#and i think many people saw that katniss and rue genuinely liked each other

[ellanainthetardis]

Progress is made... Or is it? 

[ff] or [ao3)

Chapter 7 : An Understanding

The thing was… You couldn’t not like Greasy Sae.

It barely took two days for Sae to win Trinket over. He got up one morning, wandered to the kitchen trailer for his morning dose of coffee and found the two of them laughing together.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, half-expecting Trinket to run away like she had more or less being doing for days – weeks, really.

“You trying to climb on an elephant and landing in its droppings.” Effie deadpanned.

He choked on his cup of coffee and glared at Sae. “The fuck you’ve been telling her?”

“Relax, Haymitch…” Trinket grinned. “I find those childhood stories… endearing.”

That was the problem with someone who had known your mother before you were even born… They were never short of embarrassing stories and most of his new friends seemed eager to hear them.

Katniss, unexpectedly, took to the cook like a fish to water, her wariness around strangers apparently not applying to this particular case. Prim and Rue, on their ends, made sure Dorit, Sae’s granddaughter, felt welcome and soon had her helping out with the goats and the other animals. It didn’t take them long at all to find their place in the group.

Sae, of course, immediately adopted the crowd of kids in a blink and the old woman was soon a favorite, pampered and fussed upon by each of them. Even the workmen loved her and she kept them all in line, old crew and vets alike, with a firm hand and a scowl when necessary. It made Chaff’s work that much easier and Haymitch often teased him she should have been the foreman.  

Those days, Haymitch often mused as he watched the settling or the dismantling process, they were looking more like a real circus and less like ten people struggling to put a tent up.

It would have been great if the troupe cohesion had been there too but he forced himself to be patient about that and not so resentful that some of them had still not completely accepted him when they were so ready to welcome Sae or even Chaff.

Katniss, at least, had finally consented to let him teach her a few tricks.

That was what his mind was on that afternoon under the Big Top, as a few of them had claimed the space in the ring to rehearse. And, granted, since he was already waist deep in water, trapped in a huge fish tank that he had found in the odds and ends of a storage truck, he should maybe have been a little more focused on himself.

The water was cold and the chains were slippery. Later on, he would have weights on his feet that would make him sink and keep him at the bottom but for now he needed to build up his endurance because he wasn’t confident at all he could hold his breath long enough to get out of those chains. In the past, he might have, now…

“Add more water.” he ordered the kid who was standing on the ladder next to the tank. On the ground, Rue dutifully handed Prim the last bucket and, soon, he had water up to his neck. “Okay, you’re ready?”

His eyes swept around the ring one last time, aware that Marvel and Glimmer who were working a few feet away were watching him. So were Peeta and Gale, and Finnick was somewhere up there, playing with his trapezes and probably keeping an eye on him too. The safety net, at least, had been pulled out for training today.  

“Ready!” Rue called out, his old timer in her hand.

“Here goes nothing.” he muttered. “Go.”

And he dived underwater, reminding himself not to panic, to focus, and not to lose air with ridiculous unhelpful movements.

Those were the three rules to that sort of act: never panic, focus on your objective, don’t waste oxygen.

There were three locks to open. He was in the middle of taking care of the second one when Effie Trinket sauntered inside with an easy smile and a global greeting he couldn’t hear, shed her coat and stood there in nothing else than a neon-pink leotard.

Even through the grainy glass of the tank and the blurry water he could tell that the leotard might as well be a second skin. Then she sat down on the hay and spread her legs on either side of her body as if it was completely natural to break out into a split wearing only a leotard without warning innocent bystanders.

He might have gasped a little.

Which wasn’t a good thing when your head was underwater.

He immediately kicked his bound feet when the water went down the wrong pipe and his head shot out. His hands were already free so he grabbed the edge of the tank and pulled himself up, coughing and spitting out cold water, ignoring Rue’s and Prim’s anxious questions about his health.

Everyone under the Top was staring at him with concern but it was Effie’s gaze he sought. Had she done that on purpose? Walking around wearing next to nothing and taking poses just to…

To what?, a little voice at the back of his mind mocked, Make you drown? Get over yourself, man.

Effie, as it turned out, looked just as worried as everyone else but relaxed when he stopped coughing.

“Easy, there, Haymitch.” she called out. “We would not want to lose our ringleader.”

“Maybe warn a guy next time you wanna walk into a room half naked…” he shot back before thinking twice about it.

Her eyebrows shot up and she glanced around, too aware perhaps that they had an audience.

“And there I thought you were enjoying the view.” she deadpanned anyway, clearly unwilling to let him have the last word.

“A bit too much.” he snorted, not quite joking.

The way she flattened her body on the ground next when her legs were still spread on either side of her was simply provocative, he decided. It was lucky the water was so cold because his mind was very much fixated on how flexible she was.

“Behave.” she warned from her new position.

He bristled at the off-handed rebuke but with so many people watching, he couldn’t really reply to that like he wanted to. After all, he hadn’t started it.

The odd tension was broken by the creaking of the safety net when Finnick dropped on top of it from the tent’s heights. He didn’t look entirely happy and he hopped off to strut to Effie – he strutted everywhere, that boy was a peacock – and engaged her in conversation while she stretched. They were clearly discussing possible new figures so Haymitch grumpily went back to his own training.

He tried to focus on the locks and not on the various stretching positions Effie submitted her body to.

Once he was satisfied he could hold his breath long enough to get rid of three locks, he disappeared behind the bleachers to change into a dry shirt and pants and came back to help the girls put his material away.

Someone had turned on a radio by that point and cheerful upbeat music was filling the Big Top. A few of the others had drifted in and he wasn’t really sure who started it. He thought it might have been Prim dragging Katniss for a laugh but soon the girls were twisting and shaking, Thresh grabbed Rue and they were dancing too, then it was Marvel and Glimmer… When the first notes of something even upper-beat followed, Finnick jumped off his trapeze to bounce off the safety net and take hold of Annie who had been shyly clapping next to Johanna… Jo tugged Gale on without leaving him much choice in the matter…

When Haymitch felt a hand close around his, Peeta had cut in and stolen Katniss away from Prim and the girl had turned to Rue and Thresh.

He hadn’t seen Effie get down her perch up there but he shook his head even as she took hold of his other hand and started twisting and trying to force him to do the same.

“I don’t dance.” he told her.

For a second, she looked like she had been slapped and she tried to snatch her hands away but he found himself entwining their fingers to keep her there. It was the first time she had willingly approached him – friendly approached him – since what had – not – happened between them in his trailer and he was loathed to lose the contact.

“Never been good at it.” he clarified before she could misinterpret that by him not wanting to dance with her.

“Patently untrue.” she huffed, giving up on trying to get free. “I saw you lead the whole troupe in musical numbers.”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s different.”

“It really is not.” she dismissed with a cheerful laugh. “Follow my lead.”

“Don’t I always?” he mocked but let himself be convinced to emulate her movements.

The success of the endeavor was mitigated. He looked like a constipated chicken and she laughed so hard tears pooled in her eyes. He might have been vexed if she hadn’t been such a pretty sight, her cheeks flushed from the dancing, her eyes bright from the laughter and her body clad in that pink monstrosity of a leotard.

Naturally, because Haymitch’s luck was either fantastic or terrible depending on one’s perspective, the radio then sprouted out a slow dance. The girls, Tresh, Gale and Jo all opted to sit that one out but Peeta and Katniss and Annie and Finnick all gave it a go. Haymitch didn’t miss the jealous glance Gale gave the teenagers before storming out of the Big Top. He might have followed and tried to smooth ruffled feathers – maybe offer the boy a drink – if Effie’s arms hadn’t tentatively locked around his neck.

He placed his at the small of her back. The fabric seemed thin under his palms and she must have been freezing. It was with that thought in mind that he tugged her closer, so he could warm her up… At least that was what he told himself.

He pressed his cheek against the side of her head. Her blond curls were held back with a scarf again and his stubble caught a little on the silky fabric… He closed his eyes, let himself enjoy the moment… She tightened her hold a little, let out a soft sigh…

“We’re done fighting, sweetheart?” he whispered, low enough that the music would cover it and none of the kids would hear.

“Were we fighting?” she replied, a touch too detached to be genuine.

His hand ran up and down the bumpy line of her spine once but he didn’t go past the small of her back, mindful of the various kids sitting around, probably watching them. He might have otherwise.

“I’ve been an ass and you’ve been a bitch.” he shrugged.

“Language.” she chided automatically but her voice was hesitant. “Your behavior is… One moment you look at me like you are interested and the next…”

“I’m interested.” he sighed. “I’m very much interested. Thing is I’m not… I’ve been in that place before. Running a circus, living with my girl… Didn’t end well.”

“A bad break-up…” she started arguing, drawing back a little.

“She died.” he cut her off, maybe too harshly.

He saw the understanding dawning on her face. “The fire… Oh, Haymitch…”

“My family too. You probably know the story.” He scowled because he didn’t want her pity. “I ain’t… I don’t wanna get attached, Princess. Haven’t gotten attached to anyone in years and that works out for me. Sex is sex, I can deal with that. But feelings…” He spat the word out and then shook his head. “Ain’t you. ‘Cause you…” He licked his lips and averted his eyes, staring at Peeta and Katniss. The boy was blushing and Katniss was either oblivious or very gifted at playing coy – the first one, he would have bet. Young love. He remembered that. He remembered it so well. Love was dangerous though. Love crept up on you when you weren’t looking. Love knocked on your door wearing a red dress and if you weren’t careful it would swallow you whole. “Relationships ain’t my thing anymore. So, yeah… I like you and I’m… You’re fucking attractive and you know that… But…”

“But you do not wish to pursue anything serious.” she finished for him. She rested her head on his shoulder after a second. “I do not… I need to set an example for the girls. I cannot enter any promiscuous arrangement just because… And it would not be like me anyway. I… I had intimate relationships before but never any that weren’t… meaningful.”

“Got that.” he murmured. “That’s okay. We can… We can be friends, yeah? For real this time.”

“Friends who really want to sleep with each other?” she mocked but it was a little bitter.

“Friends who won’t break each other’s hearts ‘cause one of them is an old drunk who’s too broken to love you back like you deserve.” he countered carefully. “Wouldn’t even know how to anymore.”

The last part was, maybe, a little wistful.

“You are not old. You cannot be more than thirty.” she argued as if it was the most important thing there.  

He didn’t answer and they kept on swaying. If she noticed he tightened his embrace, she didn’t let on but, then again, she was pressing closer herself.

“Hey! You’re gonna stay like this all day or you’re coming to dinner?” Jo called out and Haymitch realized belatedly that the music had stopped and most of the kids had left the tent.  

They immediately let go of each other. Effie was a bit red in the face and she cleared her throat, muttering something about getting changed into something warmer before fleeing the tent. Haymitch, after a moment, grabbed the leather jacket he had abandoned on the bleachers and followed Jo out, ignoring the suspicious glances the kid was giving him.

He waited for the young woman to corner him all evening which was why he was so taken off-guard when, at the end of the show, when they were putting everything away, it was Finnick who stopped right in front of him with a serious expression on his face.

“Don’t toy with her.” the young man warned him. “I like you but she’s the closest I’ve ever got to a mother and I swear if you hurt her I will smash your face.”

His eyebrows shot up and his lips twitched despite himself. “You think you can take me in a fight, boy?”

Maybe he could. The kid was younger. But Haymitch had gained back the muscles he had lost drinking since he had come back to circus life and he had always been strong in a brawl.

“I won’t be alone.” Finnick shrugged and then walked away to where Jo was leaning against a pillar.

Duty accomplished.