Prompt : Would it possible for you to write about one night post MJ where Haymitch and Effie both surprisingly get a very good night of sleep without any nightmares or panic attacks and where they realize that things do get better? Thank you. 😘

A Good Night Of Sleep

Effie woke up to the now familiar background noise of the geese honking. Light was tricking by the window and she buried her face in the warm flesh next to her with a displeased groan at the brightness. She was usually up early enough to see the sun come up, it was rare for her to wake up to a bight room.

The muscles under her forehead shifted and she listened as Haymitch let out a groan of his own. He stretched lazily and then rolled on his stomach to hide his own face in his pillow. It left her without anything to cuddle and she scooted closer to his body, irritated to have to move. She curled up against him again, only happy once she had forced his arm around her. It was an awkward angle for him and he let out a few sleepy chuckles.

"I'm getting you a teddy bear." he mocked, his voice rough from sleep.

The sound sent a thrill through her not quite-awake body. She loved his voice first thing in the morning. It was always raspy in all the right ways.

"I already have one." she retorted without missing a beat, wrapping herself over his back. "What time is it?"

She didn't want to open her eyes to check and he was closer to the clock anyway. He let out a small sigh and then rolled on his side to face her, dislodging her from her very comfortable perch. She didn't complain because he immediately gathered her closer to his chest and this time there were no awkward angles to the embrace.

"Slept well?" he mumbled against her hair.

"Yes." she hummed, unable to hide the touch of surprise. She hadn't waken up that night. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she hadn't woken up at least once during the night. "How about you?"

"Like a baby." he snorted. "Might explain why it's fucking noon."

"What?" she asked, finally opening her eyes. She propped herself up on his shoulder to glance behind him at the clock on the nightstand and, surely enough, they had slept the morning away. She stared at the numbers with wide eyes. "I cannot believe we didn't wake up. The children must wonder where we are…"

She was always up at odd hours. Peeta often swung by before going to the bakery and they shared a cup of coffee and light conversation. Katniss usually checked in a little later before going hunting.

His laughter was a low rumble against her neck as he lifted himself up on his own elbow to brush his mouth against her skin. "Guess they thought we were busy…"

She blushed and settled back down, letting him nudge her on her back and hover over her. She wasn't quite used to the children knowing about them yet. They had maintained the pretence of separate bedrooms for a while but when it had become obvious that her stay would be permanent, they had slipped in a domesticity that had left no doubt as to the nature of their relationship. Katniss was the one who had caught up last, she suspected Peeta had been aware for a while at that point.

"I don't know what would be more embarrassing…" she sighed. "Being so lazy as not to wake up in the morning or them thinking we were having crazy kinky sex…"

"Never said anything about crazy or kinky but if that's how you wanna play it…" he smirked, his hand already running under her nightgown.

She couldn't help herself. She laughed.

And it felt good.

For the first time in months she felt rested. More than that, she felt hangovered on sleep, something that hadn't happened in a very long time.

Maybe things did get better, after all.