The Return of Gale Hawthorne | An After Mockingjay OneShot

The Return of Gale Hawthorne

The Return of Gale Hawthorne

He trod through the bustle of people, taking in his old home. The once sallow streets of District 12 were alive with colour, and people had returned in the eighteen years he's been gone, giving them a larger population than ever - all thanks to her.

He wondered whether his family still lived here. What had become of his mother and his brothers and baby sister. They hadn't kept in touch after he moved away, and it was one of his biggest regrets.

A tall gate was in sight now, the title stretched out across it. Victors Village. He took in a sharp intake of breath, his heart beating fast, and jogged towards it. The people around him barely noticed his quickened pace, leaving the path in front of him clean, and he reached the large gate in no time.

Taking a quick glance behind him, the dark - haired, grey - eyed man continued on, slowing his jog back to a walk. There were many houses in this section of town, but it seemed that only two were occupied, both lit up with glowing lights.

He stumbled towards the first, ringing the doorbell clumsily, but no one answered. Something clicked in his mind that maybe this was the wrong home, maybe it was Haymitch's, and he walked towards the other home, on the opposite side of the square, passing the frozen - over water fountain as he went.

The sun was only just rising in the sky, but it did nothing to thaw the heavy sheet of snow on the ground. He near enough slid to the floor a few times, but after a moment or two of careful and precise steps he made it to the door of what was hopefully her home.

He knocked lightly, careful not to disturb anyone inside too much, and waited. Not a moment later, the door swung open to reveal a small boy.

He was about to apologise and say that he must have gotten the wrong house, when he caught side of the toddlers eyes. Frowning slightly, he took in the rest of the boys appearance. Blond curls atop his head, a strong, stout figure, and her eyes. His hair, her eyes.

" Who are you?" the boy asked in a demanding voice, reminding him so of her. His heart ached.

" I-is your mother home?" he managed, swallowing thickly. The boy raised an eyebrow at him and ran down the hall, disappearing up a flight of stairs.

And he waited.

Around five minutes later, he heard her voice. " Stay up here, sweetie," was what she said. But it didn't sound like her. It sounded much older, much more mature than she had ever sounded. Much happier.

And them there she was, running down the stairs and tying a tie round her dressing gown as she went. She stopped up short in the middle of the hallway, and the blond man behind him almost thudded right into her.

" Gale," she whispered, and the man who looked so much like herself smiled slightly at her. He nodded gently and she took a few steps forward.

The man behind her - presumably her husband, and the man that had gone through two games with her, Peeta Mellark - raised an eyebrow at Gale and followed his wife. She reached up to touch her best friends face with wrinkled hands, as if checking if he was real, and he whispered, " It's me, Katniss."

Katniss drew her hand away as though to drop it, but instead brought it back to his face, striking his cheek with such force that a slapping noise echoed around the Victors Village. He clutched his cheek, spitting the blood forming in his mouth out onto the snow.

She turned on her heel and stomped back upstairs. Peeta shrugged at Gale and reached out to pat his shoulder.

" I bet," the blond - haired man said, " that you didn't miss that." Gale almost laughed. Almost. " Come in."