Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Effie left her meeting with Plutarch and walked towards her bedroom. If that could be called a bedroom. In her opinion that was a cell —so small, with nothing but basic supplies and above all… gray. She hated gray, it was so boring. Thank God, because of her escort status, she could have a personalized outfit. Although she was aware that the president had allowed that because she didn't want anyone to forget her origins: a target in plain sight. Effie could live with that; at least she had her belongings with her and she could distract herself by remaking her dress that she wore when she was rescued from the Capitol in her free time.

She tried to forget that and focus on what she had to do tomorrow: get Katniss and her cousin Gale for the mission to District 8. Haymitch will go too, but she was upset with him and didn't want to be around him until her anger passed. He had been part of the rebellion for a long time. Why didn't he say anything to her? They are supposed to be a team…

Well, let him mind his own business, he's a grown man and unless she was asked to help him, she wouldn't. The plan of not thinking about Haymitch was not going as expected, but at least she had made it to her room and could sleep to avoid thinking about that stupid man.

All her plans went out the window when she opened the door and found Haymitch lying on the empty bunk.

“What are you doing here?” she exclaimed.

“Hello to you too, sweetheart, or should I say roomie?”

“That's impossible. This is my room, I wasn't assigned a roommate. And if I was, it would be a woman, not you.”

“Well, according to Plutarch, you haven't been the most sociable person here. Also, he said would be easier for both of us given our years working together in the Games."

“Oh, for God's sake. You must be joking.”

“I'm not. Now turn off the lights. We have to get up early tomorrow and I want to get as much sleep as I can.”

He covered himself with the blankets and turned towards the wall, looking for a comfortable sleeping position.

Silence settled in the room. Effie stood there, stunned. This was a nightmare. The last thing she wanted was to be near Haymitch and now she had to put up with him as a roommate for her entire stay in this horrible hole?

Chapter Text

That was a really tough day. Finnick's revelations, the loss of communications with the rescue team and Katniss' emotional breakdown did not leave his mind.

After leaving Katniss in her room, Haymitch went to his own to rest. Plutarch told him that there was nothing to do now and that it was best to take a few hours to regain strength. He would not waste the opportunity, one of the effects of sobriety was fatigue and his body was crying out for a few hours of sleep.

When he arrived at his shared room with Effie, he was not surprised to find her there. She had been helping Cressida for Finnick's propos and saw all the revelations first-hand. Effie was sitting at the table looking at herself in the hand mirror. She had taken off her scarf and was dressed in the pajamas provided by Thirteen. Her expression was blank.

Haymitch had never been one to run away from a conversation, but now he didn't want to be the one to break the ice. Effie need to process her truth on her own and if she wanted his help, she just have to say it. He lay down on his bed, hoping to fall asleep.

“I guess you already know that.” Effie spoke after a few minutes.

“Yeah.”

“It was quite a revelation, wasn’t it?”

He didn’t know what to answer.

“I never in my life thought the Capitol was capable of that. It seems like something Finnick made up. He really knows a lot of Snow’s secrets...”

Haymitch got up from his bed and approached Effie, she kept looking at herself in the mirror as if looking for an answer in her reflection. She was nervous, so he gently took the mirror from her and carried Effie to her bed. He hugged her and started playing with her hair to relax her. She likes that.

“What did Finnick call it? Capitolization?”

Capitolization…

In addition to revealing the prostitution practices for victors and Snow’s methods of assassination, Finnick had also disclosed a government program called Capitolization, which consisted of taking newborn babies that fit the characteristics that the Capitol considered appropriate and taking them to be raised and educated as escorts. No one outside the elite knew about it. After hearing about it, Haymitch understood Finnick's kindness towards all the escorts. He couldn't help but think about the implications of that practice: the escorts are the biggest victims of the Capitol's brainwashing.

“I'm so sorry, princess.”

“I have so many questions. My parents? Who are they? Where are they? Are they still alive? Do they know that I am... Oh, God. I don't know who I am anymore... Who am I, Haymitch?” she broke down and began to sob on his shoulder.

He couldn't offer her no satisfactory answer. All he could do was stay with her until she fell asleep from crying so much.