Disclaimer: The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. This is a parody fanwork by fans for fans. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.

You Had Me At Hello
by FanficAllergy and RoseFyre

oOo

*Hello.*

That one word in fancy feminine script wrapped around Gale Hawthorne's right fourth finger like a weird wedding ring.

*Hello.*

Do you know how many times he heard 'hello' from people he'd never met?

Every damned day! That's how many!

Every time it happened his heart jumped a little and he fumbled to speak. The last thing he wanted was for his soulmate to have an equally useless mark like 'hey' or 'yeah.'

So to combat his soulmate's utter lack of imagination, Gale got into the habit of saying something a bit more unique, from 'hello to you sweet stuff' to pretty Bristel Myers to 'oh please not you!' to Haymitch Abernathy. It was hard. He was a kid from the Seam with only the most basics of education. He'd leave the fancy metaphors and over the top greetings to the Capitol soap operas and Caesar Flickerman. No, Gale did his best to think of something original, all the while watching for any tell which might indicate he'd finally found the person destiny decided was his perfect match.

So far, he hadn't had any luck.

He had gotten a few sympathetic looks on top of the amused ones. Even strangers knew Gale Hawthorne had quite possibly the world's most annoying soulmate. Some kids, once they learned Gale's words, even dared other kids to go up and say 'Hello' to him. A snarled, 'get the hell away from me!' and a bloody lip stopped that game. After that, Gale got in the habit of wrapping a little piece of string around his finger to hide the mark. Although every night, he pulled it off, washed his hands, and wondered, not for the first time, if we would ever meet *Hello.*

He hoped he would. He dreamed of kissing *Hello* senseless before berating her for her poor greeting choice.

It was a good dream.

The morning of his second to last Reaping started much as usual, with him meeting Katniss at their spot by the blackberry bushes. He liked Katniss, and maybe in another universe, he might have fallen in love with her. But damn it, he was going to find *Hello* if it was the last thing he did!

Katniss wasn't *Hello.* In fact, the first thing she said to him was her name, which immediately took her out of the running.

They'd talked about it once, and she'd revealed that she hadn't met her soulmate yet either. He didn't know who *Good Luck* written neatly down her right shin was, but whoever it was was going to be a lucky man. Katniss was the kind of woman you'd start a rebellion over. And if her soulmate didn't realize that, Gale was willing to beat it into his skull.

The two friends worked together efficiently, harvesting the fruits of the woods in order to feed their families. In a way, Gale was glad that Katniss wasn't his soulmate. Good hunting partners were hard to find. And Katniss was the best, killing several squirrels and a rabbit with her bow.

After they finished stripping the strawberry patch, Katniss looked up at the sun, brushing her hands off on her pants. "Do you think you can take these to the Mayor today?"

"Uh, sure. But why? You're the one who's friends with the Mayor's daughter."

"I know, but I need to make another stop. Mom's asked me to pick something up from the Apothecary, and I can't do that, go to the Hob, trade one of these squirrels at the Bakery, get ready for the Reaping, and manage to make it to the Mayor's house while the berries are still fresh."

Gale made a face. He hated having to deal with the merchants. Any trading he did, he did at the Hob. "For you, Catnip. Sure. Anyone else I'd tell them to go fuck themselves."

"Thanks," she said, giving him one of her rare half-smiles. "If it makes you feel any better, I think it's 'cause Prim's coming down with something."

Gale nodded, he was protective of his little sister too. "Well, I hope she feels better. Those summer colds are the worst."

They packed up their haul and slipped back under the fence, parting ways, Katniss to the Hob, Gale to the Mayor's house. He didn't have enough to warrant trading at the Hob. What he had would barely be enough to feed his family for another day. The money from the Mayor's sweet tooth would hopefully make up for it.

Dropping his kills off at home, Gale strode into town. He was honest enough with himself to admit that he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to the merchants. It wasn't fair that they had so much and his family had so little. It's not like his family were any less worthy. Someday, he promised himself, his ma wouldn't have to take in other people's laundry. Someday, she'd be the one with a maid and a full belly. Not the other way around. He dreamed about this life about as often as he dreamed about *Hello.*

Neither dream was any closer to coming true.

Knocking on the Mayor's door, he heard the unmistakable tones of the man's daughter. "I'll get it! It's probably Katniss!"

Gale made a face.

Great...

Just who he wanted to deal with. The spoiled brat.

The door opened, revealing Madge Undersee.

Seeing Gale in front of her, the Mayor's daughter started back a little bit in surprise. "Hello."

"I'm not Katniss."

Her eyes widened. "No. You're not, are you?"

"I've got strawberries," he said, holding out the cloth pouch.

"Uh huh," she said, still blinking at him.

"Madge, darling, who's at the door?"

The girl shook off her dazed expression and called back, "It's my soulmate, Daddy!"

Gale's jaw dropped. "What?"

"What?" The Mayor echoed.

Regaining his senses, Gale stated, "No. No way. No way in hell I'm your soulmate."

"I'm sorry?" She pulled down the neckline of her dress, revealing the words *I'm not Katniss.* written in his slanted handwriting across the top of her left breast. "I think you kinda are."

All thoughts of kissing the girl flew out of his mind and he skipped directly to the berating part. "Couldn't you think of something better than 'Hello'?"

"Well, what was I supposed to say?"

"Anything other than that!"

"Well I'm sorry my family raised me to be polite!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Clearly I'm the only one!"

The insult got his hackles up. "My ma only raised me to be polite to people who deserved it. I don't see anyone around here fittin' that description."

"Damn you, Gale Hawthorne, you're an asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah. What're you gonna do about it?"

"This!" she said, reaching up on her tiptoes and pulling his mouth down to hers.

He stood there for a moment in shock.

She'd kissed him!

The Mayor's daughter actually kissed him!

It was supposed to be the other way around. He was supposed to be the one to kiss her!

And that's when other facts started to seep into his brain. Like the fact that her lips were soft, and she smelled of lavender and something unmistakably feminine.

He wanted more.

Dropping the strawberries to the ground, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his body, deepening the kiss.

She groaned against his mouth.

The sound rippled through him, homing in on one particular part of his anatomy. He was never going to let her go.

Never!

"Madge, honey," the Mayor said while coming down the stairs, "you never told me who-oh! Nevermind."

Her father's voice was like a splash of cold water to the teens and the two reluctantly separated.

Pushing back her disheveled blonde hair, Madge said, "Sorry about that, Daddy. You know how these things are." She was trying to sound contrite and failing miserably.

"Riiiight," the Mayor returned, shaking his head in amusement. "So, son, I suppose I should say welcome to the family."

Gale stared at the Mayor, realization dawning. "Aw, fuck. This means I'm gonna be a merchant. I hate merchants."

His soulmate snuggled up against his side. "Join the club."

oOo

AN:
Written: 10/29/15
Revised: 10/30/15

Written for DandelionLass, one of our betas, as a pick me up and thank you for being awesome.

The whole your soulmate's first words being written on your skin was originated by Amusewithaview in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.