Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
"I love you," Gale had whispered. Katniss was going to give him everything. Her heart, her time. She wanted to run away with him. He was finally going to have it all. But then she blinked a few times and responded, "I know."
His heart still hasn't recovered. Gale Hawthorne is not a man with many fears (elevators, small dark spaces, and muttations), but rejection is certainly on the list. He hadn't expected to feel his heart constrict the way it did, to feel all of the air leave his system at Katniss's words. There's something different between getting turned down for a trip to the slagheap (which rarely happened) and having the girl he loved not reciprocate his feelings.
Katniss loved him, sure, just not the same. And she loved Peeta more. Gale came to accept it over time, and slowly his love for her faded. Now he respects her. Gale is protective of Katniss as though she's his sister. He no longer feels the ache in his stomach when he looks in her direction.
The fear of rejection is still very real, however.
Now he's lying in bed with Madge Undersee. Her back is pressed to his stomach, her chest rises and falls in a soft rhythm. They've been dating for a little under a year. At first his mother accused him of using her as a coping method to get over Katniss, but Gale genuinely enjoyed Madge's company. She brought something out in him that Katniss didn't, a softer side that made him less angry, a sweetness that caused Gale to step back and breathe.
His thumb rubs circles on her hip. She likes to sleep in on Saturdays because neither of them has to work. Gale's an early riser, but he likes to let Madge rest.
She shifts and sighs quietly before rolling a bit. Madge blinks once or twice before her eyes fall shut again. "Are you staring at me?" she asks.
Gale chuckles and noses into her throat. "Maybe." He likes the way the morning sun lights up her golden hair. Now that she's facing him he can study the freckles that dance across her nose and her long eyelashes.
"Go back to sleep." Gale bends closer to press a warm kiss to her skin and Madge's lips curl upward. "Gale…" He kisses her again, this time a bit closer to her chin. Her eyes snap open and despite the fact that she tries to seem angry he can tell she's enjoying it. "It's too early," she says.
"I didn't say we had to get out of bed," he responds. This time he kisses her lips, sweet and quick. Madge rolls her eyes as he tugs her closer, fighting off her smile. "Hey," his voice drops an octave or two, "I want to talk to you about something."
It's been in the back of his head for weeks, just sort of lingering there, tempting Gale to speak the words he fears the most.
Madge faces him completely now. Her hands snake up in front of her to rest on his bare chest. "Is something wrong?" she asks. He hates the little bit of fear in her voice and immediately shakes his head. "What is it, then?"
"I've just, I've been thinking."
He drops in to silence, scared to press forward, when her lips quirk upward again. "Well, that's never good," Madge murmurs. "Gale Hawthorne, thinking?" She slides her hands up his skin before linking them behind his head. Gale's smile is gentle as he rolls, pressing her down into the mattress. "What's in your head?" she whispers. Her fingers tease the tips of his hair by his neck. She probably thinks he's due for a haircut.
Taking a deep breath Gale decides to just go for it. Madge is too sweet, if she's to disagree with his train of thought she'll let him down in a way that doesn't sting.
"I think you should move in with me," he says. Gale feels her body stiffen. The fog of sleep that was in her eyes is gone at once, her lips part slightly. "You're over here every day anyway," Gale continues, the words crawling up his throat. "You're taking over my closet as it is, why not just make it official? And—" Madge arches her body and pulls him down, kissing him to shut him up.
"Okay," she breathes as they part.
Gale's stomach feels like jelly. "Really?"
"Sure," Madge nods. Her eyes light up. "You really want me to?"
"Yes," Gale laughs.
"Then okay," Madge says again. Gale's smile is so wide he can feel it stretching out his cheeks. "What about Thom?" she asks, referring to his roommate. "You think he'll care?"
"He adores you," Gale tells her. "We talked about it the other week. He wouldn't mind."
She blinks a few times before her smile mimics his. "You already talked to him about it?"
"Course I did," Gale nods. He's literally been thinking about this for weeks. She arches her body again and swings her hips so Gale's the one being pressed into the mattress now. Madge's lips are frantic and sweet, pressing to his upper and lower lip and all over his face. Gale's smile transforms into a grin as Madge latches onto him. And then it slips out. The words he has been repressing for so long due to his own fear. "I love you," Gale whispers.
Madge stops her kisses at once. She pulls away so she can meet his eyes. His smile fades, as does hers for a brief moment. And then she laughs.
"I love you too," she whispers back.
Gale feels his heart swell. It expands in his chest and sends beams of yellow happiness through his veins, tingling in his toes and his fingers simultaneously. He rolls them again so she's the one with her shoulder blades pressed into the mattress and wastes no time in searing kisses to her throat. As he kisses her she starts breathlessly making a list of all of the things she needs to do if they're going to be living together. Finally he shuts her up with his mouth, because there's plenty of time to talk later.
So this is what it feels like, he thinks. Gale decides it was worth the wait.