What Lies Ahead (Day 1- Youth)
So here's my submission for the first day of Haymitch week. I wasn't sure if I should have saved this for the 'Relationships' day, but I have plans for that too. It's a oneshot centred around Haymitch and his family, set the night before the Reaping for the 50th Hunger Games ie his brother's first reaping and the reaping in which Haymitch is chosen.
I've always imagined Haymitch and his brother's relationship being similar to that shared with Katniss and Prim, so I worked with that. Enjoy :)
"You're supposed to catch it, Haymitch!" Isaac whined as he watched the ball land at his brother's feet.
Haymitch looked over at his little brother, questioning how the 12 year old was so calm and collected. Of course he is, Haymitch mused. The boy had his mother's personality, and that woman could handle anything as if it was just a minor bump in the road.
And really, what did Isaac have to worry about? It was his first reaping tomorrow and his name was only in that bowl twice. Once for his age and then again because it was the Quarter Quell. Twice as many tributes were to be reaped, therefore each child of age had their existing number of entries doubled.
For Haymitch, that meant his name was in that bowl forty times. At the age of 16, his name was already in there five times for each year he'd been eligible. Add to that claiming tesserae for himself, Isaac and their mother every year since he was 12, which added an extra fifteen entries and took his cumulative entries to twenty. Those twenty entries were then, of course, doubled this year.
The odds definitely weren't in his favour.
"Yeah, I got it," Haymitch rolled his eyes, ignoring the fact he'd been silent for several long moments as he bent down to pick up the ball, throwing it overarm back to his brother.
For the remainder of the afternoon, they played like that. Haymitch almost allowed his thoughts to drift back to the oncoming reaping several times, but he never lost focus. He couldn't.
xXx
Dinner that evening was more than an affair than it usually. Their mother, Eva, always made something somewhat more substantial the evening before a reaping but this year, both of her boys were in and doubly at risk. She knew there was a very real chance that both of them could be reaped. It had happened before- both siblings being reaped. Never two brothers, of course, but on more than one occasion, a family in Twelve had lost both a son and a daughter in one Games.
"Mom?" Isaac asked through a mouthful of 'beef'- that's what Sae had called it when Haymitch had used the few coins he had to purchase it earlier that day, at least. Haymitch was almost certain it was wild dog.
"Isaac, don't talk with your mouth full," Eva scolded him. "The Capitol won't appreciate such manners if you're-"
Haymitch cleared his throat loudly, which caused Eva to fall silent. They'd agreed to keep talk of the Games to a minimum whilst Isaac was around. Best to allow the boy to be as relaxed as possible.
Isaac glanced between his mother and his brother before looking down at his plate.
"I just wanted to ask…" the boy mumbled. "Will you tell us the story about daddy after dinner..?"
Their father had died when Haymitch was seven and Isaac was three. An accident in the mine was what had taken him, same as many other men in 12. If it wasn't starvation or illness, it was your job that killed you. The Capitol didn't extend their safety precautions to the outlying districts.
When the accident had happened, the only losses were their father and another man. The accident didn't trigger the sirens in the way a major one did. The first thing the family knew was when a peacekeeper showed up on their doorstep with a simple box of the few belongings that had been on his person- his pocket watch, his identity card and his wedding ring.
The ring now hung on a piece of string around Eva's neck and she touched it automatically when she heard the nature of Isaac's question.
"Perhaps Haymitch can tell you," Eva said with what Haymitch identified to be a forced smile. He knew it was still difficult for her, even after nine years. He also knew that pain would never go away.
"Yeah, I can do that," Haymitch shrugged, gesturing for Isaac to come help him wash up. As they stood there at the sink, Haymitch looked over his shoulder just in time to catch his mother brushing away a tear. Turning back to Isaac, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Get yourself to bed. I'll come tell you the story in a little while after I finish washing up."
Isaac frowned but obliged, going to bid his mother goodnight before he headed upstairs.
Haymitch waited until he heard the bedroom door close before he went into the dining room once more, sitting down at the table beside his mother.
"We're gonna be okay…" Haymitch said quietly, but even he wasn't certain how true his words were. The stakes were so much higher this year. "We will."
Eva looked at her son, reaching out to brush his hair out of his face.
"You're so much like your father, you know," she said with a small smile. "You're brave, kind…you're selfless. He would be so proud of you…"
Haymitch shook his head, his hair falling over his face again.
"He'd be proud of Isaac," he corrected her. "Isaac's the brave one. I mean, that kid's calm as shit."
"Don't curse," Eva reminded him, pursing her lips. "But you're right."
"Of course I'm right. And we have to be like that for him, too. Just…tomorrow, don't let yourself fall apart…no matter what happens."
"Haymitch, it's not-"
"Yeah, it's not. But you gotta. You've always been good at pretending you're okay since dad died. And Isaac hasn't figured that out yet. You gotta keep it up, mom. For as long as you need to."
Eva sighed and looked down at her hands, twisting her simple gold wedding band on her finger.
"You know what your father used to tell me?" She waited for Haymitch to shake his head before she continued. "When times were hard and we were on the brink of starving…he always told me to stay alive. And I did…even after he passed, I did it for him. I do it for you. It all I can do."
"You're doing a good job," Haymitch murmured, standing up from the table. "And like I said, you gotta keep doing that. No matter what happens tomorrow."
"I'll try…" Eva whispered and stood up too, wrapping her arms around her oldest son and holding him tight. "Mama loves you, Mitchy…"
"Yeah, don't call me that," Haymitch whined, but still embraced her tightly, stooping a little to kiss her cheek. "Love you too, mom…"
Eva smiled and looked up at him, brushing his hair out of his face before she nudged him towards the stairs.
Haymitch gave her a small smile before he headed up to Isaac's room and walked in, sighing when he saw the boy already asleep.
"Goodnight, little brother…" he murmured, shutting the door and heading down the hall, with no idea what would lie ahead tomorrow.