Rated T | One-shot (~3.5k words) | Complete | Read on AO3 (link is in the notes)
Nearly twenty years after he last stepped foot in the Capitol, Gale and the other rebellion heroes return at the request of the current president. Being in the city that lives in his nightmares is hard, but reuniting with Katniss and Peeta after all this time is petrifying.
Somehow, he didn't think he would ever see Katniss again. He was wrong.
Even stranger was the fact that he didn’t know her anymore. They were just two strangers.
Two Strangers
Gale kept his eyes locked on the soft brown hair that was, of course, resembling a bird’s nest on top of his son's head; the silky black hair of his oldest daughter the hung down her back loosely; and the flame red hair of his youngest daughter that was pulled into a side braid.
It had been years since he felt that familiar tug of pain in his chest, but he did in that moment. He blamed it on the fact he was back in the Capitol. After so many years of trying to run from his past – of pushing his feelings and inner demons away – they seemed so close to the surface now that he was back in this cursed city.
Almost as if his wife could sense his unease, her fingertips brushed against the back of his hand, bringing him back to the present. That was one thing he loved about Penelope; she always knew what he was thinking, most times before he knew it himself.
He glanced away from his children, pulling his gaze towards the woman by his side. She was staring up at him, her forehead creased with worry. He knew what she was thinking in that moment. She was worried for him.
He moved forward, pressing a sweet kiss to her forehead, trying to sooth away her worries. He shouldn’t have been worried. The war was over. Panem was in a time of peace. People were happy. He was happy.
Still, walking the streets of the Capitol brought a chill over him. The last time he walked the streets, he had been fighting for his life. He doubted those sounds would ever leave him. It was a lifetime ago, yet he could recall it all with perfect clarity.
He tried to pull his mind away from those days he spent in the Capitol by capturing his wife’s hand with his. He didn’t want to think about Finnick. He didn’t want to think about his throat burning from the sheer volume of his screams He didn’t want to think about Katniss’ look of betrayal when she realized what he did.
