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Dove stared outside her window, singing the first chords that came to her mind. The Mockingjays, who replied to her song, were still around Victor's Village even weeks after her Victor's Tour. In three days, it would be her foundday, which she didn't want to celebrate because both Finnick and Ron would be in the Capitol.
Although she didn't feel like it, her mother was determined to do it. Librae always repeated "The best cure for dark times is celebrations and joy," which Dove's foundday would bring to everyone, except Finnick and Ron, who wouldn't be there when they probably needed it the most.
The faint chirp of a bird got her attention from the Mockingjays to the birdhouse, which was back to its rightful place outside her window. A small house finch appeared next to her, chirping happily as it danced around the room.
Looking back inside, Dove's eyes followed the bird, who continued to dance until the sound of footsteps startled it and went back to the birdhouse. The door to her room opened steadily, with almost inaudible hushes coming from the other side. Her family was there to surprise her, which they didn't get to do since she was already awake.
"You're three days early," Dove spoke up with a grin as her mother entered the room, who was being followed by the rest of the wake-up call team. She stared as her siblings let out shrieks, which caused her to giggle.
"We thought it would be better to do it now than when you're all worried about Finnick," Melo spoke up with a knowing smirk while entering the room, closely followed by Angel.
"Cool, I'm fifteen years old three days earlier," Dove commented with a grin. "No, you're not. Still fourteen," Angel stated as she walked to her little sister, getting an annoyed look from her.
"Come on, it's just three days. Let me be fifteen already!" Dove retorted, irritated, which caused her older siblings to snicker.
"Let's go down. We've got a surprise for you," her mother announced cheerfully, which amazed everyone. Dove noticed her mother's change of attitude since her Games. Librae got brighter by the day. It probably has to do with her 'discrete' visits to Ron. she thought, following her family to the kitchen.
"Surprise!" The rest of the Victors chanted as the family entered the room. Dove looked around, stunned. There were decorations everywhere, apart from a massive cake in the middle of the kitchen table.
"Since Finnick is leaving tomorrow and Ron will leave in two days, we thought we could move the celebration three days earlier, so they could join," her mother spoke up, causing Dove to raise her eyebrows playfully.
"So, I guess Melo baked the cake," Dove supposed, walking to the cake to admire it better. Her brother had done an outstanding job. It wasn't his first time baking a cake, but they were usually tiny, and not as extravagant as that one was.
"Well, I had a bit of help," Melo said, pointing over to Finnick and Mags. While the elderly woman smiled kindly, his friend only shook his head in denial.
"I just did what he and Mags told me to do," Finnick commented with a nervous laugh. "The cake is mostly Mags doing, to be fair," he added, grabbing a hold of Mags' hand, who stood at his right.
"OK, less talk, more eating. Who wants cake?" Ron interjected, plates in his hand as he sat next to Librae. "Me!" all the teenagers shouted excitedly, while the rest of the Victors raised their hands in agreement.
After that, the day was filled with chatter from all parties. For the first time in a long while, everyone forgot their roles as they explained interesting stories from their past. The two elderly male Victors, Theo and Rhett, explained some of their funniest newlywed hardships from years ago.
Same-sex marriages weren't uncommon in District Four and, from what Melo and Finnick told Dove, not even in the Capitol. However, it seemed the elderly Victors' relationship had been purposely hidden from the public until they were no longer required by the Capitol's demand.
Dove wanted to hear the whole story, some questions popped up in her head, but she didn't want to ruin the reunion's perfect mood by bringing the Capitol up, so she would ask them later. The day came to an end quicker than expected. The first ones to leave were the married couple, who gave their best wishes to Ron and Finnick before leaving to their house.
The rest remained inside until the late hours of the night. Finnick, who had to leave early the following day, left to his house before midnight. Everyone gave him a reassuring hug before he left. However, it wasn't enough for Dove, who kept her eyes on him until he left.
"Go," her mother whispered to her. Librae had been watching his younger daughter's expression since earlier. What once was a cheerful expression changed to gloomy.
Dove glanced at her mother, surprised. She was unsure of leaving when everyone had come to celebrate her foundday. But, when Librae nodded reassuringly, she didn't think twice, putting on her shoes just before running to Finnick's house.
"Young love," Librae murmured happily, causing Muscida to smile knowingly in her direction. "Beautiful, isn't it?" her mentor added, glancing quickly to her side, where Ron sat, and back at her.
Meanwhile, Dove entered Finnick's house without much thinking. She hadn't knocked or asked for permission before entering. I blame it on my brother. I'm learning his bad habits. She thought while looking around.
She checked the kitchen and living room quickly, before walking to his room, where he most likely was. The door to his room was left ajar, letting her hear the distinctive sounds of sobbing. Finnick was sitting on his bed, hands covering his eyes as he cried in the commodity of his unlighted room.
Dove knocked faintly on the door, trying not to startle him. However, it didn't get his attention. He was probably too into his own thoughts to hear anything besides them. Quietly, she walked in his direction and crouched down in front of him. His legs and hands were trembling. And even though he was trying to calm his breathing, he couldn't.
"Finnick," she whispered, placing her hands on his knees carefully. He finally acknowledged her presence as he let his hands fall to his lap, near hers. "Don't worry, it's me."
"I thought you wouldn't come today," Finnick muttered, more to himself than to her. Of course, if he knew she was going to visit him, he wouldn't have permitted himself to break down. He always tried to be strong, even if he ended up hurting himself.
"And I think you need to distract yourself. How about we go to the beach? It's been a while since we've been there together," Dove proposed. She wanted him to explain everything, even the tiniest details of what was going on, but he wouldn't as long as they could be heard.
"Yeah, sounds good," he replied after a few seconds. The walk to Four's beach was silent. It wasn't an awkward type, but a comfortable one. Dove held Finnick's hand as she guided him to their usual spot.
"Do you want to tell me? Because, it's alright if you don't. I don't want to force you." Dove asked once they were both seated, hugging her legs close to her chest. It didn't take long to see how reluctant Finnick was to tell her about his own internal battle over his deal. But, in the end, he decided to explain everything to her.
He told her everything that worried him, from people he would have to accompany to the way he had to act. It seemed that Haymitch, District Twelve's only mentor, in his drunken state, warned him years ago about his cockiness and the danger it could put him in. However, he didn't listen.
"He said something about 'Capitol prostitutes' during a social gathering two years ago. It was a good thing no one listened to him because of his alcoholic reputation," Finnick revealed while hugging his legs, hiding his lips through the gap between his knees and chest.
"Well, he passed out during some Reapings, so I don't blame the criticism. And that title is a little harsh," she commented, glancing in his direction as he sighed tiredly.
"I thought so too, at least at first. But now, I think it's accurate," he muttered, locking eyes with her. "To them—Melo, Ron, me, however else is in this mess—we are just that, prostitutes," he added.
"Is there anything I can do?" Dove asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and inching closer to hug him. He let his head fall on her head, accepting the hug while wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Tell me everything's going to be OK, even if we know it's not true. Please, I just need to hear it." Finnick whispered, lowering his head until he was against her shirt's collar. He knew Dove never said words meaninglessly. If she said 'we're OK' or 'we're safe', it meant she truly believed it. But now, there weren't other words that he would rather hear, much less from another person.
"Everything's going to be OK, you'll see. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday, things will be OK," she whispered back, tightening her grip around his shoulders to deepen the hug. Their stay on the beach didn't last more than twenty minutes after that. Since Finnick had to wake up early the next day, both left to his house, where they slept almost immediately after arriving.
Fluttering his eyes open with the first rays of sun, Finnick glanced to his left. Dove was once again using him as a pillow, not that he minded. The sight of her sleeping face first thing in the morning calmed him down after his nightmares. She was safe and sound, sleeping next to him without a care in the world, and that was everything he wanted for her.
"Dove, I have to leave," he whispered, shaking her shoulder, so she would let go of his shirt. He didn't mind if she stayed in his house until she woke up, but he had to get to the train, and she wasn't making things easy for him to leave.
"Don't go," Dove mumbled half-asleep, causing Finnick to snicker while shaking his head.
"I would love to, but I have to. So, can you please let go of my shirt?" He asked again, a smile never leaving his lips as he saw Dove mumble incoherent words, although she ended up letting go seconds after. "Thank you," he muttered, kissing her forehead before getting changed.
Dove fully woke up minutes later, just before Finnick finished getting dressed. He was buttoning up his shirt as she sat up on the bed, looking around confusedly. "Morning, sleepyhead," he said teasingly, getting an annoyed look from her.
"Are you going to the station already?" She asked, rubbing her eyes while getting up from the bed and walking toward him. Unconsciously, she helped him with the last buttons of his shirt and pattered his shoulders to smooth any wrinkles.
"Yes." He replied, unbuttoning his collar buttons to give his appearance a more attractive approach, something everyone expected from his Capitol self. "You can stay here and continue sleeping if you want," he added, caressing her cheek.
Dove was a sight to see in the morning. Her bed hair was worse than usual, her eyes were only half-opened from the amount of light she couldn't take, and the corners of her eyes had marks of tears.
"No, give me five minutes. I'll go say goodbye to the station," said Dove. Although he loved the idea, he couldn't let that happen. "We can't be seen together in public, remember?" Finnick spoke up, grabbing a hold of her hand before she could leave his side.
"Oh, true," she muttered in realisation. "Then, I guess this is our goodbye, right?" Turning around, she stared at his face. His eyes weren't their usual colour, but a darker one, which was accompanied by a gloomy smile that showed how little he wanted to leave.
"Not really a goodbye, just a see you later." He replied, his smile faltering slightly when he let go of her hand. Dove didn't reply. Instead, she walked with him to his front door. "I'll be waiting for you," Dove muttered, holding his hand to give him a reassuring squeeze. "Always?" he asked, a genuine smile forming on his face, causing her to let out a snicker. "Yes, always."
"I'll be back soon," he whispered, before turning around to the station's direction. Dove stared as his figure became tinier, until he was no longer anywhere in sight. It's gonna be a long week. She thought.
Finnick's stay in the Capitol was longer than anybody else they knew. Everyone attributed this to the popularity he had among the people in the Capitol, plus his undeniable charm. Even Ron, who had left a day after him, got back the same day.
When they exited the train, their Capitol smiles were absurdly present on them. There weren't cameras around, but the people of their District shouldn't suspect anything either. It wasn't until they reached their respective houses that they could relax. Finnick followed Melo's decision and took a shower immediately after arriving.
Meanwhile, the Ogilvy family were in the living room, worried about their friends who had just arrived at Victor's Village. Ron had suffered the visits for years, but that didn't mean it got easier. It just meant he knew exactly what he was going there for, contrary to Finnick, who only had a brief idea.
"Should we go visit them?" Angel spoke up, getting everyone's attention. She wasn't directly friends with either Finnick or Ron, but both had helped her family somehow, and she didn't like leaving debts unpaid.
"We probably should," their mother said, getting up from the sofa where she had been sitting since early morning. "Angel and I will go to visit Ron. Melo, Dove, go visit Finnick, make sure he knows he's not alone. First visits are always the worst ones."
Everyone did as they were told. Right in front of Finnick's house, Melo barged in without a care in the world as Dove trailed close behind him. They went directly to his room, but he wasn't there. However, from the corridor, they could hear the shower.
Melo and Dove knew what that meant, and decided to wait inside his room until he felt better. Looking around, everything was a mess, contrary to how it was days ago. The only place that seemed to have survived his mental breakdown was his wooden desk, where a few photos rested on the corner, almost about to fall to the ground.
One portrayed a family, a mother, a father, and two kids. They all seemed happy, their smiles from ear to ear while they faced the camera. The boy had to be Finnick, who had an arm around a little girl, probably his little sister. By the way he looked, the photo was most likely from a year or two before his Games.
Melo peaked from Dove's side to observe what she was doing, only to see his little sister stare sadly at family photos. There were a couple of the two siblings together, no one else in it, others were of the parents, and one of every family member alone. In total, there were ten photos.
All of them had been perfectly taken care of. Not a single one had a stain, cut, or any other imperfection. It only showed how Finnick truly cared about his family, even his mother, with whom he didn't have a good relationship.
Melo, who grew more worried by the second, went to the door's bathroom to make their presence known by knocking while Dove stayed by the desk. Her eyes looked down at the floor, where a few photos had fallen. Those didn't have his family on them, but Mags.
There were two photos on which Mags and a fourteen-year-old Finnick smiled at the camera, District Four's beach behind them. Dove could only guess what Mags meant to Finnick. Moreover, after she was his mentor during the 65th Hunger Games.
Slow footsteps approached the room. Turning around, Dove watched as the two boys entered. Finnick's skin and eyes were red and irritated, just as she had imagined. Melo sat next to him on the bed as she crouched down in front of him, holding his hands with her own.
Finnick's eyes, once fixated on the ground, stared at their hands as he explained about the visit. From the people that approached him to the things they tried to give him after buying him, claiming to be presents, he told everything.
"But I thought of a better present than jewels or money." He took a finger to his lips. Secrets. Dove got the message immediately, Melo catching on immediately after.
"I'll do the same. Last time I only rejected the presents, but if I'm getting sold, I'll at least get something for myself." Melo announced with a bitter chuckle.
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