With Dalia refusing to go back to Twelve, Haymitch was left no choice. It's either him stepping up or Katniss will be admitted to psychiatric hospital indefinitely or she will be executed for killing Coin. It was only after he agreed to the condition that he realized what it entails for him and Effie. He did not get the chance to ask her because he had to decide fast. When he dropped the bomb on her, he saw how it hurt her but she quickly masked it which he always hates.
"Say something, please", he muttered after few minutes of silence.
She gave him a sad smile.
"Children always come first", she said.
That they do. He wants to put the two of them first, to be the priority, to have that life they both want to have together but they have responsibility to the kids. No one imposed that on them but it is something they both want to do. They always come first, even before their own happiness.
"You could come with me", he uttered.
He does not know why he said that. She expressed before her desire to have a vacation to Twelve. It was wishful thinking but they entertained it. Now, Twelve is in ruins. He does not know if the Village is still standing, if and Katniss still got a house there. There's no way Effie would want to live under that circumstances. She wouldn't last long especially in the winter.
"Do you honestly see me in Twelve, Haymitch?" she asked.
It's a rhetorical question. Of course, the answer is no, maybe not right now at least. Maybe in a few years when the district has been rebuilt, she can live there with them. Maybe…
"I can't let the girl be locked up in a mental hospital, sweetheart. I can't let them execute her too. She got no one else", he tried to explain.
He needs her to understand that if he had other choice, he would have taken it but there's none. Chaff got a family of his own and he intends to go back to Eleven. Johanna is going to live with Annie and her baby. Enobaria is going back to Two and Beetee…he's out of the question after what happened.
"That's alright. You don't need to tell me much. Besides, Peeta will need to stay here in the Capitol for his therapy. He will need someone to look after him. I will not be alone", she said.
That's not a no. It gave him hope. She's staying because of Peeta. That's something, right?
"You'll come to Twelve with Peeta, then?" she did not answer. "The kids will want to have you there with us. I know Twelve is not the place to be right now but we got time. We'll rebuild it and then you can come live with us, the four of us, the entire team", he suggested with so much hope in his voice.
She thought about it long and hard before nodding.
"Alright…" she agreed.
He sighed in relief and pulled her into his arms.
They slept together that night and when the morning comes. Effie watched him get dressed. She did not say a word other than I'll see you later. He needs to get Katniss from detention to escort her to the hovercraft. She was already informed of her sentence and about her mother.
The girl was mute. She did not utter a single word since they left the Presidential Mansion. When they arrived near the hovercraft, Effie was already waiting for them there. As to why she's still dressed as an escort, he will never know. Maybe she does not want Katniss to see her without her usual armor. The girl has never seen her that way before. She gave Katniss a hug which the girl did not refuse.
"I will miss you, my dear. Promise me you'll find and live a life of a Victor", she said and Katniss nodded.
That's good enough for Effie and she let her go. She then went to Haymitch to give him a hug. He does not want it to end. She agreed to come to Twelve once Peeta is cleared but it felt like a goodbye. He does not want to say goodbye to her, not now, not ever. He's so desperate that he kissed her out in the open which she did not refuse as well.
"Don't be a stranger", he said.
"Take good care of her", she replied and let him go.
It was when he's at the hovercraft with Katniss he regretted his last words to her. Don't be a stranger…he could have said that he loves her. She would have wanted to hear that. He's never been good with words.
"It's not too late to jump back out there", Katniss said, finally breaking her silence.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, girl", he replied and did his best to ignore her completely.
Twelve was a mess as expected. The town got a big hole on it and Thirteen did their best to hide the bodies that got killed during the bombing. The Village is surprisingly unscathed. The houses are still standing and as soon as he and Katniss settled down, he opened up some of them to other people who sought temporary shelter. The Capitol allotted the budget for the district's rebuilding but it will take some time for it to complete.
For the first few weeks, it has been hell. Katniss was unresponsive to him. She's constantly been having nightmares which doesn't help his own. Feeding the girl was a struggle and if it was not for Sae, he would have let the girl starve. His only salvation is Effie's phone calls. She's been calling him to give him update about Peeta's health. Her voice keeps him sane and away from liquor. They talked about random things but never about her and her state in the Capitol.
Soon, Katniss found solace in the woods and it helped her refocus herself. She hunts for the remaining people of Twelve. Effie called less frequently and Haymitch started drinking again. Six months after the rebellion, Peeta finally comes home.
It brought joy to Katniss which helped her tremendously in her own recovery. It did not have the same effect on Haymitch. He started drinking himself to the point of passing out which worried the kids. Effie had stopped calling which made it worse. One morning, Peeta caught Haymitch started his drinking way too early. It pissed him off so he grabbed the bottle from his hand and kept it out of his reach.
"Give it back, boy", Haymitch grumbled.
"…not until you have eaten breakfast", Peeta refused.
"You're not my keeper and I can do whatever I want in my own fucking house", he snapped.
Peeta did not let that intimidate him. He just stared at his mentor and felt his pain.
"She's not doing well", that stopped Haymitch from his marathon of cursing under his breath, "She does not like to show it but I know she's not doing well. She thought she's hiding it well but I can see through the smile and the random talks. She's not sleeping at all because whenever she wakes me from my nightmare, she's still all dressed up. I asked her to come with me here but…I doubt she can even make it out of her apartment. That's how bad it is", the boy shared.
Haymitch knows Effie is struggling. That's why he wants her to be with them and she agreed. She broke her word.
"She said she would come back with you and she didn't. She lied", he spat.
"I think she wants to keep her word. She just does not know how to pick herself up first. You know Effie. If she can spare us of her own problems, she would. Just give her time…" Peeta suggested.
Months turned to two years. Twelve is slowly getting back on its feet as well as its people. Back in the Village, only the Victors were left to live in the houses now that the people had rebuilt their homes in town. They preferred it that way, more privacy. Katniss and Peeta are doing well considering their traumas. Haymitch still manages to get himself drunk every now and then but his geese keep him occupied most of the time. In a way, they're moving on. Some days they get visitors like Sae or Chaff…sometimes Hazelle. She stays mostly with Haymitch. Katniss and Peeta never bothered to ask what they're doing. They don't want to get in the middle of it.
On the day of Peeta's birthday, Effie decided to finally show up. It's a surprise none of them expected but Peeta and Katniss are happy nonetheless.
Her hair is longer now. She stopped bothering with the wigs and the makeup. She's also wearing pants which is new for Haymitch's eyes. The gathering was held in the middle of the Village and so Effie made her stop there to greet Peeta and Katniss. He saw her handed them gift boxes before greeting Chaff, Johanna, and Annie. She took her time talking with them too before her eyes found his and she went towards his way.
"Hello, Haymitch", she greeted.
It's been so long since he last heard her voice that it almost felt foreign and yet familiar to his ears. She's gorgeous. She's always been gorgeous in his eyes. She could have used a little more weight in his opinion but she's gorgeous nonetheless.
"What are you doing here, Trinket?" he asked.
He did not mean it to sound harsh but she did vanish for almost two years. Of course, she did not vanish because she's at the Capitol all along but she stopped calling them and acted as if they don't exist and now she's in Twelve, gifting the kids, charming the others like nothing happened.
"Don't you want me here?" she asked him back.
Her tone is casual and he's longing to hear some emotion in her voice, like her missing him the way he missed her.
"I ain't the one who became a stranger here, princess. Don't worry though. You did us all a favor. Helped us moved on. Wasn't easy but without any reminder of the games, we were able to manage", he answered.
He's drunk. He has way too much to drink before she even got there and the words came out of his mouth before he even realized it. She stiffened in front of him and just stared at him. He wants to take it all back. He's angry that she stopped calling them for a long time but he does not want to hurt her like that. Just as he was about to apologize…
"Haymitch! There you are. Got you your bottle", Hazelle came into the scene with his bottle of whisky.
Effie looked at her, the bottle, then back to him. That's when he saw her do it again: putting the mask back on. It sent shivers down his spine.
"Oh, how rude of me! I'm Effie Trinket", she introduced herself to Hazelle and even though there's no need, the latter rode along.
"Hazelle Hawthorne", she replied.
"Gale's mother, I believe", Hazelle nodded, "Very well, I just came by to say hi to Haymitch. Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall go to the birthday boy", Effie turned to him and if only her gaze can freeze the entire district, "Pleasure to see you again, Haymitch", she said and walked away.
She did not come his way again. She occupied herself talking to the kids, bantering with Johanna and Chaff until she settled with playing with young Finn. He watched her from afar. He knew she's great with children. He knew that from her first day as escort. That's why her heart always breaks after their tributes die. She cares about them too much.
"Are you going to just stand there or what?" Chaff asked him.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked him back.
Chaff snorted.
"Do you want me to spell it to you or draw you a map? She's here. She's finally here and you're moping here in the corner getting yourself drunk. Isn't this what you wanted?" Chaff insisted.
It's everything he wants but he's not sure if it is something that she wants.
"She's here for Peeta. She'll go back to Capitol again once this is over", he muttered.
She will leave again and never call until the kids need her. He just have to accept that.
"For someone who's only attending a birthday party, she surely packed a lot. I will definitely carry a suitcase if I am only here for the boy's birthday", suitcase? Effie brought a suitcase? "If I were you, I will get my head out of the gutter and give her everything I got to convince her to stay because the Capitol is not the place for her. It never was", Chaff said.
His eyes found Effie carrying Finn while the little kid got his arms wrapped around her neck. She's talking with Annie and thought it's not the best time to talk to her. Let her have a good time. He'll talk to her in the morning but when he wakes up, Peeta told him that Effie has already gone back to the Capitol.