Hayffie prompt: Effie and katniss are getting drunk the night before the interviews. Making confessions and one is effie sleeping with Haymitch that took katniss by surprise.

Truth & Lie

Effie tightened the knot of her silk dressing gown as she tiptoed to the living-room. It was late enough that the penthouse was eerily silent, she didn't bother with the lights. She knew the penthouse like the back of her hand, she had no trouble moving around in the dark. She went straight for the liquor cart and poured herself a drink. She downed it quickly and breathed out in relief.

Sometimes she understood how and why Haymitch relied on liquor so much.

The prospect of the Quarter Quell interviews the next day was making her wary. Not coaching the children had been a bold decision, a decision she wasn't sure she agreed with but Haymitch had put his foot down, claiming the children could use the time alone and so could they. Finding sponsors would be hard that year for totally new reasons. Word on the street was that President Snow would prefer for Four to win rather than Twelve and that sponsors were warmly encouraged to send their money Finnick's way. It sickened her to think that, in a few days, she would be working against Finnick. And Chaff. And Seeder and Cecelia and Mags… Even Johanna.

The whole thing was making her sick to her stomach in whole new ways.

The Reapings always made her feel awful but that year… The mere memory of drawing out Haymitch's name… She had been having nightmares about that even since the Quarter Quell announcement. For a second there, she hadn't been able to tell if it was real or not. And she had felt guilty, oh so guilty, to feel relieved when she had realized what it meant… Because of course Peeta would have volunteered… Of course, he would have…

"Hello."

Effie jumped out of her skin. She turned around, a hand on her chest to calm the racing of her heart, the other already clutching the neck of a bottle as a weapon. Nothing to be alarmed about, however. Just Katniss, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the window, in a tee-shirt and a pair of shorts, hair tied in a messy braid.

Effie let out the breath she had been holding. "You scared me, dear. You shouldn't alarm people like that, it's rude." Although she was admittedly easy to alarm those days. She was always scared today would be the day President Snow decided she was a bit too rebellious for proper Capitol taste and made her disappear from the surface of the earth. She wasn't the only one worried though. Haymitch had only told her ten times to keep a low profile since the Reaping.

"Effie?" It was a bit uncertain.

Her first reaction was to cover her head with her hand, realizing she wasn't wearing any wig nor any make-up for that matter. Her dark blond hair was falling to her shoulders in loose curls. As she stepped closer, she saw that it wasn't the cause of Katniss' confusion however. The bottle of whiskey she was holding, now…

"Katniss, are you drunk?" she clucked her tongue disapprovingly and towered over the girl. "I knew this would happen eventually. Haymitch is absolutely the worst influence you could…"

"You're pretty." Katniss interrupted her, she was gaping.

"Well." Effie huffed. "No need to sound so surprised." She crouched next to the girl and pried the bottle from her hands gently. "Come on. I will help you back to your bed. At least you're lighter than Haymitch."

"No, please." Katniss shook her head. "I want to stay here a bit longer. Peeta is sleeping. I want… I want…" She didn't seem to know what she wanted because she shrugged and took the bottle back. She offered it to Effie. " You were drinking too. Do you want some?"

That wasn't very proper. She should have helped Katniss back to bed and kept up the pretense of the oblivious and daft escort. That was what Haymitch had told her to do and that was probably the safest way to go about this. It would have been different if those Games had been normal. She would have been able to be a little more herself with Peeta and Katniss, not escort Effie Trinket but just Effie… Perhaps they would have liked her more then.

But she was tired to play by the rules… And wasn't that a scary thought? Because in this strange world they were living in, rules were the only think keeping you alive. Step on the line and you were dead. Effie had flirted with the line many times along the years… Hell, she flirted with the line every time she ended up in Haymitch's bed… But she had been careful to never cross it. Until the Quarter Quell announcement. Until she had raged and cried and screamed so hard Portia had been scared her neighbors would hear… But what rights did they have to do that? What rights?

"Whiskey is Haymitch's poison not my own." she replied, moving back to the liquor cart to snatch the bottle of wine she had already opened and her glass. She could tell Katniss was surprised when she sat on the floor next to her instead of using the couch but the girl had chosen a good spot, the view from the bay window was beautiful. The city spread at their feet, thousands of tiny lights as far as the eye could see. "Are you worried about the interviews?"

Katniss' bitter laugh took her by surprise but, when she thought about it, it shouldn't have. "I'm worried about my mother and my sister. Do you think they will get to keep the monthly allowance once I am gone?"

The carelessness with which Katniss was talking about her own death chilled her to the bones. "You can't afford to think like that, Katniss. You did an excellent job in the last Games. I am not allowed to bet, but if I could, I would bet on you."

"Funny." Katniss snorted. "Cinna said the same thing last year."

"And as he often is, Cinna was right." she said. "You won last year, Katniss. You might very well win this year too."

There was pity in the girl's eyes when she looked at her next, pity and a small slice of affection. "I am not going to win, Effie. Haymitch and I have an agreement, didn't he tell you?"

"Haymitch scarcely bothers telling me anything." She poured herself a glass of wine because she sensed she would need it. "Do tell."

Katniss was tipsy but not quite drunk yet, she could tell. She had become quite an expert at gauging how much people were drunk.

"We are saving Peeta." the girl said so earnestly it broke Effie's heart. It really did. She felt it shattering in her chest. "It's better if you know anyway." Katniss shrugged half-heartedly. "You can remind Haymitch if he drinks too much."

"Haymitch is quite sober at the moment. I'm actually impressed." she confessed. "But I will make sure he remembers."

Although she was sure he had some tricks up his sleeves. She was neither deaf nor blind, his little reunions with some victors hadn't been lost on her, neither had been his quiet and lengthy conversations with Cinna and, more rarely but sometimes, Portia. Perhaps he would save them both. Perhaps he could do a miracle for the second time in as many years.

"You aren't going to try and convince me to win?" Katniss asked, obviously surprised.

"Why would I?" Effie asked, sipping from her glass of wine. Katniss was staring at her face but Effie kept her eyes on the Capitol below. It truly was beautiful. She loved the city. "I understand."

"Don't take it the wrong way but I really don't think you can." the girl sighed.

Effie almost laughed. Almost. She was afraid it would end in tears. Teenagers always thought nobody had felt their pain before, young lovers always thought they were the first to hurt that way… She could have let it pass. She should have even. However, for some reason, she wanted Katniss to understand.

"What if you were responsible for sending the one you love back in the arena?" She let the question hang in the air, twirling her glass slowly so the wine would dance. She loved watching the dark liquid slosh one way and then the other.

"Already am." Katniss shrugged.

"Oh, no you're not…" Effie refuted. "Not until you put your own hand in a glass bowl and pull back his name."

The girl frowned. "I don't get it."

She really didn't. Effie let out a sigh. "You feel responsible, you want to save the one you love, I can understand that." A bitter smile played on her lips. "Why, if things hadn't turned out the way they did I might be the one getting drunk in the dark because I know my lover will probably be dead two days from now and you might be the one walking up on me."

"Okay, I'm a bit drunk, you should use shorter sentences." Katniss said.

Effie leaned against the window, turning her back on the city. "When Peeta volunteered, I felt relieved and I am so very sorry."

"Relieved?" Katniss repeated dumbfounded and then her eyes widened. "Oh, because of Haymitch?" She could see the exact moment the girl pieced it all together. "But you hate him and he hates you and…" She gaped a bit. "Are you two… Are you…" She waved her hand back and forth.

"Are we lovers?" Effie suggested.

Katniss made a disgusted face. "I really don't need to know that."

"No, I suppose you don't." Effie laughed softly. The wine had made her relax. She felt better now. Calmer than she had been while tossing and turning in her bed. "I remember when I was your age I imagined people stopped having sex at thirty."

"Can you stop talking about… you know?" Katniss winced. "You can lecture me on high heels or whatever instead… I promise I will listen, even."

Effie wanted to smile at her but it hurt. It was all so unfair…

She finished her glass and stood up slowly before outstretching a hand to Katniss. "You need to go to bed. Tomorrow will be a big, big, big day!" How easy it was to fall back on her escort persona…

Katniss stumbled after her in the corridor. Perhaps the girl was drunker than Effie had thought. It was probably better, she would certainly forget the conversation or blame alcohol for a hallucination. Effie made sure her victor was back to her room before making her way to Haymitch's.

He was bare-chest, covers kicked back, a leg on the blankets the other trapped in the sheets… She closed the door quietly behind her and dropped her dressing gown on a chair near the dresser before climbing in bed behind him. She draped a arm around him and covered his body with her much smaller one.

"Told you not to sneak in my bed, sweetheart." he mumbled against his pillow. "'Could kill you."

She tightened his hold on him and buried her face between his shoulder blades. She could have assured him she had known he wasn't asleep but she couldn't muster the energy. He rummaged under his pillow until he found his knife and flung it away from the bed like he always did each time she spent the night. It meant he didn't sleep much but it also meant he wouldn't accidentally hurt her.

"What's wrong?" His voice was rough from sleep.

"Nothing." she lied.

He frowned. "Is it urgent or life-threatening?"

That made her smile and she kissed his shoulder softly. "No. You can go back to sleep." His eyes were already closed but he felt around for her hand. "I may have told Katniss we were having intercourses, though."

His fingers squeezed her in surprise but he didn't tense like she had feared he would. "You're a really weird woman." he told her sleepily.

"So you say almost every day." she sighed.

"'Cause it's true." he vowed, stretching a little. "Why did you wake up the girl in the middle of the night to tell her that?"

"She was drinking in the living-room." Effie propped herself on her elbow while he rolled on his back so he could face her. She lied back on his chest as soon as he was settled. "I handled it."

"Yeah?" He wasn't entirely awake. "What was she drinking?"

"Your whiskey." Effie chuckled.

He opened an eye but closed it again just as quickly. "Hope you told her off."

She hummed without committing to any answer. Katniss had enough on her plate and so had Effie, she would be happy to pretend the whole encounter hadn't happened. She pressed a kiss on his heart. "I love you, you know." she whispered.

He didn't answer. He never did. Perhaps because he didn't want to lie. Perhaps because he didn't know how to tell the truth. Whatever the truth or the lie was…