Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
1.
"It reminded me of you," Madge says. Her voice is hesitant, nervous, and she looks over her shoulder at Gale waiting for some sort of response.
It's rare she lets people listen to her play the piano these days, something she nearly stopped altogether when her mother passed a year ago, but she wanted Gale to hear it. She wasn't sure why, not until he'd been standing in the room with his hands shoved into his back pockets and his cheeks pink from the whipping wind outside. But the song, of course. It reminded her of him.
She finds him standing against the back wall, his hands still in his back pockets. Gale's eyes are wide and gray like the full moon and his lips are parted in surprise as though he isn't sure how to respond. Madge closes her music book quickly and tries to fight off the embarrassing heat in her chest when Gale's suddenly striding across the room to her. He takes the seat beside her on the bench that creaks under the weight of both of them.
"It reminded you of me?" he asks quietly. Slowly, she nods her head. They're just friends. They've been friends for forever. But maybe he can tell this is different, somehow. "Can you play it again?" he asks.
1.
Gale rushes into the room, his eyes frantically scanning from person to person as he tries desperately to adjust his tie. He's sweating, he knows he looks a mess. Finally his eyes land on Madge standing in the corner by herself with her eyes on her hands looking distraught.
Gale edges his way through the crowd in her direction. "Madge," he croaks. She looks up at once and the brightest smile blossoms on her face. Gale feels like he could melt. He does not deserve this smile. "I'm so sorry I'm late," he says gently, striding toward her slowly as though he regrets coming at all. What must she think, that he's nearly an hour late to her showcase? Her first public performance since her mother passed? She must hate him. "I couldn't–"
He stops talking the moment she wraps herself around him. Gale feels his breath catch in his throat. "I didn't think anyone was coming," she rasps. He feels her chin quiver against his chest and he peels back at once, reaching down to cup her cheek. "I thought everyone–"
"You know I'm here for you," he cuts her off quietly. That's what they do these days, they exist for one another. "I'm always here for you."
2.
Gale and Madge were the only two of them left in their small town. They'd grown up and moved away for school just like everyone else had, but somehow they'd both ended up back. Gale was there to support his family, Madge was there because her father couldn't bear it alone without her mother. Both had planned to leave again, but for the moment they're both stuck.
Madge still isn't sure how they ended up friends. One moment they'd realized the other was back, the next they were getting drinks at The Hob. It's nice to have someone that understands the other in the most simplest of ways.
They're currently in Gale's apartment, Madge stretched out on his couch as Gale pulls up Netflix. When the screen loads and it shuts Gale out, he frowns.
"Did you change the password?" he asks. Madge props herself up to look at him. "You changed the Netflix password and you didn't tell me," he says.
She smiles sheepishly. "It's chrisevans, no spaces and no caps."
Gale frowns. "You change the password without telling me and you make it that?"
"I didn't mean to," Madge says with a little laugh. What's hers is his. They've been sharing a Netflix account for the past year just to save a few dollars. "I was thinking about that movie Snowpiercer and Netflix told me it needed to be updated, so that's what happened."
Gale's frown flickers at the mention of the movie. "I thought you hated that movie," he says. He'd been the one to make her watch it and she whined throughout the entire thing. Gale enters the new password without looking at her.
"I do," Madge says. "But you like it."
Gale shifts his gaze to her for a moment, his frown gone. She hears him murmur something under his breath about a different password, but he makes no move to change it.
2.
Madge still lives with her dad. She complains to Gale almost daily about how she wants to get her own place, but at the same time getting an apartment would mean staying home longer than she wants to. So she spends most of her time at Gale's, not that he minds.
She falls asleep on his couch a lot, though. "Madge," he nudges her gently and she blinks herself awake, squinting into the darkness to find him. "It's nearly midnight," he tells her softly. "Do you want to stay?"
She sits up a little faster, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her palm, shaking her head. "My dad'll worry," she says. Her voice is thick. "I should go."
Gale hesitates. He knows they're nothing more than friends but she's been sleeping and he doesn't want her to fall asleep at the wheel. Her father's home isn't more than ten minutes away but a lot can happen in ten minutes.
He helps her find her coat and her boots and soon she's in the doorway. "Wait," he stops her before she can go. Madge blinks hard a few more times, trying to stay awake. "Call me when you get home," he says. "Okay?"
A smile fills her face. "Sure, Gale."
Finally he lets her go. He watches through his apartment window as she climbs into her car. He watches as she drives away.
Twenty minutes pass before he starts to worry. He decides to call her instead, dialing Madge's number with slightly shaking fingers. She answers on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Madge?" he murmurs. He doesn't know whether to be angry or relieved. "Are you home?"
She's quiet for a moment. Her voice is muffled, half asleep. "I told you I'd call," she says airily. Finally, Gale smiles. "I'm s'sorry," she carries on. "I'm s'tired."
"It's fine," he tells her. And it is. As long as, "You're home safe?"
"Home safe," she echoes sleepily. His heart finally stops racing. "Thanks, Gale."
He smiles, dipping his head. "G'night, Madge."
3.
While Madge and Gale are closer than most, it's not true that they're the only people living back home. It just feels like it without Katniss and Peeta and Delly. They hang out with Leevy sometimes, and Thom every now and then. But Madge and Gale are certainly closer.
They're currently at The Hob with Leevy and Thom, the two of them off playing darts while Madge and Gale sit at the counter. Leevy's been flirting again, much to Madge's displeasure, but she ignores the fire in her chest and blames it on the alcohol instead.
"I mean, there's nothing wrong with her," Gale says, staring down at his drink. "But what exactly's right with her?" Madge presses her lips together to keep from smiling. "She just wants to stay here forever and I don't and that's just not going to work."
"She's also only ever into you when you grow your beard out," Madge says, reaching up and over to run her thumb across his cheek. Gale smirks, tipping his head from her reach. "Makes you look like a rugged mountain man." After a moment of thought she adds, "Or a lumberjack."
Gale tilts his head back in a laugh and Madge smiles, lifting her drink to her lips to ignore the new feeling in her stomach. "Are you telling me that I should shave, Undersee?"
"I like the beard," she says simply. "I mean, it doesn't matter to me. You're always a rugged mountain man."
Gale laughs again, this time at the obvious teasing in her voice. He shakes his head at her but Madge can't tear her eyes from him. "What?" he finally asks, still with a smile on his face.
"I like your laugh," she says. Gale's eyes widen slightly but his smile doesn't falter. Madge blames her slip on the alcohol.
3.
They're over at Gale's again, this time it's a snowy afternoon. The power's out but the roads are bad so they're sitting around waiting for something to change. Madge has her nose in a book, something she pulled from one of Gale's shelves, and he's playing games on his phone.
"Gale," she finally calls across the room. He looks away from his screen to her. "Do you have any more blankets?" she asks a little hesitantly. Madge isn't one to complain, absolutely ever, so he knows she must be cold.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have any more blankets. "Ah, hold on." He drops his phone on the couch he was sitting in and darts into his bedroom, rifling through the closet until he finds what he was looking for. "Here." He returns to her with a sweatshirt from his college, one he hardly wears because of how soft it is on the inside. It always makes him overheat, but it's perfect for right now.
Madge wiggles out of her blanket fort and smiles, grabbing the sweatshirt and quickly pulling it over her head. Gale's throat feels thick as she readjusts it. The sweatshirt could be a dress on her, the sleeves are longer than her arms.
She laughs a little before gesturing to herself. "How's it look?" she asks.
He coughs. "It looks great on you," he murmurs.
4.
"Because I just can't," Gale's saying, frustration clear in his voice. "I know how much this means to Posy, I know that, but I can't do it, Madge." It's the anniversary of his father's death and his little sister wants to visit their father's grave.
Hazelle can't do it because she'll fall apart, and Vick and Rory have no interest in feeling worse. Gale's been talking about it for hours, what to do. He's gone before, his father's been dead for years, but for some reason Gale just feels horrible this year.
"I just don't know what to do," he carries on. But then he stops. "Yes I do. I have to take her, don't I?" Gale looks at Madge expectantly, and she knows he wants reassurance. But she can't give that to him.
"No you don't," Madge says.
"She's my sister," Gale insists. "If she needs me to do this, then–"
"She just wants someone to take her," Madge says, "right?" Gale hesitates, nodding his head. "I'll do it for you." He freezes, cocking his head to look at her as though he hasn't heard her correctly. "I'll take Posy," Madge says. "She's practically my sister anyway. And she'll understand."
Gale shakes his head. "She'll have questions," Gale says. "About Pop, and I'm the only one that can answer them."
"Then I'll go with you," she continues softly. "If it'll help, of course." Gale blinks a few times, and it makes Madge feel like he's seeing her in a different light all of a sudden. "You're always there when I need you to be," Madge says, breaking their gaze. "I just want to be there for you, too."
"Okay," Gale rasps. Madge looks up. "I'd… yeah. I'd really–thank you, Madge."
4.
It frustrates Gale how easily Madge Undersee can astound him.
There was once a time in which he'd never feel his hands sweat, feel his heart race, when he listened to piano music. Now he can barely get through a piece without feeling like he's going to burst.
Madge has been playing a lot more these days and has been inviting Gale over to listen. He teases her saying she just likes an audience, but he knows it's more than that. Madge is scared to play alone. She has been since her mother passed. And this is one way she can do it without feeling broken.
The last note Madge played is still humming in the air. Gale lingers in the doorway, unsure if he should be looking at the piano or the girl who's just played it. Only one word escapes him. "Wow."
Madge looks up like a deer in headlights. Wide blue eyes nervous, scared, like they always are after she plays. Like she's messed something up.
"What?" she asks.
"You…" he trails off, shaking his head ever so slightly. Gale slowly steps into the room. "You're incredible," he whispers. "You blow me away every time you play." He watches her cheeks turn pink and her eyes dart back down to the keys. "Just, wow, Madge."
"It wasn't even–"
"Don't," he cuts her off. "It was that good," Gale tells her. "You are that good."
5.
Her father's out of town for the weekend, so instead of watching Netflix on Gale's couch they're watching in Madge's basement instead.
Madge is usually the one to fall asleep in the middle of a Netflix session, but today Gale is drifting off. He's had a long day at work in the shop, that's what he told her, but he didn't want to pass up time with Madge. His head is currently on her lap as she brushes her fingers gently through his hair, probably not helping to keep him awake.
Finally he startles, pulling up slightly and squinting. He's definitely been asleep for a few minutes at least and is trying to place himself.
Madge smiles. "Stay," she whispers to him. Gale looks up at her, his hair rumpled from her running her hands through it. "You should stay."
He blinks a few more times before lowering his head back to her lap. Madge laughs as she resumes running her hands through his thick dark hair. "Mm," he nearly groans, nosing at Madge's thigh. "Feels nice," he murmurs.
"Yeah?"
"Mmm."
Madge laughs again, ignoring her suddenly rapidly beating heart. "You can sleep in my bed, you know," she says quietly, half wondering if he's already fallen asleep.
"Where'll you sleep then?" he asks, clearly trying to stay awake but failing miserably.
"It's a big bed, Gale."
He jerks his head up again, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he watches her. "Shh," Gale scolds her, again getting her to laugh before he lays back down on her lap. They fall asleep on the couch together that night.
5.
Gale shows up at Madge's house unannounced and forces her to get into his truck. He's known this day was coming for a long time, he marked it on his calendar ages ago.
"So we can either go to The Hob," Gale says as he works the gearshift, "but I don't really think you should be drinking, personally. But hey, it's your life, so if that's what you want to do then whatever. But I think we should go to Sae's," he carries on. "Because she's started making this chocolate pie and I could really–"
She cuts him off a little sharply, "What are you doing, Gale?"
He barely looks in her direction, wanting to keep his eyes on the road. "Driving."
"Stop," she huffs. "I didn't ask you to entertain me today, Gale."
"You didn't have to ask," Gale says simply, barely lifting his shoulders in a shrug. In fact, he knew she wouldn't. But birthday's are just as hard as deathdays, and today is just another day that Madge's mother isn't getting any older. But her quiet is worrying him. "Did I overstep?" he asks, finally looking at her.
Gale finds tears in her eyes. She shakes her head ever so slightly. He reaches over at once, resting his hand on her knee. "Sorry," she whispers, covering his hand with her own. "I just wish I was strong enough on my own sometimes."
"I know," Gale murmurs. He rubs his thumb over her knee. "But you don't have to be."
6.
Madge gets some unexpected news and her first instinct is to tell Gale. Her second instinct, however, is to absolutely not tell Gale. She ends up at his work anyway, her arms wound around herself to fight off the cold of the garage they're in.
"Why're you here?" Gale asks, rolling himself out from under a car. He has a goofy smile on his face that makes Madge's insides squirm. "Not that I mind," he added, wiping his hands with a rag. "Just unexpected."
"Just wanted to see you," Madge says, debating if she should tell him or not. Instead she shrugs. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize for that," he says with a little laugh. He stands from his little scooter and walks to her, tugging gently on a strand of her hair. She wrinkles her nose at him but his smile doesn't waver. "Ma's cooking a big dinner tonight," he tells her. "Want to come?"
She arches a curious eyebrow but Gale's smile has still yet to leave his face. "You're inviting me to dinner?"
"That's usually what want to come means, Undersee."
Madge decides to ignore her news and instead focus on this. "Then I'll be there," she says with a smile. She can tell him later.
6.
Gale fumbles for his phone when he hears Madge's ringtone going off in the middle of the night. He barely presses the answer button before he's asking questions. "Are you okay? What's wrong? Something happen?"
Madge is quiet on the other side. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she says gently. "I didn't mean to wake you. I didn't realize how late it was."
"No, it's okay," Gale insists, rubbing his eyes. "I wasn't asleep anyway."
"Liar," Madge murmurs into the phone. He smiles sleepily but sits up in bed so he doesn't fall back asleep. "I want to tell you something," she finally says. The way her voice is quiet makes Gale pause. He feels his chest tighten too nervous to know what to expect. "But every time I try to tell you in person I chicken out."
Gale's heart does some weird sort of flip. "Okay," he says.
"Because I don't–I don't want to lose you," she says quickly.
Gale's completely awake now and his mind is swimming. "You wouldn't," he murmurs. He needs Madge to know that. "You know you wouldn't." Especially not if this is going where he thinks it is, and God does he want that.
She takes a deep breath and Gale can practically feel her nerves. Maybe he should say it first? Maybe that would–
"I got a job offer," she finally says. Gale wasn't expecting to feel his heart shatter. "It's in a city about two hours from here." Everything feels heavy. Gale wants nothing more than the darkness in his room to swallow him whole. "And I took it."
7.
Gale sits on Madge's bed staring around her empty room with a look on his face that she just can't place. Confusion, maybe, or anger, or maybe even sadness. She stands in the doorway watching him for a moment before taking a deep breath and pinning a bright smile to her face.
"All packed," she finally says. Her voice startles him and whatever look it was that was on his face Madge will never know, because soon he's fixed a gentle smile to his face too. "Well mostly," she murmurs before walking into the room.
"When's the moving truck coming?"
"Few days," she tells him, taking the spot on the bed next to him. She has a small suitcase that should last her until then, but then she's gone. It's surreal, and it's happened so fast. Gale shifts uncomfortably next to her. "I can wait," she suddenly says. "Push it back a–a couple or weeks, or something."
Gale frowns at her. "No you can't."
"But I–"
"You've been wanting to get out of this town for forever," Gale says gently. "So go, Madge." There's no malice in his voice, just quiet encouragement. "Your father doesn't need you anymore and you're ready."
She clenches her teeth together to keep her chin from quivering. "But I'm not sure I am," she whispers. And she wants to wait. She wants another week with Gale, another day. It feels so unfinished, whatever it is they have. Maybe they are just friends, but maybe not. "I want to stay."
"But you have to go," Gale whispers back. She hates it when he's right.
7.
They watch the moving truck drive off together and Gale takes a deep breath. He's been left behind before, he should know what to expect. But he can't fight the way his heart is aching. All he wants to do is tangle his fingers with Madge's and plead with her to stay.
Instead he asks, "Are you sure?" Madge pulls her gaze from the rapidly disappearing truck and looks over at him. "Are you sure about this?"
He winces at the way her eyes fill with tears. "You're the one who told me to go," she whispers.Because I couldn't be the reason you stay, he thinks. He wishes he could be, but he can't. "Should I–"
"No, no," he stops her immediately, talking a step away from her. Because if she was any closer he'd want to pull her into his arms. "You should. But I just–I wanted to make sure you were ready to go."
Madge blinks a few times, fighting off her tears. "I guess I have to be," she murmurs, mostly to herself. She looks away from Gale but he can't tear his eyes from her. She looks beautiful in the evening sun, her golden hair shining. "You'll get out of here, you know," Madge suddenly says, looking back. "You're not going to be stuck here forever."
"Yeah," Gale rasps. But it's starting to feel that way. Being stuck in a small town like this was bearable with Madge, but now that she's leaving… "I guess."
8.
Madge has just loaded her suitcase into her car. She said goodbye to her father earlier considering he was going to be at work and goodbye to Thom and Leevy the day before, but with Gale it feels like so much more somehow.
She turns to face him, finding him awkwardly standing there with his hands in his back pockets. "Well," he clears his throat, tipping his head in her direction. "I guess this is it."
I guess so, Madge wants to say. But suddenly her eyes are on his feet and something else bubbles out of her. "I love you," she responds. She won't dare look up. "I–I know this is the worst timing, and I've–I've waited too long, but I love you. And I don't want to go without you knowing that."
It takes more effort than she can handle but eventually she looks up at him, finding his arms hanging limply by his sides and his jaw parted unexpectedly.
She nods once and turns, ready to climb into her car and drive away.
8.
Gale strides across the few yards that separate them and grabs her shoulders before she can duck into her car. He slams the door shut so she can't get away and then more gently than he'd ever anticipated cups her cheeks.
His lips are on her at once.
Madge gasps into his mouth, her hands sliding up his chest and gripping his shirt, pulling him closer. He presses her to her car and stops himself from being too desperate. But he's wanted this for so long. He never imagined he'd get to taste her tongue, to feel her mouth moving in time with his.
When breathing becomes an issue Gale pins his forehead to hers. Her eyes are dark and her cheeks are pink. "I love you too," Gale murmurs back. He doesn't know whether to laugh or kiss her again, so he settles with a grin. "Jesus, Madge, I love you."
"We suck," Madge says, smiling just as widely as he is, and Gale nods in agreement. "Come with me," she whispers. "I hate living alone, and we–we already share a Netflix account."
"I can't," he whispers back, but his smile doesn't fade. "Not today. But–if you're serious, then yes."
Her eyes light up. "I'm serious," Madge tells him. Finally he bends down again, kissing her gently. "Come with me," she murmurs between their lips.
"Not today," Gale says again. He has to cancel his rent and quit his job and–is he really going to do this? For her? He peels back and marvels at the sight of her, as though there's actual magic in her eyes. Yes. He's really going to do this. "Give me a week," he nearly growls, unhappy about it but needing to feel her lips on his one more time.
By the time Madge climbs into her car she's still smiling, and Gale feels like he could fly if he tried hard enough. They've waited this long, they can wait another week.
A/N: Happy birthday Melika Elena!