So I realized that posting all my one-shots as separate fics would be a bad idea. Somebody on Tumblr suggested that I started a collection of oneshots, which is exactly what I've decided to do. None of these stories will be related to each other, unless directly stated.

Feel free to send me prompt requests via tumblr/comments!

Gale groaned in frustration when he heard a series of knocks at his door. Although it was Christmas, he wasn't expecting any company nor did he want any. Last year was the first Christmas in Panem since the war ended and it was also the first one Gale spent without his family. He made the mistake of trying to replace his family's presence with that of some random girl he picked up from a bar, but that only resulted in disaster. This year Gale was determined to spend his winter holidays free from a hangover (not to mention free from dealing with the messy aftermath of an one night stand). But Gale's plans had a nasty habit of never working out, as proven by the insistent knocking that just wouldn't go away.

"Coming," he called out gruffly without bothering to mask the annoyance in his voice.

The list of people that would be visiting him on Christmas was very limited. Gale wasn't exactly the most sociable person ever since the war came to an end and the only people that ever stepped foot into his flat nowadays was his elderly neighbor Mrs. Bonner, the occasional one night stand, and very few of his coworkers. A glance through his peephole showed that it was one of the latter group of people disrupting his lonely but so far peaceful Christmas night.

"Wyatt," Gale practically growled when he swung open the door with much more force than was needed. He left the latch locked though, so that Wyatt couldn't invite himself in like he usually did. This forced Gale to hiss out his next words through the small space between the door and the doorframe. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Wow, you're really living it up in here aren't you?" Wyatt grinned as he peered through the small space to observe Gale's very shabby attire that consisted of pajama pants and an old shirt Gale remembered wearing even far back in his District 13 days. "Please forgive me for interrupting your oh so riveting Christmas evening."

Gale rolled his eyes and considered shutting the door in the other man's face. As if reading his mind Wyatt placed his foot in front of the door to prevent Gale from following through his thoughts.

"I brought you some company."

"Please don't tell me that you're still trying to hook me up with your cousin. Because no offense man, but I'm really not interested," Gale had to swallow a groan at the memory of Wyatt's previous attempts to meddle with his love life.

"Oh shove off. My cousin could do ten times better than you," Wyatt said. Gale could practically hear the grin in the other man's voice. "I'm here on work related stuff actually. As much as I enjoy your bright and sunny personality, I'd much rather be canoodling with my girlfriend under the mistletoe. Open the door for me would ya?"

"What kind of work related stuff?" Gale asked suspiciously. "This is supposed to be a holiday you know. As in I'm not supposed to even hear the word 'work'."

"You're really making me talk to you like this?" Wyatt huffed, gesturing towards the small space between the door and the door frame where he could barely make out Gale's face. "Just undo the damn latch so I can explain things properly."

Wyatt sighed when Gale remained stoic and made no move to let his friend in.

"You know how the government is trying to reconnect everybody that was separated from the war? And you know how everybody's pitching in with Christmas being today and all," Wyatt explained. "Well it turns out that this little lady standing next to me, who you would have seen ages ago if you had opened the door like a civilized human being by the way, says she knows you."

"What?" Gale fumbled to close the door and undo the latch. In the mere seconds that took him to unlock the door all the way, he tried to guess who it could possibly be. Wyatt was right. The government had been going crazy trying to reconnect friends and families alike who were separated during the war. Gale himself had witnessed many of these reunions himself and couldn't help but feel an excitement building in his stomach. Who could it be? His childhood friend Thom, maybe? No, Wyatt had said that it was a 'little lady'. Maybe Bristel then? Or maybe somebody else from the Seam?

Gale threw the door open and came face to face with somebody he never thought he would see again—Madge Undersee.

"What the fuck."

The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. He stood there staring at her—her wide, blue eyes, her golden hair, and her pale skin that almost looked translucent. She was much thinner than when he had last seen her back at District 12, so much so that she could have passed as a Seam kid if they had been back in District 12. After a couple more awkward seconds of gaping, Gale noted that her eyes darted in every direction every couple of seconds and that her hands couldn't seem to stand still. Both acts were too much like the nervous tics he recognized from dealing with people who survived the Capitol's prisons.

"Er—you don't know her?" Wyatt asked, glancing between Gale and Madge nervously after a stretched out silence.

"No, no I do," Gale said quickly when he saw a panicked look beginning to spread on the blonde girl's face. It was almost natural instinct for him to want to get rid of it. "Well, sort of."

"Alrighty then," Wyatt said with an overly cheerful smile that was clearly forced. "If you two think you'll be okay, I'll just leave you two to catch up. I got my own lady friend to go back to you know."

"Sure. Yeah, okay," Gale found himself saying. His mind was too muddled from the shock to form the usual sarcastic remark he would have usually given Wyatt. Noticing this, Wyatt frowned.

"Hey Margaret, is it?" Wyatt asked in that kind voice that Gale had heard his friend use when he talked to his five year old niece. "Why don't you go inside while I talk to Gale about something real quick."

Madge hesitated, but nodded and looked to Gale nervously. Gale wordlessly moved out of the way. He didn't fail to notice that she was careful to avoid touching him when she passed by.

"Okay, what is up with you?" Wyatt asked in a hushed voice when Madge was out of hearing distance. "Are you sure you know that girl or do I need to take her back or what?"

"I know her," Gale said. Firmly, this time.

"Right."

Wyatt still looked suspicious, but he let Gale off the hook.

"Listen, I don't know what she is to you or what you are to her, but that girl's been through a lot. I looked over her file on my way here and she was in the Capitol's claws ever since Twelve was attacked. And then she had to go through a bunch of questioning from our lot because she was a Mayor's kid. I think this is her first time being free since she was captured by the Capitol. So if you think you're going to give her even more of a hard time, I'll just take her back to my place because I refuse to take her back to the shelter."

"I'll take care of her," Gale confirmed. He tried not to show his surprise at Wyatt's suddenly serious demeanor.

"Fine. I'll stop by tomorrow, yeah?"

Gale finally shut the door close when the sound of Wyatt's departing footsteps faded out into the darkness. He entered the living room to find Madge awkwardly standing in the middle, as if she was unsure of what to do with herself.

"I… I'm glad you're alive, Madge." And he was surprised to find that his words were sincere. As much as he had resented her back in the day, her supposed death had been one of the many deaths that Gale had felt responsible for when District 12 burned to the ground. As much as he hated to admit it Gale had been thankful for Madge's subtle overpayment of strawberries and her friendship with Katniss that had motivated her sacrifice her Mother's morphine to save his life. He had always been too much of a coward to properly voice his thanks and when he had heard that the Mayor's house had been the first to succumb to the bombs, he thought that he would never get the chance. And now he did, he realized with a start. Madge Undersee was breathing and very much alive, standing in front of him. This knowledge was enough to lift a miniscule amount of weight from his heavy conscious.

"Sorry for uh, my response back there. I just wasn't expecting you is all."

"I understand. I'm sorry for barging in like this," Madge said in a small voice. She shifted her weight from one foot to another as she talked and Gale found himself being afraid that she would fall and shatter into a million pieces. "I didn't mean to, really. But they kept on insisting on sending me somewhere and everybody else… well, everybody else I knew is either dead or too traumatized to deal with me."

"Don't apologize," was all Gale could manage in response. "Why don't you take a seat? You look tired. Let me get you some water or something."

"I'm fine," Madge said, but Gale ignored her and walked into the kitchen to grab her a glass of water. What else could he do? As he grabbed a cup from one of his kitchen cabinets he heard Madge enter the kitchen as well.

"Here." He placed the cup of water on the table and took a seat, leaving her to have no choice but mirror his actions.

"I have some questions," Gale started slowly, although he had a feeling that he knew most of the answers to his own questions already from Wyatt's rant before. Throughout his experience with this kind of thing, Gale had learned that all war prisoners had similar haunted stories. As glad as he was that the blonde was still alive, he knew that her survival would not have came with ease.

He watched as she stiffened in her seat. She took a sip of water in a clear attempt to prolong the silence.

"Okay," she finally said after placing the cup back onto the table. Her hands remained wrapped around the cup.

"People said that the Mayor's house was the first to be hit when the bombs came. They found bodies in the house, and the numbers matched up. How…?"

"My mother's doctor was from the Capitol. He called to warn us in advance," Madge's grip around her cup tightened. "But our phoneswere bugged and his warning was intercepted. The Peacekeepers caught my family before we could do anything and they took us on their train so we couldn't tell people." She paused. "I'm not sure why they didn't kill us then and there."

Her knuckles were white from gripping her cup so tightly, and Gale reached out to pry the cup out of her hands. He was sure that she would have broken the glass if he hadn't pulled it away. She was clearly drained—both physically and mentally—and he didn't want to push the poor girl any further. It was stupid of him to try in the first place.

"Never mind. Stupid of me to trying to push a conversation out of you when you're obviously tired," he said with a quick attempt at an smile. "Why don't you get some rest and we'll talk more tomorrow?

"I don't want to be a burden," Madge said. He could tell that she was trying to sound hard and determined, but her frail frame and the overall tiredness of her voice ruined the effect. "I can leave. I should leave. As long as you don't report me missing the government won't bother you about me again. They're too busy with everything else that's going on."

"Don't be silly," Gale stood up to show her to his room.

It took much persuading on his part, but Madge reluctantly climbed into his bed as he grabbed a pillow and a blanket to spend the night on the couch.

"Good night Madge," he said before leaving her in his room. He paused before saying softly, "I really am glad to see you again."