#so I cannot promise I’ll be able to publish this chapter on november 7 - which is my birthday btw 😇 - so here’s a lil sneak peek instead

[hayffiebird]

Taste of Strawberries, chap. 50 (Sneak Peek)

Hayffie Post-Mockingjay Multi-chapter, Rated M

Four years have passed since the end of the war when Effie returns in to Haymitch’s life once again. An old friendship is renewed. Will it lead to something more?

Meanwhile Panem has entered a new era. The rebellion’s over, the borders are open but in the shadows, anger and mistrust are smoldering. Something that will affect Haymitch and Effie’s life in a way they never saw coming. Full story here.

Chapter 50, Glimpses of us

”Mama? Mama?”

The voice fluttered into Effie’s dreams.

Head against the sofa cushion, she felt the curious and insistent little hand move across her face.

Five tiny nails softly scratched and she smiled. Kissed the tips of those fingers, eyes still closed.

“Mama?” he repeated his word and as reality tugged at her, came the other sounds of the room.

The clinking of teaspoons against china. Flavius and Venia’s quiet chatter.

“Mama, no sleep”, firmer now, “up, up!” “Mm ...” Eyelids heavy, Effie peered at her young son, standing there in front of her.

At one and a half, Ian was getting better and better at walking. A little wobbly sometimes but hardly ever in need of a helping hand anymore.

A reality that hurt a little. Swiftly fly the years and … all that.

It never ceased to amaze her how much he looked like his father. Both of them did.

Big Seam eyes, Haymitch’s gray eyes. A ray of sunlight played in the wispy waves of strawberry blonde hair.

Hair that had her color and softness, sure, but the disheveled mannerism of those locks definitely came from Haymitch. His side of the family.

The ghost of him was in everything they did. When they laughed or frowned or yawned, he was there even when he wasn’t.

It filled her heart to the brim but as they grew, Amy and Ian, she more and more understood why it triggered Haymitch so much sometimes.

Triggered that old fear he still carried within, despite years and years of peace.

Because the bond between him and his two children was so unquestionable.

So without a doubt.

Had he gotten her pregnant with them during the Games there would have been no hiding their true heritage. Not from Snow nor anyone else. They'd be goners. Both of them. Just like his first family.

And sometimes she caught Haymitch staring at them, eyes filled with such a mixture of love and a bottomless sadness, she couldn’t help but wonder.

Did he see the shadow of his family pass over their features? His mother? His father? His brother?