Here's my third Hunger Games fanfic. :) And because I swore to never write a fanfic where Finnick's dead...
Standard Disclaimers apply. I own nothing. I don't own the characters. I don't own the book (if I did Gale's ending would be so much better, but he still won't get Katniss and Finnick wouldn't have died!).
Oh, and I apologize in advance for any typos. My fault for not proof-reading. :)
*Katniss' POV
"Sugar cube?" I hear an all-too-familiar seductive voice come up behind me. I turn my head to the right and find Finnick holding a white cube of sweetness to my face.
"Uhh... Thanks." I take the cube and pop it in my mouth.
Finnick sits beside me on the soft green grass overlooking the rebuilt houses, the flowing river and the setting sun with more than a dozen sugar cubes in his hand.
"Aren't you due for a heart attack or something? You know, from all that sugar." I ask him half concerned, half curious.
Finnick lets out a light laugh. That gutty laugh of his that just makes you believe that he found what you said genuinely funny.
"No way. See how I'm built?" He says as he flexes his free arm in ridicule before he pops another sugar cube into his mouth.
I laugh too. Finnick really was... something. He was like one of those altered Capitol people only no amount of alteration on their part would make them even half as gorgeous as Finnick was. He looked like some kind of god mistakenly grouped with us average-looking Panem people.
"Yeah. I've seen more." I say with a hearty laugh as the image of Finnick in his underwear striking a ridiculously provocative pose enters my mind. And I know he had a flashback too.
For a minute we just sit there silently, the soft autumn breeze sweeping the hair off our faces and letting the grass sway to the direction of the wind. This moment right here. It was... peaceful. Something I haven't experienced in a while.
We were at the riverbank of the newly rebuilt Capitol. Paylor was the president now and she made sure that peace and prosperity flooded the streets of every district. I didn't live here in the Capitol. Even after all the makeovers and removal of the superficial buildings, houses and streets it was still too painful. No, I live back in District 12. At the Victor's Village. With Haymitch and Peeta. Gale lives in District 2 now but he often blows off his duties to visit us in 12. He never lets me know how much trouble he gets in for that. I'm in the Capitol right now because Gale invited me, Peeta and Haymitch to come with him. They, the newly elected officials of Panem, were going to have a big meeting about the future of our country. Being in 12 can be extremely boring, even haunting sometimes so ultimately Peeta and I decided that a little escape would be nice, we dragged Haymitch with us who, once again, was too drunk to function properly.
I decided to enjoy a little peace that was now a luxury I can afford by doing what I do best, finding hiding places. I walked and walked until I found this line of light greenery running with the river. It was the river bay. I sat and the breeze was nice enough to join me. It was soothing. Being here. It reminded me of late autumn when the winter air would start making its rounds back in the old District 12. Sitting on the rendezvous point with Gale. Almost immediately after that thought entered my mind I shut it out in fear of doing something stupid like crying or whatever. The memories were still too painful to remember. I still couldn't take it even after all this time. Maybe I never really will forget. That thought scared me to the point of madness.
"Where's Annie?" I ask Finnick after a while.
"Back in 4." He says with a weird mix of disappointment, anger and calmness.
"Why?" I ask.
After Finnick's near-death situation that took place during the climax of the rebellion Annie and the boy with the bronze-hair never let go of each other ever again, even literally sometimes. I can't say that I really blame either one of them. When I saw Gale as the Peacekeepers took him all I wanted was to grab him and never let him go.
"She's in the Hospital. I couldn't calm her so the doctors had to take her in. Again." Finnick says like its the norm but you could hear the anxiousness in his voice.
"I'm sure she'll be better." I try to reassure him, but I don't even fool myself.
"Yeah. Right." Finnick says mockingly. He loves Annie and all but he still knows reality.
"Sorry." I say, apologizing for the failed attempt at lying.
"Yeah. Anyway." He says obviously wanting to change the topic.
"So, what's it like back in 4?" I decide to stop pressing too much on the whole Annie thing.
"So much better." He says pleased,
"Paylor doesn't know how good of a job she's doing." Another sugar cube enters his mouth.
"That's good." I say looking at the orange sky. The sun was about ten minutes from setting.
"It's great." He says in happiness,
"How's... 12?" He asks unsure what to call my burned city.
"Unchanged I guess. Which is probably for the better. Wouldn't want them messing up the bones in that place." I smile consumed by painful sarcasm.
He smiles too before another sugar cube makes its way into his mouth. I look at his hand and notice that only three sugar cubes remain.
"I can't believe that we're in the Capitol." Says Finnick.
"Yeah. Who knew it could actually be beautiful?" I joke.
We laugh again as the first of three remaining sugar cubes is consumed by Finnick.
"Why do you love sugar cubes so much?" I ask him.
A smile gently creeps up to his lips.
"Was it Annie?" I ask him with caution.
I expect some kind of remorse to show on his face or at least a pang of sadness to hit him but nothing comes, instead he looks into the distance and smiles as if remembering something.
"Yes." He says. Once again so sure of himself.
"Tell me the story." I say pretty sure I sound like a five year old but Annie and Finnick's story was one I've never heard before.
I look at Finnick waiting for a response. But nothing comes. He just stares at the sun.
"Look." He says pointing at the setting sun.
I sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful sunset with Finnick. The soft orange color hits the pink and blue sky at just the right moment and it's like a burst of sunrays went our way. It was incredible. This is definitely one of the best sunsets I've ever seen.
After about 5 minutes the sun had set and the dark blue night sky was making its entrance.
"Orange. Like the sunset." I hear Finnick, still looking at the long gone sun with a longing look, say.
I look at him and wait for the continuation of his words. He looks back at me as the cold night breeze sweeps in.
"It's his favorite color right?" He says to me. More like a suggestion than a question.
Peeta.
"Oh. Yeah." I smile and sit back, reminiscing all the times the sunset had been a topic in one of my conversations.
"And blue like the night sky was Gale's." I add.
It was. He told me one summer back in 12. We were hunting and got tired. We sat at the rock and looked at the clear sky and saw the stars. He suddenly told me that the dark blue sky was one of his favorite things about living in this world. And dark blue, like the night, was his favorite color.
I smile again. Gale. My best friend. I miss him. I miss how we used to be.
"'Wanna know mine?" Finnick looks at me with the exact voice he used way back at the Quarter Quell.
It made me smile to think and finally see that Finnick's still Finnick. He's still himself.
"What?" I ask.
"Green." He says.
In a way, because of his background being from District 4 and all, his answer doesn't surprise me.
"Green. Like your eyes?" I say as I catch a glimpse of his beautiful sea green eyes.
They had a certain depth to them like they had their own light. Just by looking at Finnick's eyes you could see how much pain he's been through.
"No." He says and I have a feeling I know what he's 'gonna say next.
"Like Annie's." Finnick says with that same sympathetic smile as his eyes are flooded with emotion.
I knew he'd say that.
"Your whole world revolves around Annie." I say when the obvious hits me like never before.
Annie Cresta, the dark-haired girl with the bloodshot sea-green eyes that was deemed crazy by her own District was the same girl that fit Finnick's definition of prefect and ideal.
"Yeah. I guess you could say that." He says sounding like he finally lost himself in thought.
For a minute he sits there, picking off grass from the ground with the most genuine smile on his face, as I watch him. This was the Finnick Odair the public never knew.
Then he drifts back into reality.
"It's getting dark. Let's go home." He says as he stands up. I stand up too.
"But your story." I remind him. I really want to know the story of how the brunette god fell in love with the less-than-sane girl.
"Tomorrow. Promise." He says as he walks up the bay and cocks his head to tell me to come with. I follow, a bit upset that I didn't hear his version of the "Tale of Two Lovers".
But there's always tomorrow.