He strolled along the sidewalks of the districts, basking in the cool October sunshine. It was a little too cool for his light jacket, but the chill of the fall breeze wasn't enough to make him sway from his destination. He didn't smile at anyone he met, but it was clear that none of these new faces recognized his, which was good news to him. The last thing he wanted was an awkward confrontation of an old friend and the news of his arrival spreading through town. He hadn't told his mother he was coming for a reason: he didn't want the fanfare.

It was clear that nothing was the same, just a walk around the district could tell him that. The shops and houses he remembered were either rebuilt or replaced along the streets of District 12, and most of the people were either recovering or replaced. The starving, cold, sick memories of the past were just that—memories, memories that were replaced by the pleasant colored houses and full stomachs.

He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much to see the smiling faces of the kids playing on the sidewalks. It wasn't just the kids of district 12, but even the kids that he saw in 2 or anywhere else in Panem that he went. He attributed it to the lack of a "happy" childhood that he and his family had missed out on, the constant fear of the mines, starvation, and the risk of his secret hunting habit being found out.

He also attributed it to the whiskey he constantly drank, but he didn't like admitting that out loud.

So what was he holding on to? Was it the idea that one day things could magically go back to the way they were, except better? Was it the belief that saying sorry sincerely, face to face, could fix things as easily as a band-aid? That somehow he would finally find the magic words and there she'd be, arms open, ready to kiss him every night and have his babies.

There was only one thing from his past that he constantly felt the need to fix, he wasn't sure why, but for some reason she and all the mistakes he had made with her had been preying upon his mind all these years.

The chilled feeling from the breeze almost brought him back to memories from his teenage years—walking the girls home from school with his own brothers and sisters, taking the sluttiest girls in the district to the slag heap in the dead of night, and trudging through the woods looking for food… the list of memories he'd rather forget just drug on, and he found himself wishing he had packed more whiskey for this trip.

What was he doing?

It was a question he had asked himself at least ten times a day since he had made the decision to come. The invitation had to be something that was sent to him out of polite respect, not to actually get him to hop a train to 12. Surely no one had really expected him to come here, and that was why he had come. He had taken it as a sign, and maybe it was meant to be taken as a sign that she had moved on and was finally happy, but Gale determined it as a sign that he needed to intervene, and fast.

So he had called his boss, asked for two weeks off, hopped the first train he could catch and lit out for district 12.

And the closer the train brought him to his past, the more anxious he was. He only had two weeks, meaning he would be there for the wedding in a week and a half, and then he'd have a couple days to do…whatever. Gale knew he'd probably spend it sulking, but it would be better to sulk at home than to be by himself in his apartment. Besides, he hadn't been back to 12 to visit since… well, his mother would be happy to see him anyway, she had called to tell him she'd be in town a few days before, and made sure he knew what hotel she'd be at in case he wanted to come too.

By the time the train had halted in the familiar station, Gale had decided his first stop would be the familiar hunting grounds he used to roam. He needed the familiarity of the woods to slow his heartbeat, to clear his head, to help him find the words he so desperately needed.

With every step he took, he found himself calming down, the nerves fluttering away and the familiar confidence returning. Who was she to ruin him anyhow?, he thought to himself. She was a woman, and he could have any that he wanted in district 2 to fill his bed. She was nothing more than an old friend, like any of the war buddies he still kept up with. And he had kept up with most of them.

Delly Cartwright had gotten married to a man she met in 13 nearly three years ago and Gale had been there for it. He had kept his picture of the two of them dancing during the reception, all happy and smiling, just like the two years that brought them together hadn't happened. As if they were two friends dancing at a wedding, happy for each other, not two friends who had fought beside each other in a brutal war.

No one had mentioned her that day directly, but several of his old friends asked him if he'd ever be tying the knot. He had smiled, made some jokes, but the answer was always the same: he'd probably never get married, he had his shot at love.

And when Annie had gone into labor, he took a train and met Johanna in district 4. He was the first person to hold the baby and Annie even let him cut the baby's cord, and he went back to see the baby boy occasionally. He knew he'd never take Finnick's place, but the baby was the closest thing Gale was going to have to a son, and he had been making plans to move out to 4 so he could see them more.

When Johanna had her snowmobile accident two years ago, Gale had been the first person that was called and the first person to show up in district 7. He had stayed out there for nearly a month, working from his laptop at home and doing his best to nurse Johanna back to health. She never mentioned it, but he knew that she was dying to talk about what had happened after the war, and Gale's emotional state. But in all the time he spent with her, Johanna never brought it up. Gale thought that was part of why he liked seeing her so much, but he never pushed the thought.

And of course, every year, everyone from the rebellion was invited to 4 so Annie would give them a big Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas was spent at Johanna's, and since Gale's birthday was in the summer, they would all come to district 2 for that. He even made a point of visiting his mother and Posy in district 13 every so often, but his mother's new husband grated on his nerves. Even so, it was much easier for Gale to be surrounded by friends and family than on his own.

Haymitch would sometimes come out and visit with them, even though his time was limiting in his old age. He hadn't lasted long in the Capitol politics before he just quit liquor and alcohol—both cold turkey. His sudden marriage to Effie hadn't really surprised anyone except Johanna. She had thrown a fit about it for days afterward, Gale remembered, but eventually she had come to terms with it and the two of them went to visit the happy couple in the Capitol City. Their home was a pleasant color, but not too big, just like Haymitch would want. Gale had been worried about visiting them alone, so he took Johanna, and while the girls were catching up, Haymitch had asked him the one question most people tried to avoid, "How are you?"

"I'm okay," he had shrugged, "Army keeps me busy."

True to character, he had taken a drag off a cigar, "You be quiet about this, boy, Effie doesn't know about this," gesturing to his cigar. "helps me stay off the alcohol." He had paused, and Gale could still remember that piercing smile that seared through every pretense he had ever put up. "She still doesn't know, does she?"

"Know what?" he had testily answered.

"How much you love her."

Gale had found himself taken aback by the bluntness, mainly because everybody had been so careful to spare his feelings since the war ended. He never responded to the statement (still hadn't), and it had never come up again.

But as the years went on, only one member of the original Mockingjay team didn't show up. And the only person it didn't surprise was Gale.

Peeta had made her excuses at every function or party there had been in the years, but it still bothered everyone that she didn't want to be seen or to see them. In a way, they all understood (Gale most of all), but it still hurt their feelings that she was so ready to close the book on such a big chapter of their lives.

Gale looked up from his trip down memory lane, shoulders still broad with confidence; she was just another war buddy, and Gale was just another old friend attending her wedding. Gale almost smiled when he realized his feet had found the old familiar path, but frowned when it did not show the signs of neglect that he had figured. In fact, the path to the woods was quite worn, as if someone had been using it more than once or twice per day. There was only one person in the world that followed the same path Gale was using, and he felt his heart sink and his confidence give way.

"Katniss."

It almost hurt for Gale to say her name. He frowned, not realizing he had said it out loud. How long had it been since he had said her name, just in a casual conversation?

Even in the beginning of their friendship, Gale had always found a reason to talk about her, to bring her up, to brag on her. But since the war had ended, he had found himself doing everything he could to avoid her name, her picture, her personality, anything that resembled her. Even hunting. He had assumed that she had done the same, based on the casual but pointed reports Johanna would give him.

But she was hunting again.

Did going into the woods make her think of him? Surely it did.

Did she sit on their old rock and think about the past? Surely she did.

Or did she avoid their old spots altogether? He wouldn't blame her if she did.

He stopped where the fence should be…or, was. It was hard to think of district 12 as a completely new thing now; he needed to stop comparing it to what it was. He closed his eyes and remembered mornings of calmly listening to the fence, and he felt his heartbeat slow as his body yearned for the familiar buzz of the electric fence to signal his safe passage into the woods.

But the fence wasn't there anymore. Neither were any of the things that he so desperately wanted to see in this district.

So he opened his eyes again and kept walking the path to the hollow logs that housed their bows. He wondered if his was still there, preserved after all this time, because he had never had time to come back and get it after everything was settled. He started to panic a little, almost swearing at himself for coming into the woods with no more than his knife, but he held back and kept quiet when he saw the familiar glint of an arrow.

He jogged over to the glint and picked the bow out of the log and swore out loud, because this was not his bow. He didn't know how he was able to tell (it had been years, after all), but this was her bow, resting in the place where his should be. Why would she do that? And where was his bow if it wasn't here?

"Well if you're going to take my bow, I'll just hunt with yours," he said to no one, chuckling when he realized how much sass was in his voice. He didn't know if she would mind him taking her bow or not, but since she wasn't using it, he didn't figure she'd need it anytime soon.

He shrugged and took the sheath of arrows from the log too, deciding he could surprise his mother with some fresh meat when he finally went to where they were staying.

Why was she still keeping it in the woods, anyway? All the old laws had been abolished; hunting was legal now, so there was no reason to hide her weapons.

Maybe old habits die hard, Gale thought to himself.

Or maybe… could she have left it there, for him, knowing one day that he would come back and want to use it?

Gale rolled his eyes and himself and shook his head, he was reading too far into a story that had already ended.

The woods still showed signs of the bombs that had blown away the districts, a few burned logs here and there, but for the most part it had remained untouched. The burned logs brought him back to that memory of leading his friends out of the district, and watching several more acquaintances burn to death before his eyes.

He shook his shoulders and readied the bow. He hadn't shot in several years, but he figured it was like riding a bike and could be picked back up instantly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting his senses take over. Within seconds, he pulled back the string of the bow, and was back in the frame of mind he constantly kept when he was seventeen.

The woods took over his senses, he was hunting.

Several missed birds, squirrels, and one fat rabbit later, Gale realized that picking hunting back up wasn't as easy as he previously thought.

He was frustrated, there wasn't anyone around to tell him why his shooting was off. Normally she was the first one to tell him that he was jerking at the last second or that his aim was just off. But she wasn't here, so he was trying to make due on his own.

And he was doing a piss-poor job.

The sun was starting to set, so he decided if he missed one more animal, he was going home. A squirrel ran across a tree in his line of sight, so he took a deep breath, drawing back the bow, and firing on the animal.

And he missed.

Gale swore audibly, scaring off any game that was left. He rolled his eyes at his stupidity and made his way back to the rock. He slumped in his normal spot and put her bow on her side.

It felt…empty without her there. That was the best adjective he could come up with. It wasn't quite lonely—although he did wish she were here—but it just felt weird.

He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. It was so nice to be home, even if the circumstances were the complete opposite of the last time he was here. He thought back to the very last time he had sat in this spot, on this rock. Katniss had wanted to come back before…

Before he tore apart both their worlds.

Had he known it was going to be the last time, what would he have done? Kissed her? Told her he loved her? No, because something like that would've ruined the magic of their spot. That's what Gale realized he missed the most about home: the magic of their woods.

It wasn't the thrill of the hunt or the fluidity of their partnership that made the woods magic, and Gale couldn't really admit to himself what it was that made the place magical to them, but it was. He spent hours thinking about it in district 2 and the only thing he could think that was really magical about the woods was the feeling of normality and regularity that he and Katniss shared in a world that was quickly falling apart.

In the days of the old Panem, the old district 12, the old Gale and Katniss, the only regularity they had was the familiar hunting grounds and their own partnership. It was normal for them both to rise before the sun and head to the woods to hunt, normal for them to tease each other, normal to hunt.

His phone started to buzz in his pocket, and he ignored it, questioning why he brought the damn thing anyway. It was either the real world calling to see where the hell he was, or someone who was calling to check on his mental status, and he didn't really have the patience or time for either.

He tried to smile at the setting sun but found he couldn't manage more than a smirk. He knew he should probably go home soon and surprise his family, but he couldn't wait to find his bow and come back out here every day for the next two weeks. He got up from the rock and started to walk back to town, it seemed longer than the walk into the woods, but he smiled when he realized how happy his mother would be to see him.

When he walked to the hollow log, he wondered again where his bow was, and if Katniss even came to the woods to hunt anymore. He knew there was only one way to really find out how much she was hunting or how often, or how pissed she would be when she realized he was back in town. So instead of placing her bow carefully back into the log, he simply placed the wedding invitation there and left it. He figured she would realize instantly who left her the message, picking up on his humor as if the last few years hadn't past—and if she didn't, it would let Gale know that the Katniss he knew was gone and wasn't ever coming back.

His phone started to buzz again, he groaned, picking it out and was partially surprised to see a photo of Johanna come up on the screen. Even though they lived so far away, Gale was always happy to know that she never forgot him. Their relationship had never been of a romantic sort (except for one awkward night that Gale couldn't forget, regardless of how much whiskey he had had), but Johanna was his closest friend…almost closer than Katniss had been.

He touched the screen to answer her call, "Hello Jo."

"Gale! Where on earth are you? Paylor called me this morning wondering if you had come out here."

He smirked and rolled his eyes before remembering that she couldn't see him. He just remained silent and waited for her to panic.

But Johanna didn't panic.

"Did you go out there?" she asked, in a low voice.

"I did."

She sighed, "What is that going to accomplish, Gale? Are you trying to be killed?"

"She's not going to kill me," Gale chuckled.

"There's only three ways I see this ending," Johanna went on, as if she hadn't heard him. "Either she kills you or Peeta does—"

"Not going to happen."

Johanna huffed her breath, "Do you mind if I talk for a minute?"

Gale smiled, "Please, go on."

"Either one of them kill you, you somehow stop the wedding, or…" her voice lowered to a sad whisper. "Or they get married and it breaks your heart…again."

It was rare that Johanna actually pretended she ever had a heart, so Gale just remained silent, unable to face the truth in her voice. If the wedding took place, it would 100% shatter the remainder of the heart he had left. It made Gale question why he had really come out to district 12 in the first place.

Would he try to interrupt the wedding? Was he trying to confuse her enough to doubt herself?

Could he live with himself if he did?

"Gale, are you going to be able to do this alone?"

He took a deep breath, "I don't know, Johanna. I don't really even know why I'm here, it just felt like where I was supposed to be."

"Do you want me to come down for the wedding? At least then you could pretend I drug you down there."

He thought about the idea—it was going to be a lot easier to explain that Johanna had made him come rather than him just thinking it was a good idea. He smiled wide for the first time in years.

"Yeah, come down. How soon can you be here?"