Finally! After two days of errors, I was finally able to upload the last chapter of this story! It was pretty hard finding a good ending, but I hope you like it. Please read and review! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins. Thank you all for reading, I loved all of your reviews! Enjoy!

It was warm, sunny weather in District 12. A soft breeze cooled down Effie's makeup-less, red cheeks as she stood on the porch of her house in the Victor's Village. Well, Haymitch's house. She leaned againt the door frame, watching as Katniss and Peeta sat in the grass cross-legged. Peeta was making Katniss a crown out of flowers. It felt good to see how much Peeta had progressed since he had been hijacked. She had to admit, she felt better too. Since they had come back from the Capitol, she had decided to try other things than partying and planning like crazy; like baking, painting, fashion designing and even hunting with Katniss.

She wasn't a good cook, she knew that. But, her being a former fashion icon in the Capitol, designing clothes was a lot of fun. There was no one that really wanted to wear them because the style of the clothing was, as you could guess, all Capitol. No no, they had certainly not taken her taste in fashion away. Painting was great fun, so was singing. Hunting didn't go that well; the first time she had ever worn jeans instead of dresses or skirts was in the arena. They were highly uncomfortable, she thought. Also, hunting was not something Effie had done all her life, so it reminded her too much of the Games. And she loved animals to death, so it wasn't a huge success. She had given up on it altogether.

The new activities were great, but she had to admit she kind of missed her old lifestyle. The dresses, the food, the music, the people… But that was a luxury she couldn't afford, nor did she want to go back to the Capitol. She wrote her mother every once in a while, but that was everything.

But she had everything she needed. Or should I say, everyone she needed. She had Haymitch, and of course Katniss and Peeta. She still had nightmares, so did Haymitch. But as long as they had each other, and maybe a little bit of booze, they weren't so hard to cope with.

"So, your Victory Speech is in a few days." Haymitch whispered in her ear as he walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. Effie sighed. "I don't know what to say to these people." "What's the big problem, sweetheart? Your speech on the balcony was amazing." Effie turned around to face Haymitch. "I can't use the same thing over and over again, Abernathy." Haymitch shrugged and looked over at Katniss and Peeta. "You just, you know, put on a pretty dress and you'll be fine." Effie giggled. "Sure, that's how speeches form." She gave Haymitch a peck on the cheek and walked inside the house. "I think we have to take a look at the schedule I made." she called. Haymitch smirked. "Sure thing, Trinket. Old habits die hard."

Effie sat down on their brand new leather couch and picked up her schedule from the coffee table. Haymitch sat down next to her, leaving the front door open to allow a cool breeze inside the hot house. "Alright sweetheart, shoot." Effie clicked her pen. "Alright, so first we'll have a short meeting with president Paylor. Then I'll be giving a speech that will have to be around ten minutes long, and dear heavens, I haven't even started writing it yet! After that, we'll close the day with a Victory Party in Paylor's mansion. And then, I'd like to go that cute little place with you where they.." Haymitch didn't hear the rest of Effie's overly excited chatter. He looked at her bright blue eyes and nodded every few seconds. He was right, old habits do indeed die hard.

"…They fought with honour and dignity until the end. Without them, I wouldn't be standing here today. Panem today. Panem tomorrow. Panem forever. Thank you." The crowd applauded Effie as she walked down the stairs, off the stage. She wore her red fan dress and a gold wig. Her makeup was light according to Capitol standards. It felt kind of uncomfortable, but this was the way the crowd loved seeing her.

"Where's Haymitch?" she asked Peeta. By now, they were both standing in the ball room of Paylor's mansion. Everyone was busy dancing, chatting and laughing. Katniss had gone off to find some food. Peeta shrugged at first, but when he looked around for a bit, he nudged Effie with his shoulder and pointed at a large person with wobbly knees in the back of the room. It seemed like, once again, Haymitch was very, very drunk. He came up to her, stumbling over his own feet a couple of times, and then hugged her, causing her wig to shift slightly off-center. Oh, memories. "Haymitch Abernathy!" she whispered angrily. "You know I would push you away if I didn't love you that much. But this..." Peeta pulled Haymitch away from her. "Why are you so drunk, Haymitch?" he asked. Haymitch shrugged and let out a big burp in Peeta's face. "I thought it was time to put the fun in this party." he slurred.

He stretched out his hand to Effie. "Care for a dance, m'lady?" he asked. Effie's lips, which were set in a hard line at first, curled up in a smile. "I'd love to." She put her hand in his and let him lead her to the middle of the dance floor. He stumbled a few times, but managed to stay upright somehow. He then put his other hand on Effie's waist and they started dancing. It was a waltz, a dance Effie had taught him many times, but he seemed to forget the moves every time because he was drunk during every lesson Effie gave him. But now, he was so gentle and he moved so swiftly and elegantly that Effie doubted he had drunk anything at all.

"You're not drunk, are you?" Effie grinned. Haymitch shook his head. Effie playfully smacked him in the chest. "Then why did you just pull that stunt? You embarrassed me." Haymitch laughed. "Like I said, I thought it was time to put the fun in this party. There's still nothing I enjoy more than teasing you." The music changed. A slow song could be heard. "You know this song, don't you?" Haymitch asked. Effie nodded. It had been her favourite song ever since she was little. It was a very old song by a band called 'Coldplay'. The name of the song was 'Magic'. She had loved the band when she was a teen, but it was a sad thing that they didn't exist anymore. She knew the song was about heartbreak. But she ignored the lyrics. Her heart told her the melody made it a song of love. I call it magic, when I'm with you.

She put her hands around Haymitch's neck and they danced for a while. Maybe this song wasn't slow enough to be a song for slow dancing, but that didn't bother them. All they cared about at this moment, was each other. Haymitch then pulled her in for a kiss. Effie gasped shortly, and her eyes fluttered closed. She didn't care about people watching them. She didn't care that they knew. Everybody could know that she loved Haymitch Abernathy.

He tasted like liquor. He tasted like strawberries and chocolate. He tasted like love. She felt the butterflies in her stomach. She stepped closer to him, not noticing the slippery contents of a wine glass on the floor, and slipped. They fell to the floor immediately and Effie let out a surprised squeak, falling onto Haymitch's chest. She heard people around them, laughing. Katniss and Peeta couldn't hide their grins much longer, either. "Oops." she giggled. Haymitch gave her a smirk. She gave him a quick kiss and looked up to the big clock on the wall. It was late. They stood up quickly and Effie intertwined her fingers with his, not even ashamed one bit. "Let's go outside." she whispered.

Haymitch sat on a bench in the garden of the mansion, Effie's head in his lap. "That looks like a tree." she said and pointed at the stars. "It sure does, sweetheart." Haymitch said. He had no idea which stars she meant, there were thousands of them in the sky, but he played along. He played with the golden strands of her wig. Effie always thought that she knew happiness, but the truth was, she didn't. Capitol happiness was nothing compared to District happiness. True happiness. She looked at the stars, trying to figure out the shapes they made. She still thought about Eden every day. "Look at that. That looks like a bird, don't you think so, little one?" He would say that if he were here right now. She knew he was. And it felt comforting. She narrowed her eyebrows. She had said something to Haymitch, the night before the Games started. She also remembered not getting a response, so she decided to ask the same question again. "Don't ever leave me, alright?" He caressed her cheek and looked into her eyes. He answered softly.

"Never."

The End