Gale isn't usually in a hurry to get to work. It's depressing sinking below ground every day and not seeing sunlight for hours. His lungs always feel heavy when he comes up at the end of the day, even with the masks they're issued. They're not exactly the best, but he supposed it could be much worse without them. Particularly since their wedding, he had hated leaving Madge alone all day in a new house in a new part of town. He never wanted to be there for longer than he had to be, but with Madge now sharing his bed and his life, he was particularly negative about it.
The hatred for leaving may have overwhelmed him slightly one Monday morning. Madge had pulled herself into him and let her hand run along his thigh andGod, did she drive him crazy when she touched him. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so much the hatred of leaving that kept him in bed. Sue him, he was a young, newly married guy with a crazy beautiful wife. One thing led to another, and when he next looked at the clock, he was nearly half an hour behind schedule. His morning routine didn't last long, so that much of a setback was bad. Catastrophically bad. He darted up from the bed to get dressed, while Madge made her way out of the bedroom less frantically (not frantically at all) to get him some food ready. Madge only had the worry of him doing a day's work on an empty stomach. To Gale, that amounted to a carefree morning. Gale pulled on his uniform as fast as he could, cursing the tiny buttons of the shirt he had to get on. His fingers weren't bible or gentle like Madge's, so they were a chore to speed through.
Uniform on and ready, Gale rushed out of the bedroom to get his boots on. They stayed by the door, signalling to himself and to Madge that work was left behind once he crossed the threshold. The Capitol only got to own him for the hours in his shift. After that, he and his family didn't have to think about the mined. Glancing into the dirty mirror which stood by the coat stand, he cursed Madge's hand for trailing through his hair so much while they had sex. His hair would have to remain ruffled and tugged out of place, and he'd be subject to the teasing of his crew. Gale knew it was preferable to getting a punishment for showing up late - peacekeepers didn't take too kindly to tardiness and he had seen men whipped as the rest of the crew had been lowered into the mineshaft for the day. Gale went back to tying the lace on his left boot and bolted out of the door as soon as it was done. He hadn't noticed Madge standing behind him, waiting to give him his breakfast and lunch, so she was left standing with an apple and a wrapped sandwich in her hands as he bolted towards the street.
"Gale, slow down and take your food," she shouted before he reached their rickety, broken gate. He immediately turned and run up onto their barely-standing porch and grabbed the food.
"Thanks," he quickly told her, and before he left again, he pressed his lips firmly onto hers. The kiss lasted for a few seconds at the most, but it felt like forever to them both. Despite the speed and intensity, Madge found herself smiling as her husband's lips parted form hers and he bolted down the path to join the other miners on their walk up to work.