I do not own the characters.

Most days, the TV was just white noise in the background. After years of mandatory viewing, Gale Hawthorne would've expected to be relieved that he could turn the damn thing off. But, oddly, after the war he'd found that he missed having the low hum in the background. So here he was, three peaceful years behind him, quietly working on an assessment of new recruits while the entertainment news pattered on in the background.

Today, however, the announcer said something that stopped his hand, his breath, and his heart for a moment.

"You've all heard the rumors, and they are true! An announcement in the District 12 Daily Post confirms: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are engaged to be married! I know you viewers will join all of us here at WCMH in wishing years of joy to the Mockingjay and her Baker."

Engaged. Again. It shouldn't have shocked Gale as much as it did. He hadn't been back to District 12 in a long time, but he still heard the district news from his mother. Peeta and Katniss had gotten back together after the war. They'd been living together for over a year. Of course they were going to get married. Of course.

And yet, how can a man not be shocked when he hears that the woman he loves – or once loved, anyway – is marrying another man? He wondered.

Gale tapped a button on his desk, and his secretary answered, "Yes, sir?"

"Can you find me a phone number, please? In District 12. It's under Everdeen," he said.

"Certainly, sir. Do you want me to get someone on the line?" the man answered.

"No," Gale said. "Just give me the number." No matter what other people are doing for me these days, she'd never "hold for the General."