Author's Note: Hello again Odesta fans! Here is the second oneshot of the night! I enjoyed writing the other one so much that I just had to write another one immediately!
A big thanks goes out to houseofme, odestalovebaby, PurpleKittyFangirl, and music lover from district 4 for reviewing and following!
This prompt was ever so kindly given to me by PurpleKittyFangirl.
Prompt: Finnick comes back from one of his more "rough" Capitol jobs and Annie has to cheer him up. Set after she wins her games and confesses her love for him.
This is once again in Annie's POV. It's quite long, sorry!
DISCLAIMER: I forgot this last time, but the characters in this chapter belong to Suzanne Collins!
I scurry around the kitchen, wiping the counters down and finishing up the dishes. Finnick should be home any minute and I am determined for the house to be squeaky clean for his arrival.
Although he's only been away for a week (much shorter than his usual monthly Capitol visits) I've missed him deeply. I've missed his sugary lips pressed against mine, I've missed cuddling him on the beach, and I've even missed his silly poems. I have even resorted to eating his sugar cubes, in hopes that they remind me of kissing him, but it turns out the things are pretty disgusting. It's funny how different they taste without the warmth of Finnick's lips along with them.
As I open one of the cupboards to put a plate away, I notice a piece of paper, jammed underneath a bowl. I smile, immediately knowing exactly what it is. Whenever Finnick goes away, he hides poems around the house for me to find. It helps distract me from my aching heart and it gives me something to do instead of escaping in my mind.
Finnick always worries to leave me alone, for one time when he was gone, Mags found me curled in a ball on the kitchen floor, lost in my madness. Apparently I hadn't eaten anything for 2 days…
I quickly unfold the poem, eager to hear Finnick's words. Although they are always cheesy, they never cease to put a smile on my face.
I once met a beautiful girl from the sea
As soon as I saw her I knew we were meant to be
Her auburn hair is the softest I ever did see
And her eyes are the prettiest shade of sea-green
Never before have I met someone so loving and gentle
She's the only thing that keeps me from going mental
Annie Cresta's so beautiful she could be a piece of treasured art
I really do love her with all of my heart
I giggle and fold the poem back up, tucking it in my pocket. I really can't wait to tease Finnick about that one later. Suddenly, the door flies open and I hear the sound of familiar footsteps.
"Finnick!" I squeal, running towards the entry way of our large house. Technically the house is Finnick's, but I moved in about a month after I arrived home from the games.
My heart skips a beat when I see him standing there, his suitcase clutched in his bronze hands. I've been around him almost every day for 5 months, but the sight of him still makes me feel giddy. I quickly wrap my arms around Finnick, breathing in deeply, but instead of sugar cubes and sea salt, I am met with the smell of a woman's perfume. The smell breaks my heart and I pull away, searching Finnick's stunning green eyes.
"Hey, Annie," He mutters, staring down at his Capitol shoes. I immediately know something is wrong, for Finnick always calls me Angelfish, especially when he first arrives home.
"Is everything okay, Finn?" I ask worriedly, reaching up to push his soft blonde curls out of his face. He flinches when my hand makes contact to his forehead and I know that this Capitol trip must have been worse than the others.
"Everything's fine. I'm going to go take a shower," he says. Quickly he turns and runs up the stairs, leaving me to stare after him. Despite the fact that Finnick has never lied to me before, I know that everything is the opposite of fine. Usually Finnick is a bit depressed when he arrives home from the Capitol, but he always makes an effort to hide it. I don't understand; he was only gone for a week this time. Shouldn't things be better instead of worse?
I hear the sound of water running upstairs, so I decide to give Finnick some space. I'll talk to him about this later.
While I wait for him, I decide to prepare a picnic to cheer him up. Finnick always enjoys eating on the beach and watching the sunset. I busy myself with making tuna melts, to remind him of home.
Once I am finished I gather some fruit together and I even have the chance to make freshly squeezed orange juice. Finally, I grab the bowl of sugar cubes and slide it in the picnic basket.
Glancing at the clock, I realize that it has been an hour and I can still hear the water running upstairs. Finnick's showers never take longer than 15 minutes and that's only when he first returns from the Capitol. This just confirms my suspensions even more that something is definitely wrong.
I climb up the steps towards the bathroom and hesitantly knock on the door. My heart drops when all I hear is the running water. Finnick always sings in the shower in his silly off key voice!
"Finn?" I call. He doesn't answer, so I knock again. "Finnick!" If he hears me, he doesn't let on. My heart accelerates in worry and I turn the doorknob, relieved to find that it isn't locked. I open the door a crack, peering in. Finnick's stiff clothes are dumped in the garbage can in the corner of the room and I can see his shadow behind the shower curtain.
"Finnick, what's going on?" I cry. His head pokes out of the curtain and I'm startled to see that his skin is red. It looks as though he has been rubbed raw.
"Annie?" He asks, surprised.
"Finnick I'm going to be waiting in the bedroom. I expect you to be out of the shower in 5 minutes!" I say, surprising myself by the strictness in my voice. I must startle Finnick too, for he nods and shuts off the water. I quickly hurry out of the bathroom and perch on the end of the bed we share.
I can't get over how red his skin looked; it looked painful.
After a few more minutes, Finnick shuffles in looking ashamed. He is dressed in more casual looking clothes and his skin is just as red.
"Please tell me what's going on," I say gently, grabbing his hand and pulling him on the bed beside me.
"Nothing is wrong, Annie!" He assures me, but I have known Finnick long enough to know that he is lying.
"Finnick I thought we agreed never to lie to each other," I try again. Finnick sighs and when he faces to look at me I notice tears sparkling in his sea green eyes. The sight pains me.
"I never had a break, Annie. I had the same amount of clients as I always have and I was only there for a quarter of time that I usually am," he whispers. I'm not used to seeing Finnick so vulnerable and it breaks my heart. I wrap my arms around him to hug him, but just like before, he flinches.
"Finnick why don't you want me to touch you?" I ask gently, pulling away.
"I don't want you to touch me where they touched me. It's not right. I don't deserve someone like you! I cheat on you, Annie!" He yells, standing up.
"Finn, you don't have a choice. If anything I don't deserve you," I say, standing up next to him.
"No, that's not true! Don't even say that!" Finnick insists, his voice husky with emotion.
"Remember, you're doing this to protect me. Now how about we come to an agreement. We both deserve each other," I assure him. "Remember your poem? As soon as you saw me you knew we were meant to be." At this a ghost of a smile appears on his face. It's not much, but it's a start. "Now can I please hug you?"
"No, I'm not clean," He says, taking a step back from me. These dates with his clients must be affecting him way more than I ever thought they were. I just wish I could do something to help him!
"Finnick you just took a shower," I protest. I step towards him and before he can pull away, press my lips against him. I am spread with the familiar feeling of warmth and electricity. At first Finnick tries to pull away, but I don't allow him and soon he is kissing me back just as passionately.
When I finally pull back, I'm relieved to see that his eyes no longer look as pained. "You definitely don't taste dirty! Now come on, I prepared a picnic." I grab Finnick's hand and drag him downstairs. We grab the picnic basket and walk hand in hand towards the beach.
Later that night as I lay against Finnick, watching the sun set, I realize that I can help him. I can make him fish melts when he misses District 4, I can convince him that's he's perfectly clean when he spends hours scrubbing himself down, but most of all I can make him feel loved.
What do you think? Sorry its so long and it kind of ends abruptly. There was sooo much more I wanted to add to this, but I couldn't since it's supposed to be a oneshot. Anyway, please review and thanks for reading! If you have a prompt, please send it to me! I can never have too many! I love you all! :) xo