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The chilled winter air made its way inside Haymitch's room through his open window, along with the annoying rays of sunshine that his translucent curtains could not contain. He really needed to get new ones, but the thought of going into town was much more unbearable than the warm feeling on his face. Instead, he rolled over to avoid it.He tried falling asleep again, but he wasn’t one to stay in bed after his eyes opened for the first time. He sat up after ten minutes, finding interest in a bit of paint peeling off his wall. Just what he needed: another thing to do.Without bothering to put on shoes, Haymitch dragged his feet to the bathroom. He stared at the reflection in the mirror for a few seconds, so tired of the everlasting bags under his eyes. His stomach rumbled, so he took the bottle of alcohol he had on his nightstand and gave it a long sip before moving downstairs. He had been given the option to return to a newly built house in the Seam, but just like Katniss and Peeta next door, Victors’ Village already felt too much like home to make the change again.Sitting on an almost empty train, with a bag too small for her liking and her eyes fixated on the woods passing quickly by her window, Effie fidgeted with the seam of her light blue dress. The three years she had spent alone after the war felt like a lifetime. She hated the solitude, the lack of life in her apartment, the neverending silence. Every night, covered by her purple fuzzy blanket, her sleep was stolen by memories. She could not forget, as hard as she had tried. Her house did not feel any different from the cell she was kept in during her time captive, so the memories of the torture, the hunger, and the despair were still alive in her mind. She could swear to still feel the chains tightly hugging her ankles, but, of course, there was nothing there anymore.Effie had spent the last three years discovering herself, trying to find out who she was without having to perform every day of her life, experiencing what it felt like not being a mere decoration. The colorful dresses had stayed, but the feathers and the glitter had gone away. The makeup did not disappear, but she now allowed herself to show her actual features. Her shiny, blond hair was finally free, having realized she hated the weight of a wig on her head. She now felt more herself than ever before, but she was all alone. What's the point of becoming your true self, if there is no one to share it with?So, early the morning before, when the birdsong of her alarm awoke her, Effie packed up a bag and left her apartment, set on going back home. In the past, blinded by the filter of lies she grew up with, she saw District 12 as a pigsty; a seedy place; a nothing town filled with nothing people. But even though she did not realize it right away, Katniss' bravery had changed something in her. The Capitol had filled up with people from the districts after the war, and many became her neighbors. She sat on their balconies and tasted their food, heard their children laugh, and listened to their stories. It was like removing a blindfold, like finally seeing the world for what it was. People from the districts were exactly that: People, just like her. She did not only leave behind the feathers and glitter but also the limiting beliefs she had been pushed into. Still, she recognized how obnoxious and clueless she had been during her time as an escort, so her right leg bounced up and down at the thought of her old team rejecting her presence. She had realized that the three victors — with their rotten sense of humor, crooked smiles, and bitterness — were the best thing she had ever had. Even before the two kids, before Katniss and Peeta changed her whole worldview, it had always been her and Haymitch. He had always been the mentor she would go on the train with. There was a time in which she dreamed of being assigned another district, with 12 usually being where you had to climb your way up from, but as the years went by, as stinky and filthy as 12 was, Effie would gladly go back if it meant seeing Haymitch again. She used to hate his guts as much as he hated hers, but, deep inside, she knew that hatred was rooted in familiarity and appreciation. They were the only thing that never changed in each other's lives. No matter what happened, they would still go on that train every single year, stay at the penthouse in the Tribute Center, and share a table at dinner for five days each year. The door to Haymitch's home opened as he made his way downstairs like it did every morning. There was not a day in which Peeta didn't bring him a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery, light the fire, and clean a few bottles off the floor before returning home."Morning, Haymitch," greeted the young man, bringing the sound of his prosthetic with him everywhere he went."Morning," Haymitch's voice was raspy and rough. "Want some company today? I've got fresh strawberry jam," he said, pulling the crimson jar from his basket."I'll make do on my own, but I'll see you for dinner"."Okay, I'll head home, then. Call if you need anything."And he was alone again, drowning in the stench of solitude. Every morning he pushed Peeta away, though he craved the company. What was the use? He was too broken.He broke the loaf in half and walked toward the sofa. Surrounded by bottles of alcohol, he stared at the one he had left half empty just the night before. He did not want to take it, did not want to need it, to have it every day; but still reached for it and finished its contents. He had two, five, ten more before passing out on the couch.Effie arrived at the still-under-construction station at District 12, and her whole body shook like a leaf. There was no other way to get to the Victors’ Village than by foot, so she took off her heels and replaced them with lower ones. It took her twenty minutes to get there, though she knew even Peeta could do the same distance in 10. Nobody from the district had dared move to the village, even after the war, so there were still only two houses with their lights lit inside. She stood in front of them for a while, looking at the smoke coming out of the chimneys. Was this the right decision? Had she made the trip for nothing?She took one step, then another, until she reached the door. She tried knocking, but nobody answered. She knew Haymitch always left it unlocked, so she twisted the knob and was greeted by the warm air on her face, carrying the smell of alcohol that also accompanied Haymitch anywhere he went. His snores caught her attention right away, and she dodged the bottles on the floor until she reached the living room. He had a bottle in his hand, spilling the contents on the wooden floor, so she took it and threw it in the garbage. Effie went around the living room, the kitchen, and the dining area until not one bottle was around. Only then did she wake up Haymitch."Effie?" was the only thing he could muster."Hello, Haymitch," she said, a smile forming on her face."How...What are you doing here?"What was she supposed to say? Were there enough words to tell him everything? She was sure there were not.Instead of saying it with words, Effie made her way next to him on the couch, and with her warm and soft hands, she grabbed his face. Haymitch's gray eyes opened widely as her lips met with his, but he did not push her away. He realized right there and then that this was what he had always wanted. He had pushed it away, fear fueling every one of his decisions, but there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.So when Effie broke the kiss to see his reaction, he grabbed her by the waist and joined their lips again. He could get used to this. He wanted now, more than anything, to get used to it.