Burn || Hunger games oneshots

◇Times ticking ~Haymitch Abernathy

{Before the first movie}

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Haymitch was passed out while he sat at the counter with a glass of liquor in hand. Till you came into the house to clean. You sighed and closed the front door when you saw him out like a light. You quickly cleaned up around the table, he rested his head on before you splashed some water onto him. Haymitch was startled awake and flinched. "God, damn it! Don't wake me up like that," Haymitch grumbled as he reached to grab the bottle on the counter to pour himself another drink.

"Well, I tried yelling for you." You shugged as you pulled a chair up to the table. You hated it when he drank... but you knew it was his coping mechanism. It was the only way he was able to forget the trauma of the games he went through alone. "Plus, I did tell you I was gonna be over." She muttered, resting her head on her hands as they kept her up. "Or did you forget." she teased as she had a playful smirk on her face

"I did not forget," Haymitch said. He sipped at the whiskey he just poured. "I thought you would be coming later." He lied. Haymitch didn't care what time you came over. He knew you would always clean up the mess he made.

"Well, I decided to stop earlier," you said, picking your head up off your hands before sliding the chair back to allow yourself to stand "Need to make sure you didn't overdose," you muttered as a joke, crossing your arms. He knew it was more than a joke. He knew you were serious. You always did like him sober. You were always there to clean up his mess. Even before the games when he was just a boy you'd be by his side. It was just an endless cycle. You knew he would help you if you needed... but it was always only in the moment of the issue. 

"Yeah, I know." Haymitch looked over at you as he took another sip of whiskey. "So, how was your day?" He said as a way to break the silence in the room. He already knew the answer to his question. He already knew that your day was the same as any other day. You worked at the market from morning to night while also having time to care for him and doing things he failed to do. 

You began to make your way into the other room, the kitchen as you started to clean up the mess of glass bottles everywhere. you were disappointed at the sight, to say the least, but didn't say anything. "It was fine. Woke up..went to the Mellarks bakery to get more bread...then I came here." You started to list throwing the bottles out in the bin. You would ask how his day was. But you already knew since he barely left the house.

"Those stupid peacekeepers keep stopping me whenever they see me." you groaned, tilting her head back annoyed before she started to wipe down the counters. "Always asking for you." She added sarcastically. Luckily you have never been reaped into the games, unlike him, but you occasionally had issues with the peacekeepers ever since Haymitch got back. Haymitch never left the victor's village. So the only way to get through to him was by you or Effie

Haymitch stared over at her as you cleaned the counter. He hated how he never bothered to do these things himself. Haymitch knew it was because of the drinking. Haymitch knew he was never sober or conscious enough to bother to give cleaning a try. He hated how you always cleaned up after him and hated how you always cared for him when he never cared to do it himself. But that's who you were. You were that caring, hardworking person who couldn't see how you didn't deserve to be used and mistreated just for him.

"I don't understand why they keep tracking you down when they can just knock on the door."

"Well, first of all, they know that I am your 'lover'." You muttered, taking the rag she used to clean the counters and placing it on the handles of the cabinet knobs. "Seconds even if they did knock, you'd probably be passed out, or would've ignored them."