Covering his ears, Noah goes to hide in the furthest corner of his bedroom. The ventilation system carries sounds a little too well because even with the door closed, he can still hear Annie shout from family room.
"You didn't so much as tell me she was in town let alone the two of you were having lunch together! How do you think I was going to feel when I found out?"
"Time and time again you've assured me that you are ok with the current arrangements, so forgive me for thinking you would continue to be okay with them."
Noah can hear his father's patience thinning. Grabbing his stuffed bear off his bed, Noah squeezes the toy to his chest. It is happening all over again, just like when Johanna lived with them.
"I'm not upset because of the arrangement," Annie sighs. "I'm glad Noah gets to spend time with his mother it's just…"
"Just?"
"I don't like her spending time with you. Alone."
The house falls into a pregnant silence. Clutching his bear tighter to his chest, tears roll down the boy's face in anticipation.
"Dad's going to yell,Dad's going to please don't yell at Annie. Please don't yell at Annie."
"She surprised me today," Finnick begins, calmly. "I was expecting Caius to show up in two weeks and drop off some paper work. Which is what I would normally be doing out in California but…."
Noah removes his hands from his ears and crawls across room to the vent but he can no longer hear what they are saying. Rising to his feet, he tiptoes out of his room, teddy bear still in hand, and down the hallway. Standing in the middle of the room, Annie is wrapped in his father's embrace as he whispers something into her ear.
The tension Noah previously heard in Annie's voice is no longer there as she now mumbles her answers to him. Scampering towards them, Noah wraps his arms around his father's waist from behind, surprising his father and Annie significantly.
"Hey buddy," he says, pulling his son between him and Annie. "Where've you been?"
"In my room."
"Have you been crying?" Annie asks, kneeling down to level and thumbing gently his red cheeks and tear stain tracks.
"I don't like it when you guys fight," Noah admits, peeling away from his dad to give Annie a hug. "Especially not at you because it wasn't your fault. It was mine."
"Why do you think it's your fault?" she questions, with the voice that would lull him to sleep when he was younger.
"You two wouldn't have been fighting if I hadn't said Mama should come with us to hockey practice. Then you wouldn't have known she was in town," Noah says with a hiccup. "I should have let mom go back to the hotel like she wanted to. I shouldn't have tried to make us all be a family."
Finnick's hand weaves expertly through his son's hair, "There is nothing wrong with that, Noah. Even if your mom, Annie and I don't always see eye to eye we're trying very hard to be a family. For you."
"Really?" Noah sniffs, wiping his nose on the cuff of his shirt sleeve.
"Really," Finnick smiles genuinely as he bends down to place a kiss on the boy's sweaty hair. "Though, it's also because I'm family that I can tell you you need a bath. You stink, buddy."
Annie laughs, picking herself up off the floor. "He's starting to smell like a man now."
"Ugh, that is disgusting Annie. My boy isn't going smell like a locker room."
It's Noah's turn to laugh as Annie rolls her eyes. "I'll go start his bath then. Make sure he takes out a fresh pair of pajamas and throws the others in the laundry. He's been wearing those for two weeks."
"Yes ma'am," Finnick salutes with a smirk, watching Annie sashay down the hall to the bathroom.
"Dad," Noah says, once he hears the water begin to run. "You never answered my question. Do you still love Mama?"
The smirk on Finnick's face falls as he looks over at his keening son. Sighing deeply, he pulls Noah close. "I did love your mother, very much. I would have loved her much much more had she stayed and we raised you together. But she didn't. And now…the only person I will ever love the way I could have loved your mother is Annie."
Wrapping his short arms around his father's waist, Noah hugs him tightly. "I'm glad you picked Annie, Dad."
"I'm glad I picked her too, kiddo," Finnick's smile wavers as he rubs Noah's back gently. "You better get going before the water gets cold and Annie starts shouting again."
Noah's face blanches, making his green eyes pop, before skidding down the hardwood floors to the bathroom.
Running his hand through his hair, Finnick takes a deep breath. He will never know how he got so damn lucky.
"Alright, so he's just reading right now but he said he'll turn his light off soon," Annie says as she walks into her and Finnick's bedroom. Climbing up onto the bed beside her husband, his glasses are perched on his nose while reads some paperwork. His head snaps up immediately at the tinkling sound of her laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"Like father like son," she coos. The pads of her fingers rub against the smooth, shaven skin before furling around his jaw and guiding him down into a soft, slow kiss.
Smiling, he frees his hands of the papers and onto his nightstand, before searching eagerly for Annie's slender frame. Hoisting her up onto his hips, without breaking their kiss, his hands snake under her t-shirt. Wandering fingers climb ever higher until they find the clasp of her bra. With a flick of his wrist, the fastenings come undone leaving fervent hands to grasp as her unconfined breasts.
Shifting out from under his touch, Annie pulls the garments over her head and tosses them onto the floor with abandon. Leaning back down with intent to capture his mouth in another sweet kiss, his lips are not waiting for hers. Having secured themselves onto the base of her neck, they leave a wet trail down her chest until the tip of his tongue sweeps over a pointed, pink nipple.
A sharp gasp passes her lips as her fist into the bed sheets beneath them. Sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she tries to keep silent as Finnick swirls his tongue slowly around one nub and kneads her other breast in the palm of his hand. The brisk contrast of delectable heat to stark cold, once Finnick pops his lips off her, has Annie gasping as a shiver rolls down her spine. However, the heat of his mouth continues to follow along the coolness of her skin as he rolls her onto her back.
"So, I've been thinking," Finnick starts, his voice sultry and thick as he kisses her blow the breast. "Now that we've got all our misunderstandings sorted…"
A well placed kiss to her stomach has Annie bucking her hips.
"And you've been very very clear on exactly what your problem with Cashmere is…"
Annie succumbs to her urge to moan while Finnick's lips touch the skin above the hem of her gray sweats.
"I was wondering why not start to try and make that baby now."
Her free hands make their way up the length of her thigh before diving beneath the waist band of her pants and pushing them impatiently down part of her thigh. Finnick helps tug them the rest of the way down, letting them pool at her ankles before he kisses his way back upwards.
"This could take some time and I'd rather not miss an opportunity."
Annie's dainty fingers sift through his thick, bronze hair and grasp him tightly once she can feel his lips brush against her labia.
"How does that sound to you?" he asks, his eyes flickering up at hers excitedly.
All she can manage is a nod once his tongue runs up the seam of her slick folds. Her hips push up, demanding more with each flick of wet heat that teases her swelling bundle of nerves. Annie's grip on his hair tightens with each snap of her hips and breathy gasp as he sucks and worries her clit.
Just as she feels the coil in her stomach about to spring loose, Finnick peels his lips off of her. The sound of his belt hitting the floor has her smiling from ear to ear even before she can open her eyes.
Slinking her arms around his neck, Annie pulls Finnick down on top of her, to kiss every inch of his face. Locking her ankles around his lower back, Annie brings her husband forward, forcing him towards her dripping core with a groan. With a quick adjustment of his hips, Finnick slides himself in with a moan synonymous to Annie's.
Wary of his force as he pumps his hips, Finnick is careful not to shake the bed too much. With Noah only a few feet away, it is best not to wake him from the sound of the backboard slamming against the wall.
"Annie, I'm close," he mumbles, as her hips snap into his violently. A moan in acknowledgement passes her lips before capturing him in one final kiss before he comes.
His even thrusts have Annie over the edge in a blinding moment of electrical currents and accelerated heart beats moments after he finishes. Falling beside her, Finnick drags Annie into his chest, holding her close.
"I'm sorry I got mad earlier."
With heavy lids, Finnick turns to his wife and kisses the top of her head. "You had every right to be. I'm sorry I hadn't been honest with you."
Snuggling closer into his perspiration covered body, Annie kisses his cheek. "I forgive you, just please don't do it again."
"Wouldn't dream of it," he says, yawning. "You're too important."
As his eyes fall shut, Annie remains awake a little while longer as thoughts of having a baby to call her own swirls in her head. The rhythmic beat of her heart is filled with excitement and joy before succumbing to be riddled with anxiety. Shaking her head, she erases the idea of possibly losing the non-existent child. It's silly to worry about such a thing now.
Rolling over to find Finnick, sprawled across his side of the bed, Annie recoils herself into his body and falls into a sound sleep dreaming contently about her, Finnick, Noah and the baby.