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Today is Sunday which means it's time for Katniss to go to the Hob to get food for the week, the problem is that Katniss is feeling very little today. And when Katniss feels little it's Haymitch's job to do all of her duties for her, which he honestly doesn't mind doing, however he's learned that taking little Katniss anywhere loud and crowded is a big mistake, she always ends up getting overwhelmed and crying.
Haymitch did not want to deal with that today. So he devised a plan. Haymitch was going to drop Katniss off at Peeta's house because he's the only person in district twelve that Haymitch trusts to watch Katniss when she's like this.
After all the stress of helping Katniss get dressed and out the door Haymitch knocks on Peeta's door, hoping to get at least an hour of quiet. But there's a second problem. Peeta is also feeling very little today.
Peeta stands at the door holding a very beaten up golden retriever plush that he named “Puppy”
Puppy was a telltale sign that Peeta was feeling little. But also his body language, he holds Puppy very close to his body. And his eyes. Peeta's eyes by themselves could tell you a whole story, he's very expressive. Unlike Haymitch's little girl whose face is very hard to read.
“Sweetheart, there's been a change of plans” Haymitch tells Katniss, whose eyes are wide with excitement.
Haymitch originally told Katniss that he was going to drop her off at Peeta's house while he went shopping and after a lot of tears from Katniss and Haymitch agreeing to let her bring her blankie, she agreed to the plan.
In little Katniss’s mind, normal Peeta and little Peeta are two entirely different people. She mostly sees normal Peeta but sometimes she'll get lucky and have a small friend.
“Peeta, do you want to come to the Hob with us?” Haymitch asks in a gentle voice.
Peeta nods shyly, he closes the front door and sits on the front steps of his house.
Haymitch sits down next to Peeta and tells Katniss to do the same. Katniss decides to sit on Haymitch's lap instead of directly on the step.
“Now if you two are gonna come with me, there's gonna need to be some rules” Haymitch starts.
Peeta nods and Katniss acts indifferent, fiddling with her blankie.
“The Hob is a very busy place with many people and I don't want either of you to get lost. So there will be no wandering off, you need to stay with me at all times, got it?”
“Got it” Peeta confirms.
Katniss nods.
“Alright, now second rule is don't touch everything, there's a lot of people selling art in the Hob right now and we don't want anything to get broken so if you see that looks breakable, and you really want to touch it, you can only touch it with one finger, got it?”
“Got it” Peeta confirms again
Katniss nods.
“Now for the third and most important rule. If you need a break at any time for anything whether it's to have a snack or go to the bathroom or just because you're overwhelmed please tell me. I'd much rather stop and take a break than go shopping with cranky kids, got it?”
“Got it” Peeta confirms for the last time.
“Katniss?” Haymitch softly pats her back.
She doesn't respond.
“Please be sure to tell me if you need a break, okay? I know that loud places can be very hard for you” Haymitch kisses her on the head before standing up.
“Alright, let's go”
–
The Hob isn't really that long of a walk from Victor's Village but with two pairs of little legs, it seems a lot farther.
On the walk there Peeta stays by Haymitch's side as he was instructed, he holds Puppy close and takes deep breaths of the cool morning air.
Meanwhile Katniss clings onto Haymitch's hand and looks down at the ground while they walk. She hates going to loud places.
The Hob is located in an old abandoned warehouse with many booths full of different people selling things just like always, however since the war, the Hob has changed quite a bit, it transformed into a legitimate marketplace with people that sell not only food but art, handmade paintings and clothes. The former shell of a black market that district twelve used to know was now a bustling market.
Now that the work day was only eight hours instead of the original twelve, people had time for hobbies like painting and sewing so on the weekends people would go to the Hob, get a booth and make some extra money off their hobbies and that's when the Hob really started to expand. The busiest days are always Saturday and Sunday because people that worked nine to five jobs got breaks on the weekends, leaving space for something extra to do which led to some people renting out booths. And from there, actual farmers and harvesters opened booths with good quality meat and vegetables for a fair price.
Today being Sunday means that the Hob will be packed. Little Katniss doesn't like going to the Hob on weekends because of how loud it is so she and Haymitch normally go on Tuesday afternoons.
When they finally reach the entrance to the Hob, Katniss asks Haymitch to pick her up. He begrudgingly agrees. Normally he's fine with carrying Katniss for extended periods of time however today Peeta was with them and if he requested to be picked up Haymitch would have to say no. He isn't the strongest man but luckily Katniss has a very thin frame, thanks to her childhood growing up with food being very scarce so he can hold her pretty easily. Peeta however has a very strong build from years of doing manual labor for his parents in the bakery as well as being fed fairly which was also thanks to the bakery.
He doesn't want to upset Peeta because he's too heavy to carry so Haymitch figures that if Peeta asks he'll say that Katniss is littler than he is so she needs to be carried.
Peeta however is surprisingly fine with being big and walking. Still wanting him to be included, Haymitch gives Peeta a small piece of paper with all that he needs to buy today written in messy handwriting, telling Peeta that he's “In charge of the shopping list”
Haymitch walking into the Hob with two eighteen year olds that both acted and looked like toddlers was definitely not the strangest thing that's happened in there. Some people that dont know Katniss or are from other districts shoot Haymitch judgmental looks but they probably just chalk it up to them not being right in the head.
Most people in district twelve do know Katniss, either personally, because she won the Hunger Games or because she was the mockingjay and they respect her for that. So when she's in a state like this everyone that knows Katniss is nice to her and they play along, even though they don't know why she's acting like this.
Today was a particularly busy day because it was Sunday. Because it was busy it was loud, which means that Katniss did not like being in the Hob just as she and Haymitch had predicted.
Katniss, who is still held in Haymitch's arms, buries her head into his chest “Too loud” she whimpers, covering her ear with her hands.
“I know sweetheart, it's just gonna be a short trip” Haymitch comforts, rocking her back and forth in his arms.
“Okay Peeta, what's the first thing we need?” Haymitch asks in a gentle voice.
“Milk” Peeta replies beaming, he's just glad that he gets to help.
Haymitch wrote the list with prioritized items at the top just in case Katniss gives out and the trip has to be cut short, they could live without butter for a little while but not without milk or some type of juice because Haymitch's little girl insists on constantly having a full sippy cup.
Because it's Sunday, more vendor's stalls are open than normal, meaning that Haymitch can get Katniss’s favorite type of everything.
“Peeta can you go get us a basket please?” Haymitch points back to the entrance where a stack of plastic green shopping baskets sit.
The little boy goes to grab a basket for Haymitch while he stays and comforts his little girl.
“Home?” she asks in a small voice, her head still buried in her Papa's chest.
“Not yet sweetheart, we have to do a little bit of shopping, then we can go home” Haymitch whispers to her.
Katniss makes an annoyed grunt and puts her hands back over her ears.
Haymitch looks up to see Peeta waddling up to him, basket in one hand and Puppy in the other.
“Peeta, would you like to carry the basket for me?” Haymitch asks, not because he thought that Peeta would like to but because with Katniss in his arms he couldn't hold the basket and make a transaction at the same time.
Surprisingly Peeta agrees wholeheartedly, putting Puppy in the basket.
“Alright then let's go” Haymitch takes Peeta's hand and starts walking.
Besides Katniss having very specific safe foods that he could only buy from a few sellers Haymitch could also only go to stalls with vendors that would be nice to or at least ignore both Peeta and Katniss. By bringing his little girl here for the first time he learned the hard way that quite a few vendors here are not very fond of little Katniss, either because they just don't understand or they're ableist little shits. This makes Haymitch's job a lot harder.
“Okay, milk let's see” Haymitch stops to look around before continuing on. He stops at a booth called The Dairy Ladies; Run by two older women named Iris and Indigo who are sisters originally from ten. The women were always very kind to little Katniss, often talking to her and sometimes even giving her a free glass of milk.
“Iris, Indigo” Haymitch greets
“How are you doing Haymitch?” Iris asks
“I'm fine, how are you”
“I'm lovely, and oh! Hello to you too Katniss!” Iris's voice turns higher pitched when speaking to the little girl.
Katniss lifts her head up to see Iris. She waves and smiles timidly before once again covering her hands with her ears and returning to her cocooned position.
“Aww, feeling a little shy today?” Iris chitters
“Yeah the Hob's a bit loud for her today” Haymitch strokes Katniss’s hair.
“Oh, sweet baby” Iris coos to Katniss
“Yes, it is a bit too loud in here” Indigo adds. “What can we do for you Mr. Abernathy?”
“Um, I need two bottles of milk, strawberry yogurt and a block of cheddar cheese” Haymitch looks at Peeta, checking to make sure that he was right.
Peeta nods and smiles at him.
“Okay, that will be twenty four panars” Indigo tallies up the cost.
“Who's your helper?” Iris asks while putting the goods in Peeta's basket.
“That's Peeta, he's Katniss’s friend” Haymitch answers, ruffling Peeta's hair.
“Well he's doing a very good job” Iris goes back behind the table and grabs two stickers she gives one to Peeta and one to Katniss, who gives it to Haymitch to hold onto.
“Cow” Peeta says, peeling off the sticker and placing it on his shirt.
“Goodbye ladies” Haymitch calls, taking Peeta's hand and moving onto the next booth.
–
Haymitch settles on a booth entitled Fresh Finds. Neither he nor Katniss has ever been to this booth. Since Katniss isn't picky about what type of vegetables she will eat or not, the two don't have a set seller, they just tend to buy from whoevers vegetables look the freshest.
The booth is run by an older looking woman with dark skin, her eyes look tired but kind. Haymitch assumes that she will be their best bet for today.
With Katniss still resting stubbornly in his arms and Peeta trailing not far behind him, Haymitch approaches the woman's booth and gives her an uneasy smile that says I'm in a rough situation right now and I need you to ignore my kids. The woman smiles and nods at Haymitch, as if she understands exactly what he is trying to tell her.
“What can I help you with sir?” She asks, providing a kind voice that matches her eyes.
“I need some vegetables please” Haymitch lets out a sigh of relif.
“Alright, just tell me what you need sugar”
“I need-” Haymitch starts but is quickly interrupted by the little boy to his left.
“Uncle Haymitch, can I tell her what's on our list?” Peeta pleads, clutching the list with his two hands.
Shocked by the question and unknowing how to respond Haymitch looks at Peeta and before he can answer the shopkeeper speaks up.
“Of course you can sweetie” The woman tells Peeta, whose face lights up. He begins reading off the list with the widest smile on his face.
Eventually and with a bit of help from Haymitch all of the items from the list are in the basket and paid for.
Haymitch repeatedly thanks the woman for being so kind and patient with Peeta. The woman tells Haymitch “Of course” and they're off.
On the long walk over to the fruit stands Katniss murmurs something into Haymitch's chest.
“What was that sweetheart?” He asks, brushing the stray strands of hair away from her forehead.
“I wanna’ go home” Katniss sniffs, clearly on the verge of tears.
“I know baby girl, we're almost done” Haymitch comforts, knowing that it's too late to avoid a meltdown.
They reach the final booth called Earnest’s. This is the only booth that makes juice the way that Katniss likes it so no matter how expensive it is or how rude the man that sells the fruits is, this is the only place they can shop for her fruit juice.
A grey surly man stands behind the booth, he glares at Haymitch, who glares back. Haymitch and the shopkeeper do not get along however for his little girl Haymitch is willing to make sacrifices.
“One bottle of apple juice” Haymitch stifles, not looking at the man directly “Please”
“Mhm” The man pulls a bottle out from under the counter. “Six seventy four” The man snarls coldly.
It takes every bone in his body to not start an argument, seven dollars was at least twice the price it was last month. Haymitch decides that he'll bring it back up when Katniss isn't with him. Also they were rich so who cares if the juice costs more, if they each burned a thousand panars every day for the rest of their lives they would still be richer than most people living in the districts.
Haymitch takes the bottle and puts it in the basket, leaving exactly six panars and seventy four cents on the counter, not a penny more. Normally he leaves a bit of extra money for the shopkeepers because he has so much that he doesn't know what to do with it and he wants to help them. But not Earnest, he never helps Earnest.
Just as Haymitch is about to ask about his fruit options, Katniss gives out.
Katniss lets out a whine loud enough that everyone within ten feet of her could hear. Then she starts sobbing. She cries so hard that she has to gasp for air between cries. She kicks and thrashes around in Haymitch's arms, trying to escape to somewhere that's quiet.
Haymitch frantically tries to calm her down by swaying back and forth and stroking her hair, but it's evident that Katniss is too far gone and she needs to leave. Haymitch grabs Peeta's hand and rushes out of the Hob. The only place he can think to bring Katniss that's quiet and close to the Hob is the woods.
District twelve's fence around the woods is still up, both because nobody really cared if there was a fence or not and when it was originally put in the Capitol's reasoning was that it was to keep most predators out of district twelve so people feel that the fence keeps them safe. Katniss knows that it's not true in the slightest but she didn't protest because if the fence did one thing well, it kept the game all in one area.
The fence was no longer charged so Haymitch could easily slip under it, Katniss still in his arms without worrying that it was going to hurt them.
The group walks for a while, getting deeper and deeper into the woods, an upset Katniss still in Haymitch's arms. Haymitch, Peeta and Katniss travel until they reach a small, sunny field of grass surrounded by shady trees. Haymitch assumes that they're far enough into the woods that Katniss's cries will be silenced by the surrounding trees so he stops.
Haymitch picks a sunny spot in the grass and carefully sits down with Katniss still in his arms. He holds Katniss close and kisses her forehead and then lets go of her.
As soon as she's set free, Katniss throws herself onto the ground, her blankie being discarded to her side. She kicks and screams and cries, her hands still covering her ears. The part that breaks Haymitch's heart the most is that this is the only way he can help Katniss with her meltdowns by leaving her alone and letting her cry it out.
Five unbearable minutes of Katniss screaming and crying on the ground pass before Katniss moves onto something else, the something else being digging her nails into her legs. Her nails break the top layer of skin, causing blood to stain the tips of her fingernails and leave small red cuts on her legs.
Haymitch has a rule that Katniss is allowed to cope with her meltdowns however she wants and he won't interfere, but if she starts hurting herself, Haymitch will step in and help whether Katniss wants him to or not.
Peeta just sits behind Haymitch and watches, he doesn't know how to help so he just stays back, trying not to upset the little girl further.
Haymitch scoots over to Katniss and scoops her up off the ground, prying her hands off of her legs. “Nope, we’re not going to be doing that, we have to be nice to ourselves” he says in a quiet and sweet, yet firm voice.
Katniss whimpers, not wanting to be held and touched, she attempts to dig her nails into her legs again but Haymitch stops her. He takes her hands and puts her palms to the tips of grass, so she could feel the bits of grass tickling her hands. Haymitch moves her hands back and forth over the grass, repetitive motions typically soothe Katniss, so this helps quite a bit. Haymitch also rocks side to side with Katniss, providing even more positive stimuli for her.
After about ten minutes of this which for Peeta and Haymitch feels like a lifetime, Katniss finally calms down. She leans into Haymitch nuzzling into his warm embrace and lets out a content sigh.
“Better?” Haymitch strokes his little girl’s hair.
“Better” she mumbles sleepily.
Once Katniss is happily settled in Haymitch's arms, Peeta crawls over to where Katniss dropped her blankie and picks it up for her.
Katniss looks up and makes grabby hands at the sight of her blankie. Peeta gently hands it over to the little girl who is overjoyed. Haymitch picks a bright yellow dandelion and puts it behind Katniss’s ear. Katniss smiles and nuzzles back into him.
Katniss puts her thumb in her mouth before slowly drifting off to sleep in Haymitch's arms, knowing that she's safe and loved she lets out a small yawn. Peeta yawns too and nuzzles up next to Haymitch who puts an arm around him.
Before Katniss falls asleep she whispers to Haymitch “I love you Papa”
“I love you too sweetheart ” Haymitch kisses his little girl's forehead before drifting off to sleep himself.