this world is only gonna break your heart [closed]

[treadswater]

WHO: Annie Cresta
WHERE: House 57
WHEN: 11th August
OPEN TO: Finnick
WARNINGS: Grief + typical Hunger Games themes

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Peeta has been dead for eleven days. It's a shocking thing, here, this arena with so little death. And he'd been a nice enough boy. She'd appreciated that. Nice enough, but if ever she and Finnick are dragged back to their correct place and time, he'd had been a powerful adversary. Katniss and Peeta, the Star-Crossed Lovers: no matter who wound up in the 75th arena, it'd be a threat to whomever landed in there from District Four.

Annie has been thinking about that a lot, lately.

She's also been watching Finnick. Finnick, Finnick, Finnick, who can hide so much behind his brilliant smiles, but she knows him in a way that she knows no one else. She can tell when he's upset, and upset deeply. even Careers aren't as inured against death as people think, and he has a soft heart when it comes to the tributes in the arenas. The children. Of which Peeta had been one.

And yet... And yet, it's been days and days, and still, Finnick's more deeply upset than Annie would have ever anticipated. Upset might not be the right word, but she's not exactly sure what would be the right word. And she'd waited. She'd waited and waited, wondering if it's her own brain playing tricks on her, misreading things and people. Except, no. She knows Finnick.

It's been eleven days since Peeta was killed when Annie straightens up from gathering this morning's cluster of eggs and looks around for her husband. There, by the pond they are making for the geese, talking very seriously to the three peahens. She hovers, debating what to do. But no, she needs to ask. So instead of using the front door to go inside, Annie walks over to where Finnick is.

"Hey!" she calls out with a wave, trying to catch his attention without startling the birds. "Uh, you busy? There's something I need to ask you which'll take a bit."