Katniss didn't really have the time to consider romance when she was worried about survival. When Peeta and Gale both made their feelings clear, Katniss wasn't entirely receptive despite caring for them both. In the end, her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged, with Peeta ultimately winning her heart.
She understands that Gale is more than a friend to her but can't admit that she has romantic feelings toward him. She recalls their time in the woods, how she is a better hunter when he is there with her because she trusts him. They depend upon one another to survive and to provide for their families.
When Gale is most in pain is when Katniss kisses him, and this is true again as we see her answer Gale's pain with a kiss. She wants to give Gale what he wants, but she can't yet completely commit to him, as she must think of her family and Peeta and being the Mockingjay for the revolution.
In chapter 14 of Mockingjay, Gale embraces katniss to kiss her, she kisses Gale back, not because of desire but because she feels like she owes him these kisses and she's lonely.
In the end, Katniss and Gale grew apart, as many childhood friends and young loves do. She needed something different in her life, and with Gale's link to Primrose's death, Katniss found a reason to cut ties. If Katniss ever wanted to find comfort again, she knew she had to return to Peeta for the long term.
Although she will never know for sure, Katniss does recognize that she cannot be with Gale. She will never be able to forgive him for his idea — the parachute bombs — that killed Prim.
Katniss here's this and understands that even though she may not love Peeta (then) that it's one less person who has to die. (At least that's what I have always thought.) Katniss realizes that if she pretends to be in love with Peeta people will want the capitol to let them survive.
The woods are now ruined. Katniss decides that the Capitol views her and Gale's weekly hunting trips — and the one time that Gale unexpectedly kissed her, which Snow knows about — as flaunting her defiance in front of the entire district.
Katniss thinks about how she and Peeta are supposed to be in love as she kisses him, and she also points out that she realizes Peeta's feelings have actually been to her benefit. Their relationship has attracted a great deal of attention, which in turn means more sponsors.
Gale does not marry anyone in The Hunger Games. He and Katniss talk about running away together and starting a new life in the wilderness, but they never officially marry.
Katniss is told to put on her Mockingjay uniform and join Gale and Finnick for some filming of the destruction aboveground. Coin wants to make it clear that the Mockingjay lives. But Katniss can't perform for the propos because she's too upset about Peeta and grows increasingly distraught.
What is the age difference between Gale and Katniss?
How old are Katniss and Gale? Gale is eighteen in The Hunger Games, two years older than Katniss. Since the citizens of the Districts cannot be selected after they turn nineteen, this is the last year when Gale can be chosen as a Tribute.
He Didn't Save Peeta's Family But some people believe Gale may have had more malicious reasons for not helping them. However, Peeta's family wasn't great. His parents were abusive, or at least distant. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had his family survived, but no one missed them much.
It's only implied that they get it on via snuggling and other affectionate acts in close quarters — but if you have read the book, they really imply that they took their relationship to the next level.
Gale constantly does not understand katniss' trauma, and puts his feelings above hers every time. She is left traumatized from being in the hunger games and killing other kids, and all he cares about is her relationship with peeta, which was an act of self perseverance on her part.
Gale is jealous of Peeta and the relationship he has with Katniss, and he wants Katniss to decide between them, though he doesn't press Katniss during her recovery in District 13. Gale is an excellent hunter and excels at setting snares and traps.
Snow can't stand to see a young woman betray a young man's affection—his view of what happened 65 years ago. And so he takes out his old, festering wound on Katniss.
Gale's jealousy towards Peeta stemmed from his feelings for Katniss and his desire to be with her. Even after Katniss became engaged to Peeta, Gale still harbored feelings for her and was unable to fully let go of his jealousy and resentment towards Peeta.
In Chapter 9, as Caesar Flickerman interviews Peeta before the Games, Peeta reveals to Caesar and all of Panem that he's in love with Katniss. Peeta's revelation sets in motion the storyline of him and Katniss as ill-fated lovers that carries on throughout the Games.
Later, the two learn President Snow considered their actions to be an act of rebellion against the Capitol. After their last interview, in which the two continue to affect their romantic feelings for one another, Peeta comes to the realization Katniss has staged her love for him all along.
In the arena, Peeta loves Katniss for the same reasons we love Katniss, multiplied by a lifetime of silent longing. Yet he's really only known her for a month. He's 16 years old and very much caught up in his crush. He loves an image of Katniss, and he's imagined this role for himself as epic lover.
Gale was responsible for creating weapons that would trigger a second wave of bombs to target first responders and combat healers. This invention potentially ended up killing Prim, but even if he wasn't directly responsible, Katniss found this tactic so abhorrent that she lost her affection for him.
Katniss speculates that Coin deliberately sent Prim to die in the Capitol bombing in order to fully gain her trust, but it's never outright confirmed or denied.
