A week or so later.

Renata murmured quietly as she stirred, the sun coming in through the open window and warming her skin. She opened her eyes and found that she was alone in bed, as the case had been for days now. Faint sounds of waves rolling in the ocean wafted in from outside and she yawned when she sat up, stretching her arms over her head. The floor creaked when she got out of bed and she went to her dresser, changing into a fresh pair of clothes and not bothering to look at her reflection. As she headed for the stairs, she could hear the kids in the kitchen talking back and forth, and of course Vic's little baby gurgles.

It had been surprisingly easy to slip into a routine, and she was slowly getting used to the quaint way of life that she had been a part of before her world had been changed.

"Good morning, Renata," Leona greeted her softly when she walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," She smiled back and inhaled the wonderful aroma of food, her stomach growling loudly. "Morning, kiddos. Are you ready to go to school?"

"Uh huh!" Aria exclaimed and she jumped up from her chair, taking her empty bowl to the sink. She dashed out of the kitchen to find her shoes, her dark hair flying out behind her.

"Do I have to go?" Polom pouted, dragging his feet as he carried his bowl to the sink.

"You most certainly do," Leona smiled and smoothed his hair. "Once you get there you'll have fun, that's how it's always been…" She bent down and kissed his forehead softly, making his cheeks turn red. "Have a good day, be the smart young man I know you are!"

He mumbled something quietly and slumped towards the direction of the front door.

"Thank you for taking them," The older woman said to the redhead. "That's a big help."

Renata smiled back and nodded. "I'll be back in a little while. Do you need anything from town while I'm there?"

"I don't, but why don't you get out of the house a little while? You've been cooped up in here all week helping me, you should stay out and…be with people again," She said softly, her tone kind. "I can handle things here, don't worry about it."

"Alright," She answered after a moment. "Yes, okay. Thank you," she smiled and gasped when Aria tugged at the leg of her pants.

"We're gonna be late!" She said worriedly and pointed towards the front door. "Come on, Rini!" She grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the door, Polom already leading the way.

"Have a good day, Polom!" Renata called after the little boy as he hurried towards his friends.

"See you later, Rini!" he tossed back.

"I'll come get you when school's over, okay?" She smiled down at Aria as they stood at the outside gate to the school building. "I'll be waiting right here like always."

"Bye," Aria hugged her legs tightly before scampering off towards the building. She stopped at the door and raised her arm as high as she could, waving at the young woman.

Renata laughed and waved back before she disappeared and she slowly lowered her arm, the sounds of children laughing and shouting soon disappearing as they were all herded inside. Now what was she supposed to do? Even before the games, she had lived like a hermit. She was too shy for her own good, but Leona was right. She couldn't stay cooped up in the house forever.

The marketplace was the busiest place in the district, with vendors selling a wide variety of merchandise. Towards the end of the stands was where the fisherman sold their haul, and that was always buzzing with people. She avoided that end, having no desire to buy any meat at the moment. She paused at a few stands that sold fabrics and she ran her hand over a beautiful green swatch, looking up when the man that manned the stand approached her.

"That's a good one, yeah? It'd look good on you. I'll give you a deal, sweetheart, since you're special. Half price," He grinned, winking at her.

Renata blushed and she smiled shyly. "I don't have any money on me, I'm sorry. But you're right, it's beautiful…Can I come back tomorrow?"

"Of course you can. I'll be here, but that deal won't last long, so you'd better hurry," he chuckled and gave her another wink before she went on to another stand.

She perused the bound books with careful hands, not wanting to ruin how perfect they looked. She picked up a leather bound book and opened it, flipping through the fresh, empty pages. It was gorgeous. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she turned, finding that most everyone that was shopping was staring at her. Her cheeks flushed and she turned away quickly, her heart pounding. Was she that interesting? She felt like a specimen underneath a microscope and a shiver went up her spine. She didn't like this at all.

"'Scuse me, ma'am," A voice behind her asked. He stared into her face when she looked at him and then nodded and turned around to walk back to a couple of other people.

"I can't see any difference," she heard him say.

Her chest felt funny, and she set the book down to clutch her chest, all the sounds around her blurring together. She gasped for air and her eyes bugged out, her knees trembling at the threat of giving out. What was happening to her? The encounter had sparked something inside her and she couldn't calm herself down. All around her, people were staring, whispering, pointing at her. They knew, didn't they? They knew that someone had died for her replacement eye. Her stomach growled and she covered her mouth, afraid that she would get sick.

"Renata!" A voice made her suddenly snap out of it and she whirled around, her eyes wide.

"C-Cecil?" She asked, swallowing and looking around at the other people. They were all minding their own business, paying her no second glance. "What are you doing here?"

He frowned, seeing the fearful look on her face. "I'm on my lunch," he held up the pail. "What are you doing here? Shopping?"

"Y-yeah…Leona thought that it would be good for me to get out and back into society," she smiled nervously, her hands shaking. "I don't know, all of the sudden I felt…awful." She looked back at the journal that she'd dropped and saw that there were indentions in the leather from her fingernails.

"What's that?" He stepped up beside her and picked up the book, pursing his lips at the marks on it. "How much?" He called the vendor over.

Renata watched him and swallowed as he paid for the journal and then placed it into her hands. "Cecil…"

He smiled and gently took her arm, leading her away. "I think that you could use it write down some of the things that are bothering you. The things that you have nightmares about." He paused for a moment as they walked to the end of an abandoned dock and took a seat.

The breeze that rolled off the sea was cool and pleasant as they let their feet dangle off the edge, nearly touching the surface.

"If you wrote down what troubles you, then it would be out of your head," he continued, taking out his sandwich and breaking it in half for the both of them. "Then you wouldn't have to carry it around with you anymore."

She nodded and chewed her bite of food, mulling over what he had said. "I can try," she said softly, nodding again and looking out at the boats that were out on the water. "Do you miss fishing?"

He grunted quietly and shrugged, swallowing the last of his sandwich. "Sometimes."

"Why did you stop?"

"It wasn't long after your dad died. I didn't want something like that to happen and leave Leona alone. So I took a job in the cannery and I've been there ever since…" He looked over her and smiled. "And I'm glad I did, because now I've got more than one person to come home to. I've got five."

Renata felt warmth build up inside her and moved up her body until she felt nothing but happiness and such love for Cecil. "That's right," she whispered back. She tossed the bit of crust left over from the bread into the water and picked up the leather bound journal, opening it. What Cecil had said made perfect sense. If she could write down what she thought about, she wouldn't have to think about it anymore…

"I'm afraid I have to get back, love," The older man groaned as he got up from his seat, holding out his hand for her to take. "But I'll see you later on tonight." They walked in comfortable silence towards the marketplace and she looked up when he stopped. "You're sleeping better?"

She nodded, giving him a little smile. "I still have nightmares, but it isn't like before…it's bearable."

He chewed on his lip for a moment and looked around at the shoppers before looking back at Renata. "Why don't you head home? Start trying to get some things out," He smiled and gave her a tight hug.

"Hello up there," A voice came from outside Renata's window.

She looked down and smiled when she saw Finnick standing there. "Where have you been all day?"

He motioned towards the ocean and he smiled bigger, "Come with me and I'll show you." He watched her disappear from the window and after a moment, she walked out of the house, clutching a book to her chest. "Come on, we want to get out before it starts raining…" He took her slender hand in his and led her down the beach to where his dock was. "Careful," he smiled as he helped her onto the boat and pushed off from shore.

"Is it safe to be out here when it's going to rain?" She asked, biting her lip as she heard a low rumble of thunder.

Finnick merely smiled. "Just wait." He steered the boat away from land until they were so far away from shore that Renata could just barely see the houses that lined the beach.

Thunder rumbled again and she watched Finnick toss the anchor overboard and then followed him to the back end of the vessel.

"Look," He nodded towards land, sitting down.

Renata blinked and watched the storm that was occurring over the land, and she slowly sat down beside Finnick. "Wow, that's amazing… Watching a storm is much better than being trapped in one." Her eyes widened as lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up the bleak sky.

Finnick smiled and nodded, watching Renata out of the corner of his eye. "What's this you're carrying around?" He asked, picking up her book from her lap.

Her cheeks turned red and she reached for it. "It's just…it's my thoughts," she mumbled in embarrassment.

He raised his eyebrow and grinned widely at the color of her cheeks. "Why are you blushing? Are your thoughts about me written down?"

She just stared at him, her heart pounding as he opened the book to where she had written.

"The ground beneath my feet is the same – solid, firm
The sky above me is still blue, the sea still wide
So why, now that I am home, do I only squirm?
Why does every glance make me want to run and hide?
The people that I once knew, where are their faces?
I'm running away, running from my own shadow
Where, I don't know – away from these foreign places.
Something changed when I left, something that I can't know
Until I am once again my own free person
Sun to dark, calm to storm, caught in your undertow
Tell me this will pass, that some day we will be one
You saving me, me redeeming you, and that's that.
That's how we work together, that's how we stay sane
Through all this chaos that goes on after the fact
I realize now how they tear you down and they drain
Any sense of life and laughter you had before
Before the storm, before the war they made you fight
And you can close the curtains, you can lock the door
But unless you're here, holding me all through the night
I won't make it to the morning, when the sun breaks
Over the sea that once rocked me to sleep, but now
Serves as my only escape from all this heartache.
Please don't leave, don't make me falter, don't let me bow."

"Rini," Finnick said softly, looking up at her. "This is amazing, this is…beautiful." He was quiet as he reread it silently, a funny feeling in his chest.

Renata smiled shyly and she looked at the deck, the wind rocking the boat back and forth. "Cecil said that he thought if I could write things down, that it would take some of the edge off. It did help, I can see it on paper now, and it isn't just inside my head." She furrowed her brow at a couple of raindrops that fell on her leg and she gasped when she looked up and saw the storm clouds forming right over them. "Hurry, we have to get back!"

Finnick grabbed her arm and opened a hatch, revealing a small ladder to below deck. "Come on, before we get soaked!" He let her climb down first and then he descended the ladder, closing the hatch tight. He groaned when they bumped head and he chuckled deeply, putting a hand to his forehead. "Sorry about that. It's a little cozy down here. Usually it's only me, so…" he trailed off and fumbled over a few things in a box before he found a lantern and lit it. "There you are! I- what's the matter?" He frowned, seeing the look of distress on her face. He hung the lantern on a nail before going and sitting beside her on the small cot for a bed.

"I'm okay," she said quietly, wringing her hands together. "I'm just a little afraid is all." She closed her eyes as a clap of thunder sounded from above them, jumping when she felt Finnick put his arm around her. She buried herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around him and swallowing. "My dad was killed during a storm at sea."

Finnick swallowed and he held Renata closer, running his hand up and down her back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you out here. We'll be alright, though. We're safe." He gently petted her hair with his hand, swallowing again and hoping that she couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating. He could feel her breath against his neck and he closed his eyes, trying to remember what if had felt like to kiss her lips. It felt like it had been an eternity ago. Had she been left breathless and reeling like he had been? Or had she simply gone along with it so as to not embarrass him?

"Renata," he whispered, his lips aching to feel hers once more. His hand tilted her face up to him and he moved closer, her soft breaths reaching his lips.

"Why are you always gone when I wake up?" She whispered right before his lips had almost touched hers.

Finnick's heart sank and he released her face from his grasp, letting it fall into his lap. He stood up and faced away from her, his arms hanging limply at his sides. "I don't want you to get too attached to me," he said quietly, then snorted because he had just been about to kiss her. Renata had been all he could think about for quite a while now. "I don't want something bad to happen to you," he whispered, swallowing. "They took away everyone that I care about, and I don't want to lose you, Rini." He sighed and scratched his head, listening to the rain for a moment.

The tiny cabin was quietly for a moment, and then Finnick felt two slender arms wrap around his midsection.

"They can't hurt us both, can they? They need us," She whispered, resting her cheek against his back. "But…not as badly as I need you. They don't want you to themselves as badly as I do."

He bit his lip and slowly turned, looking at the short young woman. "It isn't safe," he whispered, shaking his head. "We can't, Rini…"

Renata chewed on her lip and she nodded, sighing softly.

"If I had my choice," He said after a moment, looking at her intently. "I would take us both away from here. We'd set out away from land and sail until we found a place all to ourselves, where you'd be safe, and happy. Maybe someday we could…" He blushed, scratching his head in embarrassment. "We could have each other, truly."

Renata's heart had never beat so quickly in her life and she felt her cheeks turn hot as Finnick stepped up to her and pressed his lips against hers. They were alone; there were no worries of being caught or getting in trouble. His lips were so soft, but so tender against hers. Her head spun with every slow, gentle kiss, and she reached her arms around his neck, holding her body against his and letting her fingers stroke the hair that was at the base of his head.

"Renata," Finnick whimpered, and she could feel the tears on his face when he pressed his cheek against hers.

Tears welled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as he kissed her again, and she whined quietly against his mouth. She knew what she wanted. She wanted him more than a new home, more than any amount of money or amenities.

"I'm just thinking about how everything is going to be different now. Is there anything you want? They would always say that victors would go home and have everything they could ever want. Do you?"

"No, I guess not. Why do you ask?"

"I guess I just don't want to be disappointed when I can't have something that I want."

Yayay hello all :D first things first, i owe a HUGE HUGE thank you to RemyThirteen for writing Rini's poem for me! Amazing, was it not? Simply beautiful :3 Thank you thank you thank you!

I'm so happy that everyone is enjoying the story so far, and it only makes me excited for what is to come! You all are the best!

-Kelsey :3