Day 2 : The Kids


Kids Tie You For Life

"I'm ready, I'm on time and sober, sweetheart!" he barked as soon as he had stepped a foot in the girl's house. "I hope you're ready to get the show on the road 'cause I need a drink."

"I'm coming!" was the terse response from upstairs and Haymitch busied himself by being nosy and the various pots on the kitchen counter, fumbling with his tie every few seconds. He had done the best job he could with the tie but he wasn't great at knotting them and the tremors weren't making the job any easier. Katniss would be rubbish at it too but he could ask Peeta when they'd reach the Justice Building. It was the kids' wedding and it was one of the few occasions he would mind looking disheveled.

He heard the footsteps coming closer and turned around, a gibe already on his lips. It died there. He had expected to be rendered speechless at least once or twice that day. He hadn't expected to find Effie Trinket on the threshold. His eyes roamed from her endless legs to the golden dress – underweight, he couldn't help but noticed – and ended up on the familiar face – less make-up, more natural, prettier.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She pursed her lips and tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at him in that familiar way of hers. For a second, despite the absence of heavy-make up and wig, it was as if they had whirled back in time.

"I was early and Katniss asked for help with her hair." she answered. "Hello to you too, Haymitch. Yes, I am well, you are too kind to ask."

"No…" he frowned, ignoring the sarcasms. "What are you doing here?"

"To the children's wedding?" she scowled. "Did you think they wouldn't invite me?"

"I thought it was a private thing. Family only." he retorted. She took a step back, obviously hurt by that and he lifted his hands in the air. "I meant they didn't say you were coming and I wasn't expecting to see you, that's all."

"Yes, I think you made your point about what you meant very clearly." she hissed.

He hadn't seen her in years, since the end of the war, and they hadn't parted on the best of terms.

"I'm not sure about that, sweetheart, but we never could understand each other anyway." he shrugged.

"That's funny, I used to think we understood each other a little too well." she chuckled darkly. "Your tie is crooked."

"'Couldn't get it right." he mumbled.

And just like that, she was stepping closer and undoing the clumsy knot only to tie it up again with ease, then she smoothed the creases off his suit, and fussed over the tie once more, always so bent on everything being perfect. He didn't know why he covered her hands with his. He told himself it was because her fake nails, still sharp and potentially deadly, were too close to his throat. The truth was, he wanted to touch her. She glanced up but focused her gaze back on the tie quickly enough.

He didn't say anything. He never had in the past.

"I missed you a little." she hummed.

"Just a little?" he snorted.

Her eyes darted up again, always so blue, always taking his breath away. He would have lied if he had claimed he hadn't missed the banter and the flirting because he had. They had always danced on the edge, always stayed on the safe side of the line, but he had always wondered what it would have been like to kiss her, to pin her against the wall and find other ways to get mad at each other… Never finding out was a regret but one he had reconciled himself with in the knowledge that he would probably never see her again. And there she was, clad in gold, older but just as beautiful, still damn tempting…

She cleared her throat but didn't take her hands away. "I'm escorting Peeta today."

"I'm giving Katniss away." he offered.

"I know, she told me on the phone." she confessed. "Do you… Do you have a date for the rest of the wedding or…"

"You're always my date at this kind of things." he pointed out. Every party he had gone over the years, he had gone with her.

"Things have changed." she argued.

"Not for me." he replied.

He wasn't sure what they were talking about. The thing they were discussing in covert words, the thing they had refused to acknowledge for years…

An amused smile played on her red painted lips. "You should really think about learning some manners, Haymitch. Are you asking me to be your date for the rest of the day?"

"No." he scoffed. "Just saying. You're always my date at this kind of things. That's fact, sweetheart."

"Silly man." she whispered with fond annoyance.

She was close and he wanted to lean in, wanted to finally experience what it would be like to kiss her properly, but of course Katniss had to make her great entrance at that moment. They sprung apart but the girl didn't even noticed, struggling against the white dress that was a little too long and muttering curses under her breath.

The dress was simple : white silk that hugged her upper body but flowed down freely to the floor, covering her feet and pooling in a small train at the back. Her long dark hair was pulled up in a intricate fancy bun laced with pearls and white ribbons that had Effie's name stamped on it and the make-up was natural and elegant – he would have bet the make-up part was Effie's idea.

She was stunning.

"Not bad." he smirked.

It earned him a whack on the arm from his former escort.

"Really, Haymitch!" she hissed. "Katniss is beautiful. Tell her so."

"You're beautiful." he dutifully complied, rolling his eyes at the Capitol woman.

"I thought I had as much charm as a dead slug?" Katniss joked.

He shrugged. "You grew up good. Now…" He frowned a little, getting serious again. "I already threatened to cut Peeta's balls off if he ever hurt you. So that's your turn. Don't hurt the boy or I will hurt you, sweetheart."

Effie was shaking her head either appalled or amused but Katniss nodded with graveness.

It all went quickly after that. Effie excused herself to go join Peeta, saying she would see them at the Justice Building, and they started the slow hike to town. It was slow mostly because Katniss had to fling her dress over her arm not to have it covered in mud and because she realized halfway there that she had forgotten her bouquet, forcing him to go back and get it.

They were the last to arrive, everyone else was already inside. It was a small wedding and, thanks to Plutarch, a rather private one. Security was keeping journalists and cameras well away from the District which was good because there were a lot of key players of the rebellion attending. Not only Plutarch himself but Fulvia, Johanna, Annie and little Finn, Cressida… He could see them all in the little room where marriages were celebrated but it was Effie's his eyes sought. She was standing next to Peeta and he figured she was to be his witness like he was Katniss'.

The music started and the girl clung to his arm but didn't make a move to step forward.

"I think that's our cue." he snorted.

Katniss had her best panicked look on her face though. It would be just his luck if she was getting cold feet now. It wasn't his role to convince her she wasn't making a mistake, it was the mother's role or the bridesmaid… Katniss' mother wasn't there though, she had sent her good wishes but hadn't found the strength to come back to Twelve. And there was no bridesmaid because that would have been Prim's place and no one could ever replace her even if Delly had been helping her with the wedding plans like a bridesmaid should.

"Want to make a run for it?" he winced.

"I still don't deserve him." she whispered, looking from Peeta, who looked a little nervous, to him. "I never will."

"Yeah…" he agreed, not to be mean but because it was the truth. His eyes found Effie's again and she lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow, silently asking him what was going on. "But we're selfish people and we will take what life throws at us."

"We?" she chuckled.

"You, me… whoever." he grumbled. "Are we going in or are we running away?"

"Going in." she answered without the slightest hesitation.

And they did.

Wedding in Twelve were a simple affair but Effie still found a reason to cry when they exchanged rings. Haymitch rolled his eyes and patted her back and somehow ended up not leaving her side.

The reception took place in the kids' backyard and, despite or maybe because of the few number of guests, it was a success. There was a band who was playing traditional Districts' songs and Haymitch got forced on the makeshift dance floor by Annie and then Katniss and then the music changed, became slower and he found himself in front of Effie who was watching him with an expectant look. She had been talking with Plutarch and Fulvia and she was waiting for him to ask but that wasn't his style. He took her hand and tugged, relieved when she followed without complaining about his manners.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the music.

"They're beautiful." she whispered, her eyes on the kids who were doing their own kind of dancing a few feet away.

Haymitch took a glance and groaned when he saw that Peeta had his tongue so far down Katniss' throat it was a miracle she wasn't gagging. "Do they have to do that in public?"

"They're young and in love…" she sighed. "Have you never kissed someone in public because you couldn't refrain yourself?"

"That's an invitation?" he retorted.

"Ruffian." she chuckled. He wasn't joking but she didn't seem to understand that. "I'm so proud of them."

"They're good kids." he agreed.

"They're ours." she hummed and he couldn't dispute the truth of that statement. "They bring us together again and again."

"Them and the sexual tension." he snickered. What was the point denying they had an attraction now? The war had been over for years, they were at peace… He still had nightmares, he was still broken and he would never forget, but he was less scared. "There's something I want to show you."

She followed him without asking any question. They sneaked out of the kids' property without anyone noticing and he led her to the geese pen in his own backyard. He didn't know at which point her hand had slipped in his but he didn't let go.

"You wanted to show me… your birds." she said when they stopped next to the pen. She sounded disappointed and a little surprised.

"No." He rolled his eyes. "I just knew nobody would bother us here."

"Oh." A soft smile graced her lips. "So what it is you wanted to show me?"

She wasn't surprised when he kissed her and he wasn't surprised when the kiss grew heated. He was surprised they managed to make it to the couch in his living-room at all and utterly unsurprised when they crashed on the floor halfway through. He took the blunt of the fall and had the air knocked out of his lungs. After making sure he wouldn't die just yet, she laughed so hard and so long tears rolled down her cheeks. He kissed each of them away, chuckling too. He wondered if that was what euphoria felt like : happiness and clumsy sex.

As he helped her back in her dress and pulled the zipper up, peppering her spine with kisses despite her complains that his stubble was going to leave burn marks – she would have stubble burn marks all over her body anyway – it occurred to him that never knowing what it felt like to be with her would have really been a regret.

They reappeared at the party in time for the goodbyes and dodged the knowing looks and pointed comments of some of their friends. Peeta asked them to stay for the toasting – which was the real wedding ceremony anyway – and they settled on the couch while the kids got everything ready.

Katniss and Peeta were quite oblivious to them as they told each other the vows they had prepared for the occasion and didn't even notice when Effie's cheek ended up on Haymitch's shoulder at some point, their hands entwined on his knee.

She was right, he mused, the kids always brought them back together.

He would always be eternally grateful for that.