And we're in for some moments! I hope you like it and remember reviews are love. :)
Chapter 12
Heart on the sleeve
Haymitch stood by the open window, hands in his pockets. The soft breeze made his hair flutter. Behind him on the bed was the duffel bag and a part of him longed to get the bottles out and gulp down as much as he could take.
But he didn't. This time he didn't.
Back in Twelve he'd waited for Effie to invite herself over like she always did. And when that didn't happen he drank and then he drank some more and more.
In the end he just reached the point when he had to do something. He missed her. God help him, he needed her in his life. Effie Trinket, the silly woman he'd been forced to work with and even loathed the first years.
All the bottles in Panem couldn't push down the intrusive, unwelcomed feelings that nettled him now. Not anymore. He felt it under the apple trees and he felt it now.
He was falling off the deep end.
The bathroom door open and he turned from the window. They watched each other across the bed. Effie's hair fell in soft, sandy waves. She wore the pink nightgown he'd seen her sleep in a dozen times. Yet this was something different and they both felt it.
When he watched her leave that day with Finn and the others, after the way he treated her, he thought she would never come back. That he'd lost her too.
But here they were.
A few stray drops of water glittered on her neck when she took his hands.
"So," she said. "We're really doing this?"
"I'm no picnic, Eff," he mumbled.
"No? That's too bad," she said, a small smile on her lips. How odd it felt that her eyes could shine so brightly when it was him she looked at.
"I must be out of my mind," he said. "And of all the men you could've chosen, you pick a sad, old drunk who's already seen his best days."
Effie linked her arms around his neck.
"You have not seen your best days."
His hands rested against the small of her back and on sheer impulse he lifted her up in to his arms. He reached for the bag next only to bump Effie's forehead on the window frame.
"Sorry," he mumbled quickly but Effie only chuckled. Well, we're off to a real good start.
But he carried her to bed and laid her down on the sheets that, unlike his own, were fresh and clean and without so much as a wrinkle.
His mouth was dry as sawdust. She pulled him with her and on top of her and for a moment he didn't do anything. Just tried to not crush her with his weight.
Because he was nervous. There was no point to try and deny it. Despite this being their second time he was so incredibly nervous, in a way he hadn't been since he lost his virginity all those years ago.
He wasn't exactly fit or experienced. Hadn't had sex in decades. Not since he was a boy.
He didn't want to disappoint her.
But as if she sensed it Effie took the first step. Leaned in and brushed a soft kiss to his lips. Looked into his eyes and he swallowed thickly.
"Beautiful," she mumbled. "You're so beautiful, Haymitch. I'm so lucky."
She kissed him again, hand against his cheek and it got him brave enough to deepen it.
This was Effie after all. He'd slept with his head on her lap more times than he could count and as they kissed, the last of his awkwardness melted away.
They took it slow this time. Haymitch closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair when she let her hands wander over his skin, curiously exploring the lines and shapes of his body.
She'd been a constant most of his adult life. Maybe that's why she felt so safe and familiar. He dropped a single kiss to her neck and her lollipop pink nails completely disappeared in his hair when he re-discovered her body with his lips.
Time lost meaning as they got to know each other this way. When they finally joined, the last of the walls between them had all crumbled down. They moved in pace with each other, wrapped in each other. Inside and out.
He wanted to make it last longer but it was no use.
And in that one sweet moment, all was well.
