A.N. Hello, hello. First things first I need to apologize for how late this chapter is. I know my hiatus ended almost a month ago but circumstances have sucked. C'est la vie n'est pas? Anyways, I know this is a filler but it is a necessary filler, I needed to set some things up for later. Please read and review; and as always, enjoy.
Haymitch walked through the halls of the ridiculously large apartment that he and Effie were staying in for the majority of the Games. It reminded him of the house he had back in the district Twelve except it was significantly…cleaner. Then again, back in Twelve he didn't have a hoard of Avoxes at his beck and call.
Back in Twelve he hadn't been sober either.
When he passed Effie's room he paused and looked at the clock at the end of the wall. It was still fairly early in the morning but the Escort was usually up and about by then. He knew because he was usually then one she was nagging with that high pitched bird-like voice of hers. Inclining his head towards the door he strained to see if he could hear anything from her room, normally he would have just continued on but ever since the train incident their relationship had been strained to say the least. He figured it was in everyone's best interests to keep the mischief to a minimum, especially seeing as they were going to be living together for the next little while.
It had been almost a week since the last time he'd seen Dr. Acanthus Pilfer and Haymitch knew that if he didn't book his next appointment someone would be coming to the door and booking one for him. He hadn't had the time to approach Effie about what his doctor had suggested because they'd both been busy trying to keep up with the Games. Then again, he couldn't even remember the last time a kid from Twelve had made it, let alone too. And they were doing pretty well for themselves…except for the boy who was severely injured and would die within a few days if he didn't get any medical attention.
Details, details.
Katniss though had managed to blow up the Career's food supply which was a major advantage. For nine days, the Careers had been coasting through the Games, killing and returning to their camp to refuel and relax. It was about time that someone knocked them off their game a little, it was almost enough to make him look past the fact that she was in an alliance with a twelve year old.
"Haymitch?" Effie's trill voice carried through the hallways.
"Out here sweetheart." He answered.
She came into the room and he glanced over and made a face at her. Orange. Of all the colours why orange? It didn't even look good.
"Have you eaten?" She asked.
He ignored her question, "They still don't know what to do, and this is fantastic!"
"You know Haymitch, it's extremely rude to ignore someone who's talking to you."
"The new stats are coming in today right?"
"Haymitch!" Effie's tone told him she was more than just a little annoyed.
He gave her his best attentive expression, "Yes Trinket?"
She sighed exasperatedly and waved her hand dismissively. "Well I'm going to get something to eat. Let me know when the courier comes with the updated statistics."
Haymitch watched her walk out of the room and rolled his eyes, sometimes it was just too easy to irk her. He knew he shouldn't though, he was going to need her to help him get new sponsors if and when they needed them. For some reason the people of the Capitol preferred Effie to him.
They hadn't started the broadcasting day for the Games yet, they were mostly just showing highlights from the day before and going over what had happened during the night, which was thankfully nothing. Heading for the dining car he figured that he may as well grab something to eat while he waited for the ball to start rolling. Grabbing a couple of pieces of toast, he put some jam on them and munched quietly while he watched Effie very obviously trying to ignore him.
Grabbing a roll off the table he tore a small piece off and threw it at her. It landed just short of her plate and he grinned when he saw her hold back a sigh before throwing another one which bounced off her forehead.
"Haymitch…" Her tone was somewhere between tired and annoyed.
Leaning forward a little Haymitch threw one last piece of bread, laughing triumphantly when it landed in her drink with a resounding 'splash'.
"Haymitch! What is the matter with you?"
"What's the matter with you princess?" He countered. "You've had your panties in a wad all morning and it's only nine."
"There's no reason to be rude Haymitch," she mumbled.
Rolling his eyes he poured himself a glass of water. "Whatever Trinket, take it up with my shrink."
She looked confused but before she could ask there was a knock at the door. Looking at Effie he grinned before going over the door, the escort hot on his heels. Taking the envelope from the courier Haymitch thanked the guy and closed the door, ignoring Effie's insistence in the background. Although the statistics were regularly updated and open to the public the escorts and mentors were always given the updates in advance.
"Haymitch, give it to me!"
"Whoa, whoa sweetheart. Remember your manners; age before beauty."
Laughing, he walked backwards as Effie stalked towards him. He held the envelope out of her arm's reach – which was difficult given the outrageous heels she wore – and he swore he saw smoke come out of her ears.
Suddenly he saw he lurch forward and before he could fully process what was happening she was crashing into him and knocking them both over. The collision with the floor knocked the wind out of him and for a moment Haymitch lay there and tried to regain his composure. When the shock wore off he became aware of the fact that Effie Trinket was lying on him, on top of him. He could feel the weight of her body all the way down his, she was wholly woman and Haymitch hadn't fully appreciated that fact before that moment.
He knew the moment she realized what had happened by the way her whole body tensed a moment later. Although he found the situation amusing (among other things) judging by the shock and embarrassment on her face they weren't seeing things the same way.
"You gonna stay here forever?" he drawled.
Effie stared at him and started to say something but all that came out was a mixture of mumbles as she got off of him. Standing up Haymitch offered him hand; it was unlikely that she would be able to get off the ground herself given how tight her dress was. When she was back on her feet again he could see how flushed she was and he wished she wasn't wearing so much makeup so he could fully appreciate how flustered she was.
Tearing open the envelope he took a quick look at the update.
"It's actually not bad for once. They're doing pretty well." He said as he handed her the paper which she accepted without looking at him.
"This should get us some sponsors if we need them. Everyone knows the boy could use some help."
Effie pursed her lips, "He's not doing as well as Katniss."
He shrugged, "Yeah but that'll pass. Star crossed lovers remember?"
"You can't rely on that forever Haymitch."
He snorted, "Sure I can, it's a game Trinket. All they want to do is entertain the masses and send a message. If they don't entertain, it's those kids who will suffer."
"I wish you wouldn't think so badly of all this Haymitch." She pouted.
Arching an eyebrow he looked at her. "You would too given my point of view."
Rubbing the bridge of her nose she went over and sat on the couch turning the Games on to see what was happening.
"Oh…my God." The shocked tone in her voice brought Haymitch to the couch in an instant.
"What?" he demanded.
"That little girl from Eleven is dead. Oh, that's so sad, she was cute."
Haymitch felt anger and disgust begin to boil in his gut but quickly forced it down. After all it wasn't her fault she'd been raised to think a certain way. He just wished that she would overcome it so that he'd have someone that he could have a rational conversation with. He couldn't even talk strategy with her because she didn't fully understand everything he was talking about.
He did feel bad for the kid from Eleven though. Not only had the girl just become old enough to have her name in the reaping bowl but she'd also been Katniss' ally which had lit a fire under the otherwise bratty teenager. There would be a very angry father back in Eleven who would never be the same; after so many years of having to return to his own district alone he'd had his fair share of angry or distraught parents who wanted someone to blame.
"Geez Trinket. Could you at least try and act like a life was lost and not like your puppy got hit by a car?"
Effie shot him a look, "I thought therapy was supposed to help fix you."
He smirked, "You can't fix what ain't broken."
"What does that make you?"
"Unique. What's with you anyways? I'm supposed to be the grumpy one."
She sighed and waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing, nothing. I just didn't sleep well."
"Speaking of not sleeping…" Haymitch started as he came around the side of the couch and sat down. "My doc thought it might be a good idea if you came with me next time."
Effie's eyebrows shot up into her hairline, which was impressive given her up do. "What?" she asked incredulously.
Haymitch smiled sheepishly, "It was just a suggestion. You don't hafta go."
"I don't have a reason to go!"
He shrugged, "I'm just tellin' ya what the doctor said. Plus-" he leaned in and put his elbows on his knees, "-I've gone through something like what you did." He tilted his head towards the television and watched recognition register on her features.
"Well," she said as she settled into the couch and crossed her legs.
"Well…?" Haymitch prodded.
She sighed, "Yes, fine I'll go." She answered.
Haymitch grinned, "Good. I'll book it for next week or whatever."
She nods simply and looks back at the television. By now the Games are being broadcasted in full force and everyone is sure to be watching because two tributes were killed almost simultaneously.
"On the bright side," he started. "Another career is gone and that's good news for us."
Effie nodded, "So what would be the best plan of action right now?"
Haymitch was about to answer when something on the television caught his attention. The camera was focused on Katniss who was opening a parachute that has just landed in front of her.
"Did we send that?" Effie asked.
Haymitch shook his head, "Nope."
They watched as Katniss unwrapped a loaf of bread. Haymitch immediately recognized it as the bread typically found in Eleven. Both he and Effie watched as she thanked the people of Eleven, saluting them.
"Well that was very nice of them!" Effie chirped.
He shrugged, "If anything it's going to help her out later on. We need all the people we can get in out corner."
"Do you think she has a chance of winning?" she asked.
"There's too many left to tell. But it's been nine days so the Gamemakers probably have something up their sleeves."
"Oh, they just do a wonderful job don't they?"
He rolled his eyes, "Sure they do sweetheart."
The rest of the day went by relatively without excitement. As far as the Games were concerned, only the two deaths were really important and although Haymitch hated to admit it but he was almost glad that there were deaths. At least the Capitol would have something to gossip, especially because a career had died. It would change people's bets and the odds would change and it would most likely be to Katniss and Peeta's benefit.
The anthem had just finished playing when Haymitch took a seat on the couch in front of the television. So far the Gamemakers had kept the length of the days in the arena pretty consistent which allowed for regular broadcasts. Although night didn't always mean that the tributes stopped moving the hype usually lessened as night came. If something were to happen he and Effie would be notified immediately anyways so he'd never worried about it before.
"You should get some rest Haymitch."
He looked over his shoulder to see that Effie had come in. It was obvious from the towel on her head that she'd just taken a shower and Haymitch would have paid an arm and a leg to see her hair without it.
Rubbing his neck he stood up. "Is that your plan sweetheart? Nag me to death?"
"Well someone has to. Nothing would get done if I didn't"
"I'm sure I would have fallen asleep eventually."
"On the couch."
"It's a very nice couch."
When she sighed he laughed. "Alright, alright I'm going." He said as he got off the couch and walked around to face her.
"Are you going to kiss me goodnight too?" He teased.
She slapped his arm, "Go to bed Haymitch."
Laughing softly he went to his room and got ready for bed. It had been a relatively easy day for him but he had no doubt that the death of the Eleven girl was going to affect Katniss for the next little while. Which was a good thing because the last thing he needed was to be known as the drunken former victor who mentored a sociopath.