An Offer & A Treat

"I happen to disagree." Effie declared, ignoring Gale's muttered 'No surprise there'. "I think this movie had depths."

"And a lot of shirtless men with virtually added abs." her bodyguard mumbled.

Effie shot him a grin. "Oh, darling, I hate to break it to you but I do not think they were virtually added."

Gale made another face and she suppressed a laugh to survey the two bags open on her couch. Had she taken everything? Though the question should be: was there anything left to take? She looked around but every time she visited her apartment she had the feeling it was getting emptier and emptier. Even the picture frames had somehow made it to the Presidential Mansion now. Her apartment, for all its fabulous colors, looked almost soulless. Sleeping there felt like camping – and not just because it meant a whole evening spent in Gale's company.

"I think we can…" she started only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

Gale, who had been unceremoniously lounging on her armchair, was suddenly on his feet, an alert look on his face. She had only taken two steps toward the front door when he caught up with her. "I'll get that." There was no room to discuss it in his tone and Effie tried really hard not to roll her eyes. Instead, she checked her watch and sighed when she saw the time. She didn't have time for interruptions or scenes and there weren't that many people who would knock at her apartment's door.

She fully expected Elindra.

She was mistaken.

"Effie, sweetest, can you call down your guard dog?" a familiar male voice called from the other side of Gale.

She gently nudged her Peacekeeper away from the open door, glaring when he didn't comply quickly enough.

"I need to search him if he's coming in." Gale reminded her.

"You need to do no such thing." Effie huffed. "You need to learn manners and how to say Good afternoon." She rolled her eyes. "Why don't you take the bags to the car?" The look Gale shot her told her that wasn't happening because he wasn't going to leave her alone with a potential threat that wasn't a threat. And to say they had shared what could have almost be called a pleasant week-end… She sighed. "Fine. Please, give me some space?"

Once Gale had reluctantly moved down the corridor a little and was standing against the wall, gaze straight ahead as if he couldn't see or hear – a lie but Boggs had taught him well – she turned back to her visitor with a big fake smile. "Seneca, darling. How surprisingly wonderful."

Seneca lifted an eyebrow, not fooled at all by her attitude but looking just as politely pleasant himself. "I was in the neighborhood."

"I seriously doubt that." she remarked. "How did you know I was here?" For once, the press had failed to report her retreat to her own apartment like they usually did. "You would not have me followed, now, would you?"

"Ah, no… That would be Father's methods." Seneca shrugged, a little sheepish. "The President is in Eleven so I made an educated guess."

"I have no idea what you can possibly mean." she deadpanned.

His eyes darted to the pink diamond on her hand but he didn't press the issue. "You are a hard woman to get a hold onto those days. Mind if I come in?"

She sighed and opened the door wider. "I am the Press Secretary, I happen to be busy. And I hate to be rude but I was actually on my way out, so…"

He stepped inside and more or less forcefully closed the door behind him, immediately glancing at Gale. "I was not aware you had a Peacekeeper escort."

"He is in training." she countered, since that was the excuse they had all agreed upon to explain a special force Peacekeeper shadowing her. "What can I do for you, Seneca? As I mentioned I am…"

"Why aren't you taking my calls anymore?" he cut her off – quite rudely at that. He also cut the crap and dropped the polished mask of disinterest, betraying some unsettlement and concern. "I left you a dozen voicemails."

She scoffed. "You must be joking… You tried to block our policy by any…"

"That's business, Effie." he interrupted again. "I was hoping you would know that has nothing to do with our friendship."

That caught her by surprise and brought her short. Of course, he would think that… And why wouldn't he? That was how things were done in the city. If everyone held grudges every time someone else stabbed you in the back, nobody would be on speaking terms with anyone else. She had been spending so much time with District people… They tended to be more honest about things and perhaps it had influenced her a bit.

"I have been avoiding you." she confessed, folding her arms in front of her chest and making no move to invite him further inside. "Let's just say I was warned you had plans I would not like and I would rather avoid the embarrassment of it all."

An amused smile danced on his lips. "Ah, Lyssa… She was rather annoyed at brunch the other day. I suspect she is growing a spine… Who would have thought?"

"Careful." she hissed. "You are talking about my sister."

Surprise flashed on Seneca's face. More than anyone, he knew just how tense things had always been between the two of them… He recovered quickly though. "I have a proposition for you, sweetest."

"Don't you mean a proposal?" she asked innocently, lifting her eyebrows.

"It seems someone got there first." he joked, shaking his head and pointing at her engagement ring. "No, I do mean a proposition." He looked her up and down but not in an assessing way, it was almost embarrassed. "Father thinks you would make the perfect wife…"

"How lovely." she deadpanned.

"However I think that would be a gross misuse of your talents." Seneca continued. "I want to offer you a job, Effie."

That was really not what she had expected. At all. "A job. Have you finally realized you need better PR? I am sorry, Seneca, but you do understand that anything you would offer me would be going down? I am Panem's Press Secretary…"

"How about the President of Panem's Chief Of Staff?" Seneca cut her off. "The job would not start for another year and a half or so. Counting the campaign of course."

She stared at him. "You plan on running."

"Of course, I plan on running. Do not act so surprised, you already knew that." he dismissed. "And I want you at my side when I win. Not as my wife, any pretty idiot will do for that… No, I want you where you belong, not as my PR but as my right hand… So? What do you say?"

An hour later, as she waited on the roof of the Center for Hovercraft One to land, Effie was still pondering the question.

Haymitch looked happy and rested when he hopped off the Hovercraft, balancing his own overnight bag over his shoulder like he didn't have people to carry it for him… She felt herself smile and it only grew when their eyes met and his own lips stretched in answer.

"Mr President." she greeted him cheerfully, aware that there were other people on that roof. "Did you have a nice week-end?"

"Yeah. Brought back some leftover pies." he told her as if it was the best news ever. "You?"

"Oh, you know… The usual…" she hummed, as they fell in step on their way to the roof's door. "Some work, Gale and I watched a movie… He quite enjoyed the shirtless men…" Gale shot Boggs a long suffering look. To his credit, Boggs' face remained set in a blank mask. "Oh, and I got a job offer…"

Haymitch lifted his eyebrows. "That means I've got to start looking for a new Press Secretary?"

"Well, it depends… Are you willing to match the offer?" she deadpanned.

He pretended to consider that for a second as they went down the short flight of stairs that led to the Center's penthouse that was mostly used to host important people who weren't important enough to stay at the Mansion overnight. "Guess it depends on the offer… You're in for a raise?"

"Well, how would you feel about firing Plutarch and naming me Chief-of-Staff?" she asked innocently.

Haymitch whistled, impressed, as they stopped in front of the elevator. Boggs pushed the button for them.

"Chief-of-staff, yeah?" he repeated.

She nodded. "Of the next President of Panem."

"If only we weren't aiming higher than that…" He snorted and placed a hand at the small of her back, gesturing at her to step between the opening doors of the elevator first. She did. He followed, then Boggs and Gale walked in, stationing themselves right in front of the doors. "You're gonna be blind and deaf for the next minute." Haymitch said, suddenly serious. With their backs turned on them it was hard to say what the bodyguards' reaction was but Effie didn't have time to ponder it much longer because he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. His mouth was on hers before she could think about the dozen of reasons why this wasn't a good idea. She responded to the kiss very enthusiastically. When he drew back, he was smirking and his voice had softened. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi." She was grinning like an idiot. "I missed you."

His smirk deepened. "Didn't."

"Liar." she accused.

He leaned back in but Boggs cleared his throat. "I'm blind and deaf, Sir, but, just in case you've forgotten, there are cameras in here…"

Effie glanced up but couldn't see any. Of course there were cameras, though. They were in the Center. "Could you…"

"I'll take care of it, Miss Trinket." the Head Peacekeeper promised.

She reluctantly stepped away from Haymitch, right in time for them to step out of the elevator. It was a short car drive to the Mansion, an unnecessarily one, really, since it was a ten minutes walk and Haymitch grumbled about the waste all the way to the car.

"Who's trying to recruit you?" he asked, sounding serious for the first time that day, once they were safely inside the car.

She hesitated and then winced, knowing he wasn't going to like it. "Seneca."

"Crane?" Haymitch scoffed. "Crane ain't gonna be the next President if I've got anything to say about it."

"It is rather rash to announce it this early." she agreed. "As it turns out, he would need someone like me to manage his campaign." You didn't announce two years and a half before elections that you were running unless you were entirely clean and Effie knew first hand there were a lot of skeletons in his closet. They were friends, yes, but as Seneca had said so well earlier, business was business. At this stage, it wouldn't take a lot to hurt his credibility. Coin's sudden retreat to Thirteen had left a power vacuum as Haymitch's main political opponent and if Seneca hoped to fill that void… He would be disappointed. "I will start digging."

"You do that." He sighed and then shoot her a look that was partly amused. "That guy has nerves…"

"On the bright side, he did not try to convince me to break up with you." she remarked.

"Sure… He just tried to convince you to turn traitor." he mocked, shaking his head. He reached across the seat and grabbed her hand. "Next time I go to Eleven I'm taking you with me."

"Seneca would certainly not think to look for me there." she teased.

"There's that." he acknowledged. "But Chaff also really wants to meet you."

That would be much easier to do if his friend was willing to come up to the city but, from what she had understood, Chaff was very reluctant to return to the Capitol. "I would like that."

They couldn't hold hands from the car to the residential floor because there were eyes on them, always eyes on them, but their fingers kept bumping together not quite accidentally… The moment the suite's door shut behind Haymitch, Effie was spun around and kissed senseless…

She wasn't protesting.

They tore at each other's clothes as if it had been two months rather than two days, half tripping on discarded pieces of fabric and knocking into furniture as they blindly made their way to the bedroom, refusing to stop kissing long enough to find a straight path.

At some point, she was tired of stumbling backward and she just hopped, wrapping her legs around his waist… His hands immediately slid down to her ass to support her… With the change in height it also meant his face was closer to her chest and he lost no time getting reacquainted with her breasts… She tangled her fingers in his hair, arching her back…

She was startled when he lied her down on the bed, not even having realized they had finally made it to the bedroom… She recovered quickly with a chuckle when Rascal leaped off the pillow with an annoyed hiss at being dislodged… Haymitch didn't seem to care one bit for the cat's feelings. He slip off the thong down her legs and sat up to stare at her, licking his lips…

Clearly, all he had wanted was to get her naked and on a flat surface…

Of course, then he buried his face between her thighs and she didn't see why she should complain about that… He worked fast, doing all the things she liked, making it hard for her to do anything but twist and wriggle and moan… She was scratching his shoulders in her need to… She needed to come. But he wasn't getting her there…

"Stop toying." she hissed because she knew he was doing it on purpose. Keying her up just to…

He drew back with a smirk, eyes twinkling mercilessly…

She growled and pulled him up, wrapping her legs tightly around his hips, rubbing against him… She had meant to entice him into moving things along but his hardness was rubbing right where she wanted it and… She tossed her head back, eyes closed, chasing after her pleasure…

"I want you." he groaned in her ear, dropping hasty kisses down her neck only to come back up her jaw and find her mouth for a searing kiss.

"Then fuck me already!" she snapped, outstretching an arm toward the bedside table… Truly, she wished the maids didn't keep putting the box of condoms back in the drawer – first because it was a bit humiliating and second because it certainly would have been more practical to have it right there…

"I want you like this." he countered, a pleading note in his voice. His hand ran down her outstretched arm, found hers, entwined their fingers… His hips were still rocking against hers. It was chaotic, no real pace or technique… She felt his head pushing against her core, not quite slipping in but…

I want you like this…

It took her a moment to figure out what he meant.

Without a condom.

"Pro…Protocols…" she stammered. She should have been given a medal to even be able to say that much. She was beyond aroused and she really, really wanted him to take her and…

"Fuck protocols…" he grumbled, clearly less far gone than she was. "It's been more than three year, it's ridiculous…"

"DNA… National Security…" she recited, trying to focus but, really, it was hard to do when they were rubbing against each other like animals in heat unable to stop.

"Ain't like you never swallowed my DNA before, sweetheart. We don't use condoms for that." he countered. He was right, of course, and, on paper, they should have. She wasn't entirely sure why it would be bad if anyone got a sample of his DNA, the science was above her, but she knew it would be and… "Who's gonna know?"

She squeezed his fingers, her other hand tracing a path to his nape…

"If you think they won't know, I am afraid you do not give enough credits to special force Peacekeepers…" she mumbled. "Protocols…"

"You wrote the damn protocols…" he reminded her, biting down on the tender flesh beneath her ear. "Just change them."

His head almost slipped in again. It was accidental, she thought, because he cursed and shifted his hips so it wouldn't happen again. It also meant the friction wasn't as good. Frustration might kill her but it also made it slightly easier for her brain to work.

"If I change the protocols it means they apply to everyone." she argued. "If another woman…"

"You think I would cheat on you?" he snapped, lifting his head to glare at her as if it was the most offensive thing she could say. And it probably was for him. He took faithfulness very seriously.

"No." she said and was surprised to find she meant it. She had always expected cheating from boyfriends and girlfriends but Haymitch… Haymitch was a different story. "I am simply saying it sets a precedent."

He frowned and scoffed. "Given you're the only woman I plan on ever fucking again, I don't think it matters that much. If we were married it wouldn't even be an issue… You think Peacekeepers cared what former Presidents got into with their First spouse, maybe? You think they checked the trash for condoms?"

"But we are not married and it is complicated…" She sighed. Although… Did it have to be? Granted, she had designed those protocols because nobody had cared to make any for a single President in office who was very probably sexually active. It had been a way to prevent disaster when she had first come on the team. But when she had written those protocols up, she hadn't thought she would ever be concerned by them… "True, it is not like you are single anymore… Perhaps, I could amend them… An exception for a steady long-time relationship? Or…"

"Great." he snickered "Maybe don't start working on it right now, sweetheart…" He angled his hips differently again and his erection was right back between her legs, teasing her. "You want to?"

"We should wait until I have changed the protocols…" she pointed out but his free hand had found her breast and, really…

"Not what I asked…" he chided, bowing down to suck her neglected nipple in his mouth. His tongue played with the hardened bud and she whimpered… He tugged at it with it teeth but let it pop out of between his lips before pressing a kiss on her breast, suddenly looking a little more serious. "It's fine if you wanna keep the condoms, sweetheart."

"It isn't that…" she protested. "I want to feel you. Of course, I want to feel you…" Condoms were all well and good but she would have been lying if she had said she hadn't fantasized about having him without one. They had been together so long… "Aren't you worried about…"

"I'm clean. You know they test me regularly for all sorts of things." he cut her off, almost hopefully. His hand left her breast, wandered down her side, trailed on the underside of her thigh… He hooked it up higher, lining them up so perfectly… One big thrust and he would be inside her…

She forced herself to think clearly. "I am clean too." She hadn't been tested recently but she hadn't been with anyone else in three years so… "What about… What about contraception…"

"You're on the pill…" he countered, his eyes avoiding hers. "You're still on the pill, yeah?"

"Yes, of course." she breathed out. "But you used to be so paranoid about…"

"You're on the pill. We're both clean." he interrupted. "Only question here is if you want it or not… Cause if you don't, that's fine…"

"I know it is fine." she huffed. Never once in their relationship had he tried to force her into something she didn't want. He didn't always ask permission but he always made sure she was alright with what he was doing. It was a subtle difference but one she appreciated. "Are you sure?"

"I'm the one who keeps asking, princess…" he pointed out drily.

He wasn't expecting her to roll them over and the only reason she managed was because she took him by surprise. But he didn't protest once she lifted herself up and grabbed him firmly in hand… His fingers dug in the back of her thighs, urging her down…

And down, she went, letting him slip inside inch by inch until he was buried fully in her and…

Oh yes, it had always been good but this was even better…

And if the way he had thrown his head back into the mattress a little and his neck was straining was any indication, he felt the very same way…

"Are you alright?" she asked, a bit amused.

"Never done it without a condom before." he muttered. "That's… You're… Fuck…"

"Oh, so I am your first?" she teased. "We better make it exceptional then…"

She proceeded to do just that, torturing him with a slow pace that it almost killed her to keep… Truth be told, she was a bit relieved when he gave up on his self-control, pulled her under him and fucked her so hard she cried out loud enough to be heard corridors away – she might or might not get embarrassed about that later but right then she didn't care about anything that wasn't her immediate release.

He sneaked a hand between their bodies and mercilessly flicked her clit…

She came so hard her sight went a little white for a second… By the time she came back to her body, he was groaning her name, chasing after his own pleasure… He came as hard as she had, or so she thought. He slumped on her and remained there, out of breath.

"Fuck…" was all he found to say.

She snorted and gently pushed him off, wincing a little at the sticky mess they made. One good thing about condoms… It certainly made that part a little less messy. Since he didn't seem to be in any state to do it, she wandered off to the bathroom to quickly clean herself and came back with a wet towel to wipe him off. He hummed in pleasure when she touched him, smirking at her…

"You look like Rascal when he got his treats." she mocked, tossing the towel next to the bed and snuggling into his awaiting embrace.

"I liked my treat." he told her very seriously, wrapping himself around her like an octopus and nuzzling her neck. "I wanna get another one…"

"Too many treats and you will get spoiled…" she retorted. "Isn't that the rule you set for my poor cat?"

"Ah but that's different…" He chuckled against her collarbone, pressing a small kiss there. "Haven't seen you in two days, so I've got treats to catch up on…"

She grinned. "Is that so?"

"Oh, yeah…" He snorted, tightened his embrace. "Lots of treats, sweetheart… Maybe you can get some too…"

"You are ridiculous." she accused but couldn't help a laugh.

And she had very much missed it during the last two days…

What did you think? Is Seneca the next Coin? Should Effie make an effort to stay friends? Wasn't it HIGH time to change those protocols? Will Haymitch get another treat? Tell me all!