Finnick and Annie

The Wedding

FINNICK

"Are you ready, Anne?" I whispered. It was finally the day of our wedding. The truth is that Annie and I were left out of most of the planning, which we both appreciated. We didn't care about the number of guests or the color of Annie's bouquet.

"We're getting married, Finn," she smiled. We were beyond excited, and not in the normal bride-and-groom-excited-about-their-wedding way, to us it was a victory, after years of struggling, we'd finally won.

They whisked her away minutes later and I wasn't allowed to see her until the ceremony. I on the other hand, didn't need much preparation. I absolutely refused to wear makeup to my wedding, and I could brush my hair myself, thank you very much. So I wondered around the district until it was time. I paid Jo a visit in the hospital wing though she assured me she wouldn't miss it for the world, and then I swung by to see Peeta.

I'd heard rumors that Peeta was making our wedding cake, and I just had to see for myself. The doctors weren't too pleased with my visit because they said he was doing so well with his cake-decorating therapy, but I guess I'm pretty convincing (and annoying) so they finally let me in.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," he said when I walked into his cell.

"I'll act surprised."

"What are you doing here, Finnick?" he asked. "Not that it's not a pleasure to see someone besides my nurses but... shouldn't you be getting ready for your wedding or something?"

"Look at me, Peeta. I don't need a Prep team." For a second I thought I saw the shadow of a smile. "It looks amazing. Annie is going to love it."

"How is she doing?" he asked. "I haven't seen her since..."

"Yeah. She's doing great. I'm sure she'd want you at our wedding if they'd let you leave."

"Unfortunately, I'm unstable," he laughed.

"Aren't we all?"

When it was time, I dressed in my suit, borrowed from Peeta and Plutarch escorted me to the party. Most of the guests were already gathered around the small altar when I walked in, the three hundred refugees and District Thirteen citizens that were allowed to attend. The once drab, grey room was decorated with fallen leaves and flowers from the surface. To the side of the altar stood a choir of fidgeting children and a single fiddler from District Twelve who made it to Thirteen with his violin. I turned to Plutarch to thank him but he shook his head and patted my shoulder before he walked away to Coin's side.

I stood awkwardly on the altar and searched the crowd for familiar faces. I recognized Katniss and Prim, Effie, Johanna, Beetee, Gale and Boggs, but the rest were strangers to me. I'm sure under different circumstances I would have gotten to know many of them but most of my time in Thirteen was spent in the hospital wing or with Beetee.

Then the loud chattering of the guests quieted down to a soft murmur when Annie entered the room. I recognized her green, silk dress as one that Katniss had worn on her victory tour, but Annie looked so much more stunning in it. Her hair fell around her shoulders in gentle waves and as her request I'm sure, her makeup was subtle, almost non-existent. "You're so beautiful," I whispered when she was standing before me. She smiled and shrugged. "You look pretty handsome yourself."

Wedding ceremonies in our district were fairly simple. The bride and groom exchanged their vows, then a net woven from grass was draped over their heads and they touched each other's lips with salt water, and ended with the groom kissing the bride during the traditional wedding song.

Dalton, the refugee from Ten who'd volunteered to perform the ceremony, since it was similar to the ones we held in Four, cleared his throat and hushed the crowd. "Thank you all for being here." He talked about the importance of marriage and love or something like that, but I was too lost in Annie's eyes to pay attention. Dalton cleared his throat a second time to get my attention. "Finnick. The vows." There was a collective laugh from the crowd as I nodded and apologized.