Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus – William Ernest Henley

Chapter 116 :

"Fucking dog." Haymitch grumbled, careful to hit the nail with the hammer and not his thumb. Hayden's stupid pet kept rushing head first into the pen when it tried to herd the geese back inside and it had loosened more than one plank of wood. The time Haymitch was forced to spend patching the pen up…

Not that he had anything more interesting to do.

Another month gone, winter was definitely through even in Twelve where the freezing cold tended to linger. Spring had come, tentative grass was slowly replacing the frost, flowers were starting to bloom in his mother's flowerpots, and the house was as freshened up as it would ever be. He had repainted most rooms, he had moved furniture around in a futile effort to pretend life was different, he had tried to find ways to remind himself he didn't need to drink himself into a stupor anymore… There would be no more Reapings come spring, there would be no more arguing with his brother over his drinking and no more special appointments…

It was over.

Done.

That knowledge didn't help, he was still restless.

He had finally lost his patience short of two weeks earlier and had dragged Katniss to the bathroom. She hadn't even blinked the whole time. She was like a puppet. She hadn't protested when he had dropped her in the bathtub and she hadn't protested when he had dumped hot water over her head. She had had so much grime on her skin the water had turned dark long before his mother had appeared to help. The girl had put on the clean clothes they had laid out for her and calmly walked back to the couch where she had resumed her curled up position as if nothing had happened.

He had burned the clothes she had left the Capitol with.

She wasn't better.

Nothing was better.

Well… Hayden was better, he figured. Hayden was living the dream. He loved his job as Mayor, everyone in the District liked and respected him, he had a woman and kids to go home to and a dog to complete the cliché. His brother was walking on fucking clouds and Haymitch was happy for him, he was. They were getting along better than they had in a very long time, since they were kids probably… But…

Haymitch hammered the nail in place and wiped his brow with his sleeve, ignoring the wild honking of the geese trapped in their pen. They didn't like the hammering. Too bad.

He put the tool down and he was just reaching for another nail in the box next to him when his eyes were suddenly covered by small hands. It was a good thing he had grown used to Hazelle's kids running freely around the house and jumping on him when he least expected it because aside for gripping the little wrists tight, he managed to control his instinctive impulse to shake the threat off.

"Already told you not to do that, Posy." he growled, trying to keep most of the annoyance out of his voice.

There was a loud girlish giggle.

"You guessed wrong." the little girl sing-sang in a voice so fucking familiar it hurt. "You have to try again."

He almost tore the hands off his face in his rush to turn around but, surely enough, there she was, in a blinding pink traveling outfit of striped leggings and a sweater, pigtails adorned with ribbons, completely ridiculous in her Capitolness and absolutely adorable anyway.

"Safia." he breathed out, hugging her close.

"Surprise!" the child laughed. "Are you surprised, Uncle Haymitch?"

He held her tight, standing up, his eyes searching the yard for…

Effie was standing right at the kitchen door and he was reminded of another time, one when he had been hugging Hazelle and she had appeared right in that spot, a time when he had been craving her so badly… Things hadn't changed that much, it seemed.

"I know you don't like surprises…" she said, a smile so manic it must have hurt stretching her lips. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "But I thought we would make an exception."

He crossed the distance in record time, wrapping his arms around her, squashing Safia between them to her endless amusement.

"Peeta?" he asked in her ear.

"He went back home to settle down." she told him. "He is fine, he was impatient to come back and… See everyone."

Her voice was cautious when she said that last part but he didn't even care. He couldn't care less about the how and the why, he drew back from the hug enough that he could kiss her. She responded to it immediately, forcing his lips open with her tongue, turning the kiss into an aggressive mess of pent up frustration and loss.

Safia made disgusted noises and repeated that it was apparently rude for them to do that but he couldn't care less about that either. Neither could Effie, clearly.

Even Iris' sudden intake of breath and her "Oh, dear!" wasn't enough to convince them to stop kissing, he barely registered the noise. He was vaguely aware that Safia was freed from his arm and that his mother was talking again.

"Let's give your aunt and uncle a chance to reconnect, right?" Iris told Safia. "Let's go see Posy. I'm sure she will be glad to see you. Oh, I'm so happy to have you back, little one…"

His now free arm immediately sneaked around Effie's back and he drew her closer, deepening the kiss even more, his hands roaming everywhere at once. He couldn't stop, couldn't think, couldn't breathe… He existed only through her.

She bundled his shirt, pulled it out of his pants and he inched her dress up in answer, nudging her toward the kitchen table. She broke the kiss when he tried to lift her up.

"Bedroom." she whispered. "I don't want to be interrupted."

She started kissing him again as if she couldn't have enough of it and he was on the very same line of thought. He did pick her up anyway, securing her with his arms around her waist while her legs locked around his hips. Maneuvering the stairs was a little difficult but he managed well enough. They stumbled to his room, bumping against the walls on the way and tearing clothes aside.

He didn't even spare a thought for what his mother would think when she would find his shirt abandoned in the middle of the corridor or her shoes scattered in different places. He nudged the door closed with his foot once they were inside and he pushed her on the bed with a smirk.

She was already slipping her dress over her head and unclasping her bra. He hastily toed off his shoes and socks, never looking away from her. She was naked and grinning by the time he unbuckled his belt and her hands covered his, pushing his pants and boxers down impatiently.

"I want you now." she growled.

He was already half hard but those words were enough to make every part of him stand at attention.

There was no finesse in this bout of lovemaking. It was rough and almost violent, primitive. They clawed and bit at each other, their hips clashing against each other's in ways that would leave bruises. It was so reminiscent of their last time Haymitch wanted to slow down, take his time, but he couldn't. He needed her too much. He needed to feel her, to make sure she was there. Alive and there.

He came first with a low groan but he refused to leave her hanging. It didn't take much more than a few strokes of his fingers to make her fall apart.

They clung to each other, sweaty and panting, until he rolled off her. She refused to be shaken off though and she kept her legs locked around him, kept him firmly inside her, as they rested on their sides, pressed tight against each other.

"Never leave me again." she begged.

He brushed her hair back, it had grown since the last time he had seen her. It was reaching her shoulders again and wildly curling in the way he liked best.

"Never." he promised. And this time, he intended to keep his word.

She captured his mouth, torturing him until a moan betrayed him. He felt himself twitch inside her and he knew it wouldn't be long before he would be ready to have another go. He would make it last this time, he promised himself, he would worship her like she deserved to be.

"You changed the mattress." she mumbled against his lips.

"Last time you said it was squeaky." he muttered right in the middle of the kiss. "I aim to please, sweetheart." He rocked his hips tentatively and a whimpering noise escaped her throat. He couldn't help but chuckled. "See?"

"I love you." she replied, a little incoherently.

"Good thing you married me then." he smirked, dropping kisses on her jaw and neck before bowing to suck a nipple into his mouth.

He did keep a hold on himself this time, making sure to go slow and to stop moving every time he brought her on the edge. He liked teasing her.

When she finally came, she did it with a cry that made him chuckle just because she could never be quiet and he loved that about her. She took her revenge by pushing him on his back and riding him until he felt ready to burst only to refuse to move no matter how much he tugged on her hips. She worked herself up again and, this time, when she allowed both of them to come, she managed to swallow her moan back.

She slumped on his chest and took the time to catch her breath before peppering his torsos with kisses.

"Shower?" she suggested in a hum.

The shower wasn't a hurried affair. They fooled around more than they washed, taking full advantage of having the other close by once again, touching and kissing and embracing…

"We should…" she said eventually.

"Yeah." he sighed because, like it or not, they weren't alone anymore. He didn't know how long they had locked themselves away in his room but he guessed it was long enough that his mother had brought Safia back from his brother's. He turned the water off and wrapped a towel around her chest before grabbing another one from under the sink. He didn't resist the urge to kiss her one last time or to press his lips against her shoulder as she toweled her hair.

They were chuckling a lot for no good reason.

He wondered if you could get high on love.

Someone – he hoped it was Hayden – had carried all her suitcases and bags upstairs and had left them in the corridor, a safe distance away from the bedroom. There was another small pile in front of Safia's room. He spared a thought for Peeta – who had, no doubt, be forced to carry everything from their apartment to the Capitol train station and then from the station to the Village – before he dragged everything that belonged to her inside the bedroom.

When she stepped out of the bathroom with her hair blown dry, she briefly froze at the surrounding mess of luggage and then opened a case and selected a new outfit as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

He watched her get ready, mocking her about taking too much time like he used to do. She replied with her own usual taunts and they were both smiling so hard it was ridiculous.

Her smile faltered when they walked in the kitchen. She hadn't expected to find the whole Hawthorne family plus Hayden and Peeta in addition to his mother and her niece, he could tell. She blushed crimson because it was pretty clear for all the adults present what they had been doing, he figured, and bent down to greet Posy and the rest of the kids before hugging Hayden tight.

He didn't know what his brother whispered in her ear but given his grey twinkling eyes and the less than gentle whack she gave his shoulder, it was probably a teasing comment of some sort.

He stopped paying attention when she hugged Hazelle and Iris. He clasped Peeta's shoulder and tossed caution to the wind by hugging him.

"It's good to have you back, boy." he told him, his voice rough.

"It's good to be back." Peeta offered. "I'm sorry it took so long."

"Don't worry about it. You're good, that's all that matters." he shrugged, stepping back to pick up Safia who was hovering near his leg, waiting for her turn. "How about you, sweetheart? You're happy to see me?"

It was a stupid question if there ever was one. Safia barely let him out of her sight the whole evening. There were so many people they had to eat in the dining room they had never used because they couldn't all fit in the kitchen. The kids were so happy to be back together they were impossible. The adults were all talking at the same time, trying to catch up. It was loud and joyful and Haymitch stretched his arm on the back of Effie's chair long before dinner was finished, tracing lazy circles on her shoulder blade with his thumb while he bantered with his brother.

He felt better than he had felt in a long time.

It was late by the time Hazelle and Hayden managed to coax Posy and Safia apart so they could go back home and even later when Haymitch and Effie succeeded in putting the girl to bed. Her room had been ready for some time now but to her it was brand new and Twelve was a strange place. She was half excited and half anxious. Eventually she dropped asleep.

His mother lingered downstairs longer than she usually did, so obviously happy to see Effie that Haymitch couldn't help his smile as he went to feed the geese – and make sure Hayden's dog wasn't wreaking havoc in his backyard again.

Iris had gone upstairs when he went back inside and he found Effie on the front porch, leaning against the railing and watching the street. All lights in his brother's house were out, he noticed distractedly. She smiled when he joined her, when he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss against her neck. That was something he wouldn't get tired of doing any time soon, he suspected. He had missed her too much not to touch at every given opportunity.

"I like what you did with your house." she hummed.

"Our house." he corrected quietly.

"Our house." she repeated with obvious satisfaction, turning around in his arms and leaning back against the railing. "I love that you made it ours."

"There's still some work to do." he shrugged. "You can change what you want, yeah? Make it home. I know it's not Four…"

"Never mind Four." she cut him off. "We have our family. That is all that matters to me."

"We're gonna be happy, Princess." he promised. "Four or not, dream house or not… We're gonna be so fucking happy we'll make everyone else jealous."

He couldn't believe otherwise. It was their time now. She was his chance at a real life, she had been for a long time, and he wanted to grab it with both hands and never let go.

"Are you happy?" she asked, locking her arms around his neck. "Right now?"

"Happiest man in Panem." he smirked.

"Cheesy." she accused in a low laugh.

"Only when I'm trying to get in your pants, sweetheart." he snorted.

"As if you need any trick for that…" she teased.

For the first time in forever, Haymitch could honestly say life was good.

They all fell into a sort of domesticity over the next few days that was only completed once Katniss finally ventured out of her house and to the woods. Peeta succeeded where all of them had failed, he coaxed her back to life. It was slow progress and she often declined to attend the lively dinners, sometimes Peeta joined her and sometimes she joined him. They were learning how to be with each other properly, without the weight of cameras and the expectant eyes of a nation focused on them.

"They're falling in love." Effie hummed one night, a delighted smile on her lips, as she smeared some cream on her hands. She did it every night, she claimed her skin was dry. He loved it. He loved everything about their routine.

It went on for the best part of spring and half of summer.

They were happy.

He had stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop but he wasn't overly surprised when the shoe did drop anyway in the form of Iris packing her bags and belongings and declaring she was moving out – which Haymitch refused to hear about. At long last and to avoid her living alone, Hayden offered her a place in his house – which was even more idiotic given that there were more people there than at Haymitch's.

"There should only be one woman in every home." Iris joked before claiming that she was quite resolved, that they were all making a fuss out of nothing, that Effie shouldn't be upset because she had done nothing wrong, that it was natural for a woman to make herself at home in her own house but that she had troubles feeling at home now with every room being so different. Haymitch supposed he could see her point. She had been running the show in that house since as long as they had moved in but now… Now it was his and Effie's house and they didn't always include her in the decisions. He felt bad about that until his mother swat the back of his head with a dishcloth and told him to stop being an idiot. "To be honest, I look forward to some peace and quiet." she confessed.

And peace and quiet wasn't something anyone could find at Hayden's or at Haymitch's. Kids were always underfoot – and not only children, Peeta and Katniss were always around too. And when it wasn't kids it was either Hayden and Hazelle having a row or Haymitch and Effie fighting over something stupid, everyone trying to drag Iris in the middle so she could act as a referee…

She didn't move far. She settled in an empty house down the street, right next to Sae's, two houses over from theirs. Haymitch grumbled about it but eventually accepted it.

It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter anyway.

And it wasn't like it changed a lot of things.

They all ate together every night, they were always over at each other's house – their, Hayden's, Katniss', Peeta's or Iris' – they all bickered and reconciled regularly… In short they acted like a proper family.

After a few months, they were all so very set in this new life they could almost pretend it was the only one they had ever known.

They rarely if ever mentioned before. The Games were left in the past with the special appointments and the years the Abernathy brothers had spent locked in a hateful feud. It intruded sometimes, of course. Haymitch was still haunted by his demons, Effie woke up in the middle of the night from time to time drenched in sweat and only calmed down once she had called Johanna over in Four, Hayden sometimes had this hollow gaze…

But for the most part…

Peace was sweet.

Hayden had his mayor job to keep him busy, Effie opened a clothes shop and hired Hazelle to help out, and Haymitch mostly took care of his geese when he wasn't keeping an eye on the gaggle of kids always running around.

Peeta and Katniss were mostly independent but Safia was small and clingy and everything he had never thought he wanted.

Posy's influence on her was disastrous and was destroying her lady's grooming little by little.

Lately they had taken to riding Homer like a pony.

He never really scolded them about it.

For one the dog didn't seem to mind and for another…

There were much worse games to play.

The End

Well... what to say? I'm obviously very emotional to see those two little words closing such a long chapter of my life. It's gonna be an unusually long author note, please bear with me...

It's been more than two years of Fridays with this story and I can't tell you how grateful I am for every kudo, message and comment you've sent me.

To those of you who've been there from the beginning, I congratulate your commitment spirit ;) To the others I congratulate the sense of adventure in taking up something so long. Mainly, I want to say thank you to you all and send you my love.

Invictus became such a special story to me, I can't tell you how much it meant and to see it end really feels like something bigger is ending. There's been a lot of changes for me this year and this one hits me close to the heart. Of course, it's just a fanfiction, nothing really important, but this one really meant a lot to me. I know Hayden wasn't perfectly built as a character but he's mine and I love him and I'm sad we won't ever get to see him or Iris again. I'm also proud to have managed to write this whole story to the very end because there were times I didn't think I could make it.

Special thanks need to be given to Akachankami who dutifully betaed this story from beginning to end. We had a number of arguments because of it (mainly because YES I WILL WRITE LONG CHAPTERS GOD DAMMIT ;) ) but I wouldn't have done it with anyone else. She is the best beta and the best friend one could ask for.

Special thanks also to Allonsysilvertongue who encouraged me to write the story in the first place and promised to be the only one left reading if it came down to that.

Special thanks finally to 100years-to-live who is always there to cheer me up or wave pompom in the cheerleading stand when it comes to my writing.

There was so much else I wanted to say but now that we're here, it naturally elludes me... I will end this monstruous author note by saying thank you again from the bottom of my heart, thank you for having followed this story, thank you for having loved my OCs, thank you for the support and the encouragements.

Some of you, I know, will ask "what next?"... Hopefully not another 100+ chapters but with me you never know XD April Showers will still be updated every Sunday and I'm hoping to have another chaptered hayffie story up on Fridays soon if anyone is interested. I think I will start publishing in two weeks, maybe three depending on my schedule. So, if you liked Invictus and want more angst in your life, check out "Into That Good Night" when it comes out. As for prompts, they will still be updated but I must admit I don't have the same drive and commitment to them I used to so it might be a less regular thing from now on. I think that concludes it on the updates...

Don't forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter or what your favorite moments were in the whole story! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Goodbye all! Goodbye Hayden! Goodbye Iris! Goodbye Safia!

With all my love.

Ellana