lovingly and winks. "She's stubborn like that."

Peeta laughs and turns back around to him. "Wow, sounds exactly like someone I know," he says, moving back to the table and smacking Gale on the shoulder. Peeta's exactly right—Gale is just as stubborn as I am, and though sometimes it leads to intense arguments that last for days, neither or use relenting, there's always fire between us, and it's never boring.

I get to cleaning the dishes a few feet from the dining room table and the boys continue chatting. I'm working particularly hard scrubbing the Crockpot when Peeta asks Gale a question.

"So how did you and Katniss meet anyway?" I look over my shoulder and see Peeta lift his beer bottle to red his lips and take a long swig, then I look to Gale and find him grinning at me; I smile back.

"Yes, please, tell us the story!" Finnick says, giggling and clapping sarcastically before leaning on his hands with a dreamy expression on his face. We all erupt in laughter. But Gale ignores him and tells the story anyway.

"I met her on my eighteenth birthday, which was a few days after her fifteenth birthday." I set the Crockpot in the sink and fill it up with warm water to let it soak, and turn around to lean against the counter. Finnick and Peeta look over at me.

"You're twenty-two?" Finnick asks. I nod my head. Then Gale continues and they look back to him.

"I went to the convenient store around the corner from my house to buy cigarettes, just because I could. I waited in line, bought the smokes, and then exited the store to stand on the sidewalk outside, giddy that I had been carded for the first time. Then a voice rang out behind me. 'Smoking kills, you moron.' I turned around, confused as all hell, when I locked eyes with that beautiful creature." He pauses in his story and points to me. I roll my eyes and he laughs before continuing. "I was shocked, I mean, some hot, short chick in a dress and hunting boots who I don't know is giving me crap for something I'm not even gonna smoke. And that's what I told her. She rolled her eyes, a gesture I've come to love, and started to walk away from me. But for some reason I had to convince her that I wasn't going to smoke them. I just didn't want this girl to think anything bad about me. I caught her arm and pulled her back to me. And she punched me."

Peeta and Finnick look at me in shock but I just shrug my shoulders. He deserved it. You can't just go around grabbing women and not get punched.

"Yeah, she did. But as soon I let her go, and grabbed my face in shock and pain, she instantly rushed to me and started apologizing. And I told her that the only way she could truly make it up to me was to go on a date with me. And she did. And the rest, as they say, is history." Gale finishes his story and takes a smug sip of his beer, then gets up out of his chair and crosses over to me. I recognize the look in his eyes and instantly pull his face down to mine as soon as he reaches me. His lips glide across mine like they have a million times before and my heart pounds in my ears. It's short, but heated and he pulls away with a smile on his face before turning around and moving back to the table—plopping down in his chair and taking another swig from his bottle.

"That's a great story, actually." Finnick says, nodding in approval. "I always love a story that includes someone causing you physical harm." Gale shrugs and Peeta laughs, the deep sound echoing around the kitchen. I turn back to the Crockpot and easily clean and dry it. As quickly as possible I put the dishes back in their respectful locations and return to the table and sit down in my seat next to Gale; he wraps his arm around my shoulder, like he has for the past seven years.

But it's different this time. I feel his blue eyes on me, and instantly wish Gale was on the other side of the room.


"I know you'll like them," Gale whispers in my ear as I curl up beside him in bed. "Especially Peeta. He's a lot like you, as you'll find out." He kisses behind my ear. "Just in different ways that I am."

I nod my head. "Yeah, I like him already. Both of them." His hand glides up my side and cups my left breast. But I push it away. "I'm really tired tonight." He nods and moves his hand to my hip instead.

I close my eyes, and exhale deeply, trying to fall asleep. But the memory of those blue eyes won't let me.