"Oh, Finnick, she's such a sweetheart!" He smiled back at Seeder, hoping she wouldn't notice the heat that rose to his cheeks.

"You're about as romantic as a slug, Od – oof." Chaff rubbed his ribs and glared at Seeder. "She's a nice girl, kid."

Haymitch set down his glass. "Let him tell it like it is, Seeder." He turned to Finnick. "Now, Chaff here knows a thing or two about scaring away women, and it looks like you've been taking lessons."

"And you're so good at getting dates yourself," Chaff fired back.

"I don't go looking."

"Boys." Both withered under Seeder's steady gaze. "Finnick, dear, we just want you to be happy, and Annie seems like such a lovely girl. They're just worried – and I am, too - that you've blocked yourself off emotionally."

As he looked between the three faces, Finnick wished he was anywhere but here. Why hadn't he gone back to the train with Mags and Annie when he'd had the chance? "It's all right, Seeder, I promise. We're just friends."

Haymitch snorted, and Chaff frowned at him. "Damn it, kid! You just lost me a fifty."

"You should have gone with the friends line, buddy. I tell ya, it happens every time. Now pay up."

Seeder sighed and moved to sit next to him on the sofa. "Ignore them, Finnick. They really do care; they just don't know how to behave themselves. We don't want you to miss out on something beautiful." Her brown eyes were gentle and held all the caring he remembered in his mother's gaze.

His tongue felt heavy in his mouth, and unshed tears burned his eyes. Finnick's voice came out rough and shaky. "I can't be in a relationship right now, Seeder, no matter how I feel."

"Then when will you be able to? Do you think there's some magic switch that'll go off when you're thirty or forty and make you undesirable? Do you think Snow will finally die and be replaced by someone kinder?"

"No, I know that can't happen, I just…"

A warm hand on his cheek pulled him back before he slipped away. "Finnick, look at me. I tried to protect everyone, and I ended up with nobody. I was too busy locking myself away from the world to really enjoy it. Now, I'm too old to change things. I'll never have a child or grandchildren of my own, and I'll probably die here alone. But you, you've still got time. And if you don't use that time now, you can't ever get it back."

"I couldn't forgive myself if she got hurt because of me."

"She hasn't been safe since the second she raised her hand to volunteer. Annie's a victor now, Finnick. Whatever you do, she isn't safe." Finnick looked past Seeder to Haymitch, who had been carefully watching and listening to their entire conversation.

Seeder nodded. "He's right. You can't keep Annie out of danger, love. Nobody can do that now. You're an adult, and I can't tell you what to do, but I think you love her too much to make this mistake. I don't want you to turn in to me, spending every day alone with my regrets."

"I-I'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask for." She pulled him into a hug, and behind her, Finnick could see Haymitch grinning and raising his glass in a toast.

He wasn't sure it could happen, but for the first time, he allowed himself to picture a future for two.