Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
With his game bag slung over his shoulder, Gale makes his way to the bakery. It's a bit later than usual, he got held up at the Hob, but the baker has always made a fair trade and he's not going to cop out on him now that he's got a grudge with his son. That's rude and unnecessary, and his family needs the money. And as long as they're buying, Gale's going to continue to sell.
His knuckles rap on the backdoor and he shifts uneasily on his feet. Gale doesn't like making trades in broad daylight, it's not his style. It's taking the baker a lot longer than usual to get to the door. Again he shifts. Decides to knock again. Gale glances over his shoulder to the pigs in the Mellark's backyard. To distract himself he spins completely, looking at them even closer.
Gale scoffs. Of course the people in town don't have to dive into the woods to find food, they raise it in their own yard. Not that the Mellark family even needs pigs anymore, considering their son is a Victor. But then again, they don't need Gale's lousy trades either.
Finally, the door creaks open. "I'm sorry about that," a strangely feminine voice rings out. Too young to be Mrs. Mellark, too familiar to be a stranger. "I thought I heard knocking but I—" her voice dies in her throat when Gale spins around. All at once her cheeks are pink and the girl looks entirely too small. "Gale," she squeaks.
"Undersee?"
Yes, that's her. Madge Undersee, the mayor's perfect daughter, at the bakery. Her golden hair isn't long and flowing down her shoulders like when she makes trades on her back stoop, but it's pinned up into a messy little bun. She's got a bit of flour on her cheek and another little splotch on her chin.
"I, um," she fumbles for the appropriate words. "Can I help you?"
"What the hell are you doing here?" He hadn't meant for his words to come out so sharp, but they do. When she hears them she recoils, cringing and taking a step backwards. "You work here?"
"With Peeta gone all the time," Madge says quietly, "they needed an extra pair of hands. I've known the family for a long time and I'm very dedicated and—"
"You could've just said yes," Gale grunts. Madge recoils again, dropping her gaze from his and fiddling with a faded green cloth in her hands. "I'm here for a trade," Gale finally says. Madge nods, turning slightly to retrieve someone before running into a boy behind her. Taftan Mellark, Peeta's older brother, stands with his hands across his chest. "Trade," Gale repeats. He's made a few with Taftan. This will work. "You up for it?"
"Was he harassing you?" he murmurs to Madge. The tiny blonde looks up and meets Gale's eyes again before turning pink again.
"No," Madge blurts.
"Sounded a bit hostile to me," Taftan continues lazily. He eyes Gale up once. "What do you have?"
"Two squirrels," Gale answers, "and a rabbit." Taftan wrinkles his nose. "You've got all of Peeta's money," Gale snaps, "what more do you want?"
"Gale," Madge scolds him.
The hunter grunts and balls both of his hands into fists.
"We'll take the rabbit," Taftan says simply. "You keep the squirrels. Give me a minute to get the money. Madge, you wait here."
In moments the blonde boy disappears from the backdoor leaving Gale and Madge alone. She watches him carefully, chewing down on her bottom lip. "He's not usually that… blunt," she says. "He's really quite sweet, too. He probably thought you were harassing me. Taftan's very protective, he—"
"Drop it," Gale mutters. Within the few minutes the older Mellark brother was standing with the mayor's daughter Gale could feel the electricity humming between them. Taftan Mellark was head over heels for Madge. "It doesn't matter." Madge steps toward him. "Why are you working here?" Gale asks her, his voice full of accusation. Something inside him is angry about the way Taftan looked at her. "You've got plenty of money back home."
"I like to bake," Madge says. Her voice is full of hurt. "And I like to make my own money apart from what my father has." Gale shifts. Now he feels like an ass. "My favorite thing to make is the cupcakes," she says quietly. "They're not comparable to Peeta's but I still think they're nice."
Gale swallows thickly. "I'm sure they are," he tells her.
"They're the best," Taftan's voice rings out from over her shoulder. Madge's cheeks are pink again only this time she looks… embarrassed? "Better than Peeta's," he continues once he's under the frame of the door. "My favorites."
Again Gale's stomach twists angrily. He digs into his hunting bag and pulls out the rabbit, thrusting it forward before accepting more coins than necessary. Charity.
Taftan thanks Gale for his service and then disappears inside, beckoning for Madge to follow. She rolls her eyes and goes to close the door.
Before she fades back into the bakery she pauses. "You never bring strawberries anymore," she whispers. Gale lifts an eyebrow. She's right, he doesn't. "Why not?"
Gale wants to say that he hasn't had the time, but that's not true. If he has time to stop by the bakery he has time to stop by the mayor's, they're on the same route. And Gale wants to say that he wasn't getting enough pay from the Undersee's but that isn't true either. The truth is that Gale just can't face Madge. She does something to him that he can't explain.
"They're not in season," Gale finally lies.
Madge furrows her eyebrows. "We buy all berries," she reminds him. There's a hint of confusion to her voice. "You know that."
Gale knows that. He scratches at his chin.
"Madge!" Taftan's voice hollers from inside the bakery. She winces.
"Listen," she tries. "I… I just…"
"I'll be there next Sunday," Gale says softly. He takes a step backwards, finds himself smiling a bit. "Just make sure to bring me one of those cupcakes."