Prompt: Hi! May I prompt? Would you write something about Haymitch losing a bet and having to do some cheesy romantic stuff for Effie on Valentine's day? Please ? :D

The Perfect Date

"No tie." Effie remarked with a pout that was mostly faked.

Haymitch made a face. "Don't push."

"I am not pushing." she grinned. "A bet is a bet, darling."

His scowl deepened and Effie grinned wider, amused by the whole thing.

The whole thing had started with her wanting to do something special for Valentine's Day and Haymitch being a stubborn idiot about not doing anything. Then it had somehow evolved into an argument that had been interrupted by the children – at which point Haymitch had thought it a smart move to bet Katniss would forget about the holiday. She had argued that if the girl remembered, he would be obligated to humor her by planning the most romantic date he was able to. He had, of course, retorted that if the girl didn't, she would be his to do as he pleased for the whole night. Either way, it wasn't a bad bet for her.

And Katniss had actually remembered and purchased a beautiful pencil case for Peeta.

She had spent the whole afternoon pampering herself in their bathroom, dolling herself up like good old times. She had put on a tight red dress just because she knew he liked the color on her, she had done her hair, she had done her make-up, she had put on jewelry and perfume…

She looked amazing.

And it made her happy.

She was actually impressed he had dressed up without her having to prompt him to. She had been surprised when she had walked out of the bathroom to find him there getting dressed. He was wearing a nice pair of pants and a grey button up shirt that matched his eyes, the whole set was clean, pressed and free of stains.

"You look good." he said awkwardly. He wasn't the best at compliments. She didn't mind. She actually liked how he never rehearsed what he wanted to say. He told her she was beautiful when she least expected it and never out of any sense of obligation. That was one of her favorite things about him.

"Thank you." she smiled, placing a hand on his chest and planting a kiss at the corner of his mouth. "You actually look quite dashing too. It makes me eager for dessert…"

He completely relaxed and wrapped an arm around her waist to bring her closer, a smirk on his lips. "Nothing says we can't go for dessert first, sweetheart…"

She laughed but didn't try to avoid his kiss.

"Are you taking me out?" she asked against his lips before he could deepen it.

"Nope." he snorted.

"Oh." Her enthusiasm deflated. She had thought he would take her to Sae's restaurant. That was where everyone would be that night and she had made sure the old woman would keep a table for them just in case because she knew Haymitch like the back of her hand and it would be just like him to show up unexpected when the whole District wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day.

"So disappointed and you don't even know what's in store yet." he scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.

"My apologies." she winced. "I just thought we could have a nice dinner…"

"You said I had to plan the most romantic night I could." he countered in a horrid imitation of her accent. "I had to make sure it was fabulous."

She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at him. "I do not talk like that."

"Yeah, you do." he mocked.

She tilted her head to the side, watching him without any sort of amusement. "Be careful I don't pass on dessert." His grey eyes were twinkling and it was a shame she was so partial to them. "What do you have planned then?"

He lifted an eyebrow and held his arm out for her.

"Miss Trinket." he added playfully.

That was more courtesy than he had ever extended to her in their thirteen years of collaboration and five years of live-in partnership.

"Mr Abernathy." she humored him anyway, linking their arms together.

Her expectations as he led her downstairs weren't high. She knew Haymitch. She knew he regarded great romantic gestures as fake and thought love was more a day to day thing than something you should remember on special holidays once a year.

What she wasn't expecting was to find the lights turned off in the living-room, blankets and cushions spread on the floor in front of the fireplace, a fire roaring, and candles all around the room. She wasn't expecting the picnic basket or the wild flowers clumsily arranged in a vase either.

He had made such an effort to set a romantic mood that she was left speechless.

He cleared his throat. "If you want to go out…"

"Are you kidding?" she gasped. "This is amazing."

"Yeah, well…" he muttered. "The boy might have helped a bit."

Peeta's contribution, it turned out, was the pink frosted cupcakes and the cheese buns they shared on toasted bread.

"You know…" she teased, as he held his piece of bread over the fire. "One could technically consider this a Toasting."

She was expecting screams and denials or maybe taunts.

He barely shrugged. "I guess, yeah."

It was by far too casual.

She frowned. "Haymitch…"

"Sweetheart?" he answered innocently, carefully taking the crispy bread off the fire and spreading some cheese on top. He broke it in half and handed her a piece.

She ignored it.

"Did we just get married?" she insisted.

She waited for the joke. She waited for him to tell her she was stupid to have fallen for that. She waited for the inevitable reminder that he wasn't the marrying type.

What she got instead was: "Eat your toast before it gets cold."

She did. If only because she was feeling like she had stepped into an alternate universe in which Haymitch actually knew the definition of romance.

They shared the cupcakes, drank wine and talked about the children and random things happening around the District, just like they did most nights. It was peaceful. Effie loved that.

She kissed him first under the silly pretext of wiping crumbs from his stubble. It didn't take long for the kissing to grow heated or for them to start rolling around on the blankets and cushions like they were twenty and not in their forties.

Some may argued they were too old for this.

She was simply glad passion was still there.

His shirt was off and her dress was halfway down when he broke the kiss and stopped trying to get her naked.

"I've got something for you." he scowled as if it was painful to utter.

He was on top of her and she couldn't help a seductive grin as she pushed her hips up to meet his. "Yes, I have a good idea of what it is."

He rolled his eyes, smirking at her, a spark of amusement in his eyes. "Sarcasm isn't your thing, sweetheart."

"It is actually very much my thing, thank you very much." she retorted with a huff. "Why are we talking when we could be having sex?"

This time he chuckled and sit up a little to reach inside the pocket of his pants. The ring he held out flat on his palm for her was battered, old, and made of a weird metal she couldn't quite identify.

For a second, she was confused.

It was enough for him to flush red either in embarrassment at what he probably took as a rejection or in anger at what he presumed to be her snobbery.

"It was my mother's." he muttered, starting to close his fist.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, snatching the ring from him before he could take it away. She hesitated for a moment longer but he had said it was for her. A lump formed in her throat because she knew how few mementoes of his family he had left and how precious they were to him. More than that, she understood the significance of the gesture. "Thank you, Haymitch."

He relaxed and took the band back to slid it on the ring finger of her left hand. "It goes with the toasts. If you want."

Her only answer was to coil her hand at the back of his neck and to draw him forward. The kiss was hard and demanding and she took full advantage of him being distracted to push him on his back.

Then she proved him very thoroughly just how much she loved him.

It was late by the time they ended up lying naked under the blankets, her leg hooked over his hip, her head on his shoulder, his hand slowly caressing her side. Most of the candles had died out and the fire was waning. She was sleepy but she still find herself chuckling.

She pressed a kiss against his skin. "A picnic, a wedding, your mother's ring and two orgasms… I am unsure how you will manage to top that next year. If I had known you were so good at dates, I would have insisted on you planning one long ago."

Only Haymitch, she thought. It was all or nothing with him.

"I don't date." he mumbled. "Dating's for people who aren't sure. I'm sure."

He turned his head and she couldn't resist stretching her neck to steal a kiss.

"You are ridiculous. That is what you are." she mocked.

And yet she wouldn't have him any other way.