#I think I’ll write a second part for the awkward Gale Katniss reunion

[waywardangel-wilds]

This was inspired by some posts I saw this morning! Hazelle-Haymitch relationship reveal!

“Hey!” Haymitch shouts from somewhere behind her. She ignores him. “Don’t make me get up and get you, girl!”

“What d’you want? Can’t you see I’m busy?” She shouts in return, leaning back to kneel among the primroses.

“Come here, I need to talk to you.” The old man insists, leaning over his porch railing.

“Nah, if you need to say something say it,” Katniss replies in annoyance, going back to her weeding without a further thought. It’s damn hot and she’d rather finish up so she can sit herself down with a nice cool glass of lemonade, not play who’s gonna scream first with Haymitch, thank you very much.

“Katniss Everdeen!” Katniss jumps, transported back to being 13 years old, her head hung and a busted lip smarting, shoulder to shoulder with her then best friend while his mother rips them both a new one. Hazelle Hawthorne stares her down from the porch, her hands braced sternly on her hips. Nothing much has changed from the memory of her, she looks seconds away from yanking her by the earlobe. “Don’t you make me waste my breath, listen when you’re spoken to.”

“Yes ma’am,” the response comes to her automatically. She stands and brushes her hands against her thighs taking a moment to jump the fence between hers and Haymitch’s house.

“Let me look at you,” Hazelle says when she’s on the step below her, cupping the younger woman’s cheeks with her hard working hands. “Aren’t you a cute little thing?”

She blushes, “thank you. I hadn’t heard about you getting back…?”

“You wouldn’t have, I wasn’t back till now.” She pats her cheek and takes a step back. “Come inside now, we don’t bite.”

“I know you don’t,” Katniss gives Haymitch a withering glance at the comment. “What? I’ve seen you do it.”

“That isn’t funny,” she mutters as she she walks past him.

“Take a seat please, darlin’. This won’t take too long. Lemonade?” Hazelle offers over her shoulder, disappearing down the hall.

“I’ll take a glass.” Katniss mutters absentmindedly, shocked by the state of the house. “What happened in here?”

“We cleaned.” Haymitch replies, going to sit on the couch. “Better close that mouth or you’ll catch flies.”

“You cleaned? How?” Katniss sits, taking in the shinning wooden floors (still burned and stained in some places, but what can you do?), the new curtains, the pretty and clearly handmade throw pillows. “Are you sick? You’re dying?”

“No I’m not—” Haymitch rolls his eyes. “Will you just behave? You’ll hurt Hazelle’s feelings.”

“What—”

“Here you go, darlin’,” Hazelle returns with a sweating glass of lemonade which Katniss greedily accepts. “Now, I’ll just come out and say it if you don’t mind. I don’t see the point in beating around the bush or what have you. Old Haymitch and I are a couple now.”

Katniss chokes, sickly sweet lemonade burning a path up her nose. “What?!”

“You heard. Now, I know you’ve taken a special liking to the old goose—“

“Hey now,” Haymitch adds.

“But things might be a little different now. Haymitch thought it best to tell you first, just to give you a few days to chew it over before the boys come by.” She nods and folds her hands expectantly.

“Well?” Haymitch asks, watching her with an amused quirk to his brow as she opens and closes her mouth like a dying fish.

“I-just. W-why?” She turns her head several times as she tries to comprehend what she’s hearing, looking at Hazelle at one moment and Haymitch during the next. “How? Why?”

“Don’t be rude now, you already asked why.” Hazelle’s eyes twinkle with that motherly sternness and Katniss promptly shuts her mouth. “I know this might seem hard to believe, but us grown folks still have it in us to fall in love.”

“Love?! Why my—with, my god, Haymitch?” Katniss stumbles over her words incredulously.

“What did I say?” Hazelle waves that stern finger of hers and Katniss shuts her mouth again.

“I’m sorry but,” Katniss looks around the house. “How? And without us noticing— wait, Peeta doesn’t know, does he?”

“No,” Haymitch pats her leg. “You’re the first of the kids to know.”

“But we’re right next door.”

“You are,” Hazelle chuckles, taking a seat on Katniss’s other side. “But, you’re a little preoccupied with each other.”

“Obsessed is more like it,” Haymitch interjects.

“They’re young,” Hazelle defends easily. “I know the honeymoon stage is a lovely thing, but, bless your heart, it makes fools out of everyone.”

Katniss would refute that, but, well, yeah it’s true.

“You’ve been coming and going then?” Katniss looks to Hazelle who nods in confirmation. “For how long?”

“Oh, months darlin’,” Hazelle chuckles. “See here? I hand stitched these myself.” She shows off one of the throw pillows.

“It’s lovely,” Katniss might be socially inept, but she knows how to interact with her elders. “And— wait a minute. The boys? The kids are coming? What about Posey?”

“Oh she’s upstairs,” Hazelle waves dismissively in the direction of the staircase.

“What?” Katniss sits at attention. “And you didn’t come say hello?”

“Well, she’s been busy with school,” Hazelle says.

“And I wanted to make sure I told you what’s been going on. No more secrets, you know, because—” Haymitch says.

Katniss nods, “yeah, I know. Thanks, I guess.”

There’s a silence then as Haymitch pats her knee and awkwardly acknowledged that old betrayal she still hadn’t entirely put to rest. She avoids looking at him. This whole thing feels weird.

“And you know what this all means don’t you?” Hazelle asks carefully.

Katniss blinks, feeling as if she’s missing something vital. “You’ll be our neighbour? Yeah, I get that.”

“No— well yes, of course. But..”

“She’s trying to say tall dark and righteous is coming over,” Haymitch elbows her. “Keep up.”

Katniss can feel the blood draining from her face. “Oh. I see.”

“If that’s alright—”

“No! Yes! Of course, yes!” Katniss cuts Hazelle off. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I’m not upset, honest.”

“I just don’t want to make anything harder for you, it’s only been three years since—“

“I’ll be okay.” Katniss lays her hands on Hazelle’s. “thank you for telling me. I won’t keep you any longer, I… I should go home.” She takes the lemonade from where she’d braced it between her knees. “Peeta’s probably looking for me by now.”

“Well, alright,” Hazelle says unconvincingly. “But if you need anything you know where to find me.”

Katniss stands, nodding. “Right. And, you’ll let me know when…?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then.” She claps her hands together awkwardly. “I-uh. This is nice, I mean— uh I suppose this is okay, um, you and uh.”

“Haymitch, sweetheart. It’s still Haymitch.”

“Right,” Katniss grimaces. “Um. Bye? Give Posey my love?”

“Will do,” Hazelle smiles.