LAUGHTER BRUSHES HIS LIPS TEMPTINGLY , dismissive deprecation amused at the statement kindly uttered , IRONY far from lost in just how much of his defeasibility came ( through no fault of her own ) from the girl herself. let anyone else make such an assumption and he would’ve certainly been more than quick to agree , fears and concerns expertly substituted by the well admired king - like arrogance that had become his charm over the years.but she wasn’t simply anyone , was she? wasn’t that the trick? that she was , and would always be , annie. annie. the same girl he had met long ago on his father’s fishing boat. the girl he would , may the capitol be his witness , do just about anything to keep safe. the only one to have ever truly carried finnick odair’s heart in her palm , able to turn him to dust with a simple closed fist. not a girl , never just a girl. but the girl. his girl.he would gladly find himself dead before he allowed her to see exactly who he became around everyone else. ‘ i am not invincible , annie. ’ he half promises and half warns , rapid fingers at no time ceasing their work on the rope that playfully twists between his grasp even as he spares a glance in her direction. he smiles. ‘ i’m just very good at pretending. ’