Ocean Eyes - Finnick Odair

Thirty-Seven

Marissa does speak to Finnick. She explains her anxieties to him through another round of tears and shuddering breaths. He takes her hands in his once again, he promises her that he never meant to make her feel pressured or upset and that he would never make her do anything that she wasn't comfortable with. He tells her that he doesn't want to marry her because he wants them to start trying for a baby or because he wants them to start having sex. He wants to marry her because he loves her; because she makes him the happiest he's ever been; because he thinks she's the most beautiful girl in the world and he wouldn't change a single thing about her. He shares his experiences in the Capitol with his different clients and expresses that even he still struggles with the idea of them having sex. He encourages her to talk about what happened to her in the Capitol with him and she does. Both of them cry and Finnick holds her tight, reassuring her that she's safe, that neither of them will have to experience that again and eventually he gets back down on one knee and holds out the ring.

"Marissa, I want to marry you as soon as possible," he tells her, clutching onto her hands. "I don't care when and where and you can turn up in your pyjamas if you want. It doesn't have to be a big deal but I want to be married to you. I want to be able to call you my wife and I want to be your husband. I love you. So, will you please marry me?"

"Yes, I will marry you," Marissa nods, and finally a smile graces her lips. Finnick grins too, slipping the ring onto her ring finger and standing on his feet again. Marissa flings her arms around his neck and giggles when he picks her up off of the floor and spins her around. "I'm sorry I ran off."

"Don't apologise, Marissa. It was my fault," Finnick whispers. "It doesn't matter, anyway. What matters is we're getting married."

"Yeah, we are," Marissa beams. Despite her upset earlier, Marissa is the happiest she's been for a long while now and she refuses to let go of Finnick when his arms drop from around her.

"You can let go of me now, Mari," Finnick chuckles. Her embrace only tightens though and he struggles to peel her arms off of his body. She frowns, pouting up at her fiancé and he smiles down at her. "You haven't even looked at the ring."

"I don't care about the ring. I care about you," Marissa replies and he rolls his eyes.

"Well, I made the ring," Finnick informs her and she raises her eyebrows at him. She glances down at the ring and it's made up of two thin silver wires twisted around and then tied up in a large knot where a precious stone would sit on a normal engagement ring.

"You made this?"

"Well, Beetee helped me out a lot," Finnick admits shyly, scratching the back of his neck. "But I chose the design and stuff... do you like it?"

"I love it," Marissa tells him.

"Are you sure? I know it's not a proper engagement ring but we can always get a better one after all this is over."

"It's absolutely perfect. I don't want a different one."

That night Marissa and Finnick fall asleep together, Marissa clings onto him even in her sleep and she doesn't let go of him when they wake up until he begs her to let him go to the toilet.

When he returns after being in the bathroom he finds Marissa hiding under the covers in a sulk. He laughs at her, rips the covers off of her body and brushes any hair out of her face.

"You have our whole lives left to cuddle me, soon to be Mrs Odair," Finnick teases and she scrunches her nose up.

"Mrs Odair-Johnson," she replies sharply. He just continues to smile.

"How silly of me to assume you'd take your husband's surname."

"I agree, it was silly. I'm still part of my own family too," Marissa points out and he sighs, sitting down next to her.

"I know, Mari, I was just teasing you. Anyway, I think Finnick Odair-Johnson has a nice ring to it. Although, I'm surprised someone as stubborn as you didn't want your surname first."

"Johnson-Odair sounds stupid," Marissa rolls her eyes at him. She crosses her arms over her chest and sends him a look as if to say that should've been obvious to him.

"Well, that's because Odair is the better surname."

"You wish," Marissa snorts but she doesn't keep up her stubborn act for long because she moves to rest her head in his lap. "When do you want to get married?"

"I don't know. We'll probably have to speak to President Coin about it. She's in charge of everyone here."

"President?" Marissa raises her eyebrows sceptically at the title but Finnick promises her that she's not all that bad.

"You'll have to speak to her today about what duties you'll have to take on now that you've been discharged," Finnick informs his fiancée and the redhead frowns deeply. "What?"

"I don't want any duties. I have to see Peeta anyway, I'm helping him."

"Well, I'm sure they can incorporate that into your duties. You could speak to Katniss about it. She's the Mockingjay so she can ask."

Eventually, Finnick has to leave to attend to more of his duties and Marissa decides to visit Johanna Mason, who is still being kept in the hospital. She's on a strong supply of morphine which the doctors are slowly decreasing. The girl from District Seven is not impressed with them for this.

"So, he finally grew a pair then?" Johanna remarks bitterly, staring down at Marissa's engagement ring.

"Yeah... I feel bad though," Marissa shrugs, sitting down beside her friend. "I ran away when he first asked."

Johanna breaks out into a cackle and Marissa raises her eyebrows at her friend.

"What?"

"Good. He needs a blow to his ego sometimes. He's seriously full of himself," Johanna says and Marissa rolls her eyes.

"He's not that full of himself. He's sweet and he cares about other people a lot. He cares about you, Johanna."

"He hasn't been to visit me once since we were 'rescued'" Johanna states and Marissa frowns.

"That's probably my fault... I haven't really let him out of my sight since what the Capitol did to him... or didn't do."

Marissa takes a moment to remind herself that the Capitol never had Finnick and they didn't do anything to him.

"They messed us up pretty good, didn't they?

"Yeah... you could say that."

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