Prompt: can you please do a prompt where right after the war effie stays with haymitch in 12 and one day they're cuddling and haymitch gets a boner. he's really embarrassed but they're both secretly pleased. thanks :)
By A Cold Winter Night
The creaking of the floorboard woke him up like it did every other night. He rolled on his side and held the covers open without bothering to lift his eyelids, not surprised at all when someone slipped in his bed.
"Nightmare?" he mumbled. It wasn't unusual for her to sneak in his room when she had nightmares.
"That would require sleep." Effie complained. "I can't sleep. It is entirely too cold."
She burrowed back against him, pressing her feet against his. He hissed and pulled his legs back instinctively before trapping her feet between his calves. He could still feel her freezing skin through the flannel of his sweatpants. His bed was warm but she was still shivering so he spooned her as tightly as he could, wrapping his arm around her waist. His hand accidentally met the bare flesh of her thigh and he snatched it back to place it safely on the slippery fabric covering her stomach.
"Told you you should start wearing proper pajamas." he grumbled. "Twelve's not the Capitol. Winter's harsh."
She insisted on wearing those frilly things at night… He had nothing against the frilly things. They made for a very nice view. But they would never be enough to keep her warm.
"I won't be caught dead in those flannel monstrosities." she swore.
"Give it time." he chuckled. "It's still early in the season."
She hummed in annoyance but her hand landed on his forearm. "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."
That wasn't as difficult as it had once been. She was trailing her nails up and down his arm in a distracted – and distracting – fashion, lulling him into a complete state of relaxation. He nuzzled her nape without truly meaning to, breathing in the flowering smell of her shampoo. Another shiver made her quiver and he instinctively drew her closer to him in an attempt at sharing his warmth. She wriggled closer herself, pressing against him, moving against him in a way that made him grunt. He immediately rested a hand on her hip – to urge her closer or to push her away, that was anyone's guess.
"Sorry." she whispered, glancing over her shoulder. She was biting down on her bottom lip and that wasn't helping.
"T's okay." he lied, clearing his throat. He placed his hand back on her stomach tentatively and, for a second, he thought it would be alright. Until she shifted a little and he ended up with the slippery fabric creased under his palm and his thumb touching what could only be the swell of her breast. The reaction was immediate. He tried to angle his hips away but with her feet trapped between his legs he only managed in creating more friction and that didn't help his little – now not so little – problem at all. There was no way she wasn't feeling that. "Shit, sweetheart. Sorry."
He tried to roll away from her but she grabbed his arm and kept him in place with a giggle. The giggle made him freeze and he forgot he was trying not to spook her because she had been shying away from this sort of contact ever since she had arrived in Twelve.
She pressed back against him again and he buried his face in her hair to muffle his groan.
"Effie." he warned.
"I like that you still want me." she confessed. "Even with the scars and everything." She giggled again, obviously more amused by the situation than he was. "That was quick, wasn't it?" She gave another experimental wriggle and he automatically clenched his fist around her nightgown, breathing deep not to embarrass himself. "You are so hard…"
"It's been a while." he retorted a little defensively. "And you're not helping."
Her hand felt behind her for his thigh and tugged it over her waist, firmly holding it in place.
"Let me help then." she purred, rubbing herself against him slowly.
He moaned.
He couldn't help it, really.
"Effie…" he begged, his hips jerking out, his body trying to keep that contact for as long as possible.
She giggled again. The hand that was on his thigh moved to his own hand. She patiently uncurled his fingers from her nightgown – and he barely noticed because he was focused on the way she was slowly rubbing herself against him, up and down and then round, and… He did notice when she guided his hand inside her nightgown to her breast.
It had been so long since she had let him touch her…
Her skin was still soft, a little cold but quickly warming up. He cupped her breast and squeezed automatically when she let go of his hand to grope his ass, urging him always closer. He wasn't thinking clearly anymore. She let out a soft moan and he squeezed again, flicking his thumb over her nipple in the way she preferred.
"I won't last long." he panted in her ear, out of breath, and almost dizzy.
"It's alright." she coaxed. The angle was awkward but she managed to slip her hand in his sweatpants and squeeze his butt cheek.
He let go of her breast to reach between her thighs but she got her hand out of his pants so fast the waistband snapped nastily against his waist. She grabbed his wrist so hard her nails dug in his skin.
"No." she said firmly.
Her hips had stopped moving and he tried to control his but… It was a lost fight by now. Even the thought that he was still humping her when she had requested him to stop wasn't enough to actually make his body obey. He was too close.
It took all he had left of sanity to tear himself away from her. He rolled on his back and covered his face with his hands, knowing it wouldn't be enough. He was throbbing with need and it would require more than just calming thoughts.
"No, I didn't mean…" she faltered. "You can still use me, I just don't want you to…" She sighed and grabbed his arm to pull him on his side. He jerked away from her but she was insistent. "I want to do this, Haymitch. I want to help you come."
The words shot down to his groin and his hips lifted on their own accord. She had no trouble at all getting him on his side after that.
"Not fair." he frowned, brushing his fingers against her face. "I don't need… You don't need to…"
"Well, we have to start somewhere, don't we?" she shrugged, leaning in to kiss him. "It's alright…" she whispered against his lips. "I want this." Her hand trailed down his chest and inside his pants. Her mouth kept brushing his, torturing him with something that wasn't quite a kiss. "Let yourself go." she coaxed, wrapping her fingers around him.
It was embarrassing how quickly it was over. She had barely stroke him once that he burst.
He pressed his face in the crook of her neck, breathing her smell in. She kept stroking until he was completely spent and then wiped her hand against his pants. He held her close, knowing from past experience she would soon demand that he changed.
"You're sure you don't want…" he hesitated, running his hand up and down her back.
"I don't think I am ready for that." she answered. "Soon but not now."
He pressed a soft kiss against her collarbone. "Even if I don't use my fingers? I can use my mouth…"
She hesitated long enough that he knew she was considering it but in the end she shook her head. "I don't… Don't take this the wrong way but I don't really want this yet. My body still feels foreign."
He could understand that. The scars, the injuries… He could remember a time, after he had woken up in the Games clinic when his body had felt different too. It had taken a long time to feel comfortable in his own skin again. "Okay. I will owe you one then, sweetheart."
She chuckled a little. "I will keep that in mind." He dropped lazy kisses on every inch of her skin he could reach, slowly making his way up to her lips. He could feel her grin against his mouth. "Did you enjoy yourself?" she hummed.
"Fuck, yeah." he snorted. "Can't remember the last time I jerked off."
"Hopefully, this is one time you won't forget." she teased, stealing one last lingering kiss. "You should go get clean up."
He rolled his eyes at her always having to be fussy but planted a last kiss on her lips and climbed out of bed and into the bathroom. He discarded the pants in the hamper without bothering to shrug off the shirt, quickly cleaned up and walked back to the bed with a wet cloth. She was holding her hand up so it wouldn't touch the sheets, clearly trying to find the will to get out of bed herself. She flashed him a pleased smile at his thoughtfulness – because it wasn't something to take for granted, he could admit it – and she hummed while he gently ran it between her fingers. He kissed her palm when he was done and tossed the cloth next to the bed before lifting the covers…
"You don't have any pants on." she commented.
He paused, a knee on the bed and a foot on the floor, naked from the waist down. "Does it bother you?"
"Won't you get cold?" she frowned.
The truth was that he was used to sleeping naked or not wearing much because he was often too drunk to bother with pajamas even in the brisk of winter. He had been careful about staying dressed since she had arrived not to make her uncomfortable. "I have you to warm me up, Princess."
It was cheesy but she laughed anyway so he climbed into bed and she immediately snuggled up to him, sneaking a hand under his shirt and pushing it up so she could access his chest. "Can you…" He wordlessly slipped it off and tossed it on the floor. She sighed in contentment and rested her head on his shoulder, her fingers drawing silly patterns on his chest when they weren't brushing through the hair past his navel that were leading down to parts of himself that would only be too happy to be touched again. She nibbled on his shoulder playfully. "Having you naked in my bed used to be one of my favorite things."
"Used to be?" he repeated, lifting an eyebrow.
"Obviously, it still is." she countered, hooking a leg over his, her thigh brushing – deliberately or not – against his penis.
"You're lucky I'm not sixteen anymore." he snorted.
"Don't sell yourself short…" she hummed. "I am sure I can get you off again tonight. I just remembered how much I like this game."
This, he decided, was a terribly frightening thought.
But then again, there were worse games to play.