𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐌𝐄, finnick odair

𝟬𝟬𝟭. swimming

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001. swimming
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lyra lovelace liked her routine as it was. she liked waking up next to finnick, going swimming before he woke up, eating breakfast, reading, eating lunch, checking on annie, eating dinner, swimming again, and going back to sleep. it may have been a bit ordinary for most but lyra craved ordinary. she craved being someone who wasn't special in the slightest. unfortunately, she wasn't as regular as she wished she was.

"- don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire, the war outside our door keeps raging on, hold onto this lullaby even when the music's gone-" lyra hummed to herself, rushing round as though she was floating around the kitchen in her and finnick's shared house in the victors village. "-gone, just close your eyes, the sun is going down, you'll be alright, no one can hurt you now, come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound-"

"imagine my surprise-" finnick cut through the calmness of the morning, making lyra jump a mile high. "-when i woke up to an angel singing for me"

"you flatter me too much, finn" lyra walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, hiding her bashful grin with her hair.

"i don't flatter you enough" he rebutted "are you feeling good today?" he asked, mostly referring to her memory but still asking as a general question.

"mhmm, knew where i was, knew my name and found the plates all by myself" she bragged, proud of herself while looking up at him with raised eyebrows, bright eyes and rocking heels. there were some days where she only accomplished one of the three.

"good" he smiled back at her softly. sometimes finnick had moments where he just had to look at her, really look at her to make sure she was real and wasn't some twisted trick the capitol was playing on him. that she really did love him back and was there to stay. "i love you" he almost whispered, not even loud enough for her to hear as he was afraid to break the silence "so..." he circled his arms around her waist and hugged her body close to him, cradling the back of her head and kissing the side of it "so much" he finished, hearing a quiet giggle coming from lyra.

"i love you too" she pulled away just enough for them to lock eyes "you're very affectionate today" the blonde remarked, her head tilting slightly right as she gazed at finnick's face. he just hummed, laying a light kiss on her nose. lyra's nose scrunched up at the action making finnick's smile widen impossibly further. he repeated the action on both her cheeks, her forehead, her eyelids, all over her face until she was in stitches laughing and was backed up against the wooden counter in their kitchen.

"i adore you" he finally kissed her lips softly, just for a second, and rested his forehead against hers both their eyes close as their lips turned up in content smiles.

"what is with you today, finn?" lyra laughed, overwhelmed with finnick's over exaggerated loving attitude.

"i don't know..." he admitted, a small frown on his face. he was usually relatively touchy and full of compliments but that morning was rather compliment heavy and finnick couldn't seem to stop touching her "i just... i feel like something bad is going to happen"

"oh don't be silly" she rolled her eyes, laying a hand on his shoulder before turning to walk back into their bedroom "it's just because of the quarter quell, you get like this every year. all 'dread filled'" she raised her voice slightly, not realising finnick had followed her into the room as she pulled out a swimming costume from her cupboard.

"i know" he sighed "i'm just trying to expect the unexpected"

"well i don't think about it at all and it suits me just fine"

"that's because-" finnick stopped himself from lashing out at lyra, more jealous than anything that she could ignore the incoming quarter quell "that's because you're special, sweetheart"

"that i am" she grinned, placing a towel with a few holes in it and her new book into a bag her mother had made for her when she was young. "well, i'm going down to the ocean. could you check on annie yourself today?" she requested, not noticing finnick's smile dropping.

they'd already gone to see annie.

"yeah, of course. you have fun swimming, okay?"

"i will! i'll see you later for um... for..."

"supper?"

"yes! that's it!" she grinned as she ran out of the room, blowing a kiss to finnick as she left "thank you, finn!"

"i love you, bye!" he laughed expectantly.

"oh right" she remembered, rushing back into the room and placing a kiss on his lips "i love you, bye!"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

lyra had finished swimming and began her walk home shortly after the sun began setting. as she entered the victors village, a small bark caught her attention. she stopped in her tracks, slowly making her way towards a bush near the right corner of the village sign. the woman bent down and moved a few leaves to see a small brown puppy laying down on the cold ground.

"oh baby" she cooed, picking him up immediately and cradling him close to her chest "how did you get here?" she asked the puppy, carrying him down the path between houses and entering her house. as soon as she did, the puppy struggled out of her arms and started running throughout the halls.

"no no no!" she protested, running after him, an action that the puppy registered as a game "i'm not playing, finnick is going to kill me!"

finnick hated dogs. it was arguably his biggest flaw. lyra knew he'd go mad if she bought a muddy puppy into their home and let it run rampant while he was gone. the tribute eventually got a hold of the animal and unfortunately named him 'twig' before she could remind herself not to get attached.

"come on, twig" she encouraged while sticking him in a small bucket of water. it was then she found out that the brown puppy she found was in fact white. lyra rushed back into the house once the puppy was clean and dry. she somehow found the mop she'd never used and managed to mop up and muddy paw prints twig left.

just as she finished the job, finnick came through the front door.

———— authors note 💭

hey loves!!! if you've read this before, you know that these are new chapters (1-3) cause i thought the book started kind of abruptly. it sort of went straight into stuff so i've added 3 new chapters :)))

this is update one of three so i hope you like it!!!! (i also changed lyras last name)

love you, byeeeee 🤭