Puzzle Pieces • Finnick Odair

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It was cold.

She was surrounded by snow and ice, dead bodies of other tributes on the ground painted the snow around them red.

She glance over in the direction of the grunts and moans to see Dale Connors, her District partner on the ground, bleeding and crying out for help though the sound was weak and just above a whisper. She could hear his weak, fading heartbeat ringing though her head as she crawled through the cold harsh snow to get to him.

Once she reached the bleeding, broken boy, she reached forward to apply pressure to his wound but his body dissipated into the air, little particles spreading like snow.

She woke with a gasp, her heart pounding, head thumping, a thin layer of sweat covering her entire body making the cuts on her back sting and bleed at the feeling. The pain was familiar but not distracting enough from the images that now plagued her mind of the just turned 12 years old boy, the same age as her brother, who had just died in front of her eyes. Again.

She could feel her breathing becoming unsteady but she find it within herself to calm it down, her mind was elsewhere until her blonde saviour came through the door to see her sat up in bed, out of breath and sweating.

He immediately rushed to her side, holding her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him, "hey, hey. Look at me, it's alright, you're okay. It wasn't real. You're okay, I'm here," he soothed her until she had collapsed into his embrace, where she felt safe. Thankfully, she would be able to sleep in his room with him the next night so he can be there if she needs him as soon as she wakes.

With one arm gently supporting Jessica's waist, as she's still recovering, Finnick walked the brunette back to his room, having got permission that she has been released from the hospital unit as long as she rests and takes it easy. He looked down at her every now and then to make sure she was okay.

As Finnick sat on the slightly elevated bed in his room, Jessica stood between his legs and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his, showing him how much she loved and appreciated him without having to utter a single word. Finnick held her close, both hands around her waist almost afraid that if he released his grip, she'd be taken from him again. Their lips moved in synch like waves crashing on the shore, fitting perfectly as if they were physically moulded to fit just right for each other, like puzzle pieces.

"What's bothering you?" She asks him, stroking a hair out of his face.

"I'm sorry." She looks at him confused gesturing for him to continue, "I- I couldn't save you. I couldn't help. All I could do was sit here and wait knowing that where you were and not being allowed to come and rescue you. To hold you and tell you it'll be okay. It kills me to see everything they've done to you whilst I've just been sat here, safe and sound."

She places a hand on his cheek, "hey," she spoke softly, "there's nothing you could've done. I know that. And I'm okay now. I'm here, with you."

"I'll never let them hurt you again, never." He stood, arms still wrapped around her lower waist, away from her wounds, as he brought his right hand up to stroke the scar on the left side of her face. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she placed her hand over his right one as he leaned forward to place a slow, gentle kiss on her lips again, savouring every last second of it.

That night was the best sleep either had gotten in a long time, nightmare free.

AN: thought I'd write this chapter to show the relationship between Jess and Finn and how they help each other.