prompt: effie and haymitch go hiking and effie trips on a rock and falls and haymitch has to try and help her back up yo

I particularly like the "yo". ^^ Sorry I've not been posting everyday anymore, we've been having difficulties finding time to beta and I'm writing a multi chap at the same time. I will try to do better ;)

A Disaster of a Date

"Come on, Effie." Haymitch sighed, tired and aggravated by the whole thing. "Still one hour to walk or night we'll be on us. We need to get a move on."

The woman sitting on a huge rock by the side of the trail glared up at him and continued rubbing her calves before fiddling for the thousandth time that day with the lace of her brand new hiking boots. He had warned her not to buy those but rather to borrow Katniss' or Graesy Sae's granddaughter's but Effie hadn't listened. He was sure her feet were covered in blisters or would be soon enough, the black pants she was wearing specially for the occasion were nothing but impractical – too tight, not warm enough – and the rest of the outfit was just as ridiculous.

"That was your idea." he reminded her sharply, because she didn't seem inclined to say anything. He had been surprised when she had asked him to take her on a tour of the woods around Twelve. Surprised and amused, he had laughed it off and refused but she had insisted. He had suggested she asked Katniss instead but she was damn set on dragging him into the wilderness for some reason –he wasn't that fond of wilderness since his arena – and he had finally relented after several fights and one pitiful crying fit on her part. He ought to admit, at first, hiking through the woods had been fun. He had taken her to the small lake and they had had a nice picnic but after that when he had suggested they headed back she had said she was up to walk a bit further and that was when things had taken a turn for the worse.

Haymitch might had gotten a bit lost at some point, for an hour or two, but no matter, they had found their way back to the lake and from there the District wasn't that far. But they had argued a lot along the way, Effie wasn't used to that much outdoor activity – and neither was he anymore – temper had flared high and things had been said that should have been left unsaid. However, that was daily occurrence and Haymitch wasn't much worried about that. Since she had come to live in Twelve after the rebellion, they had fought for a solid hour every day. That was their way.

In a peace offering, he outstretched a hand to help her up. She took it but the mild-glare and the silent treatment let him know he wasn't entirely forgiven yet.

He made sure to stay on the trail left by hunters or people who just wanted a bit of fun at the lake – and there was a lot of them now that the woods weren't forbidden anymore – so they wouldn't get lost again. The sun was starting to go downhill and it was getting dark. He was so focused on not wandering away from the path that would take them back home that he didn't notice Effie falling a bit behind and her pained yelp was his only warning before a loud thud alerted him to her fall. He immediately turned around and spied the big rock on which she had tripped.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" He hurried over, not liking the way she was biting her lower lip nor the fact that she was clutching her left ankle. He crouched next to her in a chorus of cracking but he didn't care much for the state of his knees when she was hurt.

"I twisted my ankle." She rubbed her eyes and he saw the tears there. His heart burst with protectiveness, he placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her forehead and then her mouth because he had learn it was the best way to make the tears go away.

"It's probably just a sprain, nothing to cry about, Princess." he chided her gently. He hated when she cried. "You've been through worse." Reminding her of the war wasn't the clever thing to say and Haymitch would have punched himself if he could. "I'm sure you twisted plenty of ankles with those awful heels of yours."

"It's not the ankle." She wiped her cheeks but the tears kept coming with small sobs that made Haymitch sit down in the middle of the path – there was a limit to what his knees could take – and gathered her close against his chest. "This whole thing is such a disaster!"

He couldn't help a tinge of worry. "What are you mumbling about? What whole thing?"

"You, me…" Her voice was strained.

Haymitch could have sworn his brain froze. "Effie, did you drag me in the middle of nowhere just to dump me?" He wouldn't put it past her, though. That was exactly the kind of stupid thing she would do. But now? After everything they had been through together? Now that things were beginning to settle down again? Katniss was a bit better, Peeta had less episodes, the kids were starting to live again…

"Of course not!" Effie denied immediately, sounding offended. She whacked his arm quietly but didn't try to move away from his embrace. "I just wanted…" She sighed. "I just wanted to have a whole nice day with you. Like a proper date. Something romantic."

"And hiking is romantic?" he snorted, feeling immensely relieved. For all their fighting and screaming, he didn't think he could learn to live alone again. He loved her in his own clumsy way.

"Well, you like the woods so I thought…" she shrugged. "It doesn't matter. It's a disaster. First we get lost and now that…" He was sure sitting on damp earth in the middle of the woods wasn't considered romantic in any way indeed. However, Haymitch wasn't a fan of romance.

"We never dated before." he frowned. "Why do you want to do that now, sweetheart?" It seemed a hassle to him. They went out to Graesy Sae's brand new restaurant sometimes – and rats weren't on the menu anymore which made for a nice change – they spent most of their days together…

"We were always alone before Katniss and Peeta." she confessed. "Now… I love the children, you know I love the children, but Haymitch… They're always coming and going in our house – and I love that they feel at home there – but… They never knock, it never crosses their mind that they might interrupt something, they meddle in every one of our fights… I love them but…" Given the number of time she had stated she loved the kids, Haymitch would bet his knife that she felt guilty about her current train of thoughts. "They act as if we were their parents."

"Yeah..." He wasn't sure what to add to that. Katniss and Peeta did act like they were their kids and Haymitch was okay with that. He felt like their father more often than not anyway. A shitty father, perhaps, but… The kids were family. And Effie was part of that family so… "I'm confused. You don't want the kids in the house anymore?" And what had that to do with her sudden desire to go hiking or on dates or whatever she thought they were doing in her strange mind.

She broke the hug to glare at him. "Don't be preposterous, of course I want them in the house. I am simply stating that the children are a huge part of our life and take most of our attention and time. We never get quality time together anymore, Haymitch. We're always interrupted."

"Your fault." he shrugged. "They interrupt, I tell them to go away, you say I'm rude and you invite them in for tea."

"I will not send the children away when they need us." Effie snapped. "That is not the point."

"That's so much the point it's hitting you in the face, sweetheart." he snorted. "They're adults, they can take a hint every now and then."

Although he sometimes wondered if they were as adults as they appeared. They occasionally acted like five years old in twenty-something's bodies… It was true that each time he and Effie started kissing in the middle of the day or when the kissing was actually leading somewhere, one of them or both appeared, all clingy, broody and needy, as if triggered by a silent alarm.

"Really." she huffed. "You would have me telling them having sex with you is more important than listening to their problems?"

"Isn't it?" he joked. He probably looked too hopeful because she rolled her eyes.

"No." It was definitive but she did gave him a small smile. "Although it doesn't hurt."

He rolled his eyes and got up with some difficulties. He was getting older by the day. "Can you stand?" he asked. He held out both of his hands. They managed to get her upright again but her painful wince with every step she took was enough to make him concerned. "Don't put your weight on your ankle it will make it worse. Lean on me." He put a arm around her waist and they hobbled along the path toward the District. It was getting darker by the minute, Haymitch was a bit too aware he didn't know the woods well enough to move around by night…

"As far as dates go, I have to tell you this one was really bad." Effie teased, at some point.

"Next time, tell me you want a date and we can spend the day at the lake or at the meadow instead of hiking." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not a fan of sports either, you know." The walk had left him exhausted.

Her laugh filled the air, so familiar and comforting. "I was afraid they would find us there."

"Do you think they're tracking us with radars or what?" Haymitch nudged her quietly.

Her blue eyes were twinkling with mischief. "No, Katniss is just an excellent hunter."

He was about to ask her what she meant by that when he saw them. He should have realized before but he had been too focused on making sure he or Effie wouldn't trip again. They were unmistakable though, two silhouettes just around the bend of the path. Katniss and Peeta, they hurried as soon as they took a glimpse of them.

"Okay, I get your point." Haymitch sighed, although he was glad for the help. "What about a trip to Four?" It was a huge concession for him because he would have been happy to never leave Twelve again but… If Effie wanted quality time, well… He wasn't about to complain. "We can visit Annie and we can stop in Seven to see how Johanna's doing on our way back… That would take us what… Two weeks? Three? What do you say?"

She grinned and kissed him full on the lips which brought the kids who had just reached them to sigh and complain about how they shouldn't do that in public because really they had been scarred enough.