Finnick and Annie (Short Stories)

Fresh Air

I've been getting a lot of prompts and ideas for stories so I'll just post them here.

Prompt: Finnick and Johanna talk in District 13

"What's wrong, Finnick?" she asks, seated on a fallen log a few feet away from where I stand, ankle-deep in a small stream.

"Who said something's wrong?" I mutter as I strike a fish with my trident. I turn around and add it to the bucket of fish I've been filling up for the past hour.

"You left in the middle of the meeting."

"There's only so much of Coin I can put up with," I joke. Johanna smiles half-heartedly.

"I won't argue with that," she assures me. "I see you've traded in your piece of rope for this," she gestures to the stream and the rusty bucket.

"They took it away a while ago, plus they only let Katniss and me come outside because we bring food to the kitchen. It's a good deal."

"Have you told her yet?" She kicks off her shoes and wades into the stream, taking my trident from me. I let her have it and sit on the shore with a knife to gut my catch.

"No, I haven't. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

"As much as I'd like to witness Annie losing her head, I wouldn't do that to you," she promises. "However, she will find out sooner or later, and I suggest she hears it from you. Not that I care about your marital problems but..." She strikes at a fish but her swing is too slow and clumsy and she misses.

"First of all, we're not married yet. And I haven't told her because," I sigh, "she'll beg me to stay. I know it. And I don't think I have it in me to deny her anything. What she went through in the Capitol, it's my fault. And we're getting married in a few days, Jo... How could I leave her after all of that?"

"Finnick." She leans against the trident and watches me for a few seconds as she gathers her thoughts. "I was with her in the Capitol. When they threw her in the cell besides mine I was pretty pissed, to be honest. I thought 'great, they're going to torture me with Cresta's weaping.'" I frown at her and she rolls her eyes. "Maybe you underestimate her. She was strong back there, more than I thought she could be. I mean, I'm not saying she wasn't completely annoying, but you could tell from the way she talked back at the peacekeepers and how she refused to let them see her suffer that she's stronger than anybody thinks."

"I know that she is."

"No. You think you know. You've spent your whole life trying to protect her, and I get that. But whether or not she'll be fine if you die or whatever, I don't think she'd try to stop you. If there's anything worse than being tortured by Snow it's watching him hurt your loved ones."

I toss the last one into the bucket and throw all the innards into the water. Jo's nearly knocked over by the swarm of fish that rushes to feed on the guts. It would be so easy to pick them off with my trident, but I watch them instead. Once the food is gone they disperse, and except for the faint trail of blood quickly flowing downstream, there's no evidence left of my prey.

"What's on your mind?" She snaps me out of my musings and I shake my head.

"Maybe I'm wrong."

"About what?" She wipes beads of sweat from her brow.

"Maybe I haven't told her because I'm the one that's scared."

"Finnick Odair? Scared?" she jokes.

"More than I'd like to admit." I chuckle and rinse the blood off my hands. "We've been through a lot of crap, you and I."

"Yeah, we've had our fair share. What about it though?"

I sigh and trace the blade of my knife with my index finger. "The games, the Capitol, the Quell, I've always had something to keep me going. I fought through all of it because I wanted to be happy with her. I wanted peace for the both of us."

She sits next to me with a sigh and takes the knife from my hand when the tip draws blood from my thumb. I watch as the knife flows at a nearby tree and sticks to the trunk with a loud thud. "You think there's nothing left to fight for?"

I shake my head. "That's not it."

"We could do this without you," she shrugs. "Katniss is a big girl, and it's not like the arena anymore, she has the entire country to protect her. You're marrying Annie. You finally got what you wanted. You could just stay and be happy and celebrate when the war's over. We could do this without you, Finnick. You've done enough. "

"I know but..." I exhale.

"She doesn't hate him like we do," she smiles. I finally meet her gaze and nod. I'm probably Johanna's only friend because nobody else really understands her like I do. Most of the other victors that have suffered like we have retreat into their own worlds, sheltering behind their drugs or booze, locked away in their luxurious houses that feel more like prisons than homes. The only reason I haven't followed Haymitch's footsteps is Annie, and Johanna, I don't know how she does it. She's the strongest person I know, stronger than Katniss or I will ever be. Her entire family was wiped out and she fought through her murky depression by herself, not once did she consider suicide, drugs or self-harm like plenty of us did after our games. She was fearless.

"I don't even get why she gets to kill him, " I admit. "I mean, I get she's the Mockingjay and everything, but why? What does she have that we don't? Don't get me wrong, I'd hate to be in her shoes but I just wonder. You're just as defiant as she is and they have nobody to hold against you."

"People like her." She gives me her best Katniss frown and does a great impression of her voice. "Look at me, I volunteered for my little sister. I'm too noble to kill Peeta so instead I tried to poison us both. I'm so badass with my arrows and I hate president Snow." I double over laughing and smack her arm.

"She's not bad, you know?" I smile coyly.

"You're the one saying she should get to kill him," she reminds me.

"No, I was just wondering why? I admire her, I just think there's people he's hurt more."

"Like you?" she asks. I shrug. "He killed your father and made you the most popular man-whore in the Capitol."

"So I guess that's why," I say wistfully.

"Why what?" She frowns, skipping a stone across the water. I watch as it bounces thrice and sinks to the bottom.

"Why I can't stay. I know they don't need me to fight," I shrug. "Coin probably doesn't even want me to go. But there's people out there whose only reason for joining the rebellion is that their children might get reaped next year. I think I deserve a front-row seat at Snow's execution."

She leans her head against my shoulder. There's nothing romantic in our contact, just understanding. Exhaustion. Years of living through the same hell have brought us together in a way we never would have been had our circumstances been any different. "If anything happens," she whispers, "I'll make sure she's okay."

I pull her against my chest and wrap my arms tightly against her. Johanna is not much of a hugger but her promise to look after Annie if anything happens to me is something that I'll never be able to repay. Her words lift a weight off my shoulder's that's crushing and all-consuming. After her initial tension she squeezes me feebly but then pulls away.

"Just promise me that nothing will happen, Finnick," she whispers, avoiding my gaze.

I smile and cock my head to the side. "Do you really think you'll get rid of me that easily?" She punches my arms and I laugh. "When Annie and I have children, I'll bring them around to your place and unleash them on you.

"I've killed children before," she smirks and I laugh at her inappropriate joke. Most people would be mortified.

We joke and chat for a while longer. The breeze blows through the trees and the stream gurgles soothingly as I retrieve my trident and return to my fishing duties. Jo guts my catch, since her fishing skills are beyond questionable, and for the first time in a really long time I feel happy and free and without worries.