It's chapter 700, can you believe it? Cause I can't. Will my consuming passion for this ship ever stop? I doubt I even write them IC anymore.
Bring Your Victor To Work Day
It was a little after dawn when Effie sneaked out of her bedroom and silently crept up the corridors to the dining room where an Avox was waiting as planned with a large cup of coffee to go. She took a long sip with relief, checking one last time she had everything she would need in her big handbag. She had never really mastered the art of waking up early in the morning without a healthy dose of caffeine and she wasn't usually doing this sort of things when the Games were in session.
When she was certain she hadn't forgotten anything important, she dismissed the Avox and headed straight for the elevator. She wasn't late by any standards – but, then again, she always made a point of being early at professional appointments.
"Trinket?"
The call of her name had her freezing with her finger on the call button and, with a sigh, she turned around and headed to the living-room.
"It isn't like you to be up so early." she remarked.
Any other time, she would have suspected him of having spent the night out but she had heard him scream himself awake from a nightmare around four a.m. so she was reasonably sure he had gone to bed at some point.
It wasn't a good day, she saw that at once. Haymitch had dark bags under his eyes and he looked agitated. She wasn't surprised he was already clutching a glass of something that suspiciously looked like orange juice mixed with whiskey. She supposed the orange juice was at least breakfast appropriate.
He was only wearing navy blue sweatpants and she let herself appreciate the sight for a second. With the pinkish sky in the background tossing shadows on his bare chest, his disheveled hair and the bare toes… He looked appetizing.
"Where are you going?" he frowned.
She took another sip of her coffee. "I have to go do a photo shoot, I should be back in the afternoon. It was last minute."
"Like that?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows in surprise, gesturing at her outfit with his free hand.
She pulled the hood of her soft purple sweater over her head to cover her natural blond hair with an annoyed huff and fished her pink sunglasses from her bag even if it looked a bit ridiculous when the sun was barely up in the sky. It would help make sure nobody took a picture of her looking less than her best, though. The purple hooded sweater, the black silk pressed pants, the sunglasses and the flat shoes shouldn't attract the eye of the press.
"There is little point in me putting on make-up and a wig when the prep team will have to undo my work and do it all over again." she pointed out. "It will be a waste of precious time."
And it was also why she didn't usually take modeling job when the Games were on. There were always cameras outside ready to snap picture of anyone who walked out of the compound. However, this was a huge brand, her main contract, and she couldn't say no if she didn't want to be replaced as their star model. And it wasn't like she had a lot of work, right then. Aside for showing up at official events and making sure Haymitch did too, her job once Twelve was out of the Games was limited to trying to convince sponsors to give them their money the next year. And that was always a long shot.
"You ask me, you look better this way anyway." he shrugged. "Told you enough times."
And he had.
A pleased smile floated on her lips but she hid it behind the rim of her cup, pretending not to notice the way he was watching her. As much as she loved seeing that spark of lust in his eyes when she looked like that, she didn't have time for that sort of things right then.
"You should try to go back to bed, Haymitch." she suggested, not unkindly. It had clearly been a rough night. It wasn't unusual for him to have nightmares that woke her up from two rooms away but she also knew the days that followed that sort of nights were usually… difficult. He slept more easily when it wasn't dark outside though.
"I'm good." he snapped in a tone that told her that conversation was off limit. Almost everything was off limit with him anyway. There were little personal topics he was willing to discuss. Anything intimate was off the table. And yet he had no problem being intimate with her on a physical level…
"Alright." she accepted, not in any mood to start a fight. She needed to focus. "Well, I will be off, then."
"Can I come?" Haymitch asked before she had even made a step toward the door.
For the second time that morning, she froze. She turned around to study him, certain she had heard him wrong.
"You want to come with me to a photo shoot." she repeated slowly, stunned.
"Yeah." he shrugged. "Why not? Got nothing better to do."
Because I have to drag you down kicking and screaming when we need to go to official Games photo shoots, she desperately wanted to answer. She swallowed that back down though. "You understand this is important for me, right? This is my job."
"Thought being my escort was your job." he snorted.
"It is the main facet of my job, yes, but not the only one." she argued.
He rolled his eyes, a sulk on his face. "You don't want me to come, just say so."
What strange world had she woken into that morning…
"It is not that I do not want you to come…" she hesitated. "But you must understand this is not Games related. I cannot have you causing troubles…"
"What am I? A five year-old?" he scoffed. "I can behave."
"Can you?" she challenged, lifting an eyebrow. "Well, that is certainly good to know." She shook her head and then tilted it to better study him, pursing her lips. He looked anxious and not the good kind of anxious. Whatever that nightmare had been about, it had shaken him. She didn't like leaving him alone in the penthouse when he was like that. He would go on a bender and she would find him lying in a puddle of his own sick. "It is lingerie." she warned. "Is that going to be a problem?"
She tried to be tactful about how she worded the question because referring outright to him being jealous or possessive was a certain way to have him overreact.
"Are there gonna be other women?" he smirked, sounding a touch too interested.
"No." she huffed, irritated. "But there will probably be a male model."
His sulk deepened and he downed his glass in one go. She figured the score now was 1 to 1.
"Fine. Let me get a shirt." he mumbled.
"And proper pants." she called after him. "And hurry!"
She spent the next ten minutes tapping her foot against the floor in front of the elevator, obsessively checking her watch every two seconds. The car she had ordered was already waiting downstairs and while she wasn't late yet, she had certainly lost her comfortable head start. At last, Haymitch joined her, in more casual clothes than the ones she had him wear on TV. He was wearing grey pants that she thought went with a three-pieces suit he had worn the other day and a blue long-sleeved shirt that would have worked better as pajamas and that probably came from Twelve. She didn't protest the oddly mismatched outfit. There wasn't time to play dress up.
She only realized once in the elevator that the shirt was a bit too tight. She could guess at his nipples. It was distracting. She kept stealing glances but he was luckily too busy trying to strap his watch on to notice.
"So, what kind of lingerie are we talking?" he asked, once they were in the car. "Kinky or the regular stuff? And more importantly… Do you get to keep it?"
She whacked his arm, more amused than she let on. "It is for a lingerie brand, not Capitol Playboy."
"Too bad." he deadpanned but he also relaxed a little.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence. She finished her coffee and he drifted off a little, jerking up with a start when the car eventually slowed down to a stop.
He looked curiously as their surroundings when she led him inside the studio, automatically ducking her head to hide from the couple of paparazzi who were lurking outside. Haymitch didn't have the same reflex and she was pretty sure that word would get around that he had come with her and that there would be a lot more people waiting outside by the time she would be done. There might be a way to turn this into a publicity stunt, after all…
There was a special atmosphere to professional photo shoots and she was swept in as soon as she walked in. A young woman – the photographer's personal assistant – ushered her toward the dressing room, spitting out a lot of information about the upcoming shoot: what they wanted to do, how they planned on doing her hair and her make-up, what they wanted her to wear…
Effie nodded, aware that Haymitch was trailing after her, probably already regretting coming along. She had barely put her handbag down when Frenlo, the photographer, stormed in, already in the middle of a rant that he interrupted upon spotting her.
"Oh, Effie, you're here, good!" he exclaimed with theatrical relief. They exchanged air kisses but he was off talking again before she could put a word in. "This whole thing is a disaster! Stella was supposed to do this shoot, you know, but then she went and got herself knocked up…"
"Stella is pregnant?" she gasped, truly surprised she hadn't heard about it sooner. The Capitol modeling world was a small one.
"I did not tell you that, it is all hush hush still." Frenlo denied, lowering his voice into a whisper that could be heard three feet away. "So, they said they would send Aly instead but I put my foot down. You know Aly, she is impossible. I told them I wanted you but now, of course, the color scheme we had for Stella wouldn't have worked for you and I spent the whole night thinking it over and now can you believe Nolan is missing? We need a male model for… Oh, what did you bring me…" It seemed Frenlo had finally noticed Haymitch's awkward lurking behind her and he was now purring in a seductive fashion that made Haymitch step back and Effie swallow a laugh. "Oh, Effie, you nice, nice girl… How thoughtful of you to bring me a treat… He is no Finnick Odair but we can work with him."
"I am afraid he is not here to work but simply to watch." Effie objected before Frenlo could get that idea in his mind. "Haymitch, this is Frenlo Barry, who is the photographer en vogue. Frenlo, I do not believe introductions are necessary."
"Utterly unnecessary." Frenlo hummed, outstretching a hand. "I make a point of knowing all the handsome victors by name."
Effie had to elbow him for Haymitch to shake his hand.
"You were saying Nolan was missing?" she frowned, bringing the conversation back on tracks.
Frenlo sighed and waved his hand. "We will start with your individual pictures and if he is not here by the time we are done, I will take the first pretty man I find. I am done with those models who can't be on time. Did I ever tell you how much I love working with you?" He turned to Haymitch to politely include him in the conversation. "Effie never waste anyone's time."
"Just mine." he snorted.
She pursed her lips and tossed him a short glare but there was no real time for proper admonishing. The prep team urged her to take off her sweater and wrapped her in a white bathrobe. It all went fast after that, Frenlo went back to make sure the set was to his liking and the prep team started fixing a wig on her head while doing her make-up.
She lost track of Haymitch at some point, focused on the information coming her way, busy trying on bras and bodices, rejecting those that wouldn't suit her because they had been picked for another model and they weren't her color…
She caught sight of him leaning against a wall when they started shooting, she felt his eyes on her as she posed, following the photographer's directions. The poses were sexy but classy and she gave her best, like she always did.
He sneaked in the dressing room while she was changing for the third time. He clasped the bra on for her, his fingers trailing down her spine a little.
"Are you bore yet?" she grinned.
She couldn't believe he was having a fun time watching her pout and smile for the camera.
"It's not what I expected." he admitted, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It looks like work."
His tone was teasing but there was also a hint of respect in there that she appreciated.
"It is work." she argued.
"Could be a little less naked work." he grumbled, moving one of his hands to the back of her nape. They were alone in the dressing room so she took her chance and stole a short kiss before sauntering back to the set.
She made it a point to look even sexier and hotter. Frenlo was delighted, Haymitch was clearly amused by her antics and she was having fun. She loved posing, she loved modeling and she loved being at the center of attention.
"Nolan isn't here yet." the photographer lamented once they were done with the fifth piece of clothing.
"Do we really need him?" she asked. "I can do a few more shoots by myself."
"Can you model men's underwear?" Frenlo joked and then shook his head. "No, do not answer that. You will wear them and make it look amazing and it will launch a new fashion trend." His eyes turned to Haymitch who was still leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed. "Now, Effie darling… You know who else would look good in those boxers?"
She chuckled. "That will never happen."
"Why not?" the photographer whined.
"First, because he will never go for it and, then, because he is really not good with photo shoots." she argued.
"The two of you look gorgeous together." Frenlo countered. "Trust a professional eye."
"Oh, I know that." she nodded. "But he does not."
The photographer pursed his lips and then headed straight for Haymitch. She was too far to hear what was being said aside for her victor's loud "no way". There was a lot of gesturing on Frenlo's part, mainly aimed at her. Haymitch's intense refusal slowly turned into a scowl and then into a defeated sulk. There was some more arguing and then she watched, incredulous, as Haymitch was laid away by the prep team that had taken care of her earlier.
"What did you do?" she asked when Frenlo came back to her.
"I told him the truth: that it would be wonderful publicity for Twelve." he sighed before lowering his voice to a murmur, wriggling his eyebrows. "And I may have promised to give you an outrageous amount of money next year."
That would have done it, she figured. Haymitch never went out of his way to get sponsors but he never refused that kind of offers either.
Still, he didn't look pleased when he came back wearing nothing but boxers that clung to his skin like a second skin.
"Don't say a fucking word." he mumbled as he joined her on set.
She tried not to be too obviously amused.
Haymitch wasn't a beginner when it came to photo shoots, he had been a victor for more than two decades after all, but he wasn't at ease – he never was. It was easier for him to make a show on a TV set than to pose for a camera.
"Relax, will you?" Effie murmured, after a few failed attempts.
She wrapped her arms around his neck in a parody of a lovers embrace, hiding her face in his neck. His hands ended up on her waist. She heard the clicking of the camera and tried to follow Frenlo's directions while keeping Haymitch distracted.
They switched positions a few times, changed clothes…
She was completely exhausted by the time Frenlo decided to call it a day and Haymitch didn't look much better. The first thing he did when they were back in the dressing room was pull his flask from the pocket of his pants.
"I'm gonna nap all afternoon." he declared.
"I would not mind a short nap either." she hummed, checking her make-up in the mirror. She wouldn't need to hide her face when they would walk out at least. "Do you want to eat out? There is a nice little restaurant not too far… You behaved better than I expected. I would treat you to lunch."
"Not the kind of treat I'm after." he snorted.
"That can be discussed." she grinned. "But after lunch. I am starving."
"After a nap too." he chuckled, rubbing his face and whatever make-up he hadn't already wiped out. "It's the last time I go anywhere with you, sweetheart. Trust you to always put me to work.."
She didn't gratify that with an answer, it had been a nice morning and she didn't want to spoil it with bickering.
It was nice to do something normal with Haymitch for once.