This is kind of short and rushed, but necessary even though there isn't a great deal of important detail or information here. Hope you enjoy! Happy Reading!

Us Against the World: Coldplay

"You're back!" I squealed when Finnick walked through the door of my lonely cottage. I dropped my book and ran towards him; my hair fell in my face.

He laughed, spinning me, "I'm back."

"Oh, I've missed you so much." I whispered in his ear. We did this every time he came home. He would put me down, stroke my cheek and then push back my hair.

"Annie, I can't tell you how much I've missed you." He would mutter to me, kissing me. Then I would break our silences because I couldn't handle quiet anymore.

"How was your visit?" I would ask him, grabbing him a drink or anything that he asked for…which was never much.

"I think you know how it was…" He would sigh over tea.

I reached across the table to run my hand through his auburn hair, trying to reassure him. "Oh my darling, I wish things would be better." But my attempts were weak. We were full of wishes, but out of hope.

He shook his head with a smile. He would be twenty soon. "Don't we both," He chuckled. Smiling for Finnick almost seemed natural again, but worrying seemed to overpower his happiness. Finnick's lips curved inward and he looked older now. There was a small glint of joy in his eyes. "I love you so much," He breathed, holding my hand to his face. "How have you been?" He asked succumbing to anxiety again.

I didn't want to talk about it. I repressed it, pretending none of it was destroying me to everyone else. With Finnick though, I couldn't ever seem to keep things to myself. "Better. I still miss them though," I said without thought. "I'm still mad. I worry all of them out there." I said, lifting my eyes to the window, the outside hidden by blue curtains.

He sipped his tea, "You're very convincing…I'm a little worried even." He said quietly, placing his mug down and watching me carefully.

"Me too," I said honestly. My voice was quiet and breaking.

Finnick's eyes latched to me and his hands followed, grabbing mine, "I'm so sorry I did this to you."

His kissed my hands but I pulled them away from him, "Stop. You didn't do this." I told him, trying to keep my smile intact, "Being sold to half the Capitol would have destroyed me even more than this. At least this way…they're safe." I shied away from anxiety and the thoughts that haunted me nightly.

His eyes shined, "They are safe." He wrapped a strong hand around mine. "And you'll be safe," He said finally, holding my hand in his and kissing my fingertips. I grinned, knowing he intended to keep that promise for a long time.

It took some healing, and ignoring Finnick's string of lovers trailing from the Capitol. It took some talks with his family, remembering mine…forgetting what happened to us, but Finn and I did have a few years alone and happy. There were tough times when we'd get furiously angry with each other. Being cooped up without anyone other than Finnick's family to talk to us really strained our relationship. We could never leave the privacy of the old cottage I grew up in, and if we did, it was only to escape to Finnick's old home. We didn't approach Victor's Village together. It would be a stupid chance to take. We spent most of our time hiding, and that bothered Finn. But when we were safe, we found things to smile about.

One morning he waltzed into the kitchen humming the most ridiculous tune. He twirled me around and then dipped me. "Finnick!" I laughed, "What are you doing?" The food on the stove, burning, but he didn't seem to notice.

He twirled me and I, unfortunately tripped and found every way to look foolish, even in his arms. "Really…the lightest person in Four dances like a baby elephant," He laughed, watching my feet trip over themselves. He pulled me up, still chuckling,"It's ok my love, stand on my feet! I can bear the weight." He said dramatically, grinning at me and kissing me on the cheek. He spun me around and, ironically, begged me not to step on his toes.

Other mornings he would hold me reminding me all the things I loved about him. His sweet smile, his gentle touch, his deep voice and hearty laugh were only pieces of why I loved him.

"You're so beautiful," He would whisper as the sun peeked out of lazy clouds that swirled above the ocean. He'd push my hair back like always and lean over me, and I'd laugh and kiss his nose or cover his eyes, anything I thought would bring a handsome smile to his face.

I loved us. I loved how happy he made me. I loved his laugh and the way he knew how to get me to smile. We joked about anything and everything. If I wanted to paint, he would paint with me, and both would be horrific, unfortunate mishaps on a canvas and we would compare.

"What is that? A dog? A dog suffering from blood poisoning?" I asked, giggling.

He frowned, blushing slightly. "It was supposed to be that tree over there…" He said, pointing out into the thin forest. He peered over at my painting, "What's yours?" He laughed, raising an eyebrow at the splashes of random color on my canvas. "Is that a cloud?"

I shook my head, laughing again. "No. It's you. It's in the perfect likeness of Finnick Odair."

Finnick studied the poorly created painting, "Well, aren't you a phenomenal artist…with a wonderful subject, may I add." He said, posing in front of me.

"It's really supposed to be a boat." I admitted with another chuckle.

Finnick sighed, shaking his head, standing back and looking over the paintings, "We're no good at this."

I nodded with a smirk, "Oh…we're awful." He smiled and then insisted on picking a new task to spend our time.

Everything with him was wonderful, even when we were angry at each other. Being with him, that was good enough. Our love was private, but still the best thing to ever happen to me. When Finnick was around, everything was completely in place. When he was gone…I was a mess. I spent a lot of my time cleaning and re-cleaning. If I grew weary of that, I'd draw, cook, or go out to the water and swim, or tie knots…but I never sat alone and thought. That was dangerous.

My mind would blur at nights. Dreams didn't really make much sense and a lot of times, especially when Finnick was away I didn't sleep. When he was there and I did find some peace, I would often wake up screaming. Finn would lull me back to sleep, but there wasn't much peace for him either. If I wasn't terrified by my nightmares, Finnick would be haunted with his. "It was just a dream Finn…" I would whisper to get him back to sleep. "I'm here."

Nights were the worst for us.

When I remembered my parents' death and Snow's forged letters, he remembered all the deeds of his past. But that's how we lived for four years. There was happiness there and even chaos we found some even ground. There wasn't much that could distract us from our routines. Not even Finnick's frequent trips to the Capitol. Eventually, Finn and I were slowly escaping the arena and returning to the place we once called home.