Surprise! Early update this week because look, I finally reached fifty chapters!

Chapter Fifty

The morning light filtered through the branches of the tree and into their room. On the bed, Haymitch stretched lazily and reached out for the warm body next to him. He pulled Effie close, her back against his chest and hooked a leg over hers. If he had been fully awake and aware, he would not have done any of that at all.

Effie smiled to herself. She loved Haymitch best when he was hovering in a limbo at the edge of a light sleep. It was the only time he did not have his walls up and it made him more open, more affectionate. Morning like today was amongst her favourite. Morning like today made her fall for him even more each time. This kind of morning was dangerous for her heart but it was the kind she liked.

She turned in his arms, brushing strands of hair back from his face. His eyes fluttered open at the soft caresses.

"Morning," she smiled.

Haymitch glanced at the window. "It is indeed. Wish it was still dark," he mumbled, "I need more sleep."

"Lucky for you, the boys are still -"

He covered her mouth with his hand. "Don't say it. You'll curse it and they'll wake up."

Effie laughed lightly at that.

"Curse it? That's a superstition I never heard off."

Haymitch drifted off to sleep again. Effie ran through the mental list she had in her mind of things she needed to accomplish today and decided that everything else could wait. She lay wrapped in his arms, awake and contented.

XxX

Effie asked after Adler once as she cleaned the kitchen, putting the cutleries and plates away, a day after the baby shower.

Where Adler was concerned, Haymitch had spoken to Plutarch just before he left District Twelve for the Capitol, keeping him abreast of the situation between Adler and Effie.

"Between you and me, Elias Lewis has always made me wary. There's something about that man that I do not trust," Plutarch told him. "But I can work with Klaus."

Effie looked up at him expectantly with a dish cloth slung over her shoulders. His lips twitched at the sight of her, a smile threatening to break out. Even now, seeing her in an acclimatize atmosphere of domesticity still felt surreal, it made him feel slightly, slightly, maudlin. He never would have thought that the bothersome escort of District Twelve that irked him years ago was the same woman standing in front of him now but the journey she made from being an escort – the first personality that Haymitch knew and knew the longest - to being a mother was harrowing; it made her who she is today.

"Don't worry about him," Haymitch told her, squeezing her hand lightly.

He meant what he said. Adler was no longer her business and Effie understood this. She nodded and went back to work. She did not bring up his name.

For the next two days, Effie occupied herself with the state of the house, dealing with the aftermath of the baby shower. She cleaned the house, a task she dragged him into. Haymitch groaned and sighed and stared at the mop in his hand with obvious disdain until Effie sighed in exasperation.

"I can't imagine you doing this back at your apartment in the Capitol," he remarked.

"I don't. I paid someone to clean my apartment every week. But," she looked at him pointedly, holding on to a feeding bottle, "it's you and me now, and the boys need their mother so you do it."

She smiled at him and disappeared into the nursery.

On the third night when the children finally went to sleep, Effie decided that it was time to unwrap the presents. Haymitch stretched out on the sofa with his silver flask in hand while Effie sat cross legged on the floor with torn wrapping papers strewn around her, working through the pile of gifts and sorting them into some kind of system that he could not be bothered about.

There were a lot of toys, naturally and plenty of clothes and mittens, too. Effie loved those because at this age, the boys worked through their clothes faster than they could be washed.

Annie's gifts were handmade. She gifted Tristan and Ethan each with a blanket in matching colours. The only differentiating factor was the boys' initials – T.C.A and E.H.A - sewn at the corner of the blanket.

Absentmindedly, Haymitch twirled a golden curl in his finger and released it, watching it bounce back into position.

"There's something we need to discuss," he started, propping his head up on the armrest.

Effie was inspecting a rather large hamper, looking for the wishing card to find out who had given it to them when she paused. She turned to look at him.

"It's about your cousin."

His eyes never left her as Effie pushed herself off the floor and sat at the edge of the sofa. He ran a finger up her arm. "We're not going to aggravate Elias. I'm not going to accept his deal but trust me, he will keep pushing," Haymitch said.

Haymitch traced the scar on her upper arm. "How'd you get this?" he asked, distracted. Haymitch knew where it came from but he had always wondered how. When he lay awake at night long after she had fallen asleep, sometimes, he caught himself with a burning curiousity to know the stories behind each of her scars, stories Effie guarded close to her heart. Of course, he never expected today to be different. She would never tell him.

Effie pulled his hand away and rested it on her lap, lacing their fingers together to keep his hand still.

Haymitch exhaled, focusing his attention back to the issue at hand.

"Adler won't say a word to Elias and neither will we. We'll keep Elias thinking that he still has control for as long as we can."

"That doesn't sound very – "

"I know," Haymitch nodded. "But if he knows the truth, he may try something else and we'll have to figure it all out over again. We already know what he wants now, so we'll play it that way."

"Okay," she acquiesced. "If you think this is the best way then…I trust you. I do. I just… I don't know how to look at him anymore, Haymitch."

Haymitch said nothing to that.

"I don't want him to harm our family in his greed."

"He can try," Haymitch muttered. "I won't let him."

XxX

In the months to come, Haymitch and Effie argued over how Haymitch was spending his time. It was a constant struggle for him. There were days when all he wanted was to be alone with a drink but there were also days when he needed to focus on the third appeal but he could not leave Effie to deal with the twins alone. They were a handful.

"You need to learn to juggle your time," said Effie.

Haymitch slammed the refrigerator close, turning to face Effie with a displeased frown on his face. He handed the carrot and parsnips over to Effie who quickly set to work, making puree for the boys.

"Juggle…oh, yeah? Maybe I should forget the law and find a damn job in a circus instead," he snorted and shook his head.

Effie glared at him, forcing a bowl of mashed vegetables into his hand.

"Feed Ethan," she snapped.

"What the hell is this?" he lifted the bowl up and sniffed it. Haymitch blanched. "Why are we feeding them this? Can they eat?"

"Of course they can, Haymitch," she shook her head exasperatedly.

Tristan and Ethan reached their 6 months mark a week ago. Haymitch watched on as she dressed the boys up but the amused grin disappeared the moment he couldn't tell one boy from the other.

"They're the same," he complained.

"They're twins, in case you haven't notice," she retorted, carrying both boys in her arms.

"No, look, their clothes are the exact same. How… Which one's Tristan?"

Effie lifted her right arm slightly and Haymitch took the boy from her. He tossed the brown knitted hat away so he could tell them apart.

Effie gaped at him. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it and walked off.

The moment he walked into the living room, he understood why Effie had dressed them up. She had bought two small cupcakes from Peeta's bakery with a candle each claiming that her babies had reached a milestone. Effie lighted the candles up and persuaded Haymitch to blow one out on behalf of Ethan, an act Haymitch adamantly refused to partake.

"You're crazy," he muttered. "They don't know anything."

She ignored him and blew the candles out herself, kissing each boy in turn. Effie placed the cupcakes on the coffee table in front of them, set the camera on timer while Haymitch waited patiently with both boys on his lap. He had decided to keep quiet and let her do what she wanted knowing that if he aggravated her he would never have any peace trying to work on the appeal later that night. It was better that way. Effie ran towards the coffee table as the timer started its countdown and took her place next to Haymitch.

"A family photo," she grinned.

And then Ethan destroyed her picture perfect family photo by splattering the cupcake all over the table. He gurgled happily, grubby hands smeared with frosting. The camera went off. It was at this point that Haymitch wondered if Effie had read too much parenting books that some of the information was lost on her. At this stage, the boys were able to interact and engage and they were certainly very curious about things, grabbing everything that Haymitch and Effie placed in front of them. They could roll on their sides, they could be pulled into a sitting position and they, or in this case, Ethan could certainly reach out to smash a cupcake.

Haymitch laughed at Effie's horrified expression.

"Ethan, that was not a very nice thing to do, young man," she nagged.

Haymitch rolled his eyes.

"Don't listen to her," Haymitch whispered conspiratorially. He walked past Effie to wash the boy's hand.

Effie never gave up which explained the photo of the twins at 6 months hanging on a peg next to their sonograms. The blue string Haymitch had strung up in their nursery was slowly filling up with important, momentous events that marked their development.

Two weeks after they turned 6 months, Effie was hissing under her breath, muttering darkly at Haymitch for endangering her son's life (she refused to raise her voice with the boys around). He glared at her stoically, arms folded across his chest.

"Nothing happened," he told her for the umpteenth time. "He didn't roll off the sofa. I caught him in -"

"If he did," Effie propped her hands on her hips, "he could have a concussion."

"But he didn't," he argued. "Will you calm down, you deranged woman?"

The fact that Tristan was safe and did not fall from the sofa mattered very little to Effie. It was that Haymitch had placed him on the sofa negligently in the first place - a crime that was unforgivable in Effie's eyes - that made her angry. He swore he had only turned away for just a second but as Effie said, accidents happened in a matter of seconds.

"You're going to be one of those overprotective mothers, aren't you?" he asked snidely.

The next day, Effie left early in the morning to collect the baby bonus cash payout promised by the Government when the children turned 6 months. She returned home with two thick baby mats which she spread next to each other on the floor of their living room.

Haymitch had shaken his head at that but assisted her by pushing the coffee table aside to make room. She carried their play gym down from the nursery and placed it in the middle of the mat for the boys to play with along with several of their age appropriate toys.

Unexpectedly, it soon became one of Haymitch's favourite places in the house simply because he could sprawl and lie on the mat with the boys. If Effie knew this, she kept it to herself.

It was no different that afternoon when Effie woke up from her badly needed nap to find Haymitch at the living room with the boys.

"What would you like to have for dinner?"

"Don't know," he answered.

Haymitch was lying on his sides, head propped on his elbow as he watched Ethan on his stomach. The boy was inching forward little by little trying to reach out for one of the colourful blocks Haymitch had put just slightly out of his reach.

"Meatloaf?"

"We had that two days ago," she pointed out.

"Yeah, because meatloaf's the only thing you've mastered so I know you won't burn that shit down which means we will have food and I don't have to go out and get us dinner, again."

"Language," she reprimanded him. "I know you can cook so why don't you do it the next time? Instead of just making fun of me - that's much more productive for the all of us," she said.

Effie grabbed one of the audio monitors with her and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Your mother's a funny woman," he told Tristan as he scooped the boy from the edge of the mat.

Haymitch settled the child on his chest and gave the toddler a green plastic ring to play with. Tristan waved it enthusiastically around, accidentally hitting Haymitch multiple times in the face.

"Okay, I think that's enough," Haymitch grumbled after one too many hits. "What are these things anyway?"

He looked around him, taking in the assortment of different shapes and colours of toys strewn over the place.

Lucky kids, he thought to himself. His brother certainly did not have these many toys growing up. The toys they had growing up were those made by their father which was few and far between. His father was a good man but he had a terrible temper, a result of a hard life in the district. Before the twins were born, he hardly gave it much thought but lately, he caught himself wondering if he would be just like his father. Haymitch did not want his children to fear him.

"Listen, peanut," he said suddenly, looking into the same pair of grey eyes that he saw each time he bothered to look at a mirror. "I don't know what kind of father I'll be. A terrible one, probably, if we take that incident of you nearly falling off the sofa as an example. I want to be good to you and your brother but here's the thing, peanut, I don't know how to do all these things that your mother does; these singing you both to sleep or changing your diapers or taking pictures of you both because she wants to preserve the memories. Yeah… I'm no good at that."

Next to him, Ethan made an unhappy noise. Haymitch gave him the red block he had been trying to grab.

"You gotta grow up a little faster, alright, and then I can show you things," he smiled. "What do you think Ethan here will like, huh? You think he'll like to climb trees?"

Tristan babbled and smiled, showing off his gums to Haymitch.

"See, I can teach him that. I can teach you how to swim in the lake or ride a bike. I can do that," Haymitch nodded to himself. "I can show you how to fix the light bulb or feed the geese."

On the coffee table, the audio monitor blinked green repeatedly, catching every noise and every word.

"It's gonna be rough out there. We can't protect you forever. Your mother will try, oh, she will definitely try but she can't keep you in the house all the time, can she? If you fall and cut yourself, I'm not gonna run to you and hold you when you cry. You have to learn to pick yourself up."

Tristan rested his head on his father's chest, the green ring clasped firmly in his small hand. Haymitch patted his back.

"Your mother will fuss over you. I won't. But that doesn't mean that I don't care. I'm gonna be there, you should know that. I'll watch over you and your brother and your mother, too, of course. Effie's a silly woman but she's my wife," Haymitch smirked. "You know, years ago – she was a different person back then, we all were – she was walking around in those ridiculous shoes and twisted her ankle. So instead of hobbling off to find an ice pack and help herself, she sat on the floor with tears streaming down her face, clutching her ankle. She looked like a clown; her make-up was smeared all over. Sometimes when your mother's angry with me, I picture her as she was on that day and she don't seem so scary anymore."

"I had to carry that poor, ridiculous woman back to her room and call the doctor. I told her nobody can walk in those heels but she won't listen," he brushed Tristan's hair back. The movement caused the boy to lift his head up. He let go of the plastic toy and grabbed Haymitch's nose, not understanding a word but smiling at his father, still.

"I didn't tell you that story for the fun of it, you know," Haymitch said. "The point is when you're older and especially when you're all grown up, you gotta look out for your mother 'cause by then, I would have enough dirt on you to embarrass you in front of your friends if you so much as disrespect her. You got to be there for her. Your mother's strong but she's also fragile. Bad things have happened to her, things I don't know about. She will need you both and… It's good, you know, that Effie's got you both. I'm glad. I am," he pushed himself up and sat Tristan on the mat next to his brother. "Don't worry about me. I have been alone for years until … the law but worry about your mother."

XxX

In the kitchen, Effie stood rooted to the spot. She took a deep shuddering breath. Her hand shook as she reached out to switch off the audio monitor. Haymitch was still talking to the boys but it felt too private for her to be listening in especially since she was absolutely certain that Haymitch was not aware that the monitor in the living room was on. He must have forgotten about it somehow because if he had not, Haymitch would never have said any of those things when he knew she could hear them.

Effie leaned against the kitchen counter, thinking and processing it all. She wondered if Haymitch would have said those things to the boys if they could understand any of it. Effie believed that it was because of their age and the fact that they would not remember any of it that made him open up easily to them.

She moved to the doorway and peered outside, watching Haymitch with his sons. She smiled to herself. Maybe the children would be able to soothe his soul and show him that there is a better life. Maybe their innocence could patch the broken pieces in his life.

I had so much fun writing this chapter & I hope you like it, too. I know it's like a filler chapter but after all the drama I think a little bit of insight into their family life would be a good break.

Also, a few weeks back, whiskeymitch sent me this prompt 'Okay prompt... I always had this hc that Haymitch deep down always wanted kids but thought he didn't deserve that kinda life so he sentences himself to solitary confinement and drinks away the pain. So my prompt is this: Haymitch talks to the twins and shows his softer side when he thinks Effie can't hear, saying stuff about what he's gonna teach them and that he's gonna protect them and their mom and other cute stuff like that, but he forgets about the baby monitor and Effie hears every word.' I thought it was an important for Haymitch's character so instead of writing and posting it in Everything In Transit, I made it part of Consortium itself. So thank you very much for the prompt!

Please leave a review, I would appreciate it! :) and world cup will kick off in a few hours, stand by your team and may the odds be ever in your favour!