"I meant it… when I said thank you for having me," Finnick says, rubbing his hands together before his body shakes even with the winter sweater swaddled around him.
"I know," Madge answers, taking a hold of his freezing hands and cupping them between her own. Her heads lolls onto his shoulder, her eyes thoughtfully watching as the smoke and ashes rise amongst the blanket of stars.
Light Pollution is one of his least favourite things about living in the Capitol, but that's all she's known having grown up in the big, bright, colourful city. Even with the Undersee family trips to the cottage by the expansive manmade lakes and feeble forests of the Capitol, it's nothing compared to all that exists beyond the perimeter of the city.
"Maybe, one day, you'll return the favour," Madge's thumb traces swirls into the back of his hand. "I'd be nice to see the ocean at least once."
"I think I can commission Peeta to paint a picture for you if I get him a photo," Finnick hums, fixated on the fire. "Then you can look at it all the time."
"I don't think Peeta can paint the feeling of the sand between your toes. Or the smell of the salt wafting up off the water."
"You'd be surprised how talented he actually is," Finnick's eyes widen and a grin graces his lips, earning himself a playful shove. "There, all done."
Whipping around, Madge grabs a hold of her long, twisted blonde hair to see exactly what Finnick's fast fingers conjured up. A flawlessly weaved fishtail lays across her shoulder.
Dropping his hands from her hair, he envelopes her into a hug before placing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "Like it?"
"Your sister taught you well. It'd be nice if I got to tell her myself though."
"Still caught on this meeting my family thing, aren't you?" Finnick partially teases as the fire crackles.
"It's not like I'm asking you to give me the moon," Madge mumbles as she sifts their hands back together.
"I'd rather give you the moon then have you meet my father," he admits, tiredly. "We had to open a Capitol bank account just so we'd have some sort of savings." She doesn't blame him; every family has a few bad apples, and a father with a gambling problem definitely tops the list. But he can't run from it forever.
"You have. But it doesn't matter," she states. "You're important to me, Finnick. Meeting your family is the next big step in our relationship."
"So is us moving in together, which you know we're doing this fall," he states matter-of-factly.
Madge rolls her eyes, "Yes, well of course, except one tiny little thing. Peeta will be living there too."
"I thought we said you wouldn't mind having the loud sex between his classes," Finnick chimes, nonchalantly, as he reaches for the water bucket and pours it onto the dwindling flames.
Madge's head whips around as her eyes frantically search the area. "Shut up! You're gonna get me into trouble!"
"Let's be honest for a moment Madge. Do you really think your parents are so clueless that they believe you aren't having sex," Finnick asks, his eyes dropping as he saunters back towards her.
"Especially when you have an irresistible boyfriend like myself?"
"Stop it!" Madge yelps, trying to squirm from his grasp to no avail. With a tight grip on her waist, he reels her towards him. Finnick finds her lips with ease, capturing them in a slow, sensual kiss, grounding them to a moment of lighthearted romance.
Exposed midriffs brush against each other as clothes beg to be shed and hands grasp at every inch of the other's body. The moment is broken by the one downside of being at Madge's cottage with her parents. Leoncio Undersee clears his throat, breaking the pair jump apart, and stares at them.
"It's getting late, kids. We have a long drive back into the city in the morning," Leo reminds them, stepping aside of the front door. "Mom wants to have one last breakfast together so we'll be up really early."
"Yes, Daddy," Madge says, ducking into the house, dragging Finnick in behind her with his hand securely wrapped around hers.
Taking the stairs one at a time, they come to her room first. The walls are still painted a pastel blue from when she was younger.
"I guess this is goodnight," Finnick murmurs, running his thumb along her pale, baby soft hands.
"It'll be only a few short hours before morning," Madge reassures him, squeezing his hand gently.
"Then we can go back to sharing a bed," he whispers, leaning in close, a cheshire grin plastered on his face.
"You really want me to get in trouble, don't you?" Madge seethes, throwing her hand to cover his provocative mouth. But that doesn't stop Finnick from dragging his tongue up her palm, which gets her to release him instantly. "Ugh! You're disgusting sometimes," she groans, wiping his saliva onto her sweatpants.
"And yet," he grabs a hold of her sticky hand and lifts her up around his waist. "you still love me, Madge."
Her eyes demand to keep their composure but the smile and hopeful sigh give her away, "And yet I still love you." Pushing a lone wavy strand of bronze hair lay stuck to his cheek behind his ear, Madge notices the curls of his bangs rest askew, hiding his beautiful eyes beneath them. Brushing the fringe off to the side, the turquoise stares back at her brilliantly — enchanting even — while encasing her in a unexplainable moment of comfort.
"How do you do it, Mr. Odair?" the words slip past her lips in a gasp. With a breathy laugh, Finnick leans in a little closer, until his lips are pressed against the shell of her ear.
"Do you really want to know?" his voice low and dripping with seduction. All Madge can manage is a curt nod.
"You really, really, want to know?"
"Yes!" she nearly shouts.
"I'm sorry," Finnick says, righting himself and placing Madge back onto her feet. "But I can't let you know how to break my heart." With a final kiss to the top of her head, he almost floats to his room at the end of the hall.
Like an ivy wrapped mansion left abandoned at the top of the hill, he's captivating, homely yet riddled in mystery.
"Madge," Finnick calls, once he reaches his door. Her head swivels, his turquoise irises finding her first as they glow in the dim, orange light.
"Yes?"
"Make sure you pack your sandals. I don't think Penny or my mom have feet quite as small as yours," Finnick disappears into his room before Madge can express her excitement. When she finally gets to sleep that night, after exhausting herself from dancing around her room, she dreams of the beach.
Finnick wishes that the outdoor stations had a ticking clock. The dead wind does little to fill in the stale, stagnant silence as they wait for the train's arrival. Madge practises long forgotten ballet steps while Peeta sits, brooding over his sketch book. Finnick doesn't blame him in the least for being in a foul mood; Peeta has all the right in the world to be upset. They had been keeping it a secret from him for a while now.
Only ten more minutes. Finnick can sit out this atrocious silence for ten more minutes. Plucking at the twine around his wrist he rubs one of the larger gems between his fingers, Madge had given it to him on their sixth month anniversary. Without picking up his head, he knows she's there, watching him. Her hands wrap around his waist as she props her chin on his shoulder. Madge must be practicing standing on the points of her shoe, normally she doesn't come anywhere near close to reaching.
"So. You're only meeting his parents now?" Peeta chides from the shrouded bench, the thick strokes of charcoal against paper follows his voice. "After…" his resentful blue eyes lift to stare at them, "Eight months did you say?"
Finnick can feel his heart drop into his stomach while Madge's hands loosen from around his torso. He counts the number of times he plucks at the strings and sweeps against the trinkets woven through the strands.
It'll only be a week. Just a week. 7 days. 168 hours. He can do this. He can do this with her. He can keep his Dad at bay for a week. 7 days. 168 hours. Troy will probably be spending most of his time in Daxton Ekman's basement, throwing away most of his month's paycheck. The bonus will probably the first to go. If Troy Odair insists on playing it why hasn't he gotten good at it yet?
"His family moved recently," Madge prances over to Peeta with her flawless lie floating through the air. "Before they invited me over they wanted to make sure every last box was unpacked and everything was in it's place. The name Leoncio Undersee isn't restricted only to the Capitol, y'know."
Somedays, Finnick loves her more than words can express. He can feel Peeta's eyes scrutinize every inch of him. Peeta's gaze doesn't last long as he turns towards Madge, looking her up and down, mildly pissed off.
"You two have to stop doing this thing where you hide important details from me," Peeta turns to Madge, staring straight at her with cold blue eyes. "If we're going to keep making this living arrangement work, we need to start being more honest with each other."
"I am being honest, Peeta," Madge insists, the hand she places on his shoulder in reassurance gets nudged off.
"You're not fooling me! It doesn't take 8 months to move, Madge," his scowl still prominent on his lips.
"Then why haven't we met this Katniss yet?" Peeta's face visibly pales, caught off guard by Finnick's words. He doesn't move. His eyes widen with fear as the wind whistles by and his hand snaps the charcoal in half. "I'm starting to think she's just an invisible friend. I mean, there is no harming in the four of us skyping, is there?"
"I can't do that…" Peeta trails off, his eyes flickering downwards to his messy hands as he scrambles to put his art supplies away before he breaks something else.
"Why not? We've been friends for oh… a year in a half? Don't you think it's about time we met your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend," Peeta shouts. "She's…my best friend."
"Your imaginary, best girl friend," Finnick taunts, closing his distance between himself and Peeta, who looks so unbelievably small. If he didn't want to be interrogated, he shouldn't have started it.
"Finnick, stop it!" Madge tries to wedge herself between them but he shoves her aside.
"No! I'm not gonna sit here and let this bastard judge me when he's no better," Finnick fumes."If honesty is so important to him then why hasn't he told us why we can't meet Katniss? He afraid we'll taint her? Or is he afraid she'll fall in love with me and forget all about you."
"Flirtatious, narcissistic pretty boys who wear their insecurities on their sleeve just aren't her type," Peeta scoffs, directly into his roommate's face their noses practically touching. "She's got standards."
Finnick's heart races in time with the rapid speed of the train and pounds with the roll of the wheels on the tracks. Grasping a hold of the front of Peeta's shirt, Finnick lifts his fist ready to prove just how much strength he can put into a right hook.
It's one thing for him to be on the receiving end of one of Peeta's testosterone drenched quips but it's another thing when Madge is the victim. However, Finnick fights to control his anger; as much as he wants to make Peeta hurt, the new year shouldn't start with bad blood between them. With a deep sigh, Finnick lets go, feeling the anger lessen as the clicking of the wheels against the tracks begins to slow.
A painful moan, belonging solely to Peeta Mellark, fills the air alongside the insufferable noises from the train. Curled in upon himself, he lays on the platform red faced and crying as he cups his scrotum in his hands. Finnick's eyes flicker to Madge, who stands there shaking with a tinge of purple in her cheeks.
"I have standards, you asshat,"she shouts. "Though, I guess they aren't as high as I thought since I'm friends with you."
The clicking of the wheels cease as the silver bullet train comes to a full stop. Thankfully, only a handful of passengers trickle out, most of whom don't bother to pay attention to Peeta. A gasp and a gargled string of words pass Peeta's lips as an apology, but Madge doesn't care. Gathering up her bags from where she lay them down by the bench, she stalks quickly onto the train not waiting to see if Finnick was following behind her.
"I'm sorry," Peeta tries again, this time with more air in his lungs. Reaching down, Finnick helps Peeta up into a sitting position.
"You gonna be okay, Peet?" Finnick asks. Peeta nods, gasping down gulps of breath. "Good. Well, I'll call you, okay, when we get there, see how you're doing, make sure your boys are still intact."
A breathy laugh passes through Peeta's lips, "Thanks."
"No worries. Have a good week okay? Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year," Peeta says, with a weak smile. Collecting his belongings, Finnick follows Madge onto the train, his head foggy with thought. He watches as Peeta slowly makes his way back to the bench beneath the shelter and pulls out his sketch book again. The train for District Twelve doesn't come for another hour. As the train starts up again and slowly begins to carry them along to their destination, Finnick cannot help but add one more concern to his list of worries that'll consume him for the next five hours. Plucking at the strings and twirling the trinkets between the twine can only keep him distracted for so long.
"Have I told you you look damn sexy in yoga pants and your Panem University sweatshirt," Finnick breathes into the shell of her ear as his long fingers hook around her hip.
"I didn't want to have to compromise my wardrobe. The purpose was to look my best when I meet your Mum and Grandmother for the first time. Not like I stepped out of a department store ad," Madge rolls her eyes as they head up the walkway from the street corner, where they taxi had dropped them off. On their journey up to District Four, Madge had a little mishap with a waiter who had lost their balance of a food tray. The plums in the lamb stew had stained her cream-coloured summer dress forcing her to change into the only avaliable outfit. She had this trip planned down to a tee.
"I promise you, they won't care what you wear. The moment you walk in through those doors," Finnick says, pointing to the white washed door at the end of the driveway, "it'll be like they've known you their entire lives. You'll be like family within seconds."
"Seconds?"
"More like milliseconds," Finnick smiles, touching a kiss to her lips. "They aren't who you need to be worried about."
Taking a deep breath, Madge reaches for Finnick's hand and squeezes it tightly, "Alright." They take their steps one at a time and another breath before opening the door .
Madge couldn't begin to create an image that came anywhere close to what Finnick's family's home looked like - white walls, with high ceilings and a skylight right as you enter. The smell of fresh baked goods mixes exotically with the salt from the sea. It's cozier than any home she's ever lived in.
"Mama, Granny," Finnick calls out. "I'm home." The smile on his face is irreplaceable and with the way his sea green eyes glisten she knows he's wanted to come home badly.
"Finny," the gentle chime of his mother's voice carries through the front hall as she walks towards them. The moment she catches sight of her son, her blue eyes well with tears. She throws herself around Finnick, holding onto him tightly, as he too begins to weep.
"Hi Mama," he says softly, like a young boy. "I've missed you."
"I missed you too, mi querido hijo. Abuelita will be so happy to see you. Oh! And Penny's going to be home for dinner tonight!" his mother gushes. "Has she told you Trenton proposed? It was so beautiful! They are planning an August wedding so that it wouldn't interfere with your schooling. She'll be heartbroken if you don't make it."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mama," he smiles softly.
"And will this beautiful young lady be joining us," a quiet voice, belonging to a thin elderly woman, trails through the hollow entrance way, who slowly makes her way over to them.
Her dull, blue-green eyes find Madge first, offering a smile before giving Finnick her attention.
Bending down, he carefully wraps his arms around her as she places a kiss to his forehead, his nose and finally to his lips. "Bienvenido a casa, hijo mío."
"It's good to be home, Granny," Finnick mumbles. Madge watches them, caught up in the wonderment of seeing an entirely new side of her boyfriend.
Letting go of his grandmother, Finnick glances up at Madge, and grabs a hold of her hand. "Granny Mags, Mama, this is my girlfriend, Madge, and I'd very much like to bring her as my plus one, if you don't mind," he says, confidently.
"Oh please, sweetheart," his mother rolls her eyes. "You brought her home, you might as well have already put a ring on her finger."
"Mom!" His face flushes.
"It's a little soon, don't you think, Helen?"
"I was 21 when I married Troy," Helen Odair says, sharply.
"Yes, and look how well that's worked out for you," Mags scoffs in return.
"I'd like not to talk about this right now, Mother."
Releasing his hand from Madge's, Finnick cups them around his mother's face and touches a kiss to her forehead, "There is nothing wrong with marrying young. Just.. right now… I want to see this family taken care before I start taking care of another one."
Helen lets out a deep sigh and steps out of her son's grasp, "It's almost insufferable how good you are at saying the right thing at the right time."
Finnick chuckles, "Aren't you glad at least one of your boys turned out alright?"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," his mother tries to hide her smile. "Go upstairs, get Madge settled in then you two get your butts back down here. Finn, you're gonna show Madge how well you barbeque a salmon."
"Yes, ma'am," he salutes. Reaching for Madge with one hand and grasping a suitcase with the other, he guides her up the winding staircase.
"See, that wasn't so bad," he teases upon opening up the bedroom door beside his own. "I told you they weren't the ones you should worry about."
Madge hums in agreement as she absorbs her surroundings. The white, sheer curtains whipping around the manila wood panelling around the window remind her of her cottage.
"Something the matter, Magpie?"
"Not particularly."
The bed frame, armoire, desk and drawers share an uncanny resemblance to the pieces of furniture she has in her own room. Right down to the silver drawer handles she picked out when her mother had them imported from District One all those years ago.
"Do you want a few minutes to unpack?"
"Sure," she says, idly.
The periwinkle colour on the walls; the cream duvet; the down pillows…
"I'll be next door if you need me."
…It's like she never left home.
"Okay."
"Finnick," Madge pivots on the balls of her feet, meeting his wide, sea green eyes.
"Yes?"
Grabbing a hold of his arms firmly and perching onto toes, she plants a deep kiss onto Finnick unsuspecting lips. Her hands wrap around his neck while his cradles her face. They pull back with a gentle pop while staring straight into each others eyes.
"Thank you for bringing me home."
"And this is one is my favourites!" Penelope flips to another page of the photo album, pointing to the picture at the top of the page with a pale finger. "We should have known right from the start that he'd be a boxers guy."
She insisted on Madge knowing every insignificant detail of Finnick's childhood; his first birthday, when he learned to swim, times he helped in the kitchen, falling asleep in his Granny's lap. Penny insisted a healthy dose of embarrassment would make Madge and Finnick's relationship stronger. Not that Finnick had much to be embarrassed about anyway; she's seen him naked far more times than she'd like. However the briefs on his head are a nice touch.
"At least I was smart enough at four to know to protect my boys from abuse by containment," Finnick says, waving the metal spatula over at them from his place in front of the barbeque.
"Because you were so worried about your sperm count back then," Penny rolls her green eyes, turning her and Madge's attention to the next photo.
"Don't demean my younger self," Finnick chides, flipping the salmon.
"Why does it not surprise me that Finnick Odair would think about something like that," Trenton sighs as he slides the door screen and steps out onto the balcony. Sharing a brief kiss with his fiancee before, his tall, tan body falls into the empty seat beside her and pulls her close. "I'm all for experimenting in your youth, but I think four's a little young."
Penny breaks out into laughter, leaving Madge mildly uncomfortable.
"Gotta start somewhere, Trent. Had to learn how to please my woman somehow," Finnick shrugs, a smile on his lips as he winks at Madge
Glancing across from Penny, Trenton's faded blue eyes fixate themselves on her. They flicker up and down, then back and forth between her and Finnick. Scrutinizing her to the point of discomfort. "You're Governor Undersee's daughter, aren't you?"
"Yes…?" she inquires, suspiciously.
"Trenton Selkie, the brother-in-law," he greets, holding out his hand for her to shake. The exchange is curt as Trent turns back to stare at Finnick, his dark eyebrows knitting in a harsh glare.
"Is there a problem with that?"
Trent exhales deeply, relinquishing his gaze and relaxing in the padded wicker bench. "Finnick just should have known better than to bring you here." His moment of repose is up as he raises from his seat and heads back through the sliding door in a huff.
"Trent," Penny croons, following him into the kitchen, an apology swimming in her eyes when she looks back. "Trent…"
The rest of her words get lost in the distance, leaving Finnick and Madge to fill in the silence. All that comes is the sounds of seering and the fan swirling below the barbeque. Guilt tears at her bit by bit while her mind swirls with how it would have been better if she didn't force him to bring her along.
"Trent's focus, first and foremost, has always been Penny. Even though he's a prick, he does a good job taking care of my sister," Finnick says, flipping the salmon onto a plate and turning off the barbeque dials. "The fact that he is worried about you, means something. So keep your pretty chin up," he taps a kiss to her nose.
"Your father's really that bad huh?" Madge laughs, opening the door for him.
"You don't know the —" a slam of the front door resonates through the first floor, stopping both Finnick and Madge in their tracks.
"You fucking piece of shit! Couldn't keep out of the warehouses for one fucking day, could you? The Peacekeepers have the right to kill you for stealing from the Capitol." The rough voice leaves Finnick standing in place, pin straight with a blanched face. Must be his father.
Balancing the plate on one hand, Finnick takes Madge's with the other and ducks into the kitchen. Helen stands there just as stiffly, her grip on the knife tightens as her hand shakes.
"I didn't steal jack shit! It was all Syren; the twat pinned the whole fucking heist on me!" A young male voice roars through the air.
"No otra vez, Bastian," his mother mumbles before Finnick plucks the utensil from his mother's prematurely wrinkled hands he continues to cut up the vegetables.
"I don't care about what some bimbo did! We can't afford to keep bailing you out; your shenanigans are putting us further in debt then we already are!"
"Then if you'd just stop fucking gambling —" the shouting stops as skin slaps against skin.
Helen drops the knife in her hands and dashes out of the kitchen, with Madge, Finnick and Penny following close behind, just in time to see Troy Odair, with his dark leathery skin and wild green eyes, holding his youngest son by the front of his shirt and swinging back his hand to slap the boy again.
"Troy puso Sebastian abajo ahora! Mags booms, slowly descending the stairs, her hand holding the railing. "That's no way to treat your son."
The feral look in Troy's eyes flares upon interruption as he stares intently at Mags taking her final steps. Madge flinches, ready to steady the woman but Finnick's holds her back with his firm grip on her shoulder.
"How else is the boy going to learn, Magdalena?" he asks, too calmly.
"Not with violence," Mags knees crackle as she bends down to help Sebastian up. "Sebastian's thirteen years old. You can use your words, y'know."
Troy ignores the quip, along with the arrogant smirk present on his son's face as he helps his grandmother towards the rest of their family. The unexpected blonde and bright blue amongst the sea of green and brown looks back at them catching them off guard.
Sebastian analyzes Madge with curiosity as he soaks in the details, an inaudible 'o' forms from his lips when he sees Finnick's arm wrapped around her. Troy, on the other hand, leers at her, dollar signs shining in his eyes.
"Been awhile since we've seen you," Troy's eyes lift from Madge, over to Finnick. "What's the occasion?"
"On winter break," he answers, dryly.
Troy hums and nods, eerily calm. Slipping off his shoes, he briskly walks past his children and mother-in-law to plant a long kiss on his wife before he, too, passes behind her and makes his way to the dining room table. "Aren't you going to join me?" he calls back.
The warmth that illuminated from the Odairs a few hours before had all but vanished. The idle chatter around the table is made of plastic words with hollow meanings. The inquisition of work and school ended with short sentences, making the scrapping of knifes and forks against the plates more prominent.
Madge hadn't realized how drastically Finnick's personality veers until she watched him sit quietly, answering his mother's questions with short sentences or one word answers. She is tempted to answer for him, giving his mother something to be proud of. But she holds her tongue as Finnick weaves and tightens their conjoined hands in her lap.
"You still planning to move back here when you're done? " Troy asks, his utensils clatter onto the plate as he sits back in his chair.
"I haven't decided yet," Finnick states, his eyes lift from his still full plate. Staring right into his father with valor.
Troy hums, bobbing his head in understanding as he glances between both Finnick and Madge. "And does the Governor's daughter get a say in it?"
"Her name is Madge, and yes, she will get a say," Finnick bites, gently squeezes her hand under the table.
"You knock her up or something?" his father cocks an eyebrow.
Madge can feel her body burn with humiliation as she bites down on the inside of her cheek, preventing herself from expressing the pain of Finnick's hand clenching around her own.
"No."
"Then why the sudden desire to be so accommodating , Finnick?" Troy asks.
Madge can feel a shiver resonante through Finnick's body. His chest rises and falls with a deep breath as he tightly twists the lid closed on his anxiety.
"I'm serious about her and this is the next leap we agreed to take after moving in together," Finnick smiles, glancing towards her and pulling their conjoined hands out from under the table. "Four is my home but I'd also like to leave my options open."
His father's laughter booms, making Mags jump in her seat.
"Leave your options open," his father laughter still tugging at his lips. "Being a fisherman isn't good enough for you?"
"Getting good work in the Capitol can pay wages up to three times as much as those here."
"As what? A prostitute? I'm sure with all your experience you'd be good at it." Troy leans back in his chair with a smirk on his face as Finnick's mouth gapes. Six sets of wide eyes stare astonishedly at Troy.
The scrapping of chair legs against the wooden floor shakes the tension as Helen's usual quiet voice, loudly spurts words a hundred miles an hour. Madge picks up only a handful of what is being said; something about shutting up, college, how good it is - Spanish isn't one of her strongest subjects. However, not being able to focus on the conversations her full attention is on Finnick, who is barely holding back tears.
She places a gentle kiss to his cheek and he sets his head down on her shoulder. No one is paying attention to them anyways as the shouting match continues across the table.
"Abuelita, muy apretado," he says, bolting up in his seat, his face twisting with discomfort. But Mags grip doesn't loosen on his arm. It seems as though she hadn't heard him at all through her heavy panting. Her body sways as the other hand latches onto the left side of her chest.
The whimper of pain that passes through the elderly woman's bluish lips turns the table's focus. Trent is the only one with some grip on reality, as he pushes a shell shocked Finnick to the side before laying Mags to the ground, vigorously pumping at her failing heart.
"The ambulance will be here soon," Penny calls from the kitchen after hanging up the phone. "Mom, you'll be in the ambulance with her. Trent and I will follow behind in his car. Dad, Bastian Finnick, and Madge will stay here and watch the house. We'll call when we get news."
"Alright," Madge answers back, firmly. Reaching out to find Finnick's hand it's clammy with sweat while his eyes swim with unfathomable thoughts.
The persistent pumping of Trent's hands on Mags' chest and the nearing sirens fill the room. Penny is ready at the door when the paramedics arrive, letting them rush through to relieve her worn out fiance of his resuscitation attempt. Mags is still unconscious when they take her out into the ambulance, but her pulse is steady.
Sirens go back to blaring as the engine of Trent's car roars to life and trails behind the emergency vehicle.
The last fifteen minutes of their lives was like a tidal wave and now with the water settling around their ankles, all is eerily quiet.
"I guess we better clean up," Sebastian sighs, running his hands through his dark curls. "Madge, do you mind washing the plates as I hand 'em to you?"
"Not at all," Madge smiles softly, running her thumb over the surface of Finnick's hand as she tries to pull him along, but he doesn't budge.
"Finn? C'mon, let's go."
With a sigh, Madge touches a kiss to his lips, hoping to ignite a reaction. Nothing. "Your grandmother is going to be okay, you'll see. She'll probably even be well enough to see us off next saturday," Madge smiles.
"Just leave him," Sebastian says while clearing the food and stacking the plates. "He'll come around eventually. Just needs some time."
Slipping her hand out of his, reluctantly, Madge touches a longer kiss to his lips before helping Sebastian clear the remnants of dinner.
The front door opens just to slam close again. A second car revs to life and Sebastian curses under his breath, smashing the plate in his hand onto the floor.
"Worthless piece of shit, couldn't abstain for one lousy day!"
For the first time, in a very long time, Madge feels helpless. Leaving Sebastian to wipe his tears in solitude, she seeks out Finnick, who is crouched down in the same spot where she left him.
Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she falls to the floor and brings his head into her lap. Grasping onto her hands like they are a lifeline, Finnick finally lets his tears fall.
The phone call came through around one in the morning. Madge was right, Mags pulled through! The good news brought the colour back in Finnick's eyes and lulled his racing mind long enough to take Madge up to bed and make love to her.
Upon waking early the next morning, Madge finds herself curled up within Finnick's bedsheets. Alone.
Throwing back the covers and toeing out into the hallway, she dresses in shorts and a t-shirt before bouncing down the winding stairs to the kitchen and through the dining room in her search. Seeing the screen door left open, she steps onto the balcony; Madge spots him down by the water with only a flock of seagulls for company.
Making her way down slowly, as to not scare him, the feeling of the hot sand between her toes pulls a smile to her face.
"Sleep well?" Finnick's voice is raspy as it rings through the blustering air.
"Yes, you?" she asks, taking a seat beside him and digging her toes into the wet sand.
"Haven't slept yet," he says, picking up a stone by his feet and throwing it into the ocean.
Dropping her head on his shoulder, she plants a kiss on the skin of his heated neck. One of his arms wraps around her shoulders, drawing her closer towards him as he presses a kiss to the top of her head.
"I'm sorry… about yesterday. Killed the vacation vibe a little, didn't it," he laughs lightly, putting on a brave face. That's the Finnick she knows.
"It's okay. These things happen," she runs her feet through the sand as the water laps up her exposed legs. "We have 6 more days together. We'll just make the most of those."
"Yeah," Finnick smiles softly. "Six more days of just us, without being judged or embarrassed or scared of death."
"Finn…"
"Just us," he brings her hand up to his lips. "No one else." His turquoise eyes brim with hope yet are drenched in sadness. Leaning in, she captures his lips, successfully getting him to close his eyes and kiss her back firmly. His other hand weaves through her blonde waves holding her steady. She can taste the desperation on his tongue as it parts her supple lips.
"You're not going anywhere," he whispers against the shell of her ear, nipping at her lobe gently.
"Wouldn't dream of it„" she giggles, squirming in his grasp. Rolling her onto the wet sand, he pins her hands above her head as he straddles her slender waist. Sealing his mouth to hers, he drives his hips into hers eliciting a wanton moan from her.
"You promise?" he purrs, digging his hips into hers once more.
"I promise,"she says, wrapping her legs around his lower back.
"Even in two years from now, when we're done school?" He inquires, desperation still woven deeply within his words.
"Two and a half years is a long ways away…" she mumbles, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth. "I don't know if i'll be ready for marriage."
"I'm not talking marriage," he says, seriously. "Promise me you won't leave, that if we don't work out, we'll still be friends."
"I promise," she says, reaching out to caress his cheek. A smile stretches across his face as he plants a joyful kiss to her lips.
"Trent and Penny are back! Trent agreed to drive us to the hospital to visit so hurry your asses up." Sebastian's voice calls out to them from the balcony in disgust.
Finnick peels himself off her before scooping her up off the ground and up into his arms, carrying her back to the house.
"I meant it … when I said thank you for bringing me here, Finn," she says, watching the rolling tide
beneath their feet.
"Have I told you I think you're crazy?" he chuckles "You wouldn't be wrong, I am crazy…about you," Madge smirks.
"Comedian now, aren't we?" Finnick rolls his eyes. Twisting her fingers around stray bronze curls on the nape of his neck, she leans in to press a chaste kiss to his lips.
"And yet, you love me."
Capturing her lips into another sound kiss, he squeezes her tightly before saying, "Damn right I do."