Author's Note: sorry for not posting in so long but I've had alot going on. I'm back now...after three months, as it's my summer holidays! YAY!
I hope you enjoy this, it's only short but it's sweet and has Finnick/Annie (Fannie? idk it sounds wrong).
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Finnick couldn’t sleep. He sat up slightly, punched the soft pillow into a more comfortable shape and lay back down, but it was no use. His fingers moved quickly over a single stretch of rope he held underneath the covers. He twisted it into a knot, held it up to his face without really looking at it, then undid it again, contorting to fabric into a new bond. He knew he would never get to sleep doing this but it was the only way he could keep his restless mind busy.
Eventually, he sat up fully, throwing the rope across the room. It hit the cream coloured wall and fell to the carpet. Finnick stared at it. He was stuck, should he abandon all hope of sleeping and go down to the beach, maybe take a swim? Or should he stay where he was, try and fail to sleep then have to get up in the morning, get ready for the victory tour. The former seemed the most pleasing.
Without another thought, Finnick got out of bed, quickly changing into some shorts, leaving his chest bare other than a necklace that bore a single shell. He opened his bedroom door and walked through the house to the front door, opening it onto Victor’s Village: District 4. It was dark, quiet not a single light was turned on in any of the Victor’s houses.
As he began to walk down the path that lead to the sea a soft, salty breeze ruffled his bronze hair. Finnick closed his eyes momentarily, inhaling deeply so as to soak up the beauty of the moment entirely. It was in instants like this that Finnick Odair could escape his past. The reaping, the Hunger Games, all the fake women the Capitol would ’present’ to him since he had won, his father’s tragic boating ‘accident’ and his mother’s untimely death. The sea wind transported him into a world where the Capitol didn’t exist, where he was guilt free and where it was that one moment forever.
Finnick continued walking, his hands in his pockets, the wind was picking up now, the salty air seemed to clear his cluttered mind. As he approached the beach, he spotted a figure. He heart jolted. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t meant to be down here. He may be a victor but the district had rules and he wasn’t so sure if even a Hunger Games champion would be allowed to break them. But then he noticed, a peacekeeper or a Capitol citizen would not be sitting on the beach in the middle of the night, drawing in the sand.
Finnick began walking down quickly, soon recognising Annie, Annie Cresta. He tried to sneak up on her but before her was twenty steps away she, without looking up, said clearly “you know if you’re trying to sneak up on me then maybe you shouldn’t put down your feet so loudly!”
Finnick raised an eyebrow and closed the gap between them and plonked himself on the ground next to her slight body “who says I was trying to sneak up on you?” He asked cheekily
Annie rolled her eyes “however did you win the games?”
Finnick’s stomach dropped, it felt like he had been punched in the face. Annie who was watching him and his reaction bit her lip “sorry, was that too soon?”
He looked down at the sand, nodding his head “a little.”
“Sorry.” She said again
It was silent for a second until Finnick said “so, why are you down here?”
“I come down every night” she muttered, brushing away a mistake she had made in the pattern she was creating in the sand
Finnick raised his eyebrows “I’ve never seen you down here before, not at this time”
“Well I haven’t been coming down here that long, ever since you got…”
The conversation trailed off again. The sea lapped at the shore making a noise like static in a television as it all blended together. Finnick looked over at Annie, she shivered. He frowned “are you cold?”
She shook her head “not really.”
“You look it.”
She scowled “really, Finn, I’m fine! OK?”
He shrugged “OK, but why did you shiver?”
“I can look after myself alright. I don’t need some big fancy Capitol big-shot telling what I can and can’t feel.” Annie said angrily.
She rubbed away her pattern, flicking sand over Finnick’s shorts. She looked as if she were about to apologise but she stood up and began to walk away. He chased after her, across the sand. “What are you talking about?” He asked, confused “I only asked if you were cold!”
“And have you realised that’s the only question you’ve asked me since you got back?!”
He frowned “well sorry, I have been a little busy!”
“Doing what?!” She hissed “going to Capitol parties, eating food and not having to work all day!”
“My parents just died Annie!”
“Oh boo hoo! Now maybe special Finnick Odair knows what it’s like to feel suffering!”
“Look, you’re being so unfair” said Finnick, trying to keep his temper “I did just win the Hunger Games!”
“I know!” Yelled Annie, “I WATCHED YOU KILL A TWELVE YEAR-OLD!”
They stood there, breathing heavily, staring at each other. Finnick broke the silence again “Annie, you have to know, I will never, never forgive myself for what I did in that arena. But if I hadn’t done that then I wouldn’t be stood here talking to you.”
Annie had started to cry soundless tears “I know” she croaked “I know and I’m being unfair and it’s not your fault. I’m such a bad friend.”
“You’re not a bad friend Annie”
“I am, I-I tried to make you feel bad about your parents dying, I made a joke about you winning. Am I a bad person?”
He smiled and pulled her into a deep hug, his chin resting on her head as she buried her face into the hollow between his neck and shoulder. “You’re not a bad person Annie. You’re a wonderful person. You’re smart, clever, kind, beautiful. Your laugh is amazing, you’re so interesting, you make me feel like-”
Finnick had just noticed the torrent of affection that was running from his mouth. He hadn’t thought of those words, they seemed to be pouring from his heart. Deep down, he had always known that he loved Annie. He loved everything about her, from her sea-green eyes that reminded him of the ocean to the dresses that she made herself using the left-over scraps of material from her Mother’s shop that were always highly coloured and bizarre. He wished she was wearing one now and not a simple night dress.
Annie looked up at him “what do I make you feel like?” She asked, staring right into his eyes
He smiled “you make me feel like there’s no one else in the world I’d rather be with.”
