F I N N I C K

SIX YEARS AGO

   There she was again.
   Haunting him as unsettled ghosts do in old homes.
   She towered over a fifteen year old girl who caved her chest in to seem smaller. Her hand cradled the girl's shoulder, holding her close. He would recognize a protective stance anywhere. Logan stood next to them with her brothers. They were twenty-one and sixteen. She laughed loudly at something her sister said, neck craning and shoulders shaking. The sound bounced around in his head.
   Her eyes found him then. Across the room, he could see the different shades of rust that Paprika had painted her eyelids with. The dress that adorned her body matched the eyeshadow. It caressed her body at the chest before falling at her waist. Her sister's dress was made of the same material, but was significantly less showy.
   He wondered why she would bring her family. Was it a show? Maybe it was a dig to those who didn't have family to bring. He watched as her eyes went to the balcony before hardening.
   Gaius, the year's victor, was speaking animatedly with President Snow. Finnick understood the sudden hardening of her expression.
   "Find a partner, it's time to dance!" A voice shouted over the speakers. He recognized the dance quickly. It was one where partners were traded. Capitol citizens flocked to his side, begging to be chosen. Over their heads, he saw her being swept away by her older brother. He put on an award winning smile, twirling a girl with leaves for hair into the dance floor.
   Keeping person after person at arms length, he hated when they wormed their way closer to him. Clearly personal space had never been a social construct in the Capitol.
   In the corner of his eye, he saw a rust-colored skirt just a few paces away. A squeak escaped the girl in front of him as he distractedly stepped on her foot, drawing him back. Her dress of lemons was blindingly bright and horrid, but he kept his mouth shut about it.
   He smiled brilliantly, giving her insincere apologies that melted away her pain before twirling her to the next man. Soft skirts brushed against his leg and she was in his arms before he could think about who was next.
   The song changed immediately into something soft and slow. A ballad tickled his ears as he struggled to process what was happening. He had handled too many bodies in his life to be dumbfounded as to what to do now.
   She took his hand and placed it on her waist, lacing their fingers in his other hand. "Just spin me a bit, Odair. Nothing to put yourself in a tiz over," she said quietly, breath brushing his ear.
   Was it hot in here? Why was his skin on fire?
   When his feet began to work again, they moved in a slow circle. He didn't know if the stench of lemons was leftover from the girl before her, but all he could smell was fresh lemonade.
   He twirled her gently, spinning her out and then pulling her back to his chest. His eighteen year old heart thumped harshly in his ribs. Surely she could feel it — it felt as though it was going to beat right out of his chest and jump into her hands.
   "Take me," it would say. "I'm yours."
   "Board any boats recently?" She asked.
   His eyes flicked to hers.
   But when you board that boat, take me with you.
   "I've heard you're not much of a water fan," he stated simply.  At the change in her eyes, he wished he could suck the words right back into his lungs. He barely knew her, but he could see the cement walls rising in her eyes.
    "Would you be a fan of something if it almost killed you, Odair?"
   "Don't think I would." Someone tapped his shoulder. He looked up to find her elder brother towering over him.
   "Mind if I cut in?" He asked, but Finnick knew there was no saying no to this mammoth of a man.
   "Odair." He flinched at the deadness in her tone. "This is my brother, Blaze. Blaze, you know him."
   Blaze stuck out a giant hand for a handshake that Finnick thought was going to crush his bones.
   "Pleasure to meet you," Finnick said politely.
   Blaze merely smirked. "I'll bet," he retorted before whisking her away.
Finnick heard a faint see you next year, and he was surrounded again.

It did not take a whole year for her to haunt him again.
Merely twenty days.
Not that he was counting.
He searched for Annie, a local girl, wanting to give her some of the cookies from his mother's recipe that he had finally made. It had taken him four years to even look at the recipe.
Her mother had told him where to find her. She had a mischievous look on her face when she did. He figured it was her trying to put them together like the rest of Panem was. It was okay when she did it, as it was akin to a grandmother's nagging to find a wife.
So he headed to the Dunes, a section of Four that was all sand. It went right to the water, but had too many hills and dunes to be considered a beach.
He found Annie standing on top of a dune. Wild red hair pulled into a messy knot on her head with a white bandana, and a white sundress that brandished her freckled, sunburnt shoulders. She was clapping and cheering at something on the other side of the dune.
A hand shot into the air with a crab in its fingers from the other side of the dune.
"Annie!" He called from a few feet away. "What's up?"
She looked up with bright eyes. "I'm teaching Al how to crab hunt!"
He looked over the dune and froze. She was burnt everywhere, but her eyes were brighter than he'd ever seen them. Her white bikini top left little to the imagination, and her white linen pants were rolled to her shins.
"Odair," she greeted coolly, squinting up at him. "Those cookies for me?"
He had forgotten about them. "Not sure we're there yet, Hawkforge."
"Fair enough," she responded. She held up her crab. "What kind is this?"
"Porcelain anemone," he answered, watching the way she examined the crab between her fingers. "It's out of its natural habitat."
"It's pretty," she mused. She watched it for a moment longer before putting it back in the water. He watched the way her muscles extended and moved with her movements, looking at Annie when she came back up.
"Mom's recipe," he told her quietly. Her dark grey eyes watered.
   She wrapped her arms around him fiercely. "That was very brave of you, my strong friend."
   His eyes darted to Althea, but found that she had turned to give them privacy. Her skin glistened with salt and sun. What surprised him most was that she was in the water at all.
   Annie let go of him and looked at her watch. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "It's time for dinner with Mags." Waving her hand in circular motion, she spoke to Althea. "We must hurry. She's making crawdads and lobster!"
   Althea looked up at the dune, which was about five feet tall. Finnick handed Annie the cookies, then extended his hand to Althea.
   She looked up at him through squinted eyes and evaluated her options. She seemed to think better of it, because she took his hand and allowed him to haul her up the dune.
   He held her hand a moment longer than he should have, dropping it like she'd burned him when he realized.
   She sad nothing, just unrolled her pants a few times and slipped on her flip flops.
   "Surely you should come, too, Finnick!" Annie cheered.
   He noticed the way Althea paused. Would it make her uncomfortable if he came? "How long are you staying?"
  She didn't look at him when she responded. "Two more days."
   "We're slumber-partying it at Mags'. She insisted because she loves Al so much," Annie added excitedly.
   Two days. She would be a house away for two more days.
   "How about this?" He began. "You ladies have your fabulous dinner with Mags tonight. I'll cook for you tomorrow. Sound good?"
   Annie clapped happily. "Oh Al, he is such a good cook. This will be so fun!" She pulled Althea away before anything else could be said.

She haunted his sleep, too. He tossed with images of her hair flowing in the wind, the dip of her waist, the slope of her nose. His brain taunted him with the phantom feeling of lips against his own, of skin on skin.
He woke with a start. Sweat coated his forehead. Breathing came in sharp, heavy bursts.
What the fuck was that for, brain?
Padding down the stairs and out of his empty house, he went to the Dunes.
Her dark hair blew in the wind, causing him to pause and take a few deep breaths.
Her head snapped around to find him standing there. "Couldn't sleep either?"
He sat down a few feet from her, not trusting himself if he felt the warmth that radiated off of her. "Something like that. What keeps you?"
"Too many things, Odair," she murmured. "But my father called. Needs me home early for a meeting with Mayor Hitchcoff in the morning."
"So you're leaving."
She stared out over the sea. "Yeah." She smirked at him then. "I'll admit I was looking forward to your cooking."
He smiled softly. "Another time, maybe."
Her face softened. "Maybe, Odair."
"When do you leave?" He asked.
She checked her watch. "Fifteen minutes."
"I can walk you to the train station, if you'd like."
The moonlight bounced off her sunburned skin. "Don't think we're there yet," she snipped humorously. He smiled at her jab. "But tell Annie and Mags that I'm sorry, okay?"
All he could do was stare her. "Okay."
She reached over, patted his knee twice, and then she stood. "Sleep well, Finnick."
His skin burned on his knee as she walked away.
She'd finally called him by his first name.

hi darlings! here's a bit of a throwback for y'all. Finn's been a simp since the beginning, which we been knew, but whatever.

I love them, and you all, so much.

please drop opinions and reactions in the comments!!!