4 ½ Years

Finnick sighed as he cleaned up the unidentified liquid he had been sent to clean up on aisle 4, and wondered if his paycheck was worth it. He was barely pulling in above minimum wage, and he though he was great at working with people, dealing with annoying housewives and bratty kids for hours on end always got on his nerves.

The answer was, and would always be, yes, but it was still good entertainment to imagine his chubby, watery-eyed manager turn ashen as Finnick tore him a new one. And in his fantasy, he would walk out of the grocery store and taste freedom upon his lips, as the town sang and danced in celebration. But giving into his rage was just one thing he couldn't afford to do anymore, literally. Annie's college needed funding, and rent needed to be paid. Annie had already been forced to sell her car to pay for books that fall, they couldn't risk any more of that. They needed whatever money they could bring in, and currently Finnick was working two jobs to prove it. (Annie had a waitressing job, and had tried to get another, but Finnick wouldn't let her sacrifice her schoolwork)

So, instead of thinking about bills and his annoying manager, which depressed him to no end, Finnick thought about Annie.

Thinking about Annie was a relatively easy thing for Finnick to do. He thought about her a lot. It wasn't exactly embarrassing, but more often than not it made him lose focus. A person would think they would get over jitters after two months of dating, but even after four and a half years of dating Finnick still got butterflies over the simplest things; waking up next to Annie, drinking her coffee in the morning, the pretty smile she gave him while-

Okay, it's time to stop. Finnick mentally scolded himself, his eyes drifting over to the clock. Thankfully, it was just about time to clock out. So with another sigh, he grabbed the bucket and mop and made his way over to the employee room. He was in the process of tearing off his dinky vest and nametag, and putting on his jacket, when someone tapped his shoulder.

"Hey Finn. Done for the day?" A voice Finnick recognized as Katniss Everdeen asked, and Finnick looked up to see her pulling on her own vest. Katniss's sister Primrose was a freshman in the Nursing Program Annie was in, while Katniss was in the process of taking over the local Recreation center, The Arena, which local millionaire and drunkard Haymitch Abernathy ran.

"Yeah." Finnick said with a shrug.

"Tell Annie I said hi, alright?" Katniss asked with a small wave, before tugging her braid out of the vest. Katniss was a pretty girl, and she reminded him of himself when he was younger and much more naive. She was a survivor, and brought a lot of passion to whatever she did. She was the kind of girl Finnick would've fucked into the wall at a dingy bar before. However, she, like Finnick, had a person she loved more than anyone. Peeta Mellark, a kind man with rocking muscles from lifting 100-pound bags of flour, and filled with a heart of ooey gooey romantic gold.

"Tell Peeta the same." Finnick said with a tired smile, before grabbing his stuff and leaving through the automatic doors and standing outside, blinded by the sun for a single moment as a sneeze tickled his nostrils. With a grimance, he swallowed the sneeze and trudged forward to the crosswalk.

The walk home wasn't very far, but the late November weather made the tips of his fingers ache. He pulled up his scarf (the one Annie had made him for his birthday that still smelled like her. She had also made matching mittens but they were hiding in the pile of winter gear in one of the bureaus at home and he couldn't find them.) and shoved his hands in his pockets as he absentminded kicked at the pebbles on the sidewalk. The sky was a slate grey that almost made the buildings in the city melt into it, and bounced back light onto his face. With his eyes burning and feeling slightly claustrophobic, Finnick tried not to look up, grimacing at the fact that it would probably rain again tonight. If there was one thing he hated, it was the cold rain that came at the end of November when it was slightly too warm for snow. Above anything, it was plain depressing, and more often than not he had to walk home in it.

Finally making it back to the apartment complex, he muttered hellos to a few people he knew from neighborhood functions, before trekking up four flights of stairs until he reached apartment 404, and pulling out his keys and opening the door.

Home was a place with blue painted walls and mismatched furniture. The counter in the kitchen was an ugly brown and pink tile, and most of the molding was coming off. The redeeming quality about the place was the dark wooden floor, which was covered by rugs in the living room. But it was the home him and Annie shared, together, so it was perfect.

"I'm home." Finnick called, hanging his coat next to Annie's and pulling off his boots. A small hand appeared over the back of the couch, relieving him of his momentary anxiety that for some reason she wouldn't be there.

"Welcome back." Annie called back, sitting up as Finnick gave her a kiss. Her lips, warm and soft, felt perfect over his. He pulled away, noticing immediately that she was wearing a tank top and one of his pairs of sweatpants, and God, nothing was more attractive, he thought as she cupped his cheek and smiled, "How was work?"

"Just work." He answered with a shrug, "Katniss said hi."

"I made some alfredo pasta, and it's in the fridge. You can have that for dinner." Annie said, as Finnick sighed and nuzzled into her neck.

"Don't want any right now." He muttered grazing his thumb over the sliver of skin exposed between her sweatpants and tank top, before nibbling at her ear.

"Finnick, what do you think you're doing?" Annie laughed, her sea-green eyes twinkling.

"Come on, baby. You know you want to. Be a bad little girl and put off the homework for an hour. I didn't see you at all yesterday." Finnick chuckled, rolling his hips against hers, making her gasp.

"I-I've got a test in two days and-"

"I'll do all the work." Finnick said kissing further down as his hands slid up her taunt stomach, "All you need to do is relax."

"Does working at the grocery store always get you this horny?" Annie asked, her eyebrows quirking up. That was one of the many things Finnick loved about her, all of her emotions were stamped on her face so Finnick could always tell how she felt.

"What I think about when I'm working at the grocery store does." Finnick admitted with a wicked smile.

"And what is that? Me in maid's costumes and serving you waffles?" Annie laughed wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Something along those lines." Finnick laughed back, kissing her yet again. This time though, the kiss deepened. Finnick massaged and sucked on her tongue, swallowing her delicious moans as he continued to grind into her, slowly and sensuously. His shirt was being twisted in Annie's hands, and she gasped for breath.

"Finnick, bed!" Annie whispered urgently, and Finnick was all too happy to comply. She wrapped her legs around his waist, still kissing, as he half stumbled his way to bed. As soon as he managed to get her on the bed, no time was wasted as he tore off her clothes. Barely managing to get his pants off and a condom rolled on, before pushing inside of her.

They both shuddered. They did this enough now that he could slide right into her, no problem. He knew exactly how she loved it, what little spots drove her crazy, how her eyes darkened, and how she bit her lip when she was close. And similarly, she knew his body just as well. How he loved it when she tugged on his hair, kissed his jaw. Honestly, he could make love to Annie any day, any time, and would never be bored of it.

It was like all those dumb songs his Dad used to play on his records when he wasn't too drunk, those ones his Dad had taken on the way out the door. The ones that always made love seem wonderful, and beautiful. However there was more desperation in this, Finnick wondered, honestly, if he could survive if Annie ever left him. Annie was like his air, his food and water, his hopes, his dreams, his light, his sun, moon, and stars, his everything. The day Annie left him, and somewhere, deep in his subconscious he knew she would one day, he would be back in the cold dark place he had once been in. There was no way he could go back to that, to meaningless fucks, to syringes, and drinks that burned his throat. Annie was a necessity.

Annie would certainly be the only person Finnick truly loved. Even if he didn't deserve her love in return. Sometimes he wondered how God could be so cruel and generous at the same time. He had given Finnick, the least deserving bastard on the planet, a person to love and be loved in return, but after tasting the paradise, the promised land of love, he would take her away from him one day.

After a few bouts of lovemaking, Annie and him lay, sweaty and content upon the bed. Finnick curled into her, loving the smell of her hair, of saltwater, flower-scented shampoo, and vanilla.

"Love you." Annie breathed, effortlessly, nuzzling into him. Finnick shivered at the sensation, and wished, somehow, that saying those words could be effortless for him as well. Finnick answered by kissing Annie again, slow, languorous kisses, allowing his body to say what he could not, and somehow hoping that she got the message before she pulled away. Their eyes met for a moment, and within them Finnick got his answer.

"I have to take a shower and finish my homework." She said, patting his arm before he turned over, wrapping his arms around her waist,

"Don't go." Finnick whined, a pout upon his face.

"Finnick, you can't keep me in bed with you all the time." Annie scolded, attempting to unwrap his hands from her waist, only to have him yank her back into bed with a huff.

"I'll only let you get into the shower if you let me in with you." He said a seductive smirk upon his face, while Annie just laughed.

"God, you're so insatiable today."

"Only when it comes to you, Annie."

"Fine, we'll take a shower together, but we are actually washing off. You smell like disinfectant." Annie said, hopping off the bed, and grabbing a towel.

"The sexiest disinfectant ever." Finnick shot back, and in reply Annie stuck her tongue out at him.

"Of course my dearest, darlingest Finny dear." Annie said with a wink, before leaving the room. However Finnick stayed there for a few moments, his gaze lingering on the ceiling.

"I love you." The words came out, hushed and aching. The words he could never gather the courage to say, despite his desire to. He knew that if he was to say those words, they should only be for Annie's ears, and he wanted to say them so badly. Yet he couldn't, because he was afraid of what would happen after. Deep inside of him, he was scared that if he ever uttered those words whatever enchantment was placed upon his life would disappear and he would be alone.

And one day he would say it to her, he knew, because Annie was the only person who could make him feel human. One day he would be able to reach across the cold, endless expanse of a bed, pull her to him, and whisper those words in her ears again and again.

But for today, this would be enough.

Welcome to Reaching You! This is going to be, pretty much an out-of-order story, with the narratives surrounding Annie and Finnick, with each chapter alternating between the two. I'll let you know what time we're at by the beginning chapter, and if you have any questions, be sure to ask in the review.

Please review/fav/alert/PM me to let me know what you think. Until next time!