Prompt: I prompt something where Haymitch or Effie says "Kiss me hard before you go!": Thank you so much for taking prompts.

Kiss Me Hard Before I Go

Effie was perched on the table in the small living area, squeezing the metal edge with her fingers and fighting to keep her eyes on the sliding door a few feet away. She was resolutely ignoring the hurried noises of packing coming from the sleeping area. Haymitch's compartment looked more like Plutarch's compartment but she supposed that wasn't that surprising given that Twelve's victor spent almost all his nights in her own.

For all the good it did her since her opinion wasn't sought when it came to that sort of stupid ridiculous stunts…

Her jaw clenched and she forced herself to take deep breaths, to control herself like a lady ought to.

It was bad enough that they would send Katniss out there. Katniss was seventeen, fit and more than able to defend herself. Two was more dangerous than Effie liked but Gale Hawthorne would be there and everyone would make the Mockingjay's safety a priority.

Nobody would care at all what happened to Haymitch.

He was forty-one.

Of course, there were plenty of older soldiers in the rebel army. But he was forty-one and he behaved like the cocky sixteen years old who had won a Quell two decades ago and it infuriated her. He had dismissed her objections by stating he could still hold his own in a fight – thanks very much for the vote of confidence, sweetheart – but she knew for a fact that war wasn't a bar brawl and that he would be shot before he could get close enough to use his knife. He was being reckless and she hated it because if he had ever been one thing it was careful. He made thought-through plans. He didn't rush into danger. That was Katniss, not him.

Two was a war zone, it was at the front line of the battle for Panem, and she was very uncomfortable with the idea of sending both of her victors out there. It wasn't how it was supposed to go. It wasn't…

"I'm done." he declared, suddenly reappearing in the main area, a small bag flung over his shoulder. "You're walking me to the hovercraft or you're staying here to sulk?"

Her fingers clenched harder on the metal edge.

"I am not sulking." she denied in an even controlled voice.

"Could have fooled me." he scoffed.

For a second, she thought he would turn around and leave without another glance back. It wouldn't have surprised her. Hadn't he just volunteered to go to a war zone without even consulting her or simply even informing her? If it hadn't been for Plutarch she would have found out once he had already been gone.

Since the Tour she had thought that they had grown closer, that he was letting her in, that he was finally willing to give them a proper chance, that it wasn't just sex… At times like these, she was reminded that she was nothing more than a body to warm his bed and relieve his needs when he had an itch to scratch.

She should have been used to it but it hurt more than she could say.

Haymitch was staring at her and she was staring straight ahead. After a few more seconds, he sighed and dropped the bag at his feet, planting himself in front of her. She kept staring ahead, she noticed he was missing a button and she made plans to mend it at a later date. If the shirt and the man in it ever came back.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek. She wouldn't lose it. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't…

Tentative fingers brushed against her cheekbone and trailed down to her jaw. They were firmer when they gripped her chin and forced her to look up at him.

"You wanted me to let her go alone?" he asked.

"I wanted you to include me." she spat before she could swallow the words back. They were out now and there was no point in pretending, so she said everything else she needed to say. "I wanted you to tell me yourself, not to let me find out by a third party as if I didn't count, as if I were nobody to you." Her eyes were burning and she batted her eyelashes, regretting the fake ones that would have helped her mask her treacherous feelings. "I wanted…"

A small scowl appeared on his face, a flash of guilt maybe, and then it was gone. "Didn't want you to worry." She let out an incredulous huff and he rolled his eyes. "Fine. Didn't want to say goodbye. That's good enough for you? I didn't want to have to deal with… this."

He let go of her chin to awkwardly wave between them.

She clenched her jaw harder and hopped off the table. "You won't have to deal with this ever again."

For a moment he looked angry, then he looked frankly panicked. He grabbed her arm before she could storm out, bringing her back against the table, not quite pinning her there with his hips but very much in her path…

"The fuck you're saying?" he grumbled.

"I am saying I am done being your sex friend." she snapped dejectedly. "If the friend part is even accurate because clearly…"

"You're dumping me?" he cut her off, sounding flabbergasted and, if she wasn't mistaken, even more panicked.

"For me to dump you, we would need to have been together in the first place." she argued, turning her head away to hide her shiny eyes. "Do not worry, I am sure you will find a willing woman to take my place."

"We're together." he growled, a tad unsure.

She glared at him. "Don't."

She tried to get away but his hands grabbed her hips and held her fast against the table, trapping her there with his body.

"Don't what?" he retorted. "Thought that was clear. We're… Yeah, we're together."

Her glare hardened. "And when did you decide that?"

He looked embarrassed now and he let go of her left hip to rub the back of his neck. "Doesn't matter. Look… I've gotta go."

"To war. Without warning me first." she reminded him in a hiss.

"I hate goodbyes." he muttered. "You know that. And I hate saying goodbye to you so… Yeah, maybe I could have handled that better but…" He let out a deep annoyed breath. "Now you're here so… Kiss me hard before I go?"

He leaned in but she drew back with a pout, refusing to kiss him.

"You are an idiot." she stated because it needed stating.

"Fine." he sneered. "Be like that."

He turned around to pick up his bag and she grabbed his arm and forced him to twist around. The kiss she planted on his lips was hard and the tongue she forced in his mouth was brutal but he answered in kind. It wouldn't help him not being late.

"Don't get yourself killed." she warned. "I will be very mad at you if you do."

He snorted against her lips and dropped a last kiss on her forehead. "Keep an eye on the boy."

"As long as you keep both Katniss and yourself safe." she replied.

"We've got a deal, sweetheart." he promised.