Prompt: :can we submit prompts here? i hope this is okay! i was wondering if you could do a oneshot where peeta makes an offhand comment to effie about how he used to be the "second choice" but she gets serious and says he never was and she should know from experience (in comparison to Mabel)? maybe Haymitch overhears? i love angst and hurt/comfort :)

Second Choice

Haymitch grumbled under his breath as he peered underneath the bed. No luck. His glasses weren't there. He sat back on his knees with an annoyed sigh. He wasn't keen on wearing glasses but it did make reading easier nowadays and he had looked everywhere for them. They had disappeared.

The day was hot and suffocating like only a summer day in Twelve could be and there was very little relief coming from the open window. However, Effie was in the backyard, lying down on a beach towel and tanning in her swimming suit like only a crazy person would do, so he contemplated in how much trouble he would be if he just hollered at her to come and help him search. He had just decided it was worth the lecture when a door slammed loudly shut in the distance, followed by Katniss' unmistakable raised voice.

Weird.

His knees were acting up a little and, by the time he managed to get himself up, there were already noises in his backyard.

"Peeta, dear!" Effie gasped. "Are you alright?"

It got Haymitch to the window fast in case the boy was having an episode. They had become rare in the last couple of years but they still happened sometimes.

The boy looked alright though. He had his hands in his pockets and he was clearly sulking but, otherwise, he didn't look like he was going to lose it. Effie must have come to the same conclusion because even though she had propped herself on her elbow, she didn't try to stand up. And when the kid just dropped on the floor next to her towel, she turned to her side to better face him.

Neither of them noticed Haymitch lurking at the upstairs window.

"She's so annoying sometimes." Peeta grumbled.

Effie snorted. "Isn't that what makes her charming?"

Haymitch appreciated the view of Effie's body clad in that white swimsuit but he wasn't sure he appreciated the fact that Peeta was that close to her and her bikini. Not that the kid really cared. He didn't think about Effie like that but still.

"There are days I keep thinking… I keep thinking she would have been happier with Gale instead." Peeta shook his head. "You know, it's funny. He told me once she would choose the one she needed most and, at first, yeah, maybe I was it but now?" He snorted. "Maybe she doesn't need me so much anymore. And it sucks to be… It sucks to be the default choice, you know?"

Haymitch's eyebrows rose high.

The kids had been arguing for a few days, that much had been obvious. He thought it was about their future. Because Peeta wanted to get married and have a family and Katniss… Katniss thought their life was really good like it was and she didn't want to upset the status quo. And he, personally, understood that.

"Oh, I do know what it is to be the default choice." Effie retorted, a bit bitterly. "Which is how I know you never were Katniss'."

The boy frowned. "What do you mean?"

Yeah, Haymitch mused, what the fuck did she mean…

"Darling…" She sighed, lying down on her back and staring at the sky through her huge sunglasses. Haymitch discreetly leaned against the side of the window so she wouldn't spot him. "I know Katniss is the love of your life and you were very lucky to find her first thing. But for most people… For most people, it does not happen in that order. There are crushes and flings, deep precious love stories that end more or less amicably and then there is that person you cannot breathe without." She bent a leg and gave the boy a small shrug. "Gale was a crush at most and a clutch at worst, for her. Trust me, if he had been the love of her life, she would have found her way back to him by now. She never mentions him. Why, I do believe she stopped remembering he even exists. You, on the other hand, I know she will fight for to her last breath. She is a very stubborn person yet she's been making a lot of compromises for you. If I may offer a bit of advice, stop pushing this marriage thing and suggest a long engagement first. As for having children… You are so young… You have time. Plant the idea and let it grow on its own. It does not mean she does not love you, she is simply cautious and after everything I do not think you can blame her. The war was not so long ago, Peeta. Give it time."

That was actually good advice.

Haymitch was impressed.

Peeta sighed. "I just… Sometimes it feels like she does not…"

"She does." Effie promised. "She is simply not very skilled at expressing it. Haymitch's ineloquent influence probably does not help."

The boy chuckled at her joke and Haymitch made a face that she couldn't see.

"Is Haymitch the love of your life?" Peeta asked cheekily.

She smiled but it was a touch sad. "Of course. However, I am not the love of his." She injected some cheer in her voice. "And that is perfectly alright. That does not mean he does not love me. But, you see, when you say you are the second choice… You really are not, Peeta. She could have had either of you and she chose you."

"But…" the boy tried to ask.

"I won by default." Effie cut him off with a hum. "Enough of that gloomy talk on such a beautiful day. Go pick some flowers, apologize even if you do not think you have done anything wrong, and go kiss your girlfriend, Peeta. The two of you have been through too much for this ridiculous disagreement to last much longer. Are you truly willing to toss everything into the trash just because she is panicking a little at the thought of you putting a ring on her finger? Does it really matter that much to you?"

Haymitch swallowed hard and stepped away from the window.

He took his time going downstairs so by the time he walked outside, the boy was gone. He sat down in the exact same spot with a lot more difficulties. Fucking knees… "The fuck does that mean you won by default?"

She clucked her tongue. "It is really rude to eavesdrop."

He plucked the sunglasses off her nose to be able to see her eyes. Not unexpectedly, they were a little shiny. "The fuck does that mean, Effie?"

He was being serious and that seemed to alarm her a little.

"Alright." She sighed, sitting up. "I should not have said anything about it to the boy. I apologize. I…"

"Ain't asking you to apologize." he grumbled. "I'm asking you what the fuck you meant."

Because if she meant what he thought she did…

She stared at him a bit warily. "I meant… I meant if your girlfriend had survived, you and I… You and I…"

She stammered to a stop, apparently unable to finish that sentence.

Fuck, but he hated talking about Mabel. All the more so with her, it made him feel guilty. But…

I won by default.

"If Mabel had survived, you and I'd still have been unable to keep our fucking hands off each other." he scoffed. "Cause that's the way it's always been."

"You are no cheater." she reminded him, a touch uncertainly.

"I ain't no cheater." he agreed. "But who says I'd have still even been with Mabel by the time you became my escort?"

"She was… She was the love of your life." Effie pointed out, looking far too vulnerable. She abruptly stood up, cheer in her voice, picking up the towel. "And that is very fine. I know you do love me. I am happy with…"

He got to his feet and snatched the towel from her, taking a step closer so she would be forced to look at him. Three fucking years they had been living together. Three fucking years.

"I was sixteen." he said. "And that was before my Games. I was different after. Everything was different. If she had survived, nothing says we'd have survived." He licked his lips. "Fuck, sweetheart, I'm not even sure I knew what love was. It was all fucking easy and soft, back then. Kisses and coping a feel…" He scoffed. "That ain't love. That's… What's that you said to the boy? A crush?"

"But…" she argued.

He took another step closer, very much in her space, and tilted her head up with two fingers under her chin. "Love's hard. Love hurts. Love makes you its fucking bitch." He pressed his forehead against hers and she closed her eyes. She was holding her breath, he noticed, holding her breath because she was anticipating what he was going to say next. That made him go all soft inside. That was the sort of things love did to him. "If I were a romantic and I had to call someone the love of my life, it sure wouldn't be Mabel, princess." He pressed a kiss on her lips. "I loved her, sure. Doesn't mean you won by default. Cause as far as I'm concerned…"

She was clinging to him now, her hands gripping his shoulders hard.

"You never told me any of this before." she whispered, her voice thick with emotions. "I thought…"

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong." he mocked. "As usual. Must be all that hairspray. Your brain must be all rot."

"Oh, you horrid man!" she huffed, whacking his arm. "And there I was… About to suggest we took a nap."

He smirked, stealing another kiss.

And he swept her off her feet, prompting a shriek and a lot of giggling from her in response.

A nap sounded really good.

Silly Effie no knowing she's the love of his life... What did you think? Did you like it? Let me know!