Finnick Odair

I have an unhealthy obsession with Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta and will drown my sorrows by writing about them. Leave a prompt in my ask and I'll get to it as soon as I can!

[finnick-life-ruiner]

I know it’s been a reallyyyy long time, but I finally updated my fanfic, and let’s just say you can finally find out if Finnick is alive or not. I should be posting the last few chapters soon. I can’t believe how much this story took off. I started it like 6 years ago because I was bored and I wanted to give Finnick a happy ending, and it turned into a whole freaking book. 

[hungergamesprobs]

Bless Finnick Odair’s heart.

[finnicklovesannie]

Finnick freaks out over something small when his son is a newborn because he's afraid he'll get hurt.

“Wake up.”

“What on Earth, Finnick?” I pull my pillow over my head and try to go back to the sleep I was rudely roused from.

“You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.”

“You need me to hold your hand while you change your son’s diaper?” I ask both amused and exasperated.

“Don’t you think perhaps it’s a little too soon to trust me with him?” I push the pillow away and see genuine concern in his face.

“What are you talking about?” Since we brought Caspian home two days ago Finnick has been all over the place. One minute he’s over the moon with excitement, the next he seems so worried. “What’s going on?”

“What if I drop him?”

“He weighs like seven pounds, I think you can handle it,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.

“He’s so frail. I’m not used to handling delicate things.”

“Hmm, I disagree. You’re very delicate with me.” I smile and press a gentle kiss to his lips. “You need to stop freaking out.”

“I can’t, Annie… if something happened to him I don’t know what I’d do. You’re so good at handling him.”

“Well, I’ve had more practice. I had a little cousin that I used to watch over all the time. You’ll get the hang of it.” He sighs but nods and I reach for his hand. “Finnick. Nothing is going to happen to him.”

“I don’t know, Annie… things never seem to work out for us.”

“That’s not true,” I whisper, standing up to pick Caspian from his crib. I smile and kiss the baby’s head, laying him on the bed to change his diaper. “We’re married; we’re safe, and we’re together. We have a son like we always wanted. What about this isn’t working out for you?”

“You know what I mean,” he sighs, handing me a clean diaper and some wipes.

“Finn. That was before. Things are different now.” He nods because he knows I’m right. I don’t blame him for fearing what he loves most will be taken from him. He lost his parents to Snow, and in a way he lost me to the Games. “All you did was so that we wouldn’t have to worry about him, remember? So don’t.”

Finnick smiles softly and picks our baby gingerly from the mattress. He’s only a few days old, but I can already see he’ll be just like his father. He has his coppery hair, and his dazzling eyes. I watch him as he cradles our son to his chest and whispers to him softly. I can’t quite make out what he’s saying, so I crawl back under the covers and fall asleep to that scene.

[finnicklovesannie]

I have a prompt! Finnick surprising everyone because he can play the guitar XD

There’s nothing fun about District Thirteen. One look at the place can really bring down your spirits. Nevertheless, I try to find ways to entertain myself. Just today I was lurking around some of the lower floors where I definitely shouldn’t have been lurking and I ran across an old guitar case. How it got there is beyond me, but the thing looks about as old as District Thirteen. 

Coin is very strict about keeping everybody on schedule and everything, but I’ve never been very good at following instructions, and Katniss and Haymitch are no different. Even Annie and Gale are here. We’re all crammed inside Finnick and Annie’s tiny shared compartment, where I decided it would be funny to interrupt their nauseating romanticism. 

I plop down the guitar case and start plucking at the strings. Haymitch shakes his head and walks out the door immediately. “I’m too old for this crap,” I hear him murmur as he leaves. 

Katniss wears her usual frown, and Gale seems amused. Annie whispers something in Finnick’s ear and he shakes his head while chuckling. I think I might vomit. “Fine,” he agrees begrudgingly, taking the guitar from my hands. Annie smiles and moves back slightly as he sets the guitar on his lap and starts tuning the damn thing. 

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“No offense, Johanna, but you can’t play to save your life.”

“Like you can.” I roll my eyes. He plays a chord in response and smiles. He struggles a bit at first, but slowly gets the hang of it, playing a slow melody on the ancient instrument. 

“What the…” Katniss’ permanent frown is replaced by an expression of shock. Gale seems pleasantly amused, and Annie looks at him like he just became even more perfect than she already thought he was. 

“Where the hell did you learn to play the guitar?” I ask amused. 

“I have a lot of spare time at the Capitol. I bought one of these things and one of those instructional videos. You’re looking at a level five.” 

Annie laughs softly and I roll my eyes. 

“Guess you’ll never stop surprising me.” 

[finnicklovesannie]

Finnick realises Annie will never be the same again after she comes out her first games.When he discovers she is mad.

It takes me a few days to believe the doctors, but I see now that they were right. When Annie was rescued from the arena, she was very much in shock. Not even I could get her to calm down, so they had to sedate her for a few days while she healed. Nobody blamed her; having almost drowned in the arena, seeing her district partner beheaded… it was all pretty traumatic. But I believed that she would get better.

           After a few days of the same behavior, her doctors became a little worried. They warned me that there might be no recovery from her trauma, that she might never be the same again, but I knew Annie. She was a fighter, and she would get over it sooner or later.

           I became more discouraged after every visit, yet I never really gave up hope. I could have stopped trying to help her, but I refused to. She was there for me after my games, so I was going to be there for her. The days after her victory were long and painful. It took a cocktail of medications to even get Annie on stage for her coronation, and the interviews that followed were kept short and simple. During the trip home she was silent and unresponsive. She wasn’t even moved when her family rushed to embrace her in the train platform. The welcoming crowd soon overwhelmed her, and she was reduced to a screaming, crying heap on the floor.

           It’s been a few weeks since her games and I’ve barely talked to her. Her mom has told me that she’s doing better. That now she has a few moments of clarity when she almost acts like her old self, but during those moments she instructs her that I’m not allowed in her house anymore, that she doesn’t want to see me. I don’t take this very well, obviously. It was painful enough to see her in her broken state, but now that I can’t even make sure she’s doing all right, I can hardly think of anything else.

           But then I see her. I’ve watched her a few times before, on the small beach surrounding the Victor’s Village, sitting by herself. Any time she sees me watching she stands up and runs back to her house. It’s amazing how now that she lives only a few feet away from me, it feels like we’re thousands of miles apart. This time, she can’t get away though, because I didn’t even know she was at the beach. I go outside to gather my fishing gear, and she’s right there, only a few feet away from me. She’s sitting closer to my house than she ever has before. I’ve also never seen her out this early in the morning, probably because I’m always outside fishing at this time. It’s almost like she wanted to run into me… but then I dismiss that idea with the look that she gives me.

           Her eyes are cold and unwelcoming. I’m almost startled enough to turn around and walk away, but a small part of me wants me to stay. It’s a part of me that sees past the hurt and betrayal and genuinely worries about her. I drop my bucket and my bait and take a few steps closer to her. “Hey, Annie,” I say cautiously. “What are you doing out so early?”

           She looks away from me and turns her gaze back to the crashing waves. For a moment I think she didn’t hear me, when I catch her voice, barely about a whisper. “Couldn’t sleep.”

           “Yeah, I get that.” I don’t know what to say. I feel like we’ve been estranged the last few weeks, like the bond that connected us before her games has been broken. “Annie,” I start, trying to keep the pain out of my voice. “Why did you tell your mom that I wasn’t allowed back? Did I do something wrong?”

           “No.” She doesn’t seem like she’s going to offer any more explanations, so I just sigh and sit a few feet away from her.

           “I thought we were friends.” The hurt is finally taking over, though I know it’s not her fault, and it’s not fair for me to call her out on her decisions.

           “You don’t want to be friends with me,” she mumbles.

           “What are you talking about?”

           “The girl you loved, Finnick… she’s gone. She’s not coming back. You don’t need this,” she whimpers, gesturing to herself.

           “Well, you’re wrong. Because I said the same thing to you after my games, and you were knocking at my door every day, no mater how many times I told you to leave. You never gave up.”

           At my mention of the games, her body stiffens. She looks away from me briskly, and I see her chest rise and fall as she takes deep breaths. Tears overflow and roll down her sun kissed skin, as she clenches her hands tightly into fists. “Please go,” she whispers desperately.

           I’m astonished by her change in demeanor. I’ve seen far worse in the past weeks, but this time the change is so rapid I don’t see it coming. Part of me is temped to obey her and run away to spare myself the pain of seeing her suffer, but I can’t. If I leave, she wins. If I leave, I would prove to her that I don’t want her in my life anymore, which is as far from the truth as you can get.

           “No,” I whisper gently. She seems bothered by this, but doesn’t argue. She’s trembling now; her eyes are shut, and her fists are pressed tightly against her ears. I want it to stop, I want to assure her that everything is going to be all right, but when my fingers brush her back in an attempt to comfort her, she opens her mouth to let out a bloodcurdling scream.

           Startled, I pull my hand back as if she’s shocked me. I’m frozen, unsure of what to do. She screams until her voice is hoarse and her sobbing so intense, she can barely catch her breath. “Annie,” I plead, reluctant to touch her again. “Annie, please,” I mumble. “Listen to me. It’s okay, I’m sorry… please just breathe.”

           It takes a while until her breathing normalizes, though her eyes are still squeezed shut. I’m glad to see that she can hear me though because when I ask if it’s okay to touch her, she nods her head lightly. I cautiously grab her wrist and pull it away from her head, and she pulls it away compliantly. I’m about to try the same thing with her other hand when fresh tears begin to pour from her eyes. A second later her arms are wrapped around my neck, and she’s sniffling against my neck. I feel her warm tears on my body as I hold her closer. It’s been so long since I’ve held her like this.

           “I’m sorry,” she cries weakly. “Things will never be the same.”

           In that moment I knew she was right. The Annie I’d loved had been hurt and broken, and she would never be the same again. “But I won’t let that tear us apart.”

[finnicklovesannie]

Loki Day

Being at the Dragon Academy every day is exhausting. Not because it’s hard work, both physically and mentally, but because I am surrounded by a band of muttonheads. Fishlegs is cool most of the time, but we only really connect when dragons are involved; other than that, he seems a little oblivious of my dry humor, and is usually too busy reading, or playing with Meatlug to notice me.

Then there’s Astrid. She’s everything any Viking should aspire to be: strong, brave, and determined. She’s my greatest ally when it comes to running the academy, whether I need her to stay up late with me planning the next day’s activities, or helping me keep the other riders in check, she’s trustworthy and dependable. Or at least so I thought.

It all started earlier this week; we’d had a rough day of training and everybody was tired and irritable. I know sometimes I can push them a little too hard, but we have a huge responsibility to keep Berk safe, and it’s really hard to focus on patrol duties and training exercises when Snotlout and the twins treat my orders as a joke.

I crashed against the side of the cliff and rolled off Toothless’ back for the third time in a row. Dazed, I groaned and stumbled back, struggling to get on my feet. Toothless helped me up with his head and growled at the Zippleback as Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew over us.

“Sorry, Boss!” called Tuff. “Missed again!”

“That’s it,” I grumbled, mounting Toothless and racing after the twins. “Everybody get back to the academy. Now!”

“Completely your fault,” said Snotlout as I landed in the center of the ring and hopped off the Night Fury’s back. The twins snickered and nodded in agreement.

“What?” I asked exasperated. “No! The twins weren’t where they were supposed to be! Again! Toothless and I were doing everything right!”

“But you were the one that crashed,” argued Ruff. “I’d be very annoyed if I were Toothless.” Toothless snorted in defiance and bared his teeth threateningly at the twins.

“Because you guys weren’t there!” I sighed and ran my fingers through my ruffled hair, looking at Astrid for support. She shrugged helplessly and gave me an apologetic look.

“They were there when I looked. Sorry, Hiccup, maybe you just need to-“

“What? Astrid. Really? You too?”

“Come on, Hiccup, it’s not that big a deal. We can just try again.” She gave me a hopeful smile and jumped on her dragon’s back again, ready to run over the drill one more time.

“Forget it,” I mumbled, leading Toothless away from the others. “We’re done for the day, just… just go home.”

Snotlout smirked at Astrid and leaned an arm against Stormfly. “Well now we can make it to my place before my parents get home.”

Astrid hates when Snotlout flirts with her. Anytime he tries, she kicks, punches, tackles, or attacks him in some way, but not this time. I keep telling myself that perhaps she was distracted by my sudden departure, but then later that same day I run into the twins during supper.

They’re sitting at a table, facing away from the door through which I enter quietly. It’s pretty late, so the room is mostly empty, but they are speaking just loud enough for me to hear. I’m about to call out for them, ready to put our little dispute behind us, when I hear Tuffnut say her name. Astrid.

“Hiccup is really going to lose it,” he continues. “When do you think he’ll find out?” I stop in my tracks and sneak closer, hiding behind a wooden pillar barely thick enough to conceal me.

“I give it a few days,” she replies, shrugging her shoulders. “When I said she could do better than Hiccup, I wasn’t really thinking about Snotlout.”

“I sure hope Fishlegs keeps his big mouth shut.”

I can barely believe what I’m hearing. There must be a misunderstanding. Right? I step away towards the door as the twins snicker behind me; though I’m curious to know what they think is so funny, I don’t think I want to find out.

Fishlegs knows what’s going on, so I head to his hut to ask him myself. He opens the door after a few knocks, and seems surprised to see me. He’s wearing a simple tunic and looks ready to go to bed, but steps outside without a question when he sees the look on my face. I can tell right away that he’s nervous because he avoids my gaze and fidgets with a loose thread on his sleeve.

“H-Hiccup? What brings you around so late? If this is about training, I think the twins were totally messing up, and”

“Fishlegs,” I interrupt, “I don’t care about that anymore. I heard the twins talking about Snotlout and… and Astrid. They seem to think you know something about it?”

He grows pale and tries to retreat into his hut again, but I grip his arm before he can open the door. “Are you guys? I mean, I don’t really know what I saw, Hiccup. I… I don’t think it’s my place to tell. Why don’t’ you ask them instead?”

“You do know, Fishegs,” I exhale. “Please. We’re friends, right?”

“Of, of course we are.” He sighs and stares at Snotlout’s house, only a few huts away from his own. “I saw Astrid leaving his house a few hours ago. They went there right after training, and I could hear them laughing when I was coming back home. I have never heard them laughing together, Hiccup, and we’ve all been friends since we were in diapers.” He looks at the ground uncomfortably, avoiding my gaze. “When she left she was… she was smiling, and when she realized I was watching she begged me not to tell you about it. Which I did. I’m a terrible friend. I just can’t pick sides okay?” He glances at me apologetically before yanking his arm away and retreating back inside.

This can’t be. I shake my head and head back to my house; my father must be wondering where I am. I still can’t believe it. Astrid and Snotlout? It must be a lie, Fishlegs must have seen wrong because she would never go for someone like that, right? Then again, nobody believes she would go for someone like me.

I wake up the next morning in a terrible mood. I thought about confronting Astrid, but then I realized I have no right to. Her and I… we’re just friends. I constantly remind others of this fact when they tease us about our relationship, yet thinking about her with someone else is unbearable. When I get to the academy the twins and Fishlegs are waiting for me. “Where are the others?” I ask.

“Astrid and Snotlout… they, uh, they’re sick. Yes, really contagious, best to stay away.” Tuffnut smiles, satisfied with his answer and I look at Fishlegs.

“I’m sorry, Hiccup, I really don’t know.”

“Well, all right then. It’ll just be the four of us today.”

We work on some drills, but my head’s not in the training. I let everyone go before lunch and head towards Gobber’s shop. Though I don’t technically work there anymore, I still stop by every now and then to eat with him or just to talk.

“Hiccup!” he calls, glad to see me. “How are ya holdin’ up?”

“Oh, I’m wonderful,” I say with fake enthusiasm. “Life is great!”

“Oh, don’t be like that. She’ll be done with him soon enough. A girl like Astrid can’t like a guy like Snotlout.”

“What are you talking about?” I pull out a chair and sit, banging my head against the wooden table. “How do you know about this?”

“I heard Snotlout begging Gustav not to tell.”

“Tell what? Huh?” I feel my head spinning. What the Hel is going on?

“Apparently Gustav saw Snotlout and Astrid kissing this morning. Snotlout even offered to let him ride his Nightmare if he swore not to tell you. Said something about Astrid wanting to keep it a secret.”

“Oh, Thor. I think I’m going to throw up.” Gobber sighs and pats me on the back.

“I really thought you two had something going on. Guess I was wrong.”

“I… I need to go.”

“Hiccup, wait. Don’t do anything crazy, Lad.” I ignore Gobber’s calls and run back home. Where is Toothless when I need him? I’m almost up the hill when Astrid sees me. She raises an eyebrow quizzically and sprints after me.

“Hiccup!” she calls.

Toothless sees me and runs towards me, flying off the second I’m on his back.

“Where are you going?” Winded, Astrid watches me fly away without a word.

“To the cove, Bud,” I groan, but Toothless is already on his way.

I hop off his back when we land, kicking a pebble aside. Toothless doesn’t miss my gesture and warbles softly, pressing his snout against my back. “It’s okay, Toothless. I might be blowing things out of proportion.” Toothless gives me a gummy grin and curls up around me, forcing me into his embrace. “Toothless,” I chuckle, “I’m fine… It’s just a girl, right?”

He looks up at me with wide eyes. I know it’s ridiculous, but I almost feel like he understands. “It’s just Astrid…” He perks up at the mention of her name, wiggling his ears happily. “I know you like her, Bud. She’s really something, isn’t she?”

I sigh and lean against his side, closing my eyes. It’s been a long, long day. I try not to think about Astrid, but it’s hard not to. I think of all the late nights we’ve spent together joking around and talking. There’s a connection between us that I’ve never felt with anybody else; I thought she felt the same. “I know… I know it’s wrong to be upset about it, Bud, but… there’s nobody else like her. There literally isn’t another suitable girl in the village. Imagine me kissing Ruffnut… Actually, please don’t; I don’t need you throwing up your lunch.”

We stay there for a while, and eventually Toothless dozes off, trapping me under his heavy hind leg. I hear the Nadder’s cry before I see her, flapping her wings as she lands a few feet away from me. “Great,” I grumble, trying to lift Toothless’ heavy leg off me, but my struggles are futile.

“Hiccup.” Astrid, dismounts her dragon and walks towards me. “Give him a hand, Stromfly.” The dragon squawks and nudges Toothless with her snout, who immediately jumps up, startled, and runs off after the Nadder, stepping on me in the process. I fall back on the grass and moan, clutching my leg poor, trampled leg. “Sorry,” she giggles. “That could’ve gone better.” She extends a hand, which I take reluctantly to help me stand.

“How did you find me?” I ask, trying to think of an exit strategy. I’m not really in the mood to talk to Astrid. A gaze at her piercing, blue eyes makes me squeamish, and not because seeing her makes me light-headed and jittery, as it usually does, but because I can only imagine Snotlout looking into these same eyes before kissing her.

“You’re very predictable.” She shrugs and leads me towards an old log, where we sit and watch our dragons chase each other; we’ve sat on this same log countless times, yet now it feels so different.

“That’s the first time someone’s said that about me,” I scoff.

“They don’t really know you like, I do, do they?” She bumps my arm with her elbow and smiles, but I just shrug in response.

“I guess not.”

“Hiccup…” She looks crestfallen, and now that she’s picked up on the fact that I don’t want her to be here, she looks sincerely hurt. “I’m sorry if I didn’t side with you yesterday. I honestly couldn’t see if the twins were messing up or not.”

“What?” She looks as confused as I feel. “What are you talking about?”

“The… the academy. You stormed off? That’s why you’re upset with me, right?”

It occurs to me that Astrid doesn’t know that I know about her and Snotlout, so this is the only reasonable explanation she can imagine for my uncharacteristically sullen mood. Should I come clean, or should I follow along? Despite everything, Astrid is my closest friend, and we make a great team. I don’t want to lose that. “I… that’s history.” I wave an arm dismissively. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better though.”

“Huh?”

“I thought you were sick. Very contagious? The twins… they said that’s why you and Snotlout didn’t show up to training today.”

“What?” she shrieks. “No! They told me that you’d said that you only wanted them there today. They said the three of you were going to go over the drill until they got it right.”

“I never said that.” I frown and search her expression for any signs of deceit, but Astrid seems genuinely confused. “I mean, I didn’t completely believe them, I just figured they were covering for you.”

“Covering for me?”

“Yeah… you know. Covering for you and Snotlout…” She laughs nervously, but her face grows pale.

“You… you know about that?”

“I heard the twins talking about it, and Fishlegs told me he saw you two…”

“Oh, Thor. I need to have a word with him,” she mumbles grumpily.

“Yeah, and then, something about Gustav seeing you, and you wanting to keep it a secret.” My spirits fall faster by the second. A part of me still hoped this whole thing was a misunderstanding, but Astrid is not making any effort to deny anything.

“Well, yeah, then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, right?” She smiles sheepishly and sighs.

“A surprise? You wanted to surprise me?”

She rolls her eyes and shrugs. “I thought it would be fun. I’ve never really cared much for this kind of thing, but then Snotlout suggested it, and I figured I might as well give it a try.”

“But I don’t understand why you would want to surprise me, Astrid.” I feel my cheeks flush, as I grow more and more irritated. “I mean it’s one thing to… well, I mean. It’s Snotlout! But to want to rub it in my face?” She opens her mouth to speak, but I shake my head. “You thought it would be fun? Knowing how I feel about you? I would imagine Snotlout would really enjoy himself, but I thought at least we were good friends, if nothing more.”

“Hiccup,” she starts, but I’m already walking away. I feel her hand clamped around my arm, refusing to let me leave. “What on Earth are you talking about?” She looks both outraged and baffled. “It was just a Loki Day prank, for the love of Thor. That doesn’t mean I’m not your friend!”

A prank? I stumble back a few steps and rest against a mossy boulder. “A prank?” I try to say something, but my mind is still reeling. “Huh?” There is an awkward silence between us until I finally recover the ability to form coherent sentences. “You thought it would be funny to make me believe you and Snotlout were going out?”

I see her arm swinging towards me, but I do nothing to avoid her punch. I groan and clutch my aching arm as she hides her face behind her hands in shame. “Sorry,” she whispers

“Why would you do that?” I whine, stretching my arm out to relieve the pain.

“If anyone even jokes about me and Snotlout, I beat them up.”

“But you… you kissed him!”

“I did not!” she shrieks. I stumble back as she clenches her fists, outraged. “Who did you hear that from?”

“That’s what Gustav saw… Gobber told me Snotlout was begging him not to tell anyone because you wanted to keep it a secret.”

She gasps in realization and relaxes her fists.

“What?” I ask, worried, looking around for signs of danger.

“I get it now.”

“Get what?” I grumble, “Because I’ve never been so confused in my life.”

“Gustav never saw us kissing. He overheard what we were planning for Loki Day and he threatened to ruin our plan.”

“Then why would he tell Gustav to keep your kiss a secret?” I ask, sliding down the boulder to sit on the ground. Astrid sits, cross-legged in front of me.

“He must have known that Gobber would hear, and that he would tell you.”

“And when the twins said were talking in the hall, and when they said you and Snotlout were sick…”

“They knew you were listening,” she concludes. “They knew you’d believe it if you thought they didn’t know you were there, so they made it seem like they were trying to keep it a secret. And then they told me you didn’t want me at training because they knew you’d think I was sneaking around with Snotface.”

“But what about Fishlegs?” I question. “Does this mean he was part of the plan as well?”

“No.” She shakes her head and ponders for a second. “Fishlegs just saw me leaving Snotlout’s house, and since he didn’t know what was going on he assumed the worse. The twins probably had him convinced there was something going on between us. Just like Gobber; they participated unwillingly. It’s pretty genius, when you think about it.” She looks amazed. “They knew you’d know Gobber and Fishlegs would never lie to you about something like that, so they set things up to make them believe it was real. They made sure Gobber overheard Gustav and Snotlout, and that Fishlegs would see us.”

“I have to admit, those Muttonheads are smarter than we give them credit for,” I chuckle. “I can’t believe they had us both fooled.”

“But they don’t know that we know.” She smiles mischievously.

“Yeah! We can get them back.” We sit in silence, Astrid’s brow furrowed in concentration, as I pick apart blades of grass. She squeals in excitement and snaps me out of my meditation. “I got it!” I look at her expectantly and she grins. “Okay, so they wanted you to believe that I was with Snotlout because it would upset you, right?”

I blush and shrug. ‘Yeah, I mean, you could do better.” She smiles but shakes her head.

“But why would they think you’d be upset?” she insists.

“Is this really necessary?” I pick out another blade and avoid her gaze. They knew I’d be upset because I’ve had a crush on Astrid for as long as I can remember. She seems to notice my discomfort, and smiles reassuringly.

“Sorry…” She brushes her bangs out her face and takes a deep breath. “Well, everybody knows that we’re really good friends, right? And they always like to tease us about it, and well, it’s pretty obvious you like me.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” I mumble sarcastically. She rolls her eyes.

“Hiccup, I kissed you in front of the entire village, remember?”

“I… I do seem to recall that,” I stammer. “I’d almost forgotten about it, honestly.” She slaps my arm exasperated and I laugh.

“We make them believe there was something serious going on between us, and that they hadn’t noticed.”

“Would that be so hard to believe?” I ask sheepishly.

“Snotlout hits on me every day,” she continues, ignoring my question. “So he’d be pretty annoyed by that. Especially because it’s you.” She has a point; he would hate that.

“You do wonders to my self-esteem,” I tease. She laughs and crawls closer, so that she’s sitting next to me now, leaning against the boulder as well. Now that I know the whole thing was fiasco, I can relax around her again. She’s sitting close enough that our arms are touching, and as pathetic as that makes me, I feel nervous and lightheaded.  Astrid’s laughs are hard to come by, but she seems more easy-going and relaxed when it’s just the two of us.

“Okay,” she continues, “so we make them think we were seeing each other in secret to annoy Snotlout, and then we have this huge fight at the academy and pretend to break up, and then you kick everybody out of the academy except for Fishlegs because you think they all knew about me cheating.”

“And I take their dragons away, because they can’t have them if they’re not dragon riders.”

“Yup.” She smiles. “You fly off with Toothless, and I stay back, heartbroken and confused, because obviously none of it was real. Snotlout and the twins feel guilty, and on top of that, they feel awful because they lost their dragons.”

“You know what would make it really believable?” I ask. She turns to look at me with a curious smile. “If we kissed.”

“You wouldn’t be wanting to kiss me if you think I’m sneaking around with Snotlout,” she points out with a victorious sneer.

Chuckling, I nudge her elbow with my own. “I’ll… work something out.” Glad, that this misunderstanding is over I sigh and relax, watching our dragons happily. Astrid seems to feel the same, and soon she’s leaning against me, her head resting lightly on my shoulder.

“So, you were really upset, huh?”

“I wouldn’t go that far… mildly bothered seems more fitting. Annoyed, perhaps even slightly nauseated.” Giggling, she punches my arm again.

“So why didn’t you just come talk to me about it?” she wonders, turning her face slightly so that our eyes can meet.

“I was afraid you weren’t going to deny it.” I shrug and smile halfheartedly. “Besides, you don’t owe me any explanations. If you were seeing someone else… I would have no right to be upset.” She nods and turns her face away from mine again, but before her hair covers her cheek, I think I see the hint of a blush.

“Hiccup,” she whispers after a thoughtful silence. “I wouldn’t hide it from you. You’re my best friend.”

[finnicklovesannie]

Chapter seven is out. Sorry for the cliffhanger on this one, I have most of chapter eight finished.

[finnicklovesannie]

Chapter 5 of Coming Back Around is done! Nice little Hiccup/Gobber and Hiccup/Stoick scenes.  

[finnicklovesannie]

Coming Back Around (chapter 3)

Sitting on the edge of the cliff, I try to wrap my head around the events of the day. This morning I woke up after being knocked out for at least a couple days. Gothi kept feeding me her herbal concoctions to ease the pain, but I guess they made me very drowsy. Waking up to Toothless in my house, my missing leg, and the Viking-dragon bonding going on in Berk left me a little overwhelmed.

Though I kind of want to be alone, I'm glad to see Astrid walking towards me with a basket. A part of me is still convinced that there was no kiss, or that it was just a cruel joke. I've spent years watching Astrid from afar, admiring her courage and her skill. For years she's been nothing but indifferent towards me, always annoyed or disappointed when there was another one of my messes to clean up. Even so, she is the only one who never mocked or pestered me.

"You aren't thinking about jumping, are you?" she teased, settling down beside me. "We all worked too hard to keep you here."

"What? No... not me. Though knowing me I'd probably trip and fall," I admit jokingly. She laughs and opens her basket, handing me a piece of bread and some yak jerky.

"I thought you might be hungry."

"You would think so." I shrug. "But thanks anyway." I nibble on the bread, more for her sake than mine, but she seems pleased.

"If you don't mind me asking," she says, poking my ribs playfully, "what are you doing here all by yourself? You're the hero of Berk. Shouldn't you be back there celebrating?"

I look down at my prosthetic. I'm surprisingly pleased with Gobber's design, though there are a few things I need to change. "I'm not much of a celebrating type."

"It'll get better, you know?" She nudges my leg with her knee and I smile halfheartedly.

"Yeah, I know. I actually always wanted one of these. I feel like a real Viking now." She rolls her eyes at me but seems pleased to see that I still have a sense of humor.

"I want to help," she offers looking over at the village.

"Help with what?"

"Well, I'm sure you already have a dozen different ideas about how to make this work. The dragons, they need stables, right?"

"Yes, I think they'd appreciate that."

"I think your father would too." She chuckles. "Toothless really wrecked your house."

"Yeah, I'm working on that," I tease. "I also have an idea for a fire prevention system. It's quite simple, really."

"I'm sure it is."

We both turn when we hear the heavy footsteps and flapping wings. Toothless is running towards us with the Nadder only a few steps behind. "I think she really likes you." Astrid smiles; for someone so serious she has a really beautiful smile.

"I really like her too."

"What's her name?" I wonder. "And please tell me it's better than Meatlug, or Barf."

"Barf?"

"And Blarf," I add.

"Let me guess. Ruff and Tuff?"

"Who else?" I chuckle.

"What do you think of Stromfly?" She stands and walks towards her dragon, scratching her scaly skin. The Nadder perks up and hops up and down in excitement.

"Stormfly it is," I announce, as Toothless bites down on my arm with his slobbery gums to pull me away from the edge of the cliff. "Come on, Toothless. Where's the trust?" Astrid laughs hysterically. "I battled a dragon the size of a mountain! How clumsy do you guys think I am?"

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11968480/1/Coming-Back-Around

[finnicklovesannie]

Started writing a HTTYD fanfic. It starts at the end of the first movie, will have loads of Hiccstrid and cute Toothless/Hiccup scenes. Any comments or ideas are welcome!

[finnicklovesannie]

The Cove

As the adrenaline wore off, Hiccup found it harder to stand. The weariness and grief he'd been pushing aside for hours washed over him like the waves that crashed against Berk's many cliffs. The village was safe now that he and Toothless had defeated Drago Bloodfist, the man who had killed his father. Well, technically Toothless had killed his father, but as he limped towards the shadowy comfort of the forest he pushed the thought aside. It wasn't his fault, and he knew it. Still, now that everything had begun to sink in, he found it hard to look at the dragon without re-living the scene all over again. He'd sneaked away from his best friend when he'd run off to the feeding station. He felt bad about leaving without explanation, but he knew Toothless wouldn't have let him wonder off alone otherwise.

The walk to the Cove took longer than it usually did. Granted, everything was quicker on the back of a Night Fury. He finally made it to his destination, a bit of a happy place to the new chief. It was in that same now-deserted cove that he'd bonded with his Night Fury. He'd spent countless hours trying to tame him, working on his tail fin, and learning how to ride him. It was odd coming back without him.

He climbed down, stumbling over the slippery rocks, towards a fallen log, where he sat to catch his breath. As his heartbeat returned to normal his mind began to wonder. The events of the past two days came rushing back, overwhelming him. He'd met the mother he'd thought to be dead his entire life. Then his parents had been reunited, giving him hope of a normal, happy family, only to have it taken away from him hours later by Drago. He couldn't help but blame himself for thinking he could change his mind. His father had warned him that there was no convincing Drago, and he hadn't listen. Yes, it was true that if he hadn't run off he never would have found his mother, but it was also true that his father had died defending him from the Night Fury.

He shook his head and kicked aside a pebble. His lip quivered and he felt hot tears running down his cheeks. What a joke. He'd been named chief less than two hours ago and he was already cowering in the forest. How was he supposed to run a village? How could he ever take the place of Stoick the Vast? He stood from his log and kicked at it with his good leg, gritting his teeth and hopping up and down on his prophetic as pain shot up his foot. "Gods," he cried, collapsing on the ground, overwhelmed by his sobs.

He snapped his head sideways towards the sound of rustling leaves. Toothless was crouched behind a bush, his head and torso covered by the foliage, but his wings and tail stuck out conspicuously. "I can see you, Bud," said Hiccup. The Night Fury poked his head up, giving his rider a gummy grin. "What are you doing here, Toothless?" he asked, wiping his face with his shirt's sleeve. The dragon jumped over the bush and knocked him to the ground, licking his rider affectionately. "Stop, Toothless," he begged, rolling to the side.

The Night Fury sat up, hunched forward, confused. While Hiccup didn't love to be covered in dragon saliva, he was usually amused by Toothless' antics. "I'm sorry, Bud, I'm just not in the mood to play around." Toothless seemed to realize then that his rider had been crying; he looked upset. He crawled forward slowly and nudged Hiccup with his snout. The man petted his head sadly, and the dragon curled up around the chief, forcing him into his embrace. Hiccup chuckled and sat against the dragon's side, rubbing his scaly skin absentmindedly.

"I guess there's no hiding from you, is there, Bud?" Toothless perked up at the sound of his nickname and purred happily. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have walked away from you like that."

"He nearly turned the town over looking for you," said Astrid as she descended into the Cove on the back of her Nadder.

"And no hiding from you either," he huffed. She watched his wearily and gave her a sheepish smile.

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh, I'm great. I'm on top of the word, Astrid." He gave her a forced smile and leaned back against his dragon.

"Hiccup..." She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "No one blames you for being upset. If you need to be alone, I understand."

Astrid was already climbing back on the Nadder's saddle when Hiccup groaned. "No... you can stay if you want." She studied him for a second. He tried to seem indifferent, but the pain in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I'm getting a headache from all the celebration going on back there."

Her words seem to bother him, as he stood up and took a few steps towards the lagoon. "What is there to celebrate? My father is dead, and the town is destroyed."

"Hiccup, we won. You won. What you did out there was amazing. You saved us."

"Oh, it was mostly Toothless." He shrugged. "Look at him." He sat on the log again, and Astrid joined him swiftly. They watched their dragons as they chased each other around the clearing. When Toothless was catching up to Stormfly, she jumped across the lagoon, flapping her wings a few times to reach the other side. Toothless sprung after the Nadder but was unable to make it across the water without Hiccup working his tailfin. The dragon screeched and flailed before plummeting into the water. Astrid laughed as the Night Fury emerged from the water, glaring at the Nadder and paddling towards the shore.

"He's ridiculous," said Hiccup.

"He saved the village and defeated the Alpha."

"Who would have thought?"

"He's a Night Fury." She laughed. "He's amazing. He also has an amazing master."

"Yeah," he scoffed. Astrid glanced at him, and he quickly averted his gaze. The death of Stoick was hard for the whole village, but it was hardest for Hiccup. She understood what he was going through. Hiccup had been unsure about being chief even before his father's death, and now it seemed like he'd been rushed into it. He wasn't even allowed to mourn properly before he had to rush in and take on all these new responsibilities.

"I'm really sorry," she whispered. He gave her a puzzled look and she sighed, reaching for his hand. "All that's happened. It sucks."

"Yeah, I'll admit I've had better days." He chuckled and pressed her hand to his lips. "I'll be fine, Astrid. It's just a lot to take in."

She brushed her hands through his shaggy hair and started braiding a strand near his ear. "Hiccup, I know you better than anyone else on this island, except maybe Toothless." She laughed softly and shook her head. "I hope you already know this, but I want to say it anyway. You're not alone. We're all here to help. Your mother, Gobber, the other riders... You know that, right?"

He pulled her hands away from his hair and held them in his own. "I... I know that. I count on you more than you know." She smiled and kissed him on the lips gently.

"I'm not going anywhere," she assured him. "Except I actually have to go. I promised your mother I'd be back soon to tell her if you were okay, but you know what I mean."

"What a way to prove a point." He laughed, shaking his head. "You're awful. Go on then. 'I'm not going anywhere'." She laughed and shoved him playfully; glad to see his sense of humor wasn't completely gone.

"Yes, Chief," she teased.

"Oh, no, come on. Don't call me that."

"As you wish, your highness," she joked, jumping back on Stormfly's saddle.

"Oh, I see how it is! You are messing with the wrong Viking!" He jumped on Toothless' back and they sprang up after Astrid.

"Whatever you say, Sir. Mister. Bossman." She laughed and flew away with Hiccup and Toothless at their tail.  

I know this is not my usual Odesta stuff, but I also happen to be obsessed with How to Train Your Dragon. Sorry!

[finnick-life-ruiner]

Darling,

I left this letter for your mother years ago and if you’re reading it now it’s because you’re old enough to understand. I really hoped there’d be no need for it; I wished I could tell you all this in person. But I guess if you’re reading this now it’s because I didn’t make it back.

First of all I’d just like to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’m not there for you, nor will I ever be. I’m sorry that I couldn’t even stay long enough to know if you’re my son or my daughter. Your mom told me she was pregnant before I left, I guess she was trying to convince me to stay. I must seem like a terrible person for choosing to leave anyway.

Please don’t get me wrong, I wanted to, I swear. All I ever wanted was a normal life. To be able to marry Annie and have children and live happily by the beach with no Games and no war. When she told me she was pregnant I was overjoyed. Everything was finally working out for us! We were married and expecting a child and all I had to do was make it back home to her so we could grow old together like we’d always wanted. But I messed up.

I don’t know what you’ve heard about my life but I’l tell you the basics. I won my Hunger Games when I was only fourteen years old. I was the youngest person ever to win, which everybody thought was such an honor. I don’t think many people realized what that kind of trauma could do to a boy. As if that weren’t enough, a few years later President Snow took over my life completely and began using me to make money for himself. I don’t feel like going into details but all you need to know is that I was miserable, and your mother was miserable and we couldn’t be seen together. I had a lifestyle I never wanted and I had to pretend to love it and Snow and Panem. 

I couldn’t stay because I would have never been able to forgive myself if my friends had died for a cause I felt so strongly about. I needed to make sure you could grow up in a different world than the one I grew up in. I needed to make sure we could celebrate your twelfth birthday without the overwhelming fear that your name would be drawn at the Reaping. 

I hope it all worked out; I hoped I didn’t die for nothing. Annie didn’t think she’d be able to raise you by herself but I know her better than she knows herself and I know that she’s stronger than she gives herself credit for. I also know she’s not alone. Johanna swore to me she would look after the both of you and knowing her the way I do I’m sure she’s been there for you in ways I haven’t been able to. 

I could keep writing this forever but I know I’ll never be able to put my feelings into words. I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I hate leaving but it’s something I need to do for myself. There are many things I never got to teach you, but if there’s one lesson you should learn from your father is that you should always stand up for what you believe in. I don’t know what happens to people after death. I was never much of a believer in heaven but I really hope now that that’s where I’ll be, only so I can watch over you and make sure you’re okay.

I love you and I love your mom. Please tell her that. Please watch over her. I hope the two of you are safe and happy; that’s all I ever wanted. 

Very proud of you,

Dad

[finnicklovesannie]

Dear Dad,

My teacher talked about you today. She’d talked about you before, but she always just said you were a hero. I thought you were a hero, but today she told us the truth. She said you were a “victor” in some “games”. She said you won because you killed a lot of children. When I told Mommy; she was furious. She said we were all too young to be hearing those things, but when I asked her if it was true she said it was. She tried to explain but I just wanted to be alone in my room. 

My teacher also told us why there’s a statue of you in the Square. She said you were a hero because you died fighting in some war. She said some victors had been to that fight. Auntie Jo wasn’t there though, so why were you? I asked Mommy if they made you fight and she said you went because you wanted to go. I don’t understand why you left Mommy. Why did you have to go fight in some stupid war and leave us here. I think I was too little to tell you to stay, but how could you leave me? 

Everybody says I should be so honored to be your son, but I just wish I had a normal father like all my friends.

[finnicklovesannie]

Annie tells her son about Finnick his Dad.

“Mommy.” 

Annie was still in bed. She looked at the clock on her bedside table and groaned when she saw it was only six. On a Sunday. “Caspian, go back to sleep, sweetheart. Come here.” 

He jumped on her bed, which was far too big for her now that Finnick was gone. It had been five years already and his absence still weighed down on her. She pulled her son closer to her; his soft, coppery hair brushed against her cheek, he wrapped his smooth, tanned arms around her own. Caspian was a smaller version of Finnick, and she couldn’t decide if that made things better or worse. 

His hand was curled up in a fist and she realized he was holding something in his hand. “Cas, what do you have there?” He looked away and spread out his fingers. She gasped and took the bracelet from his hand. It was the one Finnick had worn during his first Games as a token. She had made it for him more than ten years ago. “Where did you find this?” she asked. 

He wiped a tear from his face. “I found a box in the study, I’m sorry, I know you don’t want me to go in there.” She sighed and kissed the top of his head. They never went into study, it was full of books and papers and stuff they never used. Some of it was Finnick’s stuff, which she’d put in there because she hadn’t had the heart to throw it out. 

“It’s okay, you’re not in trouble.”

“Is that your bracelet, Mommy?” he asked, taking it back from her and slipping it over his own arm. She smiled and adjusted it on his wrist though it was still too big. 

“No,” she whispered. “It was your father’s.” He perked up at the mention of his dad. She’d talked about Finnick before, though Caspian didn’t ask very often. She suspected it was because he saw how sad it made her to talk about him. 

“Mommy?” his face was scrunched up into a frown. “Mommy, why did Daddy leave us?” His question caught her off-guard. 

“Honey, Daddy didn’t leave us.” Caspian shook his head and buried his head in the crook of her neck. “No, Cas. I’ve told you before that Daddy passed away, remember? He was very brave, but soldiers die sometimes…” 

“But why did he have to go fight in the stupid war?” His eyes were moist with tears now, and so were hers. She’d asked herself that same questions many times, but she knew it wasn’t fair. 

“You’ll understand some day, baby.” He shook his head as if he didn’t believe her. 

“You always say I’m like him, but I would never leave you.” She chuckled halfheartedly and wiped the tears from his face. 

“You look just like him. You talk just like him.” 

He looked sadly at his bracelet. “I wish I could know him like you do.”

“Then ask,” she shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

“What was his favorite color?” he wondered. It was such a silly question that it made her smile. 

“Blue.”

“Like me!” he laughed. “And his favorite animal?” 

“Dolphins. We’d see a few every now and then when we went out in his boat.” 

“I want to see a dolphin, Mommy! What was his favorite food?” 

“Guess,” she giggled and kissed his nose. 

“Ice cream?” Annie nodded and Caspian laughed. He seemed pleased with her answers, and she was almost ready to fall back asleep when he spoke up again. “Did he love you a lot?” Annie smiled thought about it for a second. “Finnick and I… yeah, we both loved each other very very much.” Cas smiled and shrugged. “Then Daddy and I are just the same because I love you a lot too.” 

Annie laughed and cried and hugged her son tightly. He squealed and tried to break free from her embrace. “Mommy, let me go,” he chuckled. She finally loosened her grip on him and he kissed her cheek. “Can you tell Daddy that I’m sorry?” 

“Why are you sorry, Sweetie?” she wondered. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” 

“Because I was mad at him. Because I thought he left us.” Annie ran her fingers though his soft hair like she had done with Finnick many times. “But he didn’t.” He wrapped his fingers around Finnick’s bracelet and closed his eyes; he was asleep less than a minute later. 

[finnicklovesannie]

Finnick gets back home drugged and Annie helps him :)

          In the years Finnick and I have been together I’ve never seen him like this. He keeps some liquor in his house and has a few drinks every now and then so I’ve seen him a little drunk, but whatever he’s on right now is a lot stronger than Alcohol.

           He wasn’t even supposed to come back home until tomorrow, and I was putting away some groceries in the kitchen when I heard the door slam shut followed by a loud crash. I hurried to the living room and found him sprawled on the ground, pulling a shard of the now-broken glass off his hand; he’d knocked over a vase on his way in. “Finnick.”

           It seems to take him a few seconds to realize that I’ve spoken his name, but he eventually looks at me (or in my general direction anyway). “Finnick,” I repeat, as if saying his name will help somehow. I’m at a loss for words and I don’t really know what to do so I help him to his feet and lead him to the couch. “Stay there while I get something to clean your hand.”

           I run upstairs and retrieve a first aid kit I’ve had little reason to use in a while, but when I make it back to the living room Finn has rolled off the couch and is lying on the floor. I struggle to move him to a sitting position and slap his face lightly. “Finn, don’t fall asleep.” He groans but keeps his eyes open while I clean his cut, and wrap his hand in a white bandage.

           “Annie?” He squints his eyes probably trying to figure out if it’s really me or just another Capitol woman.

           “I’m here. Finn what did you take?”

           “Nothing,” he lies.

           “Finnick.”

           “I had a few drinks and then the lady I was with last night, she gave me these pills…” I flinch at the mention of another woman but brush away my annoyance; he needs me right now.

           “Maybe we should take you to the hospital, Finn. I don’t really know how to help you.”

           “No,” he groans. “No. Been worse.” His eyes start drooping again and his words seem to be getting even more slurry.

           “Okay, I’ll take you to your room.”

           “Our room,” I think he says.

           He tries to help himself with the banister but I still have to drag him most of the way, which given our statures, isn’t easy. When I finally manage to get him upstairs he throws himself on his bed and falls asleep almost immediately.

           I push his legs on the bed and pull him away from the edge of the mattress. I take off his shoes and his belt and his button-up shirt, which reeks of liquor. He’s snoring like he only does when he’s extremely tired, usually when he returns from the Capitol, and I can’t stand to look at him.

           I clean the broken glass in the living room and curse the Capitol. The Capitol and the stupid woman that gave him the drugs, not only did she give him the stupid pills, she did so after fucking him. And he didn’t just fuck her; he probably went on two or three other “dates” while he was there. And he probably got really drunk and really high at all the parties he attended. I hate them all, every slimy, pathetic, miserable woman that buys his love while I wait for him back home, heartbroken.

           I notice the tears rolling down my face and wipe at them angrily. I’m being selfish and unreasonable. I’m not angry with Finnick; I can’t be, can I? But why did he have to take them? Why did he have to get like this when he was already coming home to me?

           I sigh and make two cups of tea; the other one will be cold by the time he drinks it but I still set it on his bedside table. I’m tired, and I think about going back home. Usually Finnick’s house feels like home but right now the though of my own bed is very appealing. But then I look at him. In his sleep, the frown that is usually etched on his face on his first few days back home is gone.

          I can’t stay mad when I look at his face, not because he’s so breathtaking, but because when he sleeps, no matter how shitty his day’s been, he always looks the same. He sleeps with his mouth slightly open, and he’ll always deny this but he drools, he does! I sit on the bed, across from my boyfriend. My boyfriend, it sounds so weird in my head. Finnick Odair, the Capitol heartthrob, a victor and my boyfriend. My boyfriend who sleeps around with different women every few weeks and then gets home drunk and high. My boyfriend, who will be extremely mad at himself when he wakes up and realizes what he’s done. He’ll apologize and try to make it up to me despite how much I insist that it’s fine, even if it isn’t.

          Maybe it isn’t okay, but not much in our life is. It’s not okay that they make him do what he does to keep me safe. It’s not okay that I wake him up at night every time I have a bad dream and it’s not okay that we can’t walk hand-in-hand outside of the Victor’s Village.

          I kick off my shoes and slide under the covers next to Finn. Despite being fast asleep he pulls me closer to his bare chest and wraps an arm around my body; I fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

          I wake up to the sound of Finnick retching in the bathroom. “Finn?”

          “I’m okay,” he calls, and then continues to vomit.

          “Finn,” I sigh and climb out of bed.

          “Please, Annie, go home. You don’t need to see this. I’m sorry, I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking.” I rub his back soothingly as he tries to puke again but there’s nothing in him left to throw up. Eventually the retching stops and he slumps against the toilet bowl. “I’m sorry,” he whispers but I just shake my head.

          “Here, you need some water.” He takes the glass from me and sips reluctantly.

          “Annie…”

          “Stop. Please, it’s okay.”

          “No, it’s not.” I rest against the bathroom door while he rinses his mouth. “It’s unacceptable. You’re not supposed to see this side of me.”

          “So it’s okay if you do it over there?”

          “No, that’s not what I meant. You don’t understand,” he pleaded.

          “You’re right, I don’t. I don’t know what it’s like, which is why I’m not upset. I just wish… I don’t know. I just hate that you’re upset.” He smiles halfheartedly and hugs me.

          “You’re here. I’m not upset anymore.”

[finnicklovesannie]

Hi! Could you write something about Finnick going to Haymitch on the 12th floor after a "date" and Katniss and Peeta seeing him broken? :)

I’m sneaking back inside with Katniss after spending hours together on the roof watching the city. It’s the only place where we feel safe talking, and for a while it feels as if it’s just the two of us and like the Quarter Quell is nothing but a bad dream.

When we’re back in the hallway something’s different. The floor was in complete darkness when we left and now a soft glow emanates from the living room. We can also hear voices and then shattering glass. I hear Haymitch curse and before I can stop Katniss she’s walking in his direction, ready to call him out for getting drunk.

I almost run into her when she stops all of a sudden at the edge of the hallway. “What the-”

“Shh, look,” she whispers. I step around her and see Haymitch on the ground, picking up shards of bloody glass. I see Finnick Odair on the couch with his face in his hands, his torso shaking with his sobs. 

“What’s going on?” Haymitch hears us and looks our way, and we barely manage to step back into the cover of darkness before he shakes his head and turns his attention back to the mess on the floor. 

“Finnick,” he sighs after he’s thrown out the pieces of glass he could gather. “Listen to me…” Odair shakes his head and uncovers his face. There’s blood on his face from the cut on his hand and his eyes are red, his face splotchy. He’s very drunk and between the slurring of his words and his shaky breath I can’t make out what he’s saying. 

“Katniss, let’s go,” I whisper. She looks at me like I’m crazy.

“I wonder if any of his Capitol girls have ever seen him looking this pathetic.” I roll my eyes at her comment. “What does he even have to cry about?” she scoffs. I grab her arm and drag her back to her room, and she reluctantly follows. 

“What’s up with you? Since when are you best friends with that… with him?” she says as if she can’t think up a bad enough word to call him. 

“It’s just none of our business, okay? And I’d think you of all people would know that things aren’t always what they seem.” 

[finnicklovesannie]

Finn,

I miss you. I miss you so much it gets a little overwhelming sometimes. Some mornings I sit by the window in the kitchen, the one that looks out at sea. I can almost see you walking back home like you did on Sunday mornings after a few hours of fishing. Sometimes I start crying without even realizing it, and I don’t think I can do it any longer; living without you is so hard. But then our son finds me, his voice groggy, his eyes tired, his hair a mess. He looks just like you.

He always knows what to do to cheer me up. He climbs on my lap and hugs me. He tells me dumb jokes that are only funny because they’re so bad, just like yours. Sometimes he falls asleep again in my arms, and I realize you’re not completely gone because I still have him. He smells like you; he acts like you; he looks like you. 

I miss you, Finn, even though it’s been six years since we lost you; I’ll never stop missing you. 

Love, Annie