𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 | Hunger Games

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      FINNICK HAD NO IDEA HOW much time had passed since he'd seen her face on that screen and the bombing had began. It had been horrendous, he knew that much. Those initial moments of panic where he'd searched the bunker for Clio and Daniel was something he never wanted to re-live again. Making sure Sal, Natalia and Sam were safe and inside also even worse.

He felt like he owed it to Aella to watch over her family while she could not—or that was what it had been at first. Over the weeks they'd all become his family too. Sal, Natalia and Sam were two rows down from he, Clio and Daniel.

The latter three had sat on Finnick's bed and held each other's hand through the whole ordeal. Each bomb that dropped rattled the entire bunker. Dust fell from the ceiling. Everyone screamed in fear and terror no doubt having ever experienced anything like it before. It had been decades since the first war. There would be few in the bunker who would remember what it had been like.

Finnick had tried to count the amount of bombs the Capitol had unleashed but after ten he couldn't continue any longer and Clio had been on the edge of a panic attack. Tears had glossed her eyes and her hands had trembled so hard. In distraction Finnick had told Clio and Daniel everything that had happened when he'd seen Aella and Peeta on that screen. He hadn't missed a single detail, desperate to not reach the conclusion of his story before the bombing ended. Mercifully, after what felt like hours, the bombing had stopped.

They had no concept of time down in the bunker but neither of the three of them were particularly tired after the fright they'd just had. When it was deemed clear people started to mingle, parents tucked their children into the beds in the bunker and some people went to sleep. Finnick had been watching a family close by, one of the very few remaining in District Thirteen following the plague of sickness that had caused tragedy and devastation all those years ago. His mind was wandering free and somehow ended up thinking about that child Aella had found in District Eight.

They had never talked about having children, hadn't even talked about marriage or engagement even though Finnick had known for years he wanted to marry her. Children though.. he'd never given it a thought. Even in those weeks of bliss they'd had together after she had recovered here. They'd talked about probably everything but children. Watching that young family though, seeing those two young children curled on their parents knees. Remembering how Aella had been with that girl...

He knew his answer. If she still wanted to—if she was in the right mind frame when they rescued her and he got her back—he would go to District Eight himself to find that child and bring her back home. He'd give her a better life, Aella in tow. That's all he ever wanted for her... a better life, a better world. One where it hadn't and couldn't wrong her. One where she would be free and wouldn't have to live in fear. That was why he was fighting, he reminded himself. For that better life.

Hours had passed. Hours of no news. Dread started to coil in his stomach again and he found himself reaching for his strip of rope. His mind was reeling and he was spiralling. He needed something—anything—to occupy his mind from wondering about what could be happening to her. Wondering if she was even still alive.

Clio had somehow fallen asleep in Daniel's arms though Finnick was willing to bet she'd just passed out from exhaustion. Neither of the three of them were ever getting more than three hours sleep at a time during the night. They were always laid awake staring at their ceilings thinking about her. Either way, Clio had settled for the night and Finnick had moved into the bunk over—offering his to them both—so she could lie down properly.

He had fallen into a world of deep thought, body still on edge and mind still wide awake following the bombing. He'd tied and untied his rope until his fingers had gone numb and even then he continued. He pictured her face—it was all he could see, not the rope in front of him. He imagined sweeping her off her feet, showering with kisses in bed, watching her smile. Her smile... the way it always hurt when he saw it but it was a pain that brought him happiness. The way her lips stretched so far and the dimple on the left side of her mouth dipped. The faint laugh lines that appeared and the undiluted joy that shone in her crystal blue eyes—the same colour of the sea back home.