"I have no clue what this is, sweetheart. And I don't wanna know," Haymitch said, examining his gift with a disgruntled expression.
Effie looked disappointed. It was an alien look amongst her usual repertoire of plastic smiles. For the entire Victory Tour she had been beyond pleasant, mostly because even someone as detached from reality as Effie Trinket could figure out that if Katniss and Peeta did not win over the public, they were all screwed.
They were sitting on the train, and Effie decided to purchase gifts in District 1, which is ideally the luxury items district. And she decided to buy Haymitch a fancy alarm clock that had a variety of methods of making sure even someone in a drunken slumber would have to wake up.
"It's an alarm clock." Effie blinked twice. It always was baffling to her when no one understood Capitol things. Of course Haymitch knew what an alarm clock was. But this odd contraption did not resemble an alarm clock in the slightest. "To help you wake up."
"I know what alarm clocks do." Haymitch slumped on the sofa and glanced at the speeding colors through the window. Effie still was not deterred by his clear disinterest.
"You're going to try it. I find that you have incredible potential to be someone admired..." and there came the spiel Haymitch had heard a thousand times. It was almost disgusting how much Effie Trinket believed in him.
Nobody else ever did. Not when he went into the Games, nor when he came out of them.
"I'm not using this. There are more important things to worry about than being... on time," Haymitch offered, cutting off Effie mid-sentence.
"Well, Katniss did have another idea when I showed her how it worked," Effie said, her ice blue eyes sparkling like her ridiculously sequined dress.
"Oh did she?" Haymitch growled, a blonde eyebrow cocked.
"I've heard ice water is very effective, Mr. Abernathy," Effie said smugly with a smirk Haymitch did not think her face could make. She always was so painted and ridiculous, looking devious was not something that he imagined Effie had in her arsenal. She seemed to have about two expressions, two smiles. And this one was new.
Haymitch paused. "I'll try the alarm clock, Ms. Trinket. Or whatever this thing is."
Effie's smirk curled further on her bright fuchsia lips.
Years later, Effie was digging through Haymitch's boxes as she was about to move in with him. They smelled exactly as terrible as his stacks of belongings always did. They brought tears to her eyes but she bit them back. He was certainly not going to do it.
The house in Victor's Village simply needed some love. Effie had tried to get him to redecorate for years. And years. Since she became District 12's escort, for that matter. And now she finally had him in her manicured clutches.
She dug into the bottom of a box. Alarm clock. He still had it. Even after all that had transpired, he still had it.
"Did this work? I never checked." Effie held it up. Haymitch was across the room, pretending to be going through the stacks of papers on the cracked dining room table.
Haymitch noticed the devious smirk he had not seen in a long time. The one he did not think Effie could make. He had seen her cry, and awkwardly rubbed her back when she pressed herself against him in her tears. He had seen her look very confused, like a pet poodle, almost. But the evil smirk, that Haymitch had not seen in some time.
"Ice water was more effective," Haymitch replied gruffly and Effie burst into laughter.
Neither of them understood it. But he was laughing. She was laughing.
Effie decided the alarm clock was a good investment.