The Hunger Games fic - Subterfuge (slight het)
Title: Subterfuge
Author: Dimity Blue
Rating: teens
Genre: het, missing scenes, epilogue
Characters: Haymitch, Katniss, Peeta, Effie, Coin
Word Count: 514 words
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: Haymitch sees more than people realise.
Trigger warning: One use of the word 'wh*re'.
Contains lines from Mockingjay part 2.
Click on the cut or read on AO3.
Subterfuge
By Dimity Blue
When Haymitch heard the news, his first thought was of Katniss. It was terrible for Prim herself (and Haymitch prayed to any God that existed that Prim had died quickly and hadn't suffered), and it was devastating for Prim's mother, but Haymitch's first thought was for Katniss. Prim was the sun around which Katniss revolved. Everything she'd gone through had been for Prim, and Haymitch knew Katniss would never be the same again.
It wasn't until after, when Katniss had been carried off to a hospital bed to recover from her injuries and Prim's mother had retreated into a frozen stillness, that Haymitch began to wrestle with working out how and why Prim had been there in the Capitol. She shouldn't have been. Prim wasn't - hadn't been - anywhere near old enough to serve as a medic on the front line, even though her skills were far in advance of her actual years.
Coin brushed everyone aside. "Prim insisted," she said. "The Mockingjay's sister," she said. "It wasn't important now," she said. What was important was supporting the Mockingjay; poor, dear Katniss who'd be utterly destroyed by her sister's death.
Destroyed and rendered ineffective? The thought, once there, could not be dismissed.
The bombs were supposed to have been dropped by Snow's forces, yet the idea had been Gale's, and the repercussions demolished any possibility of support for Snow. However you looked at it, Coin had the knowledge, the technology, and the motive.
Haymitch sat in his quarters, gazing absently at a bottle of alcohol. He wasn't drunk, which was an unusual state for him, but Snow's defeat and capture meant Haymitch no longer had a reason to drink. Snow couldn't whore him out like he had so many other Victors, and Haymitch's loved ones would soon be avenged. There was no need for Haymitch to make himself thoroughly unappealing to the rich and powerful now, and the ravaging pain of his losses was less sharp, less overwhelming.
So Haymitch gazed into the distance and thought about Coin. The woman had to be mad. Either that or she was completely incapable of understanding Katniss. Haymitch guessed it was the latter. Katniss was like an arrow, straight and sure, with a core of fire and loyalty, but she hid behind her reserve. If you gained her love, there was nothing she wouldn't do for you, but her trust was hard won and easily lost. Look at how long it had taken Peeta to get through her defences.
Coin had to be relying on Katniss's hatred of Snow to keep her blind to the truth of Prim's death. It was the only thing that made sense. Katniss would realise though, sooner or later. Haymitch hoped Plutarch wouldn't mind organising a second rebellion to keep their Mockingjay safe once she killed Coin.
===============
Coin declaring herself 'interim' president should have come as a surprise, but it didn't; Haymitch had thought of her as an extremely ambitious woman from the first time he met her. He guessed she felt secure enough in her position now to leave the shadows. Did Plutarch have a plan to stop her? Haymitch hoped so, or all they'd done was swap one dictator for another.
It also seemed Coin was more like Snow than they'd guessed with her idea for a 'symbolic' Hunger Games. More children dying to punish the adults around them; what a great idea that was. Coin had obviously learned nothing from Snow's downfall.
The voting was no surprise either. Enobaria would probably try to angle her way into being a Gamemaker and Johanna was about as merciful as a muttation. Annie and Peeta voted no, of course. As did Beetee, who was right when he said they had to stop viewing each other as enemies.
Coin ignored him. "It's down to Katniss and Haymitch."
"I get to kill Snow." Katniss's voice was flat.
"I expected no less of you." Coin, like her name, was two-faced, and her words could be taken more ways than one.
"And I vote yes. For Prim."
"Haymitch?" Coin prompted.
Katniss's eyes met his and Haymitch gave her back stare for stare. It was then he realised she'd worked it all out. He wasn't surprised, but he couldn't think what she was up to with that 'yes' vote. Oh, of course. What better way to gain Coin's trust? And of course Coin would be at Snow's execution. The execution where Katniss had just ensured she'd be front and centre with a loaded weapon in her hands.
"I'm with the Mockingjay," Haymitch said. Let Coin have her temporary triumph at getting her own way. She wouldn't survive to announce any Hunger Games - symbolic or otherwise. Haymitch's girl was too good a shot for that.
===============
Of course, it went off exactly as Haymitch expected. Coin toppled off the balcony like a fallen tree, Katniss tried and failed to eat a suicide pill (thanks to Peeta who got to her before Haymitch could), and Katniss was dragged out of there by two of Plutarch's most loyal men. That meant Plutarch had already worked out what Katniss was going to do and was happy to stand back and let her do it.
Haymitch hoped Plutarch had no intention of trying to sacrifice Katniss. She'd already paid more than enough for their hard-won peace, and, while Haymitch had a rooted objection to putting himself out, he'd do it for Katniss. Fortunately, Plutarch was no fool. He left Katniss cooling her heels in a dark cell while a dozen experts defended her in court. The only sacrifice he demanded was from Haymitch, and that just involved reading Katniss a letter, since it was a sure thing she wouldn't read it herself, and escorting her back to District 12.
So there they were, back home in the Victor's Village. Aid came in from the Capitol, of course. Food and supplies for the returning refugees to help them survive while they rebuilt their homes and lives. Peeta returned to the district and surprised no one but Katniss in persuading her to build a happy life with him.
As for Haymitch himself, he had a comfortable home, a standing invitation from Peeta to eat with him and Katniss, and the occasional bottle of booze he could sneak past Effie. Well, where else was she going to live? She didn't want to stay in the Capitol, and all her team was in District 12. She couldn't live with Peeta and Katniss because walking in on one of their make-out sessions had already set Katniss off screeching loud enough to scare the cat and Haymitch was too old to listen to the complaining. So Haymitch let Effie have one of his guest rooms, and he made no objection when she stopped sleeping in there and started sharing his bed. All in all, life was a lot better than Haymitch could ever have expected.
Though if Plutarch didn't knock it off with his smug comments about knowing from the start how Haymitch felt about Effie, he was going to find himself uninvited from Haymitch's wedding and it'd serve him right.
The end.
Author: Dimity Blue
Rating: teens
Genre: het, missing scenes, epilogue
Characters: Haymitch, Katniss, Peeta, Effie, Coin
Word Count: 514 words
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: Haymitch sees more than people realise.
Trigger warning: One use of the word 'wh*re'.
Contains lines from Mockingjay part 2.
Click on the cut or read on AO3.
Subterfuge
By Dimity Blue
When Haymitch heard the news, his first thought was of Katniss. It was terrible for Prim herself (and Haymitch prayed to any God that existed that Prim had died quickly and hadn't suffered), and it was devastating for Prim's mother, but Haymitch's first thought was for Katniss. Prim was the sun around which Katniss revolved. Everything she'd gone through had been for Prim, and Haymitch knew Katniss would never be the same again.
It wasn't until after, when Katniss had been carried off to a hospital bed to recover from her injuries and Prim's mother had retreated into a frozen stillness, that Haymitch began to wrestle with working out how and why Prim had been there in the Capitol. She shouldn't have been. Prim wasn't - hadn't been - anywhere near old enough to serve as a medic on the front line, even though her skills were far in advance of her actual years.
Coin brushed everyone aside. "Prim insisted," she said. "The Mockingjay's sister," she said. "It wasn't important now," she said. What was important was supporting the Mockingjay; poor, dear Katniss who'd be utterly destroyed by her sister's death.
Destroyed and rendered ineffective? The thought, once there, could not be dismissed.
The bombs were supposed to have been dropped by Snow's forces, yet the idea had been Gale's, and the repercussions demolished any possibility of support for Snow. However you looked at it, Coin had the knowledge, the technology, and the motive.
Haymitch sat in his quarters, gazing absently at a bottle of alcohol. He wasn't drunk, which was an unusual state for him, but Snow's defeat and capture meant Haymitch no longer had a reason to drink. Snow couldn't whore him out like he had so many other Victors, and Haymitch's loved ones would soon be avenged. There was no need for Haymitch to make himself thoroughly unappealing to the rich and powerful now, and the ravaging pain of his losses was less sharp, less overwhelming.
So Haymitch gazed into the distance and thought about Coin. The woman had to be mad. Either that or she was completely incapable of understanding Katniss. Haymitch guessed it was the latter. Katniss was like an arrow, straight and sure, with a core of fire and loyalty, but she hid behind her reserve. If you gained her love, there was nothing she wouldn't do for you, but her trust was hard won and easily lost. Look at how long it had taken Peeta to get through her defences.
Coin had to be relying on Katniss's hatred of Snow to keep her blind to the truth of Prim's death. It was the only thing that made sense. Katniss would realise though, sooner or later. Haymitch hoped Plutarch wouldn't mind organising a second rebellion to keep their Mockingjay safe once she killed Coin.
===============
Coin declaring herself 'interim' president should have come as a surprise, but it didn't; Haymitch had thought of her as an extremely ambitious woman from the first time he met her. He guessed she felt secure enough in her position now to leave the shadows. Did Plutarch have a plan to stop her? Haymitch hoped so, or all they'd done was swap one dictator for another.
It also seemed Coin was more like Snow than they'd guessed with her idea for a 'symbolic' Hunger Games. More children dying to punish the adults around them; what a great idea that was. Coin had obviously learned nothing from Snow's downfall.
The voting was no surprise either. Enobaria would probably try to angle her way into being a Gamemaker and Johanna was about as merciful as a muttation. Annie and Peeta voted no, of course. As did Beetee, who was right when he said they had to stop viewing each other as enemies.
Coin ignored him. "It's down to Katniss and Haymitch."
"I get to kill Snow." Katniss's voice was flat.
"I expected no less of you." Coin, like her name, was two-faced, and her words could be taken more ways than one.
"And I vote yes. For Prim."
"Haymitch?" Coin prompted.
Katniss's eyes met his and Haymitch gave her back stare for stare. It was then he realised she'd worked it all out. He wasn't surprised, but he couldn't think what she was up to with that 'yes' vote. Oh, of course. What better way to gain Coin's trust? And of course Coin would be at Snow's execution. The execution where Katniss had just ensured she'd be front and centre with a loaded weapon in her hands.
"I'm with the Mockingjay," Haymitch said. Let Coin have her temporary triumph at getting her own way. She wouldn't survive to announce any Hunger Games - symbolic or otherwise. Haymitch's girl was too good a shot for that.
===============
Of course, it went off exactly as Haymitch expected. Coin toppled off the balcony like a fallen tree, Katniss tried and failed to eat a suicide pill (thanks to Peeta who got to her before Haymitch could), and Katniss was dragged out of there by two of Plutarch's most loyal men. That meant Plutarch had already worked out what Katniss was going to do and was happy to stand back and let her do it.
Haymitch hoped Plutarch had no intention of trying to sacrifice Katniss. She'd already paid more than enough for their hard-won peace, and, while Haymitch had a rooted objection to putting himself out, he'd do it for Katniss. Fortunately, Plutarch was no fool. He left Katniss cooling her heels in a dark cell while a dozen experts defended her in court. The only sacrifice he demanded was from Haymitch, and that just involved reading Katniss a letter, since it was a sure thing she wouldn't read it herself, and escorting her back to District 12.
So there they were, back home in the Victor's Village. Aid came in from the Capitol, of course. Food and supplies for the returning refugees to help them survive while they rebuilt their homes and lives. Peeta returned to the district and surprised no one but Katniss in persuading her to build a happy life with him.
As for Haymitch himself, he had a comfortable home, a standing invitation from Peeta to eat with him and Katniss, and the occasional bottle of booze he could sneak past Effie. Well, where else was she going to live? She didn't want to stay in the Capitol, and all her team was in District 12. She couldn't live with Peeta and Katniss because walking in on one of their make-out sessions had already set Katniss off screeching loud enough to scare the cat and Haymitch was too old to listen to the complaining. So Haymitch let Effie have one of his guest rooms, and he made no objection when she stopped sleeping in there and started sharing his bed. All in all, life was a lot better than Haymitch could ever have expected.
Though if Plutarch didn't knock it off with his smug comments about knowing from the start how Haymitch felt about Effie, he was going to find himself uninvited from Haymitch's wedding and it'd serve him right.
The end.