A/N: AU - No hunger games. Inspired from some events in The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. Fits the April gadge month prompt: promises and/or order.

Thank you, Dendroica, for the beta. You are awesome - beta'ing this while on a trip...xoxo

Promises Not Meant to be Broken Part I

"Kat? Katniss, are you crying?" Prim asked horrified walking into the room. Surprisingly, her huntress sister didn't hear her speak or walk in. She continued to sit in a daze holding a piece of paper in her hand with tears streaming down her face. Prim took the paper from her hand and quickly scanned it.

"He's not coming," Katniss whispered as a sob escaped her.

Prim gathered her older sister in her arms and consoled, "I think he'll still come. He just needs time to think about it. He'll come for you. I know he will. Gale won't miss your wedding."

Katniss pushed her sister back and angrily wiped her tears, "No; he's not coming. His letter is clear. His heartbreak will always mean more to him than our friendship."

"Katniss," Prim whispered feeling her sister's pain.

Katniss looked at Prim and said, "I was going to ask him to walk me down the aisle…to give me away."

"Oh, Katniss," Prim said hugging her sister again. Both cried together. "He just needs time to adjust to the idea of coming back to 12. He'll come. He was just 19 years old when everything happened. Ten years are a long time to hold onto it all. People change."

"Not Gale. He's not like anyone else. He loves with a passion and intensity unlike anyone else's. I know he's not over it. I knew when he left district 12, ten years ago, that he would never return. But I still thought…he may for my wedding. Who else do we have other than mom and Gale?"

"You have me," said a calming voice taking a crying, shivering Katniss in his strong arms. He wiped her tears and kissed her forehead. "I know he was your best friend once, but if he doesn't want to come to the wedding there's nothing you can do about it. I don't want my bride wasting any tears on a friend like that."

"Peeta, Gale wasn't just my best friend or my hunting partner…he was more than that. He was survival, safety and life all in one. When my dad passed away, I was only eleven years old. Gale's dad died in the same mining accident. Though he was only 14, he looked more like a man than a child. Because of him no one dared to look at me the wrong way. They knew Gale would skin them alive if anyone ever touched me. You can't imagine what that kind of safety means when you're practically alone at eleven. Back then, before the war, district 12 was a very different place. It wasn't safe for anyone who lived in the seam. Prim and I would've died without him. I started hunting with him and we became partners. Together we kept both our families alive and fed."

Peeta rubbed her back soothingly and asked, "So what changed for him? Why did he desert you and Prim?" When Katniss didn't say anything, Peeta questioned further, "Because he fell in love? And then what…to hell with everyone else except for his own feelings?"

Katniss pushed back a little and answered, "It wasn't like that. He did fall in love, but it's not like you think. You have no idea how horrible life was back then. People in the seam were starving. There were deaths everyday around us. Girls got raped. People got whipped and thrown in jail for the smallest things. There wasn't a lot to smile about or be happy about. Gale and I were the same. We hunted illegally on the other side of the fence to keep our families alive. He was just moving through life like a robot…doing what he could to keep his family alive. Until…she came into his life."

"She?" Peeta asked surprised.

Katniss cracked a smile and said, "She wasn't just any girl or even a girl from the seam. He fell in love with Madge Undersee."

"Mayor Undersee's daughter? Did she…?" Peeta asked flabbergasted. Katniss nodded. Peeta whistled and said, "I can only imagine how the Mayor reacted to his only daughter falling in love with someone from the seam back then. He probably wouldn't even approve now…but back then…"

"The Mayor was none too happy. But Madge didn't care. She didn't see those lines that divided the seam and the town. She'd been my friend since we were five years old. My mother and her mother had been friends growing up, but when my mother married my father, a man from the seam, her mother wrote off that friendship. But Madge didn't care about being friends with me or loving Gale. At first her father thought maybe Madge was just going through a rebellious stage, but even he realized it was more than just that. Her dad ordered her to break it off with Gale, but she didn't. Her father would yell at her, ground her and forbid her to see Gale, but she never faltered. Her mom slapped her once, but Madge still dared to hold Gale's hand in the town square. Some of her friends even told her that she was putting Gale in unnecessary danger, but Madge said he could take care of himself. She had an unshakable trust in him. She'd sneak out in the middle of the night to go see Gale. They were in love and they were inseparable."

Peeta sat down stunned. "I've been in district 12 for two years and I always wondered why Madge had never come to visit her parents. She's their only child and as far as I know she's not visited even once."

"Madge left the district about a month after Gale. And I don't think she's ever been back after that. I don't think Madge could return to 12 easily…too many painful memories here for her."

"Kat, you know there's no way she could love him anymore, right?" He hesitated wondering just how much Katniss knew about Madge's life. "Because you know that she's….she's…"

"Married and has at least one child?" Katniss asked. Peeta nodded. "Yes I know that."

"Do you think Gale knows?" Peeta asked.

"I don't know, but I know without a doubt that he loves her as much today as he did ten years ago," Katniss explained. She shrugged her shoulders and continued, "That's Gale. He promised to love her his whole life and Gale doesn't break promises. No matter what."

Gale Hawthorne stretched, took a deep breath inhaling the pine-tree scented air, and stepped off the hovercraft at the district 12 port. He'd sworn he would never return to 12 yet here he was. Even without Peeta's pleading phone call, he'd have come for Katniss. As much as it hurt to come back to 12…as much as it brought memories of Madge to the forefront, he'd have come for his best friend. He collected his bag and headed to the car rental desk. There he rented a simple car…large enough to fit his tall frame comfortably, but not showy in any way. That's how he lived life for the most part. After being in the Army for ten years and becoming a Sergeant, Gale Hawthorne could afford a lot of things he couldn't even dream of ten years ago. But he lived a moderate life…a simple life. His house in district 2 was just big enough for his family. Before going off to college, Rory and Vick had shared a room. He prided himself on making enough money to ensure his siblings wanted for nothing and his mother never had to work for anyone else. He suspected his mother would've moved back to 12 a long time ago if not for him. She knew he'd never come back and she probably couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone in 2. But alone he was. He didn't date…he didn't have any friends. He worked hard and spent time with his family.

As Gale stepped outside the hovercraft port, the wind swirled around him and it was as if Madge's essence was entrenched in everything in 12. He could feel her…smell her still. Over the last ten years, he'd tried his best to not think about Madge, but his traitorous mind strayed back to her often enough. He missed the feel of her small hand inside his much bigger one. He missed the way her body fit perfectly against his own. But nine years ago, she'd clearly told him that they were a mistake. She'd said he was nothing more than a childish fairytale fantasy and they were too naïve to think they'd ever make it in the real world. Whatever had happened in that one year they were apart, it had changed Madge completely.

Shaking off those thoughts, Gale found his car and put his bags in the trunk. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he marveled at the changes. The district didn't look run down like it used to. There were more tall buildings than when he was growing up. He turned his car towards the seam; Hazelle still owned the house he grew up in. Gale had sent money to Katniss to have it fixed and modernized in case his mother ever decided to move back. Though really he'd never let his family move back to 12 as long as Madge's father was the Mayor. The man hated him. Gale stayed on the outskirts of the district to get to the seam. He wasn't ready to see anyone yet or be seen by anyone just yet. For the most part, the development in 12 had left the outskirts alone. He was pleasantly surprised to see the meadow, just beyond the boundaries of the seam, remained untouched. Unable to control himself, he pulled off to the side of the road and got out of the car.

With each step he took closer to get to the field of multi-colored flowers in full bloom, came a memory attached with this meadow. This was their place. Not too many people came out here, but Gale and Madge did. This was the place, they spent hours sitting, talking, kissing, and planning their future together…it was where they'd made love for the first time. And the place he'd said goodbye to her. He stepped to the middle of the field and took a deep breath. A warm breeze churned around him making his arms physically ache to hold Madge.

She was something else…different from anyone else he'd ever met. Kind, beautiful, brave…loving. She'd saved him in so many ways that he had her to thank for his life. He rotated his shoulders, straightening his back as the marks Thread had left on his back ached from just being back in 12. She'd stood up to Thread and stopped the whipping. She'd stolen medicine from her mother's cabinet and brought it for him in a blizzard after her parents forbade her to go out. She simply hadn't cared about anything else, but helping him. She'd stayed holding his hand all night and changing his bandages. He thought about that first time they came out to the meadow after he'd been whipped. That was the night they made love for the first time and then held each other afterwards for the rest of the night. She was stronger than anyone else he knew. Her father did everything he could to break her spirit, but he was never able to.

Madge had loved him and he'd loved her back. He felt invincible around her…as if he could do anything. Maybe it was that false sense of hopefulness that made him think he and Madge could make it. Her parents stacked the odds against them from the beginning. She had been the only ray of light in his dark world. Often enough he'd thought he wasn't good enough for her. Several times he'd made up his mind to let her go, but then every time he said anything about it, Madge would simply kiss him making him forget everything but her. Her eyes were always full of love and trust in him. She trusted him…had trust in him to make everything okay between them. No matter how much it scared him at times, she never deviated from saying that they'd make it because they loved each other.

Gale had never been able to mesh the Madge he knew in 12 and the Madge who wrote him the letter to end it all. They always existed as two different people in his mind. His heart still only loved the Madge he'd fallen in love with.

He startled out of his thoughts, unaware of the moisture from his eyes rolling down his cheeks. He wiped his face and got back in the car. It only took a few more minutes to reach the seam. The houses were still small, but they were no longer the little shacks they used to be. The streets were paved with no signs of coal anywhere. All the houses had been fortified and somewhat modernized. President Paylor had pushed a lot of money into the districts to bring up the living conditions around the country. He found his old house easily and Gale parked his car to the side of the house. He'd not sent any specifics to Katniss about the house, just that he wanted it fixed up. He sighed seeing Katniss had the house painted blue…blue like Madge's eyes. Somehow everything always came back to Madge in his head. Gale shook his head to get Madge out of his thoughts again and fished the keys out of his bag. He wasn't surprised the house was clean; Katniss would've had it cleaned for him even though he said he wasn't coming. Gale stepped in and took in the new surroundings of his old house. What once used to be coal covered ground was now cemented and clean without a spec of coal on the floor or in the air. After winning the war and becoming President, Paylor had shut down the mines in 12. They were deemed unsafe so a medicine factory had been built instead. The kitchen was still to the right and the two bedrooms straight ahead. Bathroom on the left and that was it. He walked through the house thinking of his days when he grew up here. He remembered times with his dad. Rory and Vick as babies. He remembered the night Posy was born and how terrified he'd been about if something happened to his mom too. Would he be left alone to raise three siblings on his own…one a newborn baby?

Gale looked at his watch and realized he needed to dress quickly if he planned on making it to the party. Peeta and Katniss were having an outside luncheon to kick off their wedding celebrations. Summers in 12 had always been beautiful and today was one of those perfectly gorgeous days. The kind of day the old Gale would've loved to go hunting with Katniss or spent the day kissing Madge in the meadow.

Gale stepped into the bedroom and changed into khaki slacks and a white button down shirt. He took a deep breath wondering if he'd see Madge at the party.

Katniss stepped out on the patio at the back of the Country Club, clad in a green dress. She'd rather not have had anything at the Country Club, but Peeta's family had insisted. They thought it was bad enough she was making him have the wedding in the seam. They needed to have at least one function at a venue suitable for the Vice-Mayor of district 12. Peeta's family had always been well off, even before the war. His father owned a bakery in district 6, which his brothers had turned into a national company after the war.

"You look gorgeous," Peeta said hugging her. He gave her a sweet kiss and then took her hand as they walked towards their guests. Katniss squeezed his hand painfully tight at the sight of her once best friend walking towards them. Was she dreaming?

Suddenly she released Peeta's hand and started running towards her friend she hadn't seen in ten years, "Madge! You're here. I can't believe you came."

The blonde hugged her friend and with tears in her eyes said, "I wouldn't have missed your wedding for anything. I'm sorry I RSVP'd no, but I just couldn't stay away. I hope it's alright I still came."

"Don't be silly; of course it is. I'm glad you're here. At least one of my best friends is here for my wedding," Katniss said. Madge stiffened immediately and Katniss realized her mistake. She probably shouldn't have mentioned Gale so early in their meeting. Of course, it was inevitable for his name to come up at some point. Quick to change the subject, Katniss hugged her again and said, "Madge, this is my fiancé, Peeta Mellark."

Madge smiled warmly and stepped forward to give Peeta a hug. "It's great to finally meet you. I've heard about you from my parents. I think you'll make a wonderful Mayor one day. Twelve's lucky to have you."

"Thank you, Madge," Peeta said with a smile. Katniss had been right about Madge. There was something about the kindness in her voice and eyes that just drew in everyone. He'd seen her pictures in the Mayor's office, but none had done justice to her beauty.

Just then, Katniss' phone rang and she stepped off to the side to take it. "Catnip? Are you there?"

"Yes," she said a little rigidly. She was still mad at Gale for not coming to her wedding.

"Oh boy. You're really mad at me, aren't you?" he said laughing. "I promise to make it up to you, if you meet me at the front entrance to the club."

"You're here?" she asked. Then turned to Peeta and said, "I'll be back in a minute." Without another word, Katniss ran off towards the front of the club leaving Madge and Peeta.

Gale opened his arms and she ran into them immediately. "You're here," Katniss said with tears in her eyes, as he lifted her up in a bear hug.

He rubbed her back and set her back on the ground, as he said, "I'm sorry I said I wasn't coming. I couldn't miss your wedding though." He released her and cracked his knuckles in mock seriousness as he said, "I couldn't let you marry some idiot without approving him first. So let's go meet him."

She took his hand and pulled him towards the back lawn where the party was in full swing. Katniss bombarded him with questions about Rory, Vick, Posy and Hazelle. Gale asked about Prim and her mother as they stepped onto the back lawn.

Precipitously Katniss stopped and tightened her grip on his hand. Gale turned back to look at her and she whispered, "Gale, Madge is here too." Katniss took a deep breath and continued, "She originally said no too, but then she showed up today…just like you. I don't know if you know, but she left a month after you and hasn't been back to 12 since then."

"She doesn't live in 12?" he asked surprised. Katniss shook her head. Gale sighed and said, "Don't worry Catnip; I won't ruin your day. I'll just say hello." He scanned the guests spread out on the lawn…searching for Madge.

Gale spotted her talking to another blond. She had her back to him, but he knew it was her. He knew everything about Madge; he'd recognize her anywhere. He recognized the other blond too thanks to the Engagement Announcement Katniss had sent with a picture of herself and Peeta. Gale freed his hand from Katniss' grasp and took a step towards Madge and Peeta. His heart thundered in his chest.

Katniss took a quick step forward and grabbed his arm, "Gale, don't. She's…married."

He stiffened as anger and hurt flashed through his eyes. Freeing his arm from Katniss' grasp, he said, "Don't worry, Catnip. I'll be nice. I just want to say hello to the woman who promised to only love me for the rest of her life. Just because I kept my promise to only love her, doesn't mean I'll ask her why she didn't keep hers. I'll just say hello." Katniss sighed and released him knowing he wouldn't say anything to hurt Madge; he was just in shock.

Gale took small steps towards Madge. Married. He'd tried not to think about Madge or what she was doing over the years, but a part of him had guessed that she'd be married with kids. She always wanted a big family. They'd once dreamed of having five kids. Gale heard Peeta ask Madge, "So you have a daughter, right?" Madge nodded. She still hadn't seen him since he was behind her. "How old is she…what is she like?" Peeta asked.

Gale could imagine Madge smiling as she answered; he always knew she'd love being a mother and would make a great mother. He wasn't surprised to hear Madge say, "She's great…very rambunctious. Keeps me very busy, but I love every minute of it." He continued walking towards them unsure what he felt most…jealous, hurt, or angry. He almost thought about turning around. He wasn't a masochist; he didn't need to hear about her perfect life full of love when his was filled with loneliness. Yet he couldn't turn away…not when he was so close.

Gale swallowed nervously and slowly walked around to face Madge and Peeta. Madge lifted her eyes, filled with an insurmountable amount of sadness, to his eyes, capturing Gale immediately. His dreams of her hadn't done any justice to the real Madge…or the real blue of her eyes. His eyes followed the length of her arm down to the wedding band on her left hand's ring finger.

Madge closed her eyes to make him disappear. She'd dreamt of him often, but she'd always seen the 19-year old Gale in her dreams. This Gale standing in front of her was older. His chest was broader; his arms thicker. Madge eyed the crisp white shirt which strained against the muscles underneath it. She moved her eyes down appreciating the way the slacks hung on his hips. She'd never seen him in slacks or a dress shirt. Why now was her mind conjuring up this image of Gale? Maybe because she always knew he wouldn't miss Katniss' wedding. She closed her eyes again reminding herself that he wasn't really here.

She opened her eyes a second later and looked straight into his eyes again without saying anything. The heat, being back in 12 after so many years, and seeing their common friends were all driving her mad. She was seeing things. Madge turned to Peeta, ignoring Gale – a figment of her imagination, and stuttered, "Y-you should come by the h-house so you can meet her." Her eyes strayed back to Gale, who stood still looking at her intently.

Peeta smiled and said, "I surely will. I'd love to meet her." He then turned to Gale and stuck his hand out as he said, "Peeta Mellark."

Madge turned to Peeta surprised and asked, "Do you see him too?"

Peeta narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could say anything, Gale said, "Hello, Madge." Madge reached out a tentative hand and touched his chest to make sure he was real. He was. Gale frowned looking confused, but not as confused as Madge felt. How? She moved her hand up to her temple and then everything went dark all around her.

A/N: What do you think? I really hope you guys like it cause I can't get this story out of my head.