Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
The bed is still warm when Madge wakes up. Which is unusual, but very comforting. She stretches out and finds that the one who usually clambers out of bed before wakeup is still here. Madge rolls to face him and lets out a quick laugh when her nose bumps his chest.
"Morning, Soldier," she grins. Her voice is tired, as is she, but the fact that Gale has yet to leave is somewhat strange.
"Morning," he murmurs back, a lazy smile stretching over his features. Gale reaches over and brushes her golden bangs from her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sleep alright?"
"I always sleep better when you're home," Madge tells him. Instead of responding with his voice, Gale grabs her hip and tugs her closer. "It's when you're away that I can't sleep."
Away. Dammit, he's away all the time these days. Gale's a fulltime soldier of the Mockingjay army, and though Madge supports his decision of joining she hadn't expected him to be gone as often as he is. He tells her that the war will be over soon, he's sure of it, but every morning when she wakes, Gale's left again. District 2. District 7. District 10. Why can't he just stay here with her?
"Don't do that," Gale sighs.
Madge knows that they're not together. Not really. They'll hop in to bed, sure, but that's no relationship. She shouldn't worry about him like she does. Madge squeaks out a sorry and hears him sigh again.
"I know that this doesn't…" she trails off, conflicted. "I know that I don't mean much to you. A quickie before you get back to work. But I—"
"Shit, Madge," Gale shakes his head. "You're more than that." Madge lifts her shoulders in a shrug but Gale holds up his hand a moment.
He slips from the bed and dives for his pants on the floor, digging through his pockets for a moment. Madge props herself up on her elbow and smirks, trying not to blush as she watches the naked soldier at work.
She laughs and asks, "What are you doing?"
Gale finds what he's looking for, apparently, because he holds it tightly in his hands and crawls back into bed. Madge shivers at his skin hits hers, the cold of the room having infiltrated their safe haven.
"Here," Gale unfolds whatever it is in his hands and holds it up for her to see.
Madge blinks. Once. Twice. "Why do you have a picture of me?" Yes, that's Madge. Golden hair spiraling down her back in curls. Light blue dress. "Where did you get that?" Gale shrugs once and smirks, turning the picture so only he can see it now. "It was in your pocket," she murmurs.
"Yeah," Gale nods. "Gets me through the nights." Madge lifts one of her eyebrows and bites her lip to stop herself from laughing. "Not like that," he adds, glancing at her quickly. "But it's not… it's not fun out there. Isn't happy. And when I really need a pick me up I pull the picture out and think of you." Gale folds the picture and places it on the small table by the side of her bed. "I know that you're here waiting for me to come back."
Madge chews the inside of her cheek as Gale turns back to face her. "That's sweet," she forces out, trying to stop her face from turning pink.
"That's the truth," Gale shrugs. "You're my reason to come home, Madge." She involuntarily shivers at his words and watches him smirk. Gale leans down and cups her cheek gently before kissing her once. "You are going to be here when I get back, right?"
"Always," she breathes.
"Good," he grins. "I leave for my last mission tomorrow. I'll be back by the start of summer for good." Madge blinks a few times as his fingers glide over her skin. "And I figured I should probably take you on a date. Your room is kind of stuffy." Still, she blinks. "Is that alright?"
Unable to speak, Madge only nods. Gale chuckles before kissing her again. They do have all day, after all…
A/N: Written for my lovely Amanda!