The next day, Effie says she needs to go pick up Peeta's gold token, which he had asked to be personalized. He asks her if she minds going on her own, as he has some stuff he needs to do at the Training Center. She's surprised, but doesn't argue, and even kisses him before she leaves.
He waits for Finnick to get out of individual assessment and follows him silently to 4's apartment, which is just as sumptuous as 12's, but with a somewhat less spectacular view.
They keep walking in silence till they get to Finnick's room.
Finnick pushes him onto the bed and kisses him. It's a rough, desperate kiss. Their teeth clash a few times. Haymitch is surprised at first, but quickly gives in to it. His hands slide up Finnick's shoulders, up his neck, and into his hair.
He tugs Finnick's head back.
Finnick raises his eyebrows.
"What?"
"Why are you doing this?"
In answer, Finnick's hands drift to Haymitch's belt, undoing the buckle. He grabs Finnick's wrists.
Finnick stands up and walks away, frustration in every line of his body.
"You don't want me now?" he asks, kicking moodily at the door frame.
Haymitch lays back on the bed and sighs.
"I'm always going to want you, District Four."
Finnick lays down next to him, just a few inches away.
"I just want to feel good for a few minutes."
Haymitch chuckles.
"Yeah. I know about that."
He rolls over onto his side, so he's hovering over Finnick. He caresses the side of his face, his lips, and looks into those sea green eyes, fathomless, eyes to drown in.
"I want you to feel good, too," he says.
Finnick turns red.
"It's not really cheating when you're in the stockyard," he mumbles, looking away.
Haymitch feels the corners of his mouth lift into a smile.
He removes his bracelet and hands it to Finnick.
"Katniss won't be easy to win over. Make sure she sees that before she kills you."
Finnick rolls the bracelet around in his hands.
"She won't kill me for wearing tacky jewelry?"
This makes Haymitch laugh.
"She'll know I'm telling her to trust you. Everyone should be careful around her. She'll be scared for Peeta. She likes Mags, and Beetee, and Wiress. Protect them, and she'll like you even more."
Finnick nods. Then he sets the bracelet on his nightstand and leans forward to kiss him again.
He loses himself in Finnick's arms, tasting him, lover and friend, possibly for the last time.
"If something happens to me, will you watch out for Annie?"
Haymitch squeezes Finnick's hand.
"I'll do everything I can. Everything."
They kiss one last time, a crushing of lips and deep breaths, and they try to become one from this connection of tongues, and lips, and air.
It doesn't work, and Haymitch leaves.
At dinner, he asks how assessments went, trying to forget the look on Finnick's face as he had left his room.
He listens to how Peeta and Katniss tried to piss off the Gamemakers so they would kill them with a mutt or a pod as soon as they're in the arena, undoing everything he and the other victors have been working on for the last five years.
"And, Haymitch?" says Peeta. "We decided we don't want any allies in the arena."
He's glad he gave Finnick that bracelet, and that Katniss already likes Beetee and Wiress. He doesn't know how he would make a case for them without raising Capitol suspicions.
He says, "Good. Then I won't have to be responsible for you killing off any of my friends with your stupidity."
"That's just what I was thinking," says Katniss. He almost throws his wine bottle at her.
His worst fears about the Gamemakers targeting his tributes are realized when they each pull a 12 in scoring.
"Why did they do that?" Witless asks.
"So that the others will have no choice but to target you," he says, not looking at either of them, boiling over with anger at them, the Gamemakers, Plutarch, the other victors, the rebellion, the Capitol, and himself. "Go to bed. I can't stand to look at either one of you."
Once they're gone, Portia says, "Was that really necessary, Haymitch?"
He sees himself rising from the sofa, throwing things around like Chaff.
Instead he just shakes his head, all his secrets taking the air from his lungs.
He stares, sightless, soundless, and thoughtless, until the room empties. He chugs what's left of the wine bottle, goes to his room, and falls asleep.
He wakes in the night to Effie crawling into his bed again. He holds her, but he can't do more. His head hurts. His whole body feels like it's been stretched out and pummeled by a meat hammer, like he's seen the butcher do. But he holds tight to Effie and tells her he's glad she's there.