A/N: This is just a fun fluff chapter for all the hopeless romantics out there. I wanted to give Gale and Madge one special day of no worrying and just a fun day to enjoy themselves before they dive into planning the rebellion. Special thanks to RoryFaller for some great ideas on this chapter! AND once again, thank you to everyone that's reading, reviewing, and following. FYI, the song that Gale sings to Madge is: Sweet Little Blue Eyes by Vince Gill

Madge

Gale's kisses are making my head spin. I remove his jacket and then his t-shirt because I can't stand to not run my hands over his back and chest. His skin is soft yet hard, gentle yet strong and when I run my nails over his back, his whole body shudders.

"Madge, how much do you trust me?" he asks.

"I trust you more than anyone and anything else," I reply in between kisses.

"So, if I wanted to do something you don't want, would you trust me that I'm doing it for the right reasons for us and not to keep you from going to the Capitol?"

I push against Gale's chest a little so I can see his face. I look into his eyes and say, "Gale, I know that anything you do would be for the right reasons. I know you would never try to manipulate me. I trust you."

He smiles wickedly and asks, "Are you scared of what I might do?"

I smile and shake my head but I know I'm blushing for sure because it feels like a heat wave has just travelled up my whole body.

Gale leans down and kisses me again. He pulls my sweater off me. My sweater joins his shirt on the floor. He trails his lips along my jawline and then down my neck and across my collar bone all the way to my shoulder. He traces his lips back the same way and over the other side. When he comes back to my lips I get one more long kiss as his hands travel down my arms – down to my hands. He laces his fingers through mine and moves my hands above my head so my arms are stretched all the way back. The motion causes my body to arch itself into him and the kiss feels even more wonderful than any of the other kisses. Pleasure floods through my whole body.

Gale lifts himself off me just enough to flip me over so I'm lying on my stomach. His hands move to my shoulder blades as he massages them. "You're so beautiful, Madge." He kisses me again.

Gale finally releases my lips and whispers in my ear, "Thank you, Madge, for saving me from Venus." He kisses me next to my ear; his hands massage my shoulders.

"Thank you for almost breaking her fingers so she couldn't touch me." I get a kiss on my cheek and his hands slide under my bra strap as he kneads my back.

"Thank you for making a fool out of her every time you were near her." I get a kiss on my eye and his hands move to my lower back.

"Thank you for almost poisoning her so she couldn't kiss me." I get a kiss on my forehead and his hands go around me to my stomach.

"Thank you for being jealous." I get a kiss on the back of my neck and his hands return to my lower back. He massages at that point and a moan of pleasure escapes my lips.

"Thank you for always looking out for me." I get a kiss on my right shoulder and his hands move higher up on my back and massage that spot.

"Thank you for carrying my dad's dream forward." I get a kiss near my left shoulder and his hands move up to my shoulders again.

"Thank you for being an amazing woman." I get a kiss on my mid back and his hands continue to massage my shoulders.

"Thank you for wanting me." I get a kiss on my lower back that sends a shiver through my body and his hands still on my shoulders.

Gale turns me around once more; he hovers over me as he says, "Thank you for loving me because I love you too, Madge." And then once again he captures my lips. His hands tangle in my hair and my hands follow suit; this kiss lasts longer than any of the other ones.

We finally break apart when we have to breathe. Gale rolls off me and lies back on the bed. I turn to him and put my head on his chest. His heart is beating as fast as mine. We both lay there and catch our breath. We let our heartbeats come back to normal.

After several minutes when I feel his heart beat slow, I kiss his chest right over his heart and rest my head back on top of his heart. "I love you, Gale. Thank you for telling me. I didn't think I wanted you to do it but hearing it from you feels incredible."

Gale kisses the top of my head and says, "I love you too, Madge. How was that for showing you my gratitude?" He's still panting a little.

"Amazing!" I say as I move to sit on top of him straddling him in between my legs. "So, where did that come from? I mean how did you know how to do that?" I ask a little embarrassed. I lace my fingers through his.

"I just wanted to touch your bare skin because I wanted you to see how wonderful it makes me feel when you take my shirt off and touch my bare skin. And I know you didn't want me to tell you that I love you but I wanted you to know. I wanted you to feel what I feel every time you say it to me."

"I'm glad you told me. I love hearing you say it. Although I just rub my hands on your back and chest. Maybe one of these times I'll try the massage too."

Gale smiles and says, "I'm open to your experiments!" I swat his shoulder and he flips me over onto the bed so he's on top of me.

He bends down to kiss me and asks, "Tell me the truth, did you think I was going to go all the way?"

"Just briefly," I say embarrassed.

"So if I wanted to take it all the way…,"

"…I'd let you because I trust you." Gale kisses me and deepens the kiss but only moments later he groans and gets up.

I miss his weight…his warmth so I stretch my arms towards him and he chuckles. "I think tonight we've pushed our limits far enough, Madge. It's time for you to sleep."

"Are you coming back to bed at least?" I ask pouting.

"In a few minutes," he says. He bends down to pick up his t-shirt and I grab it out from under his hands. Limits or not, there is no way he is putting that back on. His t-shirt smells like him and I put it on me. It's so long on me that it goes down to my mid-thigh. He laughs but his eyes darken in what I've come to recognize as passion. I shrug my shoulders and take off my jeans. His shirt's about as long as most of my night gowns.

I give him my sweetest smile and he says, "You're killing me, Madge."

Eventually Gale comes back to bed. I'm happy to have him back and now that my mind and body have calmed, I'm happy that he stopped when he did. Gale lies down behind me and pulls me closer to him. He wraps his arm around me and begins to hum the song from earlier in my ear.

"Will you sing it to me?" I ask. I don't know if he'll do it. I don't even know if he can sing; I've never heard him sing.

Gale starts singing and I can't believe his voice…it's amazingly sweet. I would've never guessed such sweet voice could come from such a big sulky person. I almost laugh but decide to just concentrate on his words instead.

Who makes me forget all the other girls I've met
Sweet little miss blue eyes
Who's sweeter to me than she really ought to be
Sweet little miss blue eyes

Little miss blue eyes looks so good
I'm gonna bring her to the neighborhood
I'm gonna make every girl in town
Jealous when she's around

I'm walking the line 'cause I'm glad that she's mine
I'm living in paradise
I know I can't go wrong by just stringing along
With sweet little miss blue eyes

Who's gonna start taking care of my heart
She makes me realize
It's love, she's for me, and I really want to be
With sweet little miss blue eyes

I turn towards Gale and watch his mouth move to the words. When he finishes I say, "That was beautiful. You have such a sweet voice."

He furrows his brow and says, "I have a manly voice…not a sweet one."

I laugh and he says, "Don't you think that song is perfectly written about you and me. And to think someone wrote that hundreds of years ago. But it fits so perfectly for both of us."

I kiss him and say, "I love you."

"I love you too, Madge," he says. Gale gives me one more kiss and then turns me around again to sleep.

Waking up in Gale's arms is the most euphoric feeling in the world. Nothing has ever felt as wonderful or right as this does. Gale rolls in his sleep and his arm lands across my chest effectively trapping me under its heavy weight. I try to lift it off me and Gale pulls me closer to him. I don't think he has any idea what he's doing; he's still fast asleep. At least I'm not being crushed by his arm anymore. I lay there peacefully in his arms for a while and I must have fallen asleep because I wake up feeling his fingers brush across my cheeks. I open my eyes and he smiles at me, "Good morning, princess. You're so beautiful in the morning, especially wearing my t-shirt."

I lean into him to kiss him and he takes over immediately. I laugh and say, "Must you always be in control?"

He smiles and says, "Sounds comical coming from YOU, Miss 'I have to be in charge always'!"

I cross my arms angrily across my chest and he leans over to kiss my forehead as he says, "Did I tell you you're also Ms. 'adorable'?"

We lounge, talk, tease each other and kiss. It's a perfect glimpse into what a future with Gale could be like. I sigh; we couldn't have a future like this without the rebellion. Gale wouldn't have free mornings like this; he would leave for the mines at the crack of dawn. And then he would leave to hunt at the crack of dawn on his only free day – Sunday. I look at Gale and see someone full of potential. Someone who would make a difference in people's lives. I don't care if Gale becomes a miner; I just don't want him to be forced into becoming one. If he chooses it, it's fine but that's the point – he should have a choice. In our current world, he has no choice. Just a few more weeks and then the mines it is for him. Gale, who feels confined inside the district – who only feels free outside the fence will suffocate in the underground mines. I trace my fingers along his face and I want a better world for him – one where he has choices.

"Don't you have to hunt? I'm sure the fence is already turned off," I ask him to distract myself from my own thoughts.

Gale gets up and takes a deep breath. "Yeah I do. Want to come?"

I shake my head; I would love to go with him but I've promised my time to someone else already. "I need to check on my mom. Dad's not here either. I should probably spend some time with her this evening. How about I see you tomorrow?"

Gale's face falls. I know he wants to say something but he holds it back. I know exactly what he wants to say but he won't say it because he wants me to have time with my mom. I stand on the bed and wrap my arms around his neck. Standing on the bed, I'm actually at eye level with him. I kiss him.

Gale walks me home and then continues on to his own house, where I already know that his mom will send him hunting. I check on my mom and find her fast asleep. Rose informs me that her headache was extremely bad this morning and she took morphling already. I hate it that I missed my mom. I shower and get ready. I wear a new dress that I had my stylist from the Capitol send me in the last shipment. I've never worn a gray dress before but I wanted one that matched Gale's eyes. I tie just a little bit of my hair in a white ribbon, leaving most of it open around my shoulders – just the way Gale likes it.

I kiss mama bye and take the bag of things I've had sitting in my closet. I walk towards the seam. As soon as I get to the Hawthornes' door, Posy runs up to me and hugs me as she says, "Princess Madge, you're here!"

I pick her up in my free hand and walk in as she chatters about everything she's done while waiting for me. Posy, Rory, Vick and I get busy right away. We have a lot to do before Gale comes home. Slowly but surely, we get everything done that we want to and the place looks perfect. There's a knock on the door and our first guests have arrived. It's Mrs. Everdeen and Prim. I hug them both and Posy welcomes them to her house as the hostess. She even took lessons from me on how to act as a perfect hostess. Just a few moments later, there is another knock and it's Thom and Bristol. I had met both of them at the party last night so they both walk over to me and I hug them both.

Rory comes running in and says, "Gale's headed this way." We all take our seats and wait for Gale to walk in through the door. Posy stands in the center of the room.

As soon as Gale gets close to the door, we all yell, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Posy launches herself at him and he catches her easily. Rory takes his game bag and stashes it away. Gale glares at me and I just shrug my shoulders.

"Are you surprised? Do you like it?" Posy turns Gale's head in her direction as she asks him.

"I love it, Pose."

"Did you know I'm the hostess of the party? Princess Madge taught me how to plan a party. I invited Prim, Mrs. Everdeen, Thom, Bristol and Princess Madge. Princess helped me decorate and both of us planned this whole surprise for you."

Gale eyes the decorations around the room and gives me a look that clearly says that he is not happy about it. If only he knew I didn't pay for the decorations. I sigh, now is not the time to have that conversation. Mrs. Everdeen brought a cake that she baked herself. Posy pushes Gale towards the cake so he can cut it. Gale cuts it and his whole family feeds him the cake and I hang back with Thom and Bristol. This is their family moment and I don't want to infringe on it. I thought maybe Gale would come to me but he doesn't. I make myself feel better that it's because Prim and Mrs. Everdeen are here. After the warm night and morning we had his cold shoulder now feels extremely heartbreaking. But it's his 19th birthday and I will be happy for him. This is a big birthday to celebrate – no more reapings!

Posy shakes me out of my trance and grabs my hand. She leads me to the sofa where Gale's sitting and pushes me down next to him. She sits in my lap and orders Gale to open his presents. Thom and Bristol hand him theirs first and it's a bottle of white liquor. Gale kisses the bottle and says, "Aahh the good stuff!" He thanks them both warmly.

Mrs. Everdeen says, "The cake was my present to you." Gale thanks her warmly as well. Prim says, "Rory, Vick and I got you a combined present and we want to go last." Gale smiles indulgently at his brothers.

Posy pipes up, "Me, me, me. I'm next. Ma and I got you a present too." She hands Gale a gray sweater that matches my dress perfectly. Hazelle knit him the sweater and Posy picked out the color. As Gale thanks them both I get lost in dreams of Gale and I wearing matching colors to go places…in my dreams, we're out and about the district, hand-in-hand, just having a good time. Posy yanks me out of my dream, "Princess Madge, it's your turn."

My present is in a small box that I put on top of my palm and hold it out to him. He stares into my eyes for a minute and then at the present. It's as if he's afraid to touch it – like it will blow up in his face. Impatient Posy, nudges him to open it.

Reluctantly he takes it from my hand and he lifts the lid of the box. He looks up at me questioningly. So I say, "It's wire for your snares."

He stares at me again, puts the box down on the table and says, "I already have wire for my snares."

His hard cold demeanor makes me want to cry. Where is the Gale from last night and this morning? Where are his warm kisses and the 'I love you's?' I blink my eyes and will myself to not cry. The room goes quiet. I stand up and say, "I have to get going. My mom's expecting me home for dinner."

I get up and Hazelle grabs my elbow. "Why don't you just wait for Rory, Vick and Prim to give him his gift?" she says this giving Gale a disapproving look.

Rory steps forward and says, "Vick, Prim and I worked in the school yard to earn money to pay for the decorations for your party. Madge helped us buy them in town and then put them around the house. She even picked out the kind of decorations that can be re-used. We wanted to do something special for you because you do special things for us every day."

I look at Rory and smile at him. He sounds nervous but he's a very loving brother. I thank Hazelle and Posy for inviting me to the wonderful party and move towards the door.

Hazelle says, "Gale, why don't you walk Madge home? It's starting to get dark outside." I don't wait to see if he's coming, I leave and walk quickly.

A couple minutes later, I hear Gale behind me and I pick up my pace. Tears have started to fall out of my eyes and I don't want to be around anyone. I've never cried in public and I will not do it now. I head towards the meadow that is close to the fence. I know Gale's behind me but he doesn't make a move to call out to me or catch up to me. I walk even faster hoping to lose Gale. I turn two corners quickly and I'm pretty sure I've lost him so I walk to the meadow. I just need a few moments to gather myself.

I drop down to the ground in the middle of the meadow and let my head fall down on my arm and let my emotions run wild. I cry.

I hear Gale sit down across from me but I don't look up. He says, "Madge?"

"Go away, Gale."

He doesn't. He pries my arms apart and puts his finger under my chin to lift my face up. "I don't like seeing you cry." He wipes my tears.

I stand up. I'm in no mood for his apologies or any conversation. I know he was cold to me because he thought I spent my father's money on his party and on his present. He can be so sweet yet so incredibly stupid. Gale and his stupid pride. Well I'm in no mood to deal with it right now.

He stands up and grabs my arm to stop me from leaving.

I yell, "Turn around!"

"What?" he asks confused.

"Just turn around. Right now!" I yell at him.

He turns around and I kick him in the butt. "Whoa, Madge, what was that for?" Gale asks me flabbergasted trying to keep his balance.

"Remember, you told me I should've kicked you in the butt all those times you were a jerk to me? Well you're being one now."

Gale chuckles and comes close to me. "You have that fire in your eyes again."

"Your charm's not going to work on me this time, Gale Hawthorne. You have no idea what a jerk you've been. When I woke up this morning in your arms, I was the happiest person in the world. I wanted to wish you Happy Birthday and give you a proper birthday kiss but I didn't because I had promised Posy. I didn't pay for the decorations. I just helped the kids buy the decorations and I helped them decorate the house. AND just so you know I bought you the wire for your snares with the money that I earned while working at the Justice Building. I didn't buy it with the money that my dad gives me. I wanted it to be special and I spent hours working late into the night to earn enough to buy that wire for you."

"Madge, I'm sorry. I have been a jerk. I spoiled such a wonderful birthday party. It's entirely my fault. It's just that the difference between us is so vast that my pride gets in the way."

"It's not just a matter of your stupid pride. It also has to do with trust. I trust you, Gale, why can't you trust me? Why can't you trust me to take your feelings on things into account? Do you think I don't know that you don't want me to spend my dad's money on you?"

Gale wraps his arms around me and says, "I'm sorry, Madge. I do trust you. But sometimes my pride makes me crazy. It's a seam thing. I'm trying to change. You've changed me in so many ways…positive ways. Just please have patience with me. I trust you…I love you."

"It's fine. Let's just talk about it tomorrow. I'm going home. You need to go home too. I bet you need to apologize to Posy too."

I move away from him but Gale yanks me back to him. He kisses my cheek and says, "Please, forgive me. It's my birthday! It could be another birthday present from you. Please." He continues to pepper me with kisses all over my face and neck.

I sigh and kiss him on the lips. I can't stay mad at Gale; it's like he has this power over me that I just can't resist him when he's being so sweet. And he's right; it is his birthday after all. On occasion I've heard even my mom complain about how clueless my dad can be. Maybe it's not a seam thing or even a Gale thing; perhaps it's just a man thing.

Gale puts his forehead to mine and says, "Thank you, Madge. I love you."

"I love you too and Happy Birthday!" I say to him and then kiss him the way I've wanted to all day. Gale convinces me to go back to his house to finish out the party.

As we're walking back he says, "I'll probably need you to help me make up to Posy any way." Gale rubs his butt and continues, "Geez, Madge. That was a hard kick. I think I'm gonna be sore for a while. I think this may be a good opportunity for you to practice your massage skills."

I blush thinking about massaging Gale where I kicked him. "I hope Posy gives you hell. I'm on her side; don't expect help from me. And you deserved the kick. You don't get rewarded a massage for ruining our party."

"Come on, I gave you one!" He pouts.

"I deserved it!" I reply back cheekily. We reach home and only the Hawthornes are left. Gale will have some more apologizing to do tomorrow. Rory informs us unhappily that everyone left after the guest of honor left.

"Where's Posy?" Gale asks. Everyone points to the bedroom. Gale goes in and he stays in there for a long time. Finally he comes out with a teary eyed Posy in his arms. He sits down on the sofa with Posy in his lap. I am no longer mad at Gale. I know it breaks his heart to know that he did that to Posy and it's heartbreaking to see the look in his eyes right now. I walk over and say, "It's okay, Pose."

Posy climbs into my lap and buries her head in my shoulder as she says, "No it's not, Princess Madge. He ruined the nice party we had for him. I'm going to be mad at Gale forever."

"Pose, I forgave him." I pull her away from my shoulder so I can see her face and say, "Gale apologized to me and I forgave him. You should do the same. After all, it's his birthday today. We can't be mad at him today. That's the rule – to never be mad at the birthday boy."

"Really? I didn't know that," Posy says intrigued.

"Yeap, that's the biggest rule of all the rules. Shall we forgive him together?" I ask her.

"Okay," she says and turns around in my lap.

"Gale, how are you supposed to apologize to me?" she asks Gale sternly. I laugh but cover it up quickly. Posy's seriously 4 going on 16. Gale's going to have his hands full when she's a teenager.

Gale says, "I'm sorry, Pose. I will never hurt your feelings again. I promise. I love you." He finishes off by kissing both her cheeks. She clings to his neck and goes into his lap. She kisses his cheek too.

Gale looks at me as he mouths a 'thank you' to me, but Posy uses her hand to bring Gale's attention back to her and says, "Now, apologize properly to the Princess too."

Gale gets a mischievous look in his eyes but before he can do anything I stand up and say, "Uh…that's okay, Pose. Gale already apologized to me. He doesn't have to do it again." I'm so embarrassed that my cheeks and my neck feel like they're on fire.

Posy puts her hands on her hips and asks Gale, "Did you apologize properly?"

He nods. "I think so."

"Did you promise to not hurt her feelings again?" she asks him.

He nods again. "I did." Oh no! This just gets more and more embarrassing by the minute. Why isn't Gale stopping her?

"Did you tell her you love her?" she asks.

He nods. "I did." Hazelle's and Rory's eyes go wide and I'm so embarrassed that I can't do anything but look at the floor.

"Did you kiss her on the cheeks?" she demands. Oh NO! Somebody please make her stop.

"I didn't, Pose." Before I have time to react, Gale walks up to me and kisses me on my right cheek as he says, "Thank you for the party, Madge." Then he kisses me on my left cheek and says, "Thank you for my presents, Madge." He emphasizes 'presents' including my kiss and my forgiveness in with the snare wire.

"That's better! Don't do it again," Posy admonishes Gale.

Rory walks me home so Gale can spend time with Vick and Posy for the remainder of his birthday. I know Rory has questions but I can tell he doesn't feel comfortable around me yet. I let him take his time. A couple of times he almost works up the nerve to ask me and then stops.

When I get home, my mom is just waking up and I spend the rest of the evening and night with her. I can't yet tell her all that's happened but hopefully soon she'll feel well enough for a walk around the garden.