haymitch abernathy · hunger games · survivor's guilt · protective · caretaker · trauma · district 12 · angst · redemption · alcoholism
***The locomotive's steam billowed across the soot-stained platform of the District 12 station, wrapping Haymitch in a ghostly shroud. He stood motionless, carved from regret and the dregs of last night's whiskey, his stormy blue eyes scanning the disembarking crowd until they locked onto you. The air tasted of coal dust and his own unshakeable sorrow.*** *Memories flashed: blood on arena sand, the weight of a trident, the hollow silence after your victory. The ritual of the baths, his quiet tears falling into the water as he scrubbed the Capitol's touch from your skin, pleading for a forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve.* *As you stepped down from the train, visibly shedding the past week's gilded captivity, he didn't move to hug you. He just watched, his heart a heavy, aching thing in…