Welcome to Day 25 of my Hayffie Christmas countdown! As always, feedback is much appreciated!

Well, here we are! The final chapter! When I first started this fic, I didn't think I'd make it past the four chapters I already had queued by December 1st. But now, as we reach the final chapter, I couldn't feel prouder of myself. Writing is something I used to truly adore and still do, but lost all motivation for it around 3 years ago. Since I left uni and had free time on my hands outside of my job, I slowly brought myself back into writing, whether it be a chapter of a fic, a headcanon or a oneshot. And I'm so truly happy that my motivation is coming back. It's not fully back, but this fic has truly increased it and I can promise you'll here more from this AU in the future (coming very soon). I also have a Westworld-inspired AU lined up, along with another chapter of The Rose and The Thorn coming in the next few weeks.

And my motivation is thanks to each and every one of you who read and commented on this fic. You all truly helped me write this and I can never thank you all enough.

Enjoy, and have a truly wonderful Christmas/whatever you celebrate!

December 25th

Because they were both adults, Haymitch hadn't expected to be woken by an overly-excited Effie as six am the following morning.

"We have to get up!" She squealed, leaping out of bed and pulling one of Haymitch's shirts on over her bare body.

"Presents ain't gonna go anywhere, Effie," he grunted, rolling back over and burying himself under the blankets.

He could practically hear her pouting.

"You're an idiot," she huffed, climbing back into bed and staring at him, in apparent hope that it would make him uncomfortable.

But it was to no avail. Within minutes, Haymitch was snoring again.

xXx

He was woken again two hours later by a pair of soft lips on his, and he opened his eyes to find Effie nose-to-nose with him.

"You been awake this whole time?" He grumbled, absentmindedly brushing her hair out of her face.

"Mhmm," she nodded. "I couldn't sleep."

"You're a damn child, you know that?" He murmured, but knew he couldn't put the inevitable off for any longer and sat up. "C'mon, then."

He was surprised to find that Effie had made breakfast and had set it out on the coffee table in the lounge, which would allow them to sit on the couch to eat it.

"I would normally insist on eating at a proper table," Effie said. "But you're like a giant bear and I enjoy snuggling you too much to not sit beside you on the couch."

"Ain't got an issue with that," he smirked, grabbing one of the plates and slumping on the couch as he started to eat. "You made all this?"

"Yes," she nodded, nestling into his side. "I…didn't learn to cook until I moved to New York. We always had a caterer on hand at home for our meals so…"

"Wait…what?"

"It's…common where I lived…"

"Shit, Effs, you tellin' me I'm datin' a damn princess or somethin'?"

"Only by your nickname," she teased, which instantly sent his thoughts to the crown charm he'd bought for her. "It's an honour to be your princess."

"Ain't had anyone like you before, Effie," he shrugged, kissing her back when she practically pounced on him.

"You're such an old romantic," she giggled, going back to eating. "And I have no complaints about that."

xXx

Effie took the role of handing out the presents and by the time she was done, the size of the pile in her name paled in comparison to the ones she'd given to him.

"You're damn crazy," he smirked. "I told you not to bother."

"And I elected to ignore your instruction," she fired back with a smile. "Now…which should I open first?"

Haymitch stretched out an arm and pointed to the flat box in the middle, which contained the lingerie and the nightdress. He watched as she opened it, smirking as he saw the blush creeping over her cheeks.

"Would you like me to wear this tonight, hm?" She giggled.

"If you insist," he grinned.

"Perhaps I do insist," she smirked. "Although I'm interested to know…how on earth did you know my bra size?"

"I uh…" he paused a moment before holding up his hands, waiting for the penny to drop.

"Oh…oh, you horrid man!" She squeaked, throwing the panties at him that she had in his hand. "That's your point of reference, hm?"

"Well, yeah…" he smirked, throwing the panties back to her. "If they fit then my theory worked."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but moved on to the next gift. She squealed when she opened up the shoes, diving at him and kissing him hard. He was surprised when he saw she was crying.

"Fuckin' hell," he smirked, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. "It's a pair of shoes."

"You don't understand…" she squeaked. "They're perfect…oh Haymitch…"

He smirked more and decided to distract her by opening his own gifts. He wanted the bracelet to be his final surprise, anyway.

After ten minutes, he'd unwrapped all of his gifts, truly grateful for the aftershaves, shirts, ties and new watch she'd gotten for him.

"Thanks, Effs…" he murmured, sliding a hand to the nape of her neck and drawing her into a sweet kiss.

When she reached for the bag containing her final gift, he gently grabbed her wrist. He didn't know why, but he wanted her to wait.

"After lunch or somethin'…" he mumbled, kissing away her pout.

xXx

Cooking was a stressful affair, mainly because of the amount of bickering over who was to do what. It reminded Haymitch very much of their day spent decorating his apartment.

"Haymitch, you've got the oven on the wrong temperature!" Effie squeaked, quickly turning the dial up. "Goodness, at this rate, we wont be eating the food until New Year!"

But thankfully, they pulled together and were sat at the table three hours later. Haymitch kept thinking back to how strange it was that they'd fallen so hard for one another in such a short space of time and how domestic they were already becoming. In fact, he could almost say-

"I think I love you, Haymitch," Effie said all of a sudden, prompting Haymitch to almost choke on the piece of carrot he was chewing.

"Come again?!"

"You heard me," she murmured, blushing. "I know it hasn't been a great deal of time but…well, I can't find another label to put on my feelings so…"

"That's uh…hm," was all he could respond with, trying not to look at the hurt in her eyes. He felt it too, but those words were difficult for him. Maybe his final gift would let her know exactly how he felt.

After they;d finished eating and washed up, he took her hand and lead her back into the living room, letting her sit down before he retrieved the bag from under the tree and handed it to her.

As she opened up the bracelet, he sat and explained each charm one by one, watching the smile slowly return to her face. It warmed his heart to see her so truly happy.

After he'd clasped the bracelet around her wrist, he reached into the bag and handed her a note, letting her read it before he drew her into a tender kiss.

'To my Queen of New York City,

Happy Christmas. Can't believe we're spending it together.

Here's to many more.

H x'

THE END