Breathe in, Breathe out • F Odair² •

II

"You know that's not what I'm saying!"

•∘♔∘•

Athena woke gradually, her eyes opening slowly, still groggy. Then she opened them wider when she realized she wasn't in her bedroom. Panic surged through her immediately, and she was about to jump to her feet when she realized she was in Finnick's room. She glanced over and saw Finnick beside her, lying with his arms wrapped loosely around her, starting to stir now that she had moved. She lay back, relaxing her tense muscles, relieved. They must have accidentally fallen asleep the previous night. It wouldn't have been the first time it happened. Somehow, they had ended up under the blankets, curled up even closer together than they had been when they had first fallen asleep. Athena regretted the momentary fit she had had, because now Finnick was awake, staring over at her, and she would've liked for him to sleep a while longer, for him to be more rested.

"Sorry," she murmured. "Forgot where I was for a second, I panicked."

"Don't worry," he said lightly, running a finger up and down her arms mindlessly. "It's fine. What time is it?"

She glanced over at the clock behind him, squinting against the light of the rising sun from the window. "Five past six."

"There's still time, then," he said, looking relieved. "Not much, but..."

He wrapped his arms a little tighter around her, burying his head in her shoulder. She smiled a little at the action, tracing shapes along his arm.

"It's enough," he said finally.

He didn't specify what it was enough for, but Athena understood. The time that was left, no matter how little of it there was, would be enough to prepare him for what came next. And this, this moment of peace, would be enough to get him through the next two weeks.

It was early in the morning, there was still a slight chill that made them move closer together almost instinctively, but the window bathed them with golden light that warmed them up slowly. She almost begrudged it, because it took away their excuse to stay curled up so close together, and indeed, much too soon, Finnick was moving away from her, with traces of reluctance in his movements, saying he ought to get ready. She let him leave, staying in bed, smiling a little at the way the sheets smelled like him, until he had returned from the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist and his tan skin glistening from the water droplets, bronze hair soaking wet. Only then did she drag herself out of the warmth of his bed and over to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and showered quickly, before exiting the bathroom again. Finnick was gone, but she figured he was just in another part of the house. Athena hadn't been planning to spend the night at Finnick's, but she had also done it so often that she had a decent stash of extra clothes specifically for occasions like this. She threw on an outfit, fixed her hair quickly, and went downstairs.

"I smell food," she commented loudly as she descended, her stomach grumbling as she sniffed the air.

"That's because there is food," Finnick's voice called back to her, and indeed, she walked into the dining room to find him setting plates out on the table. He gestured to the table, smiling a little as he said, "I made breakfast."

A smile spread slowly across her face as she looked at the table, saying, "Thank you, Finnick. I could've helped, though - "

"Don't worry about it," he said at once. "I was happy to."

They sat to eat in pleasant silence. When they were finished, Finnick went upstairs, saying he needed to get his notebooks before he left. He took much longer than grabbing notebooks really warranted, but Athena didn't press the matter because she knew he needed a moment alone to brace himself for what came next. When he came down at last, Athena was at the window, staring out at the sky, the sun tinging the winter clouds to a warmer, orange and purple colour. She heard Finnick approaching, but said nothing as he moved to stand beside her at the window, his notebooks clutched in one hand.