This was written for Gadge week on tumblr. The prompts were "Sneaking and/or Snares".
Hope you enjoy what I've come up with!
Disclaimer: The Hunger Games trilogy, its characters and everythin else belongs to Suzanne Collins.
Sneaking
Madge just finished her shift in the hospital when Bristel called, "Madge, you've got a visitor." She pulled her hair out of her bun, combed her fingers through it and sighed. She thoroughly disliked wearing her hair in a bun because the hairpins that District 13 had given her poked into her skull and often caused headaches.
She wondered who'd come to see her, her father was in a meeting with Coin and others while her mother either was in their apartment or working as well. Much had changed for the Undersee family since they had left District 12, but Madge was glad that they were still alive. Not many people from Town had survived the bombings and Madge's family was one of the few that was still intact.
Bristel gave her a smirk when she passed Madge which puzzled the blonde even more. She stepped out of the hospital wing and as her gaze fell on her visitor, she blushed, "Gale! What are you doing here?"
Gale Hawthorne casually leaned against the nearest wall, a tiny smile on his face and his gray eyes alight with mischief. God, he looks so handsome. The warmth in her cheeks spread, butterflies erupted in her stomach and she cursed herself for her fair complexion.
Gale had personally saved Madge and her parents all these months ago. After they had all successfully arrived at District 13 Madge hadn't seen him for weeks. She hadn't had the chance to thank him. To tell him how much it meant to her when she knew that he actually didn't particularly like her and had probably saved her because of Katniss or because he felt an obligation to do so.
But one night, when sleep had been impossible, she had literally ran into him and from then on they saw each other more and more. She finally got to know the Gale Katniss knew and after three months, Madge was head over heels in love with him. He was so different; suddenly he was charming, funny and genuinely nice to her and also her parents. When they were alone, Gale subtly flirted with her and occasionally he hugged her without any reason. Madge had also gotten to know Gale's mom and his siblings and she couldn't imagine a nicer family than the Hawthornes.
His smile widened. Madge was surprised to see him, she thought he'd be in the same meeting her father was in.
"I've got a surprise for you." He pushed away from the wall with his hands deep in the pockets of his army pants and his dog tags shining in the dim light. Gale came to stand right in front of her and as he pushed away a lock of her hair, Madge had to force herself not to gasp. She was almost used to Gale's hugs now, but any other contact made her shy and feel like a silly school girl. Which she didn't want to be. She wanted to be confident and bold around him, but he – "Do you trust me, Madge?"
She laughed nervously, "Yeah, I guess …" When he cupped her cheek, her heart did an unexpected summersault and then fluttered in her chest as if a tiny bird was trapped in there. Gale freaking Hawthorne was cupping her cheek. Gale Hawthorne was so close that Madge could see tiny flecks of gold in his gray eyes.
"You guess?" Gale looked hurt for a moment. "Okay, that sounded wrong. Of course I trust you, Gale. You saved my life." Madge silently congratulated herself for not stuttering. She knew she was still flushed, but otherwise she was 99 % sure that she looked calm and collected.
Nodding, he pulled a piece of blue cloth from his pocket. "I'm not allowed to show you which way we'll use to get to the surprise so I'll have to blindfold you, Madge. Are you okay with that?"
Oh, she was very okay with that. He'd have to touch her again, possibly hold her hand while walking and Madge almost shivered with excitement. She never knew that you could crave someone else's touch that much. His hands were rough, but always warm which Madge loved because the heating in District 13 wasn't that great.
"Madge?" He inquired gently. "Yes, but don't let me run into a wall, though." She tried to look stern, but when Gale laughed and actually pulled her into his arms, she gasped against his firm chest. "Don't worry, I wouldn't want to damage such a lovely face."
Blushing furiously now, Madge couldn't help but ask herself what the hell was going on. She absolutely didn't mind Gale being so touchy-feely and charming, but it also made her nervous. She felt like something monumental was about to happen today.
Gale fastened the cloth carefully, "Can you still see me?"
Madge shook her head whereupon he took her hand, linked their fingers together and led her down the hallway. They passed the next few minutes in silence which was only interrupted when he quietly told her to step carefully because of the uneven ground.
Madge heard how Gale opened a door and suddenly she was able to see again. She blinked before her gaze slowly focused on a flight of stairs in front of her.
"I was actually told to keep your blindfold on until we're past the stairs, but I didn't want you to climb them without seeing them. So don't tell anyone."
Madge frowned, this so-called surprise seemed really mysterious and pretty forbidden, "Gale, where exactly are we going?" "Up."
"Duh! I meant what's our destination and why am I getting the feeling that we're not allowed to be here?" She put her hands on her hips, impatiently tapped her foot and waited.
"Okay, we're not supposed to be here, but only one person knows and he won't tell." "So we're sneaking around?" Madge couldn't believe it. The last time Gale was caught doing something illegal he was whipped and almost died. Okay, she didn't think the same would happen here, but she was still worried. "Gale! What if we get caught? And who is this person that knows where we're going?"
"Madge, relax. It's Haymitch and I promise we won't get caught. I'll return you safely to your parents and no one will know where we've been. Just trust me."
Madge was still frowning, but she knew that she could trust Gale and also Haymitch. She nodded wordlessly and climbed the stairs.
She lost count after 100 steps and merely focused on her breathing. She was embarrassingly out of shape while Gale, who was directly behind her, wasn't even breathing hard. At last they reached a second door which he opened with a heavy looking key.
It slowly opened, creaking slightly, and then Madge's jaw dropped. Her worry was instantly replaced by giddy excitement because warm sunlight was shining on her face, unseen birds were singing and a light wind caught her loose hair.
Gale," she managed to stutter. "Surprise," he whispered in her ear, then took her hand and pulled her outside.
"Oh my God, Gale! Is this real?" Madge stared around in disbelief. She was outside again! After having spent six months above ground, she was outside and able to breathe fresh air. Everything – the trees, the grass, the sky and the sun – looked brighter, more colorful, almost magical even.
Gale chuckled, "It's definitely real." Madge couldn't help herself; she pulled him into a fierce hug and somehow managed to say, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love it, Gale."
She felt how his fingers ran through her hair, how he pressed her closer as if he didn't want to let her go. But he did, "You're welcome. We cannot stay long, but I wanted you to see the sun again. I heard you and Posy talk about it the other day."
It was true; a few days ago Madge had looked after Posy when the little girl had suddenly exclaimed that she missed the sunlight. Madge had readily agreed and their conversation had quickly turned to how much they missed their home. Posy missed making mud cakes in front of her house whereas Madge missed her piano and sitting in the shade of the big oak tree that had stood in her garden.
Madge was so stunned, in disbelief actually that he'd do something like that for her. Gale was so thoughtful that she wanted to do nothing more than kiss him senseless. But she didn't, because what if she was reading him all wrong and he just wanted to be a good friend? His friendship was better than not having Gale in Madge's life. If she kissed him now and he didn't reciprocate her feelings, things would get awkward and she'd lose him eventually.
He took her hands that were resting on his broad shoulders and squeezed them, "Let's walk around for a while, we really don't have much time."
Madge nodded, but first she had to do something she hadn't done for many months. She pulled off her shoes and socks before sinking her naked feet into the grass. Her sigh was blissful and carefree. Wriggling her toes, she grinned up at Gale, "This is the best surprise ever."
He laughed, a full belly laugh that usually only Posy evoked from him. "I'm glad. C'mon, you can walk barefoot while we'll have a look around."
They explored the area, laughing, teasing and just being happy that they were out in the sunlight. Madge couldn't remember a time when she'd been this happy; she had been content in District 12, satisfied with her life, but right now, she wanted to scream out her joy and do silly things.
Gale swung their hands when his gaze suddenly fixed on a little bush in front of them, "Look, Madge!"
She looked ahead, unsure what he meant, "What? Where?" Smiling like she had never seen him smile before, Gale knelt down and pointed to – "Strawberries! That's what they look like before they're picked?" He nodded, pulled Madge down and ate one sweet berry. "They're really good."
Gale collected a few, held out his hand and grinned, "For old times' sake."
As they ate, they talked about their old district and after a while, Gale rose again. "We have to go back, we stayed a little longer than I had intended."
Madge exhaled noisily, disappointed that they had to leave and go below ground again. The sun was too nice and the sounds of nature all around her made her feel homesick. Nevertheless, she took Gale's outstretched hand and he helped her up. His hands settled right on Madge's hips and he drew her to him until they were touching from chest to toe. One of his hands sneaked into her hair before it came to rest on her cheek. Madge's lips parted in anticipation. This was it, she was standing on the precipice and she'd either crash and burn or soar into the sky.
Gale's gaze was intense, but this time she didn't blush. He was going to kiss her and she was so, so ready for it. He tipped her face upwards and finally, after months of dreaming about this, Gale's lips were on Madge's. He kissed her bottom lip, but when she made a noise of frustration, he drew her even closer and oh wow, then Gale Hawthorne was really kissing her!
He tasted like the strawberries he'd just eaten but also like something else that Madge hadn't identified yet. Just when she stroked her fingers through his hair, he ended their kiss. He didn't step back though so his breath was still caressing her wet lips. "Madge," he whispered before flicking his tongue against her fuller lip. "You're so sweet. So freaking gorgeous and I'm crazy about you."
Gale kissed her again, passionately this time and Madge's heart was soaring. This was finally happening! Kissing Gale felt like the easiest thing in the world. It was much better than Madge had imagined it to be and if she hadn't been kissing him, she would have dance around, repeating the words he'd just uttered over and over again. Gale Hawthorne was crazy about Madge Undersee!
His tongue licked and teased her and although Madge was getting rather breathless, she would have stayed in his arms for the next hours, days even if they hadn't been interrupted by Gale's beeping watch. He groaned against her lips, "We really have to go back inside now or we'll be in trouble after all."
His thumb rubbed her lips, then he stole one last kiss from her and they quickly walked back. "Gale, my shoes," Madge remembered when they had almost reached the door. "Right," he picked them up and steadied her when she slipped them on again, forgoing her socks.
Holding hands, they hurried down the stairs until they reached the other door. "Baby, I have to blindfold you again or I'll be in trouble with Haymitch."
Madge nodded, what else could she do when Gale called her baby after having made out with her? Once the blindfold was over her eyes again, he unexpectedly lifted her on his back, opened the door and entered District 13 again.
Madge giggled while pressing herself against Gale's back. She was feeling rather wicked so she pressed a kiss against his neck. He almost stumbled which made her laugh out loud. "Madge," he said warningly, "no funny business while I'm carrying you." Ignoring Gale's warning completely, she moved her lips up until she found his earlobe. She sucked it into her mouth, being immensely pleased with herself when he groaned and actually stopped walking. "Madge, we're in a hallway filled with surveillance cameras. Cameras that your father has access to. I don't think he wants to see how his only child sucks on a guy's earlobe."
Madge turned her head slightly, "Don't worry, he likes you, I doubt he wouldn't mind much." But still, she pecked his cheek once and didn't kiss him again. Soon Gale set her down, took off the blindfold and she was surprised to see that they were standing in front of her apartment's door. Madge peered up at him, almost feeling shy again, "Thank you, Gale. That was unbelievably sweet. I had a lovely time."
He cocked his head to the side, "You're welcome. We've got about 5 minutes to spare before your father will leave his meeting and go home."
Madge leaned against the wall, appearing more relaxed than she actually was and hooked her index fingers through his belt loops, "I know how I want to spend these 5 minutes." Gale cradled her face in his warm hands, kissed the tip of her nose, but pulled back again, "Madge, you haven't said anything about what I told you… " He trailed off leaving Madge floored. Was Gale feeling insecure? Wow.
He looked at her imploringly, his gray eyes flecked with even more gold than before and Madge realized that she had indeed never answered him when he had somehow confessed his feelings.
"I'm crazy about you too," she burst out. "I'm head over heels in – " Madge stopped, it was definitely too soon to say that, but Gale smiled and saved her. "Me too." He paused for a moment, giving her time to adjust to the news which Madge certainly needed time after hearing such an announcement. Gale felt the same way about her than she felt about him. Her whole body was suddenly vibrating with happiness and she pulled him closer, "So…?"
"So will you have me as your boyfriend so that I can sneak you on many more dates above ground or also here? I promise they'll all be exciting."
It somewhat surprised Madge had Gale considered this a date, but she didn't mind at all and answered with a heartfelt, "Yes, but you're telling my parents that we're together." He smiled, kissed her palmed and replied confidently, "That's a deal I'll glad make with you."
They kissed again and Madge couldn't help but think that she was very much looking forward to more sneaking around and thus more kisses.
Reviews are much appreciated :)