Prompt : I have love every story in your ffs so far! Could you pls write 1 where haymitch hears effie sing and she has a unique voice – not like he would expect or vice versa? many kisses ur way

Really not my best. Sorry.

Of Singing, Friends and Banter

Haymitch's knock on her compartment door was for courtesy only and he slid the door open without waiting for an answer. Her room was empty so he dropped the file Plutarch had asked to bring her on the small table and was going to step out again when he heard it.

The singing.

Curious, he walked closer to the small en-suited bathroom and, yes, there it was. Humming barely audible under the characteristic sound of running water, followed by a louder "Are you, are you coming to the tree?". It sounded good and he was surprised by it. He had never thought she could sing. He had never heard her sing in their thirteen years of working together. The song was familiar but he couldn't quite place it.

"What are you singing?" he asked through the door.

Those bathrooms were barely more than furnished cupboards – although he supposed that given the District's mentality, he should be grateful that they were spared sharing common bathrooms – so she heard him loud and clear. He heard her sharp gasp and a clang before the noise of running water disappeared.

"Haymitch, you almost gave me a heart attack!" she shouted from the other side of the door. "What are you doing here?"

He rolled his eyes at her theatrics. "Dropping some papers off. I knocked." He added the last part defensively and as an afterthought. "So what's that song?"

He could hear her move inside and a few minutes later, the door opened. His lips stretched into an appreciative smirk when he took in the grey towel wrapped tightly around her chest and the wet blond hair plastered to her skull.

"Not a word." she warned him, waving a finger at him.

"I like the District look on you." he taunted all the same. "Next thing, you will walk around naked."

She was already pretty naked. The towel was long enough to keep it decent but it was certainly more of her than he had ever seen. She was all creamy unblemished skin and he didn't even try to hide he was ogling her.

"The song?" he asked again, if only to distract himself.

"Oh, The Hanging Tree." Effie replied, distracted. She was checking the file he had left on the table, flipping over its content. "I have been helping Plutarch editing the latest propo about Twelve… He's using Katniss' singing as a voice over and this is the kind of song that sticks in your head. Haven't you heard her sing yet? We should have made that her talent. She's wonderful at it and it would have saved Cinna some work."

He had long ago developed the gift to take the essential information out of her chit chat and tuned out the rest.

"Never knew you could sing." he commented as she placed the file on the table and rested her hands on either side of it, leaning slightly and frowning at whatever she was reading. "You don't want to bent too far, sweetheart. I'm not sure I have that much self-control in me."

That towel wouldn't cover everything much longer if she leaned further.

She stood tall again and glared at him, a light blush coloring her cheeks, one of her hands going straight for the knot keeping her towel in place.

"Why are you still here?" she hissed.

"That's a bit rude, Princess." he snorted, only to rile her up. "Is that any way to treat a friend?"

"Friends don't leer at you when you're wearing next to nothing, Haymitch." she countered. "Friends know when they need to leave so people can get dressed in peace."

"Friends are missing on a lot then, aren't they?" He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and she rolled her eyes.

"You are ridiculous." she declared.

"You love it." he accused with a confident smirk.

"Certainly not." she huffed. Yet there was a grin tugging at the corner of her lips. She started reading the report again, humming the same haunting tune distractedly as she focused on the words.

Haymitch was more than happy to listen and be a nuisance.