You Asked For This - Finnick Odair

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"She knew she loved him when 'home' went from being a place to being a person."
— E. Leventhal

...

Johanna Mason had just turned eighteen years old. Snow had let her enjoy her victory for a few months before requesting the unthinkable. Firey and strong-headed, she'd refused. She returned to District 7, her home reduced to ashes and her family along with it. She was granted a new mansion after the tragic "accident."

Cora and Finnick were visiting her. The three had become good friends in the months after Johanna's victory. And now, when she needed them most, they were there for her.

The Victors' mansions in District 7 were different from District 4. They were giant log cabins. Warm and cozy inside, with fireplaces in almost every room.

The brown-eyed woman was glaring at the fire. She did that a lot.

"What were they like?" Cora asked, quietly.

Johanna had mentioned that she had had three brothers. Two older and one younger. The strawberry-blonde was surprised at the similarity of the situation. But Johanna's brothers were different than Cora's.

"Loud," The brunette began, still glaring at the flames. "Loud, rambunctious, and annoying. None of them ever had much common sense," she chuckled at the last part. "They were so stupid."

Cora smiled, "They sound fun."

"I loved them."

"I know."

Finnick walked in, three loaves of bread in hand. None of the three Victors were competent cooks, so they usually ate bread from the market.

He sat down next to Cora on the couch the girls were on, passing the bread to them as he did so.

He leaned against Cora and began to talk. "What game are we playing?"

No response from the girls.

"How about a guessing game? I'll describe something and one of you has to guess what it is," he smirked.

...

"Odair, if you describe another damn fish...!" Johanna shouted. If looks could kill, the man would've been six feet under in a second.

"What?" He grinned like he wasn't doing anything wrong. "I know a lot of fish!"

"Yeah," Cora defended, "it's completely fair!" Cora had thirteen more points than Johanna, most of them from guessing fish. Of course she said it was fair, she was winning.

"So, if I started describing trees—"

"You can't do that!"

"Why? 'Cause you don't know trees?!"

"No! Because Finnick's describing things!"

"And why can't I start describing things?"

"Because he keeps describing fish!"

And that's how the rest of the night went, playful competition and screaming matches. And it was beautiful. For a night, Johanna was completely distracted from what she'd lost.

When the District 7 girl went off to bed, the man and woman from 4 got up to do the same. They had separate rooms that they'd been sleeping in. They really did try to sleep separately most nights. But, as Cora was about to head to her room, Finnick grabbed her hand.

She looked up into his eyes, waiting for him to say something. She also made an effort to not glance at his lips, something she'd been doing a lot more lately.

Finnick, however, was trying to remember what he was going to say. All the words left his mind. All the could think about was how beautiful the woman in front of him was. How much he loved her.

After a moment, he was able to put together two words. "Goodnight, Cor."

He wanted to ask her to sleep next to him that night. Not because it was a bad night, but just because he wanted to be near her.

She almost looked disappointed at his words, like she was expecting something else. But she smiled softly and replied. "Goodnight, Finn."

He squeezed her hand and let it go.

And they left to their separate rooms.

...

Once again, Coral Newport couldn't sleep because she was too busy thinking about Finnick Odair.

Yes, she was thinking about how she felt about him. But she was also just thinking about him. How he was. How he managed to distract Johanna from her grief with a game. How he consistently put others before himself. How easy it was to be happy when she was with him.

The way his hair fell against his face. They way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. The way, as long as she was with him, she felt at home no matter where they were.

"He began to feel like home." Xena's words echoed in her mind.

And, suddenly, all the pain since that night in District 4 made sense. All the confusing jealousy she felt every time she saw him with one of his buyers made sense.

Everything just clicked.

Coral Newport was in love with Finnick Odair.