Things change (Haymitch and Effie)

A/N: A nice little fanfiction I wrote not too long ago. Set after MockingJay. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are welcome.

I own nothing, The amazing Hunger Games belongs to the amazing Suzanne Collins! :D

Things change. (Haymitch and Effie)

Things had changed. Since the victory of the rebellion, everything had changed. We had taken over, there was no more war, no more games, something that the districts had dreamed of for so long, and yet, we still lived in a world of darkness. Our district had a new face, but it's past was all too clear. The grave in meadow remained with a surface of dirt. Hopefully, when fresh grass takes over, district twelve can begin their attempt to turn away from it's scarred past and hunt for a brighter future.

Some had already began there's, Katniss and Peeta, already expecting their first child, I'm happy, but I can't help feel jealously, the child can be born without worry, without the knowledge that they might not live past twelve. It will be born into safety. I often felt like that, I look at the new children of the district, I even felt the same way with my geese. They will live their lives never knowing how truly fortunate they are, they may live in this district, but they will never have to stand in a reaping, never watch a family get torn apart by a piece of paper. Never walk onto the stage, onto the train, into the capitol, into the arena, into their grave. They will never be able to comprehend what true pain and fear is. Never. They are lucky, I can only hope that they appreciate what they have, as it could vanish right before them.

My mind wanders back to Katniss, I remember here as the girl who enraged her escort by stabbing a mahogany table, who survived the games twice, who was the Mockingjay. She was strong, nobody could ever deny that. But, there was someone stronger, someone who to me is underestimated, the Mahogany lover herself, Effie Trinket. To me, she was the bravest out of us all, she had been brought up to love the games, to love everything that we were against. She manage to treat each tribute like her own child, only to watch them die. She'd sent friends into the arena, and still managed to keep a smile on her face. She didn't deserve to be tortured by the capitol. And after all that, she managed to rebel against everything and still remain standing strong. She was so unchanged once she'd recovered, the only detail that showed her torment was the look of fear that often lived within her eyes. Although I never admitted it with words, I was so glad that she was still alive.

I had thought of Effie almost too much since the rebellion, I remember witnessing the day they'd brought her back to us, she was so weak, her eyes never opened, but she listened. I was there when she recovered, that's when I saw the real Effie, inside and out. She wore no capitol clothes or make-up. Her hair, underneath all the dirt was blonde. Her body, within the medical gown was small. Her face, without the make-up, was beautiful. A truly remarkable woman.

I studied the insides of my house for a short moment. Filthy. But, it didn't bother me. Effie would be visiting today, but our meeting wasn't going to be held in my home. I had kept myself isolated in my house for so long, this would be the first time I'd left, apart from tending to my geese. Of course, she wasn't coming down specifically for me, no, she was visiting our once 'star-crossed' lovers.

I humuored myself slightly by imagining Effie running around their home just being Effie, tidying, chatting, hugging and squeezing. I had to admire her enthusiasm sometimes. But as she finally arrived I was proven wrong, completely wrong.

As I peered through my window, my eyes locked on her as she was unaware of my presence, she seemed different. I had expected her to be her usual chirpy and annoying self, but she still had the persona of the dying prisoner we recovered from the Capitol, the torture victim that I had to fight for….to keep her alive. The look of pain, fear and horror still remained deep in her eyes, the manner of which she walked had gone down to simple shyness and almost reluctance.