"The Presidential Palace! The party of the year," Effie cooed as they walked up the steps. "Eyes bright, chins up, smiles on. I'm talking to you, Katniss."
Katniss didn't even bother looking at Effie. Snow's home was large. It was exactly the kind of place she expected him to live while the majority of his nation were dying in shacks and hovels.
"Now," Effie continued, "there will be photographers, interviews, everyone will be here to celebrate you, my victors."
Katniss could tell Effie was practically bursting at the seams. She was so proud of them, and she was so proud of herself as well. After years of never having a victor, she finally had two. Effie stopped and stared out at the mansion.
"Breathe it all in, children," she said as she turned around to look at both of them. "This is all for you."
"It's cozy," Peeta said dryly, but Effie just glared at him.
"Attitude," she snapped before turning back toward the mansion and taking a deep breath. "Come come."
The mansion seemed even grander on the inside. Effie was clearly thrilled to be the one showing them around and introducing them to everyone that was important.
The halls were lined with people cheering and clapping for them as they walked through room after room. It must have been Effie's first time there as well because she was remarking things that Katniss wouldn't have even noticed-- including, but not limited to, the curtains.
There was even a man breathing fire outside.
"Everybody who's anybody is here, and they all want to meet you." Katniss thought the entire event was extreme and overdone, but she and Peeta followed Effie through the mansion.
"Oh! Amara!" Effie suddenly shouted. Katniss and Peeta looked over to see Amara White walking toward them. She had a big grin on her face and was wearing a black jeweled dress that hugged her in all the right places. She looked stunning.
"Effie," Amara smiled, kissing the woman on each cheek.
"You remember Katniss and Peeta," Effie said, and the singer turned her sight on them. Amara smiled widely and kissed both of them on each cheek.
"You both did an amazing job out there," she said, and Katniss could hear how forced the words were. "I was so thrilled they allowed both of you to win." That was genuine, and Katniss saw a bit of the mask the singer wore slip slightly.
Katniss forced a smile on her face.
"I was so overcome by love that I didn't know how I would live without him," she said, grabbing Peeta's hand and pulling him slightly closer.
Amara raised a brow and looked like she was forcing back a smile. She leaned in so that only the two of them could hear her.
"You're going to have to do better than that," she muttered. "Don't forget you're still playing the game." She pulled away and the fake smile she wore was once more plastered on her face. "Enjoy the party."
Katniss and Peeta were once more pulled in multiple directions to meet people they would never remember the names of. Before they could introduce themselves to anyone else, however, Peeta leaned in.
"There is more to that woman than meets the eye," he muttered. Katniss couldn't help but agree, but she didn't know if that was in their favor or not.
**
"Amara!" Amara turned around to see Ezra walking over with a big grin on his face. She instantly relaxed.
She had spent the entire night stressed about seeing Finnick because she wasn't sure she could spend time with him without breaking down again.
It took Jade and Cinna three hours to mold the version of Amara the world was currently seeing. It had taken so long, in fact, that Cinna barely made it back in time to dress Katniss and Peeta. She knew he must have been taken with Jade if he used his break to clean her apartment and fix her up. That being said, Amara wasn't sure what would happen when she saw saw him again.
Ezra, however, was right in her comfort zone. When he reached her, he gave her a large bear hug that lifted her off the ground.
"How are you?" Ezra asked. Amara shrugged.
"In need of alcohol," she said, and he snorted.
"Have you met our new victors?" Ezra asked curiously, and she nodded.
The two were talking with elite and eating as much food as possible.
"They're about to discover the ugly side of the Capitol," she said. Ezra raised a brow.
"They're the sole survivors of an arena where they were forced to fight to the death," Ezra said. "I'm pretty sure they know the Capitol is a terrible place." He paused. "No offense."
Amara waved him off before spotting Plutarch walking into the room. The two made eye contact, and he nodded her over to a side room. She excused herself from Ezra and made her way over to the new gamemaker.
The room he pulled her into looked like the President's personal study.
"How are you?" he asked, and she shrugged.
"I've been better," she said. Plutarch studied her from head to toe.
"You picked a strong symbol," he said. She glanced around the room. "Don't worry- the mansion isn't bugged. He can't have record of most of the conversations he has."
"I know she won't like it," Amara said, and Plutarch laughed.
"She's not happy about it," he said. "But she does like Peeta."
"It seems the districts have overruled her," Amara pointed out. Plutarch smirked.
"The one thing you should know about President Coin is that she doesn't like things she can't control," he said. Amara chuckled.
"She must despise me then," she said, but Plutarch was already shaking his head.
"You've contributed so much to the revolution that you could demand anything from her and she would grant it. You're our benefactor, so she cares about you a great deal."
"She cares about my money," Amara pointed out. Plutarch just shrugged.
"I'm not sure she can tell the difference. After all, you're just a name on a letter. She has no idea who you really are."
"And it needs to stay that way," Amara insisted.
"I agree," he said. He paused for just a moment before continuing. "We're wondering if you should take a more active role in this year's games."
"You want more money?" Amara asked. Plutarch shook his head.
"We want your influence," he said. "You're the Heiress. You have a great deal of sway over everyone. You're seen as a minor rebel. You continue to fund the games and sway the Capitol, but you also choose people President Snow wouldn't approve of."
"So what do you want me to do?" she asked.
"I want you to give generously this year."
"So you do want my money," she said and Plutarch chuckled.
"Everyone waits for your decision on who will win, and all the tributes cater their interviews on trying to garner emotional sway over the Heiress. Snow and I have a meeting soon to discuss the games. I want you to support multiple tributes. Show the Capitol that there could be multiple winners. Humanize as many as possible."
"Why not just refuse to donate at all?" Amara asked. "That would send a clear message that I no longer support the games."
"You could do that too," Plutarch conceded. "Either way, we want you to tell the world that you no longer do."
Amara was silent for a minute and Plutarch walked around her to open the door. When she brushed by him, he grabbed her wrist.
"Think about it," he said quietly before he disappeared into the crowd. Amara watched him leave only to be intercepted by Effie. The two greeted each other with a kiss on each cheek before beginning an animated conversation.
"What was that about?" Amara heard a voice behind her ask. She froze.
She couldn't breathe.
Even the sound of his voice made her heart speed up.
She turned around slowly to look at the face of the man she loved.
He looked beautiful in this lighting. Though, he always looked beautiful so there wasn't much of a comparison. He was wearing the loose white shirt that always made her swoon and was leaning against the wall so casually that she wondered if the last few weeks happened at all.
Had he been in as much pain as she was since they last spoke?
"What are you doing here?" she muttered as she walked by him. She grinned broadly at the people the two walked passed, and all of them studied her and victor closely. The friendship between Amara White and Finnick Odair was old news at this point, but gossip was gossip. If the Capitol thought that there was any anger or grief between them, they would be the next headline. If the Capitol thought there was any love blossoming between them, they would be the next headline.
Everything they were doing had been closely watched from the beginning, and Amara knew it, which is why she walked over to the food table, grabbed a plate, and handed one to him too. Before she could fill it, however, he pulled it out of her hand and put it back.
"Dance with me," he said. She barely had a moment to protest before she was pulled out of reach from the food and onto the dance floor.
The two swayed in silence for just a moment, and Amara was very aware of how close Finnick was holding her. He smelled like the spray of the sea, and just standing next to him was intoxicating.
"You know when I told you that I needed space so I could let myself move on, I meant a little more than this," she said quietly. It was so loud in the room that there was no way anyone around them could a hear a word, but she was grateful this conversation was at least semi-public.
"And how has that been going?" he asked. She glared at him.
"What kind of question is that? Hoping to fuel your ego?" He looked hurt by the question, but she didn't have it in her to apologize.
"I'm wondering if you've moved on," Finnick said, "because I know I haven't."
He spun her around, and when he pulled her back into his chest, he could tell she was mad.
"You don't have the right to need to move on because you walked away from me," she growled.
"We can't be together here," he said.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Do you get satisfaction in seeing me in so much pain?"
"What? No, I--" but he didn't get to finish his question because Amara was already pulling away from him. She didn't care about appearances. She didn't care if they made tomorrow's headlines. All she cared about was getting away from him.
She was walking toward the door as quickly as she possibly could. Finnick wasn't so lucky. He was pulled in multiple directions by multiple people. Ezra popped up randomly, and Finnick only managed to ask where Amara went before a Capitol elite asked him for a dance.
He politely declined and then moved toward the door as quickly as possible. He couldn't let her get away. He had to find her. He had to convince her to leave with him.
When he finally made it to the door, she was already at the end of the walkway. She must have been three feet from the large stone pillar that separated the house from the yard. There was no one around, and it was exactly what Finnick wanted.
"Amara!" he yelled out, but she kept moving. Suddenly, the years of cardio and training paid off because he sprinted toward her. He had to get to her. He had to get to her. He had to get to her.
"Go away, Finnick," she said when he finally reached her.
"Amara, please," he said, and he reached for her wrist, but she tugged it away from him and slapped his arm to the side.
"You have no right!" She yelled. He was thankful there was no one around to hear them.
"Amara—"
"You have no right to waltz in after all this time and dance with me and tell me you want me after you walked out on me."
"Amara—"
"You chose that life in there over me, so why don't you go back and enjoy it?"
"Because I'm in love with you!" he yelled at her. She let out something between a strangled laugh and a sob.
"You can't say things like that!" she yelled. "I have been on date after date and have compared every single man to you. Do you know what that's like? I fell madly in love with you and you don't even care enough to give up a life of women and parties for someone you claim to love. And here I am with all these great guys who are willing to offer me exactly what I want and I can't get you off my mind."
"Amara--"
"No! You're now allowed to come in here after all this time and tell me that you're in love with me. It's not fair."
Finnick was slowly stepped toward her, as if afraid that if he moved too quickly, he would scare her off.
"What is it that you want, Finnick?" She was still yelling at him. "Do you want to keep me on the hold shelf so that when you get tired of this life you can settle down? I deserve better than that, and if you cared about me at all, you would admit that."
"That's not what I want," he said.
"You walked away," she said. "I'm not willing to be your backup plan."
She moved to step away from him, but before she could get far, Finnick tugged her around the corner. She quickly lost sight of the mansion as he pressed her back against the brick pillar.
"What are you--" and he kissed her.
Amara knew this was wrong. She knew that if she kissed him back, she would be backtracking on everything she'd been fighting for these last few weeks. She knew that if she kissed him back, everything she just said about how she deserved better would be thrown out the window.
But he was warm and inviting. He tasted like sea salt and chocolate. He was her Finnick. He was the Finnick that watched movies with her, that wrote her countless letters, that let her cry after her falling out with Celeste. He was her best friend.
And so, she let go. She threw caution to the wind at the same time she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Finnick groaned into her mouth as he slid his fingers up her jaw and into her hair. He stepped forward so that his body crushed against her. They no longer knew where he ended and she began. All they knew was that this was it. This was their future together.
He consumed her. His lips slanted across hers as he opened her mouth so he could taste every inch of hers. He tilted her head up and her hands trailed up his shoulders and neck into his hair. His hands dropped to her waist and he pulled her even closer.
She gasped, and he moved his lips from her mouth to her jaw. She gripped his shoulders as his hands trailed down her legs and lifted her in one fast motion. He stepped between her legs and she wrapped them around his waist. He took another step closer to the wall and moved his lips over to her pulse point.
"Finnick," she groaned and he relished in the sound. He continued scraped his teeth against the spot on her neck and she felt dizzy. This was so much more than the first kissed they shared, and anything would be better than the second.
She knew she would never get over him. She had no hope of it. He was it for her, and there could never be anyone else. She was head over heels in love with this man, and there would be no changing that.
She angled her lips down, desperate to feel his against them. He bit her bottom lip slightly before massaging the sting with his mouth. She did the same and he knew he could have spent the entire night just exploring her lips.
"Amara," he groaned before pulling away slightly. She was still clutching his shoulders as she breathed heavily. Their foreheads were pressed together and their eyes were closed.
"Finnick," she whispered his name in reverence, and he if he could bottle up the sound, he would have. He slowly lowered her to the ground.
"Don't tell me I'm not in love with you," he said. "You've been my first choice since the moment we met. I think about you every day. I go to sleep thinking about you and wake up thinking about you. I dream about you all night when I'm in the districts because it's the only time I can see your face. I'm so madly in love with you that I'm willing to sacrifice anything to see you smile. You are all I want."
"What are you saying?" she asked, opening her eyes to look into his.
"We can't be together as long as Snow controls my every move, but... what if he didn't?"
"You're going to quit?" Amara asked, and he saw the hope in her eyes.
"Run away with me," he whispered. She stilled slightly. "There will never be a time when we don't live in fear of Snow. Let's leave Panem and go somewhere else; somewhere we can be together and not worry about the weight of expectations. We can just be us."
Amara saw the fear in his eyes. He was terrified she would say no. She thought of the conversation with Plutarch. He asked her to make a drastic stance. She could choose not to support the Quell. If she disappeared, there would be no Heiress, and the Capitol would see her refusal to donate as an act of defiance.
She could be with Finnick. It would be the two of them against the world, and that was all the wanted. There wasn't a world worth living in without him in it. So, she pushed herself up and pressed her mouth against his. It was a light, gentle kiss. It was one that told him they would have the rest of their lives together. It told him this was their future.
"Okay."