Author's Note: Be aware, what follows is nothing but pure fluff. I hope you enjoy it though! I sure had fun writing it.
Oh, and this is dedicated to EffieAbernathy and Ilovedrunkhaymich [tumblr] because you have been absolutely lovely with me. Thanks for putting up with me, I love both of you!

Right, as always, review/favorites/follows are love.

A Kiss Is Never Just A Kiss

Seven times where Haymitch almost kissed Effie, and the one time she did.

One

Effie was struggling, the cardboard boxes dangerously dangling from the shelf, threatening to fall with every little movement of her fingers. Gently, she tried to restore the balance, slowly rising on the very tip of her toes. Lazily leaning against the doorway, Haymitch was looking at her, a faint smile displayed on his face: the box would fall at some point; there was absolutely no doubt on this. Yet it was very amusing and somehow endearing to watch Effie's unsuccessful attempts to prevent the imminent collapse of the fragile structure.

Suddenly, his smile turned into a wicked grin, as he silently walked up to her, deliberately moving slowly so that she wouldn't hear him approach. The tip of Effie's slender fingers was barely reaching the highest shelf, he noticed with an inner chuckle. And then, suddenly, he pressed a soft, chaste kiss against Effie's naked shoulder. Effie let out a high-pitched gasp, and her fingers slipped from under the pile of boxes which instantly collapsed onto her.

"Haymitch!", she hissed, sprawled on the flood in a mess of wigs and flowery hats. Her eyes were flashing death glares at him, but he kept on genuinely laughing. He extended a hand to her, which she deliberately ignored, and then began gathering the items, her lips slightly moving, forming silent curses. "Sorry, Princess.", he finally said as he exited the room. "It was too hard for me to resist."

Two

The elevator was slowly moving, with a faint roar covered by Effie's exasperated voice. "Really, Abernathy! Have you even looked at the list of sponsors I gave you? It's the longest I ever gathered, does that mean nothing to you?" She rolled her eyes at him, while he kept on curiously eyeing her. Her lilac wig was slightly shaking with her anger, and her fists were clenched, the knuckles of her tiny fingers turning white.

"Actually, it does, Effs.", he finally said after a long silence. He closed the distance between them with one large step, then pressed his chest closely against her arm, causing Effie to lean against the metal wall. He felt her whole body tense with anger and fear, startled by this sudden gesture. But then he grabbed her chin between his two calloused fingers, and pressed a lingering yet soft kiss against her powdered cheekbone.

The elevator dinged, and he pulled away, but not before leaning toward her ear and whispering a "Thank you." in a slurred voice. His breath reeked of liquor, yet Effie couldn't suppress a slight blushing which reddened her porcelain-white cheeks; and the faint smiled she had on her lips as she stepped out of the elevator didn't leave her throughout the day.

Three

That day, Haymitch was woken up by a strident shriek coming from his garden, and belonging to an all-familiar voice. Effie's. He rubbed his eyes lazily, yawning as he stumbled down the stairs with nothing but a shirt and his boxers on. Grumbling, he pulled the door open, only to receive a trembling Effie Trinket in his arms, who instantly buried her face in his neck.

Not breaking their embrace, Haymitch pulled her inside, closing the door with his foot. Then, as soon as he knew she was safe, he took her by the shoulders, pulling away from her a little, and asked her: "So, sweetheart, what was that for?" Effie looked up at him, her blue-green eyes glistening with tears. "It- It's the geese.", she said with a broken voice. "One of them bit me."

Effie showed him her right leg, on which a small trickle of blood was running, strongly contrasting with the paleness of her skin. She expected him to laugh at her and shove her outside, so she gasped in surprise as he lifted her in his arms, dropping her carefully on the couch, and kneeling by her side to examine her leg.

She bit her lip as she felt his breath tickle her skin. "It's nothing, Princess. Just a scratch.", he softly told her. And then, before either of them understood what was happening, he planted his lips on the cut, wiping the blood away with a single motion of his tongue. A slow moan arose from Effie's lips, as she felt her heart pound painfully against her ribs. She tried to look at him, but he was gone already.

Four

Effie was slowly nibbling at her desert, her eyes closed, as if it multiplied the intensity of the taste. She reached for another chocolate-covered strawberry, under the amused gaze of Haymitch. He hated to admit it, but she was almost beautiful, when she looked as genuine as she did right then, and that despite all the layers of makeup covering her features.

Suddenly aware of Haymitch's gaze on her, Effie quickly swallowed the last strawberry, and got up in one fluid motion, dabbing her lips against the napkin. She was about to leave when Haymitch got up as well, and grabbed her wrist in his hand, pulling her back up to face him. Their eyes locked for a second where everything stood still.

Then Haymitch cupped her cheeks and tilted her head back, before kissing a forgotten spot of chocolate sauce off her chin. Startled, Effie attempted to slap him, but he grabbed he stopped her arm before her palm collided with his face. "You taste good.", he said with a soft chuckle, dropping one butterfly kiss on the tip of her nose. He vanished out of the room one second later, and Effie collapsed back into her chair, absent-mindedly stroking her jaw bone with the tip of her fingers.

Five

"Give it to me, Haymitch!" Effie was desperately attempting to grab the bottle of liquor that he kept swinging around to annoy her. "Give you what, now, Trinks?", he teased her. "The- alcohol!" she said as she missed the bottle from mere centimeters. Oh, how she hated him sometimes.

"The alcohol, Effs?", he asked again, taking a sip. "Yes!" she snapped back, exasperated by his obvious lack of manners. How old was he to play with her like that? He swallowed, then opened his mouth with a resounding smack. She propped her fists on her hips, looking at him as disdainfully as she could.

"Fine, he said. But remember, you asked for it this time!" And then he took another sip, walked up to her and firmly crashed his lips against her. It was like Effie's body understood what he was about to do better than her brain, as she felt her lips instantly open, in order to receive the beakful of whiskey Haymitch was so oddly offering her.

She felt the liquid trickle down her throat, burning her from the inside as she swallowed it. But she couldn't blame on the alcohol the fact that, when his arm tightly wrapped around her waist, pressing her closer, it took all of her strength not to deepen the kiss. And she was pretty sure that, when after one last movement of her lips, she broke the kiss, her cheeks were burning with a fire that had nothing to do with the sip of whiskey.

Six

Effie was focused on tying a bun with the pale blue locks of her wig, several hairpins clasped between her fingers, and the others stuck between her pursed lips. She caught a glimpse of Haymitch limping inside the room, entirely off-balance. He was drunk, again. She sighed, then resumed to her former task.

But all the hairpins dropped off her hands when she felt Haymitch wrap both his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her close in a very tender gesture that she did not think he was capable of. Silently, he planted his lips on her neck, right under the bottom of her wig, sucking hard on her sweet skin.

Effie's eyes fluttered before she completely closed them, giving in to the feeling overwhelming her. It was almost terrifying to realize how accustomed to Haymitch's numerous and inexplicable kisses she had grown. She moaned happily, as he finally let go, replacing the insistent pressure by some feather-like kisses.

Finally, he squeezed her whole petite body one last time, muttering "You really are beautiful…" into her neck, before his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor, dragging Effie with him who uttered a small shriek, before attempting to untangle herself from Haymitch's arms.

Later in the evening, Cinna had to bite the inside of his cheek not to laugh, as Effie happily twirled in front of him in her azure gown, unaware that the low-cut back of her dress and the bun of her wig really drew attention to the deep-purple love mark than ornamented her neck.

Seven

Haymitch watched her frantically pace around her bedroom, her arms folded against her chest, as she kept on babbling about how Peeta and Katniss were pearls, and that both of them deserved to live through the games. As much as, deep down, he agreed with her, he just wanted her to calm down. She was indeed starting to make him feel dizzy.

"Haymitch, are you even listening?" she suddenly said, with a tone that suggested her anger was imminent. She had stopped pacing and now stood still in the middle of the room, her arms still tightly folded. Haymitch took a second to look at her whole; she was beautiful. He had to show her just how much.

Putting all his rational thoughts aside, he waked towards her, unfolded her arms and threw them around his neck, as he pressed her close, his arms wrapping against her back. His lips crashed onto hers once more, but this time, Effie instantly responded. She pressed herself closer against him, her lips roaming against his, craving for more.

They deepened the kiss almost instantly, their lips moving roughly against the other. They were both moaning, breathless, their hands fumbling against their skins, desperate to discover everything they had desired for so long. Something new was taking form in the kiss. Something that dangerously tasted like love. However, as suddenly as he had kissed her, Haymitch pulled away.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart.", he added with a low voice, not wanting to force her into something she would regret later. She didn't want this, she couldn't, he reasoned. It was merely her body responding to an exterior solicitation, nothing more. And so he pivoted on his heels as if to leave the room.

But Effie knew what she wanted, she had known it for all too long, each and every of his kisses only making her feelings all the clearer to herself. She loved him with all her heart, and there was nothing she could do about it. So she gave in.

"Oh, no, you don't, Abernathy.", she said calmly, walking up to him as fast as her heels allowed. Then, in a swift motion of her arms, she grabbed his and turned him around. Their eyes met, Haymitch's astonished gaze meeting the fire burning in Effie's. The last thing he saw was a wide, genuine smile lightening her face, before she threw herself against him with all her weight, her arms locking around his neck, and her lips crashing once more onto his, returning right where they belonged.

With the unexpected weight of Effie on him, Haymitch took several steps back, before finally tripping, and toppling over the floor with a satisfying crash. Effie uttered an irrepressible giggle, and soon they were both shaking with laughter, their limbs tangled on the floor. Then Effie felt Haymitch's arms wrap around her shoulders, pressing her against him.

She smiled, nuzzling in the crook of his neck for a while, silently. But then, she felt her whole face flush instantly, because of the very new pressure she could feel between her legs, as she still straddled Haymitch's body. She smiled wickedly at him, deliberately writhing against him slightly, making him unable to repress a groan.

"So…" she said in a whisper, firmly grabbing the lapels of his shirt. He looked at her silently for a moment, pushing a strand of strawberry blonde hair off her forehead. She finally broke the silence: "Where were we?" With that, she crashed her hungry lips against his once more, abandoning herself to him completely, and it was the last time either of them spoke for a long while.