Just to remind you tha English is not my language. Please, forgive me if there are mistakes in the text!:)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

kanya

Ἀνάγκη

Chapter 1: Awareness

The door creaked when she walked into his room. It was pitch dark and Haymitch could not see her face, but he knew for sure it was her. No one else had that light step of who walked on tiptoe, so accustomed to wearing high heels. Instinctively he closed his eyes, pretending to be plunged into a deep sleep. He also knew this: she would not believe it. She had spent too much time with him to believe that he was able to sleep at night. Though Katniss and Peeta survived the Games. She walked over to his bed, laying down on the floor , just a hair's breadth from where he was.

"Haymitch?" she whispered, her voice uncertain. He did not answer, trying to keep breathing heavy and adjust like if he were in dreamland.

"I know you 're not sleeping " she urged in a low voice. Haymitch sensed her tone was somewhere between irritated and agitated. He decided it was not worth it to continue to pretend and opened his eyes.

"You know sweetheart, I think it isn't appropriate that a woman sneak into the room of a man in the middle of the night . You shouldn't give yourself your beauty sleep or something?" he muttered sarcastically and grinned to himself thinking that Effie was probably blushed at his comment, though he could not verify it.

"I need to talk to you" she murmured , stoically ignoring the jibe .

Haymitch sighed heavily .
"And do you mean to do it on your knees, there on the ground?" he asked raising his eyebrows . She did not answer, probably trying to find a suitable answer to his rhetoric. Without satisfactory results, however.
Haymitch after having glanced vague to the point where it was presumably her face, sighed again moving on the other side of the bed and pushing the covers.

"Come on, you'll catch something if you continue to stay there. I pulled the children out of the arena, you shouldn't put your life in danger right now, shouldn't you?" he said .
Effie did not move. In the dim light, Haymitch saw her rubbing the hem of her nightgown with her fingers. He grinned: she was nervous .

"So, sweetie?" he asked.

"I. . Well, this is definitely not appropriate! " she muttered, sounding agitated.

Haymitch rolled his eyes.
"As I said earlier, you're not really in a position to lecture me on what is or is not appropriate, sweetheart. Do you want to talk to me? So come in or go back to your room and let me sleep" he snapped.
Definitely the second option was not to his liking, because after another second of uncertainty he felt the mattress lowering and Effie slipping under the sheets.

"I hope you're at least wearing something under there" said the woman, with that (she thought )would have been a tone of superiority but that (actually) came out more like a nervous whisper, pointing to Haymitch's bare chest.

In response he lifted the sheets showing her he was wearing pants.
"Actually you are the one that should cover more. Damn sweetheart, you really want to get sick if you go around with only this stuff on!"

Effie blushed, feeling his gaze on her in the moonlight, staring at her light silky nightgown. She shivered and she wrapped the blankets on her, although she was not entirely sure it was because of the cold. Haymitch struggled to hold back a grin.

"Ah c'mon! Let me.." he said. Effie did not have time to ask what he was going to do because he had pulled her against him, her back resting on his chest. Effie felt a wave of heat at that contact and she was amazed at how warm and comfortable that position was. And inconvenient. She started to open her mouth to protest but Haymitch silenced her by wrapping her with his arms.

"Better? " he murmured , his mouth lost somewhere in her hair, a few millimeters from her ear. Effie nodded and blushed even more . Haymitch felt her cheeks got hot and grinned.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked, just rubbing his nose in her hair .

Effie blinked : she had completely forgotten why she had come to.
"I ..."

"Come on , sweetheart. I would think that you really came here for reasons far from appropriate..! Just kidding!" he added when he saw her trying to slip away from his grasp, that in response became a bit stronger .

Effie took a deep breath.
"I'm worried about the kids" she said , finally .

Haymitch felt his heart skip a beat. Yes, he just had realized, at the very moment they were both announced victors, that Katniss and Peeta - Katniss especially - had combined a mess. And he definitely knew something about that kind of mess, because when he had used the force field of his arena to win the Games, on his return home he had not found his beloved waiting for him. Or rather, he had found them. Six feet under the ground. Cold . Dead. Other three lives added to his list of sixteen-years-old-murderer. Perhaps if he had allowed them to see the recording of his Games ... what? He thought then, banishing that idea from his mind: Katniss would understand that kill Peeta would be her only salvation? But at what price? At least he had brought them back alive. Battered but alive. And that was the important thing, at least for the moment.

"Haymitch ? Did you hear what I said?" Effie 's voice brought him back to reality, actually, to the fact that he was perhaps too forcefully squeezing the small body of the escort he had always thought to hate.
It was so different, Effie ,without all those trappings with which Capitoline fashion required to dress up. Although he could not see them clearly, he sensed the forms of her body through the thin fabric of her nightgown and also the light color of her hair that, without wig, hung soft and curly on her shoulders. And her scent , her sweet smell, God!, would send him out of his head.

"Yes, yes, I heard you" he whispered "And why are you worried , sweetheart ? The doctors said they are out of danger, there is no reason to worry about them .. ". He had groped to play that card to understand if Effie had really understood something . He felt her move in his arms so he loosened his grasp, allowing her to turn around. Now Haymitch could see her face, wonder how pale was her complexion, how blue were her eyes.

"Don't think I'm an idiot, Haymitch! Do you think I didn't understand? President Snow will not let run this thing! Two winners! From District 12! Never seen in the history of the Hunger Games and never had to be seen! What do you think will happen to Katniss and Peeta? Certainly he will not let them live in peace, after they ridiculed the Capitol under the eyes of the entire nation!" her whisper grew louder until it became a low cry . Haymitch, instinctively, silenced her placing a finger on her lips, a furtive expression on his face.

" Shh .. sweetheart!" he whispered so quietly that Effie herself would have found it hard to hear if she were not only a few inches from his mouth. Haymitch removed his finger from her, barely raising an eyebrow in agreement. Only God knew how much or what kind of safety measures the Capitol adopted. They had to be so many, however, or you could not explain the high number of traitors turned into Avoxes. The image of Effie, crying, her tongue severed so she could no longer make a sound crossed his mind. No, he would not allowed such a thing to happen. Even if it were Effie. Especially if it were Effie .

"I ... " Haymitch cleared his throat, " I didn't think you'd noticed ... "
And if Effie had noticed.. how many Capitoline had come to the same conclusion? No - thought Haymitch -Effie knows that Katnissisn't really in love with Peeta ... all the others believe that hers was a act of love ..

"Oh, right" Effie muttered, sarcasm that transpired in every syllable , "Why was I supposed to notice it? I'm just a goose obsessed with schedules and manners, right? " her eyes were sparkling as if she were about to cry. Haymitch shook his head, but he said nothing . What could he say? Actually it was what he thought about Effie, and it was for that reason that the fact that she was aware of the gravity of Katniss'act had surprised him.

"Well, voila . I can still surprise you, Haymitch" she continued, her voice trembling "News flash: I care. About Katniss , about Peeta , about all of them. About all those children who could have a future and that I sent to die, selecting them at the Reaping. Do you think their deaths had not touched me? Do you think their faces don't appear in my dream every - single - night, looking at me with eyes full of reproach, sorrow, hatred? And I was so happy, oh, so happy when Katniss and Peeta reached the final, when they are still alive until the end. They survived , now . But what will be the price? What .. " Her voice broke in his throat " .. what will happen now, Haymitch?"

Effie was now sobbing, trying to stop the tears dabbing at her eyes with the corner of the sheet. Haymitch hugged her, allowing her to cry on his shoulder, with a hand down her straight spine line , rubbing her back, trying to calm her down.
"Shh , sweetheart" he whispered in her ear "Somehow we will do .. It'll be okay, I promise"

Effie nodded, her face still hidden in his chest. He lifted it gently, then wiped tears away, his thumb sliding on her cheeks. Crying had made her eyes even more blue and bright. A second later, her lips were crushing on his. Nor Effie nor Haymitch would have been able to say with certainty who had started the kiss, the reason why they did it, what their feelings for each other were. At that moment only mattered to feel the taste of each other's lips. Haymitch found Effie's sweet and salty at the same time: salty because of the tears that had managed to reach them, sweet...probably because it was her flavor. Sweet as her beloved chocolate covered strawberries . Effie discovered that Haymitch's did not taste of alcohol - as she had imagined - or rather, did not taste totally of alcohol. They had a flavor that she could not classify: they were spicy . Probably they just tasted of him.

Effie felt his arms pull her more against his chest, so close that they could not have been longer able to say whose skin was hotter. Haymitch was completely stunned by the sweet scent that came from her skin, from her hair, from her. He felt her cheeks burn when he put his fingers on them, crimson colored by the excitement that was taking control of both of them. He groaned when she gave up his lips and went to kiss his neck, from that so sensitive point behind the ear, down into the gorge and back up to his lips . Haymitch put down the straps of her nightgown and felt his excitement growing and pressing uncomfortably against the fabric of his pants when he noticed that except for her panties she was not wearing anything underneath. He repeated the same gestures she made a few moments before, nibbling her earlobe and then the hollow of her neck, while a hand had reached her breast and squeezed it gently, his fingers teasing her nipples, making her sigh loudly . They were both breathing hard but they tried to ignore the need for air continuing to enjoy each other's mouths. Haymitch ran the tip of his tongue over her lower lip, biting gently the sensitive skin until she disclosed her mouth again, getting lost in a kiss deeper and hungrier than the previous. Haymitch settled back on her, propping on his elbows not to crush her under his weight, without breaking the kiss . Her arms around his neck pushed him down against her lips, like she were looking for a touch more intimate. Haymitch slid his hand along her hips, testing their softness, until he reached the recess of her knee. Grabbing her from there he lifted up her leg, making it pass above his waist. With the hand he slid back up her thigh and stroked her centre between her legs, through the thin fabric of her panties. Effie inhaled sharply when his fingers began to play with her most sensitive part, pushing herself violently against his chest and arching her back .

"Eager?" could not refrain from asking Haymitch , close to her lips. He had a cocky grin on his face but his hoarse tone could not help but betray his eagerness, too.

Effie smiled mischievously to him, beginning to play with the waistband of his pants and suggesting two fingers below his boxers' . She paused and her smile grew wider when a growl of desire came from his throat. He quickly freed himself of the last clothes and tossed them somewhere under the sheets. Then he pulled off her panties . Nothing was left to divide their naked bodies but, perhaps , an uncertainty that had the power to withhold Haymitch . He tried her gaze and found it soaked with his own desire . Effie nodded, running her fingers through his hair and pulling him against her. A small cry escaped her lips when, finally , he entered her with a thrust, and but Haymitch's lips were on hers before she was able to emit another one.

She clung to his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. His face was hidden in the crook of her neck and Effie could hear him breathing heavily, as he pushed himself into her with a steady rhythm that was driving her crazy. And, between breaths, she could hear him whisper her name, as he kissed her neck and then back to the corner of her mouth, teeth nibbling her lower lip.
Haymitch knew that it would be hard to him to resist for long as she circled his waist with her legs , moaning softly because of the new and more intense sensations that position brought. He never thought that there could have been a night in which he did ... what he was doing (making love or just having sex) with Effie Trinket . And he never would have imagined that she was capable of so deep feelings, having always considered her superficial and frivolous, and especially that she was able to inflame him in such a way. Effie: the sweet , annoying, wonderful , little Effie. Perhaps she was the real girl on fire there.

"Haymitch .. " he heard her moan in his ear, her voice a few octaves higher than usual. He kissed her aggressively as he felt her small body shook with chills and waves of pure pleasure, her perfect nails mercilessly scratching his back. With a final , powerful thrust he sank in that same pleasure that had taken her a few moments before, spilling into her. Effie hugged him stronger, refusing to let him go until his spasms ended.

The only sounds that could be heard in the room were their heavy breathing and the beating of their hearts, whose echoes had not yet abandoned their ears.
Haymitch rolled off her, inhaling and exhaling deeply, trying to think with a clear mind about what had just happened. He would regret the next morning? And she would? What he felt for her? And what were her feelings for him? It was only one night stand? Or what ?
Effie snuggled against him, seeking the warmth of his body. Her eyes were closed, but the smile on her lips made him realize that, whatever she was going to dream, it wasn't going to be related to Katniss or Peeta, or President Snow . He wrapped her in a hug and brushed his lips against her forehead.
At least for that night, he did not want to worry about what was going to happen on the next day.