Back in Katniss' point of view. Thank you, people who took time to read this story. This might be the last chapter.
It's really no fair how Gale's love story is so much more frickin' simpler than mine. But it really is better that way for Gale. Now if only mine could take some similarity. My love story is the most complicated than anyone I know. Perhaps even more so than Annie. But poor Annie is mentally unstable with no male figure to lean on. Well, besides Aquari. Anyway Finyk's story was a little more complicated than his older sister's.
Gale and Madge and their children came to visit us one children had met was several years ago, and Primrue was just married this visit. Finyk was sixteen, and Primrue and Aquari were in District 4 or having their honeymoon or something. So it was Maysilee, Athena, Rorick, and Finyk. Finyk was the same age as Maysilee, Athena was a year younger, and Rorick was was just entering his teenager years at the age of thirteen. Athena and Finyk were already good friends as young children, because they were both athletic and competitive, while Maysilee was a bookworm. In so many ways, they reminded me of Gale and me. They had the same blonde hair and gray eyes. It was Peeta who mentioned this to me. You know Peeta and his colors.
On day two, I saw Maysilee gazing at Finyk with a dreamy look in her eyes. Peeta and I exchanged glances, and Gale just raised his eyebrows in his own skeptical way. I'm not sure if Gale was feeling really brutal or something, but he started picking on his eldest daughter.
"Lookin' at someone?" Gale smirked with self-pleasure. Maysilee looked away quickly and blushed a deep red and mumbled something inaudible under her breath.
"Gale,"Madge scolded,"don't be so nasty." This just widened his smirk instead of diminishing it, but he didn't say anything else. Rorick became somewhat absorbed in Peeta's paintings.
"What's this?" Rorick asked, nodding to one of Peeta's paintings.
Peeta was reluctant to tell him. "They're just some dogs."
Rorick wasn't stupid. "But why do they have such human features? Like the one with the pretty green eyes and wavy fur that looks blonde."
The mutt he was referring to was Glimmer. The adults in the room became quiet. I knew Madge wouldn't tell him. Or Peeta. So that just leaves Gale and me, since we both never fail to keep the truth from people. I peered at Gale curiously, wondering if he would tell Rorick since he wasn't one to keep secrets. He shrugged. "They're muttations," I said quietly.
"Really? That's cool. This woman teacher at our school told us about the Capitol making all kinds of weird mutts,"Rorick said, giving the painting a closer look. I saw the famous raise of Gale's eyebrows. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, they're cool-they tried ripping my guts out, that's cool. This kid does not know what I've been through with mutts. I'm guessing that fricking teacher didn't mention anything about mutts killing a bunch of innocent people.
Rorick was examining Peeta's others works when we heard loud laughing and the front door smacking shut. Maysilee momentarily looked up from her book, but remembered the comment her father made earlier, and immediately resumed her reading. Finyk and Athena came in sweaty, sticky, and dirty. This time, I raised my brows." What have you two been up to?"
"Running, climbing, listening, target-shooting, competing, and other verbs,"Athena smiled. Finyk nodded it as if to confirm it.
"Okay, you two, off with the shoes. Now," I said authoritatively,"because I don't want to spend the rest of the evening scrubbing floors." Yes, I know I was kind of being a obsessive-compulsive mother-jerk at the moment, but I didn't want to do any more cleaning. My body wasn't built for doing mother stuff all day. Finyk and Athena retreated to an extra room (we've got a bunch of those in this oversized house), creepily the one Snow and I had our discussion oh so many years ago. Rorick trailed after them.
"Wouldn't you like to join them?" I asked Maysilee.
"I s'pose," she said, putting her book down, and reluctanctly followed.
When I went to the "extra room" a while later, I found Finyk and Maysilee in an intense match of chess. I remembered when Plutarch taught me how to play chess, and we had long chess matches when we both had nothing to do. Since Plutrach really wealthy, he let me keep one of his crystal glass chess sets.
"Where did you learn how to play, Finyk?" I asked, since I had no clue that my own son knew how to play chess.
"Primrue showed me a few years ago," he replied nonchalantly. Oh, that's right. I showed Primrue when she was younger, but didn't bother showing Finyk, since I didn't take him as the kind who would like to play chess. I saw Athena fidgeting in a corner, obviously from boredom.
I looked at her sympathetically."Uncle Peeta isn't really a chess player either." Yes, that's what Gale's children call Peeta, and they call me Aunt Katniss. My children mention Gale and Madge as uncles and aunts too. Our families are too close to mention each by Mr. and Mrs., but it would seem a bit strange to mention us by our first names too.
Athena nodded and smiled. By the time the chess match ended, Rorick was already snoring. Puberty. Always making adolescence sleeping over ten hours a day. Anyway, Maysilee won. I don't know, but I think I might have seen some admiration in Finyks expression.
The next few days, Finyk mentally divided his time between Maysilee and Athena. Maysilee was a fair haired girl, with sky blue eyes, looking like a younger version of Madge. She was quiet girl, and was really very intellectual.
When the Hawthorne family left several days later, Finyk asked me a question. "What are you supposed to do when you like two different people?"
I snickered. "Why are you asking me? Why don't you ask Dad or something? He made me fall in love with him, no easy thing to do."
"Um, I don't know. Maybe 'cuz you happen to be the only parent standing there at the moment," Finyk said.
"Yeah, I don't think you know I had to pick between two people," I said, smirking.
"Who else besides Dad?" he asked with curiosity in his voice. Should I tell him? Yeah, I'm not one to keep secrets.
"Uncle Gale," I said, waiting for his reaction.
His eyes widened in disbelief. "Your kidding, right?"
I leaned on the wall. "And why would I?"
"I dunno. It just seems unlikely." He was still surprised.
"Well, when you have to pick between two people and you're not sure who you love most...you pick the person you can't live without," I said, quoting Gale the night he talked to Peeta when I was still Mockingjay.
"Okay..." he trailed off, looking confused.
I patted him on the back. "You'll know what I'm talking about soon enough, just don't be a moron in the meantime."
And I guess the time did come soon enough. When the Hawthornes did visit, sometimes I'd see Finyk with Maysilee, and sometimes I'd see him with Athena. I just hope he wouldn't make a jackass out of himself. Many times he would mention how sweet and smart Maysilee was, but other times he would say that he loved Athena better. "Look, Finyk, I don't care who you pick, as long as you don't jump into bed with them until you're sure who you want," I told him. He raised his eyebrows.
I wasn't really paying attention to who he liked more, but I was sure he'd end up picking Maysilee, because often times people who are a lot alike don't get along well. I was wrong. I just happened to be looking out the window when I saw Finyk giving Athena a kiss. I pulled Peeta over, and said,"Don't they remind you of when we were in the cave?"
"A little,"he said.
"A little?" I asked skeptically.
"A lot," He corrected and hugged me. I could still hear the strong, steady beat of his heart. Even with his unnatural prosthetic leg, he could still bring the same steadiness into everything. I knew I didn't make a wrong choice so many years ago when I had to make my own choice.
From the time I saw Finyk give Athena that kiss, I knew he would choose her. Finyk was still kind to Maysilee, but his heart wasn't fricking into her anymore. Actually, I don't know if I'm this observant, or if it's Peeta who mentioned this to me.
Finyk did love Athena more. When Finyk proposed, they ended up with the same wedding rings. Weird. That just shows how alike they are, yet they love each other so much...I think. Sorry I'm being brutal again, but I grew up brutally. They had their wedding right here in District 12. Right at home. Actually, you probably know this, but District 12 is definitely not one of the poorest districts anymore. All Districts are equal, even the Capitol, which Paylor likes to call District 0. The produce of all the Districts is divided evenly to all Districts. Anyway, I'm really getting off topic. Peeta let them have his old house across the street, before we decided to stay in mine.
They had two kids. Twins. Think how horrible it would be to have twins in old District 12. Especially if it was unexpected. Well, they had twins. A boy and a girl. They're about the same age as Piper, my other granchild. The boy's name is Asher and the girl's name is Bryony, but we just call her Breezy. So I have three grandchildren (hard math, huh?). I would have never known, because of what I told Gale about never getting married and having children the day of the reaping, which seems like a lifetime ago. It is hard not to love Peeta, and it's harder not to love your own children, so be it.
Okay, so this won't be the last chapter. I need an epilogue, right? Thanks for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!
