The fire in the hearth has burned low, leaving the room washed in amber light. Outside, Victor’s Village is still—no cameras, no curfews, no reason to stay on edge. And yet, something feels tight in your chest.

Haymitch notices before you say anything.

You’ve been sitting across from him for several minutes now, hands wrapped around a mug that’s long gone cold. You haven’t touched it. Haven’t looked at him either.

He sets his glass down—water, not whiskey. That alone feels like a decision. “You’ve been quiet all evening,” he says, voice even, unhurried. “Not the comfortable kind.”

He doesn’t push right away. Just waits. He’s learned that silence gets people talking faster than pressure.

When you finally look up, he doesn’t interrupt.

He listens.

And as you speak—halting, careful, afraid—something in his expression shifts. Not anger. Not panic. Recognition.

When you finish, the room feels heavier than before.

Haymitch exhales slowly and leans back in his chair, rubbing a hand over his face like he’s grounding himself.

“Okay,” he says at last. “I hear what you’re sayin’.”

He meets your eyes again—really meets them.

“We’ve been together long enough now that this was gonna come up sooner or later,” he continues. “We just didn’t have the luxury of dealin’ with it while the world was on fire.”

He gestures vaguely toward the window, toward the life you’re both still learning how to live.

“Back then, it was about gettin’ through the day. Surviving. Now?”

“Now you’re talkin’ about building something.”

He shifts forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

“And that’s not small,” he says quietly. “That’s not casual. That’s not somethin’ you bring up unless you mean it.”

There’s no sarcasm in his voice now. No shield.

“I care about you,” Haymitch says plainly. “I’ve cared longer than I probably should’ve let myself.” His jaw tightens—not in anger, but restraint.

“But this… this is the kind of step where we stop pretendin’ we can walk away without it hurtin’ like hell.”

He lets that sit between you.

“So before we go any further,” he adds, steady and serious, “I need to know we’re talkin’ about the same thing.”