Prompt: Hey, I read the question about Haymitch saying I love you. Could you write another situation where he says it? Maybe years after the war where it isn't the first time? That would be amazing. Thank you

Forgotten Heartstrings

Haymitch dropped the grocery bags in the kids' kitchen and followed the soft cooing sounds to the living-room, careful not to step on anything. Their house was a real mess that could have competed with the state his had been in when Effie had first moved in more than a decade earlier. He tried not to make too much noise because noise was never welcomed in the Mellarks' household nowadays.

The first thing he saw in the living-room was Peeta, passed out on the armchair near the fire, his head at an angle that would guarantee a crick in the neck. And then there was Katniss sprawled on the couch, her legs tangled in a woolen blanket that he was sure was meant for newborns and not exhausted new mothers.

Effie was standing by the window, the precious bundle safely in her arms, making faces and talking in this stupidly endearing voice most people used on babies. Willow wasn't wailing yet, he considered it a small mercy – that kid had clearly inherited her mother's lungs. He leaned against the doorframe and watched for a while. Effie was oblivious to his presence, entirely focused on the baby, cooing and smiling at her every time Willow tried to grab her hair.

Something must have ticked her off to his presence because she looked up suddenly.

"Look…" she whispered to Willow with a smile. "Grandpa is back… Yes, he is…"

"We're not calling me grandpa." he grumbled, retreating to the kitchen so they wouldn't wake the kids while talking. Katniss and Peeta needed their sleep, Willow kept them up all night.

"Yes, we are." Effie hummed, laughter in her voice. "Did you get everything?"

"Everything on the list." he sighed, starting the boring task of unloading the grocery bags while she rocked the baby and kept her calm. It didn't take her long to lose herself in the child again. Effie had been all over the girl ever since Katniss had given birth. And there was… something to watching her with a child in her arms that tugged at heartstrings he didn't know he still had. "Did we miss out?"

The question was out of his mouth before he could help it.

"Miss out on what?" she asked, distracted. He chose not to clarify, stepping around the table to wrap his arms around her instead and peering at the baby over her shoulder. She leaned her back against his chest, flashing him a smile. "Isn't she precious? I think she is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. Yes, you are, my sweet princess…"

"You're going to make that kid vain." he snorted.

"I am her grandmother, I am allowed to think she is the most beautiful child in the world." she grinned, still boosting that title with pride. She hadn't been completely happy with it the first time it had been tossed around but she had come around quickly. "I am also allowed to spoil her rotten and since you are already wrapped around her little finger I think it is only fair."

"You're ridiculous." he accused. How many times a day did he make that very same accusation?

"Isn't that why you love me?" she replied distractedly, running the tip of her finger along the bridge of Willow's nose. That was her usual retort to that accusation.

"Yeah." he smirked, pressing a kiss against the side of her neck, blaming Willow and the softness she had brought out in all of them for this. "It's why I love you."

It wasn't the first time he had said it but it was rare enough that she sucked in a startled breath.

Unwilling to turn this into a big thing, he dropped his arms and started putting away the groceries again. She didn't say anything about it. She kept on rocking Willow, sometimes correcting him when he put cans in the wrong cupboard… But the smile on her face…

The smile on her face was worth everything.