Title: From the Ashes

Rating: MA

Genre: Angst/Drama/Romance

Characters: Katniss/Haymitch; Katniss/Peeta

Summary: What could possibly be more dangerous for Katniss Everdeen than The Hunger Games?

Author's Note: Haymitch's P.O.V. Coming up on the end. I think I can eek out one more chapter after this one.

The train is roaring through the countryside at over 200 mph, but the amber liquid in my glass barely even ripples in response. I feel so dead inside, that I haven't even touched my drink since I poured it and set it beside me on the side table. Katniss is to my right, a small length of rope in her hands as she ties and unties various knots silently. The screen in front of us is playing a feature on the Life and Times of Caesar Flickerman. We both scoff as the voice over quips, "A man who died so young."

Katniss reaches for the remote and flicks the off button before she returns to her rope. It's been two days since she's spoken to anyone, so I fully expect her to keep up the mute routine as I slouch down in the chair and close my eyes. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

My eyes open again, but I stare at my fingers laced over my stomach as I consider the question. There's no doubt in my mind she means Effie. "I hope so." Is the only answer I have.

It had all seemed to happen so fast. Katniss' shrill cry had startled all of us, and my eyes flashed first to her before I tracked what she was looking at. By the time I realized what had happened, Plutarch was dead on the floor and Effie was clutching at the gaping wound to her throat. The room seemed to explode with frantic activity as everyone started rushing to Effie at the same time.

Katniss and I had reached her first, but it was me who had pulled Effie's hand off her neck and applied pressure with my own hand. Peeta had gone for help, but everyone else was just standing over us—dazed.

"Check the body!" I bark out an order to no one in particular. "Make sure that son of a bitch is dead."

Effie gasps in my arms, struggling for breath and trying to wriggle free of my grip, but I wrap my other arm tightly around her. "Don't move, sweetheart, don't move!"

It had taken medics several hours to repair the damage to Effie's windpipe and replenish her blood, but they had managed to save her. However, the psychological damage of everything Effie had endured wasn't going to be so easily fixed. She had gone into a state of complete catatonia—refusing to speak, refusing to eat, and refusing to respond to any type of external stimuli. After several days, the doctors had had no choice but to admit her to the ward for people with mental instabilities. There had been nothing more for Katniss and me to do at that point, and so we had said our goodbye's to an unresponsive Effie, wishing her the best and making vague promises to see her soon when she was better.

With Plutarch dead, Paylor had decided to hold trials for every person involved in the production of our Game, but had felt no need for Peeta, Katniss or me to be present for the hearings, unless we simply wanted to be. Katniss and I both agreed that we just wanted to go home, but Peeta had wanted to stay.

"Listen," he had told us—well, more to Katniss than me, really. "I think I want to stick around for the hearings, and…maybe hang with Gale for a while. See what's out there besides bread."

Though he wasn't directly saying it, I knew that Peeta was distancing himself from Katniss. Her choosing to be with me had been too much for him. While he was still—mostly—friendly with both of us, I knew that it would be a long while before either of us heard from Peeta Mellark again.

"Do you still want to go home?" I had asked, giving her yet another chance to change her mind and be with Peeta.

Katniss had searched my eyes, considering the offer for a long minute before she whispered, "Yes."

That had been the last word she had spoken until now.

Katniss puts down her rope for the first time since she woke up this morning and looks at me. "Why do you think he did it? Attacked Effie? If he'd waited five minutes until I'd fallen asleep, he could have just as easily slit my throat."

"I've wondered the same thing." I say gently. "But Effie was more or less alone where she was sitting. We let our guard down too long, and stopped paying attention to our surroundings. If he couldn't get to you, and he couldn't get to me or Peeta, then he had to go for the next available kill. She was an easy target, and he probably thought if he acted casually, no one would pay attention to him and he could kill her and get out and wait for the next opportunity to get one of us."

"I keep wondering what's going to happen next. It seems like as soon as one is gone, someone else steps in to take over. Coin for Snow, Plutarch for Coin."

I rise from my chair and slide into hers. The chair isn't roomy, but we make up for it by nestling in close to each other. "I think for once, sweetheart, neither of us has to worry about that. Which is good, because we have enough on our plate right now."

Katniss looks at me curiously, trying to discern my meaning, and I place my hand gently on her abdomen. I see a shift in her face until a mixture of uncertainty and fear are reflected there. "Are we ready for this, Haymitch?"

"Probably not." I answer honestly. "But the way I see it, we have just under 9 months to get ready."

The uncertainty remains in Katniss' eyes as she covers my hand with hers.

"Katniss." I wait until she looks at me again. "This is the last time I'm going to give you the chance to walk away from me. If you don't want to be with me—"

"Haymitch." Katniss cuts me off and I wait for her to tell me I'm right and that she wants to go back to Peeta, but she grips the front of my shirt instead and hauls me closer. "Stop trying to get out of this."

"I—" I'm not able to finish the thought as Katniss pulls me into a searing kiss. Her tongue sweeps across my lower lip and I automatically grant her access to my mouth, moaning as my body comes alive at her forcefulness. Katniss moves to straddle my lap, and we're once again where we always end up.

"I need you." Katniss whispers, though we're alone, her hips rolling against mine. She looks meaningfully into my eyes, her hands on my face. "I want you, Haymitch."

I don't need any further convincing and I drag her back down to my lips. We kiss like it's going out of style, and Katniss is clawing at my shirt as if she plans to rip it off of me and I can't help but laugh. "Easy, sweetheart. I happen to like this shirt and would prefer it not become a casualty of your raging desire for me."

Katniss smirks mischievously but releases my shirt. "Well, I guess if your clothes mean more to you than I do, I'll just go take a nice, hot shower and take care of myself."

The image that assaults my mind is so delightfully vivid that it takes me half a minute to realize Katniss has slipped from my lap and is passing through the door to the next car, headed towards the room we've wordlessly decided to share on the way back to District 12. I'm on my feet before the door closes again, racing after her.

Katniss is laughing, running through the car as I chase her, but she gets stalled at the next door when the latch catches and I overtake her, pinning her up against the door as my mouth crashes down on hers. We're both slightly breathless when we pull back, and the air is thick with our shared arousal. I smirk at Katniss, then bend down and wrap my arms around her thighs, lifting her up over my shoulder.

She squeals out an indignant "Haymitch!" but doesn't struggle against me as I carry her the rest of the way to our room. When I throw her down on the bed, she screams at first, but then laughs when she bounces on the soft mattress. "If that's the way you intend to treat me, I very well may go back to Peeta." She says, crossing her arms and trying to look offended.

I grab her ankles, dragging her to the edge of the bed again and place my hands on either side of her as I lean down so that we're eye to eye. My vision is obscured by my hair, but I try and give her my most lethal look anyways. "It's too late for that, sweetheart."

Katniss shudders, reaching up to wrap her fingers around my head and pull me to her lips yet again. I grasp the hem of her shirt and tug it up over her head, forcing her to break the kiss. She looks at me longingly as she slides back on the bed, reaching back to unhook her bra before she slides it down her arms and tosses it aside.

Though seeing her undressed is nothing new, it takes my breath away and my fingers still as I try to unbutton my own shirt. I watch her run her hands over her breasts and down across her stomach before she starts to unfasten her pants. She makes quick work of shimmying them down her hips and off her legs, kicking them to the floor, leaving her in nothing but her panties. Katniss reclines back on her elbows as she watches me, the expression on her face as clear as if she was saying the words out loud: I'm waiting.

I give up on the buttons and pull the shirt over my head, struggling to get the still-buttoned cuffs off and trapping myself for several seconds. Katniss snickers as she watches me, but when I toss a glare at her, she merely arches her eyebrow at me and smirks. I rid myself of the rest of my clothing and Katniss holds her hand out to me in invitation. I let her pull me onto the bed and settle myself between her legs as my lips immediately seek out hers. Her fingers lightly glide up and down my back as I trail kisses along her jaw, down her throat and across her shoulder.

When her nails dig slightly into me and she arches her back a little under me, I know exactly what she wants, so I work my lips lower to capture her breast. I take my time kissing and licking and suckling each one of her tits, relishing in the way she sighs in pleasure, her fingers now running through my hair restlessly. As nice as it is, I can't help but try to antagonize her by taking her wrists and pinning them to the bed, then taking the tip of my tongue and very lightly circling the peak of her nipple. I feel Katniss straining beneath me, trying to free her hands—mostly because she hates to be dominated, but also because I'm driving her insane.

"I am so going to kill you when you let me go." She growls.

I challenge her to make good on her threat by releasing on of her wrists and sliding my hand up along her inner thigh inside. I work my fingers under the elastic and stroke along her slickened folds.

"O-ohh…" Her angry tune changes immediately and she spreads her legs even more as I find her clit. She's still trying to wriggle her other wrist free, but I hold tight as I continue to tease her nipple and her clit. Her entire body starts to quiver beneath me and she's using her free hand to pull her underwear to the side. "Haymitch…please…" She whines.

"Please what?" I ask, blowing a soft breath against her wet nipple and making it harden even more. She cries out, almost desperately.

"Fuck me!"

I graze her with my teeth. "No."

"W-What?" She asks, lifting her head to look at me as if I'd just said the most heinous thing possible.

I bite back a grin. "I said no, sweetheart."

"Why?"

I move back up her body until we're nose to nose. Pinning her free hand back to the bed again. "Because I want you to fuck me."

We'd only ever tried it once before with Katniss on top, but judging by the way she shivers beneath me, I can tell she remembers it well. I roll us over so that Katniss is now on top of me and the fire comes back in her eyes as she realizes she's the one now in control and that I'm at her mercy.

She rubs herself against me, her panties damp against my erection as she grins down at me. "Too lazy to do any of the work yourself?"

"I just have a better view from down here."

She lifts her hips and swings her leg off of me, rolling down her underwear and throwing them to the floor before she swings back over me and slowly encases me in her warmth. I groan and place my hands on her hips but Katniss smacks at them.

"Ah-ah-ah…no touching."

"I thought you were complaining about my not doing anything a minute ago?"

"Just letting you enjoy the view." She quips.

I drop my hands and place them behind my head so that I'm not tempted to break her rule, and watch as she moves herself up and down slowly, finding her rhythm. I know she finds it when her head falls back and she pushes down on my shoulders for leverage. Besides the fact that she feels fucking incredible, her breasts sway and bounce with the effort, only adding to my enjoyment.

Katniss quickly looses herself as she rides me with reckless abandon, giving over to the pleasure and trying to fulfill her need. She's moaning and mewling, whimpering and crying, and slamming down on me so hard I feel like I'm going to explode before she can find her peak.

I know she's completely lost in the moment, so I break her rule and slip my thumb between our bodies to find her clit, rubbing it furiously. I feel her inner walls seize around me and she screams my name as she starts to cum, milking me to my own orgasm. Our hips rock together as we ride out the waves of pleasure, and Katniss is still trembling slightly when she lowers her upper body against my chest. She buries her face in the crook of my neck, and I feel her lips press a soft kiss against my throat. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight against me, still not quite able to wrap my mind around the fact that Katniss is choosing to be with me because she wants to be and not simply because she has no way else to cope.

Part of me still believes that Katniss will come to her senses—realize what a horrible person I am—and go back to Peeta, but the other part of me clings to the hope she has given me. The hope that maybe love isn't a liability. Or if it is, maybe it's worth all the damn heartache just to feel this.

"Katniss…"

"Hmm?" She's basking in the afterglow, awake but completely sated.

I hold her a little tighter. "I love you."

I feel her nestle a little closer. "I love you too." She waits a beat, then finishes with, "And don't kill this moment by being an ass."

I simply can't help myself. I laugh.

TBC