"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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Still reeling from Finnick's passionate words, Dahlia struggles to find her own voice. The idea that all these Victors are choosing to risk their lives for a girl they've come to loathe just because she inspired them to is something she just can't fathom. She's not worth their sacrifice, is all she can think. She doesn't deserve to survive these Games. As if he can hear the cogs whirring in her head, Finnick's fingers brush soothingly along the skin of Dahlia's cheeks, releasing the muscles from their tensed confusion.
"If you think, for even one second, that I'm leaving that arena without you, you're insane." He mumbles lowly, voice barely louder than the hum of a mockingjay's song. "You deserve to live, Lia. You deserve to be happy. And I will fight to my dying breath to ensure you have that happiness."
"You are my happiness, Finn." Dahlia finds herself confessing, her voice hoarse with emotions. "You calm the madness in my soul and fuel the fire in my heart. I will never be happy if you are not with me."
"So we're in agreement then." Finnick whispers then, a faint smile decorating his lips as his eyes stare into Dahlia's. "Either we both get out of that arena, or neither of us do." Dahlia nods reluctantly, not wanting to argue in what could be their final days together. They stand in silence for a while, revelling in the comfort of being in each other's arms. The freedom they are granted when they don't have dozens of eyes watching their every move is blissful and they will savour every moment they have together. Until Finnick, drinking in every tiny detail of the woman he loves, cannot contain his thoughts any longer. "God, Dahlia. How did I ever survive without you?" He mutters in disbelief, swimming in the endless storm of her black eyes and willing himself to drown in her darkness. "I can't imagine my life without you in it anymore. Can't remember what life was like before you. And I'm not willing to find out what life is like after you."
Dahlia's body floods with surprise at Finnick's heartfelt words. "Finn, I--"
"I can't do it anymore." He blurts out, eyes brimming with unshed tears as he pours out his feelings. "I can't pretend that I don't feel things for you, Lia. It's destroying me. I can't keep hiding it." Dahlia's eyebrows furrow in confusion at Finnick's rambling, searching his features desperately to try and decipher the meaning behind it. "I can't not love you. It's impossible because you've had my heart from the moment we met."
She is suddenly rendered speechless. All these years of relentless teasing, lingering touches, longing glances... They meant more to him than just friendship. "You-- You love me?"
"How could I not?" Finnick retorts softly, still sniffling to hold back the tears threatening to fall. "I don't know how or when it happened. All I know is I have loved you for a long time and I will never stop loving you." A weight is lifted from Finnick's shoulders as he finally confesses how he feels. And once he starts, he can't stop. "I wanted to tell you... but I was a coward. Too scared to put you at risk, so I just kept lying to myself." A weak, halfhearted laugh escapes his lips as he remembers his repeated denial of the love he clearly felt for her. "But I don't want you going into those Games without knowing how loved you are. I don't want to regret not spending my last few days with you." Finally, the tears slip down his cheeks and Finnick lets them. "I couldn't leave this earth without telling you that I'm in love with you, little flower. So, just tell me you don't feel the same and we'll go on as we were. I'll--"
