Requested by flutteringphalanges: I'm not sure if you're still taking drabble requests but if so, do you think you could write Effie throwing a surprise birthday party for Haymitch and either barely anyone shows up or he doesn't seem at all amused or surprised and it upsets Effie and he then has to I guess comfort her in his own Haymitch-y way? Does that make any sense? xD


Surprise

Effie had been acting suspicious;y the past week and it made him curious; all that time spent at Peeta's bakery or the numerous phone calls she had been making.

He even came across her shopping list and as his eyes traveled down the list, taking in the items she needed to buy, his eyes widened. Everything clicked into place.

His birthday. Of course, that woman would throw a party whether he wanted to or not. That was how they celebrated birthdays in the Capitol. She may have left the place but there are certain values ingrained in her that would not completely leave her.

He had to give himself credit for not ruining it for her. Effie went about her business completely unaware that he knew of her plans. He nodded and returned her smile whenever she smiled at him, looking at him with those eyes that twinkled in the lights, holding secrets she thought he didn't know.

XxX

"Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you," he inclined his head in acknowledgment.

The grip on his hand tightened, catching his attention.

"Somethin' wrong, sweetheart?"

"You don't seem surprised."

Oh. That was it. He had forgotten to act surprise. Haymitch bit his tongue, his mind scrambling to think of something.

"You know, nothing much surprises me this day," he told her. "I don't like surprises so I try to not let it get to me. Its - "

"You … you don't like… Oh no. You hate this, don't you? I thought I was … I just wanted - "

"No, Effie, this is …. it's… I guess it's…" he trailed off. He didn't know what to say.

"I just wanted to do something nice for you! Birthday surprises are a way to show that… I supposed it's different here."

Effie walked away from him and attended to the guests. She was the perfect hostess for the evening and Haymitch managed not to ruin the party for her by watching the amount of alcohol he drank. It was the least he could do after all the planning she did.

XxX

"It was nice what you did for me," he spoke out, leaning against the banister.

"But you didn't enjoy it," she answered. She continued wiping the table clean, still not looking at him.

Haymitch shrugged. "It wasn't too bad."

She sighed. "How did you know? What gave it away? Did i say something in my sleep?"

"No," he chuckled, thinking of those things she did say in her sleep which made him teased her in the morning. "Shopping list."

"Oh dear," she shook her head. "Oh dear, how could I be so careless?"

He pushed himself off and walked towards her, tilting her chin up to face him.

"It's a good thing I found it or I'd ruined your party," he murmured.

"How so?"

"I hate surprises, remember? I don't know.. I would be in a mood or something and you wouldn't have liked it," he told her. "I just forgot to act surprise today… You mean well but maybe next time, sweetheart, we could spend birthdays together."

Effie looked at him in confusion. "Together? But a party…"

"Just you and me. It's more private, more quiet. When's your birthday, sweetheart?"

"Haymitch!"

He laughed, drawing her close to him. "There won't be a surprise party. You know what I'm gonna do? Lock you in my room. An entire day in bed… with you. Now that's my kind of celebration."

Effie stretched up against him, running her fingers through his hair, her tongue darting out to lick his earlobe teasingly. "Well, then, I can't wait for my birthday."

His eyes flickered up to the clock on the wall. "It's still my birthday," he swallowed, his fingers playing with the zipper at the back of her dress. "You can ah… lock me in the room?"

I wrote something similar a while back, Effie throwing him a birthday surprise. It's titled 'Birthday'