Disclaimer: I do not own or claim ownership to any content related to or included in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I write this story purely for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others, with no intent for making money.

Life Through Sea Green Eyes

Chapter Eight

All too soon the Games are over – I never thought I'd actually be saying that – and the victors are all packed up and put on the train back home. The winner is some guy from a random district like 7 or 9 – I wasn't really paying attention, but he seems to have won by sheer dumb luck. Saffron plants a kiss on my cheek and wiggles her fingers at me, and Cashmere then follows suit.

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how Saffron and Cashmere managed to spend so many nights with me if they're under Snow's control like I'll soon be. Maybe they have something on him, or he doesn't have anything on them – or maybe he actually orchestrated this whole thing to get me some practical experience in the art of making love, so I won't disappoint my future lovers. My head starts to swim from too many theories, so I shut down and fall asleep to Mags' clacking knitting needles for the duration of the train ride.

When I get back home, nearly a month after I left, father is waiting for me alone in the entry hall. "Hi," I say, peering around suspiciously. Natare wouldn't miss my homecoming for the world, so where is she?

"Welcome back, son," father says, and we embrace stiffly. Then he frowns. "You remember our little talk, before you left?"

"I behaved exactly as I was expected to," I say, which of course tells him nothing at all. Luckily, I'm saved from having to elaborate by Natare, Mara, and Annie running into the room.

"Welcome home, big brother!" Natare shouts, flinging her arms around me, while Mara and Annie throw handfuls of confetti at my head and laugh. "Surprise!"

"Sneaky little girl," I grin, and start to tickle her in retaliation. Father watches, amused, as Annie and Mara try to pull me off my giggling sister. Finally they succeed, and Natare collapses to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Not fair!" she pouts when she recovers. "You're bigger than me!"

"Well, you outnumber me," I counter, sticking my tongue out at her. "So there."

We retire to the kitchen, where the girls have prepared an elaborate feast – well, elaborate by District 4 standards. In Capitol, this is what the servants eat. But it reminds me of home, and tastes delicious besides, so I eat with gusto. We catch up on what I've missed since I've been gone – Mara's new boyfriend, Natare almost getting her leg bitten off when she swam too close to a hungry shark, Annie's brush with fame. It turns out Annie caught the eye of the most popular guy in her year – his name is something idiotic like Reef – and when she turned him down there was a minor scandal.

"Why did you say no?" I ask her. "He sounds... interesting."

"You mean conceited?" Annie grins.

"Hey, I never said any such thing."

"I'm looking for a guy with substance," she explains. "Someone who actually cares about me for me, not because he just happens to like the way I look."

"Looks are important, too," I say, thinking of Cashmere and Saffron.

"Maybe to you," Annie says loftily, and I realize I've said something wrong.

Mara and Natare are looking back and forth between us, apparently unwilling to interject themselves in the argument. "Not the most important, not by a long shot," I hastily correct. "But you have to admit they do factor in. A romantic relationship needs to have some desire at the core, or it won't last."

"And you would know this because you're Finnick Odair, ladies' man," Annie mocks. Crap, I really have pissed her off. "How many girlfriends have you actually had?"

Since I have no intention of telling her about Cashmere, and Saffron, and Venus, and the other girls Saffron brought along every once in a while, I say, "More than you."

It's not the answer she's looking for, but Annie does seem calmer now. "Sorry," she says out of the blue. "I get what you mean."

And this is why I like Annie. She always understands me, even if it takes her a while to get there sometimes. Not that I'm any better.

I settle back down to my normal life easily enough, although I've gotten so used to just saying whatever's on my mind when I was in the Capitol that I have to mentally censor myself. Especially when it comes to things like sex and relationships. Philandering my way through the Capitol is fine, but the girls in District 4 are... above that sort of thing. Our traditions are all about settling down with one man, raising a family, staying faithful to your partner, etc. This is not to say that I don't get very suggestive glances – and a couple of blatant proposals – in my wanderings through the village, but I have too much respect for these girls to risk giving them a bad reputation. Not that I don't respect Cashmere or Saffron, but they live on a different plane of existence from we humble fisher-folk in District 4.

Months crawl by, and I manage to forget most of the time about the next Hunger Games, and the responsibilities that are going to come with it. Mags tells me that I will probably have to mentor, since Mikael did it last time. I'm not sure I'm capable of balancing mentoring and seducing various prominent Capitol ladies at the same time, but it doesn't sound like I'll be getting a choice.

One sunny day, Annie comes up to me while I'm down at the docks, fixing one of the nets on our fishing boat for father so he can go out tomorrow and continue his one-man crusade to catch every single fish in the sea. I'm sitting shirtless on the deck because it's a miserably hot day, facing the sea, and so I don't notice Annie until she says, "Finnick?"

I glance up. She's in her school sailor outfit, long hair swirling around her shoulders, and she looks on the verge of tears. "What's wrong?" I ask, instantly concerned.

"It's nothing," she mumbles, standing on the boardwalk beside my bobbing boat and looking down at her hands. "Just something stupid. Never mind."

Rolling my eyes, I grab her hand and tug her onto the boat. "Sit," I say, pointing at a small bench at the prow of the vessel. Annie does as I say, and within a few minutes I have us untied and out to sea. The sea breeze usually has a calming effect on people, and I can see Annie's shoulders relax as we cut a path across the waves.

Once we're about half an hour out, I drop anchor and head into our little cabin where we keep the supplies we don't want to be washed overboard in case of a storm. Opening a little metal box, I pull out a small bag of sugar cubes that I keep there, the cool of the cabin preventing the sugar from congealing together. I also grab a flask of water, then go back out onto the deck.

Annie is now sitting on the starboard side, dangling her feet off the edge of the boat. She's rolled up the sleeves of her uniform due to the heat. I plunk down beside her and say, "Sugar cube?"

She's seen me with them before, but never been offered one, so Annie smiles at the gesture and accepts it.

"Now that you've partaken of my sugar, you must tell me all your secrets," I say in my seductive voice. Annie flips the little cube around in her fingers, not eating it.

"It really is stupid," she says. "I shouldn't have bothered you."

I nudge her arm. "You're my friend. Deal with it."

So Annie tells me her story. "The Winter Solstice dance is coming up, and Reef apparently decided that my first rejection was just a temporary lapse of judgment, because he asked me out again yesterday. I told him no, because he's completely not my type, but today when I got to school everyone was laughing at me. It turns out he told everyone that I had basically thrown myself at him, because I was desperate to go with someone to the dance and no one would ask me."

"That doesn't sound so bad," I say unthinkingly.

She turns furious eyes on me. "That's because all you do is walk around looking like a god in human form, completely oblivious to the fact that some of us have a bit harder time getting the attention of the opposite sex!"

Some ladies' man I am, I think sourly. Why do I always have to say such stupid things to Annie? Then I hit on the perfect solution. "Let's be honest," I say to her. "You're lovely, and could easily have a date if you wanted."

Annie smiles at that, but then she gets sad again. "Not after Reef's little rumour."

"Screw Reef," I tell her. "Screw your entire school, in fact. If the problem is they all think you can't get a guy, then let's show them that you can reel in the very best of us."

Her eyes widen in interest. "Are you offering to take me to the dance?"

I give a big stretch, showing off my lean muscles. Annie gawks at me despite our purely platonic relationship, because I'm just that wonderful. "Unless you think they'd laugh at you again."

"Not with you on my arm," Annie grins.

"Hey," I protest. "The girl goes on the guy's arm, not vice versa."

"Tough," she shoots back.

I pout at Annie until she gives in and ruffles my hair fondly. "You're on," she smiles, and I feel a deep sense of satisfaction that comes from making my friend happy. Although now I'll have to go to a school dance, of all things. Well, can't win them all.