Happy Valentine's Day, Haymitch
Effie stretched out like a cat and she was smiling before she opened her eyes.
It'd been two days since Haymitch came to visit her in the Capitol and merciful heaven she felt good! She rolled over on the bed, seeking Haymitch but he was already up.
The sun had finally returned and shone from its wintry sky and Effie lay there, naked and completely relaxed soaking in it for a moment. The sheets smelled of him. She'd never told him but she had always loved his scent. For years it had never failed to intoxicate her.
She threw a lazy glance at the alarm clock. And almost had to make a double take. No wonder she felt rested. It was almost 11. Didn't she set the alarm last night? She was sure she did. Haymitch could at least have woken her when he got up.
Effie reached for her dressing gown with one hand and touched her hair with the other. An automatic gesture she did every morning. It was completely filled with knots. That was another thing Haymitch never failed to do when they were together – ruining her looks. That man seemed to lie awake at night thinking up new ways to unhinge her and ruffle her up.
Her morning procedure that was time consuming at the best of times, would take forever now. She put on the dressing gown and turned to her biggest closet where she kept her dresses. Might as well get going.
Only she couldn't.
Effie frowned and turned the knob again and again but it was no use. A frightening thought hit her and she darted for the bathroom.
"Haymitch!"
He heard her howl through all the walls where he stood by the stove but Haymitch didn't so much as bat an eyelid. The next moment Effie stormed into the kitchen, all red in the face.
"What did you do with my makeup, Haymitch!?"
"Morning, princess," Haymitch said. He was stark naked save an apron that he'd tied around himself to keep from getting splattered from the frying pan. A wonderful scent of fried eggs and tomatoes and bacon filled the room and Haymitch's naked butt below the knot on the apron looked annoyingly fine, but that was beside the point.
"Did you lock my makeup inside the closet? You better not have done something to it! Where's the key?"
"What key?" said Haymitch innocently.
"The one you hid! Haymitch, I need to make myself presentable! Nobody touches the makeup! That's a rule!"
"'Make yourself presentable,'" Haymitch snorted and turned the omelette over in the frying pan. "Effs, if you'd looked unpresentable more often I would've jumped ya decades ago. And I wouldn't look like I'd screwed a paint box."
"Yes, and that's not disrespectful at all," Effie frowned. "Oh, and did you turn off my alarm clock?"
Now Haymitch finally turned to her. He stood there smirking and so godawfully handsome, even in her strawberry patterned apron that was several sizes too small for him.
"You looked kinda wiped," he said. "Thought I'd let you rest a bit since you came so much last night."
He dropped the spatula in the frying pan and put his now free hands on her hips. Effie's face had flushed at his comment but she didn't avert her gaze.
"Well, you came just as much as I did, mister."
"Very true," said Haymitch and stooped down, capturing her lips with his own.
"Kissing is not going to distract me from getting my key back," said Effie and tried to ignore the heat that built up in her body just by that simple touch. "Now, present me that key."
"No," said Haymitch. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her once more. "Being yourself suits you, sweetheart."
"Not looking like this, thank you very much," said Effie with a frown. "What would people think? They will think…"
"So what if they think something?" Haymitch said. He kept his hands on her hips and moved in closer and closer with her until her back was against the wall. He tucked a strand of messy strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and she swallowed when she felt his thumb stroke momentarily against her cheek.
"You should take some lotion," she said. "Moisturizing and good for the skin and…"
Haymitch silenced her with another kiss.
"My key," she persisted but her voice had lost most of its resolve.
"Don't remember where I put it." He brushed his lips against the soft skin just below her jawline where he knew she liked to be kissed. Right where her pulse was. A soft moan escaped Effie's lips and she arched her neck inviting more kisses, partly annoyed with herself for falling so easily.
Haymitch tugged at her drawstrings until they loosened and took in the sight of her naked body underneath.
"I don't get it," Haymitch mumbled in her ear and moved his hand downwards, in between her legs to all that curly hair, feeling how wet he'd gotten her. "You're like… fucking perfect."
"Language," Effie whispered, automatically. "Please, Haymitch. Please, touch me."
Their lips met in an open-mouthed kiss and Effie gasped when he slid a finger into her slick and warm heat. She could feel the excitement it ignited in him.
Haymitch added a second finger and moved them up and down, in and out of her. He was hard and throbbing and Effie reached inside his apron and closed her hand around him, stroking him as well.
He'd never been able to last long when she did that to him but he clenched his jaw, determined she'd come first before he did. He buried his mouth on her neck, rubbing the sweet spot between her legs. He groaned at the wondrous things she did with her hand. Beads of sweat trickled down his back and he hissed in pleasure when her thumb grazed against his tip, an action that never failed to drive him crazy.
She knew him so well.
"Come," he growled in her ear. Her chest was heaving. His heart pounded in his ears. She increased her pace when he did, pulling them both closer and closer to the edge.
"You're never gettin' your key back," he panted.
"Fuck… you," Effie gasped. "Oh! Haymitch! Haymitch!" And with just a few more strokes Effie completely lost it and she was screaming, pressed against the kitchen wall and at the sight of her climax she pushed him over the edge as well and he came violently against her hand.
They were both panting hard in the aftermath of their climax, tangled together and sticky but neither of them wanted to move. Effie gazed at him all hot and breathless and she gave him that smile he swore turned his legs into water.
"That was… You are…" But she cut herself off. Her eyes darted over his shoulder and she screamed, almost scaring the crap out of him, "… burning the food!"
"Shit!" Haymitch shouted and made for the stove and the frying pan that was spewing smoke and they hadn't even noticed.
"Turn it off! Turn it off!"
"I'm trying!" He turned off the heat getting his arms splattered with cooking oil as he tossed the pan with its black content in the sink turning on the cold water.
Which was a big mistake.
Effie cried louder (if that was even possible) when more smoke and steam belched out the pan, followed by the piercing sound of the fire alarm.
"What have you done, Haymitch!"
"What have I done!? Why is it always my damn fault when shit happens?"
And that was when the fire sprinklers went off.
"Oh, perfect! Just perfect!" Effie said and threw her hands at her sides, completely giving up as the water rained down on them.
For a moment they just stood there getting wetter and wetter with the frying pan hissing softly in the sink. It was only raining in the kitchen though, Haymitch noted.
"Well, you don't have to shower now," he finally said. "That'll save ya some time."
She didn't know why she did it, his comment wasn't particularly funny, but Effie burst out laughing. She laughed so hard, tears of mirth tilted down her cheeks and mixed together with the rest of the water and she wrapped her arms around Haymitch's neck and kissed his cheek, one time, two times, three times. Haymitch smiled.
"We are getting too old for this," Effie chuckled.
"Speak for yourself."
"What's that in your pocket, Haymitch?" Effie mused after a moment. "You have something for me?"
She leaned back slightly to look him in the eyes but just when he thought she might serve him another treat Effie swiftly pulled out something from one of the apron's pockets, dangling it in front of his face.
"You have to be more inventive than that, darling," she said with a smile and put her key safely away in her soaked dressing gown. "Now I can finally get dressed while you'll be the sweetheart and take care of this mess. And then I'm buying you breakfast."
And with the sprinklers still raining down on them Effie stood on tiptoe and kissed him and he kissed her back and it was warm and wet and close.
"Happy Valentine's day, Haymitch."
