Deep within the corners of her mind she can feel someone's arms wrap around her, pulling her close, but the only thing she can seem to think about is the glossy eyes of the floating tributes in the water that tried so vigorously to drown her. All she can think about is the blood spewing from Percy's neck, and the screams of the small girl from 6 who she took the life of. Her hands find her ears and she squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her, trying, without success, to forget all of the painful memories.
"Annie!" She hears the voice of young man. It's familiar.
"ANNIE!" They shake her lightly, trying to get her to respond without luck.
She sinks to ground, hands never leaving her ears, but when she opens her eyes she sees the sea, or what closely resembles them and for once, all that water doesn't scare her. Everything else that happens is a blur. She gets sedated, moved to a room, still in the strong arms of whoever this man is, she can't seem to remember, but she finds an odd comfort in his hold. A comfort she hasn't gotten since she stepped foot in that train. They bring her to a room with three strange-looking people, like the ones that got her ready before her interview, and she starts to panic, but the strong arms never leave and that voice is back, whispering soothing words of District 4 into her ear.
Her interview and victory tour is a blur, as she is so drug addled that she is surprised she gets through them. The strong arms aren't there when she is speaking, the voice said that they wouldn't let them on stage with her, but they quickly nestle her in their grasp once she steps foot off the stage. She looks up and sees the sea again, right before the drugs take full effect and she slips into slumber. For a while that's all she knows. Strong arms, the calming voice, and the sea.
Back in 4, in her big, lonely new house, the doctor talks with her on the phone everyday. Mags is there and so are the arms, the voice, and the sea, which, as Annie now knows, all combine to form a young man named Finnick. She decides she likes Finnick. He is handsome and kind, speaks tales of mermaids and pirates, and doesn't look at her with pity in his eyes. Only understanding. Understanding of the horrors she has faced.
One day Finnick isn't there to tell her stories of mermaids and pirates when she starts to panic. The doctor can't calm her down nor can sweet Mags, and Annie starts to drown. She starts to drown with all of those children that were killed so she could live. Annie burrows herself into the corner of her room, hands covering her ears to block out the screams of the girl from 6, to block out the sound of metal on flesh, to block out the horrific gurgling noises coming from the children in the water, to block out the sound of the canon that signals every one of their deaths.
It takes Mags three hours to calm Annie down, to get her to somewhat cooperate. Annie talks on the phone with the doctor and she feels numb. She is still shaking when she goes down to the beach with Mags. They have a picnic and for once, Annie feels like she's able to resurface without Finnick. Mags smiles at her as she reads from a heavy old book with leather binding. She reads about a selkie woman and her lover, torn apart by a cruel man stealing her seal skin, and of how she found it and returned to her love. Mags' voice is soft and fluid, like calm water on a sunny summer day. She lies on the tattered old blanket and drifts asleep to Mags' voice.
When she wakes, she is no longer on the old beach blanket, but in her soft bed back in her house. The house is too big for her, sometimes making her feel like she's drowning in emptiness. She won her games at eighteen and her family had died on a boating incident a few months before her games. She is old enough to live on her own but the loneliness is too much to bare. Most of the time Finnick stays with her to combat this loneliness. He feels it himself, she can see it in his eyes. He knows the pain brought on by the loss of loved ones and the arena. He tells her about being sold after she asks him why he leaves so much. He kisses her two months later, during Johanna Mason's victory tour dinner. The girl made fast friends with Finnick and she seemed to like Annie well enough. Annie hadn't watched Johanna's games, so any fear she would otherwise feel, is nonexistent. Finnick had pulled Annie away from the celebration to suppress her oncoming episode. Even after she assured him that she was fine, Finnick made them hang back, neither one of them hungry.
"Finnick, really, I'm fine."
"I just don't want to risk it, Annie." He takes hold of her hand and looked at the painting on the wall across from them.
"They're going to wonder where you are." Annie says.
"And what about you?"
"Who cares about a poor, little mad girl?"
"I do." Finnick looks at her with such intensity that she has to actively take breaths. Annie suddenly becomes hyper aware of how close their bodies are, connected by their interwoven hands.
"But you're here with me. No need to wonder where I am." She says, not moving a muscle, only staring at the sea.
"Mags cares." She is aware that Finnick is slowly inching closer.
"Mags is at home, Finnick."
"Oops."
He doesn't seem sorry at all as he places his lips over hers, lightly at first, then with more pressure. Annie doesn't even move, just sits there, stunned. He moves back and she just stares at him until he clears his throat and mutters an embarrassed 'sorry'. She pulls him back down when he starts to get up and parts her lips before placing them back on his. Sometime during this exchange, Finnick's hand finds Annie's waist and brushes up against a particularly sensitive area, making her gasp. Finnick then darts out his tongue and Annie parts her lips even more, allowing him access. Moving his lips against hers, they lose track of time for a while. He isn't her first kiss, but certainly her best.
Both of her hands are in his hair, one of his is at the nape of her neck and the other on the small of her back, both pulling each other closer than humanly possible. Someone clears their throat causing Annie and Finnick to fly apart. Johanna Mason stands at the end of the corridor with a smirk on her face.
"Do either one of you know where the bathroom is?" the recent victor asks.
"Fourth door on your left." Annie says, pointing behind herself.
Johanna walks past them, still smirking, to the ladies bathroom. Finnick is rubbing the back of his neck and when he meets Annie's gaze, he laughs.
"Come on, we'd better head back." He smiles at her and leads her back to the dining hall.
A few months pass by before a hurricane hits District 4. They are all ready for it, but the storm is much stronger than anticipated and, while no one is harmed, leaves a lot of damage. Finnick spends the three days of the storm at Annie's house. He brings over water, canned food, and some flashlights, knowing that she has enough blankets and pillows for an army. They often made blanket and pillow forts, where snake eyes and blood roses can't reach them. Mags lovingly calls them children when she finds out. As the rain hits the windows, Finnick and Annie nestle themselves deep within their pillow castle that's big enough for five people. They read stories of selkies, and mermaids, and pirates, and nymphs, drinking that warm chocolatey drink from the Capitol. A few hours after the storm first hits, the wind picks up and the power goes out, leaving them with no choice but to huddle for warmth. It's about three in the morning when the flashlight runs out. They replace the batteries and cuddle again but something is different. Finnick blushes when she looks up at him and Annie giggles at the fact that she made Finnick Odair blush. He only smiles and presses a kiss to her lips that, despite his innocent intentions, becomes more and more heated. She doesn't know how long it's been when she reaches for the hem of his t-shirt, but the second his lips find her pulse, she doesn't care. Years later when Johanna asks how she lost her virginity, Annie tells her that it was during a hurricane in a pillow fort with Finnick Odair.
"Lucky." Annie says nothing, only laughs.
Twenty-five years after the rebellion, Annie watches her son and his fiancé, who are standing underneath a net woven from long grass. They smile broadly at each other as the children sing the ancient, traditional song sung at district 4 wedding's, reminding Annie of her own wedding with Finnick. Their son, Dillon, looks just like his father and Annie can't be any prouder. Dillon brings up his saltwater covered hand to his fiancé's lips after she does the same. Galia is a wonderful girl and Annie can't be happier for the two. After they kiss the dancing begins and Annie laughs at a drunken, dancing Johanna, her husband barely containing his own laughter. Katniss and Peeta struggle to keep up with their two young children as the twelve and ten-year old run around. Annie sits down next to Beetee and thinks that the only thing that could make it better is having Finnick there with them.
She hears him calling her name, years later, after their third great-grandchild has been born. They name the child after his late great-grandfather, and he too bares a striking resemblance to Finnick. She tells Dillon that her and Finnick's offspring seem to be getting prettier and prettier. Annie sits on the sand outside her big, no longer lonely home that she won sixty-seven years ago, and she smiles. She smiles because she knows that not long from now, she will be reunited with the love of her life.
She no longer feels like she's drowning.
A/N: I wanted to write a more canon story about Annie than the one I'm currently writing so I came up with this thingy. New Year's is two days away, wHOA! I hope you guys liked this, and if you did, leave me a review! While you're at it, check out my other Annie/Odesta fics! Happy Holidays!