Sunday was the one day the Kitten's House was consistently closed.

Though this was not done as any sort of religious observation, the Lord's Day was often a day of rest for the occupants of the apartment above the shop. Most missions took place on Fridays and Saturdays, leaving the team exhausted come Sunday. This was the day they most often ordered take-out for dinner; the day they could most often be found lounging in the living room and relaxing.

Michel liked these days, because he didn't have to worry or think about anything. He usually did his homework on Friday afternoons, so that left the rest of the weekend open for drawing with his pastels, digging around in his cache of multicolored beads and creating intricate designs, or playing with Hope, who followed him around the apartment like a shadow. Sometimes, he ventured out on the weekend, visiting various haunts -a local bookstore, the coffee shop around the corner, the park- always dragging Free along with him to explore.

One Sunday afternoon in early December found the little blond putting up Christmas decorations with Ken and Kurumi. Ken loved holidays; they brought out almost a childlike glee in him. Aya had rolled his eyes when Ken had started pestering him about a tree a month before Christmas, but he'd given in after a week of "Please Aya-s" and the tree had been erected that morning.

Ken, wanting Kurumi involved more in the "family's" goings on, had enlisted the girl to aid in the decorating. She had been a little reluctant at first -she hadn't been there long and was still not sure of her place in the household- but seemed to be enjoying herself. Once she got over the initial shyness, she had fit right in with the rest of them, balancing out some of the moodiness and depression with her optimism and cheer.

Michel had volunteered to help, solely because he loved Christmas. He loved everything about it; it was by far his favorite holiday. Every one was a little bit nicer and a little more thoughtful, after all, and the air just hummed with good vibrations. Though October's unpleasantness was still recent in the back of his mind, he couldn't help feeling rather jubilant. He couldn't help believing in the magic still.

"Oi, chibi, hand me that string of lights." Ken had spent the better half of an hour attempting to get the star straight on the top of the tree. His next task was to get up the lights he'd asked Michel to untangle, so they could get all the ornaments onto the tree.

"Aye!" Michel scrabbled to grab the lights, passing them to Ken. He was eager to get the ornaments on the tree; most of them held sentimental value for him and he loved seeing them up every year.

Kurumi was seated on the floor, untangling hooks and the strings on some of the ornaments. This was a self-appointed task, but one which needed to be completed nonetheless, and she was enjoying herself immensely. Some of the ornaments were so pretty and she knew there must have been a story behind each and every one of them. Bent over the tin of ornaments, her hair kept from falling in her eyes only by a few bobby pins, the young woman pulled out each ornament gently, asking for stories and explanations each time a particular one caught her fancy.

Free was watching; half-listening as Michel launched into the tale of another decoration's origin. The man was seated in his favorite armchair, long legs stretched out in front of him as he read through a book he'd begun prior to all of the recent badness in their lives. He was only semi-conscious of what he was reading, however, as he was watching Michel over the top of the book.

He was proud of his small friend. Even with everything Michel had been through, he had bounced back incredibly. His grades had picked up, he was smiling more and he seemed to be making some progress with his weekly therapy sessions. Free was a little worried that Michel didn't ever speak of what had happened to him, but he supposed the teen just needed time to come to terms with it still, and would open up about it when he was ready.

Free didn't push the blond into talking; it wasn't his style. Michel wasn't to be prompted anyway; he was to be loved and treated with respect, not with the kind of disdain other, more immature teenagers were given. It was no secret that Free revered Michel and held him above all things. In the quiet man's eyes, the Irish boy was everything perfect; the epitome of innocence and heart. All the fine things in the world, anything not smudged…All things that could never wither but can break oh so easily, that's what he was.

He started suddenly, snapped back to the real world by the prick of harmless claws digging into his leg. Hope was climbing towards him and he watched her struggle for a moment before stretching one large hand to scoop her up. She mewled at him, disgruntled, as he plopped her in his lap, butting her head against his hand in search of further acknowledgement.

He set aside the book in favor of petting her and continuing his observation of the decorating. The ornaments were being ceremoniously hung on the tree now, and Free smiled to himself as Michel bickered with Ken about the placement of his treasured ornaments. Some of the life and the spunk had come back into the boy, which pleased every one, and Free was content just watching his small friend, glad that things were back to relative normalcy.

Once everything was completed and acceptable by Michel's standards, he dragged Kurumi out of the room to find every one else so they could show off their hard work. Ken set about packing away the newsprint and tissue paper the decorations had been wrapped in, carted the boxes from the room, then returned to admire their handiwork.

"It looks…nice."

Ken looked over his shoulder at the sound of Free's voice. He had nearly forgotten that the other man was there; Free was just so quiet. "Yeah." The brunet agreed, "It came out pretty awesome. We picked a good tree." He grinned at Free, who blinked beetle-black eyes at him, then sauntered over to the couch, where he flopped down unceremoniously. "Kurumi and Michel had fun."

"Ja." Free was still scratching Hope gently under the chin, dark gaze trailed on Ken. The kitten rubbed against his hand, purring, then moved away and daintily licked a paw to wash her face. He continued to watch Ken, knowing there was still something the other man wanted to say.

"Michel…He seems better now. Happier." Ken brushed his hair from his eyes, looking up at Free from where he was sprawled. "It's almost like he's back to normal. He's a tough kid."

"Ja; he is." Free nodded as Michel came barreling back into the room, Kurumi on his heals. Yuki, Chloé and Aya followed at a more sedate pace, Chloé looking amused, while the other two had expressions on their faces which said the tree could have waited until later.

Free's gaze turned back to Michel as he and Kurumi began chattering excitedly about the tree to the newcomers. Michel was doing so much better now. Ken was right; he was strong. As much at they had tried to beat him down, he had stood tall and refused to be shattered. Though he had come out a little torn, the tears would mend with time, knitting themselves back together at the seams.

"You did well." Chloé was saying as he admired the tree, smiling to himself over some of the ornaments he recognized as significant for various reasons.

Yes, Free thought, still watching Michel intently, eyes soft, you did very well.

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AN: I hope every one enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for taking the time to read it! Look for more works following this sometime in the fall.