For those wondering about the M rating (I changed it originally due to implications and language) ... hopefully this chapter will make it a little more justified. :-)

It was cold in District Twelve - Effie found it odd because it was the first time she had ever been there without the feeling of absolute dread, the feeling that always accompanied a Reaping. Of course … there would be a Reaping, but it wouldn't be that moment. And Effie was learning how to live in the moment more and more now.

Victors' Village.

Effie felt a smile creep onto her face, but she quickly went into ordering the teams about - giving the camera crew a timetable. And then, alone, she set out to Haymitch's. No one questioned her - she had always been 'in charge' of Haymitch. It seemed natural for her to make sure he was put together for the train.

Knocking on the door, Effie glanced at her watch.

By the time she looked up, Haymitch had opened the door. Disheveled as always, a bottle in his hand - he looked as though he had just rolled out of bed and made a stop at the kitchen. But he was smiling.

"It's cold out here," Effie said after a moment.

Haymitch moved aside and let Effie pass into the house. He shut and locked the door behind her.

"Working lock, too?" Effie asked, still rubbing her hands together from the cold. "That's new."

Haymitch was quick to take her into his arms, rocking back and forth with her - he was still a little hungover from the night before, she could tell. But she didn't care. He was quick to kiss her lips, her cheeks, her neck. He soon just dropped the bottle he was carrying to hold Effie against him.

"How long do we have?" he asked.

Arms wrapped around his neck, Effie moved her sleeve to see her watch again.

"An hour. Plus fifteen minutes for you to actually put yourself together. Long enough, for you?"

"We've got the train." Haymitch started leading her towards the stairs.

"Are you assuming I'm letting you into my cabin?"

Haymitch lifted her onto the first step - making her face level with his.

"I'd break the damn door down."

"Miss me that much?"

"Don't give yourself so much credit."

They were done talking - Haymitch was quick to pull her back into a kiss and soon enough they were stumbling up the stairs. Effie's coat was on the floor by the time they reached the top of the stairs - her wig already slipping off. With a tug she was able to pull it off - she had purposely put half the amount of pins she usually did, knowing the pumpkin colored wig wouldn't be what Haymitch wanted to see.

"Buttons!" Effie muttered - pushing Haymitch's hands away from her dress. "Careful!" she giggled, undoing them herself.

Rather ungracefully, they made it to Haymitch's bed where Effie was quick to fall back and bring Haymitch with her, not surrendering their kiss.

His hands felt rough against her skin - but it felt nice, it felt different and better than Effie could have imagined. The stubble of his beard when he kissed her neck and kissed her cheeks made her only want to kiss him more.

She could feel his fingers on her thigh now. Her legs bent and she let him put a knee between them before he tugged off her stockings. He moved his hand - undoing his belt, undoing his trousers. She let out a small cry that he muffled with another hard kiss when he thrust into her, keeping her body close against his. They didn't have much time – and they weren't going to waste a second of it.

"You look like a … I dunno … weird clown … should've taken the makeup off," Haymitch said as Effie rested atop him, her chin settled on his chest.

"It can't look that bad."

"Maybe it hasn't changed."

Effie kicked him under the sheets. He laughed.

Of the very little that Effie had kept on, she did still have her watch, which she looked at the moment she realized that she hadn't been keeping tabs on time.

"How are we doing?" Haymitch asked, busying himself with running his fingers through Effie's real hair.

"We can lay here a few more minutes. But then I need to get to Katniss'. To make sure we're on schedule."

"Where do they think you are?"

"Making sure you're up and moving."

Haymitch was laughing again. Effie propped herself up and kissed him before moving onto the bed beside him. He turned with her - not wanting to let her go.

"You do know … you realize that when the Quarter Quell comes up that you -"

"Don't remind me. The spotlight. Yeah, I've thought about that."

"I already heard some of the stylists talking about it. I thought … I should warn you."

"Sending me new suits then?"

"That will be up to Cinna."

"I like it when you send me things, though."

"I'll make sure they're packed just right," Effie said. She leaned in to kiss him again. "We need to get moving. Or, at least, I do."

"The bed's warm …"

"I know …"

"And it'd probably be Cinna they'd send to find you …"

"I'm not taking the chance." Effie sat up and fixed her dress slip that she had managed to keep on somehow with her watch. The floor was cold so she tiptoed around until she found everything she needed scattered on the floor.

From the bathroom, Haymitch could hear Effie groaning about the smudged makeup and the state of her wig. That was her own fault, he thought.

And that got him laughing again.

Effie hurried across the street to Katniss' house. She had done her best to fix her wig and makeup - really they weren't in terrible shape. No one would notice - she was able to fix both up quickly, even in a broken mirror.

Katniss' mother let her into the house - her eyes clearly confused at Effie's garb even if she had seen the stylists marching past earlier. It must have been the orange - Effie wished she hadn't picked that color.

Finally, she found Cinna and Katniss in the front room where they had been filming the supposed dress designs of Katniss - though Effie knew just as well as Cinna that he had done the work. Beautiful work too.

Putting on her always present smile - and inwardly so happy to see Katniss looking well - Effie clutched her clipboard and said: "We're on schedule!"

"And how's Haymitch?" Cinna asked while the camera crew was filming Katniss and Peeta in the street.

"Hopefully packing. And not drinking as much while he does."

Cinna gave her a very knowing smile.

"Oh, what gave it away?"

"You just did."

Effie felt her cheeks flush. "I thought I'd missed something … my makeup or -"

"No. You're perfect. Katniss may need to take acting lessons from you."

"I don't know if that's a compliment."

"I'd think it is." Cinna offered his arm to Effie and walked her to the middle of the road where the crew would soon be filing to the train station. His grip was strangely tighter than usual. "I need to speak to Haymitch," Cinna said under his breath. "Will you let him know?"

"Yes - but why?"

"He'll know. And you will, too. Don't worry. But you need to stay in the dark. You know you do."

Effie knew.

She just wished that 'Effie Trinket - bimbo' wasn't her role.