Prompt: so, quit some time ago already, i threatened you to post some prompts for Hayffie. If you're still willing to take them, here they follow: 1) HaDS – AU chapter 85:They got a real big fight and Haymitch actually ucceeds 'cause Effie is ready to quit. And then he realizes he doesn't actually want her to quit. – 13Fische

A word of update first thing! I might not update ITGN tomorrow! We had conflicted schedules for beta-reading and I might not have access to wifi so it's up in the air for now... I will keep you updated!

One Gets Used To Effie Trinket

The glass hit the wooden counter of the bar with a dull sound and Haymitch waved at the Avox bartender to fill it again. It was late enough that the mentor lounge was completely deserted. Sometimes, voices floated to him as people passed in front of the room – victors, escorts and Gamemakers alike, all coming back from various parties – but for the most part it was completely silent saved for the discreet clicking of the glasses and bottles while the Avox cleaned.

"Come on, guys!" his best friend's voice suddenly boomed outside. "Just one more!"

"I think you had more than enough, Chaff." Seeder gently rebuked but, even as she said it they all staggered inside the room, so clearly drunk that Haymitch could hardly hide a frown of annoyance. He wanted to get wasted in peace, not be forced to catch up with inebriated people. Seeder and Wiress were clearly the most sober ones – which wasn't surprising – but Blight and Beetee were just as toasted as Chaff. "Oh, hello, Haymitch."

"Hi." he mumbled, downing his brand new drink and pondering the merits of making his escape to the penthouse – or to a bar in town. Before he could do little more than wave the Avox for another refill though, Chaff had tossed his good arm around his neck and had dragged him to the table everyone else had sat at. "You're strangling me."

"Suits you well for having abandoned us to those two." Chaff sulked, nodding to Seeder and Wiress who exchanged an amused smile and an eye roll. "Where the fuck were you, buddy? We missed you."

"Seems like you had a good night all the same." he snorted, dropping on the chair next to Blight. Seven's victor had folded his arms on the table and had propped his head on them, very obviously on the verge of falling asleep right there and then. "He's down for the count."

"I will call Wilma, she can deal with him." Seeder sighed.

Haymitch wasn't sure Seven's other mentor would be really happy about that development but he let it slide.

"Is everything alright, Haymitch?" Wiress frowned.

"He's not drunk." Beetee declared.

"Very astute observation." Three female mentor retorted.

Beetee nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you."

Haymitch chuckled a little, accepting the glass the Avox placed in front of him with a quiet word of thanks. So maybe a drink with friends wouldn't hurt. What was he even doing drinking in silence, being angry and upset because…

"So, is everything alright?" Wiress pressed, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

"What's up, buddy?" Chaff asked with a frown of his own, catching up even in his obvious state of drunkenness. "You don't look good."

"I'm fine." he denied. "Celebrating actually." It might have been more convincing if he hadn't sounded so… dejected. He waited for one of the older women to point it out but neither did, either out of respect or because they were waiting for him to elaborate. He could elaborate. He could elaborate without any problem. Because he was glad. "Trinket's finally quitting."

"Yippee!" Chaff shouted, flinging both his good arm and his shorten one in the air. He was the only one to express any sort of joy though. Even Beetee, who seemed really buzzed, looked at him like he knew better. And it was nothing compared to the way Seeder and Wiress were both studying him. He didn't say a word. His best friend seemed to pick up on the not so happy mood though. "No yippee? Thought it was a yippee kind of things."

"Oh, it's yippee thing alright." he scoffed. "I'm gonna fucking yodel once I'm drunk enough. Just let me get there." He stole Chaff's glass because his friend had had enough and he wasn't even tipsy yet. He had been drunk before but Trinket had sobered him up with that stupid claim that… "I'm gonna get there."

"What did you do?" Seeder sighed.

"How is it my fault?" he snapped defensively before shaking his head. "Not that I fucking care. Good riddance. Three years of her is more than anyone can take. I'm happy. I'm fucking thrilled. She's quitting. So what? I'm finally gonna have some peace. She's just… She's fucking impossible! Never stops talking, never stops lecturing me about shit like I'm some kid… She's just… She's…"

He stuttered to a halt, not quite able to remember why he wanted her gone that much.

"The best escort you ever had?" Seeder suggested sternly.

"She does look competent." Wiress approved, a little more hesitantly.

"Is she up for grab?" Chaff asked, suddenly more interested. "'Cause I'm so done with Vile-ola."

Haymitch could understand that, one year of Viola Summercket had been enough for him. Eleven's escort really wasn't nice.

"You heard what I said or what?" he spat, more aggressively than necessary. "She ain't getting promoted, she's quitting."

"But why? What happened?" Beetee cut in.

"She's crazy." he muttered. "What's new?"

"Haymitch." Seeder sighed.

"Oh, fuck off!" he snapped, pushing himself up so violently that Blight startled awake, clearly confused, and looking for a threat. Wiress stole the bottle away before he could hit someone with it but it was a close thing. He stormed out before his friends could ask more questions he didn't want to answer. He was almost at the elevator when he heard the hurried and unsteady footsteps behind him. "Chaff, I'm really not in the mood."

"I'm gonna help you." his best friend promised. "We just have to talk to her. You don't want her to quit, she ain't quitting. Easy like that. I'm gonna tell her. Don't worry. I'm gonna take care of everything for you."

Haymitch shook his head, a smirk stretching his lips despite himself. "You're wasted."

"Beyond wasted." Chaff dismissed. "Not the point. You're in trouble, I'm coming to the rescue."

He had all the troubles in the world convincing his friend to stop on Eleven's floor instead of striding into Trinket's bedroom and dragging her out of bed so they could all have a talk. He didn't want to have a talk. They had had enough talks. Talking was what had gotten them into that situation in the first place. Talking led to fighting.

Fighting led to…

Fighting apparently let to the kind of things that had her quitting.

Well… Maybe he shouldn't have said the thing he had said after they were done… doing the thing fighting led to.

He rubbed his eyes as the elevator chimed to let him know he had arrived.

Fucking his escort against the wall wasn't how he had planned on spending the night.

There had been a moment of uncertainty between the time he had finished and the time they had bolted apart, screaming accusations and horrified comments at each other's head. He hadn't even lost his pants during the whole thing, they had just been opened enough for him to… And that skirt? How had he even found his target under that puffy skirt?

He didn't know what had happened, truth be told.

They had been fighting, stuff had been said, buttons had been pushed, she had mentioned his Games, he had gone ballistic, she had tried to hit him, he had shoved her against the wall… Then they had been fucking. No transition. And then they had been fighting again. He had told her how much she sucked in bed and she had hurled at his face that she was quitting. And when he had challenged that ridiculous claim, she had repeated it again and again with more conviction each time until she had stormed out and slammed her bedroom door shut.

He had expected to find the penthouse dark and uninviting. The light in the living-room was on and it was surprising enough given the time of night that he walked there a little wary. He was half convinced he would find a very displeased Head Gamemaker Torello – because the man had been very clear he was done with Haymitch creating troubles for escorts – so he was relieved to realize it was only Trinket.

"I hope you are not drunk enough that you cannot take yourself to bed because I will let you drown in your own sick without a single twitch of guilt." she warned without even looking at him.

She was standing next to the bay windows, watching the city spread out underneath. She had discarded her heels and she looked far too small without them, frail almost. The pink wig was still on her head though and, not for the first time, he wondered if it was glued there. He had no clue what her real hair looked like. He hadn't gotten a glimpse of what was under that skirt and he was pretty sure that what he had touched had been hairless anyway. He found he was curious about that. Her hair color. He was curious about her because she refused to be just another drone like all the other escorts he had driven to quit. She actually cared. Not just about winning or her image but she genuinely cared about the kids. She made him curious and in turn it made him mad because he had no business being curious about a Capitol.

"Ain't drunk." he spat.

"Good, this will make it easier then." she retorted haughtily, still not sparing a look for him. A glass of white wine was hanging perilously from the tips of her fingers and he wondered if she was drunk. She didn't even sound tipsy but with her it was always hard to tell. "I have thought long and hard about your behavior earlier…"

"My behavior?" he scowled, interrupting her. "You're the one who jumped on me, Trinket."

"Unbelievable!" she huffed. "You have some nerves! You practically assaulted me…"

"You were the one doing the assaulting!" he growled. "Wasn't the one trying to hit you."

"Oh, so because I tried to slap you when you most deserved it, it makes it alright for you to pin me against a wall and…" she hissed. She didn't finish that thought though. She sighed, leaned forward until her forehead was resting against the pane of the window, and clearly made an effort to add some cheer to her voice. "To be fair, there were two of us and I did not try to push you away."

"To be fair, your hands were all over my dick." he sneered.

"You seemed to need some guidance." she taunted, finally turning around, fire in her eyes and an irritated pout on her mouth.

"Never needed any before." he mocked. "Never had a complain either."

"Your previous lovers must have poor expectations, then. I usually insist on my partner making me come at least once instead of finishing in a few strokes like the selfish greedy jerk you are." she deadpanned. "Do not kid yourself. It was not that good."

"Thought we already established that earlier." he shrugged.

That was what he had shouted at her. That she wasn't good, not worth the trouble of working for it. That was what had made her say…

She glared at him but obviously made an effort to remain calm.

"What happened was a fluke." she stated slowly. "Tempers were running high, we were emotional about our tributes still…"

"Don't bring the kids into this." he warned. The kids had died a brutal death and deserved better than to be used as an excuse because they were fucked up people who had jumped each other's bones right there like animals unable to control themselves. "This is between you and me, Trinket."

She pursed her lips, probably not quite happy with his tone, but waved her glass in the air with a dangerous carelessness. She was definitely not sober, he decided.

"Fine." she granted. "Still. It was a fluke. It certainly won't happen again."

"Never." he snorted because that was for sure. He shrugged again. "Almost didn't happen, yeah? Barely saw anything what with that ugly thing on your back." Her narrowed eyes were enough warnings for him not to go too far down that road. She tolerated his insults on her fashion sense up to a point but he had clearly used all his allotted gibes on the subject for the day. "I was drunk. You were upset..."

"It was over in ten minutes." she nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's not flattering for you or for me so…" He made a face. "Let's forget about it, yeah?"

"Yes." she breathed out with complete relief. "And in the spirit of goodwill I will apologize for bringing up your Games earlier. I crossed a line."

He took a deep breath because the mere mention of the Quell…

"Okay." he nodded. "Then I'm sorry I said you were frigid."

"You should be because I am actually anything but." she retorted without missing a beat, a sassy grin on her yellow painted lips. "Too bad you will never find out."

"Careful, sweetheart. You might give me ideas." he smirked.

She shook her head at him, finished her glass and placed it down on the liquor cart in the corner of the room. "I am glad this is resolved. Now… I advise going to bed. We have interviews scheduled in the morning."

Although he inwardly groaned at the mention of interviews, he had hoped the conversation was headed that way and truly relaxed for the first time since he had come back. "So you ain't really quitting, then?"

She blinked twice, her fake eyelashes slowly fluttering up and down, watching him with puzzlement. The perfect picture of candid innocence.

He knew better than to buy it.

"Why, I have no idea what you mean, Haymitch." she laughed slowly. "Quitting? Why would I quit when I am so close of getting promoted? I have a good feeling for next year. I am sure I will soon move on to one of the Career Districts. Won't you be relieved to be rid of me then?"

Her laughter was as fake as could be and Haymitch didn't join in.

He didn't dispute her statement either but he knew better.

One got used to Effie Trinket.