could you please write something from the "youre my girl" gif you tagged with 'quarter quell au where haymitch goes into the arena'? it must be kind of sad for effie that haymitch still refers to his girlfriend from when he was 16 as 'my girl' so some reassurance for her could be cute :)

To Be His Girl

Effie's apartment was her sanctuary. It had been ever since she had moved out of her parents' house as soon she had legally been allowed to do so. She had decorated it herself. She had painted it with bright colors most people were thrown by. She had made it into the one place she felt safe and happy. It was her sanctuary.

And yet right then it felt threatening.

The midday light was spilling through the windows, tossing strange shadows on the walls. She burrowed further against Haymitch's side, pressing her face into his shoulder so she wouldn't have to see the threatening shapes anymore. She wasn't sure what they were doing there. He was the one who had insisted on going back to her place after their last meeting with a sponsor. He had practically dragged her back to her apartment building despite her protests that they needed to keep on top of the situation, that this was a Quell and that everything could change at any moment, that the children needed them focused and not…

She hadn't protested much when he had started kissing her, she was so stressed and tired… Her nails drew random shapes on Haymitch's stomach. It was stupid maybe but she wished somehow that this moment could last forever. The two of them pressed against each other, naked, safe in a bubble of their own making… That was her idea of paradise.

And she needed the breath of air.

Because something was going to give, she could feel it. They were at a turning point of the Games. Soon the victors would act on their plan to electrify the beach and then…

Haymitch's fingers brushed up her spine and to her nape where they coiled loosely around her neck.

"You're gonna get dressed." he told her calmly, almost casually. "Toss whatever you don't want to leave behind in your purse but it needs to be discreet so either take a big purse or travel light, you hear? No make-up or any bullshit like that. Important stuff only, sweetheart. That music box you keep your mementoes in, yeah? Nothing else."

"Haymitch?" she frowned, lifting her head to look at him, confused.

The kiss he planted on her mouth was brutal, so violent her teeth nicked at the inside of her own lip and she tasted blood. His grip on her neck tightened and when he drew back he briefly pressed his forehead against hers. "I ain't asking, Effie. I ain't giving you a choice."

There was a touch of despair in his voice that didn't sit well with her.

"What is going on?" she asked, gripping his wrist.

He licked his lips and gently detached himself from her, pushing the sheets aside after having glanced at the alarm clock. "I ain't leaving you behind, that's what's going on. Fuck Heavensbee."

"I would rather not." she mumbled. The Head Gamemaker wasn't exactly attractive.

He snorted at that and pulled his boxers and pants up his legs. "I don't trust him. So maybe it's more dangerous for you to come with me but at least you'll be with me and I'll know what the fuck's going on with you. I ain't fucking leaving you behind. They're gonna come after you the second they realize I'm gone. Who knows if you'll make it to the second hovercraft?"

None of that made sense. Well, it made some sense because she wasn't an idiot and she wasn't blind, she knew Haymitch and Cinna had been… conspiring. But leaving? Leaving to where?

"Haymitch." she insisted, sitting up. She let the sheets pool on her lap, undisturbed by her nakedness.

He tossed the pink dress she had been wearing at her head. "Get dressed."

"Haymitch." she snapped.

"Get dressed." he shot right back, the order unmistakable.

She pursed her lips but did leave the bed to get some clean underwear from the dresser. "Where are we going?"

She didn't even try to dispute the fact she was going. If he was leaving – and if, as she suspected, he was going to get the children – she was leaving with him.

He hesitated and then shook his head. "I can't tell you. What you don't know won't come back to bite you in the ass. If anyone asks, I'm kidnapping you."

"You are kidnapping me." she grumbled, watching him button his shirt up while she got dressed herself.

He didn't seem to be able to sit still, he grabbed one of her purses and tossed the music box in which she kept pictures and small mementoes in it. He tossed some of the make-up she kept on the dresser in there too and she wasn't sure if it was a peace offering or because he didn't know what else she might need on a long trip.

"I can't leave you behind." he muttered, more to himself than to her. "They're gonna kill you. It's gonna be the same thing all over again. They killed her before."

He was frantic and if she hadn't known better she would have thought he was drunk. Or panicked…

She grabbed his arm before he could toss a very expensive perfume bottle in the bag and break it. His grey eyes were a little unfocused when they fell on her. She knew the signs well enough by now. He was trapped in his own nightmarish mind.

"Who? Who did they kill?" she frowned.

"Mabel." he answered at once, dropping the bag to pull her into a hug. "I ain't letting them do the same to you. I ain't letting them hurt my girl again. You're coming with me. Might not be the best and you're gonna hate it but… I'm gonna keep you safe if it's the last thing I do."

Her breath caught in her throat because it was the first time he referred to her as something as personal as my girl. His girl had always been the dead sixteen year-old he had once loved. His girl had been a ghost put on an unshakable pedestal. His girl… She had never been his girl. She had never been able to compare.

It was as good as a love declaration coming from him.

"I am coming with you." she promised.

He let out a long breath and pressed a kiss on her hair. She felt the wild thumping of his heart slowly calm down against her chest.

"Get ready." he ordered. "We need to move. Our kids are waiting."

Then, they better go fetch them.