Work Text:
It was almost finished. Annie felt proud of her work as she looked at it, inspecting it from every angle. Mags had taught her how to weave, and since winning the Games, it was the only thing she did. It kept her mind off of…everything.
“What’s that?” Came a voice from behind her. Annie jumped and looked around for the boy who had snuck up behind her in the Arena and almost killed her. But it was only Finnick. And this was District 4. Not the Arena. She’d never go there again.
“Woah!” Finnick said, holding up his hands, his eyes wide with concern. “It’s just me.”
“Sorry,” Annie said, looking away in embarrassment. “I thought you were…I thought I saw…”
“Hey…” Finnick started, sitting down next to her on the dock and placing an arm around her shoulder. “I understand.”
It felt like he was the only one who did. Everyone got frustrated with Annie more than they had before she had won the Games. But Finnick didn’t. He was patient and kind. He was the only one who understood what the horror of being in the Arena was.
“I’m making a basket,” Annie said, answering his earlier question, holding it out to him. He took it, examining it in awe. “Mags taught me a new weaking style, so I used seaweed to practice.”
“It’s incredible!” Finnick exclaimed, giving it back to her with an encouraging grin, his dimples showing. “I don’t understand how you can do that.”
“it’s easy,” Annie said, shrugging. “I could teach you, if you want. But it takes a minute to get the hang of.”
“Mags has already tried to teach me,” Finnick said with a laugh. “But I’m sure you’d be a better teacher.”
Annie blushed, looking down. “You’re just saying that,” she said.
“No I’m not,” Finnick said. “Honest.”
“You really want me to teach you?”
“Yes!” Finnick looked and sounded sincere, and excitement grew inside Annie. She immediately started imagining them weaving together to pass the time. Then, she laughed at the thought of Finnick sitting there making a basket.
“What’s so funny?” Finnick asked, confused.
“Nothing,” Annie said, grinning. She stood up, brushing off her cotton dress. “Come on, we can start now!”
---
It took a while for Finnick to get the hang of the craft, but after a week of lessons and practice, he started to grasp it. Annie was proud of her progress, and found that weaving with Finnick helped more than weaving by herself did.
He had that effect. He always helped, even if he was silent and just there as support. Especially when Annie had one of her episodes. He was always there.
“That looks good!” Annie said when Finnick held up a panel of weaving he had done.
“Is it really?” Finnick asked, knitting his brows as he looked at his work. If Annie was honest, it wasn’t that good. It was a bit sloppy, and he had messed up the pattern a bit. But she wouldn’t tell him that. So instead, she nodded enthusiastically.
“You’re getting the hang of it,” she said, hoping she sounded encouraging. Finnick grinned and kept working. He started humming to himself, and Annie joined in. She couldn’t remember a time she felt more at peace than she did in that moment, and she hoped it would last forever.