FAILURE TO COMPLY ┃ f. odair

5.8 sickly sweet

Whatever Calypso had done to deserve special treatment, she was glad she had done it. Finnick said, until now, he had not journeyed up to the service. Katniss and Gale had gone. Even Monica had gone up for her training. But he had not wanted to see the light of day until Calypso was there with him. Now, she was, and they'd face the burning sun together.

And it burned her, indeed. She could hardly stomach the brightness of the world beyond the bunker they currently called home. While the ruined city they came out into was a terrible sight and almost made her turn around, the wide forest beyond it eased her back into the gentle embrace of the earth. In some ways, it reminded her of home, the green beyond the safe walls of District Five's Victor's Village.

Following directions given by Katniss and Gale, the couple made their eventual way to a lake not far from the ruins of Thirteen. Unseen birds sang sweetly, the water sloshed calmly at the banks and a gentle breeze blew through the area to jostle the leaves of tall trees. It was peaceful, making her regret ever thinking she'd found a moment of peace in the bunker. This here was peace.

"Silva, come in," Boggs' voice came through on the radio attached to Calypso's hip. She sighed and lifted it to her face. "Check in. Over."

"We're alive," she mumbled into the device. "That was nine minutes, by the way. You said ten. Over."

"You're counting?" Finnick questioned with a bemused smile as he walked past his fiancee. His hand barely skimmed her hip, stealing the breath from her lungs. Ever since their night together, he'd been more touchy than ever before.

"Copy that," Boggs replied, ignoring Calypso's comment about the minutes. It did not matter much to him, so long as they followed the rules: check in every ten minutes to confirm their safety, and they could stay out as long as they liked. "Ten minutes. Over and out."

"Not nine," Calypso near-enough yelled into the radio. She released the button and put it back in its place attached to her belt buckle. "They really think it's going to kill us to have a moment to ourselves, huh?"

"You can't fault them for being concerned," Finnick replied. As Calypso came to sit with him at the edge of the lake, he pulled her legs over his, wanting every semblance of closeness possible. "If you were out here alone, I'd be checking in every eight minutes."

"Oh, how bold of you," she chuckled. With her left hand, she brushed her fingers over his jawline. Her eyes honed in on the sun's light reflecting off the solid metal of her prosthetic limb. For the longest time, she'd tried to ignore its existence and what it meant. Now, it was just a part of her. Seeing her contemplative state, Finnick took the hand and placed a kiss on her palm. She sighed. "I can almost feel that. Almost."

"Really?" he questioned, placing a kiss on the back of her hand this time. It moved just as any hand would, thanks to Beetee's fantastic genius. If it weren't for the shiny dark grey of it and the coldness on his lips, he would've believed it was. He'd held and kissed it so many times it no longer felt any different.

"I still remember what it feels like to have a hand," she replied. "Especially considering I still have another one. I guess it's my mind playing tricks on me. I know what it feels like to be kissed by you. By extension, my metal hand does too."

"Or maybe I'm just magic like that," Finnick whispered, his words transforming into a cheeky laugh rather quickly. Calypso gave a swatting slap to his chest. "You inflate my ego with your presence, my love. You can't deny I am quite magical."

"Well, you do know many a great thing," she mused. "Like when to shut up."

"Ouch," he chuckled with a hand on his heart. Calypso's smile grew from something tiny to something big and beautiful. He took her metal hand and placed it over his heart with his own. "You know I can't shut up. Not when you're here. Not when I have to tell you again and again how much I love you."