Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
I feel as though the person a few beds over from me isn't the same Gale Hawthorne I knew before all of this. I can still see it in his eyes, that burning hatred for the Capitol for the whole mess that's been made, but something's different.
Since the bombing of 12 it's as though I've missed something, some major development between Gale and Madge that's caused him to be less hateful and more thoughtful. It's not as though Gale wasn't thoughtful before, because he was, but it's just… different.
I never would've expected to see these two curled up next to each other like they are. District 13 is still in the midst of being bombed, the entire bunker we're in is shaking.
His hand encases hers entirely and he whispers to her, words I can't hear or understand from where I am. She looks up toward him and he offers a gentle smile, a smile I thought he only saved for the woods, and she smiles back, though their faces are both filled with concern. She nods, and that's when I see it.
He kisses her. It's not a real kiss, I mean it's on the forehead, but there's something about it that knocks the air from my lungs. Madge reaches up with her freehand and strokes his cheek, and he smiles again, leaning into her grasp.
All of the kisses I've shared with Gale have never been so sweet or innocent, never so reassuring. The first was rushed and breathless, the second he was unconscious, and the last was a goodbye.
But the kiss between the two of them? It's comfort, it's a promise that they're going to get out of here.
"He saved her," Prim says. I look over to my little sister who's climbing into bed next to me, her eyes following my gaze to where Madge and Gale are sitting together. "The night of the bombings, he went out of his way to save her."
"Why?"
"I don't know," Prim admits. "She saved him once with that morphling. Maybe he thought he owed her."
But as I look at them now I know it's past that point. Maybe that was how it started, it always feels like that with people from the Seam anyway, but no amount of charity could cause two people to curl up next to each other like they are. Madge nuzzles into his side and Gale sighs, resuming his quiet whispers in her ear.
"I've never seen Gale like that before," I say.
"Does it make you jealous?" she asks.
"Yes," I tell her. "But not for the reason you're thinking."
Prim grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. "You miss Peeta." I nod. "We'll get him back." Prim looks toward Madge and Gale again and smiles. "I think they're cute."
I find myself admitting, "Me too."