Chapter 14: A Little Seed

Effie smiled as she quickly inspected the candy to make sure none had been previously opened and wrapped back again, half-listening to the happy chatter coming from the kitchen. Prim was helping Haymitch make the hot chocolate and they were apparently on a quest to find the small marshmallows that should have been in the left cupboard but weren't – because Haymitch had no concept of optimizing storage spaces.

Satisfied that nothing had been tempered with, she swiped the candies off the living-room table and back into the two pumpkin-shaped baskets, sparing a thought for Peeta's share that nobody had probably remembered to check. She should have remembered and she had to suppress the urge to call the bakery right away – nobody would appreciate her hysterical phone call in the middle of the night when the candies were all very safe probably.

"Effie?"

She looked up to find Katniss hovering on the threshold, wearing comfortable looking green pajamas. The girl was carrying her make-up remover as well as a package of cotton balls and Prim's pink hairbrush.

"Can you help with the make-up?" the girl asked, hesitant. "I can't get it all."

"Of course!" Effie agreed at once, patting the rug beside her.

It was a bit undignified to sit on the floor but it had been easiest way to check the candies and it was Halloween, concessions had to be made. Katniss didn't hop all the way there like Prim would have done, she dragged her feet a little and then flopped down next to her without much grace. She looked down and played with the hairbrush on her lap while Effie grabbed the make-up remover and got to work.

They both remained silent but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable, not with Prim's regular peals of laughter in the next room as she and Haymitch made a game of hunting the still elusive marshmallows.

"Are you staying forever?" Katniss blurted out suddenly.

Blunt people.

You would think Effie had got used to them but… Not really.

The girl briefly met her eyes and then dropped her gaze back to her lap. "I mean… I'm not stupid I know forever doesn't exist but…"

"I do not plan on leaving, Katniss." she offered when the girl let her sentence trail off. She dropped the cotton ball, figuring her face was clean enough, and gently used the grip she had on her chin to force her to look up at her. "I promise."

It was a potentially dangerous promise to make but she was confident she intended to keep it. It would take a lot to drag her out of the girls' life now. Even her mother's schemes… She felt so very protective of them that she thought she would face an army for them.

Katniss shrugged, clearly ill-at-ease. "It's just… Prim loves you a lot. And Haymitch too. I can tell."

She felt a tingling wave of pleasure slightly mixed with apprehension at the thought Haymitch might very well have feelings for her. They weren't there yet. At the awkward confessions that would probably send both of them running in opposite directions.

And it wasn't the point anyway.

The point was who Katniss was so purposefully not mentioning.

"I love all of you too." she hummed, taking the hairbrush from her hands and gesturing at her to turn around. Katniss was only too happy to hide her face from her. "I wouldn't leave you for the world."

Brushing the tangled mess of backcombed hair would take a while and skills. It would have worked better on wet hair too so she resolved to do the best she could and leave the rest for the next morning, after Katniss had taken a bath.

"Even if, say… Someone asks you to be a model and you can become really famous?" Katniss insisted.

Sometimes, for how clueless she generally was, that child could be far too perceptive.

"Even then." she said without regrets. The time she would have found that appealing – or even possible – had flown. "I am all yours forever, I am afraid." she teased "You will just have to deal with that."

Katniss snorted, letting out a small grunt when Effie tugged a little too hard on a knot. "It hasn't been too bad… Having you around."

"Why, thank you." she deadpanned, more amused than offended. She was well acquainted with Katniss' abrupt manners.

"No, I mean…" the girl hesitated, chancing a glance over her shoulder but quickly looking away again. Effie kept patiently brushing her hair, giving her time to gather her thoughts properly. "I like living with Haymitch better than I liked living at Mom's. It's… easier."

"I would imagine." she muttered before she could stop herself.

When she thought about what Haymitch had told her, what the girls had been through, she still felt angry even if, rationally, she knew it wasn't really Aster's fault. But even now, even after meeting the woman…

"It's better too." Katniss continued, lower. "He's… Prim doesn't remember but we've got a dad already, I don't want him to be our dad… But…" She shrugged. "It feels like that sometimes. Like he's our dad and he's there for whatever and like nothing bad can happen 'cause he's gonna keep us safe, you know?"

She couldn't really relate because her father had only been a fleeting presence in her life who had mostly been there to tell her off about her grades and who had insisted on her getting engaged to some of his business partners and friends. It hadn't been all bad, of course, but she struggled to remember any fun they had ever share. As for making her feel safe… Yes, she supposed. When she was a little girl. That comfort had been far and few in between though.

Katniss didn't seem to need a verbal answer from her because she kept talking, her voice betraying how awkward she found the topic. "It's a lie, though. I know bad things can still happen. Bad things happened to my dad. The real one."

"Life is not always fair. The odds are not always in our favor." Effie commented and then winced because who said that sort of things to a child? Even one who was older than her years?

"Yeah. Exactly." Katniss nodded, relaxing. "But it's nice to feel like that sometimes. Like Haymitch can make everything alright with a hug or… whatever."

"He is very good at making everything feel alright with a hug." Effie approved, placing the hairbrush down. She couldn't do much more for now without proper hair products. She quickly worked the still somewhat puffy hair into a loose braid.

"You're like that too." Katniss whispered tentatively. "Not with the hug thing but… You know."

Effie licked her lips and tried to keep the emotions from slipping in her voice but she wasn't very good at it. "I think I do, yes."

She didn't resist the urge to hug the girl from behind despite the surprise gasp and her sputtered protests that she was too big to be cuddled. For her supposed opposition to cuddles, Katniss didn't really tried to slip out of her arms.

When Prim let out a delighted cry of triumph in the kitchen – Effie supposed she had successfully located the marshmallows – she let the girl go and cleared her throat. "Let's find a movie, shall we?"

Prim padded into the room five minutes later with her stuffed cat under one arm and Buttercup under the other, closely followed by Haymitch who was carrying at tray full of mugs. He was wearing cotton pajamas pants and a frayed washed-out blue tee-shirt and she wondered how something so simple could look so appealing. Although, given the look he gave her, he found her pink shorts and camisole equally enticing even though it wasn't the raciest pajamas she had ever owned.

"Nightmare Before Christmas?" he scoffed when he caught sight of the title on the screen. "Really?"

"It's a classic." Katniss grumbled. "Peeta loves it." She wrinkled her nose. "We should have brought him home with us…"

"We'll arrange a sleepover soon." Haymitch dismissed. "And I know it's a classic but I thought we were gonna watch something more… I don't know… Halloween? Prim was talking about Coco."

"I don't mind." Prim shrugged and helped herself to a candy bar from her basket.

"But it's more Christmas than Halloween." he kept complaining.

Effie curled up on one side of the couch, knowing from experience the girls would probably sprawl on the floor with cushions and blankets. "Halloween is over, Haymitch, it is time to prep for Christmas now. We might as well get in the spirit."

He stared at her, gaping a little, and then shook his head and put the tray down on the living-room table. "You're crazy, sweetheart."

"Don't you love it?" she teased with a grin and then did her best not to too visibly freeze because she hadn't meant to use the l word.

He froze for a second too but then he grabbed two of the mugs and sat down on the couch.

"Maybe I do." he muttered awkwardly, handing her one of the hot chocolate mugs.

Their fingers lingered a little too long when she took it and they shared a complicated look. She wasn't ready to say or hear more and she could tell he wasn't either but perhaps…

Perhaps that little seed was enough for now.

So we're almost at the end of this story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We'll have a surprise (or is it) visit next week! Let me know your thoughts!