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Tweak says, "To Eat the Chicken Cross Road"

Finnick Odair | The Hunger Games (tiedinknots) wrote in expresslogs,
@ 2012-08-28 11:16:00

Entry tags:

annie cresta, finnick odair

WHO: Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta
WHAT: Talking
WHEN: After Finnick talks to Katniss
WHERE: Annie's room
WARNINGS: Possible talk of violence, PTSD, non-consensual sex
STATUS: Closed/ongoing

Finnick's conversation with Katniss had left him with a lot to think about. First, she remembered so very little. She didn't remember Thirteen at all...didn't remember the things they had been through together, didn't remember the process of becoming the Mockingjay. She didn't remember how close they had drawn in those hard times when Peeta and Annie were being held by the Capitol. And while they had spoken a bit about the Quell, he wasn't sure she understood exactly what had happened there yet, either. Or why it had happened.

But one thing was certain. Talking to her about the Quell, about Thirteen, had reminded him of one thing - how very much he needed to be near Annie. Even remembering for a moment that brutal ache that had consumed him in those weeks...months...however long it had been - was enough to force him to seek her out, to prove to himself that she was still here - that the only person who truly mattered to him was still in this world. That the only woman he truly loved was still here.

Finding her room, he rapped on the door, leaning his head tiredly against the door.

"Annie? It's Finnick. Let me in?"

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bedraggled
2012-08-29 02:58 am UTC (link)

At the mention of the Quell, the very word spoken aloud, Annie felt her whole body tense- as if every muscle contracted all at once. She wasn't certain if she should run to or from Finnick, and was instead just frozen in place.

She could hear Caesar Flickerman's voice in her mind, narrating back the events of the day- the highlights. Try as she might have done to block out the Games after Finnick's departure, they had been as unavoidable that year as they had been in every other year since her victory.

"Didn't want to," her voice was quiet, obviously scared, and though her muscles had stopped their tensing, her eyes seemed unfocused, as if she was just seeing her memories over again, not what was in front of her, in real time. "Screens were everywhere. Always on. Wave. Fog. You were- jungle. You called for me."

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tiedinknots
2012-08-29 05:55 am UTC (link)

He swallowed as he watched her tense up, wondering if it had been a terrible mistake to mention the Quell. He hadn't meant to upset her, but it looked as if his words had done just that.

"Come here, sweetheart," he said, holding his arms open for her. "Yeah. I called for you. And...Katniss heard. She...I think she's curious to meet the girl who could win my heart."

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bedraggled
2012-08-29 03:51 pm UTC (link)

A part of Annie knew that Finnick hadn't meant to upset her, and- thankfully- that part of her accepted the offer, and she stepped closer, into his arms.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, a hand coming up to clutch at the front of his shirt. Annie wasn't even quite certain what she was apologizing for, but it seemed she needed to. "I- I'll meet her." She rested her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat for a moment. "You- you have my heart, Finnick. Too. I never- just- you."

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tiedinknots
2012-08-29 06:58 pm UTC (link)

"I know," he said softly. "I know, sweetheart."

He stroked her hair tenderly, holding her close so she could find her bearings again, so she could find her sense of security again.

"I'm okay...I'm back, and it's over, and you never have to watch anything like that ever again, okay?"

He had worried at the time that the Quell would upset her, but he hadn't had a choice. He couldn't just run from it...he had to stay and fight for her. For the Rebellion. For Panem. And, most of all, for Annie.

"I would never have left you, sweetheart."

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bedraggled
2012-08-29 07:53 pm UTC (link)

Annie was quiet, concentrating on simple rhythms. Her breath. Finnick's heartbeat. The gentle timbre of his voice. It's over. It's over. It's over.

"You fought for me," she spoke, quietly, after a moment more. "Even though I couldn't fight for you. Mags had-" Annie squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head stubbornly as if to will that thought away. Mags, who had been the closest thing Annie had to a mother, was gone. Not coming back. Not ever. "Never, never, never."

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tiedinknots
2012-08-29 09:15 pm UTC (link)

Finnick drew back a bit, gently, just far enough that he could put his hands over her ears tenderly, to block out whatever it was that was frightening her; whatever terrors that he could not see.

"Shhh. Shhh," he said softly, although he knew she could not hear.

The mention of Mags had been like a dagger in his heart as well. Mags had been..well, Annie and Mags were all he had in a very long time. He knew why Mags had volunteered. He knew why she had taken Annie's place. And for some reason, knowing she had sacrificed herself for both of them didn't make things any easier.

A tear slipped down his cheek and into her hair.

"I love you," he said softly, as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered.

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bedraggled
2012-08-29 09:28 pm UTC (link)

Strangely or not, when Finnick placed his hands over her ears, it did calm her mind. It was, vaguely, like cupping a seashell to your ear and hearing the sound of the ocean- even if she couldn't hear it, it had the same calming sensation.

His words had slipped past the protective barrier of his hands, and Annie- well, she smiled. Despite it all, those words cut through the pain, and she knew- believed, even- that she would be okay, then.

Leaning up, she pressed a gentle kiss to Finnick's cheek, her lips tasting the faint saltiness from the path the tear had left. "I love you, Finnick."

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	tiedinknots 2012-08-30 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Finnick smiled too, his expression adoring as he kissed her forehead. "So...we'll meet up with Katniss, then? She's very nice. She...kind of took care of me when you were gone." Despite what people likely thought, Finnick needed Annie just as much as she'd ever needed him. Just because you looked strong didn't always mean that you were. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bedraggled 2012-08-30 01:28 am UTC (link)
	"I would like to meet her," Annie replied, nodding once more. "I should- thank her. For- for helping you." Even if Annie wasn't certain what Katniss had done, she trusted Finnick's assessment of her, and that was enough. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	tiedinknots 2012-08-30 04:25 am UTC (link)
	Finnick smiled at her warmly, kissing her in the center of her forehead. "Then we will. We'll go have lunch with her tomorrow, and I'll be there the whole time. It's time we got out and about, don't you think?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bedraggled 2012-08-30 01:52 pm UTC (link)
	Out and about had always been easier for Finnick than it had been for Annie, but it was different, on the train. Or it could be, at least. She was safer her than she'd been anywhere else, so there was- perhaps- no reason to remain so secluded. "Yes," she agreed, finally. "I... should be doing that." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tiedinknots
2012-08-30 04:53 pm UTC (link)

"Only if you want to," he said gently. "I'm not going to force you to do anything, you know that, right? If we go out and meet Katniss, it's because you want to, not because you feel you have to. I can message her and say we can't go really easy if you'd feel better doing that."

He brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek.

"You're what matters, Annie. You matter more than anything to me. You saved me."

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bedraggled
2012-08-30 05:27 pm UTC (link)

"I want to," Annie replied, easily- and she did, even if she was nervous what the more famous and outspoken girl would think of her.

She was grateful for Finnick's protective instincts all the same, though, and smiled as he kissed her. Annie may not have always understood how she had saved Finnick, but she knew very well how he had saved her- and how he continued to do so. "You are- all I have, Finnick. The only thing that- that makes any sense to me, even when I'm... broken."

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tiedinknots
2012-08-30 05:30 pm UTC (link)

"You're all I have, too," he said softly. "You know that, even if nobody else does. You're the only thing in my life that's real. And without you...god, Annie, I'd be so lost."

Broken. He understood being broken. They both did. Half the people in Panem did. It was a broken world full of broken people and broken dreams.

"But you found me. And we'll get through this together."

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	bedraggled 2012-08-30 05:59 pm UTC (link)
	Annie didn't care if no one else knew Finnick's truth- she did, and she would cling close to that as long as she could, as long as she knew how. "We aren't lost. We're here, Finnick. Together." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tiedinknots
2012-08-31 11:17 am UTC (link)

Finnick couldn't help but smile - at his love for her and at the fact that she understood him so very well. It was a precious thing, this love they had, and Finnick treasured it more than anything else. This girl he held close had rescued him from his darkest moments, given him a reason to hope when he'd believed all was lost.

"Yes," he said softly. "Together, there's hope."

He hesitated a moment before pulling back with a soft smile.

"You'll like Katniss. She's not like most tributes. She...she's brave."

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bedraggled
2012-08-31 02:29 pm UTC (link)

Hope was a rare thing, in Panem, so it was perhaps no wonder that both Finnick and Annie clung so close to it when it had been found, in one another.

Annie nodded, offering Finnick a faint smile. "I- didn't think she would be like others." Cato. Clove. Marvel. The others on the train, or who had been here before. The ones who liked killing... "I hope she likes me." Annie was used to others judging her, of course, or thinking she was weak or helpless. She may have been both, at times, but she still tried-- She shook her head, as if to shake those doubts away once more. "She will like me," Annie amended, aloud, though more for her own benefit than Finnick's.

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tiedinknots
2012-08-31 06:42 pm UTC (link)

"She will like you, I'm sure of it," he said adamantly, kissing her again. "How could anyone not like you?"

He knew there were people that didn't, but it was totally beyond his understanding.

"She's nothing like them, not at all. She...doesn't like hurting people at all. She just wants to keep those she loves safe."

He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead once more.

"She's on our side."

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	bedraggled 2012-09-04 03:03 am UTC (link)
	"Thank you," Annie replied- whether for the reassurance, the explanation, or something else entirely she wasn't really certain, but it seemed the thing to say. "I believe you, Finnick. I want to meet her." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	tiedinknots 2012-09-04 04:01 am UTC (link)
	"Then I'll send her a message tonight. And we'll meet up with her when she's free. And you remember, if you're uncomfortable, if you get upset, I'll be right there, and we can come back to the room whenever you like." [OOC: I'll have him send a message to Katniss tonight, and hopefully we can get a thread set up tomorrow. :D] (Reply to this) (Parent)

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