The Heiress {Finnick Odair}

The Aftermath

A knock pulled Finnick from his sleep as they rode back to District Four that night. He groaned and rolled over to check the time. It was nearly three in the morning, and there was only one person who could be wandering the halls at this hour.

"Come in!" he called out and he flicked the light on.

Just as he expected, Adrien walked in.

"Sorry," he said, "I know it's late."

Finnick pulled himself up slightly.

"It's hard to sleep so soon after the games," he said. He knew exactly how Adrien was feeling. Even Ezra, who killed one person in his entire game, was still haunted by the memories of everything he had to do.

"I was wondering if I could use your knots again," he said. "I was out in ten minutes last time I used them."

Finnick nodded and slipped out of bed. He padded over to the closet and threw open the doors. Adrien craned his neck to see what he was doing, but all he could see was the small box Finnick picked up.

"I was going to give this to your for your birthday," he said, holding out the box. Adrien took it and carefully unwrapped it. Inside was a set of six knots and a small booklet. "There are over three hundred million different ways to tie knots, but let's start with a hundred, shall we?"

Adrien began skimming through the booklet. They were all complicated, which means they would take a lot of concentration. Exactly what Adrien needed. A distraction. A way to avoid being in his own head.

"How do you sleep at night?" he asked quietly. Finnick sighed and plopped down on the bed next to Adrien.

"I don't," he said honestly. "I don't remember the last time I made it more than three hours without waking up from a nightmare."

"How do you deal with it?" Adrien asked.

"I wake up early and train. I will never be in a fight again, but it helps me focus the pain on something. It releases a lot tension."

"What time do you wake up?" he asked, and a pitiful sounding laugh escaped Finnick.

"The sad thing is that I don't set an alarm. I wake up naturally around four or five in the morning, and just stay awake. I get up when the nightmares are too much."

It was a helpful skill in making sure he was out of the house before Snow's clients woke up, but he didn't mention it.

"I'd like to join you," he said. Finnick nodded.

"Are you moving into the Victors' Village?" he asked, and Adrien nodded.

"I know my dad hated it there because he felt so isolated, but I could use some isolation right now."

"Having everyone watch you all the time is exhausting. It's nice to go somewhere where you know the cameras aren't following you everywhere."

"But they're always watching, aren't they?" Adrien asked. He glanced up at Finnick with a pained look on his face.