Annie had a moment alone to herself. After their first son, Clash, started kindergarten, she found out she was pregnant again. Finnick had been a good dad. Once he found out about Annie's pregnancy, he retired from his political position and became a full-time stay-at-home dad. Now, Clash was in 5supth/sup grade and their second child, a beautiful girl named Kerie, had just started kindergarten. Both were off at a sleepover staying with Auntie Katniss and Uncle Peeta. They hadn't had kids yet, and Annie suspected Peeta was using her well-behaved kids to convince Katniss to have some.
Finnick had taken off to the beach after dropping the kids off. His trips to the water were becoming scarcer between the endless chores and the kids. As well behaved as they were, kids will be kids, and they were always making a mess. Annie checked the time. Expecting him to come back before sunset. She thought of what she wanted to do with the free time she had.
She first walked into her closet, changing out of pants and a t-shirt and into a summer dress. It was a very light blue shade. The dress accentuated how her body had changed over two pregnancies and time. She was no longer a skinny teenage girl hiding at night in fear. Her stomach had become bloated with the years, the skin on her forehead creased from all of the warnings looks given to Clash and Kerie. She took off her socks and let her toes scrunch into the carpet, studying the veins on her feel. She tip-toed into the bathroom just because it made her feel elegant as if she was still in her youth wearing heels and a beautiful gown. In the bathroom, she washed her face and put on a light moisturizer Effie gave her each year on her birthday. Her make-up hadn't been done for a while, and rather than young bright freckles, acne scars dotted her face. She let her hair out of her ponytail. She kept it at her shoulders, unable to take care of it with her limited time.
She flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. She thought about taking a nap but decided against it. She walked to the kitchen, having nowhere else to go. She hummed a small tune and began to shuffle with small steps around the room, looking in cupboards and the refrigerator. She began grabbing ingredients. Honey, blueberries, flour, eggs, baking soda. Her strong hands mixed what she had grabbed. Annie smiled to herself as she sorted the mixture into 12 different muffin liners.
"Homemade blue berry muffins," she spoke as if she was presenting them to a crowd, "the best breakfast item for hungry tummies."
She had just pushed the muffins into the oven and began licking the spoon when she heard the door open. Her husband called her name from the front door, and she called back to notify her husband she was in the kitchen. Finnick appeared in the doorway. His hair was still wet from the ocean. He has used his shirt, now hanging over his shoulder, to dry it for the most part. His tanned body stood out against the white walls of the house. He had lost some of his figure for the same reason as Annie, but he was still beautiful. He stopped and leaned against the frame to look at his wife. Small compared to him, but just as strong. She was bent over the counter, looking at him with innocent eyes as a spoon hung out of her mouth. She grabbed another spoon from the collection kept in a drawer, scooped up some more of the uncooked batter, and held it out to her husband. He chuckled and moved towards her. As he took the spoon from her hand, he gave her a kiss on her forehead. The stubble on his chin left a ghost inch. Annie nodded and took the dirty bowl to the sink to wash.
Once the spoon was cleaned, Finnick walked over to where Annie was standing. Putting the spoon in the sink and wrapping his hands around her waist.
"How about I," He whispered in her ear, "finish these up, and you go up stairs and we can maybe have some fun if you're up to it?"
Annie closed her eyes for a moment letting her head fall back against his shoulder. She smelt like he had just come from the ocean. His skin was warm from the sun and rough from the sea.
"Sound good?" Finnick kissed her head again.
"That is the best plan you've come up with since you figured out how to make that crib" Annie turned around in his arms and smiled at him.
Finnick kissed Annie. She tasted the salt from his lips, and it reminded her of how badly she wanted to go to the ocean. Perhaps she would go with him tomorrow before Clash or Kerie returned from District 12.
"Take the muffins out in 20 minutes," Annie instructed as she scooted off to the stairs.
Finnick hummed back, letting her know he had heard her. Once Annie had gotten to the bedroom, she threw off her summer dress, changing it once more into a night slip. It was a light teal. It was old, but it still fit her and Finnick certainly enjoyed seeing her in it. She ran to the bathroom, quickly shaving her legs and adding some makeup to her face. Just mascara to darken her eyelashes and lipstick to redden her lips. She braided a few strands of her hair to create a very quick half-up, half-down style. She looked at the clock on the bathroom counter and saw she had five minutes left. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at herself. She certainly didn't look like she had at the wedding, but she still looked good. She went to the love seat at the end of the bed and laid down with her legs over the armrest. She decided that she could rest her eyes for the few remaining minutes.
Finnick came upstairs; he had discarded his shirt into the laundry room. He opened to door and found Annie still on the love seat, her head facing away from him. She didn't move as he walked in. He took her patience as an opportunity to change into PJ bottoms. Coming back to where Annie lay, he took a hand and turned her face towards him.
Her heavy breaths and the way her mouth had opened told Finnick that she had completely fallen asleep. He shook his head and pushed himself up, grabbing a comfortable old t-shirt and his old boxers Annie had stolen to use for her nightclothes, as well as a wet washcloth from the bathroom. He gently scrubbed the mascara from her eyes and the lipstick from her lips with the cloth and changed her from her teal slip to the clothes he retrieved from the closet.
He picked her up, careful not to wake her, and laid her on the bed, careful not to wake her up. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her forehead once more before drifting off to sleep.
"I love you, Annie."