Prompt: I love Your Hayffie stories- You are responsible for making me a die-hard Hayffie shipper:D Maybe You would like to do a prompt: Effie being a mama-bear for her tributes (I think Peeta, but maybe both of them) and her reaction on hearing them calling her their mom:D and maybe a little Haymitch-papa for good measure

I'll be very honest, I was kind of drunk when I proofread so I'm sorry for any mistakes XD

Motherhood

"You need to be more careful." Effie kept on berating, aware Haymitch and Peeta were exchanging mild-amused mild-exasperated glances behind her back but too focused on the young woman busy grapping cutlery from the drawer to care. Peeta was placing plates on the table and Haymitch was making a good job staring at the stew on the stove – so it wouldn't burn, he claimed. They were both idiots and should truly be on her side. Katniss was six months pregnant and shouldn't be out there by herself. "You can't be on your feet in the woods all day now. It is not reasonable, Katniss. You are tiring yourself and you should rest. And what would happen if you felt faint in the woods? What would happen then? You would be all alone and…"

"For fuck's sake, Mom! Enough!" Katniss snapped.

The resulting silence was deafening.

Peeta was frozen in place, his eyes going from his wife to Effie. Haymitch was watching everyone warily. And Katniss… Katniss was staring at her with wide eyes.

Effie's heart was pounding in her chest.

"I'm sorry." Katniss mumbled, abruptly looking away, dropping the cutlery back in the drawer. "I don't know why I said that."

She was out the kitchen backdoor before anyone could move. Peeta was about to follow her but Effie lifted a hand to stop him. "I will go if you don't mind."

"Better you than me." Haymitch muttered even though nobody had asked for his opinion. She whacked his arm on her way out.

Katniss hadn't gone far. She was sitting on the steps leading to the backyard, watching the geese wandering about in the night. After a brief hesitation and a silent apology to her dress, Effie sat next to her.

They remained silent for a while.

Haymitch was better with Katniss, he always had been, and it hadn't changed in the fifteen years since the war. It was difficult for them sometimes to remember the kids were in their thirties now and not the teenagers who used to turn to them for guidance. They were adults, not children any longer, and yet they would never stop thinking of them as such. It was a paradox but one they were happy to live with.

Annie said she always thought of Finn as a baby even though he was now fifteen… She and Haymitch had never known the children when they were babies so maybe they were sentenced to remain sixteen forever in their minds.

"Look, I hate being pregnant." Katniss spat after a while. "I need space. I am careful in the woods. I am careful with… I am careful. But I hate this and I need space."

She knew Katniss wasn't particularly enjoying her pregnancy. Everyone in the District knew Katniss wasn't enjoying her pregnancy. She was very vocal about it. She was also very protective of her baby bump – Peeta and Haymitch were the only ones allowed to touch without permission, even Effie was kept at bay, Katniss had almost punched a woman in the bakery because she had reached out without asking first – and rationally, Effie knew she was careful but she worried anyway. It was in her nature to worry about people she loved.

"Do you miss your mother, dear?" she asked tactfully. Because it was the real problem there, wasn't it? Effie hadn't seen Aster Everdeen in fifteen years, the woman had never come back to Twelve, not even for the children's wedding. There were phone calls and the children had gone to Four a couple of times but that was the extent of it as far as Effie knew. "It is only natural to wish for one's mother at a time like this when you are about to become one yourself."

Katniss bristled next to her, toying with a hair tie around her wrist.

"It's not that." she grumbled. Effie took a deep breath and waited. It was no use forcing Katniss to talk when she didn't want to. She had learned that the hard way. The young woman tossed her an annoyed glance and tug on the hair tie again. "It's not!"

"I understand you don't have the best relationship with your mother…" she ventured. "But that does not mean you must not miss her. My mother certainly wasn't the most loving woman on the planet and yet I do miss her every day. It is natural for children to love their parents."

Katniss rolled her eyes, her foot nervously tapping in the dust. She was eager to bolt, Effie surmised, she would have if her pregnant stomach hadn't stopped her. Maybe she should have left Haymitch handle this. She found talking to Peeta was easier, Peeta was easy to comfort for her, easy to understand. Katniss… Katniss was too much like Haymitch. It hurt sometimes how alike they were. It hurt because she knew the similarities were rooted in pain and hardship.

"I don't." Katniss said eventually. "I don't miss her. That's the thing, right? Can't miss my mom. 'Cause you're right here."

Effie was very good at keeping a hold on herself but she couldn't help the small recoil. Pain flashed on her face but she was careful to school her features, to hide behind a cheerful smile.

"Please, accept my apologies." she offered. "I never meant to intrude or make you feel like I was… I am sorry, Katniss. Truly. I will step back. I forget sometimes it is not my place to…"

"That's not what I'm saying." Katniss cut her off very rudely. She sounded irritated. "You know how Peeta always says you're a better mom than his ever was?"

"I… Yes." she hesitated. She regretted Peeta felt that way for his sake but she was grateful for the boy's feelings, grateful to be held in such regard by the fine man he had become.

"Yeah, well…" the young woman shrugged. "Maybe he's not the only one feeling that way."

"Katniss…" she breathed out cautiously.

"You stuck around." Katniss said abruptly. "She kept… She kept leaving. Times and times again. But you… You stuck around. Even when I was batshit crazy, you stuck around. Even when I pushed you away. You always stuck around."

"It is my job." she argued softly.

"No, it's not." the young woman scoffed. "That's what I'm saying. It's not. But you did it anyway. And you stayed. And it's been fifteen years of you taking care of us and… Yeah. So no, I don't miss my mom because you're here. And I don't know why I called you that. It slipped out."

"I do not mind." she confessed.

"I do." Katniss retorted. "You're not Mom. She is. She sucks at it but she is. It's just a name but it's all she has left because as far as I'm concerned where it counts… You're it. And my girl…" The young woman grabbed her hand and forced it on her stomach. It was such a rare privilege to be granted that Effie relished in it, happy to feel the baby move under her palm. "My girl will have you for a grandmother and I'm glad about that because I know if anything happens, anything at all, I know you will stick with her just like you did with us." She rolled her eyes. "But, please, Effie, stop lecturing me about the woods!"

"I am afraid that is too much to ask, I am worried about you." Effie laughed, trying to diffuse the tension. There was an insistent lump in her throat and she wanted to hug Katniss but knew it would not be welcomed. The girl would bear it but she didn't like demonstrations of affection too much. "But I shall keep my peace for tonight."

Katniss sighed but smiled. "Deal."

She helped her up and they went back inside. Effie was happy to notice Haymitch and Peeta had made sure everything was ready for dinner.

"Everything's okay?" Peeta asked as soon as they stepped back inside, his eyes immediately turning to the baby bump.

"I'm hungry." Katniss answered, dropping on the chair he pulled back for her.

The incident wasn't mentioned again.

Dinner was a lively affair, like it was every night. It was Effie's favorite time of day. They shared a meal and quiet conversations, talked about what had happened that day and what they were planning to do the following day, the children laughed and rolled their eyes as Effie and Haymitch argued about the very same things they had been bickering over for the last fifteen years… Effie loved it.

Later, once the children had left and she was left piling the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, she wasn't surprised to feel Haymitch's arms wrapping around her waist. She leaned back against his chest, tilting her head so he could press a kiss on her neck.

"Everything's okay with the girl?" he asked.

"She said I am more her mother than her own mother." she hummed.

"Big news." he snorted. "You needed her to tell you that?"

"I love her like my own, love them like my own." she answered slowly. "But it never hurts to be reminded they love me too. I will never be their real…"

"Stop right here." he scoffed. "They're ours. End of the story. There's no real here. What we have now is real. And it's good. We've got a good life here, Princess, right?"

"Right." she smiled after a while, turning around to lock her arms around his neck. "When did you become so wise?"

"Easy. I ignore your nonsense." he teased, a smirk on his lips.

"You are the worst." she laughed.

And she loved him for it.