Chapter 18 :

Effie made sure the flower arrangement looked perfect on the bedside table before surveying the man lying on the hospital bed. He still looked far too pale for her liking.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, taking a seat on the uncomfortable chair left for visitors at his bedside. She immediately smoothed her lovely pink skirt, noticing that her nail polish was chipped on her thumb and needed to be fixed as soon as possible.

"Better." Albert replied with a small smile. "They're going to let me out soon."

She answered his smile with a genuine one of her own. "I hear you are being promoted."

Albert chuckled and then immediately pressed a hand against his chest where the wound must still be troubling him. "Thanks to your stellar review of my bodyguard abilities. I'm being assigned to the Head Gamemaker's security detail as soon as I'm recovered."

She may or may not have put a word in the right ear but she dismissed that with a graceful wave of her hand. "It is well deserved."

"I'll turn it down if you still want a bodyguard, you know." he joked.

At least, she hoped he was joking.

Two weeks since the Ghost was dead, two weeks since she had been free to walk around unsupervised… It had taken gotten used to. Being alone again. Being allowed to do whatever she wanted without having to inform anyone. Not having anyone shadowing her everywhere, not being afraid of getting attacked in the street…

She hadn't been the only one disturbed by the sudden return to normal. On that first morning of freedom, Viola and Livia had fetched her from the Games Clinic and had led her, still stunned from the previous evening events, to the Training Center's lobby where they had joined Seven's and Eight's escorts. The last surviving escorts from the previous year. The five of them had stepped outside together, feeling very much like they were stepping out into a strange brand new world.

They had walked for hours or, at least, that was what it had felt like.

They had visited shops with some hesitancy because they hadn't been allowed to do that by themselves in forever, had bought far too much stuff they did not need, had treated themselves to lunch in a trendy coffee shop, had posed for pictures and signed autographs… It had all felt so surreal that Effie had still been dizzy when they had finally made their way back to the Center – or, in her case, to the Games Clinic where Chaff had greeted her with a nod and a coffee.

"Do not take it the wrong way because I am forever grateful for everything you did for me but if I do not see another Peacekeeper again, I will be happy." she answered. "I felt like a prisoner who has just been released."

Albert looked understanding enough. Probably because he had spent all those months with her, had watched her struggle to accept the necessary protections, had done his best to make the best of a bad situation…

"Too bad." He shrugged. "I bet Crane doesn't look as pretty as you first thing in the morning."

She openly laughed, not about to pass on a compliment. "You would be surprised."

Albert's smile had dimmed a little. He studied her for a moment, his expression turning a little too knowing. It wasn't that surprising. You didn't live with someone for three months and not learn to know them very well "How are you doing?"

The mask fell on her face by reflex. Her eyes brightened, her lips stretched into a smile and her voice took that bubbly peppiness she was famous for. She knew the act by heart, she had been playing it on countless TV shows for the last fortnight, recounting the tale of that night with flourish and lots of detail, downplaying her part and singing the praise of the Peacekeepers.

"Oh, quite well, thank you." she answered. "A little irritated that Viola saved my life, however indirectly. She has been insufferable."

Albert snorted, well-acquainted with Viola's annoying behavior from the months of following her around. "I'm glad she did."

"As I am." she sighed, shaking her head. "Unfortunately. She will never let me hear the end of it."

She wasn't sure Albert was entirely fooled by the act but she wasn't about to tell him about the nightmares that left her waking up screaming, drenched in sweat. She had gone back to sleeping pills again and she simply knew it was a slippery slope that could land her in trouble quickly. She found them too easy to swallow, to easy to rely upon… She had narrowly avoided addiction once, she was a little too afraid she wouldn't have the strength to stop when it grew out of hands this time.

"And how's your hero?" he asked, his voice dripping sarcasm.

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him in warning, not keen on having an argument. "Haymitch was released a few days ago. He will have to stay in the city for a little while, to make sure there is no complication with his recovery."

And she couldn't say she was sorry about that. As eager as she was to return to her own apartment, she didn't mind staying in the penthouse a while longer if it meant being with him.

Haymitch had been in surgery for half the night and, fortunately, she had missed most of it since she had been sedated. She didn't think she would have been able to bear it in the state she had been in. She had woken up to Chaff, a white bandage wrapped around his head, perched on the edge of her hospital bed. She remembered thinking worry made him look older.

The surgery had been delicate work but Haymitch had been lucky because the bullet had barely grazed his spleen. A little more to the right and he would have been in a lot of troubles. The doctors in the Games Clinic were the best though, they had brought more than one new victor back from the doors of death – including Haymitch himself once when he had been gutted by an axe so long ago.

"If you're playing nurse, he's a lucky guy." Albert replied, not quite as lightly as she would have liked.

"Albert." she warned.

The Peacekeeper snorted and then shrugged, bitterness and regret all over his face. "If things had been different… If I wasn't… You know, forced to remain celibate, and you weren't so… Out of my league. I'd have asked you out."

And she would have laughed in his face because as sweet and kind as he was, he still didn't look handsome enough for her to have given him a second glance. Effie was aware of her own flaws and she was shallow. She liked her partners to be handsome because she considered herself handsome. She liked beauty.

"I would have liked that." she lied.

"You're too nice." Albert answered, probably not believing her. "And you deserve better than him."

She thought back to the night after the first attack, to what Haymitch had told her…

We ain't good people, you and I. We ain't. We can tell each other otherwise until we're blue in the face, we're not stupid enough to fall for it. We ain't good people. Doesn't mean we have to be bad ones.

The smile that graced her lips was a bit wistful but not sad or bitter. She had made her peace with it.

"I think we deserve each other, actually." she offered.

For better or for worse.

°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch's whole body ached every time he moved and it was irritating. The pain, at least, was a dull thing easily ignored by then, a daily dose of painkillers and a reasonable amount of self-medication – meaning the bottle of rum Finnick had sent him and that he was trying to make last because it was the really good stuff – took care of that. But nothing really made the ache go away.

His shoulder itched where the stitches had fallen off and there was a twinge in his side each time he shifted in his armchair. All perfectly normal as the doctor who came to check on him twice a day had certified that morning – it was one visit too many in Haymitch's opinion but it turned out Effie had been right when she had said victors were all the more valuable when they were the only one in their District; the Gamemakers seemed terrified of having to deal with the mess of a District without official representation.

The elevator chimed and he perked up, tossing the book that couldn't really keep his attention on the coffee table. More than anything, he was bored. And boredom made him grumpy.

He had hoped for Chaff but Effie gliding in the penthouse's living-room, blinding in a shockingly glaring pink short dress, was even better. Even with the make-up, her face visibly brightened when she spotted him on the armchair. Her lips stretched into one of those big genuine smiles that made his heart clench in his chest and then race up as if to catch up.

"You are up!" she exclaimed.

And not a moment too soon, in his opinion. He had remained on bed rest for far too long, first in the Clinic and then in the penthouse, only allowed to stand up under medical supervision to build his strength back or whatever bullshit his physical therapy was supposed to be. Effie's fussing had irritated him all the more because of it. He didn't like lying down and staring at the ceiling with nothing to distract him from his dark thoughts.

"Doc says it's time I do some physical activity." He smirked. "Any idea?"

She rolled her eyes but her smile didn't waver, even as she placed her purse down and took off her white lace gloves. He wasn't sure she would answer his innuendo but she did open her mouth only to close it with a frown and hurry to the other side of the living-room to pick dead flowers from a bunch of white roses in a vase. She clucked her tongue and muttered under her breath about Avoxes and tasks left half-done.

Haymitch wrinkled her nose. "Let them all die."

He could have done without having to see the congratulatory flowers President Snow had sent Effie after the whole ordeal. He hated the smell of white roses.

Effie pursed her lips but stopped fretting over how imperfect the flower arrangement looked. She let out a sigh and turned to him. "Are you so eager for my attention that you are jealous of a bunch of flowers?"

He was eager for her attention alright.

It was the first day he hadn't felt like puking once he was standing upright. He was even feeling a little hungry.

"How's the Peacekeeper puppy?" he challenged.

Her blue eyes twinkled with mirth as she slowly crossed the room with an exaggerated swing to her hips. "Perhaps it is not the flowers you are jealous of after all."

"Ain't jealous." he scoffed.

"Albert did not benefit from the same level of care you did so his recovery is much slower, if you must know." she answered. He wasn't surprised to hear it. Injured Peacekeepers probably had access to good medical care but not the Games Clinic or the latest of the Capitol technology. All thoughts of Peacekeepers who looked at her with enamored eyes fled his mind when she – carefully – straddled his lap. She tucked both of her legs between his thighs and the armrests, forcing him to squeeze his legs shut to give her some room. His hands automatically found her waist right when she loosely looped her arms around his neck. "And how are you feeling today, Haymitch?"

It was a bit embarrassing that he had so much trouble swallowing.

"Much, much better now, sweetheart." he teased, letting his hands travel down to grope her.

Her lips twitched, her blue eyes twinkled… But under the amusement there was something deeper, rawer. Yearning. Lust.

"Is that so?" she hummed, rocking her hips once.

It was tentative and she was watching his face like a hawk, ready to bolt at the smallest trace of discomfort, he was sure. There would be discomfort if he insisted on having sex with her, he figured, maybe even some pain but…

"Better make the most of it." he answered, his fingers ghosting a path under her dress on the back of her thigh. "Crowning's over, I'm better… They won't let me stay forever." He shrugged, faking detachment. "Guess we can get another week. Two maybe."

And then he would go back to Twelve and he wouldn't be back in the city until…

"You could visit for the Tour." she suggested. Her fingers were nervously playing with the collar of his shirt and she was staring at the light blue cotton rather than at him. Whatever sexy energy had animated her, it had faded away. She was a little too serious for his taste right then.

It wasn't a conversation he had intended to have that day but, he figured, they needed to have it at some point.

"I could…" he agreed, surprising even himself. He had been asked to come to the city for the Tour a few times before but he had never spontaneously made the request. "But…"

"But it would raise questions." she finished for him, nodding. "Yes. Of course."

She looked up at him then, forcing a bright blinding smile on her lips. He hated that smile. It was fake and too much her public persona. He liked her genuine smiles better.

He brushed his fingers against her mouth, gently erasing the escort from it. "You get why it has to be like that, yeah?"

He couldn't risk her.

He couldn't risk anyone figuring out he might care for her – hell, if they hadn't already. He couldn't bear the thought of her being in danger because of him. It had been terrible enough to know she might get killed even though it had nothing to do with him.

"I do." Her voice was low but not quite a whisper. Resigned maybe. This time, the smile she forced wasn't quite her escort smile, it was just a little sad. "We will see each other at the next Reaping then."

"Yeah." He sighed. It sounded sad too.

She nodded, still fingering the collar of his shirt. "You should know… You should know I do not expect anything from you. A year is a long time…"

"Less than a year." he corrected. It was a technicality really. A little over ten months.

"It is still a long time." she insisted, shifting a little on his lap. Her legs must have been getting numb, he mused. "I do not expect you to wait for me."

She made it sound gracious.

A part of him rebelled at what was clearly a permission because he didn't feel like it was hers to give. He had promised her nothing, after all.

Another part recognized that as an attempt to save face, not to have to face the humiliating experience of him telling her he wanted this to remain without strings.

"Twelve's a small place, you know." he said casually. "There's not a lot of prospects for lovers back home." Her whole body tensed and then relaxed with obvious relief once she understood what he was saying. He cleared his throat, looked away… "Ain't the same in the Capitol though, I know…"

"I would say!" Her laugh was fake but betrayed some genuine happiness. "Although after the last couple of months… I believe I will not want company for a long, long time. Perhaps for a whole year, even. Well… A little less than a year."

His mouth twitched and he couldn't help his smirk. "You don't say."

"I do say." she teased, finally leaning down to brush her lips against his. "Not that it means anything serious."

He snorted. "No. Can't have that."

And it was a short-term solution, in any case…

But unless something big enough to upset the current status quo and bring down the Capitol came up… Short-term was all they could hope for.

They would simply have to make the most of it.

He certainly intended to try…

THE END