In which Haymitch knows that Mags' odds are not that great. So he goes to say goodbye and in the process, gave Finnick the opening he needed with Katniss.
Goodbye, Mags
(41 years old)
Haymitch entered her room without an invitation just in time to see her press a handkerchief to her cheek.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded, putting on a smile. "Oh, let me…"
She crossed the room to reach him, taking the gold bangle to fasten it on his wrist.
"It is important that – that we are a team." Her voice was soft but it carried in the room. "Katniss and Peeta needs to know that we are – "
"They know, sweetheart."
At some point, he thought it was silly to have a tangible object marking them as a team because even without anything gold, he knew they were all in this together but Effie always loved a show.
"Listen," he touched her hand and she stilled her movement, glancing up at him curiously. "I'm going out. Thought you should know before you worry yourself, got enough on your plate as it is."
Effie blinked in surprise.
"Why, Haymitch, that … is very considerate of you. Although, I do not think Chaff is allowed to leave this building for – "
"Yeah, no it's not Chaff and I ain't going to the bar. It's… I have to see her," Haymitch muttered, gently prying Effie's fingers from his hand. "Mags… I need to say – "
"I understand," Effie nodded.
She had seen his Games and she had worked with him long enough to know his history with Mags.
"Don't wait up," he told her.
He was not sure how long he would be gone. This could very well be the last time he could see and talk to Mags, after all. There was a plan in place to extract the tributes but even so, there was no absolute guarantee that in her old age, Mags would last that far in the Games for them to rescue her. The objective of the plan had always been Katniss. The others knew that and to the best of their abilities, would try to ensure the success of that mission which could also mean their deaths.
The elevator continued whirring as it made its way down, and it felt impossibly long for it to reach the fourth floor. The glint on his wrist caught his attention. It was such an unfamiliar sight. He twisted the bangle around, the corner of his lips quirked into a smile at the thought of Effie shopping for it.
The elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened to a hallway. Surprisingly enough considering what had just happened during the interviews, the hallway was deserted. Still, Haymitch spied the cameras blinking on the different corners. Whether or not there were Peacekeepers present, they were all still being monitored.
Haymitch wasn't sure if his night rendezvous was permitted but the worse that could happen was Peacekeepers coming over to throw him out of Four's living quarters. Even so, that would take a few minutes and those few minutes were all he needed.
He never knew that his mother was going to die but with Mags, there was the advantage and he would be damned if he wasn't going to at least pay her a visit. Mags had in her own small way filled the void his mother left behind. She had known him since he was a brooding and arrogant sixteen year old. She had given him a persona to play for the Games and when he won, she had been there to warn him that he was in it for life, a train that he would never get off.
"Hey," Haymitch mumbled a greeting when Finnick pulled open the door just a crack. "Mags… is she asleep already?"
"No," Finnick step back to let him in, "don't think anyone can sleep tonight. Come in."
Four's living quarters was warm and cozy. There was a fire roaring in the fire place and the display had been set to a setting familiar to their district – the waves gently lapping on the shore. He supposed, if this was to be their last night, they would rather have reminders of home than that of the Capitol.
When she spotted him, Mags gave him a toothless smile.
"You're gonna make yourself sick," Haymitch commented, nodding at the coffee table which was laden with plates of food.
Haymitch take a seat next to Mags on the sofa and reached out to touch her hand, old and wrinkled.
He felt a sudden spike of anger. Mags should be home in District Four where she would be safe, living the last of her years by the sea.
Haymitch ran his thumb over a line of pale vein running down her knobbly knuckles. "Be brave, yeah?"
As long as he could remember, Mags always had a kind smile unless provoked and she afforded him that familiar smile as she nodded at him. She patted his cheek and mouthed something so soft that he had to bring his ear to her lips to hear.
"Don't let them see you're afraid."
He chuckled and smirked at the advice that Mags herself had given him when he was sixteen. She leaned into him and he brought his arm around her shoulder, propping his chin on her head.
He caught Finnick's gaze over the top of her head.
"She needs sleep even for a few hours," Finnick mentioned. "I've been trying to but…"
He understood.
Sleeping would mean the hours passing by in a blink. Before you know it, it would be time for the arena. He remembered the night before his Games and how he desperately wanted to stretch out the time, to catch just one more moment before it was all gone.
When it came to it, he could easily overpower Mags and carry her to bed - another reminder of just how frail she was and how she should not be in the arena - but he didn't.
"You need your rest," Haymitch pointed out half-heartedly because a selfish part of him wanted to spend just a little more time with her.
Her answer to that was to rest her head on his shoulder. His arm was still around her so he gave her a gentle squeeze. That was when she caught sight of the bracelet on his wrist. She touched it gently with a hint of curiousity.
"Effie," he informed her. "She gave it together with Peeta's token earlier. Said that we need to look like a – "
He broke off and his gaze snapped to Finnick.
"It's important that we are a team," he whispered, repeating Effie's words earlier and then he chuckled in amusement. "A wise old woman once said that 'you don't have to be it, you just have to pretend to be it."
Mags blinked slowly, a frown already forming.
"Okay…" Finnick said slowly, not quite understanding him.
"Appearance matter," Haymitch declared, "so," he squeezed the bangle out of his wrist and handed it to Finnick, "you have to appear to be on our team."
Finnick raised a dubious eyebrow.
"Katniss will know that it's from me – no one else will, not even the Gamemakers - and that will trump anything that you'd try to tell her in the arena tomorrow to convince her into an alliance. She'll know that I trust you," he spoke quietly, low enough that the bugs would not have picked it.
"Win her trust with a bangle?" Finnick snorted. "Don't think your girl's that – "
"The bangle will give you somewhere to start with. Katniss ain't going to trust you at all so you'd have to earn it."
"Wonderful," Finnick rolled his eyes.
"The best way to do that is to protect the boy, if you can. She wants him alive so he's your best bet. It won't work without Peeta."
"I'm aware which is why the plan's to get them both out," Finnick pointed out. He lifted the bangle. "Thanks for this."
"Stay alive so you can give it back to me."
"No promises but I'll try," Finnick wink. "Same old advice, huh? Stay alive."
"That," Haymitch chuckled, "and I told her to remember who the real enemy is."
"Cryptic. Katniss understood it?"
"She'll figure out in time."
In the midst of that conversation, Mags' breathing had evened out and when he glanced down, it was to see her with her eyes closed.
"Our conversation must have made her bored," Haymitch remarked.
Gently, he laid her down on the sofa against the cushion. Her face was angled towards the display of the ocean and waves.
"Thank you," Haymitch whispered because he had never thanked her for what she had done for him before.
He pressed a kiss on her head and wished that on her last night, she would have at least one pleasant dream.
"She could die tomorrow," Finnick said out of the blue.
His gaze was fixed on the bangle, twisting it around very much in the same manner that Haymitch had done.
"I know," Haymitch exhaled, running his fingers through his hair. "We have to accept it when it happens. She's lead a long life. We can… We should take comfort in that."
"Let's just hope her death won't be for nothing."
"Not just hers," Haymitch muttered, watching Finnick.
He could lose Finnick, too and the boy was his, just like Katniss and Peeta. Haymitch wanted to apologise to him if it seemed that he had chosen Katniss and Peeta over him because even if Finnick had volunteered to be part of the plan and to do his part for the revolution, the plan involved saving Katniss and Peeta, while the life of the other tributes became expandable, a sacrifice for the greater good.
"Are you going to see Chaff now?"
"He won't let me. He won't have any goodbyes and frankly, I don't think I could do it but I had to see Mags, you know?"
"Yeah," Finnick nodded and stood up to walk Haymitch to the door. "I'll see you again."
The chapter in which Haymitch first met Mags was in Chap 5 - The Mentor That Groomed a Victor