Prompt: Effie and Chaff actually have a bonding moment

Right As Rain

When the elevator doors opened and she heard the voices coming from the living-room, Effie's steps faltered. She hadn't expected the children to be already back from training but a glance at her watch confirmed that she should have.

She lingered in the hallway, quite certain her arrival had remained undetected. The Quell was taking everything out of her. She had gotten used awfully quickly to being the winning District, to being the one sponsors courted for once, to her job being… easier. All that was gone. She didn't know what sort of rumors were running around because people were very careful not to let her hear but she knew most sponsors were wary of pledging themselves to Twelve, not matter how much the betting books were in their favor.

She spent her days trying and failing to secure some money and she wasn't reassured by Haymitch's dismissive promises that he had some sponsors lined up. They were talking about their victors' lives and she wouldn't leave any of that up to chance. The fact that one of them wouldn't be coming back this time…

She caught her reflection in the mirror and let out a small sigh. She patted her golden wig and composed herself a cheerful face, an optimistic one. She would need to march in that living-room and be her flamboyant self, to distract the children from their fate, invent a story of two for good measure… Something that would make them exchange a glance and roll their eyes behind her back.

Resolved, she checked her make-up was perfect one last time and then walked toward the living-room – only to stop when she realized the door leading to the roof was open.

She knew the children often wandered up there but she was positive they were both in the penthouse. Neither Portia nor Cinna ever went to the roof, which meant…

Without a second thought, she climbed the stairs, eager to have a few minutes alone with Haymitch. They had both been so busy since the Reaping and she felt so unsettled that…

She froze on the threshold when she realized the man leaning against the hip-high wall wasn't Haymitch.

"Chaff." she said, taking pain to sound polite. "What are you doing here?"

Any other year, she would have been slightly suspicious of another mentor spying on them – only slightly because Chaff was often around – but this year… This year, Chaff was a tribute and he had nothing to do on their floor.

"Waiting for Haymitch." Eleven's victor shrugged. "He heard the kids coming back. He went to check."

She pursed her lips, not quite satisfied with that explanation. "He wouldn't happen to have gone looking for some liquor while he was at it, would he?" She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms in front of her chest. "He is doing very good on that front and I won't have you jeopardize his sobriety, I warn you."

"Ah, love… I'll miss your affection." he mocked, nodding at the clutch in her hand. "Care to share one?"

"One what?" she frowned.

Chaff frowned too. "A smoke. That's why you came up here, no?"

"Of course." she smoothly lied.

It wouldn't have done to let him know she had hoped for a hug and, perhaps, if they had been feeling adventurous a quickie against the wall. She walked closer to where he was standing and fished the battered cigarette pack from her clutch. She had been resisting the urge to have one since the whole thing had started anyway.

She glanced at the door a bit guiltily and annoyed to feel that way. Haymitch hated it when she smoked. He also hated it when she indulged in sleeping pills – although on that particular subject, he may have had a point. She found it absolutely irritating that he was allowed to comment on her own addictions when any remark on her part about his drinking habits would end in a screaming match. He kept insisting she shouldn't waste her life like that. As if his own was worth less. It infuriated her.

She wedged a cigarette between her lips and pushed the packet closer to Chaff, not quite surprise by his request even if he wasn't typically a smoker. Chaff had never been shy about trying stuff out. He smoked everything that could be smocked, occasionally tried out drugs, and sampled every alcohol he could find. He never did it enough to get addicted though. She suspected once in his District, he tamed his demons for his family's sake. But when he was in the city, all bets were off.

It was in part why she resented his friendship with Haymitch. Haymitch was clever but there were days when he didn't know how to stop. Unlike Chaff, he had an addictive personality and a tendency toward self-destruction that scared her more often than not.

She looked around for her lighter with an annoyed cluck of her tongue. The clutch was small and if she had tossed the cigarettes and the mints in there as a habit – because even when she wasn't planning on smoking them, she carried them around just in case – she wasn't sure she had remembered to take her silver lighter.

A match was cracked next to her and she looked up in time for the flame to be brought to the cigarette between her lips.

She must have looked surprised enough because Chaff tossed the match and took the cigarette from his mouth before chuckling. "Don't look so shocked. Who do you think taught him that move?"

She supposed he was referring to Haymitch's habit of carrying matches in his pocket. For all his claims that her cigarettes would kill her and despite the lighter Finnick had gifted her with for her birthday a long time ago, he had always had a gift for popping out a match when she needed one.

Years earlier, when she wasn't just stress-smoking but indulging more or less at every party, she used to pretend having forgotten her lighter just so he would lit her cigarette for her. It had always been a form of foreplay. Hands brushing together, heavy looks…

"It is a very good move." she approved, taking a long drag before slowly blowing out the smoke. "Do not think it will get you anywhere with me, though."

Chaff's laughter boomed out, washed out by the city's noises. "Way to kick a dying man in the balls, love." The reminder that Eleven's victor would probably be dead in a week time made her look down at her manicured hand. "Ah, now…" he chided. "Don't get all sad on me, Trinket. It's not like we're best friends."

"It does not mean I wish you ill." she retorted. She wrinkled her nose and took another draft. "Although you will understand why I would prefer for one of my victors to win, naturally."

"Could have been Haymitch." he remarked, innocently enough. Nothing was hardly ever innocent with Chaff, though. "Lucky the boy volunteered."

She swallowed hard and forced her voice to remain steady but the trembling fingers that were holding the cigarette betrayed her. "I fail to see the luck in that." She flashed him a bright smile, flicking ash off. "But I am confident Twelve will win once more!"

Her cheerfulness was for show more than out of necessity. The roof was noisy and what the city's life didn't cover, the wind and the chimes certainly did. It was why she and Haymitch often sought the roof's discretion because there were no bugs to be afraid of up there.

It didn't mean she was ready to lower her guard with just anyone though. There had been times when she had dropped the act a little for Haymitch's friends but never completely and never in a period as dangerous as the one they were currently in.

Trust was a luxury on the best days in the Capitol.

And she certainly did not trust Chaff.

He didn't seem disturbed by that exclamation. He blew out smoke slowly, apparently deep in thoughts.

"You know the thing I kept saying over the years?" he asked suddenly, as if not quite sure it was the right decision. "How the two of you would come to regret getting involved one day?"

"We are not involved." she huffed. "As we have told you many times before. Haymitch and I are just colleagues and…"

"The day is now." he cut her off.

Terror washed over her but she was good at not letting that control her. She didn't know if it was a warning or a threat but her default reaction was honed by years of playing the dumb debutante. Her mask of utter confusion was in place even before she could think about how to react.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." she claimed, crushing her cigarette against the stone wall even though it wasn't finished yet. She needed to retreat inside. To…

"You've got a tell-tale sign." he said, brushing his stump against her cheek. She recoiled. He didn't seem surprised or vexed by it. "You're good. Very good. But you've got a tell-tale sign. You blink twice when you're bluffing."

"I beg your pardon?" she asked flatly, keeping to her escort persona. Playing it dumb was always the best option. People always expected beautiful women to be dumb.

"You've wiped my ass at poker enough times for me to know." he snorted. "It works with the make-up. People might put it on the eyelashes. Still a dead give-away though. You should work on that."

She batted her fake feather eyelashes faster in answer, more flustered than she liked. "Again, I must insist I have no idea what you are talking about, Chaff."

He stared at her and she stared back.

His jaw was clenched, the stump was distractedly tapping the edge of the wall and the cigarette was forgotten between his fingers, slowly consuming itself.

"Haymitch insists you're not stupid." he said slowly. "And I'm pretty sure he must be right 'cause there's no way he'd be so taken with an idiot. So, if you're not stupid, you've got an idea what's going on out there."

Of course, she did.

Victory Tour had been illuminating as far as that was concerned. The Districts were in uproar and the Quell was nothing but a reminder that nobody was safe.

It was a dangerous topic to brush under the Capitol's watch, which was why she had never really taken it up with Haymitch. She didn't even know what she would have to say about it. She was, after all, a very selfish person. All that mattered to her was that her loved ones were safe. Her priority was the children, second to that came Haymitch, then her family and herself. Panem… Panem came far behind.

She chose to remain silent but it didn't deter Chaff.

"They know you're sleeping with him." he continued. "And they know he loves you."

"He does not." she countered despite her best intentions. The notion was so ridiculous she scoffed. "You are being preposterous. Even if we were sleeping together… You must know it would be all there is to it. He does not love me. He cannot love me. I am everything he loathes."

She didn't quite manage to hide the pain in her voice.

Chaff studied her for a while and then brought the cigarette to his lips, never taking his eyes off her. Eventually, he shook his head. "Maybe you're stupid after all."

"He does not love me." she insisted. "He…"

"He's fucking mad for you. That's obvious to anyone with eyes." Chaff spat. "Never said he wasn't stupid too though. He's got his head buried deep in his ass and he's gonna get it out only when it's too late. 'Cause they'll come after you, love. You know they will."

What he was implying about Haymitch's feelings was far too confusing for her so she focused on the second part of that statement. "I do not understand."

"Sure, you do." he snorted. "That's how the game is played, Trinket. You've known that since day one."

The Capitol targeted family and loved ones to get to someone.

And it had proved to be a particularly effective method when Haymitch was concerned.

"He does not love me." she repeated in an anxious whisper. Her hands grabbed the cigarette packet as if they had a mind of their own and she almost ripped it in two in her hurry to grab one. "You do not understand. He…"

"Fine. Let's say he doesn't." Chaff cut her off, tossing the match box in her direction so she could light her new cigarette. "You're still gonna be his closest friend out there. We're all gonna be dead or safe by that point."

"What point?" she snapped, struggling to light the match.

He dismissed that question with a wave of his stump. "Not important. Just remember this… I'm pretty sure he's gonna try to get you out too but it might not work out. I don't know much but I know this: as far as everyone's concerned you're expandable. He's the only one who cares."

She took a drag and felt only relief once she was surrounded by the familiar taste and smell of tobacco. "You are making no sense."

"Hope it's never gonna make sense to you, to be honest." Chaff scoffed. "'Cause believe it or not, I don't wish you ill either." He tossed the bud of his cigarette on the ground and crushed it under his shoe. "Thing is, I want you to remember. If it goes to shit, he tried. If it goes to shit and you die… Well, maybe it's a comfort for you to know, I don't know, don't quite care either… But if it goes to shit and you make it through… Don't go blaming him for it, yeah? 'Cause he will have tried."

Her hands were shaking badly now.

She knew something was in the work, she wasn't oblivious no matter how hard she tried to be. The hushed conversations with Cinna and other victors, the mysterious sponsors, the way Haymitch sneaked in her bed and clung to her at night…

She hadn't asked because it was better if she was not involved in whatever it was. She wasn't brave. She would be a liability. She didn't want to betray him.

"Not sure how this thing will end…" Chaff went on, more to himself than to her. "Pretty sure I'm never gonna find out 'cause I'm gonna be dead meat in a few days but… I'm sure of one thing: he's gonna need someone." He snorted. "Scratch that, he's gonna need you." He glanced at her. "You're gonna take care of my brother, right? I can count on you? Whatever happens, if you make it through, you take care of him."

She should have thought about it given how disturbing everything he had just disclosed was but she didn't need to.

"Yes." she promised. She loved him. She had loved him for a very long time. It didn't matter that it was unrequited, she had made her peace about that a long time ago. She loved him and she took what he allowed her, how pathetic as it sounded.

"Good." Chaff nodded, patting her shoulder with his good hand. "And you never know. Maybe he's gonna manage to get you out and everything will be fine. I'm just thinking up worst case scenarios here."

She snorted sadly, calmer than she ought to be. "You smirk when you bluff. That's your sign."

He chuckled and patted her shoulder once more before rubbing his stump against his palm. Another nervous telltale sign she didn't mention. "I'll work on that."

"Make sure you do." she whispered half-heartedly.

He nodded once and pocketed her packet of cigarettes. "You don't mind, right?" She shook her head no and he walked around her toward the exit. "Tell Haymitch I'll see him tomorrow."

She didn't watch him leave. She flicked the ash off her forgotten cigarette and brought it to her lips mechanically.

She didn't notice he had stopped on the threshold until he cleared his throat. His back was turned to her and he didn't glance back.

"You're wrong." he said. "He does. You should know."

Love her, he meant.

She didn't know what to make of that.

Her cigarette was long gone and the sky had darkened when Haymitch eventually showed up. He frowned when he found her there instead of his friend.

"Chaff left." she stated unnecessarily. Her voice sounded odd to her own ears, like shattered crystal.

"Yeah, I figured." He sounded cautious. He was a bit wary when he walked closer. "Everything's alright, sweetheart? We were starting to get worried…" She should have been back in the penthouse at least an hour ago, she realized. They would be off schedule. They would… She startled when he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Easy. What happened?"

For a second, she almost told him everything.

Then she thought better of it.

She leaned against his chest and sighed in relief when he wrapped his arms around her. She always felt safe in his embrace. Always.

"Nothing happened." she said firmly. "I am just tired."

"Okay." he accepted with obvious reserve.

"Will you fuck me tonight?" she whispered.

The vulgarity had the intended effect and he snorted, his hand drifting south. "I'd fuck you every night. That's what you're upset about? Haven't been paying enough attention to you?"

He said it in his usual mocking tone, the one he always used when he felt she was being overly dramatic.

"We should enjoy the little things." she decided. "We should have sex every time we can."

"No objection from me." he chuckled but quickly sobered up. "You're sure you're alright, Effie?"

"I am right as rain." she lied.

This time, her eyelashes remained steady.