The Odds are Never in Our Favor [Haymitch/Katniss]
Katniss's heart pounded wildly against her chest as she stood in the gathering of children near the back. Her nerves were always a mess on reaping day, but particularly these past two years ever since Prim's name had been entered into the drawing of eligible children to participate in the Hunger Games. They had been lucky last year, no one they cared about had been reaped -- one of the Mellark boys and a girl Katniss didn't know. And now Gale was off of the chopping block all together. Katniss would have said that next year would have been a relief for her but she knew that wasn't true. She wouldn't get a lick of rest until Prim was out of the running.
She may not have been all that worried for herself, but Katniss knew her odds weren't all that good this year. Her name was in there just under 40 times and it was a quarter quell this year. Like the last, there would be 4 tributes from each district, two boys and two girls. The only comforting thought she had was that Prim's name was only in there twice and that if she did get pulled, Gale would no doubt take care of her sister and mom.
The voice of Effie Trinket cut through the quiet din of the gathered crowd and Katniss looked up blearily. The bright blond hair and orange butterflies were garish and off putting but it'd be a good laugh for them later. When the annual film about the Capitol's greatness started, Katniss tuned out completely.
Now -- Effie's voice broke through Katniss's haze. The time has come for us to select two courageous young men and women for the honor of representing district 12 in the 75th annual Hunger Games. As is tradition, ladies first.
The woman stepped up to the large fish bowl full of tiny slip of paper. Katniss watched as if mesmerized as her hand swirled above them before finally reaching down and plucking up one. Moving back to the mic, she unfolded the paper. "Primrose Everdeen." she called in a clear, strong voice.
White noise rushed Katniss's ears and her face paled. No, no, no, that wasn't right. It couldn't be. Not moving, not reacting, she watched as her sister slowly started to move as her name was called again. Something in her snapped. Pushing her way through the crowd, Katniss stumbled out onto the main road that separated the boys and the girls. “Prim!” she shouted. A peace keeper rushed as if to stop, hands coming up to her middle, forcing her to slam into him. “No! No!” She shouted, struggling against the man – Darrius, she recognized him vaguely in her haze of desperation. “I volunteer!” Her voice cracked and broke as she struggled not to lose her mind on camera. “I volunteer as tribute.” Stunned, the two peace keepers backed off, letting the little girl rush at Katniss. Her arms snapped around her, hugging Prim fiercely against her chest, hands clutching at her head as she started to panic.
“No Katniss, no.” she sobbed. But Katniss wouldn’t hear it. She pulled back and grabbed her face. “It’s gonna be okay. Go find mom. Gale. Go on.” But she wouldn’t. Rory, on the other side of the isle was quick to step in and help. He was no Gale, he couldn’t lift Prim up and cart her away but he dragged her out of the middle isle toward the boys, holding her tight against his chest as Katniss finally made her way up to the stage.
“Well.” Effie started, clearly shaken. “It seems district 12 is making history. We have a volunteer, the first ever.” She said with a smile. Moving to the steps, she took Katniss’s hand as she came up and led her over to the side where Haymitch, the drunk victor from 12 stood. “What’s your name dear?”
“Katniss Everdeen.” The young woman mumbled numbly.
"Well, I'll bet my hat that was your sister, wasn't it?" At the nod, she smiled and looked back to the crowd. "Lets give a round of applause for our very first volunteer." No one applauded though, one by one each hand of the gathered citizens of district twelve, raising their index, middle, and ring finger in salute.
Shaken, Effie clapped her hands together. “Yes, yes. Now, for our second female tribute!” Moving to the bowl she plucked out a second card and went to open it. Normally there was no hesitation as she read out the name, clear and booming but something was clearly wrong this time. She hesitated and as her voice wavered. “K-Katniss Everdeen.” Forcing a bright smile, she laughed rigidly and glanced back at the tribute on the stage. “Well this is certainly unprecedented. “I do believe the rules state that in such a case the… tribute that was called originally is to take the place of the volunteer.” She glanced at Katniss again, swallowing. “That means… our second tribute is… Primrose Everdeen!” She said as brightly as she could manage.
“No. No!” Katniss said almost wildly from behind Effie. She glanced around, eyes locking with Haymitch, as if he could do something to help her.
Being a Washington D.C. politician meant that Haymitch Abernathy had a beyond stressful life. This also meant that he may have been overly fond of a certain brand of liquids several nights out of the week. But screw it, he was a grown adult and he knew his limits. Besides, he never let it get too out of hand that the press would get a hold of him. As long as he stayed on the good side of the press he was doing okay.
Fuck... the press. He hated the press. Of course, he always made sure he was beating them at their own game, staying three steps ahead, but that didn't mean he liked them any more. In fact, he thought he might like them a little less for it.
At 43 Haymitch had been a member of Congress for nearly 13 years. Before that he had been a representative of Texas. Consequently, he was no stranger to the press. Despite all of this, however, he had never gotten any reporters coming to him in the wee hours of the night at his personal home. That was the situation he found himself in tonight, looking through the door at a young reporter standing on his front stoop at nearly 1 in the morning.
For a brief moment he considered leaving her and walking away, going upstairs to sleep, but then she knocked again, louder than she had the first time. She had to already know he was there. The /door was mostly decorative glass. Growling, he pulled the door open and stared at her for a moment in silence. "What?" he barked.
Anxiety clawed at Katniss's chest, worse than when she'd been hired by the washington post, worse than when she tried to pitch an idea, worse than when she had to face the editor in cheif when there was a problem with one of her metro pieces. Garbage. It was all garbage. Which was what brought her to Haymitch Abernathy's house in the middle of the night. Realistically, she knew that she shouldn't have been there. But he was the majority whip party leader. If there was anyone out there that could give her any insider information it was him. That and she'd heard about his proclivity for the drink, which was reason enough to suggest he might be loose with the women too. He was 43, never married, no girlfriend to speak of. He was either gay or hit up the occasional hooker. It was worth a chance. Katniss didn't mind sleeping her way to the top if she had to, but it was important to know which people to chose.
When the door finally swung open, she forced herself to keep from swaying back in surprise. Licking her lips, she pulled out a card from her wallet and held it out to him. "I'm Katniss Everdeen from the Washington Post, I was hoping I could have a few minutes of your time. I know you're a very busy man, but I'd like to propose a business opportunity." she said in a rush before he had a chance to slam the door in her face.
Haymitch blinked a few times, looking at the card and then rolling his eyes. When she had finished with her piece he sighed. "Are you at all aware that it is one in the morning, Ms..." He had already forgotten her name, not that it mattered, he didn't really care much. "Do they teach any kind of manners in those things we call schools these days?"
"Everdeen. And I'm aware of the time, sir. I thought... the nature of my proposal might be better left to such a late hour. I'm sorry." She shook her head and lightly bit down on her bottom lip as her nervous energy got the better of her.
Haymitch scowled, but the bait had worked, he was intrigued. "Alright, fine." He stepped back and waved her in, not wanting to continue this on his porch. Once she was in, he closed the door and looked at her. "So, this proposal. What is it?"
Inside the foyer, Katniss drew her blazer off and draped it over one of her arms. The shirt beneath was a plunging v-neck, low enough to show the swell of her ample breasts. Her arms folded together, pushing them up even higher. Katniss was almost a foot shorter than him too, giving the congressman a rather pleasant view. "I need somebody I can talk to. We... I print whatever you tell me, I never ask any questions and I protect your identity. You have an inside in the media, and I have news to write."
Raising a brow, Haymitch looked down at her. His gaze lingered for a moment before he looked away and headed into his sitting room, pouring them both a drink. "What makes you think I have anything new to tell you?" he said, handing her a drink.
"This is congress, there's always something new, something to push your agenda, for your own political machinations. Following him into the sitting room, she took the drink before moving over to a couch and carefully sinking in. Glancing at the amber liquid, she took a sip, spluttering at how strong it was.
Haymitch opted to stand, leaning back against a short shelf across from her, sipping his drink. "And what do I get out of this? Except a pet reporter, that is...? That is what you're proposing, is it not?"
"There's no disadvantage here." Katniss argued, leaning forward a bit. Her breasts pushed together again, only partially intentional this time. "I'd write whatever you want. Maybe it's a new bill you want to get signed. Or a person you want to support. Whatever you want. I'll write it."
"And am I to take the way you're dressed to mean that you're putting more than just your journalism skills on the table?" he asked, eyeing her cleavage and then looking back up at her.
Flushing a deep shade of pink, Katniss sat up straighter and glanced down at her chest before looking back up at Haymitch through her lashes. "Is that what it'll take to seal the deal?" she murmured.
Haymitch looked her up and down and raised a brow. "Well, sweetheart, if you're any good at your job, you'll know that I'm single and that a man in my situation has needs." He took another swig of his drink and then stepped away from the shelf to lean in toward her. "Yes, that's what it will take to seal the deal. You want stories, you'll have to work for them."
Slowly, Katniss set her drink down to the side and straightened up. Nerves caused her stomach to tense with anxiety but she had known what it could come to. As Haymitch moved towards her, Katniss poked her tongue out over her lips and she looked up at him through her lashes in what she hoped was an alluring way. "I'm willing to..." she paused, hands coming up to press against his thighs, slowly pushing up. "Work for you." Her hands slowly crept up, thumb sweeping across the inseam of his pants all the way up to the top. She tugged at the stiff leather of his belt, unfastening it easily.
Humming, Haymitch looked down at her almost hungrily. She was right in thinking that he had gone to prostitutes a few times, but he was a man of strong will power and that was only a few times, and far between. The last time he had actually had his dick in something warm, other than his hand, had been almost a full year ago.
Deftly, she popped the button to his slacks and slowly tugged down the zip. Her fingers brushed along the growing bulge, finding a thrill in the effect he had on the man in front of her. Ethically, this was wrong but it would help her career and it wasn't like he wasn't getting anything out of it either. Her hands pushed into his boxers, fingers caressing soft skin until they closed around his thick cock. With a soft groan she looked down as she freed him, only to hum at the sight before her. He was thick, thicker than any of the guys she'd ever been with and the thought made her squirm. Leaning in, her lips parted, tongue flicking out against the crown. "I help you, you help me, what do you say?" she breathed against him before her lips circled around the tip and she sucked softly.
"Fuck," he hissed softly as he breathed out. "Yes," he murmured. He wasn't really even thinking anymore, even though he knew this could be catastrophic for his career, at this exact moment in time, he didn't care. Hands gripping in her hair, he groaned and rocked his hips forward, urging her on.
Cheeks hollowing, Katniss let him thrust forward, taking him deeper. Her teeth gently grazed against the sides of his cock as she pulled back up to the tip only to push back down, bobbing slowly as she sucked. "Mmm." She hummed around him, eyes falling shut as she focused on her task.
Breathing heavily, Haymitch blinked a few times and then pulled at her hair, urging her up from the couch and pulling her off of him for a moment as he turned and sat down. He pulled her down into his lap and his hands went to her hips, pulling her hard down against him so that her rough jeans rubbed against his cock. Groaning, he pressed his face into her cleavage, nipping at the tops of her breasts peeking out from her shirt. "Make this good and I might give you something worth a promotion at the stupid Post," he muttered.
Jerking back, she released his cock with a soft, wet pop. Eyes dark and blown with the sudden desire that had come over her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a good fuck, since junior year of college? Katniss didn't know and it didn't matter right then. Forgetting all about work for a moment, she stood and turned on her heel, only to gasp as he yanked her down onto his lap. A deep, throat moan pushed past her lips as he ground against her. Head falling back, her long hair fell over her shoulder and she arched her chest against him. "Fuck. I'll make this the best fuck you've ever had." she panted, grinding her hips down against him again. Her hands flew from his shoulders, which she'd grabbed as he pulled her down to her chest. She squeezed her breasts together before hooking her fingers into the neck line and tugged it down, bra going with it.
Haymitch made a soft sound in his throat and took the invitation almost before it was offered, his lips latching around one of her dark nipples and sucking at it. His eyes closed and he rocked against her, his cock growing almost unbearably hard in anticipation. His teeth worried at the puckered flesh of her nipple and he pulled back to blow against it before offering the same treatment to the other.
"Ah!" she gasped sharply as his lips wrapped around the sensitive bud. She arched against him, head lulling to the side. "Oh fuck. Fuck. Please." she panted, fingers curling against his neck and lightly pressing in. Her stomach coiled with anticipation, a desperate need to feel his cock taking her over. Jerking back, she raised onto her knees stradling Haymitch. Hastily, she tugged at the fastening of her jeans, fumbling with her desperation. As they fell open, she pulled off of him and forced herself to slow down. Panting softly, her fingers hooked into the loops of her jeans and she slowly pushed them down, letting them fall to her ankles. She stepped out of them, leaving herself in a pair of flimsy, pink lace knickers. "Tear them off." she ordered, eyes dark and bearing down on him.
Haymitch nearly groaned as he lost the heat of her body on top of his, but when she pulled back, he marveled at the sight she presented. Her hair, which had been perfectly groomed upon arrival was now mussed in an ever so sexy fashion. Her shirt was pulled down, stretched to accomadate her ample breasts and now her legs that went on forever were bare for him to ogle. All that kept him from his prize were those blasted pink panties. Mouthwatering, he swallowed and eyed her. At the order, his eyes snapped up to hers and he smirked. Hooking his finger in the elastic, he pulled her toward him so that his face was pressed against her breasts once more. "Such a shame to ruin such delicate attire." He grinned and gave a sharp tug. The material gave little resistance before ripping and fluttering to the ground, leaving her bare to him.
Stomach dipping, she pressed forward against him, all but whimpering as his lips pressed against her breasts once more. "Fuck." She panted, unable to help herself. Her fingers dragged through his hair, lightly scratching and tugging as her impatience clawed at her stomach, demanding his touch, his attention, more. "I've got more." she hummed, voice low and scratchy. Slowly, she climbed back onto his lap, moaning as his thick cock brushed against her slick folds. She was soaking wet, glistening in the low light of his house with a desire she didn't know she had. "Fuck me." she panted softly, grinding down against him.
Haymitch grunted and pressed his lips to her breasts again, lipping at them and sucking at her nipples. Hand reaching down, he positioned his cock at her entrance, sliding the tip along her folds, teasing her soaking wet core before thrusting in hard. She was so fucking tight. He hissed softly and his eyes closed. Half of his cock fit in her tight entrance before the resistance was too much. Groaning he pulled back and thrust up again. "Fuck..." he muttered.
Her lips puckered in a small o shape, head falling forward against his shoulder. "Haymitch." She gasped, clenching down tight around him as his cock stretched her. "Fuck, you're so big." she panted, not necessarily meaning to flatter him, but it was true. It almost hurt. Slowly, tentatively her hips rolled back against him. "God."
"Uh-uh, sweetheart. We ain't on first name basis yet. I'm still Congressman or Mr. Abernathy to you." He growled and punctuated the message with a hard thrust. "Now ride my cock, if you want your story."
"You've got your cock in me. Think it's okay right -- now." she groaned. Biting down on her bottom lip, she rocked down harder against him, thighs tensing as she thrust up. "Mr. Abernathy... god... fuck me." she panted.
Haymitch growled softly and held his hands on her hips, holding her in place as he rocked harder up against her, finally sheathing himself completely in her. "Fuck..." He groaned and pressed his face into her cleavage again, panting against her skin as he nipped and licked at her breasts.
Katniss clenched around him, her walls clenching as she thrust hard against him. "Oh fuck. Fuck. So good." She panted. Her fingers curled against his shoulders before raking her nails down over his chest, scratching the fine material of his shirt.
Haymitch panted sharply and rocked up faster and harder against her. Groaning, his lips closed around her nipple once more and he closed his teeth lightly around the circle, nipping lightly.
Crying softly, her back arched and her head snapped back. "Oh god. Yes." She lerched against him, body trembling in his hold. Reaching between them, her fingers pressed against her clit and she rubbed. "Close. Close."
His hand slid up her spine, supporting her back as his hips worked harder. He was close too, unbearably so. "Fuck..." he muttered. Reaching up, he tugged at her hair as he shuddered and went still under her, coming with a grunt.
Whimpering sharply, her head fell forward, face pressing against his neck. She cried softly and bucked down. Body tensing, she came with him, walls spasming around his hard cock that twitched as his hot cum filled her. "Oh fuck." she panted, body trembling.
For several moments, they both sat there, panting and breathless in the afterglow of their orgasm. Then, when Haymitch had come back to himself, he nudged her out of his lap and got up, pulling up his trousers and buttoning them. Clearing his throat, he looked down at her. "Get out your notepad or your iPod or whatever you people take notes on these days." Pleasure was over, it was time for business.
Still shivering, she slid off his lap and onto the seat next to him. Quickly, she pulled up her top. Thankfully her jacket was next to her so she grabbed it and pulled out her phone rather than getting dressed the rest of the way. Pulling up the recorder, she looked up at him eagerly and nodded. "I'm ready."
He gave her a quick and dirty run down of the hints required to lead her to the story, seeing as he couldn't really say it outright. Once that was done, he leaned against the wall. "If you have any questions, I'm sorry but I couldn't possibly answer any of them."
Katniss's eyes narrowed and her lips pressed thin. "I... think I have it." Or at least an idea. Her lips slowly curved up and she looked back at him. Standing, she grabbed her jeans and pocketed her iphone before slipping into them. "You have my number. If you have anymore stories to share or... want some company just call." she hummed softly.
"I will be sure to do that, sweetheart," he hummed, smirking slightly. "How can I trust you not to... Compromise my reputation," he said slowly, chosing his words carefully.
Katniss had only just pulled her pants up over her hips. Hands pausing, she looked up at him. "Get out your iphone." she ordered him, head cocking to the side. It was strange how she felt so much more confident now that he'd fucked her.
Haymitch raised a brow, not really knowing where this was going. He looked at her for a moment before shrugging and obeying, pulling the phone out of the pocket of his blazer that he had draped over a chair. "Okay."
Drawing a deep, almost shaky breath and pulled her shirt up and off. Raising a brow, she nodded to his camera. "Some insurance for you." she murmured.
Haymitch's eyebrow arched again at that. "And who do I send these to if you're indiscreet?" He snapped one tentatively and then another.
"You're a smart man." Katniss hummed. "You could ruin my career with this. I'll be a good little girl, and we can trust each other."
He smirked and took another picture, leaning in to get it all close up. "As long as you're not /too/ good," he hummed. Finally he finished up and pocketed the phone. "That should be enough... For now. Have a nice night, Miss Everdeen."
"I'll do my best." Grabbing her shirt, she tugged it on. "Thank Mr. Abernathy." She grabbed her jacket, tucked her phone into the pocket and headed for the door. Slipping out, she grinned broadly and headed for the bus stop to head home and get working on her article.
It was another week before she even heard a peep from him. Her article had been published the morning of the day that she got the call.
"Very impressive writing. Not quite as good as your fascinating piece on whether or not stray dogs in DC should be more of a priority, but I will admit it came close."
Katniss had been at the post office. She pushed herself up and headed for the bathroom, glancing around to make sure that no one was there. "You read that?" she asked, surprised. Her cheeks flushed pink and her nose scrunched up. "I'm better than that crap they had me doing."
He scoffed. "I'm sure you are, Miss. Are you ready for your next piece?" He toyed with a pen from his pocket. He was currently being driven around town by some young agent named something stupid. Gabe? Garett? No. It was Gale. That was it. Hawthorne.
Hoping up onto the sink counter top, she leaned back against the mirror and smirked. "When and where?" she hummed softly, head cocking to the side.
"Right now. Your place. I have the address. I'll meet you there." He didn't wait for her response before he clicked the phone shut. Calling up to his driver he gave the direction and then settled back in his seat.
"Shit." Katniss muttered. Pushing herself off of the countertop, she scurried outside and went to her little cubicle. Grabbing her bag, she rushed out. Thankfully the office was on a busy road so she grabbed a cab and headed to her apartment. It was a little shithole above some laundry mat. When the car pulled up, she scurried up and inside, unlocking the door. She didn't see the congressman anywhere, so she could only assume that she'd beat him there.
The only reason for that was that he had directed his driver to take the long way round, knowing that she probably needed a little time. After going a good 10 minutes out of the way they pulled up and he got out. "Circle around to the other side of the block, I'll call you when I'm done." When the agent started to fuss he put up a hand. "Fine. But move down the street a little. Okay?" He rolled his eyes and shut the door before heading up.
Katniss was changing when she heard the buzz for someone to be let up. Pulling her shirt up, she tugged it off and threw it onto the floor. She scurried to the door and pressed the button to unlock it. "Doors unlocked." She called into the mic. With that taken care of, she headed back to the bedroom. Off went the pants, leaving her in her black lace knickers and a black push up bra. Rummaging around in her dresser, she found a pair of lacy stockings and pulled them on too, attached to a garter belt.
Haymitch raised a brow in amusement at her announcement and then opened the door, taking the steps two at a time. When he got to her door, he let himself in. "You've not had many visitors, have you?" he asked as he closed the door behind him and turned to face her. He looked her up and down and smiled in appreciation.
Turning around, she faced the congressman, lips tugged up in a tiny smirk. "Mmm, can't say I do." she murmured. "Think you're the first one since I moved here. What do you think about my shit hole of an apartment?" she chuckled.
"Well then, allow me to be the first to inform you that when you buzz someone in... the door buzzes." He smiled. "You don't have to announce that the door is unlocked." He smiled and pulled off his blazer, looking around the apartment. "As far as how this looks..." He rubbed his chin, scratching at his five o'clock shadow. "You have a rooftop balcony. That's nice at least." He gestured to the door leading outside.
"I meant my door, the front one." she laughed lightly. "The balcony is pretty nice. No one can see up here either. It's one saving grace." she chuckled. "So... to what do I owe the... pleasure of your company?" she asked him with a raise of her brow.
Haymitch smirked and pulled a folded piece of paper out of his breast pocket. Holding it up, he waved it in front of her face before tossing it down on the coffee table. "Your next story, as promised." He glanced behind her. "You say no one can see up here... even if you go outside?" He raised a brow and wrapped his arms around her hips, pulling her in close.
Her body pressed against Haymitch, arms wrapping around his shoulders. "Mmhm." she hummed, looking up at him. "The wall is too high for anyone to see over unless you lean over it and look down at the street. Why?" She smirked.
He smiled and wordlessly took her hand, pulling her over to the door and opening it. Stepping out, he looked around and then smiled. He brought her over to a little crate that looked like it might be used as a coffee table of sorts on the mornings she wanted to work out here. Turning her around, he pressed her down against it, pressing his lips to her shoulder.
Back arching, she pressed her hips pressed back against his crotch and she rubbed slowly. "Mmm." She mewled softly, hands gripping the edge of her makeshift table. It was slightly chilly out there and she shivered faintly, pressing herself closer against his heat. "You gonna fuck me like this? Fuck me good?" she moaned.
The congressman hummed and pressed forward against her, grinding slowly. "Mmm, I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you baby?" he mumbled, feeling his cock get harder at the contact. "But I think it's your turn to run the show." He stepped back. "Tell me what you're going to do to me... As long as it's out here in the open."
"I'm gonna make you cum." She groaned softly as he stepped back from her. Flicking her hair back, she looked at him over her shoulder. "I'm going to make you cum so good you want to fuck me again." Biting down on her bottom lip, she dipped her back so her ass pushed out slightly. Her knickers were already starting to get wet.
"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" he murmured, urging her on. He brought his hand down to his groin and rubbed himself a little before pulling the material of his slacks tight over himself, showing her the clear outline of his hard cock.
She pushed herself up and turned to face him. Smirking faintly, she slowly padded over to him. "I'd rather show you." she murmured. Her hands gently wrapped around his tie and gave it a little tug, lossening the fine silk until it slipped free and she let it flutter to the ground. "Oops."
Lips curling up in a smirk, Haymitch continued to rub at himself through his trousers as she walked over. Looking down at her, he raised a brow as his tie fluttered to the ground. "That tie probably cost more than you make in a month, Miss Everdeen," he pointed out wryly.
"Oh no. The poor crushed silk." She purred teasingly. Her hands came back to his chest, fingers spreading, sliding up to his shoulders before she began to work on the small buttons of his oxford. "However will I make it up to you?"
"I'm sure you'll try to find a way," he hummed, his hand coming down to squeeze at his balls before rubbing back up to pinch at his tip. "Fuck..." he murmured, stroking himself through the heavy material of his slacks. "Stop undressing me and touch yourself for a minute," he murmured. "Show me how much you want me."
Her lips parted in surprise and her cheeks colored. "Mmm..." Humming, she slowly pulled away from him, walking backwards till the back of her thighs bumped against the makeshift table. Carefully, she sat on the edge and one of her legs came up, heel digging into the ledge. Thighs spread wide, hips jutted out to give him a good view, one of her hands came down to pull her knickers to the side, letting him see her slick folds. Moaning faintly, the tips of her fingers brushed against them, slowly diping in to tease her clit.
"Holy fucking Christ," he muttered, mouth watering at the sight of her. His cock gave a hot throb and he applied a little more pressure to his strokes. "You're a dirty little slut, you know that?" he murmured, looking up at her with dark eyes.
Moaning softly, her finger circled her clit before slowly dipping down to her entrance and plunging in. She fucked herself slowly but after a second she pulled out, letting him see just how wet she was. "Mmm, only for you." she hummed.
"Yes, only for me," he repeated, his eyes growing even darker as her finger came out dripping with her juices. "Come undress me now," he rasped, licking his lips. "Claim your reward."
"You like that?" She purred slowly. Her fingers pulled away completely and she slid from the table. Padding over to him, she pressed her hands against his chest again, smirking as his shirt got wet from her juices. "Like that I'm all yours?" Head dipping, she pressed her lips against his neck as she began to work at his shirt again.
"I'm a very possessive man, you know," he hummed, watching as her fingers worked down his shirt and shrugging out of it when she got to the bottom. Underneath he was wearing a white undershirt with short sleeves. That would be easy enough to get out of, but he would leave it to her to get him out of it.
Katniss was nothing if not thorough. Her fingers hooked beneath the shirt and tugged it up slowly, easing it up and off his body to join the rest of his clothes on the patio. "Mmm. Does that mean I can call you by your first name, yet?" she chuckled breathlessly.
"Mmm... I think I like it when you're more formal with me..." he murmured. "But I understand if Abernathy is a bit of a mouthful in the heat of the moment... how about 'sir'?" He chuckled breathlessly and groaned as he stroked himself. "We'll see about first names in a little while, eh, sweetheart?"
"You call me sweetheart and I call you sir?" She chuckled, hands smoothing down his chest to his trousers. Tugging gently, pressing themselves firmly together so his cock rubbed against her stomach, she pulled back just enough to look up at him. "Mmm, that doesn't seem very fair... sir." she purred.
"Mmm... would you rather I call you 'pet'?" he hummed. "Seeing as you're my little pet reporter." He smirked and rocked his hips against her stomach, humming faintly. "What would you prefer I call you, sweetheart?"
Smirking, her fingers wrapped around the stiff leather of his belt and she slowly pulled it open. "Pet... hmm... that has a nice ring to it." she chuckled teasingly, not really meaning it. She ground against him before pulling back just a touch to work his trousers open, pushing them down his thighs. She wanted him naked. This wasn't going to be a quick fuck and run thing if she could help it. Maybe he'd actually let her take him to bed, make a day of it.
"Well if you don't like sweetheart then it's going to be pet, pet," he hummed, biting his lip as his trousers were tugged down. Now the only thing between the two of them was the thin cotton of his briefs. His cock was thick and bulging in the fabric and the tip was pressing out from underneath one of the elastic edges.
Groaning softly, she made no move to tug off his boxers right away. Instead she gripped him gently through the thin material. "Mmm." She moaned, palm lightly running over the tip that poked out. "You're so fucking big." she mumbled. "Want you in me. Stretch me out good."
He breathed against her lips and pressed forward against her hand. "Oh yeah? I don't know if that pussy can handle that," he murmured. "Sure we did it last time, but more than once may be pushing our luck."
Her lips parted in a soft moan and her hand gripped him a firmly. "Maybe my pussy just needs to be broken in. You up for that? Want to break my pussy in?" she mumbled, voice thick with desire.
"Fuck, I'll break your pussy in until you can't walk anymore," he growled. "But first you'll have to relieve me of my undergarments." He reached down and squeezed her ass. "And your own."
"Fuck." she moaned. "You better deliver on your promise, Congressman." Smirking, her fingers tugged the boxers own sharply, hissing as his cock sprang free. "Why don't you help me with these? Hm?" she murmured, pressing her ass back into his hands.
"Want me to rip them again?" he asked with a smirk to disguise the hiss that he released as his cock was bared to the chill outdoor air. He tugged lightly at the elastic, pulling the material up in front so that the knickers pulled and rubbed against her clit.
"Only if you--" her voice cut off in a silent moan as the silk of her knickers bunched up and rubbed against her clit. Gasping, she rolled her hips back, increasing the tension. "Plan to buy me some more."
"Mmm... I'll buy you all the knickers you want," he growled, jerking hard at the fabric and smiling as it gave way and ripped off her body. "I'll mail boxes by the hundreds to your apartment," he murmured, his fingers finding her folds and plunging in three at a time.
"Oh--!" She cried out sharply as the fingers pushed in. Her body lurched forward, chest pressing against his, face finding his shoulder. "Oh god. Fuck." she panted. "Just so... so you can rip them off me?" she finally managed, walls clenching and fluttering around his fingers.
"God yes," he murmured, pumping his fingers hard inside her, priming her for his cock. He didn't want to waste any time so after only a few moments like that, he pulled his fingers out and with a grunt, he lifted her up. He wasn't as young as he used to be, but he was still fairly strong, and she was light. Carrying her over to the outside wall of her apartment, he pressed her up against it and positioned his cock at her entrance before thrusting in fully and hard. "Fuck..." he hissed as she took in his whole cock with little resistance. "Fuck... me..."
The brick scratched at her skin but there was something wonderful about the pain it elicited in her. Her legs curled around his hips and her head fell back as she bounced against him. "Oh fuck, oh fuck. Just like that. Fuck me hard. Please. Need it. Need you." She whined.
Haymitch growled and pounded against her, holding onto the wall to brace himself as he did. "Fuck," he muttered. "Fuck, you're so tight. You like it when my big cock fills that tight little cunt of yours?" he panted, nipping at her neck as she bared it to him.
"Yes!" she cried breathlessly. "Love it. Love it when you fill me up. Feels so good. So good. You cock is so big. Love it when you... ngh, when you fuck me. Stretch me out. Break me in. Please. Oh fuck please." she babbled. Her nails dug into his shoulders, careful not to leave any marks.
Haymitch grunted with each thrust. This position, while pleasureable, was exhausting for the older man, so it was only a few minutes before he lifted her again. Pulling her off of his cock, he set her feet down on the ground and he directed her to lay on the ground of the roof.
Her back, which had already been scratched up from the bricks wasn't particularly keen about laying on the wood planks of her patio. "Hand me your shirt." She ordered, wanting something to soften it, lest she end up with splinters in her ass.
Haymitch groaned at the hold up and then went to grab the shirt and handed it to her. He waited impatiently for her to lay it out and lie down on it and then he followed her down, hovering over her for a moment before thrusting in again with a groan.
Katniss was quick. She spread it out, the shirt just big enough to cover her ass, and shoulders. Laying back, her thighs spread wide, only to hook back around Haymitch's hips as he kneeled in front of her. As his thick cock pushed in, her walls instantly clenched around him. "Oh fuck." she gasped, hips bucking down.
Haymitch had gravity on his side in this position, though not as much as in the previous one. He pistoned his hips forward, thrusting against her hard and fast as he breathed in quick pants. He had been thinking about meeting up with her all day, and he had been hard since ten minutes before he called her. He wasn't in the mood for taking his time. He needed release now. Their foreplay had been pushing his limits. "Fuck... fuck... sweetheart..."
Katniss was already close. In college, all of the guys that had touched her had been ginger and slimey little fuck wits that didn't know what to do with their hands. But Haymitch Abernathy was nothing of the sort. He was hard and rough, demanding, and it hurt just a little, but it felt oh so good. That discovery shocked her, but she pushed it down deep, focusing on his cock as it pounded into her. "Yes, yes, yes." she panted hard. "So good, so fucking good. Just like that. Just like just-- ngh." Body tensing, her hips bucked and jerked down against him before she let out a soft cry as she finally came.
Haymitch was close behind her, grunting loudly as he came, cum spilling inside her, filling her. "Fuck," he muttered, rocking his hips hard and groaning as he finished. "Fuck..." He panted and continued to work his hips until he started to go soft inside her, finally rolling off when he did.
Katniss didn't go limp until Haymitch's cock did. Panting sharply, her eye fluttered shut and she groaned faintly. Looking back at him, she slowly rolled to her side, arms folding under her head, chest heaving. "That was good." she murmured.
"Was it?" he hummed with a chuckle. "I hadn't noticed," he teased. Looking over at her, he furrowed his brow. "Why did you chose me? Of all the politicians you could have slept with for your stories..."
Folding an arm over her stomach, Katniss hummed softly. Her eyes swept over him and shrugged. "You're young, in a powerful position as majority whip, single, and not too bad looking." She shrugged. "It was a pretty easy choice." she murmured. He wasn't the only decent looking politican out there, but there weren't a ton higher up in congress, or even all that young.
"Well how is that for an ego boost," he hummed. Reaching over, he tweaked her cheek and then sighed and sat up. "Alright... Business is taken care of... Play is taken care of..." He started to get up, looking around for his clothes. "I'm going to need my shirt back..."
[ | Edited 11:58:38 AM] Groaning, she looked up at him through her lashes. She moved as if to get up but rather, grabbed the corners of his shirt and rolled onto her stomach so that it wrapped around her. Bringing a hand up, she ran it through her hair and looked back at him. "Mmm, no." she said pertly. Her lips curved up in a coy little grin. "Who said we're done with our fun?"
Raising his brow, Haymitch leaned down toward her. "Are you challenging me?" he asked, but there was no heat to it. "If you are, I'm fairly sure that you'll be sorry for it."
Her hips pushed up and she gave her ass a little wiggle. "Mmm, I hope so." she purred softly. Katniss knew she was pushing a dangerous line right now. He could walk out and cut her off completely, but something told her that he wouldn't. That he'd enjoy it.
Lips twitching up, Haymitch bent down and scooped her off the ground, shirt and all, before carrying her back into the house. He looked around the somewhat grimy living room before shaking his head and carrying her back to where he assumed her bedroom would be. Finding it, he pushed the door open and carried her in, dropping her on the bed before crawling in with her.
Laughing, Katniss wrapped an arm around his neck as he carried her through her apartment. When he dropped her on the bed, she scooted back to the headboad and smirked back at him. As he crawled up her body, she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"All this play and you've not even looked at the story yet," he hummed, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. "How do you know it's even worth it?" He raised a brow and his lips twitched up in a smile.
"You can just owe me if it's no good." She chuckled. Her hands smoothed up his back, a nail lightly dragging up over his spine. "That seems fair, doesn't it?"
He studied her for a long moment, raising a brow slightly. "I don't like owing people. I'm not in the business of being in debt."
She looked back at him, meeting his eyes. "I trust you. I trust that whatever you have out there is good." she replied, raising a brow at him. "Besides... Regardless of this being... mutually beneficial... I'm... enjoying myself." She found that she liked his presence. (And his cock).
"Is that so?" he hummed, moving so that he was hovering over her again. "Well, isn't that interesting." He leaned down and pressed his lips and teeth to her throat, nipping and sucking lightly. "What would you enjoy right now?"
Humming softly, she tilted her head back and her eyes fluttered shut. "Mmm. Good interesting or bad?" she mumbled. Hands smoothing down his sides, her fingers curled against his hips, gently grabbing his ass. "Right now... I want you to keep using that mouth of yours."
"Mmm, always good interesting," the older man hummed. He smirked at her comment and nipped lightly at her throat again before snaking his tongue down to her collarbone. "Oh yeah? Where do you want me to use my mouth?" he murmured, breathing against her skin.
Shivering, the tiny hairs on her skin raised and her stomach dipped. "You know where I want it." she mumbled. A hand came up, fingers lightly running through his hair, scratching at his scalp.
"I want to hear you say it," he purred, sucking at a spot on her collarbone with the intent to mark. His fingers brushed up and down her sides, almost tickling in how light his touches were.
[ | Edited 1:52:17 PM] "I want you to go down on me." Katniss murmured, voice soft and breathy. Lips parting, she moaned softly and shifted against him, writhing against the sheets. One of her legs hooked around his hips and she arched against him.
"Mmm... that's my girl," he growled. Glancing up at her, he dragged his teeth down to one of her puckered nipples and took it between his teeth, tugging gently before sucking at it. "Your tits are perfect, you know that?" he murmured as he pulled away.
Gasping, Katniss's fingers lightly tugged at his hair. "Oh." biting down on her bottom lip, she looked down at him through her lashes. "Yeah?" she breathed. "I always thought they were a little small."
He shook his head, brushing his nose against the rosy tip. "No, just right," he assured her. Humming, he moved over to the other, giving it the same attention before continuing down toward the apex of her thighs.
Her thighs spread, the bottoms of her feet digging into the matress, heels pressing hard as he drew closer. "Ngh..." She moaned, thighs falling open when his nose dragged across her navel, making her shiver at the sensation -- her stomach was particularly sensitive to touch.
Haymitch felt his cock twitch in response to each noise she made, a swell of pride rising in him as he realized that it was him that was eliciting those noises. Looking up at her with dark eyes, he pressed his lips to her inner thigh in a soft kiss before he dipped his head down to take a deep breath, breathing in her musky scent. "God," he whispered as he exhaled.
She bit down hard on her bottom lip, hands flying from his hair to the sheets beneath her. "Ah." Her back arched high, hips gently rolling forward. "Please." she nearly whimpered, voice tight with need.
Haymitch smirked and reached one hand up to grip at her hips tightly before pressing his mouth hard against her core. He closed his eyes as he started to work his tongue against her, thrusting in before pulling back and flicking at her clit.
"Oh!" She cried as he finally pressed against her. "Oh god. Yes." Her fingers tugged and pulled at the sheets, feet pressing hard against the mattress. "Please. Please." she panted softly, cheeks flushing red with heat.
His nails dug in hard to her flesh as his hand closed in a death grip on her hips and he assaulted her with his lips and tongue. He lost track of everything that he was doing, just acting. Adding his fingers into the mix, he thrust three into her and pumped her hard as his lips closed around her clit, sucking hard. Opening his eyes, he looked up at her and groaned as he saw and felt her back arch with pleasure. With a twist of his fingers, he repositioned them so that they brushed against her g-spot with each thrust and he switched to flicking his tongue quickly over the sensitive bundle he had been sucking at.
Katniss was overwhelmed. Sweat glistened over her skin, making her look dewy in the dim light that filled her apartment. Her hips rolled against him as best they could, breasts bouncing with each movement. Raising one hand, she grabbed one of her breasts, squeezing gently, fingers finding her nipple and pinching gently. "Oh god. God. Haymitch. Yes. I--" The words stuck in her throat and her eyes squeezed shut tight. Body stilling, she let out a choked cry as she came. Trembling, she fell back against the bed, panting hard, hair disheveled.
Growling, Haymitch kept pumping his fingers through her orgasm, drawing it out as long as he could before finally pulling away from her and coaxing her down with his tongue gently lapping at her lips. By this point, his cock was rock hard all over again and he groaned as he shifted and moved back up her body, the sensitive skin brushing against the sheets and then her body.
Lazily, Katniss's hands came up, dragging down his back as Haymitch climbed up over her body. Humming softly, she leaned up and pressed soft kisses down over his jaw. "Mmm... you're good at that." she breathed. Despite how sensitive she was, she pressed up against him, slowly grinding against his cock.
"I know I am," he hummed, with a little smile. His hips moved with hers and he groaned faintly as her lips slid against him. "You know what else I'm good at?" he asked.
"What's that?" She mumbled. Her eyes flicked up at him, looking at Haymitch through her lashes. Lips parting, she sucked gently at the patch of skin just beneath his jaw and hummed.
Winter was coming which meant there was a lot of work to do on the farm. The farm wasn't really much of a farm these days, hadn't been for awhile. Last winter she'd been forced to sell the last horse and now they were running out of feed for the very last dairy cow they had. She'd have to take her to the butcher soon or sell her.
Sighing, she brought back her axe and swung it down onto another log of wood. She needed to get this bunch of firewood done before it got too cold and the snows started. Gale would probably be coming any time now. It was just after school which meant his siblings would be home and he'd be free to go do whatever. Katniss however, was not. She was sixteen now and thinking about dropping out -- she hadn't even gone in that day. Thankfully her best friend Finnick had picked up Prim for her and dropped her off about a half an hour ago. She couldn't leave herself. There was too much work to be done and Prim couldn't take care of herself. Not that it really mattered. Things were better at her place anyways. There it was just Prim and herself, not a whole house full of kids and Gale's momma. Sure, Katniss's mom was at her home too but she was out of her mind so it didn't matter.
It was only about fifteen minutes before Gale came rumbling up the road in his dad's old worn out truck. The thing was set to die any day now, but Gale wouldn't part with it. The dust flew in a long trail behind him, settling as he cut the engine and hopped out. He had stopped in the middle of the road next to where Katniss was working. It didn't matter. No one really came out this way anyways, except for him and the Everdeens.
"Need some help, girl?" he asked, walking over and eyeing her pile of wood.
Looking up, Katniss left her axe imbeded in the trunk of wood she was using as a chopping post. Straightening, she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and managed a small smile for him, eyes narrowing against the sun that shone down behind him. "Reckon I could if you're in a charitable mood." Stepping back, she took about five steps to the old, gated fence that wrapped around what had once been a cattle enclosure for grazing and now just had a bunch of weeds. "How was work?" She asked as she leaned against it, jacket falling open.
He smiled and shrugged off his jacket. Underneath he was wearing a white tee covered by a flannel long-sleeve shirt. "Work was work," he muttered, grabbing a hold of the axe and pulling it free. He put another log on the stump and lined up the axe before swinging it down. "You? How was your day?"
"It was alright." Katniss shrugged. "Stayed home to weather proof that house." But he knew that -- at least the first part. He'd stayed the night, something he did fairly often. If it wasn't for the fact that he worked and was the sole bread winner for his family, his momma would have had a fit but as it were, she didn't have much of a choice. Gale's word was law, he was the man of the family. "Still got a fair bit to do but... I guess I got a good start on it."
"That's my girl," he grunted as he brought the axe down again. "You got anything made up for dinner? Vick's in charge of dinner at my place, so I can stay over again tonight." He turned and looked at her before placing another log. "Or you lot could come over to mine for dinner. I got room in my truck."
[ | Edited 12:48:19 AM] "I ain't started yet but I could." Katniss said with a shrug. They didn't have a lot, that much everyone knew well enough. Katniss, like Gale, was the sole provider. So she hunted, and scrounged and did every little thing she could to keep them going. It was hard going, but the land was their's and they had things that she could sell every now and then. They also had a bit of help from the government that Katniss was ashamed about but there was no helping it. "Gotta feed momma too." Not that the woman would eat much.
"Alright. Let's do that, then. I'd rather stay here and you know it, girl." He winked at her and then returned to his task. When all the logs she had gathered had been split, he piled them into the wheelbarrow and walked with her back up to the house to stack them up high just outside the door. "Why don't you go inside and work on dinner. I'll find something to do."
Hands shoved in her pockets, she followed Gale up to the house. It was fairly large by most standards -- her daddy had built it before he'd passed away but now it was run down. The only good thing about all that room was that she could put her momma in the upstairs all by herself and never have to really deal with her. "Alright." She said as he finished stacking them all up. "I'll send Prim out to help ya." Not that she'd be any help really, but iit was better than having the girl underfoot and she didn't feel much like teaching her to cook tonight. Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to his cheek before she headed inside and called for her sister.
Gale and Prim kept busy with finishing up some of what Katniss had started with weatherproofing the house. By the time Katniss was finished with dinner, the sun had set and the pair were chilled to the bone, but not unhappy about it. In fact, Prim was bubbling with excitement about the baby deer she had seen walking around out back. Gale had teased her about going to shoot its parents for meat, but he had only been joking.
"What we got for dinner, Kat? Venison?" he asked, glancing over at Prim as she squirmed.
Katniss was just finishing it all up when the two came back in. "I wish." she called over her shoulder. "Prim, go wash up and change out of them ratty ole jeans." she told her with a crinkle of her nose. They didn't have much clothes so after a second to think about it, she corrected herself. "Put on your flannels for bed." She didn't want her accidentally getting into something a little nicer that she'd need for school.
Pulling a pan of baked bread out of the oven, she smiled to herself, feeling rather accomplished. She wasn't an amazing cook or anything, but she was alright. "Got squirrel soup and some biscuits. Sound alright?" It was the last of their meat but Katniss could stretch it out a few days if she watered down the broth and got a few potatoes from their neighbor. It would be long enough for her to go hunting again. Worst case scenario they only managed to get a few more squirrels but it would be better than nothing.
"Sounds great, and I bet it tastes even better," he hummed, moving over to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll make the plates, you go take a bowl up to your momma and see if she's awake.
Smiling softly, her head turned to the side and she stole a small kiss. "Thanks, baby." Slipping past him, she grabbed a bowl and ladeled in some broth and a few bits of veggitables but made sure not to get any of the meat. Her mother was skin and bones, barely with it. Katniss did what she could for her, but she was slowly wasting away and they all knew it. There was no point in her wasting any meat for food that would end up spoiled or on the floor. In the off chance that she did wake up enough to eat, she'd bring her some more back, but she doubted it. Knocking on the door to her mother's room, she pushed it open slowly.
"Momma?" she asked softly. Hearing nothing in reply, she moved into the room and set it on the nightstand. Her mother was sitting in a rocking chair, staring off into space. Sighing, she moved over to her and brushed her fingers through her hair. "Come on momma, it's time to eat now." But she got no response, like usual. Sighing, she shook her head and turned back around, heading downstairs once more.
Prim had made it downstairs again by that point, dressed for bed and all washed up for dinner. Gale had made the plates for the three of them and sat down. They were both waiting for Katniss before they tucked in. "She alright?" Gale asked as Katniss came down through the hallway.
Katniss's face was grim, like it usually was after she came down from her momma's room. She was worried, not so much about what happened to the woman -- that ship had sailed long ago -- but what would happen to Prim. If her momma died the state would come in and try and take them both away. Without a job she couldn't emancipate and if she wasn't emancipated they wouldn't let her keep Prim. All she could really do at that point was pray that her momma hanged on long enough for her to be a legal adult.
"Same as usual." she said after a second. Pulling out her chair, she looked to Prim pointedly as she tucked in. "You say your grace yet?" she asked her. The little girl turned pink before setting down her fork and saying a quick little prayer, only to tuck back in again when she was done.
Gale chuckled and shook his head before picking up his fork to eat. He also hadn't prayed, but he also knew that Katniss knew better than to correct him. Dinner passed without much conversation, as it always did. They never really talked much once eating got underway and afterwards it was all clean up and sending Prim off to bed.
With Prim off in her room, the house was silent save for the occasional rattle of the wind that blew through the planks of wood as if the house were a barn, making it chilly inside. "What do you wanna do now?" Katniss asked as she finished up the last of the dishes.
Gale stepped in behind her where she stood at the sink and wrapped his arms around her as he pressed against her back. "You know what I want to do now, baby," he murmured against her ear, his fingers working at the strings of her apron and pulling it loose, letting it hang as he moved to her pants.
Katniss knew, it was what he wanted almost every night, even when she didn't. Tonight was one of those nights. She wasn't feeling particularly well after working all day, the manual labor left her with a headache and all she really wanted to do was curl up with Gale and maybe watch a little TV. Making a soft sound she squirmed. "Can't we do something else tonight?" she tried plaintively, trying her best not to sound challenging.
Gale's hand was already halfway into her pants by the time she spoke. Stilling, he pulled her tighter against his hips and pressed her into the counter. "No. I don't want to do something else tonight," he growled warningly. Shifting, he pulled her pants down to her knees and then pulled his hands back to start tugging at the zip of his own pants.
Maybe, if she hadn't spoken up, he would have been soft, taken her into consideration as he fucked her but she'd already gone and ruined that. She had dipped down into dangerous waters but she wasn't at the point of no return just yet. The worst part was, Katniss knew it but she'd never been good at leaving well enough alone. "Baby please." she whimpered as she was all but crushed into the counter top. "I don't feel good..." Though it wasn't likely to get much sympathy.
"Yeah, well I don't feel very good either after chopping all that wood for your lazy ass," he snapped. "You know I've been at work all day and I've been nice to you all evening. All I want is to get a little sometihng in return." Growling, he stepped back and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her out to the living room and throwing her down on the couch. "Fuck. Why you always gotta make things so difficult?"
She yelped as he grabbed her hair. Head ducking, she scurried to follow his long strides as he dragged her into the sitting room. Tears in her eyes, she fell back onto the couch and stared up at him. "I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry. You're right." she gasped softly, knowing she'd crossed a line and quickly trying to back pedal.
Gale didn't say anything else as he set his jaw and practically ripped her pants the rest of the way down her legs and off. "Shut up," he snapped. "I don't want to hear your whining." He looked at her sourly as he pulled down his pants and stroked his cock. Leaning over her, he lined the tip up with her entrance and thrust in with a grunt.
Katniss squirmed on the couch, letting out a soft gasp as the jeans were roughly tugged down off her legs and tossed to the ground without a care. She bit down hard on her bottom lip and spread her thighs for him, just wanting to make this easier, anything to make it go quickly. Her eyes squeezed shut and her body tensed as the couch dipped and he kneeled in between her legs. Grabbing her hips, he pushed his cock in. There was no saving the cry that forced it's way out as he slammed home.
Gale was ready for the sound, quickly backhanding her and then grabbing her face to stifle anymore sound with a large hand over her mouth. "I said, shut the fuck up," he growled, roughly thrusting against her. "I don't want to hear another sound, you hear me?" he demanded.
Gasping, Katniss flinched and her head fell to the side. Her eyes squeezed shut in an effort to stop the tears but she couldn't help it as they spilled past her lashes, dripping down her cheeks. Mutely, she nodded vigorously and bit down hard on her bottom lip, drawing blood.
He grunted and pulled his hand away, gripping tightly at the cushion of the couch as he rocked his hips hard against her. "Fuck... Damn that pussy is so good, baby," he mumbled, moving his hips faster. "Mmm... Oh yes...." He closed his eyes and licked his lips, letting himself succumb to the sensations.
Tense, she clamped down around him and squeezed her eyes shut tight. Each thrust hurt but she kept it to herself as best she could, but there was nothing she could do to stifle the soft whimpers that pushed past her lips every now and then as he fucked her.
Gripping tightly at the couch, Gale's thrusts grew more rapid and harder and his breaths came in quick pants until he let out a rough cry and jerked against her, coming hard as he spasmed. "Fuck... Fuck..." he muttered, letting his body fall limp on top of her as he panted.
Her head turned more to the side, face pressing against the back of the couch. She panted softly and kept her eyes closed, just trying to relax. It was done, Gale had cum, that was it -- she told herself.
Gale groaned after several moments and shifted on top of her. "See... that wasn't so bad, now was it? Imagine if you had just given me what I wanted..." He pulled back and touched her face gingerly where her eye was already starting to swell. "Then I wouldn't have had to hurt you..."
Instinctively, Katniss flinched away from his touch. Tears still streamed down her cheeks silently but other than that she made no move. "Sorry..." she whispered finally, as if this was somehow her fault.
"I'm sorry too," he murmured. "But next time you should listen, okay?" he murmured. Kissing her cheek, he slowly got up and pulled her up with him. "Now... bedroom," he urged her, nudging her in front of him. "And pick up the clothes. Don't want your sister coming down here to find them." Nevermind that she probably heard everything every night. The walls in the house weren't that thick.
Nodding mutely, Katniss got up onto shaky legs. Still crying and more than a little shaken, she grabbed her pants and held them to her body in a vain attempt to cover herself. Cheeks flushed pink, she headed for the bedroom and dropped her clothes off. "One second." she murmured and silently slipped out and to the bathroom to clean herself up -- washing away his cum. Padding back to the bedroom, she stripped and grabbed a t-shirt, tugging it on before climbing into bed, beneath the thick quilt.
Gale had stripped down to nude while she was gone. He always slept that way. When she got in under the quilt with him, Gale turned to the side and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in against his chest as he settled in for sleep.
Katniss's face was really starting to hurt by that point. He'd really hit her, not like those little warning slaps he'd give her sometimes when she was starting to smart mouth him or back talk. Tomorrow half of her face would probably be blue. She'd have to skip class again if she didn't want anyone to see. Closing her eyes, she let him pull her close and tried to relax, but found it hard to do.
Gale was sound asleep within minutes, not having the same trouble as her with regards to relaxing. He never did. The next morning, when he woke to dawn's first rays coming in through the window, he walked his fingers up her body slowly, humming and leaning in to kiss the good side of her face. "Baby..." he hummed softly.
It had taken Katniss some time to fall asleep the night before, finding herself unable to drift off. Normally she was a light sleeper and would often times wake when he did but not that morning. She shifted against him and made a soft sound. Whining softly, she tried to press her face against his shoulder and hide, clinging on to the last bit of sleep.
"Katniss," he murmured, a little more firmly this time, but still somewhat gentle. "I have something for you to take care of," he said, bumping his morning erection against her hip. "I want that pretty little mouth on my cock. Please baby. It's the best way to wake up..."
She whined again but this time her eyes fluttered open -- or at least one of them did, the other had swollen shut. She pulled away just slightly, looking back at Gale blearily. "Mmm..." she shifted slightly, tiredly but said nothing. Pushing herself up, she slid down in bed, the covers coming down with her as she moved to settle in between Gale's legs. Without even looking up at him. her lips parted slightly, the movement causing pain to lace down the side of her face. Leaning in, her lips wrapped around his cock and one hand held him firm as she sucked slowly.
Gale shifted slowly and moaned, his hand coming up to push into her hair on the good side of her face and grip lightly at her head. "Oh... yeah..." He bit his lip and looked up at the ceiling of the room. "Fuck baby..."
Normally, she'd have been a little more into it, but right then it was hard enough for her to suck. So she bobbed her head slowly, eyes closed as she tried to concentrate on her task but she was still half asleep.
Gale groaned and his hand tightened in her hair slightly as her mouth continued to bob against him. "Fuck... yeah... pump me, baby..." he mumbled. "Fuck... make me cum..." he muttered.
She made a soft sound around him, humming lightly as she bobbed, sucking softer than she might have usually. Her hand squeezed around his base and her other hand cupped his balls, doing everything she could to make this quick. She didn't feel good, not mentally or physically right then.
Gale was never really one to last long, especially in the morning, so it wasn't but a few moments before he shuddered, breath catching. He came with a sharp groan, his cum shooting down her throat as he spasmed up against her, holding her down against him with an iron grip in her hair. "Fuck!" he hissed, jerking again before falling back to the bed.
It hurt. Katniss squeezed her eyes shut, tears filling them once more. She wanted to pull back but the grip on her hair was too much. When he finally released her, she pulled back with a gasp of air. Panting hard, she crawled back up the bed and collapsed onto her side, facing away from him. Her body was tense and the tears that had filled her eyes threatened to spill over.
Gale panted hard as he recovered, groaning and all but ignoring all signs of her discomfort. Finally, he started to move, getting up and moving to the bathroom to shower and start getting ready for the day. "Tonight's my night for dinner so I won't be coming over this evening after work. I'll probably see you tomorrow though," he said as he got dressed in her bathroom. "You think you'll need anything for around the house?"
Katniss pulled the blankets up and over her head as Gale got up. "No." she murmured, tone flat. "We're fine." That wasn't really true, but right then she was smarting and didn't want his charity. She was half tempted to run to Finnick, but she knew what he'd tell her -- to leave him. Right then she was half tempted to do that too.
"Alright. well I'll see you when I see you, then," he hummed, not looking back as he headed out of the room and downstairs. He whistled as he headed outside to the truck and got in to head to work. He would skip breakfast as he always did and head to his own house for lunch, just like always.
Curling up in a ball, Katniss pressed her face against the pillow and cried, her tears falling hard, soaking into the pillow. She bit down on her busted lip, trying to muffle the sound of her cries, but she knew it was loud and that Prim could probably hear it, just like she no doubt always heard Gale and her having sex.
Prim did hear. She always heard. For a moment she was tempted to go to her sister, but then she thought better of it. Slipping out of bed she headed downstairs and started to make her own lunch. She, like Gale, almost never had breakfast, not because she wasn't hungry, but because it wasn't really necessary.
There was also the issue of having enough food to eat -- which they didn't. They never did, even when Gale brought them things it usually wasn't enough to last for long, not that Katniss would ever say anything of it.
After several long minutes, the young woman forced her tears to stop and she got up from bed and grabbed a pair of flannel pants. Pulling them on, she headed out into the kitchen to help Prim get ready for school. Hopefully Finnick would come by that morning to pick Prim up and walk her there.
Prim looked up when Katniss came down, trying her best to smile brightly. "Morning," she chirped. "You going to school today? I didn't know whether to pack you something." She gestured over to katniss's lunch pail, trying not to stare at Katniss's face too much.
"Naw little duck." Katniss replied. "I'll walk ya though, if Finn don't turn up." Coming up behind her, she brushed her fingers through Prim's blond hair, lightly tugging at her pig tails. "You all ready? Brush your teeth? Wash off?"
Prim smiled. "Yeah. I'm all took care of. I'm almost 12 now. I can take care of myself." She turned and her smile faded a little. "I just wish..." She hesitated. "I wish you could..." she mumbled, reaching up to brush a finger over Katniss's eye. "It ain't right, you know..."
Katniss flinched and looked away from Prim. "He's real good to us, you know. And he provides when we can't. Sometimes he just... he gets a little heated. He always makes up for it though, and you know that." Come tomorrow he'd be over with goodies for them and be apologetic for days. He'd treat her real nice and make her feel special. And then it would start all over again, her walking on eggshells trying not to make him mad.
"Don't you worry about it, alright?" She ruggled her hair again. "Let me go get my coat and we can head on out." Finnick was probably just right down the road.
Prim nodded, deciding not to push it further. Running off, she got her own coat and her bag for school before waiting by the door for Katniss.
Katniss slipped back into her room and grabbed a hoodie. It was Gale's -- thick and a deep shade of red, practically swallowing her hole. With the hood pulled up and her thick hair pulled to the side she could almost hide her cheek. Slipping into a pair of shoes, she came back out to Prim. "Alright little girl, lets get goin'." Opening the door, she let Prim go first and followed her out, the pair of them marching up the old dirt road.
They hadn't gone more than a quarter mile before they ran into Finnick in his truck. It was in fairly better shape than Gale's. Actually, a lot better shape. Pulling to a stop, Finnick popped open the door and got out. "Hey, how are my two favorite ladies doing?" he asked with a bright smile, giving Prim a high five and shooing her into the truck before turning to look at Katniss. "You coming today?"
Katniss gave Prim a little wave, watching her as she climbed up and into Finnick's truck. Turning her attention back to her friend, she shook her head, mindful of her hair and keeping it all in place. "Naw." she replied. "I gotta lot more work to do around the house if I don't want momma to freeze this winter. I'll come on around Monday." Probably. Today was friday, so three days could be enough for the bruise to go down enough to conceal it or make up some excuse.
Finnick frowned and cocked his head at her. She was good at hiding, but he was also very good at perceiving. Reaching out, he caught her chin with deft fingers and gently brushed her hair back away from her face. Eyes darkening, he hissed. "Why do you let him do this to you?" he asked. "One day he's going to really lose it and... I don't want to see that happen to you."
Her hand came up quick, smacking his fingers away. Grabbing her hair, she tugged it back down over her cheek and stared at the ground. "It ain't nothin' okay, Finn? Don't worry about it. I can take care of myself." She had been her whole life, or at least since her daddy died. They didn't have any other men in their life to help them out.
Finnick bit his lip, wanting to say more, but knowing he was walking a fine line. "I just want you to be safe... And maybe see that there are other people out there who are better for you," he murmured softly. He didn't give her a chance to respond to that, instead going around to get into his truck.
Shoulders slumping, Katniss watched Finnick turn around and head back to his truck. Her stomach knotted and suddenly she felt like crying again. Swallowing it down, she gave a wave and turned. "See ya tonight." she called. Hands shoving into her pockets, she trudged back down the road to her house.
Finnick chewed his lip hard as he backed the truck up and swung it around. He didn't wave back at her, too upset to do so at the moment. The ride to school was quiet and he let Prim out with a wave before heading to the high school. That night he brought Prim home as well, knowing Katniss wouldn't come to pick her up.
Katniss was dressed as she had been when Finnick had picked up Prim that morning. Her jaw was set and hands were shoved into her pockets but despite the outward apperance of being strong, her hair was back in place and hood up to hide the evidence of her abuse. When the truck stopped and Prim hopped out, she nodded to Finnick. "Got dinner made if you wanna eat." she offered, nodding back to the house.
"Nah... My momma' got something cooking back home. Thanks for the offer, though..." He pressed his lips together. "You girls take care of yourselves." He smiled faintly.
Katniss felt something dip in the pit of her stomach. Once upon a time, Finnick would have come over and hung out for a few hours, or they would have gone and done something but these days it was only ever just to school or back -- ever since she'd started seeing Gale. It felt as though she was losing her friendship with him -- but the fact of the matter was, she needed Gale and couldn't afford to lose him. Not just because she loved him, but because he helped take care of them -- more than Finnick or anyone else could or would. Not that she'd accept help from someone that wasn't so tied to her anyways.
"Alright. Thanks Finn." She nodded again and waited for Prim to come around. Giving the girl a week smile, she turned and walked back home.
"Yeah," he murmured without looking at her. "No problem." He put his truck in gear and pulled out of the driveway, back down the road. It wasn't that he couldn't or wouldn't take care of her. He had wanted to and still did. Back before she had gotten with Gale she had been too proud to accept it. And Finnick had never had the balls to step up and actually ask her out so it had never happened. Now, with Gale, the other man had already approached him once for /encroaching/. Katniss didn't know about that of course. But now Finnick literally couldn't help if he wanted to besides the drives to school... That is unless he wanted his ribs broken or a load of buckshot in his chest. Gale wanted to be the only one who could provide for Katniss, so that was what happened.
Katniss did her best to keep things together that night but it was hard. She had a headache from where she'd been hit and her body was sore from how he'd fucked her. That and the ache deep in her chest that Katniss refused to acknowledge beyond the occasional pressure behind her eyes as she fought off a wave of emotion. But she managed just barely. Thankfully tomorrow was the weekend so she could send Prim on off to one of her friends and keep the house to herself, until Gale came by which was exactly what she did.
And Gale coming by was exactly what /he/ did. As expected he had roses and chocolates, a treat by their standards. "Hey girl. You ready to spend the whole weekend together?" He smiled. "Prim is off at a friend's right?"
Katniss heard the truck before she heard Gale knock at the door. She was dressed in a long sleeve shirt with her highschool's logo emblazoned on the front of it and a pair of black sweats. Opening the door, she leaned against the frame -- her dark bruise on display, unlike it had been with Finnick or Prim. She wanted to make him feel as guilty as possible. She managed a small smile for him, stepping to the side to let him in. "Yeah, she's gone. Stayin' the night over there." It was better than being here, she figured, so whenever one of her friends offered to let her sleep over Katniss was quick to agree.
Gale came up the steps and smiled at her, kissing her lightly on the lips. When he pulled back, his hand came up to gently brush against her bruise. "I really am sorry about that," he murmured. "I wish I didn't have to hurt you." He stepped inside and shrugged out of his coat, presenting her with the roses and candy. "What'chu wanna do tonight?"
Releasing a soft, shaky breath, her eyes flicked down to the floor as he stepped inside. All of the sudden, all Katniss wanted to do was push Gale out the door, scoop up Prim and hunker down in bed with her like they used to do and sometimes still did when Gale wasn't around. "I don't know. What do you wanna do?" she asked instead. It was still pretty early in the day -- Gale didn't work on the weekends.
Gale shrugged and flipped open the box of chocolates he had brought her, plucking one out and holding it up to her lips. "Dunno. Thought we could just watch TV or something."
Katniss turned her head away from him just slightly. She knew it was probably a bad idea after what he'd done to her the night before but she was upset with him.
Gale let his arm drop and let out a long breath. "Shit... I'm tryin' to be nice to you and this is how you show you're grateful. Damn, bitch..." He threw the chocolates down on the ground roughly, the little pieces of candy scattering as the box busted open on the floor. "If you don't want 'em then all you gotta say is no thank you."
Jerking back, Katniss's arms came up to her chest and her eyes went wide as pieces of candy scattered across the floor, some smacking into her legs. "You hit me!" she cried out of nowhere. She had meant to just let it go but the words came bubbling up, demanding to be heard despite what she wanted.
"Yeah, well I already said I'm sorry, didn't I? I even got you flowers and shit. What'chu want me to do?! It was your own damn fault anyways. I was tryin' to be all nice and shit, but you always gotta push me and make all your noise and shit. You're lucky I put up with it. Where the hell would you be without me, huh?"
"I did fine without you before!" Katniss cried. Her arms folded over her chest as the nerves of what she was doing really started to kick in. He wouldn't hit her again, it had only been the one time. He didn't actually mean it. And it had kind of been her fault. If she'd just let him have it then everything would have been fine. He was her guy right? Wasn't that what girls were supposed to do?
"Oh yeah? Well hows about I just leave then and see how fine you are without me this winter. I'll check in on you once the snow melts and see how it turns out," he sneered. "You want me to do that? You want me to walk out. Because that's sure what it sounds like to me."
"I didn't say that! I'm just sayin' we did fine before! I just..." Cheeks turning red, she fumbled with her words, more than a little flustered. Arms folding over her chest, her entire body tensed.
The two of them stood there for several moments, letting the words settle. After a very tense silence, Gale finally let out a breath and let his shoulders drop. "C'mere," he said, holding out his arms for her. "I ain't leaving... not today at least. I love you too much." Pulling her into his arms he wrapped them around her and held her against his chest. "Let's put this behind us and just do something nice today, hm?"
Katniss was slow to move but after a second she shuffled over to him, allowing Gale to pull her in against his chest. The tears that she'd been fighting for the past day or so finally spilled over, wetting her cheeks and his sweatshirt but she couldn't quite stop. She nodded against his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist and holding tight.
Gale rubbed her back and held her for a while, letting her cry against his chest and shushing her gently every now and then. Slowly he moved them over to the couch, sitting down and letting her curl up against him. When it seemed she had finally settled down, he brought a hand up to brush through her hair. "You wanna play cards or something?" There was a TV in the house, but it was more for show than anything else. The electricity bill was a necessity that they didn't often add to with luxuries like watching television all day.
A tired, heavy sort of feeling hung around Katniss's shoulders as her tears slowly subsided. Looking up at him from her place curled up against his side, she nodded against his chest and slowly pulled away, sitting on her legs. "Yeah... cards sound good." she murmured, voice thick and scratchy.
He nodded and shifted out from under her, going over to the cabinet underneath the TV to get the pack of cards. Shuffling them as he walked back over to her, he sat down and looked at her, his lips twitching up. "What do you want to play?" he asked.
"Black jack." Katniss replied after a second. She'd shifted over to the other end of the couch, giving them some space to actually play. Turning, her back pressed against the arm rest and she drew her legs up, arms wrapping around her knees.
Gale nodded and shuffled a bit more before he began to deal out. They played several hands, letting the tension between them ease, and eventually they were laughing and enjoying themselves almost like they had in the first weeks of their relationship.
One round, before he had dealt, Gale held the cards in his hand for a moment longer than he normally did, adjusting his hold. Looking up at her with a sly grin, he held the cards up. "52 pick up!" he exclaimed before letting the cards go flying in the air.
Laughing, Katniss batted the cards that flew at her away and scrunched up her nose. "Boy, you better pick them cards up right now." she said playfully, grinning at him. It felt good to laugh and relax after the rather hellish to days she'd just had.
"Mmm," he leaned in closer to her and pressed his lips to hers. "I don't want to," he mumbled, pushing her back against the arm of the couch. "Can't we just leave them there?"
She leaned back slightly and hummed into the kiss. "We can't just leave them there." she mumbled against his lips. Her hands gently pressed against his shoulders and she sighed faintly.
"Mmm..." he pressed his lips against her neck. "Then I'll pick them up later..." he mumbled, kissing her neck again and again.
"Gale..." she shifted slightly, more than a little uncomfortable. Her head tilted back and she bit down hard on her bottom lip. Katniss didn't want sex, but she was scared to say no.
Gale pulled away, looking up at her with his brow deeply furrowed. "What?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
"I just..." Her good mood evaporated quickly and she chewed on her bottom lip and she shifted again. Her words died on her tongue and she meekly pressed back against the couch, shaking her head. It wasn't like her to be like that, she was well known for standing up in whatever she believed in at the time, sticking up for herself but Gale had gone and taken that right away from her.
Gale rolled his eyes and huffed, pushing away from her roughly and sitting on the other side of the couch, crossing his arms. "I don't know what you want from me, Kat. I really don't," he muttered. Standing up, he went to the foyer and grabbed his coat, starting to put it on. "Have a good weekend. I'll be back... whenever..." He shook his head and gave her one last look before taking off out the door, heading out to his truck.
Katniss sat there, numb for a minute before getting up and running after him. Pulling open the door, she stood out in the chilly, autmn air in a t-shirt and sweat pants. "I let you fuck me just about every god damn night, Gale Hawthorne. I cook for you, I take care of you. I do it because I love you." she yelled at him. "But when I try and say no you get all mad and then you fuckin' hit me!" Her face screwed up. "I just... I just thought we could relax awhile! Why's it always gotta be sex?" It wasn't like she didn't like it or wasn't attracted to him, and it wasn't like he was a terrible partner either, he made her feel good sometimes. But she was scared now.
"You do it because you're my girl," he said, turning and taking another step back. "And because that's what a woman does for her man. You don't say /no/. You don't have that right. I'm the man of the house. My house. You ain't got no man in your house, do you?" He glared at her. "And you have the audacity to tell /me/ no? When I've been giving you all this shit."
"You ain't the /man/ of my house." Katniss said without thinking. "We ain't married. We ain't got no kids. Gale I'm sorry. I just... I'm scared." she admitted. Scuffing a foot against her step, she folded her arms over her stomach and bit down hard on her bottom lip. Her head turned down shyly, afraid to see his reaction.
"Well then maybe I should stop acting like it... bringing you food and stuff. If you're so tough that you can do it all on your own, fine. I'll stop coming around so much to check up on you. You don't need me. I get it." He turned back around to get into his truck. "Like I said... Have a nice weekend."
Looking up, Katniss scowled deeply. Pride demanded that she turn right around and head back inside, slam the door shut and lock Gale out for good but logic won out in the end. "Gale wait!" She cried. "I'm sorry." Why had things gone so horribly wrong? Why did he have to hit her? Why did all of this start? Oh right, it was her fault. Everything was her fault.
Gale set his jaw and cut the engine, but he didn't get out of the truck, waiting for her to come to him. "I ain't want a fight with you," he said flatly. "You want me to leave then I'll leave. But I don't know what do do if you want me to stay."
Barefoot, Katniss walked down the steps and over to his truck. "I'm sorry." She said again, voice soft. Her fingers hooked around the open window and she leaned against the door. "I was out of line. I'm just... scared. It hurt when you hit me an' I'm holdin onto... somethin' and it ain't right. I know that." she murmured. "Forgive me, please?"
Gale ground his teeth for a moment before taking a breath and nodding. "Yeah, alright..." He slowly opened the door. "I didn't mean to hit you like that. And I said I was sorry." He closed the truck behind him and draped an arm over her shoulders, heading back in.
"I know." she murmured. Leaning into his side and slid an arm around his waist and pressed in close against him. "I'm just... all caught up in my head. It's done. I'm over it. I'm sorry." she murmured.
He tilted his head down and pressed his lips against the top of her head. "So... we should go clean up those cards, I guess... And then we should probably get something together to eat..."
"I can clean it up. You go sit down." she murmured. Katniss nudged him gently. Pulling away, she kneeled down and started gathering up all the cards he'd dropped just a few minutes before. "What do you want? I can cook us somethin'." They still didn't have a lot. She hadn't been able to go out hunting just yet.
Gale went and sat on the couch, leaning back and watching her pick up the cards. "You remember when I hurt myself at the mill not too long ago? Compensation from that just came in. It's not much... Just a couple hundred. But it was more than what I actually spent on medical care, so..." He shrugged. "How about we order pizza instead of cooking something. Save some for Prim when she gets back so she doesn't miss out."
Looking up at Gale, Katniss's lips quirked up slowly. "Alright. That sounds good. You wanna order for us?" She looked back down and quickly finished picking up the rest of the cards. Setting them down on the coffee table, she grabbed the phone and brought it over.
He nodded and sat forward to grab the phone. Leaning down, he grabbed the phonebook from under the coffee table and flipped open to the pizza place in town. He dialed up the number and ordered two medium pepperoni pizzas for them. He didn't need to get that much, but he wanted to make sure that they had lots of left-overs. After giving the address he hung up and set the phone down on the coffee table. Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her down into his lap and kissed her lightly on the lips.
Katniss made a soft sound and let him pull her up into his lap. She leaned in against him, head tilting back to kiss him back softly. "Love you." she murmured against his lips, nipping gently in some attempt to make up for the shit that had just happened, as if it were her fault.
"I love you too, baby," he murmured, nuzzling his nose against her cheek that wasn't bruised. His hand rubbed over her hip and he hummed softly, but for the most part he remained still and quiet.
She shifted slightly against his lap, trying to be openly receptive should he still want to do something, but she wasn't about to push things either way. All she wanted was them to be happy and not fighting and okay.
Gale didn't seem to really be pushing the sex thing. At least not for the moment. He probably would again before the night was over, but for right now he was content to just sit there with her, relaxing. He was fine with relaxing and just spending time with each other, as long as it was his idea, which had been the problem all along.
Katniss didn't really care at all right then, if it was her idea, his idea or the fucking pope's. She was just happy. This had been all she'd wanted this whole time. Nuzzling in against him, she rest her head against his shoulder and sighed softly, nose gently brushing against his neck.
They stayed like that, cuddled up with one another until the pizza got there. Groaning, Gale got up and dug out his wallet as he walked over to the door. Paying the man, he took the boxes and smiled before closing the door and bringing the pizza and the plates over to Katniss. "And here we are... Dinner."
Sitting up straighter, Katniss drew her legs up to her chest once more. A smile tugged at her lips as she looked up at him. "Smells good. Thanks baby." she murmured.
"No problem," Gale murmured, setting the boxes down and flipping one open. Pulling out a plate, he gave her a slice and then got one for himself. Pausing, he looked up. "Should we get some for your momma?"
[ | Edited 12:23:36 AM] "I'll get her some later... she hasn't really been eatin'." Katniss would never say it out loud exactly, but it frightened her. Her mom was starting to go down hill rapidly and she still didn't have a plan about what they were going to do. She just had to hit eighteen and then she'd be a legal adult and could take over the estate. Maybe then they'd let her adopt Prim or become her legal guardian or some shit.
Gale hummed and nodded, sitting back with his own slice of pizza and humming as he took a bite. "God... I almost forgot what pizza tasted like..." he mumbled. The last time he had had pizza had been at a party for a sports team he had been on in school... before he had dropped out. And before that it had been one of his birthdays, the year before his father had died. "It's so good..."
"I need to get a job." Katniss hummed as she took a bite of the pizza. "Maybe with me gettin' some money we could buy it more often." Or just more food in general. The state still gave her money, but it wasn't like them getting /some/ income was going to bust what the state provided. It wouldn't even affect it, really.
[ | Removed 12:35:08 AM] This message has been removed.
"You don't want a job..." he muttered. "Working is fucking stupid and the people are rude to you and all kinds of shit. Let me do the working. I'll take care of you." He took another bite of his pizza. "But... I would be able to work more if I wasn't over here helpin' you clean so much. Stay home all the time... Do that instead." He shrugged. "I'll take care of the rest. 'Specially since Vick and Rory are plannin' on getting jobs too. Vick's getting a paper route on the other side of the tracks and Rory's gonna... Well I don't know what he's gonna do yet, but he's almost full grown, he'll find some kind of work. Then I'll be able to help you out more."
Katniss pressed her lips together as she listened to him. It wasn't the first time Gale had suggested it. "I ain't sayin' no." she started because she knew if she didn't it would start another big fight. "I just... I don't know. I need to be a good role model for Prim." She said lamely, because anything else was going to be taken the wrong way.
"And staying at home and caring for the house ain't a good model to follow?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "That's the only model to follow as far as I'm concerned. I mean, look at my momma..."
"It's good. I mean, ain't nothin' wrong with being a housewife but we ain't married and I want her to have opprotunities and not have to depend on someone. Not that I don't want to depend on you." she said quickly. "You know I do, depend on you."
He raised a brow at her and shook his head. "Fine. Do what you want. Jus' saying it would be a lot easier on you if you was to stay home and take care of the house a little more instead of filling your head with things that ain't gonna do you no good."
Sighing, Katniss looked back at Gale and reached out, squeezing his arm slightly. "I just gotta figure out the future." she hummed. "You know. Get all my shit figured out. Then I'll drop out."
"Alright," he said, shrugging and getting another slice of pizza. "Do what you want..." he repeated. "You want another piece of pizza?" he looked over at her as he started to close the box.
"Nah. I'm good." The less she ate now, the more they had for later, and she was used to starving. "Thank you. It was good." Getting up, she took the boxes and headed to the kitchen to store the pizzas away for later.
Gale finished up the slice he had in his hand and leaned back against hte couch back, sighing faintly. "So..." he hummed, closing his eyes. He didn't really know what to do now.
"Want to play some more cards?" Katniss offered when she came back out from the kitchen. The other option was for them to do some shit around the house or go for a walk. None of them led exactly thrilling lives.
Gale shrugged and sat up. "Sure... Why not...?" He grabbed the pack of cards and pulled them out of the box, shuffling them again and looking over at her. "Black Jack again?"
"Don't care. Could try poker." But Katniss was particularly bad at it. She couldn't bluff to save her life, no matter how hard she tried. She had a million tells that anyone could point out from a mile away.
Gale snorted and shook his head as he started dealing out for Black Jack again. "Could try poker..." he muttered, chuckling under his breath.
"What?" Katniss said with a faint scowl at him. "We could try it." She'd fail miserably but they could! She knew how to play. That's all that really mattered.
"Tell you what... beat me five times at BJ and we'll talk about it," he hummed, flipping over a top card for her.
[ | Edited 1:45:07 AM] "Fine. Easy." Except Black Jack was all about luck. There was no telling who would win. Looking at her cards, she cocked her head to the side. "Hit me." she hummed.
They played Black Jack again for several rounds until she finally got him 5 times. By that point it was early evening and Prim's cat was begging for food. "Your tennant is asking for you," Gale teased. "I'll deal out poker while you're gone."
Katniss scrunched up her nose and looked at the mewling cat. The damn thing only ever wanted her when it needed something. "That fucker can go find him some rats to kill." But she got up anyways and headed into the kitchen. They kept some meat that none of them really wanted to eat for the cat when he couldn't get his own food. Opening up one of the containers, she filled his bowl and got him some water before washing her hands and heading back.
When she got back, Gale had the hands dealt for five card stud and was already examining his own cards. Looking up, he smiled. "He has you trained so well," he teased.
"More like Prim's got me trained." she said with a roll of her eyes. Coming back to the couch, she sat down in her seat and she leaned back. Picking up her hand, she examined her cards.
"Well yeah, there's that too," he hummed, chuckling faintly. With that he hunkered down with his cards. After several rounds of that, Gale found that he was getting quite bored of playing cards. "What else is there to do?" he asked as he gathered the cards after one of their rounds.
"Uh, well. There's plenty of shit to do around the house." Katniss shrugged. "Or we could go out I guess... Prim's not here or nothin'." But her face was a mess, which was a problem.
"It's a bit late to be going out," Gale pointed out, eyeing the darkening sky through the window. "Why don't we go to your room? Just lay down for a bit..."
Katniss glanced up at Gale and nodded. "Yeah, alright." she hummed softly. They could listen to some music or something -- she had a radio in there. Getting up, she held out her hand for Gale.
Gale took her hand and followed her off to her room, sitting down on the bed and kicking off his shoes before sliding up into the middle of the matress and spreading his arms out.
Katniss didn't hop into bed right away. First went her shoes and then her sweat pants, leaving her in just a t-shirt and some knickers. Crawling in after him, she collapsed onto her side facing him.
Gale turned onto his side, looking down at her. His hand came up and brushed over her side, up under her shirt and then back down. "I love you," he murmured. "You know that, right?"
Shifting, Katniss leaned into Gale with a soft hum. "I know." she murmured. It was one of the few things she was certain of. They might fight and have their bad times, but despite it all she knew he loved her. "I love you too."
"I know," he murmured, closing his eyes and cuddling against her. "When is Prim coming home from her friend's?" he asked softly.
"Not till tomorrow evenin'." Katniss murmured. Over there she could get three meals and be warm consistently. It wasn't too bad right now but their wood pile was still fairly low and while they had good electricity and paying the bill wasn't too much of a heartache, their furnace was no good.
"That's good," he mumbled, nuzzling against Katniss's jaw. "She'll be taken care of, then." Sighing, he rolled onto his back and looked up at her ceiling.
As he rolled, she followed him. Humming softly, curled up against his side, an arm drapping over his stomach and her head resting on his shoulder. In the background, she could hear the radio playing lightly. Humming, she pressed several soft kisses to his shoulder. "I don't want to think about Prim right now." she murmured.
Closing his eyes, Gale hummed softly along with the radio. "Okay," he murmured, his voice almost sleepy as he scratched his stomach lazily. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Maybe I don't wanna talk." Katniss murmured. Her lips trailed up his shoulder to his neck, knowing he was sensitive there. She nipped gently and gave the patch of skin a little suck.
"Mmm..." Gale breathed out softly and tilted his head back to bare his neck to her. "Yeah... talking is boring," he mumbled.
"Lets do somethin' more excitin'." she mumbled against his skin. Her tongue flicked out slowly before she bit gently. Her fingers trailed along his side, slipping under his shirt.
"Yeah," he murmured. "Much more exciting," he murmured. Slowly, he rolled over onto her, putting her on her back as he hovered over her. "What do you have in mind?" he mumbled, rocking against her.
She rolled back easily, hips rolling up to meet his. "I think...." she practically mewled. "We're wearing a little too much." Her hands smoothed up his chest, under his shirt.
"Are we now?" he hummed. Chuckling, he moved his arms back and up, taking off his shirt and tossing it aside. "How about now? Is that better?" he mumbled.
"Better." Katniss murmured slightly breathless. Her hands pressed against his stomach, fingers spreading and slowly pressing up over his chest. "Still a bit too much, though." she hummed.
"Mmm... Let's see what we can do about that..." he murmured, his fingers brushing up over her ribcage. He carefully slid the sweatshirt over her head and pressed his lips to the skin just below her breast. "Mmm... Getting closer, yeah?" he mumbled.
Letting go of him, her arms raised, helping him ease her top off. Shivering, her hands came down, fingers brushing through his thick hair. "Yeah." she murmured. "Getting closer baby."
Gale growled faintly in the back of his throat and ground his hips down against hers. "Why don't you help me with the next part," he mumbled, nipping and kissing at her neck.
"What?" she purred, dragging her fingers down his neck, nails lightly scraping over his arms. Her hands fell down to his hips, grazing around to the front, thumb flicking against the button of his jeans. "With this?" Her hips pushed up, grinding up against him.
"Mmm, yes," he mumbled, sucking lightly at her throat. "I want you to touch me." His fingers slid down her abdomen and curled in the waistband of her sweats.
"Yeah?" She asked, teasing now. Rather than working at his jeans, her hand pushed down, hand cupping him through his jeans and squeezing gently. "Like that?" she purred.
A shiver went through Gale and he groaned faintly, his hips rocking forward against her hand. "Kat..." he breathed, the faint undertone of a growl creeping into his voice.
[ | Edited 6:36:11 PM] "Yeah baby?" She squeezed harder. She'd stop teasing before he got angry, but she couldn't help but push it. She'd always been like that even from the beginning.
"Stop fucking around," he muttered. "You know what I want." He rocked his hips against her hand to drive the point home. "I mean, if you want what you want, that is..."
"You in some big rush to get this done?" she chuckled. But despite her words, her hands slid back up to the top of his jeans, popping the button and zip, tugging his jeans down.
"Don't be smart," he mumbled, helping her to kick his jeans off and rolling onto his back on the small bed.
Katniss followed him, rolling to her side and smiling back at him, proping her head up on her hand. "You gonna help me?" She asked, brushing her other hand over her hip.
His lips quirked up and he hooked his fingers into her sweats. "Thought I said I wanted you to touch me," he murmured, leaning in for a kiss as he slowly inched the pants down.
"That's a two way street buddy." Katniss murmured. Leaning in, she kissed him back slowly, gently nipping at his lips. "Mmm." She arched slightly, helping him ease the sweats down her legs. Kicking them off the rest of the way, she laid there nude before him.
"Is it?" he asked. Fingers trailing up her side, he tweaked one of her nipples and looked up at her.
Drawing in a small breath, her chest arched out against his hand and she bit down on her bottom lip. The hand that had been resting on her hip moved over to Gale's, brushing along the bone that jutted out. "It is." she mewled finally, dragging her fingers down along his thighs, teasing him, before she wrapped her hand around his cock.
He hummed thoughtfully and pinched her nipple harder, giving it a little twist as he rocked his hips up against her hand. "Mmm.... We'll see..."
[ | Edited 12:50:36 AM] Her lips parted and cheeks flushed pink with heat at the sudden pinch of pleasured pain. Whimpering, she tugged back just slightly before pressing forward once more. "Baby." she nearly whinned as her hand pumped Gale slowly.
"Mmm... You like that?" he murmured faintly. "I know you do." He pinched her other nipple and rolled it hard between his fingers until both buds were puckered tight.
"Yes." she whimpered, chest arching and hand tightening around him. "Baby... please." she bit down on her bottom lip and ran her thumb over the crown of his cock.
"Mmm, God these tits are so perfect, baby..." he mumbled. "I think I wanna suck them. Do you want me to suck them?" he hummed, looking up at her as he dipped his head to flick his tongue against one of the nubs.
Her other hand flew up to his head, fingers pushing through his hair gently. "Oh god. Yes." she moaned softly. "Gale. Fuck." she bit down on her bottom lip and pressed closer against him.
Gale licked and sucked at her breasts, giving each their due attention and leaving two small bruises on them. Pulling back, he smiled at his handiwork and then laid back on his back. "Ride my cock, baby," he murmured. "Nice and slow."
Groaning lowly, she moved to straddle his hips. She rocked down against him, letting him feel how wet she was. Leaning down, she kissed him softly, gently nipping at his lips. "Maybe... you'll eat me out afterwards?" she purred. It'd been awhile since he'd gone down on her, a long while. Before he had a chance to answer, she raised up slightly, only to lower herself down onto his cock.
Gale started to answer, but the words were lost as his voice caught and he groaned. Eyes squeezing shut, he groaned and bucked his hips up against hers. "Fuck..." he breathed. "You're so tight. Fuck... Baby..."
"Mmm, like that baby?" She groaned softly. Squeezing down around his hard cock, she slowly rolled her hips, circling them as her hands pressed against his chest, giving her leverage.
"Mmm... Yes. Yes baby." He looked up at her and his hands went to her breasts, squeezing hard at them and pinching her nipples some more. "That's it baby... Nice and slow..."
Lips parting, she groaned softly. Leaning down, she kissed him hard even as her hips worked slowly, setting into a tortuous pace for both of them. Her thighs trembled and she bit at his lips as his cock grazed against her clit.
Gale moaned softly and his hands slid down to her ass, guiding her movements. One hand slid around back to rub his fingers slowly against her crack, pressing gently as she moved. "Fuck... Baby..." he mumbled.
She clenched tight and shifted her hips, biting down on her bottom lip. "Gale." she groaned warningly. Anal was the one thing she wouldn't do. She just didn't like it -- not that she'd ever let him try. As long as she gave him pussy he didn't really push it either.
"Shhh," he murmured, pulling back to rub against her ass cheeks. "I wasn't gonna go in... Just massaging a little. Jeez. Lighten up, babe. It feels good."
"Just... don't go in." she murmured. Her lips dragged down his neck and her hips worked slowly, grinding againt him before thrusting, up and down. "Fuck, you're so big." she moaned.
"Damn right, babe," he mumbled, rocking his hips up against her as she began to thrust. "Fuck... You do that so good..." He groaned and spanked her lightly.
"Baby." she panted only to tense and let out a whimpering cry as his hand struck her ass. "Fuck me. Please." she whined. "Make me feel good. Please baby." she moaned into his skin.
Gale growled and his hands moved to her hips, holding her in place as he began to thrust his hips up against her. "Mmm... Fuck..."
Her fingers curled around his shoulders and her walls clenched tight. "Oh fuck. Yes. Just like that." she panted, her body rocking, breast heaving with each thrust.
The sun was just coming down as Ethan walked through the door of his cozy little cabin that he shared with his daughter. Kicking the snow off his boots, he pulled off his coat and called out through the house. "Kat! Kat where are you sweetie? I brought you home something special." He smiled and moved into the kitchen, walking out into the butcher and prepping area to set down his game bag. There hadn't been much today, but the deer they had gotten over the weekend would last them a while anyhow.
Katniss was in the main sitting room on the second floor, the room with all the windows, facing out to the trail that led down to the lake. It was all iced over and snowed in now, which Katniss hated but from there it was a beautiful view. She was curled up in a fuzzy blanket, dressed in a pair of low cut cotten shorts and a tank top. One of the dogs was there with her, laying at her side. Hearing the call of her name, she perked up out of her half asleep state and hoped up, scurrying down the steps and into the kitchen. "Yeah daddy?" she asked, a hand rubbing at her eyes.
The man smiled and walked over, wiping his hands off on a towel after cleaning them and lifting her into the air and onto the kitchen counter. "I brought you home a new pet. Little fox kit whose momma couldn't find her way back to him. He's out in the shed right now so that the dogs don't bother him. Wanna go meet him?" he asked, smiling and shaking her lightly. He was still able to scoop her up off the floor like she was nothing, despite the fact that she seemed to be growing more every day.
Eyes lighting up, Katniss practically shoved the blanket off of her body, letting it fall to the floor as if it were noting. "Really?" she asked excitedly. Foxes were her favorite, and she'd absolutely forbid her dad from shotting them. They needed the food, the meat, but there was just something about the little creatures that she couldn't bare to see them dead. "I wanna go! I wanna see him!" She squirmed in his hold, ready to run out dressed just as she was.
The man chuckled and kept a hold on her, walking her to the door and managing to wrestle her into her coat before she managed to escape his grip and race off to the shed. Laughing, Ethan followed her out at a jog, catching up to her in time to stop her at the door. "Remember. He's scared. Scared animals sometimes lash out. I don't want him to bite you, okay, love?"
It was hard enough to get her into the coat, there was no way he was going to get her upstairs and into pants. As soon as the door opened, she took off at a run for the shed only stopping when her dad caught up. She squirmed and hopped from foot to foot, the cold chilling her to the bone but it didn't matter right then. "Okay! I'll be careful. Promise." she nodded firmly and brought her hands up, clutching them together in front of her chest. When the door finally opened, all of the excitement from her seemed to drain and she carefully crept inside. There was the fox, sitting in the middle of the room, curled up and shivering. Her eyes widened again, but rather than rushing forward she crept slowly. A foot or so away from the creature, she dropped to her knees. The concrete dug into her skin but she didn't mind it. "Hello, Mr. Fox." she said softly. "I'm Kat, we're gonna be friends okay?" she murmured.
The poor thing made a soft whiny sound and curled up tighter, shrinking away from her. Her father came up behind her and crouched with her. Holding out a bottle of milk to her, he gestured to the fox. "See if he'll take it... He probably won't, but he might be hungry, don't you think?"
Lips parting in an o shape, she nodded and hesitantly took the bottle from her father. "Maybe..." Chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully, she slowly shuffled forward until she could hold out her arm and the nipple of the bottle was in reach of the baby fox.
The little animal stilled completely the closer she got. When she finally stopped moving, his nose twitched a little bit, smelling the milk. For a moment it didn't look like he would move, but then, slowly, he inched forward until his muzzle just barely brushed the nipple of the bottle and he was able to latch onto it.
Katniss drew in a sharp breath when the fox finally moved. Carefully holding her arm still, she whipped her head back to look at her father with large eyes. She'd done it! The little kit had trusted her enough or at least had been hungry enough to feed.
The man smiled brightly at her and nodded encouragingly before gesturning back at the fox who had gotten tired of stretching his neck and had moved even closer for easier access to the bottle. When all the milk in the bottle was gone, he scurried away, though not as far as he had been before, and curled up again.
"Alright... time to head back inside. I don't want you getting sick, Kat." He smiled and leaned in, touseling her hair. "Wanna help me with dinner?"
Pouting, she dropped her arm to her side and looked back up at her father. "But... I don't wanna go in." she whined softly. "Can't I stay with the fox a little longer? He'll be lonely out here."
Her father shook his head. "No, young lady. We're going inside. If you want to come out later, /maybe/ we can, if you get dressed properly and we have time before bed and /I/ feel like coming out here. He nudged her shoulder. "Now come on... let's get a move on, shall we?"
Sighing, she pouted deeply but eventually pushed herself up off of her knees and onto her feet. Her hands dusted off on her shorts and she shuffled for a second or two. "Okay..."
With that the two went inside to start getting dinner together. About an hour later the two sat down to a dinner of potatoes with venison steaks and milk. "So what did you do all day, baby?" Ethan asked, cutting into his meat.
Looking up from her plate of alread cut up steak and potatoes, Katniss hummed softly and took a bite. "I did my math and played with the dogs and read for a little bit." she replied as she swallowed down the bite of food. She beamed slightly, knowing that her father would praise her for being good and doing her school work.
Smiling, her father took a bite of his food. "That's great sweetheart! What book did you read? Was it interesting or boring?"
"It was funny." Katniss said with a bright smile. "Captain Underpants." she nearly giggled. It was one of her favorite book series, though she wasn't really a big reader. She liked to do it just for him though -- anything to please him.
"Oh yeah? Should I get you more of those next time I'm in town?" He reached out to pinch at her nose lightly. "I think I will." He smiled and took another bite. "And how about your math? How was that?"
"It was okay." Katniss was actually fairly decent with math, it was one of her better subjects, though it wasn't the best. "I think I did okay. Will you go over it with me after dinner?" Maybe he would let her sit in his lap and cuddle up as they looked overh er work.
"Sure, sweetheart, anything for my baby girl." He smiled and reached across the table to pinch at her cheek. "Now eat," he hummed, tucking back into his own food.
Katniss beamed happily and with that looked back down at her plate and tucked in. She had always been a slow eater, playing with her food and taking forever to chew. Ethan had to encourage her to eat a few times before she was finally done, only managing to finish about two-thirds of her food.
Once she was done eating, Ethan took their plates to the sink to start washing up. "Why don't you go get your math and bring it to the table." He smiled and watched as she ran off, the dogs tagging after her.
"Kay." She chirped. Climbing up and out of her chair, she scurried out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room. On her desk lay a colorfull workbook full of problems. Grabbing it and a pencile, she ran back downstairs to the kitchen.
Ethan had just finished soaking the cooking pots when she emerged and he smiled, drying his hands off and coming over to sit down. "Let's see what we have here, hm?" he asked, patting his lap as he sat in his chair.
Her hopeful smile turned into a full on grin as he patted his lap. With a bit of manuvering, she managed to hop up onto his lap and leaned back in against his broad chest. Opening up her workbook to the right page she held it up for him to examine.
The man smiled and wrapped his arm around her, bouncing her on his lap as he hummed a soft tune and looked over the problems. He was silent for a few moments before grinning. "Well it looks like my little girl is the sharpest tool in the shed. 15 out of 15, little girl." He kissed her cheek and set the workbook down before turning her in his lap to face him.
"Really?" Grinning widely, she turned her head to face him though she didn't have to for long. Turning in his lap, her hands clutched at his shirt and she bounced happily.
"Yep. You're one smart cookie." He smiled and kissed her cheek. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" Chuckling he lifted her up, carrying her over to the living room where he sat down in his armchair with her in his lap.
Katniss didn't have time to reply. As she was lifted, she squealed happily, the sound turning into giggles. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she burried herself close against his chest, snuggling back up as they sat down.
Ethan hummed a song as he ran his fingers through her hair, looking into the log fire he had started. "Hey baby, why don't you give daddy a kiss, hm?" He pulled his head away from hers and pressed a kiss into her soft hair before looking down at her.
Head tilting back to look up, Katniss smiled softly and nodded. She liked kissing daddy. Sitting up straighter, she strained just a bit to lean up and kiss him. It was a soft brush of lips but she lingered, her own parting against his.
Ethan smiled and pressed his lips against hers, his hand coming up to tenderly caress her cheek as his lips parted against hers, deepening the kiss, but not overpowering her. "Mmm... Yeah. That's how daddy likes it. You like that too?" he hummed, cupping her cheek.
Her tongue poked out just slightly, brushing against their lips. "Yes daddy." she murmured against him. Her head cocked to the side, cheek pressing against his hand. She wouldn't pull away until he did because she knew it made him happy and she'd do just about anything to make him happy.
"That's my girl," he murmured. "You were such a good girl today while daddy was gone. I think you deserve something special, don't you?" His fingers slid down her cheek and brushed against her neck before gliding over her shoulders and down her sides to her hip.
"I like being a good girl for you daddy." Katniss whispered. Drawing back just slightly, she rest her head against his shoulder and looked up at him. "Please?" she squirmed slightly in his lap and her hips shifted down against his hand.
The man's lips twitched up and his fingers brushed along the inseam of her shorts. "Why is my little girl wearing shorts when it's so cold out? You wanna get sick, girl?" Pausing at the apex of her thighs, he pressed the flat of his palm against her, rubbing slowly.
Her cheeks flushed pink with heat and she squirmed against him, hips pressing down against his palm. "It's warm in here." They may not have much, no TV, internet, or things like that but they weren't poor. The house was well heated and had nice appliances. Shivering, she leaned further back against his chest.
"Mmm... yeah, but you go outside with only the shorts on. That's not very smart, Kat." He brushed his lips against her ear, his stubble bristling against the sensitive skin. Slowly, his fingers crept up to unbutton her shorts, pulling them open and pushing his hand in over her underwear to rub against her. "And my little girl is very smart, isn't she?"
"Yes daddy." she breathed softly. Hips raising, she whimpered softly and gripped at his arms slightly as his fingers pushed down into her shorts. "I'm a smart girl. A good girl." she whimpered.
"Good... So when you go outside from now on, you'll be dressed appropriately?" he murmured, applying a little more pressure with his fingers and rocking up against her bottom as his cock started to harden. "You're going to do that for me, right?" he hummed. His fingers brushed along the edges of her underwear, teasing along the seam.
"I..." Her cheeks flushed pink and her hips rolled against his hand, whimpering sharply. "I thought you-- liked-- oh, me in shorts." she panted softly, biting down hard on her bottom lip.
"Mmm," he hummed and chuckled softly. "Yes... I like you in shorts... But not when you're outside in the snow." He kissed her neck and his fingers hooked her panties out of the way and brushed against her velvety lips. "Tell me you want daddy to make you feel good," he murmured.
Her hips bucked back away from his fingers, giggling breathlessly in reply. "I want you to make me feel good daddy." she whispered. Her stomach knotted with anticipation and she fought to keep her thighs spread, wanting to squeeze them together to relieve the pressure that had built up.
Smiling, Ethan pressed his fingers against her folds, parting them gently and slipping one in slowly, always sure to be gentle with his little girl.
Breath catching in her throat, Katniss's hips bucked slightly and her thighs trembled as she was stretched slowly. "D-addy." she whimpered, voice breaking slightly. Her head lulled back against his shoulder and her tiny hands gripped tighter at his arms.
"That's my girl..." he murmured, stretching her slowly. He nuzzled his nose against her neck and rocked his hip up against her. "I want you to feel good, baby... So good..." Turning his head, he sighed and breathed in the scent of her hair.
Her short nails lightly dug into the tanned skin of his arms, scratching and pulling gently. "Daddy. O-Oh." she whimpered sharply, squeezing down around his finger as he stretched her out.
Ethan hummed and slowly added a second finger, curling the first against her walls and starting to slowly pump against her, barely inserting the second past the first knuckle. He wasn't aiming to cause discomfort, only to stretch her limits to increase her sensations. He always liked to push her just a little further than the time before, to keep things interesting.
For a split second, pain laced through her hips and she bit down on her bottom lip. Head turning to the side, she pressed her face against her father's neck and whimpered again. But the discomfort soothed quickly and she was left squirming against him, hips grinding down slightly.
"That's it... You like that don't you?" he murmured, slowly taking his speed up a couple of notches. His free hand rested on her hip, gently directing her movements so that her warm body pressed right up against his hard cock, rubbing him. "Fuck..." he murmured, rocking against her as his fingers thrust into her.
Panting hard, Katniss nodded. Her hips moved back how her daddy wanted her too but she couldn't help but squirm. "Could you--" the words cut off and her cheeks flushed pink, unable to finish the sentence. She wanted him to touch her clit.
The man groaned and rubbed against her harder. As he got closer and closer to his own release, he obliged her wishes and his thumb started to flick against her clit as his fingers penetrated just a touch deeper, stretching her just a bit more and curling to brush against her g-spot.
Katniss was already a trembling mess. Her thighs shook and sweat beaded down over her forehead. She babbled softly, her words pierced by little hitches and sharp whimpers of pleasure. But then his thumb pressed against her clit and it was too much. Crying out softly her hips bucked and jerked, trying to pull away before pressing foreward once more. And then without warning her entire body stilled, only for her back to arch and her walls to clench around him as she came.
"Yes, yes, that's it," Ethan muttered, his voice tight and breathless as he coaxed her through her orgasm. Biting his lip he let her down slowly and pulled his fingers from her. Groaning, he continued to grind his hips up against her gently, not having been able to find his relief with her. Sighing, he brushed his nose against her neck and closed his eyes.
Though she'd never really touched her dad, or been exposed to him, she could feel his cock against her ass and she knew he didn't feel as good as she did -- not yet. Mewling softly, she ground down against him and tilted her head back.
Groaning faintly, the man let his eyes slide closed and he rocked against her slowly before pressing his hands to his hips. "Mmm... sweetheart... Don't need to," he murmured. "I'll be okay." He kissed her cheek and brought his hand up to rub against her chest over her nipple. "How about you go take a bath and I'll go out and make sure our new friend is warm enough for the night. Then I'll come read you a story. How about that? Or are you too old for stories already?"
"But I want you to feel good too, daddy." Katniss murmured. A shiver ran through her body as his thumb brushed down across her chest and she shifted against him, her hips pressing down. "I like stories." she murmured. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" More than his stories, she liked cuddling.
He smiled faintly. "I said I'd be fine," he murmured softly. "Now go get a bath. I'll think about the whole sleeping thing while you're gone," he murmured, giving her a little nudge. "Move along."
Making a soft sound, Katniss squirmed and hopped off his lap. "Okay..." Pouting faintly, she scurried off and up to the bathroom. As an almost eight year old, she could officially bath herself now, but sometimes she missed the days when her daddy would help her.
Ethan watched her run off with a smile and shook his head. Groaning, he sank further down in his chair and slowly rubbed against himself through his pants. Biting his lip, he quickly unfastened his jeans and tugged them and his briefs down just far enough to pull out his cock. His shaft weighed hot and heavy in his hand and he groaned faintly as he let his head fall back and he began to stroke himself quickly. It didn't take but a few more moments until he was gasping, jerking against his hand as hot cum coated his fingers. Grunting, he panted and sagged back in his chair, slowly stroking himself until his shaft went flaccid. Catching his breath, he looked down at himself and groaned before tucking himself away and then getting up to clean himself up. He went out a few minutes later to check on the fox in the shed and make sure he had enough heated spaces to hide away in in the cold of the night. That done, he headed back inside and made his way upstairs to his room where he knew Katniss would be waiting.
Katniss was anxious to get done with her bath but she knew that if she was too quick about it daddy would be mad at her. So she washed herself good and took her time about it. When she finally finished she brushed her teeth, combed her hair and grabed her robe. Not putting anything on beneath it, she belted the pink fuzzy thing around herself and ran off for her father's room. she hopped onto the edge of the bed and sat there, waiting for her dad to come in.
Leaning into the doorway, the man smiled and looked her up and down. "You wash behind your ears too?" he asked, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. Lifting up the blanket, he grabbed one of her toes and wiggled it gently before tickling at her feet.
Squealing happily, she kicked her legs gently, as if she wanted to get away but not really trying hard. Falling back on the bed she squirmed, her robe sliding up some. "I diiiiid."
"Good," he hummed, flopping down next to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Did you bring a story, or should I make one up?" he asked.
She squirmed until she was nestled in against his chest. "Make one up." she hummed softly, head tucking down against him as she curled up.
"Hmm... Okay... Once upon a time... the end. There you go," he chirped, smiling down at her. "How was that? It was a good one, wasn't it?"
"Daaadyyyyy." Katniss whined and poked at his stomach with her tiny index fingers. "That's not a story!"
"It's not?!" he asked, surprise filling his voice and expression. "What do you mean it's not a story? It had a 'once upon a time' and a 'the end'. I thought that's all you needed for a story."
"Nooo. You need a middle! A... a talking animal, or a princess and a prince." she crinkled her nose. Though they didn't watch TV, they had a set and occasionally he'd let her see a disney movie but that was it. Her favorite was beauty and the beast.
"Ohhhh, okay." He smiled. "Once upon a time there was a prince and a princess who had a talking fox and lived in a castle and they lived happily ever after. The end." He smiled. "Ha, there you go. There was even a castle and a happily ever after too."
"Daddy!" Katniss whined, looking up at him with a deep pout. "It wasn't long enough!" Normally, he was the king of telling stories, which was why she hadn't brought a book but now she was starting to regret it.
He smiled and tickled her. "Fine. Okay, okay," he said nestling down with her in the covers and finally settling down. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess with a talking pet fox named..." he looked down at her expectantly.
Giggling, she squirmed and sighed happily as he settled down with her. She nestled in against his chest and hummed softly, listening to him talk, his chest rumbling against her cheek. "Nammmed.... Button!" she supplied after a moment of thought.
He chuckled "A talking pet fox named Button. She also had a trusty little pup named Patch and his best friend Rose. Of course, they could talk too." He smiled again and tickled her. "Together, the princess and her animal friends went on all sorts of adventures and sometimes they even brought the king along as well." He smiled and kissed her cheek. He continued on with the story, letting her fill in where ever she felt the need to as the tale unfolded.
Eventually, as she did every night, Katniss started to drift off. The heat of the blanket and her father's large body curled up around her and his deep voice lulled her off to sleep. It wasn't particularly deep and she woke up more than once when he stopped, but eventually she was out for good.
Her father kept on talking until he was sure she was asleep before finally wrapping up the story. "And they all lived happily ever after... The end," he murmured, tucking the blanket more around her and then getting up to strip down to his briefs and then get back into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her tiny body.
The next week passed by like any other, with the minor exception that three or four times a day, Katniss and her father would go out and take care of the baby fox in the shed. About half way through the second they finally brought the baby inside. Katniss had never been more excited. Thankfully, the two dogs weren't all that interested in the kit and left her alone.
Ethan sat on the couch while he watched the little fox explore and sniff at her new surroundings, followed closely by his daughter who was practically entranced by the little creature. "You like your surprise, baby?" he asked, smiling over at her.
Katniss was on her hands and knees, dressed in a pink long sleeved shirt and a white skirt that kept riding up when she bent over a little too much. "Yes!" she chirped, looking back at her dad for just a second. It wasj ust long enough for the kit to get away from her. Looking back, Katniss pursed her lips together and scurried forward over to the far wall, following the animal closely.
"Well I just thought I'd let you know, it's your early birthday present~" he hummed, smiling as she chased after the fox. "You're going to give it a fright. Give her a bit more room." He chuckled.
"I'm not that close." Katniss whinned lightly, completely ignoring the comment about her birthday. She was focused on her goal, the little kit. When the creature turned around, it jerked back but Katniss reached out and gently scooped the baby fox up into her arms.
Ethan sighed and shook his head before standing up. "I'm going to go make us some lunch. Do you have any requests for me, princess?" he asked, looking back at her. "Or should I just make you whatever I'm making for myself?"
"Mac n cheese!" Katniss said quickly -- it was her favorite, but she wasn't like most kids, she wasn't picky. She'd eat anything daddy cooked, so long as it wasn't spicy. Spicy foods made her tummy ache. Looking back down at the kit she grinned and lightly scratched the baby behind her ears.
"Mac n cheese, coming up," he hummed, chuckling and walking off toward the kitchen. He hummed softly as he cooked, listening to the girl play with her new pet. When he had finished, he put two bowls on the counter -- one kid sized and one daddy sized -- and called her into the kitchen.
Putting down the fox at the call of her name, Katniss got up to her feet and trotted across the floor, into the next room. She slid to a stop next to him, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
He looked down at her and raised a brow. "You'd better go wash those hands, young lady. Don't want you getting sick because you ate after touching a wild animal."
"Button isn't wild." Katniss said petulantly but she made her way over to the sink anyways. Grabbing the stool, she pulled it out and climbed onto it so she could reach the faucet. Turning on the warm water, she pushed her hands beneath the stream and washed them quickly.
When she got back, her father gave her a fork and patted the chair next to his where her bowl was sitting. Then he sat down and looked over at her before starting to eat. "What do you want to do today?" he asked.
Climbing into her chair, she sat at the edge so her feet dangled off to the ground. Picking up her fork, she took a bite and hummed softly. "Play games?" she requested. She actually had a fair bit of homework to do, but she wasn't about to mention that.
"Mmmm... What kinds of games?" he asked, scooping up some more of the macaroni. "Like... board games or like... run around and act crazy games?" he asked, smiling.
"Mmmmm.... Both!" Katniss said after a second, bouncing in her seat. Honestly, Katniss would have been happy with anything. A day when daddy stayed in and didn't go out hunting was a good day in her books.
Ethan smiled and shook his head as he ate his lunch. "Oh alright, I guess we'll do both." Humming faintly, he finished up his lunch and then the pair went off to locate their new little fox friend.
"Yay!" Katniss cheered happily. As soon as lunch was over, the little girl bounced up from her seat and scurried off through the house, trying to find her new friend. The kit was downstairs in the laundry room with Patch, curlined up in front of the dryer -- it was warm there.
She scooped her up and carefully cradled the baby in her arms before running out. The basement was mostly finished and the main area had been converted into a play room of sorts. "I found her!" She cheered, holding the fox up. The thing yipped and scratched at her arms, not at all liking the way she was holding him. Letting out a little cry, she dropped her.
Ethan rushed forward and went to a knee in front of Katniss. "Are you okay baby? Did it hurt you?" he grabbed her arm gently and pulled it to him to look for scratches.
Her lips trembled, and large tears filled her eyes. She had scratches up and down her arms and a little bit of blood was bubbling up over her skin. "It's okay." she sniffled, knowing that her dad wasn't likely to take kind to the fox hurting her. "It was my fault."
The man shook his head. "Come on. We gotta get these cleaned up." Lifting her up, he carried her back to the bathroom and sat her on the counter. Opening up one of the cabinets, he pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some bandages. Pausing, he looked up at her. "You going to be brave for me for a few minutes, baby?" he asked, unscrewing the cap off the bottle and getting a pad of gauze to dampen with it.
Still sniffling, Katniss nodded. She shifted uncomfortable on the edge of the countertop and held out her arms, letting it rest in her lap. "I'm brave." she answered, lips tugged down in a deep frown.
He nodded. "Good," he hummed. Biting his lip, he grabbed one of her hands with his and squeezed it gently before bringing the alcohol soaked gauze over her arm, wiping at her scratches carefully. He cleaned the scratches thoroughly on both arms, changing to a fresh gauze several times before finally putting the alcohol away.
Katniss flinched and whimpered but only tried to pull away from him once. Her cheeks were red and stained with tears by the time he was done but overall it wasn't terrible.
After that it was just a matter of bandaging her arms and taping it up. "You look like you have mummy arms now," he teased when he had finished, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "There we go. All done. Now you have to be more careful with the fox, alright? If you hurt her she'll hurt you back."
Still pouting just a tiny bit, Katniss held out her arms and stared at the bandages that wrapped her up. So much for playing princess today. "I didn't mean to hurt Button..."
"I know you didn't, sweetheart. But you have to remember that she was a wild animal. She's not used to being handled like our puppies." He kissed her arms over the bandages and lifted her off the counter. "Alright, come on and lets go find her and apologize."
Katniss's arms instantly wrapped around her father's neck and she pressed her face against his shoulder. "Okay." she murmured. "I hope she's okay." Nuzzling againt him, she turned her head to press a soft kiss to his cheek.
"Oh, I'm sure she's fine sweetie. She probably just got a little scared, like I did." He kissed her on the cheek and carried her throughout the house looking for the fox. They finally found her curled up in the living room in front of the fire, sleeping. "There we are," he murmured, setting Katniss down and then sitting on the floor next to her.
Katniss curled up on the ground, her legs pulled tight to her chest. Reaching out, she hesitantly dragged her fingers across the fine fur and laid down next to the baby. The litle fox poked it's head up sleepily and looked at Katniss. It trilled softly and cocked it's head to the side before laying it's head back down and letting Katniss pet it.
"There we go," her father murmured, reaching out to scratch behind the fox's ears. "Now she should be alright. Just remember to be aware of her claws next time you pick her up, alright?"
Nodding, she looked back up at her dad and hummed faintly. "Yes daddy." she murmured. "I'll be more careful." She still felt bad for spooking the fox.
"Good girl," he said, sitting back and crossing his legs as he sat on the floor with her. "So she's really named Button?" he asked. "For sure, for sure?" His lips quirked up.
"Yes!" Katniss said firmly. Sitting up on her knees she carefully picked up the fox and held the baby in her lap, fingers stroking down over her coat. "Or.... Princess. I like Princess..." she trailed off, lightly chewing on her bottom lip.
Ethan smiled and looked at the pair. "Well you'd better decide quick or you're just going to confuse the poor thing," he said, holding back a chuckle. "Don't want to do that, now do we?"
She shook her head no firmly. "What do you like?" she asked, looking up at Ethan. "Button or Princess?"
"Well. /You're/ already my princess. So /I/ like Button more." He smiled and looked up, calling Patch over and pulling the pup into his lap to rub at his ears.
"Button then." Katniss said firmly, nodding happily and looking back down at the kit in her lap. "Can we play dress up?" she asked suddenly out of nowhere.
He raised his eyebrows and paused. "Uhh... dress up with Button?" he asked, thinking of all the ways that was a bad idea and getting a mental image of Katniss's whole body covered in bandages, not just her arms.
"And Patches." Katniss said, her lips tugging up in a wide grin. "And you!" She bounced slightly, Button making a whiny sound as the little girl practically unlodged the kit from her lap.
Ethan smiled. "Baby, I don't think Patch and Button will appreciate playing dress up very much. I think maybe it should be just be and you doing the dressing up. But sure, we can play dress up." He smiled. "I just don't want you to get hurt more."
"Okaaaay." she said with a little pout, cheeks puffing out. She had the perfect tiara for Button though, alas, she would have to save it for another time. Hoping up she moved to her dad and held out a hand as if she were going to help him up. "Lets go!"
The man smiled and humored her, grabbing onto her hand and pushing himself up. "So. Who am I dressing up as?" he asked as they walked down the hall.
"You can be... the prince!" Katniss said, beaming up at her father. "And I'm the princess." Nodding, she pulled him down to her room where all of her toys were. That was one thing Ethan wasn't frugal about -- buying her toys.
"A prince! Does that mean I get to wear a crown?" he asked excitedly as he followed her down. "And what about a cloak and scepter. Do you have any of those?"
Katniss nodded. "Yes! But if you're gonna be the prince you have to save the princess. It's a rule." Pushing open her door, she tugged her dad inside and headed for her toy chest to dig through all the play clothes she had.
"I /always/ save the princess," he said as if he was insulted she thought any otherwise. "I wouldn't be a very good Prince if I didn't."
Nodding sagely, Katniss pulled out a pink dress and let it fall to the ground, then a long, red cape that joined the first article. After that came the crown, septer and a tiara for the princess. Leaning into her box, she dug through to the bottom as if she were missing something, but when she came up with nothing she straightened and let the lid fall back in place with a thud.
"Is this everything?" he asked, picking up the scepter. He waved it around in front of her and smiled. Ethan loved being a dad. It was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him, despite the circumstances, or maybe because of them.
Nodding brightly, Katniss picked up her dress and held it up to her. "Help?" she requested sweetly, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly.
He swept a galant bow and smiled. "As you wish, your highness," he murmured. Moving over he helped to take off her clothes and then get her into the dress, leaving her underwear off as well.
Katniss didn't even question it, even enjoying it when her daddy's fingers would brush across her exposed skin. Once she was in her dress, she grabbed her tiara and pulled it on. "Okay, now you stay here and then you have to come save me okay?"
"Okay," he said, pulling on his cloak and putting on the crown. "Just call out for help when you need me." He smiled and watched her walk away, chuckling as one of the straps of the dress fell down. It was just a bit big on her.
Once she turned the corner, she scurried away and ran downstairs to the first floor -- her bedroom was on the second. Going into the kitchen, she climbed onto one of the barstools at the island in the middle of the floor and kneeled. "Daddy! Prince!" she cried cheerfully.
Ethan looked up when she called and smiled. "I'm coming princess! Don't worry. I'll save you from that mean ugly dragon." He trotted downstairs and drew an imaginary sword as he entered the kitchen. Facing the stove, he assumed a fighting stance. "Now listen here dragon. This is my princess and I won't have you gobbling her up." He swung his sword at the oven and spun around, chasing "the dragon" around the kitchen. Once he had slain the beast he came over and swept the little girl off the barstool. "My princess! You're safe!"
Squealing happily, her arms wound around her father's neck and she giggled. "My hero!" she cheered. "You deserve a reward, what would you like daddy?" she grinned and kissed his cheek.
"Well hold on a second. We're not done with the story yet. We still need our happily ever after in the castle! Where should our castle be, princess kat?" He swung her up onto his back and started walking all around the house.
"Here!" Katniss said, pointing into the main sitting room. The left side wall was all windows, and a plush couch sat overlooking it, a TV that was rarely ever used in front. Sometimes, during the middle of the day, Katniss would nap there. It was her favorite place to sleep, other than her dad's bed.
"Ah yes, this shall be our castle." He cleared his throat and set her down. "Servants, retrieve the blankets of the fort!" He smiled at her. "We have to play the servants now," he whispered.
She nodded conspiratorially, as if it was some big secret and climbed down off of the couch. The other strap of her dress fell, nearly slipping down her chest but she just barely managed to catch it. Tugging her straps back up, she headed for the linnen closet, where they kept all of the extra blankets and pillows.
He grabbed some off the top shelves while she grabbed the bottom and then moved over to the couch where he started taking off cushions and positioning them to make a really nice fort. He was the master at making blanket forts to cuddle in. It was one of his specialties.
Katniss was the assistant, handing him things and doing just as she was told. When it was all said and done, the little girl crawled down into it and grinned up at her dad. She reached out and took his hand, tugging him in.
"What a wonderful castle our servants have built for us, don't you agree princess?" he asked, looking around the fort. He lounged back against the pillows and pulled the strap off her shoulder again playfully.
"Ah!" she cried in mock offense. Grabbing her strap, she went to tug it up, only for the other to fall down on her. Huffing slightly, she gave up and moved to nestle in against him. "You never picked your reward for saving me~" she hummed after a second.
"Spending happily ever after in our castle is enough," he murmured, tilting his head down to kiss her. "And you know what princes and princesses do in happily ever afters?" he asked, taking the other strap off her shoulder slowly.
"What's that?" Katniss asked. Head tilting up, she leaned in and stole another soft kiss, nothing more than a little peck.
Finnick checked both ways before jogging across the grimy New York street up to his dealers dilapidated meeting point. It might have been called a house once... Maybe. The roof was all collapsing in on the house and the windows were smashed in. No one with an ounce of sanity would dare step inside. Lucky for his dealer, junkies didn't tend to be sane. Finnick knocked twice on the door before letting himself in. Stepping inside, he looked around the gloomy place and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Hey... Roach, I'm here. Do you have my shit?" He bit his lip and looked over his shoulder through the broken window nervously. He hated when he had to wait. Made him actually think about what he was doing.
After several moments a man came out of the shadows. He wasn't completely wrecked. Actually, to be honest he actually looked a sight better than Finnick. It was one of the boy's grungy weeks. He looked Finnick up and down with his ice blue eyes and nodded. "Yeah I got your shit. You got mine?"
"Yeah..." Finnick muttered, digging deep in his jacket pocket for the bill and handing it over in exchange for the bag. "See you 'round," he muttered, the bag disappearing into his jacket as he turned to walk away.
"Stay outta trouble kid," the man called with a cold smile.
"Too late for that..." Finnick ducked outside and looked around in the early dusk light. If he jogged he could get to the soup kitchen in time for a meal. Or he could just stay put and do his drugs like a good little addict. Shifting on his feet he sighed before breaking into a jog headed for the kitchen. Normally he wouldn't have to go. Normally he was in control of his finances enough to save a couple bucks for a hot dog or some shit each night. As it was, that $20 had been his last dollar. He still had a bit of silver in his pocket. But not enough for shit. It had been a bad week.
As he rounded the corner of the block where the soup kitchen was located he groaned as he saw the line. They would probably stop letting people in long before that line was even up. Across the street he saw some homeless kids sitting with their tin cans, not even bothering. Making a face, Finnick crossed the street, kicking a pebble.
One of the kids in particular caught his eye. She was about his age, dark haired and olive skin with eyes paler than his drug dealer's. Something about her stuck out to him though so he went over to sit down next to her. "Hey," he said in an almost friendly tone. He dug in his pocket and pulled out the change he had saved. It was only about 29 cents or so, but if she had something else in that can it might make a difference. He plopped the coins in with a falsely cherry smile. "There you go. Dinner's on me. Well... Partially."
Katniss had only just gotten to New York a few days ago. It was just like any other big city, except this one was definitely the biggest and had the most people. It was also substantially colder and she didn't really have the proper attire for that. Sure she had her raggedy ole jeans and a tattered jacket that had once been white but was now some strange mix of grey and brown, but they wouldn't keep her all that warm when the sun went down.
The first night had been the worst. Finding a spot on the street was rough -- everyone had their territory, get into the wrong one and you'd get stuck, but she knew the rules so she navigated her way around easily enough. That had been three days ago. Ever since then she'd tried finding work, little odd jobs she could do for some spare cash to make some money, or even to buy some shit to fish with -- anything -- but that hadn't happened so far. She was down to her last bit of change, which was what had prompted her to try a soup kitchen. There were plenty around but with so many people, it was next to impossible to actually get in line quick enough. So she sat on a stoop to some run down building. She hadn't expected anyone to actually stop and give her change, but when a man sat down besdie her, she looked up, brows knitting. Glancing down into the can, she nodded slowly. "Yeah... Thanks man..."
"No problem. I used to be here... Well... I still am here, kinda." He held out a hand. "Name's Finnick. How about you?" He stretched out his legs and crossed them over each other.
Katniss studied the boy almost warily but took that hand all the same. "Name's Katniss." she replied softly. Releasing him, she looked back out to the street. "How are yout "kinda" on the street?" she asked, eyebrow raising.
He shrugged. "Well I have a place to sleep. But that's it. Not even mine really. But it's a roof. My pimp likes to think that he takes care of us. But if I asked him for food or a loan he wouldn't give it to me." He made a face. "I don't blame him on the loan part. I would blow it on drugs." He smiled at someone passing by, only to get a glare in return. "Yeesh... It's like it's our fault we're out here, huh?" He made a face at the man's back and then leaned back against the wall. "How long have you been out here?"
She wasn't really all that surprised. Finnick looked like a tweaker, and the only way to get money like that was to sell yourself. She'd done it a few times -- especially for rides but that was always dangerous. It'd gotten her into a few terrible situations, but she didn't like to think about that. "Four? Maybe five years... Hard to remember. What about you?"
"Mmm... I think I've been on the streets since I was about 10 or so... So... Five years... Yeah. Five." He picked at a hole in his jacket and looked at her. "I've only been prostituting for about a year and a half though."
Katniss hadn't asked for his life story, but she didn't really mind either so she just nodded. "Yeah... do what you have to do, I guess." she mumbled. Glancing up, she looked over at him and shrugged. "Better off than me." She hadn't hit low enough yet, she supposed.
"Well... Yeah. I guess. I wish I hadn't gotten hooked on drugs though. I'd be out of here by now otherwise." He shrugged and knotted together his fingers.
"Then stop, man. AA is free." Katniss looked back down, studying her legs, plucking at the near thread bare jeans. She shook her head and looked back up, glancing to Finnick.
"Yeah... I know..." Finnick muttered, tugging hard at the sleeve of his jacket. "But... I don't know..." He chewed his lip. He really didn't have a good excuse. There was no good excuse. Sighing he shifted to his feet so that he was crouching. "I should get going. If I hurry I can get back to change... I need some cash. Good talk."
She raised a brow at the stranger and just nodded. "Yeah, good talk." she chuckled to herself. "See ya." She'd probably never see him again, though. Sighing, she dug in her pocket, pulling out all the change she had. It wasn't much, but it'd buy her a burger from mc donalds and she could get cleaned up in the bathroom.
[ | Edited 9:27:34 AM] Finnick jogged off after that, getting changed real quick at the community house. He shoved his drugs back in his pocket as well, hoping to find somewhere to actually do them before he picked someone up.
He managed to do that, putting him in a content haze when he picked up some guy in his car. He was a middle class kind of guy. Not too high paying, but better than nothing. He got forty for the night and dinner, which was a treat and out of the ordinary. When he was done getting fucked he got dropped off on the corner to walk back home. After his pimp had taken his fees, Finnick was left with $10. It wasn't terrible, but he hated that he didn't have more. Fuck his pimp. He didn't see him sucking anyone's cock.
In the end, Katniss did go and get that burger. Her luck must have been changing too because she found a five in the parking lot. She decided to splurge a bit and bought herself two burgers. She was in food paradise. She took her time in the fast food joint, soaking up the heat and washing herself off before she was finally forced out. Back on the street, she headed back for the alley she'd made herself home in for the past two nights. Unlike the other two, someone else in the alley had started a fire in one of the trash cans. Normally the cops would come by and put it out but none came by. It was nice, Katniss almost felt warm.
The next time Finnick and Katniss met up it was a couple days later. Finnick was a little prettier this time, dressed up in his nice clothes and sober, for the moment. When he caught sight of her, he smiled and looked around before walking over. "Hey. Remember me?" he smiled. "Katniss, right?" He leaned against the side of the building, keeping an eye out for cars. When he was dressed like this he usually tried to get fancy people in Lincoln's or limos and he usually only needed one to make a sizable amount even after the three quarter tax.
[ | Edited 10:10:35 AM] They were outside a shelter. Katniss had just gone to try and get a spot for the night only to find it was already booked. Figured. Looking up, her brow furrowed slightly. "Oh... yeah. Finnick right?" she replied, head cocking to the side.
Finnick smiled faintly and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that's me. How have you been? Any luck with... Things?" He looked up as a car slowed down, looking him over. Raising a brow, he straightened, pulling away from the wall, but the guy sped up and moved on pretty quick. "Ass..." Finnick muttered, leaning back again.
Frowning, Katniss looked back at the car before turning her attention back to Finnick. She shrugged. "Uh... I guess. Things are things." Which meant nothing had changed, but she was used to this life.
He nodded. "Fuck the world. Apparently it doesn't get any better." He gave her a half smile. "So how old are you?" he asked. She looked like she might be about his age, if he accounted for the low weight and the general lack of health. Most kids looked younger than they were when they had been on the street as long as they had.
She shifted uncomfortably. "Why?" she asked him with a frown. That wasn't something you volunteered, lest police try and pick her up and put her in the system. Or some dude wanted to know for sex -- though she didn't think Finnick was in it for that -- he was gay right? That's what male street hookers were, right?
"Just curious," he wondered. "You don't have to tell me." He glanced up as another car passed. Still nothing.
"I'm... fourteen? I don't remember..." She looked away from him, still frowning. "What about you?"
"15," he said with a humorless chuckle. "Crazy, right? Anyways. I talked to my pimp..." He scuffed his toe against the concrete. "We have a room open at the house. Well. A bed. There are two other people in the room. But you gotta work for it..." He shrugged. "I thought I'd reach out."
Katniss blinked and looked back at him with a deep frown. "I don't know..." she started, shaking her head slightly. "I mean..." She'd tried so hard to avoid hooking, but a room /would/ be nice.
"We have showers and everyone gets a footlocker that actually locks. I still wouldn't put valuables in it because people still get in. But you'd have space for clothes and possessions when you got 'em..." He felt so bad doing this, selling the idea just like it had been sold to him a year and a half ago. It was a terrible life. But you had a roof and blankets. The heating wasn't great but it was something. He hadn't frozen for a long time.
Arms folding over her stomach, Katniss looked down at the ground, shoulders hunching. "I don't know... I don't... Let me... let me think about it." she muttered. Bringing a hand up, she scratched the back of her head, musing her hair which was pulled back in a braid. The idea of selling herself was a terrible one. She'd hated it the few times she'd been forced to in the past. How was she going to do it on a daily basis?
"Yeah. You should. The address is [address]. If you end up coming, ask for me. I'll talk to Mr. Jordan for you." He smiled faintly. "If you don't want to that's fine too." He looked out to the street. "Anyways. That's all I wanted to say. I should get back to it..."
Nodding, she looked back up at him. "Yeah... alright... Thanks." She wasn't entirely sure she'd remember the address, but she'd certainly try. "I'll uh... see ya."
Finnick nodded and gave a little wave before heading back out to the street corner, putting a hand on his hip flippantly and trying to look attractive for the cars passing by. He was at least clean. His clothes weren't the best. He needed to replace them. But if he were one of these rich guys, he would pick him up.
The part of town wasn't quite right to pick up richer johns but eventually a car pulled over. Window rolling down, the man driving looked over at him. "How much?" he asked, brows raising.
[ | Edited 10:47:48 AM] Finnick took his time walking over, looking at the man's car and his clothes, judging both whether he felt safe and what the price should be. "$50," Finnick said. "On the hour." His eyes flicked to the side and he raised a brow. "Two hour minimum, baby. I like to take my time."
"How about a hundred for the one hour? I don't got a lot of time." He'd only really been thinking about getting a blow job, but hey, he'd give him a quick fuck parked in some alley too. Maybe he could get both. Even better.
[ | Edited 10:53:16 AM] Finnick brightened up and turned up the charm. "Sounds like my kinda deal, sweetie. Where we going?" He asked, opening the door of the car and sliding in. Closing the door behind him, he out a hand on the man's leg, sliding up from his knee. $100 for an hour was a good deal. And the extra time would buy him another client or three if he was lucky.
"Not far. Like I said, not much time." He raised a brow and glanced over at Finnick. Pulling back down the road he made a few turns before finally pulling into an alley wedged between two buildings. It was next to impossible to see around the car. "Cimb in back." he hummed as he turned the car off.
Finnick hummed and rubbed against his leg as they drove. When they stopped he nodded and obediently got in the back, sitting and waiting for his next command. He was eager to please, if nothing else. "So what kind of deal are we doing here, honey?" Finnick asked as he reached for the man and rubbed over his shoulders and then back over and down his front.
Looking over his shoulder, the man raised a brow at him. "I'm gonna fuck you and then when I'm done with that you're going to suck my dick. Sound good?"
"Sounds like a party," Finnick hummed, sitting back against the seat and starting to pull off his clothes. "You gonna fuck me good and hard?" he asked, his voice low and breathless.
"Fuck yeah I am, baby." Smirking, he got out of the car and opened the back seat door. He watched Finnick as he stripped, eyes dark. His black slacks tented as his cock twitched and hardened.
[ | Edited 11:07:10 AM] Finnick smirked and pulled out a condom. Crawling naked across the seat to him, he leaned up and hung on him, breathing against his lips. "Well as long as you use one of these..." He dragged the foil square down the man's cheek. "Anything goes." He smiled and nipped at his lip. "Yeah?"
The man snatched the foil away and raised a brow at him. "Undo my pants." he ordered, eyes narrowing as he glanced down, eyes raking over Finnick's body.
"Yes sir," Finnick purred, sliding down his body and unbuttoning the clasp before dragging down the zip. "You want to take me from behind or in front?" he simpered, batting his eyes. "Doesn't matter either way to me."
"Take my cock out and put this on." he hummed, holding the condom to him. "Then you're gonna turn around, and I'm gonna fuck you raw, baby."
Finnick smirked. And did as he was told, pulling the man's cock out and stroking it a couple times before tearing the foil open with his teeth and rolling the condom on. Turning around, he went down on his elbows on the seat, his ass wiggling in the air in front of him. "Fuck me," he breathed.
The man ducked down and kneeled on the seat. With one hand he grabbed Finnick's ass and guided him back. The other wrapped around his cock. Without any preperation or lub save for what was on the condom, he pressed the tip against his hole and with a grunt, thrust in with one swift move. Grabbing onto his hips, he pulled back and slammed home, setting into a hard, fast pace.
Finnick's vision went white with the first thrust and he cried out, biting on his lip to stifle the sound. As the man slammed in again, the young boy rocked with the motion, fucking himself on the man's cock. "Fuck... Yes..." He panted. "Just like that. Fuck me hard, baby," he whimpered.
"Yeah, that's it. You like it like that, don't you, you little fucking slut." he growled. Leaning down, over his back, he rocked harder, grinding his hips against him. When he pulled back, he smacked the side of Finnick's ass, over and over until the skin bloomed red.
"Yes!" Finnick cried, almost deleting like crying for real. "I'm a little slut. I like it hard. Give it to me..." He rocked back against the man, shuddering each time he was spanked. Part of this was a huge turn on, and it scared him that that was true. But then one of the man's thrusts hit right in that perfect spot and Finnick cried out, tears of pleasure and pain coming to his eyes as he clenched around the man. "Fuck. Yessss... Fuck me harder, baby. Please I love it when that cock pounds into me."
"Yeah. That's it. That's a good bitch." he growled. He didn't care about Finnick's pleasure at all, whatever he felt was secondary to his own so he didn't bother trying to hold off. It wasn't long, just another minute until he was crying out as he came in the rubber around his cock. Panting, he fell back and sat down on the seat.
[ | Edited 11:29:50 AM] Finnick groaned and bit his lip hard as the man came. When he fell back, Gale sagged forward for a moment before he dragged himself into a sitting position, painfully, and turned around to face the man. Slowly getting down into the leg room of the back seat, he shifted so that the man's legs were splayed around him and took the condom off of the man's still partially hard cock. Without hesitation, Finnick took the tip in his mouth, sliding down all the way to the base and gagging on it before coming up and gasping for breath. He sucked hard at the tip, cleaning him off before pulling off and working his hand up and down the flaccid length. "You gonna get hard for me again baby? So I can suck you off good and proper?"
Looking down at Finnick, he panted hard, nostrils flarring. "Fuck." he muttered. Bringing a hand up, he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Damn, baby. Give me a minute." he murmured. He wasn't a teen anymore, he couldn't pop another boner that quick but he was sensitive, each little touch made his cock twitch with pleasure.
Finnick hummed and nodded, continuing to stroke him gently as he rest his cheek against the man's thigh. "Mmm, such a pretty cock," he mused. "I'm having trouble placing a better one that I've sucked," he hummed. The flattery was part of what they paid for, so of course it was probably a lie. "And so big too... I can't believe that just fit in my little tight ass," he murmured, leaning up to lick up the length of his shaft and suck on the tip.
"Pretty words, baby, but you don't gotta lie to me." he chuckled, even if he did like to think he had a nice cock. It wasn't the biggest but it was cut and thick. Humming, his head lulled back as he finally started to twitch to life, cock hardening once more slowly.
"Mmm," Finnick hummed, choosing to suck the man's cock into his mouth rather than respond. He hollowed out his cheeks, sucking hard and taking him all the way in, his tongue pressing up against the thick vein. When he came back up he flicked his tongue over the slit and pulled off with a pop, looking up at the man. Smirking, he took his cock in hand and licked down to his balls, sucking those into his mouth as he pumped him hard with one hand.
"Fuck yeah. That's good." The man panted. He didn't even look at Finnick this time, he just kept his head tilted back and eyes squeezed shut as the boy sucked. "Just like that baby." he muttered.
Sometimes Finnick wondered what the men were thinking when he was sucking them off or he was fucking them. Were they closeted gays who just needed him to scratch an itch? Or were they actually straight and just couldn't find any pussy to get them off. Or maybe it was a mixture. Or maybe it was neither. He didn't care. As long as they paid. Focusing back on his task, he scraped his teeth gently against the man's sack as he pumped him harder, squeezing lightly before licking back up to take his full dick in his mouth again.
His cock twitched and as Finnick took him fully once more he reached out and grabbed the boy's hair. He held him there, hips bucking once and then twice as he finally came with a deep groan. Releasing him, he sighed and slumped back.
Finnick tensed as he grabbed him before relaxing his throat and letting him thrust against him. When he came, Finnick sucked hard at him again, holding the cum in his mouth before he swallowed. He didn't like swallowing. He hated it actually. It was the worst part. He usually had a place to spit, but they were in the guy's car so he had to do what he had to do. Finnick sucked the man until he went limp again and then he pulled back and wiped his lips with a hand, tucking him away and fixing his pants. "There you go, honey," he hummed.
"Mm." He nodded and slowly stretched, climbing out of the car to move back to the front seat. "Get dressed. You want dropped back off where we'd been?" It wasn't far, just two blocks away so he figured he'd offer. It was that or get out here and walk.
"Nah, I'll walk." Finnick chewed his lips as he pulled his pants back on. "Um... Are you forgetting something?" he asked. Usually he made an effort to get payment up front, but the man had been willing to pay double for one hour. He had let it slide, thinking maybe he would too as well if he was in a good mood when he opened his wallet.
"I''m not forgetting shit. Calm down." Getting into the front seat, he opened up the glove box and grabbed his wallet. Pulling it open, he counted out some bills before handing them back to Finnick. It was one hundred and fourty total, it was all the cash he had on him.
Finnick nodded. "Right. Sorry. It's just I usually get it before..." He let the sentence hang. "Thank you." He grabbed his shirt and climbed out of the car. "You have a good night, sugar. Maybe I'll see you again. Spend a little more time together." He winked and slipped the cash into his pants, turning and walking away from the car.
The man just nodded and waited for Finnick to get out of the way before he backed up and pulled out of the spot, heading down the street off to where he'd been going before.
Finnick headed uptown to an area closer to where the richer John's would be hanging out. He bagged another three at $200 an hour and called it a night, taking home about a grand. Three fourths of that went to his pimp and half of the remainder was gonna go to drugs, so what he had left wasn't much, but it was a successful night all the same.
Katniss didn't have a successful night like Finnick -- or even a successful week. She had been all across the country and never once had she had nearly as much trouble as she did there. No work, no money. She was starving and cold and to top it all off, she'd forgotten the exact address Finnick had given her. It was getting to the point that she was considering just leaving all together, head back down somewhere warm, but all of those places were hard on bums. Maybe prison would have been better than being broke, out on the streets. Katniss didn't know anymore. So every morning she headed to the soup kitchen in hopes of getting something, she hadn't been lucky so far. Most days she'd just hang out around there afterwards, today was one such day.
When Katniss never came around, Finnick started to wonder about her. At first he just brushed it off. She hadn't made any commitment right? But then it started to nag at him so he started going by the two places he had seen her, the kitchen and the shelter. Most times he missed her, but today he managed to catch her. Jogging over, he sat in front of her and tossed a mcdonalds sandwich at her. Not just a small one it was a Big Mac, with extra veggies. Because that shit was no up charge. He smiled. "How you doin?" He asked brightly.
Jerking back, Katniss stared at the sandwich in her lap before looking up in shock. There he was again. She didn't understand why he was doing this. Why the hell did this street junkie care? "Oh... hey. I'm alright. What about you?" Tentatively, she opened the lid of the box and stared down at the sandwich. The stomach made her stomach growl -- she'd not eaten in almost four days now.
He smiled and folded his legs under him, sitting down. "I've been good. Had a good week money wise..." He nodded to the sandwich. "Go ahead. Eat it. I know how it can be in this city." Even if she had been eating, it wouldn't be enough to turn down a Big Mac.
Still, she hesitated. After another second, she picked it up and took a bite. Chewing slowly, she nodded as she swallowed. "Thanks..." she murmured.
"No problem." He looked around and hooked a hand around his knee. "So I couldn't help but notice that you never showed up at the house..." He left the sentence hanging. "You know... Come winter it's gonna start getting colder... A lot colder..."
"I..." She sighed and tugged at the end of her braid. "I couldn't remember the address..." She admitted after a second. Hooking was just about the last thing she wanted to do, but Katniss was no dummy. She knew that she wasn't surviving in this town like she had in all the others, no matter how much bigger the homeless community was. The choices were hook and take the room, or head back south and risk getting caught and getting put in the system. The warmer states were generally much harder on vagrancy laws.
Finnick studied her for a moment before standing up. "Come on. I'll take you there. You can eat while you walk." He looked her over. "I'll buy you a coke too. The drink, not the drug," he added in a very lame joke. "You look like you need the sugar." He had been hoping to get some better drugs this week, but he felt compelled to take care of her. He could deal with shit stuff for another few days.
Slowly, she stood up, knees cracking and creaking in protest. "Why are you doing all this?" she asked him, slightly guarded but for good reason.
Shrugging, Finnick stretched. "Because I like believing I'm a good person." He made a face. Spoiler alert, I'm not really...." He started off down the corner as soon as she was ready to go, humming as he went.
Shrugging, she followed after him. She munched slowly on her burger, a little afraid of eating it too fast. The last thing she needed was to get sick and throw it all up. When she was done, she balled up the little box and tossed it up in the air, catching it. "You're not a terrible person." she said finally.
"I really am," he muttered, kicking a rock as they walked down the sidewalk. "I put myself in this mess, and I just keep digging myself further." He sighed. He had long ago realized that he shouldn't share his story with other homeless. They usually just looked at him incredulously or ended up hating him, judging him for being such a stupid little brat. And he really had been. "My mom would cry if she could see where I've ended up..."
Tensing slightly, she looked down, shoving her hands in her pockets. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about families. "You're shit to yourself, that doesn't make you a bad person."
[ | Edited 9:56:47 PM] "Yeah. Whatever..." He rubbed his neck and looked up, turning down a corner. "What do you know about me? For all you know I could be a terrible person. Kicking puppies and shit. Not that I would ever... I love dogs. I used to have one."
"You're helping me. Shitty people don't do that." She shrugged. "Unless your pimp is giving you some big bonus for recruiting girls, in which case, you might be shitty."
[ | Edited 10:02:06 PM] "No... But I should ask about that," he joked, smiling. "Nah. I just... I don't know..." He shrugged and looked away. He really didn't know why he felt so compelled to help her. As they passed a hot dog cart he got them each a bottle of soda for a dollar each and passed one to her. "Cheers..." he hummed, not mentioning that he was already down to about 80 cents for the next two days. Well that's if he didn't want to dip into his drug money.
"Means you're a good person. Well... not a bad one, at least." Katniss shrugged. When they stopped at the vendor, she blinked in surprise. She hadn't figured he meant it when he said he'd get them a soda. Katniss honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd had a soda. They were a luxury item -- food was always more important. Taking it from him, she cracked the lid and brought it up to her lips, taking a small sip of the fizzy drink. "Mmm." she hummed. "Thank you."
He nodded. "Don't mention it." He took a small sip of his own, crossing the busy street and heading down a side street. They were getting close now. "So... You're sure you want to do this?" He looked at her and raised a brow.
"No." Katniss replied with a small frown. "But what other choice do I have? It's this or... leave New York, go somewhere warmer." There was anonimity in the city though.
[ | Edited 10:16:45 PM] He nodded and looked up as they turned a corner. "Well there it is," he hummed, pointing to their townhouse. It was actually quite spacious. 3 bedrooms a living room and a dining room, all transformed into triple or quadruple occupancy rooms. It was a fire marshal's nightmare, but they had ways around him. "There's a kitchen and laundry and stuff. I already said the storage and the bathroom. But there's a schedule for showers." He drummed his fingers against his lips. "I think that's all. Oh. Also..." He hesitated. "Are you a virgin? He'll... Want to know."
Katniss stared at the house, her trepidation steadily building. At his question, she looked back at him startled. Arms folding over her stomach defensively, she swallowed and licked her lips. "Why would he want to know that?" she nearly demanded.
"Well..." Finnick shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know what... It's not important." He shook his head and started off for the front steps.
Swallowing hard, Katniss slowly stepped froward, drawing in a shaky breath. "Yeah.." she mumbled, though she didn't exactly agree. She followed him up to the house, the urge to flee growing with each step.
As Finnick stepped inside the house he smiled and nodded at the two girls in the front hall. "Lyla, is Jordan home?" he asked. "I have..." He looked back at Katniss. "A new girl. There's still an empty bed, right?"
Lyla glanced from the stranger to Finnick. "Wow, you brought us a real fresh one, huh?" Shaking her head, she waved a hand back in the direction of the kitchen. "Yeah, beds free, he's in there. Good luck girl, you gonna need it."
Katniss just swallowed and smiled weakly. "Uh... thanks, I think."
Finnick nodded and led Katniss back to the kitchen where Jordan was making a sandwich. "Hey, Jory," Finnick hummed, flouncing over. "I made a new friend. Don't you think she's pretty?"
Katniss stood in the doorway shyly. She looked from Finnick to Jordan and back again. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she'd been as nervous as she was right then.
Jordan looked up at Katniss and smiled softly. "Hey. What's your name? Don't mind him, he's a tweaker." He shoved Finnick lightly. "So are you interested in the vacancy?" he asked.
"I'm Kat... Katniss." she replied. Looking over his shoulder at Finnick for a breif second, she gathered her courage before giving Jordan her full attention. "Yeah... I'm interested."
"Oh good." Jordan looked at Finnick approvingly and then at Katniss appraisingly. "And how much... Experience, do you have?" he asked, even as two more girls walked into the kitchen. It was a very open house. Anything went. Some of the girls even had sex with each other sometimes. With others in the house or sometimes even in the room. No one cared.
Which was lamer -- no experience or a shitty hand job in the front seat of a car -- twice? Somehow she doubted either would be recieved great, probably with either raised eyebrows or little chortles from the girls. Worst case scenario he told her to get lost. All outcomes pointed to a lose of pride though, so she sucked it up. "None..."
Jordan raised his brows, though notably not with too much surprise. "We can work with that." He looked around. "When would you like to start?" He asked. "My cut is 75% of whatever you make daily with two allowed days off. And you'll get holidays off if you would like. It's hard to get any business then anyways."
"Do I have to pay rent or something out of that 25?" she asked, she'd heard of pimps doing that before -- a base cut, then rent. If that was the case he could fuck right off.
[ | Edited 10:50:12 PM] He shook his head. "No. That's your expenses right there. Minimum before the cut is 1500 per month, so you'll be getting at least 300 or 400 in your pocket per month or you're out. What you do with it..." He looked at Finnick. "Is up to you." Not that Finnick was the only druggie in the house. But he was the only one present. "Any other questions?"
[ | Edited 10:54:23 PM] Katniss nodded. "Alright... Yeah." she replied, arms folding over her stomach. She didn't know how to hook, didn't know how she'd get men to make that much, but... she'd try. "Can I... stay tonight and start tomorrow or...?" she shrugged uncertainly.
The man looked at Finnick and then at Katniss. "Of course. You pretty much set your own hours. As long as I get my money. Really the days off are more of a guideline. You can work more or less. But I find my girls... Find it harder to make ends meet with more than two days a week off."
Which meant they were all broke ass bitches that had to charge shit to get money. So she nodded and looked back at him. "Yeah. Alright." She still didn't know how to sell herself, but she guess she'd just have to... figure it out.
"Right. So we're done here. Id like to eat my sandwich." He smiled and wiggled his fingers at her as Finnick came around the counter to herd Katniss out and upstairs.
"So yeah. That was Jordan. He's the pimp. "Mr nice guy." He shrugged. "This is my bunk," he sat down. "That one over there is yours," he gestured to the one in the corner opposite his. "We have a pretty nice view. Veronika and Leslie are pretty quiet." He gestured to the other two beds. "And yeah. If you need any pointers just ask someone. We all have each other's backs here."
Following him up, she glanced around the room. She felt awkward and out of place there but she moved over to the bunk that was her's and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Alright, yeah." Katniss needed more than pointers, though. She needed an idiots guide to hooking because she didn't even have the first idea.
"And... Yeah... I think that's it. There are extra blankets in the closet in the hallway, just put them back when you're done because... Well courtesy, you know." He shrugged. "In general just be nice. I'm gonna shut up now. Maybe... Go do some drugs. I feel like I'm bothering you."
"No. You're not just..." She shrugged, feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Here she was, in a strange place, with strange people, asked to do something she didn't know how to do to earn her keep. Katniss was just completely out of her depth.
He nodded. "I get it," he hummed. "I'll be back in a bit, okay? Maybe you'll have your bearings by then." He smiled and leaned over to dig through his footlocker and grab the little baggie. Then he winked at Katniss and headed downstairs and outside to find somewhere private. He ended up coming back about an hour and a half to two hours later. He smiled at her and sat down back on his bed, shifting to the side and curling up. "Hi."
[ | Edited 11:16:49 PM] Katniss was laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She still didn't have her bearings, didn't know what she was going to do. Really, she was just considering running away, get out of town. She could do it, she'd done it a million times before. Looking over at Finnick, she nodded. "Hey."
"Are you scared shitless?" he asked bluntly. "Because I am. I'm scared." He curled up tighter. "I never think I'm gonna make enough. And then somehow I do. Guess there's enough sick pervs in this city for all of us sorry fuckers."
"It ain't sick to buy sex but... I know what you mean." She sighed and shrugged, hands folding over her stomach. "I'm terrified. Don't know what I'm gonna do." How did she get a john? How did she fuck someone or make them think she liked them?
"You don't do nothing. You just stand on the corner and look like a piece of meat. Throw out a wolf whistle or two here and there and let some skin show. They'll pull over." He shrugged. "That's what I do."
"Yeah, and then what? Where do I even go to get them?" she frowned deeply, her stomach fluttering nervously. Just the thought made her want to be sick.
"You come to the block with the rest of us. I branch out sometimes but not a lot. Oh, also, don't get in the car with any creeps. And alway take the money before you get in. I'm bad at that."
Biting down on her bottom lip, she nodded. He hadn't answered her first question but whatever. Drawing in a slightly shaky breath, she forced herself to calm down. "Yeah... okay..."
Finnick studied her for a moment before shrugging. "Okay. Well I'm gonna get ready to go... Unless there was something else you needed?"
Katniss could feel her anxiety rising, threatening to suffocate her. Still, she smiled weakly and nodded. "I'm cool. Thanks.."
Finnick nodded and swung his legs off the bed. Kneeling by his footlocker, he opened it up and dug through it, finding a passable outfit and starting to strip and get redressed.
She watched him get up and start to strip, back to her. Rolling onto her side, she stared at the wall, swallowing down the lump that had formed in her throat.
[ | Edited 10:49:09 AM] Finnick finished up and turned back around to face her. Biting his lip, he stepped toward her but then thought better of it. "We do what we need to do..." he said before turning. "I'll see you later tonight."
He headed out the door and down to the group of girls who was gathered to walk out. It was safer for all of them to travel together. Not that it really mattered when their profession involved getting into cars to have sex in secluded places with strangers.
Once they had headed out they all spread out along their block about a mile from the house, taking up their nightly spots and trying to hail down cars.
At about two am Finnick finally decided he was done. The traffic was slowing. A couple more girls would get some, but he thought the three he had bagged that night would be good. Seven hours of getting fucked and used total. But his average rate for those guys had been $60 because one guy had been in a low end designer suit that any prostitute could smell from a mile away. Of course that had been the man he had spent the most time with. He was bringing home a solid 400 dollars. So 100 for him. It was a good night.
Katniss was already asleep by the time everyone got home, so used to living on the street and the sounds of the night, she didn't even bat a lash as the rag tag group of hookers got into bed. The next morning saw Katniss bright and early. She was always up with the dawn to get a move on -- that was going to be a hard switch for her, but probably not the hardest. Everyone else was still sleeping, so she headed for the bathroom down the hall to take a shower. Finnick had mentioned there was a schedule but no one had told her and the house was dead silent so she just got in.
When the water started to turn cold, she finally slipped out, feeling more human than she had in forever. It was another one of those things she couldn't remember the last time she'd done it. On the counter top sat her dirty, grimey clothes. She plucked at them with a frown -- wishing she could wash them but there was no way. Katniss had nothing to change into. That and they'd probably disintegrate in the wash. With a deep sigh, she pulled them back on, feeling her skin itch, but it was fine. She wasn't about to complain. Leaving the room, she wandered the house until she found herself out on the stoop, sitting there and watching as the street came to live, contemplating her options.
Finnick, like the others, didn't even show a sign of waking until nine or ten. The previous night he had left the block at 2:30. Twenty minutes to walk home and another fifteen to turn in his cash had put them past 3. Then he had taken another ten minutes to fall asleep.
At 10:30 he headed downstairs, freshly showered and wearing a loose pair of jeans and a baggy hoodie. He looked into the kitchen wistfully but passed it by knowing there was nothing in there for him. It was mostly ornamental. Or for Jordan's use. No one had the money for groceries. Idly he wandered out to the front porch where he found Katniss.
"Hey. You're up early," he hummed, sitting next to her. "Thinking about anything interesting?"
She heard the door before she heard Finnick, though it was no surprise when it was his voice that finally spoke up. "Nah... not really." she murmured, still peering out at the street, as if it'd have some sort of answer to the thoughts that continued to plague her.
Finnick sat down beside her and followed her gaze. "You probably need clothes before tonight." He looked over at her. "I don't see you picking anyone up in that... Maybe you could ask one of the girls..." He shrugged. "Starting is the hardest part. After that it just becomes habit..." He was talking about both the logistics and the act of.
"I don't know them." Katniss murmured. That was what she didn't get. How was she supposed to pick anyone up? No one wanted a fucking homeless bum, and that was what she looked like, even cleaned up. She didn't have money to buy anything, couldn't make money to buy anything. It felt like she was being left to the sharks and it made her stomach knot with tension.
Finnick chewed his lip and looked her up and down. "Yeah... Anything they had probably wouldn't fit you either..." He sighed and looked over at her. "I guess there's only one other choice..."
"Huh?" Looking up, she glanced at Finnick with a raised brow. "What?" Her lips twisted down, frowning deeply at him.
[ | Edited 11:27:23 AM] "I guess we just have to take you shopping..." He smiled at her. "Get you some new digs." He got to his feet and brushed himself off. "Which means I should probably get more dressed... They don't take kindly to /two/ bums walking into the stores."
Eyes widening, she sat up a little straighter. "How exactly are we doing that? I don't have any money, Finnick..." He'd already done too much for her as it was, she didn't want him buying her shit now too. Then she'd be in his debt.
"How do you think?" He shrugged. "We'll go to the thrift store and spend... Ten bucks. Alright? Not too much. You can pay me back tomorrow if you like. After you get your first couple guys."
Tomorrow -- as if she was going to get a couple of guys tonight. She'd be lucky if she got one. Sucking in a slow, deep breath, she nodded slowly. "Fine... okay..." Her lips tugged down, but she nodded all the same. It wasn't like she had much choice.
He smiled and looked down at himself. "Alright. I'll be right back." He headed back inside and up to his room, putting on one of his nicer outfits that he had retired from the streets because it wasn't nice enough to pull rich guys anymore.
Coming back down, he smiled at Katniss and they started walking toward the nearest thrift store. "So..."
Folding her arms over her stomach, Katniss leaned against the banister as she waited. When he finally rejoined her, she looked up, managing a weak smile for him. "So..." she replied slowly.
"What kinda clothes do you want to wear for hooking?" he asked bluntly. "I mean... What are we looking for?"
"I... don't know?" Katniss replied, looking back at him with a furrow of her brow, as if to say, why are you asking me? You're the hooker. She didn't know the first thing about any of this shit save for the raggedy old whores that sold themselves on the streets. She always felt bad for them, because every now and then one would just up and disappear.
Finnick smiled sympathetically and nodded. "Alright. That's okay. We'll find you something." He rounded the corner and there in front of them was the thrift store. Heading inside, he went to the women's section, looking around for something "appropriate" for their purposes. "We'll get you work clothes first and then see about getting you something clean and warm to spend your off time in, okay?" He looked over at her and then back to the rack.
"Don't worry about that. I can get that once I get some money... I guess." she shrugged. Following him deeper into the thrift shop, she glanced around with a little frown, unsure of where to even start. "So... any ideas?" she asked lightly, flicking through a rack.
[ | Edited 6:08:58 PM] Finnick paused at one rack and pulled two things out that were roughly the same amount of fabric. One was a black top and the other was shorts. "Will these fit you?" He asked? Holding them up to her.
Looking up from her rack, she blinked at just how tiny they were -- not in waist size but in the amount of fabric. She was going to flash everyone wearing that. Would it even cover her ass? Moving over to him, she grabbed the shorts and held them up. They seemed a little big, but that was just because she was so small -- Katniss used to joke that she was every anorexic's dream. All she had to do was find some decent clothes, get a shower and hit up some modeling agencies and she'd be in there. "Uh... maybe. They're a little big but... I could work with it." She'd worn worse, not less, but worse.
Finnick nodded. "Go try it on. See how you look in it. You want to impress." He bit his lip and continued looking around the racks as she went, looking for something else for her to wear casually. He knew what she had said, but her clothes right now were grimy as hell and he didn't like it.
Katniss nodded and turned, heading back to the dressing room. Locking the door behind her, she stared at herself in the mirror before tugging off the dirty clothes. She folded them carefully and frowned down at herself. If she was going to sell herself, she was going to need another shower -- sighing, she grabbed the shorts and tugged them on with the tube top next. Squirming uncomfortably, she shifted this way than that before poking her head out to look for Finnick. There was no one else in the store so she headed out to go and find him to see what he thought.
Finnick was in the girl's section still, with some new clothes draped over his arm. Looking up at her approach he looked her up and down appraisingly. "A little dash of make up and you'll be good to go," he hummed. Looking down at his arm he offered her the new clothes. "Try these next, just for casual wear. There was a pair of jeans and a pair of sweats along with a t-shirt and a long sleeve turtleneck. He would give her a jacket from his closet if she needed one. They were right at the budget for the day.
[ | Removed 10:58:59 AM] This message has been removed.
[this is some bull shit]
Finnick was in the girl's section still, with some new clothes draped over his arm. Looking up at her approach he looked her up and down appraisingly. "A little dash of make up and you'll be good to go," he hummed. Looking down at his arm he offered her the new clothes. "Try these next, just for casual wear. There was a pair of jeans and a pair of sweats along with a t-shirt and a long sleeve turtleneck. He would give her a jacket from his closet if she needed one. They were right at the budget for the day.
The outfit was a little big like she'd thought it might be, but it was still pretty good. Looking at the clothes he offered to her, she took them gingerly. "You really don't need to do all this..." she murmured, knowing that he was trying to buy her a second outfit.
He ignored her and pushed the clothes further into her hand. "Try them on. You'll feel more human with real clothes on." The outfit he had chosen didn't include undergarments. But those also didn't fall into the category of necessities just yet. He knew plenty of the women of the house didn't even bother to buy them.
Sighing, she stared at them in her hand before nodding. "Okay..." Turning back around, she went to the dressing room to try them on. The jeans were a little baggy but not too bad, and the turtle neck was a weird feeling but they were clothes and they fit and that was really all that mattered. With a small sigh, she got back into her old clothes, squirming a tiny bit as she did. The new ones were folded overh er arm and she headed back out to Finnick.
[ | Edited 11:33:30 AM] Finnick took the clothes from her with a little smile before heading to the check stand. The total came out to $8.50. A little over their "budget" but worth it in Finnick's mind. Smiling at her, he handed her the bag of clothes and they left.
"You really didn't have to do that." Katniss said once they were back out on the street. With her free hand, she tucked a stray strand of hair up behind her ear and stared down at the side walk. She felt weird taking his money, but she'd pay him back.
He smiled and nodded. "I know," he chirped. "That's why I did it. You're a better cause than my addiction anyways. Maybe I should just spend all my money on you so I don't go to my dealer. You'll be doing me a favor," he joked.
"There are better things to spend your money on." she said with a roll of her eyes. Katniss didn't think she could ever do drugs for that reason alone. How could she just give what little money she had to a drug dealer for what? A little bit of a high? There was no way.
He licked his lips and shrugged. "I know..." He pushed his hands into his pockets and looked up and down the street. "So now we go to bum make up off the other girls for your first night. They should be willing enough." He shrugged. "It's not like you need much."
Looking back at him, she frowned and shook her head. "I don't want to do that..." She replied, hands stuffing into her pockets. "This was enough... I'll... it'll be fine." She didn't even know what to do with makeup.
He chewed his lip and looked at her before shrugging again. "Alright. We'll go out together tonight then. I'll show you the ropes." He gave her a wry smile. "It's better than freezing your ass of in the winter."
Looking back at him, she nodded slowly. "Okay... thanks." Katniss looked back at the ground and sighed softly. She supposed it was better, but she wondered how much. She could die like this, the chances were even greater than if she were just living on the streets.
"Hey," Finnick said, getting her attention. "Everything's gonna be alright. It all works out in the end." He smiled faintly. "I believe in you." The rest of the walk back to the house was spent in silence. When they got there Finnick went up to his room and flopped down on his bed. It would be a hard night for him. He had run out of drugs the previous night and wouldn't have money for more until after tonight's run. The young man sighed and pressed his face in against the pillow, trying to fall asleep to forget that his body was demanding drugs of him.
Katniss was a little slower than Finnick when they got to the house. She was still iffy about being there but she headed upstairs to the room they shared. Stuffing her bag under her bed, she glanced over at Finnick. "You okay?" she asked after a second.
Finnick rolled onto his side and looked over at her. "No. Not really. You?" He raised a brow. "Who is really ever okay? Let's be real."
Katniss cracked a weak smile. Swinging her legs up into bed, she curled up on her side. Listlessly, she shifted, trying to get comfortable. "I guess." she hummed. "Think those guys on the upper east side are pretty okay." she murmured, trying to break in a little bit of humor.
Finnick chuckled weakly and smiled. "Yeah... Yeah you're right." He sighed and shook his head. "They're okay. And we will be too... Someday."
Katniss shrugged. "I don't know." she murmured. "Feels like nothing'll ever be okay." Though things hadn't been /too/ bad when she'd been out on the streets. There'd been a couple bad run ins but overall she'd hung in there.
Finnick grunted and closed his eyes, shifting in his cot. "Everything used to be okay with me... Til my mom tried to marry an asshole," he mumbled.
Katniss hummed softly, watching him. "What he do? Hit you or something?" she asked, arms folding over her stomach uncomfortably.
Finnick shrugged. "No. Never hit me. But... I don't know. He was just an asshole. His kids bullied me and took my stuff. Broke it a lot of times. When I went to complain about it he always told me I was being a brat. Mom refused to stand up for me." He sighed. "Looking back at it now, I guess I was being a brat. By the time I realized I wanted to go home I had run out of money and was stuck in New York."
[ | Edited 12:00:14 PM] Katniss shrugged. "Everyone has a reason. It's a shit situation, I guess." Frowning, she rolled onto her back, hands folding over her stomach and stared up at the ceiling. Her mind wandered back to her dad, thoughts turning dark. She didn't like to think about him.
"Not as shit as living on the streets addicted to drugs," he said. "It wasn't as bad as what other people have gone through. I should have just stayed. But you know... 7 year old me just didn't understand that... He couldn't imagine anything worse." He looked over at her. "What a drama queen, right?"
Katniss shook her head. "I don't think so." she murmured. "Maybe not the best life choice but..." she shrugged and tucked her hands under her head. "You did what you thought you had to do."
December in London usually wasn't particularly cold. It was rainy and dreary but always above freezing -- not this year. The streets whipped with a fierce wind and snow blew, blanketing the busy city in a white powder. Normally, Hermione was glad that she didn't drive but that evening was not one of those days. Clutching her trench coat to her body, she ducked her head down and hurried to the sports bar her company had rented out for the night for a christmas party. Making it there, she quickly pulled open the door and let herself in. She was one of the first to arrive, it seemed, seeing as there weren't too many people there just yet.
Draco was in the main tv room of the sports bar, trying to get the people they had hired to set up the decorations /right/. Of course they couldn't. They were buffoons. Looking up at the gust of wind, he smiled. "Hermione! Finally someone who can do something right. Maybe you can explain what I want in a way these people can understand." He walked over to her and gave her a hug and a pat on the back before putting an arm around her shoulder and drawing her further into the room. "See I want the garlands to hang from the walls just so... The way they have it is all wrong. You see that, right?"
Hermione had only just taken off her coat when Draco called out to her. Looking up, she smiled and folded it over her arm. "Draco." she said easily. Letting him lead her around, her free hand worked at the scarf wrapped around her neck, loosening it and slowly pulling it off. She was wearing a little black dress that ended right at her knees and showed a little more clevage than she usually did. Normally she was pretty buttoned up, but it was Christmas, what the hell, right? Eyeing the garland, she cocked her head to the side. They seemed fine to her but sometimes that wasn't the point. "Take them all down." she said to the men that were hanging decorations. Put them up a little lower and to the left." It wasn't needed but she had a feeling that Draco would be appeased so long as they seemed to be doing /something/.
"That's my girl," he said, gesturing to the men to get to work as he lead Hermione away again. "How about a drink? We got an open bar. Get whatever you like." He smiled and leaned against the bar. "You like that Christmas bonus? Sales are up 33% from the projections. Keep doing work like this and we'll all be rolling in it." He tapped the bar. "Bartender, scotch."
Pleased with herself, she followed him to the bar and slid up onto a stool. "A drink sounds nice." she hummed. Setting her coat down in her lap, she tugged off her gloves and tucked them into a pocket. "Yes, it was very genorous. The new project manager is really working out." Smiling, she looked up at the bartender. "Martini, two olives, please."
The bartender nodded and poured Draco's drink first before going to make hers. "Of course he is. He's the best in the field. At least that's what he told me. And I only take the best. But I don't have to tell you that, right?" He chuckled and sipped his drink. "You got any plans for the holiday?"
Looking back at Draco, she just smiled at him and good naturedly rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know." She hummed. When the bartender set down her martini, she nodded her thanks. "No plans. Normally I'd go to France with my parents, we have family there but... not this year. I thought I might go do some skii'ing, I don't know." she shrugged. She didn't really have anyone to drag along with her, though, so perhaps not. All of her friends were busy. "What about you?" Lifting her drink, she took a small sip.
[ | Edited 12:21:23 AM] "Have you ever gone skiing before?" he asked, raising an interested brow. He had already known about the family in France from her interview. "I frequent a lodge up north a bit. Though I prefer snowboarding myself." At her question he shrugged. "No plans... Probably just work."
"Yes. I have. Frequently, actually. Before university I went every year." she chuckled. "Can't say I've snowboarded, though." Taking another sip, she sighed and dragged a finger around the lip of her glass. "That's terribly drull, you should do something fun." Not that she was one to speak -- at all.
He shrugged. "Maybe if I had someone to go do something with I would make plans." He shrugged and took a sip of his drink. "Snowboarding is fun though." He looked up as more people began to arrive and the music got a little louder.
[ | Edited 12:27:07 AM] "That I can commiserate with." She chuckled almost humorlessly. "It seems as though all of my friends are busy this Christmas. It's a pitty." Looking up at him, she held up her drink. "To... Christmas's alone with our work?" she chuckled.
"And alcohol," he added, bringing his glass to hers. He smiled and knocked back the last of his scotch. "I have to go work at this ruddy speech. You go on and go mingle. Enjoy the party. I'll find you again later." He smiled.
Tipping back the last reminants of her martini, she set the glass on the counter and leaned back in her seat. "Of course. Good luck, Draco." Smiling back, she turned her attention to the party that was finally starting up. After a second, she slid off the stool to go find someone to talk to -- a few of the secretaries from the executives offices that she knew stood out, so she made her way to them.
It was about an hour later when Draco went up to address the amassed crowd with a few words on the close of the year and the start of a new one. After that he had reiterated the free drinks and announced that everyone at the party would be getting a door prize in the form of a new phone. The new iPhone 6. Personalized with an engraving from him. Congrats everyone.
The round of applause was hearty, as was the next round of drinks. Hermione was good and tipsy as she finally made her way back to the bar. She'd only just slipped away from the girls to grab another drink -- some bright looking coctail that tasted like cherries. At this point she was starting to consider heading home, but it was cold out there, and the prospect of heading back into it was daunting.
Draco had happened to make it to the bar at the same time as her and smiled. "Hey Hermione. Fancy running into you here again. Are you enjoying your night?"
"Oh, Draco." She swayed just slightly before she leaned back, letting the bar support her weight. "Yes, it's been a great night. Thank you." she laughed a bit, not entirely sure what she was laughing at. "Yourself? That was a wonderful speech."
He made a face and shook his head. "That? That was shit. Pure and utter bull shit. But it was fun. And short. People like short. Let's them get back to drinking faster." He smiled and sipped his fresh drink.
Chuckling, she shrugged. "Well... I guess it wasn't great, but it was good." When the bartender appeared behind her, she turned and smiled a bit wider, accepting the drink. "Thank you." she hummed happily. Lifting it to her lips she hummed and took a sip.
"So where are you headed? Am I interrupting you getting back to a conversation?" he asked, looking around for any groups that may be looking for her company.
She shook her head no and set her drink down. "No, no where. The girls I was talking to are leaving but I wasn't entirely ready for that. Thought maybe one more drink and... I don't know." she shrugged.
He nodded and looked back at her. "Yeah. I know what you mean. It's a nightmare out there. I miss the states sometimes. Hey. You wanna brave it together? I should be getting home. I have golf in the morning."
Glancing to the door, she nodded. "Alright. May as well. Did you drive?" she asked, glancing back up at him. Setting down her drink, she gave Draco her full attention. Unconciously, her eyes drifted down his body, unable to help but look -- he was an attractive man. Sue her.
He shook his head. "Nah. It would be stupid to drive to something like this. You just have to get a cab back anyways." He stood up and offered her his arm, smiling as she took it and leading her to the door. They paused to get his things and then were out, getting one of the taxis that were waiting on the curb. Draco gave his address first and then glanced at her. "Where you headed?"
It was bitterly cold outside and Hermione at once regretted the dress she'd worn. Her arms and legs felt like icesicles and snow got in her hair -- but the bitting cold brought a pink hue to her skin which looked nice in contrast to how pale she was. In the warmth of the taxi, she sighed and rattled off her address, she was a bit further out of the way than Draco was.
The driver nodded and then they were off. When they had gotten in the car, Draco had settled almost inappropriately close to Hermione and now that they were moving he couldn't be bothered to actually scoot over, especially since she didn't seem to be protesting.
Hermione could feel the warmth radiating off of Draco and like a moth to the flame she was instantly attracted to it. She found herself leaning in closer until finally her bare arm was pressed against his suit.
Looking down at her, Draco paused for a moment. Without thinking, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss. Almost instantly his brain kicked in and he pulled away. "Sorry. I apologize. That was. That was inappropriate..." He scooted a little further over on the seat.
Hermione blinked, stunned into inactivity. Maybe she'd had a little bit more to drink than she remembered because the next thing she knew, she was scooting back in against him. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek and pulled him down for a kiss. He had started this, she reminded herself when her mind tried to nag at her to stop.
It didn't take more than half a second for Draco to respond. All barriers dropped he started full on snogging her. He had definitely had more to drink than he had thought or intended. When they finally broke the kiss she was practically in his lap and her lips were red from their kissing and his teeth nipping at them.
Panting hard, she pressed her forehead against his, eyes half lidded and staring at his lips. She shifted before leaning in and kissing him again, soft and fleeting, then again and again.
Draco groaned and melted against her, his arms wrapping around her. Next time he opened his eyes, the taxi was stopped in front of his townhouse. Handing the driver his card, he got out, looking at the house and then at Hermione. He wasn't ready to say good night yet. "You want to come inside for another drink?" he asked, leaning into the car.
Feeling him shift, Hermione nearly whined when Draco carefully slid out from under her. Looking up at him as he leaned into the car to peer down at her, she considered her options briefly -- there was only one good answer, though. Nodding, she grabbed her things and carefully slid out of the car, back in the cold night.
He smiled and tipped the driver before hurrying up to his door and letting them both into the house and closing the door behind them. For a moment he paused in the entryway before he took off his jacket and then offered to take hers.
[ | Edited 1:09:02 AM] "Thanks." she hummed softly, handing the coat over to him. Her hands smoothed over her dress as the nerves suddenly hit her hard. "So... what do you have to drink?" she asked, glancing around his town house. "You have a nice place..."
He smiled. "Thank you. And I have anything you want. Name your drink, I'll make it for you." He smiled and led her into the study which had practically a full bar tucked away in the corner, complete with a counter.
"Hmmm... Should I be nice and pick something simple, or go hard and test your bartending skills?" Smiling widely, she followed him up to the elaborate bar he had set up. Sliding onto one of the stools in front of it, she folded her arms on the counter and leaned forward, unaware of how it accenstuated her bust.
[ | Edited 1:12:56 AM] He smiled and his eyes drifted down before coming back up. "Why don't you go hard?" he asked, lips quirking up. "I'm in the mood for a challenge."
Her lips twisted up in a smirk, mind instantly drifting. What the hell was she thinking. "Alright... how about... a... sex on the beach?" She requested, a brow raising.
He smiled and leaned against the bar. "Sure. What beach?" It was way over the line and a lot corny and he never would had said it sober, but there it was.
Spluttering a laugh, she bit down on her bottom lip and she looked up at him through her lashes. "A warm one." she said cheekily, unable to help herself. She'd definitely had too much to drink.
"Mmm... So no where here... The Bahamas, maybe?" He smiled. "Well if we ever run into each other on a warm beach, I will take you up on that offer. Now for your drink." He winked and moved to the side, pulling out some bottles and the mixer.
"You're the one that made the offer." she chuckled. Leaning back, she watched him work, head cocked to the side as he mixed up the different liquors and juices.
He slid the drink in front of her with a smile a minute later. "There you go. Sex on the beach in the Bahamas." He leaned against the bar, his silver eyes shining as he looked at her, eyes darting down to her cleavage every few moments.
She caught sight of his gaze and glanced down. Licking her lips, she pressed a bit more forward, giving him a better view of her clevage as she picked up the drink. Humming softly, she took a sip. "It's good."
"Yeah it is," he hummed, not talking about the drink. He blinked after a moment, looking up at her. "Oh. I mean, thank you. I try." He smiled sheepishly.
Her eyebrows raised at that and she set the drink down. "Yeah what?" she pressed lightly, wanting to hear him say it even if she had an idea what it was.
"Huh? Oh. Nothing. I... Nothing." He smiled and straightened, wiping up the bar, at least that's what he tried to do. Instead he over corrected pushing himself up an ended up falling back on his ass, knocking over several bottles in the process.
Hermione laughed. She couldn't help it. The sound just spilled over her lips. Climbing up out of her seat, she stumbled around to the other side of the bar and dropped down to her knees next to him. Thankfully none of the bottles had broken. "Are you alright?"
"Mmm... Maybe. Let's check," he groaned, sitting up a little and working his arms this way and that. Looking up at her, he found that him sitting up had but them right on eye level again, inches apart. "Hi..." he murmured. "I think... I'm alright."
One of her hands pushed out, lightly grabbing his shoulder. "You sure?" she asked. Lips twitching up, she giggled lightly. "Sorry. Sorry. This isn't funny. Not at all."
Draco chuckled faintly and shook his head. "No no it's not. Your laughter is so uncalled for." He shifted forward again to sit up more, putting his lips closer to hers. A moment later he closed the gap and kissed her again, pressing their lips together sweetly.
The kiss was unexpected and for a moment she didn't react but then she melted into him. The hand on his shoulder slid back to his neck, fingers lightly pushing into the soft hair at the nape.
Draco hummed and sat back again, pushing the bottles away and pulling her with him. "Mmm..." His hands reached around to splay across her back gently.
She climbed up into his lap, her legs straddling him. Arms looped over his shoulders and she leaned in against him. "Mmm." she hummed right back as she pressed their lips together in a soft kiss.
"Did I already give you your drink?" He asked. His brain was a little muddled. He looked around at the bottles. "If not. I can make you another one. Or something."
"Don't want a drink." Hermione muttered. Her forehead pressed against his temple as she leaned in. Lips trailed down his cheek to his jaw, down to his neck.
"Oh..." He licked his lips and looked down at her, or tried to but found it a bit difficult in the position. "What do you want?" he asked.
Her lips parted and she sucked gently at his neck. Her teeth scraped against the soft skin and after a second she pulled back to look at him. "You." she breathed. "You want that too, don't you?" The alcohol in her system made everything hazy, caused her to do things she normally wouldn't have.
Draco swallowed lightly and nodded. "Oh yeah, that is what I've been thinking about ever since we kissed the first time..." He bit at her lip lightly. "You wanna go up to my room?" he asked.
Nipping back at his lip, she broke away. Reaching up, she grabbed the counter behind her and pulled herself up onto shaky legs. "Mmm, lets go." she hummed, smiling down at him.
He scrambled to his feet and attempted to straighten is suit before grabbing her by the hand and taking her up he stairs to his bedroom.
She laced their fingers together and followed him up the steps easily. When they made it to his bedroom, she let go of him and stopped. Reaching up, she grabbed the elastic band that held her hair in a bun and tugged it out, letting it fall down around her shoulders in ringlets.
The sound of metal clashing together made Annie jump. Her heart rose up in her throat as the stark reminder of just where they were hit her all over again -- Prison. The guard barked out something that she didn't catch but everyone was moving and someone bumped her shoulder so she went off too.
Clutching her bedding to her chest, Annie followed them off, not entirely sure where they were going. They stopped at one room and then another until it was just another girl and herself.
"In here Greenstone and Cresta." the guard grunted and nodded inside.
Annie hesitated, but at the dark glare she finally stepped inside, glancing around the room. It was stark white with two bunks. The bottom two were already full.
"Gale! Gale! Watch this!" Katniss called over the cries of her siblings as they all ran about the yard. She'd only just had her seventh birthday and was a bundle of energy. It didn't help that Gale was a gymnasts and she was enamoured with him. She ate up every little thing that he showed her. Katniss was officially loved all things gymnastics.
"Looook!" She cried. When she finally had his attention she did a one handed cart wheel and then another and another.
Gale chuckled softly and clapped his hands for her. "Good job," he said. "Don't let momma see you doing that. She'll bust me for teaching you." He offered her a hand up for a high five as she came up to him. "But keep practicing anyways and I'll teach you something new real soon."
Katniss was all smiles, wide and beaming as she came up to Gale. She smacked his hand and just nodded. "I won't. I won't. Teach me something new? Pleaaaase?" She'd already started to eat up the front flip. It was one of her favorite moves to do but she had to be careful not to do it anywhere she'd get caught.
Gale chuckled again and mussed her hair with a hand. "Later. I promise. Right now we both have homework to go do. Isn't that right?" He smiled and led her back into the house, herding all the other kids along as he went.
A collective groan went up around the yard but no one put up much of a fight as they headed back inside. There was much scattering as they rummaged around to grab their bags and then plop down at the kitchen table to do their work.
Their mother came home later that night when it was already starting to get dark. She worked two jobs so she hardly ever saw her kids. Wearily she plopped down at the table with them and looked around. "How is homework going?" she asked, reaching out a hand to smooth over Katniss's hair.
Katniss looked up, smiling lightly for mom. "It's stupid." she replied with a crinkle of her nose, looking down at her work book. It was math -- Katniss hated math.
"Watch your language, young lady. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's stupid." She shook her head and turned to Gale. "Did everyone behave, Gale?" At his nod she smiled and nodded before pushing herself up again. "Well you all finish up on the problems you're working on and then go get washed up for dinner." She moved into the kitchen and started rummaging around. After her work day she was absolutely exhausted but she was loathe to neglect her duties as a mother to provide for her family.
There was a chorus of "okays" from the children who were all quick to finish up. Books were grabbed from the tables and they darted upstairs to their rooms to put their things away for dinner. Of course Katniss didn't run off like the rest of them to wash up. She stuck around in her room and did a few flips. The first was fine, but as she rounded out the third her foot smacked into the lamp next to her bed, causing it to smash into the ground.
Downstairs, Mrs. Everdeen paused in her task and then sighed before going back to it. "That girl... I swear, she'll be the death of me." Louder she called up the stairs. "Gale. Check on your sister. Make sure she's okay." Just because she wasn't /supposed/ to know about Katniss's antics didn't mean that she didn't. She had been looking into options for getting her some real training for a while now. But the money just wasn't there. As it was, nearly half of the family's "spending money" went towards Gale's tuition at the gym. And then there was soccer for Rory and baseball for Vick as well as cheerleading for both the other girls.
Gale sighed and walked across the hall, opening the door to Katniss's room. "You okay?" he asked, stopping to pick up the lamp and right it on the table.
Katniss was on the ground, her legs curled up beneath her. She pushed herself up quickly when Gale came in and nodded. "I'm okay." she said agreeably. "It's not broke is it?" she asked, peering at the lap. Mom would tan her hide if she broke another lamp. Katniss just couldn't help herself though.
"Nah. It's sturdy. That's why it's in your room." He smirked and sat on her bed. "You gotta be more careful though." He sighed and shook his head. "Get cleaned up for dinner. I'm gonna go see if mom needs any help with dinner."
Her nose crinkled slightly at him, only to look down at the floor at his gentle chastisment. Sighing, she nodded. "I know... okay..." She waited for him to leave before practically running through the halls, down to the bathroom to wash her hands. Of course there was a line to wait through -- she was the last of the kids and there was only one bathroom. She squirmed and wriggled as she waited but finally it was her turn to go. When she was done, she trotted back downstairs to try and help too.
The table was mostly set by the time she got down but there was still glasses to get for the drinks so that was assigned to her. After that was done they all sat down to a humble meal of chicken nuggets and tater tots. It wasn't much. But it was food. And most of the kids liked it enough anyways that it didn't matter.
Dinner was loud and roudy like always but never overly so. Their mom made sure of that. When it was all said and done the kids helped clean up before they had free time before bed. Of course that meant Katniss went right back to her tumbling. On the first floor there was a long hall that lead off of the living room and kitchen. It was good for about two or three tricks but Katniss liked to push it, going for the forth only to end up crashing into the wall at the end.
Gale sighed and looked up at his mom. She looked too weary to even bother correcting Katniss. He felt sorry for the woman. He was probably one of the only ones old enough to really understand how hard this was on her. Getting to his feet he walked over to Katniss and brushed her off. "Why don't you try to calm down. Go watch tv or something, okay?" he asked gently.
Katniss looked up at him, her eyes wide and innocent. Standing up, her lips tugged down in a faint pout. "I don't want to watch TV." she muttered, not quite petulant but almost. She just wasn't interested -- Katniss had a one track mind.
"Well then go in the backyard and do that stuff, okay Kat? Please." He glanced over at mom, hoping the girl wouldn't make him spell it out.
Katniss caught his gaze and she looked from their mom back to Gale. "Can I?" She asked, they usually weren't allowed outside after dinner, which was why she did it in the hall.
"Take someone with you and go on." their mom called out suddenly. She'd heard it all, of course.
"I'll go with her," Gale volunteered.
"No, Gale. You have more homework to finish before you go to bed. Get to it. Vick can go out with her."
"But mom~ What about baseball..." He pouted faintly.
"Vick. Go with your sister." She said more firmly.
Katniss had the decency to look shamed as Vick climbed to his feet and shot his little sister a dirty look.
"Come on." he grumbled, leading her out back.
Gale sighed and walked back to the table to grab his homework, settling in.
"Why do you have to be so weird. Most kids love watching tv."
"Everyone is different, Gale. God made us all have our own things we like. Kat just happens to... like her tumbling." Mrs. Everdeen sighed and rubbed a hand over her face tiredly.
"I don't know." Katniss said with a pout. She scuffed her shoes as they headed out together, lips pursed slightly. "I just... don't really like it." she shrugged and once they made it outside she sat down heavily on the steps. "We can go back in..." she said softly.
Vick rolled his eyes. "Well I'm already out here, so you might as well do your flips." He huffed and sat down on the porch, pouting slightly.
Katniss looked back at Vick before hoping up. She grabbed his hand and tugged. "Do it with me!" she cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Vick made a face but stood, more to prevent her taking his arm off. "Do what?" he asked, looking back at the house. "I don't want to get in trouble, Kat."
"Momma knows we're out here doing flips. Why'd we get in trouble?" she asked him, perplexed. "Come onnnn."
"Ugh... Fine. What do you want me to do?" He brushed his hands off against his legs and sighed.
"Lets do um... like... horse! Except with flips. So um, you do a flip then I'll copy." she nodded, quite proud of her idea.
Vick made a face. "I don't know if this is such a good idea... I don't know as many flips as you."
"So? I'm not as good at basketball and I still play with you guys. Come onnnnn Vick. Pleaseeee?"
"Fine." Vick muttered, making another face before doing a simple but clumsy cartwheel. "There."
"That's easy." Katniss said as she easily mimicked him. "Okay how about this!" The normal cart wheel turned into a one handed one -- her most recent triump. "Now you try it!"
Vick watched her and then glanced at the house before taking a breath. "Can't we just go back inside....?" he asked. At Katniss's insistence he sighed and backed up before running into the cartwheel. He got up on one hand, but mid-movement he lost his balance. His other arm came out to catch himself, but he came down wrong all the same. There was a loud snap in his wrist before it gave under his weight and he rolled to the ground. He didn't know when he started screaming, but he found himself curled around himself in the fetal position, cradling his arm.
"Vick!" Katniss shouted as he fell. She rushed forward, eyes wide. Dropping to her knees her hands gently clutched at his shoulder. When he didn't respond to her, she jumped up and tore inside. "Mommmm!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks as guilt and fright ate at her.
Their mother was already on her way outside, having heard the screams. Gale was right on her heels. When they got outside the woman went to Vick while Gale grabbed Katniss and pulled her in close. Kneeling down, he grabbed her and made her face him. "Kat. What happened? Look at me and tell me what happened."
Tears fell hard and fast down her cheeks and Gale wasn't helping any. "I'm sorry!" She blubbered, tiny hands coming up to rub at her eyes. "We were doing flips and I made him do one and he fellllll." she moaned miserably.
Gale glanced over to his mother where she was directing Rory, the second oldest, to get the phone and call 911. Shaking his head, Gale wrapped his arms around Katniss. "It's okay. He's gonna be alright. He probably just broke something. The doctors will patch him up and he'll be fine." He said, just trying to calm her.
She sniffled and burried her face against Gale's chest. Tiny shivers racked through her body till she finally managed to calm down till her tears finally stopped. Pulling away just a bit, she coughed and brought a hand up to scrub at her face.
Gale stroked her hair and then sat her down on the back porch steps. "You stay here alright. I'll be right back." Once she nodded he jogged over to his mother to check on Vick. The ambulance was on its way already.
"You stay here with the rest of the kids. Make sure they get in bed. I doubt they'll sleep... But..." The woman trailed off. She was already exhausted and now she had to go to the ER. "I'll call when I can, alright?"
Gale nodded and gave her a hug before gathering up the rest of the kids who had gathered and shooing them into the house. When he got to Katniss he pulled her up by her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her, walking her in.
Katniss knew there was no point in asking to go with them but she couldn't help but look over her shoulder -- watching Vick as Gale ushered her inside. Almost as soon as the door shut the water works started up again. Her lips trembled and fat, silent tears started to fall down her cheeks.
Gale sighed and dismissed the other kids to go and watch tv while he took Katniss into the kitchen and sat her down. "Hey... Calm down..." He hummed.
Sniffling, Katniss looked up at Gale with big, watery eyes. "It's my fault though." she whined.
"It's not your fault," Gale said. "If he really hadn't wanted to he could have come inside. Everything is a choice, Kat." He wrapped an arm around her.
"But I pushed him to do it. I said he had to because I played with you guys." Turning, she burrowed into his side, whimpering sharply.
Gale bit his lip and wrapped his arms right around her. "Hey. You didn't know. It's not your fault. Okay? Let's go inside and get all the other kids into bed, okay?"
Sniffling, she nodded mutely. "Kay..." she mumbled. Getting up, she shuffled after him, head tucked against his side as they went to go usher all the kids off to sleep.
When all the other kids were in their rooms at the very least, he took her into his room and sat on the bed, pulling her into his lap. "You want to talk about it some more?" he asked. Or do you just want to sit here?"
Katniss instantly curled up in his lap, her head tucking down against Gale's chest. Out of all her siblings, Gale was her favorite -- he was her best friend. "Can I stay with you tonight?" she mumbled.
Gale nodded, stoking her hair. "Of course, Kat." He hummed softly and leaned back against his wall, pulling her in close.
Katniss didn't think she'd get much sleep that night but at least she was there with Gale. Nestling in against her brother, her eyes slowly drifted shut and before she knew it, exhaustion took over and she was passed out like a light.
After she had fallen asleep, Gale laid her down in his bed, tucking her in and kissing her forehead before moving to his desk and clicking on his light to continue working on his homework. Eventually he fell asleep too, face down on his pre-algebra textbook.
A couple hours later Mrs. Everdeen came home with Vick, tucking him in before coming to check on Gale and Katniss.
The next morning, Katniss woke up to the sun shining bright in the room. Blinking awake, she rubbed at her eyes and pushed herself up to sit. It was a Saturday morning which meant the kids got to sleep in which was probably why she was alone in Gale's bed. The memories of last night suddenly rushed to her and she jumped up, rushing downstairs.
Gale was already downstairs in the kitchen, laughing with Vick over the events of the previous night. The younger boy had gotten home late last night but couldn't manage to sleep in this morning. When Katniss came down both the boys looked over, their laughter fading but their smiles not. "Hey Kat," Vick greeted. "Don't feel bad about what happened, please."
The little girl's lips stretched down in a deep, sad frown and she continued to stand there for just a second. Fingers balling into fists, she darted forward and threw her arms around Vick's neck and squeezed tight. "I'm so sorry." she whined. With wide eyes, she pulled back to look at the white, hardened plaster over his arm yet. It wasn't a cast right now but it would be soon. "Does it hurt? Are you okay?" she demanded, looking back up at him.
