For Mel, who I love possibly more than I love Finnick. Happy Valentine's Day, my dear. I can't think of a better way to spend today than with you, Finnick, and Annie.
The title for this fic is taken from Peter Bradley Adams song "Keep Us", which reminds me of Finnick and Annie more than any other song I've ever heard.
The rain starts just as she perches on the windowsill. It's as if the water in the clouds so far away senses her need. It comes to meet her. She's felt the rain coming for days now, and when it comes she releases the breath that has built up inside of her.
It starts slowly at first, the drops hitting the window one at a time. She traces their paths across the cool glass, forming a web of invisible lines for moments that have already passed. She traces again and again until it isn't tracing anymore. Her fingers brush across the glass senselessly.
Her reflection in the glass distorts as the rain comes down harder. The Annie everyone else sees washes away in a rush of muted color. Her fingers trace the colors now. The green of her eyes, and the blue of the ocean outside the window.
She leans her head against the window, letting the cold that permeates through the glass calm her. The glass is smooth and perfect. This moment feels the same way. She smiles, and her insides laugh.
"You look so beautiful when you're happy," Finnick says.
Her heart quickens for a moment when he speaks, and her smile widens. He is the only thing that could make this moment better. Her eyes flicker across the room, landing on him. He is lounging on her bed. His blond hair is tousled and his face is happy.
She holds out her hand for him. He rushes out of bed to meet her. "Dance with me," she says, turning toward the door.
"In the rain?" he asks.
She nods.
She runs out the door, dragging him behind her. They are hardly out the door when a laugh bubbles out of her lips. Finnick shrinks back slightly when the rain hits his head, but he smiles at her.
He watches her dance by herself for a moment. She spins in dizzying circles, her arms twirling around her and her face toward the sky. Drops of rain land on her tongue. Her shoulders scrunch up as she swallows the cold water. It is salted slightly from the ocean, and it tastes like bliss.
"Aren't you coming?" she asks him, pausing in the middle of her dance.
He runs out the meet her, pulls her into his strong arms, and swings her gently around. When he sets her down, she pulls him close, and clings tightly to him.
The stay like that for a long time, soaking in the comfort of the rain and swaying gently to the music only they can hear.
"You leave me speechless, Annie," he tells her, breathless.
"I have a thousand things to say about you," she says, resting her head on his shoulder as they continue to sway.
"Like what?"
"Like you're better than the rain. You're better than anything else I know, Finnick."
"Not you."
"Especially me. I'm crazy remember? And you're perfect."
"We're perfect," he tells her, lips inches from her ear. "Together we're perfect."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."