Querencia | Finnick Odair

Chapter XXXV

I wake up wrapped in Finnick's arms, my head on his chest, hair stuck underneath his head, legs tangled together.

He is sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm and I set my head back down, listening to his heartbeat until he woke up 15min later.

"Good morning my love", I say and smile up at him.

"Morning", he mumbles and we sit up slowly, fighting with my hair a little as it was still stuck underneath his body.

I cover myself slightly, up to my navel with the sheets, then Finnick kisses me, softly, slowly, so different from the one's last night.

"I hope you have no regrets?", he asks, worry finding the way into his voice, I but my hand to his cheek.

"Of course not. It was really nice. I wouldn't mind doing it again", I add with a small grin but turn serious again. "You don't need to worry Finn. I love you and I wouldn't have done it if I wouldn't have wanted it. Do you regret it then?"

"No, of course not my love. I just wanted to make sure."

He stands up and walks over to the small table near the kitchenette, where he picks up a small box.

"Well, I have heard it's your birthday today and I wanted to get you something. And well, since you are officially my girlfriend now I don't need to worry if it's too much or not. I hope you like it", he says and hands me the black velvet box-

Carefully I remove the blue ribbon around it and open the lid. Inside is a small, silver necklace with two pendants; a wolf and a shell.

"I love it. It is beautiful. Thank you Finnick", I smile and kiss him.

"I hoped so. Do you want to go out? We could go ice skating...", he says, but quickly corrects himself. "No skating, sorry. How about climbing? That's always fun. And then we can go to your favourite restaurant. You are turning 20 after all."

"Yes, that sounds great. Will you put the necklace on for me?", I question and slowly rise from the sheets, very much aware that I was still naked. As was he.

I would have to try to delete the security tape that shows me entering and leaving in a robe. I did it once before, I will be able to do it again. Because while it is normal or not that suspicious to spend the night, it is when I wear nothing more than a swimsuit and a robe.

Finnick takes the necklace out of the box, gingerly and lays it around my neck, his fingers brushing my skin. The fingers that are so much like mine. Calloused hands, from fighting, from drawing, from killing.

"It suits you", he says and I turn.

"Yeah. It's us isn't it?", I question. I mean, of course, it symbolizes us, but what am I supposed to say when it is the only thing on me.

"Yes. That is why I was worried about it. You'll have to hide it underneath your clothes though", he blushes a little.

"Oh, you are so cute fishboy. You don't need to worry. I already got a tattoo about us, well not directly but it somewhat is connected to us, so you don't really need to be embarrassed."

"A tattoo?"

"Well it's very artistic and part of the back tattoo, but you might notice it if you look closely."

So he does, once again tracing his fingers down the tattoo until he reaches the platform that is hard to make out but I think he finds it because he circles it and plants a kiss on it.

"Our spot"

"Yes, our place", I smile and we kiss again until we stumble, falling onto the ground and bursting out laughing.

"I should go get dressed", I say, still laughing.

I walk back to my room in my robe, taking a quick 5min shower and change into black pants and a deep blue shirt with a black cardigan. My hair I braid back and I pack a bag with gym clothes. Then I hurry down the back staircase that I found when following an Avox. Down the stairs through two heavy doors, two turns left, one right, another door. Then the IT-Room, rewinding the tape, copying an empty sequence, deleting the old one, changing the timestamp and I am done. It took me a whole lot longer the first time, but nobody is checking this room. There is a surveillance room, this is just the storage, but surveillance is just checked on the weekends by two guards, other than that an Avox is doing that job. Not very well and truly he doesn't care.

Finnick is waiting for me in the entry hall, surprised when I move out of the hallway, not the elevator.

"Ready to lose a race love?", I question him and he smirks.

"As if I would lose."

So my birthday is spent in the best way I could have imagined.

Waking up in Finnick's arms, going climbing and eating together, then cuddling up watching a nature documentary.

There is this longing inside of me, I long to spend every day like this, I want to be able to hold his hand, to kiss him, wherever and whenever I want. We talk about that, too.

But we both can't seem to find a solution, other than to let things be as they are now, hoping things will change. Which they start to do. There were strikes in some districts, which of course didn't last very long, but the anger is more visible now. I can't wait to meet Katniss on her victory tour and Peeta of course. But it was so easy to forget about him when his Districtpartner may have started a revolution.

The next morning I am awoken by the now very familiar sound of a notification on my tablet and I curse. They gave me two days. Two days rest, one day after my birthday. These assholes.

Finnick stirs awake next to me, his arm over my bare stomach, pulling me closer to his chest, warmth radiating from it. Another ring from my tablet. I sigh and sit up, grabbing it from my nightstand.

"They want to do a photoshoot. And then the usual business, a woman this time", I explain to Finnick who looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Did you ever have to do...business with a woman before?"

I nod. "Once. It was weird but better than with some of the men. In the end, they just want to use you like everybody else."