CHAPTER 46
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

IT didn't take long for Katniss to find out about Peeta's most recent interview with Caesar. Gale had ratted. Bex forgot that he attended at least every meeting, but he hid in the shadows of the room, only remarking when it was convenient. And now, Katniss was furious with both Plutarch and Coin. The Victors all understood that keeping the interview from her had good intentions, but they should've known that she would find out sooner or later.

In defiance, Katniss suggested – more like demanded – they film a propo showcasing the ruins of District Twelve. She wanted to show the Capitol and Peeta what had really happened, but she assumed Peeta was being kept in the dark. There's no way he could be calling for a ceasefire while knowing his entire home was destroyed.

They embarked on the mission early in the morning, but thankfully for Bex, she was left out of it. She had a different set of problems to work through right now, and after what happened during her visit to Seven, she no longer wanted to partake in propo missions. Her presence was useless anyway.

The kiss she shared with Finnick at the wedding was constantly hovering in her mind, making her fingertips tingle at the thought of him or have her remember how he tasted against her lips. It was electrifying. She hadn't felt this alive in months. And Finnick was certainly not going to let her forget it. Bex saw him almost all the time. He even proposed a change in his assigned chore and had himself moved to the kitchens with her.

In any other circumstance, Bex would've felt smothered. But that kiss had awoken something in her entire body, and she had never been happier to have Finnick closer. Almost as happy as Kai and Annie, who hadn't stopped smiling no matter how grim their environment was.

Bex had been putting food back into the pantry when she was cornered. There was only a single light hanging over her head, and even that wasn't bright enough for her to see. The staff had just finished preparing the spaghetti dinner for that evening, and Bex was now placing the boxes of extra pasta on the metal racks in the pantry. She heard the door creak from over her shoulder, but paid it no mind. Placing the last box up on the highest shelf, she turned with a gasp.

Finnick waited right behind her, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Boo," he whispered, placing his hands on one of the shelves, trapping her inside.

"Gods," she huffed, one hand on her chest before slapping his own. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"No," he replied goofily, retaining his smirk, "I came back here to find you for a different reason."

"To scare me?"

He laughed. "What's the fun in changing my assigned chore if I can't do that?"

A frown set on her lips.

"I'm kidding." He leaned into her, his arms locked around her small frame. Bex felt that tingling sensation all over again. His lips grazed her flushed cheek before she felt his breath against her ear. She had to dig her nails into her palms just to stop herself from shaking. "We should ditch serving tonight."

Her eyes narrowed, and when he could tell she wasn't responding to his advances, he leaned back. One of his brows arched, confused. "What?" He asked.

"We can't just ditch," she scoffed. "It's our chore. We still have to pull our weight here."

As a Victor, you need to be putting in more of an effort around here, Coin had once said, now a soft whisper in her ear.

"We've already worked half the shift," Finnick pestered. "Let's just skip the rest."

"It's still your first week, Finnick. I thought you would've wanted to make a better impression on the head chef." She arched a brow, but his sneer hadn't changed. "Something tells me we shouldn't be working together."

He bent towards her again, his mouth brushing against hers. Bex couldn't help but raise her hands and lock them around his neck, pushing herself into his chest. He whispered, "Maybe," against her lips before enveloping them fully, sealing their mouths together. She tangled one hand into his hair as his lips pressed harder against her own, and then, she found her spine hitting the rack behind her forcefully. The metal wobbled, but she didn't pay attention. She let herself fall deep into the kiss, exploring his mouth with her tongue, tasting him like he were a sweet treat. And then, the rack behind her back wasn't there anymore, and Finnick was careening into her, almost falling on top.

"Shit," she muttered, breaking away from the kiss and yanking the metal rack back up before it could fall. Finnick laughed as she straightened it out. A couple of boxes fell off the top shelf, but it could've been a lot worse if the whole rack had actually fallen because they couldn't keep their hormones intact. Bex sent him a glare and said, "It's not funny."

"It kind of is." He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her face. Tingles erupted at the surface, and she wondered if the tiny crescent shapes forming into her palms were now drawing blood. "Have I convinced you now?"

She huffed, not responding until her hands finally released. Her fingers then raised and lingered at the back of his neck. She reflected the same smirk that hadn't left his lips. "What do you think?"

Luckily for them, there happened to be a handy exit in the back of the pantry. They looked out at the kitchen to make sure everyone was happily distracted before slipping out, running towards the elevator once they entered the hall. Bex giggled as Finnick tugged her forward, the wind blowing her hair back from her shoulders. This almost didn't feel real. Reckless behavior aside, her heart had never felt so warm until right now. She never thought she could be this happy.

Finnick raised the elevator latch once they got to the third floor, and then led her to room 325. He held the door open for her. She walked inside, taking in the surroundings that she never noticed in the dark. She hadn't visited his room at a convenient time until now, and for the first time, she was seeing it in the light. His compartment was definitely a lot bigger compared to hers. He even had a small closet near his bed and a small kitchen beside the desk.

Bex looked down and noticed his favorite fishbone necklace. A smile made its way to her mouth as she picked it up, running her thumb over the smooth surface. "Sometimes I used to ditch schooling with my friends and we'd go out into the woods to do something fun." She placed the necklace back on the desk and turned to face him. "So what kind of fun do you have –"

Finnick's lips were on hers instantly. His muscles rippled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her backward. Bex was caught off guard, but still tried to enjoy this moment with just her and him, ignoring the nagging feeling of guilt that swelled in her chest. She shouldn't feel guilty for chasing her own desires. After everything she'd been through, she could be selfish and ignore her duties – just this once. What could Coin do? Kill them both? She doubted that.

But then, Bex felt her back press against the edge of Finnick's bedframe, and a painful hiss slipped from her mouth. It was still tender, after all this time. Her eyes snapped open. He was still kissing her, like he didn't even feel her jerk reaction.

Realization flashed across her face. Finnick wanted to have sex. He had made it clear as day and she didn't even realize until now. It felt like ages since she'd been with someone like this. And not with Capitol men; it had been months since she was near one. But it had been years since she had something so real, since she was intimate with someone she truly loved. Her first time had even been with a Capitol man. Bex couldn't remember a time when she made love with someone normal. Maybe she never had.

That was the most terrifying thought: she couldn't remember.

Bex broke the kiss first, leaning away to search his eyes. Her hands were on his face, thumbs brushing across the corners of his mouth. She watched his freckled cheeks begin to heat up and her heart rate increased.

"Oh, gods," he breathed, understanding what he has insinuated. His hands slipped from her waist, but she still held onto him. "I'm sorry. We can stop. It's okay. I don't ever want to pressure you –"

"No, it's okay," she whispered. "I was just caught off guard."

He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "I just ... I don't want you to pressure you into doing something. I don't want you to think I'd ever treat you like some patron from the Capitol. We've been robbed of having true intimacy because of our agreement, but we don't have to anymore. And I only want to share a moment like this with you because I ..."

Bex felt like she couldn't breathe. "Because what?"

"Because I think I'm falling in love with you."

She clamped her teeth down to prevent herself from saying something stupid. Her hands ran down his face, and she breathed in his scent like it was the first time all over again. Why, oh, why had he chosen her, out of all people? She would never understand it, but she was so glad he did. Her heart opened up for the first time in years. This was what freedom truly felt like. To love without obligation felt better than every kill she made imagining Snow's face.

Their lips connected once again, warm and breathless. Bex tugged down on the zipper to his jumpsuit, and he did the same for her, smiling into the kiss. She felt his tongue slide into her mouth, savoring her like never before. For a second, Bex wondered if she was even breathing. It didn't feel like it. She'd give up breathing just to stay in his moment forever, feeling his warm hands against her bare skin, pulling her into him.

His mouth left hers to skim across the base of her neck, and Bex swore she was seeing stars. Her body was released from the ties that bound her all along. She relaxed, giving in to the depravity that was desire. And when she felt his hand creep towards her core, she knew then that this had to be some sort of heaven.

No matter how many sins she committed, nothing could keep her away.

━━━━━━

Finnick's snores enveloped the dark room.

Bex furrowed her brow, tugging at the small blanket covering their bare bodies. It hardly did anything compared to body warmth. Finnick's skin was as hot as a furnace. Bex pressed herself against him and curled into his side. She wanted nothing more than him and him alone.

Her head rested against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat so very clearly, slowing to a gentle thump. Her spine was a little achy, seeing as she hadn't moved it this much in so long. Bex was still struggling to catch her breath as she clutched him tightly. Her face was colored red, and she wasn't sure if it was from exhaustion or embarrassment. Probably a bit of both, seeing as this was the first time she didn't have to fake an orgasm. She was still grappling with the sensation.

Johanna's question all those months ago had been genuine. After being wrapped up in Snow's agreement for so long, she simply lost the ability to just ... let go. She had been so stuck in always being in control that she could never allow herself to. Every Capitol man she'd been with, she faked it. Bex could recall how excited they'd look when she pretended; it literally made them quiver inside of her. She should've been an actor if the whole killer thing hadn't worked out so well. She certainly had fooled a lot of men with her skills.

But with Finnick ... it was different. More different than she had ever imagined. She was shaking from the thought of it – how he had never let go of her, when he groaned into their kiss as they climaxed together. Bex rubbed at her face, hoping the redness would go away, but it still brought a smile to her lips.

She sat up and looked down at him. With one hand grazing his chest, she reached up and caressed his closed eyelids with her thumbs. His forehead creased, along with his scar. He sighed into her touch and opened his eyes slowly. Bex flashed her teeth. "Sorry," she said, "did I wake the sleeping giant?"

"Perhaps," he chuckled.

The pads of her fingers brushed over his sharp cheekbone and she exhaled dreamily. After a moment, he enclosed his hand over hers, lacing their fingers together. Her heart raced once again.

Bex leaned down and whispered against his lips, "Hey, guess what?"

His brow arched. "What?"

The beating increased tenfold. She could feel her ribcage tremble from just her heart pounding into it. The words were a killer in itself, so she bit down on the tip of her tongue.

No time like the present, she thought.

She began, "I think I lo –"

An alarm suddenly blared throughout the bunker.

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A/N: and they were foiled yet again! I hope you guys enjoyed this fluffy (and a little angsty) chapter. bex and finnick definitely deserved it after all this time. idk how some of y'all feel about the fade-to-black moment (I guess I'll find out after this is posted lol), but a full-on smut scene didn't feel like it would work with this chapter, in my opinion. the chapter was already really fluffy, and I didn't want the ruin the vibe with a smut scene. I also don't really feel like full-on smut goes with the tone of this whole story. but that's just me! enjoy!