Prompt : I've got a prompt for vampire au: Please give me vampire!Chaff so annoyed by hayffie's antics that he's ready to bite it (if only he could). Because spending eternity next to hayffie surely sucks (pun intended) ;)

This is a follow up to chapters 463 and 577! You might want to check those first.

The Village's King

Being a vampire came with enhanced hearing and, for the first time in more than a century, it was something Chaff could have really, really done without.

"They're at it again?" he sighed, leaning against the frame of his front door, stealing a cigarette from the packet Johanna was holding.

Why Johanna felt the need to come litter his front yard with her cigarettes was anyone's guess. He had stopped expecting serious answers to his questions three decades ago. The girl was caustic on her best days and aggressive on her worst ones. She was one of those he and Haymitch kept a close eye on because it was too easy for them to slip and stop hunting animals to go after humans. It was a nice place they had found in that gated community, he and Haymitch would have both liked to keep it as long as possible.

"Do they ever stop?" she scowled, tossing the butt of her cigarette and crushing it under her boot, flashing her fangs. "You've got to talk to Haymitch, Chaff."

"Me?" he scoffed. "Why me?"

"'Cause you're the oldest." she said very seriously and he became aware that they were being watched. The night was young still but already alive. He throbbed with the thrill of it, the urge to seize it, hunt something nice, a deer or a wild cat, sink his fangs into warm flesh…

"Mags' the oldest." he argued. Mags was almost as old as Snow himself but she was weak, thanks to their rival vampire's ploys, and completely dependent on Finnick. She was no vampire queen and while he and his one hundred and twenty-five years came after her in age… He was no vampire king either. He wasn't the one managing this hive. He wasn't the one keeping the youngsters under control through sheer charisma.

"It can't go on." Jo hissed. "We all agree."

"Oh, you all agree, do you?" he scowled. "Then why don't you all get your asses over there and tell him yourself?"

Johanna rolled her eyes. "We can't challenge him."

"But I can?" he snorted.

"You're the oldest." she repeated as if it meant shit.

They might not have been running this gate community like an official hive – they were certainly not running it like Snow ruled his little kingdom of slaves – but there were still protocols to follow. It was ingrained in their nature. Vampires lived in hives and hives rallied around a leader. Mags might have been that in the beginning, after they had all fled Snow's tyranny, but that had been before they had starting taking in rogues and loners abandoned by their sires, it had been before Mags had spent years locked away in a crypt because Snow had hoped losing their leader would weaken them… Losing Mags hadn't weaken them. Because they still had had a leader.

And it certainly wasn't him even if he was the oldest there.

"Give me a fucking break." he snapped. "Didn't even drink any blood yet."

And he would need coffee in it. A lot, lot of coffee.

"I'll get you blood." she growled. "I'll get you a fucking bag of O neg and some whiskey to top it but, for fuck's sake, go and talk some sense into him."

He rubbed his face.

Youngsters didn't challenge a master vampire, not if they valued their hide.

He was no youngster and, by right, he might have been considered a master too. He was a century old after all. But he had always been aware Haymitch was more powerful than he was. Instinct was hard to suppress for them and his instinct had a very strong submit or flight response to Haymitch. Fight wasn't an option because he knew he would lose. Haymitch was aware of that, it would have been hard for him not to be. He had been sired by Snow himself and Snow was as old and powerful as they came. His own sire had been a minor vampire, not enough power to pass along.

They had long ago agreed not to let that influence their friendship. Haymitch liked to pretend everyone was equal in their little community. He liked to pretend he wasn't their king.

Everyone humored him but everyone also knew better.

Even Katniss and Johanna.

"What do you want me to do here?" he scowled, flicking ashes off his cigarette with annoyance. "It's only been a couple of weeks…"

"It's been three weeks." Jo cut him off. "She can live on her own now. If he can't control her, then she needs to go. They're bothering everyone. When they're not screaming at each other, they're fucking loud enough to wake half the Village. Day and night. We're not animals. The way he's behaving… He's never been like this. You can't tell me you don't see it? She's done something to him."

He actually chuckled at that but there was no amusement behind it. "She's done some things to him alright… You're sure that's not what's bothering you?"

Johanna sneered. "Please."

But her shifting eyes said it all. She had been sporting a crush for Haymitch ever since they had found her in New Orleans that summer thirty years earlier but he had never wanted to do anything with her. Aside from the occasional lay, Haymitch had never wanted to do anything with any woman that Chaff could tell.

It was the first time Chaff had seen him taking any interest in a woman like that.

And despite the incessant arguing, his friend was happy. Sure, the shouting and the never-ending sex noises soundtrack were becoming old… But Haymitch was happy.

"You're so eager to kick her out, why don't you try challenging her?" he mocked.

"Like I couldn't flatten her in five seconds." Jo muttered, burying her hands in her pockets.

Maybe, maybe not, he mused but didn't say that out loud, mindful of Johanna's ego. The girl prided herself on being the toughest of their lot and it would have been difficult to say who, of her or Katniss, was the most powerful one.

But Effie now…

The moment he and Haymitch had walked into that club he had felt her and that had been before Haymitch had finished turning her. Given who her sire was… It wasn't that surprising she was that powerful. She might not have been a skilled fighter but she had charisma enough that he was certain it wouldn't be long before she managed to develop a thrall.

"I'm not sure she's the one you should be worrying about." he snorted. "Can't see Haymitch taking it very well."

"You're going to go talk to him or what?" she spat, bringing them back on topic.

He sighed. "And say what? Look, you don't like her, I get it, but I ain't gonna march over there and get my ass landed to me just 'cause it all bothers you that Haymitch is getting some."

"It's not about him getting some." she snarled. "You've seen his neck? She uses him as a chew toy."

"Whatever floats his boat." he dismissed. He had his suspicions that Haymitch used her as a chew toy too, except the bite marks must have been in more… discrete places.

"What if she claims him?" she insisted. "She's three weeks old and she thinks she can waltz in and…"

"Johanna." he growled, putting just the right amount of authority in his voice that the girl shut up. She glared at him and plainly resented the show of power but she blissfully shut up. "Listen to me, girl. He's a hundred and he's her sire. She won't force him into anything he doesn't want. And if he wants to claim her or let her claim him…" He waved his stump in the air. "It's about time he finds some good in this world. He spent half his undead life taking care of all of your ungrateful asses who want to send me explain to him what he can or can't do. Newsflash. He can do whatever he wants. You know why? 'Cause he could tear us all limb to limb and not break a sweat."

Jo's pout was an ugly thing. "So you won't help, that's what you're saying."

"I'm saying it's been three weeks, they're still all over each other." he grumbled. "It will fade soon enough. Now run along and let me enjoy my evening in peace for fuck's sake."

He tossed the cigarette and stormed back in his house, slamming the door behind him for good measure. He had just finished fixing himself some blood with his coffee when his too sensitive ears picked up the echo of yet another argument.

He closed his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh.

He couldn't quite make out what they were fighting about but he had figured out quickly enough that fighting was a lot like foreplay to them. And, surely enough, the shouting match soon left place to more straightforward noises. And even if he had been deaf, it would have been difficult to ignore the buzzing. Haymitch's power was a familiar and comforting background hum that they had all gotten used to – it was comforting, it was safety, it was home. Effie now… Effie's power was new and nobody was still quite used to it yet, which left everyone on edge. It would settle eventually but when they were together like that… Well… Haymitch's power seemed to throb and it was impossible to ignore it.

He ate his breakfast and waited.

He might not agree with Jo's methods or with the cowardice of the rest of their friends who would rather push him under the bus but he could still see some stuff would have to be spelled out.

It wasn't Haymitch's fault. There weren't a lot of couples in the Village and none of them were as powerful as Haymitch and Effie were. His friend probably didn't even realize.

So when the buzzing receded, Chaff took himself by the hand, gathered his courage and crossed the street. He hammered on the door until Haymitch wretched it open, sporting an irritated look and only wearing a pair of checkered sweatpants that seemed to hang low on his hips.

"What?" Haymitch barked, gruff. His grey eyes darted behind Chaff to several specific points down the street where, no doubt, people were spying on them.

"We need to have a talk." Chaff declared, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Do we?" he growled, flashing fangs, clearly not liking the authoritative attitude.

Chaff held on as long as he could but in the end, he licked his lips and forced his shoulders to relax, forced himself not to appear too confrontational. "Yeah, we do. Maybe Effie could quit eavesdropping and go visit Peeta or whatever."

As if on cue, Effie emerged from the living-room in a ridiculous pink dress and disheveled hair. He wasn't angry with her, unlike Jo he had nothing against her per se, but he was still annoyed to have to do this and he supposed it showed. She hissed because she felt threatened and then winced, shaking her head.

"My apologies." she sighed. "I still have troubles controlling… Well.. This…"

"It's fine, love." he dismissed.

"Not sure it is." Haymitch growled, his eyes still staring at something behind his shoulder. "The fuck is Jo lurking around for? 'Cause if she's got it in her head to attack my girl…"

"Nobody's gonna attack Effie." Chaff stated, loud enough to be heard three streets away by sensitive ears. It was an order that everyone would respect or regret defying.

"Better not." he retorted. "Cause if they do, they won't walk away from it."

"Enough nonsense, Haymitch." she chided, slipping past him, letting out a small purring sound as she did so. "I will be at Peeta's."

Haymitch watched her go and then stepped aside to let Chaff in, slamming the door shut almost pointedly. "What's this all about, then? 'Cause if you all think you're subtle…"

"Get an old friend a drink, yeah?" he snorted, clapping his shoulder. "Whiskey will do."

Haymitch rolled his eyes but led the way to the living-room, seemed to think better of it and then steered him toward the kitchen. Probably because the proofs of what had just happened with Effie were all over the living-room.

"I ain't letting her go." Haymitch snapped.

"Not asking you to." Chaff shrugged.

"They are." he spat, glaring at whatever – or whoever – he could sense beyond the window. "I get it. She's a pain in the ass and I hate her most days. But if she goes, I go. She's never been to Paris, I might take her there."

"You hate Paris." he pointed out, taking a sip of the whiskey Haymitch had just poured him.

"Didn't say I would stay there." his friend scoffed. "She's all fancy and shit. Might like a tour of Europe. It's been a while since I did that."

"You would never leave us for good. Not for Europe anyway." he chuckled. "Stop playing at being an old grumpy vampire."

Haymitch smirked, amused, but it was short-lived. He soon grew serious. "I ain't kidding. She goes, I go."

"Nobody's asking her to go." Chaff temporized. "But it'd be good if you could keep it…. Low. Buddy, I'm all for you pleasing the lady but I really don't need to hear as much as I do. Or feel, for that matter. Maybe you don't need to… show off about being an old powerful vampire that much or that often, yeah? I'm sure she's got the drift by now."

Haymitch had the good grace to look embarrassed. He finally sat down and poured himself a glass, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. "She's young, she's still getting used to the vampire thing… And…"

"And?" he prompted.

His friend made the whiskey twirl twice in his glass before downing it. "She challenges my authority. All the fucking time. I'm her bloody sire – pun intended – doesn't that go with instinctive respect or whatever? I can't help myself. She defies me and I just… You know. Show off, like you say. She's such a pain in the ass, I swear…"

Chaff sighed, snatched the bottle and refilled their glasses. "She's powerful."

"That too." Haymitch admitted with a snort. He didn't look sad or disappointed about it though. If anything, he looked happy to have find someone feisty. A good match.

"Teach her to keep herself under control, yeah? Work on that…" he advised. "She's still feeding of you?"

"No." Haymitch shook his head. "Well, yeah, sometimes. But I'm feeding of her too, so… It's less about feeding than…" He waved that away. "She's on blood bags now. She's not big on it but she's doing fine. I was thinking about taking her into town in a week or so, test how she does around humans."

"We could take Peeta too." he agreed. "He's had a hard time with keeping off live human blood. We can't keep him secluded here forever."

"Works for me." Haymitch approved. "We can take Katniss, Finnick and Beetee with us. Between the five of us we should be able to control them if they lose it."

"Alright. Good. That's settled." he nodded. "Now, back to the matter at hands… You're my best friend and I love you but I swear I'm gonna walk outside in daylight if you don't get your house soundproofed."

Haymitch rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on…"

"No." he cut him off. "We can't do much about the power thing until she learns to control herself but I won't listen to you screaming at each other or fucking each other senseless if I don't have to. For one thing, it's giving me a hard on every time and I don't have any pretty chick to take care of it. You're getting this house soundproofed."

His friend pursed his lips in displeasure but eventually gave him a brief nod, cheeks and tips of his ears a nice shade of crimson. "Fine. Alright. I'll talk to Beetee about it, see what he can come up with."

Chaff almost rubbed it in but then he decided his friend had been embarrassed enough for the day. He nodded to the collections of vampire hickeys on his throat. "Jo thinks she uses you as a chew toy."

"I'm hers and she's mine." Haymitch growled, almost defensively.

Chaff drummed his fingers on the rim of his glass, choosing his next words cautiously. "You wanna be careful with all that yours and mine business when you're biting each other… Wouldn't do to accidentally claim her. Eternity's an awfully long time."

Not that you could claim someone accidentally. It was very much like a marriage and only worked with the full consent of each party involved. It was all in the blood after all.

A shadow passed on Haymitch's face.

"Wouldn't be that bad." his friend muttered.

Chaff was surprised and didn't bother hiding it. Yes, it was the first time he had seen Haymitch willingly enter a serious relationship and, yes, he had talked about that possibility with Johanna but… He hadn't thought he was thinking about it yet.

"You've known her a month." he pointed out.

Haymitch awkwardly shifted on his chair and downed his glass. "The moment I saw her in that club I…" His friend stopped and shrugged. "Look, I know it's stupid, won't blame you for laughing at me, but… I feel like I've known her forever. Like… Like I was waiting for her or some shit. I don't know if it's because I sired her. I don't know if it's because she's so damn powerful it's intoxicating. I just know I can't lose her, alright?"

There was a hint of a growl in there, a challenge or a dare Chaff wasn't sure.

"Still fucking early to think about forever." he pressed all the same. "Give it a decade or two."

It wasn't like Haymitch to rush into that kind of things.

"Ain't saying I'm gonna ask her tomorrow." his friend grumbled. "Just saying… I'm serious about keeping her here. And if the others have got a problem with it…"

"The others have a problem with hearing you having sex and shouting at each other all the time." Chaff insisted. "Get that out of the way, it will go a long way into smoothing things over. They'll fall in line."

"Even Jo?" Haymitch mocked.

"Jo needs her ass kicked once in a while." he chuckled good naturedly. "You know she doesn't deal well with new women. She feels threatened easily. And she likes it even less when the newbies get all your attention. It was the same when you brought Katniss in."

She was jealous, in short, but he wasn't going to say that aloud. It wasn't that her crush was much more than that but Johanna was insecure. She kept people at arm length but she was desperate to belong and was terrified of finding herself on her own again. She was afraid of being replaced.

Haymitch had a gift to find strays who needed help. He also had a gift for finding kids who had a temper. Katniss hadn't immediately fit in and she and Jo had butted heads more than once before they had become friends.

"She better get used to it." his friend declared. "Effie's mine and she's here to stay."

Which made her Haymitch's official consort.

Which put her above Johanna in the food chain.

Which wouldn't go down well.

With the Careers using their back yard as their hunting ground, it wasn't the right time for that sort of power struggle.

"Just get that house soundproofed." Chaff begged and then he couldn't help himself, he laughed. "What the fuck did you break that last time?"

There had been the sound of collapsing furniture.

"Coffee table." His friend admitted.

"She likes it wild." he taunted.

"She doesn't like her sex life discussed and she's coming back." Haymitch warned, about thirty seconds before they heard the front door opening and closing. Surely enough, Effie walked in the kitchen, looking very much subdued. Haymitch frowned. "What's wrong with you? Someone bothered you?"

Haymitch was very good at controlling himself but Chaff saw a flash of his fangs.

Effie was flushed and didn't seem to be able to meet their eyes.

"Peeta mentioned a few… problems." she explained before pursing her lip petulantly. "Haymitch, why didn't you mention the enhanced hearing? Are you aware everyone can hear us when we… And… And what is this about feeling us?" Haymitch winced and Chaff burst out laughing to her clear irritation. "I fail to see what is amusing! Truly, if I had known… Oh… I am never having sex again."

"What?" Haymitch's head snapped up so fast something must have snapped in his neck.

Chaff wiped tears of hilarity from his eyes but took pity on her. She looked mortified.

"You know the buzzing you feel when you're near another vampire?" he asked.

"Yes." she nodded, half glaring at Haymitch and half squirming in embarrassment.

"It's stronger or weaker depending on who it is, right?" he continued.

She nodded. "You are strong but less than Haymitch."

"Yeah, well… You're not exactly weak yourself." he snorted. "So when you and Haymitch get into a fight and you try to get the upper hand, you power throbs and the buzzing increase. You need me to explain what happens when you're into that other sort of fighting or…"

"No, I understand." she said quickly, flushing ever redder. She cleared her throat. "We are very sorry for any inconvenience we have caused. Please, assure everyone it won't happen again. Now, if you will excuse me, I will go hide upstairs and not come out until a year or so."

Chaff burst out laughing, shaking his head at her back.

Haymitch made a face and propped himself on the table to stand up. "I need to go see Beetee. Now."

He walked to Beetee's house with him, planning on going to the woods to hunt himself something afterwards.

"For what it's worth… I like her." he told his friend.

Haymitch didn't acknowledge that but his shoulder bumped against his.

They didn't need to talk to understand each other.