Prompt: haymitch buying Effie tampons :)))

Of Grocery Shopping, Brands and Interior Designing

"I mean… I'm happy she wants to help…" Peeta added in a rush, maybe scared that Haymitch would take it the wrong way. "But you know how she gets…"

Haymitch snorted. Did he know how Effie Trinket got when she was excited about a project? Did the sun rise every morning?

He checked the crumpled list in his left hand and added a couple of cans to his basket, glancing at what the boy was putting in his. Grocery shopping had never been his favorite thing but he had to admit that going to the store with Peeta had made the chore a little less daunting. Even if Peeta's offer to go with him had apparently less to do with wanting to keep him company and more to do with the boy's hopes that Haymitch would have a talk with Effie on his behalf.

"Thought you said she was helpful with the blueprints?" he asked.

The bakery's rebuilding was slow work and it had been in the planning for months. Peeta and Effie had been bending over plans for weeks, reworking over the original foundations, debating materials and costs… The boy had seemed happy enough, then. Between his drawing abilities and Effie's surprising helpful knowledge in architecture, they had managed a good project…

"She did." Peeta agreed forcefully, grabbing a few packs from the shelves and tossing them in his basket. "She is. But we've barely laid down a few bricks and she's already picking the paint colors and researching fonts for the sign…"

Haymitch shrugged. "She's in an interior designer phase, you've seen what she's doing with my house." He checked the list, squinting to decipher Effie's fanciful handwriting. "I need toothpaste."

"Me too." Peeta nodded, leading the way to the right aisle. "And I know. I don't mind her input, that's not what I'm saying… It's just…"

"It's just she's making you feel like it's gonna be her bakery and not yours." He sighed. "Look, she's having fun with this project. Just let her do her thing for now, it's gonna be a while until the bakery's ready to be decorated anyway… She's probably gonna have another hobby by then." She certainly had exhausted a few since she had moved in as it was. Sewing, knitting, sketching, gardening – that one had been a complete failure – home designing was only the latest on a long list. He made a face at the different brands of toothpaste. "Where the fuck… Ah."

He tossed Effie's favorite strawberry flavored toothpaste in the basket and then grabbed the brand he preferred for himself.

"You're right, I know." Peeta sighed, grabbing the same toothpaste Haymitch had. "I just don't want to hurt her feelings."

"Good boy." he muttered distractedly, studying the list again. He had everything except… He groaned when he spotted the items he really didn't like to buy. "I need stuff over there."

He pointed in the vague direction of the right aisle, half hoping Peeta would go grab something else on his own list. No such luck however, the boys shrugged. "I need condoms too."

Haymitch opened his mouth to tell him it had been years since he and Effie had used condoms and then wisely closed it because it wasn't something Peeta needed to know. As to why they would keep the condoms next to girl stuff…

There were so many different boxes and brands of tampons that he immediately made a face, wishing Effie had been a little more specific on her list. His eyes scanned the products on display, resolutely ignoring Peeta's gaze. There was a sudden understanding on the boy's face.

In the end, Haymitch grabbed two pink boxes and tossed them in the basket. "Don't say a fucking word."

Peeta rolled his eyes. "I wasn't going to make fun of you." He frowned a little. "Katniss never asks me to pick up that stuff." He tossed a puzzled look at the shelf full of tampons, pads and cups – whatever that was. "How do you even know what to get?"

"Cause that fucking box is staring at me for five days every month from the top of the toilets." he grumbled. Despite the fact that he had asked her many times to keep it in the cupboard. "Ain't like it's a big deal. She needs it. I get it for her. There's nothing embarrassing to it."

He wasn't sure which one of them he was trying to convince with that.

"Never said there was." the boy teased. "I think it's great, actually. It shows you're… close. Domestic. You think I should get some for Katniss?"

Haymitch blinked at the unexpected question. "Ain't flowers, kid. You want to please your girl, buy her chocolate." Which, he decided, he would get too because if Effie needed tampons, she was bound to get cranky soon and chocolate helped considerably to mollify her when that happened. Peeta looked a little too pensive. Haymitch rolled his eyes. "Don't start brooding 'cause she ain't asking you to pick up tampons. You want my opinion, the moment your girl asks you to buy her tampons, you know you're an old couple."

The thing was, he didn't mind them being an old couple.

They had earned it in his opinion.

Still… The boy still had a few years to go before he had to worry about Katniss beheading him because he hadn't brought back the right brand.