It's not the dress
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They were created by Suzanne Collins, if they were mime Hayfield would have been Canon!
And just like that, Haymitch found himself leading Effie onto a packed dance floor. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Katniss and Peeta smirking and winking. Feeling his ears burning, he pointedly looked away and turned round to appraise his situation.
He had just asked Effie to dance with him. In part because he wanted to get her away from Plutarch's -very- eager eyes, but also because he wanted to…
She looked pretty by any standards, but to him, she looked like a revelation.
Just like the one he had back at the "Two Years Without Games" Ball Last year.
He knew it wasn't the sleek hair, because it was her wild, uncontrollable curls that drove him mad. The ones that He had discovered She had one night during the Victor Tour.
Maybe it was seeing her without wigs, or free of heavy make-up. Perhaps it was the dress…
"So, are we going to just stand around as the children continue to gesticulate enthusiastically in the background?" Effie inquired quizzingly, her blue eyes seemed to be sparkling more today. Maybe it was the shimmery stuff on her eyelids.. he caught himself staring wordlessly at her again.
"Get it together, Abernathy" he muttered under his breath. He was acting like a Teenager with a crush. "No" he told Effie with as much determination as he could muster, "we're going to dance".
She smiled and placed her one hand on his shoulder and the other in his. This was amazing, perfect really, except for one thing- Haymitch hadn't danced for at least a decade, so He didn't remember how to dance with extreme confidence and pizazz.
"Like this" she said gently guiding him, "one two-two, one two-two"
"Always bossy" Haymitch grumbled jokingly.
" No, you're doing so well, see.. you just need to move along to the beats."
"Yeah, I have to remind you that this is the Second Time we dance together?" He asked with a smirk.
She blushed and looked away, at the memory of that.
She had wanted to dance with him because of a Tradition that required that Mentors had to dance with Escorts. He had known that it had been important to her, so He had acted more Drunk than He had been. And He had touched her with his wandering hands. She had felt embarassed, but she couldn't react because they were in public. When they had been back at the Penthouse, She had lectured him and He had kissed her to shut her up.
As though on cue, a faster beat picked up and he found himself moving more easily with Effie.
This was so much better than I expected, he thought, as one upbeat song gave way to another…
Effie was pink from the dancing and laughing as he enthusiastically twirled her around.
The music had changed again, this time it was sweet and slow… Twenty minutes ago, he would have been terrified of this moment, but now- he knew exactly what to do.
Haymitch gently pulled Effie closer to him, his hand on the small of her waist. He locked eyes with her- his ears were burning again as though chastising him for his boldness. Effie was blushing at the intensity of his gaze but she didn't look away. In fact, she moved closer till she was resting on his chest.
They swayed in silence and the victor couldn't remember the last time he felt this content. Holding Effie in his arms was the best feeling and he didn't want the song to end.
" You look beautiful" he said softly.
She looked up at him, smiling nervously and more pink than ever- " Ahh it's just the dress, it makes me look younger. And it covers my... Well you know what. And the shoes -"
An epiphany hit and he found himself interrupting her.
''No, Effie. It's not the dress. It's you."
Author's note : Hi, This is my second fic in English. I hope I didn't make any mistakes and I hope you will like this fic. I'm working on a new one-shot about this couple. So stay tuned :)
Kiss
Giuly