A/N: I know it's a little late in the day but Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays! My present to you is this unusually long chapter c:
Kings starts slowly, but once everyone has a few drinks in them the speed starts to pick up. Two 4's are gone, a 3, a 7. Bristel draws a 9 and spurts out the word cat.
"Fat," Gale says.
"Rat," Madge pops out next.
"Shat," Thom shrugs. Madge shoots him a look and mutters something about vulgar under her breath, receiving a chuckle from Gale. Mat. Bat. Prat. Chat. Flat. Hat.
Madge drums her fingers across the table and races through words in her mind. Clap? That doesn't rhyme. It's so difficult to think of a word that rhymes while she's half tipsy. She goes to open her mouth but everyone laughs and she knows she lost. Madge accepts her defeat and tips back her glass to take a drink.
"You're supposed to know loads of words," Gale tells her, poking her side. "You're a teacher."
"You stole my word," she says back with a frown, though it's clearly forced.
Gale winks in her direction and draws a card, showing the 5. Both Thom and Gale lift their cups without hesitation for 5 is for guys. Madge draws next considering she's after Gale and draws a Jack, which means Gale has to drink again because he's the last one to draw a card. He takes another sip and eyes up Madge.
"Trying to get me drunk?" he asks playfully.
"Maybe."
"Disgusting," Thom growls openly before reaching for a card. While he draws Gale pulls Madge's chair closer and then drops his lips against hers, all for show. She laughs and pulls him closer after lifting her eyes to see Thom pulling a King. He pours part of his glass into the cup in the center and turns to the two. "You ought to get a room."
"Are you offering yours?" Madge quips against Gale's lips.
Bristel snorts and pulls a 6, Madge reaches for her cup quickly because that means the girls drink, and she finally releases her hold on Gale. "You're really getting the hang of it," she offers encouragingly.
"It's not too hard," Madge shrugs. Considering she's a teacher she has to learn things at a fast pace, ranging all the way from how a student will behave in the future down to every lesson plan. "It's sort of fun."
"Sort of?" Thom rolls his eyes. "You must've really been deprived of a childhood," he says.
"And why's that?" she asks.
"One," Thom points a finger toward Madge as Gale draws a 7 for heaven. Everyone points up as Thom is distracted with talking, meaning he takes a drink. After he takes a big gulp he holds up his finger again. "One, you've never played Kings. Two, you think Kings is sort of fun when it should be extremely fun."
"Three," Madge holds up her 2, "that didn't make any sense. If I was deprived of a childhood then this would be loads of fun. And you're not being very supportive of it, why should I enjoy the game?" Everyone drinks but Madge as she flips her card back down. She's taking none of Thom's sass tonight. She's actually having a great time, she just wanted to prove a point. "If you think I'm deprived you should be trying to make me have more fun, not trying to make me angry."
"I'm not trying to make you angry," Thom retorts. "I'm just stating that your childhood was clearly deprived."
"Thom," Gale grunts.
"No, he's right," Madge shrugs, too tired to argue this. "I never went to any parties."
"See," Thom points at the blonde and meets Gale's eyes. "Deprived." Thom flashes his 4 and drops to touch the floor, followed by Madge and Bristel. Gale was too busy glaring to process the card and takes a drink with annoyance. "These are statements of pure fact."
Bristel pulls another 9. "Cup," she says.
"Pup," Gale goes.
"Yup?" Madge offers. They all shrug and let it slide.
"Err," Thom presses his eyebrows. "Up."
"I'm out," Bristel accepts defeat and drinks. "That was a crap word anyways."
Gale pulls an 8 so Madge drinks with him. Madge flips over a 10 and stares down at it for a moment, trying to remember what it is. Oh right, she holds up three fingers and lifts her gaze. "Do I go first?" Gale nods and holds up his own hand. "Okay. I've never had a pet."
Thom and Gale both put a finger down. "How the hell have you never had a pet?" Thom asks.
Madge shrugs for about the thousandth time that night. "Had other things to take care of."
"Fair enough. I've never thrown up from drinking." Madge narrows her eyes in his direction and puts a finger down, as does Gale. He only has one left to go. "Sorry princess."
"I've never broken a bone," Bristel says proudly, cutting off her husband. Thom's the only one to put a finger down and he growls at his wife. "Sorry hun," she shrugs. "Someone's gotta drink."
Gale smirks. "I've never kissed a guy."
"Cheap shot," Madge mutters, putting another finger down alongside Bristel. Both her and Gale and Thom only have one finger to go. She has to be careful about this one. "I've never…" If she gets Gale out then she has to drink too because of the 8 for mate card, but the only things she can think of get both Thom and Gale out. "I've never…"
"Come on Undersee," Thom lifts his eyebrows. "Get me out. You know you want to."
She smiles and lowers her hand. "I've never been married." Bristel has to put a finger down but that only makes two for her, which means Thom is out. He shakes his head, though his lips threaten to pull up. "You're welcome," she grins.
Gale hoots and throws his head back; his hand somehow finds her waist and pulls her closer.
"Alright, I'll give it to ya," he turns to Gale as he sips. "She's clever."
"Brilliant, in fact," Gale nods, his lips quickly pressing against her temple. Thom pulls another King and dumps his cup into the one in the center, a light smile still tugging on his lips.
Madge knows that he'll crack soon. He has to. He has to realize that Madge Undersee is actually a person and not some sort of figure to be kept on a shelf. Someone that he can respect without hurting his self-pride. Someone he can laugh with. Someone that makes Gale happy.
Bristel pulls an Ace and for a round everyone has to talk in their best Capitol accent. When Madge finally speaks, blasting out her inner Effie Trinket as best she can, the entire table falls over on themselves laughing. Including Thom.
"I just don't understand what could possibly be so hilarious," Madge stays in character, letting her voice lift and drop like their accent does. She doesn't even crack a smile. "You sad District 12 folk always being so opposed to the mysticism of the Capitol."
"Stop her!" Thom chokes out, his face entirely red. "God, stop her!"
Madge crosses her arms and says, "Thomas you sound nothing like a Capitol citizen I demand you take a drink!"
"For Christ's sake!" Thom throws up his hands and takes his cup, downing the rest of the drink. "You sound just like them!"
"You spend enough time around a monster you learn their ins and outs," she continues with the voice. Despite the serious subject matter her lips finally tug into a smile. "That, and I'm an amazing actress."
"Liars are the best actresses," Thom shoves his finger in her direction while he goes to stand. Thom crosses the room to get the bottle of liquor so he can pour more in his cup considering he's out. "Your girlfriend just called herself a great liar, Gale! You better watch out for that!"
"Oh, save it," Gale mutters, taking a drink. The game continues. A 6. A 9. An Ace. 5. 5. 2. Gale pulls out a Queen and lifts his eyebrows. He turns to Madge. "Are you having fun?"
She turns to Bristel completely ignoring Gale. Queens stands for questions. "How do you play a Queen again?"
To Gale, Bristel says, "How is it that Madge almost tricked me into answering?"
"How'd you almost trick Bristel?" he asks Madge, a playful scowl on his face.
"Why am I to take the blame for playing the game correctly?" Madge asks Thom.
"Because you're from town," he quips. Madge lifts her eyebrows and motions to his cup, no longer taking any offense when he mentions where she's from. It sort of loses its effect after so many times. "Dammit, Undersee," Thom takes a swig of liquor. "How do you do that?"
"Now that would've been an acceptable response," Gale retorts as Madge sticks her tongue out. "Unfortunately you're too dim to come up with that on the spot."
"Don't be rude," Bristel scolds her friend with a laugh. "Thom's clearly a lot more drunk than any of us."
"I'm perfectly fine," he taps his finger on his wife's cheek. "You're a lot more drunk!" Bristel snickers and swats him away.
While this all happens Madge has pulled a 3 and taken another swig herself. She won't admit to all of them that her head is swimming and her body tingles from the alcohol. Every time she gets like this she revels in the feeling, though she knows she should stop. Madge loves to drink. She loves the feeling that runs through her veins. Like she's in control though she obviously isn't. Like she doesn't have to be a stuck up prick all the time because of her father's position. Like she's unstoppable and weightless and flying.
Gale slides his hand into hers and pulls her back into reality. She smiles and tightens her grip. His eyebrows lift in an unspoken question of are you okay? and she nods to prove she is. Maybe starting to get a little sleepy.
Thom flips over a 10 and blurts out, "I've never blacked out while drinking!"
"Not yet," Bristel mutters as she puts down a finger. Madge follows suit. "I've never licked the door handle."
"Aw, seriously Bris?" Thom lowers a finger. "That was one time!"
"I don't want to know," Gale says as he rolls his eyes. "I've never been stung by a bee." Madge and Bristel roll their eyes now too, lowering fingers. How is that even possible?
"I've never seen a shooting star," Madge drones out tiredly.
Bristel, Gale, and Thom all lower their fingers. This causes Bristel to drink but she does it with wide eyes. "What the heck do you mean you've never seen a shooting star?" she asks.
"I dunno," Madge shrugs. "I don't really stargaze or anything. We have streetlights right outside our house that never go out so…" she trails off, lifting her shoulders again. She waits for Thom to make another crack at her living in town but he doesn't. In fact, he honestly looks upset at the fact that she's never seen a shooting star. "It's not a big deal," Madge adds quickly.
All Thom mutters under his breath is, "Deprived."
To draw attention away from the situation Bristel quickly flips a card. Another Queen. She turns to her husband and says, "Did you know that I've been to the slagheap with boys other than you when I was a teenager?"
To Gale, Thom says, "Why does my wife try to shatter my soul?"
"Aren't they just the cutest?" Gale asks Madge.
And with the alcohol numbing her senses and sleepiness fogging her brain she turns to Thom and asks, "Why do you hate me?"
Without missing a beat he answers, "I don't." Thom lifts his eyebrows and quickly reaches for her drink. "That's twice in a row, Undersee," he says with a laugh. "I think you're a hustler. You've definitely played before."
"I'm just a fast learner," she answers with a smile bigger than ever before, and the tiredness drains from her body. He said it! Madge can feel Gale's gaze lighten and the atmosphere immediately eases.
The rest of the night is a haze filled with laughter and spilled drinks and hiccups and silly conversations that wouldn't make sense to bystanders. Madge is the one who pulls the final king and she downs the entire cup in one sitting, egged on by the cheers of those who sit around her.
When she lowers the cup she laughs and hiccups and the room spins around her. The night ends shortly after that. By the time Gale drags her from the house holding his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet because she's just so loud. And he's laughing and she's laughing and everyone's laughing and waving goodbye as Gale finally pulls Madge from the house.
As Gale runs back for his jacket she hears Bristel whisper, "Told you Kings would work."
Though muddled from the alcohol Gale instantly wakes up when he steps into the brisk air after Madge. He knows the same sensation runs over her too because she shivers and blinks a few times, trying to get used to the temperature shift.
Gale slides his hand into hers and pulls her off the streets. They walk in silence for a bit before Madge starts to laugh. "I may be drunk," she says to him, "but I know this is not the direction to my house."
"Correct," Gale nods.
The second he heard that she had never seen a shooting star he resolved to take her. With the lights out in the Seam very early Gale had seen his first shooting star in the first grade. It was always dark, always easy to see the stars. From a very young age his father had taught him the major constellations and after his death it always soothed him to find them in the sky.
"Well then where are we going?" she asks.
"Why, do you have another date?" She laughs and swats his arm. "You'll see."
And that sedates her, for now. Only when they're nearly to the meadow does Gale look up and realize though the night feels crisp, the sky is cloudy. He curses himself but continues to take her to the meadow anyway.
He's always liked is there. Winter, fall, spring, summer. Doesn't matter what season it is but the meadow always has this feeling of peace to it. Serenity.
Madge must be less drunk than he originally thought because she seems to piece everything together quickly. "Is the meadow your second favorite place to hook up besides the slagheap?"
Gale rolls his eyes and snorts. "What kind of animal do you think I am? I only bring the pretty ones to the meadow."
Madge laughs, high and bright. Truth be told, Gale's never brought a girl to the meadow. He'll probably tell this to Madge sooner or later but she seems amused with his response for now. The slagheap was one thing. No one cared. Everyone went. It was crawling with germs and hormones. The meadow, though. That was different. Is different.
"You do know you can't see the stars tonight, right?"
"You can there," Gale says and points to a small opening where the clouds slip. They slow to a stop somewhere in the meadow and Madge shivers. Gale sinks to the ground and pulls her into his laugh. "I'll keep you warm," he murmurs, pressing his lips to her neck.
She shivers again but he knows it's of a different kind. The thought makes him grin. He readjusts his jacket so it hangs over her shoulders as well. Madge rests her head backwards against his shoulder to give him more access to her skin. As he kisses down her collarbone she hums. "Gale, I really don't care about seeing a shooting star."
"Not the full reason I brought you here," he breathes. "Though I do plan for you to see one, one day."
"Then why…"
"You wanted alone time," he reminds her with a smile. "And tonight was great but I couldn't do this with them in the room." She giggles as his hands slip around her waist. She jumps a bit when her shirt rides up and his cold fingers brush against her skin but makes no attempt to stop him.
"Technically," she forces out through a wavering voice, "you're the one that wanted to talk. And you're clearly preoccupied." He laughs against her neck and tightens his grip. She's true. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Sometimes I feel like I don't even know you," he murmurs. Madge turns to face him and her nose collides with his chin. Her eyebrows are knitted and her eyes hazy, she's clearly still a bit under the influence. As is he. "Like during Kings you'd say you had never done this or that or you had done this or that and I hadn't know any of them."
"Well what do you want to know?" she asks. "I'll tell you anything."
"Your fears," he whispers. "Your hopes." Madge blinks once or twice before smiling. She gets that look on her face that could end all problems, he's sure. "Why're you looking at me like that?"
"Sometimes I forget you actually care about those things," she mumbles, her cheeks taking on a light blush. "When I think about Gale Hawthorne I don't usually see myself having these conversations with him. I'm still getting used to it."
He laughs a bit, reaching up to brush her bangs behind her ear. "Well get used to it." He wants to know every little thing about her. Everything there is to know all the way down to her favorite type of tea or her earliest memory. "Tell me something I don't know."
"I…" Madge trails off and frowns for a moment. "I don't know. I'm boring. I'm sheltered and don't have many friends and…"
"Don't be an idiot," he chuckles before kissing the nape of her neck once. "What do you most want to do in the world?"
"Change a child's future," she whispers. "That sounds dumb but…"
"That's not dumb," Gale shakes his head. "That's not dumb at all."
In fact it's one of the things he likes about her. How dedicated she is to her job. To teaching.
"Yeah, well," she swallows audibly. "What about you? What do you want to do?"
"I want to keep Posy from taking out tesserae," Gale answers without missing a beat. "I want to teach Vick the ins and outs of the woods. I want Rory to—"
"That's all great, Gale," Madge cuts him off. "But that's not you, that's them." She turns to face him but only ends up readjusting herself in his lap. "What do you want? Out of anything and everything in the entire world. You."
He thinks for a moment and bites his tongue before answering. He wants to get married. Have kids. Start a family. Move out of his mom's house. Gale's almost a hundred percent sure that sharing this with Madge could make things awkward, considering they're dating. It's not as if he wouldn't marry Madge, not as if he won't, but it's still a bit early in their relationship to talk about things like that.
Instead he kisses her neck again and tightens his hold around her waist. "I'll let you know when I figure it out." He asks, "What's your biggest fear?"
Though he wishes to carry on down to her collarbone with his mouth he stays nestled against her, trying to absorb her heat. It is sort of cold outside. But he also wants her to know that he's listening. That he actually does care. Especially if he really does want to get married one day.
"You already know I'm scared to swim," she forces out as though she's embarrassed. "Scared of heights."
"I'm scared of storms," Gale tells her. He's sort of hoping she'll forget this fact considering he's a grown man and afraid of a thunderstorm, but she should know that she doesn't need to be embarrassed of a fear. "What about something serious?"
"Dying," Madge says. "I'm afraid to die. Scared to be forgotten."
"Dying isn't scary, it's what comes after that freaks me out." She tilts her head so she can face him and narrows her eyes. "Everyone dies," he tells her. "They just do. There's nothing anyone can do to stop it, it's a part of life."
"It's still a scary thought."
"Not necessarily," Gale says. He runs his hands down the length of her arms until he finds her hands. "Starvation. Mine collapse. I could get caught over the fence and be whipped to death."
"Stop," Madge mumbles.
"Something's bound to happen one day," Gale whispers. "I'm just not scared anymore. I look death in the face every day." She drops her eyes and sighs, nestling back up to him. "Do you believe in God?" he asks quietly.
There's silence for a moment and Gale wonders if this conversation is too serious for a pair of drunks. He just wants to know. Thought it would be a good time. Before he apologizes for the subject matter she says, "I think so. I haven't decided."
"There's got to be something out there other than us, right? I mean you said that yourself once."
"But I was talking about aliens," she says, a crooked smile taking hold of her face. "Not God."
"Maybe God's an alien." To this Madge laughs and Gale smiles, tightening his hold around her. Another breath of silence and Gale adds, "I like to think that there's a place better than this. That when we get out of here we go somewhere greater."
"That'd be nice." Madge fidgets a bit. "I try to believe that my mom went to a better place when she died," she says quietly. Gale knows how hard it is for her to talk about her mom. "So yeah. I think I believe in God." Gale presses his lips to her temple lightly and rests his head against hers. "Is that why you believe? Because of your dad?"
He stiffens a bit but remembers that this is Madge he's talking to. "No," Gale admits. His dad will always be a touchy subject. "I didn't believe in God for a long time after my dad died." Madge stays quiet and waits for him to continue. "It wasn't until recently, I guess." The story still gives him shivers when he thinks about it. "Rory had run off. I don't remember how old he was. Little. Younger than Vick now but older than Posy." Gale laughs once and shakes his head. "I don't even know why. Got mad at me about something and just ran."
"Where'd he go?" she asks.
"The fence," Gale deadpans. "That was when it was still on all the time. It was right after Katniss and Peeta came home." Gale drops his forehead down to Madge's shoulder and sighs. "And I knew that was where he'd go, too. The fence'll kill you if you're not careful and Rory didn't really know that." Madge nods to show that she understands. "So I panicked and I ran as fast as I could."
There's a long pause before Madge asks, "What happened?"
"It was off. He was on the other side yelling at me about something and I was just laughing hysterically because the fence was off." Madge smiles, turning to face him again. His forehead slips to hers and he smiles too. "It hasn't been on since."
Her eyes find his and she says, "That's a nice story."
"I knew there was someone out there looking out for me," he whispers. "There has to be. I mean I've made it this far." Madge grins and nods to show her agreement. Slowly the smile slips from her face and she drops her eyes. Gale lifts his hand to cup her cheek. "What?"
"I'd really like to believe," she tells him. "It's so nice, the thought of God and all but..."
"But what?"
"A place like this?" Madge looks up and meets his eyes. "Starvation and Hunger Games and whippings? It's so awful and if there really was someone up there looking out for us then I don't think there would be things like that."
"There can't be good without bad," Gale murmurs. "You can't just say that there are no good things in the world because there are some bad things. Like look," he gestures to the meadow around them. "It's beautiful here." Madge turns toward the meadow again and readjusts in his lap so she can gaze outward. "And maybe you can't really see the stars," he says while looking up, "but the way the light from the moon streams through the clouds is miraculous." He points out into the field, "And just because it's dark doesn't mean there aren't flowers blooming over there. We just can't see them right now."
Gale turns to point something else out behind him but is suddenly cut off by the forceful pull of his cheeks down toward Madge. His words left unspoken come out as a grunt low in the back of his throat as their lips collide. Gale's momentarily confused but the second her hands slide up his skin he melts. His hands find their way without his control, one to her waist the other somewhere in her hair, all the meanwhile she's just clutching his face as if she's drowning and needs him to float.
So for now, he's alright with the lack of talking.
She deepens the kiss by turning to straddle him, pulling Gale down desperately against her. The hand on her waist slides under her shirt and trails up her spine under its own doing. She smiles against his mouth and the sensation brings him back, Gale slowly lowers it back down to her hip. He wills his mind to stay in the moment rather than jumping ahead.
He'd like to lose control, let his mind and hands wander at the same time. He'd like to tear her shirt from body and make his way down her chest. But they're in the meadow. And this is not a place for that. And this is not the time.
Gale pulls away from her just a bit. Enough to keep their lips together but slow the kiss tremendously. He doesn't want her to rush into anything, not while she's tipsy and they're lying in the grass. He knows she's not nearly as experienced as he is, how can she be? And no matter how much he'd like to he won't lose his common sense or take advantage of her.
His tongue slides against her lip and she giggles, clutching the front of his shirt and pulling him closer. And for the moment, he's very, very thankful for God, and for blessing him with this night.
For his friends. His family. For the girl in his arms that doesn't want to be anywhere else but here.
A/N: I really wanted to post this while it was still Christmas for me so there might be some spelling mistakes or w/e! Lemme know and I'll fix them. I wanted a bit of both in this chapter, how'd you like it?