Prompt : Here's an idea for your list: Could you write something where Haymitch and Effie look for clothes for toddler Oria? Effie wants to dress her like a little princess and Haymitch is like no and prefers Katniss' style? And maybe little Oria could be on Haymitch's lap and he tries to influence his baby girl?
Proper Outfits For Picnics
"We're going to the meadow, not to some fancy party, sweetheart." Haymitch snorted.
Effie refused to dignify that with an answer.
"We're going to the meadow!" Oria sing-sang tirelessly, complying easily enough with her mother's wishes and letting her button up the pink dress.
"We are going to a picnic not on a trek through the woods." she argued. "A dress is a suitable form of clothing for a picnic or are you complaining about my outfit now?"
Haymitch smirked, leaning against the bathroom doorframe. "Can't complain about tight dresses on you. Always a good view when your back is turned."
"Haymitch!" she hissed. "Not in front of our daughter!"
Oria started laughing even though Effie was sure she had not quite understood what that was about.
"Daddy got told off!" the three years old exclaimed with far too much glee. "Daddy gets punished?"
"Mommy wishes, baby girl. Wanna bet she wants to spank me?" Haymitch replied to their daughter growing hilarity.
"Haymitch!" she exclaimed again, flushing crimson. "Don't listen to Daddy. He is being as silly as usual."
"Still think the dress is stupid." he argued, coming back to the topic at hand. "She's going to get dirty and I will have to listen to you complain about stains you can't get out."
"Well, if you did the laundry now and then…" she retorted.
"I'm just saying." he shrugged. "'Would be easier to put her in old pants or something."
He was faced with two equally shocked gasps.
"Old pants." Effie scoffed. "You expect me to let my daughter run around looking less than her best? I don't care about stains, she can play all she wants. I'd rather she gets pretty clothes dirty than walk around in rugged clothes in fear she will stain them."
"I like my pink dress!" Oria added with the kind of pout that usually gave way to tantrums. "I don't want pants."
"Okay, okay!" Haymitch relented, raising his hands defensively. "There's no winning against the two of you."
"Clearly." Effie huffed, smoothing their daughter's lovely pink dress. "All done, sweetie."
Oria jumped from where she was perched and ran off, loudly announcing that she was going to get Mr Grrr – she went nowhere without her stuffed bear. Effie picked up the wayward hair ties and clips and put them back in their proper place, instinctively leaning back against Haymitch's chest when he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I am not dressing her up like a doll." Effie argued before he could say anything. "I want her to have pretty clothes but that doesn't mean I don't want her to run and play and… be free. I don't mind the stains and the torn clothes if that means she's enjoying herself. I am not dressing her up like a doll."
Her mother had done that most of her childhood : buying her wonderful outfits, dressing her up, boasting her out in front her friends, all the while expecting her to not fidget, to be still, to smile, to look pretty… She could still remember the endless list of reminders before each social events or outings or tea parties. She had heard them since she was born.
Her mother would have probably been appalled by the way Effie was raising her daughter but she loved to see Oria run and play outside with Katniss and Haymitch or bake with Peeta even when they made a mess of the child's clothes. She loved to see her daughter being allowed to be wild once in a while because she had never been granted the same liberty.
"Never said you were, Princess." Haymitch argued softly, pressing a kiss against the side of her neck. "Just thought pants were more practical. Boy thing, I guess. She seems happy with the pink dress so who cares about my opinion? She will be a little fashion expert in no time." He pressed a last lingering kiss against her neck. "You're good?"
Her fingers were shaking as they tended to do when she was on the verge of a panic attack. She knew he had noticed. She refused to spoil the day with her insecurities and bad memories though. It was a sunny, warm day outside and she was determined to see that the picnic would go without a glitch.
"Perfect." she declared, turning her head so she could kiss him properly.
Of course, she thought, half an hour later, when they reached the meadows and waved back to Katniss and Peeta who were already laying out blankets and cutlery for their picnic, the day going without a glitch wasn't taking into account Oria running to her Aunt and Uncle and screaming at the top of her lungs for everyone to hear that her Daddy had been naughty and her Mommy would spank him later.
