prompt: HG AU, where Effie isn't an escort, but a frequent sponsor of District 12, and yet still somehow manages to become 'friends' with Haymitch over the years...

Twelve's Sponsor

The new bar Chaff had dragged Haymitch to wasn't what Twelve's victors had hoped it would be : too many giggling Capitol women desperate to get their autographs or a picture with them when it wasn't an outright offer for a one-night stand. They were usually ignored and left alone as the washed-up victors they were but when they were the only celebrities in attendance, they were always very popular.

Chaff was in the middle of a story about his latest escort when someone tapped Haymitch on the shoulder and he turned around, a scowl already in place, ready to send the eleventh woman bold enough to approach him that night to hell.

The words remained stuck in his throat when he caught sight of the intruder. Pink wig, apple green dress, endless legs and sparkling blue eyes.

"Effie!" Chaff boomed appreciatively, switching quickly to his joyful public persona. "Long time no see, love."

Effie Trinket, daughter of one of the richest sponsors and model on the side, smiled indulgently at Chaff but her eyes darted back to Haymitch.

"Hello, sweetheart." he smirked. "Missed me?"

Most female sponsors giggled or swooned when he pulled the seduction card. Effie was never fooled by his tricks.

"You can quit your charming antics, Haymitch." She rolled her eyes. "I'm afraid my father pledged himself to Three, this year."

"A shame." Chaff sighed. "Three has no chance at all. Now Eleven…"

"We all know Trinket will never sponsor Eleven." Haymitch rolled his eyes. "Spare us the speech."

He couldn't stop looking at her and it occurred to him that the staring was creepy bordering on noxious. They had a rocky start, the two of them. They had met when Haymitch had accidentally spilled his glass on her dress thus launching her into a cutting five minutes rant about textile care; bored, he had offered to pay for the dress, she had countered she would rather he bought her a drink…

"Why not?" Chaff snickered. "He sponsored Twelve."

"That took all my charm and it was such a catastrophe he vowed to never listen to me again." Effie winced but it soon turned into a smile. "I have some savings, though. I was wondering if you needed money, Haymitch."

"I'm always in need of money, Princess." he snorted. Since the debacle the year she managed to convince her father to sponsor them, she always made sure to sponsor Twelve with her own funds. It wasn't much compared to what her family could give but Twelve wasn't exactly crowded with sponsors and he would take what he could get. "Thanks."

He flashed her a genuine smile.

She didn't make his skin crawl like most of the other sponsors. If anything, she made him want things that were better left unacknowledged. She was a gorgeous woman and she knew it.

"There are ways to thank me, you know." she ventured, tilting her head to the side with a challenging grin. "You could always invite me for a drink."

"Sure." he shrugged, signaling the bartender and waving at the free stool next to him. "What do you want? The disgusting pink thing?"

"That's a cocktail and in no way disgusting." she corrected patronizingly. She didn't sit on the stool either. "I meant invite me for a drink at the penthouse." She battled her eyelashes and Haymitch was distinctly aware of Chaff diving into his glass, mumbling something about some of them having all the luck. "Or you could come to my apartment, if you'd rather. I have a large choice of beverages."

Something freezing coiled around Haymitch's guts and he lost his easy smile. "Why?"

Chaff's glass stopped halfway to his lips, his friend threw him an incredulous look.

Effie looked equally taken aback but she recovered quickly.

"Honestly, Haymitch, how many more hints can I drop before you understand what I am offering?" she asked plainly.

He downed his glass and signaled the bartender to fill it up again in an attempt at wasting time. Finally, when the situation reached the awkward point when even Chaff seemed to wish he could disappear in a puff of smoke, Haymitch turned to face her again.

"If that's one of the conditions of your sponsoring, it needs to go in the contract and we both need to sign it up first." he droned out. He couldn't refuse the money. He was responsible for two kids – they would die, he was sure of it but he couldn't refuse the money, not if it could make a difference.

"Not sure you got that one right." Chaff muttered under his breath.

Effie blinked and then took a step back, her smile faltering for a second before coming back too bright and entirely too cheerful not to be fake. "I am sorry for the misunderstanding, I don't pay for sex. I don't need to. I will get in touch with your escort, shall I? She can take care of the paperwork for the sponsoring. Good night, Haymitch. Chaff."

She fled.

There was no other words for it.

"Badly played." Chaff snickered. "You insulted your only regular sponsor and you passed on a long night of fun."

"I don't get it." Haymitch frowned. "If she didn't want to…"

"She likes you." Chaff cut him off. "You like her. Now is the time when you run after the lady, apologize and hope she still wants to sleep with you, my friend."

Chaff's plans were always unreliable but, for once, Haymitch listened. He hurried out of the bar and along the street, spotting her figure in the night light. How could she be so fast perched on those high heels?, he wondered.

"Effie." he called out but she walked faster in the direction of a long black car. He caught up with her just as she was reaching it and grabbed her arm. "Effie, listen…"

"Miss?"

Haymitch glanced at the man in a black uniform with a sullen expression on his face, his eyes were pointedly staring at the hand the victor had coiled around her upper arm.

Of course, Effie Trinket would have a driver the size of a gorilla. He briefly wondered if the man was related to Brutus.

"It's alright, Dizzle." she vowed. "Get back in the car, this won't take long." The man did as he was told. When she turned to Haymitch, though, she was glaring. And she was also hurt, he could glimpse it beneath the defiant arrogance she was showing. "I do think I have been insulted enough for tonight, Haymitch. So if you would excuse me…"

"When sponsors give you money and then expect you to sleep with them, the money is usually part of the deal." he interrupted.

"I didn't expect you to…" she sighed and then shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I thought you were interested. My mistake. I will still sponsor Twelve when I can. Now if you would just unhand me, I have a party to attend."

He didn't 'unhand' her. He stepped in her personal space, forcing her to retreat until her back hit the side of the car.

"I am not not interested." he said.

She pursed her lips in irritation. "That is a complicated way to say you are actually interested. Although now I am not interested anymore. I am, truth be told, furious that you could think so little of me." He took another step closer, pressing his body against hers. She shivered but didn't avert her eyes. Stubborn and unable to accept defeat… "I don't need to pay for sex. Men throw themselves at my feet."

"Do they?" he smirked. "And yet you want the drunk victor. How does that work?"

He let go of her arm to place his hands on her waist, she grabbed his wrists but she didn't try to push him away. She was trapped against the car yet he could see the arousal very plainly in her eyes. She spent hours every year lecturing him about propriety, manners and the way he should speak to a lady but he was beginning to think his behavior was precisely what she was after.

"Are you bored with you little Capitol men, sweetheart?" he taunted. "You want someone who doesn't spend six hours a day in front of a mirror?"

She opened her mouth to deny it or to tell him to get lost, he didn't know, he didn't give her time to speak before he pressed his lips to hers, one of his hands tangling in the thick mass of synthetic hair that was her wig, the other groping her without a wink of shame.

She froze for a second and then she responded push for push, tug for tug and angry kiss for angry kiss.

He knew, without having to ask, that nobody had ever treated her that way. It was probably truer than anything her City had to offer and she wasn't as blind to the Capitol's flaws as others were. There was a reason she always sponsored Twelve – aside for her now obvious attraction for him – she had once commented that it made the odds that little bit fairer.

"You would benefit from some hours in front of a mirror." she argued when they finally drew back for air. "You look scruffy."

"Isn't that what you like?" he snorted. It dawned on him suddenly that they were still in the middle of the street and that, even though it was quite deserted, journalists had an habit of hiding everywhere. "You said you have lot of booze at your place?"

"I said a large choice of beverages." she corrected with irritation. "And I am unsure if I should maintain that invitation."

He lifted his eyebrows and dropped his arms in surrender before stepping back. He wondered if she felt the loss of his warmth as keenly as he did.

"You know where to find me when you change your mind, Princess." he said.

He turned around without a backward glance.

He was three steps away when she grabbed his wrist and tugged him inside her car.