As always: You're amazing. Another short chappy for you, thank you for everything and I hope you'll enjoy. 3

Haymitch opened his eyes and yawned. Darkness had fallen and Effie was still asleep. He tried to get out of bed without waking her up, but she sighed and watched him with sleepy eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"Getting us some chow", he replied and tenderly kissed her forehead. "You stay here, alright? I'll be back."

Effie nodded and blinked, then she wrapped the blanket around her lithe, tired body. Haymitch listened to her steady breaths and supposed she had fallen asleep. He rose and left the room on tiptoes, which caused him great difficulties, because he was still weary and the long years of alcohol intake had make him lose almost all the control over his body. But he managed to get out of the room without making any bigger rackets, and once he was outside, he realised he had no food at home. At least nothing Effie would be pleased about. Bread, cheese, some sausages and pickles, that was all. No sushi, no caviar, no strawberries covered with chocolate, nothing a Capitol lady would appreciate. And delicatessen shops were rare in District 12.

Haymitch sighed and went downstairs. There was no way to get a good dinner for Effie today, so she would have to adjust to the district's lifestyle. Oh, she would be so pissed off. But what had she expected? She had known that life down here was not as classy as she the one was used to.

He searched for the bread and began to cut it, but he was almost unable to hold the knife. His hands trembled and he felt aggression and the need to take a drink slowly overwhelm him. For how long hadn't he had some liquor? He didn't know. But it had been a very long time. Too long.

He decided to prepare dinner before drinking, and to have just a glass or two, so that Effie wouldn't notice he had tippled. But it was when he was incapable to open the bottling jar that he realised it couldn't go on like that. He needed alcohol. Now.

Then Haymitch heard the sound of clicking heels upstairs and he knew that Effie had gotten out of bed to prepare herself for dinner. To prepare herself. Painting her face in those gaudy, artificial colours just to eat sausages and pickles. Haymitch shook his head, because he didn't want the Capitol Effie right now. If there was any kind of District Effie, then it was the one with the blond hair and the missing make-up. The one face of Effie he really loved. He couldn't allow her to hide behind this hypocritical facade.

Haymitch headed upstairs and opened the door to Effie's bedroom. It was empty, she was probably still searching for her wig in Haymitch's chamber. He entered the bathroom and found every single make-up collection the Capitol had to offer. It was incredible. The whole sink was piled up with lipsticks, powder, eyelid shadows and dozens of little boxes filled with multicoloured mush. Haymitch didn't even know why someone would need so much make-up. But he yanked a towel out of the small cupboard next to the shower, laid it on the floor and started to heap Effie's slap up on it. His fingers quivered and he had much bother to not throw the whole stuff on the floor, but eventually there was no more make-up left on the sink and Haymitch wrapped the towel around the pile of shiny tins and vials. He had to hurry up now, or Effie would come and catch him in the act.

He left the bathroom and ran downstairs and out of the house, because he really didn't want to hide the make-up insides. Effie would find it. He thought of the geese shelter, but he couldn't do this to her. Before he had even realised it, he had made a beeline for Katniss's house and kept ringing the bell until Peeta opened the door and looked at him with perked up eyebrows.

Haymitch thrusted the towel into his hand and clapped him on the back.

"You'll keep this for me, geddit?", he grinned and returned to his house, ignoring Peeta's confused questions. Once he was in the kitchen, he uncorked a bottle of something that turned out as whiskey and took a few swigs of it. Two minutes later, a horrified cry rang out. Act one of the drama had begun. Effie Trinket had discovered that her make-up was gone.

Effie stared at the sink, her eyes wide open and her whole mind in a shock. It couldn't be true. Her make-up. It was gone. Gone! It had surely been a thief, someone who wanted to sell Capitol goods for a high prize, or just some jealous person, who had stolen it. Oh, she had always known it was not good to trust these people from the districts!

She shook her head in disbelief and fury, again and again, she pursed her lips, touched the blank surface of the sink and paced back and forth. This was just because Haymitch never locked his front door. How many times had she told him life was risky and there were always indecent guises around? But no, he didn't believe her.
Effie left the bathroom and ran downstairs, where she found a very relaxed Haymitch sitting in the kitchen and perking his eyebrows up at the sight of her.

"My make-up!", she squealed, "it is gone!"

"Oh, really?"

Haymitch leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Poor Effs."

"Poor Effs? Poor Effs? Haymitch, do you even know how expensive it was? And... I need my make-up! I don't want anyone to see me like this! I mean, just look at me! I'm hideous!"

A small hope crossed her mind.

"Haymitch, do you think Katniss has some make-up she can borrow me?"

Haymitch just laughed at her.

"Effie, of course she hasn't. She's Katniss."

Effie sighed, disappointed and bleak.

"You are right. I might be a little desperate. But, Haymitch, don't you understand? This is very important to me!"

Haymitch shook his head and Effie watched him angrily. He didn't even try to feel sorry for her.

"I want the thief to be detected and punished! I can't and won't tolerate that crime is just a common part of your lifestyle! Things can't go on like this, Haymitch. They just can't. There's a certain order in life, and..."

She noticed that he struggled against the want to smile, and this arouse her suspicion.

"Are you the thief?", she asked indignantly. "Have you stolen my make-up?"

"Me? Oh, Effie, never in a million years!"

She stared at him, arms akimbo, and he snorted with laughter.

"Okay, you caught me. I was the thief. But I haven't got the make-up. My geese do. It tasted excellent, or at least they said so."

Effie gasped for breath and tried to realise what Haymitch had just told her.

"Your... your geese... ate my make-up?"

"Yeah, you know, those colours are very healthy for them. Vitamins and all that stuff. That's why they are always making beelines for you. They just want to eat your face, nothing more."

Effie eyed him, considering if he made sport of her or not.

"Geese don't really eat make-up, do they?", she asked, unsure about it, and Haymitch laughed even more.

"No. No, unfortunately they don't. Would be very costly geese-food, huh? Trust me, Effie. I don't have your slap."

Effie turned round on her heel and went to the front door. She had to find the bandit, or the people down here would never understand how to behave. She crossed the main road of Victor's Village, just to see a very puzzled Peeta coming out of Katniss's house. He held a burled towel in his hands, which he tried to hind behind his back once he had noticed her. Very ominous.

"What's that in your hands, darling?", Effie asked, and she could tell by the guilty look in his face that both of them knew exactly what he tried to hide from her.
"Give it to me!", she claimed and stepped towards him. "Peeta Mellark, didn't you hear what I told you? Give me my make-up! Instantly!"
Oh, those bad-mannered kids, playing around with her precious properties. She should have known it hadn't been a thief, she should have known it had been these badly brought up-

Effie hesitated. And then she understood.

Not these. This. This badly brought up Haymitch.

She wrested the towel out of Peeta's hand and returned to the house of the one man who was said to love her. Oh, she was a strict disciplinarian, and he would get to learn that.