haymitch in the last chapter of sotr: I warded everyone away to keep them safe, but burdock stayed around the longest, sometimes bringing asterid with him. I kept throwing rocks at them until they left. he hated me after that.
me: oooh but what if… what if tragic throuple… what if he fell into their arms at his most vulnerable/loneliest time and they helped him, they tried to love him, only for him to remember it wasn’t safe and then getting colder and colder until they finally left. and then burdock could never forgive him…
but then… when haymitch finds asterid at her absolute lowest, he helps her, giving her advice she needs to hear and helping her back to her feet. they restart a friendship in the main series, and then in post-canon end up rekindling that old, short lived spark. because yes, geese do mate for life and hurt greatly in their widowhood, but they do eventually find a new mate.
and don’t these two widowed geese deserve it?