As Gale returns home from another agonizingly long day in the mines (even worse now that Thom isn't speaking with him) he is surprised by the sudden appearance of his younger brother at the door. Gale steps backward and eyes Vick once.
"Can I help you?"
"I want to go in the woods."
Gale grunts, throwing a glance over his shoulder before shoving Vick inside and slamming the door shut behind him. Without another word Gale kicks off his boots and pulls his mining gear from him.
"No. And you can't say crap like that with the door open, you know that."
"Gale," Vick pleads as his brother marches from him. "Please! Please take me! If you don't I'll... I'll go on my own!" Gale snaps around so fast his neck cracks, glaring daggers at him. He's acting like a child. "Okay, I won't do that, but I don't want to be totally useless anymore!"
"You're not useless, Vick."
"I am. Besides with you in the mines and Rory's income now going to him and Prim we could use more... food. Not only that but it's staying lighter for later so we could go after you get home from the mines." Gale swallows thickly and continues to stare at Vick, sizing up the boy before him.
Or maybe he's a man. Vick's just as determined as Gale is, and honestly it surprises him that Vick waited so long to ask this blatantly. He used to hint at it and Gale would always shoot him down, tell him that he was too young.
"I don't even need to learn anything with the bow," Vick continues desperately. "Just some snares. Anything, Gale! Just think about it! I'm nearly 18 I think I can handle it. You hopped the fence a lot when you were a lot younger and dumber than me so I think it's at least viable for consideration!"
Again Gale swallows. He doesn't want his brother to have to grow up like he did. But then again, he hasn't. Vick practically is grown up and should know things like this. The weight of the world isn't on his shoulders like it was with Gale. Rory never had much of an interest but Vick always had. The more Gale thinks about it the more it makes sense, yet there's still the looming threat of the Capitol and a public whipping.
Which still happen every now and again.
"I'll mull it over," Gale tells him. "You ask me about it again before I make up my mind then the answer is no. You got it?"
Vick's face lights up and he nods. "Yes. Totally and completely."
When Gale gets home from work he's overly tired. All he wants to do is sleep for the rest of his life and put some sort of warm wrap on his back which is causing him more pain than necessary as of late. But when the door swings open and he see's Madge Undersee scurrying about, Gale instantly wakes up.
They eat dinner and have mindless conversations about nothing that he'll surely forget later. All he can focus on is the light in her shining eyes and the pink to her pale skin.
Madge and Gale end up on the couch and he doesn't hesitate to grab her hand. If the action startles her she doesn't show it, only sliding closer and absorbing Gale's warmth.
"You seem tense," she says gently. "Everything alright?"
"Back hurts," he murmurs. Gale wonders why the words flow so easily from his lips. He'd never admit that, especially not to her. It shows weakness. Something Gale Hawthorne can't afford.
Madge asks, "Want me to fix it?" Gale's the one that's startled this time, turning to her with his eyebrows raised. "Oh, come on Gale, it's just a back rub." As he goes to say how it'd be strange with his family in the room she adds, "Everyone else went to bed already. Nothing to be embarrassed by." And when he looks up, he realizes she's right.
Wordlessly he sinks to the floor in front of her and allows her hands to find his shoulders. Gale closes his eyes and tries to only focus on the kneading Madge uses as the knots of tension ease from him. Suddenly her hands take on a slower rhythm and ghost over his skin, but he doesn't mind. His eyes snap back open when he feels her breath on his neck.
Slowly he turns to look at her and is shocked by the way her eyes are wide and almost desperate. "Madge," his voice catches in his throat before he springs up, needing the feel of her lips on his.
And she doesn't waste any time responding. Gale fumbles to get back up on the couch and pulls her closer to him. She lurches forward and wraps her hands around him, one tugging his shirt closer in a bunch and the other getting lost somewhere in his hair. As he foolishly pulls away to catch his breath she disappears from around him in an instant.
Gale turns his head to find her and ends up falling off the couch.
And waking up.
The clock on the wall says 4:52 and the sky is a clear sort of blue, a telltale sign of the approaching dawn.
He was dreaming. For God's sake he was dreaming!
Gale groans and lifts himself off the floor, rubbing at his eyes and scolding himself for being such an idiot. If he doesn't get his hands on Madge Undersee soon he's going to explode. Literally. At least his back doesn't hurt as much anymore.
After fixing his problem Gale settles back on the couch. He knows that if he goes back to sleep for less than an hour he'll only dream of her again and it makes him want to scream. Instead he pushes himself from where he sits and marches into the room he shares with Vick, kicking the mattress that sits on the floor.
Vick instantly stirs and sits up muttering something about Lily which causes Gale to roll his eyes. "Wake up," Gale says with another kick to the mattress. "You wanna go in the woods or not?"
"Whatimesit?"
"Nearly five now get up, I don't have all day." Vick, obviously annoyed of being woken from his dream about Lily growls and rolls back over. "Guess I'm never taking you then," Gale says noncommittally.
Vick groans and rolls back over, slowly shoving the blankets from him. "What's got your panties in a bunch?" he murmurs.
"Nothing that concerns you," Gale retorts as he quickly gets dressed.
There isn't enough time for him to come home after he takes Vick out and change for the mines, so he just puts his work gear on. He knows that it's impractical to go hunting in this which is exactly why Gale doesn't plan to go hunting. Just give Vick a taste of the freedom. He knows once Vick is out there once he'll never hesitate to wake up early again.
When Vick stands, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Gale tries not to laugh at his choice of outfit. They'll only be out for a few minutes but his clothing is school wear, not woods wear. Then again, Gale is in his mining outfit.
"We'll work on it," Gale tells him.
Quickly they scribble out a note for their mother and take off into the approaching dawn. Gale doesn't remember the last time he went in the woods before work but it has to have been ages ago. The closer they get to the fence the more eager Vick seems, Gale can't help but smile at his brother.
And then they're finally there. Gale points out that no matter how many times Vick will cross the fence he must listen for the hum every single time. No exceptions.
"You touch it while it's on and you die. You got that?"
"Got it," Vick nods. "Always check the fence."
After that Gale shows him the quickest way to get under. He slides through the hole in the fence with ease and watches at Vick does the same. Gale remember the first time he brought Rory out and he hesitated. Gale knew from that point on that the woods weren't for him. Vick seems to be different, though.
And that fact is proven the second they're out of view from the District. Vick just freezes. He freezes right where he stands and his mouth drops open and he can't move at all.
Gale watches his brother with uneasy eyes. "Vick?"
"It's incredible," he breathes. "No, more than incredible! It's phenomenal!" A laugh leaps from Vick's throat as he looks back toward Gale. "Why the heck haven't you brought me out here before?!"
Gale laughs, marching over and pounding his brother on the shoulder. "I just want to show you a few things, alright?"
"Anything!"
The older of the two leads the way only a bit into the woods. Gale shows Vick where he keeps the bow and arrow (which he won't get his hands on for years, if he's lucky) and how he uses that log to pinpoint direction. Gale leads him to the river and talks about how the water flows south, and how if it's followed upstream far enough it will eventually take him to a lake. He points out little things about the plants as they walk, Vick nearly overwhelmed with excitement can only nod in response. And lastly, he talks about the sun and how it can be used to tell the time.
Speaking of which.
"Dammit," Gale grumbles. "C'mon, we gotta go."
"Nu-uh," Vick shakes his head. "You gotta go. It's Saturday, Gale! I can stay out here all day!"
"Nu-uh," Gale repeats in the same tone Vick used. "You're going home. We can come back out when I get off." Vick pouts and Gale grabs his shoulder, pulling him back toward the fence. There's no way in hell Gale's leaving Vick alone out here all day. "Don't make me change my mind about this."
"Promise that we'll come out?"
"Yeah, Vick, I promise."
And that's all he needs to hear.
Gale takes Vick again out that night and teaches him how to climb a tree. Not that Vick hasn't climbed a tree before, he just hasn't climbed one like this. He also shows Vick little things like where the best places to set snares are or places that he should avoid at all costs because they have Tracker Jacker nests or other hunter's stuff.
"If you ever see something that isn't yours, don't touch it."
And when Sunday rolls around Vick is the one to wake Gale up, not the other way around. They spend the morning running the snare route and collecting whatever it is that Gale's caught. When afternoon hits, Vick asks if they can go fishing and Gale happily complies.
He's missed having a companion out in the woods. Even if it is his little brother.
After catching a few things that they can trade in the Hob they start back toward the fence. "Mom'll start to worry if we're out too long," Gale tells him. "If you start to lose track of time, chances are Mom's freaking out at home."
"Noted," Vick nods. "What's that?"
Gale lifts his gaze and follows Vick's outstretched hand, wrinkling his nose when he spots where his brother is pointing. "Strawberry bush," Gale mutters.
"Looks overgrown," Vick says back as he starts for it. "When's the last time you picked any?"
"Been awhile," he admits. Strawberries don't go for much in the Hob and until recently he hadn't been too friendly with Madge. Vick strides right up and plucks one from the bush and plops it in his mouth. He squints and swallows it with a funny face. "Sour?" Gale laughs.
"Just a bit."
Gale chuckles and looks down at them. "They aren't in season right now. Not for another week or two if we're lucky."
Vick reaches for his water bottle and takes a sip, probably to get rid of the taste. "Hey, doesn't Madge like strawberries?"
"They're her favorite," Gale nods.
He remembers the last time he ever brought Madge strawberries, actually. She would always brighten up when she noticed he had brought them with him. When Katniss was in the Games he would sometimes show up just to talk, per say. When he'd swing that basket around for her she would laugh and her cheeks would turn pink and she'd lick her lips. She probably didn't even know she was doing it.
It was right before Katniss and Peeta's stunt with the nightlock, actually. That might be why Gale never showed up again. He was disgusted with anything that had the suffix -berry. Strawberries being one of them. That, and the fact that Katniss was coming home with Peeta while he was still in love with her. Gale didn't want any business with a girl who was overly excited that two of her friends were coming home, not just one.
"You should bring her out here," Vick suggests. "I'm sure she'd love it."
"Too dangerous." Gale shakes his head and pulls his hands through his hair. "No. I won't do that."
"Alright," Vick smirks. "I was just suggesting it." There's a pause as Vick tries another strawberry, probably hoping that it will taste a bit different this time. By the look on his face Gale knows that nothing changed. "You know her birthday's next week."
"It is?"
"Yessir," Vick forces out, still cringing from the not-right taste of the fruit. "She was talking about it with Posy the other day when I got her from piano."
Gale scolds himself. He should know things like this!
"Well what day?"
"Wednesday."
"This Wednesday or next Wednesday?"
"I said next week, didn't I? If it was this Wednesday I would've said this week." Gale lets out a deep sigh before he gets angry. "Listening skills, Gale, you need to work on them. Shouldn't you know when her birthday is anyway? I mean you do like her and all."
"Stop talking," Gale growls, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him from the strawberry bush.
"Aw come on," his brother teases, "this is the only place I can talk about it! No one's listening!" Gale keeps his mouth clamped shut as he marches toward the fence, Vick on his tail. "What're you gonna get her?"
"I said stop talking."
What can Gale possibly get her? It's not like he's made of money and she's the mayor's daughter. She deserves something nice, something fancy. And Gale can't afford fancy. Gale can't afford squat, actually. This will require some thinking.
With the guests from the Capitol gone for good (goodbye, Azuelte! See you never!) Madge can finally relax. Though most of the Victors left the night of the wedding or the following morning, many of the Capitol citizens lingered. Because they could. It's not like the mayor can turn guests away.
But now they're gone and Madge can't think of a better way to spend her birthday with a bit of wine while grading some tests from school.
After the hustle and bustle of the wedding Madge doesn't really want a celebration. Jace and Delly asked her if she wanted to have dinner, Peeta and Katniss invited her over for drinks. But all Madge wants is her wine and her red pen. She wants to fall back into a normal routine.
As she sips from her glass and glances over the papers in front of her Madge finds herself getting distracted. She knows that she's lying to herself.
She doesn't want to be alone on her birthday but why would she want to spend it with happy couples? She's alright with the wine and the grading because it's what calms her, soothes her, but it's not exactly a birthday.
She's conflicted, mostly.
Madge hums her favorite piano tunes and listens to Bernard as he vacuums the sitting room. Over his noise she hears a light knocking on her back door. Madge places down the wine bottle before pouring her fourth and stands up, unsure if she actually heard a knocking or not.
Once she reaches the door and pulls it open she's pleasantly surprised to find Gale on the other side.
"Oh, hi," she smiles and steps out, pulling the door shut behind her and blocking out Bernard's racket. "Why're you here?" Last time she glanced at the clock it was only six in the evening but still finding him outside is a shock. It's rare he goes out after work.
"Why am I here?" Gale smirks and pulls out a basket from behind his back. "It's your birthday, Undersee. Aren't you celebrating?" She blinks a few times and studies the gift he's revealed, a small collection of strawberries.
"What's that?" she asks quietly, not taking her eyes from the small red fruit.
"What's it look like?" Gale hands her the basket and makes sure she has a good grip on it before letting go. "Couldn't show up empty handed." Again she blinks, still staring down at what he's given her. Strawberries.
She lowers herself down to sit on a step and he follows suit. "I don't remember the last time you brought me strawberries," she says, her voice nearly a whisper.
"Don't you want them?" Gale asks as he takes the spot next to her.
"Of course I do," she says quickly, finally lifting her gaze. "I'm just processing this."
"Oh, these too," Gale reaches in the pockets of his jacket and pulls out a few sheets of piano music. They're faded and ripped like the other one Gale had shown her and her lips tug into a tiny smile. "Vick contributed. He made his first sell in the Hob." Gale watches her uneasily and adds, "It's not much."
"It's the best gift I've gotten," she answer strongly. Madge reaches out with unsteady hands and accepts the paper. "Thank you." Gale shrugs and Madge finds herself unable to say anything else. Instead she fiddles with the basket in her hands and reaches down to grab one. After studying it another moment she sends it into her mouth, smiling as a bit dribbles down her chin.
She sighs and swallows it before speaking. "God, I love strawberries." Her fingers wipe up the bit of juice.
"Eh," Gale licks his lip as he watches her. "They're alright."
"Alright?" Madge picks up another and holds it up to his face. "They're treats delivered straight from heaven!" Gale tries to fight a smile but Madge can find it anyway, only causing her to grin. "Open your mouth."
"Aw, Madge don't-"
"Open. Your. Mouth." Gale sighs and obliges, allowing Madge to feed him a bite of the sweet fruit. Gale chews it slowly and Madge watches intently. "How is it?"
"Alright," he admits as he swallows, "it's pretty good."
She laughs, "I told you!" He playfully wrinkles his nose in her direction before taking another bite, only egging on Madge's laughter. As Gale licks his lips again and redirects his gaze to the spot in front of him. Madge lowers the basket to the step below her and sets the piano sheets on the one up. This. This is how she wanted to spend her birthday even if she didn't know it earlier. "Gale," she says softly.
"Hm?"
Her hand travels up and cups his left cheek, pulling him closer so she can kiss his right one. Perhaps it's the buzz from the wine that compels her to do it. Only quickly. As a thanks. But obviously startled from Madge's touch Gale turns to face her the second she leans forward, causing her kiss to end up on the corner of his upper lip.
The interaction freezes both of them, Madge takes a moment to regain her senses and pull away. Only she doesn't make it too far. Though she's dropped her hand from Gale's face he grabs her chin gently.
"Madge," he murmurs, his voice low and soft. Her breath gets caught in her throat as he starts inching toward her and the air in her lungs evaporates instantly.
Just as her eyes flicker shut and she braces herself for perhaps the best birthday gift possible, the door swings open.
"Madge, hun are you out here?" Gale pulls away from her as if he's been caught breaking the law and Madge inwardly groans. Bernard coughs once and then takes a step back inside. "I'm so sorry," he forces out as he closes the door. "Should've... knocked?"
The door clicks shut and Madge chews on her bottom lip, turning back to face Gale. "I should go," he chokes. Madge jerks her head into a nod. He speeds off the porch and hesitates at the fence that lines her backyard. "Happy... happy birthday."
Her voice is nothing but a squeak. "Thank you, Gale."
As the fence swings shut and Gale waves once over his shoulder, Madge outwardly groans. She drops her head into her hands and presses at her eyes. He was going to kiss her. Right? He was going to kiss her. Not on the cheek like she tried with him but on the lips.
Her fingers find the spot on her mouth where their lips grazed and she'd be lying to say that it doesn't tingle. Madge lets out a deep breath and grabs her gifts, scooping them into her arms before returning inside. And she makes a promise to herself. Next time, if there is a next time, there's no way Madge is letting him slip away.
A/N: Whoops... happy birthday Madge! Kinda! So close! Dangit Bernard! Poor Gale is feeling so many emotions he can't sort them all out for himself. He runs off so quickly at the end to go talk to someone... you'll see who next chapter. Hope I didn't make you all hate me too much. Not much longer now. Gale-centric chapter, I wanted some Hawthorne family bonding. Predictions for next chapter? Thanks for reviewing! c:
