PRMPT: Haymitch and peeta working out and the girls kinds swooning over them

Settling A Debt

"Hurry." Effie insisted, quickening her steps.

Katniss rolled her eyes, adjusting her grip on the picnic basket she was carrying as they made their way up the newly repaired streets to the ruins of the bakery. "It's still early. They won't be finished yet."

"I certainly hope so." she hummed, aware that lunch was still a distant half an hour away.

Twelve was louder than it used to be those days and she couldn't help but toss wary looks around because of the great number of workers shouting at each other from various rebuilding sites. Some people were simply normal citizens trying to build back their home, others were professionals contracted by the government to help speed up the process. In any case, it seemed like the whole place was full of people with hammers, saws and loud booming voices that bellowed orders to others.

Effie hadn't been around for long enough that she was used to it yet. The agitation made her nervous, the crowded areas made her want to run away… But she wouldn't have passed on the opportunity to bring Haymitch and Peeta lunch for the world. Watching them work on the bakery… Well, it was a guilty pleasure of hers.

It didn't take long for the two of them to reach their respective partner. The bakery had been bombed to the ground and the first step had been to clear all the rubble – something that had been very emotional for the boy. Now, they were finally laying out the outer walls and there was something to be said for watching Haymitch play around with bricks and cement that Effie just couldn't shake.

The heat was unforgiving under that summer sun and, just like she had hoped, her victors had made themselves comfortable by shedding their shirts. She barely glanced at Peeta aside for flashing him a warm smile and a greeting. Her blue eyes immediately darted to Haymitch's bare chest.

He had never been a shy man – if she had let him, he would probably have lived naked – and so he had no qualms about taking off his shirt when he got too hot. The only thing that might have held him back was the huge scar on his side and the faded ones on his back but his own vanity and self-consciousness irritated him and he tended to shrug them off.

He had developed a nice tan those last few weeks and the contrast between his dark skin and the scars was striking. It was also striking against her own pale flesh and she simply loved seeing them squashed together.

Haymitch's eyes met hers, twinkling with amusement because he wasn't fooled by her excuse that she and Katniss had had errands to run in town and that, by all means, they should finish that row of bricks before they all ate lunch. He knew exactly how much she liked watching him work out. He knew exactly what the drops of sweat rolling down his shoulder blades did to her. He knew exactly how desperate she was to lick it off his skin – as disgusting as she would have claimed it was in other circumstances.

He made a show of it, naturally, making sure she had a good view while he and Peeta silently finished what they had started and smeared cement before adding bricks.

For all her earlier complaining, Effie noticed, Katniss took a seat on an upturned bucket and watched Peeta almost as intently as she was watching Haymitch.

The pale blond hair on his chest, the thicker patch on his lower belly that disappeared beneath the waist of his pants…

She didn't really mind that he had no real abs to speak off or that his stomach wasn't that firm under her hands. Alcohol made him soft but he wasn't fat by any stretch of the imagination. His broad shoulders, his natural built… He was a strong man even if he didn't cultivate that trait, and she loved that.

When he grabbed a bottle of water and took a long gulp, she watched his Adam apple bob up and down and she swallowed with some difficulty, desperate to take a bite. When he tilted his head up and splashed what was left of water on his face, she almost moaned.

Peeta tossed him a weird look but didn't comment.

Haymitch, on the other hand, was smirking.

It was a sweet torture to watch his flesh, damp from sweat and water, glisten under the sun. It was a sweet torture to watch the muscles flex as he strained to lift heavy things. It was a sweet torture to lose herself into fantasies of him taking her right there, between the four hip high walls, the blue summer sky for only ceiling, with the thrill of knowing anyone could see her making them frantic to reach their peak.

"You're okay, sweetheart? You look a little… flushed." Haymitch mocked and she startled when she realized they had stopped working.

Peeta and Katniss had settled a little further away and the boy was helping himself to the sandwich the girl had handed him.

"How much longer are you planning on working today?" she asked, not even bothering to hide the raw need in her voice.

He shifted on his feet, his eyes darkening with lust. A glance down was enough to confirm that, for all his joking, all the staring she had been doing hadn't left him unaffected. He wasn't hard yet, but he certainly was a little aroused.

"Could use a break." he offered. "And a shower. Maybe we should go home for lunch, yeah? Let the kids have some couple time."

"Or maybe instead of taking a shower and having lunch we could pretend you just rebuilt my house but I don't have any money to pay you so I will have to be very imaginative to stop you from dragging me to court." she suggested, lowering her voice so the children wouldn't hear.

His eyebrows shot up. "Been a while since we did any role-playing."

Since before the war. It wasn't something he really was much into anyway. When it came to sex, Haymitch was a simple man. Slot A fitting into slot B was enough to get him going. She enjoyed some diversity and he was usually happy enough to play along.

"I am afraid I have no money to pay that bill, but I am sure we can come to some sort of… arrangement." she purred, getting into her character. She stepped closer until the light blue fabric of her dress was shy of touching his sweaty chest, batting her eyelashes at him. "Aren't you?"

He leaned in until he could whisper in her ear, his hand briefly falling on her waist. "Get your pretty ass home, sweetheart. I'm gonna grab a sandwich and tell my crew I'm done for the day." He would make her wait for it, he meant. He would make her wait and work herself up until she would be so keyed up when he finally showed up that he would barely have to do anything. She pouted but before she could stepped aside and toss a goodbye to the children, he grabbed her arm. "Don't touch yourself until I'm here. I'll know."

She licked her lips and his grey eyes darted down.

"Hey, don't you two want something to eat?" Peeta's voice cut in.

They bolted apart guiltily, to the children's obvious confusion.

Effie cleared her throat. "That is kind of you but I just remember I have some urgent business to take care of at home."

"Yeah." Haymitch smirked. "She's got bills to sort out. I'm gonna go help her with that after lunch, you mind, boy?" Peeta looked very puzzled but assured them that, no, he didn't. Haymitch waited until he was sure the kids' attention was back on each other before he playfully – and discretely – swatted her ass. "Run along, now, Princess. Better start thinking up ways to pay your debt…"

He winked at her and she could only try to bite back her smile.

That sort of imaginary bills she was always happy to settle.