"We're getting married!"
That is how Finnick Odair decided to greet us when Newt and I came back from district 2. My jaw dropped and eyes widened at his statement.
"Are you joking?"
"Nope."
"You're not kidding?"
"Nope."
"Are you serious?"
"Yup."
"You're actually getting married?"
Finnick rolled his eyes and huffed, "Oh get over it, I proposed and she said yes!"
Letting out a cry of joy, I leaped into his arms and hugged him as tight as I could in my exhausted state. He laughed and ruffled my hair before pulling away. I looked at his flushed cheeks and gleaming eyes and was unable to wipe the smile off my face at his happiness.
"When did this happen and why wasn't I there to witness this?!" I exclaimed, punching his arm.
"Yesterday night." He laughed while rubbing the sore spot below his shoulder. "I hadn't planned it. It was a spontaneous thing but it was perfect."
"I'm so so happy for you." I whispered, pushing away the flood of emotions before I could spill tears. Was planning on saving the waterworks for the wedding.
"You're marrying my sister." Newt mumbled. It was only then I realized that he was standing next to us. His face was emotionless as he stared at nothing in particular. "My best friend is marrying my sister."
Cautiously, Finn said, "Yes. Yes, I am." A small smile fell upon Newt's lips as he looked up at Finnick.
"I'll give you guys a moment." I said, smiling. "I wanna talk to Annie anyway." With that I left them and walked towards the living quarters, to the room Annie and I shared.
Entering the room, I found Annie laying down on her bed, her red hair splayed out across the pillow and a book in her hands. At the sound of the door opening, she looked up and spotted me, her eyes lightened up before she grinned. "(Y/n)! I've got so much to tell you!" She said while pulling me into a hug.
Patting her head, I leaned back and narrowed my eyes. "Some little birdie told me that you are engaged."
She laughed and grabbed my hands before spinning around with glee. "I'm can't believe it! I'm getting married, (Y/n)! Remember how we used to dream about having the perfect wedding?"
"Of course I do." I chuckled and sat on the bed, pulling her down next to me. "Now tell me, what are you gonna wear?"
Her smile dropped. "I didn't think about that..."
"I think it'd be very hard to find a boutique in this place." I snorted. "But hey, maybe we can ask Coin to let us go on a trip to home and we can find a dress there. The districts are unified now, thanks to Katniss, so I think it will be safe for us to travel back to 4."
A hopeful look settled in her eyes as she nodded with eagerness. "Yeah, let's ask her then!"
"Ask who what?" A voice came from behind us. We turned to see Newt and Finnick standing by the door. They entered the room and plopped down on the bed opposite to us.
"Ask Coin if we can go back to 4 to get a dress for Annie." I informed them.
"Mum kept her wedding dress all this while. I want to wear that." Annie said.
Newt took Annie's hand in his and smiled. "That dress would look beautiful on you, love."
"Thank you, Newtie." She beamed.
"Let's go get that dress, shall we?"
*****
Plutarch thought that the wedding would be a perfect opportunity to show everyone that despite the war, love still exists. Coin allowed us to go to district 4 to get Annie's wedding dress, our only condition being that we must ensure maximum safety.
The hovercraft was scheduled to leave two days later, giving us time to sleep off our exhaustion from our trip to 2.
I was about to get into bed when Johanna walked into the room, a grumpy expression on her face. "I hate this place." She grumbled, sitting down beside me on the bed.
"What happened now?" She was confined to the hospital since she was still recovering from her time in the Capitol. The bruises were healing, the dark circles under her eyes were lightening, and her body looked much healthier than before since she was getting the right nutrition here in 13. But she still had a long way to go.
"The doctors say 'mild painkillers are enough' every damn time. They stopped my morphine supply and it's killing me. Literally. I feel like shit." She groaned.
"It will get easier, eventually. Not saying the journey will be a walk in the park, but it's better if you don't get addicted to that stuff." I said placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Well I might've snuck into Katniss's room and taken a good dose of her morphine. The princess doesn't need it anyway." She rolled her eyes.
"She's awake, isn't she? How's she doing?"
"Still in a bit of pain. Broken ribs and bruised lungs or something like that. But they'll heal her up soon. Gotta show the world that their saviour is still alive."
We sat in silence for a while before I broke it by saying, "Finnick and Annie are getting married."
Her eyes snapped up to my face before she looked away, her face remaining neutral. "That's nice. When's the wedding?"
"In a week or two. We're planning to go on a trip to 4 before that. Do you wanna come along? I could show you around like you did for me when I came to 7 on my victory tour." I suggested.
She let out a humourless laugh. "As much as I would love to escape this hell hole, I dont think they would let me. I'm still weak."
"You're getting stronger." I pointed out.
"Am I though?" She turned to face me with a sad smile. "Waking up drowning in sweat from nightmares, memories actually, from what Snow did. If I was strong, I wouldn't have let him get inside my head."
"The fact that you're alive and breathing shows that you're stronger than any of us here. What they put you through... God. You should know you're the bravest person ever just because you went through that and survived." Gently squeezing her shoulder, I said with clarity in a warm voice, "Johanna Mason, a girl who was forced to bare the weight of the world when she wasn't ready, definitely deserves happiness."
She let out a breath and this time, a small genuine smile slipped out beneath her hard exterior. "Thank you, (Y/n)."
*****
"Miss me yet?" I jumped at the voice, the tray of food clattering onto the table in front of me as I whipped my head around to see the source of the familiar voice.
"DYLAN!" I hurriedly turned around and wrapped my arms tightly around his broad frame and he returned the hug with a warm chuckle.
"You seem to have forgotten me. You've wounded me, (Y/n)." He pouted, eyes crinkling with a hidden smile.
"I'm so sorry! I've been so busy these day, with the mission to 2 and all the-"
"Hey, hey, hey! It's perfectly alright! I understand." He laughed, patting my shoulder. He greeted Newt who sat opposite to me with a handshake. "It's been a while, hasn't it? How are you?"
"Doin' well. What have you been up to, Dyl?" Newt asked.
"Been working on a lot of designs actually! They moved my room to level 14, where the other stylists and prep teams are there. My roommates are pretty cool, we have a lot of fun sharing ideas."
"That's nice, I'm glad you've found people who have passion for the same stuff as you do."
"It is amazing, yeah." He grinned and then turned to face me. "So tell me, what's this rumour going around that you're getting married to Finnick Odair?" My eyes widened as I choked on my lunch, while Newt laughed out loud. "Aren't you with Newt? And I'm hurt that you didn't tell me before so I could design your wedding dress. Geez, (Y/n), you trying to kill me?"
Regaining my composure, I looked at him with an expression full of disbelief and exasperation. "Are you actually kidding me right now!? Why would I be getting married to Finnick?" An involuntary shiver of disgust ran through my spine at the thought.
He held his hands up defensively. "It's just what I heard. So who is getting married then? Newt and you?"
This time heat rushed to my cheeks as I swatted Dylan's arm. "No, I am not getting married. Finnick is. With Annie. Newt's sister."
Newt chuckled playfully. "We're a bit busy fighting the war at the moment, so our wedding is gonna be a lil late." He joked.
My stomach did a little flip at his words.
"This is a turn of events." Dylan frowned. But then his eyes lit up a second later and he excitedly said, "Can I still design her dress?"
I sighed with a smile. "She wants to wear her mother's dress. But I assume it will need alterations and all, so I guess you could do that. Don't change it too much though, Annie would like to keep it as close to the original."
"Sounds wonderful. I need to talk to Annie about this. Do you know where she is?"
"Canoodling with Finnick." Newt rolled his eyes. "Probably in the lounge room.
"Thanks a lot. Nice talking to you both again. See ya later!" He got up and walked towards the stairs, leaving Newt and I behind with our half eaten lunches.
"(Y/n)..." I hummed in response and glanced at Newt to see him with a hesitant look on his face. "You know I want to stay with you for a really really long time after all this, yeah?" He mumbled, the words barely reaching my ears.
I smiled and reached across and took his hand in mine. "I thought that was a given. After everything settles down, we'll think about all the little details then, alright?"
He nodded with a smile and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too, Newt. Always will."
*****
The bright rays of sunlight seeped into the hovercraft as the doors opened, revealing the land of district 4. I stood on top of the metal staircase, hesitant to take a step further into the land I was born and raised in.
"You okay?" Newt asked, placing his hand on the small of my back, silently telling me that I wasn't alone.
"Yeah, let's go." We descended down the steps and the little pebbles and sand crunched beneath our boots.
Four other soldiers accompanied us to our trip to 4, each heavily armed with guns and other weapons, incase of an emergency. Finnick and Annie followed behind us as we walked along the familiar path into the heart of district. A frown etched onto my lips as I took in our surroundings.
Silence.
All the shops were closed down, stalls and vending machines boarded up, the fish fountain in the district centre no longer sprouted water, and there was not a single soul in sight.
The once lively and joyous place where people came together and had a happy time was now completely deserted and the sound of crashing of waves in the background was loud and painful in the silence.
"What happened here?" Finnick muttered.
"You don't know?" Annie spoke up, her eyebrows furrowed.
"We haven't come back to four ever since the games, Annie." Newt said, his voice soft.
"Ah, I see. Well a lot of men wearing white uniforms came here and started ordering everyone about. They were shouting at us and threatened to use their guns. It was a bit frightening. I think that's why most people ran away. And they took Mum and Mags. I don't remember much after that... just waking up in the Capitol."
Finnick gently pulled her to his side and kissed the top of her head. "Any idea where they went?"
She pointed along the main road that led towards the borders of the district. A few miles beyond that was district 3. "That way."
I clenched my jaw and looked down at the ground. "It's because the three of us played a major role in the rebel's plan. They came here to see if anyone knew about it." I let out a sigh, feeling guilty. "No clue how many made it out of here alive. Do you think they reached safely to district 3?"
"3 is not far from here. I'm sure some would have, if not most of the population here." Newt said.
"Let's just get Annie's dress and get out of here. I hate to see this place like this." We walked towards the Victor's village, the path and surroundings leading upto the houses exactly how it was the last time I saw it, except this time, there was the absence of the life of the town.
I stopped momentarily in front of my house, my thoughts running with memories the building brought. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Newt asked, little lines of concern drawing itself onto his forehead.
"No, I'll be fine." I smiled. Once they left, I walked forward and stood before the front door, staring at the dusty, golden plaque that read '406'. Below that was a worn out piece of paper containing a messy drawing of three stick figures, the smaller one standing between the other two while holding each of their hands, and a scrawled writing that said 'Welcome to our home!' I chuckled at the drawing I made as a kid of my parents and I.
This was never my home. My parents were rarely around growing up. Home was with Newt. It was with Finnick and Annie. Home was when I would laugh with the people I loved till my tummy hurt or when I would swim in the oceans, feeling happy. Home was comfort while what I stood before was a house. A house that contained mere memories of my childhood, that would be incomplete without my friends.
The door opened with a click and I walked in, looking around the spacious living room. The curtains were drawn close, few rays of sunlight escaping its clutches and falling onto the hard, dusty wooden floors.
I looked at the staircase that led to the floor above, but I didn't want to venture further, only to bring up the bittersweet memories, knowing that I lost my happy childhood somewhere along the way.
The main door opened and I turned around to see Finnick who rolled his eyes and scoffed. "They kicked me out because apparently the groom can't see the dress. Bad luck or somethin' like that. A load of crap if you ask me- you okay?"
"Yes." I said, forcing a small grin. "Just wanted to see this place one last time."
"Who knows? Maybe after all this is over, we could come back here."
"Yeah, maybe."
He walked over to some of the photographs that were framed on the wall and a smile lit his face. "You wanna take these to 13?"
Hesitantly, I answered, "I'm not sure about that. I don't want anything to remind me of this place."
"Don't carry every single one of them back. Just the ones that make you happy. Leave the bad ones behind, they belong to the past."
That makes sense. Rather than carrying the weight of the bad things that happened which came along with pain, I could focus on letting it go and cherish the joyful memories. Moving on from the past did not seem like a horrible thing.
"Alright then. Grab a backpack and help me with this stuff."
We were taking down the frames in silence, occasionally exchanging stories behind the photographs and laughing at the fond memories.
"I'm genuinely excited for you, Finn. Never would I have thought you'd be the first to get married."
"Neither did I." He chuckled.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'd be lying if I said I'm not scared, but I've never been more certain of anything in my life."
I smiled before leaning over and patting his shoulder. "As long as you don't chicken out and run away on your wedding day, everything will be fine."
"If I do, Newt would send an entire army to kill me."
"An angry Newt is way more terrifying than an army."
That sent us into a fit of laughter. "That is true. Very true."
*****
The word "wedding," in Coin's words meant two people signing a piece of paper and being assigned a new compartment. However, in Plutarch's, and for rest of us, it meant hundreds of people dressed in finery at a three-day celebration. It was amusing to watch them haggle over the details. Plutarch was so annoyed when Coin denied alcohol at the party.
After a small announcement by a reluctant Coin, we had dozens of volunteers lined up to take care of the decorations, seating arrangements, food and drinks (we managed to get apple cider on the menu), choir and music.
And on the day of the wedding, Newt was running about checking every detail last minute. He's very cute when stressed over small things.
"What about the flowers?" Newt asked in a hurry, trying to tie the laces on his boots.
"Flowers for the decorations or the bouquet?" I asked.
His eyes widened with horror. "Please don't tell me that we missed one of-"
"They're both ready." I grinned.
"Ah thank god. And what about the cake?"
"Peeta finished decorating it this morning. He had been working on it for days."
"That's nice. Is the music ready? Do these people even listen to music?" He muttered the last sentence while I brushed my hair.
"One person from 12 has a violin and there are a bunch of kids singing."
"And Annie's dress? Dylan said he did the alterations, but I don't know if Annie has tried it on yet and-"
I cut him off again by saying, "She did and it is perfect. Newt, this wedding is going to go as planned. Stop worrying so much."
"I know, I know. I'm just... They deserve to have a proper wedding." He sighed. "I don't know what I'd do if something goes wrong."
I laughed and pulled him into a hug, burying my face in his neck. "Oh Newt, We've done so much in the past few days for this wedding and I think we need to take a step back and enjoy the celebrations." I pulled back and placed a kiss on his cheek. And another one on his forehead before capturing his lips with mine. "It's going to be alright."
He let a little smile slip out and nodded. "Okay. No more stressing out about this."
"But you have to hurry, the ceremony is gonna start in half an hour and you're walking her down the aisle."
His eyes widened momentarily as he pulled me in the direction of the hall. "Shucks! We're gonna be late!"
*****
There are moments in life where you look at something and it's beauty captures your eyes and renders you speechless. That beauty comes in many forms. It could be a peaceful sunset, the calmness of the ocean or even a freshly baked batch of cookies and a glass of warm milk.
Today, that beauty came in the form of Annie Cresta.
Her red hair cascaded down her back, a thin veil laid gently on top of it. The dress she wore, a light green coloured gown with intricate patterns, fitted her small fame with elegance. Her eyes were filled with happiness, her cheeks tinted pink like the bouquet of flowers she clutched in her hands and the final touch to the angel that stood before us was an innocent smile decorating her face.
"You're a lucky man." I whispered to Finnick who stood on the small stage beside me, on the opposite end of the aisle where Newt and Annie Cresta stood, hand in hand.
"I am." He breathed out, his mouth lightly agape with wonderment.
The small crowd that had gathered stood up while a melodious tune started to play as Newt led Annie down the aisle. We didn't know half these people but that didn't matter now. Finnick took Annie's hand in his and the smile he wore outshone the sun.
Once everyone had taken their place, Dalton, a cattle guy from 10, who volunteered to conduct the ceremony, walked up to the couple and greeted everyone. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today..."
As the priest began the procession, I sneaked a glance at Newt who was looking at me with a small grin. He winked when his eyes met mine and a blush rose up to my cheeks as I shook my head with a smile.
I averted my gaze and looked through the crowd, spotting some familiar faces. Coin, Plutarch, Haymitch, Johanna (It was so hard to convince her to attend the ceremony. She said and I quote "mushy love crap makes me sick."), Dylan, Cressida and the rest of the team, Katniss, her mum and sister, Effie, Nat...
Nat.
I caught her gaze and smiled, to which she replied with an enthusiastic wave. I subtly motioned towards her left, where Effie Trinket stood, wearing a pink gown and a matching wig, engrossed with watching Finn and Annie getting married. Nat simply shrugged and looked down.
She better tell me all about this after the ceremony is over.
Like a classic district 4 wedding, a net woven from long grass, which took Newt and I a week to weave, was to cover the couple as they exchanged vows. I held the net up on one end while Newt took the other, Annie and Finnick holding eachother close inside.
"I, Annie Cresta, take you, Finnick Odair, to be my husband. From this day forth, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, I promise to love and cherish you each day."
"I, Finnick Odair, take you, Annie Cresta, as my wife from this day forth. Together or apart, we will always be united. One life, one purpose, one destiny."
With a gentle smile, the priest nodded towards Finnick and said, "You may kiss the bride."
Without hesitation, Finnick leaned down and kissed Annie as the entire crowd erupted into applauses.
With a massive smile, I lifted the net off and joined the cheers and clapped for the newly weds. The violinist stood up and began playing an unfamiliar tune, but judging by the happy smiles from the refugees of district twelve, it was one of their folk songs.
"Miss (Y/n), would you like to dance with me?" I turned around to see Newt, a cheesy smile on his face, as he held his hand out.
"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Cresta." I did a little courtesy, causing us both to laugh. Taking his hand in mine, we joined in the circle that was formed around the bride and groom, and danced along with the people of 12 and 13.
Prim and her mum, along with a few others were teaching the rest of us the dances of their district.
And Boy, can they dance.
By the end of the hour, we were exhausted by all the laughing, cheering, dancing and singing. I grabbed a plate of cake and sat down on one of the chairs near a table.
"That cake slice is too big. Share it with me." A voice of a woman came from behind me and without turning around to acknowledge who it was, I replied, "No cake slice is ever too big."
Nat laughed and pulled up a chair beside me before grabbing the spoon from my hand and taking a bite of my cake, much to my annoyance. I grumbled under my breath, snatching the spoon back.
"Did you come here just to sabotage my time with this delicious dessert in front of me?"
"That, and I also came here to tell you that I didn't tell Effie about my feelings yet."
"And why the hell not." I hissed. "You promised you would tell after we were back from 2."
"The timings weren't right." She groaned. "With the wedding and the busy schedules, it wasn't the perfect moment to bring it up!"
"I didn't wait for the perfect moment to tell Newt. Sure I could've done it sooner, but still! You get the point."
"It's different with you and Newt. You both knew you liked eachother, it was bound to happen." She rolled her eyes. "But Effie... I have absolutely no idea! I mean, I know she cares for me, but I don't know if she likes me in that way."
"You are acting like a teenager with a crush, Nat. Suck it up and confess to the lady of your dreams." I sang out.
"You are absolutely no help at all." She huffed with a glare.
I searched the crowd for Effie, her pink wig making it infinitely easy as I found her dancing and clapping along with the other guests. Her gaze flickered over to where we sat and her eyes landed on Nat, who was busy stealing little bites of cake. I caught a look of longingness in Effie's expressions, though she hadn't noticed that I was watching. I nearly gasped when Effie started making her way towards us.
"Nat, don't look towards your right, okay?" I said, receiving a confused look from the blond.
"Okay, but why?"
"Effie's coming over, don't panic."
Her blue eyes widened as she stared at me with horror. "(Y/n)!" She whisper-yelled. I gave a simple shrug and put up an innocent face when Effie came to a stop before us, greeting us with a warm smile.
"Hello, darlings!" She chirped in a sweet voice. "(Y/n) dear, would you mind if I borrowed Nat here for a dance? We need a partner for this next bit and Nat told me the other day that she loves dancing!"
"Oh does she now?" I looked at a beet-red Nat with amused eyes. "Of course I don't mind. Nat, go ahead and show everyone your passion for dancing, I'll cheer for you from the sidelines."
"Uh- I dont think- uh.. I'm up for it" She stuttered, her eyes begging me for help.
"Nonsense!" I waved her off. "Don't leave Effie hanging, go dance with her." I said, raising my eyebrows a little pointedly.
Nat seemed to get the message as she mumbled a quick "Alright" before standing up and walking with Effie to the dance floor. I watched them for a few moments, the bright smile still on Effie's face and the blush seemed to make itself a permanent resident on Natasha's cheeks.
Annie was in Finnick's arms, the both of them dancing contently to a slow song. Dylan and Newt were having a conversation, laughing in between as they sipped on their glasses of cider. Everyone around me seemed to be having a good time, in their own worlds with their own ways of defining happiness. A feeling of joy bubbled through my chest, making me momentarily forget about the war.
Wish this feeling would last forever.