Disclaimer: All characters belong to Suzanne Collins.

Gale had been in the square with Thom and some other coworkers from the mine. They were going to go out and get something to drink, relish maybe the last few days they had together, last few days they had alive. It was nice going out with the guys, although his eyes frequented the screen that stood tall, broadcasting Katniss and Mellark and their dying days.

To be honest, he had lost hope. He knew there was a plan, one in the arena that would help them get out, but it just seemed so hopeless. Even if Katniss did end up getting home one way or another she'd be different, so very different.

He had been thinking about this when Thom nudged his shoulder. "District Princess, 2 o'clock." Gale raised his eyebrows and looked at him, then turned slightly to see who he was referring to. Of course, it was the only person he could've been referring to. Golden blonde hair trailing down her back, bright piercing eyes. Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter.

"What do you think she wants?" another one of his friends, Abram, pried. "She hasn't been out of her house in days." Maybe she's just on a walk, Gale thought. She hadn't been out lately, so maybe she wanted fresh air. However, she was on a course straight for them, determination shining in her eyes.

"Hawthorne!" she shouted, her hands balled in fists squeezes so tightly they were whiter than the pale of her soft skin.

"Oh, God," Thom groaned, shoving Gale in her direction. "Deal with it and be done, alright? We'll be at the bar."

"But," Gale went to protest but the stern look in his best friend's eyes made him falter. The group paced away from them and left him standing in the square by himself. "What do you want, Undersee?" he muttered, striding toward her. "I'm kind of…"

But he was cut off by the sudden force of her lips on his. Shock, that was the first thing he felt. Confusion was second. But as Madge reached her hands up and around his neck pulling him closer, that's when he kissed back. She tasted like sugar, anything sweet. He had always expected it to be strawberries, but then again they weren't in season. So just sugar.

Only when a dog whistle echoed from his friends that hadn't actually left, did she pull away. He turned to glare at them but Madge just laughed. Her cheeks were flushed as she dropped her hands from around him. "Sorry," she said weakly. "I just had to do that once."

The thing is, once wasn't enough for Gale. One taste from her and he was gone, lost in his wildest imagination, his sweetest dreams. He couldn't stop himself from leaning down again, his hand wrapping around her waist and tugging her toward him again.

She didn't object as his lips pressed hungrily against hers, one of his hands tangling into her silky smooth hair. She didn't object as Gale tugged her wrist slowly, pulling away from the square and the prying eyes of his friends. She didn't object when they leaned against a building and he used his hand to hold him upright over her.

Gale couldn't figure it out, what made him crave each one of her kisses. Maybe it was the way her fingers teased the hair on the back of his neck. Maybe it was she soft touch of her skin, or the way she didn't want him to stop. Perhaps it was the fact that this was the first time he felt anything other than numb since Katniss had left.

Katniss, how could he compare her to Madge? They aren't similar at all. Madge kisses back; Madge gets his stomach doing unfamiliar twists. Madge makes his skin radiate a heat he didn't know was possible. Her fingers rake across his chest through his shirt and she feels him shift, a sigh catching in his throat.

"Madge," he breathed against her skin sending goosebumps fleshing across every inch of her. "What made you…" he trails off to pepper kisses down her neck. "I never thought…"

"God," she shivered against him and he grins. "I just had to," she mumbles, her needy fingers yanking the hem of his shirt as close as possible. "Before I left, before my father made us go…" but her words trailed off as Gale nuzzled into her neck. His teeth lightly scraped against her and she shuddered, her words slowly getting lost in the heat of the night.

"So beautiful," he murmured before kissing her collarbone lightly. His voice sent vibrations through her skin and she arched her back as he continued.

"Since when?" she asked through a shaking voice. Her attraction to Gale Hawthorne hadn't necessarily been a secret, his rugged good looks and deep olive skin. She could just get lost in his magnificent grey eyes alone. But he never made it known that he was interested in her in any way at all.

"Always," he laughed. The sound made her blush. "Always thought so, never said so…" Madge grabbed his chin and tipped it upward, away from her neck so she could kiss him again. She caught a quick glimpse of his face. Flushed, excited, needy…

Gale's rough callused hands skirted up under her shirt and teased her waist. He had always wondered how her skin would feel against his. He never thought it would make him tingle, make his heartbeat race faster than it had before.

"Gale," she moaned slightly. His name in her mouth was like magic. He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers, their noses bumping slightly.

"Say it again," he begged.

"Gale," she forced out, her cheeks flaring up as he grinned at her. He wanted more of her, wanted to touch parts of her she didn't know she had, taste more of her than she knew possible. But it was too much for tonight, too rushed.

"Can I see you again?" he asked against her lips. She nodded ferociously, her hands raking through his hair and keeping him close to her. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes," she replied instantly as his lips repeatedly pecked against hers. But then she shook her head quickly, forcing him away. "No, no…" Madge rested her head against the brick building behind them.

Gale's eyebrows furrowed in anger, in hurt. What was this? This burst of passion neither had expected to experience tonight? "Why not?" It was because he was from the Seam. Because she was the mayor's daughter, always unattainable. Because he wasn't polished like her, because he worked in the mines. His head ached as he stepped away from her.

"No, it's not like that," she said quickly. "Gale, I'm going away."

"Well for how long?" he asked. "Where? What about when you come back?" A flicker of regret flashed in her eyes as she looked away from him. "Madge…"

"I had to kiss you before I left," she mumbled quietly. "Had to let you know how I felt…" she shook her head as he stepped closer again, his hands cupping her face and making her look toward him. "Things are changing."

"Well I know that," he replied softly before kissing her again gently. "But I don't get…"

"You saw what they're doing in the arena, Gale," she sighed, searching his eyes and trying to get him to understand. "And it's going to happen. And when it does all hell will break loose." Again he nipped at her lips and her body tingled.

"Why not watch it go up in flames together?" he joked slightly, but the choice of words makes her upset. "Hey," his voice was soft. "I'm joking."

"We're leaving tonight," her voice cracked. "At midnight."

"Where are you going?" he asked confused, but she just shook her head. "What about your house? The District? Who'll run it?"

"My father hasn't been running it ever since Katniss and Peeta returned from the first Games," she said gently. Gale listened carefully but couldn't decide what to do. He just wanted her body against his, but he wanted her safe too… "Something bad is going to happen, Gale, and when it does you need to get out of here."

"What do you mean?" he asked, nuzzling into her neck. "Madge, where are you going?"

"I don't know," she replied through a shaking voice. "Away. Away from this war."

"There's no war," he soothed her.

"Not yet," she shot back. "But it's coming. You'll need to get out, Gale. I need you to get out."

"When?" he went back to kissing her neck. He's listened but if she's leaving he's not going to waste any more time. Her fingers clawed at his chest as he sucked on her collarbone.

"Soon," she forced out. "You'll know when. Get the Everdeen's and your family and get out. Go to the meadow, you can't stay in the district…"

"Alright, Madge," the hum of his voice against her made her sigh.

"Gale, I'm being serious," she whispered. "You have to believe me."

"I do!" he pulled away and met her eyes. "I'll get out, I swear. What about you?"

"I'll be long gone," she told him. He licked his lips and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. "Don't worry about me."

"But where are you going?" he asked again. "How?"

"I don't know the details," she shook her head, her hands again teasing his neck. "But don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself, okay?"

"What about us?" he asked softly, his lips finding hers again. He wasn't going to lose her now, now that he finally got her, now that he'd experienced the explosion of his senses. "Will I see you again?"

"I hope so, God I hope so." With one last kiss she melted into him, absorbing as much as she could. "Don't go to the house. The people inside won't be us, they're covers just in case."

"Why?" he wanted to kiss her again. And again. But now he listened as he gazed into her crystal blue eyes that reflected a fear greater than he had imagined.

"In case something we're to happen. Anyone in that house won't be us. Everyone will think it will be but it won't be."

"How do I know? How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't," she said, her fingers, trailing over the stubble on his chin. "You just have to trust me."

And trust her he did when District 12 exploded three nights later. His family and the Everdeen's were already in the meadow by the first bomb, but he had to get everyone else out that he could. Not the entire district, he knew he couldn't get them all out. But he tried. Around 900 in total. He hadn't even bothered checking the Undersee's house.

When Thom called Gale after the war had ended saying they found all the bodies in their house, Gale's heart sunk. He momentarily forgot what she had said. You just have to trust me. He did trust her. He thought about her lips on his, how she said she'd be back, how she hoped to see him again.

He'd wake up in a cold sweat night after night with haunting nightmares of her body in flames, how he hadn't tried to save the girl that gave him tingles like no one before. His brain would spin fabricated images of her calling his name, of Madge trying to escape but something backfiring.

Every day he would search for a glint of golden hair. Every kiss he would compare to the one that tasted of sugar. His fingers would itch with a need for a girl he wasn't even sure was still alive. But he would keep searching. He wouldn't stop. Gale wasn't going to give up on the hope the District Princess gave him, the light that glowed in his darkness.

A/N: Possible longer fic? Thoughts? Hope you liked it x