Finnick Odair (youngestvictor) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-12-29 23:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, finnick odair, peeta mellark |
Who: Finnick Odair and Peeta Mellark
What: Properly Meeting
When: Backdated: Very Beginning of December
Where: Mellarky
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete!
Ever since he’d started dreaming, Finnick had been wondering about the other people who also dreamt about Panem. He had briefly met them on Thanksgiving when he and Annie had gone to one of their houses, but he hadn’t really gotten a chance to really talk to anyone other than Annie. Finnick wasn’t a shy person at all, but being around so many new people who, he assumed, had all dreamt of him was a little strange.
Curious about the others and wanting to get to know them, he’d decided to head over to Mellarky Bakery to possibly talk to Peeta. It made more sense now, why the other man had sent him bread from his dream District so it wasn’t really strange anymore, but they still hadn’t really talked face to face yet; at least not for long and not alone.
Reaching the bakery, Finnick headed inside, glancing around at the interior before heading up to the counter.
It was a slow day so far and Peeta was thankful for that because he could get caught up after the craziness of the Thanksgiving weekend. He had put on Small Business Saturday sale and it had drawn quite a few people in. Thanksgiving had gone well with his family and he was thankful that he was able to keep his own business closed that day and allow all his employees to spend time with their family.
It was nice finally getting to meet Finnick briefly at the party at Gale’s house. He and Johanna had gotten there near the tail end of the party, so he didn’t spend a lot of time there. The last thing he was expecting was for Finnick to come visit him at work. So, when he came out of the back with a tray of bread he couldn’t help but smile at the surprise. “Hey there, Finnick!”
“Hey.” He eyed the tray of bread that Peeta was carrying and quirked a brow, “None of those are seaweed bread, I assume?” Finnick didn’t think that anyone who didn’t dream of Panem would understand the appeal of his District’s bread. After all, Finnick hadn’t thought much of it when Peeta had sent it to him, but at the time it had been a very random thing to receive and honestly, it hadn’t been that bad. He’d even go as far as trying it again now that he’d started dreaming.
“Oh god no. I don’t think my regular customers would want to eat that. I may throw it in sometime, but definitely a limited batch,” Peeta explained with a laugh as he set the tray against the corner of his hip and began to transfer the product into the case. He was always tempted to try selling some of this recipes to his regular customers, but they would have to be a small batch since it probably would go over like a lead balloon. But, this was California and they were crazy health conscious so maybe seaweed would possibly sell, “Just a regular batch of cinnamon raisin bread.”
“But you thought a complete stranger would?” Finnick smirked good naturedly and leaned against the counter, “So how long have you owned this place?” Finnick recalled driving by a few times now that he thought about it, but had never had a reason to stop in until now.
“Of course. Not my fault that I knew more about you than you would have thought,” Peeta commented with a laugh, “And not too long. Almost two years now. The fact that I’ve done a few Food Network competitions really helps out the business. I’ll do basically anything to get my name out there and draw in new people.”
“That’s pretty impressive. Did you have a hard time getting off the ground?” In the place like California, there were scuba diving instructors all over the place so many people thought he was crazy to come to come to California to open a scuba diving business, but he’d been doing fairly well, “So you’ve been on TV?” The Food Network wasn’t one that Finnick watched so it was unlikely he ever would have seen Peeta on TV.
“Just a little. The going on Food Network was part of the plan because winning helped give me the extra money that I needed to get this place completely done. My parents were a little reluctant to help because they wanted me to go into more fine food than baking, but they’re totally okay with it now, And yeah, being on tv is fun. The competition is stressful, but totally worth it if I come out on top in the end. How is business going for you?”
“That’s cool. Do you still do them or was it just to get going?” If Peeta did another Food Network show, Finnick would be sure to tell everyone he knew to watch. “When I was on TV, it wasn’t quite as nationally televised as the Food Network. I don’t think as many people watch swimming competitions as they do baking competitions.”
“I do it every once and awhile. I don’t think they reach out to previous winners too often, but I did something for Veteran’s Day since I was in the military. Maybe they’ll think about me if they want to do some big battle of the best,” Peeta commented. He should reach out again and try to get his shop out there more, “Hey, a lot of people love swimming, especially during the Olympics. I know that I even get caught up. Michael Phelps was a bit of a hero.”
“They should totally invite back previous winners to battle against each other.” Finnick smirked and glanced around the bakery, “So what would you recommend if I were to take something home?” Standing in a bakery, there was no way Finnick wasn’t taking something home with him to snack on later, “Michael Phelps is pretty cool. I kind of had a tiny dream of going to the Olympics someday, but who doesn’t?”
“What are you in the mood for? I would go desserts instead of bread, but that’s just because it’s more fun,” Peeta explained before moving up to the counter and waiting to help Finnick. This was always the hardest question because he had to see what the other person was feeling before recommending anything, “and why didn’t you try out for it? I bet you could have made it. You still could. That one woman is 40 years old and still winning medals.”
Finnick started scanning the cases, trying to decide what to get, “There’s far too much to choose from. Too much chocolate. Can’t decide.” Chocolate was Finnick’s favorite so it was always extremely difficult to choose when faced with multiple chocolate options. “As much as I like swimming, I like owning my own business. If I spent all my time training for the Olympics I’d never get a chance to teach and go scuba diving on my own.”
“Hmm, I would go with the triple chocolate cupcake. It’s really good and that’s what my resident chocolate addict usually orders when she comes in,” oh yeah, he had enough regulars now that he could figure out what kind of person they were and what they would order, “And that’s true, scuba diving does sound like fun. I may have to come by your place and start learning.”
“I definitely won’t pass up triple chocolate anything. Give me one of those.” Finnick said, nodding. He was going to have to put it aside and try not to eat it right away when he got home, otherwise he’d probably be paying Peeta another visit very soon, “Feel free to stop by. I’ll give you a discount.” Finnick never charged his friends full price. Half the time he didn’t even end up charging them.
When Finnick decided Peeta moved to grab a box and package up the cupcake and let out a laugh when Finnick told him to stop by and learn how to scuba dive, “I totally will once the holidays are all over and I can take some time off. Do you do indoor or outdoor or both? Because the weather will totally make me stay away until it’s nice and warm outside.”
“Outdoors. We’re right on the beach. As long as you have the right wetsuit, you should be fine regardless of the weather.” Finnick had been very surprised that it had snowed, but from what he’d heard other people saying, this was a common occurrence in Orange County in December. As he handed cash over to Peeta, he also handed over a business card, “Just give me a call or text whenever you wanna come by.”
“Thanks,” he answered with a smile as he pocketed the card and finished out the transaction, “I’m glad you stopped by today. It’s nice to formally meet you in person and not just know you from the dreams. I’m definitely going to plan to come when the snow disappears and the weather is a little warmer. And don’t be a stranger, feel free to stop by the bakery any time.”
“I’m glad I stopped by,” Finnick smiled as he took the box and nodded, “It was nice to formally meet you too and if this tastes as good as it looks then I’ll be back for sure.” Holding the box protectively, Finnick waved to Peeta and headed out.