For Samantha, via the Gift Giving Extravaganza.

Her world seems to freeze, her stomach growing heavy as she stares at her hand. The red band around her finger has darkened to black.

Katniss falls to her knees. She doesn't care if a war is raging around her. Peeta is gone. The boy with the bread, the boy who had done so much to protect her, the boy who she had sworn to keep safe.

"Katniss! Katniss!"

Strong hands grab her by her shoulders, forcing her to her feet. "Peeta," she whispers.

"Katniss, we have to go. Now!"

She barely comprehends the words. In a daze, she allows herself to be lead away.

…

"I'm sorry," Finnick says, and he touches the black band around his finger.

He remembers it all too well. One moment, he had been so full of hope, so sure that they would get Annie away from the Capitol. The next, his world had fallen apart. The red string of fate had turned black. The only woman he could ever love had left the world, and it had been all his fault. He should have moved faster. He should have done more to save her.

And now, months later, he sees Katniss wearing the same hopeless expression.

"I should have-"

"Shhh…." Finnick presses a finger to her lips, silencing her. "You won't do yourself any favors thinking like that. Trust me. It will eat you alive, Katniss."

Her eyes narrow, and he's certain that she's planning exactly how to kill him now. But her face softens, tears falling.

"It's going to be okay."

He remembers how hollow those words had sounded when Johanna had said them to him. He knows it's such an empty reassurance. But they need Katniss. He can't let her fall apart now.

…

Finnick comes to visit her. He's the only that's bothered. Even Gale stays away, and she doesn't know if it's because of Peeta's death or Prim's, but doesn't really matter. She's come to enjoy being alone.

"How are you feeling?"

"Do you actually care?" she asks.

She knows that she shouldn't mope. They had been in the middle of war, and casualties happen. But she still can't stop thinking of Peeta. After everything she has done to protect him, after promising herself that she would be someone who deserves him, he's still gone.

"You keep looking at your string, don't you?" Finnick guesses, sitting across from her. "I did, too. I kept trying to convince myself that it's a mistake. It'll turn red again, and someone will say that they've found Annie wandering the woods."

Katniss looks down at her finger. Days have passed, and she still can't stand the sight of the hideous smear like coal where the red string had been. "It doesn't feel real," she admits.

"It won't," he agrees. "It still doesn't for me. I wonder if it ever will."

"Why did you come to District Twelve? Bit far from the water, isn't it?"

He grins, and Katniss wonders if she'll ever be able smile again. She doesn't know how he can do it. Annie had been his soulmate, his forever. "Some of us actually genuinely care about you, you know. You were more than just a pawn in their game."

…

"What's this?"

"They're called flowers, Katniss. They're pretty, and they smell good," Finnick chuckles. "Like you."

Her lips curve ever so slightly upward before falling back into a thin line. "I know what flowers are," she says dryly. "Why are you at my door holding them?"

Finnick shrugs. Annie had loved flowers. Even during her fits, she could stop, if only for a moment, to admire them. "It feels like closure," he answers. "Can I come in?"

"When did you ever ask for permission?"

"True," he says, pushing past her and setting the flowers in a vase on the kitchen table.

"You keep coming to see me. Haymitch writes sometimes. Gale has been silent. But you…"

"We're both alone. Neither of us really had anyone to come back to," he says. "Lonely isn't a fun a way to go through life."

He wonders if she'll tell him to leave. She's always been so strong. Maybe she's okay with being alone.

But Katniss just nods. "I killed a deer this morning if you're hungry."

Finnick feels the faintest flutter of relief pulse through his body. "That would be good."

…

Katniss feels guilty for enjoying his company. Some days, she wants to slam the door in his face and tell him to leave her alone. She couldn't save Peeta, and she doesn't deserve his pity.

But he is warm, and he is familiar. In a way, he's all that she has left.

"It's not going to change anything," she says.

He looks up, frowning. "What?"

Katniss shakes her head. She's never been able to read Finnick. He seems so simple on the surface, but she has come to learn that there are complex layers upon layers to him. "Nothing," she says quietly, turning her gaze to the sunset.

…

When she screams, he doesn't even think about it. He climbs to his feet, half dressed, and sprints into her room, gripping her firmly by the shoulders.

"Peeta!" she screams, thrashing about wildly. "Prim! I- I-"

"Shh…" Finnick soothes. "Shh… I'm here. It's okay. Nightmares. Just dreams. They can't hurt you."

She reminds him of Annie, so frail and afraid. He wants to take her in his arms and make little promises of better days.

Katniss slumps against him, her head on his chest, sobbing. "It was so real. So real," she says.

"I know," he whispers. "But it was a dream. It can't hurt you now. Focus on my voice. This is real. Not what you saw in your sleep."

Katniss relaxes, but just barely. Finnick guides her back onto the mattress, stroking her hair. "I've got you," he says gently, closing his eyes. "Focus on me. I'm real."

Her eyes flutter, and she falls back into a fitful sleep.

Finnick wants to stay, to make sure she's okay through the night, but he's certain that Katniss might try and kill him if he's still there in the morning. He watches her for one last moment before turning away, letting out a deep breath as he enters the hall.

Seeing her like that reminds him so much of Annie that it hurts. His touches the darkened thread around his finger, frowning. He couldn't save Annie, but maybe he can save Katniss.

…

"We're not soulmates," she says quietly as she leads him through the woods. "That was Peeta."

"That was Annie," he agrees.

She comes to a stop and turns to face him. "I enjoy having you around," she adds. "You… You make me feel like I can breathe again."

His lips quirk into a crooked grin. "Which means?"

"I'm asking you to stay. Even when I'm better. I lost everything, and I don't want to lose you, too."

"You've got it." And he says it so quickly, without even a second of hesitation, and Katniss wonders if he's wanted to this whole time, if he's just been waiting for her to ask.

She puts her hands on his shoulders, pulling him close and pressing her lips to his. The kiss doesn't heal her soul. It doesn't make her string regain its color. But it makes her feel as though maybe, just maybe, there's hope for her.