Do you know what today is? It's Akachankami's birthday! So everyone go and wish her a happy birthday! She asked for fluffy OTP, so she gets (hopefully) fluffy OTP.

A Warm Summer Night

The summer night was warm enough that doors and windows had to be left open in hope of letting in a draft of cool air. Haymitch wandered to the porch, leaving behind the soft familiar noises of the dishes being put away, and sat on the swing seat. There used to be an old bench there but it had been thrown away years earlier to make room for the swing seat. He had grumbled about unnecessary expenses at the time but he had secretly reconciled with the idea as he had got older. He had certainly never expected to reach seventy but with age he had come to appreciate the idea of comfort. The bench had been hard and rusty and he couldn't remember a night they hadn't sat out there to watch the stars since the end of the war.

When Effie joined him, he reached for the glass of iced tea without having to look. It was their ritual, the same thing as the day before and the same thing as the next day. If anyone had ever told him he would be glad for a routine, he would have called them mad. That was before though.

She rested her head against his shoulder and linked her arm with his. A decade or so earlier, she would have lied down and placed her head on his lap even though there was never enough room for her legs and she always ended up bent at awkward angles.

"It was a perfect day, wasn't it?" she sighed with contentment.

"Yeah, it was." he agreed before letting out a snort. "My favorite part was the moment Willow dropped the cake on your dress. You face, sweetheart? Priceless."

"I should know better than expect some compassion from you, you horrid man." she muttered.

It was lucky for the child Effie was wrapped around her little finger. If it had been anyone else, she would have had their head on a plate for staining her dress. Some things would never change and that was just as well.

They watched the sky for a while, sipping their iced tea in silence. He wondered how their life could have turned out so well sometimes. When he thought back to the Games – something he did very rarely nowadays – it seemed unfair to him that out of anyone, the two of them had survived. It was easier to forget now. Twenty years had passed, two decades of peace, the kids had had kids of their own to keep Haymitch and Effie on their toes… He sometimes felt as if the Games belonged to another lifetime entirely. The wounds might never completely disappear but he had learned to live with the scars.

When he turned his head, Effie's lips were already there, waiting. Katniss and Peeta always made fun of them for what they had dubbed "their ridiculous public demonstrations of affection" – or, in Katniss' case : "their disgusting public snogging" – and it had started as a joke really, something Haymitch did to make the kids uncomfortable, but then the joke had turned on him because it had become natural. They never had that in their youth : the opportunity to be together in public, to show the world they belonged to each other. He cherished the fact they didn't have to hide, it had taken him long enough to accept she wouldn't be in immediate danger if he admitted he had feelings for her.

"Did I tell you you're beautiful today?" he smirked against her lips.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." she retorted with a grin of her own.

"With you, flattery always gets me everywhere." he chuckled, pecking her mouth one last time before dropping a kiss on her neck. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pushed on his feet so the swing seat would rock gently.

"I love you." she whispered, burrowing into his side and nestling her head under his chin. She told him every day. It was something she had learned during the war : you never knew what could happen so you had to make sure not to leave anything unsaid. I love you was one of the first things she had told him when she had woken up after being rescued – right before shouting abuse at him for leaving her behind in the first place.

"'Wonder why." he scoffed. It was his daily answer because no matter how much time had passed since his Games, those words still tended to remain stuck in his throat. He had managed a few times but not as often as she deserved. She knew though and he supposed that was the important thing.

"I have no idea. It baffles me." she deadpanned.

"Cheeky." he commented, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. "How are you still so cheeky, sweetheart?"

"Isn't that why you love me?" she laughed.

"'Might be." he shrugged.

"It might also be because I'm the only one willing to put up with you." she hummed.

"Yeah, there's also that." he chuckled. "I don't have too many prospects."

She laughed again, whacking his arm playfully. "You are horrid."

"So you keep saying but I don't see you leaving." he pointed out.

She relaxed even more against his chest and he held her tighter.

"I will never leave. You are my home." she murmured.

"Good thing you're mine then, Princess." he murmured back.