prompt : ok so you've probably seen the post about people teasing effie about "hayfever" and I really think it would be awesome to see you write it c:

Small Price to Pay

Springs in Twelve weren't Effie's cup of tea but, to be fair, lots of things in Twelve weren't her cup of tea. She sneezed again to Peeta's upmost amusement.

"I hate those cursed trees." she lamented, glaring at the pollen flying in the air.

They were sitting on a blanket, right in the middle of the meadow, surrounded by a picnic basket, dirty dishes and a half-eaten cake. Katniss, her daughter and Haymitch were a few yards away. Haymitch and Katniss were taking turn pushing the child on a wooden swing. It was a sight to behold : Haymitch Abernathy being at the beck and call of a six years old. It made Effie smile and she forgot her discomfort for a while. Until she sneezed again, that was.

"Oh, damned District! Must you have so much greenery?" She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief, careful not to smudge her make-up. Fashion had changed and wigs and heavy white powder were things of the past which was a relief because the lighter make-up was low-maintenance compared to what she had to do when Games were still up.

Peeta glanced at her with sympathy. "You shouldn't have come, I told you. You could have waited a few weeks, your allergies wouldn't have been as bad then."

"And miss your daughter's birthday?" Effie huffed. "I don't think so. Hay fever is a small price to pay."

A teasing grin appeared on Peeta's lips and he leaned back on his elbows so he could see Effie and his family at the same time. "Yes, about that… Are you sure you're just here to celebrate?"

"Well, of course." she frowned. "Why else?"

The sound of Haymitch's laugh filled the air and it was such an incongruous event, she couldn't help but smile softly. It was good to see him like that. He was better than she had ever seen him, still drinking of course but pacing himself for the sake of the little girl that always seemed to be running around his legs – or for fear of what Katniss and Peeta would do if he ever let the child see him actually wasted out of his mind.

"I'm just wondering what kind of hay fever you have, that's all." Peeta joked. "For someone who hates Twelve so much, you visit an awful lot."

"I don't hate Twelve." she denied. "I just deplore it still doesn't have the same quality of life as the Capitol." Because her life would be really easier if she could get whatever she wanted whenever she felt like it when she was in Twelve as she could in the Capitol. But things hadn't changed that much. "And my visits are frequent because each time I come back, your daughter has grown at least two inches."

It might have been a slight exaggeration. She visited Twelve so frequently she was very present in the child's life. Her friends in the Capitol didn't really understand why she traveled so much but what could she do? Every time Katniss or Peeta called her and gave the phone to their daughter – who inevitably said she missed her – she couldn't help herself, she packed her bag and caught a train. At that point, it felt like living in two places at the same time.

"What about Haymitch?" Peeta insisted.

Her eyes instinctively fell on the former victor who was busy pushing the swing "higher and higher, Unc' Haymitch!" and being scowled by Katniss because high was one thing and recklessly high was another.

"Haymitch doesn't mind me using his spare room." she stated. He also didn't mind her using his room and his bed but she wasn't about to tell Peeta that, an unmarried lady shouldn't advertise that kind of behavior.

"And?" Peeta sounded amused but also a tad concerned.

"And?" she repeated, falling back on her habit to play dumb. It had always worked out better for her than anything else.

Peeta rolled his eyes. "Have you caught the Haymitch fever, Effie?" His grin grew impish. "I don't know how plainer than that I can get."

Her cheeks flushed bright red and there wasn't powder to hide that kind of tell-tale anymore. "Peeta!" she yelped. "You can't ask me that kind of questions. Honestly! This is very rude."

"Sorry." he backtracked immediately. "Katniss and I were wondering. Although, I noticed you didn't say no."

"I…" she started but fell silent when she spied the others heading their way.

Haymitch sat next to her in a concert of cracking joints. His knees weren't as good as they once were. "Your girl is going to be the death of me." he told Peeta, while the child threw herself at her father. "What were you two talking about?"

He leaned back on his hands slightly, so his shoulder was brushing Effie's. She could feel her blush deepening.

"Oh, we were talking about Effie's hayfever." Peeta joked.

"Really?" Katniss asked with a grin of her own. "That hayfever must be a pain, isn't it, Effie?"

She glared at them both. Was that a recurring joke between them?

"That's what you get for living in concrete and always breathing synthetic air." Haymitch snorted. "If you lived in Twelve, you would get used to it."

"Are you going to?" Katniss and Peeta's daughter asked, clearly excited at the prospect. The dark-haired child stopped trying to steal another piece of cake from her father to bounce in front of Effie, clapping her hands with happiness. "Are you staying here forever and ever, Auntie?"

"I…" she started only to close her mouth, unable to answer that question. "I don't think Uncle Haymitch was serious, sweetie."

"Oh, I think he was." Peeta said. "And I also think it's time to head back. What do you say, munchkin?" He took Katniss' outstretched hand to help him get up and then grabbed his daughter around the middle. "We will leave you two to talk."

Effie tried to protest but before she could even finish a sentence, Katniss had gathered the used dishes in the basket and they were gone, the only thing left behind being the woolen blanket she and Haymitch were sitting on.

"This looks like a conspiracy." she sighed, watching Katniss and Peeta's departing back. The girl was running in front of them, already out of sight. "Did you plan this?"

"I never plan anything, sweetheart." Haymitch refuted, his trademark smirk on his lips.

"You always plan everything." she sighed fondly. "Remember who you're talking to, Haymitch. I know you." She hadn't been the only one playing dumber than she was all this years.

"Do you, now?" He lifted his eyebrows in challenge.

She didn't disappoint. "Do you want me to come and live in Twelve?"

"I want a lot of things." Haymitch shrugged. "Question is what do you want?"

She wanted… She wanted Haymitch and the children in her life, everyday. But… "I won't stop going to the Capitol." she warned him. "I would miss it too much." Although she probably could be satisfied with a few visits here and there. There was no one in the Capitol she would miss as much as she missed Haymitch and the rest of their makeshift families when she was there.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "When did I ever stop you from doing anything?"

Quite a few times but he was also usually very drunk when he did so she supposed it didn't actually count.

"Are you sure?" she asked worryingly. They worked now but if they lived together, she was afraid all they would do was bicker and yell at each other and… And she realized that was mostly what they already did all day long. It was just their way of saying they loved each other, she guessed.

"Relatively." he said, leaning in to kiss her neck.

"Haymitch, we're outside!" she flushed. "Anybody could see…"

"Don't care." he breathed out against her skin. She tilted her head back against her best judgment to give him better access. "You're mine. Everybody should know it." He kissed and nibbled on that spot that always made her… She locked a hand behind his neck and pulled him in for a real kiss. To hell with propriety. "Plus." he mumbled against her lips. "We need to keep that hayfever of yours burning, don't we?"

"Haymitch!" She had wanted it to sound stern but his hand wandered to her thigh and it came out as a breathless giggle.

Hay fever really was a small price to pay, after all.