5 times Haymitch saw Effie drunk
1.
Haymitch Abernathy guzzled down in a single sip what was left in his glass and with a confused greeting to Plutarch, headed without any ceremonies, slightly stumbling, to the table of the drinks. He hated the parties since his own Victory Tour and the fact that this one was taking place in District 12 and that had as occasion the celebration of a year since the Rebellion, didn't change so much the matter. He was still the same insufferable lonely drunkard after all, and, if hadn't been for Peeta's persistence, he would have never put a foot in that room.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips at that sudden thought, while he begun to look for the bottle of wine he had inaugurated just a few minutes before, but an expression of pure surprise formed on his face when, after having smelt with little elegance the different bottles, that one in particular seemed to be missing.
"Where the hell is my wine?" he complained aloud, anyway not so loudly to cover the noise of the music.
He kept on mumbling to himself for a while, forced to fall back on a strange liquor with a less pleasant taste. When finally he took some steps away from the table and looked up to try to see Katniss and Peeta, who were in charge to walk him back home, among the crowd, he suddenly found the solution to the mysterious disappearance of the bottle in front of him. At some meters from where he stood, but in an almost hidden position, there was a woman sitting alone and pouring in a glass the precious wine.
The ex mentor inspected her for some moments, even if his eyes were more focused on the quick moves she made to fill and empty in an almost compulsive way the glass. She looked familiar and also terribly tipsy.
"Manners…" he commented ironically, letting his mind recall for a moment the shrill voice of the hated (and perhaps at the same time loved) escort of his district during the times still too recent of the Hunger Games.
It had been a while since the last time he had heard that voice and he had to admit that in some moments he missed it. He shook his head, refusing to fall into one of those moments right then, and took a long sip of liquor, continuing to look for his victors, or better his nannies.
Eventually, he saw them showing up among the couples of dancers and leaving the dance floor to approach him.
"Let's go away, old drunkard" Katniss addressed him letting herself escape an annoyed sigh at the sight of the man's predictable state.
It must have been hard for her: she had lived among the flames of Hell, and she was still living among his ashes pretending to be happy. That evening she would have liked to be anywhere but there, he knew and understood that: that's why, despite the instability of his intellect, he didn't get annoyed for her comment and instead welcomed it with an amused laugh.
"Drunkard, you say? Look at that woman over there…" he answered, pointing at her with a finger "Aah, if Effie were here she would say that… I don't know what she would say, but she would say something, the princess would always have something to say"
He didn't know how that happened but he ended up talking about her; the thing didn't surprise him too much truth be told: his mind must have eliminated any kind of filter, turning the thoughts in words straight away. Anyway, that unwilling joke didn't have the hoped effect and instead of a smile, the two kids exchanged an uncomfortable and worried look.
"What the hell is happening?" the man asked then confused, bringing again the liquor to his lips.
It was that gesture to awake the two victors from the eloquent silence they took shelter in. Katniss was the first to act, approaching him slowly and taking the glass away from him with caution, but it was Peeta to grab his arm firmly and yet gently and lead him towards the exit.
"So, what happened before?"
The same look passed between the two who refused to answer again and Haymitch didn't press the matter forward.
He was too drunk to realize that the woman on her way for a colossal binge was none other than Effie Trinket.
Hello! This is my first fanfic for this fandom, it's Hayffie and it is set a year after Mockinjay. There will be - as the title says - 5 parts, from the next you will se more of Effie and you will understand how much she has changed... Hope you liked this first chapter, let me know what you think!
See you soon,
LadyPalma