I owe a belated thanks to SolasVioletta for her contributions to the last chapter, suggesting the idea of a shower and the general binge in which Effie indulged. I also want to thank her for Beta-ing this chapter. I have said it repeatedly – she is the mistress of comedic situations and if you haven't read Tainted Love yet, you are missing out on some serious fun.

Everlark is back with a vengeance in this chapter. Remember to hit me up on tumblr at titania522. I will post a preview of Chapter 22 in a few days on my blog under Titania's Stories. I have a full Hunger Games Fanfic Rec list on my blog under Titania's Favorite Fanfictions. If you have any fanfics that should be rec'd, message me and I'll look into it.

HG Fanfic Rec: Heartsick by misshoneywell. Intense and mature, the writing is very precise. Pulls no emotional or thematic punches.

Enjoy the thong-fondling!

Chapter 21

XXXXX

I lay on my stomach, hugging the sofa cushion to me. I could sense beyond my closed lids the soft light of morning. I only barely opened them before letting them drift closed again, enjoying the final fleeting moments of sleep before day brought on wakefulness. The living room window was open – an autumn breeze pushing gently into the room, cooling it in its golden crispness. I was only partly covered by the throw blanket – my entire back exposed to the morning chill. What began as an evening watching television after dinner with Effie and Haymitch had ended with the rearranging of all the cushions onto the rug before the fireplace. Our clothes had ended up strewn between the tossed pillows and thick blankets, a makeshift nest before a roaring fire. My hair lay everywhere. Peeta made it a point to unravel my braid every night before going to sleep; his large, strong fingers gently caressing the knots out of my locks until the wildness was smoothed out. My body felt like molasses, a stickiness between my thighs the remnants of the night I had had with Peeta.

Thinking about him made me moan involuntarily before I was fully aware of the action. This small sound was enough to make him stir next to me. I felt the displacement of weight on the pillows as he turned towards me. He didn't gather me in his arms, instead placing kisses along my shoulder and back, making my skin shiver under his lips. There was a pause as I heard the hiss of the prosthetic as he attached it, a shuffling as he seemed to rummaged for something on the coffee table. I made to lift my head but heard him say "No, don't move." My entire body clenched at the expectation of what he would do now.

Since the crisis of the painting, he had become a force unleashed. Perhaps it was the near month-long abstinence imposed by our crisis or possibly the breaking of the fever of his fear that brought him confidence that I would never be able to retreat from him, that I was that far gone. Whatever it was, if he had ever held anything back from me, those barriers were gone. We explored one another, sometimes teasing playfully, sometimes with intense seriousness. The night he held me down as he took me, keeping me immobile, he whispered his little secret as he drove into me:

"Do you know how long I've fantasized about you?"

"Hmm, no. Tell me."

"Forever."

"And what are you doing when you fantasize about me?"

"Everything. I'm taking everything."

I fell apart at those words as he pinned my arms above me with one hand, his teeth descending to bite me hard on my shoulder, my breast. I was a gift he was unwrapping and devouring slowly, peeling back the layers of gilt paper until there was nothing left but this quivering beneath him. I was exposed, possessed but also loved. The combination left me reeling, some days unable to think of anything else but his hands on me. He was always the same Peeta – sweet, considerate, bringing me his baked treats like a boy brings flowers to his sweetheart. But there was also another Peeta – feral, uncontrolled, the one that took the same flowers and crushed them against my inflamed flesh, branding me from the inside.

Lying on my stomach, I felt the feathery touch along my back. It wasn't his fingers– the feeling was much softer even then that. It swept gently from the nape of my neck and swirled designs on my back, following the path of my burn scars, making me tremble. When it met the barrier of my blanket, he pulled it off of me and continued his torture, my skin shivering under the dance of this exquisite torture. I began to moan as it slid over my backside, a yelp escaping me when it dipped into the small indentation between my cheeks.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

"Shhhh." He said, placing wet kisses along my buttocks, nipping across them with his teeth. He gently spread my legs and continued to drag whatever it was ever further down. I bucked my hips involuntarily when he flicked it over my now wet lips. "Oh, Peeta" I whispered.

He simply chuckled as he moved it over my center again, flicking it so that I was speechless with need. As he dragged it upwards again, I could feel my moisture drag along with it, wetting the skin of my inner thigh. I looked over my shoulder, curiosity getting the best of me. It was a paintbrush, a medium-sized one that he used to paint details onto his canvass. The idea that he made me feel as I did with just that object aroused me so powerfully, it was all I could do to obey and stay still.

He caught me peeking and took a gentle swipe at my backside. "You have no impulse control, you realize that?" He shifted behind me and pulled my hips up and back so that I was on my knees. He continued to rain wet kisses along my back, reaching around to grasp my breast with one hand. He continued to pull me up to him until my back was flush against his chest, his erection pressing into my lower back and reached his other hand between my legs to rub me in the spot he knew would undo me. Pushing my head gently to the side, his mouth slid along my ear, sucking gently on my earlobe. His tongue ran down the length of my neck and shoulder as his fingers circled and pressed into my center. I was quivering at this point, the coil inside of me tightening. When he slid his fingers inside of me, I ground into him, my hands reaching behind to run along his thighs and grip him.

"I love you, Katniss." He whispered.

A gasp escaped me as I whispered back. "I love you too, Peeta."

"Tell me again." He asked as my breathing became frantic.

"I love you, Peeta." I said with more urgency.

"Again."

I was breathless with my mounting release so that the next time I could only say his name, a burst of sound buried in the middle of an explosion, a gasp surrounded by ragged breathing. I collapsed against his chest as my orgasm sped through my body. He gently pushed me forward onto my hands and knees and sunk slowly inside of me, my contractions becoming fierce against him. His groans meandered into mine as I felt the depth of his penetration, an incredible feeling of being stretched and filled. He held himself in place, enjoying the feeling of filling me up while my own waves subsided. He began to move in and out, his hands gripping my hips. I moved against him, trying to catch his rhythm. When we were finally synchronous, he moved with more purpose, one hand sliding along my back, sweeping around the front to tease the nipple of my breast until it ached painfully in his fingers. He let his hands run over my thighs, my backside, squeezing and kneading the skin.

"You're… so…amazing…like this." He hissed through clenched teeth as his movement became more intense. Gasps of pleasure escaped me in time with his impact, the sounds mixing with the slapping of our bodies together. Even that sound brought me an obscene amount of pleasure but I kept approaching the edge without reaching it. In this position, I could not reach my climax so I brought my hand down, seeking relief from the clenching in my belly. A few rounds of pressure and I was shaking, my back arching as Peeta slammed hard into me. I exploded into a million points of light and did not even register his release, lost as I was to mine, until he crumpled over me. We lay in a tangle of limbs, sweaty and worn for several long minutes, trying to recover our breaths. After a while, I felt Peeta shift until he had assumed his usual place behind me, kissing my shoulder languidly.

"I'm never washing that brush again." He whispered into my neck.

I laughed tiredly. "That's so romantic, in a gross sort of way."

XXXXX

There were no signs of life in Victor's Village. Even the geese seemed subdued this morning. We continued to lounge in our nest for an indeterminate amount of time, chatting about Effie and our observations about dinner.

"She seemed different somehow. I don't know how to explain. Almost…"

"Normal?" suggested Peeta.

"Never very normal but more thoughtful. It's hard to explain." I knew what I thought but could not articulate it well.

"I never realized it but without all of the Capitol decorations, she's actually really pretty." remarked Peeta.

I turned my head up to capture his eye. "She's too old for you, you know."

An evil gleam entered his eye. "Not very. You know what they say about older women and younger men…"

I gave him my best I will run you through with an arrow look before saying "Don't risk your life, Mellark."

He laughed openly now, running his hands through my hair. "Wow, are you telling me you're jealous?"

"I'm not jealous, especially of Effie!" I scowled at him.

"Ooooh, there goes that sour-puss face I like so much. Haven't seen that in a while. You going to finish me off now, sweetheart?"

I moved swiftly to straddle him, pinning his hands down above his head. "You're a regular comedian, aren't you? Don't joke about other women. It might end badly for you."

"Do tell. How badly are we talking about here?"

I spent the better part of the morning showing him just how bad it could really get.

XXXXX

Afterwards, my finger traced patterns on his chest as we considered what was left of the day. It was Saturday but we would have to go to the bakery so a picnic at the lake was out of the question. I was starting to feel anxious. The closer the day of the opening of the bakery, the more there seemed to do. We would begin accepting applications for employees on Monday and that would require us to look into references, which meant I would have to be on the phone with people and I was not looking forward to that. I was proud of the bakery and even felt a strange possessiveness towards it, as if it were a creature to be cared for. However, I could never have perceived how much work it took to open a small business. Peeta, who knew things without my having to say them, seemed to sense my nervous energy.

"Hey, I can run down to the bakery today. Why don't you hunt? You haven't done that in a few days."

I thought about the green canopy of silent trees and my heart filled with an old longing. "Are you sure you don't need me? I don't want to dump on you."

Peeta shook his head. "It's a short trip. I could stop off at the Hob on the way back. We need a few things and I have to get up to date on my gossip, anyway." He smiled to himself at this.

I buried my head in his shoulder and laughed at him. It was easier for me to laugh these days. The old pang of guilt for allowing myself to feel happy reared its ugly head but I pushed it down violently. I clung instead to Dr. Aurelius' words - "To find happiness again is the most noble way of honoring the dead." It warmed me to think I honored Prim by building a good life with Peeta, to imagine her somewhere, smiling benevolently on us. The nightmares hadn't gone away but they did not always drag me down as badly as they used to. Peeta's episodes were less frequent, though every bit as awful as the first time. I had a moment of optimism that we might figure out a way to co-exist with all of it.

In the woods, I climbed my favorite tree, straddling the thick limbs as I looked out over the mountain range. I could already feel the stress seep out of my tense muscles. The air was frigid despite the autumn sun – the forest did not lose the chill of night so easily. I thought of Effie and felt the familiar anxiety flicker through me again. It was hard to disassociate her from the Games, even if she had proven to be our ally when she could. I thought of her sadness when we were reaped for the Quarter Quell, the emptiness in her eyes when she oversaw my preparations in the Capitol after the Rebel victory. There was more to Effie than met the eye, and more to this trip than she was letting on. I sighed at this. I was suddenly ashamed that my initial reaction was to feel inconvenienced by her. Effie had always been a bit fragile and yet my hunter's instinct sensed a deep wound that had not been there before.

I suddenly worried about her and made a promise to myself to check in on her upon my return.

I scanned the woods around me, listening for the signs of prey. It was autumn, the air warmed by the caramel-colored sun, yet frigidness lay in wait between fall's gold, announcing the coming onslaught of winter. Animals were beginning to be scarce and I had to wander deeper into the woods than usual to find anything worth bringing home. Whatever animal made it to our dinner table would have to endure Peeta's manipulations. He was in a "sauce" phase now – he had gone through a "preservation" phase in which he'd literally mastered everything there was to know about preserving fruits and vegetables. Then he passed through a brief "caramelizing" phase, in which everything that could be caramelized was caramelized. Now he was in his "sauce" phase, where he was experimenting with different sauces. I began to think there was no way to exhaust his curiosity or imagination, which made my own interests monochromatic in comparison. My stomach, however, was the happiest it had ever been.

I trudged back to Victor's Village, tired from the hunting and my exertions with Peeta. I absently touched my fingers to my lips, recalling him there before I veered towards home. I heard the television in Haymitch's house, indicating that he was most likely awake. Effie's house revealed nothing about its current inhabitant. I was happy to see Peeta had returned, so much so I ran up the stairs and pushed open the door, dropping everything on the floor to look for him. He was in the study, sorting receipts and I surprised him with a voracious kiss.

"You should go hunting more often." He said as he pulled me onto his lap. I smiled at him, probably looking like a love-sick idiot but I didn't care. I could be his love-sick idiot.

"Let's go see Effie. I don't want her to feel she isn't welcomed." I said contritely.

"Okay. Let me finish this and then we can go." I nodded, lingering for a few more moments.

After my haul had been taken care of and I was freshly washed and dressed, we walked across the paved road and knocked on Effie's door. A few moments passed before she opened it, squinting almost painfully into the light. She was still in her pajamas, a look of pain flashing briefly across her face. Her attitude became more indulgent when she saw us.

"Oh, Katniss, Peeta. Hello! Come in, please." She waved us into the house.

She walked slowly to the living room, inviting us to have a seat. "Would you like coffee or tea?"

"Tea sounds good. I'll help you. Are you settled in yet?" asked Peeta.

While he made small-talk in the kitchen, I observed the house, taken aback by the powerful smell that hung in the air. Leave it to Effie to make the place smell like a spice factory. Thankfully, the window was open so I took the place on the love seat closest to it to relieve myself of the density of perfume in the air.

Peeta carried the tray holding three teacups with saucers, an ornate milk dispenser and matching sugar bowl, while Effie seemed to wobble behind him. Setting it down, he handed the tea to me and Effie before taking a seat next to me while Effie sat on the sofa opposite to me. She squinted again as she sank onto the cushions. She looked uncomfortable and almost ill.

"Are you okay, Effie?" I asked.

"Yes, I think I just have a little bug. Probably from the trip." She waved her hand as if to brush away my concern. "How are you? What have you been up to today?"

"Peeta had to go down to the bakery. I went hunting and managed to bring back a good haul."

She nodded at this as she sipped her tea. The warm liquid seemed to revive her and she suddenly became more animated. "I am simply dying to see the town. I've heard so much about the rebuilding of District 12 that I can't wait to see it with my own eyes." She paused, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Forgive me, but I've also got a splitting headache. You know how long the train trip from the Capitol can be." She laughed uneasily.

"Yeah, it can be grueling. Is there anything we can do for you?" asked Peeta. "Maybe some medicine for your headache?"

"No, don't worry yourselves. I have everything I need. I'll be good as new tomorrow…" Her sentence was interrupted by a knock on the door. She stood up carefully and shuffled to the door. I heard Haymitch's gruff voice as he walked in. When he saw Peeta and I, he simply nodded.

"Here, I brought you this." He said without preamble, pushing a glass of something yellow and cloudy into her hand.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's better if I don't tell you but it will get rid of your hangover." He said as he sat down.

Hangover? Peeta and I just glanced at each other.

"It smells awful!" she squealed. "How do I know it won't kill me?" she complained.

"If the half-bottle of whiskey you downed yesterday didn't kill you, nothing will." He answered gruffly.

"I thought you had a bug?" I said suspiciously. Peeta was starting to chuckle next to me. "Some bug." he whispered to me.

Effie grew pale and looked around herself nervously as it if an answer would leap out from one of her cloying, scented candles. "Okay, fine. I had a little too much to drink and now I feel like something ran me over. I'm sorry the first night I come to visit, I become Haymitch…" here she threw a look of disdain at him "…except much better looking."

Haymitch gave her a fuck you look before answering "You weren't such a snob last night when I threw you in the shower, eh?" He raised an eyebrow, a gleam of wickedness in his eye. Effie became so red, I thought her head would burst, a stream of confetti rushing out to cover everything. I was in complete shock at this point. Peeta didn't have to go all the way to the Hob to get the good gossip. Haymitch and Effie? Shower? I know the shock was written all over our faces and Haymitch was loving every minute of it.

"Don't flatter yourself. I was completely dressed when you pushed me in!" she shrieked.

Haymitch was working hard to repress his laughter. "But you weren't when you came out. Took me a long time to go through your little lacies to find that bunny outfit there. How do you put up with those little stringy things going up your ass all the time, anyway?" He mimicked holding what I imagined was a pair of thongs in his hand, making a face as he said it. Peeta turned his head, putting it on my shoulder in an effort to hide his increasing inability to keep a straight face.

"How dare you – you touched my underwear?" She gasped. My mouth was hanging open in complete surprise and I brought my hand up to cover it before I swallowed a fly. I wanted to repress the laughter, we both really did – for Effie's sake but it just bubbled up out of me. Peeta couldn't take it any more and joined me, to his credit still trying to be polite. I didn't even bother, letting the moment over take me. Thankfully, she was so mortified that she barely noticed me.

"Every. Single. Last. Piece." Sneered Haymitch, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh, I'm going to have to disinfect everything now! Or burn them!" She screeched again. "Those are designer interiors you were pawing, you perverted drunkard, you…you…" He stamped her foot in fury.

"I could tell. They felt so good on my skin…"

With a burst of outrage, she pushed him towards the door. "Out! Out you beast! You! Ooooh, I'm so mad I could spit!"

"Fine, but drink that down first so you'll be hydrated enough to get a wad of spit going." Haymitch said between his laughter before the door slammed shut behind him.

Peeta and I were dying with poorly suppressed laughter, leaning against each other on Effie's velvet loveseat. I grabbed a napkin from the tray to wipe the tears that had spilled onto his cheeks from the pressure of holding in his mirth. "I'm not going to be able to control it, Peeta. We have got to get out of here." I whispered to him. He just nodded through pinched lips.

When Effie walked back in, we stood up suddenly, moving quickly towards the door. "Um, Effie, maybe we should get going too." Said Peeta, trying to give her back her dignity. "We left some, uh…"

"Meat!" I burst out. "We left meat on the counter. You know, spoilage and all…" I fairly pushed Peeta out the door.

Effie still carried a look of mortification. She made a superhuman effort to be composed "Oh, okay then. Thank you for your visit."

"Tomorrow?" sputtered Peeta. "We'll take a walk into town together."

"Of course." said Effie stiffly. "I'd love that."

I shut the door behind us, pulling Peeta down the steps as I ran to our lawn. When I was sure she couldn't hear, we fell on the grass, letting the hysterical laughter take over us.

"Oh. My. God! That was amazing!" I howled.

Peeta could barely breath. "Haymitch groping her thongs. Priceless! Why didn't we invite her sooner?"

"I don't know but she just went and got drunk and those pajamas…" I put my head in my hands.

"And what was that about the shower?" Peeta's eyes were tearing again. "We are awful human beings, laughing at poor Effie."

I looked at him in mock seriousness. "Oh fuck it, we're entitled to a laugh." I threw myself back into the grass. "Amazing!"

"Did you just swear again?" said Peeta as he sunk next to me.

"Yes, I did. Everyone does it sometimes." I said a bit defensively.

"Yeah, but you are so hot when you curse." whispered Peeta, his mood changing completely, even though he still had a smile on his face.

I felt as light as a bird and wanted to play. "Well, then, Peeta Mellark, if you like it so much, I could oblige you on occasion. What would you like to hear? Does "fuck me right now" sound good to you?"

His eyes lit up. "Sounds perfect." He put his mouth down to me and gave me a fiery kiss full of promise for things to come. I pulled him down on top of me, wrapping my legs around his waist and was soon lost to the world when I heard the harsh, gruff voice come from across the lawn.

"Hey, take that shit inside! You've got fifty fucking rooms to choose from! Don't you guys have hobbies or something?!" Haymitch hollered from the fence where he kept his geese.

Peeta put his head down on my chest. "What a cock-blocker!" he hissed.

I gave him a look of congratulations. "Score one for Peeta! Now we're tied 1-1."

He stood up and pulled me up against him. "You up to a challenge, Everdeen? Want to see who's got the dirtiest mouth?"

I felt a slow smile spread across my face, the heat already overtaking my limbs, goose flesh spreading down to my toes. Moving towards the house, I gave him a swat on his backside, throwing a superior smirk over my shoulder. "You're on." I purred. "Prepare to have your gorgeous ass annihilated."

XXXXX

That would make the score 2-1.

For those of you who recalled the poem at the opening of this chapter, I moved it to a later one. It was more appropriate as the tone of this chapter is decidedly lighter than the others.

Let me know what you think! Don't worry, the angst is underway.