As guilty as Cinna felt leaving, he did just that. He was mentally and physically exhausted. He whipped up something for Finnick and left the simple design with his team, having no idea what his personal requests would be for that evening. And not really caring to know.

By the time he made it home it was late afternoon and a storm had settled over the Capitol that made it feel like dusk. The loud thunder had always been one of Cinna's favorite sounds, so he sat motionless in his apartment, watching the dark clouds roll overhead and listening to the gurgle of thunder.

It wasn't long before he had let himself drift to sleep, ignoring the shower he had planned on taking. The knock on the door to his apartment went unnoticed at first, blending into the thunder until it became louder and more pronounced. He wasn't used to visitors so he woke with a slight alarm and studied the clock before heading to the door. He pulled back the lock and slid the door open, revealing the soaking wet, casually dressed frame of Finnick Odair. Cinna was so taken aback that he stood staring at Finnick in the doorway, leaving him stranded outside in the pouring rain.

"I think you have the wrong address..." Cinna remarked slyly, noting that Finnick was not dressed in anything near what he had sketched and was certainly not at the right location for a 'personal call.'

"Do you think maybe I could come in anyway? I'd hate to melt out here..." Finnick spoke loudly over the thunder and gradually heavier rain drops.

Cinna muttered an obscenity under his breath before stepping aside and letting Finnick slip in. In loose fitting clothes, a heavy naval peacoat and rope necklace...Finnick looked more like a school boy that a victor.

He stood and took in his surroundings. Cinna's apartment was remarkably non Capitol and homey. Books everywhere, mostly on the current trends and fashions but also of history...warm furniture and cozy appointments that were a contrast to the shiny and cold Capitol homes Finnick was used to visiting. It was welcoming.

"Sorry, everything is a mess. I don't usually have visitors." Cinna was cleaning and pushing things out of the way as he spoke, until Finnick smiled and turned to him.

"Don't be sorry. It's perfect. It's a home. This is what homes are supposed to look like. Lived in."

There was a hint of longing in Finnick's voice that Cinna couldn't ignore. They stood in silence a moment as Finnick's eyes landed on sketches on the table...that had been used to dress District Four's most recent fallen tributes. Finnick traced his fingers over them lightly.

"I'm sorry about your tributes. They were brave. Both of them."

Cinna nodded silently and moved towards Finnick to look over the drawings.

"They never had a chance, either of them." Finnick watched Cinna as he spoke and was touched by the genuine sympathy that Cinna had for the people of that district. He studied his face before speaking again.

"Maybe it's better this way. Coming out of that arena in one piece may be the only thing worse than being killed in it."

The two quietly bonded over a mutual loss. Cinna's voice came, hushed.

"Is that what you wish? Do you wish you would have died in the arena?"

Finnick's eyes gelled over slightly as he smiled to cover it before looking away quickly.

"Every day." He answered almost lightly. What a sad state of affairs.

"Finnick why are you here? Is there no one waiting for you tonight..."

Finnick walked away from Cinna, his eyes still trailing the walls, learning about Cinna from his surroundings.

"Amazingly no. Sometimes I get an entire night to myself. But it only means I'll have to take three or more tomorrow..." Finnick spoke so blasé about it that Cinna was amazed. It was just that much a part of him. Finnick stopped and turned to Cinna.

"I came to apologize."

"No no, it was my fault...I shouldn't have..." Cinna interrupted, only to be stopped again by Finnick.

"Not for this morning. I wanted to apologize for being an asshole to you. I misjudged you. You're not like everyone else here, I see that now."

"Neither are you, no matter what they try to make you believe."

Finnick was breaking down walls that Cinna had built ages ago, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was doing the same thing.

"Can I ask you something?" Cinna's voice had gained strength and volume.

"Sure."

There was something different about Finnick, about the way he spoke even. He was reserved...almost shy. Almost...real.

"You've been a victor since you were 14. How long has this been going on? How long has Snow...done this to you?"

Finnick watched Cinna as he posed his question and then broke his eye contact to scan the room, not sure how to answer the question or if he wanted to at all. He turned from Cinna, studying the books on the shelves, running his finger absent mindedly over them.

"I guess that makes it...seven years, doesn't it?"

Cinna's heart sank. He had definitely gotten the impression that the Finnick he knew - the Finnick the world knew - had been at this game for awhile. But the idea of Snow manipulating such a young boy made his stomach turn and his skin crawl all at once. Finnick finally turned to Cinna through the silence.

"You're looking at me like that again..."

Cinna tried to mask whatever it was he was feeling but he never did have much of a poker face. He felt sorry for Finnick. For all he had been through, for misjudging him, for crossing the line, for not regretting crossing the line.

"You're soaking wet..." Cinna artfully changed the subject, moving towards Finnick and helping him out of his heavy navy coat. Admiring it as he did.

"Why did you kiss me last night?" Finnick's words burst from his lips unapologetically and caught Cinna off guard. He was still clinging to the dripping coat, tending to it to avoid the question. So Finnick prodded once more, "was it because you know I can't say no?"

"No." Cinna's voice came clear and strong, making sure to put that theory of Finnick's to bed. And quickly. He said it several more times.

"Why then?"

Finnick was not going to let him off the hook. Neither of them moved away from each other, even if tiny voices inside of them urged them to find protection in distance.

"I kissed you because I wanted to kiss you."

Cinna felt his face grow hot, his ears tingled and he couldn't look Finnick in the eye until he spoke again.

"Then why did you stop?"

Cinna's head spun. He had a million different answers but none of them would bubble to the surface to save him. And he knew Finnick would demand an answer. He cleared his throat subtly.

"I stopped because I knew you'd think you couldn't say no. And I wouldn't want you to ever feel that way with me."

Cinna gathered the courage to look back into Finnick's eyes. There was sadness there but something he hadn't seen before: trust. He watched as Finnick inhaled deeply.

"I don't feel that way now."

There was a long pause that felt like centuries to them both before Finnick took a step into Cinna, who tossed the dripping wet coat to the couch. He closed in on Finnick until the wetness of his clothes was bleeding into Cinna's own shirt and pants. Cinna brushed a wet hair from Finnick's forehead in an act that felt more intimate than he had intended.

Finnick leaned into him and instead of closing his mouth over Cinna's, he tucked his head into the crook of Cinna's neck, breathing hot against his skin until he couldn't take it anymore and kissed the warm skin of his neck. Cinna moaned and closed his arms around the damp small of Finnick's back, pulling him tighter as he reared his head back to enjoy Finnick's touch. Finnick reached his hands gently between them and started tugging at the buttons of his own soaked shirt until it hung open. Cinna reached up to pull it off his shoulders before taking a step back to pull his own black shirt over his head. They admired each other briefly before closing the space again, melting together into a lazy embrace that neither of them knew they needed.

"You don't have to do this, Finnick..." Cinna whispered in his ear as they stood, locked together, surrounded by only the sound outside of the growing storm.

"I do..." Cinna moved back cautiously, eyeing the victor who was easily ten years his junior. He furrowed his brow and Finnick continued, "I want to know how it feels...with someone who actually gives a shit about me." His plea was simple and genuine. Cinna's heart sunk at the idea of this boy having never known that feeling. He had a new found purpose and he was ready. Because in the short amount of time he had known Finnick, he had grown to care for him. To give a shit.

He kept his eyes on Finnick even as he moved his hands over his taught stomach to the button of his pants, opening them and lowering them enough to expose Finnick, who shuddered initially at the cool air on his hot, damp skin.

Finnick moaned slightly as Cinna closed his hand around his rapidly growing cock. Cinna expertly stroked him in his hand, moving slowly from the base of Finnick's length to the tip. Cinna felt his own erection throb in his pants. He started tugging harder at Finnick, careful to use restraint on the victor who was used to being handled far too rough. Cinna watched as Finnick closed his eyes and bit his lip hard, moaning to himself as his hips fell into a soft, smooth rhythm...pumping quietly into Cinna's tight grasp.

Finnick's eyes had barely fluttered open as he reached for the buckle of Cinna's pants, undoing them deftly and sliding his hand inside. Cinna cried his name out as Finnick placed his open palm along Cinna's impressive length and moved against him. Finnick was all but bucking into Cinna's fist and within moments Cinna was thrusting equally hard at Finnick. Cinna felt his knees go weak as Finnick ran his thumb over the leaking tip of his cock and murmured how badly he wanted it. Hands still all over each other, each of them slowly getting slick from the other's precum...each of them beginning to wonder how long they could last...Cinna moved them cautiously through the room until the back of his knees hit the couch. He eased them down in tandem until they sat beside each other, mounting speed and strength as they jerked each other off...totally lost in each other and in the moment. Finnick arched his back and for the first time Cinna let himself just get lost in how sexy and appealing he really was. If the Capitol had forced him to create a persona, it was based in part on an undeniable sexual presence in him. And Cinna couldn't remember the last time he felt comfortable with another person so fast...male or female. He rolled to his side and cradled his body against Finnick's, who buried his head into Cinna's neck and cried out.

"I want to come..." Finnick begged in a sexy whine that about sent Cinna into orbit. Cinna didn't say a word but instead gave several long hard tugs to Finnick's flesh, daring him not to explode. Finnick whimpered Cinna's name as his cock exploded between them, covering Cinna's hand as it leaked, Finnick's spent body twitching between them as the waves of his orgasm took over. And the feel of his cock pulsing pushed Cinna over the edge, too. Finnick pulled at his cock, rubbing the head of it against his stomach which is where Cinna unloaded his seed. He watched as he covered Finnick's still shaken body, running himself all over his abdomen...not wanting it to stop. Ever.

The night was closing in on them under the guise of a storm, and they lay there with each other...spent and exhausted in more ways than one. Cinna grabbed lazily at his shirt and used it to gently wipe them both clean...although he was still desperately craving that shower. Finnick was passing out soundly at his side and he wondered how long it had been since he had real sleep.

Cinna watched him drift into slumber, content that he had brought him some level of peace and understanding. He felt a smile creep over his lips as he observed him. Overcome with the desire to protect him now. He pulled for a nearby blanket to cover them and peacefully drifted off to sleep.

Their sleep was hard and sound. And after several, several hours...the sun broke through the clouds and streamed into Cinna's apartment. He slowly woke and immediately noticed the empty, cool space at his side.

Cinna sat up quickly. He noticed the navy peacoat was gone, and so was its' owner.