Chapter 11
Real or not real?

It'd been a calm, uneventful morning. The scarce autumn light shone through the windows of Effie's living room where she stood and arranged tulips in a large vase. She'd bought them on impulse when she went to get groceries on Heaven's Square. Now she relished in the peace and quiet, having a day in for a change. Soon she'd drink a cup of coffee. It was just now brewing in the kitchen.

After she found Haymitch the way she did, she'd wanted to call her job and stay with him. They talked about it in the morning but in the end they decided it was better if she went back to the Capitol for now.

Haymitch had seemed embarrassed. About the state she'd found him in, she supposed. He never brought it up though and neither did she. Nothing about the event in the woods either.

They just had breakfast. And in a way it was a relief. Now they could move on and let what had happened be just another chapter in their long history together.

So it was goodbye, for now. He followed her to the train station and she squeezed his hands through the window up until the last moment. Yes, things were good between them again. Like they were back on track after their little detour.

Yet she did have a hard time falling asleep on the journey home all the same.

Because on top of everything else that had happened she hadn't forgotten about the fact they never used protection when they had sex.

There were no morning-after pills in District Twelve and ever since it happened there'd been a part of her that worried. Haymitch never came inside her, thank God, but it was no guarantee.

What if he got her pregnant? What on Earth would they do then?

But Effie needn't worry. When she bought her morning coffee outside the Academy, she felt how she got her period. And that was that.

Haymitch must have worried as well. He called her right when she was getting ready for bed. He didn't flat-out ask but Effie always knew when Haymitch beat around the bush so she just told him. You could hear just from his silence how relieved he got.

They wound up talking for a couple of hours and that's how the nights went for awhile.

It was surprisingly easy to talk with Haymitch when he wasn't dead drunk. To hear the children tell it, all District 12's mentor and escort did was fight but that wasn't altogether true. They'd had some nice conversations over the years. He'd always been sharp and he had humour, unlike so many men in the Capitol.

She hadn't heard from him in a couple of weeks now though but she spoke regularly with Katniss and Peeta and knew they would keep him out of too much trouble. If he needed some time for himself she would respect that.

But he was never far from her thoughts. And while she arranged the red and pink and white and yellow tulips she sunk into a reverie about her makeshift family.

Did the sun shine over District 12 too? Katniss would most definitely be out in the woods by now. Peeta was at the bakery and Haymitch, well, he was probably still asleep. Later, perhaps he'd do a checkup round to see that the geese were alright. He did so every once in a while.

She could see him so clearly. Hair on end, barefoot, eyes red and hung over. With a large yawn he would go pick a few of the eggs for breakfast to prevent the Victor's Village from flooding with geese and then he'd just walk back inside to get a bottle. Maybe make himself a cup of coffee and…

That's when the door bell rang.

Effie looked up, startled. She wasn't expecting anyone, especially not this early.

She set the last of the tulips aside and headed out the hallway, saw the shadow through the frosted glass.

It couldn't be…

She opened the door and there on her front step, bag slung over one shoulder, his shirt so incredibly wrinkly he must have slept in it all night, stood Haymitch.

She stared at him and he looked back at her.

"Hey, Eff."

"Hi," she said weakly.

That was all they said. All they needed to say. And he crossed the small space between them, straight into her arms.

None of them even thought about shutting the door. They clung to each other so tightly Effie could feel his heart beating just as hard as her own.

God, she had missed him. She didn't even realize how much until now. And he'd come back. So he must have missed her too.

Afterwards she wouldn't remember which one of them leaned in first. She only knew she pulled back slightly to look into his eyes, to try and figure out what he was thinking. Their faces were so close she could count every single one of his eyelashes.

And their lips met. It didn't even last very long but unlike all the other kisses they'd shared it was not laced with desperation or loneliness or pent-up lust but something else. Something new.

When they pulled back Effie's cheeks were flushed and glowing. She looked at Haymitch only to see he was just as warm and red. They didn't let go of each other.

"I," she said and her voice was all raspy and odd. She gave him a quick, almost shy smile and rested her hand against his chest. "I just brewed a pot of coffee. Would you like some?"