Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hello and welcome to LUFF. For the last 80 years we have proudly served the citizens of Panem in fulfilling a better life by finding their other half. 

It all began at the edge of the Dark Days when a revolutionary series of studies revealed that all successful marriages had something in common: The more their fingerprints matched each other’s, the more compatible the couple was. 

As successful unions meant happier and more productive people, the government of Panem created a program to help its citizens find their perfect someone: The Law of Unions, Family, and Finances; or LUFF!

By providing your fingerprints, we will match them against our nation-wide database and we’ll find your perfect match!”

“Ugh, creepy.” Katniss shivered as she stared at the informational video in the lobby of the Justice building.

“I can't believe we have to do this.” Madge groaned. The two of them had put it off long enough. Typically in Panem, as soon as you turned 18 you were to report to the nearest Luff facility and begin the process of finding your match. Katniss's 18th birthday had come and gone though, and when Madge's came up in June, she looked likely to avoid the process for as long as possible as well. It took the urging of their friend Delly to drag them down to the Justice building on this particular July morning.

“It's really not so bad guys!” Delly chirped. Of course, she immediately regretted this as her two friends rounded on her. “I-I mean sure, the percentage of your match could make or break your job prospects, college acceptances, ability to get loans, be able to put bread on the table… But! But, if your current score options are super low you can always go on a waitlist until a higher percentage match pops up!”

“ If a higher percentage match shows up.” Katniss deadpanned. Her own parents' match had been a 63%, and while that was decent enough when her dad was alive it still didn't stop the family from almost starving to death the first couple of years after his funeral.

Madge sighed, “Honestly Katniss, a 63% isn't even that bad. Plus your parents were utterly devoted to each other, totally in love. My parents had a 92% and look how that turned out.” 

Madge's mother suffered from excruciating migraines, and while it was clear the mayor of their quaint district truly loved his wife, it didn't make the marriage and family life any easier. Even with the high match ensuring that the family was never short on money. 

“If you're really worried, you could always do what I did and sign up as bisexual! Then you'll get twice the amount of matches!” Delly added.

Katniss ran a hand through her hair and groaned. “Delly, we've been over this. Unlike you and Madge, I'm not actually bi. I can't put someone through a farce of a relationship to ensure better financial stability.”

“Right, sorry!” Delly said, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. Her thoughtlessness also earned her a flick on the nose from Madge.

“Still, I'm impressed you managed to pull an 86% with Thom.” Katniss added. “I feel like a lot of people have to travel outside the district to find a match as good as that.”

Madge nodded, “I still recall Sage Blanken needing to leave for district 10 when he got his match.”

Really any match at a 70% or higher was a “passing grade” so to speak. It was once you got lower than that that the government really started to punish you.

Delly sighed and pulled the girls in for a hug. “Listen, my point is it won't be so terrible. My friend Peeta has been on the waitlist for a good match since January, and he's not doing so bad.”

Katniss rolled her eyes, but a fond smile appeared on her lips. She always had a soft spot for “the boy with the bread”. “Yeah well, Peeta works at his family owned business which is pretty well off considering his parents’ 71%. So I would hope he's okay.” she let out a sigh, looking more serious. “Gale has been on the waitlist for 2 years and he's not doing so hot, stuck working in the coal mine.”

Madge and Delly shared a knowing look, one entirely missed by Katniss. Word on the street was Gale wasn't on the waitlist due to a lack of matches. He was waiting because he was hoping he'd have a decent score with Katniss herself. 

Once you agreed to be someone's match, unmatching was frowned upon. It was legal, but some say it would hurt your chance of matching higher with anyone else. Just like divorce.

Divorce wasn't outright outlawed, but if you divorced there was a percentage cap for getting a new match. Like say you were married to a 93% and you divorced. Your next match could only be as high as a 73%, after that it was 63%, 53%, etc.

“Anyways, you two need to stop stalling and just get in there already.” Delly urged. “I'll be right here when you get out!” She said, pointedly taking a seat in the waiting area.

“Yes mom.” Katniss and Madge both deadpanned.

As the two of them joined the queue of citizens waiting to sign up Madge turned to look at Katniss, chewing her lip. “I hear in the Capitol it's common for people to make friends solely based on their LUFF score, dropping previous friends if their score is too low.”

Katniss turned to the blonde with an unamused look and nudged her in the shoulder. “Yeah well, I don't like many people. So you're stuck with me regardless of what score either of us gets.”

“I didn't mean to imply-” Madge started, but the shaky breath she let out betrayed her. “I just don't want anything to change between us.”

Katniss rolled her eyes but smiled. “Madge I have a total of three friends to my name, maybe seven if you count Leevy, Bristel, Peeta, and Thom. I assure you, I'm not going anywhere.”

The blonde nodded again and took a deep breath. “You're right, I'm being silly.” As the conversation came to a close, they reached the front of the queue and were called to different stations. “I'll see you on the other side.”

As Delly sat in the waiting area of the Justice's building's LUFF department, she texted her fiance Thom. Delly loved Thom truly, and while she hadn't been a fan of the LUFF system before their match, she couldn't deny how well it truly worked.

Their match came at an almost perfect time, Delly called it fate. Thom was a friend of Gale's and, up until he and Delly matched, he had been stuck working in the mines just like him. Their 86% not only allowed him to get a better job outside of the mines, but also gave her the ability to financially support her brother Glenn after their parents divorce threw a wrench in things.

However, Thom and Delly had a bit of a bet going. It was no secret that both of them had a friend that was on the match waitlist. What might have been a secret was that both men in particular were waiting to see what their score with Katniss was. 

Delly:

I still think it'll be Peeta. They have that whole opposites attract vibe going on. Gale and Katniss are too similar, their score would definitely be super low.

Thom:

But, you could argue that they're so similar that their fingerprints would be nearly identical. That could give them a really high score.

Delly:

That's true. I guess I just can't help but root for Peeta because I've had to hear all about his crush on Katniss almost every day for 12 years straight. But it wouldn't be so terrible if it was Gale either.

Thom:

For all we know, neither would have a high score with her which would make the point moot. 

Thom:

Who do you think Madge will match with?

Delly:

No clue, but it's no secret half of the district drools over her. They just stay away because Katniss is intimidating lol. 

Delly:

I hope it's no one she has to move out of district for though.

Delly:

Oop, the girls are back. Ttyl. Love you.

Shoving her phone into her pocket, the blonde put on a bright smile and turned to her friends. “How did you guys do?”

Between the uncomfortable, near constipated look on Katniss’ face and the shell shocked, almost traumatized look on Madge's, she grimaced. “That bad huh? Well, you could always go on the waitlist…”

Katniss shook her head and shuffled her feet. “No I…did good. High score.”

Madge, who seemed focused on a point in the distance, swallowed hard. “Me too.”

Delly cocked her head to the side in confusion. “Then what's the problem?”

Madge and Katniss shifted in place, Madge speaking up first. “I have a 90% match. I'm just not sure they'll be…pleased.”

Delly breathed a sigh of relief for Madge. “A 90% is great! I'm sure whoever you matched with will be thrilled.” Turning to Katniss she beamed, “What about you?”

Katniss mumbled something incoherent. When the two girls looked at her, she sighed and spoke louder. “I got a…97%. With…Peeta.”

Both Madge and Delly jumped in place. A 97% was almost unheard of, certainly rare to have with someone in your home district. In seconds Madge's hand was on Katniss’ shoulder while Delly clambered to her feet. “Katniss! That's amazing!” Madge cheered.

“Peeta will be so thrilled!” Delly sang. Katniss quirked an eyebrow at this while Madge snorted. “I mean…now his parents can get a divorce without it affecting the family financials like mine did?” Katniss seemed to accept this reasoning while Madge continued to suppress a laugh. 

“Do you think you'll officially match with him?” Madge asked.

Katniss nodded, “I'm going to talk to him and see what he wants to do. Obviously a 97% isn't a guarantee that he'll actually want to match with me, but I'm willing to…”

The unspoken bit was that Katniss, and Gale for that matter, had been doing illegal hunting in their free time to support their families which were both in poor financial standing. If Katniss took this match with Peeta, there'd be no reason for her to continue doing it, which would put an extra strain on Gale's family; let alone her relationship with him.

She had some time to figure that detail out. First contact with Peeta needed to be handled. LUFF could only give out the contact information of a potential match if the person had allowed that when signing up, otherwise they would contact the person with an alert to come to the nearest LUFF facility to see their newest high ranked match.

Turning their attention back to Madge, Delly spoke up. “Madge you never said who your 90% was. Are they in the district?”

Madge fidgeted while looking down at her shoes, suddenly growing red. She nodded.

“Is it someone we know?” Katniss asked with slight concern.

Madge nodded again. “You could say that…” She took a deep breath before speaking again. “I matched with Gale.”

Madge nervously looked up only to catch the wide range of emotions crossing her usually stoic friend's face. Delly on the other hand, was speechless for once. “I uh…hope that doesn't make things weird…”

Katniss seemed at a loss for words before saying, “No that's…fantastic. If you match with Gale he could leave the mines. He would have an easier time supporting his family. He-Madge, that's great!”

“You're not…uncomfortable?” Madge asked, tilting her head to the side. “You're not bothered by it?”

Katniss shook her head. “It's weird, don't get me wrong. It might take some adjusting.” She pursed her lips for a moment as she thought. “But, it's a good score for both of you and it keeps you both in district. So I'll get over it.”

‘If he agrees to match with you’ was the unspoken bit there, and Madge was sure Gale Hawthorne would be less than thrilled to match with her. Madge could live with it if he didn't want to, she could re-check her potential matches and go on a waitlist if Gale refused the 90% match, but that didn't mean it wouldn't sting.

“Delly are you good? You haven't spoken in like 5 minutes.” Madge said, turning to the other blonde.

After she finished furiously typing something into her phone, she turned her attention back on the girls. “I'm just peachy!” She practically squealed. “Let's go celebrate with some ice cream while we wait for your matches to get notified.”

Chapter Text

“You have just received a 90% match. Please report to your nearest LUFF facility for more information.” Gale sat and reread the text one more time, processing the news in front of him. 

A 90% was phenomenal, unthinkable even for someone coming from a household where his parents had a measly 30%. Granted, they had chosen that path, having fallen in love before ever receiving their LUFF scores. They decided to stay together and tough it out, system be damned. With a 90% match, Gale could easily feed his mother and three siblings, get out of the mines… On some level he wanted that match to be Katniss, knew it had to be her, but he did his best to not get his hopes up. So imagine his shock and distaste when he had reported to LUFF only to find out his 90% match was Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter. 

As if he hadn't already had enough of her flaunting her family wealth after selling her strawberries for years. A match with Bristel would have been better than this, and Bristel felt more like his cousin than anything. At least she had some personality to her other than “Hi I'm the mayor's daughter. I'm super rich and play the piano, but that's about all the substance you'll get from me you peasant.”

Out of curiosity, he asked to see his other recent scores too, the highest being in the mid 60s, he found Katniss near the bottom of the list at 25%. Fantastic.

Sighing in frustration, he made his way out of the Justice Building towards town. This was not what he needed after a 12 hour shift in the mines. Maybe he could catch Thom finishing his shift in the shoe shop, he practically owned it after matching with Delly. 

He was surprised when, on his way there, he spotted Thom outside the bakery. He wasn't alone, of course Delly was with him, but he was also joined by Katniss, Mellark, and the current subject of Gale's frustration.

“So, we'll meet up again and talk more on Sunday?” Peeta asked, passing a couple loaves of bread to Katniss as she stood there red in the face.

“I'd like that.” She said with a nod. 

Delly had a smug smile on her face while she leaned into Thom's arms. Thom tried to look annoyed at her, but seemed at least decently happy for Katniss and Peeta.

As Peeta headed back into the bakery, the other four started walking in the direction of the shoe shop as Gale caught up to them.

“Hey, what's the bread for Catnip? Splurging doesn't seem like you.” He noticed as he spoke, the girls seemed to tense up. Madge in particular looked down at her shoes. Of course she couldn't be bothered to look him in the eye.

“They were…a gift.” Katniss began. “Peeta and I are…” she started, but she didn't have to finish. He understood. 

“Oh. Wow that's…wow. How high?” When he heard it was a 97% he felt his stomach drop. So not only was he stuck with Madge Undersee as his highest potential match, he couldn't even begin to compare to Katniss’. “Are you…going to make it official?” He did his best to fight the scowl forming on his face.

Katniss shook her head. “Not yet. We're going to meet up a few times, see if there's something there.”

Any bit of relief he felt was immediately squashed by annoyance when Madge spoke next. “Have you…gotten any new notifications from LUFF?”

Gale really had no desire to have this talk right now, there was a lot to unpack and dealing with Madge Undersee as his match was something he wasn't remotely ready for. “No Undersee, I've been working my ass off at the mine all day.”

She looked like she wanted to say something before thinking better of it and backing off. She gave a polite nod and suddenly took up interest in how her fingers locked together.

The conversation quickly died off after that and the five of them went their separate ways back to their homes. Gale would deal with the Undersee problem another time, today was not that day.

As it turned out, not only was Tuesday not that day, but neither were Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. It was selfish, especially considering that a 90% match could put food on the table for his family, but Gale just wasn't ready to deal with the idea of matching with Madge Undersee of all people. 

She had given him space on Wednesday, but Thursday and Friday it seemed like she was everywhere when he wasn't inside the mines. Hell even inside the mines she was tormenting him, apparently she'd come with Katniss on Friday to deliver the game she had managed to scrounge up. Not only that, but she had asked his mother if she had heard anything about Gale having a new match at LUFF. Apparently she'd left looking deflated, almost distraught. She knew they were matched, she knew he knew they were matched, and now she was probably certain he was avoiding her.

Ma had asked if he knew why the mayor's daughter was suddenly concerned with his LUFF life so to speak, but didn't pry when he said he had no idea. She did give him a look that told him she knew he was lying though. It was only a matter of time before the jig was up. 

So on Saturday night when Thom had asked him to meet for beers after Gale's shift at the mine ended, of course Madge was the topic of conversation.

“It has to be a mistake, Thom. I mean, we have nothing in common! How do I have a 90% with Undersee?” He asked bitterly.

“Don't be so dramatic Gale. The least you could do is try to get to know her before turning it down. Madge is actually pretty cool.” Thom insisted. “Besides, it's not like you can afford to turn down a free 90%.”

Gale groaned, Thom was right, he really couldn't afford to lose that 90%. In any other situation, Gale would have sucked it up and done what was best for his family, even if it wasn't Katniss he was matched with. But something about his match being Madge just…turned his stomach in uncomfortable ways.

“Speaking of, isn't that your mistake of a match breaking into the old sweet shop right now?” Gale followed Thom's line of sight to the back corner window of the old boarded up building that used to be the district's sweet shop. 

The window was hidden well enough from the main road that anyone passing by wouldn't notice what was going on, but from where Thom and Gale were seated, they could just barely make out Madge prying an edge of the wooden board covering the window out of the way. After giving the surrounding area a once over, she turned back to the window and tossed her bag into the space she'd made between the board and the building. Quickly afterwards she squeezed her own way through, the board going back into place as if untouched as soon as she disappeared inside.

“So much for having nothing in common. You guys are both petty criminals.” Thom snorted.

“I'm not a criminal.” Gale argued.

Thom held up his hands and pretended like they were a scale. “Let's see, on the one hand we have illegal hunting and gathering, on the other hand we have breaking and entering into an abandoned building marked with no trespassing signs. Yeah, I'd say you're both petty criminals.”

Gale rolled his eyes before putting his attention back on the building she'd disappeared into. What could she possibly want with the old sweet shop?

“Listen, Gale, just talk to Madge. Actually make an effort to try to get to know her? Don't screw up your 90% match before your family even has a chance to reap the benefits.” Thom was right, tomorrow Gale would at least give it a shot…

Sunday morning Gale rose and headed to the woods to check the snares. Katniss reminded him he'd have to do that on his own today as she had her first meeting with Mellark. The thought irritated him, made him sick actually, but he couldn't blame her for wanting to actually see how things went with a 97% match. Mellark would be able to provide a lot more for Katniss and her family than he ever could, and it wasn't like he didn't have a match in the 90s of his own to think about.

He stopped at the strawberry patch and picked the nicest looking berries he could find. He knew Madge wasn't picky and she always overpaid for whatever they brought her, but these berries weren't for selling, they were a gift. Something to at least try to make up for the days of avoiding her.

When he got to the mayor's house, he heard the sound of piano music coming through one of the open windows, so he knew for sure she was home. He would never admit it outloud, but he always enjoyed the sound of her playing piano. It was soothing really, sometimes he'd even delay a bit in leaving after a sale just to hear her start up again.

When he knocked on the door he heard the music come to an abrupt stop, followed by shuffling around inside the house. 

It was actually taking her a little longer to get to the door than usual. Just when he was considering knocking again, the door opened a fraction of the way and Madge appeared with coins in hand. “I…didn't realize you'd be coming today…without Katniss.”

Gale shrugged, “Couldn't exactly leave you without your weekly strawberries could I?” When his attempt at a joke was met with awkward silence, he cleared his throat and spoke again. “Can I come in?”

She looked perplexed by his question. He'd been selling strawberries at her back door for around 6 years and never once had he asked to come inside, nor had he ever taken her up on it when she offered. “Um…sure, if that's what you want…” she took a step back, opening the door wider for him to enter.

While Madge shut the door, Gale set his game bag on the floor and pulled out the container of strawberries. As she tried to hand him the coins, he waved her off, confusing her more.

“These are a gift this time…” He partially mumbled.

“A…gift?” 

“Yeah, I…I got my updated LUFF results.” He watched her eyes grow wide momentarily, but then she seemed to relax.

“Do you want to…sit down?” She asked, making her way towards the kitchen table and taking a seat herself.

He wanted to argue, being inside the mayor's house on its own was pretty uncomfortable, but he thought about Thom telling him to give Madge a chance and reasoned that it could start off like this, by taking a seat at her kitchen table after it was offered.

Madge had placed herself at the head of the table, Gale took the spot closest to it, placing the container of strawberries on the table between them. They sat in silence for a few moments before Gale spoke up. “So…90%...” when Madge nodded, he continued. “What do you want to do about that?”

Without a moment's hesitation she answered “We don't have to finalize a match right away, but I thought we could try getting to know each other like Katniss and Peeta are? See if it's worth pursuing?”

Gale nodded, it would go without saying that Madge wouldn't want to tie herself to some poor, 30% born low life like him immediately. Of course there would be hoops to jump through. “That makes sense.”

Feeling encouraged, she smiled and continued. “I was thinking, as long as you let it be known that you're at least courting a high match, LUFF lets you get some use out of the percentage of the match as a sort of trial run. Maybe you can use that to get a job outside the mines, something that pays more?”

Right, because why would Madge want to be seen with someone constantly covered in coal dust? And clearly he'd need to make more money if he stood a chance of upholding the kind of lifestyle she was used to. He gave a tight smile and nodded. “Yeah, that also makes sense.”

Completely oblivious to the thoughts running through Gale's head, Madge seemed to relax even more. “Oh good, that's a relief.” She turned and rested her hand near his. “You know I'm glad you came and talked to me today, I was starting to worry you were avoiding me.”

He couldn't help but frown in response. “I was avoiding you.”

A pained expression covered her face as she took that information in. “O-oh…I see…”

Now Gale was frustrated, he felt bad that the truth hurt, but at the same time it's not like she was entirely innocent. “Can you blame me? The second I come over to talk to you about our match you immediately tell me I need a new job and to make more money. You need time to decide if you even want to be seen in public with me!”

“What?” She looks completely lost as she tries to piece together what she's hearing. “I suggested a new job because the mines are a death trap and I know you work there to provide for your family!”

Seeing he doesn't even believe her, Madge scrubs a hand through her hair and stares at him bewildered. “And excuse me for wanting to take things slow with someone who clearly doesn't even like me let alone want to match with me.”

He rolls his eyes, “Please, like you ever had an interest in matching with someone like me to begin with. We all know the mayor's daughter is destined for things greater than I could ever provide you.” He stands and goes to collect his bag. “I'm sure the second LUFF offered you a higher match, you'd have dropped me and gone running anyways.”

He slams the door behind himself on the way out, thinking for a second that maybe he should go back in and apologize. Instead he heads back towards the Seam, to handle selling the rest of the game in his bag.

Chapter Text

“You're an idiot, y'know that?” Thom says more than asks.

It's Tuesday night, Gale and Thom have met up for drinks again after Gale's shift at the mines. 

Gale had spent the rest of Sunday with his siblings, trying to keep his mind off of the entire Madge confrontation and the fact that Katniss had apparently stretched her planned short meeting with Mellark into a full day date. Monday had passed by as well, entirely uneventful. He'd been avoiding Madge, but managed to catch her sneaking into the sweet shop window both nights. She was totally unaware he knew her secret though.

“How do you figure?” He grumbled in response. Sure, there was no way he was getting out of the mines anytime soon at this rate, but with any luck, a different decently high match would come along.

“You know Madge doesn't even need the money? She doesn't need this match.” Thom continued. “Dell took her back to LUFF yesterday to see if she had any other decent matches. Madge has a ton in the high 80s.”

“Lucky her.” Gale quipped.

“Yeah but she's not gonna take em.” 

Gale quirked an eyebrow at that, confused. “Why?”

Thom shrugged. “Not sure, she told Delly she wanted to see this one out first for some reason.”

As Thom launched into another speech about how Madge is actually cool and he's not just saying that because he's matched with one of her best friends, Gale caught sight of Madge squeezing her way through the sweet shop window again.

“Okay, what the hell is she doing?” He grumbled, standing up and making his way for the shop.

“Not a clue, even I told her you're not worth the headache. No offense.” When Thom looked up and realized Gale had left him alone to go investigate the sweet shop, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “Yeah no, that’s fine Gale. I’ll handle the tab. When petty crimes call, you gotta answer.”

When he reached the window Madge had been using to enter the shop, he stopped and took a look around to make sure no one was watching. Sure enough, no one seemed interested in the building that had sat boarded up for at least 20 years, so Gale pried the board away from the window just enough and slid in through the opening like Madge had. 

It was dark inside the abandoned building, but Gale quickly turned the flashlight on on his phone to get a good look around. The window in the back seemed to have been connected to an old preparation kitchen. Equipment was at least 30 years old if not older. While the shop had closed sometime after he was born, according to his parents, they clearly weren’t working with the newest appliances at the time. The back room was covered in dust and cobwebs, which was to be expected, but there was no sign of Madge. 

Making his way through the prep room door, he entered the main area of the shop, empty display cases were at the center of the room, there were also a few small tables with some busted up chairs around them. Still no sign of Madge, but this time he heard what sounded like a woman’s voice coming from somewhere. After searching a bit, he found another door that led to a staircase. The voice he heard earlier was still muffled, but a little clearer now. It definitely sounded like Madge. 

Slowly, he made his way up the stairs. He didn’t have to try too hard to stay quiet after all of those years of hunting, but even so he treaded carefully as he tried to pick up on what she was saying. It sounded like she was talking to someone, but he never heard a second voice. Was she on the phone? If so, why would she break into an abandoned store just to have a private phone call?

Different reasons for taking a call in the boarded up shop came to mind, one that stuck out was the possibility she was on the phone with one of her father’s Capitol connections possibly trying to bribe her way to different LUFF results? It was only a rumor, but some say that in the Capitol if high ranking families had children who only managed to get low LUFF scores, they could bribe their way to a higher score. Maybe Madge was trying to get a higher score than the one she had with him?

As he reached the top of the stairs, he entered the extremely dusty living room and kitchen combo of the living area above the shop. It was such a waste that the district had never assigned this living space to a new family after whatever happened to the previous one who lived here. Maybe the denizens of District 12 didn’t really need a sweet shop, but having another place of business open and another place for someone to live didn’t necessarily hurt anyone. Seeing that an entire home had just been boarded up instead of being given to someone else was frustrating, it was so wasteful. 

Past the kitchen, Gale caught some light peeking out from under one of the bedroom doors. He could hear Madge more clearly now too. “You’re so lucky you never had to deal with having a match, Aunt May, it’s the worst.” She groaned. “Sure it’s not all bad, Delly did well enough for herself. Katniss’ first date with her match even came with a love confession.” 

Aunt May? Gale had never heard of Madge having an aunt, and how would she have managed to survive without ever having a match?

“I’m pretty sure my highest potential match hates me.” She continued. “And, I could deal with that, really I could, if he wasn’t-”

Gale messed up, in his effort to lean in closer to hear better, he stepped on a squeaky floorboard. In the woods, if something like this happened, the prey would get away and he would have to work harder for dinner tonight. However, this was not the woods, this was an abandoned building that most people didn’t look twice at passing by. If Madge decided she wanted to kill him here, she probably could and Thom wouldn’t rat her out. 

“Is someone there?” No shit. She sounded nervous and a beat of silence passed before Madge spoke again. “Well…I guess this is how I die…” Before Gale had any time to react, the bedroom door swung open to reveal Madge on the other side holding an old wooden baseball bat. The two of them stared at each other for a second before she let out a sigh of relief. “Oh good, it’s just you.” 

Before Gale had a chance to respond, the relief on her face was washed away with a scowl as she rested the bat over her shoulders, causing her tank top to skew. Her messy ponytail cascaded over it. “What are you doing here anyways?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” He replied dumbly, trying not to look at how her shorts showed off her legs. 

Madge gave him a once over before turning and walking back into the room. She tossed the bat to the side and settled herself back against the headboard of one of the twin beds. The room was illuminated with a couple lanterns, and from what Gale could see it had clearly been a girl’s room. Two girls really if the matching beds and desks were any indication. The walls had a few dusty old picture frames with pictures of a set of twin blonde girls, they both had a remarkably similar appearance to Madge. 

As Gale inspected the pictures Madge spoke up. “You know I didn’t invite you in.” 

“That’s pretty bold to say for someone whose breaking and entering Undersee.” He said as he made his way to sit on the other twin bed. 

“Speak for yourself, this is my mom’s house.” She said dryly. When he looked confused she continued. “My grandparents owned this place, they’ve passed, my Aunt is also dead, legally this is my mom’s property.”

“If this is your mom’s property, why is it boarded up?” Gale asked in confusion.

“Mom says there’s too many ghosts here.” She shrugged. “I come here to “vent to Aunt Maysilee” when I need to. Mom and Dad don’t exactly have the most time on their hands. Not that it’s any of your business.” Narrowing her eyes, she spoke again. “How much of that conversation did you hear?” 

Gale shrugged. “Not much, enough to gather your aunt died before she registered with LUFF.” 

Madge continued to stare him down, unsure if she believed him, but let it go when he didn’t start to fidget under her gaze. “She passed when she was 16.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” He offered awkwardly, debating if it was worth bringing up the death of his own father.

Madge shrugged. “I used to not care, I mean I never really knew her. But y’know-” She paused as she sucked in a breath. “There are only so many times I can handle my mother calling me Maysilee or Haymitch calling me Sis before I just need to tear at my own hair.” She let out a long sigh as she twirled some of her hair between her fingertips. “I feel bad for letting it get to me, I wish I could do something to help, but I didn’t ask to be a spitting image of her.”

Gale could certainly relate to that. Once, when his mother was so sick he was caring for her and all his siblings alone, she'd accidentally mistaken him for his father. Rory had once confided in him that he could no longer recall their father's voice, Gale's having washed it away from his mind. At times when Vick accidentally called him dad, he wanted to cry. It certainly wasn't hard to imagine why such a thing was grating on Madge.

A beat of silence passed before Madge spoke up again, and when she did there was an edge in her voice. “So we’ve covered why I’m allowed to be here. I ask again, why are you here?” 

He opened his mouth to respond then closed it again. Somehow ‘I've watched you break into this building for four days in a row, and I finally got curious enough to follow you’ didn't sound like the best way to phrase it. Even if it was true. “You aren't the most subtle when coming in here.”

She frowned, “So now you're interested in who I am as a person.” Before he could argue, she continued. “You haven't exactly been very fair to me Gale. I don't know what I did to make you hate me so much, but I like to think I'm not as awful as you think I am.”

He didn't like to admit it, but she was right. Clearly something out there thought they would be good together, otherwise there was no way they would have matched at a 90% through the system. 

“You're right, I've been an ass. I completely understand if you have no desire to match with me at this point.” He paused to take a look at her, she was eyeing him warily. “Do you think you'd still be willing to try to get to know each other even if that's off the table?”

Madge shifted uncomfortably in her spot, the sour look on her face faltered. “It's not exactly off the table…” she mumbled. She twirled the end of her ponytail around her finger before looking back at him, “I just want you to give this an honest shot.”

Gale nodded, “I will, I swear.”

Madge seemed satisfied with his response and relaxed a bit as a result. “Well then…welcome to my secret lair.” She waved her arm as if she were a model on a Capitol game show.

He snorted, “Doesn't it get hot in here?”

“Sweltering.” She said with a nod. “That's why I never sleep in here during the summer and I only come by after sunset.”

“Do you sleep here in the other seasons?” 

Madge shrugged, “Sometimes in Spring or Fall if I need to be alone. Can't really do it in Winter, else I'll freeze. Electricity is shut off here since no one lives here.”

“I can't imagine you sleeping in an abandoned building multiple times, let alone once. When was the last time any of these blankets were washed?” He smirked.

“I try to wash them a couple times a month, but it can be hard to sneak them out through the window. Not to mention we have the housekeeper who questions when I try to do my own laundry so…”

He ponders that for a bit before saying, “Ma gets by doing laundry for people in the Seam. She could do it for you, no questions asked. For a fee.”

She nods, “I think I'll take you up on that offer next time they need to be done.”

Wednesday afternoon Madge found herself sitting on the floor of Delly's bedroom with Delly and Katniss. Delly was on her lunch break, Katniss had finished selling her catches from the day, and truth be told even though Madge had finished giving piano lessons for the day, she'd rather be somewhere outside of her own home.

“How are things going with Peeta?” The smug smile on Delly's face said she already knew the answer, but she just couldn't resist poking at Katniss. The deep blush on her face said enough as well, but the girls still waited for her response. 

“Things are nice.” She said evenly. “We’ve met up a couple times and it's just so…easy. It feels right.” 

As much as Madge was sure Delly was considering asking if Katniss and Peeta were going to officially match up, she knew their friend wouldn’t dare ask. Relationships in Panem moved fast enough with the way the LUFF system worked, for those below the poverty line they tended to move even faster. Drawing attention to that right now was as good as putting a screwdriver in an electrical outlet. 

“What about you Madge? Have you put any thought into what we talked about Monday?” Katniss looked between the two girls questioningly. With Katniss being Gale’s best friend, Madge hadn’t really kept her up to date on their issues. It felt awkward, almost like crossing a line. 

Madge shook her head. “Gale and I actually talked last night and came to an understanding. We’re going to try getting to know each other a bit better.”

“Was something going on with Gale before?” The concern apparent in Katniss’ voice.

“You mean like Gale being a massive d-” Delly cut herself off before she could finish the sentence. 

Katniss groaned. “If you need me to set him straight I can. Somehow I always knew he’d be weird about it if his match was from town.”

Madge shook her head again, “Really, it’s fine. I knew there would be…growing pains with this, so to speak.”

It was nothing she couldn’t handle, at least that was what she told herself. At least with Gale she knew what the issues were. He was certainly still processing that his match wasn’t Katniss, he disliked Madge due to misconceptions about who she was as a person, surely there was a deep seeded inferiority complex due to growing up in a low income home from a 30% match in a society that placed emphasis on your match percentage vs how much you actually liked the other person. She could work with that. 

All of her other matches had unknown problems. She’d rather work with what she knew than match with someone else only to potentially discover something much worse further down the line. At least, that was what she told herself. It certainly had nothing to do with how attractive she found him or the strange need for his approval she'd been pushing down for years.

No, nothing like that. She knew what to expect from Gale, that was all. He was safe.

Chapter Text

Slowly, awkwardly at first, they tried to make time for each other in their daily schedules. With Gale working the mines most days, this meant they really only saw each other in the evenings, unless it was a Sunday. 

Madge would continue to invite him in after their trades, sometimes Katniss would stay, other times it would be just the two of them. If they ran out of things to talk about, Madge would elect to play the piano while he sat and listened.

“Would you like to try?” She had offered one day. “I could teach you.”

“I was never the best student.” He replied. 

She pursed her lips, “It's really simple, I promise. At least come sit?”

He hesitated for a moment before joining her on the bench. He was surprised to see worn writing on the keys, identifying the notes they represented. “Surprised you wrote on your piano Undersee.”

She shook her head with a fond smile. “I didn't, that was Mr. Everdeen.” Catching the puzzled look on his face, she clarified. “He taught me how to play.” Her smile brightened as she thought back.

“Daisy, Daisy

Give me your answer, do!

I’m half crazy,

All for the love of you.”

Katniss sang as she sat by while Mr. Everdeen and Madge keyed away at the piano. There wasn’t much to do during Madge’s weekly piano lessons. Her options were to sit with her mother and Mrs. Undersee as they caught up or sit in the living room with Madge and her father. At least her singing along brought a smile to the other two.

“It won’t be a stylish marriage,

I can’t afford a carriage,

But you’ll look sweet, upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two…”

“Wonderful singing as always sweetpea.” Burdock called out. Turning his attention to Madge he smiled. “And you’re doing well yourself Madge, keep this up and you won’t even need a partner to play this song with.” Seeing Madge beaming back at him, he continued. “You know, this song is how I convinced Mrs. Everdeen to marry me.” 

Katniss scrunched her nose up in response. “But her name isn’t even Daisy.”

Burdock let out a hearty laugh in response, “It’s not about the name in the song, it’s about the message.” A little more serious, he continued. “Even if your LUFF score is low, the financial troubles that come along with it can only keep you down so far. The only thing that truly matters is the love you can offer each other.” 

She was pulled from the memory when he asked, “What are you humming?” 

She shook her head, “Just a song he taught me. Would you like me to show you?” At his nod she began to play, holding the memory close to her heart as she did.

Gale noticed as time went on that Madge dressed differently depending on where she was. At her parents home she was in pristine dresses, hair mostly down with a ribbon tied in, the vision of the perfect mayor's daughter. Outdoors or in the evenings at the sweet shop though it was tank tops or loose fitting tees, shorts so short it made her legs look like they went on for miles, and a messy ponytail to boot. 

They were both Madge, she was the same snarky yet kind girl underneath, yet they looked so different. He wasn't sure which he liked better.

“She's really not so bad, pretty cool even.” He said as he turned the glass in his hand. 

“Really? If only someone had tried to tell you that sooner.” Thom said with a smirk.

Gale flipped him off without looking away from his current focus. Just outside, Madge was speaking animatedly with Delly as Katniss and Peeta sat close by as well. “Piss off.”

“You like her. Admit it.” Thom continued.

“She plays piano well and makes for great conversation.” Gale said, taking a sip. “It's not surprising we scored so high together. That's all.”

Thom poked his friend in the shoulder. “You have never been one for conversation.”

Gale said nothing, frowning as another town boy joined the group outside. He seemed to be speaking specifically to Madge. 

It wasn't like Gale was jealous, he had no right to be. They had yet to make their match official and Madge could call things off at any time. Still, his gaze hardened as he watched the blonde saying something to make her laugh, actually laugh, not one of the polite laughs she gave when moving a conversation along.

He pushed out his chair, ready to go confront the boy, when Madge simply waved him off and turned for the building and headed inside. The blonde stuck around for a little while, but Gale lost interest in his actions when he laid eyes on Madge.

She sighed, taking a seat on the other side of Gale. “Men can be so pushy.”

“So I've heard.” He said, a confused smile on his face. “Who was that anyways?”

She shrugged, eyes focused on checking for dirt under her fingernails. “Jasper Ashcroft, had a class or two with him in school. I guess I scored rather high with him and he was asking about getting to know each other better.”

“Oh?” Thom asked, leaning in. Amusement dancing in his eyes. “And what did you tell him?”

She looked at him with a wry smile before continuing. “I told him I was in the middle of something with another match who I had a good feeling about.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Then he began in on the ‘but we could be so good together.’, ‘just try one date.’, ‘I promise I'd be excellent to bring home to the mayor.’ and I had to get out of there.”

Gale grunted in response, Thom snorted. “Tsk, tsk Undersee, such a heartbreaker. However did Gale get so lucky?”

Now Madge snorted, waving Thom off as she did. “Please I'm the lucky one. I mean, he's such a great conversationalist.”

Gale rolled his eyes, “I prefer to listen.”

She turned and smiled at him sincerely. “I know, I'm just teasing.” After a beat she leaned in and whispered, “Fancy a trip to the sweet shop?”

Silently he nodded, finishing the rest of his drink in one gulp, then standing from his chair. “I'll talk to you later Thom, I have to-”

Thom rolled his eyes and smiled fondly. “Petty crimes, I get it.”

At the sweet shop, Madge elected to review what the best sheet music would be for some of her upcoming lessons. She sprawled out on one of the twin beds, her feet in the air behind her as she tapped out whatever song she was looking at right now. 

Gale sat on the floor between the beds looking up at her. “Wouldn’t that be easier to do at your parents house with the piano?”

She shook her head. “My mom’s migraines mean I can usually only play the piano between certain hours of the day. I figure if I’m going to be tapping out the tune on a bed anyways, it might as well be somewhere I can do it uninterrupted.”

He nodded absently, his mind seemed to be elsewhere though. “You didn't mention my name.”

“Hm?” She hadn't quite heard what he asked.

“When you were trying to chase off Ashcroft, you told him you had a match, but you didn't tell him who.”

This time she turned to look at him, perplexed. “I wasn't sure if you were okay with me announcing to a random townie that you were my match.”

“Our friends know.”

Madge nodded, “They do, we agreed that they should.” With a smirk she added, “Not that we really had a say in the matter.”

When Gale doesn't respond, she sighs. “I just wanted to give you the choice of other people knowing before I announced you were my match to someone as judgemental as Jasper.”

His frown deepened. “Are you embarrassed?”

She scoffed. “Of course not, if I was embarrassed to have you as my match I'd hardly even consider getting to know you like this.”

“But you said-”

“Jasper is a self important ass, and I'd really rather not have to stand there and listen to another one of his rants about the Seam. It'd be quite unbecoming of the mayor's daughter to be seen punching a man square in the jaw in the middle of town.” With a sigh she added, “Honestly I'm surprised he behaved himself so well in front of Katniss today.”

A chuckle escaped Gale's lips. “I'd pay to see you punch someone.”

She smiled brightly in response, “Then next time I'll be sure to announce you as my match from the rooftops.”

Chapter Text

Gale and Madge continued to meet at the sweet shop in the evenings, but after taking in his words on her lack of subtlety when entering the building; Madge decided it might be safer to go less often. While she could prove the shop belonged to her family, she'd rather not have to deal with the Peacekeepers or risk her parents finding out where she was choosing to spend her time in the evenings.  

The sweet shop seemed to be their favorite place to meet up though. It was quiet and secluded from the prying eyes of their friends or strangers. It was the one place they seemed able to truly be themselves.

One day without much prompting, she asked, “Gale, what’s it like having three siblings?”

After taking a bit to consider his response, he said, “It’s a lot, sometimes they’re a massive pain, but other times they’re the sweetest angels. Posy is more of an angel than Rory and Vick though.” He chuckled. “Rory’s a little shit, doesn’t listen to a thing I say, and at 14 his hormones are raging so some of things that come out of his mouth? Even I want to wash his mouth out with soap.” 

He turned to her with a smirk, “He’s got the biggest crush on Prim right now, says he hopes when he’s 18 they get matched through LUFF. Ma reminds him he doesn’t have to marry someone with a high score and if she loves him, they can make it work… But I think he’s very aware of just why it is we’re so poor.” 

Madge nodded with a smile, “What about Vick?” 

“Vick’s a genius, smarter than the rest of us. Also somehow got the worst vision out of everyone in the family, for his 10th birthday a couple years ago, Ma and I saved up all our money for months just to be able to buy him a pair of glasses.” He shook his head, a fond smile on his face. “You should’ve seen the look on his face.” With a sigh he adds, “And then there’s Posy…”

She hummed in response. “How old is she now? Six?” 

He nodded, “She’s growing fast. I feel like just yesterday she was still a baby. Me carrying her around in the early hours, rocking her to get her back to sleep so Ma could rest…” His eyes seemed to light up as he spoke. “She’s really into horses now, keeps checking out the same horse book from the library and talking about the different breeds.”

“I think every girl goes through a horse phase at that age.” Madge giggled, “I know I certainly did.” 

“Seems to go hand in hand with the princess phase.” With a smirk he continued. “Sometimes they don't grow out of the princess phase though. Wouldn't you agree?”

In response, Madge stuck out her tongue and blew raspberries at him. “Ah yes, very mature Miss Undersee.” He chuckled.

A comfortable silence passed between them as Madge thought about his response. “I always wanted a sibling, I think I'd be a pretty damn good one too.”

Once after a long day in the mines, Gale dramatically flopped onto one of the twin beds. “Keep doing that without washing the coal dust off first Hawthorne and I’m going to need to see your mom about getting these sheets cleaned sooner rather than later.” She huffed.

“Maybe that’s my plan.” He said with a smirk. “Generate business for Ma and all.” 

“Brilliant, just dirty up every bed in town while you’re at it.” She said, hands on her hips as she stood over him.

“Well there’s at least three here so that seems like a decent place to start.” He said waggling his eyebrows. She scoffed as she turned to walk away. 

She was not expecting Gale to grab her round the waist while her back was turned, pulling her onto the bed with him. “Gale!” She squealed. “Let me go!”

“No…no I don't think I will.” He said almost thoughtfully. “You'll have to fight for your freedom!”

Feeling playful, he decided to try tickling her and was pleased to discover that Madge Undersee was exceptionally ticklish. She did her best to kick and fumble her way out of his arms while he continued his assault on her waist. 

“This is so unfair!” She shrieked between fits of laughter. 

“Weren't you just asking what it was like to have siblings the other day? This is a pretty good taste of it.” He smirked.

All their wrestling ended with Madge pinned to the bed as Gale lay over her, both panting for breath.

It took a moment for the look of the situation to catch up with them. When his eyes drifted from hers and down to her lips, he realized what a compromising position they were in.

Taking one final breath, he cleared his throat before sitting up, just missing her smile fall as he did. “Sorry for er-the coal dust on your clothes.”

She looked down at her dirtied shirt as she too sat up. “It's fine, nothing a good wash won't fix.” She nudged her shoulder into his, giving him a smile.

Sometimes when he'd meet up with her, he'd be dead tired from the mines. Madge said he could feel free to nap while he was there, “sleeping habits are an important part of a relationship after all.”

Originally he had said no, insisting it would be rude wasting their time getting to know each other by sleeping. But one early evening while Madge went over some sheet music, humming the tune to herself as she did, he couldn't help but drift off.

He woke up nearly an hour later to the sound of Madge giggling. “You know you talk in your sleep, Gale?” She asked with a bright smile.

He groaned, “I do now… What was I saying?”

She struggled to stop giggling, holding a hand to her mouth. “Nothing, nothing important. Don't worry about it!” She said between gasps. “Next time I'll be sure to bring the stuff.” She mumbled, breaking into another fit of laughter.

One day he'd catch her sleeping to see what kinds of sounds she made. That would serve her… He shook his head, trying to shake the indecent accompanying thoughts from his mind.

Things were going well for them, so well. It was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped, Gale was certain. And he wasn't necessarily wrong. For all of the good time they spent together, there was one looming shadow over their growing relationship. 

“If your Mom owns the place, don't you have a key? Why not just use that to get in?” He had asked one evening. 

Madge was eyeing him warily as he insisted on leaning the desk chair back on its hind legs. She had already warned him once that that particular action might not be wise, but Gale was stubborn as he was handsome. 

“I have no idea where the key is to be honest. I know she used to keep it in her jewelry box but it's not there anymore.” Deciding to broach the subject of the mines again, she eased in. “Have you thought about what you’d want to do for a job if you weren’t working in the mines?”

He shrugged, “I could always see about getting a job at the shoe shop with Thom and Delly. Her parents don’t really work there much anymore so I know they technically have an opening. What about you? I know piano lessons is more or less a side gig to work without interference from the system. Think you’d try to work at the Justice building with your dad?” 

She scrunched up her nose in distaste, a decidedly cute reaction. “I’m sure my parents would love that. Though I think I’d rather work on getting this place back up and running. The district could use a little more joy.” Sighing she continued, “I’d need to be matched and potentially married for that to be an option though. There’s no way I’d be allowed to do any of it without that.”

Gale hummed in response, he seemed to be thinking about something. “Your parents are pretty protective aren’t they?”

“Mostly my mom,” She shrugged. “She’s always been like this as far as I can tell, but Mrs. Everdeen and Haymitch insist it was my aunt’s death that made her…how she is.” She said, gesturing vaguely. 

“How did she take hearing that your highest potential match is a poor coal miner?” 

Not answering, she looked at him pointedly. “How did your mom take hearing that your highest potential match is the mayor’s daughter?”

A silence fell between them, broken only by Gale clearing his throat. “You still haven’t told your family, have you?” She asked.

“Could ask you the same thing” 

The silence that followed was deafening. 

Chapter Text

Sunday morning came round again and this found Katniss and Gale meeting up in the woods for their usual round of hunting. As Katniss checked one of the snares, Gale cleared his throat. “So, how are things going with Mellark?” 

He saw the blush creep across her face and the small smile appear on her lips, he didn’t even need to hear her answer to know she was a goner. “Wow Catnip, you’ve known him for what? A month? Two? And you’re already ready to match with him?” He meant it as a joke but it came out sounding just a little bitter.

“I’ve known him longer than two months, Gale.” She said with a frown. “In case you forgot, we both went to school with him.” 

He rolled his eyes, thinking he’d also gone to school with Madge and clearly he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. Hell, even after getting to know each other better she still couldn't bring herself to tell her parents about their high score. “You ever think the whole LUFF system is bullshit?” 

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. “Probably. I mean I’ve heard you say more than once it’s essentially a breeding program put in place by the Capitol to keep the districts in line.”

He could sense there was a but, there was always a but. “But?”

“But, it could be much worse.” She said with a frown. “I could think of much worse punishments than being tied to Peeta Mellark for the rest of my life, and you could do much worse than Madge.”

Gale grumbled and ran a hand through his hair. Madge could also do a hell of a lot better than him, it was really only a matter of time until she realized that. “What if we just…ran away from it all?”

“And go where?” She looked at him, arching an eyebrow. “What about our families? 

“We could live in the woods, survive off the land. Between the two of us we could definitely do it, and our families could come too.”

Her frown deepened, he was serious. “And what about our matches? What about Madge and Peeta?” 

He waved her off, “They’ll find other matches. Thom said Madge has a few in the high 80s, so I know she’ll be fine.”

Katniss stood up, crossing her arms as she stared at him. “Gale, I have no intention of leaving Peeta behind. I might not…we might not be officially matched yet, but he’s a good guy and I have no intention of breaking his heart. If you have no interest in matching with Madge, that’s between you and her, but I won’t be running away with you and I won’t sit here and listen to you talk about her like she’s nothing.” She threw the dead possum from the snare into her game back and began to walk away. “I think it’d be best if I handled her strawberry delivery myself today.” 

Madge was busy selecting what sheet music she would be going over with six year old Lily Elsington when she came over for today’s lesson when she heard a knock at her back door. She smiled to herself, that would be Katniss and Gale. While things had been awkward since their last meeting, to say the least, Madge was excited to see him. She’d taken the first step in making amends for their previous conversation and had told her parents about him being her highest potential match. 

At the time her mother had been lucid and really seemed to take the news well. Sure she had cried about her little girl growing up, but she couldn’t particularly care less about Gale’s status as a miner from the Seam. She commented airly how it was ‘just like Asterid and Burdock’, which Madge had taken as her mother approving. 

Her dad was a little harder to read, he seemed more pleased about the idea of Gale having a high match, meaning he was less likely to sneak past the fence into the woods to make a living. Ergo, less dangerous for Madge to date, not that that’s what they were doing just yet. They were still working on figuring out if this match was something worth solidifying. Still, she hoped this show of good faith would potentially cause Gale to consider telling his own family about their potential match, or at least his mother. 

Maybe even get him to seriously consider the possibility of making their match official. She quickly shook the thought from her head though, she didn't want to get ahead of herself. 

When she reached the door though, she was surprised to only be met with the face of Katniss. She was about to ask where Gale was when she noticed how frustrated Katniss seemed to be. “Is everything alright?”

While her face remained calm, Madge saw a storm raging inside her friend’s silver eyes. “I’m sorry.” Were the only words Katniss managed to get out. 

Madge stepped outside and closed the door behind her, leading Katniss over to the swing her family had in the back garden. She gestured for the other girl to sit and then joined her on the swing. 

After a few moments of silence, Katniss seemed to find her words again. “Gale asked me to run away with him.” She turned to look Madge directly in the eyes, “I told him no. I’m just…I’m sorry.” 

An eerie chill went down Madge’s spine as she took the information in. She knew Gale hadn’t been pleased about their match, knew that he had hoped for a match with Katniss, but she never…expected this. The reluctance to tell his family should have been enough for her to consider that a match with Gale would never work, hell the fact that he didn’t even seem to want to get to know her in the first place should have been enough. But she thought…after the effort, the visits to the sweet shop…

“It’s not your fault Katniss.” Madge soothed. “Really it’s not.” 

“I’m going to talk to Peeta about making our match official. I’m going to tell him what happened and assure him that I would never…” Katniss was spiraling, and who could blame her? Gale was her best friend, surely Katniss had never expected that he would do this. 

“I really appreciate you telling me.” Madge said, practically a whisper. “I don’t blame you for any of this, I’m sure Peeta won’t either.” 

Madge sat with Katniss until it was 10 minutes to her piano lesson. She made sure to pay Katniss for the berries, as well as the ones Gale had gifted prior. Katniss tried to fight her on the extra payment but Madge insisted until she relented.

There was a lot to think about, but Madge would have to stuff it away for later. Now wasn’t the time.

That night Madge set herself up in the old bedroom of the sweet shop. She figured if Gale hadn’t come to see her at her parents house, perhaps he would come here to offer up an explanation. The time ticking by told her another story though. 

She took the time in his absence to take another look around the room. She’d been coming here for a while, but she’d only ever looked over the pictures still hanging on the walls once or twice. One was of her mother, her aunt, and Mrs. Everdeen as teens. The three girls brightly smiling into the camera as her aunt Maysilee held it up for a selfie. 

Another picture was of aunt Maysilee, young Haymitch, his girlfriend Lenore Dove, his neighbor Louella or Lou Lou, and their other friend Wyatt Callow. She could tell it was her aunt by the sheer amount of necklaces she wore, and the bit of side eye Lenore Dove gave her. Lenore Dove got along better with her mother from what Haymitch had told her. 

Privately, Madge wondered why it seemed that Maysilee was the one who made friends while her mother simply tagged along due to being Maysilee’s twin. Mrs. Undersee was certainly friends with Mrs. Everdeen and Haymitch now, but through pictures of the past she could tell that the two of them had always been closer to her aunt. “Am I like that?” She wondered. “Am I simply someone others spend time with due to my proximity to Katniss?” 

While she and Katniss weren’t siblings, certainly not twins, they were close. They’d grown up together in a way, Asterid Everdeen would regularly check in on Merrilee Undersee to ensure her condition was as close to stable as possible, so she and Katniss had met young. Madge shook her head, Delly for certain liked both girls for their individual traits. If Madge had anyone aside from Katniss, she had Delly. 

The unmistakable sound of thunder pulled Madge from her thoughts. Moments later she heard heavy rainfall. Just to be sure, she checked through a hole in one of the window boards and saw it pouring outside. Fantastic. She would just have to stay in the sweet shop to wait out the rain. 

Chapter Text

After Katniss had left him in the woods, Gale had kicked at the ground and cursed. He hoped beyond hope that he hadn’t just messed up his best friendship. Sighing in frustration, he’d have to fix things up with Catnip later, he finished checking the snares and headed back towards the town. 

He wasn’t even sure why he had asked Katniss to run away with him. He knew Katniss well enough to know that even though she hadn’t outright said it, she had fallen for Mellark. There was no winning that fight, but somewhere deep down inside Gale had hoped there was still a chance she would choose him over Peeta. 

After selling what he could at the Hob, he thought about what to do next. He and Madge hadn’t really spoken since the awkward conversation where they both revealed they hadn’t told either of their families about the potential match. On some level his mother had to have known, after all Madge had shown up at his house asking if he had mentioned any new LUFF scores not too long ago. 

Something about telling his family made things feel all too real though. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Madge, he just still hadn't wrapped his head around the idea of sharing a life with her yet. Granted, he did like her from what he'd seen and learned so far, and he couldn’t deny that she was attractive, funny, whip-smart… But when he had spent his whole life thinking he would end up with one specific person, he hadn’t really considered any other options. Now he was left trying to figure out where he was going. 

Gale sighed, what he really needed was to sit down and unpack all the thoughts in his head. About Katniss, about Madge, about LUFF. He knew just the place to do that too. So the first chance he got, he headed to the meadow and he thought. 

5am the following morning as Gale was awake and getting ready for his shift in the mines, he was surprised to hear a frantic knocking on the front door. Confused as to why anyone would be knocking this early, just because he had to be awake didn’t mean his whole family needed to be, he quickly answered to see what the fuss was about. 

He certainly wasn’t expecting Katniss to be standing on his front step. More so, he wasn’t expecting the first words to come from her mouth to be “Have you heard from Madge?” 

He shook his head, “No, why would I have?” 

Katniss’ eyes seemed to darken at his question. She grabbed his wrist and firmly pulled him out the front door, closing it behind him. “Because, I told her about your offer in the woods yesterday-”

“You what?” He blurted. “Why would you do that?” 

“She has a right to know!” Katniss huffed. “She’s pretty damn intent on matching with you and she had the right to know that you weren’t all in.”

Gale scrubbed a hand through his hair as his stomach dropped. He had never considered the consequences of Madge hearing about his pointless offer, he wasn’t even sure he had meant it seriously. What would this do to all of the progress they had made? “Fuck.”

Katniss sighed, “That’s not even the worst of it. I came here because she didn’t come home last night.”

Gale turned back to her, eyes wide. “What do you mean she didn’t come home last night?” 

“I mean after she cleared out her piano lessons for the day she saw Delly, stopped by the bakery for a bit, and then nothing. Not a word. No one has seen or heard from her since.” She frowned. “Mr. Undersee is letting friends handle the search for now, but once it hits 24 hours he’s involving Peacekeepers. Peacekeepers are going to start by looking at her potential matches. So I ask again, have you heard from Madge?”

Wracking his brain for any idea as to where she might be, the sweet shop suddenly came to mind. “No, but I think I might know where to find her.” He said, pushing his way past Katniss.

Katniss jogged to catch up with him, “Could you at least tell me where you're going?”

He waved her off, “I think I need to talk to Madge alone. I'll take her back to her parents house after.”

Madge woke with a jump at the sound of Gale’s booming voice. “Christ Undersee, what happened to not sleeping here in the summer?” 

She blinked a couple times as her eyes focused. Gale Hawthorne was staring down at her with his arms crossed. His handsome face creased with concern. “...It’s September…” She said dazedly. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he inhaled deeply before speaking. “You know what I mean, it’s still hot as hell most days. Do you have any idea what time it is?” 

Feeling around blindly on the bed, it was dark and perhaps the batteries in her lanterns had gone out, Madge struggled to find her phone. When she finally found it and the screen lit up, she was surprised to see 5:24am glowing back at her. “I must have fallen asleep during the storm.” 

“Yeah no shit! You scared us all half to death.” He frowned. “Katniss looked terrified when she-”

“Katniss…” Madge mumbled, a pit formed in her stomach as she recalled what she’d been told yesterday. “You asked her to run away with you.”

He sighed, sitting himself down at the foot of her bed. “I made a mistake. I asked her how things were with Mellark and…I could tell she loves him. I don't even know if she realizes it, but she does. I just…I was hoping there was a chance she would still choose me over him.” Seeing the hurt on Madge's face he amended, “I don't even think I meant that in a romantic way I just…she's my best friend. I didn't want anything to change between us.”

Madge thought back to the talk she had had with Katniss the day they signed up at LUFF. How she had been worried their results would change their friendship, put distance between them or pull them apart. While Madge couldn't say she ever felt any jealousy over Peeta, she had certainly felt jealous when Gale walked into Katniss' life when they were 12 years old. She understood, to a degree, what he meant.

She let out a frustrated sigh. “That's a flimsy excuse, Gale. I can understand it to an extent, but it doesn't excuse any of this.” Chewing on her lip, Madge seemed to be debating what to say next. “Maybe we should just call it here…”

Gale felt something shatter inside him. “What? Why?”

She looked at him bewildered. “Why? Gale, you asked Katniss to run away with you! Why not?” Sitting up so her eyes were level with his, she continued. “We've been at the “getting to know each other” stage for two months Gale. I don't know how much time you need, but I like you at this point. This clearly isn't working for you.”

He scoffed, “This this isn't working for me? Last I checked I wasn't the only one that hadn't told my family about our match.”

She balled her hands into fists, tugging a bit of the comforter in each. “That's the thing Gale, I did tell them.” When she caught the look of skepticism on his face she added, “Saturday.” She dropped her eyes from him and stared back at her hands. “And then Sunday came around and I was so excited to tell you, only to be met with the news that you asked Katniss to run away with you.”

Gale opened his mouth and closed it again, struggling to find the right words. “And what did your parents say?”

“My mother thought of it as a fairytale reincarnation of Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen. My father just shrugged. Why does it matter?”

“Well I just figured you cared so much that they'd hate me as your match, maybe you were ashamed to tell them!” He argued.

“It was never about that! It just…I don't…” Bringing her hands to her face, she let out a muffled scream. “I couldn't care less about what they think Gale. We're just not that close.” A little pitifully she added, “Not like you and your family.”

“Madge…I'm sorry…” When Madge doesn't respond or move to look at him, he keeps talking. “I swore I would give this an honest shot and honestly the only thing I've done is shoot myself in the foot. I think deep down I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, for you to realize that I'm not good enough or worth it…” Honestly, he'd probably never stopped worrying that Madge would get a higher rated match and call things off.

Gently grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands away from her eyes, he continued. “I never told my family because I didn't want to get their hopes up just to have them shot down later.”

Madge's eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks were moist from a fresh trail of tears. “Do you know how humiliating it is to put my all into this, my whole heart, just to have you turn around and ask my best friend to run away with you?” She sniffled, “Sorry doesn't fix any of this. Sorry doesn't guarantee that this won't happen again.” 

“Madge-I…I'll do better. I promise, I'll-”

“I don't want empty promises!” They both seemed to startle at her volume. After taking a second to compose herself, she spoke again. “Please. Just…get out.”

He lingered for a moment, hoping maybe she'd change her mind. But when no such change came, when she picked up her phone to call Katniss and let her know she was alright and coming home soon, he had no other choice but to go.

That night, he met up for drinks with Thom again. Sitting in their usual spot next to the window he could see Madge with Delly, Katniss, and Peeta. Madge wouldn't look at him as he walked by, Katniss and Delly gave him death glares. Mellark at least politely said hi, but it was stiff, not at all warm like his usual greetings.

“I fucked up.” He sounded sick as he said it, he felt sick.

“Yeah you did.” Thom replied evenly. It didn't take a genius to figure out that even he was pissed at Gale. “Heard you threw it all away because you wanted your ‘best friend’ to choose you over Mellark.”

He winced. “What else did you hear?”

“That Mrs. Mellark is back on the market in case you want a match of your caliber.” 

Gale let out a hollow laugh at that, “Okay I deserved that.”

“You deserve a lot worse, but I figure you'll get that from Hazelle when you have to explain how you fumbled the most talented woman in the district.” Thom said with a smirk.

Gale took a shaky breath before speaking again. “H-how do I fix it?”

Thom shrugged, lazily glancing at the group outside the window. “Dunno, you know her better than I do, at least you should.” Looking back at Gale, he continued. “You might not be able to. I think that 90% ship has sailed.”

Gale shook his head, “I don't even care about the match anymore,” When Thom raised an eyebrow at him, he frowned deeper. “I don't! I just care that I hurt Madge. We had a nice friendship going at the very least. I'd like to salvage that…”

Thom sighed and finished off his beer, “If I've learned anything from being with Delly, Madge isn't going to want a hollow apology. She's going to want changed behavior. So work on fixing your shit and maybe, just maybe, there'll still be a friendship there to save.”

With that, Thom got up and headed outside to join the others, leaving Gale alone to watch as the five of them headed off.

Chapter Text

It was a cool Tuesday evening when Katniss knocked on the front door at Gale's family home. Perhaps a week had passed since the Sunday debacle? Two? He had lost track. They'd still done their Sunday runs in the woods, but they were silent. Katniss insisted on doing the deliveries to Madge without Gale, and while he wanted to argue, he knew he had no leg to stand on.

“Peeta and I are taking over the bakery.” Short and to the point, that was Katniss. “I think it'd be best if we stopped going to the woods together.”

“Catnip-” she quickly corrected him, telling him to call her Katniss. “Katniss, what about us? Our friendship?”

“There isn't an us Gale.” She frowned. “You showed complete and utter disregard for my relationship, you were willing to throw Madge away like trash. I can't respect you after that. That's not the best friend I thought I had.”

While Gale processed what she said, Katniss continued. “You can have the woods on Sundays, I'll still go in my spare time during the week and split what I get between our families. We never have to see each other, and strawberry season Is over so there's no need to worry about making deliveries to Madge.”

By the time everything she said sank in, she had left, and Gale was alone at the door again.

Lying on the floor in Delly's room, Madge did her best to pick out shapes and designs in the popcorn ceiling. She was in the middle of placing the shape of a dog when she tuned back into whatever it was Delly was saying.

“Forget about Gale, Madge! You have a ton of other matches you could go with. You don't need a 90%.” In a swift movement, Delly moved from her spot on the bed to kneel by Madge on the floor. “Why don't we look into them again?”

Slowly, Madge blinked and tilted her head to look Delly in the eyes. “You know this whole time I've been telling myself and everyone else that I was so set on Gale because I knew what to expect? I didn't want to admit it was because somehow I'd managed to fall for a guy who already treated me like shit. Someone who only had eyes for Katniss.” 

Delly blinked at Madge in surprise as the downcast girl let out a hollow chuckle, smacking herself in the face with her own hand and then running it through her hair. 

“And wow somehow I convinced myself that all the playfulness, the getting along, showing interest in my hobbies. Not even just my hobbies, me! I thought it meant something.” Madge shook her head. “I'm not Katniss, I'll never be Katniss.”

“You don't have to be Katniss or anyone else! Just be you!” Delly said as cheerfully as she could.

Madge sighed as she sat up, shaking her head one more time for good measure. “I can't. Really, I can't right now.” Clamoring to her feet, she made a beeline for the door. “I'm sorry Delly, I gotta go. I'll see you later.”

Delly called after her, tried to catch up with her and get her to come back, but Madge was faster. Just like that she was gone again.

Wandering the streets of the town aimlessly after work, it didn't take much for Gale to notice the flash of blonde hair scurrying into the sweet shop again. He knew he should ignore her, he was definitely the last person she wanted to see right now, but when saw the urgency with which she pried open the window he decided he couldn't just let her be.

Approaching the window he heard several loud banging noises followed by an angry cry of “Fuck!” He decided to slip his way in.

It was clear by some of the tipped over items in the back room such as a bucket, a mop, a prep table, that Madge had either tripped or been looking for something. 

“Mother fucker!” Madge's unladylike scream came from the main area of the shop, coupled with some more banging and crashing. When Gale popped his head around the corner, he could see Madge smashing the display cases with an old hammer.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold off Undersee! Don't go doing anything you'll regret later!” He called out, stepping towards her.

She'd paused mid-motion, hammer still in the air. When she registered who was talking to her, she let her arm fall limply to her side. “Of all the-get out of here Gale. You're the last person I want to see.”

He held up his hands in surrender, still stepping towards her as he did. “I know, believe me I get that. But that doesn't change the fact that destroying the sweet shop is the last thing you want to do.”

As an act of defiance, Madge raised the hammer and brought down on the counter with a satisfying “thwack”, causing Gale to flinch. “Then what, pray tell, is the first thing I want to do?”

Gale scrubbed a hand through his hair, he hadn't thought that far ahead. Clearly Madge was feeling destructive though, he could work with that. After taking a moment to think, it hit him. “Come with me.”

The walk to the lake was a long and silent one, Gale could feel Madge's scowl on him the whole time. He found it oddly soothing because at least that meant that she was still following him.

When they finally got there, he walked to the end of the dock and took a seat. A couple moments passed before she followed suit, sitting as far away from him as the limited space would allow. 

“I found this place once while hunting.” He watched Madge out of the corner of his eye, she gave no indication she was listening but she didn't tell him to stop either. “Sometimes I come out here to be alone with my thoughts.”

A beat of silence passed before she spoke. “Well thanks, but I've been alone with my thoughts a lot recently. This is pointless.”

He shrugged. “It's also a good place to scream. Somewhere to let your feelings out.” He gave her a lopsided smile and continued. “No one in the district can hear you out here. No one to disturb you.”

She seemed to consider that for a moment, her face creased a little less as her frown started to dissipate. Then without warning she reached out, shoving him as hard as she could. She wasn't particularly strong, normally Gale wouldn't have budged, but he was caught off guard and fell into the lake. 

He splashed around as he resurfaced, spitting out some water he'd ingested. “Okay, I deserved that.”

Madge couldn't help but let loose a giggle. Watching him sopping wet, treading water, brought a smile to her face. “You're right Gale, I feel better already.”

Faking a scowl, he splashed her lightly. In response, she gasped. “Hey no fair!” She yelled, kicking some water back at him.

The two of them splashed each other back and forth for a few minutes. The height of the waves increasing with each subsequent splash, but how would they determine a winner?

Caught up in the moment, Gale grabbed onto one of her ankles, swiftly tugging until she fell into the water with him. 

At first when she resurfaced, she looked pissed, but the devious grin she gave as she splashed him again said otherwise.

Their game continued for a little while longer, but when Madge began to shiver, Gale called it quits. “Let's head in, we can rest at the house.”

When the two of them got into the little house near the lake, he gestured for Madge to take a seat in front of the fireplace while he started a fire with some of the sticks that were stocked up inside. 

She watched him silently as he worked, the smile on her face replaced with a sad look again. “...We should talk…”

He nodded and took a seat next to her on the floor. “Only if you want to.”

She's silent for a moment, but finally seems to settle on something she wants to say. She begins by taking a deep breath. “You are an asshole.”

He nods, "Yeah…I really wasn't thinking about anyone but myself.”

She nods in agreement. “I've just been wracking my brain for days, trying to figure out if anything between us was real. Maybe I really should have just given up when you weren't happy about us being matched in the first place.”

Gale thought for a moment before speaking. “I know my word means shit right now, but I did a lot of thinking. I like you. I look forward to spending time with you, I love listening to you tap out a melody and hum to yourself as you develop your lesson plans. I could listen to you talk for hours about nothing particular. I feel the most well rested when I nap in the sweet shop with you in the same room. But, I also really fucked up, I didn't consider you or your feelingd at all when I asked Katniss to run away with me.”

Madge sighed, “I appreciate the honesty. I can see that you're trying. But Gale. I don't even know if you're trying so hard right now because you don't want to lose the 90% or if it's because of me! And it can't be me, it's never me. Katniss is so beautiful and self assured, and competent! And I'm just-”

“It's not about the 90%.” He assures her as he grabs her hand. She frowns, looking like she's going to get up and leave, but he continues. “No really, it's not. We don't have to do anything with the match. I want to try being friends.”

“Friends?” She asks, thrown by the idea.

“Just friends, you can see any of your other potential matches, even officially match with someone else entirely.” He gave her hand a squeeze as he spoke. “I just don't want to stop having you in my life.”

“Just friends?” She seems shocked.

“Just friends.” He confirms.

She mulls it over for a bit before nodding. “I think I'd like that. Thank you, Gale.” 

“No, thank you.” He says with a smile. It brightens when she leans over to kiss his cheek. 

Chapter Text

Hard to believe it had been 6 years since he and Madge had made their match official, 5 since they got married. Gale smiled to himself as he eyed their wedding picture on the dresser while readying himself for the day.

It had taken them a while to get there, truthfully it wasn't his goal back then, not when he'd asked Madge if he could have another chance just to be her friend. Madge had seen another potential match or two in the time before they tried again, but no one really stuck. Gale on the other hand, had focused on improving himself instead of finding someone to pair up with. 

It finally happened one day while they were hanging out above the sweet shop. He looked at her tapping out another tune, as she usually did, and he realized just how deep in he truly was. 

The two had made quick work of getting the sweet shop up and running again after reporting to the LUFF building with the intent to make the match official. Because of this, Gale was able to leave the mines and oversee the restoration of the sweet shop full time, with payment direct from the district of course. 

Over the years since the shop had opened back up, he and Madge were able to bend the rules and hire Vick and Rory as employees due to their close relation to the 90% match, completely saving them from the mines as well. Of course now it was only Vick working here, in the past two years Rory had succeeded in getting an 82% match with Prim, a match which Asterid's parents had deemed high enough for Prim and Rory to take over the Apothecary shop. Prim had been wary about taking her grandparents up on the offer, after all these were the people that had left the family to their fate after the death of Burdock. But with some urging from Asterid, she agreed to do it. 

To make working in town that much easier for Vick, he had taken up living in Maysilee and Merrilee's old bedroom. With Vick and Rory out of their old room in the family home, Posy finally had a bedroom all to herself back in the Seam. Something the now 10 year old greatly appreciated.

As Peeta's two older brothers had both moved out of district to be with their matches, this had left Peeta and Katniss with full ownership of the bakery as well. It took some time for Katniss to stop being wary of Gale and his intentions after the offer to run away, but eventually the two of them resumed their Sunday hunting trips as more of a bonding activity and less for survival. 

The 6 years had not been without their sad times. Madge's mother had passed, Bristel had moved to District 7 to be with her match, a woman by the name of Johanna Mason, and Leevy had also left the district. Truthfully though, the good had outweighed the bad. Being with Madge, coming home to her every night, had brightened Gale's life in a way he never thought possible. 

The already growing smile on his face brightened significantly as he descended the stairs into the sweet shop and heard the melodic voice of his, now heavily pregnant, wife.

“Chin up, shoulders straight, and remember to breathe!” She giggled.

“Right, breathe. I'm just so anxious!” The melancholy tone of Vick's voice was palpable.

Gale couldn't help but smile as his wife and brother came into view. Though at 18 Vick was a whole head taller than Madge, she commanded a presence of someone at least 7 ft tall. Even at 8 months pregnant and on a weight lifting restriction.

“I promise Vick, it's just LUFF, it's not the end of the world.” She hummed, giving him a pat on the cheek as she spoke. “You get in, you fill out some papers, they scan your prints, and you get out. Easy as pie!”

“But what if my match doesn't want me?” He groaned.

Sensing now was a good time to make his presence known, Gale elected to slide in, wrapping his arms around Madge and pressing a kiss to her cheek as he went. “Well it worked out for us didn't it?”

She snorted as she leaned her head into his neck, covering his arms with her own. “Yes after months of emotional whiplash followed by even more time just being friends, I guess you could say it worked out.” 

“Just remember, you have multiple matches and you're not obligated to go after your highest one. Your sister-in-law is just very stubborn.” He said, turning his attention back to Vick.

Madge snorted again, “Oh yes, because you're not Mr. Hawthorne.”

“I never said I wasn't, Mrs. Hawthorne. I merely meant that we both have that in common.” He teased back.

Vick groaned and covered his face in his hands. “This is why Rory moved out as soon as he matched with Prim.”

“Hey, you're the one who chose to stay even after we announced Madge was pregnant. We didn't force you!” Gale practically sang and he reached out to ruffle Vick's hair.

Madge lightly swatted Gale on the arm before reaching out to fix the mess he had made. “Don't be silly. Vick, we would never make you leave before you were ready.”

Vick sighed, “I don't think Posy would ever forgive me if I went home and told her she had to go back to sharing with Ma anyways.” 

“In case, you'll be fine.” Madge said as she cupped Vick's cheek. “You don't have to choose your highest match, you don't even have to choose a match at all from your immediate list. You have time, and we'll support you through all of it.”

“What if I have to leave?” He practically whispered. “I've never been outside the district. What if I have to leave you all?”

Gale frowned, he knew Vick had been nervous, but he never realized just how nervous. He reached out and clapped a reassuring hand to his brother's shoulder. “Hey, leaving the district isn't a death sentence. We still hear from Bristel and Leevy all the time. And there's always a chance your match will want to come here.”

Now Vick snorted, “No one ever wants to come to District 12.”

Gale shrugged, “You never know. There's a first time for everything.”

Checking her watch, Madge spoke up. “You might want to get going, the LUFF offices open soon and we have to get started on opening the sweet shop for the day.” Giving Vick one more reassuring pat on the cheek before gesturing to the door, she added. “You can fill us in on how it goes as soon as you get back. Don't want to keep Glenn waiting do you?”

Vick shook his head, he and Glenn Cartwright had made plans to go to LUFF together today just to make the whole process easier on the both of them. “I'll see you guys soon.” With a quick hug to both of them, Vick rushed out the door, leaving Madge and Gale to finish shop prep for the morning.

“So, I couldn't help but notice that someone turned off my alarm this morning.” Gale teased as he wiped down the counter.

“Strange, I can't imagine who would do that.” Madge replied with a smirk. When Gale raised a questioning eyebrow at her, she continued. “Today's a special day. I figured you deserved to sleep in.”

Gale stopped what he was doing and turned fully to look at her now, giving a lopsided smile as he thought. “I can't imagine I'd want to sleep in the day my youngest brother goes to LUFF. I don't even really think I'd consider that special so much as required…”

Madge hummed, a fond smile on her face. “While Vick going to LUFF today is a factor of the day, that's not quite what I was referring to?”

Gale thought for a moment. It wasn't their wedding anniversary, either of their birthdays, or even the day they made the match official. He remembered all those dates perfectly, had them memorized like the back of his hand. So then, what was today?

Seeing that her husband was utterly lost, Madge couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. “You're cute when you're clueless.”

“Hey!” He grumbled playfully, “I have it on good authority that I'm cute all the time, not just when I'm clueless.”

Giggling more now, Madge pulled his face down to her to give him a quick kiss on the lips. On pulling away she leaned her forehead against his, deciding to end his suffering as they only had a short amount of time left before they needed to open. “Today's the day I registered at LUFF and you were at the top of my list of matches.”

Gale cringed as he thought back on the way he'd treated her that day, letting a sharp exhale escape through his teeth. “Oh…”

Letting out a full guffaw, Madge kissed him again before turning back to counting the money in the register. “Oh come on, it wasn't that bad.”

“I'm pretty sure I almost made you cry.” He groaned.

“Oh you did, not that night of course, but you did. More than once.” She snorted. “At the time I felt like I'd have to change the world to make you see me.”

“I was a complete idiot, Madge. You know I love you more than life itself right?” He cupped her cheek and turned her to look at him.

“Obviously.” She said with a smile. “And I, you.”

Kissing one last time, Madge pulled away and directed her attention back to the register again. “And I'd go through it all again knowing that this is where it leads to. Now finish cleaning the counter so we can open for the day. Maybe we'll close early and you can treat me to a nice dinner tonight.”

Gale smiled and did as she said, no point drawing the conversation out longer. Tonight he would treat her to a nice dinner, among other things, to show Madge just how much he loved her. Their match had been the best thing that ever happened to him, and Gale would spend the rest of his life showing her that.