Chapter Text
"Goodness me." Audrey stood in the living room and stared at the gigantic fir tree. Her gasp was not as subtle as it usually was when she felt steamrolled by something he did, and as a result Siegfried felt how his heart sank. If he hated anything it was disappointing her.
With a miserable feeling in his tummy, Siegfried pushed a branch out of his face. The tree, destined to be their Christmas tree was green and majestic, a real beauty. The boughs looked smooth, yet strong and were rich in colour. The soft scent of fir lay in the air and tickled in his nostrils. The only problematic thing about it was the size. It was too tall. The top of it was crooked under the ceiling and the whole thing threatened to keel over. The branches at the bottom were expanding and so sturdy that Tristan and Siegfried could barely hold it up.
Siegfried's hat had already dropped to the floor and Audrey picked it up, gently removing the fir needles he had collected during the acquisition and transport of the monstrous tree.
"You've got to move to the right!" Tristan groaned as pearls of sweat formed on his forehead.
"I can't," Siegfried replied sourly. "To the other side!"
"I wasn't the one who bought this monster!"
"But you said you like it!"
"I said it looks nice. Quite a difference!"
With her inherent patience, Audrey watched the brothers as they bickered back and forth. She didn't dare to imagine how the tree had fit in the backseat of the Rover. Jess and Dash had joined them and both sniffed curiously around the men's legs and Audrey noticed that Dash seemed a little too interested in the lower branches and feared he could lift his leg.
She called him over and shooed both dogs away so the men wouldn't trip over them. With her arms crossed over her chest she watched the brothers who couldn't decide where or how to move the tree.
"May I suggest you just put it down," she said, sounding more bored than annoyed.
It was the moment Siegfried let go of his side of the tree. Following suit, Tristan jumped aside and the decorative asset dropped to the floor, only missing one of the smaller side table by an inch.
"Right-o."
Audrey glared at Siegfried. "That wasn't exactly what I suggested."
"Do you have any idea how heavy that bloody thing is?" He defended himself.
"Well, brother, you're on your own now," Tristan declared as he unbuttoned his coat. "I promised Charlotte to meet her for tea."
"Traitor! Is that how your treat your own flesh and blood?!" Siegfried snarled as Tristan took a hike.
"Here's what we'll do…" Audrey said calmly once Tristan had vanished through the front door. "We'll take it out and cut off something from the stem."
"With "we" I suppose you mean "me"," Siegfried wondered as he looked at the mess he had made of the living room. There were fir needles everywhere and his hands were sticky with resin.
"You suppose right."
"Will you help me to…"
"No."
"Didn't think so…"
With a heartfelt sigh Siegfried looked down to the tree that was lying to his feet. He wasn't sure why he had bought the biggest tree on the bloody Christmas tree farm. Maybe because Mrs Hall's words asking for the most beautiful tree for this year's holiday had still echoed in his ears while he had been looking at the trees. As always he had wanted to please her - and in this case he had hopelessly overdone it. How could he not know how high his own ceiling was?
He saw Jess and Dash obediently sitting in the doorway. Both watched him and wiggled their tails.
"You could help, you know!" He scolded them and then he bent down to pick up the stem. He had a task to finish.
~~~~~A&S~~~~~
Armed with a hatchet Siegfried did his best to shorten the tree so that he would fit into the living room. He had somehow managed to drag the thing outside and now it was lying in the middle of the backyard. The ground was covered with a mild dusting of snow. The blue sky above him was slowly turning orange though and he told himself to hurry before wintery darkness claimed the Dales. Since there were too many branches at the bottom of the tree he had to cut them off off first before he could securely chop off the stem.
Right before he wanted to use the hatchet to cut away a good length of the tree, he looked up and spotted Audrey who was headed towards him. She had wrapped herself in a new thick woollen shawl that she had knitted for herself some weeks ago. It was emerald green and Siegfried loved everything about this new accessory on her, mostly because it he had watched her knitting it while sitting next to her in the evening.
Her hands were wrapped around a mug and in the cold air he saw the steam drifting into the cold air.
"I brought you a little something," she said when she reached him and he gratefully disposed of the hatchet and took off his gloves. He needed to wrap his hands around the hot cup and feel how the warmth penetrated his skin.
"You're an angel sent from heaven," he said and furrowed his brows when he raised the cup to his mouth. "Did you add some of the good stuff?"
"Only a dash," she replied with a smirk. "I don't want you to chop off your feet or worse."
"Very thoughtful of you. As always!" He took a sip and indulged in the rich taste of the Yorkshire tea that mixed with whisky.
Meanwhile Audrey took a look at the tree and silently approved of the length he planned to cut off. "I'll help you to bring it in. And tonight we can dress it together."
"That sounds like a party," Siegfried beamed and gulped down more of his tea. Her invitation was enough of a motivation to get a move on. So he returned the cup and rubbed his hands that felt now sufficiently warm.
"You'll have your tree ready in now time!" He announced. With the gloves back in place and the small axe firmly in both hands, he shifted his weight to his heels while Audrey watched him.
"Just one moment," she interrupted him.
Confused Siegfried paused and lowered the hatchet. "What is it?"
"I want to thank you," she said, leading the cup to her lips. Before she continued she took a sip and closed her eyes. "I know you bought that big thing for me, because I asked for it."
He hadn't expected that and felt how the heat rushed into his cheeks. "Well…."
"You were only doing it for me and that has to be the kindest thing you've done for me…well, not the kindest of all, but you know what I mean. You make me feel like I'm not too much. Not ever. With Robert it were…he never cared what I wanted for Christmas."
Flabbergasted he stared at her, unsure how to react. By now his cheeks felt as if someone had set his beard on fire and he cleared his throat. "You're never too much. Not once. You'll never be. If anyone is too thick too handle it's me - as we both know and as I will deny if you ever mention it to anyone else."
Over the roof of the barn the sky was slowly turning dark blue and the wind was freshening up again.
"Let's get this over with, so we can dress it."
"Not yet," she said and it took her two steps to close the distance between them. Her lips were warm and soft when they met his mouth in a long, but almost chaste and tender kiss. There was the hint of whisky on her lips and when he felt the tip of her tongue, he wanted to die on the spot. With the cup pressed between them, Siegfried was ready to faint and didn't dare to move until she pulled back a little.
"You aren't too thick, Siegfried Farnon. You're just right for me."
"Next year you can ask me to build you a new house so the largest tree in the whole of Yorkshire will fit into it," he replied, still trying to understand what had just transpired between them.
She chuckled happily and stroked his hot cheek. "There's no need for a new house or a bigger tree. I've got everything I want. Truly, everything."
Elated and full of hope Siegfried drew a deep breath and watched Audrey as she returned to the backdoor. Once again he lifted the hatched and managed to chop off the stem with the first try.