2.

Things did gradually get better.

As the days passed, they settled into a routine that certainly wasn't common but that worked for them. Haymitch got better at brushing her hair but not at tying it up. Katniss consented to explain everything he did wrong or didn't know how to do albeit with so much annoyance that he knew she barely considered it possible that someone would be that ignorant.

She had nightmares and usually finished the night curled up against his side. He had toyed with the idea of bringing her to talk to someone but, as Chaff had pointed out, it had never done either of them any good and she seemed relatively okay for now. Besides, she was instinctively mistrustful of strangers. It took a whole week for her to relax in Haymitch's presence and two weeks of regular random visits – always bearing small gifts – from Chaff before she accepted him like a fixed feature in her new life. Aside for that she did seem to be adapting well, better than he was in any case.

The first time she called him Uncle Haymitch he almost had a panic attack at the realization that it was real. He was her uncle, he was responsible for her, this was, as she had so aptly put it on her first night in the house, forever.

She was a handful.

She wasn't a chatty kid and it was sometimes easy enough to forget she was even there. She was happy to watch her cartoons on TV – although never for too long, she was active. Her favorite was The Avengers and he had promptly been informed that the best one was Hawkeye because he had a bow.

She was big on bows and arrows…

She talked his ear off about a Brave Disney movie until he caved in and bought it just so she would stop trying to explain the story to him. He didn't know if it had been a wise choice because she often jumped on him with her plastic bow, proudly stating "I am Katniss", before going back to her favorite game of pretending to hunt either Buttercup or the geese. He bought some more Disney movies in hope she would soon grow out of the Merida phase and into something that wouldn't risk giving him a heart attack every time she shot plastic arrows that didn't even fly straight at him.

She declared Sleeping Beauty boring halfway through despite the dragon, she fell asleep during Snow White, she found some interest in Cinderella only because the cat reminded her of Buttercup and she made him sit through three rewatches of Brave to make up for the awful movies he had picked. She loved Tangled (and he had to hide frying pans for days not to get knocked out during one of her games), The Little Mermaid (Ariel could sing and Katniss loved to sing), and Mulan. Mulan was her second favorite behind Brave and she promptly demonstrated why to Chaff by imitating the jump kick and leaving a boot print on the living room door in the process.

A mere three weeks after she came to live with him he was an expert in Disney movies – to Chaff's eternal amusement, although his friend stopped laughing when she forced him to watch Brave with her. She had decided Chaff would have to be the bear when they played since he couldn't hold a bow.

He liked the mornings or evenings spent watching TV better than the occasional random watching in the afternoon. In the morning and the evening, she was calm, happy to curl up on the couch with her stuffed toy and stare at the screen, sometimes sucking her thumb if she was really tired.

The first time she crawled on his lap, he startled. He soon grew used to it though. She wasn't really a big cuddler but it wasn't that exceptional for him to wake up from a nap with the four years old snuggled against him. In the afternoon, she tended to be restless, jumping from the couch to the armchair and back, often tripping and falling but never crying out or complaining.

Burning out some of her energy was necessary to his sanity though. He took her out in the woods behind his house every day and he taught her what he knew about wilderness and how to survive if she ever got lost – better safe than sorry, he figured. She ran around, taking in everything he explained and always keeping a look out for an eventual Mockingjay. Try as they might, they never found one. He didn't have the heart to tell her they weren't real, she was entitled to her dreams.

Three weeks after she had moved in, it was very clear in his head that this was permanent and he was alright with it. She wasn't the easiest kid but she was his now and that was enough. She was a little damaged but so was he and he was certain they could make it work.

The good thing was, he was so busy either taking care of her or worrying about her all day that he didn't have much time to lament the lack of liquor. He had given everything to Chaff and had forbidden him from ever letting him drink again.

The shaking had been bad for a few days but it had eventually lessened which told him he had stopped just in time. He still had nightmares, PTSD didn't go away because you adopted a kid, but Katniss helped him focus on other things than his own memories and past and, even though he felt like he was walking on the edge most days, he managed.

Three weeks after she had moved in, it also appeared very clear to him that aside for Chaff, they were living in almost complete isolation –he didn't think trips to the grocery store counted – and that even if he had chosen it as a way of living his life, it couldn't be good for a kid.

"What do you think about going to school?" he asked.

Fall was slowly ending and she had missed almost a whole month but he didn't think preschool could be that difficult. It was more about making friends.

"Do I have to?" she pouted.

"I think so." he winced.

She didn't get more enthusiastic over the next few days, after he made the decision to enroll her in a private school. It was ridiculously posh and expensive and he found the principal equally posh and ridiculous but, according to his researches, it was the school with the most successful rates in the area and he wanted the best for Katniss. Even if she was only four and would only spend her days gluing pastas on paper plates.

The principal was all smiles once she realized Haymitch wasn't as poor as his creased shirt, too long hair and stained pants made him out to look and that he could actually afford not only one year but Katniss' complete education – dangerous secret military operations might have left him with emotional scars that would never heal but they had also left him with enough money to never have to worry about it again, it turned out the government paid well when it was about doing things they didn't want anybody else to know – and she gave them the complete tour of the building. Katniss sulked all the way through but Haymitch signed her in anyway, certain she needed to be around other kids her own age.

He was a little worried that the other children would be stuck-up brats but he was relieved when he took her to school the following day to see most children weren't wearing small versions of suits like he had been afraid of. Most of them looked normal and so did the parents.

Parents weren't allowed in the compound. They had to send the kids off at the gate and wait for them out there so the children would learn to distinguish between school and home – or so the principal had claimed. There was always a teacher at the gate, to greet the children and to make sure they left with whom they were supposed to.

"I don't want to go." Katniss mumbled, clinging to his hand like she almost never did.

Haymitch sighed and crouched in front of her, clasping her hands in his. Truth be told, he didn't want her to go either. He had gotten used to having her around him at all times and the prospect of letting her out of his sight even if it was only for a few hours wasn't one he was facing with impatience.

"It's going to be fun, sweetheart." he said. "You'll make friends."

She scowled and kicked a pebble. "I don't need friends."

"Yeah, well... With that attitude you won't have to worry about that." he joked. "Come on, sweetheart, it's only for a few hours."

"But what if you go away and never come back?" she asked, her little voice breaking.

He cupped her cheek, pushing away the hair that was falling in her face. He still hadn't gotten a hang on hairstyling and the ponytail he had tied up that morning was falling apart.

"Listen, Katniss." he told her, as serious as he could get. "I will be right here when school is over, okay? I'm not going anywhere. It's going to be alright."

"Merida would go." she decided. "Like an adventure."

"Yeah." he nodded. "Exactly. It's like an adventure."

She nodded back and then pull on her hair. "Fix it?"

He stood up, his knees creaking in protest and tried to fix the mess he had made. He only succeeded in taking out the hair tie – without tearing away any strand which he considered a victory – and fumbled with it for a few minutes.

"Fuck." he mumbled under his breath.

And then there was a pointed cough.

He looked up into blue eyes – blue blue eyes like a clear summer sky. The woman's features were elegant even if she was wearing too much make-up for his tastes, her blond hair was tied up in a complicated bun and her clothes screamed expensive. However, there was a small polite smile on her lips and, for a second, he couldn't look away.

The smile widened into a grin that was halfway between teasing and mocking. "I do apologize but you seem to be in dire need of help."

High-pitched voice, Haymitch noticed. Women with high-pitched voices were always annoying. He was about to tell her to mind her own business but Katniss was quicker than he was.

"Can you braid?" the girl asked. She was guarded like she always was around strangers but she also looked hopeful. She had been begging for braids since day one.

"I most certainly can." the woman replied, flashing them a dazzling smile.

Haymitch surrendered the hair tie and watched as the stranger worked. It a matter of seconds, Katniss was sporting a neat French braid and he was, admittedly, a little impressed.

"Say thank you." he nudged the girl. He wouldn't usually have bothered but the woman's eyes were twinkling and they were so blue...

He so rarely reminded her about manners that Katniss looked from him to the stranger and shrugged. "Thank you."

"Finnick gave me this!" a little boy exclaimed, rushing to the woman and grabbing her coat, showing her some sort of trading card with enthusiasm. "He had it twice so he said I could have it!"

The woman gave him an indulging smile. "I hope you remembered to thank him, darling."

The boy nodded with such unrestrained energy Haymitch winced in sympathy. Katniss was already a handful but she could be quiet and calm, the boy, he sensed, was a chatter. Unfortunately, the kid also spotted Katniss who had stepped back against Haymitch's legs.

"You're new!" the boy shouted, loud enough to be heard in a five feet radius. "What's your name? My name's Peeta! Do you like Iron Man? Come on, I will show you around! Bye!"

The bye was for them, Haymitch figured, and he could only watch, helpless, as Katniss was dragged away from him and toward the school's gates, flashing him a look of horror over her shoulder.

"Your son looks... energetic." he snorted.

"Oh, he's my godson not my son." the woman answered with a soft smile in the direction the kids had disappeared in, before outstretching a hand. "My name is Effie Trinket. You must be Mr Abernathy? Plutarch told me we had a new late arrival in Peeta's class. Plutarch Heavensbee, that is, he is on the board and a personal friend of mine."

That was a lot of information in one go and he shook her hand only by reflex, not really sure what to reply to that. Fortunately, she didn't seem to require an answer, she went on babbling about the school and the teachers and how great everything was... He didn't even manage to say one word. At some point, her eyes fell on her wrist, she caught sight of the time and gasped that she was late.

He didn't know if he was relieved or sorry to see her go. She was annoyingly chatty but as long as he didn't pay attention and checked her out instead, it was tolerable.

What did he use to do with his days before Katniss came around? Preschool only lasted a few hours but he found himself impatiently waiting for it to be over and he was amongst the first parents waiting near the gate.

It wasn't long before he felt a presence at his side.

"Hello again." she said brightly.

Her coat was open and he caught a glimpse of a neon pink dress with an apple green belt and a matching collar. The whole outfit was so blinding, it didn't even deserve to be called ridiculous. And the shoes... How had he not noticed the shoes earlier? The heels were impossibly high, covered with black lace with a pink bow at the ankle. He had been so distracted by her eyes he hadn't noticed anything else.

"Hi, sweetheart." he mumbled, staring at the gates as if it could make them open quicker.

He still noticed her smile faltering into displeasure. "I beg your pardon? What did you just called me?"

He rolled his eyes. "I call everyone sweetheart, don't go thinking you're special or something."

"How appallingly rude!" she huffed.

He opened his mouth – and he doubted anything good would have come out of it – but he was thankfully interrupted by her godson rushing to her, almost colliding with her legs, and still dragging poor Katniss who was struggling to get her hand out of his grip at every given opportunity.

"Can we have Katniss over, Auntie? Please?" the kid begged.

"I don't want to go!" Katniss protested, shaking her head vehemently.

"Well, I see rudeness didn't skip a generation..." the woman scoffed.

"Auntie!" Peeta gasped, before tugging on her coat and whispering not discreetly at all. "She's like Annie! You have to be nice! Mrs Sae said so."

"Oh!" she winced, suddenly looking apologetic. "Oh, I didn't know. I am terribly sorry."

"I'm not like Annie!" Katniss shouted, stomping her foot. "I'm not!"

Haymitch had absolutely no clue what was going on.

"Sweetie, ladies don't stomp their foot..." she told his niece gently but firmly.

"I'm not a stupid lady!" Katniss spat. "I'm a hunter! And I'm not like Annie. And I want to go home." She turned to Haymitch and lifted her arms in the air in a clear order for him to pick her up, something she hardly ever did, so he lifted her and propped her on his hip, completely flabbergasted when she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm not like Annie, I'm not!"

"Don't be sad!" Peeta pleaded, reaching out for her foot, which was the only thing he could grab without having to jump. "Please, don't be sad! I didn't mean to make you sad!"

Katniss pressed her face harder against his shoulder. The surge of protectiveness came out from nowhere but prompted him to take a step back so the kid couldn't touch her anymore. The boy looked heartbroken though and Haymitch didn't want to make him feel worse.

"She's just tired." he told Peeta. "She's not angry with you."

"We can have a play-date another time." the kid's godmother was quick to agree. "First day of school can be trying. Come on, darling, you will see Katniss tomorrow..."

It took a lot of convincing to get Peeta to leave her alone. He was absolutely sorry for having upset her and wanted to make amends, be it by giving her his snack or gifting her with his precious trading cards. The boy meant well but Haymitch was still relieved when they managed to escape.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" he asked the girl, once they were well-away from the school. He preferred to walk if he didn't absolutely need the car and it was a bright day so he hadn't bothered with it but if he had known he was going to carry her all the way home, he would have maybe reconsidered. Four years old were starting to get too heavy to be carried long distances.

"I'm not like Annie." she grumbled, consenting to lift her head so that he could hear her.

"Who's Annie?" he asked.

"A girl." Katniss explained unhelpfully.

"Yeah, I sort of guessed that, sweetheart." he mocked. "What's up with her?"

It took a while for Katniss to stop sulking long enough to answer. "She's seen bad things so everyone has to be nice to her 'cause sometimes she's like this for hours." Her face became blank and her eyes stared into nothing for a few seconds. It was a very good impersonation of a goldfish and he hoped for her sake that it was an exaggeration and Annie didn't look like that. He figured if the bad things comment meant she was traumatized in some way, she might be spacing out, which could be scary for little kids. "I didn't see bad things and I don't do that. I'm not like her." Katniss concluded.

"But you've been through some bad things." he pointed out carefully. "Maybe that's what the boy meant."

"I didn't see anything bad." Katniss insisted stubbornly, letting go of his neck to fold her arms over her chest petulantly, leaving to him the task of making sure she wouldn't fall from his arms and crack her head open on the pavement. "I was in the car and then I woke up with the doctors because I banged my head and then I went to the place with all the kids and then I went to live with you."

It was a relief to know she didn't remember the crash.

"Most people would consider all that bad enough already." he shrugged. "And you live with me. That's as bad as it gets."

She didn't understand the joke or, if she did, she wasn't in any mood to humor him. She wrapped her little arms around his neck again and squeezed so hard he was scared she was going to strangle him.

"No it's not!" she protested. "I miss my Mommy and my Daddy and my Prim but I love you too."

Now it truly felt as if someone was strangling him but for entirely different reasons.

"Me too, sweetheart." he whispered. "Me too." He would love to say the actual words but he knew they wouldn't come out and he decided a change of topic was in order before she started crying. "How was school? Did you have fun?"

She described everyone in her class, declaring Peeta had offered to be her best friend but she was still thinking about it even if he had given her his peanut butter sandwich during recess – with crusty real bread, he was then told, not white bread like they had at home. Annie was apparently nice enough when she wasn't freaking out. There was another girl named Johanna, who Katniss judged to be absolutely awful but liked playing adventures with, and a boy named Finnick who was Annie's boyfriend, who lived with his grandmother and who had a swimming pool. Of everything, he only really registered the bit about Finnick being Annie's boyfriend and wondered exactly how soon he needed to start worrying about boys trying to turn his kid's head.

"I miss Gale and Madge." Katniss sighed at the end of what was, for her, a long speech.

"Who's that?" he frowned.

"They live next to my house." she explained.

By her house, he figured she meant the old one.

"I could try to get a hold on their parents..." he suggested. "If you want to visit or..."

"No." She shook her head. "They're from before."

He didn't ask before what and he didn't insist either. They were doing everything on her terms as far as he was concerned. His own trauma hardly made him an expert but he wanted to let her have some measure of control over everything, he knew how important that was.

Despite the mishap at the end, she was less reluctant to go to school the next day. Happily bouncing from one fallen leave to the next on their way, lost in one of her games in which she was a great hunter who didn't make a single noise.

Peeta and his godmother were already there and the boy ran to them as soon as he spotted them. He had a weird way of running, Haymitch couldn't help but notice, he jumped every two steps, not quite limping but close.

"I'm so sorry I made you sad yesterday, please still be my friend!" The kid rushed the words out in a single breath. "I brought you a lemon cupcake 'cause you said you liked lemon. There was pink frosting but I ate it in the car because you don't like pink. Auntie Effie said it was rude and I shouldn't have but you said you don't like pink."

Katniss took the offered pastry – that indeed had been visibly nibbled on – and took a huge bite.

"You talk too much." she commented with her mouth still full.

Peeta beamed and they dashed through the gate without even a goodbye for him or for his aunt who had just caught up – which wasn't a surprise since she was wearing another pair of impossibly high heels.

"Did he give her the cupcake? I told him not to!" she exclaimed with obvious frustration. "It is simply bad manners to give a half eaten cupcake to someone."

"I think she liked it anyway." he shrugged. "Look, about yesterday..."

"I am so sorry if I upset her..." she winced. "I truly didn't know and..."

"It's fine, sweetheart." He waved that away. "She just doesn't like being coddled."

She twitched at the moniker. "Effie. My name is Effie, Mr Abernathy. It is not that difficult a name to remember, I dare think."

"You would certainly be hard to forget." he smirked. Her coat was open again and the blue dress she was wearing was less outlandish than the pink one from the day before but it wasn't exactly common either. She didn't seem to realize he was talking about her clothes because she blushed and looked away with a giggle. He didn't know how to correct himself without making everything worse so he awkwardly rubbed his neck and went back to a safe topic. "She doesn't want to be reminded, alright? So just... Tell your kid to treat her like anybody else."

"Oh, I am not sure that it will be possible... He is quite smitten with her, you see..." she chuckled. "She was all he could talk about from the moment I picked him up this morning. His father said he has been rambling about her nonstop since yesterday. Hence the cupcake." Her smile faltered though. "I am afraid I don't quite know what happened to her. All Peeta could tell me was that she was in some sort of accident? I could have called Plutarch but I didn't want to be nosy."

"So you thought you would be nosy by asking me instead?" he snorted.

To her credit, she looked sorry. "I don't mean to pry but if your daughter and my godson are to be close friends like I suspect they will... I would just like to avoid upsetting her again."

"She's not my daughter, she's my niece." he shrugged. "There was a car crash. Her parents and her sister died and she ended up with me."

"Oh, dear!" she gasped. Her eyes filled with tears she quickly blinked away. "I am so sorry for your loss. And for Katniss', of course. I cannot imagine..."

"Yeah." he cut her off, ill-at-ease. "Look, I have to go."

"Yes, of course." she nodded, glancing at her own watch. "I have to leave too if I want to be on time at work. Punctuality is everything." He was about to turn away when she reached for his arm and gave it a squeeze. "If you ever need anything... Please, feel free to ask."

He decided that this woman was crazy.

An impression that was confirmed when she made a beeline for him later that day while he was waiting for Katniss to come out of school.

"Mr Abernathy!" she beamed.

"Haymitch." he corrected – for the first time, he realized. "Don't you have any other friends you can bother?"

She pursed her lips, tilted her head and blinked twice. "You have a peculiar sense of humor."

"Most people say I have none." he deadpanned.

"How utterly rude of them." she retorted either missing the sarcasm completely or not caring enough to call him out on it. "How was your day?"

"Boring." he answered honestly and left it at that.

She waited a few seconds and then gritted her teeth. "Mine was lovely, thank you for asking."

He smirked, amused despite himself. "You're big on the manners thing, aren't you, Princess?"

"I am not sure if Princess is an upgrade from sweetheart or not." she sighed before waving that off. "Manners are the core of a polite society."

"Auntie!" Peeta exclaimed. He was closely followed by Katniss and a shy looking little girl with brown hair who was holding fast to the sleeve of a blond boy with sea green eyes and a wolfish grin.

"Hello, my darlings." Effie greeted them all with a kiss on the cheek. Katniss made a point of rubbing her skin after Effie had kissed her too and Haymitch didn't even bother to hide his smirk. "Have you met Finnick and Annie, Haymitch?" she added for his benefits before turning back to the children. "Are you all ready?"

It was obvious the girl and the other boy were leaving with her and Peeta, otherwise the teacher at the gate wouldn't have let them go.

"Are you starting a collection or something?" he teased. "You add a kid every day?"

"See? Your sense of humor is peculiar." she retorted. "I usually bring Finnick home when his grandmother cannot do it."

"Mags is very old." Finnick piped in helpfully. "She has a stick and everything. I take care of her."

"Exactly." Effie commented, patting his head. As soon as she had taken her hand away, the boy made sure his hair was still in its proper place. Katniss rolled her eyes and give Haymitch a pointed look he pretended not to see in order to keep his composure. Effie was oblivious to it all and continued. "And Annie is having a sleepover at Finnick's today. And if we are all very lucky, Mags will have made her legendary chocolate cake." That gave the children something to be excited about. Except Katniss. Realizing her blunder, Effie was quick to correct herself. "I would be happy to take Katniss with us... I could drive her back afterwards... Or she could have a sleepover, if it's agreeable. Peeta is staying with me tonight."

Katniss looked panic struck and tugged on his hand. "Uncle Chaff is coming. I want to see Uncle Chaff."

He lifted his eyebrows at the Uncle part – because she had certainly never called him that before. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "I want to go home. I want to watch Brave."

"I like Brave." Annie said, out of the blue.

Katniss hesitated and then shrugged. "You can come watch with me sometimes."

Annie looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"Sure." he agreed.

He really needed to get a hang on how to say no to four years old.

"Can I come too?" Peeta asked eagerly.

"Peeta, that's rude." Effie chided him. "You don't ask to be invited somewhere."

"Peeta can come." Katniss countered, magnanimous. "And you too, Finnick."

"And Jo?" Finnick asked.

"I guess." the girl sighed.

"Tomorrow after school?" Peeta was practically bouncing with excitement.

"There is no school tomorrow." Effie reminded him gently, brushing a hand through his hair. "Today is Friday."

"On Monday." Katniss declared and the kids started chatting about their plans, leaving Haymitch to not so discreetly panic in his own corner.

"Will you be alright with that many children?" Effie asked. "I could stay and help."

He was going to say no. He really was. Because he didn't need anyone and certainly not a woman who walked around perched on six inches heels. But five kids to jungle with all on his own ?

"Yeah." he agreed. She lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow and he rolled his eyes, understanding what she was waiting for. "Please."

"Why, I would be delighted!" she grinned.

And Haymitch felt as if he had just sold his soul to the devil.

It seemed it did wear Prada after all.


Effie and Peeta are heeeere! Did you like it? Do you like the toddler victors? Let me know what you think!