Disclaimer: I'm just playing with Suzanne Collins' characters and her world. They're hers. Not mine.

Natural

Madge knew she shouldn't be mad, it wasn't Gale's fault his job required relocating. He'd been promoted at his engineering firm. More pay, less supervising, less exposure to the elements, but more travel, and she almost ached with missing him.

He was on the other side of the country, in warm sunny California, while she was stuck in the winter that wouldn't end, which was unfair and depressing.

As much as she trusted Gale, she'd visited him in the Golden State, seen the perpetual suntans and always camera ready faces of his coworkers. While Gale's looks fit right in, Madge knew she was a far cry from what he was getting bombarded with on a daily basis, and it was only a matter of time before he realized it.

Judging by the number of bikini clad girls fawning all over him and the beach time his facebook page showed him to be having, that time was going to be sooner rather than later.

Slumping on the couch, she pulled out her ice cream, she was feeling down so no one could judge her for eating several pints of Ben and Jerry's in her sweats while watching a Disney movie marathon. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

She'd just finished yelling at Belle (seriously, wasn't she supposed to be the smart princess?) when someone knocked on her door.

Unless it was the UPS guy with her amazon order she had no interest in answering it.

Whoever it was, though, they were persistent, kept knocking.

Finally, it was obvious they weren't going to leave her in peace to yell at her animated heroine, Madge paused the movie and stomped to the door, grumbling to herself.

She flings the door open, expecting either a grumpy neighbor telling her to turn down her television or her new phone cover, Tony Stark was going to be protecting her contacts and oh-so professional level pictures on her cracked phone, but finds neither.

"Gale?"

While Madge looks a step above crazy-cat lady, minus the cat, with her stained gray sweat pants and matching, two sizes too big top, and half combed hair, Gale looks like something off the cover of GQ.

His company had paid for every inch of his upgraded look, and they had certainly gotten whatever outrageous price they'd paid. From his crisply cut hair down to the expensive Italian leather shoes he was so fond of complaining about, he was gorgeous. Madge felt her eyes widen as she took in the perfect cut of his suit.

Someone had been given a dream job when they landed dressing Gale.

Before she was even able to get the word 'huh' out, he was in the door, pressing her against the wall of the entry. He kicked the door closed with his foot, not even pausing his kissing her to do so.

He'd started tugging her too large top off, so she finally got to voice her question.

"What are you doing here?"

Gale came back into view as he tossed the top at the door, "Had to fly into New York, some bullshit conference, then got grounded because of the weather." Groaning, he kicked off his shoes, began practically ripping the expensive looking shirt and jacket off, "Drove down here in this crap and switched my flight so I could fly from here when they start letting people leave again."

Bare chested he put his hands on her waist, backed her against the wall again, "God I missed you."

When his hands dipped to the elastic band of her dirty sweats, began working them down her hips while his lips distracted her, she had a sudden flash of a picture on his facebook wall, several toned and tanned girls hugging his biceps. Suddenly she felt decidedly unexcited to see him.

Pushing him away, Madge retrieved her sweatshirt and forced it back over her head.

Gale frowns, his pants were already unbuttoned and halfway unzipped…he had to have done that himself, she was sure of it.

"What's wrong?"He tried to catch her arm, but she crossed it over her chest protectively.

She knew she was being pouty, Gale wasn't a cheater. If he'd met someone on any of his little trips he'd have told her, she was sure of it. He wasn't cruel enough to flaunt it on social media then show up for a booty call during a flight cancellation.

Before she could stop them, fat tears began leaking down her quickly crumpling face.

Looking a little horrified, Gale started to reach for her, stopped, reconsidered, then decided to go for it, pulling her to his chest. He smelled like soap, clean and natural, just like he always had, before his fancy makeover.

"I guess I should've called," he mutters into her hair. "I thought you'd like the surprise."

She would have, still felt the flutter of butterflies in her stomach at seeing him, but her mind kept scrolling through his pictures, all the made-up and pretty looking girls in them, sending sharp pains through her chest.

With a little grunt, Madge pushed him away.

"You should've told me you were going to be in New York. I could've driven up to see you."

Gale scowled, "I didn't want you driving that far all by yourself just to see me." His features softened, "Besides, you don't even like to drive."

That was true…damn.

He grabs her hands, kisses her fingertips, "What's wrong?"

Smearing tears across her face with the back of her hand, Madge swallowed down the extra saliva that had accumulated in her throat. Her lower lip quivered and she cursed herself for being such a baby about everything.

"I-I just keep seeing all those pictures your friends keep p-posting and…"

Her hands waved at her 'I haven't done laundry since the last presidential election' sweats and grimaced. Gale had his fancy new life with shiny new accessories, and Madge didn't fit in.

Eyebrows arching up and mouth turning down, Gale looked confused, "Okay…"

"Gale, I'm disgusting!" She shouldn't even rate a booty call. God, Gale could go walk into any club he wanted and walk out with at least five girls prettier than her, who'd actually showered and put on makeup and combed their hair, girls that hadn't driven to the grocery store and wiped them out of Cherry Garcia with the full intention of eating every bit with no shame.

For a minute he just stared, seemed to be considering her, then started laughing.

"You're nuts, you know that right?"

Her nose wrinkled. His chances of getting anything out of her had just gone down the drain.

Before she could tell him to just go, leave her to her misery, he's scooped her up, thrown her over his shoulder and begun carrying her into the living room. He flopped her onto the couch and dove in on top of her.

"Do you think I'm having fun out there?"

Judging by those pictures, yes, yes he was.

"I walk out on my balcony and I can see the beach, but you know what else I see?" His face scrunched up, "People, people, and more people. I go out and it takes hours to drive anywhere. All the people I work with think everyday has to be something, they drag me out almost every night for dinner or parties and I hate it."

Madge frowned, "We went up to the Redwoods and Disneyland when I was out there."

They'd gone on hikes all over the place. Had that not been fun? She had certainly thought so.

"That was the best time I've had out there," he tucked some of her greasy hair behind her ear. "I loved going through the parks with you, but getting to them is a pain in the ass and it isn't something I can do every day." He made a face, "And Disneyland is too busy. I only went because you wanted to go."

Head shaking, Madge frowned, "You didn't like Disney? You are so weird."

Gale's hands began working under her sweat shirt again, ignoring her jab, "For the record, I don't think you're disgusting." He inched forward and kissed her, "You're just letting your natural beauty shine through."

She snorted. 'Natural beauty' must've been one of those marketing words he'd picked up that actually meant 'nasty, gross, and possibly rabid'.

His eyes narrowed, "What? I like natural things."

"Well that's a good thing then," she smirked, "because I haven't shaved since you were here last."

Almost a month ago. It was winter and who the heck cared.

Gale growled into her neck, "If it's as 'disgusting' as the rest of you supposedly is, bring it on."

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Madge nuzzled into Gale's chest as he checked his flight again. Still delayed.

"Maybe the storm will stay long enough they'll just let me move back home," he mumbled.

Tossing his phone away, he pinned Madge back into the mattress. They'd decided to abandon the couch when Madge realized how cold her apartment actually was. She wanted blankets, her leg hair just wasn't that warm.

Madge ran her hand along his stubble covered jaw, his 'natural' was much more appealing, in her mind at least, than her own.

He grinned, leaned in, and kissed her, "As soon as they let me I'm transferring back home."

"So we can be a weird, hairy couple?" If Gale was so excited for natural beauty, she could see where they were heading.

His chuckle vibrated through their bodies, sent a little jolt through Madge's stomach.

"The weirdest and hairiest."

With a sigh, Madge let her head relax back on the pillow as Gale continued to kiss her, run his rough hands up and down her hairy legs.

Her weirdo boyfriend loved her, even as nasty as she looked he hadn't turned tail and fled the moment she'd opened the door, abandoned his booty hunt at the sight of her.

Those bikini girls didn't know what kind of guy they were drooling over, and they didn't have a chance.