Effie watched Haymitch walk across to the children's house from the window.
She was being stupid.
Effie knew, deep down, that she needed to get a hold of her senses before she ruined their relationship. She had known getting into this relationship that Haymitch would never declare his love for her openly. She knew unequivocally that he loved her. But he showed her through little things, and it had been enough.
It wasn't anymore.
Effie was beginning to grow jealous of the children. Watching them get married, watching them have a shot at what they deserved. Watching them grow to be happy and watching them fall in love with each other...
Effie wanted to experience that too.
She wasn't naive, Effie had loved before. But never to the extent that she had loved Haymitch. He was the only person who had loved her despite all her flaws. There was nothing that she didn't love about him.
Even whilst annoying her, Haymitch was still himself and Effie found it endearing.
Being with him had always been enough. She was grateful to be able to grow old with him.
But when she had watched the children say their vows...
Effie really wanted to have her special day too. The children's wedding had brought back that same feeling she had felt when she was younger. When she had planned out the wedding dress she was going to wear and the flowers she would pick...
Effie had always just assumed she would get married. It had seemed like something that would happen in her life no matter what.
When she had finally declared herself hopelessly in love with Haymitch, she had made her peace with the idea of never getting married to him. She had made peace with the idea of never being loved by him. He was still proclaiming his hate for her even if it had begun to feel more like a lie to keep a pretence and less like the truth...
But things changed.
Effie had never known that they'd have this life. She had never known they'd be free to claim each other and spend the rest of their lives together. She knew Haymitch loved her. So surely, he would want to marry her too?
There lied the problem though.
If she asked him, he might feel pressured to. Effie knew he felt guilty about her imprisonment. When she had ended up in Twelve, he had paid all her debts and never asked for anything in return and Effie had a feeling it was to do with his guilt over what had happened. If he had decided to marry her because he felt guilty... She couldn't bear it.
Effie knew all too well the reasons he had never wanted to get married. It had been reserved for his girl. He had never intended to marry anyone else. He still had the ring, it was his mother's and it was in the bottom bedside table drawer. Effie had stumbled across it months ago when she was trying to find out where he put his clean socks...
Effie could never compare to his girl. She didn't even know how she could try. She didn't know anything about his one true love, only that she was district and perfect for Haymitch.
Effie certainly wasn't perfect for him. She had nightmares and scars and always argued about the way he did little things like the laundry...
She wasn't sure had the heart to try to guilt trip Haymitch into marrying her, into spending a whole life bound to someone who wasn't perfect for him, simply because he blamed himself for her imprisonment. Regardless of how he felt for her, his reasons were different. She loved him because he was honest and because he was a good man despite how he thought different. Effie fell in love with him because he was so different from any other man, she had dated...
He claimed that he realised his feelings in Thirteen. How much of that was guilt? How much of his love was out of the guilt that she was tortured for loving him? Did he feel like he owed her a life with him after everything? Haymitch was lazy, would he take a life with her instead of having to build it with another woman? Was she just someone he could tolerate who conveniently loved him?
Effie shook her head of the thoughts, it would do no good to doubt what they had. Whatever it was, it was real. She was the one who was about to ruin what they had because she wanted something silly. A pretty dress and a different last name, it was nothing worth leaving Haymitch for.
She had distanced herself from him in the hopes of realising she could be happy without being married. But she was just getting sadder.
Effie was being stupid.
The more she told herself the worse she felt.
Haymitch had noticed the change in mood and he had been desperate to know how to fix it, eager to make her better like he had been since she came back to Twelve... He had never used to try to make her feel better, their relationship had always been about taking and giving very little. It had been all about power and control. And that was part of the reason Effie felt uncertain about asking for marriage.
Neither was in control anymore. They had balanced out in the peace that had fallen upon them and it was beautiful.
She loved their life. So why did it feel like it wasn't enough anymore? Why did she feel a pang of longing seeing the children be happy together? She was happy with Haymitch. But Haymitch was always happy with so little, how could she be sure he was as happy with her as she was with him?
He had long entered the children's house now.
Effie walked away from the window and towards the bedroom.
He had noticed the change in mood and now he was sad too. He had insisted on going to the kids' house alone, perhaps he knew the kids were a part of her issue. Or perhaps he just wanted time away from Effie. Whatever his reasons were, it didn't sit well with her. Effie was scared that she had ruined the peace they had built between them, she was scared he would realise she was too much of a pain and leave her.
She fell asleep before he returned.
But when she woke up, there was the delicious smell of toast in the air.
She heard the noises of Haymitch getting cups out downstairs and she hoped that they didn't have guests because she was desperate for something to eat but she was still too sleepy to get dressed...
"Good morning," he chuckled when she came into view of him in the kitchen. "You slept late," he remarked, and Effie glanced at the clock.
"Oh gosh, it's eleven already?" She gasped. "I must have been more tired than I thought."
"You're still tired?" He asked in an interested tone.
"Well I suppose I haven't woken up yet," she frowned. "Why, what are you planning?"
"Breakfast in bed," he smirked. "Among other things." And amused smile floated onto Effie's face.
"Well, if there is breakfast," she faked disinterest. "Let me brush my teeth," she suggested, she kissed his cheek and headed back upstairs. The idea of breakfast in bed was tempting been if he was going to get crumbs all over the bed...
When she left the bathroom, he was already on the bed with a tray.
"What's brought all this on?" She asked, carefully climbing onto the bed.
"No reason," he murmured. "Breakfast in bed doesn't involve talking you know." With that as a warning, he grabbed the toast and forced it into her mouth. She chuckled around the toast, taking a big bite and trying to escape him...
"That's not fair!" Effie protested when she had finished eating the toast, trying to grab the rest of the toast from his hands. "I wasn't prepared for you to-" his hand forced the toast to her mouth again and Effie squealed around the toast.
He laughed at her reaction and Effie realised they hadn't laughed together in such a long time...
"There's butter all over your face now," he pointed out with a soft smile.
"Maybe I should give you a taste of your own medicine," Effie taunted, she didn't let the words settle in the air. She forced him to take a big bite of toast as he had with her.
"The difference is, I don't care," he mocked, his mouth still full of food. Effie wrinkled her nose at his manners and, as discreetly as she could, wiped the crumbs and butter from around her mouth.
They stopped playing then and started eating properly after that. The tray ended up balanced between them as they ate in a comfortable silence. When she finished the toast, she started drinking the tea and when she finished the tea, she abandoned the tray on the floor to settle in his arms...
"Thank you," she commented. "For the breakfast in bed." He hummed a reply and she looked up at him carefully. "I love you, you know?" He didn't startle like he usually did, instead, he drew patterns on her arm and kissed her cheek.
"I know," he whispered in her ear. "I've got to feed the geese." It was an odd thing to say when she was in bed with him and Effie frowned but allowed him to slip out of bed. She watched him head downstairs before climbing out herself and deciding to get changed.
The morning had been nice but now things felt weird again. Haymitch never surprised her with things like breakfast in bed and he certainly never let her express her love like that. Effie had been feeling content at that moment, she had wanted him to know that she was happy with him after so many days of putting him on edge...
Effie suddenly had a sinking feeling that these out of the ordinary events might have been for the opposite reason. Perhaps he was planning to break up with her and that was why he ran away so suddenly...
Effie brushed her hair and glanced out the bedroom window to see the geese. He wasn't out there yet... perhaps it really was a pretence for him to delay breaking up with her a little longer. She felt her cheeks burn at the thought of those words being on the tip of his tongue while they cuddled... And then she had said she loved him...
The tray was still on the floor, so she picked it up and took it to the kitchen.
She didn't notice it at first.
She was too busy noticing his glaring absence and the geese honking. Had he only just gone to feed them? Was he avoiding her?
It was only when she turned around from placing the tray on the counter that she spotted the mug on the table.
And the ring next to it.
His mother's ring.
Effie stared at the battered ring for a moment before the meaning settled in.
Katniss and Peeta had mentioned a toasting...
Had he just married her?
"Haymitch!" Effie called trying very hard to keep the emotion out of her voice. She didn't even know what to feel. She didn't want to let herself feel anything until she was sure...
He didn't reply.
Effie felt a flare of anger rush through her, she knew he had to have heard her.
She marched to the back door, even more annoyed to find it open. He had ignored her...
"Did you just marry me?" She hissed when she spotted him. He had his back to her. "Answer me, now." He turned around and had the decency to look sheepish.
"Only if you want to," he offered awkwardly.
"What?" Effie asked, stunned... She felt like her head was spinning...
"Careful," Haymitch said quickly, stepping forward to steady her by grabbing her arms tightly. "Maybe you should sit down..."
"I do not want to sit down," Effie frowned. "I want to know what you mean."
"Go and sit in the kitchen then, it's cold..." He was trying to escape her again.
"No," she snapped. "I don't understand what just happened."
"You need me to spell it out for you?" He chuckled.
"Yes," she hissed. "Because I was under the impression that a marriage involved two people's consent."
"It does," he let go of her to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. Effie wrapped her own arms around herself because it was cold without him holding her. "If you don't want to marry me then it's just breakfast in bed. And if you do…" Effie snorted, trust Haymitch to give her an uncertain wedding.
"I want to," she replied quickly. "But I want a proper wedding."
"I don't want a big party princess," he complained, but he had relaxed so Effie counted it as a win.
"A small party then," she offered. "No vows, just a party so I can wear my white dress and have my moment." A smirk appeared on his face and she found herself smiling back.
"Sounds like a plan.". His gaze dropped to her hands. "You didn't put the ring on."
"Because I wasn't sure that was a toasting," she chuckled. "You're so lucky I love you, you silly man." She stepped closer to wrap her arms around his neck, leaning up to kiss him... "How did you know I wanted a wedding?" She asked, momentarily pulling away from him.
"Peeta figured it out," he confessed with a sheepish smile. He was happy, Effie mused, he was happy with her. He was happy spending the rest of his life with her... He leaned in but she drew back, wanting to bask in the moment for a second longer so she could remember it... "Stop playing sweetheart," he huffed. "You should've just told me you wanted a wedding."
"I didn't think you would want to."
"Stupid," he snorted and leaned in again, she let him kiss her this time. It didn't get out of control though, mainly because she couldn't stop smiling. "I always want you, isn't that clear by now?" He said against her lips. Effie stepped away from him and moved towards the house.
"I want my ring," she pouted. "Give it to me properly and then you can have me." He rolled his eyes. She didn't let him answer, she turned around and walked back into the warm house, pleasantly surprised when he followed her in.
"You're fucking annoying," he commented quietly, picking up the ring from the table and reaching for her hand...
"On one knee," she insisted. He raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me or not?" He debated it for a second but indulged her.
"Happy now?" He complained, she nodded. The ring was a little tight on her finger, but it fit. Effie didn't get a chance to look at it on her hand because he was in her space and kissing her the minute it was secured on her finger.
"Take me to bed darling," she giggled against his lips. He paused for a moment.
"Husband," he corrected.
"Husband," she repeated with a fond smile. He took her hand in his and for a moment the lust was replaced with tenderness...
"Wife," he replied with a kiss to her hand. Then he tugged it towards the stairs.
She let him.
It would be rude not to celebrate with her husband after all.