Prompt: idk if you have already done something similar but could you do a one shot with haymitch feeling guilty after cinna's imprisonment and maybe effie trying to console him. i'm here for all the angst that you are capable of (secretly hope also for portia to have a role in this). the sadder, the better.

A Last Time On The Roof

The elevator's chime was both a relief and a source of dread. Haymitch didn't move from his vigil by the living-room's bay windows, keeping an ear toward the screen and the live feed of the arena. Night had fallen, the kids had set camp with Finnick and Mags… They should be alright for a few hours.

He should grab some sleep too while he could but…

The sound of his escort's clicking high heels announced her. "I could not find either of them. It is as if they simply vanished!"

"Told you not to go poking that bear." He sighed, more tired than he cared to hide. As an afterthought, he brought the cup of coffee he was cradling in his hand to his mouth. It was cold. And it wasn't as good as liquor at clearing his mind.

"Yes, well… I was hoping to, at least, locate Portia." Effie snapped. Her voice cracked but she cleared her throat and, when she spoke again, it was perfectly composed. "I never liked Cinna, you know. He is quite a… wild card. This dress show last night was quite spectacular but something rubbed me off the wrong way about it."

The lie hovered in the air between them, an invitation for him to pick up the act.

He wasn't even surprised she had pinpointed the exact nature of the problem, even if she didn't know about mockingjays and what they meant. She was intuitive and, above all, she wasn't an idiot. She had seen the state of the Districts during the Tour. She had seen the Peacekeepers and their guns, she had seen the savage arrests and she had heard more than one "backfiring trucks". She had been suspicious about his little escapades with Cinna since the start of the Quell.

She hadn't said anything, naturally, because she knew better than trying to force secrets out of him but…

She wasn't an idiot and he hadn't expected her not to figure something was up.

She could add two and two and get to four.

"Yeah." was his laconic reply.

He was pretty sure Cinna was already dead.

Stylists always stayed with tributes right up to the launch and Katniss had been so agitated when the platform had come up… Either they had killed him right in front of her or they had dragged him away and…

Well… That meant torture.

Now he had to trust that Cinna wouldn't give up any of them even through unimaginable pain. Or Portia's.

"Portia, though… I am very certain she had no hand in this dress debacle." Effie insisted. "I…"

"Do you want a cigarette?" he offered.

That brought her short.

When he finally turned around, he found she looked more rattled than her voice let on. Her make-up was slightly smudged and her cheeks were flushed. He placed down the still mostly full cup of coffee on a side table while she stole guilty glances at the TV.

"Is it safe?" she asked. "We should monitor the feed. And…"

"We have a few hours." he cut her off. If Heavensbee's info panned out, the kids would be alright in that quarter of the arena for a while yet.

She rubbed her forehead, her shoulders slouching a little… Her voice remained steady though. Nobody listening through the bugs would suspect anything was wrong with her.

"I suppose I could go for a cigarette break." she admitted. "I have been dying for a smoke."

"I want some fresh air myself." he replied, as if it was an afterthought, as if the whole point of her smoking wasn't getting up to the roof where it was safe to talk.

He wasn't sure why he was bothering to keep up with the charade because the game was up where he was concerned. Snow must know he had a hand in the rebellion by now.

They didn't say anything more as they made their way up the stairs with a last look at the screen that was currently showing Cashmere and Gloss having a heartfelt conversation in their corner of the arena, the kind the Capitol audience would lap right up because it was intimate and voyeuristic and shit.

Cashmere and Gloss were not part of the victors who knew to look out for bread.

Cashmere and Gloss would probably die.

And they were still kids themselves when it came down to it.

Haymitch was so tired…

The second the roof door squeaked shut behind her, Effie grabbed his arm. "They are dead, aren't they?"

He clenched his jaw, gently shrugged her grip off and dropped on the hip-high wall that boarded the roof. "Yeah."

At least he hoped so. For their sake.

Because the alternative…

He didn't look up when he heard her breath catching in her throat. It was a long time before he heard the clicking of her lighter and she finally came to sit next to him on the wall. She smoked in silence for a while. At some point, he stole the cigarette from her fingers and took a drag.

Fuck, but he hated the taste…

"Can you explain what was so bad about the dress?" she asked in a soft voice.

He took another drag and considered it.

"No." he eventually answered. He didn't want her to know more than she was supposed to. Just in case. He wanted her to come out as genuine and clueless as possible. Keeping her in the dark was a choice that, he hoped, would save her life should things go sideways. "But it was bad."

"Did you know he was going to do it?" she insisted.

"No." He took another drag and held the smoke for a second before blowing it out, handing the cigarette back. "That was suicide. He must have known it."

She flinched at the word but nodded slowly. "He must have been planning it for a while… Although I do not understand how he could have known since I was informed about the wedding dress thing about three hours before the interviews…"

Because the order hadn't actually come from Snow but from Heavensbee, he mused. Because it had been planned but Haymitch had been left out, probably because they had known he wouldn't be on board with it, that he would deem it too dangerous…

And Heavensbee had probably put the whole thing on Cinna's plate to avoid troubles with Snow…

"He has a martyr complex." he scoffed under his breath. "Had."

If they had Portia…

But he knew Cinna. The cause was everything to him. More likely than not he was already dead. Either because they had done it or because he had found a way. That man was nothing if always prepared so… He was sure Thirteen had handy poison pills to spare.

"You liked him." Effie remarked softly. "You do not make friends easily…"

"Neither do you." he pointed out. It might sound stupid because she made friends everywhere she went but there were friends and friends. He knew she had grown quite attached to Portia. Two peas in a pod, those two. And now… "I don't know about Portia. If she plays her cards right…" He shook his head. "Wouldn't hope too hard, though."

"Right…" she whispered. Her fingers were shaking when she brought the cigarette to her mouth. "I am not asking for details. I am not asking for details but… Does this all have to do with the reason why the token I gave you is currently around Finnick's wrist?"

He swallowed hard, letting his head fall back toward the sky, wishing he could see the stars, wishing he had a bottle of liquor he could indulge in, wishing… "Yeah."

He saw her nod slowly to herself from the corner of his eye, as if that made a lot of sense to her.

"Are you saving them all?"

The question was barely more than a murmur.

For a second, he thought he imagined it altogether.

Her meaning wasn't hard to decipher either.

Saving them all…

The priority had always been Katniss and Peeta.

To Thirteen the priority was Katniss full point, he had barely negotiated Peeta's safety by arguing that it was the best way to make the girl comply but… Everyone else's fate would be up in the air.

The victors in the known currently in the arena had one objective and that was to keep his kids alive at all costs until Thirteen could intervene.

The victors in the known currently in the city were running interference for him, so he could meet in secret with Thirteen's people, hoping their friends would manage to survive long enough to get rescued with the kids…

It was all such a mess.

"As many as possible." he answered.

It was already saying too much and Boggs would skin him alive if he knew he was sharing that kind of information with someone who hadn't been vetted.

She let out a long measured breath. He knew where her mind had flown. That meant Finnick wasn't lost. Johanna, Chaff… People they called friends. That meant they weren't the enemy and that there was hope.

"You are leaving." came the next deduction, delivered in a steady voice. Her hand was badly shaking though, betraying the emotions she wouldn't show.

He stole what was left of her cigarette, took a long drag and then crushed the bug against the wall.

It occurred to him it was likely the very last time they would be up on that roof.

Soon there wouldn't be time for that kind of break.

And after…

He wasn't sure what the afterwards of the rebellion would look like, it felt surreal to even dream about winning and that was assuming he would even survive to see it, but… He was pretty sure the afterwards wouldn't involve long talks on that roof.

They had shared good times up there though.

"I won't let you become Cinna." he promised. "Or Portia."

Because Portia had been involved but if they had bothered to grab her, he was pretty sure it was as leverage. And, ultimately, that was what Effie would be if they decided to bother with her.

"I can handle myself." she replied.

"Doesn't matter." he argued. "Decision's made."

It was Chaff who had eventually convinced him, ironically enough.

Heavensbee insisted Effie would be safer in the city, that nobody seriously suspected her of dissent, that she was the Capitol poster child and that, yes, their affair would probably warrant her an interrogation but that it would only be a bad moment to live through, that they would likely let her go, that her Capitol citizenship would protect her… He was adamant she would be safer in the city than in Thirteen where an escort would be under constant scrutiny.

Haymitch had let himself be convinced because he wasn't ready to admit that she was important enough to bother bargaining for her past the argument that Katniss would need her – and he wasn't exactly thrilled to give Thirteen a possible pressure point on him when he wasn't entirely sure he trusted them.

It was Chaff who had told him to get his head out of his ass before he regretted it, Chaff who had said there was no way Snow wouldn't dangle her over his head, and that if she was to be used as a pressure point, it was better to have her with him than on the other side of the country. Chaff had also said that he could deny and pretend all he wanted, anyone could see he had her under his skin and that it would probably be best to keep her close until he figured that out for himself because if he lost her, he would hate himself for the rest of his life.

He had spent exactly two hours sulking and cursing in a corner before he had actually gotten his head out of his ass and gone back to Heavensbee and Boggs with demands of his own. All the other victors had a list of people they wanted evacuated and brought to Thirteen. Negotiating immunity and evacuation for her had been headache inducing and he was very aware he was going to be Coin's bitch because of it but… At least she would be safe and he would have time to figure out what he wanted out of… them.

"What does that mean?" She had half-turned toward him to watch him more easily.

"I'll explain later." he deflected. Closer to when the arena would explode because Boggs and Heavensbee were paranoid she would betray them. Which was stupid on a lot of levels. He trusted her a lot more than he trusted the lot of them. "Look, Effie… I need you to be…"

"I know my role." she cut him off with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Clueless dumb pretty arm-candy."

"Good." He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. "You keep it up, sweetheart. Just in case shit hits the fan. I want you safe."

That was already admitting much more than he was comfortable with.

Her smile softened a little into something more genuine. Sad, but genuine. "I am sorry about Cinna. He was a good man."

"Yeah. But he was also a reckless one." He shook his head. "Portia… He didn't have to play it that way." He swallowed hard. "I'd never risk you like that."

"Sometimes, there are only bad options." she countered softly. "Like leaving the person you… care for to fend for themselves because it will allow more people to live."

Her eyes were shiny but it was Effie… She blinked and the sheen of tears was gone.

"Yeah, well… Like I said. It ain't how I do things." he argued.

Her eyebrows twitched, a raw hope flashing on her face. "You would… You would take me with you?"

He planted a rough hard kiss on her lips to stop that line of questioning. It was too early to discuss that. He had given his word to Heavensbee and Boggs.

"Later." he mouthed against her lips. She parted them to let his tongue dance with hers, let him grab her nape in a possessive way… Regretfully, he drew back and pressed his forehead against hers. "We need to go back before it gets suspicious. And about Cinna and Portia…" He closed his eyes. "Now ain't the time to grieve, princess. We've got to…"

"Focus on the children." she finished. "I know. My eyes are always on the prize, Haymitch."

He knew that. Her determination was one of the things he admired most about her.

With her legs. Definitely her legs.

"Good." He reluctantly stood up, letting his hand trail on her shoulder before heading to the door. "See you on the other side, sweetheart."

Where masks and pretences were necessary to their survival…

She smiled at him, a dazzling bright fake smile that had subjugated hundreds of people.

Maybe one day, he mused as he hurtled down the stairs, they wouldn't have to hide behind pre-established personas. Maybe they could just be themselves. And maybe it would be enough…

It's been a while since we had a missing scene... I hope you liked this! (notice how i didn't even spell it smocking once, i'm improving ^^) Let me know your thoughts!