Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.

When Gale was cast as the lead in Survive Another Day he was literally overflowing with excitement. When he read the script he knew it was going to be another big show, possibly ranked somewhere up there with The Walking Dead or shows alike, about survival and morality, and everyone loves that end of the world shit. And Gale was the lead. He'd done a few movies, and some smaller TV shows, but this was going to change his career forever.

And he was excited. Gale was more than ready to start filming and working on the show. But then his lead co-star was cast and he felt sick.

Madge Undersee — more well known as Marigold Donner's daughter. Marigold Donner was one of the big names thirty years ago thanks to her iconic role in Space Legends. Her face was on every magazine, every show wanted her to guest star. She was an incredible actor. Horribly wealthy and very stuck up and thought she deserved the entire world handed to her. And she got it. Marigold Donner was a great actress but she was a bitch. And Gale was getting to work beside her daughter.

When they first met Gale had his jaw locked the entire time. He wanted to go into it with an open mind but his first meeting with Madge changed that. She looked just like her mother, long flowing blonde hair and beautiful big blue eyes, a smile that lit up the entire room. "I'm so excited to get to work with you," she said, shaking Gale's hand. "You're incredible. Just, just incredible," she raved. "Your part in Granted's Glory blew my mind. Like, seriously."

Gale couldn't even force out a thank you.

He hadn't seen too many things that Madge worked on, because she wasn't in many things. Short films or commercials or guest appearances. Never a big name, never a big role. Survive Another Day was going to be her first, and he was terrified that she was going to fuck it up for them.

The only benefit of them being leads together was that their characters hated each other. The premise of the show was that a disease swept across the planet killing nearly everyone, and those who were left to survive had to do so on their own. Gale and Madge were playing two co-workers from an office that managed to survive, and they were pissed that out of all of the people to be immune to the disease it was each other.

But of course, they stuck together, because the world was much too small to separate.

And so it was easy at least. Gale got to yell at her and she yelled back, but after their takes he would still feel bitter and she would smile at him, telling him she thought it went well. It wasn't long before his anger got the best of him and he blew up on her.

"You can't fuck up that scene again," he muttered. Madge frowned at him and shook her head. They'd been working on the scene where their two characters met again after a few days had passed. They're both in the office looking for supplies and Madge's character nearly shoots his out of fear when they both realize who the other is. Madge kept forgetting to pull out the gun, or when she did her hands would fumble. "Get it right, okay?"

She narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm working on it, alright? Sorry not all of us are one-take wonders."

"You're not a wonder at all," he growled.

Madge looked taken aback then, her jaw dropping slightly. "What did you say?" she asked.

"I said you're not a wonder at all." Madge's face crumbled in shock and sadness, surprised where this was coming from. "Listen, we work together, I get that. And I can be civil when we're filming. But we're not friends so I don't have to lie to you." Madge opened and closed her mouth a few times as though she was trying to understand what he was saying. "You werehanded this job, Undersee. So don't you fuck it up. Is that clear?"

Madge was quiet for a moment before a weak laugh escaped her. "You think I didn't work hard to get where I am today?" she asked. Gale set his jaw, swallowing back his biting response. "That's a load of bullshit, Hawthorne. I've earned this role, just as you."

"You were handed this role," he said again. "They saw the Donner in you and scooped you right up because you're a big name, Princess. Either that, or Mommy made a few phone calls."

"No, fuck you," she snapped. Gale had only seen her act angry, he'd never seen her with fire in her eyes like she has now. "Fuck you!" Madge strode toward him and shoved his chest. "How fucking dare you!" She was heaving for air, pushing him backwards with every step. "I've worked my fucking ass off to get to where I am!"

Acting classes every year of her life since she was a child. Missing her own prom to go out for auditions her mother insisted on. Going to the gym for the perfect body, completely cutting sugar out of her diet because her trainer always told her she wasn't there yet, to that perfect figure the cameras wanted. Losing sleep over studying scripts, losing friends over not having the time to see them, losing her mind over never being good enough. But of course Gale didn't know any of this.

"I don't believe you," Gale snarled.

"Listen," Madge dug her finger into his chest. "You made a name for yourself and that's incredible," she said. "And you deserve it, Gale, you really do. But It's a hell of a lot harder to do when you're always in someone else's shadow, alright?" Madge dug her finger into his chest. "So leave me the fuck alone." Madge dropped her hand and stepped away from. "I'll get the scene right."

And the next time they were filming, she succeeded with flying colors, even stunning Gale. The fire in her eyes was still there, and Gale knew he'd made an enemy.

His and Madge's relationship became horribly strained. It was a good thing their characters didn't have any chemistry because he wasn't sure he could ever film a romantic scene with her. They didn't speak off-set at all, they didn't even look at each other, but their scenes were always full of passion and fire, and Madge proved herself to him easily.

Maybe he'd spoken a little too soon.

One afternoon when he wasn't called into work because Madge was filming scenes with another character, he dropped by anyway. And he caught the tail end of a performance that had the director and others in the room tearing up. It was a character death scene, a little girl who Madge's character had grown close with, and the child had ended up getting sick. It turned out she wasn't immune to the disease it just took it longer to get to her, and Madge was there with her as she passed.

"I'll find your brother," Madge's character was saying gently, stroking the little girl's hair. "I'll tell him you were brave."

There wasn't a dry eye on set. And Gale was moved. He sunk into the shadows and disappeared from set. But later when he was called in to watch the scene filmed in preparation for the follow-up scene, where he confronted Madge's character, he felt sadness overwhelming him.

Madge was an incredible actress, there was no denying it, and Gale couldn't even compliment her without it seeming false now.

Gale became more cautious after that. A close friend of Madge's, Peeta Mellark, was cast as another character on the show — the older brother of the girl Madge was with when she died. And that certainly livened Madge's spirits, while Gale just felt more and more like he fucked up.

In the days following they filmed scenes with Peeta, and there was a scene with Gale and Peeta fighting that Madge was supposed to break up. In the middle of it Peeta throws a punch at Gale and it's supposed to hit Madge (obviously not a real punch) but Madge was a step closer than she needed to be and he ended up giving her a very real fist to the face. Madge didn't break character once, and actually ended up really elbowing Peeta in the face.

"If you fucking touch any of us again I will kill you," Madge's character hissed, pointing a gun in his face.

Afterwards, after Peeta and Madge had apologized to each other for getting physical and laughing it off, Gale went up to her.

"Shit, Undersee," he murmured, "that was incredible."

He thought she was going to smile but instead she stood tall. "I bet my mommy did that for me too, huh?" she asked before marching away.

The first season of their show was only eight episodes and the early reviews were magnificent.When the show actually aired and the fanbase exploded Gale thought he would be prepared but he wasn't. People were tweeting him non-stop and fans were stopping him in the grocery store when he went out.

"Are you and Madge Undersee's character going to hook up?" he got asked way more than once. "You have incredible chemistry!"

Gale knew the plan was for Madge and Peeta's character to eventually be together, but the writers of the show always took into account what fans were thinking. He kept his mouth shut. But going back and rewatching the episodes he could see what people were talking about.

How many times had the cameras capture him dropping his eyes to her lips as she spoke? How many little brushes of their hands did he not realize he'd done? It was all there, in the small moments, and Gale couldn't pretend it wasn't.

When filming for season 2 started Gale wanted to clear things up with Madge immediately. It wasn't fair that he'd been so awful to her with no other reason other than the fact that her mom was famous.

But when he'd gotten to set and found her suspiciously close to Finnick Odair, another new cast member for the season, Gale got irrationally angry and decided against it. Reading the script Gale knew nothing would come out of Finnick and Madge's character, but fuck if Madge didn't have chemistry with fucking everyone.

And soon enough pictures of her started popping up in tabloids with everyone. Speculation if she and Finnick were dating, or she and Peeta, or she and some random guy at the fucking coffee shop. Gale couldn't figure out why he was getting so angry.

Their scenes together were still on point but every time he tried talking with her afterwards Madge would disappear, not wanting to converse. Finally one night Gale decided he had talk to talk to her. He couldn't live like this anymore, it was driving him insane. He strode to the break room and found Madge and Peeta lounging all the way across the room from one another.

Gale lingered in the shadows for a moment, deciding if he should enter the break room, when he watched Peeta toss a jellybean at her. Madge's lips curled into a soft smile.

"You okay?" Peeta asked.

Madge sighed, lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "I guess." He tossed another jellybean. "I got a call today from Captiol's Best," she said. "I thought they wanted an interview." Peeta's eyebrows shot to his forehead in obvious excitement — to get into Capitol's Best was a defining moment in someone's career. Gale had his feature story a little over a year ago, right before the casting for the show actually. He was sure it had at least a little to do with him getting the part. "It was just about my mom. Again."

Peeta deflated and Madge looked away. "Madge…"

"I can't do anything in my life without being compared to her, or being asked to comment on her, or… or just anything, Peeta." He sighed loudly and she shook her head. "Every review of this show where I'm mentioned has her name in it somewhere! It isn't fair." Madge rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I love this work," Madge told him. "Because while I'm playing someone else, no one asks me about her."

"Madge, c'mon…"

She sighed again and rubbed at her forehead. "I'm just never going to be good enough. And it… it sucks because I work so hard."

"Hey, I know you do," he stops her. "Everyone knows you do. And you will be good enough, you are good enough!"

Madge shook her head. "My own lead doesn't like working beside me," she said. "And guess what? That's because of her, too." Peeta tried to protest but Madge held up her hand. "I'm going for a walk," she said. "I just need some air."

Madge stood and left the break room and Gale waited a minute before following her. She stood outside in the cool air, leaning backwards against a wall. She looked over at him in surprise when he arrived and he held his hands up, almost as if in surrender. Madge rolled her eyes at him and started to go when he stopped her.

"Wait, just wait a minute, alright?" Gale stepped beside her and she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "This has been bugging me for a while so I've got to say it. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

Madge narrowed her eyes at him. "About what?"

"Madge," Gale scowled. "You know what I…" but she held her ground and Gale sighed. "You're incredible," he said. "I was quick to judge and I'm sorry. You deserve this role, and any role, because you are absolutely incredible on screen. You work magic and you blow my mind every day. And I'm sorry that I was a dick to you and it's taken me so long to apologize." Madge held his gaze for a moment before looking away. "I can't take it anymore, Madge, because I know I fucked up and I need you to know that and you need to know how honored I am to be working beside you."

She was quiet for a moment before a soft laugh escaped her. "When I found out I was working with you I was so excited," Madge told him. "You'd been on so many different shows, had so many roles, I wanted to learn from you. And I thought we could be friends and you shut me out." Madge lifted her shoulders into a shrug. "So then I had to prove to my mom why I was good enough, and also to you, so I guess part of my success is because of you."

Gale laughed a little too. "You didn't have to prove yourself to me."

"Yes I did."

They let the night air settle. "Well you have," Gale said. "Also, shit Undersee have you read our reviews? They all talk about how powerful and strong you are, I barely get mentioned."

"Oh, whatever," Madge laughed. "Half our viewers are teenagers that wanna bang you." Gale laughed, too, and things finally felt right for the first time in a while. She nudged him slightly. "Thanks, Gale. It really… it means a lot to me."

Things got easier after that. Gale found out that he and Madge had a lot of similar beliefs, politically and socially and movie-wise. They spent a lot of nights rewatching old classics. Gale made sure never to suggest anything that had her mom in it. And they started getting lunch during breaks, and cameras started following them.

Is Gadge real? headlines would read, and the two of them would laugh.

But Gale wondered if maybe it was real for him, if it had been ever since he watched Madge's scene where she comforted a dying child.

When the script for the tenth episode of season 2 came out, Gale panicked. Because it had a kiss scene.

He went straight to the writers to talk about it, insisting they'd said Madge and Peeta's characters would be the ones to end up together, but they shrugged at him. "You and Madge have more chemistry. It follows the story line. It's what people want. It makes sense, Gale."

And he couldn't disagree, because it did.

So when Madge asked to run lines with him, he instantly agreed.

They sat close together on the couch in his trailer, paging through the script. "Do we wanna, um," Madge looked down at the script. "Go through with it?"

"Might as well," he murmured. Like hell their first kiss would be in front of a camera.

So they read through the lines slowly, starting over more than once before reaching the kiss. And the way it happened in the script was quick. Gale's character pressed his lips to hers and she quickly pushed him away. "We can't," Madge's character would say, because their people were in the middle of a struggle and it wasn't fair for them to kiss. And Gale's character would nod and stride away, visibly upset.

But when Gale kissed her on his couch it took much too long for her hand to find his chest.

"We can't," she forced out, her voice weak. But Gale was not his character, and he dipped down to kiss her again. This time her hand slid up his chest and tangled in his hair, pulling him closer toward her. They kissed deeply. "The script," she gasped as he lowered her against the couch.

"Screw the script," he muttered, and the two of them tossed their booklets aside.

In the morning Madge's phone was what woke them. Gale groaned, tugging her closer, and Madge nuzzled deeper into his arms after silencing her alarm. "I have to go soon," she murmured, but Gale groaned again. "I have to go to makeup," she laughed.

Madge looked up at him and he forced his eyes to open, smiling sleepily. Quickly he bent down to kiss her again, their night filled of anything but sleeping, and she grinned as he pulled away.

"Just think," Madge said, tracing her fingers up his bare chest. "If you weren't such a dick this could've happened ages ago."

"Stop!" he laughed, leaning to kiss her again. Gale rolled the two of them so her body was beneath his. "I'm sorry," he murmured between kisses, "that I'm—a fucking—idiot."

"Mm…" Madge smiled as he worked his way down her throat. "Me too." He laughed against her skin and she pulled his face up to hers, her thumbs brushing gently over his cheeks. "We shouldn't tell anyone," she said softly. "Not yet. If this is… something you…" Madge's face fell, fear creeping onto her features at his possible rejection.

"Want to continue?" he picked up for her, and she nodded softly. Gale kissed her again. "Yes," he murmured. "I like you." He pinned his forehead to hers, tracing her nose with his. "We'll keep it just between us. Until you're ready."

Madge nodded and he kissed her again, and this time when he pulled away she was smiling.

The makeup artists were the first to figure it out because Gale really liked leaving hickeys on Madge's neck even though she insisted it was a bad idea (but she liked it too, so she didn't protest), and then quickly it spread through the set and crew.

The two of them still mostly kept it to themselves, neither confirming or denying anything but letting the rumors run rampant because not only was it good publicity, but it was a lot of fun.

"You know," Madge said one afternoon as they were lounging about in his trailer. "My mom didn't want me to take this role. She insisted it would be bad for me." Gale frowned. Madge's success because of this role was overwhelming and she deserved all of the recognition. "That's why I took it, actually."

"She knew you'd show her up," Gale murmured, causing Madge to smile. "I'm serious. Madge, our show's topping charts because of you."

"Because of us," she insisted.

"Because of you," Gale pressed. "You're the one that makes me the actor that I am." She tries to roll her eyes but she's smiling too widely, her face pink from blushing. Gale kissed her gently and only pulled away when her phone started to ring.

Madge licked her lips and answered it quickly. "Hi Delly," she said, referring to her manager. Madge's eyebrows came together and she looked in Gale's direction. "What?" Madge shook her head in disbelief. "Capitol's Best wants to interview me about the show?" Gale's face lit up with a smile and Madge's jaw dropped. "Wait, wait," Madge stopped Delly from speaking. "Would I have to talk about my mother?" Madge nodded, laughing a little. "Okay, that's fine! Yeah, yes! Of course! Thank you!"

"Madge!" Gale laughed as she hung up. "I told you!"

"I—oh my God," she shook her head, still in disbelief. I can't believe it! They want me, Delly said they want to ask a little bit about my childhood and growing up with a famous parent, but—it's not the focus. I can handle that."

"Yeah, of course you can," Gale nodded.

A few days later they finished filming season 2, and a few weeks later Madge had her interview. And when Survive Another Day was renewed for a third season Gale couldn't have been happier. Not only did he get to do the job he loved, he got to work alongside the woman he loved that continuously blew him away. It was a pretty sweet gig.