Prompt : I just read what you wrote about the history of Effie and Viola who I love btw. You said that Viola worked with Haymitch first and I would love to read something about that. Maybe Effie being curious why he kicked her or why she left, maybe she's looking for some extra knowledge for their next fight or maybe somehow jealous and needs reassurement that she's so much better (and that he never slept with Viola). OMG please write something like this.

What Viola Doesn't Know…

"Thank you, love, you're a life savior." Chaff sighed over his glass of whiskey.

It almost sounded sincere.

"It's the last time." she huffed.

"You already said that last year. And the year before that." Haymitch snorted. "Yet, here you are, doing it all over again."

Effie glared at him but accepted the pink cocktail he handed her as a peace offering of sort. She was helping them and, as a consequence, they couldn't really antagonize her that night.

Of course, she had no business helping Eleven's victor but his escort was inept and she had been roped into it yet again. The paperwork to fill after a tribute's death was extensive and complicated and she knew the escorts dealt with him in most District teams if only to avoid errors – the Capitol, after all, was very demanding and precise in everything and Games related paperwork was no exception. She worked in silence for awhile, occasionally asking Chaff details about his tributes. Twelve's paperwork was already done with. She liked to do it as soon as possible. It helped her get some closure – and she would never, ever, under no circumstances toss the file at Haymitch and expect him to do it by himself; he would make such a mess…

The penthouse's dining-room was peaceful as she worked. The two victors watched her and drank.

"You know they never read those, right?" Haymitch said eventually. "No need to make it look pretty."

"A neat handwriting is never amiss, Haymitch." she retorted. "You should mind yours. It is awful."

"Yeah, well… I stopped school at sixteen in case you forgot." he scowled. "Never had much needs to write after that." He toasted Chaff. "Your escort used to say as long as I could sign my name she was happy."

"She's such a bitch." Eleven's victor scorned. "Did I ever thank you for sending her my way? I've had some bad ones over the years but this one takes the cake."

"Language." she snapped mechanically, taking a sip from her cocktail and studying the two victors in turn. "What do you mean sending Viola your way, Chaff? I thought she was promoted…"

"Kicked out, more like." Chaff scoffed. "Haymitch threatened Torello with… What was it, buddy?"

"Pushing her down the stairs." he mumbled. "Would have done it too."

"You threatened a Head Gamemaker with pushing your escort down the stairs." Effie repeated, taken aback.

"She's a bitch." he spat through clenched teeth.

There was a story there, Effie mused and she was absolutely curious. Her love for Viola – or lack of, rather – wasn't exactly a secret.

"Language." she insisted. "Although you will hear no objection from me on that subject." She frowned. "Are you threatening Head Gamemaker Torello with pushing me down the stairs now?"

He smirked but before he could answer what would, no doubt, have been some taunt or other, Chaff laughed.

"He wants to push you down alright, love, but not down the stairs." Eleven's victor taunted.

Effie pursed her lips. "Distasteful. I would thank you to keep your dirty fantasies to yourself."

"I'm sorry to break it to you but my fantasies don't involve you, sweetheart." Haymitch mocked.

"That would be because you have no taste." she argued swiftly.

"My taste got you Viola's job." he pointed out.

"Oh, so you had her removed from your team because she wasn't to your taste, was it?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Haymitch likes his women bitchy but not mean." Chaff cut in, obviously finding the whole conversation hilarious. "Also, she's not quite his type. Too much boobs."

"I don't mind the boobs." Haymitch argued. "I don't like them being flaunted in my face every two seconds."

"She is vulgar." Effie admitted, a little disturbed by the direction the discussion was taking. Discussing Haymitch's taste in women wasn't something she had been contemplating ever doing and certainly not in such a crude fashion. She crossed her legs and finished Eleven's paperwork quickly. Not quickly enough though.

"Did you take that one for a ride?" Chaff chuckled. "I've lost count of the number of escorts you slept with." He glanced at Effie and shrugged. "Used to be a game of ours, you know. Sleep with them, make them quit… I would be happy to show you sometimes, love."

Chaff's leering was, as usual, helped by the whiskey he had been steadily knocking down. Haymitch, on the other hand, had been pacing himself.

"Find yourself another toy." he growled.

"Do you hear yourself?" she hissed. "I am not a toy. Women are not toys. You are both repelling."

She slid the paperwork in front of Chaff, grabbed her cocktail and relocated to the living-room. She sipped it slowly, watching the city through the bay widows, listening to the rumble of the conversation going on in the other room. She wasn't overly surprised when she heard the chime of the elevator: time for them to go in search of a bar for the night, she figured, and in a few hours, she would be called by a Peacekeeper because they will have been arrested.

She let out a soft sigh and wondered if Viola hadn't gotten the best end of the stick. Chaff and Seeder were easier to manage than Haymitch, Eleven was already better than Twelve, and Eleven's mentors actually put on some work instead of relying only on their escort. On the other hand, for all his innuendoes and improper remarks, Haymitch rarely made her as uncomfortable as Chaff did. His hands tended to wander only when he was drunk or wanted to annoy her, it hardly ever crossed the line between irritating and disturbing. Chaff may only have one hand but it seemed to be really attracted to her backside.

"Look, sweetheart…"

She gasped, startled by his sudden appearance. "You scared me! I thought you were gone!"

"Nervous, are we?" he mocked.

She glared at him and handed him her empty glass. He lifted his eyebrows and pointedly walked to the liquor cart to pour himself another whiskey, leaving her hanging with her glass in the air.

"Ruffian." she muttered under her breath.

He remained next to the cart while she fixed herself another drink. She was a little too aware of his eyes studying her like she was a mystery needing to be unraveled. It had been more and more frequent lately, those long puzzled stares. There had been less and less remarks about her being another brainless Capitol drone, as if he was scratching at the mask to find there was a human underneath. They had been working together for five years and although she liked that she could still surprise him, she hated the fact that he seemed to see past her act. That was dangerous.

"I wouldn't push you down the stairs." he offered quietly, before taking a sip of his whiskey.

"I am aware." she replied tersely. "I don't believe you would push Viola either. You are a lot of things but not a murderer."

"Forgot my Games already?" he chuckled bitterly, that hint of danger lacing his voice.

She decided a change of topic was necessary. "Why did she antagonize you so much anyway? Believe me, I am well acquainted with Viola's flaws but she's not the worst, is she? She's certainly better than Gloria." Three's escort spent a lot of time with Six's mentors and it wasn't only for the pleasure of their company. "She might be lax on the paperwork but I've seen her work a crowd. She's good where sponsors are concerned."

"She wasn't good with me." he said "Tried to boss me around one too many times."

"I boss you around all the time." she argued. "And for all your assertions that you hate me, we work well together."

He made the whiskey twirl in his glass, staring at the amber liquid rather than at her. "Thing is, sweetheart… You boss me around but you treat me like a human being. She treated me like a piece of trash." He shrugged. "When you and me fight I know I can push back, I know you can handle me at my worst. I know I can trust you at my worst. I couldn't trust her."

"To be fair, she was only with you for a year." she pointed out, pleased by that surprising declaration of trust.

"One year too many if you ask me." he scoffed. "You weren't here for a year that I already knew I would keep you."

She lifted a perfect shaped eyebrow. "And yet you are adamant everyday that you will drive me to quit."

A smirk played on his lips and he toasted her. "You heard, Chaff, sweetheart, we have a game. We make our escorts quit by sleeping with them."

She didn't bat an eyelash. "Are you so poorly skilled in bed?"

"Want to find out for yourself?" he taunted.

She shook her head, unable to suppress the grin tugging at her lips. "If that is an attempt at seducing me, you will have to do better."

"I don't seduce." he retorted.

"Oh, so women naturally succumb to your charms, is that it?" she teased. "And you call me arrogant." She eyed him for a second, the grin turning into a small pout. "Did you sleep with Viola?"

"Why? You're jealous?" he countered immediately.

"Don't flatter yourself." she huffed. "But I don't pass second to Viola Summercket. For one thing, I am afraid of what I could catch."

He granted that point with a tilt of the head, finished his whiskey in one go and placed the glass down on the cart before plucking hers from her hand and putting it next to his. She refused to be intimidated or to step back.

"You never answered my question." she warned.

"You never answered mine." he replied.

"Which was?" she prompted.

She watched him steadily invading her personal space without a flinch.

"Want to find out how bad I am in bed?" he smirked.

"Is that supposed to entice me?" she challenged. "Did you sleep with Viola or not?" His hands landed on her waist, warm through the thin fabric of her dress and she suddenly forgot why it was so important to know what he had been up to with Viola. "Alright, I think you are drunk and that is enough nonsense for tonight." She tried to keep her voice even but it was difficult to focus when his thumb was stroking her stomach and he was staring at her like she was a prey he wanted to devour. He tugged gently and she stepped forward, annihilating the idea of space between them. "Haymitch."

"I really don't like you." he snorted, leaning in to brush his mouth against her throat. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip to prevent the gasp from escaping. He wasn't touching but the not quite contact was electrifying and the feel of the stubble against her skin…

"Improper." she managed to choke out despite her strangled voice. "Absolutely improper."

"See?" he chuckled. "That's the difference between you and Viola. She would have already slapped me."

"I will slap you." she promised just when his mouth finally landed on her throat. He nipped at the soft skin and she tilted her head back despite her best attempts at convincing herself that this was a bad idea. "In a second. I will slap you in a second."

"Keep telling yourself that." he chuckled.

"I…" she started. He cut her off with a kiss. And that kiss was her undoing. Suddenly, she wasn't just passive anymore, she pushed him back, keeping their lips locked. He almost tripped but eventually ended up pinned to the wall. He groaned in her mouth, flipped them over so she was the one with her back against the wall. She didn't really understood how they went from the kissing to them being half-dressed with her legs locked around his waist.

"Never slept with her." he muttered as he fumbled with his belt. "Wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole. Not attracted."

"Alright." she accepted his words for a fact, never even thinking it could be a lie. Haymitch rarely lied to her, that was something she cherished even though he could sometimes be blunt to the point of cruelty.

It turned out he wasn't bad in bed even though he could certainly do with some improving. She didn't mind having to work for her pleasure but taking his without waiting for her was just rude. She would teach him, she mused afterwards, slowly coming down from her bliss, relishing in his panting against her neck.

And she would make sure, if it was the last thing she did, that Viola never found out what exactly Haymitch was capable of in bed.