Author's Note: Hunger Games is not in any way my intellectual property.
Not very in character for Gale, let's pretend he's mellowed since the rebellion
Gale was almost to his new flat in District 2 when he saw a flash of blonde reflected in the shop window he was passing. He stopped and turned to the window, searching the reflection for the blonde haired person he'd just caught a glimpse of. There, across the street standing still in front of another window, mirror to him, stood a young woman, curly blonde hair, just about her height. Gale would have kept on walking, he was seeing Madge's ghost in ever person now, had the woman not turned her head to stare directly at him. That was enough to set his soldier senses on fire.
Without pausing, Gale whipped around and charged across the street. There was Madge Undersee, staring resignedly at him.
He halted a handbreadth away from her. "Madge," it came out as a hoarse whisper.
"Gale," she responded, then sighed. "I suppose you want to know how I'm here. Let's talk at your flat." With that she took his elbow and guided him without direction to his apartment.
Once there, Gale let them in then turned to face Madge once again. "How are you here Undersee? They found three bodies at your house!" Gale could feel a mix of emotions building up inside him. Happiness that she was alive, anger at himself for not thinking to look for her, and anger at her for not telling anyone she had once been close to that she had survived.
Madge walked around his small two-room apartment, filling up glasses of water for them and fluffing the pillows on the couch before she settled down. After handing one glass to him, she began her story. "You know how the Mayor was obligated to host Capitol citizens throughout the year? Apparently one of them insisted that I was too beautiful to be destroyed in the bombing. They came the night before and just took me out of my bed, without even telling my parents. I imagine the third body you found was my mother's nurse." She turned to look at him, "What else would you like to know?"
Gale processed that information. The story also sounded just like something a Capitol citizen would do, insisting on saving a beautiful object. That made him stiffen up. He remembered Finnick talking about what they forced the good looking victors to do. Would they have had the same plan for Madge? He felt a surge of protection for her.
"So," he asked gruffly, "Did they make repay the saving of your life in some way? Or did they just let you live in the lap of luxury throughout the whole uprising?"
Madge glared at him. "Well actually Gale, I was able to convince Snow that I would be of greater use to him in other ways. I told Snow that my father had been part of the rebellion and that I could convince them I wanted to be part of the cause and was in a perfect position to do so. He fell for it. In actuality I had been the one working for the rebellion from the beginning. Haymitch had gotten me involved when we were helping Katniss and Peeta prepare for the second games. I acted as a triple agent I guess, feeding Snow mostly false rebel information and District 13 real information." She shrugged and added with a sigh, "It was surprisingly easy to deceive Snow, he was so sure that having come from the richest family in District 12 I would be all for the comforts offered by the Capitol. Just like what you always seemed to think of me."
"I wouldn't have thought you'd sell us out to the Capitol! Just that you didn't understand what it was like in the Seam." Gale retorted angrily. "Yes, I thought you were spoiled, that you didn't understand what it was like for my family. But I never, never would have thought that of you!" He finished, his chest heaving with repressed emotions. How could she have thought that about him? A small part of his brain decided now was the time to remind him of all the less than chivalrous ways he'd treated her. Maybe she wasn't so far off.
Madge gently placed her hand on his shoulder, as if trying to calm a wild animal. He felt a warmth traveling through his body from where she was touching him.
"I'm sorry Gale, I shouldn't have said that. I just get angry sometimes at how little people think of me, not realizing that I too have helped in the war. Most people I pass on the street just think I'm a pretty face, I guess I'm tired of being underestimated." She paused, he was staring at her oddly. "Gale?"
Things had started falling in place for Gale. "Madge," he asked gently, "Were you Phoenix?" He watched her face, hoping he was wrong. They had gotten some of their best intelligence from Phoenix, but he knew that much of that information had been gained through very dangerous means. The stories that had been passed around were not things he wanted to associate with Madge. It would also mean she'd saved him so many times and he hadn't known.
She smiled sadly at him. "Yes Gale, that was me."
Before either of them really knew what had happened, Gale had leaned forward and enveloped Madge in a hug. He pressed her to himself, trying to take in that the time he thought he'd lost her had actually been only one time in many, and the least dangerous of all. He hadn't really known until the day of the bombing how much Madge Undersee had meant to him. Slowly he began to realize that she was shaking in his arms and that there was a wet spot forming on his shoulder where her face was pressed against him.
He pulled back and grabbed a tissue to wipe the tears off her face. "Madge, what are you doing now? Why were you following me?"
She grabbed the tissue and continued blotting her tears. "Right now I'm relegated to paperwork, documenting all the intelligence I collected. I'm trying to figure out what to do after that. A few weeks back I contacted Peeta. He's worried about you, knows that you and Katniss aren't talking. When he found out we were in the same district, he asked if I'd check up on you."
Twisting the end of the tissue, she directed her gaze at him again. "I wasn't sure how you'd feel about seeing me and I couldn't work up my courage to actually do it. So I just followed you." She laughed, "I had enough courage to last me the rebellion and then there was none left to talk to an old friend."
She looked at him hopefully when she called him a friend. Gale felt saddened that she'd need reassurance of this fact. "Well, bread boy was always too concerned about others for his own good, but I'm glad he sent you to look after me." He gazed down at her, noting that she was smiling again. It never took much to get Madge Undersee to smile. He had just been supremely good at getting her to frown, but now he wanted to change that.
"Undersee," he cleared his throat, noting her face clouded over somewhat at his use of her surname. He started again, "Madge, I'd like it if you kept checking up after me. I'd also like it if you would let me check up on you. Maybe we could start with dinner tonight?"
He watched her, nervous that he'd messed up something that had just started forming. His fears were quickly proven to be pointless as she gave him a brilliant smiled and leaned forward to place a kiss on his cheek.
"I'd love that Gale."
He growled, "Madge you can't just do that to a guy. He can't control himself if a girl like you acts like that." That was all the warming he gave her before leaning down and capturing her lips with his own. Kissing Madge was much different and much better than kissing Katniss. There was no hesitancy, she responded right away, and she seemed filled with as much desire as he.
Finally pulling back she said, "I saw some noodles and pasta sauce in your cupboard. How about we stay here for dinner?"
Gale smirked at her and pulled her close again, "I think that's a perfect idea."
