AN/: This chapter is a lot shorter than I wanted it to be at only 1000-ish words, but it's late and I just really wanted to post something. Thanks to everyone who favorited/reviewed/followed this story! Keep it up! Reviews mean the world!
"Nightmares?" Finnick asks. He isn't looking at Annie, and the word comes out of nowhere.
"What?" She asks him. He turns to her, finally looking away from the night sky.
"Were you not able to sleep because of nightmares?" He clarifies with sympathetic eyes.
"...No, uh… It was more due to…" She can't find the right words to describe it. Luckily Finnick has a few of his own.
"Anxiety? Nerves? The lamb stew?" He smiles at her, effectively calming her a bit. She laughs and he laughs along with her, feeling better than he did an hour ago.
"I had a nightmare, that's why I was up." He tells her. He's staring at the stars again, and maybe it's a four thing because they teach kids in four from an early age to look at the stars when they get lost. Maybe Finnick's lost. "So, if you do ever have a nightmare, I'm here if you need someone to talk to."
"Thanks, but you don't have to. I don't want you to feel obliga-"
"Hey, I'm you mentor! It's what I'm here for." He looks her in the eye, and for a minute she forgets to breathe because, damn, his eyes really are the color of the sea. Annie is suddenly feeling very homesick. "I'm here to help you win." His gaze flickers down to her lips and Annie didn't realize how close they had gotten.
"Uh… I thought Mags was my mentor and that you were Percival's?" She asks leaning away. She doesn't need things getting awkward between her and Finnick before she gets sent off to her death.
"In four we team up. We're both your mentors, and Percy's." Finnick says, putting his hands behind his neck. He doesn't look awkward, or bothered, or upset that she moved away, just indifferent. Maybe he always looks like he's going to kiss people.
"Percy? I didn't think he'd like being called that."
"He doesn't."
She cocks her head at that, confused as to why he'd call someone something that they didn't like. He grins at her. Then he laughs, and so does she. Annie doesn't really know why she's laughing, but Finnick's laugh is contagious and she blames it on the lack of sleep.
"I'm only kidding, he doesn't mind. I think Percival makes him feel older, maybe more intimidating. That'll help him in the games, for sure." Finnick tells her.
"He's came up with his strategy?" Annie asks.
"You came up with your's yesterday, Cresta."
"I'm aware of that, Odair." Annie quips. "I was merely asking a simple question."
"And I was merely refreshing your memory." Finnick smirks and turns back to the stars with this forlorn look in his eyes that he doesn't express with the rest of his face. He sighs quietly, and Annie wonders if he knows that she's sort of staring at him.
"It's not polite to stare." He doesn't take his eyes away from the sky, just smirks and adds, "Even if the person you're staring at is as devilishly handsome as me."
"You've got quite the ego there, Odair. How does it all fit in that devilishly handsome body of yours?" Annie teases. She feels a bit more at ease with Finnick now that he isn't staring at her in a towel and laughing at her.
Finnick laughs and it shows in his eyes. Annie thinks that it's the first time she's seen him genuinely look happy. She decides that she likes seeing Finnick Odair happy, really, truly happy. He seems young and… free. A type of freedom that seems to have been stripped from him. She wonders what kind of problems the carefree victor with the entire country pining over him could have.
"It sounds a lot better when a pretty girl like you says it." He smirks as she blushes lightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and looks at the stars.
"I forgot a lot of the constellations." Finnick actually knows most of the constellations by heart, but he can see Annie from the corner of his eye as she connects the shapes with her eyes, and he wants to talk to her some more. She is pretty and if she makes it out of the arena, he'd like to get to know her better, but for now, with the threat of death looming over her head, he can't risk falling for anyone. Her beauty is what would also make her Snow's next target; Selling her off to spend the night with the highest paying stranger. He doesn't want her, no, anyone to have to go through that kind of experience.
"I forgot that you dropped out of school at 14. And being a victor doesn't require you to know constellations by heart." He had dropped out at 14, yes, but he hadn't stopped learning. Finnick liked to read the books in the library when he got bored and the weather wouldn't allow him to swim or go out in the water. Annie moves closer to him and points at a star.
"You know that one?" She asks.
"Polaris. The north star, it's across from Ursa Major and at the end of Ursa Minor." He doesn't even look at the sky because he can see the direction of her arm and he was just staring at it wondering if maybe he really could find home if he followed it.
"You lair! You still remember them don't you?!" Annie is smiling at him and he just waggles if eyebrows and smiles back. She points at another constellation and he guesses it right again. After an hour or so of naming constellations, which both of them seem to be exceptionally good at, Annie yawns and rests her head atop Finnick's shoulder. They keep up their game of guessing and naming stars until they fall asleep, Annie's head on Finnick's shoulder and Finnick half-lying, half-sitting on the couch.
That's how Mags finds them in the morning when she gets up to watch the sunrise.