Haymitch and Effie reunite after the war, when an unexpected event knocks them off course. Very very light M ratingChapter 1
Peeta's shirt clung to him with sweat as he dug the shovel into the earth, digging up his second rosebush for the day. Once upon a time the groundskeeper had planted them there. The Victor's Village used to overflow with Snow's favorite bloom but now it was getting an entirely new look.
Where the bushes used to be, primroses now bloomed and marigolds and daffodils and rue flowers. It was for Katniss but not solely. Ever since the boy returned to Twelve, gardening had worked therapeutically for him. A way to focus and soothe his mind.
The steady sound of the shovel was what finally woke Haymitch. The old mentor lay sprawled out on the couch in nothing but a shirt that needed washing weeks ago and a pair of sad old underwear. He groaned when reality brought on the throbbing headache that was as routine for him as pissing in the morning.
Haymitch lifted his hand and waved it helplessly in the air as if that would ward off the shovel. Why could he never remember to pull those damn curtains together? He shadowed his face with his hand and that's when he realized he wasn't alone.
Effie sat there on the very edge of his old armchair where springs stuck out through the stuffing and his skin crawled from déjà vu. How many times hadn't he seen her at his house this time of year collecting him for the reaping.
"I see you picked up where you left off," Effie said, glancing at the empty liquor bottles that littered the floor.
Her strawberry blonde hair fell freely down her shoulders. He still wasn't used to see Effie like she really was without all that crap she put on her face and her crazy outfits. She looked younger, washed out, more vulnerable.
He grunted something about pants and heaved himself to his feet. He found them thrown aside in the kitchen and pulled them on but was in no hurry to go back to her. Seeing his old escort only brought back memories from her last visit and they hadn't gotten less embarrassing with time.
He never planned on fucking her when she came back with Peeta in March but that's still how he wound up.
He sucked at goodbyes; didn't do well with any change and when she embraced him he'd felt it in his bones that he'd never see her again despite her promise that she would return. That's why he kissed her and everything had deteriorated from there.
It was pathetic. Quick and with no elegance whatsoever. He thrust himself into her once, twice and then it was over. It'd been so long since he'd been with a woman and he was so overwhelmed by the feel of her around him he couldn't hold back. Effie wasn't even close.
Afterwards they were both so uncomfortable they didn't know where to look or what to do with themselves.
"Take care of them," she mumbled.
"I will," he muttered back and Effie got her bag and slipped out the door, like she couldn't get out of there fast enough.
That was two months ago.
Haymitch took some water in his hands and splashed it on his face. He rinsed out the bad taste in his mouth, snapped the seal on a bottle, drank. Better. Much better.
The telltale clicking of heels approached and he knew without looking that Effie watched from the door.
"Guess it's my own fault you couldn't call me," he said and turned around with the bottle still in hand. "Went and broke it again. Don't think you're gonna be able to fix it this time. Sorry." He stretched out with a grunt and scratched his stomach. "Why're you here? Forgot somethin'?"
"I'm pregnant."
The silence that followed after she uttered those words was so thick it was palpable. Effie watched him, tired and unsmiling, waiting for him to respond but Haymitch couldn't get a single word out. He stood there frozen, his grip on the bottle so tight his fingertips shone white and bloodless.
"I just found out," said Effie. "My doctor…"
He saw her lips move as she kept talking but he couldn't hear her, couldn't make sense of the words. His ears rang. Everything blurred together.
"Haymitch?" He felt a pressure against his arm. Through the black spots that filled his vision a pair of worried, blue eyes appeared. She kept her hand against his arm, steadying him until he could see her face again.
"You're pregnant?" he croaked.
He wanted her to deny it. It couldn't be true! But Effie only nodded.
"Nine weeks," she said.
"You told me…" Haymitch rasped. "You told me you can't get pregnant."
"I know. I know you're upset…"
"Upset?" All the blood that had drained from his face was returning, fast. "You're dropping a fucking bomb on me, Eff! How can you be knocked up when your doctor said it's impossible!?"
"I don't know!"
"I can't have a kid! You know I never wanted kids!"
"I didn't plan it, Haymitch.
"I can't have a kid!"
"What do you want me to say! I don't know how it could happen. It just did!"
He cursed and smashed his bottle against the wall, making her jump and the liquid flowed down the yellowed, torn wallpaper. "It was just a stupid mistake! Fuck, Eff! You can't do this to me!"
"Do you think I wanted this!?" Effie cried. "Do you think I came to your house that day in the hopes that you would father my child!? All I wanted was to give you Dr. Aurelius's instructions! That was all! Only you decided to jump me!"
"Do not pin this on me, Eff! You screwed up! You and your moron doctor so don't you fucking blame me! I never asked for that kid! You're not doing this to me! How do I even know it's mine?"
The slap hit his face so hard he staggered back a step.
"Of course it's yours, you pathetic, horrible worm!" Effie's eyes were filled with tears. "Oh, Haymitch, how could I be so stupid to believe you would take responsibility! You're a good-for-nothing drunk and that's all you ever will be! But don't you worry, Haymitch. It's only your child. And I will do this on my own!"
Author's note: This story got longer than I expected so there will be two more chapters after this. :) Reviews are love and always appreciated! Chapter 2 will be up next weekend