Sunshine | Finnick Odair

| part 11 |

"I'm about to orchestrate an entertainment propo that's sure to be popular. After all, everybody loves a wedding" Plutarch explains.

"Wedding?" I question.

"You two never got to have a proper wedding. You never had the chance for Haymitch or Johanna to be there. So my proposal for you is that you get married again"

I look over to Finnick and see a slight smile on his face. A proper wedding? What's the worst that can happen?

"Ok" I agree.

"Finnick?" Plutarch questions.

"How can I say no to marrying the love of my life again" he smiles looking at me.

The next few days bring a flurry of activity as the event is planned. The differences between the Capitol and 13 are thrown into battle by the event. When Coin says "wedding," she means two people signing a piece of paper and being assigned a new compartment. Plutarch means hundreds of people dressed in finery at a three-day celebration. It's amusing to watch them haggle over the details. Plutarch has to fight for every guest, every musical note. After Coin vetoes a dinner, entertainment, and alcohol, Plutarch yells, "What's the point of the propo if no one's having any fun!"

It's hard to put a Gamemaker on a budget. But even a quiet celebration causes a stir in 13, where they seem to have no holidays at all. When it's announced that children are wanted to sing District 4's wedding song, practically every kid shows up. There's no shortage of volunteers to help make decorations. In the dining hall, people chat excitedly about the event.

Maybe it's more than the festivities. Maybe it's that we are all so starved for something good to happen that everyone wanted to be part of it. It would explain why-when Plutarch has a fit over what I would wear-Katniss volunteer to take me back to her house in 12, where Cinna left a variety of evening clothes in a big storage closet downstairs.

On the hovercraft ride me and Katniss talk about our lives.
"So I've heard Finnicks side of when he first new he loved you. What about you? When did you realise?" She asks me.

"I fully realised after his games he had a nightmare and we stayed up and talked for ages and I sort of just fell in love with him. The genuine him. Not the act he puts in for the Capitol. I fell in love with the real Finnick Odair"

"When did you realise you love Peeta. Or are you still in denial?" I smile at the girl.

"The night of the bombing. Finnick helped me realise. He helped me see why Snow was torturing Peeta. It was because I love him. I don't think I would if realised it without, Finnick" she laughed.

"You two got closer while I was gone" I smiled.

"It seems you got closer to Peeta too. I guess we all got closer to one and other being apart" Katniss explained.

"Trauma tends to do that. You bond with the person you shared the trauma with"

Katniss got permission for her prep team to come along, so I'm relieved of having to make any fashion decisions. When she open the closet, we all fall silent because Cinna's presence is so strong in the flow of the fabrics. Then Octavia drops to her knees, rubs the hem of a skirt against her cheek, and bursts into tears. "It's been so long," she gasps, "since I've seen anything pretty."
I would say she's being dramatic but it's understandable giving the fact its like home for her.

Despite reservations on Coin's side that it's too extravagant, and on Plutarch's side that it's too drab, the wedding is a smash hit. The three hundred lucky guests culled from 13 and the many refugees wear their everyday clothes, the decorations are made from autumn foliage, the music is provided by a choir of children accompanied by the lone fiddler who made it out of 12 with his instrument. So it's simple, frugal by the Capitol's standards.