A/N Here is the Mentor aka the chapter that gave me hell for like six weeks. To make up for that you get 1000 words per week. Fanks for betaing Hiding.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or the characters from Glee. Italicised text denotes text taken from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and belongs to her.
The Mentor
Reapings are always the worst. Kurt has to look out across the sea of faces and lock eyes with this year's victims. He has to remember how it felt to hear his name called. Worst of all, though, he can always see the old Blaine in the families of the teenagers and Santana in the hordes of young ladies and all he can think about is how much he wishes bad things didn't have to happen to good people.
This is the Capitol he's thinking about, though. He's stood here and watched as four kids got sent to their deaths in the last two years and so he feels much older than his twenty years.
Haymitch stumbles into his chair, pulling the drunkard routine. Is it even a routine today? Most days Kurt can't tell the difference.
"Ladies first," Effie says in her insufferable manner, pulling out a slip.
And it's the worst result imaginable. District Twelve's new female tribute is a tiny twelve-year-old. She can only have had one slip in there, surely? Then a girl comes rushing forward. She's older and resembles Santana so much it's painful for Kurt to think about but he's going to have to. He's going to have to think about her a whole lot more because she has just volunteered and, unlike Blaine, she is eligible to.
Haymitch is being extremely embarrassing as he staggers across the stage towards the poor girl. Katniss, her name is.
"Look at her. Look at this one," Haymitch crows. "I like her. Lots of... spunk."
At that moment Kurt knows that he can see the Santana in her too so maybe, just maybe, she'll have a chance for once. Haymitch always says Santana could have had it all, after all.
Then Haymitch does the one thing that makes Kurt able to distinguish this sober him from his true drunk state. He addresses the cameras, masked and protected by the masquerade.
"More than you! More than you!" he yells and the girl seems more shaken than reassured by his display so Kurt moves forward to shake her hand.
"Welcome to Team Twelve," Kurt smiles, shaking her hand. She manages a brief, weak smile in return.
Just when Kurt thinks this Reaping cannot get any more eventful the male tribute is called. Unfortunately, he recognises the name, though he only has a vague acquaintance with the boy. It's Peeta Mellark, Blaine's favourite student and Rachel's secret sponsorship weapon.
Kurt can sense that this year will be worse than ever before. The Hunger Games have begun.
Blaine watches silently from the back of the crowd. This is the only day of the year he can leave without being threatened with assault. That's only because of the cameras. When Peeta Mellark is selected his legs turn to jelly. It is almost as bad as Kurt's reaping over again. Peeta still comes to visit him sometimes; he is his link to the outside world. Now that's gone too, just like Kurt.
He keeps his feelings inside until he reaches his prison for another year. Blaine may not actually speak to Kurt anymore but that doesn't stop him from addressing his desperate wish to his estranged boyfriend. Kurt is somewhere on a train right now but he is the one with the power.
"Please, Kurt, keep Peeta safe," Blaine begs.
Effie goes to collect the tributes for supper. The tributes, that's what Kurt has become accustomed to calling the victims. He cannot afford to become too well acquainted with Katniss and Peeta. They are Girl and Boy.
"Where's Haymitch?" she demands of Kurt.
Kurt shrugs quietly; over the years he has perfected his little twitchy quiet boy routine. Effie has come to expect it, despite the fact that she knew him before it became necessity.
Peeta- the Boy- answers her. The Girl just looks vaguely irritated.
"Well, it's been an exhausting day," is Effie's best attempt to make Haymitch's behaviour seem acceptable.
She may not know this but he is probably up in his room measuring up the tributes and planning countless strategies already. The drunkenness just gives him a decent excuse.
The tributes, as usual, seem ecstatic to see such rich food. Kurt remembers that feeling but that just reminds him of Santana beside him. It was a constant battle of wills, of course, but she was familiar. Now, however, he just eats primly, in silence.
No words pass between the four unlikely companions until the end of the main course, at which point Effie has the nerve to say, "At least you two have decent manners. The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages. It completely upset my digestion."
Kurt is outraged, though his face remains a mask. Will and Katya- Boy and Girl- were two of the nicest teenagers he had ever met. So they were hungry, what did it matter? Katniss also has the decency to look even more irritated and Kurt notices with a smile that she ensures the rest of her meal is consumed with relatively poor table manners. She does have spunk. Kurt can just see Santana's spirit radiating from her eyes.
There is no way Kurt will watch the Reapings again if he can avoid it, though he knows Haymitch will be doing so from his room so he quietly claims fatigue and makes his exit.
Unfortunately that means he misses a short conversation between Effie and the tributes in which his competence is questioned.
"Your mentor has a lot to learn about presentation. A lot about televised behaviour."
This isn't true, though Effie won't understand that. Haymitch knows everything there is to know about presentation and has the best acting skills of anyone Kurt has ever met, including himself.
"He was drunk. He's drunk every year," Peeta comments correctly.
"Every day," Katniss adds.
"Yes, how odd you two find it amusing," Effie snaps. "You know your mentor is your lifeline to the world in these Games. The one who advises you, lines up your sponsors, and dictates the presentation of any gifts. Haymitch can well be the difference between your life and your death."
Katniss is slightly deterred by this. "We have Kurt," she comes up with but this provokes a fiery response from Effie.
"Ah yes, of course you do. Kurt Hummel is of less use than grey clothing!" she yells, though being from District Twelve, Peeta and Katniss do not quite get what she means; grey clothing can be very useful there.
However, as she continues her meaning becomes apparent. "He does nothing but sit in the corner. I rarely hear the boy utter a word. He won his Games through dumb luck. You two won't be half as lucky."
Haymitch promptly walks in and throws up and Effie flounces off.
"So laugh away."
Haymitch, having heard the conversation, smirks inwardly at the evidence of a job well done.
Again Kurt is silently present at the next show Haymitch gives him. Quite rightly he had predicted that this particular pair of tributes would be fed up with the elder mentor's behaviour. However, he is slightly shocked to see the violence that follows. It always surprises Kurt, though it shouldn't, to see Haymitch's finesse. That welt on the boy's face won't be healing in a hurry and it tells of more physicality than Kurt could manage, even with his younger years and comparative sobriety.
That scuffle aside, though, the girl. Kurt has admittedly noticed the grip she exerts on any kind of weapon in her possession, including the simple knife, but the accuracy of the throw and the dangerous, almost delighted glint in her eyes reveal her as a formidable opponent.
However, Kurt knows that she will be Haymitch's tribute. He has the most to give her so instead Kurt tries to focus on Blaine's favourite student, Rachel's sponsorship accomplice- no, just Boy. Boy could benefit from some acting coaching even though he has the nice-guy routine down if the looks he gives Girl are anything to go by.
Yet this isn't how it turns out, immediately at least. Haymitch has quiet words with Kurt the next day.
"It's Santana again," he says bluntly. "Only she wants to win. Problem is we can read her like a book."
Kurt senses this will become his job but he has to protest. Haymitch is well-known for picking favourites as his own experience leads him to readily attest.
"Peeta," he says. "He has promise. We can train him up."
Haymitch just shoots him right down. "No. It's her. Do you really think he can take her out?"
This statement has many levels of truth from both the physical and emotional points of view but it is not until after Katniss and Peeta have been paraded around in flames that Kurt realises what is meant by 'It's her'.
"Whose idea was the hand-holding?" Haymitch asks.
Portia tells him.
"Just the perfect touch of rebellion. Very nice."
Suddenly Kurt is reminded of hushed moments in corridor between Haymitch and a District 11 mentor: Chaff.
"She could be the key: the linchpin."
They were talking about Santana, of course. Haymitch always encouraged Santana's rebellion and the way he always approached the Capitol as an enemy seemed to indicate a quiet allegiance elsewhere.
Haymitch sends away everyone bar Kurt and the stylist, Cinna.
The eldest of the men surveys the other two, sizing them up. Silently he beckons them to follow him. They end up on Haymitch's balcony which, being part of Team Twelve, is small and not exactly the best fit for three fully-grown men.
"How do you feel about the Capitol, Kurt?" the man finally asks.
Kurt feels oddly caught. Isn't it Haymitch who always tells him to keep his feelings quiet? He would answer Haymitch's question without delay if not for Cinna, a relative unknown, standing there.
So he shrugs and quietly mutters something non-committal to which Haymitch glares.
"Don't worry about him, he's no spy," Haymitch grunts, irritated.
The look in Cinna's eyes speaks volumes. He seems trustworthy but his eyes reflect Haymitch's words with the hint of some extra secret, seeming to say 'not against you, anyway.'
"Think about what they did to Santana and Blaine," Haymitch demands, still attempting to elicit an emotional response. He succeeds.
Like an idiot, Kurt does and is propelled into rage. "And me," he says angrily. With no hint of affected stutter, voice clear as day, he adds, "They're cruel sadistic witches who deserve to rot in hell."
Cinna nods unexpectedly and Haymitch looks triumphant.
"Good," he grimaces. "So we're all on the same page. If I'm correct, Cinna, there are more than 12 hours on the clock for you too."
Finally, Cinna breaks into a smile and shakes off his wariness. "Your instincts are correct. Should I assume there is a 13th for Mr Hummel also?"
Again, Cinna's eyes say more than his voice. They tell of a doubt in Kurt's apparent uselessness.
"Kurt is sympathetic. I aimed to initiate him tonight, with your permission."
Haymitch is treading carefully and Kurt notes the two of them mentally pacing around each other but at the same time holding a mutual understanding. Cinna nods gravely and Kurt can no longer take the secrecy.
"What's going on, Haymitch?" he demands. "I want you to be completely honest with me for once. What kind of society are you part of?"
"Your patience is an admirable asset, Kurt," Cinna says conversationally, with a voice that Kurt suspects could even have put Santana at ease. "To answer your question: the rebellion. We are agents of District 13."
Suddenly it all makes sense: Haymitch's knowledge of the Capitol, his urgency and the whole charade. Sometime later the true purpose of the meeting becomes clear. They are there to discuss Katniss.
"Is she it?" Haymitch asks Cinna.
Again Cinna nods. He explains and Kurt finally understands.
"What we needed was a tribute, a girl, who could push the Districts over the edge. A centrepiece, a linchpin, crucial to our victory."
"And that's her?" Kurt questions.
"That's her," Haymitch confirms.
Pretending the previous night's conversation never happened comes surprisingly easy to Kurt. He allows himself to switch off as Haymitch gets down to business, discussing tactics with the tributes. His quiet, unassuming personality is effortlessly preserved.
However, there is one part to Haymitch's strategy that Kurt has not been informed of.
"One last thing. In public I want you by each other's side every minute."
This confuses Kurt. Haymitch, given his observation skills, cannot have missed Peeta's feelings for Katniss so what, exactly, is he up to in forcing them to spend every waking minute together? Kurt knows enough to know that this will be emotional suicide during the Games. It was Haymitch, after all, that warned Santana off of allying with her District partner.
Looking after the two tributes, Kurt realises Haymitch's plan. Having Peeta as her staunch bodyguard will help Katniss but once more Kurt finds himself the only one worrying for the boy's safety.
While Haymitch may ignore the boy, as soon as he returns Kurt ensures he finds out exactly how his Gamemaker session went. The boy responds, not enthusiastically but not despondent either, with a simple summary of his actions and the reactions given.
"I'm pretty sure the Head Gamemaker looked up at the best moment," he is saying.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Katniss storms in, holding back tears. Effie jumps to her feet and runs after the distraught youth only to get the door slammed in her face. Peeta looks extremely anxious as it is obvious something must have gone terribly wrong. When things go wrong for most people in District 12 it can mean going without food for a few days. For this girl it can easily mean her death.
However, Haymitch breaks into an ugly, yellow-toothed grin.
After countless attempts to break down the door by both Effie and Haymitch, Kurt is finally noticed.
Haymitch nods at him, "Take a go," he orders.
Kurt creeps gingerly up to Katniss's door.
"Katniss? It's Kurt. Can I come in?" he asks politely.
At first she screams at him to 'go away' and 'why can't they leave her alone' and other less palatable things. Then, however, once she's stopped she realises he's still there and opens the door a crack. Kurt slithers in.
The girl is a mess.
"W-what happened?" Kurt stutters. Even Katniss cannot resist the lure of telling a story to a wavering young man. This is why Haymitch sends him to find their information; no one thinks he will be listening, let alone remembering.
"I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers," Katniss replies flatly.
Kurt almost cries; she is so like Santana in that moment.
"Okay," he says quietly. "Did it hurt anyone?"
Katniss almost does a double-take at the unobtrusive logical and steady manner in which Kurt approaches the question.
"No, I don't think so," she says. "I left. They're going to be so mad at me."
There is no point refuting that statement.
Kurt sits and waits for Katniss to regain her composure.
She whispers her greatest fear so only he can hear. "Will they kill me? Or my family?"
He shakes his head. "Wouldn't be worth the paperwork," he mutters bitterly. "Katniss, no matter what you had done, your life was always going to be hell from here out. You're going to have to fight like mad just to hold on to who you are. Most tributes don't manage it. Even if you win, nothing is ever going to be the same. That's not always a good thing."
Pityingly, Katniss looks at Kurt in a new light.
"Kurt, at least you made it out..." she begins but he abruptly cuts her off.
"You sound like me three years ago. Every tribute sees winning as the most desirable thing. Every victor wishes they died in the arena."
Kurt realises this is not the best way to cheer up the tribute and changes his tack.
"But my point is, no matter what happens to you, Katniss, you're not alone. You're never alone. You have your friends and your family and I know it doesn't feel like it now but Haymitch, Cinna and I have your best interests at heart. You can come out the other side. You can fight through this. The first step towards that is coming out of this room and eating with us."
A wary smile breaks out on Katniss's face.
"Thank you, Kurt."
"Let's go and face this together."
He goes to leave. It doesn't take her too long to follow him out.
Slowly, Katniss manages to explain what happened to the rest of the team and they make light hearted, if not slightly morbid, comments which cheer her up.
"For all they know, you could be hiding your talents to get a low score on purpose. People use that strategy." Portia comments.
Looking at Kurt across the room, Katniss finally appreciates his firm gaze and constant presence. She was wrong. Kurt's shyness and apparent feebleness isn't a weakness that made people assume he would die. It doesn't make him the greatest let-down victor ever. Kurt's apparent feebleness is a strength. It's an act he's built up. It saved him in the Games and it continues to save him every day from people seeing him as a threat.
Katniss looks at the other people in the room. How many of them does she really know? Kurt's words come back to her: most tributes don't manage to hold on to who they are. Is Haymitch really a hopeless drunk? Kurt is certainly no delicate flower.
Then Katniss remembers just which victor Kurt was. His fellow tribute was Santana Lopez, the girl who came second and killed herself. Kurt has never killed anyone but there is a difference between not killing and not being able to. He can yield and that is what made him successful. To win the Games you must pay more attention to what your fellow tributes are doing than to your personal strategy.
Katniss looks at Peeta, really looks at him, as a certain enemy for the first time. Gone are any remnants of their friendly pretence because Katniss sees that she is the new Santana to a tee, complete with archery abilities. That makes Peeta the new Kurt. Kurt, who somehow manipulated, or at least influenced, Santana's emotions so that she threw victory away. She cannot allow Peeta to get under her skin; it could be fatal.
At yet she must have done, to feel betrayal at Peeta's sudden tactic change. Perhaps all that pretending to be friends got to her.
Kurt too is surprised when Haymitch tells him. They will both mentor both tributes. This also shocks him; Haymitch didn't previously seem to care much for the male tribute.
"Good," is Katniss's outward response. "So what's the schedule?"
"You'll each have four hours with Effie for presentation and four with me and Kurt for content. You start with Effie, Katniss."
Kurt will never cease to be amazed by Haymitch's ability to stay ahead of the game. He doubts he'll get used to it either.
The vibe is very different between Haymitch and Peeta without Katniss present. Peeta no longer holds back quietly. Haymitch doesn't look through him in response and actually pays attention. It feels oddly like some strange battle of wills.
However, the tension doesn't last long. Haymitch gets right down to business.
"Your saving grace is your charm," he says bluntly. "Lay it on nice and thick. You are the boy next door. Play to the audience and they will love you."
Peeta nods; he has been doing this ever since he arrived anyway.
Haymitch grills Peeta with some questions and Kurt is pleased to see that his instincts were right about the boy; he is a complete natural. Honestly, Kurt believes Peeta's confident charmer even more than he believes his own scared ferret impression.
The older mentor merely nods as though expecting it.
"You just need one more thing; an edge. You need something to make the audience root for you," Haymitch tells the boy who is drinking up his every word.
"At the moment I see bland charmer who is trying too hard to make everyone happy. Sure, you're likeable, but any smart audience will see straight through that unless there's something unequivocally real about you. Don't suppose you've got anything like that hidden away, boy?"
There is a twinkle in Haymitch's eyes. Peeta looks to him and sees what he is implying. Helpless, he turns to Kurt but sees that even that quivering idiot knows about his crush on Katniss. His heart sinks.
"You want me to talk about my feelings for Katniss," Peeta states.
"The starcrossed lovers from District Twelve makes a great angle," Haymitch comments.
Suddenly, Kurt feels very out of the loop. He has been included in their discussions of Katniss and her potential but it seemed that Haymitch was merely ignoring his thoughts on Peeta. Now he sees that isn't the case. Haymitch has been plotting a wider angle, as has Cinna, from the moment they saw the two together. Now the matching outfits and holding hands all make sense.
But Peeta clams up. He stands up angrily, the first show of negative emotion Kurt has witnessed from him.
"I can't. I can't do that. You want me to put my emotions out there where she'll see them. I don't want her to feel any guilt about killing me in that arena. You can try all your matchmaking out here but even if she feels the same way we can't be together. One of us isn't coming out of there. I won't do that to her," he objects.
Haymitch tries to bring him round but instantly Kurt knows he has chosen the wrong tack.
"I don't want you to marry the girl! Just show some interest, give the people a show. You can tell her it's for the cameras if you like but it's completely in your own interests. If you don't do this you won't get any sponsors, boy, don't you see that?"
"I don't want sponsors! I don't want to win!" Peeta yells back and they are both on their feet and in each other's faces.
Kurt stands up too and clears his throat.
"May I?" he stammers politely.
Haymitch rolls his eyes but waves the young man forward before returning to his seat.
Kurt addresses Peeta. "It wouldn't just be helping you," he says. "In my Games I had a fellow tribute. Her name was Santana. She could've won but she played alongside my quiet coward tactics to get us left alone in the arena. Once we were there she switched to domineering bully so that the Capitol wouldn't see us as allies. If she hadn't done that I wouldn't have made it past the Cornucopia. Those tactics didn't help her much but they helped me. It can be the same with you and Katniss. Presenting the two of you together gains her some support too. It means you can help her in the arena without people second guessing your motives. It means you can lead others astray while seeming to have only one thought track. Doing this will help her, Peeta."
Peeta looks closely at Kurt before slowly sinking into his seat.
"Okay," he says. "I'll do it."
"Attaboy," Haymitch grins. "Now the best time to do it is when Caesar asks you about girls- and he will- so just..."
Katniss may be the new Santana, the important piece of these Games, but as Haymitch's voice fades into the background Kurt can't help but feel that he has helped a small piece of Santana's spirit live on in Peeta, who may be more like her than they thought.
When Haymitch comments on Katniss's hostility Kurt can't help but disagree. It is at this point that he realises the beast that Haymitch brings out in her; she is certainly more hostile now than he has ever seen her. Once more Kurt is a tribute's best bet in the interview stage.
Eventually, after coaxing her into a million personas, or at least attempting to (Kurt can attest she is in fact a terrible actress), Haymitch gets irritated.
"Then lie!" he yells. "Make something up!"
"I'm not good at lying," she yells back.
"Well you'd better learn fast," he responds. "You've got about as much charm as a dead slug."
That is going a bit far, even if it is true. Haymitch storms to the window, biting back any further remarks.
"I give up! Kurt, see what you can do with her," he sighs.
Again, Kurt believes Haymitch is trying the wrong tactic. This Katniss is hostile and aloof, sure, but the Katniss he met after her fiasco with the Gamemakers was perhaps more likeable than Peeta. She was real. That is what they need to tap into.
"The key to making people believe what they see is believing it yourself," he tells her gently. "Whichever angle you use, you need to keep the real you in there somewhere."
Katniss looks up and begins to actually listen.
"My angle was cowardice," he continues. "So I spent all my time on camera thinking about how scared I was of the arena to the point that I believed I was that weak myself. You have to give it flair."
The girl is dubious.
"Try gushing," Kurt asserts. "Convince me that you love everything about the Capitol."
To her credit, she does try but fails to make Kurt believe she so much as finds it vaguely interesting.
"No, no, no!" he exclaims dramatically. "Like this:"
He rushes over to her, eyes filled with excitement and confidence.
"Oh, Katniss, darling, I just love that dress you're wearing. I don't suppose you could tell me where I could find one to buy for my mother? It's just that you have the same shade in your eyes as she does and that colour brings them out so well..."
The young man trails off to see both Katniss and Haymitch staring at him in surprise. Haymitch claps slowly.
"Now that was gushing," he mutters. "Maybe I should've used that with him. You, however, cannot gush, sweetheart."
Haymitch has begun again and none of his new angles suit Katniss but Kurt knows she has heard his words because Cocky Katniss has a deep seated pride in her ability for survival, Witty Katniss has a dark, sarcastic humour very typical of Twelve and Mysterious Katniss is reluctant to share her sister with the world. Real Katniss is beginning to shine through.
"Stay alive," are Haymitch's last words to the tributes. They are short and to the point but Peeta still seeks out Kurt.
"What about you?" Peeta asks. "Any words of advice?"
Kurt nods. "Everyone has an agenda. Sometimes people aren't what they seem. Being yourself out here might save you but in there it's your biggest weakness. Use that."
In the end they don't wind up watching the beginning of this Games together, the team. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Kurt sees both advantages and disadvantages to this. On the one hand, he doesn't have Haymitch getting annoyed at his weakness every two seconds and constantly muttering plans to himself that he is never going to reveal even to his partner in crime. On the other, Kurt has to storm through the entire floor to find and yell at him for keeping him in the dark.
He shakes in anger as he searches for the older mentor; luckily the people he passes mistake it for nerves and fear, as they are prone to. Amazing, really, the power of suggestion.
Eventually, he finds him, watching the Games attentively, alone in his room.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt demands, slamming the door behind him.
"Tell you what, boy?" Haymitch sighs lazily.
"We're meant to be equal partners here, Haymitch!" Kurt exclaims. "I'm sick of you constantly excluding me! What were you thinking? How is getting in with the Careers going to help Peeta? Are you trying to get him killed so that Katniss can win?"
Eventually, Kurt runs out of steam.
"Are you done, sweetheart?" Haymitch asks, raising a brow.
When Kurt, out of breath, nods his assent, Haymitch begins to speak.
"You need to be more careful, Kurt," he says seriously. "Your mask has been slipping recently. I didn't tell you for your sake. You are too attached to the boy and your confident attitude is getting you noticed far more than you need. Do I need to remind you what they did to my family?"
"Okay, whatever, thanks for the warning," Kurt sasses back. "But you could still involve me in tactical decisions!"
"Listen, boy," Haymitch says powerfully. "I've been playing this game far longer than you have. Would you tell meek and timid Kurt all your latest plans? Would you value his input? Would other people find it odd if you did? Right now I'm the only thing that stops your disguise from becoming totally transparent. You can never get too comfortable!"
Kurt takes a moment to take in Haymitch's point. He calms down with a jolt as he realises Haymitch's reasons.
"Oh. I..." he stutters.
"Perfect. Keep doing that. Now shut up and go away, I need to go and chat up some sponsors," Haymitch orders.
Defeated, Kurt leaves.
They happen to be watching it together when the next major surprise comes.
Claudius Templesmith announces the possibility of two winners.
Haymitch mutters, "so that's their game," and they nearly miss what happens next.
Despite all the training and drilling in to Katniss that really she does have to at least pretend to be in love with Peeta, neither Haymitch or Kurt ever really expected the result to be quite so instantaneous or convincing. With Katniss's acting ability it should have been stilted at best.
"Peeta," she gasps and it is so simple, so desperate and filled with such feeling that she becomes believable.
Kurt chokes on his water in shock. Haymitch merely nods to himself and grinds his teeth as his thinks about the Games the Gamemakers have planned for them.
Haymitch paces the room, keeping one eye trained on the intimate scene between Katniss and Peeta while he barks down his phone.
"No. Don't let them have it yet," he tells the person on the line.
Kurt taps nervously on his chair. The delicate balancing act required to keep using the sponsors and benefitting the tributes from outside the arena has heated up now that they are so far into the competition and Kurt is suddenly glad that Haymitch keeps him so far from the driving seat.
"No, Peeta, I don't even want to discuss it," Katniss is saying.
And finally, finally, she is kissing him.
"Yes! That's it, sweetheart," Haymitch yells. "Now. Drop it," he orders down the phone before hanging up.
"At least someone's giving something to work with," he mutters before sinking into a chair and yelling for more liquor.
For once Haymitch is stuck. He is used to getting what he wants or going in for the extreme option. This time, though, he doesn't have the money to send Peeta the medication he needs. Nor does he have the ability to go and shake some sense into the boy.
It's pretty much certain that the little backpack being shipped to the arena for District Twelve contains the all-important remedy but Peeta is being stubborn.
"Idiot's getting himself killed," Haymitch mutters angrily.
"I thought you wanted Katniss to win," Kurt shrugs bitterly.
"Keep your voice down," Haymitch fires. "I still have to look after the oaf. How are we getting Katniss to that feast?" he demands of Kurt.
"I-I'm sorry. You're talking to m-me?" Kurt asks, feigning timidity.
"Give me an answer, Porcelain, you're getting on my last nerve," Haymitch snaps. "I don't have time for your precious feelings right now."
Maybe it's his use of Santana's old nickname that sets his brain rolling but Kurt suddenly has an idea.
"Peeta won't let Katniss go. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."
Haymitch glares at Kurt. "Spit it out!" he orders.
"Sleep syrup," Kurt smirks.
"Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed."
It is the ultimate climax of the Games and Team Twelve watches together in the openness of the District Twelve floor.
Kurt gasps in shock along with Portia and her little Capitol team. He should be more used to this kind of cruelty than he is. He does notice, however, that Cinna just droops his head slightly as though a distant impossible hope has just been shattered and Haymitch barely even bats an eyelid.
Either way it is a District Twelve victory, Kurt attempts to focus on.
It's painful, though, watching these two teenagers, these two kids, who are falling in love face off at the end of a long fight to the death. In many ways, he is glad it didn't come down to this for Brittany and Santana. He is also painfully reminded of the last time it came down to Twelve against Twelve.
He was wrong in his early assessment. He said Katniss was the new Santana and that Peeta was him in many ways. Right now, however, it is not Katniss who plans to die so that Peeta can win. It is not Katniss who deliberately aggravates an old wound so she will bleed to death. That is Peeta.
Then out come the berries. If he'd had a chance to, though, would he have killed himself in the arena? Maybe not then. Maybe not before he knew what would happen to Blaine. Maybe not before the nightmares started. Now the answer is a resounding yes.
Katniss and Peeta are declared joint winners. The entire room stares in shock.
Haymitch swears quietly and then suddenly everyone is on their feet. The Capitol stylists, those who don't understand, begin to cheer. Cinna smiles, though conflict is written all over his face. Haymitch rushes out of the room with Kurt hot on his heels.
The older victor wheels around.
"Stay here," he growls.
"We're in trouble, Haymitch, I get it," Kurt says.
"No!" Haymitch hisses. "Stay out of this, Kurt. Katniss is in trouble. I'm in trouble. You're safe. Let's keep it that way. Don't talk to me. Go back in there and celebrate."
Kurt hesitates, torn. Haymitch shoves him back in the direction they came.
"Go!" he yells as he hotfoots it towards the lifts.
Back in District Twelve, the Hummel-Hudson-Anderson family also watch. Blaine once more sits on the floor, tuning out the commentary of the rest of the family. Kurt has done what he wanted without knowing it, he realises, for he sees the obvious signs of Kurt's mentoring in both tributes.
Blaine wishes he could thank Kurt. He wishes he could love Kurt again but there is a conflict there. He does love Kurt and he always will but he is always gone. He is always gone and he doesn't see Blaine's pain. He caused this imprisonment, even if it is in the most luxurious palace of District Twelve. And Blaine will always hate him a little for it.
Yet there is Peeta Mellark on his screen and alive. After a few tension-filled minutes, Peeta is announced as a winner of the Hunger Games. He won't be broken like Blaine either for the girl he loves wins right alongside him.
Unwelcome tears of joy spill from Blaine's eyes. "Thank you, Kurt," he whispers.
Kurt and Portia are not much of a welcoming committee but Peeta soon realises that Katniss is the priority.
"Who am I now?" Peeta asks his mentor quietly. "Who do I need to be to save her?"
Peeta is no idiot. He understands the Capitol too.
"Be you," Kurt tells him. "Be in love with her."
By the time Kurt gets home, he is exhausted and he hasn't even done anything. Not really. He isn't half as important as Haymitch.
"Blaine?" he calls. "I'm home."
Blaine pokes his head out of the kitchen.
"I suppose you want a medal. Congrats on bringing the brat home," he says bitterly.
"What have you been doing?" Kurt tries to ask pleasantly but there is still a tension between them that won't go away.
Blaine glares. "Not a great deal a person can do while stuck in a house," he mutters before silently rushing up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door.
Kurt sighs before sliding numbly onto the sofa and crying.
