𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 ᐅ 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙞𝙧

𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉

"Why ever not?"

"She called me a pompous peacock, I believe."

"A pompous peacock!"

Caesar burst into laughter, as Finnick continued the rest of his tale. "Anyway, I accidentally bumped into her, and let's just say we didn't start off on the right foot. After that, I suppose we gradually learned to tolerate each other, and with that, I gained a new friend."

He lowered his voice. "And after that?"

And in that moment, it was as though Finnick's eyes were stars. Shining obnoxiously bright as he smiled.

"And after that, I started to think about what my life would be like without her in it — and the thought was unbearable. She's not aware of this, but she has this ability where whenever she's around you, you just instantly smile. The amount of times I've almost died of laughter should probably be illegal. She's the sort of person you never get sick of."

I hadn't noticed I'd been smiling until Haymitch scoffed beside me, making me break my gaze from Finnick. My head was a mess of thoughts — the way he'd said it without a shred of dishonesty made my heart leap. She's the sort of person you never get sick of.

"That's just beautiful," Caesar whispered. "And when did you discover you had feelings for her?"

"Well, I guess it..." his eyes widened. Finnick was an incredible actor. "Wait what?"

Caesar gasped audibly, before pointing between Finnick, the camera, and back to Finnick again with nothing short of an astounded expression. "Oh my goodness! Ladies and gentlemen did you hear that! We've cracked it!"

Finnick hid his head in his hands. "Remember when I said I wanted to run out of the room?"

"Nonsense, nonsense, come on, Finnick, we won't tell anyone your secret!"

"We're on air, Caesar."

"Ah yes, there is that. Nevermind," he dismissed before wiggling his eyebrows comically. "What I am curious about is how she feels about you."

"So am I, funnily enough."

"Shall we get her here? Everyone, please welcome your Victor of the 69th Hunger Games, Lynx Miller!"

And here it was. Finnick had, in the Capitol's eyes, bearded his soul to the people of Panem. He'd exposed his feelings, and all that was left was for me to expose mine. One step closer to freedom. One step closer to living on my own, away from the horror of the games, of the constant harassment of cameras and their insistent flashing.

And as I took my steps forward, that was all I could think about.

That was before he caught my eye. The problem faded slowly, as though it were smoke from the dying embers of a fire or the final wave of a tide. The terror didn't vanish, didn't dissipate, only shrunk into a manageable size. Finnick couldn't make these issues go away — of course he couldn't. No one could. These horrors would haunt me for the rest of my life. He could only numb their effect. And that was all I needed.

Without even trying, a smile slid onto my face as I took my seat next to Finnick after a firm handshake from Caesar. He was a brilliant man; scary, but incredible.

"Hello, Caesar."

"Lynx," he greeted. "Now, my dear, having been in the next room the whole time—"

Finnick had the sense to pretend he didn't know I was being interviewed, and groaned before hiding his face in my shoulder. I grinned down at him.

"What's going through your head right now, hm?" Caesar finished.

My heart thrummed faster in my ribcage. What do I say? A sarcastic joke? An awe-struck comment? A romantic line? But the moment Finnick entwined our fingers together, I knew exactly what Jameson wanted us to do. My fingers slipped between his, as smoothly as a puzzle piece and inciting the same spark inside me that oxygen would a flame.