LEIA WAS TWENTY-THREE YEARS OLD WHEN SHE FIRST WENT TO ONE OF THE PRESIDENT'S PARTIES. The invitation came as a shock because she was pretty sure that the man would not even recognize her if he saw her. She assumed that Apollo had something to do with it because he was always talking about how amazing the parties were since he was always invited. Lunia and Amethyst were coming too, but that wasn't out of the ordinary.

She had no clue what to do when she got there. She spoke to people for about ten minutes, but then she ran out of people that she knew. She had just been hovering behind Amethyst and not adding anything to the conversations. It really made her realize how little friends she had. She knew that she did not like the Capitol citizens, but maybe they didn't like her either.

She ended up in the back somewhere, sipping her champagne at an unoccupied high table and tapping her foot as she stood and watched everyone interact. She thought about how people around her were drinking things to make them throw up so that they could eat more, and all the while, there were people starving in the Districts. She did not even notice someone come up behind her

"You look stunning tonight, my love," a voice whispered in her ear, and she practically jumped. She spun around to see the familiar smirk and beautiful face. She automatically grinned at the sight of him. For some reason, she had not thought about the fact that he might be there. He had spoken about Snow's parties before, but she never put the piece together.

But her smile dropped when she realized that they were speaking out in the open with hundreds of Capitol people around them. That was exactly what they had been trying to avoid for eight years. Her eyes widened as she tried to move to hide him. "Finnick! You can't be talking to me. What if someone sees?"

"Then it'll look like it always does," he answered, not even moving away from her. His chest was almost touching hers, and his lips were practically brushing her ear as he spoke. He explained, "The handsome Victor flirting with a beautiful Capitol woman."

"Handsome, huh? You think pretty highly of yourself," she responded, looking up at him with a smug expression. He just rolled his eyes with a smile, which made her lips mimic his. She was always proud when she amused him. However, she could not shake the feeling that something was going to happen. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Would I do it if it wasn't?" he questioned, and that was good enough for her. She trusted him, and she knew he would not do something if he knew that it would hurt her. Anyone looking would just assume that he was flirting with Capitol women like he usually did, and no one knew anything else, right?

She finally relaxed, and the smile returned to her face. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, but she figured that that would be too much. So, she just had to show everything with her words. She informed him, "I missed you."

"Oh, did you?" he quizzed, his smirk growing, and Leia had a feeling that his thoughts were less than pure in that moment. She had not seen him in a few months, and she was aching to kiss him. His feelings were the same, but they couldn't do that there. All they could do was speak. "How much?"

"Very much," she emphasized. She was glad that he had not been in the Capitol recently because that meant that there was no middle-aged men or women buying him and his body. In fact, she would give up seeing him in between Hunger Games if it meant that she could stop that. However, that did not change the fact that she missed him and loved being with him.

"Care to show me?" he asked, and just the sound of his voice as he asked made a chill run down her spine. He was so close, but not close enough. He just wanted to pull her in and kiss her hard, but it meant so much more when they were in her house, no leering eyes. Just them. "Say, tonight, your place?"

She frowned because usually at these kinds of things, he had a date, and she would have to see him the next night. He was almost never alone at parties, so this was really shocking. And it just happened to be the one party that she was invited to. She glanced around, but there did not seem to be anyone looking for him. "Is there no one...expecting you?"

"I fortunately do not have a date tonight, which means I am all yours," he told her, and that made a grin spread across her face. He laughed lightly at her excitement, and he had to take a moment to appreciate being able to be that close to her out in the open. Sure, they were away from the party, but if anyone looked over there and saw them, nothing would happen. There would be no repercussions, and that felt nice.

Leia heard Amethyst calling her name, and slowly and begrudgingly took a step back. His hand grabbed hers, not wanting her to leave so soon, but they would be together in just a couple of hours. As she walked backwards back toward the body, she said, "I'll see you at home."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, smiling as he watched her go. They were so focused on each other that they did not even notice the President's eyes on them from his balcony. It was not a complete coincidence that they were both there.

《✵》

SHE SAW HIM AGAIN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS LATER, WHICH WAS STRANGE. She was very confused when she heard the knock on her door and looked out the window to see his regular disguise. That was the shortest time between his visits ever, and Leia was happy to see him, of course. But the sudden change was a little bit concerning. She opened the door, and her eyes widened at the expression on his face.

His eyes were bloodshot, and it was obvious that he had been crying. His nose was puffy, and his hair was tousled. He was sweaty and frazzled, and he looked like he had run there from District 4. Something was clearly going on, but when he met her eyes, he just stood there and stared at her. "Finnick? Finnick, what's wrong?"

"Snow killed my mother," he stated, and Leia just completely froze.

What the hell was he talking about? Why would Snow do that? Did he kill her or have her killed? Can he do that? Is there any evidence? What? Questions were forming in Leia's head faster than she could process them, and all she could manage was, "W–What?

"My mother, she was killed in a boating accident," he explained further, and his voice was shaky and broken, and she pulled him inside and closed the door behind him so that they could speak without attracting the neighbors' eyes. She was still in shock, and she just stood there, mouth agape, listening to him. "And Snow was behind it. I'm sure of it."

"Why would he do that?" she questioned, and she was moments away from crying herself. He looked worse than she had ever seen him, and it was breaking her heart. She wished she could just hold him and kiss him and make it better, but she knew that nothing would make it better. She never had an attachment to her parents because they were cold and awful people, so she would never know what it was like to lose a mother.

He began pacing back and forth in front of her, clearly panicking as he wiped his hands on his pants. "He knows about us. He had to. There's no other reason. She was swimming near rocks, and this boat just comes up and crashes into her and then disappears. I was being stupid at that party. I shouldn't have talked to you. He was watching. He's always watching!"

"Why would he care as long as no one else saw?" she asked, but she knew that answer. Snow was so insanely cruel that he hated seeing people truly happy. She knew it and so did everyone in the Districts. Every single Victor could tell you just how evil he is.

"Because he can't stand the thought of me having anything!" he yelled, and he turned to face her. "I want to have a moment with the woman I love, the woman that means more than anything to me, and he makes me suffer for it, makes my own mother suffer for it. He's a monster that just can't let me be happy, and I am so sick of it. But I can't do anything about it." He fell to his knees, tears filling his eyes as she kneeled in front of him. "How did everything get so messed up? Less than five years ago, I was just a boy living with his mom in District 4. And now... I love you, Leia, and I wouldn't be here without you, but..."

"But you can't see me anymore..." she finished for him, and saying it broke her heart, even though she knew that it was probably what was right. But how could the right decision feel so awful? The thought of not seeing him made her heart feel like it was being ripped in half. It took everything in her not to break down, and her eyes were starting to fill with tears.

He nodded slowly, and she had to look away for a moment. He took her chin in his fingers and brought her eyes back to his. "Not forever, just for a little while." He paused for a moment. "Would you still love me if we met under different circumstances?"

"Of course, I would," she answered. She would love him no matter what, she was sure of it. She loved him more and more every day, and she knew that that love would keep growing for her entire life. Nothing could make her stop loving him.

"When I am old and no one wants me anymore, what about then?" he questioned, and she just nodded, unable to form words anymore because she had started crying. He took a deep breath and held her face in his hands, and she knew from the way that he was looking at her that he was serious. "Then, after I become desirable to the people of the Capitol, and Snow finally releases me from this agreement, I'll come for you."

She was extremely close to sobbing, and she had to breath for a few seconds before she could get words to actually come out of her mouth. Still, all she could say was, "But I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, my love," he responded, and he was now wiping tears off of her cheeks. She wanted to crumple up into a ball and have him hold her forever. He raised his eyebrows, and a small smile made its way onto his face. "Promise not to forget about me?"

"I could never forget you, Finnick," she assured him. It was true. He consumed her every waking moment. She missed him all of the time, even when he was there with her. She thought about him every single second of every single day. She wasn't just saying goodbye to the man she loved. She was saying goodbye to her best friend. "I can't watch you leave."

"Then close your eyes," he responded, and after getting one final look at him, she did. She gasped lightly when she felt his lips on hers, and she kissed him like she had never kissed him before. It was salty from their tears and desperate and longing. Then, he pulled away. She kept her eyes closed until she heard the door close, and when she opened them, she was all alone.

Well, all except for the baby.