Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
The only reason Gale is participating in the building wide Secret Santa event is because this year it has a twist. It isn't just Secret Santa, but rather naughty Santa. Come on, they have to get college kids to participate in the holiday events somehow, right?
But the second he draws a name out of the faded red Santa hat, he instantly regrets his decision to participate. Madge Undersee, her name is scrawled perfectly in the most beautiful loops possible. Goddammit, he was hoping to get the person something stupid like a vibrator or a book of sex tips, but Madge Undersee? Katniss will slit his throat if he abuses the situation he's been handed.
He rants to his roommate that night as he paces. "What am I supposed to get Madge fucking Undersee?" Gale growls. He drags his hands through his hair while her name sits on his desk. "Why is she even participating? She's the least naughty person I know. She's a freaking saint, never done a damn naughty thing in her life."
"Hey, don't be so quick to judge," Thom warns. "I've heard plenty of things about the mayor's daughter that even you wouldn't believe."
"Because they're not true." He grew up in the same town as her and they just so happened to be going to the same college as well. "She's the embodiment of innocence."
"Alright, Gale," Thom says, "but she's participating in naughty Santa. She knows what she signed up for. Why restrict yourself?" Thom looks up from his laptop where he's been studiously working on an essay and snaps his fingers. "I got it. Get her lingerie."
"Lingerie," Gale repeats. "You want me to go to Victoria Secret and browse through the bras and underwear and pick something out for Madge Undersee?" Thom smirks and shrugs. "You're batshit crazy. I'm not doing that."
"Oh, come on, Gale!" Thom spins in his swivel chair to face him. "Delly works there and she'll know Madge's sizes. I'll go with you. Don't act like you've never thought about Madge like that." Gale cocks an eyebrow that asks have you? Thom and Delly have been exclusive for a few months but there was a time before that which is questionable. "It'll be great. You know you want to."
And then, somehow, he's at Victoria Secret, shopping for lingerie for Madge Undersee. The store is pink and Baby it's Cold Outside is playing through the loudspeakers and Gale immediately wants to leave. Everything is frilly and everything is sheer and Gale looks toward Thom with a look of panic.
They find Delly shelving a new shipment of bras and when she spots the two roommates she frowns. "What in God's name are you doing here?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you've come to harass me—"
"Aw, Babe," Thom cuts her off and steps forward. "You know I don't harass you when you're working." Delly's mouth forms a tight line to suppress her smile. "We need your help."
Delly is hesitant to help out the two friends but eventually she caves when Thom promises to bring her a peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks during her break. They head to the holiday section and instantly Gale finds himself getting a bit uncomfortable. Delly easily finds Madge's size and Gale can't help but picture the blonde he's watch grow up wearing the lacy items Delly holds up. His thoughts stray again and again, he finds himself picturing Madge beneath him, her golden hair fanned out on the pillows, her skin against his…
"Gale!" Delly snaps in front of his face. He clears his throats and tries his hardest to focus. Delly frowns and holds up another, "This one's cute."
"Cute," Gale coughs. Jesus Christ he's going to have a heart attack.
Thom smirks at his friend and turns back to Delly saying, "He'll take it."
And before he knows it, Gale is ringing up some scantily clad lingerie and picturing Madge Undersee the mayor's daughter wearing it and finds himself unable to control the twitch in his pants. Delly Thom and Gale all have lunch together at the food court, ignoring the holiday shoppers that dart here and there with big bags and bright smiles. They watch children sit on Santa's lap and get their picture taken as they eat their pizza.
"So you got Madge," Delly says between mouthfuls. "I'd never do that naughty Santa thing."
"You don't have to, Babe," Thom says, "I got you something special anyway." Delly's cheeks heat up and Thom winks and Gale tries his hardest not to throw up instantly.
"Moving on," Delly blurts, returning her eyes to Gale. "I think she'll like it. You might not know this but Madge has a real thing for dressing up like that."
"You're shitting me," Gale chokes. He's honestly not going to make it through the day.
"Not at all," she continues, dabbing the grease off of her pizza with a napkin. "She's all about body empowerment and feeling comfortable in her own skin. The amount of money she spends on matching sets of underwear is unbelievable. What's it that Madge always says… something about if you feel cute for yourself then what's it matter who you impress? She's so silly but I love her to death."
"So you're telling me," Thom starts, "that Madge is actually going to enjoy her present?"
Delly nods. "Of course she will. Madge is very female empowering, I'm pretty sure she would enjoy anything you got her." Gale's mouth drops a little but he quickly regains his composure to take a sip of his coke. "Was it weird? Buying lingerie for her?"
"This conversation is weird," Gale mutters under his breath. "I've known her since she was a kid," Gale finally adds. "She's always lived in that giant house up the road, you know? Katniss would come back from her birthday parties with goodie bags filled with stick on earrings and press on glitter tattoos." He shrugs and forces himself to pay attention to the kid on Santa's lap rather than Delly who's staring at him with a sly smirk. "Viewing her as an actual person is just… weird."
"Why?" Delly urges him.
"I don't know," he shrugs. Before he knows it Gale can't shut up, he doesn't even realize he's talking so much. "She's grown up into this beautiful woman who's dominating the nursing courses she's taking and helps Katniss with her biology even though she's not taking any biology classes and volunteers at that children's hospital down the road and still manages pretty good grades and somehow still has time to watch her TV shows."
Thom clears his throat and Gale looks over. "When did you learn so much about Madge Undersee?" Thom asks.
Gale furrows his eyebrows, "What?"
"You just—" Thom's cut off when Delly kicks him under the table. "Ow! Never mind!"
Madge flips through her psychology textbook with a sigh. She checks the time on her phone before slumping down in her chair. Where's Delly? She's nearly half an hour late, the multicolored Christmas lights strung around the coffee shop are starting to look dreary. Just as Madge picks up her phone to call her best friend the bubbly blonde rushes into the shop, throwing her bag down loudly.
"You'll never guess who I spent my afternoon with," Delly blurts.
The look on Madge Undersee's face when she opens her present is the most hilariously beautiful thing ever. She laughs, though her cheeks are pink, before holding up the red Santa lingerie. "And it's just my size!" she cheers. A few of the boys wolf whistle, some of the girls roll their eyes, but Madge just smiles. Gale gets five boxes of condoms with a note that says I'm sure they'll come in handy.
"Looking to get busy, Hawthorne?" Madge calls across the room. He cocks an eyebrow at her, surprised at her jest. The people in the crowd cheer her on. "Or maybe your secret Santa knows how you get around."
"Low blow, Undersee," he calls back. "Especially from someone who just unwrapped lingerie." She smirks and her eyes light up dangerously, Gale forces himself to look away.
The party ends and Gale makes his way back to his dorm, not knowing (or caring, really) who his secret Santa was. There's also no way in hell he will ever tell Undersee that he's the one who bought what he bought for her. When she held it up he nearly lost it then and there. He eases onto his bed and places his hands over his head, wondering where the hell Thom is and why he's yet to return. Break is in a few days, and finals are almost over, Gale should probably get some studying done.
With a groan he sits up and reaches for physics text book when there's suddenly a knock on his door.
"Forget your keys?" Gale calls. He paces over and pulls open the door without looking before returning to his textbook. "Remember when you said I'd be the one forgetting my keys all the time? In reality, you're the one leaving them everywhere. We should get a potted plant outside so we can hide a spare in it."
"Now that'd be much too obvious," Madge answers. Gale looks up and finds the blonde leaning against the door, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyebrows high on her forehead. Gale drops his book and his jaw simultaneously. "Besides, I never lose my keys. Don't be presumptuous."
"I—what are you doing here?"
She cocks one of her eyebrows. "I was only teasing earlier. About you getting around a lot." Gale frowns instantly and reaches for his physics book on the ground. "Everyone knows you used to be like that but you're different now. I can see it."
"Jesus Christ, Undersee, I have a final tomorrow," he mutters. "Do you want something?"
She shrugs, finally taking a step forward. "I just figured you'd want to see how your present looked, on." His eyes widen. Only now does he realize she's wearing just a thick white robe, it stops just above her knees. "Or maybe not?"
"What?" he croaks. "Is this… is this some sort of joke? What the hell are you doing, Undersee!"
There's a flicker of hesitation in her eyes but she quickly recovers. "I know you were my Secret Santa," she says. "Thom told me so." Traitor. "And he and Delly, they practically cornered me." Madge takes a step forward. "Apparently you couldn't stop talking about me."
"You wish," he murmurs. But his actions deceive his words, the way his eyes follow the length of her legs, the way he leans forward anticipating the drop of her robe. "Even if I couldn't stop talking about you, so what? Why do you care?"
"Gale Hawthorne," Madge exhales, shaking her head. "I've had a crush on you since I was thirteen years old." His heart stutters against his ribcage. "Do you want to see or not?" She fiddles with the tie around her waist. "I can leave but that'd be no fun at all." Christ, when Delly said Madge had been on an empowerment streak he hadn't known this would be the result. The tie around her waist drops. "It's up to you."
He swallows thickly. Is he really going to deny himself this privilege? Goddammit, Gale's wanted Madge Undersee for months now. Maybe not since he was 13 but there's no use in denying how he's watched her change since she's been to college. She's beautiful, kind, extremely brave if she's standing here in front of him now.
"I wanna see," he says. She takes another step forward. "Don't you dare tease me, Undersee, or I swear to God."
Her mischievous smile has him fidgeting. "I thought you had a final," she hums. "Besides, you hate me, remember?"
"You're really going to make me do this?" he grumbles. She lifts a shoulder playfully. "I don't hate you," Gale says. "I never did. I hated what you stood for, how your family had all this money because of your dad's job and I had to quit sports in high school just so I could get a second job to help pay for my family. And then I was pissed off that you had all the money in the world at your disposal and you chose to come to this school which was awful for me to pay for but probably simple as all get out for you."
"You're really making a case," she murmurs.
"But then I started seeing you and I just, fuck, you're right, I couldn't stop talking about you. Is that what you want to hear? That I've stopped sleeping around because I knew you'd never go after a guy like that? I know more about you than I care to and I can't get you out of my head and Jesus Christ, Madge, are you just here to rile me up or what?"
She drops the robe.
His breath catches in his throat as she takes another step forward.
"Did you picture me wearing it when you picked it out?" she asks. Gale tries his hardest to swallow. "It fits really well. Glad you listened to Delly."
"Holy shit," he finally breathes. He doesn't know where to look first. The way the red contrasts so nicely with her skin. Her breasts fill out the bra perfectly, the lacy underwear curving around her rear with such precision. Gale can see her pale stomach through the sheer red fabric that covers it, and the rest of her skin is just as smooth. "Looks… good."
"Mmm?"
She's close enough now that he can pull her forward and just by touching her Gale's a goner. "You're so fucking beautiful," he murmurs. "Jesus Christ."
"You're using the Lord's name in vain a lot considering Christmas is the whole reason I'm here," she murmurs. Madge lowers himself to his lap and his hands slide around her hips; he doesn't know where to touch first.
"I swear to God, Undersee—"
"There you go again."
"—if this is some sort of—" she cuts him off, stretching herself upward and gently pressing her lips to his. Fuck. "Women empowerment," he murmurs against her lips, "is extremely attractive and I'm so thankful that you've decided to make that part of how you live."
She smiles, linking her hands behind his neck. "It's more for me, but I'm glad you can enjoy it as well." She kisses him again and he swiftly pulls her onto his mattress. "Thom won't be back until late," she whispers. "I made sure of that."
"Please tell me that you were my secret Santa," he nearly groans. She grins wickedly. "Christ, Undersee, wishful thinking or what?" She tugs the hem of his shirt up and over his head in response. "Not that you're wrong, but five boxes?"
"We go back to our crummy little town in a few days for winter break," she says. "There's not much to do there. Unless you have any objections—"
"No objections," he breathes. "Just you."
She bites down on her bottom lip before kissing him again. "Merry Christmas, Gale." Yes, he thinks as she reaches for the button on his jeans, a Merry Christmas indeed.
A/N: It's gadge week! Today was "holiday or lonely" and I chose holiday. c: