Epilogue: Moving Forward

Haymitch never noticed when exactly he fell in love with her. He never stopped to analyse the depth of his feelings for her. He knew though in District Thirteen that he couldn't picture a world without Effie in it, and he wanted her back next to him. He wanted her where he could see her and keep her safe.

Those few weeks of him in District Thirteen while Effie was held as a political prisoner in the Capitol nearly drove him over the cliff. He faced all his demons and his thoughts, and he sat through the nights fearing that Effie could be killed with a sober mind and it terrified him.

The regret burrowed deep in his heart at having asked Beetee to destroy the watch years earlier. Haymitch was desperate enough that he begged Beetee to reinvent the watch for him. It would work, he had said, trying to convince the older victor. All he needed was two trips; to the past and back again. If he could get to the moment minutes before the arena exploded and get Effie into the hovercraft then she'd be safe.

Except that they were in the middle of a war. Beetee's resources and time were stretched thin. To make it worse, District Thirteen monitored everything and he could not have gotten away with reinventing the watch without someone in Coin's administration knowing.

"She will make it, Haymitch," Beetee insisted. "The photograph… That's evidence enough."

That photograph had a permanent home in the breast pocket of Haymitch's grey uniform. He no longer kept it between the pages of an old book but close to his heart, taking it out at night to look at it and wishing with every fibre in his being that it would come true, that the future would play out the way he had seen it which meant it also became his worst fear.

"What if she doesn't?" Haymitch retorted. "The future isn't set in stone. This," he waved the old photo, "could be just one of the realities of the future. What if it isn't mine like it was for Mr. Abernathy? My reality could be her coming back to me fucking dead because I did nothin'. Just – I need the watch."

But Effie Trinket made it to District Thirteen. She was alive but broken.

Effie was a fighter and he was convinced she managed to stay alive out of sheer will and stubbornness which was her defining trait so he shouldn't really be surprised. Effie didn't disagree with him but according to her, she had the future to hold on to and keep her going.

Haymitch never let her far from his sight. He went as far as to accommodate her so that there would be room for her in the small bed in his compartment. Beetee who shared a compartment with Haymitch didn't truly mind since he spent most of his time in Special Weaponary.

"I – I don't think I would have made it if we had not travelled into the future," she spoke softly, breathing in the scent of his skin.

"Yeah? What's that mean?"

"I want – It gave me hope to know that I will have a family," she told him, "with you. I know now what Mrs. Abernathy meant by my darkest moment and I've emerged through it. I've been through the worst of it. It will only get better now," she insisted. "I know you didn't leave me behind intentionally. I know you didn't. You've been trying to keep me safe all these time and I – I don't blame you, Haymitch."

"Should have done more," he mumbled.

"You didn't know I was going to be taken. None of us did."

Haymitch tightened his hold on her and she pressed her nose against his neck. "I don't know what I'd do if I lose you."

The words were spoken so softly that Effie almost missed it.

"You won't," she hummed. "It will be a brighter future, Haymitch. Finnick and Annie are getting married. Peeta is damaged but we both know he will see through it. We'll be there to help him. Our kids will have children of their own and we... We'll have a daughter and we'll be happy. I have been counting down the years. I held that hope in both hands and I am never letting it go."

He believed her because he wanted it just as much but life had a habit of throwing him a curve ball. When Finnick died, they were both in a state of disbelief. But he's in the future. He's supposed to be in the future. There was a Finn who helped Beetee. He can't be dead.

The fear crept into his heart once more, a nagging constant anxiety that his future wasn't the same as Mr. Abernathy's.

In the following months after the war ended, he returned with Katniss to District Twelve. Effie chose to stay in the Capitol.

"This ain't how it is. You live with me in Twelve," he argued moments before he left. "You've seen the future, Effie!"

"I can't leave Peeta behind, Haymitch. Be reasonable. You take Katniss home. I will follow in a few months."

"I don't want you out of my sight," he growled.

"I know you worry constantly about me but I am fine. I will be safe – nothing will happen. Everything will work out. I will bring Peeta home. I promise. I promise."

Peeta's recovery took days and weeks and months, and in his paranoia, Haymitch thought Effie would never make it Twelve. The country was being rebuild as was the Capitol, and she would see nothing appealing about Twelve.

"I am not messing with the future, Haymitch," she snapped at him.

The constant argument they had on the phone was wearing them both down.

"Look, I get it okay? I get that someone's gotta be there for Peeta and I'm glad it's you, I'm fucking glad it's you. It's just..." He pressed the heel of his palm against his temple. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Effie breathed out. "I want to be there with you more than anything but please, Haymitch, I am growing tired of trying to convince you that the future will unfold the way we saw it. This," she bit her lip and Haymitch could picture her hesitating, "obsession you have about the future... It's unhealthy. We shouldn't put too much - "

"Obsession," he scoffed.

"Yes. Because you won't let it go. You're so consumed with needing the future to be exactly the way it is. It's not healthy, Haymitch. I'm worried."

"Yeah, I know," he grumbled. "I – I carried that damn photo with me for years, Effs, and somewhere along the way, I've accepted it. I've accepted that that's how it's gonna be for me."

The birth of Annie's son came at the right time because Effie didn't know how long more Haymitch could go on thinking the future was compromised. They met at District Four and the sight of Effie with a baby in her arms struck him silence.

"Did you name him yet?" Haymitch asked.

Annie nodded. "I'm calling him Finn."

Effie's head snapped up at that to see Haymitch staring at her.

"Finn," Haymitch released a breath, recognising the name. "That's who they meant."

"Who meant what?" Johanna asked.

"Oh, you sweet darling," Effie smiled and nuzzled her nose on the boy's cheek. The baby slept soundly in her arms. "You're going to be important to some people one day."

With Finn's birth, everything slowly fell into place. Effie brought Peeta home, and Haymitch kept her in his bedroom for days doing nothing except to share lazy kisses and the occasional sex, and showed her how much he missed having her around.

Peeta and Katniss grew together. When the bakery was set up, Peeta asked their opinion for a name to which Haymitch shrugged.

"Mellark's Bakery," Effie answered. "That ought to do."

"I thought you of all people would come up with something fancy," Peeta teased.

"I'd thought so, too, but with new people moving here to Twelve, it's easier to place the owner to the establishment. It will be good for business, don't you think?"

In a way, the future took out some of the surprises. Haymitch found out she was pregnant in an unconventional way. He stumbled upon knitted sweaters which were too small for the occupants in the house and too small for Katniss or Peeta. It clicked them and he walked into the living room, holding up the yellow sweater.

"Is it happening?" he asked breathlessly, nodding towards her stomach. "Are you – Is it happening, sweetheart? I'm forty-eight, that's when we she's – "

"Yes," Effie answered simply without looking up, the needles clicking furiously against each other. Haymitch stood by the doorway, unable to move until she slowly set her apparatus down and raised her head. "Yes, I am."

Haymitch released a breath and sank down on the sofa, staring blankly at nothing.

"You sure you're pregnant?" his brows knitted together. "You sure? You did a test? Went to the clinic?"

"I'm absolutely certain. I'm two months along," Effie informed him. She got up from the armchair and walked over to the sofa, lowering herself until she was seated on his lap. "It's her, Haymitch, it's our baby girl."

"Guess we don't have to go find out 'bout the gender, yeah?"

Two months before Aria was born, Haymitch started a fire. He was sure she already knew but he began explaining about Twelve's toasting to Effie just to mask the erratic beating of his heart.

"You get what it means, right?" he fixed his gaze on her.

"It's a marriage ceremony."

"And?" Haymitch prompted.

Effie huffed. "Why would you make me say it?"

"I'm going to marry you now," Haymitch told her.

"That is hardly romantic. Shouldn't you ask me properly?"

"Do you want to or not?"

"Still terrible," she deadpanned but took the bread from him nonetheless.

They were married not because there was any shame to be had in Effie carrying his child, in fact, he thought she was very proud of it and so was he. That was his child in her womb. He married her because he wanted to and because it felt right. She was his.

Each time the subject of Effie's pregnancy became the topic of conversation, Haymitch could often be heard insisting that his baby girl would look exactly like her mother, a declaration that earned snickers from Plutarch and Beetee.

"Are you still worried about the future?" Effie asked one night.

"Yeah, 'course I am. Who isn't? But," he exhaled, "it's not 'cause I'm worried it won't be like what I saw. I wanted the family I saw Mr. Abernathy has and I think…. We're getting there. We're getting to that point."

"We are," Effie agreed and smiled. "Aria is going to be with us in a matter of weeks and our family will be complete."

The future did not prepare him for fatherhood. Mr. Abernathy warned him of late, sleepless nights but nothing else. Still, he thought it was worth it to lose sleep. There was an indescribable joy and pride to be able to calm Aria down from her crying fit the moment he picked her up from her cot. Effie always had a smile on her face with Aria in her arms and he could watch them both for hours.

It was little Finn with his new camera who snapped the snapped the photograph that Haymitch had taken with him when he left the future. Haymitch had been sitting on the sofa with Aria on his lap, watching the girl. Effie was beside him when Finn came forward and took the photo. When the photograph was developed, Effie placed it on the mantel piece.

"For your past to find," she grinned at him.

Johanna became Aunt Jo to Finn and Aria. Plutarch and Beetee became their uncles, too.

For years afterwards, Haymitch was content with his life. They were still plagued with nightmares and a part of them would always be tainted by the war and the things they had seen and done but Aria healed and helped them in ways the girl could not even begin to fathom.

At times, when he looked at his little girl, he couldn't picture her growing up in the condition he did, couldn't imagine the hardship and fear of the Games in his daughter's eyes and he was glad for that. The world Aria lived in was the world he had fought for, it was the world Effie went through torture to have.

A few weeks after Aria's eleventh birthday, during a winter night, the young girl skipped into the living room wearing the sweater Effie had worn when they returned to their regular timeline. Haymitch did a double take when he saw what his girl was wearing.

"Why are you lookin' at me like that?" Aria frowned.

"Nothin' – never seen you in that before. Went shopping did you?"

"Mama gave it to me. It's kinda old," she tugged on the sleeves with a pout, "but it's warm and comfy."

Folding her legs underneath her, Aria curled next to Haymitch who brought his arm around his daughter without a word.

"You don't like it?"

"It's fine," the girl said in a tone that said otherwise.

"Your mum had this with her for years," Haymitch explained. Aria was stubborn but she would always understand if someone sat her down to explain. "It's an old sweater, yeah, but she's been lookin' forward to givin' it back - givin' it you," he amended quickly, hoping Aria didn't notice the slip up.

"Why is she all excited to give me her old sweater? That's just weird, daddy."

Haymitch chuckled and dropped a kiss on her head. "Everything's weird to you. Why's that?"

"Dunno. What's so special 'bout this sweater that made Mama excited?"

"It weathered through time."

"Now you're being weird," Aria crinkled her brows. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yeah?" Haymitch laughed. "If you wanna know how important it is to her, after the war ended and we went back to the Capitol, that old sweater was the first thing she looked for in her apartment. Not her other clothes or her wigs or her jewelleries, it was that sweater. I stood there and watched her search for it thinkin' to myself that if the sweater ain't there, it might just be the last straw that might break her. She went through so much shit but she held herself together for me, for Katniss and Peeta but everyone's got a breaking point. If that damn sweater didn't make it through, it would devastate her."

"How come you didn't help Mama searched for her sweater? Seriously, daddy!"

"Really? That's the only thing you got from my whole story?" Haymitch frowned.

"You never help to look. You always make me search after my missing stuffs all on my own," she complained. "Remember how I spent two hours looking for my maths textbook last week?"

"That's to teach you not to misplace your things."

"Maybe you're just lazy like Mama always said," the girl grinned.

"Don't be cheeky," Haymitch elbowed her lightly.

"This isn't like the rest of Mama's other clothes, though," Aria mused, back to the topic of the sweater once again, "it's not that pretty. Not like something she usually wears."

"Told you it's special. You look after it. Might need it in the near future or somethin'. You never know."

Haymitch pointedly ignored the confused look Aria tossed his way.

In the years that follow, Haymitch and Effie watched as one event after another followed the path towards the future that they knew. Willow was born, followed by Rye. Haymitch spotted grey hairs and the soft, gentle aura that Mrs. Abernathy had, became more pronounced in Effie. She was still a force to be reckoned with, strict with her manners and the disciplinarian in the house but she was also the one Johanna, Annie and Peeta sought advice from.

Without any of them realising it, the day came when their paths crossed with the past. Effie had woken up in the morning, saw the date and froze. In an attempt to calm her nerves, Haymitch suggested that they treat it like any other day, and do things they normally would.

It was easier said than done because the arrival of his past-self was at the forefront of his mind throughout the morning. It would mark the third time he met himself from varying timelines; the first time was when he travelled into the future, the second when he returned and watched himself argue with Effie, and today would be the final time.

It was still as surreal as ever even now as he stood in the shadows watching his and Effie's past-selves valiantly trying to hide themselves and when he stepped forward, it was comical the way his younger-self's first reaction upon seeing him was to push Effie back protectively.

"Should we shake hands?" Haymitch offered just to throw the young man off.

They seized each other up. The young Haymitch was frowning, a reaction to the infuriating smirk on his face, no doubt.

Haymitch swept his eyes over his younger-self. I look terrible, he noted.

His past's physical appearance was surprising to him. He supposed that was because the memories of the state he was in before Effie became an integral part of his life had dulled over the years. The smell of liquor permeated the air and it bothered him. There was a time when he wouldn't even have noticed if he had spilled a drink on himself.

Aria can't see him. She'd be ashamed of the person I was, the alarming thought crossed his mind. Aria held him on a pedestal and to her, he was her hero and he didn't want the girl's opinion of him to change. Telling her of the children he murdered to win the Games in order to get back to his family and the tributes he lost was one thing, seeing him was another and at thirty-one years old, he wasn't at his best.

"Let's not shake hands, then," Haymitch shrugged and turned his gaze towards the young-Effie. He took her hand in his and placed a kiss. "Effie Trinket," he grinned, "charming as ever."

The look of alarm on Effie's face - Trinket, he corrected because it was easier to separate his wife from the woman in the past that way - made his grey eyes twinkled in amusement.

Oh, this is going to be fun. I should get Effie in on this.

As politely as she could, Trinket retracted her hand. "We shouldn't be talking. Haymitch said that … I mean there is the butterfly effect…"

His past-self used that distraction to survey his surroundings. His eyes darted every which way in a calculated manner, planning an escape route and trying to figure a way out.

"If you know to expect us today then tell us how to get home," his younger self demanded.

Haymitch raised an eyebrow. His younger-self was so much more brash and aggressive, and rough around the edges. His tone was clipped and confrontational, and Haymitch finally understood the reason behind his older-self's infuriating behaviour thirty-five years ago. Despite his outwards indifference and lackadaisical attitude, the thirty-one years old Haymitch was wound tight; suspicious, wary and cynical. It was easy to irritate him.

Like a hornet's nest.

"Why are you in such a rush, kid?" Haymitch teased and snickered when the younger man predictably snapped back.

If there was one thing he wished he could do, it was to be able to record all of their reactions for his sole amusement. When they saw Effie approaching, they stared and when Effie suggested that their younger-selves address them as Mr and Mrs. Abernathy to avoid confusion, he swore he thought Trinket might faint.

"I think we all had enough excitement for the night," Effie announced, resting her hand on his lap as a warning after he had slammed the younger Abernathy against the wall for the insult on Aria. "Let me show you to your room."

"What made you marry the Capitol escort?"

Next to him, he could feel Effie tense suddenly. She had not heard anyone refer to herself as such for years and to hear it again from him sent a shudder running down her spine. Haymitch covered the hand on her lap with his and squeezed it lightly.

"Are you alright?" He dropped his voice to a whisper when they led their past-selves up the stairs towards the guest bedroom.

"I'm perfectly alright, Haymitch," she smiled reassuringly at him. "I – Should we give your younger self a sleeping bag? I think we have one. Or, really, we can put him up in the attic. I'm sure Beetee wouldn't object when he arrives. Besides, that Haymitch will be sharing a compartment with him in any case in District Thirteen. Consider this good practice. I have no idea why Mr and Mrs. Abernathy had us slept in the same room together previously."

"They were being meddlesome, remember?" Haymitch replied. "Guess we gotta be, too. Fact is, sweetheart, I want to see how they deal with having to share a room. Besides, he doesn't know you've cleared out the attic and it's now habitable, yeah? You think they're gonna make out like we did?"

Effie threw him a look. "You're conniving. Very well, the guest bedroom it is."

"Hey," he nudged her gently, "we gotta make sure they end up together, right?"

"Let us hope it works because I quite like being married to you."

XxX

Haymitch was half-propped on the bed, listening intently.

"I hope you know it is rude to eavesdrop."

"Ain't my damn fault if they're arguing so loud that we can hear them, is it?"

"Let's just go to sleep. Leave them be. They'll know how to work it out themselves," Effie said.

"Sure they do. Kissing and making out is a way," his face split into a grin. "Think I should tell them that?"

"Leave them alone," Effie insisted. "We shouldn't interfere so much."

"Yeah, well, see, you're a lot of things, sweetheart, and boring's one them," he paused, waiting for her to argue but Effie had lived with him long enough to learn to ignore his teasing. "That Haymitch is really somethin', Effs. It's easy to push his buttons, as easy as you. I should know, yeah? I've been in his shoes and Mr. Abernathy did it to me. I think it's time for the tables to - "

"Don't be childish. There's only one child in this house and - "

"Then get your future-self. He's two doors down," the young Effie Trinket could be heard saying. "Mr. Abernathy's nice."

"Oh, looks like someone's got a crush on sixty-six years old me. I told you that you did. You can't deny it now, sweetheart."

"You are being absolutely infuriating. Stop this at once," Effie snapped but she couldn't help the flush that had spread across her cheeks.

Haymitch raised an eyebrow. "He was sweet on you, no? Mr. Abernathy... Easier talkin' to him than it was with me back then."

"And you were jealous of him," Effie tossed it back at him. Haymitch snapped his mouth shut. "I thought so. Do you still want to have this conversation or shall we move on?"

"Yeah, fine, we're not talkin' about it but point is, sweetheart, I am him now. I'm sixty-six and that's a twenty-five year old you in that room, crying and scared. I got to show her that that kid in there ain't all that bad, right? He's going to look out for her but I got to turn on my charm."

"Oh, please, you are as charming as a dead slug," she threw the words back in his face.

"I charmed some sponsors, didn't I?"

"You did," Effie gave him a soft smile and patted his chest comfortingly.

She leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lip.

"That's what I'm talkin' about. She's got to see that I can kiss you like this," he captured her lips again giving a warm, gentle kiss that would have send their young-selves in a state of confusion to see that he could be tender when he wanted to. "And like this," he whispered against her lips as his fingers coiled on the nape of her neck, deepening the kiss until she was left flustered and breathless.

"She's supposed to fall in love with that Haymitch," Effie pulled back gently, "not you. She's not supposed to be in love with the idea of who that Haymitch will be. She's not supposed to be in love with the idea of you."

"Right," Haymitch frowned. "Yeah, of course."

"Good," Effie beamed at him.

"You – That's not how it was for you, yeah? You weren't ... I mean - "

"No, Haymitch, when we travelled into the future, I admit, I do like Mr. Abernathy. He gave me hope, he showed me the man you can be if I try to be a friend to you instead of … being otherwise. I wasn't in love with the idea of marrying a man who would one day care for me. You weren't going to care about me if I didn't do anything, would you? No, I fell in love with you slowly, throughout each passing day. I fell in love with you each time you tried to keep me safe. I fell in love a little bit each time you touched me and kissed me," Effie smiled and then she leaned to whisper in his ears. "It's you I love."

"Yeah," he hummed. "It's a good thing you went for the watch. It showed us something, didn't it? We would have gone on being so blind 'bout each other, gone on forgetting that there's more to you and to me than just the drunk and capitol escort."

Falling in love with Effie Trinket didn't happen through a single trip to the future. Falling in love with her wasn't like jumping from one timeline to another; it didn't happen in an instance, it was a passage of years that began with the future.

That's the end of this time-travel au. Thank you so much for those who read Once Upon a Future, and thanks too to those who faithfully leave reviews! I had a great time and so much fun with this verse and I hope you did too :)