"The end is the finale of what is old, but the beginning of something new…"

Finnick Pov:

I have to say, that this day has not gone completely as planned.

I caught the fish easily enough, which was surprising, since these species were normally a bit of a pain in the ass to catch. I got on the train with ease, without too much traffic or too many people/ crazy adoring fans (yes, they still exist after the revolution…) recognizing me. The ride was quick and had limited stops along the way, which was also rare.

No, what made this day a tad more difficult than originally planned was some random goddamn cat that decided on attacking my fishbowl. If I was simply holding that bowl, it would have been pretty easy to protect the bowl from the freaking mangy cat. But nope, it was being precariously balanced between my left arm and my still sensitive rib cage as I was trying to sling my bag over my right arm.

So, the bowl fell onto the ground, broke and the freaking thing ate my fish. These incredibly rare fish that I wanted to give to show my love.

Un-fucking believable…

Come to think about it though… I vaguely recall seeing that mangy thing before, but where?

But I had little time to think about that, as I went into panic mode. I couldn't just saunter up to her door without something, but what?

I first thought of trying to buy something from one of the shops down here. But as luck would have it, everything was still closed due to construction. Dammit, two options down.

I gave up, knowing that I was expected at the house. Not by Katniss, per se. Actually, Haymitch, Effie and Peeta had gone through a lot of trouble to see us two reunited, so I couldn't well let them down. Especially with a sober Haymitch, he is a little harder to distract than the plastered one.

Speaking of which, I had arrived at the Victor's Village. Things in this area seemed to have taken far less damage than the town center did, which was somewhat reassuring for me as it would definitely give Katniss a somewhat sense of normalcy.

My first thought was to take the very pretty flowers from the front of Katniss' house. But I quickly brushed that off as I realized that first, I would come off as an asshole because what kind of idiot takes flowers from the person in question's front yard? Although I did do that one time… But they were an idiot from the Capitol, Katniss is everything they aren't.

Then I looked over to the other side of the road to see what I guessed was Haymitch's house. Thanks to Effie, his house looked actually presentable compared to the nightmare it was before.

I looked at my watch. Shit, that stupid ass feline is going to make me late…

Since I knew that I was out of time, I quickly jumped over Haymitch's fence and made a dash for some of his plants. I tugged a couple of plants that didn't look dead out of the ground and quickly hopped back over, then I sprinted like a mad man over to Katniss' house.

I made it over there just in time, thank God. At least something went right for me at this point.

So, here I am, slightly out of breath at this point.

Need to take a deep breath…

That's when I smell something that reeks of a disgusting combination of vodka and pee…

I fucking hate cats…

No one's Pov:

After Finnick greeted Katniss with his words and a genuine smile, she couldn't help but give one in return. Well, until she smelled some god awful stench.

"Jesus! What the hell smells like drunk Haymitch?" She said as she quickly forgot her once near suicidal state in order to protect her senses from the offending odor.

Finnick couldn't help but cringe and nervously rub the back of his neck as he mumbled, "Yeah… Sorry about that… I had this whole elaborate gift with fish and this deep meaning and everything… Then this stupid ass cat came and knocked it out of my hands and ate the fish… So, I panicked and looked everywhere to find you a good gift. But everything was closed, so I borrowed a couple plants from Haymitch's yard… Obviously, this was not the best idea, since Effie hasn't gotten around to cleaning that part up yet…"

Katniss was genuinely touched by Finnick's troubles, although she couldn't help but laugh at the stupidity of the situation. Especially since she knew the 'stupid ass cat'.

In fact, she was laughing so hard, that she was crying.

When Finnick saw Katniss' tears initially, he panicked even further and tried to rush out a thousand apologies a minute.

"Shit! I made you cry! I'm so sorry! Dammit! I…"

He was interrupted by Katniss' guffaw. At first, he was surprised to actually hear her guffaw, since Katniss Everdeen doesn't seem like the type to guffaw. But once he overcame his initial shock, he couldn't help but join in the laughing.

Finnick's misfortune actually prevented any possible awkwardness between the two of them, as they were able to almost return to how they were before everything happened. Katniss knew that she could trust Finnick, but she still had some questions that needed to be answered first before they could pursue their happily ever after. She knew this was the time to ask.

"Hey Finnick, can I ask you a couple questions? I understand if you don't want to answer them…"

"Hey, you can ask me anything, I love you and I don't want to hide anything from you."

Katniss smiled at the reassurance before she asked, "Why didn't you come see me sooner? I was so lost without you… It's bad enough to lose Prim, as she was my family. But I thought I lost you, I thought you had given up on me since I am damaged goods and could never properly express my feelings for you… It just killed me, you know? To think that I lost everything…"

Finnick gave Katniss a sad smile as he tentatively grabbed her hand. She initially tensed up, but quickly relaxed into his grip.

"Katniss, I never stopped loving you and I would never, EVER give up on you. Never doubt that. Haymitch said that you needed time to think, so find your inner peace. If I had my way, I would have exiled myself when you did. I hated myself for letting you go. I continuously asked Haymitch how you were doing. Finally, I couldn't take no for an answer. I couldn't let you go, both in the literal and the emotional sense. It'll take a lot more than that to shake me."

He began in a serious tone, but he couldn't help but add a little humor in the end. He added his flirty voice and a wink, which made Katniss playfully roll her eyes and chuckle. At this point, Finnick had inched closer to her to the point that their knees were touching and Katniss was resting her head on his shoulder.

She wanted to question how he was able to subtly do that, but the other question that she wanted to ask weighed more on her mind.

"One more question Finnick, who was Annie to you? I know that she was a past victor and all who lost her sanity due to the impact of her games, but who was your Annie?"

A part of Katniss hurt to ask the question, since that would explore the idea that Finnick had given his love to someone that wasn't her. But she had to ask it, otherwise, she would go insane.

Finnick sighed as he slowly rubbed his thumb along the back of her hand before he replied, "Annie was a very special girl to me. She gave me hope when I had given up on the world. You would have liked her. Sure, you knew the Annie that the rest of the world saw, but she was someone completely different when the cameras were off. She was sweet, saw the silver linings in even the darkest situations and taught me to never give up on those you love. That they are worth it in the end."

He took a deep breath to gather himself, knowing that he has to discuss this to Katniss, she deserved it.

"She was actually improving. She was becoming the Annie of old. After all, we hung out as kids. Before, she refused to talk about her experience. But she was becoming more and more candid with me before… Before the 'accident'. Snow liked to make sure that all his Victors would give the investors a 'return' on their investment. I had to do it, as you know, Johanna had to do it. Hell, even Haymitch had to do it for a while. We all did. All except Annie. She refused. I tried to protect her, to work overtime to offset her lack of 'participation'. I thought that I had at least bought her time."

Finnick couldn't control all his tears, as one slowly rolled down his cheek. Katniss' heart broke at the sight of him being in pain, so she gently squeezed his hand in reassurance. Finnick mumbled a soft thank you before he continued.

"But it wasn't enough, he wasn't happy. So, imagine my surprise coming home one day to see Annie dangling off the side of the house with a noose tied around her neck. I knew she wouldn't commit suicide, she believed that was a mortal sin. No, Snow was making a point to me and all the other victors to be productive or else. The fucker made that point clear when he gave me a 'condolence' for my loss. As if he cared… The fucking monster…"

Finnick was shaking with anger at this memory, as he was reliving all the horror the now deceased former President had put him through. Without thinking, Katniss quickly wrapped her arms around Finnick's waist in an effort to calm him down and to let him know that she was there. It was something that Prim used to do to help her stay calm.

The desired effect worked as Finnick's anger slowly decreased as he gradually relaxed into her embrace and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you love. But, even though she was a part of who I was and that I will never forget her, you are a part of who I am now and you had saved me from giving up. You gave me hope again. I will always be in your debt in that regard. What started out as a little crush grew into an unconditional love. I always knew that you were special from the moment I saw you volunteer, but I had no idea how much you would change me. You healed me. Now, it is my turn to return the favor."

Finnick paused to look down at Katniss, who slowly raised her eyes towards him.

"So Katniss, what do you say? Time to start over, to heal each other? You may feel broken, but I am broken too. I can't promise that it will be easy, but I can promise that you will never be alone again. How does that sound love?"

Katniss smiled softly as she whispered, "It sounds like a plan Mr. Odair."

(AN: Whew! Finally finished this story! Sorry for the massive delays! Life got in the way. Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I had enjoyed writing it. And sorry for any mistakes! I'm incredibly rusty with my writing, but I'm getting back at it! Thanks again to everyone who has stuck with me!)