Deck the halls (A Hayffie Xmas story)

One year later (3)

The end of the week goes as expected.

It's the last week before Christmas, the last rush, and the town is buzzing with people shopping, carolers and children running around.

They barely see each other during the day, Haymitch is busy with the diner and the girls, and Effie and Portia are overwhelmed by orders. Even when she comes back at night, she brings some sewing work to finish.

When he wakes up on Sunday morning, he expects to find her beside him.

But he only finds cold sheets. He opens his eyes to see that it's still dark outside. It's barely five am. She can't have gone to work so early on a Sunday... Can she?

But then he hears the flush in the bathroom, and she reappears a minute later.

"Everything's okay sweetheart?" he asks sleepily.

"Oh, yes. I just got thirsty and needed the bathroom. Sorry I woke you." she answers, getting back in the bed.

If she had only needed the bathroom, the sheets wouldn't have had time to get cold and her eyes wouldn't be red and puffy. And whatever she had drank had a lemony taste he learns by pecking her lips once she's safely back in his arms. But he doesn't insist, his brain isn't awake enough.

He just snuggles against her, holding her close and safe, and falls back to slumber.

They sleep a few more hours, until the girls shattering entrance.

He needs to pee first thing, and when he comes in the kitchen Effie is already bustling with the breakfast. Yogurts, eggs and bacon, pancakes, orange juice... So much for a woman on a diet.

Again, later in the afternoon after coming back from Sae's, he goes to his secret meeting with Portia and Cinna in the house.

Effie isn't pleased to see him leave again, he can see it. She has that sad, yearning thing in her eyes.

But today isn't any day, it's Christmas decorating. Something he hasn't done without help for years. Until last years he hadn't done it at all since his teenage years to be honest.

He had bought some things and they had bought others. They have five bags full of decoration to literally deck the halls today. It's going to be a lot of work.

They begin with putting some ivy and pine branches garlands around the arch doors and the windows frames, before adding some ornaments in them. Mostly balls of different sizes and some fake edelweiss and poinsettia flowers Portia had found.

They had chosen white and gold as a color theme.

Then it's time to decorate the tree. They spray fake snow on it first, then put a thin LED garland Haymitch had accepted, at the condition that it was turned off when nobody was in the room. After that they moved to the other garlands and ornament of all shapes and sorts until they could barely distinguish the tree under them.

He has to climb on a table for the last touch.

A star made of real mother of pearl. One of the few things he had salvaged from the ruins of his house.

How it had survived, it was a mystery. But he had decided that it was a sign. The star is his mother and his brother watching him. Them. Protecting his family.

Last touch, not exactly.

When he climbs down and turns around, he finds Portia handing him a paper bag with a grin.

He takes the little box inside and goes back to the tree to dissimulate it in the ornaments. He settle it slightly in the back, facing the side of the fireplace, between a glass angel and a lace heart. The chances that she would notice it there are more than slim.