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

Gale wasn't the biggest fan of Secret Santa. Their small little friend group had been doing it for the past three years though, and he felt bad if he was the only one not participating, so like normal he placed his name in.

But unlike previous years, this time when he slipped his hand into the bowl to get a name, he ended up with Madge Undersee. His chest did a funny tightening thing when he saw her pretty loopy handwriting, and he looked up at the girl across the room who was currently dipping her hand in.

Madge smiled, laughing at something Delly beside her was saying, and plunged her hand into the bowl to grab a piece of paper. Gale looked back down at her name and quickly pocketed it so no one else could see.

"Who'd you get?" Thom asked moments later, but Gale shrugged. "Oh, come on," Gale said with a little laugh, nudging his friend in the ribs. "You always tell me. Unless it's me?"

"It's you," Gale deadpanned, causing Thom to laugh again and drop the subject.

But while his friend and all the others around the circle were laughing, Gale was wondering what he should do. He'd been dancing around his feelings for Madge for what felt like forever, long since they'd all graduated high school and that was years ago. But at the same time he couldn't make a show about it. That just wasn't who he was. He just wanted to get her something that she'd really, really like.

He found that thing a few days later while browsing online, hoping to be struck with inspiration. The item was a little (a lot) over the 20$ limit they'd set, but Gale didn't care. He ordered it straight away, and a few days later it arrived in a small box.

He had to do a little bit of stalking to finish it off, which was kind of creepy, but in the end he had the perfect gift.

Gale was… nervous. He didn't like the thick feeling in his throat or the way his hands sweat when he thought about Madge opening the present. Not that he thought she wouldn't like it, but just that she would. And then what? Would she try and figure out who bought it for her?

And when the party began and everyone brought in large gifts for the person they'd chosen, he started to sweat more. "Looking a little peaky, Hawthorne," he heard, turning to find Madge with a small gift in her hands. Not as small as the one he'd brought though and already tossed under the tree. She smiled, and he felt himself pale further. "Okay?"

"Hot in here," he murmured.

"Yeah," she agreed, unwinding her scarf from her neck. "I had Delly," she said, gesturing to the strange shaped item in her hands. "She loves mugs. So."

"I'm sure she'll love it," Gale said before tipping his head at her and walking away quickly to get a drink.

The party commenced as normal, drinks and laughter and Christmas music, before Delly loudly announced that it was present time. Thom looked at him suspiciously but with a good-natured grin and together they sat in the circle.

"I had Delly this year," Thom murmured as everyone was hustling to sit by the tree. Gale arched an eyebrow, remembering that Madge had said she had Delly, but decided to keep his mouth shut and just see how things played out. "Who'd you have?"

"Shut up," Gale scolded him, laughing a little at his friend's attempt to loosen his lips. The spiked eggnog was doing just fine at that. He was less nervous than before, more excited to see the look on Madge's face. It wasn't a big present but it meant a lot - he hoped she understood. "No one."

"No one," Thom echoed. "Present for no one?" he called loudly into the room, and a few people turned their heads from where Delly was fishing under the tree. "No one?" he asked again. Gale elbowed Thom in the ribs and his friend laughed, as did a few people in the circle. Madge being one of them. "I'll figure it out," Thom hummed, and Gale elbowed him another time.

"Peeta!" Delly called out, pulling up the first present. Gale settled back in his seat with a content smile on his face, watching as the presents started being passed around.

The way they did it with their friends was Delly would call the name, pass the present, and then that person would open it. Then Delly would fish the next present out, pass it around, and so on and so on. If someone wanted to reveal who they had they could do so after everything went around, or they could add a little card. But as a group they mostly liked to keep it secret. Gale was grateful for that.

Finally Delly called out his name, and he couldn't wipe the smug grin off his face from the present he received. It was easy enough to figure out that Thom had pulled Gale's name, considering Gale unwrapped things only Thom knew he needed – new belay devices for climbing, new powder for his hands. He elbowed his friend another time when the attention went back to Delly who was passing around presents.

Finally Madge got hers and Gale felt his nerves come back, but with less intensity. She looked nervous at the tiny box but smiled anyway, and when she unwrapped it Gale reveled in her sharp intake of breath.

"Oh, wow," Madge breathed. She pulled out a thin silver chain. Hanging from the chain was a small silver piano a little bigger than a quarter. Her face turned pink and Gale lifted his cup of eggnog to his lips to stop himself from looking smug. "Wow," Madge said again. "This is–wow, this is beautiful." And the way her voice was soft, awed, Gale knew it wasn't fake sincerity.

Open it, he thought, before realizing she must not know it's a locket. The lid of the piano would peel back and there was a photo he'd glued inside, one he knew would mean a lot to her. I have to get her to open it or she'll never know, he thought with a sigh.

That proved to be easier than he thought. He pulled aside Mellark, who didn't drink, and told him that without revealing to Madge who told him, that she should open the locket.

"You got that for her?" Peeta asked, his eyebrows high on his forehead. "She loves it."

"Your shock doesn't make me feel great," Gale muttered. "Just tell her, yeah? Casually suggest it or something."

Peeta smirked. "Why can't you?" Gale blinked hard. "You don't want her to know it was from you?"

"Just tell her," Gale muttered another time before marching off to get another drink.

When Gale was done that he peered into the living room, finding Peeta and Madge sitting on the couch together. Madge had popped open the locket and was looking with tears in her eyes but the brightest smile on her face. She was nodding at something Peeta was saying and wiping the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. She looked up suddenly and instantly found Gale, but he spun into the kitchen hoping he just didn't want to look as though he was intruding on a personal moment.

Inside he was celebrating.

It wasn't until about an hour later did Madge find him in the hallway, leaning against the wall with yet another cup of spiked eggnog. She leaned against the wall as well. He noticed the necklace danging from her neck and bit back his smile.

"Merry Christmas," she said casually.

Gale laughed a little. "And to you."

"I know you got this for me," she said, skipping all pretense of pretending. Gale arched an eyebrow at her and she nodded sharply. "With one hundred percent certainty–and no, Peeta didn't tell me."

"Hmm," Gale hummed. "Do tell, then. If you're one hundred percent certain."

Madge smiled, tugging on the necklace. "You're the only one I told about my aunt," she said. Madge didn't have to pop open the necklace to show him the picture on the inside - he knew what it was. He'd placed a photo of her aunt when she was Madge's age inside. It took a lot of Facebook stalking but eventually he found one, and okay that was really creepy, but the look on her face made him feel like it was worth it. "How she's my muse."

"Well, then, shit," Gale said. All of his nerves, his lack of wanting Madge to know he'd gotten her the present, it was all gone. It was probably from the amount of alcohol he'd consumed. "You've got me."

Madge stepped closer, still tugging on the necklace. "It's really beautiful," she whispered. "Thank you so much, Gale. Honestly."

Okay, his nerves were starting to return. She was getting closer. And she was so Goddamn beautiful. With his freehand he reached up and scratched his neck. "Sure," he murmured. "Of course."

"Gale," Madge said. His name in her mouth was heavenly. He felt his face getting warm. She was still moving closer. Her hand moved from her necklace to his chest. He wished he didn't have his cup in his hand or he'd tug her closer. "There's no mistletoe," she whispered. "But I want to kiss you."

Gale couldn't breathe. "I'm kinda drunk," he forced out, just to let her know. "But I…" want to kiss you too. Who needs a mistletoe? Not me. He coughed and she smiled, pulling the cup from his hand and reaching out to a table in the hallway that held a lot of photographs and frames. "Madge," he murmured.

When their lips met it was gentle. Gale didn't want to be fast or rough, he wanted to feel her mouth against his. He wanted to taste her. Madge clutched at his shirt and tugged him down and only then did he kiss her more deeply, cradling her cheeks between his hands and twisting his fingertips in her hair. He was first to pull away, his head swimming from the alcohol and the adrenaline.

Madge smiled sweetly at him before licking her lips and Gale gently tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm glad you liked it," Gale finally murmured.

She nearly snorted. "Like you," she clarified. Her eyes were bright.

Gale decided Secret Santa wasn't all that bad.