You Asked For This - Finnick Odair

Hair Dye

"The sad truth is, so many people are in love and not together and so many people are together and not in love."
— Unknown

...

"I want to change my hair color," Xena Tinsley announced one night. This was news. The twenty-one year old woman had had hot pink hair for as long as Coral Newport had known her. Five, nearing six years. Hot pink was her signature color.

"Why would you want to do that?" The strawberry blonde asked, rather surprised. She had been back in the Capitol for a few months now.

The Capitol woman let out a long, dragged out, sigh. "I'm boooorrrreeed. It's been eight years, Cora, I'm ready for a new color."

"I've had my hair the same color for twenty-one years, Xen." Cora laughed. "But, knowing you, eight years of the same thing is impressive."

"Right?!"

The women laughed.

"Also," Xena began, "you've never dyed your hair?"

The strawberry blonde gave the brown-eyed woman a look. "I'm from the districts, of course not. And with my job... It'd never be allowed."

The woman, who still had hot pink hair, sat up. She had been laying down on the floor while Cora lounged on the couch in Xena's apartment. "Do you want to?"

The woman from District 4 looked at her friend, who had a plotting look in her minolid brown eyes. "Should I be scared?"

Xena smiled, a little more chaos in her expression than usual. "Your hair's strawberry blonde. So, if I had some light pink accents to it, it'll be pretty but not so noticeable that it could get you in trouble or ruin your image."

Cora thought about it. It could work. Just enough of a change to be noticeable, but not too out-there. In all honesty, the citizens of the Capitol would likely go wild for the new look. The woman smirked. "Let's do it. And you could dye your's light pink too— we could match!"

The Capitol woman's face lit up. "I love it!"

It was like the two women were teenagers again, being impulsive and planning matching outfits. Now they would have somewhat matching hair.

Cora called the front desk, where Percy was working, and asked him to come to Xena's apartment.

...

You two are weird. The twenty-two year old man signed to the women after they had excitedly explained their plan.

They wanted him to go out and buy bleach, toner, and pastel pink hair dye. They would do it themselves, but they knew that he'd rather be buying them hair dye than sitting at the front desk for a few more hours (until it was time for him to go to bed). And, since he was technically serving them, he couldn't get in trouble for leaving his station.

We know, Xena signed back with a mischievous smile.

Why do you want to change your hair? Percy asked, knowing Xena since even before she had dyed her hair hot pink for the first time. She had loved it so much, he thought she might keep it like that forever.

It's been eight years, Perce. Plus, Cora's never dyed her hair! It's special!

The man shook his head and smiled. You're really something else...

Of course she is, Cora added. She's Xena Tinsley, what did you expect?

Percy smiled at the woman. I'll be back in under an hour.

Xena squealed and gave him a big smile. "You're the best!"

I know, he smirked as he left.

Cora laughed at that. Sometimes, she forgot how similar Percy could be to Finnick. They were both incredibly cocky, Percy just had to be more careful about it. The strawberry blonde was beginning to understand what Xena meant all those years ago when she had mentioned that, if Percy could talk, he'd be the loudest one in the room. Cora had this feeling that, if it weren't for being an Avox, Percy would be as much of a party animal as she and Xena were.

...

The women were toning their hair. Xena's hair was beginning to turn completely platinum blonde. Cora had platinum blonde highlights. Soon, they would be adding the dye.

"How's Finnick doing?" Xena asked. "I haven't seen him much since you two have been back."

Cora sighed. "He's been busy with appointments. If it's not appointments, it's public appearances. Apparently, people can't get enough of him. He has this show with Caesar Flickerman. All he really does is just sit there and look pretty."

The Capitol woman smirked. "You think he's pretty?"

The strawberry blonde shot a look back at her friend. "You know I do."

There was a silence followed by comfortable conversation as the women washed out the toner and began adding the pink dye to their hair. Cora had just finished painting Xena's hair. When the brown-eyed woman began to paint her highlights, the green-eyed woman began to talk about Annie and Crane's wedding.

"I met Crane's mother," she mentioned.

"Well, it was his wedding." Xena sassed before continuing. "What is she like?"

"Interesting... I don't know how else to put it. But she said something to me that I can't stop thinking about."

"Go on..."

"I'm not free to get married, like Annie and Crane are, but I am free to be in love."

Xena paused before continuing to dye Cora's hair. "Not if you get caught."

"If you're careful, love can't be taken from you. Even in the most dire circumstances."

"What?"

"That's what she told me."

Xena understood the meaning of this much quicker than Cora did. While Cora had been left confused, Xena felt the words' meaning down in her very soul.

"Then be in love, Cora."

"What?"

"Tell him how you feel. He feels the same way, I can tell. And then be careful about it."

The conversation moved to other topics after that, but Cora's mind never left the notion of telling Finnick how she felt. She'd been through the Hunger Games, she'd watched her brothers and Lyra die, she'd been subjected to prostitution and the abuse that followed. And yet she was more scared of confessing her love than any of the things she'd been through before.

Maybe it was because of the uncertainty. All of the things that had happened had already happened. She knew how those stories ended— with pain and death. But, despite Xena's assurances that Finnick loved her too, Cora had no idea how her and Finnick's story would end.