CHAPTER 39
THE DEAL

BEX had never felt more thankful than when she received a chore assignment change.

As she pressed the stamp into her arm and peered down at her tattooed schedule, she released a sigh of relief. She was to report to the kitchens this afternoon to cook and serve the evening meal. This had to be the best news she'd gotten since she woke up here. Not even discovering she was alive was more relieving than finding out she wouldn't have to step foot in that hospital for a considerable amount of time.

The head chef asked her to make a simple tomato soup to be served as a side dish with today's dinner. Pretty easy task, but that didn't mean the soup was edible. Bex had never been that great of a cook. Keaton did a lot of cooking over the past few years. She knew how to make a good sandwich, fry up some bacon, concoct her legendary beef stew, even how to cook a meaty slab of chicken, but this soup was definitely not the best.

As Bex stood over the bubbling pot, sweat pouring down her forehead, she wondered if she could do anything right besides handle an axe. Or kill people.

Stop being so negative, she told herself. At the very least, today's shift in the kitchen went a lot better than the disaster at the hospital yesterday. She also felt like she was doing something worthwhile whenever she handed someone a tray of food and they smiled at her. And it was always genuine. These people were just thankful to be alive every single day. She needed to start having the same attitude.

This was, probably, the best distraction from her own worry. While serving food that evening, she wondered why she was ever anxious at all.

Most of the staff waved goodbye to her as she began storing the rest of her soup in containers. After serving dinner, all of the staff got together in the kitchen and ate their meals together or packed it up to have in their pod. Bex kept one tub of soup and another container of spiced chicken on the side for herself. The rest went into the freezer for storage. Nothing was taken for granted around here. Not even barely-edible soup.

A fist knocked on the doorframe to the kitchen. The last person Bex expected to see when she lifted her head was Finnick. But there he was, messy hair and all. He strode in and scanned the kitchen, taking in the large fridge and multiple stovetops. "Hi," Bex said awkwardly, going back to her duties. She continued dipping her ladle into the pot and filling the large container in her other hand, only catching Finnick's smile from the corner of her eye. Anyone could spot his pearly whites, even from a mile away. His grin seemed truly unfeigned. He was happier than the last time she saw him.

"Where have you been all day?" He asked, approaching the steel table in the middle of the room. Bex got goosebumps just from his closeness and he was only on the other side. Eight feet separated them, but it felt like it was hardly there.

"I tried sleeping in after I got my schedule because clearly, I can't sleep until the sun rises. Then, I came here." She shrugged and submerged her ladle into the soup yet again. "The kitchen can get muggy after a while."

"They assigned me to the hospital with Johanna." He looked down at her almost-full container. "Are you sure you want to make people eat that again?"

Bex grimaced, "Funny."

Finnick rounded the table, dragging the tip of his finger across the surface. Bex swallowed hard the closer he got, but refused to meet his eyes.

"You are a lot of things, Bex Nassar," he said, dipping one finger into the cold soup and frowning, "but a chef is not one of them."

She turned to him finally, drinking in his stare, reminding herself – again – how beautiful he truly was. With one hand on her hip, Bex struggled to maintain the same annoyed expression. "Alright, enough with the jabs. I know I'm not great, but my first day at the hospital was bad. I'd rather be here than anywhere else."

"Are you irritated with me?" To her surprise, he jumped up on the counter, allowing his legs to dangle off the side. "You sound irritated."

"It's because you're distracting me." She finished piling the soup in and sealed the container. Sending Finnick a scowl, she passed him and placed the container in the fridge. "I just want to get out of here, eat my dinner, and try to go to bed at a decent time."

She turned just as a cloud of flour flew in her direction, coating her face and neck. Bex's mouth fell. She wiped her eyes and found Finnick just a few feet away, a bag of flour in hand. "Are you serious?"

He giggled, "Whoops."

Bex came barreling over before he could move away. She dug her hands into the flour and slapped the fistfuls against his cheeks. She backed away, unable to contain her laughter, as Finnick grabbed more flour. He threw balls of it at her. She tried shielding herself against his attacks with her arms, and soon grabbed more to throw at him. Within minutes, the two were covered head-to-toe in the dusty powder. Bex doubled-over from laughing so much and then called for a draw. "We're wasting too much flour!" She complained. "My boss will kill me."

"I highly doubt you'd give him the chance," Finnick said as she sealed the bag. He stepped in front of her, cornering her against the counter. His lips pulled into a smirk, dimples on full display.

Bex froze completely, allowing him to press his body against hers. His scent never ceased to invite her in. His body was always so warm, and it welcomed her like an old friend. She closed her eyes as his hands caressed her cheeks, wiping the flour off. His mouth was grazing hers seconds later, and she breathed him in. The cool, ocean air radiated off of him, as if he was made from the salty waters of District Four.

The citrus and saltwater fragrance drew her in, but it didn't take long for her mind to go elsewhere. Memories of the arena flickered through her mind. She remembered Nico jumping in front of Katniss, and then his gaping mouth as he sunk to the ocean floor, water filling his lungs.

Suddenly, Bex moved away. Finnick's mouth was now brushing against her cheek, where he placed a gentle kiss. He leaned away, brows knitting together in confusion, and Bex reached up to stroke his cheek for a brief moment. She slid from his hold and went to the sink to wash the flour off her hands and face.

Finnick grabbed a towel and wiped his face. In the softest voice possible, he said, "We're really not going to talk about it?"

She didn't look at him. She lathered her hands like nothing was wrong. "About what?"

"You know what." He paused, waiting for her to reply. Bex didn't make it that easy for him. He continued, "What we said in the arena."

Bex sighed, wringing her hands and wiping them off with a towel. Finally, she met his eyes with a frown. "We said many things in the arena."

"Nothing I didn't mean." He licked the corners of his mouth. "Nothing you didn't mean either."

"I was dehydrated and hallucinating."

"You kissed me in my hospital room."

"This started out as fake."

Finnick held up a finger. "Actually, it started out as real. I meant what I said in the Quell, about caring for you when I visited Seven. Why would I travel all that way, break the law, if I didn't?"

Bex pursed her lips. Words hung off the edge of her tongue, threatening to spill out.

"Listen, I get it," he exhaled. "We're both dealing with a lot right now, but I don't want to live through it without you."

Her nostrils flared. A frantic, uncontrollable fury shot through her, exploding like a cannon. "No, this is different. You don't get it. My brother is in the Capitol right now –"

"You think I'm not hurting too? Do you seriously think that?"

Silence echoed between them. Bex didn't know what to say; she knew he was right. It was difficult for her to remember that everyone was going through a tough time when she didn't know if Keaton was alive or dead. After a beat of hesitation, she looked down and grabbed his hand. His large fingers interlocked with her own so perfectly. She sometimes couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I've never been too good at apologies."

Finnick rubbed at the back of his neck. "No, I'm sorr –"

Bex chuckled, "I think you've apologized enough to me. But I appreciate it."

They broke eye contact to look around the room. Flour coated the walls and was piled all over the table, not to mention their clothes were completely covered in it. Bex's stare went wide for a moment.

"And now, I have to clean all this up." She turned to Finnick with an arched brow. "Help me?"

His smile was so pretty that her heart ached. "There's nothing else I'd rather do."

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Bex was heading down to her afternoon shift in the kitchens when everyone was called to congregate in the center of the bunker. President Coin stood on top of a metal platform, pacing and waiting impatiently to give a speech. Bex moved swiftly through the crowd and found Phoenix with Effie Trinket near the middle. She stood with them and scanned the large group. Katniss was closer to the front with her mom and sister, and behind Bex's shoulder, she spotted Johanna and Finnick in their hospital gear. Finnick smiled at her just as she turned around.

Once the crowd came to an abrupt stop, Coin faced them and adjusted her mic. Bex swallowed hard at her blank expression. Whatever she was about to say was either good or bad news. No in-between.

"Good afternoon. Thank you for interrupting your schedules," she began, mouth in a thin line. "Today, I'd like to inform the citizens of Thirteen and our welcomed guests that Katniss Everdeen has consented to be the face of our cause. To help unite the Districts against the Capitol."

Bex tried lifting her head over the crowd. She could just see a sliver of Katniss looking down at her feet, refusing to look at Coin.

"In exchange," the President continued, and a sigh quickly escaped her lips, "I have promised several concessions." She raised her hands, where a torn piece of paper resided. She began to read off the demands. "First, we will assess all opportunities for the extraction of the Victors and familial prisoners held hostage in the Capitol."

At that, Bex found her eyebrows shooting up.

"Peeta Mellark," Coin listed, which earned an intense round of boos. The people were very obviously not happy with that decision, but Coin completely ignore their complaints and proceeded with her speech. "Enobaria Marshall, and Keaton Nassar."

Bex cupped one hand over her mouth, almost not believing the news. Katniss did it. She really did it. She made the deal to save everyone, including her brother. Looking out amongst the crowd, Bex's stare met hers, and the Mockingjay smiled. For the first time, her grey eyes weren't cold. They reminded Bex of the warm lake she used to take a bath in as a kid.

On her left, Phoenix wrapped his arm around Bex and squeezed her. Bex rested her head on his shoulder and hoped no one was paying attention to the hot tears rolling down her face.

Effie Trinket leaned her head forward and said, "Congratulations," with flushed cheeks.

Coin waited for silence. A moment later, she said, "Once freed, they will be granted full pardon for any and all crimes committed against the rebel cause."

The booing started all over again. Coin's expression went grim, as if she was giving up one of her children right now, in front of everyone. She wasn't upset that her people didn't like her decisions. She was upset that she was letting a teenager influence her decisions, just to have her be the face of their cause. Bex was sure she saw a flash of jealousy cross over Coin's face, like she was envious that Katniss had a small amount of power she didn't.

Coin looked down, peering into the crowd and finding Katniss amongst the lot. She set the paper down and spoke only to her. "If Katniss fails to fulfill her duties, the deal will be over."

And once again, the survival of Bex's family rested on the shoulders of Katniss Everdeen. She could only hope the girl wouldn't let her stubbornness cloud her judgment until the prisoners were rescued. That was truly asking for a miracle.

But a miracle was what Keaton needed right now.

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A/N: for once, I don't have that much to say lmao besides I hope you guys are enjoying this story! still can't believe I started this fic at the beginning of quarantine and now we're all the way in the middle of act iii 😳 maybe the lockdown did something right 🤨