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JUPITER woke to the sound of waves and the brush of soft kisses on the plump of her cheek. It was a stark contrast to the cold and the dark in the mountains surrounding her house, and she sunk into the warm body next to her. His hand was running up and down her back, tickling at the planets along her spine, and Jupiter wished she could stay in the half asleep state that allowed her worries to mean nothing.
But inevitably the sun filtered into her senses and Finnick pulled away, and took the warmth with him. Jupiter let out a sleepy sigh and opened her eyes, watching him move around his room. Already, the tightness in her chest was building, knowing she would have to go back to the house, and that tomorrow morning she would wake cold and alone to repeat the monotony her life had become after winning.
Finnick seemed to feel it, too, as they continued their morning in relative quiet, as if speaking would lead to her leaving. Jupiter held onto him in the kitchen, and Finnick sat with her on the porch overlooking the water, his hand absentmindedly laying on her knee.
District 4 had always been so different to the place she had been born. It was vast like the ocean it sat beside and people who lived by the sea always seemed nicer. The markets were colourful and the smell of salt and the sound of seagulls and waves had become known to her as an escape. Though they, too, had an Academy on the hill, she had always felt more at home here than the house back in the mountains.
Maybe she would have felt differently had she never been taken from the house her father had won, maybe she would have found District 2 warmer if it wasn't so empty for her these days. She wasn't sure, but nothing made her feel less like a Marrow than watching the blue lap at the gold sand.
"I love the sea," Jupiter murmured, cheek pressed against his shoulder. She played with the pearl around her neck. "We have a lake in 2– but it's not the same."
Finnick hummed in response. "I didn't like the city in 2," he admitted. "It was so..." he trailed off, as if she didn't want to offend her.
"I know," she said with a shrug. "The further out you get– the nicer it is."
Finnick only nodded, as if he understood, but in truth he had never been to her home District except for his Victory Tour so long ago. It simply wasn't feasible for him to visit her with her mother and especially Mars still living there.
"It always felt so industrial," he added.
"I tend to agree," Jupiter said quietly. "The mountains are the best part," she explained, her gaze set on the ocean ahead of them. From where they were sitting she could see the sun climbing further into the sky, and she knew soon the day would get to a point she couldn't leave safely anymore. "It's a different world up there. My father used to take us hiking in fall."
