This was part of the 52 weeks challenge I never finished so… Have it! Week 13 : a story that takes place entirely inside a vehicle

The Unforgettable Plane Trip

It wasn't that Haymitch was scared of planes – because he wasn't – but he hated the lack of control that came with flying to the other side of the country. He had to trust not only that the plane would hold but that the pilot knew what he was doing and not only that but that there were no idiots on shift at the control towers all over the country that day.

Trust was difficult for him.

Trust issues ran in the family or so Katniss claimed.

In any case, it was why he found himself signaling the stewardess as soon as they were up in the air and free to release the security belts. She hadn't started rolling the cart down the narrow alley yet but she immediately came over with a professional blinding smile on her lips and a swing to her hips.

There was definitely something to be said about flight attendants fantasies, he decided, as he distractedly glanced her over. The legs were firm and endless even though the regulation uniform reached the knees and was perfectly decent. The blouse and the jacket didn't fit her upper body as well, he couldn't really tell how curvy she was up there, but her features were so delicate and she looked so pretty it was almost a shame for her blond hair to be tied in such a severe bun at the back of her head. The cap was just as ridiculous as it was cute.

He registered all of that but his hands were shaking and he had more urgent preoccupations than how pretty the stewardess was – they were always pretty anyway, wasn't that the point? He was pretty sure it was a requisite to get the job.

"How can I help you, sir?" she asked with a high-pitched voice that immediately made his head throb. He hated women with high-pitched voices.

"A whiskey. Neat." he demanded.

She waited for a second and he only understood why once she had murmured a "Certainly, sir." and had left, presumably to fetch it. A please in there wouldn't have hurt, he decided with a wince.

"Thanks." he mumbled when she brought him the glass. He stressed the word in an apology of sort, a little embarrassed because he didn't make a habit of being an ass to people who had done nothing to him.

Her smile relaxed into something more genuine when he gulped the whiskey down in a few mouthfuls.

"Nervous flyer?" she asked with a hint of teasing.

"Just an alcoholic." he retorted. She recoiled a little but recovered very quickly, her professional smile still stretching her lips. He handed her the empty glass back. "Another one then I'll be good to go, sweetheart."

She didn't like the pet name, he could tell, but she didn't let it show too much. He figured she had heard worse. He couldn't imagine flight attendants were treated very respectfully, never mind when they looked like her.

He only realized he hadn't bothered with a please again when she came back with his refill and politely moved along to another customer. He caught a glimpse of the badge on her chest. Her name was Effie.

Probably a nickname, he mused, slouching in his seat, resolutely ignoring the snores of the young man who had fallen asleep his head against the window as soon as he had sat down, even before they took off. It suited Haymitch. He hated it when strangers tried to make small talk.

He focused on his whiskey for a while, trying not to obsess over his watch, how long they had been in the air and how much longer it would be before they landed. After a while, he grew bored with watching the hues the electric lights gave the whiskey and he started looking around. There was a couple on the other side of the lane who was very busy fooling around, lost in their own little world like only young love could be. There were a few kids further down the cabin but, thankfully, they weren't too noisy. Yet.

Eventually, his gaze fell on the blond stewardess who was rolling her little cart down the lane, answering requests with a dazzling smile and a cheerfulness that must have been faked. Being behind her wasn't such a bad view and he discreetly watched her ass for a while before quickly redirecting his eyes to the carpeted floor when she turned around.

He wasn't sure if she had caught him ogling her or not and he wasn't sure he cared altogether. She was attractive and he was only looking.

At least that was what he told himself until a pair of black high heels came into view and he could do nothing but look up, gaze trailing up a long expense of legs before reaching the hem of the skirt. Her lips were pursed but she looked more amused than offended. "May I help you with something, sir?"

There was a touch of sarcasm in there that made him smirk. "Pretty sure you could, sweetheart, yeah."

The look he gave her left no room to interpretation about what she could have helped him with.

"May I interest you in a lecture about sexual harassment?" she delivered in the very same professional but slightly sarcastic tone.

He chuckled, surprising even himself. "Guess I deserved that." And because he wasn't that asshole who pressured women or made them feel uncomfortable – or at least he liked to think he wasn't – he shrugged. "Sorry."

She looked him up and down under thick eyelashes and licked her lips. "My name is Effie. Not sweetheart."

"Haymitch." he offered, outstretching a hand that she shook after glancing around. He supposed she wasn't supposed to socialize with customers too much.

He also revised his earlier judgment. She wasn't pretty, she was gorgeous.

"Would you like another glass, Haymitch?" she offered, nodding at the empty glass sitting on the console in front of him.

"Yeah." he smirked. "But not right now." The plane hit a small turbulence and she grabbed the back of his seat to steady herself. For a second, they both waited to see if there would be more but when the plane stabilized they relaxed. It was only then that he realized he had reached for her waist in a reflex to help. He took it away slowly. "So… Travel often?"

The joke had the desired effect and she grinned. The genuine smile lit up her whole face and he found he couldn't look away from her twinkling eyes.

"You are a little rusty when it comes to flirting, aren't you?" she mocked. Her gaze darted down to his left hand as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her and she looked relieved not to find a wedding band or the telling mark of one that had been recently removed.

"Don't usually have to bring out the big guns." he admitted, his smirk widening.

"Arrogant." she concluded, lifting a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Realistic."

He was tolerably handsome for his age and women in bars who were only looking for a one-night-stand were usually happy to go with it. It had always been that way. He wasn't sure if it was arrogance or just habit but it had certainly made him develop a taste for women who played hard to get. He liked feisty. He had always liked feisty.

"Is that your big gun?" she asked. "Feeding a line about traveling to a flight attendant? I must admit it is a little disappointing."

Grey eyes twinkling, he turned a little in his seat so he could face her properly without straining his neck. "Sweetheart, you couldn't handle my big gun."

"Now, that's just vulgar." She wrinkled her nose. "You will have to do better than that. Please, excuse me."

She hurried to the harried mother five rows down who had signaled her. It was at least half an hour before she walked past him again and he didn't lose an opportunity to call her.

"I could use a drink." he declared.

She looked a little disappointed but nodded. "Another whiskey?"

"Whatever your poison is." he dismissed. "I'll meet you at the airport's bar, yeah?"

She blinked and then lifted both eyebrows. "Was that an invitation?"

"Too subtle?" he snorted.

"Too confident." she replied with a grin and sauntered away.

She didn't come back again but he bumped into her on his way out of the restroom and he couldn't help but smirk. "If it ain't fate."

She chuckled but shook her head, tilting her head to the side to study him better. He had the unpleasant feeling of being assessed but given that he had spent a fair amount of time staring at her ass, he supposed it was only fair. With her heels, she was almost as tall as him and he wondered how much tinier she would be without them, wondered if it was something that attracted her: the size difference, how small she would probably feel in his arms…

She must have liked what she saw because she licked her lips again, a telltale flash of something briefly darkening her eyes.

"Is the airport bar the best you can do?" she challenged.

"There's always the hotel's bar." he teased.

"How about dinner?" she retorted.

He winced. "That sounds like a date, sweetheart. I don't do dates."

"And I do not sleep with customers. I guess we all have to make concessions when we really want something, don't we?" she hummed and walked away again.

He followed her into something that looked like a kitchenette, resolutely ignoring the staff only sign on the wall.

"I ain't gonna beg you to sleep with me." he warned.

"Isn't that what you are currently doing?" she deadpanned, reaching in various cupboards to fix herself a cup of tea. "And you are not allowed to be here."

He wanted to say something, to snatch the last word, but nothing snarky enough came to mind and he ended up turning around and walking back to his seat, furious that she had gotten the better of him and more than a little aroused because of it.

He was pretty sure she avoided him for the rest of the flight because another stewardess took care of their cabin next.

He didn't see her again before they landed and they boarded off the plane. He told himself he was lagging behind just to avoid the hassle of being pressed in the middle of the crowd. He told himself he wasn't going to do it because she was clearly annoying and high maintenance and it wasn't worth a night of sex. He told himself all that very firmly.

"I hope you had a good flight." she told him in that professional but slightly sarcastic voice as they both stood on top of the stairs leading off the plane.

"I'm hungry." he blurted out despite his best intentions.

"Oh, I bet you are." she grinned and she wasn't talking about actual food.

He rolled his eyes. "So? Want to grab something to eat?"

Her grin was blinding and it tugged at things in his chest. He should have been worried – hell, he was worried – because that one… Oh, he was ready to bet that one could get under his skin very fast and very discreetly so that he would only notice once she was already there and it was too late. But when she smiled at him like that, he couldn't bring himself to care.

"I will meet you in front of the airport in half an hour." she offered. "I need to change."

As sexy as the flight attendant outfit was, the prospect of seeing her in normal clothes was enticing and he nodded his agreement.

Somehow, he had the feeling he would never forget that plane trip.