A/N: This one's a vacation fic, can you tell where I went for vacation this Christmas? Rated a soft M, I would say.


The sun is beating down on her in the best way possible, and when Madge lays her head down on her beach mat and nods on her sunglasses, she thinks she might actually be in heaven.

It's so unlike the frigid temperatures back at home, and she feels her brain zoning out and her body falling asleep under the Hawaiian sun when of course, Johanna has to make a snide comment. That girl's not too fond of a lot of things, but she loves the sounds of her own voice.

"Madge, look," she commands, nudging her sleeping friend and pointing at Thom and Delly who are literally only meters away from them. They can hear her clear as day, but Madge thinks that's probably the point.

"What?"

"I love Thom's form of sun protection," Jo deadpans, motioning at the way Delly is sitting between her boyfriend's thighs with her head resting against his shoulder, laughing at something he whispered into her ear. His arms are wrapped around her waist and she's clearly lying directly in obstruction to the sun. "There's nothing quite like a Delly shaped tan as a souvenir from your vacation. Where can I get one?"

"Jo, can you stop being bitter?" Thom asks with a fake desperation. "You don't have to vocalize your jealousy like this. There are plenty of single people on this island for you to bother instead."

"I"m not jealous. I'll take my SPF 100 over this formation any day."

Delly laughs, and Madge is at least grateful that Johanna decided to pick on a couple like Thom and Delly, who are lighthearted and don't take anything too seriously. Instead of moving away from the hold of Thom, she turns her head all the way around to give him a wet, exaggerated French kiss and to run her fingers through his coarse hair. Thom kisses her back hard and snakes his hands around her pale waist, clearly trying to make a show.

It has the desired effect, and Johanna gags. "I'm being tortured. Help me."

Peeta, who's in front of them on the beach with Katniss, who's reading a book, turns around and pipes up. "This vacation wasn't meant to be torture for all of you single folk, okay? If you didn't want to be surrounded by couples then you didn't have to come."

He's overreacting, and Johanna snickers. All she wanted to do was provoke someone for fun anyways, and Peeta takes the bait with no question. "And besides, why can't you and Madge be more like Gale? He's single too, but he's doing his own thing over there." Their blond friend points at Gale who's in the water talking to some girls they don't know.

Madge is surprised he brought up her name, and she motions at herself in shock. "Me? What did I ever do?"

"Yeah, you're not telling us this is a couples only zone, are you, Mellark? Because that would be just plain mean. How aggravating," Johanna comments, and Madge can't help but laugh too. They're being slightly annoying, yes, but it's amusing. Besides, Madge isn't usually like this, she's normally an extremely nice person. It's just that Jo is an enabler for all her bad behaviours, and it's all shits and giggles when people start taking themselves too seriously.

"Peeta," Katniss sighs, looking up from her book. "They're just goading you. They don't mean anything they're saying."

He looks in a genuine amount of shock, and Madge feels slightly bad. "What?" Peeta questions.

Johanna nods vigorously, crossing her arms with a mock immaturity. "Yup. But you've already expressed your distaste for us, the damage is done. Don't worry, we won't waste your air any longer. Madge, beach walk?"

She nods, standing up and holding her strappy sandals in her hand. She has a beach slip on over her dress and a huge floppy hat that really hinders her vision (which is alright, in the name of fashion). A beach walk sounds like a great idea right now, especially because it's getting kind of humid and the wind feels breezier when they're moving.

"Madge, could you get me a Mai Tai?" Delly asks genuinely, and she has to nod. It's the least she can do for her friend for allowing Jo to be such a brat.

"Does anyone else want anything?" Madge asks to the group, but turns out Delly was the only one. So Jo and Madge embark down the shores, slowly making their way to the beach bar to retrieve the beverage in the meantime.

The sand almost feels like a massage underneath their feet, and by the time they're far enough from the group to not be heard, Gale's figure grows closer, playing beach volleyball in the distance.

"I can't believe Gale is the model single citizen," Jo observes, crinkling her nose. "Just because we aren't in the water whoring it up doesn't mean we aren't good people."

"Right?" Madge asks, agreeing completely. Even though she and Johanna we're being totally annoying for the sake of it, Gale is no better. He's barely been hanging out with the group, but not because he doesn't like them. Well, maybe he doesn't like Madge. But oh well, that's not the point.

"Are you guys still not on speaking terms?"

"I don't think we were ever on speaking terms," she laughs sadly. For as long as she could remember Gale's always had some sort of grudge against her, for whatever reason. Ever since they met, sharing a hall in the college dorms, he just hasn't cared for her company or paid her much attention.

But Madge doesn't mind it. He seems like stubborn and opinionated bore, even if Thom and Katniss claim he's an amazing friend and person. She is fine enough hanging out with Jo and figuring out herself this holiday, not trying to get Gale Hawthorne to warm up at start tolerating her.

They get to the bar and order Delly's drink, as well as some of their own. Madge just orders the same thing Delly wanted, but Jo shakes her head while squeezing a lime into her Corona.

"Why is it suddenly socially acceptable to drink Mai Tai's?"

"Because we're in Hawaii," she points out, gesturing to the sunny skies and clear waters. "And they're good. Good for getting day drunk too."

"I know, there's nothing else to do on this resort except for getting smashed. They have alcohol everywhere you go."

Madge raises an eyebrow. "Are you complaining?"

Johanna just snickers. "God, no. I'm hitting the club tonight. Want to join?"

She thinks about it - whether she wants to get all dressed up and go flirt with strangers in a dark and crowded room. Clubs were never her favourite place anyways, and Madge is still a little bit too jetlagged to participate in such a high energy activity. Something that sounds more relaxing is a long session at the resort spa and a dip in the hot tub. Yeah, that's what she'll do.

So Madge shakes her head and smiles. "I'm good."

"Suit yourself," her friend responds, not smartly, but seriously. The last couple months of school had been taxing for all of them, and part of the reason they chose this resort was because of its large number of activities. Everyone relaxes differently, and Madge is just grateful that Delly managed to get the whole thing organized and booked for the group. All the others had to do was pay the costs, and they were good to go.

The rest of Madge's evening is spent mostly in solitude. She goes for happy hour with Thom and Delly for a while, when Johanna is relaxing in their room and getting ready to go out. They're definitely the most fun and interesting couple she's ever met, and Madge loves observing their back and forth that somehow, keeps them in perfect harmony with each other. They try to involve her in conversation too, and it's the perfect way to spend the early evening - sipping on martinis and joking around with two of her good friends.

"Do you guys have dinner plans?" she asks in conversation, and Thom looks at Delly with a smirk on his face. His girlfriend shakes her head incessantly, and now Madge is curious. "What?"

"Thom wants to go to a Luau," Delly whispers, acting amusedly embarrassed by this desire. "Like a full out, hula dancing, fire swallowing, raw fish eating Luau."

"I think it'll be incredibly fun," he justifies, not understanding what's so ridiculous about the idea.

"Do it," Madge urges. "It's not something you see back home, I'm sure you'll regret it when people are all asking about the Luau's you attended."

"That's what I said!"

Delly reclines and rolls her eyes, probably knowing that she's fated to attend a traditional Hawaiian luau. "Well will you at least join us? If you claim it'll be so much fun?"

"Oh no, not for me," she defends, realizing how hypocritical she sounds.

Thom pipes up. "Why not Undersee? We don't mind you tagging along. We're not Peeta."

Madge giggles at that one, knowing that Peeta is getting more shit than he deserves. He and Jo just don't get along, and she pushes all of his buttons. "It'd be a waste of money, honestly. I'm not hungry. And parties aren't really my thing. They never were."

"It's more of a ceremony than a fraternity house rager," Delly snorts.

"I know, I know, I just think I'll have more fun by the pool, reading a book or something, you know? Don't worry about me guys, honestly. Just have your fun and tell me all about it tomorrow morning?"

"Okay. Hopefully we won't be too hungover from our wild luau to make it to brunch," her friend teases, and Madge rolls her eyes, standing up from their spot on the restaurant patio and giving her goodbyes.

So she skips dinner and heads back to her suite to change for the pool, and by the time she gets there Johanna is already gone. Surprising, because it's only past six o'clock, but Jo's the type to stretch out the night as long as possible. The earlier, the better, she supposes.

The resort spa is practically empty, but filled with a handful of nice and talkative ladies willing to pamper Madge to extreme relaxation. And since it's vacation, Madge treats herself to a facial and a full mani pedi, something she doesn't think she's done in years. The creams all smell luxurious and the foot massages almost make her moan, and by the end of the night Madge is sitting in the sauna all relaxed with her blue toes and fingertips.

Madge hums to herself a little bit, just soaking in the warm moisture and the pleasure in her solitude. It's not often that Madge feels happy alone, her brain is always infested by thoughts of how great a boyfriend would be and why she doesn't have one. But right now, nothing is more soothing than the sound of her own breath and the idea of being on this island at all.

She stays in there as long as she can, until her heads starts to spin and she knows she's been in there too long. Although the air outside is brisk, it's not too bad. All she can think about is getting back to the room and changing into a cozy pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. That would warm her right up.

Apparently Madge was in the spa for longer than she thought, because by the time she leaves the sky is pitch black and the resort, although it still has people milling about minding their own business, is quieter, more ambient than this morning.

When she gets to the door, she's about to pull out her room key and slip right into the comfy suite when Madge notices something already shoved into the slot. This could only mean a handful of things, and none of them are particularly good for her.

She picks up the paper card and observes it: a points card for Sae's, a pie place near their school. It's Jo's obviously, and there's only one little pie punched out of the card, she still has nine to go. Jo was never the best at commitment, Madge thinks. On the back in a scribbled note, and she's pleasantly surprised that her friend had the time to write a note, and that it's legible.

My dry spell is over. Sorry Madgey, getting laid in here! I guess you could go to Gale's room or something. Xoxo Jo

Madge rolls her eyes, still slightly shivering in just her swimsuit and a towel. How did she not predict this would happen?

She's exhausted, immensely cold and just desperate for a place to lay down. Whether Jo was kidding or not about the whole Gale thing is a mystery to Madge, but she doesn't care. So in a thrilling turn of events, she walks down the hall slowly and deliberately to beg Gale Hawthorne for help.

First, she fraps on the door twice, two quick taps in succession that get straight to the point. It's too late for him to not be in this room at this hour, but he doesn't come to the door.

"Gale?" she calls desperately, but to no avail. Madge bites her fingernails and uses her other hand to knock on the door again, incessantly this time, not caring about respect or how annoying she must sound. "Gale, could you get the door? It's Madge, I'm locked out of my room."

Still no answer, and perhaps Gale really does hate her if he's ignoring her to this extent.

She's just about to start banging her head on the wall and screaming when someone rounds the corner and catches her off guard. "Undersee? Are you okay?"

Madge whips around and sees; it's Gale in full running gear and he still has a light sheen on his forehead, and she can see his fit body through his thin, sweatproof clothes. In his hand is a large paper bag from a fast food chain and the smell of fried food hits her immediately after she sees him. Her belly rumbles and she may have been hungrier than she thought. Oh well.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answers defensively. It only makes Gale raise an eyebrow. She's the one here erratically knocking on his door, after all. "I just - Jo locked me out of the room. Well, she's getting laid."

That makes him laugh and scratch his head, they're both thinking how typical this situation is. "Well, I guess you could crash here for tonight. Come on."

His blatant kindness and willingness to help really shocks her, and Madge wanders into his room after him wondering if this is the same guy who ignores her in seminars and barely waves to her on the quad.

The air is a bit heavy, and Madge knows it's awkward. His room looks barely unpacked, only a couple of his belongings have been set outside of his suitcase.

Gale coughs. "Um, I'm just going to shower really quick."

"Okay," she shrugs. "Do you have a shirt or something I can borrow? Sorry, I was at the spa." It's a sheepish explanation, but she feels silly standing there in her skimpy little bikini.

"Yeah, sure. Just grab something from my suitcase, it's all clean," he nods, and with that he heads into the shower and Madge is left confused.

Opening his suitcase and digging around almost feels like an invasion of privacy. It's all neatly folded and smells like him, and Madge doesn't want to mess it up or find something she shouldn't so she just grabs the first t-shirt she sees at the top of a stack.

It's worn and it smells like laundry detergent and his cologne, and something else that she can't put a finger on.

She doesn't even have time to look at her reflection when Gale steps out of the bathroom wearing his boxers and a plain t-shirt like the one she dons. It's a good thing that he thought to bring a change of clothes with him, because Madge isn't sure how she would've handled him with only a towel draped around his waist.

"Do you want some food? I bought a lot of junk, probably enough for the both of us, honestly."

Madge laughs softly. "Why?"

"I was craving something fried after my run."

"And don't you think it's counterintuitive to be eating junk food after exercising?"

"Hey, we're on vacation aren't we?" he responds, and Madge can only shrug in agreement. "Besides, I'm going to start eating better, more fresh stuff. It's one of my new year's resolutions, to work on my body."

Madge is about to say that he doesn't need it whatsoever, but instead she shovels a couple of fries into her mouth and relishes in the taste. She really was hungry, and if Gale doesn't take over soon she's going to eat everything in the bag.

"I guess you didn't want to do anything too loud and action-packed either," she observes. She'd think that Gale would want to go to the luau or go out mingling like Johanna. It's what he was doing all day at the beach, after all.

"Yeah, I didn't feel like social interaction tonight," Gale chuckles, hopping onto the bed with his back leaning against the headrest. He digs into the brown bag and pulls out his burger. "Sometimes it's just better to be alone."

"I feel the exact same way." It's profound how many similarities she can find between them. The conversation keeps going and they talk about the stress of school, family, things like that. It's mostly to kill time while eating food, something Madge feels barely justified doing.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pay you for half of this food? I'm hogging."

"Please Undersee, don't sweat it. It's my pleasure, honestly."

"Can I at least pay for something else for you?"

"Like what?" he asks, and Madge turns her eyes to the little fridge, tucked into the corner of the room.

"Like the minibar."

So they open the minibar and find copious amounts of snacks and alcohol. Madge grabs a bag of M&M's and a bottle of wine, pouring the drink into the plastic cups the room has to offer. She passes it over to Gale on the bed and places the empty bag of garbage onto the floor. There's nothing between them now, and Madge decides she likes this better.

"It's kind of sad that we're graduating, isn't it?" Gale asks while she pours him another glass. "I'm going to miss everyone together like this."

It feels strange to her that Gale sees them all: Katniss, Peeta, Delly, Thom, Jo and Madge as a gang. He only really talks to Katniss and Thom about real things, he doesn't open up as much. But now Madge starts to understand that maybe he's just more introverted like her.

She'll still poke fun though, just because she's a little buzzed. "Yeah, I bet you're really going to miss ignoring me in the dorms."

His eyebrows scrunch up. "You think I ignore you?"

"Don't you?" she returns in confusion. "It's almost been four years. I barely know you."

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with me," Gale admits, and it's strange thought. It's a thought that makes Madge feel cold again sitting in his shirt, and she thinks hard at all their interactions, wondering when she could've gave him this idea.

For almost a minute they just stare at each other, Madge doesn't know if she should apologize or say something, a promise maybe. But none of them say anything, so she just clears her throat, tries to change the subject. "Uh, are you doing more school after this year or finding work?"

"I want to find some internships, I think that'll be more useful to me for now," he explains. "What about you, Undersee."

"I applied for some master's programs," she nods, and she wants to slap herself at how mundane this conversation is. The wine is going to her head yet still she can't help but act as boring as ever. Madge wishes she was exciting, better in some way.

"So Jo locked you out, huh?" Gale offers with an amused expression.

Madge rolls her eyes and giggles, shrugging slightly. "Something like that."

"I don't know how you put up with her."

"I love her though," she insists. At the end of the day, Johanna is there for her through everything. She's reliable when it counts. "I'm really not upset about it either. I'm having fun here, aren't I?"

He's looking at her with curiosity and smiles. "Yeah, I'm happy you're here too, Undersee."

"How many glasses of wine did you have?"

Gale concentrates as if he's trying to calculate it, but then gives up. "I wasn't keep count. You?"

"Me neither," Madge responds, wondering where that random question came from out of her mouth. Her brain is jumping back and forth, and she remembers they were talking about Johanna. "Wow, when Jo was telling me about going to the nightclub, I did not expect her to luck out."

"Why?"

"I don't know, haven't seen too many prospects since we arrived," she jokingly responds, and Gale chuckles along with her. The room gets quiet and Madge looks at him curiously, and he goes exactly where she wants him to when he asks, "What about for you?"

Madge shakes her head adamantly, and Gale raises an eyebrow. "I'm serious! I don't know, I don't really see this vacation as that, more like trying to relax on my own, spend time with friends."

"Are we friends?"

"Of course," Drunk Madge insists. "At least we should be. You're so…" she starts, but she finds she can't finish her sentence. Gale Hawthorne is a lot of things, but she's searching for a word.

But he kisses her before she can think of it, and she barely hesitates when he leans in to catch her lips and hold her head delicately from behind her neck. Instead, Madge leans in and wraps her arms around Gale and his lean torso.

It makes sense, at least it does right now. They're both lonely and tipsy, and Madge feels like if fate put them in this room together she might as well let him kiss her. She didn't realize she wanted this but she does; Gale feels solid and comforting and he kisses her like no one ever has.

Madge wants him everywhere, and she's raking her hands up and down his abs, moaning for more when he pulls back.

"Wait," Gale urges, and she stops herself from groaning in frustration.

"What?"

"I just- you're drunk. We both are. I don't think this is a good idea."

"Have you never fucked anyone drunk before, Hawthorne?" she asks skeptically, failing to see the point. She's so cloudy with lust, the fact that they've stopped feels absurd.

"I have," he answers defensively. "But you're not just some random girl. You're Madge and I-"

"Do you not want me?" It could very well be true. She knows that her curves aren't as generous as others and that he's never seemed to care about her until now. If it's a lapse of judgement, he should admit it.

"No, that's not it. Jesus, Undersee. I've wanted you for so long." It sounds like a lie, one that Madge finds hard to believe, but he keeps going. "We know each other, we see each other everyday. We shouldn't fuck that up."

"It's not like we talk to each other anyways," she spits out, not meaning to sounds so bitter. Gale's face softens as if in apology, he's toying with a strand of her hair.

"Let's just go to sleep, okay? If you still want me in the morning, we can kiss all you like, I promise."

And that's when Madge realizes that maybe Gale is too scared to sleep with her. Maybe he's scared that she doesn't really want him, that she's just doing it all because she's had a bit too drink. It's a valid fear, so she doesn't say anything more. She slips under the covers and faces out towards the wall.

Soon the sound of his breathing coaxes her to sleep, and it comforts her. He better not have been kidding about his promise, because Madge is confident she'll want him in the morning. But will she be confident enough to do something about it?


A/N: Hey guys, I hope you liked it! I'm going to post a second part soon, I know this was pretty inconclusive. I was going to write it all together, but when I said January would be busy for me I really wasn't kidding. Sorry if you'll be seeing less of my updates this month!

I always appreciate reviews and words of motivation. 3