Gale pov
Night time had barely fallen and I knew I was going to be up all night. I was going to get ransacked with nightmares. I had to make sure not to wake Katniss...
I get nightmares every night. Not as bad as Katniss's, so I rarely wake her up unless it's to check that she's alive.
It's always the same dream. Of her jumping off the hanging tree. I know it's not real. She said she wouldn't. She's so much better. She's happier.
But that night, as Katniss tucks herself into me like we always to to fall asleep, I knew that that horrible dream, my worst nightmare would come back to haunt me. But I didn't want Katniss to see me cry. That would make her even more upset. I love Katniss more than anyone. Even my mother. I would probably die if she died, whether it be from heartache or on purpose.
So I closed my eyes and let Katniss's steady breaths lul me to sleep. But sure enough, the dream of Katniss on the tree played through my mind like a vivid horrible terrifying movie. In my dream, I ran towards her as she jumped but I was to late...
I woke up shrieking. So much for staying quiet. Katniss shot up like a bullet and looked at me.
"Gale-" I didn't even give her a chance to finish. I leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. She wasn't dead. It was just a dream. I unlocked our lips and put my head in my legs, trying not to let her see me cry this hard over a stupid dream.
She wrapped her arms around me from behind and rested her chin on my shoulder. Even a small gesture like this made me feel 100 times better.
Her mother eventually came racing in. We explained what had happened. I told her the gist of the dream. I felt the sobs coming through my voice. It's that aweful feeling where you have to take a big breath because you know you're about to cry.
So I did, but it came out all cracked and distressed. Katniss's mother sat on the edge of the bed while Gale katniss hugged me again. I wasn't going to cry. Not now.
Her mother looked at me sadly. She must have an understanding of how much I love Katniss. A simple dream caused all this sadness.
Katniss's mother leaves after tucking us back in and kissing us goodnight. Katniss lays her head back on my chest and whispers
"I love you Gale. More than you could ever know."
" I love you too Katniss. More than anything else."
And I leaned my head down so that our lips touched for a brief moment before we fell asleep in rhythm with one another's breath.